JP2002220746A - Article toothbrush, hose and warm bath tool for bathing comprising far infrared radiating carbon fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain various kinds of articles radiating far infrared rays mainly comprising carbon fibers, especially PAN carbon fibers and additionally utilizing (1) negative ion releasing effects, (2) adsorbing effects and (3) excellent mechanical strength which are possessed by the PAN carbon fibers. SOLUTION: The articles (a toothbrush, a hose or a floating material in a bath) characterized as comprising the carbon fibers radiating the far infrared rays are provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article emitting far-infrared rays, and more particularly to an article containing far-infrared radiating carbon fibers emitting far-infrared rays containing polyacrylonitrile (PAN) -based carbon fibers as a material. And toothbrush,
The present invention relates to a hose and a hot bath.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, far infrared rays have a wavelength of about 3 μm to 1 μm.
It refers to infrared rays having a wavelength of about 000 μm, and in particular, it is known that far infrared rays having a wavelength of 6 μm to 12 μm are absorbed by the human body to promote blood circulation and have an effect of giving warmth.

As an example showing the characteristics of far infrared rays, FIG. 7 shows a spectral radiant energy curve of a black body at each temperature. Here, a black body is a virtual substance that absorbs 100% of electromagnetic waves of all wavelengths. Then, the peak of the spectral radiant energy of the black body moves to the short wavelength side as the temperature increases. The black body has a radiant energy peak in the far-infrared wavelength region in a temperature region of about 240K to 480K. Although an actual substance has an absorption rate of electromagnetic waves of less than 100%, the behavior of the spectral radiant energy curve with respect to temperature is similar to that of a black body, so that it is not necessary to heat the substance to a high temperature to emit far-infrared rays. You can see that. Therefore, it is very important to select a material capable of effectively absorbing electrons and emitting far-infrared rays at room temperature as a material for emitting far-infrared rays.

As materials that easily emit far-infrared rays, various types of ceramics and charcoal using natural wood are known.
However, selecting or fabricating a ceramic that effectively emits far-infrared rays requires a great deal of development cost and time. Therefore, charcoal using natural wood as the far-infrared radiator has been spotlighted.

[0005]

However, since charcoal uses natural wood, it has been difficult to industrially produce charcoal in large quantities. In addition, it is difficult to completely remove impurities in the production process of charcoal, and it is difficult to make the quality uniform. Furthermore, the production of charcoal consumes a large amount of natural wood, so it cannot be said that it is desirable from the viewpoint of environmental protection, and a material that generates far-infrared rays instead of charcoal has been required.

[0006] In view of such circumstances, carbon fiber has attracted attention as a good far-infrared radiator that is suitable for mass production and can be made uniform in quality, and does not damage the environment, instead of charcoal. Here, the carbon fiber is a fibrous carbon material substantially consisting of only carbon atoms. Among these carbon fibers, in particular, polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fibers have been attracting attention as materials having not only a far-infrared emission effect, but also an effect of generating negative ions, an adsorption effect, and excellent mechanical strength.

Accordingly, the present invention makes use of the excellent far-infrared radiation effect of carbon fibers, especially PAN-based carbon fibers, and further has the effect of releasing negative ions, which is another excellent feature of PAN-based carbon fibers, It is a main object to provide various articles that comprehensively utilize an adsorption effect and excellent mechanical strength.

More specifically, an object of the present invention is to propose a toothbrush and a hot bath for bathing that utilize the excellent far-infrared radiation effect of carbon fiber and the effect of generating negative ions.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a hose for flowing a liquid utilizing the excellent far-infrared radiation effect and excellent mechanical strength of carbon fiber.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors have conducted intensive studies in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, and constituted the present invention as follows. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article including far-infrared radiating carbon fibers, wherein the article includes carbon fibers that emit far-infrared rays. As shown in this configuration, when carbon fibers are used as a material or a member in various articles, the carbon fibers contained in the articles absorb the heat of the atmosphere and emit far-infrared rays.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the article comprising the far-infrared radiating carbon fiber, wherein the carbon fiber includes a carbon fiber emitting negative ions. With this configuration, the carbon fiber-containing article has a function of emitting far-infrared rays and a function of emitting negative ions.

A third structure of the present invention is the article comprising the far-infrared radiating carbon fiber, wherein the carbon fiber is a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) -based carbon fiber. With such a configuration, various materials using the PAN-based carbon fiber emit far-infrared rays and release negative ions, are adsorbed by micropores of the PAN-based carbon fiber, and have excellent mechanical strength. Will have.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toothbrush wherein the article containing the far-infrared radiating carbon fiber is a toothbrush, and a member of the toothbrush is made of at least the carbon fiber or a material containing the carbon fiber. It is. With this configuration, the toothbrush has a function of emitting far-infrared rays and a function of emitting negative ions.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is the hose, wherein the article containing the far-infrared radiating carbon fiber is a hose, and a member of the hose is made of a material containing at least the carbon fiber. With this configuration, for example, the hot water flow hose has a far-infrared ray emitting effect and excellent mechanical strength. Here, "the member of the hose is made of a material containing at least the carbon fiber"
This means that the hose itself may contain carbon fibers, or that the member incidentally used for the hose may contain carbon fibers.

A sixth configuration of the present invention is characterized in that the article containing the far-infrared radiating carbon fiber is a hot bath for bathing, and the member of the hot bath for bathing is made of a material containing at least the carbon fiber. It is a hot bath for bathing. With this configuration, the bathing hot bath has a function of emitting far-infrared rays and a function of emitting negative ions. Here, "the member of the bathing hot tub is made of a material containing at least the carbon fiber" means that the member constituting the bathing hot tub may be the carbon fiber itself or may constitute the bathing hot tub. This means that carbon fiber may be included in a part of the member.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, an article emitting far-infrared rays is manufactured using carbon fiber as one of the materials. Here, the carbon fiber is a fibrous carbon material substantially consisting of only carbon atoms, and has both characteristics derived from carbon as a substance and characteristics derived from fiber as a form.

Basically, any carbon fiber may be used as long as it has a property of emitting far-infrared rays at a temperature near normal temperature. Furthermore, P has the ability to release negative ions and has excellent adsorption capacity.
AN-based carbon fibers are most suitable for the present invention.

The PAN-based carbon fiber used in the present invention is produced by the following method. First, a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber is spun by a known method, and then the PAN fiber is heated at 200 to 300 ° C. in an air atmosphere to make it a flame resistant fiber. Finally, in an inert gas at 1000
Carbonization is performed by high-temperature treatment at a temperature of 1800 ° C., and micropores on the order of nanometers are introduced into the fiber.

The thus obtained PAN-based carbon fiber has an excellent adsorption effect due to having fine pores, and also has an effect of emitting far-infrared rays, an effect of emitting negative ions, and the like.

The carbon fibers used in the following embodiments all use this PAN-based carbon fiber as a material.
PAN-based carbon fibers are commercially available from various fiber manufacturers in the form of fibers, chips, and cloth. However, the PAN-based carbon fibers used in the present invention are not specified by the manufacturer unless otherwise specified. In this method, the residual waste generated after manufacturing a product using is recycled.

FIG. 1 shows the experimental results of measuring the far-infrared radiation effect of this PAN-based carbon fiber. The experiment of FIG. 1 was performed as follows. First, PAN-based carbon fibers were densely attached on the substrate so that the substrate surface could not be seen. The carbon fiber was kept constant at 40 ° C., and an infrared spectral energy meter (JEOL) was installed at a position 10 cm away from the flat PAN-based carbon fiber so as to face the flat PAN-based carbon fiber. E-500)
Was used to measure the far infrared radiation emitted.

In FIG. 1, the vertical axis represents the percentage of far-infrared ray generation of the PAN-based carbon fiber with respect to an ideal black body, and the horizontal axis represents the wavelength of emitted far-infrared ray. According to FIG. 1, at a temperature of 40 ° C., a wavelength of 5 μm
In the far infrared region of m to 20 μm, the PAN-based carbon fibers emit about 70% of far infrared rays based on black body radiation.

FIG. 2 is an experimental result showing the negative ion releasing effect of the PAN-based carbon fiber. The vertical axis in FIG. 2 indicates the number of negative ions present per unit volume, and the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed measurement time. The elapsed measurement time is the elapsed time from the start of the measurement of negative ions. Until about 30 seconds after the start of the measurement, the measurement is performed in a state where the PAN-based carbon fiber is allowed to stand. The detected amount of negative ions in this state is about 50 to 100 ions / cm ³ . This is a negative ion existing in the atmosphere and is not derived from the PAN-based carbon fiber. From this, PAN
It can be seen that the system-based carbon fiber hardly emits negative ions when left at rest.

From about 30 seconds after the start of the measurement, for about 5 seconds, the PAN-based carbon fiber was gently rubbed with light hand. As a result, the amount of generated negative ions increases, and the peak value becomes 91
It was 0 / cm ³ . In addition, strong rubbing was applied to the PAN-based carbon fiber by hand for about 5 seconds from about 50 seconds after the start of the measurement. As a result, the amount of generated negative ions increased, and the peak value was 2760 ions / cm ³ . Since generally strong 800 / cm ³ or more negative ions by friction is to be generated capacity of negative ions if generated, PAN-based carbon fiber is seen to have an excellent negative ion generating efficacy. This also revealed that the PAN-based carbon fiber generates a large amount of negative ions with a slight stimulation.

The measurement was carried out in a PAN which was allowed to stand at room temperature.
This is performed by fixing a probe of an ion measuring instrument (ION TESTER KST-900, manufactured by Kobe Denpa) within about 5 cm from the lump of the system carbon fiber.

= First Embodiment = A first embodiment of the present invention relates to a toothbrush using PAN-based carbon fiber as a material.

As shown in FIG. 3, the toothbrush comprises a handle 1 and brush bristles 2 planted at one end of the handle 1. In the present embodiment, the entire surface of the toothbrush handle 1 is coated with a PAN-based carbon fiber cloth, and the toothbrush handle 1 is coated.
Is formed of PAN-based carbon fiber of appropriate thickness with brush bristles 2 planted at one end.

Here, the coating with the PAN-based carbon fiber cloth may be performed on the entire handle 1 of the toothbrush, or may be performed only on the portion to be inserted into the oral cavity. Further, the effect of the present invention can be obtained even if the PAN-based carbon fiber is shortened to a powdery state and kneaded with a resin which is the material of the handle 1 of the toothbrush to produce the handle 1.

In this embodiment, the brush bristles 2 are all made of PAN-based carbon fibers in order to obtain the maximum far-infrared ray emission effect and the negative ion emission effect. It may be a fiber. For example, in order to improve the tactile sensation during brushing, known brush bristles (2) are implanted on both outer rows along the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush, and PA brushes are placed on the inner row of the toothbrush.
For example, planting brush bristles (2) made of N-based carbon fiber.

The far infrared radiation effect and the negative ion emission effect can also be obtained by forming the brush bristles 2 by mixing PAN-based carbon fibers which have been reduced in fiber length so as to be nearly powdery.

By using the toothbrush having such a configuration, the handle 1 of the toothbrush inserted into the oral cavity absorbs the body temperature and rises in temperature, and the brush bristles 2 absorbs the temperature in the oral cavity and rises in temperature. Emit far infrared rays. Due to the thermal effect of the far-infrared rays emitted in this way, the blood circulation of the gums is increased more than before, and a great effect is achieved in preventing periodontal disease and the like. Also,
As described above, since the PAN-based carbon fiber has an effect of generating negative ions by stimulation such as friction, a large amount of negative ions are generated by brushing with the present toothbrush. The negative ions generated in this way are combined with plaque and tooth stain adhering to the surface of the positively charged tooth and can be efficiently removed. In addition, due to the excellent adsorption effect of the PAN-based carbon fiber,
Bad breath can be reduced.

The far-infrared radiation and negative ion emission effects are inherent properties inherent in the PAN-based carbon fiber. Therefore, as long as the present toothbrush is used, the above-mentioned far-infrared radiation effect and negative ion ion-induced tooth surface The effect of removing dirt can be enjoyed.

= Second Embodiment = A second embodiment of the present invention relates to a hose using PAN-based carbon fiber.

As shown in FIG. 4, the hose 3 of this embodiment is formed by kneading a PAN-based carbon fiber with a resin material when forming the hose 3. In addition, the hose of the present invention includes, for example, a hose in which the outer wall of the hose 3 is covered with a PAN-based carbon fiber cloth and a hose in which a PAN-based carbon fiber twisted in a net shape is embedded in a resin layer of the hose 3. It is an embodiment.

Also, the hose 3 is not limited to the one made of resin.
Even if it is made of metal (for example, a copper pipe, a stainless steel pipe, a steel pipe, or the like), the hose 3 in which the outer peripheral portion is covered with a PAN-based carbon fiber cloth is included in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an application of the hose 3 of the present embodiment to the hot water flow hose 5 of the circulating water floor heating system 4. The circulating-water floor heating system 4 is provided with a circulating device 6 for producing hot water having a predetermined constant temperature and circulating the hot water, and a predetermined interval in a space between a floor plate and a floor surface. And a hot water flow hose 5.

When hot water at a predetermined temperature (up to several tens of degrees) is circulated through the hot water flow hose 5, the PAN-based carbon fibers contained in the hot water flow hose 5 absorb the heat. Radiates far-infrared rays and warms not only the floor just above the hot water flow hose 5 but also the floor in the gap between the hot water flow hoses 5 so that the temperature distribution on the floor plate surface is more uniform than the conventional product. can do.

Further, in addition to the heat generated by the hot water flowing inside the hot water flow hose 5, the hot water flow hose 5 itself emits far-infrared rays. In addition, since the heating efficiency can be improved as compared with the conventional product, energy is saved.

In order to effectively utilize the far infrared rays emitted downward from the hot water flow hose 5, a sheet (for example, Al) that reflects the far infrared rays with the hot water flow hose 5 laid on the floor is used. May be laid on a sheet coated on the surface. By doing so, the far infrared rays emitted downward from the hot water flow hose 5 are reflected by this sheet, change the direction, and irradiate the floor plate, so that the thermal effect of the far infrared rays is further enhanced.

The hose 3 of the present embodiment can be applied to a tatami heating system as a hose for passing hot water. The tatami heating system using the hose 3 of the present embodiment can obtain the same effect as the above-described floor heating system.

When the hot water flow hose 5 kneaded with the PAN-based carbon fiber is used, since the PAN-based carbon fiber has an excellent adsorption function, the water circulating in the hot-water flow hose 5 is used. Since the dirt in the inside is removed, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of dirt to the inner wall of the hot water flow hose 5 and the circulating device.

Further, since the PAN-based carbon fiber has a high mechanical strength, it can be used in a hose as described in the present embodiment, so that the pressure resistance against the internal pressure of the hose can be increased as compared with the conventional hose. In particular, the effect is great when the PAN-based carbon fiber is embedded in a resin in a net shape.

Further, since the far-infrared radiation effect is inherently inherent in the PAN-based carbon fiber, it is possible to semi-permanently enjoy the thermal effect of far-infrared radiation as long as the hot water flow hose 5 is used. it can.

= Third Embodiment = A third embodiment of the present invention is a hot bath for bathing, in which a member containing at least the carbon fiber is used as a part of the member.

As shown in FIG. 6, the bathing hot bath apparatus of the present embodiment has a resin frame 8 having a substantially spherical shape and almost all of its surface being an opening 7, and a water permeable covering this resin frame 8. A floating float 10 is fixed to one end inside the substantially spherical resin frame 8, and a weight 11 is fixed to the other end opposite to the one end. Is filled with PAN-based carbon fibers 12. In the present embodiment, a spherical warm bath utensil is used, but the shape is not limited to this as long as it is put into a bathtub and floats. The material is not limited to PAN-based carbon fiber as long as it emits far-infrared rays and emits negative ions by the hot water in the bathtub. For example, tourmaline (tourmaline), PA
A combination of N-based carbon fiber and tourmaline is also included in the scope of the present invention. Further, the present embodiment is not limited to the one floating in the bathtub.

Further, when forming the resin frame 8 of the bathtub warm bath utensil, the PA fiber which has been made into a short fiber so as to be nearly powdery is used.
By mixing the N-based carbon fibers to form the resin frame 8 containing the PAN-based carbon fibers, the effect of radiating far-infrared rays is enhanced.

The amount of the PAN-based carbon fiber 12 to be filled is generally large, and by increasing the filling surface area and the surface area, the intensity of far-infrared rays emitted and the amount of negative ion emission are increased accordingly. However, since the specific gravity of the PAN-based carbon fiber 12 is greater than that of water, it is desirable that the PAN-based carbon fiber 12 be densely packed so as not to reduce the buoyancy of the bathing hot bath.

When this hot bath for bathing is put into hot water stretched in a bathtub, the weight 11 is immersed below the water surface due to gravity, and the hot water flows from the permeable cloth 9 into the hot bath for bathing. invade. The part filled with the PAN-based carbon fiber 12 is also immersed in the water with the intrusion of the warm water, and floats on the water surface by the buoyancy of the float 10.

The bathing utensil in such a state is as follows.
Since the PAN-based carbon fiber 12 filled therein absorbs the heat of the warm water in the bathtub and emits far-infrared rays, the person in the bath feels warmth by absorbing the far-infrared rays while maintaining the temperature of the warm water. be able to.

As described above, the PAN-based carbon fiber 12
Releases a large amount of negative ions due to frictional stimulus with water and frictional stimulus between PAN-based carbon fibers, and has the effect of softening warm water in the bathtub. Further, PAN-based carbon fiber 1
Due to the excellent adsorption effect of 2, the effect of removing impurities in the warm water can be obtained.

The hot bath for bathing according to the present embodiment may be suspended just below the faucet. By doing this,
When hot water flows through the faucet from the faucet, the PAN-based carbon fibers are rubbed by the flow of the hot water, so that a larger amount of negative ions can be released into the hot water.

Although not shown, another embodiment of the bathing hot bath includes a bathtub mat made of a material containing PAN-based carbon fibers. This mat is used by laying it on the bottom of the bathtub and putting warm water on it. When bathing in a bath tub on which the mat is spread, the mat containing the PAN-based carbon fiber is rubbed by the movement of the bather and releases a large amount of negative ions into the warm water. In addition, since the infrared rays are radiated by absorbing the heat of the hot water, a natural warm feeling can be given to the bather. Thus PA
When the N-based carbon fiber is in a mat shape, the filling amount of the PAN-based carbon fiber can be increased, and the surface area can be increased.
This is particularly effective because the far-infrared radiation effect increases and a large amount of negative ions can be emitted.

The hot bath for bathing of the present invention does not use a water-absorbing material (such as charcoal) as a filler, so that it does not need to be dried each time it is used and is easy to handle. Also,
Far-infrared radiation effect and negative ion emission effect are PA
Since these are inherent properties inherent to N-based carbon fibers, these effects can be semipermanently enjoyed.

[0054]

According to the present invention, it is possible to use carbon fiber for various articles and to give various articles an effect of radiating far infrared rays. Further, unlike charcoal, it is possible to provide an article which is suitable for mass production and emits far-infrared rays of uniform quality (claim 1). Furthermore, when a recycled product is used as carbon fiber, the environment is not destroyed (claim 1). Also, by using carbon fibers that emit negative ions,
In addition to the effect of emitting far-infrared rays, the effect of emitting negative ions can be provided.

Further, by using a PAN-based carbon fiber as the carbon fiber, not only a far-infrared radiation effect and a negative ion emission effect but also an adsorption effect can be provided (claim 3).

Further, by brushing the teeth with a toothbrush using a PAN-based carbon fiber for the handle and the bristle, it is possible to promote the blood circulation of the gums more than ever,
By generating negative ions in the oral cavity by the N-based carbon fiber, plaque or the like positively charged on the tooth surface can be effectively removed, and at the same time, bad breath can be reduced by the adsorption effect. ).

Further, by constructing a floor heating system using a hose made of PAN-based carbon fiber for hot water flow, the temperature distribution of the floor can be made uniform by the effect of far infrared rays emitted from the hose. In addition, since the temperature of the hot water passing through can be set lower than before, the heating cost can be reduced more than before. (Claim 5) Further, the pressure resistance of the hose can be increased by utilizing the excellent mechanical strength of the PAN-based carbon fiber (Claim 5).

Finally, by using the PAN-based carbon fiber as a member of the bathing hot bath, the heat of the hot water stretched in the bath radiates far-infrared rays to suppress the temperature drop of the hot water and promote the blood circulation of the bather. As a result, the body can be warmed, and further, the negative ions can be taken in from the whole body, so that the effect of relaxing the bather can be obtained (claim 6).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a graph showing the far-infrared emissivity of the PAN-based carbon fiber of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing a negative ion releasing effect of the PAN-based carbon fiber of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a toothbrush according to the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a hose according to the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a flow-through floor heating system using the hose of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a bathing utensil of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a spectral radiant energy curve of a black body at each temperature.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Handle 2: Brush hair 3: Hose 4: Water-flow floor heating system 5: Hose for hot water flow 6: Circulation device 7: Opening 8: Resin frame 9: Outer cloth 10: Floating 11: Weight 12: PAN-based carbon fiber

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An article comprising far-infrared radiating carbon fibers, comprising carbon fibers that emit far-infrared rays. 2. The article according to claim 1, wherein the carbon fiber is a carbon fiber that emits negative ions. 3. The article containing far-infrared radiating carbon fiber according to claim 1, wherein the carbon fiber is a polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber. 4. An article comprising the far-infrared radiating carbon fiber according to claim 1, wherein the article is a toothbrush, and a member of the toothbrush is made of at least the carbon fiber or a material containing carbon fiber. A toothbrush characterized by the following. 5. An article comprising the far-infrared ray-emitting carbon fiber according to claim 1, wherein the article comprises a hose, and a member of the hose is made of a material containing at least the carbon fiber. Hose to do. 6. An article containing the far-infrared ray-emitting carbon fiber according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is a hot bath for bathing, wherein a member of the hot bath for bathing contains at least the carbon fiber. A hot bath for bathing, comprising: