JP2003160687A - Melamine foam molding and cleaning tool - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a melamine foam molding in which the problem due to brittleness is improved and which is produced easily, and to provided a cleaning tool excellent in cleaning properties and durability utilizing the same. <P>SOLUTION: Melamine foam chips 11 are combined with a binder B to form a melamine foam molding 10 having a specific shape such as rectangular parallelopiped to improve the problem due to brittleness of a melamine foam. Alternatively, a mixed chip containing the melamine foam chip and the chip of an elastic body different from the melamine foam may be combined by a binder to form a melamine form molding having a specific shape. In addition, the size of the chips to be combined by the binder is preferably in the range of 5-50 mm, and the surface of the melamine foam molding is preferably constituted by a cut surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a melamine foam molding and a cleaning tool.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cloth is used for wiping a table or the like.
Urethane foam, cellulose sponge, etc. were used, but stains may not be removed sufficiently even if detergent is used. Moreover, when a detergent is used, it is necessary to wipe it off with water, which may make the work troublesome.

In recent years, a cleaning tool using melamine foam has been proposed as a cleaning tool capable of easily removing dirt (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 11-128137 and 2000-342502). Since the melamine foam is a relatively hard and brittle material, fine particles are separated from the melamine foam surface by friction when rubbing the surface to be cleaned, and the separated particles function as a kind of abrasive, and the surface to be cleaned. Efficiently removes dirt that adheres to the.

However, since melamine foam is brittle as mentioned above, it tears when a sudden force is applied during cleaning,
After cleaning, the cleaning tool (melamine foam) has the drawback of being cracked when washed and squeezed with water, resulting in poor durability.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and uses a melamine foam molded body which improves the problems caused by brittleness and is easy to manufacture, and the melamine foam molded body, It is intended to provide a cleaning tool having excellent cleaning properties and durability.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 relates to a melamine foam molded body in which melamine foam chips are bonded together by a binder.

A second aspect of the present invention relates to a melamine foam molded article obtained by bonding a mixed tip including a melamine foam tip and an elastic tip different from the melamine foam with a binder.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the elastic tip is a polyurethane foam tip.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to third aspects, the melamine foam chip is formed of an unused melamine foam.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the size of the chip is 5 to 50 mm.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, at least one surface of the melamine foam molded body has a cut surface.

[0012] The invention of claim 7 relates to a cleaning tool comprising the melamine foam molded article according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a melamine foam molded body according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic enlarged sectional view showing a part of the melamine foam molded body according to one embodiment of the present invention in an enlarged manner. 2 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 when the surface is a cut surface, and FIG. 4 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view showing a part of a melamine foam molded body according to another embodiment of the present invention in an enlarged scale. Figure 5
Is a schematic enlarged sectional view similar to FIG. 4 in the case where the surface is a cut surface, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a manufacturing process of the melamine foam molded body of the present invention.

The melamine foam molded body 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is used as a cleaning tool, and as shown in FIG.
One of them is bonded to each other by a binder B to have a required shape. The melamine foam molded body 10 of this example has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and constitutes a cleaning tool used for furniture, household electric appliances and the like.

The melamine foam chip 11 is made by cutting melamine foam into small pieces. The size of the melamine foam chip 11 is 5 to 50 m.
m, more preferably 8 to 40 mm, particularly preferably 10 to 30 mm. The size in the above range is a preferable size that is sufficient for each melamine foam chip 11 to exert the cleaning property of the melamine foam, and is not too large and brittle.

The melamine foam is not only a known ordinary melamine foam (one that has not been subjected to a process such as heat compression) but also a melamine foam that has been heat compression molded (heat compression molded in the entire thickness direction), It is also possible to use a melamine foam made of a surface thermoformed product that is thermoformed only in the vicinity of the surface (also referred to as a meltome process, which is a process of partially thermally compressing and plastically deforming in the thickness direction). Above all,
Density 8-40kg / m ³ , tensile strength 70-650KP
a, tear strength 0.1 to 10 N / cm (all are JIS
(Measured according to K 6400) is preferred.

The melamine foam used in the present invention is a waste melamine foam which is a scrap material which has been used for some time or has never been used, and the waste melamine foam is cut to obtain the melamine foam chip 11 of the present invention. Can be used as Further, the melamine foam is a new unused melamine foam molded for the melamine foam molded body 10 (in particular, molded by adjusting the density and the like). When cut to obtain the melamine foam chip 11 of the present invention, the abrasiveness of the surface of the melamine foam chip 11 becomes more excellent than that of a waste melamine foam that has been used for some purpose.

As the binder B, a rubber type, urethane type, urethane prepolymer type, emulsion type or the like can be used. In particular, urethane prepolymer systems prepared from polyisocyanates and polyols are suitable. The binder B is mixed with the melamine foam chips 11 and is then cured to bond the melamine foam chips 11 together. The bonding portion between the melamine foam chips 11 by the binder B has improved strength due to the curing of the binder B, and the brittleness of the melamine foam chip 11 can be improved.

The amount of the binder B depends on the amount of the binder B.
May be attached so as to cover the entire surface of the melamine foam chip 11, or may be attached to a part of the surface of the melamine foam chip 11. Particularly, in the case of a cleaning tool, it is possible to obtain better cleaning performance when the surface of the melamine foam chip 11 directly contacts the surface to be cleaned. Therefore, at least a part of the melamine foam on the surface of the melamine foam molded body 10 is obtained. It is preferable to adjust the amount of the binder B so that the surface of the chip 11 is exposed.

In addition, in the melamine foam molded body 10, at least one surface used for cleaning (the surface that contacts the object to be cleaned) is a cutting surface cut by a cutter such as a cutter, a Thomson blade, or a cylindrical blade. Is preferred. By doing so, even when a binder is attached and used so as to cover the entire surface of each melamine foam chip, the cut surface of the melamine foam chip 11 which is not covered with the binder B is treated with the melamine foam molded body. It can be exposed on the surface of 10, and a good cleaning performance can be surely obtained. FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view in the case where the surface S used for cleaning in the melamine foam molded body 10 has a cut surface C.

Furthermore, a melamine foam molded body 10A having a required shape formed by binding the mixed chips, in which the melamine foam chips 11 and chips of an elastic body different from melamine foam are mixed, by the binder B, is also formed.
It is a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is suitable as a cleaning tool. Since the melamine foam molded body 10A of this example has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and the same outer shape as the melamine foam molded body 10 described above, it will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows a melamine foam molded body 10 in which the mixed chips are bonded with a binder B.
It is a schematic expanded sectional view which expands and shows a part of A.

By mixing the chip 21 having an elastic body different from that of the melamine foam with the melamine foam chip 11 and binding them with the binder B, elasticity is imparted to the melamine foam molded body 10A to make the melamine foam chip 11 brittle. Is improved. Further, in this case, when cleaning is performed using the melamine foam molded body 10A, the particles of melamine foam on the surface act as particles of sandpaper, and the chips 21 of the elastic body serve as paper (lining material) on the sandpaper. With such a function, the polishing and cleaning with the melamine foam particles can be more favorably performed.
As the elastic chip 21, an elastic body other than melamine foam, for example, polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, rubber sponge, or the like, which is an appropriate elastic body, is used. In particular, flexible polyurethane foam is preferable as the elastic chip 21 because it has better elongation than melamine foam.

The elastic chip 21 has a size similar to that of the melamine foam chip 11 of 5 to 50 mm, preferably 8 to 40 mm, more preferably 10 to 30 mm.
Is the size of. Thus, the elastic chip 2
If the sizes of 1 and melamine foam chips 11 are in the same range, the chips will be mixed well during the production of the melamine foam molded product 10A described later, and the deviation of chips of the same type will be reduced.
It is possible to prevent the area A from becoming extremely brittle locally.

The mixing ratio of the melamine foam chip 11 and the elastic chip 21 is appropriately determined according to the cleaning property and strength required for the melamine foam molded body 10A. That is, when excellent cleaning properties are required, the number of elastic chips 21 is reduced and the number of melamine foam chips 11 is increased, and when excellent durability is required, the melamine foam chips 11 are required. And the number of elastic chips 21 is increased.

Also in the melamine foam molded body 10A of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, at least one surface S used for cleaning is cut by a cutting tool such as a cutter C as described above. It is preferable to ensure that good cleaning performance can be obtained.

Hereinafter, the melamine foam molded body 10 will be described.
A method of manufacturing (10A) will be described with reference to FIG. The melamine foam molded body 10 (10A) is
It is manufactured by a chip crushing process (A), a binder attaching process (B), a mold filling process (C), a pressure curing process (D), and a drying process (E).

In the chip crushing process (A), the melamine foam is crushed into melamine foam chips 11 of a required size, and an elastic body such as a flexible polyurethane foam is crushed with the melamine foam chips 11 if necessary. An elastic chip 21 having a size is formed.

In the binder adhering step (B), the chips 11 (21) having the required size and the binder B are blended in a required ratio and kneaded by a mixing device such as a tumbler mixer or a ribbon blender to obtain the chips 11. (2
The binder 11 is attached to 1) to obtain the binder-attached chip 15.

In the mold filling step (C), the binder-adhering chips 15 obtained in the binder adhering step are weighed and filled in the molding device 30. The illustrated molding apparatus 30 includes a frame 34 having a water vapor introducing port 33 formed on a lower surface thereof, a lower mold 31 arranged in the frame 34, and an upper mold capable of moving up and down with respect to the lower mold 31. 35 (shown in Figure D)
The water vapor passages 32 and 37 are vertically formed through the lower die 31 and the upper die 35, respectively.

In the pressure-hardening step (D), the upper die 35 is moved down by the pressing device 36, and the binder-adhered chip 15 is pressed with the lower die 31 by a required amount. The degree of pressurization is adjusted so that the tip does not collapse completely. In addition, at the time of the pressurization, the steam Vp is supplied into the molding apparatus 30 from an external steam supply apparatus (not shown) via the steam introducing port 33 on the lower surface of the molding apparatus 30. Water vapor Vp supplied in this way
Enters the space between the lower mold 31 and the upper mold 35 through the water vapor passage 32 of the lower mold 31 and passes through the binder-adhering tip 15 between the lower mold 31 and the upper mold 35.
Is cured to bond and fix the chips together. Then, the water vapor Vp is discharged to the outside through the water vapor passage 37 of the upper mold 35. Lower mold 3 by fixing the chips together
A molded body 38 shaped in a shape between the lower mold 31 and the upper mold 35 is formed between 1 and the upper mold 35.

In the drying step (E), the molding device 3 is used.
The molded body 38 is taken out from No. 0 and stored in a known drying oven or dried by natural drying in the sun to remove water in the molded body. The drying conditions are appropriately determined in consideration of the drying time, and when a drying furnace is used, it is 3 to 6 hours at 90 ° C., and in the case of the sun, one week is illustrated. After the completion of the drying step, the desired melamine foam molded product is obtained as it is, or is cut into the desired melamine foam molded product. Hereinafter, more specific examples will be described.

[0032]

Example 1 Example 1 Melamine foam (product name: Basotect, manufactured by BASF Japan Ltd.) was crushed by a crusher (produced by Yasuda Iron Works) to a size of 6 to 25 mm to form melamine foam chips. .

Binder: Urethane-based prepolymer (product name: prepolymer, manufactured by Inoac Corporation) was mixed by a blender (manufactured by Kuroki Industry Co., Ltd.) so as to be 60% by weight based on 100% by weight of melamine foam chip, and the binder An attached tip was formed. This binder-adhered chip was filled in a molding apparatus at 25 kg (so that the volume was 130 cm in length × 210 cm in width × 130 cm in height) and pressed until the height became ⅕.
Further, steam was supplied into the molding apparatus at a rate of 2100 L / min, and the supply of the steam and the pressing were continued for 7 minutes to cure the binder to form a molded body. Then, the molded body was taken out of the molding apparatus, air-dried, and after drying, cut into a size of 93 mm long × 42 mm wide × 31 mm high to obtain a plurality of melamine foam molded bodies of Example 1.

Example 2 A melamine foam (product name: Basotect, manufactured by BASF Japan Co., Ltd.) and a flexible polyurethane foam (product name: Color Foam ECS, manufactured by Inoac Corporation) were pulverized to a size of 6 to 25 mm, respectively. A melamine foam chip and a flexible polyurethane foam chip were separately formed by crushing with a machine (manufactured by Yasuda Iron Works). The melamine foam chip and the flexible polyurethane foam chip were weighed so that the volume ratio was 50:50 to prepare a mixed chip, and the mixed chip was 100% by weight.
On the other hand, a urethane-based prepolymer composed of an NCO-terminated prepolymer as a binder was mixed in a blender (manufactured by Kuroki Industry Co., Ltd.) in an amount of 40% by weight to form a binder-adhered chip. Then, in the same manner as in Example 1, a plurality of melamine foam molded bodies of Example 2 were obtained.

Examples 3 and 4 The volume ratio of the melamine foam chip and the flexible polyurethane foam chip in Example 2 was set to 35:65, and the other melamine foam moldings of Example 3 were prepared in the same manner as in Example 2. Obtained. A plurality of melamine foam moldings of Example 4 were obtained in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the volume ratio of the melamine foam chip and the flexible polyurethane foam chip in Example 2 was 20:80.

Regarding the melamine foam moldings of Examples 1 to 4 obtained as described above, and the conventional product composed of a melamine foam single block different from the chip-bonded product,
Density (according to JIS K 6400), elongation (JIS K 6400)
6400), tensile strength (JIS K 6400), and tear strength (JIS K 6400). The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0037]

[Table 1]

As can be understood from the results shown in Table 1, the tensile strengths of the conventional products and the respective examples of the present invention are as follows:
No big difference was seen. However, regarding the tear strength, which is a typical index for brittleness, the measured values in each example are almost doubled compared to the conventional product, so the tearing force is increased and the strength against brittleness is significantly improved. I understand.

Further, although not shown in Table 1, in order to investigate the compressive strength of Example 1 and the conventional product, the stress (25% total compressive stress, CLD) 20 seconds after 25% total compression was measured. did. The sample size at that time is 100 × 100 × 2
5 mm, crosshead moving speed is 100 mm / min
Is. As a result, it was 25.4 kg in Example 1 and 6.2 kg in the conventional product.

As described above, in the examples of the present invention, the brittleness is improved by the improvement of the tear strength, and the total compressive stress of 25%, that is, the hardness and strength of the foam is greatly improved, and the cleaning tool is improved. When it is used as a (cleaner), it can be grasped strongly and the force can be easily transmitted to the rubbing surface, so that the cleaning workability is further improved and the cleaning property is excellent.

Further, the following first wiping test and second wiping test test were conducted on each of the above-mentioned Examples 1 to 4 and the conventional product. In the first wiping test, a newspaper was placed on the surface of the wet table after wiping with water, the letters of the newspaper were transferred to the surface of the table, and the letters were stained with the transferred letters.
Moreover, the wet surface of the table was rubbed with each of Examples 1 to 4 and the conventional product to determine the degree of stain removal on the surface of the table. Further, it was visually judged whether or not the deformation was left in Examples 1 to 4 and the conventional product after wiping, and then lightly squeezed to visually judge cracks and the like at that time. Also,
In the second wiping test, the inside of the microwave oven soiled with oil was rubbed with Examples 1 to 4 and a conventional product to check the degree of soiling, and it was visually determined whether or not deformation remained after use. did. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0042]

[Table 2]

As shown in Table 2, in the first wiping test on the table wet with water, the stains could be removed cleanly in each of the Examples and the conventional products. However, after use, almost no deformation was observed in each of the examples, whereas in the conventional product, the vicinity of the contact portion with the dining table was compressed and deformed and was not restored. Even if it was lightly squeezed, cracks did not occur in each of the examples, whereas cracks occurred in some of the conventional products. Although not shown in Table 2, each of the examples had an appropriate rigidity and was easy to handle in actual use, but it was hard to say that the conventional product was soft like konjac and easy to grip during cleaning. .

In the second wiping test for oil stains, the stains could be removed cleanly in each of the examples and the conventional products. However, in each example, when the inside of the microwave oven was rubbed, it was possible to remove the dirt neatly without rubbing it strongly. I couldn't. It is presumed that this is because the unevenness between the chips effectively acts to scrape off the dirt in each of the examples, whereas the unevenness between the chips does not exist in the conventional example. In addition, almost no residual deformation after use was observed in each of the examples, whereas the conventional product remained largely deformed. It is presumed that this is because the conventional product had a low restorability and had to be rubbed while strongly pressurizing to remove the stain.

[0045]

As shown and described above, according to the present invention, a melamine foam chip or a mixed chip containing melamine foam chips and a chip of an elastic body different from melamine foam is bonded by a binder. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a melamine foam molded body which is capable of improving problems caused by the brittleness of the melamine foam and which is easy to manufacture. Furthermore, in the case of a mixed chip including a melamine foam chip and a chip of an elastic body different from melamine foam, the particles of the melamine foam on the surface act as particles of sandpaper, and the chip of the elastic body is used. Acts like a paper (backing material) in sandpaper, so that the abrasive cleaning with the melamine foam particles can be more favorably performed. Furthermore, by using a polyurethane foam chip as the elastic chip, it is possible to more surely improve the problem due to the brittleness of the melamine foam.

Further, it is possible to form the melamine foam molded product of the present invention by using scraps and scraps which have been conventionally difficult to be used and discarded and used as chips and a binder. The present invention is also useful and meaningful for recycling and reuse of waste.

Furthermore, when a new unused melamine foam molded for the molded melamine foam of the present invention is used and a melamine foam chip obtained by cutting the unused melamine foam is used, it is a waste melamine foam. Compared with the above, the melamine foam chip surface has more excellent abrasivity, and good performances such as cleaning property can be obtained.

Further, when the size of the chip is 5 to 50 mm, the cleaning property of the melamine foam can be sufficiently exhibited, and the melamine foam chip is not too large and becomes brittle.

Further, if at least one surface of the melamine foam molded body is constituted by a cut surface, the melamine foam chip can be surely exposed and the cleaning property of the melamine foam can be surely exhibited.

Furthermore, when the melamine foam molding of the present invention is used as a cleaning tool, the brittleness of the melamine foam at the time of cleaning can be improved, the durability is excellent, and cleaning can be performed easily and satisfactorily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a melamine foam molded body according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view showing an enlarged part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 when the surface has a cut surface.

FIG. 4 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view showing a part of a melamine foam molded body according to another example in an enlarged manner.

5 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 in the case where the surface has a cut surface.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a manufacturing process of the melamine foam molded body of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10,10A Melamine foam molding 11 Melamine foam chips 21 Elastic tip B binder C cut surface

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Masahiro Fukuyama             Aichi Prefecture Anjo City Imaike Town 3 1-336 Stock             Inoac Corporation Anjo Business             In-house (72) Inventor Satoshi Kondo             Aichi Prefecture Anjo City Imaike Town 3 1-336 Stock             Inoac Corporation Anjo Business             In-house F-term (reference) 3B074 AA03 AB02                 4F074 AA63 AA78 CD07 CD08 DA45

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A melamine foam molded body obtained by bonding melamine foam chips together with a binder. 2. A melamine foam molded body obtained by bonding a mixed chip including a melamine foam chip and a chip of an elastic body different from the melamine foam with a binder. 3. The melamine foam molded body according to claim 2, wherein the elastic chip is a polyurethane foam chip. 4. The melamine foam molded article according to claim 1, wherein the melamine foam chip is formed from an unused melamine foam. 5. The melamine foam molded article according to claim 1, wherein the size of the chip is 5 to 50 mm. 6. The melamine foam molded article according to claim 1, wherein at least one surface of the melamine foam molded article has a cut surface. 7. A cleaning tool comprising the melamine foam molding according to any one of claims 1 to 6.