JP2007085094A - Flooring coating material and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flooring coating material made of paper having high flexural strength and excellent in restoration after being compressed. <P>SOLUTION: In the flooring coating material (10) knitted out of hollow cylindrical paper yarns (14) twisted in the shape of a cylinder by cutting out paper (20) in the shape of a tape, the paper (20) as a fiber component is constituted of pulp (16) of 70 to 95 wt.% consisting of a vegetable fiber, a core section (22) excellent in flexural stability in comparison with the pulp (16) and a core sleeve structural heat fusion fiber (18) of 5 to 30 wt.% having a sleeve section (24) of a fusing point lower than that of the sleeve section (22). Because of this constitution, flexural strength against compressive load is strong, and the flooring coating material (10) made of paper excellent in restoration after being compressed can be obtained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a paper floor covering material having high bending strength and excellent resilience after being compressed, and a method for producing the same.

The tatami mat used as a general Japanese flooring is compatible with Japanese lifestyle and has excellent heat retention, elasticity, and touch. By the way, natural rushes are generally used for tatami mats, which are tatami mats, but rushes have the following drawbacks.
(1) Fiber diameter and color are limited due to natural fibers, and design variations are poor.
(2) Mites and molds are likely to occur due to natural fibers.
(3) There is a white sponge-like fiber core inside the grass, and when the surface is worn and white sponge-like fiber appears, it becomes noticeable and unsightly.
(4) The production amount of natural fibers is easily affected by the weather, and the quality varies depending on the weather.
(5) Since there is a certain limit on the length of the grass, the folding width is limited and it is not possible to weave a large width.
(6) Tatami mats using rush grass are easy to burn and discolor.

  For this reason, in recent years, the use of paper as a material for a floor covering material such as a tatami mat has attracted attention.

As a method for producing a floor covering material using this paper, the paper made is cut into fine pieces, and a cylindrical fiber is formed by twisting the paper to form a hollow fiber, and the fiber is then woven. A method has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Furthermore, in floor coverings made of paper, the fibers are colored, and the addition of resin and water repellent material prevents fraying of the fibers and close to the yarn, resulting in wear resistance and durability. It has been proposed that by improving the properties, the disadvantages of rush grass are eliminated, and the paper floor covering is made more suitable for flooring.
JP-A-7-3572

  However, by using paper as a material for the floor covering, a new problem arises although the above-mentioned drawbacks of rush can be eliminated. This is because paper is formed into hollow fiber yarns, so when heavy objects such as furniture are placed, the dents on the tatami table are more conspicuous than compression grass against compressive loads such as heavy objects. is there. This point will be explained in detail. When the same load is applied to the tatami mat using rush and the tatami mat using paper, the degree of dent does not differ greatly, but the rush is sponge-like inside. In addition, not only the compressed portion is intensively dented, but a gentle dent that spreads to the vicinity of the compressed portion is generated. On the other hand, in the case of a tatami table using paper, only the portion to be compressed is dented in a concentrated manner, so that the boundary between the portion to be compressed and the portion where no compression load is applied is easily noticeable. In addition, when resin or water repellent material is added to the surface of the fiber-making yarn in order to improve water resistance and durability, it becomes more noticeable due to reflection of light even if it is a slight dent due to the gloss on the surface. .

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is that it has a higher bending strength than that of the prior art, is excellent in resilience after being compressed, and can be used for paper flooring that can make the dent of the compressed part inconspicuous. Is to provide upholstery.

  The invention described in claim 1 is: “Upholstery material for flooring (10) formed by knitting with hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn (14) obtained by cutting paper (20) into a tape shape and twisting it into a tubular shape. And the core (22) and the core that are superior in bending resilience to the pulp (16), and the pulp (16) is 70 to 95% by weight made of plant fiber as a fiber component. (22) 5 to 30% by weight of a heat-seal fiber (18) having a core-sheath structure having a sheath (24) having a melting point lower than that of (22) " 10).

  In the present invention, the paper (20) constituting the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14), as a fiber component, is superior in bending recovery than the pulp (16) made of plant fibers (that is, has a high elastic recovery force). Since 5-30% by weight of the heat-seal fiber (18) having the core-sheath structure having the core part (22) is blended, when the compressive load acting on the floor covering (10) is removed, It is possible to restore the dent produced in the compressed portion of the floor covering (10) by the elastic recovery force of the bonded fiber (18), particularly the core (22), to some extent to the original state (i.e., the state without the dent). it can.

  Here, the blending ratio of the heat-fusible fiber (18) in the paper (20) is preferably in the range of 5 to 30% by weight as described above. When the blending ratio of the heat-fusible fiber (18) is less than 5% by weight, it is difficult to exhibit the bending recovery effect by the heat-fusible fiber (18). In particular, the pulp (16) is present in a lower proportion, making it impossible to obtain a natural texture like grass, and depending on the papermaking conditions, the strength decreases as the density decreases.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the floor covering upper material (10) according to claim 1, wherein "the paper (20) is higher than the melting point of the sheath (24) and the core (22) It is characterized by being heat-treated at a temperature lower than the melting point.

  In this invention, the paper (20) constituting the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) is heat-treated at a temperature higher than the melting point of the sheath part (24) and lower than the melting point of the core part (22). Therefore, only the sheath portion (24) of the heat-sealing fiber (18) is melted, and the resin in the melted sheath portion (24) is bonded to the heat-sealing fibers (18) or the heat-sealing fibers (18) by surface tension. Gather at the point of entanglement with the pulp (16) and bond the part. For this reason, the web structure of the paper (20) constituting the hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn (14) can be strengthened, and the bending recovery can be further improved.

  Even if such heat treatment is performed, the core part (22) of the heat-fusible fiber (18) does not change at all, so that the core part (22) is fully bent to exhibit its elastic recovery force. Restorability can be maintained.

  Invention of Claim 3 is a manufacturing method of the floor covering (10) of Claim 1 or 2, Comprising: "The pulp (16) which consists of a vegetable fiber as a fiber component (70-95 weight) %, A core-sheathed heat-bonded fiber (18) 5 having a core (22) superior in bending recovery than pulp (16) and a sheath (24) having a melting point lower than that of core (22) The paper making process for making paper (20) composed of ˜30% by weight and the paper (20) obtained in the paper making process are higher than the melting point of the sheath part (24) and the melting point of the core part (22) A heat treatment step for heat treatment at a lower temperature, and a papermaking yarn that cuts the paper (20) heat-treated in the heat treatment step into a tape shape and twists it into a tubular shape to form a hollow tubular fiber yarn (14) The manufacturing method of the floor covering (10) includes a forming process and a weaving process of knitting the hollow tubular fiber yarn (14) to obtain the floor covering (10).

  According to the present invention, the heat of a core-sheath structure having a core portion having a high strength and excellent bending resilience as compared with a pulp made of plant fibers, in a hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn constituting a floor covering. Since the fusion fibers are blended at a predetermined ratio, it is possible to obtain a paper floor covering with less dents even when a compression load is applied.

  Therefore, it is possible to provide a paper floor covering that has a higher bending strength than that of the conventional one, has excellent resilience after being compressed, and can make the dent of the compressed portion inconspicuous. .

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in Fig. 1, this floor covering (10) is finished by alternately weaving hollow cylindrical fiber yarns (14) on warps (12) made of cotton or hemp yarn. The surface is formed in a bowl shape in which the convex portion and the concave portion are aligned. Here, the weaving density of the floor covering (10) is preferably in the range of 0.5 to 1.2 kg / m ² . When the weaving density of the floor covering (10) is lower than 0.5 kg / m ² , the floor covering (10) has poor wear resistance and tensile strength. However, if it is higher than 1.2 kg / m ² , the unevenness of the surface will increase and the hardness will increase, the texture and texture will be worse, and it will be difficult to weave. Because it becomes.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn (14) constituting the floor covering (10) is composed of a pulp (16) made of vegetable fibers and a heat-seal fiber (core-sheath fiber) ( 18) and a paper (20) blended at a predetermined ratio to a width of 15 to 40 mm, and an outer diameter of 0.7 to 0.7 which is twisted so as to form a cylindrical shape of 5 to 15 turns with a hollow at the center. It is a 1.5 mm thread-like member. Since the paper (20) is thus formed into a cylindrical shape, the resulting hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn (14) has a large specific surface area.

The paper (20) constituting the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) has 70 to 95% by weight of pulp (16) made of vegetable fiber as a fiber component, and is superior in bending recovery than pulp (16). 10 to 50 g / m of basis weight having a core-sheath fiber (18) having a core-sheath structure (18) having a core part (22) and a sheath part (24) having a melting point lower than that of the core part (22). ² thin paper.

  Here, as the pulp (16) constituting the paper (20), those having relatively long fibers and having a balanced tensile strength and elongation are preferable. Specific examples include herbaceous pulp made from Manila hemp or sisal hemp or the like, which is characterized by excellent tensile strength, or softwood kraft pulp made from northern pine or the like.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the mixture ratio of the pulp (16) which comprises paper (20) is the range of 70 to 95 weight% with respect to the weight of the whole fiber component as mentioned above. When the blending ratio of the pulp (16) is less than 70% by weight, the texture of the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) obtained is greatly different from that of natural rush, and conversely, the pulp (16) This is because when the blending ratio is more than 95% by weight, the blending effect of the heat-sealing fiber (18) described later is remarkably lowered.

  Next, as the heat-sealing fiber (18) constituting the paper (20), as described above, the core (22) which is superior in bending recovery than the pulp (16), and the core (22) Also, a core-sheath structure having a low melting point sheath (24) is used. Specifically, a polyester core-sheath composite fiber in which the core portion (22) is polyester (melting point: about 250 ° C.) and the sheath portion (24) is made of copolymerized polyester (melting point: about 110-220 ° C.), Examples thereof include polyolefin-based sheath-core composite fibers in which 22) is polypropylene (melting point: about 160 ° C.) and sheath (24) is made of polyethylene (melting point: about 80 ° C. to 130 ° C.).

  The fineness of the heat-sealing fiber (18) is preferably in the range of 1 to 7 dtex, more preferably in the range of 1.5 to 4 dtex. When the fineness of the heat-fusible fiber (18) is less than 1 dtex, the bending resilience due to the elastic recovery force of the heat-fusible fiber (18) is not sufficiently exhibited. Conversely, when the fineness is greater than 7 dtex, This is because the bending resilience by the heat-fusible fiber (18) is sufficiently exhibited, but the strength decreases as the density of the paper (20) decreases.

  Further, the length of the heat-sealing fiber (18) is preferably in the range of 2 to 15 mm, more preferably in the range of 3 to 10 mm. When the length of the heat-fusible fiber (18) is less than 2 mm, the bending resilience due to the elastic recovery force of the heat-fusible fiber (18) is not sufficiently exhibited, and conversely, when the length is longer than 15 mm. This is because, when paper (20) is made, it is difficult to uniformly disperse the heat-sealing fibers (18) in the slurry.

  And it is preferable that the mixture ratio of the heat-fusion fiber (18) which comprises paper (20) is the range of 5-30 weight% with respect to the weight of the whole fiber component as mentioned above. When the blending ratio of the heat-fusible fiber (18) is less than 5% by weight, it is difficult to exhibit the bending recovery effect by the heat-fusible fiber (18). In particular, the pulp (16) is present in a lower proportion, making it impossible to obtain a natural texture like grass, and depending on the papermaking conditions, the strength decreases as the density decreases.

  In addition to the above-described fiber components, the paper (20) constituting the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) includes a paper strength enhancer, a sizing agent, a yield improver, a pigment or a dye as necessary. , Add water repellent or other additives.

When paper (20) is made using each material as described above, the basis weight is in the range of 10 to 50 g / m ² , more preferably in the range of 15 to 30 g / m ² as described above. However, when the basis weight is lower than 10 g / m ² , the strength of the paper is weak, and conversely, when the basis weight is higher than 50 g / m ² , the paper becomes thicker. ) Becomes difficult to process. For this reason, by setting the basis weight of the thin paper within the above range, it is possible to produce a hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn (14) having an appropriate strength.

  Moreover, when manufacturing the intermediate-grade cylindrical fiber yarn (14), the paper (20) having such a basis weight is cut into a width of 15 to 40 mm, but the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14 If the width of the paper (20) that is the material of () is less than 15 mm, the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) that is obtained is too thin and too hard to be inferior in cushioning properties. As a result of the resulting hollow tubular fiber yarn (14) becoming too thick, the number of turns does not increase for the thickness, and it becomes soft. As a result, it becomes crushed when a load is applied.

  Furthermore, the twist is applied so that the center portion is hollow and the shape is 5 to 15 turns. When the number of turns is less than 5, the winding becomes loose and the hollow tubular fiber-making yarn (14 ) Will become soft and will collapse when a load is applied. On the other hand, when the number of windings is more than 15, the winding becomes hard and the cushioning property is inferior and the productivity is deteriorated. In addition, cushioning property and hygroscopicity are improved by making the central part into a hollow cylinder.

  And the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) has an outer diameter of 0.7 to 2.0 mm. This is because the diameter of the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) is the diameter of natural grass. Thus, the loom can be used as it is without remodeling. In addition, when the diameter of the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) is less than 0.7 mm, the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) becomes too thin, and the feeling of thickness as the floor covering (10) is felt. Inferior to cushioning and lowering the productivity of the knitted fabric. On the contrary, when it is larger than 2.0 mm, it is not only a coarse fabric but lacks a sense of quality, and is thick and stiff. It becomes.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the floor covering (10) configured as described above will be described.

First, a predetermined amount of pulp (16) and heat-fusible fiber (18) are dispersed in water, and necessary chemicals such as a yield improver, a sizing agent, a paper strength enhancer, and a pigment (or dye) are added. Prepare the slurry. The obtained slurry is put into a paper machine such as a circular paper machine or a long paper machine, and a paper (20) having a basis weight of 10 to 50 g / m ² is produced by a normal paper making operation. Process).

  Subsequently, using a heat treatment apparatus such as a hot roll processing machine set to a temperature higher than the melting point of the sheath part (24) of the heat-fusible fiber (18) and lower than the melting point of the core part (22), the above The paper (20) obtained in the paper making process is heat-treated (this is the heat treatment process). Then, only the sheath (24) of the heat-sealable fiber (18) is melted, and the resin in the melted sheath (24) is bonded to the heat-sealable fibers (18) or the heat-sealable fibers (18) by surface tension. Gather at the point of entanglement with the pulp (16) and bond the part.

  In addition, when the melting point of the sheath part (24) is approximately 120 ° C. or less, and when the sheath part (24) can be sufficiently melted when passing through the drying apparatus in the paper making process, such a heat treatment process as a separate process is performed. It may be omitted. In such a case, when the paper (20) is dried in the paper making process, the heat treatment process is performed simultaneously with the drying.

  Subsequently, the paper (20) that has been subjected to the heat treatment process is cut into a tape shape with a predetermined width (specifically, 15 to 40 mm width), and twisted into a cylinder with 5 to 15 rolls with the center portion being hollow. To obtain a hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn (14) having an outer diameter of 0.7 to 1.5 mm (the fiber-making yarn forming step). The hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) is coated with EVA, vinyl acetate, ethylene vinyl acetate, acrylic, silicon, fluorine, wax, pigment, or the like alone or in combination as necessary.

  Then, the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) and warp yarn (12) obtained in the fiber yarn forming step are knitted with a weaving machine such as a rapier type automatic tatami surface weaving machine, so that the surface has convex portions and concave portions. The floor covering upper material (10) formed in the shape of a basket to be aligned is completed (the knitting process).

  The floor covering (10) produced by the above-described process can be used as, for example, a tatami mat, and can also be used as a goza by laying it on the floor as it is.

  According to the floor covering upper material (10) of the present invention, the paper (20) constituting the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) is superior in bending resilience than the pulp (16) made of plant fibers. Since the core-sheathed heat-sealing fiber (18) having a core part (22) (that has high elastic recovery force) is blended in an amount of 5 to 30% by weight as a fiber component, the floor covering upper layer (10) When the compressive load acting on is removed, the dent generated in the compressed part of the floor covering (10) by the elastic recovery force of the heat-bonding fiber (18), in particular the core (22), is restored to a certain extent ( That is, it can be restored to a state without a dent.

  Further, since the paper (20) constituting the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn (14) is heat-treated at a temperature higher than the melting point of the sheath part (24) and lower than the melting point of the core part (22), Only the sheath part (24) of the heat-sealable fiber (18) is melted, and the resin in the melted sheath part (24) is heat-sealable fiber (18) or heat-sealable fiber (18) and pulp (by the surface tension) Gather at the point of confounding with 16) and glue the part concerned. For this reason, the web structure of the paper (20) constituting the hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn (14) can be strengthened, and the bending recovery can be further improved. Even if such heat treatment is performed, the core part (22) of the heat-fusible fiber (18) does not change at all, so that the core part (22) is fully bent to exhibit its elastic recovery force. Restorability can be maintained.

EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the examples.
[Example 1]
15.8 wt% of softwood kraft pulp, polyester core-sheath composite fiber (Melty (registered trademark) 4080 manufactured by Unitika Fiber) having a fineness of 2.2 dtex and a length of 10 mm, pigment (for example, yellow oxidation) Iron, phthalocyanine green, carbon black, etc.) 0.5% by weight, sizing agent (Japan PMC Corporation AL120) 1.9% by weight, sulfuric acid band (Nankai Chemical Industries, Ltd. tap water sulfate) A slurry was prepared by uniformly dispersing, in water, 1.9% by weight of a wet paper strength agent (0.9% by weight, Arakawa Chemical Industries, Ltd., Arafix (registered trademark) 255). The slurry was made into a web (wet paper) with a circular paper machine, and the web was dried with a Yankee dryer set at 120 ° C. to obtain a thin paper having a basis weight of 22 g / m ² . In addition, since the melting | fusing point of a sheath part is about 110 degreeC, and the melting | fusing point of a core part is 130 degreeC or more, the heat-treatment process was completed simultaneously with completion | finish of drying with a Yankee dryer. Yes.

  Subsequently, the thin paper is cut into a tape having a width of 21 mm and twisted into a cylinder with a cylinder twisting machine to obtain a hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn having an outer diameter of 1.2 mm. And the said hollow cylindrical fiber yarn is a 1st coating layer with a fluorine-type water repellent (TE-5A by Dainippon Ink Chemical Co., Ltd.) and an acrylic resin (AN-180K by Dainippon Ink Chemical Co., Ltd.). After the first coating layer is heated, a second coating layer is formed with a fluorine-based water repellent (F-90C, manufactured by Dainippon Ink Chemical Co., Ltd.) and then heated to be coated. Yes.

Then, the hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn and the warp yarn made of vinylon blended yarn were weaved by a rapier type automatic tatami table weaving machine to obtain a floor covering upper material.
[Example 2]
A flooring overlay was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the basis weight of the paper was 25 g / m ² .
[Comparative Example 1]
An upholstery material for flooring was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that blending of the heat-sealing fibers was stopped and 100% by weight of softwood kraft pulp was used as the fiber component.
[Comparative Example 2]
An upholstery material for flooring was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that natural rush was used instead of the hollow cylindrical fiber.

  In order to clarify the characteristics of each Example and Comparative Example manufactured as described above, a local compression test of a building material tatami floor according to JIS A5914 was performed.

  Specifically, a metal cylinder having a diameter of 25 mm is placed on the surface of the floor covering, and a load of 20 kgf is applied thereto for 5 seconds (assuming an instantaneous load) and 60 seconds (a long time load). Assuming), the metal cylinder was removed, and the change over time in the dent amount in the pressurized portion was measured. Of the obtained results, the test results by pressurization for 5 seconds are shown in Table 1, and the test results by pressurization for 60 seconds are shown in Table 2.

  As Table 1 shows, the dent amount immediately after pressurization in the 5 second pressurization test increases in the order of “Example 1” <“Example 2” <“Comparative Example 2” <“Comparative Example 1”. It turns out that there is no extreme difference. On the other hand, when the restoration property is examined, the restoration property after 12 hours is the worst in “Comparative Example 2”, and the restoration property after 24 hours is the worst in “Comparative Example 1”. “Example 1” and “Example 2” to which the present invention is applied show good load resistance and resilience in all cases.

  Further, as shown in Table 2, in the 60 second pressurization test, the average dent amount immediately after pressurization is not significantly different, but the restoration property of “Comparative Example 2” is the worst. This indicates that breakage has occurred in the fibers of grass. Also in this test, “Example 1” and “Example 2” to which the present invention is applied show good load resistance and resilience in all cases.

It is a perspective view which shows the floor covering upper material of one Example in this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the hollow cylindrical fiber yarn in this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the paper in this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the heat sealing | fusion fiber in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

(10)… Upholstery for flooring
(14) ... Hollow cylindrical fiber
(16)… Pulp
(18)… Heat-bonding fiber
(20)… Paper

Claims (3)

A floor covering upper layer formed by knitting a hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn obtained by cutting paper into a tape shape and twisting it into a cylindrical shape,
Heat of a core-sheath structure in which the paper has, as a fiber component, 70 to 95% by weight of a pulp made of plant fibers, a core part that is superior in bending recovery than the pulp, and a sheath part having a lower melting point than the core part. An upper flooring material comprising 5 to 30% by weight of fused fibers.   The floor covering upper covering according to claim 1, wherein the paper is heat-treated at a temperature higher than the melting point of the sheath and lower than the melting point of the core. As a fiber component, a core-sheathed heat-sealing fiber 5 having 70 to 95% by weight of pulp made of plant fibers, a core part having better bending resilience than the pulp, and a sheath part having a lower melting point than the core part. A paper making process for making paper composed of -30% by weight;
A heat treatment step of heat-treating the paper obtained in the paper making step at a temperature higher than the melting point of the sheath portion and lower than the melting point of the core portion;
Cutting the paper heat-treated in the heat treatment step into a tape shape, twisting the tube to form a hollow cylindrical fiber yarn,
A method for producing a flooring upper covering material, comprising a knitting process of knitting the hollow cylindrical fiber-making yarn to obtain a flooring upper covering material.