JP2011084822A - Fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fabric having electroconductivity and having corrosion resistance. <P>SOLUTION: The fabric (10) having a structure in which a plurality of warps (1) and a plurality of wefts (2) are knitted in a net-like state, and at least one of the warps and/or the wefts is a metal yarn prepared by disposing an electroconductive coating layer having more excellent corrosion resistance than that of a metal wire on the outer periphery of the metal wire. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fabric, and particularly relates to a fabric having conductivity at least in part and excellent in corrosion resistance.

  Research on ubiquitous networks, such as wearable computing, has been actively conducted, such as embedding various sensors and displays around us in clothes. In order to connect devices or between a device and a power source, a method of sewing a normal electrical connection cable into clothing or a method of using fibers constituting the clothing using conductive fibers as a cable, etc. have been proposed. ing. In the former case, problems such as poor comfort and an increase in weight are caused by sewing a cable into the clothes. As for the latter, a method of weaving metal fibers into clothing, a method of using conductive fibers impregnated with metal, and the like have been proposed.

As an example of the conductive fiber, Patent Document 1 discloses a composite fiber composed of a conductive component and a non-conductive component, and a metal-impregnated composite using a polyester resin containing conductive particles as a conductive component. A fiber is disclosed.
Patent Document 2 discloses a C-coated fiber having a composite structure in which a conductive component made of a thermoplastic polymer containing carbon black covers the fiber surface.
Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a metal film in which the durability of the metal film covering the fiber is increased by defining the product of the tensile elongation and the knot strength of the fiber in which the metal film is formed on the base fiber. A fiber is disclosed.
Further, Patent Document 4 discloses a metal fiber in which the peripheral surface of a core material is covered with a corrosion-resistant metal, and Patent Document 5 discloses a ceramic coating that has good adhesion to metal for the purpose of improving corrosion resistance. A method is disclosed.

JP 2007-177357 A JP 2006-274512 A JP 2007-63704 A Japanese Patent No. 3049139 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-46357

As an example of realizing a wearable computer, a method using a fabric manufactured by weaving the above-described conductive fibers can be given. Thus, a fabric used for the purpose of electrical connection is required to have corrosion resistance and weather resistance for use in nature as well as conductivity. Among the conductive fibers constituting such a fabric, for example, in the case of conductive chemical fibers including chemical fibers impregnated with metal or chemical fibers having a metal film with excellent corrosion resistance on the surface, the specific resistance However, there is a problem that it is 4 to 6 orders of magnitude higher than metal wires and has low conductivity. In addition, there is a problem that the cost is high for coating the corrosion-resistant metal.
Looking at the metal wire alone, Cu and Ag are excellent in conductivity but poor in corrosion resistance, while Ti wire and stainless steel wire are excellent in corrosion resistance, but have poor corrosion resistance and conductivity. Cannot balance.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a fabric having high conductivity and excellent corrosion resistance and weather resistance.

The fabric according to claim 1 of the present invention is a fabric having a structure in which a plurality of warps and wefts are knitted in a mesh shape, and at least one of the warps and / or wefts is on the outer periphery of a metal wire, It is a metal fiber provided with a conductive coating layer that has better corrosion resistance than the metal wire.
The fabric according to claim 2 of the present invention is the fabric according to claim 1, wherein the metal wire is copper or a copper alloy, and the coating layer is titanium or titanium oxide.
The fabric according to claim 3 of the present invention is the fabric according to claim 2, wherein the coating layer has a thickness of 1.0 to 10 μm.

The fabric according to the present invention has the above-described structure, and the metal wire contributes to the electrical connection between devices and the like, so that the conductivity is high, and the conductive peritoneum is excellent in corrosion resistance. Corrosion resistance can be obtained.
In addition, by setting the thickness of the coating layer to 1.0 to 10 μm, it is possible to obtain a lightweight and flexible fabric suitable for wearable computing while ensuring corrosion resistance.

It is (a) schematic plan view (b) schematic sectional drawing of the fabric which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing of the Ti covering Cu wire which comprises a fabric. It is a schematic plan view of the fabric which provided the metal fiber in part. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a manufacturing apparatus used when manufacturing a fabric according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1A and 1B are schematic views of a fabric according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view, and FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the fabric 10 of the present invention includes a plurality of warps 1 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as metal fibers) arranged in parallel with each other in the longitudinal direction of FIG. A plurality of weft yarns 2 (hereinafter also referred to as metal fibers) arranged in parallel to each other in the lateral direction of (a) are knitted in a mesh pattern alternately one by one so that they intersect at 90 °. (Plain weave) is a structure that forms a fabric.

  The knitted shape is not limited to plain weave, and can be applied to all general woven fabrics. Moreover, it is good also as a structure like a nonwoven fabric by intertwining a metal fiber.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the metal fibers 1 and 2 constituting the fabric of the present invention.
The metal fibers 1 and 2 of the present invention are composed of a wire 20 made of copper (Cu) or a copper alloy, and a coating layer 21 made of titanium (Ti) or titanium oxide provided so as to cover the outer periphery of the wire 20. Ti coated Cu wire.

The thickness (diameter) of the wire 20 constituting the metal fibers 1 and 2 is preferably 10 to 100 μm, for example. However, in order to fully exhibit flexibility, the thinner the wire 20 is, the better.
Regarding the thickness of the coating layer 21 made of titanium or titanium oxide constituting the metal fibers 1 and 2, if it is too thin, copper is likely to be exposed due to defects such as pinholes. On the other hand, when the coating layer 21 is too thick, the flexibility and conductivity are deteriorated. Therefore, the thickness of the coating layer 21 is preferably 1.0 to 10 μm.

As shown in FIG. 3, the fabric may have a configuration in which the metal fiber 1 is incorporated only in a part thereof and the other is the insulating fiber 3, as shown in FIG. 3. For example, when used for clothes, it is preferable to use metal fibers only in necessary places.
Moreover, after forming the cloth which consists of the insulating fiber 3 in a cylindrical shape, it is good also as a structure which knits the metal fiber 1 spirally so that the outer periphery of a cylindrical cloth may be circulated in multiple times. With this configuration, an antenna function can be imparted to the fabric.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, when all of the fibers constituting the fabric 10 are metal fibers 1 and 2, it is possible to impart a shielding function to the fabric 10 by grounding the fabric 10 with a ground wire or the like. It becomes. When the fabric is used as a shield, the edge of the fabric 10 is preferably formed of insulating fibers. Alternatively, a configuration in which the entire fabric 10 is covered with an insulating resin, or a configuration in which an insulating resin layer is formed on the outermost periphery of the metal fibers 1 and 2 and then knitted into a fabric shape may be employed.

Next, an example of an apparatus and a manufacturing method capable of manufacturing the fabric 10 shown in FIG. 1 of the present invention will be described below.
The above-described metal fibers 1 and 2 (Ti-coated Cu wire) are preferably manufactured by a drawing process. For example, it is possible to obtain a Ti-coated Cu wire base material by providing a 1 mm titanium layer on the outer periphery of a copper conductor base material having a diameter of 6.9 mm and drawing the base material with an arbitrary drawing device.
Manufacturing by wire drawing has excellent adhesion and enables low-cost manufacturing as compared with metal wires and chemical fibers coated with a corrosion-resistant coating using a sputtering method or the like.

FIG. 4 shows a first embodiment of an apparatus capable of manufacturing the fabric 10 having the structure shown in FIG. 1, and the manufacturing apparatus M of the first embodiment is constituted by a generally known loom.
The manufacturing apparatus M according to the first embodiment includes a rod-shaped front beam 30 and a back beam 31 that are horizontally spaced opposite to each other, and a take-up roller type cross beam 32 that is installed under the front beam 30. , A supply roller type warp beam 33 disposed under the back beam 31, and a first rod 35 and a second rod that are movably installed in an intermediate position between the front beam 30 and the back beam 31. 36, a flange 37 disposed between the flanges 35, 36 and the front beam 30 so as to be horizontally movable between the flanges 35, 36 and the front beam 30, and the flange 37 and the front beam 30. A shuttle 39 provided between the front beam 30 and the front beam 30 so as to be movable in a parallel direction.

  In FIG. 4, the support mechanism for the front beam 30, the back beam 31, the cross beam 32, and the warp beam 33 is omitted, but the front beam 30 and the back beam 31 are fixedly supported by a portal frame or the like. The cross beam 32 and the warp beam 33 are rotatably supported around their circumferences by a rotation support mechanism such as a gate-shaped frame or a bearing (not shown). Also, the collars 35 and 36 are supported by a frame (not shown) so as to be movable in parallel up and down, and the collar 37 is also supported by a frame (not shown) so that it can be translated in the horizontal direction.

  In this embodiment, the flanges 35 and 36 are configured by individually separating a plurality of wire-like heald members 43 between the upper frame 41 and the lower frame 42 and laying them in parallel. A heald hole 44 in which a wire is formed in a ring shape is formed in the part. These heald hole portions 44 are configured to pass the warp 1 as described later. In the first embodiment, the flanges 35 and 36 are arranged in such a positional relationship that the heald members 43 formed on them are alternately arranged side by side, and a plurality of parallel arrangements are made in parallel with the front beam 30 and the back beam 31 as will be described later. The warp yarns 1 that are stretched over are arranged so that each one of the warp yarns 1 can be passed through the heald holes 44 of the respective hooks 35 and 36.

  These rods 35 and 36 are provided so as to be individually movable up and down by a vertical drive mechanism (not shown), and the vertical movements of the rods 35 and 36 are alternately repeated. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the heel 35 is moved downward and the heel 36 is moved upward, the group of every other warp 1 supported by the heel 35 by the heald member 43 is pulled downward. By pulling the other group of every other warp 1 supported by the heald member 43 by the heel 36 upward, one group of warp 1 and the other group of warp 1 A large gap can be formed between the two. By forming this gap, the shuttle 39, 40 can move in the crossing direction with respect to the warps 1 ... as will be described later. Conversely, when the reed 35 moves upward and the reed 36 moves downward, the vertical relationship between the first group of warps 1 and the other group of warps 1 is reversed. , 40 can pass in the crossing direction of the warp 1 performed through a gap between a group of warp yarns.

  In addition, the heel 37 includes a plurality of wings 47 in parallel between the upper frame 45 and the lower frame 46, and the front beam 30 and the back beam 31 are interposed between the wings 47. A plurality of warp yarns 1 stretched in parallel are arranged so that they can be inserted, and the wings 47 can be moved in parallel to the front beam 30 in this state. In FIG. 4, the details of the individual support moving mechanisms of the eaves 35 and 36 and the eaves 37 are omitted, and only their operating directions are indicated by arrows.

  The shuttle 39 is wound with the metal fiber to be the weft 2 of the fabric 10 according to the present invention, and the shuttle 39 is movable in parallel with the front beam 30 along the length direction of the front beam 30. The metal fiber can be fed out from the shuttle 39 as necessary for a required length.

Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the fabric 10 having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 using the manufacturing apparatus M having the configuration shown in FIG. 4 will be described.
In order to manufacture the fabric 10, a necessary number of warps 1 made of metal fibers are stretched in parallel between the front beam 30 and the back beam 31 of the manufacturing apparatus M. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, only an outline is shown. However, a plurality of warped yarns 1 are stretched between the front beam 30 and the back beam 31 so as to pass through the respective heald holes 44 of the respective hooks 35 and 36. Set it up. The shuttle 39 is wound with the necessary length of the weft 2 made of metal fiber.

If the hooks 35 and 36 are alternately moved up and down from the above state, the warp yarn 1 can be divided into two groups and moved up and down as shown in FIG. A large gap is generated between the warps 1. When the weft 2 wound around the shuttle 39 is moved together with the shuttle 39 from one end side of the front beam 30 to the opposite end side using this gap, the weft 2 is moved to the warp yarn 1. Every other line can be woven in the crossing direction.
When the shuttle 39 passes through all the rows of the warp 1 and moves to the opposite end side of the front beam 30, every other warp 2 can be woven into every warp 1 in the row. Is moved to the front beam 30 side, and the weft 2 can be driven by performing an operation of pushing the weft 2 into the front beam 30 side. Then, after the shuttle 39 has driven the wefts 2 woven through all the rows of the warps 1... As described above, when the vertical positions of the reeds 35 and 36 are reversed, the group of the warps 1 divided into two is switched up and down. Therefore, the first shuttle 39 is moved again in the reverse direction along the front beam 30 to return to the previous position, and the wefts 2 can be woven into every other warped yarn 1.
By repeating the above operation, the weft yarns 2 for each row arranged in a woven manner can be brought into close contact with each other by the wings 47 of the reed 37, and the woven fabric body 3 composed of the warp 1 ... and the weft 2 ... Can be interwoven.

As shown in FIG. 3, when manufacturing the fabric 10 a having the structure in which the metal fiber 1 is incorporated in only a part of the warp 1 and the other is the insulating fiber 3, the fabric is stretched between the front beam 30 and the back beam 31. This can be dealt with by changing the configuration of the warp 1 to be performed.
When the metal fiber 1 is incorporated into only a part of the weft 2, the insulating fiber 3 is wound around the shuttle 39 for a necessary length, and a second shuttle (not shown) around which the metal fiber 1 is separately wound is prepared. Then, an operation of weaving the second shuttle may be performed so as to be interposed between the wefts 3 made of insulating fibers as appropriate.

Next, Table 1 shows a summary of the conductivity and corrosion resistance of conductive yarns that are generally used for comparison.
In the evaluation of conductivity, assuming that the conductivity of the metal wire made of Cu is 100, 75 to 100 is ◎, 50 to 75 is ○, and 50 or less is Δ.
The corrosion resistance was evaluated by visually observing the state of corrosion by immersing in a 3 wt% NaCl aqueous solution having a liquid temperature of 20 ° C. and 60 ° C. for 1 month. ◎ indicates discoloration but not corroded, ○ indicates erosion due to corrosion, and △ indicates remarkably corroded.

  From this table, it can be seen that when a conductive fabric is used for connection between devices or between a device and a power source, a fabric using a Ti-coated Cu wire having excellent conductivity and corrosion resistance is effective.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Conductive fabric, 1 ... Warp, 2 ... Weft, 3 ... Insulating fiber, 20 ... Wire, 21 ... Coating layer, M ... Manufacturing apparatus, 30 ... Front beam, 31 ... Back beam, 32 ... Cross beam, 33 ... work beam, 35, 36 ... 綜 絖, 37 ... 筬, 39 ... shuttle, 43 ... heald member, 44 ... heald hole, 47 ... shark feather.

Claims (3)

A fabric having a structure in which a plurality of warps and wefts are knitted in a mesh pattern,
A fabric characterized in that at least one of the warp and / or weft is a metal fiber in which a conductive coating layer having better corrosion resistance than the metal wire is provided on the outer periphery of the metal wire.   The fabric according to claim 1, wherein the metal wire is copper or a copper alloy, and the coating layer is titanium or titanium oxide.   The thickness of the said coating layer is 1.0-10 micrometers, The fabric of Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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