JP2015218417A - Fixing-treatment device for opened fiber bundle, fixing-treatment method and fixing-treated opened fiber bundle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably retain the parallel state or the uniformly opened state of an opened fiber bundle by new fixing-treatment.SOLUTION: A meandering first heat-fusible yarn M1 for fixing is arranged on an opened fiber bundle F which has been opened by opening means and aligned in a tape-like form. The opened fiber bundle F having the first heat-fusible yarn M1 is pressed and heated from a thickness direction, and the first heat-fusible yarn is thereby heat-fused to the opened fiber bundle F. In addition, as needed, a plurality of second heat-fusible yarns M2 for fixing are arranged at prescribed intervals in an alignment direction. Then, the first heat-fusible yarn M1 and each second heat-fusible yarn M2 are heat-fused at their mutual intersections.

Description

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to an opening treatment apparatus for a spread fiber bundle, a sealing treatment method, and a spread fiber bundle that has been sealed by the apparatus or method.

FRP and FRTP are known as fiber reinforced composite materials using reinforcing fibers such as carbon fibers, glass fibers, and aramid fibers. FRP is obtained by impregnating the reinforcing fibers with a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin or urethane resin as a matrix, and FRTP is obtained by impregnating a thermoplastic resin such as polyamide resin or polyester resin with a matrix.

As a method of forming a molded body of this fiber reinforced composite material, when using reinforcing fibers as long fibers, a method using an intermediate material called a prepreg sheet, in which a matrix resin is impregnated between fibers of a reinforcing fiber bundle Is adopted.

As the prepreg sheet is uniform and thin, it is advantageous for obtaining a thin laminated molded product having a light weight and a high strength. In order to make such a uniform and thin prepreg sheet, it is necessary to spread the reinforcing fiber bundle uniformly and thinly. Therefore, a reinforcing fiber bundle having a large number of filaments is usually opened to form a sheet-like or tape-like thin spread fiber bundle, and a uniform and thin prepreg sheet is produced using the thin spread fiber bundle.

As a method for opening and widening a reinforcing fiber bundle, conventionally, a method in which a plurality of reinforcing fiber bundles arranged in parallel in one direction are sequentially brought into contact with a plurality of vibration bars and vibration rollers arranged in multiple stages. It has been known. In addition, a method has been proposed in which filaments of a plurality of reinforcing fiber bundles are separated in the width direction by a suction airflow flowing in a direction perpendicular to the flow direction (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

However, the open fiber bundle is likely to be disturbed in the parallel state. When the fibers are disturbed, not only the quality of the prepreg is deteriorated, but also the disordered fibers are entangled with the reel when the spread fiber bundle is wound around the reel or fed out from the reel in the prepreg manufacturing process. If it does so, a fiber will become entangled with the rotating shaft of a reel, and a reel will lock. In order to prevent such disturbance of the parallel state of the fibers, for example, as described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the heat fusion yarn is mixed in the fiber bundle, and the heat fusion yarn is heated by the heating roller and the pressure roller. It is practiced to melt the fibers and seal the fibers.

International Publication WO2008 / 020628 JP 2003-221771 A JP 2006-22471 A

However, since the surface of the carbon fiber does not have good affinity with the resin, even if the resin of the heat-bonding yarn melts, the adhesion between the fibers is very weak. For this reason, even if the fibers are spread evenly, the parallel state of the spread fiber bundles is disturbed and fluff is likely to appear.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reliably maintain the parallel or uniform spread state of the spread fiber bundles by a new sealing process, and when the spread fiber bundle is wound around the reel or unloaded from the reel, It is to prevent the fluff from getting tangled in the reel.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention is directed to a spread fiber bundle in which a fiber bundle composed of a large number of long fibers is opened by a spread means while being transported in the longitudinal direction and aligned in a tape shape. First yarn supplying means for supplying a first heat-sealing yarn for sealing in a meandering manner while moving in the width direction of the fiber-spreading fiber bundle, and the fiber-opening fiber having the first heat-sealing yarn Pressurizing and heating means for pressurizing and heating the bundle from the thickness direction, and the first heat fusion yarn is thermally fused to the spread fiber bundle by the pressure heating means. It is the opening processing apparatus of the opened fiber bundle characterized.

Further, the sealing treatment method of the present invention is a fiber bundle composed of a large number of long fibers, while being conveyed in the longitudinal direction, opened by the opening means and aligned to a tape shape, Supplying a first heat-sealing yarn for sealing that meanders in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the spread fiber bundle, and the thickness of the spread fiber bundle having the first heat-fusion yarn Pressurizing and heating, and heat-sealing the first heat-fusible yarn to the spread fiber bundle.

The spread fiber bundle of the present invention is a spread fiber bundle in which a fiber bundle composed of a large number of long fibers is arranged in a tape shape, and a first heat-sealed yarn is arranged in the width direction of the spread fiber bundle. The spread fiber bundle is characterized by being arranged in a meandering manner and subjected to a sealing treatment by thermally fusing the first heat fusion yarn to the spread fiber bundle.

According to the sealing processing apparatus and the sealing processing method of the present invention, the mutual spacing of the spread fiber bundles is stabilized by the meandering first heat-sealing yarn, and the parallel state or the uniform spread state of the spread fiber bundles is stable. Turn into. Therefore, it is possible to prevent fluff from getting out of the spread fiber bundle and tangling to the reel when the spread fiber bundle is wound around the reel or fed out of the reel. In addition, since the spread fiber bundle of the present invention is reliably sealed with the first heat-sealing yarn, the parallel state or the uniform spread state of the spread fiber bundle is stabilized and fluff is prevented from coming out. .

The opening means containing the sealing processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a side view of a opening means, (b) is the top view. (A) and (b) are the principal part enlarged views of Fig.1 (a) (b). FIG. 3 is a top view of a spread fiber bundle that has been sealed with a heat-sealing yarn. FIG. 3 is a top view of a spread fiber bundle that has been sealed with a heat-sealing yarn.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a sealing processing device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, 1 is a fiber opening means and 2 is a take-up reel. As the opening means 1, conventionally known ones can be used. For example, the opening devices described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 can be used. Here, “opening” basically means averaging the distribution or density of the fibers without changing the width direction dimensions of the fiber bundles, while increasing the width direction dimensions of the fiber bundles. It also includes the case of averaging the distribution or density of.

A plurality of packages 3 serving as a supply source of a large number of long fibers are disposed on the upstream side of the opening means 1. Long fibers fed out from the plurality of packages 3 are introduced into the fiber opening means 1 as a fiber bundle via the guide roller 4.

The fiber bundle to be opened is a reinforcing fiber bundle such as a carbon fiber bundle, a glass fiber bundle, an aramid fiber bundle, or a ceramic fiber bundle. The fiber bundle to be opened is not limited to the reinforcing fiber bundle. For example, a bundle of thermoplastic fibers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 12, polyethylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, polyetheretherketone, that is, a bundle of thermoplastic resin fibers is also opened. It can be used as a “fiber bundle for fiber”. As the fiber bundle, a fiber bundle that has been coated by passing the fiber bundle through a previously melted thermoplastic resin may be used.

Drive rollers 5 and 6 and a guide roller 7 are disposed at the outlet of the opening means 1. By the drive rollers 5 and 6, the opened fiber bundle F is conveyed downstream at a predetermined tension and a predetermined speed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sealing processing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a heat-fused yarn supply unit 101 disposed on the downstream side of the guide roller 7 and a downstream side of the heat-fused yarn supply unit 101. It is comprised by the heat sealing | fusion part 102 as a pressurization heating means arrange | positioned in. Guide rollers 11 and 12 are disposed on the upstream side and the downstream side of the heat fusion part 102, respectively.

The spread fiber bundle F that has come out of the spread means 1 is guided by the guide roller 11 and introduced into the heat-sealing portion 102. Further, the spread fiber bundle F drawn from the heat-sealing part 102 is wound around the winding reel 2 via the guide roller 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heat fusion yarn supply means 101 includes a movable longitudinal pipe (first yarn supply means) 101b as a movable yarn guide for guiding the first heat fusion yarn M1, and a second heat fusion yarn. A plurality of fixed longitudinal pipes (second yarn supply means) 101a as fixed yarn guides for guiding the arrival yarn M2. The movable vertical pipe 101b is disposed on the downstream side of the fixed vertical pipe 101a.

The movable vertical pipe 101b and the fixed vertical pipe 101a have inner diameters through which the sealing heat-sealing yarns M1 and M2 can be inserted, and extend in a vertical direction by a predetermined length. Then, heat fusion yarns M1 and M2 are supplied to the upper end openings of the movable vertical pipe 101b and the fixed vertical pipe 101a. The upper and lower opening edges of the movable vertical pipe 101b and the fixed vertical pipe 101a may be chamfered or coated so that the heat-sealing yarns M1 and M2 are not damaged.

The fixed vertical pipes 101a are arranged at predetermined equal intervals in the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the spread fiber bundle F. The number of the fixed vertical pipes 101a is arranged in an appropriate number according to the width of the spread fiber bundle F. The fixed vertical pipes 101a are desirably arranged at equal intervals, but there is no particular problem even if the intervals are partially increased or decreased within a range where the parallel state of the spread fiber bundles F is not disturbed.

The movable vertical pipe 101b is configured to continuously reciprocate in the width direction of the spread fiber bundle F by driving means (not shown). The tip of the movable vertical pipe 101b is bent toward the downstream side of the spread fiber bundle F and extends to the immediate upstream side of the nip portion N as shown in FIG. As a result, the first heat-sealing yarn M1 can be introduced into a predetermined position of the spread fiber bundle F.

One or a plurality of heat fusion yarns M1 and M2 are continuously supplied to the upper end openings of the fixed vertical pipe 101a and the movable vertical pipe 101b from a package (not shown) of the heat fusion yarns M1 and M2. It has become. The heat fusion yarns M1 and M2 may be low-melting fibers such as polyester, nylon, and polypropylene. Note that the fixed vertical pipe 101a and the movable vertical pipe 101b are not necessarily pipes, and can be replaced with other guide members such as a roller having a function of guiding the heat fusion yarns M1 and M2.

The heat fusion part 102 includes a pressure roller 102a and a heating roller 102b. A heat source such as an electric heater (not shown) is disposed inside the heating roller 102b. The pressure roller 102a and the heating roller 102b are in contact with each other at a predetermined pressure at the nip portion N.

Since the heat of the heating roller 102b is transmitted to the pressure roller 102a via the spread fiber bundle F, the pressure roller 102a also has a high temperature at which the heat-sealing yarns M1 and M2 can be melted. The pressure roller 102a and the heating roller 102b may be arranged upside down, or a heat source such as an electric heater may be separately arranged inside the pressure roller 102a. Further, the pressure roller 102a and the heating roller 102b can be configured as a pressure belt and a heating belt.

The sealing device for the spread fiber bundle F is configured as described above. Then, while conveying the spread fiber bundle F in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1, the second heat-bonded yarn M2 and the first heat-bonded yarn M1 are supplied from the fixed vertical pipe 101a and the movable vertical pipe 101b, respectively. A plurality of second heat fusion yarns M2 are introduced at equal intervals along the conveying direction of the spread fiber bundle F as shown in FIG. The first heat-sealing yarn M1 is supplied in a meandering manner in the width direction of the spread fiber bundle F from the tip of the movable vertical pipe 101b.

Then, on the upper surface of the spread fiber bundle F, a plurality of second heat fusion yarns M2 parallel to each other at equal intervals intersect with a plurality of meandering first heat fusion yarns M1 at a plurality of intersections. In this state, the spread fiber bundle F is fed into the heat fusion part 102, and the spread fiber bundle F, the second heat fusion yarn M2, and the first heat fusion yarn M1 are pressurized and heated. . As a result, the second heat fusion yarn M2 and the first heat fusion yarn M1 are heat-sealed at the intersection of each other.

Thereby, the mutual space | interval of the 2nd heat-fusion yarn M2 of a parallel state is stabilized, and the parallel state or the uniform fiber-opening state of the spread fiber bundle F hold | maintained between the said 2nd heat-fusion yarn M2 is carried out. Stabilize. If the spread fiber bundle F is coated with a thermoplastic resin, the bonding force between the heat-sealing yarns M1 and M2 and the spread fiber bundle F is strengthened, and the spread fiber bundle F is in a parallel state or uniform. The opened state is further stabilized.

The meandering first heat-sealing yarn M1 is meandered in a single line, and the movable longitudinal pipe 101b is arranged in double, so that the first heat-sealing yarn M1 has two phases different from each other as shown in FIG. You may make it introduce in the article. When the meandering first heat-sealing yarn M1 is introduced in two strips, the opened fiber bundle F is held in a parallel state or a uniform opened state more reliably and firmly.

Further, the phase difference of the two first heat-sealing yarns M1 may be 180 ° as illustrated, or may be a phase difference other than 180 °. Alternatively, three or more movable vertical pipes 101b may be provided, and three or more meandering first heat-sealing yarns M1 having different phases may be introduced.

Since the meandering first heat fusion yarn M1 may be continuously supplied, the movable longitudinal pipe 101b as the first yarn supply means can be configured simply and at low cost.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various modification is possible. For example, in the above embodiment, the first heat fusion yarn M1 and the second heat fusion yarn M2 are used. However, by increasing the meandering density of the first heat fusion yarn M1, the second heat fusion yarn M1 is used. It is also possible to stabilize the parallel or uniform spread state of the spread fiber bundle F by using only the first heat fusion yarn M1 without using the yarn M2.

In the above-described embodiment, the movable vertical pipe 101b of the sealing processing apparatus 10 is disposed on the downstream side of the fixed vertical pipe 101a. However, the movable vertical pipe 101b can be disposed on the upstream side of the fixed vertical pipe 101a. . Further, the fixed vertical pipes 101a are not necessarily arranged in one row, and may be arranged in two rows or three or more rows. In this case, the movable vertical pipes 101b may be arranged between the upper and downstream sides of the double row fixed vertical pipes 101a.

1: Opening means 2: Reel for take-up 3: Package 4: Guide roller 5, 6: Drive roller 7, 12: Guide roller 10: Processing device 11: Guide roller 101: Thermally fused yarn supply means 101a: Fixed longitudinal Pipe 101b: Movable vertical pipe 102: Thermal fusion part 102a: Pressure roller 102b: Heating roller F: Opening fiber bundle M1: First thermal fusion thread M2: Second thermal fusion thread N: Nip part

Claims (11)

With respect to the spread fiber bundle that is opened by the opening means while the fiber bundle consisting of a large number of long fibers is conveyed in the longitudinal direction and aligned in a tape shape,
First yarn supplying means for supplying a first heat-sealing yarn for sealing in a meandering manner while moving in the width direction of the spread fiber bundle;
Pressure heating means for pressurizing and heating the spread fiber bundle having the first heat-fusible yarn from the thickness direction;
An opening treatment apparatus for a spread fiber bundle, wherein the first heat fusion yarn is thermally fused to the spread fiber bundle by the pressure heating means. Second yarn supply means for supplying a plurality of second heat-sealing yarns for sealing along the conveying direction of the spread fiber bundle at a predetermined interval in the width direction of the spread fiber bundle is provided. And
The opening of the spread fiber bundle according to claim 1, wherein the second heat fusion yarn and the first heat fusion yarn are heat-sealed at the intersection of each other by the pressure heating means. Processing equipment.   The opening treatment apparatus for a spread fiber bundle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressure heating means includes a pressure roller and a heating roller that sandwich the spread fiber bundle from the thickness direction.   4. The spread fiber bundle according to claim 1, wherein the first yarn supply unit has a movable yarn guide that can reciprocate in the width direction of the spread fiber bundle. 5. Sealing device   4. The spread fiber bundle according to claim 2, wherein the second yarn supply unit has a plurality of fixed yarn guides arranged at equal intervals in the width direction of the spread fiber bundle. Seal processing device.   The opening treatment unit for the spread fiber bundle according to claim 4, wherein a tip end portion of the movable yarn guide extends immediately upstream of a nip portion between the pressure roller and the heating roller. . With respect to the spread fiber bundle that is opened by the opening means while the fiber bundle consisting of a large number of long fibers is conveyed in the longitudinal direction and aligned in a tape shape,
Supplying a first heat-sealing yarn for sealing that meanders in the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the fiber-opening fiber bundle; and thickness of the fiber-opening fiber bundle having the first heat-sealing yarn Pressurizing and heating from the direction, and heat-sealing the first heat-bonded yarn to the spread fiber bundle. Supplying a plurality of second heat-sealing yarns for sealing at predetermined intervals along the conveying direction of the spread fiber bundle,
The spread fiber bundle having the first heat fusion yarn and the second heat fusion yarn is pressurized and heated from the thickness direction, and the first heat fusion yarn and the second heat fusion yarn are heated. The method for sealing a spread fiber bundle according to claim 7, further comprising a step of heat-sealing the yarns at the intersections.   A first heat-sealing yarn is arranged in a meandering manner in the width direction of the spread fiber bundle in a spread fiber bundle in which a fiber bundle composed of a large number of long fibers is arranged in a tape shape. A spread fiber bundle characterized in that a heat-sealing yarn is heat-sealed to the spread fiber bundle and subjected to sealing treatment.   A plurality of second heat fusion yarns are arranged in the aligning direction at a predetermined interval from each other, and the second heat fusion yarn and the first heat fusion yarn are thermally fused. The spread fiber bundle according to claim 9, which has been subjected to a sealing treatment.   The spread fiber bundle according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the spread fiber bundle is coated with a thermoplastic resin.

Images