JP2016121411A - Nonwoven fabric manufacturing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a nonwoven fabric manufacturing device capable of manufacturing nonwoven fabric with a sufficient strength also in a lateral direction.SOLUTION: An injection direction of water flow 40 is inclined by an angle of α degree to a normal line direction of a surface of a fiber web 3, and a projection direction d to the surface of the fiber web 3 in the normal line direction is set to be a lateral direction b (a direction perpendicular to a traveling direction a) of the fiber web 3 excluding the traveling direction a, or an oblique direction. A nozzle part consists of a nozzle line on which multiple nozzle holes injecting water flows in the same direction are formed across the whole width of the fiber web with a predetermined space between adjacent holes and, preferably, has multiple nozzle lines. The projection direction of the water injection direction from one nozzle line is 180 degrees opposite to the projection direction of the water injection direction from the other nozzle line.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus using a water entanglement method (spun lace method) in which a water stream is jetted to interlace fibers of a fiber web to form a nonwoven fabric.

  Conventionally, this type of non-woven fabric manufacturing apparatus has a nozzle plate having a nozzle row in which nozzle holes are arranged so as to cross the fiber web, and jets water from each nozzle hole to entangle the fibers of the fiber web. The water flow from the nozzle hole is incident on the web surface at a right angle, and the water that has passed through the fiber web is collected in a suction box provided at a portion facing the nozzle row on the opposite side of the web. FIG. 10 shows how the water flow 40 spreads from the nozzle holes 20 of the nozzle plate 21 on the surface of the fiber web 3 in the conventional nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus 100. Reference numeral 40 denotes a water flow before incidence, and 41 denotes a water flow after incidence.

  As shown in FIG. 10 (b), the water stream 41 colliding and entering the surface of the fiber web 3 moves the fibers in the web thickness direction and entangles each other, and at the same time, the momentum radiates around the incident position R1. And the fibers are moved in the radial direction so that they are entangled three-dimensionally. However, in the web width direction (lateral direction b) in which the nozzle holes 20 are arranged, collision / interference with the water flow 41 from the adjacent nozzle holes occurs in the vicinity of the center position between both incident positions R1 and R1, The water flow 41 is disturbed, the movement of the fibers in the lateral direction b is inhibited, and the entanglement is not sufficient.

  Also, the incident position R1 where the water stream 40 is incident is a starting point where the fibers spread radially, so that there is little entanglement of the fibers in the transverse direction b, regardless of the web thickness direction. Therefore, in particular, at the position where the incident position R1 of the water flow 40 and the water flow 41 at the center between the adjacent nozzle holes collide, there is a line in which fibers are not sufficiently entangled in the lateral direction b. As a result, the lateral strength of the product was insufficient.

  It is conceivable to increase the pitch between the nozzle holes to increase the moving distance of the fibers in the lateral direction and promote entanglement. However, when the pitch is widened, the density of the water flow is also reduced, and conversely, insufficient strength is promoted. In addition, in order to achieve sufficient entanglement due to collision and interference of the water flow, it is conceivable to increase the water pressure of the water flow and the suction force of the suction box. However, for this purpose, there is a problem that the pump becomes large and the cost is high. is there.

  In addition, by passing the nozzle row at an angle with respect to the width direction of the fiber web, the pitch between the nozzle holes is widened, and the pitch in the web width direction is not widened. It has also been proposed to increase the distance and increase the strength (see Patent Document 1). However, even such a method cannot solve the lack of confounding at the incident position of the water flow. Further, the collision position of the water flow exists even if it is not in the center due to the time difference, and collides and interferes. Therefore, there is a limit to increasing the strength in the lateral direction.

JP-A-9-256254

  Then, in view of the above-mentioned situation, the present invention is to provide a nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus capable of manufacturing a nonwoven fabric having sufficient strength in the lateral direction.

  That is, the present invention is a non-woven fabric manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a non-woven fabric by injecting a water flow from a nozzle portion to a fiber web to be conveyed to entangle the fibers of the fiber web to each other, The jet direction of the water flow by the nozzle part is an inclined direction having an angle with respect to the normal direction of the surface of the fiber web, and the direction projected on the surface of the fiber web is a longitudinal direction along the transport direction of the fiber web. A non-woven fabric manufacturing apparatus is provided which is set so as to be in a lateral direction or an oblique direction excluding a direction.

  Here, it is preferable that the nozzle portion includes a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzle holes for injecting the water flow in the same direction are opened at predetermined intervals over the entire width of the fiber web.

  Further, the nozzle section includes a plurality of the nozzle rows, and the projected direction of the water flow ejection direction by one of the nozzle rows and the projection of the water flow ejection direction by the other nozzle row. It is preferable that the set directions are opposite to each other by 180 degrees.

  According to the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention as described above, the jet direction of the water flow by the nozzle portion is an inclined direction having an angle with respect to the normal direction of the fiber web surface and is projected onto the fiber web surface. Since the direction is set to be a horizontal direction or an oblique direction, excluding the vertical direction along the conveying direction of the fiber web, unlike the conventional one in which the water flow spreads radially evenly from the entrance point, The momentum of the water flow in the projected direction can be made relatively strong, which also speeds up the movement of the fibers in that direction, and the collision also occurs when there is a collision / interference with the water flow of the adjacent nozzle hole. -The movement distance of the fiber until interference can be increased, sufficient fiber entanglement can be obtained, and the lateral strength can be improved.

  In addition, since the momentum of the water flow in the projection direction is stronger than in other directions, the momentum of the water flow is not completely eliminated by collision and interference with the water flow of the adjacent nozzle holes, and the fibers are moved further. It is possible to promote entanglement and reach the incident position of the water flow by the adjacent nozzle hole to compensate for insufficient entanglement of fibers at the position and further improve the strength in the lateral direction.

  Further, since the nozzle portion is composed of nozzle rows in which a plurality of nozzle holes for injecting the water flow in the same direction are opened at predetermined intervals over the entire width of the fiber web, the degree of entanglement is made uniform as a whole and the strength is improved. Can be achieved.

  In addition, the nozzle portion includes a plurality of the nozzle rows, and the projected direction of the water flow ejection direction by one nozzle row and the projected direction of the water flow by the other nozzle row are projected. Since the directions are set so as to be opposite to each other by 180 degrees, the fiber entanglement can be further promoted and the whole can be made uniform, and the strength is further improved.

The conceptual diagram which shows the direction of the water flow sprayed on the fiber web surface from a nozzle part by the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus of this invention. The explanatory perspective view which shows a mode that a water flow is injected to a fiber web from a nozzle part in the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is explanatory sectional drawing seen from the fiber web conveyance direction similarly, (b) is an explanatory top view which shows the breadth of the water flow in a fiber web. Explanatory perspective view which shows a mode that a water flow is injected to a fiber web from a nozzle part in the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory perspective view which shows a mode that a water flow is injected from a nozzle part to a fiber web in the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. Similarly explanatory sectional view seen from the direction of the nozzle row. Explanatory drawing explaining the mode of inclination of a nozzle plate. The top view which shows the nozzle plate of the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. (A) is AA sectional drawing of FIG. 8, (b) is BB sectional drawing of FIG. (A) is explanatory sectional drawing which shows a mode that a water flow is injected to a fiber web from the nozzle part of the conventional nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus, (b) is an explanatory top view which shows the breadth of the water flow in a fiber web.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the present invention, as shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG. 1, a jet-like water stream 40 is jetted from the nozzle portion 2 to the fiber web 3 conveyed in the direction of the arrow a to entangle the fibers of the fiber web 3. In particular, the jet direction of the water flow 40 is a direction inclined by an angle α with respect to the normal direction c of the surface of the fiber web 3, and the projection direction d of the direction onto the surface of the fiber web 3 is The fiber web 3 is set so as to be in a lateral direction b (a direction orthogonal to the transport direction a) excluding the transport direction a, or an oblique direction.

  FIG. 1 shows an example in which the angle α is inclined with respect to the normal direction c and the projection direction is set to an oblique direction rotated by an angle β from the lateral direction b. In the present invention, the angle α is greater than 0 ° and smaller than 90 °, and the angle β is greater than 0 ° and is an angle excluding 90 ° and 270 ° parallel to the transport direction a.

  In the present invention, by setting the jet direction of the water flow 40 in this way, the momentum of the water flow after entering the fiber web 3 becomes relatively strong in the projection direction, and the movement of the fiber in the direction is also accelerated. ° In the opposite direction, the momentum of the water flow is reduced, and the movement of the fiber is also small.Therefore, the movement distance of the fiber until the collision / interference with the water flow of the adjacent nozzle hole is increased, and sufficient fiber entanglement occurs. In particular, the strength in the lateral direction of the product can be improved.

  Conventionally known fibers such as rayon staple fibers and polyester staple fibers can be widely used. The length of the fibers, the inner diameter of the nozzle holes, the structure, the pitch, the pressure of the water flow, the water recovery structure, the fiber web Conventionally well-known configurations can be widely adopted for configurations other than the direction of water flow, such as width, conveyance speed, and conveyance means (for example, mesh-like endless belt).

  First, based on FIG.2 and FIG.3, 1st Embodiment of this invention is described.

  In the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the jet direction of the water flow 40 by the nozzle portion 2 is an inclined direction having an angle α with respect to the normal direction c of the surface of the fiber web 3, and The projection direction of the direction onto the surface of the fiber web 3 is set parallel to the lateral direction b perpendicular to the transport direction a of the fiber web 3. That is, the angle β in FIG. 1 is 0 ° or 180 ° (FIG. 2 is an example of 0 °).

  The nozzle unit 2 is disposed at a position along a conveyance unit (not shown) that conveys the formed fiber web 3. Specifically, the nozzle plate 21 having a plurality of nozzle holes 20 through which water flows are ejected is positioned at a predetermined distance from the surface of the fiber web 3 so that the longitudinal direction is aligned with the lateral direction b in parallel with the fiber web surface. Has been placed.

  The plurality of nozzle holes 20 form a linear nozzle row 5 that opens at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle plate 21, and the nozzle row 5 extends in the lateral direction b over the entire width of the fiber web 3. Extending in the direction. In this example, the nozzle row 5 of the entire width is constituted by one nozzle plate 21, but a plurality of nozzle plates 21 may be connected so that the nozzle row extends over the entire width.

  The nozzle plate 21 is composed of a long plate-like member, and the surface 22 (the lower surface side in the figure) facing the fiber web 3 is parallel to the surface of the fiber web 3 as shown in FIG. It is arranged to be. That is, the normal line of the facing surface 22 and the normal line c of the surface of the fiber web 3 are arranged in parallel. The arrangement form of the nozzle plate 21 is the same as that of the conventional apparatus.

  Each nozzle hole 20 is formed such that the axis is inclined by an angle α with respect to the normal line of the facing surface 22 of the nozzle plate 21. The inclination of the axis of each nozzle hole 20 is set to the same angle (α) so that the water flow 40 is jetted in the same direction. That is, in this example, the arrangement of the nozzle plate 21 is the same as in the prior art, and the axis of each nozzle hole 20 drilled therein is inclined. The projection direction of the inclined axis on the opposing surface 22 coincides with the direction of the nozzle row 5 (the direction in which the row extends), and also coincides with the lateral direction b of the fiber web.

  The water flow 40 ejected from each nozzle hole 20 enters the inside from the surface of the fiber web 3, and spreads radially from the incident position R1 while moving the fibers and intermingling them. In this example, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the water flow 41 spreading from the incident position R1 to the inside of the web is affected by the momentum of the projection direction in the ejection direction, that is, the right direction of the paper along the horizontal direction b which is the web width direction. The momentum increases in the direction, and in the direction opposite to 180 °, the momentum decreases, resulting in a substantially elliptical spread.

  Due to the uneven spread of the water flow 41, the movement of the fibers in the lateral direction also becomes faster, and the position of the collision / interference with the water flow 41 of the adjacent nozzle hole is also shifted to the right, and the fibers up to the collision / interference The travel distance increases. Therefore, sufficient fiber entanglement can be obtained and the strength in the lateral direction can be improved.

  In addition, since the momentum of the water flow 41 in the projection direction is stronger than in other directions and the direction opposite to 180 ° is smaller, the momentum of the water flow 41 is completely due to collision / interference with the water flow 41 of the adjacent nozzle hole. In addition, the fibers are further moved to promote entanglement, reach the incident position R1 of the water flow 41 by the adjacent nozzle hole, and make up for the insufficient entanglement of the fibers at the position to further improve the strength. It becomes possible.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIG.

  The nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is configured such that the jet direction of the water flow 40 by the nozzle unit 2 is an inclined direction having an angle α with respect to the normal direction of the surface of the fiber web 3 as in the first embodiment, and The direction of projection onto the surface of the fiber web 3 in that direction is not parallel to the transverse direction b perpendicular to the conveying direction a of the fiber web 3, but is an oblique direction having an angle β of less than 90 ° from the transverse direction. It is set to become.

  That is, the angle β in FIG. 1 is set to an angle that is an oblique direction greater than 0 ° and less than 90 °. Similarly to the first embodiment, the nozzle portion 2 is composed of a nozzle plate 21 having a nozzle row 5, and the arrangement is the same as in the first embodiment, the surface 22 facing the fiber web surface is parallel to the fiber web surface, and It arrange | positions so that a longitudinal direction may correspond to the web horizontal direction b.

  Each nozzle hole 20 is inclined with respect to the normal of the opposing surface 22 of the nozzle plate 21 by an angle α, and the axial direction is projected onto the opposing surface 22, that is, projected onto the fiber web surface. The direction is set to have an angle β from the lateral direction. That is, also in this example, the arrangement of the nozzle plate 21 is the same as that in the prior art, and the axis of each nozzle hole 20 formed in the nozzle plate 21 is inclined.

  Also in this example, the water flow that spreads in the web from the incident position on the surface of the fiber web 3 has a strong momentum in the jet direction, that is, in the direction of the angle β from the web width direction, and becomes a substantially elliptical spread. Increased travel distance. Accordingly, sufficient fiber entanglement can be obtained, and the lateral strength can be improved. Similarly, the momentum of the water flow can be reached to the incident position by the adjacent nozzle hole, and the strength can be further improved by compensating for the insufficient confounding of fibers at the position. When β approaches 90 °, the effect of the present invention of promoting confounding in the lateral direction cannot be obtained, so the angle with the lateral direction is set to 60 ° or less, more preferably 45 ° or less, and even more preferably 30 ° or less. It is preferable to do. Other configurations / modifications and the like are basically the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS.

  The nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is an inclined direction having an angle α with respect to the normal direction of the surface of the fiber web 3, as in the second embodiment, in which the water flow 40 is jetted by the nozzle portion 2. The projection direction of the direction onto the surface of the fiber web 3 is set so as to be an oblique direction having an angle β of less than 90 ° from the lateral direction of the fiber web 3. Instead of realizing the injection direction of 40 by the inclination of the axis of the nozzle hole 20, it is realized by arranging the nozzle plate 21 in an inclined and rotated posture as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. As in the conventional case, the nozzle plate 21 is drilled so that the axis coincides with the normal direction of the surface.

  Specifically, this can be realized by changing the posture of the nozzle plate 21 according to the procedure of FIG. That is, the axis of each nozzle hole 20 is inclined by an angle α with respect to the normal of the surface of the fiber web 3 by rotating the nozzle plate 21 from the conventional arrangement form by an angle α about the longitudinal axis. Further, the nozzle plate 21 is rotated by an angle of 90 ° -β with the normal line of the surface of the fiber web 3 as an axis, so that the projection direction of the shaft of each nozzle hole 20 onto the fiber web surface is rotated by β from the lateral direction. The posture can be set to face.

  According to the inclination of the nozzle plate 21 itself as in the present embodiment, the water jetting direction can be set while using the conventional nozzle plate, so that the cost can be reduced. Moreover, it becomes easy to change the jet direction of the water flow. Other configurations and modifications are the same as those in the first and second embodiments, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Next, based on FIG.8 and FIG.9, 4th Embodiment of this invention is described.

  In the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a plurality of nozzle rows (two rows of 5A and 5B in this example) are provided as the nozzle portion 2, and projection of the water flow injection direction by one of the nozzle rows 5A is performed. The direction and the projected direction of the water flow injection direction by the other nozzle row 5B are set to be opposite to each other by 180 degrees.

  Specifically, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 9, the nozzle holes of any of the nozzle rows 5A and 5B are inclined at an angle α with respect to the normal direction of the surface of the fiber web 3 as in the first embodiment. And the projection direction of the direction onto the surface of the fiber web 3 is set in parallel with the transverse direction b perpendicular to the conveying direction a of the fiber web 3, and the orientation of the transverse direction is the nozzle row 5A, In 5B, the directions are opposite to each other by 180 degrees.

  By setting in this way, the momentum of the water flow incident on the fiber web from the nozzle rows 5A and 5B is also opposite to the nozzle rows 5A and 5B, and the direction in which the momentum increases is 180 ° to each other. Entangling is promoted, the entire entanglement can be made uniform, and a product with further improved strength can be obtained. In this example, one nozzle plate 21 is provided with two nozzle rows 5A and 5B in which the direction of water flow is 180 ° opposite to the projection direction. For example, nozzles whose axes are inclined in the opposite directions to each other. A plurality of two nozzle plates 21 having a row of holes may be provided.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to such an Example at all, For example, what comprised the nozzle part with the well-known nozzle structure which does not use a nozzle plate, etc. of this invention Of course, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,100 Nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus 2 Nozzle part 3 Fiber web 5, 5A, 5B Nozzle row 20 Nozzle hole 21 Nozzle plate 22 Opposing surface 40, 41 Water flow R1 Incident position

Claims (3)

A non-woven fabric manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a non-woven fabric by injecting a water flow from a nozzle portion to a fiber web to be conveyed, and interlacing the fibers of the fiber web,
The jet direction of the water flow by the nozzle part is an inclined direction having an angle with respect to the normal direction of the surface of the fiber web, and the direction projected on the surface of the fiber web is along the transport direction of the fiber web. A non-woven fabric manufacturing apparatus characterized by being set to be in a horizontal direction or an oblique direction excluding the vertical direction.   The nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle portion includes a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzle holes that eject the water flow in the same direction are opened at predetermined intervals over the entire width of the fiber web.   The nozzle section is provided with a plurality of the nozzle rows, and the projected direction of the water flow ejection direction by one of the nozzle rows and the projected direction of the water flow ejection direction by the other nozzle row. The non-woven fabric manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, which is set so as to be opposite to each other by 180 degrees.

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