JP2018044260A - Manufacturing method of composite-type nonwoven fabric and manufacturing apparatus of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method capable of simply and effectively applying an uneven pattern on a composite-type nonwoven fabric that comprises pulp fibers and synthetic fibers.SOLUTION: The manufacturing method of a composite-type nonwoven fabric CWeb that is formed by integrally laminating a pulp fiber layer and a synthetic fiber layer and has an uneven pattern includes: at least a hydro-entanglement step 5 for obtaining a laminate TWeb by promoting integration of the pulp fiber layer and the synthetic fiber layer; and a drying step 7 for drying the laminate after the hydro-entanglement step. In addition, an embossing treatment step 6 for applying the uneven pattern to the laminate TWeb in a wet state is set between the hydro-entanglement step and the drying step. In the drying step 7, the laminate is dried in a non-compressed state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a composite nonwoven fabric composed of pulp fibers and synthetic fibers, and more particularly to a method for producing a nonwoven fabric provided with an uneven pattern and an apparatus therefor.

Nonwoven fabrics have a cloth-like texture, and also have liquid absorption and wiping properties, and can be mass-produced. Therefore, nonwoven fabrics are widely used in various fields.
Generally, a nonwoven fabric is manufactured through the web formation process which forms the web used as a base material (it may be called a fleece), and the fiber bonding process which couple | bonds the fiber which comprises a web mutually. And many proposals are conventionally made about each of a web formation process and a fiber bonding process.

  For example, after a pulp fiber layer (web) and a synthetic fiber layer (web) are overlaid to form a laminated web, a high-pressure water jet (water stream) is sprayed to hydroentangle the fibers to combine them into a composite type Can be obtained. As described above, the composite nonwoven fabric formed by the pulp fiber layer and the synthetic fiber layer is advantageous in that the pulp fiber has good absorbability for both aqueous and oily liquids, and the synthetic fiber has excellent strength. An excellent non-woven fabric product that has both can be provided to consumers as a wiper.

The nonwoven fabric employed as the wiper is desired to be manufactured while ensuring a sufficient bulk. Bulkiness here is also called bulky (or bulk) property, and the non-woven fabric as a product has a sufficient texture, and can give a good impression to consumers in texture and feel. This is one of the finishing conditions. In general, a bulky nonwoven fabric has a large surface area and is also excellent in liquid absorption.
Conventionally, a web in a wet state after hydroentanglement is generally heated and dried using a cylinder dryer. However, the drying by the cylinder dryer increases the surface pressure, so that the thickness of the non-woven fabric after manufacture is reduced and the bulkiness is also reduced.
In order to cope with the decrease in bulk after drying as described above, the bulk may be improved by providing a concavo-convex pattern with an embossing device on the web after production. However, the embossing process performed here is to apply a concavo-convex pattern by heating while pressurizing a predetermined region. In the case of a nonwoven fabric including a synthetic fiber layer, a part of the fiber is melted and solidified to form concavo-convex. The pattern is fixed. Such an embossing process takes time, and the melted and solidified portion becomes hard and there is a problem that the texture and strength are lowered. Moreover, when the heating in the embossing device is insufficient, there is also a problem that the uneven pattern disappears.
Furthermore, since the embossing apparatus as described above is an independent facility separately from the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus, the manufacturing cost increases.

  Therefore, the objective of this invention is providing the manufacturing method which can provide an uneven | corrugated pattern easily and effectively to the composite type nonwoven fabric which consists of a pulp fiber and a synthetic fiber. Moreover, it is providing the manufacturing apparatus which enforces the method.

The above object is a method for producing a composite nonwoven fabric in which a pulp fiber layer and a synthetic fiber layer are laminated and integrated, and has an uneven pattern,
Including a hydroentanglement step of obtaining a laminate by promoting integration of the pulp fiber layer and the synthetic fiber layer, and a drying step of drying the laminate after the hydroentanglement step,
Between the hydroentanglement step and the drying step, an embossing process step for imparting the uneven pattern to the laminate in a wet state is further set,
In the drying step, the laminate can be dried in an uncompressed state, which can be achieved by a method for producing a composite nonwoven fabric.

And in the said embossing process process, the said uneven | corrugated pattern provision process to the said laminated body can be performed in a non-heated state.
Moreover, in the said embossing process process, it is preferable to pinch | interpose the said laminated body and to squeeze water and to provide the said uneven | corrugated pattern.

The above-mentioned object is a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a composite nonwoven fabric having a concavo-convex pattern, in which a pulp fiber layer and a synthetic fiber layer are laminated and integrated.
It comprises at least a hydroentanglement part that promotes integration of the pulp fiber layer and the synthetic fiber layer to obtain a laminate, and a drying part that dries the laminate downstream of the hydroentanglement part,
Between the hydroentanglement part and the drying part, an embossing treatment part for providing the uneven pattern to the laminated body in a wet state is further arranged,
The drying unit can be achieved by a composite nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus including an uncompressed dryer that dries the laminate.

  And the said embossing process part can be used as the process part which provides the uneven | corrugated pattern to the said laminated body in a non-heated state.

  In addition, the embossing section has a first rotating body having a plate on which the unevenness corresponding to the uneven pattern is formed on the surface, and an elastic body on the surface, and press-contacts the first rotating body. And a second rotating body that can be rotated.

  The first rotating body may be a metal roll engraved with a concavo-convex pattern or an endless wire having a concavo-convex pattern set in advance, and the second rotating body may be a rubber roll or a rubber belt.

According to the production method of the present invention, it is possible to impart a concavo-convex pattern to a composite nonwoven fabric composed of pulp fibers and synthetic fibers with a simple configuration, which makes it bulky and uniform in texture and feel overall. Yes, it can provide a wiper with excellent liquid absorbency.
Moreover, according to the manufacturing method or manufacturing apparatus of this invention, the composite type nonwoven fabric which has an uneven | corrugated pattern can be manufactured, suppressing manufacturing cost from both sides of manufacturing efficiency and an installation.

It is the figure shown about the example manufacturing apparatus suitable for enforcing the manufacturing method of the composite type nonwoven fabric which concerns on this invention. It is the figure shown about the example of a combination of the 1st rotary body and the 2nd rotary body in the embossing apparatus of the manufacturing apparatus of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Below, the manufacturing apparatus suitable for implementing the method of manufacturing the composite type nonwoven fabric provided with the uneven | corrugated pattern is demonstrated with reference to figures.

The composite nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an airlaid apparatus 2 as a pulp airlaid section, a synthetic fiber web supply apparatus 3 as a synthetic fiber layer supply section, and a suction apparatus 4 as a lamination forming section on the upstream side. It is installed. The suction device 4 is arranged to face the lower side of the air laid device 2.
In the transport direction TD, downstream of these devices 2, 3, 4, a water jet device 5 as a water entanglement unit and a drying device 7 as a dehydration / drying unit are arranged in this order from the upstream side. . A winding device 8 for winding the continuously produced composite nonwoven fabric CWeb is further provided downstream of the drying device 7.

The airlaid device 2 is defibrated with a defibrator 21 that disentangles (also referred to as “opening”) the raw pulp RP in which the fibers are densely packed into a sheet shape, and a blower (not shown). And a duct 22 for conveying the pulp fiber FP to the air-laid hopper 23. The air-laid hopper 23 is designed so that the defibrated pulp fiber FP descends while being dispersed in the air hopper 23 and gradually accumulates at the stacking position 24 set on the lower surface.
A suction device 4 is disposed opposite to the lower side of the stacking position 24. More specifically, the suction device 4 has a suction portion 42 on the upper surface of the device main body 41, and the suction portion 42 is set with respect to the lamination position 24 so as to apply a suction force (negative pressure) to the pulp fiber FP. It is.

Further, a transport wire 43 for transporting the web is disposed around the suction device 4. The transport wire 43 is placed so that the pulp fiber FP can be placed at the stacking position 24 and transported downstream. However, the pulp fiber FP is not placed directly on the transport wire 43. This will become clear from the following description.
The carrier wire 43 is formed in an open-mesh shape (mesh) so that the suction force of the suction part 42 extends to the opposite side (upper side).

In addition, the conventionally well-known pulp is employable as said raw material pulp RP. For example, when wood pulp is employed, NBKP such as radiata pine, slash pine, southern pine, spruce, and Douglas fir is preferable and may be appropriately selected in consideration of defibration properties, yield, and the like.
Furthermore, since the raw material pulp RP is often supplied in the form of a roll pulp as illustrated, it is preferable to employ a hammer mill, a disk mill type or the like as the defibrating device 21. The defibrating process here may be a single stage or a plurality of stages as required.
Moreover, you may make it mix | blend synthetic fibers, such as natural fibers, such as cotton, and polyester, a polypropylene, and polyethylene, with the said raw material pulp RP. When adopting such a composition, an airlaid head may be added separately to overlap the web layer, or an air feeding line for mixing other fibers may be added to a duct for airing the opened pulp.

A synthetic fiber web supply device 3 is disposed below the air laid device 2 and upstream of the suction device 4. A synthetic fiber web SW prepared in advance is set in a roll shape in the synthetic fiber web supply device 3. The synthetic fiber web SW is drawn out from the synthetic fiber web supply device 3 and is transported to the stacking position 24 on the transport wire 43 described above.
The synthetic fiber web SW is preferably a continuous filament web formed by a spunbond method. The synthetic fiber here is preferably selected from nylon, vinylon, polyester, acrylic, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and the like.

The above-described pulp fiber FP is placed (stacked) on the synthetic fiber web SW located at the stacking position 24, and the synthetic fiber web SW is conveyed downstream on the conveying wire 43.
At that time, at the stacking position 24, the suction force by the suction part 42 of the suction device 4 passes through the transport wire 43 and acts on the synthetic fiber web SW and the pulp fiber FP thereon. Therefore, the laminated web moved to the downstream side through the laminating position 24 is laminated with the lower synthetic fiber layer (synthetic fiber web SW) and the pulp fiber layer (pulp web) placed thereon. It becomes the preliminary | backup laminated body PWeb of the state which was in a state.

The above-described preliminary laminated body PWeb is maintained in a laminated state by being sucked and compressed by the suction force of the suction device 4. At this time, the upper pulp fiber layer is in a state where the pulp fibers FP are dense. However, if the preliminary laminate PWeb is conveyed and introduced into the downstream water jetting device 5 as it is, a part of the pulp fiber FP may be swollen by the water flow (water jet).
Therefore, in the present manufacturing apparatus 1, the preliminary laminated body PWeb is sandwiched from above and below, the sandwiching roller 28 for stabilizing the placement state of the pulp fiber FP on the synthetic fiber web SW, and the upstream side of the water flow injection device 5. Further, a prewetting device 30 for providing moisture to the pulp fiber FP to prevent scattering is provided. The prewetting device 30 preferably applies a suction force from the spray nozzle 31 that sprays the water mist from above the preliminary laminate PWeb and the lower side of the preliminary laminate PWeb (that is, the lower surface of the synthetic fiber web SW). And a suction device 32.

  The sandwiching roller 28 and the prewetting device 30 can be understood as a pre-processing unit for smooth execution of the water entangling process in the water jetting device 5. The pre-processing unit shown in FIG. 1 is a preferred configuration example, and the sandwiching roller 28 may be omitted.

The water jet device 5 promotes the confounding of the pulp fibers by blowing a high-pressure water jet to the preliminary laminate PWeb that has been subjected to the processing of the pretreatment units 28 and 30. Thereby, integration of the pulp fiber layer located on the upper side and the synthetic fiber layer located on the lower side is promoted.
In the water jet device 5 shown as an example in FIG. 1, water jet nozzles 51 are arranged in multiple stages (four stages are illustrated in FIG. 1) along the transport direction TD. It is good also as a substitute for the pre-wet apparatus 30 mentioned above by spraying the 1st stage water-flow injection nozzle by low pressure.
In FIG. 1, the state of the nozzles in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction TD (the width direction of the apparatus 1) is not shown, but a plurality of water jet nozzles are also arranged in the width direction.

  The water pressure at the time of the hydroentanglement treatment is desirably set in consideration of the basis weight of the pulp fiber layer (web) and the synthetic fiber layer (web). For example, it is preferable to select in the range of 1 to 30 MPa.

  A suction device 52 is disposed so as to face the water jet nozzle 51. The suction force of the suction device 52 is made to act on the lower side of the synthetic fiber layer located on the lower side while blowing the high-pressure water jet from the water jet nozzle 51 to the pulp web located on the upper side. Due to the cooperative action of the water jet nozzle 51 and the suction device 52, the state where the pulp fibers of the pulp web have entered the fibers of the lower synthetic fiber web, the state where the synthetic fiber web has penetrated to the opposite side, etc. Is estimated to be formed. The action promotes the integration of the two layers.

The water jet device 5 is also provided with a transport wire 55. The transport wire 55 receives the preliminary laminate PWeb downstream of the pretreatment units 28 and 30 and transports it into the water jetting device 5. The transport wire 55 is disposed so as to pass between the water jet nozzle 51 and the suction device 52 of the water jet device 5 from the upstream side toward the downstream side.
Therefore, the preliminary laminated body PWeb transported on the transport wire 55 is subjected to more hydroentanglement processing as it goes downstream in the transport direction TD. Sufficient entanglement between the layer and the lower synthetic fiber web is achieved.
Immediately after leaving the water jetting device 5, the web is in a wet state, and before drying, the bond between the pulp fibers is not sufficiently established.

In the composite nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, an embossing device 6 is further provided between the water jet device 5 and the drying device 7 located on the downstream side.
This embossing device 6 becomes an embossing processing unit for imparting a concavo-convex pattern to the laminate TWeb in a wet state (wet) immediately after being subjected to the hydroentanglement processing by the water jetting device 5.
This embossing device 6 does not have a heating device, and thus performs the process of imparting a concavo-convex pattern to the laminate TWeb in an unheated state. The embossing device 6 is set so as to convey toward the drying device 7 on the downstream side while sandwiching the laminate TWeb. At that time, the embossing device 6 squeezes water based on the sandwiching pressure and also forms an uneven pattern on the laminate TWeb. Grant.

Specifically, in the embossing device 6, a first rotating body 61 and a second rotating body 62 are arranged vertically so as to sandwich the stacked body TWeb. Here, the 1st rotary body 61 has the plate which has the unevenness | corrugation corresponding to the uneven | corrugated pattern provided to laminated body TWeb on the surface. And the 2nd rotary body 62 has an elastic body on the surface, is press-contacted to the 1st rotary body, and is set so that rotation is possible.
In addition, in the composite type nonwoven fabric used as a wiper, a pulp fiber layer becomes a main wiping surface. Therefore, it is preferable to provide an uneven pattern to the pulp fiber layer located on the upper side. Therefore, the 1st rotary body 61 which has an uneven | corrugated pattern plate is arrange | positioned at the upper side.
Although there is no limitation in particular about the said 1st rotary body 61 and the 2nd rotary body 62, For example, as the 1st rotary body 61, the metal roll which engraved the uneven | corrugated pattern, or the endless shape to which the uneven | corrugated pattern was preset. A wire can be employed. The second rotating body 62 can be a rubber roll or a rubber belt.
In FIG. 1, the 1st rotary body 61 is an endless wire in which the uneven | corrugated pattern is set, and the 2nd rotary body 62 has illustrated the case where it is a rubber belt.

  The first rotating body 61 and the second rotating body 62 described above can be selected from an endless wire having a concavo-convex pattern, a pattern roll having a concavo-convex pattern, a rubber roll, and a rubber belt. . Various embossing devices 6 can be designed by appropriately combining them.

FIG. 2 is a diagram specifically showing another combination example of the first rotating body 61 and the second rotating body 62 arranged in the embossing device 6.
In the example shown in FIG. 2A, the upper first rotating body 61 is configured as a composite structure of an endless wire 611 on which an uneven pattern is set and a vacuum roll 612 disposed inside the endless wire 611. ing. A rubber roll 621 is employed as the lower second rotating body 62.
The vacuum roll 612 includes a ring-shaped member 612a formed of a porous material that rotates in contact with the back side (inside) of the endless wire 611 and a suction portion 612b. The suction part 612b is disposed to face the rubber roll 621 and applies a predetermined suction force.
The rubber roll 621 is pressed to the endless wire 611 side with a predetermined pressure so as to sandwich the laminated body TWeb (not shown here). In the configuration example shown in FIG. 2A, a vacuum roll 612 is additionally provided as a water squeezing means that actively squeezes water from the laminate TWeb. Therefore, according to such a structure, an uneven | corrugated pattern can be more reliably provided to a pulp fiber layer.

  FIG. 2B shows a structural example when a pattern roll 613 is employed as the upper first rotating body 61. A metal roll engraved with a concavo-convex pattern can be adopted as the pattern roll 613. And the 2nd rotary body 62 is comprised by the endless porous rubber belt 621 in which many through-holes are formed, and the vacuum roll 622 arrange | positioned in the inside. The vacuum roll 622 includes a ring-shaped member 622a and a suction portion 622b formed of a porous material that rotates in contact with the back side of the porous rubber belt 621. Even with such a configuration, the uneven pattern can be more reliably imparted to the pulp fiber layer.

FIG. 2 (c) is a modification of FIG. 2 (b), and a porous rubber roll 625a formed as a ring-shaped member that rotates in contact with the upper pattern roll 613, and a suction part 625b disposed therein. The vacuum roll 625 is comprised by these, and the structural example at the time of making this into the 2nd rotary body 62 is shown. According to this example, the structure on the second rotating body 62 side can be simplified. Even with such a configuration, the concave-convex pattern can be reliably imparted to the pulp fiber layer.
In the example shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the porous rubber belt 621 or the porous rubber roll 625 is used. However, a felt belt or a felt roll formed of a felt material may be used.

By the first rotating body 61 and the second rotating body 62 described in detail above, the concavo-convex pattern can be transferred onto the stacked body TWeb in an unheated state. However, as it is, the concavo-convex pattern imparted to the stacked body TWeb is in an unstable state.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, a drying device 7 is provided on the downstream side of the embossing device 6 to dry the laminated body TWeb to fix the uneven pattern and complete the production of the composite nonwoven fabric. is there. The drying device 7 employed here is a non-compression type dryer. The non-compression type dryer suppresses the uneven pattern and web thickness imparted to the laminate TWeb by the embossing device 6 from decreasing during drying. As the non-compression type dryer, an air-through dryer can be suitably used.
In FIG. 1, a rotatable dryer body 71 of the air-through dryer is a cylindrical body, and a large number of through holes are provided on the peripheral surface thereof, so that hot air heated by a heat source (not shown) is centered from the outer periphery of the dryer body 71. It is the structure which inhales toward the part side.
Therefore, since pressure is not applied to the surface of the laminate TWeb during drying, it is possible to prevent a reduction in the uneven pattern or the like. When the laminate TWeb comes out of the drying device 7, the product is sufficiently dried to complete the bonding between the fibers, and has a concave-convex pattern. A composite nonwoven fabric CWeb is obtained. The composite nonwoven fabric CWeb manufactured continuously in this manner is wound around the roller 81 of the winding device 8 to complete a series of steps.

The composite nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus 1 described with reference to FIG. 1 imparts a concavo-convex pattern to a nonwoven fabric with a novel idea of inserting a non-heating type embossing device 6 between a water jetting device 5 and a drying device 7. . Conventionally, a web raw fabric is manufactured by a nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus and is once wound on a roll. Then, the uneven | corrugated pattern was provided to the nonwoven fabric by the process of pulling out the original fabric from the roll and applying it to an embossing device. In particular, conventionally, since there is no idea of embossing during the manufacturing process of the nonwoven fabric, an embossing device has been separately prepared. Therefore, it took a lot of time and cost to produce a final nonwoven fabric product having an uneven pattern.
On the other hand, in the manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, since the embossing device 6 is a so-called on-machine type disposed in the manufacturing apparatus 1, simplification of equipment and Since manufacturing speed can be increased, manufacturing cost can be greatly suppressed.

  Although the description of the embodiment has been completed above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manufacturing apparatus of composite type nonwoven fabric 2 Airlaid apparatus 3 Synthetic fiber web supply apparatus 4 Suction apparatus 5 Water jet apparatus 6 Embossing apparatus 7 Drying apparatus 8 Winding apparatus 21 Defibration machine 22 Duct 23 Airlaid hopper 24 Lamination position 28 Nipping roller 30 Prewetting Device 31 Spray nozzle 32 Suction device 41 Suction device main body 42 Suction part 43 Conveying wire 51 Water jet nozzle 52 Suction device FP Pulp fiber (pulp fiber layer)
PWeb Preliminary laminate TWeb laminate (wet laminate)
CWeb laminate (completed composite nonwoven fabric)
SW Synthetic fiber web (synthetic fiber layer)

Claims (7)

A pulp fiber layer and a synthetic fiber layer are laminated and integrated, and a method for producing a composite nonwoven fabric having an uneven pattern,
Including a hydroentanglement step of obtaining a laminate by promoting integration of the pulp fiber layer and the synthetic fiber layer, and a drying step of drying the laminate after the hydroentanglement step,
Between the hydroentanglement step and the drying step, an embossing process step for imparting the uneven pattern to the laminate in a wet state is further set,
In the drying step, the laminated body is dried in an uncompressed state.   The method for producing a composite nonwoven fabric according to claim 1, wherein in the embossing treatment step, the uneven pattern is imparted to the laminate in a non-heated state.   3. The method for producing a composite nonwoven fabric according to claim 2, wherein, in the embossing treatment step, the laminate is sandwiched and squeezed and the uneven pattern is applied. A pulp fiber layer and a synthetic fiber layer are laminated and integrated, and a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a composite nonwoven fabric having an uneven pattern,
It comprises at least a hydroentanglement part that promotes integration of the pulp fiber layer and the synthetic fiber layer to obtain a laminate, and a drying part that dries the laminate downstream of the hydroentanglement part,
Between the hydroentanglement part and the drying part, an embossing treatment part for providing the uneven pattern to the laminated body in a wet state is further arranged,
The said drying part contains the non-compression type dryer which dries the said laminated body, The manufacturing apparatus of the composite type nonwoven fabric characterized by the above-mentioned.   The said embossing process part is a process part which gives the uneven | corrugated pattern to the said laminated body in a non-heated state, The manufacturing apparatus of the composite type nonwoven fabric of Claim 4 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The embossing processing unit is in pressure contact with the first rotating body having a first rotating body having a plate on which the unevenness corresponding to the uneven pattern is formed, and an elastic body on the surface. The composite nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a second rotating body that is rotatable.   The first rotating body is a metal roll engraved with a concavo-convex pattern or an endless wire in which the concavo-convex pattern is set in advance, and the second rotating body is a rubber roll or a rubber belt. The manufacturing apparatus of the composite type nonwoven fabric described in 1.

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