JP2019536916A - Down and polymer blend thermal insulation sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

A lightweight insulation sheet comprising polymer fibers and down insulation mixed with the fibers is described. Down and polymer fibers improve stretchability and lofting, and the insulating material dries faster. Polymer fibers are polyester or crimped bulky fibers, which are mixed with microfibers to further enhance lofting. The binder is added in the form of a powder adhesive and is composed of polymer fibers, which when heated binds the mixture or fiber to the mixture or fibers and interconnects at the intersections to bind the mixture.

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal insulation sheet consisting of down mixed with polymer fibers, which forms a lightweight insulation sheet for use in the production of thermal insulation products, wherein such thermal insulation sheet is compared to a full (100%) down insulation sheet. It has improved elasticity and lofting, and has excellent drying speed when wet with water and low price.

  The use of a down in sheet form is described in applicant's US Pat. No. 6,025,041. However, while down is an expensive product compared to synthetic fiber insulation, the latter is inferior in heat insulation and lightness at the same level as down. In addition, it takes a longer time for a down that has absorbed moisture by washing or the like to recover insulation properties than a synthetic fiber such as a polyester fiber. In addition, polymer fibers when used as insulation products are more resilient, for example, lofting, than natural down or cotton.

  The use of microfibers mixed with crimped bulky fibers for use as insulation in the manufacture of apparel products is well known and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4 of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, issued Oct. 3, 1978. , 118, 531. As noted above, microfibers are heavier than alternative fibrous insulation. Since the surface area of the ultrafine fibers is larger than that of the polyester staple fibers, a larger amount of air is taken into the ultrafine fibers, and heat transfer in the web containing the ultrafine fibers is reduced. The ratio of microfibers in this type of insulating web is small compared to the ratio of total microfiber webs, but it is obviously sufficient to achieve a state of thermal resistance per unit of web thickness corresponding to total microfiber webs. The microfibers are retained. The lofting and elasticity of such webs is provided in a blend with crimped bulky fibers. The advantages of insulators using microfibers are that they are lighter, less bulky and warmer than insulators using polyester short fibers.

  No. 6,025,041 by the applicant raises the problem of using down as an insulator in the manufacture of apparel products. Ostrich or duck down insulation is known to have better insulation properties due to its ability to retain heat. Because down is a natural product, it is more expensive than synthetic fibers such as polyester. For this reason, in addition to the excellent insulation properties using both down and synthetic fibers, the production of heat insulating materials with other characteristics including low cost, quick drying, less shrinkage properties, etc. It is desired to provide excellent lofting.

  In view of the above, a feature of the present invention is to provide a lightweight polymer insulating sheet having improved thermal efficiency, elasticity, and lofting.

  Another feature of the present invention is to provide a down insulation sheet comprising down mixed with polymer fibers or natural fibers to achieve improved lofting, resiliency, speed of drying, and low cost.

  From a broad aspect based on the above features, the present invention provides a lightweight polymer insulating sheet having improved thermal efficiency. The insulating sheet is comprised of polymer fibers mixed with a predetermined number of down materials, and a binder that maintains the down materials with the polymer fibers combined into a fully intermixed homogeneous mixture. Insulation sheets made in this way exhibit improved resiliency and lofting of the down material and speed of drying as compared to all down insulation sheets.

  In a broader aspect of the invention, the insulating sheet comprises polyester fibers mixed with down.

  In another broader aspect of the present invention, there is provided a down insulating sheet having improved lofting, elasticity, and drying properties. The down insulation sheet comprises a down material mixed with a predetermined number of polymer fibers or natural fibers, and a binder that maintains the down material and the polymer fibers in a fully intermixed homogeneous mixture.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be further described with reference to the following drawings.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a system for producing an insulating sheet of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a polymer insulation sheet made of down, polymer fibers, and a binder. FIG. 3 is another cross-sectional view of a down insulating sheet made of down, polymer fiber or natural fiber, and a binder. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a crimped bulky fiber.

  Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, generally 10 indicates a machine or system for making the lightweight insulating sheet 11 of the present invention. Down insulation 12, in the form of ostrich or duck feathers, or a mixture thereof, as shown, is injected or discharged into an air mix chamber 13 via an inlet chute 16 and a controlled air pressure from an air outlet 14. And mix in the mix chamber by the controlled turbulence 15. Either added to the mix chamber 13 via another chute 17 or otherwise injected is a suitable polyester fiber 18 or a crimped bulky fiber 19 as shown in FIG. A binder in the form of a heat-sensitive powder adhesive 20 is also released into the mixture in the turbulence 15.

  The mixture in the mix chamber propagates downwards due to gravity and exits through an opening 30 in the bottom of the mix chamber and moves on a conveyor belt 21 or with a conveyor as shown, a backing weave. It is deposited on the cloth 22. The conveyor belt 21 is driven by a driving drum 35. The deposited mixture is a homogeneous mixture that is completely mixed. The speed of the conveyor determines the thickness of the insulating sheet 11. The mixed material exiting the mix chamber 13 is then compressed by a compression belt assembly 23 and transferred to a heat treatment chamber 24 where it is subsequently heated to melt the powder adhesive and bond the down to the fibers, or The crimped bulky fiber or another polymer fiber is softened and joined at the intersection to capture the down mixture. As a result, this results in the insulation down and fiber-mixed insulation sheet of the present invention.

  FIG. 2 shows a mixture of bondable down feathers 12 'and suitable polymer fibers 18' heated and captured between the backing support sheet 22 and the upper fiber sheet 25. The polymer fiber 18 'is a crimped bulky polymer fiber 19, such as the fiber shown in FIG. 4, this configuration exhibiting stretch properties well known to those skilled in the art. In addition, microfibers 32 are added to the mixture to bind more fibers, while the use of microfibers improves lofting and increases space. The lower fiber sheet 22 and the upper fiber sheet 25 are made of a lightweight material and are preferably, but not limited to, stretchable to provide flexibility to the insulating sheet 11 '.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the insulating sheet 11 '' may be made of suitable polymer fibers or natural fibers such as wool, bamboo fibers, beans, charcoal, milk, or other suitable fibers or compositions having insulating and lofting properties. Formed as a mixture of down material 12 'mixed with 18'. Like the mixture described above, the mixture includes particles 20 of powdered adhesive, which when heated causes the adhesive to bind the mixture. As shown in FIG. 3, a lightweight mixture of thermal insulation is enclosed between opposing fiber sheets 25 and 22 made of stretchable polymer fibers.

  While the lightweight polymer thermal insulation sheet in the above embodiments for blending and fabrication has many uses, it is not limited to apparel products, and a few examples are where sheet-like lightweight insulation is desirable. Used for comforter covers, winter boot linings, and other products for commercial use. As a result, it is also pointed out that a lightweight insulating sheet is improved in elasticity and lofting performance by using the above-mentioned polymer fiber. The blend of polymer fibers and down has a shorter drying time and minimal shrinkage than the whole down insulation sheet.

Obvious modifications of the examples in the preferred embodiments described herein are covered, without departing from the scope of the invention, and such modifications are included in the appended claims.

Claims (16)

  A lightweight polymer insulating sheet having improved thermal efficiency, wherein the polymer insulating sheet comprises polymer fibers mixed using a predetermined number of down materials, and the polymer fibers combined into a completely mixed homogeneous mixture. A binder that retains the down material, wherein the polymer insulation sheet has a reduced polymer insulation with improved resiliency and lofting of the down material and a faster drying rate compared to a full down insulation sheet. Sheet.   The lightweight polymer insulation sheet of claim 1, wherein the polymer fibers are polyester fibers that minimize shrinkage of the polymer insulation sheet when exposed to humidity or moisture penetration.   The polymer fibers are crimped bulky fibers, and the binder is comprised of the crimped bulky fibers heat treated with a mixture with the down material, wherein the crimped bulky fibers are softened and crossed. The lightweight polymer insulating sheet of claim 1, wherein the lightweight polymer insulating sheet is joined at the ends to join the entirety of the homogeneous mixture.   The lightweight polymer insulation sheet of claim 1, wherein the polymer fibers are bonded at intersections when heated to provide the binder.   When the crimped bulky fibers are mixed with the ultrafine fibers and heated, both the crimped bulky fibers and the ultrafine fibers are joined at the intersections to provide air retention, stretchability, and 4. The lightweight polymer insulating sheet of claim 3, which enhances the weighting.   The lightweight polymer insulation sheet according to claim 1, further comprising a lightweight support fiber sheet bonded to one of the opposing surfaces of the polymer insulation sheet.   The lightweight polymer insulation sheet according to claim 1, wherein the homogeneous mixture is enclosed between a pair of lightweight fiber sheets.   The lightweight polymer insulating sheet according to claim 7, wherein the lightweight fiber sheet is formed of stretchable polymer fibers.   A down insulating sheet having improved lofting, elasticity, and drying properties, wherein the down insulating sheet is a uniform mixture completely mixed with a down material mixed using a predetermined number of polymer fibers or natural fibers. A down insulating sheet comprising the down material and a binder that maintains the polymer fibers or the natural fibers.   10. The down insulating sheet according to claim 9, wherein the polymer fibers are polyester fibers that minimize shrinkage of the down insulating sheet.   10. The down insulating sheet according to claim 9, wherein the natural fiber is wool, bamboo, beans, charcoal, milk, or a mixture thereof, or one of similar fibrous materials having heat insulating properties.   The polymer fibers are crimped bulky fibers, and the binder is comprised of the crimped bulky fibers heat treated with a mixture with the down material, wherein the crimped bulky fibers are softened. 10. The lightweight down insulation sheet of claim 9, wherein the light down insulation sheet is joined at intersections to join the entirety of the homogeneous mixture.   13. The lightweight down according to claim 12, wherein the crimped bulky fibers are mixed with ultra-fine fibers and joined at intersections to improve lofting and improve the elasticity and shrinkage of the down insulation sheet. Insulating sheet.   10. The lightweight down insulating sheet of claim 9, further comprising a lightweight supporting fiber sheet bonded to one of the opposing surfaces of the down insulating sheet.   10. The down insulating sheet of claim 9, wherein the homogeneous mixture is enclosed between a pair of lightweight fiber sheets.   The down insulating sheet according to claim 15, wherein the lightweight fiber sheet is formed of stretchable polymer fibers.

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