JP2793717B2 - Skin material back-coated with a thin layer of latex foam and integral foamed product using it - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a skin material formed by forming a thin layer of latex foam by back-coating a fabric with latex, and an integrally foamed product molded using the skin material. More specifically, the present invention relates to a composite skin material formed by coating a thin layer of breathable latex foam on the inner surface of a breathable fabric, and injecting the main body foam into the final desired product to form an integral foam. The present invention relates to products such as vehicle seats, seat cushions, headrests, armrests, sun visors, and the like.

BACKGROUND ART A breathable cover (skin) is formed into a final desired product, for example, a seat cushion, and a stock solution of a soft polyurethane to be a body foam is injected into the body to form a body foam and a skin into an integral body. Making bonded monolithic foam products has long been known. However, in this case, if the polyurethane stock solution is injected directly into the inside of the breathable epidermis, the stock solution penetrates into the texture of the epidermis or leaches out to the surface of the epidermis and hardens there, where it hardens and hardens. Partially hard, uncomfortable areas called spots can be disadvantageously formed. In order to avoid this, it has been proposed to provide a buffer layer for preventing the stock solution serving as the main body foam from entering the epidermis.

According to this, a thin layer of slab urethane is stuck on the inner surface of the epidermis as a buffer layer, and the undiluted solution of polyurethane (body foam) can be injected directly onto this slab urethane layer. The injected stock solution penetrates a little into the slab urethane layer and cures to form a thin "surface layer" (plane layer), which consists of the slab urethane and the skin and body to which it is bonded (bonded). It is said to advantageously provide a sufficient bond with the foam.

However, in reality, when the cream-like solution discharged at the time of injection directly hits the slab urethane surface, the main body foam quickly penetrates into a large cell, forming a hard spot, or passing through the slab foam and leaving a cloth tissue. The disadvantages of forming disadvantageous hard spots or impregnating the slab urethane layer over a wide area to form a thick cured layer depending on the shape of parts have been recognized.

For this reason, many U.S. patents have proposed a technique of attaching an airtight film to the inner surface of the body in order to prevent the foam from penetrating into the skin. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,247,347 (Lischer et al.) And 4,247,348.
No. (Lischer), No. 4,264,386 (Sears, Jr. et al.),
No. 4,287,143 (Sears, Jr. et al.) And the like describe that an airtight film made of polyvinyl chloride is suitably affixed to the inside of a surface cloth. However, when such an airtight film is used, the resulting product loses air permeability, and when touching the surface of the product, a moist feeling or a sticky feeling occurs, which causes discomfort, so this method has a practical problem. .

Even if the use of the slab urethane as the buffer layer described above and the use of the airtight film disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Patent were the same, the result would be the same, and the product surface would have a comfortable feeling of providing air permeability. It cannot be realized.
In order to provide a comfortable feel on the product surface, it is absolutely necessary to provide an intervening layer between the main body foam and the surface cloth that guarantees air permeability, and this intervening layer can also prevent disadvantageous penetration of the main body foam at the same time. It is necessary to.

Furthermore, in the pasting of the slab urethane layer, the production of slab urethane in the first place involves first producing a large block-shaped foam and slicing it into a number of slabs of a desired thickness, which increases production cost. In addition, it includes the disadvantage from a practical point of view that it requires a space for storing a large number of sliced slab urethane layers, and since slab urethane is usually attached by flame welding, toxic gas It is not always a preferable method in view of the fact that it is generated in large quantities and has a deleterious effect on the factory and the surrounding environment. Further, applying a film bonding technique as found in the above-mentioned U.S. Patent, for example, applying a non-hermetic, air-permeable film having a large number of air holes was combined with the above-mentioned slab urethane bonding technique. Even if such an improved method is devised and a product with good air permeability is obtained as a result, such a method requires many manufacturing steps, and is problematic in that it will be complicated and expensive. The problem that a large amount of toxic gas is generated in the slab urethane attaching process cannot be fundamentally solved.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has a simple manufacturing process, has no risk of environmental pollution such as generation of toxic gas, has good air permeability as desired, and forms a hard spot by permeation of the main body foam. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new skin material for an integrally foamed product, which does not have the above problems.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a practical method for producing the above-mentioned skin material.

Further, the present invention also aims at an integral foamed product itself manufactured using the above-mentioned novel skin material.

In order to achieve these objects, according to the present invention, a rubber-based or synthetic resin-based polymer material latex is coated and foam-cured on the inner surface of an air-permeable cloth to generate fine open cells inside. A skin material is realized by integrally forming a thin layer of latex foam having a denser cell near the surface and a skin on the surface with the fabric.

The thickness of the latex foam thin layer can be controlled by the amount of latex applied, but is usually 0.1 to 3.00 m
It is preferable to foam and harden it to a thickness of about m. The open cell in the latex foam thin layer is a mechanical open cell in which the number of cells can be relatively easily adjusted by adjusting mechanical stirring before applying the latex. If done, it can be adjusted to increase the number of cells to reduce the density of the latex foam lamina and thus increase the air permeability.
Also in this case, it is difficult to directly control the size of the open cell itself, but it is possible to increase or decrease the thickness of the dense cell layer. In general, the size of one of the dense cells is on the order of 2μ to 10μ, and the size of the inner cell is on the order of 10μ to 30μ. And the number of cells is preferably in the range of 20,000 cells / cm ^{2 to} 70,000 cells / cm ^{2 on} average, and if the latex foam of the present invention, unlike the case of the conventional slab urethane foam, the production of the skin material Adjustment of such a preferred range is possible on site. Even the large open cells inside the latex foam thin layer of the present invention, compared to the conventionally used slab urethane cells, the size is about 1/5 to 1/10, especially 1/10 to Only 1/80 micropores are possible.

As the fabric of the skin material, natural fibers such as cotton and wool, or various synthetic fibers, or a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, or a nonwoven fabric made of a blended or blended yarn thereof are breathable, hygroscopic, and have a comfortable touch. Is used. Before applying the latex, it is necessary to sufficiently remove the wrinkles, folds and dust of the cotton, and to maintain the flatness.

Usable latexes include various natural rubbers such as styrene / butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile / butadiene rubber, natural rubber, silicone rubber, methylene / butadiene rubber, synthetic rubbers and various modified products thereof, and rubbers comprising copolymers. -Based latex; and various synthetic resins or natural resins such as acrylic, urethane, vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, polystyrene, polyethylene, and various modified alloys thereof,
There is a resin-based latex made of a copolymer.

About 20 ~ 40 ℃ suitable latex selected from these
The mechanical stirring is performed while maintaining the temperature at the appropriate temperature to prepare for the production of the mechanical cell. Less agitation results in a latex foam having a higher density and therefore a smaller number of cells and less air permeability. It is important that thorough agitation be used to mix the air sufficiently to produce a latex foam having a low density and therefore a large number of cells. Depending on the type of latex material selected, stirring usually needs to be performed at the above temperature for about 3 to 15 minutes.

The agitated latex material is applied to the inner surface of the fabric, also at 20-40 ° C. The method of application can be by knife coating or roll coating. If the temperature of the latex material during application is too low, large bubbles may be entrained and it is difficult to produce a coating with a uniform coating thickness. On the other hand, if the temperature at the time of application is too high, air bubbles easily escape, and it becomes impossible to coat at a high bulk, which is unsuitable.

After application to a predetermined thickness, the latex undergoes a pre-drying and curing process. The conditions of these steps vary depending on the coating thickness and the density to be obtained. However, as a rule, predrying is usually appropriate at 80 to 120 ° C. for 3 to 5 minutes, and subsequent curing is usually 150 to 170 minutes. C. for 2-3 minutes. If pre-drying is extremely high temperature and short time,
The skin thickness is increased, the dense cell layer is thin, large cells are formed inside, and the pores on the skin surface are also large, so that the main body foam is easily impregnated, which does not meet the purpose of the present invention. On the other hand, when left at room temperature for an extremely long time (for example, overnight), the skin is thin, the dense cells occupy most, the large cells are very few, and the pores on the skin surface are small, so that the impregnation of the main body foam is prevented. Is advantageous, but there is a problem in air permeability.

Crushing is preferably performed after preliminary drying in order to ensure proper air permeability and to form a dense cell. That is, the latex material is sufficiently agitated, the coating is performed so that the density becomes as small as possible (there are many cells), and the whole skin material is crushed after pre-drying. Since the air permeability can be suppressed and the air permeability can be controlled to some extent depending on the degree of crushing, it is possible to advantageously obtain a light-weight and dense cell latex foam thin layer as a whole. The crushing process is mechanical,
Alternatively, it can be carried out manually and is very easily carried out, preferably by passing through rollers whose clearance can be adjusted freely.

The skin material of the present invention thus obtained has a structure in which the thin layer of latex foam has a substantially smooth skin on the surface and a mechanical open cell in which the formation is relatively easy to control. As desired, while maintaining good air permeability, it well prevents penetration of main body foam such as high-speed urethane, etc., and is a hard impregnated layer (surface layer) as in the case of using conventional slab urethane
In addition, a strong bonding force between the main body foam and the skin material can be generated without forming a foam, thereby making it possible to produce a highly breathable integrated foam product having a comfortable surface feel and a flexible overall structure. The skin material of the present invention can be used for various integrally foamed products, and is particularly used for products such as vehicle seats, seat cushions, headrests, armrests, and especially thin or small diameter products such as sun visors. It is recognized that it is excellent as a skin material for integrated foam products.

The skin material of the present invention can be manufactured by a simpler, safer and more economical process than the conventional method of attaching slab urethane. In particular, since the latex used in the present invention is a water-soluble sol solution, when coated on the inner surface of the fabric, the fibers are wrapped and firmly fixed firmly, so that the bonding depends on the condition of the bonding surface like conventional slab urethane. Unlike welding or adhesion, in which the force is liable to change, there is an advantage that there is almost no difference in the fixing force due to the material or structure of the fabric. For this reason, there is little restriction on the cloth (surface cloth) to be used, which gives a great degree of freedom in determining the product design. Further, since the variation of the fixing force is smaller than that of the bonding or welding method, there is an advantage that a stable high-quality foamed product can be obtained.

Furthermore, since the latex to be used is a water-soluble sol solution in the method for producing a skin material of the present invention, in the step of drying and curing, any gas that is harmful and causes air pollution during flame welding of slab urethane is used. Therefore, it can be said that this method should be recommended in terms of environmental health.

In addition, when making a one-piece foam product, the foaming mixture is overpacked to more than the calculated amount in order to adjust the finished product to the shape as designed, but in the case of conventional slab urethane, overpacking is performed. The higher the pressure, the more the foamable mixture penetrates deeply into the slab urethane layer to form a thick cured layer. However, the thin layer of the latex foam of the present invention has a surface skin and a fine mechanical open cell due to its fine skin. Even when overpacking about 8% to 8%, only a very small amount of the foamable mixture penetrates into the latex foam thin layer and only a very thin cured film can be formed, so that the shape of the product and the feeling of the product are maintained. There is an advantage that both can be achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a skin material according to the present invention, showing an integral bond between a fabric and a latex foam thin layer and a surface skin of the latex foam thin layer. I have.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a cross section of a skin material according to the present invention and a main body foam which is foamed and bonded thereto by microscopic enlargement. It shows the bonded state, the mechanical open cells and surface skin inside the latex foam lamina, and the strong bonding of the body foam to the surface skin.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the injection of a high-speed reaction type main body foam stock solution into a headrest as an example of a product using the skin material of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an elongated cylinder for explaining the difference in performance of a skin material of the present invention (A) having a thin layer of latex foam and a skin material (B) lined with a conventional slab urethane with respect to the injection of a stock solution of a main body foam. It is a perspective view of a shaped product.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing an example of a result of a performance comparison test.

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view showing a part of the surface of a skin latex foam thin layer (A) of the present invention for comparison and a part of the surface of a conventional skin slab foam (B) by microscopic enlargement. Department.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view exemplifying a product that can be integrally foam-molded using the skin material of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, a skin material according to the present invention comprises a breathable fabric 10 and a latex foam thin layer 15 having its inner surface back-coated. It is illustrated as As described above, the fabric 10 is made of natural fibers such as cotton and wool, or various synthetic fibers, or a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, or a nonwoven fabric made of a blended yarn of these fibers.
And a material having a comfortable tactile sensation, and preferably a knitted fabric made of polyester fiber is usually used. The fabric 10 is
It has a surface 11 and an inner surface 12 to which a thin layer of latex foam 15 according to the invention is bonded by way of a bonding region 17 which will be described in more detail below. Latex foam thin layer
No. 15 is formed by applying an appropriate latex selected from a wide range of candidate material groups directly to the inner surface of the fabric and then foam-hardening it on the spot.
A plurality of open cells 18 are formed in close communication with the thin layer of latex foam near the surface opposite to the fabric, and a very thin air-permeable surface skin 22 is formed outside the layer.

The breathable skin 22 is formed with micropores 21 as can be seen from FIG. 2, but the outer surface of the skin is substantially smooth, and the body foam (25 in FIG. 2) to be injected later.
) Can be guided in a slippery manner. This is a major difference from the conventional slab urethane foam as will be described later with reference to FIG. The thickness of the latex foam thin layer 15 of the present invention is from 0.1 after foam curing.
A thickness of about 3.0 mm was preferred, and in particular, 0.8 to 2.0 mm was recognized as the most preferred.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a state in which a part of a product obtained by injecting and foaming a body foam, for example, a high-speed reaction type polyurethane (stock solution of a body foam) inside a skin material of the present invention, is cut and enlarged by a microscope. FIG.

In this figure, only the portion of the fabric 10 near the inner surface 12 is shown, and a part of the weft 13 and the warp 14 is visible. The latex foam thin layer 15 is a material that has been cured in a region near the fabric and is mechanically bonded 16 so as to embrace the fibers (in this case, the warp 14) of the fabric, which form a bonded region 17 as a whole. This provides a strong bond between the thin foam layer 15 and the fabric 10. The bonding between the latex foam and the fabric can be performed by a relatively simple operation without generating any harmful gas and the like, as in the case of the conventional flame welding of slab urethane foam, quietly and safely. There is no adverse effect of environmental pollution.

Applied, dried and cured latex foam thin layer 15
As shown schematically in FIG. 2, a number of mechanical open cells 18 formed in communication with each other inside are assured to ensure effective air permeability. Near the surface of the latex foam thin layer 15, there is a dense open cell layer 20, on the outside of which a very thin breathable skin 22 is formed, which also has micropores 21. Breathable skin
Although the outer surface of 22 has, of course, micropores, it has a very dense structure from the viewpoint of the substance of the body foam 25, forms a substantially smooth surface, and is a latex foam of the foaming body foam. It constitutes a barrier sufficient to prevent penetration into the thin layer 15. Thus, even if the foamable mixture, such as fast-reacting urethane, which becomes the main body foam, directly hits the skin surface 22, the foamable mixture penetrates and is hard, as in the case of the conventional slab urethane foam, and A very thick impregnated hardened layer is not formed in the latex foam thin layer 15, and even if the stock solution of the main body foam tries to enter the latex foam thin layer in an uncured state, it will slightly enter the micropores of the skin 20, or at most Layer of dense cells slightly passing through
Since it is completely cured around 20 and stops, the so-called impregnated layer is about the same thickness as the dense cell layer 20 shown in FIG. 2 and is substantially impregnated with a hard feel from the outside. Is not formed. Such a very thin impregnation layer is necessary to provide a bond between the body foam 25 and the latex foam layer 15, and in this sense, the skin 22 and the dense cell layer 20 prevent the thick impregnation of the body foam 25 It is both a barrier and a bonding layer sufficient to provide bonding to the body foam. Thus, the skin material of the present invention has a mechanical bonding area 17 that provides a strong bond between the thin layer of latex 15 and the fabric 10, restricts penetration of the main body foam on the opposite surface, and has sufficient The presence of a breathable skin that provides bonding and a controllable dense cell layer 20 is a novel feature not previously foreseen. Also, while the skin 22 has the micropores 21 for providing air permeability, the outer surface thereof has a substantially smooth surface with respect to the main body foam, and has an advantage of improving the slip of the main body foam.

An example of an integral foamed product that can be advantageously produced by utilizing the properties of the skin material of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Fig. 3 shows the headrest mounted on the upper side of the seat back
30 (see FIG. 7). Skin material 31 of the present invention
Is sewn or welded in advance into a three-dimensional shape of the headrest with the fabric 10 on the outside and the latex foam thin layer 15 on the inside. A breathable skin 22 of a thin layer of latex foam 15 covers the entire inner circumference of the headrest. The headrest that has been processed into a three-dimensional shape and the inside is still empty, the opening is closed by the closure 33 attached to the opening corresponding to the bottom surface,
The injection nozzle 32 is inserted through the closure 33 and set in an appropriate mold M. The outer end of the injection nozzle 32 is connected to a source of the main body foam solution. 35 is a core of a headrest, and a metal or plastic plate can be used. The body foam stock solution 36 is discharged directly onto the core 35 from the inner end of the nozzle 32 and hits the skin 22 on the top (right side in the figure) of the headrest while rapidly expanding and foaming.

In the prior art, the collision caused a problem that the uncured creamy solution penetrated into the slab urethane considerably deeply and hardened. Therefore, an obstacle 38 indicated by a chain line in FIG. For example, it was necessary to disperse the creamy stock solution. However, according to the present invention, although the skin 22 and the dense cell layer 20 of the latex foam thin layer 15 retain air permeability, they do not allow the creamy stock solution to penetrate, so that the stock solution that collides with the skin is rapidly there. The curing reaction proceeds, and the curing is completed only when the curing reaction slightly enters the micropores 21 (see FIG. 2). The creamy concentrate discharged on the core 35 and diffused in all directions reaches the skin on the entire inner periphery of the headrest in the same state, and is impregnated and hardened only slightly in the skin or the dense cell layer. Thus, by using the skin material of the present invention, it is possible to produce a high quality product by directly injecting the stock solution into the skin material without having to worry about the penetration of the cream foam into the skin material.

As described above, the skin material of the present invention has an advantage that the skin 22 of the latex foam thin layer 15 improves the slip of the main body foam. This is especially useful for integral foam molding of thin or small diameter products. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 (A) shows a skin material of the present invention obtained by back-coating a thin layer of latex foam 15 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 on a breathable fabric 10 having an inner diameter of about 40 mm and a length of about 500 mm. A high-speed urethane HR was injected by inserting a discharge port (dotted line) of the mixing head into an injection hole 41 at one end of the cylinder 40. FIG. 4 (B) is a cylinder obtained by sewing a skin material lined with a conventional slab urethane U to the same size.
50, the same fast-reacting urethane
HR was injected. In each of the two cylinders 40 and 50, a predetermined calculation amount (see Table 1 below) was injected almost instantaneously (a fraction of a second). The injected main body foam HR proceeds to the back along the inner surface (15, U) of each cylinder while expanding and expanding, and hardens and stops. The distance reached at this time is L
₁ (invention) and L ₂ (conventional product). As is apparent at first sight, the latex foam thin layer of the present invention
The cylinder backcoated with 15 achieves a longer foaming distance than the conventional cylinder using slab urethane.

Table 1 below shows five examples tested in the manner shown in FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B).

The results in Table 1 show that the density (apparent density) was the lowest in Test 2 (cylinder using the skin material of the present invention, closed on one side). Similarly, in Tests 3 to 5 (opening both ends of the cylinder) in which the sewing specifications are changed, the density of Test 4 using the skin material of the present invention is similarly low.

Regardless of the actual foaming volume, foaming distance and reaching rate, regardless of the sewing specifications, it is recognized that the case using the skin material of the present invention using a thin layer of latex foam (Tests 2 and 4) is excellent.

When the internal structure was visually observed by cutting the cylinder subjected to the injection foaming test, the formation of a considerably thick impregnated layer (a layer in which the high-speed reaction type urethane stock solution penetrated the slab urethane and hardened) was observed in the conventional slab urethane foam. In particular, it was recognized that the impregnation layer was thick and large in the vicinity of the injection point, and the impregnation decreased toward the end.

On the other hand, for the thin layer of latex foam of the present invention, the impregnated layer is very thin, as described with reference to FIG. This was similar from near the injection point to the end.

As for the hardness (Asker C type hardness tester), the hardness of the conventional slab urethane foam is large near the injection point and sharply decreases toward the end as seen in Tests 1, 3, and 5. This is due to the difference in the impregnation rate. On the other hand, the hardness of the thin layer of the latex foam of the present invention is almost uniform from the injection point to the end as shown particularly in the example of Test 2, indicating that there is little change in the impregnation rate. I have.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the values of the foaming distance and hardness of Test 3 (conventional product) and Test 4 (present invention) among the above tests. In FIG. 5, a solid line U represents a slab urethane foam, and a broken line L represents a thin layer of latex foam. Latex foam L reached the point 402 mm from the injection point, whereas urethane foam U stopped at 363 mm. Urethane foam U has 17 or more Asuka C Katasa near the injection point, 15 at the center (point of 200 mm), and 3 at the end (3
While the Katasa decreases linearly to 13 at 63mm),
Latex foam according to the present invention is about 12, near the injection point,
It is almost uniform at about 10 from the center to the end. The value of catasa of conventional slab urethane is at a high level, whereas that of latex foam according to the present invention is at a low level and is almost uniformly stable. This indicates a large (conventional product) or small (the present invention) ratio of the body foam impregnating the back coat layer, that is, the skin material of the present invention improves the expansion and expansion of the body foam in a small-diameter or thin-walled foam product. It shows excellent performance that the formation of a cured impregnated layer is extremely small.

Such a difference in performance will be further described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 (A) is a schematic enlarged view of a part of the surface of the latex foam of the present invention, and FIG. 6 (B) is a schematic enlarged view of a part of the surface of a conventional slab urethane at the same scale. The surface 22 of the latex foam is shown with diagonal lines for clarity, but this is the skin described above, and the dense open cells 21 are formed. The size of the cell 21 is extremely small, from 2 microns to at most about 10 microns. In the latex foam layer inside the skin 22, fine cells comparable to the cells 21 are generated, and on the inside, the slightly larger open cells 18 are on average.
Although they are formed in communication with each other in a size of 10 to 30 microns, they are mainly indicated by broken lines 18 in the figure. In FIG. 6 (A), a slightly large cell 18 is drawn immediately behind the minute cell 21 for the sake of convenience of illustration, and is actually the same as that already shown in FIG. As can be seen from the figure, since the dense cell layer 20 is interposed between the skin and the open cell 18, the surface skin
From 22 the open cell 18 is not directly visible.

On the other hand, in the conventional slab urethane, as shown in FIG. 6 (B), the open cell C is formed about 5 to 10 times as large as that of the latex foam. In contrast, the intervening diaphragm M is thinner than in the case of latex foam. Of course, no skin is formed on the surface.

As is apparent from the above, in the case of the conventional slab urethane, the body foam injected thereon is very easy to enter the cell C, and the area which can be called “outer surface” to be blocked or slipped by the body foam is as follows. Very small. For it,
The latex foam used in the present invention was injected because the film or wall occupying the small cells 21 and the cells 21 in the surface skin 22 is relatively thick, and the cells 21 are very small as can be seen from the figure. The creamy or liquid foaming mixture is impeded by the skin surface even when directly hit on the latex foam, and does not immediately enter the cell,
It remains on the skin surface for a very short period of time, during which time the fast-reacting mixture is less likely to penetrate easily from the microcells 21 as creaming proceeds rapidly and some foam expansion is initiated. The foaming mixture that expands in this way, rather than penetrate into the high resistance cells 21,
It spreads as if sliding on top, and the reach extends far and deep. In this way, since the possibility that the foamable mixture impregnates into the structure of the latex foam to form a hardened layer becomes extremely small, the skin material of the present invention does not have a tactile sensation such as hard spots as compared with slab urethane. As a result, a foam product having a feeling of flexibility and comfort can be obtained.

A specific composition example of a latex material for forming the skin material of the present invention is shown below.

Example 1 Urethane-based latex component parts by weight * DICFOAM F-505 EL 100 (acrylonitrile / butadiene copolymer-modified urethane) * F-1 (foaming agent) (ammonium stearate) 10 * CR-5L (crosslinking agent) 3 * VONDIC NBA-1 (foam stabilizer) 1 * CMC (4% solution) (thickener) 3 * VONCOAT 3750 (thickener) 1 * CATALYST PA-20 (catalyst) 1 Expansion ratio 3 times Example 2 Acrylic latex Ingredients by weight * VONCOAT 350 100 F-1 (foaming agent) (ammonium stearate) 10 CR-5L (crosslinking agent) 3 VONDIC NBA-1 (foam stabilizer) 1 CMC (4% solution) (thickener) 3 VONCOAT 3750 (thickener) 3 25% ammonia water (stabilizer) 0.3 CATALYST PA-20 (catalyst) 1 Foaming ratio 3 times Example 3 Methylene / butadiene rubber latex component parts by weight * DICFOAM F-601 100 (methylene・ Butadiene copolymer) F-1 (foaming agent) (stearic acid Nonium) 10 CR-5L (crosslinking agent) 2 VONDIC NBA-1 (foam stabilizer) 1 VONCOAT 3750 (thickener) 1 CATALYST PA-20 (catalyst) 1 Expansion ratio 3 times * The brand name of the above Example 3 was used for the tests shown in Table 1 above.
Of the composition shown in FIG.

The skin material of the present invention is not only suitable for the integral foam molding of the headrest as shown in FIG. 3 above, but also used for molding various other products, and is well-formed, flexible and comfortable. It is possible to make an integral foamed product. One example is
As shown in FIG. 7, in addition to the headrest 30, the seat seat 60 and the seat back 61, and an armrest showing an example
62 and so on. Although not shown, the integral foam molding of a thin-walled product such as a sun visor or the like can be easily estimated from the test for the small-diameter product shown in FIGS. It is suitable.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-60-127116 (JP, A) JP-A-2-125724 (JP, A) JP-A-63-48620 (JP, U) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B29C 39/10 B68G 7/00 B60J 3/00-3/02 B29K 105: 04 B29L 31:58

Claims (18)

(57) [Claims] 1. A skin material comprising a breathable fabric and a latex foam thin layer bonded to one surface of the fabric, wherein the latex foam thin layers communicate with each other in countless mechanical open cells. And a very thin skin is formed on the surface opposite to the surface that is bonded to the fabric, and the skin has an even finer hole that communicates with the open cell. A skin material for solid foam products, characterized in that the skin surface is substantially smooth and can guide the foam mixture in a slippery manner. 2. The skin material according to claim 1, wherein the latex foam is mechanically bonded so as to embrace fibers constituting the fabric by itself. 3. The skin material according to claim 1, wherein the open cells of the thin layer of latex foam are formed at a density in the range of 20,000 to 70,000 cells / cm ² . 4. The cell size of an area near the skin of the thin layer of latex foam is about 2 μm to 10 μm, and the size of cells inside the cell is about 10 μm to 30 μm.
The skin material described in the above. 5. The air-permeable cloth selected from the group consisting of natural fibers such as cotton and wool, or various synthetic fibers, or woven, knitted or non-woven fabrics made of mixed or mixed yarns thereof. The skin material according to claim 1, which is a material. 6. The latex foam thin layer may be made of various natural rubbers such as styrene / butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile / butadiene rubber, natural rubber, silicone rubber, methylene / butadiene rubber, synthetic rubbers and various modified products thereof. Rubber-based latex composed of a polymer, and various synthetic resins or natural resins such as acryl, urethane, vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, polystyrene, and polyethylene, and various modified alloys thereof, and resin-based latex composed of a copolymer The skin material according to claim 1, wherein the skin material is formed from a polymer latex material selected from the group consisting of: 7. The skin material according to claim 6, wherein said latex is an acrylic copolymer. 8. The latex foam thin layer has a thickness of 0.1
The skin material according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the skin material is within a range of ~ 3.0 mm. 9. The skin material according to claim 1, wherein the fabric is a knitted polyester fabric, the thin layer of latex foam is urethane, and the number of the open cells is 30,000 to 60,000 cells / cm ² . 10. A method for forming a skin material having a latex back coating, comprising the steps of: a) using natural fibers such as cotton and wool, or various synthetic fibers, or a mixture of these fibers; Blend woven fabric, knitted fabric or non-woven fabric selected from the group consisting of: b) styrene-butadiene rubber on one surface of the fabric;
Various natural rubbers such as acrylonitrile / butadiene rubber, natural rubber, silicone rubber, methylene / butadiene rubber, various synthetic rubbers and their modified products, rubber-based latex composed of copolymers, acrylic, urethane, vinyl chloride, acetic acid Vinyl, polyvinyl alcohol,
Various types of synthetic resins or natural resins such as polystyrene and polyethylene, and their various modified alloys and polymer latex materials selected from the group consisting of resin-based latexes composed of copolymers are subjected to a sufficient stirring step, and then subjected to foam hardening. Later applied uniformly at a temperature of 20-40 ° C. as a coating of uniform thickness within the range of 0.1-3.0 mm thick, c) applying the latex coating at 80-120 ° C.
After pre-drying for 5 minutes, by curing at 150 ° C. for 2 to 3 minutes, a very thin air-permeable skin is formed on the surface, and a latex foam thin layer that has formed a mechanical open cell that communicates with the air-permeable cloth inside is formed. Obtaining a skin mechanically bonded to said one surface of the fabric. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the application of the latex is performed by knife coating. 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the application of the latex is performed by roll coating. 13. The agitation is carried out for 3 to 15 minutes while maintaining the latex at a temperature in the range of 20 to 40 ° C. to produce a latex foam having a low density and a large number of cells. The method described in. 14. After the preliminary drying, prior to a curing step,
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the entire fabric to which the latex is applied is crushed to promote and control air permeability. 15. A one-piece foam product comprising a thin layer of latex foam (15) applied directly to the inner surface of a fabric (10) and a foamed and cured body foam (25) directly injected into the inner surface thereof. The latex foam thin layer (15) is mechanically bonded so as to embrace the fibers on the inner surface of the fabric in a region close to the fabric to form a bonded region (17), and a mechanical open cell (18) is formed inside the thin layer. Are formed to ensure air permeability, and the area of this open cell (18) passes through a layer of denser cells (20) toward the outside and a very thin breathable skin (22) on the outside.
Although the breathable skin (22) has a large number of micropores (21), it has a substantially smooth surface with respect to the body foam stock solution (25), and substantially prevents the invasion thereof. A one-piece foam product characterized by a strong bond with the body foam (25). 16. The fabric is a polyester knitted fabric,
Latex is urethane, the thickness of the thin layer of about 2.0 mm, the number of open cells is 30,000 to 60,000 pieces / cm ^2, integrally foamed product according to claim 15 of claim body foam is polyurethane foam . 17. The monolithic foam product according to claim 15, wherein said product is a sheet component. 18. A sun visor comprising a thin-walled skin material to which a thin layer of latex foam is applied on the inner surface, and a main body foam is directly injected into a hollow portion of the thin wall and foamed and hardened.