JP3413919B2 - Plant growing mat - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plant growing mat used for growing plants such as turf and the like, and a plant growing mat having plants planted therein, which can withstand relocation in a planted state. Matsuto plant

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, carpets, artificial turf, and the like have been frequently laid on stadiums such as baseball stadiums and soccer fields, or on open spaces and passageways of event venues only during the period of the event. . There is also a strong demand to use natural turf instead of artificial turf and the like, and there is a need for a method of efficiently removing, collecting and reusing natural turf laid at the venue.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-69136 discloses a mat having a two-layer structure in which coconut fiber and peat fiber are mixed. The mat is excellent in water retention because hydrophilic fibers are used here, but the fibers are easily decayed and cannot withstand long-term use or relocation under planted conditions. However, there is a drawback that the compression deformation is large and the deformation is not recovered.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-309622 discloses a thin non-woven fabric for growing plants, which is obtained by mixing and heat-setting a composite fiber composed of polypropylene and polyethylene and a short polyolefin fiber by a wet method. This nonwoven fabric does not rot and is lightweight, but since it is processed into a state of high density and good surface smoothness, plant roots cannot enter the nonwoven fabric and grow. In addition, since the nonwoven fabric is thin and weak, there is a drawback in that it is not tolerated by stress when a plant is planted and relocated to a place to be constructed, or when a person walks on it, and is broken. JP 2
Japanese Patent Application No. 177830 discloses a porous culture medium for hydroponic culture using low-melting polyester fiber or polyester-based heat-fusible conjugate fiber, where the intersections of the fibers are heat-sealed. In this medium, a conjugate fiber having a relatively fine fineness of about 1 to 100 denier is preferable.
f or less fine fibers are used. This medium has good water retention but low strength and is suitable for hydroponic cultivation of radish and tomato, etc., but it is used under conditions such as transferring the grown turf to the construction site with the medium and walking humans on it. When used for turf cultivation mats, compression deformation of mats,
There is a drawback that it cannot be used because it is damaged by waves, breakage and the like.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a plant that has good growth, has sufficient strength to transfer the mat where the plant has been grown to another place along with the mat, and is capable of repeatedly operating under a high load. An object of the present invention is to provide a plant cultivation mat which has good recoverability even when compressed. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a plant growing mat that can be used repeatedly even when the plant is damaged by use, by restoring the plant growing mat by recuring.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies for solving the above problems, a fiber mixture having a fineness of 100 to 5000 d / f and containing at least 40% by weight of crimped heat-fusible conjugate fibers is heat-treated. A fiber mat in which the points of contact between the fibers are fixed by fusion of the heat-fusible conjugate fibers, having a density of 0.02 to 0.15 g / cm ³ and a thickness of 1 to
The inventors discovered that a material having a repetition rate of 15 cm and a compression recovery rate of 80% or more was suitable as a plant growing mat, and completed the present invention.

That is, the present invention relates to “(1) containing at least 40% by weight of crimped heat-fusible conjugate fibers having a fineness of 100 to 5000 d / f and fusing the heat-fusible conjugate fibers. A fiber mat in which the contact points between fibers are fixed, and the density is 0.02 to 0.15 g / c.
m ³ , thickness 1 to 15 cm, repetition compression recovery rate 80
% Cultivated plant matte. (2) The fiber has a fineness of 100 to 5,000 d / f and contains at least 40% by weight of crimped heat-fusible conjugate fibers, and the fusion of the heat-fusible conjugate fibers fixes the contact points between the fibers and reduces the density. 0.02 to 0.15 g / cm ³ , thickness 1 to 15c
m, a multi-layer plant-grown mat in which a fiber sheet is laminated and integrated on an intermediate portion, an upper surface, a lower surface, or both upper and lower surfaces in a thickness direction of the fiber mat having a repeated compression recovery rate of 80% or more. (3) The plant growing mat (4) according to the above (1) or (2), wherein the plant activator is supported at 1 g / m ² or more in the fiber mat. ) To (3)
Item 13. The plant-cultivated matt according to any one of the items. (5) The plant growing mat according to the above (4), wherein the plant is turf. ".

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail. The heat-fusible conjugate fiber used for the plant growing mat of the present invention is composed of a plurality of thermoplastic resins having a difference in melting point or softening point of 20 ° C. or more, and the low melting point component forms at least a part of the fiber surface. And bicomponent or more composite fibers arranged in a parallel type, a sheath-core type, or a sea-island type. Examples of combinations of such composite components include polyethylene / polypropylene, polyethylene / polyethylene terephthalate, low melting point copolymerized polyethylene terephthalate / polyethylene terephthalate,
Binary or ternary copolymers of propylene and other α-olefins / polypropylene can be exemplified. The conjugate fiber used has a single fiber fineness of 100 to 5000 d / f and has a two-dimensional or three-dimensional crimp. In particular, due to the good compression recovery of the mat and the fact that the mat does not expand or wavy even after the roots have grown, the single yarn fineness is 1%.
20 to 4000 d / f is preferable, and 200 to 30 d / f is preferable.
00d / f is most preferred. Single yarn fineness is 100d
If it is less than / f, there are problems such as insufficient compression recovery of the mat, swelling of the mat during use, and easy occurrence of waviness. On the other hand, if it exceeds 5000 d / f, the fibers are too stiff, resulting in poor fiber opening and carding at the time of mat production, and there is a problem that a uniform mat cannot be obtained.

In the mat for growing plants of the present invention, 40% by weight or more of the heat-adhesive conjugate fiber and 60% by weight of the mat
It is used in a mixture with other fibers of less than% by weight. Examples of other fibers used herein include organic fibers such as natural fibers and synthetic fibers and inorganic fibers such as glass fibers and carbon fibers. These fibers have hydrophilicity, plant activating effect, water absorption, fertilizing effect, sterilization effect, and the like. Those having functions such as action are preferred. When the content of the heat-adhesive conjugate fiber in the mixed fiber is less than 40% by weight, a mat formed by heat treatment described below has poor compression recovery properties, and is liable to expand or waviness during use. Is not preferred.

The plant growing mat of the present invention is prepared by mixing these fibers by an air-lay method, a card method, a long fiber laminating method, or the like.
It is obtained by heat-treating the obtained web at a temperature equal to or higher than the heat fusion temperature of the composite fiber while applying pressure, and fusing the intersections of the fibers. For the heat treatment, a heating device such as a hot-air aeration type, a far-infrared heating type, a hot-air circulating net holding type, and a mold filling type can be used. When the heating device is a non-pressurizing type, the roll is heated by a roll or a belt press before the web is cooled.
The mat is compacted to a density of 0.02 to 0.15 g / cm ³ , a thickness of 1 to 15 cm, and a compression recovery of 80% or more. The optimal conditions for keeping the physical properties such as the density, thickness, and compression recovery of the mat within the numerical ranges specified in the present invention vary depending on the physical properties, mixing ratio, etc. of the conjugate fiber and other fibers. Can be selected more easily.

The density of the plant growing mat is 0.02 g / cm.
If the number is less than ³ , when a plant is grown on this mat, the mat will expand due to the growth of roots, causing waviness, and the gap in the mat will be too large to have poor water retention. If the density of the mat exceeds 0.15 g / cm ³ , the voids in the mat are too small and the fibrous tissue becomes too dense, inhibiting the growth of plant roots and consequently the whole plant. If the thickness of the mat is less than 1 cm, the rooting of the plant will be insufficient and the growth will be poor, and the mat will have poor shape retention and will be curved at the time of construction, and will be used as a turf mat for stadiums and aisles, etc. In applications where large loads are applied,
It is not preferable because the mat is torn. When the thickness of the mat exceeds 15 cm, the vicinity of the upper surface of the mat becomes easy to dry, and as a result, the growth of a plant having a shallow root becomes poor. In addition, the "bend following" at the time of construction of the mat in which the plants have been grown is reduced, making it difficult to construct. Mat compression recovery rate of 8
If it is less than 0%, when a mat cultivating plants such as turf is used for a stadium mat or an aisle turf mat, etc., a human repeatedly walks on the mat, or runs violently during competition such as running or jumping. There is a problem that the impact may cause the mat to sink or wave. Also, since the thickness of the mat will be significantly reduced due to use, only mats with a lot of turf damage will be removed from the construction site and replaced with new mats, or if the damaged turf mats are re-used after curing, There is a problem that there is a step with the mat.

[0012] The mat produced as described above is used as a base layer, and another fiber sheet is laminated on the base layer to obtain a multi-layer plant growing mat of the present invention.
Other fiber sheets include natural fibers such as cotton and hemp, artificial fibers such as rayon and polyester, and woven fabrics, nonwoven fabrics and webs made of fibers obtained by subjecting these fibers to hydrophilic or water-absorbing processing. Sheets can be used. The mat of the base layer and the fiber sheet to be laminated thereon are fixed to each other by heat fusion or entanglement of the fibers. By using a fiber sheet having a fiber density equivalent to that of a general woven cloth, the mat can be easily peeled off the ground when moving the mat from a vegetation field or a stadium, and also supported in the base layer of the mat. The falling off of earth and sand can be prevented.

The plant growing mat of the present invention has soil, crushed stone, pumice, vermiculite, calcined mineral particles, activated carbon,
The support mat can support a soil substitute such as zeolite. Further, such a supporting mat can contain a plant activator such as a fertilizer, a herbicide, or a germinating agent. The plant-growing mat of the present invention such as the above-mentioned single-layer mat, laminated mat, and supporting mat can be conveyed in a roll form or in a cut form cut into a predetermined size depending on the place where it is to be used. .

In order to grow a plant using the plant growing mat of the present invention, a transplanting method or a direct sowing method can be used. In the case of the transplantation method, a seed of a plant such as Hifton turf is grown into a young turf having a turf length of about 2 to 30 mm on the soil of the primary vegetation. The young grass is peeled off with about 1 to 8 cm of topsoil, and is transplanted on the plant growing mat of the present invention at the secondary vegetation ground. In the secondary vegetation, fertilizer application, watering, irradiation with a sodium lamp or natural light, etc. are performed to grow until the turf length is about 3 to 15 cm.
In the case of Hifton turf, a growing period of about 1 to 6 months at the secondary vegetation ground is sufficient. Thereafter, if necessary, the weather resistance of the turf is increased by exposing the turf to natural weather, cold and the like.

In the case of the direct seeding method, the seedlings of the present invention supporting soil and the like are directly seeded, covered with soil, fertilized, sprinkled, etc., and grown until the turf length becomes about 3 to 15 cm.
When a plant is grown using the plant-growing mat of the present invention, the mat has an optimal gap for growing the root of the plant, so that the root grows well and the plant grows quickly. The mat in which the plant has been grown in this way is one embodiment of the plant-cultivated mat of the present invention. The mat where the plants have been grown is peeled off from the vegetation ground, cut into a desired size, transported to a place where it is to be constructed, and placed in close contact with the mat.

[0016]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples.
In this example, the compression recovery rate is measured by the following measuring method. A 10 × 10 cm size test piece cut from mat was repeatedly compressed and released 80 times using a self-recording compression tester having a 10 cm diameter contacting indenter. The first
For the first compression, after maintaining this state for 1 minute after the load reaches 30 kg, the pressure is released and the contact indenter is returned to the original state,
Then, release the pressure as soon as the load reaches 30 kg. After a total of 80 compression cycles, 3
After standing for 0 minutes, the height of the mat was measured and the compression recovery rate was measured. Compression recovery rate (%) = (H80 / H0) × 100 H0: Thickness before compression H80: Thickness after repeated compression 80 times and standing for 30 minutes

(Example 1) The sheath component is high-density polyethylene having a melting point of 135 ° C, the core component is polypropylene having a melting point of 166 ° C, and has a fineness of 550 d / f and a fiber length of 89 mm.
The heat-fusible conjugate fiber having three-dimensional crimp was formed into a web having a basis weight of 2000 g / m ² by using a random weber. The web was subjected to a heat treatment at 148 ° C. for 10 minutes using a hot air penetration type heating device of a net conveyor sandwiching type to obtain a mat in which the intersections of the fibers were heat-sealed. The mat was cut with a cutter to obtain a plant-growing mat having a width of 0.9 m and a length of 2 m. This plant growing mat has a thickness of 2 cm,
The density was 0.1 g / cm ³ and the compression recovery was 87%.

A 1/1 mixture (weight ratio) of about 1 mm (type CG1) and 2 mm (type CG2) of isolite (manufactured by Isolite Industries Co., Ltd.), which is sintered porous mineral particles, is added to the above-mentioned plant growing mat. ) Was sprayed at 300 g / m ² .
Hifton turf young grass grown to about 1.5 cm in length at the primary vegetation ground is 25 cm wide and 50 cm long.
With the culture soil having a thickness of about 35 mm attached to the roots, the seedlings were peeled off, spread over the plant growing mats sprayed with the isolite placed on the secondary vegetation ground, watered, fertilized, irradiated with sodium light, etc., and grown. . Turf grown for 150 days grew to about 8.2 cm. It was confirmed that the roots were growing well and reached the bottom of the mat. Further, in a portion where the root growth is good and a portion where the root growth is relatively inferior, unevenness and waving are likely to occur due to a difference in expansion of the mat due to the root, but such a phenomenon was not observed at all in this example.

(Example 2) The sheath component was a propylene / ethylene / butene-1 terpolymer having a melting point of 138 ° C, the core component was polypropylene having a melting point of 166 ° C, and the fineness was 750 d.
/ F, 89 mm fiber length, heat-fusible fiber provided with three-dimensional crimping, using a random webber, weight 2200 g
/ M ² . This web was heat-treated at 152 ° C. for 15 minutes by the heating device used in Example 1,
A mat where the intersections of the fibers were thermally fused was obtained. This mat is cut with a cutter and has a width of 1.5m, a length of 3m and a thickness of 3c.
m, a base mat having a density of 0.07 g / cm ³ and a compression recovery of 92%.

The sheath component is a propylene / ethylene / butene-1 terpolymer having a melting point of 138 ° C., and the core component is a melting point of 166.
° C polypropylene, fineness 17d / f, fiber length 6
A 4 mm zigzag crimped cardboard made of a heat-fusible conjugate fiber is heated at 145 ° C. for 5 minutes by a hot air penetration type heating device, and is densely and densely cooled by a roll.
A heat-sealed nonwoven fabric having a basis weight of 38 g / m ² and a thickness of 1.2 mm was obtained.

This non-woven fabric is laminated on the base mat and heat-treated at 145 ° C. for 5 minutes using a hot air circulation type heating device, and both layers are heat-sealed to form a two-layer structure having a thickness of 3.1 cm. A plant cultivation mat was obtained. The lower layer nonwoven fabric of the two-layer plant-grown mat was peeled off, and a change in the physical properties of the base mat due to heating during lamination was tested. The base mat had a thickness of 3.0 cm, a density of 0.07 g / cm ³ , and a compression recovery of 95%. The lower nonwoven fabric had a thickness of 1.0 mm, and the heat treatment after lamination reduced the thickness by 0.1 mm.

In the same manner as in Example 1, a mixture of isolite was sprayed at 300 g / m ^{2 on the} two-layered plant growing mat, and then young grass was grown for 150 days. It was confirmed that the turf had a good root growth state and grew to about 9 cm, and the root grew through the lower nonwoven layer of mat. A part of the isolite sprayed on the mat was settled to near the middle part of the thickness of the mat, but none of the isolite penetrated the lower nonwoven fabric. No mat deformation (undulation of unevenness) due to the difference in the degree of root growth was observed at all.

Example 3 70% by weight of the heat-fusible conjugate fiber used in Example 2, a fineness of 65 d / f, and a fiber length of 89 mm
Was mixed with 30% by weight of polyethylene terephthalate fiber, and a web was prepared and heat-treated in the same apparatus as in Example 2. The intersection of the fibers was heat-fused with a heat-fusible conjugate fiber, and the basis weight was 2,400 g /. An m ² mat was obtained. The mat was cut with a cutter to obtain a plant-growing mat having a width of 1.5 m and a length of 3 m. This plant growing mat has a thickness of 3.5 cm,
The density was 0.07 g / cm ³ and the compression recovery was 88%.

In the same manner as in Example 1, 70 g / m ^{2 of the} isolite mixture was added to the above-mentioned plant growing mat placed in a secondary vegetation ground.
The seedlings were scattered and grown on them for 180 days. The turf grew well and grew to about 8 cm, and the roots grew under the mat. Further, no deformation of the mat (undulation of unevenness) due to the difference in the degree of root growth was observed at all.

Example 4 The sheath component is high-density polyethylene having a melting point of 135 ° C., the core component is polyethylene terephthalate having a melting point of 258 ° C., and a three-dimensional crimp having a fineness of 1050 d / f and a fiber length of 89 mm is provided. Heat fusible composite fiber 99
% By weight and 1% by weight of a water-absorbed acrylic fiber (trade name: Lanseal, manufactured by Nippon Exlan Co., Ltd.) having a fineness of 5 d / f and a fiber length of 51 mm, and using a random webber. The web had a basis weight of 2600 g / m ² . The web was heated to 14 by the same heating device used in Example 1.
Heat treatment was performed at 8 ° C. for 12 minutes to obtain a mat in which the intersections of the fibers were heat-sealed. This mat is cut with a cutter and has a width of 0.9.
m, length 2m, thickness 4.1cm, density 0.06g /
A base mat having a cm ³ and a compression recovery rate of 87% was obtained.

The card web having a basis weight of 38 g / m ² used in Example 2 was laminated on the base mat, and heated at 150 ° C. for 8 minutes by the hot air circulation type heating apparatus used in Example 2. Then, a plant growing mat having both layers thermally fused was obtained. This two-layered plant growing mat has a thickness of 4.6.
cm. The upper non-woven fabric was peeled off, and the change in physical properties of the base mat due to heating during lamination was tested. The base mat is
The thickness was 4.0 cm, the density was 0.07 g / cm ³ , and the compression recovery was 90%. The thickness of the upper nonwoven fabric is 6.0
mm, and the heat treatment after lamination reduced the thickness of the lower mat by 0.1 mm.

In the same manner as in Example 1, a mixture of isolite was sprayed at 300 g / m ^{2 on the} two-layered plant growing mat, and then young grass was grown for 90 days. Turf had good root growth and grew to about 8 cm. It was confirmed that the roots grew through the base mat below Matsuto. Most of the isolite sprayed on the mat was on the upper nonwoven fabric, and none of the isolite settled to near the middle of the thickness of the base mat. No mat deformation (undulation of unevenness) due to the difference in the degree of root growth was observed at all.

(Comparative Example 1) The sheath component is a high-density polyethylene having a melting point of 135 ° C., the core component is polypropylene having a melting point of 166 ° C., and a hot melt provided with a three-dimensional crimp having a fineness of 4 d / f and a fiber length of 64 mm. Using adhesive composite fiber, the basis weight is 100
A carded web of 0 g / m ² was made. This web was subjected to a heat treatment at 140 ° C. for 12 minutes using a hot air circulation type heating device to obtain a mat in which the intersections of the fibers were heat-sealed.
The mat is cut with a cutter and has a width of 0.9 m and a length of 2 m.
m, thickness 3.5 cm, density 0.029 g / cm ³ ,
A plant growing mat having a compression recovery rate of 66% was obtained.

In the same manner as in Example 1, a mixture of isolite was sprayed at 300 g / m ² onto the plant-grown mat, and then young grass was grown for 150 days. The turf grew to about 5.1 cm and its growth was worse than in any of the examples.
The roots protruded from the lower layer of the mat and grew, but the growth status (density and length) was inferior to those of Examples 1 and 2. Isolite sprayed on the mat was settled to the lower layer of the mat and part of it spilled to the ground when the mat was peeled off. In addition, the mat swelled in a portion where root growth was good, and uneven wavy deformation was observed as a whole.

(Walking test of turf mat) Examples 1-4
The mats obtained by growing the turf obtained in Comparative Example 1 were set in a flat outdoor passage on which asphalt was paved, with a gap of 4 m between the mats. Between each mat, an artificial turf carpet with a total thickness of 25 mm in which green-colored vinyl chloride piles were planted on a foamed polyurethane base material was laid. A number of people walked on this for 20 days to test the mat and turf for damage. As a result, it was confirmed that the mats of Examples 1 to 4 did not have wavy deformation or depression. Also, when the degree of damage to the roots grown inside the mat was examined,
Root cutting was extremely small, and it was judged that it could be reused by curing it on a vegetation ground. However, four days after the start of the walking test, the mat of Comparative Example 1 was dented or wavy, causing severe cutting of fibers and roots. The mat was removed and the walking test was stopped.

[0030]

The plant growing mat of the present invention is suitable for growing plants, such as porosity and thickness of the mat, and is suitable for growing plants such as lawns, flowers, and grasses. In addition, since the fibers of the mat are bonded to each other by heat fusion of heat fusible conjugate fibers of large fineness, the bulk recovery after repeated compression is good. Therefore, this mat is suitable for a plant growing mat for use in which a high load is repeatedly applied. For example, mats with raised turf are laid in aisles and stadiums, etc., and even if humans repeatedly walk on them, there is no deformation such as waving or sinking,
Can be used for a long time. Furthermore, since the bulk recovery is good, damage to the plant is small, and it is possible to cure the used mat and recover the plant to reuse it. In addition, since this mat has good weather resistance, it is possible to remove plants from used mats, grow other kinds of plants, and reuse them.

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A heat-fusible conjugate fiber having a fineness of 100 to 5000 d / f and crimping content of 40% by weight or more, and a contact point between the fibers is fixed by fusion of the heat-fusible conjugate fiber. Fiber mat having a density of 0.02 to 0.15
g / cm ^3, a thickness of 1～15Cm, plant growth repeated compression recovery rate is 80% or more mat. 2. A heat-fusible conjugate fiber having a fineness of 100 to 5000 d / f and crimping content of 40% by weight or more, and a contact point between the fibers is fixed by fusion of the heat-fusible conjugate fiber. , Density 0.02 to 0.15 g / cm ³ , thickness 1 to
A multi-layer plant-grown mat having fibrous sheets having a thickness of 15 cm and a repetition compression recovery rate of 80% or more, and a fibrous sheet laminated and integrated on an intermediate portion, an upper surface, a lower surface, or both upper and lower surfaces in a thickness direction. 3. A fiber activator containing 1 g / m of a plant activator.
^3. The plant growing mat according to claim 1 or ^{2, wherein two} or more of the mats are supported. 4. The plant according to claim 1, wherein the plant is planted.
Item 13. The plant-cultivated matt according to any one of the items. 5. The plant growing mat of claim 4, wherein the plant is turf.