JP4128165B2 - Fiber expansion equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fiber expansion device that targets a fiber bundle in which a plurality of filaments are aggregated.

As a conventional fiber spreader (fiber spreader), an electrostatic fiber spread method, a press spread method, a jet spread method, and an ultrasonic spread method are known. In these fiber spreading methods, those utilizing ultrasonic waves are provided with an ultrasonic generator in a predetermined liquid tank as shown in JP-A-4-70420 and JP-A-7-145556. A fiber bundle feeding section for feeding the fiber bundle to be spread is provided in the tank, and the fibers are spread by ultrasonic waves in the feeding section.
JP-A-4-70420, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-145556

 At present, for example, a fiber bundle in which carbon fiber filaments are assembled is used to obtain a semi-finished composite material such as a prepreg. However, the degree of spreading required for this fiber bundle is rapidly high. It has become. For example, untwisted carbon fiber: 12,000 bundles of 7 μm filaments = original width of about 6 mm, original thickness of about 0.13 to 0.16 mm, in the final expanded state, width 25 mm, thickness 0.02 mm It is required to expand to a certain extent.

In order to achieve this object, the characteristic configuration of the fiber spreader according to the present invention is a fiber bundle in which a plurality of filaments are aggregated as described in claim 1, and expands the fiber bundle. As a fiber means, a roll reed having a plurality of rolls arranged in parallel in the circumferential direction and rotated by a drive means is used. The roll reed is immersed in alkaline ionized water and the fiber bundle is given tension. In this state, it is wound around the roll cage and expanded by sliding contact with the roll. The fiber bundle is expanded in the width direction by being repeatedly handled by a plurality of rolls while passing around the roll cage. Since the diameter of the roll ridge is considerably larger than the diameter of each roll, each constituent filament of the fiber bundle wound around the roll heel is bent with a large radius of curvature, and this large radius of curvature makes it less susceptible to damage, A high-quality spread fiber bundle (which can be referred to as a spread sheet) can be obtained in which each filament extends straight, and has high parallelism and a uniform filament density in the fiber bundle width direction. Moreover, this inventor discovered that there exists an effect which accelerates | stimulates a fiber spreading effect only with alkaline ionized water. The present invention synergistically promotes the fiber spreading action by allowing alkaline ionized water to act on the fiber bundle around the roll bottle. The alkaline ionized water preferably has a pH of 4 to 10.

 Moreover, the characteristic structure of the fiber expansion apparatus by this invention is characterized by the said some roll being comprised by several types of rolls from which a diameter differs, as described in Claim 2. When the diameters of the plurality of rolls are different, the contact angle with respect to the fiber bundle is changed, and the fiber spreading action is promoted.

 Further, the characteristic configuration of the fiber expansion device according to the present invention is such that, as described in claim 3, the plurality of rolls are provided with elastic tubes that are stretchable around a core material, Both ends are connected to end plates attached so that the inclination angle can be adjusted with respect to the rotation axis of the roll rod. When the inclination angle of the end plate is changed, the distance between both ends of the elastic tube is changed widely, whereby the elastic tube expands and contracts while being supported by the core member. As a result of the expansion and contraction of the elastic tube, the diameter of the elastic tube changes, and the contact angle with respect to the fiber bundle changes. Therefore, an efficient fiber spreading action can be obtained by optimally adjusting the diameter of the elastic tube.

 The fiber spreading device of the present application is a device for individually spreading a plurality of fiber bundles called multifilaments individually at a time.

 As shown in FIG. 1, the fiber spreading device 1 includes a fiber bundle feeding mechanism 3, a pretreatment mechanism 4, a fiber spreading mechanism 5, a fiber bundle pulling mechanism 6, and a winding mechanism 7 along the flow direction of the fiber bundle 2. Have

 The fiber bundle delivery mechanism 3 includes a fiber bundle delivery roll section 11 including a yarn feed section 8 having three yarn feed bobbins 8a, a fiber bundle position control section 9, a first guide roll 10, an idle roll 11a, and a drive roll 11b. , Second guide roll 12, dancer roll 13, laser detector 14, and third guide roll 15. The yarn feeding bobbin 8a is provided with a known unwinding device and is driven by an inverter motor M1. The height position of the dancer roll 13 is detected by the laser detector 14, and the rotation speed of the inverter motor M1 that drives the drive roll 11b is controlled so that the height is constant. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, a weight is suspended from the fiber bundle 2 that is fed through a dancer roll 13. The suspension position of the weight, that is, the deflection amounts h1 to h3 of the fiber bundle 2 are detected by the laser detector 14. Based on the detection result of the laser detector 14, the rotational speed of the drive roll 11b is controlled. A laser detector 34 is disposed in the vicinity of the peripheral surface of the second guide roll 12, and the position in the width direction of the fiber bundle 2 on the peripheral surface of the second guide roll 12 is detected by the laser detector 34. . The detection result of the laser detector 34 is fed back to the drive roll 11b, and the optimum position of the fiber bundle 2 is secured.

 A roll ridge 20 is disposed in the fiber spreading mechanism 5. The fiber bundle 2 is expanded by the rotation of the roll rod 20. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the roll rod 20 is formed by spanning a plurality of rolls 22 between a pair of left and right end plates 21, 21 so as to be rotatable (spinning). The rolls 22 are arranged in parallel with each other in the circumferential direction of the roll cage 20. A rotary shaft 23 is fixed in the center of the end plate 21 and is driven by an inverter motor. When the rotation direction of the roll rod 20 is opposite to the fiber bundle flow direction (clockwise in FIG. 1), an effective handling or spreading action can be obtained. You may rotate in the same direction as the direction. Guide rolls 31 and 32 are disposed before and after the roll rod 20 to guide the fiber bundle 2 to the lower half peripheral surface of the roll rod 20.

FIG. 2 shows three types of roll rods 20, and the roll rod 20 in (A) is formed by arranging six rolls having the same diameter at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The roll cage 20 of (B) has a plurality of types of rolls 22 having different diameters, and each roll 22 is arranged at irregular intervals in the circumferential direction. In the roll cage 20 of (C), six rolls 22 are equally arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, but the inclination angle of the end plate 21 with respect to the rotating shaft 23 can be increased or decreased by an adjusting means not shown. Each of the rotating shafts 23 in FIGS. 2A to 2C is connected to an inverter motor M4.
The six rolls 22 in FIG. 2C are loosely fitted with rubber sleeves around a rod-like core material so that both ends of the rubber sleeves are connected to the end plates 21. Both ends of the core member are inserted and supported so as to be slidable with respect to the end plate 21 with an appropriate retaining stopper. When the inclination angle of the end plate 21 is changed, the length of the rubber sleeve expands and contracts and its diameter changes continuously in size. When the fiber bundle 2 comes into contact with the surface of the roll 22, a frictional resistance acts on the contact surface, and the fiber bundle 2 is expanded.

 As a mechanism for changing the inclination angle of the end plate 21, for example, the configuration shown in FIG. 6 is possible. That is, the end plate 21 is attached to the rotary shaft 23 via a universal joint or the like, and the discs 24 are attached to the rotary shaft 23 as a pair of left and right. A plurality of bolts 25 are screwed onto the disk 24 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the tips of the bolts 25 are extended in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 23 and brought into contact with the side surface of the end plate 21. When the inclination angle of the end plate 21 is changed, the bolt 25 is rotated and adjusted.

 As shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the lower part of the roll basket 20 is immersed in the liquid tank 33 as necessary. Alkaline ion water (active water) is stored in the liquid tank 33. It has been found by the present inventor that this alkaline ionized water has an effect of promoting fiber spreading. As for PH of alkaline ionized water, 4-10 are desirable. If necessary, a conventionally known ultrasonic generator is attached to the liquid tank 33 to promote the fiber spreading action. In addition, a squeeze roll (not shown) for dehydrating the fiber bundle (spread sheet) is disposed downstream of the liquid tank 33.

  The fiber bundle drawing mechanism 6 includes an idle roll 6a and a drive roll 6b. The drive roll 6b is driven by the inverter motor M2. The spread sheet 2 a drawn from the fiber bundle drawing mechanism 6 is detected by the laser detector 30. If the drawing speed is too fast, the spreading action by the roll rod 20 becomes insufficient, and the width of the spreading sheet 2a becomes narrow. On the other hand, if the drawing speed is too slow, the width of the spread sheet 2a becomes excessively wide, and the spreading action by the roll rod 20 becomes excessive, which damages the filament.

 The winding mechanism 7 includes three winding rolls 7a. These winding rolls 7a are driven by an inverter motor M3. The inverter motor M2 of the fiber bundle drawing mechanism 6 and the inverter motor M3 of the take-up roll 7a are controlled in conjunction with each other to give optimum tension to the spread sheet 2a. A known winding device is attached to the winding roll.

 Next, the spreading operation by the spreading device of the present application will be described below. When the drive roll 11b, the drive roll 6b, and the take-up roll 7a are driven by driving the inverter motors M1 to M3, the fiber bundle 2 fed out from the yarn feeding bobbin 8a passes through the first guide roll 10 and the fiber bundle delivery mechanism. 3, the second guide roll 12, the dancer roll 13, and the third guide roll 15 are sequentially sent to the pretreatment mechanism 4. The fiber bundle 2 is subjected to pretreatment suitable for spreading by the pretreatment mechanism 4.

  The fiber bundle 2 that has come out of the pretreatment mechanism 4 is introduced into the fiber spreading mechanism 5, where it is subjected to a fiber spreading action by the roll rod 20. The roll rod 20 is continuously driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1, and the fiber bundle 2 wound around the lower half of the roll rod 20 is moved from the guide roll 31 to the guide roll 32. Meanwhile, the spread sheet 2a having a uniform width and thickness is handled in the flow direction by repeated sliding contact with the plurality of rolls 22 of the roll rod 20, spread in the width direction, and reaches the guide roll 22. To be. When the spread width is insufficient, the roll rod 20 is added or the winding circumferential length of the fiber bundle 2 with respect to the roll rod 20 is extended. Although three types of the roll basket 20 are illustrated in FIG. 2, the roll basket 20 is not limited to these three types. The number, diameter, material, surface state, and the like of the rolls 22 can be appropriately changed according to the type of the fiber bundle 2 that is the target of fiber expansion.

  Next, an embodiment in which a fiber spreading mechanism 40 using alkaline ionized water (active water) is performed instead of the fiber spreading mechanism 5 using the roll rod 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. In other words, these embodiments are almost the same as those in FIG. 1 except that the liquid tank 33 is left and the roll trough 20 is omitted. In the liquid tank 33, a plurality of rolls are disposed near the bottom. In FIG. 4, three rolls 41 and in FIG. 5 five rolls 42 are arranged in parallel with each other at substantially the same depth. These rolls 41 and 42 promote the fiber bundle spreading. 4 and 5 have the same configuration except for the difference in the number of rolls 41 and 42. Therefore, in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, description will be made using common reference numerals except for the rolls 41 and 42.

  Alkaline ion water (active water) W is stored in the liquid tank 33. This alkaline ionized water W has a fiber spreading promoting effect as described above. The pH of the alkaline ionized water W is preferably 4-10. If necessary, a conventionally known ultrasonic generator can be attached to the liquid tank 33 to promote the fiber spreading action.

 A guide roll 43 is disposed on the inlet side of the liquid tank 33. On the outlet side of the liquid tank 33, a guide roll 44 is disposed near the liquid surface, and guide rolls 45 and 46 are disposed thereon. The guide rolls 44 and 45 abut against each other to form a squeezing mechanism for wet fiber bundles. The guide roll 46 is disposed at the same height as the guide roll 43 on the inlet side.

A liquid circulation mechanism 50 is attached to the liquid tank 33. The liquid circulation mechanism 50 includes a pipe 50a extending from the bottom surface to the side surface outside the liquid tank 33, a pump 50b attached to the pipe 50a,
It is comprised by the cylindrical container 50c attached to the piping 50a of the upstream of the pump 50b, and the filter 50d arrange | positioned in this container 50c. The alkaline ionized water in the liquid tank 33 is sucked out from the bottom by the operation of the pump 50b and is circulated again into the liquid tank 33 from the side surface. At this time, the fluff and foreign matter dropped from the fiber bundle contained in the alkaline ionized water are filtered by the filter 50d.

 A heating mechanism 47 is disposed on the downstream side of the fiber spreading mechanism 40. The heating mechanism 47 includes two heating units 47a and 47b having different types. One heating unit 47a has a heating roll, and the other heating unit 47b has a heating tube.

 The fiber bundle introduced from the pretreatment mechanism 4 to the fiber spreading mechanism 40 is drawn into the roll 41 or 42 in the liquid tank 33 via the guide roll 43. The drawn fiber bundle passes through the rolls 41 or 42 in a staggered manner, is squeezed by the guide rolls 44 and 45, and is sent to the heating mechanism 47 via the guide roll 46. Between the fiber spreading mechanism 40 and the heating mechanism 47, a laser detector 48 for detecting the fiber spreading width is disposed. The fiber bundle that has passed through the heating mechanism 47 is sent to the fiber bundle drawing mechanism 6 as in FIG. The subsequent stage of the fiber bundle drawing mechanism 6 is the same as in FIG.

 While the fiber bundle passes through the alkaline ionized water W in the liquid tank 33, the active force of the alkaline ionized water W allows the fiber bundle to be thinly and evenly spread in a state where generation of fluff and breakage of the fiber bundle is suppressed as much as possible. The degree of opening depends on the distance in water in the liquid tank 33 through which the fiber bundle passes and the number of guide rolls 41 or 42 provided.

 4 and 5, the alkaline ionized water adjusted in pH is put into the liquid tank 33 to perform the fiber expansion. However, even if the fiber bundle is flowed into the vapor of the alkaline ionized water, Similar fiber expansion is possible.

 In the embodiment of the present invention, the multifilament that is a fiber bundle is made of carbon fiber. However, the present invention is similarly applied to glass fiber, aromatic polyamide fiber, and the like. Adaptable.

It is an elevation view which shows the whole structure of the fiber expansion apparatus of this application. (A)-(C) show three types of roll punches in a side view and a front view. It is detail drawing of a fiber bundle delivery mechanism. It is an elevation which shows the structure of the fiber expansion apparatus different from this application. It is an elevation which shows the structure of the fiber expansion apparatus different from this application. It is a side view of an end plate tilting type roll cage.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fiber expansion apparatus 2 Fiber bundle 2a Fiber expansion sheet 3 Fiber bundle delivery mechanism 4 Pre-processing mechanism 5 Fiber expansion mechanism 6 Fiber bundle draw-out mechanism 6a Idle roll 6b Drive roll 7 Winding mechanism 7a Winding roll 8 Yarn feeding section 8a Feeding yarn Bobbin 9 Fiber bundle position control unit 10 First guide roll 11 Fiber bundle delivery roll unit 11a Idle roll 11b Drive roll 12 Second guide roll 13 Dancer roll 14 Laser detector 15 Third guide roll 20 Roll rod 21 End plate 22 Guide Roll 22 Roll 23 Rotating shaft 30 Laser detector 31 Guide roll 32 Guide roll 33 Liquid tank M1-M4 Inverter motor

Claims (4)

A fiber bundle formed by collecting a plurality of filaments is a target for spreading, and as a means for spreading the fiber bundle, a plurality of rolls are arranged in parallel to each other in the circumferential direction and rotated by a driving means. The roll ridge is immersed in alkaline ionized water, and the fiber bundle is wound around the roll ridge in a tensioned state and expanded by sliding contact with the roll. Expanding device. The fiber expansion device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of rolls are configured by a plurality of types of rolls having different diameters. The plurality of rolls are provided with elastic tubes that can be stretched around a core member, and both ends of the elastic tubes are attached to end plates that can be adjusted with respect to the rotation axis of the roll rod. The fiber expansion device according to claim 1, wherein the expansion devices are connected. The fiber expansion device according to claim 1, wherein the pH of the alkaline ionized water is 4 to 10.

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