JP5489941B2 - Processing method of fiber sheet using high-pressure steam jet nozzle and jet nozzle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention injects a high-pressure steam flow into a fiber sheet-like material comprising at least a fiber woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a non-woven fabric, or a laminated sheet thereof, and allows the high-pressure steam to penetrate the fiber sheet-like material so The present invention relates to a high-pressure steam jet nozzle applied to various treatments such as entanglement, drying, washing, decoloring, and chemical treatment of fiber sheets, and various sheet-like processing methods using the jet nozzles.

  Conventionally, many techniques for producing an entangled nonwoven fabric by injecting a high-pressure fluid flow onto a fiber web to entangle the constituent fibers are known. Among these techniques, a method for producing a nonwoven fabric using a high-pressure steam flow as a high-pressure fluid flow is disclosed in, for example, International Publication No. 95/06769 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent No. 4439854 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-238785). It is disclosed in the gazette, patent document 2). Further, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4256749 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-76162, Japanese Patent No. 2005-76162) discloses a technique for performing a treatment such as washing, decoloring, and drying by jetting a high-pressure steam flow onto a fiber fabric such as a textile fabric, a textile fabric, or a nonwoven fabric. It has been proposed by reference 3).

  In addition to producing a nonwoven fabric by injecting a high-pressure vapor flow onto a fiber web, a high-pressure liquid flow is generally used as a technique for producing a nonwoven fabric using a high-pressure fluid flow. Thus, when manufacturing an entangled nonwoven fabric by jetting such a high-pressure liquid flow, it has many technical advantages, but in addition to the large amount of liquid used, installation of liquid splash prevention equipment is unavoidable. In addition, a large amount of liquid cleaning treatment equipment accompanying the production is also required. Furthermore, since the nonwoven fabric injected with the high-pressure liquid flow contains a large amount of water, it has technical problems such as requiring drying equipment for the obtained nonwoven fabric and enormous heat energy spent on it. In addition, there is also a problem that the working environment is remarkably deteriorated due to the intense noise associated with the liquid injection.

  In exchange for this, when using water vapor instead of high-pressure liquid in the production of fiber entangled nonwoven fabric, the amount of water used can be greatly reduced, and at the same time, the discharge treatment equipment can be reduced in size and noise can be generated. Not only can the work environment be greatly improved, the drying device is not necessary, or the size can be reduced and energy can be saved, and the entangled part that appears on the nonwoven fabric surface that is unique to fiber entangled nonwoven fabrics by liquid flow. Generation of patterns can be reduced.

  In addition, when this high-pressure steam injection is used, the resulting nonwoven fabric has a different texture and function from the technology using high-pressure liquid, and various fiber sheet-like materials such as fiber woven fabrics, fiber knitted fabrics, and nonwoven fabrics. It can be widely applied to various processes such as washing, drying, and dehydration, and it can be said to be an excellent technology that far surpasses the technology by jetting high-pressure liquid flow.

  Regarding the manufacturing / processing technology of nonwoven fabric using such high-pressure steam, Patent Documents 2 and 3 described above include some requirements regarding equipment and equipment that industrial equipment that is indispensable for industrial production must be equipped. Specific proposals have been made. However, the content of the proposal is mainly a proposal regarding the requirements for an industrial device for a schematic processing system for fiber sheets by jetting high-pressure steam, in particular, a steam jet nozzle and its peripheral devices applied to the system. A specific configuration that must be provided as a steam spray nozzle applied to this kind of processing, or a suction device or work piece that is installed to face the steam spray nozzle via a fiber sheet Although some of the web-carrying and transporting means are described, the content of the proposal is conceptual, and it fully proposes the requirements that should be comprehensively included in related equipment that is indispensable for industrial production. It is hard to say that it has been done.

  By the way, according to the manufacturing method of the nonwoven fabric described in the above-mentioned patent document 1, all or part of the constituent fibers of the fiber web are preliminarily mixed with a fiber web in which fibers having a melting point lower than the temperature of steam or heating steam are blended. Water is applied, the nonwoven fabric containing moisture is created by entanglement of the constituent fibers of the web, and then steam or heated steam is spouted toward the nonwoven fabric to the nonwoven fabric, and the low melting point of the constituent fibers of the web The final product (nonwoven fabric) is manufactured by fusing the fibers while melting them. Further, the web entanglement method described in Patent Document 1 uses webs as a high-pressure fluid to entangle web fibers with each other. On the other hand, according to the nonwoven fabric manufacturing method and the fiber sheet processing method disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, steam is directly sprayed on the fiber web instead of the conventional high-pressure spray water. Of course, even if it is heating steam exceeding saturation temperature, the condensed water which generate | occur | produces based on the heat fall by nozzle itself and the temperature fall by adiabatic expansion in an ejection hole exit is contained.

International Publication No. 95/06769 Pamphlet JP 2004-238785 A JP 2005-76162 A

  However, the production of a high-temperature nonwoven fabric disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, by heating steam flow, is not the main purpose of fiber entanglement by the steam flow, and is a constituent fiber of a fiber web made of a heat-meltable material with so-called steam heat. The main purpose is to melt. Usually, in the entangled nonwoven fabric produced by jetting a high-pressure water stream, as described in, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3 described above, a hitting mark or a hole mark by the jet fluid remains on the fiber web surface.

  Furthermore, in the manufacturing method of the nonwoven fabric of the said patent document 1, the fiber entanglement by the high-pressure jet water flow is performed as a pre-process which injects a vapor | steam with respect to a fiber web. Therefore, naturally the above-mentioned striking marks and hole marks remain in the fabric entangled with this jet of water flow, and the high-temperature steam sprayed there does not penetrate the entire surface of the fabric in the thickness direction. , It is thought that it mainly passes through the hitting marks and hole marks. Of course, at this time, the low melting point fibers existing on the other web surface where the hitting marks and the opening marks are not formed are melted at the same time. This can be seen from FIGS. 4 to 5 of the document 1 because there is a portion where the fibers are fused even in a region where the hitting marks and the opening marks are not formed. . As a result, the non-woven fabric shown in the figure has no difference in flexibility from the conventional non-woven fabric by point bonding, and in particular, the surface has hardened portions of many welding materials.

  On the other hand, looking at the contents of Patent Documents 2 and 3, as described in Patent Document 1, there is a point that high-temperature and high-pressure steam is used, but the generation of moisture contained in the steam at the time of injection is described. No special analysis or examination has been made on the specific influence of the mechanism and various processing on the fiber sheet-like material due to the water content.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and its purpose is simple in structure, and high-pressure steam can be ejected uniformly and continuously, and part of the constituent fibers of the fiber sheet-like material. Alternatively, a high-pressure steam jet nozzle capable of ensuring the required strength by tangling most of them and ensuring the flexibility of the surface of the obtained nonwoven fabric and improving the internal form thereof, and the nozzle Efficient nonwoven fabric manufacturing method that reliably entangles the constituent fibers of the fiber web by injecting high-pressure steam using it, and cleaning of fiber sheet-like materials such as non-woven fabrics and knitted fabrics that have been subjected to finishing such as dyeing To provide a continuous processing method of high-quality fiber sheets by high-pressure steam using the jet nozzle, which enables various processing such as drying to be performed efficiently and under labor saving. That.

Means and effects for solving the problems

  Therefore, the present inventors have examined the processing / manufacturing apparatus and the processing / manufacturing method of the fiber sheet disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 in detail, and as a result, using the apparatus as described above. In order to maintain an industrially stable and good production state, it has been found that there are many requirements in addition to the requirements described in Patent Documents 2 and 3. Among other requirements, steam that contains condensed water due to cooling, etc. (condensed steam) is achieved by thoroughly eliminating the effects of heat dissipation and adiabatic expansion, etc., in each component of the high pressure steam injection nozzle. ) Was prevented as much as possible, and it was recognized that it is extremely important to remove condensate vapor as soon as possible. If condensed steam is locally distributed in each part of the jet itself or the jet nozzle, the jet steam is impeded on the workpiece, resulting in a further low-temperature part, and the steam permeability. If the fiber material contains a polymer or the like that has sensitivity to water due to the difference in the degree of processing such as the degree of confounding, due to the cause of processing abnormal parts, It became clear that the product quality uniformity, such as the appearance and physical properties of the processed material, had a significant adverse effect.

  The basic configuration of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to the present invention has a steam inlet connected to a pressurized steam supply source at one end and a steam outlet connected to an external steam discharge pipe at the other end, A hollow cylindrical nozzle holder having an opening along a length direction on a surface facing a fiber sheet that travels in one direction, and can be attached to and detached from the nozzle holder portion on the opening side and formed facing the opening. A high-pressure steam jet nozzle having a plurality of nozzle holes formed by separating the condensate and steam generated in the high-pressure steam jet passage between the opening and the nozzle member; The first gas-liquid separating means for introducing and guiding the gas into the nozzle hole is provided in the high-pressure steam jet passage.

  According to a preferred aspect, the first gas-liquid separation means is disposed immediately upstream of the nozzle hole, and preferably the first gas-liquid separation means is in the condensate flow path and the condensate flow path. And a weir structure that separates the condensate and the steam between the condensate flow path and the steam spout path. The dam structure may include a hollow cylindrical body that is erected upward from the condensate flow path and communicates with the inside. Further, the first gas-liquid separation means further includes a buffer member for equalizing the distribution of vapor pressure, and the buffer member is arranged immediately upstream of the first gas-liquid separation means. preferable.

  According to a further preferred aspect, the condensate and vapor generated in the nozzle holder are separated at the bottom of the nozzle holder, and only the vapor is led to the opening, and the condensate is sent to the bottom of the nozzle holder. It has the 2nd gas-liquid separation means which collects in the liquid collection path formed in the vicinity. Here, it is desirable to have a drain discharge path for discharging the condensate collected in the liquid collection path to the outside of the nozzle, and an open / close valve may be provided in the drain discharge path. And it is preferable to make the said liquid collection path incline downward toward the vapor | steam discharge port side.

  Furthermore, in addition to the effects of cooling as described above, when the moving speed of the vapor in the nozzle holder is above a certain level, it is affected by temperature drop and pressure drop inside the nozzle holder in relation to kinetic energy and friction loss. As a result, it became clear that the distribution of the steam temperature was not uniform and that steam containing condensate was generated. As a result of various investigations, in order to avoid such a phenomenon, when a predetermined holder length is given to the flow rate of steam moving in the holder, it is suitable for suppressing the pressure drop with respect to the supply steam pressure within the allowable limit. I found that there is a conditional expression.

  Here, in the high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to the present invention, the most presupposed configuration has a steam inlet at one end of the nozzle holder and a steam outlet at the other end, as in Patent Documents 2 and 3 above. In the point. Steam cannot always be ejected from the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle. For example, the supply of steam must be stopped during periodic inspections or when the machine is stopped. Of course, at the time of this stop, the temperature in the nozzle also drops rapidly. In order to restart the steam ejection and start various processes of the fiber sheet material, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the interior of the steam ejection nozzle to a predetermined temperature. When the temperature is raised, when the configuration other than the steam inlet is sealed like the conventional ejection nozzle, the amount of steam introduced into the nozzle holder is limited to the amount ejected from the nozzle hole, and the amount of heat exchange is small. It takes a long time to raise the temperature of the nozzle itself.

  Therefore, even in the present invention, as described above, a steam exhaust port is provided at the other end of the nozzle holder, and an open / close valve or the like is attached to the steam exhaust pipe connected to the steam exhaust port, as will be described later. The outlet can be opened and closed. Now, before resuming the processing of the fiber sheet, high-temperature and high-pressure steam is introduced into the nozzle holder. At this time, the opening / closing valve is opened to open the steam discharge port so that the steam introduced from the steam introduction port can be continuously discharged to the outside through the steam discharge port. The temperature of the nozzle holder is measured, and when the temperature reaches a required high temperature, the steam outlet is closed. Simultaneously with this closing, the vapor pressure at the vapor inlet is measured, and when the vapor pressure reaches a predetermined pressure, the fiber sheet processing apparatus is started. The time required for starting at this time is greatly shortened compared to the case where the steam outlet does not exist as in the conventional case because the temperature of the nozzle holder is quickly raised by the new high-temperature steam passing through the nozzle holder. .

  The structure of the hollow cylindrical nozzle holder in the present invention may be a single cylindrical or rectangular cylindrical nozzle holder, similar to the shape of the nozzle holder disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, When the nozzle holder is composed of a double pipe, the steam introduction side opening of the inner pipe part communicates with the steam introduction port, and a plurality of through holes are formed in the inner pipe part. Deviations are less likely to occur in the vapor distribution in the lengthwise direction that fills the tube. In particular, if the nozzle holder is cylindrical, it is preferable from the viewpoints of easily obtaining a uniform flow of high-pressure steam and ease of manufacture. In actual work, it is desirable that a high mesh cylindrical filter having a cross section similar to that of the nozzle holder is disposed on the same axis. However, it is not necessarily limited to these.

  Further, instead of the inner tube portion, similarly to the nozzle holder described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, a high mesh cylindrical filter can be arranged on the same axis inside the nozzle holder. High-temperature and high-pressure steam introduced from a steam inlet provided at one end is introduced into the inside of the cylindrical filter, passes through the filter, and enters the nozzle hole of the nozzle member arranged opposite to the nozzle holder opening. And then ejected from the nozzle hole to the outside. At this time, the pressure distribution in the longitudinal direction on the inner wall surface of the nozzle holder is made uniform by the cylindrical filter, and fine foreign substances contained during the introduction of the steam are removed from the steam by the cylindrical filter. A large number of nozzle holes of the nozzle member formed along the direction are not blocked, and high-pressure steam is stably ejected from the nozzle holes with an equal ejection pressure.

The nozzle holder is formed at the bottom of the nozzle holder by separating the condensate and vapor generated in the nozzle holder in the vicinity of the bottom (lower surface) of the nozzle holder and guiding only the vapor to the opening. Gas-liquid separation means for collecting in the liquid collecting path is provided. In addition, although the high pressure steam jet nozzle according to the present invention is arranged toward one surface of the fiber sheet-like material that is the workpiece, the nozzle hole is arranged at a position close to the upper side of the fiber sheet material, and the nozzle There is a case where the hole is arranged at a lower proximity position of the fiber sheet. In the former case, the opening of the nozzle holder is formed at the bottom, and in the latter case, the opening of the nozzle holder is formed on the ceiling side. Therefore, the condensates always flow downward. Therefore, in any case, the liquid collection path forming a part of the gas-liquid separation means is formed near the bottom of the nozzle holder. In the present invention, the gas-liquid separation means provided in the nozzle holder is referred to as second gas-liquid separation means, and is distinguished from first gas-liquid separation means described later provided in the nozzle member having nozzle holes.

  Here, a specific configuration of the second gas-liquid separation unit when the high-pressure jet nozzle is disposed near the upper surface of the fiber sheet material toward the upper surface of the fiber sheet material traveling through the nozzle holes will be described. The opening is formed at the bottom of the nozzle holder. The said opening by this aspect is comprised by the vapor | steam ejection hole which is many high pressure vapor | steam ejection passages located in a line with the length direction of a nozzle holder. The plurality of vapor jet holes may be arranged in a single row, but it is desirable to arrange them in a staggered manner in order to spread evenly in the width direction of the fiber sheet-like material. Moreover, the steam ejection hole is not a mere hole, but a cylinder part having a hollow part communicating with the hole is raised from the bottom part, and the hole and the cylinder part constitute a steam ejection hole. The said cylinder part in this vapor | steam ejection hole functions as a dam which comprises the said 2nd gas-liquid separation means. And the groove part which mutually communicates is formed so that the circumference | surroundings of the said vapor | steam ejection hole may be surrounded, and it is set as a liquid collection path.

  The liquid collection channel communicates with a drain discharge port which is a connection port with an external drain discharge pipe, and is inclined downward toward the drain discharge port. This is to make it easier to discharge the drain mainly composed of the condensate accumulated in the nozzle holder during operation. Therefore, the drain discharge port is formed on the bottom surface of the lower end of the nozzle holder in the tilt direction, and the drain discharge port can be opened and closed by an open / close valve, for example, and the valve is opened at any time zone to collect the liquid collection port. Drain on the road is discharged to the outside. At this time, since the nozzle holder is inclined, the nozzle holder is naturally discharged to the outside without providing an extra device such as suction, so that the drain does not cause clogging of the nozzle hole or the like.

  On the other hand, the opening formed in the lower surface of the nozzle holder may be a slit-like opening formed continuously in the length direction of the nozzle holder. The pressure of the vapor reaching the nozzle holes formed in the nozzle member through these openings is equalized, and the vapor can be uniformly injected in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle.

On the other hand, as described above, when pressure steam is supplied in a nozzle holder having a predetermined holder length so as to achieve a desired steam flow rate, the pressure drop in the nozzle holder with respect to the supplied steam pressure P is suppressed within an allowable limit. For this, it is necessary to set the diameter D of the nozzle holder to an appropriate value. The correlation equation (1) between the holder diameter D and the magnitude of the pressure loss ΔP at the holder end (steam outlet) is as follows.
D ≧ {KQt ² L / [σ (P + 0.1)]} ^0.2 …… (1)

Now, let Qt (kg / s) be the amount of steam ejected from the entire holder. Assuming that the length of the holder is L (m), the linear flow rate q (kg / Hr / m) per virtual unit length is q = Qt / L.
Assuming that the flow rate inside the holder at a distance x (m) from the steam supply port is Qx (kg / s), the flow rate balance (dQx = -qdx) in the minute section dx yields the formula Qx = Qt-qx = Qt ( 1-x / L) holds.

On the other hand, the following equation (2) holds for the pressure loss dpx in the minute interval dx.
dpx = βwx ² dx / (vD) (2) (Practical steam transport / Japan Thermal Energy Technology Association)
here,
dp: Pressure loss (MPa)
D: Holder diameter (m)
v: Specific volume of steam (m ³ / kg)
wx: Steam flow velocity at position x (m / s)
β = 1.07 × 10 ⁻⁸
It is.

In the above equation (2), when the cross-sectional area of the holder is A (m ² ), the following equations (3) and (4) are established.
wx ＝ vQx / (A) …… (3)
dpx = β (vQx / A) ² dx / vD = (βv / A ² D) Qx ² dx ...... (4)
When this is integrated, the following equation (5) is obtained.
ΔP = (βv / A ² D) ∫Qt ² (1 −x / L) ² dx = βvQt ² l / (DA ² ) (5)
Obtain the following expression (6) by substituting A = [pi] D ^2/4 in the equation (4).
△ P = 16βvQt ² L / (π ² D ⁵ ) …… (6)
Where K = 16βv / π ²
△ P = KQt ² L / D ⁵ ...... (7)
Equation (7) is obtained.

Here, when the pressure deviation rate allowable in processing the fiber sheet is σ, and the supply steam pressure is P (MPa), the following equation (8) is established.
σ ≧ △ P / (P + 0.1) ...... (8)
Substituting the above equation (8) into this, the following equation (1) is obtained.
σ ≧ KQt ² L / [D ⁵ (P + 0.1)] → D ≧ {KQt ² L / [σ (P + 0.1)]} ^0.2 …… (1)
From this formula (1), for example, if the amount of steam ejected from the entire holder is set to Qt (kg / s), the holder length is set to L (m), and the pressure deviation rate is set to σ, the minimum dimension of the holder diameter D is determined. Can be sought.

  Next, a typical aspect of the nozzle member, which is one of the constituent members of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to the present invention, will be described. The nozzle member includes a nozzle plate having a number of nozzle holes, a plate support member that supports the nozzle plate, and one of the first gas-liquid separation means interposed between the nozzle plate and the plate support member. It can comprise from the drain separate plate which makes a structural member. The nozzle holes formed in the nozzle plate may be formed in a single row in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle plate, but may be formed in a plurality of rows in the width direction of the nozzle plate, for example. In this case, it is preferable to arrange the nozzle holes in a plurality of rows in a zigzag pattern because the ejected steam acts uniformly in the width direction of the fiber sheet.

  The nozzle hole may be a simple circular hole having the same inner diameter in the vapor ejection direction, but the circular hole is formed at a required depth, and the inner diameter continuous with the lower end surface of the circular hole is downward. It is good to form the inverted truncated cone part which becomes narrow toward it. In addition, for example, various forms such as those disclosed in Patent Document 2 can be adopted, but when formed in an inverted truncated cone hole communicating with the lower end of each cylindrical hole, there is a steam flow ejected from the nozzle hole. For example, the jet power with respect to the fiber web increases, and it becomes easy to penetrate the front and back of the web. The focusing point is determined by the diameter of the nozzle hole and the vapor pressure.

  The plate support member that supports the nozzle plate is configured by a prismatic block body that is attached to the nozzle holder so as to be detachable with a bolt or the like so as to close the opening formation region of the nozzle holder. The plate support member is formed with a communication passage that communicates the opening of the nozzle holder and the nozzle hole of the nozzle plate at the center in the width direction. This communication path corresponds to a part of the high-pressure steam ejection path in the present invention. The communication path preferably includes a plurality of circular holes extending in the lengthwise direction along the opening, and a slit that connects all the circular holes and continues from the hole to the nozzle plate side. Is included. The circular holes formed in the hole portion may be formed in a line along the length direction of the opening of the nozzle holder, or may be arranged in a staggered pattern along the length direction of the opening. Good.

  On the other hand, the drain separate plate, which is the most important component for the present invention interposed between the nozzle plate and the plate support member, is a plate having the same width as the nozzle plate and the plate support member. It is comprised from the material, is pinched | interposed between a nozzle plate and a plate support member, and is airtightly fixed to both by a bolt etc. via a sealing member. The drain separate plate is also formed with a high-pressure steam jet passage communicating with the slit portion of the plate support member and the numerous nozzle holes of the nozzle plate. This high-pressure steam jet passage and the surrounding structure constitute the first gas-liquid separation means which is the most characteristic part for the present invention together with the slit portion of the plate support member.

  In the present invention, the drain separate plate may include a disk plate in addition to the drain separate plate body. The disk plate is made of a plate material similar to the slit portion having a width slightly shorter than the width and length of the slit portion of the plate support member, and in the slit portion, the drain separate plate body will be described later. The cylindrical through-holes are arranged so as to be opposed to each other at a predetermined interval, and are fixedly supported by the drain separate plate body. In this way, the disk plate fixedly supported on the drain separate plate body receives and disperses the high-pressure steam sent from the nozzle holder, uniforms the pressure distribution of the steam, and separates the steam and the condensate. The high-pressure steam is fed into the drain separate plate body.

  The most preferable aspect in the high-pressure steam jet passage is to form a large number of cylindrical through holes in the drain separate plate body, and the cylindrical through holes face the slit portion along the longitudinal direction of the drain separate plate. Can be arranged in a single row. However, the structure of the cylindrical through-hole serving as the high-pressure steam jet passage has a unique shape in the present invention. More specifically, the central portion of the flat plate drain plate main body is slightly larger than the opening of the slit portion of the plate support member and ½ of the thickness of the drain separate plate main body. A concave groove portion having a depth is formed along the slit portion, and a large number occupying half the height of the cylindrical through-hole in a single row in the length direction at the center of the bottom portion of the concave groove portion. The cylindrical body is projected.

  In the slit portion of the plate support member, a protruding wall portion that continues along the peripheral edge of the opening protrudes toward the concave groove portion of the drain separate plate. The protruding wall portion has a height that does not reach the groove bottom of the concave groove portion, and the outer peripheral shape thereof matches the inner peripheral surface shape of the slit portion. Therefore, when assembling the drain separate plate to the plate support member, the protruding wall portion of the plate support member is closely fitted to the inner surface of the concave groove portion of the drain separate plate body. When the projecting wall portion is closely fitted, a space is formed between the projecting wall portion and the cylindrical body of the drain separate plate body, and this space is filled with high-pressure steam (condensed steam) containing condensate. The condensate in the condensed vapor becomes drainage and accumulates in the concave groove portion around the cylindrical through hole, while the vapor is disposed in the nozzle of the nozzle plate disposed below through the through hole of the cylindrical through hole. It spouts out from the hole. The drain accumulated in the concave groove is discharged outside the system by opening an on-off valve provided at the drain outlet of the concave groove every predetermined time. The concave groove surrounding the large number of cylindrical bodies corresponds to the condensate flow path in the present invention, and the cylindrical body serves as the weir portion in the present invention.

The high-pressure steam jet nozzle of the present invention having the above configuration is suitably applied to the following fiber sheet processing method of the present invention.
That is, the basic configuration of the invention relating to the method for processing a fiber sheet has a steam inlet connected to a high-pressure steam supply source at one end and a steam outlet connected to an external steam discharge pipe at the other end. And a hollow cylindrical nozzle holder having an opening along the sheet width direction of the surface facing the fiber sheet traveling in one direction, and detachable from the nozzle holder portion on the opening side and facing the opening. A high-pressure steam jet nozzle provided with a nozzle member having a large number of nozzle holes formed in this manner is used to inject the high-pressure steam toward the surface of the fiber sheet-like material.

  By the way, the fiber sheet-like material referred to in the present invention may include at least a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a non-woven fabric, or a laminate sheet thereof, and may have a structure through which steam penetrates. This is also a fiber fabric. The fibers constituting the fabric of the present invention include organic fibers (natural fibers such as wool, hemp and silk, synthetic fibers such as polyester fibers, acrylic fibers and polyamide fibers, semi-synthetic fibers such as acetate fibers, and rayon. Recycled fibers represented), inorganic fibers (glass fibers, mineral fibers, metal fibers, etc.) alone, or organic fibers or inorganic fibers, or organic fibers and inorganic fibers in combination.

  According to the high-pressure steam jet processing method according to the present invention, for example, it is possible to perform a washing process, a decoloring process, a liquid removing process after a liquid process, a fabric texture improving process, and various chemical processes on the fabric. Become. Of these examples, steaming heat treatment may be performed for fabric texture improvement treatment or normal heat setting, etc., but fluid treatment is generally adopted for other treatments, and the fabric is also subjected to the steaming heat treatment. It is placed in an atmosphere of high temperature steam or simply passed through the same atmosphere.

  The fiber sheet processing method according to the present invention includes various treatments as described above by jetting pressurized steam from a pressurized steam jet nozzle toward a fiber fabric and penetrating the fabric as described above. It is intended to do. Therefore, the heated steam treatment method ejected from the pressurized steam ejection nozzle of the present invention is a treatment method essentially different from the conventional liquid treatment method, and also coincides with the conventional steaming heat treatment in that steam is used. However, not only the configuration but also the functions and effects are completely different.

  The washing treatment of the fabric according to the present invention can remove excessive dyes and the like in the same manner as with conventional washing liquid or water, but further, such as glue, oil agent, various resins, etc. adhering to the fabric or its constituent fibers. It is possible to reliably remove deposits. This is because when the pressurized steam penetrates the fabric, it is not affected by the material of the adhered material such as glue, oil, and various resins that adhere to the fibers and yarns constituting the fabric. By instantaneously entraining the fabric with steam. For example, woven fabrics or knitted fabrics made of metal fibers are used as a means for transferring fiber webs in the production process of spunbond nonwoven fabrics or melt blown nonwoven fabrics, but are formed into fibers in a molten state on the fabrics made of the woven fabrics or knitted fabrics. It can also be used to wash deposits stuck to the fabric as the polymer is cooled.

  In this invention, since it is a vapor | steam (gas) process instead of a liquid process, various processes can be performed, without making a water | moisture content adhere to the fiber and yarn which comprise a fabric. Therefore, as described later, it is not necessary to pass the washed fabric again through a heat drying step or a solvent removal step. This leads to a significant reduction in equipment costs and energy costs. However, in the processing method of the present invention, when the fiber sheet-like material includes a conjugate fiber having a difference in thermal shrinkage, for example, if a nonwoven fabric is produced, the degree of entanglement between fibers without impairing the soft texture Thus, a nonwoven fabric that is excellent in form stability and applicable to various fields is obtained.

  In addition, the above decolorization treatment is performed by, for example, easily decolorizing a part of the dyeing in the case of a raw material before it becomes a product easily by the steam treatment method of the present invention instead of decolorization using a conventional decolorizing agent. If the cloth transfer speed and the vibration in the width direction between the cloth and the transfer means are appropriately combined and controlled, a moire pattern can be created and the original fabric can be damaged. There is nothing.

  Further, after the liquid treatment, for example, the liquid removal (drying) treatment for the washed fabric is impregnated or adhered with a large amount of the treatment liquid in all steps as in the washing treatment. That is, since the liquid component can be efficiently removed from the fabric as in the normal drying step, the method of the present invention may be applied in place of all the conventional drying steps. In this case, a large drying chamber, a large number of heating lamps, heating drums and heating rolls, electrical energy and fluid energy supply equipment connected to these heating lamps, heating drums or heating rolls, exhaust equipment, etc. are unnecessary and used. The amount of energy is also greatly reduced compared to the conventional case. In addition, the fabric texture-improving treatment also has fewer steps compared to, for example, conventional washing and knitting methods for woolen fabrics and knitted fabrics, and the surface that is clogged in a short time has a soft feeling. A rich wool fabric can be processed continuously and efficiently. Further, in the present invention, if the medicine injection path is further joined to the steam introduction path of the steam nozzle holder and the medicine is ejected to the fabric together with the pressurized steam, the medicine treatment can be performed simultaneously with other processes.

  These various treatment methods can be carried out by suitably combining treatment conditions such as the transfer speed of the fabric, the temperature and vapor pressure of the pressurized steam, and the gap between the fabric and the ejection opening end of the nozzle. Become. Furthermore, these values are determined by determining the type of fabric (woven fabric, knitted fabric, non-woven fabric, etc.) and structure (woven or knitted structure, woven or knitted density, non-woven fabric fiber density), fabric constituent fiber and yarn material, and fabric. Since it is made based on fabric conditions such as the thickness of the film, it cannot be determined uniformly.

  When the high-pressure steam is jetted from the high-pressure steam jet nozzle of the present invention toward the surface of the fiber sheet-like material as described above, the steam discharge port before starting the processing of the fiber sheet-like material as described above. Open and close the open / close valve, and in this state, high-temperature and high-pressure steam is introduced into the nozzle holder. The steam introduced at this time is continuously discharged to the outside through the steam discharge port. When the temperature of the nozzle holder reaches a predetermined high temperature, the steam discharge port is closed by closing the open / close valve. Simultaneously with this closing, the vapor pressure at the vapor inlet is measured, and when the vapor pressure reaches a predetermined pressure, the fiber sheet is started to travel. The time required for starting at this time is that the nozzle holder is quickly heated by new high-temperature steam passing through the nozzle holder, and the required high-temperature and high-pressure steam is directed from the nozzle hole toward the surface of the fiber sheet. And quickly pass through the inside of the fiber sheet from the front surface to the back surface. At this time, it is preferable that a suction means is disposed at a position facing the nozzle hole on the back surface of the fiber sheet material, and the steam passing through the inside of the fiber sheet material is positively sucked by the suction device.

The steam ejected from the nozzle hole contains almost no condensate for the following reason.
That is, high-pressure steam introduced into the nozzle holder after the opening / closing valve is closed inevitably dissipates heat when passing through the inner surface of the nozzle holder, but with condensate generated by the heat dissipation. At this time, the condensate flows down to the bottom along the inner surface of the nozzle holder through the weir which is a part of the second gas-liquid separation means. The condensate that has flowed down accumulates in a concave groove-like collecting path that is a part of the second gas-liquid separation means, while high-pressure steam is also contained in the cylinder having a weir function that is also a part of the second gas-liquid separation means. The first gas-liquid separation means reaches the first gas-liquid separation means through the hollow hole, and again, the vapor and the condensate are separated, the condensate collects in the condensate flow path, and the vapor passes through the vapor jet flow passage having the weir structure to the nozzle. It goes to the nozzle hole formed in the member.

The condensate collected in the liquid collection passage and the condensate passage is discharged from the nozzle holder and the nozzle member to the outside of the system as time passes. In this way, the condensate generated inside the nozzle holder and the condensate generated inside the nozzle member are separated from the vapor by the first and second gas-liquid separation means, respectively. The condensate is surely removed from the jetted steam. As a result, the passage of jet steam to the fiber sheet is improved and the occurrence of low temperature parts is eliminated, and there is no spot in the degree of processing such as the degree of confounding due to the difference in the passage of steam. Even if a fiber material containing a polymer or the like having sensitivity to water is used, uniformity of product quality such as appearance and physical properties of the processed product can be ensured, such as generation of abnormal processing portions.

  The nozzle holder of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle is usually encapsulated with a heat insulating material or the like to prevent the temperature of the high-pressure steam passing through the inside from being lowered. However, the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle is actively heated. You can also Specific methods include heating with a heat medium such as silicon oil, and heating with an electric heater such as induction heating. In addition, for example, the inside of a high-pressure steam ejection nozzle is opened in the box with the high-pressure steam ejection side open. And hot air heated to a high temperature is introduced into the box. In this way, if the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the saturated steam temperature of the steam to be used, for example, with hot air, the temperature drop of the internal high-pressure steam can be effectively prevented.

  By the way, it is usually arranged above the fiber web that travels through the high-pressure steam jet nozzle, and gives a high-pressure steam jet flow toward the upper surface of the fiber web, but below the fiber web that runs through the high-pressure steam jet nozzle. It is also possible to apply a jet stream of high-pressure steam upward from the lower surface of the fiber web. As described above, when the jet flow of the high-pressure steam is jetted upward from the lower side of the fiber web, the condensate is not easily accumulated in the nozzle hole arranged on the upper surface side of the nozzle holder. The content is reduced, and stable processing can be realized in combination with the uniform pressure distribution.

  Usually, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle is fixed at a predetermined position and is stationary, and the fiber web pressing and transferring means and the fiber web carrying and transferring means also move in one direction so as to transfer the fiber web in one direction. However, in the present invention, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle is reciprocated in a short stroke in the transverse direction of the fiber web transfer path, or the high-pressure steam jet nozzle is fixed and the fiber is fixed. It is preferable that the web pressing and transferring means and the fiber web carrying and transferring means are reciprocated with the same short stroke in the transverse direction of the fiber web transfer path. Thus, when reciprocating any one of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle or the fiber web pressing and transferring means and the fiber web carrying and transferring means, the high-pressure steam is uniformly jetted in the width direction of the fiber web and manufactured. A moire-like pattern due to the steam ejected from the nozzle holes is not formed on the surface of the non-woven fabric, and a non-woven fabric having a uniform surface form is obtained. The stroke width of this reciprocation may be slightly longer than the pitch between nozzles, specifically about ± 5 mm, and the reciprocating speed is 30 to 300 times / min.

  Even in the fiber sheet processing method of the present invention, in order to facilitate the entanglement of the fibers in the web by the steam jet nozzle in the transport direction of the fiber web and upstream of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle. It is desirable to arrange the pre-processing means. In this way, in the pre-stage where the fibers are entangled by the jet of steam, pre-treatment is performed to shorten the distance between the fibers constituting the fiber web, so that the fibers are entangled even by the injection of high-pressure steam. Can be done efficiently. As the pretreatment means, there is water application to give moisture to the fiber web. Thus, before the processing by the high-pressure steam jet nozzle is started, for example, if moisture is sprayed on the fiber web surface in advance, fluffing of the fiber web surface and scattering of the fibers are prevented, and the fiber web has morphological stability. Will improve.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the typical 1st structural example of the high pressure steam injection nozzle which concerns on this invention. It is a reverse view of the nozzle. It is arrow sectional drawing along the III-III line | wire in FIG. It is an enlarged view of the A section (1st gas-liquid separation part) shown by the arrow of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the B section (2nd gas-liquid separation part) shown by the arrow of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drain separate plate main body in this invention. It is a top view of the same drain separate plate body. It is a cross-sectional view of the same drain separate plate body. It is an expanded sectional view of the C section shown by the arrow in FIG. It is sectional drawing equivalent to FIG. 3 which shows the 2nd structural example of the high pressure steam injection nozzle which concerns on this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the disc plate in this invention. It is a top view of the same disk plate. It is pipe line explanatory drawing which shows roughly typical embodiment in the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like thing which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the steam line with respect to the high pressure steam injection nozzle in the same embodiment. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows schematically 2nd Embodiment of the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like material by this invention. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows schematically 3rd Embodiment of the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like material by this invention. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows schematically 4th Embodiment of the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like material by this invention. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows roughly 5th Embodiment of the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like material by this invention. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows roughly 6th Embodiment of the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like material by this invention.

Hereinafter, typical embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
1-7 has shown the typical 1st structural example of the high pressure steam injection nozzle which concerns on this invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 according to the first structure example includes a nozzle holder 11 and first and second flanges 12 and 13 fixed to both ends of the nozzle holder 11 by welding. A cylindrical high mesh filter 14 or an inner tube portion 14 ′ inserted into the nozzle holder 11 and supported at both ends by the first and second flanges 12 and 13, and a lower surface of the nozzle holder 11. And a nozzle member 15 having a large number of nozzle holes fixed by welding, bolts, or the like. According to this embodiment, the nozzle member 15 is fixed on the lower surface of the nozzle holder 11, and the high-pressure steam travels below the nozzle hole of the nozzle member 15 to the upper surface of the fiber sheet-like material (not shown) from above. The structural example when ejecting toward is shown. In the present invention, as will be described later, the nozzle member 15 is fixed to the upper surface of the nozzle holder 11, and the high-pressure steam travels above the nozzle hole of the nozzle member 15 to the lower surface of the fiber sheet-like material (not shown). In some cases, the liquid is ejected upward from the top, and the structural example in this case is taken as a second structural example. In addition, it is preferable that the material of the said inner side pipe part 14 'is a material equivalent to the nozzle holder main body 11' which is an outer side pipe part.

  The nozzle member 15 in the present embodiment has a substantially similar shape, except that the shape of the nozzle member and the nozzle hole and the member height disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are increased in appearance. doing. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 of the present invention viewed in the direction of the arrow along the line III-III shown in FIG. As can be understood from this drawing, the nozzle member 15 includes a nozzle plate 15a having a large number of nozzle holes 15a ″, a plate support member 15b for supporting the nozzle plate 15a, and the nozzle plate 15a and the plate support member 15b. A drain separation plate 15c, which is a constituent member of the first gas-liquid separation means interposed therebetween, can be constituted by nine members between the members in the length direction and in the width direction. Each pair is fastened and fixed by a total of 18 fixing bolts 21.

The first flange 12 fixed to the steam introduction side end of the nozzle holder 11 is formed with a through hole 12c having a large diameter portion 12a and a small diameter portion 12b along the center line, and a high pressure steam supply (not shown) is provided. A high-pressure steam supply pipe (not shown) connected to the source is connected via a plug 17. The second flange 13 fixed to the steam discharge side end of the nozzle holder 11 is also formed with a through hole 13c having a large diameter portion 13a and a small diameter portion 13b along the center line, and an exhaust gas not shown in the figure. It is connected to a steam exhaust pipe (not shown) connected to the fan. At both ends of the high mesh filter 14 (or the inner tube portion 14 '), O-rings 20 that are airtightly fixed to the large-diameter portions 12a and 13a of the first and second flanges 12 and 13 are fixed. ing.

  By the way, with respect to the steam supply pipe to the nozzle holder 11, in order to prevent the introduction of condensed steam, the rising pipe is connected to the steam inlet of the nozzle holder 11 or a drain separator is installed just before the connecting portion. Design considerations are necessary. Of course, in order to prevent condensation vapor from being generated due to the heat radiation from the supply pipe, it is important to keep the pipes and valves sufficiently warm, forcibly heating the pipe from the outside as necessary. It is desirable to take measures such as Although it is important to take these measures, it is necessary to actively heat the outside of the nozzle holder 11.

In addition to the influence of cooling, when the moving speed of the vapor in the nozzle holder 11 is a certain speed or more, it is affected by temperature drop or pressure drop inside the holder in relation to kinetic energy and friction loss. It was clarified that it causes the distribution of steam temperature and the generation of condensed steam. As a result of various studies, in order to avoid such a phenomenon, when the required holder length is given to the steam flow rate moving in the holder, the pressure drop with respect to the supply steam pressure is kept within the allowable limit. In order to achieve this, it has been found that the following conditional expression (1) must be satisfied.
D ≧ {KQt ² L / [σ (P + 0.1)]} ^0.2 (1)

  For example, when Qt (kg / s) is set for the amount of steam ejected from the entire holder, the length of the holder is set to L (m), and the pressure deviation rate σ is set, the minimum dimension of the holder diameter D is obtained from the above equation (1). be able to.

  The bottom surface of the nozzle holder 11 is cut out planarly until the inner space is reached, leaving both ends, and as a result, a cut surface 11a is formed. A slit-shaped opening 11b extending in the direction is formed. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the cut surface 11a is fixed in a state where a thick plate-like nozzle plate 15a, a prismatic plate support member 15b, and a thin plate-like drain separation plate 15c are stacked. Is done. In the lamination, the nozzle plate 15a is disposed at the lowest position, the plate support member 15b is disposed at the uppermost position, and the drain separation plate 15c is disposed in the middle. These three layers have the same length and width. A slit 15a 'that extends continuously in the longitudinal direction except for both ends in the longitudinal direction is formed at the center of the lower surface of the nozzle plate 15a. In addition, a large number of nozzle holes 15 a ″ communicating with the slits 15 a ′ are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction at the upper center.

  On the other hand, in the upper half of the plate support member 15b, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 5, a steam passage 15b made up of a number of zigzag circular holes facing the slit-like openings 11b of the nozzle holder 11. 'Is formed. This steam passage 15b 'constitutes a part of the high-pressure steam ejection passage in the present invention. Further, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 5, the lower half portion of the plate support member 15b has a width between the outer edges in the width direction of the steam passages 15b ′ arranged in a staggered manner, and the steam passage 15b ′. A slit portion 15b ″ having a length covering the formation region in the direction in which the layers are arranged is formed. This slit portion 15b ″ constitutes the other portion of the high-pressure steam ejection passage.

Further, according to the illustrated example, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 5, the upper half of each steam passage 15b ′ in the plate support member 15b is formed into a hollow cylindrical body 15b′-1, The region in which the steam passage 15b ′ in the length direction including the boat is formed is a boat-shaped recess 15b′-2. The cylindrical cylinder 15b′-1 and the boat-shaped recess 15b′-2 constitute second gas-liquid separation means which is one of the characteristic parts in the present invention, and the cylinder 15b′-1 The function as a weir is exhibited, and the concave portion 15b′-2 serves as a liquid collection path for collecting the condensed liquid (including drainage).

  Thus, in the illustrated example, the second gas-liquid separation means is provided on the surface of the plate support member 15b that is in close contact with the cut surface 11a of the nozzle holder 11, but the second gas-liquid separation means is directly applied to the cut surface 11a of the nozzle holder 11. Liquid separation means can also be provided. In this case, although it is difficult to process, a cylindrical groove 15b that forms a concave groove so as to surround the slit-shaped opening 11b of the cut surface 11a and forms a through hole similar to the above at an equal pitch along the bottom surface of the concave groove. '-1 should stand up side by side.

  Generally, the heat of the high-temperature and high-pressure steam introduced into the nozzle holder is radiated to the outside through the nozzle holder, and condensate is generated based on the temperature drop. This condensate tends to flow into the lower high-pressure steam jet passage along with the steam. At this time, even in the present invention, most of the condensate travels down the inner surface of the nozzle holder 11. Further, by the time the condensate contained in the steam reaches the second gas-liquid separation means, most of the condensate is separated into the steam and the condensate, and the steam passes through the hole of the cylindrical body 15b′-1 due to the internal pressure. However, the flow of one condensate is prevented from flowing into the hollow hole by the cylindrical wall portion of the cylindrical body 15b'-1, and collected in the recessed portion 15b'-2. Temporarily stored. The condensate collected in the recess 15b'-2 is discharged outside the system by opening an open / close valve (not shown) arranged at a drain discharge port leading to the recess 15b'-2 every predetermined time. Is done.

  As the name indicates, the drain separation plate 15c is a member for separating steam and condensate as in the second gas-liquid separation means, and may be constituted by a drain separation plate body 15c ′ alone. However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7, the drain separator plate body 15c ′ and the disk plate 15c ″ are composed of two members, which constitute the first gas-liquid separation means in the present invention. Here, as shown in FIGS. 4, 11 and 12, the disk plate 15c ″ is thinner and narrower than the drain separate plate body 15c ′, and is shorter than the drain separate plate body 15c ′. It is made of a material and is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the upstream side in the steam flow direction of the drain separate plate body 15c ′. According to the illustrated example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the disk plate 15c ″ is disposed in the space of the slit portion 15b ″ formed in the plate support member 15b. Before the vapor containing the condensate reaches the drain separate plate main body 15c ′, the vapor containing the condensate is applied to the disk plate 15c ″ to separate the condensate in the vapor from the vapor and to the drain separate plate main body 15c ′. It also functions as a buffer that disperses the vapor pressure toward it and makes its pressure distribution uniform.

  On the other hand, in the upper half of the drain separate plate body 15c ′ in the thickness direction, as shown in an enlarged view in FIGS. 4 and 8, the slit portion 15b of the plate support member 15b is located at the center in the width direction. A concave groove portion 15c′-2 that is slightly larger than the opening of “” and has a depth half that of the drain separate plate body 15c ′ is formed along the slit portion 15b ”. A large number of through-holes 15c'-3 are formed at equal pitches along the length direction at the center in the width direction of the bottom of the concave groove 15c'-2. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 9, the bottom surface of the condensate discharge side end of the concave groove 15c′-2 extends to the end surface of the drain separation plate body 15c ′ and is connected to a trap pipe (C4) described later. A condensate discharge port 15c'-1 is formed.

On the other hand, a hollow cylindrical body 15c′-4 communicating with the through-hole 15c′-3 is integrated with the concave groove portion 15c′-2 to stand upright on the bottom surface of the concave groove portion 15c′-2. The cylindrical body 15c′-4 has the same inner diameter as each through-hole 15c′-3, has an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the through-hole 15c′-3, and has the same height as the through-hole 15c′-3. Have This cylindrical body 15c′-4 constitutes the weir structure of the first gas-liquid separation means in the present invention, and the concave groove portion 15c′-2 constitutes the condensate flow path.

  Even if the vapor dispersed on the disk plate 15c ″ is small, it is highly likely that condensate is still contained. The drain separate plate body 15c ′ removes the condensate remaining in the vapor. Collected in the concave groove portion 15c′-2, only the vapor is disposed in close contact with the lower surface of the drain separation plate body 15c ′ through the hollow portion of the hollow cylindrical body 15c′-4 and the through hole 15c′-3. Into the nozzle hole 15a "of the nozzle plate 15a. At this time, the cylindrical body 15c′-4 prevents the condensate from entering the hollow portion and feeds only the vapor into the hollow portion, and the condensate separated here becomes the concave groove portion 15c′-2. To be collected. The condensate accumulated in the groove 15c'-2 is discharged out of the system through a drain discharge port which opens an open / close valve (not shown) and communicates with the groove 15c'-2 every predetermined time. In the present embodiment, the cylindrical body 15c'-4 is arranged in a single row at an equal pitch along the bottom surface of the concave groove portion 15c'-2, but is not limited thereto.

  The nozzle plate 15a has a large number of nozzle holes 15a "formed in a single row or multiple rows in the longitudinal direction with a predetermined pitch at the center in the width direction. According to the present embodiment, the nozzle plate 15a The holes 15a ″ are arranged in a line, and a simple circular hole 15a ″ -1 is formed at the upper 1/5 height portion, and is continuously smaller on the lower surface than the diameter of the circular hole 15a ″ -1. It has a diameter and is formed in the inverted frustoconical hole 15a "-2 from its upper end opening. It continuously extends in the length direction of the nozzle plate 15a to the lower end outlet of the inverted frustoconical hole 15a" -2. A slit 15a 'is formed. When such a hole shape is adopted, it is possible to ensure high-precision hole processing and good uniformity of the jet flow.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the plate support member 15 b is fixed and integrated by welding in a state where the upper surface of the plate support member 15 b is in close contact with the cut surface 11 a of the nozzle holder 11. The plate support member 15b is continuously formed with a projecting wall portion 15b "-1 projecting downward along the lower edge of the opening of the slit portion 15b". The protruding wall portion 15b ″ -1 of the plate support member 15b is fitted in a state of being closely fitted to the inner wall surface of the recessed groove portion 15c′-2 formed in the drain separate plate body 15c ′, and the plate support member 15b. And the nozzle plate 15a.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fixing at this time is performed between the plate support member 15b and the drain separate plate body 15c ′ and between the nozzle plate 15a and the drain separate plate body 15c ′. Each is firmly supported by airtightly fixing with a common bolt 21 via an O-ring 20. Accordingly, the nozzle plate 15a and the drain separation plate 15c can be easily detached from the plate support member 15b by removing the bolts 21, and thus can be easily cleaned and replaced. Further, between the inner surface of the projecting wall portion 15b ″ -1 of the plate support member 15b closely fitted in the concave groove portion 15c′-2 of the drain separate plate body 15c ′ and the cylindrical body 15c′-4. As described above, a space is formed, and this space becomes a condensate flow path that is a part of the first gas-liquid separation means of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a second structural example of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 of the present invention. In addition, in this 2nd structural example, the same name is used for the member substantially equivalent to the said 1st structural example, and the same code | symbol is attached | subjected. This second structural example is a structural example of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 in the case where high-temperature and high-pressure steam is jetted upward toward the lower surface of the fiber sheet traveling in one direction. for that reason,
In the second structure example, the arrangement of the nozzle holder 11 and the nozzle member 15 is opposite to that in the first structure example. Further, the arrangement relationship among the nozzle plate 15a, the drain separate plate 15c, and the plate support member 15 constituting the nozzle member is also reversed.

  According to this second structural example, the nozzle holder 11 is disposed at the lowest position of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10, its cut surface 11a is formed on the upper surface, and the slit-shaped opening 11b is also opened upward. The arrangement of the cut surface 11a and the plate support member 15b of the nozzle member 15 is upside down from the arrangement of the cut surface 11a and the plate support member 15b of the nozzle member 15 in the first structural example. Fixing at this time is integrated by welding. The structure of the plate support member 15b is not different from the structure of the plate support member 15b in the first structure example. However, according to the second structure example, the drain separate plate 150c is not directly closely fixed to the plate support member 15b, and a thin plate spacer 15d is interposed therebetween. The spacer 15d is provided with an opening 15d ′ into which the protruding wall portion 15b ″ -1 formed along the opening edge of the slit portion 15b ′ of the plate support member 15b is tightly fitted. As described above, the plate support member 15b in the first structural example is provided to be diverted.

  The drain separate plate 150c is airtightly fixed to the upper surface of the spacer 15d through the O-ring 20 with a common bolt 21. At this time, the arrangement direction of the drain separate plate body 150c 'is the same as the structure and arrangement direction of the drain separate plate body 15c' in the first structural example. However, unlike the first structural example, the disk plate 15c ″ is not a slot 15b ′ of the plate support member 15b but a long hole extending continuously in the length direction of the nozzle hole 15a ″ of the nozzle plate 15a. The nozzle hole 15a ″ has a structure in which the long hole portion 15a ″ -3 is formed on the lower surface side in the thickness direction, and the upper half portion has the above-described structure. Similar to the first structural example, a large number of frustoconical holes 15a ″ -4 are formed at an equal pitch. The drain separate plate main body 150 c ′ and the nozzle plate 15 a are fixed in an airtight manner with the bolt 21 via an O-ring 20. A sheet packing (trade name: Viton) is interposed between the nozzle plate 15a and the drain separate plate body 150c '.

  According to the second structural example shown in FIG. 10, an example of the support structure of the disk plate 15c ″ supported by the drain separate plate body 150c ′ is that the drain separate plate body 150c ′ and the disk plate 15c ″ have internal screws. A pair of upper and lower screws 21a and 21b are screwed and fixed through the cut flanged spacer 15e. The flanged spacer 15e is inserted into the through hole of the cylindrical body 150c′-4 of the drain separating plate main body 150c ′, and the lower surface of the flange portion 15e ′ formed on the disk plate 15c ″ side is the cylindrical body 150c ′. -4 is brought into contact with the upper end surface to form a gap between the cylindrical body 150c′-4 and the disk plate 15c ″.

  According to the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 having the above-described configuration, as described later, for example, when high-temperature and high-pressure steam is jetted from the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10, steam is introduced from one end of the cylindrical nozzle holder 11 during startup. Then, if it is discharged from the other end, fresh high-temperature and high-pressure steam passes through the inside of the nozzle holder 11 without any obstruction, so that the temperature of the nozzle holder 11 whose temperature has been lowered is raised to a predetermined temperature in a short time. be able to. This is because when the nozzle holder is provided with only a steam introduction opening as in the prior art, even if fresh high-temperature and high-pressure steam is introduced into the nozzle holder, the steam does not circulate inside the nozzle holder. Since it only fills the inside, the amount of heat is not exchanged and vapor condensation is likely to occur, and it takes a long time to raise the temperature of the nozzle holder.

  Incidentally, according to the present embodiment, the thickness of the nozzle plate 15a is 25 mm, the height from the bottom surface of the plate support member 15b to the center of the nozzle holder 11 is 59 mm, and the thickness of the drain separate plate body 15c ′. The thickness is 10 mm. The drain separate plate main body 15c ′ has a length of 630 mm, a groove width of 17 mm, an outer diameter of the cylindrical body 15c′-4 of 8 mm, an inner diameter of 6 mm, and a bottom surface of the concave groove portion 15c′-2. The height to the upper surface of the cylindrical body 15c′-4 is 5 mm, which is equal to the depth of the concave groove portion 15c′-2. These values vary depending on the field of use of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle, and cannot be determined unconditionally. The concave groove portion 15c'-2 and the cylindrical body 15c'-4 are processed by machining by cutting.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which a large number of nozzle holes 15a ″ formed in the nozzle plate 15a are arranged in a line is given. However, in the present invention, a large number of nozzle holes 15a ″ formed in the nozzle plate 16 are provided. Can be arranged in two or more rows. Thus, when the nozzle holes 15a ″ are arranged in two rows, for example, the nozzle holes 15a ″ arranged between the rows are preferably arranged in a staggered manner with a ½ pitch shift. When the nozzle holes 15a ″ are arranged in a staggered pattern, the pitch is substantially reduced as a whole even if the pitch between the nozzle holes 15a ″ on the same row is longer than that in the case of a single row. High-pressure steam ejected from the ejection nozzle 10 is uniformly applied in the width direction of the fiber web to be transferred, and a moire-like pattern is hardly attached.

  FIG.13 and FIG.14 has shown in outline the example of the manufacturing process of the nonwoven fabric as suitable embodiment of the processing process of the fiber sheet-like thing based on this invention to which the above-mentioned high-pressure-vapor-jet nozzle 10 was applied. An endless belt 30 is disposed below the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 at a predetermined interval. The endless belt 30 rotates in one direction so as to cross the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10. Therefore, both end reversing portions of the endless belt 30 are driven and supported by a driving roll 31 and a driven roll 32 that are driven by a driving motor (not shown), and are supported by a tension roller 33 on the lower side to be suitable for the endless belt 30. Giving proper tension. The endless belt 30 is formed of a mesh-like woven fabric woven coarsely using, for example, a stainless steel metal wire.

  The mesh degree can be set arbitrarily. The distance between the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the fiber web transported by the endless belt 30 is set to 0 to 30 mm or less depending on the fiber density and the thickness of the fiber web. At 0 mm, friction due to sliding contact occurs between the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the fiber web, and the nozzle hole 15 a ″ is likely to be blocked by deformation of the nozzle hole or foreign matter in the steam. The steam pressure introduced into the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is preferably 0.1 to 2 MPa based on the material and fiber density of the constituent fibers of the fiber web, and the high-pressure steam jet If the steam ejected from the nozzle is heated steam, the heated steam ejected from the nozzle hole 15a ″ will not be mist-like steam and will not be sprayed even if the temperature drops due to adiabatic expansion. At this time, the steam supplied to the nozzle hole 15a ″ is preferably heated steam having a wetness of 10% or less or a heating degree of 10 ° C. or more.

Suction means is disposed below the endless belt 30 corresponding to the installation site of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10. In the present embodiment, the suction means includes a suction box 40, a vacuum pump 42 connected to the suction box 40 via a separator tank 41 via a pipe, and a mist separator 43 connected to the discharge side of the vacuum pump 42. Consists of Here, the separator tank 41 is a gas-liquid separation tank for separating the vapor sucked by the suction box 40 into a gas-liquid, and the mist separator 43 is a foreign substance or harmful gas in the vapor discharged from the vacuum pump 42. Alternatively, the liquid or the like is removed from the vapor to release clean vapor (gas) to the outside, and also has a function as a silencer for reducing noise generated from the vacuum pump 42.

  An exhaust port of the top plate portion of the separator tank 41 is connected to a suction pipe (C5) connecting the gas-liquid separation tank 41 and the vacuum pump 42 via an opening / closing valve 47, and the bottom portion of the separator tank 41 is It is connected to the water supply source W via a fluid pump 48. Further, a water level detector 49 is arranged between the upper limit water level portion and the lower limit water level portion of the separator tank 41, and when the water level of the separator tank 41 exceeds the upper limit or falls below the lower limit, a signal is sent to the not shown. The operation of the fluid pump 48 is stopped by a command from the control device.

  The high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10 has the nozzle structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 12 and is supplied from a high-pressure steam supply source S to the steam introduction side end as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. High-pressure steam is introduced through the steam introduction side main pipe (C1). In the steam introduction side main pipe (C1), the steam sent from the high-pressure steam supply source S is once guided to the drain storage pot 51, and condensate contained in the steam is stored at the bottom thereof, and this is stored in the second trap. It collects in a collection tank (not shown) via a pipe line 57. The steam introduced into the drain storage pot 51 is heated by the heater 54 through the pressure control valve 52 and the precision filter 53 to become heated steam, and is sent to the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10.

  In the present embodiment, a temperature detector TI and a pressure detector PI are arranged between the heater 54 and the steam introduction side end of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10. The steam introduction side main line (C1) has a steam replenishment line (C2) branched from the installation site of the heater 54, and this steam replenishment line (C2) is connected to the high-pressure steam supply source S. ing. A first open / close valve 55 that operates in response to a temperature detection signal from the heater 54 is interposed in the middle of the steam replenishment line (C2), and the steam temperature detected by the temperature detector TI is When the temperature falls below the lower limit, the first opening / closing valve 55 is opened to supply new steam to the steam introduction side main pipe (C1) to raise the heating steam temperature to a predetermined temperature range. When the steam temperature exceeds the upper limit temperature, the first on-off valve 55 is closed to shut off the supplementary steam.

  The high-pressure steam ejection system employed in this embodiment complies with the above-mentioned Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent No. 4256749), and the temperature control system enables the steam temperature to be controlled within a predetermined temperature range. ing. The pressure detector PI is connected to a pressure control valve 52 disposed on the upstream side of the precision filter 53, and adjusts the vapor pressure of the vapor introduction side main pipe (C1) to be kept constant.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, the second temperature detector TI is arranged at the end of the steam discharge side of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10, and the end of the steam discharge side is connected to the steam discharge line (C3). ing. The steam discharge pipe (C3) is connected to the second temperature detector TI, and has a second opening / closing valve 56 that closes when the steam temperature detected by the temperature detector TI reaches a set temperature. It is intervened. Further, even when the second opening / closing valve 56 is closed and the steam discharge pipe (C3) is closed, the drain generated in the nozzle holder 11 of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 can always be discharged to a recovery tank (not shown). I am doing so.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in FIG. 14, a steam condensate discharge port 15 c ′-1 (see FIG. 9) is formed near the bottom surface of the nozzle member 15 at the end of the nozzle holder 11 on the high pressure steam discharge side. The discharge port 15c′-1 is connected to the trap pipe (C4) via the third opening / closing valve 62. At this time, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 tilts the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 by slightly lowering the end of the steam discharge pipe (C3) downward with the end portion on the high-pressure steam introduction side as a base end portion. Keep it. The high-pressure steam introduced into the nozzle holder 11 is inevitably condensed and liquefied during operation of the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10. As described above, the protruding wall portion 15b ″ -1 formed in the slit portion opening of the plate support member 15b is tightly connected to the inner wall surface of the concave groove portion 15c′-2 formed in the drain separate plate body 15c ′. At this time, a gap is formed between the inner surface of the protruding wall portion 15b ″ -1 and the cylindrical body 15c′-4 of the drain separate plate main body 15c ′. The condensate flow path which becomes a part of 1 gas-liquid separation means is comprised.

  The condensate discharge side end of the drain separation plate main body 15c ′ in the present embodiment is enlarged and shown in FIG. 9, and as described above, the condensate in the concave groove 15c′-2 of the drain separation plate main body 15c ′. A through-hole 15c′-3 serving as a drain discharge flow path for communicating between the concave groove 15c′-2 and the trap pipe (C4) is formed following the flow path side end. The trap pipe (C4) is provided with the third on-off valve 62 as described above. This through-hole 15c′-3 is a 3 mm diameter and 30 mm long drill hole, and the upper half of the end on the side communicating with the concave groove 15c′-2 is the concave groove 15c′-2. It communicates directly with the bottom, and its lower half extends to the bottom surface of the bottom of the groove 15c'-2. The condensate discharge port 15c'-1 at the end of the through hole 15c'-3 connected to the trap pipe (C4) is a screw hole having a diameter of 7.2 mm.

  On the other hand, the second gas-liquid separation means in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the steam passage 15 b ′ having a large number of circular holes is formed in the upper half of the plate support member 15 b, A slit portion 15b ″ that communicates with the lower end opening surface of the steam passage 15b ′ is formed in the lower half portion. A boat is provided at the center in the width direction of the upper end opening surface of the steam passage 15b ′ over the nozzle length direction. A concave portion 15b'-2 having a shape is formed, and a hollow cylindrical body 15b communicated with each of the plurality of steam passages 15b 'formed of the circular holes at the bottom of the concave portion 15b'-2. A large number of '-4 stands up. The cylindrical body 15b'-4 functions as a weir in the present invention, and the recessed portion 15b'-2 collects condensate (including drainage). It becomes.

  Here, when the third on-off valve 62 is opened at predetermined time intervals, the condensate accumulated in the recessed portion 15b'-2 of the plate support member 15b is discharged out of the system. At this time, if the high-pressure steam discharge side end of the nozzle holder 11 is set to be slightly lower than the end of the steam discharge pipe (C3) as described above, the recess of the plate support member 15b is formed. The condensate accumulated in the part 15b′-2 automatically flows to the condensate discharge port at the end of the high-pressure steam discharge side and is discharged to the outside via the trap pipe (C4).

  FIG. 15: has shown the outline | summary of 2nd Embodiment of the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like material based on this invention. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a means for facilitating confounding disposed on the upstream side of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is provided.

  In the present embodiment, a water injection pipe 58 that applies water toward the surface of the fiber web (not shown) is installed on the upstream side of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 in the fiber web traveling direction. A guide plate 59 for guiding the water jetted from the water jet pipe 58 to the fiber web surface is arranged between the water jet pipe 58 and the fiber web, and the water jetted from the water jet pipe 58 is directly supplied. Instead of being applied to the web surface, the water is made to flow down through the guide plate 59. This water injection pipe 58 corresponds to pretreatment means for facilitating the entanglement in the present invention, and before receiving a blow by the high pressure steam from the high pressure steam injection nozzle 10, water is applied to make the appearance of the fiber web apparent. , Thereby shortening the distance between the fibers in the web and facilitating the entanglement of the fibers in the web by the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10. A second suction box 45 is also installed below the endless belt 30 corresponding to the installation site of the guide plate 59, and the second suction box 45 is also connected to the vacuum pump 42 via a gas-liquid separation tank 46. It is connected to the. Here, the water injection pipe 58 is not necessarily installed, and may be installed as necessary.

  An exhaust port of the top plate portion of the separator tank 41 is connected to a suction pipe (C5) connecting the gas-liquid separation tank 46 and the vacuum pump 42 via an opening / closing valve 47, and the bottom portion of the separator tank 41 is Via the fluid pump 48, the water injection pipe 58 and the water supply source W are joined to a connection pipe line (C 6). Further, a water level detector 49 is arranged between the upper limit water level portion and the lower limit water level portion of the separator tank 41, and when the water level of the separator tank 41 exceeds the upper limit or falls below the lower limit, a signal is sent to the not shown. The operation of the fluid pump 48 is stopped by a command from the control device.

  In the present embodiment, the opening / closing lid 60 is installed so as to enclose the installation section of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the water jet pipe 58. A suction pump 61 is connected to the top plate portion of the open / close lid 60, and the suction pump 61 constantly sucks mist-like water vapor generated at the installation portion of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the water jet pipe 58 to the outside. It is trying to release. Although not shown in the present embodiment, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and its steam introduction pipe and steam discharge pipe are naturally heat insulating materials such as glass fiber mats with aluminum foil except for the steam jet nozzle holes. It is covered with.

  According to the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above, prior to operation, first, the second on-off valve 56 of the steam discharge pipe (C3) of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is opened to introduce steam. When high-pressure heating steam is introduced from the side main pipe (C1), fresh heating steam flows through the inside of the nozzle holder 11 of the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10 from the introduction side opening to the discharge side opening, and the nozzle holder 11 is required. The temperature is rapidly raised to the heating temperature. At this time, the temperature is detected by the temperature detector TI installed at the vapor discharge side end of the nozzle holder 11, and when the detected temperature reaches a required temperature, the second opening / closing valve 56 is closed. Simultaneously with closing the second opening / closing valve 56, the first and second endless belts 30, 34 are driven to start rotating.

  On the surface of a fiber web (not shown) that is transported on the endless belts 30 and 34 by the rotation of the endless belts 30 and 34, water is first supplied from the water injection pipe 58 through the guide plate 59. . The amount of water at this time is sufficient to only wet the fibers on the surface of the fiber web and stabilize its form, so a small amount is sufficient. You can just spray the water. In addition, depending on the material of the fiber which comprises a fiber web, it may be entangled easily and in that case, the means for facilitating entanglement is not taken beforehand. On the other hand, depending on the material of the fibers constituting the fiber web, it may be difficult to facilitate the entanglement only by providing water. In such a case, a high-pressure water flow similar to the conventional one may be injected as disclosed in Patent Document 3 described above instead of the water application, but in this case as well, the amount of water is not necessarily large but small. There may be.

  Here, when a conjugate fiber having a side-by-side fiber or a core-sheath structure made of fibers having different thermal shrinkage ratios is used as a part of the material constituting the fiber web, the conjugate fiber is heated by heat vapor entering the fiber web. The crimping of the nonwoven fabric further advances, especially in the surface layer, and the finished nonwoven fabric is extremely stable in shape and is of high quality with high flexibility and elasticity while maintaining the prescribed thickness. Product.

The surface of the fiber web to which water has been applied is then applied with columnar or convergent flow heating steam having an equal pressure and temperature that is ejected from each nozzle hole 15a ″ of the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10, and this powerful heating is applied. The steam flow penetrates into the fiber web, and the entangled fiber nonwoven fabric by the steam is continuously produced through the web while simultaneously setting the heat while entangled the surrounding fibers. The second open / close valve 56 installed in () is in a closed state, and drainage is generated inside the nozzle holder 11 of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10, as shown in FIG. It is always recovered in a recovery tank installed outside the system via a second trap pipe 57 branched from the upstream side of the second opening / closing valve 56.

  As a result, the nozzle hole 15a ″ is not clogged, and the heated steam ejected from the nozzle hole 15a ″ is ejected stably and continuously without being intermittently ejected. In this way, stable heated steam is continuously ejected on the surface of the traveling fiber web, so that the entire web is evenly entangled and an extremely high quality nonwoven fabric with the required strength is produced. Is done. Even in the present embodiment, the same high-pressure steam ejection system as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 14 is employed.

  FIG. 16 shows an overview of the third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the fiber of the present invention that rotates in the same direction as the endless belt 30 as shown in FIG. 16 so as to face the web transfer surface of the endless belt 30 that is the fiber web carrying and conveying means in the present invention. A second endless belt 34 serving as a web pressing and transferring means is disposed, and the first and second endless belts 30 and 34 are transported in a state where a fiber web (not shown) is sandwiched, and heated steam ejected from the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10. Is directed from the upper surface of the fiber web to the lower endless belt 30 via the second endless belt 34.

  In this manner, when the heating steam is applied to the web surface while the fiber web is sandwiched between the two endless belts 30 and 34, the heating steam is applied by the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10 as in the first embodiment. In addition to eliminating the need to take measures for facilitating the confounding prior to the web, the web form is not disrupted by the blow of heated steam from the high pressure steam jet nozzle 10, and as a result, the high pressure steam jet nozzle 10. It is also possible to further increase the pressure of the heated steam ejected from the air, and the heated steam flow ejected at a high pressure can surely penetrate the fiber web. In this embodiment, the porosity (mesh degree) of the second endless belt 34 facing the upper surface of the fiber web is set to be coarser than that of the lower endless belt 40, but it is not necessarily rough and is equivalent. It is also possible to set the void ratio.

  FIG. 17: has shown the outline | summary of 4th Embodiment which concerns on the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like thing of this invention. According to this embodiment, when the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the suction box 40 arranged opposite to the nozzle 10 are set as one set, a plurality of sets (two sets in the illustrated example) transfer the fiber web. Further, the arrangement of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the suction box 40 in each set is reversed upside down. That is, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is disposed toward the upper surface of the second endless belt 34 that travels together while pressing the upper surface of the fiber web through the nozzle hole 15a ″ of the first set of high-pressure steam jet nozzles 10. At the same time, the suction box 40 is disposed toward the lower surface of the first endless belt 30 that carries the fiber web from below and carries the suction opening of the suction box 40. On the other hand, the second set of high pressures is provided. The steam ejection nozzle 10 is disposed with its nozzle hole 15a ″ facing the lower surface of the first endless belt 30 carrying and carrying the fiber web from below, and the suction box 40 has a suction opening for the fiber web. It is arranged toward the upper surface of the second endless belt 34 that presses from above and travels together.

  Thus, when high-pressure steam is jetted alternately from the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 toward the upper surface and the lower surface of the fiber web sandwiched and transferred by the first and second endless belts 30 and 34, the fiber web High-pressure steam will act evenly on the front and back surfaces, and the constituent fibers will be entangled evenly on the front and back surfaces of the manufactured nonwoven fabric, making it easier to ensure form stability as the nonwoven fabric, and also in appearance. There is no distinction between front and back, and the product value is improved.

FIG. 18 schematically shows the main part of the most preferred fifth embodiment in the process of processing a fiber sheet according to the present invention. An endless belt 34, which is a fiber web pressing and transferring means, is arranged close to the lower surface of the nozzle member 15, and the fiber web W carried and transferred by the first endless belt 30 which is a fiber web carrying and transferring means is the second. While being held by the endless belt 34, it is transferred in a cooperative manner, and high-pressure heated steam is jetted onto the fiber web surface through the nozzle holes 15a "of the nozzle member 15 during the holding transfer. The first endless belt 30 A suction box 40 serving as a suction means is disposed in the vicinity of the inner surface of the suction box.

  In this embodiment, the suction opening of the suction box 40 is arranged at a position facing the nozzle hole 15a ″ of the nozzle member 15, and its shape is slit-like to avoid suction of surrounding gas as much as possible. The opening width of the slit aperture is preferably about 10 mm, and the suction force of the ventilation fan used in a normal factory is sufficient, that is, about 300 Pa is sufficient. The orientation is easy to give, and if it is smaller than that, the suction force is insufficient.Of course, this suction force can be adjusted within the required range also by the thickness and density of the fiber web and the vapor pressure when ejected from the nozzle member 15. is necessary.

  In this embodiment, in order to maintain the gap between the nozzle member 15 and the second endless belt 34 and the gap between the first endless belt 30 and the suction box 40, the lower surface of the first endless belt 30 is supported and guided. A plurality of supporting rotating rolls 35a and a plurality of regulating guide rolls 35b for regulating and guiding the upper surface position of the second endless belt 34 are provided. By providing the support rotating roll 35a and the regulation guide roll 35b, not only can the fiber web T be nipped and transferred by the first and second endless belts 30 and 34 with an appropriate nipping force, but each endless It is possible to avoid the sliding contact between the belts 30 and 34 and the nozzle member 15 and the suction box 40, and at the same time maintain the facing gap minutely. In addition, these support rotation rolls 35a and regulation guide rolls 35b can be adjusted by using known vertical position adjusting means, respectively.

  In the above-described embodiment, the nozzle hole 15a ″ of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 having the above-described structure is simply disposed toward the fiber web carrying and / or pressing and conveying means. Then, it is also possible to maintain the high temperature by positively heating the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10. Fig. 19 shows an example of the nozzle holder 11, the nozzle plate support member. 15b and a heating box 27 that accommodates the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 including the nozzle plate 15a is used, which accommodates the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10. It consists of an elongated rectangular parallelepiped with the entire surface opened on the side to which the nozzle hole 15a ″ is directed, and a hot air inlet 27a is formed at the center of the top plate. The hot air introduction port 27a is connected to an external hot air supply conduit 28. The high-temperature purified air introduced by the fan 28a through the filter 28b and heated by the heater 28c is sent to the heating box 27 through the hot-air supply pipe 28, and the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 The whole is positively heated with hot air.

  In this way, by heating the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10, temperature drop of the high-pressure steam and heated steam introduced into the nozzle holder 11 is effectively prevented, and the required temperature is maintained and the high-pressure steam jet is maintained. It can be made to eject toward the fiber web W from the nozzle 10. As a result, not only can the amount of steam used be reduced, but at the same time, efficient fiber entanglement can be realized, and the form of the nonwoven fabric produced can be stabilized and desired strength and texture can be obtained.

Moreover, according to the example of illustration, it exists in the front-and-back wall surfaces 27b and 27c of the fiber web transfer direction of the heating box 27, Comprising: The peripheral surface of the seal rolls 29a and 29b is contact | abutted to the lower end part. These seal rolls 29a and 29b are stainless-steel smooth rolls or rolls coated with resin on the peripheral surface, and may be free-rotating rolls or driven and rotated in synchronization with the transfer speed of the fiber web W. Good. By providing such seal rolls 29a and 29b, it is possible to prevent the escape of hot air from the heating box 27 and at the same time prevent the intrusion of the outside air, and the heating efficiency for the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is improved.

  Further, in this example, the outside air shielding plate 63 having an opening corresponding to the suction opening portion of the suction box 40 disposed to face the first endless belt 30 that is the carrier web of the fiber web W is further provided. 1 It is interposed between the endless belt 30 and the suction box 40. The front and rear end portions of the outside air shielding plate 63 in the fiber web transfer direction are respectively curved downward so that the passage of the fiber web W is smoothly stabilized. As described above, the outside air shielding plate 63 is interposed between the first endless belt 30 and the suction box 40, so that the outside air enters the ejection region of the high-pressure steam or the heating steam ejected from the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10. The high-pressure steam or heating steam that is ejected can be efficiently applied to the fiber web W that passes between the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10 and the suction box 40 without being disturbed by outside air. Can do. As a result, the surface form of the produced nonwoven fabric is further leveled and the fiber entanglement is densified.

  In the present invention, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is slightly reciprocated in the longitudinal direction, or the first and second endless belts 30 and 34 are moved in the direction crossing the fiber web transfer path together with the fiber web. It can be reciprocated minutely. A driving mechanism for the reciprocating motion is not shown in the figure, but a conventionally known mechanism for applying lateral vibration to a net such as a long net paper machine can be employed. Further, the stroke of reciprocation (vibration) is preferably about 5 mm to the left and right from the center of reciprocation, and the number of reciprocations is arbitrarily adjusted in the range of 30 to 300 times / min. As described above, when the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10 or the first and second endless belts 30 and 34 are reciprocated, the high-pressure steam or the heating steam ejected from a large number of nozzle holes arranged in a row becomes the fiber web. The surface acts evenly in the width direction, and a more uniform fiber entanglement and surface morphology can be obtained without forming a moire pattern on the surface.

10 (High pressure) Steam ejection nozzle 11 Nozzle holder 11 'Nozzle holder body (outer tube part)
11a Cut surface 11b Slit-shaped openings 12, 13 First and second flanges 12a, 13a Large diameter portions 12b, 13b Small diameter portions 12c, 13c Through hole 14 High mesh filter 14 'Inner tube portion 15 Nozzle member 15a Nozzle plate 15a' Slit 15a "nozzle hole 15a" -1 circular hole 15a "-2 inverted frustoconical hole 15a" -3 long hole 15a "-4 frustoconical hole 15b (nozzle) plate support member 15b 'steam passage 15b'-1 (hollow shape) Of) cylinder (weir)
15b'-2 (boat-shaped) depression (collection channel)
15b ″ Slit portion 15b ″ -1 Projection wall portion 15c, 150c Drain separate plate 15c ′, 150c ′ Drain separate plate body 15c′-1 Condensate discharge port 15c′-2 Concave groove (condensate flow path)
15c'-3 Through hole
15c'-4,150c'-4 Cylindrical body (weir)
15c "disc plate (buffer member)
15d spacer 15d 'opening 15e flanged spacer 15e' flange part 17 plug 20 O-ring 21 bolt 21a, 21b screw 27 heating box 27a hot air inlet 27b, 27c front and rear wall part 28 hot air supply conduit 28a fan 28b filter 28c heater 29a, 29b Seal rolls 30, 34 First and second endless belts 31 Drive rolls 32 Driven rolls 33 Tension rollers 35a Support rotating rolls 35b Regulation guide rolls 40 Suction box 41 Separator tank 42 Vacuum pump 43 Mist separator 45 Second suction box 46 Air Liquid separation tank 47 Open / close valve 48 Fluid pump 49 Water level detector 51 Drain storage pot 52 Pressure control valve 53 Precision filter 54 Heater 55 First open / close valve 6 second switching valve 57 second trap pipe 58 water injection pipe 59 guide plate 60 closing lid 61 a suction pump 62 the third on-off valve 63 open air shielding plate

Claims (14)

It has a steam inlet connected to a pressurized steam supply source at one end, a steam outlet connected to an external steam discharge pipe at the other end, and a surface facing a fiber sheet that travels in one direction. A hollow cylindrical nozzle holder having an opening along the sheet width direction, and a nozzle member that can be attached to and detached from the nozzle holder portion on the opening side and has a large number of nozzle holes formed facing the opening. A high-pressure steam jet nozzle,
A first gas-liquid separating means for separating condensate and steam generated in the high-pressure steam jet passage between the opening and the nozzle member and introducing and guiding the steam into the nozzle hole is provided in the high-pressure steam jet passage. A high-pressure steam jet nozzle.   2. The high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the first gas-liquid separation means is disposed immediately upstream of the nozzle hole.   The first gas-liquid separation means has a condensate flow path and a vapor ejection path disposed in the condensate flow path, and the condensate and vapor are disposed between the condensate flow path and the vapor ejection path. The high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle has a weir structure that separates the two.   The high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to claim 3, wherein the dam structure includes a cylindrical body standing upright from the condensate flow path toward the upper side.   4. The high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to claim 3, wherein the first gas-liquid separation unit further includes a buffer member, and the buffer member is disposed immediately upstream of the first gas-liquid separation unit.   2. The high pressure according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle holder includes a double pipe, a steam introduction side opening of an inner pipe portion thereof communicates with the steam inlet, and a plurality of through holes are formed in the inner pipe portion. Steam jet nozzle.   In the vicinity of the bottom of the nozzle holder, the condensate and steam generated in the nozzle holder are separated, and the steam is guided to the opening along the sheet width direction, and the condensate is formed in the vicinity of the bottom of the nozzle holder. The high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to claim 1 or 6, comprising second gas-liquid separation means for collecting liquid in the collected liquid passage.   The high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to claim 7, further comprising a drain discharge path for discharging the condensate collected in the liquid collection path to the outside of the nozzle, and an open / close valve arranged in the drain discharge path.   The high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to claim 7, wherein the liquid collection path is inclined downward toward the steam discharge port side. The high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the minimum diameter of the nozzle holder is obtained by the following equation (1).
D ≧ {KQt ² L / [σ (P + 0.1]} ^0.2 (1)
Here, D is the diameter (mm) of the nozzle holder, Qt is the amount of steam ejected from the entire holder (kg / s), L is the holder length (m), and σ is the pressure deviation rate. The steam inlet according to any one of claims 1 to 10, having a steam inlet connected to a high-pressure steam supply source at one end and a steam outlet connected to an external steam discharge pipe at the other end, and unidirectional A hollow cylindrical nozzle holder having an opening along the sheet width direction of the surface facing the fiber sheet that travels in a detachable manner, and is detachable from the nozzle holder portion on the opening side and is formed to face the opening A method for processing a fiber sheet material, wherein high pressure steam is jetted toward the surface of the fiber sheet material using a high pressure steam jet nozzle including a nozzle member having a number of nozzle holes.   The processing method of the fiber sheet-like material according to claim 11, wherein the fiber sheet-like material is a fiber woven or knitted fabric, a nonwoven fabric, or a laminate thereof.   The processing method of the fiber sheet-like article according to claim 12, wherein the processing method includes processing of manufacturing a nonwoven fabric or washing, drying, decoloring and the like of various fiber woven or knitted fabrics including the nonwoven fabric.   The method for processing a fiber sheet according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the fiber sheet includes a conjugate fiber having a difference in thermal shrinkage.

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