JP5980484B2 - Brush and brush manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a belt-like brush used for, for example, a rotary brush for a vacuum cleaner or a static elimination brush in an image forming apparatus, and a method for manufacturing the brush.

  Conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, this type of brush includes a plurality of fiber bundles arranged in parallel by holding fibers extending in a direction intersecting with a direction in which the fibers constituting the fiber bundle extend. A portion closer to the proximal end than the fluffy tip is connected in the parallel direction while being held in a bundle, so that it is formed in a band shape.

JP-A-6-125811

  By the way, the belt-like brush in Patent Document 1 is adjusted in the longitudinal dimension, which is the direction in which the fiber bundles are arranged in parallel, in accordance with the specifications of the parts to which the brush is attached. That is, it is cut according to the length of the mounting part of the component to which the brush is mounted. Therefore, depending on the cutting location, the fiber bundle in which a large number of fibers are bundled is vertically divided, and the holding fiber wound to hold the fiber bundle in a bundle shape is also cut. There is a possibility that the fibers constituting the bundle may be broken or even scattered.

The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems. The purpose is to prevent the fibers from being unwound from the fiber bundle when the fiber bundle in a brush formed so that a plurality of fiber bundles are formed in parallel to form a belt-like shape is cut vertically. It is in providing the brush which can be manufactured, and the manufacturing method of a brush .

In order to achieve the above object, a brush according to the present invention is a belt-like brush made of fluff that is sandwiched and attached to a substrate, and a plurality of fibers are bundled in a straight line so that the tip side is free. A fiber bundle whose proximal end is fixed as an end and the fiber bundles held in a bundle on the proximal end side in a state where the fiber bundles are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the fibers constituting the fiber bundle extend. However, a gist is that a resin material having an adhesive function is impregnated between each fiber constituting the fiber bundle of the portion held by the holding fiber.

Moreover, the brush which concerns on this invention makes it a summary to impregnate the resin material which has an adhesive function also between each fiber which comprises the said fiber bundle of the base end side from the part hold | maintained with the said holding fiber. .
Moreover, the brush which concerns on this invention makes it a summary to hold | maintain each said fiber bundle in the state in which the said holding fiber was heated and the resin material of the holding fiber was welded to the fiber bundle.
According to these configurations, each fiber constituting the fiber bundle is not only based on the holding function of holding the fiber bundle in a bundle shape, but also by the adhesion function of the resin material impregnated between the fibers. , A state where many fibers are gathered and bundled is maintained. Therefore, when the fiber bundle in the brush formed so that a plurality of fiber bundles are formed in parallel to form a belt shape is cut in a vertically split shape, it is possible to prevent the fibers from being unwound from the fiber bundle.

Further, in the brush according to the present invention, the holding fiber is composed of a plurality of holding fibers wound around the fiber bundles at a plurality of positions at different distances from the distal end to the base end side in the fiber bundle, and the fibers In the bundle, the portion held by the holding fibers at a position closest to the tip is configured such that the amount of the resin material impregnated is smaller than the portion held by the holding fibers on the base end side from the portion. It is a summary.
According to this configuration, since the resin material is impregnated between the fibers in the portion closer to the base end than the tip of the fiber bundle, each fiber bundle can hold the tip in a fuzzy state, and brush performance can be improved. It can be maintained well.

  Further, in the brush according to the present invention, the holding fiber is composed of a plurality of holding fibers each wound around the fiber bundle at a plurality of positions at different distances from the distal end to the base end side in the fiber bundle, Of the fibers, the distal-side holding fiber that wraps around each of the fiber bundles at a position closest to the distal end of the fiber bundle is another holding fiber that wraps around each of the fiber bundles at the proximal end side relative to the distal-side holding fiber. The gist of the invention is that the resin material is configured to have a higher absorption retention capacity.

  According to this configuration, when the resin material is impregnated from the base end side with respect to each fiber bundle, for example, from the position where the distal side holding fiber in each fiber bundle is wound, the capillary phenomenon of each fiber constituting the fiber bundle When the resin material tries to penetrate into the tip side of the fiber bundle, the amount of penetration of the resin material into the tip side of the fiber bundle is reduced by the amount absorbed and held by the tip side holding fiber. Therefore, it can suppress that the fluff state of the front-end | tip of each fiber bundle is inhibited by the resin material which permeates from the base end side to the front end side by capillary action.

Moreover, the brush which concerns on this invention makes it a summary that the said holding fiber changes color, when the said resin material is absorbed.
According to this configuration, for example, when a plurality of holding fibers are wound around the fiber bundles at different positions, the resin material to each fiber bundle is visually recognized by absorbing the resin material and changing the color. It becomes possible to grasp the amount of impregnation.

Moreover, the brush which concerns on this invention makes the summary that the said fiber which comprises the said fiber bundle is an electroconductive fiber.
According to this structure, generation | occurrence | production of the electrical malfunction feared to generate | occur | produce when a conductive fiber is unwound and scattered can be reduced.
Furthermore, in the method for manufacturing a brush according to the present invention, a plurality of fibers are bundled linearly, a fiber bundle in which the base end side is fixed with the distal end side as a free end, and a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the fibers constituting the fiber bundle extend. And a holding fiber that holds and holds the fiber bundles in a bundle shape on the base end side in a state where the fiber bundles are arranged in parallel, and is formed of a fluff body that is sandwiched and attached to a base material. A method of manufacturing a brush, wherein the holding fiber includes a heat-meltable resin material, and is heated in a state in which the holding fiber holds a predetermined position of the fiber bundle, and the portion of the portion held by the holding fiber The gist is that the resin material having the adhesive function of the holding fibers is melted and impregnated between the fibers of the fiber bundle.
According to this configuration, the brush according to the present invention can be manufactured.

  According to the present invention, when a fiber bundle in a brush formed so that a plurality of fiber bundles are arranged in parallel to form a belt shape is cut in a vertically split shape, it is possible to prevent the fibers from being released from the fiber bundle. it can.

The plane sectional view showing the head of the vacuum cleaner provided with the rotation brush with which the brush concerning the embodiment of the present invention is equipped. The sectional side view which shows the use condition of the head of a vacuum cleaner. The perspective view which shows the rotating brush in a vacuum cleaner. The partially broken perspective view of a brush assembly. The top view of a brush. The principal part expansion simplified view which shows the manufacturing process of a brush. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. (A) is a fragmentary sectional view in the brush of a comparative example, (b) is the fragmentary front view of the brush of the comparative example shown to (a).

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the brush of the present invention is embodied as a belt-like brush used for a rotary brush for a vacuum cleaner will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the head 11 of the vacuum cleaner includes a case 12 that is substantially T-shaped in plan view. One end side of the connection pipe 13 is rotatably connected to the rear end portion of the case 12 with respect to the case 12, and the other end side of the connection pipe 13 is connected to a main body (not shown) of the vacuum cleaner. Has been. A rectangular suction port 14 that is long in the left-right direction is formed at a position on the front end side of the bottom wall of the case 12 so as to penetrate the bottom wall.

  A partition plate 15 having a rectangular frame shape is erected on the inner bottom surface of the case 12 so as to surround the suction port 14, and penetrates the rear wall at the center of the rear wall constituting the partition plate 15. Thus, an air suction port 16 is formed. A motor bearing 17 is provided on the left inner surface of the case 12, and the motor bearing 17 rotatably supports the tip of a motor shaft 19 extending from a motor 18 provided behind the partition plate 15 in the case 12. .

  Rotation supports 20 are respectively provided on the left and right side walls of the partition plate 15, and both the rotation supports 20 are rotatably supported by brush bearings 21 provided on the left and right inner surfaces of the case 12. Inside the partition plate 15, a rotating brush 22 having a rotation axis extending in the left-right direction is accommodated, and both ends of the rotating brush 22 are supported by both rotating supports 20.

  Further, an endless belt 23 is hung between the left rotation support 20 and the roller 19 a attached to the motor shaft 19. Therefore, when the motor 18 is driven, the rotational driving force of the motor 18 is transmitted to the rotating brush 22 via the motor shaft 19, the roller 19a, the belt 23, and the left rotation support body 20. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rotating brush 22 includes a rotating body 31 formed in a cylindrical shape with a conductive material such as metal, and four brush assemblies 32 attached to the rotating body 31. I have. On the peripheral surface of the rotating body 31, four concave grooves 33 having a spiral shape are formed from one end surface to the other end surface so as to be arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. One brush assembly 32 is mounted in each of the concave grooves 33.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the brush assembly 32 includes a long base 40 formed by extruding a styrene-based or olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer, and attached to the base 40. A fluff body 41 is provided as a belt-like brush. The base material 40 is locked to a protrusion (not shown) in the concave groove 33 in order to prevent the concave groove 33 from coming out in the radial direction while being slid into the concave groove 33 from the end face side of the rotating body 31. A locking part 42 having a substantially semicircular shape in side view, a holding part 43 having a substantially U shape in side view for holding the fluff 41, and a band-like shape connecting the locking part 42 and the holding part 43 And a connecting portion 44.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the fluff body 41 includes a fiber bundle 45 that is a multifilament in which a number of ultrafine conductive fibers (hereinafter also simply referred to as “fibers”) 45 a that are monofilaments are bundled, and fibers A holding fiber 46 is provided that holds the fiber bundles 45 in a bundle shape in a state in which the fiber bundles 45 are arranged in parallel in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the fibers 45a of the bundle 45 extend. The conductive fibers 45a include carbon fibers, metal fibers such as stainless steel fibers, fibers obtained by imparting conductivity to regenerated fibers such as rayon fibers and cupra fibers, nylon fibers, acrylic fibers, polypropylene fibers, and polyester fibers. Examples thereof include fibers obtained by imparting conductivity to these synthetic fibers. Incidentally, in this embodiment, the conductive fiber 45a is comprised with the carbon fiber.

  In addition, the holding fiber 46 is wound around each fiber bundle 45 at a plurality of positions (three positions in the present embodiment) at different distances from the fluffy tip to the base end side in the fiber bundle 45 (a pair in the present embodiment). (2) × 3 positions = 3 pairs (6)) holding fibers 46a, 46b, 46c. Specifically, the front-side holding fiber 46a is wound at a position that is substantially in the middle of the width direction of the fluff body 41 that has a rectangular shape and that is closest to the fluff-shaped tip of the fiber bundle 45 among the three positions. At the same time, the other holding fibers 46b and 46c are wound at two positions that are sequentially separated from the tip than the position at which the tip holding fiber 46a is wound.

  Each holding fiber 46 (46a, 46b, 46c) is formed of a highly durable and flexible fiber. Examples of fibers satisfying such conditions include regenerated fibers such as rayon fibers and cupra fibers, synthetic fibers formed from nylon, acrylic, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and natural fibers such as cotton. Incidentally, the holding fiber 46 in the present embodiment is composed of a spun fiber in which a polypropylene fiber that is a kind of synthetic fiber and a non-melt fiber (for example, natural fiber such as cotton) that does not melt even when heated are twisted. . In addition, the front-side holding fiber 46a is a non-melt fiber (for example, cotton or the like) that has a higher liquid absorption than the synthetic fiber so that the liquid absorption and holding ability is higher than the other holding fibers 46b and 46c. The ratio of natural fibers) is increased.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the fluff body 41 knits a long fiber bundle 45 in a serpentine shape, and extends in parallel with each other at a plurality of positions on the inner side in the width direction with respect to the curved portions 45 b on both sides (in this case, a pair ( 2) × 6 positions = 6 pairs (12)) after knitting, respectively, and then cutting the center in the width direction (cut along the arrow in FIG. 6) to form two at the same time The And the fixed width area | region where the holding fiber 46 (46a, 46b, 46c) was wound in the width direction of the fluff body 41 is hot-pressed. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, in the holding fiber 46 (46a, 46b, 46c), the non-melting element 146 mainly composed of non-melting fiber maintains a state of being wound around the fiber bundle 45, while meltable polypropylene fiber. The melting element 246 that is a part of the fiber penetrates between some of the fibers 45a located at the outer peripheral edge of the fiber bundle 45, and then solidifies as it cools. The resin material 47 in the present embodiment is preferably a water-soluble resin material such as an acrylic resin emulsion, a urethane resin emulsion, or a vinyl acetate resin emulsion, taking into consideration compatibility with the fibers 45a constituting the fiber bundle 45. Are appropriately selected.

  Further, using a coating device (not shown), a resin material 47 having an adhesive function is applied to a constant width region between the position where the tip side holding fiber 46a is wound in the width direction of the fluff body 41 and the curved portion 45b. The That is, a resin material 47 having an adhesive function is impregnated between the fibers 45a constituting each fiber bundle 45 at the base end side portion of the fiber bundle 45 of the fluff body 41 with respect to the fluffy tip. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the fibers 45a constituting the fiber bundle 45 were bundled by a large number of fibers 45a gathered by the adhesive function of the resin material 47 that penetrated and solidified uniformly between the fibers 45a. Hardened to state.

Therefore, the operation of the fluff body 41, which is a strip-shaped brush configured as described above, will be described below in comparison with the comparative example shown in FIGS.
Now, the fluff body 41 is arranged in parallel with the fiber bundle 45 in accordance with the standard of the part to which the fluff body 41 is attached, that is, in this case, in accordance with the length of the concave groove 33 of the rotary body 31 in the rotary brush 22. A part thereof is cut along the width direction (the direction in which the fibers 45a constituting the fiber bundle 45 extend) in order to adjust the longitudinal dimension as the direction. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 7, the fiber bundle 45 may be vertically divided depending on the cut portion.

  In such a case, as in the fluff body of the comparative example shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the fiber material 45a constituting the fiber bundle 45 is not impregnated with the resin material 47 having an adhesive function. It is possible that 45a can be unwound one by one from the cut portion. And the fiber 45a which was unwound from the vertically cut part of the fiber bundle 45 is scattered, and there is a possibility that an electrical failure may be caused depending on the part where it falls.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the fluff body 41 that is a brush of the present embodiment allows the fibers 45 a constituting the fiber bundle 45 to uniformly penetrate between the fibers 45 a as a whole of the fiber bundle 45. Due to the bonding function of the solidified resin material 47, a large number of fibers 45a are gathered and bundled together. Therefore, even if it is cut in a vertically split shape like the fiber bundle 45 shown in FIG. 7 (the leftmost fiber bundle in the figure), the fibers 45a are prevented from being unwound from the cut portion. Therefore, scattering of the conductive fibers 45a is also suppressed.

  Further, since the resin material 47 is impregnated between the fibers 45a at the proximal end portion of the fiber bundle 45 and not impregnated at the distal end portion, the fiber bundle 45 has a fluff at the distal end. State is maintained. In addition, the resin material 47 that has penetrated between the fibers 45a by being applied to the proximal end portion of the fiber bundle 45 from the distal end tends to penetrate into the distal end side of the fiber bundle 45 due to capillary action of the fibers 45a. However, since such a resin material 47 is at least partially absorbed and held by the tip-side holding fibers 46a excellent in liquid absorbability, the permeation amount to the tip side is reduced accordingly.

  And after the brush assembly 32 which pinched the fluff body 41 to the base material 40 was slid and inserted in the concave groove 33 of the rotary body 31 in the rotary brush 22, the rotary brush 22 is the head of the vacuum cleaner. 11 is attached. At this time, the rotating body 31 made of the conductive material of the rotating brush 22 is connected to a ground mechanism (not shown), and the fibers made of the conductive fibers 45a of the fluff body 41 in the brush assembly 32 with respect to the rotating body 31. The bundle 45 is electrically connected through a wiring mechanism (not shown).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2, when the vacuum cleaner is driven with the head 11 placed on the floor surface F, the air inside the partition plate 15 is changed to the air suction port 16 and the connection pipe 13. Is sucked into the main body (not shown) of the vacuum cleaner. Furthermore, by rotating the rotating brush 22, dust such as dust, dust and hair is sucked from the suction port 14 together with air while being scraped off from the floor surface F. At this time, the rotating brush 22 is rotated in a direction (a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 2) that does not prevent the head 11 of the vacuum cleaner from moving forward.

  In addition, at that time, since each fiber 45a of the fiber bundle 45 in the fluff body 41 that is in sliding contact with the floor surface F as the rotary brush 22 rotates is a conductive fiber, it exhibits a static electricity removing function. Therefore, the dust adhering to the floor surface F due to static electricity can be easily separated from the floor surface F by the air suction force and the scraping force with the brush.

According to the embodiment detailed above, the following effects are exhibited.
(1) The fibers 45a constituting the fiber bundle 45 of the fluff body 41 are not only due to the holding function of the holding fibers 46 holding the fiber bundle 45 in a bundle shape, but also the resin material 47 impregnated between the fibers 45a. Even with this bonding function, a state where a large number of fibers 45a are gathered and bundled is maintained. Therefore, when the fiber bundle 45 in the fluff body (brush) 41 formed so that a plurality of fiber bundles 45 are arranged in parallel is cut in a vertically split shape, the fibers 45a are released from the fiber bundle 45. Can be suppressed.

  (2) Since the resin material 47 is impregnated between the fibers 45a in the portion closer to the base end than the tip of the fiber bundle 45, each fiber bundle 45 can hold the tip in a fuzzy state, and brush performance Can be maintained well.

  (3) When the resin material 47 is impregnated with respect to each fiber bundle 45 from, for example, the base end side rather than the position where the distal side holding fiber 46a in each fiber bundle 45 is wound, each fiber 45a constituting the fiber bundle 45 Although the resin material 47 tends to penetrate into the distal end side of the fiber bundle 45 by capillary action, at least a part of the resin material 47 is absorbed and retained by the distal-side holding fibers 46a. Therefore, the amount of penetration of the resin material 47 into the distal end side of the fiber bundle 45 is reduced by that amount. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the fluff state at the distal end of each fiber bundle 45 from being inhibited by the resin material 47 penetrating from the proximal end side to the distal end side due to capillary action.

  (4) Each fiber 45a constituting the fiber bundle 45 of the fluff body 41 is made of conductive fiber. As described above, even if the fiber bundle 45 is cut in a vertically split shape, the fiber 45a is cut. The conductive fibers 45a are hardly released and scattered from the place. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of an electrical failure that may occur when such conductive fibers 45a are unwound and scattered.

(Example of change)
In addition, the said embodiment can also be changed and actualized as follows.
In the above-described embodiment, the plurality of holding fibers 46 (46a, 46b, 46c) are fibers having a color different from that of the resin material 47, and the resin material 47 that penetrates to the distal end side by capillary action of each fiber 45a is held. If the fiber 46 is absorbed at a position where the fiber 46 is wound around the fiber bundle 45, the fiber 46 may be formed of a discolored fiber. In this way, it is possible to visually grasp the penetration amount of the resin material penetrating from the proximal end side to the distal end side in the fiber bundle 45 by capillary action.

  In the above embodiment, the resin material 47 may be a resin material having conductivity, such as a composition containing metal powder. In this way, since the fiber bundle 45 of the fluff body 41 is composed of the conductive fibers 45a and the conductive resin material impregnated between them, the electricity when performing the static elimination function Resistance can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the holding fiber 46 may be composed of a melt fiber having a heat melting property such as a synthetic fiber such as polypropylene fiber, and conversely, such as a natural fiber such as cotton. You may comprise a non-heat-melting non-melting fiber. Also in this case, there is no change in that the fibers 45a are solidified by the bonding function of the resin material 47 impregnated between the fibers 45a of the fiber bundle 45.

-In the said embodiment, you may comprise the fiber 45a which comprises the fiber bundle 45 with nonelectroconductive fibers other than an electroconductive fiber.
In the above embodiment, the number of holding fibers 46 wound around each fiber bundle 45 to be held in a bundle is not limited to the number in the embodiment, and any number can be adopted.

  In the above embodiment, the resin material 47 may be impregnated up to a certain region on the tip side from the position where the tip side holding fiber 46a is wound as long as it does not reach the tip of the fiber bundle 45.

In the above embodiment, the plurality of holding fibers 46 (46a, 46b, 46c) may all have the same liquid absorption holding ability.
-In the said embodiment, as a means to attach the fluff body 41 to the rotary body 31, it does not necessarily need to go through the base material 40, and it affixes directly on the rotary body 31 using an adhesive agent, a double-sided tape, etc. You may make it wear. In that case, the shape of the attaching part provided in the rotary body 31 can be suitably changed according to a mounting method. Needless to say, this point has little influence on the gist of the present invention.

  The fluff body 41 that is a belt-like brush shown in the above embodiment is not limited to the rotary brush 22 for a vacuum cleaner, and for example, a brush that scrapes off toner that has adhered to a static elimination brush or a photosensitive drum in an image forming apparatus. May be used for other brush products.

  41 ... fluff (brush), 45 ... fiber bundle, 45a ... fiber (conductive fiber), 46, 46a, 46b, 46c ... holding fiber, 46a ... tip side holding fiber, 47 ... resin material.

Claims (8)

A band-shaped brush composed of fluff that is sandwiched and attached to a substrate,
A fiber bundle in which a plurality of fibers are bundled in a straight line and the proximal end side is fixed with the distal end side as a free end; and
Holding fibers that connect the fiber bundles while holding the fiber bundles in a bundle shape on the base end side in a state in which the fiber bundles are arranged in parallel in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the fibers constituting the fiber bundles extend,
A brush characterized in that a resin material having an adhesive function is impregnated between the fibers constituting the fiber bundle of the portion held by the holding fibers. For each fiber constituting the fiber bundle on the proximal end side from the portion held by the holding fiber
The brush according to claim 1, wherein a resin material having an adhesion function is impregnated therebetween. The brush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the holding fiber holds each fiber bundle in a state where the resin material of the holding fiber is welded to the fiber bundle by being heated. The holding fiber is
It is composed of a plurality of holding fibers each wound around each fiber bundle at a plurality of positions at different distances from the distal end to the proximal end side in the fiber bundle,
In each of the fiber bundles, a portion held by the holding fiber at a position closest to the distal end is less impregnated with the resin material than a portion held by the holding fiber on the proximal side from the portion. It is comprised by these , The brush as described in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The holding fiber is
It is composed of a plurality of holding fibers each wound around each fiber bundle at a plurality of positions at different distances from the distal end to the proximal end side in the fiber bundle,
Among the holding fibers, the distal-side holding fiber that wraps around the fiber bundle at a position closest to the distal end of the fiber bundle is other than the wrapping around the fiber bundle on the proximal side of the distal-side holding fiber. The brush according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the resin material is configured to have a higher absorption holding capacity than the holding fibers. The brush according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the holding fiber changes color when the resin material is absorbed. The brush according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the fibers constituting the fiber bundle are conductive fibers. A fiber bundle in which a plurality of fibers are bundled in a straight line and the proximal end side is fixed with the distal end side as a free end; and
Substrate and a holding fiber for connecting while maintaining said a bundle each fiber bundle at the proximal end side in a state of being parallel each fiber bundle in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the fibers constituting the fiber bundle extend A method of manufacturing a belt-like brush composed of fluff that is sandwiched and attached to
The holding fiber includes a heat-meltable resin material,
Heat in a state where the predetermined position of the fiber bundle is held with the holding fiber,
A method for manufacturing a brush, characterized in that a resin material having an adhesive function of the holding fibers is melted and impregnated between the fibers of the fiber bundle of the portion held by the holding fibers.

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