JP6652950B2 - Method for producing granular excrement disposal material - Google Patents

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a granular excrement disposal material which is laid in place of soil or sand in a toilet of an animal or the like and absorbs excrement such as urination.

  As this type of granular excrement disposal material, a material having a composite layer structure of a core portion and a surface layer is known. As shown in Patent Document 1, a forming material having a high water absorption such as organic fibers is compression-granulated. And a surface layer made of a water-absorbing polymer powder or the like covering the core.

  Therefore, in the conventional method for producing a particulate excrement disposal material, a core component comprising fibers and a water-absorbing polymer is kneaded while adding water, and the kneaded product is pressed into a granulation hole of an extrusion granulator and cut. Compression granulation step of forming a granular core portion by spraying, a surface layer forming step of forming a surface layer by dusting a surface of the core portion with a powder of a water-absorbing polymer, and a composite layer comprising the surface layer and the core portion The method includes a drying step of drying the granulated product having the structure by a dryer, and a cooling step of cooling the dried granulated product.

JP 2014-195418 A

  The problem that the granular excrement disposal material manufactured by the above-mentioned conventional manufacturing method cannot exhibit appropriate water absorption performance (water absorption speed and water absorption amount) when the core portion is excessively compressed and granulated. Have a point.

  In the above-mentioned production method, a compression granulation step by an extrusion granulator, a drying step by a drying device, and a cooling step by a cooling device are essential. Therefore, in order to increase the number of products per hour, it is necessary to increase the number of granules per hour by the extrusion granulator, the number of drying per hour by the drying device, and the number of cooling per hour by the cooling device.

  However, since the compression time for forming one granule does not change, in order to increase the number of granules per hour, there is a problem that the equipment related to the extruder is inevitably increased in size. I have.

  In addition, since the time required for drying and cooling a single granulated material does not change, the problem of naturally increasing the size of the equipment related to the drying device and the cooling device in order to increase the number of drying and cooling times per hour. Have.

In addition, there is a waste that the water added in the compression granulation step is evaporated in the drying step. Further, there is a waste that heat added in the drying step is taken away in the cooling step. In other words, in the conventional manufacturing method, a drying step is required due to the compression granulation step, and a cooling step is required due to the drying step. As a result, unnecessary CO ₂ is emitted.

  Furthermore, the moisture added in the compression granulation step and the heat applied in the drying step may affect the water absorbing material, the adhesive, the deodorant, the fragrance, and the like contained in the constituent materials, and may cause deterioration thereof.

  The present invention provides a granular excrement disposal material which can be manufactured without performing compression granulation and has a structure rich in voids for water absorption.

In short, the method for producing a granular excrement disposal material according to the present invention comprises compressing and granulating a first fiber containing a water absorbing material and an adhesive and a second fiber having a shorter fiber length than the first fiber. The stacking of the first and second fibers by stacking, that is , by stacking without performing compression and without adding water that requires drying with heating to produce a granular excrement disposal material composed of a stack of fibers With a structure in which granular excrement disposal materials composed of bodies are stacked without water and without compression, the volume of the water absorption space is increased to improve water absorption performance (water absorption speed and water absorption amount). Further, the second fiber having a short fiber length ensures the improvement of the water absorption speed, and the water absorption material and the first fiber having a long fiber length ensure the improvement of the water absorption.

Preferably, when producing a granular excrement disposal material having a composite layer structure consisting of a core portion and a surface layer covering the core portion, the core portion is formed by a stack of the first fibers containing the water absorbing material. On the other hand, the surface layer is formed by a stack of the second fibers including the adhesive. Therefore, the manufactured particulate excrement disposal material can secure the water absorption and water retention of the core portion by the water absorbing material and the first fiber having a long fiber length, while the adhesive material and the second fiber having a short fiber length can be secured. Accordingly, at the time of urinary absorption, the adjacent particulate excrement disposal materials can be stuck together and clumped, and the used excrement disposal materials can be discarded at once.

  Preferably, by covering the core with a fiber sheet, the surface layer components (adhesive and second fibers) can be securely pressed through the fiber sheet. In addition, the fibers constituting the fiber sheet can be used as the second fibers.

  Alternatively, by covering the surface layer with a fiber sheet, it is possible to prevent the adhesive material and the second fibers constituting the surface layer from inadvertently falling.

Moreover, can be produced by the weight adjusting material composed of a sheet member to the central portion of the particulate excreta treating material is interposed, the useless without scatter it to the moderate weight of the particulate excreta treating material by said weight adjusting agent.

The method for producing a particulate excrement disposal material according to the present invention requires a particulate excrement disposal material comprising a pile of fibers containing a water-absorbing material and an adhesive, that is, drying without compressing fibers and heating. Because it is possible to manufacture a granular excrement disposal material that is stacked without performing water addition , the manufactured granular excrement disposal material can have a structure with an increased water absorption space, and neither water addition nor heating is performed. The water-absorbing ability of the water-absorbing material existing in the deposit can be exhibited without any attenuation. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture a granular excrement disposal material in which the water absorption speed and the water absorption amount per particle are significantly improved as compared with the conventional production method. In addition, in the manufactured granular excrement disposal materials, adhesive materials, deodorants and fragrances to be included as appropriate are not affected by moisture or heat, so they exhibit their original ability. can do.

In the manufacturing process, the compression granulation step of adding water can be omitted, and accordingly, the drying step and the cooling step can be omitted. Therefore, naturally, it can be manufactured easily and quickly without the need for a compression granulator, a dryer, and a cooler, and can contribute to the reduction of CO ₂ .

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the granular excrement disposal material according to the first embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the granular excrement disposal material concerning Example 2 typically. Sectional drawing which shows the granular excrement disposal material which concerns on Example 3 typically. Sectional drawing which shows typically the granular excrement disposal material which concerns on Example 4. Sectional drawing which shows the granular excrement disposal material concerning Example 5 typically. Sectional drawing which shows the granular excrement disposal material which concerns on Example 6 typically. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the shape of the granular excrement disposal material according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the shape of the granular excrement disposal material according to the third embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which spread the granular excrement disposal material which concerns on this invention in toilets, such as a pet animal. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a manufacturing method. The schematic diagram of the apparatus concerning a fiber panel formation process (process A). Sectional drawing which shows a fiber panel typically. It is sectional drawing which shows a core subassembly typically, (A) is sectional drawing of the core subassembly which folded the fiber panel, (B) is cross section of the core subassembly which superposed two fiber panels. FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which a surface layer aggregate is formed on the outer surface of the core subassembly of FIG. 13A, and FIG. 13B is an outer surface of the core subassembly of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows typically the state in which the surface layer aggregate was formed. 14A is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state where the surface assembly of FIG. 14A is embossed, and FIG. 14B is a schematic view showing a state where the surface assembly of FIG. 14B is embossed. FIG. Sectional drawing which shows typically the state which formed the pressing part in the core subassembly. The top view of the core subassembly which formed the compression part. The top view of the core subassembly which shows the other example of a pressing part pattern.

  Hereinafter, a granular excrement disposal material according to the present invention and a method for producing the same will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, a granular excrement disposal material according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 9, the granular excrement disposal material 1 according to the present invention is used by being laid in a large number instead of soil and sand in a toilet T of a pet animal, for example, a cat or a dog. , A “granular” excrement disposal material.

  As will be described later, the granular excrement disposal material 1 according to the present invention is manufactured by being cut into pieces in the final step of manufacturing, but depending on the cutting pattern, it has an angular shape as shown in FIGS. In some cases. However, the maximum size of the granular excrement disposal material 1 is about several tens of millimeters, and in the present application, such a case is also referred to as “particulate excrement disposal material”.

  In addition, this "particulate excrement disposal material" can also be used as a floor material in a breeding container for pets and experimental animals.

<Basic composition of granular excrement disposal material>
The granular excrement disposal material 1 according to the present invention is preferably, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a composite layer comprising a water absorbing core portion 2 and a water absorbing surface layer 3 covering the core portion 2. Structure. The core portion 2 is made of a pile of fibers (first fibers) 2b containing a water absorbing material 2a made of a powder of a water-absorbing polymer, and the surface layer 3 is made of fibers containing an adhesive material 3a made of a starch powder or the like. (Second fiber) 3b. The fibers may be natural fibers or synthetic fibers.

  In the present invention, as described above, by forming the core portion 2 from the pile of the first fibers 2b and the surface layer 3 from the pile of the second fibers 3b, a large number of water-absorbing voids (fibres) are formed. (A gap between them) can be defined, and the gap can improve the water absorption speed and increase the amount of water absorption.

  Specifically, the fiber length (average fiber length) of the first fibers 2b constituting the core portion 2 is 0.5 mm to 5 mm, and the fiber length of the second fibers 3b constituting the surface layer 3 is 0.01 mm to 3 mm. is there. Adjustment is made so that “the fiber length of the first fiber 2b> the fiber length of the second fiber 3b” is within this range.

  By increasing the fiber length of the first fibers 2b constituting the core portion 2 as much as possible, the water absorption gap is largely defined, and the water absorption speed and the water absorption amount of the core portion 2 can be increased. Further, by shortening the fiber length of the second fiber 3b constituting the surface layer 3 as much as possible, the second fiber 3b floats in the excrement, especially in the water of urination, and the adjacent granular excrement disposal material 1 Entangled with the second fibers 3b in the surface layer 3 of the above, and the adjacent granular excrement disposal materials 1 can be attached to each other to be aggregated.

  In the present invention, as the natural fibers used as the first fibers 2b and the second fibers 3b, for example, plant fibers such as wood virgin pulp, recycled paper pulp, bamboo pulp, tea husk, okara, and kenaf are mainly used. Plant fibers can be obtained by crushing waste materials such as diapers and sanitary products. Further, synthetic fibers can be used as the first fibers 2b and the second fibers 3b.

  Further, in the present invention, the first fibers 2b and / or the second fibers 3b are colored with a dye or a pigment, or a dye powder or a pigment powder is interposed between the fibers of the first fibers 2b and / or the second fibers 3b. Then, the dye may be infiltrated or the color of the pigment may be transmitted at the time of urine absorption, so that it is possible to distinguish between before and after use. If the first fibers 2b and / or the second fibers 3b are colored with an acid-base indicator (PH indicator) such as litmus, it can be expected that lower urinary tract diseases in animals can be found based on discoloration due to urination.

  The particle size (average particle size) of the water-absorbing material 2a forming the core portion 2 is 100 μm to 600 μm, and the particle size of the adhesive 3a forming the surface layer 3 is 10 μm to 100 μm. Adjustment is made so that “particle size of water-absorbing material 2a> particle size of pressure-sensitive adhesive material 3a” is within this range.

  The water absorption of the core portion 2 can be increased by increasing the particle size of the water absorbing material 2a constituting the core portion 2 as much as possible. In addition, by reducing the particle size of the adhesive material 3a constituting the surface layer 3 as small as possible, the adhesive material 3a quickly reacts with the excrement, particularly the water of urine, and becomes viscous. Materials 1 can be attached to each other to form a mass.

  In the present invention, a powder of a water-absorbing polymer such as a polyacrylic acid-based polymer or a starch-acrylic acid-based polymer is used as the water-absorbing material 2a. As the adhesive material 3a, starch powder such as corn starch, tapioca starch and potato starch, CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) or MC (methylcellulose) powder, guar gum powder or dextrin powder is used. However, in the present invention, as will be described later, the adhesive 3a may be melted and impregnated into the second fibers 3b to form a stack of the second fibers 3b including the adhesive 3a. is there.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the core portion 2 has a laminated structure of a first core portion 2A and a second core portion 2B. A water absorbing space 6 defined by a pair of partition sheets 5 is provided therebetween. The water absorbing space 6 also contributes to the improvement of the water absorbing speed and the amount of water absorption together with the water absorbing gap. Further, the first core portions 2A may be further folded or stacked so as to overlap each other to form a core portion 2 having a four-layer structure as shown in FIG.

  Note that the partition sheet 5 is a nonwoven fabric, tissue paper, toilet paper, or the like. Further, if the partition sheet 5 is a sheet colored with a blue dye or pigment, for example, when the core portion 2 absorbs urine, the dye infiltrates the core portion 2 or the color of the pigment changes the core portion 2. Since the above-mentioned colored color is transmitted and exposed, it is possible to determine whether the urine is absorbed before or after urination by exposing the color. Further, if the color is colored with an acid-base indicator (PH indicator) such as litmus, the discoloration due to urination may occur. Based on this, it can also be expected to discover lower urinary tract disease in animals. Further, the partition sheet 5 can be omitted depending on the implementation.

  In the granular excrement disposal material 1 according to the present invention, small-shaped compressed portions are continuously provided in the side portion in the circumferential direction, and the constituent fibers (the first fibers 2b and the second fibers 2b) deposited in the compressed portions 4 are provided. The fibers 3b) can be kept free. In addition, the squeezed portion 4 serves as a cut portion for subdividing at the time of manufacture, as described later.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the granular excrement disposal material 1 according to the present invention may include only the core portion 2 without providing the surface layer 3. In this case, the core portion 2 is composed of a stack of the first fibers 2b and the second fibers 3b including the water absorbing material 2a and the adhesive material 3a.

  In the present invention, it is also optional to include a fragrance, an antibacterial agent, a deodorant, a fragrance, and the like in the deposit of the first fibers 2b and the second fibers 3b as described above.

  Also, during the deposition of the first fibers 2b constituting the core portion 2, in addition to the sheet weight adjusting material 7 described later, powders of organic substances such as tea, wood, okara, and felt are used as weight adjusting materials for the powder. The weight may be adjusted by containing a body or an inorganic powder such as calcium carbonate, talc, clay, kaolin, bentonite, and zeolite.

<Example 1 of granular excrement disposal material>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the granular excrement disposal material 1 according to the first embodiment has a basic configuration including the core portion 2 having the two-layer structure described above and the surface layer 3 covering the core portion 2. Although this embodiment shows a basic particulate excrement disposal material 1 in the present invention, as shown in Example 6 described later, the present invention also includes a configuration in which only the core portion 2 is not provided with the surface layer 3. . In addition, in the perspective view of FIG. 7, in order to clarify the shape of the granular excrement disposal material 1, the adhesive material 3a and the second fibers 3b present on the outer surface are not shown.

  Further, in the granular excrement disposal material 1 according to the present embodiment, uneven portions 8 (concave portions 8a and convex portions 8b) are formed on the upper and lower portions by embossing, and the surface layer 3 exposed on the outer surfaces of the upper and lower portions is formed. The adhesive material 3a and the second fibers 3b are fixed, and the area in contact with the excrement is increased to improve the water absorption speed. Due to the embossing, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, it is slightly compressed from the vertical direction and becomes flat. It is to be noted that the formation of the concavo-convex portion 8 only on the upper portion or only on the lower portion is optional according to the embodiment.

<Example 2 of granular excrement disposal material>
As shown in FIG. 2, the granular excrement disposal material 1 according to Example 2 has a basic configuration including the core portion 2 having the two-layer structure described above and the surface layer 3 covering the core portion 2. The portion 2 is configured to be covered with the fiber sheet 3c. That is, the granular excrement disposal material 1 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the surface layer 3 is pressed against the outer surface of the core portion 2 via the fiber sheet 3c.

  In the present embodiment, preferably, the surface of the fiber sheet 3c is raised, the raised fibers are used as the second fibers 3b, and the adhesive material 3a is formed on the outer surface of the core portion 2 using the second fibers 3b as the raised fibers. Crimp to Alternatively, the fiber sheet 3c itself can be impregnated with the dissolved adhesive 3a, and thus the raised fibers impregnated with the adhesive 3a can be used as the second fibers 3b.

  Alternatively, the second fibers 3b and the adhesive material 3a are directly pressure-bonded to the surface of the fiber sheet 3c. At this time, the adhesive material 3a is wetted within a range where its adhesive ability is not attenuated to be viscous, and the adhesive material 3a is pressed against the surface of the fiber sheet 3c together with the second fibers 3b using the viscosity.

  As the fiber sheet 3c, nonwoven fabric, tissue paper or toilet paper is optimal. In the present embodiment, it is optional to cover the core portion 2 by using the partition sheet 5 as the fiber sheet 3c according to the embodiment. In this case, the core portion 2 is formed so that the partition sheet 5 becomes the outer surface, and the surface layer 3 is formed on the partition sheet 5 covering the core portion 2.

  Also, in the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the concave and convex portions 8 (concave portions 8a and convex portions 8b) are formed on the upper and lower portions by embossing, and the surface layer 3 exposed on the outer surfaces of the upper and lower portions is formed. The adhesive material 3a and the second fibers 3b are fixed, and the area in contact with the excrement is increased to improve the water absorption speed. In the present embodiment as well, the formation of the uneven portion 8 only on the upper portion or only on the lower portion is optional according to the embodiment.

<Example 3 of granular excrement disposal material>
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, the granular excrement disposal material 1 according to the third embodiment has a basic configuration including the core portion 2 having the two-layer structure described above and the surface layer 3 covering the core portion 2. The surface layer 3 is covered with a fiber sheet 3d. That is, the granular excrement disposal material 1 of this embodiment has a configuration in which the adhesive material 3a and the second fiber 3b constituting the surface layer 3 are covered with the fiber sheet 3d, and the adhesive material 3a is effectively prevented from peeling off. I have.

  Preferably, the fiber sheet 3d is configured to have a water passage hole having a size such that the adhesive material 3a and the second fiber 3b do not accidentally spill, and urinates quickly while covering the adhesive material 3a and the second fiber 3b. In addition, the adhesive material 3a and the second fibers 3b are made to float during urination, and can be aggregated with the adjacent granular excrement disposal material 1. As the fiber sheet 3d, nonwoven fabric, tissue paper or toilet paper is preferably used.

  In the present embodiment, the surface layer 3 is covered with the fiber sheet 3d, so that embossing for fixing the constituent materials of the surface layer 3 (the adhesive material 3a and the second fibers 3b) is not essential. Whether or not to perform the processing can be appropriately selected. Alternatively, the fiber sheet 3d itself may be impregnated with the melted adhesive 3a, and the second fiber 3b may be covered with the fiber sheet 3d impregnated with the adhesive 3a.

<Example 4 of granular excrement disposal material>
As shown in FIG. 4, the excrement disposal material 1 according to the fourth embodiment has a basic configuration including the core portion 2 having the above-described two-layer structure and the surface layer 3 covering the core portion 2. At the center of the excrement disposal material 1, that is, at the center of the excrement disposal material 1. The weight adjusting member 7 is a sheet member, and is interposed separately from the powder weight adjusting member described above.

  In the case of this embodiment, the weight adjusting member 7 is interposed in the water absorbing space 6 defined by the pair of partition sheets 5 between the first core portion 2A and the second core portion 2B of the core portion 2. Preferably, a through hole 7a for water permeation is formed in the weight adjusting material 7 so as to allow the urine to flow freely between the upper core portion 2A and the lower core portion 2B, and the upper core portion 2A or the lower core portion 2B. Effectively prevents one of the water absorption amounts from becoming saturated. In addition, even when the water absorption space 6 is not at the center as in the present embodiment, it is needless to say that the weight adjusting member 7 can be interposed at the center.

  As described above, in the excrement disposal material 1 according to the present embodiment, the weight can be adjusted by the weight adjusting material 7 to an appropriate weight that does not scatter unnecessarily, and the bulk can be increased. The weight adjusting material 7 may be any sheet as long as the weight can be adjusted and the sheet can be cut easily. From the viewpoint of bulk increase, also from the viewpoint of water absorption and water permeability, cardboard, A thick paper material such as a cardboard base paper, a cardboard, a drawing paper or the like or a cardboard is desirable. As described above, a sheet made of a synthetic resin may be used as long as the sheet body can be easily cut.

  Also, the weight adjusting material 7 is colored with a dye, or colored with a pigment, or a pattern is drawn. On the other hand, the first and second fibers 2b, 3b are not colored or contain pigment powder and dye powder. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to make it possible to distinguish between before and after use by making the dye infiltrate or absorbing the color of the pigment during urination absorption. Further, the color of the weight adjusting material 7 itself may be exposed at the time of urination absorption through the first and second fibers 2b and 3b which are not colored or do not contain pigment powder or dye powder.

  Also, if the weight adjusting material 7 is colored with an acid-base indicator (PH indicator) such as litmus, the discoloration of urination can be achieved through the first and second fibers 2b and 3b which are not colored or do not contain pigment powder or dye powder. That is, the PH of urination can be confirmed.

<Example 5 of granular excrement disposal material>
As shown in FIG. 5, the excrement disposal material 1 according to the fifth embodiment has a basic configuration including the core portion 2 having the above-described four-layer structure and the surface layer 3 covering the core portion 2. In the present invention, it is possible to increase the water absorption by increasing the number of layers in the core portion 2 as described above. Therefore, in addition to the four-layer structure shown in the present embodiment and the two-layer structure shown in the first to fourth embodiments, the core portion 2 may have a three-layer structure or a laminated structure of five or more layers according to the embodiment. .

<Example 6 of granular excrement disposal material>
As shown in FIG. 6, the excrement disposal material 1 according to Example 6 has a configuration including only the core portion 2 and not forming the surface layer 3. The core portion 2 in the present embodiment is made up of a stack of first fibers 2b and second fibers 3b having different fiber lengths and containing a water-absorbing material 2a having a different particle size and an adhesive material 3a. As a result, the water absorption speed can be improved while securing the water absorption amount. Also in this embodiment, the adhesive material 3a and the second fibers 3b contribute to agglomeration of the adjacent granular excrement disposal material 1.

  Also, in this embodiment, as in the first and second embodiments, the concave and convex portions 8 (the concave portions 8a and the convex portions 8b) can be formed on the upper and lower portions by embossing. In the present embodiment as well, the formation of the uneven portion 8 only on the upper portion or only on the lower portion is optional according to the embodiment.

  As described above, the granular excrement disposal material 1 of the present invention has various embodiments. In addition, for convenience of explanation, the description has been divided into the six embodiments 1 to 6, but in the present invention, the excrement disposal material 1 having the characteristic configuration of each embodiment in a complex manner is described. It is not excluded.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the excrement disposal material according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

<Basic flow of manufacturing method>
The manufacturing method according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing the particulate excrement disposal material 1 according to the present invention described above. As shown in FIG. 10, basically, step A (fiber panel forming step), step It has B (nuclear subassembly forming step), step C (surface layer forming step), step D (pressed part forming step) and step E (segmentation step), and basically works in this order. . However, the step C includes a step c1 (surface layer component arranging step) and a step c2 (surface layer component crimping step), and the step B and the step c1 are performed simultaneously or / and the step C2 is performed after the step D. Sometimes. Details will be described later.

  Hereinafter, steps A to E will be described in order. For convenience of explanation, a case of manufacturing a granular excrement disposal material 1 having a composite layer structure of a core portion 2 and a surface layer 3 (for example, the granular excrement disposal material 1 of Examples 1 to 5) will be described. A case of manufacturing the granular excrement disposal material 1 composed of only the excrement disposal material 1 (for example, the granular excrement disposal material 1 of Example 6) will be described later.

<Step A: Fiber panel forming step>
The fiber panel forming step, which is the step A, is a step of forming the fiber panel 11 by depositing the first fibers 2b which will later become the core portions 2 together with the water absorbing material 2a in a plate shape.

  In this step, as shown in FIG. 11, the water-absorbing material 2 a is supplied from the chamber 28 to the first fibers 2 b falling from the duct 27, and both are deposited in a plate shape using the known fiber stacking device 21.

  The fiber stacking device 21 includes a rotating drum 22 having a suction means inside, and an outer cylinder 23 which is provided on the rotating drum 22 and is rotatably disposed together with the rotating drum 22. By means, the first fibers 2b containing the water absorbing material 2a are deposited to form the fiber panel 11.

  In addition, a belt conveyor 26 is arranged below the rotating drum 22 and transports the formed fiber panel 11.

  The inside of the rotary drum 22 is divided into a first zone 25A and a second zone 25B by a partition wall 24, and suction is performed in the first zone 25A facing the duct 27, and suction is performed in the second zone 25B facing the belt conveyor 26. The configuration is not performed. Therefore, the first fibers 2b are sucked on the outer peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 23 corresponding to the first zone 25A to form the fiber panel 11, and the formed fiber panel 11 rotates together with the outer cylinder 23 and moves to the second zone 25B. When reaching the corresponding position, the suction is stopped.

  After that, the fiber panel 11 located at the position corresponding to the second zone 25B is peeled off by the suction means 26a provided on the belt conveyor 26, and is placed on the belt conveyor 26. At this time, the partition sheet 5 is placed on the belt conveyor 26 in advance, and the fiber panel 11 is placed and transported on the partition sheet 5 as shown in FIG. This prevents the fiber panel 11 from being out of shape by the suction means of the belt conveyor 26. It should be noted that the partition panel 5 may be omitted, and the fiber panel 11 may be directly placed on the belt conveyor 26 and transported according to the embodiment.

<Step B: Core Subassembly Formation Step>
The core sub-assembly forming step, which is the step B, is a step of forming the core sub-assembly 12 by laminating the fiber panels 11 formed in the above step A.

  As shown in FIG. 13A, the lamination of the fiber panels 11 in this step is performed by folding one fiber panel 11 using a known guide device, or by using two belt conveyor lines. As shown in FIG. 13 (B), this is performed by stacking two fiber panels 11.

  In any case, an aggregate 12 of portions that will later become the core portion 2 of the excrement disposal material 1, for example, a portion that becomes the first core portion 2A and the second core portion 2B when a core portion having a two-layer structure is formed. Are formed to form a nuclear sub-assembly 12. As described above, since the core portion 2 of the excrement disposal material 1 according to the present invention also includes a laminated structure of three or more layers, when the core portion 2 of the laminated structure of three or more layers is formed. Means that one fiber panel 11 is folded or a plurality of fiber panels 11 are stacked so as to have a corresponding laminated structure.

  Further, when manufacturing the excrement disposal material 1 in which the weight adjusting material 7 composed of a sheet body is interposed in the core portion 2 like the granular excrement disposal material 1 of the fourth embodiment described above, At the time of lamination, the weight adjusting material 7 is interposed between the layers. When the core portion 2 having a laminated structure of three or more layers is formed, the weight adjusting material 7 can be interposed between all the layers, or the weight adjusting material 7 can be interposed between any layers.

  In the present step, unevenness is formed on the laminated surface of the fiber panel 11 before lamination, and the laminated surfaces on which the irregularity is formed are overlapped with each other, so that the core subassembly 12 and, eventually, the core portion 2 can reliably absorb water. A use gap may be formed.

  When the partition sheet 5 is used as the fiber sheet 3c in the particulate excrement disposal material 1 of Example 2 described above, the partition is opposite to the state shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B. The core sub-assembly 12 can be formed by folding or overlapping such that the sheet 5 becomes the outer surface. In addition, the partition sheet 5 can be impregnated with the dissolved adhesive 3a in advance.

<Step C: Surface layer assembly forming step>
In the surface layer aggregate forming step as the step C, a step c1 of arranging the adhesive material 3a or the second fiber 3b as a surface layer constituent material on the outer surface of the core subassembly 12 and the outer surface of the core subassembly 12 are arranged. 14 and 15, a surface layer assembly 13 covering the core aggregate 12 formed in the step B, that is, a surface layer of the granular excrement disposal material 1 as shown in FIGS. This is a step of forming an aggregate of portions 3.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the surface layer constituting material arranging step as the step c1 is a step of arranging the adhesive material 3a or the second fiber 3b as the surface layer constituting material on the outer surface of the core subassembly 12 by spraying or the like. In this step, when the surface layer 3 is formed on the outer surface of the core portion 2 via the fiber sheet 3c as in the excrement disposal material 1 of Example 2 described above, the core portion aggregate is formed by the fiber sheet 3c. The body 12 is covered, and the adhesive material 3a and the second fiber 3b are arranged on the outer surface of the fiber sheet 3c, or the surface of the fiber sheet 3c is raised to use the raised fiber as the second fiber 3b. Only the adhesive material 3a is arranged on the outer surface of. Further, when the surface layer 3 having a configuration in which the surface layer component is covered with the fiber sheet 3d as in the case of the particulate excrement disposal material 1 of Example 3 described above, the adhesive material 3a and the second fiber arranged in this step are used. 3b is covered with a fiber sheet 3d.

  In addition, the surface layer pressing step as step c2 is a step of pressing the adhesive material 3a and the second fibers 3b disposed in step c1, and the surface layer assembly 13 is formed on the outer surface of the core subassembly 12 by the pressing. . The press bonding is performed by a known roller processing or a known embossing processing. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 15, the concave portions 8a and the convex portions 8b are formed by embossing to fix the adhesive 3a and the second fibers 3b.

<Step D: pressing part forming step>
As shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the pressed part forming step, which is the step D, performs a pressing process on the core sub-assembly 12 formed in the step B, and forms a part of the core sub-assembly 12 in a line shape in plan view or This is a step of forming a plurality of compressed parts 4 compressed in a band shape in plan view.

  The embossing is optimal for the pressing in this step. This is because the compressed portion 4 can be reliably formed, and can be pressed in a complicated pattern such as a curved shape. Therefore, in addition to the lattice pattern as shown in FIG. 17, a pattern including a curved shape as shown in FIG. 18 can be used.

<Step E: Subdivision step>
The subdivision step as the step E is a step of subdividing the core sub-assembly 12 on which the compressed parts 4 are formed in the step D along the compressed parts 4. Thereby, a large number of granular excrement disposal materials 1 according to the present invention can be manufactured at one time.

<Exception flow of the manufacturing method according to the present invention>
As described above, the manufacturing method according to the present invention is basically performed in the order of step A → step B → step C (step c1 → step c2) → step D → step E as shown in FIG. The step c1 of the step C can be performed simultaneously with the step B.

  That is, in step B, a surface layer component is disposed on the surface of the fiber panel 11 formed in step A by spraying or the like (step c1), and the fiber panel 11 on which the surface layer component is disposed is laminated to form a core subassembly 12. Can be formed.

  In this case, in step B, when one fiber panel 11 is folded and laminated, the surface (surface) of the fiber panel 11 on which the surface layer constituent material (the adhesive 3a or the second fiber 3b) is arranged is formed. Needless to say, the outer surface is used. In the case where a plurality of fiber panels 11 are stacked and laminated in the step B, the surface (surface) of the fiber panel 11 which is the uppermost layer, on which the surface layer constituting material is arranged, is defined as the upper surface of the core subassembly 12 and It is a matter of course that the fiber panel 11 as the lower layer is laminated such that the surface (surface) of the fiber panel 11 on which the surface layer constituting material is arranged is the lower surface of the homonuclear subassembly 12.

  In addition, even in the case of this exceptional flow, the fiber sheet 3c can be interposed in order to manufacture the granular excrement disposal material 1 according to the second embodiment. Further, in order to manufacture the granular excrement disposal material 1 according to the third embodiment, the surface layer constituting powder can be covered with the fiber sheet 3d.

  Further, the step c2 can be performed after the step D. That is, after forming the compressed part 4 in the core sub-assembly 12 in the step D, the step c2 of pressing the surface layer component disposed on the core sub-assembly 12 having the pressed part 4 can be performed.

As described above, in the exceptional flow of the manufacturing method according to the present invention, step c1 can be performed simultaneously with step B, and / or step c2 can be performed after step D. Therefore, the exception flow is as follows.
Exceptional flow 1: Step A → Step B (including Step c1) → Step c2 → Step D → Step E
Exceptional flow 2: Step A → Step B (including Step c1) → Step D → Step c2 → Step E
Exceptional flow 3: Step A → Step B → Step c1 → Step D → Step c2 → Step E

In addition, the above-mentioned manufacturing method is for manufacturing the granular excrement disposal material 1 having the composite layer structure of the core portion 2 and the surface layer 3 (for example, the granular excrement disposal material 1 of Examples 1 to 5) for convenience of explanation. Was explained.
However, in the case of manufacturing the granular excrement disposal material 1 consisting only of the core portion 2 (for example, the granular excrement disposal material 1 of Example 6), in the step A, the first fiber 2b and the second fiber 3b are converted into the water absorbing material 2a The only difference is that the fiber panel 11 is formed by being deposited together with the adhesive material 3a, and that the step C is omitted because there is no need to form the surface layer. This is the same as the manufacturing process of the granular excrement disposal material 1 having the composite layer structure.

  When coloring the first fiber 2b or the second fiber 3b, it can be performed by a known method in Step A or Step C. In the case where pigment powders, dye powders, fragrances, antibacterial agents, deodorants, fragrances, powder weight adjusters, and the like are incorporated in the deposits of the first fibers 2b and the second fibers 3b, the steps A and C may be used. Can be performed by a known method.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Granulated excrement disposal material, 2 ... Core part, 2a ... Water absorption material, 2b ... First fiber, 3 ... Surface layer, 3a ... Adhesive material, 3b ... Second fiber, 3c ... Fiber sheet, 3d ... Fiber sheet, 4 ... pressing part, 5 ... partition sheet, 6 ... water absorption space, 7 ... weight adjusting material, 8 ... uneven part, 8a ... concave part, 8b ... convex part, 11 ... fiber panel, 12 ... core assembly, 13 ... surface assembly Body, 21: stacking device, 22: rotating drum, 23: outer cylinder, 24: partition wall, 25A: first zone, 25B: second zone, 26: belt conveyor, 26a: suction means, 27: duct, 28 ... Chamber, T ... toilet for pets.

Claims (5)

The first fiber containing the water-absorbing material and the pressure-sensitive adhesive material and the second fiber having a shorter fiber length than the first fiber are stacked without compression granulation, that is , water that does not perform compression and requires drying with heating is required. A method for producing a granular excrement disposal material comprising stacking fibers without performing the same to produce a granular excrement disposal material comprising a pile of fibers. A method for producing a particulate excrement disposal material having a composite layer structure including a core portion and a surface layer covering the core portion, wherein the core portion is formed by a stack of the first fibers including the water absorbing material. 2. The method for producing a particulate excrement disposal material according to claim 1, wherein the surface layer is formed of a stack of the second fibers including the adhesive material. The method for producing a granular excrement disposal material according to claim 2, wherein the core portion is covered with a fiber sheet. The method for producing a particulate excrement disposal material according to claim 2, wherein the surface layer is covered with a fiber sheet. The process according to claim 1, particulate excreta treating material, wherein the centered portion of the particulate excreta treating material Ru is interposed weight adjusting material composed of a sheet material.

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