JPH0120913B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for preforming a cushion material for a sheet. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for preforming cushion materials used for seats, etc., which are made of synthetic fiber filament aggregates having three-dimensional curls.

The cushion material is made by cutting a filament with three-dimensional curls to a specified size and making it into cotton, then compression-molding it into a specified shape while opening the cotton, and bonding the contact points of the filaments with adhesive.The cushion material has high rebound elasticity and is breathable. The present inventor has previously discovered that it has excellent cushioning properties.
No. 152573). Further, a cushion material is provided in which the mutual contact points of the filaments of a synthetic fiber filament assembly having three-dimensional curls are bonded with an adhesive, and the curl shape of the filaments of the cushion material is partially oriented in a direction. The curled filaments, each having a variety of shapes that are elastically deformed and expanded, are formed in a direction in which a load strength is desired to be produced, and the intertwined portions are formed in a direction in which a load strength is desired. The present inventor has also previously discovered that a filament locking material that is distributed according to its strength has an even more excellent effect (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1989-1999).
No. 138669).

These cushion materials are made by compressing three-dimensional curled filaments made of cotton using an endless belt and/or rollers or other means to form a filament aggregate block having a predetermined bulk density, and then equipping this formed body with barbs. After needling with a needle to achieve a predetermined needle density, or rubbing, or without applying these, adhesive liquid is applied from above to the filament molded body on an endless belt running in an almost horizontal direction. or by immersing the filament molded body in the adhesive liquid and then pulling it out of the liquid.
It is manufactured by heating and drying on an endless belt running in a nearly horizontal direction.

However, while this method is suitable for continuously manufacturing rectangular products with uniform cushioning properties (hardness) and thickness, such as cushioning materials for beds, for example, it is suitable for manufacturing cushioning materials for automobile seats. It has the disadvantage that it is difficult to apply to the production of cushion materials that are vertically asymmetrical and have uneven parts, and have partially different hardness distributions. For example, the first
When manufacturing a seat cushion material 1 having the shape shown in the figure, the surface shape can be molded by attaching a molding mold that matches the shape onto the endless belt so that this surface faces downward. However, it is extremely difficult to automatically form the lower recessed structure 2 by a mechanical method. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, even if the final shape of the seat cushion material 3 does not have a recessed structure, it is possible to reduce the hardness of the central portion 4 and increase the hardness of the peripheral portion 5 as a final product. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the compression ratio of the three-dimensional curl filament at the peripheral edge 5. To achieve this, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the thickness of the peripheral edge where it is necessary to increase the compression ratio must be increased. However, since the three-dimensional curl filament short fiber aggregate is cotton-like and fluffy, if it is pressed with a rigid body, it will be compressed and the bulk density of that part will change. It has been extremely difficult to automatically form it by a mechanical method without having to do so.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for preforming a cushion material, such as a cushion material for automobile seats, which has an asymmetrical complex shape and can have partially different hardness. Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for producing such preforms.

These objectives are to supply an aggregate of short filament fibers having three-dimensional curls to a conveying device, and while moving the conveying device, rotate a rotating body consisting of a large number of needle-like objects erected, and This is achieved by a method for preforming a cushion material for a sheet, which is characterized in that it is formed into a predetermined shape by bringing a needle-shaped object into contact with an aggregate of short filament fibers and scraping off a predetermined portion. Such a preforming method uses a conveying device for a filament short fiber aggregate having three-dimensional curls, and a scraping device consisting of a rotating body provided on the conveying device and having a large number of needle-like objects erected. This is carried out by a preforming device for sheet cushion material provided.

The synthetic fibers used in the present invention include:
Examples include polyester, polyamide, polypropylene, etc., and polyester is most preferred. Its thickness is 30-2000 denier as monofilament, preferably 50-1000 denier, most preferably 100 denier
It is a filament with ~600 denier and three-dimensional curl. The three-dimensional curl here means a three-dimensional curl in a broad sense such as bidirectional curl and three-directional curl, but preferably a three-dimensional three-dimensional curl filament.
A double-twisted filament D as shown in FIG.
A three-dimensional three-dimensional curl filament F as shown in FIG. 5 is obtained by cutting the filament to a predetermined size and untwisting it. The length of the filament after cotton-making is preferably 5 to 200 mm, particularly preferably 60 to 150 mm. Thus, portions of the filament coil in portions a over portions b, and portions c coil over portions d. However, the e section does not coil over the f section, but below it. Thus, filament sections e through d are in two entanglements or coils of the helix. This can properly be called a non-directional helix, and is very similar to a spiral telephone cord that goes bad when one of its coils becomes non-directional with respect to the other.

An embodiment of the method for preforming a cushion material according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The apparatus according to the present invention mainly consists of the following as shown in FIGS. That is, a preforming device 10 and a short filament fiber feeding device 11 provided as necessary. first,
As shown in FIG. 7, the preforming device 10 mainly consists of a short filament fiber conveying device 12 and a scraping device 13. The conveying device 12 corresponds to one surface of a molded product to be preformed on an endless belt (for example, a slatted endless belt) or a normal endless belt provided between a chain 16 stretched between sprockets 14 and 15, for example. (for example, in the case of preforming a molded body as shown in FIG. One (for example, sprocket 14) is pulley 1
7 and is linked to a pulley 20 of a transmission 19 via a belt (or chain) 18. Thus, another pulley 21 of the transmission 19 is configured to be interlocked with a motor 23 via a belt (or chain) 22.

The scraping device 13 is provided on the conveying device 12. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a rotating body holder 26 is slidably inserted inside a vertical frame 25 that projects from a horizontal frame 24 of the transport device 12. As shown in FIG. Both upper ends of the rotating body holder 26 are connected to one end of a wire 27, which is suspended from a pulley 28 fixed to the upper end of the vertical frame 25, and the other end is connected to a weight 29. Since they are connected, the rotating body holder 25 is always lifted upward by its gravity. In addition, the rotating body holder 2
A rotor 30 is provided on the side of the rotor 5 as necessary.
This makes it easy to smoothly move up and down the inner surface of the vertical frame 25. Furthermore, the rotating body holder 2
5, a rotating body 33 is fixed to a shaft 32 that is rotatably supported by a bearing 31, and this shaft 32 is connected to a pulley 34 that is coaxially attached.
It is linked to a power source (for example, a motor, a transmission, etc.) 36 via a belt 35. However,
On the outer surface of the rotating body 33, a large number of needle-shaped objects are erected as described later. On the other hand, a cam plate 39 is fixed to the vertical frame 25 at an upper position of the rotating body holder 26 to a shaft 38 rotatably supported by a bearing 37 fixed to the vertical frame 25.
The cam surface is always in contact with a rotor 41 rotatably mounted on a stay 40 that projects from the top of the rotating body holder 26. Further, a suction duct 42 communicating with a suction device (not shown) is provided at the rear of the rotating body 33.

There are various types of needle-like objects that are erected in large numbers on the outer surface of the rotary body 33, and examples include clothing, metallic needles, horizontal needles, and porcupine needles. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the clothing is a base layer 43 made of cotton cloth, linen cloth, rubber sheet, leather, etc., laminated with appropriate adhesive, and a base layer 43 with a diameter of approximately 0.2 to 2 mm.
mm, preferably 0.2 to 1 mm, are implanted at an appropriate density, and in addition to the straight ones as shown in Figure 8, the dogleg-shaped ones as shown in Figure 9, and , and various other shapes. needle 4
The length of the needles 4 is usually 1 to 30 mm, preferably 2 to 15 mm from the surface of the base layer 43, and the needle planting density is 25 to 600 needles/in ² , preferably 36 to 400 needles/in 2 .
It is in ² . The angle of the needle 44 with respect to the tangent to the outer circumference of the rotating body 33 when the clothing is attached to the rotating body 33 varies depending on the length of the needle and the density of implantation, but it is usually 45° in the case of straight needles, starting from the opposite direction of rotation. ~100°,
Preferably it is 70-90°. Metallic is the first
As shown in FIG. The height of the sawtooth is 1 to 5 mm, and the sawtooth spacing is 5 to 20 pieces/in. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a large number of needles 48 are provided protruding from the substrate 47.
It is also possible to use one in which the height is about 5 mm and the spacing is 1 to 10 teeth/inch, or one in which a large number of teeth 66 are protruded from a fiber-reinforced rubber substrate 65, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, the Teikine is made by cutting and raising a band-shaped substrate 67 to form teeth 68, and is used by tightly wrapping it around the surface of the rotating body 33 in the circumferential direction.

The shape of the rotating body 33 is arbitrarily selected according to the concave shape of the molded body to be scraped, and may be cylindrical,
There are barrel-shaped, abacus-shaped, spherical, egg-shaped, gourd-shaped, etc. Further, even when using a rotating body having these shapes, the length of the needles and the implantation density do not necessarily have to be uniform, and they may be partially changed. Furthermore, the number of rotating bodies 33 does not necessarily have to be one, and a plurality of rotating bodies 33 can be used depending on the desired shape. Furthermore, another groove can be formed in the preformed product as described above using another rotating body (not shown). Furthermore, if the recessed structure to be scraped is a groove-like structure with a constant depth, the rotating body holder 26 does not need to be moved up and down using the cam plate 39, and may be of a fixed type.

As shown in FIG. 6, for example, the filament short fiber supply device 11 includes a filament supply port 49 having a substantially vertical opening, and the opening area S ₁ of the supply port 49 is the same over the entire area. At the bottom of this supply port 49 is an endless conveyor 5.
0, 51 and parallel opposing guide plates (not shown) are provided, and the endless conveyor 5
The upper portions of 0 and 51 form a tapered portion 52, and the lower portions thereof are formed parallel to each other and form a compressed portion 53. The upper end opening of the tapered portion 52 communicates with the lower end opening of the supply port 49 . This endless conveyor may be a rubber belt or a track pillar. Alternatively, a large number of rollers may be provided in close succession. Since the upper end of this compression part 53 communicates with the lower end of the supply port 49, the upper part thereof is formed substantially vertically, but the lower part may be formed horizontally. These endless conveyors 50, 51 are moved downward (in the direction of the arrow) by sprockets 54, 55, 56, 57 connected to a power source (not shown). Therefore, in this compression section 53, the opening through which the filament short fiber aggregate F passes, especially the opening at the end, or between the roller (not shown) provided subsequent thereto and the endless conveyors 50, 51. The area S ₂ of the opening needs to be smaller than the area S ₁ of the opening at the supply port 49 . A cotton opening machine 58, a conveyor 59, etc. are connected and provided above the supply port 49. Further, as a filament supply means, a card (not shown) may be used to form a web, and then the web may be laminated. Note that the height of the filament supplied to the supply port 49 can be automatically controlled by a level control device (not shown) equipped with detectors 60a, 60b, 60c such as a phototube, a light emitting diode-phototransistor, etc. can. Furthermore, the filament compression molding apparatus is not limited to the one described above, and the filament may be supplied to a predetermined thickness onto a horizontally provided endless belt.

Next, a method for preforming a cushion material for a seat using the above-mentioned apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, short fibers F of synthetic fiber filaments having thick denier three-dimensional curls are sent to a de-fiber machine 58 using a conveyor such as a belt conveyor 59 as shown in FIGS. It is supplied from the outlet 61 to the supply port 49. Supplied filament F
gradually accumulates at the lower part of the supply port 49 and reaches the compression section 53. endless conveyor 5
While the filament assembly F conveyed by the operation of the actuators 0 and 51 passes through the compression section 53, the opening area S ₁ of the supply port 49 and the opening area S ₂ of the compression section 53 are changed.
It is compressed to a predetermined compression ratio (bulk density) due to the relationship of ratio S ₁ /S ₂ >1. Note that since the height of the pile of filaments F at the supply port 49 and the feeding speed of the endless conveyors 50 and 51 also affect the bulk density of the compressed filament aggregate F, the detector 6
0a, 60b, and 60c to detect the stacking height and control the feeding speed of the filament F and the feeding speed of the endless conveyors 50, 51.

On the other hand, the power of the motor 23 is changed to a predetermined rotational speed by the transmission 19 and then transmitted to the pulley 17 by the belt 18, and the rotational force rotates the sprocket 14 and moves the endless belt 16 of the conveying device 12. . Thus, the filament assembly F is passed through the scraping device 13,
A necessary portion of the filament is scraped off by a needle-shaped object on the outer surface of the rotating body 33 which is rotated by the power transmitted from the motor 36 through the belt 35, and the scraped filament is suctioned and removed by the suction duct 42. The circumferential speed of the rotating body at this time is 150 to 2000 m/min, preferably 400 to 1500 m/min. Therefore, the rotating body holder 26 is constantly pulled upward due to the weight 29 attached to one end of the wire 27, but the rotor 41 attached to the top thereof is pressed against the cam plate 39. Therefore, its position is regulated by this. However, since this cam plate 39 is rotated by the power transmitted from the pulley 63 to the pulley 62 by the belt 64, the height of the rotary body 33 is determined by its rotation, so that the necessary depression is determined by the height of the cam plate 39. is formed into a filament assembly F. Note that the position of the rotating body holder 26 may be biased by a spring instead of using the weight 29.

The filament assembly F preformed in this manner is further passed through a rubbing device, if necessary, and rubbed with a bar or the like to obtain a predetermined bulk density. The filament assembly preformed in this way usually has a bulk density of 0.002 to 0.2 g/cm ³ , preferably 0.05 to 0.5 g/cm ³ .

The filament aggregate molded body F preformed in this manner is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 53-163086 (Japanese Patent Application No.
44057), and is immersed in the adhesive liquid in the adhesive liquid tank, and then pulled up in a vertical or nearly vertical direction by another conveying device. At this time, the surface tension of the liquid can reduce the dripping to some extent. During this time, the excess adhesive adhering to the filament molded body F flows down inside the molded body. Next, the filaments are passed through a high-frequency dielectric heating device to evaporate the water or solvent of the adhering adhesive in a very short period of time, and at the same time, the filaments are cured to some extent by the heat, thereby bonding each contact point between the filaments. After further movement by a conveying device, the obtained filament lock material is cut into predetermined dimensions. In addition, if there is a risk that the filament molded body F will break when pulled up in the vertical direction, temporary bonding can be performed by spray-drying a small amount of adhesive liquid onto the horizontally running molded body before the dipping treatment. You may also do this.

Typical adhesives include synthetic rubbers such as styrene-butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, chloroprene rubber, urethane rubber, etc.
Examples include natural rubber, vinyl acetate adhesive, rose acetate adhesive, acrylic adhesive, etc., and are used in the form of latex, emulsion, solution, etc., preferably in the form of latex or emulsion.
The amount of adhesive applied is usually 10 to 300% based on solid content.
g/100g - filament, preferably 50-250
g/100g-filament.

The filament assembly F coated with adhesive passes through a heating device, but two rows of needles are inserted alternately at both the upper and lower ends of the holding guide, and while the assembly F is pulled upward. It prevents it from collapsing or tearing, and at the same time prevents leakage of high-frequency radio waves.

The filament molded body F passing through the high frequency dielectric heating device has a frequency of 1 MHz to 300 GHz, preferably
A high frequency of 10 MHz to 30 GHz is applied at a power density sufficient to heat and dry the adhesive liquid and give shapeability to the filament molded body, for example, 0.1 to 10 kwh/cm ³ , preferably 0.5 to 5 kwh/cm ³ . The heated solvent such as moisture is removed by drying and the filaments are bonded together. Therefore, even if the filament molded body F is pulled up, it will not be cut midway due to its own weight and the weight of the adhesive attached. Furthermore, if necessary, it is passed through a normal drying oven and heated to 80 to 200℃, preferably 100 to 160℃, by hot air, infrared rays, superheated steam, etc.
Post-curing is carried out by heating at a temperature of °C for 10 to 60 minutes, preferably 15 to 40 minutes, and then cut into predetermined dimensions using a cutting device.

If better rebound properties are required for the cushion material, the filament assembly block F is needled using a needling device before applying the adhesive. In the needling method, a needle having at least one barb at the tip is used to prick the material a suitable number of times at an appropriate needle density using the apparatus and method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-138669.
The diameter and length of this needle are determined depending on the purpose, but it is usually 1.8 to 3.6 mm in diameter and 50 to 2000 mm in length.
Each needle usually has 4 to 12 barbs.
Specifically, for example, while supporting the lower surface of a preformed filament assembly block on a belt conveyor with a flat plate, such as a perforated plate, a slit plate, a slit-shaped conveyor, etc., a perforated plate, such as a perforated plate, etc. The filament aggregate block is needled at an appropriate density by moving the needle fixture up and down, with or without using a perforated plate, slit plate, etc. the needles are mounted in one or more rows at desired intervals in a needle fixture, the mounting being effected by rotation of a crankshaft actuating a crank connected to the shaft and the fixture; During this time, the filament assembly block is run at such a speed that the needling is performed at appropriate intervals. The needle density can be varied depending on the purpose of use of the final cushion material and the desired compressive elasticity, and the higher the desired compressive elasticity, the larger the needle density, that is, the narrower the needle spacing, but usually it is 1.
~100 pieces/100cm ² , preferably 4 to 50 pieces/100cm ² . After needling in this manner, adhesive treatment and drying treatment are performed as described above.

Furthermore, instead of the needling described above, the filament may be compressed by a rolling method, a rubbing method, or the like. The rolling method is carried out, for example, by pressing a mounting plate on which a large number of needles are set up at predetermined intervals from above and below the filament, and then compressing at least one of the mounting plates while rolling.

As described above, in the method for preforming a cushion material for sheets according to the present invention, an aggregate of short filament fibers having three-dimensional curls is supplied to a conveyance device, and while the conveyance device is moved, a large number of needle-like objects are This is done by rotating an upright rotating body, bringing the needle-shaped object into contact with the filament short fiber aggregate, and scraping off a predetermined portion to form it into a predetermined shape. The device is equipped with a conveying device for a filament short fiber aggregate having Not only can the concave structure of filament short fiber aggregates, which is extremely difficult to form using conventional mechanical methods such as pressing using a rigid body due to their cotton-like shape, but also maintain a predetermined shape. It has the advantage of being measurable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a seat cushion material preformed by the method of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the final cushion material, and Fig. 3 is a preformed body for molding the cushion material shown in Fig. 2. , FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a double-twisted filament;
Fig. 5 is a front view of a three-dimensional three-dimensional curl filament, Fig. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a preforming device for sheet cushioning material according to the present invention, Fig. 7 is a side view of the preforming device, and Figs. 8 to 12 are It is a cross-sectional view of the needle-like object used in the device of the present invention, and the thirteenth
The figure is a perspective view of a needle-like object. 10... Preforming device, 11... Filament short fiber supply device, 12... Conveying device, 13... Scraping device, 25... Vertical frame, 26... Rotating body holder, 33... Rotating body, 39 ...Cam board.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An aggregate of short filament fibers having three-dimensional curls is supplied to a lower molding mold attached to a conveying device, and while moving on the conveying device, the aggregate is moved up and down by a rotating shaft by a cam mechanism. The invention is characterized by rotating a rotary body comprising a large number of needle-like objects that can be erected, and bringing the needle-like objects into contact with a filament short fiber aggregate and scraping off a predetermined portion to form it into a predetermined shape. A method for preforming cushion material for sheets. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotating circumferential speed of the rotating body is 150 to 2000 m/min. 3. Claims 1 or 2 in which a plurality of rotating bodies each having a large number of needle-like objects are used.
The method described in section. 4. A conveying device for filament short fiber aggregates having three-dimensional curls, a lower mold for molding mounted on the conveying device, and a rotating machine comprising a large number of needle-like objects installed on the conveying device and erected. 1. A preforming device for a cushion material for a sheet, comprising a scraping device consisting of a body, and the rotary body can be rotated by a cam mechanism while its rotating shaft moves up and down within the scraping device. 5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the needle-like material is made of clothing, metallic, tekine, or voquipine. 6. Claim 4 or 5, in which a plurality of rotating bodies each having a large number of needle-like objects are provided.
Equipment described in Section.