JPH02300366A - Production of nonwoven fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To readily obtain the subject broad nonwoven fabric without using many positions of spinning machines laminating fiber in the form of a web on the inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical support unit, pressing the fiber with rollers and then taking off the above-mentioned web. CONSTITUTION:A group of fiber carried with a high-speed fluid is jetted from a nozzle rotating around the central shaft of a substantially fixed cylindrical support unit 7 as the rotation central shaft on the inner peripheral surface of the aforementioned cylindrical support unit 7 and laminated in the form of a web. Further, the aforementioned web in a heated state is elastically pressed through rollers 9 and 10 revolving on the inner peripheral surface of the above-mentioned cylindrical support unit 7 with the same revolution central shaft as the rotation central shaft of the aforementioned rotating nozzle. The resultant web is then taken from the above-mentioned cylindrical support unit 7 while being slipped to afford the objective nonwoven fabric. Furthermore, the rotational frequency of the jetting nozzle is preferably equal to the number of revolutions of the rollers.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a novel method for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric.

In particular, in the past, when manufacturing nonwoven fabrics, it was difficult to produce uniform nonwoven fabrics unless a large number of weights for jetting fibers were arranged in parallel in the width direction of the nonwoven fabrics. However, the present invention relates to a method for producing a novel nonwoven fabric, which is characterized in that it can easily be made wider even when only a small number of weights are used.

[Prior art] In recent years, the market for nonwoven fabrics has been rapidly expanding.

In particular, demand for long-fiber nonwoven fabrics is rapidly increasing because they have both strong strength and soft texture.

On the other hand, even in the field of non-woven fabrics, products with higher performance and higher functionality are required, and in addition, the applications and required products are diverse, and a production system that can handle a wide variety of products, which is also a high-mix, low-volume production method, is required. There is a growing demand for the development of a production method that can be adequately addressed from an industrial and cost standpoint.

In other words, the conventional industrial manufacturing method for long-fiber nonwoven fabrics involves taking a group of spun synthetic fibers with a high-speed fluid and spraying them from spinning spindles arranged in large numbers in the width direction to form a flat fiber. A typical method is to obtain a nonwoven fabric by collecting it as a web on a net, and this method has been widely practiced in industry.

However, this method is suitable for mass production, and the equipment cost is high.Also, when production is performed by changing conditions such as basis weight and width, there is a large loss due to the change of conditions, and it is not suitable for only small quantities of production. On the other hand, there were disadvantages such as increased costs. In addition, the method of manufacturing a large number of spindles side by side has limitations in the uniformity of the web and the isotropy of the physical properties.

In particular, in the production of non-woven fabrics, the difficulty of achieving uniformity generally increases to the square of the width as the width increases (if you try to double the width, the technical difficulty quadruples to the square of the width). It is said that if you try to increase the width by 3 times, the technical difficulty increases by a factor of 9. In actual production, advanced technology is required to obtain a wide and uniform web. It was needed.

Aiming to realize such advanced technology, for example, a method of improving the uniformity of the web by devising the arrangement of spinnerets (spindles) has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 17057-1982 and 1983-1989. Publication No. 184168, JP-A-62-18
Although such methods have been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 4169 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-184171, there is a new problem that the device becomes more complicated, and the problem has not yet been solved.

For this reason, the technology is suitable for small-lot, high-mix production, with simpler equipment, efficiency, and less loss.
Realization of technology that makes it possible to manufacture nonwoven fabrics of uniform quality, and technology that can also be used to manufacture nonwoven fabrics of a wide range of widths, making it possible to manufacture nonwoven fabrics of the desired high quality. There has been a strong demand for the realization of this in recent years.

As one of the manufacturing methods for non-woven fabrics that basically has the potential to satisfy these requirements, the
43151, JP-A No. 48-20970, Figure 4 of JP-A No. 49-9436, and JP-A No. 48-2097
In particular, Japanese Patent Publication No. 27227 describes that, on the inner circumferential surface of a polygonal columnar cylinder whose structure is I7 using a large number of moving endless belts,
Alternatively, the production of nonwoven fabrics involves injecting fibers toward the inner circumferential surface of a cylindrical body, collecting the fibers in a web form on the inner circumferential surface, and collecting the fibers from the cylindrical body as a cylindrical nonwoven fabric. Methods have been proposed for a long time.

However, to the best of the present inventors' knowledge, nonwoven fabrics are actually manufactured industrially using this method, which can be called the classic technique for manufacturing nonwoven fabrics.
To date, it has not yet been actually heard.

When we consider the reason for this, we find that in a type that utilizes the inner circumferential surface of a polygonal columnar cylinder constructed using a large number of moving endless belts, fibers are captured on the inner circumferential surface of the polygonal columnar body. Because of this, there is a difference in the state of collection and accumulation of fibers between the apex part (separation part) and the side part of the polygonal cross section, which is a fatal problem that makes it difficult to make a uniform nonwoven fabric. In addition to the drawbacks, it is difficult to construct a polygonal cylinder with a plurality of endless belts with high accuracy, and to successfully transfer and take up a cylindrical web using a plurality of endless belts. This is thought to be due to the fact that it was actually more technically difficult than expected. In addition, in a type that utilizes the inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical body, the web collected on the inner peripheral surface is continuously transported inside the cylinder while maintaining the same uniformity without impairing the uniformity. This is thought to be due to the fact that it would have been technically difficult to retrieve them from the factory.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In view of the above-mentioned points, an object of the present invention is to easily produce a wide-width non-woven fabric without using a large number of spinning machine spindles, and to easily produce a non-woven fabric with a wide range of fabric weight and strength. It is possible to easily produce nonwoven fabrics with excellent uniformity, and in production,
There is basically no inconvenience of so-called "selvage loss" in which both ends of the nonwoven fabric in the width direction (selvages at both ends) have to be discarded because they are asymmetrical, and it is also possible to easily change the basis weight, making it possible to produce a wide variety of products in small quantities. In order to provide a new method for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric that can be very suitably adopted for The purpose of the present invention is to provide a nonwoven fabric manufacturing method that makes it possible to industrially successfully manufacture nonwoven fabrics by utilizing the long-known nonwoven fabric manufacturing method.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has the following configuration. Namely, the method for producing a nonwoven fabric of the present invention includes a method for producing a nonwoven fabric, which is carried by a high-speed fluid onto the inner circumferential surface of a substantially fixed cylindrical support. A group of fibers are injected from a nozzle that rotates with the central axis of the cylindrical support as the central axis of rotation, and are laminated in a web shape, and further, on the inner circumferential surface, a group of fibers that are aligned with the central axis of rotation of the rotating nozzle The heated web is elastically pressed through rollers revolving on the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical support with the same center axis of revolution, and then the cylindrical support is moved while the web is being slipped. This is a method for producing a nonwoven fabric, which is characterized in that it is taken from a nonwoven fabric.

[Effect] The present invention will be explained in more detail below.

Conventionally, long-fiber nonwoven fabrics have been produced using a manufacturing method in which a large number of spinnerets (spindles) are arranged in the width direction of the nonwoven fabric to eject fibers, and the fibers are collected and made into a wide sheet. It was inevitable that there would be an enemy-like unevenness due to interference.

In response to this, the present inventors investigated whether it was possible to efficiently make a wide nonwoven fabric using at least one spindle, and found that it was known for a long time that fibers were injected onto the inner peripheral surface of the aforementioned cylindrical support. In the manufacturing method of non-woven fabrics, we have found that the intended purpose can be achieved by using a cylindrical support and performing a specially devised treatment within the cylindrical support. .

Specifically, when a substantially fixed cylindrical support is used and the web is laminated on the inner peripheral surface of the support, a group of fibers carried by a high-speed fluid is
With the central axis of the cylindrical support as the central axis of rotation, it depends on the diameter of the support, but generally 5 to 1QQrpm, preferably 10. It is injected from a nozzle that rotates at a high speed of ~50 rpm and is laminated in an ultra-thin web shape, and furthermore, on the inner circumferential surface, a cylindrical shape is formed with the same revolution center axis as the rotation center axis of the rotating injection nozzle. By elastically pressing the ultra-thin web under heating through rollers revolving on the inner peripheral surface of the support, it is collected and collected as a laminated web on the inner peripheral surface of the support. It has been found that the desired objective can be achieved by a method in which the web is laminated and then taken off from the cylindrical support while being slipped.

When carrying out the present invention, it is practical to make the rotational axis of the nozzle and the revolution axis of the roller common, so the number of rotations of the nozzle and the number of revolutions of the roller are set to be equal. In particular, it is preferable in practice to collect the material in one layer and, while it is still in the form of a very thin web, immediately and continuously by making one revolution of the suppression roller corresponding to one revolution of the nozzle. It is very important to apply elastic pressure, and in particular to apply continuous elastic pressure while the ultra-thin web is under heating conditions.

As mentioned above, the rotation speed of the nozzle and the revolution speed of the roller are preferably the same, and in terms of forming an ultra-fine web, it is within the range of 5 to 1100 rpm, preferably 10 to 5 Q rpm. A certain high speed rotation is preferred. In addition, the ultra-fine web with a single layer that is sprayed and formed by one rotation of the nozzle has a basis weight of 1.
In order to obtain a uniform laminated web, it is preferable to use a thin layer of about 20 g/rrr, preferably about 2 to Log/rrr.

In addition, the elastic compression conditions should change depending on the type and conditions of the desired nonwoven fabric, but the compression force will be within the range of 0.5 to 20 kg/cm2 depending on the set pressure of the air pressure, hydraulic cylinder, etc. It is best to do it this way.

In the present invention, elastically pressing means that when pressing, the clearance (gap) between the roller and the inner peripheral surface is not set to a certain fixed value, but an appropriate pressing force is applied in response to changes in the thickness of the web. It refers to a suppressed state that is constructed so that it can continuously provide the same amount of energy.For example, it is typically constructed using an elastic material such as a pneumatic cylinder, hydraulic cylinder, or spring. It is sufficient if it can be relatively elastically suppressed, and the means for imparting elastic suppressing characteristics may be provided on the roller side, or may be provided on the support side, or may be provided on both. It may be.

In particular, by using a cylindrical support whose inner peripheral surface is made of a porous material, it is possible to provide support while giving an effect of sucking the fiber group from the outer peripheral side of the support through the porous material. By configuring the fibers to be layered on the inner surface of the body, the stacking of webs is not noticeable, which has a remarkable effect on uniforming the fabric weight distribution, and makes it easy to set the quality of fabric weight and thickness. , is preferred.

The present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 are schematic explanatory diagrams showing a preferred embodiment of the method for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a fibrous material 2 spun from a spinneret 1
is suctioned by an air ejector 3, passes through a fiber conduit 4, and is opened by two collision reflectors 5.6 to form a cylindrical support made of an air-permeable member from which air is sucked from its outer circumferential side. It is sprayed onto the inner peripheral surface of the body 7. A suction device 8 is provided on the sprayed portion of the cylindrical support 7.
The fibrous material 2 is collected by suction as a web-like material.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cylindrical support 7, in which the fiber conduit 4 injects fibers toward the inner peripheral surface of the support while rotating around the central axis of the cylindrical support. A belt-like web-like material is formed on the inner circumferential surface of a shaped support body, and is immediately heated and pressed by a heating roller 9 that revolves coaxially, and is further heated and pressed by a pressing roller 1.
Pressed at 0.

When pressing with the rollers 9 and 10, the present invention is particularly configured to elastically press the web, and the elastic compression is, for example, by applying pressure to the support shafts of the rollers 9 and 10. This can be done by various means, such as incorporating a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder or spring, or configuring the surface member of the roller from a porous body having elastic properties. Of course, a plurality of these means may be used in combination: (1) pneumatic pressure, (2) hydraulic pressure, (2) spring, and (2) elastic material.

Alternatively, the inner circumferential surface member that collects the fibers of the cylindrical support may be configured as a separate member from the main body of the cylindrical support, and the inner circumferential surface member may be operated by the above (1) pneumatic pressure, (2) hydraulic pressure, ■Spring,
(2) The elastic material is configured to be elastically supported by the cylindrical support body through at least one of the means for imparting elastic properties, and the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical support body is The web may be configured to be elastically pressed by the revolution of the rollers.

Such elastic compression is preferably carried out under heated conditions at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fibers.

The web, which has been heated and pressed to strengthen the fiber bond, becomes a cylindrical web 1 as schematically shown in FIG.
1, the film is sequentially taken up by a take-up nip roll 12 and wound up by a take-up roll 13.

In the above example, a cylindrical nonwoven fabric was nipped and rolled up into a sheet, but it can also be rolled up while being cut into two pieces, or into three or more small pieces of arbitrary width. It's okay.

Alternatively, it may be wound up as a continuous long non-woven fabric sheet while being cut in a spiral shape with an arbitrary width, and the non-woven fabric sheet may be wound up as a continuous long non-woven fabric sheet after being cut in a spiral shape. The aspect of winding up the fabric as described in JP-A-48-28774, JP-A-48-72475, etc. is applicable not only to the production of cylindrical nonwoven fabric by the method of the present invention, but also to the endless belt method described above. By collecting and depositing fibers on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical body, the present invention can also be applied to a cylindrical nonwoven fabric obtained by a method of manufacturing a cylindrical nonwoven fabric.

In addition, in the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heating roller 1
A web and two suppression rollers are provided at the same position in the length direction of the support 7, and are rotated on the same axis as the rotation axis of the fiber conduit 4, and the web is spread on the inner circumferential surface of the support 7. Although a device for pressing a shaped object is shown, it is not necessarily necessary to have such a structure, and the pressing roller may be provided lower than the heating roller in the longitudinal direction of the support (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1). Further, it may be structured to revolve around a side moving shaft.

It is preferable that the heating roller and the suppression roller be configured to be able to freely rotate as they revolve around the inner circumferential surface.

The first point of the present invention is that ultra-thin webs can be continuously laminated using one spindle. Moreover, the web is made as thin as possible, and the cross-sectional shape of the laminated web in the longitudinal direction of the support is made to have a mountain-shaped cross-sectional distribution where the central part is flat and it gradually becomes thinner toward both ears. By jetting and depositing the fibers, it is possible to obtain a uniform web with extremely smooth overlaps, rather than step-like overlaps as in the case of rectangular ears.

In order to inject and deposit fibers with such a mountain-shaped cross-sectional distribution, it is preferable to configure the fiber group to be injected while swinging in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical support.

In addition, when injecting the fiber group, it is preferable to charge the fiber group and inject it in order to obtain a good opening state. It is also preferable to use a configuration in which the fibers are opened and then injected, or these methods may be used in combination.

Preferably, the means for jetting the group of fibers comprises a fibrous suction device, a fiber conduit, and at least one impact reflector. In addition, it is preferable to use two collision reflectors because it is possible to obtain a good fiber opening state and the spray angle can be set in various combinations.

The collision reflector is provided at the tip of the fiber injection means, and the fiber injection angle can be adjusted by adjusting the installation angle of the collision reflector.

The second point of the present invention is that while the web is laminated on the inner peripheral surface of the support, the web is simultaneously laminated continuously while being elastically pressed by a suppression roller and a heating roller.
Furthermore, the web, whose fiber bonding has been strengthened by the pressing, is substantially continuously pulled out of the cylindrical support while being slipped.

By using a cylindrical support whose inner circumferential surface is made of a porous material and stacking the fibers while sucking the fibers from the outer circumferential side of the support through the porous material, the lamination will be completed. It can be done evenly with little disturbance, and the fiber bonding can be very effectively strengthened by pressing, so it is effective for improving the quality and quality of nonwoven fabrics, and for smoothly pulling them out from the cylindrical support while slipping them. It is true. This suction prevents the initially formed web from being disturbed and blown away by the strong jet airflow of the fiber jetting device, and the jet gas is sucked and exhausted, resulting in a uniformly laminated web without any disturbance. This is possible. In addition, heated rollers or compression rollers immediately compress the web elastically under heated conditions to substantially bond the fibers and further flatten the web, thereby uniformly forming the web subsequently formed thereon. The web thus collected is then pressed under heated conditions to further integrate and flatten the web, and by repeating such lamination and pressing, a uniform web can be created. A cylindrical nonwoven fabric with strong fiber bonds can be formed satisfactorily.

In addition, both the heating roller and the suppression roller serve to prevent the laminated web from slipping down during the manufacturing process. These rolls are preferably mounted coaxially with the fiber conduit and are rotated while pressing down on the web. Therefore, although a portion of the web is constantly pressed down by the rollers, its position continuously moves, and the web has a moderate amount of elongation, so it can be pulled downward substantially continuously. It can be done.

Although it is preferable that the heating roller and the pressing roller be in the same position, they may be in different positions. Further, the heating roller and the suppression roller do not need to be separate rollers, and may be one or more rollers that have both functions.

Furthermore, in the method of the present invention, it is not necessarily necessary to perform pressing in a heated state each time a layer of web is laminated on the inner circumferential surface of the support, and heating suppression may be performed after lamination has progressed to a certain extent. good.

As shown in Figure 1, the cylindrical support is made up of holes that allow high-speed fluid to pass through, and a suction section that allows the fibers to be stably collected at the sprayed section. In this case, it is preferable that the suction width be made wider than the jetting width of the web. Further, this suction section can be provided at any position other than the fiber injection section in order to support the web.

The material of the cylindrical support is not particularly limited, but as the gas permeable material, mesh or net-like materials such as punched metal are preferably used. In this case, the aperture ratio is generally 20% to 60%, the hole diameter is not so large that the jet fibers can penetrate through it, and any shape such as a round hole, slit, or lattice can be used.

When installing a suction section as shown in 8 in Figure 1, the suction capacity of the pump is determined by the amount of air injected from the ejector, the stable collection of the web, and the suction force required to support the web so that it does not slide downward. It can be decided as appropriate by taking comprehensive consideration of such factors.

Further, the heat source of the heating roller may be a commonly used method such as an electric heating method or a dielectric heating method. Further, a roller that blows out hot air from the roller surface can also be used as a heating roller.

In addition, in order to carry out the method of the present invention, it is not necessarily necessary to use a heated roller, and the roller itself does not need to be heated as long as the web can be pressed under a heated state. Further, as a heating means for the web, heating with hot air, heating with infrared rays, heating with laser beam, etc. may be used.
These means may be used in combination as appropriate, or in combination with the above-mentioned electric heating type or dielectric heating type roller. In addition, a heating zone may be provided at any position of the cylindrical support 11 (for example, at a position below the suction part as indicated by 8 in FIG. 1).

The number and distribution of heating rollers and pressing rollers may be determined as appropriate by comprehensively taking into account the type of fiber material, the basis weight of the nonwoven fabric, the processing speed, etc. As mentioned above, the heating roller and the suppression roller may be common, but according to the findings of the present inventors, the pressing of the web can be carried out using at least two rollers including at least one roller that presses the web in a heated state. It is preferable to use two rollers, and in particular, one preferred embodiment is one using one heating roller and two suppressing rollers as shown in FIG. Additionally, according to the findings of the present inventors, a mode in which two or three rollers are used and all of the rollers are used as a heating roller and a pressure roller is as follows: This is the most preferred embodiment because it allows detailed temperature settings to be easily made.

Further, the shape and dimensions of the heating roller and the pressing roller are not particularly limited, but it is preferable that the cross section is substantially circular, and the width is equal to the width of the web to be ejected and collected. .

In addition, the surface does not necessarily have to be smooth, but may have an uneven surface such as an embossed pattern, a matte surface, or a grooved roll for moving the web downward with a feed action. etc.

It is preferable that the surfaces of these rollers be coated with a silicone-based resin or a fluorine-based resin from the viewpoint of heat resistance and durability of the rollers and from the viewpoint of smooth revolution movement on the web.

The conditions for compressing the web under heating conditions may be determined as appropriate by taking into consideration the type of fibers used, the web's basis weight, processing speed, etc. It is generally preferred to carry out the

When performing such heating suppression, it is of course possible to use means other than heating rollers, such as blowing hot air or hot air onto the web and pressing it with a non-heated suppression roller, or using a method in which the fibrous material is heated under high temperature. It is also possible to use means such as roller suppression under conditions before the temperature becomes cold.

Various types of fiber materials can be used as the fiber materials used in the present invention, such as ordinary fibers, sea-island type fibers, peelable and split type composite fibers, and special polymer blend type fibers.For example, polyester-based, polyamide-based, polyacrylic Various materials that can be made into fibers, such as homopolymers and copolymers such as polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride, and polyurethane, can be used, and heat-fusible fibers can also be optionally used. Furthermore, recycled fibers such as rayon are also applicable.

Further, the fiber may be made of one component or may be a multicomponent fiber. In particular, the use of fibers that can be made into ultra-fine fibers such as sea-island fibers and peel-splitting composite fibers can be easily made into ultra-fine fibers by chemical treatment, physical treatment, or a combination of these after being made into a nonwoven fabric. It is preferable because it can be used to obtain an ultrafine fiber nonwoven fabric base material similar to artificial leather. When such ultra-fine fibers are used, after being ultra-fine, the single fiber fineness is 0. Ultrafine fibers of 5 denier or less, more preferably 0.2 denier or less, are preferred because they provide a soft feel.

In the present invention, it is also preferable that the fiber group forming the nonwoven fabric contains a low melting point component. For example, the fibers are composite fibers consisting of at least two components with different melting points, or the fiber group is Preferably, it is a group of mixed fibers comprising two or more different types of fibers.With such a combination, the fibers have a temperature substantially above the melting point of the low melting point side and below the melting point of the high melting point fiber. When pressing is performed under heated conditions, a nonwoven fabric with good shape retention and uniformity can be produced without losing flexibility.

In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that the fibers used have low shrinkage characteristics, and if the fibers have a high shrinkage rate, they will form a cylindrical shape when collected and pressed under heated conditions. In this state, the nonwoven fabric shrinks significantly, making it impossible to obtain a high-quality nonwoven fabric, and making stable production difficult. Regarding this point, - According to the knowledge of the present inventors, the fiber used in the present invention has 150
It is preferable that the dry heat shrinkage rate at ℃ is 10% or less. Further, in order to satisfactorily satisfy such shrinkage characteristics, it is preferable that the composite fiber contains a polyamide fiber component, and that the mixed fiber group contains polyamide fiber.

In addition, in the present invention, if the fibers used are straight fibers, when the fibers are collected and pressed under heating conditions, they may shrink in a straight manner, resulting in a large shrinkage in a cylindrical state. Therefore, caution is required.

From this point of view, it is preferable to use crimped fibers as the fibers used in the present invention, and if the crimped fibers are used, they will remain straight even when the fibers shrink under open conditions. There is "leeway" before it becomes stiff and taut, so
It does not shrink significantly while remaining cylindrical, making it possible to perform more stable production. In order to use such crimped fibers, it is particularly effective to construct the fibers used in the present invention as eccentric core-sheath type conjugate fibers or bimetal type conjugate fibers.

The high-speed fluid for fiber take-up used in the present invention can be air, steam, water, or a combination thereof, but air and steam-based gases are preferred. Air is preferred because it is easy to handle and can increase the take-up speed, while steam has the advantage of being able to heat-treat and stretch the fibers at the same time while collecting them. These fluids can normally be used at room temperature, but
It can also be used at high temperatures if necessary.

Conventionally known techniques can be applied to the method of pulling the fibers using a high-speed fluid, and there are no particular limitations.

In the case of general melt spinning, the fiber take-up speed is 2
,000 m/min or more, preferably 3,000 m/min or more, more preferably 5,000 m/min or more, and the filament fibers spun and drawn in this way are used as the supplied fibers in the present invention. Alternatively, after the melt-spun fibers are drawn with a roller at a drawing speed of 2,000 m/min or more, preferably 3,000 m/min or more, the filament fibers are transported by a high-speed fluid to form a main body. It can be used as a feed fiber in the invention.

The shape of the fibers collected by the fluid is not particularly limited, and in addition to filamentary fibers, so-called melt-blown fibers or those obtained by flash spinning may be used.

The fibers may be either long fibers or short fibers and may be sprayed and laminated on the inner peripheral surface of the support.Furthermore, the method for producing the nonwoven fabric of the present invention may be a so-called spunbond method or a melt blow method. It can be applied to various nonwoven fabric manufacturing methods such as , flash spinning method, etc.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the fiber conduit 4 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used in the form of a straight tube or in the shape of a curved tube. In either case, the fiber conduit 4 shown in FIG. In addition, a collision reflector plate for opening the fibers is attached to the spouting port of the fiber conduit, so that the jetting direction and spread of the fibers can be adjusted as desired. With this configuration, it is possible to spray the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical support with an arbitrary width, and it is possible to accurately adjust the basis weight and obtain a more uniform web.

If the fiber conduit is a straight pipe, it can be laminated all over the inner circumference by rotating the collision reflector, and the shape and length of the fibers depend on the diameter of the cylindrical support, that is, the spray distance. Appropriately designed ones are selected and used. In the case of a bent pipe, special attention must be paid to the shape of the bent part and the length after the bent part in order to prevent clogging and entanglement of fibers within the fiber conduit. According to the findings of the present inventors, when the fiber conduit is curved, it is preferable to use one that is gently curved, and the radius of curvature is preferably 30 cm or more, more preferably 50 cm or more. .

It is preferable that the collision reflector plate, which can be attached to the fiber outlet, be able to swing (oscillate) at the same time as adjusting the angle, since the width of the web can be arbitrarily adjusted and the uniformity can be improved. In addition, it is desirable to charge the fibers in order to improve the jetting and opening properties of the fibers, and to ground the fibers to remove static electricity generated by friction.

The distance between the fiber injection port and the support, that is, the collection distance, is determined as appropriate depending on the width of the web, uniformity, etc., and is 10 to 1.
00 cm is preferable, and 20 to 80 cffI is more preferable.

The basis weight of the web can be adjusted as appropriate by adjusting the amount of fiber injection, the rotational speed of the fiber conduit, and the take-up speed.

The width of the web can be changed by changing the diameter of the cylindrical support or by cutting a wide one to a predetermined width.

In any case, according to the method of the present invention, the cut loss can be kept to a minimum because the ears are basically not formed.

The number of web layers is not particularly limited, but
From the viewpoint of both uniformity of basis weight and productivity, it is necessary to have a certain number of layers, and generally 3 to 3 layers.
It is preferable to set it as 60 layers, and it is especially preferable to set it as 5-50 layers.

In addition, in order to make the nonwoven fabric take off smoothly, we made the inner surface of the cylindrical support slippery, vibrated the cylindrical support, and blown air from the outside of the cylindrical support. Auxiliary means can be used to smoothly move the nonwoven fabric.

As the take-off roller for pulling out the web from the cylindrical support, it is usually sufficient to use a roller made of, for example, rubber, but in particular, if it is a heated roll, it is possible to carry out the fusing treatment at the same time as the take-off.

In the present invention, by pulling out the web with sufficiently uniform fiber bonding from the cylindrical support using a take-up roller, it is possible to continuously and successfully pull out the nonwoven web while slipping it from within the support. It is possible.

The nonwoven web obtained and pulled by the method of the present invention described above can be used as a nonwoven fabric as it is, but it is preferable to further perform a bonding or entangling treatment on the nonwoven fabric to improve physical properties and uniformity. That is, one or more types of processing such as high-speed fluid processing, needle punch processing, fusion processing, adhesion processing, etc. can be performed depending on the purpose.

In addition, such a nonwoven fabric is stretched in the width direction or length direction,
It is also possible to improve the physical properties and anisotropy by adjusting the arrangement direction of the constituent fibers.

Further, any suitable process such as heat setting treatment, dyeing treatment, antistatic treatment, etc. can be carried out.

As described above, according to the present invention, the width can be increased with a small number of weights. However, the number of weights can be increased if necessary. In this case, special care must be taken in arranging the fiber ejection ports to avoid unevenness due to interference between the weights.

In addition, especially when the structure is configured such that the number of weights is two or more, there is an advantage that different polymers can be laminated at the same time.

As is clear from the above description, the nonwoven fabric manufacturing method of the present invention is more suitable for small-volume production of various special composite materials, detailed product designs, and special products than conventional methods. It is suitable.

Examples of the present invention will be shown below, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Example 1 Nylon 6 polymer was spun using a spinneret at a spinning temperature of 275°C, and using an apparatus similar to the apparatus shown in FIG.
While swinging the second collision reflection plate, the fiber conduit (nozzle) was rotated at 26 rpm and opened while spraying toward the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical support.

The cylindrical support had an inner diameter of 100 cm, and was provided with two heating rollers and one suppression roller inside, both of which could be elastically suppressed by a pneumatic cylinder. The inner circumferential surface is porous and suction is drawn from the outer circumferential side.

By the above injection, the fibers are collected in a mountain-shaped web cross-sectional distribution that is thick in the center and gradually becomes thinner toward both ears (one layer of web has a basis weight of about 10 g/rn2),
Furthermore, both were heated to 200°C (2 heating rollers of electric heating method A) set at a cylinder air pressure of 5 kg/cm'.
Using one pressing roller at room temperature, the web was laminated continuously while elastically pressing the web, and the web was made of fibers with an average fineness of 0°8 denier and the average number of layers was 6.
A cylindrical nonwoven fabric having an average basis weight of about 60 g/m2 and a total width of about 3 m or more could be taken at a taking speed of about 1 m/min.

The nonwoven fabric obtained in this way has a uniform basis weight and is highly strong.
It also had a good appearance with almost no visible lamination marks, making it suitable for clothing materials such as surgical gowns and dust-free clothing, and as a base material for industrial materials such as leather base fabrics and filter base fabrics. .

Example 2 Sea-island type fiber with nylon 6 as the island component and a sea component of a hot water-soluble polymer obtained by copolymerizing polyethylene terephthalate with isophthalate and 5-sodium sulfoisophthalate (island component: 80% by weight, island component 20% by weight, island number nia 0) was discharged from a spinneret at a spinning temperature of 285°C, taken up by a godet roller at 4,000 m/min, and then spun by an air ejector using the apparatus shown in Figure 1. While suctioning at an air pressure of 3 kg/cm2 and swinging the second collision reflector, the fiber conduit (nozzle) is 2orp.
The fibers were opened while being rotated at m and sprayed toward the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical support.

The cylindrical support has an inner diameter of 100 cm, and is equipped with one heating roller and two suppression rollers, both of which can be elastically pressed by a pneumatic cylinder. The inner peripheral surface is made of porous material, and suction is applied from the outer peripheral side.

By the above injection, the fibers are collected in a mountain-shaped web cross-sectional distribution that is thick in the center and gradually thinner toward both ears (one layer of web has a basis weight of approximately 8 g/m2), and further,
Using one heating roller at 150°C (electrothermal heating method) and two pressure rollers at room temperature, each set to a cylinder air pressure of 3.5 kg/cm2, the web is continuously laminated while elastically pressing the web. Then, a cylindrical nonwoven fabric made of fibers with an average fineness of 3.2 denier, an average number of laminated layers of 6, an average basis weight of 48 g/m2, and a total width of approximately 3 m is taken up at a taking speed of about 1 m/min. Width 1m
A continuous long nonwoven fabric with a width of 1 m was obtained by cutting in a spiral shape.

Next, the nonwoven fabric thus obtained was needle-punched at a needle density of 1000 needles/cm2, and then subjected to sea removal treatment in a water bath at 95°C to elute and remove sea components.

Further, while rocking a plate nozzle having a large number of 0.20 mm holes, the front and back surfaces were treated once each at a water pressure of 50 kg/cm2, and then the front and back sides were treated once each at a water pressure of 100 kg/cm2.

Despite being long fibers, Koamono intertwines well, is extremely soft and strong, has a uniform basis weight, and has almost no sagging.
It was suitable for wiping cloth and filter applications.

Example 3 A composite fiber containing nylon 6 polymer as a core component and polyethylene as a sheath component (core/sheath type weight ratio = 50150) was discharged from a spinneret at a spinning temperature of 265°C and taken up by a godet roller at 4°000 m/min. , Furthermore, using the device shown in Fig. 1, an air pressure of 3 kg/c was applied using an air ejector.
While suctioning with m2 and swinging the second collision reflector,
While rotating the fiber conduit (nozzle) at 2 Orpm and opening the fibers, the fibers were sprayed toward the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical support.

The cylindrical support has an inner diameter of 100 cm, and is provided with one heating roller and two suppression rollers inside, both of which can be elastically suppressed by a pneumatic cylinder. The inner circumferential surface is porous and suction is drawn from the outer circumferential side.

By the above injection, the fibers are collected in a mountain-shaped web cross-sectional distribution that is thick in the center and gradually thins toward both ears (one layer of web has a basis weight of approximately 5 g/m2), and further,
Cylinder air pressure in both cases: 3 kg/cm2
Heating roller 1 at 130℃ (electric heating method) set to
Continuously stack the webs while elastically pressing the webs using two pressure rollers at room temperature,
A cylindrical nonwoven fabric made of fibers with an average fineness of 1°2 denier, an average number of laminated layers of 6, an average basis weight of 30 g/m2, and a total width of approximately 3 m was able to be taken at a taking speed of about 1 m/min.

The nonwoven fabric thus obtained has a uniform basis weight and a good appearance with almost no visible lamination marks, and can be used as clothing materials such as surgical gowns and dust-free clothing, as well as industrial materials such as heat-sealable base materials and bags. It was suitable as a base material.

Example 4 In Example 3 above, copolymerized polybutylene terephthalate (30 mol% copolymerization of isophthalic acid) was used as the sheath component.
The spinning temperature was set to 270°C using a
When a composite fiber nonwoven fabric was produced in the same manner except that the temperature was 0°C, a uniform and good nonwoven fabric could be obtained. This nonwoven fabric was strong and had heat-sealing properties, and was suitable as a base material for storage bags.

Comparative Example 1 In Example 1, the webs were laminated under the same conditions except that they were not pressed with the heating roller and the suppression roller.

The fibers are collected by suction from the outer periphery of the cylindrical support.
Although they were laminated, the web partially broke when a pulling force was applied, making it impossible to manufacture a nonwoven fabric at all.

Comparative Example 2 Webs were laminated under the same conditions as in Example 1, except that the heating roller was not heated.

Even in this embodiment, as in Example 1, the web partially broke when a pulling force was applied, making it impossible to produce a nonwoven fabric at all.

Comparative Example 3 In Example 1, the respective clearances between the heating roller, the pressing roller, and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical support were made to be substantially zero while maintaining the degree that each roller rotated smoothly. The webs were laminated under similar conditions, except that the fixed settings made it impossible to apply elastic pressure.

Under these manufacturing conditions, the first layer of web could be formed smoothly, but as the lamination progressed, the web became thicker.
Unreasonable force was applied to the rotation of the roller, and uniform compression was not possible, making it impossible to obtain a uniform nonwoven fabric.

In addition, the nonwoven fabric obtained by laminating the layers to such a degree that the rotation of the roller does not require much stress, has some unevenness that is thought to be due to the asymmetry of the pressing force, and some parts have weak strength. It has fluffy parts,
In the end, it was not possible to obtain a high-quality nonwoven fabric.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the method for producing a nonwoven fabric of the present invention as described above,
Since wide-width nonwoven fabrics can be easily produced even with a small number of spindles, there is little loss when changing types or conditions (changes in basis weight, polymer, etc.), making it advantageous for the production of a wide variety of products.

Furthermore, when the nonwoven fabric obtained by the present invention is taken from the cylindrical support as it is, it has a continuous cylindrical shape, but it is also possible to use the cylindrical structure to make pipes and bags. Alternatively, it can of course be used by cutting it into small pieces of one or more nonwoven fabric sheets of any width.

Alternatively, it can be obtained as a continuous nonwoven fabric sheet by cutting it into a spiral shape of an arbitrary width.

In addition, during manufacturing, if the cylindrical nonwoven fabric is folded flat and wound onto a take-up roll, and the final product is cut open from the flat folded fabric,
The width of the take-up roll is approximately 1/2 of the product width, which can save space in the manufacturing process, storage process, transportation/distribution process, etc.

The specific advantages of the nonwoven fabric manufacturing method and apparatus of the present invention are listed below (1).

(1) Since the web is formed by continuously stacking a large number of thin webs made by collecting fibers sprayed from a small number of spindles, the web essentially becomes a web with little unevenness and a uniform nonwoven fabric. can be obtained.

(2) Furthermore, when ultrathin webs are laminated while being sucked from the outer circumferential side of a cylindrical support, a nonwoven web or nonwoven fabric with even less unevenness can be stably obtained.

(3) Ear loss is basically impossible.

(4) A sufficiently wide web or nonwoven fabric can be obtained using a spinning machine with only one spindle.

For example, if a cylindrical support with an inner diameter of 1 m is used, it is possible to produce a nonwoven fabric having a width of approximately 3.14 m, which is equal to the circumferential length of the support.

Therefore, the manufacturing equipment is also compact, and the space saving effect is very large.

(5) Sufficient production can be achieved using only a single spindle spinning machine, so there is little loss when switching types (change of basis weight, material, etc.), and it is suitable for highly efficient production of small lots.

(6) As mentioned above, the width of the take-up rolls, etc. is only about 1/2 of the product width, so space can be saved in each process.

■ Taking advantage of the fact that it is suitable for high-efficiency production in small lots, it is easy to combine different polymers and use them in combination, giving them various functionality and added value. It is also possible to produce a variety of unique composite nonwoven fabrics relatively freely and efficiently.

(8) As the basic structure of the product is obtained as a cylindrical nonwoven fabric, it can be processed into pipes, bags, etc. as is, and can be used as a high-quality base material for storage bags for large items and various small items. It is extremely useful if its strength and high functionality are utilized.

Alternatively, it can be cut into sheets and used as one or more nonwoven fabric sheets of any width.

Further, by cutting a cylindrical nonwoven fabric in a spiral shape with an arbitrary width, it is also possible to obtain a continuous long nonwoven fabric sheet.

In this way, the nonwoven fabric according to the present invention has the advantage that it can be freely divided into the most suitable forms depending on each use.

(9) The nonwoven fabric obtained by the present invention can be used as a base material for various storage bags, a base material for nonwoven pipes, a filter base material, a base material for artificial leather, a cleaner or wiper base material, as described above,
It can be widely used for various purposes such as clothing materials.

η Compared to conventional production methods suitable for mass production, the nonwoven fabric manufacturing method of the present invention is suitable for small-volume production of a wide variety of products, such as those using various special composite materials, detailed product designs, and special products. It is also suitable because it has a small turning radius and can be handled easily.

Therefore, even in unknown application fields other than those mentioned in (9) above, where non-woven fabrics have not been used in the past, we are developing new applications by taking advantage of the ability to provide special functionality and added value, as well as the inherent characteristics of non-woven fabrics. There is ample potential to do so.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 are schematic model diagrams showing an example of an embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus that can be used to carry out the method for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the vicinity of the take-off nip roll in FIG. 1. 1: Spinneret 2: Fibrous material 3: Air ejector 4: Fiber conduit 5.6: Collision reflector 7: Cylindrical support
8: Suction device 9: Heating roller 10: Pressing roller 11: Cylindrical web 12: Take-up nip roll Patent application Daitoshi Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (10)

[Claims] (1) On the inner peripheral surface of a substantially fixed cylindrical support,
A group of fibers carried by a high-speed fluid is ejected from a nozzle that rotates with the central axis of the cylindrical support as the central axis of rotation, so that the fibers are laminated in a web shape, and further, on the inner circumferential surface of the rotating nozzle. The heated web is elastically pressed through a roller revolving on the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical support with the same center axis of revolution as the center axis of rotation, and then the web is slid while being pressed. A method for producing a nonwoven fabric, which comprises taking it off from a cylindrical support. (2) Claim (1) characterized in that the number of rotations of the injection nozzle and the number of revolutions of the roller are equal.
Method for producing a nonwoven fabric as described in Section 1. (3) The fiber is a composite fiber composed of at least two components having different melting points.
) The method for manufacturing the nonwoven fabric described in item 2. (4) The method for producing a nonwoven fabric according to claim (3), wherein the fibers contain a polyamide fiber component. (5) The method for producing a nonwoven fabric according to claim (1), wherein the group of fibers includes two or more types of fibers having different melting points. (6) The method for producing a nonwoven fabric according to claim (5), wherein the group of fibers includes polyamide fibers. (7) The fiber is a thinning type fiber that can be made ultra-fine,
The method for producing a nonwoven fabric according to claim 1, wherein the single fiber fineness of the nonwoven fabric is 0.2 denier or less after being ultrafine. (8) The fiber has a dry heat shrinkage rate of 10% at 150°C.
A method for producing a nonwoven fabric according to claim (1), which has the following shrinkage characteristics. (9) The method for producing a nonwoven fabric according to claim (1), wherein the fibers are crimped. (10) A nonwoven fabric that is formed as a substantially cylindrical nonwoven web, which is then taken up, cut into a spiral shape with an arbitrary width, and wound up as a continuous long nonwoven web. manufacturing method.