JPH0458962A - Degradable tee for golf - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the tee which is liable to be broken when left after a tee shot by producing the tee from a resin selected from modified polyethylene(PE) essentially consisting of specific ethylene and polydscaprolactone. CONSTITUTION:The modified PE consists essentially of the ethylene formed by copolymerizing ethylene and carbon monoxide or the ethylene, carbon monoxide and ethylenic unsatd. compd. and has photodegradability. The PE having 0.5 to 20wt.% copolymn. ratio of the carbon monoxide is more preferable. The ethylenic unsatd. compd. is exemplified by vinyl acetate, vinyl lactate, etc. The polycaprolactone is the compd. obtd. by bringing epsilon-caprolactone and diol into reaction in the presence of a catalyst and has microorganism degradability. The catalyst is generally an org. tin compd., org. titanium compd., org. tin halide compd. and the amt. of the catalyst to be added is 0.1 to 5000ppm. The polymn. is preferably effected in an inert gas at the reaction temp. ranging 100 to 230 deg.C. Consequently, the tee which decays naturally even when rested after the tee shot is obtd.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a tee peg (hereinafter referred to as a tee) used in a golf teen yacht.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a collapsible golf tee that is characterized in that the tee is disintegrated by light or microorganisms when the tee is left on a golf course after a tee shot.

[Conventional technology]

A golf day has an integrated structure of a curved head on which a golf hole is placed, and legs with pointed ends that support the head and are buried underground.

Such golf tees have conventionally been manufactured using materials such as wood, bamboo, and plastic.

The material cost of wood and bamboo is low, but the cost is high, so as a result, the value is ij':+. For this reason, plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, ABS, and thermoplastic elastomers are currently mainly used as materials because they are cost-effective.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Due to the recent golf boom, the number of golf course users is rapidly increasing. Under these circumstances, play progresses quickly, so after the first tee, the tee is often left as it is without being picked up. Therefore, there are many tees, both normal and damaged, left in the grass or underground at golf courses.

A used tee that is left unattended in this way spoils the beauty of the vicinity of the teeing ground, which is undesirable. However, collecting it requires labor and costs a lot of money. Furthermore, when a golf course is maintained using a lawnmower or the like, unattended tees may become entangled in the machine, causing malfunctions.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to prevent damage caused by light, microorganisms, water, etc. when left or buried in the grass after a tee shot or in a ring. Alternatively, it is an object of the present invention to provide a golf tee that is easily disintegrated by these synergistic effects.

[Failure to solve the problem]

As a result of intensive research, the present inventors discovered that the object of the present invention can be achieved by using photo-degradable or microbially degradable resins, or these resins and compounds that promote disintegration, as materials. Completed the invention.

That is, the present invention provides modified polyethylene whose main component is ethylene and carbon monoxide or ethylene, carbon monoxide, and an ethylenically unsaturated compound copolymerized, and polycaprolactone or one selected from polycaprolactone.
The present invention relates to a collapsible golf tee manufactured from a resin (hereinafter referred to as resin A).

In the above-mentioned modified polyethylene, it is preferable that the copolymerization ratio of -carbon oxide is 05 to 20% by weight, and the copolymerization ratio of ethylenically unsaturated compound is 1 to 20% by weight.

Further, other preferable collapsible golf tees of the present invention are as follows: Starch, mannitol, lactose,
Manufactured from a resin composition (hereinafter referred to as resin composition B) further blended with one or more organic substances selected from the group consisting of wood flour, bamboo flour, carboxymethylcellulose, casein, and glycol. Things that...
”-Produced from a resin composition (hereinafter referred to as resin composition C) obtained by further blending a water-absorbing resin powder with either the resin A or the resin composition B, ・The above-mentioned resin A, A product manufactured from a resin composition (hereinafter referred to as resin composition) obtained by further blending an inorganic porous powder with either resin composition B or resin composition C.

As mentioned above, the modified polyethylene used in the present invention is mainly composed of ethylene, which is a copolymerization of ethylene and carbon monoxide, or ethylene, carbon monoxide, and an ethylenically unsaturated compound, and has photodegradability. . In this modified polyethylene, the copolymerization ratio of -carbon oxide is 0.5
A content of ~20% by weight is preferred; however, if it is less than 0.5% by weight, the photodegradation rate of the produced tea will be insufficient, and if it exceeds 20% by weight, the photodegradation rate will be too high. This is because the photodegradability decreases in a short period of time, which is undesirable.

Ethylenically unsaturated compounds used in the present invention include hinyl acetate, hinyl butyrate, (meth)acrylic acid,
Methyl (meth)acrylate, ethyl (meth)acrylate, butyl (meth)acrylate, maleic acid, fumaric acid,
Acrylonitrile, acrylamide, vinyl methyl ether, vinyl phenyl ether, styrene, vinyl chloride,
Propylene, butene-1, hegysene-1, octene-1
, decene-1,4-methylpentene-1, etc., and vinyl acetate and ethyl acrylate are preferred in terms of cost, film strength, heat resistance, gloss, phase, etc.

When such an ethylenically unsaturated compound is copolymerized with ethylene together with carbon monoxide, it causes rapid photodegradation of Dei after a certain period of time, further increasing its photodegradability.

When copolymerizing ethylenically unsaturated compounds, the copolymerization ratio is preferably 1 to 20% by weight, or if it is less than 1% by weight, the effect of copolymerization will not be expressed, and if it is less than 1% by weight, 20% by weight Even if this is exceeded, the effect of the copolymerization reaches a saturation point and does not increase further, or the strength of the polymer decreases.

The modified polyethylene used in the present invention can be produced by the method disclosed in the following patent publications, US Pat.
, No. 3083184, No. 324835Q-1,;
″, Same No. 353010!1 inch, Same No. 3676401,
Same No. 3689460, Same No. 3694412, Same No. 3
No. 780140, No. 3835123, No. 3929
No. 727, No. 3948832, No. 3948850
No. 3948873'', No. 39 [18082], No. 3984388, No. 4024104, No. 4024325, No. 4024326, No. 407
No. 6911, No. 4143096, No. 413738
No. 2, No. 4139522, No. 4143096, and No. 43048875'; -1537
No. 23, and Special Publication No. 50-39705.

Specifically, the following modified polyethylene manufacturing method can be exemplified. Using a high-pressure low-density polyethylene manufacturing apparatus, nolauroyl peroxide, tertiary A free-lacinol generator such as leptyl peroxite, tertiary butyl perisobutylene, tertiary bdel peracetate or α,α1 azohisisobutyronitrile is added to Hensen, Chrysene or mineral oil. A method of copolymerizing ethylene, carbon monoxide, and other ethylenically unsaturated compounds as necessary by injecting a solution dissolved in an inert organic solvent into a reactor. ■ Medium-low ratio high-density polyethylene manufacturing equipment using a slurry method, solution method, or gaseous method in the presence of a coordination catalyst or a metal catalyst (Ziegler type, Natsuta type, Phillips type, etc.) at a reaction temperature of 50 to 300°C and a pressure of 0 to 200 atm. A method of copolymerizing ethylene, carbon monoxide, and other ethylenically unsaturated compounds as necessary using a phase method or the like.

The polycaprolough used in the present invention is ε
- It is a compound obtained by reacting caprolactone with alcohol such as ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol in the presence of a catalyst, and has microbial degradability.

3 The catalyst used in this reaction is generally an organic tin compound, an organic titanium compound, or an organic tin halide compound, and the amount added is 0.1 to 5000 pp.
m is 13 reaction 111'ut degree is 100-230'C
The iR combination is preferably carried out in an inert gas.

The manufacturing method for this polycube [1 lac I/N] is, for example,
-189, No. 35-497, No. 4゜239 j7, No. 40-26557, No. 43-2473, No. 47
-14739, JP-A-56-49728, JP-A No. 58-
No. 61110 and the like.

A tea made from a resin composition consisting of modified polyethylene and polycarbonate has both photo-degradable and microbial-degradable properties and disintegrates more quickly than those made from either of them alone. It is preferable to do so.

Tea manufactured from the above resin composition B, that is, a resin further blended with an organic substance such as statice, is
Adds even higher microbial degradability to those from Umahachi.

The water-absorbing resin powder used in the resin composition C means a resin powder with a particle size of 10 to 20,077 m that absorbs 20 to 2000 g of water per 1 g of the resin powder. Examples of such water-absorbing resin powders include polyacrylate-based, borihinyl alcohol-based, carboxydimethylcellulose-based, hydroxyethyl-based, and starch-based powders, and commercially available products include Sumikagel (under the trade name). (manufactured by Sumiya Kagaku), Arasorb (manufactured by Maeyo Kagaku Kogyo), Aqua Night (manufactured by Sekisui Kasei Kogyo), Aqua Keep (manufactured by Suminaseika), Aqualic CA, (manufactured by Nippon Shokubai), Aqua Bren (manufactured by Meisei Chemical Industry) ), Aqua Reserve AP (Japan Synthetic Chemical System), Kl Kel (manufactured by Kuraray), Diawetsu]・()
(manufactured by Zobishi Yuka), →Non-wet (manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries), etc. Addition of such a water-absorbing resin powder is preferable because it imparts disintegration properties to the tea due to water absorption and disintegration progresses more quickly.

Examples of the inorganic porous powder used in the resin composition include Crisbar, Ceolite, synthetic theolite, activated carbon, Oya stone, cristobalite, cristobalite, shirasu, silica, silica gel, montmorillonite, xango powder, activated alumina, There are eggshell powder, maifan stone powder, etc.

The resin or resin composition for tea production of the present invention may include an antifogging agent, an antifogging agent, a pigment, etc., to the extent that the object of the present invention is not impaired.
Colorants, processability improvers, flame retardants, plastics, rubber,
It is also possible to mix insecticides, herbicides, inorganic fertilizers, organic fertilizers, etc.

The golf tee of the present invention can be manufactured, for example, by injection molding a resin or a resin composition into a mold.

Furthermore, if the period from manufacture to use of the golf tee of the present invention is long, it is desirable to package it with a light-shielding and moisture-proof packaging film 11 or the like.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be explained based on Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, in the examples, weight % is expressed.

Examples 1 to 12 As the disintegrating resin, modified polyethylene and/or polycaprolactone, or one or more selected from the group consisting of an organic substance, a water-absorbing resin powder, and an inorganic porous powder are shown in Table 1. The resin compositions blended in the same proportions were kneaded for 10 minutes at 160°C in a Banbury mixer, and then granulated to obtain pellets. Next, using an IS-150E injection molding machine manufactured by Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd., one of the
A regular golf tee was manufactured from the pellets described above by injection molding. The molding conditions at this time were as follows: Temperature + CI/160°C, C2/210'C.

C3/220℃, Nll/230”C injection pressure;
I OOOkg/cnf Molding cycle: 10 seconds for injection, 15 seconds for cooling Comparative Examples 1 to 6 Resins conventionally used in the manufacture of golf tees, or those coated with fl material, water-absorbing resin powder, or inorganic porous fine powder. Golf tees were manufactured in the same manner as in Examples 1 to 12 from the resin compositions blended in the proportions shown in 2 (
Comparative Examples 1 to 3.5.6). Further, as an example of using wood as a material, a tee of the same size was manufactured from a persimmon tree (Comparative Example 4).

The results of measuring the photodegradability and microbial degradability of these teas are also summarized in Tables 1 and 2. The photodegradability of each tee is measured during the three months from the beginning of March to the end of May.
The microbial disintegration property was measured by bending the tee by hand after leaving it in the water.
After burying the tee in the soil under a lawn for three months from the beginning of May to the end of May, the tee was taken out and measured by bending it by hand. The evaluation of photodegradability and microbial degradability was carried out as follows: ◎ - Very easily shattered ○ = easily broken × - Not broken In addition, the numerical values showing the blending ratio in Tables 1 and 2 The unit of is weight %, and the copolymerization ratio of carbon monoxide (CO), vinyl acetate (VA) and ethyl acrylate (EA) is shown in parentheses for modified polyethylene a to d in Table 1.

Composition and disintegration properties of Comparative Examples 1 to 6 [Effect of the invention] The golf tee of the present invention uses a photo-degradable ethylene-carbon monoxide copolymer and/or a microbial-degradable polycaprolactone as a resin component, It is manufactured from a resin composition containing organic substances, water-absorbing resin powder, inorganic porous powder, etc. that promote photodegradability or microbial decomposition as necessary, so it has photodegradability and/or Degradable by microorganisms. Therefore, even if the golf tee of the present invention is left on a golf course after a tee shot, it will naturally disintegrate, so it will not need to be recovered and will not damage the cutter plate of the lawn mower.

Patent applicant Nippon Unicar Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) Manufactured from one or more resins selected from polycaprolactone and modified polyethylene whose main component is ethylene and carbon monoxide or ethylene, carbon monoxide, and an ethylenically unsaturated compound copolymerized. A collapsible golf tee. (2) The collapsible golf tee according to claim 1, wherein the copolymerization ratio of carbon monoxide in the modified polyethylene is 0.5 to 20% by weight. (3) The collapsible golf tee according to claim 1, wherein the copolymerization ratio of the ethylenically unsaturated compound in the modified polyethylene is 1 to 20% by weight. (4) The resin according to claim 1, starch, mannitol,
A collapsible golf tee manufactured from a resin composition further containing one or more organic substances selected from the group consisting of lactose, wood flour, bamboo flour, carboxymethyl cellulose, casein, and glycol. (5) A collapsible golf tee manufactured from a resin composition obtained by further blending water-absorbing resin powder with the resin or resin composition according to claim 1 or 4. (6) A collapsible golf tee manufactured from a resin composition obtained by further blending the resin or resin composition according to claim 1, 4, or 5 with an inorganic porous powder.