JPH10277278A - Spherical clothes-wadding - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a stuffing material which is bulky and water-absorptive and which is not wet on the surface after water-absorption and excellent in the blowing workability, by constituting the inside layer occupying a specified volume of the whole body and a water-absorptive fiber layer in some part of the volume and the outside layer composed of polyester composite fiber having three-dimensional curls. SOLUTION: In this spherical clothes-wadding which is formed of two layers of the inside layer and the outside layer and whose diameter is 4-10 mm and water-absorption rate is 5 wt.% or higher, the inside layer occupies 40-60 wt.% of the whole body and the inside layer includes water-absorptive fiber at the rate of 50 wt.% or a smaller rate of the inside layer and the outside layer is constituted of polyester composite fiber of three-dimensional curls. The water- absorptive fiber forming the inside layer or the water-absorptive fiber and the polyester composite fiber are disentangled at first and made to form a nearly spherical shape in a specified time interval. Thereafter, the polyester composite fiber constituting the outside layer or the fiber disentangled of polyester composite fiber and polyester heat-adhesive fiber are fed to cover the inside layer fiber and obtain this spherical clothes-wadding.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball-shaped cotton pad having a water-absorbing function, excellent bulkiness and no sticky surface. More particularly, the present invention relates to a ball-shaped cotton which is suitably used as a filling material for bedding, sofas, cushions, winter clothing and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, bedding, sofas, cushions,
Polyester staple fibers are widely used as fillers for winter clothing. However, polyester fibers have no water absorbency, and a method of obtaining water absorbency by mixing other synthetic fibers and natural fibers is employed. It is pointed out that this method loses the bulkiness characteristic of polyester fibers.

[0003] Generally, a method of laminating short fiber webs opened with a card or the like and using it as the inner cotton is well known. In recent years, from the viewpoint of cost, a method has been used in which the opened short fibers are blown into the side ground by an air flow to produce an insulated cotton. However, in this method, there are problems that the short fibers are agglomerated at the time of blowing and it is difficult to blow, and it is difficult to uniformly fill the side ground. As a method for solving such a problem, a method of using a ball-shaped cotton in place of the opened short fiber has been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 8-26505 discloses a method containing a binder fiber. A method has been disclosed in which a ball-shaped filling cotton is blown into a side ground and then heat-treated to be integrated. Even in this method, if natural fibers or the like are mixed to impart water absorption, the bulkiness is lost.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and provides an excellent filling which is bulky and water-absorbing, has no sticky feeling on the surface after water absorption, and has good blowing workability. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a ball-shaped cotton pad.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have made intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as a result, have arranged a water-absorbing fiber in the inner layer of a ball-shaped cotton so as to regulate the weight distribution. It has been found that this object can be achieved, and the present invention has been achieved. That is, the present invention is a ball-shaped cotton pad having two layers, an inner layer part and an outer layer part, having a diameter of 4 to 10 mm and a water absorption of 5% by weight or more. %
Occupies 50% by weight of water-absorbing fiber in the inner layer
The outer layer portion is composed of a polyester composite fiber having a three-dimensional crimp, and is characterized in that the outer layer portion is composed of a ball-shaped cotton pad.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail.
The ball-shaped cotton pad of the present invention needs to have a diameter of 4 to 10 mm. If it is less than 4 mm, a two-layered ball cannot be obtained.
It becomes a nep shape and the bulkiness is poor. If it exceeds 10 mm, the surface of the ball-shaped fiber aggregate becomes fluffy, and the blowing workability, the formability and uniformity after blowing deteriorate.

[0007] The ball-filled cotton of the present invention must have a water absorption of 5% by weight or more. If it is less than 5% by weight, water absorption performance is insufficient, which is not preferable. It is necessary that the weight ratio of the inner layer portion of the ball-shaped cotton pad of the present invention is 40 to 60%. If the inner layer portion is less than 40%, the water absorption becomes poor, which is not preferable. On the other hand, if the content of the inner layer exceeds 60%, the surface becomes sticky, which is not preferable.

[0008] In the ball-shaped filling cotton of the present invention, the content of the water-absorbing fiber in the inner layer must be 50% by weight or less. If it exceeds 50% by weight, the bulk of the ball-shaped cotton put in is lacking in bulkiness, which is not preferable. The lower limit is not particularly limited.
What is necessary is just to change according to the water absorption of the used water absorption fiber. As the water-absorbing fibers, fibers subjected to water-absorbing processing, cotton-like pulp, cotton, rayon, wool and the like are preferably used. As the other fiber constituting the interior, in order to maintain bulkiness, a polyester-based composite fiber having a three-dimensional crimp is the best, but is not particularly limited. The most effective combination in the present invention is
The combination is a rayon fiber as the water-absorbing fiber and a polyester-based composite fiber having a three-dimensional crimp as the other fiber.

The polyester conjugate fiber used as the outer layer of the present invention develops a three-dimensional crimp by relaxation heat treatment due to a structure in which two kinds of polyester polymers having different intrinsic viscosities and copolymerization compositions are laminated in a side-by-side type or eccentric. Latent crimpable fibers are preferred in terms of bulkiness. The composite form is not particularly limited, but the side-by-side type is preferable to the core-sheath type in that the crimp developing ability is superior.

[0010] The polyester composite fiber of the present invention may be used in a small amount if it has a function such as an antibacterial agent or an anti-mite agent, or a matting agent, a gloss improving agent, an antistatic agent, a flame retardant, or a soft and smooth agent. A modifying agent such as an agent may be contained, and the cross-sectional shape is not limited to a circle, but may be another modified cross-section.

In order to maintain the shape of the outer layer portion, a polyester-based heat-adhesive fiber may be mixed within a range in which the performance as an insulated cotton can be maintained. Polyester terephthalate copolymerized polyester (softening temperature: 110 ° C), which is a polyester-based heat-adhesive fiber obtained by copolymerizing polyethylene terephthalate as a core component and isophthalic acid (IPA) as a sheath component, is the most adhesive to polyester composite fibers. Good in properties and good in bulkiness.

The single fiber fineness of the short fibers used in the present invention is 3
To 15d is preferred. If the single fiber fineness is too small, it is too soft and the bottom feels out easily, and if it is too large, on the other hand, crimp development is inferior and it is difficult to bead up. The number of crimps of the short fibers used in the present invention is as follows.
It is preferably about 5 to 15 pieces / 25 mm. If the number of crimps is too small, the fibers do not become entangled with each other and thus do not form a bead. If the number is too large, the entanglement between the fibers becomes too strong, so that remnants and the like are generated, resulting in a rod shape. Further, the fiber length of the short fibers used in the present invention is preferably about 15 to 76 mm. If the fibers are too short, the entanglement between the fibers is weak,
If it is too long, the entanglement will be too strong and it will be in the shape of a reed.

The shape of the ball-shaped cotton pad is preferably closer to a spherical shape from the viewpoints of bulkiness and blowing operability. In the case of an extremely deformed shape, a predetermined bulkiness cannot be obtained. In addition, the surface of the ball-filled cotton is desirably covered with fibers.
If the surface has a lot of single fiber fluff, the balls are bonded to each other, so that the blowing operability is poor and the form of the cotton pad is unstable.

The method for producing the ball-shaped cotton pad according to the present invention can be obtained by stirring the opened short fibers under an air flow of 5 to 40 m / min. It can be adjusted by adjusting the processing time and the like. In order to obtain the ball-shaped filling cotton of the present invention, first, the water-absorbing fiber forming the inner layer portion or the water-absorbing fiber and the polyester composite cotton are opened, and after being brought into a state close to spherical for a predetermined time, This is achieved by introducing the polyester composite fiber constituting the outer layer portion or the opened fiber of the polyester composite fiber and the polyester-based thermoadhesive fiber, and coating the inner layer fiber. When polyester-based heat-adhesive fiber is mixed, use hot air or the like in the process of making the ball-shaped insulated cotton, and then bond or blow in as insulated cotton.
3 at 120-180 ° C by heat treatment equipment such as hot air dryer
By heat-treating for about 0 seconds to 2 minutes, a cotton pad with bulk and excellent elastic recovery can be obtained.

[0015]

The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to examples. The measuring methods of the characteristic values and the like and the raw cotton used in the examples are as follows. (1) Diameter Measured by calipers (average value of n = 20)

(2) Initial bulk and compression ratio 150 g of a cotton ball put in a ball shape of a sample is blown into a bag-like side of 40 cm × 40 cm, and a load of 160 g of a flat plate of 40 cm × 40 cm is applied and left for 5 minutes. Then, determine the average of the heights of the four corners (H ₀ mm) and use it as the initial bulk. Then, except for the initial load, a load of the flat plate of 5 kg, allowed to stand for 5 minutes, the average value H ₁ of the height of the four corners, and calculates the compression ratio (%) by the following equation. The criteria for good bulk performance as an insulated cotton are that the initial bulk performance is 100 mm or more and the compression ratio is 18 to 26%. Compression ratio = (1− (H ₀ −H ₁ ) / H ₀ ) × 100

(3) Water Absorption Approximately 20 g of cotton put in a ball of a sample is weighed (W ₀ ), immersed in water, taken out, and weighed after 2 minutes with a dehydrator (1000 rotations). (W ₁ ), the water absorption was calculated by the following equation. Water absorption = (W ₁ −W ₀ ) / W ₀ × 100

(4) Stickiness The sample whose water absorption was measured was left in a hot-air dryer at 70 ° C. for 3 minutes. After taking out the sample, the center of the sample was pressed with a finger and pressed to half the height of the sample. The touch was evaluated. Note that a score of 合格 or more was considered a pass. ：: Dry △: Slightly humid ×: Wet

(5) Blowability In the test of (2), the state of blowing was observed. Note that a score of 合格 or more was considered a pass. ：: Smooth blowing, uniform filling cotton distributed △: Blowing is possible, but somewhat uneven blowing ×: Slow blowing, uneven blowing

Example 1 400 g of rayon fiber having a fineness of 6 d and a fiber length of 38 mm, polyethylene terephthalate having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.74, and an intrinsic viscosity of 0.7.
55 g of polyethylene terephthalate is a side-by-side type with a composite weight ratio of 1: 1 and 600 g of a polyester composite fiber having a fineness of 6 d and a fiber length of 38 mm is mixed (40% of the water-absorbing fiber in the inner layer) to give a total of 1 kg. After opening the fiber, put it in a cotton wool processing machine, air pressure 200 mmAq, wind speed 2
After stirring under an air flow of 8 m / S seconds for 60 seconds, 1 kg of the above-mentioned polyester composite fiber is further opened and charged, and stirred for 60 seconds. The ratio of the inner layer portion is 50% and the diameter is 6.2 mm. A ball-filled cotton of the present invention was obtained. Subsequently, heat treatment was performed at 150 ° C. for 30 seconds in a hot-air dryer to develop crimp.

Examples 2 and 3, Comparative Examples 1 and 2 In Example 1, the first stirring time was changed from 60 seconds to 50 seconds.
Example 1 except that the time was changed to seconds (Example 2), 70 seconds (Example 3), 30 seconds (Comparative Example 1), and 100 seconds (Comparative Example 2).
In the same manner as in Example 1, a ball-shaped cotton was obtained.

Examples 4 and 5, Comparative Examples 3 and 4 The ratio of rayon fiber (400 g) and polyester composite fiber (600 g) to be mixed first was 200 g and 800 g.
(Comparative Example 3), 300 g and 700 g (Example 4), 50
0 g and 500 g (Example 5 [draft 7]), 600 g and 4
A ball-shaped cotton pad was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the amount was changed to 00 g (Comparative Example 4 [draft 6]).

Examples 6 and 7 and Comparative Examples 5 and 6 In order to change the ratio of the inner layer portion, the weights of the rayon fiber and the polyester composite fiber to be mixed first were set to 40 in Example 1.
From 0 g and 600 g, 171 g and 257 g (ratio of inner layer portion: 30%, comparative example 5 [draft 4]), 267 g and 400 g
(Inner layer ratio 40%, Example 6 [Draft 5]), 600
g and 900 g (inner layer ratio 60%, Example 7 [Draft 6]), 933 g and 1400 g (inner layer ratio 70%,
A ball-shaped cotton pad was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Comparative Example 4 [draft 5]) was changed.

[0024]

[Table 1]

As is clear from Table 1, Examples 1 to 7
Each of them was excellent in water absorption and bulkiness, and had no sticky feeling on the surface. Comparative Example 1 was inferior in bulkiness due to too small diameter, and also had a sticky feeling. In Comparative Example 2, on the contrary, the diameter was too large and the blowing property was extremely poor. Comparative Example 3
Was poor in water absorption because the ratio of water-absorbing fibers was too low.
Comparative Example 4 was inferior in bulkiness because the ratio of the water-absorbing fibers was too high. Comparative Example 5 was poor in water absorption because the ratio of the inner layer portion was too low. In Comparative Example 6, the ratio of the inner layer portion was too high, and the sticky feeling was obtained.

[0026]

The present invention is constituted as described above, and has a water absorbing function, is excellent in bulkiness, and has no sticky feeling on the surface by using the ball-shaped cotton pad of the present invention. Equipment, sofas, cushions, winter clothing, etc. can be provided.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ball-shaped cotton having an inner layer portion and an outer layer portion having a diameter of 4 to 10 mm and a water absorption of 5% by weight or more, wherein the inner layer portion is 40 to 60% by weight of the whole. Characterized in that the inner layer portion contains water-absorbing fibers in a proportion of 50% by weight or less of the inner layer portion, and the outer layer portion is composed of a polyester composite fiber having a three-dimensional crimp. Cotton.