JPH11309314A - Functional air filter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a functional air filter to be hygienic, high in safety and deodorizing property by controlling propagation of a mold and various germs in a good productivity by a method wherein the functional air filter is composed of a knitted textile fabric using a fibrous material spun from a composition wherein a functional ceramic having an antimicrobial property and a deodorizing property is blended in a thermoplastic resin. SOLUTION: As a fibrous material, thermoplastic resins of polyolefin series, polyester series, and or the like are used. For a functional ceramic, silica, alumina, or the like are used as a base burnt product, and metals and metallic salts of silver, zinc, or the like are supported by or blended in these bases, and an antimicrobial operation and a deodorant effect are provided. Though an ordinary monofilament or the like can also be used as the fibrous material to be spun from the thermoplastic resin and the functional ceramic, a honeycomb woven structure is preferable from points of elasticity, flexibility, a ventilating property, a dust collecting property, and a dimensional stability while it is a composite monofilament of a core-sheath type wherein flexibility is maintained and spinning can be highly intensively executed even though a filler is blended. Thereby, an antimicrobial property and a deodorant effect can be expected, and it can be efficiently stably manufactured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air filter used by being attached to a vent of an air conditioner, an air purifier, or the like. The present invention relates to a functional air filter which can be made, has high safety, and has deodorizing properties.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, health-oriented products have been increasing, and many antibacterial goods are on the market. And such a tendency is not limited to those directly touched by the consumer's hand, for example, the air filter of air conditioners and air purifiers, which are now necessities of life, are treated to suppress the growth of mold and germs, Further, there is an attempt to effectively impart clean air by providing a deodorizing function from a usage method in contact with air.

[0003] This type of air filter is generally a knitted fabric made of a thermoplastic resin monofilament,
In the monofilament spinning step, a compound having an antibacterial property, for example, an organic halogen compound, an unsaturated carbonyl compound, an amide compound, a triazole compound or the like is kneaded in an appropriate amount in a material resin and molded. However, these compounds are generally inferior in heat resistance, so they may be decomposed and deteriorated by the heating temperature during melt spinning, and using a special raw material resin to suppress the molding temperature as low as possible.
Special considerations are often required. In addition, the spun ones have a problem in terms of stability over time because the particles exposed on the surface of the filaments are eluted exclusively and exhibit antibacterial properties. Some are seen. As an antibacterial compound,
Some use the antibacterial effect of metal ions such as silver, copper, and zinc, which can be said to be excellent in terms of safety, but the antibacterial effect may be lost due to oxidation of the metal surface, and No stabilizing effect can be expected.

[0004] Generally, there are two methods of deodorizing: a method of spraying a deodorant to neutralize a substance such as ammonia or formaldehyde which forms an odorous base by a chemical reaction, and a method of adsorbing by contacting with a deodorant. Although it is different, in the air filter, it is based on the latter method exclusively from the usage method in which it is disposed in the air flow. Therefore, the deodorant used is activated carbon having the shape of a porous powder, zeolite, calcium carbonate, and the like.When the porous powder is mixed with a thermoplastic resin to form a monofilament,
Only a part of the micropores exposed on the surface of the filament have an adsorbing action, which is not efficient as a deodorizing function, and the adsorbing performance is remarkably deteriorated after long-term use.

[0005] In general monofilament spinning, additives such as an antibacterial compound and a deodorant are added to an extruder directly or in advance as a master batch so as to have a predetermined concentration when blended into a raw material resin. It is a common practice that if the amount of the additive is small, it is difficult to uniformly disperse the resin in the resin.On the other hand, if the amount of the additive is large, the physical properties of the monofilament deteriorate. Problems have been pointed out in both manufacturing and quality, such as the elongation tends to decrease, some additional equipment is required in the weaving process, and the durability of the completed air filter is insufficient. I have.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems of production by spinning a fiber material with good productivity, and by solving knitting and weaving with high efficiency. Another object of the present invention is to provide a functional air filter which can maintain a sufficient function of suppressing the growth of molds and various germs for a long period of time, is hygienic, has high safety, and has deodorizing properties.

[0007]

The present invention is characterized by comprising a knitted fabric using a fiber material spun from a composition containing a functional ceramic having antibacterial properties and deodorizing properties with respect to a thermoplastic resin. It is a functional air filter.

Preferably, the content of the functional ceramic is 0.2 to 5.0% by weight based on the resin weight of the fiber material.
The fiber material has a composite structure of a core layer and a sheath layer, and at least the sheath layer is a composite monofilament containing a functional ceramic, and further, a knitted fabric is made of a fiber material having a fineness of 80 to 500 dr. An antibacterial air filter characterized by having a honeycomb structure.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The thermoplastic resin used for the fiber material constituting the air filter of the present invention is a polyolefin resin, a polyester resin, a polyamide resin, a polyacryl resin, a polystyrene resin, a polyvinyl chloride resin. Although a resin or the like can be used, a polyolefin-based resin is preferable because it is relatively inexpensive and can maintain stable quality in continuous production. Specifically, polypropylene, high density polyethylene, medium density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene, ethylene-
Propylene copolymer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer,
A resin composition such as an ethylene-acrylate copolymer alone or in combination. Among them, polypropylene is excellent in mechanical strength as a filament and is preferably used.

The functional ceramic used in the present invention is obtained by calcining silica, alumina, zirconia, titania, magnesia or the like as a base, or carrying or blending a metal or a metal salt such as silver, zinc or nickel with the base. There are things. In recent years, this type of ceramic emits specific electromagnetic waves in the near-infrared to far-infrared region, so it is possible to ionize oxygen and water in the air by combining and combining these. It has been reported that the reduction reaction is effective in suppressing the growth of bacterial cells. And, of course, functional ceramics have good heat resistance and have a normal resin melting temperature range (100 to 350
° C) without any performance degradation, and has the effect of non-contact to exhibit antibacterial action by electromagnetic waves,
In addition, since it is possible to decompose airborne contaminants such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, and to expect a deodorizing effect, it can be said that the use of the present invention for an air filter is extremely effective.

The thermoplastic resin and the functional ceramic described above preferably conform to the "Positive List on Food Containers and Packaging Made of Synthetic Resins such as Polyolefin" which is a self-regulation standard in the industry by the Polyolefin Sanitation Council. This standard aims to systemize health and safety management that can be applied to food packaging materials, and it is necessary to pass specific material tests and dissolution tests, and use materials that do not contain substances harmful to the human body It is a proof of that.

In the composition of such raw materials, it is important that 0.2 to 5.0% by weight of the functional ceramic be mixed with the thermoplastic resin. In other words, if the amount of the functional ceramic is smaller than this, sufficient antibacterial and deodorizing functions cannot be obtained. This is because there is a problem that productivity is deteriorated such as difficulty in uniform dispersion.

Next, as a fiber material spun from such a thermoplastic resin and a functional ceramic, various types of fibers such as ordinary monofilament, multifilament, flat yarn, and split yarn can be used.
The core-sheath type composite monofilament can be said to be a preferable form because it can maintain high flexibility and can be spun with high strength while blending the filler.

The composite monofilament is supplied to the extruder by a two-line extruder and a filament forming apparatus having a composite nozzle having a core-sheath structure in which discharge holes are substantially concentric with each other. And extruded in the molten state, after cooling, hot air oven type, hot roll type,
Spinning can be performed by performing a heat-drawing process such as a water bath process, performing a relaxation treatment, and the like.

In the case of this composite monofilament, it is necessary to mix a functional ceramic at least in the sheath layer, and the core layer is optional. This is to maintain the mechanical strength and elasticity of the filament in the core layer, and it is preferable not to add other components from the viewpoint of improving the physical properties by the inherent thermal drawing of the resin. If the amount itself affects the functionality, it may be incorporated in the core layer for high filling, and it is important to keep the concentration lower in this case than in the sheath layer. In consideration of such functions and necessary physical properties, the blending amount of the antibacterial ceramic in the composite monofilament is required to be 0.2 to 5.0% by weight based on the total resin weight of the composite monofilament. You. The weight ratio of the core layer and the sheath layer is preferably in the range of 1: 1 to 4: 1.

The thermoplastic resin used for the core layer and the sheath layer may be the same or different. However, when considering the manufacturing process of extruding in a molten state from a composite nozzle, it is assumed that one of the different resins having different melting points will suffer more thermal degradation than necessary, and the melting points are approximated for stable extrusion. It is preferable that the same type of resin is used in order to increase the adhesive force between the core and sheath layers as a filament.

The fiber material represented by the composite monofilament thus obtained is a knitted and woven fabric to form an air filter.
Specifically, it is possible to adopt plain weave, woven weave, mosaic weave, leno weave, etc. for woven cloth, and tricot knit, Miranese knit, Russell knit, etc. for knitted cloth. In addition to the required elasticity, flexibility, ventilation, dust collection, and dimensional stability in handling,
In particular, it is preferable to use a honeycomb structure made of a fiber material having a fineness of 80 to 500 dr. The honeycomb and the woven structure, Japanese Industrial Standards fibers term ^{JIS-L0206 -1976}
It is a term defined in the (textile section), and is described as "weaving a nest-shaped diaper on the cloth surface with a change structure. Also called woven."

The honeycomb woven structure can be woven in series by a sulzer-type loom or the like, and is characterized by a three-dimensional structure in which irregularities are formed on the front and rear surfaces. It is important that the weaving density be 30 to 75 fibers / inch. In addition, it is preferable to use the above-mentioned composite monofilament for all of the warp yarns from the viewpoint of antibacterial and deodorizing performance, but if cost is important, it is necessary to reduce the material cost by mixing and weaving with other fiber materials. Can also.

[0019]

[Example] Polypropylene (MFR = 1.
2g / 10min., Density = 0.90g / cm ³ ), and as a functional ceramic, Nippon Water Treatment Giken Co., Ltd., a ceramic powder mainly composed of silica, alumina, and titanium oxide: trade name: Celaglaze, Both were confirmed to conform to the "Positive List on Food Containers and Packaging Made of Synthetic Resins such as Polyolefins", which is a voluntary regulation in the industry by the Hygiene Council of Polyolefins.

Using these as raw materials, a composite monofilament was spun as follows. In each extruder, a single polypropylene unit is used for the core layer, and polypropylene and ceramic powder are used for the sheath layer, using a two-series extruder and a filament forming apparatus equipped with a composite nozzle having a core-sheath structure with concentric discharge holes. Using a composition prepared by blending a predetermined amount of, a filament having a core layer and a sheath layer in which the weight ratio of the core and the sheath is 2: 1 is formed. After cooling, the filament is stretched about 8 times by a hot-air oven type stretching tank. Next, a heat relaxation treatment was performed to form a composite monofilament having a fineness of 150 dr.

Using this composite monofilament as the warp yarn, a driving density of 60 × 60 / inch, one side of each honeycomb structure unit is 5.2 mm, and a thickness is 2.2 by a Sulzer type loom.
A honeycomb woven structure of mm was woven to obtain an air filter of this example. The air filter according to the present embodiment has a functional ceramic of 0.5 with respect to the resin weight of the composite monofilament.
Example 1 comprising a yarn blended with 1.5% by weight (1.5% by weight with respect to the sheath layer resin), and yarn blended with 1.0% by weight (3.0% by weight with respect to the sheath layer resin) of the functional ceramic Example 2 was composed of the yarn composed of the functional ceramic and Comparative Example was composed of the yarn not containing the functional ceramic.

An antibacterial test was conducted as follows, and the evaluation results are shown in Tables 1- (A) to (C). -Test bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were used as bacteria, and three types of fungi were used as fungi. Preparation Bacteria were prepared on a standard agar medium at 35 ° C. for 48 hours, and fungi were prepared on a potato dextrose agar medium at 27 ° C. for one week in a mild phosphate saline solution using test bacteria pre-cultured.・ Procedure The test bacterial solution should be
(0.5 ml) was allowed to stand, taken out after a predetermined time, diluted with a 10-fold dilution series with sterile water, spread on each medium, and cultured under the same conditions as the pre-culture, followed by fresh culture. The number of bacteria was counted.

[0023]

[Table 1]

Further, a test for deodorization was carried out as follows, and the evaluation results are shown in Tables 2- (A) and (B).・ Test gas Ammonia and formaldehyde were used as targets.・ Procedure A sample is placed in a test box (310 × 340 × 600 mm), and the test gas is injected. After stabilizing the gas with a stirring fan, the sample is mixed with the sample using a blower with an air flow of 2.7 m ³ / min. Reacted. The residual gas concentration after a lapse of a predetermined time was measured with a detector tube, and the gas removal rate was calculated from the value.

[0025]

[Table 2]

According to Table 1, the air filter of the embodiment is
It can be confirmed that both bacteria and fungi act effectively in antibacterial properties. Also, according to Table 2, it can be confirmed that the air filters of the examples effectively act on both ammonia and formaldehyde in deodorizing properties. Then, in the office as an air filter
A similar antibacterial and deodorizing test was performed after use for a year. As a result, it was confirmed that the degree of functional deterioration was slight, and that the antibacterial and deodorizing properties could be effectively maintained for a long period of time.

[0027]

The air filter of the present invention is made of a functional ceramic represented by thermoplastic resin and fired based on silica, alumina, zirconia, titania, magnesia, etc. as raw materials, and the ceramic emits a specific electromagnetic wave. By radiating, the antibacterial performance is effective even without contact, the heat history and the functional deterioration over time are small, and the deodorizing effect by decomposing airborne contaminants such as ammonia and formaldehyde can be expected. This is also effective for fiberization of an air filter by melt spinning of a thermoplastic resin. If a composite monofilament is adopted as the form of the fiber material, it can be efficiently and stably manufactured, and is useful from the viewpoint of having flexibility and high strength as a fiber. By using a honeycomb structure, the elasticity, flexibility, ventilation, dust collection and dimensional stability of the air filter are excellent, and it can be extremely effective from the manufacturing side to the functional side. It is.

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A functional air filter comprising a knitted fabric using a fiber material spun from a composition containing a functional ceramic having an antibacterial property and a deodorant property with respect to a thermoplastic resin. 2. The functional air filter according to claim 1, wherein the blending amount of the functional ceramic is 0.2 to 5.0% by weight based on the resin weight of the fiber material. 3. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein the fibrous material has a composite structure including a core layer and a sheath layer, and at least the sheath layer is a composite monofilament containing a functional ceramic. Functional air filter. 4. The functional air filter according to claim 1, wherein the knitted fabric is a honeycomb structure made of a fiber material having a fineness of 80 to 500 dr.