JPS6262175B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing nonwoven fabrics. More particularly, a method for producing a nonwoven fabric from a layer of fibrous material, such as a fibrous web, wherein the individual fibrous elements are movable under the influence of an applied fluid force, the method comprising: Numerous patterns of closely intertwined, substantially parallel, yarn-like fiber bundles that extend in an interlacing manner throughout the fabric fabric, forming discrete areas of low fiber density in the fabric fabric. ).

FIG. 1 shows the apparatus used according to the method of the invention. Details of this device, including loading, rotation, etc., include U.S. Patent No. 2862251 (December 2, 1958), Japanese Patent No. 316797 (June 12, 1961), and Japanese Patent No. 316797 (June 12, 1961).
No. 591048 (August 24, 1966).
Since this basic technique is known from the literature,
There is no need to go into detail here. In view of these publications relating to this basic technology, the apparatus of FIG. 1 will be described in very general terms. This is because its essential elements are the same as those described in the aforementioned patent. Only the novel features used in the production of nonwoven fabrics according to the invention will be explained in more detail.

The apparatus of FIG. 1 includes a rotatable perforated drum 15 suitably resting on flanged guide wheels 17,18. The drum has uniformly spaced holes 19 over its entire surface; the rest of the drum is a continuous ground area 20. The outside of the drum is covered with a screen 21, which constitutes the main novelty of the device of the invention. The guide wheel has an axis 25, 2 for rotation.
It is mounted on 6.

Inside the drum, a stationary manifold 27 extends across the width of the drum and is supplied with fluid from a conduit 28. On one side of the manifold is a nozzle 29 which projects fluid towards the inner surface of the drum.

A backing belt or support member 30 is located around most of the circumference of the drum. (The terms backing belt and support member are used interchangeably below.) The support member 30 is made of a perforated belt, such as a woven polyester fabric or a metal belt.

In the apparatus of FIG. 1, the support member 30 passes around the drum 15 and leaves at a guide roller 31 which rotates on an axle 32. The support member is now lowered and passes around another guide roller 33 which rotates on an axle 34 and then moves forward and backward to tension the vertically adjustable backing belt which rotates on a suitable axle 36. Guide roller 3
5 towards the rear, then move the appropriate shaft 3
8 and around another guide roller 37 mounted on the roller. The support member 30 is a suitable shaft rod 40.
It moves around another guide roller 39 that rotates, and returns around the drum 15 again.

The perforated forming drum 15 and screen 21 cooperate with a backing belt 30 to define a fiber rearrangement zone between the screen 21 and the backing belt 30 through which the fiber starting material moves. Under the influence of the applied fluid force,
The nonwoven fabric is rearranged to form a nonwoven fabric having a plurality of patterns of yarn-like fiber bundles extending in a continuous, interlacing manner over its area. The stranded fiber bundles surround discontinuous areas of low fiber density.

The tension of the support member 30 is adjusted by a tension guide roller 35 that moves forward and backward. Guide rollers 31, 33, 37, 39 are positioned on adjustable sliding brackets to help maintain proper tension in support member 30. The tension required depends on the weight of the fibrous web 41 being processed, the amount of rearrangement, and the desired pattern in the final product.

The perforated drum 15 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow, the support member 30 moves in the same direction and with the same peripheral linear velocity in the indicated guide channel, and the backing belt 30 and the perforation forming means 19, 21 move in the same direction and with the same peripheral linear velocity. and fibrous layer 41 with respect to each other is avoided in the longitudinal and transverse directions. Textile material to be treated 4
1 is fed between the drum 15 and the support member 30 at point A, passes through the fiber rearrangement zone where the fluid force acts, and is newly rearranged from between the support member 30 and the perforated drum 15 at point B. The nonwoven fabric 42 is then taken out.

As the fiber material 41 passes through the fiber rearrangement zone, a liquid, such as water, is projected towards the inner surface of the rotating perforated drum 15 by nozzles 29 mounted inside the drum 15, and the liquid flows through the holes 19 and screen 2
1 into the fibrous web 41, causing a rearrangement of the fibers of the web 41. If desired,
A vacuum auxiliary box 43 is provided to aid in fiber realignment. The suction box 45 helps remove moisture before the rearranged cloth foil 42 reaches the exit point at point B.

The direction that the flow of rearrangement liquid injected through holes 19 and screen 21 takes as it passes through and exits the fiber web determines the type of force exerted on the fibers, which in turn influences the degree of fiber rearrangement. Determine. Rearranged liquid flow flows through holes 19 and screen 2
1, since the direction it takes after passing through 1 is determined by the pattern of the individual holes 19 and screen 21.
The pattern of holes 19 and screen 21 will have the effect of determining the pattern of holes or low fiber density areas in the resulting fabric.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a type of fabric foil produced in accordance with the directions of the present invention is shown. The fabric foil 51 is a continuous bundle of yarn-like fibers that are closely intertwined and substantially parallel and extend intersectingly over the entire surface of the fabric to form discontinuous low fiber density regions 52. It has a region 50. This is contrasted with the prior art fabric foil 53 shown in FIG. 4, which is constructed without the use of screen 21 on rotating drum 15. As seen in FIG. 4, the prior art fabric spider has a pattern of continuous areas 20 of closely intertwined, substantially parallel webs 53 of yarn-like bundles of fibers extending throughout the fabric web 53. However, the area 50 forms holes 54 throughout the fabric foil 53, and there is almost no fiber in the area of the holes. FIG. 3 shows a fabric foil 55 made using screen 21 on only a portion of forming drum 15, ie, the transition between the product of the present method and the conventional method. Full cloth 55
According to the prior art, areas 50 of a pattern of yarn-like bundles extending in an interlacing manner form openings or holes 54 in the fabric foil 55;
According to the invention, the yarn-like bundle region 50 forms a region 52 of low fiber density on the fabric foil 55.

The particular fabric foil shown in these figures includes, for illustrative purposes, a single 90 x 90/inch woven polyester belt with the fibrous web to be realigned with the fabric forming drum. It was built so that it would be located between the two. In actual industrial practice, a fabric belt is heat sealed to the fabric forming drum to form a screen covering the entire circumferential surface of the drum.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation view of one type of apparatus used in the method of the invention. FIG. 2 is a sketch of a 15x photomicrograph of a nonwoven fabric made according to the method of the invention. FIG. 3 is a micrograph of a non-woven fabric at the same magnification as in FIG. The changing state is also shown. FIG. 4 is a sketch of a micrograph at similar magnification of a nonwoven fabric made according to the prior art. In these figures, 51, 53, 55: nonwoven fabric, 50: region of bundles of yarn-like fibers extending in an intersecting manner, 52: low fiber density region, 54:
holes, 30: backing means (supporting member), 15: perforated forming means, 21: perforated member (perforated layer), 29: fluid projection means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A nonwoven fabric having a pattern, the pattern consisting of yarn-like bundles of fibers extending throughout the fabric membrane and forming discontinuous areas of low density distributed within the fabric membrane. for producing: a perforated patterning means for forming a layer of fibers, the perforations being distributed both longitudinally and laterally and separated by base portions; a perforated member having pores smaller than the pores of the patterning means supports the fibers in a fiber rearrangement zone formed between the overlay and the perforated backing means on the other side of the fibrous layer; A flow of rearrangement fluid is projected into the fiber layer from the patterning means side through the holes of the patterning means and the holes of the perforated member, so that at least a portion of the fibers are directed in the direction of travel of the projected fluid flow. A method consisting of moving in a transverse direction.