JPS6342869Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a bath mat that has good moisture absorption properties, quickly recovers its surface dryness, and has an excellent feeling of use.

Bath mats installed at the entrances and exits of bathrooms are
Traditionally, hydrophilic natural fibers such as cotton, rayon, and hemp;
Alternatively, hydrophobic synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester, and porous plastics such as foamed polyethylene and foamed vinyl chloride are used. However, in the case of hydrophilic fibers, when used for the first time, they absorb moisture quickly, but the rate at which the moisture permeates into the interior or dries and releases it into the atmosphere is slow, making it difficult for the next user to use it. Gives a wet feel,
It doesn't feel good to use. On the other hand, hydrophobic fibers have a low absorption capacity, so water remains on the mat surface. Furthermore, in the case of a porous plastic material, even if water is absorbed into the mat, when the next user steps on it, the water oozes out again, resulting in a poor feeling of use.

In order to solve these problems, there is a patent application in which a water-absorbing resin is supported in a synthetic fiber layer to form the base of a bath mat.

(Japanese Patent Application No. 56-72124) This specification describes a molding method in which heat-fusible fibers are added to hydrophobic fibers, mixed randomly, and heat-fused. In this case, the water absorption and retention ability depends only on the water-absorbing resin, but because the fibers are hydrophobic, it is difficult for water to transfer and diffuse from the surface, so the water absorption is not fully demonstrated and the molding is finished due to pressure heating. There are drawbacks such as the material becoming coarse and hard.

What is desirable for a bath mat is that it absorbs moisture quickly and does not make the surface damp.
Even when used for the second or third time, it remains smooth.
Furthermore, the absorbed water can be easily dehydrated and dried, but so far no material has been available that satisfies these requirements.

The inventor took advantage of the fact that cellulose diacetate fibers easily get wet with water despite their low water retention properties, and the fiber bundles easily absorb water, and combined it with a water-absorbing substance to create a product suitable for bath mats. We succeeded in making it a base material.

Fibers are generally classified as hydrophilic or hydrophobic depending on their equilibrium water content, but the speed at which they absorb water differs from their hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature. That is, cellulose diacetate and acrylic fibers have a small contact angle with water, and their wettability is similar to that of cotton and rayon. (Sanuki, Sengaku Shi, Vol. 21, p. 91, 1965, etc.) In particular, those made of cellulose diacetate fibers have the property of quickly absorbing water that comes into contact with them due to the ease of wetting the fibers and the formation of capillary tubes between the fibers. be. Furthermore, when particulate silica gel is incorporated into the fiber layer as a water-absorbing agent, the water between the fibers and on the surface between the fibers quickly transfers to the water-absorbing agent, and since the equilibrium moisture content of the fiber itself is small, it does not feel sticky and feels smooth. Recovers the feeling of

In order to form a sheet containing a water-absorbing agent between the aligned cellulose diacetate fibers, it is appropriate to utilize the weldability of the fibers due to the plasticizer, and this method is disclosed in JP-A-57-161152 and JP-A-58- 13758 can be used.

The plasticizer referred to here is, for example, glycerin triacetate, 1,3-butylene glycol diacetate, etc., and when these are laminated while being sprayed and left to stand, a three-dimensional network structure is formed with fibers bonded at multiple points. . If the plasticizer is added and then heated, adhesion will occur quickly. Further, the silica gel used in the present invention is suitably B type as specified in Japanese Industrial Standard Z0701-1977. Silica gel type B has the ability to absorb water in a liquid state, i.e., as water droplets, and then gradually release it again in a gaseous state depending on the relative humidity of the atmosphere, and when it comes into contact with water droplets again, it absorbs this water, i.e., dries. Since it is possible to reactivate the product by using a bath mat, it can be advantageously used for intermittent use such as a bath mat.

In this way, bath mats made of cellulose diacetate fiber sheets containing granular silica gel and covered with a hydrophobic porous material have good water drop absorption properties and are smooth and comfortable even for second and third users. It gives a good feel and is easy to dry. The covering may be a woven or knitted fabric of hydrophobic fibers such as polyester or polyamide, or a porous sheet of hydrophobic plastics such as polyolefin or vinyl chloride.

Although these materials need to be thinner than the base sheet, they have the effect of maintaining the dryness of the surface after water droplets adhering to the surface are absorbed by the base material.

That is, the present invention provides a bath mat which is made of a cellulose diacetate fiber sheet containing silica gel particles, which is made by bonding fibers at multiple points, and which is covered with a hydrophobic fiber or porous plastic sheet. It is related to.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to Examples.

Example After opening a cellulose diacetate fiber bundle with a filament fineness of 4 denier and a total fineness of 43,000 denier and applying a plasticizer, silica gel (B Laminate the mixture by traversing from side to side while adding the mold). Next, it is molded into a sheet using heated steam,
The base material was bath mat. A bathmat was prepared by covering the surface of this base material with a layer of polyester cotton coated with anti-slip tape and then covering it with polyester cloth. (Effective area 50cm x 70cm) The basis weight is 650g/ ^m2 , of which 500g is made up of acetate fiber and 150g is made up of silica gel.
The water absorption capacity of this bath mat was 210 g/m ² .
In addition, mats that had absorbed 200 g/m ² of water were heated at 25°C and 65°C.
When left in a room with a %RH atmosphere, it dried to approximately equilibrium moisture content in about 3 hours. The same 200g/m ²
When dried in the sun, the pine tree that had absorbed 100% of water was dried in an hour and a half.

From the above results, this bath mat can maintain sufficient moisture absorption capacity and dry surface when used by 4 to 5 people continuously or by 10 people every hour, and is suitable for use as a household bath mat. It was found to have good performance.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a bath mat in which the base of the bath mat is covered with a hydrophobic fiber fabric. 1: Cellulose diacetate fiber sheet, 2:
Silica gel, 3: Polyester fiber cloth, 4: Polyester cotton, 5: Anti-slip cloth.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A bath mat whose base material is a cellulose diacetate fiber sheet in which fibers are joined at multiple points and encapsulates silica gel particles, and covered with a hydrophobic porous sheet.