KR100219110B1 - New fiber balls - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to fiberballs based on poly (1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate) fibers that can produce improved products.

Description

New Fiberball

The present invention comprises a novel fiberball, more specifically a fiberball containing polyester fibers of poly (1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate) as polyester polymer, in particular binding fibers, so that molding It relates to possible fiber balls and methods of molding them into novel shaped articles.

Marcus disclosed new fiber balls of polyester fibers in US Pat. Nos. 4,618,531 and 4,794,038. In particular, in the latter patent, fiberballs are fiberballs of load-bearing polyester fibers (sometimes called matrix fibers) and fiberballs of bonded fibers, which he combines into molded and other bonded products Started. The fiber balls have been found to be very useful commercially, and improvements and modifications are disclosed, for example, in US Pat. Nos. 4,940,502, 4,818,599, 5,112,684, 5,154,969, 5,169,580, and 5,218,740.

However, it is desirable to produce molded articles that are more resistant to pressure / heat-cure than molded articles made from conventional materials. For example, some chair designers need a cushioning material with improved (ie numerically lower) cure rates when tested according to ASTM 3574-D. An important condition of the test is to pressurize at 50% for 22 hours at 158 ° F. (70 ° C.) and allow 30 minutes recovery time after releasing from the pressurized state before curing rate is measured.

The solution according to the present invention of the above problem is provided by a fiber ball containing load-durable fibers consisting essentially of poly (1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate) together with binding fibers. The polymer is sometimes referred to herein as CHDMT, in contrast to 2G-T, which is sometimes poly (ethylene terephthalate), which is the most widely marketed and used polyester fiber to date.

After solving the above problems by the present invention, the buffering properties of similar-like fiberballs consisting solely of CHDMT, i.e., containing no binding fibers, were investigated and found surprising advantages in their properties, mainly their flexibility.

Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, it is essentially composed of a randomly arranged, entangled and crimped polyester fiber filler having an average diameter of 2 to 15 mm and a cut length of 10 to 100 mm, wherein the polyester is Pillows, cushions and other filled products are provided wherein at least a portion of the fiber balls and fillers are poly (1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate).

In a second important embodiment of the invention, it consists essentially of a randomly arranged, entangled and crimped polyester fiber filler having an average diameter of 2 to 15 mm and a cut length of 10 to 100 mm and comprises bonded fibers, said A moldable fiberball is provided, characterized in that the polyester fiber filler consists essentially of poly (1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate).

As previously disclosed by Markus or as will now be described, the load-durable (or matrix) polyester fiber is provided in a fiber ball together with a bond fiber.

Preferred bond fibers are seed / core, having one component (seed) of a bonding material having a lower melting point, and preferably the other component (core) also preferably consisting of CHDMT, to further improve pressure curability in the molded article. It is a bicomponent fiber of structure or parallel structure. Preferred binding materials should be heat-active at temperatures well above 70 ° C., the test temperature of ASTM 3574-D, ie, preferred binding materials should not be activated under these test conditions, especially above 100 ° C. It has an unusual melting point.

In another embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a molded article made by molding a novel moldable fiber ball and a method of making a fiber ball and / or molded article.

An essential aspect of the second embodiment of the present invention is the use of load-durable (or matrix) fibers of poly (1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate), ie CHDMT, instead of 2G-T. In another aspect, the disclosures of US Pat. Nos. 4,794,038, 4,940,502, 4,818,599, 5,112,684, 5,154,969, 5,169,580, and 5,218,740 to Markus et al. It is to be understood that the foregoing disclosure is to be accorded to so far as it relates to embodiments of the invention, including molding into their shaped articles.

Press / heat-cure rates were measured according to ASTM 3574-D in several different similarly manufactured and molded fiberball products and are summarized in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, the cure rate (%) of the fiber balls (Examples 1 and 2) of the CHDMT polymer according to the invention is considerably better (lower) than the fiber balls (Comparative Examples A-F) of 2G-T.

Since commercially available binding fibers are currently made of 2GT polymer cores, comparative tests were performed as follows using AM3, a thermosetting resin, as the binder material without using the binding fibers. Pressurization / heat-cure rates are shown in Table 2.

[Note]

(1) Matrix polymer: CHDMT: made from 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol and terephthalic acid.

(A) Used in T-211, Eastman Fibers, Examples 1 and 2 and Material P

2G-T: made from ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid.

(B) Used for T-808, DuPont Fibers, Comparative Examples C and X

(C) Not a commercial fiber (but similar to T-88 sold by DuPont, Europe), Comparative Example D

(D) H38F, 13 denier, Unitika (Japan), Comparative Examples E, F and Z

(E) H38F, 6 denier, Unitika (Japan), Comparative Examples A, B and Y

(2) crimp: M = mechanical crimp; S = spiral crimp (sometimes called spiral crimp)

(3) binders:

All binding fibers were concentric sheath / core structured binding fibers containing a 2G-T core surrounded by the side of the binder material and sold by Unitika Limited (4-1-3, Chuo Kiutaromachi, 541, Osaka, Japan). do. T4080 and T2080 have a binder material seed of 2G-T / 2G-I copolymer, but because the ratio of 2G-I is different, the binder material copolymer has different temperatures (110 ° C for T4080, 210 ° C for T2080). Is heat-active. S-74 has a seed of a novel binder material that is not initiated by Unitika, but has a distinct melting point (158 ° C.), so it is thought to be crystalline in contrast to other binder materials that do not have a distinct melting point and are amorphous. If softened, it can act as a binder material at approximately the indicated temperature.

AM3 = Aerotex M-3-Melamine Formaldehyde Resin, commercially available from American Cyanamid, for preparing each of the materials shown in Table 1 in the method described in Snyder, US Pat. No. 5,218,740. The fibers were thus molded into fiberballs (clusters). Clusters were prepared from blends of 80/20 weight ratios of matrix fibers and the fibers described in Table 1. The cast part was molded into a tubular shape of 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter and 4 inches (10 cm) in height. The mold was made from a perforated carbon steel sheet in which a 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) hole was located in the center of 3/16 inch (4.8 mm) with an aperture ratio of about 40%. About 2.51b / ft In order to cast with a density of (40 kg / m 3), a tube of 0.182 pounds (82 g) was charged. Perforated steel sheet traps loose clusters to form a 4 inch (10 cm) high tube. A mold filled with clusters was inserted into a duckwork arranged in an oven and the recycled heated air was pushed through the mold from base to top. The air pressure was adjusted to a water column of 0.5 to 0.75 inch (12 to 19 mm). For materials 1 and B-E (using T4080 binding fiber), the sample was removed when the air was heated to 180 ° C. and after 1-2 minutes the temperature of the downstream air reached 170 ° C. For material F (using T2080 binding fiber), the air was heated to 220 ° C. and samples were removed when the temperature of the downstream air reached 210 ° C. For materials 2 and A (using S-74 binding fibers), the air was heated to 200 ° C. and samples were removed when the downstream air reached 180 ° C. The density reported in the table is calculated from the height of the actual sample since not all of the cast product is removed from the mold exactly 4 inches (10 cm).

In Table 2, the binding was performed using Aerotex M3, a melamine formaldehyde resin manufactured by American Cyanamide. The solution was prepared with 18.4 g Aerotex M3, 5.9 g Accelerator MX, and 168 g water. The solution was mixed well with 59 g of cluster and drained. Wet clusters were filled into solid wall canisters 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter. The screen cured the loft of the wet cluster to 4 inches (10 cm). After 20 minutes of air recirculation in the oven at 163 ° C. (325 ° F.), the cast part was dried and cured.

Since the binding fibers used in the examples contain 2G-T cores, as can be seen from the 2G-T matrix fibers, undesirable pressurization / heating cure can be expected. In other words, the presence of 2G-T can be expected to increase the pressure / heat curing rate. In addition, the 2G-T / 2G-I seed softens at the pressure / heat cure test temperature to shift the bond point causing some or all heat cure. For this reason, the fiber filler clusters in Table 2 were prepared without binding fibers and molded by combining with Aerotex M3, a melamine formaldehyde thermosetting resin known to be relatively less sensitive to temperature. CHDMT clusters combined with bonded fibers or thermosets consistently have lower heating / cure rates than 2G-T clusters. In addition, the lowest heating / curing rates are obtained when (1) 2G-T polymer is completely excluded from the fiber system (material P) and (2) when S-74 binding fibers are used (material 2). Comparing comparative material A with S-74 and T7080, respectively, with comparative material B, the cure rate is slightly reduced when 2G-T is a matrix fiber (similar to the use of AM3 as binder in material Y in Table 2). To 30). However, the use of CHDMT as in Examples 1 and 2 further reduced the cure rate even when T4080 was used as the binding fiber. The added advantage of using S-74 or T4080 with CHDMT as matrix fiber is less than when 2G-T is used as matrix fiber, which means that CHDMT (80% of the blend) has a cure rate already. I think it is because of the decrease.

The binder material preferably has a distinct melting point at least 20 ° C. below the melting point of the matrix fibers (including CHDMT).

Thus, preferred molded articles employ the binder fibers and / or as matrix fibers and / or binder materials having a softening temperature high enough to withstand softening during pressure / heat-cure tests (eg, according to ASTM 3574-D). Prepared using CHDMT polymer as core of de / core bicomponent bonding fibers.

As indicated, for further details, reference may be made to prior art, such as Markus's patent, for example the amount of binding fibers depends on the specific application, but generally about 10-30 weights relative to the total weight of the fibers. %to be.

Returning to the first embodiment of the present invention, fiber balls (clusters) are made essentially similar to those described in Table 1 above, provided that the feed fibers do not contain binding fibers (ie, the feed fibers are for example cut off 2 inches of 100% polyester fiber filler). CHDMT fiber was T-211 (6 dpt, solid circular fiber, same as Material A used in Tables 1 and 2), and 2GT fiber was T-808 (6.5 dpf, single hollow fiber, material B used in Tables 1 and 2). Is the same). On the other hand, material B is dry, ie not coated with a silicone abrasive, but the commodity labeled material X (T-234, 4.25 dare and polished) is also produced in clusters by the same process for comparison. Clusters are measured for comparative bulk measurements and tested for flexibility by the following standard methods.

300 g of cluster samples are filled into tubes with a height of 375 mm and an inner diameter of 292 mm. Cured to 286 mm diameter annular foot cured on Lloyd Instrument Model # LR5K to record the stress / strain (load height) characteristics of the sample while pressurizing the sample to 508 mm / min. Let's do it. The sample is prepressurized to 355 mm. The thickness of the sample in the second cycle is recorded at Newtonian forces 0.75, 5.0, 88.5 and 121.5. It is particularly important and practical to measure the thickness and flexibility of products such as pillows or cushions to be produced from clusters at Newton's force of 5.0 and Newton's force of 88.5, respectively. The heights are shown in Table 3 (in mm, () is the standard deviation) where the clusters of CHDMT (A) and 2GT (B) make pillows of the same height, while the CHDMT clusters are polished As can be seen from the value for 2GT (Material X), it can be seen that it is significantly softer than what has been achieved using silicone abrasives to date. An important advantage of CHDMT clusters is their reduced sensitivity to flammability compared to clusters made of commercially available silicon polished 2GT fibers.

In summary, it has been found that pillows filled with CHDMT fiberball have surprising and significant advantages in contrast to pillows filled with 2G-T in pressurization. Thus, pillows, cushions and other products filled with only the novel fiberballs or as a mixture with other filling materials are aesthetically very desirable and are expected to have other advantages as described above.

Claims (7)

Essentially composed of randomly arranged, entangled and crimped polyester fiber fillers having an average diameter of 2 to 15 mm and a cut length of 10 to 100 mm, the polyester being poly (1,4-cyclohexane dimethylene Terephthalate). Essentially composed of randomly arranged, entangled and crimped polyester fiber fillers having an average diameter of 2 to 15 mm and a cut length of 10 to 100 mm, comprising bonded fibers, the polyester fiber fillers being made of poly ( 1,4-cyclo hexanedimethylene terephthalate). The fiber ball according to claim 2, wherein the bonding fiber is a bicomponent bonding fiber. The fiber ball according to claim 3, wherein one component of the binding fiber is poly (1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate). 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the binding fiber is a sheath / core bicomponent fiber consisting of a core of poly (1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate) and a sheath of a lower melting point binder material. Fiberball. The binder material according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the binding fiber has a distinct melting point that is at least 20 ° C. lower than the melting point of poly (1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate) and is at least 100 ° C. 7. Fiberball, characterized in that it comprises a. Pillow filled with fiberball according to claim 1.