JPH067562A - Polyester fiber and solid cotton for cushion material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a polyester fiber and solid cotton for cushion material hard to deflect even under a repeated compression and an atmosphere of a high temperature. CONSTITUTION:The fiber herein used is a copolymer polyester fiber itself which comprises terephthalic acid and a diole component such as ethyleneglycol or bisphenol S and is above 80 deg. in glass transition temperature and above 150 deg. in melting point. The fiber is joined by a copolymer polyester based hot melt fiber with the melting point exceeding 80 deg.C to produce a polyester solid cotton with a thickness of 5mm or more and a density of 0.01g/cm<3> or more.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a polyester fiber and cotton which can be a cushioning material which is unlikely to become fatigued even when used for a long period of time or in a high temperature atmosphere.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, polyurethane foam has been mainly used as a cushioning material for furniture, such as softeners, chair backs, cushions, beds, and automobile seats. However, polyurethane foam
Problems have been pointed out from the standpoint of safety and environmental protection, such as the generation of nitrogen-containing toxic gases during combustion, and the fact that CFCs used during production destroy the ozone layer above the atmosphere.

Therefore, it is conceivable to use a cushioning material mainly composed of polyester fiber as a material replacing the polyurethane foam. A web of polyester fiber is needling-processed or a binder fiber is used in combination for fusion-bonding. For example, there is JP-A-57-35047).

[0004]

Among conventional polyester cushioning materials, those obtained by needling a polyester fiber web tend to cause some of the fibers to fall off or scatter, which is an attempt to prevent this drawback. A material obtained by fusion-bonding with binder fiber is also easily set against repeated compression or compression in a high temperature atmosphere, and the defect that the cushioning property is deteriorated over time has not been solved.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned settling of conventional polyester cushion materials, and is also used in the fields of cottages and beds for furniture, cushion materials for automobile seats, cushions, cushions, mats and the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a polyester fiber and a cotton which are capable of making a novel polyester cushion material which is unlikely to set in a high temperature atmosphere.

[0006]

The inventor of the present invention has reached the present invention as a result of earnest studies for developing such a novel cushion material. That is, the first invention of the present invention comprises a copolyester having an ethylene terephthalate unit as a main constituent and has a glass transition temperature of 80.
The gist of the polyester fiber for a cushioning material is that it has a melting point of not lower than 150 ° C and a melting point of not lower than 150 ° C. The second invention comprises a copolyester having an ethylene terephthalate unit as a main constituent and has a glass transition temperature of 80.
Polyester fiber having a melting point of 150 ° C or higher and a melting point of 80 ° C or higher is spot-bonded, and the thickness is 5 mm or higher and the density is 0.01 g / cm ³ or higher. The gist is the characteristic polyester solid cotton for cushion material.

Next, the present invention will be described in detail. In order to obtain the object of the present invention to obtain a polyester cushion material which is hard to settle, the glass transition temperature of the copolymerized polyester, which is the material of the main constituent fibers, is 80 ° C. or higher and the melting point is 150.
It is necessary to be ℃ or more.

When the glass transition temperature is lower than 80 ° C., the cushion material is liable to be fragile when subjected to a load in a high temperature atmosphere, which is not preferable for the purpose of the present invention. In the cushioning material made of the polyester fiber of the present invention, the glass transition temperature of the copolyester constituting the same is the glass transition temperature of ordinary polyethylene terephthalate (about 70 ° C.).
It is higher and is less likely to be permanently deformed even when subjected to a load in a high temperature atmosphere, and is unlikely to cause sag.

When the melting point is less than 150 ° C., it is difficult to heat-set during fiber production or cotton production, and the physical properties of the fiber are unstable, which is not practical.

In order to obtain a copolyester having a glass transition temperature higher than that of ordinary polyethylene terephthalate, ethylene terephthalate units are the main constituents, preferably 70 mol% or more of the constituents are ethylene terephthalate units, and the molecular structure is bulky. It is only necessary to copolymerize a dicarboxylic acid or diol component having a structure that is high and difficult to move. Examples of such a copolymerization component include aromatic or alicyclic diols, dicarboxylic acids or nuclear substitution products of these compounds such as bisphenol S (hereinafter referred to as Bis-S), naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, cyclohexanedimethanol. Alternatively, compounds in which these are substituted with an alkyl group, a phenyl group, a halogen group, and the like are included.

When the copolymerization rate of these copolymerization components becomes high, the non-crystallinity becomes high, the melting point is lowered, and the productivity at the time of fiber production is deteriorated. Therefore, the copolymerization rate is set to about 30 mol% or less. Is preferred.

The copolymerized polyester in the present invention includes
As long as the range of the object of the present invention is not impaired, if necessary,
Adipic acid, sebacic acid, 1,4-butanediol,
Other auxiliary materials such as 1,6-hexanediol, diethylene glycol and polyethylene glycol may be copolymerized, and various additives may be contained.

The constituent components of the monomers constituting the copolyester used in the present invention and the copolymerization ratio thereof can be selected in a wide range, but in consideration of economical efficiency, versatility, physical properties, etc. preferable. That is, the ethylene terephthalate unit is 70 to 95 mol%, preferably 80.
~ 93 mol%, and Bis-S ethylene oxide adduct and terephthalic acid or ethylene glycol 1,4
It is a copolyester obtained by copolymerizing an ester unit of naphthalenedicarboxylic acid or ethylene glycol and 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid in an amount of 5 to 30 mol%, preferably 7 to 20 mol%.

Next, an example of the method for producing the copolyester used in the present invention will be specifically described. To bis (β-hydroxyethyl terephthalate) obtained by the esterification reaction of terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol and its oligomer, a 2-mol ethylene oxide adduct of Bis-S (hereinafter referred to as Bis-S2EO) and terephthalic acid are added, and the viscosity of 200- The esterification reaction is carried out at 260 ° C. for 1 to 4 hours under an inert atmosphere such as nitrogen gas. The obtained esterified product is transferred to a polymerization reaction vessel and subjected to a polycondensation reaction at a temperature of 200 to 280 ° C. for 0.5 to 5 hours under a reduced pressure of 1 Torr or less. After polycondensation until the desired intrinsic viscosity is reached, the pressure is returned to normal pressure with nitrogen gas, pressure is applied to dispense the polyester in the form of a tex, and after cooling, cutting is performed to obtain a chip-shaped copolyester.

The polycondensation reaction is usually carried out in the presence of a catalyst, and as the polycondensation reaction catalyst, antimony, germanium, tin, which are generally used in the production of polyesters,
Compounds of metals such as titanium and cobalt, and organic sulfonic acid compounds of sulfosalicylic acid and o-sulfobenzoic anhydride are used. The polycondensation reaction catalyst may be added in advance in the esterification step.

The polyester fiber of the present invention may be manufactured by the same method as that for a general-purpose polyester fiber. Manufacturing conditions vary depending on the physical properties of the copolyester used,
Generally, the conventional technology can be followed. That is, a general-purpose spinning device may be used for spinning. In addition, during spinning, a stabilizer, a fluorescent agent, a pigment, and a reinforcing material may coexist. The cross-sectional shape of the fiber may be a round cross-section, a flat shape, a hexalobal shape, a W-shape, a triangular cross-section or the like, or a hollow cross-section.

The spun fiber is cut into short fibers after stretching, heat treatment and crimping, if necessary, continuously or in a separate step. The fineness is not particularly limited and may be determined according to the required characteristics depending on the application, but generally 2 to 200
Denier ones are used. The polyester fiber for cushioning material of the present invention can be used as a cushioning material through a predetermined sewing process by forming a web by itself, making it a cotton wool through steps such as needling, and the second invention of the present invention. As described above, it is desirable to use it as a cotton wool by mixing it with the heat fusion fiber.

The polyester cotton according to the second aspect of the present invention is
The polyester fiber for the cushion material and the heat-sealing fiber are mixed at a ratio determined by the application or the required characteristics, and after forming a web with a carding machine, the heat-sealing component is melted through a heat treatment device. It can be obtained by spot-bonding polyester fibers for cushion materials.

The heat-fusible fiber which is another constituent element of the polyester cotton wool of the second invention of the present invention has a polymer having a melting point of 80 ° C. or higher as a binder component. Such heat-fusible fiber may be any one as long as it is made of a polymer having a melting point of about 10 ° C. or more lower than that of the polyester fiber for the cushion material, which is the main component, and may be olefin-based such as polyethylene or polypropylene, polyamide-based or polyester-based. The heat-bonding fibers of are preferred. Among them, polyethylene terephthalate or polybutylene terephthalate is copolymerized with isophthalic acid, adipic acid, diethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,9-nonanediol, or the like, or a polyester copolymer or polyethylene glycol, A polyester elastomer-based heat-sealing fiber obtained by copolymerizing polytetramethylene glycol or the like is more preferable.

Examples of the heat-sealing fibers include monocomponent fibers composed of only the above-mentioned polymer and core-sheath type, side-by-side type, sea-island type, split fiber in which the polymer forms all or part of the surface of the single fiber. Examples include composite fibers such as molds. Among these, the core-sheath composite fibers made of polyethylene terephthalate as the core and a copolyester or copolyester ether elastomer with good crystallinity having a melting point of 80 ° C. or higher are preferred from the viewpoints of non-fatigue and soft feeling. More preferable. The fineness of the heat-sealing fiber is not limited, but 2-100 denier is suitable.

The proportion of the heat-fusible fiber used in the second invention of the present invention may be 10 to 70% of the whole cotton wool, but it can be changed depending on the characteristics required by the application. Further, the needling process may be performed after the mixed cotton is formed and before the heat treatment. As the heat treatment apparatus, a hot air circulation dryer, a hot air once-through dryer, a saxion drum dryer, a Yankee drum dryer, or the like is used, and the treatment may be performed by selecting the treatment temperature and the treatment time according to the melting point of the heat-sealing fiber.

The polyester cotton according to the second aspect of the present invention is
In order to maintain its cushioning property, the thickness needs to be 5 mm or more. The upper limit is not particularly limited, but manufacturing equipment,
From the viewpoint of manufacturing cost and ease of use, about 150 mm is preferable. The density of the polyester cotton of the present invention is 0.0
It should be 1 g / cm ³ or more. Density is 0.01g / cm
If it is less than ^3, it tends to get tired by repeated compression,
Inappropriate. The upper limit of the density is not specified because it differs depending on the required degree of cushioning property depending on the application.
From the viewpoint of manufacturing cost and the like, it is preferably 0.1 g / cm ³ or less. In order to control the thickness and density of the polyester cotton wool of the second invention of the present invention, the weight of the web before heat treatment is appropriately selected in consideration of the area shrinkage of the web by heat treatment, and the thickness control roll is set in the heat treatment device. , Or a web sandwiched between plates or wire nets having spacers of a predetermined thickness sandwiched between them for heat treatment.

[0023]

[Function] The polyester fiber for cushion material of the present invention is
It is hard to get tired of repeated compression, and
Since this polyester has a glass transition temperature of 80 ° C. or higher, it is less likely to get tired when used under pressure in a high temperature atmosphere of, for example, 70 to 80 ° C. Further, the cotton wool of the second invention of the present invention has a high melting point, and has a thickness and a density of a certain level or more, so that it is hard to sag in a high temperature atmosphere, and at the same time, it can be made into a cushioning material having an excellent cushioning property.

[0024]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The methods for evaluating various physical properties described in the present invention are as follows. (1) Intrinsic Viscosity Using an equal weight mixture of phenol and ethane tetrachloride as a solvent,
It was measured at a sample concentration of 0.5 g / dl and a temperature of 20 ° C. (2) Melting point A differential scanning calorimeter DSC-2 type manufactured by Perkin Elmer was used, and the melting point was measured at a temperature rising rate of 20 ° C./min. (3) Fineness: JIS L-1015 7 ・ 5.1
It was measured by the method A. (4) Strength and elongation: JIS L-1015 7.7
Was measured by the method.

(5) Settling resistance during repeated compression After measuring the thickness of the polyester cushion material, a test piece (10 cm × 10 cm) is sandwiched between parallel plane plates and a load of 15 kg is applied at 60 times per minute. Thickness was measured after a total of 50,000 repeated compression tests.
(%) Was calculated and used as a measure of fatigue resistance. The larger the value of C, the less likely it is to get tired.

(6) Settling resistance under high temperature atmosphere After measuring the thickness of the polyester cushion material, a test piece (10 cm x 10 cm) is sandwiched between parallel plane plates and compressed and fixed to 50% of the original thickness. And put it in a constant temperature bath at a temperature of 70 ° C.
After leaving it for 6 hours, it is taken out, removed from the plane-parallel plate and left for 30 minutes at room temperature, and its thickness is measured. The bulkiness retention rate Cp (%) under a high temperature atmosphere was calculated by the following formula and used as a measure of sag resistance.

Production Example Bis-S2E was added to 45.0 kg of bis (β-hydroxyethyl terephthalate) and its oligomer obtained by the esterification reaction of terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol.
O (8.8 kg), terephthalic acid (4.3 kg) and tetrabutyl titanate (26 g) as a catalyst were added, and the esterification reaction was carried out at 250 ° C. under nitrogen gas pressure suppression of 3.6 kg / cm ² for 2 hours. The obtained esterified product was transferred to a polycondensation reactor,
A polycondensation reaction was carried out at 0.4 torr for 3 hours to obtain a copolyester (A).

Bi of the obtained copolyester (A)
The copolymerization amount of s-S units was 10 mol%. The obtained copolyester (A) has a glass transition temperature of 85 ° C.,
The melting point was 237 ° C. and the intrinsic viscosity was 0.70.

Polyethylene terephthalate having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.72 was prepared in the same manner as the above-described method for producing a copolyester except that 8.8 kg of Bis-S2EO and 4.3 kg of terephthalic acid added at the same time were not added. A (PET) chip was obtained.

Example 1 The copolyester (A) obtained in the production example was spun, stretched and crimped at 170 ° C. by an ordinary method for producing a hollow fiber.
Dry heat set with and cut, fineness 6d, fiber length 51
mm, the single yarn strength was 3.8 g / d, and the single yarn elongation was 58% to obtain short fibers. After passing these short fibers through a carding machine, stack them with a cross-lapper to make a web with a basis weight of 600 g / m ² , pass through a needle locker room having needles with barbs, and needling at a needle density of 240 needles / cm ² . Was done. Further, this web was wrapped in a polyethylene bag so as to have a thickness of 20 mm to obtain a cushion material.

As a result of evaluating the cushioning property of this cushioning material, C = 93% and Cp = 89%, and the sag resistance during repeated compression and in a high temperature atmosphere was also good.

Example 2 In the production example, the amount of Bis-S2EO added was 19.8 k.
g, terephthalic acid was added in the same manner as in Production Example except that the addition amount was 9.7 kg, and the copolymerization amount of Bis-S unit was 20 mol%, the glass transition point was 93 ° C., the melting point was 207 ° C., and the intrinsic viscosity was 0. .
A copolyester (B) having 70 was obtained.

This copolymerized polyester (B) was used in Example 1
When a cushion material was made in the same manner as above and the sag resistance during repeated compression and in a high temperature atmosphere was measured, the results were both good.

Example 3 In the production example, the amount of Bis-S2EO added was 33.9 k.
g, terephthalic acid was added in the same manner as in Production Example except that the addition amount was 16.6 kg.
Mol%, glass transition point 98 ° C, melting point 189 ° C, intrinsic viscosity
A copolyester (C) having 0.70 was obtained.

This copolymerized polyester (C) was used in Example 1
When a cushion material was made in the same manner as above and the sag resistance during repeated compression and in a high temperature atmosphere was measured, the results were both good.

Comparative Example 1 A cushion material was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that PET having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.72 obtained in Production Example was used. This cushion material had insufficient sag resistance during repeated compression and in a high temperature atmosphere.

Comparative Example 2 In the production example, the amount of Bis-S2EO added was 19.8 k.
g, terephthalic acid was added in an amount of 16.6 kg, and diethylene glycol was added in an amount of 2.8 kg. A copolymerized polyester (D) having an amount of 10 mol%, a glass transition point of 81 ° C., a melting point of 148 ° C. and an intrinsic viscosity of 0.68 was obtained.

Using this copolymerized polyester (D), spinning and drawing were carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the drying and heat setting temperatures were lowered to 150 ° C., and the fusion of the obtained cotton fibers was severe. I couldn't use it as a cushion material.

Example 4 In the Preparation Example, Bis-S2EO was not added, and 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid 5.6 was used instead of terephthalic acid.
Except for adding kg, carry out in the same manner as in Production Example,
Copolymerization amount of 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid 10 mol%, glass transition point 82 ° C., melting point 232 ° C., intrinsic viscosity 0.6
A copolyester (E) having 9 was obtained.

This copolymerized polyester (E) was used in Example 1
When a cushion material was made in the same manner as above and the sag resistance during repeated compression and in a high temperature atmosphere was measured, the results were both good.

Table 1 collectively shows the results of Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2.

[0042]

[Table 1]

Example 5 The staple fiber obtained in Example 1 and PET are used as core components, and terephthalic acid and 1,4-butanediol / 1,6-hexanediol (molar ratio 68/32) as constituent components. A polyester-based heat-sealing fiber having a core / sheath weight ratio of 50/50 with a copolyester having a melting point of 170 ° C. as a sheath component (strength 5.3.
g / d, elongation 52%, fineness 2 denier, cutting length 51mm) 8
After mixing with a weight ratio of 0:20, passing through a carding machine, laminating with a cross-lapper to make a web with a basis weight of 600 g / m ² ,
The needle was passed through a needle locker room having needles with barbs, and needling was performed at a needle density of 240 needles / cm ² . Further, this web was put between wire nets having a spacer of 20 mm in thickness and heat-treated for 10 minutes in a hot-air circulating dryer at 180 ° C. while controlling the thickness to obtain the solid of Example 5 having a thickness of 20 mm. Got cotton.

Examples 6 to 8 As shown in Table 2, the kind of polyester as the heat-sealing component of the sheath component of the polyester-based heat-sealing fiber in Example 5 is as shown in Table 2, and the dicarboxylic acid component (terephthalic acid: PA, adipic acid) is used. : AA) and glycol component (1,4-butanediol: BD,
(1,9-nonanediol: ND, 1,6-hexanediol: HD)
Cottons of Examples 6 to 8 were obtained in the same manner as in Example 5 except that the polyester was changed in combination with and the web heat treatment temperature was set to the conditions shown in Table 2. Table 2 also shows the evaluation results of the cushioning properties of Examples 5 to 8.

[0045]

[Table 2]

With regard to the cotton wool of Examples 5 to 8, the measurement results of the sag resistance during repeated compression and in a high temperature atmosphere were both good.

Examples 9 to 10 and Comparative Examples 3 to 4 In Example 5, the thickness of the spacer that regulates the thickness during the heat treatment was changed to 20 mm to be 7 mm, 35 mm and 55 mm (respectively Example 9, 10 and Comparative Example 3), and the weight of the web before heat treatment is changed from 600 g / m ² to 120 g / m ² and the thickness of the spacer that regulates the thickness during heat treatment is changed from 20 mm to 4 mm. Cotton wool of Examples 9 to 10 and Comparative Examples 3 to 4 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 5 except that (Comparative Example 4). Table 3 shows the evaluation results of the thickness, density, feeling and sag resistance of the cotton wool of Examples 9 to 10 and Comparative Examples 3 to 4.

[0048]

[Table 3]

Although Examples 9 and 10 had satisfactory texture and sag resistance as cotton wool, Comparative Example 3 in which the density of cotton wool was low was easily sagging.
Further, in the case of Comparative Example 4 having an insufficient thickness, there was a feeling of flooring and it was not satisfactory as a cushion material.

[0050]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION The polyester fiber and cotton of the present invention are resistant to fatigue due to repeated compression and compression in a high temperature atmosphere. Therefore, for example, when it is used as a cotton stuffing for cushions, it absorbs impact and is comfortable to sit on forever. Further, since it does not easily sag over time and has a certain thickness or more, it has no floor feeling, and is suitable as a cotton pad or bed for furniture, a cushion material for automobile seats, and a mattress.

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display area D04H 1/54 B 7199-3B

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A polyester fiber for cushion material, comprising a copolyester mainly composed of ethylene terephthalate units, having a glass transition temperature of 80 ° C. or higher and a melting point of 150 ° C. or higher. 2. A polyester fiber comprising a copolyester mainly composed of ethylene terephthalate units and having a glass transition temperature of 80 ° C. or higher and a melting point of 150 ° C. or higher is a heat fusion fiber having a melting point of 80 ° C. or higher. Polyester cotton for cushion material, which is joined, has a thickness of 5 mm or more, and has a density of 0.01 g / cm ³ or more.