JPS6028564A - Production of nonwoven fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for producing a nonwoven fabric using absorbent cotton strips as a raw material.

Conventionally, nonwoven fabrics have been provided that have been pressed using pulverized pulp or synthetic fibers, such as rayon or polyester. However, when using the pulverized pulp mentioned above, a binder must be used to adhere the pulp. In addition, the above-mentioned non-woven fabrics are often sold as products that come into direct contact with the human body, such as sanitary products and diapers, so it is necessary to consider the negative effects of the above-mentioned binders and synthetic fibers on the human body. was there.

Therefore, in recent years, nonwoven fabrics made from natural fibers, mainly absorbent cotton obtained by defatting cotton, have been provided in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks.

That is, the above-mentioned absorbent cotton is flattened and compressed with a roller or the like to be processed into a cloth-like shape, or alternatively, in addition to being simply compressed, for example, an embossing method is applied at the same time, or furthermore, ironing is added. In some cases.

However, since the above-mentioned absorbent cotton is purified cotton, it has the disadvantage that it easily expands even if it is compressed, embossed, or ironed into a non-woven fabric. It may not be able to take full advantage of its advantages as a nonwoven fabric, that is, it takes up less space to store and carry than absorbent cotton, and it also has the disadvantage that its water and moisture absorption performance is degraded.

The method of the present invention is intended to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages and to provide a nonwoven fabric that is more comfortable to the touch than conventional products.

The method of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the method of the present invention, in which 1 is an absorbent cotton band as a raw material, 2 is a steam injection process, 3 is an embossing process, and 4 is an embossing process. Indicates non-woven fabric.

It is usually preferable to use pure cotton for the absorbent cotton band l, but
Depending on the case, it is also possible to use a blended cotton containing waste cotton, cotton cloth, fibers, etc., and in this way, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost.

As mentioned above, since the absorbent cotton belt 1 is a refined product, the entanglement between the fibers is not sufficient, and when the absorbent cotton belt 1 is subjected to compression processing in the embossing step 3, , the nonwoven fabric sent out from the embossing step 3 is easily expandable as in the conventional case.

Therefore, in the method of the present invention, the steam injection step 2 is provided immediately before the embossing step 3, and the absorbent cotton band is
The absorbent cotton strip 1 is humidified and heated by injecting steam to the absorbent cotton strip 1, and then sent to the embossing process 3.

The above-mentioned steam injection step 2 is constituted by a steam injection means disposed above the feed path W of the absorbent cotton strip 1 as shown in FIG. 2, and a steam injection machine 21. 21 has a large number of minute nozzles 22 perpendicular to the feed path W, which ejects steam vertically over the entire width of the absorbent cotton band 1 moving on the upper surface of the feed path W, and further includes the steam injector 21. A feeding space 23 for the absorbent cotton band 1 is provided between the feeding path W and the feeding path W.

The structure of the steam injector 21 is free; for example, it may be installed integrally with the feed path W instead of above the feed path W, or the upper radius nozzle 22 may be a fine elongated hole. .

Therefore, in the steam injection step 21, the absorbent cotton strip 1 is humidified and heated beforehand and then sent to the embossing step 3.

The embossing step 3 includes, for example, a pair of pressure rollers 31 and 32 provided above and below in a position where the humidifying and heating state of the absorbent cotton band 1 is not lost on the feeding path W, and The configuration is such that one or both of the pressure rollers 31 and 32 is formed by an embossing roller.

The pressure rollers 31 and 32 have a suppressing strength of 5 to 9.
The upper roller 31 may be configured as an enforcing roller having a large number of dot-like protrusions, so that the upper roller 31 can be freely set in the range of /- to 40 Kg/cfA.
As shown in the figure, it is possible to produce a nonwoven fabric 4 having a large number of minute dot-shaped recesses 41 on only one side, and these four parts 41 are separated by protrusions 42.

Further, together with the upper roller 31, the upper H lower roller 3
If 2 is also constructed as an embossing roller, it is possible to produce a nonwoven fabric 4 having a large number of dotted four portions 41 on both sides of the nonwoven fabric 4, as shown in FIG.

The size of the above-mentioned dot-shaped recess 41 is usually a bottle point recess with a diameter of about 0.3 nm, and a polygonal recess, for example, a tortoiseshell recess with a diameter of Q, about 5 tnm.
The size of 1 can be freely selected depending on the purpose of use of the nonwoven fabric 4 and other conditions, and is preferably selected between about 0.1 and 2.

Furthermore, the protrusions of the embossing roller can be formed linearly. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the recesses 41' are formed as fine linear recesses, while the protrusions 42
′ is formed into a point-like protrusion.

In this way, the absorbent cotton strip 1 is humidified and heated in the steam injection step 2 and then processed into the nonwoven fabric 4 through the embossing step 3. In the method of the present invention, the pressure rollers 31 and 32 are For example, a steel roller is used, and if desired, a heating means is provided on the steel roller, so that the pressure roller 31.32 is heated to a temperature of 30°C to 180°C, preferably 80°C to 120°C.
may be heated, thereby embossing the absorbent cotton band 1 while heating it.

Therefore, the absorbent cotton strip 1 is compressed by pressure rollers 31 and 32 in addition to being humidified and heated by steam, so that it is subjected to a so-called ironing process and processed into a nonwoven fabric 4 that has a high compression effect, that is, does not easily expand.

In addition, when heating the pressure rollers 31 and 32,
Since the absorbent cotton band 1 has already been heated in the steam injection step 2, it is sufficient to heat the heating temperature to a low temperature within the above-mentioned appropriate temperature range. Although only one side may be heated, heating both pressure rollers as in the embodiment has the advantage of increasing the effect of ironing.

Furthermore, when embossing the above-mentioned bottle point type recesses on the nonwoven fabric 4, one roller is used as an embossing roller, while the other roller is made of heat resistant and soft material, such as a roller made of paper or the like. It is desirable to do this, and in this way, the embossing projections can be passed through the absorbent cotton band 1 to form a mesh-like nonwoven fabric 4.

The non-woven fabric 4 has a thickness of 10% to 10% compared to the absorbent cotton strip 1 used as the raw material, and furthermore, although its volume is small before use, it increases its volume when it absorbs water, so it is suitable for packaging. Convenient for transportation and storage.

In the nonwoven fabric 4, since the fibers are tightly entangled in the recesses 41, 41', the protrusions 42, 42', in which the fibers are relatively loosely entangled, first absorb moisture and water during use. death,
These protrusions 42, 42''lJ) and the recesses 41, 41'
The water absorption performance is also extremely good due to the force that is thought to cause water to permeate through capillary action.

Since the method of the present invention uses steam heating and embossing in combination, it is possible to significantly reduce the compressive force required for embossing, that is, the pressure of the embossing roller, and therefore, it is possible to significantly reduce equipment costs and energy costs. There is an effect called.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration explaining the method of the present invention, the second factor is a front view showing an embodiment of a steam injection machine as a steam injection means used in the steam injection step of the above method, and Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the method of the invention. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are perspective views showing a portion of the nonwoven fabric manufactured above, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a portion showing another example of the nonwoven fabric fabricated above. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a part of still another embodiment of the same nonwoven fabric. In the figure, 1 is an absorbent cotton band, 2 is a steam injection process, 21 is a steam injection machine as a steam injection means, 3 is an embossing process, 31.32 is a pressure roller, 4 is a nonwoven fabric, 41
, 41' indicate a recess, and 42, 42' indicate a protrusion, respectively. Patent Applicant: Kusan Sangyo Co., Ltd. Agent: Makoto Matsuda Department Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A steam injection process in which the absorbent cotton band is heated by a steam injection means, and an embossing process in which the absorbent cotton band is compressed into a flat cloth shape by a pair of upper and lower pressing rollers immediately after the steam injection process, , at least one of the pair of pressing rollers is formed into an embossing roller having dot-like or linear protrusions, and the absorbent cotton band is embossed with steam heating with the embossing roller to form minute dot-like or fine line-like protrusions. 1. A method for producing a nonwoven fabric, characterized in that the fabric is configured to form a large number of concave portions.