JP2992435B2 - Method and apparatus for integral compression molding of fibrous cushion member - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for compression molding raw material fibers as a cushion member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a cushion material, a foamed synthetic resin is generally used, which is injected into a predetermined mold, foamed and molded. However, this foam synthetic resin cushion member not only has a drawback of generating toxic gas at the time of incineration, but also has a poor elasticity, and has a drawback of causing a so-called "sag" in long-term use.
There are problems such as poor moisture permeability and moisture absorption, and the necessity of chlorofluorocarbon gas during cushion molding.

For this reason, recently, Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-18183
The production of a cushion member made of a fiber material as disclosed in the above-mentioned publication has been attempted. This is a method in which a fiber melted by heating and a non-molten fiber are mixed and compression-molded into a predetermined shape, and by heating this, the molten fiber becomes a binding material to form a cushion member having a predetermined shape. It has characteristics excellent in breathability and hygroscopicity.

[0004]

However, conventionally, two or more types of short fibers for cushioning material are folded and laminated on a web which has been carded in a certain direction by a carding machine in a conventional spinning process. However, even if it is compressed as it is, the density becomes uneven, and the corners cannot obtain sufficient elasticity,
Further, depending on the manufacturing method, the directions of the fibers are aligned in the front-rear and left-right directions (X, Y directions) in the horizontal direction, and few fibers are directed in the vertical direction (Z direction) required for elasticity, and thus have poor elasticity. There are problems such as loss of restoring power during long-term use, and so-called "sagging". Moreover, in this manufacturing method, it is difficult to form the surface into an irregular shape. For this purpose, usually, a means for first forming a block shape and cutting the surface into a predetermined uneven shape is employed. However, this method requires a lot of time and effort to manufacture, and has problems such as reduced smoothness of the cut surface and poor elasticity.

In view of the above, the present invention efficiently mixes the supplied short fibers both in the front-rear and left-right directions (X and Y directions) and in the up-down direction (Z direction) and has irregularities on the surface. It is an object of the present invention to provide a molding method capable of accurately and easily molding a shape in one step.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a molding method in which the density of the storage fiber layer is partially selected and a difference in flexibility is partially generated.

A first aspect of the present invention for a method for integrally compressing and forming a fibrous cushion member to achieve the above object is to open and mix at least two types of raw fibers and to transport the fibers randomly by air flow. Then, this is supplied onto the air-permeable mold, and is sucked from below the mold to accumulate a predetermined amount on the mold, which is compressed by the upper mold to a predetermined thickness,
The gist of the present invention is to transfer to the heating means together with the upper and lower molds and perform heat molding.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the air-permeable mold has irregularities, and a ventilation resistance is selected in accordance with the irregularities, and the amount of the raw material fiber supplied is adjusted in accordance with the irregularities. The gist of the present invention is to provide a uniform cotton density over the entire surface by compression using an upper mold.

In a third aspect of the present invention, the airflow resistance of a required portion of the air-permeable mold is selected, the amount of the raw material fiber accumulated in the portion is adjusted, and the accumulated cotton density of the required portion is increased by pressurizing the upper mold. The main point is to make this different from other places.

A fourth aspect of the present invention provides an opening mechanism for opening and mixing at least two types of raw fibers, a supply mechanism for transporting the opened raw fibers, and a compression mechanism for receiving and compressing the raw fibers. The compression mechanism comprises a bowl-shaped air-permeable lower mold removably attached to the main housing, and a pressurized removably mounted upper mold for compressing the accumulated raw material fibers of the air-permeable lower mold. And a cylinder, and the breathable lower formwork is
The gist of the present invention is that it has a porous structure that allows the outflow of the conveying air flow but prevents the discharge of the raw material fibers, and that a suction mechanism is provided below the lower mold.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is that the air-permeable lower mold has a predetermined unevenness, and the cotton density at a required portion can be set by changing the diameter of the flow hole at the bottom according to the unevenness. It is assumed that.

[0011]

[Operation] The spread mixed fibers supplied into the air-permeable mold are attached and accumulated along the inner surface of the air-permeable mold by suction. Accordingly, by supplying this to the heating means together with the upper and lower molds and heating it, it is formed into a shape having irregularities along the upper and lower molds.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 to FIG. 6 are overall schematic explanatory views of a fibrous cushion member integrated compression molding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus 1 mixes two or more types of raw fibers by an appropriate means by a mixing means (not shown) such as a cotton blender for opening and mixing, and spreads the raw fibers transferred by an air flow. A conveying mechanism 3 having an opening mechanism 2 and a suction blower 4 for conveying the raw fibers spread by the opening mechanism 2 by air flow; and a compression molding mechanism 5 for receiving the transferred raw fibers and forming the raw fibers into a required shape. It is composed of
However, at least one of the raw material fibers is a low-melting-point thermoplastic fiber, and the other is a non-thermoplastic fiber exceeding the melting point of the low-melting-point fiber.

The opening mechanism 2 includes a reserve tank 10 for receiving raw fibers supplied together with an air flow from the mixing means.
And a feed roller 11 and a beater 12 provided at a lower outlet of the tank 10 and a nip roller 13 opposed to the beater. 14 is a guide wall for the beater 12, 15 is a duct for receiving the opened raw fibers, 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a beater driving motor. The opened raw fiber is transferred to the transfer mechanism 3 via the main duct 17 by the suction blower 4 of the transfer mechanism 3 via the receiving duct 15.

The transport mechanism 3 has a distribution mechanism 20 on the discharge side of the suction blower 4. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the distribution mechanism 20 includes a distribution pipe 22 connected to two branch ducts 21a and 21b, and a distribution member 24 disposed between the blower 4 and the distribution pipe 22. It should be noted that the blower 4 is a cotton-type blower that does not cause snagging or the like when the fiber is sucked. Branch ducts 21a and 21b are connected, and distribution member 2 is located below.
4 is connected. The distributing member 24 includes a rotatable curved tube 25, the lower portion of which is located on the axis of rotation, the upper portion of which is displaced and coincides with one axis of the branch pipe, and a driving motor via a gear member 26. The lower portion is always held on the same axis as the outlet of the blower 4. As a result, the rotation of the curved pipe 25 is controlled by the branch duct 21 via the branch pipes 23a and 23b.
Raw fibers which are intermittently opened together with the carrier airflow are supplied to a and 21b.

The compression molding mechanism 5 includes an upper housing 30, a main housing 31 mounted below the lower housing, a lower housing 32 mounted below the upper housing 30, a mold frame 33 removably inserted into the main housing, Upper formwork 34 arranged opposite to formwork 33
And a cylinder 35 for elevating the upper mold frame 34. 36
Denotes a support frame that supports the mold frame 33 so that the mold frame 33 can be inserted and removed.
7b, the supply ports 37a and 37b are connected to the branch ducts 21a and 21b, respectively, and the lower housing 32
Is connected to the suction mechanism 38 by squeezing.

The mold frame 33 has a required concave and convex shape, a bowl shape formed with a flange portion 40 to be inserted into the support frame 36 at an upper portion, and a punching metal formed with a through hole 41 at a lower surface. However, the flow hole 41 has a portion that requires a large amount of supply cotton and a storage portion with a small supply cotton depending on the shape of the lower surface, and adjusts the flow resistance of the air according to these requirements. The bottom of the downwardly projecting portion 33a, which requires a large amount of accumulated cotton, has a relatively large diameter and a large number of circulation holes 41a to reduce the air flow resistance, and an upward direction in which less accumulated cotton is required. The flow holes 41b have a small diameter and a small number, and the flow resistance is large (see FIG. 5).

The main housing 31 is hinged on one side so as to open and close an opening / closing door 42, and a part 36a of the support frame 36 is also attached to the opening / closing door 42. Further, the main housing 31 is provided with holding means 45 for holding the position when the upper mold frame 34 is lowered to a predetermined position. The illustrated example comprises two bars 45a, 45b as holding means and a drive unit (not shown) for inserting and removing the bars, and penetrates one side of the housing 31 and one side of the mold frame 33 to form the mold frame. The structure which holds the bar front-end | tip by the receiving member 46 provided in the other side is shown.

Reference numeral 50 denotes the upper mold frame supporting member. The support member 50 is attached to the lower end of the elevating cylinder 35, and after the upper mold frame 34 is moved onto the mold frame 33 as described later, the support member 50 can be taken out from the main housing 31 together with the mold frame 33.
The upper frame 34 is detachably supported, and for example, an electromagnet may be used. The figure shows an example of a mechanical configuration, in which a square plate 51 attached to the lower end of a cylinder 35 and a receiving metal attached to the upper mold frame 34 by slidably supporting the square plate 51 in the lateral direction. 52, the upper mold frame 34 is moved down in the direction of the opening / closing door 42 together with the mold frame 33 in a state where the upper mold frame 34 is pressed down by the cylinder 35, and can be taken out.

In the above structure, two or more types of raw fibers (one of which is a low-melting thermoplastic fiber and the other is a non-thermoplastic fiber exceeding the melting point of the low-melting fiber) mixed by appropriate means are used. It mixes and supplies to the opening mechanism 2 by an air flow. The fiber opening mechanism 2 opens the fiber with the beater 12, and the suction blower 4 of the transport mechanism 3 through the main duct 17.
Is transported to the transport mechanism 3 by the suction action of. The raw fibers supplied to the transport mechanism 3 are alternately supplied to the branch ducts 21a and 21b by the rotation of the curved pipe 25 of the distribution member 24, and are alternately supplied to the supply ports 37a and 37b of the compression molding mechanism 5.

However, the supply to the compression molding mechanism 5 is not always supplied alternately from the supply ports on both sides. Depending on the size, shape, etc. of the compression molding mechanism 5, it may be supplied from only one side. In this case, the transport mechanism 3 is omitted, and the raw material fibers sent out by the suction blower 4 are directly supplied to the compression molding mechanism 5.

The housings 30, 31, and 3 of the compression molding mechanism 5
Inside 2 is subjected to the suction effect of the suction mechanism 38, and the supplied raw material fibers are adsorbed and accumulated on the mold 33. At this time, the form frame is formed with flow holes 41a and 41b so as to generate a difference in air flow resistance according to the shape as required, whereby, for example, the entire surface has a uniform density after compression heating according to the shape. To be accumulated. Then, the cylinder 35 is operated to lower the upper mold frame 34, press the accumulated cotton with a predetermined pressure, insert the bars 45a and 45b of the holding means 45, and hold the upper mold frame in a pressed state.

Next, the opening / closing door 42 is opened, and the upper frame 34 is taken out together with the frame 33 with the bars 45a and 45b of the holding means 45 inserted, that is, with the raw material fibers compressed and held.
Then, these are transferred to a heating means (not shown) in the next step and heated to form a fibrous cushion member having a predetermined shape.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment. This embodiment shows an example in which a mold 60 has a bottom in which a flow hole 61 is uniformly formed and the flow air resistance to a part of the bottom can be adjusted. The air flow resistance is made larger than other parts. For example, when it is required that the air flow resistance of the recess 60b of the mold 60 be larger than that of the protrusion 60a, the recess 60
b, a partition wall 62 is mounted, and an on-off valve 63 is mounted on the partition wall 62 so as to adjust the suction air pressure to the recess 60b. Other structures are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment. This embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the receiving box 70 is attached to the recessed portion 60b in which the air flow resistance is larger than that of the other portions.
A suction duct 71 is provided opposite to the suction duct 71, and suction is performed by a separate suction mechanism 72 on the recess 60b.
2 is adjusted appropriately. However, the receiving box 70 is connected to the formwork 60, is opposed to the suction duct 71 while maintaining airtightness, and can be taken out together with the formwork 60 as described above. Other components are the same as those of the above-described embodiments, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

In each of the above embodiments, the shape of the airflow resistance is such that the raw fibers supplied to the molds 33 and 60 according to their shapes accumulate so as to have a uniform density over the entire surface after compression heating. Although an example of adjusting according to is shown, the fibrous cushion member does not necessarily require uniform hardness on the entire surface,
The repulsion (elasticity) may be required to be partially softened. In this case, by regulating the air flow resistance of the mold in accordance with the location, the density of the accumulated cotton can be adjusted to a desired hardness.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, at least two kinds of mixed raw material fibers are opened and supplied to a compression molding mechanism by an air flow, and supplied to a permeable mold.
A predetermined amount is accumulated on the mold by sucking from below the mold,
Since this is compressed by the upper frame to have a predetermined thickness, the raw material fiber to be supplied is sucked and accumulated on the entire surface of the mold, so that even when the mold has a complicated shape, an accurate shape conforming to the shape is applied. Can be formed. In this case, the direction of orientation of the unit fibers is random in which fibers are mixed in the vertical direction as well as in the front-rear and left-right directions, and has elasticity and does not cause so-called "sagging" even when used for a long period of time. In addition, by adjusting the air flow resistance at required locations according to the shape of the air-permeable mold, the raw fibers can be adsorbed and accumulated at a uniform density over the entire surface of the mold. At this time, depending on the purpose of the fibrous cushion to be formed, by adjusting the airflow resistance at the required location, the density of the required location of the cushion is reduced from the density of other locations, and the amount of accumulated cotton such as increasing the soft taste is increased. It can also be partially adjusted arbitrarily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic overall explanatory view of an integrated compression molding apparatus for a fibrous cushion member of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a vertical sectional view of a transport mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of a compression molding mechanism for raw fiber.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a mold.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line YY in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment of the compression molding mechanism for raw fibers.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a third embodiment of the compression molding mechanism for raw fibers.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Integral compression molding apparatus of fibrous cushion member 2 Spreading mechanism 3 Transport mechanism 5 Compression molding mechanism 33 Mold 34 Upper mold 60 Mold

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kahide Aoyama 2-7-17 Kaminocho, Sakai-shi, Osaka (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) D04H 1/00-18/00

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] At least two kinds of raw fibers are opened and mixed, and the fibers are transported in a random direction by an air flow, supplied to an air-permeable mold, and sucked from below the mold to form the form. Accumulate a predetermined amount on the top, compress this with the upper mold to a predetermined thickness, and transfer it to the heating means together with the upper and lower molds,
An integral compression molding method for a fibrous cushion member, which is performed by heating. 2. The air-permeable mold has irregularities, the airflow resistance is selected in accordance with the irregularities, the amount of the supplied raw material fibers is adjusted in accordance with the irregularities, and compression is performed by the upper mold. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the whole surface has a uniform cotton density. 3. The ventilation resistance of a required portion of the permeable mold is selected, the amount of raw fiber accumulated in the portion is adjusted, and the accumulated cotton density of the required portion is compared with other portions by pressurizing the upper mold. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fibrous cushion member is integrally compressed. 4. An opening mechanism for opening and mixing at least two types of raw fibers, a supply mechanism for conveying the opened raw fibers, and a compression mechanism for receiving the raw fibers and compressing the raw fibers. The mechanism comprises a bowl-shaped breathable lower mold detachably attached to the main housing, and a pressurized cylinder detachably attached to an upper mold that compresses the accumulated raw material fibers of the breathable lower mold. The air-permeable lower mold has a porous structure that allows the outflow of the carrier airflow but prevents the discharge of the raw fiber,
A suction mechanism is provided below the lower mold, and the suction mechanism causes at least two types of opened and mixed raw material fibers to be adsorbed and accumulated on the lower mold, and the upper cylinder is lowered by the pressure cylinder to remove accumulated cotton. An integrated compression molding apparatus for a fibrous cushion member, comprising compressing and carrying out an upper mold frame together with a lower mold frame to a next step. 5. The air-permeable lower mold has a predetermined unevenness, and the cotton density at a required portion can be set by changing a diameter of a flow hole at a bottom according to the unevenness.
An integrated compression molding apparatus for the fibrous cushion member according to any one of the preceding claims.