JP2005212204A - Reinforcing material for molded foam - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reinforcing material for a molded foam having an excellent reinforcing effect in spite of a low weight basis and hard to cause the bleeding of a foamable resin. <P>SOLUTION: A short fiber layer, for example, a short fiber web is laminated at least on one side of a fibrous base material, for example, a spun bonded nonwoven fabric and the obtained laminate is subjected to high pressure water stream treatment to be integrated to obtain the reinforcing material for the molded foam with a basis weight of 50-100 g/m<SP>2</SP>. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a reinforcing material for foam molded articles, and more particularly to a reinforcing material for a cushion material for a seat for a vehicle seat.

  As cushion materials for vehicle seats and the like, foamed molded products such as soft foamed polyurethane are used. More specifically, in the foam molded product for the cushion material, when the surface opposite to the surface close to the person sitting on the seat is referred to as the bottom, the foam molded product reinforcement is integrated with the bottom. ing. Then, using the surface of the reinforcing material as an attachment surface, a foam molded product for the cushion material is attached to the vehicle using various fixtures and metal fittings. Further, in order to give elasticity to the cushion material, it is also carried out as necessary so that the spring contacts the reinforcing material.

Until now, what was comprised using the nonwoven fabric as a reinforcing material for foaming molded articles has been proposed. For example, the Patent Document 1 (Japanese Utility Model 62-26193 JP), integrating the bulky layer by a thin dense layer and the basis weight 40 to 100 g / ^{m 2} coarse a basis weight of 10 to 30 g / ^{m 2} nonwoven A reinforcing material base fabric for urethane foam molding of a vehicle sheet is shown. This base fabric has been proposed for the purpose of giving sufficient surface rigidity to the bottom of the foam molded product.

Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-57827) discloses a problem with the reinforcing material disclosed in Patent Document 1, in which a urethane resin liquid oozes out from the surface of the reinforcing material and is foam-cured, and this foam-cured polyurethane. Mentions that it generates noise when it comes into contact with the mounting bracket of the vehicle and that the surface rigidity cannot be sufficiently increased. And in order to solve these subjects, the base material layer which consists of a high fabric weight nonwoven fabric which is formed with the fiber of 3-20d of fiber diameters, and is a fabric weight of 100-800 g / m < ² >, and the fabric weight of 35-90 g / m < ² >. The reinforcement material for foam molded articles which has the reinforcement coating | covering material layer which consists of a low-weight nonwoven fabric of this is proposed.

Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-136651) also raises the problems of the reinforcing material described in Patent Document 1, and has a sufficient rigidity and a foam molding covering material that does not exude resin. Formed with fibers having a diameter of ^{2 to} 20d and a coarse and bulky base material layer having a basis weight of 40 to 70 g / m ² and fibers having a fiber diameter of 2 to 10d and having a basis weight of 40 to 80 g / m ² A foam molding coating material having a reinforcing coating material layer made of a thin and dense nonwoven fabric has been proposed.

Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-171002) is intended to prevent a decrease in rigidity and abnormal noise by blocking excessive urethane impregnation and filling when molding a urethane foam molded product. The layer in contact with the urethane foam is a dense nonwoven fabric having a basis weight of 20 to 100 g / m ² and a porosity of 87 to 91%, and the layer in contact with the coil spring or the like is bulky with a basis weight of 30 to 300 g / m ² and a porosity of 90 to 94%. It has proposed a reinforcing base fabric for urethane foam molding, characterized in that these are non-woven fabrics, which are laminated and integrated.

  Each of the reinforcing materials disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4 is a laminate in which two or more layers are integrated, and as a method of integration, a needle punch method, a method using an adhesive, and heat fusion The method of using clothes is listed.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-26193 JP-A-5-57827 JP-A-6-136651 JP-A-6-171002

  As a recent trend, in the vehicle manufacturing field, weight reduction of vehicles has been promoted. Accordingly, further weight reduction is required for various parts, and the reinforcing material for foam molded products is no exception. Specifically, it is required to further reduce the weight of the reinforcing material and contribute to the weight reduction of the vehicle. Reducing the basis weight of the reinforcing material is also demanded from the viewpoint of reducing the cost of the entire vehicle and improving the working environment when manufacturing the foam molded product. This is because, when a low-weight reinforcing material is used, the amount of fiber used is small, so that the cost of the reinforcing material can be reduced, and the generation amount of fiber waste scattered during the operation is reduced. Furthermore, a low basis weight reinforcing material is also desired from the viewpoint of improving the transportability and workability when attaching to a mold or the like when manufacturing a foam molded product.

In order to respond to such a request, the inventors use the needle punch method or the like so that the weight per each layer of the reinforcing material described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 is reduced and the overall weight is reduced. Manufactured. Incidentally, the minimum basis weight of the reinforcing material described in each of the above patent documents is 50 g / m ^{2 according} to Patent Document 1, 135 g / m ^{2 according} to Patent Document ² , and 80 g according to Patent Document 3. / M ² , which is described in Patent Document 4, and is 50 g / m ² . However, if the fabric weight is reduced and the reinforcing material is manufactured by the needle punching method, the strength of the reinforcing material decreases and the durability decreases due to the fact that the fiber itself is broken and punching holes are formed. There is a problem of doing. Also, the presence of the punching hole causes abnormal noise because the resin oozes out from the punching hole. On the other hand, when integrated using an adhesive, especially for low-weight reinforcing materials, when the foam molding resin is injected, the penetration of the resin into the reinforcing material is hindered by the adhesive that has entered the nonwoven fabric. There is a problem that the reinforcing effect by the reinforcing material is not sufficiently exhibited. That is, it has been substantially impossible to obtain a low-weight reinforcing material for foam molded articles by the methods described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 described above.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this situation, and makes it a subject to provide the reinforcement material for foam molded articles with the low fabric weight which shows the outstanding reinforcement function in which the oozing of a foaming resin does not produce easily.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a fibrous base material and a short fiber layer laminated on at least one surface of the fibrous base material, and the fibrous base material and the short fiber layer act as a high-pressure water stream. To provide a reinforcing material for a foamed molded product integrated. Here, the “fibrous base material” refers to a material having a sufficient strength to be provided as a product by itself in the form of a sheet at least before producing a reinforcing material for a foam molded article. “At least before manufacturing the reinforcing material for foam molded products”, the limitation is attached after the reinforcing material is manufactured and the entangled state with the fibers constituting the short fiber layer is released. This is because it may be difficult to take out only the base material as an independent sheet. Specifically, the fibrous base material is one or more sheet-like materials selected from a nonwoven fabric, a knitted fabric, a woven fabric, a net-like material, paper, and the like. In addition, the fibrous base material may be a sheet having voids and / or openings that are about the same as a fiber sheet, for example, as long as it can be entangled with short fibers. Often the term “quality” is used in that sense.

  The short fiber layer refers to a layer composed of fibers having a fiber length of 25 to 100 mm. The short fiber layer may take any form before it is entangled with the fibrous base material. Specifically, the short fiber layer may be a single layer or a plurality of layers selected from a fibrous web such as a parallel web, a random web, and a cross web, and a nonwoven fabric composed of short fibers.

  The reinforcing material for foam molded article of the present invention is characterized in that two layers are integrated by the action of a high-pressure water stream. Because of this feature, the reinforcing material of the present invention can have good mechanical strength (particularly tearing strength) and appropriate air permeability even when the overall basis weight is reduced. It is difficult for the ooze to occur. Furthermore, the reinforcing material of the present invention is provided in a state in which fibers that do not contribute to the integration (that is, fibers that are not entangled with any of the fibers) are washed away with water when integrated by a high-pressure water stream. Further, in the process of integrating with a high-pressure water stream, the fiber is difficult to be cut, and therefore, fiber waste hardly remains in the product. On the other hand, when integrated with a needle punch, the fibers are easily cut by the needle, and the cut fibers tend to remain in the product. Therefore, the reinforcing material of the present invention has an advantage that fiber waste is less likely to be produced when a foam-molded article is produced, compared to a case where the reinforcing material is integrated by a needle punch or the like.

  In the reinforcing material for foam molded article of the present invention, the fibrous base material preferably has a tear strength of 5 N / 50 mm or more in the lateral direction. The fibrous base material plays a role of ensuring the mechanical strength of the reinforcing material, and the tearing strength in the lateral direction of the fibrous base material is an index indicating the durability when the reinforcing material is in contact with another member. Therefore, when the tear strength in the lateral direction of the fibrous base material is set to 5 N / 50 mm or more, cracks are less likely to occur when the foam molded product integrated with the reinforcing material comes into contact with the vehicle spring and frame. .

The reinforcing material for foam molded article of the present invention uses a spunbond nonwoven fabric having a basis weight of 10 to 50 g / m ² as a fibrous base material, and forms a short fiber layer on one side or both sides of the fibrous base material. And it is preferable that the fibrous base material and the short fiber layer are integrated by the action of a high-pressure water flow. When the basis weight of the spunbond nonwoven fabric is less than 10 g / m ² , the foam molding resin liquid oozes out and foams and hardens on the surface, and the baked foam cured body and the vehicle fixture or metal fitting come into contact with each other. May cause abnormal noise. If the basis weight of the fibrous base material exceeds 50 g / m ² , the overall basis weight may increase and the intended purpose may not be achieved. In addition, if the basis weight of the fibrous base material is large, a high water pressure is required to integrate with the short fiber layer, resulting in poor workability. The cost of the fibrous base material itself is high, and the cost of the entire reinforcing material is high. There is a disadvantage that the fibrous base material itself becomes hard and the moldability is deteriorated.

  The reinforcing material for foam molded article of the present invention uses a net-like material as a fibrous base material, a short fiber layer on one side of the fibrous base material, and a fiber having an average fiber diameter of 10 μm or less on the other side. It is preferable that the ultrafine fiber layer is laminated and the fibrous base material, the short fiber layer, and the ultrafine fiber layer are integrated by the action of a high-pressure water stream. When the reinforcing material having such a structure is used so that the short fiber layer is in contact with the foam molded product, a part of the foamed resin penetrates into the short fiber layer and the foam molded product is moderately reinforced, and the dense ultrafine fiber layer Prevents exudation to the back side and prevents the amount of foam resin penetrating into the reinforcing material from excessively increasing, thereby preventing the tear strength and tensile strength of the entire foam molded product from being lowered. . In the reinforcing material having this configuration, the form of the ultrafine fiber layer before being integrated by the action of the high-pressure water flow is not particularly limited as long as the constituent fibers have the average fiber diameter. For example, the ultrafine fiber layer may be a meltblown nonwoven fabric or a short fiber web composed of split composite fibers that are split by the action of a high-pressure water stream to form ultrafine fibers. When the ultrafine fiber layer is a non-woven fabric such as a melt blown non-woven fabric before being integrated with the fibrous base material, it can be considered that the fibrous base material is composed of two layers of a net-like material and a non-woven fabric.

The reinforcing material for foam molded article of the present invention preferably has an overall basis weight in the range of 50 to 100 g / m ² . If the overall basis weight is less than 50 g / m ² , the resin may ooze out. When the overall basis weight exceeds 100 g / m ² , the basis weight is the same as that of the conventional one, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost and weight reduction, and the cost increases because the amount of fibers used as a whole increases. There is an inconvenience that fiber waste tends to be generated.

  The present invention also provides a method for producing the reinforcing material for foam-molded articles of the present invention, wherein a short fiber web is laminated on at least one surface of a fibrous base material, and a high-pressure water stream is jetted to short the fibrous base material. A method of integrating with a fibrous web is provided. Here, the “fiber web” means that the fibers are not entangled or in a loose entanglement state even if they are entangled, and the short fiber web means a fiber web having the fiber length described above. The short fiber web is one or more webs selected from card webs such as parallel webs, random webs, and cross webs, for example. The fiber base material and the short fiber web are entangled with the fibers constituting the short fiber web and the fibers constituting the fiber base material by the action of the high-pressure water flow. , Integrated.

  The present invention further provides a foam molded article obtained by laminating the reinforcing material for foam molded article of the present invention on a foam molded layer and integrating it. The foam-molded article is, for example, a cushion material for a vehicle seat, furniture, or office sheet, in which the foam-molded layer is polyurethane foam. In this foam-molded product, part of the foamed resin penetrates into the reinforcing material and foams, so that the reinforcement material and the foam-molded layer are integrated and the reinforcing effect by the reinforcing material is ensured.

  The reinforcing material for foam molded article of the present invention is dense as a whole because the fibrous base material and the short fiber layer are integrated by the action of high-pressure water flow, and mechanical strength is enhanced by the fibrous base material. Is secured. Therefore, the reinforcing material of the present invention hardly oozes out the foamed resin that causes abnormal noise even when the basis weight is reduced, and reinforces the foamed molded article well from the viewpoint of mechanical strength. This contributes to a reduction in vehicle weight and cost.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First form)
One of the preferred forms of the reinforcing material for foam molded article of the present invention is, as described above, a spunbonded nonwoven fabric having a basis weight of about 10 to 50 g / m ² as a fibrous base material, and one or both sides of the fibrous base material. A short fiber layer is laminated on each other and integrated by the action of a high-pressure water flow. In this reinforcing material, since the short fibers are filled in the gaps between the fibers of the spunbonded nonwoven fabric by the action of high-pressure water flow, the reinforcing material has a dense structure as a whole. However, it is possible to achieve the desired effect that the air permeability is small and the bleeding of the foamed resin is suppressed.

  In the spunbond nonwoven fabric, the fibers constituting the nonwoven fabric are oriented relatively in parallel in the surface direction of the nonwoven fabric, and the fibers arranged in the thickness direction have the function of moving (or guiding) the foamed resin in the thickness direction. Relatively few. With this configuration, the spunbonded nonwoven fabric is preferably used because it is excellent in the effect of suppressing the bleeding of the foamed resin in the surface direction. Furthermore, the short fiber is filled in the gaps between the fibers of the spunbonded nonwoven fabric, thereby promoting the effect of suppressing the seepage of the foamed resin in the surface direction.

  The spunbonded nonwoven fabric is preferably partially thermocompression bonded by heat, ultrasonic waves, high frequency or the like. By having the part (thermocompression bonding part) by which thermocompression bonding was carried out partially, a thermocompression bonding part becomes a film-like and the exudation suppression effect of the foamed resin in a surface direction is further promoted. In the spunbonded nonwoven fabric, the area ratio occupied by the thermocompression bonding portion is preferably 5 to 30%.

Basis weight of the spunbonded nonwoven fabric is more preferably 10 to 20 g / ^{m 2,} It is even more preferred that 10~18g / ^{m 2.} The spunbonded nonwoven fabric preferably has a tear strength of 5 N / 50 mm or more in the transverse direction. Here, the horizontal direction means a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction when the machine arrangement direction of the fiber base material production line (advancing direction of the manufactured fiber base material) is the vertical direction.

  More specifically, the spunbond nonwoven fabric used as the fibrous base material is a polyolefin fiber such as polypropylene and polyethylene having a fineness of 0.6 to 5 dtex, a polyester fiber such as polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate, and nylon 6 And a spunbonded nonwoven fabric composed of one or more kinds of fibers selected from polyamide fibers such as nylon 66 and acrylic fibers. Alternatively, the spunbonded nonwoven fabric may be composed of split-type conjugate fibers, core-sheath-type conjugate fibers, or parallel-type conjugate fibers that are spun using two or more of the exemplified resins. In the reinforcing material of the present invention, it is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of cost to use a spunbonded nonwoven fabric made of polypropylene fibers as the fibrous base material. Further, from the viewpoint of improving the flame resistance of the entire reinforcing material, it is preferable to use a spunbonded nonwoven fabric made of polyethylene terephthalate as the fibrous base material.

Spunbond nonwovens suitable for fibrous substrates are commercially available. For example, Stratec (trade name: 15 g / m ² per unit weight, material polypropylene, fineness 3 to 4 dtex) of Idemitsu Unitech Co., Ltd., ELTAS (trade name; 15 g / m ² per unit weight), material nylon 6, Asahi Kasei Fibers Co., Ltd. Fineness of 1.5 dtex) and Euree of Toyobo Co., Ltd. (trade name; basis weight 15 g / m ² , material polyethylene terephthalate, fineness 2 dtex) can be used as the fibrous base material.

If the short fiber layer is laminated on only one surface of the fibrous base material preferably has weight per unit area of the short fiber layer is 30~90g / ^{m 2,} and more preferably 40 to 60 g / ^{m 2.} If the short fiber layer is laminated on both surfaces of the fibrous base material, the basis weight of the short fiber layer is preferably from 10 to 60 g / ^{m 2,} and more preferably 15 to 50 g / ^{m 2.} If the basis weight of the short fiber layer is small, when the fiber base material is integrated with a high-pressure water stream, the voids of the fiber base material cannot be sufficiently filled with the short fibers, and the foamed resin oozes out. Sometimes. If the basis weight of the short fiber layer is large, the basis weight of the entire reinforcing material is increased, resulting in inconvenience that the desired effect cannot be obtained and the cost is increased.

  The form of the short fiber layer before being integrated with the fibrous base material is that there is no entanglement between the fibers or the degree of entanglement in consideration of the entanglement with the fibrous base material and the filling property to the gap of the fibrous base material. Is preferably a small fiber web. Or as long as the short fiber layer before integrating with a fibrous base material is entangled with a fibrous base material by a high-pressure water stream, other fibrous sheet-like materials, such as a nonwoven fabric, may be sufficient.

  The fineness of the fibers constituting the short fiber layer is not particularly limited, and may be about 0.6 to 15 dtex. Preferably, the short fiber layer preferably contains 30 mass% or more of fibers having a fineness of 2 dtex or less, and more preferably contains 50 mass% or more. Fibers having a fineness of 2 dtex or less may be mixed so as to be uniformly dispersed in the short fiber layer. Or you may comprise a short fiber layer as a laminated body of the layer containing the layer containing a fiber with a fineness of 2 dtex or less, and the layer which consists of a fiber with a large fineness. Alternatively, a short fiber layer may be formed by laminating two or more layers having different fineness of 2 dtex or less and different mixing ratios of fibers, for example, in the order of the mixing ratio. A fiber having such a small fineness improves the entanglement between the fibrous base material and the short fiber layer. The fiber having a small fineness may be, for example, an ultrafine fiber formed by dividing a split type composite fiber by a high-pressure water stream.

  More specifically, the short fiber layer is selected from natural fibers such as cotton, silk, and wool, regenerated fibers such as viscose rayon, cupra, and solvent-spun rayon, and synthetic fibers. Made of fiber. Examples of synthetic fibers include polyolefin fibers such as polypropylene and polyethylene, polyester fibers such as polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate, polyamide fibers such as nylon 6 and nylon 66, and acrylic fibers. When the short fiber layer includes a synthetic fiber, the synthetic fiber may be a single fiber, or a split-type composite fiber, a core-sheath-type composite fiber, or a parallel-type composite fiber formed by composite spinning of two or more resins. It may be.

  The short fiber layer is preferably made of polyethylene terephthalate fiber from the viewpoint of improving the flame resistance of the entire reinforcing material. Moreover, the short fiber layer which contains rayon fiber in the ratio of 10-50 mass% and the remainder consists of a synthetic fiber is also preferably used since rayon provides slow-flammability to a short fiber layer. Or the short fiber layer which contains the flame retardant fiber which added the flame retardant or consists only of a flame retardant fiber is also used preferably.

  The short fiber layer may also contain thermal adhesive fibers in a proportion of 50 mass% or less. Here, the heat-bondable fiber refers to a fiber that melts or softens when heated at a temperature of 100 to 200 ° C. and serves to join the fibers together. When a heat treatment is performed after integrating the fibrous base material and the short fiber layer by the action of a high-pressure water stream using a short fiber layer containing thermal adhesive fibers at a ratio of 50 mass% or less, Since the tearing strength is increased, durability against contact with a vehicle fixture or metal fitting is further improved. The heat-adhesive fiber is specifically composed of a low-melting-point component and a high-melting-point component, and the low-melting-point component is preferably a composite fiber that occupies at least a part of the fiber surface. / A composite fiber in which the combination of high melting point components is polyethylene / polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene / polypropylene, copolyester / polyethylene terephthalate, propylene copolymer / polypropylene.

  The short fiber layer laminated on one or both sides of the fibrous base material may be composed of two or more different short fiber layers. When the short fiber layer is composed of two or more layers, it is preferable that the basis weight is within the above range by considering all the layers as one layer. Regarding the ratio of the thin fibers and the ratio of the heat-fusible fibers, it is preferable that the ratio of the two or more layers when the two or more layers are regarded as one layer is within the above range.

  This first form also includes a form in which two or more spunbond nonwoven fabrics and short fiber layers that are fibrous base materials are alternately laminated, and a form in which two or more fibrous base materials are continuously laminated. . Since the reinforcing material in this form includes two or more fibrous base materials, the mechanical strength is further improved.

  Moreover, the form which further contains a net-like object as a fibrous base material is also contained in this 1st form. By further including the net-like material, the tensile strength and tear strength of the reinforcing material can be increased, so that durability in a state where the reinforcing material is in contact with a vehicle fixture or metal fitting is further improved. The net may be located between the spunbond nonwoven and the short fiber web, or between the short fiber web and the short fiber web. The reinforcing material including a net-like material is, for example, a laminate having a configuration of spunbond nonwoven fabric / short fiber web / net-like material / short fiber web. A specific configuration of the net-like object will be described in relation to the second embodiment.

  In the reinforcing material of the first embodiment, when one surface is the exposed surface of the fibrous base material and the other surface is the exposed surface of the short fiber layer, the surface that contacts the foamed resin of the reinforcing material (that is, the mold) The surface opposite to the surface in contact with the surface may be either the exposed surface of the fibrous base material or the exposed surface of the short fiber layer. This improves the workability of the foam molded product manufacturing in that it is not necessary to distinguish between the front surface and the back surface when using the reinforcing material of this form. However, when the reinforcing material of the first form is used so that the short fiber layer is in contact with the foamed resin, the amount of the resin penetrating into the reinforcing material increases, and as a result, a higher reinforcing effect may be obtained.

  The reinforcing material of the first form is subjected to high-pressure water flow treatment on a laminate obtained by laminating a fiber web that finally becomes a short fiber layer and a spunbond nonwoven fabric that is a fibrous base material in the reinforcing material, It is manufactured by integrating the short fiber layer and the fibrous base material. In the high-pressure water flow treatment, a columnar water flow having a water pressure of 1 to 10 MPa is applied to one or both sides of the laminate 1 to 4 times from a nozzle in which orifices having a hole diameter of 0.05 to 0.3 mm are provided at intervals of 0.5 to 15 mm. It is good to carry out by jetting one by one.

(Second form)
Another preferred embodiment of the reinforcing material for foam molded article of the present invention uses a net-like material as a fibrous base material as described above, a short fiber layer on one side of the fibrous base material, and the other side. Are laminated with an ultrafine fiber layer made of fibers having an average fiber diameter of 10 μm or less, and the fibrous base material, the short fiber layer, and the ultrafine fiber layer are integrated by the action of a high-pressure water stream. This form of reinforcing material differs from that of the first form in that only a net-like material is used as the fibrous base material.

The net-like material preferably has a basis weight of 5 to 30 g / m ² and has a mesh size (= net eye size) of about 3 mm × 3 mm to 15 mm × 15 mm. If the net weight is too large, the overall weight of the reinforcing material becomes large, and the intended purpose may not be achieved. The configuration of the net-like material is not particularly limited, and woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, films, nonwoven fabrics, and the like having the above-mentioned basis weight and mesh weight can be arbitrarily used as the net-like material. Although the material which comprises a net-like thing is not specifically limited, From the point of cost, it is preferable to consist of a synthetic resin. The example of the synthetic resin which comprises a net-like object is the same as what was mentioned previously as a material which comprises a spun bond nonwoven fabric.

Nets suitable for fibrous substrates are commercially available. For example, Nippon Steel Plast Co., Ltd. Conwed (trade name; basis weight 5 g / m ² , material polypropylene, mesh 8 mm × 8 mm) can be used as the fibrous base material.

In this embodiment, the basis weight of the short fiber layer is preferably 10 to 60 g / ^{m 2,} and more preferably 15 to 50 g / ^{m 2.} Since the fibers constituting the short fiber layer and other configurations are as described in connection with the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here.

  The ultrafine fiber layer is a layer composed of fibers having an average fiber diameter of 10 μm or less. Specifically, it is preferable that the ultrafine fiber layer is a melt-blown nonwoven fabric before being integrated with the fibrous base material. Alternatively, the ultrafine fiber layer may be a short fiber web or a spunbonded non-woven fabric composed of split-type composite fibers before being integrated with the fibrous base material, and the ultrafine fiber layer having the average fiber diameter by the action of a high-pressure water stream. It may be a layer in which fibers are formed.

Ultrafine fiber layer preferably has a basis weight of 10 to 40 g / ^{m 2.} If the basis weight of the ultrafine fiber layer is less than 10 g / m ² , the foam molding resin liquid may ooze out, and if it exceeds 40 g / m ² , the breathability of the reinforcing material may be reduced. In particular, when the form of the ultrafine fiber layer before being integrated with the fibrous base material is a melt blown nonwoven fabric, the basis weight is preferably 10 to 25 g / m ² . In the case of a melt blown nonwoven fabric, if the basis weight is large, it is more difficult to entangle the fibrous base material with a high-pressure water flow.

  Depending on the fineness of the fibers constituting the short fiber layer, the short fiber layer can be regarded as an ultrafine fiber layer. Therefore, in the reinforcing material of this embodiment, the ultrafine fiber layer is laminated on both surfaces of the fibrous base material. In some cases, the structure may be integrated. In such a case, it is preferable that any one of the layers has a basis weight in the above-described range. However, in the second embodiment, in order to facilitate the penetration of a part of the resin liquid for foam molding, the short fiber layer is a layer composed of fibers having an average fiber diameter larger than 10 μm (that is, an ultrafine layer). It is preferably not a fiber layer.

  The reinforcing material of the second form is manufactured in the same manner as the reinforcing material of the first form. Specifically, for example, the conditions described in the first embodiment are applied to a laminate obtained by laminating a melt-blown nonwoven fabric composed of a short fiber web, a net-like material, and ultrafine fibers in this order, and a high-pressure water flow Processing is performed to integrate the three layers.

  In the above, the reinforcing material of the form which uses a spun bond nonwoven fabric or a net-like material as a fibrous base material, and its manufacturing method were demonstrated. The reinforcing material of the present invention is not limited to these forms. For example, as the fibrous base material, a knitted fabric or a woven fabric may be used instead of or together with the spunbond nonwoven fabric or the net-like material.

As described above, the reinforcing material for foamed molded article of the present invention takes any of the above-described first form, second form, and other forms as described above, and has an overall basis weight of 50 to 100 g / m ^2. It is preferable to be within the range. Therefore, the basis weight of the fibrous base material, the short fiber layer, and the ultrafine fiber layer should be selected so that each is within the above-mentioned preferable range, and the basis weight of the finally obtained reinforcing material is within this range. Is preferred.

Moreover, the reinforcing material for foam molded articles of the present invention has an air permeability of 40 to 200 cm ³ / cm ² / s in any of the first form, the second form, and other forms described above. It is preferable that The air permeability indicates the degree of denseness of the reinforcing material, and the smaller the air permeability, the denser the foamed resin does not ooze and the problem of abnormal noise is less likely to occur. However, if the air permeability is too low, the penetration of the foamed resin into the reinforcing material becomes insufficient, and the effect of reinforcing the foamed molded product decreases.

  The reinforcing material for a foam molded product in the above-described form is laminated on the foam molded layer and integrated with the foam molded layer to give a foam molded product. For foam molded products reinforced with the reinforcing material of the present invention, after the reinforcing material of the present invention is set in a foam molding die, a foaming resin (for example, a foaming urethane resin) is injected by a generally employed method. Then, it is obtained by performing foam molding of the foamed resin under heat and pressure. At this time, since a part of the foamed resin penetrates into the reinforcing material and foams, in the finally obtained foamed molded product, the foamed molding layer and the reinforcing material are integrated and reinforced by the reinforcing material. It becomes.

The following two types of fiber base materials were prepared.
-Fibrous base material 1: Spunbond nonwoven fabric (made by Idemitsu Unitech Co., Ltd., trade name Stratec) made of polypropylene fiber having a fineness of 3 to 4 dtex and a thermocompression bonding area ratio of 13% and a basis weight of 15 g / m ² RN2015), tear strength is 9.8 N / 50 mm in the transverse direction and 10.08 N / 50 mm in the longitudinal direction.
-Fibrous base material 2: Polypropylene net-like material having a basis weight of 5 g / m ² and a mesh size of 8 mm × 8 mm (trade name Conwed, manufactured by Nippon Oil Plast Co., Ltd.).

The following three types of fibers constituting the short fiber layer were prepared.
PET fiber 1: Fiber made of polyethylene terephthalate having a fineness of 1.6 dtex and a fiber length of 44 mm (product number 70W, manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.).
PET fiber 2: A fiber made of polyethylene terephthalate having a fineness of 0.9 dtex and a fiber length of 38 mm (manufactured by Teijin Limited, product number TA02B).
-Thermal bonding fiber: core-sheath type composite fiber (trade name NBF (H), manufactured by Daiwa Boseki Co., Ltd.) having a fineness of 2.2 dtex, a fiber length of 51 mm, a core component of polypropylene, and a sheath component of polyethylene.

(Sample 1)
And PET fibers 1 and the thermally adhesive fiber 7 were mixed in a ratio of 3 (by weight) to prepare a parallel web A having a unit weight of 25 g / ^{m 2,} and the basis weight 40 g / ^{m 2} the parallel web A '. Using this parallel web and the fibrous base material 1, a laminate of parallel web A / fibrous base material 1 / parallel web A ′ was produced. After this laminated body was moved at a speed of 4 m / min, a columnar water flow having a water pressure of 4 Mpa was sprayed once from the parallel web A side from a nozzle in which orifices having a pore diameter of 0.12 mm were formed at intervals of 0.6 mm. The parallel web and the fibrous base material were integrated by spraying once from the parallel web A ′ side. Furthermore, the laminated body was heat-treated for 10 seconds with a hot-air through-type dryer set at 140 ° C., and the fibers were joined with heat-adhesive fibers to obtain a reinforcing material for foam molded products.

(Sample 2)
The PET fiber 1 and the heat-adhesive fiber were mixed at a ratio of 7: 3 (weight ratio) to prepare a parallel web B having a basis weight of 30 g / m ² . Further, a parallel web C having a basis weight of 18 g / m ² was produced from the PET fiber 1. Using these webs and the fibrous base material 1, a laminate of parallel web C / parallel web B / fibrous base material 1 / parallel web C was produced. In this laminate, the parallel web C / parallel web B can be regarded as constituting one short fiber layer laminated on one surface of the fibrous base material 1. The obtained laminate was subjected to a high-pressure water flow treatment to integrate the parallel web and the fibrous base material. In the high-pressure water flow treatment, a columnar water flow having a water pressure of 4 Mpa is applied from the side of the parallel web C / parallel web B using the same nozzle as that used to manufacture the sample 1 while moving the laminate at a speed of 4 m / min. After spraying once, it was carried out by spraying once from the parallel web B side. Further, the integrated laminate was subjected to a heat treatment under the same conditions as those employed when preparing Sample 1 to obtain a reinforcing material for foam molded products.

(Sample 3)
A parallel web D having a basis weight of 23 g / m ² was produced from the PET fiber 1. Using this web and the fibrous substrate 1, a laminate of fibrous substrate 1 / parallel web D / fibrous substrate 1 / parallel web D was produced. In this laminate, one surface is the exposed surface of the fibrous base material 1, and the other surface is the exposed surface of the web. The obtained laminate was subjected to a high-pressure water flow treatment to integrate the parallel web and the fibrous base material, thereby obtaining a reinforcing material for foam molded products. In the high-pressure water flow treatment, a columnar water flow having a water pressure of 4 Mpa is sprayed twice on the exposed surface of the web D using the same nozzle used for the manufacture of the sample 1 while moving the laminate at a speed of 4 m / min. I went.

(Sample 4)
A parallel web E having a basis weight of 28 g / m ² was produced from the PET fiber 1. Using this web, fibrous substrate 1 and fibrous substrate 2, a laminate of fibrous substrate 1 / parallel web E / fibrous substrate 2 / parallel web E was produced. Also in this laminated body, one surface is the exposed surface of the fibrous base material 1, and the other surface is the exposed surface of the web. The obtained laminate was subjected to a high-pressure water flow treatment to integrate the parallel web and the fibrous base material, thereby obtaining a reinforcing material for foam molded products. In the high-pressure water flow treatment, a columnar water flow having a water pressure of 4 Mpa is sprayed twice on the exposed surface of the web E using the same nozzle used for the manufacture of the sample 1 while moving the laminate at a speed of 4 m / min. I went.

(Sample 5)
The PET fibers 2 and the thermally adhesive fiber 1 7 were mixed in a ratio of 3 (by weight) to prepare a parallel web F of basis weight 25 g / ^{m 2,} and basis weight 40 g / ^{m 2} of a parallel web F '. Using this web and the fibrous base material 1, a laminate of parallel web F / fibrous base material 1 / parallel web F ′ was produced. The laminated body is subjected to a high-pressure water flow treatment to integrate the laminated body, and the laminated body is subjected to a heat treatment under the same conditions as those used for preparing the sample 1 to obtain a reinforcing material for foam molded products. It was. In the high-pressure water flow treatment, a columnar water flow having a water pressure of 4 Mpa was sprayed once from the side of the parallel web F using the same nozzle used for the manufacture of the sample 1 while moving the laminate at a speed of 4 m / min. Then, it implemented by injecting once from the parallel web F 'side.

(Sample 6)
A parallel web G having a basis weight of 28 g / m ² was produced from the PET fiber 2. Using this web, the fibrous substrate 1 and the fibrous substrate 2, a laminate of fibrous substrate 1 / parallel web G / fibrous substrate 2 / parallel web G was produced. The obtained laminate was subjected to a high-pressure water flow treatment and a heat treatment under the same conditions as those used in Sample 4, and the laminate was integrated to obtain a reinforcing material for a foam molded article.

(Sample 7)
The PET fibers 1 and the thermally adhesive fiber 7 were mixed in a ratio of 3 (by weight) to prepare a parallel web H having a basis weight of 30 g / ^{m 2,} a parallel web I having a mass per unit area of 40 g / ^{m 2.} Using these webs and the fibrous base material 1, a laminate of parallel web H / fibrous base material 1 / parallel web I was produced. The laminate was subjected to needle punching to integrate the laminate. The needle punching process was performed using a Foster needle at a depth of 10 mm and a stroke number of 200 (the number of penetrations (the number of needles punched per 1 cm ² ) was 128). Furthermore, the laminated body was heat-treated for 10 seconds with a hot-air through-type dryer set at 140 ° C., and the fibers were joined with heat-adhesive fibers to obtain a reinforcing material for foam molded products.

  About the obtained samples 1-8, thickness, air permeability, and tear strength were measured in the following procedures. The results are shown in Table 1.

(thickness)
Using a thickness measuring machine (trade name: ID-C1012C, manufactured by Mitutoyo Corporation), measurement was performed with a load of 20 g per 1 cm ^{2 of} the sample.

(Air permeability)
In accordance with JIS-L-1096 6.27.1A method, measurement was performed using a Frazier type testing machine (TEXTILE AIR PERMEABILITY TESTER MODEL AP-360, manufactured by Daiei Kagaku Seisakusho Co., Ltd.).

(Tearing strength)
JIS-L-1085 5.5. According to the A-1 method (single tongue method), the tensile tester (manufactured by A & D Co., Ltd., Tensilon UCT-1 (trade name)) was used. A rectangular piece cut to 5 cm x 15 cm in length was cut at a center of the short side with an 8 cm cut at right angles to the side to make two tongues, and was torn at a tensile rate of 30 cm / min with a gripping interval of 10 cm. When the maximum load was measured.

As shown in Table 1, the reinforcing material obtained by integrating the laminated body by the needle punch method particularly had a lower tear strength in the transverse direction than any other material. This indicates that when the basis weight is lowered to about 80 g / m ² , the laminated body integrated by the high-pressure water flow method has higher tear strength and excellent durability. Further, the air permeability of Sample 7 was not significantly higher than that of other samples. However, since a large number of holes generated as a result of needle punching were present in Sample 7, when the foamed molded article was actually manufactured, the resin oozed out from these holes. On the other hand, Samples 1 to 6 all had a high tear strength of 15 N / 50 mm or more in the lateral direction, and had high durability against contact with other members. The air permeability of Samples 1 to 6 is less than 200 cm ³ / cm ² / s, and Samples 1 to 6 were densified as a whole by the action of high-pressure water flow. There was no oozing out of the resin when manufactured.

The reinforcing material for foam-molded articles of the present invention is a machine that has a low basis weight because the fibrous base material and the short fiber layer that ensure the mechanical strength of the reinforcing material are integrated by the action of high-pressure water flow. Use of this reinforcing material contributes to weight reduction of a device (for example, a vehicle) using a foamed molded article because it has a high mechanical strength and a dense structure.

Claims (7)

  A reinforcing material for foam molded articles, comprising a fibrous base material and a short fiber layer laminated on at least one surface of the fibrous base material, wherein the fibrous base material and the short fiber layer are integrated by the action of a high-pressure water stream.   The reinforcing material for foam molded articles according to claim 1, wherein the fibrous base material has a tear strength of 5 N / 50 mm or more in the transverse direction. The reinforcing material for foam molded articles according to claim 1 or ² , wherein the fibrous base material is a spunbonded nonwoven fabric having a basis weight of 10 to 50 g / m2.   The fibrous base material is a net-like material, a short fiber layer is laminated on one surface of the fibrous base material, and an ultrafine fiber layer made of fibers having an average fiber diameter of 10 μm or less is laminated on the other surface, The reinforcing material for foam molded articles according to claim 1, wherein the base material, the short fiber layer, and the ultrafine fiber layer are integrated by the action of a high-pressure water flow. Total basis weight is 50 to 100 g / ^{m 2,} foam molded article reinforcement according to any one of claims 1-4.   A method for producing a reinforcing material for foam molded article, comprising: laminating a short fiber web on at least one surface of a fibrous base material, and jetting a high-pressure water stream to integrate the fibrous base material and the short fiber web. A foam molded article, wherein the reinforcing material for a foam molded article according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is laminated on a foam molded layer and integrated therewith.