Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
5~
5P~CIFICAlION
~itle of the Invention:
MAT CONSISTING OF FI~AMENT ~OOP AGGREGA~IONS
AND M~THOD AND APPARATUS ~OR PRODUCING ~HE
SAME
Background of the Invention:
This invention relates to a coarse net-like
developed resilient mat made by complicatedly entangling
synthetic resin monofilaments and more particularly to
a mat consisting of filament loop àggregations and
adapted to a porch mat o~ fixed dimensions or a floox
mat formed and laid in a long sheet and a method and
apparatus for producing the ~ame.
Ins~ead of a conventional carpet mat or
synthetic resin mat, there is recently proYided a three-
dimensional net-like mat consisting of synthetic resin
monofilaments high in the water permeability and quick
dryability. Due to such characteristics as the resili-
ency and weather-prsofness, such three-dimensional
net-like mat is uRed in many indoor and outdoor fields;
is applied particularly to such water using place as,
for example, an inlet and outlet of a bath room or
a pool side and is appreciated because it is simple
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to wash and dry.
Also, as this kind of three-dimensional mat
is open, the ~and and gravels brought when it i8 trod
will drop down and will not remain on the surface.
As water or the like also will drop down, the surface
can be always kept dry. It is thus convenient.
In addition, when such elastic sheet as a
synthetic resin sheet, foaming sheet or rubber sheet
i8 pasted to the lower surface of such mat, the cushion-
ing property as of a mat will be able to be increased,
the sand and water dropping ~rom the surface will be
able to be r~ceived by this sheet pasted to the lower
surface and the M oor will be able to be prevented from
being made dirty directly by the dropping sand and
the like.
Description of the ~rior Art:
As disclosed in the gazette of a Japanese
patent publication No.14347/1972, such three-dimensional
net-like mat is formed a~ a non-woven fabric wherein
many monofilaments made of a thermoplastic synthetic
resin are laminated while being rubbed and bend, are
fused at their contact points and are cooled to be
solidified.
- The formation of upright loops disclosed in
the gazette of a Japanese patent publication No.31222/
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1980 and a Japanese patent laid open No.85061/1987
is known as a web forming mean~ of the above mentioned
filaments in such non-woven fabric.
Now9 in the non woYen fabric formation by
the above described conventional means, in ~uch rubbed
and bent web formation, the re~iliency of the indivi-
dual rubber and bent filament form part it~elf i9 low,
the rubbed and bent filaments by this producing means
overlap on each other to fall down and, as a result, as
the entangled density of the filaments becomes higher,
the resiliency of the sheet will be 109t.
Thus, when the mat i~ used, the treading
touch will be obstructed and, when the mat is stored
or carried, it will be difficult to wind in the ~heet-
like mat, much to the inconvenience.
On the other hand, when the web formation is
made loop-like, the resiliency of the filament itself
in each loop-like part will be developed but, in the
web made of arcuate loop~ arranged in a ~ubstantially
fixed form, the respective loops are only fused at their
inter~ecting points and the contact points between the
adjacent loops, are high in the independency and are
therefore low in the re~iliency against treading and,
as a re~ult, no favorable treading tocu will be o~tained.
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Summar,y of the Invention:
~ herefore, the pre~ent invention has it a~
an object to provide a mat wherein a filament web i~
formed of positively closed loops to develop a filamen-t
resiliency in each loop part and the degree of the
contact fusing between the respective loop~ is made
high to be able to develop a strong sheet resiliency
and a method and apparatus for producing the same~
Description of the Drawing~:
The many advantages and features of the present
invention can be best understood and appreciated by
reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
~ ig, 1 is a side view of an essential part
showing an embodiment of the apparatus of the present
invention; and
Fig. 2 is a side view showing an example of
the mat of the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention:
In order to attain such object) according
to the present invention, a mat consists of upright
disarranged loop-like synthetic resin filament -three-
dimensional aggregations and has many spaces within it
to develop a cushioning property.
~ here i~ suggested a mat o~ a multilayer
structure wherein are overlapped aggregations each
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each having coiled loops formed in the upright direc-
tion on both front and back sides by intermediately
holding a high filament density aggregation layer of
coiled loops overlapped in the laterally fallen dlrec-
tion.
In order to form such mat, several hot fila-
ments of a thermoplastic ~ynthetic resin are pressed
and extruded through T-die orifices and are made to
fall toward a water surface~
~ pair of guide rollers are set as opposed
to each other below a water surface and a bundle of
the above mentioned filaments is lowered so as to drop
between these rollers.
The falling hot filaments are heated by such
heat sources as ceramic far infrared ray heaters so
as not to be cooled by the atmosphere.
Such hot filaments are easy to make coiled
loops on the water surface, Unless the filament~ are
hot, the loops will become large, Further, in the
filaments of a reduced temperature, no coiled loop
will be formed but only a channeled rubbed and bent
form will be able to be made.
The height from the die mouth end to the
water surface is 5 to 100 cm. and the heat reduction
of the filaments is prevented by making -the die mouth
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end approach the water surface as much as possible.
The orifice diameter of the T-die i9 O. 3 to
1.5 mm. a~ an element determining the filament diameter,
retains the resiliency and durability of the fQrmed
filaments and prevent~ the permanent set.
A mat sheet consisting of filament aggrega-
tions of respective widths can be made by arranging the
numbers of orlfices corresponding to the widths of 90,
120 and 150 cm. of intended mat sheets with an orifice
arrangement of a T-die of 3 to6 longitudinal rows at
the interval~ of 3 to5 mm, and a pi-tch of 3to 5 mm. in
the lateral row.
That is to say, a hot filament bundle extruded
out of the l-die of ~uch orifice arrangement is made
-to fall upright toward cooling water and is received
by submerged rolls of a rotary peripheral speed well
~lower than the falling speed to limit the falling
speed in water and to give the filament~ a resistance
toward the water surface from the above mentioned rolls.
~oops having a perlpheral length of a filament length
corresponding to the difference between the extruding
speed of the re~pective filaments and the falling
speed in water will be sequentially continuously formed
to be coil-like on the water surface by thi~ re~istance,
At this time, in order to make it easy to form
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loops and to make bent irregular loops~ it i~ effective
to keep boiling the cooling water surface between the
inclined panels.
This boiling ~tate vibrates the respective
filaments wound on the water surface. Aq a result,
entangled disarranged coiled loop~ are induced on the
water sruface.
In order to make the boiling state on the
water surface between the inclined guide panels, it i9
important to keep the filaments coming out of the T-
die at a high temp~rature until the liquid level.
Generally, when the filament~ are in contact with the
atmosphere, the filament temperature will quickly reduce.
The water ~urface heated by the falling in water of the
filament bundle kept at a filament extruding molding
temperature of 200 to 150C. by the above mentioned
heating treatment to prevent air cooling in the filament~
coming out of the T-die will be in the boiling state.
lherefore, when the cooling water ifl kept at a high
temperature of ~0 to 80C~, this boiling will be made
positive.
When the filaments are molded to be coiled
loops while kept at a high temperature, the fusing between
the loops will be acceleratedO Further, when the cooling
water is at a high temperature, in case the molded loops
are pulled out into the atmosphere by the guide rolls and
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are sent to the secondary process, they will be able to
be easily dried with cool or hot air.
A filament -loop aggregation in which the
coil den~ity i9 made coar~e by increasing the rotation
(pulling speed in water) of the roll~ in water and is
made high by reducing the pulling speed i~ formed.
On the other hand 9 even if the thickness
width of the hanging filament bundle i~ ~ot regulated,
a three-dimensional formation of a coiled loop will be
able to be made However, the size of the loop formed
on the liquid surface is not fixed. Therefore, a means
of regulating the thickness width of the filament
bundle functions effectively to make uniform coiled
loop aggregati~ns of an in~tended thickness.
As the pair of guide rollers are just below
the water surface and regulate the positions of the
filaments having sunk while describing loops, the
thickness width of the filament bundle in the water
surface position just above them will be regulated a~
related with the regulation below the water surface.
Such filament loop aggregations are made in
two parallel place~ and the other aggregation is formed
along one~ide surface of one aggregation.
In such formation, when the above mentioned
one aggregation is heated on the side surface to be
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about -the fusing temperature~ the filaments of the
side surface will soften and will form an aggregation
layer high in the filament density by the laterall
fall of loops.
In molding synthetic resin~, the general
temperature as of the cooling bath is a~out 50C. for
PE (polyethylene) and PP (polypropylene), about 10 to
40C. for PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and about 85C. for
PS (polystyrene).
~ he surface tension of water on Pva (poly-
vinyl chloride) is so high as to be about 60 to 70
dym~/cm. that fine filaments of an outside diameter
less than 1 mm. will be overlapped in turn above the
water surface, the coiled loops formed here will be
laminated in several step~ and will be cooled in water
and therefore the object aggregations coarse in the
loop clearances will not be obtained. Therefore) in
order to sequentially sin~ the coiled loop~ on the
surface, it i~ effective to add a surface active agent
reducing the surface ten~ion of the cooling bath.
Embodiments:
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Fig. 1 is a side view showing component parts -
in an optimum apparatus for embodying the present
invention. Respectively two filament~ 2a and 2b are
to lower vertically toward cooling water 5 while being
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molded in the thickness direction (longitudinal direc-
tion) in separate positions from a T-die 1 extruding a
thermoplastic synthetic resin material under pressure.
In the lateral direction (front to back
direction on the paper surface) of the ~-die in this
case, many ~ilaments 2a and 2b are to be molded as
arranged at predetermined lntervals ~pitch of 3 to 5
mm.) in a length range corresponding to the lateral
width of an intended molding.
In the falling zone of these filaments
2a and 2b, bar-like ceramic far infrared ray heaters
3a and 3b are arranged on both sides of the respective
filament bundles so as to be heating heat sources.
In the filament 2a falling zone, just below
the water surface, a pair of guide rollers 4a and 4b
are arranged at a predetermined spacing so that the
bundle of the above mentioned filament~ 2a may fall
on the water surface in this clearance and may be led
by these rollers 4a and 4b to sink.
Also, a feeding roller 6 rotated and driven
at a constant speed is arranged in watex so that the
bundle of the filaments 2a having sunk in the above
mentioned water may be moved in the cooling water 5
as held between it and the above mentioned guide roller
4b. As many engaging pins 8 are erected at intervals
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on the yerlpheral surface of this roller 6 in w~ter and
the rotary peripheral speed of the roller 6 rotating at
a constant speed i~ set at a speed lower than the
falling speed Df the filaments 2a, the filaments 2a
falling from the ~-die 1 at a high speed will be dece-
lerated in sinking in water by the above mentioned
roller 6 in the water and will be, as a result, relaxed
by the filament length corresponding to the difference
between these falling speed and sinking speed. r~he~e
relaxations will concentrate in the water surface zone
due to the buoyancy of the filaments 2 of a small speci-
fic gravity. As a result, the filament~ 2a will form
loop~ on the water surface.
That is to say, the filaments 2a extruded out
of the l-die will reach the water surface of the cooling
water 5 while being kept near the temperature at the
time of molding by heating by the above mentioned
hea-ters 3a in the falling zone in air. The fil~ments 2a
having sunk in th~ cooling water 5 will qulckly lower
in the temperature and will be hardened. However, these
hardened filaments 2a will be regulated in-the pulling
amounts by the submerged rollers 6 stopped in sliding by
the engaging pins 8, therefore the hardene~ part~ in
water will be subjected to resistances from the submerged
roller 6 and thereby the soft filaments 2a still at a
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high temperature just before reaching the water surface
will be curved and will be gradually pulled into water
while describing loops to form coil-like loops.
When the temperature within the bath of this
cooling water 5 is kept at 60 to 80~., the cooling
water 5 in the falling position will be locally boiled
by heating by the filaments 2a reaching the water
surface while at a high temperature. By thi~ boiling,
the water surface of that part will be waved and greatly
rocked and therefore the filament~ 2 describing loops
on this water surface will be waved and disarranged
in response to the rocking of the water surface.
Therefore, the di~turbed form loops will be
prevented by the concavo-convexes by the disarrangement
from the total surface contact between the adjacent loops
overlapped on the water surface and will have comparatively
many contact point parts.
In such contact part, the loops will be fused
with each other between them and will be cooled to be
hardened, Therefore, coiled loops having comparatively
many fused parts between the adjacent loops will be
continuously formed in turn and a filament loop aggre-
gation A in which coiled loops are crosq-linked longitudi-
nally and latqrally with the loop edges overlapping
between the adjacent filament~ 2 will be foxmed.
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With the above formation as a first filament
loop aggregation forming step, the aggregation A moving
in the above mentioned cooling wa-ter 5 will be engaged
with a guide roller 7b of a pair of guide rollers 7a
and 7b arranged just below the water surface in the
falling zone of the other filament 2b and will be pulled
up so as to be exposed at least on one surface above the
water surface.
A ceramic far infrared ray heater 9a i9 arranged
in the exposed position of this aggregation A so tha-t -the
aggregation A may be dried and heated on the surface
to be near the fusing temperature while moving. There-
fore, the loops near this heated surface will soften
in the filaments and will overlap as laterally fallen to
form a filament loop layer C high in the filament density
and will be further softened and fused on the surface.
This aggregation A wlll detour the guide roller 7b and
will be again pulled into the cooling water 5. Filaments
2b hang down between the above mentioned heated surface
and the other gu~de roller 7a in this pulling zone.
~ urther, another submerged roller 10 is arranged
in the water sinking zone of the filaments 2b. ~he
filament bundle is moved at a low speed while engaged
with the engaging pins 8 on the peripheral surface of
the rollex 10, As the moving speed of the filament
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bundle in water is made lower than the falling speed
of the filaments 2b falling down from the T-die, the
same a~ in the above described first filament loop
aggregation forming step, an aggregation B in which
irregular loops on the water surface are formed to be
coil-like will be obtained. 9b represents a heating
ceramic far infrared ray heater present in the falling
zone of the filaments 2b. 11 represents a reflecting
pla-te.
When this aggregation B molding step is made
a second filament loop aggregation molding step, in
this second step, the aggregation B will be fused and
connected on one side with the heated surface of the above
mentioned aggregation A
lherefore, the product formed under cooling
in water through the above mentioned step is a mat of
an overlapped structure of the aggregations A and B
consisting of vertically upright loops holding in the
center between them an aggregation layer C of laterally
fallen direction loops as shown in Fig. 2
By the w~y, the means of forming the above
mentioned aggregation layer C is not limlted to be as in
the above illustrated embodiment. ~or example, a
separately formed aggregation layer C consisting of
laterally fallen loop~ may be bonded to the aggregation
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A or B formed of loops in the uprlght direction. Eachof the guide rollers 4a, 4b and 9a, 9b may be arranged
so as to be exposed on a part of the peripheral sur~ace
above the water surface,
By the way, in order to pull the coiled
loops formed on the cooling water surface into water
without di~turbing their form, a surface active agent is
added into cooling water 4.
Amounts of addition of the surface active
agents per 100 parts of water:
Anionic system: Alkylbenzenesulfonate: I to 0.2 part
Dialkylsulfosuccinate: 1 to 0005 "
Noninonic sy~tem: Polyoxyethylene nonylphenol ether:
1 to 0,1
It is effective to add 0.05 to 0.2% dialkyl-
sulfosuccinate which i9 high in the capacity of reducing
the surface tension and in the connecting effect with
a slight amount.
Now, in this kind of apparatu~, in order to
keep the cooling bath level constant, cooling water i~
circulated with a pump while being overflowed. In such
case, many bubbles will be generated in an auxiliary
tank level detecting electrode and cooling bath and
will be disadvantageous in molding. In thi~ respect~ at
the above mentioned effective component concentratlon of
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the dialkylsulfosuccinate, many bubbleq tend to be gene-
rated. Therefore~ lt can be said to be optimum to
add and use preferably 0.05 to 0.?~ dialkylsulfosuc-
cinate.
~ he mat material consi~ting of -the thus
formed filament loop aggregatlons A and B may be coated
with a plastisol made of the same material mixture
as of the filament to prevent the bonding 3trength
reduction and permanent set of the filament loops,
A back sheet B consisting of a resin sheet,
foamed sheet or rubber sheet may be used as bonded to
the back surface of the mat material in response to the
ob~ect of use of the product.
(Formation Example 1)
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (P-1300) 100 part~
Plasticizer DOP Dioctyl phthalate 50 "
Stabilizer Dibutyl tin laurate 2 "
" Cadmium stearate 0.6 part
" Barium stearate 0.4 "
Coloring agent 0.1 "
A compound material of the above mentioned mixture i9
molded to be filaments by an extruding molder.
~ he distance between the guide rollers 4a and
~b below the cooling water surface iq set to be 8 mm.
The distance between the guide roller 4b and submerged
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~oller 6 i9 9 mm. The distance between the other
guide rollers 7a and 7b is 16 mm. The filament molding
orifice diamet~r i~ 0.8 mm. The T-die orifice arrangement
is of two longitudinal rows at the intervals of 5 mm.
and a lateral orifice pitch of 5 mm.
The distance between the T-die and cool~ng
water surface is 5 cm. The die temperature is 185C.
The-cooling water temperature i9 60 to 80C. Four
ceramic far infrared ray heaters of 1,5 KW each are
used. At a molding linear speed of 2 m. per minute,
loops at a speed of 40 cm~ per minute can be made.
In this formation, by only holding the fila-
ment bundle in its thickness width directio~ with the
guide rollers, the front and back surfaces of the aggre-
gations can be uniformed and the mat shown in Fig. Z
is obtained and i~ made a produc-t through drying and
bonding steps.
As the extruder die pres~ure i9 applied and
hot filaments are extruded into air, the finished
dimension of the filament is 0.2 mm. thicker than the
filament orifice of a diameter of 0.8 mm. of the T-die
and a filament coil structure of a diameter of 1 mm is
made. Even if the distance between the guide rollers
7a and 7b is set to be 16 mm " the aggregation molded
under the width regulation by this distance will shrink
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when the filament is hardened and will be therefore
13.S to 14 mm~ thick.
(Effects of the Invention~
Thus, according to the mat of the present
invention, as an aggregation i~ formed of irregular
form loops by winding filaments to be coil-like, the
individual closed loops well develop the filament resi-
liency, are of such irregular form as a wavy for~ and
are therefore high in the degree of contact fusing
between the adjacent continuous coiled loops and between
the filament forming loops arranged longitudinally and
laterally and thu~ a mat high in -the bonded degree as
a whole can be obtained. In the aggregation part in
which such loops are formed in the upright direction,
in addition to the resiliency of the above mentioned
loops themselves, a stiff mat resiliency can be obtained
by the strength of the bonded degree between..these loops
The aggregation layer high in the filament density is
high in the strength, particularly, in the tensile
strength, is so high in the clogged degree as to allow
sand or water to drop from the upper part of the mat and,
on the other hand, to prevent it from springing up from-
the lower surface. Therefore, the mat of the present .
invention of doubly overlapped filament loop aggregations
with such aggregation layer held between them i8 80 high
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in the resiliency and tansile strength as to bs optimum
to be used for a porch mat or floor sheet very high in
the treading touch.
When the diameter of the filament in this
case i9 set to be in the range mentioned in claim 2,
the prac-tical ~trength of the filament loop can be
obtained and, on the other hand, the mat can be ~ade
high in the sheet weight convenient to the setting work
and in the treading touch.
When the major diameter o~ the loop of an
irregular form is adjusted to be in the rage mentioned
in claim ~, lt will be effective ln keeping the mat
elasticity but, on the other hand, if the major diameter
of the loop is too large, a shoe tip or like will catch
on and cut the loop and such danger as falling down will
he likely to be caused. Thus, it is not preferable.
In the method of forming a mat or sheet
consisting of such f~lament loop aggregatlons, the
filaments are lowered onto the water surface while
near the moldlng temperature and, when this water sur--
face is waved by boiling, the loop~ formed on the water -
surface will be able to be in such irregular form~ as wavy
forms and to be contact-fused in the loop intersecting
parts and between the loops.
In addition, there are auxiliary effect that
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when the filament bundle falling toward the cooling
water surface is regulated in the direction of cont-
racting from outside the width of the thickness direc-
tion of the bundle, the si~es of the respective loops
formed of these filaments will be able to be uniformed
and, when the contracted width is controlled, -the forma-
tion of combining the above de~cribed upright direction
loops and laterally fallen loops will be able to be
freely made.
If the distance from the T-die to the cooling
water surface is long, the filament temperature will be
reduced by air cooling between them. ~herefore, it is
desirable to set the di~tance to be as short as possible.
However, if they are too adjacent~ the loop formation
on the water surface will be di~turbed. Therefore,
this distance of 5 to 10 cm. i9 effective.
By keeping the temperature of the cooling
water at a comparatively high temperature of 60 to 80C.,
a local boiling qtate in which the water surface on which
the filaments fall is properly waved by heating by the
filaments submerging lnto water can be automatically
obtained In order to ~moothly sink the filaments to
prevent the loop forms from being disturbed, it is
effective to add a surface active agent.
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