JP5043779B2 - Cushion material and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cushion material and a method for producing the same, and more particularly, to a cushion material excellent in durability capable of stably supporting a heavy object and a method for advantageously producing the cushion material.

  Conventionally, as a cushioning material for packing, one having a large number of parcels (cells or air chambers) in which a gas such as air is enclosed is known on one side of a sheet, It has been used as a packaging material that reduces external force applied to various articles and is used as a heat insulating material. Such a cushioning material is formed by, for example, laminating a resin film with protrusions to be a cell (air cell, air chamber) and a flat resin film as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 and the like. Then, it is manufactured as a structure in which a plurality of sealed cells are formed by bonding.

  However, in this type of cushioning material, since the resin film used therein is extremely thin, in addition to insufficient compression fracture resistance, there is a problem that the puncture strength is low and the resin film is easily broken. For this reason, a three-layer structure in which a resin film with protrusions to be a cell is formed as an intermediate layer and flat resin films are laminated on both sides is proposed, or Patent Document 4 Etc., it has been proposed to form a resin film constituting such a cushioning material with a specific material such as an ethylene (co) polymer having specific physical properties. However, it was not sufficient, and in particular, it could not be used advantageously for supporting heavy objects, buffering and packaging.

  That is, when a heavy article is placed or a person rides on it, in the cushioning material as described above, the cell provided on it is destroyed (ruptured) by a large acting load. Therefore, the problem that the effective buffering action and the heat insulating action cannot be maintained is caused, and the cell of the buffer material is easily pierced by a sharp object, and therefore, the problem that it is easily broken In addition to being inherent, the movement of the article on the cushioning material is extremely difficult, and if it is done intentionally, there is also a problem that the destruction of the cell is caused by friction with the article. .

Japanese Patent Publication No.37-133782 Japanese Patent Publication No.38-330 JP-A-9-123320 JP 2005-59891 A

  Here, the present invention has been made in the background of such circumstances, and the problem to be solved is that it can exhibit an excellent buffering action against heavy objects, such as resistance to compression fracture and It is an object of the present invention to provide a cushioning material having further improved characteristics such as puncture resistance and a method for advantageously producing the cushioning material.

  And, in order to solve such a problem, the present invention arranges a film layer on a cell layer in which a large number of cylindrical bag-like protrusions are arranged and formed, so that the inside space of these protrusions An elastic body layer is integrally formed over the entire surface of the buffer sheet on which the protrusions are located, using a buffer sheet having a structure in which a large number of cells are formed as a base material. In addition, the thickness of the elastic layer portion formed on the upper surface of the protrusion is configured to be thicker than the thickness of the elastic layer portion formed on the side surface of the protrusion. The gist is a cushioning material.

  In the cushion material according to the present invention, the elastic layer is advantageously formed of a polyurethane elastomer.

  Moreover, according to one of the desirable aspects of the cushioning material according to the present invention, the elastic backing layer is integrally formed at a predetermined thickness over the entire surface of the cushion sheet on the side where the protrusion is not provided. Provided, and such an elastic backing layer will advantageously be formed by a polyurethane elastomer.

  Furthermore, in the cushion material according to the present invention, the protrusion is advantageously formed in a cylindrical shape with its upper part closed.

  Furthermore, in the cushion material according to the present invention, it is advantageous that the elastic body layer portion formed on the upper surface of the protrusion has a curved surface shape that protrudes upward. It becomes.

  In the present invention, in order to produce the cushioning material as described above advantageously, a large number of cylindrical bag-like protrusions are arranged and bonded to the formed cell layer, so that Using a buffer sheet with a structure in which a large number of cells are formed by enclosing gas in the inner space of the protrusion, spraying polyurethane elastomer raw material on the surface of the buffer sheet where the protrusion is located By coating, an elastic body layer made of polyurethane elastomer is integrally formed, and the elastic body layer portion formed on the upper surface of the protrusion has an elastic body formed on the side surface of the protrusion. The manufacturing method of the cushioning material characterized by having comprised so that it may become thicker than the thickness of a layer part is employ | adopted.

  In the method of manufacturing the cushion material according to the present invention, the polyurethane elastomer raw material is spray-coated on the surface of the cushion sheet on which the protrusions are not provided. An elastic backing layer made of an elastomer is integrally formed over the entire surface.

  As described above, in the cushion material of the present invention, a buffer sheet similar to the conventional one formed by forming cells is used, and the predetermined elastic body layer is formed on the cells with a predetermined thickness as a base material. In this case, the strength of the cell is remarkably increased because it is integrally formed. Therefore, even when a heavy load is placed on the cell, it is effective to destroy the cell of the buffer sheet. Therefore, the compressive fracture strength can be advantageously improved, and even when a sharp object comes into contact with it, it can effectively suppress or prevent piercing. As a result, the puncture resistance can be advantageously increased.

  Moreover, in the cushion material according to the present invention, the thickness of the elastic layer portion formed on the protruding upper surface of the buffer sheet constituting the cell is the elastic layer formed on the protruding side surface. A thick elastic layer in which the cell is effectively deformed by the deformation of the side surface (side portion) and the heavy object is supported on the upper surface by being configured to be thicker than the thickness of the portion. It can be effectively supported by the portion, whereby the heavy object placed on the cushion material can be stably supported.

  Further, in such a cushioning material according to the present invention, the elastic body layer formed on the upper surface of the protrusion of the cushioning sheet which is a surface in contact with the object or article to be placed is more than the other part. Even if such an object is moved from where it is thickened to cause friction or wear, the cell is not easily destroyed. It was possible to move the figurine freely on the cushion material.

  The cushioning material having such characteristics can be easily and easily obtained by spray coating the polyurethane elastomer raw material on the surface on which the bumps of the cushioning sheet are located by the manufacturing method according to the present invention described above. Can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, in order to clarify the present invention more specifically, representative embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an example of a cushioning sheet as a base material of a cushion material according to the present invention is shown, and FIG. 1 partially shows a planar form of such a cushioning sheet, FIG. 2 shows an enlarged AA cross section in FIG.

  And in those figures, the buffer sheet 10 has a cylindrical shape in which the upper part is closed, in other words, a large number of bag-like protrusions 12 having a bottomed cylindrical shape are formed by embossing or the like in the same manner as in the past. Using the cell layer 14 made of an arrayed and formed resin film and the film layer 16 made of a flat resin film, the latter is used as an opening for the bag-like protrusion 12 of the cell layer 14. It is formed in a structure in which a large number of cells 18 are formed by sealing a gas such as air in the inner space of the protrusions 12 by being bonded to the side surface (lower surface).

  In addition, the buffer sheet 10 having such a structure is a material similar to the conventional one, for example, a resin film made of an ethylene (co) polymer, etc. Although it is manufactured in accordance with a conventionally known method, the thickness of the resin film that gives the cell layer 14 or the film layer 16 is generally about 10 to 100 μm, preferably about 20 to 50 μm. Will be selected. The height of the cell 18 is generally about 3 to 10 mm, the diameter is about 5 to 20 mm, and the gap between the cells is about 1 to 20 mm.

  An example of the cushion material according to the present invention, which is configured using the buffer sheet 10 having such a structure as a base material, is shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 in a planar form and an enlarged sectional form, respectively. Yes.

  That is, in those drawings, the cushion material 20 according to the present invention is an elastic layer made of a predetermined elastomer material over the entire surface (upper surface) of the cushion sheet 10 on which the protrusions 12 (cells 18) are located. 22 is integrally formed. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, such an elastic body layer 22 has a thickness of the top layer 22 a, which is an elastic body layer portion formed on the upper surface of the protrusion 12, and the side surface of the protrusion 12. It is made thicker than the thickness of the side layer 22b, which is the elastic layer portion formed in this, so that it receives a mounting load on the thick top layer 22a and is deformed on the thin side layer 22b. Thus, the protrusion 12 and thus the cell 18 can be easily deformed while supporting a large load. In particular, here, the top layer 22a is formed in a form having a curved chevron-shaped surface that protrudes upward, and is configured so as to be able to effectively support a heavy load.

  Here, the elastic body (elastomer) for providing such an elastic body layer 22 is appropriately selected from various known materials. In particular, in the present invention, a polyurethane elastomer is suitable. Will be used. By selecting such a polyurethane elastomer material, not only the formation of the elastic layer 22 can be facilitated, but also the performance as a cushioning material can be advantageously exhibited.

  In addition, the thickness of the top layer 22a and the side layer 22b in the elastic body layer 22 is appropriately determined according to the present invention. Generally, the thick top layer 22a is 1 to The side layer 22b with a thickness of about 5 mm is formed, and the thin side layer 22b is formed with a thickness of about 0.1 to 1 mm. In the present invention, the thickness of the thickest part of the top layer 22a is about 2 to 20 times, preferably 3 to 10 times the thickness of the thinnest part of the side layer 22b. The elastic body layer 22 will be comprised so that it may become about twice.

  Therefore, when a heavy object, which is a heavy object, is placed on the cushion material 20 having such a structure, as shown in FIG. The protrusion 12 (cell 18) to be squeezed can be deformed. In this case, since the side layer 22b formed on the side surface is thin, the side layer 22b is bent or formed at the site. Is buckled and the upper surface portion of the protrusion 12 (cell 18) provided with the thick top layer 22a is not deformed, but translates vertically to firmly support the load of the heavy object 24. Thus, the heavy object 24 placed on the cushion material 20 can be supported with good stability while receiving a buffering action.

  In addition, since the elastic body layer 22 is formed over the entire surface of the cushion sheet 10 serving as the base material of the cushion material 20 on the protruding 12 (cell 18) forming side, the resistance of the protruding 12 (cell 18) is improved. Of course, the compressive fracture strength is effectively increased, and even if a sharp object abuts, it can be effectively prevented from piercing, and its puncture resistance is also effective. Thus, the durability of cushioning or cushioning can be advantageously increased.

  Further, even if the article (24) is moved on the cushion material 20, the protrusion 12 (cell 18) may be destroyed by friction, wear, or the like by such a moving operation. Since the layer 22a is effectively prevented by the presence of the layer 22a, it exhibits good durability against such movement of the object.

  For this reason, on such a cushion material 20, a human can walk, stand on it, and further work on it, and can be used effectively as a foot mat on the ground. As a result, it can be advantageously used as a mat that can insulate and cushion the ground.

  By the way, the cushion material 20 having such a structure is obtained by forming a predetermined elastic body layer 22 on at least the cell layer 14 side surface of the buffer sheet 10 as a base material by various known methods. In particular, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, the liquid elastic material 25 is sprayed from above onto the buffer sheet 10 by the spray nozzle 26 so that the coating is performed. By doing so, an elastic layer 22 having a thick top layer 22a and a thin side layer 22b according to the present invention can be advantageously formed.

  And in this invention, such spray coating will be suitably performed using a polyurethane elastomer raw material. However, as the polyurethane elastomer raw material, various known materials can be used. In particular, a room temperature curing type polyurethane elastomer raw material is advantageously used. In addition, such room temperature curing type polyurethane elastomer raw materials generally use MDI-based isocyanates such as modified diphenylmethane-4,4′-diisocyanate as the polyisocyanate component, and use polyether polyol or the like as the polyol component. In addition, as a catalyst for rapidly reacting and curing the polyisocyanate component and the polyol component at a low temperature, an aromatic amine such as an aromatic primary amine is used. The spray coating operation is carried out at a temperature of about 20 to 60 ° C. using, for example, a product marketed under the name “Baytec” from Bayer AG, Germany. It can be cured by reaction. In particular, by adopting a relatively high reaction temperature of about 40 to 60 ° C., the air enclosed in the protrusions 12 expands, thereby preventing or suppressing the drop of the ceiling of the protrusions 12. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, a chevron shape protruding upward in an arc shape can be effectively formed. In addition, after about 1 minute has passed after the mixing of each component, the reaction has achieved a certain degree of solidification, and after about 3 days at room temperature, the substantial reaction has been completed. The physical properties will be realized.

  The polyurethane elastomer raw material sprayed on the cell layer 14 of the buffer sheet 10 by such a spray coating operation is thickly deposited on the upper surface of the protrusion 12 in a curved chevron shape that protrudes upward. A thin layer of polyurethane elastomer raw material is formed, and in this state, the reaction of the polyurethane elastomer raw material proceeds, so that a thick top portion is formed on the upper surface of the protrusion 12. A layer 22a is formed, and a side layer 22b having a small thickness is formed on the side surface of the protrusion 12, so that the cushion material 20 having the structure shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be easily and easily formed. Can be formed.

  In particular, when forming the elastic layer 22 by such spray coating operation, it is desirable to use a polyurethane elastomer raw material, and due to its fast reaction hardening rate, the difference between the thickness of the top layer 22a and the thickness of the side layer 22b is further increased. There is an advantage that it can be expanded, and it is a configuration that is advantageously employed in the present invention in combination with the excellent cushioning characteristics of the polyurethane elastomer itself.

  By the way, in the present invention, as described above, not only the elastic body layer 22 is formed on the cell layer 14, but also the surface on the side where the protrusion 12 of the buffer sheet 10 is not provided, in other words, As shown in FIG. 7, the cushioning material 30 is advantageously employed in a structure in which the elastic backing layer 28 is integrally provided with a predetermined thickness over the entire lower surface of the film layer 16. That's where it can be done. In the cushion material 30 having such a structure, the elastic backing layer 28 having a predetermined thickness is integrally formed, so that the cell 18 includes the upper elastic body layer 22 and the lower elastic backing layer 28. Since the physical properties against the destruction of the cell 18 such as the compression fracture resistance and the puncture resistance can be further effectively enhanced, the presence of the elastic backing layer 28 allows the cushion material 30 to be surrounded. Thus, the buffering characteristics and the like can be further improved.

  The thickness of the elastic backing layer 28 is appropriately selected according to the use of the cushion material 30, but generally has a constant thickness of about 0.5 to 10 mm. The material thereof is appropriately selected from known elastic bodies or elastomer materials. In particular, in the present invention, polyurethane elastomer materials are used from the viewpoint of buffering properties and durability. It will be used advantageously.

  The exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but these are literal examples, and the present invention is interpreted in a limited manner by the description of such embodiments. It should be understood that this is not the case.

  For example, as the shape of the protrusion 12 in the buffer sheet 10, various cylindrical shapes such as a rectangular tube shape and an elliptic tube shape can be adopted in addition to the cylindrical shape as illustrated, and the arrangement form thereof Even in this case, not only the staggered arrangement as illustrated, but also various known arrangement forms such as a grid pattern and a skew pattern can be appropriately employed.

  Further, in the illustrated specific example, the heights of the plurality of protrusions 12, and thus the height in the form formed by forming the elastic layer on them, are all the same height. It is also possible to change the height of the protrusions 12 or the like of the projections according to the formation site.

  Furthermore, it is possible to add various known additives to the polyurethane elastomer raw material for forming the elastic body layer 22 and the elastic backing layer 28. In particular, the layers 22 and 28 have a desired color. There is an advantage that the design effect of the cushioning materials 20 and 30 can be enhanced by blending a coloring agent for coloring, and in the present invention, in addition to being advantageously employed, in addition, as other compounding agents, It is also possible to add an antibacterial agent for imparting antibacterial action, and further known additives such as a photocatalyst and an ultraviolet absorber.

  Furthermore, in the cushion materials 20 and 30 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 7, the bag-like protrusion 12 integrally provided with the elastic layer 22 is disposed only on one side. It is also possible to have a structure in which are arranged on both sides. In that case, a structure in which the cushion materials 20 or 30 or the cushion material 20 and the cushion material 30 are overlapped with their back surfaces being joined together with an adhesive or the like is adopted. Become.

  In addition, although not enumerated one by one, the present invention can be carried out in a mode to which various variations, modifications, improvements, and the like are added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. It should be understood that all belong to the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It is a partial explanatory view of a plane form showing an example of a buffer sheet used in the present invention. It is AA cross-section enlarged explanatory drawing in FIG. It is a partial explanatory view of a plane form showing an example of a cushion material according to the present invention. It is a BB cross-section enlarged explanatory view in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a form in which a heavy object is placed on the cushion material shown in FIG. 4. It is explanatory drawing which shows 1 process of the spray coating operation employ | adopted at the time of manufacture of the cushioning material according to this invention. It is sectional explanatory drawing corresponding to FIG. 4 which shows another example of the cushion material according to this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Buffer sheet 12 Bag-like protrusion 14 Cell layer 16 Film layer 18 Cell 20 Cushion material 22 Elastic body layer 22a Top part layer 22b Side part layer 24 Heavy material 25 Elastic body material 26 Spray nozzle 28 Elastic backing layer 30 Cushion material

Claims (8)

  A structure in which a large number of cylindrical bag-like protrusions are arrayed and a film layer is bonded to the formed cell layer so that a gas is enclosed in the inner space of these protrusions to form a large number of cells. An elastic body layer is integrally formed over the entire surface of the buffer sheet on the side where the protrusion is located, and the elastic body layer is formed on the upper surface of the protrusion. A cushioning material, characterized in that the thickness of the portion is larger than the thickness of the elastic layer portion formed on the side surface of the protrusion.   The cushion material according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body layer is formed of a polyurethane elastomer.   3. The elastic backing layer is integrally provided at a predetermined thickness over the entire surface of the cushion sheet on the side where the protrusion is not provided. The cushion material described.   The cushion material according to claim 3, wherein the elastic backing layer is formed of a polyurethane elastomer.   The cushion material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the protrusion is formed in a cylindrical shape in which an upper portion is closed.   The elastic body layer portion formed on the upper surface of the protrusion has a curved surface that protrudes upward, and is formed. The cushion material as described in.   A structure in which a large number of cylindrical bag-like protrusions are arrayed and a film layer is bonded to the formed cell layer so that a gas is enclosed in the inner space of these protrusions to form a large number of cells. A polyurethane elastomer raw material is spray-coated on the surface of the buffer sheet on which the protrusions are located, so that an elastic body layer made of polyurethane elastomer is integrally formed. A method for producing a cushioning material, characterized in that the thickness of the elastic layer portion formed on the upper surface of the protrusion is thicker than the thickness of the elastic layer portion formed on the side surface of the protrusion . The elastic backing layer made of polyurethane elastomer is integrally formed over the entire surface by spray-coating a polyurethane elastomer raw material on the surface of the cushion sheet where the protrusion is not provided. The method for manufacturing a cushion material according to claim 7, wherein

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