JPH0316424B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for producing a nap structure having a tapered tip.

The piloere of the fur of animals such as mink and foxes can be roughly divided into stinging hair components and cotton hair components.
It is known that the cotton hair component is thin and short standing hair, while the cutting hair component is thick and long standing hair with a tapered tip, which greatly contributes to the appearance and feel of the fur. It is being

Many attempts have been made to obtain a napped structure made of animal hair by tapering the ends of napped fibers made of synthetic fibers, particularly polyester fibers. Conventional techniques for tapering fibers include the following methods.

A method of using ultrafine fibers, split type fibers, or sea-island type fibers as napped fibers, and dissolving some of the components at the tip with a solvent or swelling agent, or dividing the components to make the napped tip extremely fine.Fiber tip A method in which the tips of the fibers are immersed in or brought into contact with a solvent or a decomposition agent A method in which the fibers are cut while being heated A method in which the tips of the naps of a napped fabric are immersed in or brought into contact with a treatment solution A method of coating the raised surface with a solvent or a decomposing agent and heat treating it.However, these conventional methods are difficult to achieve in terms of productivity, cost, quality and uniformity of the tapered state, and are therefore difficult to mass produce. However, the cost has become high. For example, in order to obtain fibers with tapered tips, many proposals have been made regarding the above-mentioned conventional methods, but only a small amount of fiber can be processed in one treatment, the processing speed is slow, and only batch processing is possible. Alternatively, there are problems such as large variations in tapering between fibers or between treatments. Even if good tapered fibers are obtained, when applying them to pile fabrics or sliver knits to obtain a raised structure, the pile must be cut or sheared to obtain good quality. There is a problem in that the tip of the napped hair is cut off and the non-tapered end comes out to the surface, impairing the appearance and texture.

Furthermore, as a method for tapering the tip of the napped fabric in the state of a napped fabric, Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-4910 proposes a method in which the tip of the napped fabric is immersed in a treatment liquid. However, when carried out on an industrial scale, it is extremely difficult to uniformly immerse the raised portion of a large area of fabric in the processing solution, and there are also variations in the nap density, fluctuations in the concentration and temperature of the processing solution, and movement of the fabric to be processed by the equipment. Due to fluctuations in the liquid level due to vibrations, etc., the degree of rise, concentration, or temperature of the processing liquid in the direction of napping may vary, and it is extremely difficult to uniformly taper over a wide area.

Furthermore, as a method of tapering in raised fabrics, JP-A-55-
As shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 57069 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-58067, there is a method in which a viscosity-treating agent such as a solvent or a decomposing agent is applied to the raised surface by coating or printing, and then heat-treated. However, in this method, although the very short portion at the tip of the raised nape becomes thinner, it does not result in a good tapered state that provides the soft and firm texture that is the object of the present invention. In addition, the tapered shape in the present invention refers to napped fibers in which the diameter of the napped fibers gradually becomes thinner toward the tip, and the ratio of the length of the tapered portion to the fiber diameter (hereinafter referred to as the degree of thinning) is 20 or more. The shape of the tip.

In view of the current situation, the inventors of the present invention have made extensive studies and have decided to apply a foamy solvent and/or decomposition agent for the fibers constituting the nap to the nap surface of the nap structure, and then heat-treat it. Therefore, we have found that it is easier to obtain a raised structure having a tapered tip with high uniformity, which is much better than the conventional method of coating the raised surface with a liquid containing a solvent or a decomposing agent. Reached.

Although it is not clear why a tapered nap is obtained when a solvent or decomposition agent is applied in the form of a foam to the nap surface of a nap structure and then heat-treated, the foam treatment liquid tends to collect on the nap surface. Moreover, heat treatment aggravates this tendency, so the tip of the nape is more likely to be dissolved or decomposed.Furthermore, if the nape side is facing upward, the foamy treatment liquid that has gotten into the nape will expand due to heating. As the piloes move upward, a phenomenon occurs in which the piloeres stand up, and the foam-like treatment liquid comes into contact with the tips of the piloes more easily. This is presumed to be due to the fact that the treatment temperature is high and dissolution or decomposition proceeds more quickly.

In the present invention, the napped fibers forming the napped surface include polyamide fibers, polyester fibers,
Fibers such as polyacrylic fibers and polyolefin fibers can be used. However, the fibers are not limited to these, and any fibers that can be dissolved or decomposed and removed may be used, or a mixture of these fibers may be used. The cross-sectional shape of these fibers is not particularly limited, but if a flat cross-section yarn with a concave part is used, it will be divided at the concave part of the cross section of the tip of the napped hair, and if a sea-island type composite fiber or a split type composite fiber is used, the tip part will be divided. can be made into ultra-fine fibers, each with a unique appearance and feel.

Erect hair fibers form stinging hair component and cotton hair component2
If the fiber is composed of more than one type of fiber, the above-mentioned fiber is used alone or in combination as the stinging component fiber, but if it contains at least 80% of the fiber, it is free from the treatment agent. Slightly soluble or insoluble fibers may be mixed. In this case, it is appropriate to use the fibers as the fluff component fibers by making them thinner and/or having a modified cross-section with a larger surface area than the prickly hair component fibers, or to use other easily soluble or easily degradable fibers. be. Furthermore, even fibers that are difficult to dissolve or decompose with treatment agents can be used as cotton hair component fibers, as long as they have a fiber length of about 2/3 or less of the standing length of prickly hair. Methods of mixing two or more types of fibers include methods such as blending, intertwisting, entangling, etc. to make a nap yarn, interweaving, interweaving, etc., but are not particularly limited. The fineness of the napped fibers forming the napped surface is suitably 3 to 20 deniers when used alone, and 10 to 50 deniers when used in combination with the fluff component.

In the present invention, a raised structure is a fiber structure having raised hair obtained by pile knitting, pile weaving, sliver knitting, tufting, electro-flocking, etc., but the manufacturing method is not particularly limited. Further, a nap structure having a nap density of 2,500 to 20,000 hairs/cm ² and a nap length of 5 to 50 mm, preferably 10 to 30 mm is suitable.

For example, the following agents are used as the dissolving agent and decomposing agent used as the processing agent for forming the napped fibers into pre-sets.

For polyamide fibers: phenol, m-
Cresol, formic acid For polyester fibers: Tetrachloroethane-phenol mixture, O-chlorotrophenol, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide For polyacrylic fibers: Dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide For polyolefin fibers: Tetrachloride Ethane, carbon tetrachloride, cyclohexane The above-mentioned solubilizing agents and decomposing agents are usually made into an aqueous solution or dispersion, and an appropriate foaming agent is added thereto, and foam stabilizers, dispersants, decomposition accelerators and/or After adding a penetrating agent, etc., it is mixed with air and foamed, and applied to the raised surface in the form of a foam. Examples of foaming agents include fatty acid salts such as potassium stearate and ammonium olefinate, sodium butyl sulfate, and ammonium lauryl sulfate. Inorganic ester salts of fatty alcohols, inorganic ester salts of alkyl ethers such as sodium butyl monoethylene oxide sulfate and sodium lauryl ether sulfate, inorganic ester salts of alkyl amine oxides, higher alkyl phenols such as sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, nonylphenol. Many surfactants can be used, such as inorganic ester salts of higher alkyl phenol ethers, such as sulfates of ethylene oxide adducts, and betaines of fatty acids. The concentration of these foaming agents is 10 to 130g/
is appropriate. The solubilizing agent, decomposing agent, foaming agent used, and foam stabilizer added as necessary,
The types and concentrations of dispersants, decomposition accelerators, penetrants and/or viscosity modifiers will depend on the structure of the napped structure to be treated, the type of napped fibers, cross-sectional shape and/or fineness, heat treatment method and conditions, etc. Therefore, it is preferable to select it appropriately.

In the present invention, a foaming agent is blended into the solution or dispersion of the above-mentioned solubilizing agent or decomposing agent, other additives are added as necessary to create a treatment liquid, and after foaming, the foaming agent is applied to the raised surface. Although it is constructed by tapering the tip, a method of foaming by stirring and mixing the treatment liquid with air or any inert gas can be applied as a foaming method. However, depending on the content of the treatment liquid, differences in foaming performance and foam stability may occur depending on the stirrer used, so it is desirable to use a foamer with an appropriate stirring mechanism. Preferred foaming machines include, for example, a homomixer and a commercially available foaming machine manufactured by Warner-Matisse.

The shape and stability of the bubbles thus obtained are important factors for uniform and stable tapering. The foaming ratio of the foam liquid used in the tapering process of the present invention is in the range of 3 to 20 times, preferably 5 to 15 times, and the half-life of the foam is 2 minutes or more, preferably 5 minutes or more. However, these processing conditions depend on the residence time from the foaming machine until it is applied to the raised structure.
Furthermore, it must be adjusted according to the required tapered shape. Note that the foaming ratio and foam half-life were each measured by the following methods.

Foaming ratio (times): Put a specific volume of foam into a graduated cylinder with a known weight, calculate the weight of the specific volume of foam from the increase in the weight of the graduated cylinder, and calculate the specific volume from the relationship between the pre-measured volume of the liquid before foaming and the weight. Find the volume of the liquid before foaming and calculate the foaming ratio using the following formula.

Foaming ratio (times) = Volume of collected foam (ml) / Volume of collected foam before foaming (ml) Foam half-life (minutes): Measure the initial foaming ratio by putting a specific volume of foam into a graduated cylinder. Determine the volume of the liquid before foaming for a specific volume of foam using the same method as in , and measure the time it takes for 1/2 of the liquid volume to drain to the bottom of the measuring cylinder.

The method of applying the foam treatment liquid to the raised surface is not particularly limited as long as it can be applied uniformly, but
Commonly used techniques such as the knife coat method, knife over roll method, floating knife method, and rotary screen method can be applied. Next, the raised structure having the foamed treatment liquid applied to its raised surface is heat-treated. Heat treatment is not only used to increase temperature and speed up processing. Due to heating, the foamy treatment liquid expands and becomes easier to collect on the surface of the nape, and some of the bubbles that have gotten into the nape expand and move upwards, causing the nape to stand up and become tapered. It becomes easier. Furthermore, the temperature of the surface portion of the nape rises faster than that of the inner layer portion, and the reaction proceeds relatively quickly. Due to the synergistic effect of these bubbles and heat, a desirable tapered tip can be easily formed. This action and effect cannot be expected if the treatment liquid is simply applied by coating.

Conventional techniques such as dry heat treatment using hot air or wet heat treatment using steam can be applied as a heat treatment method, but in the case of microwave heat treatment, the foam expands and breaks down more quickly than necessary, making it difficult to obtain a sufficient treatment effect. Therefore, it is preferable to appropriately select the heating method, heating temperature, time, etc., depending on the type of napped fiber, the contents of the treatment liquid, and other treatment conditions. In addition, it is not necessary that the foaming treatment liquid remains foamy until the end of the nap has completely tapered due to dissolution or decomposition; % or more, preferably 70% or more, of the napped fibers that form the napped surface, so-called stinging component fibers, can form a tapered tip with a preferable 50% or more, preferably 80% or more of the napped fibers that form the napped surface. For this purpose, it is desirable to arrange the equipment so that the distance from the time when the foamy processing liquid is applied to the time when the heat treatment starts is as short as possible, but in mass production processing, the size of the equipment, its installation space, processing speed, etc. Due to the constraints, it is preferable to maintain the foam stability of the foam treatment liquid as high as possible, but as a rough guide, the foam half-life of the foam treatment liquid should be at least 2 minutes, preferably at least 2 minutes, and more preferably at least 10 minutes. It is preferable to adjust the blending ratio of each component of the treatment liquid, the addition of a foam stabilizer, etc. so as to achieve the desired results.

In the present invention, as described above, a treatment liquid containing a solubilizing agent or a decomposing agent is made into a foam, applied to the raised surface of the raised hair structure, and then heated to make the ends of the raised hair tapered to give an animal hair-like appearance. The present invention is characterized in that it provides a tactile sensation, and the case in which the napped fibers of the present invention are polyester fibers will be explained in more detail. The polyester fibers in the present invention include polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, or polyesters copolymerized with isophthalic acid, 5-sodium sulfoisophthalic acid, polyalkylene glycol, etc. using these as main components.

When the napped fibers are polyester fibers, a tetrachloroethane-phenol mixture,
Although O-chlorophenol and the like can be used, from the viewpoint of ease of handling and safety, an aqueous solution of an alkali metal hydroxide, particularly sodium hydroxide, is preferable, and its concentration is 20 to 500 g/, preferably 50 to 200 g/. It is possible to promote tapering by adding quaternary ammonium salts, amine compounds, phosphoric acid ester compounds, etc., which are usually used for weight loss processing of polyester fibers, as decomposition accelerators, and the concentration used is 0. ~50g/ is good. As foaming agents for these alkaline solutions, for example, sodium polyoxyethylene lauryl ether sulfate, sodium polyoxyethylene alkyl phenyl ether sulfate, alkylamine oxide, butyl sulfate sodium salt, butyl monoethylene oxide sodium salt, etc. can be used. , the concentration used is 10-50 g/. Furthermore, by adding 10 to 300 g of glycerin or the like as a hygroscopic component, the tapered shape is improved and the uniformity is also improved.

Therefore, the treatment liquid containing the decomposing agent, decomposition accelerator, foaming agent, and glycerin is stirred and mixed with air or other inert gas using a homomixer, a commercially available foaming machine, or the like to form a foam. At this time, the blending ratio, concentration, etc. of each component are adjusted so that the foaming ratio is in the range of 3 to 20 times, and the half-life of the foam is 2 minutes or more, preferably 5 minutes or more. This foam treatment liquid is applied to the raised surface of the raised structure. Methods such as the knife coat method and rotary screen method can be applied as the application method, and the amount applied depends on the content of the fiber polymer, the number of napped fibers, the fiber denier, the cross-sectional shape of the fibers, etc., the processing conditions, or the requirements. It varies depending on the appearance and feel of the tapered shape, etc., but in the case of sodium hydroxide, the nap structure is 1 m ²
20 to 240g per serving is appropriate. The raised structure is heat-treated while at least 50% of the foam volume of the applied foam treatment liquid is maintained in the foam state. At this time, heat treatment using wet heat is much better than dry heat in terms of tapered shape, tapering speed, uniformity, etc.

As explained above, according to the method of the present invention, a nap structure having the appearance and feel of animal hair, in which the tip of the nap is tapered, can be produced on an industrial scale by a method completely different from conventional methods. It can be seen that it can be easily produced.

The contents of the present invention will be explained in detail in Examples below.

Example 1 Short polyester fibers (single fiber fineness 5 denier, fiber length 53 mm) made of polyethylene terephthalate as the pile component were cotton-dyed using a disperse dye with good alkali resistance, and then a card sliver was made using a roller card. A high pile knitted fabric (pile length 18 mm, pile weight 469) was made using a sliver knitting machine using false twisted polyester long fiber (yarn denier 150, filament number 32) made of polyethylene terephthalate as the base fabric component.
g/m ² ). After backing with acrylic resin, apply 2 coats to a polisher heated to 160℃.
It was passed through to remove the crimps of the nap on the nap surface, and then sheared to make the nap length uniform and used for the next tapering process.

As a treatment liquid for tapering, 50 g of sodium hydroxide as a decomposing agent and 20 g of Mayforma F210 (manufactured by Meisei Chemical Co., Ltd.) as a foaming agent are used for 1 part water.
Marceline PES (manufactured by Meisei Chemical Co., Ltd.) as a decomposition accelerator
and 100g of glycerin as an adjuvant, and using a homogenizer at 9000rpm
Stir for a minute to foam. The foaming ratio of the resulting foamy treatment liquid was 6.4 times, and the foam half-life was 305 seconds.

Therefore, using a knife coater, a foam treatment liquid was applied to the raised side of the high pile knitted fabric prepared earlier, and 1 m ² of the knitted fabric was coated.
1200g was given each time. Next, it was placed in a superheated steam steamer (HT steamer) at 180°C with the raised side facing up, and subjected to moist heat treatment for 8 minutes, and then washed with warm water at about 40°C and dried. When the tips of the napped fibers of the treated high pile knitted fabric are observed under a microscope, the tips of most of the napped fibers are tapered as shown in the model diagram in Figure 1, and the average degree of thinning is 32. It was hot. The texture of the raised surface was also softer than that of the untreated product, indicating the effect of tapering.

Next, when we performed the same process as above without adding glycerin, which is one of the components of the treatment solution, the degree of fineness decreased slightly compared to when glycerin was added, and the spots in the tapered state between the napped fibers also increased. I noticed a trend.

Comparative Example 1 One part water was mixed with 80g of Maypro Gum NP (manufactured by Sansho Co., Ltd.) as a sizing agent, 100g of sodium hydroxide as a decomposition agent, and 5g of Marceline PES (manufactured by Meisei Chemical) as a decomposition accelerator. A treatment solution was prepared. The viscosity of this adjustment liquid was measured at room temperature using a BL type viscometer and was found to be 10,500 cps. Using a 100 mesh screen, apply the treatment solution to the raised surface of the high pile knitted fabric subjected to tapering processing in Example 1 at 128 g per 1 m ² of knitted fabric.
Apply and heat at 130 °C for 15 minutes using a high-pressure steamer or using a superheated steam steamer (HT steamer)
It was subjected to a moist heat treatment at 180°C for 10 minutes, then washed with warm water at about 40°C, and air-dried.

When the tip of the nap of the treated knitted fabric is observed under a microscope, there are many naps with the tip as shown in the model diagrams in Figures 2 and 4, and there are a few naps at the tip as shown in the model diagram in Figure 3. The fibers were in a mixed state, and the nape with the tapered tip as shown in the model diagram of FIG. 1, which is the target of the present invention, was not found. In addition, there were many variations in the tip shape and pile length on the raised surface. The texture of the knitted fabric after processing was not particularly improved compared to before processing.

Comparative Example 2 531 g of the treatment solution used in Comparative Example 1 was applied per 1 m ² of the knitted fabric using a knife coater to the raised surface of the high pile knitted fabric subjected to the tapering process in Example 1, and the mixture was placed in a high-pressure steamer and heated at 130°C. It was subjected to moist heat treatment for 15 minutes or in a superheated steam steamer (HT steamer) at 180°C for 10 minutes, then washed with warm water at about 40°C, and dried.

When observing the tip of the nap of the treated knitted fabric, we found that most of the naps whose diameter had changed had become thinner at the tip as shown in the model diagram in Figure 1. No erected piloes with a tapered tip as shown in the figure were found. In addition, there were many variations in the tip shape and pile length on the nap surface. The texture after processing was not particularly improved compared to the knitted fabric before processing.

Example 2 Polyester short fiber (A) (single fiber fineness 24 denier, fiber length 51 mm), polyester short fiber (B) (single fiber fineness 8 denier, fiber length 32 mm) consisting of polyethylene terephthalate as a pile component, and polyester Short fibers (C) (single fiber fineness 3 denier, fiber length 32 mm) were cotton-dyed using a disperse dye with good alkali resistance, and then mixed into (A) and (B) using a cotton blending machine.
(C) was mixed in a weight ratio of 20:40:40, and a card sliver was created using a roller card machine. Polyester long fiber (yarn denier 150) consisting of polyethylene terephthalate as the basic component
The above card sliver is knitted into a high pile knitted fabric (pile length 20 mm, pile weight
557g/m ² ). After backing with acrylic resin, it is passed through a polisher heated to 180℃ three times to remove crimps of the napped fibers in the napped surface layer, and then passed through a shearing machine to make the napped length uniform and ready for the next tapering process. did. 120g of sodium hydroxide per 1 part of water as a treatment liquid for tapering,
Mayforma F210 (manufactured by Meisei Chemical Co., Ltd.) 25g, Marceline PES (manufactured by Meisei Chemical Co., Ltd.) 25g, glycerin 100g
A foam treatment liquid was prepared by mixing and adjusting the proportions and foaming using a homogenizer. The foaming ratio of the foamy treatment liquid obtained at this time was 5.0 times, and the foam half-life was 340.
It was hot in seconds.

Therefore, 1600 g of the above-mentioned foam treatment liquid was applied to the raised surface of the high pile knitted fabric prepared earlier using a knife coater per 1 m ² of the knitted fabric. Next, it was placed in a superheated steam steamer (HT steamer) at 200°C with the raised side facing up, and subjected to moist heat treatment for 10 minutes, after which it was washed with warm water and dried.

When the tips of the raised piles of the treated high-pile knitted fabric are observed under a microscope, the tips of the single fiber 24-denier raised piles, which are the stinging hair component, are tapered into a good taper shape as shown in Figure 1, and the average Thinning rate is 45
It was hot. The texture of the raised surface also changed from the rough, hard texture of the untreated product to a soft, stiff texture.

Example 3 Polyester staple fiber (A) made of polyethylene terephthalate (single fiber 12 denier, fiber length 76 mm)
Polyester staple fibers (B) (single fiber fineness 2.5 denier, fiber length 64 mm) made of polyethylene terephthalate copolymerized with 5 mol% of 5-sodium sulfoxyisophthalic acid and 5-sodium sulfoxyisophthalic acid were each dyed with an alkali-resistant disperse dye. A and B were mixed in a mixing machine at a weight ratio of 30:70, and then a card sliver was produced using a roller card machine. Therefore, long fibers made of polyethylene terephthalate (yarn denier 150 denier, number of filaments 32)
A high pile knitted fabric (pile length 20
mm, pile weight 371 g/m ² ). After backing with acrylic resin, it was passed through a polisher heated to 170°C three times to remove crimps at the tip of the nap, and then passed through a shearing machine to equalize the nap length and subjected to the next tapering process.

As a treatment liquid for tapering, use 1 part water to 80 g sodium hydroxide, Emar C (Kao Soap)
Co., Ltd.) 21g, LYK-3133 (Ipposha Yushi Kogyo Co., Ltd.)
After adjusting the ratio of 23g of glycerin and 100g of glycerin, foaming was performed using a homogenizer to create a foamy treatment liquid. The foam treatment liquid obtained at this time had a foaming ratio of 5.3 times and a foam half-life of 315 seconds.

Therefore, the above-mentioned foam treatment liquid was applied to the raised surface of the previously prepared high pile knitted fabric using a knife coater. The amount applied at this time was 780 g/m ² .
Next, turn this high pile knitted fabric with the raised side facing up.
It was placed in a superheated steamer at 195°C for 9 minutes for wet heat treatment, then washed with hot water and dried.

When the tips of the napped ends of the tapered knitted fabric are observed under a microscope, the ends of the napped ends of the single 12-denier (A) fibers that make up the stinging hair component have a good taper as shown in the model in Figure 1. It had a tapered shape, and the average thinning rate was 42. Also monofilament
The nap length of the two 2.5-denier fibers was 8 mm shorter than that of the A fiber, forming a fluffy component similar to natural fur. The texture of the raised surface was also significantly improved compared to the untreated product, giving it a soft and firm texture.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a model diagram of the preferred shape of the tip of the raised pilaf that is the object of the present invention, and Figures 2 to 4 show the shape of the tip of the unfavorable raised pilaf that is seen when a treatment agent is applied to the pilaf surface by a coating method. It is a model diagram.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A treatment agent containing a compound capable of dissolving or decomposing the fibers constituting the nap is applied in the form of a foam to the nap surface of a fiber structure having nap, and then heat-treated. Features: A method for tapering the tip of the nap of a nap fiber structure. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fibers constituting the nap include thin fibers with a single fiber fineness of 5 deniers or less and thick fibers with a single fiber fineness of 10 deniers or more. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fibers constituting the nap are a mixture of different soluble or degradable fibers. 4. The method according to claim 1, which comprises applying an aqueous solution containing an alkali metal hydroxide in the form of foam to napped polyester fibers and then subjecting them to a wet heat treatment. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the aqueous solution containing the alkali metal hydroxide contains a weight loss promoter and glycerin.