JP2023143243A - Substrate for manufacturing nonwoven fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a substrate for manufacturing nonwoven fabric, which allows for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric having a horizontal stripe pattern in which at least two types of belt-like parts extending in traverse direction (CD direction) of the nonwoven fabric and having different patterns are repeatedly and regularly disposed in longitudinal direction (MD direction) of the nonwoven fabric.SOLUTION: Fiber web is placed on a substrate for manufacturing nonwoven fabric during manufacturing of a nonwoven fabric. The substrate for manufacturing nonwoven fabric is formed by weaving warp and weft and includes at least two types of a woven texture A and a woven texture B. The woven texture A and the woven texture B are belt-like parts extending along a direction in which the weft extends. The woven texture A and the woven texture B are regularly and repeatedly formed along the direction in which the warp extends on the substrate for manufacturing nonwoven fabric.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present disclosure relates to a support for nonwoven fabric production, on which a fibrous web is placed during nonwoven fabric production, and on which a pattern can be applied to the fibrous web while the fibers are integrated.

When manufacturing a nonwoven fabric, by appropriately selecting a nonwoven fabric manufacturing support (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a "support") on which a fibrous web is placed, a nonwoven fabric having a pattern corresponding to the structure of the support can be produced. A method to obtain this has already been proposed. For example, when producing a nonwoven fabric by injecting a high-pressure fluid stream onto a fibrous web to entangle the fibers, the fibrous web is placed on a support that can form a pattern on the nonwoven fabric, and the fibrous web is It has also been proposed to rearrange the parts to form a striped pattern (Patent Document 1). Moreover, as an industrial fabric for imparting uneven marks to paper products, an industrial fabric having three predetermined types of pattern area groups has been proposed (Patent Document 2).

JP2009-287158A Patent No. 4188209

The present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric having a horizontal striped pattern in which at least two strips of different patterns extending in the lateral direction (CD direction) of the nonwoven fabric are repeatedly and regularly arranged in the longitudinal direction (MD direction) of the nonwoven fabric. Provided is a support for nonwoven fabric production that allows for.

The present disclosure provides a support for nonwoven fabric production, which is formed by weaving warps and wefts, on which a fibrous web is placed during the production of nonwoven fabric,
including at least two types of woven structure A and woven structure B,
The woven structure A and the woven structure B are belt-shaped portions extending along the direction in which the wefts extend,
The woven structure A and the woven structure B are regularly and repeatedly formed along the direction in which the warp extends,
Provided is a support for producing nonwoven fabrics.

In the support of the present disclosure, regions in which a pattern originating from the woven structure A and regions in which a pattern originating from the woven structure B is formed are arranged alternately or regularly in the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric. It enables the production of nonwoven fabrics with novel designs.

It is an organization chart of an example of a support of this embodiment. It is an organization chart of an example of a support of this embodiment. 2 is a photograph showing the surface of a nonwoven fabric manufactured in Example 1, which corresponds to an example of a nonwoven fabric manufactured using the support shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a photograph showing the surface of a nonwoven fabric manufactured in Example 2, which corresponds to an example of a nonwoven fabric manufactured using the support shown in FIG. 2. It is an organization chart of an example of a support of this embodiment. 6 is a photograph showing the surface of a nonwoven fabric manufactured in Example 3, which corresponds to an example of a nonwoven fabric manufactured using the support shown in FIG. 5. 3 is a photograph showing the surface of the nonwoven fabric manufactured in Example 4. 3 is a photograph showing the surface of the nonwoven fabric manufactured in Example 5. 7 is a photograph showing the surface of the nonwoven fabric manufactured in Example 6. 2 is a side cross-sectional photograph showing a method for determining the difference in height between the surface of woven structure A and the surface of woven structure B in an example of the support of the present embodiment. 2 is a side cross-sectional photograph showing a method for determining the difference in height between the surface of woven structure A and the surface of woven structure B in an example of the support of the present embodiment. 2 is a side cross-sectional photograph showing a method for determining the difference in height between the surface of woven structure A and the surface of woven structure B in an example of the support of the present embodiment.

In the nonwoven fabric disclosed in Patent Document 1, the rows or pattern portions constituting the striped pattern extend in the MD direction (longitudinal direction) of the nonwoven fabric, and two or more different patterns are formed along the CD direction (horizontal direction). The regions are arranged regularly (hereinafter, such a striped pattern will be referred to as a "vertical stripe" for convenience). In Patent Document 1, for example, a fiber web is placed on a herringbone net, and by regularly changing the jetting conditions of water jet in the CD direction, rows having a pattern corresponding to the support are formed, and You're getting stripes. Specifically, there is a method of regularly blocking some orifices in a nozzle that sprays a water stream and performing a water stream entanglement process to form rows with a pattern corresponding to the support at intervals. Disclosed.

Patent Document 2 discloses that, using an industrial fabric having two specific types of pattern areas and a pattern area consisting of a plain weave structure, the two specific types of pattern areas are formed from a portion formed corresponding to the plain weave structure. It is proposed to form concave portions and convex portions in a paper product, respectively. That is, Patent Document 2 proposes an industrial fabric in which concave portions and convex portions are formed in a relatively wide range in a paper product, allowing the concave portions or convex portions to appear as characters, for example.

In order to obtain a striped pattern that could not be obtained with conventional nonwoven fabrics, the present inventors focused on the structure of the support on which the fibrous web is placed when producing nonwoven fabrics by high-pressure fluid entangling method or spunbonding method, etc. We considered making the support suitable for forming a striped pattern. As a result, the support comprises at least two different textures, and the two different textures alternate along the direction in which the warp threads of the support run (generally the direction in which the support travels during nonwoven manufacturing). A support body configured to be arranged has now been devised. According to such a support, a nonwoven fabric having novel design properties can be produced even if ordinary high-pressure fluid flow entangling treatment conditions and spunbond conditions are employed. Hereinafter, the structure of the support for nonwoven fabric production of this embodiment will be explained.

The support of this embodiment is a support formed by weaving warps and wefts, and includes at least two types of textures A and B, and the textures A and B are arranged in the direction in which the wefts extend (generally It is a band-shaped part that extends along the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the support moves during nonwoven fabric production (hereinafter also referred to as the "CD direction"), and in the direction in which the warp threads extend (generally, the direction in which the support moves during nonwoven fabric production). , hereinafter also referred to as the "MD direction"), the woven texture A and the woven texture B are regularly and repeatedly formed. Texture A and texture B extend over the entire width of the support in the CD direction, or extend over the entire width of the nonwoven fabric to be produced in the CD direction. By placing a fibrous web on this support and subjecting it to a treatment that integrates the fibers, or by depositing fibers in a molten or softened state on this support, each woven structure is A region having a pattern (including no pattern) determined by is formed.

In the support, for example, the texture A and the texture B are arranged in the order of ABAB... along the warp extending direction (MD direction). Therefore, if the regions formed in the nonwoven fabric by the textures A and B of this support are respectively referred to as the first region and the second region, then in the nonwoven fabric, the first region, the second region, the first region, and the like are formed along the MD direction. Two regions are formed in the order of the second region, etc., and a horizontal stripe pattern (that is, a horizontal stripe) is formed in which the first region and the second region extend along the CD direction orthogonal to the MD direction. Furthermore, it is also possible to add a texture C and arrange it in the order ABC ABC... along the MD direction. Examples of the weave structure include plain weave, twill weave, satin weave, and herring twill weave. For example, weave structure A may be 2/2 twill weave, weave structure B may be plain weave, and weave structure C may be 3/1 twill weave. With a support incorporating three or more woven structures, a horizontal striped pattern can be formed in a large number of regions with different surface properties in the resulting nonwoven fabric. Further, the illustrated weave structure may be an irregular structure, for example, a weave structure such as a broken twill. By creating an irregular structure, the parts where the warp threads pass over the weft threads are dispersed, and the openings or recesses formed due to the floating warp threads are dispersed, creating a unique texture. Designs can be added to nonwoven fabrics. In addition, a support with an irregular weave structure improves the dimensional stability of the support, prevents meandering (shifting) during running, and prevents wrinkles when manufacturing nonwoven fabrics using the support. tend to get it.

In the support of this embodiment, the diameters of the weft yarn a constituting the woven structure A and the weft yarn b constituting the woven structure B are different, and at the boundary between the woven structure A and the woven structure B, the weft yarn a and the weft yarn b constitute the woven structure B. The weft b may be adjacent to each other. In addition, in the support of this embodiment, the surface of the woven structure A is at a position higher than the surface of the woven structure B, for example, by 0.1 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less, particularly at a position higher than 0.5 mm or more and 2.5 mm or less, More particularly, it may be located at a position higher than 0.8 mm and lower than 2.0 mm. With a support having either or both of these configurations, a narrow third area may be formed at the boundary between the first area and the second area in the nonwoven fabric.

The difference in height between the surface of texture A and the surface of texture B can be determined by observing the side surface or side cross section of the support in the MD direction, and determining the difference in height between the surface of texture A and the surface of texture B. This is the difference between the point where the warp threads are floating at the boundary between B and B) and the highest position of the woven structure B). When cutting the support to observe the side cross section, depending on the cutting location, it may be difficult to see the highest position of the woven structure in the side cross section. In this case, you can either find the highest position on the back side of the photographed side section, or cut the support at several different places and observe the different cut planes, and then find the highest position of each tissue. Find the distance between. However, when the surface of the tissue is photographed obliquely on the back side of the side section, the warp and weft located on the back side are ignored when determining the height of the surface. Depending on the weave of the support, the weft may be the highest position, or the warp may be the highest position.

A method for determining the difference in height between the surface of texture A and the surface of texture B from the side cross section of the support is shown in FIGS. 10 to 12. FIG. 10 corresponds to a support having a woven structure shown in FIG. 1, which will be described later. In FIG. 10, a line LB passing through the highest point on the surface of the woven structure B and parallel to the surface of the table on which the support is placed, and the highest point on the surface of the woven structure A (indicated by symbol a1) A line LA is drawn that passes through the weft (the highest position on the surface of the weft) and is parallel to the surface of the table on which the support is placed. The distance between LA and LB (the distance in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the table on which the support is placed) corresponds to the difference in height between the surface of texture A and the surface of texture B.

FIG. 11 corresponds to a woven support shown in FIG. 2, which will be described later, and FIG. 12 corresponds to a woven support shown in FIG. 5, which will be described later. Similar to FIG. 10, in these figures, LB is a line that passes through the highest point on the surface of woven tissue B and is parallel to the surface of the table on which the support is placed, and LA is the line that passes through the highest point on the surface of woven tissue A. It is a line that passes through a high position (the surface of the warp yarn at the highest position) and is parallel to the surface of the table on which the support assembly is placed. In FIG. 11, the surface of the woven structure B appears perspectively on the deep side of the side cross section, but this is ignored when determining LB.

In the support having the above structure, a step tends to be formed at the boundary between the two structures, and/or a gap between the wefts tends to be wider than other parts. At this step or gap portion, the fibrous web is affected by the water flow and/or by suction during the hydroentangling process under different conditions than the fibrous webs on the textures A and B. As a result, a third region having a different pattern from both the first and second regions may be formed as a narrow region.

In addition, at the boundary between woven texture A and woven texture B, the warp in woven texture A and woven texture It is believed that a portion different from the floating portion (referred to as a "knuckle") is formed, and an opening is formed in the third region of the nonwoven fabric obtained by this knuckle. Furthermore, at the border, the weft threads may be in a different state than in other parts, for example by meandering, which may also be a factor in the formation of the third region and/or determine the pattern in the third region. It is thought that then.

The support of this embodiment may have a twill weave section as weave structure A and a plain weave section as weave structure B alternately formed along the MD direction. In such a support, the diameter of the weft threads a may be larger than the diameter of the weft threads b. Hereinafter, an example of such a support will be explained while showing the weave structure.

The twill weave section, which is the weave structure A, may be, for example, a weft twill weave structure in which the number of floats of the weft is 2 or more and the number of floats of the warp is 1. FIG. 1 is a structure diagram of a support in which weave texture A, which is a 1/7 horizontal twill weave, and weave texture B, which is a plain weave, is formed, and FIG. 2 shows a 1/3 horizontal twill weave. It is a structure diagram of a support body in which a woven structure A is formed and a woven structure B is a plain weave portion. In the organization chart, the colored parts are the warp threads floating above the weft threads. Note that FIGS. 1 and 2, as well as FIG. 5, which will be described later, schematically show the repetition of woven texture A and woven texture B, and the numbers of warps and wefts constituting each texture shown in the drawings are exemplary. It is something. Examples of nonwoven fabrics manufactured using the supports shown in these drawings are shown in Figures 3, 4, and 6. The number of wefts and the like may differ from those shown.

In the support shown in FIG. 1, a knuckle a is formed by a floating portion of the warp threads at the boundary between the two tissues. In FIG. 1, knuckle a has warp threads floating above weft threads a and b. In other parts, the warp threads float above one weft thread, and it can be seen that knuckle a is formed by the warp threads floating in a different state from the other parts.
The nonwoven fabric produced using this support has a pattern as shown in FIG. 3, with a first region having a diagonal line pattern provided by the twill weave (weave texture A) and a plain weave (weave texture B). The second region has openings or recesses arranged in a staggered manner. Further, as the third region, stitch-like regions in which openings are relatively clearly formed are formed regularly in the order of the first region→the third region→the second region. This nonwoven fabric corresponds to the nonwoven fabric manufactured in Example 1 described below, and is produced by jetting a water stream as a high-pressure fluid stream onto a fibrous web placed on a support as shown in Figure 1 to entangle the fibers. It was manufactured.

In the nonwoven fabric of FIG. 3, when viewed from one second region, the third region is formed only at the boundary with the first region on the lower side of the figure. In the third region, when a water stream is injected onto the fibrous web while moving the support, the water flow is directed from the fibrous web at a lower position (weave structure B) to the fibrous web at a higher position (weave structure A) on the support. This area is formed by sequentially spraying water streams. It is thought that the fiber web, which extends from a low position to a high position as it progresses, firmly catches the water flow and is easily affected by the water flow, and that knuckles and the like at steps are likely to be reflected in the nonwoven fabric. On the other hand, at the other step, the water stream is sprayed from the fiber web at a high position (texture A) to the fiber web at a low position (texture B). It is believed that some of the water flow "flows down" over the web and is not as tightly received by the fibrous web, reducing the degree of entanglement. As a result, openings and/or recesses are less likely to be formed, and the third region having a clear pattern is not formed, resulting in a nonwoven fabric as shown in FIG. 3.

In the support of FIG. 2, knuckle a is a warp floating above one weft. The knuckle a is a part where the warp threads pass over the thick weft threads a, but the warp threads pass over the thin weft threads B before and after the direction of movement of the knuckle a. Therefore, in the vicinity of knuckle a, the arrangement of the weft threads (particularly the spacing between the weft threads) is different from the arrangement of weft threads in other tissues, and therefore knuckle a forms a characteristic opening and/or opening in the third region. It is thought that then.

The nonwoven fabric produced using this support has a pattern as shown in FIG. (Texture B) has a second region in which openings or recesses are arranged in a staggered manner. In addition, as the third region, stitch-like regions with clearly formed openings are formed regularly in the order of the first region → third region → second region from the top to the bottom of the figure. has been done. This nonwoven fabric corresponds to the nonwoven fabric manufactured in Example 2, which will be described later, and is produced by a method in which a water stream as a high-pressure fluid stream is jetted onto a fibrous web placed on a support as shown in FIG. 2 to entangle the fibers. It was manufactured. In the first region of the nonwoven fabric shown in FIG. 4, relatively clear openings are formed at positions corresponding to portions of the woven structure A where the warp threads are floating. This is because weave texture A is a 1/3 weft broken twill texture, and the curvature at the floating portion of the warp is stronger than, for example, in the texture A of the support in Fig. 1, and the floating portion is more raised. This is thought to be possible. In addition, in the weave structure A of the support shown in FIG. 2, continuous diagonal lines are not formed due to the floating warp yarns, so that a diagonal line pattern is difficult to be formed in the first region of the obtained nonwoven fabric.

The nonwoven fabric shown in FIG. 4 also has a structure in which the first region → third region → second region is repeatedly formed, and when viewed from one second region, the boundary with the first region on the lower side of the figure The third region is formed only in this region. The reason why the third region is formed in this way is considered to be the same as the reason explained with reference to FIG. 3 above.

In the support of this embodiment, the woven structure A is not limited to one in which the number of floating warps is one, but may be a twill weave in which the number of floating warps is two or more. The upper limit of the number of warp floats may be, for example, 16, in particular 10. At this time, the floating number of the weft yarns may be, for example, 2 or more and 16 or less, particularly 2 or more and 10 or less. For example, the support of the present embodiment may have a weave A having a 2/2 twill weave and a weave B having a plain weave, as shown in the organization chart of FIG. .

A twill weave section in which the number of floating warp threads is 2 or more forms a characteristic knuckle at the boundary with the plain weave section. As shown in FIG. 5, a knuckle N1 floating above three or more consecutive wefts including the weft a and the weft b is formed at one boundary of the twill weave and the plain weave. Since this knuckle N1 is long in the vertical direction, a vertically long opening tends to be formed at the boundary between the first region and the second region.

In addition, in the support shown in FIG. 5, the warp floats on two or more consecutive wefts including weft a and weft b at the boundary on the opposite side to the boundary on the side where the knuckle N1 is formed. A knuckle N2 is formed, and a knuckle N3 is formed adjacent to one side of the knuckle N2, the warp floating on two or more continuous wefts. Since the knuckles N2 and N3 are formed close to each other, in the obtained nonwoven fabric, the area where two adjacent openings or two openings are connected to form one larger opening is the first area. and the second region.

As shown in the support shown in Fig. 5, in the woven structure, the number of warp floats (the number of weft threads on which the warp threads are successively located) and the number of weft thread floats (the number of warp threads on which the weft threads are successively located) If the numbers) are the same, the numbers of floating warps and wefts will be the same on both main surfaces. Such a support makes it possible to produce a nonwoven fabric with substantially the same pattern regardless of whether the fibrous web is placed on the main surface. However, in the twill weave structure, the directions of the diagonal lines formed by the warp threads are mirror images between the two main surfaces, and the directions of the diagonal lines formed in the resulting nonwoven fabric are opposite.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a nonwoven fabric manufactured using the support shown in FIG. 5. The nonwoven fabric in FIG. 6 corresponds to the nonwoven fabric produced in Example 3, and was produced by jetting a water stream as a high-pressure fluid stream onto a fibrous web placed on a support as shown in FIG. 5 to entangle the fibers. It was manufactured. This nonwoven fabric was produced by carrying out a water jet entanglement process so that the boundary where the knuckle N1 was formed was first jetted into the water flow, that is, in FIG. 5, the arrow shown on the right side of the organization chart was set as the traveling direction. In the nonwoven fabric of FIG. 6, the first region has a diagonal line pattern in which diagonal lines with openings and diagonal lines without openings are alternately arranged. The opening corresponds to the part where the warp threads are floating in the twill weave section in Figure 5, and because the warp threads floating on the two wefts in the twill weave section are adjacent to each other, there is a relatively clear opening section. Made of non-woven fabric.

The nonwoven fabric of FIG. 6 has a third region formed corresponding to the boundary portion including the knuckle N1, and a fourth region formed corresponding to the boundary portion including the knuckles N2 and N3, and has four regions. are repeatedly formed in the order of first region→third region→second region→fourth region. Both the third and fourth regions have different patterns from the first and second regions, emphasizing the boundaries between the first and second regions. Since the knuckle N1 is long and floats on the three wefts, the opening in the third region is made larger than the opening formed in the first region, and the opening in the first region is formed at the opening in the first region. The direction of the diagonal lines gives a changed appearance in the third region. Since the knuckle N2 passes over the weft yarns constituting the weave A and the weft yarns constituting the weave B at the boundary between the weaves A and B, the warp is lower on the weave B side. After reaching the position, it passes under the weft threads of texture B. This is considered to be what makes the pattern in the fourth area different from the other areas. Furthermore, at the boundary between woven texture A and woven texture B, the weft spacing tends to be wider than that in woven texture A and woven texture B, which also causes the patterns in the third and fourth regions to be different from those in other regions. It is thought that it is different from that.

In the nonwoven fabric of FIG. 6, regions having patterns different from those of the first region and the second region are formed at the upper and lower boundaries of the figure, respectively, when viewed from the second region. In knuckles N2 and N3, the warp threads are floating above the two weft threads, so they are relatively large. Therefore, even when the water flow sequentially acts on the fiber web spanning from a high position to a low position, it is easily affected by the knuckles, and the support shown in Figures 1 and 2 (at the knuckles at the boundary of the woven structure on the rear side in the direction of travel, the warp It is considered that a clearer pattern was formed compared to the case where the number of floats was 1).

The illustrated support body is an example, and the textures A and B may each be other than the illustrated texture. Further, the width in the MD direction of each woven structure, the diameter of the wefts a and b, and the diameter of the warp are also appropriately selected so that a desired pattern can be obtained in the nonwoven fabric.

In the support, the dimension in the MD direction of the textures A and B is the dimension in the MD direction of the first and second regions formed in the resulting nonwoven fabric (i.e., the direction in which the first and second regions are repeatedly formed). When the direction is X, determine the dimension in the X direction). In this embodiment, the dimension of the woven structure A in the MD direction may be 2 mm or more and 200 mm or less, particularly 3 mm or more and 100 mm or less, more particularly 5 mm or more and 50 mm or less, even more particularly 7 mm or more and 30 mm or less, and even more particularly It may be 10 mm or more and 25 mm or less. Similarly, the dimension of the woven structure B in the MD direction may be 2 mm or more and 200 mm or less, particularly 3 mm or more and 100 mm or less, more particularly 5 mm or more and 50 mm or less, even more particularly 7 mm or more and 30 mm or less, and even more particularly 10 mm or more. It may be 25 mm or less. The dimension of the woven structure A in the MD direction may be the same as the dimension of the woven structure B in the MD direction, or may be different. Further, in one support, there may be a plurality of textures A having different dimensions in the MD direction, and/or a plurality of textures B having different dimensions in the MD direction.

The warp and weft that constitute the support may be, for example, filaments with a diameter of 0.3 mm or more and 1.2 mm or less. The diameter of the weft may be, for example, 0.5 mm or more and 1.2 mm or less, particularly 0.9 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, and more particularly 0.65 mm or more and 0.95 mm or less. The weft a and the weft b may have different diameters. In that case, the difference in diameter between the weft yarn a and the weft yarn b may be, for example, 0.1 mm or more and 0.8 mm or less, particularly 0.2 mm or more and 0.7 mm or less, and more particularly 0.3 mm or more and 0.6 mm or less. The larger the difference in diameter between the weft a and the weft b, the clearer the pattern in the third and fourth regions of the formed nonwoven fabric tends to be. In the vicinity of the boundary, the woven structure B and the fiber web do not contact each other (the gap is large), and a clear pattern may not be formed. Note that the warp yarns constituting the support are common in the woven structures A and B, and the thickness thereof is the same in the woven structures A and B.

The diameter of the warp and weft is the length of the longest line segment connecting any two points on the cross section (cross section obtained by cutting perpendicular to the length direction) of the thread (e.g. filament). . The diameter can also be determined by this method for objects whose cross-sectional shape is elliptical, polygonal, bean-shaped, magatama-shaped, star-shaped, etc. However, as described later, for filaments whose cross section is flat (including rectangular shapes with rounded corners), the dimensions of the short and long sides of the rectangle circumscribing the cross section can be used as an index to express the thickness. do.

The warp and weft yarns constituting the support have a flat cross section, and a rectangle circumscribing the cross section has a short side of 0.2 mm or more and 0.8 mm or less and a long side of 0.3 mm or more and 1.2 mm or less. It may be a monofilament with. The short side of the circumscribed rectangle may be particularly 0.4 mm or more and 0.6 mm or less, and the long side may particularly be 0.7 mm or more and 0.9 mm or less. Here, the term "flat shape" refers to a shape that has a large dimension in one direction, such as a rectangle (rectangle), an oblong ellipse, a rectangle with rounded corners, etc., and whose dimension is determined only by the diameter determined by the above method. and those whose shapes are difficult to conceptualize. When the cross section is a perfect rectangle, the short and long sides of the rectangle have dimensions within the above range. The ratio of the long side and short side of the circumscribed rectangle (long side/short side ratio) is, for example, 1.2 or more, particularly 1.3 or more and 3 or less, and more particularly 1.4 or more and 2 or less. It's fine.

In this embodiment, it is preferable that the warp yarns constituting the support body have a flat shape. This is because when warps having a flat shape are used, it is easier to improve the flexibility and dimensional stability of the support in the MD direction, compared to when warps having a circular cross section are used. Furthermore, when flat warp threads are used, the contact area between the warp threads and the fiber web increases, and the area of the opening formed by the floating portion of the warp threads, including the knuckles, tends to become larger. In addition, especially when the warp yarns have a rectangular cross section with rounded corners, the bending resistance of the support tends to be improved.

The warp and weft constituting the support may be made of one or more materials selected from polyester, polyamide, polyolefin, polyetheretherketone, polyphenylene sulfide, and the like.
Also, the warp and weft yarns may be in a form other than monofilaments, for example in the form of multifilaments or spun yarns. In the case of a multifilament or the like, the fineness may be used instead of the diameter as an index representing the thickness of the yarn, and wefts a and b having different finenesses may be used.

The weaving density of the support of the present embodiment is, for example, 6 warps/inch or more and 123 warps/inch or less, particularly 10 warps/inch or more and 80 warps/inch or less, and more particularly 20 warps/inch or more and 40 warps/inch. It may be the following. The weaving density of the weft yarns may be, for example, 6 yarns/inch or more and 123 yarns/inch or less, particularly 8 yarns/inch or more and 60 yarns/inch or less, and more particularly 10 yarns/inch or more and 20 yarns/inch or less. The higher the weave density, the easier it is to give a clear pattern to the non-woven fabric due to the parts where the warp threads, including the knuckles, are floating, but if the weave density is too high, the smoothness of the parts where the warp threads, including the knuckles, are floating, increases, and on the contrary, Pattern clarity may be reduced.

When the texture A is a twill weave, in addition to the diameter of the monofilament, the warp density and the weft density, it is also obtained by the number of warps floating above the weft and/or sinking below the weft in the twill weave. The form of the diagonal line pattern in the first region of the nonwoven fabric changes. The twill weave structure consists of warp threads that float above the weft threads either adjacent to each other or non-adjacent, and when the warp threads are connected with a straight line, all floating parts are If a straight line extending obliquely can be drawn in a state including the first area, a first area having a diagonal line pattern as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 can be obtained. If the straight line cannot be drawn, a first region having a pattern with low regularity in the arrangement of openings or recesses as shown in FIG. 4 is obtained.

When weave structure B is a plain weave, the dimensions of the opening formed in the second region change depending on the diameter of the monofilaments that make up the structure, and the larger the diameter of the monofilament, the larger the area of the opening tends to be. be. Furthermore, the spacing between openings, between openings and recesses, or between recesses changes depending on the weft density and warp density of the plain weave portion, and the larger the weft density and/or warp density, the narrower the spacing tends to be.

In the support, both textures A and B may be plain weaves. In that case, the two textures can be made different from each other by changing the diameter of the weft threads and/or changing the density of the weft threads. Further, both weaves A and B may be twill weaves. In that case, the two weaving structures can be made different from each other by using one method selected from changing the number of warp threads floating above the weft threads, changing the number of warp threads sinking below the weft threads, changing the diameter of the weft threads, etc. can do.

When the texture B is a fine plain weave (for example, 80 mesh or more and 100 mesh or less), a patternless second region is formed corresponding to the texture. In this case, the woven structure A may be a structure capable of forming a pattern, for example a twill weave, or a plain weave made of filaments with a large diameter.

The support of this embodiment is manufactured by weaving in a conventional manner using warp and weft yarns so that texture A and texture B are regularly and repeatedly formed. After weaving, a heat setting process is preferably performed in which a heat treatment is performed while applying tension to the support in the MD direction (the direction in which the warp threads extend) or the CD direction (the direction in which the weft threads extend). Dimensional stability is imparted by heat-setting. The tension is preferably, for example, 1 kg/cm or more and 20 kg/cm or less. Further, the temperature is preferably, for example, 80° C. or more and 250° C. or less.

The support of this embodiment is suitable for use in a method in which the fibers are rearranged and entangled to integrate the fibers by injecting a high-pressure fluid stream (particularly a water stream) onto the fiber web. Examples of the nonwoven fabrics produced are as described above.

The support of this embodiment is also suitable for use in nonwoven fabric production by spunbond methods. In the spunbond method, melt-spun fibers are opened and deposited on a support to create a fibrous web, and then the fibrous web is subjected to a process (for example, embossing) that bonds the fibers together to produce a nonwoven fabric. This is the way to do it. The support of this embodiment is preferably used as a support used when producing a fiber web by depositing melt-spun fibers. When melt-spun fibers are deposited on a support, the fibers are in a molten or softened state, so the pattern of the support is likely to be reflected in the fiber web, and this is maintained in the nonwoven fabric.
Note that in the spunbond method, unlike the high-pressure fluid flow entangling method, the fibers are not rearranged by external force during nonwoven fabric production. Therefore, openings are difficult to form in nonwoven fabrics manufactured by the spunbond method, but the unevenness tends to appear clearly, reflecting the unevenness of areas where the warp threads of the support are floating (including knuckles). It is in.

Alternatively, the support of this embodiment may be used when placing a fibrous web and bonding the fibers constituting the fibrous web by the fibers themselves or by an adhesive.

The support may be endless with ends parallel to the lateral direction (direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the support) connected, or may be rectangular. When using a rectangular support, the rectangular support of this embodiment may be spread over another endless support and fixed to the other support, thereby allowing continuous This enables the production of nonwoven fabrics.

The support of this embodiment and the nonwoven fabric produced using the support will be described with reference to Examples.

(Example 1)
As Support 1, a fabric was produced in which the texture A was a 1/7 twill weave part, the texture B was a plain weave part, and the texture A and the texture B were arranged alternately in the MD direction. In the support 1, a polyester monofilament having a rectangular cross section with rounded corners and a rectangular dimension circumscribing the cross section having a long side of 0.88 mm and a short side of 0.57 mm is arranged as the warp, and the weft a is a polyester monofilament with a diameter of 0.88 mm. A 9 mm polyester monofilament and a 0.45 mm diameter polyester monofilament were used as the weft b. In producing the support 1, after weaving was completed, heat setting was performed at 150° C. while applying a tension of 2 kg/cm in the MD direction. In support 1, the warp density was 30 threads/inch, the weft density was 25 threads/inch, the dimension of woven structure A in the MD direction was 15 mm, and the dimension of woven structure B in the MD direction was 8 mm. In support 1, the surface of texture A was located 1.5 mm higher than the surface of texture B.

The difference in height between the surface of woven tissue A and the surface of woven tissue B was determined by photographing a cross section of the support in the MD direction using an image analysis processing device (Hirox KH-3000) and by the method described above. I asked for it.

A nonwoven fabric was manufactured using Support 1 according to the following procedure.
A fibrous web was produced by mixing 80% by mass of rayon and 20% by mass of PP/PE and using a parallel card machine. The basis weight of this fibrous web was approximately 40 g/m ² .
[First hydroentanglement process (overall entanglement process)]
The above-mentioned fibrous web was placed on a plain weave net having a warp diameter of 0.132 mm, a weft diameter of 0.132 mm, and a mesh count of 90 meshes. While the fibrous web was traveling at a speed of 4 m/min, a columnar water stream with a water pressure of 1.0 MPa was injected onto the surface of the fibrous web, and then a columnar water stream with a water pressure of 1.5 MPa was injected onto the back side of the fibrous web. A nozzle in which orifices with a hole diameter of 0.12 mm were provided at intervals of 0.6 mm was used for jetting the water stream. The distance between the surface of the fibrous web and the orifice was 15 mm.

[Second hydroentangling treatment (striped pattern formation treatment)]
The fibrous web subjected to the first hydroentangling treatment was placed on the support 1, and while the fibrous web was traveling at a speed of 4 m/min, a columnar water stream with a water pressure of 1.5 MPa was injected onto the back surface of the fibrous web. The same nozzle used in the first water entanglement process was used for jetting the water stream. By the second hydroentangling treatment, a nonwoven fabric having the first to third regions shown in FIG. 3 was obtained. More specifically, each region extends along the CD direction (that is, the CD direction is the Y direction), and the first region has a diagonal line pattern and the second region has openings arranged in a staggered manner. The pattern portions were alternately and repeatedly present in the MD direction, forming a striped pattern. The third region was a region in which slightly larger openings were arranged linearly between the first region and the second region.

[Heat treatment]
The nonwoven fabric after the second hydroentanglement treatment is heated at 135°C for about 5 seconds using a hot air penetration type heat treatment machine to perform drying treatment, and at the same time, the fibers are thermally bonded together using the PP/PE sheath component. A nonwoven fabric of Example 1 was obtained.

(Example 2)
As the support 2, the weave structure A is a 1/3 collapsed twill weave (1/3 collapsed twill/warp 1 weave), the weave structure B is a plain weave, and the weave texture A and the weave texture B are alternately arranged in the MD direction. A woven fabric was fabricated. In the support 2, a polyester monofilament having a rectangular cross section with rounded corners and a rectangular dimension circumscribing the cross section having a long side of 0.88 mm and a short side of 0.57 mm is arranged as the warp, and the weft a is a polyester monofilament with a diameter of 0.88 mm. A polyester monofilament with a diameter of 8 mm and a polyester monofilament with a diameter of 0.45 mm were used as the weft b. In manufacturing the support 2, after weaving was completed, heat setting was performed at 150° C. while applying a tension of 2 kg/cm in the MD direction. In support 2, the warp density was 30 threads/inch, the weft density was 17 threads/inch, the dimension of woven structure A in the MD direction was 15 mm, and the dimension of woven structure B in the MD direction was 8 mm. In support 2, the surface of texture A was located 1.0 mm higher than the surface of texture B.

The nonwoven fabric of Example 2 was obtained by the same procedure as that adopted in the production of Example 1, except that Support 2 was used in the second hydroentangling treatment.
By the second hydroentangling treatment, a nonwoven fabric having the first to third regions shown in FIG. 3 was obtained. More specifically, each region extends along the CD direction (that is, the CD direction is the Y direction), and the first region is a pattern portion in which openings are irregularly formed, and the second region is a pattern portion in which openings are irregularly formed. Pattern portions in which openings were arranged in a staggered manner were alternately and repeatedly present in the MD direction, forming a striped pattern. The third region was a region in which slightly larger openings were arranged linearly between the first region and the second region.

(Example 3)
As the support 3, a fabric was produced in which the texture A was a 2/2 twill weave, the texture B was a plain weave, and the texture A and the texture B were alternately arranged in the MD direction. In the support 3, a polyester monofilament having a rectangular cross section with rounded corners and a rectangular dimension circumscribing the cross section having a long side of 0.88 mm and a short side of 0.57 mm is arranged as the warp, and the weft a is a polyester monofilament with a diameter of 0.88 mm. A 9 mm polyester monofilament and a 0.45 mm diameter polyester monofilament were used as the weft b. In manufacturing the support 3, after weaving was completed, heat setting was performed at 150° C. while applying a tension of 2 kg/cm in the MD direction. In support 3, the warp density was 30 threads/inch, the weft density was 17 threads/inch, the dimension of woven structure A in the MD direction was 20 mm, and the dimension of woven structure B in the MD direction was 10 mm. In support 3, the surface of texture A was located 0.8 mm higher than the surface of texture B.

The nonwoven fabric of Example 3 was obtained in the same manner as in the production of Example 1, except that Support 3 was used in the second hydroentangling treatment.
By the second hydroentangling treatment, a nonwoven fabric having the first to fourth regions shown in FIG. 6 was obtained. More specifically, each region extends along the CD direction (that is, the CD direction is the Y direction), and the first region has a diagonal line pattern and the second region has openings arranged in a staggered manner. The pattern portions were alternately and repeatedly present in the MD direction, forming a striped pattern. A third region and a fourth region were formed at the boundary between the first region and the second region.

(Example 4)
As the support 4, a fabric was produced in which the texture A was a 1/7 twill weave part, the texture B was a plain weave part, and the texture A and the texture B were arranged alternately in the MD direction. In the support 4, a polyester monofilament having a rectangular cross section with rounded corners and a rectangle circumscribing the cross section with dimensions of 0.88 mm on the long side and 0.57 mm on the short side is arranged as the warp, and the weft a is 0.5 mm in diameter. A 9 mm polyester monofilament and a 0.45 mm diameter polyester monofilament were used as the weft b. In manufacturing the support 4, after weaving was completed, heat setting was performed at 150° C. while applying a tension of 2 kg/cm in the MD direction. In support 4, the warp density was 30 threads/inch, the weft density was 25 threads/inch, the dimension of woven structure A in the MD direction was 15 mm, and the dimension of woven structure B in the MD direction was 20 mm. In support 4, the surface of texture A was located 1.6 mm higher than the surface of texture B.

The nonwoven fabric of Example 4 was obtained in the same manner as in the production of Example 1, except that Support 4 was used in the second hydroentangling treatment.
By the second hydroentangling treatment, a nonwoven fabric having the first to third regions shown in FIG. 10 was obtained. More specifically, each region extends along the CD direction (that is, the CD direction is the Y direction), and the first region has a diagonal line pattern and the second region has openings arranged in a staggered manner. The pattern portions were alternately and repeatedly present in the MD direction, forming a striped pattern. The third region was a region in which slightly larger openings were arranged linearly between the first region and the second region.

(Example 5)
As the support 5, a fabric was produced in which the texture A was a 2/2 twill weave, the texture B was a plain weave, and the texture A and the texture B were alternately arranged in the MD direction. In the support 5, a polyester monofilament having a rectangular cross section with rounded corners and the dimensions of the rectangle circumscribing the cross section having a long side of 0.88 mm and a short side of 0.57 mm is arranged as the warp, and the weft a is a polyester monofilament with a diameter of 0.88 mm. A 9 mm polyester monofilament and a 0.45 mm diameter polyester monofilament were used as the weft b. In manufacturing the support 5, after weaving was completed, heat setting was performed at 150° C. while applying a tension of 2 kg/cm in the MD direction. In support 5, the density of warp yarns was 30 threads/inch, the density of weft yarns was 17 threads/inch, the dimension of texture A in the MD direction was 6 mm, and the dimension of texture B in the MD direction was 6 mm. In support 5, the surface of texture A was located 0.6 mm higher than the surface of texture B.

The nonwoven fabric of Example 5 was obtained in the same manner as in the production of Example 1, except that Support 5 was used in the second hydroentangling treatment.
By the second hydroentangling treatment, a nonwoven fabric having the first to fourth regions shown in FIG. 11 was obtained. More specifically, each region extends along the CD direction (that is, the CD direction is the Y direction), and the first region has a diagonal line pattern and the second region has openings arranged in a staggered manner. The pattern portions were alternately and repeatedly present in the MD direction, forming a striped pattern. At the boundary between the first region and the second region, a third region and a fourth region were formed in which somewhat large openings were arranged in a linear manner.

(Example 6)
As the support 6, a woven fabric was produced in which the woven structure A was a 2/2 twill weave part, the woven structure B was a plain weave part, and the woven structures A and woven structures B were arranged alternately in the MD direction. In the support 6, polyester monofilaments having a rectangular cross section with rounded corners and the dimensions of the rectangle circumscribing the cross section having a long side of 0.88 mm and a short side of 0.57 mm are arranged alternately as warp threads, and as weft threads a, diameter A 0.9 mm polyester monofilament was used, and a 0.45 mm diameter polyester monofilament was used as the weft b. In manufacturing the support 6, after weaving was completed, heat setting was performed at 150° C. while applying a tension of 2 kg/cm in the MD direction. In support 6, the warp density was 30 threads/inch, the weft density was 17 threads/inch, the dimension of woven structure A in the MD direction was 10 mm, and the dimension of woven structure B in the MD direction was 10 mm. In support 6, the surface of texture A was located 0.45 mm higher than the surface of texture B.

The nonwoven fabric of Example 6 was obtained in the same manner as in the production of Example 1, except that Support 6 was used in the second hydroentangling treatment.
By the second hydroentangling treatment, a nonwoven fabric having the first to third regions shown in FIG. 12 was obtained. More specifically, each region extends along the CD direction (that is, the CD direction is the Y direction), and the first region has a diagonal line pattern and the second region has openings arranged in a staggered manner. The pattern portions were alternately and repeatedly present in the MD direction, forming a striped pattern. At the boundary between the first region and the second region, a third region and a fourth region were formed in which somewhat large openings were arranged in a linear manner.

This embodiment includes the following aspects.
(Aspect 1)
A support for producing a nonwoven fabric, which is made by weaving warps and wefts, on which a fibrous web is placed during the production of a nonwoven fabric,
including at least two types of woven structure A and woven structure B,
The woven structure A and the woven structure B are belt-shaped portions extending along the direction in which the wefts extend,
The woven structure A and the woven structure B are regularly and repeatedly formed along the direction in which the warp extends,
Support for nonwoven fabric production.
(Aspect 2)
The diameters of the weft a forming the woven structure A and the weft b forming the woven structure B are different, and at the boundary between the woven structure A and the woven structure B, the weft a and the weft b The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to aspect 1, wherein the two are adjacent to each other.
(Aspect 3)
The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to aspect 1 or 2, wherein the surface of the woven structure A is located at a position higher than the surface of the woven structure B by 0.1 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less.
(Aspect 4)
The warp, the weft a, and the weft b are each monofilaments with a diameter of 0.3 mm or more and 1.2 mm or less, or have a flat cross section, and a rectangle circumscribing the cross section is 0.2 mm or more and 0.8 mm or less. The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, which is a monofilament having a short side of 0.3 mm or more and a long side of 1.2 mm or less, and a long side/short side ratio of 1.2 or more. .
(Aspect 5)
The nonwoven fabric according to any one of aspects 1 to 4, wherein the woven structure A is a weft twill structure in which the number of floats of the weft is 2 or more and the number of floats of the warp is 1, and the woven structure B is a plain weave. Manufacturing support.
(Aspect 6)
The support for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the weft a is thicker than the weft b.
(Aspect 7)
Aspect 1, wherein a knuckle N1 in which the warp is floating is formed on two or more consecutive wefts including the weft a and the weft b at the boundary between the weave A and the weave B. A support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of 6 to 6.
(Aspect 8)
Viewed from the woven structure A, at the boundary with the woven structure B on the side opposite to the side where the knuckle N1 is formed, the warp has two or more continuous threads including the weft a and the weft b. A knuckle N2 is formed that floats on the weft, and a knuckle N3 that floats on two or more wefts in which the warp is continuous is formed adjacent to either side of the knuckle N2. , the support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of aspects 1 to 7.
(Aspect 9)
The weave structure A is a twill weave structure in which the floating number of the weft yarns is 2 or more and 16 or less, and the floating number of the warp yarns is 2 or more and 16 or less, the woven structure B is a plain weave structure, and the diameter of the weft yarn a is the same as that of the weft yarns. The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of aspects 1 to 8, which has a diameter larger than the diameter of b.
(Aspect 10)
The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, which is used when fibers are entangled with each other by a high-pressure fluid flow.
(Aspect 11)
The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, which is used when producing a nonwoven fabric by a spunbond method.
(Aspect 12)
producing a fibrous web;
Production of a nonwoven fabric, comprising subjecting the fibrous web to a process of bonding and/or intertwining the fibers constituting the fibrous web with each other while the fibrous web is placed on the support for nonwoven fabric production according to any one of aspects 1 to 10. Method.
(Aspect 13)
A method for producing a nonwoven fabric, comprising depositing filaments obtained by melt-spinning a synthetic resin on the support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of aspects 1 to 9 while the synthetic resin is melted or softened.

The support for producing a nonwoven fabric of the present disclosure enables the production of a nonwoven fabric with a novel striped pattern in which strips of different patterns extending in the CD direction of the nonwoven fabric are regularly arranged in the MD direction, and uses a high-pressure fluid flow entangling treatment method. It is also useful as a support for producing nonwoven fabrics by the spunbond method.

Claims (13)

A support for producing a nonwoven fabric, which is made by weaving warps and wefts, on which a fibrous web is placed during the production of a nonwoven fabric,
including at least two types of woven structure A and woven structure B,
The woven structure A and the woven structure B are belt-shaped portions extending along the direction in which the wefts extend,
The woven structure A and the woven structure B are regularly and repeatedly formed along the direction in which the warp extends,
Support for nonwoven fabric production. The diameters of the weft a forming the woven structure A and the weft b forming the woven structure B are different, and at the boundary between the woven structure A and the woven structure B, the weft a and the weft b The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to claim 1, wherein the supports are adjacent to each other. The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the surface of the woven structure A is located at a position higher than the surface of the woven structure B by 0.1 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less. The warp, the weft a, and the weft b are each monofilaments with a diameter of 0.3 mm or more and 1.2 mm or less, or have a flat cross section, and a rectangle circumscribing the cross section is 0.2 mm or more and 0.8 mm or less. The nonwoven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is a monofilament having a short side of 0.3 mm or more and a long side of 1.2 mm or less, and a long side/short side ratio of 1.2 or more. Support for. 5. Any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the weave structure A is a weft twill weave structure in which the number of floats in the weft is 2 or more and the number of floats in the warp is 1, and the weave structure B is a plain weave structure. A support for producing a nonwoven fabric as described above. The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the weft a is thicker than the weft b. A knuckle N1 in which the warp is floating is formed at the boundary between the woven structure A and the woven structure B on two or more consecutive wefts including the weft a and the weft b. 7. The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of 1 to 6. Viewed from the woven structure A, at the boundary with the woven structure B on the side opposite to the side where the knuckle N1 is formed, the warp has two or more continuous threads including the weft a and the weft b. A knuckle N2 is formed that floats on the weft, and a knuckle N3 that floats on two or more wefts in which the warp is continuous is formed adjacent to either side of the knuckle N2. , A support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The weave structure A is a twill weave structure in which the floating number of the weft yarns is 2 or more and 16 or less, and the floating number of the warp yarns is 2 or more and 16 or less, the woven structure B is a plain weave structure, and the diameter of the weft yarn a is the same as that of the weft yarns. The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which has a diameter larger than the diameter of b. The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 9, which is used when fibers are entangled with each other by a high-pressure fluid flow. The support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 9, which is used when producing a nonwoven fabric by a spunbond method. producing a fibrous web;
The fibrous web is placed on the support for nonwoven fabric production according to any one of claims 1 to 10, and is subjected to a process of bonding and/or entangling the fibers constituting the fibrous web. A method for producing a nonwoven fabric, including: A filament obtained by melt-spinning a synthetic resin is deposited on the support for producing a nonwoven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or 11 while the synthetic resin is melted or softened. A method for producing a nonwoven fabric, comprising:

Images