DE1916479A1 - Process for making a breathable sheet material - Google Patents

Description

PATE NTAN WALTE

TELEPHONE: 374742 8 MUNICH 13 ■ J "^!>'^.. ^ T) J

TELEGRAMS: CARBOPAT FRANZ-JOSEPH-STRASSE 48

FK-24-30 - Dr.E / H

Ford-Werke AG., Cologne-Deutz

Method of making a breathable

Sheet material

According to the present invention, there is provided a polyvinyl chloride resin having an inherent viscosity from about 1.28 to 1.35, especially about 1.31, blended with a plasticizer, a filler and any desired pigmentation, hot processed into one Sheet material calendered, cut into narrow strips and knitted or knitted into a material which is particularly suitable for use as an upholstery cover for motor vehicle seats and household furniture is suitable. The tensions that have arisen during the knitting or knitting process are uniform Heating the knitted or knitted material lifted, with its edges attached to a tenter frame and the surface of the material is then pressed so that a smooth surface results. A protective cover is then applied to each exposed component of the knitted or knitted material by means of a covered with mushroom Applied roller applied without affecting the breathability. The material obtained is solid, stable, comfortable, abrasion-resistant and breathable or air-permeable.

Most so far as upholstery covers for motor vehicle sheet materials used in household seats consisted of an impermeable film of a polymer material, that was reinforced with a ..! Tensile strenght, Heat resistance, abrasion resistance and flexibility with high

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High and low temperatures have been considerably improved with these materials in recent years, -but "remained ." - the impermeability of the material is always a part of -. Extremely warm.bei because of Undurchlässigkeib -werden.- · -_._ ■ padded seats. warm _; Weather and ■ extremely cold in cold weather. In luxury automobiles, people have returned to cloth-covered seats in order to avoid this difficulty and to achieve a more beautiful appearance. I) ie. _: . Strength requirements and difficulties in which- .; . · However, cleaning does not make this-solution completely satisfactory -...: satisfactory. ■ .. "■ ..- ■. · - ■ _-.-. .- ■ -. ■

Numerous attempts to act thin strips or ribbons that have been cut from a polymer film 'to an AET ^ ~ * tion-capable material for padding of automotive ^ ^L: Sitting suitable were not successful, hauptsächlich- "' Therefore, because for the knitting operation overall ■ ^{j '':} knitted suitable foil materials with unfavorable For-- ^';; properties, resistance to abrasion and flexibility "at low temperatures. For example, it is easy to fold the thin strips before the actual knitting or knitting operation and all attempts at a uniform folding of ribbons from conventional sheet materials in the technical Reaching scale would not be successful. In addition, the knitted or knitted materials made from them had an unsatisfactory combination of properties. * *, -.; -. · - ■ -.?.

According to the invention, the during the active or B chips achieved through uniform heating " of the knitted or knitted material is lifted, while the neck edges are held. The uniform "egg · - '"

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Heating is achieved by directing hot air onto the surfaces of the knitted or knitted vinyl material made from pipes that is just above and just below the knitted or knitted material ends.

The tendency that the edges of the knitted or knitted Rolling up material into a loose cylinder is eliminated by the tension release operation. aside from that a certain lateral stretching can be achieved during the operation, so that the weight per unit area is decreased.

The invention results in a polymer film which is easy to shape into strips and into a breathable knitted or knitted material with an excellent Combination of tensile strength, abrasion resistance, breathability, flexibility and good looks is intertwined. The term "interlacing" as used herein includes both knitting and weaving operations. The main ingredient of these sheet materials is made of a polyvinyl chloride resin having an inherent viscosity of at least 1.28. Usually this polyvinyl chloride resin is mixed with suitable amounts of suitable plasticizers, fillers and pigments mixed and the mixture hot processed to ensure thorough mixing of ingredients and proper relationship of the plasticizer to the resin. The mixture will then calendered to a relatively thin film and the film slit into numerous narrow strips. The by folding Ribbons reinforced around a polymer fiber have a relatively high tensile strength and are then braided into the sheet material.

A circular knitting machine is preferred used in the weaving operation, although a great variety

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other knitting, knitting or weaving operations can be used can. The cylinder made of the knitted material, which is produced in the knitting made with a circular knitting machine - or knitting process, is slit lengthways and spread out into a relatively flat sheet. Then it will be the flat arch is passed through a tensioning operation, in which every part of the arch is thoroughly heated to a certain temperature is heated. The tensioning operation releases the tensions generated during the knitting operation, which avoids curling or puckering and the Rigidity is improved and the material is also stretched laterally so that the weight per unit area is reduced will. Thorough heating is achieved during the clamping operation by blowing currents of hot air against the Due to the porous nature of the material, the hot air flows around every component of the active material, and a practically uniform temperature results.

After the tensioning operation, the knitted material is coated with a mixture of vinyl chloride and polymethyl methacrylate. A mushroom roller is immersed in a solution of the cover material, which is applied to the knitted material when the knitted material is between the mushroom roller and a back rubber roller. The excess coating solution is removed from the mushroom roller through a blade removed.

The inherent viscosity of the polyvinyl chloride resins which are used according to the invention were determined according to the test specification ASTM D-1243, method A. A solution of 0.2 g of resin in cyclohexanone was used for the determination, which was conducted at 30 ⁰ C. Made of polyvinyl chloride resins with

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Strips manufactured with an inherent viscosity below 1.28 cannot be folded and knitted or satisfactorily are knitted, and they also lack the flexibility required for covers of motor vehicle seats in the cold.

A critical stage in the manufacture of the sheet materials according to the invention represents the hot working operation. During the hot working, the molecules surround plasticizing the polymer chains of the resin and arranging the chains in a way that the resulting mixture cheaper to knit or warp. The hot processing is preferably carried out in two stages, with the the first stage consists of a hot mixing operation of a relatively random nature and the second stage consists of a hot rolling operation consists. Polyvinyl chloride resins with inherent viscosities greater than about 1.35 do not readily provide the desired one Arrangement of plasticizer and resin, which is why resins with intrinsic viscosities lower than this value are preferred. The best combination of manufacturing properties and product properties is obtained when using polyvinyl - chloride resins with inherent viscosities between about 1.30 and 1.33.

The tear strength, determined according to the Elmendorf method, of specimens from the hot-worked material results in a Usable display for the degree of hot processing, in the case of the Elmendorf process, which is included in the test specification ASTM D-689 describes a slot is cut in the specimen and the tear strength is determined along the slot certainly. Elmendorf tear strengths of at least 175 g / 25.4 / rev. Cross machine direction and 100 g / 25.4> u in the transverse direction generally indicate that the hot, processing has reached a satisfactory level.

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The tests for flexibility in the cold were carried out with the materials according to the invention by bending a test sample of the material around a steel mandrel with a diameter of 6.35 μm at the test temperature. Materials for motor vehicle seats that are sufficiently durable must pass this test at test temperatures of -40 ^C C. The mandrel is suitably held in a cold box with a door opening at the top. A test specimen measuring approximately 5 x 20 cm was kept in an air circulation oven at 82 ± 3 "C * ' for a period of 24 hours and then conditioned at room temperature for 2 hours to adjust the humidity equilibrium. The specimen was then placed in the cold box in a level position for 24 hours, and finally the specimen was bent 180 degrees around the mandrel and examined for cracks.

In the drawings preferred embodiments are shown, wherein
Pig. 1 is a flow diagram of the production of the invention

necessary levels of materials.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the completion of the work process and to carry out the calendering process

heated rollers used in the process. Fig. 3 gives a schematic representation of the devices

for slitting, reinforcing and circular knitting

or work again.
Fig. 4 gives a partial side view of the basic line

Heating the knitted or knitted materials

in the stenter and stress release operations

used arrangement again.

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In Pig. 5 is, .the but implementation of a pressing operation equipment used, which gives the material a smooth surface, and

6 is a side view of the coating operation.

example

100 parts of a polyvinyl chloride resin with an inherent viscosity of 1.31 sold by Union Carbide Corporation under the designation "Bakelite" vinyl resin QYSL-7 is, were hydrated with 10 parts of a calcium carbonate milled with water, 3 ropes of a precipitated Calcium silicate, 65 parts of a plasticizer, 3.5 parts a stabilizer, 0.5 parts of a lubricant and 4.5 parts of a pigment mixed. The plasticizer passed from 6 parts of epoxidized octyl tallate, 54 parts 6-10-alfolphthalate and 5 parts diisideoylphthalate. The stabilizer consisted of a solution of 3 parts of barium cadmium phenolates and 0.5 part of zinc phosphite. A yellow-brown one color resulted from the pigment, which was composed of 1.78 parts of titanium dioxide, 2.17 parts of yellow iron oxide, 0.5 parts of red Iron oxide and 0.05 parts of carbon black. Mixing was continued until the geaisch was dry and free flowing.

The mixture was introduced into a Banbury mixer, in which the material eu a plastic mass -melted by the supply of heat and the heat generated by the internal friction. This Anfangephase of HeiSbearbeitungsarbeitsganges was continued until the temperature of the mass at least 160 ⁰ C was reached. Instead of a mixer of the batch type, for example a Banbury Hißcher, this phase can also be carried out in a mixer of the continuous type, in which

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two counter-rotating augers mix the ingredients and then pass the mixture through a heated mouthpiece to form a continuous molten band.

The hot working is continued in a steam-heated grinder, which is located in Pig. 2 with the reference number 10 denoted. The grinder 10 includes two heated rollers 12 and 14 rotating in the directions indicated, with roller 14 rotating at a faster rate than roller 12. The plastic compound 16 is introduced into the nip of the rollers , and a band 18 of the plastic material is formed around the faster running roller. In general, roller 12 runs at a surface speed of about 20 meters per minute and roller 14 runs at a surface speed of about 25 meters per minute. The mixing temperature door reaches about 188 ⁰ C. The rolling is continued until the cut from the tape strip 18 a Eüjuendorf-Reißfestlgkeit of at least 175 g / 25.4 / U transverse to the rolling direction and 100 g / 25.4 / U in the transverse direction thereto to have.

A doctor blade 19 directs a suitable part of the belt 18 onto a conveyor belt 20, which this part to the between the rollers 22 and 24 formed gap promotes. The rollers 22 and 24 form the initial part of the calendering area Beitsganges and two additional rollers 26 and 28 are mounted directly below the roller 24. The rollers 22, 24, 26 and 28 rotate in the indicated directions. The material passing through the gap between rollers 22 and 24 is carried along with it part of the circumference of roller 24 is carried to the nip between rollers 24 and 26. From the gap between the rollers 24 and a full of the material is taken part of the way around roller 26 to the nip between rollers 26 and 28

wear and released from this gap as a thin film 30. The film 30 is preferably about 0.0125 cm thick so that gives the best combination of performance and properties of the final material, although satisfactory Knitted or knitted materials can also be obtained with a film thickness of 0.007 to 0.020 cm.

The sheet 30 is cooled and placed on a roller about 142 cm Width wound. This roller is used in a plurality of Rolls that are approximately 12.7 cm wide are cut and a 12.7 cm roll becomes that of Figure 3 by the reference numeral 31 designated slitting device transported. In the slitting device is driven by a set of drive rollers and 36 the film unwound from the roller 32 and the film between an upper clip-on holder 38 and a lower one Aufsteokhalter 40 carried out, whereby the film in a A plurality of thin strips 42 is slit. A second set of drive rollers 44 and 45 drive the strips pulled over a lubricating roller 46, which is attached between two guide combs 47 and 48. The lubricating roller 46 is with its lower part immersed in an open container 49 containing an aqueous solution of sulfonated castor oil and emulsified Contains paraffin wax. Rollers 44 and 45 turn the strips into the circular knitting machine out, which is indicated in Fig. 3 by the reference number.

Any ribbon entering the knitting machine 50 passes through a motion stop device, indicated generally by the reference numeral 52. The movement stop device 52 consists of a spring component 54 »which is shown in an unstable position is tensioned by the tension present in the band 42. If the band 42 should break, will

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the tension maintenance of the spring component 54 is released and the spring component returns to a neutral position and actuates a switch (not shown) that controls the Slitting and knitting machines shut down. The strip then runs through suitable guides 56 and 58 and is guided by a Folding device 59 out.

The folding device 59 consists of a plate 60 with a spring steel arm 61 attached to it. The arm 61 springs downward in the direction of movement of the strip and has a hole 62 formed in its lower end portion. That Hole has the same diameter or slightly smaller diameter than the strip width and if the tapes pass through the hole 62, the Xanten are folded against each other. Just before the point where the strip goes into the hole 62 occurs, a reinforcing yarn 66, for example of polyamide, such as nylon, is directed to one side of the strip, so that by the folding action of the strip the yarn 66 is folded around. The yarn 66 has a denier of at least about 70. The folded and reinforced » th strips are then knitted or knitted on the circular knitting machine.

A large cylinder of the knitted or knitted material is formed by the knitting machine. This Cylinder is wound on a roller and fed to the entrance of a tenter device · When the knitted material is unwound, it is slit lengthways and spread out into a practically flattened sheet. The edges of the sheet are then placed on the stenter, for example US Pat. No. 2,429,177 or 2,473 The bow is attached, fastened and through the stenter frame led into the treatment furnace.

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Pig. Figure 4 shows a partial perspective view of the heating zone in the oven. If that's in the Pig. 4 enters the heating zone, hot air emerges from a plurality of tubes 70 and 72 which are attached above and below the material 68. The hot air is directed at the material at a practically perpendicular angle to the plane of the material at sufficient speed to circulate through the pores formed during the knitting or knitting operation. This circulation results in a practically uniform heating of the material 68, which preferably reaches a temperature of about 135 ^° C. in order to achieve good stress release. The tubes in each top row in the heating zone are laterally spaced 6.55 cm from center to center (dimension a in FIG. 4) and each tube has an inside diameter of 12.7 mm. Each subsequent row is spaced approximately 7.5 cm downstream from the previous row (dimension b) and each tube in the subsequent rows is laterally offset approximately 12.7 mm from the tubes in the previous row (dimension c). The end portions of the upper tubes are about 7.5 cm above the surface of the sheet material and the hot air exits the upper tubes at a speed of about 1800 m / m.

The tubes in each of the lower rows have one on the side Distance from center to center of 13.3 cm (dimension d) and each lower tube has an inner diameter of 22.2 mm. The subsequent rows of lower tubes are located approximately 12.7 cm downstream from each preceding row (dimension e) and the tubes in each subsequent row are sideways about 2.5 cm from the tubes in the previous row offset (dimension £). The ends of the lower tubes are located

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about 20 cm below the surface of the sheet material and the hot air exits the lower tubes at a speed of about 2100 m / min.

In general, the following rows of tubes are opposite the pipes in the previous rows offset by an amount approximately equal to the inner diameter of the pipes is.

A typical heating zone is approximately four feet long and the sheet material moves through the -die-heating zone at one speed "of about 24 m per min. It can stretch up to about 12 # can be performed in conjunction with the stress release operation by including a second heating zone in which calibrate the sides of the clamping frame laterally move outwards. The second heating zone is in the same way as described above, built up and immediately follows the stress release zone.

The lateral stretching takes place in a resting zone of about 3.5 m in length, and from there the material goes into a cooling zone, in which the sides of the tenter frame move parallel to each other again.

The material is then passed through a pressing operation, which gives it a smooth texture. According to Pig. 5 is a rubber roller 74 abutting a drum. 76 attached which about 91 cm in diameter and heated by steam will. On the other side of the drum are two Teflon-coated rollers 78 and 80, which are also be heated by steam. A steel press roll 82 and a Rubber back roll 84 are located below the roll 80.

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Bracht, an Ee erlauf roller 86 is adjacent to the press roller 82

appropriate.

The rubber roller 74 brings the surface of the material 68 onto the surface of the roller 76, and the surface of the material is in contact with the roller 76 during a rotation of at least 180 degrees. After leaving the roller 76 the back of running of the material 68 partially around the roller 78 and then again the surface contacts the wallow 80. The roller 80 leaving material has a surface temperature of about 15O ⁰ C and the material then passes between the rolls 82 and 84, the surface contacting roller 82. Rollers 82 and 84 apply sufficient pressure to the material to smooth the surface by flowing the polyvinyl chloride. For best results, the pressure must be determined empirically. The roller 82 is cooled with water to a surface temperature of less than about 38 ^° C. so that the surface of the material is quenched before the material leaves the roller 82. The material then passes over idler roller 86 and is fed into a cooling chamber (not shown).

A protective coating is then applied to the exposed parts of the Sheet material is applied by the apparatus shown in FIG. An applicator roller 94 consists of a fibrous jacket 96 on a steel core 98. The fiber cladding is less than about 6.3 "mm thick and best results are with a wool felt coat of about 2.5 mm thick. A rubber backing roller 100 is adjacent to the applicator roller 94 and the sheet material 86 is between the applicator roller 94 and the Back side roller 100 performed. .

The applicator roller 94 is at a speed of about 15 m / min in a solution 102 with 8 to 10 wt .- # polyvinyl

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chlorine id and polymethyl methaerylate rotated. About 75 $ of the solids in the solution are made up of polyvinyl chloride, with the remainder being made up of polymethyl methaorylate. Methyiethy / lketone can be used as a solvent. A squeegee blade 1Q4 abutting the outer periphery of the applicator roll 104 removes the excess solution from the shell. As the sheet material passes between rollers 94 and 100, the solution is applied to any exposed portion of the material without significantly reducing the breathability of the material. After the coating solution is applied, the material 68 enters a drying oven 106 which joins about 150 ^C G is maintained. About 6.8 g of coating

mass are applied per m of sheet material * The received The coating blocks the plasticizer from migrating out of the materials, improves abrasion and dirt resistance and gives a uniform, regulated gloss'.

The sheet material obtained weighs about 1020 g / m and shows an excellent combination of tensile strength and flexibility in the cold and impact resistance in the '' cold. In terms of a beautiful appearance and a good grip, the material is with more expensive and less durable cloths, made of natural material or synthetic material easily. to compare. Breathability the material is about 5080 cm, per lake per

cm, which surpasses all materials previously used as covers for motor vehicles'.

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Claims (10)

- 15 claims A method of making breathable sheet material by interweaving strips of a polymer material, characterized in that the tensions developed during the interweaving work gangee by attaching the edges of the braiding material to a frame and applying hot air to the upper and lower surfaces of the braiding material in one convenient perpendicular to the plane of the material, the hot air flowing through the breathable material while uniformly heating the material to a certain temperature. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized . that a polyvinyl chloride resin with an inherent viscosity of about 1.28 to 1.35 mixed with a plasticizer is used as the polymeric material and the knitted or knitted material is ^{heated to a temperature of about 135 °} C. during the stress release operation. 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the braiding material is stretched up to $ 12 in the lateral direction during the stress release operation * 4. The method according to claim 1 to 3, characterized in that strips reinforced with a polymer fiber are used. 5. A method according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the hot air is directed onto the material from a plurality of spaced tubes which are attached both above and below the material, the end portions of the tubes being spaced apart up to about 2Θ cm from the material and let the hot air out 909845/0956 exits the pipes at a speed of about 1800 m / min. 6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the. End pieces of the pipes located above the material have a distance of about 1.5 cm from the material. 7. "The method according to claim 1 to 4, characterized in that the hot air is directed to the material from a plurality of spaced tubes which are mounted both above and below the material, the hot air from the tubes at such speed it emerges that the air circulates in the pores in the material with uniform heating of the constituents of the material. 8. The method according to claim 7 » characterized in that the end parts of the tubes attached above the material have a distance of about 7.5 cm from the material and the hot air from the tubes attached above the material at a speed of about 180 Ω - m / min exits. 9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the end parts of the tubes located below the material have a distance of about 20 cm from the material and the hot air from the tubes located below the material at a speed of about 2100 m / min exit. 10. The method according to claim 5 to 9, characterized in that successive rows of tubes are offset from the tubes of the previous row by an amount that. is approximately equal to the inside diameter of the pipes. 909 8 4 5/095