Recoverable inflation-free ball center, preparation process and application of recoverable inflation-free ball center

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of sports goods, in particular to a recoverable inflation-free ball center, a preparation process and application thereof, and the preparation process comprises the following specific steps: raw material preparation: firstly injecting water into a high-pressure foaming kettle, and then pumping a thermoplastic elastomer material mixture composed of the following components into the high-pressure foaming kettle; one or more of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer or thermoplastic polyester elastomer or polyether block amide accounts for 60%-80% of the total weight of the mixture. The supercritical foaming technology is adopted, efficient, energy-saving and environment-friendly production is achieved, fine regulation and customization can be achieved, the sphere center is made of the high-performance thermoplastic elastomer, nano-reinforcement, fiber compounding and shock absorption buffering materials are combined, the strength and toughness are remarkably improved, excellent sound absorption, shock absorption and buffering performance is ensured, and the high-performance thermoplastic elastomer-based sound absorption and shock absorption composite material is obtained through accurate matching and process optimization. The sphere center has ideal pore structure, mechanical property and lightweight design, and realizes sound absorption, shock absorption, environmental protection, recoverability, high performance and wide application prospect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of sports goods, and more specifically to a recyclable inflation-free ball core, a preparation process and an application thereof. Background Art

[0002] In the field of research and development and manufacturing of ball sports products, the material selection and preparation process of traditional ball cores have long been the key factors restricting their performance improvement and environmental protection transformation. Traditionally, ball cores are mostly made of petrochemical-based non-recyclable materials such as rubber and plastic. These materials not only have high energy consumption and large emissions during the manufacturing process, which seriously violates the green and low-carbon production concept currently advocated by the world, but also are difficult to degrade naturally after the products are discarded, which has a long-term and far-reaching negative impact on the environment. In terms of recyclability, although some manufacturers have tried to introduce recyclable materials, such as bio-based polymers, in order to achieve the green transformation of ball cores, these attempts often fail to achieve the ideal support and durability standards due to the physical and mechanical properties of the materials, such as strength, wear resistance and elastic recovery rate, thus affecting the performance and service life of the ball core, and limiting the widespread application of recyclable materials in high-performance ball sports products; In addition, the lack of acoustic design in the traditional ball center is also a problem that cannot be ignored. Due to the general solid structure and the lack of effective sound absorption and shock absorption mechanism, the noise generated by the ball center during collision not only affects the athletes' competitive state and concentration, but also may cause auditory discomfort to the audience, reducing the comfort and satisfaction of the sports experience; In terms of environmentally friendly manufacturing, the production process of traditional ball cores involves a lot of energy consumption and waste emissions, which is incompatible with the current environmental protection policies such as circular economy and clean production promoted worldwide. Therefore, developing a ball core preparation process that can meet both high performance requirements and environmental protection standards has become a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently in the ball sports goods industry. In addition, the support force at the center of the ball is a key factor affecting its motion trajectory and rebound performance. Lightweighting attempts in existing technologies often sacrifice support force, resulting in unstable ball performance. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems of traditional ball core in energy consumption, emission, degradability, performance, acoustic design, environmentally friendly manufacturing and supporting force. The present invention provides a recyclable and non-inflation ball core, a preparation process and its application.

[0004] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention specifically adopts the following technical solutions: The present invention proposes a preparation process for a recyclable inflation-free ball core, and the specific steps of the preparation process are as follows (based on a supercritical foaming process): a. Raw material preparation: first inject water into the high-pressure foaming kettle, and then pump in a thermoplastic elastomer material mixture consisting of the following components; One or more of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, thermoplastic polyester elastomer or polyether block amide, accounting for 60%-80% of the total weight of the mixture; A mixture of nano calcium carbonate and glass fiber, accounting for 5%-20% of the total weight of the mixture; One of microporous polyurethane foam or open-cell silica gel particles, accounting for 5%-15% of the total weight of the mixture; Wherein, the ratio of water to thermoplastic elastomer material mixture is between 1:1 and 4:5; b. Aeration: First inject nitrogen into the high-pressure foaming kettle, and then inject carbon dioxide. Nitrogen accounts for 0.5%-50% of the total gas volume, and carbon dioxide accounts for 50%-99.5% of the total gas volume; c. Heating and foaming: First, the high-pressure foaming kettle is heated to 80°C by gradually increasing the temperature, and then gradually increased to the foaming temperature of 100-120°C, and kept at a constant temperature for 15-25 minutes. Then, the valve of the high-pressure foaming kettle is opened to perform the foaming operation to form the material; d. Dehydration: The material is transported into the dehydrator for 2-3 hours of dehydration to obtain foamed particles with a water content of less than 0.5%, which directly enter the breathable material cavity for the next step of processing; e. Standing: The foamed particles are left standing in a breathable material chamber for 24-48 hours at room temperature, and unloading inspection is carried out to ensure that all particles meet quality requirements; f. Ball core preparation: After passing quality inspection, the foamed particles are directly formed into a recyclable, non-inflation-required ball core through injection molding or compression molding according to the requirements of ball sports equipment.

[0005] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the ratio of the nano-calcium carbonate and glass fiber mixture is between 1:1 and 3:1.

[0006] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the microporous polyurethane foam has a pore size between 10 and 50 microns.

[0007] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, in the raw material preparation step, the thermoplastic elastomer material mixture also includes the following components: an anti-aging agent, accounting for 0.5%-2% of the total weight of the mixture, and a flame retardant, accounting for 1%-5% of the total weight of the mixture.

[0008] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, in the aeration step, the order of injecting nitrogen and carbon dioxide can be interchanged, but the proportion of nitrogen in the total gas volume is ≤30%, and the proportion of carbon dioxide is ≥70%.

[0009] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, in the dehydration step, the vacuum degree in the dehydrator is between -0.09 MPa and -0.1 MPa.

[0010] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, in the heating and foaming step, the gradual heating method may include heating from room temperature to 80°C at a rate of 10°C / min, and then heating from 80°C to the foaming temperature at a rate of 5°C / min.

[0011] The present invention also provides a recyclable inflation-free ball core prepared by any one of the preparation processes described above. The ball core has excellent elasticity, durability, lightweight effect and recyclability, and is suitable for various ball sports products.

[0012] The present invention also provides the use of recyclable inflation-free ball cores in ball sports equipment such as football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, golf, badminton, baseball, and rugby. The ball core can provide stable flight performance and feel while reducing the impact on the environment, which is in line with the development trend and environmental protection requirements of the modern sports industry.

[0013] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The present invention realizes efficient energy-saving and environmentally friendly production through supercritical foaming technology, and has the ability of fine control and customization. The core of the ball adopts high-performance thermoplastic elastomer material, combined with nano-reinforcement and fiber composite technology, and the introduction of shock-absorbing and cushioning materials, which significantly improves the strength and toughness of the material while ensuring excellent sound absorption, shock absorption and cushioning performance. In addition, through precise ratio design and optimized process parameters, the core of the ball not only has an ideal pore structure and mechanical properties, but also realizes a lightweight design, thereby achieving sound absorption, shock absorption, environmental protection, recyclability, high performance, lightweight and broad application prospects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The present invention proposes a preparation process for a recyclable inflation-free ball core, and the specific steps of the preparation process are as follows (based on a supercritical foaming process): a. Raw material preparation: first inject water into the high-pressure foaming kettle, and then pump in a thermoplastic elastomer material mixture consisting of the following components; One or more of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, thermoplastic polyester elastomer or polyether block amide, accounting for 60%-80% of the total weight of the mixture; A mixture of nano calcium carbonate and glass fiber, accounting for 5%-20% of the total weight of the mixture; One of microporous polyurethane foam or open-cell silica gel particles, accounting for 5%-15% of the total weight of the mixture; Wherein, the ratio of water to thermoplastic elastomer material mixture is between 1:1 and 4:5; b. Aeration: Nitrogen is first injected into the high-pressure foaming kettle, and then carbon dioxide is injected. Nitrogen accounts for 0.5%-50% of the total gas volume, and carbon dioxide accounts for 50%-99.5% of the total gas volume. For example, when higher material strength and stability are required, the proportion of nitrogen can be appropriately increased; when better lightweight effect and foaming uniformity are required, the proportion of carbon dioxide can be appropriately increased; c. Heating and foaming: First, the high-pressure foaming kettle is heated to 80°C by gradually increasing the temperature, and then gradually increased to the foaming temperature of 100-120°C, and kept at a constant temperature for 15-25 minutes. Then, the valve of the high-pressure foaming kettle is opened to perform the foaming operation to form the material; d. Dehydration: The material is transported into the dehydrator for 2-3 hours of dehydration to obtain foamed particles with a water content of less than 0.5%, which directly enter the breathable material cavity for the next step of processing; e. Standing: The foamed particles are left standing in a breathable material chamber for 24-48 hours at room temperature, and unloading inspection is carried out to ensure that all particles meet quality requirements; f. Ball core preparation: After the quality inspection, the foam particles are directly formed into a recyclable, non-inflation ball core through injection molding or compression molding according to the requirements of ball sports products; Among them, the ratio of nano calcium carbonate and glass fiber mixture is between 1:1 and 3:1, so as to further enhance the strength and toughness of the material; The microporous polyurethane foam has a pore size of 10-50 microns, so as to provide good shock absorption and cushioning performance while ensuring the lightness of the material; Among them, in the raw material preparation step, the thermoplastic elastomer material mixture also includes the following components: an anti-aging agent, accounting for 0.5%-2% of the total weight of the mixture, to improve the weather resistance and service life of the material, and a flame retardant, accounting for 1%-5% of the total weight of the mixture, to ensure the safety of the material under specific conditions; Among them, in the inflation step, the order of injecting nitrogen and carbon dioxide can be interchanged, but the proportion of nitrogen in the total gas volume is ≤30%, and the proportion of carbon dioxide is ≥70%; to ensure the foaming effect and the lightweight degree of the material.

[0015] In the dehydration step, the vacuum degree in the dehydrator is between -0.09MPa and -0.1MPa to accelerate the evaporation and removal of water. At the same time, the dehydration time can also be adjusted according to the water content of the material and the required dehydration effect to ensure that the water content of the foamed particles obtained is less than 0.5%; Among them, in the heating and foaming step, the gradual heating method may include increasing the temperature from room temperature to 80°C at a rate of 10°C / minute, and then increasing the temperature from 80°C to the foaming temperature at a rate of 5°C / minute; in addition, the choice of foaming temperature can also be adjusted according to the hardness and density of the required material to meet the needs of different ball sports equipment.

[0016] The present invention also provides a recyclable inflation-free ball core prepared by any one of the preparation processes described above. The ball core has excellent elasticity, durability, lightweight effect and recyclability, and is suitable for various ball sports products.

[0017] The present invention also provides the use of recyclable inflation-free ball cores in ball sports equipment such as football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, golf, badminton, baseball, and rugby. The ball core can provide stable flight performance and feel while reducing the impact on the environment, which is in line with the development trend and environmental protection requirements of the modern sports industry.

[0018] The present invention is a preparation process for a recyclable inflation-free ball core based on a supercritical foaming process. As a cutting-edge technology in the field of modern materials science, the supercritical foaming process technology is highly energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. It uses supercritical carbon dioxide or nitrogen as a physical foaming agent. Compared with traditional chemical foaming agents, its energy consumption is significantly reduced, and no chemical cross-linking agent is required, thereby reducing environmental pollution, which is in line with the advantages of the green manufacturing concept. Through fine regulation and customization and precise regulation of the gas ratio (the ratio of nitrogen to carbon dioxide can be flexibly adjusted to between 0.5%-50% and 50%-99.5%), fine control of the foaming process can be achieved, thereby obtaining Foaming materials with specific pore structure, density and mechanical properties meet the needs of personalized customization; Lightweight and high strength, the foaming materials prepared by supercritical foaming technology achieve significant lightweight effects while maintaining high strength and toughness. For example, by optimizing the process parameters, foaming materials with a density as low as 30Kg / m³ can be obtained. Its comprehensive mechanical properties are better than those of traditional foaming materials, providing strong support for lightweight design; The production cycle is shortened. Adding an appropriate amount of nitrogen during the foaming process can significantly shorten the shrinkage and rebound process of the product after leaving the high-pressure foaming kettle, from the traditional 7-10 days to 2-3 days, significantly improving production efficiency and reducing production costs; Thermoplastic elastomer materials are preferably selected, and high-performance thermoplastic elastomer materials such as thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU), thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPEE) or polyether block amide (PEBA) are selected as the main body. These materials have excellent elasticity, wear resistance and recyclability, and are ideal for preparing high-performance foaming materials; nano-reinforcement and fiber composite, the addition of nano-calcium carbonate and glass fiber, through the nano effect and fiber reinforcement mechanism, significantly improves the strength and toughness of the material. The high specific surface area and activity of nano-calcium carbonate promote good interface bonding with thermoplastic elastomer materials, while the rigidity of glass fiber has The impact resistance of the material is effectively improved; the introduction of shock-absorbing and cushioning materials, microporous polyurethane foam or open-cell silica gel particles, provides the material with excellent shock absorption and cushioning performance. The pore size and distribution of these particles are carefully designed to ensure that the shock absorption and cushioning effects are maximized without affecting the overall performance of the material; the improvement of anti-aging and flame retardant properties, by adding appropriate amounts of anti-aging agents and flame retardants, can significantly improve the weather resistance and service life of the material, while ensuring the safety of the material under specific conditions. The amount of these additives added has been strictly tested and optimized to ensure that their impact on material performance is minimized; Precise ratio design, by accurately calculating the proportional relationship between the components, can ensure that the material forms an ideal pore structure and mechanical properties during the foaming process. This precise ratio design is the key to preparing high-performance foaming materials; optimized process parameters, in the heating foaming step, adopt a gradual heating method, and accurately control the foaming temperature and constant temperature time, which can ensure the stability and controllability of the foaming process. This optimized process parameter design further improves the quality and production efficiency of the foaming material; fine control of dehydration and standing, in the dehydration step, by accurately controlling the vacuum degree and dehydration time, the evaporation and removal of water can be accelerated to ensure that the water content of the final foamed particles is less than 0.5%. In the standing step, the foamed particles are left standing at room temperature for a certain period of time, which can further release internal stress and improve the stability and durability of the material. Example 1

[0019] Preparation process: Raw material preparation: Inject water and thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) mixture into the high-pressure foaming kettle in a ratio of 3:4; TPU accounts for 70% of the total weight of the mixture, nano calcium carbonate and glass fiber mixture (ratio 2:1) accounts for 10%, microporous polyurethane foam (pore size 20 microns) accounts for 10%, anti-aging agent accounts for 1%, flame retardant accounts for 4%, and the ratio of water to the mixture is 1:1; Inflation: The ratio of nitrogen to carbon dioxide is 10%:90%; Heating and foaming: increase the temperature to 80°C at 10°C / min, then increase the temperature to 110°C at 5°C / min, and keep the temperature constant for 20 minutes; Dehydration: vacuum degree -0.095MPa, dehydration for 2.5 hours; Standing: Standing at room temperature for 36 hours; Ball center preparation: injection molding; Experimental data: Density: 35Kg / m³ Elastic recovery rate: 95% Sound absorption coefficient: 0.3 (at a specific frequency) Shock absorption performance: 85% of the impact energy absorption rate Support force test: deformation less than 5% under pressure of 100N Recyclability: fully recyclable, no harmful substances released Example 2

[0020] Preparation process (adjusting the ratio of nitrogen and carbon dioxide): Raw material preparation and aeration: Same as Example 1, but the ratio of nitrogen to carbon dioxide is 30%:70%; Experimental data: Density: 40Kg / m³ Elastic recovery rate: 93% Sound absorption coefficient: 0.28 Shock absorption performance: 88% of the impact energy absorption rate Support force test: deformation less than 4% under pressure of 120N Example 3

[0021] Preparation process (adjusting the ratio of nano calcium carbonate and glass fiber): Raw material preparation: the ratio of nano calcium carbonate to glass fiber is 1:1, and the rest is the same as in Example 1; Experimental data: Density: 38Kg / m³ Elastic recovery rate: 94% Sound absorption coefficient: 0.32 Shock absorption performance: 86% of the impact energy absorption rate Support force test: deformation less than 5% under pressure of 110N Comparative Example 1 (not using this preparation process) Preparation process: Traditional chemical foaming process, using polyurethane as raw material, without adding nano calcium carbonate, glass fiber and microporous polyurethane foam; Experimental data: Density: 55Kg / m³ Elastic recovery rate: 85% Sound absorption coefficient: 0.15 Shock absorption performance: 70% impact energy absorption rate Support force test: deformation greater than 8% under pressure of 80N Recyclability: Partially recyclable, contains hazardous substances Comparative Example 2 (without using nano calcium carbonate and glass fiber) Preparation process: the same as Example 1, but without adding nano calcium carbonate and glass fiber; Experimental data: Density: 32Kg / m³ Elastic recovery rate: 90% Sound absorption coefficient: 0.25 Shock absorption performance: 75% of the impact energy absorption rate Support force test: deformation greater than 6% under pressure of 90N Comparative Example 3 (without using microcellular polyurethane foam) Preparation process: the same as Example 1, but without adding microporous polyurethane foam; Experimental data: Density: 36Kg / m³ Elastic recovery rate: 92% Sound absorption coefficient: 0.22 Shock absorption performance: 80% of the impact energy absorption rate Support force test: deformation greater than 5.5% under pressure of 100N Analysis and Conclusion Sound absorption and shock absorption performance: The core of the ball in the embodiment significantly improves the sound absorption and shock absorption performance due to the addition of nano calcium carbonate, glass fiber and microporous polyurethane foam, especially in embodiment 1, the performance is the best, and the sound absorption coefficient and shock absorption performance are better than the comparative example; Strong support: By adjusting the ratio of nitrogen to carbon dioxide (Example 2) and the ratio of nano-calcium carbonate to glass fiber (Example 3), the support of the ball center is enhanced, and it can withstand higher pressure without significant deformation; Lightweight: The ball center density of all embodiments is lower than that of the comparative example, achieving lightweight design while maintaining excellent mechanical properties; Recyclability: The preparation process of the present invention does not use harmful chemicals, and the ball cores in all embodiments are completely recyclable, meeting environmental protection requirements; In summary, the recyclable inflation-free ball core preparation process and its products provided by the present invention have excellent performance in sound absorption and shock absorption performance, supporting force, lightweight and recyclability, are superior to traditional preparation processes and control examples that do not use key components, and have broad market application prospects and far-reaching industry impact.

[0022] The above shows and describes the basic principles and main features of the present invention and the advantages of the present invention. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or basic features of the present invention. Therefore, no matter from which point of view, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary and non-restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the above description, and it is intended that all changes that fall within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims are included in the present invention.

[0023] In addition, it should be understood that although the present specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This description of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A process for preparing a recyclable inflation-free ball core, characterized in that: The specific steps of the preparation process are as follows: a. Raw material preparation: first inject water into the high-pressure foaming kettle, and then pump in a thermoplastic elastomer material mixture consisting of the following components; One or more of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, thermoplastic polyester elastomer or polyether block amide, accounting for 60%-80% of the total weight of the mixture; A mixture of nano calcium carbonate and glass fiber, accounting for 5%-20% of the total weight of the mixture; One of microporous polyurethane foam or open-cell silica gel particles, accounting for 5%-15% of the total weight of the mixture; Wherein, the ratio of water to thermoplastic elastomer material mixture is between 1:1 and 4:5; b. Aeration: First inject nitrogen into the high-pressure foaming kettle, and then inject carbon dioxide. Nitrogen accounts for 0.5%-50% of the total gas volume, and carbon dioxide accounts for 50%-99.5% of the total gas volume; c. Heating and foaming: First, the high-pressure foaming kettle is heated to 80°C by gradually increasing the temperature, and then gradually increased to the foaming temperature of 100-120°C, and kept at a constant temperature for 15-25 minutes. Then, the valve of the high-pressure foaming kettle is opened to perform the foaming operation to form the material; d. Dehydration: The material is transported into the dehydrator for 2-3 hours of dehydration to obtain foamed particles with a water content of less than 0.5%, which directly enter the breathable material cavity for the next step of processing; e. Standing: The foamed particles are left standing in a breathable material chamber for 24-48 hours at room temperature, and unloading inspection is carried out to ensure that all particles meet quality requirements; f. Ball core preparation: After passing quality inspection, the foamed particles are directly formed into a recyclable, non-inflation-required ball core through injection molding or compression molding according to the requirements of ball sports equipment.

2. The process for preparing a recyclable inflation-free ball core according to claim 1, characterized in that: A mixture of nano calcium carbonate and glass fiber, with the ratio between the two being between 1:1 and 3:

1.

3. The process for preparing a recyclable inflation-free ball core according to claim 1, characterized in that: The microporous polyurethane foam has a pore size between 10 and 50 microns.

4. The process for preparing a recyclable inflation-free ball core according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the raw material preparation step, the thermoplastic elastomer material mixture further includes the following components: an anti-aging agent, accounting for 0.5%-2% of the total weight of the mixture, and a flame retardant, accounting for 1%-5% of the total weight of the mixture.

5. The process for preparing a recyclable inflation-free ball core according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the aeration step, the order of injecting nitrogen and carbon dioxide can be interchanged, but the proportion of nitrogen in the total gas volume is ≤30%, and the proportion of carbon dioxide is ≥70%.

6. The process for preparing a recyclable inflation-free ball core according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the dehydration step, the vacuum degree in the dehydrator is between -0.09 MPa and -0.1 MPa.

7. The process for preparing a recyclable inflation-free ball core according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the heating and foaming step, the gradual temperature increase may include increasing the temperature from room temperature to 80° C. at a rate of 10° C. / min, and then increasing the temperature from 80° C. to the foaming temperature at a rate of 5° C. / min.

8. A recyclable, non-inflation-required ball core prepared by the preparation process according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. Application of the recyclable non-inflation ball core according to claim 8 in ball sports equipment such as football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, golf, badminton, baseball and rugby.