Fabric and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

The present invention provides a leather-style fabric comprising: a leather-style surface layer using at least one of polyester, nylon, acrylic acid, flax, cotton, silk, rayon, or wool; and a back surface layer adhered to the back surface of the surface layer, the surface layer and the back surface layer being embossed. The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a leather-style fabric, the method comprising: a step in which a front surface layer and a back surface layer are bonded; and a step for embossing the surface layer in a state in which the surface layer and the rear surface layer are bonded to each other, the surface layer being a leather-style layer using polyester.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a fabric and a method for manufacturing the fabric. Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an embossed “leather-like nonwoven fabric”. Prior art literature Patent Literature Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-241277 Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention provides a higher quality leather style fabric.

[0004] In the first embodiment of the present invention, a leather-style fabric is provided, which comprises: a leather-style surface layer, using at least one of polyester, nylon, acrylic, linen, cotton, silk, rayon or wool; and a back layer, bonded to the back side of the surface layer, and the surface layer and the back layer are embossed.

[0005] In the above fabric, the embossing depth of the fabric may be greater than or equal to 50 μm and less than or equal to 400 μm.

[0006] In any of the above-mentioned fabrics, the back surface layer may be a non-woven fabric made of polyester.

[0007] In any of the above-mentioned fabrics, the thickness of the back layer may be thicker than the thickness of the surface layer.

[0008] Any of the above-mentioned fabrics may include an adhesive layer for bonding the surface layer and the back layer.

[0009] In any of the above-mentioned fabrics, the material of the adhesive layer may also include polyester.

[0010] In any of the above-mentioned fabrics, the melting point of the adhesive layer may be lower than the melting points of the surface layer and the back layer.

[0011] In a second aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a leather-style fabric is provided, which comprises: a stage of bonding a surface layer to a back layer; and a stage of embossing the surface layer while the surface layer and the back layer are bonded to each other, wherein the surface layer is a leather-style layer using polyester.

[0012] In the above-mentioned method for manufacturing a fabric, the stage of performing the embossing process may include a stage of surface heating the surface layer using an embossing machine, and the embossing machine may use a roller-shaped or plate-shaped mold.

[0013] In any of the above-mentioned methods for manufacturing fabrics, the heating temperature of the embossing process may be lower than the glass transition temperature of the surface layer.

[0014] In any of the above-mentioned methods for manufacturing fabrics, the embossing process may include a stage of plastically deforming the surface layer.

[0015] In any of the above-mentioned methods for manufacturing a fabric, the embossing step may include a step of elastically deforming the back surface layer.

[0016] Any of the above-mentioned methods for producing a fabric may include a step of expanding the back surface layer after embossing the front surface layer.

[0017] In any of the above-described methods for producing a fabric, the step of expanding the back surface layer may include a step of heating the back surface layer from a back side thereof.

[0018] In addition, the above summary of the invention does not list all the features of the present invention. In addition, sub-combinations of these feature groups can also constitute inventions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 This is a photograph of the surface of fabric 100. Figure 2A It is a schematic diagram of the cross section of the fabric 100 before embossing. Figure 2B It is a schematic diagram of the cross section of the fabric 100 after embossing. Figure 2C An example of a flow chart for manufacturing the fabric 100 is shown. Figure 3 An example of the structure of the warp yarn 10 is shown. Figure 4 Modification examples of the warp yarn 10 are shown. Figure 5 An example of a method for manufacturing the fabric 100 is shown. Figure 6 A method for manufacturing the fabric 500 of a comparative example is shown. Figure 7 A modified example of the method for producing the fabric 100 is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described by way of the embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. In addition, the combination of features described in the embodiments is not necessarily all essential to the solution means of the invention.

[0021] Figure 11 is a photograph of the surface of the fabric 100. The fabric 100 is a fabric made of at least one of polyester, nylon, acrylic, linen, cotton, silk, rayon or wool, and is a leather-like fabric with embossing. The fabric 100 may have the concavity and luster of genuine leather or synthetic leather.

[0022] The leather-like fabric 100 using polyester can reduce the mass by more than 50% compared with the fabric using leather or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In addition, the fabric 100 is different from the fabric using leather or PVC, and is difficult to reach high temperature in summer and low temperature in winter. The fabric 100 can be finished with a steam iron to improve the finishing property. By forming the fabric 100 only with polyester, the recyclability can be improved.

[0023] The fabric 100 can be used for a seat cover for a vehicle that requires high strength, wrinkle resistance, flame retardancy, etc. The fabric 100 can comply with at least one evaluation standard of JIS L1096, L1093, L1092, L1076, L0860, L0849, L0844, or L0842. However, the use of the fabric 100 is not particularly limited.

[0024] Figure 2A 1 is a schematic diagram of a cross section of the fabric 100 before embossing. The fabric 100 includes a surface layer 110 , an adhesive layer 120 , and a back layer 130 .

[0025] The surface layer 110 is a leather-like layer using polyester. The surface layer 110 has a leather-like design achieved by embossing. As described later, the surface layer 110 can be a fabric using polyester. The surface layer 110 is attached to the back layer 130. The thickness of the surface layer 110 can be more than 0.3 mm and less than 1.5 mm. For example, the thickness of the surface layer 110 is 0.8 mm.

[0026] The adhesive layer 120 bonds the surface layer 110 and the back layer 130. The material of the adhesive layer 120 may include polyester. However, the adhesive layer 120 may include polyester having a different composition from that of the surface layer 110 and the back layer 130. The melting point of the adhesive layer 120 may be lower than that of the surface layer 110 and the back layer 130. The surface layer 110 and the back layer 130 can be bonded by heating the fabric 100 to melt the adhesive layer 120. The melting points of the surface layer 110 and the back layer 130 may be the same or different. In one example, the melting points of the surface layer 110 and the back layer 130 are 220°C, and the melting point of the adhesive layer 120 is 110°C. In addition, the method of bonding the surface layer 110 and the back layer 130 is not limited to the method using the adhesive layer 120.

[0027] The back layer 130 is bonded to the back side of the surface layer 110. The back layer 130 of this example is bonded to the back side of the surface layer 110 using the adhesive layer 120. The back layer 130 may be a non-woven fabric using polyester. The surface layer 110 and the back layer 130 may be made of the same material. By making each layer of the fabric 100 of the same material, recyclability is improved. The thickness of the back layer 130 may be greater than 1.0 mm and less than 20.0 mm. The thickness of the back layer 130 may be thicker than that of the surface layer 110. By forming the back layer 130 thicker, deeper embossing can be formed on the surface layer 110.

[0028] Figure 2B 1 is a schematic diagram of a cross section of the embossed fabric 100. In this example, the adhesive layer 120 is omitted for simplicity. In the fabric 100 of this example, the surface layer 110 and the back layer 130 are embossed.

[0029] The fabric 100 has concavities and convexities formed by embossing. In this example, by attaching the back layer 130 to the back of the surface layer 110 and allowing the embossing of the surface layer 110 to enter the back layer 130 side, deeper embossing can be achieved. The embossing depth De of the fabric 100 can be greater than 50 μm and less than 400 μm. The embossing depth De can be the maximum value of the difference between the convex part and the concave part in the surface layer 110 after embossing.

[0030] Here, the surface layer 110 may have a single yarn with a single yarn dtex of 0.05 or more and 0.7 or less. In this way, by thinning the single yarn and weakening the rigidity of the single yarn, a deeper embossing process can be achieved. In addition, by thinning the single yarn, a high-quality leather-like fabric with fine lines eliminated and improved concave and convex performance can be achieved.

[0031] The thickness T of the embossed fabric 100 may be the thickness of the embossed convex portion and the back surface of the back layer 130. The thickness T of the fabric 100 may be greater than 0.3 mm and less than 20.0 mm. As described later, the fabric 100 may be thicker by including shrink yarns to make the yarns bulge.

[0032] The thickness of the surface layer 110 and the thickness of the back layer 130 may be the same as or different from the thickness before embossing. The thickness of the surface layer 110 may be 0.3 mm or more and 1.5 mm or less. The thickness of the back layer 130 may be 1.0 mm or more and 20.0 mm or less.

[0033] Figure 2C An example of a flow chart for manufacturing the fabric 100 is shown. The flow chart of this example is an example of a method for manufacturing the fabric 100, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In step S100, the surface layer 110 is prepared.

[0034] In step S110, the surface layer 110 is given functionality such as waterproofing or flame retardant processing. For example, the surface layer 110 can be given functionality such as waterproofing by impregnating it with a functional agent such as a waterproofing agent. The functional agent can have any function such as flame retardant. The surface layer 110 can be impregnated with multiple functional agents at one time. Step S110 can also be omitted.

[0035] In step S120, the back layer 130 is bonded to the back side of the surface layer 110. The surface layer 110 may be bonded to the back layer 130 via the adhesive layer 120. The surface layer 110 and the back layer 130 are bonded before the surface layer 110 is embossed.

[0036] In step S130, the surface layer 110 is embossed while the surface layer 110 and the back layer 130 are attached to each other. By embossing while the surface layer 110 and the back layer 130 are attached to each other, the surface layer 110 can be prevented from breaking and a deeper embossing depth De can be achieved. In addition, by adjusting the density and thickness of the back layer 130, the embossing depth De of the fabric 100 can be controlled. By reducing the density of the back layer 130 and increasing the thickness, it is easy to further increase the embossing depth De of the fabric 100. On the contrary, by increasing the density of the back layer 130 and reducing the thickness, it is easy to further reduce the embossing depth De of the fabric 100.

[0037] In step S140, any back material may be attached to the back of the back layer 130. For example, a cushioning material such as polyurethane may be attached to the back of the back layer 130. The attachment of the back material may be omitted. In addition, even if a back material is attached to the back of the back layer 130, the fabric 100 can be easily recycled by peeling off the back material.

[0038] In addition, the surface layer 110 may include warp yarns and weft yarns. By increasing the yarn density of the warp yarns, the gaps in the fabric 100 are reduced and the weft yarns are difficult to see. As a result, the surface layer 110 becomes flat, making it easy to achieve a high-quality leather-style fabric. The yarn density refers to the number of single yarns per inch. The yarn density of the warp yarns may be more than 200 and less than 300. For example, the yarn density of the warp yarns may be increased by causing the veils of more than 5 weft yarns to scatter and produce lateral contraction.

[0039] Here, if the single yarn of the surface layer 110 is made thinner, yarn breakage caused by embossing may occur. In this example, by increasing the yarn density of the warp yarn and increasing the total number of yarns, it is possible to provide a surface layer 110 that is difficult to break by dispersing the embossing pressure even when the single yarn of the surface layer 110 is made thinner.

[0040] Figure 3An example of the structure of the warp yarn 10 is shown. The warp yarn 10 of this example has a predetermined first shrinkable yarn 11 and a second shrinkable yarn 12 different from the first shrinkable yarn 11. In the warp yarn 10 of this example, the first shrinkable yarn 11 and the second shrinkable yarn 12 are mixed. That is, the first shrinkable yarn 11 and the second shrinkable yarn 12 are mixed to form one warp yarn 10. The first shrinkable yarn 11 and the second shrinkable yarn 12 may have different heat shrinkage properties. In this example, the case where the warp yarn 10 includes shrinkable yarns is described, but it is not necessary to include shrinkable yarns.

[0041] The warp yarn 10 can expand the curl in the lateral direction and eliminate fine lines by having shrinkage yarns. The warp yarn 10 of this example can further make fine lines difficult to see by using different shrinkage yarns such as the first shrinkage yarn 11 and the second shrinkage yarn 12. The warp yarn 10 can also use more than three shrinkage yarns. The fabric 100 can increase the thickness by including shrinkage yarns so that the yarn has bulges. By including shrinkage yarns, the gaps in the fabric 100 can be increased, and the fabric 100 can be easily pressed with a mold, and the embossing process can be easily produced.

[0042] Furthermore, the surface gloss of the fabric 100 can be adjusted arbitrarily by adjusting the curl of the first shrink yarn 11 and the second shrink yarn 12. Thus, the warp yarn 10 including any shrink yarn can be selected from the viewpoint of the surface gloss and embossing of the fabric 100. Similarly, multiple different shrink yarns can be used for the weft yarn.

[0043] Figure 4 FIG. 2 shows a modified example of the warp yarn 10. The warp yarn 10 and Figure 3 The warp yarn 10 does not include a plurality of shrinkage yarns. The warp yarn 10 may not include shrinkage yarns, or may include only a single type of shrinkage yarn.

[0044] Figure 5 An example of a method for manufacturing the fabric 100 is shown. Figure 2C The embossing machine 200 is used to emboss the fabric 100. The embossing machine 200 includes a mold 210 and a stand 220.

[0045] In step S132, a leather-style fabric 100 is prepared. The prepared fabric 100 is arranged on a stand 220. A mold 210 may be arranged above the stand 220. The mold 210 may be a roller-shaped or plate-shaped mold having concave and convex shapes corresponding to the embossing mold applied to the fabric 100. The mold 210 may be heated in order to perform embossing on the fabric 100. The heating temperature of the embossing process using the mold 210 may be lower than the glass transition temperature of the surface layer 110. The glass transition temperatures of the surface layer 110 and the back layer 130 may be the same. The mold 210 may have various shapes or depths depending on the size of the convex and concave parts of the embossing. In the case of using a roller-shaped mold 210, the embossing depth De may be controlled by adjusting the temperature, pressure, and conveyor speed of the mold 210. In the case of using a plate-shaped mold 210, the embossing depth De may be controlled by adjusting the temperature, pressure, and holding time of the mold 210 during processing.

[0046] In step S134, the fabric 100 is embossed using the mold 210. In this example, the fabric 100 is embossed with the back layer 130 bonded to the back of the surface layer 110. As a result, the embossing depth De of the fabric 100 can be greater than 50 μm and less than 400 μm. During the embossing of the fabric 100, the back layer 130 can be elastically deformed. By elastically deforming the back layer 130 instead of plastically deforming it, the back layer 130 can be expanded in the post-embossing process. The surface layer 110 can also be plastically deformed by the embossing process.

[0047] The embossing machine 200 performs surface heating on the surface layer 110 using the die 210. Here, surface heating refers to heating a wider range of the surface, rather than processing a part of the surface by contacting the high frequency with the surface like high frequency welding.

[0048] In step S136, the embossed fabric 100 is taken out from the embossing machine 200. The fabric 100 of this example has a high-quality leather-like texture with improved unevenness by embossing with the back layer 130 bonded to the back of the surface layer 110.

[0049] Figure 6 The manufacturing method of the fabric 500 of the comparative example is shown. In step S500, the fabric 500 is prepared. In step S502, the fabric 500 is embossed. In step S504, the fabric 500 is taken out. The fabric 500 of this example is different from the fabric 100 and does not have a back layer 130 bonded to the surface layer 110, so it is not easy to perform a deep embossing process on the fabric 500.

[0050] Figure 7FIG. 2 shows a modified example of the method for manufacturing the fabric 100. In this example, the method includes step S135. Figure 5 In this example, the manufacturing method is different from Figure 5 The difference in the manufacturing method.

[0051] In step S135, after the surface layer 110 is embossed, the back layer 130 is expanded. For example, the back layer 130 is expanded by heating from the back side of the back layer 130. By expanding the back layer 130, the thickness of the back layer 130 compressed during the embossing process can be restored.

[0052] For example, since the surface layer 110 is plastically deformed by the embossing process, and the back layer 130 is elastically deformed by the embossing process, it is easy to expand only the back layer 130. By heating the back layer 130 in a way that the surface layer 110 is not affected by heat compared to the back layer 130, the back layer 130 can be expanded while maintaining the embossing depth De of the surface layer 110. Thus, the back layer 130 compressed during the embossing process can be restored. Even if there are traces of the embossing process remaining on the back of the back layer 130, it can be flattened by the expansion of the back layer 130.

[0053] The present invention has been described above using the embodiments, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. According to the description of the claims, the method to which such changes or improvements are made is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0054] It should be noted that the execution order of each process such as actions, sequences, steps and stages in the apparatus, system, program and method shown in the claims, the specification and the drawings can be implemented in any order unless it is specifically stated as "before", "before", etc., and as long as the output of the previous process is not used in the subsequent process. Even if the action flow in the claims, the specification and the drawings is described using "first", "next", etc. for convenience, it does not mean that it must be implemented in this order. Description of Reference Numerals

[0055] 10. Warp yarn; 11. First shrink yarn; 12. Second shrink yarn; 100. Fabric; 110. Surface layer; 120. Adhesive layer; 130. Back layer; 200. Embossing machine; 210. Mold; 220. Stand; 500. Fabric.

Claims

1. A leather-like fabric, wherein: The leather-style fabrics have: A leather-like surface layer using at least one of polyester, nylon, acrylic, linen, cotton, silk, rayon, or wool; and a back layer, bonded to the back of the surface layer, The surface layer and the back surface layer are embossed.

2. The leather-style fabric according to claim 1, wherein: The embossing depth of the fabric is greater than or equal to 50 μm and less than or equal to 400 μm.

3. The leather-style fabric according to claim 1, wherein: The back surface layer is a nonwoven fabric made of polyester.

4. The leather-style fabric according to claim 1, wherein: The back surface layer is thicker than the surface layer.

5. The leather-like fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The leather-like fabric includes an adhesive layer for bonding the surface layer and the back layer.

6. The leather-style fabric according to claim 5, wherein: The material of the adhesive layer includes polyester.

7. The leather-style fabric according to claim 5, wherein: The adhesive layer has a melting point lower than those of the surface layer and the back surface layer.

8. A method for manufacturing a leather-like fabric, wherein: The manufacturing method comprises: The stage of laminating the surface layer and the back layer; and In a state where the surface layer and the back layer are bonded to each other, the surface layer is embossed. The surface layer is a leather-like layer using polyester.

9. The method for manufacturing a leather-style fabric according to claim 8, wherein: The step of performing the embossing process includes a step of surface heating the surface layer using an embossing machine using a roller-shaped or plate-shaped die.

10. The method for manufacturing leather-style fabric according to claim 8, wherein: The heating temperature of the embossing process is lower than the glass transition temperature of the surface layer.

11. The method for manufacturing leather-style fabric according to claim 8, wherein: The stage of performing the embossing process includes a stage of plastically deforming the surface layer.

12. The method for manufacturing leather-style fabric according to claim 8, wherein: The step of performing the embossing process includes a step of elastically deforming the back surface layer.

13. The method for producing a leather-like fabric according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein: The manufacturing method includes a step of expanding the back surface layer after embossing the front surface layer.

14. The method for manufacturing leather-like fabric according to claim 13, wherein: The step of expanding the back surface layer includes a step of heating the back surface layer from the back surface side.

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