Seat carpet

Abstract

To provide a seat carpet having more excellent performance.SOLUTION: A seat carpet (1) is formed by layering and integrating a plurality of nonwoven fabrics. The seat carpet (1) includes: an upper layer (2) which is the nonwoven fabric to be on a surface side when covering an object and is mainly formed of synthetic fibers made of raw materials; and a lower layer (3) which is the nonwoven fabric disposed on a back side of the upper layer (2) and includes a recycled layer (4) formed of recycled mixed fibers obtained by mixing synthetic fibers with a fluff treatment material of a seat skin having a surface layer made of fabric.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sheet carpet containing recycled materials as raw materials. [Background technology]

[0002] It has been known to manufacture interior parts for vehicles using recycled materials. Seat carpets are an example of an application of interior parts manufactured using recycled materials.

[0003] Seat carpet is the part of a seat cover that covers the rest of the seating surface (such as the sides and back of the seat), and although it is in a place that can be seen by passengers, it is less noticeable than the seating surface. Therefore, the design required for seat carpet is not very high, and it is a candidate for being manufactured using recycled materials.

[0004] Incidentally, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for producing a moldable sound-absorbing mat using recycled materials such as jeans fabric scraps generated during the jeans manufacturing process or denim wool waste obtained from used jeans. The moldable sound-absorbing mat is used as an insulator dash.

[0005] Both the insulator dash and the seat carpet have in common that they are parts of the vehicle interior that are relatively inconspicuous to occupants, and it is conceivable that the jean waste material described in Patent Document 1 could be used as a recycled material to manufacture seat carpets. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-027383 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, seat carpets containing recycled denim wool have the problem of being difficult to use inside a vehicle. Seat carpets are subject to rubbing when getting in and out of the vehicle and are exposed to strong sunlight, so they must meet certain standards in terms of light resistance, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance. Jeans themselves are not manufactured with the expectation that they will meet such requirements, so seat carpets made from recycled denim wool cannot be expected to meet these standards.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a seat carpet that can suppress performance degradation even when recycled materials are used. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To solve the above problems, the sheet carpet of the present invention employs the following means.

[0010] That is, the first invention of the present invention is a seat carpet formed by laminating and integrating a plurality of nonwoven fabrics. The seat carpet has an upper layer of the nonwoven fabric that is the surface side when covering an object and is mainly made of synthetic fibers made from virgin raw materials, and a lower layer of the nonwoven fabric that is placed on the back side of the upper layer and includes a recycled layer made of recycled mixed fibers obtained by blending synthetic fibers with recycled wool-removed material from a seat cover having a fabric surface layer.

[0011] According to the first invention, the upper layer can achieve light resistance, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance equivalent to that of seat carpet made entirely from virgin raw materials without using recycled materials. The lower layer is not directly exposed to friction or sunlight like the upper layer. However, when the seat carpet is touched by the occupant's luggage or feet, force is transmitted through the upper layer, causing the fibers to rub against each other, and sunlight can also penetrate the upper layer, so light resistance, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance are required. Such a lower layer is manufactured using a seat upholstery with a recycled fabric surface. Seat upholstery covers the seating surface and is constantly rubbed by the occupant and exposed to strong sunlight even when no one is seated, so it requires high performance as a covering material. In other words, it is a high-quality material that meets or exceeds the performance requirements of seat carpet in terms of light resistance, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance. In other words, the lower layer of such seat upholstery, formed from a recycled fabric, can achieve light resistance, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance equivalent to that of the upper layer. Furthermore, the upper layer, which becomes the surface when covering an object, has the same appearance as a seat carpet made entirely from virgin raw materials without using recycled materials. Therefore, even if it is used in a more visible area than the side or back of a seat, such as the back of a seat back, the design of the seat is not compromised. Therefore, a seat carpet with such upper and lower layers has superior performance compared to a seat carpet containing denim wool as a raw material.

[0012] The second invention of the present invention is a sheet carpet according to the first invention, wherein the lower layer has two layers, the recycled layer and a virgin layer formed mainly from synthetic fibers made from virgin raw materials, intertwined so as to be integrated with each other, and the recycled layer is sandwiched between the upper layer and the virgin layer.

[0013] According to the second invention, the recycled layer may contain weakly entangled materials (such as urethane scraps and short fibers), but the upper and lower virgin layers act as catchers to prevent them from falling off. In addition, the lower virgin layer comes into contact with the object to be covered, improving the wear resistance and durability of the seat carpet. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a seat carpet according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a manufacturing process of a seat carpet. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] (Seat carpet overview) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, directions such as front, back, up, down, left, and right refer to the directions shown in each drawing. In the following description, when a specific reference drawing is not shown or when there is no reference symbol corresponding to a reference drawing, any of Figures 1 to 4 will be referred to as appropriate.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 3, the seat carpet is, for example, a part of a seat cushion cover 6 other than the seat covering 7 that covers the seating surface and the bank portion. The seat carpet 8 covers, for example, the back and sides of the seat cushion. This embodiment is an invention related to such a seat carpet, and describes one that is not new but contains recycled materials as raw materials.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1, sheet carpet 1, which contains recycled materials as raw materials, is composed of two layers of nonwoven fabric: an upper layer 2 and a lower layer 3. At the boundary between upper layer 2 and lower layer 3, the fibers of each layer are intertwined, forming sheet carpet 1 as a unit.

[0018] The upper layer 2 is made of polyester fiber made from virgin raw materials. This polyester fiber is made from 100% pure virgin raw materials and is called virgin polyester fiber. The upper layer 2 becomes the design surface when coated.

[0019] The lower layer 3 is formed to contain recycled mixed fibers. Specifically, the lower layer 3 is formed by laminating two layers together: a recycled layer 4 containing recycled mixed fibers, and a virgin layer 5 formed of polyester fibers made from virgin raw materials. As with the relationship between the upper layer 2 and the lower layer 3, the fibers of each layer are intertwined at the boundary between the recycled layer 4 and the virgin layer 5.

[0020] The recycled mixed fiber is a recycled material obtained from, for example, seat back covers or seat cushion covers that have been collected as discarded products, as will be described in detail later.

[0021] (Manufacturing method of seat carpet) Next, the manufacturing process of each of the layers 2 and 3 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 2 to 4. In Figure 2, square boxes represent objects to be processed (raw materials), and circled parts represent processing of the objects to be processed.

[0022] (upper layer) 2, in producing the upper layer 2, polyester fibers made from virgin raw materials are first formed into a sheet (step S10). The sheeting process involves arranging polyester fibers in a specific direction or randomly to form a sheet using a machine called a carding machine or an airflow called an air laying machine.

[0023] Next, the polyester fiber sheets are laminated (step S11). The thickness of the upper layer 2 of the sheet carpet 1 is determined by the number of sheets laminated, and is adjusted appropriately.

[0024] Next, the laminated polyester fibers are needle-punched (step S12). Needle-punching is a process in which fibers are entangled and pressed together using a machine with many needles to create a nonwoven fabric. This completes the upper layer 2 as a nonwoven fabric.

[0025] (lower layer) As shown in Fig. 2, in manufacturing the lower layer 3, first, the seat upholstery alone is separated from the seat cushion cover (step S21). Specifically, as shown in Fig. 3, the seat cushion cover 6 is formed by sewing together the seat upholstery 7 and the seat carpet 8, which cover the seating surface and banking parts of the seat, but the seat upholstery 7 and the seat carpet 8 are separated to obtain only the seat upholstery 7. The seat upholstery may be obtained from scrap material generated in the manufacturing process of the seat cushion cover 6. Furthermore, the seat upholstery is not limited to the seat cushion cover, and may also be obtained from a seat back cover.

[0026] Referring to Figure 4, the seat covering 7 is a composite covering material, and is configured, for example, by attaching a slab urethane layer 7b and a backing fabric 7c as backing materials to a fabric layer 7a, which is the surface layer. The fabric layer 7a is, for example, a knitted or woven fabric made of polyester fiber. The slab urethane layer 7b is made of polyurethane, and the backing fabric is made of nylon. This type of seat covering 7 is of high quality, satisfying performance requirements for seat carpet 8 in terms of light resistance, heat resistance, abrasion resistance, etc.

[0027] Next, the seat cover is depilled (step S22). For example, when the seat cover 7 shown in Fig. 4 is depilled, cotton-like polyester fibers are obtained from the fabric layer 7a. However, the cotton-like polyester fibers also contain fine urethane scraps and nylon fibers.

[0028] Next, polyester fibers made from virgin raw materials are blended into the depilled material of the seat upholstery (step S23). The reason for blending is that if the seat upholstery 7 was only subjected to the needle punching process in the subsequent step, the fibers would not entangle with each other, and a nonwoven fabric would not be obtained. Therefore, anything that has the effect of entangling the fibers of the depilled material would be sufficient, and recycled polyester fibers, for example, could be blended. The result of blending is a recycled mixed fiber.

[0029] Next, the recycled mixed fiber is formed into a sheet (step S24a). The sheeting is as described above. In parallel with the formation of the recycled mixed fiber into a sheet, polyester fiber made from virgin raw materials is also formed into a sheet (step S24b).

[0030] Next, the recycled mixed fiber and polyester fiber sheets are laminated (step S25). As with the upper layer 2, the thickness of the lower layer 3 of the sheet carpet 1 is adjusted by adjusting the number of sheets laminated.

[0031] Next, the laminated sheet-like recycled mixed fiber and polyester fiber is needle-punched (step S26), thereby completing the lower layer 3 of the nonwoven fabric. The layer formed by entanglement of the recycled mixed fiber is the recycled layer 4, and the layer formed by entanglement of the polyester fiber is the virgin layer 5.

[0032] Finally, needle punching is performed on the upper layer 2 and the lower layer 3 (step S27). Specifically, the upper layer 2 and the lower layer 3 are laminated so that the recycled layer 4 is sandwiched between the upper layer 2 and the virgin layer 5, and then needle punching is performed. This completes the sheet carpet 1 that contains recycled materials as raw materials.

[0033] When such a seat carpet 1 is used to cover a seat, the recycled layer 4 disposed in the middle does not become the design surface or come into contact with the seat pad. Therefore, for example, the back of a seat is less noticeable than the seating surface, but is more noticeable than the sides and back of the seat. Covering such a seat back with the seat carpet 1 does not impair the design.

[0034] Furthermore, for example, the back of the seat may be hit by luggage or feet of rear seat occupants, which may cause repeated rubbing between the seat carpet 1 and the pad. However, because the recycled layer 4 is sandwiched between the upper layer 2 and the virgin layer 5, the urethane scraps contained in the recycled layer 4 are prevented from spilling out, and the surface of the pad is prevented from becoming worn down due to repeated friction.

[0035] Furthermore, in manufacturing the lower layer 3, the seat skin 7 including the slab urethane layer 7b can be depilated without peeling the slab urethane layer 7b, which reduces the manufacturing process accordingly and simplifies the manufacturing process.

[0036] To summarize the above, the seat carpet 1 according to this embodiment has the following configuration: Note that the reference numerals in parentheses below correspond to the respective components shown in the above embodiment.

[0037] That is, the seat carpet (1) is formed by laminating and integrating multiple nonwoven fabrics. It has an upper layer (2) which is a nonwoven fabric that is the surface side when covering an object and is mainly made of synthetic fibers (polyester fibers) made from virgin raw materials, and a lower layer (3) which is a nonwoven fabric placed on the back side of the upper layer (2) and includes a recycled layer (4) made of recycled mixed fibers in which synthetic fibers (polyester fibers) are mixed with recycled wool-removed material from a seat cover having a fabric surface layer.

[0038] With the above configuration, the upper layer (2) can achieve light resistance, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance equivalent to that of a seat carpet (1) made entirely from virgin raw materials without using recycled materials. The lower layer (3) is not directly exposed to friction or sunlight like the upper layer (2). However, when the seat carpet (1) is hit by the luggage or feet of a seat occupant, force is transmitted through the upper layer (2), causing the fibers to rub against each other. Sunlight can also penetrate the upper layer (2), so light resistance, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance are required. Such a lower layer (3) is manufactured using a seat covering (7) with a fabric surface layer as a recycled material. The seat covering (7) covers the seating surface of the seat and is constantly rubbed by the seat occupant and exposed to strong sunlight even when no one is seated, so it is required to have high performance as a covering material. In other words, it is a high-quality material that satisfies or exceeds the performance required of a seat carpet (1) in terms of light resistance, heat resistance, abrasion resistance, etc. In other words, the lower layer (3) of such a seat covering, formed from recycled wool, can achieve the same light resistance, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance as the upper layer (2). Furthermore, the upper layer (2), which is the surface side when covering an object, has the same appearance as a seat carpet (1) made entirely from virgin raw materials without using recycled materials. Therefore, even if it is used in a more visible area than the side or back of the seat, such as the back of a seat back, the design of the seat is not impaired. Therefore, a seat carpet (1) having such an upper layer (2) and lower layer (3) has superior performance compared to a seat carpet (1) containing recycled denim wool as a raw material.

[0039] The lower layer (3) has two layers: a recycled layer (4) and a virgin layer (5) made mainly of synthetic fibers (polyester fibers) made from virgin materials, which are intertwined together to form a single unit. The recycled layer (4) is sandwiched between the upper layer (2) and the virgin layer (5).

[0040] According to the above configuration, the recycled layer (4) of the seat carpet (1) is sandwiched between the upper layer (2) and the virgin layer (5). The recycled layer (4) may contain weakly entangled materials (such as urethane scraps and short fibers), but the upper layer (2) and the virgin layer (5) of the lower layer (3) act as a catch basin for these materials, preventing them from falling out. Furthermore, when the seat carpet (1) is used to cover an object, the virgin layer (5) of the lower layer (3) comes into contact with the object (e.g., a cushion pad), thereby improving the abrasion resistance and durability of the seat carpet (1). Other Embodiments Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be embodied in various forms other than the above embodiment.

[0041] 1. In the above embodiment, the upper layer and the virgin layer are formed of polyester fiber, but each layer may be formed of nylon fiber or acrylic fiber. 2. In the above embodiment, the upper layer and virgin layer are made of polyester fiber only, but they may be made of a blend of other fibers (mainly polyester fiber). The term "mainly polyester fiber" means that the proportion of the blended fiber constituting the upper layer (virgin layer) is 80% or more, and more preferably 90% or more. 3. In the above embodiment, the seat carpet is described as being composed of two layers of nonwoven fabric, an upper layer and a lower layer. However, a nonwoven fabric made from recycled denim wool may be placed between the upper and lower layers, or on the backside of the lower layer, to form a three-layer laminate. In the former case, the upper layer ensures light resistance, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance, while the lower virgin layer acts as a receptacle for the jeans fibers, preventing them from falling off. In the latter case, even if the seat carpet is hit by the passenger's luggage or feet, the force is less likely to be transmitted to the bottom layer, and less sunlight penetrates. Therefore, the degradation of light resistance, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance can be suppressed compared to a seat carpet composed of two layers: an upper layer and a nonwoven fabric made from denim wool. 4. In the above embodiment, the lower layer is divided into two layers, a recycled layer and a virgin layer, but the lower layer may be only a recycled layer. 5. In the above embodiment, the target of depilling is a seat covering made of a composite covering material, but a seat covering made of only a polyester covering material without a backing material may also be depilled. Furthermore, the backing material may be peeled off from the composite covering material to remove only the polyester covering material, and then the polyester covering material may be depilled. 6. In the above embodiment, the recycled seat covering was a composite covering material in which a slab urethane layer or a backing fabric was attached as a backing material to a fabric layer serving as a surface layer. However, as long as the seat covering has a fabric surface layer, it may also be a composite covering material in which, for example, a nonwoven fabric is attached as a backing material instead of urethane. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1, 8 seat carpet 2 Upper layer 3 Lower layer 4 Recycled Layer 5 Virgin Layer 6 seat cushion covers 7 Seat covering 7a Fabric Layer 7b Slab urethane layer 7c Back base fabric

Claims

1. A sheet carpet formed by laminating and integrating a plurality of nonwoven fabrics, an upper layer of the nonwoven fabric, which is the surface side when covering an object and is mainly made of synthetic fibers made from virgin materials; a lower layer including the nonwoven fabric disposed on the back side of the upper layer, the lower layer being formed of a recycled layer made of recycled mixed fibers obtained by blending synthetic fibers with a recycled wool-removed material of a seat cover having a fabric surface layer; A seat carpet having:

2. The seat carpet according to claim 1, the lower layer has two layers, the recycled layer and a virgin layer mainly made of synthetic fibers made from virgin raw materials, which are intertwined so as to be integrated with each other; The recycled layer is sandwiched between the upper layer and the virgin layer.

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