Woven fabrics and interior materials for vehicles

Abstract

To provide a woven fabric capable of efficiently emitting light, and an interior material for vehicles.SOLUTION: A woven fabric 4 is a fabric woven with a plurality of first yarns 10 and a plurality of second yarns 20 so that the plurality of first yarns 10 extend in a front-back direction X and the plurality of second yarns 20 extend in a vertical direction Y intersecting with the front-back direction X. The first yarn 10 has a core 11 for guiding light in the front-back direction X, and a clad 12 for covering a surface 11A of the core 11. The clad 12 has an emitting part 13 that is recessed at a surface 12A of the clad 12 and emits the light guided by the core 11 to the outside of the first yarn 10. The plurality of first yarns 10 are woven so that a plurality of emitting parts 13 appear on a surface 4A side on an inner side of a vehicle compartment of the woven fabric 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to woven fabrics and vehicle interior materials. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, the technology described in Patent Document 1 is known as a woven fabric containing optical fibers (optical fiber fabric). Specifically, Patent Document 1 discloses a woven fabric in which ordinary yarns are woven together with weft yarns containing optical fibers having a two-layer structure of a core and a sheath (clad). When light from an LED light source is incident on one end of this optical fiber, one side (front surface) and the other side (back surface) of the woven fabric become luminous. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-267573 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, if one side is used as a design surface, for example, when the other side is attached to a structure, light emission from the other side is not necessarily required, and there is a possibility that the light emission will be wasted. If light could be efficiently emitted from one side without emitting light from the other side (or by suppressing light emission), the brightness on the one side could be increased. This would extend the distance that the optical fiber can guide light, making it easier to improve the design of the woven fabric. It would also be possible to suppress the output of the light source, thereby realizing energy savings, heat suppression, cost reduction, etc.

[0005] The present disclosure is a technology completed based on the above circumstances, and aims to provide a woven fabric and a vehicle interior material that can emit light efficiently. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present disclosure relates to a woven fabric in which a plurality of first threads and a plurality of second threads are woven together so that a plurality of first threads extend in a first direction and a plurality of second threads extend in a second direction intersecting the first direction, the first threads having a core that guides light in the first direction and a clad that covers the surface of the core, the clad having an emission portion that is recessed from the surface of the clad and emits light guided by the core to the outside of the first thread, and the plurality of first threads are woven in such a way that a plurality of the emission portions appear on one side of the woven fabric.

[0007] With this configuration, the multiple first threads are woven with the multiple second threads in a manner that multiple light-emitting portions appear on one side of the woven fabric, so that the woven fabric can emit (emit) light on one side and not emit light on the other side (or the brightness of the other side is lower than that of the one side), thereby providing a woven fabric that can efficiently emit light on one side.

[0008] In the above configuration, the first thread may be configured such that a plurality of the emission portions are aligned in the second direction on the surface of the clad.

[0009] Depending on the position of the emission portion on the surface of the cladding in the second direction (circumferential direction of the cladding), there is a possibility that light may be emitted at an angle (rather than perpendicular) to one surface, resulting in a partial decrease in brightness. However, with the above-described woven fabric, multiple emission portions are arranged in the second direction on the surface of the cladding, which prevents the above-described light emission deficiency and enables more efficient light emission.

[0010] In the above configuration, the first thread may be configured such that a plurality of the emission sections are arranged in the first direction on the surface of the clad, and the distance between two adjacent emission sections among the plurality of emission sections may be smaller as the adjacent emission sections are positioned farther away from a light source that generates the light guided by the core.

[0011] With such a woven fabric, the more the distance from the light source increases, the more closely the multiple light emitting portions are arranged, which prevents the brightness from decreasing as the distance from the light source increases. Also, for example, it is possible to emit light with uniform brightness across the entire surface of one side of the woven fabric.

[0012] In the aforementioned configuration, the emission portion may be recessed from the surface of the cladding to the surface of the core.

[0013] Such a woven fabric allows light guided by the core to easily exit from the cladding, thereby improving brightness.

[0014] In the above configuration, the emission portion may be a depression formed by laser irradiation.

[0015] The surface of the first thread (the surface of the clad) that constitutes the cloth-like woven fabric is relatively small. However, with the woven fabric described above, even the emission portion provided on the surface of such a relatively small first thread can emit light with high accuracy.

[0016] The present disclosure also provides an interior material for a vehicle, comprising a trim portion to which the above-mentioned woven fabric is attached, and the plurality of first threads are woven in such a way that the plurality of emission portions appear on the surface of the trim portion facing the interior of the vehicle.

[0017] With this configuration, it is possible to provide a vehicle interior material that efficiently emits light on the inside of the vehicle compartment and can improve the design. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a woven fabric and a vehicle interior material that can emit light efficiently. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a view of a door trim according to a first embodiment as seen from inside a vehicle interior; [Figure 2] Schematic diagram showing a light-emitting device [Figure 3] Enlarged view of part of the woven fabric from inside the vehicle [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view of a portion of the woven fabric (cross-section along line IV-IV in Figure 3) [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which an emission part is formed by laser irradiation. [Figure 6] Schematic diagram showing a light-emitting device according to embodiment 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] <Embodiment 1> A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5. In this embodiment, a door trim (vehicle interior material) 100 attached to the door of an automobile (vehicle) and a woven fabric 4 will be described. The direction of arrow X is the front-to-rear direction (first direction), the direction of arrow Y is the up-down direction (second direction intersecting the first direction), and the direction of arrow Z is the interior / exterior direction of the vehicle. In Figs. 1 to 3, the front side of the paper is the interior of the vehicle, and the back side of the paper is the exterior of the vehicle. In Figs. 4 and 5, the upper side is the interior of the vehicle, and the lower side is the exterior of the vehicle.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 1, the door trim 100 includes a plate-shaped trim portion 1 made of resin such as polypropylene, and a woven fabric 4 attached to the trim portion 1 by adhesive or the like. The trim portion 1 is divided into a plurality of plate members, such as a lower board 1A, a middle board 1B, and an upper board 1C, which are assembled together to form a single plate-like body as a whole. Note that the trim portion 1 does not have to be divided into a plurality of plate members, and its configuration is not particularly limited.

[0022] The woven fabric 4 has one surface (surface facing the interior of the vehicle) 4A and the other surface (surface facing the exterior of the vehicle) 4B (see FIG. 4) opposite to the interior surface of the upper board 1C of the trim portion 1, which is attached using an adhesive or the like. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the woven fabric 4 is formed by interweaving a plurality of first threads 10 and a plurality of second threads 20 such that the plurality of first threads 10 extend in the front-rear direction (first direction) X and the plurality of second threads 20 extend in the up-down direction (second direction intersecting with the first direction) Y. The weaving method of the woven fabric 4 is not particularly limited, and for example, plain weave, twill weave, satin weave, etc. can be used.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the woven fabric 4 and a light source (LED) 3 constitute a light-emitting device 2. One end 10A of the multiple first threads 10 is bundled and located close to the light source 3. The light-emitting device 2 receives light generated by the light source 3 through one end 10A of the multiple first threads 10 and emits it from one surface 4A of the woven fabric 4 toward the interior of the vehicle, causing the one surface 4A to emit light. The woven fabric 4 decorates the trim portion 1 by emitting light to improve its design, and is used, for example, as a decorative member or a covering material. The light source 3 is attached, for example, to the exterior surface of the trim portion 1. Note that FIG. 2 (and FIG. 6) schematically illustrates the position of the emission portion 13, which will be described later, and in reality, the emission portion 13 is formed on the surface 12A of the first threads 10, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 4, the first thread 10 is an optical fiber including a core 11 that guides light generated from the light source 3 in the forward / backward direction X, and a clad 12 that covers a surface 11A of the core 11 (the surface surrounding the core 11). The material of the core 11 is not particularly limited as long as it can guide light, and for example, acrylic resin can be used. The material of the clad 12 is not particularly limited as long as it has a lower refractive index than the core 11, and for example, fluorine-containing resin can be used. The material of the second thread 20 is not particularly limited, and for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin can be used. The first thread 10 and the second thread 20 may be a single thread, or multiple threads may be twisted together to form a single thread.

[0025] The diameter of the cross section in the radial direction of the core 11 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 50 μm or more, 100 μm or more, 150 μm or more, 500 μm or less, 300 μm or less, 250 μm or less, or 200 μm. The thickness of the clad 12 (height from the surface 11A of the core 11) is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 1 μm or more, 3 μm or more, 5 μm or more, 40 μm or less, 35 μm or less, or 25 μm or less. With this configuration, the first yarn 10 can be provided with an exit portion 13 that can suitably emit guided light.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the clad 12 has recesses (hole-like through-holes formed in the thickness direction of the clad 12) extending from the front surface 12A, which is the surface of the clad 12 facing the interior of the vehicle, to the front surface 11A of the core 11. The recesses (hole-like through-holes formed in the thickness direction of the clad 12) allow light guided by the core 11 to exit the first yarns 10. The first yarns 10 are woven on one surface 4A of the woven fabric 4 (see FIG. 2 ) so that the plurality of exit portions 13 appear on the interior-facing surface of the trim portion 1 (the interior-facing surface 1C1 of the upper board 1C). In this embodiment, the exit portions 13 are not formed on the back surface 12B, which is the surface of the clad 12 facing the exterior of the vehicle. The exit portions 13 may be formed on the back surface 12B of the clad 12, but in that case, the number of exit portions 13 formed on the back surface 12B of the clad 12 is smaller than that on the front surface 12A of the clad 12. The diameter (hole diameter) of the emission section 13 is not particularly limited, but may be 5 μm or more, 10 μm or more, 15 μm or more, 40 μm or less, 30 μm or less, 25 μm or less, or 20 μm.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the first yarn 10 is configured with a plurality of emission sections 13 arranged on the surface 12A of the cladding 12 along the front-rear direction X and the up-down direction Y. As shown in FIG. 2, the distance between adjacent two emission sections 13 decreases as the emission sections 13 are positioned farther from the light source 3. Specifically, when the emission sections 13 arranged along the vertically extending straight lines E, F, and G are respectively designated as a first group 13E, a second group 13F, and a third group 13G, the distance L2 between the second group 13F and the third group 13G is smaller than the distance L1 between the first group 13E and the second group 13F (the distance L2 between the straight lines F and G is smaller than the distance L1 between the straight lines E and F). The second group 13F is a row of emission sections 13 arranged farther from the light source 3 than the first group 13E. The third group 13G is a row of a plurality of emission sections 13 arranged at a position farther from the light source 3 than the second group 13F.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 3, a surface 12A of a single first yarn 10 is provided with a plurality of exit portions 13 arranged along the vertical direction Y, including a first exit portion 13A, a second exit portion 13B, and a third exit portion 13C. The second exit portion 13B is provided between the first exit portion 13A and the third exit portion 13C. Any three exit portions 13A, 13B, and 13C (denoted as 13M) arranged along the vertical direction Y on the surface 12A of a single first yarn 10 are aligned along the vertical direction Y with the three exit portions 13A, 13B, and 13C (denoted as 13N) of the first yarn 10 located adjacent thereto (below in Fig. 3) and are positioned on the same straight line (for example, on a straight line such as lines E, F, and G in Fig. 2).

[0029] As shown in FIG. 5, the woven fabric 4 is manufactured through a first step of manufacturing a fabric body 5 and a second step of irradiating one surface of the fabric body 5 with a laser to manufacture the woven fabric 4. In the first step, first yarns 10 and second yarns 20 are woven into a fabric shape using a loom to manufacture the fabric body 5. In the second step, a laser is used to irradiate one surface of the fabric body 5 (the surface of the woven fabric 4 facing the interior of the vehicle) with a laser, thereby forming a plurality of emission points 13, thereby manufacturing the woven fabric 4. The emission points 13 are depressions formed by the laser irradiation from the laser device 30.

[0030] The laser device 30 includes a laser generating unit 31 that generates a laser beam and a scanner unit 32 that has a reflecting unit 33 and a lens 34. The scanner unit 32 reflects the laser beam generated by the laser generating unit 31 in a desired direction using the reflecting unit 33 and emits the laser beam from the lens 34 to the outside, thereby irradiating the laser beam at a desired position on the fabric body 5. When the laser beam is irradiated onto the surface 12A of the clad 12, the irradiated portion melts, evaporates, or the like, thereby forming an emission portion 13. The laser beam irradiated onto the fabric body 5 from the laser device 30 may have a wavelength of 342 nm and a pulse width of 200 fs, for example. This configuration allows multiple emission portions 13 to be suitably formed on the clad 12. Furthermore, damage to the core 11 and the second yarn 20 due to laser irradiation can be suppressed.

[0031] Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the woven fabric 4 is shown to be a cloth-like fabric formed by weaving a plurality of first threads 10 and a plurality of second threads 20 such that the plurality of first threads 10 extend in the front-rear direction X and the plurality of second threads 20 extend in the up-down direction Y intersecting with the front-rear direction X, the first threads 10 include a core 11 that guides light in the front-rear direction X and a clad 12 that covers a surface 11A of the core 11, the clad 12 includes an exit portion 13 that is recessed from the surface 12A of the clad 12 and emits the light guided by the core 11 to the outside of the first threads 10, and the plurality of first threads 10 are woven such that the exit portions 13 appear on a surface 4A of the woven fabric 4 facing the interior of the vehicle.

[0032] With this configuration, the multiple first threads 10 are woven into the multiple second threads 20 in such a way that multiple emission portions 13 appear on the interior side surface 4A of the woven fabric 4, making it possible to provide a woven fabric 4 that emits (emits) light on the interior side surface 4A and does not emit light on the other side surface 4B (or has lower brightness on the other side surface 4B than on the interior side surface 4A). This makes it possible to provide a woven fabric 4 that can efficiently emit light on the interior side surface 4A.

[0033] The first yarn 10 is configured such that a plurality of emission portions 13 are arranged in the up-down direction Y on the surface 12A of the clad 12.

[0034] Depending on the position of the exit portion 13 on the surface 12A of the cladding 12 in the vertical direction Y (circumferential direction of the cladding 12), there is a possibility that light may be emitted obliquely (rather than perpendicularly) to the surface 12A facing the interior of the vehicle, resulting in a light emission defect in which brightness is reduced locally. However, with the woven fabric 4 as described above, multiple exit portions 13 are arranged in the vertical direction Y on the surface 12A of the cladding 12, which prevents the above-mentioned light emission defect from occurring and enables more efficient light emission.

[0035] The first thread 10 is configured with a plurality of exit sections 13 arranged in the front-to-back direction X on the surface 12A of the clad 12, and the distance between two adjacent exit sections 13 becomes smaller as the exit sections 13 are positioned farther away from the light source 3 that generates the light guided by the core 11.

[0036] With such a woven fabric 4, the more closely the plurality of emitting portions 13 are arranged, the further away from the light source 3, so it is possible to prevent the brightness from decreasing with increasing distance from the light source 3. Also, for example, it is possible to emit light with uniform brightness over the entire surface 4A of the woven fabric 4 facing the interior of the vehicle.

[0037] The emission portion 13 is recessed from the surface 12 A of the cladding 12 to the surface 11 A of the core 11 .

[0038] Such a woven fabric 4 allows the light guided by the core 11 to easily exit from the clad 12, thereby improving brightness.

[0039] The emission portion 13 is a depression formed by laser irradiation.

[0040] The surface of the first yarns 10 (surface 12A of the cladding 12) constituting the cloth-like woven fabric 4 is relatively small. However, with the woven fabric 4 as described above, even the emission portions 13 provided on the surface 12A of the first yarns 10, which are relatively small, can emit light with high precision.

[0041] In addition, this embodiment shows a door trim 100 that has a trim portion 1 to which the above-mentioned woven fabric 4 is attached, and the multiple first threads 10 are woven in a manner that multiple emission portions 13 appear on the surface 1C1 of the trim portion 1 facing the interior of the vehicle.

[0042] With this configuration, it is possible to provide the door trim 100 that efficiently emits light on the inside of the vehicle compartment and can improve the design.

[0043] <Embodiment 2> Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 6. In this embodiment, the same components as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions of the structure, operation, and effects will be omitted.

[0044] The woven fabric 104 is formed by weaving together a plurality of first threads 110 and a plurality of second threads 20 such that the plurality of first threads 110 extend in the front-to-rear direction (first direction) X and the plurality of second threads 20 extend in the up-down direction (second direction intersecting with the first direction) Y. The first threads 110 are optical fibers each composed of a core and a clad covering the core. The first threads 110 are recessed from the surface of the clad and have a plurality of emission portions 113 from which light guided through the core exits. The woven fabric 104, together with the light source 3, constitutes the light emitting device 102.

[0045] The woven fabric 104 is divided into a first section 113A having a plurality of emitting sections 113, and a second section 113B having a plurality of emitting sections 113 and disposed farther from the light source 3 than the first section 113A. In the first section 113A, the plurality of emitting sections 113 are arranged at equal intervals in the front-to-rear and up-down directions. In the first section 113A, the emitting sections 113 in any row (the emitting sections 113 arranged in the up-down direction) are arranged so that their positions are staggered (shifted in the up-down direction) relative to the emitting sections 113 in the rows located before and after it. In the second section 113B, as in the first embodiment, the distance between two adjacent emitting sections of the plurality of emitting sections 113 becomes smaller as the emitting sections are disposed farther from the light source 3.

[0046] <Other embodiments> The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above and in the drawings, and for example, the following embodiments are also included within the technical scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, various modifications other than those described below can be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

[0047] (1) In addition to the above-described embodiments, the configuration of the first thread can be modified as appropriate. For example, the core may be composed of two layers: a first core and a second core covering the surface of the first core. The first thread may also include multiple linear cores. Furthermore, the first thread may be formed by twisting optical fiber and a thread other than optical fiber.

[0048] (2) The woven fabric may be formed into a cloth-like shape by weaving together threads other than the first threads and the second threads. For example, the woven fabric may be formed into a cloth-like shape by weaving together a plurality of first threads, a plurality of second threads, a plurality of third threads, and a plurality of fourth threads so that the plurality of first threads and the plurality of third threads extend in a first direction and the plurality of second threads and the plurality of fourth threads extend in a second direction. The woven fabric may be woven so that other threads such as the third threads and the fourth threads are arranged on the back surface (surface facing the outside of the vehicle cabin) of the first threads (optical fibers).

[0049] (3) In the above embodiment, the number of emission sections formed along the vertical direction on the surface of one first yarn was three (first emission section, second emission section, and third emission section), but this is not limited to this. For example, the number of emission sections formed along the vertical direction on the surface of one first yarn may be two, four, or five or more. Note that the more emission sections formed along the vertical direction on the surface of one first yarn, the more effectively light can be emitted, suppressing insufficient light emission caused by light being emitted obliquely.

[0050] (4) In the above embodiment, the vehicle interior material is exemplified as a door trim, but is not limited thereto. The vehicle interior material may be, for example, a quarter trim, a side trim, an instrument panel, a ceiling material, a pillar garnish, or other interior material.

[0051] (5) The woven fabrics and vehicle interior materials exemplified in the above embodiments are not limited to those for use in vehicles, and may be provided for various types of vehicles. For example, the woven fabrics and vehicle interior materials can be applied to vehicles such as trains and recreational vehicles as ground vehicles, airplanes and helicopters as flying vehicles, and ships and submarines as marine and underwater vehicles.

[0052] (6) The woven fabric exemplified in the above embodiment can be used as a fabric for the side walls of buildings, houses, facilities, and other structures, and as a decorative fabric for furniture, etc., in addition to being used as interior materials for vehicles. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1... trim portion, 3... light source, 4,104... woven fabric, 10,110... first thread, 11... core, 12... clad, 13,113... emission portion, 20... second thread, 100... door trim (vehicle interior material), X... front-rear direction (first direction), Y... up-down direction (second direction)

Claims

1. A woven fabric, a plurality of first threads extending in a first direction and a plurality of second threads extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction, the plurality of first threads and the plurality of second threads being woven together to form a fabric; The first yarn is a core that guides light in the first direction; a cladding covering the surface of the core, The clad includes an emission portion recessed from the surface of the clad and emitting light guided by the core to the outside of the first yarn, the plurality of first yarns are woven in a manner that the plurality of emission portions appear on only one surface side of the woven fabric, a first section including a plurality of the emission sections; a second section including a plurality of the emission sections and disposed at a position farther from the light source than the first section; In the first section, the plurality of emission sections are arranged at equal intervals in the first direction and the second direction, and each emission section arranged in the second direction is shifted in the second direction relative to an emission section adjacent to the emission section in the first direction and arranged in the second direction, In the second section, among the plurality of exit sections, the distance between two adjacent exit sections in the first direction is smaller the farther the exit sections are from the light source.

2. The woven fabric according to claim 1 , wherein the first yarn has a plurality of the emission portions arranged in the second direction on the surface of the cladding.

3. The first yarn is configured such that a plurality of the emission portions are arranged in the first direction on the surface of the clad, 3. The woven fabric according to claim 1, wherein the distance between two adjacent light exit sections among the plurality of light exit sections becomes smaller as the adjacent light exit sections are positioned farther away from a light source that generates the light guided by the core.

4. The woven fabric according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light output portion is recessed from the surface of the cladding to the surface of the core.

5. A trim part to which the woven fabric according to claim 1 or claim 2 is attached, The plurality of first threads are woven in a manner that the plurality of emission portions appear on a surface of the trim portion facing the interior of the vehicle.

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