Cushion material

Abstract

This cushion material comprises a foamed layer and a reticulated urethane foam layer in direct contact with the foamed layer.

Description

Cushioning material

[0001] The present disclosure relates to cushioning materials.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a washable cushioning material with a cover. This cushioning material includes a low-resilience urethane foam and a membrane-free polyurethane foam disposed on the low-resilience urethane foam and covered with a base fabric. The membrane-free urethane foam described in this document corresponds to the membrane-removing urethane foam of the present invention.

[0003] JP 2019-208970 A

[0004] The cushioning material described in Patent Document 1 includes a membrane-free polyurethane foam covered with a base fabric. The membrane-free polyurethane foam covered with a base fabric tends to slide easily on the low-resilience polyurethane foam. When the cushioning material described in Patent Document 1 is applied to a mattress, the membrane-free polyurethane foam may slide upward, resulting in a deterioration in sleeping comfort. In particular, mattresses are susceptible to lateral loads due to turning over in sleep, and the membrane-free polyurethane foam's sliding upward can easily become a problem. The same problem occurs when the cushioning material is applied to a pillow. The present disclosure provides a cushioning material that can reduce the sliding of membrane-free polyurethane foam.

[0005] A cushioning material according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a foam layer and a film-removing urethane foam layer in direct contact with the foam layer.

[0006] The present disclosure can provide a cushioning material that can reduce the slippage of film-removed polyurethane foam.

[0007] 1A and 1B are exploded perspective views of a cushioning material according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0008] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , the cushion material 1 includes a cover 2 and a core material 3 covered by the cover 2. In this embodiment, the cushion material 1 is a mattress, but is not limited to this and may be a pillow or other cushion material. In this embodiment, the cushion material 1 may have dimensions corresponding to a bed. For example, the cushion material 1 may be compatible with a typical single-size bed and have a length of 1800 mm to 2250 mm and a width of 850 mm to 1000 mm.

[0009] The cover 2 may be a bag-like cover that houses the core material 3. The bag-like cover may include an opening for allowing the core material 3 to be inserted and removed, and a zipper for opening and closing the opening. The cover 2 may include cotton, linen, wool, silk, polyester, rayon, nylon, acrylic, polyester, or other natural or synthetic fibers.

[0010] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , the core material 3 includes a foam layer 4 and a film-removing urethane foam layer 5 disposed on the foam layer 4 .

[0011] The foam layer 4 supports the film-removing urethane foam layer 5. The foam layer 4 may have a single-layer structure or a multi-layer structure. In this embodiment, the foam layer 4 includes a first foam layer 6 and a second foam layer 7 disposed on the first foam layer 6. In this embodiment, the first foam layer 6 has a thickness of 5 mm to 30 mm. The second foam layer 7 has a thickness of 5 mm to 30 mm.

[0012] The film-removed urethane foam layer 5 may include a film-removed urethane foam. Generally, urethane foam contains countless cells in a urethane skeleton. These countless cells have membranes between adjacent cells. However, by adjusting the urethane material or its composition, it is possible to form a skeleton structure in which most of the membranes are absent. Alternatively, by subjecting molded urethane foam to physical or chemical treatment, it is possible to form a skeleton structure in which most of the membranes are absent. In this embodiment, film-removed urethane foam refers to urethane foam in which at least 50% of the membranes that define the cells are absent (film removal rate of at least 50%).

[0013] In this embodiment, the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 is in direct contact with the foam layer 4. The film-removed urethane foam layer 5 is porous and therefore has a surface including minute irregularities. The foam layer 4 is also porous and therefore has a surface including minute irregularities. These minute irregularities provide a high coefficient of friction between the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 and the foam layer 4. The film-removed urethane foam layer 5 does not easily slide on the foam layer 4, and therefore the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 is unlikely to shift from its appropriate position on the foam layer 4.

[0014] In this embodiment, the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 is in direct contact with the foam layer 4. That is, the cushion material 1 does not have a cover fabric (foreign matter) between the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 and the foam layer 4. Therefore, it is possible to provide superior cushioning properties compared to the cushion material described in Patent Document 1.

[0015] In this embodiment, the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 may be non-adhered to the foam layer 4. Such a film-removed urethane foam layer 5 can be removed from the foam layer 4 and washed independently. The washable film-removed urethane foam layer 5 makes it possible to maintain the cushioning material 1 clean.

[0016] In this embodiment, the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 may be washable at home. To be washable at home, it is desirable that the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 can be put into a home washing machine and dried in the shade within 24 hours.

[0017] The higher the film removal rate of the film-removed urethane foam layer 5, the easier it is to dry the film-removed urethane foam layer 5. The film-removed urethane foam layer 5 may have a film removal rate of 50% or more, preferably a film removal rate of 70% or more, and more preferably a film removal rate of 90% or more.

[0018] The thinner the thickness of the film-removed urethane foam layer 5, the easier it is to dry. The film-removed urethane foam layer 5 may have a thickness of 30 mm or less, and more preferably a thickness of 20 mm or less. Note that household washing machines generally have a smaller volume than commercial washing machines. The thinner the thickness of the film-removed urethane foam layer 5, the more likely it is to be compatible with a household washing machine.

[0019] The thicker the film-removed urethane foam layer 5, the stronger the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 and the less likely the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 is to rupture due to agitation in the washing machine. The film-removed urethane foam layer 5 may have a thickness of 5 mm or more, and more preferably, a thickness of 10 mm or more.

[0020] The higher the tensile strength of the film-removed urethane foam layer 5, the less likely it is to rupture due to agitation in a washing machine. The film-removed urethane foam layer 5 may have a tensile strength of 50 kPa or more, or may have a tensile strength of 100 kPa or more. In this embodiment, the tensile strength of the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 is 103 kPa. The foam layer 4 may have a first tensile strength, and the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 may have a second tensile strength greater than the first tensile strength. For example, the foam layer 4 may be a low-resilience urethane foam having a tensile strength of 50 to 60 kPa. As an example, the foam layer 4 has a tensile strength of 54 kPa.

[0021] The greater the elongation of the film-removed urethane foam layer 5, the less likely it is that the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 will rupture due to agitation in a washing machine. The film-removed urethane foam layer 5 may have an elongation of 50% or more, or may have an elongation of 100% or more. In this embodiment, the elongation of the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 is 280%. The elongation is expressed as the ratio of a second length to a first length as follows: The first length is the natural length of a test piece of the film-removed urethane foam. The second length is the amount of elongation from the natural length of the test piece when the test piece is stretched until it breaks. The foam layer 4 may be, for example, a low-resilience urethane foam having an elongation of 150%.

[0022] According to an experiment, when a film-removed urethane foam layer 5 having a thickness of 15 mm was dried in an environment of room temperature of 23° C. and relative humidity of 50%, it was found that it was dried within 9 hours.

[0023] The foam layer 4 may have lower washability than the film-removing urethane foam layer 5 (first embodiment), or may have the same washability as the film-removing urethane foam layer 5 (second embodiment).

[0024] In the first embodiment, the foam layer 4 has lower washability than the film-removing urethane foam layer 5. For example, the first foam layer 6 may contain a high-elasticity urethane foam, and the second foam layer 7 may contain a low-resilience urethane foam. The first foam layer 6 may be formed so that its 40% compression hardness according to JIS 6400 is 20 N to 800 N, more preferably 40 N to 300 N. The second foam layer 7 may be formed so that its 40% compression hardness according to JIS 6400 is 10 N to 300 N, more preferably 20 N to 200 N, and even more preferably 30 N to 150 N.

[0025] In the first embodiment, the second foam layer 7 may be in direct contact with the first foam layer 6 and may be adhered to the first foam layer 6. Since the second foam layer 7 is fixed on the first foam layer 6, the second foam layer 7 is prevented from shifting from its proper position on the first foam layer 6.

[0026] In the second embodiment, the foam layer 4 has the same washability as the skin-removing urethane foam layer 5. For example, both the first foam layer 6 and the second foam layer 7 may comprise skin-removing urethane foam.

[0027] In the second embodiment, the second foam layer 7 may be in direct contact with the first foam layer 6 but not adhered to the first foam layer 6. Furthermore, the second foam layer 7 may be in direct contact with the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 but not adhered to the film-removed urethane foam layer 5. The second foam layer 7 is less likely to slip on the first foam layer 6, and therefore is less likely to shift from its correct position on the first foam layer 6. Furthermore, the first foam layer 6, the second foam layer 7, and the film-removed urethane foam layer 5 can each be washed separately.

[0028] In the second embodiment, the first foam layer 6, the second foam layer 7 and the film-removing urethane foam layer 5 may each have a thickness of 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less.

[0029] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and examples, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. In particular, the multiple examples described in this specification can be arbitrarily combined as necessary.

[0030] In the above-described embodiment and example, the foam layer 4 has a two-layer structure, but is not limited to this. For example, the foam layer 4 may have a three-layer structure or a multi-layer structure having more than three layers.

[0031] 1: Cushioning material 2: Cover 3: Core material 4: Foam layer 5: Film-removing urethane foam layer 6: First foam layer 7: Second foam layer

Claims

1. A foam layer; a film-removing urethane foam layer in direct contact with the foam layer; A mattress that satisfies at least one of the following (A) to (E). (A) The tensile strength of the film-removed urethane foam layer is 50 kPa or more. (B) The elongation rate of the film-removed urethane foam layer is 50% or more. (C) When the thickness of the film-removed urethane foam layer is 15 mm, the drying speed of the film-removed urethane foam layer is within 9 hours under an environment of room temperature of 23° C. and relative humidity of 50%. (D) The foam layer is A first foam layer; A second foam layer is disposed between the first foam layer and the film-removing urethane foam layer, the second foam layer is adhered to the first foam layer, and is in direct contact with the film-removed urethane foam layer and is not adhered to the film-removed urethane foam layer; The foam layer includes a film-removing urethane foam. (E) The foam layer is A first foam layer including a film-removing urethane foam; a second foam layer including a skin-removing urethane foam disposed on the first foam layer, in direct contact with the first foam layer, and non-adherent to the first foam layer; The film-removing urethane foam layer is disposed on the second foam layer, is in direct contact with the second foam layer, and is not adhered to the second foam layer.

2. A foam layer; a film-removing urethane foam layer in direct contact with the foam layer; A cushioning material that satisfies at least one of the following (A) to (F). (A) the tensile strength of the film-removed urethane foam layer is 50 kPa or more; The thickness of the foam layer is 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less. (B) the elongation rate of the film-removed urethane foam layer is 50% or more; The thickness of the foam layer is 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less. (C) when the thickness of the film-removed urethane foam layer is 15 mm, the drying speed of the film-removed urethane foam layer is within 9 hours under an environment of room temperature 23° C. and relative humidity 50%, The thickness of the foam layer is 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less. (D) the foam layer has a first tensile strength; The film-removed urethane foam layer has a second tensile strength greater than the first tensile strength, The foam layer includes a film-removing urethane foam. (E) The foam layer is A first foam layer including a film-removing urethane foam; a second foam layer including a skin-removing urethane foam disposed on the first foam layer, in direct contact with the first foam layer, and non-adherent to the first foam layer; the film-removing urethane foam layer is disposed on the second foam layer, is in direct contact with the second foam layer, and is not adhered to the second foam layer; The thickness of the foam layer is 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less. (F) The foam layer is A first foam layer including a film-removing urethane foam; a second foam layer including a skin-removing urethane foam disposed on the first foam layer, in direct contact with the first foam layer, and non-adherent to the first foam layer; the film-removing urethane foam layer is disposed on the second foam layer, is in direct contact with the second foam layer, and is not adhered to the second foam layer; The first foam layer, the second foam layer, and the film-removing urethane foam layer have the same horizontal projected area.

3. The cushioning material according to claim 2, wherein the thickness of the film-removed urethane foam layer is 10 mm or more and 20 mm or less.