Wet-wipe sheet article, device for manufacturing wet-wipe sheet article, and method for manufacturing wet-wipe sheet article

Abstract

This wet-wipe sheet article comprises: a substrate sheet (10) that is hydrated to reach a moist state with a prescribed water content ratio; and sanitary constituent–containing water that contains a sanitary constituent comprising an antimicrobial / antifungal constituent, and that is impregnated into the substrate sheet (10) to a prescribed water content. The sanitary constituent–containing water contains a cationic agent in an amount such that said agent reaches a prescribed concentration in the water content of the substrate sheet (10). A function from carbon microcoils is imparted to the substrate sheet (10) and the sanitary constituent–containing water.

Description

A wet cleaning sheet article, an apparatus for manufacturing the wet cleaning sheet article, and a method for manufacturing the wet cleaning sheet article.

[0001] The present invention relates to a moist wiping sheet article containing an antibacterial / antifungal component that can be used as a paper towel, hand towel, body wipe, etc., and to a new function provided by CMC, which is a moist wiping sheet article containing an antibacterial / antifungal component ("CMC" is an acronym for Carbon MicroCoil, and hereinafter carbon microcoil may be simply referred to as CMC). ("Moist wiping sheet article" is a comprehensive term that includes not only paper towels but also moist wiping sheets and packaged moist wiping sheets, and hereinafter the term "moist wiping sheet article" will be used as a general term encompassing these articles.) (Hereafter, "moist wiping sheet as a functional article by CMC" may be simply referred to as "CMC-function moist wiping sheet article.") The present invention also relates to a manufacturing apparatus for the CMC-function moist wiping sheet article and a method for manufacturing the CMC-function moist wiping sheet article.

[0002] Conventional paper towels consist of a base sheet made of fibrous material such as nonwoven fabric, which is saturated with a predetermined amount of purified water. Furthermore, because conventional paper towels contain a large amount of water, they contain benzalkonium chloride, an organic compound, as an antibacterial / antifungal component in the water for the purpose of antibacterial and antifungal effects and improved shelf life. In addition, some conventional paper towels contain ethanol, an organic compound, in addition to benzalkonium chloride, for similar antibacterial and antifungal effects. Examples of inventions that incorporate antibacterial / antifungal components such as benzalkonium chloride, an organic compound, into paper towels include the inventions described in Patent Document 1 (JP 2008-119433 A) and Patent Document 2 (JP 2006-192225 A). Specifically, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention for a method of preserving paper towels and hand wipes, comprising a polyaminopropyl biguanide and a quaternary ammonium salt, one or more of the following: benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, stearyltrimethylammonium chloride, and cetylpyridinium chloride, and propynyl iodide butylcarbamate (see Claim 1 of Patent Document 1). Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses an invention for a method of preserving paper towels and hand wipes, comprising a quaternary ammonium salt described in the Cosmetic Standards, two or more of the following: benzalkonium chloride, benzothonium chloride, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, stearyltrimethylammonium chloride, and cetylpyridinium chloride, and at least one of the parahydroxybenzoic acid esters described in the Cosmetic Standards (see Claim 1 of Patent Document 2).

[0003] Thus, a conventional paper towel is composed of a single wet sheet in a wet state in which water containing the antibacterial / mildew-proof component and / or preservative is impregnated in a predetermined amount (at a predetermined moisture content) in the base material sheet. However, a paper towel composed of a single wet sheet in a wet state is generally folded in a predetermined folded state (for example, a folded state of folding in half after folding like a butterfly fold), and then becomes a folded wet sheet. After that, it is individually packaged with a predetermined packaging film and becomes a final product in an individually packaged state. That is, a conventional paper towel is individually packaged by enclosing a single wet paper towel inside a packaging film made of a predetermined plastic film and sealing it, and the individually packaged paper towel is provided to the market as a final product.

[0004] [Unique Findings on赋予New Functions by CMC] The following description is the unique findings obtained by the inventor through his own research and development. For the convenience of explanation, such unique findings of the inventor are described in the explanation of "Background Art". However, the following technical matters are unique findings based on the inventor's own research and development, and the problems of the prior art described below are new problems uniquely discovered by the inventor based on his own research and development, and are not based on prior findings.

[0005] First, as described above, a conventional individually packaged paper towel contains benzalkonium chloride or the like, which is an organic compound (typically, benzalkonium chloride, which is a quaternary ammonium salt), as a main antibacterial / mildew-proof component in the water content of the base material sheet. By doing so, the antibacterial / mildew-proof property required for the paper towel is exhibited for a predetermined period (for example, a predetermined period such as 6 months to 12 months after production, which is a predetermined period during which a predetermined antibacterial / mildew-proof performance can be maintained until the final consumer uses the paper towel).

[0006] Here, the inventors have found through their own research and development that it is possible to add a novel function (i.e., a new function different from the antibacterial / antifungal function described above) to paper towels (for example, individually packaged paper towels) using CMC (carbon microcoils). Based on this finding, the inventors have invented a paper towel (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "CMC-function-added paper towel") that has been given a new function by CMC to a paper towel containing antibacterial / antifungal components. Furthermore, by applying this finding to other moist wiping sheet articles besides paper towels, the inventors have invented a moist wiping sheet article (i.e., a CMC-function-added moist wiping sheet article) that has been given a new function by CMC to a moist wiping sheet article containing antibacterial / antifungal components.

[0007] [Original and Novel Findings Based on the Inventor's Considerations] Furthermore, the following description is original knowledge acquired by the inventor through its own research and development. For the sake of explanation, such original knowledge will be described in the "Background Art" section. However, the following technical matters are original knowledge based on the inventor's own research and development, and the problems of the prior art described below are novel problems independently identified by the inventor based on its own research and development, and are not based on prior knowledge.

[0008] On the other hand, conventional individually packaged paper towels, as described above, contain organic compounds such as benzalkonium chloride (typically benzalkonium chloride, a quaternary ammonium salt) as the main antibacterial / antifungal component in the water-containing base sheet. For example, benzalkonium chloride (sometimes referred to as "BAC" or "BZC" as an abbreviation for "Benzalkonium chloride") has an antimicrobial spectrum effective against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, some fungi, and some enveloped viruses. On the other hand, quaternary ammonium salts such as benzalkonium chloride are known to be a type of cationic surfactant (cationic surfactant) that dissociates into cations when dissolved in water. In addition to those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 above, dialkyldimethylammonium chloride is another quaternary ammonium salt with similar effects. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, cationic agents containing cationic surfactants such as benzalkonium chloride will be collectively referred to as "cationic agents."

[0009] However, the inventors have, through diligent research and development, obtained as their own unique findings, that when conventional cationic antibacterial / antifungal components such as benzalkonium chloride are dissolved in an aqueous solvent such as purified water and impregnated into the base sheet of a wet wiping sheet article (for example, when contained in the wet sheet of a paper towel), depending on the material of the base sheet, the concentration of the antibacterial / antifungal component (i.e., cationic agent) in the moisture of the wet wiping sheet article (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "concentration in moisture") may decrease compared to the original concentration due to the amount added (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "original concentration"). Specifically, the inventors have, through diligent research and development, obtained as their own unique findings that when the base sheet of a wet cleaning sheet is made of pulp material or cellulose fiber (including base sheets made of regenerated cellulose fiber manufactured primarily from wood pulp such as rayon), the concentration of cationic agents such as benzalkonium chloride in the moisture of the wet sheet of the wet cleaning sheet article (concentration in moisture) decreases compared to the original concentration (original concentration) due to the amount added during manufacturing. Furthermore, through diligent research and development, the inventors have independently discovered that when a wet cleaning sheet is used for its intended purpose (cleaning as a cleaning sheet), the concentration of antibacterial / antifungal components such as benzalkonium chloride in the water of the wet sheet (concentration in water) may decrease compared to the original concentration (original) due to the content at the time of manufacture, or the antibacterial / antifungal performance of the antibacterial / antifungal components such as benzalkonium chloride in the water of the wet sheet may decrease for any reason, and the intended function of the cleaning sheet (antibacterial / antifungal function, etc.) may be reduced or impaired due to the decrease in concentration or the decrease in performance.

[0010] [Special Characteristics of Paper Towels] In particular, because paper towels are impregnated with a certain amount of moisture due to their intended use and properties, if even a trace amount of bacteria or fungi are mixed into the moisture during the manufacturing process of the paper towels, problems may occur due to the proliferation of bacteria and fungi in the paper towels (as bacteria and fungi thrive in humid environments rather than dry ones). Therefore, conventionally, all paper towels contain antibacterial / antifungal components such as benzalkonium chloride or ethanol, which are organic compounds.

[0011] [Moist Cleansing Sheet Articles Other Than Paper Towels] Similar to paper towels, there are other products intended for cleaning the human body, hands, etc., such as the above-mentioned baby wipes, body wipes, and wet tissues (sometimes called "cleansing articles"). In this application (specification, claims, abstract, and drawings), the term "moist cleansing sheet article" may be used as a conceptual term that includes both paper towels and cleaning articles. And, similar to paper towels, conventional cleaning articles are made by impregnating a base sheet consisting of a single nonwoven fabric or other fiber sheet with water containing at least a predetermined organic compound as an antibacterial / antifungal component to make it moist. If these cleaning articles are individually packaged in packaging film, the same problems as described above may occur. Furthermore, even if the moist wiping sheets are not individually packaged in packaging film, but instead, like wet wipes, a large number of sheets (several dozen or so) are placed in a single plastic packaging container (e.g., a plastic storage bag), the same problems described above may occur due to the same mechanism as in the case of individual packaging.

[0012] [Prevention of deterioration of antibacterial / antifungal performance due to the addition of new functions] Furthermore, the following description is the inventor's own knowledge acquired through independent research and development. For the sake of explanation, this inventor's own knowledge is described in the "Background Art" section. However, the following technical matters are the inventor's own knowledge based on independent research and development, and the problems of the prior art described below are novel problems independently identified by the inventor based on independent research and development, and are not based on prior knowledge.

[0013] As described above, the inventors have, through their own research and development, discovered that novel functions can be added to wet wiping sheet articles such as paper towels using CMC (carbon microcoils), and based on this discovery, have invented CMC-function-added wet wiping sheet articles such as paper towels. In addition, through their own research and development, the inventors have invented a novel CMC-function-added wet wiping sheet article such as a paper towel that, even when novel functions are added using CMC (carbon microcoils), does not lead to a decrease in the concentration of antibacterial and antifungal components such as benzalkonium chloride, or a decrease in antibacterial and antifungal performance. Furthermore, they have also invented a manufacturing apparatus for this novel CMC-function-added wet wiping sheet article, as well as a method for manufacturing this novel CMC-function-added wet wiping sheet article.

[0014] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-119433, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-192225, International Publication No. 2020 / 045615

[0015] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a novel wet-wiping sheet article with a CMC (carbon microcoil) function (hereinafter referred to as "CMC-induced function") that does not lead to a decrease in the concentration of antibacterial and antifungal components such as benzalkonium chloride, or a decrease in antibacterial and antifungal performance, even when a novel function (hereinafter referred to as "CMC-induced function") is added to a wet-wiping sheet article such as a paper towel, a manufacturing apparatus for the wet-wiping sheet article, and a method for manufacturing the wet-wiping sheet article.

[0016] The wet wiping sheet article according to the present invention comprises a base sheet that has been moistened to a predetermined moisture content, and water containing a sanitary component consisting of antibacterial / antifungal components, which is impregnated into the base sheet with a predetermined amount of water. The water containing the sanitary component contains a cationic agent at a predetermined concentration in the moisture of the base sheet, and furthermore, the base sheet and the water containing the sanitary component are provided with functionality by carbon microcoils.

[0017] Furthermore, the wet wiping sheet article according to the present invention comprises a base sheet that has been moistened to a predetermined moisture content, and water containing a sanitary component consisting of antibacterial / antifungal components, which is impregnated into the base sheet with a predetermined amount of water. The water containing the sanitary component contains a cationic agent at a predetermined concentration in the moisture of the base sheet, and the cationic agent is uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the base sheet. In addition, the base sheet and the water containing the sanitary component may be provided with a function by a carbon microcoil.

[0018] Furthermore, the wet wiping sheet article according to the present invention comprises a base sheet that has been moistened to a predetermined moisture content by being saturated with water, and water containing a sanitary component consisting of antibacterial / antifungal components, which has been impregnated into the base sheet with a predetermined amount of water, wherein the water containing the sanitary component contains a cationic agent at a predetermined concentration in the water of the base sheet, and the base sheet is folded in a double-fold in the width direction, and then folded again in the width direction by valley-folding at the center of the double-folded base sheet, resulting in a four-fold state at both ends of the width direction of the base sheet, and the base sheet is composed of a first and second part consisting of two ends in the width direction and a third and fourth part consisting of two central parts in the width direction when the base sheet is divided into four equal parts in the width direction, and the cationic agent is uniformly contained over the entire surface of the first, second, third, and fourth parts of the four-folded base sheet, and furthermore, the base sheet and the water containing the sanitary component may be given functionality by carbon microcoils.

[0019] Furthermore, the wet wiping sheet article according to the present invention comprises a pulp-based base sheet made from pulp-based raw materials and moistened to a predetermined moisture content, and water containing sanitary components consisting of antibacterial / antifungal components, which is impregnated into the base sheet with a predetermined amount of water, wherein the water containing sanitary components contains a cationic agent at a predetermined concentration in the moisture of the base sheet, and furthermore, the base sheet and the water containing sanitary components may be provided with functionality by carbon microcoils.

[0020] The present invention provides a novel moist wiping sheet article with a CMC (carbon microcoil) function, a manufacturing apparatus for the same moist wiping sheet article, and a method for manufacturing the same moist wiping sheet article, which does not lead to a decrease in the concentration of antibacterial and antifungal components such as benzalkonium chloride or a decrease in antibacterial and antifungal performance, even when a novel function (hereinafter referred to as "CMC-induced function") is added to a moist wiping sheet article such as a paper towel using CMC.

[0021] Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the outline of a single individually packaged paper towel manufacturing device in a manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels, which is a manufacturing system for moist wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention (the term "manufacturing system" is used as a general term for "manufacturing device," including cases where there is one manufacturing device and cases where there are multiple manufacturing devices). Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the outline of a paper towel manufacturing method using a single individually packaged paper towel manufacturing device in a manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels, which is a manufacturing system for moist wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic plan view of the first manufacturing unit of the manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels, which is a manufacturing system for moist wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic plan view of the second manufacturing unit of the manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels, which is a manufacturing system for moist wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic elevation view of the second manufacturing unit of the manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels, which is a manufacturing system for moist wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram in plan view showing a first specific example of a CMC sheet used as a CMC function imparting device in the first and second manufacturing units of the manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels, which is a manufacturing system for wet and cleansing sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram in front view showing a first specific example of a CMC sheet used as a CMC function imparting device in the first and second manufacturing units of the manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels, which is a manufacturing system for wet and cleansing sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram in plan view showing a second specific example of a CMC sheet used as a CMC function imparting device in the first and second manufacturing units of the manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels, which is a manufacturing system for wet and cleansing sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 9 is a schematic diagram in front view showing a second specific example of a CMC sheet used as a CMC function imparting device in the first and second manufacturing units of the manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels, which is a manufacturing system for wet and cleansing sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.Figure 10 is a plan view showing a first specific example of laminated paper as the raw material (i.e., base paper) for individually packaged paper towels manufactured by the individually packaged paper towel manufacturing system as a manufacturing system for wet wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 11 is an enlarged plan view schematically showing the main parts of the first specific example of laminated paper for individually packaged paper towels manufactured by the individually packaged paper towel manufacturing system as a manufacturing system for wet wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, where (a) shows an example of the first heat-sealed portion of the first specific example of laminated paper where the heat-sealed portion spacing is set to the first heat-sealed portion spacing, and (b) shows an example of the second heat-sealed portion of the first specific example of laminated paper for individually packaged paper towels where the heat-sealed portion spacing is set to the second heat-sealed portion spacing (different from the first heat-sealed portion spacing).

[0022] The following describes embodiments for carrying out the present invention. Throughout each embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for the same members, elements, or parts, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0023] [Definitions of Terms in the Application Documents] Of the terms used in the application documents (specification, claims, abstract, drawings), the following terms are used with the meanings set forth below.

[0024] "Antibacterial properties" refer to the property of having "antibacterial performance" as defined in the "Voluntary Standards for Quality and Safety" established by the SIAA (Society of International Antimicrobial Agents for Products) (that which satisfies the "antibacterial performance standards" defined in the said "Voluntary Standards for Quality and Safety"), and generally refer to the property of suppressing the growth of bacteria on the surface of a product or article. In this invention, "antibacterial properties" are evaluated by a method similar to the evaluation method for antibacterial textile products specified in JIS L 1902 (ISO 20743) (bacterial liquid absorption method, etc.).

[0025] "Antiviral properties" refer to the property of having "antiviral performance" as defined in the "Voluntary Standards for Quality and Safety" established by the SIAA (Society of International Antimicrobial Agents for Products) (that which satisfies the "antiviral performance standards" defined in the said "Voluntary Standards for Quality and Safety"), and generally refer to the property of suppressing the proliferation of viruses on the surface of a product or article. In this invention, "antiviral properties" are evaluated by a method similar to the evaluation method for antiviral textile products specified in JIS L 1922 (ISO 18184).

[0026] "Mold resistance" refers to the property of having "mold resistance performance" as defined in the "Voluntary Standards for Quality and Safety" established by the SIAA (Society of International Antimicrobial Agents for Products) (that which satisfies the "mold resistance performance standards" defined in the said "Voluntary Standards for Quality and Safety"), and generally refers to the property of suppressing the growth of mold on the surface of a product or article. In this invention, "mold resistance" is evaluated by a method conforming to the mold resistance test method specified in JIS Z 2911 (7. Testing of Textile Products).

[0027] "Bacteria-treated water" refers to water from which all bacteria, viruses, and (among fungi) mold (strictly speaking, mold as constituent units, not as colonies) have been removed to below standard or limit levels.

[0028] A "bacteria and other microorganism treatment device" is a device that removes all bacteria, viruses, and mold (specifically, mold as constituent units, not as colonies) from purified water (raw water such as groundwater or tap water) obtained by filtering, etc., to levels below the standard or limit, thereby producing treated water.

[0029] "Hygienic components" refer to components that have antibacterial and / or antiviral and / or antifungal (fungal resistance) properties.

[0030] "Water containing sanitary components" refers to water that has been purified by filtering or other methods from raw water (groundwater, tap water, etc.) and then contains sanitary components (for example, cationic chemicals such as benzalkonium chloride) that have antibacterial and / or antiviral and / or antifungal properties, and that can maintain its antibacterial / antiviral / antifungal properties for a predetermined long period of time (for example, the period of use for paper towels, etc.). "Water containing sanitary components" may sometimes refer to water that has been purified from raw water to which all bacteria, viruses, and molds have been removed to below standard or limit values ​​(i.e., water that has been treated with bacteria, etc.), and then to which sanitary components have been added, as in the aforementioned "water treated with bacteria, etc.", but it may also refer to water that has been purified in the usual way and to which sanitary components have been added.

[0031] A "moist cleaning sheet" refers to a sheet-like material that is moistened with water, such as paper towels, wet wipes, or cleaning sheets (common in Japan). Paper towels or cleaning sheets can be single-layer (consisting of only one sheet) or multi-layer (consisting of two or more sheets, for example, a two-layer sheet or a three-layer sheet). A three-layer moist cleaning sheet may have a non-woven fabric sandwiched between two sheets of crepe paper. For example, there is a product made by moistening the "laminated paper" covered by the applicant's patent. (For example, see Japanese Patent Publication No. 6698894.) A "moist wiping sheet article" refers to a "moist wiping sheet" that is packaged inside a predetermined packaging container. For example, like a paper towel, it refers to a paper towel that is a "moist wiping sheet" sealed in a rectangular packaging container using a packaging film made of a predetermined plastic film such as propylene film. Typically, it refers to a single paper towel that is sealed in a single packaging film (i.e., individually packaged). However, it also includes, for example, a number of moist wiping sheets (typically in the form of wet wipes) (for example, in units of several dozen) that are housed inside a single three-dimensional hollow packaging container so that each sheet can be taken out one by one. Furthermore, the term "moist wiping sheet article" also includes a so-called automatic wet wipe machine that houses a dedicated roll of paper (made by winding a dry raw sheet, before water absorption, which constitutes the "moist wiping sheet" described above, into a roll) and a water tank that stores the "hygienic component-containing water" described above, and allows a predetermined unit (for example, a predetermined length) of the dedicated roll of paper to be saturated with the hygienic component-containing water and dispensed to the outside, and consists of a moist wiping sheet in the state (moistened) that has been dispensed to the outside. In other words, the term "moist wiping sheet article" of the present invention is used to encompass the various types of "moist wiping sheet articles" described above, and furthermore, it is used to encompass any article that has a "moist wiping sheet" as its main component.

[0032] The term "individually packaged moist wiping sheet article" is used specifically to refer to a "moist wiping sheet article" in which one sheet (or a predetermined number of sheets (two, three, etc.) constitutes a unit) of moist wiping sheets is sealed in a single packaging film (i.e., individually packaged).

[0033] "Individually packaged paper towels" refers to "individually packaged moist wiping sheet articles" in which one paper towel as a moist wiping sheet (or a unit of a predetermined number of paper towels (2, 3, etc.)) is sealed and individually packaged in a single packaging film.

[0034] The term "moist cleaning sheet article containing antibacterial / antifungal components" is used in the same sense as "moist cleaning sheet article containing hygienic components," which is obtained by adding the "hygienic components" or "water containing hygienic components" to the "moist cleaning sheet article." That is, "moist cleaning sheet article containing hygienic components" is obtained by adding the "hygienic components" or "water containing hygienic components" to the "moist cleaning sheet article."

[0035] "Base sheet" refers to a sheet-like material formed from a predetermined raw material (typically a fibrous material), used as the sheet-like main body (i.e., base material) of moist wiping sheet articles such as paper towels, wet wipes, and cleansing sheets, and is a nonwoven fabric, or a laminate of nonwoven fabric and crepe paper, etc., that is capable of freely absorbing water (especially water containing sanitary components). For example, "base sheet" consists of "laminated paper" related to the applicant's patent. (See, for example, Patent Publication No. 6698894.) "Packaging material" includes not only individual packaging materials for containing and packaging a single moist wiping sheet article, but also packaging materials for containing multiple moist wiping sheet articles.

[0036] In this application, the term "antibacterial component" is used in the usual sense (focusing solely on antibacterial properties), but the hygienic component of the present invention possesses not only antibacterial properties but also antifungal properties.

[0037] [Explanation of CMC] The CMC, which is a characteristic component for obtaining the CMC-functional moist wiping sheet article (and a CMC paper towel as one embodiment thereof) according to the present invention, will be described in detail below.

[0038] [Overview] Carbon microcoils (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "CMC") and carbon nanocoils (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "CNC") are a type of vapor-grown carbon fiber (VGCF) obtained by catalytically activated pyrolysis of acetylene. For example, CMC is a coiled carbon fiber (Carbon Fiber (CF)) synthesized by pyrolysis of acetylene containing trace amounts of sulfur impurities at a heating temperature of 700-800°C in the presence of a metal catalyst such as nickel (Ni). CMC has a unique structure not found in existing materials, being amorphous with a coil diameter on the order of μm to nm in a 3D-helical / spiral form. CMC will be described in more detail below.

[0039] [Morphology] Typical CMC Typical CMC has a form in which two carbon fibers are regularly wound in the same direction with a constant coil diameter and coil pitch, and has a so-called double helix structure. Hereinafter, CMC with such a double helix structure will be referred to as double helix CMC. Note that by selecting the catalyst during synthesis, CMC can also have a single helix structure. Hereinafter, CMC with such a single helix structure will be referred to as single helix CMC.

[0040] [Typical CMC Sizes] The coil diameter of a CMC is generally 1 to 10 μm. Hereinafter, this typical coil diameter of a CMC will be referred to as the "general coil diameter." The diameter of the carbon fiber forming the coil of the CMC (i.e., fiber diameter) is generally 0.1 to 1 μm (i.e., 100 nm to 1000 nm). Hereinafter, this typical fiber diameter of a CMC will be referred to as the "general fiber diameter." The coil length (axial length) of a CMC is generally 0.1 to 10 mm (i.e., 100 to 10000 μm), depending on the reaction time. Hereinafter, a CMC having the above ranges for coil diameter, fiber diameter, and coil length will be referred to as a "general CMC." Furthermore, a general CMC with a double helix structure will be referred to as a "double helix general CMC," and a general CMC with a single helix structure will be referred to as a "single helix general CMC."

[0041] [Large-sized CMC] In addition, as the size of CMC, a CMC can be synthesized in which the fiber diameter is smaller than the above general fiber diameter (for example, 50 to 200 nm), and the coil diameter is larger than the above general coil diameter (for example, a coil diameter of 20 to 50 μm, or a coil diameter of 30 to 50 μm). Hereinafter, the CMC having such a small fiber diameter and a large coil diameter is referred to as "large-sized CMC". The CMC of the present invention includes such large-sized CMC. Further, the large-sized CMC having a double helix structure is referred to as "double helix large-sized CMC", and the large-sized CMC having a single helix structure is referred to as "single helix large-sized CMC".

[0042] That is, the term "CMC" used in the present invention is a term meaning including double helix general CMC, single helix general CMC, double helix large-sized CMC, and single helix large-sized CMC.

[0043] The general CMC itself is a material having an elongation rate of 1.5 to 3 times and being rich in elasticity. However, such large-sized CMC is very rich in elasticity compared with the general CMC, and can be elongated to 5 to 15 times or 10 to 15 times the original coil length, and has super-elasticity with an elongation rate of 5 to 15 times or 10 to 15 times, and can be called super-elastic CMC. This large-sized CMC (that is, super-elastic CMC) easily elongates even with a minute load on the order of milligram (mg), and a substantially linear relationship is recognized between the load and the elongation.

[0044] [Other morphological elements of CMC] Also, in one CMC, the fiber diameter, the coil diameter, and the coil pitch are substantially constant, and the winding direction is substantially constant right-handed or left-handed without changing halfway.

[0045] [CMC as a chiral body] Also, CMC is a typical chiral body, and there are right-handed CMC and left-handed CMC. However, the number of right-handed CMC and the number of left-handed CMC are substantially the same regardless of the type of catalyst and reaction conditions, and the ratio of right-handed CMC to left-handed CMC is substantially 1:1.

[0046] Also, the surface of CMC is generally very smooth and is covered with fine carbon particles of 20 to 50 nm. Also, from the fracture surface of CMC, a hollow space such as a carbon nanotube is not observed, and CMC is completely filled with fine carbon particles up to the central part.

[0047] [CNC] When synthesized using a catalyst or a ceramic powder-supported fine catalyst with an average particle size on the order of nm, a carbon nanocoil (Carbon NanoCoil, hereinafter referred to as "CNC") with a coil diameter of several tens to several hundreds of nm can be obtained. CNC is generally a single twist-shaped coil in which the fibers are continuously twisted in one direction. In CMC, the winding direction does not change midway, but in CNC, the winding direction often changes. The present invention including this embodiment encompasses such CNC within the concept of CMC, and the terms "carbon microcoil" to "CMC" used in the present invention are used in a meaning that also includes "carbon nanocoil" to "CNC".

[0048] [Fine Structure] CMC has been confirmed to be almost amorphous from the X-ray diffraction method (XRD) and the Raman spectrum by Raman spectroscopy.

[0049] [Physical Properties and Characteristics] [Generation of Induced Electromotive Force by Electromagnetic Wave Absorption, and (Magnetic Field Generation by Induced Electromotive Force)] Due to its helical structure, CMC efficiently absorbs electromagnetic waves according to Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction. When CMC is placed in an environment where electromagnetic waves are radiated, an induced electromotive force corresponding to the electromagnetic waves in the environment is generated in the CMC. At this time, the higher the frequency of the electromagnetic wave and the larger the coil length of CMC, the higher the generation of the induced electromotive force is observed. Also, due to this induced electromotive force, a weak magnetic field is generated at the coil ends of CMC.

[0050] In detail, the following results were obtained by measuring the electromagnetic wave absorption rate in the 10-110 GHz band using the free-space method for two types of samples: beads (0.2-1.0 mm in diameter) and foam boards (13-26 mm in thickness) obtained by dispersing and compounding CMC of various coil lengths in PU (polyurethane), PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), and silicone resin at various additive amounts.

[0051] Specifically, a sample of bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite (hereinafter referred to as "bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite") is produced by adding and dispersing CMC to PMMA as a matrix (base material) to create a composite and forming it into a bead shape. In this case, it has been found that in this CMC / PMMA bead-shaped composite, a practical target value of -20 dB (absorption rate of 99%) or higher can be achieved in a specific frequency range when the amount of CMC added to the matrix is ​​set in the range of 1 to 2 wt% (1 to 2 wt%). On the other hand, it has been found that in this CMC / PMMA bead-shaped composite, the absorption rate decreases when the amount of CMC added to the matrix is ​​less than 1 wt% or more than 2 wt%.

[0052] Furthermore, by adding and dispersing CMC to PMMA as a matrix (base material) to create a composite and forming it into a foamed sheet, a sample of a sheet-like foam CMC / PMMA composite (hereinafter referred to as "foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite") is manufactured. In this case, a sample of this CMC / PMMA sheet-like foamed composite is formed by laminating a first sheet in which the amount of CMC added to the matrix is ​​set to 1 wt% (1 weight%) and the coil length of the added CMC is set in the range of 300 to 500 μm, and a second sheet in which the amount of CMC added to the matrix is ​​set to 1 wt% (1 weight%) and the coil length of the added CMC is set in the range of 150 to 300 μm, so that the total sheet thickness is 26 mm (i.e., a two-layer sample with CMC of different coil lengths added to the first and second layers), and it has been found that it exhibits extremely excellent absorption characteristics of -20 dB (absorption rate of 99%) or more over a wide frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz.

[0053] [Effects due to generated magnetic field] "Effect 1 (Metabolic activation effect)" In relation to the magnetic field generation function of CMC, CMC has the following functions. That is, weak electromagnetic waves are present in nature, and weak electromagnetic waves exist in every space. Therefore, it is thought that CMC absorbs these electromagnetic waves through the electromagnetic wave absorption effect described above, generates a weak induced current, and consequently generates a weak static magnetic field.

[0054] This weak static magnetic field is thought to bring about unique effects or functions of CMC, such as the proliferation of living cells and the activation of metabolism. In other words, CMC is thought to exert functions due to the weak static magnetic field it generates in response to electromagnetic waves in the external space, which constitutes at least a part of the CMC functions described above (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "weak static magnetic field-induced functions"). It should be noted that the above CMC functions are not limited to these weak static magnetic field-induced functions, and various functions can be expected as described below. To explain the weak static magnetic field-induced functions of CMC, for example, it has been found that when fibroblasts are cultured with CMC added, the expression level of fibroblasts (type I collagen mRNA) increases by about 10%. It has also been found that when epidermal cells (mouse keratinocyte-derived Pam212 cells) are cultured with CMC added, the cell number increases by 60%, and epidermal metabolism is activated.

[0055] To explain in more detail, CMC has been shown to exhibit a significant inhibitory effect on fibroblasts and cancer cells that cause keloids. For example, when L cells derived from mouse connective tissue, which are fibroblasts, are cultured with (complete form) CMC, the number of cells after 10 days is 1 / 20 of that when CMC is not added. When CMC powder, which is completely pulverized and has lost its coil shape, is added, the number of cells after 10 days is 1 / 2 of that when CMC is not added. Furthermore, regarding the effect of CMC addition on the proliferation of Hela cells derived from human cervical cancer (CMC: 0.04 wt%), it has been found that the number of cancer cells after 7 days of culture is 19% of that when (complete form) CMC is added, and 76% of that when CMC powder, which is completely pulverized and has lost its coil shape, is added. In contrast to CMC, it has been found that the number of cancer cells after 7 days of culture increases when activated charcoal is added compared to when it is not added. In other words, these findings indicate that CMC has a significant effect in suppressing the proliferation of cancer cell-derived cell lines.

[0056] [Detailed explanation of CMC as a chiral substance] As mentioned above, CMC is a chiral substance and has a helical chiral structure. Furthermore, as mentioned above, CMC is a chiral substance composed of right-handed helical CMC and left-handed helical CMC, and the ratio of right-handed CMC to left-handed CMC is approximately 1:1.

[0057] [Details of the electromagnetic wave absorption performance of CMC as a chiral material] Here, it is known that chiral materials made of conductors have excellent electromagnetic wave absorption performance. In particular, as mentioned above, CMC / PU composites (composites in which CMC is dispersed in a matrix made of PU) and CMC / PMMA composites (composites in which CMC is dispersed in a matrix made of PMMA) are both known to be able to efficiently absorb electromagnetic waves in the 2 to 18 GHz range and electromagnetic waves in the 12.4 to 110 GHz range. For example, sheet-type CMC / PU composites containing 1 to 3 wt% CMC (sheet-type composites in which 1 to 3 wt% CMC is dispersed in a sheet-type matrix made of PU) and sheet-type CMC / PMMA composites containing 1 to 3 wt% CMC (sheet-type composites in which 1 to 3 wt% CMC is dispersed in a sheet-type matrix made of PMMA) are both known to have excellent electromagnetic wave absorption performance, achieving a return attenuation of -20 dB or less (absorption of 90% or more of incident electromagnetic waves).

[0058] [CMC / Matrix Composite] Here, the CMC / PMMA composite can be manufactured, for example, by using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as the matrix of the CMC composite and uniformly dispersing CMC in the matrix. Similarly, the CMC / PU composite can be manufactured by using polyurethane (PU) as the matrix of the CMC composite and uniformly dispersing CMC in the matrix.

[0059] [Material of the base material (matrix)] The matrix (base material) of the CMC / matrix composite can be any predetermined resin material other than PMMA and PU, as long as CMC can be added and dispersed inside, and it can also be any other dielectric material such as silicone resin or ceramics. For example, the matrix (base material) of the sheet-type CMC / matrix composite can be any predetermined resin material other than PMMA and PU, and it can also be silicone resin. Similarly, the base material of the bead-type CMC / matrix composite can be any predetermined resin material other than PMMA and PU, and it can also be ceramics.

[0060] In other words, by adding and dispersing a predetermined amount of CMC (a predetermined amount of CMC added at a predetermined coil length) to a predetermined matrix (a base material made of a predetermined dielectric material in which CMC can be added and dispersed, preferably a base material made of PU, PMMA, silicone resin, etc.), a CMC / matrix composite with a corresponding predetermined shape and predetermined properties can be formed. That is, "CMC / matrix composite" is a comprehensive term that includes the above-mentioned CMC / PMMA composite and CMC / PU composite.

[0061] [Overall Shape of CMC / Matrix Composite] The final shape of the matrix after CMC is added and dispersed, i.e., the overall shape of the CMC / matrix composite, can be any shape, such as bead-like or sheet-like (single-layer sheet or multi-layer sheet). In other words, the CMC / matrix composite can be a bead-like CMC / matrix composite with an overall shape of beads, or a sheet-like CMC / matrix composite with an overall shape of sheets.

[0062] [Sheet-like CMC / matrix composite] Here, this CMC / matrix composite can be formed into a sheet-like shape (for example, a rectangular sheet or a square sheet) with a predetermined thickness and predetermined external dimensions to form a sheet-like CMC / matrix composite. This sheet-like CMC / matrix composite can also be configured as a single-layer CMC / matrix composite (i.e., a single-layer structure). Alternatively, this sheet-like CMC / matrix composite can be configured as a multi-layer CMC / matrix composite (i.e., a multi-layer structure) by joining multiple sheet-like CMC / matrix composites together in the thickness direction. For example, two sheet-like CMC / matrix composites can be joined together in the thickness direction to form a two-layer CMC / matrix composite (i.e., a two-layer structure), i.e., a two-layer sheet-like laminate structure CMC / matrix composite.

[0063] Furthermore, the CMC / PMMA composite as the CMC / matrix composite can be formed as a sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite with a predetermined thickness and predetermined external dimensions (for example, a rectangular sheet or a square sheet), as described above. This sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite can also be configured as a single-layer (i.e., single-layer or monolayer structure) CMC / PMMA composite. Alternatively, this sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite can be configured as a multi-layer (i.e., multi-layer structure) CMC / PMMA composite by joining multiple sheet-like CMC / PMMA composites together in the thickness direction. For example, two sheet-like CMC / PMMA composites can be joined together in the thickness direction to form a two-layer (i.e., two-layer structure) CMC / PMMA composite, i.e., a two-layer sheet-like laminate structure CMC / PMMA composite.

[0064] Here, when the sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is configured as a two-layer CMC / PMMA composite, it is preferable that the coil length (average length) and amount (e.g., weight%) of CMC added to the first layer of the CMC / PMMA composite are different from the coil length (average length) and amount (e.g., weight%) of CMC added to the second layer of the CMC / PMMA composite, respectively.

[0065] For example, when a sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is constructed as a two-layer CMC / PMMA composite, the coil length (average length) and amount (e.g., weight%) of CMC added to the first layer of the CMC / PMMA composite can be different from the coil length (average length) and amount (e.g., weight%) of CMC added to the second layer of the CMC / PMMA composite.

[0066] [Specific Examples of Electromagnetic Wave Absorption Performance of Bead-Shaped CMC / CMMA Composites and Sheet-Shaped CMC / PMMA Matrix Composites] As described above, PMMA can be used as the matrix of the CMC / matrix composite, and the bead-shaped CMC / matrix composite can be a bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite in which the matrix is ​​composed of PMMA. CMC is uniformly dispersed in the matrix (i.e., the PMMA matrix) of this bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite.

[0067] Similarly, the sheet-like CMC / matrix composite can be a sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite in which the matrix is ​​composed of PMMA. Furthermore, as described above, this sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite can be a two-layer sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a "two-layer sheet laminate type radio wave absorbing composite"). This two-layer sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite can be made into a two-layer sheet laminate type radio wave absorbing composite with a total thickness of 26 mm by stacking and overlapping two sheet-like CMC / PMMA composites.

[0068] Furthermore, this two-layer sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite can be transformed into a foamed two-layer sheet laminate-type radio wave absorbing composite with a total thickness of 26 mm by stacking and layering two foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composites. In this case, the CMC added and dispersed in each layer (i.e., the first and second layers) of this two-layer sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is of different coil lengths, and these CMCs of different coil lengths (i.e., two different types of CMC from the standpoint of coil length) are added in different amounts to the first and second layers respectively and uniformly dispersed in each layer.

[0069] [CMC used in CMC / PMMA composites] As the CMC to be added to the CMC / matrix composite (e.g., bead-shaped CMC / matrix composite, sheet-shaped CMC / matrix composite, etc.) manufactured in this manner as a radio wave absorbing material, for example, CMC having a relatively regular coil pattern with a coil diameter of 2 to 6 μm and a coil length of less than 300 μm can be used. Also, as the CMC to be added to the bead-shaped CMC / matrix composite (e.g., bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite) as a radio wave absorbing material, for example, CMC with a coil length of less than 90 μm can be used, and this CMC can be added in an amount of 1 wt%. In this case, the bead size of the bead-shaped CMC / matrix composite can be 0.01 to 2 mm in diameter.

[0070] [Reflection loss (absorptivity) of electromagnetic waves by CMC / PMMA composites] When the absorption characteristics of electromagnetic waves in the 5.6 to 110 GHz frequency band (electromagnetic waves in the 5.6 to 110 GHz frequency range) are measured for the reflection loss (absorptivity) of electromagnetic waves by the bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composites and sheet-shaped CMC / PMMA composites (especially sheet-shaped CMC / PMMA composites with a two-layer structure) manufactured in this manner, the following results are obtained.

[0071] [Electromagnetic wave absorption (reflection loss) of bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composites] First, it has been found that bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composites containing 1 wt% of CMC with a coil length of less than 90 μm achieve a very large reflection loss (i.e., a value exceeding -20 dB) and a relatively periodic electromagnetic wave absorption peak in the 50-110 GHz frequency band. Furthermore, it has been found that bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composites containing 1 wt% of CMC achieve only a small reflection loss (i.e., a reflection loss of -10 dB or less) in the frequency band below 30 GHz (compared to the reflection loss in the 50-110 GHz frequency band), and exhibit low absorption (compared to electromagnetic wave absorption in the 50-110 GHz frequency band).

[0072] Furthermore, it has been found that bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composites containing 1 wt% of CMC with a coil length of less than 90 μm exhibit only small reflection losses (i.e., reflection losses of approximately -18 dB or less) in the 30-40 GHz frequency band (compared to reflection losses in the 50-110 GHz frequency band), but exhibit large absorption (compared to electromagnetic wave absorption in frequency bands below 30 GHz).

[0073] It is also believed that similar electromagnetic wave absorption (reflection loss) can be obtained in the case of bead-shaped CMC / matrix composites using materials other than PMMA as the matrix (for example, PU, ​​silicone resin, or ceramics).

[0074] [Electromagnetic wave absorption (reflection loss) of layered bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composites] Next, as the sheet-shaped CMC / PMMA composite, a sheet-shaped bead-shaped CMC / matrix composite (hereinafter referred to as "layered bead-shaped CMC / matrix composite") can also be formed by creating a layered body (a single-layered layered body, a two-layered layered body, or any number of layers) from a bead-shaped CMC / matrix composite containing the bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite. For example, a layered bead-shaped CMC / matrix composite (hereinafter referred to as "layered bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite") in which the matrix is ​​PMMA can be formed using the above-mentioned bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite containing 1 wt% of CMC.

[0075] For example, regarding the effect of thickness changes on the electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics of layered bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composites, it has been found that a layered bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite consisting of a bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite containing 1 wt% of CMC with a coil length of less than 90 μm exhibits high electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics when its thickness exceeds a first predetermined value (i.e., a thickness of 8 mm or more, as described later), while exhibiting low electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics when its thickness falls below the first predetermined value (i.e., a thickness of 5 mm or less).

[0076] [When the thickness is 5 mm or less] Specifically, it has been found that when this layered bead-like CMC / PMMA composite has a thickness of 5 mm or 3 mm, the peak reflection loss is less than -20 dB in the frequency range of 5.6 to 110 GHz (and also in the frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz).

[0077] In detail, when this layered bead-like CMC / PMMA composite has a thickness of 3 mm, the reflection loss is less than 5 dB in the frequency range below 50 GHz, and even in the frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz, the peak reflection loss is less than -10 dB (approximately -7 to -8 dB).

[0078] Furthermore, when this layered bead-like CMC / PMMA composite has a thickness of 5 mm, the peak reflection loss is around -10 dB (a value of approximately -3 dB to -7 dB) in the frequency range below 50 GHz, and the peak reflection loss is greater than -10 dB (a value of approximately -12 dB to -17 dB) in the frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz.

[0079] [When the thickness is 8 mm or more] On the other hand, when this layered bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite has a thickness of 8 mm, the peak reflection loss is around -10 dB (a value of about -7 dB to about -12 dB) in the frequency range below 50 GHz, and the peak reflection loss is greater than -20 dB in the frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz.

[0080] In detail, when this layered bead-like CMC / PMMA composite has a thickness of 8 mm, the peak reflection loss is around -10 dB in the frequency range below 50 GHz (approximately -10 dB around 30 GHz), and in the frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz, the peak reflection loss is above -20 dB (approximately -25 dB around 50 GHz, approximately -33 dB around 60 GHz, approximately -37 dB around 70 GHz, approximately -32 dB around 80 to 90 GHz, and approximately -30 dB around 100 GHz).

[0081] [When the thickness significantly exceeds 8 mm] It should be noted that even when the thickness of this layered bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite significantly exceeds the value of 8 mm (hereinafter referred to as the "optimal thickness" of the layered bead-shaped CMC / PMMA composite) (i.e., when the thickness exceeds 8 mm by 2 mm or more, i.e., when the thickness exceeds the optimal thickness by 25% or more), no improvement in electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics is observed. On the contrary, the electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics decrease slightly, and it has been found that the electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics tend to decrease as the thickness increases.

[0082] In other words, for example, if this layered bead-like CMC / PMMA composite has a thickness of 10 mm, the peak reflection loss will be around -5 to -20 dB in the frequency range below 50 GHz (approximately -10 dB around 30 GHz and approximately -20 dB around 40 GHz), and the peak reflection loss will be above -20 dB in the frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz (approximately -30 dB around 50 GHz, approximately -20 dB around 60 to 70 GHz, approximately -30 dB around 80 to 90 GHz and approximately -22 dB around 100 GHz).

[0083] Furthermore, for example, when this layered bead-like CMC / PMMA composite has a thickness of 13 mm (i.e., a thickness 62.5% greater than the optimal thickness of 8 mm), the peak reflection loss is around -10 to -30 dB in the frequency range below 50 GHz (approximately -10 dB around 20 GHz, approximately -15 dB around 30 GHz, and approximately -30 dB around 40 GHz), and the peak reflection loss is above -20 dB in the frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz (approximately -15 dB around 50 GHz, approximately -20 dB around 60 to 90 GHz, approximately -17 dB around 100 GHz, and approximately -13 dB around 110 GHz).

[0084] [Foamed Sheet-like CMC / PMMA Composite] Furthermore, by forming the CMC / matrix composite into a foamed layered or sheet-like structure, that is, a foamed layered or sheet-like structure (a single-layer foamed layered or sheet-like structure, or a two-layer foamed layered or sheet-like structure, or any number of foamed layers or sheet-like structures), it is also possible to form a CMC / matrix composite that is a foamed layered or sheet-like structure of any number of layers (hereinafter referred to as "foamed sheet-like CMC / matrix composite").

[0085] For example, a CMC / PMMA matrix composite as a foamed sheet (hereinafter referred to as "foamed sheet CMC / PMMA composite") can be formed by foaming PMMA as a matrix at a predetermined foaming ratio (for example, foaming at twice the foaming ratio, i.e., foaming to create a layered or sheet-like material with twice the volume compared to the layered or sheet-like material of PMMA before foaming), and simultaneously incorporating a predetermined proportion (weight %) of CMC with a coil length of 150 to 300 μm into the foamed sheet-like PMMA matrix composite.

[0086] [Foam sheet-like CMC / PMMA composites with different CMC addition rates] In this case, a foam sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite (hereinafter referred to as the first "foam sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite") can be formed by containing 1 wt% of CMC with a coil length of 150 to 300 μm in the PMMA foam which serves as the foam sheet-like matrix.

[0087] Furthermore, as a comparative example of the first foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite, a foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite (hereinafter referred to as the second "foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite") can be formed by containing 3 wt% of CMC with a coil length of 150 to 300 μm in the PMMA foam used as the foamed sheet-like matrix.

[0088] [Reflection loss (absorptivity) of electromagnetic waves by foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composites due to differences in CMC doping ratio] When the absorption characteristics of electromagnetic waves in the frequency band of 5.6 to 110 GHz (electromagnetic waves in the frequency range of 5.6 to 110 GHz) are measured for the first and second foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composites manufactured in this manner, the following results are obtained. In this case, both the first foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite and the second foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite are constructed as single-layer foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composites of the same thickness. That is, in this case, the only difference between the first foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite and the second foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite is the doping ratio of CMC. In other words, the only difference between the two foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composites is that the first foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite contains 1 wt% CMC, while the second foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite contains 3 wt% CMC.

[0089] [Electromagnetic wave absorption (reflection loss) of the first foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite] The first foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite, as described above, is prepared by adding 1 wt% of CMC to a foamed matrix (PMMA) and dispersing it uniformly. It has been found that this first foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite exhibits high reflection loss (-20 to -35 dB) at several specific frequencies in the frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz.

[0090] Specifically, the reflection loss of the first foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is approximately -7 dB from the peak value (first peak value) at approximately 10 GHz, approximately -10 dB from the peak value (second peak value) at approximately 20 GHz, approximately -15 dB from the peak value (third peak value) at approximately 28 GHz, and approximately -19 dB from the peak value (fourth peak value) at approximately 35 GHz.

[0091] Furthermore, the reflection loss of the first foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is approximately -35 dB at a peak value (5th peak value) at approximately 50 GHz, approximately -20 dB at a peak value (6th peak value) at approximately 60 GHz, approximately -32 dB at a peak value (7th peak value) at approximately 70 GHz, approximately -30 dB at a peak value (8th peak value) at approximately 80 GHz, approximately -35 dB at a peak value (9th peak value) at approximately 85 GHz, approximately -35 dB at a peak value (10th peak value) at approximately 95 GHz, and approximately -27 dB at a peak value (11th peak value) at approximately 103 GHz.

[0092] [Electromagnetic wave absorption (reflection loss) of the second foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite] On the other hand, the second foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite, as described above, is made by adding 3 wt% of CMC to a foamed matrix (PMMA) and dispersing it uniformly. It has been found that this second foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite exhibits a high reflection loss of approximately -20 dB on average over a wide frequency band in the frequency range of 80 to 110 GHz. Here, "on average" with respect to the reflection loss of the second foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite means that in the frequency range of 80-110 GHz, the increase or decrease between the peak value of the reflection loss and other values ​​is small, and there is only a slight increase or decrease of about 0-1 dB, 1-2 dB, or 2-3 dB between the maximum and minimum values. For example, in the frequency range of 100-110 GHz, the reflection loss is almost constant at about -20 dB (i.e., the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​is about 0-1 dB), and even in the frequency range of 80-100 GHz, the reflection loss only increases or decreases within the range of about -17 to -20 dB or -18 to -20 dB (i.e., the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​is about 2-3 dB).

[0093] Furthermore, this second foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite has been shown to exhibit an average reflection loss of approximately -15 dB in the frequency range of 50 to 80 GHz. Here, "on average" with respect to the reflection loss of the second foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite means that in the 50-80 GHz frequency range, the increase or decrease between the peak value of the reflection loss and other values ​​is small, with only slight increases or decreases of about 0-1 dB or 1-2 dB between the maximum and minimum values. For example, in the 50-60 GHz frequency range, the reflection loss is almost constant at approximately -13 to -15 dB (i.e., the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​is about 1-2 dB), in the 60-70 GHz frequency range, the reflection loss is almost constant at approximately -13 to -14 dB (i.e., the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​is about 0-1 dB), and in the 70-80 GHz frequency range, the reflection loss is almost constant at approximately -13 to -14 dB (i.e., the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​is about 0-1 dB).

[0094] Furthermore, it has been found that in the low frequency range of 5 to 50 GHz, the reflection loss of the second foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite containing 3 wt% CMC is higher than that of the first foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite containing 1 wt% CMC (i.e., the value in the negative dB direction is larger, indicating high electromagnetic wave absorption performance). In other words, it has been found that by adding CMC at a higher dosing rate to the PMMA foam as the matrix, higher reflection loss, a wider electromagnetic wave absorption bandwidth, and electromagnetic wave absorption in a lower frequency range can be achieved.

[0095] [Foam sheet-like CMC / PMMA composites with different matrix layer counts and CMC coil lengths] The foam sheet-like CMC / PMMA composites are a single-layer foam sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite containing 1 wt% of CMC with a coil length of 150 to 300 μm (i.e., the first foam sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite), and a single-layer foam sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite containing 3 wt% of CMC with a coil length of 150 to 300 μm (i.e., the second foam sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite).

[0096] However, the foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite can also be formed as a single-layer foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite (hereinafter referred to as the "third foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite") containing 1 wt% of CMC in other coil length ranges, for example, CMC with a coil length of 300 to 500 μm. This third foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is formed to have an overall thickness of 26 mm.

[0097] Furthermore, the foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite can also be formed as a two-layer foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite, wherein each layer (the first layer and the second layer) contains two types of CMC with different coil length ranges (i.e., two types that differ only in that they have different coil length ranges) in predetermined amounts (i.e., added and uniformly dispersed). For example, it can be formed as a single-layer foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite (hereinafter referred to as the "fourth foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite") in which the first layer contains 1 wt% of CMC with a coil length of 300 to 500 μm and the second layer contains 1 wt% of CMC with a coil length of 150 to 300 μm. This fourth foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is formed to have an overall thickness of 26 mm. Typically, this fourth foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is formed such that the first layer has a thickness of 13 mm, the second layer has a thickness of 13 mm, and the total thickness is 26 mm.

[0098] [Reflection loss (absorptivity) of electromagnetic waves by foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composites due to differences between single-layer and double-layer structures] When the absorption characteristics of electromagnetic waves in the 5.6 to 110 GHz frequency band (electromagnetic waves in the 5.6 to 110 GHz frequency range) are measured for the third and fourth foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composites manufactured in this manner, the following results are obtained.

[0099] In this case, the third foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite and the fourth foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite have different numbers of layers, but are configured as foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composites with the same overall thickness. That is, the third foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite and the fourth foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite in this case have different numbers of layers (i.e., a single-layer structure versus a two-layer structure), and the coil lengths of the added CMC are different (i.e., in the single-layer structure, a single type of CMC with a coil length in the range of 300 to 500 μm is uniformly dispersed throughout, whereas in the two-layer structure, CMC with a coil length in the range of 300 to 500 μm is uniformly dispersed throughout the first layer, and CMC with a coil length in the range of 150 to 300 μm is uniformly dispersed throughout the second layer). In this case, the third foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite and the fourth foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite are each formed to have an overall thickness of 26 mm and thus have the same thickness.

[0100] [Electromagnetic wave absorption (reflection loss) of the third foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite] The third foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite, as described above, is made by uniformly dispersing CMC with a coil length of 300 to 500 μm in a foam matrix (PMMA) at an addition rate of 1 wt%. It has been found that this third foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite exhibits relatively low reflection loss (approximately -5 to -20 dB) in the frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz, and even lower reflection loss (approximately -2 to -4 dB) in the frequency range of 10 to 40 GHz.

[0101] Specifically, the reflection loss of the third foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is approximately -2 dB at approximately 10 GHz and approximately 20 GHz, approximately -3 dB at approximately 30 GHz, and approximately -4 dB at approximately 40 GHz.

[0102] Furthermore, the reflection loss of the third foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is approximately -5 dB at approximately 50 GHz, approximately -10 dB at approximately 60 GHz, approximately -12 dB at approximately 70 GHz, approximately -14 dB at approximately 80 GHz, approximately -16 dB at approximately 90 GHz, approximately -17 dB at approximately 100 GHz, and approximately -23 dB at approximately 110 GHz.

[0103] [Electromagnetic wave absorption (reflection loss) of the fourth foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite] On the other hand, the fourth foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite has a two-layer structure in which, as described above, a first layer in which CMC with a coil length of 300 to 500 μm is added at an addition rate of 1 wt% and uniformly dispersed in a foamed matrix (PMMA), and a second layer in which CMC with a coil length of 150 to 300 μm is added at an addition rate of 1 wt% and uniformly dispersed in a foamed matrix (PMMA). This fourth foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite has been shown to exhibit a high reflection loss of -20 dB or more in a wide frequency range of 50 to 110 GHz. Furthermore, this fourth foamed sheet-type CMC / PMMA composite has been shown to exhibit a good reflection loss of approximately -15 dB or more in the frequency range of 10 to 40 GHz.

[0104] Specifically, the reflection loss of the fourth foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is approximately -15 dB from the peak value (first peak value) at approximately 10 GHz, approximately -15 dB from the peak value (first peak value) at approximately 10 GHz, approximately -32 dB from the peak value (second peak value) at approximately 20 GHz, approximately -18 dB from the peak value (third peak value) at approximately 30 GHz, and approximately -15 dB from the peak value (fourth peak value) at approximately 40 GHz.

[0105] Furthermore, the reflection loss of the fourth foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite is approximately -22 dB at approximately 50 GHz (the fifth peak value), approximately -20 dB at approximately 60 GHz (the sixth peak value), approximately -28 dB at approximately 70 GHz (the seventh peak value), approximately -40 dB at approximately 80 GHz (the eighth peak value), approximately -24 dB at approximately 90 GHz (the ninth peak value), approximately -25 dB at approximately 100 GHz (the tenth peak value), and approximately -22 dB at approximately 110 GHz (the eleventh peak value).

[0106] Thus, it has been found that the reflection loss of the fourth foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite (which contains two different coil lengths of CMC in each layer of the two-layer structure, although the CMC addition rate is the same) is dramatically higher than that of the third foamed sheet-like CMC / PMMA composite (which has a single-layer structure containing one type of coil length of CMC) (i.e., the value in the negative dB direction is dramatically larger, indicating dramatically higher electromagnetic wave absorption performance). In other words, it has been found that by making the layer structure consisting of PMMA foam as the matrix a two-layer structure and adding different types of coil lengths of CMC to each layer, it is possible to achieve higher reflection loss, a wider electromagnetic wave absorption bandwidth, and electromagnetic wave absorption in a lower frequency range.

[0107] As described above, in the case of CMC / matrix composites (for example, layered bead-like CMC / PMMA composites), there is an optimal range or value for the CMC addition rate or proportion. If the CMC addition rate or proportion is too high compared to the optimal range or value, the electromagnetic wave absorption effect by CMC cannot be improved, or conversely, the electromagnetic wave absorption effect decreases. In other words, an optimal range exists.

[0108] Here, it is known that CMC has a unique effect that depends on the type of living cell (for example, an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of cancer cells). However, the clear reason for this unique effect of CMC that depends on the type of cell (for example, an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of cancer cells) has not yet been definitively determined, but it can be considered to be due to the static magnetic field generation effect of CMC (i.e., due to the static magnetic field generated by CMC). In other words, regarding the unique effect mentioned above, CMC powder without the coil shape has a smaller inhibitory effect on the proliferation of cancer cells compared to CMC in its complete form, and activated carbon (from the perspective of carbon materials) has no inhibitory effect on the proliferation of cancer cells (on the contrary, it increases proliferation). Therefore, it can be strongly inferred that the inhibitory effect of CMC on the proliferation of cancer cells is due to the unique form (morphology) of CMC, which is the microcoil shape.

[0109] Furthermore, the hypothesis that CMC's cancer cell proliferation inhibitory effect is due to its unique microcoil shape (morphology) strongly suggests that CMC generates a static magnetic field due to its high electromagnetic wave absorption capacity, and that this static magnetic field is what achieves the cancer cell proliferation inhibitory effect.

[0110] Metabolic activation occurs when substances inside living organisms (such as foreign substances) undergo metabolism, altering their chemical structure and potentially leading to the manifestation or enhancement of specific physical effects or properties. The metabolites produced through this metabolic activation are called active metabolites.

[0111] Due to its extremely excellent electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics across a wide frequency range, it is strongly presumed that articles such as sheet-like articles (hereinafter referred to as "CMC-containing articles") to which CMC is added and blended at a predetermined ratio (predetermined amount) will have an extremely excellent magnetic field generation effect due to the dielectric electromotive force associated with electromagnetic wave absorption.

[0112] [The inventors' knowledge that forms the basis of the present invention] Before describing embodiments of the present invention, we will explain the mechanism of reduction in the effective content of cationic agents, which is the inventors' own knowledge that forms the basis of the wet wiping sheet article, the apparatus for manufacturing the wet wiping sheet article, and the method for manufacturing the wet wiping sheet article according to the present invention.

[0113] [Mechanism of Decrease in the Effective Content of Cationic Agents] The decrease in the concentration of benzalkonium chloride and other substances in the wet-wiping sheet articles, as explained in the "Background Technology" section above (a decrease compared to the content at the time of manufacture), is presumed to be due to the following reasons. Specifically, when the base sheet of the wet-wiping sheet article is a base sheet made of pulp material or a base sheet made of cellulose fibers (hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, these base sheets made of pulp material or cellulose fibers will be collectively referred to as "pulp-based base sheets"), the pulp and cellulose fibers that are the raw materials of the pulp-based base sheet (hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, will be collectively referred to as "pulp-based raw materials") are bleached in the bleaching process. However, these pulp-based raw materials are oxidized by the bleaching agent in the bleaching process, and as a result of this oxidation, carboxylate anions (COO-) are generated in the pulp-based raw materials, and due to these carboxylate anions, the pulp-based raw materials have a negative zeta potential. Furthermore, if the base sheet of a wet wiping sheet article is manufactured from such pulp-based raw materials, the base sheet will also similarly possess a negative zeta potential.

[0114] On the other hand, conventional antibacterial / antifungal ingredients such as benzalkonium chloride (typically benzalkonium chloride, which is frequently used in paper towels) are cationic surfactants, that is, cationic agents, which dissociate into positive ions when dissolved in water, as described above. Therefore, cationic agents such as benzalkonium chloride are adsorbed onto pulp-based substrate sheets made from pulp-based raw materials having a negative zeta potential. As described above, even if a wet sheet contains a predetermined amount of cationic agent in the amount used during manufacturing (i.e., a predetermined amount set based on empirical rules and theoretical mechanisms obtained through experiments as necessary to exert a minimum level of antibacterial / antifungal effect; hereinafter referred to as the "required amount" for convenience of explanation), a portion of the required amount of cationic agent (a considerable proportion of cationic agent depending on the negative zeta potential of the substrate sheet) remains adsorbed onto the substrate sheet. Consequently, the actual amount of cationic agent dispersed in the moisture of the wet sheet (the amount that detaches from the substrate sheet without being adsorbed onto it and dissolves or disperses in the moisture of the wet sheet; hereinafter referred to as the "amount dispersed in water" for convenience of explanation) is reduced by a predetermined amount and a predetermined proportion from the required amount (i.e., by the amount and proportion adsorbed onto the substrate sheet). For the sake of explanation, the amount of cationic agent adsorbed onto the base sheet is referred to as the "amount of adsorbed agent," and the ratio of the amount adsorbed onto the base sheet to the amount required in the calculation is referred to as the "adsorbent rate."

[0115] [Description of Embodiments] Based on the above findings, an embodiment (Embodiment 1) of the present invention of a moist wiping sheet article is described below, in which the moist wiping sheet article according to the present invention is materialized in a paper towel.

[0116] [Paper Towel Manufacturing Apparatus 100] First, the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 100, which is a manufacturing apparatus for a wet wiping sheet article according to the present invention, will be described with reference to Figure 1. Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the outline of a single individually packaged paper towel manufacturing apparatus in a manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels, which is a manufacturing system for a wet wiping sheet article according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention (the term "manufacturing system" is used as a general term for "manufacturing apparatus," including cases where there is one manufacturing apparatus and cases where there are multiple manufacturing apparatuses). The present invention can also be applied to wet wiping sheet articles other than paper towels, in which case the manufacturing apparatus for the wet wiping sheet article has the same configuration as the paper towel manufacturing apparatus described below, and the manufacturing method for the wet wiping sheet article has the same steps as the paper towel manufacturing method described below. Therefore, when the present invention is applied to a moist wiping sheet article other than a paper towel, each of the devices in the paper towel manufacturing apparatus described below corresponds to each device in the manufacturing apparatus for a moist wiping sheet article, and each of the steps in the paper towel manufacturing method described below corresponds to each step in the method for manufacturing a moist wiping sheet article.

[0117] As shown in Figure 1, the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 100 continuously mass-produces paper towels of a predetermined configuration from a raw material roll R (a sheet that forms the basis of the base material sheet). For example, a laminated sheet manufactured by a manufacturing apparatus for a predetermined laminated sheet (for example, a laminated paper with a three-layer sheet structure) can be suitably used as the base material sheet of the raw material roll R. The paper towel manufacturing apparatus 100 has a configuration in which, looking at the manufacturing process from the raw material roll R, the laminated sheet cutting section 110, primary folding section 120, secondary folding section 130, chemical impregnation section 140, additional liquid mist spraying section 210, unit length cutting section 150, vertical folding section 160, packaging section 170, inspection section 180, and packing section 190 are arranged in a predetermined direction (i.e., the supply direction of the laminated paper as the raw material for the paper towels) and in sequence (i.e., from upstream to downstream). The raw material sheet drawn from the raw material roll R is then processed in the laminated sheet cutting section 110, the primary folding section 120, the secondary folding section 130, the chemical impregnation section 140, the additional liquid mist spraying section 210, the unit length cutting section 150, the vertical folding section 160, and the packaging section 170, respectively, to become the final individually packaged paper towels. After that, these individually packaged paper towels are inspected in the inspection section 180, and only the normal, final-product individually packaged paper towels PT1 that have passed inspection are packed into predetermined packaging containers in the packaging section 190.

[0118] [Laminated Sheet Cutting Unit 110] The laminated sheet cutting unit 110 cuts the raw sheet in multiple rows parallel to each other in the width direction (in the length direction of the raw sheet), forming a predetermined number of laminated sheets with a predetermined number of rows in the width direction. Although the configuration of such a laminated sheet cutting unit 110 is publicly known, it can be configured similarly to, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-179444 (according to the description of the embodiment of the invention in the said publication, the paper towel sheet cutting unit 30 of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 10).

[0119] [Primary Folding Section 120] The primary folding section 120 is composed of the same number (a predetermined number) of folding devices (not shown) as the number of laminated sheets in the aforementioned multiple rows. Each folding device of the primary folding section 120 folds each of the continuous laminated sheets, which are transported from the upstream side to the downstream side (via transfer rollers, etc.), in a predetermined manner along the running direction which is the length direction. For example, the predetermined folding manner is a so-called double fold. Although the configuration of the primary folding section 120 itself is publicly known, it can be configured similarly to, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-179444 (according to the description of the embodiment of the invention in the said publication, the primary folding section 40 of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 10).

[0120] [Secondary Folding Section 130] The secondary folding section 130 is made up of folding units that combine a crease roller (not shown) and a folding device (not shown), arranged in the same number of rows as the aforementioned multiple rows of laminated sheets (a predetermined number). Each folding unit of the secondary folding section 130, consisting of the folding device and the crease roller, folds each continuous laminated sheet, which is transported from the upstream side to the downstream side (via a transfer roller, etc.), in the width direction along its travel direction, and folds it in half in the width direction (with the center line in the width direction of the gatefold as the boundary). Although the configuration of such a secondary folding section 130 is publicly known, for example, it can be configured similarly to that described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-179444 (according to the description of the embodiment of the invention in the said publication, the secondary folding section 50 of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 10).

[0121] [Drug-Impregnated Section 140] The drug-impregnated section 140 is configured to continuously impregnate each of the multiple rows of laminated sheets with a drug solution consisting of a predetermined agent in a uniform manner (i.e., to achieve a uniform impregnation amount and uniform concentration). The drug-impregnated section 140 can be configured, for example, to continuously impregnate each of the multiple rows of laminated sheets, which are transported from the upstream side to the downstream side (via a transfer roller, etc.), with a drug solution tank containing the drug solution, in a uniform manner. Alternatively, the drug-impregnated section 140 can be configured, for example, by arranging a pair of upper and lower nozzles (not shown) in the same number of rows as the multiple rows of laminated sheets (a predetermined number), arranging each of the upper and lower nozzles along the width direction of each laminated sheet, and forming a plurality of nozzles at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of each nozzle, so as to uniformly spray the drug solution toward each laminated sheet from each nozzle. Here, the chemical solution impregnated into the chemical solution impregnation part 140 can be water containing sanitary components such as benzalkonium chloride as described above. This chemical solution will be described further later. Although the structure of the chemical solution impregnation part 140 itself is publicly known, it can be configured similarly to, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-179444 (according to the description of the embodiment of the invention in the said publication, the impregnation part 60 of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 10).

[0122] [Configuration related to the chemical impregnation section 140] The configuration related to the chemical impregnation section 140 will now be described. The chemical impregnation section 140 is supplied with water containing sanitary components such as benzalkonium chloride as a chemical solution, and the chemical solution, consisting of a predetermined chemical, is continuously and uniformly impregnated over the entire surface of each of the many rows of laminated sheets as described above. For this purpose, the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention is equipped with a pump 11, a water purification device 12, a chemical solution tank 141, and a chemical solution spraying device 142. The pump 11 pumps raw water (typically groundwater) from the water source WS and supplies it to the water purification device 12. The water purification device 12 purifies the raw water supplied from the pump 11 to make purified water and supplies the purified water to the chemical solution tank 141. The chemical tank 141 mixes a predetermined chemical (such as benzalkonium chloride) with purified water supplied from the water purification device 12 to prepare a predetermined chemical solution as water containing sanitary components, and supplies it to the chemical spray device 142. The chemical spray device 142 has the configuration for chemical spraying described as an example in the chemical impregnation unit 140 above, and for example, the water containing sanitary components is supplied to the nozzle of the chemical spray unit 140 under pressure. As a result, the chemical solution can be sprayed from the nozzle outlet of the chemical spray unit 140 toward the laminated sheet, and the laminated sheet can be impregnated with the chemical solution.

[0123] [Additional Liquid Mist Spraying Unit 210] In the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 100 as a manufacturing apparatus for a wet wiping sheet article according to the present invention, as an optional configuration, in addition to the chemical impregnation unit 140, an additional liquid containing a functional component other than water containing a sanitary component such as benzalkonium chloride (hereinafter, such an additional liquid will be referred to as "additional liquid"), for example, an additional liquid containing a functional component that exhibits a predetermined function other than antibacterial / antifungal function, can be provided as an apparatus for a process after the chemical impregnation unit 140 (for example, as an apparatus for a process immediately following the chemical impregnation unit 140). Additional water containing a sanitary component, such as a functional component that exhibits antiviral function (for example, a nanodiamond liquid in which nanodiamonds are dispersed), is supplied to this additional liquid mist spraying unit 210 as the additional liquid, and the predetermined additional liquid is continuously impregnated uniformly over the entire surface of each of the many rows of laminated sheets, in the same manner as the chemical impregnation unit 140. For this purpose, the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention is equipped with an additional liquid mist spraying device 200, similar to the chemical spraying device 142 of the chemical impregnation section 140. The additional liquid mist spraying device 200 stores the additional liquid, or the additional liquid is supplied from a predetermined additional liquid supply device, and the additional liquid is sprayed onto the laminated sheet in a mist form to impregnate the laminated sheet with the additional liquid.

[0124] [Unit Length Cutting Section 150] The unit length cutting section 150 consists of a cutter roll (not shown) that is rotatable in a vertical plane perpendicular to the running direction (length direction) of the laminated sheet, and a feed roll (not shown) that is positioned parallel to and close to the cutter roll, in conjunction with the cutter roll, and that rolls in synchronization with the rolling of the cutter roll. Multiple cutters are mounted on the circumferential surface of the cutter roll at regular intervals (regular intervals corresponding to the unit cutting length of the laminated sheet) along the rotation direction of the cutter roll. By sandwiching multiple rows of laminated sheets between the cutter roll and the feed roll and running them, each row of laminated sheets is cut by the cutter of the cutter roll at a predetermined cutting line extending in a direction perpendicular to the running direction (width direction of the laminated sheet), thereby forming multiple rows of paper towels. Although the configuration of the unit-length cutting section 150 is publicly known, it can be configured similarly to, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-179444 (according to the description of the embodiment of the invention in the said publication, the cutting section 70 of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 10).

[0125] Each of the stacked sheets of a unit length cut by the unit length cutting section 150 is a single unit of moist sheet impregnated with a predetermined chemical solution by the chemical solution impregnation section 140, and this moist sheet constitutes a paper towel (although before being folded vertically by the vertical folding section 160).

[0126] [Vertical Folding Section 160] The vertical folding section 160 consists of a vertical folding roll (not shown) provided near the cutter roll, in a vertical plane perpendicular to the running direction (length direction) of the laminated sheet, so as to be able to roll synchronously with the rolling of the cutter roll, and a return roll closely arranged parallel to the vertical folding roll to form a pair with the vertical folding roll, and rolling synchronously with the rolling of the vertical folding roll. The vertical folding roll has a plurality of grooves formed on its circumferential surface that extend in the axial direction, at regular intervals in the rotational direction of the vertical folding roll (regular intervals corresponding to the unit cutting length of the laminated sheet). The feed roll has a plurality of protrusions formed on its circumferential surface that extend in the axial direction, at regular intervals in the rotational direction of the feed roll (regular intervals the same as the grooves of the vertical folding roll), and each protrusion is fitted to correspond to each groove of the vertical folding roll. Then, when the laminated sheets (after being cut to unit lengths) in each row are fed between the vertical folding roll and the feed roll of the vertical folding section 160, the laminated sheets of that unit length are pushed into the groove of the vertical folding roll by the protrusion of the feed roll at the center position in the direction of travel (the length direction of the unit length), creating a fold. The upper and lower halves of the laminated sheets of each row overlap each other at the fold, and are folded vertically (folded in half in the length direction). Although the configuration of the vertical folding section 160 itself is publicly known, it can be configured similarly to, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-179444 (according to the description of the embodiment of the invention in the said publication, the vertical folding section 80 of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 10).

[0127] Each stacked sheet of a unit length folded vertically by the vertical folding portion 160 is a single unit of moist sheet impregnated with a predetermined chemical solution by the chemical solution impregnation portion 140, and this moist sheet constitutes a paper towel as a standalone unit (i.e., before individual packaging with packaging film) (after vertical folding by the vertical folding portion 160).

[0128] [Packaging section 170] The packaging section 170 consists of an overlapping section that feeds a packaging film sheet from a roll of packaging film in synchronization with the laminated sheet and overlaps the individual paper towels on top of the packaging film sheet; an enclosing section that folds the packaging film sheet along its direction of travel to enclose the paper towels and overlaps the opposing edges in the width direction of the packaging film sheet to enclose the individual paper towels; a sealing section that heat-seals the overlapping edges at both ends of the packaging film sheet in the width direction; a melting section that heat-melts the gap between the (two adjacent) individual paper towels enclosed in the packaging film sheet; and a sealing cutting section that cools and solidifies the heat-melted gap in the packaging film sheet and then cuts the gap. With this packaging section 170, individual paper towels can be packaged inside a predetermined packaging film and individual paper towels can be manufactured as the final product. Although the configuration of the packaging section 170 is publicly known, it can be configured similarly to, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-179444 (according to the description of the embodiment of the invention in the said publication, the paper towel packaging device 90).

[0129] [Inspection Department 180] The inspection department 180 inspects the quality of each individually packaged paper towel, which is the final product packaged in the packaging department 170, checking for defects in the packaging, etc. Individually packaged paper towels with quality defects are removed from the production line as surplus individually packaged paper towels PT0 and stored in a designated storage location such as a designated storage container. On the other hand, the inspection department 180 supplies individually packaged paper towels that are not of abnormal quality to the production line as normal (final product, subject to sale) individually packaged paper towels PT1.

[0130] [Packaging Unit 190] The packaging unit 190 places the individually wrapped paper towels supplied from the inspection unit 180 into a predetermined packaging container (typically a cardboard box of a predetermined volume having a predetermined width (left-right dimension), predetermined length (front-back dimension), and predetermined height (top-bottom dimension)). Once a predetermined number of individually wrapped paper towels (for example, several hundred) are placed in the packaging container, the packaging container is sealed to create a packaged paper towel product for shipment to customers in package units (i.e., a product in which a large number of individually wrapped paper towels are placed in a packaging container).

[0131] [CMC Function Imparting Device 300] A CMC function imparting device 300 is installed immediately downstream of the paper towel manufacturing device 100. The CMC function imparting device 300 is a core component of the manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method for a wet wiping sheet article according to the present invention, and is a core component for imparting a predetermined CMC-induced function to a wet wiping sheet article (i.e., a paper towel, etc.) according to the present invention. The detailed specific configuration of the CMC function imparting device 300 will be described later, but as described above, the individually packaged paper towels PT1 manufactured by the paper towel manufacturing device 100 are placed in a packaging container to become packaged paper towel products for shipment to customers in package units. These final packaged paper towel products are then supplied to the CMC function imparting device 300, where all the individually packaged paper towels PT1 in the packaging container are given a predetermined new additional function (CMC-induced function) by the CMC function imparting device 300, becoming CMC paper towels PT2. After all the individually packaged paper towels PT1 in the packaging container have become CMC paper towels PT2, the packaging container containing a large number of these CMC paper towels PT2 is then made into packaged CMC paper towel products for shipment to customers in package units, stored in a predetermined storage location (for example, a storage warehouse), and shipped to customers according to a predetermined shipping schedule.

[0132] [Method for Manufacturing Paper Towels] Next, a method for manufacturing paper towels (using the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 100) as a method for manufacturing a wet wiping sheet article according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 2. Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an overview of the paper towel manufacturing method using a single individually packaged paper towel manufacturing apparatus in a manufacturing system for individually packaged paper towels as a manufacturing system for wet wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0133] As shown in Figure 2, the manufacturing method for a wet wiping sheet article according to Embodiment 1 comprises a raw material sheet supply step STEP 1, which supplies a raw material sheet from a raw material roll to a paper towel manufacturing apparatus 100; a sheet processing step STEP 2; a unit sheet width cutting step STEP 3; a unit sheet supply step STEP 4; a width direction folding step (horizontal folding step) STEP 5; a chemical impregnation step (uniform impregnation of the entire surface step) STEP 6; an additional liquid impregnation step (central diffusion impregnation step) STEP 7 from an additional liquid mist spraying device 200; a unit length cutting step STEP 8; a length direction folding step (longitudinal folding step) STEP 9; and a packaging step (individual packaging step) STEP 10. These steps STEP 1 to STEP 10 are carried out in order to manufacture individually packaged paper towels as the final product.

[0134] Furthermore, the manufacturing method for CMC-function-granting paper towels as a CMC-function-granting wet wiping sheet article according to Embodiment 1 involves sequentially carrying out steps STEP 1 to STEP 10 to manufacture individually packaged paper towels as the final product, then manufacturing packaged paper towel products for shipment to customers in package units in the packaging step STEP 11, and finally, in the next CMC-function-granting step STEP 11, adding a predetermined function by CMC (i.e., a CMC-induced function) to the packaged paper towel product (i.e., all individually packaged paper towels PT1 in the packaging container) to manufacture packaged CMC-function-granting paper towel products for shipment to customers in package units (i.e., packaged CMC-function-granting paper towel products in which all individually packaged paper towels in the packaging container have been given a CMC-induced function, becoming CMC-function-granting paper towels PT2). Furthermore, since the present invention can be embodied in any moist wiping sheet article other than paper towels, the method for manufacturing a CMC-function-added moist wiping sheet article is configured to first carry out the same steps as in steps STEP 1 to STEP 10 in order to manufacture individually packaged moist wiping sheet articles as the final product, then to manufacture packaged moist wiping sheet products for shipment to customers in package units using the same steps as in the packaging step STEP 11, and then to add a predetermined function by CMC (i.e., a CMC-induced function) to the packaged moist wiping sheet product (i.e., all individually packaged moist wiping sheet articles in the packaging container) using the same steps as in the next CMC function-adding step STEP 11, thereby manufacturing a packaged CMC-function-added moist wiping sheet product for shipment to customers in package units (i.e., a packaged CMC-function-added moist wiping sheet product in which all individually packaged moist wiping sheet articles in the packaging container have the CMC-induced function added).

[0135] [Raw Material Sheet Supply Process STEP 1] In detail, the raw material sheet supply process STEP 1 supplies the raw material sheets (for example, in the case of a laminated sheet consisting of a three-layer laminated paper structure, three raw material sheets consisting of a pair of crepe paper sheets and one nonwoven fabric sheet sandwiched between the pair of crepe paper sheets) to the downstream side of the manufacturing process (i.e., the sheet processing process).

[0136] [Sheet Processing Step 2] Sheet processing step 2 manufactures a predetermined laminated sheet from the raw sheet. For example, in the case of a laminated sheet consisting of a three-layer laminated paper, with a nonwoven fabric sheet placed between a pair of crepe paper sheets, a portion of the pair of crepe paper sheets is heat-sealed to the nonwoven fabric sheet along the feeding direction of the laminated sheet to manufacture a three-layer laminated sheet. Note that the raw sheet supply step 1 and sheet processing step 2 can be configured similarly to, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-169679 relating to the present applicant's invention (according to the description of the embodiment of the invention in the said publication, a method for manufacturing laminated paper using a laminated paper manufacturing apparatus, referring to Figure 9 in the said publication).

[0137] [Unit Sheet Shredding Process STEP 3] The unit sheet width cutting process STEP 3 involves using the laminated sheet cutting unit 110 of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 100 to cut the raw sheet (for example, the laminated sheet with the three-layer structure described above) into multiple rows parallel to each other in the width direction (in the length direction of the raw sheet), thereby forming a predetermined number of laminated sheets with a predetermined number of rows in the width direction. In other words, in this case, the laminated sheets after each row has been shredded form individual unit sheets of a predetermined width (shredded width, i.e., the left-right or width direction dimension in the unfolded state of the paper towel as the final product). Although the configuration of the laminated sheet cutting unit 110 itself is publicly known, it can be configured similarly to, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-179444 (according to the description of the embodiment of the invention in the said publication, the paper towel sheet cutting unit 30 of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 10).

[0138] [Unit Sheet Supply Process STEP 4] In the unit sheet supply process STEP 4, the unit sheets of a predetermined width manufactured in the unit sheet shredding process STEP 3 are supplied as multiple rows formed by the shredding process to the downstream primary folding section 120.

[0139] [Width Direction Folding Process STEP 5] The width direction folding process (cross-folding process) STEP 5 uses the primary folding section 120, that is, using the same number of folding devices as there are multiple rows of laminated sheets, to fold each of the continuous laminated sheets (i.e., the unit sheets before cross-folding) that are transported from the upstream side to the downstream side (via transfer rollers, etc.) in a predetermined manner along the running direction, which is the length direction (i.e., perform a primary cross-fold). For example, the predetermined folding manner is a so-called gatefold. Furthermore, immediately after the cross-folding process by the primary folding section 120, the width direction folding process (cross-folding process) STEP 5 uses the secondary folding section 130, that is, using a folding unit consisting of a folding device and a crease roller, to fold each of the continuous laminated sheets (i.e., the unit sheets after the primary cross-folding) that are transported from the upstream side to the downstream side in the width direction along the running direction, and folds them in half in the width direction (with the center line in the width direction of the gatefold as the boundary).

[0140] [Chemical Impregnation Process STEP 6] In the chemical impregnation process (uniform impregnation process) STEP 6, the chemical impregnation tool 140 is used to supply a chemical solution (water containing sanitary components such as benzalkonium chloride) consisting of a predetermined chemical from the chemical tank 141 to the chemical spraying device 142, and the chemical spraying device 142 continuously impregnates each of the multiple rows of laminated sheets uniformly (i.e., uniform impregnation amount and uniform concentration) across the entire surface. The chemical impregnation process STEP 6 can also be configured, for example, to continuously impregnate each of the multiple rows of laminated sheets uniformly with the chemical solution consisting of a predetermined chemical by passing each of the continuous laminated sheets, which are transported from the upstream side to the downstream side (via a transfer roller, etc.), through a chemical tank containing the chemical solution. Alternatively, the chemical impregnation step STEP 6 can be configured such that, for example, a pair of upper and lower nozzles (not shown) are arranged in the same number of rows as the aforementioned multiple rows of laminated sheets (a predetermined number), each of the upper and lower nozzles is arranged along the width direction of each laminated sheet, and multiple nozzles are formed at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of each nozzle, so that the chemical solution is uniformly ejected from each nozzle toward each laminated sheet.

[0141] [Additional liquid impregnation process STEP 7] In the additional liquid impregnation process (central diffusion impregnation process) STEP 7, the additional liquid mist spraying device 200 is used to continuously impregnate the entire surface of each of the multiple rows of laminated sheets with a predetermined amount of additional liquid, in the same manner as in the chemical impregnation section 140 described above, so as to ensure uniformity.

[0142] [Unit Length Cutting Process STEP 8] In the unit length cutting process STEP 8, the unit length cutting section 150 is used to sandwich multiple rows of laminated sheets between the cutter roll and the feed roll and run the sheet. Each row of laminated sheets is cut by the cutter of the cutter roll along a predetermined cutting line that extends in a direction perpendicular to the running direction (the width direction of the laminated sheet), thereby forming multiple rows of paper towels. Each unit length of laminated sheet obtained in this unit length cutting process STEP 8 is a single unit of wet sheet impregnated with a predetermined chemical solution by the chemical solution impregnation section 140, and this wet sheet constitutes a paper towel (although before being folded vertically by the vertical folding section 160).

[0143] [Length Folding Process (Vertical Folding Process) STEP 9] In the length folding process (vertical folding process) STEP 9, the vertical folding section 160 is used to feed the laminated sheets (after being cut to a unit length) in each row between the vertical folding roll and the feed roll of the vertical folding section 160. At the center of the running direction (length direction of the unit length), the laminated sheets of that unit length are pushed into the groove of the vertical folding roll by the projection of the feed roll to create a fold, so that the laminated sheets of that unit length in each row overlap each other with their upper and lower halves separated by the fold, and are folded in a vertical folding state (folded in half in the length direction). Each laminated sheet of a unit length obtained in the length-direction folding process (vertical folding process) STEP 9 is a single unit of wet sheet impregnated with a predetermined chemical solution by the chemical solution impregnation section 140, and this wet sheet constitutes a paper towel as a standalone item (i.e., before individual packaging with packaging film) (after vertical folding by the vertical folding section 160).

[0144] [Packaging Process (Individual Packaging Process) STEP 10] In the packaging process (individual packaging process) STEP 10, the packaging unit 170 is used to package individual paper towels inside a predetermined packaging film, thereby manufacturing individually packaged paper towels as the final product.

[0145] [Inspection Process] Although not shown in the diagram, the inspection process uses the inspection unit 180 to inspect the quality of each individually packaged paper towel, which is the final product packaged in the packaging unit 170, checking for defects in the packaging, etc. Individually packaged paper towels with quality defects are removed from the production line as discarded individually packaged paper towels PT0 and stored in a designated storage location such as a designated storage container, while individually packaged paper towels without quality defects are supplied to the production line as normal (final product to be sold) individually packaged paper towels PT1.

[0146] [Packaging Process STEP 11] In the packaging process STEP 11, the packaging unit 190 is used to place the individually wrapped paper towels supplied from the inspection unit 180 into a predetermined packaging container. Once a predetermined number of individually wrapped paper towels are placed in the packaging container, the packaging container is sealed to create a packaged paper towel product ready for shipment to customers in package units.

[0147] [CMC Function Imparting Process STEP 12] In the CMC function imparting process STEP 12, the CMC function imparting device 300 is used to manufacture CMC paper towels PT2 by adding a predetermined new additional function (CMC-induced function) by CMC to all individually wrapped paper towels PT1 in the packaging container for each packaged paper towel product which is the final product.

[0148] [Configuration for imparting functions by CMC (adding functions by CMC)] Furthermore, the overall configuration of the CMC function-imparting device 300, which is a configuration for imparting predetermined functions by CMC (i.e., adding functions other than the antibacterial / antifungal function, i.e., the CMC-induced function) in a paper towel manufacturing system (i.e., a CMC paper towel manufacturing system) as a manufacturing system for wet wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention (i.e., a CMC wet wiping sheet article manufacturing system), will be described with reference to Figures 3 to 5.

[0149] The paper towel manufacturing system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention consists of a first manufacturing unit shown in Figure 3 and a second manufacturing unit shown in Figures 4 and 5. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a plan view of the first manufacturing unit of the individually packaged paper towel manufacturing system as a manufacturing system for moist wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a plan view of the second manufacturing unit of the individually packaged paper towel manufacturing system as a manufacturing system for moist wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing an elevation view of the second manufacturing unit of the individually packaged paper towel manufacturing system as a manufacturing system for moist wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0150] [First Manufacturing Unit] The first manufacturing unit of the paper towel manufacturing system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, as shown in Figure 3, consists of a predetermined number of paper towel manufacturing devices 100, each serving as a single individually packaged paper towel manufacturing device, installed and fixed in a predetermined manufacturing location (for example, on the floor of an upper floor such as the second floor of a manufacturing plant). In the example shown in Figure 3, a total of four paper towel manufacturing devices 100 are fixed to the floor of the manufacturing location at predetermined intervals (for example, a width approximately the same as or twice the width of the paper towel manufacturing device 100) in a predetermined direction (for example, the length direction of the manufacturing location), so as to be parallel to each other.

[0151] The number of paper towel manufacturing devices 100 installed is not particularly limited and can be any number depending on the dimensions of the installation surface (especially the installation area) of the manufacturing location. For example, it can be 10 or more units. In this case as well, a predetermined number of paper towel manufacturing devices 100 are fixed to the floor of the manufacturing location at predetermined intervals in a predetermined direction, so as to be parallel to each other. Alternatively, some of the paper towel manufacturing devices 100 can be fixed at predetermined intervals in a first predetermined direction, so as to be parallel to each other, while the other number of paper towel manufacturing devices 100 can be fixed at predetermined intervals in a second predetermined direction (for example, a direction perpendicular to the first predetermined direction), so as to be parallel to each other. Furthermore, the first manufacturing unit of the paper towel manufacturing system according to the present invention can also be configured by installing and fixing only one paper towel manufacturing device 100 at a predetermined manufacturing location.

[0152] [Packaging Platform 251] A packaging platform 251 is installed at a predetermined distance (for example, a distance of several tens of centimeters to about 1 meter) or in close proximity to the downstream end of each paper towel manufacturing device 100. The packaging platform 251 constitutes the packaging section 190. In detail, the packaging platform 251 is a platform-like structure with a predetermined height (for example, a height about the same as the height of the position where the individually packaged paper towels PT1 are supplied from the paper towel manufacturing device 100, or a height that is slightly lower (for example, several centimeters to several tens of centimeters), or a height that is slightly higher (for example, several centimeters to several tens of centimeters)). Its upper surface is a rectangular plane (for example, a square plane as in the example in Figure 3) with dimensions that are somewhat larger than the bottom surface of the packaging container (for example, several centimeters to several tens of centimeters larger on all four sides) so that the packaging container can be placed stably on it. The packaging platform 251 can be a rectangular plane or a plane of a shape other than a rectangle (for example, a circular or elliptical plane), as long as it can stably support the packaging container.

[0153] [CMC Function Imparting Device 300 of the First Manufacturing Unit] On the upper surface of each of the packaging tables 251, CMC function imparting sheets 310 are fixed in predetermined positions by predetermined fixing means such as adhesive, glue, or fasteners. These CMC function imparting sheets 310 constitute the CMC function imparting device 300 in the first manufacturing unit.

[0154] In detail, the CMC function-granting sheet 310 of the first manufacturing unit has a predetermined external shape (i.e., contour) and dimensions (width to left-right dimensions and length to front-back dimensions) that correspond to the external shape (i.e., contour) and dimensions (width to left-right dimensions and length to front-back dimensions) of the bottom surface of the packaging container used in the packaging section 190. Specifically, for example, if the packaging container is made of a corrugated cardboard box, the external shape of the bottom surface of the corrugated cardboard box is rectangular (square or rectangular), so the external shape of the CMC function-granting sheet 310 can also be rectangular (square or rectangular) similar to the external shape of the bottom surface of the packaging container (i.e., in this case, a corrugated cardboard box). Preferably, the external shape of the CMC function-granting sheet 310 can be the same shape as the external shape of the bottom surface of the packaging container (i.e., mathematically congruent shape), or it can be a similar shape obtained by enlarging or reducing the external shape of the bottom surface of the packaging container (i.e., mathematically similar shape).

[0155] Furthermore, the external dimensions of the CMC function-granting sheet 310 can be the same as the external dimensions of the bottom surface of the packaging container (i.e., the same width and length dimensions), or they can be a predetermined amount larger than the external dimensions of the bottom surface of the packaging container, or they can be a predetermined amount smaller than the external dimensions of the bottom surface of the packaging container. For example, the external dimensions of the CMC function-granting sheet 310 can be a width dimension that is a predetermined amount (for example, a few centimeters (1 to 9 cm)) larger than the external dimensions of the bottom surface of the packaging container, and a length dimension that is a predetermined amount (for example, a few centimeters (1 to 9 cm)) larger than the external dimensions of the bottom surface of the packaging container. Also, for example, the external dimensions of the CMC function-granting sheet 310 can be a width dimension that is a predetermined amount (for example, a few centimeters (1 to 9 cm)) smaller than the external dimensions of the bottom surface of the packaging container, and a length dimension that is a predetermined amount (for example, a few centimeters (1 to 9 cm)) smaller than the external dimensions of the bottom surface of the packaging container.

[0156] In the example shown in Figure 3, the external shape of the CMC function-granting sheet 310 is the same as the external shape of the bottom surface of the packaging container, and the dimensions (width and length) of the external shape of the CMC function-granting sheet 310 are the same as the dimensions (width and length) of the external shape of the bottom surface of the packaging container.

[0157] [Transfer device (conveyor) CV] At the downstream end of the paper towel manufacturing device 100, a predetermined transfer device CV, such as a belt conveyor or roller conveyor, is installed with the packaging table 251 in between, at a predetermined distance (for example, a distance of several tens of centimeters) or in close proximity. The transfer device CV extends from one end of the paper towel manufacturing device 100 in the parallel arrangement direction (in the example of Figure 3, the paper towel manufacturing device 100 located at the lowest end of Figure 3) to a position beyond a predetermined distance (for example, a predetermined distance corresponding to the combined distance between the paper towel manufacturing devices 100 and the width of a single paper towel manufacturing device 100) of the paper towel manufacturing device 100 at the other end of the parallel arrangement direction (in the example of Figure 3, the paper towel manufacturing device 100 located at the highest end of Figure 3). Furthermore, the transfer device CV is reoriented so that it extends perpendicularly to the paper towel manufacturing device 100 at a predetermined distance beyond the other end in the parallel arrangement direction, and is extended in that perpendicular direction. (In the example in Figure 3, the transfer device CV extends vertically, and then perpendicularly to the left.) The width dimension of the transfer device CV is set to be larger than the width dimension of the packaging container.

[0158] [Elevator (EV)] An elevator (EV) is installed at the terminal position of the transport device CV (the leftmost position of the transport equipment CV that extends horizontally on the upper side in Figure 3). The elevator (EV) is configured to transport the packaging container CBPT (which contains the CMC paper towels PT2) manufactured in the first manufacturing unit from the floor where the first manufacturing unit is installed (for example, an upper floor such as the second floor) to the floor where the second manufacturing unit will be installed (for example, a lower floor such as the first floor), which will be described later, in the building of the manufacturing site (for example, the manufacturing plant).

[0159] [Imparting CMC-induced functions to the first manufacturing unit using the CMC function-imparting sheet 310] In the first manufacturing unit configured as described above, a packaging container is placed on the packaging table 251 with its upper opening open (for example, in the case of a cardboard box, the pair of upper outer flaps and the pair of inner flaps are all flipped up to open), and the individually packaged paper towels PT1 manufactured by the paper towel manufacturing device 100 are loaded into the packaging container on the packaging table 251 from the upper opening of the packaging container. Alternatively, the individually packaged paper towels PT1 manufactured by the paper towel manufacturing device 100 can be temporarily stored in another container (for example, a container with a volume smaller than that of the packaging container), and the individually packaged paper towels PT1 that have accumulated in that container can be loaded into the packaging container from the upper opening of the packaging container. In this case, the individually wrapped paper towels PT1 may be temporarily placed in a storage bag of a predetermined volume (for example, a predetermined number of individual wrapped paper towels PT, such as 100 units) such as a plastic bag, and with the numerous individually wrapped paper towels PT1 placed in the storage bag, the opening of the storage bag may be closed (for example, by sealing the opening with a resin sealer, etc.), and the sealed storage bag may then be placed into the packaging container.

[0160] At this time, the CMC function-granting sheet 310 is fixed to the upper surface of the packaging table 251. Therefore, the packaging container placed on the upper surface of the packaging table 251 is always subjected to a predetermined effect from the CMC function-granting sheet 310 (an effect equivalent to a CMC-induced function; hereinafter, this effect will be referred to as the "CMC-induced effect"). In detail, the packaging container placed on the upper surface of the packaging table 251 is always subjected to a predetermined effect from below to above by the CMC function-granting sheet 310, which is positioned in close contact with the bottom surface (underside) of the packaging container (i.e., a CMC-induced effect from below to above), and the internal space of the packaging container is also subjected to the CMC-induced effect from the CMC function-granting sheet 310 via the outer and inner flaps on the bottom surface of the packaging container. Therefore, when the individually packaged paper towels PT1 manufactured by the paper towel manufacturing apparatus 100 are placed inside the packaging container (or, if a storage bag is used, when a storage bag containing a predetermined number of individually packaged paper towels PT1 is placed inside), the individually packaged paper towels PT1 are subjected to the CMC-induced action from the CMC-imparting sheet 310. Thus, within the time interval during which the packaging container is placed on the packaging table 251, the individually packaged paper towels PT1 inside the packaging container are subjected to the CMC-induced action from the CMC-imparting sheet 310 and are transformed into the CMC paper towels PT2. In other words, the individually packaged paper towels PT1 become the transformed individually packaged paper towels PT2 with added CMC-induced function.

[0161] [Time interval of CMC-induced action] At this time, the individually wrapped paper towels PT1 placed in the packaging container are transformed into the CMC paper towels PT2 by the CMC-induced action from the CMC function imparting sheet 310 for the time interval from when they are placed in the packaging container until the packaging container is moved from the packaging table 251 to the transfer device CV. Specifically, the individually wrapped paper towels PT1 placed first in the packaging container are transformed into the CMC paper towels PT2 by the CMC-induced action from the CMC function imparting sheet 310 for the longest time interval (i.e., the same time interval as the time interval during which the packaging container is placed on the packaging table 251, or a slightly shorter time interval) among the individually wrapped paper towels PT1 placed in the packaging container. Furthermore, the individually wrapped paper towel PT1 that is placed last into the packaging container is subjected to the CMC-induced action from the CMC-imparting sheet 310 and transformed into the CMC paper towel PT2 for the shortest time interval (i.e., the time interval from when it is placed into the packaging container until the packaging container is moved from the packaging table 251 to the transfer device CV) (among the individually wrapped paper towels PT1 placed into the packaging container).

[0162] [Transfer of CMC paper towels PT2 to the second manufacturing unit] Subsequently, the packaging container CBPT containing a predetermined number of CMC paper towels PT2 (which are made by adding CMC-induced functions to individually packaged paper towels PT1 using the CMC function-granting sheet 310) is moved from the packaging table 251 to the transfer device CV, and then transferred by the transfer device CV to the lifting device EV. The packaging container CBPT containing the predetermined number of CMC paper towels PT2 is then moved up or down (raised or lowered) by the lifting device EV to the second manufacturing unit.

[0163] [Second Manufacturing Unit] In the second manufacturing unit of the paper towel manufacturing system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the starting position of the transfer device CV is located at the position of the elevator EV in the second manufacturing unit. The transfer device CV extends a predetermined distance from the starting end. A pallet PL for placing the packaging container CBPT is positioned at the end of the transfer device CV. The packaging container CBPT manufactured in the first manufacturing unit (containing a predetermined number of CMC paper towels PT2) is placed in the cargo space of the elevator EV, and then transported by the elevator EV from the floor where the first manufacturing unit is installed to the floor where the second manufacturing unit is installed. The packaging container CBPT in the cargo space of the elevator EV is then moved towards the starting end of the transfer device CV, and then moved by the transfer device CV to the pallet PL at the end of the transfer device CV and placed thereon. In this way, a predetermined number of packaging containers (CBPT) transported from the lifting device (EV) via the transfer device (CV) are loaded onto the pallet (PL). In the examples shown in Figures 4 and 5, the pallet (PL) is shown with four packaging containers per layer, stacked in two layers, but the number of boxes loaded onto the pallet (PL) and the loading configuration can be arbitrarily changed according to the dimensions of the pallet, etc.

[0164] [CMC Function Imparting Device 300 for the Second Manufacturing Unit] A CMC function imparting device 300 is installed in the middle of the transport path of the transport device CV (for example, in the intermediate part between the start and end of the transport device CV). In detail, the CMC function imparting device 300 for the second manufacturing unit consists of a housing 305 and a CMC function imparting sheet 310. The housing 305 has a rectangular frame shape with an inverted channel cross-section that is open at the lower end. The housing 305 has a rectangular frame shape that extends along the transport direction of the transport device CV, and at its placement position, it is installed so as to surround the transport device CV at a predetermined interval. Furthermore, the dimensions of the housing 305 are such that its width is larger than the width of the transport device CV, and its left and right side walls are positioned at a predetermined left and right distance (for example, a distance of several centimeters to about 10 centimeters) from both ends in the width direction of the transport device CV (i.e., both left and right ends). Furthermore, the width dimension of the transfer device CV is set to be larger than the width dimension of the packaging container.

[0165] Therefore, the left and right pair of side walls of the housing 305 are positioned on the left and right sides of the packaging container (i.e., the packaging container CBPT manufactured by the first manufacturing unit) being transported on the transport device CV, at a distance greater than the predetermined left-right distance from the left and right ends of the packaging container (e.g., the left and right pair of side walls of the packaging container), facing the left and right ends of the packaging container (e.g., the left and right pair of side walls of the packaging container).

[0166] On the other hand, the height dimension of the housing 305 is set to be larger by a predetermined vertical dimension (for example, a few centimeters to about 10 cm) than the sum of the height dimension of the transfer device CV and the height dimension of the packaging container CBPT (placed on the transfer device CV). As a result, when the housing 305 is placed in the second manufacturing unit, the upper wall of the housing is positioned above the packaging container being transferred on the transfer device CV (i.e., the packaging container CBPT manufactured by the first manufacturing unit), at a predetermined vertical distance (i.e., the predetermined vertical dimension) from the upper end of the packaging container (i.e., the upper surface of the folded outer flap that forms the upper wall of the packaging container) and facing the upper end surface of the packaging container (i.e., the upper surface of the folded outer flap that forms the upper wall of the packaging container).

[0167] [CMC Function Imparting Sheet 310 of the CMC Function Imparting Device 300 of the Second Manufacturing Unit] On the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the housing 305 (i.e., the left inner surface, which is the inner surface of the left wall, and the right inner surface, which is the inner surface of the right wall), CMC function imparting sheets 310 are fixed in predetermined positions by predetermined fixing means such as adhesive, glue, or fasteners. Also, on the inner surface of the upper wall of the housing 305 (i.e., the lower inner surface, which is the inner surface of the upper wall), CMC function imparting sheets 310 are fixed in predetermined positions by predetermined fixing means such as adhesive, glue, or fasteners. Here, the two CMC function imparting sheets 310 fixed to the left and right inner surfaces of the housing 305 and the one CMC function imparting sheet 310 fixed to the upper inner surface of the housing 305 are composed of the same CMC function imparting sheet 310 having the same external shape and the same external dimensions. Furthermore, the two CMC function-granting sheets 310 fixed to the left and right inner surfaces of the housing 305 and the one CMC function-granting sheet 310 fixed to the upper inner surface of the housing 305 are positioned at the same location in the longitudinal direction of the housing 305 (i.e., the transport direction of the transport device CV). That is, the widthwise ends of the two CMC function-granting sheets 310 fixed to the left and right inner surfaces of the housing 305 (the ends in the transport direction of the transport device CV) and the widthwise ends of the one CMC function-granting sheet 310 fixed to the upper inner surface of the housing 305 (the ends in the transport direction of the transport device CV) are positioned at the same location (i.e., flush with the surface).

[0168] These three CMC function-granting sheets 310, together with the housing 305, constitute the CMC function-granting device 300 in the second manufacturing unit.

[0169] Here, the CMC function-granting sheet 310 of the second manufacturing unit can be a CMC function-granting sheet with the same configuration as the CMC function-granting sheet 310 of the first manufacturing unit. Alternatively, the CMC function-granting sheet 310 of the second manufacturing unit can be a CMC function-granting sheet with a different configuration than the CMC function-granting sheet 310 of the first manufacturing unit.

[0170] Furthermore, the length of the housing 305 can be any length, as long as it is greater than the length of the CMC function-granting sheet 310 (the length in the direction along the transport direction of the transport device CV).

[0171] [Imparting CMC-Induced Functions by CMC Function-Imparting Sheets 310 in the Second Manufacturing Unit] In the second manufacturing unit configured as described above, the packaging container CBPT (which contains the CMC paper towels PT2 manufactured in the first manufacturing unit) is moved from the lifting device EV to the transfer device CV, and then passes through the CMC function-imparting device 300 of the second manufacturing unit as it is transferred from the starting position to the ending position of the transfer device CV. At this time, CMC function-imparting sheets 310 are fixed to the left and right inner surfaces (i.e., the left and right inner surfaces) and the upper inner surface of the housing 305 of the CMC function-imparting device 300, for a total of three CMC function-imparting sheets 310.

[0172] Therefore, when the packaging container CBPT is transported from the starting position to the ending position of the transfer device CV, as it passes inside the housing 305 of the CMC function imparting device 300 of the second manufacturing unit, it is always subjected to a predetermined effect from the three CMC function imparting sheets 310 (i.e., a CMC-induced effect from the three CMC function imparting sheets 310) while facing the three CMC function imparting sheets 310 on the inner surface of the housing 305. More specifically, the CBPT packaging container passing through the housing 305 of the CMC function imparting device 300 is subjected to a total of three CMC-induced effects from three directions (i.e., from the left, right, and top): a predetermined effect from the CMC function imparting sheet 310 located on the left inner side of the housing 305 in the direction from the left side to the right side (i.e., a first CMC-induced effect from left to right); a predetermined effect from the CMC function imparting sheet 310 located on the right inner side of the housing 305 in the direction from the right side to the left side (i.e., a second CMC-induced effect from right to left); and a predetermined effect from the CMC function imparting sheet 310 located on the upper inner side of the housing 305 in the direction from the upper side to the lower side (i.e., a third CMC-induced effect from top to bottom).

[0173] Therefore, at this time, the CMC paper towel PT2, which is housed in the internal space of the packaging container CBPT (and has been given a CMC-induced function from below by the CMC function-imparting device of the first manufacturing unit), will receive a total of three CMC-induced effects from the three CMC function-imparting sheets 310 via the left and right side walls and the top wall of the packaging container (i.e., the outer flap and inner flap on the top surface). Consequently, when the CMC paper towel PT2, while housed in the packaging container CBPT, passes through the inside of the housing 305 of the CMC function-imparting device 300 of the second manufacturing unit, it will receive the aforementioned total of three CMC-induced effects. Therefore, the CMC paper towel PT2 inside the packaging container CBPT receives a total of three CMC-induced effects from the three CMC-induced sheets 310 during the time interval in which it passes inside the housing 305 of the CMC function imparting device 300 (more precisely, during the time interval in which it faces the three CMC function imparting sheets 310 fixed to the housing 305), and is transformed into a CMC paper towel PT2 with further enhanced CMC-induced functions. In other words, the CMC paper towel PT2 obtained in the first manufacturing unit becomes a transformed CMC paper towel PT2 with further enhanced CMC-induced functions.

[0174] [Configuration of the CMC Function Imparting Sheet 310 (First Specific Example)] The CMC function imparting sheet 310 constitutes the CMC function imparting sheet of the first specific example in the CMC wet wiping sheet article manufacturing system of the present invention. The CMC function imparting sheet 310 of this first specific example will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram in plan view showing the first specific example of a CMC sheet as a CMC function imparting device used in the first and second manufacturing units of the individual paper towel manufacturing system, which is a wet wiping sheet article manufacturing system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram in front view showing the first specific example of a CMC sheet as a CMC function imparting device used in the first and second manufacturing units of the individual paper towel manufacturing system, which is a wet wiping sheet article manufacturing system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0175] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the CMC function-granting sheet 310 is composed of a rectangular base sheet 311 and a CMC coating layer 312 formed on the upper surface of the base sheet 311 by printing using a predetermined printing technique (e.g., screen printing) to form a coating film. The base sheet 311 is formed from a predetermined material (e.g., a synthetic resin material or a fiber material) into a predetermined rectangular sheet shape (e.g., a square sheet shape or a rectangular sheet shape). For example, the CMC function-granting sheet 310 can be formed to have the same external shape and external dimensions as the CMC function-granting sheet 310 of the first manufacturing unit and the CMC function-granting sheet 310 of the second first manufacturing unit described above.

[0176] [CMC coating layer 312] The CMC coating layer 312 is a coating of a predetermined thickness, which is formed by adding CMC having a predetermined coil diameter, a predetermined fiber diameter, and a predetermined coil length to a predetermined matrix (for example, a matrix made of a predetermined resin material) in a predetermined amount (i.e., a predetermined blending amount), applying the CMC coating to the upper surface of the base sheet 311 using the predetermined printing technology, drying and solidifying it, and fixing it to the upper surface of the base sheet 311. The CMC coating layer 312 can have any external shape, but in the examples of Figures 6 and 7, the CMC coating layer 312 has a circular (perfectly circular) external shape and is a coating on the shape of a disc.

[0177] Note that, for the sake of explanation, Figure 7 depicts the substrate sheet 311 and CMC coating layer 312 as having visible thicknesses, because it is difficult to illustrate the substrate sheet 311 with a small thickness (for example, a substrate sheet 311 with a small thickness of 0.5 mm or less, such as 1 mm or less) by drawing, and it is also difficult to illustrate the CMC coating layer 312 with an extremely small thickness (for example, a CMC coating layer 312 with an extremely small thickness in the micron range, such as 5 μm, 10 μm, 50 μm, 100 μm, 200 μm, 300 μm, 400 μm, 500 μm, etc.) by drawing. However, in reality, the substrate sheet 311 has a small thickness of 1 mm or less, such as 0.5 mm, and the CMC coating layer 312 has an extremely small thickness in the micron range.

[0178] In the examples shown in Figures 6 and 7, a single substrate sheet 311 has a total of 64 CMC coating layers 312 arranged in 8 rows horizontally and 8 rows vertically, fixed at a predetermined density at regular intervals in both the horizontal and vertical directions. The number and arrangement of the CMC coating layers 312 on a single substrate sheet 311 can be different from those described above, with a different number of horizontal and vertical rows. For example, it is possible to have a total of 49 CMC coating layers arranged in 7 rows horizontally and 7 rows vertically. Alternatively, the number and arrangement of the CMC coating layers 312 on a single substrate sheet 311 can be such that the number of horizontal and vertical rows are different from the number of vertical rows.

[0179] Furthermore, in the examples shown in Figures 6 and 7, a single substrate sheet 311 has a total of 64 CMC coating layers 312 arranged in 8 rows horizontally and 8 rows vertically, which are arranged in close proximity at constant intervals of minute spacing (for example, intervals of 1 / 10 to 1 / 8 of the diameter of the CMC coating layer 312) in both the horizontal and vertical directions. However, a single substrate sheet 311 can also have a predetermined number of CMC coating layers 312 arranged in predetermined rows horizontally and predetermined rows vertically, which are arranged adjacently at predetermined intervals (for example, slightly larger intervals of about 1 / 2 to 1 / 5 of the diameter of the CMC coating layer 312) in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0180] [Amount of CMC in the CMC coating layer 312 (density)] The amount of CMC in one CMC functional sheet 310 (and its density) depends on the amount of CMC in the CMC coating layer 312 formed on one base sheet 311. In this embodiment, the amount of CMC in one CMC functional sheet 310 (and its density) can be any value within the range of approximately 2.0 mg / cm² to approximately 3.5 mg / cm², and preferably approximately 2.8 mg / cm². Furthermore, it is preferable to set the arrangement of the CMC coating layer 312 on the base sheet 311 so that the density of CMC in one CMC functional sheet 310 is uniform in the planar direction of the base sheet 311. In the examples shown in Figures 6 and 7, CMC is not present in the gaps between the CMC coating layers 312 on the base sheet 311. However, by arranging the CMC coating layers 312 in close proximity or in close contact, the CMC blending density in a single CMC-functionalized sheet 310 can be configured to be substantially uniform in the planar direction of the base sheet 311.

[0181] Furthermore, the CMC in each CMC coating layer 312 is formulated to have a uniform density.

[0182] [Configuration of CMC Function Imparting Sheet 310 (Second Specific Example)] The CMC function imparting sheet 320 constitutes the CMC function imparting sheet of the second specific example in the CMC wet wiping sheet article manufacturing system of the present invention. The CMC function imparting sheet 320 of this second specific example will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram in plan view showing the second specific example of a CMC sheet as a CMC function imparting device used in the first and second manufacturing units of the individual paper towel manufacturing system, which is a manufacturing system for wet wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 9 is a schematic diagram in front view showing the second specific example of a CMC sheet as a CMC function imparting device used in the first and second manufacturing units of the individual paper towel manufacturing system, which is a manufacturing system for wet wiping sheet articles according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0183] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the CMC function-granting sheet 320 is in the form of a single rectangular sheet. The CMC function-granting sheet 320 is formed from a predetermined matrix material (for example, a synthetic resin material) into a predetermined rectangular sheet shape (for example, a square sheet shape or a rectangular sheet shape), and CMC having a predetermined coil diameter, predetermined fiber diameter, and predetermined coil length is added to the matrix material in a predetermined amount (i.e., predetermined blending amount). For example, the CMC function-granting sheet 320 can be formed to have the same external shape and external dimensions as the CMC function-granting sheet 310 of the first manufacturing unit and the CMC function-granting sheet 310 of the second first manufacturing unit described above.

[0184] Note that, for the sake of explanation, Figure 9 depicts the CMC functional sheet 320 with a visible thickness because it is difficult to illustrate a CMC functional sheet 320 with a small thickness (for example, a base sheet 311 with a small thickness of 0.5 mm or less, such as 1 mm). However, in reality, the CMC functional sheet 320 may have a small thickness of 0.5 mm or less, such as 1 mm. However, the CMC functional sheet 320 may also have a relatively large thickness of 1 mm or more, such as 1 mm or more.

[0185] [Amount of CMC in the CMC-Functionalized Sheet 320 (Density of CMC)] The amount of CMC in one CMC-Functionalized Sheet 320 (and density of CMC) depends on the amount of CMC in one CMC-Functionalized Sheet 320. In this embodiment, the amount of CMC in one CMC-Functionalized Sheet 320 (and density of CMC) can be any value within the range of approximately 2.0 mg / cm² to approximately 3.5 mg / cm², and preferably approximately 2.8 mg / cm². Furthermore, it is preferable to set the CMC composition in the matrix of the CMC-Functionalized Sheet 320 so that the density of CMC in one CMC-Functionalized Sheet 320 is uniform in the planar direction.

[0186] [Unique Effects of CMC Paper Wipes] The CMC paper wipes (and their broader counterpart, the CMC moist wiping sheet) constructed as described above exhibit the following unique effects.

[0187] [Specific effects of the present invention based on the material modification effect of CMC (effect due to magnetic field and effect due to electron beam)] In particular, within the manufacturing plant where the paper towel manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is installed, there is an electromagnetic field stronger than the electromagnetic field in nature, generated from the electric motors of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus (main shaft inverter motor, synchronous servo motor, etc.), the electric motors of the conveyor used to transport the products (paper towels) manufactured by the paper towel manufacturing apparatus in a packaged state (i.e., packaged in a cardboard box of a predetermined volume) to a predetermined storage location, and other sources of electromagnetic waves. Therefore, the CMC paper towel according to the present invention utilizes the effects of these electromagnetic and magnetic fields to exhibit functions that improve telomere values ​​and 8OHdG values. Specifically, in the CMC paper towel according to this embodiment, the telomere value, as measured by a testing laboratory, was 800 ng for the initial value (telomere value of the individually packaged paper towel PT1 (comparative example) before it became CMC paper towel PT2), while the telomere value of CMC paper towel PT2 with added CMC-induced function increased significantly to 2400 ng. Furthermore, in the CMC paper towel according to this embodiment, the 8-OHdG value as a gene damage value, as measured by a testing laboratory, was 13,000 ng for the initial value (8-OHdG of the individually packaged paper towel PT1 (comparative example) before it became CMC paper towel PT2), while the 8-OHdG value of CMC paper towel PT2 with added CMC-induced function decreased significantly to 0.3 ng, effectively becoming zero.

[0188] The following explanation of telomeres relates to the specific effects of the CMC paper towel (and its broader concept, the CMC moist wiping sheet article) according to the present invention.

[0189] [Telomere] Telomeres are structures located at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes and serve to protect the chromosome ends. Telomeres are structures composed of DNA with characteristic repeating sequences and various proteins. DNA is replicated from the 5' end to the 3' end (see DNA replication). Therefore, one side of the template DNA is replicated as soon as the DNA double helix unwinds, but the other side requires DNA polymerase (which replicates DNA) to work on it many times, inevitably leaving some parts that cannot be replicated. Meaningless repeating sequences, or telomeres, exist to compensate for this.

[0190] Eukaryotic chromosomes are linear, and DNA has ends. DNA ends other than telomeres within a cell originate from viral infections or are caused by DNA damage and breakage. These ends are targeted by the cell's DNA-degrading enzymes and DNA repair mechanisms, but telomere DNA ends are normal and should not be subjected to such degradation or repair. Therefore, due to their unique structure, telomeres protect chromosomes from DNA degradation and repair, maintaining physical and genetic stability. Chromosomes lacking telomeres are considered abnormal DNA ends by the cell, leading to enzymatic degradation and abnormal fusion of chromosome ends by repair mechanisms. Such chromosomal instability can cause cell death and cancer. Furthermore, telomeres are necessary for the normal distribution of chromosomes during cell division.

[0191] Telomere elongation is carried out by an enzyme called telomerase. In cells lacking this enzyme, telomeres shorten with each cell division. Telomerase is either not expressed in human somatic cells or has only weak activity. Therefore, when human somatic cells are isolated and cultured, telomere shortening occurs. When telomeres become shorter than a certain length, cell proliferation irreversibly stops, resulting in a state called cellular senescence. Cellular senescence is thought to protect cells from cancer and other problems by preventing chromosomal destabilization caused by telomere deletion, as mentioned above, by stopping cell division.

[0192] Telomere shortening is a sufficient condition for cellular senescence, but not a necessary one. It has also been reported that aged animals and the cloned sheep Dolly had shortened telomeres, suggesting that cellular senescence due to telomere shortening is a cause of individual aging. In medaka fish, telomerase activity is extremely high in young fish during the growth phase, and telomeres are extended and maintained in length even after somatic cell division. However, after the growth phase ends and weight gain is almost nonexistent, after the age of one, it has been found that activity decreases with age and the telomere length maintained gradually shortens. It is thought that a decrease in telomerase activity in somatic cells after a certain age causes telomere shortening, which in turn leads to aging and death. In other words, it is speculated that in medaka fish, telomere length is controlled by regulating telomerase activity, leading to aging of somatic cells and ultimately death from senility.

[0193] It should be noted that the structure, length, sequence, and maintenance mechanisms of telomeres vary among different species, and this section will mainly discuss humans, mice, and budding yeast. Furthermore, chromosomes in prokaryotes and mitochondria are circular and have no ends, and therefore do not have telomeres.

[0194] [Prevention of Decreased Antibacterial / Antifungal Function of Hygienic Components in Hygienic Component-Containing Water Due to Addition of CMC-Induced Function] The present inventors have confirmed through verification tests conducted by a specialized institution that the addition of CMC-induced function to the hygienic component-containing water is prevented from decreasing in antibacterial / antifungal function by adding a carbon microcoil-induced function by carbon microcoils to the base sheet and / or hygienic component-containing water, while maintaining the concentration of the cationic agent (particularly benzalkonium chloride, a cationic agent) and preventing a decrease in the antibacterial / antifungal function of the hygienic component-containing water (particularly benzalkonium chloride, a cationic agent). They have also confirmed that the addition of CMC-induced function is maintained (i.e., the maintenance of the antibacterial / antifungal function required for the final hygienic component-containing water).

[0195] In other words, the inventors have confirmed through verification tests conducted by a specialized institution that the CMC-induced function-imparting wet-wiping sheet article according to the present invention, including this embodiment, adds a telomere value improvement function and / or an 8OHdG value improvement function to the base sheet and / or water containing sanitary components as a carbon microcoil-induced function by carbon microcoils. In addition to these telomere value improvement functions and / or 8OHdG value improvement functions, it is also believed that various functions by CMC described above are added to the base sheet and / or water containing sanitary components as CMC-induced functions.

[0196] In particular, in the CMC-imparting wet-wiping sheet article according to the present invention, including this embodiment, when the laminated sheet described later is used as the base sheet, the base sheet is made of pulp-based raw materials, and the wet-wiping sheet article is a wet-wiping sheet article in which the pulp-based base sheet is hydrated to a predetermined moisture content. Therefore, in this case, the raw material for the pulp is a plant, which is a eukaryote, and since plants naturally have telomeres at the ends of their chromosomes, it is considered that the telomere value of the pulp-based base material (or pulp-based base material hydrated with water containing sanitary components) improves when subjected to the above-mentioned material modification effect of the carbon microcoil (effect by magnetic field and effect by electron beam). Similarly, while the 8OHdG value is one of the substances produced when DNA is oxidatively damaged by reactive oxygen species, and the raw material for pulp is a eukaryotic plant, and since plants naturally contain DNA, it is considered that the 8OHdG value of the pulp substrate (or a pulp substrate containing water with sanitary components) increases when subjected to the above-mentioned material modification effect of the carbon microcoil (effect by magnetic field and effect by electron beam).

[0197] [Laminated Sheet] Next, the laminated sheet, which serves as the base sheet, will be described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the laminated paper 10, which serves as the laminated sheet for the paper towel according to Embodiment 1, is formed in a sheet shape having a predetermined outer contour (typically rectangular, etc.) as shown in Figure 10 when viewed from above (or from below). On the other hand, when viewed from the side (or in cross-section) of the laminated paper 10, as shown in Figure 4, the laminated paper 10 has a laminated structure consisting of crepe paper 1 as an outer layer sheet constituting a pair of outer layers, and a nonwoven fabric 2 as an intermediate layer sheet constituting an intermediate layer interposed between the pair of outer layers. Furthermore, the laminated paper 10 maintains its laminated structure by heat-sealing one and the other of the pair of crepe papers 1 to one and the other side of the nonwoven fabric 2 at the same location. In other words, the laminated paper 10 is heat-fused to the nonwoven fabric 2 at the same locations in the first heat-fused section 11a and the second heat-fused section 11b, which each constitute the heat-fused section row 11 (first heat-fused section row 11A and second heat-fused section row 11B), thereby heat-fusing a pair of crepe papers 1 to the nonwoven fabric 2 at the same locations.

[0198] [Heat-Sealed Sections] To describe the heat-sealed sections 11 in detail, the laminated paper 10 has rows of heat-sealed sections 11 arranged in a dashed line shape, extending along the entire length of the laminated paper 10 (the direction in which the base paper is supplied during manufacturing, and the vertical direction in Figure 10), thereby forming one row of heat-sealed sections 11. Furthermore, the laminated paper 10 has multiple rows of heat-sealed sections 11 arranged in parallel to each other at regular intervals, extending along the entire width of the laminated paper 10 (the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the base paper is supplied during manufacturing, and the left-right direction in Figure 10). As a result, the laminated paper 10 has non-sealed sections 12 in the shape of straight strips between adjacent rows of heat-sealed sections 11. In the laminated paper 10, the rows of heat-sealed portions 11 consist of a first row of heat-sealed portions 11A, in which first heat-sealed portions 11a are arranged linearly at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of the laminated paper 10, and a second row of heat-sealed portions 11B, in which second heat-sealed portions 11b are arranged linearly at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of the laminated paper 10. The first heat-sealed portion 11a constitutes a linear fused portion having a predetermined length and width in the laminated paper 10. By arranging such first heat-sealed portions 11a of a predetermined length and width linearly at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction, a dashed row of heat-sealed portions 11A is formed. The second heat-sealed portion 11b is a linear fused portion with the same length and width as the first heat-sealed portion 11a. By arranging these second heat-sealed portions 11b of constant length and width linearly at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction, a second row of heat-sealed portions 11B is formed, which has a dashed line shape similar to the first row of heat-sealed portions 11A. Furthermore, the first heat-sealed portion 11a of the first heat-sealed portion row 11A and the second heat-sealed portion 11b of the second heat-sealed portion row 11B (that is, the heat-sealed portion rows 11A and 11B of adjacent rows) are positioned so as to be offset from each other in the longitudinal direction of the laminated paper 10, such that the longitudinal center position of the first heat-sealed portion 11a of the first heat-sealed portion row 11A is located midway between the adjacent second heat-sealed portions 11b of the second heat-sealed portion row 11B.

[0199] [Non-fused portion] As shown in Figure 11, the laminated paper 10 has a single straight strip-shaped non-fused portion 12 between two adjacent rows of heat-fused portions 11. This non-fused portion 12 expands after the laminated paper 10 absorbs water to form an expanded portion. More specifically, as shown in Figures 10 and 11, the non-fused portion 12 is composed of a wide expanded portion 12a (which will form a wide expanded portion after the laminated paper 10 absorbs water) and a narrow expanded portion 12b (which will form a narrow expanded portion after the laminated paper 10 absorbs water). More specifically, the wide expanded portion 12a is provided on the laminated paper 10 as a substantially rectangular portion having the length and width of the non-overlapping portion, within a range (non-overlapping range) where the adjacent first row of heat-fused portions 11A and the second row of heat-fused portions 11B do not overlap. On the other hand, the narrow expansion portion 12b is provided on the laminated paper 10 as a small, substantially rectangular portion having the length and width of the overlapping area, in the area where the heat-sealed portion row 11A of the first row and the heat-sealed portion row 11A of the second row overlap (overlapping area).

[0200] [Wrinkles in Non-Fused (Expanded) Sections] In the laminated paper 10, the outer crepe paper 1 and the intermediate nonwoven fabric 2 are not joined at all in the non-fused sections 12. The non-fused sections 12 of the crepe paper 1 are not constrained by the heat-fusible sections 11a and 11b of the heat-fusible section row 11 (i.e., they are not fixed to the nonwoven fabric 2), and are freely deformable by moving in the thickness direction, etc., relative to the nonwoven fabric 2. Furthermore, in the laminated paper 10, in each of the non-fused sections 12 of the crepe paper 1 that form both outer layers (i.e., each wide expanded section 12a and each narrow expanded section 12b), numerous crepe wrinkles, which are the original small wrinkles of the crepe paper 1, appear before the first water absorption of the laminated paper 10. These crepe wrinkles are small wrinkles that extend in the width direction of the laminated paper 10 (and the width direction of the crepe paper 1), and are formed during the manufacturing of the crepe paper 1.

[0201] On the other hand, after the initial water absorption of the laminated paper 10, in each of the non-fused portions 12 of the crepe paper 1 (wide expansion portion 12a and narrow expansion portion 12b), the crepe paper 1 expands via the crepe wrinkles, that is, the small crepe wrinkles expand with moisture, forming wrinkles different from the original crepe wrinkles of the crepe paper 1 (wrinkles that are larger in size than the crepe wrinkles, hereinafter referred to as "expansion wrinkles"). The expansion wrinkles of the crepe paper 1 are as follows: in the wide expansion section 12a, they become large wrinkles (hereinafter referred to as "large expansion wrinkles") that extend over almost the entire width of the wide expansion section 12a; and in the narrow expansion section 12b, they become wrinkles of a medium size (hereinafter referred to as "medium expansion wrinkles") that extend over almost the entire width of the narrow expansion section 12b. Both the large expansion wrinkles and the medium expansion wrinkles are larger than the crepe wrinkles.

[0202] [Dimensions of heat-sealed portions, spacing between heat-sealed portions, and end shape] In the laminated paper 10, each row of heat-sealed portions 11 is constructed by arranging first heat-sealed portions 11a, which are straight line segments of a fixed length and width, in a dashed line pattern at fixed intervals in the longitudinal direction. Second heat-sealed portions 11b, which are straight line segments of a fixed length and width, are arranged in a dashed line pattern at fixed intervals in the longitudinal direction, offset from the first heat-sealed portions 11a (i.e., the midpoint of each second heat-sealed portion 11b coincides with the midpoint of the spacing between the first heat-sealed portions 11a). Furthermore, since the length and width of the first heat-sealed portions 11a and the second heat-sealed portions 11b are set to be the same, the first heat-sealed portions 11a and the second heat-sealed portions 11b have the same configuration except for the fact that they are arranged with their positions offset in the longitudinal direction as described above. On the other hand, in the laminated paper 10, the length and width of the first heat-sealed portion 11a and the second heat-sealed portion 11b are set to predetermined lengths and widths. That is, the length and / or width of each first heat-sealed portion 11a and each second heat-sealed portion 11b are set appropriately according to the external dimensions of a single sheet of laminated paper 10 when it is in use (that is, they are set appropriately according to the vertical and horizontal dimensions determined according to the intended use of the laminated paper 10). Furthermore, each heat-sealed portion 11a and 11b has a curved shape in the longitudinal direction, which is a semicircular shape in planar direction.

[0203] [Crepe ratio of crepe paper] In the laminated paper 10, the crepe ratio of the crepe paper 1 is set to any value within the range of 20% to 40%, preferably set to any value within the range of 20% to 30%, and more preferably set to a value of about 30%.

[0204] [Patterned area as a printed area] As shown in Figure 2, the laminated paper 10 is materialized as laminated paper 10 having a patterned area 13 as a printed area, but it is of course possible to materialize it as laminated paper 10 that does not have a patterned area 13 as a printed area (white paper similar to ordinary paper towels).

[0205] [Material of Nonwoven Fabric] On the other hand, the laminated paper 10 according to Embodiment 1 shown in Figure 5 uses a nonwoven fabric 2 as the intermediate layer sheet that is made of a material that can be printed on the printed area and that can be reliably heat-sealed and bonded to the crepe paper as the outer layer sheet using the linear heat-sealing portion. This makes it possible to print a patterned area 13 or an advertising area 14 on one side of the nonwoven fabric 2 that will be placed on one side of the laminated paper 10 (typically, one side of the laminated paper that is exposed on the outer surface of the paper towel when the laminated paper 10 is applied to a paper towel, i.e., the surface side of the paper towel), and to bond a pair of crepe paper 1 that will form the outer layer to both sides of the nonwoven fabric 2 to form a multi-layered laminated paper 10 (a three-layered structure in the case of Figure 5).

[0206] [Thickness of Nonwoven Fabric] In the laminated paper 10, it is preferable to use a nonwoven fabric with a thickness of any value within a predetermined range. For example, in this embodiment, as with conventional nonwoven paper towels, a sheet of nonwoven fabric with a basis weight of 45 to 70 g / cm² can be used as the raw material sheet for the nonwoven fabric 2 of the laminated paper 10. On the other hand, in addition to using a pair of crepe paper 1 and nonwoven fabric 2 as raw material sheets for the laminated paper 10 of this embodiment, it is preferable to use a nonwoven fabric as the nonwoven fabric 2 having a thickness of any value within the range of a basis weight of 15 to 25 g / m², more preferably having a thickness of any value within the range of a basis weight of 18 to 22 g / m², even more preferably having a thickness of any value within the range of a basis weight of 18 to 20 g / m², and most preferably having a thickness of 20 g / m².

[0207] [Raw Fibers for Nonwoven Fabric] Furthermore, as the nonwoven fabric 2, in order to have both the printability and heat-sealability described above, the thickness is set to a value within the predetermined preferred range, and in particular, when the thickness is set to a value on the lower end of the predetermined preferred range (for example, when the thickness is set to a basis weight of 15 g / m2, 18 g / m2, etc.), it is preferable to use a nonwoven fabric made of core-sheath structure composite fibers.

[0208] [Thickness of crepe paper] In the laminated paper 10, the crepe paper 1 can be configured to have a thickness of any value within a predetermined range to achieve a predetermined transmittance (transparency). Specifically, the thickness of one crepe paper 1 that is joined to one side of the nonwoven fabric 2 (i.e., the side on which the printed portion is provided) can be set such that, in the dry state of the laminated paper 10, at least a portion of the printed portion of the nonwoven fabric 2 is visible through the crepe paper 1 (or at least a portion of the printed portion of the nonwoven fabric 2 is visible in a semi-transparent state), and at least in the wet state due to the moisture content of the laminated paper 10, the entire printed portion of the nonwoven fabric 2 is visible in a clear state through the crepe paper 1 (or the entire printed portion of the nonwoven fabric 2 is visible in a nearly transparent state). On the other hand, the other crepe paper 1 that is joined to the other side of the nonwoven fabric 2 is usually set to the same thickness as the first crepe paper 1, but it can also be set to a different thickness.

[0209] More specifically, in the laminated paper 10, the preferred range for the thickness of the crepe paper 1 is set to any value within the range of 20 to 50 g / m2 in basis weight, more preferably set to any value within the range of 20 to 40 g / m2, even more preferably set to any value within the range of 30 to 40 g / m2, even more preferably set to any value within the range of 30 to 35 g / m2, even more preferably set to any value within the range of 30 to 33 g / m2 or any value within the range of 33 to 35 g / m2, and most preferably set to a value of about 33 g / m2 or about 35 g / m2.

[0210] [Total thickness of laminated paper (total thickness of crepe paper and nonwoven fabric)] As described above, the crepe paper 1 and nonwoven fabric 2, which are components of the laminated paper 10, are each configured to have a thickness of any value within a predetermined range. The total thickness of the laminated paper 10 is determined by the thickness of the crepe paper 1 and the thickness of the nonwoven fabric 2. Preferably, the total thickness of the laminated paper 10 is set to (35 + 20 + 35 =) 90 g / m2 by setting the thickness of each crepe paper 1 to 35 g / m2 in basis weight and the thickness of the nonwoven fabric 2 to 20 g / m2 in basis weight.

[0211] [Another example of a laminated sheet] By the way, in addition to making the rows of heat-sealed parts of the laminated paper of the present invention dashed lines as in Embodiment 1 above, the rows of heat-sealed parts can also be made into wavy lines, dotted lines, dashed lines such as dotted-dotted lines or double-dotted lines, or they can be made into zigzag lines, staggered lines, or even straight lines made of solid lines, or it can be materialized into laminated paper with scattered dot-shaped heat-sealed parts. Alternatively, the laminated paper or laminated sheet of the present invention can also be materialized as a laminated paper ("second laminated paper") in which the thickness of the nonwoven fabric is within the predetermined range and the thickness of the crepe paper is within the predetermined range, or a laminated paper ("third laminated paper") in which the spacing of the heat-sealed parts in the width direction is within the predetermined range according to the crepe ratio of the crepe paper.

[0212] [Second Laminated Paper] Specifically, the second laminated paper consists of a pair of crepe paper sheets as outer layer sheets and a heat-sealable intermediate layer sheet arranged in a laminated state between the crepe paper sheets. The crepe paper is heat-sealed to the intermediate layer sheet by a row of linear heat-sealable portions extending in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the crepe wrinkles of the crepe paper extend, thereby forming a laminated structure. Furthermore, the crepe paper may have a thickness in the range of 20 to 50 g / m², and the nonwoven fabric may have a thickness in the range of 15 to 25 g / m² in basis weight.

[0213] [Third Laminated Paper] The third laminated paper consists of a pair of crepe paper sheets as outer layer sheets and a heat-sealable intermediate layer sheet arranged in a laminated state between the crepe paper sheets. The crepe paper is heat-sealed to the intermediate layer sheet by a row of linear heat-sealable parts extending in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the crepe wrinkles of the crepe paper extend, thereby forming a laminated structure. Furthermore, the spacing between heat-sealable parts in the width direction, which is the distance between the widthwise centerlines of adjacent rows of heat-sealable parts, can be set to any value within a predetermined range corresponding to the crepe ratio of the crepe paper. For example, if the crepe ratio of the crepe paper is in the range of 20% to 26%, the spacing between heat-sealable parts in the width direction can be set to a range of 10 mm to 15 mm, and if the crepe ratio of the crepe paper is in the range of 26% to 30%, the spacing between heat-sealable parts in the width direction can be set to a range of 15 to 25 mm.

[0214] [Composition of Nonwoven Fabric] The laminated paper of the present invention may also have the following configuration as the nonwoven fabric as the intermediate layer sheet. That is, in the laminated sheet or laminated paper of the present invention, the nonwoven fabric is made of a nonwoven fabric with a high elasticity, and specifically, as described later, it may be made of a nonwoven fabric manufactured using so-called core-sheath structure fibers. Alternatively, the nonwoven fabric may be made of so-called pulp nonwoven fabric, and may be manufactured by accumulating fibrous material obtained by crushing wood pulp in a web-like manner and joining them together to form a sheet-like portion.

[0215] [Types of Nonwoven Fabrics] For example, the laminated paper 10 can use an air-through type nonwoven fabric (manufactured by thermal bonding) containing air as an intermediate layer sheet. This results in a laminated paper 10 that is thick overall while being highly elastic, has a good feel, and is heat-sealable. Furthermore, the nonwoven fabric of the laminated paper is made from a nonwoven fabric manufactured using so-called core-sheath structure composite fibers as raw materials. These core-sheath composite fibers are short-fiber synthetic fibers (PE / PP, PE / PET composite fibers) which are used as raw materials for the web (a layer of fibers sometimes called fleece) of the nonwoven fabric manufactured by a dry method, etc., and the fibers are bonded together using the air-through method of thermal bonding (that is, by passing hot air from the surface to the back in the thickness direction of the web, the resin in the sheath portion of the composite fibers is melted and the fibers are bonded together). Furthermore, this core-sheath structure fiber has an outer sheath made of PE (polyethylene) and an inner (center) core made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate). This nonwoven fabric does not absorb water because it does not use adhesives for interfiber bonding. In addition, the PE in the sheath portion of this nonwoven fabric softens at low temperatures, allowing it to adhere well to the crepe paper 1 by the heat-sealed portion 11 of the laminated paper 10, while the PET in the core portion maintains the strength of the fiber itself, thus maintaining the overall strength of the nonwoven fabric.

[0216] [Types of Nonwoven Fabrics (Types by Melting Point)] In the laminated paper of the present invention, if the nonwoven fabric used as the intermediate layer sheet is any nonwoven fabric, there are some nonwoven fabrics that do not adhere well to the crepe paper due to their melting points. Therefore, as the nonwoven fabric 2 of the laminated paper 10, a nonwoven fabric is used that has a melting point such that the crepe paper 1 adheres reliably to the nonwoven fabric 2 by the heat-sealing components of the nonwoven fabric 2 (for example, PE in the sheath portion of the core-sheath structure fiber) at a predetermined heating temperature during heat sealing by the heat-sealing section row 11 in the laminated paper manufacturing apparatus. As such a nonwoven fabric, a core-sheath type composite fiber as a polyester composite fiber, manufactured using heat-sealable fibers for nonwoven fabrics, can be used.

[0217] [Laminated Sheet Manufacturing Apparatus] Next, the laminated sheet manufacturing apparatus, which serves as a base sheet, will be described with reference to Figure 4. As shown in Figure 4, the laminated sheet manufacturing apparatus supports, on three parallel support rollers 51, 52, and 53, respectively, a roll of crepe paper 21 which will become the raw material sheet for one of the pair of crepe papers (crepe paper raw material sheet), a roll of nonwoven fabric 22 which will become the raw material sheet for the nonwoven fabric (nonwoven fabric raw material sheet), and the other roll of crepe paper 23 which will become the raw material sheet for the other of the pair of crepe papers (crepe paper raw material sheet), so that they can be rotated and supplied. Furthermore, the crepe paper 1, nonwoven fabric 2, and the other crepe paper 1 drawn from the one roll of crepe paper 21, the roll of nonwoven fabric 22, and the other roll of crepe paper 23, respectively, constitute the raw material sheet for laminated paper 10 (laminated paper raw material sheet) in a laminated state (i.e., a three-layer laminated state). This laminated paper raw material sheet is folded back by the first guide roller 61 and guided and introduced between the first heat seal roller 70, which acts as one of the pressure rollers, and the second heat seal roller 80, which acts as the other pressure roller. The laminated paper raw material sheet is then folded back from the first guide roller 61 to the second heat seal roller 80, guided by the second guide roller 62, and inserted between the first heat seal roller 70 and the second heat seal roller 80. In the stage before being inserted between the first heat seal roller 70 and the second heat seal roller 80, the laminated paper raw material sheet is in a state where the crepe paper 1 and the nonwoven fabric 2 have not yet been heat-sealed, and is called pre-heat-sealed laminated paper 10X.

[0218] Next, the laminated crepe paper 1 and nonwoven fabric 2 are heat-fused together between the first and second heat-seal rollers 70 and 80, forming laminated paper 10 having the heat-fused portion 11. At this stage after heat-fusion, the laminated paper raw material sheet is a heat-fused laminated paper 10Y in which the crepe paper 1 and nonwoven fabric 2 are heat-fused together. The long heat-fused laminated paper 10Y (as the base paper before cutting) that has been led out from the first and second heat-seal rollers 70 and 80 is folded back by the third guide roller 63 and the fourth guide roller 64 and guided to the winding roller 55. The winding roller 55 winds up the heat-fused laminated paper 10Y to form a roll of laminated paper 10R. This roll of laminated paper 10R is removed from the winding roller 55 and used as base paper for paper towels, etc. Furthermore, a slitter is positioned between the fourth guide roller 64 and the winding roller 55 to cut the heat-fused laminated paper 10R into multiple pieces in the width direction, and multiple pieces of laminated paper 10 of a predetermined width are arranged side by side and wound onto the winding roller 55.

[0219] The present invention provides a moist wiping sheet article, a method for manufacturing the same, and a manufacturing apparatus thereof, which can be suitably applied to paper towel products. In the case of paper towel products, it can be applied to paper towel products that are folded in half, in thirds, in quarters, or with a gatefold fold. In addition, the roll of raw paper can be processed as is and used as raw paper for automatic paper towel manufacturing machines. Furthermore, it can be applied to any moist wiping sheet article other than paper towel products, such as hygiene products used for purposes such as nursing care and caregiving.

[0220] 10, 311 Base sheet, 100 Wet wiping sheet article manufacturing device (paper towel manufacturing device), 251 Packaging table, 300 CMC function imparting device, 310, 320 CMC function imparting sheet, 312 CMC (carbon microcoil) coating layer, PT1 Individually packaged wet wiping sheet article (individually packaged paper towel), PT2 CMC function imparted wet wiping sheet article (CMC paper towel), CBPT Packaging container, CV Transfer device.

Claims

1. A wet wiping sheet article comprising a base sheet that has been moistened to a predetermined moisture content, and water containing a sanitary component consisting of antibacterial / antifungal components, which is impregnated into the base sheet with a predetermined amount of water, wherein the water containing the sanitary component contains a cationic agent at a predetermined concentration in the moisture of the base sheet, and furthermore, by adding a carbon microcoil-induced function using a carbon microcoil to the base sheet and / or the water containing the sanitary component, the article is modified into a carbon microcoil-function-granting article while maintaining the concentration of the cationic agent.

2. A wet wiping sheet article comprising: a pulp-based base sheet made from pulp-based raw materials and moistened to a predetermined moisture content; and water containing sanitary components consisting of antibacterial / antifungal components, which is impregnated into the base sheet with a predetermined amount of water, wherein the water containing sanitary components contains a cationic agent at a predetermined concentration in the moisture of the base sheet; and further, by adding a carbon microcoil-induced function using a carbon microcoil to the base sheet and / or the water containing sanitary components, the article is modified into a carbon microcoil-function-granting article while maintaining the concentration of the cationic agent.

3. The wet wiping sheet article according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the carbon microcoil-induced function is a function to improve telomere values ​​and / or an improvement in 8OHdG values.

4. A method for manufacturing a carbon microcoil-function-added wet and cleansing sheet article, comprising: a first step of manufacturing individually packaged wet and cleansing sheet articles; a second step of manufacturing a packaged wet and cleansing sheet product by packaging a large number of the individually packaged wet and cleansing sheet articles in a packaging container; and a third step of manufacturing a carbon microcoil-function-added wet and cleansing sheet product, in which a carbon microcoil-induced function is added to the packaged wet and cleansing sheet product by carbon microcoils, so that all of the individually packaged wet and cleansing sheet articles in the packaging container are carbon microcoil-function-added wet and cleansing sheet articles with the carbon microcoil-induced function added.

5. A method for manufacturing a carbon microcoil-function paper towel, which is obtained by adding a carbon microcoil-induced function to a paper towel as a moist wiping sheet article, comprising: a first step of manufacturing individually packaged paper towels; a second step of manufacturing a packaged paper towel product by packaging a large number of the individually packaged paper towels into a packaging container; and a third step of manufacturing a carbon microcoil-function paper towel product, in which a carbon microcoil-induced function is added to the packaged paper towel product by a carbon microcoil, so that all of the individually packaged paper towels in the packaging container are carbon microcoil-function paper towels with the carbon microcoil-induced function added.

6. A method for manufacturing a carbon microcoil-function-granting wet-wiping sheet article according to claim 4, wherein the manufacturing method uses a wet-wiping sheet article manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the first step, a packaging table installed at a predetermined distance or in close proximity to the downstream end of the wet-wiping sheet article manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the second step, and a carbon microcoil-granting apparatus for carrying out the third step, wherein the manufacturing method includes a carbon microcoil-induced function addition step in the third step, in which the carbon microcoil-granting apparatus is used to add a carbon microcoil-induced function to the individually packaged wet-wiping sheet article, A method for manufacturing a carbon microcoil-function-impregnated wet and cleansing sheet article, characterized in that, in a pre-carbon microcoil-induced function-impregnating step using the carbon microcoil-function-impregnating device, when the packaging container is placed on the upper surface of the packaging table, the individually packaged wet and cleansing sheet article inside the packaging container receives a carbon microcoil-induced action from the carbon microcoil-function-impregnating sheet that moves from below to above, within the time interval during which the packaging container is placed on the packaging table, and is transformed into the carbon microcoil-function-impregnated wet and cleansing sheet article.

7. A method for manufacturing a carbon microcoil-function-granting wet-wiping sheet article according to claim 4, the manufacturing method comprising: a wet-wiping sheet article manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the first step; a packaging table installed at a predetermined distance or in close proximity to the downstream end of the wet-wiping sheet article manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the second step; a first carbon microcoil-function-granting apparatus and a second carbon microcoil-function-granting apparatus for carrying out the third step; and a transfer apparatus for transferring a carbon microcoil-function-granting wet-wiping sheet product from the first carbon microcoil-function-granting apparatus to the second carbon microcoil-function-granting apparatus, wherein the manufacturing method comprises, in the third step, a first carbon microcoil-induced function-granting step of adding a carbon microcoil-induced function by carbon microcoils to the individually packaged wet-wiping sheet article using the first carbon microcoil-function-granting apparatus, The third step includes a second carbon microcoil-induced function addition step in which a carbon microcoil-induced function is added to the individually packaged moist wiping sheet article using the second carbon microcoil-induced function addition device, wherein in the first carbon microcoil-induced function addition step using the first carbon microcoil-induced function addition device, when the packaging container is placed on the upper surface of the packaging table, the individually packaged moist wiping sheet article inside the packaging container receives a carbon microcoil-induced action from the carbon microcoil-induced function addition device that moves from below to above, within the time interval in which the packaging container is placed on the packaging table, and is transformed into the carbon microcoil-induced moist wiping sheet article.In the second carbon microcoil-induced function addition step using the second carbon microcoil-induced function addition step, the carbon microcoil-induced function-added wet cleaning sheet article obtained in the first carbon microcoil-induced function addition step is transported from the starting position to the ending position of the transport device, passing through the inside of the second carbon microcoil-induced function-adding device, and while the packaging container is facing the three carbon microcoil-induced function-adding sheets provided on the top surface and both left and right sides inside the second carbon microcoil-induced function-adding device, the carbon microcoil-induced function-added wet cleaning sheet article in the packaging container is always subjected to additional carbon microcoil-induced action from three directions by the three carbon microcoil-induced function-adding sheets, thereby transforming it into a carbon microcoil-induced function-added wet cleaning sheet article with enhanced carbon microcoil-induced function.

8. A method for manufacturing a paper towel with carbon microcoil function according to claim 5, wherein the manufacturing method uses a paper towel manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the first step, a packaging table installed at a predetermined distance or in close proximity to the downstream end of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the second step, and a carbon microcoil function-adding apparatus for carrying out the third step, wherein the manufacturing method includes a carbon microcoil-induced function-adding step in which the carbon microcoil-induced function is added to the individually packaged paper towel product using the first carbon microcoil function-adding apparatus, A method for manufacturing a carbon microcoil-function-impregnated wet wiping sheet article, characterized in that, in the carbon microcoil-induced function impregnation step using the carbon microcoil-impregnating device, when the packaging container is placed on the upper surface of the packaging table, the individually wrapped paper towels inside the packaging container receive a carbon microcoil-induced action from the carbon microcoil-impregnating sheet, moving from below to above, within the time interval during which the packaging container is placed on the packaging table, and are transformed into carbon microcoil-function-impregnated paper towels.

9. A method for manufacturing a paper towel with carbon microcoil function according to claim 5, the manufacturing method comprising: a paper towel manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the first step; a packaging table installed at a predetermined distance or in close proximity to the downstream end of the paper towel manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the second step; a first carbon microcoil function imparting apparatus and a second carbon microcoil function imparting apparatus for carrying out the third step; and a transfer apparatus for transferring a paper towel product with carbon microcoil function imparting from the first carbon microcoil function imparting apparatus to the second carbon microcoil function imparting apparatus, wherein the manufacturing method comprises, in the third step, a first carbon microcoil function imparting step of adding a carbon microcoil-induced function by carbon microcoils to the individually packaged paper towel product using the first carbon microcoil function imparting apparatus, The third step includes a second carbon microcoil-induced function addition step in which a carbon microcoil-induced function is added to the packaged paper towel product using the second carbon microcoil-induced function addition device, wherein in the first carbon microcoil-induced function addition step using the first carbon microcoil-induced function addition device, when the packaged container is placed on the upper surface of the packaged table, the individually packaged paper towels inside the packaged container receive a carbon microcoil-induced action from the carbon microcoil-induced function addition sheet directed from below to above within the time interval in which the packaged container is placed on the packaged table, and are transformed into carbon microcoil-induced paper towels.A method for manufacturing a carbon microcoil-function-granting wet cleaning sheet article, characterized in that, in the second carbon microcoil-induced function-granting step using the second carbon microcoil-induced function-granting device, the carbon microcoil-function-granting paper towel obtained in the first carbon microcoil-induced function-granting step is transported from the starting position to the ending position of the transport device, passing through the inside of the second carbon microcoil-induced function-granting device, and while the packaging container is facing the three carbon microcoil-function-granting sheets provided on the top surface and both left and right sides inside the second carbon microcoil-induced function-granting device, the carbon microcoil-function-granting paper towel inside the packaging container is always subjected to additional carbon microcoil-induced effects from three directions by the three carbon microcoil-function-granting sheets, thereby transforming into a carbon microcoil-function-granting paper towel with enhanced carbon microcoil-induced function.

10. The carbon microcoil function-imparting sheet is characterized in that the carbon microcoil content is set to an arbitrary value within the range of approximately 2.0 mg / cm² to approximately 3.5 mg / cm², and the carbon microcoil function-imparting step is carried out using the carbon microcoil function-imparting sheet, as described in 6 or 7.

11. The carbon microcoil function-imparting sheet is characterized in that the amount of carbon microcoils blended is an arbitrary value within the range of approximately 2.0 mg / cm² to approximately 3.5 mg / cm², and the carbon microcoil function-imparting step is carried out using the carbon microcoil function-imparting sheet, as described in 8 or 9.

12. The carbon microcoil function-granting sheet comprises a rectangular base sheet and a carbon microcoil coating layer formed on the upper surface of the base sheet to form a coating film, wherein the carbon microcoil coating layer is a coating film of a predetermined thickness formed by applying and fixing a carbon microcoil coating, which is obtained by adding carbon microcoils having a predetermined coil diameter, a predetermined fiber diameter, and a predetermined coil length in a predetermined amount to a predetermined matrix, to the upper surface of the base sheet, and the carbon microcoil function-granting sheet comprises a predetermined number of carbon microcoil coating layers arranged on a single base sheet in predetermined rows on the left and right and predetermined rows on the top and bottom, such that they are adjacent to each other at predetermined intervals in the left-right and top-bottom directions, respectively, and the method for manufacturing a carbon microcoil function-granting wet-wiping sheet article according to 6 or 7, characterized in that the carbon microcoil function-granting sheet is used to carry out the carbon microcoil function-granting step.

13. The carbon microcoil function-granting sheet comprises a rectangular base sheet and a carbon microcoil coating layer formed on the upper surface of the base sheet to form a coating film, wherein the carbon microcoil coating layer is a coating film of a predetermined thickness formed by applying and fixing a carbon microcoil coating, which is obtained by adding carbon microcoils having a predetermined coil diameter, a predetermined fiber diameter, and a predetermined coil length in a predetermined amount to a predetermined matrix, to the upper surface of the base sheet, and the carbon microcoil function-granting sheet is formed by arranging the carbon microcoil coating layers on a single base sheet in predetermined rows on the left and right and predetermined rows on the top and bottom, so that they are adjacent to each other at predetermined intervals in the left-right and top-bottom directions, respectively, and the method for manufacturing a paper towel with a carbon microcoil function according to 8 or 9, characterized in that the carbon microcoil function-granting step is carried out using the carbon microcoil function-granting sheet.

14. A carbon microcoil-function-imparting wet cleaning sheet article manufactured by the method for manufacturing a carbon microcoil-function-imparting wet cleaning sheet article according to claim 4, 6, or 7.

15. A paper towel with carbon microcoil functionality manufactured by the method for manufacturing a paper towel with carbon microcoil functionality described in claim 5, 8, or 9.

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