Buffer Substrate Using Thermal Adhesive Fibers and Moisture Bonding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing buffer substrates for applications like furniture, bedding, and footwear face challenges with air-permeability, cushion property, shape stability, and fiber retention, often resulting in uncomfortable humid conditions and poor durability.
Innovation Solution
A nonwoven fiber assembly with thermal adhesive fibers under moisture, entangled and bonded using high-temperature water vapor, creating a uniform distribution of bonded points and crimps, enhancing air-permeability and cushion properties while preventing fiber fall-off.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If foamed urethane is used as cushion material, then cushion property is improved, but air-permeability deteriorates and texture becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a fiber assembly structure with inherent porosity and void spaces between fibers, allowing air permeability while maintaining cushioning properties. The three-dimensional crimped fibers create a porous network that enables breathability unlike solid foamed urethane.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines multiple fiber types including crimped fibers for cushioning, thermal adhesive fibers for bonding, and potentially other functional fibers to create a composite nonwoven structure that simultaneously achieves softness, air-permeability, and shape stability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If fiber assembly with thermal adhesive component is used, then shape stability is improved, but fiber fall-off occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the adhesive function from the structural fibers by incorporating a dedicated thermal adhesive fiber component that melts during heat treatment to bond the crimped fibers together, preventing fiber fall-off while maintaining the three-dimensional structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal adhesive fibers undergo a phase transition from solid to molten state during heat treatment, enabling them to flow and bond the fiber assembly together. Upon cooling, they solidify to lock the structure in place, preventing fiber displacement and fall-off.
3Strength
If high-temperature heat treatment is applied to bond fibers, then bonding strength is improved, but fiber damage and uniformity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal adhesive fibers act as intermediaries that facilitate bonding between crimped fibers during heat treatment. These adhesive fibers are distributed throughout the assembly to ensure uniform bonding across the entire structure, preventing localized overheating and fiber damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent carefully controls heat treatment parameters including temperature, time, and moisture content to optimize the melting and bonding process. By adjusting these parameters, the adhesive fibers melt sufficiently to bond fibers strongly while preventing excessive heat that could damage the crimped fiber structure.
4Strength
If fiber crimp is increased to improve cushion property, then softness is improved, but fiber entanglement and uniformity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The crimped fibers are pre-formed with three-dimensional curls before assembly, allowing them to be arranged in a controlled manner within the nonwoven structure. This preliminary crimping ensures uniform distribution of cushioning properties throughout the material without random fiber entanglement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a substrate with improved air-permeability, excellent cushion properties, and shape stability, suitable for various applications including vehicle seats, brassiere cups, and shoe insoles, ensuring comfort and durability.
Implementation Method 1
subjecting the web to a heat and moisture treatment with high-temperature water vapor to melt the thermal adhesive fiber under moisture, thereby bonding the fibers to each other
Implementation Method 2
comprises a thermal adhesive fiber under moisture... bonding the fibers to each other by melting the thermal adhesive fiber under moisture
Data Source
AI summary
In a nonwoven fiber assembly which comprises a fiber comprising a thermal adhesive fiber under moisture and in which the fiber are entangled with each other, the fibers are bonded at contacting points of the fibers by melting the thermal adhesive fiber under moisture to distribute the bonded points approximately uniformly, thereby obtaining a buffer substrate. The buffer substrate may further comprises a conjugated fiber comprising a plurality of resins which are different in thermal shrinkage and form a phase separation structure, and the conjugated fibers may have an approximately uniform crimps having an average curvature radius of 20 to 200 μm and are entangled with the fibers constituting the nonwoven fiber assembly. The buffer substrate can be obtained by a method comprising the steps of: forming a web from the fiber comprising the thermal adhesive fiber under moisture; and subjecting the obtained fiber web to a heat and moisture treatment with a high-temperature water vapor to melt the thermal adhesive fiber under moisture for bonding the fibers. The buffer substrate has a high air-permeability, an excellent cushion property and softness.