Urethane Foam Reinforcing Material for Uneven Shapes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional reinforcing materials for urethane foam struggle with insufficient formability and handleability when applied to highly uneven shapes, leading to issues like wrinkling, breakage, and increased friction with metal springs, while also being inefficient in productivity and quality.
Innovation Solution
A three-layer reinforcing material structure is developed, comprising nonwoven fabrics with specific single fiber linear densities and needle densities, laminated by needlepunching, with one layer having an initial modulus of 10 to 100 N/5 cm and the other 30 to 200 N/5 cm, and containing carbon black, enhancing entanglement, durability, and handleability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a reinforcing material with a bulky layer and dense layer is used to prevent urethane leakage, then urethane leakage is suppressed, but formability deteriorates causing wrinkling and breakage on highly uneven shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcing material is divided into multiple layers with different functions: an outer layer for formability and an inner layer for urethane leakage prevention. This segmentation allows each layer to optimize its specific function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite structure combining an outer nonwoven fabric layer with an inner nonwoven fabric layer containing carbon black. This composite material approach provides both formability and leakage prevention properties that neither material alone could achieve.
2Ease of operation
If a flexible nonwoven fabric made of elastomer is used to improve formability on highly uneven shapes, then handleability improves, but productivity deteriorates due to limited stamping capacity and inaccurate sewing
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the nonwoven fabric by controlling fiber diameter (0.5 to 2.5 dtex) and density to achieve optimal balance between flexibility for formability and structural integrity for productivity and sewing accuracy.
3Productivity
If conventional nonwoven fabrics are used for reinforcing material, then productivity is low due to manual sewing requirements, but using elastomer improves formability while reducing productivity further
Solution Approach 1:
The outer nonwoven fabric layer acts as an intermediary between the inner layer and the urethane foam, providing a surface that facilitates accurate sewing and maintains formability while enabling higher productivity through machine sewing.
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 effectively prevents urethane leakage, reduces friction with metal springs, improves stampability, and increases productivity and handleability, allowing for precise sewing and uniform cushioning distribution on highly uneven urethane foam shapes.
Implementation Method 1
a nonwoven fabric A having single fiber linear density of 1.0 to 3.0 dtex and a nonwoven fabric B having single fiber linear density of 0.5 to 2.5 dtex are laminated by needlepunching process by inserting needles from a direction of nonwoven fabric A
Data Source
AI summary
A reinforcing material for urethane foam effectively protects a molded urethane foam body and suppresses fricatives with a metal spring, having high productivity and excellent handleability and being applicable to a molded urethane foam body with highly uneven shape at low cost. It is a reinforcing material for urethane foam wherein a nonwoven fabric A having single fiber linear density of 1.0 to 3.0 dtex and a nonwoven fabric B having single fiber linear density of 0.5 to 2.5 dtex are laminated by needlepunching process by inserting needles from a direction of the nonwoven fabric A with a needle density of 35 to 70 needles/cm2.