Volume nonwoven fabric

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional padding materials like downs, animal hairs, and fiber nonwovens lack cohesion, leading to instability and reduced fleeciness, while fiber balls with protruding hooks are complex to produce and have limited stability due to surface binding, resulting in poor performance in flat textile applications.

Innovation Solution

A method involving an air-laying process using spiked rollers to process nonwoven fabric raw materials containing fiber balls and binder fibers, which increases cohesion and stability by uniformly distributing and thermally bonding the fibers, creating a highly homogeneous and stable volume nonwoven fabric with enhanced tensile strength and softness.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If conventional fiber nonwovens are used as padding material, then they provide thermal insulation, but they have lower fleeciness and reduced thickness over time

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvethermal insulationVSAvoidthickness stability

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines fiber balls with binder fibers to create a composite nonwoven fabric structure. The fiber balls provide voluminous padding and thermal insulation, while the binder fibers interconnect the fiber balls to maintain structural stability and prevent thickness reduction over time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Temperature

If fiber balls are used as padding material, then they provide high fleeciness and thermal insulation, but they have low cohesion and slip in flat textile materials

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvethermal insulationVSAvoidcohesion

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The binder fibers act as an intermediary element between the fiber balls. These binder fibers interconnect multiple fiber balls, providing cohesion and preventing slippage while allowing the fiber balls to maintain their voluminous structure for thermal insulation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Strength

If fiber balls with protruding hooks are used to improve connection, then cohesion increases, but production becomes complex and fiber ends kink during transport

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovecohesionVSAvoidproduction complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of modifying fiber balls with complex hook structures, the patent uses simple binder fibers that are easier to produce and handle. These binder fibers provide sufficient connection without requiring complex production processes or special fiber ball modifications.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

4Stability of the object's composition

If needling is applied to stabilize fiber balls, then stability increases, but density increases and fleeciness decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovestabilityVSAvoidfleeciness

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical needling process with thermal bonding of binder fibers. This substitution provides sufficient stability through thermal bonding without the mechanical penetration and compression that needling causes, thereby preserving fleeciness and volume.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

5Stability of the object's composition

If binder fibers thermally bond fiber balls in nonwoven fabric, then stability increases, but density increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovestabilityVSAvoiddensity

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The binder fibers are distributed throughout the nonwoven fabric to provide localized bonding points between fiber balls. This local bonding approach provides overall stability while maintaining the loose, voluminous structure of individual fiber balls, preventing excessive density increase.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

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 method produces a volume nonwoven fabric with high stability, low density, and excellent thermal insulation, maintaining softness and fleeciness, suitable for textile applications, and is washable and rollable without additional mechanical bonding steps.

Implementation Method 1

processing the nonwoven fabric raw material in the device in an air-laying method, the nonwoven fabric raw material passing through the gap between the spiked rollers

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAir-laying:

Implementation Method 2

thermally bonding so as to obtain the volume nonwoven fabric

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermal bonding:

Data Source

PatentUS10876234B2Volume nonwoven fabric

Publication Date: 2020.12.29 CARL FREUDENBERG KG

AI summary

A method for producing a volume nonwoven fabric includes the steps of: (a) providing a nonwoven fabric raw material, containing fiber balls and binder fibers; (b) providing an air-laying device, which has at least two spiked rollers between which a gap is formed; (c) processing the nonwoven fabric raw material in the device in an air-laying method, the nonwoven fabric raw material passing through the gap between the spiked rollers, fibers or fiber bundles being pulled from the fiber balls by the spikes; (d) laying on a laying apparatus; and (e) thermally bonding so as to obtain the volume nonwoven fabric.