Voluminous Nonwoven Structure With Fiber-Ball Cohesion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing filling materials for textiles, such as down and fiber balls, lack cohesion, leading to instability and slipping in flat textile materials, and conventional nonwovens suffer from reduced fluffiness and elasticity over time.
Innovation Solution
A method involving an airlaid process using nonwoven raw materials with fiber balls and binding fibers, where the mixture is processed between spiked rollers to pull out fibers and hook them together, enhancing cohesion and stability through thermal solidification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If fiber balls are used as filling material, then fluffiness and thermal insulation are improved, but cohesion and stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Binding fibers act as an intermediary substance between fiber balls, creating connection points that provide cohesion while preserving the fluffiness of the fiber balls. The binding fibers form a network that holds the voluminous fiber balls together without compressing them excessively.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite structure combining fiber balls (for fluffiness and insulation) with binding fibers (for cohesion and stability). This composite nonwoven material integrates the advantages of both components while mitigating their individual disadvantages.
2Stability of the object's composition
If binding fibers are added to fiber balls, then cohesion is improved, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the introduction of binding fibers with the existing airlaid process, combining two functions (fiber ball deposition and binding fiber integration) into a single continuous process step, thereby avoiding additional complex processing stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The binding fibers are introduced in a form that allows them to self-organize and connect to fiber balls during the airlaid process, reducing the need for complex control systems or additional processing steps to achieve proper bonding.
3Stability of the object's composition
If needling is applied to stabilize fiber balls, then stability is improved, but density increases and fluffiness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the mechanical needling process with a thermal bonding process. Instead of using mechanical needles to penetrate and interlock fibers, heat is applied to melt and fuse binding fibers at connection points, achieving stability without the compressive effect of needling.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal bonding process utilizes phase transition (melting) of the binding fibers to create strong bonds between fiber balls. The binding fibers are heated to their melting point, allowing them to flow and form adhesive bonds that stabilize the structure without mechanical compression.
4Stability of the object's composition
If fiber balls are thermally bonded, then stability is improved, but handling as sheet material becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Thermal bonding is applied locally only at connection points where binding fibers contact fiber balls, rather than uniformly across the entire material. This localized bonding provides stability where needed while leaving other areas sufficiently flexible for handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal bonding process is applied partially, bonding only a portion of the fibers at strategic connection points rather than completely bonding all fibers. This partial bonding achieves sufficient stability for most applications while maintaining the flexibility and softness needed for handling as sheet material.
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 voluminous nonwoven with high stability, tensile strength, and softness, maintaining low density and fluffiness, suitable for textile applications and handling as a sheet material.
Implementation Method 1
processing the nonwoven raw material in the device in an airlaid process, wherein the nonwoven raw material passes through the gap between the spiked rollers, fibers or fiber bundles being pulled out of the fiber balls by the spikes
Implementation Method 2
thermal solidification to obtain the volumetric nonwoven
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to methods for producing a volume nonwoven fabric, comprising the following steps: a) provision of a nonwoven fabric raw material, containing fiber balls and binding fibers, b) provision of an air-laying device, which has at least two spiked rollers, between which a gap is formed, c) processing of the nonwoven fabric raw material in the device in an air-laying method, wherein the nonwoven fabric raw material passes through the gap between the spiked rollers, wherein fibers or fiber bundles are pulled from the fiber balls by the spikes, d) laying on a laying apparatus, and e) thermal bonding, whereby the volume nonwoven fabric is obtained. The invention further relates to a volume nonwoven fabric comprising a volume-providing material, to uses thereof, and to textile materials.