Polymer Processing Research Institute Ltd.

Nippon Petrochemicals Company, Limited

Sekisui Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Masahide Yazawa

Kazuhiko Kurihara

Haruhisa Tani

Hiroshi Yazawa

Masaki Matsumoto

Yasuo Sasaki

Hirosi Yazawa

Kenichi Narikawa

Teruo Kubo

Kunio Suzuki

A method is disclosed for transversely stretching a fibrous or film-like material. The material is subjected to a monoaxial transverse stretch which progresses divergently along an arcuate track. An apparatus to implement this method is also disclosed, which essentially comprises a pair of pulleys and a pair of V-belts cooperating in releasably gripping therebetween opposite selvages of a given material, the pulleys being rotative in the same plane in opposite directions so that the material is stretched along a progressively diverging arcuate track.

Method for stretching a fibrous or film-like material

A reticular web of thermoplastic resin composed of split or slit fibers is longitudinally fed around a system of nip rollers as it is transversely spread along its selvages which then longitudinally shorten into contact with small-diameter end portions of one of the nip rollers. At least one dimensionally stable thread is attached to and along each of the web selvages to reinforce the latter. The web thus laterally spread is caused to heat-shrink at its middle portion on a heated drum until the middle portion is of substantially the same length as that of the selvages. Each of the selvages including the thread has a basis weight which is substantially the same as or smaller than that of the middle portion. The selvages of the reticular web thus treated are rendered dimensionally stable for guidance of the web in a manner to keep the latter constant widthwise while the web is wound around or reeled out from a take-up roll.

Method of manufacturing a reticular web having reinforced selvages

Longitudinal and transverse stretching of a tubular film is effected by gripping opposite selvages of the tubular film between a pair of substantially coplanar pulleys and a pair of endless belt means trained arcuately around the pulleys, respectively, and by rotating the pulleys at a peripheral speed greater than a speed of feed of the tubular film. As the film selvages progress along a pair of arcuate divergent paths, respectively, around the pulleys, the film is heated, reversed in direction of travel, and cut along the selvages into a pair of biaxially stretched sheets. Before stretching of the film, live steam is introduced into the tubular film for heating the same.

Method and apparatus for biaxially stretching a tubular film

A non-woven product of (1) a fleece layer with (2) sticking yarns arranged longitudinally in parallel at definite pitches and (3) a number of lines formed with short fibers of the fleece layer joined with filaments of an adhesive polymer adhering crosswise to the sticking yarns at parts where said filaments have been allocated on the surface of said fleece layer, is prepared by placing the fleece layer upon a warp layer composed of a number of yarns arranged flat in parallel at definite pitches into a definite width whose arrangement is fixed by laterally adhering a number of filaments of the adhesive polymer to said yarns and making the warp layer adhere to the fleece layer. Another type of non-woven product of a fleece layer is prepared by adhering cut sheets of another warp layer having the structure similar to the above-mentioned side by side without leaving any gaps between each other as wefts to the fleece layer surface of the non-woven product prepared as above-mentioned in a manner so as to sandwich the fleece layer between sticking yarns arranged longitudinally and in parallel and sticking yarns arranged laterally and in parallel. A fleece layer is placed upon a warp layer by filtering a fluid bearing numberless short fibers floating therein, through said warp layer as a filter medium, while running said warp layer over a stationary suction zone provided under the running warp layer.

Reinforced non-woven fabrics and method of making same

In the process where a shaped product of expanded polystyrene is continuously produced by passing preliminarily expanded beads of polystyrene interposed inside a carrying means comprising a circulating steam-permeable single belt or a set of belts of the same nature through a pressurized steam chamber provided with pressure-sealing means at the inlet and the outlet thereof, thereby closely integrating the beads into a sheet through softening and expansion of the beads by steam heating, then cooling the resulting shaped product, and separating the shaped product from the carrying belt or belts, while withdrawing the shaped product to a successive step and returning the carrying belt or belts to the inlet side of the pressurized steam chamber, at least one of the surfaces of the carrying belt(s) is wetted with water before supplying the preliminarily expanded beads onto the belt(s) on the inlet side of the pressurized steam chamber, and thereafter the preliminarily expanded beads are supplied in excess onto the wetted surface(s) of the belt(s), the beads free from the adhering action due to the surface tension of water on the surface(s) of the belt(s) are removed from the belt(s), and the remaining beads attached to the wet belt(s) are fed into the pressurized steam chamber, while being interposed between the belts.

Supplying method for preliminarily expanded polystyrene beads in a thin

An improved method for effecting cross-lamination of wide warp and weft webs is provided, wherein a continuous row of cut weft webs having a length corresponding to the width of the warp web to be cross-laminated thereto and arranged in side by side relationship is temporarily prepared on a warp material which is (1) a belt means from which said row of weft webs is transferred onto a warp web in order to be fixed thereto for effecting cross-lamination, (2) a warp web backed up by a belt means from which said row is peeled off in the state loaded on the warp web in order to be fixed thereto for effecting cross-lamination, or (3) a warp web itself to which said row is fixed for effecting cross-lamination, so that the warp material travelling crosswise over the cut weft web at a vertical distance apart therefrom and having been wetted with a liquid having adhesion property to the surface thereof facing said cut weft webs is subjected to successive reciprocating vertical motions so as to touch and pick up the cut weft webs one by one by temporary adhesion to the warp material arranged in side by side relationship, due to the adhesion property of said liquid wetting the surface of the warp material.

Method for producing a cross-laminated cloth-like product from wide warp

A novel product wherein cut webs for wefts (which are abbreviated as weft webs) are successively connected in the warp direction by selvedges adhered onto both the margins of the weft webs, is provided by circulating two right and left heated belts having thereon a hot-melt type adhesive in a tacky state and spaced by the length of each of weft webs of a large width mentioned below; adhering onto each of the belts, selvedge materials which constitute the selvedges of final product and are hereinafter abbreviated merely as selvedges; suddenly dropping the two belts having the selvedges adhered thereonto, on the lower side circulating route of the belts, down onto one of weft webs loaded successively and at a given gap on a conveyer circulating below the belts perpendicularly thereto, over the length corresponding to the width of the weft webs, when both the ends of one of the weft webs and the corresponding belts overlap each other, thereby to adhere both the ends of the weft web onto the corresponding selvedges having said adhesive on their lower surfaces, and just thereafter suddenly elevating the belts thereby to strip and hang up the weft web adhered onto the selvedges from the conveyer; repeating the above-mentioned procedure; and peeling the resulting selvedges having successive weft webs adhered thereonto from the belts to give said novel product.

Method for producing a product comprising weft webs of large width

Flat plate-type, rod-type or shaped articles of polystyrene foam are continuously produced from preliminarily expanded beads of polystyrene or a mixture of said preliminarily expanded beads with foamed polystyrene pieces recovered for reuse as raw materials by enveloping the beads with a circulating steam-permeable belt, such as cloth belt, passing the enveloped beads through a pressure sealing conduit capable of throttling and succesively a heating zone in a pressure steam chamber at a temperature between 100.degree. and 125.degree.C, thereby softening and re-expanding the preliminarily expanded beads by steam heating, reducing the apparent volume of the enveloped re-expanded beads in a course towards a pressure sealing conduit at an outlet of the pressure steam chamber, thereby allowing the softened and re-expanded beads to adhere tightly one to another in a continuous foamed mass, or also additionally to a liner material, when accompanied therewith, cooling the enveloped foamed mass while maintaining a limited volume of the enveloped foamed mass, and separating the resulting shaped product of foamed mass from the belt by a set of rollers at the end of processing line.

Process for continuously producing shaped articles of polystyrene foam

A stabilized laterally spread reticular web of split fibers is produced by feeding a web of split fibers onto a plurality of belts in side-by-side arrangement on the inlet side thereof, the belts circulating between an inlet-side roller and an outlet-side roller, the advancing route of the belts being planely diverging and the returning route of the belts being planely converging, making the surfaces of at least the belts among the plurality of belts, on which both the side edge parts of the web are placed, wet with a liquid, preferably water containing a small amount of a surfactant, laterally spreading the web on the advancing route of the belts to a given lateral spreading ratio, while temporarily fixing both the side edge parts of the web onto the belts by the surface tension of the liquid, withdrawing the web onto a rotating hot drum through a guide rod, applying suctions to both the side edge parts of the web on the drum, in order to laterally spread slacking side edge parts of the web outwards by the suctions, and drying and heat-treating the laterally spread web while travelling the laterally spread web from one drum to another in a series of several drums, thereby eliminating strains due to the lateral spreading. The resulting web is suitable for producing non-woven fabrics by lamination.

Method for producing laterally spread reticular web of split fibers

A method for shaping a tubular film in a downward and wet manner is provided in which an extruded tubular film is coagulated in contact with a coagulation liquid which flows down along the inside surface of a cylindrical composite perforated wall composed of a cylindrical perforated wall and cylindrically piled up circular rings of coiled wire provided in a single layer and in contact with the inner surface of said cylindrical perforated wall, provided in a negative pressure chamber connected to the lower part of a coagulation liquid-supplying pool; in this coagulation, coagulation liquid is fully utilized by mixing with a reflux coagulation liquid formed when a part of coagulation liquid once flows out through said wall and is collected in a plurality of coagulation liquid-collecting weirs provided around the outer surface of said wall, and then flows again through said wall to the inside thereof; and said film is drawn downward while being supported on the inner surface of said wall by friction due to suction under negative pressure and taken up by pinch rollers.

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Tokyo, Japan

Masahide Yazawa