AN ARTIFICIAL DOWN FILLING MATERIAL

Abstract

An artificial down filling material comprising artificial down clusters (1), wherein each of the down clusters (1) comprise a number of filaments (10) arranged side by side in a bundle, the filaments (10) being bonded, preferably melt bonded, together at a bonding location 20, wherein the filaments (10) are self-crimped, multi-component filaments (10), the cross-section of the multi-component filament having at least three corners (211).

Claims

1. An artificial down filling material comprising artificial down clusters, wherein each of the down clusters comprise a number of filaments arranged side by side in a bundle, the filaments being bonded together at a bonding location, wherein at least 50% by weight of the total amount of filaments are self-crimped multi-component filaments, the cross-section of at least 50% by weight of the total amount of the multi-component filaments having at least three corners, and wherein the bundle of filaments optionally is textured.

2. The artificial down filling material according to claim 1, wherein the cross-section of at least 75% by weight of the total amount of the multi-component filaments has at least three corners; and/or wherein at least 75% by weight of the total amount of filaments are self-crimped multi-component filaments; and/or wherein the bonding location extends along less than 20% of the length of the filaments; and/or wherein the filaments are melt bonded together at a bonding location.

3-4. (canceled)

5. The artificial down filling material according to claim 1, wherein: the linear density of the filaments is 0.5 to 10 dtex; and/or the filaments are 20 to 120 mm long; and/or wherein the cross-section of the filaments has three corners, optionally the sides of the cross-section connecting the corners (211) being concave; and/or wherein each down cluster comprises 50 to 1000 filaments.

6. The artificial down filling material according to claim 1, wherein the artificial down filling material comprises a first and second type of artificial down clusters, the two types of clusters differing in the position of the bonding location, the bonding location in the first type of clusters being essentially centered, and the bonding location in the second type of clusters being closer to one end of the filaments.

7. The artificial down filling material according to claim 6, wherein the artificial down filling material comprises a higher proportion of the clusters of the first type than of the second type of clusters.

8. (canceled)

9. The artificial down filling material according to claim 1, wherein a first component of the multi-component filament comprises a first thermoplastic polymer and a second component of the multi-component filament comprises a second thermoplastic polymer, wherein the first and the second thermoplastic polymers have different yield behavior, the multi-component filaments thereby being self-crimping, wherein the first and/or the second thermoplastic polymer is distributed eccentrically over the cross-section of the multi-component filament, optionally the multi-component filament being a bi-component filament.

10. (canceled)

11. The artificial down filling material according to claim 9, wherein the multi-component filaments are bi-component filaments and/or wherein the first thermoplastic polymer is present in an amount of to 80 wt % in the multi-component filament, and the second thermoplastic polymer is present in an amount of 80 to 20 wt %.

12. The artificial down filling material according to claim 9, wherein: the first thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), modified PET, polybutyleneterephthalate (PBT), poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT), co-polyesters, polyamides (PA), modified polyamides, co-polyamides, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyethylene furanoate (PEF), and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA); and the second thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), modified PET, polybutyleneterephthalate (PBT), poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT), co-polyesters, polyamides (PA), modified polyamides, co-polyamides, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyethylene furanoate (PEF), and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA).

13. The artificial down filling material according to claim 1, wherein the artificial down filling material further comprises artificial feathers.

14. The artificial down filling material according to claim 13, wherein each artificial feather comprises a first sheet of a first nonwoven material and a filament being arranged along one extension of said sheet, the filament being bonded to the first sheet.

15. An artificial down filling material comprising artificial down clusters and artificial feathers wherein each of the down clusters comprise a number of filaments arranged side by side in a bundle, the filaments being bonded together at a bonding location, wherein at least 50% by weight of the total amount of filaments are self-crimped multi-component filaments; optionally the artificial down filling material comprising 60 to 95% by weight of artificial down clusters and 5 to 30% by weight of artificial feathers.

16-28. (canceled)

29. An article filled with the artificial down filling material according to claim 1, wherein the article is selected from the group consisting of a pillow, a quilt, a sleeping bag, and a cushion member, e.g. a sofa cushion; preferably the article being a pillow, a sofa cushion, or a quilt, such as a pillow.

30. A method for providing an artificial down filling material, the artificial down filling material comprising artificial down clusters, wherein each of the down clusters comprise a number of filaments arranged side by side in a bundle, the bundle of filaments optionally being textured, the filaments being bonded together at a bonding location wherein at least 50% by weight of the total amount of the filaments are self-crimped, multi-component filaments, the cross-section of at least 50% by weight of the total amount of the multi-component filaments having at least three corners, said method comprising: bonding filaments in a yarn, the yarn optionally being textured, at bonding locations along the longitudinal extension of the yarn, wherein the yarn comprises at least 50% by weight of the total amount of filaments (10) being self-crimped, multi-component filaments the cross-section of at least 50% by weight of the total amount of the multi-component filaments having at least three corners; and cutting the yarn in between the bonding locations to provide bundles of the filaments arranged side by side, whereby providing the artificial down filling material.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein: the cross-section of the filaments has three corners; optionally the sides of the cross-section connecting the corners being concave; and/or each down cluster comprises 50 to 1000 filaments; and/or the linear density of the filaments is 0.5 to 10 dtex; and/or the filaments are 20 to 120 mm long.

32. The method according to claim 30, wherein a first component of the multi-component filament comprises a first thermoplastic polymer and a second component of the multi-component filament comprises a second thermoplastic polymer, wherein the first and the second thermoplastic polymers have different yield behavior, the multi-component filaments thereby being self-crimping, wherein the first and/or the second thermoplastic polymer is distributed eccentrically over the cross-section of the multi-component filament, optionally the multi-component filament being a bi-component filament.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein: the first thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), modified PET, polybutyleneterephthalate (PBT), poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT), co-polyesters, polyamides (PA), modified polyamides, co-polyamides, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyethylene furanoate (PEF), and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA); and the second thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), modified PET, polybutyleneterephthalate (PBT), poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT), co-polyesters, polyamides (PA), modified polyamides, co-polyamides, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyethylene furanoate (PEF), and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA).

34. The method according to claim 30, wherein the artificial down filling material comprises a first and a second type of artificial down clusters, the two types of clusters differing in the position of the bonding location, the bonding location in the first type of clusters being essentially centered, and the bonding location in the second type of clusters being closer to one end of the filaments; the method further comprising providing and mixing the first and second type of clusters to provide the artificial down filling material.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein the artificial down filling material comprises a higher proportion of the clusters of the first type than of the second type of clusters.

36. The method according to claim 30, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: extruding a first melt comprising a first thermoplastic polymer and a second melt comprising a second thermoplastic polymer through a die with an opening having at least three lobes, wherein the first and the second thermoplastic polymer have different yield behavior, into a multitude of multi-component filaments, a first component of the multi-component filaments comprising the first thermoplastic polymer and a second component of the multi-component filaments comprising the second thermoplastic polymer, and wherein the first and/or the second thermoplastic polymer is distributed eccentrically over the cross-section of the multi-component filament; drawing and solidifying the multi-component filaments to provide a multitude of self-crimped multi-component filaments; and optionally texturing and/or stretching the drawn multi-component filaments; and collecting the multitude of multi-component filaments as a yarn to be bonded and cut into artificial down clusters.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein the first and the second thermoplastic polymer are distributed side-by-side, and wherein the multi-component filament is a bi-component filament.

38. (canceled)

39. The artificial down filling material according to claim 1, wherein the down clusters have free filament ends at each of the ends of the cluster.

40. The artificial down filling material according to claim 9, wherein the first thermoplastic polymer is PET and the second polymer is PBT.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0075] These and other aspects, features and advantages of which the invention is capable of will be apparent and elucidated from the following description of embodiments of the present invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0076] FIG. 1 shows a photograph of an artificial down cluster according to an embodiment;

[0077] FIG. 2 shows a photograph of an artificial down cluster according to an embodiment;

[0078] FIG. 3a illustrates artificial down cluster according to the embodiment in FIG. 1.

[0079] FIG. 3b illustrates artificial down cluster according to the embodiment in FIG. 2.

[0080] FIG. 4a-c shows cross-sections of filaments with a tri-lobal cross-section according to three embodiments;

[0081] FIGS. 5a-c show photographs of bundles comprising: [0082] a) bi-component filaments with a tri-lobal cross-section; [0083] b) conventional filaments with a round cross-section (control); and [0084] c) filaments with a dog bone like cross-section (control);

[0085] FIG. 6 shows a photograph of an artificial feather to be mixed with artificial down cluster to provide an artificial down filling material according to an embodiment;

[0086] FIG. 7 shows an apparatus for processing a yarn into an artificial down cluster according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0087] In FIG. 1, a photograph of an artificial down cluster 1 is provided. The down cluster comprises around 300 filaments 10 arranged side by side in a bundle. The filaments are melt bonded together at one bonding location 20, being essentially centered. The filaments are 60 mm long bi-component filaments, being self-crimped, and having a cross-section with three corners 211 (cf. FIG. 4c). The filaments 10 are side-by-side bi-component fibers comprising 50 wt. % PET (F61HC from Eastman with 3 wt. % of a silicone additive—Dow Corning® MB50-010 Masterbatch) and 50 wt. % PBT (B2550 from BASF). The bundle of filaments is textured.

[0088] In FIG. 2, a photograph of an artificial down cluster 1 is provided. The down cluster comprises around 300 filaments 10 arranged side by side in a bundle. The filaments are melt bonded together at one bonding location 20, being closer to one end of the filaments 10. The filaments are the same kind of filaments as in FIG. 1. The bundle of filaments is textured.

[0089] As schematically shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the down cluster 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively, comprise a number of filaments 10 arranged side by side in a bundle. The filaments are melt bonded together at one bonding location 20. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3a, the bonding location 20 is essentially centered, whereas the bonding location 20 in the embodiment shown in in FIG. 3b, is closer to one end of the filaments 10.

[0090] As can be seen in FIG. 4, showing cross-sections of bi-component filaments with three corners 211, the two components in the bi-component filaments are not symmetrically distributed. Further, as can be seen in the figure, the sides 212 of the cross-section of the filament 10 connecting the corners 211 are concave, i.e. curved inwards towards the center of the cross-section. Whereas the cross-section of the filaments according to the embodiment in FIG. 4a clearly is tri-lobal, the cross-section of the filaments according to the embodiment in FIG. 4c is more triangular, also the sides of this cross-section are however slightly concave. As can been seen in FIG. 4c, the first component 213 and the second component 214 of the bi-component fiber are arranged side-by-side.

[0091] As can be seen in FIG. 5, a bundle, comprising filaments 10 with a tri-lobal cross-section (FIG. 5a), is far more fluffy than a bundle comprising filaments with a round (FIG. 5b), or flat (FIG. 5c), cross-section.

[0092] Further, an artificial feather 100 (cf. FIG. 6) were provided in accordance with the disclosure in PCT/SE2020/050873. The artificial feather was 60 mm long L and 36 mm wide W. It comprised a spunbond nonwoven material with a surface weight of 10 g/m 2 and a filament 120 (0.5 mm in diameter) being arranged along the spunbond nonwoven material. The filament 120 is present between two strips 110 of the spunbond nonwoven material. The strips 110 are at least bonded together along a number of bonding lines 130 arranged in a fish bone pattern. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the filament 120 and has the shape of an arc.

[0093] By combining 20% by weight of such feathers with 80% by weight of artificial down cluster (60% of the ones in FIGS. 1 and 40% of the ones in FIG. 2), an artificial down filling material with 15% lower weight than a natural filling material comprising 40% by weight of natural feathers and 60% by weight of natural down was provided. The artificial down filling material provided essentially the same comfort and resilience as the natural filling material in consumer tests.

[0094] As can be seen in FIG. 7, yarn 2 comprising filaments 10 being self-crimped multi-component filaments 10 may be processed into artificial down cluster 1 by feeding the yarn 2 from a yarn feeder 520 to a tensioner 530 to stretch it. The yarn 2 is then fed to a calender bonder 510 comprising rollers 511, 512, 513. The roller 512 is a heated roller provided with alternating bonding tips 515 and insulation pads 516 around its perimeter. In the calender bonder 510, the filaments 10 in the yarn 2 is melt bonded at bonding locations 20 along the longitudinal extension of a yarn 2 by calendering it between the rollers 511, 521. Downstream the calender bonder 510, the yarn is cut into down clusters 1, by cutting the filaments 10 in between the bonding locations 20 in a staple cutter 550 to provide down clusters 1.

Example

[0095] An artificial down filling material comprising artificial down clusters and artificial feathers was provided. The artificial down filling material comprised 80 wt. % of artificial down blend of down clusters (60 wt. % end-bonded and 40 wt. % mid-bonded) and 20 wt. % of artificial feathers. The artificial feathers consisted of a 60 mm long×18 mm wide strips with a surface weigh of 10 g/m 2 comprising a filament sandwiched in between two sheets of a non-woven, the filament being centrally arranged in the longitudinal extension of the strip. The down cluster comprised 576 self-crimping, bi-component filaments (75 wt. % PET and 25 wt. % PBT) having a linear density of 4.6 dtex and a tri-lobal cross-section. The clusters were 60 mm long in outstretched state.

[0096] The artificial down filling material was subject to consumer testing, in which products (pillow and duvet) with the materials were compared to products with natural down and feathers (60% down, 40% feathers) and products with a synthetic polyester filling, respectively.

[0097] Methodology [0098] 9-week longitudinal user trials [0099] 7-8 respondents from each of Japan, Germany, UK and Sweden (31 total) [0100] After having agreed to a secrecy agreement, all respondents were sent 3×full size duvet and pillow samples to trial. Sets were labelled with the letters, but no information was given about the material filling (blind test) [0101] The trial involved 3×1-hour virtual interviews (start, middle and end), and use of Indeemo, a mobile research platform to capture in-the-moment experiences and video/photo footage throughout the trial period.

[0102] Sample [0103] Spread of age, life stage (pre-kids, family, empty nesters) and gender [0104] Low-mid income [0105] Living in urban areas [0106] Mix of NDF and synthetic owners

[0107] Results—Duvet

[0108] How comfortable was the duvet to sleep with: The artificial down filling material was reported to be slightly less comfortable than natural down/feathers but comparable to the commercial synthetic polyester filling.

[0109] To what extent does the duvet conform to the body when sleeping under it: The artificial down filling material was reported to be superior to the commercial synthetic polyester filling and comparable to natural down/feathers.

[0110] How well does the duvet help to regulate temperature throughout the night: all fillings provided similar results, but natural down/feathers was reported to be slightly better.

[0111] Results—Pillow

[0112] How comfortable was the pillow to sleep on: The artificial down filling material was reported to be superior to the commercial synthetic polyester filling and nearly comparable to natural down/feathers.

[0113] To what extent does the pillow compress when you lie your head on it: The artificial down filling material was reported to be comparable to natural down/feathers and distinct from the commercial synthetic polyester filling.

[0114] How well does the pillow recover after being compressed or flattened: The artificial down filling material was reported to be more similar to natural down/feathers than to the commercial synthetic polyester filling.

[0115] Results—Pillow and Duvet

[0116] How is the sound the duvet and pillow make a noise when moving the body or head: The sound of the artificial down filling material was reported be similar to the one of natural down/feathers and very distinct from the one of the commercial synthetic polyester filling.

[0117] What filling material is inside: For the artificial down filling material nearly 50% guessed (second best guess was about 15% for plant-based natural material, e.g. cotton) that the material inside was natural down/feathers (the corresponding figure for natural down/feathers was slightly above 60%).

[0118] Side-by-Side Comparison

[0119] In a side-by-side comparison with natural down/feathers, the artificial down filling material is reported to mimic natural down/feathers well, but overall to be slightly less preferred.