Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a thermoplastic fiber web structure (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d), which forms a support structure through fiber filaments (21a, 21h, 21i, 21k, 21l, 21m, 21n, 21q) that are melt-bonded together, the fiber filaments being formed from a thermoplastic elastomer material. The present disclosure further relates to an automobile interior part comprising a thermoplastic fiber web structure as described above and a sleeve and/or fabric (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) fastened to the thermoplastic fiber web structure. The thermoplastic fiber web structure forms a support structure by melt extrusion of a thermoplastic elastomer material into a three-dimensional network structure, which has high resilience and recyclability. The automobile interior part, at the same time of ensuring support and comfort, achieves environmental protection, breathability and light weight. In particular, the thermoplastic material is subjected to a physical reaction rather than a chemical reaction during the melt extrusion process, so that the stability in the preparation process is better, and the product can be smoothly and controllably made. In addition, considering that conventional sleeve foaming fastening form cannot be applied to the thermoplastic fiber web structure, a completely novel fastening form is provided for the automobile interior part to match the wrapping of the thermoplastic fiber web structure.
Claims
1. A thermoplastic fiber web structure, characterized in that the thermoplastic fiber web structure forms a support structure through fiber filaments that are melt-bonded together, the fiber filaments being formed from a thermoplastic elastomer material.
2. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the thermoplastic elastomer is at least one selected from polyolefin elastomers, polyester elastomers and polyamide elastomers.
3. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the polyolefin elastomer is a polyalphaolefin elastomer.
4. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the hard segment of the polyester elastomer is polybutylene terephthalate or polyethylene terephthalate, and the soft segment is a polyester segment or a polyether segment.
5. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the polyamide elastomer is a nylon elastomer.
6. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the thermoplastic fiber web structure has at least two local regions with different densities, and the density difference between the at least two local regions is from 5 to 70 kg/m.sup.3, preferably 10 to 50 kg/m.sup.3 or 15 to 30 kg/m.sup.3.
7. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the at least two local regions in the thermoplastic fiber web structure have different density distributions of fiber filaments.
8. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the fiber filaments are distributed in the thermoplastic fiber web structure partly or wholly in an ordered arrangement and stacking manner.
9. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the fiber filaments in at least one local region are distributed therein partly or wholly in an orderly arrangement and stacking manner.
10. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the fiber filaments are hollow fiber filaments and/or solid fiber filaments.
11. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the wall thickness of the hollow fiber filaments is between 0.1 and 1 mm, and/or the diameter of the solid fiber filaments is between 0.5 and 2 mm.
12. The thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the overall density of the thermoplastic fiber web structure is between 25 and 150 kg/m.sup.3, preferably between 35 and 120 kg/m.sup.3.
13. An automobile interior part, characterized in that the automobile interior part comprises a thermoplastic fiber web structure as claimed in claim 1 and a sleeve and/or fabric, such as non-woven fabric, woven fabric or felt, fastened to the thermoplastic fiber web structure.
14. The automobile interior part as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the automobile interior part is a seat backrest, a seat cushion, a head rest, an armrest, or a leg rest.
15. The automobile interior part as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the sleeve has a sleeve strip that is hook fixed and connected to the thermoplastic fiber web structure by a fastener having an opening.
16. The automobile interior part as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that the material of the fastener is the same as that of the thermoplastic fiber web structure.
17. The automobile interior part as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that the fastening window of the thermoplastic fiber web structure corresponding to the fastener is compacted.
18. The automobile interior part as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that the automobile interior part comprises a fabric having a formed steel wire, the sleeve strip and the formed steel wire being hook fixed and connected to the thermoplastic fiber web structure by a fastener.
19. The automobile interior part as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the sleeve has a thermoplastic strip that is melt fixed and connected to the thermoplastic fiber web structure.
20. The automobile interior part as claimed in claim 19, characterized in that the material of the thermoplastic strip is the same as that of the thermoplastic fiber web structure.
21. The automobile interior part as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the sleeve has an I-shaped or Y-shaped plastic piece that rotates after insertion into the thermoplastic fiber web structure to fix and connect the sleeve to the thermoplastic fiber web structure.
22. The automobile interior part as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the fabric is fixed to the thermoplastic fiber web structure by means of an adhesive.
Description
DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0032] FIG. 1 is a partial schematic diagram of an automobile interior part according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0033] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the thermoplastic fiber web structure of FIG. 1;
[0034] FIG. 3 shows a variant of FIG. 1;
[0035] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the structure of the fiber filament of FIG. 2;
[0036] FIG. 5 shows a variant of FIG. 4;
[0037] FIG. 6 shows a variant of FIG. 2;
[0038] FIG. 7 shows another variant of FIG. 2;
[0039] FIG. 8 shows yet another variant of FIG. 2;
[0040] FIG. 9 shows yet another variant of FIG. 2;
[0041] FIG. 10 shows yet another variant of FIG. 2;
[0042] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a partial assembly of an automobile interior part according to another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0043] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the force on the thermoplastic fiber web structure of FIG. 11;
[0044] FIG. 13 shows a variant of FIG. 12;
[0045] FIG. 14 shows another variant of FIG. 12;
[0046] FIG. 15 shows yet another variant of FIG. 12;
[0047] FIG. 16 shows yet another variant of FIG. 12;
[0048] FIG. 17 shows yet another variant of FIG. 12;
[0049] FIG. 18 shows yet another variant of FIG. 12;
[0050] FIG. 19 shows yet another variant of FIG. 12;
[0051] FIG. 20 shows yet another variant of FIG. 12;
[0052] FIG. 21 is a partial schematic view of an automobile interior part according to yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0053] FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of the thermoplastic fiber web structure of FIG. 21;
[0054] FIG. 23 is a partial schematic view of an automobile interior part according to yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0055] FIG. 24 is a partial schematic view of an automobile interior part according to yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0056] FIG. 25 is a variant according to the present disclosure;
[0057] FIG. 26 is another variant according to the present disclosure;
[0058] FIG. 27 is yet another variant according to the present disclosure.
EMBODIMENTS OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0059] The preferred examples of the present disclosure are given below, which are described in detail in combination of the figures.
Example 1
[0060] As shown in FIG. 1, an automobile interior part according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is a seat backrest which comprises a sleeve 1a and a thermoplastic fiber web structure 2a forming a support structure. As shown in FIG. 2, the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2a is formed of polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21a (hard segment is polybutylene terephthalate or polyethylene terephthalate, and soft segment is a polyester segment or polyether segment) which are melt-bonded together themselves through melt extrusion. Returning to FIG. 1, the sleeve 1a has a sleeve strip 1a1, which is hook fixed and connected to the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2a by a C-shaped ring 3a which material is of polyester elastomer fibers. In this way, the material of the C-shaped ring 3a connecting the sleeve 1a and the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2a is the same as the material of the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2a, which are both a thermoplastic recyclable material. To enhance the stability, the fastening window 22 of the thermoplastic fiber web structure is compacted, as shown in FIG. 3, so as to improve hooking stability and provide a strong connection.
[0061] In this embodiment, the polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21a are hollow filaments, and the wall thickness of the hollow polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21a is 0.2 mm, as shown in FIG. 4. In another embodiment, the polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21b may be solid filaments, as shown in FIG. 5, the solid polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21b having a diameter of 1 mm. It should be understood that the softness/hardness of the automobile interior part can be adjusted by adjusting the wall thickness or diameter of the fiber filaments. Preferably, the wall thickness or diameter of the fiber filaments can be adjusted in the range of 0.1 to 2 mm. In particular, the wall thickness of the hollow filaments can be adjusted in the range of 0.1 to 1 mm, while the diameter of the solid filaments can be adjusted in the range of 0.5 to 2 mm.
[0062] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21a are uniformly distributed in each region of the seat backrest, so that the seat backrest has a single density (e.g., 80 kg/m.sup.3) and hardness (e.g., 10 kpa). In another embodiment, the polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21c are distributed in such a way that the density of the upper part is low and the density of the lower part is high, as shown in FIG. 6, so that the seat backrest has different densities and hardnesses from top to bottom, i.e. forming two local regions having different densities with the upper part having a density of 30 kg/m.sup.3 and the lower part having a density of 90 kg/m.sup.3. In yet another embodiment, the polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21d are distributed in such a way that the density in the middle is low and the density on two flanks is high, as shown in FIG. 7, so that the seat backrest has different densities and hardnesses from the flanks to the middle, i.e. forming three local regions with different densities. Here, the density of the flank parts is 80 kg/m.sup.3, and the density of the middle part is 60 kg/m.sup.3. In yet another embodiment, the polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21e are distributed in such a way that the density of the support part on the two flanks and the middle lower part is high, and the density on the middle upper part is low, as shown in FIG. 8, so that the seat backrest has locally different densities and hardnesses, i.e., forming two local regions with different densities. Here, the density of the flank parts and the middle lower part is 75 kg/m.sup.3, and the density of the middle upper part is 50 kg/m.sup.3. In yet another embodiment, the polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21f are distributed in such a way that the density of the middle inner part is low and the density of the middle outer part and the flank part is high, as shown in FIG. 9, so that the seat backrest has locally different densities and hardnesses, i.e., forming two local regions with different densities. In yet another embodiment, the polyester elastomer fiber filaments 21g are distributed in such a way that the density of the middle right part and the left flank is low and the density of the middle left part and the right flank is high, as shown in FIG. 10, so that the seat backrest has locally different densities and hardnesses, that is, forming four local regions having different densities. In this example, the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2a is controlled to have an overall density in the range of 40 to 90 kg/m.sup.3 and a hardness in the range of 4 to 15 kpa, regardless of whether it has a uniform density or has local regions with a plurality of different densities.
Example 2
[0063] As shown in FIG. 11, an automobile interior part according to another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is a seat cushion, which comprises a sleeve 1b, a thermoplastic fiber web structure 2b forming a support structure and a felt 4b. As shown in FIG. 12, the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2b is formed of polyalphaolefin elastomer filaments 21h which are melt-bonded together through 3D printing. Returning to FIG. 11, the sleeve 1b has a sleeve strip 1b1, and the felt 4b has a formed steel wire 4b1, both of which are hook fixed and connected to the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2b by a C-shaped ring 3b. The material of the C-shaped ring is the same as the material of the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2b, both of which are polyolefin materials, thereby providing a strong fixing force.
[0064] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the polyalphaolefin elastomer filaments 21h are uniformly distributed in each region of the seat cushion, so that the seat cushion has a uniform support. In other embodiments, the fiber filaments 21i, 21j, 21k, 21l, 21m, 21n are shaped to be distributed in an ordered arrangement and stacking manner in local regions or fiber web structure, as shown in FIG. 13-FIG. 18, so as to strengthen the support of the seat cushion in the regions that need to be supported. Taking the fiber filaments 21i as an example, it is possible to arrange nozzles more densely in the region that is intended to be shaped so as to form a distinct S-shaped (viewed in a cross section) ordered arrangement of the fiber filaments extruded in this region. In other possible variants, individual local regions consisting of the fiber filaments 21i, 21j, 21k, 21l, 21m, 21n with different shapes and distributions may be superimposed or combined to form at least two local regions having different densities. For example, the fiber filaments 21o, 21p are shaped in superimposition, as shown in FIG. 19-FIG. 20, so as to improve the support properties of the seat cushion in the regions in need of support and the comfort of users.
Example 3
[0065] As shown in FIG. 21, an automobile interior part according to yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is a head rest, which comprises a sleeve 1c and a thermoplastic fiber web structure 2c forming a support structure. As shown in FIG. 22, the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2c is formed of polyamide elastomer fiber filaments 21q which filaments are melt-bonded together through melt extrusion molding. Returning to FIG. 21, the sleeve 1c has a thermoplastic strip 1c1, which is melt fixed and connected to the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2c. The material of the thermoplastic strip 1c1, which is the same as the material of the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2c, is also a polyamide elastomer that is compatible with the fiber filaments 21q during the hot press process and does not influence the secondary use of the product in the recycling process. It should be understood that if the starting material is a polyamide elastomer, the thermoplastic strip may be nylon 6, or nylon 66.
Example 4
[0066] As shown in FIG. 23, an automobile interior part according to yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is an armrest, which comprises a sleeve 1d and a thermoplastic fiber web structure 2d forming a support structure. The thermoplastic fiber web structure 2d is formed of nylon elastomer fiber filaments through injection molding. The sleeve 1d has an I-shaped plastic piece 1d1 that rotates after insertion into the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2d to fix and connect the sleeve 1d to the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2d.
Example 5
[0067] As shown in FIG. 24, an automobile interior part according to yet another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is a leg rest, which comprises a thermoplastic fiber web structure 2e forming a support structure and a non-woven fabric 4e. The non-woven fabric 4e is fixed to the thermoplastic fiber web structure 2e by means of an adhesive 5e. In this example, the material of the non-woven fabric 4e is PET, and the material of the adhesive 5e is a thermoplastic adhesive.
[0068] Those described above are only the preferred examples of the present disclosure, which are not used for limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Various changes can also be made to the above examples of the present disclosure. For example, the automobile interior part shown in FIG. 25 is a front cushion which comprises independently provided transverse pieces (for example, four pieces to form four local regions), the pieces being then melt-spliced. For another example, the automobile interior part shown in FIG. 26 is a front backrest which comprises independently provided vertical pieces, the pieces being then melt-spliced. Also, for example, the front backrest shown in FIG. 27 may comprise four local regions, i.e., two local regions on the left and right flanks and two local regions longitudinally overlapped in the middle. The pieces constituting these local regions are melt-spliced to form the front backrest of FIG. 27. In the example of FIG. 25 or 27, the four local regions may, for example, have three or four densities that differ from one another. For example, in FIG. 27, the density of the middle upper part can be 60 kg/m.sup.3, the density of the middle lower part can be 80 kg/m.sup.3, and the density of the two flanks can be 100 kg/m.sup.3.
[0069] All simple and equivalent changes and modifications made according to the contents described in the claims and specification of the present disclosure fall within the scope for which protection is sought in the claims of the present disclosure. What the present disclosure does not describe in detail are all conventional technical contents.
