JP7710703B2 - Cushioning material - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cushioning material that has moderate elastic deformation and a cooling effect.

Traditionally, pillows have been used to support the head and neck of users while they sleep. For example, the pillow shown in Patent Document 1 uses low-resilience urethane foam as the inner material. When a user places their head or neck on the pillow, the elasticity of the low-resilience urethane foam causes the pillow to deform and fit the shape of the head and neck, reducing localized pressure and distributing body pressure overall, allowing the user to get a good night's sleep.

JP 2012-161347 A

In order to get a good night's sleep, it is said that it is preferable to cool the head and achieve a state of so-called cool head and warm feet. However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the back of the head and neck are in contact with the surface of the pillow, so heat is trapped in the pillow, causing discomfort to the user.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a cushioning material that has a cooling effect while being moderately elastically deformable.

The cushioning material according to the present invention comprises a core material and a surface layer provided on the surface of the core material, the surface layer being a structure made of a thermoplastic elastomer, with numerous cylindrical hollow chambers grouped together via partitions.

The structure is made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). In this specification, a thermoplastic elastomer refers to an elastomer that has the properties of rubber at room temperature (e.g., 25°C) and softens at high temperatures like a thermoplastic resin, and has a higher thermal conductivity than air.

When a user places part of their body on the top surface of the structure, the thermoplastic elastomer has a higher thermal conductivity than air, so the heat generated by the user is transferred to the structure more quickly than the air, creating a cooling effect for the user.

The partition is also capable of elastic deformation because both sides are hollow, providing space for deformation, and because the thermoplastic elastomer has rubber properties. Therefore, when a user places part of their body on the structure and applies pressure, the structure deforms to fit that part of the user's body, maintaining appropriate elasticity and being able to support the load. The elastic modulus of the structure is determined by the material of the thermoplastic elastomer, the size of the hollow chamber, the thickness of the partition, etc.

In this way, by making the surface layer a structure made of a thermoplastic elastomer, the cushioning material can have a cooling effect while still undergoing appropriate elastic deformation.

It is preferable that the hollow chamber of the structure is open at the top.

According to the above configuration, the hollow chamber is columnar and has an open top, so when the user places part of their body on the structure, only the top end surface of the partition comes into contact with the user's body. In this way, the area where the cushioning material comes into contact with the body is smaller than in the conventional technology, and the feeling of stuffiness is reduced, so that a cooling effect can be created for the user.

The hollow chamber may be in the shape of a triangular prism, a square prism, a hexagonal prism, or a cylinder.

The core material may be cylindrical, semi-cylindrical, or semi-elliptical.

The core material may have a rectangular shape when viewed from above.

The cushioning material of the present invention can provide a cooling sensation while still undergoing moderate elastic deformation.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cushioning material according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cushion material as seen from the bottom. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the length of the cushioning material. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cushioning material. FIG. FIG. 4A is a plan view of the structure, and FIG. FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a manufacturing method of the cushioning material. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a manufacturing method of the cushioning material. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a manufacturing method of the cushioning material. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a manufacturing method of the cushioning material. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the cushioning material along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of the cushioning material. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of the cushioning material.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The cushioning material 10 of the present invention is used, for example, as a pillow, and as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, comprises a core material 20 and a surface layer 30 provided on the surface of the core material 20. The surface layer 30 is a structure 31 made of a thermoplastic elastomer, in which a large number of columnar hollow chambers 33 are gathered together via partitions 32. The cushioning material 10 is not limited to pillows, and may also be used for cushions, futons, etc., and is not limited in its uses.

The core material 20 is composed of a sheet material 21 and a filler material 26 contained inside the sheet material 21. The sheet material 21 has a semi-cylindrical shape (semi-cylindrical), that is, a shape having an arc-shaped side and a straight bottom in a cross section perpendicular to the length direction shown in FIG. 4. The sheet material 21 is formed by sewing together a peripheral sheet material 22, a bottom sheet material 23 (23a, 23b), and left and right side sheet materials 24, 25. The sheet material 21 is composed of a sheet material that is breathable and can be heat-sealed to the structure 31. Examples of the sheet material include a punched sheet or a mesh sheet in which a large number of through holes are provided in a nonwoven fabric. The nonwoven fabric is made of synthetic fibers such as polyester to make it easy to dry, and the through holes are formed in any pattern such as a hexagonal, square, or circular shape when viewed from a plane. The left and right side sheets 24, 25 of the sheet material 21 are curved outwardly in a convex shape due to the filling pressure of the filler 28 of the filler 26.

The filling material 26 is configured in a semi-cylindrical shape (semi-cylindrical) that is roughly similar to the shape of the sheet material 21, and the inside of the bag body 27 is filled with a filling material 28. The bag body 27 is formed from a cloth made of, for example, cotton or synthetic fibers, and the filling material 28 is, for example, synthetic fibers, buckwheat hulls, foam beads, granular objects such as chips of resin materials, feathers, cotton, etc.

In this embodiment, the length L1 of the core material 20 is set to approximately 67 cm, the width L2 of the bottom surface to approximately 10 cm, and the height L3 to approximately 13 cm, but this is not limited to these values.

The structure 31 constituting the surface layer 30 is attached to almost the entire surface of the peripheral sheet material 22 of the sheet material 21. As shown in FIG. 5(A), before the structure 31 is attached to the core material 20, the structure 31 has an overall rectangular shape when viewed from above, and has arc-shaped chamfered portions 31a formed at the corners. The shape of the structure 31 is not limited to a rectangular shape, and may be any shape, such as a triangular shape, a square shape, a polygonal shape, or a circle.

The structure 31 has multiple hollow chambers 33 arranged without gaps, and each hollow chamber 33 is defined by partition walls 32 (32a, 32b, 32c) so that the shape of each hollow chamber 33 when viewed from above is an isosceles triangular prism. The upper ends of the hollow chambers 33 are open.

The partition 32 is composed of partitions 32a, 32b, and 32c. Partitions 32a are provided parallel to the longitudinal direction of the structure 31 and at a predetermined interval over substantially the entire length of the structure 31. Partitions 32b and 32c intersect with partition 32a and are provided at a predetermined interval over substantially the entire length of the structure 31 in the diagonal direction along directions at 75 degrees and 165 degrees to partition 32a. The angles at which partitions 32b and 32c intersect with partition 32a are not limited to 75 degrees and 165 degrees, respectively, and may be set to any angle. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, arc-shaped chamfered portions 32d are formed at the corners of the longitudinal ends of partition 32, making it difficult for the corners of structure 31 to hit the user.

As shown in FIG. 6, a ring-shaped bottom wall 34 for reinforcement is provided along the side edges on the bottom surface of the structure 31, and the lower end of the hollow chamber 33 located near the side edges is closed by the bottom wall 34. The bottom wall 34 may be provided only along a pair of side edges along the length direction of the structure 31, or only along a pair of side edges along the width direction of the structure 31.

The structure 31 is formed by injection molding a thermoplastic elastomer. Thermoplastic elastomer has the properties of rubber at room temperature, and the structure 31 has elasticity due to the deformation of the partition 32. The thermoplastic elastomer used in this embodiment has a higher thermal conductivity of approximately 0.2 (W/m/K) than air and natural fibers such as cotton and linen.

The specific heat of thermoplastic elastomer is about 3 J/(kg·K), which is higher than that of natural fibers such as cotton and synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyethylene. The specific heat refers to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by a unit temperature. Furthermore, the mass of the structure 31 is set to be larger than that of a conventional surface layer made of natural or synthetic fibers when the conventional surface layer is attached to almost the entire surface of the peripheral sheet material 22 of the sheet material 21. As a result, the heat capacity of the structure 31 using a thermoplastic elastomer is larger than that of a conventional surface layer made of natural or synthetic fibers. The heat capacity refers to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of an object by 1 degree Celsius.

As described above, the structure 31 of this embodiment has a larger heat capacity than a sheet material 21 of the same size that uses a conventional surface layer made of natural or synthetic fibers, so the structure 31 made of thermoplastic elastomer takes time to warm up due to the heat emitted from the user's body, and the cooling effect on the user is sustained. In this embodiment, the structure 31 is formed using approximately 1600 g of thermoplastic elastomer.

In this embodiment, the length L4 of the structure 31 in the longitudinal direction is set to about 57 cm, and the length L5 of the structure 31 in the width direction is set to about 35 cm, but this is not limited to these values and can be set to any length. Also, in this embodiment, the length L6 of the base of the isosceles triangular cross section of each hollow chamber 33 is set to about 1.5 cm, and the lengths L7 of the other two sides are set to about 2 cm, and the height L8 of the partition wall 32 is set to about 2 cm and the thickness L9 is set to about 1 mm, but this is not limited to these values and can be set appropriately according to the desired elasticity.

The hollow chamber 33 is not limited to a triangular prism shape, and may be a square prism, a hexagonal prism, or a cylinder. When the hollow chamber 33 has a hexagonal prism shape that is a regular hexagon when viewed from above, the structure 31 forms a so-called honeycomb structure. The area of the hollow chamber 33 when viewed from above can be set as appropriate.

The manufacturing method of the cushioning material 10 of the present invention will be described. First, a thermoplastic elastomer is injection molded to manufacture the structure 31 shown in Figures 5 and 6. Then, as shown in Figure 7, a peripheral sheet material 22 that is slightly larger than the structure 31 is bonded to the lower wall 34 of the structure 31 and the lower end surface of the partition wall 32 using, for example, heat welding, adhesives, or other means.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, bottom sheet materials 23a and 23b are connected to both ends of the peripheral sheet material 22 by a connecting means such as sewing with thread.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the side edges of the bottom sheet materials 23a and 23b are sewn together, leaving an opening 23c for inserting the filler 26, and as shown in FIG. 10, the periphery of the side sheet materials 24 and 25 are sewn to the side edges of the peripheral sheet material 22 and the bottom sheet materials 23a and 23b. As a result, the sheet material 21 is formed into a semi-cylindrical shape (semi-cylindrical) that follows the shape of the filler 26, which has a peripheral surface, a bottom surface, and left and right side surfaces.

Then, the opening 23c is filled with the pre-fabricated filling material 26, and the opening 32c is sewn closed. This completes the manufacture of the cushion material 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2.

According to the cushioning material 10 of this embodiment, since the thermoplastic elastomer has a higher thermal conductivity than air or natural fibers, the heat generated by the user is transferred to the structure 31 more quickly than air, and the user can experience a cooling effect. Furthermore, in the conventional technology, when the user places his/her body on the structure 31, the surface of the cushioning material comes into close contact with the user's body, but in this embodiment, the hollow chamber 33 is columnar and has an open top, so only the top end surface of the partition wall 32 comes into contact with the user's body. As a result, the area where the cushioning material 10 comes into close contact with the body is small, reducing the feeling of stuffiness and allowing the user to experience a cooling effect.

In this embodiment, the thermoplastic elastomer of the structure 31 has a higher specific heat than natural fibers such as cotton and synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyethylene, and the mass of the structure 31 is set to be larger than the mass of a conventional surface layer made of natural or synthetic fibers when compared with a case in which a conventional surface layer made of natural or synthetic fibers is attached to almost the entire surface of the peripheral sheet material 22 of a sheet material 21 of the same size. As a result, the heat capacity of the structure 31 is larger than the heat capacity of a conventional surface layer made of natural or synthetic fibers. Therefore, the structure 31 made of thermoplastic elastomer takes time to be warmed by the heat emitted from the user's body, and the cooling effect on the user can be sustained.

In addition, in the cushioning material 10 of this embodiment, the partition 32 has hollow chambers 33 on both sides, providing space for deformation, and since the thermoplastic elastomer has the properties of rubber, it is capable of elastic deformation. Therefore, when a user places part of their body on the structure 31 and applies pressure, the structure 31 deforms along the part of the user's body and can support the load while maintaining appropriate elasticity. The elastic modulus of the structure 31 is determined by the material of the thermoplastic elastomer, the size of the hollow chambers 33, the thickness of the partition, etc.

In this way, by making the surface layer 30 a structure 31 made of a thermoplastic elastomer, the cushioning material 10 can have a cooling effect while undergoing moderate elastic deformation.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The shape of the core material 20 is not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and for example, the core material 20 may be formed into a cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 11. In this case, the bottom sheet materials 23a, 23b of the sheet material 21 are not provided, and the side edges of the peripheral sheet material 22 welded to the lower surface of the structure 31 are sewn together. The core material 20 may also be in the shape of a semi-elliptical cylinder.

Also, as shown in FIG. 12, the core material 20 may have a rectangular shape when viewed from above. In this case, the sheet material 21 is formed by sewing together the side edges of two rectangular sheet materials 27, 28, and the structure 31 is provided on substantially the entire surface of one of the rectangular sheet materials 27.

In addition, in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the structure 31 is provided over substantially the entire length of the peripheral sheet material 22 of the core material 20 along the length direction of the cushion material 10, but as shown in FIG. 13, the length L4 of the structure 31 may be configured to be shorter than the entire length of the peripheral sheet material 22, and the peripheral sheet material 22 of the sheet material 21 of the core material 20 may be exposed at both ends of the length direction of the cushion material 10 of the structure 31. Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the length L4 of the structure 31 may be configured to be shorter than the entire length of the peripheral sheet material 22, and the peripheral sheet material 22 of the sheet material 21 may be exposed at both ends of the length direction of the cushion material 10 of the structure 31. Also, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the length L4 in the length direction and/or the length L5 in the width direction of the structure 31 may be smaller than one rectangular sheet material 27, and the surface of one rectangular sheet material 27 may be exposed.

10 Cushion material 20 Core material 21 Sheet material 30 Surface layer 31 Structure 32 (32a, 32b, 32c) Partition wall 33 Hollow chamber

Claims (4)

The core material and the surface layer are provided.
the core material includes a sheet material and a filler material accommodated inside the sheet material,
the sheet material is a punched sheet or mesh sheet having a large number of through holes formed in a nonwoven fabric that can be bonded to the surface layer,
The surface layer is a structure made of a thermoplastic elastomer, and a large number of columnar hollow chambers are gathered together via partition walls and bonded to the outer surface of the sheet material.
The sheet material is a cushion material made of a plurality of members whose ends are connected to each other by sewing. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the hollow chamber of the structure has an open top. The cushioning material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the core material is cylindrical, semi-cylindrical, or semi-elliptical. The cushioning material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the core material has a rectangular shape when viewed from above.