Patent ID: 12233399

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and a redundant description will be omitted.

FIG.1is a schematic diagram of a water absorption treatment material according to an embodiment of the present invention. A water absorption treatment material1is a water absorption treatment material that absorbs a liquid containing a malodorous substance, and includes a grain10(first grain) and a grain20(second grain). The grains10and20each have a water absorbing property, and absorb the liquid. The water absorption treatment material1is, for example, an excrement treatment material for absorbing excrement, a vomit treatment material for absorbing vomit, or a kitchen garbage treatment material for absorbing kitchen garbage (moisture contained in the kitchen garbage).

In the present embodiment, a plurality of the grains10and a plurality of the grains20are provided. In the water absorption treatment material1, the grains10and the grains20are contained in a mixed manner. The number of the grains10is preferably 30% or more and 70% or less of the total number of the grains10and the grains20, and more preferably 40% or more and 60% or less.

FIG.2is a schematic diagram of the grain10. The grain10includes a core portion12(first core portion). The core portion12is in a granular shape. The granular shape may be, for example, spherical, cylindrical, elliptic, or the like. The core portion12has a function of absorbing and retaining a liquid. As a material of the core portion12, a porous material having an action of deodorizing the malodorous substance is used. The porous material may be organic matter or inorganic matter. Examples of a porous material of organic matter include coffee-extracted grounds, used tea leaves, and activated charcoal. Examples of a porous material of inorganic matter include silica gel, and bentonite. The core portion12consists essentially of the porous material.

In the grain10, the core portion12is uncovered. A coating portion is not formed on the core portion12, and thus the entire surface of the core portion12is exposed. That is, the grain10is composed only of the core portion12. Therefore, the grain10also consists essentially of the porous material. Here, “consisting essentially of the porous material” means that an additive material such as an aromatic substance (perfume), coloring matter, or a metal ion may be contained in the grain10unless the deodorizing action of the porous material is inhibited. For example, the grain10may contain the aromatic substance, or may not contain the aromatic substance. The same applies to the coloring matter, and the metal ion. Even in the case where the additive material is contained, it is preferable that the weight ratio of the additive material with respect to the grain10is 1% or less (namely, the weight ratio of the porous material is 99% or more). As the metal ion mentioned above, it is possible to use, for example, a metal ion having an odor elimination function such as copper, or silver. It goes without saying that the grain10may “be composed only of the porous material”, namely the grain10may not contain any material other than the porous material.

FIG.3is a schematic diagram of the grain20. The grain20contains a water-absorptive material other than the porous material as its main material. As used herein, the main material of the grain20refers to one of the materials constituting the grain20that accounts for the highest weight ratio in the grain20. The water-absorptive material, which is the main material of the grain20, is preferably organic matter. Examples of a water-absorptive material of organic matter include paper, plastics, and bean curd lees. In the present embodiment, the grain20does not contain the above-mentioned porous material.

The paper refers to a material composed mainly of pulp. Examples of the paper include ordinary paper, a vinyl chloride wallpaper classified product (paper obtained by classifying vinyl chloride wallpaper), a fluff pulp, a papermaking sludge, a pulp sludge, and the like. As the plastics, it is possible to use, for example, a disposable diaper classified product (plastics obtained by classifying disposable diapers). The bean curd lees are preferably dried bean curd lees.

The grain20includes a core portion22(second core portion) and a coating portion24. The core portion22is in a granular shape. The core portion22has a function of absorbing and retaining a liquid. The core portion22contains the water-absorptive material mentioned above as its main material. The core portion22may be composed only of the water-absorptive material, or may be composed of a mixture of the water-absorptive material and other material(s). The particle diameter of the core portion22may be the same as the particle diameter of the core portion12, or may be different from the particle diameter of the core portion12. As used herein, the particle diameter is defined as the diameter of the minimum sphere that can contain the core portion.

The coating portion24covers the core portion22. The coating portion24may cover the entire surface of the core portion22, or may cover only a part of the surface of the core portion22. The coating portion24has a function of bonding the grains10and20that have absorbed a liquid when in use, and clumping them together. Also as the main material of the coating portion24, it is possible to use the water-absorptive material mentioned above. The coating portion24contains an adhesive material. As the adhesive material, it is possible to use, for example, starch, CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose), PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), dextrin, or a water-absorbent polymer. As described above, in the water absorption treatment material1, the grain20has a multi-layer structure (two-layer structure) composed of the core portion22and the coating portion24, whereas the grain10has a single-layer structure composed only of the core portion12.

Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the water absorption treatment material1will be described as an embodiment of the method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to the present invention. The manufacturing method includes a first grain forming step, a second grain forming step, and a mixing step.

The first grain forming step is a step of forming the grain10. This step includes a first core portion forming step. The first core portion forming step is a step of forming the core portion12. In this step, a granule that will serve as the core portion12is formed by granulating the porous material with a granulation apparatus. In the present embodiment, a plurality of the core portions12are formed. As the granulation apparatus, for example, an extrusion granulator can be used. Prior to granulation, the porous material is subjected to pre-treatment such as pulverization, kneading, and adding water, as needed. The core portions12are not coated in the first grain forming step. Accordingly, the grains10in each of which the core portion12is uncovered are obtained.

The second grain forming step is a step of forming the grain20. This step includes a second core portion forming step, and a coating portion forming step. The second core portion forming step is a step of forming the core portion22. In this step, a granule that will serve as the core portion22is formed by granulating the water-absorptive material and other material(s) with the granulation apparatus. In the present embodiment, a plurality of the core portions22are formed. Prior to granulation, the water-absorptive material and other material(s) are subjected to pre-treatment such as pulverization, kneading, and adding water, as needed.

The coating portion forming step is a step of forming the coating portion24. In this step, the coating portion24is formed by attaching a powdery coating material to the surface of the core portion22with a coating apparatus or the like. The coating material contains the adhesive material. The coating material may be attached by, for example, sprinkling or spraying the coating material. In this way, the grains20in each of which the core portion22is covered by the coating portion24are obtained. Note that the first and second grain forming steps may be performed in arbitrary order. That is, the both steps may be performed simultaneously in parallel, or either step may be performed prior to the other step.

The mixing step is a step of mixing the grains10formed in the first grain forming step and the grains20formed in the second grain forming step. In this step, it is preferable to mix the grains10and the grains20such that the number of the grains10is 30% or more and 70% or less of the total number of the grains10and the grains20. It is more preferable to mix the grains10and the grains20such that the number of the grains10is 40% or more and 60% or less of the total number of the grains10and the grains20. In this step, the mixed grains10and20are preferably stirred. In this way, the water absorption treatment material1that includes the grains10and the grains20in a mixed manner is obtained.

Advantageous effects of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the grain (grain10) that consists essentially of the porous material is formed in addition to the ordinary grain (grain20) that contains the water-absorptive material other than the porous material as its main material. By isolating the porous material constituting the grain10from other materials (materials constituting the grain20) in such way, it is possible to avoid a situation in which pores of the porous material are blocked with the other materials. Thus, in the water absorption treatment material1, the deodorizing action of the porous material can be efficiently exhibited.

In contrast, in a case where the porous material is mixed with another material, the deodorizing action of the porous material is inhibited due to reasons such as the pores of the porous material being blocked with another material. Especially in a case where the porous material is used for a core portion in a grain having a coating portion, the porous material of the core portion is covered by the coating portion. This also causes inhibition of the deodorizing action of the porous material. In the present embodiment, it is possible to solve such problem and bring out the deodorizing action of the porous material efficiently. Therefore, it becomes possible to obtain a deodorizing effect equivalent to the conventional water absorption treatment material, even if using smaller amount of the porous material than the conventional water absorption treatment material. This contributes to saving of the porous material and eventually reduction in the manufacturing cost of the water absorption treatment material1. Moreover, if using the same amount of the porous material as the conventional water absorption treatment material, it is possible to obtain a higher deodorizing effect than the conventional water absorption treatment material.

From the viewpoint of saving the porous material and achieving reduction in the manufacturing cost, it is advantageous that the grains10account for a smaller proportion in the entire water absorption treatment material1. From this viewpoint, the number of the grains10is preferably 70% or less of the total number of the grains10and the grains20, and more preferably 60% or less. If, on the other hand, the proportion of the grains10is too small, the deodorizing action of the porous material will be insufficient, which may cause insufficiency of the deodorizing effect of the water absorption treatment material1. From this viewpoint, the number of the grains10is preferably 30% or more of the total number of the grains10and the grains20, and more preferably 40% or more.

The grain20does not contain the porous material. Thus, it is possible to save the porous material and further reduce the manufacturing cost of the water absorption treatment material1. However, it is not required that the grain20does not contain the porous material.

In the grain10, the core portion12is uncovered. That is, the core portion12is not coated. On the other hand, in the grain20, the core portion22is covered by the coating portion24containing the adhesive material. By providing only a part of the grains (grain20) with the coating portion as described above, it is possible to save the coating material. Also, the bonding effect of the coating portion24provided in the grain20is also exerted on the grain10around the grain20. For this reason, even though the grain10is not provided with a coating portion, a clump composed of used grains10and20is formed. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain a clump of the grains10and20after use while saving the coating material.

In the case where the particle diameter of the core portion22is the same as the particle diameter of the core portion12, it becomes possible to use the same granulation apparatus for forming the core portion12and the core portion22. On the other hand, in the case where the particle diameter of the core portion22is different from the particle diameter of the core portion12, it is possible to increase freedom in design for the particle diameter of the core portion12. That is, the particle diameter of the core portion12can be greater than the particle diameter of the core portion22, and can be less than the particle diameter of the core portion22. By making the particle diameter of the core portion12larger, it is possible to increase the quantity of a malodorous substance which can be adsorbed by one grain10. On the contrary, by making the particle diameter of the core portion12smaller, it is possible to enlarge the ratio of the surface area with respect to the volume in the grain10. This means increase of the ratio of the porous material that is exposed to the outside of the grain10. The porous material exposed to the outside of the grain10in such way is more likely to catch a malodorous substance than the porous material that is hidden inside the grain10. Therefore, by increasing the ratio of the porous material exposed to the outside, it is possible to bring out the deodorizing action of the porous material more efficiently.

In the case where the porous material constituting the grain10is organic matter, it is possible to obtain the grain10suitable for being disposed of by incineration. Likewise, in the case where the water-absorptive material constituting the grain20is organic matter, it is possible to obtain the grain20suitable for being disposed of by incineration. When the grains10and20are suitable for being disposed of by incineration, the water absorption treatment material1after use can be discarded as combustible trash, and it is therefore possible to improve convenience for the users.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment given above, and various modifications can be made. In the embodiment given above, the grain10may be configured to collapse when absorbing a liquid. Such grain10can be realized by reducing the compressive force that is applied to the porous material during granulation. For example, the compressive force applied to the porous material can be reduced by reducing the thickness of a die of an extrusion granulator. In the case where the grain10collapses when absorbing a liquid in such way, it is possible to expose the porous material that has been hidden inside the grain10to the outside. Thus, it is possible to bring out the deodorizing action of the porous material more efficiently.

In the embodiment described above, an example is given in which the grain20is provided with the coating portion24. However, it is not required that the grain20is provided with the coating portion24. That is, the grain20may have a single-layer structure composed only of the core portion22.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

1Water Absorption Treatment Material10Grain (First Grain)12Core Portion (First Core Portion)20Grain (Second Grain)22Core Portion (Second Core Portion)24Coating Portion