Fiber for reinforcing rubber products

• US 6,929,857 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2002
• Issued: 08/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company), Ocv Intellectual Capital, Llc (Owens Corning)
• Original Assignee: Asahi Fiber Glass Co., Ltd., Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Shuji, Hattori, Koji, Abe, Masayoshi, Shimamura, Kaoru, Ando, Kimihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelly, Cynthia H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRAY, JILL M
• Application Number:
  US10/094,011
• Publication Number:
  US 20020176986A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,254 Days
• Field of Search: 428/375, 428/392
• US Class Current: 428/392
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 25/27 Rubber latex
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 25/34 Condensation polymers of aldehydes, e.g. with phenols, ureas, melamines, amides or amines
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 2321/00 Characterised by the use of unspecified rubbers
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 5/08 glass fibres
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249941 Fiber is on the surface of a polymeric matrix having no embedded portion
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249948 Fiber is precoated
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2933 Coated or with bond, impregnation or core
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2964 Artificial fiber or filament

Abstract

Fiber for reinforcing rubber products, which comprises glass fiber coated with a coating film formed by a treating agent comprising a water-soluble condensate of resorcinol and formaldehyde, a latex of a solid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer and a latex of a liquid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer.

Claims

1. Fiber for reinforcing rubber products, which comprises glass fiber coated with a coating film formed by a treating agent comprising a water-soluble condensate of resorcinol and formaldehyde, a latex of a solid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer and a latex of a liquid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer.

2. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein the latex of a solid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer is a latex of a self-crosslinking acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer.

3. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 2, wherein said self-crosslinking acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer is obtained by polymerizing an ethylenic monomer with acrylonitrile and butadiene.

4. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 3, wherein said ethylenic monomer is N-methylol (meth)acrylamide.

5. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein the latex of a solid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer is a soap-free acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer latex.

6. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein the treating agent further contains at least one component selected from the group consisting of a latex of a halogen-containing polymer, a latex of an acrylate polymer and an epoxy resin emulsion.

7. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein the glass fiber coated with the coating film formed by the above treating agent, is further coated with a second coating film formed by a second treating agent comprising a rubber, a vulcanizing agent and an inorganic filler.

8. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein said water-soluble condensate of resorcinol and formaldehyde are present in a molar ratio of resorcinol to formaldehyde ranging from 1:

0.3 to 1;

2.5.

9. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein said latex of a solid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer is a latex of a solid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer wherein the amount of bound acrylonitrile ranges from 15 to 50%.

10. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein said latex of a liquid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer is a latex of a liquid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer wherein the weight average molecular weight of the copolymer ranges from 1000 to 70,000.

11. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 10, wherein the amount of bound acrylonitrile in said latex of a liquid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer ranges from 15 to 50%.

12. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein the treating agent further comprises one or more additives selected from the group consisting of an anti-aging agent, a rubber latex, and a resin emulsion.

13. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein the latex of a liquid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer is in a ratio ranging from 10 to 900 parts per 100 part of the latex of a solid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer.

14. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 13, wherein the latex of a liquid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer is in a ratio ranging from 30 to 300 parts per 100 part of the latex of a solid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer.

15. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 14, wherein the latex of a liquid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer is in a ratio ranging from 65 to 150 parts per 100 part of the latex of a solid acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer.

16. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein the water-soluble condensate of resorcinol and formaldehyde is in a concentration based on the total evaporation residue of the first treating anent ranging from 0.5 to 15%.

17. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 16, wherein the water-soluble condensate of resorcinol and formaldehyde is in a concentration based on the total evaporation residue of the first treating agent ranging from 1 to 10%.

18. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 1, wherein the glass fiber is obtained by bundling from 200 to 600 glass monofilaments having a diameter ranging from 7 to 9 μ

m.

19. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 18, wherein the glass monofilaments are E glass or S glass.

20. The fiber for reinforcing rubber products according to claim 18, wherein the glass fiber has applied thereto at least one binding agent selected from the group consisting of a silane coupling agent and a film-forming agent.