Sheet manufacturing apparatus, control method thereof, and sheet manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11459703-B2
Application number	US-201816490239-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 27, 2018
Priority date	Mar 1, 2017
Publication date	Oct 4, 2022
Grant date	Oct 4, 2022

Abstract

The sheet manufacturing apparatus includes a fibrillating unit that fibrillates a raw material including fibers in a gas, an additive supply unit that supplies an additive, a mixing unit including a first rotating unit that mixes a fibrillated matter fibrillated by the fibrillating unit and the additive supplied by the additive supply unit, a depositing unit that deposits a mixture mixed by the mixing unit, a web forming unit including a mesh belt that transports a deposited material deposited by the depositing unit and a suction mechanism that sucks the deposited material to the mesh belt, and a control unit that changes granularity of a surface of the sheet by controlling at least one of a supply amount per unit time from the additive supply unit, a rotation velocity of the first rotating unit of the mixing unit, and a suction force of the suction mechanism.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a fibrillating unit that includes a rotor and fibrillates a raw material including fibers in a gas;
an additive supply unit that includes a feeder and supplies an additive;
a mixing unit including a blower with a rotating unit disposed downstream relative to the additive supply unit in a transport direction of a fibrillated matter fibrillated by the fibrillating unit, the rotating unit mixing the fibrillated matter and the additive supplied by the additive supply unit;
a depositing unit that is disposed downstream relative to the rotating unit of the blower of the mixing unit in the transport direction of the fibrillated matter and deposits a mixture mixed by the mixing unit;
a web forming unit including a first mesh belt that transports a deposited material deposited by the depositing unit and including a suction mechanism that sucks the deposited material to the first mesh belt; and
a controller configured to control a rotation velocity of the rotating unit of the blower of the mixing unit, and further controls at least one of a supply amount per unit time from the additive supply unit and a suction force of the suction mechanism, to change granularity of a surface of the sheet, wherein
the suction mechanism has a first air flow generation unit that generates an air flow in a direction crossing a deposition surface where the deposited material is deposited, and
the controller is configured to change a flow velocity of the air flow generated by the first air flow generation unit.

2. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a receiving unit that receives a setting of the granularity of the surface of the sheet,
wherein the controller is configured to control the number of rotations of the rotating unit of the mixing unit, and at least one of the supply amount per unit time from the additive supply unit and the suction force of the suction mechanism, based on the setting received by the receiving unit.

3. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the depositing unit has a drum unit that causes the mixture to pass through an opening and fall, and
the controller is configured to change a rotation velocity of the drum unit.

4. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to change a rotation velocity of the rotor of the fibrillating unit.

5. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a transportation unit including a second mesh belt that transports the deposited material deposited by the depositing unit,
wherein the transportation unit has a second air flow generation unit that generates an air flow in a direction crossing a deposition surface where the deposited material is deposited, and,
the controller is configured to change a flow velocity of the air flow generated by the second air flow generation unit.

6. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the additive includes a color material.

7. A control method of a sheet manufacturing apparatus including
a fibrillating unit that includes a rotor and fibrillates a raw material including fibers in a gas,
an additive supply unit that includes a feeder and supplies an additive,
a mixing unit including a blower with a rotating unit disposed downstream relative to the additive supply unit in a transport direction of a fibrillated matter fibrillated by the fibrillating unit, the rotating unit mixing the fibrillated matter and the additive supplied by the additive supply unit,
a depositing unit that is disposed downstream relative to the rotating unit in the transport direction of the fibrillated matter and deposits a mixture mixed by the mixing unit,
a web forming unit including a mesh belt that transports a deposited material deposited by the depositing unit and including a suction mechanism that sucks the deposited material to the mesh belt, the suction mechanism having a first air flow generation unit that generates an air flow in a direction crossing a deposition surface where the deposited material is deposited, and
a controller,
the control method comprising: controlling a rotation velocity of the rotating unit of the blower of the mixing unit, and further controlling at least one of a supply amount per unit time from the additive supply unit and a suction force of the suction mechanism, at the controller, to change granularity of a surface of the sheet, wherein
a flow velocity of the air flow generated by the first air flow generation unit is changed by the controller.

8. A sheet manufacturing method comprising:
a fibrillating step of fibrillating a raw material including fibers in a gas and obtaining a fibrillated matter;
an additive supplying step of supplying an additive to the fibrillated matter at an additive supply unit includes a feeder;
a mixing step of mixing the fibrillated matter and the additive by using a rotating unit of a blower of a mixing unit and obtaining a mixture, the rotating unit being disposed downstream relative to the additive supply unit in a transport direction of the fibrillated matter;
a depositing step of obtaining a deposited material by depositing the mixture at a depositing unit disposed downstream relative to the rotating unit of the blower of the mixing unit in the transport direction of the fibrillated matter while sucking the mixture to a mesh belt by generating an air flow in a direction crossing a deposition surface where the deposited material is deposited; and
controlling a rotation velocity of the rotating unit of the blower of the mixing unit, and further controlling at least one a supply amount per unit time from the additive supply unit and suction force to the mesh belt, to change a granularity of a surface of the sheet, wherein
the suction force to the mesh belt is controlled by changing a flow velocity of the air flow generated in the direction crossing the deposition surface.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Higuchi Naotaka
• Ueno Yoshihiro
• Tsujino Kiyoshi

Classifications

• D21B1/08

  the raw material being waste paper (chemical part D21C5/02); the raw material being rags · CPC title

• D04H1/732

  by fluid current, e.g. air-lay · CPC title

• D21H21/28 Primary

  Colorants {; Pigments or opacifying agents} · CPC title

• D04H1/736

  characterised by the apparatus for arranging fibres (D04H1/728, D04H1/732 take precedence) · CPC title

• D21H23/20

  Apparatus therefor · CPC title