Defibrating apparatus and fiber body manufacturing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11846071-B2
Application number	US-202217814848-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 26, 2022
Priority date	Jul 28, 2021
Publication date	Dec 19, 2023
Grant date	Dec 19, 2023

Abstract

In a defibrating apparatus, when a region, of a discharge path, including a discharge unit is a downstream discharge path, a region, of the discharge path, other than the downstream discharge path is an upstream discharge path, a region, of a screen, constituting the downstream discharge path is a downstream discharge screen, a region, of the screen, constituting the upstream discharge path is an upstream discharge screen, and a through-hole that causes a defibrating chamber to be in communication with the discharge path is a communication hole, the communication hole is provided on the screen such that the air is less likely to pass through the downstream screen than the upstream screen.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A defibrating apparatus comprising:
a rotor that rotates around an axis center of a rotation shaft as a rotation center;
a side wall to which the rotor is rotatably coupled;
a defibrating chamber that is partially defined by the side wall, in which the rotor is disposed, and in which a defibrated product is formed from a material containing a fiber by rotation of the rotor;
a supply pipe that is connected to the side wall, is in communication with the defibrating chamber, and supplies the material to the defibrating chamber;
a discharge path that is in communication with the defibrating chamber and to which the defibrated product is discharged from the defibrating chamber;
an annular wall having an annular shape that is provided and spaced from the rotor in a radial direction of the rotor and partially defines the defibrating chamber;
a housing that forms the discharge path extending in a circumferential direction of the annular wall by covering an outer side of the annular wall;
a plurality of through-holes that is provided in the annular wall and causes the defibrating chamber to be in communication with the discharge path;
an outer peripheral wall that is included in the housing and provided at an interval from the annular wall in the radial direction,
a discharge pipe that is connected to the housing and discharges the defibrated product from the discharge path; and
a discharge unit that causes the discharge path to be in communication with the discharge pipe, the discharge unit being a through-hole provided in the housing such that the defibrated product is discharged from the discharge path to the discharge pipe via the discharge unit by negative pressure being applied, wherein
when a first region, of the discharge path, including the discharge unit is a downstream discharge path, a second region, of the discharge path, other than the downstream discharge path is an upstream discharge path, a third region, of the annular wall, constituting the downstream discharge path is a downstream annular wall, a fourth region, of the annular wall, constituting the upstream discharge path is an upstream annular wall, and the through-holes that cause the defibrating chamber to be in communication with the discharge path are communication holes,
the communication holes are provided in the annular wall and, a number of the communication holes or a shape of the communication holes in a first part of the downstream annular wall is different from a number of the communication holes or a shape of the communication holes in a second part of the upstream annular wall such that less air passes through the downstream annular wall than the upstream annular wall, and the first part has a same area as the second part.

2. The defibrating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a closing member on the downstream annular wall of the annular wall, wherein
the closing member closes openings of the through-holes by covering the annular wall.

3. The defibrating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the plurality of through-holes has a same shape, and
the number of the communication holes provided per unit area is less in the downstream annular wall than in the upstream annular wall.

4. The defibrating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the plurality of through-holes has a same shape,
the discharge unit faces the annular wall,
the downstream annular wall includes a facing region that the discharge unit faces, and
the number of the communication holes provided per unit area is more in a region, of the annular wall, farthest from the discharge unit in the circumferential direction than in the facing region.

5. The defibrating apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein,
the communication holes are not provided in the facing region of the annular wall.

6. The defibrating apparatus according to claim 4 , further comprising;
a closing member on the facing region of the annular wall, wherein
the closing member closes openings of the through-holes by covering the annular wall.

7. The defibrating apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the closing member is provided on an outer peripheral surface that is a surface on a side of the discharge path of the annular wall and closes the openings of the through-holes on a side of the outer peripheral surface.

8. The defibrating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the plurality of through-holes has a same shape, and
the number of the communication holes provided per unit area, in the annular wall, gradually increases with increase of a distance from the discharge unit in the circumferential direction.

9. The defibrating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the housing forms the discharge path by surrounding the outer side of the annular wall in the circumferential direction.

10. The defibrating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the interval between the outer peripheral wall and the annular wall is narrower in a region, of the discharge path, away from the downstream discharge path in the circumferential direction than in the downstream discharge path.

11. The defibrating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the axis center intersects with a vertical direction, and
the discharge unit is located at a lowermost position of the outer peripheral wall.

12. A fiber body manufacturing apparatus comprising;
the defibrating apparatus according to claim 1 ;
a web forming unit that is disposed downstream relative to the defibrating apparatus in a transport direction of the defibrated product and forms a web by causing the defibrated product discharged from the discharge pipe to accumulate; and
a fiber body forming unit that is disposed downstream relative to the web forming unit in a transport direction of the web and forms a fiber body containing the fiber by binding the fiber contained in the web.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Omagari Naoko

Classifications

• D21F9/04 Primary

  of the cylinder type · CPC title

• B27N3/04

  from fibres · CPC title

• B02C18/062 Primary

  with rotor elements extending axially in close radial proximity of a concentrically arranged slotted or perforated ring · CPC title

• D21B1/06

  by dry methods · CPC title

• D21B1/063

  using grinding devices · CPC title