Sheet manufacturing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9540768-B2
Application number	US-201514635103-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 2, 2015
Priority date	Mar 7, 2014
Publication date	Jan 10, 2017
Grant date	Jan 10, 2017

Abstract

A sheet manufacturing apparatus includes: a first transport unit that causes a first transport belt to circle around so as to transport a web containing a fiber; and a second transport unit that is disposed with a part thereof shifted from the first transport unit toward the downstream side in a transport direction of the web, sucks the web in a direction in which the web is spaced from the first transport belt, and transports the web. The second transport unit includes a suction unit that generates a suction force and a suction chamber which is positioned on an inner side of a second transport belt circling around and of which an inner space is sucked by the suction unit such that the web is adsorbed onto the second transport belt. A part of the suction chamber faces the first transport belt.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet manufacturing apparatus that forms a sheet using a web, the apparatus comprising:
an accumulation unit that accumulates the web containing at least a fiber on a first transport belt;
a first transport unit that causes the first transport belt to circle around so as to transport the web;
a second transport unit that is spaced from the first transport unit in a perpendicular direction perpendicular to a surface of the web, is disposed with a part thereof shifted from the first transport unit toward the downstream side in a transport direction of the web, and sucks the web in a direction in which the web is spaced from the first transport belt and transports the web, the second transport unit including a suction unit that generates a suction force to suction the web, a second transport belt that circles around, a plurality of rollers on which the second transport belt is wounded and which are configured to rotate so as to move the second transport belt, and a suction chamber which is positioned in an inner side of the second transport belt circling around and of which an inner space is sucked by the suction unit such that the web is adsorbed onto the second transport belt, the suction chamber having at least a first part facing the first transport belt and a second part overlapping, in the perpendicular direction, one of the rollers of the second transport unit, the one of the rollers of the second transport unit being disposed most downstream in the transport direction among the rollers of the second transport unit; and
a pair of rollers that nips and transports the web, the pair of the rollers being disposed downstream in the transport direction relative to the second transport belt and spaced apart from the second transport belt such that the web is transferred from the second transport belt to the pair of the rollers.

2. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a supplementary member that supplements the suction force and is disposed at a position which faces and is spaced from a surface of the second transport unit at which suction of the web is performed, on which the suction force has an influence, and which is spaced farther from the surface than a thickness of the web, on the downstream side from the first transport unit in the transport direction of the web.

3. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 ,
wherein the supplementary member is greater in size than the suction chamber along the surface of the web in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the web.

4. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the suction chamber has a plurality of holes on a surface facing the first transport unit, and
wherein the hole on the upstream side is greater in size than the hole on the downstream side in the transport direction of the web.

5. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the suction chamber is divided into a plurality of suction regions in the transport direction of the web,
wherein the suction of the suction regions is controllable separately, and
wherein, when the transport of the web is started, the suction is started earlier in the suction region farther on the upstream side in the transport direction of the web than in the suction region farther on the downstream side.

6. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5 ,
wherein a plurality of the suction units are connected to the plurality of suction regions, respectively and
wherein, when the transport of the web is started, the suction is started earlier by the suction unit corresponding to the suction region farther on the upstream side in the transport direction of the web than by the suction unit corresponding to the suction region farther on the downstream side.

7. A sheet manufacturing apparatus that forms a sheet using a web, the apparatus comprising:
an accumulation unit that accumulates the web containing at least a fiber on a first transport belt;
a first transport unit that includes the first transport belt and that causes the first transport belt to circle around so as to transport the web in a transport direction; and
a second transport unit spaced apart from the first transport unit in a perpendicular direction perpendicular to the transport direction and a surface of the web, the second transport unit being disposed with a part thereof shifted from the first transport unit toward a downstream side in the transport direction, the second transport unit sucking the web in the perpendicular direction and transporting the web, the second transport unit including
a suction unit that generates a suction force to suction the web in the perpendicular direction,
a second transport belt that circles around and defines a surface on which the web is transferred, the surface having a first portion disposed so as to overlap the first transport belt as viewed in the perpendicular direction and having a second portion that is different from the first portion and does not overlap the first transport belt as viewed in the perpendicular direction, and
a suction chamber which is positioned in an inner side of the second transport belt circling around and of which an inner space is sucked by the suction unit such that the web is adsorbed onto the second transport belt, the suction chamber facing the first transport belt; and
a supplementary member that supplements the suction force, the supplementary member being a plate-shaped member disposed downstream in the transport direction relative to the first transport belt, the supplementary member facing the second portion of the surface of the second transport unit in the perpendicular direction and disposed apart from the second portion in the perpendicular direction such that the supplementary member and the second portion define a passage through which the web is transported.

8. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
the supplementary member is disposed so as to overlap the suction chamber as viewed in the perpendicular direction.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Higuchi Naotaka
• Fujita Shigeo

Classifications

• D04H1/732

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

• D21F2/00 Primary

  Transferring continuous webs from wet ends to press sections · CPC title

• D21F1/526

  consisting of endless moving belts · CPC title

• D21B1/327

  using flotation devices · CPC title

• D21B1/325

  de-inking devices · CPC title