Sheet manufacturing apparatus and sheet manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9562325-B2
Application number	US-201414569969-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2014
Priority date	Dec 27, 2013
Publication date	Feb 7, 2017
Grant date	Feb 7, 2017

Abstract

A sheet manufacturing apparatus includes a transfer path through which flows at least a portion of a material for a sheet in air and which has a curved section where the transfer path is curved, and a forming unit configured to form the sheet using the material, and an optical detecting unit configured to detect the material and provided at the curved section or at the transfer path more to a downstream side than the curved section in a material transfer direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a transfer part through which flows, in air, at least a portion of a material for a sheet, the transfer part having a curved section where the transfer part is curved, and a downstream section arranged downstream relative to the curved section and upstream relative to a most downstream end of the transfer part in a transfer direction in which the material is transferred;
a forming unit configured to form the sheet using the material and arranged downstream relative to the transfer part in the transfer direction; and
an optical detecting unit configured to detect the material and arranged at one of the curved section and the downstream section, the one at which the optical detecting unit is arranged including a transparent portion through which light is transmitted.

2. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
light which is emitted from the optical detecting unit is transmitted through at least a portion of the transparent portion.

3. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a defibrating unit configured to defibrate at least a portion of the material, and
an accumulating unit configured to accumulate the material,
the transfer part being downstream of the defibrating unit in the transfer direction and being upstream of the accumulating unit in the transfer direction.

4. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the transfer part has linear sections on both sides of the curved section, and an opening angle of the linear sections is 45 degrees or more and 150 degrees or less.

5. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the optical detecting unit includes a light emitting section configured to emit the light with regard to the transparent portion and a light receiving section configured to receive the light which passes through the transparent portion, and
the sheet manufacturing apparatus further comprises a control section configured to determine that the material is not flowing through when an amount of the light which is received by the light receiving section is larger than a threshold which is set in advance, and the threshold is reduced as an accumulated period of time over which the sheet manufacturing apparatus is used increases.

6. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the control section is configured to reduce the threshold in a case where a received light amount in the light receiving section, when the light is emitted in a state where the material is not flowing through the sheet manufacturing apparatus, is a first value, as compared with in a case where the received light amount in the light receiving section when the light is emitted in the state is a second value, which is larger than the first value.

7. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the control section is configured to reduce the threshold in a case where the received light amount in the light receiving section, when the light is emitted in a state where the material is not flowing through the sheet manufacturing apparatus, is smaller than the received light amount when starting to use the sheet manufacturing apparatus.

8. A sheet manufacturing method comprising:
flowing at least a portion of a material for a sheet in a transfer part which has a curved section and a downstream section that is arranged downstream relative to the curved section and upstream relative to a most downstream end of the transfer part in a transfer direction in which the material is transferred;
detecting the material using an optical detecting unit which is arranged at one of the curved section and the downstream section, the one at which the optical detecting unit is arranged including a transparent portion through which light is transmitted; and
forming a sheet using the material.

9. A sheet manufacturing method for manufacturing a sheet using a sheet manufacturing apparatus, which includes a transfer part through which flows, in air, at least a portion of a material for the sheet, and a forming unit arranged downstream relative to the transfer part in a transfer direction in which the material is transferred, the forming unit being configured to form the sheet using the material, the transfer part having a transparent section through which light is transmitted and an optical detecting unit having a light emitting section which is configured to emit the light with regard to the transparent section and a light receiving section which is configured to receive the light which passes through the transparent section, the method comprising:
forming a sheet using the material; and
reducing a threshold as an accumulated period of time over which the sheet manufacturing apparatus is used increases, in a case of determining that the material is not flowing through when an amount of the light which is received at the light receiving section is larger than the threshold which is set in advance.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Tanaka Hiroshi

Classifications

• B27N3/04

  from fibres · CPC title

• D21F7/00 Primary

  Other details of machines for making continuous webs of paper · CPC title

• D04H1/736

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