Sheet manufacturing apparatus and defibration unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9643339-B2
Application number	US-201615219990-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 26, 2016
Priority date	Oct 9, 2013
Publication date	May 9, 2017
Grant date	May 9, 2017

Abstract

A sheet manufacturing apparatus includes a defibration unit and a sheet forming unit. The defibration unit includes a rotating unit and a housing including a cover portion and a fixing unit attached to the cover portion and spaced apart from the rotating unit in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the rotating unit so as to form a gap between the rotating unit and the fixing unit. The defibrating unit is configured to cause the rotating unit to rotate and dry-defibrate a defibration object. The sheet forming unit is configured to form a sheet by depositing defibrated material. The rotating unit includes rotating plates base sections located on a side of a central rotation axis and protruding sections protruding out in a direction drawing away from the central rotation axis, and the rotating plates is stacked such that the protruding sections are in contact in the axial direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a defibration unit including a rotating unit and a housing that relatively rotatably supports the rotating unit, the housing including a cover portion and a fixing unit that is attached to the cover portion and is spaced apart from the rotating unit in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the rotating unit so as to form a gap between the rotating unit and the fixing unit, the defibrating unit being configured to cause the rotating unit to rotate and dry-defibrate a defibration object; and
a sheet forming unit configured to form a sheet by depositing at least a part of defibrated material that has been dry-defibrated,
the rotating unit including a plurality of rotating plates each of which has a base section located on a side of a central rotation axis and a plurality of protruding sections that protrude out in a direction drawing away from the central rotation axis, the rotating plates being stacked such that the protruding sections are in contact in the axial direction in which the central rotation axis extends.

2. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the sheet forming unit includes a heating unit configured to heat the defibrated material that has been accumulated.

3. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the sheet forming unit includes a pressurizing unit configured to pressurize the defibrated material that has been accumulated.

4. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the sheet forming unit includes a moisture adding unit configured to add moisture to the defibrated material that has been accumulated.

5. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a first sieving unit configured to screen the defibrated material, the first sieving unit being arranged downstream in a transfer direction of the defibrated material relative to the defibrating unit and upstream in the transfer direction relative to the sheet forming unit, and
a second sieving unit configured to deposit the defibrated material that has been screened at the first sieving unit, the second sieving unit being arranged downstream in the transfer direction relative to the first sieving unit and upstream in the transfer direction relative to the sheet forming unit.

6. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising
a resin supplying unit arranged between the first sieving unit and the second sieving unit in the transfer direction and configured to supply resin to bind the defibrated material to each other.

7. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a resin supplying unit configured to supply resin to the defibrated material that has been dry-defibrated at the defibration unit.

8. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising
a first sieving unit configured to screen the defibrated material, and
a second sieving unit configured to deposit the defibrated material that has been screened at the first sieving unit, wherein
the resin supplying unit is configured to supply the resin to the defibrated material that has been screened at the first sieving unit, and the second sieving unit is configured to deposit the defibrated material and the resin.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Higuchi Naotaka
• Yamagami Toshiaki
• Abe Nobumasa

Classifications

• B29B15/00 Primary

  Pretreatment of the material to be shaped, not covered by groups B29B7/00 - B29B13/00 · CPC title

• D21B1/06 Primary

  by dry methods · CPC title

• B02C18/146

  with a rotor comprising a plurality of axially contiguous disc-like segments each having at least one radially extending cutting element · CPC title

• B02C18/141

  with axial flow · CPC title

• B02C4/00

  Crushing or disintegrating by roller mills (with milling members in the form of rollers or balls co-operating with rings or discs B02C15/00; roller mills or roll refiners exclusively for chocolate A23G1/10, A23G1/12) · CPC title