DESCRIPTION
Title of Invention: SHEET MANUFACTURING APPARATUS AND SHEET
MANUFACTURING METHOD
Technical Field
[00011
The present invention relates to a sheet manufacturing
apparatus and a sheet manufacturing method.
Background Art
[00021
In the related art, a nonwoven fabric manufacturing
apparatus including a far infrared ceramic heater that heats
a formed web and a pair of calendar rollers that heats and
presses the web that is heated by the far infrared ceramic
heater is known (for example, see PTL 1).
Citation List
Patent Literature
[00031
PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application
Publication No. 8-49153
Summary of Invention
Technical Problem
[0004]
However, the above-described nonwoven fabric
manufacturing apparatus is configured such that the web is
heated by the far infrared ceramic heater before pressing
the web by the calendar rollers. In this case, if the web
is heated before being pressed, resin is.melted and bound
, .
between fibers in a state where the fibers configuring the
web are not sufficiently compr,essed. Then, the web is
established in a form of a state of insufficient density and
even if the web is pressed thereafter, the form cannot be
broken. Thus, there is a problem that sufficient density or
strength cannot be ensured in a manufactured sheet.
Solution to Problem
[00051
The invention is made to solve at leas: a part of the
above-described problems and can be realized in the
following aspects or application examples.
[ 0 0 0 6 I
[Application Example 11
According to this application example, there is
provided a sheet manufacturing apparatus including a web
forming unit that forms a web in which at least fiber and
resin are deposited in the air; a pressing unit that presses
the web without heating the web; and a heating and pressing
unit that heats and presses the web on a further downstream
side than the pressing unit in a transport direction of the
web. A pressing force of the pressing unit is greater than
a pressing force of the heating and pressing unit.
In this case, first, the web that is formed by
depositing the fiber and resin is pressed. When pressing
the web, the web is not heated and is only pressed. A
distance between the fibers configuring the web is shortened
by pressing. Next, the web is heated and pressed in a state
where the distance between the fibers is shortened. Thus,
resin is melted and the fibers are bonded in a state where
the distance between the fibers is shortened while
preventing springback of the web. Thus, it is possible to
form a sheet having high density and high strength.
[0008]
[Application Example 21
In the sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the
above application example, the pressing unit may have at
least a pair of pressing rollers for pressing the web by
pinching the web by the pair of the rollers, and the heating
and pressing unit may have at least a pair of heating and
pressing rollers for heating and pressing the web by
pinching the web by the pair of the rollers.
[00091
In this case, it is possible to shorten a time from
pressing to heating by using the pressing rollers and the
heating and pressing rollers more than a case where one of
the pressing rollers and the heating and pressing rollers is
a flat press and it is possible to heat athe web before the
springback occurs by pressing. For example, a case of the
flat press, a distance between a leading end of the web and
the heating unit is short, but a distance between a trailing
end of the web and the heating unit is long. In addition,
the time from pressing to heating can be constant. Thus, it
is possible to suppress unevenness of pressing or heating.
[00101
[Application Example 31
In the sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the
above application example, a diameter of the pressing roller
may be greater than a diameter of the heating and pressing
roller.
[OOllI
In this case, a state where the web is formed in the
air is a state where the fiber and resin are mixed and a
state where the web contains a lot of air and is soft, and
inflated. Thus, it is possible to efficiently transport the
web by reliably catching the web of the inflated state by
making the diameter of the pressing roller be greater t.han
the diameter of the heating and pressing roller, that is, by
making the diameter of the pressing roller disposed on an
upstream side in the transport direction of the web be
greater than the diameter of the heating and pressing roller.
On the other hand, since the web that is pressed once is
fixed in shape, there is no problem even when the diameter
of the heating and pressing roller disposed on the
downstream side in the transport direction of the web is
smaller than that of the pressing roller. Thus, it is
possible to improve transportability of the web and to
reduce a size of an apparatus configuration.
[00121
[Application Example 41
In the sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the
above application example, a member that is able to come
into contact with the web between the pressing rollers and
the heating and pressing rollers may be only a web receiving
member that is able to receive the web from below.
[00131
In this case, since only the receiving member for
receiving the web that hangs down is provided between the
pressing rollers and the heating and pressing rollers, it is
possible to reduce a distance between the pressing rollers
and the heating and pressing rollers. Thus, the heated web
is quickly heated and pressed. Therefore, the springback of
the web is suppressed and it is possible to form a sheet
having high density and high strength.
[O 0 14 I
[Application Example 51
According to this application example, there is
provided a sheet manufacturing method including a step of
forming a web in which at least fiber and resin are
deposited in the air; a step of pressing the web without
heating; and a step of heating the web for heating and
pressing the web after the step of press'ing the web. A
pressing force in the step of pressing is greater than a
pressing force in the step of heating and pressing.
[0015]
In this case, first, the web that is formed by
depositing the fiber and resin is pressed. When pressing
the web, the web is not heated and is only pressed. A
distance between the fibers configuring the web is shortened
by pressing. Next, the web is heated and pressed in a state
where the distance between the fibers is shortened. Thus,
resin is melted and the fibers are bonded in a state where
the distance between the fibers is shortened while
preventing springback of the web. Thus, it is possible to
form the sheet having high density and high strength.
[0016]
[Application Example 61
According to this application example, there is
provided a sheet manufacturing apparatus including a web
forming unit that forms a web in which at least fiber and
resin are deposited in the air; a pressing unit that presses
the web at 51 N to 306 N; and a heating and pressing unit
that heats and presses the web on a further downstream side
than the pressing unit in a transport direction of the web.
Brief Description of Drawings
[00171
[Fig. 11 Fig. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a
configuration of a sheet manufacturing apparatus.
[Fig. 21 Fig. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a
configuration of a part of the sheet manufacturing apparatus.
[Fig. 31 Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a
sheet manufacturing method.
Description of Embodiments
[0018]
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be
described with reference to the drawings. Moreover, in each
view described below, in order to make each member and the
like be recognizable sizes, scales of each member and the
like are different from actual sizes.
[00191
First, a configuration of a sheet manufacturing
apparatus will be described. In addition, a sheet
manufacturing method will be described together. The sheet
manufacturing apparatus is, for example, based on a
technique of forming a new sheet Pr using a raw material
(defibration object) Pu such as pure pulp sheet and waste
paper. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the
embodiment is configured to include a web forming unit that
forms a web in which at least fiber and resin are deposited
in the air; a pressing unit that presses the web without
heating the web; and a heating and pressing unit that heats
and presses the web on a further downstream side than the
pressing unit in a transport direction of the web, and in
which a pressing force of the pressing unit is greater than
a pressing force of the heating and pressing unit. A sheet
manufacturing method of the embodiment includes a web
forming step of forming a web in which at least fiber and
resin are deposited in the air; a pressing step of pressing
the web; and a heating step of heating and pressing the web
after the pressing step, in which a pressing force in the
pressing step is greater than a pressing force in the
heating and pressing step. Moreover, the web according to
the embodiment refers to a configuration form of an object
containing the fiber and resin. Thus, even if forms such as
dimensions are changed during heating, during pressing,
during cutting, or during transporting the web, it
illustrates as the web and details will be described below.
[00201
Fig. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the
configuration of the sheet manufacturing apparatus according
to the embodiment and Fig. 2 is a schematic view
illustrating a configuration of a part of the sheet
manufacturing apparatus. In addition, Fig. 3 is a schematic
diagram illustrating the sheet manufacturing method. First,
as illustrated in Fig. 1, a sheet manufacturing apparatus 1
includes a supplying unit 10, a crushing unit 20, a
defibrating unit 30, a classifying unit 40, a receiving unit
50, an additive agent feeding unit 60, a web forming unit 70,
a pressing unit 120, a heating and pressing unit 150, and
the like.
[00211
The supplying unit 10 supplies the waste paper Pu to
the crushing unit 20. The supplying unit 10 includes, for
example, a tray 11 in which a plurality of the waste papers
Pu are deposited by overlapping the waste papers Pu, an
automatic feeding mechanism 12 that is capable of
continuously feeding the waste papers Pu in the tray 11 into
the crushing unit 20, and the like. The waste paper Pu
supplied to the sheet manufacturing apparatus is, for
example, paper of A4 size and the like mainly used in an
off ice.
[00221
The crushing unit 20 is provided to cut out the
supplied waste paper Pu to pieces of paper of several
centimeters square. The crushing unit 20 includes crushing
blades 21 and configures a device for spreading cut widths
of blades of a conventional shredder. Thus, it is possible
to easily cut out the supplied waste paper Pu to the pieces
paper. Then, cut crushed papers are supplied to the
defibrating unit 30 through a pipe 201.
[00231
The defibrating unit 30 includes rotating blades (not
illustrated) and untangles (defibrates) the crushed papers
supplied from the crushing unit 20 in fibriform. In
addition, the defibrating unit 30 of the embodiment performs
defibration in the air in dry type. Coating materials to
the paper such as blur-preventing agent, ink, and toner to
be printed are separated from the fiber by being particles
(hereinafter, referred to as !link particles") of several
tens of pm or less by the defibrating process of the
defibrating unit 30. Thus, the defibrated material drawn
out from the defibrating unit 30 is fiber and the ink
particles obtained by defibration of the pieces of paper.
Then, a mechanism of generating airflow by rotation of the
rotary blades is provided and the defibrated fiber is
transported to the classifying unit 40 through a pipe 202 by
riding on the airflow. Moreover, if a dry type defibrating
unit 30 that does not include a wind generation mechanism is
used, an airflow generating device for generating the
airflow from the crushing unit 20 to the defibrating unit 30
may be separately provided.
[00241
The classifying unit 40 classifies the defibrated
material into the ink particles and the fiber. In the
embodiment, as the classifying unit 40, a cyclone
(hereinafter, the cyclone 40 is described as the classifying
unit) is applied and the transported fiber is classified
into the ink particles and a deinked fiber (deinked
defibrated material) using the airflow. Moreover, another
airflow type classifier may be used instead of the cyclone
40. In this case, as the airflow type classifier other than
the cyclone 40, for example, elbow jet, eddy classifier, and
the like are used. The airflow type classifier generates a
whirling airflow, separates, and classifies the defibrated
material by a difference in a centrifugal force received by
a size and density of the defibrated material. Thus, it is
possible to adjust a classification point by adjusting a
speed of the airflow and the centrifugal force. Thus, the
defibrated material is separated into small ink particles of
relatively low density and the fiber of high density having
particles greater than the ink particles in size. Removing
the ink particles from the fiber is referred to as deinking.
[0025]
Moreover, for the cyclone 40, a tangent input type
cyclone has a relatively simple structure. The cyclone 40
of the embodiment is configured of an inlet 40a through
which the introduced material is introduced from the
defibrating unit 30, a cylindrical unit 41 to which the
inlet 40a is attached in a tangent direction, a conical unit
42 following a lower portion of the cylindrical unit 41, a
lower outlet 40b provided in a lower portion of the conical
unit 42, and an upper air outlet 40c for discharging fine
powder provided in an upper center of the cylindrical unit
41. A diameter of the conical unit 42 is decreased going
downward in a vertical direction.
LO0261
In a classifying process, the airflow, on which the
defibrated material introduced from the inlet 40a of the
classifying unit 40 rides, is changed to a circumferential
movement in the cylindrical unit 41, entanglement of the
fiber is increased by applying the centrifugal force and
synergy with the airflow, and the defibrated material moves
to the conical unit 42. In addition, separated ink
particles are delivered to the upper air outlet 40c together
with air as fine powder, and deinking is processed. A short
fiber mixture containing a large amount of the ink particles
I
I is discharged from the upper air outlet 40c of the cyclone
40. Then, the discharged short fiber mixture containing a
large amount of the ink particles is recovered in the
receiving unit 50 through a pipe 203 connected to the upper
air outlet 40c of the cyclone 40. On the other hand, the
deinked fiber is transported from the lower outlet 40b of
the cyclone 40 to the web forming unit 70 through a pipe 204.
Moreover, a suction mechanism for forcibly sucking the short
fiber mixture containing a large amount of the ink particles
may be provided on the upper air outlet 40c side.
[00271
In addition, the additive agent feeding unit 60 for
adding the additive agent such as resin (for example,
fusion-bondable resin or thermosetting resin) to the
transported deinked fiber is provided in the middle of the
pipe 204 in which the deinked fiber is transported from the
cyclone 40 to the web forming unit 70. Moreover, as the
additive agent, for example, flame retardant, colorant, a
sheet strength enhancing agent, a sizing agent, and the like
may also be fed in addition to the fusion-bondable resin.
The additive agent is stored in an additive agent reservoir
61 and is fed from a feeding port 62 by a feeding mechanism
(not illustrated) .
[0028]
The web forming unit 70 is provided to form the web in
which at least the fiber and resin fed from the pipe 204 are
stacked in the air (corresponding to web forming step). The
web forming unit 70 has a mechanism for uniformly dispersing
the fibers in the air and a mechanism for depositing the
dispersed fibers on a mesh belt 73.
[00291
First, as the mechanism for uniformly dispersing the
fibers in the air, a forming drum 71 into which the fiber
and resin are fed is disposed in the web forming unit 70.
Then, it is possible to uniformly ,mix resin (additive agent)
in the fibers by driving the forming drum 71 to be rotated.
A screen having a plurality of small holes is provided on a
surface of the forming drum 71. In addition, a rotatable
needle roll is provided on an inside of the forming drum 71
and dissolves the fed fibers. It is possible to uniformly
disperse the fibers passing through the small holes in the
air by such a configuration.
[00301
On the other hand, the endless mesh belt 73 on which a
mesh tensioned by tension rollers 72 (four tension rollers
72 in the embodiment) is formed is disposed below the
forming drum 71. Then, the mesh belt 73 is moved in one
direction by rotating at least one of the tension rollers 72.
[00311
Furthermore, a suction device 75 is provided vertically
below the forming drum 71 as a suction unit for generating
the airflow vertically downward through the mesh belt 73.
It is possible to suck the fibers dispersed in the air on
the mesh belt 73 by the suction device 75.
LOO321
Then, if the fibers of an entangled state are
introduced from the cyclone 40 into the forming drum 71 of
the web forming unit 70, the fiber and resin are untangled
by the needle roll and the like. Then, the untangled fibers
pass through the small hole screen on the surface of the
forming drum 71 and are deposited on the mesh belt 73 by a
suction force by the suction device 75. In this case, it is
possible to form a web W in which the fiber and resin are
I
deposited in an elongated shape by moving the mesh belt 73
in one direction. A continuous web W is formed by
dispersing the web W from the forming drum 71 and
continuously performing the movement of the mesh belt 73.
Moreover, the mesh belt 73 may be made of metal, resin, or
nonwoven fiber if the fibers can be deposited on the mesh
belt 73 and the airflow can pass through the mesh belt 73.
Moreover, if the hole diameter of the me'sh of the mesh belt
73 is too large, the fibers enter between the meshes and
become unevenness when forming the web (sheet), and if the
hole diameter of the mesh is too small, it is difficult to
form stable airflow by the suction device 75. Thus, it is
preferable that the hole diameter of the mesh is
appropriately adjusted. The suction device 75 forms a
closed box in which a window having a desired size is opened
below the mesh belt 73 and can be configured to make an
inside of the box be a negative pressure more than the
outside air by sucking air from outside the window.
As described above, the fiber F and resin R are mixed
and the web W (Wa) of a state of containing a lot of air and
being soft, and inflated is formed by passing through the
web forming unit 70 (web forming step) as illustrated in Fig.
3 (a) .
[00341
Next, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the web W formed on the
mesh belt 73 is transported in the transport direction
(arrows in the view) by rotation of the mesh belt 73. Next,
the web W is transferred from the mesh belt 73 to a
transport belt 101 that is tensioned by tension rollers 106,
and is transported in the transport direction (arrows in the
view) .
[00351
The pressing unit 120 is disposed on a downstream side
of the transport belt 101 in the transport direction of the
web W. The pressing unit 120 is provided to press the web W
without heating the formed web W (corresponding to pressing
step). Thus, a heating unit such as a heater is not
provided in the pressing unit 120. Thus, it is possible to
increase density and improve strength of the web W by
pressing (compressing) the web W. The pressing unit 120 is
configured so as to press the web W by pinching the web W by
rollers and has a pair of pressing rollers 121. Central
axes of the pair of the pressing rollers 121 are parallel to
each other. Moreover, the pressing unit 120 of the
embodiment includes a first pressing unit 120a that is
disposed on an upstream side in the transport direction of
the web W and a second pressing unit 120b that is disposed
on a downstream side thereof. The first pressing unit 120a
and the second pressing unit 120b respectively include the
pair of the pressing rollers 121. In addition, a guide 108
for assisting the transport of the web W is disposed between
the first pressing unit 120a and the second pressing unit
As illustrated in Fig. 2, the pressing roller 121 is
configured of a hollow me'tal core 122 made of aluminum, iron,
stainless steel, and the like. Moreover, anti-rust
treatment such as electroless nickel plating or triiron
tetraoxide coating, a tube containing fluorine such as
tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer
(PFA) or polytetrafluoroethylene (4 fluoride) (PTFE), or a
release layer of fluorine coating such as PTFE may be formed
on a surface of a heating and pressing roller 151. In
addition, an elastic layer formed of silicone rubber,
urethane rubber, cotton, or the like may be provided between
the metal core 122 and the surface layer. The pair of the
pressing rollers 121 that come into press-contact with each
other with high load by providing the elastic layer can
uniformly come into contact with each other in the axial
direction of the pressing roller 121.
[00371
As described above, since the web W (Wa) fed into the
pressing unit 120 is only pressed without heating by passing
through the pressing unit 120 (pressing step), as
illustrated in Fig. 3(b), resin R is not melted and a gap
(distance) between the fibers F is shortened. That is, the
web W (Wb) having high density is formed.
[0038]
As illustrated in Fig. 1, the heating and pressing unit
150 is disposed on further the downstream side than the
pressing unit 120 in the transport direction of the web W.
The heating and pressing unit 150 is provided to heat and
press the web W that is pressed by the pressing unit 120
(corresponding to heating and pressing step). Then, it is
possible to bond the fibers contained in the web W together
through resin by heating and pressing the web. The heating
and pressing unit 150 is configured so as to heat and press
the web W by pinching the web W by the rollers and has a
pair of heating and pressing rollers 151. Central axes of
the pair of the heating and pressing rollers 151 are
parallel to each other. It is possible to form the sheet
while continuously transporting the web by configuring the
heating and pressing unit 150 as the heating and pressing
rollers 151 compared to a case where the heating and
pressing unit 150 is configured as a flat press device. In
addition, if the flat press device is used, it is necessary
to have a buffer unit for temporarily loosening the
transporting web while pressing the web. That is, if the
heating and pressing roller 151 is used, it is possible to
improve manufacturing efficiency and to reduce a size of an
entire configuration of the sheet manufacturing apparatus 1.
[00391
The heating and pressing unit 150 includes a first
heating and pressing unit 150a disposed on the upstream side
and a second heating and pressing unit 150b on the
downstream side in the transport direction of the web W.
The first heating and pressing unit 150a and the second
heating and pressing unit 150b respectively include a pair
of the heating and pressing rollers 151. In addition, a
guide 108 for assisting the transport of the web W is
disposed between the first heating and pressing unit 150a
and the second heating and pressing unit 150b.
[00401
As illustrated in Fig. 2, the heating and pressing
roller 151 is configured of a hollow metal core 152 made of
aluminum, iron, stainless steel, and the like. Moreover, a
tube containing fluorine such as tetrafluoroethyleneperfluoroalkyl
vinyl ether copolymer (PFA) or
polytetrafluoroethylene (4 fluoride) (PTFE) or a release
layer 153 of fluorine coating such as PTFE is provided on a
surface of the heating and pressing roller 151. In addition,
an elastic layer formed of silicon rubber, urethane rubber,
cotton, or the like may be provided between the metal core
152 and the release layer 153. The pair of the heating and
pressing rollers 151 that come into press-contact with each
other with high load by providing the elastic layer can
uniformly come into contact with each other in the axial
direction of the heating and pressing roller 151.
[00411
In addition, a heating member 154 such as a halogen
heater is provided in a center portion of the metal core 152
as a heating unit. Each temperature of the heating and
pressing roller 151 and the heating member 154 is obtained
by a temperature detection unit (not illustrated) and
driving of the heating member 154 is controlled based on the
obtained temperature. Thus, it is possible to maintain a
surface temperature of the heating and pressing roller 151
at a predetermined temperature. Then, it is possible to
heat and press the transporting web W by allowing the web W
to pass through between the heating and pressing rollers 151.
Moreover, the heating unit is not limited to the halogen
heater and, for example, a heating unit using a non-contact
heater or a heating unit using hot air may be used.
[00421
As described above, resin R is melt and easily
entangles with the fiber F, and the fibers F are bonded in a
state where the gap between the fibers F is shortened by
passing through the heating and pressing unit 150 (heating
and pressing step). Thus, as illustrated in Fig. 3 (c), the
web W (Wc) having high density and high strength is formed.
As described above, in the embodiment, the pressing
unit 120 (the first pressing unit 120a and the second
pressing unit 120b) and the heating and pressing unit 150
(the first heating and pressing unit 150a and the second
heating and pressing unit 150b) are provided. Here, a
pressing force of the pressing unit 120 is greater than a
pressing force of the heating and pressing unit 150. In
other words, it is configured to strongly press the web W
before heating the web W. For example, the pressing force
of the pressing unit 120 can be set to be 51 N to 306 N (500
kg£ to 3000 kg£) and the pressing force of the heating and
pressing unit 150 can be set to be 3.1 N to 20.4 N (30 kg£
to 200 kgf). As described above, since the pressing force
of the pressing unit 120 is greater than that of the heating
and pressing unit 150, it is possible to sufficiently reduce
a distance between the fibers contained in the web W by the
pressing unit 120 and to form the web W (sheet Pr) having
high density and high strength by heating and pressing the
web W in this state.
[00441
In addition, a diameter of the pressing roller 121 is
set to be greater than a diameter of the heating and
pressing roller 151. In other words, the diameter of the
pressing roller 121 that is disposed on the upstream side is
greater than the diameter of the heating and pressing roller
151 that is disposed on the downstream side in the transport
direction of the web W. Since the diameter of the pressing
roller 121 is great, it is possible to efficiently transport
the web W by catching the web W of a state of not being
compressed yet. On the other hand, the web W passing
through the pressing roller 121 is compressed, a shape
thereof is in a state of being substantially consolidated,
and the web W is easily transported. Thus, the diameter of
the heating and pressing roller 151 that is disposed on
further downstream side than the pressing roller 121 may be
small. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the apparatus
configuration in size. Moreover, the diameters of the
heating and pressing roller 151 and the pressing roller 121
are appropriately set depending on a thickness of the web W
that is manufactured and the like.
[0045]
Furthermore, a member capable of coming into contact
with the web W between the pressing roller 121 of the
pressing unit 120 and the heating and pressing roller 151 of
the heating and pressing unit 150 is only the guide 108 as
the web receiving member capable of supporting the web W
from below. Thus, it is possible to reduce a distance
between the pressing roller 121 and the heating and pressing
roller 151. In addition, since the pressed web W is quickly
heated and pressed, the springback of the web W is
suppressed and it is possible to form the sheet having high
density and high strength.
[0046]
A first cutting unit 110 is disposed on further
downstream side than the heating and pressing unit 150 in
the transport direction of the web W as a cutting unit for
cutting the web W in a direction intersecting the transport
direction of the transported web W. The first cutting unit
110 includes cutters and cuts out the continuous web W in a
sheet form (sheet-like) according to a cutting position that
is set in a predetermined length. In addition, a second
cutting unit 130, which cuts the web W in the transport
direction of the web W, is disposed on further downstream
side than the first cutting unit 110 in the transport
direction of the web W. The second cutting unit 130
includes cutters and cuts out (cuts) the web depending on a
predetermined cutting position in the transport direction of
the web W. Thus, the sheet Pr (web W) having a desired size
is formed. Then, the cut sheets Pr (webs W) are stacked in
a stacker 160 and the like.
roo471
\ As described above, according to the above-described
embodiment, it is possible to obtain the following effects.
[0048]
The web W is formed by depositing the fiber and resin.
In this case, the web W is in a state of containing a lot of
air and being soft, and inflated. Then, the web W of this
state is pressed. In this case, heating is not performed.
Thus, resin in the web W is not melted and the gap (distance)
between the fibers is shortened. That is, the web W is
densified. Then, the web W is heated and pressed in a state
where the fibers are densified. Thus, resin is melted and
bonded in a state where the distance between the fibers is
shortened. Thus; it is possible to form the sheet Pr (web W)
having high density and high strength.
[00491
Moreover, the sheet according to the embodiment mainly
refers to a sheet which uses the fibers as the raw material
and is formed in a sheet shape. However, the sheet is not
limited to the embodiment and may be a board shape or a web
shape (or a shape having unevenness). Furthermore, as the
raw material, plant fibers such as cellulose, chemical
fibers such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and
polyester, and animal fibers such as wool and silk may be
included. The sheet in the present application is divided
into paper and non-woven fabric. Paper includes aspects
formed in a thin sheet shape of which the raw material is
pure pulp or waste paper and includes recording paper for
writing or printing, wallpaper, wrapping paper, colored
paper, Kent paper, and the like. Non-woven fabric has a
thickness thicker than that of paper or has a strength lower
than that of paper, and includes non-woven fabric, fiber
board, tissue paper, kitchen paper, cleaner, filter, liquid
absorption material, sound-absorbing material, cushioning
material, mat, and the like.
[00501
In the above-described embodiment, it is possible to
manufacture a thin sheet because the sheet is pressed more
strongly in the pressing unit than in the heating and
pressing unit in addition to having high density and high
strength. This is effective in paper because the paper is
thinner than the nonwoven fiber. However, it is also
possible to manufacture the nonwoven fiber having high
strength even if the embodiment is used in the manufacturing
of the nonwoven fiber.
[00511
The invention is not limited to the above-described
embodiment and various modifications and improvements can be
added to the above-described embodiment. The modifications
will be described later.
LO0521
(Modification Example 1)
In the above-described embodiment, in the pressing unit
120, two of the first pressing unit 120a and the second
pressing unit 120b are provided, but the invention is not
limited to the configuration. For example, the pressing
unit 120 may be one configuration. In addition, in the
heating and pressing unit 150, two of the first heating and
pressing unit 150a and the second heating and pressing unit
150b are provided, but the invention is not limited to the
configuration. For example, the heating and pressing unit
150 may be one configuration. Even in this way, it is
possible to obtain the same effects as the above description.
In addition, it is possible to further reduce the size of
the configuration of the sheet manufacturing apparatus 1.
[0053]
(Modification Example 2)
In the above-described embodiment, the first cutting
unit 110 is disposed on further downstream side than the
heating and pressing unit 150 in the transport direction of
the web W, but the invention is not limited to the
embodiment. For example, the first cutting unit 110 may be
disposed between the pressing uni,t 120 and the heating and
pressing unit 150. Thus, the web W becomes a form of a long
and sheet-shaped on further upper side in the transport
direction of the web W, and a length dimension of the web W
is reduced in the transport direction. Thus, it is possible
to reduce occurrence of skew and the like according to the
transport of the web W.
l-00541
(Modification Example 3)
In the above-described embodiment, the supplying unit
10, the crushing unit 20, the defibrating unit 30, the
classifying unit 40, and the additive agent feeding unit 60
may be omitted. If the raw material to which defibrated
additive agent is added is used, those configuration
elements are not necessary. Required configuration element
may be added depending on a form of the using raw material.
[00551
(Modification Example 4)
In the present application, waste paper is mainly
referred to as a printed paper, but it is regarded as waste
paper regardless of whether or not used as long as the raw
material is formed as paper.
Reference Signs List
[0056]
1 SHEET MANUFACTURING APPARATUS
10 SUPPLYING UNIT
20 CRUSHING UNIT
30 DEFIBRATING UNIT
40 CLASSIFYING UNIT
50 RECEIVING UNIT
60 ADDITIVE AGENT FEEDING UNIT
70 WEB FORMING UNIT
108 GUIDE AS WEB RECEIVING MEMBER
110 FIRST CUTTING UNIT
120 PRESSING UNIT
120a FIRST PRESSING UNIT
12Ob SECOND PRESSING UNIT
121 PRESSING ROLLER
122 METAL CORE
130 SECOND CUTTING UNIT
150 HEATING AND PRESSING UNIT
150a FIRST HEATING AND PRESSING UNIT
150b SECOND HEATING AND PRESSING UNIT
151 HEATING AND PRESSING ROLLER
152 METAL CORE
153 RELEASE LAYER
154 HEATING MEMBER
160 STACKER
- 30 -
CLAIMS
[Claim 11
A sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a web forming unit that forms a web in which at least
fiber and resin are deposited in the air;
a pressing unit that presses the web; and
a heating and pressing unit that heats and presses the
web on a further downstream side than the pressing unit in a
transport direction of the web,
wherein a pressing force of the pressing unit is
greater than a pressing force of the heating and pressing
unit.
[Claim 21
The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to Claim 1,
wherein the pressing unit has at least a pair of
pressing rollers for pressing the web by pinching the web by
the pair of the rollers, and
wherein the heating and pressing unit has at least a
pair of heating and pressing rollers for heating and
pressing the web by pinching the web by the pair of the
rollers.
[Claim 31
The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to Claim 1
or 2,
wherein a diameter of the pressing roller is greater
than a diameter of the heating and pressing roller
[Claim 41
The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to Claim 2
or 3,
wherein a member that is able to come into contact with
the web between the pressing rollers and the heating and
pressing rollers is only a web receiving member that is able
to receive the web from below.
[Claim 51
A sheet manufacturing method comprising:
a web forming step of forming a web in which at least
fiber and resin are deposited in the air;
a pressing step of pressing the web; and
a heating step of heating and pressing the web after
the pressing step,
wherein a pressing force in the pressing step is
greater than a pressing force in the heating and pressing
step.
[Claim 61
A sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a web forming unit that forms a web in which at least
fiber and resin are deposited in the air;
a pressing unit that presses the web at 51 N to 306 N;
and
a heating and pressing unit that heats and presses the
web on a further downstream .side than the pressing unit in a
transport direction of the web.