SHEET MANUFACTURING APPARATUS, SHEET, AND SHEET MANUFACTURING METHOD

• US 20200131705A1
• Filed: 03/13/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2017
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: HIGUCHI, Naotaka
• Application Number:
  US16/495,920
• Publication Number:
  US 20200131705A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B27N 1/029 Feeding; Proportioning; Controlling
• CPC Class Codes: B27N 3/04 from fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B27N 3/14 Distributing or orienting the particles or fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B27N 3/146 Controlling mat weight distribution
• CPC Class Codes: B27N 3/18 Auxiliary operations, e.g. preheating, humidifying, cutting-off
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/60 the bonding agent being applied in dry state, e.g. thermo-activatable agents in solid or molten state, and heat being applied subsequently
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/732 by fluid current, e.g. air-lay
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/736 characterised by the apparatus for arranging fibres D04H1/728, D04H1/732 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: D21B 1/06 by dry methods
• CPC Class Codes: D21F 1/48 Suction apparatus suction rolls D21F3/10
• CPC Class Codes: D21F 1/74 using cylinders
• CPC Class Codes: D21F 2/00 Transferring continuous webs from wet ends to press sections
• CPC Class Codes: D21F 7/06 Indicating or regulating the thickness of the layer; Signal devices
• CPC Class Codes: D21G 9/0027 controlling the forming section

Abstract

A sheet manufacturing apparatus includes a drum unit having a plurality of openings, a web forming unit that has a deposition surface, on which material containing fibers that has passed through the openings is deposited, and forms a second web on the deposition surface, a sheet forming unit that processes the second web and forms a sheet, and a control unit that controls a basis weight of the second web deposited on the deposition surface in a direction crossing a transport direction of the second web.

Claims

1. A sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:

a sieving unit having a plurality of openings;

a web forming unit that has a deposition surface on which material containing fibers that has passed through the openings is deposited and forms a web on the deposition surface;

a sheet forming unit that forms a sheet by processing the web; and

a control unit that controls a basis weight of the web deposited on the deposition surface in a direction crossing a transport direction of the web.

2. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the sieving unit includes a rotatable drum unit,

a material supply pipe that supplies a transport air flow containing the material to inside of the drum unit is arranged, and

the material supply pipe includes

a first supply pipe,

a second supply pipe that branches from the first supply pipe at a branch portion and is connected to one end in a rotation axis direction of the drum unit,

a third supply pipe that branches from the first supply pipe at the branch portion and is connected to the other end in the rotation axis direction of the drum unit, and

a first adjustment unit that is provided near the branch portion and changes a ratio between a transport amount of the material transported by the transport air flow flowing through the second supply pipe and a transport amount of the material transported by the transport air flow flowing through the third supply pipe under control of the control unit.

3. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the sieving unit includes

a rotatable drum unit,

a housing portion that covers at least a portion including the openings of the drum unit,

a material supply port that supplies the transport air flow containing the material to inside of the drum unit,

first and second air intake ports which supply air containing no material from outside of the housing portion to inside of the drum unit and which are provided away from each other in a rotation axis direction of the drum unit, and

a second adjustment unit that changes a ratio of flow rates of air supplied from the first and the second air intake ports under control of the control unit.

4. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the sieving unit includes

a rotatable drum unit,

a housing portion that covers at least a portion including the openings of the drum unit,

a material supply port that supplies the transport air flow containing the material to inside of the drum unit,

first and second air intake ports which supply air containing no material from outside of the housing portion to inside of the drum unit and which are provided away from each other in a rotation axis direction of the drum unit, and

a position change unit that changes a position of the first air intake port with respect to the material supply port and a position of the second air intake port with respect to the material supply port under control of the control unit.

5. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the control unit controls a flow rate of the transport air flow.

6. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a suction unit that sucks the material to the deposition surface by a suction air flow,

wherein the control unit controls a flow rate of the suction air flow.

12. A sheet manufactured by the sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1.

7. A sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:

a web forming unit that forms a web by depositing a material containing fibers on a deposition surface;

a sheet forming unit that forms a sheet by processing the web;

a receiving unit that receives a setting of a basis weight distribution of the sheet; and

a control unit that controls a basis weight of the web to be deposited on the deposition surface of the web forming unit based on the basis weight distribution received by the receiving unit.

8. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a sieving unit where a plurality of openings are formed,

wherein the material that passes through the openings of the sieving unit is deposited on the deposition surface, and

the receiving unit receives a basis weight distribution in a predetermined direction crossing a transport direction of the web as a basis weight distribution of the sheet.

9. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a detection unit that detects a thickness or a basis weight of the web or the sheet,

wherein the control unit controls a basis weight distribution of the web in a predetermined direction crossing a transport direction of the web based on a detection result of the detection unit.

14. A sheet manufactured by the sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7.

10. A sheet that is transported by being pinched by a transport roller pair, wherein

variation is provided in a basis weight distribution in a predetermined direction crossing a transport direction and a basis weight in a central portion is greater than a basis weight in an end portion in the predetermined direction.

11. The sheet according to claim 10, wherein

a thickness of the end portion in the predetermined direction is equal to a thickness of the central portion.

13. A sheet manufacturing method comprising:

a first step of forming a web by depositing a material containing fibers on a deposition surface;

a second step of transporting the web; and

a third step of forming a sheet by processing the transported web,

wherein, in the first step, variation is generated in a basis weight distribution in a predetermined direction crossing a transport direction of the web and a basis weight in a central portion is made greater than a basis weight in an end portion in the predetermined direction.