Sheet Manufacturing Device Humidity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In sheet manufacturing apparatuses, defibrated material can adhere to internal components due to high temperature and low moisture air, leading to clogging and reduced sheet quality, and existing dry processes face challenges in maintaining desired grammage and moisture content.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus separates hot, dry gas from defibrated material and introduces humidified gas to prevent drying and charging, using a mesh belt and suction unit to manage moisture and additives, and a separator to return large fibers and clumps, ensuring reliable conveyance and sheet formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a dry process sheet manufacturing apparatus is used to reduce water consumption and device size, then water usage and device footprint are reduced, but defibrated material becomes dry and charged leading to adhesion inside the apparatus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a humidity control unit that acts as an intermediary between the defibrating unit and the forming drum. This unit supplies humidified air to the defibrated material during conveyance, preventing the material from becoming excessively dry and charged. The humidified air serves as a mediator that maintains appropriate moisture levels without requiring a return to wet processing methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the air environment by controlling humidity levels in the air stream that conveys defibrated material. By adjusting the moisture content of the air from the humidity control unit, the system prevents electrostatic charging and adhesion of defibrated material while maintaining the dry process advantage of reduced water consumption.
2Productivity
If the defibrator operates for extended periods to increase productivity, then sheet output increases, but the defibrator heats up to high temperatures causing defibrated material to become dry and adhere to internal components
Solution Approach 1:
The humidity control unit serves as a thermal and moisture buffer between the high-temperature defibrator and the forming drum. It introduces humidified air that compensates for the heat-generated drying effect, allowing the defibrator to operate continuously at high productivity levels without causing adhesion problems from excessive temperature and dryness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of heat-generated dry air into a beneficial control parameter. Instead of viewing the hot, dry air from the defibrator as a problem, the system uses a humidity control unit to deliberately adjust the moisture content of this air stream, transforming the thermal energy and air flow into a controllable environment that prevents adhesion while maintaining high-speed operation.
3Use of energy by moving object
If defibrated material is conveyed through hot, dry air to maintain dry process efficiency, then energy consumption is reduced, but the material becomes charged and adheres to the laying unit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes a targeted parameter change by adjusting only the humidity of the air stream rather than changing the entire process from dry to wet. This selective parameter modification maintains the energy efficiency of the dry process while correcting the moisture deficiency that causes charging and adhesion, thereby preserving both energy savings and sheet quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The humidity control unit introduces humidified air as an intermediary substance that modifies the properties of the conveying air stream. This allows the system to maintain the low-energy dry process advantage while adding just enough moisture to prevent electrostatic charging and adhesion, preserving manufacturing precision without sacrificing energy efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively suppresses adhesion and charging of defibrated material, maintaining sheet quality and grammage, reducing energy consumption, and eliminating the need for cyclones, thus enhancing the efficiency and reliability of the sheet manufacturing process.
Implementation Method 1
a suction unit configured to remove the gas from the defibrating unit
Implementation Method 2
a mesh belt configured to capture at least some of the defibrated material conveyed by the gas and to allow the gas to pass through the mesh belt
Implementation Method 3
a wetting unit configured to wet the defibrated material captured by the mesh belt
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a sheet manufacturing apparatus capable of suppressing adhesion of defibrated material to the inside of the apparatus. A sheet manufacturing apparatus 100 has a defibrating unit 20 that defibrates into defibrated material feedstock containing fiber; mesh 46 that captures at least part of the defibrated material conveyed from the defibrating unit 20 by gas G1, and passes the gas; an opening 7a to which the defibrated material captured by the mesh 46, and gas G2 of a different state than the gas G1 from the defibrating unit 20, are introduced; and a sheet forming unit 80 that forms a sheet S using the defibrated material introduced from the opening 7a.