JP2894318B2 - OHP film playback device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for reproducing and reusing a used OHP film.
The OHP film is used to draw character figures on the screen with a pen or a printer and project the enlarged character figures on a screen by an OHP (overhead projector). It is a transparent resin film. I often draw letters and figures with an oil-based water pen.

[0002] In some cases, characters and graphics are printed by a printer. OHP is frequently used for presentations at conferences, meetings at companies, and lectures. Used and unnecessary OHP films are discarded. Character drawings on OHP film cannot be easily erased, so they have to be discarded.

[0003]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION OHP films are incinerated, but have problems. One is that a huge amount of OHP film is consumed. Not a small amount. Every month, a considerable number of OHP films are consumed and discarded. This is undesirable because it wastes oil resources unnecessarily. In addition, incineration is very costly.
The cost of disposing of plastic waste can be as high as 100,000 to 200,000 / ton. OHP film, which is not only cost, emits harmful substances when incinerated. If it is discarded in the mountains without being incinerated, it degrades the natural environment. I want to play back and reuse the used OHP film.

Several attempts have been made to reproduce OHP films. However, none of those proposals is still sufficient. No. 60-59245, "OHP film player"
Immerse a large-diameter brush roller in a tank containing solvent,
Pass the OHP film between the two feed rollers before and after contacting the brush roller from above in the space,
The lower surface of the film is rubbed with a brush with a solvent to wipe off carbon of the copy toner. It is said that toluene, benzine and thinner will be used as the solvent. A solvent such as benzene is scooped up with a brush and adhered to the surface of the film, and the brush is rotated to remove carbon. The liquid containing the dissolved carbon is sucked by a suction roller provided at a subsequent stage. Thereafter, the discharged film is stacked on an oblique tray. Since the film is continuously fed in the direction parallel to the plane of the paper, there is an advantage that it is suitable for automation and efficient. This is only for films toned with a copier. In addition, it is necessary that the paper is supplied so that the copy surface is facing down.
Insufficient time to dry.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 1-101577 discloses a method of reproducing an OHP film on which a character or graphic is drawn by copying. If the OHP film is discarded as it is, the secret may leak. When hung on a shredder to prevent confidential leakage, the blade will hurt. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to erase a character graphic and reuse it if possible. OH with toner
The P film is transported in the direction of the film surface, immersed in a solvent in a tank, and subjected to ultrasonic vibration. If necessary, rub the lower surface of the film with a rotating brush in a solvent. Organic solvents evaporate easily and are toxic. Therefore, according to the present invention, an organic solvent having a higher specific gravity than water is put in a tank and water is put on the tank. Since the organic solvent has a higher specific gravity than water and is insoluble in water, the solvent and water are separated into two layers. The water on top suppresses evaporation of the organic solvent. Such a device has been devised. Organic solvents such as Tricrene, Perchlen, and Three One Dissolve are used. Since the film is conveyed in the plane direction with both sides sandwiched by rollers, it can be processed continuously. However, the brush comes in contact with only one side, and the dirt on both sides cannot be removed. Further, there are disadvantages in that no consideration is given to prevention of white turbidity during drying, and only copy toner is removed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-111987 proposes an apparatus for continuously removing toner such as copy characters from a film. In this case, the film is conveyed while being sandwiched between rollers in a direction parallel to the surface. As the solvent, a common solvent such as acetone, toluene, xylene, and a fluorine-based solvent is used.
Since it is transported in a direction parallel to the surface of the film, it is suitable for continuous cleaning processing. However, there is no mention of drying the film. In addition, dirt other than toner cannot be removed.

Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 2-58771, "Reproducing Apparatus for Copied Film" describes the above-mentioned improvement in which a solvent-containing precipitate is removed from a solvent. OH
The point that the P film is sandwiched between rollers in a direction parallel to the surface and is carried and the surface is rubbed with a brush is the same as that described above. Make the tank funnel-shaped. The tank is formed by an inclined surface and has a narrow bottom. The swollen toner is heavy without being dissolved in the solvent. During the night when operation is stopped, the toner sinks to the bottom of the funnel-shaped tank. Most of the toner can be removed by removing a part of the solvent from the bottom before starting the operation the next day. However, this does not mean that the solvent is repeatedly used.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-140987 "Image forming apparatus" removes toner from a used OHP film with toner and forms a newer image. The system is conveyed into the solvent by rollers in a plane-parallel direction. The solvent contains methyl isopropyl ketone as a main component. Rub only one side with a brush. The toner is removed and becomes a suspension in the solvent. The detoned film is immediately transported to the transfer station, where a new image is written with new text by electrostatic means. This is an improvement of the copying machine, and it is natural that the film advances in the horizontal direction. However, the problem of drying is not recognized. Further, since the toner is removed from only one side, it is necessary to discriminate and set which side has the toner.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-121071 "Reproducing Apparatus for Recording Medium" is an improvement for the first time directly addressing the problem of drying. The OHP film is transported on a belt in a solvent in a horizontal direction, and the upper and lower surfaces are rubbed with a brush. The resin containing the toner swells and becomes fine particles and peels off. The film is pulled up by another belt, sandwiched between heated rollers built into the heater, and rapidly heated to
Dry the HP film. At this time, since significant steam is emitted, the steam is passed through the steam recovery device. This is a centrifuge with a cylindrical filter. Since the solvent particles are collected in the filter, they are not radiated to the outside and do not pollute the environment. A cleaning agent containing no organic solvent is placed in the tank, thereby swelling and removing the resin. The cleaning agent comprises water, higher fatty acid esters compatible with water, surfactants, organic acids, and the like. Water accounts for more than 50%.
This is to swell and peel off the resin that does not directly dissolve the toner but attaches and fixes the toner to the film. So water is the mainstream. A mixture of water and an agent for swelling the resin without dissolving the toner is used as a cleaning agent. Heating and drying is carried out because a cleaning agent composed mainly of water is used.
Although this method has a problem of film drying, it has a drawback such as cloudiness, deformation, and deterioration due to rapid drying by heat.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-121072 discloses a recording medium reproducing apparatus in which a used OHP film to which toner has adhered is immersed in a solvent for a long time to swell the resin which causes the toner to adhere to the film. The sufficiently swelled toner is scraped off with a brush. Water and a resin swelling agent are used for the cleaning liquid. Swelling agents are agents that are compatible with water. Consists of higher fatty acid esters, surfactants, and organic acids. It takes a long time for the resin to become soft, containing water, fatty acid esters and surfactants. Therefore, a device has been devised so that the film can be immersed in the cleaning liquid for a long time.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-295101 entitled "Reproducing Method and Reproducing Apparatus for Clear Sheets for OHP" discloses an OHP sheet which is copied by a feed roller, a dirt removing roller, a wiping roller, a driving roller, etc.
Feed the HP film horizontally. The solvent is poured over the dirt-removing roller from above. The solvent is limonene, terpene or the like. The toner is removed by the solvent. Since the solvent is wiped off by the wiping roller, a dried film is finally obtained. The peripheral speeds of the wiping roller and the dirt-removing roller are set to be different from each other so that the wiping roller can completely wipe off the solvent. There is a new idea of this proposal in that wiping, dirt removal, and the like are performed in a transport state depending on a difference in peripheral speed.
However, the present inventor thinks that this is not aware of the problem of white turbidity during drying.

[0012]

Heretofore, OHP films have been considered unreproducible and have been discarded as they are. But it is a huge waste of oil resources. In addition, toxic waste gas is generated by incineration of OHP film. The environment can be polluted by direct disposal. Several regenerative attempts have been made, all of which are inadequate.

All of the above-mentioned prior arts are directed to copied OHP films. This is a film with toner attached. This is obtained by hardening the toner with a resin. Therefore, writing with a writing instrument such as an oil-based pen is not covered. In addition, what is printed by a printer cannot remove stains. In other words, versatility is poor because it depends on the type of dirt. It is not very useful if it cannot be applied to such a film because a character figure may be handwritten with an oil-based pen.

In many cases, dirt on only one side is removed. However, since the OHP film is a transparent film, it is sometimes difficult to see the front and back sides when drawing a picture.
In addition, if it is necessary to hang the machine on the front and back, manual operation is required. Further, when the solvent is removed from the film by drying, new white turbidity may occur. There is a problem that effective means for preventing clouding during drying is not provided.

[0015] To provide an OHP film reproducing apparatus that can completely erase any ordinary OHP film, such as a copied OHP film, a handwritten one with an oil-based pen, and a printed one with a printer. Is a first object of the present invention. It is a second object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of feeding an OHP film to a processing machine without distinguishing the front and back sides. It is a third object of the present invention to provide a regenerating apparatus which is devised so as not to generate new cloudiness during drying.

[0016]

According to the present invention, there is provided an OHP film reproducing apparatus comprising: a solvent tank containing a solvent; a movable OHP film which is movable in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction; A hanging and pulling chuck, a brush provided inside the solvent tank and rotating to rub the front and back surfaces of the OHP film in the solvent tank, and a solvent wet film provided above the solvent tank and temporarily attached. It comprises a flat drying plate for drying, and a second chuck which grips one end of the OHP film stuck on the drying plate and transports it to a stripping / dispensing tray.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The operation of each component will be described below. The first chuck grips one end of the used OHP film, transports it to the top of the tank, and descends to immerse the film vertically in the solvent tank. As the first chuck and the film are descending, the rotating brush rubs the surface of the film from both sides. Dirt is liquefied by the solvent. The dirt liquefied by the solvent by the rotating contact of the brush is removed.
Since the film is lowered while rubbing the film from both sides by the rotating brush, the brush guides the film.
If the lower end of the film is free and the film has a curl, the lower end of the film may slide on the liquid surface and not enter the tank. Here, there is no mistake in feeding because the brush forcibly lowers the film. The brush thus acts both as a dirt remover and as a descending guide. After washing, the film is pulled up and attached to a drying plate provided further above the brush.

Although it may be held by the first chuck,
In order to further increase the efficiency, the first chuck releases the film. The first chuck can return to the next used film cleaning step. The solvent is dried and removed by sticking to the drying plate for a predetermined time. No turbidity or the like is generated because it is dried while attached to a drying plate. This is important. When the film is dried in a free state, a part of the film becomes clouded. In order to avoid this, drying is carried out in a state of being attached to a drying plate. The cleaning liquid can be quickly removed by simply rubbing the film with a soft wiping member from top to bottom, although it may be simply affixed to the drying plate. Further, since the temperature of the drying plate decreases, if a heater is attached to the drying plate and heating is performed, the efficiency is further enhanced.

After that, the second chuck is
Grasp one end of the film and pull it off the drying plate. There are a method of rotating the drying plate for peeling and a method of retracting the chuck. Either is acceptable. If the peeling is performed by the movement of the chuck, the second chuck must also perform the retreating movement. The film peeled from the dried plate is cantilevered by the chuck. The second chuck is free O
Stack the HP film on the dispensing tray. The following operation is repeated. If there is only one chuck, it means that the film is being gripped by the same chuck during drying. Then, the regeneration time per one sheet, washing,
The drying time is added. If you have two chucks,
The playback time per sheet is determined by the longer of the washing time and the drying time.

Since the solvent gradually becomes dirty, it needs to be replaced. The whole may be replaced at a stretch. The waste liquid may be treated and discarded, or the waste liquid may be regenerated. When regenerating, the waste liquid may be regenerated by removing dirt through a filter at another place. Alternatively, a circulating system may be formed in which the supernatant is constantly withdrawn, passed through a filter to remove dirt, and returned to the solvent tank again. As the solvent, an organic solvent containing carbon and chlorine and having two or more carbon-chlorine bonds is used. For example, methylene dichloride, trichloromethane, carbon tetrachloride and the like.

In the present invention, instead of sending the OHP film horizontally in a direction parallel to the surface, the upper end is held by a chuck, and the film is hung down and sent in a direction perpendicular to the surface. This is the first point different from the above prior arts. It seems a little unsuitable for continuous operation, but it is not. Since it can be immersed vertically in a solvent, both sides can be rubbed with a brush. There is no need to distinguish between the front and back of the film because both sides can be cleaned. This is a very useful property.

In the case where the film is fed horizontally by a roller or a belt, the entire surface of the film comes into contact with the roller, so that there is a disadvantage that dirt attached to the roller newly adheres to the film. The solvent gradually becomes soiled, and the soil becomes concentrated on the edge of the roller, so that the soil is redistributed into the film by the roller. By devising the geometrical arrangement of the feeding direction and the supporting direction, an effect not available in the prior art is produced.

Since the upper end is gripped by the chuck, dirt attached to the upper end cannot be removed. However, that is not a problem since the chuck stops at the top 3 mm of the film (FIG. 3). This is because characters and figures are hardly written on the edge of the upper 3 mm. The brush has the effect of guiding the film as the brush pulls down below the vertically suspended film. If a light film is immersed from the free end, it may not enter the liquid due to the surface tension of the liquid. In the present invention, the rotating brush has the lower end and reliably draws the film into the liquid.

It is not well known that when a film is dried in a free state, cloudiness always occurs. The present inventors have for the first time noticed the property that when the organic solvent is dried while in contact with the solid, no cloudiness occurs. Therefore, in the present invention, a film is temporarily attached to a plate-shaped solid drying plate to be dried. This is another significant feature of the present invention.

The drying plate is preferably inclined. There is a mechanical advantage that one end is easily gripped and peeled by the chuck. In addition, there is a hydrodynamic advantage that the droplets flow down obliquely and are easy to dry. The dried film is separated from the drying plate by chucking, and there are two methods. One is a method of rotating the drying plate so as to lie down as shown by the arrow in FIG. This moves the film away from the drying plate. The other method is to send the chuck to the film surface side and separate it from the drying plate. Any method may be used, but the former method is adopted here.

[0026]

FIG. 1 shows a process diagram of the apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration diagram of an OHP film reproducing apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus of the present invention includes a first chuck 1, a second chuck 2, a solvent tank 3, a brush 4, a drying plate 5, a dispensing tray 6, an auxiliary tank 7, a pump 8, a filter 9, and the like. . In this step, as shown in FIG. 2, the film is vertically supported by a first chuck 1 and both sides are rubbed with a brush 4 while being immersed in a cleaning liquid (solvent), pulled up and attached to a drying plate 5, and dried so as not to cause cloudiness. Peeling off from the drying plate 5 and stacking on the payout tray 6. This will be described more specifically.

(1) The apparatus according to the present invention uses a used OHP
A first chuck 1 for fixing the film, a second chuck 2 for dispensing the washed and dried film, a solvent tank 3 containing a solvent for cleaning the OHP film, and carbon soaked in the solvent in the solvent tank and attached to the film. A brush 4 for peeling off the film, a drying plate 5 for drying the solvent-adhered film so as not to be turbid or scratched, and finishing it so that it can be reused, and a dispensing tray 6 for dispensing and storing the dried film.

(2) The solvent in the solvent tank is stained by carbon or ink attached to the OHP film.
Therefore, the circulation type is such that the supernatant is collected in the auxiliary tank 7 and is again supplied to the solvent tank via the filter 9 by the pump 8. This makes it possible to always wash the film with a clean solvent.

(3) About 200 films can be stocked in the payout tray. Films that can be reused only by supplying used films to the chuck 1 are stacked on the payout tray. In addition, a tray for storing used film is provided in front of the chuck 1,
The number 1 is obtained by automatically holding the chuck 1 one by one.
Unmanned operation of 00 sheets is also possible.

In the above configuration, the operation steps of the equipment will be described below. (1) First, a used OHP film on which carbon or a character by a copy or a character or a picture by an oil pen is written is fixed at a predetermined position by the chuck 1. This may be performed manually, or the film may be stacked on another tray as described above, and the upper end of the film may be automatically grasped by the first chuck. At this time, it is necessary to make the chucked portion as small as possible because the portion where the film is chucked does not directly contact the solvent. Normally, when printing or writing on an OHP film, the outer part of about 3 mm
When the image is projected on a screen or the like by the P device, it is difficult to see it, so that it is often not entered. For this reason, the upper part of the chuck portion for fixing the film is 3 mm or less.

(2) Next, the OHP fixed by the chuck
The film is put into a solvent tank 3 containing a solvent. The chuck 1 is attached to a numerical controller having two axes perpendicular to each other so as to be able to freely adjust the time and position of charging and pulling into the solvent.

While the film is being charged into the solvent tank, the roll-shaped brush 4 is brought into contact with the film from both the front and back sides, and is rotated downward from above. The rotating brush removes deposits on the film surface simultaneously on both sides. The material of the brush is preferably a material which does not damage the film and which can remove the attached matter quickly. Wool is most suitable. The movement of the film is set in the vertical direction in order to be able to wash both sides simultaneously.

(3) Next, the film washed with a brush is lifted from the solvent by raising the chuck. The solvent wet film is suspended vertically from the chuck.

(4) As a method of drying an OHP film washed with a solvent without causing cloudiness or damage, a method of pulling the film while contacting it with a solid substance is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-153263. It is proposed by the issue No. "Reproduction method of OHP film". In the present invention, a plate (dry plate) having a large area is adopted as the solid member in accordance with this concept. A portion near the lower end of the drying plate is rotatably supported by a rotating mechanism 11. The film pulled out of the liquid by the chuck is temporarily attached to a drying plate. (5) The wiping unit 16 of the wiping mechanism 15 rubs the film surface from top to bottom to wipe off the cleaning liquid. FIG. 5 shows an example. In this example, the wiping mechanism 1 is attached to the chuck itself.
5 is attached and translated obliquely downward. The wiping unit 16 can use a rolled film itself. In addition, cloth and wool can be used. As a result, the cleaning liquid is scraped off and drying is promoted. The heat of vaporization is lost each time drying is performed, and the dried plate is cooled. Then, the drying time becomes longer. Therefore, a heater 13 is attached behind the drying plate 5 as shown in FIG. The temperature of the drying plate 5 is measured by the thermocouple 12, and the heater current is adjusted by the temperature controller 14 to keep the temperature constant. In this case, the drying plate is maintained at a suitable high temperature, so that the drying time is short and uniform. (6) A method was adopted in which the convenience was further promoted, and the film was attached to a SUS plate (drying plate) and separated at the speed of drying. Therefore, dry press
The lower end of the gate is supported by the rotation mechanism 11. Then, the drying plate is rotated downward by the rotation mechanism 11 to separate the film. As the film dries from the top, the film is gradually separated from the drying plate according to the drying speed. Of course, the film may be separated by moving the chuck toward the film surface.

At this point, a process of changing the film from the chuck 1 to the chuck 2 is performed, and the chuck 1 returns to the position where the original film is set so that the next film can be set. The film re-gripped by the chuck 2 is regenerated on the spot as a clear OHP film free from cloudiness and scratches by gradually separating the film from the drying plate, which is a SUS plate, in the rotation direction in accordance with the drying speed. The drying plate is rotated by a numerically controlled motor so that the drying speed can be freely adjusted.

(7) The recycled film is delivered to the delivery tray 6 provided at the rear by transporting the chuck 2, and the process of the playback operation is completed. For example, 200 films can be stacked on the payout tray 6. There is no such thing as peeling is difficult because the dried ones are piled up. (8) In the solvent tank 3, a part of the supernatant is drawn out and taken out to the auxiliary tank 7. This is pumped up by a pump, passed through the filter 9, and returned to the solvent tank again.

[0037]

The conventional OHP film reproducing apparatus is intended only for the OHP film produced by copying, and swells the resin which solidifies the toner to release it from the film. In contrast, the device according to the invention is very versatile. It is possible to remove all stains on the OHP film, such as carbon transferred by copying, written with an oil-based pen, and characters and figures printed by a printer. The present invention reproduces a conventionally disposable OHP film and makes it reusable. A huge amount of OHP film can be prevented from being wasted. As a result, consumption of petroleum resources can be prevented.

Almost all of the conventional apparatuses are continuously fed in the film surface direction. Many brushed only one side. In the apparatus of the present invention, the film can be set without distinguishing between the front and back surfaces because the film is immersed vertically in the cleaning liquid and both sides are rubbed with a brush. It is useful because it saves trouble.

Further, a device is devised for drying. When the film is dried freely, cloudiness always occurs on the film surface. However, since the film is dried in contact with a solid, the film surface is finished without cloudiness. Further, since drying is performed from above, it is possible to prevent drying in a free state by pulling up in accordance with the drying speed. Heating the drying plate can shorten the drying time. If the surface of the film is rubbed with a rolled film material, drying will be further accelerated.

Since the solvent becomes contaminated, a part of the solvent is taken out, the contaminant is removed through a filter, and the solvent is regenerated by circulating, so that the amount of solvent discharged can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process diagram in which an OHP film reproducing apparatus of the present invention cleans a used OHP film.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an OHP film reproducing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining that the chuck of the apparatus of the present invention grips a portion 3 mm at the upper end of the film.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a drying plate showing an improvement in which a heater and a thermocouple are attached to the drying plate and heated to a constant temperature.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an improvement in which residual liquid on the surface of a film attached to a drying plate is wiped off.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st chuck 2 2nd chuck 3 Solvent tank 4 Brush 5 Drying plate 6 Dispense tray 7 Auxiliary tank 8 Pump 9 Filter 10 OHP film 11 Rotation mechanism 12 Thermocouple 13 Heater 14 Temperature controller 15 Wiping mechanism 16 Wiping part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03B 21/14 G03G 21/00 578

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A chuck which is movable in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, grips one end of a used OHP film, drops the film into a solvent tank, and pulls up the film. A brush that rotates so as to rub the front and back surfaces, a flat drying plate provided above the solvent tank for temporarily attaching and drying the film wet with the solvent, and one end of the OHP film attached to the drying plate. An OHP film reproducing apparatus, comprising: a chuck for conveying the sheet to a payout tray. 2. A chuck for gripping the OHP film in the vertical direction, and loading and pulling the OHP film into and out of the solvent tank is supported by two orthogonal axes of a variable speed horizontal and vertical axis so that the pulling speed and the loading speed can be adjusted. 2. The apparatus for reproducing an OHP film according to claim 1, wherein: 3. An OHP film is vertically inserted into a solvent tank, and the film is removed from both sides of the film by sandwiching the film with a roll-shaped brush and rotating the brush downward from above the film. 3. The OHP film reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: 4. A circulating device for recovering the supernatant of the cleaning liquid contaminated by deposits on the film from the solvent tank, removing the contamination of the cleaning liquid via a filter by a pump, and returning the cleaning liquid to the tank again. The OHP film reproducing apparatus according to claim 3. 5. A method in which the washed and wet film is temporarily attached to a drying plate and dried, and the film is separated from the drying plate by rotating the drying plate in accordance with a speed at which the film is dried. The OHP film reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein 6. The apparatus for regenerating an OHP film according to claim 5, wherein a chuck for initially gripping the OHP film and immersing it in the solvent tank is different from a chuck for separating the OHP film from the drying plate. 7. A heater is provided on the drying plate to provide a heater.
2. The OHP film reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying plate is heated by a heater. 8. The OHP film reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a wiping mechanism for wiping a cleaning liquid from a surface of the film attached to the drying plate.