JP7414297B2 - Chopped sheet manufacturing device and chopped sheet manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus and a chopped sheet manufacturing method.

The chopped sheet is a composite sheet material containing a resin containing fiber material (for example, carbon fiber) cut to a predetermined length. Since the chopped sheet can be used as a discontinuous fiber instead of a continuous fiber in the fiber material contained in the resin, it has good fluidity during molding and is excellent in three-dimensional shaping into a mold during molding. Furthermore, chopped sheets can increase the strength of molded products to the same level as continuous fibers.

Patent Document 1 describes a pseudo-isotropically reinforced sheet material formed by stacking a plurality of chopped prepreg sheet materials to a required thickness. Further, Patent Document 1 describes the following matters. The pseudo-isotropically reinforced sheet material is an intermediate material that is molded by heating and pressing to finally obtain a molded product. A prepreg sheet material is a reinforcing fiber bundle such as a carbon fiber bundle impregnated with a thermoplastic resin. Chopped prepreg sheet material is created by cutting prepreg sheet material into desired widths and lengths. Further, Patent Document 1 points out that when stacking a large number of chopped prepreg sheet materials in the thickness direction, it is very difficult to orient and stack them so that the fiber directions are uniformly varied. It has been pointed out that if chopped prepreg sheet materials are stacked while being deflected and oriented in the same direction, unevenness may easily occur during stacking.

Patent Document 1 describes a process of producing a semi-prepreg sheet in which reinforcing fibers aligned in one direction are impregnated with a matrix resin, and a process of cutting the produced semi-prepreg sheet into pieces to produce a large number of chopped semi-prepreg sheets. A process of producing a layered body in which a large number of the produced chopped semi-prepreg sheets are two-dimensionally orientated randomly and stacked one on top of the other, and a process of laminating and integrating multiple produced layered bodies. and a step of laminating one or more of the produced pseudo-isotropically reinforcing sheet materials, applying pressure and heating to obtain a molded product of a desired shape. A method for manufacturing a pseudo-isotropically reinforced sheet material is described. Pseudo-isotropic reinforcing sheet material is made by randomly overlapping multiple chopped semi-prepreg sheet materials (an example of plate-like pieces) that are dispersed by natural falling, etc., so that the fiber direction of the reinforcing fiber material is random in two dimensions. They are superimposed so that they are oriented in the same direction. To explain in detail, when forming the layered body, the chopped semi-prepreg sheet material is allowed to fall naturally to the laminated position on the conveyor belt and is dispersed.

Patent Document 2 describes a chopped sheet in which bundles of discontinuous fibers arranged in one direction are laminated and temporarily fixed so that the fiber directions are random. Patent Document 2 discloses that a powdered binder is attached to a tape made of spread carbon fiber threads by heat melting, and the powdered binder is chopped into 50 mm lengths (an example of plate-shaped pieces) and randomly scattered in a flat plate shape. A specific example is described in which a chopped sheet is created by laminating the sheets and temporarily fixing them by heat and pressure bonding at 100°C.

JP2016-27956A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-192717

As mentioned above, the chopped sheet needs to be manufactured so that the fiber directions are randomly oriented (dispersed). In particular, when producing a chopped sheet by laminating plate-like pieces containing fiber materials, it is necessary to randomly orient the plate-like pieces. However, in the conventional technology, when producing a chopped sheet by laminating plate-like pieces, it is difficult to improve productivity while oriented the plate-like pieces in a sufficiently random manner. Therefore, it is desired to provide a chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus and a chopped sheet manufacturing method that can improve productivity while orienting plate-like pieces in a sufficiently random manner.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object thereof is to provide a chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus and a chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus that can improve productivity while randomly orienting plate-like pieces. The purpose is to provide a method.

The chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes:
a floating tank that stores a liquid and suspends plate-like pieces containing resin in the liquid in a dispersed state;
an arrangement mechanism that homogenizes the arrangement state by applying an external force to the plate-like pieces suspended in the floating tank;
A recovery mechanism is provided for recovering the plate-like pieces whose arrangement state is homogenized from the liquid surface.

The method for producing chopped sheets according to the present invention to achieve the above object is as follows:
a floating process in which plate-like pieces containing resin are suspended in a liquid;
an arranging step of applying an external force to the plate-like pieces in a floating state to homogenize the arranging state;
The method includes a recovery step of recovering the plate-like pieces whose arrangement state is homogenized from the liquid surface.

It is possible to provide a chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus and a chopped sheet manufacturing method that can improve productivity while randomly orienting fibers.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus. It is a perspective view showing an example of the shape of a plate-like piece (chop material). It is a top view which shows an example of the floating state of a plate-shaped piece before homogenizing an arrangement|sequence state. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which air bubbles are supplied while the plate-like pieces are suspended in a liquid to homogenize the array state. It is a schematic diagram explaining the state after the arrangement|sequence state is homogenized in the state in which the plate-shaped piece was suspended in the liquid. FIG. 3 is a top view showing an example of a floating state of plate-like pieces in a state where the arrangement state is homogenized. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a state in which plate-like pieces whose arrangement state is homogenized are collected by a mesh of a conveyor. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which plate-like pieces are adhered and formed into a sheet (molded). FIG. 2 is a top view showing an example of a plate-like piece (molded product) formed into a sheet. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which plate-like pieces are suspended in a liquid and the liquid surface is vibrated to homogenize the arrangement state. It is a figure showing the whole structure of another chopped sheet manufacturing device.

A chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus and a chopped sheet manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

(Explanation of overview)
As shown in FIG. 1, the chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus 100 (hereinafter referred to as the manufacturing apparatus 100) according to the present embodiment stores water L (an example of a liquid), and adds plate-like pieces containing resin to the water L. 1, an arrangement mechanism 5 that homogenizes the arrangement of the plate-like pieces 1 by applying an external force to the plate-like pieces 1 suspended in the floating tank 4, and a floating tank 4 that suspends the plate-like pieces 1 in a dispersed state. 1 from the liquid surface.

According to the manufacturing apparatus 100, a floating step in which the plate-like pieces 1 containing resin are suspended in water L, an arranging process in which an external force is applied to the floating plate-like pieces 1 to homogenize the arrangement state, and an arrangement state is changed. It is possible to realize a chopped sheet manufacturing method including a recovery step of recovering the homogenized plate-like piece 1 from the liquid surface.

According to the manufacturing apparatus 100, it is possible to improve the productivity of chopped sheets while randomly orienting the direction of the plate-like pieces 1.

(Detailed explanation)
As shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing apparatus 100 of this embodiment further includes a supply mechanism 3, a dry molding device 7, and a winding device 8 in addition to the above-mentioned floating tank 4, arrangement mechanism 5, and recovery mechanism 6. ing. The plate-like pieces 1 are supplied from a supply mechanism 3 to a floating tank 4, and are homogenized in an arraying state by an arraying mechanism 5. Thereafter, the plate-like piece 1 is collected by a collecting mechanism 6, conveyed to a drying and shaping device 7, dried and shaped, and then wound up by a winding device 8. In addition, homogenizing the arrangement state of the plate-like pieces 1 in this embodiment means to randomly orient the plate-like pieces 1, in other words, when looking at the set of plate-like pieces 1 as a whole, the plate-like pieces 1 is distributed so that it faces in all directions with equal probability on a plane. Below, the winding device 8 will be explained as seen from the supply mechanism 3 in the flow in which the plate-like piece 1 is supplied and conveyed from the supply mechanism 3 to the floating tank 4, the recovery mechanism 6, the drying molding device 7, and the winding device 8. The side of the supply mechanism 3 as viewed from the winding device 8 may be referred to as the downstream side, and the side of the supply mechanism 3 as viewed from the winding device 8 may be referred to as the upstream side.

In this embodiment, the plate-shaped piece 1 is a so-called chopped material obtained by cutting a plate material (so-called prepreg sheet material) in which a fiber bundle such as carbon fiber is impregnated with a thermoplastic resin into strips. As shown in FIG. 2, the plate-like piece 1 has a rectangular shape when viewed from above, for example, about 10 mm to 30 mm in length and 3 mm to 10 mm in width. The thickness of the plate-like piece 1 is, for example, 0.5 mm or more and 5 mm or less.

As shown in FIG. 1, the supply mechanism 3 is a mechanism for supplying the plate-like piece 1 to a floating tank 4, which will be described later. The supply mechanism 3 includes, for example, a supply container 31 that accommodates the plate-like pieces 1 , a vibration device 32 that vibrates the supply container 31 to drop the plate-like pieces 1 from the supply container 31 into the floating tank 4 , and It is equipped with a blower 33 that blows air onto the fallen plate-like piece 1.

The supply container 31 accommodates the plate-shaped piece 1 to be supplied to the flotation tank 4 . The supply container 31 is provided with an opening 31a serving as a supply port. The supply container 31 supplies the plate-like piece 1 to the floating tank 4 by dropping the plate-like piece 1 fluidized by the vibration applied by the vibration device 32 from the opening 31a. Below, the falling position or area in the floating tank 4 where the plate-like piece 1 falls from the supply container 31 will be referred to as the supply position.

The vibration device 32 is a vibration generator for vibrating the supply container 31. The vibration device 32 is attached to the lower surface of the supply container 31, for example.

The blower 33 is a so-called blower or fan. The blower 33 supplies airflow toward the plate-like pieces 1 falling from the opening 31a of the supply container 31, and appropriately disperses the plate-like pieces 1 before they fall into the floating tank 4.

The floating tank 4 is a tank in which a floating process is performed in which the plate-like pieces 1 are transported downstream while being suspended in the water L in a dispersed state. The floating tank 4 includes a first tank 41 in which water L is stored and for floating the plate-shaped piece 1, and a pump mechanism that generates a water flow (flow of water L) in the first tank 41. The pump mechanism includes a second tank 42 that stores waste water (water L) from the first tank 41 and a pump 43 that supplies the waste water stored in the second tank 42 to the first tank 41.

The first tank 41 is a tank that extends from the supply position to the collection mechanism 6 and is open (opened) at the upper side. The first tank 41 has, for example, a rectangular shape when viewed from above, and the longitudinal direction of the rectangle is along the direction from upstream to downstream. The first tank 41 collects the plate-like pieces 1 that have fallen from the supply mechanism 3, and suspends the plate-like pieces 1 with the stored water L. A cover may be installed above the first tank 41 to prevent the plate pieces 1 from scattering.

The first tank 41 supplies the plate-like pieces 1 to the collection mechanism 6 in a state where the plate-like pieces 1 are suspended. In the first tank 41, the plate-like pieces 1 are homogenized by an arrangement mechanism 5, which will be described later. Note that the specific gravity of the plate-like piece 1 with respect to water exceeds 1 (for example, specific gravity 1.5), but since the surface of the plate-like piece 1 is covered with resin and exhibits hydrophobicity, the plate-like piece 1 does not absorb water. It is repelled by the water L and can float in the water L in the first tank 41. The floating state of the plate-shaped piece 1 will be described later.

In the first tank 41, water L flows from the supply position of the plate-like piece 1 toward the recovery mechanism 6, that is, toward the downstream side. Due to this flow of water L, the plate-shaped piece 1 is transported in the first tank 41 toward the collection mechanism 6 . In this embodiment, a pump 43 is connected to the first tank 41 at the side where the plate-shaped piece 1 is supplied, and water L is supplied from the second tank 42 . The supplied water L flows toward the recovery mechanism 6 and then flows down into the second tank 42. As a result, in the first tank 41, a water flow is generated from the supply position of the plate-shaped piece 1 toward the recovery mechanism 6.

The arrangement mechanism 5 performs a homogenization process in which the arrangement state of the plate-like pieces 1 is homogenized by applying an external force to the plate-like pieces 1 in a floating state between the supply position and the collection mechanism 6 in the first tank 41. It is a mechanism for In this embodiment, the arrangement mechanism 5 includes a bubble generator 51 disposed in the first tank 41 (in the water L), that is, below the water surface of the water L.

The bubble generator 51 is a device for performing a bubble generation step of exhausting air supplied from an air pump or the like into the water in the first tank 41 and generating bubbles A (see FIG. 4) in the first tank 41. It is. The bubble generator 51 may, for example, have a plurality of through holes formed in a pipe and exhaust air supplied into the pipe into the water of the first tank 41 from the through holes. A plurality of bubble generators 51 may be arranged at predetermined intervals from the upstream side to the downstream side over a range from the supply position to this side (upstream side) of the recovery mechanism 6. Homogenization of the arrangement state of the plate-like pieces 1 by the arrangement mechanism 5 will be described later.

The recovery mechanism 6 is a mechanism for carrying out a recovery process of scooping up and recovering the plate-like pieces 1 floating on the water surface in the first tank 41 from the water surface without disturbing their arrangement. The collection mechanism 6 may include, for example, a net-like collection device. In this embodiment, the recovery mechanism 6 includes a first belt conveyor 61 having a net-like belt B that scoops up the floating plate pieces 1 from the first tank 41.

The first belt conveyor 61 is a collection and conveyance device that scoops up the plate-like pieces 1 floating in the first tank 41 and conveys the plate-like pieces 1 to the dry molding device 7 described later. In the first belt conveyor 61, a belt B formed in a net shape moves from the first tank 41 on the upstream side toward the drying and forming device 7 on the downstream side. In this embodiment, the first belt conveyor 61 is placed in the dry molding device 7 with the upstream end submerged in the water of the first tank 41 and the downstream end above the water surface of the first tank 41. They are said to be adjacent. That is, the belt B of the first belt conveyor 61 is arranged to be inclined so that the downstream side is located higher than the upstream side. In the process of moving from underwater to above water in the first tank 41, the first belt conveyor 61 scoops up the plate-like pieces 1 floating in the first tank 41, collects them on belt B, and collects the plate-like pieces 1 as they are. is transported to the dry molding device 7. The manner in which the plate-like piece 1 is conveyed by the first belt conveyor 61 will be described later.

The drying and forming device 7 is a device that dries the plate-like piece 1 conveyed from the first belt conveyor 61 and further forms the plate-like piece 1 into a plate-like molded plate 9 (an example of a chopped sheet). The dry molding device 7 includes a draining mechanism 71, a second belt conveyor 72, a drying tank 73 that accommodates the second belt conveyor 72, and a molding roller 74.

The second belt conveyor 72 successively supplies the plate-shaped piece 1 conveyed from the first belt conveyor 61 to a drying tank 73, passes through the inside of the drying tank 73, and further supplies it to a winding device 8, which will be described later. This is a transport device that In this embodiment, the second belt conveyor 72 is a conveyance device integrated with the first belt conveyor 61, and the second belt conveyor 72 is downstream of the first belt conveyor 61. In this embodiment, the second belt conveyor 72 after passing through a drying tank 73 (to be described later) and in front of the winding device 8 is a section where only conveyance is performed for a predetermined distance. This section where only conveyance is performed is secured as a cooling zone. The cooling zone will be described later.

The draining mechanism 71 is a mechanism that blows an air flow onto the plate-like piece 1 conveyed from the first belt conveyor 61 to remove water droplets adhering to the plate-like piece 1 . The draining mechanism 71 may include, for example, a nozzle that blows out air, and a compressor or blower that supplies air to the nozzle. The draining mechanism 71 is arranged upstream of the inlet of the drying tank 73 on the first belt conveyor 61 or the second belt conveyor 72.

The drying tank 73 includes a jacket 73a that accommodates the second belt conveyor 72, and a heating mechanism 73b such as an electric coil that generates infrared rays inside the tank (inside the jacket 73a). The plate-like piece 1 conveyed on the second belt conveyor 72 is heated and dried by the heating mechanism 73b while passing through the jacket 73a. The jacket 73a may be provided with an exhaust port 73c for exhausting water vapor.

The forming roller 74 is, for example, a forming device that includes a pair of rolls that sandwich and press the plate-shaped piece 1 being conveyed on the second belt conveyor 72 between the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the belt B. The plate-shaped piece 1 conveyed on the second belt conveyor 72 is formed into a plate-shaped forming plate 9 by the forming roller 74 . The manner in which the plate-like piece 1 is formed into a plate-shape will be described later.

The forming by the forming roller 74 may be carried out by raising the temperature of the plate-like piece 1 sufficiently in the drying tank 73 and then only pressing it, or by using the forming roller 74 as a heating roller while heating the plate-like piece 1. It may be pressed and molded. The forming roller 74 may be placed within the drying tank 73, for example. In this embodiment, the plate-like piece 1 is sufficiently heated and welded within the jacket 73a, and the welded plate-like piece 1 is pressed by the forming roller 74 to be finished molded into a plate shape.

After being carried out from the drying tank 73 and the forming roller 74, the molded plate 9 is exposed to outside air during conveyance by the cooling zone of the second belt conveyor 72 up to the winding device 8. and cooled. In the cooling zone, cooling air or the like may be supplied as necessary to promote cooling of the molded plate 9.

The molded plate 9 conveyed from the second belt conveyor 72 to the winding device 8 is wound up by the winding device 8 and made into a roll for shipping.

3 to 9, the floating state of the plate-like pieces 1, the homogenization of the arrangement state of the plate-like pieces 1, the manner in which the plate-like pieces 1 are conveyed by the first belt conveyor 61, and the plate-like The molding will be explained below.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the plate-like pieces 1 immediately after falling from the supply mechanism 3 into the first tank 41 float on the water surface in a stacked state. The layer (collection) of plate-like pieces 1 immediately after falling from the supply mechanism 3 is dispersed so that the plate-like pieces 1 are oriented in all directions with equal probability on the water surface (plane) when viewed as a whole. It has not been. Moreover, when the layers of the plate-like pieces 1 are viewed as a whole, they do not follow the water surface in the vertical direction, but are stacked and floating in a relatively thick state with variations.

Note that the layer of the plate-shaped piece 1 becomes thicker as the amount of plate-shaped piece 1 supplied from the supply mechanism 3 increases, and becomes thinner as the amount of supplied plate-shaped piece 1 decreases. Further, the layer of the plate-like piece 1 becomes thicker if the flow rate of the water L in the first tank 41 is slow (if the residence time of the plate-like piece 1 in the first tank 41 is long), and if the flow rate is fast (If the retention time of the plate-like piece 1 in the first tank 41 is short), it becomes thinner.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, bubbles A are supplied from below the plate-like piece 1 floating in the first tank 41 by the bubble generator 51 of the arrangement mechanism 5. During the process of the bubbles A rising through the water and reaching the water surface, the plate-shaped piece 1 is subjected to external forces such as the buoyancy of the bubbles A and the impact force when the bubbles A burst, that is, an upward lifting force and vibrations. Since the plate-like pieces 1 are coated with resin, the plate-like pieces 1 slide smoothly on each other, and since the plate-like pieces 1 float on the water surface, as external forces are repeatedly applied, the plate-like pieces 1 As shown in FIG. 5, the layers become oriented along the water surface, and the number of layers per unit area remains unchanged, but the layer changes to a thinner layer. In addition, as the external force is repeatedly applied, the plate-like piece 1 is dispersed so that it is oriented in all directions with equal probability on the water surface when the layer of the plate-like piece 1 is viewed as a whole, as shown in FIG. I will do it. In this way, the plate-like pieces 1 flow downstream in the state of floating in the first tank 41 and become homogenized before reaching the first belt conveyor 61.

The layer of the plate-like piece 1 after being homogenized becomes thinner than the layer thickness of the plate-like piece 1 before being homogenized. The layer of the plate-like piece 1 after homogenization becomes thicker as the amount of plate-like piece 1 supplied from the supply mechanism 3 increases, similar to the thickness of the layer of the plate-like piece 1 before homogenization. , the smaller the supply, the thinner it becomes. Further, the layer of the plate-shaped piece 1 becomes thicker if the flow rate of water L in the first tank 41 is slow, and becomes thinner if the flow rate is faster.

As shown in FIG. 7, the layer of plate-like pieces 1 after being homogenized is scooped up by the belt B of the first belt conveyor 61. The layer of the plate-like pieces 1 scooped up by the belt B of the first belt conveyor 61 becomes thicker when the layer of the plate-like pieces 1 after being homogenized in the first tank 41 is thick; The thinner the layer of flake 1 is, the thinner it becomes.

The layer of plate-like pieces 1 that has been scooped up is shaped by a drying tank 73 and a forming roller 74 (see FIG. 1), and is formed into a plate-shaped forming plate 9 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The molded plate 9 is a fixed plate-like body in which the plate-like pieces 1 are dispersed and fixed so as to face in all directions with equal probability on a plane.

Since the molding plate 9 contains cut discontinuous fibers, the fluidity when molding a molded body using the molding plate 9 as a raw material is improved. In addition, since the fibers of the molded plate 9 are randomly oriented due to the dispersion of the plate-like pieces 1, the strength of the molded body using the molded plate 9 as a raw material is high. The basis weight of the molded plate 9 increases when the layer of the plate-like piece 1 scooped up by the belt B of the first belt conveyor 61 (see FIG. 1) is thick, and when the layer of the plate-like piece 1 scooped up is thin. becomes smaller.

In this way, the manufacturing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 is equipped with the arrangement mechanism 5 and can easily perform homogenization. Therefore, the manufacturing apparatus 100 can easily change the basis weight of the molded plate 9 and the production speed. For example, while increasing the amount of plate-like pieces 1 supplied from the supply mechanism 3, the flow rate of water L in the first tank 41 is increased to increase the production speed while keeping the weight of the molded plate 9 constant. Can be done. That is, the manufacturing apparatus 100 can easily improve the productivity of the molded plate 9 while performing homogenization.

As described above, a chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus and a chopped sheet manufacturing method can be provided.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, the arrangement mechanism 5 has the bubble generator 51, generates the bubbles A in the first tank 41, applies external force to the plate-shaped piece 1 by the bubbles A, and applies an external force to the first tank 41. The case where the plate-like piece 1 in a floating state is homogenized has been explained. However, the mechanism and method by which the arrangement mechanism 5 applies external force to the plate-shaped pieces 1 to homogenize the arrangement state are not limited to the bubble generator 51. The arrangement mechanism 5 may be any mechanism as long as it can apply an external force to the plate-like pieces 1 floating in the first tank 41.

For example, together with the bubble generator 51 or in place of the bubble generator 51, the arrangement mechanism 5 may strike or shake the liquid surface of the first tank 41 or the plate-shaped piece 1 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. It may also include a paddle device 55 for performing a vibration generation step (vibrating). 10 and 11 show a case where a plurality of paddle devices 55 are arranged at predetermined intervals from the upstream side to the downstream side. The paddle device 55 may be placed at a position immediately after the supply position and in front of the collection mechanism 6, as shown in FIG. The paddle device 55 may be a device that performs a piston movement up and down, for example. As shown in FIG. 10, the paddle device 55, for example, has a rod-shaped paddle 55a arranged with its longitudinal direction along the width direction (short side direction) of the first tank 41, and moves it up and down via a support shaft 55b. It may have a structure in which a piston is moved.

As shown in FIG. 10, the liquid surface of the first tank 41 or the plate-like piece 1 is struck and shaken by the paddle device 55 to vibrate. Thereby, an external force can be applied to the plate-like pieces 1 to homogenize the arrangement state of the plate-like pieces 1.

(2) In the above embodiment, the supply mechanism 3 includes the supply container 31, the vibration device 32 that vibrates the supply container 31 and causes the plate-shaped piece 1 to fall from the supply container 31 into the floating tank 4, and the supply mechanism 3 that The case where the plate-like piece 1 is provided with a blower 33 that blows air has been described. However, the blower 33 is not essential. Instead of dispersing the plate pieces 1 falling from the supply container 31 by providing a blower 33 in the supply mechanism 3, the external force applied to the plate pieces 1 may be increased or Dispersion and homogenization may be promoted by increasing the residence time of the plate-like pieces 1 in the tank 41.

(3) In the above embodiment, the supply mechanism 3 includes a supply container 31 and a vibration device 32 that vibrates the supply container 31 and causes the plate-shaped piece 1 to fall from the supply container 31 into the floating tank 4. explained. However, the vibration device 32 is not essential. Instead of the vibrating device 32, a screw-type or paddle-type feeding or scraping mechanism may be provided, and the plate-like piece 1 may be dropped from the supply container 31 into the floating tank 4 using this mechanism.

(4) In the above embodiment, the supply mechanism 3 includes the supply container 31 and the vibration device 32 that vibrates the supply container 31 and causes the plate-shaped piece 1 to fall from the supply container 31 into the floating tank 4. explained. However, the manner in which the plate-like pieces 1 are supplied from the supply container 31 to the floating tank 4 is not limited to falling. A slope may be provided from the supply container 31 toward the flotation tank 4, and the plate-like piece 1 may be poured into the flotation tank 4 from the supply container 31 by sliding the plate-like piece 1 on the slope. In this case, the plate-like pieces 1 may be poured into the floating tank 4 while the plate-like pieces 1 are dispersed on the slope by vibrating the slope.

Note that the configurations disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies hereinafter) can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in other embodiments as long as there is no contradiction, and The embodiments disclosed in this specification are illustrative, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the purpose of the present invention.

The present invention can be applied to a chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus and a chopped sheet manufacturing method.

1 plate-shaped piece 100 manufacturing equipment (chopped sheet manufacturing equipment)
3 Supply mechanism 31 Supply container 31a Opening 32 Vibrator 33 Air blower 4 Floating tank 41 First tank 41a Cover 42 Second tank 43 Pump 5 Arranging mechanism 51 Bubble generator 55 Paddle device 55a Paddle 55b Support shaft 6 Recovery mechanism 61 First Belt conveyor 7 Drying forming device 71 Draining mechanism 72 Second belt conveyor 73 Drying tank 73a Jacket 73b Heating mechanism 73c Exhaust port 74 Forming roller 8 Winding device 9 Forming plate (chopped sheet)
A Air bubble B Belt L Water (liquid)

Claims (7)

a floating tank that stores a liquid and suspends plate-like pieces containing resin in the liquid in a dispersed state;
an arrangement mechanism that homogenizes the arrangement state by applying an external force to the plate-like pieces suspended in the floating tank;
a collection mechanism for collecting the plate-like pieces whose arrangement state is homogenized from the liquid surface ,
The collection mechanism includes a conveyor that scoops up the plate-like pieces floating in the floating tank,
The upstream end of the conveyor is submerged in the water of the floating tank in the flow in which the plate-like pieces are conveyed from the floating tank to the collection mechanism, and the downstream end is submerged in the water surface of the floating tank. Chopped sheet manufacturing equipment located above . The floating tank allows the liquid to flow from the supply position of the plate-like piece toward the recovery mechanism,
The chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement mechanism applies the external force between the supply position and the recovery mechanism in the floating tank. The arrangement mechanism includes a bubble generator disposed below the liquid level in the floating tank, and applies the external force to the plate-like piece by the buoyancy of the bubbles generated by the bubble generator. The chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The arrangement mechanism includes a vibration generator that vibrates the surface of the liquid in the floating tank, and applies the external force to the plate-like piece by the vibration of the liquid surface. The chopped sheet manufacturing device described in . further comprising a supply mechanism that supplies the plate-like pieces to the floating tank while falling and dispersing them;
The chopped sheet manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the supply mechanism includes an air blower that distributes the plate-like pieces by supplying an airflow toward the falling plate-like pieces. a floating process in which plate-like pieces containing resin are suspended in a liquid;
an arranging step of applying an external force to the plate-like pieces in a floating state to homogenize the arranging state;
a recovery step of recovering the plate-like pieces whose arrangement state has been homogenized from the liquid surface ,
In the collecting step, the plate-like pieces floating in the liquid are scooped up obliquely upward from the liquid surface without disturbing the arrangement of the plate-like pieces. further comprising a supplying step of supplying the plate-like piece to the liquid surface of the liquid while dropping it,
The method for manufacturing a chopped sheet according to claim 6, wherein in the supplying step, an airflow is supplied toward the falling plate-like pieces to disperse the plate-like pieces.

Images