JPH04333699A - Paper decolorizing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To dispose of secret document without cutting by regenerating waste paper directly in state of paper without regenerating it by chemical treating method and paper making method. CONSTITUTION:Laser light source 11 emits laser beam having high output and laser beam irradiation part 2 irradiates the laser beam in definite irradiation range A. Carrying rollers 3 and 4 carries paper P2 to be decolorized. Only attached article such as ink on the surface of paper P2 is evaporated and scattered by laser beam to expose the ground.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper decoloring device that can be used for recycling used paper or disposing of confidential documents.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a portion of waste paper has been used as recycled paper. Recycled paper is made by suspending the collected waste paper in a solution, chemically bleaching and decolorizing it, and making so-called seeds by mixing the solution from which raw material pulp has been lysed and sized as needed. , This is then made into paper using a paper making machine.
It is manufactured by performing finishing treatment after drying.

[0003] Furthermore, in order to dispose of documents on which confidential information is written, shredders have been used that cut documents into thin wires or chips. The shredded paper waste is either incinerated or collected as waste paper.

0004

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in order to recycle waste paper that is no longer needed in this way, equipment that collects and intensively processes a large amount of waste paper is required, and it requires a large amount of heat and power sources. This requires a large power source and a large amount of water for treatment. In addition, the paper waste that is shredded to dispose of secret documents is bulkier than the original document, which not only increases transportation costs, but also cuts the fibers into small pieces, so recycled paper is manufactured using this as a raw material. This can sometimes become a problem.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a paper decoloring device that removes ink and other deposits from the surface of used paper without suspending it in a solution and returns the paper to a blank state before use. There is a particular thing.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The paper decoloring device of the present invention includes a laser light source that emits a laser beam, a laser beam irradiation means that irradiates a certain range of irradiation areas with the laser beam, and a paper to be decolorized that is irradiated with the laser beam. and a paper feeding mechanism for conveying the paper to the section.

[0007]

[Operation] The paper decoloring device of the present invention is provided with a laser light source that emits a laser beam and a laser beam irradiation means that irradiates a certain range of irradiation areas with the laser beam, and a paper feeding mechanism that moves the paper to be decolorized. Transport it to the laser beam irradiation section. Therefore, when the waste paper is transported to the laser light irradiation section and the surface of the waste paper is irradiated with laser light, the ink and other deposits on the paper surface evaporate and scatter, exposing the background of the paper surface. By irradiating the entire surface of the paper with laser light, the entire surface of the paper is bleached, allowing it to be reused as blank paper, and secret documents can be disposed of without being cut.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the structure of a paper decoloring apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a laser light source, which is a high-power pulsed laser such as a mixed gas laser containing CO2 or a YAG laser. Reference numeral 2 denotes a laser beam irradiation section that guides the laser beam to a certain range of the irradiation section, and is equipped with a galvano scanner that scans the laser beam on a straight line of a certain width shown at A in the figure. In addition, in the figure, 3 and 4 are conveyance rollers that convey waste paper to be decolorized, respectively, and P
1 is used paper on standby, P2 is paper in the middle of being transported, and P3 is recycled paper after decolorization. As shown in the figure, by irradiating the surface of the paper P2 with pulsed laser light, high energy is given to the spot irradiated on the paper surface, albeit for a very short time.
Only that spot becomes high temperature, and deposits such as ink evaporate and scatter.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the laser light irradiation section 2 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 5 denotes a mirror, and as the mirror 5 swings, the laser beam is scanned with a constant width in the irradiation section. The emission period of the pulsed laser beam is sufficiently short with respect to the angle change of the mirror 5, and the spot of the laser beam irradiated onto the paper surface is almost continuous with the spot irradiated by the previous emission of the pulsed laser beam. Further, the conveyance rollers 3 and 4 shown in FIG. 1 convey the paper P2 by the width of the laser beam spot in the time required for one scan by the mirror 5 shown in FIG. Therefore, the paper being transported is main scanned in its width direction,
The entire surface of the paper is decolored by being sub-scanned in the transport direction.

Next, other configurations of the laser beam irradiation section are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The example in FIG. 3 is an example in which so-called sheet light of a constant width is irradiated, where 6 is a mask and P is a sheet of paper to which the laser beam is irradiated. By forming a slit S of a constant width and a constant length in the mask 6 in this manner and irradiating the pulsed laser beam through the slit S, the entire width of the paper P can be irradiated with the laser beam at once. In this case, each time the pulsed laser beam is emitted, it is sufficient to transport the paper P by the minute width of the line irradiated onto the surface of the paper P.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which a certain area of laser light is simultaneously irradiated onto the irradiation part, where 7 is a mirror that reflects the laser light emitted from the laser light source 1 directly below, and 8 is a mirror that reflects the laser light directly below the irradiation part. It is a lens that spreads the light over a certain range. By placing the paper P on the irradiation section in this way, the paper P
It is possible to evaporate and scatter deposits such as ink on the surface, and by conveying the paper P in its longitudinal direction, the entire surface of the paper P can be decolored.

0012

[Effect of the invention] Rather than being recycled through chemical bleaching and paper manufacturing methods, it is recycled in its paper state,
This contributes to resource and energy conservation, and also makes it possible to recycle waste paper using relatively small-scale processing equipment. Therefore, the device can be used in a familiar place, and the cost and labor required for collecting and transporting waste paper can be reduced. Furthermore, it can also be used to dispose of secret documents, eliminating the need for bulky paper waste.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paper decoloring device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a laser beam irradiation section 2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a laser beam irradiation section according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of main parts of a paper decoloring device according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-Laser light source 2-Laser light irradiation part 3,4-Transport roller 5,7-mirror 6-Mask 8-Lens P-paper

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A laser light source that emits a laser beam, a laser beam irradiation unit that irradiates a certain range of irradiation areas with the laser beam, and a paper feed mechanism that conveys paper to be decolored to the irradiation area. A paper decolorizing device.