# US 11,077,581 B2 · Sheet manufacturing apparatus and control method of sheet manufacturing apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,077,581 B2 - Document ID: US11077581B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/497,473 - Filed: 2018-02-22 - Published: 2020-04-02 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2017-03-27 - Assignees: Seiko Epson Corporation - Applicants: Seiko Epson Corporation - Inventors: Kaneo Yoda; Yoshiyuki Nagai; Yuki Oguchi; Shigeo Fujita; Akira Arai; Kazuhiro Ichikawa; Teruaki Oguchi; Seiichi Taniguchi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11077581B2 ## CPC - B27N 3/04: from fibres - D04H 1/4274: Rags; Fabric scraps - D04H 1/4258: Regenerated cellulose series - D04H 1/542: Adhesive fibres - D04H 1/58: by applying, incorporating or activating chemical or thermoplastic bonding agents, e.g. adhesives (in combination with needling D04H1/488) - D04H 1/732: by fluid current, e.g. air-lay - D21G 9/0045: {controlling the calendering or finishing} - B27N 1/02: Mixing the material with binding agent (mixing in general B01F) - 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 - D21B 1/08: the raw material being waste paper (chemical part D21C5/02); the raw material being rags - D21F 9/00: Complete machines for making continuous webs of paper - D21G 9/0009: {Paper-making control systems} - B27N: MANUFACTURE BY DRY PROCESSES OF ARTICLES, WITH OR WITHOUT ORGANIC BINDING AGENTS, MADE FROM PARTICLES OR FIBRES CONSISTING OF WOOD OR OTHER LIGNOCELLULOSIC OR LIKE ORGANIC MATERIAL (containing cementitious material B28B; shaping of substances in a plastic state B29C; fibreboards made from fibrous suspensions D21J; drying F26B17/00) - D04H: MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL (weaving D03; knitting D04B; braiding D04C; net-making D04G; sewing D05B; tufting D05C; finishing non-woven fabrics D06); FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING {; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION}(non-woven fabrics having an intermediate or external layer of a different kind, e.g. of woven fabric, B32B) - D21G: CALENDERS; ACCESSORIES FOR PAPER-MAKING MACHINES (winders or rewinders for finished products, means for adjustment of wrinkles or lateral extensions B65H) - D21B: FIBROUS RAW MATERIALS OR THEIR MECHANICAL TREATMENT - D21F: PAPER-MAKING MACHINES; METHODS OF PRODUCING PAPER THEREON ## Abstract A sheet manufacturing apparatus is an apparatus that heats a material containing fibers to form a sheet, and includes a heating portion that heats the material, and a control portion that controls a temperature at which the heating portion heats the material. The control portion sets a temperature of the heating portion to a first temperature in a first state where the sheet manufacturing apparatus manufactures the sheet, and sets the temperature of the heating portion to a second temperature lower than the first temperature at a predetermined timing in a second state where the sheet is not manufactured, or at a predetermined timing when a state of the sheet manufacturing apparatus is shifted to the state where the sheet is not manufactured. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A sheet manufacturing apparatus heating a material containing fibers to form a sheet, the apparatus comprising: a heating portion that heats the material; and a control portion that controls a temperature at which the heating portion heats the material, wherein the control portion sets a temperature of the heating portion to a first temperature in a state where the sheet manufacturing apparatus manufactures the sheet, the control portion sets the temperature of the heating portion to a second temperature lower than the first temperature at a predetermined timing in a state where the sheet is not manufactured and the control portion controls the heating portion to be ON, or at a predetermined timing when a state of the sheet manufacturing apparatus is shifted from the state where the sheet manufacturing apparatus manufactures the sheet to the state where the sheet is not manufactured and the control portion controls the heating portion to be ON, and the control portion starts counting a standby time in response to the state of the sheet manufacturing apparatus being shifted to the state where the sheet is not manufactured and the control portion controls the heating portion to be ON, and the control portion changes the temperature of the heating portion from the second temperature to a third temperature lower than the second temperature when a time period in which the control portion counts the standby time reaches a predetermined set time period. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a reception portion that receives an input from an outside, wherein the control portion changes the temperature of the heating portion from the first temperature to the second temperature, or from the second temperature to the first temperature in response to the input received by the reception portion. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reception portion is configured to receive an input of a type of the sheet to be manufactured, and the control portion changes the temperature of the heating portion from the first temperature to the second temperature, or from the second temperature to the first temperature according to a change in the type of the sheet to be manufactured, by the input in the reception portion. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a supply portion that supplies a plurality of types of raw materials, each containing fibers; and a defibrating portion that defibrates the raw material supplied by the supply portion, wherein the control portion changes the temperature of the heating portion from the first temperature to the second temperature, or from the second temperature to the first temperature according to a change in a type of the raw material supplied by the supply portion. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a plurality of accommodation portions that accommodate the plurality of types of the raw materials for the respective types, wherein the supply portion selects and supplies any one of the plurality of types of the raw materials accommodated in the accommodation portion. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cartridge that contains a binding material, wherein the control portion acquires temperature information from the cartridge, and determines the first temperature based on the acquired temperature information. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cartridge that contains a binding material, wherein the control portion acquires temperature information from the cartridge, and determines the second temperature based on the acquired temperature information. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transport portion that transports the material to the heating portion, wherein at least an operation of transporting the material to the heating portion by the transport portion is performed in the state where the sheet is manufactured, and at least the transport portion is stopped in the state where the sheet is not manufactured and the control portion controls the heating portion to be ON. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a humidifying portion that has a heat source and humidifies the material, wherein the heat source of the humidifying portion is operated in the state where the sheet is not manufactured and the control portion controls the heating portion to be ON. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control portion changes the temperature of the heating portion from the first temperature to the second temperature based on a time during which the state where the sheet is not manufactured and the control portion controls the heating portion to be ON continues. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control portion stops a control of the temperature of the heating portion based on a time during which the state where the sheet is not manufactured and the control portion controls the heating portion to be ON continues. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is configured to be manufactured based on a job including at least an instruction to start and end manufacture of the sheet, or designation of a manufacturing volume, and the control portion shifts the state of the sheet manufacturing apparatus to a suspended state where the sheet is not manufactured and the control portion controls the heating portion to be ON during an operation of manufacturing the sheet based on the job, and sets the temperature of the heating portion to the second temperature lower than the first temperature in the suspended state. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is configured to be manufactured based on a job including at least an instruction to start and end manufacture of the sheet, or designation of a manufacturing volume, and the control portion shifts the state of the sheet manufacturing apparatus to a standby state where the sheet is not manufactured and the control portion controls the heating portion to be ON after an operation of manufacturing the sheet based on the job is completed, and changes the temperature of the heating portion from the first temperature to the second temperature based on a time during which the standby state continues. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control portion changes the temperature of the heating portion from the second temperature to the first temperature in response to the input from an outside. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating portion includes a heating roller pair that interposes and heats the material, the heating roller pair is configured to be displaced between a first position interposing the material and a second position not interposing the material, and the control portion displaces the heating roller pair to the second position, when the control portion changes the temperature of the heating portion from the first temperature to the second temperature. ### Claim 16 A control method of a sheet manufacturing apparatus heating a material containing fibers to form a sheet, the sheet manufacturing apparatus including a heating portion that heats the material, and a control portion that controls a temperature at which the heating portion heats the material, the method comprising: controlling the temperature of the heating portion that heats the material at the control portion; setting, at the control portion, the temperature of the heating portion to a first temperature in a state where the sheet manufacturing apparatus manufactures the sheet; setting, at the control portion, the temperature of the heating portion to a second temperature lower than the first temperature at a predetermined timing in a state where the sheet is not manufactured and the heating portion is controlled to be ON, or at a predetermined timing when a state of the sheet manufacturing apparatus is shifted from the state where the sheet manufacturing apparatus manufactures the sheet to the state where the sheet is not manufactured and the heating portion is controlled to be ON; and starting, at the control portion, counting a standby time in response to the state of the sheet manufacturing apparatus being shifted to the state where the sheet is not manufactured and the heating portion is controlled to be ON, and changing, at the control portion, the temperature of the heating portion from the second temperature to a third temperature lower than the second temperature when a time period in which the standby time is counted reaches a predetermined set time period.