U.S. patent application number 11/307743 was filed with the patent office on 2007-01-11 for office equipment for paper recycling.
Invention is credited to Stefano Brambilla.
Application Number | 20070006987 11/307743 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37192288 |
Filed Date | 2007-01-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070006987 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Brambilla; Stefano |
January 11, 2007 |
Office equipment for paper recycling
Abstract
An office paper recycling apparatus makes new office paper from
used paper directly in an office building. The apparatus (1)
comprises a used paper-feeding portion (58); a paper-shredding
portion (57); a pulping portion (51); a paper-forming portion (52);
a paper-press portion (53); a paper-drying portion (54); a
paper-sizing portion (55); a paper-finishing portion (56) and a
final paper-collecting portion (59), where the new sheets are
collected and stacked, ready to be used in office equipment.
Inventors: |
Brambilla; Stefano; (Rozzano
(MI), IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LOUIS VENTRE, JR
2483 OAKTON HILLS DRIVE
OAKTON
VA
22124-1530
US
|
Family ID: |
37192288 |
Appl. No.: |
11/307743 |
Filed: |
February 20, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
162/264 ;
162/234; 162/286; 162/289; 162/358.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y02W 30/646 20150501;
D21B 1/32 20130101; Y02W 30/64 20150501 |
Class at
Publication: |
162/264 ;
162/286; 162/289; 162/234; 162/358.1 |
International
Class: |
D21F 1/66 20060101
D21F001/66; D21C 7/00 20060101 D21C007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 11, 2005 |
IT |
MI2005A 001307 |
Claims
1. An office paper recycling apparatus having a unitary body
comprising, (a) a pulping portion wherein used paper is transformed
into a slurry; (b) a paper-forming portion wherein the slurry is
spread and consolidated into a thin mat forming a paper web; (c) a
paper-press portion wherein water is removed from the paper web;
(d) a paper-drying portion wherein the paper web is dried; (e) a
paper-finishing portion wherein the paper web is trimmed to a paper
sheet; (f) a paper-collecting portion wherein the paper sheet is
placed in a stack.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a paper-shredding
portion capable of cutting each sheet of used paper into fragments,
shredding said fragments, and delivering shredded fragments to the
pulping portion.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a paper-sizing
portion wherein the surface of the paper web can be smoothed after
it leaves the paper-drying portion.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising a paper-feeding
portion wherein paper can be automatically fed sheet by sheet to
the pulping section.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pulping portion comprises a
pulping unit; a deflaking unit; a washing unit; a holding tank; a
screen; and, a waste collecting tank.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the deflaking unit comprises a
refining unit wherein the fibers in the slurry can be shortened and
homogenized.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the deflaking unit further
comprises a toothed rotor and a stator and is capable of breaking
up clots in a fiber slurry.
8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the deflaking unit comprises a
toothed rotor and a stator and is capable of breaking up clots in a
fiber slurry.
9. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the washing unit is a magnetic
device capable of removing agglomerated ink.
10. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the pulping portion comprises
a pressure screen.
11. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the pulping portion comprises
a centrifugal screen wherein a vortex removes heavy particles.
12. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the pulping unit comprises a
vessel with rotor blades inside, wherein water may be added to the
vessel on demand from a tank and wherein chemical additives may be
added from a second tank.
13. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the washing unit is capable of
removing ink from the slurry.
14. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the holding tank comprises
propellers to enable the creation of a homogeneous slurry.
15. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the holding tank is capable of
receiving chemical additives from a plurality of auxiliary
tanks.
16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the paper-forming portion
comprises a rotatable forming drum with a wire mesh surface,
wherein said drum is partially submerged in dilute pulp slurry in a
vessel and wherein the wire mesh surface is capable of spreading
and consolidating the slurry and forming a paper web when the drum
is rotated.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the paper-forming portion
further comprises a flow box wherein an adjustable slit in said
flow box enables the flow of a thin slurry stream onto said wire
mesh surface.
18. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising a continuous
fabric belt wherein said belt is wound around a circumferential
segment of the rotatable forming drum such that water can be
drained from the paper web and sheet formation can take place.
19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein water drained from the paper
web can be recovered in the vessel and recycled to the pulping
portion.
20. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the paper-press portion
comprises a plurality of suction rollers wherein said suction
rollers form a double nip with a nip roller to enable pressing out
water from the paper web.
21. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the paper-drying portion
comprises, (a) two series of heated cylinders; (b) two paper-drying
fabric belts; and (c) a plurality of rollers; wherein the paper web
can be alternated through the heated cylinders on the paper-drying
fabric belts along the rollers such that water can be removed from
the paper web and fabric belts by vaporization through the transfer
of heat from the heated cylinders.
22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the paper-drying portion
further comprises a fan capable of removing the vaporized water
from the apparatus.
23. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the paper-finishing portion
comprises slitting knives and transversal rotary blades capable of
cutting the sized paper web to single sheet dimensions.
24. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a computer wherein
said computer automatically operates and controls the working
parameters of the apparatus.
25. A process of making new paper from used paper using the
apparatus of claim 1 comprising the steps of, (a) transforming used
paper into a slurry of water and fibers in the pulping portion; (b)
spreading and consolidating the slurry into a thin mat forming a
paper web in the paper-forming portion; (c) removing water from the
paper web in the paper-press portion; (d) drying the paper web in
the paper-drying portion; (e) trimming the paper web to a sheet in
the paper-finishing portion; and (f) placing the sheet in a stack
in the paper-collecting portion.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is derived from, and claims the benefit of,
Italian patent application MI2005A 001307, filed on Jul. 11, 2005,
which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] In the field of paper recycling, self-contained office
equipment that recycles discarded paper to make new paper.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
[0003] Paper recycling is becoming increasingly important in
worldwide conservation efforts.
[0004] In Europe, the Confederation of European Paper Industries
together with European Recovered Paper Association and the European
Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers signed a declaration
in 2000 committing the signatories to achieving a recycling rate of
56% by 2005. These parties agreed to strive for further
improvements in the environmental performance of the industry
through measures such as improved use of material and optimising
collection systems.
[0005] The American Forest and Paper Association has set a paper
recovery goal of 55% of all paper consumed by 2012 and announced a
partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to
increase paper recovery in office buildings, municipalities and
schools.
[0006] In fact, during the last few years and despite the boom of
paperless technology, office paper consumption has increased. A
very small percentage of used paper office is currently collected
and the use of recycled paper is not common in many office
buildings.
[0007] In 1990, a project called "National Office Paper Recycling
Project" was initiated in the United States. This Project is a
collaborative effort by The United States Conference of Mayors and
private corporations and public interest groups. Its goal is to
maximise recycling and minimise disposal of office paper.
[0008] The Project publishes an Office Paper Recycling Guide
designed to assist employers, communities and building managers in
establishing programs on office paper collection and buying
recycled products. This Guide sets the following features of a
successful recycling program at the office buildings: employees
sort their recyclable paper into special containers beside or on
their desk; a central storage area is used for collection and
storage of used paper between pickups by recyclers; employees
identify local recycling services; an enthusiastic coordinator is
designated who fosters a sense teamwork and enlists the support of
all the employees; a continuing promotion of the recycling program;
and, buying recycled paper.
[0009] An object of the present invention is to enable anyone to
make new office paper from recovered paper directly in office
buildings.
[0010] Japanese Patent No. 10-317290 issued to Yokozuka describes a
method and apparatus to recycle office paper in office buildings.
This method provides that already shredded used paper is
disintegrated with two sequential pulpers to obtain a recycled
pulp, which is placed in a chest. A binder such as polyvinyl
alcohol is then added thereto and the resultant mixture is stored
while being slowly stirred. The recycled pulp is subsequently
filled in a jetting device and blow on a rateable endless fibrous
sheet and then dried with a drying roller and wound to afford the
final new paper.
[0011] A significant drawback to the Yokozuka invention is that it
does not provide all required steps for paper manufacturing.
Furthermore, to save space in office buildings, it is not enough to
miniaturize each step of paper making process, but a process should
also simplify operations to make them easy to implement by
unskilled labor. It is an object of the present invention to have a
single, compact apparatus that performs all the required process
steps to convert a used sheet of paper to a new, ready to use sheet
of paper.
[0012] Accordingly, the present invention will serve to advance
worldwide conservation efforts in paper recycling, to enable anyone
to make new office paper from recovered paper directly in office
buildings, to improve the state of the art in paper recycling by
providing a single, compact apparatus that performs all the
required process steps to convert a used sheet of paper to a new,
ready to use sheet of paper.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] An office paper recycling apparatus makes new office paper
from used paper directly in an office building. The preferred
embodiment of the apparatus is compact for use in an office and
performs all the required process steps to convert a used sheet of
paper to a new, ready to use sheet of paper. Portions of the
preferred embodiment of the apparatus feed a single sheet of used
paper, automatically into the apparatus; shred the paper; pulp the
shredded paper by mixing with water and subjecting to it to
mechanical action to become a slurry; form new paper from the
slurry by spreading the paper fibers consolidating them into a thin
mat for sheet formation; press the mat into a sheet by squeezing it
between a series of rollers and continuous felts to remove the most
of the water from the web; dry the sheet by passing it between a
series of heated cylinders to take up final drying; size the sheet
by passing it between rolls of polished metal to provide surface
strength and smoothness; finish the paper sheet to obtain the
desired dimensions; collect and stack the paper sheet for new
uses.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The preferred embodiment of the invention is described in
the drawings of which:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an arrangement of the main
portions of the office paper recycling apparatus.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional detail of the components of
office paper recycling apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The preferred embodiment of the office paper recycling
apparatus is described hereinafter in reference to the drawings. As
the following detailed description should not be taken to limit the
invention, some steps of the process described may be performed in
a different order and the others may be excluded. The description
of the well-know devices to those skilled in the art will not be
given in details.
[0018] Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus (1) comprises a used
paper-feeding portion (58); a paper-shredding portion (57); a
pulping portion (51); a paper-forming portion (52); a paper-press
portion (53); a paper-drying portion (54); a paper-sizing portion
(55); a paper-finishing portion (56) and a paper-collecting portion
(59), where the new sheets are collected and stacked, ready to be
used in office equipments. These portions are now described in more
detail with reference to FIG. 2.
[0019] Used paper (A) in the form of sheets is manually loaded by
operator onto the shelf (2) of a paper-feeding portion (58). Two
banks of wheels (3, 5) catch the used sheet of paper and load it
into the paper-shredding portion (57), where a bank of circular
knives (4) and rotary blades (6) shred the sheet of paper.
Fragments of paper (60) are then fed to a pulper (7), included in
the pulping portion (51).
[0020] The pulper (7) is made up of a vessel (7b) having a
partially conical cross section and the rotor blades (7a) inside,
the blades pulp the paper and separate the ink from the paper by
mechanical action and adding sufficient water from the tank (8)
necessary to turn the pulped paper into a fiber slurry, commonly
known as papermaking stock. Chemical additives from a tank (14) are
added to pulper (7) as needed to increase whiteness and purity of
the fibers. When the slurry reaches a predetermined thinning ratio
and amalgamation, it is pumped to a deflaker (10) by the pump
(9).
[0021] The deflaker (10) comprises a toothed rotor (11) and a
stator (12) housed in a case (10a), where the fiber slurry is acted
upon by mechanical forces and submitted to the strong acceleration,
collisions and rubbing. The deflaker is capable of breaking up
clots in fiber slurry.
[0022] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the deflaker
(10) comprises a refiner, where the fibers in the slurry are made
shorter and more homogeneous. In another embodiment of the
invention, the deflaker (10) comprises the toothed rotor (11), the
stator (12) housed in a case (10a) and a refiner.
[0023] From the deflaker (10) the slurry is fed to a washing unit
(13). The washing unit provides capability for removing ink from
the slurry. Thus, the washing unit (13) is a drum thickener,
wherein any ink from the original sheet is removed from the
slurry.
[0024] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, ink is
removed from the slurry by magnetic separation. In this embodiment,
magnetite and other agglomerating chemicals are added in the pulper
(7) and the slurry is subjected in washing unit (13) to a magnetic
field to separate and remove the agglomerated ink particles.
[0025] The slurry is then collected in a holding tank (15), where a
propeller (15a) creates a homogeneous mixture. Optional auxiliary
chemicals and additives (e.g., clay, chalk and titanium dioxide)
are added to the holding tank from auxiliary tanks (16, 17).
[0026] From the holding tank (15), a pump (18) moves the slurry to
a screen (19) where non-fiber impurities are removed from the
slurry. In the preferred embodiment, the screen (19) is a
centrifugal screen made up of a cylindrical vessel having a
tangential inlet and a drilled chest inside (screen). The vortex
from centrifugation removes heavy particles and forces the slurry
through the screen to an outlet. A second outlet directs waste
(i.e. non-fibre impurities) to a holding tank (22).
[0027] In an alternative embodiment, the screen (19) is a pressure
screen, where pressure is used to force the slurry through the
screen.
[0028] A paper-forming portion (52) essentially comprises a
rotatable forming drum (23) partially submerged in dilute pulp
slurry in a vessel (28). The forming drum (23) has a surface (23a)
covered by wire mesh. The paper-forming portion (52) is where the
slurry starts to become new paper and the fibers are spread and
consolidated into a thin mat.
[0029] In the preferred embodiment, an axial pump (20) conveys the
slurry from the outlet in the holding tank (15) to a flow box (21),
which squirts the slurry through a thin slit (21a) onto surface
(23a) of the forming drum (23). The width of the slit is adjustable
to achieve the desired dimensions of the output paper sheet.
[0030] A continuous fabric belt (24) is an endless wire felt. The
belt (24) is wound around a circumferential segment of the forming
drum (23) and is stretched by rollers (25), wire return rollers
(26) and a couch roller (27). The couch roller is a suction couch
roller with numerous small holes through which a high vacuum exists
for the rapid removal of water from the fabric belt and the web as
they travel over the roller. Water is partially drained away as the
paper web is formed. The drained water is recovered in the vessel
(28) and recycled to the pulper (7) by pump (29), creating a closed
cycle.
[0031] The pick-up roller (30) removes the paper web from the
fabric belt (24) after it exits the couch roller (27) and places it
onto a press belt (31) in the paper-press portion (53). In this
paper-press portion, the paper web goes through rollers (33,34,35)
that squeeze and remove more water from the paper web.
[0032] The press belt (31) is tensioned by a suction roller (33)
and a second set of wire return rollers (32). The paper web is
stretched on a second fabric belt (36) by a second suction roller
(35) and third set of wire return rollers (37). This removes some
of the water in the paper web. The two suction rollers (33, 35)
forming a double nip with nip roller (34), pressing out water. A
suction pump (38) facilitates the dewatering operations of
paper-press portion (53).
[0033] A transferring fabric belt (39) is tensioned by transferring
rollers (40). Transferring fabric belt (39) picks up the paper web
from the paper-press portion (53) and delivers it to the
paper-drying portion (54).
[0034] The paper-drying portion (54) is made up by two series (54a,
54b) of heated cylinders (41) and two paper-drying fabric belts
(42). The paper-drying fabric belts (42), stretched by paper-drying
rollers (44) and paper-drying tightening rollers (43), remove water
from the paper web in the manner of a blotter. The paper web
alternates through the heated cylinders on the paper-drying fabric
belts such that water is removed by vaporization from the paper web
and fabric belts through the transfer of heat. Thus, the heat
creates steam, which in turn is removed from the apparatus with a
ventilation fan (45). Ventilation minimizes a water-saturated
environment within the apparatus housing or case (50).
[0035] After the drying process, the paper web goes into the
paper-sizing portion (55). This section is made up of polished
metal rollers (46), where the paper web goes through to smooth the
surface and to get surface strength and uniform thickness.
[0036] The paper-finishing portion (56) includes slitting knives
(47) and transversal rotary blades (48), which cut the sized paper
web to single sheet dimensions. Such sheet dimensions would be any
dimensions desired. Typical sheet dimensions would be those meeting
the designation A4 and B4, and those having dimensions of
8.5.times.11 inches and 8.5.times.4 inches. The cut sheet is then
collected in the paper-collecting portion (59), where new paper
sheets (B) are stacked onto the shelf (49), ready to be used.
[0037] Alternative embodiments include a computer or central
processing unit to automatically operate and control the working
parameters of the apparatus.
[0038] The above-described embodiments including the drawings are
examples of the invention and merely provide illustrations of the
invention. Other embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in
the art. Thus, the scope of the invention is determined by the
appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the
examples given.
* * * * *