Abstract:
An apparatus for making paper includes a stirring tank and a paper making portion. The stirring tank includes: an outer cylinder; a middle cylinder disposed concentrically with the outer cylinder; a raw-material feeding port for feeding raw-material into said stirring tank; a stirring mechanisms; and a top plate for holding the outer and middle cylinders in a predetermined position. The paper making portion is installed below the stirring tank and includes: a wire cloth and a paper making frame having an opening for holding said wire cloth, and the opening is connected to a suction unit. The stirring mechanisms are uniformly disposed above the wire cloth. In addition, a plurality of raw-material feeding ports are uniformly disposed above the wire cloth.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for making paper from a solution including various kinds of fiber base materials and fillers dispersed in water, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for making raw paper as an intermediate of a wet friction material for use as a friction plate.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Conventionally, annular frictional materials for use as frictional plates and the like have been made by punching from sheets of paper before or after the paper are thermoset while impregnating with thermosetting resin. However, since the yield of the raw material under this method is low, there have recently been developed new methods of directly making such annular frictional plates out of raw paper (e.g., JP-A-2-91294, JP-A-3-76780, JP-A-3-107628, etc.).  
           [0005]    On the other hand, in the case of obtaining discontinuous paper bodies such as handmade paper, there still exists a problem of bad formation, and JP-A-11-241290 discloses a method of improving the formation.  
           [0006]    According to the conventional methods and apparatus for manufacturing discontinuous paper bodies such as annular bodies, the paper formation has not necessarily been satisfactory.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    An object of the present invention is to provide a paper making method and apparatus for obtaining discontinuous paper bodies with further good paper formation.  
           [0008]    In order to solve the foregoing problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a method of making a discontinuous paper body, including the steps of: feeding a raw material with a predetermined concentration into water which is in a stirred condition; maintaining the stirring condition for a predetermined time after the feeding step is completed; and passing the raw material diluted with the water through a wire cloth, while the stirred condition is maintained. Further, there is provided an apparatus for making paper, including: a stirring tank including: an outer cylinder; a middle cylinder disposed concentrically with said outer cylinder; a raw-material feeding port for feeding raw-material into said stirring tank; stirring mechanisms; and a top plate for holding said outer and middle cylinders in a predetermined position, and a paper making portion installed below the stirring tank, said paper making portion including: a wire cloth; and a paper making frame having an opening for holding the wire cloth, the opening being connected to a suction unit, wherein the stirring mechanisms are uniformly disposed above the wire cloth.  
           [0009]    In addition, there is provided a paper making method wherein raw material is supplied from a raw-material feeding port disposed above a wire cloth uniformly onto the wire cloth. Further, there is provided a paper making apparatus includes a stirring tank including an outer cylinder, raw-material feeding ports for supplying raw material, stirring mechanisms, and a top for holding these members in position, wherein a paper making portion which is disposed in the lower portion of the stirring tank, has a central body having an opening for holding wire cloth and is connected to a suction unit, wherein said raw-material feeding ports are uniformly disposed above the wire cloth or the raw material is supplied from the raw-material feeding ports alternately disposed with respect to the central annular line of the paper making portion of wire cloth or each raw-material feeding port is directed toward the outer peripheral face of the middle cylinder or each raw-material feeding port is directed toward the upper apex of the conical surface. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a top view of a paper making apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a top view of a paper making portion according to the first embodiment;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a view showing a separate condition of a stirring tank and the paper making portion according to the first embodiment;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a top view of an arrangement of stirring mechanisms according to the first embodiment;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a top view of another arrangement of stirring mechanisms according to the first embodiment;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 is a top view of a paper making apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 9 is a top view of a paper making portion according to the second embodiment;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 10 is a view showing an arrangement of raw-material feeding ports according to the second embodiment;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 11 is a view showing another arrangement of raw-material feeding ports according to the second embodiment;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line XII-XII of FIG. 7 and showing a paper making apparatus that is separated;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 13 is a top view of a paper making apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line XIV-XIV of FIG. 13;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 15 is a top view of a paper making apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line XVI-XVI of FIG. 15;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 17 is a top view of a paper making apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken on line XVIII-XVIII of FIG. 17; and  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 19 is a sectional view of a paper making apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0029]    A paper making apparatus according to a first aspect of the invention is structured that an outer cylinder, a middle cylinder, stirring air nozzles, a cleaning fluid jet mechanism and a raw-material feeding port are secured to a top plate. The air nozzles are uniformly arranged above the central annular line of a paper making portion of a wire cloth or alternately arranged with respect to the central annular lines thereof. The paper formation is improved on a condition that the air nozzles are uniformly arranged without being biased to the upper portion of the paper making portion of the wire cloth. Consequently, it is also preferable to uniformly arrange the directions of openings for jetting air without being biased in one direction.  
         [0030]    The middle cylinder is formed in a substantially conical shape and the raw-material feeding port is provided above the apex of the substantially conical portion, so that the thickness of a paper body can be uniformed.  
         [0031]    Further, a water jet is used as the cleaning fluid jet mechanism. A jet of water from the water jet may be performed in the form of a mist, waterdrops or a line of water, but it is preferable that a plurality of water jets are provided so that the fluid can equally be sprayed on the whole inside of a stirring tank.  
         [0032]    In addition, a paper making apparatus according to a second aspect of the invention is structured that an outer cylinder, a middle cylinder, stirring air nozzles, a cleaning fluid jet mechanism, raw-material feeding ports and the like are secured to a top. The raw-material feeding ports are uniformly arranged above the central annular line of a paper making portion of a wire cloth or alternately arranged with respect to the central annular lines thereof. Moreover, the raw-material feeding ports are directed to the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder. Otherwise, the central body of a paper making frame is formed in a conical shape, whereby to construct the raw-material feeding ports above the apex. By feeding the raw material from the raw-material feeding ports, the concentration of the raw material before the operation of making paper is uniformed without imbalance.  
         [0033]    The paper making portion of the wire cloth means an exposed portion between the outer cylinder and the central body, that is, a portion where the paper body is remained on the wire cloth after the paper making operation. Further, the central body is structured to form a central hole of an annular paper body.  
         [0034]    The raw-material feeding ports are only needed for allowing the raw material to be fed and the diameter of each jet hole is set to be large enough to prevent the raw material from being clogged.  
         [0035]    [First Embodiment] 
         [0036]    With reference to FIGS.  1  to  6 , a description will be given of a paper making apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIGS.  1  to  3 , a paper making apparatus  1  includes a stirring tank  2  and a paper making portion  3 . The stirring tank  2  includes a middle cylinder  21 , an outer cylinder  23  concentric with the middle cylinder  21 , a raw-material feeding port  24 , air nozzles  25  as stirring mechanisms and jet holes  28 , which are respectively secured to an aluminum top plate  26 . The middle cylinder  21  has a substantially conical portion  22  in the lower end portion thereof. The jet holes  28  jet water for cleansing the middle cylinder  21  and the outer cylinder  23 . A seal ring  27  is also secured to the lower end portion of the outer cylinder  23 .  
         [0037]    The paper making portion  3  is structured such that a wire cloth  31  is fitted to the top of a paper making frame  32  and a cover  34  for collecting moisture component such as the overflowed raw material is located in the outside of the paper making frame  32 . FIG. 3 is a top view of the paper making portion  3 . Reference numeral  38  denotes a water supply port;  33 , a moisture suction port;  35 , a discharge port of the cover  35 ;  45 , a central body; and  46 , an opening.  
         [0038]    The apparatus shown in the drawings is designed to form an annular paper body as a discontinuous paper body, and the central body  45  forms a central hole.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 4 shows a condition that the stirring tank  2  and the paper making portion  3  in the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are separated from each other. FIGS. 5 and 6 are top views showing an arrangement of air nozzles  25  as stirring mechanisms.  
         [0040]    As shown in FIG. 4, the stirring tank  2  is separated from the paper making portion  3  and cleansed in another place where smudges adhered to the inner wall of the outer cylinder  23  and the outer wall of the middle cylinder  21 .  
         [0041]    In FIGS. 5 and 6, a line X represents a central annular line of the paper making portion of the wire cloth  31 . In FIG. 5, the air nozzles  25  are uniformly disposed along the central annular line X, whereas in FIG. 6, the air nozzles  25  are alternately disposed with respect to the central annular line X. With these arrangements, the raw material within the stirring tank  2  is evenly stirred, whereby the formation of the paper body is improved.  
         [0042]    A description will now be given of a method of making paper using the apparatus according the first embodiment. First, the stirring tank  2  and the paper making portion  3  are combined together as shown in FIG. 2. When a predetermined amount of water is supplied via the water supply port  38 , the water is passed through an opening  46  to thereby be gathered inside the paper making frame  32  and between the middle cylinder  21  and the outer cylinder  23 . Further, the air is jetted out via the air nozzles  25  so as to stir the water gathered between the middle cylinder  21  and the outer cylinder  23 . In this condition, the raw material diluted to a predetermined concentration is fed from the raw-material feeding port  24 . While the stirred condition is kept even after the raw material has been fed for several ten seconds, the paper making is carried out. Then, moisture component (including moisture component contained in the raw material) is sucked from a suction port  33  and discharged. Thus, a paper body is made on the wire cloth  31 .  
         [0043]    [Second Embodiment] 
         [0044]    A description will be given of a paper making apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention with reference to FIGS.  7  to  12 . As shown in FIGS.  7  to  9 , a paper making apparatus  101  includes a stirring tank  102  and a paper making portion  103 . The stirring tank  102  is formed by mounting raw-material feeding ports  150 , stirring air nozzles  160 , jet nozzles  170  and an outer cylinder  112  onto an aluminum top  110  integrally formed with a middle cylinder  111 . A seal  114  is secured to the lower portion of the outer cylinder so as not to leak the raw material outside.  
         [0045]    On the other hand, the paper making portion  103  includes a paper making frame  115 , a cover  116  and a central body  120 . The paper making frame  115  holds a wire cloth  113  and has a suction port  117 . The cover  116  collects moisture component such as the raw material caused to overflow outside from the paper making frame  115 . The central body  120  has an opening  121  communicating with the suction port  117 . Reference numeral  118  denotes a discharge port of the cover  116 .  
         [0046]    As shown in FIG. 7, the raw-material feeding ports  150  and the air nozzles  160  are arranged equally on the annular wire cloth. With this arrangement, the raw material can equally be fed within the stirring tank and the concentration of the raw material within the stirring tank can also be equalized immediately before the operation of making paper is performed.  
         [0047]    [0047]FIGS. 10 and 11 are views showing an arrangement of the raw-material feeding ports when viewed the paper making portion of the wire cloth  113  from the above; FIG. 10 illustrates as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 the raw-material feeding ports that are equally arranged on the central annual line X of the paper making portion of the wire cloth  113 ; and FIG. 11 illustrates the raw-material feeding ports that are alternately arranged with respect to the central annular line X.  
         [0048]    A description will now be given of a method of making paper using the apparatus according to the second embodiment of the invention. First, the stirring tank  102  and the paper making portion  103  are combined together as shown in FIG. 8. (FIG. 12 shows a separated condition. Incidentally, although FIG. 8 shows the sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7, FIG. 12 shows a sectional view taken along the line XII-XII of FIG. 7). When a predetermined amount of water is supplied via a water supply port  122  to be gathered inside the paper making frame  115  and between the middle cylinder  111  and the outer cylinder  112 . Further, air is jetted via the air nozzles  160  so as to stir the water gathered between the middle cylinder  111  and the outer cylinder  112 .  
         [0049]    In this condition, the raw material diluted to a predetermined concentration is fed from the raw-material feeding ports  150 . The stirred condition is kept even after the raw material has been fed for 30 seconds, and then, the paper making is carried out. Moisture component (including moisture component containing the raw material) is sucked from a suction port  117  and discharged. Thus, a paper body is made on the wire cloth  113 . The operation of making paper may be performed while the stirred condition is maintained or after the stirred condition is stopped.  
         [0050]    [0050]FIG. 12 shows a condition that the stirring tank  102  and the paper making portion  103  in the paper making apparatus  111  are separated and further the stirring tank  102  is cleansed. The cleansing is carried out by jetting the water in the stirring tank  102  via the air nozzles  170 . The air nozzle  170  is installed in a plurality of places and the cleansing is carried out as a separate step separately from the paper making portion  103 .  
         [0051]    [Third Embodiment] 
         [0052]    A description will be given of a paper making apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. The third embodiment is different from the second one in that raw-material feeding ports  151  are provided on the sides of the middle cylinder  111 . The basic structure of the third embodiment is similar to what is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, and the constitutional elements identical with those of the second embodiment are given by like reference numerals. In the second embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, as the raw-material feeding ports  150 , the air nozzles  160  and the jet water nozzles  170  are fitted to the top plate  110 , the space of the top is narrowed. In case where the diameter of the paper body to be made is large, there develops no problem, but in case where the diameter thereof is small, however, the installation area of such a top plate would cause a serious problem.  
         [0053]    The apparatus structured according to the third embodiment of the invention can solve any problem of the sort mentioned above. Further, since the number of raw-material feeding ports  151  and air nozzles  160  can be increased, the concentration of raw material is uniformed further. Incidentally, the positions of the raw-material feeding ports may be above or below the water level Y in the stirring tank  102 .  
         [0054]    Further, an inclination  152  directed upward from each raw-material feeding port  151  is formed such that no raw material is left on the bottom surface of the middle cylinder  111 . In addition, the raw-material feeding port  151  is also inclined so as to match with the inclination  152 .  
         [0055]    [Fourth Embodiment] 
         [0056]    A description will be given of a paper making apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the invention with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. The constitutional elements identical with those of FIGS. 7 and 9 are given by like reference numerals. The fourth embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in that the stirring air nozzles are not fitted to the top plate, but air is jetted from air jet holes  161  defined to the middle cylinder  111 . The rest of the formation of this embodiment of the invention is similar to what is shown in the second embodiment thereof.  
         [0057]    Although not shown, the stirring tank may be cleansed by jetting the water from the holes bored in the middle cylinder.  
         [0058]    [Fifth Embodiment] 
         [0059]    A description will be given of a paper making apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the invention with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. In this embodiment, the front end  153  of each raw-material feeding port  150  is directed to the outer peripheral face of the middle cylinder  111  and the fed raw material is flown along the outer peripheral face of the middle cylinder  111 . Further, the lower end of the middle cylinder  111  is formed in a conical surface  119  and with this arrangement, even though only one raw-material feeding port is provided, the raw material moves down on the outer peripheral face of the middle cylinder  111  and together with the conical surface at its lower end, the raw material is uniformly supplied onto the wire cloth  113 .  
         [0060]    [Sixth Embodiment] 
         [0061]    A description will be given of a paper making apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the invention with reference to FIG. 19. In this embodiment, the surface of the central body  120  is formed in a substantially conical shape, and the raw-material feeding port  150  is disposed above the apex of the cone.  
         [0062]    With this arrangement, the raw material is caused to flow in the whole peripheral direction along the conical surface  154 , so that the raw material is uniformly supplied onto the wire cloth  113 .  
         [0063]    According to the present invention, the paper making method and apparatus are thus arranged, it is possible to obtain the discontinuous paper body with an excellent paper formation.  
         [0064]    While only certain embodiments of the invention have been specifically descried herein, it will apparent that numerous modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.