Sheet manufacturing apparatus and method for manufacturing sheet

Abstract

A sheet manufacturing apparatus includes an accumulation mechanism that accumulates a fiber material, a transport mechanism that transports the accumulated fiber material by using a transport belt, and a forming mechanism that forms the transported fiber material into a sheet. The transport mechanism includes a rotary brush that cleans a surface of the transport belt, a comb that has a front end inserted into the rotary brush, and a paddle that sweeps a surface of the comb.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:
 an accumulation mechanism that accumulates a fiber material;   a transport mechanism that transports the accumulated fiber material by using a transport belt; and   a forming mechanism that forms the transported fiber material into a sheet, wherein   the transport mechanism includes:
 a rotary brush that cleans a surface of the transport belt; 
 a comb that has a front end inserted into the rotary brush and a base located outside the rotary brush; 
 a paddle that is located on an opposite side of the comb from the rotary brush and sweeps a surface of the comb at a position where the paddle does not come in contact with the rotary brush. 
   
     
     
         2 . The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the comb is inserted from below the rotary brush.   
     
     
         3 . The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the transport belt and the rotary brush rotate in a first direction, and   the paddle rotates in a second direction opposite to the first direction.   
     
     
         4 . The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the paddle is located at a position where the paddle does not touch a surface of the comb.   
     
     
         5 . The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising
 a receive container that is located in a vertical direction of the comb and receives a residual fiber swept out by the paddle.   
     
     
         6 . The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to  claim 5 , further comprising
 a defibrating unit that defibrates used paper, wherein   the receive container is connected to the defibrating unit by a pipe, and   the residual fiber received by the receive container is sent to the defibrating unit through the pipe.   
     
     
         7 . The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the comb is formed of metal and is grounded.   
     
     
         8 . A method for manufacturing a sheet, comprising:
 accumulating a fiber material;   transporting the accumulated fiber material by using a transport belt; and   forming the transported fiber material into a sheet, wherein   the method uses a rotary brush that comes in contact with a surface of the transport belt, a comb that has a front end inserted into the rotary brush, and a paddle that is located on an opposite side of the comb from the rotary brush and is located at a position where the paddle does not come in contact with the rotary brush, and   the method comprises:   rotating the transport belt and the rotary brush to move a residual fiber attached to the transport belt to the comb via the rotary brush; and   sweeping a surface of the comb with the paddle to remove the residual fiber from the comb.