JP4605367B2 - Waste toner solidification and reuse carbon resin-molding material manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and a processing method for producing a reusable carbon-containing resin molding material by solidifying fine powder waste toner such as a copying machine or a printer.

As a conventional waste toner processing method, a method of incineration as it is, or a method in which fine powder waste toner is solidified through heating, melting, and cooling steps and used for fuel or the like has been devised.
JP 2003-241609 A

  Conventionally devised waste toner processing methods cause problems such as scattering of the surrounding environment, such as scattering, because fine powdery waste toner is to be processed as it is. Furthermore, the apparatus that performs the processing also has problems such as a decrease in the operation rate of the apparatus and a shortened life of the apparatus, such as adhesion and fixing of fine powder toner to the mechanical portion. Further, there has been devised to use solidified waste toner as fuel, but generation of harmful gas during combustion remains as a problem.

  In the present invention, a chemical compound (water) solution, which is an aqueous solution in which waste toner and a general thickener are dissolved, is introduced into a solidification process in a kneaded state so that it can be handled in the form of a sheet or rod. .

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a waste toner as fuel by taking out a kneaded product of a waste toner and a chemical compound (water) solution into a sheet or rod shape, drying, cooling, and then taking out and drying and crushing into small pieces. Instead, it can be reused for carbon-containing resin molding materials.

  Compared to fine powder waste toner, it is easier to handle in the solidification process, and it eliminates contamination of the surrounding environment such as toner adhesion, sticking and scattering to the solidification processing equipment, which was a conventional problem, and solidification treatment Longer life of the device is brought about. Further, productivity can be improved by smoothing the waste toner into a strip shape after forming into a sheet shape or a rod shape and shortening the time for heating and drying and cooling with cold air.

  Waste toner can be supplied to a resin molding manufacturer as a carbon-containing resin molding material, and effective recycling is realized.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is an overall process diagram of the embodiment. Waste toner 1 and chemical compound (water) solution 2 collected and weighed by weighing devices 3 and 4 are kneaded by kneading device 5. Thereafter, the sheet is formed into a sheet or rod shape by a molding apparatus 7 (an example is an extrusion molding machine), smoothed into a strip shape by a stamper unit 8, and then divided grooves are formed by a divided groove forming section 9, followed by heating and drying section 10 cold air Solidification is performed by the cooling unit 11. The solidified waste toner 18 is chocolate-breaked by the dividing unit 12 and dropped in the state of a solid material 19 and stored in the take-out portion 13. The solid material 19 stored in the form of small pieces is put into the main drying furnace 15 to completely remove the remaining water, and after being dried in earnest, it is shipped as a recycled carbon-containing resin molding material by the crushing device 16. It is crushed into possible shapes and dimensions and sent to the packing / shipping process 17.

  Next, the above steps will be described in detail. FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the cartridge and a step of the charging unit 6 for charging the waste toner 1 and the chemical compound (water) solution 2 from the kneading device 5 to the molding device 7 with the cartridge 61. Waste toner 1 and chemical compound (water) solution 2 in which a general thickener is dissolved in water in advance are weighed by metering devices 3 and 4 and then kneaded into kneading device 5. In this case, the kneading ratio is 0.5 to 0.9 in terms of the weight ratio of the chemical compound (water) solution to the waste toner 1.0. The kneaded material is filled in the cartridge 61 and moved to the inlet of the molding apparatus 7, and the kneaded material is charged into the molding apparatus 7 by pressing the pneumatic cylinder 62. The cartridge 61 which is empty after being charged is returned to a predetermined position of the kneading device 5 again.

  Typical thickeners used for the chemical compound (water) solution 2 include glycerin, (methyl) cellulose, dextrin, sucrose, glucose, glucan, carrageenan, polyethylene glycol stearate and the like. The blending ratio with respect to water is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 10% by weight. Further, since it is not necessary to use water that has been subjected to special treatment such as pure water, it does not lead to cost pressure.

  FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the sheet forming apparatus 7. In this embodiment, the waste toner 1 kneaded with the chemical compound (water) solution 2 is formed into a sheet shape or a rod shape by the extrusion molding method of the forming screw 72 driven by the rotary motor 71. The cross-sectional dimension to be extruded is a sheet-like device having a width of 200 to 300 mm, a thickness of 5 to 10 mm, and a rod-like device that can be adjusted within a range of φ5 to 10 mm. Moreover, in the present Example, the extrusion capability of 50 kgf or more per hour is confirmed. FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples 73 and 74 of the shape of the outlet hole of the molding apparatus 7.

  FIG. 4 shows a series of steps from the stamper unit 8 to the take-out portion 13. After being formed into a sheet shape or a rod shape by the forming device 7, it is smoothed into a belt shape by the stamper unit 8 on the belt conveyor 14. Further, the division groove is formed by the division groove forming portion 9. In the present embodiment, the inlet portion of the heating and drying unit 10 is equipped with a split groove forming portion 9 that forms V-shaped grooves in two orthogonal directions. The grooves in the flow direction of the belt conveyor 14 are continuously formed by a fixing plate 91 having a so-called comb-like tip shape. Further, the dividing grooves perpendicular to the flow of the belt conveyor 14 are formed at a constant pitch by a movable plate 92 connected to the dividing groove forming portion 9 having a link mechanism using the rotational motion of a small motor. By changing the V-shaped machining pitch of the fixed plate 91 and the rotation speed of the small motor, the division groove pitch dimension in each direction can be set. FIG. 7 shows a front view and a side view of the fixing plate 91. FIG. 8 shows a front view and a side view of the movable plate 92. Further, FIG. 9 shows a cross section of the belt-shaped waste toner in which the dividing grooves are formed in the flow direction of the belt conveyor 14 by the fixing plate 91.

  The belt-shaped waste toner in which the dividing grooves are formed is conveyed by the belt conveyor 14 to the heating / drying unit 10 and the cold air cooling unit 11. In the present embodiment, the cold air cooling is performed after the heat drying temperature of 250 to 300 ° C. and the heat drying time of 10 to 20 minutes by the far infrared heater, and the divided unit 12 arranged after the heat drying unit 10 and the cold air cooling unit 11 is used. The solid material 19 that has been pressed and chocolate-breaked is stored in the take-out portion 13.

  If the chemical compound (water) solution 2 remaining on the solid material 19 is completely removed from the water on the belt conveyor 14, it is necessary to increase the length of the conveyor, which is not rational in terms of layout as a production process. The method of performing the complete removal of water independently in the main drying furnace 15 was selected.

  The solid material 19 is completely dried in the main drying furnace 15 at 100 to 200 ° C. for 1 to 2 hours to completely remove water from the solid material 19. Thereafter, it is pulverized to a size of about 2 to 4 mm square by the pulverizer 16 and sent to the packing / shipping process 17 as a resin molding material containing carbon.

  It is a whole figure of the waste toner solidification processing process concerning the embodiment of the present invention.   FIG. 3 is a process diagram from the waste toner and chemical compound (water) solution kneading apparatus to the molding apparatus according to the present invention.   It is internal structure sectional drawing of the shaping | molding apparatus which concerns on this invention.   It is a series of process drawings from a stamper unit after molding according to the present invention to an extraction portion.   It is a shaping | molding apparatus exit part hole shape at the time of the sheet-like shaping | molding which concerns on this invention.   It is a shaping | molding apparatus exit part hole shape at the time of the rod-shaped shaping | molding which concerns on this invention.   It is the front view and side view of the division groove formation part fixing plate 91 in FIG.   It is the front view and side view of the division groove formation part movable plate 92 in FIG.   FIG. 5 is a front view, a plan view, and a side view of a belt-like waste toner 18 in which a divided groove is formed by a divided groove forming portion fixing plate 91 and a movable plate 92 in FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Waste toner 2 Chemical compound (water) solution 3 Weighing device 4 Weighing device 5 Kneading device 6 Input part 7 Molding device 8 Stamper unit 9 Dividing groove forming part 10 Heating and drying part 11 Cooling air cooling part 12 Dividing unit 13 Extracting part 14 Belt conveyor 15 Drying oven 16 Crushing device 17 Packing / shipping 18 Stripped waste toner (after dividing groove formation)

Claims (1)

A step of kneading the waste toner and the chemical compound (water) solution, a step of adding the waste toner kneaded with the chemical compound (water) solution and molding the waste toner into a sheet shape or a rod shape, and stamping the formed waste toner A series of waste toner reusable carbons having a process of forming divided grooves, heating and drying, cooling with cold air, dividing and taking out, and a step of completely drying, crushing, packing and shipping the taken out solid waste toner Resin molding material manufacturing equipment

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