JP2000051791A - Sorting device of plastic container and label - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sorting device of plastic containers and labels with which the previously separated plastic containers and labels can be surely sorted. SOLUTION: This sorting device of plastic containers and labels is provided with a conveying means 1 for conveying the plastic containers and the labels which have been separated from the containers in advance in a mixed state, a jetting means installed in the carry-out end part of the conveying means 1 and for jetting gas from an air jetting port 7 forward from the carry-out end part, a plastic container recovery part 14 installed below the carry-out end, a label recovery part 15 installed furthermore in front of the plastic container recovery part 14, and a separation means 16 which is arranged on the label recovery part 15 and in which labels can be put and also plastic containers cannot be put and which guides the plastic containers to the plastic container recovery part 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorting device for sorting plastic containers and labels.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-27476, there has been provided an apparatus for separating plastics from combustible materials such as paper, wood, cloth and the like.

In this plastic sorting apparatus, after spraying a mixture of plastic and combustibles conveyed by a conveyor, large plastics are splashed forward by a splashing device provided at a discharge end of the conveyor. At the same time, air is injected from the upper and lower portions of the mixture that has fallen downward from the discharge end of the conveyor to blow away small pieces of plastic having a small specific gravity due to crushing, etc. Combustibles having a large bulk specific gravity are dropped as they are, so that the combustibles are sorted immediately below the discharge end and plastics are sorted in front of the discharge end.

[0004]

On the other hand, the demand for recycling plastic containers, especially plastic bottles, is rapidly increasing. In recycling plastic bottles, the plastic bottles and the labels attached to the plastic bottles are separated. However, it is indispensable to sort these both into the main body and the label.

However, most of the above-mentioned labels are made of plastic, and it is impossible to sort the labels mixed with the separated plastic bottles and the labels by the above-mentioned plastic sorting apparatus. In other words, in the plastic sorting device described above, the plastic bottle is splashed forward by the splasher,
This is because the label is also blown forward by the jet of air, and both are collected in the same collection unit.

[0006] Although some labels are made of paper, the paper used for the label is generally low in water absorption in order to prevent the label from peeling off from the plastic bottle body. Therefore, in the above-described plastic sorting apparatus, it is not expected that the apparent specific gravity is increased by water sprinkling, and the plastic is stripped forward and collected together with the plastic strip, so that sorting cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for separating labels from plastic containers and labels, which are capable of reliably separating plastic containers and labels that have been separated in advance manually or automatically by mechanical or chemical separation. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sorting apparatus for sorting a plastic container and a label, wherein the sorting device separates the plastic container and the label from each other in advance. Transporting means for transporting the transported label in a mixed state, an ejecting means provided at an unloading end of the transporting means, for injecting gas forward from the unloading end, and a portion below the unloading end of the transporting means. The plastic container collection part provided in the, the label collection part provided further in front of the plastic container collection part, and placed above the label collection part, the label can be inserted, and the plastic container can not be inserted, Further, a separating means for guiding the plastic container to the plastic container collecting section is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for separating labels from a plastic container, the transporting means is a vibrating conveyor, and the separating means has a plurality of support members extending in parallel at a predetermined interval. The comb-shaped member has a support member whose interval is such that a label can be inserted and a plastic container cannot be inserted, and one end side of the comb-shaped member which faces the plastic container collecting portion is inclined downward. It is arranged.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show the entire structure of the apparatus for separating plastic containers and labels according to the present invention.
In the present embodiment, a plastic bottle such as a plastic bottle is taken as an example of a plastic container, and a sorting device for sorting a plastic bottle and a label will be described.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vibrating conveyor as a transport means. The vibrating conveyor 1 has a transfer surface 2 supported by a base 5 via an elastic member 3 such as a coil spring, and is arranged so as to be inclined such that a discharge end of the transfer surface 2 is downward. .

The vibration conveyor 1 has a drive motor 6
(See FIG. 3). By vibrating the transport surface 2 by the drive motor 6, a mixture of the plastic bottle carried on the transport surface 2 and the label separated from the plastic bottle is provided. It is configured to be conveyed toward the lower discharge end.

The plastic bottle and the label are
It is separated in advance by a manual operation or an automatic separation process such as mechanical or chemical, and the separated mixture is carried into the vibrating conveyor 1.

The discharge end of the transfer surface 2 is disposed in the sorting chamber 11, and an air injection port 7 is formed near the discharge end of the transfer surface 2 as shown in FIG. .
The air injection port 7 is communicated with a blower 10 (see FIG. 3) installed below the base 5 through a space 8 formed below the transfer surface 2 and a duct 9.

Therefore, by operating the blower 10 and injecting air from the air injection port 7, the plastic bottle and the label conveyed on the conveying surface 2 are sorted in front of the discharge end of the conveying surface 2. Blow uniformly into the chamber 11. That is, in the present embodiment, the blower 10, the air injection port 7,
The space 8 and the duct 9 constitute an injection unit.

As shown in FIG. 1, the interior of the sorting chamber 11 has an upper space portion 12 and a plastic bottle collection formed by partitioning a front and rear part of the lower portion of the upper space portion 12 into two parts by a partition member 13. The label collecting unit 15 includes a unit 14 and a label collecting unit 15, and a comb-shaped member 16 as a separating unit provided above the label collecting unit 15.

The plastic bottle collecting section 14 is disposed immediately below the carry-out end of the conveying surface 2, and the bottom thereof is connected to the plastic bottle storing section 17 (see FIG. 3).

The label collecting section 15 is disposed further in front of the plastic bottle collecting section 14, and a label carrying conveyor 18 is disposed substantially horizontally at the bottom thereof.

As shown in FIG. 2, the comb-like member 16
A plurality of support members 16a are extended in parallel at predetermined intervals so as to cover the upper opening of the label collecting section 15 and, as shown in FIG. Is arranged in a state of being inclined at a predetermined angle such that one end thereof is downward, and the one end is arranged facing the upper part of the plastic bottle collecting unit 14.

Here, the interval between the support members 16a is set smaller than the diameter of the plastic bottle so that the plastic bottle cannot be inserted between the support members 16a, and set so that the label can be easily inserted. Have been.

Reference numeral 20 in FIG. 1 is a guide for guiding the labels collected by the label collecting section 15 onto the label carry-out conveyor 18. 3 and 4, reference numeral 21 denotes a drive motor for driving the label unloading conveyor 18. Reference numeral 22 denotes a deck on which an operator can get in during maintenance or the like. The operator can get on and off this deck 22 through a ladder 23.

Next, a description will be given of the sorting operation of the plastic bottle and label sorting apparatus thus constructed.

First, a mixture of a plastic bottle and a label, which has been separated in advance by manual or automatic separation such as mechanically, is carried into the vibrating conveyor 1. The conveyed mixture is conveyed on the conveying surface 2 toward the unloading end by the vibrating conveyor 1, and at the unloading end of the conveying surface 2, the air blown from the air injection port 7 by the blower 10 in the sorting chamber 11. It is evenly blown off diagonally forward.

The plastic bottle and the label blown off in this way are combined with the comb-shaped member 1 located in front of the plastic bottle and the label.
6 and the plastic bottle is
Is supported between the supporting members 16a, and the label is inserted into the space between the supporting members 16a and falls to the label collecting section 15 below.

Then, as described above, the support member 16a
The plastic bottle supported in between is guided downward along the upper surface of the comb-shaped member 16 due to the inclination of the comb-shaped member 16, falls from one end into the plastic bottle collection unit 14, and is stored in the plastic bottle storage unit 17. After that, it is appropriately carried out and subjected to a process for recycling.

The label that has fallen into the label collecting section 15 is guided onto a lower label carry-out conveyor 18, and is conveyed to an appropriate place by the label carry-out conveyor 18.
After being collected, appropriate treatment such as incineration or disposal is performed.

As a result, the plastic bottle and the label can be reliably sorted. Moreover, the comb-like member 16
Since the cover covers the upper opening of the label collecting section 15, the plastic bottle does not fall into the label collecting section 15, so that the plastic bottle and the label may be simply blown off onto the comb-like member 16 by the injection means, Thus, the adjustment of the air injection amount or the like by the injection means may be rough, and complicated control such as fine adjustment is not required, and the sorting device can be operated by simple control.

In this embodiment, the vibration conveyor 1 has been described as an example of the conveying means. However, the conveying means is not limited to the vibration conveyor 1, but may be, for example, a belt conveyor. In the case of a belt conveyor, since it is difficult to form the air injection port 7 on the conveying surface, an injection means is provided immediately below the discharge end of the belt conveyor, and the belt is conveyed from the discharge end. What is necessary is just to blow off the plastic bottle and the label just before falling to the upper front of the sorting chamber 11.

Further, the separating means is not limited to the comb-like member, but may be constituted by a net-like member having an insertion hole through which a plastic bottle cannot be inserted and a label can be inserted.

Further, in this embodiment, since the label may be caught on the support member 16a of the comb-like member 16 and may be collected by the plastic bottle collecting section 14 along the support member 16a, the label may be surely removed. To prevent
At one end of the comb-like member 16, an injection means for injecting upward from below the one end is further provided in addition to the above-described injection means, and the plastic bottle collection unit 1 is provided by the injection means.
The label which is about to drop to 4 may be blown off again to the comb-like member 16 side. Specifically, for example,
An injection nozzle 30 may be provided on the side surface of the space 8 shown in FIG. 1 described above, and air may be injected from the injection nozzle 30 to one end of the comb-like member 16. Needless to say, an injection unit may be provided separately from the space 8.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, gas is injected by the injection means to the mixture of the plastic container and the label conveyed by the conveyance means, and the plastic container and the label are blown off to the separation means. The plastic container and the label are separated into the plastic container and the label by the separating means, and the plastic container is sorted into the plastic container collecting section, and the label is sorted into the label collecting section. From this, the plastic container and the label can be sorted out reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a main part of a plastic container and label sorting apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of a comb member.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an overall configuration of a device for sorting plastic containers and labels.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a device for sorting plastic containers and labels.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vibration conveyor (conveyance means) 7 Air injection port 10 Blower 14 Plastic bottle collection part (Plastic container collection part) 15 Label collection part 16 Comb-like member (separation means) 16a Support member

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4D021 AA03 AB06 CA01 DA01 DA15 EA10 FA02 FA12 GA02 GA12 GA14 GA16 GA27 GA29 GB01 HA10

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A sorting device for sorting a plastic container and a label, comprising: conveying means for conveying the plastic container and a label previously separated from the plastic container in a mixed state; and unloading of the conveying means. An ejecting means provided at an end portion for injecting gas forward from the carry-out end, a plastic container collecting section provided below the carry-out end of the carrying means, and a plastic container collecting section further provided ahead of the plastic container collecting section. And a separating unit disposed above the label collecting unit, through which a label can be inserted, a plastic container cannot be inserted, and which guides the plastic container to the plastic container collecting unit. An apparatus for sorting labels from plastic containers. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conveying means is a vibrating conveyor, and the separating means is a comb-like member having a plurality of support members extending in parallel at a predetermined interval. 2. The plastic container and the label according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the support members is such that the label can be inserted and the plastic container cannot be inserted, and one end side facing the plastic container collecting portion is arranged to be inclined downward. And sorting equipment.