JP2000072237A - Article sorting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article sorting apparatus capable of sorting a plurality of articles even at a narrow site and sorting a lot of articles at one sorting location. SOLUTION: This sorting device 10 is provided with a color image processing identifying device 16 determining the type of an empty bottle 14, and involves a hopper 24 capable of dropping the empty bottle 14, and a chute 28 connected to the hopper 24 through a universal joint 26 on the rear stage of the color image processing identifying device 16. Recovery boxes 20a, 20b corresponding to the color tone of the empty bottle 14 are mounted on the lower part of the chute 28, and a wire reel 43 is connected to the chute 28 through towing wire 42. The wire reel 43 is operated by the signal from a control means 48 to swing the chute 28. By forming the article sorting device 10 in such a way, it is possible to provide space saving, miniaturization and simplification for the device itself, and power saving for the sorting part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus and, more particularly, to an article sorting apparatus which does not require a large site and can sort and collect garbage and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are many devices in the world for sorting articles during transportation.
There is sorting work for plastic bottles and bottles in garbage disposal facilities and resource garbage collection facilities.

[0003] Plastic bottles and bottles collected as recyclable waste are transported by a plurality of belt conveyors.
It is separated into plastic bottles and bottles by wind separation. After the two are separated, the bottles are each conveyed to a color image processing identification device on a dedicated belt conveyor, while the plastic bottles are conveyed to an infrared transmission type identification device, and the identification device provided on the belt conveyor is used. Identifies the color and material. After the identification is completed, it is transported to the garbage collection line on the belt conveyor, and is blown off from the belt conveyor with multiple air guns or dampers in front of the predetermined collection box, so that it can be sorted by color and material. ing.

[0004]

However, in order to sort plastic bottles and bottles from a belt conveyor to various collection boxes, a dedicated sorting device corresponding to the number of various collection boxes is required. For this reason, there is a problem that the total length of the belt conveyor becomes longer as the types of garbage to be sorted increase, and one sorting processing unit is required for each kind of sorting object. There was a problem that it became complicated. Further, when an air gun, a pneumatic cylinder, or the like is considered as a component of the sorting unit, a large amount of compressed air is required, so that a large-sized compressor for supplying compressed air and an increase in power consumption have become problems. . The present invention focuses on the above conventional problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an article sorting apparatus that can sort a plurality of articles even on a small site and can sort various kinds of articles by a single sorting processing unit.

[0005]

An article sorting apparatus according to the present invention is an article sorting apparatus for identifying a type of an article to be conveyed and sorting the article according to the type of the article. Identifying means for judging the type of the hopper, a hopper capable of loading the article at a stage subsequent to the identifying means, and a chute connected to the hopper via a universal joint are provided. A swing mechanism for swinging the chute by pushing or pulling in accordance with a signal is provided. In the above-described article sorting apparatus, a flexible pipe may be provided instead of the universal joint and the chute. In addition, at the end of the hopper, an article loading device that can drop the article in cooperation with the swing mechanism may be provided.

[0006]

According to the present invention constructed as described above, since the sorting direction of the articles is set to the vertical direction, it is possible to save space for the sorting work performed on a flat surface. In addition, the outlet side opening of the chute can be moved to any position within the movable area of the universal joint by the swing mechanism, so if this movable area is subdivided according to the type of article, the article type signal can be obtained. In addition, it is possible to sort a plurality of articles, so that the apparatus itself can be reduced in size and simplified.

[0007] In this apparatus, the load for moving the chute is small because of the configuration for sorting the articles vertically dropped from the hopper. Therefore, the power of the swinging mechanism can be made relatively small, and power can be saved. If a flexible tube is used instead of the universal joint and the chute, the elastic deformation of the flexible tube plays the role of the universal joint, and the configuration of the present apparatus can be simplified.

If an article feeding device is provided at the end of the hopper, it is possible to prevent the articles from being thrown during the swing of the chute, so that the articles can be surely sorted to the target place. For this reason, even if there are a large number of articles to be put into the hopper, the article putting apparatus limits the quantity of articles put in accordance with the processing capability of the swing mechanism, so that reliable sorting processing can be performed.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, specific embodiments of an article sorting apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram in which the article sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment is applied to an empty bottle sorting system. As shown in FIG. 1, the article sorting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has a color image processing identification apparatus 16 as identification means for determining the color tone of the empty bottle 14 conveyed by the belt conveyor 12. At the subsequent stage of the color image processing identification device 16, there is provided a sorting processing section 18 for sorting empty bottles 14 according to each color tone. The unsorted empty bottles 14 conveyed by the belt conveyor 12 are sorted by passing through the color image processing / identifying device 16 and the sorting processing unit 18, and are stored in the collection boxes 20 corresponding to each color tone. It is supposed to be.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an essential part for explaining the principle of the sorting section 18, and FIG. 3 is a front view of a universal joint constituting the sorting section 18. As shown in FIG. As shown in these figures, the sorting section 18 has a hopper 24 at the uppermost stage into which the articles 22 (22a, 22b) are put, and is suspended below the hopper 24 by a universal joint 26. A tubular chute 28 is provided.

A flange portion 31 is formed at an article input opening of the chute 28 for sorting the articles 22. The flange portion 31 is further surrounded outside the flange portion 31 so that the universal joint 26 is formed. A first frame 30 to configure,
A second frame 32 is provided. The first frame 30 on the side close to the surface of the flange portion 31 has a ring shape following the outer shape of the flange portion 31, and a pair of axial centers protruding from the outer surface of the flange portion 31 in a predetermined diametric direction match. The first rotating pin 34 is connected to the flange 31 by a pin. The flange 31 and the first frame 30 can swing about the first rotation pin 34.

On the other hand, a second frame which further surrounds the outside of the first frame 30 is provided.
The frame 32 has a square frame shape having a housing space 36 in the center portion of the frame 32 enough to house the first frame 30. A pair of second rotating pins 38 having the same axial center are provided so as to protrude from the inner wall of the second frame 32 forming the housing space 36, and the second rotating pin 38 is rotated by the first rotating The first frame 30 and the second frame 32 are pin-coupled so as to be orthogonal to the pins 34. Therefore, the chute 28 is moved relative to the second frame 32 by the first pivot pin 34 and the second pivot pin 3.
8 and have two degrees of freedom around these pivot pins. Therefore, the swing around the pivot pin enables the chute 28 to swing out.

An annular ring 40 having an inner diameter corresponding to the outer shape of the chute 28 is mounted near the opening of the chute 28 on the exit side of the article 22. And the annular ring 40
Are pulled out at equal intervals of 120 degrees from the outer surface of the wire, and the tow wires 42 are connected to a wire reel 43 serving as a telescopic mechanism disposed outside the annular ring 40. Have been. And these wire reels 43
, Each of which is provided with a drive motor 44, and by operating these drive motors 44, the drawing and winding of the towing wire 42 is performed. Therefore, if the individual drive motors 44 are operated independently, the chute 28 hanging down from the universal joint 26 can be swung in accordance with the feeding and winding of the tow wire 42, and the chute 28 Can be moved above an arbitrary collection box 20.

A signal line 46 is drawn from each wire reel 43, and the signal line 46 is connected to a control device 48 (see FIG. 1). The control device 48
Is capable of inputting the identification result from the color image processing identification device 16 via the signal line 50. For this reason, the control device 48 controls the wire reel 4 according to the color tone of the empty bottle 14.
3 can be operated by a predetermined amount,
Empty bottle 1 based on the determination result of color image processing identification device 16
4 are sorted into individual collection boxes 20 for each color tone.

The article sorting apparatus 10 configured as described above
The procedure for sorting the empty bottles 14 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, empty bottles 14 to be sorted are put into an article sorting apparatus 10 at predetermined intervals by a belt conveyor 12. The empty bottle 14 to be transported is first supplied to the color image processing identification device 16 provided at the end of the belt conveyor 12.
Pass through. Here, the color image processing identification device 16 detects the color tone of the empty bottle 14. When the empty bottle 14 passes through the color image processing identification device 16, the color tone of the empty bottle 14 is immediately controlled via the signal line 50. Input to device 48. Then, the controller 48 selects the collection box 20 corresponding to the color tone of the empty bottle 14, calculates the feeding amount and the winding amount of the towing wire 42 on each wire reel 43, and calculates the value. The signal is output to the individual wire reels 43 via the signal lines 46.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the wire reel 43 is operated and the chute 28 is swung. Figure (1)
Before the signal is input from the control means 48 to the wire reel 43, the chute 28 is suspended by the universal joint 26, that is, the outlet side opening of the chute 28 is divided into four collection boxes as sorting destinations. It is in a state of being located at the butting corner 52 of 20a to 20d. Then, when a signal corresponding to the selection of the collection box 20 is transmitted from the control means 48 to each wire reel 43, the drive motor 44 provided on each wire reel 43 is operated. For example, based on the determination result of the color image processing
To be sorted into the collection box 20a, as shown in the state of FIG.
It is necessary to move the outlet side opening of the traction wire 42, in order to move from the initial state shown in FIG. 1A to the state of FIG.
a and 42c are wound up, and the drive motor 44b draws out the tow wire 42b. At this time, the winding amount of the towing wire 42a is set to be larger than the winding amount of the towing wire 42c. If the feeding amount and the winding amount of each wire reel 43 are selected in this manner, the outlet opening of the chute 28 moves to the upper side of the collection box 20a, and the tension in the towing wire 42 is balanced. Held in position. Since the chute 28 is held by the first rotation pin 34 and the second rotation pin 38 as described above, the chute 28 easily moves (swings) by rotation around these rotation pins. be able to.

In response to a signal from the control means 48, the shoot 2
After the outlet-side opening 8 moves above the collection box 20a,
The empty bottle 14 that has passed through the color image processing identification device 16 is fed into the hopper 24 from the end of the belt conveyor 12. Then, the empty bottle 14 is moved from the hopper 24 to the universal joint 26.
Through the chute 28, and moves downward inside the chute 28. Here, the outlet side opening of the chute 28 is the collection box 2 to which the empty bottles 14 are to be sorted.
The empty bottle 14 that has jumped out of the outlet side opening of the chute 28 because it has been moved in advance above 0a is thrown into the collection box 20a.

In accordance with the result detected by the color image processing identification device 16, the chute 28 is swung, and the exit side opening of the chute 28 is set to an arbitrary collection box 20.
Is moved upward and repeated for each empty bottle 14, the empty bottles 14 can be sorted in the vertical direction, so that space saving can be achieved. Further, since the empty bottles 14 can be sorted into a large number by the combination of the wire reels 43, the apparatus itself can be reduced in size and simplified. Further, since the empty bottles 14 that move (fall) in the vertical direction are sorted, the load for moving the chute 28 is small. For this reason, the power of the wire reel 43 (the driving motor 44) can be made relatively small, and power can be saved.

In the present invention, the expansion and contraction mechanism is 3
Although the pair of the tow wires 42 and the wire reels 43 are configured as the tow wires 42 and the wire reels 43, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The chute 28 may be swung by synthesizing the amount and the winding amount, or one of the three sets of the towing wire 42 and the wire reel 43 may be replaced with a spring.

The extension mechanism may be replaced with an air or hydraulic cylinder instead of the towing wire 42 and the wire reel 43. In this case, since the positioning of the opening on the outlet side of the chute 28 can be moved with high accuracy and high responsiveness, more various kinds of sorting and an improvement in the efficiency of the sorting operation can be achieved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the chute 28 is provided below the hopper 24 via the universal joint 26. However, a flexible pipe may be provided instead of the universal joint 26 and the chute 28. Since the flexible tube itself has elasticity, the configuration of the device itself can be simplified. In addition, since a configuration in which the hopper 24 and the flexible pipe are directly connected to each other and a gap is prevented from being generated can be used, the empty bottle 14 may be caught between the hopper 24 and the flexible pipe. Can be prevented, and the reliability of the device itself can be improved. As an application example of the present embodiment, an empty bottle input device 54 is provided at the end of the hopper 24 as an article input device capable of dropping the empty bottle 14, and the empty bottle 14 is shot after the swing movement of the chute 28 is completed. 28.

FIG. 5 is a structural view of an article sorting device 56 provided with an empty bottle input device 54. As shown in the figure, a gutter-shaped inclined chute 5 is provided at the uppermost part of the article sorting device 56.
8 are provided and empty bottles 14 to be sorted
Is accumulated on the inclined chute 58. An empty bottle input device 54 is disposed at the end of the inclined chute 58. The empty bottle input device 54 is in a water wheel-like form composed of four blades 55 and takes in empty bottles 14 located at the end of the inclined chute 58 into the individual blades 55 and rotates the blades 55. Thus, the empty bottle 14 is inserted into the swingable chute 28 provided below the empty bottle input device 54. The lower part of the empty bottle input device 54, that is, the portion below the chute 28 that can be swung has the same configuration as that of the above-described embodiment. Therefore, the same part numbers are given and the description is omitted.

FIG. 6 shows the inclined chute 58 and the blade 55.
The enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 2B shows an AA cross section of the inclined chute 58 shown in FIG. As shown in these figures, the inclined chute 58 has a gutter-like form in which a thin plate is bent at a right angle to form wall surfaces 62 at both ends of a bottom surface portion 60. The interval between the facing wall surfaces 62 is an empty bottle. It is set to a length that allows a length of 14. Also the bottom part 6
At 0, a slit 64 is provided along the longitudinal direction of the inclined chute 58. The slit 64 is provided for the purpose of sorting the size of the empty bottles 14 to be sorted. Even if the small empty bottles 14 not to be sorted are thrown into the sorting article device 56, the slit type chute 58 is moved. By passing, the small empty bottle 14 falls out of the slit 64 and is prevented from being sent to the empty bottle input device 54. A stopper 66 is formed at the end of the inclined chute 58 by bending the bottom surface portion 60 in the same direction as the wall surface 62. (2) and (3) of FIG.
A view from an arrow and a view from an arrow C are shown. As shown in these figures, a stopper 66 bent and raised in the same direction as the wall surface 62 is formed on the bottom end portion 60 at the end side of the empty bottle charging device 54. The stopper 66 has a comb-like shape, and a later-described blade 55 is provided between the gaps 68 forming the comb-like teeth.
And the empty bottle 14 locked by the stopper 66
Can be picked up by the blades 55.

FIG. 5 (5) is an enlarged view of a blade 55 constituting the empty bottle input device 54. As shown in the drawing, an L-shaped scooping rod 70 corresponding to the pitch of the gap 68 is provided at the tip of the blade 55 passing through the gap 68 of the inclined chute 58, and the blade 55 itself rotates. The pick-up bar 70 passes through the gap 68 of the inclined chute 58, and the empty bottle 14 hung by the stopper 66 can be taken out to the blade 55 side. A storage box 72 is provided at the center of the blade 55 for holding the empty bottle 14 moved from the inclined chute 58 to the blade 55 side by the scoop bar 70 on the blade 55. The storage box 72
Is formed so that its opening 74 faces the pick-up bar 70 side. The empty bottle 14 is taken in from the opening 74 and the chute 28 provided below the empty bottle input device 54 is rotated by the rotation of the blade 55 to empty the empty bottle 14. The bottle 14 can be dropped. The blade 55 in the empty bottle input device 54
Is rotated by a drive motor (not shown),
The drive motor is movable after the swing movement of the chute 28 is completed, so that the empty bottles 14 can be sorted reliably. The operation of the blade 55 is performed by rotating the blade 55 without rotating at a constant speed.
In the case of a single blade, the drive motor is rotated in the clockwise direction in the figure by 90 degrees so that the swinging operation of the chute 28 and the timing of dropping the empty bottle 14 are matched, so that smooth sorting is performed. .

In the article sorting device 56, the empty bottle 14 is supplied from the empty bottle input device 54 to the chute 28 at a predetermined timing.
As shown in FIG. 5, the color image processing identification device 16 is provided between the empty bottle input device 54 and the chute 28 to determine the color tone of the empty bottle 14 that falls, and this determination result is also obtained. At this time, the chute 28 may be operated to perform the sorting operation.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the empty bottle charging device 54. As shown in the figure, a plurality of blades 76 having a gutter shape are provided in place of the blades 55, and a stopper plate 78 for restricting the intake of the empty bottle 14 is provided at the front end thereof, and these are rotated in a counterclockwise direction. Then, the empty bottle 14 moves to the blade 76 side with the rotation of the empty bottle input device 54, and drops into the chute 28 after a predetermined rotation. Even if such a configuration is used, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the empty bottle charging device 54 described above.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an article sorting apparatus which identifies a type of an article to be conveyed and sorts the article according to the type of the article. And a hopper to which the articles can be put, and a chute connected to the hopper via a universal joint are provided at a stage subsequent to the identifying means, and an article type signal from the identifying means is provided. By providing a swinging mechanism for swinging the chute by pushing or pulling in accordingly, space saving can be achieved, and downsizing and simplification of the device itself can be achieved. In addition, since the vertically falling articles are sorted, the power of the sorting unit can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram in which an article sorting apparatus according to an embodiment is applied to a bottle sorting system.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part explaining the principle of a sorting processing unit 18;

FIG. 3 shows a front view of a universal joint constituting the sorting section 18.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the wire reel 43 is operated to swing the chute 28;

FIG. 5 is an article sorting device 56 provided with an empty bottle input device 54.
FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the inclined chute 58 and the blade 55.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the empty bottle input device 54.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Article sorting apparatus 12 Belt conveyor 14 Empty bottle 16 Color image processing identification apparatus 18 Sorting processing unit 20 Collection box 22 Article 24 Hopper 26 Universal joint 28 Chute 30 First frame 32 Second frame 34 First rotating pin 36 Storage space 38 Second rotating pin 40 Annular wheel 42 Towing wire 43 Wire reel 44 Driving motor 46 Signal line 48 Control device 50 Signal line 52 Butt corner 54 Empty bottle feeding device 55 Blade 56 Article sorting device 58 Inclined chute 60 Bottom portion 62 Wall surface 64 Slit 66 Stopper 68 Void 70 Scooping bar 72 Storage box 74 Opening 76 Blade 78 Stopper plate

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An article sorting apparatus for identifying a type of an article to be conveyed and sorting the article according to the type of the article, comprising identification means for determining the type of the article. A hopper capable of loading the article and a chute connected to the hopper via a universal joint are provided at a stage subsequent to the means, and the chute neck of the chute is extruded or retracted according to an article type signal from the identification means. An article sorting apparatus characterized by having a swing mechanism for swinging. 2. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a flexible tube in place of the universal joint and the chute. 3. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an article loading device is provided at an end of the hopper so as to drop the article in conjunction with the swing mechanism. .