JP2003290745A - Garbage treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a garbage treating apparatus whose efficient operation can be kept by surely discriminating abnormality of the biodegradation capacity without being affected by the amount of garbage to be fed or the operating condition. <P>SOLUTION: This garbage treating apparatus is constituted so that a temperature sensor and an optical sensor are arranged in a treating tank packed with a garbage treating material and a heater for heating the garbage to be thrown in the treating tank, an agitation blade to be driven by a driving motor, and a ventilation fan are controlled by a microcomputer on the basis of the output signals of the temperature sensor and the optical sensor. When the temperature of the garbage treating material detected by the temperature sensor is equal to or lower than the fixed temperature and the output of the optical sensor at such a temperature in the fixed period of time, for example, the maximum value of the dispersion history of the reflectance is larger than the prescribed threshold value, the microcomputer discriminates that the biodegradation capacity of the treating tank is in a bad state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating food waste, and in particular, for example, a treatment tank filled with an ingredient for treating food waste is provided with a temperature sensor and an optical sensor to biodegrade the garbage disposed in the treatment tank. Regarding garbage processing equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of biodegradation / maturation type food waste processing apparatus, sawdust (wood chips) called chips is placed in a processing tank.
It is filled with food waste treatment materials such as. Waste, such as vegetables, fruits, or fish, that is, raw garbage is put into this treatment tank, and the temperature of the treatment tank is maintained at a temperature suitable for biodegradation while maintaining the temperature inside the treatment tank and the stirring blade of the stirring device. Rotate to mix.

Microorganisms (bacteria) necessary for biodegradation are attached to the introduced food waste, and the biodegradation treatment of the food waste is promoted by temperature control and stirring in the treatment tank. Then, after a few weeks or a few months, the food waste biodegraded as described above is composted.

By the way, as a method for confirming the state of biodegradability of raw garbage processing material such as sawdust, which is filled in the processing tank of the garbage processing apparatus, for example, it occurs when the raw garbage is biodegraded. It can be judged by the temperature of the food waste treatment material due to the heat of fermentation. However, just by judging the temperature of the raw garbage processing material, for example, when the raw garbage processing material has a good processing capacity, but there is no raw garbage (the raw garbage does not exist in the processing tank). However, since there is no fermentation heat, there is a problem that the processing capacity state is erroneously determined to be poor and it cannot be put to practical use.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for treating food waste which is capable of surely determining an abnormality in biodegradability in a treatment tank.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a food waste processing apparatus for biodegrading food waste put in a processing tank by providing a temperature sensor and an optical sensor in a processing tank filled with a food waste processing material. It is a garbage disposal device that determines the processing capacity state of garbage in the processing tank based on the temperature of the garbage processing material by the temperature sensor and the history of the garbage input to the processing tank due to variations in the output of the optical sensor.

[0007]

[Function] For example, when food waste is present in the processing tank,
Normal biodegradation is performed due to temperature change by the temperature sensor and optical sensor output, for example, dispersion of reflectance or transmittance, and when there is almost no change in optical sensor output, there is no need to throw in garbage. To be judged.

[0008]

According to the present invention, the user can surely know the biodegradation processing capacity abnormality of the processing tank at an early stage. For example, the garbage is not decomposed and overflows from the processing tank, and the bad smell is generated. Etc. can be prevented in advance.

The above-mentioned objects, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by the detailed description of the embodiments given below with reference to the drawings.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, referring to FIG. 1, a food waste processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a case body 12 having an upper opening, and a processing tank 14 made of a light transmissive synthetic resin having an upper opening. Inside the processing tank 14, a stirring blade 16 is horizontally rotatably arranged.

The stirring blade 16 is rotationally driven by a drive motor 18 arranged below the case body 12 through a reduction gear mechanism 20, and the drive motor 18 is driven by a computer (hereinafter, simply referred to as "microcomputer") 22 described later. Controlled. The stirring blade 16 and the drive motor 18 for this blade constitute a stirring device. Further, a planar heater 24 for heating is attached to the outer wall surface of the processing tank 14,
The heater 24 is also controlled by the microcomputer 22.

An upper lid 26 is provided at the upper opening of the case body 12 so as to be openable and closable. Further, an exhaust passage 28 is provided in the case body 12, and the exhaust passage 28 is provided in the processing tank 1.
The exhaust port 30 provided at the upper part of the No. 4 communicates with the outside of the case body 12. An exhaust fan 32 is arranged in the exhaust passage 28, and the exhaust fan 32 is controlled by the microcomputer 22.

The processing tank 14 is filled with food waste processing material 34 such as sawdust, called chips. The raw garbage processing material 34 is appropriately refilled or newly replaced and refilled every several weeks or months.

A temperature sensor 36 is provided at a proper position on the outer wall surface of the processing tank 14.
Is provided to detect the temperature state in the processing tank 14. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, an optical sensor 40 housed in a sensor case 38 is provided on the tank wall 14 a of the processing tank 14. This optical sensor 40 is
For example, a light emitting body 40a such as a tungsten lamp and a silicon photodiode or the like that receives light reflected from the food waste treatment material 34 or the garbage mass 42 when the light from the light emitting body 40a is transmitted through the tank wall 14a. And a light receiver 40b. The optical sensor 40 is used to detect whether or not raw garbage has been put into the raw garbage processing material 34 filled in the processing tank 14. That is, it is possible to check the input history of the garbage into the processing tank 14 based on the dispersion of the reflectance by the optical sensor 40 functioning as the optical moisture sensor.

Of course, this optical sensor 40 is used in the case body 1.
It can also be arranged on the back side of the upper lid 26 that opens and closes the upper opening of the second lid 2. In this case, the radiated light from the optical sensor 40 directly irradiates the garbage processing material 34 and the lump 42 of garbage and is reflected, so that the processing tank 14 does not need to be made of a light transmissive material.

Further, a stirring shaft sensor 44 such as an encoder for detecting the rotating state of the stirring blade 16 is provided near the rotation shaft of the stirring blade 16. The food waste that has been biodegraded and composted in the processing tank 14 is appropriately discharged into the drawer type discharge tray 46 provided at the bottom of the case body 12, and the weight thereof is detected by the weight sensor 48. . An operation display lamp group 50 and a power switch 52 are provided on the upper side surface of the case body 12.

Next, a block diagram of the control device of the food waste processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

The control device 54 is composed of the above-described microcomputer 22 including a CPU and a memory for controlling the entire food waste processing device 10.

The microcomputer 22 includes a power switch 52
Is connected, and by turning on the power switch 52, electric power is supplied to each sensor unit and each drive unit including the microcomputer 22.

The microcomputer 22 includes the above-mentioned sensor portions, that is, the temperature sensor 36 and the optical sensor 4.
0, the stirring shaft sensor 44, and the weight sensor 48 are connected, and output signals from these sensors are input to the microcomputer 22. The drive motor 18, the planar heater 24, the exhaust fan 32, and the operation display lamp group 50 are connected to the microcomputer 22 as a drive unit, and drive power is supplied to these under the control of the microcomputer 22.

Here, the state of dispersion of the reflectance of the optical sensor 40 with and without the input of garbage into the processing tank 14 is shown in the sensing concept shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B and FIG. This will be described with reference to the characteristic diagram shown.

First, when there is no lump 42 of food waste in the food waste processing material 34 in the processing tank 14, the food waste processing material 34 is uniform, and the reflectance of the optical sensor 40 is almost constant. There is little variation in rates.

However, when the garbage is put in, the stirring blade 1
The agitation 6 may cause a lump 42 of food waste to come to the front of the optical sensor 40. Since the reflectance of the food waste processing material 34 and that of the food waste are different, the dispersion of the reflectance of the optical sensor 40 is large. Then, as the food waste is biodegraded, the variation in the reflectance of the optical sensor 40 becomes gradually smaller.

Next, the operation of the food waste processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, here, it is determined whether or not there is food waste in the processing tank 14 based on the variation in the reflectance of the optical sensor 40 as described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5.

First, after starting, in step S1, a timer provided in the microcomputer 22 counts a certain time period. Next, in step S3, chips (raw garbage processing material) 34 filled in the processing tank 14 by the temperature sensor 36.
The microcomputer 22 determines whether or not the temperature is lower than a certain temperature, for example, 40 ° C. or lower.

The result of step S3 is "YE
If S ″, the history of variations in the reflectance of the optical sensor 40 is checked in step S5.

Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the maximum value of the dispersion of the optical sensor reflectance within a certain period from the present is larger than a certain value (threshold value) stored in advance in the memory of the microcomputer 22. judge. The result is
If "YES", it is determined in step S9 that the processing capacity of the chips filled in the processing tank 14 is defective, and in step S11 a warning is given to the user that the processing capacity of the chips is defective, for example, an operation display lamp. The corresponding lamp of the group is turned on to warn, and a series of operations is ended.

By this warning display, the user additionally fills the raw garbage processing material 34 in the processing tank 14 or replaces the whole raw garbage processing material 34 with a new raw garbage processing material 34.

On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S3 is "NO", the process returns to step S3. If the determination result of step S7 is smaller than a certain value (threshold value) and "NO", the processing capacity state of the chip is normal, and the operation is ended (end).

As described above, in the food waste processing apparatus of this embodiment, an abnormality in the food waste decomposition processing capacity in the processing tank filled with the food waste disposal material can be easily identified, and an efficient biodegradation processing operation can be performed. Can be done.

Incidentally, FIG. 7 shows an illustrative view of another embodiment corresponding to FIG. In this embodiment, the optical sensor 40
The presence or absence of food waste in the processing tank 14 is detected by using not the reflectance but the transmittance thereof.

That is, in this case, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the optical sensor 40 housed in the sensor case 38 is provided on the tank wall 14a of the corner portion of the processing tank 14. It is provided. This optical sensor 40 is, for example,
A light emitting body 40a such as a tungsten lamp and the light emitting body 4
The light from 0a is transmitted through the tank wall 14a and the raw garbage processing material 34
Alternatively, it includes a light receiving body 40b such as a silicon photodiode that receives the transmitted light that has passed through the lump 42 of garbage. Also in this case, the same effect as in the case of the above-described embodiment for sensing the reflected light of the optical sensor 40 is obtained.

When the lump 42 of food waste comes to the front surface of the light receiving body 40b of the optical sensor 40 by stirring, the light receiving body 40b
The light transmittance at changes. In addition, raw garbage processing material 34
Since the light transmittance of the garbage differs from that of the garbage, the output of the optical sensor 40 varies greatly. Therefore, it is used by the optical sensor 40 to detect whether or not food waste has been put into the food waste processing material 34 filled in the processing tank 14. That is, it is possible to check the input history of the garbage into the processing tank 14 based on the variation in the transmittance by the optical sensor 40 functioning as the optical moisture sensor.

The characteristic diagram showing the state of the transmittance of the optical sensor corresponding to FIG. 5 and the flowchart showing the operation flow corresponding to FIG. 6 can be easily understood by replacing the reflectance of the optical sensor with the transmittance. Illustration and description are omitted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a schematic configuration of a food waste processing device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the food waste processing device of FIG. 1 in a covered state.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative view of a moisture sensor provided in this food waste processing device, where (a) is a conceptual state of sensing when there is no food waste in the treatment tank and (b) is a case where there is food waste in the treatment tank. Are shown respectively.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control device for controlling the food waste processing device of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing a state of reflectance of an optical sensor in the case where food waste is present in the processing tank and in the case where food waste is not present.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation flow for determining a disassembly processing capability state of the food waste processing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative view showing another embodiment corresponding to FIG.
(A) shows the sensing conceptual state when there is no food waste inside the treatment tank, and (b) shows the sensing conceptual state when there is food waste inside the treatment tank.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ・ ・ ・ Garbage processor 14 ... Processing tank 16 ・ ・ ・ Stirring blade 18 ... Drive motor 22 ... Microcomputer (computer) 24 ... Sheet heater 32 ... Exhaust fan 34 ... Raw garbage processing material (chips) 36 ... Temperature sensor 40 ... Optical sensor

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Osamu Nakano             2-5-3 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture             Within Yo Denki Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 4D004 AA03 CA15 CA18 CB04 CB28                       CB32 CC08 DA01 DA04 DA06                       DA17 DA20

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A food waste processing apparatus for biodegrading food waste put in the processing tank by providing a temperature sensor and an optical sensor in the processing tank filled with the food waste processing material, wherein the food waste by the temperature sensor is used. A food waste processing device for determining an abnormality in the biodegradation processing capacity of food waste in the processing tank based on the temperature of the processing material and the history of inputting the garbage into the processing tank due to variations in the output of the optical sensor. 2. The food waste processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the maximum value of the variation of the output is larger than a predetermined threshold value, the biodegradation processing capacity state is judged to be defective and a warning is issued. 3. The food waste processing device according to claim 1, wherein the output includes a reflectance or a transmittance of the optical sensor. 4. The food waste processing device according to claim 1, wherein the optical sensor includes a light emitter and a light receiver. 5. The food waste processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing tank is made of a light transmissive material. 6. The food waste processing device according to claim 1, wherein the optical sensor includes an optical moisture sensor.