JP2004279123A - Material distinguishing device for mixed waste - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To distinguish materials surely with high probability on waste plastic articles and compound pipes from among mixed wastes by means of a relatively simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The mixed wastes P conveyed on a belt 2 are distinguished by a plurality of reflection-type photosensors directed toward a conveying surface from its upper side, with the beam direction of at least one of the photosensors made differ from the others. Therefore, a certain beam has a longer irradiation distance on the conveying surface of the belt, increasing the chances of distinguishing plastic materials in the mixed wastes conveyed in a spread manner over the conveying surface of the belt 2. By providing reflection-type photosensors 8 and 9 on both the side parts of the belt 2 with both the directions of their beams directed toward the upstream side or downstream side of the belt, distinguishing power is enhanced since mixed wastes receive the beam of the photosensor on the other side when the beam of the photosensor on one side is shaded by other mixed wastes. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a material discriminating apparatus for discriminating between plastic materials such as vinyl chloride and others in mixed wastes such as recyclable waste and industrial wastes discharged from general households.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Mixed waste such as recyclable garbage and industrial waste discharged from general households includes paper, plastic such as vinyl, wood, concrete, soil, metal products, cloth, rubber, glass products, etc. It is necessary to sort plastic materials in order to collect them as recyclable waste.
For the sorting, the workers can visually select the material while flowing on the conveyor on the sorting line, or use a material identification device such as an infrared sensor installed directly above the conveyor to convert the mixed waste into chloride. The surface of a plastic material such as vinyl is material-identified, and an operator manually sorts the material based on the identification result, or further mechanically sorts the material based on the identification result.
When identifying with the infrared sensor, etc., if the mixed waste moving on the belt overlaps vertically, the infrared sensor is at the top, so the irradiation light is disturbed by the mixed waste located above, In some cases, the mixed waste located below passes through the material identification device without being irradiated, and the plastic material as the identification target cannot be accurately identified from the mixed waste.
In addition, a method is also conceivable in which a plurality of infrared sensors are arranged in a plane just above the transport conveyor and the object to be identified is identified by irradiating the infrared sensor downward from the infrared sensor. Even if it is possible to identify by irradiating reliably, even if mixed pipes such as composite pipes are mixed in the mixed waste conveyed in the horizontal position, the inner surface is not identified because the irradiation light from the infrared sensor does not hit the inner surface. Can not do it. Incidentally, the above-mentioned composite pipe is a pipe in which plastic is coated or laminated on an outer surface and an inner surface such as a metal tube and a concrete (mortar) tube.
[0003]
As a method for sorting plastic materials, as shown in FIG. 4, the type of the raw material 20 of the plastic container being transferred by the belt conveyor 21 is determined by the infrared spectroscope 22, and at least one location in the traveling direction of the belt conveyor 21. An automatic sorting machine (not shown) provided is operated according to a command signal of the infrared spectroscope 22 to sort plastic containers according to the type of raw material. In this sorting method, the infrared spectroscope 22 includes a belt. A light emitting source 22a is provided on one side of the conveyor 21 and a light receiving and receiving light source 22b is provided on the other side of the light emitting source 22a. This is to detect the types of the 20 raw materials. That is, when the waste plastic container 20 passes between the light emitting source 22a and the light receiving source 22b of the infrared spectroscope 22 provided outside the belt conveyor 21, the difference in the type of the raw material is determined based on the spectral detection waveform. (See Patent Document 1).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-11081 (page 2, FIG. 2).
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the prior art described in Patent Literature 1, the light emitting source 22a and the receiving light source 22b are arranged at right angles and opposed to the traveling direction of the belt conveyor 21, and the irradiation light is directed at right angles to the traveling direction. However, this irradiation light can hardly irradiate the inner surface of the composite pipe in the mixed waste conveyed in a random direction. Therefore, it is premised that the waste plastic container 20 to be identified is transferred on the belt conveyor 21 in a fixed direction and in a single row, and therefore, the mixed waste containing the identification object is transferred to the belt conveyor 21. In the case of being conveyed in a multi-row state in the width direction and overlapping in the vertical direction, the irradiation light from the light emitting source 22a is obstructed by the mixed waste and does not reach the light receiving light source 22b, so that the identification cannot be reliably performed. There is a problem that the accuracy is not sufficient.
[0006]
Therefore, the present invention aims to identify waste plastic materials and composite pipes from mixed wastes such as recyclable garbage and industrial wastes discharged from ordinary households with a relatively simple structure and with high reliability and high reliability. Make it an issue.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a material identification device for mixed waste of the present invention is provided with a plurality of reflective optical sensors from above a belt of a transport conveyor toward a transport surface, and at least one of the reflective optical sensors is provided. By making the direction of one light beam direction different from the other, one light beam direction is inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to the running direction of the belt. The irradiation distance becomes longer, and therefore, the opportunity to identify the plastic material in the mixed waste conveyed in a state of being spread (multi-row) on the conveying surface of the belt increases. Further, the one inclined light beam illuminates the inner surface of the composite pipe in which the inner surface is covered or laminated with plastic, and the material can be identified.
[0008]
Since the reflection type optical sensor is provided on both sides of the belt, and the light beam direction of the reflection type optical sensor is directed to the upstream side or the downstream side of the belt, irradiation is performed from both sides of the belt. When the mixed waste is conveyed while being spread in the width direction of the belt, when the light from the reflection type optical sensor on one side is blocked by another mixed waste, the mixed waste is reflected on the other side. The discrimination power is improved by receiving the light beam from the optical sensor. Also, the chance of light rays entering the mixed waste increases. Further, by directing both light beams toward the upstream side or the downstream side of the belt, the inner surface of the composite pipe can be irradiated, and the material thereof can be detected and identified.
By adopting a configuration in which the reflection type optical sensor is provided on both sides and the upper part of the belt, not only a composite pipe in which waste plastic conveyed in a substantially horizontal state is covered or laminated, but also a substantially vertical vertical Any inner surface of the composite pipe conveyed in the oriented state can be reliably detected and identified.
One of the reflection-type optical sensors is provided on one side of the belt, and the other is provided on the upper portion of the belt. A configuration directed to the upstream side or the downstream side can be adopted.
[0009]
By adopting a configuration in which the light beam direction of the reflection type optical sensor is obliquely downward toward the conveying surface of the belt, the chance of the light beam entering the overlapping mixed waste is further increased.
By adopting a configuration in which the reflection type optical sensor is provided so that the light beams do not cross each other on the conveying surface of the belt, there is no interference of the reflected light amount caused by the crossing of the light beams, and the waste plastic in the mixed waste can be removed. Highly accurate detection and identification.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a conveyor provided with a belt 2, which is a waste such as paper and vinyl, such as resources and industrial waste discharged from ordinary households, such as plastic, wood, concrete, soil, and the like. Mixed waste P such as metal products, cloths, rubber, and glass products is supplied and transported from one upper end and discharged from the other end.
The belt 2 is wound around drums 3 and 4 at both ends supported by a main body frame 5 and runs on a drum 4 rotated by a driving device (not shown). Reference numeral 6 denotes a discharge chute provided near the discharge of the drum 4.
Reference numeral 7 denotes a gate-type sensor frame which is installed so as to extend at right angles to the traveling direction of the belt 2. Reference numerals 8 and 9 denote reflective optical sensors provided from both side surfaces of the sensor frame 7 toward the conveying surface above the belt 2. An infrared sensor, a near infrared sensor, or the like can be used as the reflection type optical sensor. Hereinafter, description will be made using an infrared sensor.
[0011]
The infrared sensors 8 and 9 each include a light source unit for irradiation light and a light receiving unit for reflected light juxtaposed with the light source unit. The light source unit irradiates irradiation light to the mixed waste P and reflects the light from the mixed waste P. The reflected light is received by the light receiving section.
Further, the infrared sensors 8 and 9 are both provided toward the upstream side of the belt 2. That is, the angles formed by the traveling direction line d of the belt 2 and the irradiation light beams a and b from the light source unit are set to α ₁ and β ₁ , respectively. The angles α ₁ and β ₁ are changed so that the irradiation light beams a and b do not intersect, and are set to, for example, α ₁ = 75 degrees and β ₁ = 60 degrees. However, the angles α ₁ and β ₁ may be the same if the mounting positions of the infrared sensors 8 and 9 in the vertical direction are shifted. By arranging the infrared sensors 8 and 9 at a predetermined angle in this way, not only the upper surface of the mixed waste P but also the composite pipe to be identified is transported in a direction other than the substantially vertical state. Even if it comes, the irradiation light from the light source unit hits the inner surface of the composite pipe and the reflected light is received by the light receiving unit.
Further, the infrared sensors 8 and 9 are set obliquely downward toward the conveying surface of the belt 2. That is, the angles between the vertical surfaces e on both sides of the sensor frame 7 and the irradiation light beams a and b from the light source unit are set to α ₂ and β ₂ , respectively. The angles α ₂ and β ₂ may be the same as long as the angles α ₁ and β ₁ are set so as not to intersect with each other. However, if the angles α ₁ and β ₁ are the same, the irradiation light beams a and Different angles are set so that b does not intersect.
The reason why the irradiation light beams a and b do not intersect is that the irradiation light beams a and b do not intersect with each other so that the amount of reflected light from the mixed waste P does not change due to interference, and only the light from the waste plastic is used. This is for receiving an accurate light amount.
Although the infrared sensors 8 and 9 are provided toward the upstream side of the belt 2 in the illustrated example, the same effect can be obtained by providing them toward the downstream side.
[0012]
Reference numeral 10 denotes a reflection type optical sensor such as an infrared sensor provided from the upper surface of the sensor frame 7 toward the belt 2, and includes a light source unit for irradiation light and a light receiving unit for reflected light juxtaposed with the light source unit. The irradiation light beam c from the light source unit of the reflection type optical sensor 10 has a predetermined inclination angle toward the upstream side or the downstream side as shown in FIG. It may be a direction directly below the surface. However, the irradiation light beam c from the light source unit should not cross the irradiation light beams a and b for the same reason as described above.
[0013]
In the above configuration, mixed waste P such as recyclable waste and industrial waste discharged from a general household is supplied onto the belt 2 from one end of the conveyor 1. The mixed wastes P on the belt 2 are conveyed in a state of spreading in the width direction on the belt 2 (multiple rows), overlapping in the vertical direction, and further facing in various directions. In this transporting process, the irradiation light irradiated from the light sources of the infrared sensors 8 and 9 provided on both sides of the belt 2 hits the mixed waste P, is reflected on the surface to become reflected light, and the reflected light is reflected by the light receiving unit. Received. For example, when the irradiation light beam a of the reflection type optical sensor 8 is blocked by another mixed waste, the mixed waste receives the irradiation light beam b of the reflection type optical sensor 9 and the discrimination power is improved. Further, by directing both the light beams of the irradiation light toward the upstream side or the downstream side of the belt 2, the inner surface of the composite pipe can be irradiated, and the material thereof can be detected and identified.
If the received light amount of the reflected light is within a range of a specific material in the mixed waste material P, that is, a range of the received light amount specific to the plastic, it is set in advance so as to identify the plastic material. When plastic is present in the mixed waste P in the state set as described above, the waste plastic can be determined by the infrared sensors 8 and 9. For example, when the mixed waste is a composite pipe P as shown in FIG. 1, the inner surface is surely irradiated with the irradiation light beam a, and when the mixed waste is a composite pipe P1, the irradiation light beam b is surely irradiated.
The waste plastic determined by the infrared sensors 8 and 9 is displayed on a lamp or the like, and the result of the determination is picked up and removed by an operator located on the discharge chute 6 side of the sensor frame 7 based on the display of the lamp. The remaining mixed waste P is discharged from the discharge chute 6.
By setting the directions of the infrared sensors 8 and 9 provided on both sides of the belt 2 and the irradiation angles of the irradiation light beams a and b to appropriate angles in this manner, the mixed waste P may overlap in the vertical direction, Irrespective of the direction of the mixture, the irradiating light impinges on the surface of the mixed waste P without leaking, and the chance of entering the mixed waste increases, and the reflected light is received and the object to be identified in the mixed waste P is received. Is reliably and accurately identified.
Further, the reflection type optical sensor 10 increases the probability of irradiating the upper surface of the mixed waste P, makes it possible to irradiate the inner surface of the composite pipe conveyed in the vertical direction, and further combines it with the infrared sensors 8 and 9. Thus, the identification accuracy can be further improved.
[0014]
In addition, by irradiating the irradiation light beams a and b from the light sources of the infrared sensors 8 and 9 obliquely downward toward the conveyance surface, the chance of the irradiation light beams a and b entering the mixed waste is further increased. That is, even when the mixed waste P spreads in the width direction of the belt 2 and overlaps vertically, the mixed waste P below is also irradiated, and the waste plastic to be identified can be reliably detected, and the identification accuracy can be improved. Is improved.
Further, even when the composite pipe with the plastic coating or lamination on the inner surface is conveyed in a substantially horizontal horizontal state, the irradiation light of the light source unit can be radiated from the opening of the composite pipe to the inner surface. Irradiation on the inner surface improves the identification accuracy of the material because the inner surface is less likely to be contaminated even if the surface is dirty and it is difficult to detect reflected light.
[0015]
In the above-described embodiment, the combination of the infrared sensors 8, 9 and 10 is described, but a combination of the infrared sensor 10 and the infrared sensor 8 or 9 is also possible.
[0016]
In the above-described embodiment, the identified waste plastic is removed by the operator, but the waste plastic can be removed using a mechanical removal means without any trouble. As one of the means, a discharge path for waste plastic and a discharge path for other waste are provided at the end of the conveyor 1 via a damper (not shown), and the waste plastic falling from the end is operated by operating the damper. It is a type that discharges by switching to the waste plastic side discharge path. The other one is provided with a scraper that runs on the belt 2 of the conveyor 1 in a direction perpendicular to the running direction of the belt 2, and runs the scraper to remove waste plastic materials and pipes on the belt 2. It is a form of scraping and discharging. In either case, it is difficult to remove only the waste plastic, but at least the mixed waste P from which the waste plastic has been removed has a very low mixing ratio of the waste plastic.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of reflective optical sensors are provided from above the belt of the transport conveyor toward the transport surface, and the direction of at least one light beam direction of the reflective sensor is made different from that of the other. As a result, the chance of identifying the plastic material in the mixed waste conveyed in a state of being spread (multi-row) on the conveying surface of the belt increases, and the material can be identified with high probability and the processing ability is improved.
Further, the one inclined light beam illuminates the inner surface of the composite pipe in which the inner surface is covered or laminated with plastic, and the material can be identified.
Further, the structure can be simplified since the waste plastic contained in the mixed waste can be identified without performing rearrangement and alignment by prior human and mechanical operations.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a material identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front view of the material identification device according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a part of a conventional material identification device, in which (A) is a plan view and (B) is a side view.
P Mixed waste (composite pipe)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyor 2 Belt 3, 4 Drum 5 Body frame 6 Discharge chute 7 Sensor frame 8, 9 Reflection type optical sensor (infrared sensor)
10. Reflection type optical sensor (infrared sensor)

Claims (6)

Material of the mixed waste P on the belt 2 of the conveyor 1 for discriminating between the waste plastic and the other mixed waste P by a reflective optical sensor provided from above the belt 2 toward the conveying surface. In the identification device,
A material identification device for mixed waste, wherein a plurality of reflective optical sensors are provided, and the direction of at least one light beam direction of the reflective optical sensors is made different from that of others. 2. The reflection type optical sensor is provided on both sides of the belt 2, and both light directions of the reflection type optical sensor are directed upstream or downstream of the belt 2. 3. The material identification device for mixed waste described in (1). The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reflection type optical sensor is provided above the belt (2). One of the reflection-type optical sensors is provided on one side of the belt 2 and the other is provided on the upper portion of the belt 2. The material identification device for mixed waste according to claim 1, wherein the material is directed to the upstream side or the downstream side of the belt 2. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a light beam direction of the reflection-type optical sensor is obliquely downward toward the conveying surface of the belt. The material identification of the mixed waste according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the reflection type optical sensors are provided so that their light beams do not cross each other on the conveying surface of the belt (2). apparatus.

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