JP2005279479A - Golf ball sorting apparatus, golf ball treating system and golf ball treating method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a treating system by which continuous treatment of golf balls in an incinerator can be performed and a bottom section of the incinerator is not damaged. <P>SOLUTION: A waste incinerator is provided with a charging port of waste plastics or the like at an upper part and a charging port of the golf ball at a lower part. Into the charging port of the golf ball, the golf ball is charged one by one from a hopper where the golf balls are once stored through a charging pipe. The treating system is provided with a golf ball sorting apparatus for sorting and removing a partially broken ball in advance from a golf ball group to be charged into the hopper. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a used golf ball processing technique.

  Golf balls used to have a thread-wound structure, but recently, golf balls having a three-piece or four-piece structure such as a resin such as nylon, urethane, polyester, or rubber have been widely used.

  The composition of the golf ball is, for example, ionomer, thermoplastic elastomer, titanium oxide, barium sulfate, etc. (Patent Document 1), which is composed of an organic polymer or an inorganic compound, but the main component is an organic polymer such as rubber or plastic. .

  Plastic recycling is generally divided into material recycling, heat recycling, and chemical recycling (Non-patent Document 1, pages 1006 to 1009).

  The affiliated company of the present applicant recycles waste plastics, sludge, etc., using waste oil and recycled heavy oil as the main fuel, using the incinerator outlined on pages 1117 to 1118 of Non-Patent Document 1. Among them, 50 to 60 golf balls to be discarded were mixed with waste plastic and put into an incinerator. As a result, the temperature at the bottom of the furnace rose rapidly.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-28258 Utility Model Registration No. 3046166 Journal of Resources and Materials “Resources and Materials” 1997, Vo.113 (No. 12)

  There has been no proposal of a method for treating a golf ball to be discarded, and the present applicant tried a method of treating and disposing of a golf ball by mixing it with waste plastic by applying a plastic heat recycling technique.

  Here, waste plastics mixed with the golf ball have a low bulk density, so that the temperature inside the furnace is relatively small even if it is introduced from the top of the incinerator. However, generally, when 50 to 60 golf balls having an outer diameter of about 40 mm and a specific gravity of just over 1 are thrown in at a time, the temperature rises remarkably. Also, golf balls mixed with waste plastics have a large specific gravity and are small in size and easy to roll, so they are more likely to fall to the furnace bottom than waste plastics, which further promotes local temperature rise. It will be. As a result, the refractory at the bottom of the furnace was damaged, and efficient treatment could not be performed.

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention provides a processing system and a processing method for a golf ball that can efficiently dispose of a used golf ball and at the same time can extract thermal energy.

  First, the first invention of the present invention is a golf ball sorter characterized by a bowl-shaped body having a golf ball slot, a slope provided with a golf ball sorter, and a golf ball outlet. (Claim 1).

Most of the golf balls to be treated by the present invention are used, and some of them are so-called cracked balls, half-cracked balls (hereinafter simply referred to as “half-cracked balls”). "Half-cracked ball") exists. The golf ball processing system of the present invention described in detail below is for sequentially putting golf balls stored in a hopper into an incinerator through a charging tube. Due to its shape, it may get caught when it is put into the feeding pipe. Such a half-cracked ball is about 1 to 5% of the entire golf ball group to be disposed of, but there is a possibility that it becomes an obstacle to the continuous throwing of golf balls.
The present invention is a golf ball sorting device for sorting and removing half-cracked balls before throwing them into the hopper in order to eliminate the obstacle of continuous throwing of golf balls caused by such half-cracked balls. .

  The golf ball sorting apparatus according to the present invention is configured to flow a large group of collected golf balls into a bowl and sort and remove half-cracked balls therebetween. Therefore, the golf ball group before removing the half-cracked ball is inserted from the golf ball insertion port. Further, the golf ball group after the half-broken ball is removed by the sorting means provided on the slope is discharged from the discharge port.

Here, the selection means can be configured to be a gap narrower than the normal diameter of the golf ball or a hole having a smaller diameter than the normal diameter of the golf ball.
That is, a plurality of rods are arranged with gaps on the slope in the saddle state so as to form a plurality of gaps narrower than the normal diameter, or a plurality of holes smaller than the normal diameter are drilled. Can be. In short, it is only necessary that the half-cracked ball, which is cracked or chipped and becomes smaller than the normal diameter, can be dropped from the slope before reaching the discharge port. With such a configuration, half-cracked balls can be selected and removed.

The slope angle of the slope, the gap interval, the hole diameter, etc. are taken into account the amount of golf ball group to be thrown in per hour, etc., and all half-cracked balls are removed while the golf ball group rolls the bowl. It can be determined as appropriate. For example, the inclination angle can be set to about 10 ° to 40 °.
In the present specification, the “regular diameter” refers to a diameter at the time of manufacturing, in which there is no chipping or cracking even if there is some wear or the like. According to the rules of golf, since the diameter of the golf ball is about 42.67 mm, the normal diameter indicates about 42.67 mm.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a waste incinerator including an upper plastic waste inlet and a lower golf ball inlet, a hopper, and a golf ball are sequentially introduced from the hopper into the golf ball inlet. A golf ball processing system comprising at least one input pipe and the golf ball sorting device for feeding a sorted golf ball to the hopper (claim 3).

  Conventional apparatuses and methods for mixing and introducing waste plastics and golf balls have a problem of local temperature rise as described above. The applicant conducted intensive field experiments and found that the following means were effective.

(A) Since waste plastics generated from golf balls and OA equipment, home appliances, automobiles, etc. have different sizes and specific gravity, mixing causes different descent speeds and unstable combustion conditions. That is, the golf ball in the charging material descends all at once, the remaining waste plastic descends slowly, and this situation is repeated many times. As a result, the temperature fluctuates in a pulsating manner. Therefore, the waste incinerator has a structure including an upper plastic waste inlet and a lower golf ball inlet, and the golf ball is charged separately from waste plastic generated from OA equipment, home appliances, automobiles, and the like. The configuration.
(B) As described above, when a large amount of golf balls are thrown into the incinerator at once, a rapid temperature rise occurs. Therefore, instead of throwing a large number of golf balls at once, a group of golf balls is temporarily stored in a hopper and then thrown in sequentially from the hopper. Thereby, a rapid temperature rise can be suppressed.
(C) A combustion region is formed in the lower part of the incinerator, but this combustion region has a large volume of gas, and there are few things that hinder the movement of the inserted golf ball. Therefore, the golf ball group can be promoted by introducing it into the combustion region at the bottom of the incinerator from the beginning instead of introducing it from the top of the furnace. In addition, a combustion area | region is an area | region where temperature becomes the highest, and generally has a temperature of 900-1100 degreeC.
(D) As described above, 1 to 5% of half-cracked balls are mixed in the golf ball group to be processed. Therefore, the golf ball sorting device is attached to eliminate the clogging of the golf ball, and the golf ball can be continuously inserted.

  The golf ball processing system as described above may be configured to include a golf ball delivery means between the hopper and the throw-in pipe (Claim 4). A bottom plate having an opening that communicates with a pipe; and a rotating body that is positioned below the hopper and that rotates on the bottom plate, and includes at least one section that accommodates golf balls falling from the hopper one by one. It can be set as the structure which has a turntable and the rotation means of the said turntable.

As a sending means that is positioned between the hopper and the throwing pipe and sends out the golf balls one by one, the apparatus of Patent Document 2 proposed for sending the balls to the ball mill can be used. However, this apparatus has a complicated structure and is difficult to use in an environment where there is a lot of dust at high temperatures.
Accordingly, the present invention is configured as described above, which operates reliably even in an environment where there is a lot of dust at a high temperature, and it is possible to continuously insert golf balls while preventing the golf balls in the hopper from flowing into the incinerator at once. And enabled unmanned operation in large quantities.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the golf ball processing system as described above includes a clogging preventing means that projects into the hopper and imparts a stirring action to the group of golf balls in the hopper (Claim 6).

A large number of golf ball groups are stored and accommodated in the hopper, while the golf balls are sequentially discharged from the charging tube. In such a case, the accommodation state of the golf ball group in the hopper may be biased, which may hinder the discharge from the input pipe. Therefore, a clogging prevention means is provided which can impart a stirring action to the golf ball group in the hopper and can promote smooth movement of the golf ball from the hopper to the turntable. As such a clogging prevention means, there is a rod attached so as to protrude into the hopper.
Further, if necessary, the turning means of the turntable may be rotated forward and backward so that the golf ball continuously vibrates and swings in the hopper. The reversing of the rotating means may be performed only when overloaded.

  The invention of the method of the present invention comprises a step of introducing waste plastics from the top of a vertical waste incinerator, a step of removing a broken golf ball from a group of golf balls, and a golf ball from which the broken golf ball has been removed A method of treating a golf ball, comprising: sequentially adding a group separately to the waste plastics into a combustion region at a lower part of the incinerator (Claim 7).

  Such a processing method can be realized by operating the processing system of the present invention.

  Here, the golf ball group can be thrown in by one or more throwing pipes that penetrate the side wall of the vertical waste combustion furnace and have a large inner diameter of the golf ball. 8).

  When golf balls are put into the incinerator in this way, the golf balls can be put into the furnace one by one, a local temperature rise in the furnace can be avoided, and the combustion state can be stabilized.

  Note that two or more of the above devices may be installed in order to simultaneously feed two or more. In this case, the direction of the exit of the tube is adjusted so that the golf ball falls to an open position. Also, only one of the above devices is installed, two or more input tubes having a diameter of a golf ball are opened in the turntable, and two or more through holes are formed in the turntable so that the turntable has a predetermined angle. When these are rotated, the through holes and the pipe can be communicated with each other.

  In the treatment method as described above, it is possible to inject one or two kinds of waste oil or recycled heavy oil into the combustion region at the lower part of the incinerator (claim 9). Thereby, these oils can be processed simultaneously.

  Further, the golf ball group after removing the broken golf balls is thrown into one hopper, and then two or more pieces are spread at the same time via the throwing pipe, or one by one is substantially the same. It can be made to enter into a place (claim 10).

As described above, when the golf ball is put into the incinerator, the local temperature rise in the furnace must be avoided and the combustion state must be stabilized. From the viewpoint of mass processing of the golf ball, It is preferable to input from one or more places on the furnace side wall.
When the present inventors observed the furnace condition visually and with an optical pyrometer, the inserted golf ball stayed on the unburned material, and a high temperature region about three times the diameter of the golf ball was generated for a while. . Furthermore, it has been found that when the golf ball is concentrated here, the furnace temperature is remarkably increased.
Therefore, when two or more golf balls are thrown at the same time, it is preferable to throw them apart so as to avoid the above-mentioned region. On the other hand, when charging one by one, the charging may be continuously performed before and after substantially the same location in the above-described region.

  According to the present invention, since the half-cracked ball is removed in advance by the golf ball sorting device, the golf ball can be continuously put into the incinerator. Moreover, since the local temperature rise in an incinerator can be avoided, the possibility of damaging an incinerator can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of the processing system 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the processing system 1 includes a golf ball sorting device 2, a hopper 3, a golf ball 7 charging pipe 4, a waste incinerator 5, a waste plastic 8 and other charging devices 6, and a waste liquid / waste oil nozzle. 9. A gear pump (not shown) is provided.

The height of the waste incinerator 5 is about 10 m, and the golf ball 7 is positioned at an angle of 45 ° downward from the bottom of the waste incinerator 5 (about 4 m from the furnace bottom) for 2.5 seconds. Throw one per hit. In addition, the waste plastic 8 and the like are introduced from above the waste incinerator 5 (furnace top) using a quantitative cutting screw. Further, the waste liquid / waste oil 10 is fed by a pump, and is ejected at a 45 ° angle from the height of about 4 m downward from the furnace bottom by the waste liquid / waste oil nozzle 9 which is an air / liquid two-fluid spray nozzle. Sludge was sent to the top of the furnace with a sludge pump and sprayed into the furnace with air. Recycled heavy oil is fed by a gear pump and injected by the burner at the same position as the waste liquid / waste oil.
FIG. 1 illustrates the arrangement of each component, and the scale factor of each component is different from the actual one.

Next, the configuration of the golf ball sorting device 2 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. The golf ball sorting device 2 is formed of an inclined bowl-shaped body having side plates 11 and 12, and has a golf ball inlet 14 on the upstream side of the side plate 12 and a golf ball outlet 15 on the downstream side.
The dimensions of the bowl-shaped body are about 2000 mm in the inclination direction and about 500 mm in the width direction. The inclined surface of the bowl-shaped body has an angle θ = 30 ° with respect to the horizontal plane. As shown in the figure, the inclined surface was constituted by arranging 12 rods 16 having a diameter of 9 mm on the upstream side at equal intervals of 37 mm and attaching an iron plate 17 on the downstream side.
Here, the interval of 37 mm for attaching the rods 16 is determined in consideration of the cracking and chipping of the half-cracked ball, which has a golf ball diameter of about 42.67 mm and causes clogging at the time of charging.

  Next, the hopper 3 and the charging pipe 4 and the delivery means positioned between the hopper 3 and the charging pipe 4 will be described. The hopper 3 has a funnel shape as shown in FIG. 3, stores the golf balls 7 supplied via the golf ball sorting device 2, and then sequentially puts the golf balls 7 from the input pipe 4 into the waste incinerator 5. In.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the hopper portion including the hopper 3 and the delivery means, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the hopper portion. The delivery means includes a bottom plate 18 having an opening 18 a communicating with the input pipe 4. And a turntable 19 that is positioned below the hopper 3 and rotates on the bottom plate 18, a speed reducer 20 that drives the turntable 19, a motor 21, and a rotating shaft 22.

  The turntable 19 is provided with compartments 19a for accommodating golf balls falling from the hopper 3 one by one. The turntable 19 penetrates the bottom plate 18 and is rotatable by a rotating shaft 22 attached eccentrically. Yes.

When the turntable 19 is accommodated in the section 19a and the turntable 19 rotates and the position of the section 19a coincides with the position of the opening 18a, the golf balls 7 are sequentially thrown into the waste incinerator 5 through the throwing pipe 4. .
In the example of FIG. 4, the opening 18 a of the bottom plate 18 is provided at one place, but it may be provided at three places as shown in FIG. 5, or the number may be other than that.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the hopper 3 is provided with a projection 23 for preventing clogging that projects into the hopper 3 and imparts a stirring action to the golf ball group 7 in the hopper 3. Thereby, the position of the wolf ball 7 in the hopper 3 can be constantly changed, and the golf ball 7 is prevented from being clogged.

The processing system 1 configured as described above is operated in the following basic unit.
Waste liquid (waste acid + waste alkali) 3300 l / h
Waste oil 200 liter / h
Waste plastic 80kg / h
Sludge 370kg / h
Recycled heavy oil 180kg / h
Golf ball 75kg / h

  The weight of the golf ball 7 is about 45 g per piece. However, by removing the half-cracked ball in advance and putting the golf ball 7 into the waste incinerator 5 through the hopper 3, Since it is not clogged, 60t per month can be processed.

The points of the present invention are summarized as follows.
In the present invention, golf balls and waste plastics having different sizes and specific gravity are introduced separately to stabilize the lowering of the charging material. A large amount of golf balls are not thrown in at once, but are thrown in one after another to suppress a rapid temperature rise. On the other hand, a golf ball is immediately burned by being thrown into a combustion region below the incinerator. Thus, the means for stabilizing the descent of the waste in the incinerator and promoting the combustion and the means for suppressing the combustion are used in combination.
At this time, by removing the half-cracked ball in advance, the clogging of the half-cracked ball is avoided and the processing capacity is improved.

The following effects are achieved by the present invention as described above.
(A) Using a golf ball throwing device, it was possible to throw a certain amount of balls little by little, and at the same time, unmanned throwing was possible.
(B) The refractory at the bottom of the incinerator can be prevented from being damaged by rapid combustion of the golf ball.
(C) The fuel cost of the incinerator can be reduced by thermally recycling the golf ball.
(E) By removing the half-cracked ball, stable continuous operation becomes possible.

  In addition, said Example is only an example for implementing this invention, This invention is not limited to these, It is within the scope of the present invention to modify these Examples variously, and It is obvious from the above description that various other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention.

It is a schematic block diagram of the processing system of this invention. It is a perspective view of the golf ball sorting device of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the hopper part which comprises the processing system of this invention. It is a top view of the hopper part shown in FIG. It is a top view of the hopper part which has three opening in a baseplate.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Processing system 2 Golf ball sorter 3 Hopper 4 Input pipe 5 Waste incinerator 7 Golf ball 18 Bottom plate 19 Turntable

Claims (10)

A golf ball slot,
A slope with golf ball sorting means;
A golf ball sorting device characterized by being a bowl-shaped body having a golf ball outlet. 2. The golf ball sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sorting means is a gap narrower than the normal diameter of the golf ball or a hole smaller in diameter than the normal diameter of the golf ball. A waste incinerator with an upper plastic waste inlet and a lower golf ball inlet;
A hopper,
At least one injection tube for sequentially introducing golf balls from the hopper into the golf ball insertion port;
A golf ball processing system comprising: the golf ball sorting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sorted golf ball is supplied to the hopper. 4. The golf ball processing system according to claim 3, further comprising a golf ball delivery means between the hopper and the charging tube. The delivery means comprises a bottom plate having an opening communicating with the input pipe;
A turntable that is located on the lower side of the hopper and that rotates on the bottom plate, the turntable including at least one section for accommodating golf balls falling from the hopper one by one;
5. The golf ball processing system according to claim 4, further comprising a turn means for rotating the turntable. 6. The golf ball processing system according to claim 3, further comprising a clogging prevention unit that protrudes into the hopper and imparts a stirring action to a group of golf balls in the hopper. 7. A process of introducing waste plastics from the top of a vertical waste incinerator;
Removing the broken golf ball from the golf ball group;
A method of treating a golf ball, comprising: sequentially adding a group of golf balls from which the broken golf ball has been removed, separately from the waste plastics, to a combustion region at a lower part of an incinerator. 8. The golf ball according to claim 7, wherein the golf ball group is thrown in by one or more throwing pipes that penetrate the side wall of the vertical waste combustion furnace and have a large inner diameter of the golf ball. Processing method. The golf ball processing method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein one or two types of waste oil or recycled heavy oil are injected into a combustion region at a lower part of the incinerator. After the broken golf balls are removed, the golf ball group is once put into a hopper, and then two or more pieces are spread and thrown simultaneously through the throwing pipe, or one by one at substantially the same place. The golf ball processing method according to claim 7, wherein the golf ball is processed.

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