JP2006297242A - Garbage disposer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a garbage disposer, wherein power-saving is attained and contamination of surrounding is prevented. <P>SOLUTION: This garbage disposer 1 is provided with a treating tank 2 containing garbage W, an agitation part 7 agitating the treating tank 2 inside, a heater 9 heating the treating tank 2 inside, and an exhaust fan 8 exhausting air in the treating tank 2, and decomposes the garbage W by agitating it in the treating tank 2 together with a base material B carrying microorganisms. The disposer is provided with a volume detection part 15 detecting volumes of the base material B and garbage W, so that the agitation time of the agitation part 7, driving time of the exhaust fan 8 and driving time of the heater 10 are made variable based on the detection result by the detection part 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a garbage disposal apparatus that decomposes garbage with microorganisms.

A conventional garbage disposal apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This garbage disposal apparatus has a processing tank that stores a substrate carrying microorganisms and garbage, and is provided with an agitation device that agitates the inside of the treatment tank. The base material and the garbage are agitated by the stirring device, and the garbage is decomposed. Further, a load cell for detecting the weight of the base material and garbage in the treatment tank is provided, and stirring is controlled by detecting the load cell.
JP 2001-187371 A (2nd to 5th pages)

  However, according to the above-described conventional garbage processing apparatus, there is a problem that if the weight reduction when the garbage is decomposed is small, the stirring operation is continued and power is wasted. In addition, even if the garbage overflows in the treatment tank, the stirring operation is continued if there is no change in weight, and there is a problem of polluting the surrounding environment.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a garbage disposal apparatus that can save power and prevent surrounding contamination.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a processing tank for storing garbage, a stirring unit for stirring the inside of the processing tank, a heater for raising the temperature in the processing tank, and exhausting air in the processing tank. And a waste processing apparatus for aggregating the garbage together with the microorganisms introduced into the processing tank to decompose the garbage, and a volume for detecting the volume of the input to the processing tank containing the garbage A detection unit is provided, and stirring by the stirring unit is stopped based on a detection result of the volume detection unit.

  According to this configuration, the garbage is put into the treatment tank in which the substrate carrying microorganisms or the microorganisms alone are put. The charge containing raw garbage is stirred by the stirring unit while being heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater. Thereby, garbage is decomposed | disassembled and the gas generated at the time of decomposition | disassembly is exhausted via an exhaust fan. Further, the volume of the input material in the processing tank is detected by the volume detection unit when the garbage is input or stirred. The stirring unit stops the stirring of the garbage based on the detection result of the volume detection unit.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the garbage processing apparatus configured as described above, the stirring operation by the stirring unit is stopped when the volume of the input to the processing tank is reduced by a predetermined amount. According to this configuration, the stirring is stopped when the garbage is decomposed and the volume is reduced by a predetermined amount.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the garbage processing apparatus configured as described above, the stirring operation by the stirring unit is stopped when the volume of the input to the processing tank exceeds a predetermined amount. According to this configuration, the stirring is stopped when the processing tank overflows or when there are a large amount of inputs in the processing tank.

  Further, in the garbage processing apparatus having the above-described configuration, the stirring operation by the stirring unit is performed by repeating a stirring period and a stirring suspension period, and the time of the stirring period is set based on the detection result of the volume detection unit. It is characterized by being variable. According to this configuration, the stirring unit is driven with a stirring period of a time suitable for decomposition according to the amount of garbage based on the detection result of the volume detection unit.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the garbage processing apparatus configured as described above, the driving time of the exhaust fan is varied based on the detection result of the volume detection unit. According to this configuration, the exhaust fan is driven in a time suitable for decomposition according to the amount of garbage based on the detection result of the volume detection unit.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the garbage processing apparatus configured as described above, the driving time of the heater is varied based on the detection result of the volume detection unit. According to this configuration, the heater is driven in a time suitable for disassembly according to the amount of garbage based on the detection result of the volume detection unit.

  Further, the present invention provides the garbage processing apparatus having the above-described configuration, wherein the volume detection unit is in contact with the processing tank and is arranged in parallel in the depth direction of the processing tank to detect a capacitance of the processing tank. It is characterized by comprising a capacitance sensor. According to this configuration, the capacitance of the processing tank that changes due to moisture contained in the garbage is detected by the capacitance sensor, and the volume of the input to the processing tank containing the garbage is detected.

  The present invention is also characterized in that, in the garbage processing apparatus having the above-described configuration, the volume detection unit includes a plurality of temperature sensors arranged in parallel in the depth direction in the processing tank to detect temperature. According to this configuration, the temperature sensor arranged in parallel in the depth direction of the treatment tank detects the heat generated when the garbage is agitated, detects the depth of the temperature rise, and detects the input in the treatment tank. Is detected.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the garbage processing apparatus configured as described above, energization of the volume detection unit is stopped when the volume detection unit does not detect the volume.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the garbage processing apparatus having the above-described configuration, the volume detection unit is disposed to face the wall of the processing tank.

  According to the present invention, the volume detection unit for detecting the volume of the input to the treatment tank is provided, and the stirring by the stirring unit is stopped based on the detection result of the volume detection unit. Can be stopped. Therefore, even if the weight of the garbage does not change due to the decomposition, the stirring can be stopped to save power in the garbage processing apparatus. Moreover, stirring can be stopped when raw garbage overflows or when the input amount of raw garbage is excessive. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the surrounding environment from being polluted due to overflow, and to prevent a failure due to overloading of the stirring unit.

  Further, according to the present invention, the stirring operation by the stirring unit is performed by repeating the stirring period and the stirring interruption period, and the time of the stirring period is varied based on the detection result of the volume detection unit. Can be decomposed under optimum stirring conditions.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the exhaust fan drive time is varied based on the detection result of the volume detection unit, the garbage can be decomposed under the optimum stirring conditions according to the input amount.

  Further, according to the present invention, the garbage can be decomposed under optimum stirring conditions according to the input amount in which the heater driving time is varied based on the detection result of the volume detection unit.

  Further, according to the present invention, the volume detection unit is composed of the capacitance sensor that detects the capacitance of the processing tank in contact with the processing tank, so that the volume of the input to the processing tank can be easily detected. In addition, since the volume detection unit does not come into direct contact with the garbage, the electric corrosion of the volume detection unit can be prevented.

  Further, according to the present invention, the volume detection unit is composed of a plurality of temperature sensors arranged in parallel in the depth direction in the processing tank to detect the temperature, so that the volume of the input to the processing tank can be easily detected.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the energization of the volume detection unit is stopped when the volume is not detected by the volume detection unit, power saving can be achieved. In addition, when the volume detection unit comes into contact with garbage, it is possible to prevent electric corrosion of the volume detection unit.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the volume detection unit is disposed facing the wall surface of the processing tank, the volume of the input in the processing tank can be detected more accurately.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front cross-sectional view showing the garbage disposal apparatus of the first embodiment. The garbage processing apparatus 1 includes a bottomed cylindrical processing tank 2 inside an outer frame 4. In the treatment tank 2, the base material B and the garbage W carrying microorganisms are charged. A lid 3 is provided on the upper surface of the outer frame 4, and the treatment tank 2 is opened and closed by the lid 3.

  A stirring unit 7 is provided in the processing tank 2. The stirring unit 7 has a plurality of arm portions 7b projecting from a shaft portion 7a arranged horizontally. The arm part 7b agitates the base material B and the garbage W by the rotation of the shaft part 7a.

  A volume detector 15 in contact with the processing tank 2 is provided on the outer wall of the processing tank 2. The volume detection unit 15 includes a capacitance sensor that detects the capacitance of the processing tank 2. The electrostatic capacity in the processing tank 2 varies depending on the moisture contained in the raw garbage W introduced into the processing tank 2. Therefore, it is possible to detect the volume of the input material composed of the raw garbage W and the base material B introduced into the treatment tank 2 by detecting the capacitance.

  In addition, a plurality of volume detectors 15 are arranged in parallel in the depth direction of the processing tank 2 and are disposed to face each other along the outer wall of the processing tank 2 as shown in the top view of FIG. Thereby, the electrostatic capacitance in the processing tank 2 can be detected more accurately, and the detection accuracy of the volume of the input can be improved. Moreover, since the volume detection part 15 consists of a non-contact electrostatic capacitance sensor with the garbage W, the electric corrosion of the volume detection part 15 can be prevented.

  In addition, you may comprise the volume detection part 15 with a non-contact infrared sensor. That is, a plurality of infrared sensors are arranged in parallel in the depth direction of the translucent processing tank 2, and the volume of the input in the processing tank 2 can be detected depending on to which depth the infrared sensor has detected. Therefore, the electric corrosion of the volume detection unit 15 can be prevented by the non-contact infrared sensor.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the garbage processing apparatus 1. Each unit of the garbage processing apparatus 1 is controlled by a control unit 5 including a CPU. Connected to the control unit 5 are a power source 6, a stirring unit 7, an exhaust fan 8, an odor decomposition unit 9, a heater 10, a timer 11, a display unit 12, an operation unit 13, an audio output unit 14, a volume detection unit 15, and a memory 17. The

  The power source 6 supplies power to each unit including the control unit 5. As described above, the stirring unit 7 stirs the inside of the processing tank 2. The exhaust fan 8 exhausts the air in the treatment tank 2. The odor decomposition unit 9 generates ions to decompose the odor of the garbage W in the treatment tank 2. The heater 10 raises the temperature in the treatment tank 2 and promotes decomposition of the garbage W.

  The timer 11 measures a predetermined period according to a command from the control unit 2. The display unit 12 displays the operation status and warnings of the garbage disposal apparatus 1. The operation unit 13 accepts input such as start / stop of garbage processing, setting of operating conditions, and the like by the user. The voice output unit 14 outputs the operation status and warning of the garbage processing apparatus 1 by voice.

  As described above, the volume detection unit 15 detects the volume of the input in the processing tank 2. The memory 17 stores an operation program of the garbage processing apparatus 1 and setting data by the operation unit 13 and temporarily stores calculations by the control unit 5.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the garbage processing apparatus 1 configured as described above. When garbage W is put into the processing tank 2 in which the base material B is stored and the operation of the garbage processing apparatus 1 is started, a counter i indicating the number of stirring operations is initialized in step # 11. The stirring operation is performed by changing the stirring conditions every predetermined period (for example, 25 minutes), and the counter i is incremented every predetermined period.

  In step # 13, the volume detector 15 is turned on. In step # 14, the volume of the input material in the processing tank 2 is calculated by the volume detector 15. In step # 15, the volume detector 15 is turned off. Since the volume detection unit 15 is turned on only at a predetermined time by ON / OFF control and is turned off when the volume is not detected, power saving can be achieved.

  In step # 16, it is determined whether or not the inside of the processing tank 2 has overflowed. When the processing tank 2 overflows, it transfers to step # 17, and after alert | reporting a warning by the display part 12 and the audio | voice output part 14, operation | movement of the garbage processing apparatus 1 is complete | finished. In step # 16, it is detected whether or not the volume of the input in the processing tank 2 is larger than a predetermined value, and the processing tank 2 approaches an overflow or the input amount of the input in the processing tank is excessive. Alternatively, the operation of the garbage disposal apparatus 1 may be terminated.

  In step # 18, it is determined whether the counter i is 0 or not. When the counter i is 1 or more, the stirring operation is performed once or more, and the process proceeds to step # 20. When the counter i is 0, the stirring operation is not performed and the process proceeds to step # 19. In step # 19, the detected volume is stored in the memory 17. That is, the volume at the time of input of the input in the processing tank 2 is stored.

  In step # 20, it is determined whether or not the volume of the input material in the processing tank 2 has been reduced by a predetermined amount with respect to the volume stored in the memory 17 at the start of the second and subsequent stirring operations. When the volume is reduced by a predetermined amount, it is determined that the garbage W has been decomposed, and the garbage processing apparatus 1 is stopped. If the volume has not decreased by a predetermined amount, the counter i is incremented in step # 21.

  The memory 17 stores a table of stirring conditions shown in Table 1, and the stirring conditions are varied according to the volume of the input in the processing tank 2. That is, when the volumes of the base material B and the garbage W are small, standard, and large, the operation modes are switched to different operation modes. Thereby, the garbage W can be decomposed | disassembled on optimal stirring conditions according to the input amount.

  One stirring operation includes a stirring period in which the stirring unit 7 is turned on and a stirring interruption period in which the stirring unit 7 is turned off. In the “inhibition mode” in which the volume of the base material B and the garbage W is small, the stirring period is set to 1 minute, and the stirring interruption period is set to 24 minutes. When the volume of the base material B and the garbage W is in the standard “standard mode”, the stirring period is set to 2 minutes and the stirring interruption period is set to 23 minutes. In the “increase mode” in which the volumes of the base material B and the garbage W are large, the stirring period is set to 5 minutes and the stirring interruption period is set to 20 minutes.

  In the “suppression mode”, the exhaust fan 8 is set to have an ON state blowing period of 10 minutes and an OFF state blowing interruption period of 15 minutes. In the “standard mode”, the blowing period is set to 12 minutes and the blowing interruption period is set to 13 minutes. In the “increase mode”, the blowing period is set to 20 minutes and the blowing interruption period is set to 5 minutes. In addition, the heater 10 is set to an ON state time and an OFF state time in accordance with the outside air temperature in the “suppression mode” and “standard mode”, and is always energized in the “increase mode”.

  In steps # 22 and # 24, the volume detected in step # 14 is determined, and the operation mode is set in steps # 23, # 25 and # 26. Thereby, the garbage W and the base material B are stirred by the stirring unit 7 while being heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater 10. As a result, the garbage W is decomposed, and the gas generated during the decomposition is exhausted through the exhaust fan 8.

  In step # 27, the timer 11 waits until a predetermined time (25 minutes in the above case) related to one stirring operation elapses. When the predetermined time has elapsed, it is determined whether or not the counter i is larger than a preset maximum value imax. When the counter i is less than or equal to the preset maximum value imax, the process returns to step # 13, and steps # 13 to # 28 are repeated. When the counter i becomes larger than the maximum value imax and the stirring operation continues for a long period of time, it is determined that the garbage W is decomposed and no further reduction is made, and the operation of the garbage processing apparatus 1 is terminated.

  According to the present embodiment, the volume detection unit 15 that detects the volume of the input in the processing tank 2 is provided, and the operation of the garbage processing apparatus 1 is terminated based on the detection result of the volume detection unit 15, and the stirring by the stirring unit 7 Therefore, when the garbage W decomposes and the volume decreases, the stirring operation can be stopped. Therefore, even if the weight of the garbage W does not change due to the decomposition, the stirring can be stopped to save power in the garbage processing apparatus 1. Further, stirring can be stopped when the raw garbage W overflows or when the input amount of the raw garbage W is excessive. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the surrounding environment from being polluted due to overflow, and to prevent failure due to overloading of the stirring unit 7. The exhaust fan 8 may be continuously driven for a predetermined time after the stirring is stopped at the end of the operation of the garbage processing apparatus 1.

  Next, FIG. 5 is a front sectional view showing the garbage disposal apparatus of the second embodiment. For convenience of explanation, the same parts as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are given the same reference numerals. In the present embodiment, the volume detection unit 16 includes a plurality of temperature sensors arranged in parallel on the inner wall of the processing tank 2 in the depth direction. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  The volume detection unit 16 detects heat generated when the garbage W is agitated, and detects to what depth the temperature rises. Thereby, the volume of the input in the processing tank 2 can be detected. Further, like the above-described FIG. 2, they are arranged to face each other along the inner wall of the processing tank 2. Thereby, the temperature in the processing tank 2 can be detected more accurately, and the detection accuracy of the volume of the input can be improved.

  Further, the volume detection unit 16 is turned on only at a predetermined time by the ON / OFF control, and is turned off when the volume is not detected, so that power saving can be achieved and the volume detection unit 16 in contact with the garbage W can be reduced. Illumination can be prevented.

  In addition, you may comprise the volume detection part 16 with the some electrode arranged in parallel by the inner wall of the processing tank 2 in the depth direction. That is, the depth of the base material B and the garbage W detected when the electrode comes into contact with the input of the treatment tank 2 is detected. Thereby, the volume of the input in the processing tank 2 can be detected.

  In the first and second embodiments, the garbage W and the base material B are charged into the treatment tank 2, but the garbage W and the microorganisms alone may be charged into the treatment tank 2.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, the present invention can be used for a household garbage processing apparatus that decomposes garbage with microorganisms or a commercial garbage processing apparatus.

Front sectional drawing which shows the garbage processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The top view which shows arrangement | positioning of the volume detection part of the garbage processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the garbage processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the garbage processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment of this invention. Front sectional drawing which shows the garbage processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Garbage disposal apparatus 2 Processing tank 3 Cover 5 Control part 6 Power supply 7 Stirring part 8 Exhaust fan 9 Odor decomposition part 10 Heater 11 Timer 12 Display part 13 Operation part 14 Audio | voice output part 15, 16 Volume detection part 17 Memory B Base material W garbage

Claims (10)

  A treatment tank for storing raw garbage; an agitation unit for agitating the inside of the treatment tank; a heater for raising the temperature in the treatment tank; and an exhaust fan for exhausting air in the treatment tank; In the garbage processing apparatus that stirs the garbage together with the microorganisms input to the garbage and decomposes the garbage, a volume detection unit that detects the volume of the input of the processing tank containing the garbage is provided, and the volume detection unit detects The garbage processing apparatus characterized by stopping stirring by the stirring unit based on the result.   The garbage processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stirring by the stirring unit is stopped when the volume of the input to the processing tank is reduced by a predetermined amount.   The garbage processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the stirring by the stirring unit is stopped when the volume of the input to the processing tank exceeds a predetermined amount.   The stirring operation by the stirring unit is performed by repeating a stirring period and a stirring interruption period, and the time of the stirring period is varied based on a detection result of the volume detection unit. The garbage processing apparatus in any one of.   The garbage processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a driving time of the exhaust fan is varied based on a detection result of the volume detection unit.   The garbage processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a driving time of the heater is varied based on a detection result of the volume detection unit.   The volume detection unit includes a plurality of capacitance sensors that are in contact with the processing tank and are arranged in parallel in a depth direction in the processing tank to detect the capacitance of the processing tank. The garbage processing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-6.   The said volume detection part consists of several temperature sensors which are arranged in parallel in the depth direction in the said processing tank, and detect temperature, The garbage processing in any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. apparatus.   The garbage processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein energization of the volume detection unit is stopped when a volume is not detected by the volume detection unit.   The garbage processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the volume detection unit is disposed to face the wall of the processing tank.

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