JP2568969B2 - Empty can selection method and empty can compression device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorting method for sorting articles such as aluminum cans and steel cans, and an empty can compression apparatus configured to sort and sort empty cans such as aluminum cans and steel cans. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, beverages such as juice and beer are often sold in cans such as aluminum cans (hereinafter abbreviated as aluminum cans) and iron cans, and inevitably empty cans after use. Will also be enormous. Leaving an enormous amount of empty cans is a cause of pollution, so they are being reused.However, in order to reuse them, collect and sort empty cans and transport them to steel mills and smelters. There must be. However, empty cans are bulky because they are cylindrical, and as such, the efficiency of collection and transportation is not good. Therefore, an empty can compressor has been proposed in which empty cans are compressed and crushed to facilitate packing and transportation. There are various types of empty can compressors, a large capacity can compression device provided with a hopper type inlet, a small empty can compressor configured to compress empty cans, for example, one by one with electric power, depress the lever by foot. There is a compressor having a simple structure configured to perform compression.

[0003] When recycling empty cans, it is necessary to sort the empty cans by material. However, the method in which empty cans after use are put in individual storage boxes by the customer lacks the accuracy of sorting, and it is often inevitable that both aluminum and steel cans are mixed. A method of automatically sorting by adopting a configuration in which an empty can compressor, which is an empty can processing machine, and a sorting machine are integrated is adopted.

Here, an example of a conventional sorter will be described. For example, a magnet is arranged below a plate made of an inclined non-magnetic material, and an already compressed empty can is supplied onto the plate. The aluminum can that is not magnetized on this plate falls along this inclined surface, and the steel can magnetically attached on the plate rotates this plate in the opposite direction to the side on which the magnet is placed, and tilts appropriately. By doing so, the storage area was separated from the aluminum can.

[0005]

As described above, the conventional sorter has a configuration in which, for example, an empty can is dropped on an inclined plate and magnetically attached, as described above. In some cases, the steel can supplied later falls without being accurately caught and falls, and the steel can may fall and be stored in the storage section of the aluminum can. That is, in the case of the conventional structure, the sorting accuracy is not good, and furthermore, if the plate is configured to rotate, the plate must be configured to be large enough to process a large number of empty cans at once. In addition, there is a problem that the moving space is required and it is difficult to install the device in a small device. Also,
The basic structure of a conventional empty can compressor is to drop an empty can between a fixed plate and a rotatably provided compression member, and press the compressed can against the fixed plate to compress the empty can.
In this type of structure, when the empty cans are compressed in a state of being arranged in the vertical direction, the empty cans are expanded and deformed by the compression, so that the empty cans are stretched between the fixing plate and the compression member and do not fall. In such a case, the compressed can has to be scraped off, which is troublesome. further,
In the above-mentioned empty cans, for example, contents such as soft drinks remain, so especially when the empty cans are compressed and sorted by magnetic adhesion or the like, if the sorting means is dirty or liquid is attached, the magnetic force is There has been a problem that sticking occurs due to another stickiness or erroneous sorting occurs due to a decrease in magnetic force. An object of the present invention is to provide a sorting method capable of reliably selecting empty cans and an empty can compression device configured to enable reliable compression of empty cans smoothly.

[0006]

The object of the present invention is to rotate a rotating body having a magnet fixed to the outer periphery or in the vicinity of the outer periphery in a conveying path of an empty can or in the vicinity of the conveying path, and to rotate the empty can magnetically magnetized by the magnet. After being held and moved on the outer periphery of the rotating body, the cleaning can be performed by peeling the empty can from the rotating body by a peeling member provided along the outer periphery of the rotating body and slidingly contacting the surface of the rotating body. It is achieved by the selection method of empty cans for sorting while cleaning the rotating surface than <br/> the unit. The object according to the present invention is configured such that the empty can received in the empty can receiving section is dropped between the press fixing member and the press movable member, and the empty can is compressed by driving the press movable member. In the empty can compression device, a rotating body provided with a magnet on the outer periphery of the conveying path of the compressed empty can, and a peeling member for peeling the empty can adsorbed on the outer periphery of the rotating body is provided ,
The rotating body is cleaned by a cleaning unit that slides on the surface of the rotating body.
The sky characterized by cleaning the surface of
Thus is achieved can the can compression device. The object according to the present invention is to provide an empty can compressing device provided with a gouge portion for receiving a spread deformation when the empty can is compressed at both end portions of the press fixing member, and further comprising an empty can which is one end of the press movable member. At a position facing the receiving portion, a structure provided with a swinging bar that moves integrally with the press movable member and contacts a part of the empty can received in the empty can receiving portion, or at least the press fixing This can be achieved even more favorably by forming the compression section composed of the member and the press movable member in the same box and mounting the box to the empty can compression device body via an elastic member.

[0007]

In other words, magnetic poles are provided at predetermined intervals around the outer periphery of the rotating body, and empty cans such as steel cans are adsorbed by the rotating body among empty cans compressed and moved and conveyed, and non-magnetic cans such as aluminum cans are absorbed. Empty cans made of a magnetic material are sorted without being adsorbed. In this manner, the rotating body can suck and move the empty cans while rotating, so that the empty cans supplied to the rotating body do not overlap with the empty cans supplied later, and secure suction can be performed. Accurate sorting becomes possible. Also, since the cut portion is formed in the press portion, when pressing the empty cans supplied so as to be fully lined up in the lateral direction of the press portion, a part of the can crushed by the cut portion is received, The pressed can can be freely dropped without being caught in such a manner as to stick to the pressed portion. In addition, since the swinging bar is provided in the empty can receiving section to come into contact with a part of the received empty can, the empty can in the empty can receiving section can always be vibrated, and canned in the empty can receiving section. Balls can be effectively avoided. Since the sorting operation can be performed while always cleaning the rotating body, it is possible to avoid sticking due to sticking due to the contents of the can other than magnetic force or to prevent the magnetic force from decreasing due to thickening of the attached matter. it can.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a basic configuration of a sorting machine according to the present invention. Although the present embodiment is applied to sorting of empty cans, the articles to be sorted are not limited to empty cans, and can be widely applied to sorting of articles based on magnetic and non-magnetic substances. Sorting machine 1
Can be roughly classified into a rotating drum 3 in which magnetic poles 2 magnetized into N and S poles are alternately arranged around the outer periphery at predetermined intervals, and an article, for example, a steel can, magnetically attracted to the outer periphery of the rotating drum 3 It is constituted by a peeling plate 4 to be dropped.
The present embodiment is an example of application to empty can selection, and the conveyor belt 5
Aluminum can 6a or steel can 6
b is conveyed in the direction of arrow A. The rotating drum 3 is provided so as to cross the upper part of the transport belt 5 and to be able to rotate in the direction of arrow B at a predetermined interval with respect to the transport surface. The aluminum can and the steel can may be compressed regardless of whether they are compressed. In this embodiment, the aluminum can and the steel can are conveyed in a compressed state.

When the aluminum can 6a or the steel can 6b is transported by the transport belt 5 to the position where the rotary drum 3 is installed, the aluminum can 6a is a non-magnetic material and does not respond to the magnetism generated from the magnetic pole 2, but remains as it is. It passes in the direction of arrow A.
On the other hand, since the steel can 6 b is a magnetic material, it is attracted to the outer periphery of the rotating drum 3 by magnetism generated from the magnetic pole 2. When the rotating drum 3 rotates to the position of the peeling plate 4, the rotating drum 3 is stripped off from the outer periphery of the rotating drum 3 by the peeling plate 4.

One end of the peeling plate 4, that is, the rotating drum 3
Is positioned so as to face the outer periphery of the rotary drum 3 with a slight gap, and the other end is fixed so as to hang on the upper portion of the conveyor belt 7 with a downward gradient. . Therefore, the steel can 6 b peeled off by the peeling plate 4 slides on the peeling plate 4 and is placed on the transport belt 7. That is, the release plate 4
Has a function of peeling the steel can 6b and a function of guiding the conveyor belt 7.

As described above, the aluminum can 6a conveyed by the conveyor belt 5 is conveyed as it is in the direction of the arrow A without being attracted to the outer periphery of the rotating drum 3, and the steel can 6b
Is adsorbed on the outer periphery of the rotary drum 3 and transferred to the conveyor belt 7, so that the aluminum can 6a and the steel can 6b are sorted. Since the magnetic force and the number of the magnetic poles 2 can be freely set, if the can has a shape that is difficult to be attracted before compression, it is necessary to increase the magnetic force or increase the number of magnetic poles to securely attract the steel can 6b. it can.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
Examples will be described in detail. The present embodiment relates to an empty can compression apparatus to which the sorting machine described in the first embodiment is applied, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an entire configuration of the empty can compression apparatus, and FIG. Perspective view of the main part shown,
4 and 5 are cross-sectional views of main parts showing the shape of the press movable part. In the description of the embodiments, the overall configuration will be described first to facilitate understanding of the invention, and then the compression (pressing) and sorting of empty cans will be described.

The external shape of the empty can compression device (hereinafter simply referred to as a compression device) 11 is formed in a vertically long box shape. The internal configuration is roughly classified into an empty can receiving portion 12 for receiving empty cans before compression, It comprises a compression unit 13 for compressing empty cans irrespective of whether they are aluminum cans or steel cans, a selection unit 14 for selecting aluminum and steel cans, and a storage unit 15 for individually storing the selected empty cans.

The upper portion of the empty can receiving portion 12 is covered with a lid 21. The lid 21 has a hinge portion 21a substantially half.
Can be opened and closed using a fulcrum as a fulcrum. An aluminum can 6a or a steel can 6b can be put into the fulcrum.
It is configured so that the inside situation of the can be checked. When charging the empty cans 6, it is not necessary to insert the empty cans 6 in such a manner that the rows of cans are aligned by the action of a swing bar or the like described later, and they can be charged completely randomly. The empty can receiving portion 12 is formed with a downward slope toward the center, and a drop port 23 is formed at the bottom. Therefore, the empty can 6 introduced from the opening 22 rolls down toward the drop port 23.

The compression section 13 includes a press fixing member 31, a shaft 3
It comprises a press movable member 33 that reciprocates in the directions of arrows a and b with 2 as a fulcrum, a connecting mechanism 35 that connects the press movable member 33 and the motor 34, and the like. A guide plate 36 is provided on the upper part of the press movable member 33 so as to open or close the dropout 23 in accordance with the operation of the press movable member 33. A swinging bar 37 is provided on the upper part of the press movable member 33, and swings the empty cans 6 loaded in the empty can receiving portion 12 in response to the reciprocating movement of the press movable member 33, and moves to the drop port 23. It is devised so that it rolls without clogging.

The sorting unit 14 includes a rotating drum 41 made of a non-magnetic material having magnetic poles 42 magnetized on the N and S poles arranged alternately around the outer periphery thereof, and an empty can adsorbed on the outer periphery of the rotating body 41. 6, that is, a peeling plate 43 for peeling off the steel can 6b in this embodiment, and a wire roller 44 arranged behind the peeling plate 43 and rubbing the drum surface while rotating over the entire width of the drum. The compression section 13 and the selection section 14 are housed in a single box 16 as shown by a dashed line in FIG. Since the empty can 6 is compressed by pressing the empty can 6 against the press fixing member 31 by the press movable member 33, the compression unit 13 and the sorting unit 14 housed in the box 16 vibrate. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the box 16 indicated by a chain line in FIG.
A vibration isolating rubber 17 is provided at the lower part of the can to reduce vibration transmission when the can is compressed. The pair of guide members 18 is the box 1
6, and guides when attaching and detaching.

The storage section 15 is composed of an aluminum storage box 51 for storing the aluminum can 6a and a steel storage box 52 for storing the steel can 6b. The compression device 11
Inside, a support member 53 for stably supporting the aluminum storage box 51 and the steel storage box 52 is provided.

Next, a series of operations from compression, storage and storage of the empty can 6 will be described. When the empty can 6 is thrown in from the opening 22, the empty can receiving portion 12 is rolled down. However, if the press movable member 33 is stopped at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, the dropping port 23 is closed by the guide plate 36, so that the put empty can 6 does not fall into the dropping port 23 and the empty can 6 It becomes as if piled up in the receiving unit 12. When the press movable member 33 is stopped in the open state as indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. 2, a certain number of empty cans 6 are formed depending on the degree of opening.
And the base of the press movable member 33 is
Because it is supported by 2, it does not fall without being compressed.

The driving from the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 2 will be described below. By driving the motor 34, the press movable member 33 moves from the position indicated by the solid line in the direction of arrow b, and the guide plate 36 Move, so that the falling port 23 is opened. As a result, the empty can 6 supported by the guide plate 36 falls between the press fixing member 31 and the press movable member 33. Empty cans 6 to fall
Is a mixed state of the aluminum can 6a and the steel can 6b.
Further, the number of drops is not specified, and varies depending on the gap between the press fixing member 31 and the press movable member 33 and the number of empty cans received.

Incidentally, since the empty cans 6 are not put into the empty can receiving section 12 in a state where they are properly aligned, it is conceivable that the empty cans 6 do not roll down smoothly even if the opening 23 is opened. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to prevent the inconvenience,
A swing bar 37 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 was provided. FIGS. 3 and 4 show one rocking rod 37, but in actuality, the empty can receiving part 12 is provided on both sides of the press movable member 33.
It is provided along the side surface. Press movable member 3
When 1 moves as described above, the swinging bar 37 also moves integrally, and rubs the empty cans 6 stacked in the empty can receiving portion 12. As a result, the empty can 6 is displaced as if swinging, and if the empty can 6 is in a packed state, the empty can 6 is removed and easily rolled, and smoothly rolls down to the drop port 23.

When the motor 34 continues to be driven, the press movable member 33 moves to the maximum in the direction of the arrow b and then moves back in the direction of the arrow a to compress the empty can 6 into the press fixing member 31, so to speak. Then, the press movable member 33 falls toward the sorting machine 14 in response to the movement in the direction of the arrow b. At this point, a remarkable operation as described below is performed. That is, when the press fixing member 31 is viewed from a plane, as shown in FIG. When the empty cans 6 are compressed, the area expands due to crushing. In particular, in a configuration in which a large amount of empty cans 6 are compressed at the same time as in this embodiment, the compressed empty cans 6 may be stuck together. Deforms randomly. For this reason, the shape in which the undercut portion 31a is not formed, that is, the conventional shape may stick to the corner of the press fixing member 31 in some cases. However, the undercut 31
By forming a, the empty can 6 spreads in the undercut 31 as shown in the figure, and the sticking can be prevented. Then, the compressed empty can 6 is reliably dropped regardless of the aluminum can 6a or the steel can 6b.

Incidentally, the width W of the undercut 31a is set in consideration of the compressed thickness of the empty can 6, but is set to be about 5 to 10 mm wider than the compressed thickness. If the width W is too large, a part that is not completely compressed remains, and if it is too small, a problem similar to the conventional one occurs. Therefore, it is set as described above in consideration of the amount and material of the empty can 6 to be compressed. As described above, the undercut 31a has a very important function, and by forming the undercut 31a, compression and dropping can be reliably performed regardless of the number of empty cans 6 to be compressed. .

The compressed empty can 6 falls to the sorting unit 14 in a state where the aluminum can 6a and the steel can 6b are mixed.
This drop is a spontaneous drop, but so-called transport to the rotating drum 41. Compressed aluminum can 6a or steel can 6
b falls on the rotating rotating drum 41, but contacts the outer periphery of the rotating drum 41 while being slightly displaced because the rotating drum 41 is rotating. Therefore,
The steel can 6b is securely magnetically held around the outer periphery of the rotating drum 41. Further, since the surface of the rotating drum 41 is always cleaned by the wire roller 44, there is no sticking due to sticking due to contents of the can other than the magnetic force or a decrease in the magnetic force due to thickening of the attached matter. , You can always perform accurate sorting. By the way, the magnetic pole 42 is arranged alternately between the S pole and the N pole because a magnetic path is formed from the S pole to the N pole when the steel can 6b hangs between the S pole and the N pole, and the holding force is reduced. It is because it improves. Then, since the aluminum can 6 a is not adsorbed on the rotating drum 41, it falls directly into the aluminum storage box 51. On the other hand, steel can 6
Since b is attracted to the outer periphery of the rotary drum 41, it moves to the position of the peeling plate 43 with the rotation of the rotary drum 41. Since the peeling plate 43 is fixed at a position directly above the steel storage box 52, the peeling plate 4
The steel can 6b which has been peeled off by 3 falls into the steel storage box 52 and is stored. In this manner, the aluminum can 6a is selectively stored in the aluminum storage box 51 and the steel can 6b is selectively stored in the steel storage box 52.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications are possible. For example, a guide path for compressed empty cans may be provided between the compression unit 13 and the sorting unit 14. The swing bar 37 may be covered with a material having a high friction coefficient such as a rubber material, or may be covered with a cap made of an appropriate material. Further, in the sorting method of the present invention, the articles to be sorted are not limited to empty cans, and can be widely applied to scrap iron sorting, electronic component sorting, and the like. In the above embodiment, the cleaning means for the rotary drum is the wire roller 44, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. It may be a plate-like member 46 which is a cleaning means provided .

[0025]

As described above, in the method for selecting articles according to the present invention and the apparatus using the method, magnetic poles are provided at predetermined intervals around the outer periphery of the rotating body, and the rotating body is Since the empty cans can be sucked and moved while rotating, the empty cans supplied to the rotating body do not overlap with the empty cans supplied later, and reliable adsorption can be performed and accurate sorting can be performed. Not only that, the sorting ability can be increased by increasing the rotation speed of the rotating body, and the apparatus does not need to be increased in size as in the case of a conventional plate. Further, according to the present invention, since the sorting operation can be performed while always cleaning the rotating body, sticking occurs due to sticking due to the contents of the can other than the magnetic force, or the magnetic force decreases due to thickening of the attached matter. Can be avoided, and accurate sorting can always be guaranteed. Further, in the compression device in which the cut portion is formed in the press portion, when the empty cans supplied so as to be arranged side by side in the lateral direction of the press portion are pressed, a part of the crushed can is received in the cut portion. Therefore, the pressed can is moved without being caught so as to stretch against the pressed portion. In addition, since the swinging bar is provided in the empty can receiving section to come into contact with a part of the received empty can, the empty can in the empty can receiving section can always be vibrated, and canned in the empty can receiving section. Burrs can be effectively avoided, smooth press work can be performed, and press processing capability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sorting machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an empty can compression device showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a structure of a press movable member.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part showing a structure of a press movable member.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part showing a structure of a press fixing member.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram around a rotating body in another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sorting machine 2, 42 Magnetic pole 3, 41 Rotary drum 4, 43 Peeling plate 6 Empty can 6a Aluminum can 6b Steel can 11 Empty can compression device 12 Empty can receiving part 13 Compression part 14 Sorting part 15 Receiving part 16 Box 17 Anti-vibration rubber Reference Signs List 18 pair of guide members 21 lid 22 opening 31 press fixing member 32 shaft 34 motor 33 press movable member 35 connecting mechanism 36 guide plate 37 rocking rod 41 rotating drum 43 peeling plate 44 wire roller 46 plate member 51 aluminum storage box 52 Steel storage box a, b Moving direction

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Agency reference number FI Technical display location B65F 1/10 B65F 1/10 1/14 1/14 Z

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. After rotating a rotating body having a magnet fixed to the outer periphery or in the vicinity of the outer periphery in the conveying path of the empty can or in the vicinity of the conveying path, holding the empty can magnetically magnetized by the magnet on the outer periphery of the rotating body, and moving the rotating can. The empty can is moved so as to be peeled off from the rotating body by a peeling member provided along the outer periphery of the rotating body, and slides on the surface of the rotating body.
A method for selecting empty cans that sorts while rotating the surface of the rotating body with a cleaning means . 2. An empty can compression device configured to drop an empty can received in an empty can receiving section between a press fixing member and a press movable member, and to drive the press movable member to compress the empty can. In the circuit, a magnet is provided around the outside of the conveying path of the compressed empty can.
Remove the rolling body and the empty can adsorbed around the outer circumference of the rotating body.
And a sliding member on the surface of the rotating body.
Cleaning the surface of the rotating body by the cleaning means in contact therewith;
An empty can compression device characterized in that: 3. The empty cans received in the empty can receiving section are pressed
While dropping between the fixed member and the press movable member,
The press movable member is driven to compress the empty can.
In the empty can compression device configured as described above, the empty can was compressed at both ends of the press fixing member.
In this case , a magnet is provided around the outer circumference of the transport path of the compressed empty cans, and
Remove the rolling body and the empty can adsorbed around the outer circumference of the rotating body.
And a peeling member for the compressed air.
Of the cans that are adsorbed on the rotating body and whether they are not adsorbed
Characterized by being equipped with a device for sorting
Can compression equipment. 4. The empty can received at the empty can receiving section is pressed
While dropping between the fixed member and the press movable member,
The press movable member is driven to compress the empty can.
In the empty can compression device configured as described above, one end of the press movable member and the empty can receiving portion
At a position facing the moving integrally with the pre-scan movable member
Contact a part of the empty cans received in the empty can receiving section
A swing bar with a magnet and a magnet around the outside of the compressed empty can
Remove the rolling body and the empty can adsorbed around the outer circumference of the rotating body.
And a peeling member for the compressed air.
Of the cans that are adsorbed on the rotating body and whether they are not adsorbed
Characterized by being equipped with a device for sorting
Can compression equipment. 5. At least the press fixing member and the press
The compression part consisting of
And at the same time the box is
2. A mounting device according to claim 2, wherein said mounting member is mounted via an elastic member.
5. The empty can compression device according to any one of to 4.