JP2764372B2 - Automatic sorting machine for collected bottles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic sorting machine for sorting recycled bottles and cullet bottles collected as recyclable waste.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, bottles collected as recyclable waste are manually sorted into reusable bottles that are washed and reused and cullet bottles that are pulverized into raw material for bottles.
In this sorting operation, reusable bottles are sorted according to a combination of specific shapes and colors, and those having shapes other than reusable bottles are sorted according to specific colors as cullet bottles. Therefore, the sorting operation of the collected bottles is a so-called 3K operation that involves a risk, is dirty, and is hard. For this reason, in order to reduce the labor and labor cost of the work, an apparatus has been developed which uses an optical sensor to select between four or five specific colors.

[0003]

However, in the prior art, since sorting by color can be automated, but sorting by shape cannot be automated, a reused bottle of a specific shape from among the collected bottles and other bottles can be used. The work of sorting cullet bottles of different shapes relies on manual labor.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic sorting machine for sorting collected bottles into reused bottles and cullet bottles.

[0005]

A first feature of the automatic sorting machine for collected bottles according to the present invention is that a supply means (1) for the collected bottles to be sorted and the sorted bottles supplied from the supply means. (2) which are arranged and transported at predetermined intervals, and the sorted bottles being transported by the conveyor are transported by a built-in conveyor, and among the sorted bottles, the reused bottles have a specific shape and colorlessness. Identification means (4) for identifying a combination of a plurality of colors including transparency and a shape other than the reusable bottle as a cullet bottle with a camera image processing device for identifying a plurality of colors including colorless and transparent;
And, the reused bottle among the sorted bottles receiving the signal from the identification means is a combination of a specific shape and color,
The cullet bottle is constituted by a sorting means (5) for sorting by a specific color.

A second feature of the automatic sorting machine for collected bottles according to the present invention is that a means for supplying the collected sorted bottles (1).
A second group of only the first group belonging to the range and the lower limit and the upper limit of the width and the length or the weight of the plurality of types of reusable bottles and the other cullet bottles. First sorting means (7) for sorting into bottles, a first conveyor (2) for aligning and transporting the sorted bottles of the first group selected by the first sorting means, and The above-mentioned first being conveyed by the conveyor
Of the sorted bottles in the group, reused bottles are identified by a combination of specific shapes and multiple colors including clear and colorless,
Those having a shape other than the reusable bottle are identified as a cullet bottle by a first identification means (4) for identifying a plurality of colors including colorless and transparent, and a signal from the first identification means is provided for the first group. Among the sorted bottles, the reused bottles are sorted by a specific shape and color combination, and the cullet bottles are sorted by a specific color. The second sorting means (5), and the second sorting means (5) sorted by the first sorting means. A second conveyor (12) for aligning and transporting two groups of cullet bottles, and a plurality of colors including colorless and transparent, wherein the cullet bottles of the second group being transported by the second conveyor are transported by a built-in conveyor. A second discriminating means (8) for discriminating separately, and a third discriminating means (15) for receiving a signal from the second discriminating means and sorting the cullet bottles of the second group by a specific color. Do It is.

[0007]

The sorting means receives the signal from the identifying means and sorts the reused bottles according to a combination of a specific shape and color.
Those with shapes other than reusable bottles are sorted into specific colors as cullet bottles.

[0008] Further, the first sorting means, the second sorting means,
When using the third sorting means, the sorted bottles are sorted into two groups by the first sorting means. The first group belongs to the range of the lower limit and the upper limit of the width and the length or the weight of a plurality of types of reusable bottles, and the other group includes only the cullet bottle outside the range. The second sorting means receives the signal from the first identifying means and sorts the sorted bottles of the first group according to a combination of a specific shape and color.
The third sorting means receives the signal from the second identifying means and sorts the sorted bottles of the second group according to a specific color.

[0009]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the configuration of the present invention roughly comprises a supply means 1, a conveyor 2, a conveyor 3, an identification means 4, and a selection means 5. Sorted bottles collected as recyclable waste are put into the supply means 1. The sorted bottles are supplied from a supply unit 1 to a vibrating conveyor 2 having a V-shaped cross section, and are conveyed in a line in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor by vibration, and in this state, a conveyor (shown in FIG. ). The conveying speed of the conveyor in the identification means 4 is higher than that of the conveyor 2 by a predetermined time. For this reason, the sorted bottles transferred from the conveyor 2 to the identification means 4 have a predetermined interval, and the identification accuracy can be improved.

The selected bottles are identified by the identification means 4 for each combination of shape and color. Any type of reusable bottle can be set, and other shapes are cullet bottles. The color of the sorted bottle can be set arbitrarily,
Usually, there are five types: colorless and transparent, green, blue, brown and black. Here, the identification means 4 comprises the above-mentioned built-in type conveyor, a camera image processing device for detecting the shape and color, and a microcomputer (not shown). The microcomputer compares the detection signal sent from the camera image processing device with the combination information of the shape and the color stored in the storage section of the microcomputer in advance by the CPU of the microcomputer, and sorts it by the sorting means 5. Send a signal.

The sorting means 5 receiving the sorting signal from the identifying means 4 sorts the reused bottles according to a combination of a specific shape and color, and sorts the bottles other than the reused bottles by color as cullet bottles. You. Here, sorting means 5
Are arranged side by side on one side of the conveyor 3 and the number of sorting ports corresponding to the number of combinations of specific shapes and colors face the conveyor 3 at right angles (not shown). Sorted bottles having a predetermined combination of shape and color are pushed out by air pressure discharged from a predetermined sorting port, and are stored in a predetermined storage basket of a storage portion provided at a position opposed to the conveyor 3 with the conveyor 3 interposed therebetween. .
It should be noted that a configuration may be adopted in which the pressure is pushed out by a lever or the like instead of the air pressure.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
Note that the same parts as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

In this embodiment, first sorting means 7 is provided at an early stage of the above-described embodiment, and the sorted bottles are divided into a first group including reused bottles and a second group including only cullet bottles. Sort out. The configuration for further selecting the first group selected by the first selecting means 7 is the same as in the above-described embodiment. The details will be described below.

The sorted bottles collected as the resource waste are put into the supply means 1. The sorted bottles are supplied from the supply unit 1 to the first selection unit 7 via the conveyor 6. Sorted bottles are roughly divided into two groups by the first sorting means 7. That is, a first group belonging to the range between the lower limit and the upper limit of the width and the height or the weight of the plurality of types of reusable bottles, and the other second group. The first sorting means 7 uses a sieve having a mesh of a predetermined size when sorting based on width and height, and uses a function of a balance when sorting based on weight.

The first selected by the first selecting means 7
The sorted bottles of the group are supplied to the conveyor 2. The following configuration and operation are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, the sorted bottles of only the cullet bottles of the second group selected by the first sorting means 7 are supplied to a vibrating conveyor 12 having a V-shaped cross section, and are aligned in a line in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor by vibration. Then, in this state, it is transferred to a conveyor (not shown) built in the identification means 8. The conveyor in the identification means 8 is the conveyor 12
The conveying speed is increased for a predetermined time. For this reason, the sorted bottles transferred from the conveyor 12 to the identification means 8 have a predetermined interval, and the identification accuracy can be improved.

The bottles to be sorted are identified by the identifying means 8 by color. The colors of the bottles to be sorted can be arbitrarily set, but are usually five types of colorless and transparent, green, blue, brown and black. Here, the identification means 8 includes the above-described built-in type conveyor, an optical sensor for detecting a color, and a microcomputer (not shown). This microcomputer compares the detection signal sent from the optical sensor with the color information previously stored in the storage unit of the microcomputer by the CPU of the microcomputer, and selects the sorting means 1.
5 is sent a selection signal.

The selected bottles are sorted by a predetermined color by the sorting means 15 receiving the sorting signal from the identifying means 8.
Here, the sorting means 15 are arranged in parallel on one side of the conveyor 13, and sorting ports of a predetermined number of colors face the conveyor 13 at right angles (not shown). Sorted bottles (cullet bottles) of a predetermined color are extruded by air pressure discharged from a predetermined sorting port, and are stored in a predetermined storage basket of a storage portion provided at a position opposed to the conveyor 13.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the first sorting means 7 is provided, and the collected sorted bottles are roughly classified into the first group and the second group of only cullet bottles. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of bottles going to the identification unit 4 that requires a longer time for determination than to identify only the color, and it is possible to increase the sorting efficiency of the bottles.

In this embodiment, pneumatic pressure is used for the selecting means 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be configured to extrude with a lever or the like instead of pneumatic pressure. Further, the identification means 8 is not limited to an optical sensor, but may be anything as long as it can detect a color, for example, a camera image processing device.

[0022]

According to the present invention, the collected bottles to be sorted can be sorted according to the combination of the shape and the color without manual intervention, so that labor and labor costs can be reduced.

Also, the first sorting means, the second sorting means,
Since the third sorting means is provided, the sorted bottles to be sorted can be more efficiently sorted, and labor and labor costs can be further reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an explanatory view of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Supply means 2 Conveyor (1st conveyor) 3 Conveyor 4 Identification means (1st identification means) 5 Sorting means (2nd selection means) 6 Conveyor 7 1st selection means 8 2nd identification means 12 Conveyor (1st identification means) 2 conveyors) 13 conveyors 15 third sorting means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B07C 5/00-5/38

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A means for supplying collected sorted bottles.(1)
A predetermined interval between the sorted bottles supplied from the supply means.
Conveyor that is aligned and transported(2)And the sorted bottles being conveyed by the conveyorThe built-in
Transported on a conveyorRe-use
The specific shapeMultiple including colorless and transparentCombination with color
AnotherIdentify thisIf the shape is not a reusable bottle,
As a bottleMultiple including colorless and transparentIdentify by colorturtle
Equipped with an image processing deviceIdentification means(4)Receiving the signal from the identifying means, and
Reusable bottles can be curried by specific shape and color combinations.
Sorting means to sort by specific color(5)And by
Automatic sorting of collected bottles
Machine. 2. A means for supplying collected sorted bottles.(1)
And a plurality of types of the sorted bottles supplied from the supply means.
Between the lower and upper limits of width and length or weight of reusable bottles
The first group belonging to the range and other groupsCullet bottle
OnlyFirst sorting means for sorting into a second group(7)
And the first group selected by the first selecting means.
First conveyor for sorting and transporting sorting bottles(2)And of the first group being conveyed by the first conveyor
Among sorted bottles, reused bottles have a specific shape andColorless and transparent
MultipleBy combination with colorIdentify, This reuse
Anything other than a bottle is a cullet bottleColorless and transparent
Including multiple colorsFirst identifying means for separately identifying(4)Receiving the signal from the first identification means,
Reusable bottles of selected bottles in
For each combination, cullet bottles are sorted by specific color
Second sorting means(5)And the second group selected by the first selecting means.Mosquito
LetSecond conveyor for aligning and transporting bottles(12)
And the second group being conveyed by the second conveyor
CulletA bottle, Transported by built-in conveyor, colorless and transparent
MultipleSecond identification means for identifying by color(8)Receiving the signal from the second identification means,
OfCulletThird sorter to sort bottles by specific color
Step(15)Times characterized by comprising
Automatic sorting machine for bottles.