JP3528031B2 - Bottle sorting equipment - 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 device for sorting glass bottles according to size in the field of packaging container recycling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Up to now, all of the waste that has been disposed of as waste is disposed of in landfills except those that can be burned. However, since there are only a few years remaining in the landfills of wastes nationwide, it is necessary to reduce the amount of wastes by actively selecting and recycling those that can be recycled and recycling them. (Three types of glass bottles and PET bottles are now subject to the obligation of commercialization by businesses under the "Container and Packaging Recycling Law" that came into effect in April this year.) ,
Examples include iron, aluminum, glass, plastic (including plastic bottles), and paper. Among these, regarding glass bottles, it is targeted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry that 55% or more of recycled materials are mixed. For this reason, glass bottles are collected at recycling facilities around the world. This glass bottle needs to be collected in different colors for recycling, and manual selection and collection have been the mainstream, but an automatic color selection device started to be introduced one to two years ago.

The automatic color selection of glass bottles is performed by image processing, but in order to accurately perform the automatic color selection, it is necessary to perform image processing with an appropriate field of view that matches the size of the bottle.

Looking at the size of the discarded bottles at present, there are oversized bottles such as seaweed and plum wine bottles, one large bottle, a beer bottle medium bottle, and a drink bottle.

Of these bottles as a whole, the oversized bottles and the distribution ratio of the number of large bottles are only a few percent,
Extra large bottles and large bottles are excluded from recycling, and only medium and small bottles are recycled. Therefore, the current bottle sorting apparatus is mainly for removing extra large bottles and large bottles from the entire bottle.

As such a sorter, there is known a sorter in which a plurality of taper rolls are arranged in parallel at intervals and a bottle is fed from a side having a narrow gap, and a size is gradually selected according to a gradually widening gap. ing.

[0007]

Due to the enforcement of the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, it has become necessary for large bottles to be recycled as a request of the local government. We cannot respond to your request. Moreover, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, since the bottle after selection had to be conveyed in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the taper roll, the configuration of the entire apparatus tended to be difficult to assemble. Further, there is a problem that the processing cost of the taper roll is high.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bottle selecting device capable of selecting a large number of types of bottles, facilitating the construction of the entire device, and being inexpensive to manufacture.

[0009]

A bottle sorting apparatus according to the present invention comprises a device body which is vibrated by a vibrator, and a bottle which is vertically supported by the device body at a predetermined interval and which is vibrated in a longitudinal direction. Each stage comprises a plurality of stages of roller groups composed of a plurality of parallel rollers arranged so that they can be conveyed to the uppermost stage, and a supply means for supplying bottles to be sorted onto the uppermost stage of the rollers. The distance between adjacent rollers in the roller group is set so that bottles of the size to be sorted do not pass through in each stage, but bottles of sizes smaller than that pass through gradually decrease from the upper roller group to the lower roller group. It is what

According to the above apparatus, since it is necessary to install the roller groups by the number of stages required for sorting, it is possible to sort bottles into required types.

The bottles to be sorted are classified into four types: extra large bottles, medium / large bottles, small bottles and cullet-containing very small bottles, and the number of stages of the roller group is 3, and the first roller group is counted from the top. If the second roller group selects the medium / large bottles and the third roller group selects the small bottles, the extra large bottle can be used as a bottle selection device suitable for the current selection system.

If the outer diameters of all the rollers are constant over their entire length, the rollers can be manufactured at low cost.

If the rollers of the roller group of each stage are made to rotate in the same direction for each stage, it is possible to promote the smooth passage of the bottle through the gap between the rollers.

In each group of rollers, when viewed from one axial side of the rollers, when the rollers are rotated clockwise, the rotation speed is set to gradually increase from the right side roller to the left side roller. Or, when the roller is rotated counterclockwise, it is set so that the rotation speed gradually increases from the left side roller to the right side roller,
It is possible to prevent the bottle and the cullet from being caught in the gap between the rollers.

The downstream ends of all the rollers in the conveying direction are received by a bearing, and the bearing has a semi-circular arc-shaped top surface centered on the axis of the roller, and the radius of the top surface is less than or equal to the radius of the roller. With this, bottles and cullets can be discharged from the downstream end of the roller without hindering the flow.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the following description, the front and rear sides are referred to as the front side (the left side of FIG. 1) on which the bottles to be sorted are conveyed, and the rear side is the opposite side thereof, and the left and right sides are the rear side as viewed from the rear side. The left and right sides are called left and right.

Referring to FIG. 1, the bottle sorting apparatus includes a box-shaped device main body 12 which is long and narrow in the front and rear with the upper and the front being opened by being vibrated in an obliquely forward and upward direction by a vibrator 11, and a predetermined space is vertically provided in the device main body 12. The upper, middle and lower roller groups 13, which are supported by and convey the bottle forward by vibrating force,
It has 14 and 15.

The vibrating machine 11 is a vibrating table which receives the bottom wall of the apparatus main body 12 and is connected to the floating table 21 by parallel links 22.
Equipped with 23. The parallel link 22 has a damping spring in the middle of its length.
It is supported on the floor by 24. A damping spring 25 is interposed between the upper end of the parallel link 22 and the floating table 23. A motor 26 and an eccentric disk 27 rotated by the motor 26 are mounted on the floating table 23. The base of a leaf spring 28 is connected to the eccentric disc 27. The tip of the leaf spring 28 is connected to the vibrating table 23 via a rubber cushion 29.

The eccentric disc 27 imparts rotational motion to the base of the leaf spring 28, which causes the leaf spring 28 to flex freely in a direction orthogonal to its length, but in the longitudinal direction of the leaf spring 28. Since it cannot be bent, an exciting force is generated.

Above the rear end of the apparatus main body 12, the end of the transfer path of the bottle supply conveyor 31 is exposed. Below the end of the transport path, the bottle support plate is slanted forward and downward.
32 are provided. A rubber plate 33 is attached to the upper surface of the bottle receiving plate to reduce the impact of dropping the bottle.

Below the front and rear ends of each of the three-stage roller groups 13, 14, 15, horizontal roller support bars 34 extending in the left-right direction are fixed to the left and right side walls of the apparatus main body 12. Roller bearings 35 of corresponding roller groups 13, 14, 15 are attached to each roller support bar 34. At the rear end of the apparatus main body 12, it is located at the same level as the upper and lower three stages of roller support bars 34, and similarly the upper and lower three stages of motor support bars.
36 are provided, and on each motor support bar 36,
Equipped with upper, middle and lower motors 37, 38, 39.

Between the upper roller group 13 and the middle roller group 14, between the middle roller group 14 and the lower roller group 15 and between the bottom wall of the main body 12 of the apparatus, there is a forward downward slope, middle and The lower bottle backflow protection plates 41, 42, 43 are provided so as to be close to the respective upstream bearings 35 and to be located forward as they go downward from above.

An oversized bottle discharge chute 44, a medium / large bottle discharge chute 45, and a small bottle discharge chute 46 are provided in upper and lower three stages at the front opening of the device body 12.
At the front end of the bottom wall of 12, a micro bottle discharge chute 47 is provided downward. A waste bottle collection box 48 is provided below the micro bottle discharge chute.

Upper, middle and lower roller groups 13, 14, 15
The horizontal position of the rear end of the
The horizontal position of the front end portion is located forward as going from top to bottom.

FIG. 2 shows the upper roller group 13 and the oversized bottle discharge chute 44. The upper roller group 13 is for selecting oversized bottles, and is composed of four right and left parallel rollers 51 extending in the front-rear direction. The gap between the adjacent rollers 51 is set to a size that does not allow only the extra large bottle to pass through. The upper bottle biting protection plate 52 covers the left and right side walls of the device main body 12 and the space between the rollers 51 at both ends. The oversized bottle discharge chute 44 is directed rightward and then downward outside the apparatus main body 12 so that the lower end opening thereof faces the waste bottle collection box 48.

FIG. 3 shows the middle roller group 14 and the medium / large bottle discharge chute 45. The middle-stage roller group 14 is for selecting medium and large bottles and extends in the front-back direction.
It is composed of two right and left parallel rollers 53. The gap between the adjacent rollers 53 is in the middle after removing the oversized bottle.
The size is set so that only large bottles cannot pass through. The rollers 53 at the left and right ends are provided with upper bottle biting protection plates 54. The medium / large bottle discharge chute 45 is squeezed so that it approaches the right side as it goes forward, and its tip is directed forward. Further, referring to FIG. 1, the medium / large bottle discharge chute 45 is formed in a slightly downwardly inclined shape. Below the tip of the medium / large bottle discharge chute 45,
The starting end of the transfer path of the medium / large bottle transfer conveyor 55 for transferring the large bottle to the color selection device is exposed.

FIG. 4 shows the lower roller group 15 and the vial discharging chute 46. The lower roller group 15 is for selecting a small bottle, and is composed of six right and left parallel rollers 56 extending in the front-rear direction. Rollers next to each other
The gap between 56 is set to a size that does not allow only the small bottles after the extra large bottles and the medium and large bottles have been removed to pass through. The rollers 56 at both ends are provided with a lower bottle biting protection plate 57. The vial discharge chute 46 is squeezed so that it comes closer to the left side as it goes forward, and its tip is directed forward. The tip of the small bottle discharge chute 46 is flush with the tip of the medium / large bottle discharge chute 45. Below the tip of the vial discharge chute 46, the beginning of the transfer path of the vial transfer conveyor 58 for transferring the vial to the color selecting device is exposed.

The upper, middle and lower roller groups 13, 14, 15 described above and the upper, middle and lower bottle biting protection plates 52,
54 and 57 are collectively shown in FIG. The rollers 51, 53, 56 of the upper, middle, and lower roller groups 13, 14, 15 have the same diameter, although the lengths are different. FIG. 7 shows a part of FIG. 3, that is, the rear end portion of the intermediate roller group 14 and the intermediate roller group drive motor 38. The output shaft of the motor 38 is directly connected to the rotary shaft of the roller 53 at the right end. The rotating shafts of the six rollers 53 have a pair of large sprockets 61 from right to left.
And small sprockets 62 are fixed so as to be adjacent to each other. A timing belt 63 is wound around each of four pairs of large sprocket 61 and small sprocket 62.

As shown in FIG. 8, the rightmost roller 53 is rotated counterclockwise by the motor 38 when viewed from the rear. Then, all the six rollers 53 are rotated counterclockwise. Since the roller 53 to which the small sprocket 62 is fixed is rotated faster than the roller 53 to which the large sprocket 61 is fixed, the rotation speed of the six rollers 53 increases from right to left.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the caret is placed over the left and right rollers 53, the left and right rollers 53
From the gap, the roller 53 on the left side tries to eject the cullet,
The right roller 53 tries to enter the cullet, but since the rotation speed of the left roller 53 is high, the cullet is prevented from being forcibly caught between the left and right rollers 53.

The driving of the upper roller group 13 and the lower roller group 15 will not be described in detail, but they are driven in the same manner as the middle roller group 14. For example, the motors 37 and 39 are arranged so as to drive the second roller 51 from the right in the upper roller group 13 and the leftmost roller 56 in the lower roller group 15 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). . That is, the motors at the respective stages may be installed so as not to interfere with each other. Further, when the roller is driven clockwise when viewed from the rear, the rotation speed of the roller is set to increase from left to right.

FIG. 10 shows the details of the bearing 35 supporting the front end portion of the roller 51 of the upper roller group 13. Bearing 35
Is a ball bearing 71 fitted on the roller axis of rotation.
And its housing 72. The housing 72 enters with a semi-circular top surface 73 centered on the axis of the roller.
When the radius of the top surface 73 is R1 and the radius of the roller 51 is R2, R1≤R2. When the bearing 35 is formed in such a shape, when the selected bottle drops from the front end of the roller 51, the bottle is smoothly passed over the bearing 35 without being caught by the housing 72. All the bearings 35 have the same structure.

[0034]

According to the present invention, there is provided a bottle selecting device capable of selecting a large number of types of bottles, facilitating the assembly of the entire device, and being inexpensive to manufacture.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical vertical sectional view of a bottle sorting apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal vertical section taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal vertical section taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a horizontal vertical section taken along line VV of FIG.

6 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of FIG. 3 in an enlarged manner.

8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG.

9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

10 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 vibrator 12 Device body 13 Upper roller group 14 Middle roller group 15 Lower roller group 51 Upper roller 53 Middle roller 54 Lower roller

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-124522 (JP, A) JKH 3-53749 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B07C 5 / 04-5/14 B07B 13/00-13/18

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A device body vibrated by a vibrator,
A plurality of roller groups composed of a plurality of parallel rollers that are vertically supported by the apparatus body at predetermined intervals and are arranged so as to be able to convey the bottle in the lengthwise direction by vibrating force; And a supply means for supplying bottles to be sorted onto the roller group, the distance between adjacent rollers of the roller groups in each stage does not allow a bottle of a size to be sorted in each stage to pass, but The size bottles are set to gradually decrease from the upper roller group to the lower roller group to allow passage, and the outer diameters of all rollers are
It is formed to be constant over the entire length, and each step
The rollers of the roller group are not rotated in the same direction for each stage.
In each group of rollers,
Roller from the right side to the left side when viewed from one side in the axial direction
The rotation speed is set to gradually increase
That bottle sorting apparatus. 2. The rotating shafts of all the rollers of each group of rollers.
Alternating large and small sprockets on one end
Be fixed to the large and small sprockets next to each other.
The bottle sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the bottle is wrapped around . 3. The downstream end of all the rollers in the conveying direction is a shaft.
Received by the bearing, the bearing is centered on the axis of the roller
It has a semi-circular top surface with a radius of the top surface
The bottle sorting device according to claim 1 or 2, which has a radius or less .