JP3581337B2 - Label removal device for used PET bottles - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a used PET bottle label removing apparatus that removes a label from a used PET bottle when collecting and reusing used PET bottles collected from a general household, a restaurant, or a vending machine.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, various types of drinking water in PET bottles have been sold through stores and vending machines in the market, and a large amount of used PET bottles have been discarded. In 2000, the Packaging Recycling Law was enforced, and it was necessary to establish a technology for recycling waste. Separation and collection of polyethylene terephthal from used PET bottles was also conducted for reuse in petroleum products. Therefore, it is important to produce recycled PET bottles and reuse them as raw materials for fiber regeneration.
[0003]
Here, the PET bottle refers to a container for liquid molded from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin, but the PET bottle has a main body made of PET resin, but a member attached to or attached to the main body is a different kind. Often formed of resin. For example, polyethylene (PE) resin, polypropylene (PP) resin, and polystyrene (PS) resin are used for packaging films such as labels attached to the surface. The cap of the container is made of a resin such as PP or PS (the internal screw is PET) in addition to the PET resin. In many cases, the neck screw portion of the main body is made of PET. Metal caps and paper labels are also sometimes used.
[0004]
In order to reuse a PET bottle, it is necessary to separate these different resins, and in particular, labels made of different materials must be separated from the PET bottle body in some process. Conventionally, label removal of PET bottles has been performed manually, but there is a drawback that the separation is reliable, but the working efficiency is poor.
[0005]
In addition, there is a method of removing labels in the recycling process of PET bottles. For example, in the specific gravity separation method, a crushed PET bottle fragment is put in a water bath, PP and PE of lightweight plastics are floated on the water surface, and PS resin is removed. The pieces stayed in the middle part and the lower part, but the PET resin pieces having a large specific gravity were deposited on the bottom and separated. In this method, the PET resin is collected by repeating the settling separation.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The method of specific gravity separation requires repetition of steps and is an intermittent operation, so the operation efficiency is poor, and the PS resin piece overlaps with the PET resin piece in a water bath, so that mixing of PS is avoided. Therefore, the PS and PET of the overlap layer in the water bath were discarded. As a result, this method has a problem that PET recovery efficiency is poor. Since a plastic other than PET is often used for the label, if this is removed before grinding, it can greatly contribute to the recovery of high quality PET.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an apparatus for mechanically and efficiently separating a plastic bottle main body and an adhesive label.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The label removing device of the present invention comprises a PET bottle between an outer peripheral portion of a spiral body which is housed in a cylindrical container-shaped casing and driven to rotate, and a long fixed strip attached to the inner wall of the casing in a longitudinal direction. The label is peeled from the outer periphery of the container, and the PET bottle and the label are separated and discharged.
[0009]
In detail, the cylindrical casing is provided with a charging port on one end side and a discharge port on the other end side, and a plurality of, preferably many, elongate pieces are provided on the inner wall of the casing along its longitudinal direction. Are fixed around the inner wall at an interval from each other, and a spiral body is inserted into the cylindrical casing such that an outer peripheral portion of the spiral body appropriately approaches the fixing strip. The used PET bottle inserted into the charging port is sent to the outlet side by the rotating spiral, and during the transfer, the pressure that the PET bottle receives on the label between the spiral and the fixed strip is measured. The label is peeled off by friction and engagement.
[0010]
The present invention particularly provides a suitable intermediate stop member between long fixing members adjacent to each other to prevent the PET bottle from quickly moving the groove between the fixing members. The time required for the plastic bottle to come into contact with the spiral body in the casing until the bottle is disturbed and discharged is secured, so that the label can be peeled off. Thereby, the label wound around the outer periphery of the PET bottle can be easily peeled off by the spiral body, so that a label removing device having high removal efficiency and excellent continuous workability can be provided.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In the label removing device of the present invention, the cylindrical casing is provided with a charging port into which used PET bottles are charged, and a discharge port through which the PET bottle from which the label is removed and the removed label are discharged in the longitudinal direction. A spiral body is inserted through the inside of the casing along the longitudinal direction so as to feed the PET bottle charged into the casing from the loading port to the discharge port, and a plurality of elongated fixing strips are formed on the inner wall of the casing. Are mounted so as not to interfere with the outer peripheral portion of the spiral body in a state of being spaced in the circumferential direction of the casing. Further, the intermediate stopper member is provided on the inner wall of the intermediate portion between the charging port and the discharge port in the casing so as not to interfere with the outer peripheral portion of the spiral body and to appropriately inhibit the movement of the plastic bottle. Fixed.
[0012]
In the label removing device of the present invention, the plastic bottle is put into the casing from the charging port, and is conveyed to the outlet by the spiral while the plurality of longitudinal fixing strips attached to the inner wall of the casing and the spiral are formed. By collaborative work, even if it is put in a baler state, it is broken up into individual PET bottles. Each PET bottle hits the intermediate stopper member during the feeding of the spiral body and is turned over, and the spiral body can mechanically peel off the label wrapped around the PET bottle during the turning process.
[0013]
In the process of sliding between the fixed strips, the intermediate stopper member collides with the individually disintegrated PET bottles, prevents the movement, turns the PET bottle over and turns over the PET bottle, etc. The label attached to the surface of the bottle is frequently exposed to friction on the peripheral surface or side surface of the spiral. As described above, the label can be reliably peeled off by being rubbed on the outer peripheral portion of the spiral body using the intermediate stopper member. In this way, the PET bottle and the peeled label are discharged from the discharge port, and the label is continuously removed with a high removal efficiency.
[0014]
The spiral body can be provided with a plurality of protrusions at intervals around its outer periphery, and is more easily provided when the label wound around the outer periphery of the inverted PET bottle hits the intermediate stopper member, and Even when it is along the bottle side surface, it can be reliably caught on the protrusion and peeled off, and the label removing effect can be enhanced synergistically with the peeling by the spiral body.
[0015]
In the present invention, the helical body is disposed uniaxially in the elongated cylindrical casing, or arranged in parallel with two axes, or three or more axes can be juxtaposed as appropriate. The helical body having two or more axes is rotated at an equal or non-uniform rotation speed, and is preferably set such that adjacent helical bodies rotate in opposite directions. In the case of the opposite rotation, the rotation descending from the upper side to the lower side of the two spiral bodies adjacent to each other makes the baler-like bottle inserted into the charging port bite well, and further, the spiral body of the crushed plastic bottle This is preferably adopted because friction with the above can be secured. In the case where the adjacent spirals have the same speed, an arrangement in which the spirals can be inserted into the spiral blade gap of the other spiral can be adopted. On the other hand, it is also possible to arrange the helical members so that adjacent helical members do not come into contact with each other at an irregular speed. The arrangement of the two-axis spiral body facilitates the drawing-in of the PET bottle inserted between the spiral bodies at the loading port, so that the label removal processing amount can be doubled or more as compared with the single-axis spiral body.
[0016]
As the intermediate stopper member, a stopper piece attached to the inner wall surface of the casing between adjacent fixing strips, or a ring-shaped partition plate attached to the inner wall of the casing can be used. Alternatively, it is also possible to use the upstream end of the shortened fixing strip that is attached to the inner wall of the casing so as to be shifted in the circumferential direction.
[0017]
The stop pieces have a simple block structure, and are randomly and aligned at predetermined positions in the longitudinal direction. The plastic bottle that slides and moves in the groove between the adjacent fixing strips is stopped once by the respective stopper pieces, and can be reliably turned over. If the stop surface is slightly inclined, reversal is further promoted.
[0018]
The partition plate as an intermediate stop member can be used to stop PET bottles that tend to slide and move between fixed strips with the partition plate and turn over, and remove labels all at once where the partition plate is provided Is carried out, so that the projections can be provided intensively at that point of the spiral.
[0019]
As an intermediate stop member, the upstream end of the fixing strip is a position where the fixing strip is divided back and forth and attached to the wall surface without providing another member such as a stop piece or a partition plate. Can be achieved by staggering in the circumferential direction instead of aligning them in a straight line. These upstream ends can receive the moving PET bottles, stop once, and perform inversion.
[0020]
【Example】
Next, an embodiment of a used PET bottle label removing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 1, in the used PET bottle label removing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, an elongated tubular casing 10 is provided with a loading port 11 for charging a used PET bottle P and a longitudinal direction from the loading port 11. It has a discharge port 12 which is spaced apart and discharges the PET bottle from which the label has been removed and the removed label. In this embodiment, a pair of spiral bodies 21 and 22 arranged in parallel are inserted into the casing. The PET bottle P is rotatably driven so as to be conveyed from the charging port 11 to the discharging port 12.
[0022]
On the casing inner wall 13, a number of long fixing strips 25 are arranged in the longitudinal direction so as to be separated from each other in the circumferential direction of the inner wall, and are attached from outside by bolts B so as not to interfere with the outer peripheral portions of the spiral bodies 21 and 22. Further, as the intermediate stop member 15, a large number of stop pieces 16 are provided on the inner wall 13 in the work area between the inlet 11 and the outlet 12 of the casing 10 so as not to interfere with the outer peripheral portions of the spiral bodies 21 and 22. The label removing device is configured to be separated.
[0023]
In FIG. 1, a casing 10 has a charging port 11 opened upward in a hopper shape at a start end side, and a discharge port 12 opened downward at a terminal end side. PET bottles are often introduced as balers, and correspondingly, the casing 10 has a structure similar to that of the present apparatus 1 for individually crushing the PET bottles P and removing the labels L. It has a longer working area than the crusher. The helical bodies 21 and 22 have helical shafts pivotally supported at both ends of the casing 10 and are driven to rotate. The helical bodies are provided long corresponding to a long working area from the inlet 11 to the outlet 12.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of parallel spiral bodies 21 and 22 are spaced apart from each other so that they do not interfere with each other, and are rotated from above by a rotary drive device 5 installed outside the casing 10 from above to below. In the opposite direction, that is, in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2, an appropriate peripheral speed difference is provided (for example, the peripheral speed difference at the outer peripheral portion of the two spiral bodies is about 8 to 30%), and It is driven to rotate.
[0025]
The spiral has the function of breaking up the baler in cooperation with the fixing strip 25 attached to the casing inner wall 13 and separating it into a single PET bottle, and separately peeling off the label attached to the PET bottle from the bottle. Has functions.
[0026]
In this example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, hook-shaped projections 23 are provided on the outer peripheral portions of the spiral bodies 21 and 22 in order to increase the frequency or probability of engagement with the label L and promote label removal. Are protruded at small intervals. The outer peripheral portions of the spiral bodies 21 and 22 and the projection 23 approach the fixing strip 25 or the intermediate stopper 16 to such an extent that they do not come into contact with each other. They are arranged so as to form a gap that can pass between them.
[0027]
In this embodiment, the intermediate stop member 15 is constituted by a stop piece 16. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the casing inner wall 13 is provided on the casing inner wall 13 with a parallel, spaced apart arrangement. The fixing strip 25 and the stopper piece 16 having a rectangular flat cross section arranged in the groove between the adjacent fixing strips 25 are joined. The stop piece 16 may be in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped block, but sometimes the upper surface may be a curved surface for providing a constant clearance with the outer peripheral edge or projection of the spiral. As shown in FIG. 3, the stop piece 16 is fixed to the inner wall 13 of the casing 10 by a bolt.
[0028]
With respect to the shape of the stopper 16, the stopper 1 is randomly fixed on the inner wall of the casing at intervals of about two to three times the length of the plastic bottle P. As shown in FIG. 3, the stopper pieces 16 may be arranged at the same repetitive position in the longitudinal direction so as to be aligned in the circumferential direction.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 4A, the shape of the stopper 16 may be plate-like or block-like, and may be rectangular in the upper surface, but the surface 16a on which the plastic bottle P rests is directed rearward from the inner wall toward the center. It is preferable that the inclined surface is inclined because the inversion of the PET bottle is promoted.
[0030]
As shown in FIG. 4B, another aspect of the inclination is that the surface 16b of the stopper piece 16 that contacts the bottle is an inclined surface that is inclined rearward toward the center, and the inclined surface is an inner wall surface. It is also possible to form a slanting surface that is slanted with respect to the circumferential direction, which is effective for turning the PET bottle while turning it.
[0031]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the intermediate stop member 15 of another example may be a partition plate 17 that partitions the casing back and forth. The partition plate 17 has an outer edge fixed to the casing inner wall 13, a ring-like shape through which a spiral body penetrates the inner edge side space, and a groove extending over the fixing strip 25 at the outer edge. The partition plate 17 may be divided into several members so as to be easily incorporated into the casing, and may have a ring shape in an assembled state.
[0032]
Providing a plurality of, especially a large number of partition plates 17 inside the casing is effective in promoting label peeling, and the partition plates adjacent to each other have, for example, about two to three times the PET bottle P on the casing inner wall 13. An interval is provided. The partition plate 17 stops and turns over the crushed plastic bottle P that slides and moves in the groove between the fixing strips 25. Also in the partition plate, the surface on which the PET bottle P abuts may be an inclined surface from the outer edge side to the inner edge side of the partition plate, or the partition plate may be an inclined surface obliquely inclined with respect to the center axis of the casing. This is also preferable for enhancing the reversal effect of the PET bottle.
[0033]
In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the upstream end 26a of the fixing strip 26 is used for the intermediate stop member 15. It is not necessary to prepare another member such as the above-mentioned stop piece or partition plate, and the fixed length member 25 of a required length in the casing is divided into a plurality of sets of shortened fixed length members 26, The mounting positions of the adjacent fixing strips 26 in the set are not arranged in a straight line, but are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction and receive the PET bottles P moving by their upstream end portions 26a. Can be inverted. Also at the upstream end 26a of the fixing strip 26, the end face on which the plastic bottle P abuts can be an inclined surface or an oblique inclined surface.
[0034]
It is also possible to appropriately combine the above-mentioned intermediate stopper member 15 with the stopper piece 16, the partition plate 17, and the upstream end portion 26a of the fixing strip. For example, on the inner wall surface of the casing, a large number of the above-described stopper pieces 16 may be disposed in the gap between the fixing strips 25 before or after the partition plate 17 or on both sides. Alternatively, another intermediate stop member 15 is formed by the upstream end portions of the plurality of sets of the shortened fixing strips 26 described above and the above-described stop pieces 16 appropriately disposed in the gaps between the fixing strips 26 of each set. It may be composed.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
The used PET bottle label removing device of the present invention is a spiral body which is driven to rotate inside the casing and feeds the inserted PET bottle from the loading port to the discharge port, and a longitudinal direction which is circumferentially spaced on the inner wall of the casing. A plurality of fixing strips attached to the intermediate fixing member provided in the gap between the adjacent fixing strips. It can be mechanically peeled off, and the label removal operation can be continuously performed with high efficiency.
[0036]
While the PET bottles compressed into a baler are also introduced from the charging inlet and conveyed to the outlet by the spiral, a plurality of longitudinal fixing strips attached to the inner wall of the casing and the spiral work together to perform individual operations. And the label can be efficiently peeled off.
[0037]
The PET bottle is sent to the spiral and tends to slide along the groove between the fixing strips, but the intermediate stop member prevents it and turns over at least once, so that the spiral is not At the side edge, the label attached to the side surface of the PET bottle is rubbed and peeled off, so that the label can be surely peeled off.
[0038]
If the spiral body has a plurality of protrusions formed at intervals around its outer periphery, the label floating on the outer periphery of the PET bottle, which has been turned upside down when hitting the intermediate stop member, can be easily peeled off by the protrusions and adhere to the bottle side surface. The stripped label can be hooked on the protrusion and peeled off, and the label removing effect can be enhanced synergistically with the above-described stripping action by the peripheral edge and side edge of the spiral.
[0039]
The spiral bodies are arranged in parallel in a pair of elongated cylindrical casings, and if the spirals are driven to rotate in the opposite direction from top to bottom between the spirals, the spiral bodies of the PET bottles inserted at the charging port are inserted. And the amount of label removal work can be more than doubled as compared with the case of a single axis spiral.
[0040]
If the intermediate retaining member is a retaining piece attached to the inner wall of the casing between the fixing strips, the retaining piece can be attached randomly and aligned with a simple block-shaped structure, so The plastic bottle which tends to slide and move between the strips can be stopped by the respective stopper pieces and reliably inverted.
[0041]
If the intermediate stop member is composed of a ring-shaped partition plate attached to the inner wall of the casing, the PET bottle that tends to slide and move between the fixed strips can be stopped by the partition plate and inverted. Since the label is removed while simultaneously turning the plate at the place where the plate is provided, the protrusion can be concentratedly provided at the place of the spiral.
[0042]
If the intermediate stop member is configured from the upstream end of the shortened fixed strip material attached to the inner wall of the casing so as to be shifted in the circumferential direction, the intermediate stop member is moved by the upstream end without using a special member. Inversion can be performed by receiving an incoming plastic bottle.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a used PET bottle label removing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a loading port of the used PET bottle label removing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a casing showing an abutment piece used in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are a perspective view of a stop piece with a slope used in the embodiment of the present invention and a perspective view of a stop piece with a slope.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a used PET bottle label removing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, taken along a lateral direction of a casing.
FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a casing showing an arrangement of a partition plate used in another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a casing of a used PET bottle label removing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Casing 11 Inlet 12 Discharge port 13 Inner wall 15 Intermediate stop member 16 Stop piece 17 Partition plates 21 and 22 Helical body 25 Fixed strip material

Claims (6)

A cylindrical casing having a loading port for charging used PET bottles, and a discharging port for discharging a separated PET bottle and a removal label that is separated in the longitudinal direction from the loading port,
A helical body that sends a plastic bottle placed along the longitudinal direction inside the casing from the loading port to the discharge port,
A plurality of long fixing strips attached to the inner wall of the casing in the circumferential direction along the longitudinal direction, and spaced from each other and arranged close to the outer peripheral portion of the spiral body;
An intermediate stopper member attached to the inner wall at an intermediate portion between the inlet and the outlet of the casing, close to the outer peripheral portion of the spiral body;
Consisting of
As the spiral driven by rotation rotates the used PET bottle inserted into the casing from the inlet of the casing toward the outlet, it hits the intermediate stopper member and turns over, and peels off the label wrapped around the PET bottle. Label removal device for used PET bottles. 2. The label removing device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of protrusions are attached to an outer peripheral portion of the spiral body at intervals. The label removing device according to claim 1, wherein the spiral bodies are arranged in parallel in a pair in the casing, and are rotationally driven in opposite directions from top to bottom between the two-axis spiral bodies. The label removing device according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate stop member includes a stop piece attached to an inner wall of the casing in a gap between the adjacent fixing strips. The label removing device according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate stop member includes a ring-shaped partition plate attached to an inner wall of the casing. The fixing strip is attached to the inner wall of the casing in a front-rear direction, and the fixing strips separated in the front-rear direction are alternately arranged. The label removing device according to claim 1, comprising:

Images