JP4076481B2 - Metal part separation device for optical disc - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention separates a metal portion from a resin substrate and a resin substrate such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, DVD-R, etc., which is an optical disc having a resin substrate and a metal portion constituting a reflective film, a decorative film, etc. The present invention relates to an apparatus that can be removed.
[0002]
In this specification, the metal portion is used as a broad concept including a metal layer and a massive metal.
[0003]
[Prior art]
Nowadays, optical discs represented by CDs and DVDs are indispensable for distributing music, videos, programs and data, and are distributed in large quantities. In addition, with the advent of rewritable and rewritable optical discs such as CD-R and CD-RW, a large amount of optical discs are used and discarded in offices and homes.
[0004]
In recent years, an attempt has been made to reuse the resin constituting these discarded optical discs. Here, when the resin portion of the optical disc is reprocessed, the metal constituting the reflective film is an obstacle. In other words, if a metal is contained in the resin during the resin reprocessing process, it is difficult to obtain a resin with high commercial value because the resin after reprocessing is colored or the physical performance of the resin is degraded. Met.
[0005]
Therefore, an attempt has been made to separate the resin and metal constituting the optical disc and collect and reuse only the resin portion.
[0006]
Conventionally, a method of selectively melting a metal by using an acid or alkali on an optical disk and recovering a high-purity resin has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3). .
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-205154
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-286064
[Patent Document 3]
JP 2000-94448 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the optical disc is processed by chemical methods such as acid and alkali and the metal layer is removed from the resin substrate, waste liquid in which the metal is dissolved is generated, and the waste is reduced by recycling the disc and the environment. The original purpose such as correspondence cannot be achieved. Furthermore, since disposal such as acid or alkali in which the metal is dissolved requires treatment such as neutralization, the cost for reuse increases, and it becomes an obstacle to the reuse of optical discs. Is.
[0011]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and in the process of separating metal from the optical disk, the optical disk metal part separating apparatus capable of suppressing the generation of other waste as much as possible. Is a challenge.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present inventor has conducted intensive research. As a result, when the optical disk is irradiated with microwaves, the metal part is selectively heated, and when the irradiation is continued, the metal part is melted and the metal is melted from the optical disk. The present invention was completed.
[0013]
That is, the optical disk metal part separating apparatus according to the present invention comprises a disk holding means for holding an optical disk having a resin substrate and a metal part constituting a reflective film or the like in an upright state, and the optical disk. a processing chamber disc holding means of the holding state is accommodated, the first micro you a metal portion of the optical disc is irradiated with microwaves to selectively melted state in an optical disc housed in said processing chamber and wave irradiation means is characterized by comprising, a low-oxygen maintaining means that to maintain an atmosphere in the processing chamber to hypoxia.
[0014]
By using a metal part separation device for an optical disc having the above characteristics, the resin part constituting the optical disk is not heated by the microwave, but only the metal part is selectively heated by the microwave, so that the molten metal Flows out of the optical disc, and the resin and the metal can be separated from the optical disc.
[0015]
Moreover, since the optical disk is held in an upright state other than the horizontal state, the molten metal easily flows out of the optical disk, and the influence on the resin substrate can be suppressed.
[0016]
In addition, since the atmosphere in the processing chamber can be maintained in a low oxygen state, the optical disc can be prevented from being ignited by sparks generated during microwave irradiation, and in contact with a heated metal. It is also possible to suppress deterioration of the resin that is present.
[0017]
The metal part separating apparatus for an optical disc according to the present invention further includes a second microwave irradiating unit capable of simultaneously irradiating a microwave having a phase different from that of the microwave irradiated by the first microwave irradiating unit. It is preferable to provide.
[0018]
By adopting this configuration, microwaves with different phases are simultaneously irradiated onto the optical disk. As described above, when microwaves having different phases are simultaneously irradiated, the metal part and the resin layer adjacent to the metal part repel each other, and the metal part tends to peel from the resin layer. Therefore, the heat generated in the metal part due to the microwave irradiation is not easily transmitted to the resin layer, and only the metal part can be made into a molten state more efficiently.
[0019]
In the metal part separating apparatus for an optical disc according to the present invention, the phase of the microwave irradiated by the first microwave irradiating means is opposite to the phase of the microwave irradiated by the second microwave irradiating means. It is preferable to adopt a configuration that is a phase.
[0020]
By adopting this configuration, the repulsive force between the metal part and the resin layer adjacent to the metal part is increased, and the melting efficiency of the metal part is increased.
[0021]
In addition, the metal part separation device for an optical disc according to the present invention preferably includes a magnetic field generating means for generating a magnetic field in the processing chamber.
[0022]
By providing the magnetic field generating means in the processing chamber, it becomes possible to change the location of microwave irradiation, which tends to be unevenly distributed, by the magnetic field. In other words, by combining the microwave and the magnetic field, it becomes possible to irradiate the optical disk over a wider range.
[0023]
Therefore, even when processing a plurality of optical discs at a time, there is no need to mechanically move the optical discs held by the disc holding means in correspondence with the unevenly irradiated locations of microwaves, so that the processing chamber is wasted. There is no need to make it bigger.
[0024]
Further, the metal part separating apparatus for an optical disc according to the present invention is a microwave for controlling the intensity of the microwave applied to the optical disc by the first microwave irradiation means and / or the second microwave irradiation means. It is preferable to include at least one of intensity control means and magnetic field intensity control means for controlling the intensity of the magnetic field generated in the processing chamber by the magnetic field generation means.
[0025]
By controlling the intensity of the microwave and the intensity of the magnetic field, it is possible to arbitrarily move the uneven location of the irradiation position of the microwave to some extent continuously by the interference between the microwave and the magnetic field having different intensities.
[0026]
Therefore, even when a large number of optical discs are processed at one time, microwaves can be applied substantially uniformly over all of the plurality of optical discs.
[0027]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0028]
1 and 2 are schematic views of an optical disk metal part separating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0029]
A shown in FIG. 1 is an optical disc metal part separating apparatus. The optical disk metal part separating apparatus A includes a processing chamber 1 that can accommodate an optical disk, a first microwave irradiation means 21 that irradiates the optical disk in the processing chamber 1 with microwaves, and A second microwave irradiating means 22, a low oxygen maintaining means 3 for maintaining the atmosphere inside the processing chamber 1 in a low oxygen state, and a magnetic field generating means 4 comprising a coil wound so as to surround the entire processing chamber 1. It is comprised by.
[0030]
The processing chamber 1 is non-magnetic so that the microwave irradiated inside does not leak out, and the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating means 4 wound outside the processing chamber 1 can reach the optical disk B as the object to be processed. It is made of stainless steel, which is a metal.
[0031]
The processing chamber 1 has a cylindrical shape so that the optical disc B held by the disc holding means 5 can be passed back and forth (left and right in the drawing), and the processing chamber 1 is provided at the front and rear opening ends. Stainless steel front and rear doors 10 and 11 that can be closed are provided.
[0032]
The front and rear doors 10 and 11 close the processing chamber 1 to prevent leakage of the microwave when irradiating the optical disk B with microwaves, and maintain the atmosphere in the processing chamber 1 described later at low oxygen. It also contributes to the case.
[0033]
The first and second microwave irradiation means 21 and 22 share a microwave generator 20 called a magnetron and a demultiplexer (not shown) that demultiplexes the microwave generated by the microwave generator 20. And it is comprised by the waveguides 23 and 24 for each guide | inducing to the peripheral wall center part of the left-right direction (drawing depth direction) of the process chamber 1. FIG. Then, by making the lengths of the waveguides 23 and 24 different, the phases of the microwaves that reach the optical disk B that is the object to be processed are made different.
[0034]
The microwave generator 20 is provided with a microwave intensity control means 25 that can control the intensity of the generated microwave. The control means 25 changes the voltage applied to the microwave generator 20 to change the intensity of the generated microwave, and hence the intensity of the microwave applied to the optical disk.
[0035]
The low oxygen maintaining means 3 includes a gas pipe 30 for introducing carbon dioxide gas into the processing chamber 1 from a cylinder (not shown) in which carbon dioxide gas is stored, and a gas pipe 31 for discharging air in the processing chamber 1. And gas valves 32 and 33 that are connected to the respective pipes to open and close the pipes and control the flow of gas (air).
[0036]
Since the gas used in this embodiment is carbon dioxide and heavier than air, it is introduced into the processing chamber 1 from the gas pipe 30 connected to the lower portion of the processing chamber 1, while the air in the processing chamber 1 is The gas is discharged from a gas pipe 31 connected to the upper part of the processing chamber 1.
[0037]
The magnetic field generating means 4 is composed of a solenoid coil in which a conducting wire is wound around the entire outside of the processing chamber 1 many times in the flow direction of the optical disk.
[0038]
The magnetic field generation means 4 is provided with a magnetic field strength control means 45 that can control the strength of the generated magnetic field. The magnetic field intensity control means 45 changes the intensity of the generated magnetic field by changing the voltage applied to the coil which is the magnetic field generating means 4. In order to prevent a surge during energization of the coil, capacitors (not shown) are attached to both ends of the coil in parallel with the coil.
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 3, the disk holding means 5 includes a holding member 50 having a comb-like groove cut therein, and a receiving tray 51 that is disposed below the holding member 50 and receives metal flowing out from the optical disk B. The holding member 50 is constituted by a support member 52 that supports the receiving plate 50 on a receiving plate. The holding member 50 is supported on the upper portion of the tray 51 by a support member 52, and four holding members 50 are arranged in parallel on the upper portion of the tray 51.
[0040]
The interval between the holding members 50 is such that the optical disc does not fall when the optical disc B is inserted into the groove of the adjacent holding member 50, that is, the distance from the bottom of the groove to the bottom of the opposite groove is optical. It is set shorter than the diameter of the disc.
[0041]
Further, the groove provided in the holding member 50 is cut in a substantially vertical direction, and the width of the groove is set to be slightly wider than the thickness of the optical disc B.
[0042]
The holding member 50, the tray 51, and the support member 52 constituting the holding means 5 are made of ceramics that are not affected by microwaves.
[0043]
In order to hold the optical disc B by the holding means 5, it is only necessary to insert the optical disc B into the facing grooves of the adjacent holding members 50. The tilt of the optical disc B is regulated by the groove carved in the holding member 50, and the fall of the optical disc B is regulated by the interval between the bottoms of the opposing grooves. Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, the optical disc B is held upright by the disc holding means 5 so that the surface thereof is substantially parallel to the vertical.
[0044]
In FIG. 3, the holding means 5 holds a plurality of optical discs B stacked at equal intervals in the thickness direction. The holding state of the optical disc B is not limited to this state, but the optical disc B What hold | maintains so that B may not overlap in the thickness direction may be sufficient. In this case, there is a possibility that the amount that can be mounted on the holding means 5 may be reduced, but an effect of efficiently irradiating microwaves can be obtained.
[0045]
The optical disk metal part separating apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a loader 60 including a belt conveyor for carrying the optical disk B held by the holding unit 5 into the processing chamber 1 at the front of the processing chamber 1. ing. Further, an unloader 61 comprising a belt conveyor for carrying out the optical disk B held by the holding means 5 from the processing chamber 1 is provided at the rear part of the processing chamber 1. Further, an optical disk B is delivered from the loader 60, the optical disk B is positioned in the processing chamber 1, and a conveyor 62 formed of a belt conveyor that can deliver the optical disk B to the unloader 61 is provided. It is provided inside the processing chamber 1.
[0046]
Next, a method of using the optical disk metal part separating apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.
[0047]
First, the optical disk B is placed upright on the holding means 5 at a predetermined interval, and the holding means 5 is placed on the loader 60 together.
[0048]
The loader 60 is driven, and the optical disc B is carried together with the holding means 5 into the processing chamber 1 in which the front door 10 moves upward and the front part is opened.
[0049]
The optical disk B is disposed at a predetermined position in the processing chamber 1 while driving the conveyor 62 to which the optical disk B is transferred from the loader 60.
[0050]
The front door 10 and the rear door 11 are closed, and the processing chamber 1 is closed.
[0051]
Both the gas valves 42 and 43 are opened, a carbon dioxide gas is introduced into the processing chamber 1, and so-called purge processing is performed to exhaust air that has already been in the processing chamber 1 due to the pressure of the introduced gas. The gas valves 42 and 43 are closed when the inside of the processing chamber 1 becomes below a certain oxygen concentration. In this state, a low oxygen state can be maintained in the processing chamber.
[0052]
Next, power is supplied to the microwave generator 20. The microwave generated by the microwave generator 20 is demultiplexed into two by passing through a demultiplexer, passes through the respective waveguides 23 and 24, and is irradiated into the processing chamber 1. In this state, the two microwaves irradiated into the processing chamber 1 have different phases from each other.
[0053]
At the same time, electric power is supplied to the magnetic field generating means 4 to generate a magnetic field in the processing chamber.
[0054]
The intensity of the microwave and the magnetic field is controlled continuously or stepwise by the intensity control means 25 and 45, respectively. These strengths are controlled by changing the voltage of the power source supplied to the microwave generator 20 and the magnetic field generating means continuously or stepwise. As described above, the irradiation portion where the microwaves are unevenly distributed can be changed substantially continuously by changing the voltage continuously or stepwise, and substantially all the optical discs B present in the processing chamber 1 can be changed. It becomes possible to make microwaves act uniformly.
[0055]
Note that a state in which no power is supplied is also included when the power supply voltage is changed continuously or stepwise.
[0056]
In addition, when an optical disk is irradiated with microwaves, a spark may be generated. However, since the processing chamber is maintained in a low oxygen state, there is no risk of ignition, and deterioration of the resin can be suppressed as much as possible. it can.
[0057]
The microwave generator used in this embodiment has a maximum output of 5 kW and a transmission frequency of 2450 MHz. In order to actually process the optical disc B, irradiation was performed for 5 minutes while changing the output of the microwave to a sawtooth shape from 0 kW to 5 kW. The difference between the lengths of the two waveguides 23 and 24 is 60 mm.
[0058]
In order to melt the metal part of the optical disc B and separate it from the resin substrate, it is desirable that the maximum output of the microwave is 0.1 kW or more. This is because if the maximum output of the microwave is less than 0.1 kW, it is highly likely that it will be difficult to melt the metal present in the optical disc B. On the other hand, the upper limit value of the maximum output does not need to be particularly limited, but if the maximum output is attempted to exceed 5 kW, the apparatus becomes too large to be practical. In addition, since a part of the metal part of the optical disc B is instantaneously heated and may adversely affect the resin part, strictness is required for adjustment of the irradiation time and the like. This description does not preclude adoption of a device having a maximum output of more than 5 kW.
[0059]
Next, at the stage where the processing of the optical disc B is finished, the microwave irradiation and the generation of the magnetic field are finished, and the low oxygen state is maintained for a while. This is to prevent deterioration of the resin portion due to sudden exposure of the optical disc B in a heated state to the air and to prevent the evaporated metal from being released into the air.
[0060]
After a predetermined time has elapsed, the rear door 11 at the rear of the processing chamber 1 is moved upward to open the processing chamber 1.
[0061]
The conveyor 62 and the unloader 61 are interlocked to carry out the processed optical disc B in the processing chamber 1 from the processing chamber 1.
[0062]
Thereafter, the resin portion of the processed optical disk B remaining in the holding member 5 may be Kyosure to recycling.
[0063]
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.
[0064]
For example, in the present embodiment, the optical disk B is held by the disk holding means 5 in a state where the optical disk B stands substantially vertically, but the holding state of the optical disk B is not parallel to the horizontal plane and is not parallel to the horizontal plane. What is necessary is just to hold | maintain in the standing state which has a predetermined angle.
[0065]
Specifically, the standing state means that the angle of the surface of the optical disc B with respect to the horizontal plane is larger than 0 ° and not larger than 90 °.
[0066]
The microwave irradiating means 2 may irradiate one microwave without demultiplexing the microwave. In this case, a microwave generator 20 such as a magnetron is not used in the processing chamber 1 without using a waveguide. May be placed directly.
[0067]
As the magnetic field generating means 4, a plurality of electromagnets such as solenoid coils may be arranged so that the end face faces the inside of the processing chamber 1. In this case, by controlling each of the plurality of electromagnets, a more complicated magnetic field situation can be arbitrarily generated, and the uneven distribution location of the microwave and the magnetic field can be freely changed.
[0068]
The low oxygen maintaining means 3 can use an inert gas such as nitrogen gas in addition to carbon dioxide, and keeps the inside of the processing chamber 1 open so that the inactive gas is always introduced into the processing chamber 1 so that the processing can be performed. The chamber 1 may be maintained in a low oxygen state. Further, instead of using gas, the inside of the processing chamber 1 may be in a vacuum state or a state close thereto.
[0069]
The microwave intensity control unit 25 and the magnetic field intensity control unit 45 may be capable of controlling the current supplied to the microwave generation unit 20 and the magnetic field generation unit, respectively. Moreover, it is also arbitrary that these are automatically controlled by a computer.
[0070]
In addition, an example of an inline type apparatus including a loader 60, an unloader 61, and a conveyor 62 is illustrated as an optical disk metal part separating apparatus. However, an optical device in which a door is held by a holding means 5 in one processing chamber 1 is shown. A batch-type device such as a microwave oven used at home may be used in which the optical disc B is placed by hand, the door is closed, the processing is performed, and then the door is opened to take out the processed optical disc B. .
[0071]
In the present embodiment, the state in which the conveyor 62 being processed is not driven has been described. However, this does not prevent the conveyor 62 from being driven during the erasing process and mechanically moving the optical disk B that is the object to be processed. Absent. This is because a mechanical movement may be necessary for more complete processing of the optical disc B, such as the relationship with the shape of the processing chamber 1.
[0072]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the metal part separation device for an optical disk according to the present invention, the metal part of the optical disk can be selectively heated and melted by microwaves, and only the metal can flow out of the disk. it can. Accordingly, it is possible to separate the metal and the resin from the optical disc without generating unnecessary substances as in the case of chemical treatment.
[0073]
Further, since the optical disc is held in an upright state other than the horizontal state, the molten metal can easily flow out of the optical disc, and the influence on the resin substrate can be suppressed.
[0074]
Moreover, since the treatment is performed in a low-oxygen state, it is possible to suppress ignition by sparks that are generated when the metal part is irradiated with microwaves, and the heated resin and oxygen react to form a resin. Deterioration can be avoided.
[0075]
Furthermore, by irradiating the optical disk with two microwaves having different phases, the metal part can be peeled from the resin substrate, and the metal part can be heated and melted more efficiently.
[0076]
Moreover, since the peeling effect of a metal part increases when the phase of two irradiated microwaves becomes a reverse phase, it will be in a preferable state.
[0077]
In addition, by generating a magnetic field in the processing chamber, it is possible to change the location of the microwave irradiation due to the mutual interference between the microwave and the magnetic field, so that the microwave can be applied to an optical disk over a wide range. Become. Therefore, it is possible to avoid or minimize the mechanical movement of the optical disk with respect to the microwave irradiation location, and to contribute to the miniaturization of the optical disk metal part separating apparatus itself. is there.
[0078]
In addition, when the intensity of the microwave and the intensity of the magnetic field can be controlled, the uneven location of the irradiation position of the microwave can be arbitrarily changed almost continuously by mutual interference. This means that even if there are a relatively large number of optical discs to be processed, they are either mechanically stationary or microscopic over the entire optical disc with the range of movement minimized. The waves can be applied substantially uniformly, and the resin and the metal can be separated from all of the optical discs to be processed.
[0079]
In addition, due to the effect, the processing chamber can be made to a minimum necessary size on which the optical disk can be placed. That is, it is possible to reduce the size of the optical disk metal part separating apparatus, and it is also possible to reduce the power and time required for the separation process between the metal and the resin.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing an example of a metal part separating apparatus for an optical disc according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a metal part separating apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where an optical disc is placed on the disc holding means.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Processing chamber 3 ... Low oxygen maintenance means 4 ... Magnetic field generation means 5 ... Disk holding means 20 ... Microwave generators 23, 24 ... Waveguides 21, 22 ... Microwave irradiation means 25 ... Microwave intensity control means 45 ... Magnetic field strength control means

Claims (5)

Disk holding means for holding an optical disk having a resin substrate and a metal part constituting a reflective film or the like in an upright state;
A processing chamber in which disk holding means holding the optical disk is accommodated;
A first microwave irradiation means you selectively molten metal portion of the process by irradiating a microwave to the contained optical disk indoors optical disc,
Hypoxic maintaining means that to maintain an atmosphere in the processing chamber to hypoxia,
An apparatus for separating a metal part of an optical disc, comprising:   2. The metal of an optical disk according to claim 1, further comprising second microwave irradiation means capable of simultaneously irradiating microwaves having a phase different from that of the microwaves irradiated by the first microwave irradiation means. Partial separation device. A disk holding means for holding an optical disk having a resin substrate and a metal part constituting a reflective film in an upright state, a processing chamber in which the disk holding means holding the optical disk is accommodated, First microwave irradiation means for irradiating the optical disk accommodated in the processing chamber with microwaves to selectively melt the metal part of the optical disk, and maintaining the atmosphere in the processing chamber in a low oxygen state A low oxygen maintaining means that performs the same, a second microwave irradiation means that can simultaneously irradiate microwaves having different phases from the microwave irradiated by the first microwave irradiation means, and a magnetic field that generates a magnetic field in the processing chamber Generating means, and further controlling the intensity of the microwave irradiated to the optical disk by the first microwave irradiation means and / or the second microwave irradiation means. A metal part of an optical disc, comprising: at least one of a microwave intensity control means for controlling and a magnetic field intensity control means for controlling the intensity of a magnetic field generated in the processing chamber by the magnetic field generation means Separation device. The phase of the microwave irradiated by the first microwave irradiation means and the phase of the microwave irradiated by the second microwave irradiation means are opposite in phase. Metal part separation device for optical disc. 5. The apparatus for separating a metal part of an optical disk according to claim 1, further comprising magnetic field generating means for generating a magnetic field in the processing chamber.

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