JP6098881B2 - Sorting device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is, for example, from a small piece group gathered a plurality of pieces obtained by crushing and used home appliances, for sorting pieces comprising a specific material relates to sorting apparatus.

  Recent mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal economic activities are causing global environmental problems such as global warming and resource depletion.

  Under such circumstances, home appliance recycling is attracting attention for the establishment of a recycling society, and recycling of used air conditioners, television sets, refrigerators and freezers, and washing machines is obligatory.

  Home appliances that are no longer needed are crushed into small pieces at a home appliance recycling plant, and such small pieces are separated into materials by using magnetism, wind power, vibration, etc., and recycled.

  Regarding the metal material, the small piece is sorted with high purity for each material such as iron, copper or aluminum by using a specific gravity sorter or a magnetic sorter, and a high recycling rate is realized.

  Regarding the resin material, polypropylene (hereinafter referred to as PP), which is a light specific gravity, is selected as a high specific gravity by specific gravity sorting using water and is recovered with relatively high purity.

  However, for specific gravity sorting using water, a large amount of wastewater is generated, and high-precision resin materials such as polystyrene (hereinafter referred to as PS) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (hereinafter referred to as ABS) are highly accurate. It is difficult to sort by.

  Of course, a sorting apparatus useful for the recycling of the resin material that can sort the resin material with higher accuracy using air injection is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Such a conventional sorting apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a conventional sorting apparatus.

  The material of the resin piece is determined when the resin piece loaded on the conveyor 104 passes in front of the determination device 106.

  Then, according to the determination result by the determination device 106, the resin piece intersects the flight direction of the resin piece released from the lower end of the chute 105 at a timing when a certain time has elapsed after the resin piece has passed the detection position of the passage sensor 111. In the direction, air from the injection nozzle 110 is injected.

  Then, the resin pieces are separated before and after the sorting plate 130 by changing the dropping position according to the material.

JP 2009-279553 A

  However, the present inventor has realized that the above-described conventional sorting apparatus cannot separate resin pieces with sufficiently high accuracy.

  And this inventor is the reason that the air from the injection nozzle 110 is injected at the timing when the fixed small time passed since the resin piece passed the detection position of the passage sensor 111. I think there is.

  That is, in the conventional sorting apparatus described above, a large number of resin pieces are continuously put into the conveyor 104, the material of the resin pieces is determined, and air is injected according to the determination result.

  The shape of the resin piece is indefinite, and when the size of the resin piece is larger than the detection resolution of the passage sensor 111, there are situations where a plurality of detection results respectively corresponding to a plurality of detection positions are obtained for one resin piece. Arise.

  In such a situation, the first jetted air often hits only the edge of the resin piece.

  Then, depending on the shape and size of the resin piece, the posture of the resin piece may change due to rotation or the like, and the resin piece to be blown off and separated may not be blown off well.

  More specific description will be given with reference to FIG. 6 as follows.

  FIG. 6A is a schematic perspective view of another conventional sorting apparatus, and FIGS. 6B and 6C are explanatory views of a discrimination result group by the discrimination apparatus 3 of another conventional sorting apparatus ( The first and second).

  As shown in FIG. 6 (a), the small piece 2 </ b> A to be selected is conveyed by the conveyor 1, and the material is identified when the small piece 2 </ b> A passes the identification device 3.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, when the size of the small piece 2A is larger than the resolution of the identification device 3, a plurality of identification results 9 are obtained for one small piece 2A.

  The identification result 9 represented by a circle forms a group of identification results of materials identified at regular intervals when the small piece 2A passes through the identification device 3, and the identification position is also shown.

  The transported small piece 2A is ejected from the transport end 4 of the conveyor 1 and flies.

  By ejecting air according to the identification result 9 from the nozzle group 5 provided to separate the small pieces 2A from the flight path, the small pieces 2A are shot down on the side closer to the conveyor 1 of the sorting plate 7, and the small pieces 2A made of a specific material. Are separated from the small pieces 2A of other materials.

  When air is jetted based on the initial timing at which the small piece 2A is identified by the identification device 3, it is considered that the first jetted air hits only the edge 2A1 of the small piece 2A having a plate shape.

  Then, the posture of the small piece 2A changes due to rotation or the like due to the influence of the injected air hitting the edge portion 2A1.

  Of course, air is jetted continuously or intermittently based on the identification result 9, but since the posture of the small piece 2A has changed, the jetted air does not hit the small piece 2A accurately.

  As a result, the small pieces 2A that the user wants to shoot down to the side closer to the conveyor 1 of the sorting plate 7 fly on the track indicated by the arrow and go into the side far from the conveyor 1 of the sorting plate 7 without being shot down. .

  As shown in FIG. 6C, the electrical noise and the shape of the material such that the identification result 9B that should be the same as the identification result 9A is obtained as an identification result different from the identification result 9A. In some cases, misjudgment due to the occurrence of misjudgment may occur.

  In such a case, air is jetted according to the erroneous identification result 9, so that the small piece 2A of the specific material that is desired to be separated from the small piece 2A of the other material cannot be separated well, and the small piece 2A of the specific material that is desired to be separated is It will mix in the small piece 2A of another material.

In view of the above-described conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a sorting apparatus that can collect a separation target with higher accuracy.

The first aspect of the present invention is a conveying means for conveying a plurality of separation objects of a plurality of types of materials;
An identification unit that determines whether or not the separation target object conveyed by the conveying unit is present, and that analyzes a material of the separation target object when the separation target object is present;
Based on the identification result of the identification means, the classification target object of a predetermined material is specified, and based on the shape, size and position of the classification target object of the predetermined material, the classification target object of the predetermined material A recovery means for recovering the separation object of the predetermined material by calculating the center of gravity and injecting gas to the gravity center of the separation object of the predetermined material at least;
Equipped with a,
The identification means has a large number of lattice-shaped identification points with respect to the conveying means, and determines whether or not the classification target object conveyed by the conveying means exists for each identification point. , If the separation object is present, analyze the material of the separation object,
The collection means determines the shape, size, and position of the classification target object of the predetermined material by analyzing the adjacent state of the identification point where the classification target exists, and determines the classification target object. based on the material of the separation object in the identification point located in the center of the shape to determine the separation object of the predetermined material to be injected to the gas, characterized that you inject the gas , A sorting device.

The second of the present invention, the collecting means, characterized by injecting the gas to the peripheral of the center of gravity of the separation object of the predetermined material, a sorting device of the first present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sorting apparatus capable of collecting a separation target with higher accuracy.

(A) Schematic side view of the sorting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention (part 1), (b) Schematic side view of the sorting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention (part 2), (c) Implementation in the present invention Schematic side view of form sorting device (Part 3) Schematic plan view of a sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention (A) Schematic perspective view of the sorting device according to the embodiment of the present invention (Part 1), (b) Schematic perspective view of the sorting device of the embodiment of the present invention (Part 2), (c) Implementation according to the present invention Explanatory drawing of the identification result group by the identification apparatus of the sorter | selector of form (the 1), (d) Explanatory drawing of the identification result group by the identification apparatus of the sorting apparatus of embodiment in this invention (the 2) (A) Explanatory drawing of the discrimination result group by the discrimination device of the sorting device of the embodiment of the present invention (No. 3), (b) Explanatory diagram of the discrimination result group by the discrimination device of the sorting device of the embodiment of the present invention ( (Part 4), (c) Explanatory drawing of the discrimination result group by the discrimination device of the sorting device of the embodiment of the present invention (No. 5), (d) Discrimination result group of the sorting device of the embodiment of the present invention by the discrimination device Explanatory diagram (No.6) Schematic side view of a conventional sorting device (A) Schematic perspective view of another conventional sorting device, (b) Explanatory diagram of a discrimination result group by an identification device of another conventional sorting device (No. 1), (c) Discrimination device of another conventional sorting device Of the identification result group by ID (Part 2)

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
The configuration and operation of the sorting apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference mainly to FIGS.

  1A to 1C are schematic side views (parts 1 to 3) of the sorting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the sorting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

  Of course, the following embodiment is merely one embodiment, and the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and is defined by the scope of the claims with reference to the embodiment. Is.

Note that while describing the operation of the sorting apparatus of the present embodiment , the sorting method of the invention related to the present invention will also be described.

  According to the present embodiment, by analyzing the material by the identification device 3 having an optical means for analyzing the material based on the intensity distribution of the reflected light detected by irradiating the small pieces 2A to 2D with light, It is possible to sort small pieces 2A to 2D made of a resin material that cannot be sorted by specific gravity sorting.

  The optical means of the identification device 3 has a plurality of light emitting and receiving elements arranged in the vertical direction with respect to the conveying direction X of the conveyor 1, and the conveyor 1 is different from the intensity distribution of reflected light of a specific resin material. By having an intensity distribution of the reflected light, it is possible to determine the presence / absence and material analysis of the small pieces 2A to 2D described later.

  More specifically, the identification device 3 analyzes the material of the small pieces 2 </ b> A to 2 </ b> D to be sorted flowing on the conveyor 1, and the small piece 2 </ b> A of the analyzed specific material is discharged from the conveying end 4 of the conveyor 1. Separate from the path.

  And while determining the small piece 2A of the material to be separated based on the material information analyzed by the identification device 3, the timing of the air jetted in a pulse manner from the nozzle arranged above or below the flight path is determined, The small piece 2A made of a specific material is blown off by pulsing air based on the timing, and the small piece 2A is separated from the small pieces 2B to 2D.

  In the present embodiment, as will be described in detail below, air is injected at least against the center of gravity of the small piece 2A.

  The small pieces 2A to 2D are small pieces before passing under the identification device 3, and the small pieces 2A 'to 2D' are identical to the small pieces 2A to 2D, respectively, and are small pieces after passing under the identification device 3.

  First, the configuration of the sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. 1A and corresponding FIG.

  The nozzle group 5 is transported by the conveyor 1 and jets air to separate the small pieces 2A made of a specific material from the flight paths of the small pieces 2A to 2D as the selection targets discharged from the conveyance end 4, and the width direction of the conveyor 1 It is the member provided in.

  The calculation unit 6 is a member that determines a small piece 2A of a desired specific material to be separated based on information on the material analyzed by the identification device 3 and also determines the timing of air jetted in a pulse manner from the nozzle group 5. .

  The sorting plate 7 is a member for separating the small pieces 2A made of a specific material separated from the flight paths of the small pieces 2B to 2D.

  The size of the small pieces 2A to 2D is approximately 10 to 100 mm in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and is approximately 0.5 to 2 mm in the thickness direction.

  The conveyance speed of the conveyor 1 is about 2 to 3 m / sec.

  The distance interval at which the individual nozzles of the nozzle group 5 are arranged in the vertical direction with respect to the transport direction X of the conveyor 1 is approximately 5 to 10 mm.

  Next, the operation of the sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described more specifically with reference mainly to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (b), it is determined whether or not there is a small piece 2A 'to be sorted that has passed under the identification device 3, and if there is a small piece 2A', the small piece The material of 2A 'is analyzed.

  As shown in FIG. 1C, the small pieces 2 </ b> A ′ to 2 </ b> D ′ identified by the identification device 3 are discharged from the transport end 4 of the conveyor 1.

  When the small piece 2A ′, which is a desired specific material, passes under the nozzle group 5, air is jetted from the corresponding nozzle.

  And small piece 2A 'which is a desired specific material is blown away from the flight path of small pieces 2B-2D, separated, and sorted.

  Typical flight paths of the small pieces 2A ′ to 2D ′ discharged from the conveying end 4 of the conveyor 1 are indicated by a dotted line, a solid line, and a one-dot chain line.

  Next, how to determine a small piece 2A of a desired specific material to be separated based on the material information analyzed by the identification device 3 and how to determine the timing of the air jetted from the nozzle group 5 in a pulsed manner. Will be described more specifically.

  When the small pieces 2A to 2D to be sorted flowing on the conveyor 1 pass through the identification device 3, the identification device 3 performs the presence / absence determination and material analysis of the small pieces 2A to 2D.

  That is, the identification device 3 performs presence / absence determination and material analysis at a constant period or interval with respect to the parallel direction and the vertical direction with the transport direction X of the conveyor 1 as a reference.

  Therefore, depending on the size of the small pieces 2A to 2D, a plurality of identification results are obtained for one small piece 2A to 2D.

  This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  3 (a) and 3 (b) are schematic perspective views (part 1 and 2) of the sorting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 (c) and 3 (d) are diagrams for implementing the present invention. It is explanatory drawing (the 1 and 2) of the identification result group by the identification device 3 of the sorter | selector of a form.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3A, for example, for the small pieces 2A conveyed by the conveyor 1, the materials at the identification positions 8C to 8E are analyzed.

  Of course, since the small piece 2A does not exist at the identification positions 8A, 8B, 8F and 8G, data indicating such a situation is obtained.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, when a certain time has passed and the small pieces 2A are further conveyed by the conveyor 1, the materials at the identification positions 8B to 8F are analyzed.

  Of course, since the small piece 2A does not exist in the identification positions 8A and 8G, data indicating such a situation is obtained.

  In this manner, as shown in FIG. 3C, the identification at the identification positions 8A to 8G is repeated at regular time intervals, and a plurality of identification results 9 are obtained for one small piece 2A.

  That is, the identification device 3 has optical means arranged one-dimensionally corresponding to the identification positions 8A to 8G, and repeats identification in the transport direction X of the conveyor 1 and is arranged two-dimensionally. In addition, a large number of grid-like identification results 9 are obtained for the conveyor 1.

  Of course, the identification device 3 includes optical means arranged two-dimensionally, and a large number of identification results 9 arranged two-dimensionally may be obtained collectively.

  When the material is continuously identified with respect to the parallel direction or the vertical direction with respect to the conveyance direction X of the conveyor 1, the calculation unit 6 places the small pieces 2A on the figure formed by the identification positions 8A to 8G in a plurality of rows. It is determined that it exists as one lump.

  That is, the calculation unit 6 analyzes the adjacent state of the plurality of identification results 9, and determines that the plurality of identification results 9 corresponding to the same figure are identification results that should be handled as the identification result for one piece 2A. To do.

  Further, when it is determined that the small piece 2A to be blown off and separated is present on the above-described figure, the calculation unit 6 performs quadrature and calculates the center of gravity of the figure.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3 (d), a solid line 10 surrounding a plurality of identification results 9 is created, and quadrature is performed on a graphic given by the solid line 10 and considered to be the shape of the small piece 2A. The center of gravity 11 is calculated.

  The air is jetted from the target nozzle at the timing when the center of gravity 11 passes under the nozzle group 5, and the small piece 2A 'is blown off and separated.

  Of course, the target nozzle may be one nozzle closest to the center of gravity 11, or two or more nozzles around the center of gravity 11 according to the size of the small piece 2A.

  Then, the length of time during which air is injected may be adjusted according to the size of the small piece 2A.

  More specifically, when the weight of the small piece 2A and / or the conveying speed of the conveyor 1 is large, the air is not only injected at the timing when the center of gravity 11 passes under the nozzle group 5, but the center of gravity 11 is It may be sprayed continuously or intermittently from before passing under 5 until at least under nozzle group 5.

  Since the air also strikes the front side of the small piece 2A that is separated from the center of gravity 11 by a desired distance in the conveyance direction X of the conveyor 1, the small piece 2A can be removed even when the weight of the small piece 2A and / or the conveyance speed of the conveyor 1 is large. It can isolate | separate more accurately from the small pieces 2B-2D.

  By the way, also in this Embodiment, the misjudgment resulting from an electrical noise, the shape of material, etc. may generate | occur | produce.

  That is, as described above, since the optical device is used in the identification device 3, an erroneous determination due to the shape and surface state of the material may occur.

  For example, when the PS piece 2A is to be separated, an identification result 9 indicating that PS is present in the PP piece 2B may be obtained. If injected, the PP piece 2B may be separated.

  This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  4A to 4D are explanatory diagrams (parts 3 to 6) of the identification result group by the identification device 3 of the sorting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The identification result group for one piece 2A to be separated may be formed by only the identification result 9A that correctly indicates the material A of the piece 2A, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4B, there may be a case where the identification result 9A that correctly indicates the material A of the small piece 2A and the identification result 9B that erroneously indicates the material B that is not the material A of the small piece 2A. .

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4C, it may be determined that two overlapping small pieces 2A and 2B exist as one lump.

  Of course, whether or not to perform air injection may be determined by simply ignoring a number other than the largest number of identification results 9A, but using an evaluation function based on the points given to each of a plurality of types of materials. It may be determined.

For example, by using the following evaluation function that gives blow-off OK determination value J _OK and blow-off NG determination value J _NG , air injection is not executed when J _OK <J _NG , and J _OK ≧ J _NG . Sometimes air injection may be performed.

(Equation 1) J _OK = p (A) q (A) α _OK (A) + p (B) q (B) α _OK (B)
(Expression 2) J _NG = p (A) q (A) α _NG (A) + p (B) q (B) α _NG (B)
First,
p (A) is a constant representing the accuracy of the identification result for material A,
p (B) is a constant representing the certainty of the identification result for the material B.

  For example, if it is known in advance that misjudgment is likely to occur for material A, p (A) is set to be small.

Next,
q (A) is the area ratio (%) for material A;
q (B) is an area ratio (%) for the material B.

  For example, q (A) can be obtained by dividing the number of identification results 9A indicating the material A in the graphic regarded as the shape of the small piece 2A by the sum of the number of identification results 9A and 9B in the same graphic. It is a numerical value.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, if the number of identification results 9A indicating the material A is 15, and the total number of the identification results 9A and 9B is 23 (= 15 + 8), approximately q (A ) = 65%.

And
α _OK (A) is a constant that represents the degree of promoting the blow-off of the material A,
α _OK (B) is a constant representing the degree of promoting the blow-off of the material B,
α _NG (A) is a constant that represents the degree to which the blowing of material A is suppressed.
α _NG (B) is a constant representing the degree to which the material B is prevented from being blown away.

For material A, α _OK (A) is set to a large value if it is highly important and it is desired to increase the recovery amount, and α _NG ( A) is set larger,
For material B, α _NG (B) is set to a large value if it is highly important and it is desired to increase the amount of recovery, and α _OK ( B) is set larger.

For example, for material A, if the importance is high but the accuracy of separation is not so required,
(Equation 3) α _OK (A) = 0.7, α _NG (A) = 0.3
And if it ’s not so important but the accuracy of separation is required,
(Expression 4) α _OK (A) = 0.5, α _NG (A) = 0.5
A setting such as is adopted.

Similarly, for material B, if importance is high but separation accuracy is not so required,
(Expression 5) α _OK (B) = 0.5, α _NG (B) = 0.5
And if it ’s not so important but the accuracy of separation is required,
(Equation 6) α _OK (B) = 0.7, α _NG (B) = 0.3
A setting such as is adopted.

  Then, for example, if material A is highly important but accuracy of separation is not so required, and material B is not so important but accuracy of separation is required, (Equation 3) And the setting by (Equation 6) is adopted.

  By the way, if it is known in advance that an erroneous determination is likely to occur at the edge of the shape of the small piece 2A, whether or not to perform air injection is determined based on the identification result 9 of the central portion of the shape of the small piece 2A. May be.

  As shown in FIG. 4D, if it is known in advance that an erroneous determination is likely to occur in the vicinity of the edge 2A1 of the shape of the small piece 2A, whether or not air injection is performed depends on the edge. It may be determined using the evaluation function described above with respect to the identification result 9 in the center other than the vicinity of 2A1.

  That is, in the identification application area 12 in which only the identification result 9 is adopted, the data indicating that the small piece 2A is present is adjacent to each other on both sides in the parallel direction and the vertical direction with respect to the transport direction X of the conveyor 1 It may be set depending on whether or not a total of four points are obtained.

  Since adverse effects caused by erroneous determination are reduced, it is less likely that a material that is desired to be separated cannot be separated or a material that is not desired to be separated is separated.

  The conveyor 1 is an example of the conveying means of the present invention, the identification device 3 is an example of the identifying means of the present invention, the means including the nozzle group 5 and the calculation unit 6 is an example of the collecting means of the present invention, The small pieces 2A to 2D are examples of the separation object of the present invention, and air is an example of the gas of the present invention.

  Of course, for example, some of the functions of the identification device 3 may be executed by the calculation unit 6, and some of the functions of the calculation unit 6 may be executed by the identification device 3.

  Further, the calculation unit 6 does not analyze the adjacent state of the plurality of identification results 9 as described above, but analyzes the adjacent state of the plurality of identification results 9 having the same material of the small pieces 2A to 2D. May determine the shape, size, and position of the small piece 2A.

  For example, the adjacent state of the plurality of identification results 9 may be checked first by ignoring the material of the small pieces 2A to 2D, and the material of the small pieces 2A to 2D may then be checked. The materials 2A to 2D may be checked first, and the adjacent state of the plurality of identification results 9 may then be checked for each material.

  In the latter, since the material of the small pieces 2A to 2D is first examined, adverse effects due to the above-described erroneous determination are not small.

  In this way, extremely high sorting accuracy and sorting efficiency can be realized, and the sorting purity and recovery yield of small pieces of the desired material can be increased. Therefore, the sorting items to be recycled are expanded, and the small pieces of specific materials contained in general waste are removed. Recycling can be expected, and not only improvement in recycling quality and productivity can be expected, but also resource recycling can be promoted.

Sorting device according to the present invention, it is possible to recover the separation object with higher accuracy, for example, from a small piece group gathered a plurality of pieces obtained by crushing and used home appliances, comprising a specific material for sorting pieces it is useful for use in sorting apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyor 2A-2D, 2A'-2D 'Small piece 3 Identification apparatus 4 Conveyance end 5 Nozzle group 6 Calculation part 7 Sorting plate

Claims (2)

Conveying means for conveying a plurality of separation objects of a plurality of types of materials;
An identification unit that determines whether or not the separation target object conveyed by the conveying unit is present, and that analyzes a material of the separation target object when the separation target object is present;
Based on the identification result of the identification means, the classification target object of a predetermined material is specified, and based on the shape, size and position of the classification target object of the predetermined material, the classification target object of the predetermined material A recovery means for recovering the separation object of the predetermined material by calculating the center of gravity and injecting gas to the gravity center of the separation object of the predetermined material at least;
Equipped with a,
The identification means has a large number of lattice-shaped identification points with respect to the conveying means, and determines whether or not the classification target object conveyed by the conveying means exists for each identification point. , If the separation object is present, analyze the material of the separation object,
The collection means determines the shape, size, and position of the classification target object of the predetermined material by analyzing the adjacent state of the identification point where the classification target exists, and determines the classification target object. based on the material of the separation object in the identification point located in the center of the shape to determine the separation object of the predetermined material to be injected to the gas, characterized that you inject the gas , Sorting equipment. The sorting device according to claim 1 , wherein the recovery unit injects the gas around the center of gravity of the separation target of the predetermined material.

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