JP6842087B2 - Waste sorter - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a waste sorter that sorts small pieces of waste using an air flow.

In recent years, some of the waste generated from business activities and the waste generated from the daily life of ordinary households have been recycled for use as materials or raw materials for new products. .. Waste, for example, waste plastics (household waste such as PET bottles and plastic trays, large products such as transportation cases, blow containers, press molded products, automobile parts such as bumpers and instrument panels, and home appliance recycling (Parts of waste home appliances, etc. collected in accordance with the law) are crushed and crushed by a crusher or crusher, sorted by material or type of material, separated and collected, and then re-commercialized. To. In order to maintain the quality of the product when it is re-commercialized, it is necessary to improve the accuracy of sorting, and various technologies have been proposed.

For example, small pieces of waste plastics (crushed pieces, crushed pieces, thin pieces, etc.) that have been separated and collected and crushed / crushed may contain small pieces of metal pieces or glass pieces. As a method of selecting a group of small pieces which are a mixture of these according to a material or a type thereof, for example, a method of selecting by utilizing a difference in specific gravity is known. The "dry specific gravity shape separation method" described in Patent Document 1 is a dry separation technique for separating a mixed plastic composed of a plurality of types by the pulsation of a vibrating sieve and an ascending air flow.

Further, in a wheat milling process or the like, a dry technique has been proposed in which classification is performed by an air flow (air flow) by utilizing the difference in particle size of crushed powder. Such a classifier includes one that creates an air flow by rotating a rotating body inside the device and one that creates an air flow by providing a guide vane (guide vane) or the like inside the device. For example, the "powder classifier" described in Patent Document 2 is a powder classifier that classifies powder by utilizing the balance between the centrifugal force and the drag force applied to the powder by the swirling air flow, and is about 30. Coarse powder particles of ~ 500 μm can be classified according to the difference in particle size.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-225018 JP-A-63-111980

However, the "dry specific gravity shape separation method" of Patent Document 1 has a problem that the processing capacity is inferior because it is configured to separate into only two vibration directions by a vibrating sieve. Further, in order to increase the processing capacity, it is necessary to increase the width of the vibrating sieve, which may make it difficult to uniformly inject the rising air flow.

Further, the "powder classifier" of Patent Document 2 is used for classifying coarse powder particles of 10 to 500 μm, and is crushed and / or crushed waste in millimeters (for example, about 1 to 20 mm). It was not possible to sort (sort) the small pieces into the desired classification such as by material or type. Further, even if the size of the "powder classifier" is simply increased, there is a problem that if a small piece of waste that is not powdery or spherical is thrown in, clogging occurs and it cannot be processed well.

The inventor of the present invention paid attention to the mechanism of the "powder classifier" that classifies small particles according to the size of the particle size, improved it so that it could be applied to the sorting of waste, and made the sorting process more efficient. We have succeeded in improving the accuracy and accuracy.

The present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, an object of the present invention is waste sorting capable of efficiently and highly accurately sorting small pieces of waste into a desired classification (for example, by material or / and by type) by air flow. To provide an opportunity.

The waste sorter of the present invention is a waste sorter (1) that sorts small pieces of waste.
A supply unit (3) having a supply passage (55) for supplying the thrown small pieces, and
A substantially disk-shaped sorting section (5) that sorts small pieces supplied from the supply passage by using the surrounding air introduced from the peripheral air introduction section (40) as a swirling flow in the central swirl section (60). And with
The swivel part
A substantially columnar shaft portion (61) erected in a substantially central portion and
It has a substantially annular opening (62) formed around the shaft portion and to which an exhaust mechanism for exhausting air in the sorting portion is connected to the downstream side.
The air introduction section
A plurality of guide vanes (44, 45) arranged substantially radially so as to extend in a substantially horizontal direction at a predetermined angle toward the axial direction of the shaft portion, and
It has a plurality of air inlets (47a), which are openings on the outer peripheral edge side between the adjacent guide vanes.
The supply passage has a small piece substantially horizontally inward at the inner end of an air introduction path (47r) partitioned by the adjacent guide vanes through which air introduced from the air introduction port by the exhaust of the exhaust mechanism passes. It is characterized in that the small pieces are sorted by a swirling flow swirling around the shaft portion while being supplied so as to pop out.

Further, the supply unit (3) has a rotation mechanism for rotating the lower surface side of the supply passage (55).
It is also preferable to supply the small pieces so that the air passes through the air introduction path (47r) and jumps out in a direction substantially the same as the direction in which the air flows.

Further, the plurality of guide vanes (44, 45) have notches (44c) formed so as to cut out the inner upper portion thereof.
A substantially annular confluence space (S1) formed by the notch is formed at the inner end of the air introduction path (47r).
The small pieces may be configured to be supplied to the confluence space.
Further, the cutout portion (44c) may be formed so as to extend the curved portion (37) of the supply passage (55).

According to the waste sorter (1) of the present invention, by providing the shaft portion (61) in the sorting portion (5), the swirling flow is stabilized, and even small pieces larger than the powder can be sorted with high accuracy. .. In addition, by supplying the small pieces to the sorting unit (5) with a moving speed inward in the substantially horizontal direction, small pieces larger than the powder can be placed on the swirling flow, enabling highly accurate sorting processing. And. Further, since small pieces are prevented from accumulating near the outlet of the supply passage (55) and clogging is prevented, efficient processing becomes possible.

It is a vertical sectional view of a waste sorter. It is a partially cutout plan view which shows the waste sorter, and is cut out in line EE of FIG. It is a schematic explanatory drawing explaining the relationship between the downstream of a supply passage of a waste sorter and a sorting part. It is a flow chart explaining the method of sorting small pieces of waste by a waste sorter.

The waste sorter of the present invention can sort small pieces of waste into a desired classification by using an air flow.

<Structure of waste sorter 1>
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the waste sorter of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the waste sorter of Example 1, which is cut out along the line EE of FIG. In addition, in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the cross-sectional line is omitted for convenience.
As shown in FIG. 1, the waste sorter 1 of the first embodiment disperses small pieces of waste (crushed pieces or crushed pieces having a size of 1 to 20 mm on a side, preferably 1 to 15 mm on a side). A supply unit 3 for supplying, a sorting unit 5 for sorting the supplied small pieces so as to have a desired classification, a collecting unit 7 for collecting small pieces for each sorted classification, and a gantry 9 for supporting these are provided. There is.
Hereinafter, the waste sorter 1 will be described in the order of the supply unit 3, the sorting unit 5, and the collection unit 7. In this embodiment, as an example of waste, a case where a crushed or / and crushed PET bottle is sorted into a resin piece of a bottle body and a thin piece of a label will be mainly described, but the waste is not limited to this. , A mixture of small pieces having different properties with respect to air flow can be selected, and the details will be described later.

<Structure of supply unit 3>
The supply unit 3 is a substantially conical portion provided on the upper part of the waste sorter 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the supply unit 3 disperses the input unit 10 into which small pieces of waste (crushed or / and crushed PET bottle) are charged and the charged small pieces in order from the top, and in a plan view. It has a dispersion unit 20 that moves so as to spread radially, and a guidance unit 30 that guides the moved small pieces to the sorting unit 5.

The loading portion 10 is a substantially cylindrical portion, and a substantially funnel-shaped guide member 11 having a loading port 12 formed in the center in a plan view is arranged inside the upper end. The dispersion portion 20 is a substantially truncated cone-shaped portion, and is provided with a cone 21 having a substantially hollow cone shape (substantially inverted V-shape in cross-sectional view) and a space (dispersion passage 25 described later) above the cone 21. It has a substantially hollow truncated cone-shaped (approximately C-shaped cross-sectional view) cone cover 23 arranged so as to cover the upper surface side of the cone 21 in a state. In the dispersion section 20, a cone 21 and a cone cover 23 form a dispersion passage 25 that communicates with the inlet 12 of the input section 10.

The guide member 11, the cone 21, and the cone cover 23 each have a shape that is substantially axisymmetric, and are arranged so that the central axis, which is the axis of symmetry, is located on the same vertical line. Further, the top 22 of the cone 21 has a curved surface, and the thrown small pieces are dispersed so as to spread radially by the top 22 arranged directly below the throwing port 12, and are dispersed on the downstream side of the dispersion passage 25 (FIG. 1). Diagonally downward) is distributed almost evenly. Further, the inclination angle of the cone 21 is large so that the small pieces roll diagonally downward and / or slide down along the upper surface (lower surface 25a of the dispersion passage 25) to move to the downstream side of the dispersion passage 25. It is set to. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the dispersion passage 25 is gradually spaced downward from the upper surface of the cone 21 (lower surface 25a of the dispersion passage 25) and the lower surface of the cone cover 23 (upper surface 25b of the dispersion passage 25). Is formed so as to be narrow, and by making the cross-sectional area of the dispersion passage 25 (space portion) substantially constant, the supply of small pieces to the sorting unit 5 is stabilized, and efficient processing and high-precision sorting are performed. Is possible.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged outline of a part of the waste sorter 1 in order to explain the relationship between the downstream of the supply passage 55 (dispersion passage 25 and the guide passage 35 described later) of the waste sorter 1 and the sorting unit 5. It is explanatory drawing. The guide portion 30 has a substantially annular inner guide member 31 and an outer guide member 33, and by arranging them so as to face each other, a guide passage 35 is formed. Further, the upstream side of the guidance passage 35 communicates with the downstream side of the dispersion passage 25, and the downstream side of the guidance passage 35 joins the upper air introduction passage 47r of the sorting unit 5 described later.

The guide passage 35 keeps (or accelerates) the moving speed of the small pieces that have moved diagonally downward and outward so as to roll down from the distributed passage 25 and / or slide down, and the moving direction thereof. Is configured to be supplied inward to the sorting unit 5 so that the small pieces pop out (with a predetermined speed). That is, the guide passage 35 does not simply supply the small pieces to the sorting unit 5, but supplies the potential energy of the small pieces charged into the charging unit 10 in a state of being converted into kinetic energy. Further, the guide passage 35 is configured to supply the small pieces to the sorting unit 5 (upper air introduction path 47r) so that the protruding direction of the small pieces is substantially inward in the horizontal direction.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the guide passage 35 is formed from the vertical portion 36 on the upstream side formed so as to extend substantially in the vertical direction in order to drop the small piece substantially downward, and from the lower end of the vertical portion 36. It has a curved portion 37 on the downstream side that is curved inward and is formed so that the tangential direction gradually changes from a substantially vertical direction to a substantially horizontal direction. The inner wall surface 36a inside the vertical portion 36 is formed so as to face substantially a vertical surface, and by dropping a small piece that has passed through the dispersion passage 25 downward, the moving speed thereof is accelerated and the moving direction is lowered. It is structured so that it faces. That is, the vertical portion 36 makes it possible to change the moving direction of the small piece passing through the dispersion passage 25 from diagonally downward to substantially downward while preventing the moving speed of the small piece from decelerating.

Further, the outer wall surfaces 36b and 37b on the outer side of the guide passage 35 (vertical portion 36 and curved portion 37) have a substantially arcuate vertical cross section whose tangents gradually change downward from a substantially vertical direction to a substantially horizontal direction. It is formed so as to be a curved surface. By moving the small pieces that have passed through the dispersion passage 25 along the outer wall surfaces 36b and 37b, the moving direction is gradually changed while maintaining the moving speed, and the small pieces are substantially horizontal to the sorting portion 5 at the exit of the curved portion 37. It is possible to supply the product so that it protrudes inward in the direction. In the following description, the speed inward in the horizontal direction at the exit of the guide passage 35 of the small piece is appropriately referred to as an inward speed.

The dispersion passage 25 and the guidance passage 35 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a supply passage 55) are configured as described above, and the small pieces are supplied to the sorting unit 5 so as to protrude inward in the substantially horizontal direction. Can be ejected so as to substantially follow the moving direction of air passing through the upper air introduction passage 47r (details will be described later), and small pieces larger than the powder can be ejected into an air flow (introduction air flow, swirling air flow, etc., which will be described later). Can be put on the air flow) well. Further, it is possible to prevent small pieces from accumulating so as to block the upper air introduction path 47r, and it is possible to sort the small pieces with high accuracy.

The supply passage 55 may be configured to supply the small pieces to the sorting unit 5 so as to pop out inward in the substantially horizontal direction at a predetermined speed, and is not limited to the above configuration. For example, instead of providing the vertical portion 36, the guide passage 35 is formed so as to have a substantially arc shape having a small curvature protruding outward in the vertical cross section, and the moving direction is gradually changed along the curved surface to maintain the speed. You may do so. The predetermined speed means the speed at which the small piece can ride on the air flow of the upper air introduction path 47r, and is set by the material and size of the small piece, the air speed of the upper air introduction path 47r, and the like. Is.

The supply unit 3 of the waste sorter 1 of this embodiment has a cylindrical support column 3A in the center thereof, and the support column 3A supports the cone 21. In a configuration in which a suspension member is provided in the supply passage 55 and the cone 21 is suspended and fixed by the cone cover 23 as in the conventional powder classification device (see FIG. 1 of Patent Document 2), the suspension member serves as a barrier. There is a risk that the inward speed at the outlet of the small piece supply passage 55 may be reduced to keep the classification accuracy at a low level, or the small piece may be caught by the suspension member and cause clogging. In particular, when crushed or / and crushed PET bottles are classified into resin pieces of the bottle body and flakes of the label, there is a high probability that once the flakes of the label are caught, they become entangled with each other and cause clogging. ..

In this embodiment, it is not necessary to use a suspension member by supporting the cone 21 by the support column 3A, and since there is no barrier in the supply passage 55, the speed of some small pieces that move is reduced or clogging is caused. It does not occur. The strut 3A is attached to the shaft portion 61 of the sorting portion 5, which will be described later, and is held by the gantry 9 via a substantially columnar support bone member 76 assembled in a cross shape.

<Structure of sorting unit 5>
The sorting unit 5 is a substantially disk-shaped portion provided below the supply unit 3, and is a portion for sorting small pieces supplied from the supply unit 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sorting unit 5 has a substantially annular air introduction unit 40 that introduces air from the surroundings to generate a swirling flow, and a material-specific or material-based small piece by the swirling flow of the introduced air. It has a substantially disk-shaped swivel portion 60 that is sorted by type (hereinafter, appropriately classified), and has a substantially axisymmetric configuration centered on a shaft portion 61 provided in the swivel portion 60.

The air introduction unit 40 is a peripheral portion of the sorting unit 5. As shown in FIG. 3, the air introduction portion 40 includes a substantially annular top plate 41 provided outside the downstream outlet of the supply passage 55, and a substantially annular base plate 42 provided so as to face the substantially annular top plate 41. It has an intermediate partition plate 43 provided at a substantially intermediate position between the top plate 41 and the base plate 42, and a plurality of upper guide vanes 44 and lower guide vanes 45 divided into upper and lower two stages by the intermediate partition plate 43. ing. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper guide vanes 44 and the lower guide vanes 45 are substantially rectangular flat plate-shaped members arranged at substantially equal intervals on the circumference centering on the axis of the shaft portion 61, and have respective diameters. They are arranged so as to extend in the substantially horizontal direction so as to be inclined at substantially the same angle with respect to the direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper guide vanes 44 and the lower guide vanes 45 are arranged so as to overlap each other in a plan view, and 36 sheets are provided in each of the upper guide vanes 44 and the lower guide vanes 45 in this embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the upper guide vane 44 and the lower guide vane 45 are pivotally attached to the base plate 42 by an inner pin Pa provided at the inner end portion thereof. Further, the partition plate 43 is provided with elongated holes B arranged at substantially equal intervals on the outer edge thereof and extending diagonally in each radial direction, and the outer ends of the upper guide vane 44 and the lower guide vane 45. The outer pin Pb provided on the portion is engaged. Further, the partition plate 43 is configured to be adjustablely rotatable about the axis of the sorting unit 5 by the handle 46h of the angle adjusting mechanism 46.
By operating the handle 46h, the partition plate 43 can be rotated to integrally move all the outer pins Pb engaged with the elongated hole B, and all the upper guide vanes 44 and the lower guide vanes 45 can be moved integrally. The angle with respect to the radial direction can be adjusted as a unit. By adjusting the angles of the upper guide vane 44 and the lower guide vane 45, it is possible to perform sorting according to the properties (type, shape, size, etc.) of the waste.

By sucking (exhausting) the air in the sorting unit 5 by the collecting unit 7 (exhaust mechanism) described later, the air is sucked into the air introduction unit 40 from the periphery thereof. Specifically, on the periphery of the air introduction portion 40, an upper air introduction port 47a, which is an opening partitioned by an upper guide vane 44 adjacent to the top plate 41 and the intermediate partition plate 43, and a base plate 42 and the intermediate partition plate 43. A lower air introduction port 48a, which is an opening partitioned by a lower guide vane 45 adjacent to the above, is formed. The air introduced from the upper air introduction port 47a passes through the upper air introduction path 47r into the sorting section 5, and the air introduced from the lower air introduction port 48a passes through the lower air introduction path 48r into the sorting section 5. Enter and form a swirling flow in the sorting space S2, which will be described later.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper guide vane 44 is provided with a substantially triangular notch 44c formed in the upper inner portion thereof so as to be cut diagonally downward toward the inside. .. The notch 44c has a shape in which the inner upper edge of the upper guide vane 44 is cut out so as to extend the lower surface (outer wall surface 37b of the curved portion 37) of the guide passage 35 of the supply portion 3. The portion 44c forms a confluence space S1 (a substantially triangular space in FIG. 3) at which the supply passage 55 (guidance passage 35) and the upper air introduction passage 47r meet. That is, in this merging space S1, the small pieces supplied from the supply passage 55 (guidance passage 35) become a space where the small pieces are merged with the air flowing through the upper air introduction path 47r (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as the introduction air flow). There is. Further, the merging space S1 is a substantially annular space at the upper part of the inner edge of the air introducing portion 40 due to the notch 44c, and is also a portion where the introduced air flow begins to become a swirling flow. The configuration of the notch 44c and the confluence space S1 is not limited to this, and may be appropriately changed as long as the small pieces passing through the supply passage can easily get on the introduced air flow.

As described above, in the waste sorter 1 of the present embodiment, by providing the merging space S1 at the downstream end (inner end) of the upper air introduction path 47r, small pieces are collected between the upper guide vanes 44. It is structured so that this can be suppressed. Further, by providing the upper guide vane 44 with a notch 44c formed so as to extend the guide passage 35, the small pieces are prevented from being caught by the upper guide vanes 44, and the small pieces protruding inward into the merging space S1. Is configured to ride on the introduced air flow passing through the upper air introduction path 47r and directly on the swirling air flow (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as swirling flow) in the sorting space S2, and has a particle size larger than that of the powder. It enables highly accurate sorting of large small pieces.

As shown in FIG. 2, the swivel portion 60 is a central portion of the sorting portion 5 and is a portion surrounded by the air introduction portion 40. As shown in FIG. 1, the swivel portion 60 is provided with a sorting chamber top plate 66 and a sorting chamber floor plate 63 on the ceiling side and the floor side, respectively, and a substantially cylindrical shaft portion 61 is provided on the central shaft portion thereof. A substantially annular sorting space S2 for sorting small pieces by classification is formed.
The vertical width of the sorting space S2 and the position (height) of the partition plate 43 are set to a size sufficient for sorting small pieces that are also affected by gravity. Further, in this embodiment, the sorting chamber floor plate 63 is arranged so as to be substantially the same height as the base plate 42 of the air introduction portion 40.

The sorting chamber floor plate 63 is attached to the peripheral edge of the exhaust recovery pipe 71, which will be described later, with a height adjusting member 65 interposed therebetween, and the sorting chamber floor plate 63 and the height adjusting member 65 are configured to be appropriately replaceable. A plurality of height adjusting members 65 having different heights are prepared so that they can be appropriately selected and used according to the properties of the small piece group to be sorted. By lowering the position of the sorting chamber floor plate 63, the sorting space S2 can be widened. Further, the sorting chamber floor plate 63 itself is also prepared in a plurality of sizes (widths in the radial direction) and shapes having different shapes, and is configured so that it can be appropriately selected and used. The different shapes are, for example, those that are slightly inclined downward or upward in the radial direction (for example, an inclination angle of 0.1 to 8 degrees).

The sorting chamber top plate 66 is arranged so that the lower end of the inner guide member 31 extends inward. Further, on the lower side of the swivel portion 60, as shown in FIG. 2, the shaft portion 61 and the inner ring-shaped opening 62 are arranged in a concentric circle around the axis of the shaft portion 61 in order from the center toward the circumferential direction. A sorting chamber floor plate 63 and an outer ring-shaped opening 64 are provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the inner ring-shaped opening 62 provided inside the sorting chamber floor plate 63 and the outer ring-shaped opening 64 provided outside the sorting chamber floor plate 63 are exhaust gas recovery of the recovery unit 7, respectively. The pipe 71 and the recovery hopper 73 are connected to each other, and small pieces of waste supplied from the supply unit 3 are sorted into a desired category by a swirling flow, and these are separated and collected by the openings 62 and 64. ing.

In this embodiment, the shaft portion 61 is provided in the center of the swirling portion 60 to obtain the Coanda effect, so that the swirling flow can be stabilized and small pieces in millimeters can be sorted with high accuracy. .. Further, by providing the shaft portion 61, the time for moving the small pieces to the collecting portion 7 can be shortened, and efficient processing becomes possible. In particular, flakes of labels and the like can be smoothly collected without being entangled by providing the shaft portion 61 so as to follow the surface thereof.
The shaft portion 61 is provided so as to extend toward the recovery section 7 in order to prevent turbulence of the swirling flow in the sorting section 5, and is attached to the support bone member 76 inside the recovery section 7. The shaft portion 61 also serves as a receiving portion for the cone 21 of the supply portion 3. Further, in this embodiment, a substantially annular guide portion 61a having a substantially triangular vertical cross section is provided above the shaft portion 61 to guide the swirling flow downward. Since the swirling small piece can be guided downward by the guide portion 61a, the turbulence of the swirling flow can be suppressed, and the processing capacity can be further increased. Although not shown, the shaft portion 61 may have a substantially truncated cone shape with a downward taper whose diameter decreases downward. With such a shape, the swirling flow in a vortex shape is stabilized, and the processing capacity can be further increased.

Here, the air flow of the sorting unit 5 will be briefly described. When the exhaust mechanism (not shown) of the exhaust recovery pipe 71, which will be described later, is operated, air is sucked from the substantially central portion (inner ring-shaped opening 62) of the sorting space S2, and the inside of the sorting space S2 becomes negative pressure, resulting in air. External air is introduced from the upper air introduction port 47a and the lower air introduction port 48a, which are openings on the periphery of the introduction portion 40. Then, the introduced air becomes a swirling flow (swirl air flow) by passing through the upper air introduction path 47r and the lower air introduction path 48r, becomes a swirl flow, and is sucked into the exhaust recovery pipe 71 from the inner ring-shaped opening 62. Is done. Of the small pieces of PET bottles that have been crushed and / or crushed, the flakes of the label that easily ride on the swirling flow pass on the sorting chamber floor plate 63 or above the sorting chamber floor plate 63 and move to the inner ring-shaped opening 62 together with the swirling flow. The resin piece of the bottle body, which flows into the exhaust recovery pipe 71 and is difficult to get on the swirling flow, passes on the sorting chamber floor plate 63 or above the sorting chamber floor plate 63, but is separated from the swirling flow due to the balance between centrifugal force and effectiveness. It moves to the outer ring-shaped opening 64 and falls into the recovery hopper 73. The details of sorting and separating small pieces by the swirling flow will be described later.

<Structure of collection unit 7>
The collecting unit 7 is a substantially inverted conical portion provided below the sorting unit 5, and is a portion for collecting each of the small pieces sorted and separated by the sorting unit 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the collection unit 7 collects the exhaust recovery pipe 71 that collects the thin pieces of the label communicating with the inner ring-shaped opening 62, and the resin piece of the bottle body that communicates with the outer ring-shaped opening 64. It has a recovery hopper 73 and a flow control plate 75 provided below the sorting chamber floor plate 63 in order to suppress turbulence in the swirling flow. Further, on the downstream side of the exhaust recovery pipe 71, an exhaust mechanism having a blower for making the inside of the exhaust recovery pipe 71 negative pressure and a collecting means (not shown) for collecting flakes of the label are provided, and a recovery hopper is provided. The lower end side of the 73 is connected to a rotary valve 74 for discharging the resin piece of the bottle body. Further, as described above, the recovery unit 7 includes a support bone member 76 that supports the cone 21 and the shaft portion 61. The support bone member 76 supports the cone 21 and the like at the central portion assembled in a cross shape, penetrates the wall surface of the exhaust recovery pipe 71, and the end side is fixed (welded) to the recovery hopper 73. It also plays a role of absorbing the vibration of the shaft portion 61.

In this embodiment, by providing the truncated cone-shaped flow control plate 75 in the front view under the floor plate 63 of the sorting chamber, the turbulence of the swirling flow is suppressed and the sorting accuracy is improved. .. The exhaust recovery pipe 71 is arranged in the recovery section 7 in a substantially L-shape in front view so as to break the axial symmetry, but in order to block the swirling flow of the sorting section 5 from being affected by this collapse. A flow control plate 75 having axial symmetry is provided above the control plate 75. The upper surface of the flow control plate 75 is an inclined surface that is inclined so as to be lowered toward the outer peripheral side so that resin pieces of the bottle body do not accumulate.

Here, the details of sorting and separating the small pieces will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. As described above, the crushed or / and crushed small pieces of the PET bottle are swirled in the sorting space S2 toward the merging space S1 (introduced air flow) at the inner end of the upper air introduction path 47r by the supply passage 55. It is supplied with an inward speed so that it can easily ride on the (swirl air flow). Then, among the small pieces of the PET bottle, the thin piece of the label that is easy to ride on the swirling flow moves to the center while bulging slightly outward from the swirling flow due to the balance between the centrifugal force and the drag force due to the swirling flow, and opens in an inner ring shape. It is sucked into the exhaust recovery pipe 71 from the portion 62 (see the broken line X in FIG. 2). In addition, the resin piece of the bottle body, which is difficult to get on the swirling flow, moves on the swirling flow at first, but since the centrifugal force works greatly in the balance between the centrifugal force and the drag force due to the swirling flow, it goes straight away from the swirling flow. Then, it moves to the outside of the sorting chamber floor plate 63 and falls into the recovery hopper 73 from the outer ring-shaped opening 64 (see the broken line Y in FIG. 2). In this way, the thin piece of the label and the resin piece of the bottle body are sorted by the swirling flow and separated and collected.

In this embodiment, a case where a small group of crushed or / and crushed PET bottles (a group of small pieces in which a resin piece of a bottle body and a thin piece of a label are mixed) is selected and separated and collected is described. The object to be classified is not limited to this, and if a plurality of types of small pieces having different properties with respect to the air flow (easiness to get on the air flow) are mixed, it is possible to classify by utilizing the difference in the properties. The waste sorter 1 of the present invention appropriately adjusts one or both of the magnitude of the negative pressure of the exhaust mechanism and the angles of the upper guide vanes 44 and the lower guide vanes 45 as long as they have different properties with respect to the air flow. By adjusting, it is possible to sort into a desired classification according to the properties (size, shape, specific gravity, material, etc.) of the small piece group, and perform separation and recovery. It should be noted that the difference in ease of riding in the air flow is related not only to the difference in the specific gravity of the small pieces, but also to various factors such as size (surface area), thickness, and shape. For example, even if the plastic pieces are made of the same material, if they are granular, they are difficult to get on the air flow, and if they are foil-shaped, they are easy to get on the air flow.

Further, in this embodiment, the case where two types of synthetic resin pieces are sorted, separated and recovered has been described, but the target for sorting is not limited to this. Not only synthetic resin pieces (small pieces of waste plastics), but also metal pieces, synthetic resin pieces containing metal (resin plating pieces), rubber pieces, glass pieces, wood pieces, paper pieces, fiber pieces, etc. It is possible to sort, separate and collect a group of small pieces consisting of two or more types of small pieces having different properties according to the ease of riding in the air flow.
Therefore, not only when separating the PET bottle body and its label, but also when classifying crushed pieces and crushed pieces of composite material waste composed of metal, plastic, rubber, etc., for example, automobiles and home appliances. It is also possible to use it.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of sorting small pieces of waste by the waste sorter 1 of the present embodiment. In the description of each component of the waste sorter 1 described above, the sorting method has been described together with its features. Therefore, here, the method of sorting small pieces of waste will be briefly described based on FIG.
First, the exhaust mechanism of the collection unit 7 of the waste sorter 1 is driven. Then, the driven exhaust mechanism sucks the surrounding air from the upper air introduction port 47a and the lower air introduction port 48a, so that a swirling flow (swirl air flow) is generated in the sorting unit 5. Next, a small piece of waste is charged into the supply unit 3 (input port 12) of the waste sorter 1. The small pieces thrown into the supply unit 3 are radially spread by the cone 21, move downstream (downward) through the dispersion passage 25, and enter the guidance passage 35. The small pieces that have entered the guidance passage 35 are changed inward inward so as to substantially maintain the movement speed from the dispersion passage 25 along the inner wall surface of the guidance passage 35, and have an inward speed. It is supplied to the sorting unit 5 (merging space S1). The small pieces supplied to the sorting unit 5 (merging space S1) are guided to the sorting space S2 inside the sorting unit 5 by the introduced air flow passing through the upper air introduction path 47r, and are put on the swirling flow. Then, depending on the swirling flow, the small pieces having the property of easily riding on the air flow and the small pieces having the property of being difficult to ride on the air flow are selected and placed in different places (inner ring-shaped opening 62 and outer ring-shaped opening 64). It moves and is separated and collected in the exhaust recovery pipe 71 and the recovery hopper 73.

According to the waste sorter 1 of the present invention and the sorting method using the same , even a small piece group (which may contain powder) containing small pieces larger than the powder can be efficiently and efficiently. It can be sorted with high accuracy. In particular, by providing the shaft portion 61 in the sorting portion 5, it is possible to stabilize the swirling flow and perform sorting with high accuracy, and efficient processing becomes possible. Further, by configuring the dispersion passage 25 and the guidance passage 35 of the supply unit 3 as described above, small pieces can be supplied to the sorting unit 5 with an inward speed, and high-precision sorting is possible. It becomes. Further, by setting the merging position of the supply passage 55 to the downstream side of the upper air introduction path 47r and forming the notch 44c in the upper guide vane 44, the small pieces can easily get on the swirling flow and the occurrence of clogging can be suppressed. It is possible to sort with high accuracy.

Further, in order to suppress the swirling flow in the sorting unit 5, the shaft portion 61 is provided so as to extend toward the collecting unit 7 and is held in the collecting unit 7, and the flow control plate is below the sorting chamber floor plate 63. 75 is provided. By suppressing the turbulence of the swirling flow, its processing capacity can be increased.

In the present invention, if the small pieces of waste can be merged with the swirling flow in a state of having an inward velocity, and the small pieces can be sorted by the swirling flow by utilizing the difference in their properties, the above-mentioned invention Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the waste sorter 1 of the present embodiment sorts the input small pieces into two and separates and collects them. However, three or more openings are concentrically provided (for example, a sorting chamber floor plate). (A new opening having a substantially annular shape is provided inside the radial direction of the 63), and a group of small pieces may be selected into three or more and separated and collected. Small pieces (powder) that pass over the sorting chamber floor plate 63 on the swirling flow are collected at the opening on the center side (inner ring-shaped opening 62), and the small pieces that move on the sorting chamber floor plate 63 can easily ride on the swirling flow. It may be divided into those that are difficult to ride and those that are difficult to ride, and may be configured to be collected from the newly provided opening and the outer ring-shaped opening 64, respectively.

Although not shown, the waste sorter 1 of this embodiment is provided with openings (inner ring-shaped opening 62, outer ring-shaped opening 64) only on the lower side of the sorting portion 5. , An opening is also provided above the sorting portion 5 (for example, a portion facing the inner ring-shaped opening 62) without providing the guide portion 61a, and is connected to this opening (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as an upper opening). An exhaust mechanism may also be provided on the exhaust recovery pipe to be configured so that a swirling flow can be created. When a swirling flow is caused by the exhaust mechanism of the upper opening, by further utilizing gravity for the sorting itself, the introduced small pieces are separated into the upper opening, the lower inner ring-shaped opening 62, and the outer ring. With the shape opening 64, it can be sorted into three and separated and collected.

Further, although not shown, the following configuration may be used as a modification of the waste sorter 1. The waste sorter of the first modification is the above-mentioned waste sorter 1 in which the cone 21 is rotatably attached around the support column 3A via a rotation mechanism connected to the drive device. By rotating the cone 21 by a rotation mechanism and applying a force in the circumferential direction to the small piece passing through the supply passage 55, the small piece is ejected into the confluence space S1 in substantially the same direction as the air flow passing through the upper air introduction path 47r. Can be supplied to. By making the small pieces easier to ride in the swirling flow, more accurate sorting becomes possible.

Further, as a modified example of the waste sorting method, it is set so that not only air is sucked from the air introduction ports 47a and 48a but also air and small pieces in the supply passage 55 are sucked into the sorting unit 5 by the exhaust of the exhaust mechanism. Therefore, it is possible to improve the sorting accuracy and processing capacity.

The waste sorter of the present invention crushes and crushes waste generated from business activities and waste generated from daily life of ordinary households, and sorts them into desired categories for separation and collection. Not only can it be used, but it can also be used in various fields as long as it classifies a mixture of small pieces having different properties with respect to air flow according to the difference in properties.

1 Waste sorter 3 Supply part 3A Strut 5 Sorting part 7 Collection part 9 Stand 10 Input part 12 Input port 20 Dispersion part 21 Cone 23 Cone cover 25 Dispersion passage 30 Induction part 35 Induction passage 36 Vertical part 37 Curved part 40 Air introduction Part 44 Upper guide vane 44c Notch 45 Lower guide vane 47r Upper air introduction path 48r Lower air introduction path 55 Supply passage 60 Swivel part 61 Shaft 62 Inner ring-shaped opening 63 Sorting room Floor plate 64 Outer ring-shaped opening 66 Sorting room Top plate 71 Exhaust recovery pipe 73 Recovery hopper 75 Flow control plate 76 Support bone member S1 Confluence space S2 Sorting space

Claims (4)

A waste sorter that sorts small pieces of waste
A supply unit having a supply passage for supplying the thrown small pieces,
A substantially disk-shaped sorting portion for sorting small pieces supplied from the supply passage is provided as a swirling flow in the swirling portion in the central portion with the surrounding air introduced from the air introduction portion in the peripheral portion.
The swivel part
A shaft with a columnar shape erected in the center,
It has a substantially annular opening formed around the shaft portion and to which an exhaust mechanism for exhausting air in the sorting portion is connected to the downstream side.
The air introduction section
A plurality of guide vanes arranged substantially radially so as to extend in a substantially horizontal direction at a predetermined angle toward the axial direction of the shaft portion,
It has a plurality of air inlets, which are openings on the outer peripheral edge side between the adjacent guide vanes.
The supply passage so as to eject small pieces substantially inward in the horizontal direction at the inner end of the air introduction path partitioned by the adjacent guide vanes through which the air introduced from the air introduction port by the exhaust of the exhaust mechanism passes. A waste sorter, characterized in that the small pieces are sorted by a swirling flow swirling around the shaft portion. The supply unit has a rotation mechanism that rotates the lower surface side of the supply passage.
The waste sorter according to claim 1, wherein the small pieces are supplied so as to pop out in a direction substantially the same as the direction in which the air passing through the air introduction path flows. The plurality of guide vanes have notches formed so as to cut out the inner upper portion thereof.
At the inner end of the air introduction path, a substantially annular confluence space is formed by the notch.
The waste sorter according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the small pieces are supplied to the confluence space. The waste sorter according to claim 3 , wherein the cutout portion is formed so as to extend a curved portion of the supply passage.