JP7106503B2 - Identification units, identification devices and sorting systems - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an identification device and a sorting system for identifying resins contained in specimens.

When recycling various types of plastics, elastomers, and other resins contained in household waste and industrial waste as raw materials for new products, it is necessary to sort the resins in the waste by material. In recycling facilities, these wastes are mechanically crushed into crushed materials in which resin pieces and metal pieces are mixed, and then sorted by various methods.

One of the methods for separating resin fragments such as plastics is a method using Raman scattering. By using Raman scattering, it becomes possible to identify the material of the resin and investigate the component composition and its distribution. A high-throughput resin identification system can be configured by conveying resin by conveying means such as a belt conveyor and detecting and identifying Raman scattered light from the conveyed resin.

Patent Document 1 describes a plastic identification device in which a plurality of Raman spectrometers are arranged in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the belt conveyor, that is, in the width direction of the belt conveyor. As a result, the plastic to be identified can be identified at a plurality of locations in the width direction of the belt conveyor, and the identification throughput can be further increased.

Patent Literature 2 describes a Raman spectrometer having a plurality of probe heads for collecting Raman scattered light from different measurement points. The Raman spectrometer of Patent Literature 2 has an optical fiber unit in which a plurality of optical fibers for guiding light from each probe head are bundled on the output end side. Then, a plurality of Raman scattered lights collected from different measurement points are separated by one diffraction grating and picked up by one CCD camera. As a result, Raman scattered light from a plurality of locations can be collectively spectroscopically measured by a single spectroscope.

JP 2011-226821 A JP 2012-122851 A

In Patent Document 1, since a plurality of Raman spectrometers are arranged as they are, there is a problem that the apparatus configuration of the entire identification apparatus becomes complicated and the apparatus cost increases. Therefore, it is conceivable to simplify the configuration of the device and reduce the cost of the device by integrating the spectroscope part using an optical fiber bundle and a CCD camera as in Patent Document 2.

In order to identify resin pieces that are conveyed at high speed on a belt conveyor as in Patent Document 1, high-speed identification processing is required, so high-speed signal readout is possible instead of CCD image sensors. Preferably, a CMOS image sensor is used. As a result of intensive studies by the inventors of the present invention, it was found that using an imaging unit that sequentially reads out signals for each pixel row, such as in a CMOS image sensor, would reduce the speed of identification processing depending on the arrangement of the imaging unit and spectroscopic elements. problem was found.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a resin identification device that can identify resin pieces conveyed on a belt conveyor at high speed with a simple device configuration.

An identification unit as one aspect of the present invention is an identification unit that identifies a component contained in the specimen by spectroscopy of light from the specimen, and is a lighting that collects Raman scattered light from the specimen. a unit, a light guiding means for guiding the collected Raman scattered light, a spectroscopic element for dispersing the guided Raman scattered light, and a spectroscopic Raman scattered light for receiving the separated Raman scattered light an imaging unit arranged to capture images by main scanning and sub-scanning performed at a frequency lower than that of the main scanning in a direction intersecting the direction of the main scanning ;
A spectral image formed on the imaging unit corresponding to one of the Raman scattered lights is projected onto the imaging unit along the main scanning direction.

It is a figure which shows the structure of a sorting system typically. It is a figure which shows typically an example of a structure of a lighting unit. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an imaging unit; FIG.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, it demonstrates, referring drawings for the form for implementing this invention. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and can be appropriately modified based on the ordinary knowledge of those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention. Any improvements or the like are included in the scope of the present invention.

(First embodiment)
A sorting system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the sorting system according to the first embodiment.

The sorting system 1 of the present embodiment has a transport unit 150, performs identification processing for identifying the type of specimen 190 transported by the transport unit 150, and sorts components contained in the specimen 190 according to the identification result. System.

Here, the components contained in the specimen 190 include a metal piece mainly containing metal, a ceramic piece mainly containing crystals of metal oxide, a glass piece containing amorphous metal oxide, and a resin mainly containing resin. piece, etc. In many cases, the specimen 190 is crushed household garbage, industrial waste, or the like. In other words, the specimen 190 has undergone a crushing process as a previous process. Here, the resin in this specification means organic polymers in general, including thermoplastic resins (plastics), thermosetting resins, rubbers, elastomers, cellulose, paper, and the like. In addition to the synthetic resin, the specimen 190 may contain fillers such as glass and fibers, and various additives such as flame retardants and plasticizers. The sorting system 1 according to the present embodiment includes identification of the presence or absence and type of these additives in addition to identifying the type of resin that constitutes the resin piece, that is, the material type of the resin piece.

The sorting system 1 includes an identification device 100 and a sorting device 160, as shown in FIG. The identification device 100 includes an identification unit 90 and a transport unit 150, as shown in FIG. The identification unit 90 performs arithmetic processing for identification based on the light collection unit 110, the optical fiber unit 120 that transmits the Raman scattered light collected by the light collection unit 110 to the spectroscope 130, and the output result from the spectroscope 130. and a data processing unit 140 .

The light collection unit 110 includes a plurality of light collection units 110a to 110e, and collects Raman scattered light from a plurality of specimens placed in the width direction of the transport path, which will be described later. The optical fiber unit 120 includes a plurality of optical fibers 121a to 121e, which are bundled on the spectroscope 130 side. The spectroscope 130 includes an imaging lens 131 , a long-pass filter 132 , a spectral element 133 , an imaging lens 134 and an imaging section 135 . The optical fiber unit 120 includes a plurality of optical fibers 121a-121e, and each of the optical fibers 121a-121e is connected to each of the plurality of lighting units 110a-110e. The Raman scattered lights collected by the lighting unit 110 are guided in parallel to the spectroscopic element 133 . Here, a configuration including five lighting units 110a to 110e will be described, but the number of lighting units 110 and the number of optical fibers 121 corresponding thereto are not particularly limited as long as they are plural. The imaging lens 131 collimates the light from the optical fiber 121 . The long-pass filter 132 is arranged between the imaging lens 131 and the diffraction grating 133, removes the remaining excitation light components, and transmits the Raman scattered light.

The identification device 100 includes an identification unit 90 including a lighting unit 110, an optical fiber unit 120, a spectroscope 130, and a data processing unit 140, and a transport unit 150 that transports a specimen 190 placed on a transport surface. And prepare. The transport unit 150 further has a belt conveyor 152 and a drive motor 151 that drives the belt conveyor 152 . The identification device 100 of this embodiment includes an identification unit 90 and a transport unit 150 .

The transport unit 150 transports the sample 190 input from a sample supply unit (not shown) to the measurement position at a predetermined speed. As the transport unit 150, in addition to the belt conveyor 152, a turntable, a transport drum, or the like can be used as long as the means is capable of transporting the specimen 190 placed on the transport surface. The Raman scattering measurement by the sorting system 1 according to the present embodiment is performed while the specimen 190 is being transported by the transport unit 150, and after the measurement, the specimen 190 is transported in the transport direction, and the sorting device 160, which will be described later, performs the identification device. Sorted based on 100 identification results.

The sorting system 1 further includes a sorting device 160 that is arranged downstream of the light collection unit 110 in the transport direction 220 of the transport unit 150 . The sorting device 160 sorts the samples 190 based on the identification result of the identification device 100 .

Each part constituting the sorting system 1 will be described in detail below.

(lighting unit)
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of the daylighting unit 110. As shown in FIG. The light collection unit 110 has an illumination optical system 1107 that irradiates the specimen 190 with light and a light collection optical system 1113 that collects the Raman scattered light from the specimen 190 .

The illumination optical system 1107 is an optical system that illuminates the sample 190 on the transport surface of the transport unit 150 with light from the light source. The specimen 109 illuminated by the illumination optical system 1107 emits Raman scattered light. At this time, the intensity of the Raman scattered light generated from the specimen 190 is about 10 ⁻⁶ times the intensity of the Rayleigh scattered light that is generated at the same time but is elastically scattered and does not exhibit a wavelength shift, and is extremely weak. The illumination optical system 1107 has a semiconductor laser 1101, a laser mount 1102, a laser driver 1103, a collimator lens 1104, a cylindrical lens 1105, and a condenser lens 1106, as shown in FIG.

A semiconductor laser 1101 is a light source for illuminating the specimen 190 . In this embodiment, the semiconductor laser 1101 is a continuous wave laser, and emits light of intensity necessary to generate Raman scattered light from the specimen 190 . The generation efficiency of Raman scattering is higher as the wavelength of the illumination light is shorter, and lower as the wavelength of the illumination light is longer. On the other hand, the intensity of fluorescence, which is background noise for Raman scattered light, is lower as the wavelength of the illumination light is longer and higher as the wavelength of the illumination light is shorter. As the light from the semiconductor laser 1101, for example, light with a wavelength of 532 nm, 633 nm, or 780 nm can be used. Although the case where the semiconductor laser 1101 is used as the light source of the illumination optical system 1107 has been described here, the present invention is not limited to this, and other laser light sources such as semiconductor-pumped solid-state lasers and gas lasers can also be used. The wavelength of the light source applied to the illumination optical system 11107 is selected in consideration of the Raman shift amount, signal-to-noise ratio, etc. inherent in the material to be identified.

A laser mount 1102 holds the semiconductor laser 1101 and dissipates heat. A laser driver 1103 supplies a current to the semiconductor laser 1101 through a laser mount 1102 to oscillate the semiconductor laser 1101 and at the same time keep the temperature of the semiconductor laser 1101 constant. Note that the laser driver 1103 may be provided for each lighting unit 110 , or one laser driver 1103 may be provided for a plurality of lighting units 110 .

A collimator lens 1104 and a cylindrical lens 1105 limit the spread of the light emitted from the semiconductor laser 1101 and shape it into parallel light. Cylindrical lens 1105 may utilize other collimating optics such as an anamorphic prism pair. Also, the illumination optical system 1107 can be arranged with a wavelength filter (not shown) including a laser line filter. A wavelength filter can be placed at the position of the pupil plane of the illumination optical system 1107 . Thereby, the wavelength characteristics of the light irradiated onto the specimen 190 by the illumination optical system 1107 can be improved. A condenser lens 1106 converges the light from the semiconductor laser 1101 onto the specimen 190 . As collimator lens 1104, cylindrical lens 1105, and condensing lens 1106, lenses made of synthetic quartz are preferably used. Since high-intensity light from the semiconductor laser 1101 passes through these lenses, the use of lenses made of synthetic quartz reduces background fluorescence and Raman scattered light originating from trace components contained in the observation system. be able to.

Note that the condenser lens 1106 is not necessarily essential if Raman scattered light with sufficient intensity for identification can be obtained from the specimen 190 . That is, the illumination optical system 1107 may be configured to directly irradiate the specimen 190 with the light collimated by the collimator lens 1104 and/or the cylindrical lens 1105 .

The lighting optical system 1113 is an optical system for collecting Raman scattered light from the specimen 190 illuminated by the illumination optical system 1107 . The Raman scattered light collected by the light collection optical system 1113 is guided to the spectroscopic element 133 by the optical fiber 121 as light guide means. The lighting optical system 1113 has an objective lens 1110 , an excitation light cut filter 1111 and a fiber condenser lens 1112 .

Objective lens 1110 collects Raman scattered light from specimen 190 illuminated by illumination optical system 1107 . Each lens constituting the lighting optical system 1113 such as the objective lens 1110 may be irradiated with high-output light depending on the specimen 190, so the background fluorescence and the Raman scattered light derived from the observation system are reduced. It is preferable to use a lens made of synthetic quartz. Similarly, it is preferable not to use a cemented lens in order to suppress background from balsam and to suppress peeling of balsam due to heat generation. That is, it is preferable that each lens constituting the lighting optical system 1113 such as the objective lens 1110 is a single lens. Moreover, in order to improve the coupling efficiency to the optical fiber 1114 which is the light guiding means, the objective lens 1110 is preferably an aspherical lens.

The excitation light cut filter 1111 is a wavelength filter such as a band-pass filter or a long-pass filter. This shields the light unnecessary for the measurement of the Raman scattered light and allows the Raman scattered light to pass through. From the viewpoint of filter characteristics, the excitation light cut filter 1111 is preferably arranged in a parallel beam between the objective lens 1110 and the fiber condenser lens 1112 , that is, on the pupil plane of the lighting optical system 1113 .

A fiber collecting lens 1112 couples the Raman scattered light to the optical fiber 121 . When the excitation light cut filter 1111 is inserted, the Raman scattered light from the fiber condenser lens 1112 can be ignored. should be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the illumination optical system 1107 and the lighting optical system 1113 included in the daylighting unit 110 are configured independently, but this is not restrictive. That is, the illumination optical system 1107 and the lighting optical system 1113 may share some of the optical elements such as various lenses that constitute the respective optical systems.

The multiple lighting units 110 face the transport surface of the transport unit 150 and are arranged at different positions in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the transport unit 150 . That is, the plurality of lighting units 110 are arranged at different positions in the width direction of the transport unit 150 . Each of the light collection units 110 irradiates light onto the specimen 190 passing through a predetermined region on the transport surface of the transport unit 150 and collects Raman scattered light from within the predetermined region. The area that can receive light is limited. Therefore, by providing a plurality of lighting units 110 and arranging them while shifting them in the width direction of the transport unit 150 as in the present embodiment, the range in which the type of specimen 190 can be identified can be expanded. Thereby, it is possible to improve the throughput of the identification process and the sorting process.

Moreover, it is preferable that the plurality of lighting units 110 be arranged at different positions in the transport direction of the transport unit 150 as well. Each lighting unit 110 has a certain size in order to have an illumination optical system 1107 and a lighting optical system 1113 . Therefore, by arranging a plurality of daylighting units 110 obliquely when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the transport surface of the transport unit 150, the arrangement density of the daylighting units 110 in the width direction of the transport unit 150 can be increased. As a result, the resolution of identification by the sorting system 1 can be increased, and a specimen 190 having a smaller size can be identified.

(optical fiber unit)
The optical fiber unit 120 is light guiding means for guiding the Raman scattered light collected by each of the plurality of light collection units 110 to the spectroscope 130 . The optical fiber unit 120 has a plurality of optical fibers 121a-e respectively corresponding to the plurality of lighting units 110a-e. The incident end of each optical fiber 121 is arranged so that the light from the lighting optical system 1113 of the corresponding lighting unit 110 is incident. On the other hand, the plurality of optical fibers 121 are bundled at their output ends, and configured to guide the Raman scattered light from the plurality of lighting units 110 to one spectroscope 130 . Although an example in which only one spectroscope 130 is provided has been described here, the number of spectroscopes 130 may be less than the number of lighting units 110 . With such a configuration, the number of generally expensive spectroscopes 130 can be reduced, the configuration of the sorting system can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to reduce measurement errors and variations caused by the spectroscope 130, and to improve the identification accuracy and sorting accuracy of the sorting system.

In FIG. 1, a plurality of optical fibers 121 forming an optical fiber unit 120 are bundled at the output end (the end on the side of the spectroscope 130) of the optical fiber unit 120 and arranged in a row. The arrangement direction of the output ends of the optical fiber units 120 is determined based on the arrangement relationship with respect to the spectroscopic element 133 and the imaging section 135 . In FIG. 1, the output ends of the optical fiber units 120 are arranged in a row in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the paper. Therefore, the Raman scattered lights guided by the respective optical fibers 121 also line up in a line in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper and enter the spectroscope 130 . Each of the plurality of Raman scattered lights is dispersed by the diffraction grating 133 of the spectroscope 130, and is split in the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the optical fibers 121 on the output end side of the optical fiber unit 120, that is, in the direction parallel to the paper surface in FIG. spectroscopy.

(spectrometer)
The spectroscope 130 has at least a spectroscopic element that disperses the Raman scattered light collected by the lighting optical system 1113, and an imaging unit that receives the Raman scattered light separated by the spectroscopic element, and disperses the Raman scattered light. to generate a spectral signal. The spectroscope 130 has an imaging lens 131 , a long-pass filter 132 , a diffraction grating 133 that is a spectral element, an imaging lens 134 , and an imaging section 135 .

The imaging lens 131 collimates the light from the optical fiber 121 . The long-pass filter 132 is arranged between the imaging lens 131 and the diffraction grating 133, removes the remaining excitation light components, and transmits the Raman scattered light.

The diffraction grating 133 disperses the Raman scattered light collected by the light collection optical system 1113 and one-dimensionally disperses the Raman scattered light for each wavelength. The imaging lens 134 forms an image of the light split by the diffraction grating 133 on the imaging section 135 . As a result, a line-shaped spectrum image is projected onto the light receiving surface of the imaging unit 134 . The optical arrangement and spectroscopic method of each component in the spectroscope 130 may be appropriately changed to other commonly used forms such as the Rowland arrangement and the Zernii-Turner system.

(imaging unit)
The imaging unit 135 includes a plurality of imaging elements arranged to receive a plurality of Raman scattered lights that are one-dimensionally dispersed by the diffraction grating 133, which is a spectroscopic element, and convert them into electrical signals. The imaging unit 135 is an area image sensor in which pixels including photoelectric conversion elements are two-dimensionally arranged along the direction perpendicular to and parallel to the plane of FIG. 1 . By arranging the optical fiber unit 120 and the diffraction grating 133 as described above, the Raman scattered light guided and dispersed by each of the plurality of optical fibers 121 was projected onto the light receiving surface of the imaging unit 135. A plurality of spectral images are arranged in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Also, on the light receiving surface of the imaging unit 135, the wavelength components of each spectral image are distributed in the direction parallel to the paper surface.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the imaging unit 135. As shown in FIG. The imaging unit 135 has a pixel unit 1351 in which pixels including photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in a matrix. Raman scattered light guided by each of the plurality of optical fibers 121 constituting the optical fiber unit 120 and dispersed by the diffraction grating 133 is imaged on the light receiving surface of the imaging unit 135, and a plurality of spectral images 300 are formed. projected. Here, for the sake of explanation, the strength and weakness of the light intensity of the spectrum image are indicated by dotted lines in order to make them easier to understand. The spectral image 300 is converted into an electrical signal by the imaging unit 135 and output to the data processing unit 140 as light intensity information for each wavelength, that is, spectral data.

In other words, the pixel section 1351 defines an effective imaging area of the imaging section 135 . In addition, the pixel portion 1351 has pixels arranged two-dimensionally, and can pick up a two-dimensional image by scanning by combining main scanning and sub-scanning. In the specification of the present application, sub-scanning is performed in a direction intersecting the direction of main scanning, and scanning is performed at a frequency lower than that of main scanning. In general, when the number of pixel rows included in the pixel portion 1351 to be sub-scanned is N, main scanning is performed at a frequency that is N times or higher than the sub-scanning frequency.

Here, the sorting system 1 identifies the type of the sample 190 while transporting the sample 190 by the transport unit 150, and sorts the sample 190 by the sorting device 160, which will be described later, according to the identification result. Therefore, in order to increase the throughput of the sorting process by the sorting system 1, it is preferable to increase the transport speed of the sample 190 by the transport unit 150. FIG. The spectrum image projected on the imaging unit 135 is the Raman scattered light generated from the specimen 190 moving on the transport surface of the transport unit 150 . Therefore, a spectral image is formed on the imaging unit 135 while the specimen 190 being transported is within the detectable area of the lighting unit 110 . For example, when the transportation speed of the transportation unit 150 is 2 m/sec and the size of the specimen 190 is 10 mm, the imaging unit 135 can detect a spectral image formed by Raman scattered light generated from the specimen 190 in 5 hours. milliseconds or less. Therefore, the imaging unit 135 is required to have a high frame rate. A CMOS image sensor can be cited as such a high frame rate imaging unit, and therefore a CMOS image sensor is preferable as the imaging unit 135 .

Further, as described above, since the intensity of Raman scattered light generated from the specimen 190 is extremely weak, the intensity of light incident on each pixel of the pixel section 1351 of the imaging section 135 is also extremely weak. Therefore, it is preferable that the imaging unit 135 has high sensitivity in the wavelength region for acquiring the spectral image 300 . In general, a rolling shutter image sensor has a simpler pixel structure, a higher aperture ratio, and a larger photoelectric conversion element than a global shutter image sensor. Moreover, since the pixel structure is simple, the rolling shutter type image sensor has the advantage of being lower in cost than the global shutter type image sensor. For these reasons, a rolling shutter CMOS image sensor is used as the imaging unit 135 in this embodiment.

The imaging unit 135 is preferably a rolling reset type image sensor that sequentially performs a reset operation for each pixel row. As a result, the exposure time of each pixel row can be lengthened as much as possible, and the sensitivity can be enhanced.

The imaging unit 135 preferably has a crop readout function that performs a readout operation on a specific pixel row in the pixel unit 1352 . As a result, for example, when another detecting means detects that the sample 190 reaches the detectable region of the lighting unit 110, the pixel row corresponding to the lighting unit 110 can be read out.

The imaging unit 135 includes a readout circuit 1353, a horizontal scanning circuit 1354, a vertical scanning circuit 1355, and an output circuit 1356. Signals from a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix are read row by row. Read out sequentially. A vertical scanning circuit 1355 selects and drives an arbitrary pixel row in the pixel section 1351 . The readout circuit 207 reads the signals output from the pixels in the row selected by the vertical scanning circuit 1355 and transfers them to the output circuit 1356 under the control of the horizontal scanning circuit 1354 . As a result, reading in the main scanning direction (row direction) is performed. In addition, the row selected by the vertical scanning circuit 1355 is shifted, and the reading circuit 1353 performs reading in the main scanning direction according to the control of the horizontal scanning circuit 1354 . By repeating this and shifting the selected pixel row in the sub-scanning direction (column direction), signals can be read out from the entire pixel portion 1351 . The read signal is sent to the outside of the imaging section 135 via the output circuit 1356 . At this time, scanning in the main scanning direction is performed at high speed, but scanning in the sub-scanning direction is slower than scanning in the main scanning direction.

In the present embodiment, the optical fiber unit 120 and the diffraction grating 133 are arranged so that each spectral image of each of the plurality of Raman scattered lights separated by the diffraction grating 133 is projected along the main scanning direction of the imaging unit 135 . , and an imaging unit 135 are arranged. In other words, the optical fiber unit 120 , the diffraction grating 133 , and the imaging section 135 are arranged such that the spectral direction of the diffraction grating 133 is along the main scanning direction of the imaging section 135 . The exit end and the diffraction grating 133 (spectroscopic element) are arranged so that the spectral image formed on the imaging unit 135 corresponding to one of the plurality of Raman scattered lights is along the main scanning direction of the imaging unit 135. is paraphrased. In other words, spectral images of a plurality of Raman scattered lights separated by the diffraction grating 133 (spectroscopic element) are projected onto different positions of the imaging unit 135 along the sub-scanning direction. As a result, the signal of the spectral image projected onto the light receiving surface of the imaging unit 135 can be read out at high speed, and the throughput of identification processing can be increased.

Here, consider a case where the spectral image is greatly tilted with respect to the main scanning direction of the imaging unit 135 . For example, when the spectrum image is tilted by 90° with respect to the main scanning direction of the imaging unit 135, the signal readout of the entire spectrum image is not completed unless the signal readout in the subscanning direction is completed, resulting in a significant drop in throughput. . In addition, there is a possibility that signals due to Raman scattered light from different specimens 190 are mixed in the spectral data of one spectral image due to the deviation of exposure timing for each row. In this way, if the projected spectrum image is greatly tilted with respect to the main scanning direction of the imaging unit 135, the time resolution of the spectrum data will be lowered.

Therefore, it is preferable to reduce the angle between the projected spectral image and the main scanning direction of the imaging unit 135 in order to read out the signal of the spectral image at high speed and improve the time resolution of the spectral data. For example, the angle formed by the spectrum image and the main scanning direction of the imaging unit 135 is preferably 0° or more and 5° or less, and more preferably 0° or more and 3° or less. Also, an entire spectral image is preferably projected onto fewer rows of pixels, most preferably into one row of pixels. It is most preferable that the spectrum image and the main scanning direction of the imaging section 135 are parallel.

(Data processing unit)
The data processing unit 140 acquires spectral data of Raman scattered light from the imaging unit 135 . Further, the data processing section 140 appropriately sends a drive signal and a stop signal to the drive means 151 that drives the transport unit 150 . Further, the data processing unit 140 extracts the Raman spectrum of the specimen 190 from the received measurement data and analyzes it, thereby performing identification processing for identifying the type of the measured specimen 190 . As an identification method, for example, as described in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-209128) and Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-038807), characteristic peaks of Raman spectra and matching with known spectra can be implemented by In addition to identifying the resin material type, the data processing unit 140 performs commonly available analysis by Raman spectroscopy, such as identifying additives and impurity components by detecting specific peaks in the Raman spectrum and collating with databases. can also The data processing unit 140 may include a display unit such as a flat panel display and an input unit such as a keyboard, mouse, and touch panel, and may receive instructions from the user and provide information to the user. . The data processing unit 140 may also perform various processes such as smoothing, slope correction, addition of pixel data in a certain spectral range, arithmetic processing between pixel data, and the like on the acquired spectrum data. Instead of the data processing section 140, an FPGA having functions as these data processing means may be used. The data processing unit 140 may acquire spectral data of Raman scattered light from the imaging unit 135 and perform identification processing for identifying the type of the measured specimen 190, and includes a computer having a CPU, GPU, and the like. The data processing unit 140 may be configured with hardware that does not necessarily involve the execution of calculations by software.

(sorting device)
The sorting system 1 includes a sorting device 160 that sorts out the specimen 190 based on the identification result of the identification device 100 . The sorting device 160 has an air gun driving device 161 and a plurality of air guns 162 arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying unit 150 . In this specification, identification and selection are used as different concepts as follows. Identification means specifying the substance of the sample or the nature of the sample, and sorting means specifying the use of the sample. The substance of the specimen includes composition, main components, contained substances, etc., and the properties of the specimen include physical values and characteristic values such as density, surface roughness, surface energy, elastic modulus, and coefficient of linear expansion. Specimen uses include disposal, recycling, further analysis, etc., sieving and marking based on destination.

The data processing unit 140 transmits an air gun drive signal to the air gun drive device 161 according to the result of the identification process described above. At this time, the air gun driving signal calculates the transport time of the transport unit 150, the air firing time of the air gun 162, etc., gives an appropriate delay time, and transmits the air gun driving signal. That is, the data processing section 140 also functions as a synchronizing means for synchronizing the sorting device and the transport unit 150 . As a result, compressed air can be applied to a desired specimen 190 among the plurality of specimens 190 while the specimen 190 is falling.

The sorting basket 163 is arranged downstream of the transport unit 150 in the transport direction 220 . The sample 190 transported by the transport unit 150 jumps out from the end of the transport unit 150 and falls into the sorting basket 163 . The sorting basket 163 is partitioned into a plurality of small compartments, and receives samples 190 sorted by the sorting device and accommodates the specimens 190 by type.

In this embodiment, the air gun 162 ejects compressed air when the air gun drive signal is ON, and shoots down the sample to be sorted toward the upstream side in the transport direction based on the identification result of the identification device 100. . As a result, the samples to be sorted are housed in a small room arranged on the upstream side of the sorting basket 163 in the transport direction.

Thereby, the sorting device 160 can sort out the specimen 190 including the resin piece according to the identification result of the identification device 100 . Note that the sorting device described above is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. As the sorting device, for example, other sorting device such as a robot hand may be employed.

Further, aligning means for aligning the plurality of specimens 190 conveyed by the conveyance unit 150 and pretreatment means for adjusting the shape and particle size of the plurality of specimens 190 to be uniform are provided upstream of the conveyance unit 150. good too. As the aligning means and the pretreatment means, for example, a vibrating conveyor, a vibrating sieve machine, a crushing and granulating machine, and the like can be used.

As described above, in this embodiment, the optical fiber unit 120 is used to integrate the spectroscope portion, and the imaging unit 135 collectively detects a plurality of spectral images, thereby simplifying the device configuration of the resin identification device. there is Further, by projecting a plurality of spectral images along the main scanning direction of the imaging unit 135, it is possible to increase the throughput of identification processing.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the following claims are included to publicize the scope of the invention.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-236226 filed on December 8, 2017, and the entire description thereof is incorporated herein.

100 identification device 110 lighting unit 121 optical fiber 133 spectral element (diffraction grating)
135 imaging unit 140 data processing unit

Claims (18)

An identification unit that identifies components contained in the specimen by spectroscopy of light from the specimen,
a lighting unit that collects Raman scattered light from the specimen;
light guiding means for guiding the collected Raman scattered light;
a spectroscopic element that disperses the guided Raman scattered light; an imaging unit that captures images by sub-scanning at a low frequency ,
An identification unit, wherein a spectral image formed on the imaging section corresponding to one of the Raman scattered lights is projected onto the imaging section along the main scanning direction. 2. The identification unit according to claim 1, wherein the imaging section is an area image sensor. 3. The identification unit according to claim 2, wherein said area image sensor is a CMOS image sensor. 4. The identification unit according to claim 1, wherein the angle formed by the projection direction of the spectrum image and the main scanning direction is 0[deg.] or more and 5[deg.] or less. 5. The identification unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein said light guide means has an output end that guides said Raman scattered light toward said spectroscopic element . The identification unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the lighting unit includes an illumination optical system that irradiates the specimen with light. 7. The identification unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein a shutter system of said imaging section is a rolling shutter system. 8. The identification unit according to claim 7 , wherein a reset method of said imaging unit is a rolling reset method. 9. The data processing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a data processing unit that acquires spectral data of the Raman scattered light from the imaging unit and performs identification processing for identifying resin contained in the specimen. identification unit . an identification unit according to any one of claims 1 to 9;
The identification device further comprising a placing section on which the specimen is placed at a position where the light-receiving unit can receive light. 11. The identification device according to claim 10 , wherein the mounting section includes a transport unit that has a transport surface on which the sample is transported and transports the sample in a predetermined transport direction. 12. The identification device according to claim 10 , wherein the number of said spectroscopic elements and the number of said imaging units are smaller than the number of said lighting units. 13. According to claim 12, wherein a plurality of said light collection units and said light guide means are provided for said spectroscopic element so as to guide a plurality of Raman scattered lights corresponding to a plurality of said specimens to said spectroscopic element. Identification device as described. 14. The identification device according to claim 12 , wherein the plurality of light guide means has a portion arranged in a row on the output end side of the plurality of light guide means . 15. The identification device according to claim 14 , wherein the spectral images of the plurality of Raman scattered lights separated by the spectroscopic element are projected at different positions of the imaging section in the sub-scanning direction. 16. The identification device according to claim 14 , wherein the plurality of lighting units are arranged at different positions in a transport width direction that intersects with the transport direction. 17. The identification device according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the plurality of lighting units are arranged at positions different from each other in the transport direction. an identification device according to any one of claims 14 to 17 ;
a sorting device arranged downstream of the transport unit in the transport direction and sorting the specimen based on the identification result of the identification device;
A sorting system comprising:

Images