JP7473621B2 - Separation device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a separation device.

The appearance of a refrigerator door greatly affects the design of the refrigerator. Although "steel door" doors, which use steel for the front panel (design surface material) that accounts for most of the door's surface area, are also known, "glass doors" that use glass panels (including tempered glass panels) are increasingly being adopted due to their high interior design appeal.

Regarding the recycling of refrigerator parts, structures related to separating the box body, such as that described in Patent Document 1, are known, but there are no known publicly known examples of effectively separating the glass panel from the glass door.

JP 2001-201248 A

Figure 1 shows the flow of a related refrigerator recycling method. Used refrigerators and refrigerators that have become industrial waste are brought into a recycling plant (step S100). The refrigerators are sorted into those with steel doors and those with glass doors (step S110). Refrigerators with steel doors are transported to a crusher together with the box and door after parts such as the compressor are collected (step S111), while refrigerators with glass doors have the glass doors removed from the box (step S120). The box is then crushed (step S111), and the doors are processed depending on whether the glass plate is in close contact with an insulating material (e.g., urethane) (step S130 or S140).

The reason why subsequent processing differs depending on whether the front panel of the refrigerator door is made of glass or not is that if glass doors are directly put into the crusher in the same way as steel doors, it can have adverse effects such as clogging the equipment, and even if they are successfully crushed and discharged, there is no established technology to accurately separate the materials after crushing, which can reduce the purity of other recyclable materials.

Now, for glass doors in which the glass plate can be relatively easily separated from the glass plate, the glass plate is manually separated from other materials (insulation material, etc.) using tools such as a hammer or spatula (step S140). For glass doors in which it is difficult or impossible to remove the glass plate, the entire glass door is disposed of, for example, in a landfill (step S130).

Glass plates that can be separated relatively easily include those in which the urethane insulation material and the glass plate are not directly bonded. Specifically, there are those in which a release treatment is applied between the glass plate and the urethane insulation material using a shatterproof film, and those in which a release treatment is applied directly to the glass plate or its coating. On the other hand, glass plates that are difficult or impossible to separate include those in which the glass plate and the insulation material are directly bonded. One example of an insulation material is urethane insulation material, which is formed by injecting urethane foam liquid onto one side of a glass plate, and as the chemical reaction of the foam liquid progresses, it expands and adheres to objects it comes into contact with, forming the urethane insulation material. Another example of insulation material is vacuum insulation material, which is bonded, stuck, or pasted onto a glass plate, for example, with double-sided tape or hot melt.

When recycling refrigerators with glass doors, the glass doors are separated into the glass panel side and the insulating material side because it would be difficult to separate and recover the glass if the glass doors were simply crushed. However, performing this separation process manually is labor-intensive, and automation is desirable.

The separation device of the present invention, made in consideration of the above circumstances, is a separation device that separates a glass member of a refrigerator, the glass member having a glass plate, an insulating member arranged on the back side of the glass plate, and a frame arranged on a side periphery of the glass plate, into an insulating member side and a glass plate side by the action of one type of acting part, and includes a conveying part that places and conveys the glass member in a direction in which the glass plate faces a fixed surface or a movable surface, and a separation auxiliary part on which the insulating member side of the glass member separated by the acting part is placed when the insulating member side of the glass member separated by the acting part is conveyed to one side of the acting part and the glass plate side of the glass member separated by the acting part is conveyed to the other side of the acting part.

Related refrigerator recycling flow FIG. 1 is a top cross-sectional view of a glass door of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment. Schematic diagram of a glass plate separation device used in the glass door of embodiment 1. Top view of the blade of the first embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state after a glass door is placed in an area where a separation device according to the first embodiment is disposed and transportation is started. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a process of separating a glass door by operating the separating device of the first embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a problem that occurs when trying to process an R-shaped door frame using the separation device of the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the vicinity of the blade of the separation device according to the second embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which a glass door is being processed by the separation device of the third embodiment. Schematic diagram of an automatic separation process performed by the separation device of each embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The various components of the present invention do not necessarily have to exist independently, and it is permitted, for example, that multiple components are formed as a single member, that one component is formed from multiple members, that one component is a part of another component, or that part of one component overlaps with part of another component.
In addition, although the method of the present invention describes multiple steps in a sequential order, the order and timing of the steps do not limit the order and timing of performing the multiple steps, and they may be changed as long as the method does not interfere with the content.

<Embodiment 1>
[Glass door 1]
2 is a top cross-sectional view of the glass door 1 used in the refrigerator of this embodiment. The glass door 1 has a glass plate 2 having a main surface 21 (a surface visible from the outside of the refrigerator) used as a design surface, a heat insulating member 3 arranged on a back surface 22 side of the glass plate 2, a door frame 4 made of, for example, resin arranged around the side periphery of the glass plate 2, and a liner material 5 arranged behind the heat insulating member 3.
For example, a known foam insulation material obtained by injecting and foaming a urethane foam liquid or a known vacuum insulation material can be used as the insulation member 3. The insulation member 3 is made immovable relative to the glass plate 2 by adhering, adhering, or attaching to the rear surface 22 of the glass plate 2 by its own adhesiveness or by an adhesive or adhesive tape, etc. In this embodiment, a urethane insulation material foamed from a urethane foam liquid is used as the insulation member 3, and is adhered to the rear surface 22 by its own adhesiveness.

The door frame 4 supports the sides and front of the glass plate 2 to prevent it from coming off the glass door 1. For this reason, the door frame 4 has a degree of hardness and strength to prevent the glass plate 2 from coming off. The door frame 4 may have, but is not limited to, a pressing support portion 41 that supports the edge of the main surface 21 of the glass plate 2.

[Separation device 10]
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a separating device 10 for a glass plate 2 used in the glass door 1 of this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a top view of the blade 12 of this embodiment. Fig. 5 is a diagram of the state after the glass door 1 is placed in the area where the separating device 10 of this embodiment is disposed and transportation is started.

The separating device 10 has a conveying section 11 that conveys the glass door 1 forward, a blade 12 that acts on the conveyed glass door 1 to separate the glass door 1 into a glass plate 2 side and an insulating member 3 side, and a separation assistant section 13 that is disposed above the blade 12.

The glass door 1 is placed between the conveying section 11 and the blade 12, for example, with the glass plate 2 facing downwards so that it faces the fixed surface 100.

(Transportation unit 11)
The conveying unit 11 is movable in the horizontal direction, at least in the front-rear direction, and conveys the glass door 1 by abutting against the side of the glass door 1 (e.g., the door frame 4) and pushing the glass door 1 in the direction of the blade 12 (arrow A in FIG. 5). The conveying unit 11 can freely move back and forth on the fixed surface 100 by a linear drive mechanism such as a cylinder.
The conveying unit 11 has a first conveying unit 111 that presses the side of the glass door 1 at a position higher than the height position of the blade 12, a second conveying unit 112 that presses the side of the glass door 1 at a position lower than the height position of the blade 12, and a gap 113 between the first conveying unit 111 and the second conveying unit 112. As described later, the blade 12 acts on the glass door 1 to separate it into the glass plate 2 side and the heat insulating member 3 side. After the separation, the blade 12 can avoid contact with the conveying unit 11 by entering the gap 113. This makes it easier to finish cutting the glass door 1 in a substantially horizontal direction.

The conveying unit 11 may be a known belt conveyor in which the fixed surface 100 itself moves, or multiple rotating bodies rotating in the same direction may be arranged on the fixed surface 100 to convey the glass door 1, but in this case, it is preferable to use a device that presses the side of the glass door 1 as in this embodiment in order to easily apply a conveying force. Also, the blade 12 may be moved, but from a safety standpoint, it is preferable to move the glass door 1 at ground speed rather than the blade 12.

(Blade 12)
The blade 12 is fixed (fixing structure not shown) at a height that is somewhat separated from the fixing surface 100, and extends forward and backward with the cutting edge 121 at its rear end. This height is higher than the position of the rear surface 22 of the glass plate 2 of the glass door 1 placed on the fixing surface 100, and lower than the upper end of the door frame 4. In addition, the blade 12 is preferably located above the glass discharge port 101 arranged on the floor surface. The rear end of the glass discharge port 101 is preferably located forward of the cutting edge 121 of the blade 12.

The material of the blade 12 is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use a material with high hardness such as SKS3 (hardened). In this embodiment, from the tip 121, which is the rear end of the blade 12, to the rear, a slope 122 is arranged on the upper surface side that slopes upward as it moves forward. This makes it easier for the heat insulating member 3 side separated from the glass plate 2 to slide along the upper surface of the blade 12, but the slope may be arranged below the blade 12. In that case, the glass plate 2 side is guided by the slope facing downward. In experiments conducted by the inventors, a slope arranged below the blade 12 was able to separate more effectively than a slope arranged above the blade 12. The reason for this is unclear, but it is possible that separation is easier when the glass plate 2 is guided smoothly, or that it is preferable to arrange the slope on the opposite side to the separation auxiliary part 13.

The blade 12 is, for example, made by joining small blades 123 together into one piece and fixing it to a fixture such as a holder 129 with bolts 128 to form an integrated unit. The cutting edge of the small blade 123 is angled when viewed from above, giving it a so-called jagged shape, and begins to come into contact with the door frame 4 at multiple points. This makes it easy to destroy the door frame 4. Other known devices such as a water cutter or a laser beam may also be used as the action part.

The height at which the blade 12 is positioned is preferably higher than the rear surface 22 of the glass plate 2 and as close to the rear surface 22 as possible. In general, for glass doors 1 sold in Japan, it is assumed that the thickness of the portion of the door frame 4 located in front of the glass plate 2 is about 3 mm, and the thickness of the glass plate 2 is about 3 mm. For this reason, it is desirable to fix the blade 12 at a height of, for example, more than 6 mm from the fixing surface 100. However, a known mechanism can be provided so that the height of the blade 12 can be freely adjusted.

(Separation auxiliary part 13)
As described later, the separation auxiliary part 13 is a member on which the heat insulating member 3 side separated from the glass plate 2 side rests, and is a member having a dimension in the height direction and strength capable of withstanding the load of the heat insulating member 3 side. The height dimension of the separation auxiliary part 13 is preferably a dimension such that the angle between the fixing surface 100 and the base side of the heat insulating member 3 side during separation is 5° to 45°. If the angle exceeds 45°, there is a risk that the glass will be significantly warped and broken during the separation process.

[Separation of the glass plate 2 from the glass door 1]
The method for processing the glass door 1 in this embodiment can be divided into the following steps for convenience: a preparation step in which the glass door 1 is placed at a predetermined position so that it can be processed by the separating device 10, a pre-conveying step in which the glass door 1 is transported by the transport unit 11 toward the blade 12, a breaking step in which the blade 12 is used to cut into and break the door frame 4, a separation step in which the glass door 1 is separated into the glass plate 2 side and the insulating member 3 side, and a post-conveying step in which the separated glass plate 2 side and the insulating member 3 side are transported for subsequent processing.

Here, "breaking" can refer to, for example, dividing a certain integrally molded member into two or more pieces, fragments, or pieces, or the like. In this embodiment, it can include breaking the resin member forming the door frame 4 into two or more pieces by the blade 12.
In addition, "separation" can refer to, for example, releasing a state in which two members formed separately by adhesion, fixation, or pasting are attached to each other and thus cannot move relative to each other, thereby making the two members movable relative to each other. In this embodiment, the glass door 1 can be divided into a part on the glass plate 2 side and a part on the heat insulating material 3 side by inserting the blade 12 into the heat insulating material 3.

The "insulating member 3 side" can be defined as a part of the separated refrigerator door 1 that does not include at least the glass plate 2. In this embodiment, the insulating member 3 side includes at least a part of each of the insulating member 3, the door frame 4, and the liner material 5.
Moreover, the "glass plate 2 side" can be defined as including at least substantially the entire glass plate 2. The term "substantially" here means that if, for example, granular parts scraped off by the blade 12 are included on the heat insulating member 3 side, or if they are not included on either the glass plate 2 side or the heat insulating member 3 side and have scattered, the heat insulating member 3 side or the scattered glass is not called the "glass plate 2 side."

The separation process will now be described in chronological order.
(Preparation process)
First, the glass plate 2 of the glass door 1 is placed facing downward on the fixed surface 100 between the conveying unit 11 and the blade 12. For example, the glass door 1 in the state shown in FIG. 2 is placed on the fixed surface 100 between the conveying unit 11 and the blade 12 in the separating device 10 in the state shown in FIG. 3 so that the glass plate 2 faces the fixed surface 100. At this time, it is preferable that substantially no load is applied to the upper side of the glass door 1. "Substantially no load" means that no load is applied at all, or at least a small load is applied so that the heat insulating member 3 side can be lifted while the blade 12 enters the heat insulating member 3 and separates the glass door 1. In this embodiment, no load is applied, and no machine or the like is arranged to press from above.

(Pre-transport process)
After the glass door 1 is placed, the conveying unit 11 is operated to convey the glass door 1 toward the blade 12. As a result, the blade 12 comes into contact with the door frame 4, as illustrated in FIG.

It is acceptable for the conveying unit 11 and the blade 12 to move relative to each other so that the glass door 1 is held down by the conveying unit 11 while the blade 12 approaches the glass door 1, but the embodiment in which the blade 12 is fixed and the conveying unit 11 moves is preferred. Also, as in the third embodiment described below, when the blade 12 is movable, the conveying unit 11 simply moves the glass door 1 close to the area where the blade 12 acts.

(Destruction process)
After the blade 12 comes into contact with the door frame 4, the conveying section 11 is further operated so that the blade 12 cuts into the door frame 4, and the blade 12 cuts and destroys the door frame 4.

(Separation process)
6 is a diagram showing the process of separating the glass door 1 by operating the separating device 10 of this embodiment. When the conveying unit 11 is further operated, the blade 12 enters between the glass plate 2 and the heat insulating member 3, or in the heat insulating member 3 near the glass plate 2. As the blade 12 enters the heat insulating member 3, the glass plate 2 and the heat insulating member 3 are separated in the horizontal direction, that is, a force for peeling them in the vertical direction acts. In addition, in the separation process of this embodiment, the area directly above the glass door 1 is open and a space is formed, and a downward load or force is not substantially applied to the glass door 1 (except for the weight of the glass door 1). According to the study by the inventors, if a downward load or force is applied to the glass door 1 in this process, the weight of the glass door 1 combined with the blade 12 makes it difficult to separate the glass plate 2, and there is an increased risk of the glass plate 2 breaking.

In this embodiment, since no downward load or force is applied, as the blade 12 advances and the glass door 1 separates into the glass plate 2 side and the insulating member 3 side, the glass plate 2 side is transported to the area below the blade 12, and the insulating member 3 side is transported to the area above the blade 12.

In this embodiment, the separation assistant 13 is disposed above the blade 12, so that the separated heat insulating member 3 side is placed on the separation assistant 13. Therefore, the heat insulating member 3 side exerts a force to pull the not yet separated area upward, and the glass plate 2 side exerts a force to pull it downward, so that the force to separate the glass plate 2 side and the heat insulating member 3 side from the top and bottom works effectively. A separation assistant may be further disposed on the glass plate 2 side, but since bending the glass plate 2 significantly increases the risk of it breaking midway, it is preferable to provide it only on the heat insulating member 3 side from the viewpoint of suppressing cracking of the glass plate 2. Note that even without the separation assistant 13, the inclination 122 of the blade 12 can provide a certain degree of effect, so it is clear to those skilled in the art that the separation assistant 13 is an optional member.

The separated glass panel 2 can bend upward under its own weight as shown in Figure 6. This is due to the glass door 1 and the configuration of the separation device 10.

The reason for this is that the frame 4 of a typical glass door 1 has a pressing support 41 that presses down on the edge of the main surface of the glass plate 2. Due to the presence of the pressing support 41, when the glass door 1 is placed so that the glass plate 2 faces the fixed surface 100, the glass plate 2 does not come into direct contact with the fixed surface 100 but faces it across a space. Therefore, when it is separated by the blade 12, the glass plate 2 can fall by the amount of that space, creating room for it to bend under its own weight.

The reason for this is that the configuration of the separation device 10 has a glass recovery port 101 below the blade 12. As a result, the glass sheet 2 separated by the blade 12 starts to fall through the glass recovery port 101, so there is room for it to bend under its own weight.

One end of the bent glass plate 2 is supported by the unbroken door frame 4 or the attached insulating material 3, and the other end is supported by the underside of the blade 12. This makes it easier for the blade 12 to separate the glass plate 2 while following the surface (the surface facing the insulating material 3) of the glass plate 2, and the insulating material 3 (residue) remaining on the glass plate 2 side can be scraped off by the blade 12.

In this way, while the blade 12 is separating the glass door 1 into the glass plate 2 side and the insulating member 3 side, both the glass plate 2 side and the insulating member 3 side can move in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction (front-to-back direction) and away from the blade 12 (up-down direction), so separation can be performed effectively as described above and cracking of the glass plate 2 can be suppressed.

Furthermore, from the preparation process to the destruction process, no downward load or force is substantially applied to the glass door 1.

(Post-transport process)
The glass sheet 2 side and the heat insulating member 3 side that have been separated are each transported further forward by the transport section 11. This will be described in detail later.

[Treated Glass Plate 2]
The glass plate 2 separated in this manner is processed in a state in which a comparatively large amount of the heat insulating material 3 has been removed, and therefore can be recycled, for example, as civil engineering materials, etc. If a glass plate 2 that does not meet the acceptance criteria for recycling is discharged, the surface may be cleaned in a subsequent process using an automatic cleaning machine such as a brushing machine, or the heat insulating material may be removed manually.

If the glass plate 2 breaks into pieces during the above process, for example due to strong contact with the blade 12, cleaning of the surrounding area will be necessary. In preparation for such an event, the first conveying section 111 can be made to move up and down to make it easier to sweep out the glass that has accumulated in the gap 113, thereby improving cleaning performance.

[Other configurations]
In this embodiment, the fixed surface 100 extending in the horizontal direction is used, but this fixed surface 100 may be made into a movable surface by being supported by an elastic member arranged on the fixed surface 100. In this way, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in the third embodiment described later.

This embodiment has been described as a concept related to the treatment of refrigerator doors having glass plates, but this concept can be similarly applied to any object in which a target material that is difficult to recycle or that for some reason is desired to be separated from other parts is used as the door plate instead of a glass plate. Furthermore, the invention can be applied not only to refrigerator doors but also to general doors and objects having a plate material having a target material and an adhesive member bonded to the plate material.

The work in each step of the above processing method may be performed manually or may be automated as described below. For example, the placement of the glass door 1 in the preparation step, and the driving, acceleration/deceleration, or stopping of the conveying unit 11 and the operating unit in the pre-conveying step may be performed manually by an operator or may be performed automatically using a sensor or the like.

<Embodiment 2>
The configuration of this embodiment can be the same as that of the first embodiment, except for the following points.
It is assumed that the glass door 1 to be processed has a door frame 4 in which the glass plate 2 side is, for example, rounded near the pressing support portion 41. The glass door 1 having such a door frame 4 can be effectively processed by providing the following configuration.

Figure 7 shows the problem that occurs when trying to process a door frame 4 with an R-shape R using the separation device of embodiment 1. For the door frame 4, if the height position where the blade 12 comes into contact has an R-shape R, for example, the blade 12 may slip, causing the glass door 1 to be lifted up onto the blade 12 without destroying the door frame 4.

For this reason, the separating device 10 of this embodiment has a pressing fixture 14 as illustrated in FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the vicinity of the blade 12 of the separating device 10 of this embodiment. The separating device 10 has a pressing fixture 14 that is arranged in an area including the tip 121 of the blade 12 or above this vicinity, and can apply a load to the refrigerator door 1 in a direction that brings the door frame 4 closer to the fixing surface 100, downward in this embodiment. The pressing fixture 14 can move at least up and down, and can operate as follows.

First, the conveying unit 11 conveys the refrigerator door 1 to a position where the door frame 4 is approximately in contact with the tip of the blade 12. After that, the conveying speed is preferably reduced or stopped, and the pressing fixture 14 applies a load to the door frame 4 or the vicinity of the door frame 4 of the refrigerator door 1. The load at this time may be large enough that the glass door 1 does not slide over the blade 12 and float up when the blade 12 enters the door frame 4, and small enough that the conveying unit 11 can continue to convey the glass door 1. As long as this effect is obtained, the position where the pressing fixture 14 applies the load is not important. In addition, instead of actively applying the load, the pressing fixture 14 may be placed so that the pressing fixture 14 is approximately in contact with the upper end of the door frame 4 and the glass door 1 is contained in the area between the fixing surface 100 and the pressing fixture 14, and when the glass door 1 tries to float up, it comes into contact with the pressing fixture 14 and receives a force, so that it continues to be contained in this area.

Then, while the glass door 1 is pressed by the pressing fixture 14, the conveying unit 11 is operated to convey the refrigerator door 1 toward the blade 12, which then cuts into the door frame 4 and breaks it.

Preferably, the pressing fixture 14 releases the pressure on the glass door 1 (removes the state in which a load or force may be applied) and returns upwards at a timing after the cut is made in the door frame 4 and immediately before the glass door 1 starts to separate. This allows the glass door 1 to return to a state in which it can move substantially freely upwards.

Then, as in embodiment 1, the conveying section 11 is conveyed downstream to separate the glass plate 2 from the insulating member 3 side.

<Embodiment 3>
9 is a diagram showing a state in which the glass door 1 is being processed by the separating device 10 of this embodiment. This embodiment is intended to process the glass door 1 (glass plate 2) in an upright state.

The glass door 1 is placed on the fixed surface 100 with the door frame 4 facing downwards. The transport unit 11 moves the glass door 1 in the forward and backward directions to a position where the blade 12 can reach it. The blade 12 is not fixed and is driven up and down, which separates the glass plate 2 side from the heat insulating member 3 side. In this case, the glass door 1 has a movable surface 110 and a pressing fixture 14 that can move on both the left and right sides, since the door frame 4 in the short direction abuts against the fixed surface 100 below and the glass plate 2 in the long direction extends in the up and down direction, resulting in a lack of stability in posture.

The pressing fixture 14 can apply and release a load in the left-right direction. The pressing fixture 14 and the movable surface 110 can move in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the blade 12, which in this embodiment is horizontal. As in embodiment 1, a relatively strong force or load may be applied when the action part breaks the door frame 4, but at other times, it is preferable to apply a small load required to prevent the glass door 1 from falling over, or to make the distance between the movable surface 110 and the pressing fixture 14 slightly larger than the short side dimension of the glass door so that a force can be applied to support it if it falls over.

According to this embodiment, the influence of the weight of the glass door 1 on the control of the movable surface 110 and the pressing fixture 14 can be reduced, so that the control becomes easier from the viewpoint of the necessity of considering the weight. Also, the fixed surface 100 in the first and second embodiments corresponds to a movable one (the fixed surface 100 in the first and second embodiments corresponds to the movable surface 110 in this embodiment). This makes it easy to release excess force so that the glass plate 2 does not break even if excessive force is applied when the blade 12 separates the glass plate 2 side from the heat insulating member 3 side. However, if the pressing fixture 14 can be finely controlled, the movable surface 110 may be fixed. Also, as in the first embodiment, a separation assistant part may be arranged on the pressing fixture 14 side and/or the movable surface 110 side of the blade 12.

[Automation]
The above-mentioned processing methods can all be automated. The timing of operation of each device can be controlled by various sensors (infrared, image, etc.). Figure 10 is an overall schematic diagram of an automatic processing using the separation device 10 of each embodiment.

For example, a sensor capable of detecting the presence or absence of an object is placed in the area where the glass door is to be placed in the preparation process. When the presence of an object in this area is detected, the conveying unit 11 is activated. This starts the pre-conveying process.

The system is also configured so that the glass door 1 being transported in the pre-conveyance process can be decelerated or stopped just before it comes into contact with the blade 12. For example, a sensor is placed in the area through which the glass door 1 passes in the pre-conveyance process, and when the sensor detects an object and the transport section 11 is decelerated, the door frame 4 comes into contact with the blade 12 without slipping, allowing the cut to be made.

When the cutting is almost complete, for example when the blade 12 has penetrated 5 mm into the door frame 4, the conveying speed of the conveying section 11 is increased to make it easier for the blade 12 to separate. This determination is possible by placing an infrared sensor 5 mm forward of the cutting edge 121 of the blade 12, and slightly offset vertically from the blade 12. When the blade 12 penetrates 5 mm, this is because the door frame 4 has advanced 5 mm forward of the cutting edge 121. In this way, the glass plate 2 and the insulating member 3 are separated. Furthermore, if a pressing fixture 14 is used, the load and force from the pressing fixture 14 are released at roughly the same time.

The following is an example of the post-conveying process. A glass recovery port 101 is provided below the blade 12, and the separated glass plate 2 moves through the glass recovery port 101 onto the conveyor 17 below. The conveyor 17 becomes a roller conveyor 18 with multiple rotating bodies with gaps between them. Through the gaps between the rotating bodies, the cutting chips and glass chips 31 discharged during the separation process are collected into a collection container 30 arranged below the roller conveyor 18. At this time, if it is necessary to collect the cutting chips and glass chips 31 evenly, for example, air can be blown from the side of the roller conveyor 18 toward the glass plate 2 to blow away the glass chips 31. When blowing air, dust will fly around, so it is desirable to provide an appropriate enclosure around the area.

On the other hand, the heat insulating member 3 after separation is transported, for example, to a crusher by a suction cup transport jig 19 capable of lifting objects by suction, and crushed.

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described, this is merely an example. For example, even if a circuit board case for a refrigerator's control panel or a vacuum insulation material is placed on the surface of the glass plate 2, it is possible to separate the glass plate 2 side from the insulation material 3 side in a similar manner.

1. Glass door (glass component)
2 Glass plate 21 Main surface 22 Back surface 3 Heat insulating member 4 Door frame (frame)
41: Holding support part 5: Liner material 10: Separator 11: Conveying part 111: First conveying part 112: Second conveying part 113: Gap 12: Blade (action part)
121 cutting tip 122 inclination 123 small blade 128 bolt (fixing member)
129 Holder 13 Separation auxiliary part 14 Pressing and fixing jig 100 Fixing surface 101 Glass discharge port 110 Movable surface 17 Transport conveyor 18 Roller conveyor 19 Suction cup transport jig 30 Collection container 31 Glass debris

Claims (7)

A glass plate and
A heat insulating member disposed on the rear surface side of the glass plate;
A glass member of a refrigerator having a frame disposed on a side periphery of the glass plate,
A separation device that separates a heat insulating member side and a glass sheet side by the action of one type of action part ,
a conveying unit that conveys the glass member while placing the glass plate in a direction facing a fixed surface or a movable surface;
a separation auxiliary part on which the insulating member side of the glass member separated by the acting part is placed when the acting part acts on the frame and the insulating member, the insulating member side of the glass member separated by the acting part is transported to one side of the acting part and the glass plate side of the glass member separated by the acting part is transported to the other side of the acting part. A glass plate and
A heat insulating member disposed on the rear surface side of the glass plate;
A glass member of a refrigerator having a frame disposed on a side periphery of the glass plate,
A separation device that separates a heat insulating member side and a glass sheet side by the action of one type of action part ,
a conveying unit that conveys the glass member while placing the glass plate in a direction facing a fixed surface or a movable surface;
a separation auxiliary part on which the glass plate side of the glass member separated by the acting part is placed when the acting part acts on the frame and the insulating member, the insulating member side of the glass member separated by the acting part is transported to one side of the acting part and the glass plate side of the glass member separated by the acting part is transported to the other side of the acting part. 3. The separation device according to claim 1, wherein the insulating member side of the glass member is open during part or almost all of the time that the action portion acts on the back side of the glass plate, and substantially no force is applied to the back side of the glass plate . The separating device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the action portion moves along the vicinity of the rear surface of the glass plate. The separating device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the working portion comprises a plurality of joined blades. The separating device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the action portion is a water cutter. 3. The separating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the action portion is a laser beam.