JPH10193188A - Container collection machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and surely discriminate an empty can from a PET bottle without using any expensive sensor, and without requiring any complicate structure. SOLUTION: A container collection machine comprises a container collection part 10 to store a container 4 to be squeezed, a container pushing tool 11, a loading means comprising a male screw rod 13 to apply the prescribed force to the pushing tool 11, a limit switch 12 and a motor 14, a limit switch 15 to check the position of the pushing tool 11 when the container 4 is squeezed, a flag 16 to sort a can or a PET bottle into each collection box after the can or the PET bottle is discriminated by whether or not the limit switch 15 is turned ON, and a processing unit to control the motor 14 and the flag 16. In particular, the load to be applied to the container 4 is 4.5KN.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container collecting machine which can collect and recover empty cans and plastic bottles of soft drinks and the like by reducing the volume of the cans and PET bottles after reducing the volume. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Empty cans (iron, aluminum) and plastic bottles (bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate), such as soft drinks, are often collected together and collected. This is preferable in that reuse is easy and resources are not wasted. Conventionally, in a collecting machine for collecting these packaging containers, an apparatus and a method for determining and collecting the material of the container for the purpose of reusing resources have been proposed. Especially for empty cans, an iron and aluminum discriminator using magnets has been proposed. In addition, discrimination between empty cans and PET bottles can be made by detecting the difference in the dielectric constant of the material or by detecting the capacity of the container. A device has been proposed.

[0003]

When discriminating and collecting empty cans and pot bottles, an apparatus for detecting and separating a difference in dielectric constant between materials as in the prior art requires an expensive sensor. Is also complicated and the apparatus itself is expensive.
Recently, the types of PET bottles have increased, and it is difficult to discriminate between empty cans and PET bottles only by detecting the capacity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and can easily and reliably discriminate between an empty can and a plastic bottle without using an expensive sensor and without requiring a complicated structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a container collection machine that can perform the operation.

[0005]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a container collecting machine includes a container accommodating section (10), a container pressing tool (11), and a fixed pressing tool. Loading means (male screw rod 13, torque limiter 12, motor 14), a limit switch (15) for confirming the position of the pusher (11), and a distributing device arranged at a lower portion of the container housing portion. Means (flag 16), and an arithmetic processing unit for controlling the distribution means (flag 16) and the load means (motor 14) according to the presence or absence of the ON operation of the limit switch.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing the configuration of the entire recovery apparatus provided with the container recovery machine 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a detailed view showing the configuration of the container recovery machine 3 which is a main part of the present invention. The case 1 of the collecting device is provided with an inlet 2 into which an empty can 4c or a plastic bottle 4p (these are collectively referred to as a container 4) can be introduced, and a rotary type (not necessarily a rotary type) is provided here. The container receiver 2a of (1) is installed, and the charged container 4 is charged from the container receiver 2a to the container collecting machine 3 of the present invention. When the containers put into the container collecting machine 3 are identified as the empty cans 4c and the plastic bottles 4p by means described later, the empty cans 4c are transferred to the empty can collection box 5,
The PET bottle 4p is sorted and collected in the bed bottle collection box 6. These determination operations are performed by the arithmetic processing unit (CP
U).

[0007] The container collecting machine 3 comprises a container accommodating section 10,
Push tool 11, male screw rod 13, torque limiter 12, and mo
A limiter 15 for confirming the position of the pusher 11, a flag 16 of a sorting unit disposed below the container housing 10,
It consists of. The container accommodating portion 10 is made of a durable plate material 10.
a and the push plate 11a of the pusher 11 to be described next. A bottom plate 11b is provided below the push plate 11a so that the container 4 can be placed thereon. The limit switch 15 and a driving device (not shown) for the motor 14 and the flag 16 are connected to an arithmetic processing unit (CPU) not shown. The pusher 11 includes a push plate 11a, a bottom plate 11b, a female screw plate 11c in which female screws are engraved, and connection rods 11d and 11e for connecting these. The male screw rod 13 is provided with a female screw plate 11c of the pusher 11.
And the motor through the torque limiter 12.
This is for applying a constant load to the container 4 as described later. Reference numeral 17 denotes a support for supporting the male screw rod 13.

In the container collecting machine 3 constructed as described above, when the container 4 of an empty can or plastic bottle is put in the container accommodating section 10 and the motor 14 is driven, the male screw rod 13 rotates through the torque limiter 12 and the pusher 11 Is moved and the push plate 1
The container 4 is crushed in 1a to reduce the volume. In this case, pusher 1
The limit switch 15 is set at a position where the thickness 1 (remaining amount) of the empty can 4c becomes 10 mm when the empty can 4c is crushed, the reason for which will be described later. The limit switch 15 is, for example,
Although the operation is performed when the shielding plate 18 attached to the first female screw plate 11c shields the limit switch 15 which is a photoelectric sensor, the operation may be performed by directly touching the switch. In addition, the reduced container 4
When the motor 14 is rotated in the reverse direction at the time of collection, the reduced volume container 4 falls as it is and is collected in the empty can collection box 5 or the PET bottle collection box 6.

Next, in the container collecting machine 3 of the main part of the present invention, the force by which the male screw rod 13 presses the container 4 by the torque limiter 12 is set to be 4.5 KN (kilo Newton). As shown in FIG. 2, the limit switch 15 is set to detect an empty can when the push plate 11a of the pusher 11 comes to a position where the thickness d of the container after the container 4 is crushed is 10 mm. It depends on the following experimental results. That is, in the experiment of crushing the container,
As shown in FIG. 3 (A), the container 4 was pushed by the pusher 21, and the remaining amount of the crushed container 4 was measured as shown in FIG. 3 (B). Then, the pressing force F of the pressing tool 21 is 4.5K.
When restricted to N, empty cans have a reduced volume remaining thickness d of 10 mm
On the other hand, a PET bottle is 20 mm or more. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the volume reduction rate and the applied volume reduction force when the volume of the container is reduced by the experiment shown in FIG. 4 (A) shows the results of experiments on steel cans of three manufacturers, FIG. 4 (B) shows the results of experiments on aluminum cans of three manufacturers, and FIG. 4 (C) shows the results of experiments on three manufacturers. Is an experimental result of a PET bottle. Looking at these experimental results, the steel can and the aluminum can have a reduced volume remaining thickness d (see FIG. 3B).
Is 10% at a volume reduction rate of 100%, the volume reduction rate is 100% at 4.5 KN or less, whereas in the case of a PET bottle, the position at 20 mm is 100%. A force of 0.5 KN or more is required. Therefore, the volume is reduced by using the torque limiter 12 such that the force for reducing the volume becomes 4.5 KN, and the remaining amount when the volume is reduced is 10 mm.
If the limit switch 15 is installed at a position where the amount of the container 4 is checked, the container 4 can be identified as "can" or "pet bottle".

FIG. 5A shows an embodiment in which the container 4 is an empty can 4c when the container 4 is crushed and reduced in volume by the container recovery machine 3 of the main part of the present invention. ) Is an example in which the reduced container 4 is a plastic bottle 4p. In this case, when the timer is set and the pressing tool 11 crushes the container 4 for a predetermined time, the thickness d of the remaining amount becomes 10
By detecting whether it is about mm or about 20 mm, it is detected whether it is a can or a PET bottle. That is, if the pusher 11 operates the limit switch 15 within a predetermined time, the container 4 is an empty can, and the pusher 11 can operate the limit switch 15 within the predetermined time. If not, the reduced container 4 is determined to be a PET bottle.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for identifying the container 4 whose volume is to be reduced by the container collecting machine 3 or the flag 16 of the present invention.
It is. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the state where the flag 16 is upright is set to “F = 1”, and this is collected as “can”. Then, the state in which the flag 16 is slightly rotated to the left from the upright state is set to “F = 0”, and this is collected as “PET bottle”. (1) In this embodiment, the flag 16 is set to “pet bottle”
Start volume reduction in the state of. (2) Set the timer to T and start the motor 14
Let it go. (3) Next, determination is made based on whether or not the timer becomes zero. When the pusher 11 operates the limit switch 15 (ON operation) while the timer does not reach zero, the flag 16
Is determined to be "F = 1", the flag 16 is rotated to the "can" side by the operation of the driving device, the motor 14 is stopped and the reverse rotation is started, and the reduced volume container is the empty can collection box. 5 (FIG. 5 (A)). If the pusher 11 does not operate the limit switch 15 while the timer does not reach zero, the motor 14 continues to operate. When the timer reaches zero, the motor 14 stops. At that time, when the pusher 11 operates the limit switch 15, it is determined that "F = 1", and the motor 14 immediately starts reversing and the reduced volume container 4 falls into the empty can collection box 5 ( (FIG. 5 (A)). If the timer becomes zero and the motor 14 stops, and if the pusher 11 does not operate the limit switch 15 at that time, it is determined that "F = 0", the driving device of the flag 16 is operated, and the flag 16 is reset. Turn left and stop there. Then, the motor 14 immediately starts reversing, and the reduced volume container falls into the PET bottle collection box 6 (FIG. 5B).

In the embodiment of the present invention, the pressing means 11, the externally threaded rod 13, the torque limiter 12, and the motor 14 are used as load means for applying a load to the container 4. (4.5 KN), a fluid cylinder such as a hydraulic cylinder or an air cylinder, or another boosting mechanism or a load means such as a toggle mechanism may be used.

If the reduced empty cans are stored in the empty can collection box 5 and then discriminated as aluminum cans or steel cans using a magnetic sensor or the like, further separation is possible. This makes it even more convenient for effective use of resources.

[0014]

As described above in detail, according to the container recovery of the present invention, empty cans and PET bottles can be distinguished by using an inexpensive switch only by limiting the volume reduction force to a predetermined value. Can be collected. Further, empty cans can be separated and collected from aluminum cans.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an entire recovery apparatus provided with a container recovery machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view showing a configuration of a container collecting machine which is a main part of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of an experiment of crushing a container, and FIG.
(A) shows a state in which the container is set, and FIG. 3 (B) shows a state in which the container is crushed.

4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the volume reduction rate and the applied volume reduction force when the volume of the container is reduced by the experiment shown in FIG. 3, and FIG.
(A) shows the experimental results of steel cans of three manufacturers, FIG. 4 (B) shows the experimental results of aluminum cans of three manufacturers, and FIG. 4 (C) shows pets of three manufacturers. It is a figure showing an experimental result of a bottle.

FIG. 5 (A) shows an embodiment in which the container is an empty can when the container is crushed and reduced in volume by a container collecting machine which is a main part of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which the reduced volume container is a PET bottle.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart for identifying a container to be reduced in volume by the container collecting machine of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Container Collection Machine 4 Container 5 Empty Can Collection Box 6 Bed Bottle Collection Box 10 Container Storage Unit 11 Push Tool 12 Torque Limiter 13 Male Screw Rod 14 Motor 15 Limit Switch 16 Flag 18 Shielding Plate

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI B65F 9/00 B09B 3/00 301Q

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A container accommodating portion, a container presser, a load means for applying a constant force to the container, a limit switch for confirming a position of the presser, and a lower portion of the container accommodating portion. Distribution means and ON of the limit switch
A container recovery machine comprising: an arithmetic processing unit that controls the distribution unit and the load unit according to the presence or absence of an operation. 2. The container collecting machine according to claim 1, wherein the load of the load means for applying a constant force to the pusher is 4.5 KN.