KR102160289B1 - Active waste collection apparatus for automatic sorting and compression of waste and method there of - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an active garbage collection apparatus capable of automatically sorting and compressing garbage and an automatic garbage sorting and compressing method using the same. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the garbage collection apparatus includes: an object determination part identifying the degree of deformation of garage through a first pressure sensor mounted on the front side of a cylinder when the garbage is inserted through an inlet, and then, determining the type of the garbage based on the identified degree of deformation; a sorting part guiding a moving direction of the garbage based on the type of the garbage determined by the object determination part; and a discharge part having an upper part opened distinguishably depending on the type of the garbage to accept the garbage moved through the sorting part, and including a compressing module provided in the discharge part to remove the contents of recyclable garbage.

Description

An active garbage collection device capable of automatic sorting and compression of garbage and an automatic classification and compression method of garbage using the same {ACTIVE WASTE COLLECTION APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC SORTING AND COMPRESSION OF WASTE AND METHOD THERE OF}

The present invention relates to an active garbage collection device capable of automatic classification and compression of garbage, and an automatic classification and compression method of garbage using the same, and in more detail, garbage can be accurately classified by using the deformation characteristic by the external force of the garbage. The present invention relates to a device capable of removing contents through compression treatment of recyclable waste, and a method of separating waste collection using the same.

In general, garbage is divided into metal and non-metal (e.g. plastics, cans, general garbage, etc.) for efficient treatment and recycling. Separate collection of garbage according to this classification is performed primarily in everyday life when garbage is thrown away for the first time, and is secondary in the process of collecting and disposing of garbage. In particular, for efficient waste disposal, it is the most important to accurately separate collection in a lifetime.

Separate collection in daily life is carried out through trash cans provided for each type of trash, and it is cumbersome and troublesome to equip trash cans for each type of trash. There is a problem that doesn't work. In addition, even if plastic and metal wastes are accurately separated and collected, the contents are not properly emptied or disposed of, so that recycling is not performed and incinerated or buried frequently occurs.

In order to solve this problem, various devices for automatically sorting garbage are being developed. For example, Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2019-0056017 relates to an apparatus for classifying garbage based on the sound generated as the garbage is input. However, since the device classifies garbage based on sound, it is inevitably affected by external environmental factors, and thus, there is a problem that the probability of occurrence of an error is high. In addition, as machine learning or the like is used for sound recognition, production costs are inevitably required, so there is a problem that there is a limitation in usability.

Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2019-0056017 (2019.05.24)

The present invention is to solve the above-described problems, by classifying garbage by using the deformation characteristic of the garbage by the external force, it is possible to increase the efficiency and accuracy of automated separate collection, as well as to plastic and metal garbage. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method capable of carrying out treatment of contents for recycling through compression treatment.

In the active garbage collection device capable of automatically sorting and compressing garbage according to an embodiment of the present invention, when garbage is introduced through an inlet, the deformation degree of garbage is identified using a first pressure sensor mounted on the front of the cylinder. , An object discrimination unit that determines the type of trash based on the determined degree of deformation, a classification unit that guides the direction of trash movement based on the type of trash determined by the object discrimination unit, and accommodates trash moving through the sorting unit. The upper part is divided and opened according to the type of garbage, and the inside may include a discharge unit provided with a pressing module for removing contents of the recycled garbage.

The object determination unit according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a reflector and a photoelectric sensor that detects a change in a wavelength of light reflected by the reflector. At this time, when the photoelectric sensor detects a wavelength of light that changes as the garbage is introduced, the object discrimination unit may determine that the garbage has been introduced.

The object discrimination unit according to an embodiment of the present invention determines whether or not the trash is deformed by an external force acting by the cylinder when trash is introduced through the inlet, and if the trash is not deformed, the trash is estimated as glass, and the trash When is deformed, the garbage is estimated as plastic and the type of plastic can be determined based on the torque value of the cylinder or the measured value of the first pressure sensor.

The object determination unit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a metal sensor provided on the bottom surface, and when the metal sensor detects that the garbage is metal, the object determination unit may not operate the cylinder.

The object determination unit according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a second pressure sensor provided at a position opposite to the first pressure sensor. At this time, when the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor are in contact, the object determination unit may estimate the trash as general trash.

The sorting part according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted at the upper center of the discharge part, has a funnel-shaepd shape in which a part of the side wall is open, and the sorting part has an open side wall according to the type of garbage determined by the object identification part. It can be rotated so that a portion of it faces to one of the divided areas above the discharge unit.

The discharge unit according to an embodiment of the present invention is divided into a plastic area, a glass area, a metal area, and a general garbage area, and the pressing module may be disposed in a plastic area and a metal area corresponding to recycled waste.

In the automatic classification and compression method of garbage using an active garbage collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the object identification unit determines whether or not garbage is introduced through the inlet, and the object identification unit is mounted on the front surface of the cylinder. A step of determining the degree of deformation of the garbage using a sensor and determining the type of garbage based on the determined degree of deformation, and the classification unit separates the garbage based on the type of garbage determined by the object identification unit. The step of moving to any one of the areas and the step of removing the contents of the recycled waste from the waste separated by the discharge unit by the compression module.

In the step of determining whether or not trash is brought in according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the photoelectric sensor included in the object discrimination unit detects the wavelength of light that changes as the trash is introduced, the object discrimination unit determines that the trash has been introduced. can do.

In the step of determining the type of garbage according to an embodiment of the present invention, the object discrimination unit determines whether or not the garbage is deformed due to an external force acting by the cylinder, and when the garbage is not deformed, the garbage is estimated as glass, When the garbage is deformed, it is possible to estimate the garbage as plastic and to determine the type of plastic based on the torque value of the cylinder or the measured value of the first pressure sensor.

In the step of determining the type of garbage according to an embodiment of the present invention, if the garbage is detected as metal by a metal sensor included in the object identification unit, the object identification unit may not operate the cylinder.

In the step of determining the type of garbage according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor provided at a position opposite to the first pressure sensor come into contact, the object determination unit estimates the garbage as general garbage. can do.

According to an active garbage collection device and a garbage separation method using the same provided as an embodiment of the present invention, it is placed in a public place where garbage separation and collection is difficult due to a large floating population, thereby improving user convenience and at the same time It can improve the hygiene of the environment. In addition, waste reclassification and disposal costs, labor costs, and the like can be reduced, thereby reducing expenditure on various costs for waste disposal.

1 is a block diagram of an active garbage collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a front image of an active garbage collection device manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an inner plan view of an object discriminating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a plan view of a discharge unit equipped with a classification unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flow chart of a method for automatically sorting and compressing garbage using an active garbage collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The terms used in the present specification will be briefly described, and the present invention will be described in detail.

The terms used in the present invention have been selected from general terms that are currently widely used while considering functions in the present invention, but this may vary depending on the intention or precedent of a technician working in the field, the emergence of new technologies, and the like. In addition, in certain cases, there are terms arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning of the terms will be described in detail in the description of the corresponding invention. Therefore, the terms used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term and the overall contents of the present invention, not a simple name of the term.

When a part of the specification is said to "include" a certain component, it means that other components may be further included rather than excluding other components unless otherwise stated. In addition, terms such as "... unit" and "module" described in the specification mean units that process at least one function or operation, which may be implemented as hardware or software, or as a combination of hardware and software. . In addition, when a part is said to be "connected" with another part throughout the specification, this includes not only a case in which it is "directly connected", but also a case in which a part is connected "with another configuration in the middle."

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily implement the present invention. However, the present invention may be implemented in various forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and similar reference numerals are assigned to similar parts throughout the specification.

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

1 is a block diagram of an active garbage collection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front image of an active garbage collection apparatus manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, FIG. 3 is an inner plan view of the object determination unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the discharge unit 30 equipped with the classification unit 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. .

1 and 2, an active garbage collection device capable of automatically sorting and compressing garbage according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an object discriminating unit 10 that determines the type of garbage introduced through the inlet 11. ), a sorting unit 20 for receiving trash whose type is determined by the object discrimination unit 10 and moving the trash, and a discharge unit having an area divided according to the type of trash. For example, when trash is introduced through the inlet 11 provided at the top of the object discrimination unit 10, the object discrimination unit 10 drives the cylinder 14 provided therein to determine the degree of deformation of the trash. , The type of garbage can be judged based on the degree of deformation identified. The garbage whose type is determined by the object determination unit 10 is moved to a classification unit 20 located in the downward direction of the object determination unit 10 as shown in FIG. 2, and the classification unit 20 is an object determination unit 10 Based on the determination result of ), the movement direction of the garbage may be guided to any one of the areas divided by the discharge unit 30 (ie, any of the areas divided by the type of garbage). At this time, the upper portion of the sorting unit 20 may be divided and opened according to the type of trash so that trash moving through the sorting unit 20 can be accommodated according to the type. Garbage separated and collected by the discharge unit 30 is sorted and organized by type in the storage unit provided inside the discharge unit 30, or to a separate storage unit through the outlet of the discharge unit 30 provided at the bottom of the device as shown in FIG. Can be moved.

Referring to FIG. 1, the object discrimination unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a reflector 12 and a photoelectric sensor 13 that detects a change in wavelength of light reflected by the reflector 12. have. The reflective plate 12 and the photoelectric sensor 13 may be provided inside the object discrimination unit 10 at positions opposite to each other as shown in FIG. 3. For example, the reflector so that the path through which the light reflected by the reflector 12 is transmitted to the photoelectric sensor 13 and the path through which the garbage introduced through the inlet 11 moves into the object identification unit 10 cross each other. 12 and the photoelectric sensor 13 may be provided in a downward direction of the inlet 11. When the reflecting plate 12 and the photoelectric sensor 13 are arranged in this way, the photoelectric sensor 13 detects the wavelength of light reflected by the reflecting plate 12 in real time. It can be detected accurately. The object determination unit 10 may determine that the trash has been introduced based on a measured value of the photoelectric sensor 13 that detects the wavelength of light that is converted as the trash is introduced.

Referring to FIG. 1, the object discrimination unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cylinder 14 driven to determine whether or not the trash introduced through the inlet 11 is deformed, and the front of the cylinder 14 It may include a first pressure sensor 15 mounted on. When trash is introduced into the object discrimination unit 10, the object discrimination unit 10 controls the horizontal movement of the cylinder 14 to determine whether or not the trash is deformed by external force, and based on this, the type of trash Can be determined. For example, when the garbage is not deformed, the object determination unit 10 may estimate the garbage as glass. In addition, when the garbage is deformed, the object determination unit 10 estimates the garbage as plastic and determines the type of plastic based on the torque value of the cylinder 14 or the measured value of the first pressure sensor 15. I can. That is, since the degree of deformation varies depending on the type of plastic, the object determination unit 10 grasps the torque value of the cylinder 14 or the measured value of the pressure sensor mounted on the front of the cylinder 14 and in contact with the garbage. , Based on this, the type of plastic can be determined by estimating the degree of deformation of the plastic due to external force.

Referring to FIG. 3, the object discrimination unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an elastic member 18 mounted at the front center of the cylinder 14 and a contact plate 19 connected to the elastic member 18. It may further include. That is, since the pressure applied to the garbage and the degree of deformation according to the pressure may vary depending on the size, volume, and shape of the garbage, a certain pressure is applied to the entire garbage and at the same time, in order to measure an accurate pressure value, the cylinder 14 has elasticity. The member 18 and the contact plate 19 may be further provided. In this case, the first pressure sensor 15 may be disposed adjacent to the elastic member 18 at the rear of the contact plate 19. For example, when the cylinder 14 moves in the direction in which the trash is introduced, the contact plate 19 is in primary contact with the trash, so that the pressure by the cylinder 14 can be transmitted to the trash. When the trash is deformed by the pressure by the cylinder 14, the cylinder 14 exerts pressure until the trash is not deformed, so the elastic member 18 contracts and the elastic member 18 contracts. The contact plate 19 may contact the first pressure sensor 15 to transmit pressure to the first pressure sensor 15.

Referring to FIG. 1, the object determination unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a metal sensor 17 provided on a bottom surface. At this time, when the metal sensor 17 detects that the garbage is metal, the object determination unit 10 may not drive the cylinder 14. For example, when trash is introduced through the inlet 11, the object determination unit 10 may first determine whether the trash is metal through the metal sensor 17 before driving the cylinder 14. . When it is determined that the garbage is metal through the metal sensor 17, the object discrimination unit 10 does not drive the cylinder 14, determines the garbage as metal, and can immediately deliver the garbage to the sorting unit 20. . When it is determined that the garbage is not metal through the metal sensor 17, the object discrimination unit 10 drives the cylinder 14 to convert the garbage into other types of garbage other than metal such as glass and plastic through the above-described process. Can be distinguished.

Referring to FIG. 3, the object determination unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a second pressure sensor 16 provided at a position opposite to the first pressure sensor 15. Other general wastes such as vinyl, paper, etc. excluding plastic, glass, metal, etc. have almost no repulsive force against the pressure applied by the cylinder 14, so the object discrimination unit 10 includes the first pressure sensor 15 and Garbage may be classified as general waste based on whether the second pressure sensor 16 is in contact. For example, when plastic is introduced through the inlet 11, the plastic is crushed by the pressure generated by the cylinder 14 as the cylinder 14 is driven, but due to the elasticity and repulsion of the plastic itself. No more than a certain level of deformation occurs. That is, when plastic is introduced, since the first pressure sensor 15 and the second pressure sensor 16 cannot contact each other, the object discrimination unit 10 may estimate the garbage as plastic. On the other hand, when the vinyl is introduced through the inlet 11, since the vinyl has little elasticity, repellency, etc., the first pressure sensor 15 mounted on the front of the cylinder 14 is the second pressure sensor 16 The cylinder 14 is operated until it contacts with. That is, when the vinyl is introduced, the first pressure sensor 15 and the second pressure sensor 16 come into contact, and the object determination unit 10 may estimate the garbage as vinyl.

On the other hand, the first pressure sensor 15 and the second pressure sensor 16 may be contacted through the aforementioned contact plate 19, not through direct contact. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, when the first pressure sensor 15 and the second pressure sensor 16 are disposed with the contact plate 19 interposed therebetween, the first pressure sensor 15 and the second pressure sensor 15 are placed on the contact plate 19. When all the pressure sensors 16 are in contact with each other, the object determination unit 10 may determine that general waste has been introduced. Alternatively, when the torque value of the cylinder 14 and the measured value of the second pressure sensor 16 coincide within a predetermined error range, the object discrimination unit 10 is used as the first pressure sensor 15 and the second pressure sensor. (16) is judged to have been in contact, and the garbage can be classified as general garbage.

2 and 4, the splitter 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted at the upper center of the discharge unit 30, and may have a funnel-shaepd with a portion of the sidewall open. have. That is, the sorting unit 20 is located at the upper center of the discharging unit 30 so that the trash whose type is determined through the object discrimination unit 10 can be naturally moved to the discharging unit 30 and trash along the inclined sidewall. It can be manufactured in a funnel shape that moves. In this case, a part of the sidewall of the sorting part 20 may be manufactured in an open shape so that the waste can be moved to an area of the discharge part 30 that is divided according to the type of waste rather than the center of the sorting part 20.

In addition, the sorting unit 20 may rotate so that a portion of the open sidewall may be directed to one of the divided areas above the discharge unit 30 according to the type of garbage determined by the object determination unit 10. That is, the classification unit 20 receives information on the type of garbage determined by the object identification unit 10 so that the garbage can move correctly to each area of the discharging unit 30 (ie, to be separated and collected). , Based on the received information, a portion of the opened sidewall may be rotated at the center of the discharge unit 30 to face an area of the discharge unit 30. For example, when it is determined that the garbage is plastic, the sorting unit 20 may pivot with respect to the center of the discharge unit 30 so that a part of the open sidewall faces the plastic area 30a. .

Referring to FIG. 4, the discharge unit 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be divided into a plastic area 30a, a glass area 30b, a metal area 30c, and a general garbage area 30d. In this case, a pressing module 31 for removing contents may be provided in the plastic area 30a and the metal area 30c corresponding to the recycled waste. Through the compression module 31, the volume of plastic or metal, which is relatively bulky compared to other garbage, can be minimized and collected. In addition, since it is necessary to be collected in a clean state for recycling of plastics or metals, the effect of separate collection can be further enhanced by efficiently removing residues existing inside the plastics or metals through the compression module 31.

5 is a flow chart of a method for automatically sorting and compressing garbage using an active garbage collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, in relation to the method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the contents of the above-described device may be applied. Therefore, with respect to the method, descriptions of the same contents as those of the above-described apparatus are omitted.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the method of automatically sorting and compressing garbage using an active garbage collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the object determination unit 10 determines whether or not garbage is introduced through the inlet 11 (S100), the object determination unit 10 uses the first pressure sensor 15 mounted on the front of the cylinder 14 to determine the degree of deformation of the garbage, and determines the type of garbage based on the determined degree of deformation Step (S200), a step of moving the sorting unit 20 to one of the divided areas above the discharge unit 30 based on the type of trash determined by the object determination unit 10 (S300) And a step (S400) of removing the contents of the recycled garbage among the garbage separated by the discharge unit 30 by the compression module 31.

In the step (S100) of determining whether trash is brought in according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the photoelectric sensor 13 included in the object determination unit 10 detects the wavelength of light that changes as the trash is introduced, The object determination unit 10 may determine that the trash has entered.

In the step (S200) of determining the type of garbage according to an embodiment of the present invention, the object determination unit 10 determines whether or not the garbage is deformed by an external force acting by the cylinder 14, and the garbage is not deformed. If not, the garbage is estimated as glass, and if the garbage is deformed, the garbage is estimated as plastic and the type of plastic is determined based on the torque value of the cylinder 14 or the measured value of the first pressure sensor 15. can do.

In the step (S200) of determining the type of garbage according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the garbage is detected as metal by the metal sensor 17 included in the object identification unit 10, the object identification unit 10 May not operate the cylinder 14.

In the step (S200) of determining the type of garbage according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first pressure sensor 15 and the second pressure sensor 16 provided at a position opposite to the first pressure sensor 15 When contacted, the object determination unit 10 may estimate the garbage as general garbage.

The above description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to understand that it can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. will be. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative and non-limiting in all respects. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a distributed manner, and similarly, components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims to be described later rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modified forms derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention. .

10: object identification unit 11: inlet
12: reflector 13: photoelectric sensor
14: cylinder 15: first pressure sensor
16: second pressure sensor 17: metal sensor
18: elastic member 19: contact plate
20: classification unit 30: discharge unit
30a: plastic area 30b: glass area
30c: metal area 30d: general garbage area
31: crimp module

Claims (12)

As an active garbage collection device capable of automatically sorting and compressing garbage,
When the garbage is introduced through the inlet, an object discrimination unit that determines the degree of deformation of the garbage using a first pressure sensor mounted on the front of the cylinder and determines the type of the garbage based on the determined degree of deformation;
A classification unit for guiding a moving direction of the garbage based on the type of garbage determined by the object determination unit; And
In order to accommodate the trash moving through the sorting unit, the upper portion is divided and opened according to the type of trash, and an active trash collection device including a discharge unit provided with a pressing module for removing contents of the recyclable trash.
The method of claim 1,
The object determination unit includes a reflecting plate and a photoelectric sensor for detecting a change in wavelength of light reflected by the reflecting plate,
When the photoelectric sensor detects a wavelength of light that changes as the garbage is introduced, the object discrimination unit determines that the garbage has been introduced.
The method of claim 1,
The object determination unit,
When garbage is introduced through the inlet, it is determined whether or not the garbage is deformed due to an external force acting by the cylinder,
When the garbage is not deformed, the garbage is estimated to be glass, and when the garbage is deformed, the garbage is estimated to be plastic and at the same time, based on the torque value of the cylinder or the measured value of the first pressure sensor, plastic Active garbage collection device, characterized in that to determine the type of.
The method of claim 1,
The object determination unit includes a metal sensor provided on the bottom surface,
When the metal sensor detects that the garbage is metal, the object determination unit does not operate the cylinder.
The method of claim 1,
The object determination unit includes a second pressure sensor provided at a position opposite to the first pressure sensor,
When the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor come into contact, the object determination unit estimates the garbage as general garbage.
The method of claim 1,
The splitter is mounted at the center of the upper portion of the discharge unit and has a funnel-shaepd in which a portion of the sidewall is open,
And the sorting unit rotates so that a portion of the open sidewall faces to one of the divided areas above the discharge unit according to the type of garbage determined by the object determination unit.
The method of claim 1,
The discharge unit is divided into a plastic area, a glass area, a metal area, and a general garbage area,
The pressing module is an active garbage collection device, characterized in that disposed in the plastic area and the metal area corresponding to the recycled waste.
As an automatic classification and compression method of garbage using an active garbage collection device,
Determining, by the object discrimination unit, whether or not trash is introduced through the inlet;
Determining a degree of deformation of the garbage using a first pressure sensor mounted on a front surface of the cylinder by the object determination unit, and determining the type of garbage based on the determined degree of deformation;
Moving the garbage to one of the divided areas above the discharge unit based on the type of garbage determined by the object determination unit by the classification unit; And
Automatic classification and compression method of garbage, including the step of removing the contents of the recycled garbage among the garbage collected by the discharge unit by a compression module.
The method of claim 8,
In the step of determining the presence or absence of the garbage,
When the photoelectric sensor included in the object identification unit detects a wavelength of light that changes as the garbage is introduced, the object identification unit determines that the garbage has been introduced.
The method of claim 8,
In the step of determining the type of garbage,
The object determination unit determines whether or not the trash is deformed due to an external force acting by the cylinder,
When the garbage is not deformed, the garbage is estimated to be glass, and when the garbage is deformed, the garbage is estimated to be plastic and at the same time, based on the torque value of the cylinder or the measured value of the first pressure sensor, plastic Automatic classification and compression method of garbage, characterized in that to determine the type of.
The method of claim 8,
In the step of determining the type of garbage,
When the garbage is detected as metal by a metal sensor included in the object identification unit, the object identification unit does not operate the cylinder.
The method of claim 8,
In the step of determining the type of garbage,
When the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor provided at a position opposite to the first pressure sensor contact, the object discrimination unit estimates the garbage as general garbage.

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