KR102559564B1 - Apparatus for dissolving waste styrofoam and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention includes a chamber 30 that is opened and closed by a gate 31 to accommodate waste Styrofoam; A solvent spraying unit 40 for spraying a chemical solvent in the chamber 30; an exhaust unit 32 that collects oil vapor generated in the chamber 30; a mixture storage tank 70 for storing a mixture of a chemical solvent and a reducing solution; and a controller 10 that controls the solvent spraying unit 40 by detecting the opening and closing of the gate 31.

Description

Waste styrofoam container and its control method {APPARATUS FOR DISSOLVING WASTE STYROFOAM AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a waste styrofoam container and a control method thereof.

Styrofoam refers to a material made by foaming polystyrene, and is widely used as packaging materials for electrical and electronic products, building insulation materials, disposable food containers, etc.

Since this Styrofoam is a thermoplastic product, it melts when heat is applied, so it has characteristics that can be recycled relatively easily. Despite the recycling characteristics of Styrofoam, it was often buried in the ground due to problems with collection, etc., but recently, due to the increase in household waste, the number of landfills is gradually decreasing, and Styrofoam is being recycled.

However, since Styrofoam has a very large volume compared to its weight, it is recycled after making the Styrofoam small in volume through a volume reduction process.

Therefore, conventionally, after crushing the Styrofoam, it is supplied to a container, and a process of reducing the volume by spraying a chemical solvent on the supplied waste Styrofoam has been performed.

However, such a conventional waste Styrofoam container consumes high power, and human casualties due to oil vapor and chemical solvents generated during the volume reduction process are frequently caused.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2006-0087858 (2006.08.03)

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a waste styrofoam reducer with higher stability because it consumes less power and can prevent human casualties.

The present invention may include the following embodiments in order to achieve the above object.

An embodiment of the present invention is a chamber that is opened and closed by a gate to accommodate waste styrofoam, a solvent injection unit for spraying a chemical solvent in the chamber, an exhaust unit for collecting oil vapor generated in the chamber, and a mixture storage tank for storing a compound in which a chemical solvent and a solution reduction solution are mixed; and a control unit for controlling the solvent spray unit by detecting the opening and closing of the gate.

In the above embodiment, the solvent injection unit includes a solvent storage tank in which the chemical solvent is stored, a pump for supplying the solvent in the solvent storage tank, a spray nozzle for injecting the solvent supplied by the pump into the chamber, and a rotating means for rotating the spray nozzle, wherein the spray nozzle is provided with a plurality of outlets spaced apart and aligned at set intervals in a nozzle pipe extending horizontally to spray the chemical solvent into the chamber.

In addition, the exhaust unit may include an exhaust fan for sucking oil vapor in the chamber, a filter for removing harmful components from the oil vapor sucked by the exhaust fan, and an oil vapor storage tank for storing the oil vapor discharged by the exhaust fan.

The control unit may drive the solvent injection unit and the exhaust unit when the gate is opened and maintained in a closed state.

In addition, the above embodiment may further include a collection unit that extends downward from and communicates with the chamber to collect and store the mixture, and a discharge valve that opens and closes a conduit between the collection unit and the mixture storage tank.

In addition, the control unit detects the weight of the collection unit and, if the set weight or more, controls the discharge valve to open the duct between the collection unit and the mixture storage tank; characterized by

In another embodiment of the present invention, a) controlling the control unit to supply chemical solvent by detecting that the gate is closed for a set period of time or longer after the gate is opened, b) controlling the exhaust unit to discharge oil vapor into the chamber, c) detecting the weight of the collection unit in which the solvent-reduction solution of waste foam and the solvent are mixed by the control unit, d) controlling the discharge valve to open the duct between the collection unit and the mixture storage tank when the control unit detects the weight of the collection unit is greater than the set weight, and e ) The control unit may include a step of outputting, in real time, at least one status information of the gate open and closed state, oil vapor concentration, chamber temperature, mixture weight of the collector 50, whether the discharge valve is open, exhaust fan operation state, remaining capacity of the chemical solvent unit, and storage capacity of the mixture storage tank on a display.

The present invention can prevent safety accidents during work, and can improve safety and workability by automating the volume reduction process.

1 is a block diagram showing a waste styrofoam container according to the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing a solvent spraying unit.
3 is a perspective view showing a waste Styrofoam container according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is a front view of Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a rear view of Figure 3;
6 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a waste styrofoam container according to the present invention.

Although the present invention may have various changes and various embodiments, it will be described in detail by exemplifying specific embodiments in the drawings. This is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific embodiment, and all changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention for connecting and / or fixing structures extending in different directions. It should be understood that any one of them applies.

Terms used in this specification are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In this specification, the terms "comprise" or "having" are intended to designate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, but it should be understood that the presence or addition of one or more other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not excluded in advance.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a waste styrofoam container and a control method thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing a waste styrofoam container according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a solvent spraying unit.

1 and 2, the present invention may include a control unit 10 that outputs control commands, a sensor unit 20 that outputs detection signals, an exhaust unit 32 that discharges oil vapor from the chamber 30, a solvent spray unit 40 that sprays a chemical solvent, a collection unit 50 that collects a mixture, a discharge valve 60, a mixture storage tank 70, a display 81, and an operation panel.

The control unit 10 may output a control command according to a detection signal of the sensor unit 20 and a command input through the operation panel 82 or set according to a stored program.

The sensor unit 20 includes a plurality of sensors, for example, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature inside the chamber 30, a gas sensor for detecting the concentration of oil vapor inside and outside the chamber 30, a weight sensor for detecting the weight of the waste Styrofoam accommodated in the chamber 30, the weight of the mixture collected in the collection unit 50, and the weight of the mixture accommodated in the mixture storage tank 70, a detection sensor for detecting whether the chamber 30 is open or closed, and a discharge valve 6 At least one of a sensor for detecting whether 0) is open, a failure detection sensor for detecting abnormalities in the exhaust unit 32, the solvent spray unit 40, and power supply may be installed. The detection sensor of the sensor unit 20 is output to the control unit 10 .

The control panel 82 is a plurality of switches and outputs a signal set by a user manually to the control unit 10 .

The display 81 may output state information (eg, internal temperature, oil vapor concentration, working time, current time, mixture weight, etc.) of the chamber 30 under the control of the controller 10.

Preferably, the operation panel 82 and the display 81 may be installed as a touch type display 81 as an integrated unit.

Here, the control unit 10 may further include a warning means to give an alarm when the sensor unit 20 detects an abnormal situation. The alarm means may further include a speaker and a light emitting lamp to output an audio-visual signal. Alternatively, the warning means may be implemented through the display 81 described above.

The chamber 30 is supported by the support member 90 to form a space capable of accommodating and reducing waste styrofoam from the inside.

Here, the support member 90 may include a top plate 92 on which a chamber is installed, and a plurality of pillars 91 supporting the top plate 92 .

An exhaust unit 32 is installed inside the chamber 30 , and a collection unit 50 accommodating the mixture is connected to the lower side of the chamber 30 . In addition, the mixture storage tank 70 may communicate with the collection unit 50 with the discharge valve 60 interposed therebetween.

The configuration of the chamber 30 and other devices will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 attached.

3 is a perspective view showing a waste Styrofoam container according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3 , and FIG. 5 is a rear view of FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5 , the chamber 30 divides an inner space that can be opened and closed by a gate 31 . Here, the gate 31 is made of a transparent window 311 or a translucent window so that the inside can be visually confirmed.

In addition, the gate 31, as shown, may be rotatably supported by the arm 312, and may be provided with a handle (locking device) 313.

The control unit 10 may detect the open and closed states of the gate 31 through the detection signal of the sensor unit 20 . The control unit 10 may output a control command to the exhaust unit and the solvent spray unit when the gate 31 remains closed for a set time after being opened.

The exhaust unit 32 discharges the oil vapor discharged in the volume reduction process after the solvent is sprayed in the chamber 30 to the oil vapor storage tank 33 . To this end, the exhaust unit 32 may include one or more exhaust fans 321 installed in the chamber 30 , a motor 322 and a filter 323 .

The exhaust fan 321 is driven by power generated by the motor 322 driven by the control of the controller 10 to suck in and discharge oil vapor generated in the chamber 30 . Here, the oil vapor sucked by the exhaust fan 321 is transferred to the oil vapor storage tank 33.

The filter 323 is installed inside the exhaust pipe 331 between the exhaust fan 321 and the oil vapor storage tank 33 or in the exhaust fan 321 to filter harmful components of the oil vapor. To this end, the filter 323 may be made of, for example, activated carbon.

The solvent spraying unit 40 may include a solvent storage tank 41, a pump 42, a rotating means 43, and a spray nozzle 44.

The solvent storage tank 41 stores solvent. Here, the solvent storage tank 41 may be configured in a state separated from the mixture storage tank 70 at the bottom of the upper plate of the support member 90 . The solvent storage tank 41 supplies solvent into the chamber 30 through a supply pipe.

Here, the solvent storage tank 41 may be accommodated in a housing having an openable door. Alternatively, the solvent storage tank 41 may be added as a single device rather than a housing.

The pump 42 generates power capable of transferring the chemical solvent stored in the solvent storage tank 41 to the injection nozzle 44. Here, the pump 42 may be housed in a housing containing a solvent storage tank. Alternatively, the pump 42 may be accommodated by a separate support device.

The rotating means 43 rotates the spray nozzle 44 within the direction and rotation range set by the control of the control unit 10. At this time, the rotating means 43 is composed of a device including a rotating motor 322 and a rotating shaft connected thereto so as to rotate the injection nozzle 44 .

The injection nozzle 44 may have a plurality of discharge ports 442 provided in a nozzle pipe 441 extending horizontally. As such a plurality of discharge ports 442 are aligned at set intervals in the nozzle pipe 441 extending horizontally, the chemical solvent is sprayed over a wide range at once.

The collecting unit 50 extends from the lower side of the chamber 30 in a funnel shape whose width narrows as it goes downward to collect a mixture of a chemical solvent and a reducing liquid of waste styrofoam in the chamber 30 . To this end, the collection unit 50 can communicate with the lower end of the chamber 30 .

The discharge valve 60 opens and closes a conduit extending between the collector 50 and the mixture storage tank 70. Here, the discharge valve 60 is an electronic valve and can be opened and closed under the control of the control unit 10 . Alternatively, the discharge valve 60 is a manual type, and a user can manually open and close the conduit between the collector 50 and the mixture storage tank 70.

For example, the control unit 10 displays the weight of the mixture collected in the collection unit 50 on the display 81 through the detection signal of the sensor unit 20, and when the set weight is detected, an audio and visual signal is alerted so that the user can manually operate the valve.

Alternatively, the control unit 10 operates the discharge valve 60 when the collection unit 50 corresponds to the set weight according to the detection signal of the sensor unit 20 to open the pipe between the collection unit 50 and the mixture storage tank 70.

The present invention can prevent safety accidents in which human life is damaged through the configuration as described above. The method for controlling the waste styrofoam container according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 6 .

6 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a waste styrofoam container according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the present invention includes a step S110 of turning on the power, a step S120 of detecting whether the gate 31 is closed, a step S130 of supplying and spraying solvent, a step S140 of discharging oil vapor, a step S150 of detecting the weight of the mixture, a step S160 of detecting whether or not a set weight, a step S170 of discharging the mixture to the mixture storage tank 70 if it is more than a set weight, and a step S180 of outputting state information. includes

Each of the steps described herein is not limited in order, and is arbitrarily arranged for explanation of the embodiment of the present invention, and can be modified according to the intention of the user or designer.

Step S110 is a step in which a user manually manipulates a power-on switch to supply power. Here, the power source may be a portable generator or battery. Alternatively, when external power is connected, it may be a power supply that converts to a set power level.

Step S120 is a step in which the controller 10 detects whether the gate 31 is closed. The control unit 10 detects whether the gate 31 is in a closed state after being opened through a detection signal from the sensor unit 20 .

Therefore, when the user opens the gate 31 of the chamber 30, inserts the waste Styrofoam into the chamber 30, and closes the gate 31, the sensor unit 20 detects this and outputs it to the control unit 10.

In addition, the control unit 10 detects whether or not waste Styrofoam is introduced into the chamber 30 . For example, a weight sensor is installed inside the chamber 30 to detect whether or not the waste Styrofoam is drawn in and the weight is output to the control unit 10 .

In step S130, when the control unit 10 senses the set weight of the waste styrofoam in the chamber 30 and the gate 31 is opened and then the closing operation is continuously performed, the solvent injection unit 40 and the exhaust unit 32 can be simultaneously or sequentially controlled. In the double solvent injection unit 40, the pump 42 is operated to supply the solvent stored in the solvent storage tank 41 to the injection nozzle 44. And the rotating means (43) rotates the injection nozzle (44).

Accordingly, the injection nozzle 44 sprays the chemical solvent to the waste styrofoam while rotating in the chamber 30 .

Step S140 is a step in which the exhaust unit 32 is operated under the control of the control unit 10 to discharge the oil vapor generated in the chamber 30. In the exhaust unit 32, the exhaust fan 321 is operated to suck in internal air and discharge it to the vapor storage tank 33. At this time, as the oil vapor is discharged through the filter 323, harmful components may be removed.

In addition, the control unit 10 can check the concentration of oil vapor inside the chamber 30 through a gas sensor, so that the opening of the gate 31 can be blocked when the oil vapor exceeds a set value. To this end, the gate 31 may further include an electronic locking device that can be operated under the control of the control unit 10 .

Step S150 is a step of detecting the weight of the mixture. The mixture of the waste styrofoam solution reduced in the chamber 30 and the chemical solvent is moved to the collector 50 extending from the lower side of the chamber 30 . The sensor unit 20 detects the weight of the mixture collected in the collection unit 50 in real time and outputs it to the control unit 10 . The control unit 10 outputs the detected weight of the mixture to the display 81 in real time.

Step S160 is a step in which the control unit 10 detects that the weight of the mixture is equal to or greater than a set weight.

Step S170 is a step in which the control unit 10 operates the discharge valve 60 when the weight of the mixture is equal to or greater than the set weight to open the conduit between the collection unit 50 and the mixture storage tank 70. The mixture is stored in a mixture storage tank.

Here, the mixture is separated into a solvent and a waste styrofoam reducing solution through a post-treatment process. In addition, for such a post-treatment process, the mixture storage tank 70 may be configured to be detachable from the pipe line in which the discharge valve 60 is installed and the support member 90.

Step S180 is a step in which the controller 10 outputs status information to the display 81 in real time. For example, the display 81 outputs in real time at least one of whether the gate 31 is opened or closed, whether the chemical solvent is sprayed, the rotation speed of the spray nozzle 44, the weight of the mixture collected in the collector 50, the concentration of oil vapor, the current time, the elapsed working time, the temperature inside the chamber 30, the remaining weight of the solvent in the chemical solvent storage tank 41, the storage capacity of the mixture storage tank 70, and/or the remaining capacity information.

In addition, the controller 10 may detect whether or not the mixture storage tank 70 is separated and output state information.

As such, the present invention can prevent safety accidents during work, and improve safety and workability by automating the volume reduction process.

10: control unit 20: sensor unit
30: chamber 31: gate
32: exhaust unit 33: oil vapor storage tank
40: solvent injection unit 41: solvent storage tank
42: pump 43: rotation means
44: injection nozzle 50: collection unit
60: discharge valve 70: mixture storage tank
81: display 82: operation panel
90: support member 91: column
92: top plate 311: arm
312: transparent window 313: handle

Claims (7)

a chamber 30 opened and closed by a gate 31 to accommodate waste styrofoam;
A solvent spraying unit 40 for spraying a chemical solvent in the chamber 30;
An exhaust unit 32 coupled to the chamber 30 to collect oil vapor generated in the chamber 30;
a mixture storage tank 70 for storing a mixture of a chemical solvent and a solution reducing solution discharged from the chamber 30; and
A waste styrofoam container comprising a control unit 10 that controls the solvent spray unit 40 by sensing the opening and closing of the gate 31.
The method according to claim 1, the solvent injection unit 40
a solvent storage tank 41 in which chemical solvents are stored;
a pump 42 supplying the chemical solvent in the solvent storage tank 41;
a spray nozzle 44 for spraying the solvent supplied by the pump 42 into the chamber 30; and
Rotating means 43 for rotating the injection nozzle 44; includes,
The injection nozzle 44 is
A waste styrofoam container characterized in that it sprays a chemical solvent into the chamber (30) by providing a plurality of discharge ports spaced apart and aligned at set intervals in a nozzle pipe extending horizontally.
The method according to claim 1, the exhaust (32)
Exhaust fan 321 for sucking oil vapor in the chamber 30;
a filter 323 for removing harmful components from oil vapor sucked in by the exhaust fan 321; and
an oil vapor storage tank 33 for storing oil vapor discharged by the exhaust fan 321; A waste styrofoam container containing a.
The method according to claim 1, the control unit 10
driving the solvent injection unit 40 and the exhaust unit 32 when the gate 31 remains closed after opening; Characterized in that the waste styrofoam container.
The method according to claim 1, Collecting unit (50) extending downward from the chamber (30) and communicating to collect and store the mixture; and
A waste styrofoam container further comprising a discharge valve 60 that opens and closes a pipe between the collection unit 50 and the mixture storage tank 70.
The method according to claim 5, wherein the control unit 10 senses the weight of the collection unit 50, and if it is more than a set weight, controls the discharge valve 60 to open a pipe between the collection unit 50 and the mixture storage tank 70; Characterized in that the waste styrofoam container.
a) controlling the control unit 10 to supply a chemical solvent by detecting that the gate 31 is kept closed for a set time or more after the gate 31 is opened;
b) controlling the exhaust unit 32 so that the control unit 10 discharges oil vapor into the chamber 30;
c) detecting, by the control unit 10, the weight of the collecting unit 50 in which the mixture of the reduced solution and the solvent of the waste styrofoam is collected;
d) controlling the discharge valve 60 so that the control unit 10 opens a conduit between the mixture storage tank 70 and the collection unit 50 when the weight of the collection unit 50 is equal to or greater than the set weight; and
e) the control unit 10 outputs at least one status information of the open and closed state of the gate 31, the concentration of oil vapor, the temperature inside the chamber 30, the weight of the mixture in the collector 50, whether the discharge valve 60 is open, the operating state of the exhaust fan 321, the remaining capacity of the chemical solvent unit, and the storage capacity of the mixture storage tank 70 on the display 81 in real time; Waste styrofoam container control method comprising a.

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