KR102659826B1 - Device and method for collecting recyclables selectively - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a receiving unit for accommodating a recycling candidate adjacent to a pre-arranged first graphic object, a photographing unit for photographing at least a portion of each of the recycling candidate and the first graphic object to overlap each other - by photographing The acquired image includes a second graphic object formed by overlapping - and a control unit that determines whether residue is present in the recycling candidate based on the second graphic object and processes the recycling candidate according to the determined presence or absence of residue. can do.

Description

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR COLLECTING RECYCLABLES SELECTIVELY}

The present disclosure relates to a device and method for selectively collecting recyclables to exclude recyclables with residues from recycling.

Recently, the use of waste plastic has increased due to the increase in delivery, courier, and disposable product consumption after COVID-19, raising the seriousness of environmental problems. In order to prevent environmental pollution and create a culture of resource recycling, citizens can more easily practice separate disposal of transparent PET bottles. To this end, a vending machine-type automatic plastic bottle collection machine is being installed and operated.

However, because the automatic PET bottle collectors currently being distributed basically detect the color of the injected PET bottle to determine whether a label is attached and whether there is residue, there is a problem in that it cannot recognize a situation where a transparent liquid is contained in the PET bottle.

In the present disclosure, a recycling collection device configured to select the presence of transparent liquid remaining in the recycling is disclosed.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a receiving unit for accommodating a recycling candidate adjacent to a pre-arranged first graphic object, a photographing unit for photographing at least a portion of each of the recycling candidate and the first graphic object to overlap each other - by photographing The acquired image includes a second graphic object formed by overlapping - and a control unit that determines whether residue is present in the recycling candidate based on the second graphic object and processes the recycling candidate according to the determined presence or absence of residue. can do.

According to one embodiment, the first graphic object may be provided on one side of the receiving portion where the recycling candidate is placed.

According to one embodiment, the receiving unit may include a conveyor belt on which recycling candidates are placed.

According to one embodiment, the receiving unit includes a plurality of compartments, and the recycling candidate may be placed in any one of the plurality of compartments.

According to one embodiment, the recycling candidate may be placed lying on one side so that a portion of the side of the recycling candidate is in contact with the first side.

According to one embodiment, the viewpoint of the photographing unit may be configured to point vertically downward with respect to part of the side and one side.

According to one embodiment, the first graphic object may include a pattern formed by at least one of shape, color, brightness, and saturation.

According to one embodiment, the first graphic object may include a grid (checked) pattern.

According to one embodiment, the first graphic object may include a stripe pattern.

According to one embodiment, the image includes a third graphic object that is a photo of another part of the first graphic object that does not overlap with the recycling candidate, and the control unit generates a second graphic object based on the second graphic object and the third graphic object. The degree of distortion can be calculated, and recycling candidates can be processed according to the calculated degree of distortion.

According to one embodiment, the control unit may extract an area of interest from the second graphic object and determine whether residues exist in the recycling candidate based on the area of interest.

According to one embodiment, the image includes a borderline formed by a recycling candidate, and the area of interest may include a point where the borderline intersects a shape included in the second graphic object.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of selectively collecting recyclables includes the steps of receiving, by a receiving unit, a recycling candidate adjacent to a pre-arranged first graphic object; Overlapping and photographing at least a portion of the image - the image obtained by the photographing includes a second graphic object formed by overlapping - and determining, by the control unit, whether residues exist in the recycling candidate based on the second graphic object. And, it may include the step of processing the recycling candidate according to the presence or absence of the determined residue.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, various types of image sensors such as RGB cameras and IR cameras can be used.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of a transparent liquid that cannot be determined by color in recycled products.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a certain graphic object can be uniformly provided to the image sensor by displaying a pattern on the front of the conveyor belt.

1 is a perspective view of a selective recycling collection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a collection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figure 3 shows an example of image(s) acquired by a photographing unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figure 4 shows another example of image(s) acquired by a photographing unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
5 shows an example of region(s) of interest according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figures 6a and 6b show the results of an experiment on Sample 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figures 7a and 7b show the results of an experiment on Sample 2 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figures 8a and 8b show the results of an experiment on Sample 3 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, specific details for implementing the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, in the following description, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations will be omitted if there is a risk of unnecessarily obscuring the gist of the present disclosure.

In the accompanying drawings, identical or corresponding components are given the same reference numerals. Additionally, in the description of the following embodiments, overlapping descriptions of identical or corresponding components may be omitted. However, even if descriptions of components are omitted, it is not intended that such components are not included in any embodiment.

Advantages and features of the disclosed embodiments and methods for achieving them will become clear by referring to the embodiments described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms. The present embodiments are merely provided to ensure that the present disclosure is complete and that the present disclosure does not fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It is only provided to inform you.

Terms used in this specification will be briefly described, and the disclosed embodiments will be described in detail. The terms used in this specification are general terms that are currently widely used as much as possible while considering the functions in the present disclosure, but this may vary depending on the intention or precedent of a technician working in the related field, the emergence of new technology, etc. In addition, in certain cases, there are terms arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the relevant invention. Therefore, the terms used in this disclosure should be defined based on the meaning of the term and the overall content of this disclosure, rather than simply the name of the term.

In this specification, singular expressions include plural expressions, unless the context clearly specifies the singular. Additionally, plural expressions include singular expressions, unless the context clearly specifies plural expressions. When it is said that a part 'includes' a certain element throughout the specification, this means that it does not exclude other elements, but may further include other elements, unless specifically stated to the contrary.

Additionally, the term 'unit' used in the specification refers to a software or hardware component, and the 'unit' performs certain roles. However, 'wealth' is not limited to software or hardware. The 'part' may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and may be configured to run on one or more processors. Therefore, as an example, 'part' refers to components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, It may include at least one of subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, or variables. The functions provided within the components and 'parts' may be combined into a smaller number of components and 'parts' or may be further separated into additional components and 'parts'.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a selective recycling collection device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, the selective recycling collection device 100 (hereinafter referred to as 'collection device') of the present disclosure may refer to a device provided to collect items containing recyclable materials such as PET bottles, glass bottles, etc. there is. Furthermore, the collection device 100 may inspect various factors that determine the recyclability of the injected recycling candidate 140 and determine whether the recycling candidate 140 is recyclable based on the test results.

As shown, the collection device 100 may include at least one of a receiving unit 110, a first graphic object 120, and a photographing unit 130. Additionally, the collection device 100 may further include an injection port 150 through which the recycling candidate 140 is injected, and at least one of a plurality of processing paths 160 and 170 divided according to whether the recycling candidate 140 can be recycled. You can.

The receiving part 110 may receive the recycling candidate 140 through the inlet 150. That is, the recycling candidate 140 may be introduced into the collection device 100 through the injection port 150 and then placed in the receiving unit 110. To this end, the receiving unit 110 may include a plurality of compartments (or sockets) in which the recycling candidates 140 are placed. To this end, a guide device (not shown) that guides the recycling candidate 140 to a specific compartment may be provided between the inlet 150 and the receiving part 110. For example, the guide device may guide the recycling candidate 140 so that the recycling candidate 140 is placed in the first compartment of the receiving unit 110. Then, the guide device may guide the recycling candidate (not shown) so that the recycling candidate (not shown) is placed in the second compartment of the receiving unit 110. With this configuration, the user can inject recycling candidate(s) as many as the number of compartments included in the receiving unit 110.

The receiving unit 110 may accommodate the recycling candidate 140 adjacent to the pre-arranged first graphic object 120. This may mean that the first graphic object 120 is displayed on one side of the area in the receiving unit 110 where the recycling candidate 140 is placed. To this end, the accommodation unit 110 may be provided in a form including the first graphic object 120. For example, the first graphic object 120 may be provided (or displayed) on one side of the accommodation unit 110. As shown in FIG. 1, when the receiving part 110 includes a plurality of compartments for accommodating the recycling candidates 140, the first graphic object 120 is printed on the inner bottom surface of the receiving part 110. It can be provided in a given form. Additionally or alternatively, when the receiving unit 110 includes a conveyor belt (not shown), the first graphic object 120 may be provided in printed form on one outer surface of the conveyor belt on which the recycling candidate 140 is placed. You can.

Meanwhile, when the receiving unit 110 includes a conveyor belt, the receiving unit 110 may change the position of the recycling candidate 140. Specifically, the receiving unit 110 may relocate the injected recycling candidate 140 to a specific location. For example, the receiving unit 110 may change the position of the injected recycling candidate 140 so that it enters the field of view of the imaging unit 130. For another example, the receiving unit 110 is configured to input the recycling candidate 140 into the first path 160 or the second path 170 depending on whether there is a residue of the recycling candidate 140 ( 140) can also be changed.

The first graphic object 120 may be composed of a pattern in which at least one of a certain shape, color, brightness, and saturation is regularly repeated. For example, the first graphic object 120 may be composed of a grid (checked) pattern as shown in FIG. 1 . For another example, the first graphic object 120 may be composed of a vertical line or diagonal stripe pattern.

When the receiving unit 110 includes a plurality of compartments for accommodating the recycling candidate 140, the photographing unit 130 displays the recycling candidate 140 and the first graphic object with all of the plurality of compartments included within the viewing angle. You can shoot (120). Accordingly, the collection device 100 can use one image acquired from the photographing unit 130 to determine whether each of the plurality of recycling candidates is recyclable.

When the receiving unit 110 includes a conveyor belt for accommodating the recycling candidate 140, the photographing unit 130 operates at a point where at least a portion of each of the recycling candidate 140 and the first graphic object 120 overlaps each other. The recycling candidate 140 and the first graphic object 120 can be photographed. For example, when the recycling candidate 140 is placed on the first graphic object 120 provided on a horizontal plane, the photographing unit 130 is positioned with the photographing unit 130 from a vertically downward viewpoint above the recycling candidate 140. 1 The graphic object 120 can be photographed. For another example, a part of the side of the recycling candidate 140 is placed in contact with one side of the receiving part 110 equipped with the first graphic object 120, and the photographing unit 130 is connected to a part of the side and the receiving part ( The photographing unit 130 and the first graphic object 120 can be photographed by being disposed at a viewpoint vertically downward with respect to one side of 110).

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a selective recycling collection device (eg, collection device 100) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the collection device 100 may include at least one of a receiving unit 110, a photographing unit 130, a control unit 210, an input/output unit 220, and an input/output interface 230.

The control unit 210 may control at least some of the components included in the collection device 100. Specifically, the control unit 210 generates a control signal based on the user input received from the input/output unit 220, and transmits the generated control signal to the receiving unit 110 and/or the photographing unit 130, thereby Mechanical and/or electrical actions can be controlled. Additionally, the control unit 210 may generate data representing the state of the collection device 100 and control the input/output interface 230 so that the generated data is output through the input/output unit 220 . Here, the input/output unit 220 may receive user input and transmit it to the control unit 210 through the input/output interface 230, or may perform an operation of outputting data obtained through the input/output interface 230. For example, the input/output unit 220 may include a display device including a touch screen.

The control unit 210 may perform data processing for a selective recycling collection method using data obtained from at least part of the components included in the collection device 100. Specifically, the control unit 210 may generate new data based on data obtained from the receiving unit 110 and/or the imaging unit 130. For example, the control unit 210 may process the image acquired from the photographing unit 130 and generate data for performing a selective recycling collection method based on the data obtained through processing. For another example, the control unit 210 obtains data indicating the location of the recycling candidate from the photographing unit 130, and allows the recycling candidate to enter the viewing angle of the photographing unit 130 based on the acquired data. ) can be controlled.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 2, the input/output unit 220 is shown as a separate configuration provided outside the collection device 100, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the input/output unit 220 may be provided as a display device built into the front of the collection device 100.

Figure 3 shows an example of image(s) 310 and 320 acquired by a photographing unit (eg, photographing unit 130) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the first image 310 is a recycling candidate without residue (e.g., recycling candidate 140) and a graphic object (e.g., a first graphic object) pre-placed within a collection device (e.g., collection device 100). This is an example of an image taken of an object 120). On the other hand, the second image 310 is an example of an image taken of a recycling candidate and a graphic object with residues present. In Figure 3, the first image 310 and the second image 320 were obtained by photographing the same recycling candidate and the same graphic object.

The first image 310 may include a second graphic object 312 formed by overlapping a recycling candidate and a pre-placed graphic object. Likewise, the second image 320 may include a third graphic object 322 formed by overlapping a recycling candidate and a pre-placed graphic object. In particular, it is easy to observe distortion in the borderline area of a recycling candidate (or borderline of residue) in a graphic object with a diagonal pattern. Referring to the two enlarged drawings, the degree of distortion of the third graphic object 322 in the area of interest adjacent to the boundary line of the body area(s) 314, 324 (or residue) is the distortion of the second graphic object 312. It can be confirmed that it is higher than the degree. This is because the subject(s) of the third graphic object 322 further includes residue between the recycling candidate and the pre-placed graphic object.

Figure 4 shows an example of image(s) 410 and 420 acquired by a photographing unit (eg, photographing unit 130) according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the third image 410 is a recycling candidate without residue (e.g., recycling candidate 140) and a graphic object (e.g., a first graphic object) pre-placed within the collection device (e.g., collection device 100). This is an example of an image taken of an object 120). On the other hand, the fourth image 320 is an example of an image taken of a recycling candidate and a graphic object with residues present. In FIG. 4 , the third image 410 and the fourth image 420 were obtained by photographing the same recycling candidate and the same graphic object.

The third image 410 may include a fourth graphic object 412 formed by overlapping a recycling candidate and a pre-placed graphic object. Likewise, the fourth image 420 may include a fifth graphic object 422 formed by overlapping a recycling candidate and a pre-placed graphic object. In particular, it is easy to observe distortion in the horizontal boundary line (or horizontal boundary line of the residue) of the main body area(s) 414 and 424 of a graphic object with a vertical linear pattern. Referring to the two enlarged drawings, in the region of interest including the top of the lid region(s) 416, 426 and the top of the body region(s) 414, 424 of the recycling candidate, the degree of distortion of the fifth graphical object 422 is It can be confirmed that the degree of distortion is higher than that of the fourth graphic object 412. This is also because the subject(s) of the fifth graphic object 522 further includes residues among graphic objects pre-arranged as recycling candidates.

Figure 5 shows an example of region(s) of interest (520 to 540) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figures 3 and 4, it can be seen that it is easy to observe distortion in the area around the intersection of the boundary line between a figure (particularly a line) included in a pre-arranged graphic object and a recycling candidate (or residue). In other words, within the image acquired by the photographing unit (e.g., the photographing unit 130), graphic objects (e.g., the second graphic object 312, the third graphic object 322, and the fourth graphic object 412) , the fifth graphic object 422, etc.), and the area including the point where the boundary line formed by the recycling candidate (or residue) intersects may be determined as the area of interest. Accordingly, the control unit (e.g., control unit 210) extracts only a portion of the image acquired by the photographing unit (e.g., photographing unit 130) as a region of interest, thereby improving the efficiency of data processing. can be improved.

Below, an experimental example measuring the sorting accuracy of a recycling collection device (eg, collection device 100) according to the shape of a graphic object is disclosed.

Experiment overview

1. For plastic bottles of different shapes, Sample 1, Sample 2, and Sample 3, the camera and Keep the distance, lighting, etc. constant and take pictures of the empty state and the filled state. At this time, the amount of water was the same at 100ml, and since there may be variables depending on the surrounding environment such as shadows, 10 photos were taken in each case.

2. Crop the photo to the area of the plastic bottle, then obtain a histogram representing the distribution of pixel values in each image. The image at this time uses a grayscale image with one channel fixed.

3. The pixel value distribution of each sample in each background is expressed as the average of the histograms of 10 photos obtained from 1.

4. The difference between the empty and filled states of each sample on a certain background using four algorithms (CORREL: correlation, CHISQR: chi-square, INTERSECT: intersection, BHATTACHARYYA: Bhattacharya distance) to compare histogram similarity. Compare whether appears large.

Experiment environment

-Python 3.9.16 O

- OpenCV 4.8.0

- Numpy 1.23.4

- Matplotlib 3.7.1

- ABCO APC925 Webcam

Figures 6a and 6b show the results of an experiment on Sample 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the experiment with Sample 1, based on the histogram results in Figure 6b, four indicators (CORREL, CHISQU, INTERSECT, BHATTCHARYA) representing the histogram similarity between the cases where residues were not present and those where residues were present in Sample 1 were measured. The measurement results are shown in Table 1. Here, the smaller the values for CORREL and INTERSECT, the larger the values for CHISQR and BHATTACHAYYA, meaning the lower the histogram similarity.

Referring to Table 1 below, when there was residue in Sample 1 and when there was no residue, the histogram similarity was measured to be relatively low in the grid pattern (Checked) and the stripe pattern (Stripe).

Figures 7a and 7b show the results of an experiment on Sample 2 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the experiment with Sample 2, based on the histogram results in Figure 7b, four indicators (CORREL, CHISQU, INTERSECT, BHATTCHARYA) representing the histogram similarity between the cases where residues were not present and those where residues were present in Sample 2 were measured. The measurement results are shown in Table 2.

Referring to Table 2 below, when there was residue in Sample 2 and when there was no residue, the histogram similarity was measured to be relatively low in the grid pattern (Checked) and the stripe pattern (Stripe). However, for Sample 2, the histogram similarity was measured to be low even when there was no background. This is presumed to be that, unlike Samples 1 and 3, the surface of the PET bottle was smooth without a pattern, making it sensitive to light reflection from a white background.

Figures 8a and 8b show the results of an experiment on Sample 3 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an experiment targeting Sample 3, based on the histogram results in Figure 8b, four indicators (CORREL, CHISQU, INTERSECT, BHATTCHARYA) representing the histogram similarity between the cases where residues were not present and those where residues were present in Sample 3 were measured. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

Referring to Table 3 below, when there was residue in Sample 3 and when there was no residue, the histogram similarity was measured to be relatively low in the grid pattern (Checked) and the stripe pattern (Stripe).

The preceding description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to the various modifications without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Although the present disclosure has been described in relation to some embodiments in the specification, it should be noted that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as can be understood by those skilled in the art. something to do. Additionally, such modifications and changes should be considered to fall within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Claims (13)

a receiving portion that receives the recycling candidate adjacent to the first pre-arranged graphic object;
a photographing unit that photographs at least a portion of each of the recycling candidate and the first graphic object so that it overlaps each other, wherein the image obtained by the photographing includes a second graphic object formed by the overlap; and
Extracting a region of interest for observing a distortion phenomenon from the second graphic object, determining whether residues exist in the recycling candidate based on the region of interest, and processing the recycling candidate according to the presence or absence of the determined residues. control unit
Including,
The image includes a boundary line formed by residues in the recycling candidate,
The area of interest includes a point where a shape included in the second graphic object and the boundary line intersect.
According to paragraph 1,
The first graphic object is provided on one side of the receiving part where the recycling candidate is placed.
According to paragraph 2,
The receiving unit includes a conveyor belt on which the recycling candidates are placed, a selective recycling collection device.
According to paragraph 2,
The receiving portion includes a plurality of compartments,
A selective recycling material collection device wherein the recycling candidate is placed in any one of the plurality of compartments.
According to paragraph 2,
A selective recyclables collection device wherein the recycling candidate is laid down on one surface so that a portion of a side of the recycling candidate is in contact with the one surface.
According to clause 5,
A selective recycling collection device wherein the viewpoint of the photographing unit is configured to point vertically downward with respect to a portion of the side surface and the one surface.
According to paragraph 1,
The first graphic object includes a pattern formed by at least one of shape, color, brightness, and saturation.
According to paragraph 1,
The first graphic object includes a checked pattern.
According to paragraph 1,
The first graphic object includes a stripe pattern.
According to paragraph 1,
The image includes a third graphic object that is a photograph of another part of the first graphic object that does not overlap the recycling candidate,
The control unit calculates a degree of distortion of the second graphic object based on the second graphic object and the third graphic object, and processes the recycling candidate according to the calculated degree of distortion.
delete delete receiving, by the receiving unit, a recycling candidate adjacent to a first pre-positioned graphic object;
Overlapping and photographing, by a photographing unit, at least a portion of each of the recycling candidate and the first graphic object, wherein the image obtained by the photographing includes a second graphic object formed by the overlap;
Extracting, by a control unit, a region of interest for observing a distortion phenomenon from a second graphic object;
determining, by the control unit, whether residues exist in the recycling candidate based on the region of interest; and
Processing the recycling candidate according to whether the residue is present, by the control unit.
Including,
The image includes a boundary line formed by residues in the recycling candidate,
A selective recycling collection method, wherein the area of interest includes a point where the boundary line of a figure included in the second graphic object intersects.