KR20230093391A - Microplastic separation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a coastal microplastic removal device, and relates to a coastal microplastic removal device that selects and collects general garbage and microplastics from the beach while moving along the beach. To this end, by a driving unit that is operated and operated to collect the separate collection objects included in the beach sand, a fork unit disposed in front of the main body to grind the ground, and a scraper attached to a chain that rotates the separate collection objects dug by the fork unit. Disclosed is a coastal microplastic removal device comprising a recovery unit that transports upwards and a separation and discharge unit in which separate collection objects transferred upward by the recovery unit are sequentially separated and discharged while free-falling downward. do.

Description

Coastal microplastic removal device {MICROPLASTIC SEPARATION APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a coastal microplastic removal device, and more particularly, to a coastal microplastic removal device that selects and collects general garbage and microplastics on the beach while moving along the beach.

Conventionally, microplastics (MP) are defined as small plastic particles of 5 mm or less. Plastics that have been made smaller than 5 mm from the time of production (commonly referred to as primary microplastics) as well as plastics that have been artificially or naturally worn down to a size of less than 5 mm (commonly referred to as secondary microplastics) are microplastics. applicable

Finely abraded plastic waste abandoned on land, microplastic beads contained in toothpaste or cosmetics are easily entering the sea.

In addition, microplastics that have flowed into the sea can meet harmful chemicals in the sea and become highly concentrated toxic substances.

In this way, plankton mistakenly ingests microplastics made of toxic substances that are introduced into the sea as food, moves to individuals along the food chain, accumulates toxicity, and eventually ingests it by humans.

On the other hand, a large amount of garbage is being dumped on the beach, and various devices for collecting such garbage on the beach are being developed.

However, while it is easy to collect bulky general waste, it is not easy to collect microplastics that are more lethal to the environment, invisible, and mixed with sand.

In addition, since many plankton gather in the area adjacent to the coast, a technology to effectively remove microplastics widely distributed along the coast is required.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0887210 (2009.02.27)

Accordingly, the present invention has been created to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a device capable of effectively removing microplastics from beach sand.

However, the objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

The above-described object of the present invention is a driving unit operated to collect separate collection objects included in coastal sand, a fork unit disposed in front of the main body to grind the ground, and a chain that rotates the separate collection objects dug by the fork unit. A recovery unit that is transferred upward by the scraper attached to the coast, characterized in that it includes a separation and discharge unit in which the separated collection objects transferred upward by the recovery unit are separated and discharged while sequentially free falling downward. This can be achieved by providing a device for removing microplastics.

In addition, the collection unit transfers the separate collection object in one direction by a scraper attached to a chain rotating along the path.

In addition, the recovery unit includes a main frame unit, and a recovery transfer unit that moves forward and backward relative to the main frame unit during operation and movement.

In addition, the recovery transfer unit includes a chain unit arranged to circulate and rotate along the transfer path, a chain drive unit that generates and transmits driving force to drive the chain unit, a chain gear unit that circulates and rotates the chain unit by the driving force of the chain drive unit, and each scraper chain. It includes a scraper unit that is disposed at a predetermined distance from the chain of units and collects and transfers the objects to be collected separately in an upward direction according to the circular rotation of the chain unit.

In addition, the angle-adjustable chain tension variable part is fitted into the chain part to adjust the tension of the chain part, and is disposed at the bottom of the scraper part along the rotational path of the scraper part to face one side of each scraper, and separate collection collected by the scraper part It includes a lower transfer plate that allows objects to be transferred in one direction by the facing scraper.

In addition, the separation and discharge unit is a primary separation and discharge unit that primarily separates and discharges objects that have fallen from the recovery unit by free fall, and a secondary separation and discharge unit that has fallen from the primary separation and discharge unit by free fall. A secondary separation and discharge unit that separates and discharges microplastics by attaching (-) charged microplastics included in the secondary separated collection object by static electricity and separating them from sand, thereby separating and discharging microplastics. include

In addition, the primary and secondary separation and discharge units each have an upper mesh unit that is primarily separated by a mesh net, an upper chain unit disposed to circulate and rotate along the transfer path, and an upper chain gear unit that circulates and rotates the upper chain unit according to the driving force. , The lower mesh part disposed under the upper mesh part and primarily separated by the mesh network, the lower chain part disposed to circulate and rotate along the conveying path, and the lower chain gear part to circulate and rotate the lower chain according to the driving force, respectively A scraper is disposed on the chain of the lower chain part at a predetermined interval, and includes a scraper part that transfers and discharges the separated collection object primarily separated by the upper mesh net in one direction according to the circular rotation of the lower chain part.

In addition, the mesh size of the upper and lower mesh portions of the primary separation and discharge unit is relatively larger than that of the upper and lower mesh units of the secondary separation and discharge unit.

In addition, a pre-charge charging unit that pre-charges sand and microplastics with (+) and (-) charges, respectively, before entering the microplastic separation and discharge unit, and an antistatic unit that removes static electricity from the (-)-charged microplastics. more includes

In the present invention, microplastics are removed by introducing only the sand on the surface of the seashore without scooping up all the sand containing microplastics, making it possible to make the device light and simple.

In addition, by removing sand and microplastics using an electrostatic method, the separation efficiency of microplastics is increased.

In addition, the simple configuration of the device has the effect of reducing the power required when separating microplastics while the device travels along a wide coastline. In particular, when the device is a vehicle powered by an electric battery, these advantages are further multiplied. have

The following drawings attached to this specification illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and together with the detailed description of the present invention serve to further understand the technical idea of the present invention, the present invention is limited to those described in the drawings. It should not be construed as limiting.
1 to 3 are views schematically showing the overall configuration of a coastal microplastic removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention,
4 to 8 are views schematically showing the configuration of a recovery unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
9 and 10 are diagrams showing the main frame part of the fork part and the recovery part according to an embodiment of the present invention;
11 is a view showing a fork part and a scraper part according to an embodiment of the present invention;
12 is a view showing a separation and discharge unit and a sand transfer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
13 to 15 are views showing a primary separation and discharge unit according to an embodiment of the present invention,
16 to 18 are views showing a secondary separation and discharge unit according to an embodiment of the present invention,
19 and 20 are views showing a sand transfer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the embodiment described below does not unduly limit the contents of the present invention described in the claims, and the entire configuration described in the present embodiment cannot be said to be essential as a solution to the present invention. In addition, descriptions of matters obvious to prior art and those skilled in the art may be omitted, and descriptions of these omitted components (methods) and functions may be sufficiently referred to within the scope not departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , a coastal microplastic removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a device that collects sand containing microplastics from a beach and separates them into sand and microplastics. To this end, the coastal microplastic removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a driving unit 100, a fork unit 200, a recovery unit 300, a separation and discharge unit 400, a sand transfer unit 440, and a collection unit. 500, and a control unit 600. Hereinafter, a coastal microplastic removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Meanwhile, it is noted in advance that the contents included in Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2020-0180968, 10-2020-0180969, and 10-2020-0188877 already filed by the present applicant may be referred to in the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the driving unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided in a track type at the lower part of the vehicle and moves the main body. The driving unit 100 is driven by a control signal of the control unit 600 generated according to a user's manipulation.

The control unit 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed above the separating and discharging unit 400 and the sand transfer unit 440 and is in charge of overall control of the coastal microplastic removal device.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the fork unit 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention is lifted from the ground during movement and placed on the ground so as to plow the ground during operation, as shown in FIG. 2 . As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 , a plurality of plows are disposed in the width direction of the main body at regular intervals so that the fork part 200 can plow the ground. The angle of the fork part 200 may be adjusted by the fork arm 201 . In addition, the fork arms 201 are disposed on the left and right sides respectively to support the fork part 200 and allow the angle of the fork part 200 to be adjusted. The fork unit 200 separates garbage of a certain size or larger that has fallen on the beach while grinding sand containing microplastics on the beach. That is, since each plow is arranged at a certain distance, garbage caught between plows can be collected and separated. In addition, the garbage passing between the plows is collected by the fork unit 200 and separated by the separation and discharge unit 400.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 8 , the recovery unit 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main frame unit 300a, first and second upper cover units 300b-1,300b-2, and a chain unit ( 310), a chain drive unit 320, a chain gear unit 330, a scraper unit 340, a chain tension variable unit 350, and a lower transfer plate 360. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the recovery unit 300 is disposed behind the fork unit 200 along the longitudinal direction of the main body, and sand containing microplastics ground by the fork unit 200 (hereinafter, (referred to as separate collection objects) are collected by scrapers.

The main frame part 300a of the recovery unit 300 is coupled to the fork arm 201 as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 9, and the recovery and transfer unit described later is also arranged and coupled to the inside. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 9 , the main frame unit 300a moves forward and backward during operation and movement, respectively. That is, during work, the main frame part 300a is controlled to move forward, and during movement, the main frame part 300a is controlled to move backward, so that the fork part 200 can touch or fall on the ground. .

In order to move the main frame unit 300a forward and backward, as shown in FIG. 7, a main frame driver is disposed inside the main frame unit 300a. The main frame driving unit includes a main frame driving chain unit 314, a main frame driving motor unit 322, first and second main frame driving shaft units 324a and 324b, and a bearing unit. The main frame driving motor unit 322 generates a driving force capable of moving the main frame unit 300a forward and backward. The main frame driving chain unit 314 rotates according to the driving force (or rotation direction) of the main frame driving motor unit 322 . The first and second main frame driving shaft parts 324a and 324b and the bearing part rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the main frame driving chain part 314 to move the main frame part 300a forward and backward.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , the first, second, and third support parts 300a-1, 300a-2, and 300a-3 are disposed at regular intervals in the main frame part 300a. A scraper rotation space 300c is provided inside the main frame portion 300a by the first, second, and third support portions 300a-1, 300a-2, and 300a-3, and the scraper portion 340 is a scraper rotation space. (300c) rotates along the rotational path. As shown in FIG. 10 , first and second upper cover parts 300b-1 and 300b-2 capable of protecting the scraper part 340 are provided above the main frame part 300a.

The recovery transfer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a chain unit 310, a chain driving unit 320, a chain gear unit 330, a scraper unit 340, a chain tension variable unit 350, and a lower transfer plate 360 includes approx.

As shown in FIG. 7 , the chain unit 310 includes first and second scraper driving chain units 311 and 312 disposed on the left and right sides of the main body. The first and second scraper driving chain parts 311 and 312 are provided along the longitudinal direction of the main body. Each scraper is coupled to the first and second scraper drive chains 311 and 312 at a predetermined distance apart. Therefore, when the first and second scraper driving chain parts 311 and 312 rotate, the scraper can rotate together along the chain path.

The chain driving unit 320 includes a scraper driving motor unit 321 and a scraper driving shaft unit 323 . The scraper power transmission chain part 313 rotates according to the drive of the scraper drive motor part 321, and the scraper drive shaft part 323 rotates due to the rotation of the scraper power transmission chain part 313, so that the first and second scrapers The driving chain parts 311 and 312 are rotated. Bearings may be provided on both sides of each shaft for smooth rotation.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the chain gear unit 330 includes first and second chain gear units 331 and 332 disposed at the front and rear, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 8, the scraper unit 340 includes scrapers spaced apart at regular intervals, and each scraper is coupled to the lower direction of the first and second scraper driving chain units 311 and 312. Therefore, each scraper circulates and rotates in the scraper rotation space 300c along the chain movement path in conjunction with the rotation of the first and second scraper drive chains 311 and 312. Each scraper is disposed in the width direction of the main body as shown in FIG. 11 . That is, the bones are primarily ground in the fork unit 200, and at this time, the objects for separate collection are recovered by the scrapper unit 340 that circulates and rotates.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the chain tension variable parts 350 are respectively disposed at the front, center, and rear of the main body. The chain tension variable unit 350 is coupled to the chain to support the first and second scraper drive chain units 311 and 312, and the first and second scraper drive chain units 311 and 312 are adjusted by adjusting the angle of the chain tension variable unit 350. ) can adjust the tension of the chain. As shown in FIG. 7, in the chain tension variable unit 350, the first, second, and third chain tension variable units 351, 352, and 353 are disposed on the right side of the body, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth chain tension variable units are disposed on the left side of the body. (354,355,356) is placed. The first, second, and third chain tension variable parts 351, 352, and 353 are coupled to the chain of the first scrapper driving chain part 311, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth chain tension variable parts 354, 355, and 356 are the second scraper driving chain part ( 312) is combined with the chain.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the lower conveying plate 360 is disposed under the main frame part 300a and provides a space in which the scraper part 340 can circulate and rotate. That is, the scraper rotation space 300c in which the scraper unit 340 can circulate and rotate is provided in the main frame unit 300a and the lower transfer plate 360, respectively. The objects to be collected separately are moved to the lower transfer plate 360 by the scraper that circulates in front of the main body, and the scrapper transfers the objects to be collected from the front to the rear while circulating from the front to the rear of the main body. One surface of each scraper is disposed to face one surface of the lower transfer plate 360.

As shown in FIG. 12 , the separation and discharge unit 400 and the sand transfer unit 440 separate and discharge various garbage, sand, and microplastics included in the separate collection object. The first and second separation and discharge units 410 and 420 separate various types of garbage included in the collection object that has freely fallen from the collection unit 300 . Various kinds of garbage are primarily separated by the fork unit 200, and various kinds of garbage are separated secondly and thirdly by the primary and secondary separation and discharge units 410 and 420. The microplastic separation and discharge unit 430 separates and collects the microplastics included in the separate collection object separated in the secondary separation and discharge unit 420 by static electricity. The sand transfer unit 440 finally transfers and discharges the remaining sand.

The primary separation and discharge unit 410 may be divided into an upper separation and discharge unit and a lower separation and discharge unit disposed below the upper separation and discharge unit, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 . The upper separation and discharge unit and the lower separation and discharge unit include mesh units 411 and 415, chain units 412a, 412b and 416, and chain gear units 413a, 413b, 417a and 417b, respectively.

The upper mesh part 411 and the lower mesh part 415 are made of mesh networks having the same size, and garbage is primarily separated and discharged from the upper mesh part 411, and separated from the upper mesh part 411 in free fall. Various wastes included in the collection object are secondarily separated and discharged from the lower mesh unit 415 . The first and second upper chain parts 412a and 412b are disposed on the left and right sides of the upper mesh part 411 to circulate and rotate in one direction according to the rotation of the front and rear chain gear parts 413a and 413b. According to the circular rotation of the first and second upper chain parts 412a and 412b, various kinds of garbage remaining on the upper surface of the upper mesh part 411 are separated and discharged to the collection part 500 .

The lower chain part 416 has the same configuration as the first and second upper chain parts 412a and 412b, and the lower mesh part ( 411) are placed on the left and right sides.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 15, a scraper unit 428 is coupled to the lower chain unit 426, and a plurality of scrapers spaced apart at regular intervals are disposed in the width direction of the mesh network in the scraper unit 428. Therefore, according to the clockwise circular rotation of the lower chain unit 426, the scraper unit 428 also interlocks and rotates, and each scraper collects various wastes remaining on the upper surface of the lower mesh unit 425 while circularly rotating. (500) to separate and discharge.

The secondary separation and discharge unit includes an upper separation and discharge unit and a lower separation and discharge unit located below the upper separation and discharge unit, as shown in FIGS. 16 to 18 . Since the secondary separation and discharge unit is made of the same principles and components as the above-mentioned primary separation and discharge unit, the description of the primary separation and discharge unit will be replaced.

However, the upper mesh part 421 and the lower mesh part 425 of the secondary separation and discharge part 420 are the upper mesh part 411 and the lower mesh part 415 of the primary separation and discharge part 410. It is preferably configured smaller than the mesh size. That is, relatively large trash is separated and discharged by the mesh size in the primary separation and discharge unit 410, and relatively small trash is sequentially separated and discharged by the relatively small mesh size in the secondary separation and discharge unit 420. separated and discharged. Each of the upper and lower separation and discharge parts of the primary separation and discharge unit 410 and the secondary separation and discharge unit 420 have a vertical structure, so that the separated collection object that has passed through the mesh is free-falling and moves to the next step. It is a mobile structure.

As shown in FIGS. 12, 19 and 20, the sand transfer unit 440 is disposed below the secondary separation and discharge unit 420, and separate collection falls from the secondary separation and discharge unit 420 by free fall. The object is transferred in the direction of the collection unit 500. There is a high possibility that only sand and microplastics remain after most of the various wastes are removed by the first and second separation and discharge units 410 and 420 in the separated collection object that has fallen freely into the sand transfer unit 440 .

A fine plastic separation and discharge unit 430 (or static electricity generating unit) is disposed above the sand transfer unit 440 . The microplastic separation and discharge unit 430 generates static electricity. Accordingly, microplastics charged with negative (-) charges included in the separate collection object are transported from the sand transfer unit 440, collected by the microplastic separation and discharge unit 430, and separated and discharged to the collection unit 500. Therefore, only sand remains in the sand transfer unit 440, and the separated and collected sand may be discharged to the beach or to the collection unit 500 again.

Meanwhile, a pre-charge charging unit and an antistatic unit may be further added as needed. The pre-charge charging unit pre-charges sand and micro plastics with positive and negative charges, respectively, before entering the micro plastic separation and discharging unit 430 . The neutralization unit discharges the microplastics charged with negative (-) charges to the collection unit 500 after neutralization.

In describing the present invention, descriptions of matters obvious to those skilled in the art and those skilled in the art may be omitted, and descriptions of these omitted components (methods) and functions will be sufficiently referred to within the scope that does not depart from the technical spirit of the present invention. You will be able to. In addition, the above-described components of the present invention have been described for convenience of description of the present invention, but components not described herein may be added within a range that does not deviate from the technical spirit of the present invention.

The description of the configuration and function of each part described above has been separately described for convenience of explanation, but any one configuration and function may be implemented by integrating into other components or implemented in more subdivided form, if necessary.

Although the above has been described with reference to one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and applications are possible. That is, those skilled in the art will easily understand that many modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention. In addition, when it is determined that the detailed description of known functions and their configurations related to the present invention or the coupling relationship of each component of the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, it should be noted that the detailed description is omitted. something to do.

100: driving part
200: fork part
201: fork arm
300: recovery unit
300a: main frame part
300a-1, 300a-2, 300a-3: first, second and third support parts
300b-1, 300b-2: first and second upper cover parts
300c: scraper rotation space
310: chain part
311,312: first and second scraper driving chain parts
313: scraper power transmission chain part
314: main frame drive chain unit
320: chain driving unit
321: scraper driving motor unit
322: main frame driving motor unit
323: scraper drive shaft
324a, 324b: first and second main frame drive shaft parts
330: chain gear part
331,332: first and second chain gear parts
340: scraper unit
350: chain tension variable part
351,352,353: first, second, third chain tension variable part
354,355,356: 4th, 5th, 6th chain tension variable part
360: lower transfer plate
400: separation and discharge unit
410: primary separation and discharge unit
411: upper mesh portion
412a, 412b: first and second upper chain parts
413a, 413b: front and rear chain gear parts
415: lower mesh portion
416: lower chain part
417a, 417b: front and rear chain gear parts
418: scraper unit
420: secondary separation and discharge unit
421: upper mesh portion
422a, 422b: first and second upper chain parts
423a, 423b: front and rear chain gear parts
425: lower mesh portion
426: lower chain part
427a, 427b: front and rear chain gear parts
428: scraper unit
430: fine plastic separation and discharge unit
440: sand transfer unit
441a, 441b: front and rear roller parts
442: belt part
443: transfer plate
500: collection unit
600: control unit

Claims (9)

A driving unit that is operated and operated to collect separate collection objects included in the beach sand;
A fork part disposed in front of the main body to grind the ground;
A collection unit that transfers the separated collection object shredded by the fork unit in an upward direction by a scraper attached to a rotating chain;
The coastal microplastic removal device characterized in that it comprises a separation and discharge unit in which the separate collection objects transferred upward by the recovery unit are separated and discharged while sequentially free-falling downward.
According to claim 1,
The recovery unit,
A coastal microplastic removal device, characterized in that the separate collection object is transported in one direction by a scraper attached to a chain rotating along a path.
According to claim 1,
The recovery unit,
main frame,
Coastal microplastic removal device characterized in that it comprises a recovery transfer unit that moves forward and backward relative to the main frame unit during operation and movement.
According to claim 3,
The recovery transfer unit,
A chain part disposed to circulate and rotate along the conveying path;
A chain driving unit generating and transmitting a driving force to drive the chain unit;
A chain gear unit for circulating and rotating the chain unit by the driving force of the chain drive unit;
Each scraper is disposed at a predetermined distance from the chain of the chain unit, and includes a scraper unit that collects and transfers the separated collection object in an upward direction according to the circular rotation of the chain unit.
According to claim 4,
A chain tension variable part that adjusts the angle while being fitted into the chain part to adjust the tension of the chain part;
A lower transfer plate disposed under the scraper unit along the rotational path of the scraper unit to face one side of each scraper unit and allowing the separated collection object collected by the scraper unit to be transferred in one direction by the facing scraper Coastal microplastic removal device, characterized in that.
According to claim 1,
The separation and discharge unit,
A primary separation and discharge unit that primarily separates and discharges a separate collection object that has fallen from the recovery unit by free fall;
A secondary separation and discharge unit for secondary separation and discharge of the separated collection object that has fallen by free fall from the primary separation and discharge unit;
A beachfront characterized in that it includes a microplastic separation and discharge unit for separating and discharging microplastics by attaching (-) charged microplastics included in the secondary separated collection object and separating them from the sand by static electricity microplastic removal device.
According to claim 6,
The first and second separation and discharge units, respectively,
An upper mesh part that is primarily separated by a mesh network,
An upper chain part disposed to circulate and rotate along the conveying path;
An upper chain gear unit that circulates and rotates the upper chain unit according to a driving force;
A lower mesh portion disposed under the upper mesh portion and primarily separated by a mesh network;
A lower chain part disposed to circulate and rotate along the conveying path;
A lower chain gear unit that circulates and rotates the lower chain unit according to a driving force;
Each scraper is disposed at a predetermined distance from the chain of the lower chain unit, and includes a scraper unit that transports and discharges the separated collection objects primarily separated by the upper mesh network in one direction according to the circular rotation of the lower chain unit. Coastal microplastic removal device.
According to claim 7,
The upper and lower mesh portions of the primary separation and discharge unit have a relatively larger mesh size than the upper and lower mesh portions of the secondary separation and discharge unit.
According to claim 6,
A pre-charge charging unit for pre-charging sand and microplastics with (+) charges and (-) charges, respectively, before entering the micro-plastic separation and discharge unit;
Coastal microplastic removal device, characterized in that it further comprises a neutralization unit for neutralizing the microplastics charged with the (-) charge.

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