Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
  • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
  • B07C5/00—Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
  • B07C5/34—Sorting according to other particular properties
  • B07C5/3412—Sorting according to other particular properties according to a code applied to the object which indicates a property of the object, e.g. quality class, contents or incorrect indication
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
  • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
  • B07C5/00—Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
  • B07C5/36—Sorting apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
  • B07C5/361—Processing or control devices therefor, e.g. escort memory
  • B07C5/362—Separating or distributor mechanisms

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method and a device for sorting fluorescent lamps according to fluorescent mixtures.
• the inventor developed a concept not to want to recover the phosphor as such, but rather the phosphor mixtures as they occur in the different lamp types from different manufacturers.
• the object of the invention is therefore to create a method and a device for sorting fluorescent lamps, which enables sorting according to fluorescent mixtures.
• the stated object is achieved on the basis of the method steps of claim 1 or the features of claim 3 and is designed and further developed by the further measures of the subclaims.
• the fluorescent lamps to be examined are fed to an inspection station so that they are at a predetermined distance from at least one Have camera.
• the fluorescent lamp is rotated in order to read the print located near the lamp base and to feed it to an image processing system.
• the imprint generally includes a company logo with a type code made up of letters and numbers.
• Image processing system contains a memory for pre-entering such company logos and type identifications, so that the fluorescent tube examined in each case can be assigned to the manufacturer and the lamp type by comparison. This will make it possible
• the imprint is always only at one end in a region approximately 80 mm wide from the end of the fluorescent body. If used fluorescent lamps are delivered, the distribution of the end with printing or without printing is arbitrary. In order to address this problem, provision can be made for a double pass through the detection system, the fluorescent lamps not previously recognized being rotated through 180 ° before the second pass so that their correct end passes the camera.
• one of the cameras is designed to be movable in order to be able to adapt to the different lengths of fluorescent tubes, which can be between 350 and 1800 mm long.
• two angles arranged at a distance from one another can be used, the connecting lines of which form an alignment prism.
• the support angles are in to be located a sufficient distance from the ends of the fluorescent lamps so as not to interfere with the image inspection by the cameras.
• One of the support brackets is designed to be movable so that it can adapt to the specified length range of 350 to 1800 mm length of the fluorescent lamps.
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic overall view and FIG. 2 shows an enlarged detail from FIG. 1.
• Fluorescent lamps 1 are brought individually from a cup conveyor 2 to an infeed conveyor 3, which consists of an inclined runway.
• a guide cover surface 4 ensures that the fluorescent tubes 1 arrive horizontally aligned in an inspection station 10.
• stops 11 and 12 are provided, which in the present case are designed as stop angles and span a prism in connection with one another in order to keep the lamp body of the fluorescent tube 1 at a defined distance from a right camera 21 or a left camera 22 .
• the prism spanned by the angle stops 11 and 12 contains two surfaces at right angles to one another, each of which can be used as an inspection plane in association with the cameras 21 and 22, respectively.
• the abutment surface 13, which is steeper than the rolling surface 3, is to be used as the inspection plane. Accordingly, the viewing directions of the cameras 21 and 22 are oriented perpendicular to this plane 13, and the distance between the cameras is selected so that the plane 13 is sharply imaged in the camera.
• Each stop angle 11 or 12 is assigned roller pairs 15 and 16, respectively, which are tangential to the stop plane 13 are arranged, as best shown in Fig. 2.
• a friction roller drive 17 or 18 is assigned to each of the rollers 15 or 16 in order to drive the respective roller 15 or 16 and thus to rotate the lamp body 1 located in the inspection station.
• the stop bracket 11 and the associated rollers 15 are arranged in a stationary manner, while the stop bracket 12 with the associated rollers 16 can be moved in the direction of extension of the inspection station 10, as indicated by the double arrow 19.
• Stop angle 12 together with rollers 16 can be done by means of a spindle and a guide, which has not been shown for reasons of clarity.
• the camera 22 can also be shifted parallel to the longitudinal extent of the inspection station 10, as indicated by the arrow 23.
• a spindle and guide can be used for this purpose, other displacement means can also be used.
• Stop angle 12 can be moved up to a distance of 150 mm from the end of the lamp body 1. If shorter lamps are due for inspection, the movable stop angle is moved to the right in the drawing to leave about 150 mm free at the end of the lamp body.
• Camera 21 is arranged in a stationary manner and aligned with an end region of the lamp body 1 of 80 mm in width on which the manufacturer's imprint with the manufacturer's symbol and Type identification is to be expected.
• the movable camera 22 is aimed at the respective end of the lamp body 1, specifically to an area likewise 80 mm wide.
• the two cameras 21 and 22 are connected to an image processing system 30 which can record digital image information coming from the cameras as pixel signals and compare it with stored image information.
• This stored image information relates to the imprints to be expected at the end of the lamp body, specifically with regard to the manufacturer and lamp type. In general, company symbols or logos and letter-number combinations are printed, the size of the print depends on the lamp type. If the lamp body 1 is rotated during the test and the imprint moves through the field of view of the camera 21, then this will be
• each flap 25 has a flap drive, which is each connected to the switch control 32.
• the switch controller 32 has as many outputs as light material mixtures plus another output for unidentified fluorescent materials. The respective outputs of the
• Switch control 32 are assigned to the flaps 25, so that when a certain class of fluorescent tubes is determined by manufacturer and lamp type or types, to which a specific fluorescent mixture is assigned, an associated flap 25 is opened and the rolling down fluorescent tube ends up in a container underneath.
• the new sorting method enables the class of the fluorescent tube examined to be determined relatively quickly. Cycle times from 2 seconds to 0.5 seconds can be expected.
• the selectivity of the recognition of the symbol print is very high, whereby "symbol print" means both the company logo and the type identification. Lamps whose affiliation cannot be clearly determined are processed in the usual way. In this way, the fluorescent mixtures recovered from the fluorescent tubes are recovered in extremely high quality, since they are not disturbed by foreign mixtures. The extraction of the phosphor mixtures from the
• Fluorescent tubes are carried out in the usual way by opening the fluorescent tubes and blowing out the coating with compressed air.

Landscapes

• Sorting Of Articles (AREA)
• Investigating Materials By The Use Of Optical Means Adapted For Particular Applications (AREA)
• Image Analysis (AREA)
• Processing Of Solid Wastes (AREA)
• Image Processing (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=25682515

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (4)

Citations (4)

• 1998
  • 1998-10-30 DE DE19850285A patent/DE19850285A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 1999
  • 1999-10-20 CN CN99813057.5A patent/CN1129490C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-10-20 JP JP2000579374A patent/JP3905705B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-10-20 WO PCT/EP1999/007975 patent/WO2000025946A1/de not_active Ceased
  • 1999-10-20 EP EP99953901A patent/EP1124652B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 2001
  • 2001-04-18 CA CA002344307A patent/CA2344307C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (4)

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