WO2023054780A1

WO2023054780A1 - Recyclable waste sorting apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2023054780A1
Application number: PCT/KR2021/013566
Authority: WO
Inventors: 송한철; 강지선; 이명우; 김동원; 김수현; 김경수; 엄상우; 전영준; 유재민
Original assignee: 주식회사 알엠
Priority date: 2021-10-01
Filing date: 2021-10-05
Publication date: 2023-04-06
Also published as: KR102386446B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a recyclable waste sorting apparatus and, more specifically, to a recyclable waste sorting apparatus capable of sorting recyclable waste by material and color so that high-quality recyclable materials can be obtained when the recyclable wastes are sorted, equally distributing, to a plurality of transfer robots, objects to be sorted so as to minimize the load of the transfer robots, and minimizing the movement flow of the transfer robot so that sorting efficiency can be increased. In order to accomplish the objective, the present invention comprises: a conveyor for moving recyclable waste; a sensing unit for acquiring information about the recyclable waste on the conveyor; the transfer robots for removing, from the conveyor, removal objects sorted from the recyclable waste; and a control device for sorting the removal objects from the recyclable waste through the information acquired by the sensing unit, and controlling the transfer robots so as to remove the removal objects.

Description

Recycling Waste Sorting Device

The present invention relates to a recycling waste sorting device, and more particularly, when sorting recycled waste, it is possible to sort recycled waste not only by material but also by color, thereby obtaining high-quality recyclables and evenly distributing sorted objects to a plurality of transfer robots. The present invention relates to a recycling waste sorting device capable of increasing sorting efficiency by minimizing the load of a transfer robot and minimizing the movement line of the transfer robot.

In general, mixed wastes discharged from homes, factories, etc. are collected at garbage collection points, and cans, bottles, plastics, etc. are sorted and recycled as recyclables.

In order to increase the recycling efficiency of waste, it is important to sort and separate recyclable waste by type from collected waste.

Conventionally, waste sorting was mostly done manually. When manually sorting waste, a worker stands on the side of the conveyor and sorts and sorts the mixed waste being transported according to type, material, size, color, etc.

This manual sorting method takes a long time, reduces work efficiency, and increases cost burden including labor costs.

In recent years, various automation systems have been introduced to automate waste sorting, but it is not easy to implement a system that accurately and automatically classifies recycled waste by type or material.

So, in order to solve this problem, the technology described in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2223381 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has been proposed, the technical feature of which is to supply recycled waste from the outside to the main conveyor 120 An input unit 110 for inputting to a predetermined position, including a vibrating screen that vibrates recycled waste supplied from the outside to evenly spread and input the recycled waste to a predetermined position on the main conveyor 120; A main conveyor 120 having a plurality of openings and having an endless track transfer member for receiving and transporting recycled waste from the input unit 110; Optics disposed in the recycling waste conveyance path of the main conveyor 120 to irradiate light onto the recycled waste transported by the main conveyor 120 and receive reflected light reflected from the recycled waste to detect the material and size of the recycled waste. analyzer 140; Located downstream of the optical analyzer 140 on the recycling waste transport path of the main conveyor 120 along the recycling waste transport direction, but in a direction in which the recycled waste crosses the recycling waste transport direction of the main conveyor 120 A plurality of sub-conveyors 130 disposed above the main conveyor 120 so as to be transported to; A transport robot disposed in the recycling waste transport path of the main conveyor 120 to selectively pick up the recycled waste transported by the main conveyor 140 and transport it to at least one of the plurality of sub conveyors 130 ( 150, 170); Air is blown outward of the caterpillar-type transfer member through the opening of the caterpillar-type transfer member to transport selected wastes among the recycled waste transported on the caterpillar-type transfer member to at least one of the plurality of sub-conveyors 130. an air blowing unit disposed in an inner space surrounded by the caterpillar transfer member so as to be pushed up; and a controller 180 that receives a detection signal from the optical analyzer 140 and controls the transport robot and the air blowing unit according to the detection signal of the optical analyzer.

However, the technology described in Korean Registered Patent No. 10-2223381 has the advantage of increasing the sorting efficiency by automatically sorting the recycled waste, but it is difficult to sort only the waste plastic material using NIR. However, since it is impossible to sort by color, there is a problem in that the quality of recycled plastic deteriorates.

In addition, the technology described in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2223381 has a plurality of

transport robots

150 and 170 in one optical analyzer 140, and when the

transport robots

150 and 170 fail to pick up the recycling waste, There is a problem in that accurate selection is impossible because there is no means to detect it.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to select an object for sorting and removal through an optical sensor among recycled waste moving along a conveyor, and to remove the object through a transfer robot. However, the sensing unit consists of a first camera for detecting a near-infrared (NIR) wavelength and a second camera for detecting an RGB value, and can detect not only the material of the recycled waste but also the color, thereby improving the quality of the recycled waste sorting device is to provide

And, another object of the present invention is to check not only the RGB information of the object but also the depth information of the object in the first camera constituting the sensing unit for selecting the object to be removed, so that the thickness of the object can be determined, so that the delta for adsorbing and removing the object It is an object of the present invention to provide a recycling waste sorting device capable of stably adsorbing and removing objects by accurately controlling the position of the Z-axis, which is the vertical direction of the robot, which is a transfer robot.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to set one sensing unit, a plurality of transfer robots, and a control device for controlling the transfer robots as one set, but when allocating objects to be removed detected by the sensing unit to a plurality of transfer robots. , By distributing sequentially to each transfer robot to prevent overload on each transfer robot, and each transfer robot removes the closest object from the current position to provide a recycling waste sorting device that removes the object with the minimum movement will be.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to detect immediately when a transfer robot drops an object in the process of adsorbing an object to be removed and moving it to a collection box located on the side of the conveyor, and move to the next object without moving to the collection box. It is to provide a recycling waste sorting device that can reduce the waste of copper wire.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to configure a recycling waste sorting device with a plurality of sets of a sensing unit and a plurality of transfer robots, so that even if the object to be removed is not completely removed from the front set, to remove it from the rear set By doing so, it is to provide a recycling waste sorting device that can increase the accuracy of sorting.

The present invention to solve these problems;

A conveyor for moving recyclable waste, a sensor for acquiring information on recyclable waste on the conveyor, a transfer robot for removing objects selected from among the recyclable waste from the conveyor, and information obtained from the sensor and a control device for controlling the transfer robot to select an object to be removed from the recyclable waste and to remove the object to be removed.

Here, the sensing unit is composed of a light for irradiating light on the recycled waste, a first camera for obtaining RGB information of the recycled waste, and a second camera for obtaining near-infrared (NIR) wavelength information of the recycled waste. do.

The first camera further acquires depth information, which is the degree to which the recyclable waste protrudes upward from the surface of the conveyor, and the controller determines the vertical height of the transfer robot for adsorbing the object to be removed through the depth information. characterized by control.

At this time, it is characterized in that a dark room for blocking light introduced from the outside is further installed on the outside of the sensing unit.

Meanwhile, the transfer robot is provided with a grip module for adsorbing an object to be removed. The grip module includes a head member having negative pressure formed therein, a plurality of adsorption members coupled to the lower portion of the head member, and the head member. It is characterized in that it consists of a neck member installed on the top and connected to the ring blower installed outside to form a negative pressure inside the head member.

Here, the suction member is formed in a bellows shape, and at an upper end is formed a first coupling portion inserted inward through a through hole formed in a lower portion of the head member, and a hollow fixing member is provided inside the head member. And, the lower portion of the fixing member is characterized in that the second coupling portion inserted and fixed to the first coupling portion protrudes downward.

At this time, an adsorption control hole communicating with the inside is formed on one side of the neck member, and an adsorption control unit for controlling air inflow from the outside is connected to the adsorption control hole.

In addition, a plurality of transfer robots are installed, and the controller sequentially allocates the selected removal objects to the transfer robot.

Here, the controller is characterized in that, among the objects to be removed assigned to each transfer robot, the object to be removed closest to the current position of the grip module is removed.

At this time, a pressure sensor is further provided in the grip module to transmit pressure information to the control device, and when the grip module drops the object to be removed during transport, the control device detects a drop in pressure and controls the movement of the grip module. It is characterized by controlling to stop and to remove the object to be removed closest to the current position of the grip module.

According to the present invention having the above configuration, an object for sorting and removal is selected from recyclable waste moving along the conveyor through an optical sensor and the object is removed through a transfer robot, but the sensor detects a near-infrared (NIR) wavelength It consists of a first camera for detecting and a second camera for detecting RGB values, and can detect not only the material of the recycled waste but also the color, so that the quality of the recycled product can be improved.

In addition, the present invention allows the first camera constituting the sensing unit for selecting the object to be removed to check not only the RGB information of the object but also the depth information, so that the thickness of the object can be determined. Consisting of a delta robot for adsorbing and removing the object Since the position of the Z-axis, which is the vertical direction of the transfer robot, can be accurately controlled, there is an effect of stably adsorbing and removing the object.

In addition, in the present invention, one sensing unit, a plurality of transfer robots, and a control device for controlling the transfer robots are set as one set, but when the objects to be removed detected by the sensing unit are allocated to the plurality of transfer robots, they are alternately distributed. Thus, overload is prevented from occurring in each transfer robot, and each transfer robot has the effect of removing the object closest to the current position to remove the object with the minimum movement.

In addition, in the present invention, when the transfer robot absorbs an object to be removed and moves it to a collection box located on the side of the conveyor, when the object is dropped, it immediately detects it and moves to the next object without moving to the collection box, thereby reducing the waste of copper lines. have the effect of reducing it.

In addition, the present invention configures a recycling waste sorting device with a plurality of sets of a sensing unit and a plurality of transfer robots, so that even if the object to be removed is not completely removed from the front set, it is removed from the rear set, This has the effect of increasing accuracy.

1 is a side view of a conventional recycling waste sorting device.

2 is a block diagram of main parts of a conventional recycling waste sorting device.

3 is a conceptual diagram of a recycling waste sorting device according to the present invention.

4 is a plan view of a recycling waste sorting device according to the present invention.

5 is an exploded perspective view of the grip module of the recycling waste sorting device according to the present invention.

6 is a block diagram of a recycling waste sorting device according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals are used for the same components in the drawings, and redundant descriptions of the same components are omitted. And, it should be understood that the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the described embodiments.

3 is a conceptual diagram of a recycling waste sorting device according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the recycling waste sorting device according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a grip module of the recycling waste sorting device according to the present invention. 6 is a block diagram of the recycling waste sorting device according to the present invention.

The present invention relates to a recycling waste sorting device, and as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the configuration includes a conveyor 200 that moves recycling waste and a sensing unit 300 that acquires information on the recycling waste on the conveyor 200. ) and the transfer robot 400 for removing the object to be removed selected from the recycled waste from the conveyor 200, the sensing unit 300, and the controller 600 for controlling the transfer robot 400.

Here, the control device 600 selects an object to be removed through information on recycled waste obtained through the sensor 300, and controls the transfer robot 400 to move along the conveyor 200. The object is removed to the outside of the conveyor 200.

Thus, the recyclable waste sorting device of the present invention automatically sorts the recyclable waste moving by the conveyor 200 and removes it from the conveyor 200, so that the entire process is automatically performed and the sorting efficiency is increased.

In addition, the sensing unit 300 acquires information for sorting the recyclable waste moving along the conveyor 200, and obtains RGB information of the lighting 330 and the recyclable waste for irradiating light on the recyclable waste. It consists of a first camera 310 for a first camera 310 and a second camera 320 for acquiring near-infrared (NIR) wavelength information of recycling waste.

Here, the control device 600 can check the color through the RBG information of the recycled waste received from the first camera 310, and the recycled waste through the near-infrared wavelength information received through the second camera 320. material can be judged.

At this time, the control device 600 determines the color and material of the recycled waste through data accumulated for a long time by applying artificial intelligence (AI), and determines the color and material more accurately by applying machine learning.

So, in the past, only the material was simply judged, but in the present invention, not only the material but also the color are automatically identified and classified, thereby improving the quality of recycled goods.

In other words, recycled pads include not only transparent colors but also various colors. When recycled in transparent colors, they can be used everywhere. However, when recycled in a mixed state, they can be used only when colored is required, which reduces the quality. Fall down.

Therefore, in the present invention, the quality of the recycled product is improved by considering the color and sorting it so that transparent is recycled in a transparent state and colored is recycled in a colored state.

On the other hand, as described above, the first camera 310 constituting the sensing unit 300 may further obtain depth information as well as RGB information for determining the color of the recycled waste, the depth information being the conveyor ( 200) means the degree to which recycled waste protrudes upward from the surface.

Here, the control device 600 can calculate the height of each removal object through the depth information received from the sensor 300, and accordingly, when controlling each transfer robot 400 composed of a delta robot, each removal It is possible to stably adsorb an object by accurately controlling the vertical height for adsorbing the object.

That is, the control device 600 sets the adsorption height of the transfer robot 400 excessively low so that the object is not reliably adsorbed because the position of the object is changed by the downwardly pressing force, or, on the contrary, the adsorption height is set high. Therefore, it is stably prevented from not being able to adsorb the object due to weak suction power.

In addition, a darkroom 340 is further installed outside the sensing unit 300, and the darkroom 340 blocks light coming in from the outside to prevent recycling waste from being affected by light, and the lighting 330 ), only the light irradiated by the recycled waste is reflected, so that color (RGB) information, near-infrared ray information, and depth information can be obtained more accurately.

And, as described above, the transfer robot 400 is composed of a delta robot, and a grip module 410 for adsorbing an object to be removed is provided at the lower end. The grip module 410 has a head inside which negative pressure is formed. It consists of a member 440 and a plurality of suction members 450 coupled to the lower portion of the head member 440 and a neck member 430 installed on the upper portion of the head member 440 and installed outside.

Here, an installation bracket 420 is provided on the upper part of the neck member 430 and coupled to the lower part of the transfer robot 400. The installation bracket 420 is an upper bracket fixed to the lower part of the transfer robot 400. 422 and a lower bracket 424 fixed to an upper portion of the neck member 430, and the upper bracket 422 and the lower bracket 424 are coupled to each other by screwing.

At this time, the neck member 430 is connected to an externally installed ring blower (not shown) through a suction pipe, and the neck member 430 is discharged by the ring blower to discharge air accommodated inside the neck member 430. A negative pressure is formed inside the head member 440 and the adsorbing member 450, which are installed so that the insides communicate with each other, thereby adsorbing the object to be removed through the adsorbing member 450.

On the other hand, the head member 440 is formed in a box shape with an open bottom and an empty inside, and a lower plate 442 is detachably installed at the open bottom through bolts or the like.

Here, the adsorption member 450 is formed in a bellows shape using rubber, synthetic rubber, silicon, etc., and the first coupling part 452 is formed at the upper end of the adsorption member 450 so as to protrude upward to the lower plate. It is inserted so as to pass through the through hole 444 formed in 442 from the bottom to the top.

At this time, the inside of the head member 440 is provided with a hollow fixing member 460, the lower portion of the fixing member 460 is formed so that the second coupling portion 462 protrudes downward, the second The coupling part 462 is inserted into the first coupling part 452 .

Thus, the stepped portion formed on the outer side of the lower end of the first coupling portion 452 is supported on the outer side of the lower surface of the through hole 444, and the stepped portion formed on the outer side of the upper end of the second coupling portion 462 is of the through hole 444. By being supported on the outer side of the upper surface, the adsorption member 450 and the fixing member 460 are installed to be located above and below the lower plate 442 .

In addition, a locking protrusion 464 is further formed on the outer circumferential surface of the lower end of the second coupling portion 462, and the locking protrusion 464 is formed to be inclined downward to facilitate insertion into the first coupling portion 452. After being inserted, it is prevented from being arbitrarily separated by the locking jaw 464, so that the adsorption member 450 and the fixing member 460 are firmly coupled.

At this time, hollows are also formed in the first and

second coupling parts

452 and 462 to communicate with the inner space of the head member 440, so that when a negative pressure is formed inside the head member 440 by the neck member 430, the The suction member 450 also has a negative pressure formed therein, so that external air is sucked in.

Therefore, when an object is located at the bottom of the adsorption member 450, it can adsorb the object and move the object through the transfer robot 400 in an adsorbed state.

On the other hand, as described above, a ring blower (not shown) is separately provided outside to spray the air inside the head member 440 to the outside through the neck member 430, on one side of the neck member 430. A pipe connection portion 432 connected to the ring blower through a suction pipe (not shown) protrudes to the side.

Here, an adsorption control hole 434 is formed on the other side of the neck member 430 to communicate with the inside, and an adsorption control unit (not shown) that controls air inflow from the outside of the adsorption control hole 434 is connected.

At this time, the adsorption control unit is formed in a valve shape and maintains a closed state in a state in which the object to be removed is adsorbed to the lower portion of the adsorption member 450 to move the object to be removed in an adsorbed state, and to the side of the conveyor 200. When an object to be removed is located in the located collection box 520, the adsorption control unit is opened to allow external air to flow in through the neck member 430, thereby weakening the internal negative pressure of the head member 440 and adsorbing member 450 ) causes the object to be removed adsorbed to the lower part to fall to the lower part and be collected in the collection box 520.

In addition, although only one adsorption member 450 may be installed, as shown in the drawing, a plurality of adsorption members 450 are installed at regular intervals to be adsorbed to each part of the upper surface of the object to be removed.

At this time, even if the shape of the object to be removed is not flat, as described above, the adsorption member 450 is formed in a bellows shape using an elastic material such as rubber, synthetic rubber, or silicon, so that it is bent to fit the shape of the surface of the object to be removed. It can be adhered stably, so it can be firmly adsorbed.

Of course, as described above, since a plurality of adsorbents 450 are installed, even if some of them are not adsorbed, it is possible to stably adsorb and move the object to be removed located at the bottom.

And, in the recyclable waste sorting device of the present invention, a plurality of transfer robots 400 are allocated to one sensing unit 300. Depending on the situation, two transfer robots 400 may be installed as shown in the drawing, , Three or more transfer robots 400 may be installed.

Here, the control device 600 determines the object to be removed through the information received from the sensing unit 300 and controls each transfer robot 400 to remove the object. The control device 600 Allocates the selected removal objects sequentially to a plurality of transfer robots 400 so that all transfer robots 400 operate evenly, thereby preventing overload on a specific transfer robot 400.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 6, the control device 600 includes a core 610 that directly processes information received from the first and

second cameras

310 and 320 and a storage unit in which an algorithm for processing the received information is stored. 620 and a robot controller 630 for directly controlling the transfer robot 400 composed of a delta robot and an interface 640 relaying between the robot controller 630 and the core 610.

At this time, the storage unit 620 stores all of the information received through the first and

second cameras

310 and 320 and information determined therethrough, and the core 610 is removed through an algorithm stored in the storage unit 620. Not only the object is judged, but also the size and volume of the object to be removed are judged, and this judgment criterion is learned through machine learning as described above so that it can be judged more accurately.

In addition, the control device 600 controls to remove the object to be removed closest to the current position of the grip module 410 installed below the transfer robot 400 among the objects to be removed assigned to each transfer robot 400, will minimize

Here, the control device 600 controls the transfer robot 400 to normally adsorb the object to be removed, and then move it to each collection box 520 located on the side of the conveyor 200. When moving, the object to be removed If it does not fall, it moves from the location of the collection box 520 to the next object to be removed.

However, due to various circumstances, even if the object to be removed falls from the adsorption member 450 in the process of moving the object to be removed to the collection box 520 after the transfer robot 400 adsorbs it, it cannot be confirmed. After moving up to , unnecessary movement is generated because it moves to the next object to be removed.

Therefore, in the present invention, a pressure sensor (not shown) is further provided in the grip module 410 to detect the internal pressure in real time to set the internal pressure in the state in which the object to be removed is adsorbed as the reference pressure, and the collection box 520 ), if the current pressure changes more than the error range than the reference pressure in the process of moving to ), it is determined that the object to be removed has fallen.

At this time, the control device 600 immediately stops the movement of the transfer robot 400 and removes the object closest to the current grip module 410 position, thereby minimizing the moving line and increasing the removal efficiency. there will be

In addition, as described above, the conveyor 200, one sensing unit 300, a plurality of transfer robots 400, and one control device 600 are composed of one set. When configured with only one set, When moving for removal, it may fall or be missed due to too many objects to be removed.

Thus, by connecting the two sets in series, even if an object to be removed that is missed or dropped in the front set is removed, it is possible to sort and remove the recycled waste more stably by removing it from the rear set.

Of course, it is natural to form a plurality of sets according to circumstances.

In addition, the transfer robot 400 is installed on an installation frame 500 installed on the side of the conveyor 200, and a protective cover 510 is installed on the side of the installation frame 500 to reduce impact applied from the outside. It is prevented from being transferred to the transfer robot 400 .

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the spirit of the present invention extends to those within the scope substantially equivalent to the embodiments of the present invention. Various modifications and implementations are possible by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains within the scope that does not deviate from the above.

Claims

A conveyor for moving the recycled waste;

A sensing unit for acquiring information of recycled waste on the conveyor;

A transfer robot for removing the object to be removed selected from the recycled waste from the conveyor;

and a control device for controlling the transfer robot to select an object to be removed from the recyclable waste and to remove the object through the information obtained from the sensor.
According to claim 1,

The sensing unit illuminates the recycling waste with light;

A first camera for obtaining RGB information of recycled waste;

Recycling waste sorting device, characterized in that consisting of a second camera for obtaining near infrared (NIR) wavelength information of the recycling waste.
According to claim 2,

The first camera further obtains depth information, which is the degree to which the recycled waste protrudes upward from the surface of the conveyor,

The recycling waste sorting device, characterized in that the control device controls the vertical height of the transfer robot for adsorbing the object to be removed through the depth information.
According to claim 2,

Recycling waste sorting device, characterized in that a dark room for blocking light coming from the outside is further installed on the outside of the sensing unit.
According to claim 1,

The transfer robot is provided with a grip module for adsorbing the object to be removed,

The grip module includes a head member in which negative pressure is formed;

A plurality of adsorption members coupled to the lower portion of the head member;

Recycling waste sorting device, characterized in that consisting of a neck member installed on top of the head member and connected to a ring blower installed outside to form a negative pressure inside the head member.
According to claim 5,

The adsorption member is formed in a bellows shape,

The upper end is formed with a first coupling portion inserted inward through a through hole formed in the lower portion of the head member,

A hollow fixing member is provided inside the head member,

Recyclable waste sorting device, characterized in that the lower part of the fixing member, the second coupling portion inserted and fixed to the first coupling portion protrudes downward.
According to claim 5,

An adsorption control hole communicating with the inside is formed on one side of the neck member,

Recycling waste sorting device, characterized in that the adsorption control unit for controlling the inflow of air from the outside is connected to the adsorption control ball.
According to claim 5,

A plurality of the transfer robots are installed,

The recycling waste sorting device, characterized in that the control device sequentially allocates the sorted removal objects to the transfer robot.
According to claim 8,

The recycling waste sorting device, characterized in that the control device controls to remove the object to be removed closest to the current position of the grip module among the objects to be removed assigned to each transfer robot.
According to claim 9,

A pressure sensor is further provided in the grip module to transmit pressure information to the control device;

When the grip module drops the object to be removed during transport, the control device detects a drop in pressure and stops the movement of the grip module;

Recycling waste sorting device, characterized in that for controlling to remove the removal object closest to the location of the current grip module.