JP3400931B2 - Sorting device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sorting device,
In particular, the present invention relates to a sorting apparatus suitable for sorting plastics according to materials when processing or recycling various plastics such as plastic bottles such as soft drinks, foods, plastic containers such as detergents, and packaging bags.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A large amount of various plastic products such as plastic bottles such as soft drinks, foods, plastic containers such as detergents, packaging bags, etc. are discarded as plastic wastes after use and are disposed of by incineration or landfill. ing. However, in recent years, due to problems in processing facilities, environmental destruction, etc., effective use of plastic waste,
For example, it is considered that fuel is produced from plastic waste, or that plastic materials are separated and recycled as raw materials or materials.

In the case of recycling a plastic molded product such as plastic waste (hereinafter simply referred to as plastic) in this way, it is important to identify the material of the plastic and to sort it by material. For example,
Conventionally known plastic material identification methods include a method of utilizing a difference in specific gravity of plastics and a method of identifying polyvinyl chloride by X-rays.

Further, as disclosed in JP-A-6-308022, JP-A-7-151603, etc., a method of identifying by utilizing near infrared rays is also known.
That is, the plastic is irradiated with near infrared rays to measure the absorption spectrum, and the absorption spectrum is compared with the absorption spectra obtained in advance for various plastics to identify the material of the plastic.

By the way, when the method for identifying the type of plastic as described above is executed, for example, a large number of cluttered plastics of different sizes and shapes are aligned and oriented and arranged in a row. It must be aligned and transported to a target position, that is, a place where the type of plastic is identified. On the other hand, as an alignment supply device, for example, the one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-1725 is known.

As shown in FIG. 8, this apparatus includes a turntable 53 that rotates appropriately, an article input section 52 that sequentially inserts articles to be conveyed 51 on the turntable 53, and a piece to be conveyed on the turntable 53. An article ejecting section 56 for ejecting the article 51 out of the system, and an article to be conveyed 51 provided above the turntable 53 are arranged in a predetermined posture.
A straightening guide 54 that guides this toward the article discharge unit 56
And the conveyed article detecting means 62 and the air nozzle 64 provided between the article discharge section 56, the flow straightening guide 54.

In this apparatus, the article to be conveyed 51 is conveyed by the article inserting section 52 and is sequentially and continuously supplied onto the turntable 53 in appropriate amounts. Conveyed goods 5 supplied
1 is moved in the direction of arrow A by the rotation of the turntable 53, and contacts the rectification guide 54 if there is no obstacle. Since the acting direction of the rotation of the turntable 53 and the extending direction of the rectifying guide 54 have a predetermined angle, the cross-sectional shape of the transported article 51 is an elongated shape such as a rectangle due to the mechanical action caused by this contact. In the case of, the long side or the short side of the conveyed article 51 is substantially parallel to the straightening guide 54. Then, the transported article 51 moves to the end while slidingly contacting the rectification guide 54 by the rotation of the turntable 53 and the action of the rectification guide 54.

[0008]

However, in such a conventional aligning and supplying apparatus, the aligning and feeding apparatus is simply arranged along the outer surface of the straightening guide 54 which is curved along the outer peripheral edge of the turntable 53. Since only the transported article 51 is transported, one transported article 51 and the rectification guide 5
When there is another transported article 51 between the four or when there is another transported article 51 in the vicinity of one transported article 51, the transported articles 51 are surely arranged in one row. Therefore, the articles 51 to be conveyed are stagnate or the like due to clogging or the like during the conveyance, and smooth conveyance cannot be performed.

Furthermore, when such an aligning and feeding device is applied to a device for discriminating plastic materials of different sizes and shapes and separating them according to the material, the articles to be conveyed may overlap the plastic discriminating portion. There is a problem that the plastics are conveyed, which hinders the identification of the plastics, an accurate identification work cannot be performed, and the plastics cannot be separated smoothly.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. For example, articles such as plastics of different sizes and shapes, which are thrown into the hopper in a large amount in a random manner, have the same orientation and posture. An object of the present invention is to provide a sorting device equipped with an aligning device that can surely convey these products in one line and surely convey them to a target position, that is, a place where the type of material, shape, size, etc. can be identified. And

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the sorting apparatus of the invention according to claim 1 is an aligning apparatus for transporting the loaded articles while aligning them in a line and discharging them one by one. A transport device for transporting articles discharged from the aligning device, the transport device including an area for identifying a type of the article and sorting the articles according to the type on or near a transport path. The aligning device includes a turntable that conveys the loaded articles to the conveying device, and a rectifying guide that is provided above the turntable and that aligns the articles conveyed by the turntable in a predetermined posture.
The turntable includes a ring-shaped turntable body having a substantially circular central opening, and a rotary drive device for the turntable body. 2 on the outer edge of the table body
A minimum width forming portion that is in contact with a point and is close to the inner peripheral edge of the central opening portion and forms a minimum width portion between the inner peripheral edge of the central opening portion; A main guide having a carry-in guide section for guiding the article and a carry-out guide section for guiding the article that has passed through the minimum width forming section toward the conveying device; and a main guide provided substantially along the carry-out guide section. An auxiliary guide that guides an article so that the article passes through between the article and a carry-out guide section toward the conveying device, and a central opening portion of the turntable main body is provided with a dropping section for the article that overflows from the article conveying path. It is characterized by

The types of articles in the present invention include types based on various arbitrary criteria such as material, shape, size, etc., and are to be understood in the broadest sense. The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the auxiliary guide has an inclined portion that is inclined so as to gradually narrow the interval between the auxiliary guide and the main guide from the upper side to the lower side.

In this case, a case in which the auxiliary guide has only an inclined portion, that is, a case in which the auxiliary guide is formed only by an inclined portion is included. The invention according to claim 3 is
The end of the auxiliary guide on the inner peripheral side of the turntable body is
It is characterized in that it extends a predetermined length further inward from the inner peripheral edge of the central opening.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the turntable body is provided between an article drop-in portion formed of a central opening and an article insertion section of the turntable body.
It is characterized in that it is configured to include a recirculation device for recirculating the articles dropped in the dropping section onto the turntable body.

The invention according to a fifth aspect is characterized in that the recirculation device comprises a conveyor arranged from a position below a central opening of a turntable body to the article input section. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the transport device is an identification device that identifies a type of an article, and a sorting and ejecting device that sorts and ejects the article from the transport device according to the type based on an identification result of the identification device. And are provided in the transport path or in the vicinity thereof.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the transport device comprises:
It is characterized by comprising a conveyor whose one end is in contact with the turntable body. According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the separation and ejection device is provided with a sequencer to which an identification signal from an identification device is input and a plurality of the ejection devices provided in parallel on one side of the conveyance device along a conveyance path according to the type of the identification signal. And a sequencer of the air jet nozzle corresponding to the type indicated by the identification signal after a predetermined time corresponding to the type indicated by the identification signal after receiving the identification signal. An opening signal is output to an opening / closing means for opening / closing the air passage for a predetermined time.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined time corresponding to the type indicated by the identification signal after receiving the identification signal means that the conveying device is fixed at a constant speed and the type indicated by the identification signal. It is characterized in that the time is preset for each type indicated by the identification signal so that the article identified by the air jet from the corresponding air jet nozzle can be blown away.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the carrying device is provided with a plurality of sorting and discharging parts according to the type of articles in or near the carrying path, and each sorting and discharging part sandwiches the carrying path of the carrying device. It is characterized in that a plurality of partitions are provided on the side opposite to the air jet nozzles so as to face the respective air jet nozzles and are partitioned by a partition plate and arranged in parallel along the transport path.

The invention according to claim 11 is characterized in that the article is plastic, and the identification device is provided with a plastic identification device for identifying the material of the plastic by a spectral analysis method using near infrared rays. .
In addition, in the present invention, a plastic molded product such as a plastic waste is simply referred to as a plastic. This plastic is either thermoplastic or thermosetting.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the identifying device includes a detecting means provided at a predetermined position of the carrying device to detect the presence of plastic. In the identifying device, the detecting means detects the plastic. During this time, the material determination of the plastic is performed every predetermined time unit and the material determination data is accumulated, and when the detection means stops detecting the plastic, the material is finally determined from the accumulated material determination data. In this way, the material with the largest number in the accumulated material discrimination data is determined as the final discrimination material, and the data judged as undecidable among the accumulated material discrimination data is material discrimination. The feature is that the final discrimination material is determined from the remaining material discrimination data excluding the data.

The operation of the present invention will be described. Claim 1
In the invention according to (1), the articles put into the turntable body are conveyed along the flow straightening guide by the rotation of the turntable body, and the aligned articles reach the conveying device. Here, the rectification guide has a function of arranging a large number of articles that have been accumulated and put in one line and arranging them in the direction of the articles so that the articles are conveyed one by one to the conveyance device in the subsequent stage.

In other words, in the carry-in guide section of the main guide, the articles put into the article input section are guided toward the minimum width forming section of the main guide and gradually oriented so as to form one row. It In the minimum width forming part of the main guide, the minimum width part between the minimum width forming part and the central opening of the turntable is set to the minimum width through which the largest article among the processing objects can pass. Items other than those that are properly aligned are dropped into the drop-in portion formed by the central opening and excluded.

In the carry-out guide part of the main guide, the article passing through the minimum width forming part is guided toward the conveying device. The main guide and the auxiliary guide are arranged inside the turntable main body from inside the turntable main body. Since the outer peripheral speed of the turntable main body is faster than the inner peripheral speed of the turntable body, the articles conveyed to the outer peripheral edge are separated from each other. That is,
The separating effect is exerted so that the articles are not brought close to each other and are in contact with each other and are not conveyed.

Further, since the auxiliary guide is provided substantially along the carry-out guide portion of the main guide, movement of the article in the circumferential direction of the turntable body is restricted, and the article is moved from the inside of the turntable to the outer peripheral edge. You can guide smoothly. Therefore, due to the action of such a rectifying guide, the articles finally sent to the conveying device in the subsequent stage are arranged in one row.

The article from the turntable body is conveyed to an area where the type of the article is identified by the conveying device and the article is sorted according to the type. In this area, there may be provided an identification device for identifying the type of the article and a mechanical means such as a sorting apparatus for sorting the articles based on the identification result of the identification apparatus, and further manual identification and sorting work of the articles. May be performed.

In the invention according to claim 2, by providing the auxiliary guide with the inclined portion, the article can be reliably moved along the carry-out guide portion of the main guide regardless of the shape of the article, The separating effect that prevents the articles from being conveyed while being in close contact with each other is more effectively exerted. In the invention according to claim 3, since the end portion of the auxiliary guide on the inner peripheral side of the turntable main body extends a predetermined length further inward from the inner peripheral edge of the central opening, the turntable outer portion extends from the minimum width portion. The article is smoothly guided to the periphery.

In the inventions according to claims 4 and 5, the articles dropped into the dropping portion and excluded are supplied again to the turntable body. In the invention according to claim 6, the article transferred by the transport device reaches the identification device. The types of the articles are identified here, and based on the identification result, the articles are sorted and discharged from the transport device in accordance with the types.

In the invention according to claim 7, the type is identified while the article is conveyed by the conveyor. In the invention according to claim 8, when the identification signal from the identification device is input, the sequencer selects a predetermined air jet nozzle previously determined in correspondence with the type of the article from the identification signal indicating the type of the article. , An opening signal is output to the opening / closing means for opening / closing the air passage of the air jet nozzle for a predetermined time after the time when the identified article comes close to the position of the air jet nozzle, and the predetermined time is output from the air jet nozzle. Only the air jet is ejected, and only the identified article is blown away.

It should be noted that the predetermined time corresponding to the type of the identification signal after the identification signal, which is the time for the identified article to come near the position of the air jet nozzle, is supplied from a speed sensor such as an encoder provided in the conveying device. Of the article transfer speed signal and the distance to the specific air jet nozzle position corresponding to the type of the identification signal. In the invention according to claim 9, when the identification signal from the identification device is input, the sequencer selects a predetermined air jet nozzle previously determined in correspondence with the type of the article from the identification signal indicating the type of the article. , An open signal is output to the opening / closing means for opening / closing the air passage of the air jet nozzle after a predetermined time for each identification signal, and the air jet is ejected from the air jet nozzle for a predetermined time. Then, only the identified article is blown away.

In the invention according to claim 10, the article identified by the air jet nozzle corresponding to the identified type of article is blown toward the respective sorting and discharging portions corresponding to the type of article. In the invention according to claim 11, the material of the plastic is identified by the spectroscopic analysis method using the near infrared ray, and the classification for each material of the plastic is executed.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the identification device determines the material of the plastic for each predetermined time unit while the detection means is detecting the plastic, and accumulates the material determination data. When the plastic is no longer detected, the material is finally determined from the accumulated material discrimination data. In addition, the most discriminated material among the accumulated material discrimination data is set as the final discrimination material, and the data determined to be undecidable among the accumulated material discrimination data is excluded from the material discrimination data. Then, the final discriminating material is determined from the remaining material discriminating data. As a result, the material of the main component that constitutes the plastic is identified and sorted, and even when the plastic is soiled and difficult to identify due to the soiling, the material is identified by the remaining less soiled portion.

[0032]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the embodiment described below,
This is an example in which the sorting apparatus of the present invention is applied as a product to sort plastic bottles such as soft drinks, plastic containers such as foods and detergents, and plastic wastes such as packaging bags.

First, one embodiment of the sorting apparatus is shown in FIGS.
It will be described based on. In these figures, the sorting device conveys the plastic wastes 1 that have been input, aligns them in a line and discharges them one by one, and conveys the plastic wastes 1 discharged from this alignment device 2. The transport device 3 is configured to include a transport device 3 having an area for identifying the type of plastic and separating the plastic waste 1 according to the type on or near the transport path. That is, the carrying device 3 includes an identification device 4 for identifying the type of plastic, a plurality of sorting and discharging units 5 provided downstream of the identification device 4 for the type of plastic, and an identification result of the identification device 4. On the basis of the above, a sorting and discharging device 6 (see FIG. 4) for sorting and discharging the plastic waste 1 to the sorting and discharging part 5 corresponding to the type of the plastic is provided in the transport path or in the vicinity thereof.

The aligning device 2 identifies the plastic waste 1 on the turntable 8 and the plastic waste 1 on the turntable 8, the plastic article 1 that sequentially loads the plastic waste 1 on the turntable 8. An article ejecting section 10 for ejecting to the device 4 and a rectification guide which is provided above the turntable 8 to align the thrown plastic waste 1 in a predetermined posture and guide it toward the article ejecting section 10. 11 is included.

The turntable 8 has a circular central opening 1
2 includes an annular turntable body 13 having an opening 2 and a rotary drive device for the turntable body 13, and the introduced plastic waste 1 is transported by a transport device 3
Transport to. The turntable body 13 is supported by the support legs 14 at a predetermined height. An annular rail member 15 is fixedly attached to the upper end portion of the support foot 14, and wheels 16 fixedly attached to the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the turntable body 13 are supported on the rail member 15.

A ring-shaped mounting member 17 is fixedly mounted around the central opening 12 on the lower surface of the turntable main body 13. The mounting member 17 is brought into horizontal contact with the inner peripheral surface of the mounting member 17. A roller member 21 that rotatably supports is provided. An annular gear 18 having teeth on its outer peripheral surface is fixedly attached to the outer peripheral portion of the mounting member 17.

A motor 19 is fixedly attached to a side portion of the support foot 14, and a gear 20 meshing with the gear 18 is fixedly attached to a rotation drive shaft of the motor 19, and the gear 20 is driven by the motor 19. The gear 18 meshing with the gear 20 rotates, and the turntable body 13 is driven to rotate right as indicated by the arrow in FIG. The rectification guide 11 is
It is composed of a main guide 11A and an auxiliary guide 11B.

The main guide 11A communicates with two points (start point X and end point Y) on the outer peripheral edge of the turntable main body 13 and is close to the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12, and the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12 is formed. Minimum width forming part 1 forming minimum width part 13b between
1b, the carry-in guide part 11a for guiding the plastic waste 1 into which the thrown-in plastic waste 1 is directed toward the minimum width forming part 11b, and the plastic waste 1 passing through the minimum width forming part 11b is directed to the conveying device 3. And a carry-out guide portion 11c for guiding the plastic waste 1 as described above.

Particularly in this embodiment, the main guide 11
A connects the starting point X in the vicinity of the article insertion portion 9 on the outer peripheral edge of the turntable body 13 and the end point Y in the vicinity of the article discharging portion 10 which is separated from the starting point X by a predetermined angle with respect to the center of the turntable body 13. Is provided in a substantially arc shape along the inner peripheral edge of the central opening portion 12, and gradually approaches the inner peripheral edge of the central opening portion 12 on the way from the starting point X to the end point Y of the outer peripheral edge of the turntable body 13. A minimum width portion 13b is formed between the inner peripheral edge of the turntable body 12 and the inner peripheral edge of the turntable body 12. The plate member is provided so as to extend from the minimum width portion 13b to the end point Y of the outer peripheral edge of the turntable body 13.

The auxiliary guide 11B is the main guide 11A.
The plastic waste 1 is provided substantially along the carry-out guide portion 11c, and is configured to guide the plastic waste 1 so that the plastic waste 1 passes through between the carry-out guide portion 11c and the conveying device 3. That is, the auxiliary guide 11B traverses from the inner peripheral edge to the outer peripheral edge of the turntable main body 13 at the article outlet portion 10 at a predetermined distance substantially in parallel with the end guide Y of the main guide 11A and along the shape of the carry-out guide portion 11c for a predetermined length. It is composed of a plate member. The end portion 11d of the auxiliary guide 11B on the inner peripheral side of the turntable body 13 is extended further inward from the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12 by a predetermined length.

The main guide 11A and the auxiliary guide 11B
And the turntable body 1 supported by the support feet 14.
3 Shielding cover 2 arranged so as to cover the outer peripheral portion and the upper surface portion
2 are suspended from and supported by the upper wall of the turntable 2, and the lower end surfaces thereof are arranged so as to be separated from the upper surface of the turntable body 13 by a predetermined distance (a slight gap). The rectification guide 11
The minimum width portion 13b of the width of the article conveying path formed on the upper surface of the turntable body 13 is
It is provided at a position separated by an angle of about 180 degrees from the article input section 9 with respect to the center, and the maximum width of the plastic waste 1 to be input is set to the minimum width that can pass.

The central opening 12 of the turntable body 13 serves as a drop-in portion for the plastic waste 1 overflowing from the above-mentioned article transport path. The sorting device further includes an article supply device 23 and a recirculation device 24, and these configurations will be described. The article supply device 23 includes a hopper 25 into which the plastic waste 1 is input, and a conveyor 26 that conveys and supplies the plastic waste 1 supplied from the hopper 25 to the article input unit 9 of the alignment device 4.

The hopper 25 comprises a conveyor 28 supported by supporting feet 27 at a predetermined height, and an inverted trapezoidal box-shaped hopper body 29 on the upper portion of the conveyor 28. An outlet 29A is opened in the lower part of the front wall of the hopper body 29. On the belt of the conveyor 28, a large number of scraping plates 30 are provided upright at predetermined intervals in the transport direction.

In the upper opening of the hopper body 29,
A discharge control member such as a chain 31 that controls the number of discharged plastic wastes 1 so as not to discharge a large amount of plastic wastes 1 at a time from the discharge outlets 29A is attached to the position near the discharge outlets 29A. The conveyor 26 includes a horizontal conveyor 32, an inclined conveyor 33 that is in contact with an unloading portion of the horizontal conveyor 32, and extends obliquely upward.
It is composed of a pair of shield plates 34 rising from both sides of both conveyors 32 and 33.

In this case, the carry-in section of the horizontal conveyor 32 is
It is located below the discharge port 29A of the hopper 29, and the carry-out section of the inclined conveyor 33 is located above the article loading section 9 of the turntable body 13 of the aligning device 4. In order to accurately supply the plastic waste 1 carried out from the carry-out section of the inclined conveyor 33 to the article input section 9 of the turntable body 13 by dropping it onto the upper surface of the turntable body 13 without scattering laterally. A chute 35 is provided.

A large number of scraping plates 30 are provided on the belts of the horizontal conveyor 32 and the inclined conveyor 33, respectively.
Are provided so as to stand up at predetermined intervals in the transport direction. On the other hand, the recirculation device 24 includes the turntable body 13
Is provided between the article dropping part consisting of the central opening 12 and the article dropping part 9 of the turntable body 13, and the plastic waste 1 dropped in the article dropping part is placed on the turntable body 13. It is a device for recirculation, and is composed of a return conveyor 36.

The return conveyor 36 is a belt conveyor, and is composed of a first conveyor 36A, a second conveyor 36B, and a third conveyor 36C.
The first conveyor 36A is arranged below the central opening 12 of the turntable body 13 and extends in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the inclined conveyor 33 in the article supply device 23.

The second conveyor 36B is arranged so as to extend from the unloading position of the first conveyor 36A to the hopper 25 position in parallel with the conveying direction of the inclined conveyor 33 in the article supply device 23. The third conveyor 36C is the second
It is arranged so as to be in contact with the carry-out portion of the conveyor 36B and extend obliquely to the upper end open portion of the hopper 25.

Here, in the present embodiment, the conveying device 3, the identifying device 4, and the sorting and discharging device 6 are unitized as one plastic sorting system. The structure of this unit will be described below. The transfer device 3 has a position in which one end is in contact with the article discharge part 10 of the turntable body 13 and the other end is beyond the position of the hopper 25 in parallel with the inclined conveyor 33 and the second conveyor 36B of the return conveyor 36. Sorting conveyor 37 extending up to
The identification device 4 is installed in the middle of the conveying path of the sorting conveyor 37, and the sorting and discharging section 5 is provided near the end of the conveying path.
Is provided. In this embodiment, the sorting conveyor 37 is a belt conveyor.

As the identification device 4, a plastic identification device for identifying the type of plastic by a spectral analysis method using near infrared rays is applied. First, the basic principle of this plastic identification device will be described. That is, near infrared light is light having a wavelength of 0.8 to 2.5 μm,
Infrared also refers to something close to visible light.

A substance having a carbon bond or a hydrogen bond in its molecular structure, that is, C--H, OH, N--H, C = O, C = C.
When a substance with a structure such as is irradiated with light in the near infrared region,
The structure resonates with the overtone of the reference vibration or the combined sound to absorb the energy. The degree of absorption at each wavelength changes depending on the difference in the molecular structure, and an absorption spectrum with respect to the wavelength can be obtained. The above-mentioned resonance is a complicated thing peculiar to a substance such as stretching vibration and bending vibration, and a lot of information is included in the spectrum.

Therefore, it is possible to identify the type of plastic by registering the absorption spectra of various plastics as a database and comparing them with the measured absorption spectra. Next, a specific configuration of the plastic identification device 4 will be described. That is, in FIG. 4, the plastic identification device 4 is provided with a measuring head 38, and the measuring head 38, as shown in FIG. 5, has a light emitting unit 38A for irradiating the plastic waste 1 with near infrared rays. , And a light receiving section 38B for receiving the reflected light from the plastic waste 1.

A halogen lamp containing near infrared rays is provided as a light source in the light emitting section 38A to which the lamp power cable 38a is connected, and the optical fiber cable 38b is connected to the light receiving section 38B. The light from the light emitting unit 8A is applied to the plastic waste 1, and the reflected light from the plastic waste 1 is received by the light receiving unit 38B.

The received reflected light passes through the optical fiber cable 38b, is decomposed into wavelengths by the spectroscope, and is converted into an analog signal by the near infrared ray detecting element. This analog signal is amplified by a dedicated amplifier and then converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter. Then, the type of plastic of the plastic waste 1 is identified by comparing with the data of various plastic databases created in advance.

The identification signal from the plastic identification device 4 is input to the sequencer 39 described later. Also,
A monitor 40 is connected to the plastic identification device 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the sorting and discharging device 6 includes a control panel 41 having a sequencer 39 into which an identification signal from the plastic identifying device 4 is input, an operation panel 42 connected to the control panel 41, and a sorting panel. A plurality of (for example, four) air jet nozzles 43 are provided in parallel on one side of the end of the conveyor 37 along the transport path.

In this case, the control signal from the sequencer 39 is output to the solenoid valve 43A as an opening / closing means for opening / closing the air passage of the predetermined air jet nozzle 43 according to the material of the plastic waste 1 to be described later. It has become so. Here, the sorting and discharging unit 5 sandwiches the end of the transport path of the sorting conveyor 37, and the air jet nozzle 43.
On the side opposite to the air jet nozzles 43, a plurality (for example, four) are provided in parallel along the conveyance path, partitioned by the partition plates 5A so as to face the air jet nozzles 43, respectively. A recovery box is movably installed at 5. The partition plate 5A of the sorting and discharging unit 5 may be fixed in contact with the sorting conveyor 37, or may be provided in the vicinity of the sorting conveyor 37 with a little space left between them. Although not shown, a chute similar to the chute 35 is provided above the sorting and discharging section 5 so that the plastic waste 1 blown away is not scattered laterally, and the inside of the sorting and discharging section 5 can be accurately controlled. I am trying to drop it in the collection box.

Next, the plastic material discrimination sequence will be described. Turn on the power of the plastic identification device 4
By doing so, light including near infrared rays is emitted from the light emitting portion 38A of the measuring head 38 of the plastic identification device 4. The plastic waste 1 is put into the sorting conveyor 37 and guided to the lower side of the measuring head 38 of the plastic identification device 4.

At that time, the photoelectric switch 45 as a detecting means provided on the conveying path before the measuring head 38 of the plastic identifying device 4 is turned on. This photoelectric switch 45
Is kept ON during the passage of the plastic waste 1. While the photoelectric switch 45 is ON, that is, while the photoelectric switch 45 is detecting the plastic waste 1, the plastic identification device 4 determines the material of the plastic waste 1 every 0.01 seconds, for example. Accumulate material judgment data.

When the photoelectric switch 45 is turned off,
That is, when the photoelectric switch 45 stops detecting the plastic waste 1, the plastic identification device 4 finally determines the material from the accumulated material determination data. As a method of finally determining the material from the material determination data, for example, when the photoelectric switch 45 is turned on for 1 second and the material determination data is 100
Accumulates twice. And, for example, out of 100 times, 1
If 0 times is the material discrimination data of the material A and 90 times is the material discrimination data of the material B, the plastic identification device 4 finally determines and discriminates the material of B having much material discrimination data.

Further, if there is 60 times the data which is judged to be undecidable due to the paper stuck on the surface, dirt, etc. among the data accumulated 100 times, the plastic identification device 4 judges the material 60 times. The material is finally determined and discriminated from the remaining 40 material discrimination data. For example, out of 40 times, if 10 times is the material discrimination data of the material A and 30 times is the material discrimination data of the material B, the plastic discriminating apparatus 4 finally has a large amount of the material discrimination data B.
Determined as the material of.

The plastic discriminating apparatus 4 discriminating the material in this way outputs a material discriminating signal (identification signal) to the sequencer 39. The sequencer 39 to which the material discrimination signal (identification signal) is input corresponds to the type of material indicated by the material discrimination signal after a predetermined time corresponding to the type of material indicated by the material discrimination signal after receiving the material discrimination signal. Opening / closing means 43A for opening / closing the air passage of the air jet nozzle 43
An open signal is output for a predetermined time.

The predetermined time corresponding to the type of material indicated by the material determination signal after receiving the material determination signal corresponds to the type of material indicated by the material determination signal when the sorting conveyor 37 is fixed at a constant speed. The time is artificially preset in the sequencer 39 for each type of material indicated by the material discrimination signal so that the plastic waste 1 discriminated by the air jet from the air jet nozzle 43 can be blown away.

Therefore, when the sequencer 39 receives the material discriminating signal from the plastic identifying device 4, the sequencer detects the material discriminating signal indicating the material type of the plastic waste 1 in advance to correspond to the material type of the plastic waste 1. Opening / closing means 43A for selecting a predetermined air jet nozzle 43 and opening / closing the air passage of the air jet nozzle 43.
In addition, after a predetermined time for each material discrimination signal, an open signal is output for a predetermined time, the air jet is ejected from the air jet nozzle 43 for a predetermined time, and only the determined plastic waste 1 is blown off. . The plastic waste 1 is sorted and discharged according to the determined material.
It is blown away toward, and is discharged to the sorting and discharging unit 5, and is collected in the collecting box in the sorting and discharging unit 5.

Next, the operation of the sorting apparatus having such a configuration will be described. The plastic waste 1 is put into the hopper 25. The injected plastic waste 1 is conveyed by driving the conveyor 28 below the hopper 25, is supplied from the discharge port 29A of the hopper body 29 to the horizontal conveyor 32, and is fed from the horizontal conveyor 32 to the inclined conveyor 33.
Is supplied to. The plastic waste 1 supplied to the inclined conveyor 33 is conveyed upward and is loaded into the article loading unit 9 of the turntable body 13 of the aligning device 4.

In this case, since the scraper plate 30 is provided on each belt of the conveyor 28, the horizontal conveyor 32 and the inclined conveyor 33 of the hopper 25, the plastic waste 1 is prevented from slipping and a smooth transfer is performed. Be seen. Moreover, the plastic waste 1 is prevented from being discharged from the discharge port 29A at one time by the regulating member such as the chain 31 suspended from the discharge port 29A of the hopper body 29, and the clogging at the discharge port 29A is prevented. To be done.

Furthermore, since the chute 35 is provided in the article inputting section 9 of the turntable body 13 of the aligning device 4 and the plastic waste 1 is dropped and supplied inside the chute 35,
The plastic waste 1 is prevented from coming off the article input part 9 and scattering to the outside. The plastic waste 1 thrown into the article throwing section 9 of the turntable body 13 is conveyed along the flow straightening guide 11 by the right rotation of the turntable body 13 and reaches the article discharging section 10.

Here, the rectification guide 11 is used for the article loading section 9
1 plastic waste 1 accumulated in many
It has a function of arranging in the direction of the plastic waste 1 so that the plastic wastes 1 are aligned in a row and conveyed one by one to the sorting conveyor 37 in the subsequent stage. That is, the main guide 11A of the straightening guide 11
Is connected to two points (start point X and end point Y) on the outer peripheral edge of the turntable body 13 and is close to the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12, and has a minimum width portion 13b between the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12 and the inner peripheral edge. A minimum width forming part 11b to be formed, a carry-in guide part 11a for guiding the plastic waste 1 so that the input plastic waste 1 is directed to the minimum width forming part 11b, and a plastic waste 1 having passed through the minimum width forming part 11b. Is the transport device 3
And a carrying-out guide portion 11c for guiding the plastic waste 1 so as to be directed toward, and in particular, in the present embodiment, a starting point X in the vicinity of the article loading portion 9 on the outer peripheral edge of the turntable main body 13 is formed. It is provided in a substantially arc shape along the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12 so as to connect the starting point X to an end point Y in the vicinity of the article discharge portion 10 which is separated from the center of the turntable body 13 by a predetermined angle, and also has a turn shape. On the way from the starting point X of the outer peripheral edge of the table body 13 to the end point Y, gradually approach the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12, and then gradually move away from the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12 to reach the end point Y of the outer peripheral edge of the turntable body 13. Since the article conveying path on the turntable body 13 is gradually narrowed toward the central opening 12, the width of the article conveying path is reduced to the minimum width portion 13 of the article conveying path. Plastic waste 1 is formed so as to pass only one at.

Therefore, the plastic wastes 1 loaded into the article loading section 9 are gradually oriented so as to form one row, and the plastic wastes 1 conveyed more than necessary are dropped into the central opening 12. It is dropped into the club and excluded. The discarded plastic waste 1 dropped in the dropping section drops onto the first conveyor 36A of the return conveyor 36, is conveyed from this conveyor 36A to the second conveyor 36B, and is conveyed from this conveyor 36B to the third conveyor 36B. This conveyor 3 is conveyed to the conveyor 36C.
By 6C, it is conveyed to the open upper end portion of the hopper body 29, dropped into the hopper body 29, and supplied again to the turntable body 13. That is, it is recycled.

The plastic waste 1 which has passed through the minimum width portion 13b of the width of the article conveying path is directed to the article discharge portion 10, but the main guide 11A gradually separates from the minimum width portion 13b from the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12. Since it extends so as to reach the end point Y of the outer peripheral edge of the turntable body 13, the article conveying path in this portion goes away from the inner peripheral portion of the turntable body 13 toward the outer peripheral portion side.

In this case, since the outer peripheral speed of the turntable body 13 is higher than the inner peripheral speed, the individual plastic wastes 1 conveyed on the article conveying path toward the outer peripheral portion are separated. That is, the separating effect is exerted so that the plastic wastes 1 do not come close to each other and are not conveyed while being in contact with each other. The auxiliary guide 11B is provided substantially along the carry-out guide portion 11c of the main guide 11A, and guides the plastic waste 1 so that the plastic waste 1 passes through between the carry-out guide portion 11c and the conveying device 3. Is configured. That is, the auxiliary guide 11B is
At the article outlet portion 10, the turntable body 13 crosses from the inner peripheral edge to the outer peripheral edge of the turntable body 13 at a predetermined interval substantially parallel to the shape of the carry-out guide portion 11c for a predetermined length from the end point Y of the main guide 11A. The movement of the plastic waste 1 in the circumferential direction of 13 is restricted, and the end 11d of the auxiliary guide 11B on the inner peripheral side of the turntable body 13 is extended further inward from the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12 by a predetermined length. Therefore, the plastic waste 1 can be smoothly guided from the minimum width portion 13b to the article discharge portion 10.

Therefore, by the action of the straightening guide 11 as described above, the plastic wastes 1 finally sent from the article discharge article 10 to the sorting conveyor 37 in the subsequent stage are arranged in one row. Article discharge section 1 of turntable body 13
The plastic waste 1 discharged from 0 is supplied to the sorting conveyor 37.

The conveying speed of the separating conveyor 37 is set to be higher than the outer peripheral speed of the turntable main body 13 to prevent the plastic wastes 1 that are successively introduced into the separating conveyor 37 from accumulating. The sorting conveyor 3
The first guide plate 46 formed of a leaf spring extending obliquely forward from one side portion of the conveyance path, that is, the side portion opposite to the rear sorting and discharging portion 5 in a portion at a predetermined distance from the carry-in portion.
And a second guide plate 47 composed of a leaf spring extending obliquely forward from the other side portion of the transport path, that is, the side portion on the same side as the rear-stage sorting and discharging portion 5, and these guide plates 46 are provided. , 47 reduce the width of the conveying path in the carry-in section of the sorting conveyor 37, and the aligned plastic waste 1
Are not overlapped and transported.

Further, on the downstream side of the second guide 47 plate and in front of the measuring head 38 installation position of the plastic identification device 4, one side of the transport path, that is, the rear-stage sorting and discharging part 5 is provided. A third guide plate 48, which is a leaf spring extending obliquely forward from the opposite side, is provided, and this guide plate 48 directs the plastic waste 1 to the installation position of the measuring head 38 of the plastic identification device 4. Thus, any size of plastic waste is always passed through the measuring head 38 installation position of the plastic identification device 4.

In this case, since the plastic waste 1 is pressed by the first guide plate 47, the second guide plate 47, and the third guide plate 48, the plastic waste 1 may be clogged. . Therefore, the first guide plate 46 and the second guide plate 4 of the sorting conveyor 37
7, a first vertical conveyor 49 that extends obliquely forward from one side of the conveying path, that is, the side opposite to the rear-stage sorting and discharging section 5, and the conveyor downstream of the conveyor 49. A second vertical conveyor 50 extending parallel to the side of the sorting and discharging portion 5 of the road and facing the third guide plate 48.
And are provided. The speed of these vertical conveyors 49, 50 is set to the same speed as the sorting conveyor 37,
The vertical waste conveyors 49 and 50 are used to smoothly feed the plastic waste 1 so that the plastic waste 1 is not clogged.

The plastic waste 1 that has passed between the third guide plate 48 and the second vertical conveyor 50 is moved to the side on the same side as the later-stage sorting and discharging section 5, and is moved to the side of the plastic identifying device 4. After passing through the measuring head 38, the plastic material is discriminated as described above. The plastic waste 1 that has passed through the measuring head 38 of the plastic identification device 4 is conveyed while being moved to the side on the same side as the sorting and discharging unit 5 in the subsequent stage.

Here, as described above, the plastic identifying device 4 which has discriminated the material has the material discrimination signal (identification signal).
Is output to the sequencer 39. The sequencer 39, to which the material discrimination signal (identification signal) is input, receives the material discrimination signal, and after the time set artificially in the sequencer 39 for each type of the material indicated by the material discrimination signal, the material discrimination is performed. An open signal is output to the opening / closing means 43A for opening / closing the air passage of the air jet nozzle 43 corresponding to the type of material indicated by the signal for a predetermined time.

Therefore, the determined plastic waste 1 is blown off by the air jet from the air jet nozzle 43 toward the sorting discharge part 5 corresponding to the determined material while being conveyed to the downstream side of the sorting conveyor 37. , And is discharged to the sorting discharge unit 5 and collected in the collection box.
In the above embodiment, the sequencer 39, to which the material discrimination signal (identification signal) is input, sends an open signal to the opening / closing means 43A for opening / closing the air passage of the air jet nozzle 43 corresponding to the material type of the material discrimination signal. Although the starting point of the output timing is the time when the quality determination signal is received, the starting point may be the time when the photoelectric switch 45 is turned off.
This is because there is no substantial time difference. Therefore, in the broadest sense, the predetermined time corresponding to the type indicated by the identification signal after receiving the identification signal according to claim 8 of the present invention includes the case where the time point when the photoelectric switch 45 is turned off is the starting point. Be understood.

In the above embodiment, after the material discrimination signal is received, the sorting conveyor 37 is fixed at a constant speed for a predetermined time corresponding to the type of material indicated by the material discrimination signal, and the material discrimination signal indicates. In order to blow out the plastic waste 1 discriminated by the air jet from the air jet nozzle 43 corresponding to the type of material, the time set artificially in advance in the sequencer 39 for each type of material indicated by the material discrimination signal is set. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is calculated from, for example, a transfer velocity signal from a velocity sensor such as an encoder provided in the transport device 3 and a distance to the specific air jet nozzle 43 position corresponding to the type of the material determination signal. May be.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the photoelectric switch 45 is shown as an example of the detection means provided at a predetermined position of the transport device 3 to detect the presence of plastic. However, the detection device is an ultrasonic type detection means or a television camera. May be used. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example of the belt conveyor is shown as the return conveyor 36 and the sorting conveyor 37, but a roller conveyor may be used as long as the plastic waste 1 can be conveyed without changing its posture.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the return conveyor 3 serves as a recirculation device for recirculating the articles dropped in the dropping section onto the turntable body.
6 is provided and the plastic waste 1 is returned to the hopper 25 of the article supply device 23, but it may be returned directly to the article input section 9 without passing through the hopper 25. Also,
In the above-described embodiment, the sorting box is provided in the sorting and discharging section 5 to collect the plastic waste 1. However, the collection box is discarded, and, for example, a chute that conveys the sorted plastic waste 1 to the next processing step. Alternatively, a conveyor may be provided.

6 and 7 show another embodiment of the rectification guide of the present invention. At the article outlet 10 of the turntable body 13, the main guide 11A is shaped so as to extend gradually from the minimum width portion 13b away from the inner peripheral edge of the central opening 12 and reach the end point Y of the outer peripheral edge of the turntable body 13. As a result, the plastic wastes 1 are brought close to each other so as not to be conveyed while being in contact with each other, so that a separating effect is exerted, which is effective for round plastic wastes. However, small plastic waste and prismatic plastic waste tend to pass through the inner peripheral side.

Therefore, the auxiliary guide 11B is provided with inclined portions 11C, 11D and 11E which are inclined so that the distance between the auxiliary guide 11B and the main guide 11A is gradually narrowed from the upper side to the lower side. Therefore, regardless of the shape of the plastic wastes, the plastic wastes 1 pass through the outer peripheral side so that the plastic wastes 1 are brought close to each other so that the plastic wastes 1 are not conveyed while being in contact with each other.

That is, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7A, the distance between the auxiliary guide 11B and the main guide 11A is set to be higher than the height of the auxiliary guide 11B facing the main guide 11A from approximately the middle height. This is an example in which a tilt guide 11C is provided so as to gradually narrow as it goes downward from. In the embodiment of FIG. 7 (B), the auxiliary guide 11D has only an inclined portion, that is, the auxiliary guide 11D itself goes down from above to below the gap between the auxiliary guide 11D and the main guide 11A. Therefore, it is an example in which it is inclined so as to be gradually narrowed. Figure 7
In the embodiment of (C), an inclination that is inclined from the top of the surface of the auxiliary guide 11B facing the main guide 11A so as to gradually narrow the distance between the auxiliary guide 11B and the main guide 11A from the upper side to the lower side. This is an example in which a guide 11E is provided.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment relating to the arrangement of the rectifying guides on the turntable of the present invention. Figure 8
In the embodiment of (A), the distance between two points (start point and end point) on the outer periphery of the turntable body of the main guide 112A is smaller than that in the example of FIG.
The embodiment (B) is an example in which two points (start point and end point) on the outer peripheral edge of the turntable body of the main guide 114A are opposed to each other with a distance of about 180 degrees with respect to the center of the turntable. In the embodiment of FIG. 8C, the main guide 111A and the auxiliary guide 111B are linearly arranged. In the embodiment of FIG.
This is an example in which the main guide 113A and the auxiliary guide 113B are arranged in a curved shape with respect to the linear shape in (C). The rectification guides are arranged in the case where the turntable is rotated to the right as shown by the arrows in each figure, and when the turntable is rotated to the left, naturally, they must be arranged in line symmetry (relationship between front and back).

In any of the straightening guides, the main guides 111A, 112A, 113A, 114A communicate with two points on the outer peripheral edge of the turntable main body and are close to the inner peripheral edge of the central opening, and are connected to the inner peripheral edge of the central opening. Minimum width 11
1b, 112b, 113b, 114b, a minimum width forming part, a carry-in guide part that guides the loaded article toward the minimum width forming part, and an article that has passed through the minimum width forming part is conveyed. And a carry-out guide portion for guiding the article toward the apparatus, and auxiliary guides 111B, 112B,
113B and 114B are provided substantially along the carry-out guide section and are configured to guide the article so that the article passes through between the carry-out guide section and the transport device.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment relating to the arrangement of the guide plates in the carrying device 3 of the present invention, and the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the first guide plate 46, the second guide plate 47, the third guide plate 48 and the first vertical conveyor 49 in the example of FIG. An inclined guide 120 having an inclined portion is provided on both sides so that the conveying path gradually narrows from the upper side to the lower side, and an article is guided inside the conveying path and stably conveyed without changing its posture. To be done. In addition, at a position before the installation position of the measurement head 38 of the plastic identification device 4, the same cross section as the inclined guide 120 is provided on the opposite side of the installation position of the measurement head 38 across the conveyance path of the sorting conveyor 37, and diagonally forward from the side of the conveyance path. An inclined guide 121 extending to the direction is provided. By this inclined guide 121, the plastic waste 1 is directed to the installation position of the measuring head 38 of the plastic identification device 4, and the plastic identification device 4 is surely attached regardless of the size of the plastic waste. Measuring head 38
It passes through the installation position.

In the above embodiment, the plastic waste 1 from the turntable body is discriminated by the plastic discriminating device 4 and the discriminating and discharging device 6 discriminates it based on the discriminating result of the discriminating device 4. It is also possible to manually identify or sort the articles without using these mechanical means. As such an example, a detection method using visible light, a special filter, and special glasses is known. According to this method, the PET container shines, HDPE looks translucent, and the other resins also shine in their own colors, so that the plastic waste 1 can be visually distinguished and manually selected.

In the above embodiment, as the article,
Although the example of applying classification of plastic waste has been described, it may be applied for classification of other articles, and the type of this article based on various arbitrary criteria such as material, shape, size, etc. should be identified. Alternatively, various identification devices can be used.

[0089]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention.
According to the sorting apparatus of the present invention, even articles of different sizes and shapes can be reliably arranged in one row, and the articles can be smoothly conveyed without jamming or stagnation during the conveyance. For example, it is suitable for application to an apparatus that identifies the types of plastics that often differ greatly in size and shape and sorts them by type, and has the advantage that sorting can be done smoothly.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the auxiliary guide has the inclined portion, so that the article can be reliably moved along the carry-out guide section of the main guide regardless of the shape and size of the article. Therefore, it is possible to more effectively exert the effect of separating the articles so that the articles do not come close to each other and are in contact with each other. According to the invention of claim 3, since the end portion of the auxiliary guide on the inner peripheral side of the turntable body is extended further inward by a predetermined length from the inner peripheral edge of the central opening, the turntable outer peripheral edge extends from the minimum width portion. The flow of goods to and from can be smoothed.

According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the invention, the articles dropped in the dropping section and excluded can be easily re-supplied to the turntable body by a conveyor or the like. According to the invention of claim 6, the articles transferred by the conveying device are mechanically identified and sorted, so that labor can be saved and accurate identifying work can be performed, and the sorting can be smoothly performed. There is an advantage.

According to the invention of claim 7, it is possible to identify the type of an article while it is being conveyed by a conveyor. According to the invention of claim 8, an opening / closing means for selecting a predetermined air jet nozzle determined in advance corresponding to the type of the article from the identification signal indicating the type of the article and opening and closing the air passage of the air jet nozzle. After the time when the identified article comes close to the air jet nozzle position, an open signal is output for a predetermined time, and an air jet is ejected from the air jet nozzle for a predetermined time. It is possible to reliably obtain the timing with the air jet from the jet nozzle, and to reliably blow only the identified article.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the speed sensor and the like of the carrying device are not required, and the timing of the carrying position of the article and the ejection of air by the air jet nozzle can be reliably obtained with a simple mechanism, and only the identified article can be obtained. Can be surely blown away. According to the invention of claim 10, since the articles are blown off by the air jet nozzles to the respective sorting and discharging sections which are partitioned by the partition plate and correspond to the types of articles, the articles of different types are not mixed with each other, and You can sort them one after another quickly.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the material of the plastic can be identified by the spectroscopic analysis method using the near infrared rays, and the classification of the material of the plastic is executed, which is effective for recycling the plastic. According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to identify and separate the materials of the main components that make up the plastic, and even if the plastic is soiled and is difficult to identify due to the soiling, there is little residual soiling. The material can be identified by the part.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a sorting device according to the present invention.

[Figure 2] Front view

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing details of a turntable in the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a plastic sorting system including a carrying device, an identification device, and a sorting and discharging device according to the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a measuring head according to the above embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the straightening guide according to the present invention.

FIG. 7A is a vertical cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the same straightening guide (a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 6), and FIG. 7B is a vertical cross-sectional view showing still another embodiment of the straightening guide. FIG. 3C is a vertical cross-sectional view showing still another embodiment of the flow straightening guide.

8 (A) to (D) are plan views showing another embodiment of the arrangement of the rectifying guides on the turntable of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another embodiment relating to the arrangement of the guide plates in the carrying device of the present invention, in which (A) is a partial plan view,
(B) is a sectional view taken along the line AA in (A).

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a conventional article alignment and supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 plastic waste 2 Alignment device 3 Conveyor 4 Identification device 5 Sorting and discharging section 6 separate discharge device 8 turntables 9 Item input department 10 Article discharge department 11 Rectification guide 11A Main guide 11a Carry-in guide section 11b Minimum width forming part 11c Carry-out guide section 11B auxiliary guide 12 Central opening 13 turntable body 13b minimum width part

Front page continued (72) Inventor Koji Toda 1-9-3 Kamatahonmachi, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Niigata Iron Works Engineering Center (72) Inventor Hitoshi Ogawa 1-3-9, Kamatahonmachi, Ota-ku, Tokyo Niigata Iron Works Co., Ltd. Engineering Center (72) Inventor Ikuo Kubo 1-9-3 Kamatahonmachi, Ota-ku, Tokyo Niigata Iron Works Co., Ltd. Engineering Center (56) References Mitsuihei 4-135517 (JP, U ) Actual Kaihei 5-1725 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B07C 5/00-5/38 B65G 47/14 102

Claims (12)

(57) [Claims] 1. An aligning device that conveys loaded articles while aligning them in a line and ejecting them one by one, and a conveying device that conveys the articles ejected from the aligning device. A transport device having an area for sorting articles according to the type in a transport path or in the vicinity thereof, wherein the aligning device includes a turntable for transporting the loaded articles to the transport device, And a straightening guide provided above the turntable for aligning articles conveyed on the turntable in a predetermined posture, wherein the turntable has an annular shape with a substantially circular central opening. A turntable body and a rotary drive device for the turntable body are included, and the rectification guide is connected to two points on the outer edge of the turntable body and is provided on the inner edge of the central opening. A minimum width forming part that forms a minimum width part in contact with the inner peripheral edge of the central opening, a carry-in guide part that guides the loaded article toward the minimum width forming part, and the minimum width forming part. An unloading guide portion that guides the article so that the passed article is directed to the transport device,
A main guide having a guide, and an auxiliary guide that is provided substantially along the carry-out guide part and guides the product so that the product passes through the carry-out guide part toward the conveying device. The sorting apparatus, wherein the central opening of the article is a dropping section for articles that have overflowed from the article conveyance path. 2. The separation according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary guide has an inclined portion that inclines so that the distance between the auxiliary guide and the main guide becomes gradually narrower from the upper side to the lower side. apparatus. 3. The separation according to claim 1, wherein an end of the auxiliary guide on the inner peripheral side of the turntable body is extended further inward from the inner peripheral edge of the central opening by a predetermined length. apparatus. 4. An article dropped between the turntable body and the article dropping section formed of the central opening of the turntable body and the article dropping section of the turntable body. It is comprised including the recirculation apparatus which recirculates, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
The sorting device according to any one of 3. 5. The sorting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recirculation device comprises a conveyor arranged from a position below a central opening of a turntable body to the article input section. 6. The conveying device comprises: an identifying device for identifying the type of the article; and a sorting and ejecting device for sorting and ejecting the article from the conveying device according to the type based on the identification result of the identifying device. The sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is provided in the transport path or in the vicinity thereof. 7. The sorting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the conveying device is a conveyor whose one end is in contact with the turntable body. 8. The sorting and discharging device includes a sequencer to which an identification signal from an identification device is input and a plurality of airs provided in parallel on one side of the transport device along a transport path according to the type of the identification signal. A jet nozzle; and the sequencer, after receiving the identification signal for a predetermined time corresponding to the type indicated by the identification signal, opens the air passage of the air jet nozzle corresponding to the type indicated by the identification signal. 8. The sorting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an opening signal is output to the opening / closing means for opening / closing for a predetermined time. 9. The predetermined time according to the type indicated by the identification signal after receiving the identification signal means that the conveying device is fixed at a constant speed and the air jet nozzle corresponding to the type indicated by the identification signal is used. 9. The sorting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the time is preset for each type indicated by the identification signal so that the article identified by the air jet can be blown away. 10. The transport device includes a plurality of sorting discharge parts according to the type of articles in or near the transport path, and each sorting discharge part is on the opposite side of the air jet nozzle across the transport path of the transport device. 10. A plurality of the air jet nozzles are partitioned by a partition plate so as to face each air jet nozzle and are provided in parallel along the transport path. Sorting equipment. 11. The plastic identification device according to claim 6, wherein the article is plastic, and the identification device is provided with a plastic identification device for identifying a plastic material by a spectral analysis method using near infrared rays. The sorting apparatus according to any one of the above. 12. The identification device is configured to include a detection unit that is provided at a predetermined position of the transport device to detect the presence of plastic, and the identification device has a predetermined time while the detection unit detects the plastic. It is configured to determine the material of the plastic for each unit, accumulate the material determination data, and finally determine the material from the accumulated material determination data when the detection means stops detecting the plastic. The material with the largest number of the determined material determination data is the final determined material, and the data determined to be undeterminable among the accumulated material determination data is excluded from the material determination data, and the remaining material The sorting device according to claim 11, wherein the sorting device is configured to determine a final determination material from the determination data.