[go: up one dir, main page]

WO2012034562A1 - Appareil de comptage et de tri de multiples objets - Google Patents

Appareil de comptage et de tri de multiples objets Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2012034562A1
WO2012034562A1 PCT/DK2011/050343 DK2011050343W WO2012034562A1 WO 2012034562 A1 WO2012034562 A1 WO 2012034562A1 DK 2011050343 W DK2011050343 W DK 2011050343W WO 2012034562 A1 WO2012034562 A1 WO 2012034562A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
objects
sorting
conveyor system
conveyor
ubcs
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/DK2011/050343
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Knud Steen STØVRING
Henrik Juhl Petersen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Anker Andersen AS
Original Assignee
Anker Andersen AS
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Anker Andersen AS filed Critical Anker Andersen AS
Publication of WO2012034562A1 publication Critical patent/WO2012034562A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C5/00—Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
    • B07C5/34—Sorting according to other particular properties
    • B07C5/3404—Sorting according to other particular properties according to properties of containers or receptacles, e.g. rigidity, leaks, fill-level
    • B07C5/3408—Sorting according to other particular properties according to properties of containers or receptacles, e.g. rigidity, leaks, fill-level for bottles, jars or other glassware
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F7/00—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
    • G07F7/06—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by returnable containers, i.e. reverse vending systems in which a user is rewarded for returning a container that serves as a token of value, e.g. bottles
    • G07F7/0609—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by returnable containers, i.e. reverse vending systems in which a user is rewarded for returning a container that serves as a token of value, e.g. bottles by fluid containers, e.g. bottles, cups, gas containers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an apparatus for counting and sorting multiple objects such as used beverage containers (in the following referred to as "UBCs") which apparatus comprises at least one feeding means, at least one detecting means and at least one sorting means, which feeding means is/are adapted to receive batches of objects and forward the objects one by one and separate the objects on a conveyor system, whereon the objects are aligned in their longitudinal axis, which detecting means comprises means for counting the objects.
  • UBCs used beverage containers
  • the present invention further relates to a method for sorting multiple objects such as "UBCs", wherein a batch of objects are supplied on feeding means which forward the objects one by one, separated and aligned in their longitudinal axis on a conveyor system and moved to a detecting means which detecting means counts the objects.
  • UBCs objects such as "UBCs”
  • Packaging of any consumer product is normally either thrown away or, if a deposit fee has been paid, returned to the shop for a refund.
  • a deposit fee In many countries there is a deposit fee on beverage containers. It is common for shops to have a return vending machine that can be fed with the used beverage containers and return a receipt to the customer. The amount in the receipt is based on the amount and the type of the UBCs. Return vending machines read the bar code on the used beverage containers to determine the type of the UBCs. Alternatively the UBCs are counted and registered manually by a cashier who pays the refund amount to the customer.
  • the UBCs are then transported to central counting centres, where the UBCs are counted and registered once again and sorted into the different material fractions e.g. PET, glass, aluminium and steel. This sorting is again based on the registration of the barcode on the UBCs. Based upon the counting and registration at the counting centre the manufacturers and/or distributors are invoiced for the deposit fee, which amount is collected by the shops. After counting and registration, the UBCs are devaluated in e.g. compactors, shredders etc. and the residual products are sent to recycling. Used beverage containers may also be referred to as "empties".
  • a disadvantage with the prior art is that it is not designed to automatically count and sort UBCs without a bar code at high capacity.
  • WO 2009/021515 filed by the same applicant concerns an apparatus and method for counting and/or sorting objects, in particular recyclable beverage containers, such as bottles or cans, said apparatus comprising a receiving section from which the objects are forwarded on conveyor means to a recording unit and subsequently forwarded for counting and/or sorting, said recording unit comprising a scanning plane generally perpendicular to the direction of travel of the objects, and at least one photoelectric sensor unit provided in said scanning plane for registering the presence of an object in the scanning plane, said at least one photoelectric sensor unit comprising at least one transmitter part comprising at least one light emitting unit for emitting light towards the objects, and at least one receiver part for receiving the light emitted from the at least one transmitter part, the apparatus characterized in that the at least one photoelectric sensor unit is self- adjustable, preferably by continuously adjusting the characteristics of the at least one light emitting unit to compensate for degraded reflection characteristics of the at least one photoelectric sensor unit.
  • WO 2009/021515 discloses a sensor unit for detecting the object where the detectors are continuously and automatically compensating for changes in the optical path from transmitter to receiver part of the photoelectric sensor.
  • the detecting means can comprise means for determining at least one specific material characteristic of the objects on the conveyor system, which sorting means can be adapted to separate the objects of the specific material characteristic determined by the detecting means, which sorting means can perform separation of the objects in at least two fractions whereby one of the fractions having the determined material characteristic and a second fraction not having the determined material characteristic.
  • Objects could be used beverage containers but also any other form of used packaging such as bottles, tins, cans, trays, cartons. This could specifically be, milk and juice cartons, shampoo bottles, washing liquid bottles, any kind of food tins/cans or fresh meat trays.
  • Object could be any used packaging that has to be collected for protecting the environment.
  • a batch is a quantity or number of UBCs coming at one time or taken together.
  • Other synonyms for the term "batch” could be: group, lot, bunch, set, pack, portion or consignment.
  • Specific material characteristic could be any material property such as the composition or presence of a material e.g. iron, aluminium, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or glass, but could also be the colour of a transparent or non-transparent object.
  • the apparatus has the advantage that it can sort and count any type of used packaging without the need of a bar code (linear or 2D) to identify the packaging.
  • a bar code linear or 2D
  • the barcode is damaged and thus unreadable or the barcode has been removed possibly by accident.
  • To use a barcode to identify an object requires a list or database that links a specific barcode to a product and its properties or characteristics such as material type, colour, size, volume etc.; these lists or databases are not always complete or even available.
  • the UBCs which the prior art sorting systems cannot process would previously have to be processed manually or not at all. Therefore the present invention is an improvement over prior art.
  • the present invention can even be used to sort and count packages that do not have a deposit. In this case sorting is in any case required if recycling is intended.
  • the conveyor system operates at a speed which provides a capacity of at least 50 objects pr. minute, preferably at least 100 objects pr. minute. Over 50 objects pr. minute is considered a relatively high speed, alternatively the speed could be over 100 or 150 or 200 or 250 objects pr. minute. It is considered highly beneficial to be able to process a large number of objects in short time because it decreases the time used on the sorting and counting. Thus, the capacity of one apparatus is hence greater which for example could make it feasible to only have one apparatus instead of 2 or more of the prior art sorters.
  • the feeding means comprises a section formed by a funnel which is equipped with an inclined conveyor belt with a plurality of carriers so that objects are arranged between the carriers.
  • the objects will be arranged in the funnel singly between the carriers with the bottom front-most or rearmost and be conveyed by the conveyor system at the greatest possible speed.
  • the feeding means comprises receiving surface comprising at least one rotating disc with the conveyor system aligned near to the at least one rotating disc, and with a peripheral barrier essentially circumscribing at least a portion of the receiving surface.
  • the rotating disc which aligns the UBCs along the peripheral barrier, may consist of two (or more) independently moving discs with their centres of rotation offset to each other by a distance D.
  • the first (lower) rotating disc which in the preferred embodiment is flat, is rotating around a first rotating centre and has a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the peripheral barrier.
  • the second (upper) rotating disc which in the preferred embodiment is cone-shaped, is rotating around a second rotating centre, which is offset relative to the first rotating centre by a distance D and has a diameter less than the first rotating disc.
  • the two centres of rotation are placed relative to each other in a way that the first and the second rotating discs have a common tangent near the point where the UBCs are forwarded on the conveyor system.
  • the advantage of the above embodiment with two discs rotating around separate rotating centres offset relative to each other and with a common tangent at the point where the UBCs are forwarded on the conveyor system is 1) that the UBCs are accumulated on the conveyor system utilising a lower peripheral speed of the rotating discs as the UBCs are transferred to the conveyor system by means of gravity instead of centrifugal force as is the case with only one rotating disc, where the inner part constitutes a cone and 2) that the feeding means thereby is self-emptying even at low rotational speed.
  • the lower speed of rotation obtained with this embodiment produces less acoustical noise during operation and leads to an improved work environment especially where the UBCs mainly consists of metal cans.
  • the cone can be carried in a rather simple way, maybe by a bearing carried above the centre of the cone, or maybe carried from below by a centre protrusion which is passing through the centre of the rotating disc below.
  • the free rotating cone will receive a rotating speed which is approximately the same as the speed of the disc below.
  • the cone can be rotated by a motor. It is possible in some embodiments to let the cone rotate at a speed that is different from the speed of the rotating disc. The cone can rotate faster and in that way maybe achieve a faster alignment of the UBCs. By using a separate motor for driving the cone, different possibilities can be used. In some situations can a slow rotating cone be rather effective, because most of the movement towards the UBCs are anyhow produced by the rotating disc. In some situation where too many UBCs are placed at the rotating disc, and blocking has happened, it could be possible also to rotate the cone in the wrong direction in a short time period and in that way solve a blocking problem. But also faster rotating than the rotating disc is a possibility. The faster the cone is rotating, the higher centrifugal forces will be achieved for the UBCs at the cone. Therefore can a fast rotating cone be very effective.
  • the upper rotating disc (the cone) can be driven by a motor arranged in different ways: A bridge placed over the cone is one possibility, and that bridge could comprise the driving motor for rotating the cone. But in an alternative embodiment it should be possible to place a motor below the cone and rotate the cone around its own centre. A rotating shaft has to pass through the rotating disc, but it should be possible to produce the rotating disc with a relatively big opening, because the cone will cover it from the top. In that way, it should be possible to place a driving motor just below the centre of the cone.
  • the motor can in fact not only drive the cone, but also carry the cone, so that most of the weight of the rotating cone is accommodated in the bearings of the driving motor.
  • the feeding means comprises receiving surface for receiving the batches of objects comprising a peripheral barrier essentially circumscribing the at least a portion of the receiving surface wherein the peripheral barrier at least in one section forms an arc, and an arc-conveyor system for moving the objects along the arc, and that the conveyor system is aligned at the receiving surface.
  • the apparatus further comprising means for providing a refund to a user, representing the value of the objects registered by the detecting means.
  • a refund to a user, representing the value of the objects registered by the detecting means.
  • This provides an incentive for the user to return the objects.
  • packages such as beverage containers with a deposit, but returning for example glass or cans/tins the refund could be the actual material value.
  • the detecting means could comprise a detector adapted to determine at least one of the characteristics from the group of; iron (steel), aluminium, plastic, PET, PVC, HDPE, LDPE, PP, PS, glass, colour of transparent objects, colour of non-transparent objects.
  • the detector type and what the detector can detect depends on the objects.
  • the apparatus could be designed to sort specific material such as iron (steel) and aluminium, this will enable the sorting of cans into two separate containers, one for aluminium cans and one for steel cans. It is well known that sorted material has a higher value than non sorted material hence the sorting degree desired of the objects could depend on the price of the sorted material.
  • a detector could use X-ray fluorescence, induction, ultraviolet light, Infrared light, visible light or acoustics as part of the detecting method.
  • the conveyor system forwards the objects from the receiving means, passing the detection means, to the sorting means in a single line.
  • the single line could comprise several conveyors having different speed and even adjustable speed.
  • single line there is meant that the objects are forwarded in one queue on the conveyor so that there are not two objects side by side on either the same or different conveyors. This could be done by use of only one conveyor and wherein the objects detected and sorted are removed from that conveyor while the rest of the objects continue on the conveyor.
  • the sorting means comprises a mechanical device that via physical contact/impact with the object moves the objects from the conveyor system and hereby sorting the objects.
  • a mechanical device could comprise a rod that is rapidly moved and gets in contact with the objects and hereby remove them from the conveyor system. It could also incorporate springs to make a trigger function which enables fast movement of the rod and/or to ensure absorption of some of the impact force to make sure that the objects are not shattered or deformed.
  • the sorting means uses compressed gas to apply a force to the objects and hereby separating the objects.
  • the gas could be air or any other compressed gas.
  • the advantage of using air is that it is abundant and requires a simple compressor system.
  • Compressed gas is highly advantageously because it can be operated with high precision and at a very high speed.
  • the pressure could be between 3 (300 kPa) and 15 bar (1500 kPa) or more preferably between 4 and 7 bar (400 and 700 kPa).
  • the force could be chosen dependent on; the weight of the material one wished to remove from the conveyor system and the features of the conveyor system, for example the height of the border.
  • the force is relative small so that only objects under a predetermined weight, such as used beverage containers made of plastic, will be removed from the conveyor system.
  • a predetermined weight such as used beverage containers made of plastic
  • Such a system could comprise a small sensor that senses if there is an object and blow them with a relative small force.
  • the weight of plastic bottles is normally in the range of 20 to 100 g and glass bottles are normally over 100 g.
  • the force is sufficiently large to move objects, such as used beverage containers made of glass.
  • Glass normally has a higher weight than other UBCs and could be the last UBCs to be removed from the conveyor system.
  • a detector that detects the presence of an object which then opens for the compressed gas (preferably compressed air) this is because there is no need to use the gas if no object is present.
  • the sorting means can in an alternative embodiment for the invention use high pressure compressed gas to apply a force to the objects and hereby separating the objects, wherein heavy objects such as glass containers is forced to fall of a band, wherein light objects such as plastic containers are forced to flow a defined long distance.
  • high pressure air By using high pressure air, it is possible to use the same air pressure and the same nozzles for directing the air towards the UBSs independent of the weight of the UBCs.
  • the heavy glass bottles will just fall of the band and can be directed into a glass container.
  • the plastic bottles instead or other light UBCs or other containers will be blown relatively far away by the high pressure air, and therefore these UBCs can be picked up in another container for plastic articles. In that way is achieved a highly effective separation of the objects where only high pressure air is used.
  • the apparatus further comprising a processing unit that controls the sorting means on the basis of two or more material characteristic established by the detecting means.
  • the processing unit makes it possible to have a detector unit with all the detectors which are connected to different sorting stations that sort the objects.
  • the processing unit would then time delay and send information to the specific sorting station. For example if the apparatus has an iron (steel) and an aluminium detector it would time delay the information to the aluminium sorting station to remove the aluminium object from the conveyor. Further if an iron (steel) object passed the detector another time delay would be send to the iron sorting station to remove the object from the conveyor system. This sorting could be to open the air nozzle at a specific time. The time delay is dependent on the speed of the conveyor system.
  • the processing unit also makes it easy to change the sorting methods and stations as it only requires modification of the unit which could be only a software modification.
  • Another aspect of the present invention is a method for sorting multiple objects such as used beverage containers wherein a batch of objects are supplied on feeding means which forwards the objects one by one, separated and aligned in their longitudinal axis on a conveyor system and moved to a detecting means which counts and determines at least one specific material characteristic of the objects subsequently the objects are sorted on the basis of the detected characteristic.
  • the sorting could be facilitated by applying a force generated by a compressed gas on the objects and hereby removing them from the conveyor system.
  • the force is relative small so that only objects under a predetermined weight, such as used beverage containers made of plastic, will be removed from the conveyor system.
  • the detection means can determine at least one specific material characteristic of the objects subsequently the objects can be sorted on the basis of the measured characteristic into at least a first and a second fraction of objects.
  • detecting the material characteristics of the objects By detecting the material characteristics of the objects, it is possible rather effectively to distinguish between plastic and metal. But further modifications by the detecting system could be that even different types of plastics objects could be selected. Also different kinds of metal objects could in practice be selected. X-ray or laser detectors could be used for selecting objects of the different materials by detecting radiation passing through the objects, or radiation reflected from the surface of the objects. Hereby, it is possible to detect the material of the objects in a highly effective way. Other detecting systems could simply be detecting magnetic or non-magnetic objects. In practice this method could be used for detecting and sorting a mixture of used objects that are returned to a collection station, where the different objects are sorted into a lot of different groups.
  • the sorting can be facilitated by applying a force generated by a compressed gas on the objects and hereby removing the objects from the conveyor system.
  • One possible way of performing a sorting of objects is to use compressed gas and in that way move the objects away from the conveyor system and into collection means.
  • compressed gas can be achieved that the actual surface of the objects and the mass of the objects have the influence that the flowing distance subjected to compressed air is depending on the size and the mass of the object.
  • effective sorting can be achieved.
  • the force can be relative small so that only objects under a predetermined weight, such as used beverage containers made of plastic, will be removed from the conveyor system.
  • a predetermined weight such as used beverage containers made of plastic
  • the force can be sufficiently large to remove objects, such as used beverage containers made of glass.
  • relatively high pressure maybe from a number of nozzles, it is possible to move even rather heavy glass containers from a conveyor band.
  • a system could be built so different pressures are used along the conveyor band so that pressure is increasing when passing different stations at a sorting unit. Hereby can be achieved a simple and effective sorting.
  • Another possibility is that based on the detection of the containers, a computer system would have the knowledge of the kind of container passing and thereby adjusting the compressed air in relation to the detected object, e whereby the compressed airs pressure is depending on the actual material of the object.
  • fig. 1 a)-b) are schematic views -top and perspective views, respectively - of an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention
  • fig. 2 a)-b) are schematic views -top and perspective views, respectively - of an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention
  • fig. 3 a)-b) are schematic views -top and perspective views, respectively - of an apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention
  • fig. 4 a)-b) are schematic views -top and perspective views, respectively - of an apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the invention, fig.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic view of detecting means and sorting means according to an embodiment of the invention
  • fig. 6 is a schematic view of detecting means and sorting means according to another embodiment the invention
  • fig. 7 shows a sectional view of a system comprising rotating dish and a cone.
  • fig. 8 shows the same system shown in fig. 7 but seen from the top,
  • fig. 9 shows the same invention as shown in fig. 7 and fig. 8, where the system is here seen partly from above.
  • FIG. 1 a)-b show an embodiment of the invention 1 comprising a feeding section 2 with feeding means, a detection section 3 with detection means and a sorting section 4 with sorting means.
  • the feeding section 2 has a funnel 6 and an inclined conveyor 7 with carriers 8.
  • the UBCs are placed in the funnel where the carriers 8 forward the UBCs to the first section of the conveyor system 9 moving the UBCs 10 to the detection section 3. If the UBCs are not positioned correctly on the first section of the conveyor system 9 they will fall off the conveyor 9 and on to the return slope 11 which is inclined is such a way that the UBCs are returned to the funnel 6.
  • the UBCs When the UBCs are forwarded to the detection section it passes on to the second section of the conveyor system 12 this section could have a higher speed than the first section 9 so that UBCs get separated.
  • the detection section 3 Within the detection section 3; the detectors, the counter unit and the processing unit are positioned, not visible. The detector section will be addressed below, see fig 5.
  • the sorting section has four transfer units 5 with a compressed air nozzle. They could also have any additional detectors or counters necessary as described in detail below.
  • the UBCs are moved onto the third section of the conveyor system where the transfer units 5 blows compressed air at the UBCs.
  • a second embodiment of the invention 1 comprising a feeding section 2, a detection section 3 and a sorting section 4.
  • the detection and the sorting section is similar to the one described for fig 1 above.
  • the feeding section has a receiving table 14, which has two rotating disk 15, 16 and two conveyor bands 17,18 there between.
  • a barrier 19 is provided around the receiving table 14, a barrier 19 is provided.
  • An outfeed conveyor 20 is arranged tangential to the delivery disk 15 so that UBCs 10 gathered along the barrier 19 due to the rotation and centrifugal force of the delivery disk 15 are substantially pointing towards outfeed conveyor 20 as the objects 10 are transferred from the delivery disk 15 to the outfeed conveyor 20 in a continuous movement.
  • the disks 15, 16 and the conveyor bands 17, 18 run in a direction as indicated by the arrows in fig. 2.
  • the disks 15, 16 and the conveyors 17, 18 have a surface generating friction between the UBCs so that the UBCs are moved around on the receiving table 14 towards the outfeed conveyor 20.
  • the UBCs 10, such as glass or plastic bottles and/or metal cans, are supplied onto the receiving table 14 from a bag or the like which is emptied out onto the receiving table 14.
  • the disks 15, 16 and the conveyor bands 17, 18 run in a direction as indicated by the arrows in fig. 3.
  • the objects 10 are stirred and the outermost are moved towards the barrier 19 and in the direction towards the outlet where the outfeed conveyor 20 is arranged at the delivery disk 15.
  • the disks 15, 16 may be provided with a conic inner portion for facilitating the movement of the objects towards the periphery of the disks 15, 16.
  • At least a portion of the UBCs 10 are hereby pressed towards the barrier 19 with their longitudinal axis in a generally tangential direction relative to the disk 15.
  • the outfeed conveyor 20 takes over the movement and moves the UBCs along a linear path to the first section of the conveyor system 9.
  • the UBCs which are not transferred at this time are simply returned to "another round" on the receiving table 14. Accordingly, these UBCs are returned on the return conveyor band 17 to the second disk 16 and/or directly to the forward conveyor band 18 for a new alignment on the delivery disk 15.
  • FIG. 3 a)-b a third embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention is shown.
  • This embodiment is based on a receiving table 14 with four rotating disks 26, 27, 28, 29.
  • the diameters of the disks 26, 27, 28, 29 are substantially alike and the centres of the disks are arranged substantially in line and the surfaces of the disks are substantially plane.
  • the preferred direction of rotation of the disks 26, 27, 28, 29 is indicated by means of arrows, i.e. clockwise for all disks.
  • a barrier 19 is provided around the disks 26, 27, 28, 29 a barrier 19 is provided.
  • An outfeed conveyor 20 is arranged tangential to the feeding disk 26 so that objects gathered along the barrier 19 due to the rotation of the feeding disk are substantially pointing towards outfeed conveyor 20 as the objects are transferred from the feeding disk 21 to the outfeed conveyor 20 in a continuous movement.
  • Objects on the rotating disks 26, 27, 28, 29 will experience a centrifugal force exerted by the rotation of the disk which will guide the object towards the periphery of each disk.
  • the disks 26, 27, 28, 29 may also have a surface generating friction in relation to the objects so the object more efficiently are moved towards the outfeed conveyor 20.
  • the feeding disk 26 is overlapping the adjacent disk 27 which is overlapping the next disk 28.
  • the peripheries of the disks 26, 27, 28, 29 are aligned along a line parallel with and opposite the conveying axis of the outfeed conveyor 20.
  • a forth embodiment of the invention 1 is shown. It has a feeding section 2, a detection section 3 and a sorting section 4. The detection and the sorting section is similar to the one described for fig 1 above.
  • This fourth embodiment has a simplified feeding section 2 compared to the feeding section 2 shown in fig. 2.
  • This feeding section 2 of the fourth embodiment has particularly small footprint with two rotating disks 15, 16 however without the use of conveyors between the disks 15, 16 as in the second embodiment, fig. 2. To avoid the use of said conveyors the rotating disks 15, 16 are partly overlapping. This helps to reduce the footprint of the feeding section 2.
  • the rotating delivery disks 15, 16 guide objects towards the barrier 19 and on to the outfeed conveyor 20.
  • rotating disk 16 is to guide objects towards rotating disk 15.
  • rotating disk 15 is overlapping disk 16 as shown in fig. 4.
  • Disk 15 may be provided with a conical centre to help guide the objects towards the barrier.
  • This embodiment may also be provided with more than one tangential outfeed conveyor 20.
  • the capacity of the apparatus is at least 50 UBCs per minute, such as at least 100 UBCs per minute, such as at least 150 UBCs per minute, such as at least 200 UBCs per minute, such as at least 300 UBCs per minute, such as at least 400 UBCs per minute, such as at least 500 UBCs per minute, such as between 150 and 300 UBCs per minute.
  • the footprint of the receiving table may be less than 1 m 2 , such as less than 1.5 m 2 , such as less than 2 m 2 , such as less than 2.5 m 2 , such as less than 3 m 2 , such as less than 4 m 2 , such as less than 5 m 2 .
  • the detection section could be connected to any of the feeding sections 2 shown in fig. 1 to 4, described above.
  • the figure shows a detector unit 21 that detects any characteristic that is desired. This could be an inductive detector that can tell if there is iron (steel) in the passing UBCs.
  • the detector unit 21 further comprises a counter that can see if a UBC passes through the detector unit 21.
  • the counter could be a camera.
  • the detector unit 21 sends information to the processing unit 22, which could be a computer.
  • the processing unit 22 is connected to the transfer units 5 that comprise an air nozzle and a solenoid valve 23 to open flow of compressed air.
  • the transfer units 5 are supplied with compressed air from a compressor 24.
  • the processing unit 22 can control the solenoid valve 23 and hereby secure that the correct UBC is blown off the conveyor system and to the collecting containers 25.
  • the transfer units 5 could also have a device such as a camera that register if a UBC passes and then send a signal to a solenoid valve 23 to open it. If this is done and the force generated by the transfer units 5 is below a predetermined force then only light UBC are removed and goes to the respective collecting containers 25.
  • a device such as a camera that register if a UBC passes and then send a signal to a solenoid valve 23 to open it. If this is done and the force generated by the transfer units 5 is below a predetermined force then only light UBC are removed and goes to the respective collecting containers 25.
  • An example of a setup for the detecting means and sorting means as shown in fig 5 could be that it is adapted to sort four different UBCs, Aluminium cans, steel cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles.
  • the detector unit 21 would then have an iron (steel) detector and an Aluminium detector apart from the counter.
  • the iron steel
  • the Aluminium detector detects aluminium then it is an aluminium can and the second transfer unit 5 is activated by the processing unit 22 and the aluminium can ends up in the second collecting container 25.
  • the processing unit 22 For both steel and aluminium cans the processing unit 22 must know the conveyor speed to calculate the exact time to activate the transfer units 5. This is especially important when there are several UBCs on the conveyor and they are only separated by a few cm and the speed at the same time is very high. If it is a plastic bottle that passes then neither the iron nor the aluminium detector registers anything. The plastic bottle does then get counted and the processing unit knows that it must activate the third transfer units 5, this transfer unit blows sufficiently soft so that only the plastic bottles are blown in the third collecting container 25. As at the third transfer unit 5 there are no cans left it can only be plastic or glass bottles passing.
  • FIG 6 an embodiment of the detecting means and the sorting means are shown. It is different from the embodiment shown in fig 5 in that the detectors are placed beside the transfer units 5 this means that there is no need for a processing unit. It also means that there is no central detector unit. It functions in similar fashion as the embodiment of fig. 5. It could be connected to any of the feeding sections 2 shown in fig. 1 to 4, described above.
  • the figure shows UBC's 10 on the conveyor system that are moved towards the detecting and sorting means. There is further a counter 31 that counts the number of objects that passes. There is a compressor 24 that delivers compressed air to the transfer units 5. In the vicinity of each transfer unit 5 there is a detector 30 that is connected to the valve 23 of the transfer units 5.
  • a detector 30 that controls a specific transfer unit is positioned before the transfer units 5. Before means in this case that a UBC moved on the conveyor system passes the detector 30 before it reaches the transfer units 5. As in the embodiment shown in fig 5 the detector could establish the presence of any material characteristic desired of the UBC. If the detector detects a UBC with the desired characteristic it will open for the valve and the UBC will go to the collecting containers 25. All the transfer units 5 can be configured so that the sorter can sort into 4 different types of objects, or even 5 different because the objects left on the conveyor could also be forwarded to a collecting container 25.
  • the invention is designed to sort batches of steel and aluminium cans, and plastic and glass bottles.
  • the first detector 30 establishes if there are Aluminium cans present and blows them into the first collecting container 25,
  • the second detector establishes if the object comprises Iron (in other words; steel), if so then it opens the valve 23 and the object ends up in the second collecting container 25.
  • Iron in other words; steel
  • the third transfer units 5 is controlled by a photocell or any other type of sensor, which can detect the presence of an object, that merely detects if something passes by on the conveyor and if it does then it activates the valve.
  • the third transfer unit 5 only uses a light/soft air pressure and will then only remove objects with a weight of less than 100 g. this secures that any plastic bottles are moved to the third collecting container 25 and that any glass bottles remain on the conveyor.
  • the fourth detector 33 could be designed to detect if the passing object is transparent and if that is the case then it will activate the fourth transfer unit 5 and hereby remove any transparent UBC from the conveyor. The remaining UBC are then moved by the conveyor system to the fifth collecting container 25.
  • Fig. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of part of the invention.
  • the figure shows a sectional view of a system 100 comprising a rotating dish 102 and a cone 104. Partly around the rotating dish 102 a barrier 106 is seen. The barrier extends along an outfeed conveyor 108.
  • the cone 104 is supported by a fixture 110 which supports a rotating shaft 112 which is rotates in a bearing inside the fixture 110.
  • fig. 7 shows a motor 114 which is used for rotating the dish 102.
  • the motor 114 can be an electric motor, or it can be a hydraulic motor.
  • Fig. 8 shows the same system 100 as shown in fig. 7, but seen from the top.
  • Fig 8 shows the rotating dish 102 and cone 104.
  • the barrier 106 can here be seen as enclosing the upper part of the figure 8.
  • the barrier 106 continues along the outfeed conveyor 108. Again, in fig. 8 the cone fixture 110 is seen.
  • Fig. 9 shows the same invention as shown in fig. 7 and fig. 8.
  • the system 100 is here seen partly from above, and here the rotating dish 102 and the cone 104 clearly appear. From figure 9, the barrier 106 can also be seen, together with the outfeed conveyor 108. The fixture for the cone 110 is also shown.
  • the speed of the rotating cone 104 can be lower or higher than the speed of the rotating dish 102. It is to be understood that the motor for rotating the cone 104 is not shown in figs. 7, 8, and 9, but the motor could be placed below the cone 104 or it could drive the cone 104 to the fixture 110.
  • the rotating dish 102 can comprise an opening in its centre part where there is sufficient room for a driving motor just below the centre of the cone.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Sorting Of Articles (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention porte sur un appareil de tri et de comptage de multiples objets, tels que des contenants de boisson usagés, lequel appareil comprend des moyens de distribution, des moyens de détection et des moyens de tri, les moyens de distribution étant conçus pour recevoir des groupes d'objets et les envoyer un par un et séparés sur un système transporteur sur lequel les objets sont alignés dans leur axe longitudinal, les moyens de détection comprenant des moyens pour compter les objets et des moyens pour déterminer au moins une caractéristique matérielle spécifique des objets sur le système transporteur, les moyens de tri étant conçus pour séparer les objets de la caractéristique matérielle spécifique déterminée par les moyens de détection du reste des objets, ce qui permet de séparer les objets en au moins deux fractions, une ayant la caractéristique matérielle déterminée et l'autre n'ayant pas cette caractéristique matérielle.
PCT/DK2011/050343 2010-09-15 2011-09-14 Appareil de comptage et de tri de multiples objets Ceased WO2012034562A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DKPA201070400 2010-09-15
DKPA201070400 2010-09-15
DKPA201170125 2011-03-17
DKPA201170125 2011-03-17

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2012034562A1 true WO2012034562A1 (fr) 2012-03-22

Family

ID=45831025

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/DK2011/050343 Ceased WO2012034562A1 (fr) 2010-09-15 2011-09-14 Appareil de comptage et de tri de multiples objets

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2012034562A1 (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN110639834A (zh) * 2019-09-22 2020-01-03 萧县华恒静电科技有限公司 一种瓶装饮料检测及分拣装置
EP4540152A4 (fr) * 2022-08-18 2025-10-22 Uecge Magaza Ekipmanlari Pazarlama Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi Système de récipient de dépôt

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2655426A1 (de) * 1976-06-30 1978-01-12 Obrist Ag Albert Maschine zum trennen von benuetztem und vermischtem metallischem und verschiedenfarbigem nichtmetallischem verschlussgut
US20050078786A1 (en) * 1998-09-21 2005-04-14 Sommer Edward J. High speed materials sorting using x-ray fluorescence
WO2006081227A1 (fr) * 2005-01-25 2006-08-03 Count And Crush, Llc Procedes et dispositif de traitement de recipients recyclables
WO2009021515A1 (fr) * 2007-08-13 2009-02-19 Anker Andersen A/S Appareil et procédé de comptage, d'identification et/ou de tri d'articles

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2655426A1 (de) * 1976-06-30 1978-01-12 Obrist Ag Albert Maschine zum trennen von benuetztem und vermischtem metallischem und verschiedenfarbigem nichtmetallischem verschlussgut
US20050078786A1 (en) * 1998-09-21 2005-04-14 Sommer Edward J. High speed materials sorting using x-ray fluorescence
WO2006081227A1 (fr) * 2005-01-25 2006-08-03 Count And Crush, Llc Procedes et dispositif de traitement de recipients recyclables
WO2009021515A1 (fr) * 2007-08-13 2009-02-19 Anker Andersen A/S Appareil et procédé de comptage, d'identification et/ou de tri d'articles

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN110639834A (zh) * 2019-09-22 2020-01-03 萧县华恒静电科技有限公司 一种瓶装饮料检测及分拣装置
EP4540152A4 (fr) * 2022-08-18 2025-10-22 Uecge Magaza Ekipmanlari Pazarlama Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi Système de récipient de dépôt

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US4717026A (en) Container scanning and accounting device
EP0561148B1 (fr) Machine de recyclage et déconsignation à station unique
US5465822A (en) Commodity densification assembly having a multiple path distribution device
AU751984B2 (en) Coin handling apparatus and a coin deposit machine incorporating such an apparatus
DK2417586T3 (en) Apparatus for recycling of returnable packaging, especially plastflaser and metal cans
CA2721141C (fr) Appareil et procede de chargement d'objets usages
JP7195954B2 (ja) インライン製品検査システムのための回収箱、およびインライン製品検査システム
JP2019524592A (ja) 使用済み飲料又は食品容器を単一化するための装置及び方法
US5477953A (en) Filter and filter cleaning system for a reverse vending machine
CN104794799B (zh) 硬币分离设备
WO2011066839A1 (fr) Système de distribution inverse pour enregistrement par lots de canettes usagées
CA2339616C (fr) Systeme automatique de manipulation de contenants de boissons rapportes
WO2012034562A1 (fr) Appareil de comptage et de tri de multiples objets
CN100543782C (zh) 用于分拣、清点和/或检验物件的方法和装置
US5967330A (en) Methods of separating metal cans and plastic bottles
CN101263531B (zh) 硬币处理设备
US20120301254A1 (en) System and Method for Receiving and Feeding Used Beverage Containers (UBC) to at Least One Conveyor
WO2006130911A1 (fr) Appareil de tri
JP3400931B2 (ja) 分別装置
CA2441687A1 (fr) Detecteur de bouteilles impropres
AU2010305151B2 (en) Disk feeder for feeding used objects
WO2024165696A1 (fr) Système et procédé de retour de récipient
WO2024165698A1 (fr) Agencement de séparation pour la séparation de récipients
DK201770013A1 (en) Integrated unit for continuous aligning, sorting, feeding and registering of objects received in bulk
CA2434532A1 (fr) Dispositif et methode de triet de comptage de recipients

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 11824615

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 11824615

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1