Recycling waste

Abstract

A method of recovering waste material is disclosed that includes the steps of comminuting waste material into comminuted waste material objects using a pulverizer, classifying the comminuted waste material objects into waste material object portions having different size ranges using a classifier, and sorting the waste material objects while substantially maintaining spacing between the objects. Furthermore, there is disclosed a separation arrangement for separating waste objects and a catapult arrangement, the separation arrangement comprising a substantially horizontally arranged feeder extending from a receiving area for receiving waste objects to a feeding opening positioned at a top portion of the chute, the catapult arrangement includes a conveyor having a generally flat conveying plane and a catapult device disposed along the conveyor.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to recycling waste materials, in particular recycling metal waste materials. Background Art

[0002] Waste materials are usually collected locally as a part of disposal. Waste materials can have a wide range of sources and can include a mixture of different materials, for example metals and other materials such as wood or plastics. In order to make waste materials suitable for recycling, waste materials are usually sorted in multiple steps, for example, in one or more steps, they are sorted into the group of one or more types of materials. Waste materials can be, for example, sorted into plastics, metals, wood and composite materials. Materials can be, for example, sorted into subgroups, such as ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals, precious metals and specific metals (specific metal groups). Plastics can be, for example, sorted into thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics, and / or sorted into fiber reinforced plastics and non-fiber reinforced plastics. Waste materials can also be sorted into, for example, plates, wires or profiles according to shape.

[0003] Typically, there are many classifications and grades of waste materials to make them more suitable for recycling and, thus, more valuable. Although sorting of waste materials can typically be performed by efficient mechanized and / or automated sorting processes, for example based on physical separation methods, there are still many sorting processes that require manual steps in the sorting process. These steps typically involve the selection of waste objects.

[0004] For example, aluminum scrap metal may include castings, sheets, profiles or wire materials, such as Venetian blinds, castings, hairsprings, mesh wires, food or beverage containers, radiator shells, aircraft sheets, bottle caps. Some aluminum materials in the aluminum material are forged aluminum, which for example include alloys that contain manganese and are suitable for reuse as aluminum for rolling, extrusion, drawing or forging processes. Another aluminum material is cast aluminum, which for example has a relatively high percentage of alloying elements and is suitable for casting. For the purpose of recycling, it may be useful, for example, to obtain a class of aluminum scrap by only selecting a metal sheet object of a plurality of aluminum alloys from the mixture of the above-mentioned aluminum scrap objects. This type of aluminum scrap is called cooked aluminum.

[0005] In order to obtain this material category, a mixture of aluminum wire, profiles and sheets is usually collected at a scrap yard. Typically, the aluminum mixture is crushed into small pieces to reduce its volume, buffered and transported long distances from the scrap yard to where manual labor is available to make the selection economically feasible. The sheets are then selected from the mixture by manual sorting. The scrap material is visually evaluated, and the sheet parts are selected and selected manually. The manual steps in the sorting process are less ideal because the manual steps involve relatively unhealthy, physically demanding and repetitive manual labor. And long-distance transportation is also less ideal. Long-distance transportation, for example, requires time, energy and consumes a lot of energy that has a significant impact on the environment. In addition, long-distance transportation may be less ideal because it may involve export as less valuable scrap and subsequent import as more valuable raw materials. In addition, import and export restrictions may apply to scrap as well as raw materials. For other types of materials, a similar process is used, which includes crushing into small-sized objects, transporting in a compact bulk manner and manual selection. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention aims to alleviate these disadvantages, in particular by reducing the need for manual steps and / or long-distance transportation. In particular, the present invention aims to provide steps in selecting waste materials by which manual steps and / or long-distance transportation can be cost-effectively reduced. In particular, the present invention aims to support economically feasible local recycling of waste objects, for example without imposing import and / or export restrictions on materials.

[0007] In addition, a first aspect of the present invention provides a method for recycling waste materials, the method comprising the following steps:

[0008] - comminuting the waste into comminuted waste objects using a comminuting machine, the waste being comminuted into objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm,

[0009] - using a classifier to classify the shredded waste objects into waste object portions having different size ranges, at least one size range comprising objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm, and

[0010] - sorting the waste objects from at least one size range including objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects.

[0011] By comminuting the waste to include relatively large objects and maintaining spacing between the objects during sorting, the tendency to entanglement associated with larger sized objects can be mitigated so that the advantages of more efficient processing associated with larger sized objects can be utilized. The comminuting step can be performed by a conventional pulverizer, i.e., any type of comminuting device known in the art to be suitable for comminuting waste, particularly metal waste.

[0012] In this context, the maximum passing size refers to the maximum size of the waste object, which allows passing through a size-based sorting step, such as a screening or measuring step. The maximum passing size can be, for example, the maximum diameter of the object, thereby allowing objects with the maximum diameter to pass, regardless of the maximum length transverse to the diameter. Therefore, the length can be less than, equal to or greater than the diameter. For the screening step, the maximum passing size corresponds, for example, to a mesh size of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm, of the sieve. For ease of handling during sorting, preferably, objects of at least one size range including objects with a maximum passing size in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm, have a maximum size in an absolute sense, such as a length transverse to the maximum passing diameter, for example, less than 500 mm.

[0013] It should be noted that the shredded waste according to the present invention may include objects outside the range of 50mm to 200mm or 100mm to 180mm in addition to objects with a maximum through-dimension of 50mm to 200mm or 100mm to 180mm, such as objects with a larger maximum size and / or objects with a smaller maximum size. For example, there may be objects with a maximum through-dimension of 50mm to 100mm, objects with a maximum through-dimension of 0mm to 50mm, and objects with a length transverse to the diameter greater than 200mm or 180mm. Preferably, a large number of waste objects are roughly shredded to maintain a relatively large size, i.e., a maximum through-dimension of 100mm to 200mm or 100mm to 180mm, to allow efficient processing. In this context, the term "roughly maintaining the spacing between objects" means to handle waste objects in a manner that reduces, minimizes or prevents contact between objects. In particular, this means to prevent objects from piling up and / or tangling. Preferably, overlap between objects is completely prevented. However, in practice, maintaining spacing between objects may include only 90%, 80%, or 70% of the objects being actually free and non-overlapping.

[0014] The classification step can be performed by a classifier, i.e. a classification device, in particular a classification device arranged to classify the pulverized waste objects into waste object portions having different size ranges. The classification step can in particular be included in the size measurement step using a measuring device to determine whether the object exceeds the maximum passing size. Therefore, the classification device can include a classification arrangement structure, such as a through opening in a screen plate or a size scanner. In the classification step, objects that replace the maximum passing size can be placed in one category, while objects that are not replaced or have the maximum passing size can be placed in another category. Therefore, the classification arrangement structure of the classification device can include a first output for being classified as a waste object that replaces the maximum passing size and a second output for being classified as a waste object that is not replaced or meets the maximum passing size. The allocation of categories can be performed, for example, by testing the ability of the object to physically pass through the screen opening of the classification device, but can also be performed by an actuator included in the classification arrangement structure of the classification device.

[0015] The step of sorting the waste objects from at least one size range including the objects with the maximum passing size while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects may be performed by a sorter, i.e. a sorting device, in particular a sorting device arranged to sort the waste objects from at least one size range including the objects with the maximum passing size while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects. Such a sorting device may include a conveyor assembly arranged to convey the spaced-apart waste objects along one or more manipulators, such as a conveyor belt arranged to pass along a plurality of ejectors.

[0016] The steps of classification and / or sorting are preferably performed mechanically using a classifier or sorter as described above, but may alternatively be performed manually. The classification step itself may be used to eliminate any entanglement that occurs after pulverization. However, in order to eliminate or alleviate entanglement before the classification step, the waste material may be pulverized into spaced-apart pulverized waste objects with a pulverizer, and the waste objects may be fed directly from the pulverizer to the classifier while roughly maintaining the intervals between the objects. In this way, a compact and efficient arrangement may be obtained, wherein the intervals may be obtained and maintained relatively easily. When the waste material is pulverized into spaced-apart pulverized waste objects using a pulverizer and when the pulverized waste objects are placed at intervals on a conveying plane from the pulverizer, and when the pulverized objects are conveyed to the classifier on a conveying plane while roughly maintaining the intervals between the objects, the pulverizer may be positioned farther from the classifier.

[0017] The classifier may comprise a screen onto which the comminuted objects are fed, and the classifying step may comprise sieving the comminuted waste objects into waste object portions having a maximum passing size of different size ranges. An undersized portion having a size smaller than the maximum passing size, in particular a diameter smaller than the maximum passing size defined by the screen aperture diameter of the screen plate, may pass through the openings in the screen plate of the screen, while an oversized portion having a size larger than the maximum passing size, in particular a diameter larger than the maximum passing size defined by the screen aperture diameter of the screen plate, may remain on the screen plate. The screen may comprise a plurality of levels to produce a plurality of portions of different size ranges, for example comprising a plurality of screen plates in a row with smaller openings in succession.

[0018] By separating the crushed objects in at least one waste object portion with a specific size range into rows, the waste objects can be ready for efficient automatic selection. In this context, separation is defined as the following process: individualizing objects, particularly placing objects as individual objects in rows, preferably without overlap between the continuous objects in the row, and more preferably with intervals between the continuous objects in the row. In particular, sufficient intervals can be provided between the continuous objects in the row to allow each object to be ejected from the row without interfering with the position or speed of the adjacent objects in the row. Portions of different size ranges can be separated separately, for example, in parallel processing lines. For example, the crushed objects in the portion with a maximum passing size of 50mm to 100mm and the portion with a maximum passing size of 100mm to 200mm or 100mm to 180mm can be separated separately in each processing line. Some portions of the size range may remain unseparated, for example, the "undersized" portion of the smallest size range, e.g. a through size of 0 to 50 mm, may be stored in compact bulk, while the "oversized" portion of the largest size range, e.g. having a maximum through size of >200 mm or >180 mm, may be returned to the shredder.

[0019] The step of sorting the waste objects may also include the step of scanning the objects. By scanning the shredded objects, information may be obtained that facilitates the selection of the shredded objects in the shredded object category, such as information about the material, composition, surface composition, color and / or shape. Scanning the shredded objects after separation may facilitate obtaining information about individual objects and / or partially processing information during the time interval between subsequent objects to be scanned.

[0020] The step of sorting the waste objects may further comprise the step of ejecting the objects. By ejecting the waste objects, it may be helpful to classify the crushed objects for collection. By ejecting the waste objects after separation, it may be helpful to collect the individual objects, for example by placing the ejected objects of the same category into a bin. By ejecting the waste objects after scanning, preferably after scanning after separation, it may be helpful to eject the waste objects based on the information obtained by the scanning.

[0021] To increase throughput and maintain spacing between shredded objects, the shredded objects may be conveyed from the separation arrangement through the scanning arrangement along the ejector arrangement, preferably continuously.

[0022] Scanning the pulverized object may include scanning the appearance, i.e., the external visual appearance in terms of shape, size, form, color, and surface composition. Scanning may include multiple types of scanners, such as both linear scans and cameras. For linear scans, an RGB camera may be used to generate a 2D image of the pulverized object. To obtain more data about the visual appearance, a 3D camera may be used to supplement the data of the 2D image or generate a new image.

[0023] Alternatively or in addition, scanning the pulverized objects may include scanning for other properties, such as scanning for the presence of magnetic or magnetizable materials, such as steel bolts present in segmented aluminum profiles as pulverized objects. This can be achieved, for example, by observing the excitation of relatively weak magnetic moments, as described in the applicant's patent publication WO2020 / 242298. The scan may also include testing the material type, for example using LIBS. This may be done for all pulverized objects or for selected objects for which additional information is required, and may be done permanently or only during a startup phase to learn to predict material types based on visual appearance. A conventional LIBS module - short for laser induced breakdown spectroscopy - may use high-energy laser pulses to generate plasma from a target material or individual pulverized objects, and use atomic emission spectroscopy to determine the material composition.

[0024] Information about the shape can be used, for example, to verify the separation of the comminuted objects and / or to estimate the mass and / or to calculate the center of gravity of the ejection and / or the ejection time.

[0025] Timed ejection of selected comminuted objects based on scanning and subsequent conveyance, such as time, speed or distance, allows ejection without any further scanning and / or visual aid. To this end, the conveyor drive or the conveyor itself may be provided with a timer, such as a pulse generator or timing marker.

[0026] Scanning can include artificial intelligence and / or deep learning to predict the category to which the crushed object belongs. For example, based on shape and color, a crushed aluminum object can be identified as a metal sheet and classified as wrought aluminum, while another crushed aluminum object can be identified as a profile section and classified as forged extruded aluminum, and yet another crushed object can be classified as cast aluminum. In addition, another crushed object can be identified as an aluminum section, but is rejected because it contains iron components. The scanning results can be combined with the decision to eject waste particles into a specific product bin to estimate the running average of the alloy composition or grade of the waste collected in the bin. This information can be used to control the decision of the ejector so that it is directed toward a product bin with predetermined specifications. Evaluating waste objects based on the measured or predicted composition of each waste object and selecting and collecting each waste object based on the running average of the measured or predicted composition of each waste object that has been collected can be considered an invention alone.

[0027] The separation arrangement, the scanner arrangement and / or the ejector arrangement may be controlled using a common controller and may, for example, have a common conveyor which is also controlled by the controller.

[0028] The first aspect of the present invention also relates to a system for recycling waste, the system comprising a shredder for shredding waste into shredded waste objects and a classifier for sorting the shredded waste objects into waste object portions having different size ranges, at least one of the size ranges comprising objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm, the system further comprising a sorter arranged to sort objects from the at least one size range comprising objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects.

[0029] The pulverizer may be arranged to pulverize the waste into spaced-apart pulverized waste objects, and the pulverizer may be arranged to feed the spaced-apart pulverized waste objects to the classifier while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects. The pulverizer may be arranged to feed the spaced-apart waste objects directly to the screen, for example, the outlet of the pulverizer may be arranged above the inlet of the classifier.

[0030] The system may include a conveyor for feeding the spaced-apart waste objects to the classifier, the conveyor including a conveyor plane arranged to receive the spaced-apart comminuted objects from the shredder and convey the comminuted objects to the screen while maintaining the spacing.

[0031] The classifier may be a screen fed with pulverized objects which classifies the pulverized waste objects into waste object portions having different size ranges, at least one of the size ranges comprising objects having a maximum passing dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm.

[0032] The sorter may comprise a separation arrangement for separating waste objects of said at least one size range, said at least one size range comprising objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm.

[0033] Alternatively or additionally, the sorter may comprise an ejector arrangement, which is preferably arranged downstream of the separating arrangement for separating the waste objects and / or for ejecting separated waste objects.

[0034] The system may comprise a scanner for scanning the waste objects, the scanner being preferably arranged between the separation arrangement and the ejector arrangement.

[0035] In order to alleviate the above-mentioned disadvantages, a second aspect of the present invention relates to a separation arrangement structure for separating waste objects, which separation arrangement structure includes a feeder arranged approximately horizontally, which extends from a receiving area for receiving waste objects to a feeding opening positioned at the top portion of a chute to feed the waste objects to the chute, the chute having a trough-shaped cross-section, the trough-shaped cross-section including a base section and side walls extending upward from the base section, the chute extending downward from the top section to the bottom section and including a funnel-shaped section, in which the width of the trough-shaped cross-section is reduced, and the bottom portion of the chute forms an edge opening, which is positioned at a receiving conveyor arranged approximately horizontally to receive objects traveling along the chute.

[0036] By collecting the waste objects from the feeder via a downward trough chute on the conveyor, the waste objects can be separated, i.e. reliably and effectively placed in rows continuously. For waste objects from equilateral shapes to relatively elongated shapes, for example in the range of 1 to 3 in which the aspect ratio is, this separation arrangement is particularly effective. The chute can extend from the top part to the bottom part along the chute axis. The funnel-shaped portion promotes the separation of the waste objects, i.e. the waste objects travel in rows along the chute in the direction of transmission along the chute axis. The sidewalls of the chute can be tilted upwards to promote the alignment of the waste objects. The feeder can preferably be implemented as a vibrating plate, and can, for example, be implemented as a conveyor belt as an alternative. Compared with receiving the conveyor belt, the feeder can be arranged to transport the waste objects relatively slowly.

[0037] By arranging the receiving conveyor to accelerate the traveling objects after passing through the edge opening of the chute, separation is facilitated and the spacing between subsequent waste objects can be controlled and / or optimized. The speed of the receiving conveyor in the conveying direction can be arranged, for example, to be higher than 1 m / s, preferably higher than 2 m / s, and in particular higher than 3 m / s. The traveling speed of the objects in the conveying direction on the feeder can be, for example, 0.3 m / s or lower.

[0038] By including a convex transition section between the opening of the feeder and the top portion of the chute, separation can be promoted. Preferably, the convex transition section is arranged between the opening of the feeder and the funnel-shaped section of the chute. In the convex transition section, each particle may be strongly accelerated to increase the distance between each particle. After acceleration, the section can be contracted at the funnel-shaped section, which preferably extends linearly downward. At the funnel-shaped section, the particle flow can be forced to converge into a single-row arrangement. The convex transition section can be, for example, a part of the chute, but can alternatively be a part of the feeder or can be provided as a separate part.

[0039] When the funnel-shaped section of the chute extends generally linearly downward, the waste objects can be accelerated to increase spacing and promote separation. The funnel-shaped section can be, for example, inclined downward at an angle of, for example, 30 degrees or more, preferably 45 degrees or more, relative to the horizontal plane, and, for example, inclined downward at an angle of, for example, 80 degrees or less, preferably 75 degrees or less, relative to the horizontal plane.

[0040] When the chute includes a concave transition section between the funnel-shaped section and the bottom portion, waste objects traveling along the chute can be decelerated for smooth transfer to the receiving conveyor. In the concave transition section, the particles can push each other to make room in the chute at a lower transport speed without tangling or overlapping.

[0041] Alternatively or additionally, the bottom portion of the chute may be arranged substantially horizontally to facilitate smooth transfer of the waste objects to the receiving conveyor.

[0042] At the opening of the chute, the side walls of the chute may protrude beyond the base section in the direction of travel of the objects and extend to overlap the conveyor. In this way, a particularly good transfer of waste objects from the chute to the conveyor may be achieved, in particular when the speed of the receiving conveyor is much higher than the speed of the objects travelling along the chute.

[0043] When the feeder comprises a skirt at the receiving area to decelerate the objects received on the feed plate, it can be prevented that waste objects received on the feed plate at a high speed may affect other objects on the feed plate and / or be transferred to the chute at a higher speed than expected. Such a skirt may initially decelerate the waste objects received on the feed plate, for example, by using, for example, one or more rubber baffles, which are arranged in a plane transverse to the direction of travel of the waste objects.

[0044] The feeder may comprise a trough-shaped cross section having a bottom plane and side walls extending upwardly from the bottom plane, the cross section tapering as it approaches the feed opening. In this way, waste objects can be fed to the chute at a substantially constant flow rate and at a relatively high density, so that after separation on a fast-moving receiving conveyor, a sufficiently high and constant throughput is maintained. Preferably, the cross section of the feeder tapers to the same size as the top section of the chute.

[0045] The chute can include one or more actuators that act on each object along the chute. In this way, when the waste material object along the chute has an overlap in the transport direction, the rear object can slow down relative to the front object, or the front object can accelerate relative to the rear object. Such an actuator can be for example arranged at the top portion and / or the funnel-shaped section of the chute. Such an actuator can for example include one or more nozzles or movable fingers for spraying water or air. The actuator can be arranged to be used for the temporary direct or indirect engagement of the waste material object ahead and / or the waste material object behind, so as to accelerate or decelerate or temporarily reduce or increase friction, for example the friction between the object and the chute or between the object and the surrounding air respectively.

[0046] A second aspect of the invention also relates to a chute, in particular a chute for a separation arrangement as described above, the chute having a trough-shaped cross section, the trough-shaped cross section comprising a base section and side walls extending upwardly from the base section, and the chute extending downwardly from a top part to a bottom part and comprising a funnel-shaped section, in which the width of the trough-shaped cross section decreases, the bottom part of the chute forming an edge opening, wherein the funnel-shaped section of the chute extends approximately linearly downwardly, and wherein the chute comprises a concave transition section between the funnel-shaped section and the bottom part of the chute. The bottom part of the chute can, for example, be arranged approximately horizontally, and at the opening of the chute, the side walls can, for example, protrude beyond the base section. The chute can comprise one or more actuators, in particular nozzles and / or movable fingers, acting on the respective objects traveling along the chute.

[0047] A second aspect of the invention also relates to a method for separating waste objects by feeding them onto a conveyor via a downward chute, in particular by feeding them onto a conveyor via a downward chute using a separation arrangement or chute as described above, the method comprising the steps of feeding the waste objects to the chute, gathering the objects travelling downward through the chute into a row, and accelerating the travelling objects after passing through the opening of the chute by means of a conveyor. If the leading object and the trailing object overlap in the direction of travel, the trailing object may be engaged to decelerate it relative to the leading object.

[0048] In order to alleviate the above disadvantages, a third aspect of the present invention relates to an ejector arrangement, the ejector arrangement comprising a conveyor having a substantially flat conveying plane and an ejector device arranged along the conveyor, the ejector device being arranged to eject objects in a row of separated objects travelling along the conveying plane in a conveying direction, the ejector device comprising a sweeper shoe mounted to the ejector device to pivot along a substantially arcuate path about a rotation axis extending at a certain interval above the conveying plane, the sweeper shoe having a bottom portion arranged to be driven to pass along the conveying plane in a sweeping path extending transversely to the conveying direction, wherein the bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is arranged to have radial compliance relative to the rotation axis so that when driven to pass along the conveying plane, the sweeping path forms a flat portion of the arcuate path, the flat portion extending substantially in or parallel to the conveying plane. In other words, the flat portion of the arcuate path forms a linear section of the arcuate path. By arranging the sweeper shoe to be radially compliant relative to the axis of rotation so that the sweeping path forms the flat portion of an arcuate path, it is achieved that the ejector can be constructed very cost effectively using a drive having only a single axis of rotation, for example using a single electric motor.

[0049] The cleaner shoe may be arranged to be driven to pass without spacing along the cleaning path conveying plane to pass along the conveying surface in contact with the conveying surface.

[0050] The flat portion or linear section of the arc path can then be obtained by contact between the sweeper shoe and the conveying surface, for example by driving the bottom of the sweeper shoe to pass along the conveying plane in contact with the conveying surface and by providing elastic radial compliance. The elastic radial compliance can be provided by the elasticity of the sweeper shoe or other components of the drive. This can allow the sweeper shoe to deform or shift so that the arc path includes a linear section, for example by extending the bottom of the sweeper shoe further radially outward when moving, compared to the situation where the sweeper shoe will follow a circular path. The contact force between the bottom of the sweeper and the conveying plane can then cause, for example, elastic deformation of the shoe itself and subsequent rebound, so that the bottom of the shoe can follow the flat linear portion of the arc path. As an alternative or in addition, the elastic radial compliance can also be provided by elastic deformation of other components of the drive arrangement structure of the sweeper shoe.

[0051] The sweeper shoe can be arranged to be driven to pass through along the sweeping path transmission plane at intervals to pass through along the transmission plane without contact. Along the sweeping path, a gap can be maintained between the bottom of the sweeper shoe and the transmission plane, and the gap is included in the range of 0.1cm to 5cm, preferably 0.1cm to 3cm, more preferably 0.1cm to 1cm. Then, the flat part of the arc path forming the sweeping path can be obtained by the mechanism of the driver, such as the connecting rod or cam arrangement structure that affects the flat part of the arc path. The flat part of the arc path can also be obtained by arranging the driver to change the centripetal force on the sweeper shoe to control radial compliance. Preferably, the elastic radial compliance can then be arranged to cooperate with the controlled centripetal force, such as by the elasticity of the other parts of the sweeper shoe or the driver. The driver can be arranged to drive the sweeper shoe to form the flat part of the arc path in the increasing speed stage of the sweeping path and the subsequent constant speed stage. The bottom portion of the cleaner shoe is then moved radially outward by the centrifugal force overcoming the elastic restoring force, which may be followed by the bottom portion of the cleaner shoe being moved radially inward by the elastic restoring force overcoming the centrifugal force. By using the acceleration mode of the drive of the ejector device, the bottom portion of the cleaner shoe can be extended radially until it approaches the conveyor belt surface with a desired gap of 0.1 cm to 1 cm. By subsequently using the constant speed mode of the drive, the bottom portion of the cleaner shoe will rebound to a certain extent, which causes the gap to decrease as the cleaner shoe rotates further.

[0052] The axis of rotation may extend in a plane generally parallel to the conveying plane so that the cleaning path is aligned with the conveying plane.

[0053] The axis of rotation may extend obliquely relative to the conveying direction. In this way, the sweeping path may include two components of ejecting the product transverse to the conveying direction, but may also include one component along the conveying direction. This allows the sweeper shoe to move with the waste object to be ejected so that the contact time is increased and the ejection may be smooth.

[0054] The axis of rotation may extend at an acute angle, for example approximately 30 to 60 degrees, relative to the conveying direction.

[0055] The cleaning path can be centered about a centerline passing through a row of separated objects traveling in a conveying direction along a conveying plane.

[0056] The sweeper shoe can be arranged to perform a complete rotational movement about the axis of rotation in a rotation plane. In this way, the drive of the sweeper shoe can be relatively simple. The rotation plane can advantageously extend substantially transversely to the conveying plane, in particular perpendicularly to the conveying plane. The rotation plane can advantageously extend obliquely with respect to the conveying direction. The rotational movement can be indexed and can, for example, be arranged to perform 1 / 4, 1 / 3 or 1 / 2 a turn.

[0057] Subsequent rotational movements can be performed in opposite directions of rotation so as to clean back and forth. However, preferably, subsequent rotational movements are performed in the same direction of rotation. This allows for continuous, step-by-step rotation in the same direction. In this way, the sweeper can be repositioned relatively easily.

[0058] The ejector device comprises one or more sweeper arms, each sweeper arm carrying a sweeper shoe at a radially outward end. In the case of continuous stepwise rotation in the same direction, the next sweeper shoe can be positioned for performing a subsequent cleaning action in only a small amount of time. This is particularly advantageous in the case where two subsequent objects to be ejected travel along the conveyor at a high speed, for example at least 1m / s, 2m / s or 3m / s. The ejector device can be arranged to perform a subsequent cleaning action in less than 1 second, for example less than 0.5s, or even less than 0.3s. In this way, a single ejector device can eject subsequent waste objects into the same bin even when the waste objects travel at a high speed.

[0059] The sweeper arms may, for example, extend radially from a central shaft, the centerline of the central shaft corresponding to the axis of rotation. The sweeper arms may, for example, be arranged at uniform angular intervals, for example 90 degrees.

[0060] The sweeper shoe may comprise a flexible body portion. In this way, radial compliance may be achieved relatively simply. The sweeper shoe may be elastically deformable in radial direction, and in particular may be deformable relative to the sweeper arm.

[0061] The viscous part (or imaginary part or loss part) of the Young's modulus is preferably selected so that the lower edge of the impact surface of the cleaner shoe moves in a substantially flat straight line above the conveyor plane in the area where it may impact the waste particles. In addition, the material is preferably selected so that it produces such a final position of the lower edge at the end of the arcuate path that is sufficiently close to the static equilibrium position so that the profile of the next sweep is essentially independent of the time interval between two consecutive sweeps. Therefore, the viscous part of the Young's modulus is preferably selected to be neither too small nor too large. It was found that if the cleaner shoe is used continuously, a suitable value of the viscous part of the Young's modulus may cause the cleaner shoe to heat up by 10°C to 30°C. In order to limit the change in the arcuate path of the lower edge of the impact plane of the shoe, the material of the shoe is preferably selected so that the Young's modulus should not differ by more than 40% in the operating temperature range including the effects of ambient temperature changes and the effects of viscoelastic heating, and preferably should not differ by more than 20%. Thus, the real and imaginary parts of the Young's modulus of the elastomeric material of the sweeper shoe vary less than 40%, preferably less than 20% over the temperature operating range of the shoe in the range 0° C. to 50° C., preferably 10° C. to 40° C. A suitable material for the sweeper shoe is for example automobile tyre rubber.

[0062] Radial compliance can be achieved particularly simply, reliably and cost-effectively when the sweeper shoe comprises a profile with an open cross-section.

[0063] When the cleaner shoe has a planar impact surface arranged to extend in a plane substantially transverse to the conveying plane in the conveying direction or parallel to the conveying direction, it can be achieved that the impact surface extends along the waste objects travelling in the conveying direction. The impact surface can advantageously extend transversely, in particular perpendicularly, to the conveying surface at the centre line of the row of separated objects travelling in the conveying direction.

[0064] Particularly advantageously, the sweeper shoe may comprise a flexible body portion formed as a generally C-shaped or G-shaped profile, the bottom of the C or G-shaped profile being arranged to form the bottom portion of the sweeper shoe and the end faces of the C or G-shaped profile forming the impact surface.

[0065] A third aspect of the invention also relates to an ejector device, the ejector device comprising a sweeper shoe mounted to the ejector device to pivot about the axis of rotation along a generally arcuate path, the sweeper shoe having a bottom portion arranged to be driven to pass along a conveying plane, wherein the bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is arranged to have radial compliance relative to the axis of rotation so that when driven to pass along the conveying plane, the sweeping path forms a flat portion of the arcuate path, the flat portion extending generally in or parallel to the conveying plane. The ejector device may comprise one or more sweeper arms extending radially from a central axis, the centerline of the central axis corresponding to the axis of rotation, each sweeper arm carrying a sweeper shoe at a radially outward end, wherein the sweeper shoe has a planar impact surface arranged to extend at an acute angle to the axis of rotation. The sweeper shoe may include a flexible body portion formed as a generally C-shaped or G-shaped profile so as to be elastically deformable in a radial direction relative to the sweeper arm, the bottom of the C-shaped or G-shaped profile being arranged to form a bottom portion of the sweeper shoe, and the end surface of the C-shaped or G-shaped profile forming an impact surface of the sweeper shoe.

[0066] In addition, a third aspect of the present invention relates to a method for ejecting objects from a row of separated objects traveling along a conveying plane in a conveying direction, wherein a sweeper shoe pivots along a generally arcuate path about a rotation axis extending at a certain interval above the conveying plane, and wherein a bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is driven to pass along the conveying plane in a cleaning path extending through the row of objects transversely to the conveying direction, wherein, when being driven to pass along the conveying plane, the bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is radially displaced relative to the rotation axis so that the cleaning path forms a flat portion of the arcuate path extending generally in or parallel to the conveying plane, and wherein an impact surface of the sweeper shoe engages with the object to eject the object from the row.

[0067] As described above, the sweeper shoe can be driven to pass along the sweeping path conveying plane without intervals, so as to pass along the conveying surface in contact with the conveying surface. However, in order to prevent wear and improve reliability, the sweeper shoe can be driven to pass along the conveying plane at intervals, so as to pass along the conveying plane without contact. The sweeper shoe can be driven to change the centripetal force on the sweeper shoe to control radial compliance, thereby forming a flat part of the arc path. In order to form the flat part of the arc path, the sweeper shoe can be driven in the increasing speed stage and the subsequent constant speed stage of the sweeping path. Then, the bottom part of the sweeper shoe is moved radially outward by the centrifugal force that overcomes the elastic restoring force, and thereafter, the bottom part of the sweeper shoe is moved radially inward by the elastic restoring force that overcomes the centrifugal force. Subsequent cleaning actions can be performed by the same ejector device in less than 1 second, for example, less than 0.5 seconds, or even less than 0.3 seconds.

[0068] The impact surface of the cleaner shoe may be arranged to extend in a plane in or parallel to the conveying direction.The impact surface may extend transversely, in particular perpendicularly, to the conveying surface at a centerline of a row of separated objects travelling in the conveying direction.

[0069] The above aspects of the invention individually mitigate the disadvantages of manual sorting, and in combination further mitigate the disadvantages.The various aspects of the invention together form an invention, but each can also be considered separately as an independent invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0070] The invention will be further elucidated on the basis of the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings.The exemplary embodiments are given by way of non-limiting illustration of the invention.

[0071] In the attached picture:

[0072] Figure 1 An isometric diagrammatic view showing an example of a system for recycling waste materials;

[0073] Figure 2 shows a top view of a portion of a system for recycling waste materials;

[0074] Figure 3 A cross-sectional side view of the classifier is shown;

[0075] Figure 4 An isometric view of two separate arrangements is shown;

[0076] Figure 5 A schematic overview of the separation process is shown;

[0077] Figure 6 An isometric view of the ejection arrangement is shown;

[0078] Fig. 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C an isometric view of a sweeper shoe showing an ejection arrangement;

[0079] Figure 8 A schematic overview of an experiment with an ejection arrangement is shown;

[0080] Fig.9A Shows the Figure 8 Two graphs depicting the rotational speed and travel angle of the sweeper shoe of the ejection arrangement used in the experiments;

[0081] Fig. 9B Shows Figure 8 The flat linear portion of the arcuate path of the sweeper shoe of the ejection arrangement used in the experiment;

[0082] Fig. 10A Numerical experiments showing that the waste is not buffered before being fed to the chute after a run time of 6 seconds;

[0083] Fig. 10B Numerical experiments showing waste being buffered before being fed to the chute after a run time of 6 seconds;

[0084] Fig.11A shows that after 13 seconds of running time Fig. 10A Experiments

[0085] Fig. 11B shows that after 12 seconds of running time Fig. 10B Experiments

[0086] Fig. 12A shows that after a running time of 8.4 seconds Fig. 10A Experiments

[0087] Fig. 12B shows that after a running time of 9.3 seconds Fig. 10B Experiments

[0088] Fig. 12C Shown for Fig. 10A and Fig. 10B The scrap percentage of the experiment as a function of the delay time.

[0089] It should be noted that these figures are schematic representations given by way of non-limiting example only. In the various figures, identical or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0090] Figure 1 and Figure 2A system 1 for recycling waste material, in this example aluminum waste material, is shown. The system 1 includes a shredder 2 for shredding waste material S1 into spaced-apart shredded waste objects S2. The system 1 also includes a classifier 3 for classifying the shredded waste objects S2 into waste object portions S2 having different size ranges. In this example, at least one of the size ranges includes objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 100 mm to 180 mm. The system 1 also includes a sorter 36, which is arranged to sort objects according to size ranges while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects S2, the size ranges including objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 100 mm to 180 mm.

[0091] The shredder 2 is arranged to feed the classifier 3 while substantially maintaining the spacing between objects.

[0092] The shredder 2 shown in the present example is a conventional shredder 2 of the type commonly used in the metal recycling industry. Such a shredder 2 can be fed with waste material, for example via a crane 4. The spaced apart shredded waste objects S2 preferably have a maximum size in the range of 100 mm to 200 mm, in particular 100 mm to 180 mm. In the example shown, a large number of waste objects S2 have been roughly shredded to retain a relatively large size, i.e. most of the objects have a maximum passing size of 100 mm to 180 mm, to allow efficient processing.

[0093] Figure 3 A classifier 3 is shown, which includes a screen 38 with a plurality of screen plates 33, onto which the pulverized objects are subsequently fed. The sorting step includes sieving the pulverized waste objects S2 into waste object portions S2 having a maximum passing size of different size ranges. The undersized portion having a size smaller than the maximum passing size, in particular a diameter smaller than the maximum passing size defined by the screen hole diameter of the screen plate 33, passes through the openings in the screen plate 33 of the screen, while the oversized portion having a size larger than the maximum passing size, in particular a diameter larger than the maximum passing size defined by the screen hole diameter of the screen plate 33 is retained on the screen plate 33. Therefore, the screen 33 includes a plurality of levels to produce a plurality of portions of different size ranges, for example, including a plurality of screen plates in rows with smaller openings in succession. In the context of the current example, "sorting" should be interpreted as separating the waste objects S2 into different portions based on the size of the waste objects S2. If the pulverized waste objects S2 are considered to be out of range, i.e. too small or too large, these pulverized waste objects S2 will be separated at an early stage of the recycling process. Oversized shredded waste objects S2 are too large to pass through the screen plate and are fed back again to the shredder 2. Undersized shredded waste objects S2, which are considered too small for separation, are stored compactly in bulk in a conventional manner.

[0094] In the example shown, the classifier 3 is fed with comminuted objects S2 which are transported starting from the screen feed 32 in the direction D1 .

[0095] The maximum passing dimension here is the maximum diameter of the object, so that objects with the maximum diameter are allowed to pass, regardless of the maximum length transverse to the diameter. Therefore, the length can be less than, equal to or greater than the diameter. In order to facilitate handling during sorting, the object S2 has a maximum dimension in an absolute sense, such as a length transverse to the maximum passing diameter, for example, less than 500 mm.

[0096] The smallest waste object with a size range of 0mm to 50mm in the waste object S2 forms a smaller part F0, and falls through the sieve plate 33 including the opening of 50mm. This part F0 is considered too small for separation, and is compactly stored in bulk in a conventional manner. The remaining waste objects S2 passing through a size greater than 50mm are further transported along the direction D1. The next part F1 of the waste object S2 has a maximum passing range of 50mm to 100mm, and is classified or graded by the sieve plate 33 with an opening of 100mm. This part F1 is the first part for separation. The remaining waste objects S2 with a maximum diameter of at least 100mm are graded into waste objects S2 with a range of 100mm to 180mm. This is done using the sieve plate 33 with an opening of 180mm in diameter. This part F2 is the second part for separation. The remaining waste objects S2 with a maximum passing diameter of at least 180mm are considered as an excessive part F9, and are fed to the pulverizer 2 again. The first portion F1 and the second portion F2 are placed on the feed conveyor 5, for example by dropping, for further transport downstream.

[0097] In the example shown, the sorter 3 feeds four different feed conveyor belts 5. Two of the feed conveyor belts 5 are for the lower sub-range of the acceptable waste range and two further feed conveyor belts 5 are for the remaining sub-range of the acceptable waste range.

[0098] In this example, the shredder 2 is arranged to feed the waste objects S2 to the sorter 3 via the feed conveyor 5. The shredded waste objects S2 are placed at intervals from the shredder 2 onto the conveying plane 6 of the feed conveyor 5, and the shredded waste objects S2 are conveyed to the sorter 3 on the conveying plane 26 while substantially maintaining the intervals between the objects S2.

[0099] In this example, after the classifier 3 classifies the shredded waste objects S2 into different parts according to their diameters, a magnet 7 is provided above the feeding conveyor 5 to separate the remaining ferromagnetic waste, such as iron, from the shredded waste objects S2. The magnet 7 is preferably a deep magnetic field permanent magnet or an electromagnet. The separated ferromagnetic waste is then removed from the shredded waste objects S2 by placing the separated ferromagnetic waste in, for example, a separate container or a pile.

[0100] The step of sorting the waste objects S2 from a size range including objects having a maximum passing size of 100 mm to 180 mm comprises the step of separating the crushed objects S2 in the waste object portion into rows. In addition, the system 1 further comprises a separation arrangement 8 arranged to separate the waste objects S2. The separation arrangement 8 places the waste objects S2 into rows of separated waste objects S2 with no overlap between consecutive waste objects S2 in the row and with spaces between consecutive waste objects S2 in the row.

[0101] In the example shown, two separation arrangements 8 are provided in parallel per receiving conveyor 9. Detailed examples of separation arrangements 8 will be discussed further below.

[0102] The system 1 comprises a scanner 10 downstream of the separation arrangement for scanning the waste objects S2. Scanning the waste objects S2 here has a dual purpose: locating the individual waste objects S2 and their position on the receiving conveyor 9 and determining the composition of the material.

[0103] In the example shown, an RGB linear scanner and a 3D camera are used to generate visual data. The visual data is processed by a computer program to determine the location and material composition of the waste object S2. More specifically, the computer algorithm determines the composition of the waste object S2 through the visual data of the waste object S2, such as color, shape, and surface condition.

[0104] In the example shown, the computer algorithm is a self-learning computer algorithm that is arranged to improve the accuracy of determining the material composition of the waste object S2. A laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) module is provided to support the self-learning of the computer algorithm. If the computer algorithm is unable to determine the material composition of the waste object S2 by visual data, for example because the visual data for one type of waste object has not been sufficiently analyzed by the computer algorithm before or insufficient visual data is provided to the algorithm for any reason, the LIBS module is used to determine the material composition of the waste object. The data generated by the LIBS module is then used as input to the self-learning computer algorithm to improve the accuracy of determining the waste object S2.

[0105] The LIBS module uses high energy laser pulses to generate plasma from a target waste object and uses atomic emission spectroscopy to determine the material composition. The LIBS module may be used permanently, or may only be present during a teach phase for learning to determine or "predict" the composition of one type of waste object based on visual data of that type of waste object.

[0106] For each individual waste object, the location and material data may be combined and used as input data for the waste recycling system 1 further downstream.

[0107] The system 1 also includes a plurality of ejector arrangements 11, which are arranged downstream of the separation arrangement 8 and downstream of the scanner 10, and are used to eject the separated waste objects S3. In the example shown, each receiving conveyor 9 is provided with eight ejector arrangements 11, however, it will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that any number of ejector arrangements 11 can be provided, for example, according to the number of categories of waste objects to be sorted. In this example, each ejector arrangement ejects a category of waste objects into a bin 37. The scan data of the scanner 10 is used to determine when to actuate the ejector arrangement 11 based on the material composition of the waste object. For example, if a single waste object includes a certain amount of magnesium, the first ejector arrangement 11 can be actuated. The data determined by the scanner 10 will allow the ejector arrangement 11 to be actuated at the right time so that the correct single waste object S3 is ejected. A detailed example of the ejector arrangement 11 will be further discussed below.

[0108] Figure 3 A separation arrangement 8 for separating waste objects S2 is shown. The arrangement comprises a substantially horizontally arranged feeder 12 extending from a receiving area 13 for receiving waste objects to a feeding opening 14 positioned at a top portion 18 of a chute 15 for feeding the waste objects to the chute 15. The chute 15 has a trough-shaped cross section comprising a base section 35 and side walls 16 extending upwardly from the base section. Furthermore, the chute 15 extends downwardly from the top section 18 to a bottom section 19 and comprises a funnel-shaped section 17 in which the width of the trough-shaped cross section decreases. The bottom section 19 of the chute 15 forms an edge opening 20 positioned at a substantially horizontally arranged receiving conveyor for receiving objects travelling along the chute 15.

[0109] In the example shown, the feeder 12 arranged substantially horizontally is a vibrating feeder. The feeder 12 has a through-shaped cross section having a bottom plane and a side wall 16 extending upward from the bottom plane, and the cross section tapers as it approaches the feeding opening 14. In addition, the feeder 12 has a skirt 21 located at the receiving area 13, which is used to decelerate the objects received on the feeding plate 22. The feeder 12 is arranged to vibrate, which can disperse the shredded waste objects S2 in the case of entanglement of the shredded waste objects S2, and feed the shredded waste S2 relatively slowly compared to the feeding conveyor belt 5, thereby further facilitating the formation of intervals between the waste objects S2.

[0110] The waste objects S2 are separated by collecting the waste objects from the vibrating feeder 12 via the downward through-shaped chute 15 onto the receiving conveyor 9. In other words, the waste objects S2 are continuously placed in a row at desired intervals.

[0111] In order to provide a relatively smooth transition from the feeder 12 to the chute 15 and from the chute 15 to the receiving conveyor 9, a convex transition section and a concave transition section are provided. More specifically, a convex transition section is positioned between the opening 14 of the feeder 12 and the top portion 18 of the chute 15, and a concave transition section is positioned between the funnel-shaped section 17 and the bottom portion 19 of the chute 15.

[0112] Between the transition sections, the funnel-shaped section 17 of the chute 15 extends generally linearly downwards to accelerate the waste objects S2, thereby increasing the spacing of the waste objects S2 and further facilitating separation of the waste objects S2. In the example shown, the axis of the chute 15 is inclined downwards at an angle α between 45 and 75 degrees relative to the horizontal.

[0113] The chute 15 includes one or more actuators 23, such as nozzles and / or movable fingers, acting on each object S2 traveling along the chute 15. In the event that the front object and the rear object overlap in the direction of travel, the rear object is engaged to decelerate the rear object relative to the front object, and / or the front object can be accelerated relative to the rear object. The bottom portion 19 of the chute 15 is arranged generally horizontally. At the opening of the chute 15, the side wall 16 can protrude beyond the base section 35 (not shown).

[0114] The side wall 16 at the opening of the chute 15 protrudes beyond the base section 35 in the traveling direction of the objects and extends to overlap with the receiving conveyor 9 .

[0115] The receiving conveyor belt 9 is arranged to accelerate the traveling objects after they have passed through the opening of the chute 15. In the example shown, this is achieved by operating the receiving conveyor belt 9 in the conveying direction P at a speed that is higher than the speed that the waste objects S2 have on average at the bottom of the chute 15. In this example, the speed of the conveyor belt 9 in the conveying direction P is 3 m / s.

[0116] Figure 4 There is shown an ejector arrangement 11 comprising a conveyor 9 having a substantially flat conveying plane 26 and a plurality of ejector devices 24 arranged along the conveyor 9. The ejector devices 24 are arranged to eject objects S4 from a row of separated objects S3 travelling along the conveying plane 26 in a conveying direction P. The ejector devices 24 comprise a sweeper shoe 25 mounted to the ejector device 24 to pivot along a substantially arcuate path about a rotation axis R extending at a distance above the conveying plane 26. The sweeper shoe 25 has a bottom portion 27 which, in this embodiment, is arranged to be driven to pass contactlessly along the conveying plane 26 in a sweeping path extending transversely to the conveying direction P. In this embodiment, the bottom portion 27 of the cleaner shoe is arranged to be resiliently radially compliant relative to the axis of rotation R so that the cleaning path forms a flat portion of an arcuate path extending generally in or parallel to the conveying plane 26 .

[0117] The ejector device 24 comprises one or more sweeper arms 28 , each sweeper arm 28 carrying a sweeper shoe 25 at a radially outward end and extending radially from a central shaft 29 , the centre line of which corresponds to the axis R of rotation.

[0118] The sweeper shoe 25 is arranged for a full rotational movement in the rotation plane about a rotation axis R. The rotation axis R extends obliquely with respect to the conveying direction P. The sweeper shoe 25 rotates in the rotation plane in an indexed rotational movement, wherein each subsequent rotational movement is in the same rotational direction.

[0119] The cleaner shoe 25 comprises a flexible body portion 30 and is elastically deformable in the radial direction. In addition, the cleaner shoe 25 comprises a profile having an open cross section. In the example shown, the flexible body portion 30 is formed as a substantially G-shaped profile. The bottom 27 of the G-shaped profile is arranged to form the bottom portion 27 of the cleaner shoe 25, and the end face of the G-shaped profile forms a plane impact surface 31.

[0120] The planar impact surface 31 is arranged in the flat part of the cleaning path to extend in a plane substantially transverse to the conveying plane in the conveying direction P or parallel to the conveying direction P. More specifically, the impact surface 31 is arranged transversely, in particular perpendicularly, to the conveying surface at the center line of the row of separated objects traveling in the conveying direction P.

[0121] The cleaning path is centered on a centerline passing through a row of separated objects traveling in a conveying direction P along the conveying plane 26 .

[0122] 7A to 7C A schematic overview is shown, wherein it is shown how the cleaning path forms the flat portion of the arcuate path. In this example, the sweeper shoe 25 is driven to change the centripetal force on the sweeper shoe, thereby controlling the radial compliance to form the flat portion of the arcuate path. More specifically, the sweeper arm 28 is shown during various rotation stages. Fig. 7A The cleaner shoe is shown in a first position as it approaches the surface of a receiving conveyor belt 9, not shown in the figure. Figure 7B In the embodiment, the cleaner shoe is accelerating towards the surface of the receiving conveyor belt 9. The flexible body portion 30 is elastically deformed due to the centrifugal force, so that the bottom portion 27 forms a larger opening 34 in the C-shaped profile relative to when the cleaner shoe 25 is at rest.

[0123] The flat cleaning path can maintain a clearance of, for example, 0.1 cm to 1 cm above the conveying plane 26 formed by the top of the conveyor belt surface. For each ejection action, three acceleration / deceleration stages can be applied to the cleaner shoe 25 by the drive. A first acceleration stage can be applied during which the rotational speed increases at a constant acceleration for a certain time, for example, 0.05 seconds. During this first stage, the G-shaped profile is elastically deformed and extended until the bottom surface of the G-shaped profile is close to the top of the belt surface with a desired clearance of 0.1 cm to 1 cm.

[0124] The second stage of constant speed without acceleration or deceleration can be applied to the cleaner shoe 25 by the driver. Due to the rapid increase in speed at the first stage above, the rate of change of internal energy is very fast, which will cause a very high internal "rebound" force to be generated in the elastic material of the cleaner shoe 25, such as automobile tire rubber. Since the acceleration stops suddenly at this stage, the internal force of the rubber is greater than the centrifugal force that does not increase at a constant speed. Therefore, the bottom portion 27 of the cleaner shoe 25 will rebound to a certain extent, which offsets the reduction in the gap when the arm 28 rotates to the centerline, thereby forming a relatively flat cleaning path with a certain gap on the belt surface. The flat cleaning path is mainly formed at this stage. The deceleration of the third stage can be applied to the cleaner shoe 25 by the driver, during which the speed of the cleaner shoe 25 is gradually reduced, which corresponds to the reduction of the centrifugal force that causes the rubber to rebound more significantly, and the bottom portion 27 of the cleaner shoe 25 is farther and farther from the belt surface until the ejection cycle ends. In this example, the subsequent cleaning action is performed in less than 1 second, and in particular, in approximately 1 / 7 second.

[0125] In an alternative arrangement which is not currently preferred for reasons of wear, the G-shaped profile can be driven into contact with the surface of the receiving conveyor belt 9 so that the flexible body portion 30 is elastically deformed due to the force exerted by the surface of the receiving conveyor belt 9 on the bottom portion 27. Doing so results in the cleaning path forming the flat portion of an arcuate path.

[0126] The described system 1 for recycling waste operates as follows. First, waste S1 is crushed into crushed waste objects S2. The objects are graded using a screen 3 according to the object size. The graded objects are separated using a separation arrangement 8. The separation arrangement 8 includes a chute 15 having a funnel-shaped section 17, which places the waste objects S2 on a receiving conveyor belt 9 in a separated manner. Since the speed of the receiving conveyor belt 9 is higher relative to the speed of the waste objects S2 at the end of the chute 15, the formation of intervals between the separated waste objects S3 is facilitated. The separated waste objects S3 are scanned using a scanner 10 to determine the position of the separated waste objects S3 on the receiving conveyor belt 9. In addition, the material composition of each separated waste object S3 is determined using the scanner 10. This data is used to actuate the ejector arrangement 11 so that the ejector device 24 is actuated at the right time, thereby ejecting the separated waste objects S3 from the receiving conveyor 9 so that the separated waste objects S3 are grouped with waste objects having the same material composition. The system for recycling waste is controlled by a single controller or computer. Thus, the invention provides an automatic system and method for sorting waste while minimizing transportation and labor requirements.

[0127] Example 1

[0128] In the experiment, a horizontally arranged vibrating feeder was fed with aluminum scrap particles as objects. The particles were fed from a conveyor belt at an average rate of 4 particles per second. At least 70% of the particles on the conveyor belt were free and non-overlapping, and there was no obvious entanglement on the surface of the vibrating feeder. After being transported to a feeding opening located at the top part of the chute on the feeder receiving area for receiving waste objects - the waste particles fell from the edge of the feeder to the chute at the feeding opening - the falling time of each particle was recorded. In this way, the distribution of the time passed between the continuous particles that fell can be calculated. The distribution generated for the two vibration frequencies of the vibrating feeder is shown in Table 1. In both cases, as a direct result of feeding at an average rate of 4 waste particles per second, the average time between continuous particles is close to 0.25 seconds. Each distribution is very similar, where the percentage is slightly lower at a higher frequency for the interval of 0s to 0.05s.

[0129] Table 1: Distribution of the time between two consecutive particles falling from the vibrating feeder for two different frequencies of the vibrating motor.

[0130]

[0131]

[0132] The purpose of the feeding process is to feed waste particles from the feeder onto a sorting belt running at 3 m / s, which is the maximum practical speed at which the sensor scans the particles along the sorting belt before ejecting the particles to a plurality of different product outlets. It was found that in order for the waste particles to be optimally ejected on the sorting belt with minimal interference with adjacent particles, the distance between the centers of consecutive particles in the transport direction of the belt is preferably at least 0.35 m for an average size particle of 0.3 m length in the direction of the conveyor. This 0.35 m spacing translates into an arrival time difference on the sorting belt of about 0.12 s, i.e. 0.35 m / (3 m / s). The data in Table 1 show that if the waste particles are dropped directly from the feeder onto the sorting belt, about 70% of the particles will fall more than 0.12 s after the previous particle, and in addition about 70% of the particles will fall more than 0.12 s before the next particle arrives at the sorting belt (for the lower frequency of the feeder motor). Thus, it was found that only about 50% of the waste particles on the sorting belt were far enough away from adjacent particles to allow ideal ejection into the product.

[0133] Therefore, a chute is introduced between the feeder and the sorting belt. The chute is formed as a groove, i.e., has a trough-shaped cross section, which includes a base section and a sidewall extending upward from the base section. The chute is designed with a wide convex transition section at the top portion of the chute, in which the particles are freely accelerated to about 4m / s, and after the convex transition section, the section shrinks into a funnel shape, thereby forcing the particles to flow and converge into a single row arrangement. The funnel-shaped section of the chute extends downward approximately linearly. This convergence operation is most successful when the spacing between continuous particles exceeds the size of the particles in the flow direction, i.e., the average size of 0.3m. For particles of average size, this involves a desired minimum time of 0.075s, i.e., 0.3 / (4m / s), between the particles falling from the feeder. According to Table 1, for lower feeder frequencies, the probability of success is about 80%. This means that the probability that the particles are fully spaced apart relative to the previous particle and the next particle is about 64%. In the concave transition section between the funnel-shaped section of the chute and the bottom section which terminates approximately horizontally in an edge opening positioned at an approximately horizontally arranged receiving conveyor, the waste particles are decelerated by friction to about 2.5 m / s. In this section, it was found that the particles push each other to make room in the groove at a lower transport speed without becoming tangled or overlapping. Finally, the transition from the concave section of the groove to the sorting belt at a speed of 3 m / s creates a gap of about 0.05 m between consecutive waste particles, so that each waste particle can be easily ejected from the sorting belt without problems. Figure 1 The complete process of three particles is schematically shown in BE, where the time between falling from the feeder is 0.1 s and 0.2 s, respectively.

[0134]

[0135] Illustration 1: Each particle has a length of 0.3m in the conveyor belt direction and falls from the feeder at time intervals of 0.2s (green relative to orange) and 0.1s (orange relative to blue). A: Relative positions of three waste particles when they are thrown directly from the feeder onto the sorting belt at 3m / s. B: Relative positions at the point of the funnel-shaped part of the chute at 4m / s. C: Relative positions at the point in the concave chute section when the blue waste particles and the orange waste particles begin to push each other to make room while decelerating. D: Relative positions at the end of the concave section at 2.5m / s. E: The final relative positions of the three waste particles on the conveyor belt at 3m / s.

[0136] Example 2

[0137] In Example 2, the operation of an exemplary ejector arrangement is illustrated. In this example, the ejector arrangement comprises a conveyor having a substantially flat conveying plane 26 and an ejector device 24 arranged along the conveyor. The ejector device 24 is arranged to eject objects S5, S6, S6, S8 from a row of separated objects traveling along the conveying plane 26 in a conveying direction. In addition, the ejector device 24 comprises a sweeper shoe 25 mounted to the ejector device 24 to pivot along a substantially arcuate path around an axis of rotation extending at a spacing above the conveying plane 26. The sweeper shoe 25 has a bottom portion that is arranged to be driven to pass along the conveying plane 26 in a sweeping path extending transversely to the conveying direction. The bottom portion 27 of the sweeper shoe 25 is arranged to have radial compliance relative to the axis of rotation so that when driven to pass along the conveying plane 26, the sweeping path forms a flat portion, in particular a linear portion, of an arcuate path, which extends generally in the conveying plane 26 or parallel to the conveying plane 26.

[0138] In this example, the waste objects (e.g., S5 to S8) include waste particles having a screen-through size in the range of 100 mm to 180 mm, which have been separated on a conveyor belt having a width (along the x-direction) of 0.6 m and a running speed V_belt (along the y-direction) of 3 m / s, as shown in FIG. Figure 8 The ejector device 24 of this example has four sweeper arms 28, each of which has a radial length of about 0.4 m, including about 0.1 m from the flexible rubber sweeper shoe 25 at the end. The ejector device 24 is arranged so that the sweeping path (given by Figure 8 The ejector device 24 is electronically controlled to move the sweeper arm 28 of the ejector device 24 at a predetermined speed of about 0.15 m / s to complete a 90 degree rotation (as indicated by the dashed line T in FIG. 1 ). Fig.9A and Fig. 9B During the ejection operation, the bottom 27 of the flexible rubber sweeper shoe 25 is within the range of 0.2≤x≤0.4m (as shown in FIG. Fig. 9B As shown in Figure 8 The dotted line T in FIG. 2 moves close to and parallel to a conveying plane, which can be defined as an effective area for ejecting waste particles.

[0139] In particular, in a first step of increasing the rotational speed of the sweeper shoe as the sweeper shoe moves counterclockwise f, the sweeper shoe stretches and bends radially outward from the circular arc path that it would otherwise follow. In a subsequent step of keeping the rotational speed constant, the sweeper shoe 25 returns to its original shape in the radially inward movement, compresses due to inertia in the radially inward movement, and rebounds to its original position in the radially outward movement. Ultimately, the sweeper shoe 25 is driven so that the arc path of the sweeper shoe 25 includes a flat portion, particularly a linear section, in which the sweeper shoe 25 can move parallel to the conveyor belt along the sweeping path at the ejection area. As a final step, the rotational speed is reduced to allow the sweeper shoe to stop.

[0140] Thus, at a linear velocity V_blade of about 6 m / s, the rotational speed of the cleaner shoe reaches its maximum value and is nearly constant in the ejection region. This results in V_blade cosθ = V_belt, which means that the cleaner shoe 25 and the conveyor belt move at similar speeds along the transport direction D1, a situation which has been found to result in a robust ejection of waste particles with a minimum probability of accidental ejection of waste particles travelling ahead or behind the waste particle to be ejected.

[0141] In this example, before the ejection operation, each waste particle is scanned by the sensor / camera, including recording the x coordinate of the leftmost point of the waste body located on the belt (i.e., x_(s, min)). If x_(s, min) is within the effective area for ejection, i.e., 0.2≤x_(s, min)≤0.4 m (given by Figure 8 ), the waste particle can be ejected very well, i.e. without the risk of A) getting stuck between the shoe and the belt, or B) without the risk of not being (completely) hit by the shoe. In this regard, it is observed that, from an engineering point of view, it may be very cost-effective to drive the sweeper shoe so that it follows an arcuate path, in particular a circular path. However, in the absence of flat sections, an arcuate path may not enable reliable ejection. For example, at the circular portion of the path at x_(s,min)>0.4m corresponding to where the waste particle is located to the right of the effective ejection area, when the sweeper shoe 25 reaches the position of the waste particle, the bottom of the sweeper shoe 25 may be too high from the conveyor belt and may not be able to eject the waste particle from the conveyor belt. On the other hand, for example at x_(s,min)<0.2m (similar to Figure 8In the case of S8 in FIG. 1 , it may happen that the cleaner shoe 25 will hit the top of the body of the waste particle and may become stuck on the conveyor belt due to the downward compression of the arm; this may cause damage to the equipment and should be avoided by passing such waste particles (x_(s,min)<0.2m) towards the residue at the end of the conveyor belt without performing an ejection operation.

[0142] Example 3

[0143] Comparison of waste sorting processes: interval and buffer

[0144] Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations were performed on a set of waste particles produced by comminution to illustrate the effect of keeping the waste particles spaced apart from the comminution process to the sorting process on the sorting conveyor. In one of two example cases, the set of waste particles was kept spaced apart internally, with the effect that the particles showed minimal tendency to entangle and moved together as a single particle. In the other example, the same set of particles was stored in a buffer after comminution and fed from the buffer to the sorting feeder, with the effect that the particles showed considerable entanglement, with the result that the particles moved together as a single particle and could not be sorted individually.

[0145] In order to compare the effect of two feeding methods, unbuffered and buffered, on the separation of waste materials, a computer simulation based on the discrete element method (DEM) was performed. Fig. 10A , Fig.11A and Fig. 10B , Fig. 11B As shown in , a plurality of scraps (about 50 pieces) having a complex shape (a shape scanned by real scrap in the experiment) are fed to a processing line by an unbuffered feeding method and a buffered feeding method, respectively.

[0146] In the simulation, a separation arrangement for separating waste objects S2, S3 corresponding to the above-described exemplary embodiment was used. Figure 4 Similarly, the separation arrangement of Figures 10, 11 and 12 comprises a feeder 22 arranged substantially horizontally, which extends from a receiving area for receiving waste objects to a feeding opening positioned at the top portion of the chute to feed the waste objects to the chute. The chute 15 has a trough-shaped cross section, which comprises a bottom portion and side walls extending upward from the bottom portion. The chute 15 extends downward from the top portion to the bottom portion and comprises a funnel-shaped section in which the width of the trough-shaped cross section decreases. The bottom portion of the chute 15 forms an edge opening positioned at the receiving conveyor 9 arranged substantially horizontally to receive objects S2, S3 traveling along the chute.

[0147] In unbuffered feed ( Fig. 10A , Fig.11A ) in which the waste passes through the sieve holes (by Fig. 10A The shaded area in the figure indicates that the buffer feed ( Fig. 10B , Fig. 11B ), a batch of waste material initially stored in a container (or bag) is fed through an opening at the bottom of the container. Different geometries or sizes of the opening at the bottom have been tested for producing different feeding rates of the waste material. The results show that the bottom opening of the container should preferably remain flat, with the same opening size as the cross-sectional size of the upper part of the container (similar to a flat bottom hopper that is completely open at the bottom), otherwise part of the waste material tends to get stuck due to tangling together (and / or compression pressure between the waste material and the side wall of the container) and cannot be fed through the opening.

[0148] For both methods, the scrap after feeding is transported by the vibrating feeder towards the chute before it finally reaches the conveyor. By comparison, buffer feeding causes a larger portion of the scrap to overlap or tangle in the vibrating feeder ( Fig. 12A ), resulting in less separation of waste on the conveyor. Quantitative comparison of the delay time distribution shows that the buffered feeding method results in more waste at smaller delay time values ​​( Fig. 12C ). Thus, in this test, the separation rate for the unbuffered feed was about 86%, while the separation rate for the buffered feed was about 40%. Thus, this comparison illustrates the significant effect of the feed method on waste separation.

[0149] In summary, the present disclosure includes the following numbered embodiments A to C, which can be combined with each other.

[0150] Embodiment A1: A method for recycling waste materials, the method comprising the following steps:

[0151] - comminuting the waste into comminuted waste objects using a comminuting machine, the waste being comminuted into objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm,

[0152] - using a classifier to sort the shredded waste objects into waste object portions having different size ranges, at least one size range comprising objects having a maximum passing size in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm, and

[0153] - sorting the waste objects from at least one size range including objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects.

[0154] Embodiment A2: The method of embodiment A1, wherein the waste is shredded into spaced-apart shredded waste objects using a shredder, and wherein the waste objects are fed directly from the shredder to the classifier while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects.

[0155] Embodiment A3: A method according to embodiment A1, wherein waste is crushed into spaced-apart pulverized waste objects using a pulverizer, and wherein the pulverized waste objects are placed at intervals from the pulverizer onto a conveying plane, and wherein the pulverized objects are conveyed to a classifier on the conveying plane while substantially maintaining the intervals between the objects.

[0156] Embodiment A4: A method according to any one of embodiments A1 to A3, wherein the step of sorting waste objects from at least one size range including objects with a maximum penetration dimension in the range of 100 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm, includes the step of separating the crushed objects in the waste object portion into rows.

[0157] Embodiment A5: A method according to any one of embodiments A1 to A4, wherein the classifier includes a screen, the crushed objects are fed onto the screen, and wherein the classification step includes screening the crushed waste objects into waste object portions having a maximum passing size in different size ranges.

[0158] Embodiment A6: The method according to any one of Embodiments A1 to A5, wherein the step of sorting the objects further comprises the step of scanning the objects.

[0159] Embodiment A7: The method according to any one of Embodiments A1 to A6, wherein the step of sorting the objects further comprises the step of ejecting the objects.

[0160] Embodiment A8: The method of embodiments A6 and A7, wherein the scan results are combined with a decision to eject scrap particles into a particular product bin to estimate a running average of the alloy composition or grade of scrap collected in that bin.

[0161] Embodiment A9: A system for recycling waste, the system comprising a shredder for shredding waste into shredded waste objects and a classifier for classifying the shredded waste objects into waste object portions having different size ranges, at least one of the size ranges comprising objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm, the system further comprising a sorter arranged to sort objects from the at least one size range comprising objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects.

[0162] Embodiment A10: A system according to embodiment A9, wherein the shredder is arranged to shred waste into spaced-apart shredded waste objects, and wherein the shredder is arranged to feed the spaced-apart shredded waste objects to the classifier while substantially maintaining the spacing between each object.

[0163] Embodiment A11: The system of embodiment A10, wherein the shredder is arranged to feed the spaced-apart waste objects directly to the sorter.

[0164] Embodiment A12: A system according to embodiment A10, wherein the system includes a conveyor for feeding spaced-apart waste objects to a sorter, the conveyor including a conveyor plane arranged to receive shredded objects with intervals from a shredder and to convey the shredded objects to the sorter while maintaining the intervals.

[0165] Embodiment A13: A system according to any one of embodiments A9 to A12, wherein the classifier includes a screen for feeding crushed objects, which screens the crushed waste objects into waste object portions having different size ranges, at least one of the size ranges including objects with a maximum passing size in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm.

[0166] Embodiment A14: A system according to any one of embodiments A9 to A13, wherein the sorter includes a separation arrangement structure for separating waste objects of at least one size range, wherein the at least one size range includes objects with a maximum passing dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm.

[0167] Embodiment A15: The system of any one of Embodiments A9 to A14, wherein the sorter further comprises an ejector arrangement disposed downstream of the separation arrangement for separating the waste objects, for ejecting the separated waste objects.

[0168] Embodiment A16: The system of any one of Embodiments A9 to A15, wherein the sorter further comprises a scanner for scanning waste objects, the scanner being arranged between the separation arrangement and the ejector arrangement.

[0169] Embodiment B1: An ejector arrangement structure, the ejector arrangement structure comprising a conveyor having a generally flat conveying plane and an ejector device arranged along the conveyor, the ejector device being arranged to eject objects in a row of separated objects traveling along the conveying plane in a conveying direction. The ejector device includes a sweeper shoe mounted to the ejector device to pivot along a generally arcuate path about a rotation axis extending at a certain interval above the conveying plane, the sweeper shoe having a bottom portion arranged to be driven to pass along the conveying plane in a sweeping path extending transversely to the conveying direction, wherein the bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is arranged to have radial compliance relative to the rotation axis so that when driven to pass along the conveying plane, the sweeping path forms a flat portion of the arcuate path, which extends generally in the conveying plane or parallel to the conveying plane.

[0170] Embodiment B2: The ejector arrangement according to embodiment B1, wherein the axis of rotation extends obliquely with respect to the conveying direction.

[0171] Embodiment B3: The ejector arrangement of embodiment B1 or B2, wherein the sweeper shoe is arranged for a full rotational movement about the axis of rotation in the plane of rotation.

[0172] Embodiment B4: The ejector arrangement of any of Embodiments B1 to B3, wherein the sweeping path is centered about a centerline passing through a row of separated objects traveling in a conveying direction along the conveying plane.

[0173] Embodiment B5: The ejector arrangement of any one of Embodiments B1 to B4, wherein the ejector device comprises one or more sweeper arms, each sweeper arm carrying a sweeper shoe at a radially outward end.

[0174] Embodiment B6: The ejector arrangement of any one of Embodiments B1 to B5, wherein the sweeper arms extend radially from a central shaft, the centerline of the central shaft corresponding to the axis of rotation.

[0175] Embodiment B7: The ejector arrangement of any one of Embodiments B1 to B6, wherein a bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is configured to be resiliently radially compliant relative to the axis of rotation.

[0176] Embodiment B8: The ejector arrangement of any one of Embodiments B1 to B7, wherein the sweeper shoe comprises a flexible body portion.

[0177] Embodiment B9: The ejector arrangement of any one of Embodiments B1 to B8, wherein the sweeper shoe is elastically deformable in a radial direction.

[0178] Embodiment B10: An ejector arrangement according to embodiment B9, wherein the real and imaginary parts of the Young's modulus of the elastic material of the sweeper shoe vary by less than 40%, preferably less than 20%, within the temperature operating range of the shoe in the range of 0°C to 50°C, preferably 10°C to 40°C.

[0179] Embodiment B11: The ejector arrangement of any one of Embodiments B1 to B9, wherein the sweeper shoe comprises a profile having an open cross-section.

[0180] Embodiment B12: An ejector arrangement according to any one of embodiments B1 to B10, wherein the sweeper shoe has a planar impact surface arranged in a flat portion of the sweeping path to extend in a plane substantially transverse to the conveying plane or parallel to the conveying direction.

[0181] Embodiment B13: An ejector arrangement according to any one of embodiments B1 to B12, wherein the sweeper shoe includes a flexible body portion formed into a generally C-shaped or G-shaped profile, the bottom of the C-shaped profile being arranged to form a bottom portion of the sweeper shoe and the end surface of the C-shaped profile forming an impact surface.

[0182] Embodiment B14: The ejector arrangement of any of the preceding embodiments B1 to B13, wherein the sweeper shoe is arranged to be driven to pass at intervals along the conveying plane so as to pass without contact along the conveyance.

[0183] Embodiment B15: The ejector arrangement of any of the preceding embodiments B1 to B14, wherein the actuator of the sweeper shoe is arranged to vary the centripetal force on the sweeper shoe to control radial compliance to form a flat portion of the arcuate path.

[0184] Embodiment B16: An ejector device, in particular an ejector device for an ejector arrangement structure of any one of embodiments B1 to B16, the ejector device comprising a sweeper shoe mounted to the ejector device to pivot around a rotation axis along a substantially arcuate path, the sweeper shoe having a bottom portion arranged to be driven to pass along a conveying plane, wherein the bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is arranged to have radial compliance relative to the rotation axis, so that when driven to pass along the conveying plane, the sweeping path forms a flat portion of the arcuate path, which extends substantially in or parallel to the conveying plane.

[0185] Embodiment B17: An ejector device according to embodiment B16, wherein the ejector device includes one or more sweeper arms, wherein the one or more sweeper arms extend radially from a central axis, wherein a centerline of the central axis corresponds to the axis of rotation, and each sweeper arm carries a sweeper shoe at a radially outward end, wherein the sweeper shoe has a planar impact surface, which is arranged to extend at an acute angle to the axis of rotation.

[0186] Embodiment B18: An ejector device according to embodiment B16 or B17, wherein the sweeper shoe includes a flexible body portion formed into a substantially C-shaped profile so as to be elastically deformable in a radial direction relative to the sweeper arm, the bottom of the C-shaped profile being arranged to form a bottom portion of the sweeper shoe, and the end surface of the C-shaped profile forming an impact surface of the sweeper shoe.

[0187] Embodiment B19: A method for ejecting objects from a row of separated objects traveling in a conveying direction along a conveying plane, in particular a method for ejecting objects from a row of separated objects traveling in a conveying direction along a conveying plane using a catapult arrangement or a catapult according to any one of the aforementioned embodiments B1 to B18, wherein a sweeper shoe pivots along a generally arcuate path around a rotation axis extending at a certain interval above the conveying plane, and wherein a bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is driven to pass along the conveying plane in a cleaning path extending through the row of objects transversely to the conveying direction, wherein, when being driven to pass along the conveying plane, the bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is radially displaced relative to the rotation axis so that the cleaning path forms a flat portion of the arcuate path extending generally in the conveying plane or parallel to the conveying plane, and wherein an impact surface of the sweeper shoe engages with the object to eject the object from the row.

[0188] Embodiment B20: The method of Embodiment B19, wherein the cleaner shoes are driven to pass along the conveying plane at intervals so as to pass along the conveying plane without contact.

[0189] Embodiment B21: The method of Embodiment B19 or B20, wherein the cleaner shoe is driven to vary the centripetal force on the cleaner shoe to control radial compliance to form the flat portion of the arcuate path.

[0190] Embodiment B22: The method of any one of Embodiments B19 to B21, wherein the cleaning path extends obliquely relative to the conveying direction.

[0191] Embodiment B23: The method of any of Embodiments B19 to B22, wherein the sweeper shoe rotates in an indexed rotational motion in the rotation plane.

[0192] Embodiment B24: A method according to any one of Embodiments B19 to B23, wherein the subsequent cleaning action is performed in less than 1 second, such as less than 0.5 seconds, or even less than 0.3 seconds.

[0193] Embodiment C1: A separation arrangement structure for separating waste objects, the separation arrangement structure includes a feeder arranged approximately horizontally, which extends from a receiving area for receiving waste objects to a feeding opening positioned at a top portion of a chute to feed the waste objects to the chute, the chute having a trough-shaped cross-section, the trough-shaped cross-section including a bottom portion and a side wall extending upward from the bottom portion, the chute extending downward from the top portion to the bottom portion and including a funnel-shaped section, in which the width of the trough-shaped cross-section is reduced, the bottom portion of the chute forming an edge opening, the edge opening being positioned at a receiving conveyor arranged approximately horizontally to receive objects traveling along the chute.

[0194] Embodiment C2: The separation arrangement according to embodiment C1, wherein the receiving conveyor is arranged to accelerate the traveling objects after passing through the opening of the chute.

[0195] Embodiment C3: The separation arrangement of embodiment C1 or C2, wherein the separation arrangement comprises a convex transition section between the opening of the feeder and the top portion of the chute.

[0196] Embodiment C4: The separation arrangement of any one of embodiments C1 to C3, wherein the funnel-shaped section of the chute extends substantially linearly downwards.

[0197] Embodiment C5: The separation arrangement of any of Embodiments C1 to C4, wherein the chute comprises a concave transition section between the funnel-shaped section and the bottom portion.

[0198] Embodiment C6: The separation arrangement structure according to any one of the preceding embodiments C1 to 15, wherein the bottom portion of the chute is arranged substantially horizontally.

[0199] Embodiment C7: The separation arrangement of any of the preceding embodiments C1 to C7, wherein, at the opening of the chute, the side wall protrudes beyond the bottom section in the direction of travel of the objects and extends to overlap the conveyor.

[0200] Embodiment C8: The separation arrangement of any preceding Embodiments C1 to C7, wherein the feeder comprises a skirt at the receiving area to decelerate objects received onto the feeder plate.

[0201] Embodiment C9: The separation arrangement of any of the preceding Embodiments C1 to C8, wherein the chute includes one or more actuators that act on each object traveling along the chute.

[0202] Embodiment C10: The separation arrangement of any of the preceding embodiments C1 to C9, wherein the feeder comprises a trough-shaped cross section having a bottom portion and side walls extending upwardly from the bottom portion, the cross section tapering as it approaches the feed opening.

[0203] Embodiment C11: A slide chute, in particular a slide chute for a separation arrangement structure according to any one of embodiments C1 to C10, the slide chute having a trough-shaped cross-section, the trough-shaped cross-section including a bottom portion and a side wall extending upward from the bottom portion, and the slide chute extends downward from the top portion to the bottom portion and includes a funnel-shaped section, in which the width of the trough-shaped cross-section is reduced, and the bottom portion of the slide chute forms an edge opening, wherein the funnel-shaped section of the slide chute extends downwardly approximately linearly, and wherein the slide chute includes a concave transition section located between the funnel-shaped section and the bottom portion of the slide chute.

[0204] Embodiment C12: The chute of embodiment C11, wherein the bottom portion of the chute is arranged substantially horizontally, and wherein, at the opening of the chute, the side wall protrudes beyond the bottom section.

[0205] Embodiment C13: The chute according to embodiment C11 or C12, wherein the chute comprises one or more actuators, in particular nozzles and / or movable fingers, acting on each object traveling along the chute.

[0206] Embodiment C14: A method for separating waste objects by feeding them onto a conveyor via a downward chute, in particular by feeding the waste objects onto a conveyor via a downward chute using a separation arrangement or chute according to any of the preceding embodiments C1 to C13, the method comprising the following steps:

[0207] - Feed waste objects into the chute,

[0208] - gather objects travelling down the chute into rows,

[0209] - The conveyor accelerates the moving objects after they pass through the opening of the chute.

[0210] Embodiment C15: The method of Embodiment C14, wherein, in the event that the leading object and the trailing object overlap in the direction of travel, the trailing object is engaged to decelerate it relative to the leading object.

[0211] Many variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the number of sub-ranges into which the shredded waste objects are classified can be any number of sub-ranges. In addition, any of these sub-ranges can be placed on any number of feed conveyors, and any combination of feed conveyors and sub-ranges can be provided.

[0212] In another variation, any number of conditioning arrangements may be used per receiving conveyor, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

[0213] In even further variations, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that different angles α may also be used, such as an angle between 30 and 80 degrees or an angle between 45 and 75 degrees or any combination thereof.

[0214] Furthermore, it should be clear that both the separation arrangement and the ejector arrangement can each be used beneficially alone, or can be used in other types of systems or applications than those given in this example. In particular, they can be used to act on other types of objects than waste objects, and are not limited to use on objects of the sizes discussed herein.

[0215] Such modifications are to be understood as being included within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

[0216] Reference numerals 1 System for recycling waste 2 Shredder

[0217] 3 Classifier

[0218] 4 Cranes

[0219] 5 Feeding conveyor belt

[0220] 6Conveyor plane

[0221] 7. Magnets

[0222] 8 Separation layout structure

[0223] 9 Receiving conveyor belt

[0224] 10 Scanner

[0225] 11Catapult Arrangement

[0226] 12 Feeder

[0227] 13 Receiving Area

[0228] 14 Feed opening

[0229] 15 chute

[0230] 16 Sidewall

[0231] 17 Funnel-shaped section

[0232] 18 Top section

[0233] 19 Bottom section

[0234] 20 Edge opening

[0235] 21 Skirt

[0236] 22 Feed plate

[0237] 23 Actuator

[0238] 24 Catapult device

[0239] 25 Sweeper Shoe

[0240] 26Transmission plane

[0241] 27 Bottom portion of the sweeper shoe

[0242] 28 Cleaner Arm

[0243] 29Center Axis

[0244] 30 Flexible body part

[0245] 31 Hitting the surface

[0246] 32 Screen feeding unit

[0247] 33 sieve plate

[0248] 34 Opening

[0249] 35 base section

[0250] 36 sorter

[0251] 37 Material Box

[0252] 38 Screen

[0253] α Tilt angle

[0254] θThe angle of the cleaning path

[0255] F0 small part

[0256] F1 Part 1

[0257] F2 Part 2

[0258] F9 over part

[0259] S1 Waste

[0260] S2 Waste Objects

[0261] S3 Separated waste objects

[0262] S4 Object

[0263] S5 Waste Granules

[0264] S6 Waste Granules

[0265] S7 Waste Granules

[0266] S8 Waste Granules

[0267] PTransmission direction

[0268] RRotation axis

[0269] D1 Transportation Direction

[0270] T-sweeping path

Claims

1. An ejector arrangement, the ejector arrangement comprising a conveyor having a generally flat conveying plane and an ejector device disposed along the conveyor, the ejector device being arranged to eject objects from a row of separated objects travelling along the conveying plane in a conveying direction, the ejector device comprising a sweeper shoe mounted to the ejector device to pivot along a generally arcuate path about an axis of rotation extending at a distance above the conveying plane, the sweeper shoe having a bottom portion arranged to be driven to traverse along the conveying plane in a sweeping path extending transversely to the conveying direction, wherein The bottom portion of the cleaner shoe is arranged to be radially compliant relative to the axis of rotation so that when driven to traverse along the conveying plane, the cleaning path forms a flat portion of the arcuate path extending generally in or parallel to the conveying plane.

2. The catapult arrangement according to claim 1, wherein: The rotation axis extends obliquely with respect to the conveying direction.

3. The catapult arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The sweeper shoe is arranged for full rotational movement about the axis of rotation in a plane of rotation.

4. The catapult arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The cleaning path is centered about a centerline passing through the row of separated objects traveling along the conveying plane in the conveying direction.

5. The catapult arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The ejector device comprises one or more cleaner arms, each carrying a cleaner shoe at a radially outward end.

6. The catapult arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The sweeper arm extends radially from a central shaft, a centerline of the central shaft corresponding to the axis of rotation.

7. The catapult arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The bottom portion of the cleaner shoe is configured to be resiliently radially compliant relative to the axis of rotation.

8. The catapult arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The cleaner shoe includes a flexible body portion.

9. The catapult arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The sweeper shoe is elastically deformable in a radial direction.

10. The catapult arrangement according to claim 9, wherein: The real and imaginary parts of the Young's modulus of the elastomeric material of the sweeper shoe vary less than 40%, preferably less than 20% over the temperature operating range of the shoe in the range of 0°C to 50°C, preferably 10°C to 40°C.

11. The catapult arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The sweeper shoe includes a profile having an open cross-section.

12. The catapult arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: The cleaner shoe has a planar impact surface arranged in the flat portion of the cleaning path to extend in or parallel to the conveying direction in a plane generally transverse to the conveying plane.

13. The catapult arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein: The sweeper shoe comprises a flexible body portion formed into a generally C-shaped or G-shaped profile, the bottom of the C-shaped profile being arranged to form the bottom portion of the sweeper shoe and the end faces of the C-shaped profile forming the impact surface.

14. A catapult arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein: The cleaner shoes are arranged to be driven to pass along the conveying plane at intervals so as to pass along the conveying plane without contact.

15. A catapult arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein: The actuator of the cleaner shoe is arranged to vary the centripetal force on the cleaner shoe to control radial compliance to form the flat portion of the arcuate path.

16. An ejector device, in particular for an ejector arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 15, comprising a sweeper shoe mounted to the ejector device to pivot along a substantially arcuate path about an axis of rotation, the sweeper shoe having a bottom portion arranged to be driven to traverse along a conveying plane, wherein The bottom portion of the cleaner shoe is arranged to be radially compliant relative to the axis of rotation so that when driven to traverse along the conveying plane, the cleaning path forms a flat portion of the arcuate path extending generally in or parallel to the conveying plane.

17. The catapult device according to claim 16, wherein: The ejector device comprises one or more sweeper arms extending radially from a central shaft, the centre line of which corresponds to the axis of rotation, each sweeper arm carrying a sweeper shoe at a radially outward end, wherein the sweeper shoe has a planar impact surface arranged to extend at an acute angle to the axis of rotation.

18. The catapult device according to claim 16 or 17, wherein: The sweeper shoe comprises a flexible body portion formed as a generally C-shaped profile so as to be elastically deformable in a radial direction relative to the sweeper arm, the bottom of the C-shaped profile being arranged to form the bottom portion of the sweeper shoe and the end faces of the C-shaped profile forming an impact surface of the sweeper shoe.

19. A method for ejecting objects from a row of separated objects travelling in a conveying direction along a conveying plane, in particular using a catapult arrangement or a catapult according to any of the preceding claims, wherein: A sweeper shoe pivots along a generally arcuate path about an axis of rotation extending at intervals above the conveying plane, and wherein a bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is driven to pass along the conveying plane in a sweeping path extending through the row of objects transverse to the conveying direction, wherein when driven to pass along the conveying plane, the bottom portion of the sweeper shoe is radially displaced relative to the axis of rotation so that the sweeping path forms a flat portion of the arcuate path extending generally in or parallel to the conveying plane, and wherein an impact surface of the sweeper shoe engages an object to eject the object from the row.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The cleaner shoes are driven to pass along the conveying plane at intervals so as to pass along the conveying plane without contact.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, wherein: The cleaner shoe is driven to vary the centripetal force on the cleaner shoe to control radial compliance to form the flat portion of the arcuate path.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein: The cleaning path extends obliquely with respect to the conveying direction.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein: The cleaner shoe rotates in an indexed rotational motion in a rotational plane.

24. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 23, wherein: The subsequent cleaning action is performed in less than 1 second, such as less than 0.5 seconds, or even less than 0.3 seconds.

25. A separation arrangement structure for separating waste objects, the separation arrangement structure includes a feeder arranged approximately horizontally, the feeder extends from a receiving area for receiving waste objects to a feeding opening positioned at the top portion of a chute to feed the waste objects to the chute, the chute having a trough-shaped cross-section, the trough-shaped cross-section including a bottom portion and side walls extending upward from the bottom portion, the chute extending downward from the top portion to the bottom portion and including a funnel-shaped section, in which the width of the trough-shaped cross-section is reduced, the bottom portion of the chute forming an edge opening, the edge opening being positioned at a receiving conveyor arranged approximately horizontally to receive objects traveling along the chute.

26. The separation arrangement of claim 25, wherein: The receiving conveyor is arranged to accelerate traveling objects after passing through the opening of the chute.

27. A separation arrangement according to claim 25 or 26, wherein: The separation arrangement comprises a convex transition section between the opening of the feeder and the top portion of the chute.

28. A separation arrangement according to any one of claims 25 to 27, wherein: The funnel-shaped section of the chute extends generally linearly downward.

29. A separation arrangement according to any one of claims 25 to 28, wherein: The chute includes a concave transition section between the funnel-shaped section and the bottom portion.

30. A separation arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims 25 to 29, wherein: The bottom portion of the chute is arranged substantially horizontally.

31. A separation arrangement according to any one of claims 25 to 30, wherein: At the opening of the chute, the side wall protrudes beyond a bottom section in the direction of travel of the objects and extends to overlap the conveyor.

32. A separation arrangement according to any one of claims 25 to 31, wherein: The feeder includes a skirt plate at the receiving area to decelerate objects received onto the feed plate.

33. A separation arrangement according to any one of claims 25 to 32, wherein: The chute includes one or more actuators that act on each object traveling along the chute.

34. A separation arrangement according to any one of claims 25 to 33, wherein: The feeder comprises a slot-shaped cross-section having a bottom portion and side walls extending upwardly from the bottom portion, the cross-section tapering as approaching the feed opening.

35. A chute, in particular for a separation arrangement according to any one of claims 25 to 34, the chute having a trough-shaped cross section, the trough-shaped cross section comprising a bottom portion and side walls extending upwardly from the bottom portion, and the chute extending downwardly from the top portion to the bottom portion and comprising a funnel-shaped section in which the width of the trough-shaped cross section decreases, the bottom portion of the chute forming an edge opening, wherein The funnel-shaped section of the chute extends generally linearly downwardly, and wherein the chute comprises a concave transition section between the funnel-shaped section of the chute and the bottom portion.

36. The chute of claim 35, wherein: The bottom portion of the chute is arranged substantially horizontally, and wherein, at the opening of the chute, the side wall protrudes beyond the bottom section.

37. A chute according to claim 35 or 36, wherein: The chute comprises one or more actuators, in particular nozzles and / or movable fingers, acting on the respective object travelling along the chute.

38. A method of separating waste objects by feeding them onto a conveyor via a downward chute, in particular by feeding them onto a conveyor via a downward chute using a separation arrangement or chute according to any one of the preceding claims 25 to 37, the method comprising the following steps: - feeding said waste objects to said chute, - collects the objects travelling downward through the chute into rows, - Accelerating the traveling object after passing through the opening of the chute by means of a conveyor.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein: In the event that a front object and a rear object overlap in the direction of travel, the rear object is engaged to decelerate the rear object relative to the front object.

40. A method for recycling waste materials, comprising the following steps: - comminuting the waste into comminuted waste objects using a comminuting machine, the waste being comminuted into objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm, - sorting the shredded waste objects into waste object portions having different size ranges using a sorter, at least one size range comprising objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm, and - sorting the waste objects from at least one size range including objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein: The waste is shredded into spaced-apart shredded waste objects by the shredder, and wherein the waste objects are fed directly from the shredder to the classifier while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein: The waste is shredded into spaced-apart shredded waste objects by the shredder, and wherein the shredded waste objects are placed from the shredder onto a conveying plane at intervals, and wherein the shredded objects are conveyed to the classifier on the conveying plane while substantially maintaining the intervals between the objects.

43. The method according to any one of claims 40 to 42, wherein: The step of sorting the waste objects from the at least one size range comprising objects having a maximum through dimension in the range 100 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm comprises the step of separating the waste objects in the waste object portion into rows.

44. The method according to any one of claims 40 to 43, wherein: The classifier comprises a screen onto which the shredded objects are fed, and wherein the classifying step comprises sieving the shredded waste objects into waste object portions having a maximum passing size of different size ranges.

45. The method according to any one of claims 40 to 44, wherein: The step of sorting the objects further comprises the step of scanning the objects.

46. ​​The method according to any one of claims 40 to 45, wherein: The step of sorting the objects also includes the step of ejecting the objects.

47. The method according to claims 45 and 46, wherein: The scan results are combined with the decision to eject scrap particles into a particular product bin to estimate a running average of the alloy composition or grade of the scrap collected in that bin.

48. A system for recycling waste, the system comprising a shredder for shredding waste into shredded waste objects and a classifier for classifying the shredded waste objects into waste object portions having different size ranges, at least one of the size ranges comprising objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm, the system further comprising a sorter arranged to sort objects from the at least one size range comprising objects having a maximum through dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein: The shredder is arranged to shred waste into spaced apart shredded waste objects, and wherein the shredder is arranged to feed the spaced apart shredded waste objects to the classifier while substantially maintaining the spacing between the objects.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein: The shredder is arranged to feed the spaced-apart waste objects directly to the classifier.

51. The system of claim 49, wherein: The system comprises a conveyor for feeding the spaced-apart waste objects to the sorter, the conveyor comprising a conveyor plane arranged to receive the spaced-apart shredded objects from the shredder and to convey the shredded objects to the sorter while maintaining the space.

52. A system according to any one of claims 48 to 51, wherein: The classifier comprises a screen onto which the shredded objects are fed, the screen screening the shredded waste objects into waste object portions having different size ranges, at least one of the size ranges comprising objects having a maximum passing size in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm.

53. A system according to any one of claims 48 to 52, wherein: The sorter comprises a separating arrangement for separating waste objects of said at least one size range including objects having a maximum passing dimension in the range of 50 mm to 200 mm, preferably 100 mm to 180 mm.

54. A system according to any one of claims 48 to 53, wherein: The sorter further comprises an ejector arrangement arranged downstream of the separating arrangement for separating the waste objects for ejecting the separated waste objects.

55. A system according to any one of claims 48 to 54, wherein: The sorter further comprises a scanner for scanning waste objects, the scanner being arranged between the separation arrangement and the ejector arrangement.

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