Electrical device and method for separating electrical device

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical device having electronic components which are surrounded by a housing, the housing being provided with an identification for detaching the electrical device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an electrical device and a method for separating an electrical device. Background Art

[0002] The efficient use of resources is one of the key challenges facing our society. Therefore, all manufacturers of products, such as electrical equipment, are required to develop strategies and methods to make their products more sustainable. A starting point here is to increase the recycling rate of products, such as electrical equipment, by separating recyclable materials into the purest possible types at the end of their service life or to enable the reuse of components where possible.

[0003] Product development is a process with many complex challenges and requirements. Innovations must be developed under considerable time and cost pressure. Currently, the focus in this regard is on function and cost optimization. "Design for Disassembly" is an additional requirement for which there has been little room so far in current product development processes. This results in typical products that are often very difficult to disassemble or not at all after their service life, and the separation of pure species is so complex that it has been abandoned for economic or technical reasons.

[0004] Currently, the most common method of disassembling products in Germany is shredding at the end of their life. After shredding, the fragments are sorted in multiple stages. These sorting methods are very complex. Once the product has been shredded, the separation of pure species is difficult or even technically impossible to achieve.

[0005] Valuable components, such as permanent magnets, are destroyed during the shredding process. During shredding, toxic substances, such as those from electrolytic capacitors or batteries, are released. As a result, the particles are already contaminated with various harmful substances. The risk of fire and explosion in shredding plants and sorting plants increases. Legislators try to counteract this by requiring a continuous reduction in the permissible limit concentrations of harmful substances in the shredded waste, which in turn leads to increased sorting costs.

[0006] Typical methods such as magnetic separators, eddy current separators, sensor sorting, various dry and wet separation methods, electrohydraulic shredding or manual sorting are applied when the recyclability has been significantly reduced irreversibly. In this case, the technical expenditure or energy expenditure for increasing the recycling rate is already very high. This shows that breaking the product into its components is preferable to shredding.

[0007] In developing countries, to which old electrical equipment is currently often exported, relevant recyclable materials and raw materials, such as copper and aluminum, are extracted from defective equipment by burning or dissolving in acid baths. The residues are often incinerated or landfilled, causing great damage to people and the environment. Summary of the invention

[0008] Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an electrical device and a method which can be easily disassembled and broken down into parts without special tools or expertise.

[0009] According to the invention, the above-mentioned technical problem is solved by an electrical device according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the device according to the invention are given in dependent claims 2 to 5. According to the invention, the above-mentioned technical problem is also solved by a method for separating an electrical device according to claim 6. Advantageous embodiments of the method according to the invention are given in dependent claims 7 to 12.

[0010] The electrical device according to claim 1 comprises electronic components which are surrounded by a housing, wherein a mark for disassembling the electrical device is provided on the housing.

[0011] Advantageously, an efficient disassembly method is provided, which leads to a higher recycling rate. Disassembly can be carried out by well-trained personnel. No specialized knowledge of the structure and function of the electrical device to be disassembled is required. A simple, symbolic identification combined with the disassembly rules provided by the manufacturer provides all the information relevant to the machine. Advantageously, in the electrical device according to the invention, the corresponding design scheme can be applied to multiple electrical devices regardless of their manufacturer. Through the selected technical solution, tools are provided, which make practically every electrical device disassembleable when analyzed in detail. For example, a milling cutter can remove almost any material, and a saw blade or a laser can also open large housing parts in a fraction of a second. Existing electrical devices can be included in the database in a cost-neutral, so-called "refurbished" manner, and can therefore be disassembled from the device after the end of its service life, and the electrical device according to the invention can be used at a huge disassembly speed with little personnel input.

[0012] In one embodiment of the electrical device according to the invention, the identification on the housing is designed as a QR code (two-dimensional code), or the identification is transmitted wirelessly.

[0013] In a further embodiment of the electrical device according to the invention, the identification contains at least instructions for disassembling the electrical device, information about the material of the electrical device and information about approvals.

[0014] In one embodiment of the electrical device, the identification includes information about a defined position on a housing of the electrical device. The information about the defined position may be included in a QR code.

[0015] The method for disassembling an electrical device according to claim 6 of the present invention comprises the following steps:

[0016] - Identify electrical equipment and check permits;

[0017] - matching the database and loading the instructions for disassembling the electrical device; and

[0018] - Disassembly and sorting of electrical equipment with the help of multi-dimensional controlled grippers.

[0019] In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, this comprises the further steps of:

[0020] -Supervise demolition and collect permit fees.

[0021] In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, the steps include:

[0022] - Identify electrical equipment and check permits;

[0023] The following steps are involved:

[0024] - Read the identification for disassembling electrical equipment;

[0025] - matching the instructions for dismantling the electrical equipment, the information on the materials of the electrical equipment and the information on the permit with the database.

[0026] In another embodiment of the method according to the invention, the steps include:

[0027] - Matching the database and loading instructions for disassembling the electrical equipment;

[0028] The following steps are involved:

[0029] -match entries from the database;

[0030] - loading instructions for disassembling electrical equipment;

[0031] - Loading information about the material; thereby defining the disassembly process.

[0032] In another embodiment of the method according to the invention, the steps include:

[0033] - Disassembly and sorting of electrical equipment with the help of multi-dimensional controlled grippers;

[0034] The following steps are involved:

[0035] - dismantling of electrical equipment, thereby disassembling electrical equipment;

[0036] - load information about the material;

[0037] - sorting the material into containers provided for this purpose; thereby completing the sorting.

[0038] step

[0039] -Supervise demolition and collect permit fees;

[0040] The following steps may be included:

[0041] - Check the status of the method;

[0042] -Triggering license payments.

[0043] In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, the method is carried out automatically by a CNC milling center (numerically controlled milling center) having a multi-dimensionally controlled and driven gripper. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] The above-described characteristics, features and advantages of the present invention and the manner in which these characteristics, features and advantages are achieved will become more apparent and more clearly understood in conjunction with the following description of embodiments, which are explained in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0045] Here, in the accompanying drawings:

[0046] FIG1 shows a mark for disassembling electrical equipment;

[0047] Figure 2A and Figure 2B showing a CNC milling center and split electrical equipment; and

[0048] Figure 3 A method according to the invention for isolating an electrical device is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] Figure 1B An electrical device 1000 is shown, which is surrounded by a housing 1010. For example, the electrical device 1000 may be an electrical switch that can be manually switched by a handle 1050. Electronic components are located inside the electrical device 1000 and are surrounded by the housing 1010.

[0050] A label 100 for disassembling the electrical device 1000 is mounted on a housing 1010 of the electrical device 1000 .

[0051] In one embodiment, the mark 100 is as shown in Figure 1A The QR code is shown in FIG. The QR code is mounted on the housing 1010. Alternatively, the logo 100 can also be transmitted wirelessly, for example by means of the NFC standard, via Bluetooth or by means of other wireless protocols.

[0052] The identification 100 contains at least instructions for disassembling the electrical device 1000 , information about the material of the electrical device 1000 and information about possible approvals.

[0053] The identification 100 may additionally contain information about a defined position 150 on the housing 1010 of the electrical device 1000. Figure 1A and Figure 1B In the QR code, the information defining the position 150 is contained in the QR code, for example in the form of a red cross.

[0054] Identification 100 may also include a reference to a database 1102 in which instructions for disassembling electrical device 1000 , information about the material of electrical device 1000 and information about possible approvals are stored in a callable manner.

[0055] exist Figure 3 2 shows the flow of the method 2000 for separating the electrical device 1000 according to the present invention. The method 200 is between the start 1001 and the end 1999. The method 2000 according to the present invention comprises the following steps:

[0056] - Identify the electrical device 1000 and check the authorization 1100;

[0057] - matching with the database 1102 and loading instructions 1200 for disassembling the electrical device 1000; and

[0058] - Disassembling and sorting 1300 electrical devices 1000 with the aid of a multi-dimensionally controlled gripper.

[0059] For example, the disassembly and sorting 1300 of the electrical equipment 1000 can be performed automatically by a CNC milling center 200, which is located in Figure 2A Shown in. Figure 2B Components of the electrical device 1000 are shown after being disassembled by the method 2000 according to the present invention.

[0060] step

[0061] - Identify the electrical device 1000 and check the authorization 1100;

[0062] After starting 1001, the following steps are included:

[0063] - reading 1101 the identification 100 for disassembling the electrical device 1000; and

[0064] - Matching 1102 the instructions for disassembling 1102A the electrical device 1000 , the information about the material 1102B of the electrical device 1000 and the information about the permit 1102C with the database 1102 .

[0065] After checking for permissions 1103, if permissions exist, step

[0066] - matching with the database 1102 and loading the instructions 1200 for disassembling the electrical device 1000;

[0067] The following steps are involved:

[0068] -match 1201 entry from database;

[0069] - loading 1202 instructions for disassembling the electrical device 1000; and

[0070] - Loading 1203 information about the material, thereby defining the process of disassembly 1204.

[0071] Alternatively, a manual configuration 1201 ′ can be performed in the absence of a license. Here, a CAD model 1202 ′ can be configured and in a further step 1203 ′, elements such as rivets can be manually detected and corresponding instructions for a removal tool determined, thereby defining the process of disassembly 1204 .

[0072] step

[0073] - disassembling and sorting 1300 electrical devices 1000 by means of multi-dimensionally controlled grippers;

[0074] The following steps are involved:

[0075] - Disassembling 1301; 1302; 1303; ...; 130n the electrical device 1000, whereby the electrical device 1000 is disassembled 1310;

[0076] - load 1311 information about the material;

[0077] - Sorting 1312 the material into containers provided for this purpose; thereby completing the sorting 1313 .

[0078] The loading 1311 of information about materials may be related to different components of the electrical device 1000 , for example, related to the material of the housing 1311A and the material of the contact arm 1311B and other materials.

[0079] Further steps may be added to the method 2000 according to the invention:

[0080] -Supervise the demolition and collect a permit fee of 1400.

[0081] This step can be divided into

[0082] - checking 1401 the status of method 2000; and

[0083] - Trigger 1402 license payment.

[0084] By means of the generally applicable assembly and disassembly method 2000, the electrical device 1000 can be economically disassembled and sorted. Thus, a purer separation of recyclable materials is achieved, or the reuse of components after the end of their service life is achieved, which in turn leads to an increase in the recycling rate.

[0085] The method 2000 according to the invention goes beyond a simple disassembly process and additionally takes into account a sorting process. It is generally applicable and is therefore a solution for all electrical devices 1000 and other products.

[0086] For example, a QR code may be applied on the electrical device 1000, which fulfills the following tasks:

[0087] - signalling the recyclability of the electrical device 1000,

[0088] - acts as a permission icon,

[0089] - a unique identifier for the electrical device 1000, and

[0090] - Contains information about a defined position 150 on the housing 1010 as a reference zero point. This center point can be used in conjunction with other identifications or with a 3D model stored in a database to generate a digital image in the device. The advantage of using a QR code in conjunction with a digital image is that the QR code is sufficiently unambiguous to locate in space.

[0091] The QR code or database 1102 must provide the following information:

[0092] - instructions for disassembling the electrical device 1000;

[0093] - information about the material of the electrical device 1000; and

[0094] - Information about licensing.

[0095] The camera system recognizes the QR code and performs a query in database 1102 for permissions.

[0096] The match with database 1102 results in the following teardown rules:

[0097] - Identify the type of connection element and its position relative to the zero point;

[0098] -Select appropriate removal tools;

[0099] - Initialize and reference zero point; and

[0100] If the product is not found in the database 1102 and disassembly is nevertheless possible, the product type, similar products, connecting elements, materials can be automatically detected, suitable disassembly tools can be suggested if necessary, the determination of the disassembly process can be suggested and the operator can supervise and manually start the disassembly. These steps can also be supported or executed with the help of artificial intelligence methods.

[0101] Disassembly is performed in a multi-stage process consisting of a series of sub-steps using multi-dimensionally controlled and driven grippers. Disassembly means:

[0102] - Select and receive a defined tool from an equipped tool library;

[0103] - Pre-configured drives, e.g. a milling cutter with a diameter of 5 mm, a milling depth of 10 mm, and a right turn of 1000 rpm;

[0104] - Perform disassembly steps;

[0105] - Return the tool to the tool library.

[0106] To sort, proceed as follows:

[0107] - Load material information from database 1102;

[0108] - transport and store the parts in appropriate containers; and

[0109] -Automated separation of pure species in the plant.

[0110] Demolition can be supervised and a permit fee charged:

[0111] - Automatic or manual supervision of disassembly;

[0112] -Charge a license fee for licensed products;

[0113] - The disassembly process can be optimized by the operator;

[0114] - Ability to optimize the disassembly process through artificial intelligence methods by acquiring the corresponding software modules; and

[0115] In the case of non-licensed products, there is the possibility of storing the configured disassembly process after successful disassembly. As a result, structurally identical products are automatically identified and can be disassembled at a later point in time using a defined disassembly process. This presupposes that the corresponding software modules must also be available.

[0116] When using existing equipment, for example, a CNC milling center 200 can be used. This already has all the components required for operating such an equipment. It is therefore entirely conceivable to develop such a disassembly concept and method 2000 in cooperation with a large CNC milling center manufacturer. It is advantageous here that when applying the method 2000 according to the invention, no new equipment type has to be developed, but rather an existing CNC milling center 200 or laser unit is upgraded in terms of software and hardware and thus becomes a multifunctional equipment that can be used both for manufacturing and for disassembly.

Claims

1. An electrical device (1000) having an electronic component, wherein the electronic component is surrounded by a housing (1010), characterized in that: An identification mark (100) for disassembling the electrical device (1000) is provided on the housing (1010).

2. The electrical device (1000) according to claim 1, wherein: The identification (100) is configured as a QR code on the housing (1010), or the identification (100) is transmitted wirelessly.

3. The electrical device (1000) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The identification (100) contains at least instructions for disassembling the electrical device (1000), information about the material of the electrical device (1000) and information about the license.

4. The electrical device (1000) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The identification (100) contains information about a defined position (150) on a housing (1010) of the electrical device (1000).

5. The electrical device (1000) according to claim 4, wherein: The information of the defined location (150) is contained in the QR code.

6. A method (2000) for isolating an electrical device (1000) according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising the following steps: - identifying the electrical device (1000) and checking authorization (1100); - matching with a database (1102) and loading instructions (1200) for disassembling the electrical device (1000); and - Disassembling and sorting (1300) the electrical devices (1000) by means of a multi-dimensionally controlled gripper.

7. The method (2000) according to claim 6, comprising the further steps of: -Supervise the dismantling and collect the permit fee (1400).

8. The method (2000) according to claim 6 or 7, wherein: step: - identifying the electrical device (1000) and checking the authorization (1100); The following steps are involved: - reading (1101) an identification (100) for disassembling the electrical device (1000); - matching instructions for disassembling (1102a) the electrical device (1000), information about the material (1102b) of the electrical device (1000) and information about the permit (1102c) with the database (1102).

9. The method (2000) according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein: step: - matching with the database (1102) and loading instructions (1200) for disassembling the electrical device (1000); The following steps are involved: - matching (1201) an entry from said database (1102); - loading (1202) instructions for disassembling the electrical device (1000); - loading (1203) information about the material; The process of disassembly (1204) is thereby defined.

10. The method (2000) according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein: step: - disassembling and sorting (1300) the electrical devices (1000) by means of a multi-dimensionally controlled gripper; The following steps are involved: - disassembling (1301; 1302; 1303; ...; 130n) the electrical device (1000) so that the electrical device (1000) is disassembled (1310); - loading (1311) information about the material; and - sorting (1312) the material into containers provided for this purpose; The sorting is thus completed (1313).

11. The method (2000) of claim 7, wherein: The steps are: -Supervise the dismantling and collect the permit fee (1400); The following steps are involved: - checking (1401) the status of said method (2000); and - Trigger (1402) license payment.

12. The method (2000) according to any one of claims 6 to 11, wherein: The method (2000) is automatically performed by a CNC milling center (200) having a multi-dimensionally controlled and driven gripper.

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