Sorting containers, sorting system and sorting container arrangement

Abstract

Various aspects relate to a sorting container, a sorting system, and a sorting container arrangement, wherein the sorting container comprises: a container; an inlet opening for inputting waste; an outlet opening for dispensing unsorted waste from the container; a conveying device configured to move waste from the inlet opening to the outlet opening; robotic arms; a sorting outlet associated with a waste type, wherein the robotic arm is configured to transfer an item for dispensing sorted waste from the container from the conveying device to the sorting outlet; a source; and a camera configured to detect terahertz radiation emitted by the source and passed through irradiated waste.

Description

Technical field

[0001] Various aspects of this disclosure relate to a sorting container, a sorting system, and a sorting container assembly. background

[0002] More than 400 million tons of plastics are produced worldwide each year. Many of these plastics are poorly managed due to the current linear take-make-throw-away economic approach. This overconsumption of plastics and the lack of recycling efforts have led to plastic pollution, which impacts our biodiversity as well as human health. In many developing countries, municipalities often lack the framework, resources, and / or capacity to implement an effective and formalized waste collection and recycling system. Therefore, it may be necessary to improve waste sorting, especially plastics sorting. It has been found that distinguishing different types of plastics in a sorting system can increase the yield for the owner of a recycling facility by anywhere from approximately 20% to approximately 100%.Various aspects relate to a sorting container and a system that uses two or more of these sorting containers. The sorting container allows all components required for sorting waste (e.g., waste containing various types of plastic materials) to fit into a single container, particularly a cargo container (such as a 20-foot [6.096 m] cargo container). This makes the sorting container flexible in terms of location and allows a sorting container to be easily moved from one location to another. Therefore, the sorting container can be used in small material recovery facilities (MRFs). For example, Asia has a decentralized environmental system with small clusters of MRFs that process small volumes of waste (e.g., 10 to 50 tons per day).This limits the use of expensive, state-of-the-art sorting technology, which involves long conveyor lines and very large spaces, requiring a large waste volume, enormous initial investment, and high maintenance costs. The sorting container, on the other hand, can be deployed in these small MRFs and can have significantly lower investment costs. Typically, sorting various types of plastics from waste may require pre-sorting to initially separate other materials such as metals, paper, cardboard, etc., which increases the time required for sorting and requires a long waste stream chain to achieve a certain quality level. The sorting container, on the other hand, does not require any type of pre-sorting and allows all required components to fit into the single (cargo) container.Furthermore, two or more sorting containers can be coupled together in a sorting container arrangement, enabling scalability. Although there are various advantages for small MRFs, as described here, it should be noted that the container (or at least some of the components within the container) can be used in medium-sized or large MRFs. As an example, at least a portion of the comparatively long waste stream chains in large MRFs can be replaced by the container described here. Brief description

[0003] Various embodiments relate to a sorting container including: a container; an input opening for inputting waste into the container; an output opening for outputting unsorted waste from the container; a conveyor configured to receive waste input via the input opening and to convey the received waste from the input opening to the output opening; one or more robotic arms configured to pick up items from the conveyor;one or more sorting exits, wherein each sorting exit of the one or more sorting exits is associated with a respective waste type and is associated with at least one robotic arm of the one or more robotic arms, wherein the at least one robotic arm is configured to transfer an item picked up by the conveyor to the sorting exit, and wherein each sorting exit includes: a sorting opening for dispensing sorted waste from the container and a conveyor configured to receive the transferred item from the associated at least one robotic arm; a terahertz source configured to irradiate waste on the conveyor with terahertz radiation;and a terahertz camera configured to detect terahertz radiation that has passed through the irradiated waste, the terahertz camera being disposed between the entrance opening and the one or more robotic arms;

[0004] The conveyor may have an infeed / outfeed configuration (e.g., it may be configured as an infeed / outfeed conveyor). Thus, the conveyor may be configured to infeed waste at the inlet opening and outfeed waste at the outlet opening. This can ensure smooth handling of the infeed / outfeed waste stream.

[0005] According to various embodiments, the container may be a freight container, in particular a 20-foot freight container (e.g. according to the ISO standard).

[0006] According to various embodiments, at least one sorting output is associated with a plastic material as a waste type. For example, the irradiated waste may include a plurality of plastic articles, each plastic article of the plurality of plastic articles comprising a respective plastic material of two or more plastic materials, and at least one of the following: one or more metal articles comprising a metal, one or more cardboard articles comprising cardboard, and / or one or more organic articles comprising an organic material.

[0007] According to various embodiments, the sorting container may not contain any components extending from the (cargo) container.

[0008] According to various embodiments, the sorting container may further include a ventilation device configured to supply fresh air from outside the container into the container and / or to purify (e.g., filter) air inside the container. For example, the ventilation device may enable to purify (e.g., filter) dust and / or solid particles generated inside the container during waste management.

[0009] Various embodiments relate to a sorting system comprising: a sorting container according to any one of the embodiments described above; and a computer. The computer may be disposed within the sorting container or may be connected (e.g., wirelessly) to the sorting container. For example, the sorting container may be connected to an external computer using cloud computing. The computer may be configured to: determine a waste type of an item in the irradiated waste using the detected terahertz radiation, determine whether a sorting outlet of the one or more sorting outlets is associated with the determined waste type, and then, if a sorting outlet is associated with the determined waste type, control the at least one robotic arm associated with the sorting outlet to pick up the item from the conveyor and transfer the item to the conveying device of the sorting outlet.

[0010] According to various embodiments, the sorting system may further include a user interface that allows a user to set a respective waste type for each of the one or more sorting outputs. The user interface may be accessible without entering the (cargo) container. The user interface may be attached to the sorting container or may be connected (e.g., wirelessly) to the sorting container. For example, the user interface may be provided by a user device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, etc.) that is wirelessly connected to the sorting container.

[0011] Various embodiments relate to a sorting container arrangement comprising: a first sorting container according to any one of the embodiments described above or a first sorting system according to any one of the embodiments described above, wherein the first sorting system comprises a first sorting container, wherein the first sorting container is configured to sort one or more first waste types from waste input into the first sorting container via its input opening; a second sorting container according to any one of the embodiments described above or a second sorting system according to any one of the embodiments described above, wherein the second sorting system comprises a second sorting container, wherein the second sorting container is configured to sort one or more second waste types different from the one or more first waste types;and an intermediate container conveying device configured to convey unsorted waste from the exit opening of the first sorting container to the entrance opening of the second sorting container;

[0012] According to various embodiments, at least one waste type of the one or more first waste types is associated with a first plastic material; and at least one waste type of the one or more second waste types is associated with a second plastic material that is different from the first plastic material.

[0013] Various embodiments relate to the use of a sorting container, including a sorting container or a sorting system or a sorting container arrangement according to any of the embodiments described above, for sorting waste at the location where the waste is generated. The sorting container allows a sorting solution to be fitted into a (e.g., 20-foot freight) container. This allows the sorting container to be easily implemented on a customer's premises. For example, waste sorting can be performed at the source of the waste, such as at a shopping center, a hospital, a stadium, a concert hall, etc. Brief description of the drawings

[0014] The invention will be better understood by reference to the detailed description when taken in conjunction with the non-limiting examples and the accompanying drawings, in which: -Fig. 1A to Fig. 1 K each show a sorting container according to various embodiments; - Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B each have a freight container; - Fig. 3A to Fig. 3C each show a sorting container arrangement containing two or more sorting containers according to various embodiments; and - Fig. 4 an example of an image taken by a terahertz camera compared to an RGB image. Detailed description

[0015] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific details and embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and structural and logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The various embodiments are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiments may be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments.

[0016] Features described in the context of one embodiment may accordingly be applicable to the same or similar features in the other embodiments. Features described in the context of one embodiment may accordingly be applicable to the other embodiments, even if not expressly described in those other embodiments. Furthermore, additions and / or combinations and / or alternatives as described for a feature in the context of one embodiment may accordingly be applicable to the same or similar feature in the other embodiments.

[0017] In the context of various embodiments, the articles “a,” “an,” “an,” and “the,” when used with respect to a feature or element, include a reference to one or more of the features or elements.

[0018] As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0019] In one embodiment, a "computer" may be understood as any type of logic-implementing device, which may be hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, in one embodiment, a "computer" may be a hard-wired logic circuit or a programmable logic circuit, such as a programmable processor, such as a microprocessor (e.g., a complex instruction set computer (CISC) processor or a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor). A "computer" may also be software implemented or executed by a processor, such as any type of computer program, such as a computer program using virtual machine code, such as Java. A "computer" may be or include one or more processors.Any other manner of implementing the respective functions described in more detail below may also be understood as a “computer” in accordance with an alternative embodiment.

[0020] A "memory" may be used in processing performed by a computer and / or may store data used by the computer. A "memory" used in the embodiments may be a volatile memory such as a DRAM (dynamic random access memory), or a non-volatile memory such as a PROM (programmable read-only memory), an EPROM (erasable PROM), an EEPROM (electrically erasable PROM), or a flash memory such as a floating gate memory, a charge storage memory, an MRAM (magnetoresistive random access memory), or a PCRAM (phase change random access memory).

[0021] As used herein, the term "article" includes any article, such as a recyclable or reusable article, that can be sorted according to a type and / or class. Examples of plastic article materials may include high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), etc. Such articles may include bottles, jars, containers, plates, bowls, etc., of various shapes, sizes, and conditions (e.g., partially compressed, deformed).

[0022] Although the disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims, and it is therefore intended to embrace all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims.

[0023] To enable the recycling of plastics, it may be necessary to sort different types of plastics from waste. However, the waste may not only contain plastics, but also other materials such as paper, metals, cardboard, etc. Removing these other materials before sorting out the different types of plastics may require complex and therefore expensive pre-sorting. Distinguishing between different types of plastics in the waste may also require comparatively long process chains, as described above. Various aspects relate to a sorting container that enables the sorting of non-pre-sorted waste using a container (e.g., a 20-foot ISO freight container). Therefore, the sorting container can have a comparatively short process chain, may not incur pre-sorting costs, and can be flexible with regard to its location (e.g.,be easily transported to another location, moved to another location on land, etc.).

[0024] Fig. 1A to Fig. 1K each show a sorting container 100 according to various aspects. The sorting container 100 may be based on a modular, containerized waste sorting solution. The sorting container 100 may include a cargo container 102 (e.g., a single modular cargo container). The cargo container 102 may be a cargo container according to the ISO standard (e.g., a 20-foot cargo container). A 20-foot cargo container may be configured according to ISO standard 668, such that the 20-foot cargo container may have (in the case of external measurements) a length of approximately 6.06 meters, a width of approximately 2.44 meters, and a height of approximately 2.59 meters (in the case of a regular 20-foot container) or a height of approximately 2.896 meters (in the case of a 20-foot high-bay container). It is understood that the components can also be transported in a larger container such as a 40-foot container (e.g.according to ISO 668) since they can be arranged in a 20-foot container. For illustration purposes, an exemplary freight container 102 is shown in . Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B. The cargo container 102 may include a front side 202, a back side 204 opposite the front side 202, a floor 206, a ceiling panel 208, a first side panel 210, and a second side panel 212 opposite the first side panel 210. Referring to Fig. 2B, the front side 202 may include a front door 224. The front door 224 may allow a user to enter the cargo container 102. Optionally, the rear side 204 may include a rear door 226. The cargo container 102 may include a front frame 220 and / or a rear frame 222 to couple the floor 206, the ceiling panel 208, the first side panel 210, and the second side panel 212 together. The cargo container 102 may include some modification compared to a general cargo container, such as various openings in its outer shell. The sorting container 100 may include various components disposed within the cargo container 102. In various aspects, all components of the sorting container 100 may be disposed within the cargo container 102. Therefore, the sorting container 100 may not include any components extending from the cargo container 102.In the following, these modifications to a general cargo container and the components in the cargo container 102 will be described with reference to FIG. Fig. 1A to Fig. 1K described.

[0025] The sorting container 100 may include various openings. Each opening described herein may be an opening in the cargo container 102 to allow transfer of items into and / or out of the cargo container 102. Illustratively, an opening, as used herein, may be a window in the outer shell of the cargo container 102. The sorting container 100 may include an entrance opening 104. The sorting container 100 may include an exit opening 108. The entrance opening 104 may be an opening (e.g., a window) in the front 202 of the cargo container 102. The exit opening 108 may be an opening (e.g., a window) in the rear 204 of the cargo container 102. The sorting container 100 may include a conveyor 110. The conveyor 110 may be disposed between the entrance opening 104 and the exit opening 108.The conveyor 110 may be configured to convey items input via the input port 104 to the output port (e.g., to discharge conveyed items from the cargo container 102). The conveyor 110 may be configured to pull waste in at the input port and pull waste out at the output port. Therefore, the conveyor may have an infeed / outfeed conveyor configuration. This may ensure smooth handling of the input / output waste stream.

[0026] According to various aspects, the entrance opening 104 may allow waste to be input into the cargo container 102. The conveyor 110 may be configured to receive waste input via the entrance opening 104 and transport the received waste from the entrance opening 104 to the exit opening 108. The conveyor 110 may be any type of transport device capable of transporting items (e.g., waste) from the entrance opening 104 to the exit opening 108, such as a conveyor belt, a conveyor roller, etc.

[0027] The waste 106 input via the input opening 104 may contain various types of materials such as metals, plastics, cardboard, papers, organic materials, etc. Therefore, the waste 106 may not be pre-sorted waste. Here, an item may have a specific material type if the item contains at least 70% (e.g., at least 80%, e.g., at least 90%) of that material type. For example, a metal item may contain at least 70% metals (e.g., various metal materials) and a plastic item may contain at least 70% plastics (e.g., various plastic materials). For example, the waste 106 may contain a plastic item 106(1) (e.g., a plastic bottle), a cardboard item 106(2) (e.g., a box), and a metal item 106(3) (e.g., an aluminum can).

[0028] In the following, the sorting container 100 is described as being configured to sort various plastic materials from the (e.g., non-presorted) input waste 106. However, this is illustrative, and the sorting container 100 allows any type of other material to be sorted in a similar manner.

[0029] According to various aspects, the waste 106 may not be shredded prior to inputting the waste 106 into the input opening 104 and into the sorting container 100.

[0030] The sorting container 100 may include a sensor module. The sensor module may include a terahertz source 120. The terahertz source 120 may be configured to irradiate waste on the conveyor 110 with terahertz radiation 124. The terahertz source 120 may be configured to irradiate the waste on the conveyor 110 directly or indirectly (e.g., using one or more reflectors). The sensor module may include a terahertz camera 122. The terahertz camera 122 may be configured to detect terahertz radiation 126 that has passed through the irradiated waste. The terahertz source 120 may be arranged above the conveyor 110. The terahertz camera 122 may be arranged below the conveyor 110 (e.g., at least partially within a frame of the conveyor 110). The terahertz camera 122 can be arranged (e.g., directly) below the upper conveyor belt material.The sensor module may be a THz linear image sensing system. The sensor module may be a high-speed terahertz imaging scanner from TeraSense [1] using any of its source types and camera types. According to various aspects, the terahertz source 120 and the terahertz camera 122 may acquire data in a continuous manner.

[0031] Terahertz radiation, as used herein, may refer to electromagnetic radiation operating in the terahertz range / spectrum (THz range / spectrum) and may refer to electromagnetic radiation with a frequency greater than or equal to 0.1 THz. Terahertz radiation can penetrate not only visually transparent objects, but also opaque objects. The image data or signal detected by the terahertz camera may include the penetration intensity of the electromagnetic radiation (which may be referred to as "power intensity"). It follows that the image data or signal may include thermal maps based on the "power intensity" that show or represent a power penetration distribution. The terahertz camera may be configured to provide a THz power intensity thermal map using the material's THz radiation transmission signals.In . Fig. 4, a thermal imaging image 404 captured by the terahertz camera 122 is compared with an image 402 captured by an RGB camera. Terahertz radiation may be non-destructive to the objects in the waste 106.

[0032] The sorting container 100 may include one or more robot arms 112(n = 1 to N) (where "N" is any integer greater than or equal to one). A robot arm (robot for short), as used herein, may be configured to pick up an object (e.g., a waste object) from the conveyor 110, move the picked object, and release the object after moving. A robot arm may be a delta robot or an industrial robot arm. A robot arm may include a gripper configured to pick up an object by grasping the object (see, e.g., the first robot arm 112(1)). A robot arm may include a suction head configured to pick up an object using negative pressure (hence, a pressure below atmospheric pressure) (see, e.g., the second robot arm 112(2)). The terahertz camera may be arranged between the entrance opening 104 and the one or more robot arms 112(n = 1 to N).The sorting container 100 may further include components that the one or more robotic arms can use to pick up and move an object, such as a camera (e.g., an RGB camera) that tracks the objects in the waste 106 and any type of image recognition software. The one or more robotic arms may be preconfigured depending on the production line configuration according to the waste input / output flow and / or the volume of the waste 106.

[0033] Using terahertz radiation can be advantageous over other types of radiation, such as near-infrared (NIR) optical hyperspectral sensor systems. NIR cannot penetrate plastics and cannot obtain color information from objects. Furthermore, errors are induced in NIR systems when the plastic objects are contaminated with organic materials such as food residue. Sorting systems using an NIR optical sensor system cannot sort labels on plastic bottles, black plastics, and multilayer plastics.

[0034] The sorting container 100 may include one or more sorting exits 114(m = 1 to M) (where "M" is any integer greater than or equal to one). Each sorting exit 114(m) may allow items (e.g., sorted waste items) to be dispensed from the cargo container 102. Each sorting exit 114(m, k = 1 to 2) may include a sorting opening 114(m, k) (e.g., a window in the outer shell of the cargo container 102). A sorting opening may be referred to as an outlet chute for positive sorting. The arrows 114(m, k) in Fig. 1D to Fig. 1I may indicate a respective waste stream of items that are positively sorted via the respective sorting opening 162(m, k). The integer "k" may indicate whether the sorting opening 162(m, k) of the sorting exit 114(m, k) is located in the first side panel 210 (k = 1) or the second side panel 212 (k = 2). Each sorting exit 114(m, k = 1 to 2) may include a conveyor 164(m, k). The conveyor 164(m, k) may be coupled to the sorting opening 162(m, k) such that the conveyor 164(m, k) conveys items transferred to the conveyor for dispensing the items (e.g., the sorted waste items) from the cargo container 102 to the sorting opening 162(m, k). Each sorting output 114(m) may be associated with at least one robot arm 112(n) of the one or more robot arms 112(n = 1 to N).The at least one robot arm 112(n) may be configured to transfer an item picked up from the conveyor 110 to the associated sorting exit 114(m, k = 1 to 2). Therefore, a sorting exit may be associated with more than one robot arm, and each of these robot arms may be configured to transfer items from the conveyor 110 to the conveying device of that sorting exit. Furthermore, some robot arms (e.g., each robot arm) may be associated with more than one sorting exit and may be capable of transferring a picked up item from the conveyor 110 to one of these sorting exits. A transport device 164(m, k) may be configured as a container (e.g., including a flap, as shown in FIG. Fig. 1D).

[0035] Each sorting output 114(m, k) may be associated with a respective waste type. Illustratively, items comprising a specific waste type may be sorted (using the at least one robotic arm associated with the waste type) and discharged through the sorting opening of the sorting output. A "waste type," as used herein, may refer to any waste category intended to be sorted. For example, the waste type may refer to a material category such as metals, cardboard, organic materials, plastics, etc. The waste type may refer to specific materials within a material category, such as, in the case of plastics: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), etc. More than one sorting output may be associated with the same waste type. For example, each sorting output 114(m, k) may be associated with a respective waste type.As an illustrative example, a first sorting output 114(1,1) may be associated with colorless PET, a second sorting output 114(1,2) may be associated with colored PET, a third sorting output 114(2,1) may be associated with HDPE, and a fourth sorting output 114(2,2) may be associated with other plastics (or alternatively, cardboard).

[0036] The sorting container 100 may contain a computer or may be connected to the computer (e.g., using memory for processing as described herein). The computer may be located within the sorting container 100. Alternatively, the computer may be located outside the sorting container and may be connected (e.g., wirelessly) to the sorting container 100. In this case, the computer may utilize cloud computing. Hereinafter, the sorting container 100 will be described as including the computer 128. However, it should be noted that the computer 128 may also be located outside the sorting container 100 and connected to the sorting container 100.

[0037] The computer 128 may be configured to receive a representation of the detected terahertz radiation (e.g., an image) from the terahertz camera 122. The computer 128 may be configured to determine a respective waste type of one or more items in the irradiated waste using the representation of the detected terahertz radiation (e.g., the image). The computer 128 may be configured to control each of the one or more robotic arms 112 (n = 1 to N) (e.g., to control a robotic arm, pick up a specific item, and move the picked item to a specific sorting exit).The computer 128 may be configured to determine, for each particular waste type of the one or more items, whether at least one sorting outlet 114(m) of the one or more sorting outlets 114(m = 1 to M) is associated with the particular waste type, and then, if at least one sorting outlet 114(m) is associated with the particular waste type, to control the at least one robotic arm associated with the sorting outlet to pick up the item from the conveyor and to transfer the item to the conveyor of the sorting outlet.

[0038] An example is in Fig. 1B, the computer 128 may determine that the plastic article 106(1) contains a plastic material corresponding to the waste type associated with one of the sorting exits and may control the first robotic arm 112(1) to pick up the plastic article 106(1) and move the plastic article 106(1) to the sorting exit. In this example, the cardboard article 106(2) and the metal article 106(3) may not be associated with any waste type of the sorting exits and may not be sorted out. The cardboard article 106(2) and the metal article 106(3) may then be output as residue 138 (in some aspects, referred to as unsorted waste) via the exit opening 108. The residue 138 may be part of an output waste stream.

[0039] The computer 128 may be configured to determine the waste type of an object using (e.g., automated) object identification, feature extraction, and classification to extract key features, and may use image classification techniques to automatically distinguish between at least two classes of waste types, such as between an HDPE bottle and a PET bottle. Here, the computer 128 may employ any type of model that can determine (e.g., classify) a waste type of objects. A "model" may, for example, be based on machine learning (e.g., may employ a machine learning algorithm). Illustratively, a "model" may be adapted (e.g., trained) using machine learning. A "model" may be a decision tree model, a random forest model, a gradient boosting model, an auxiliary vector machine, a k-nearest neighbor model, a neural network, etc.A "neural network" can be any type of neural network, such as an autoencoder network, a convolutional neural network, a variable autoencoder network, a sparse autoencoder network, a repetitive neural network, a deconvolutional neural network, a generating generic network, a feedforward neural network, a sum-product neural network, etc. For example, an outline-based object detection algorithm can be employed to identify one or more ROIs from the thermal image, where each ROI corresponds to a respective object to be classified.Therefore, the computer 128 may employ machine learning-based waste material classification (using deep learning object classification in an artificial intelligence platform and a module for accurate material identification using terahertz radiation), such as a waste material classification module. According to various aspects, the reasoning of the model may be performed on an edge computing device.

[0040] The computer 128 may include a server rack containing an edge computing machine.

[0041] According to various aspects, the sorting container 100 may include two or more sorting outlets (i.e., M ≥ 2). A first sorting outlet 114(1) of the two or more sorting outlets may be associated with a first plastic material as the waste type, and a second sorting outlet 114(2) of the two or more sorting outlets may be associated with a second plastic material (different from the first plastic material) as the waste type. Therefore, the sorting container 100 may be configured to sort out different plastic types.

[0042] With reference to Fig. 1C, the sorting container 100 may include one or more ventilation devices 130(p = 1 to P) (where "P" is any integer greater than or equal to one). Each ventilation device 130(p) (e.g., an air handling unit) may be configured to supply fresh air from outside the cargo container 102 into the cargo container 102. This may allow a user 150 to enter the cargo container 102 (e.g., to perform any work inside the cargo container 102, such as maintenance). The ventilation devices may be required due to the handling of dirty or hazardous waste materials for repeatable sorting performance, hazard prevention, and fire suppression. In various aspects, the sorting container 100 may include a lower level 102(1) within the cargo container 102 in which the conveyor 110, the sorting exits, and the robotic arms are disposed.The sorting container 100 may include a second floor 102(2) within the cargo container 102. Some of the components may be disposed on the second floor 102(2). For example, a blower 132 of at least one of the ventilation devices may be disposed on the second floor 102(2) (e.g., in the outer shell of the cargo container 102 at the second floor 102(2)). Each robot arm 112(n) may be associated with a respective robot control unit 140(n) for controlling the robot arm 112(n). At least one robot control unit 140(n) may be disposed on the second floor 102(2). The computer 128 may be configured to control the robot control units 140(n) to control the respective robot arm 112(n). The sorting container 102 may include an air compressor 142. The air compressor 142 may be located on the second floor 102(2).The air compressor 142 may be configured to supply the negative pressure to the robot arm(s) that use(s) a suction head for picking up objects (e.g., the second robot arm 112(2) in . Fig. 1C). Fig. Figure 1K shows at least portions of the first ventilation device 130(1) and the second ventilation device 130(2) in a side view (at 192), an isometric view (at 194), and a top view (at 196). The sorting container 102 may include a fire suppression system (e.g., one or more fire extinguishers 198).

[0043] With reference to Fig. 1H, Fig. 1I and Fig. 1J, the sorting container 100 may include a user interface 180. The user interface 180 may enable the user 150 to set a respective waste type for each of the one or more sorting outputs 114 (m = 1 to M, k = 1 to 2). The user interface 180 may be a human-machine interface (HMI) instrument panel. Referring to Fig. 1 H and Fig. 1J, the sorting container 100 may include a roller door 182 at the front 202 (see front view F in Fig. 1J). The entrance opening 104 and the user interface 180 may be accessible without opening the rolling door 182. Therefore, the user interface 180 may be accessible without entering the cargo container 102. Referring to Fig. 1J, the rear side 204 (see rear view B) may include a rear wall 184 (or alternatively, a second rolling door). The entrance opening 104 may be disposed in the rolling door 182, and the exit opening 108 may be disposed in the rear wall 184. This allows the sorting container 100 to be closed off using the front door 224 and the rear door 226. It should be noted that, to illustrate an exemplary embodiment, the sorting container 100 is described as including the user interface 180. In this case, the user interface 180 may be attached to the sorting container 100. Alternatively, the user interface 180 may be disposed outside of the sorting container 100 (and not attached thereto). In this case, the user interface 180 may be configured to be connected (e.g., wirelessly) to the sorting container 100. As an example, the user interface 180 may be a user interface of a user device (e.g., a mobile device).B. a smartphone, a tablet, etc.) and the sorting container 100 may include an interface (e.g., a wireless interface) that enables the user device to be connected to the sorting container 100. Thus, the user device may enable the sorting container 100 to be controlled (e.g., setting a particular waste type).

[0044] The sorting container 100 may include further modifications of the cargo container 102, such as electrical modifications (e.g., lighting, power supply (e.g., 40 amp single-phase 220-230 V), tower lighting system, etc.) and mechanical modifications (e.g., fabrication of auxiliary equipment (windows, exhaust fan housing, mechanical louvre, chute, etc.), custom-built steel structures and / or frames for the one or more robotic arms and / or the conveyor 110). Optionally, the sorting container 100 may include an entrance door 160 coupled to the entrance opening 104 and / or an exit door coupled to the exit opening 108. Additionally, a respective door may be disposed at each sorting opening such that the sorting openings can be closed (e.g., during shipment).Alternatively to using a hatch, the respective opening (entrance opening, exit opening, and / or sorting opening(s)) may be closable using another component such as a door (e.g., a sliding door). Optionally, the sorting container 100 may include one or more cameras on the front door 224, one or more cameras on each robot arm, one or more additional cameras inside the cargo container 102, and / or cameras monitoring an area outside the cargo container 102. In some aspects, the cargo container 102 may have an open front wall and / or an open side wall (e.g., to allow for easy maintenance).

[0045] The sorting container 100 described here can be shipped to be added, integrated, or retrofitted into an existing MRF. Therefore, this (e.g., mobile, automated) sorting container 100 overcomes the limitations of a retrofit solution and a long conveyor belt solution in the existing conveyor system in the MRF. The sorting container 100 provides a pre-fabricated environment that can be pre-tested (e.g., certified) before shipment. The sorting container 100 has a low initial investment to begin operation and requires no additional infrastructure costs. The modular solution of the sorting container 100 results in low maintenance costs.

[0046] Fig. 3A to Fig. 3B each show a sorting container arrangement 300 that includes two or more sorting containers 100(o = 1 to 0) (where "O" is any integer greater than or equal to 2). Each of the two or more sorting containers 100(o = 2 to 0) can be configured in accordance with the sorting container 100. The two or more sorting containers 100(o = 2 to 0) can be configured the same, or at least one sorting container can be configured differently than the others. The sorting containers 100(o = 2 to 0) of the sorting container arrangement 300 can be arranged side by side (see, for example, Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B) and / or on top of each other (ie stacked) (see e.g. Fig. 3C). In the sorting container arrangement 300, the residues 138 of one sorting container can be fed into the inlet opening of another sorting container. The sorting containers can be arranged in a linear production line, in multiple production lines (see Fig. 3A), in a circular production line (see Fig. 3B) and / or in a stacked production line (see Fig. 3C). It is illustrated that the sorting containers 100 enable easy scalability of production lines.

[0047] With reference to Fig. 3A, the sorting container assembly 300 may include five sorting containers 100 (o = 1 to 5). In this example, a first waste stream 302(1) may be input into the input opening 104 of the first sorting container 100(1), and a second waste stream 302(2) may be input into the input opening 104 of the second sorting container 100(2). The scraps 138(1) output via the output opening 108 of the first sorting container 100(1) may be input into the third sorting container 100(3), and the scraps 138(2) output via the output opening 108 of the second sorting container 100(2) may be input into the fourth sorting container 100(4). Both the residues 138(3) which are discharged via the outlet opening 108 of the third sorting container 100(3) and the residues 138(4) which are discharged via the outlet opening 108 of the fourth sorting container 100(4) can be (e.g. as fifth waste stream 302(5) orsixth waste stream 302(6)) can be fed into the inlet opening 104 of the fifth sorting container 100(5), which can discharge (in this linear production line) the output waste stream 138(5) containing the items that have not been sorted out.

[0048] With reference to Fig. 3B, the sorting container arrangement 300 may include four sorting containers 100(o = 1 to 4). In this example, a first waste stream 302(1) may be input into the input opening 104 of the first sorting container 100(1), and the residues 138(1) output via the output opening 108 of the first sorting container 100(1) may be input into the second sorting container 100(2), and the residues 138(2) output via the output opening 108 of the second sorting container 100(2) may be input into the third sorting container 100(3), and so on. This may be performed in a circular manner such that the residues output via the output opening 108 of the fourth sorting container 100(4) may be re-input into the input opening 104 of the first sorting container 100(1), as indicated by reference numeral 306(1). This circular approach may be performed until a predetermined condition (e.g.,a predetermined number of cycles or a predetermined quality factor of sorted items, etc.) is met. The circular approach may end with the discharge of the residues 308(4) from the fourth sorting container 100(4).

[0049] With reference to Fig. 3C, the sorting container assembly 300 may include two sorting containers 100 that are stacked. Stacking the sorting containers allows for the required lateral space to be reduced. Similar to the circular approach shown in Fig. 3B, the sorting may be performed in cycles such that the residues 138(2) of the second sorting container 100(2) may be re-entered into the first sorting container 100(1) (as indicated by 306(1)). This batch approach may terminate with the output of the residues 308(2) from the second sorting container 100(2).

[0050] According to various aspects, the conveying system 300 may include one or more intermediate container conveying devices (e.g., the intermediate container conveying device 310). Each intermediate container conveying device may be arranged between the exit opening 108 of one sorting container 100 and the entrance opening 104 of another, subsequent sorting container 100. For example, in the configuration according to Fig. 3A, a respective intermediate container conveying device may be arranged between the exit opening of the first sorting container 100(1) and the entrance opening of the third sorting container 100(3), between the exit opening of the second sorting container 100(2) and the entrance opening of the fourth sorting container 100(4), between the exit opening of the third sorting container 100(3) and the entrance opening of the fifth sorting container 100(5) and / or between the exit opening of the fourth sorting container 100(4) and the entrance opening of the fifth sorting container 100(5). For example, in the configuration according to Fig. 3B, a respective intermediate container conveying device may be arranged between the exit opening of the first sorting container 100(1) and the entrance opening of the second sorting container 100(2), between the exit opening of the second sorting container 100(2) and the entrance opening of the third sorting container 100(3), between the exit opening of the third sorting container 100(3) and the entrance opening of the fourth sorting container 100(4) and / or between the exit opening of the fourth sorting container 100(4) and the entrance opening of the first sorting container 100(1). For example, in the configuration according to Fig. 3C, a respective intermediate container conveying device may be arranged between the exit opening of the first sorting container 100(1) and the entrance opening of the second sorting container 100(2) (e.g., the intermediate container conveying device 310) and / or between the exit opening of the second sorting container 100(2) and the entrance opening of the first sorting container 100(1). In the stacking configuration according to Fig. 3C, the cycle can be run infinitely (e.g., to maximize throughput and minimize the rest).

[0051] According to various aspects, the two or more sorting containers 100(o = 2 to 0) may be arranged in series. For example, the two or more sorting containers 100(o = 2 to 0) may be arranged in such a way that the residues 138 discharged from one sorting container are input (e.g., directly) as waste stream 302 into the input opening of the next sorting container (and so on for the two or more sorting containers).

[0052] Various embodiments describe the use of the sorting container 100 and the sorting container assembly 300. It should be understood that these aspects also relate to corresponding methods. reference [1] https: / / terasense.com / products / thz-scanner QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited non-patent literature

[0000] https: / / terasense.com / products / thz-scanner

[0052]

Claims

[1] Sorting container (100) comprising: • a container (102); • an inlet opening (104) for introducing waste (106) into the container (102); • an exit opening (108) for discharging unsorted waste (138) from the container (102); • a conveyor (110) configured to receive waste input via the input port (104) and to convey the received waste from the input port (104) to the output port (108); • one or more robot arms (112) configured to pick up objects from the conveyor (110); • one or more sorting outputs (114), wherein each sorting output of the one or more sorting outputs (114) is associated with a respective waste type and is associated with at least one robot arm of the one or more robot arms (112), wherein the at least one robot arm is configured to transfer an object picked up by the conveyor (110) to the sorting output, and wherein each sorting output comprises: ◯ a sorting opening (162) for discharging sorted waste from the container (102), and ◯ a conveyor device (164) configured to receive the transferred object from the associated at least one robot arm; • a terahertz source (120) configured to irradiate waste on the conveyor (110) with terahertz radiation; and • a terahertz camera (122) configured to detect terahertz radiation that has passed through the irradiated waste, the terahertz camera (122) being disposed between the entrance opening (104) and the one or more robotic arms (112). [2] Sorting container (100) according to claim 1, wherein the container is a freight container, in particular a 20-foot freight container [6.096 m]. [3] Sorting container (100) according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein at least one sorting outlet is assigned to a plastic material as waste type. [4] Sorting container (100) according to claim 3, wherein the irradiated waste comprises: a plurality of plastic articles, each plastic article of the plurality of plastic articles comprising a respective plastic material of two or more plastic materials, and at least one of the following: one or more metal articles comprising a metal, one or more cardboard articles comprising cardboard, and / or one or more organic articles comprising an organic material. [5] Sorting container (100) according to one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: a ventilation device (130) configured to supply fresh air from outside the container (102) into the container (102) and / or to purify air inside the container (102). [6] Sorting system comprising: • a sorting container (100) according to one of claims 1 to 5; and • a computer (128) configured to: ◯ Determining a waste type of an object in the irradiated waste using the detected terahertz radiation, ◯ Determining whether a sorting output of the one or more sorting outputs is assigned to the specific waste type, and ◯ when a sorting exit is assigned to the specific waste type, controlling the at least one robot arm assigned to the sorting exit to pick up the object from the conveyor and to transfer the object to the conveying device of the sorting exit. [7] Sorting system according to claim 6, further comprising: a user interface (180) that allows a user to set a respective waste type for each of the one or more sorting outputs. [8] Sorting system according to claim 7, wherein the user interface (180) is accessible without entering the container (102). [9] Sorting container arrangement (300) comprising: • a first sorting container (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or a first sorting system according to any one of claims 6 to 8, comprising a first sorting container (100), the first sorting container being configured to sort out one or more first waste types from waste input into the first sorting container via its input opening; • a second sorting container (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or a second sorting system according to any one of claims 6 to 8, comprising a second sorting container (100), wherein the second sorting container is configured to sort out one or more second waste types that are different from the one or more first waste types; and • an intermediate container conveying device configured to convey unsorted waste from the exit opening of the first sorting container to the entrance opening of the second sorting container. [10] Sorting container arrangement (300) according to claim 9, wherein at least one waste type of the one or more first waste types is associated with a first plastic material; and wherein at least one waste type of the one or more second waste types is associated with a second plastic material that is different from the first plastic material. [11] Use of a sorting container (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a sorting system according to any one of claims 6 to 8 or a sorting container arrangement (300) according to claim 9 or 10 for sorting waste at a location where the waste is generated.

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