Determination system and determination method

Abstract

To provide a determination system capable of determining the content of at least one of a solid inorganic material and a solid organic material in a composite material.SOLUTION: A determination system 100 includes: a reception part 1 configured to receive an index that is related to a composite material where a base material constituted of one solid material of an organic material or an inorganic material is arranged therein with an inclusion constituted o the other solid material, an inclusion and that affects determination of a content with respect to the composite material, of at least one of the base material and the inclusion; and a determination part 3 configured to determine the content on the basis of a data base 21 associating the index with the content and the index received by the reception part 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a decision-making system and a decision-making method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been a rapid shift to a circular economy in which products and materials that were previously discarded are reused as resources and circulated. In this context, the use of recycled materials has become important, and there is a particular need to improve the recycling rate of plastics, which are widely used in a variety of products. Many of these plastics are fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP), which are composites of inorganic fibers such as glass fiber and carbon fiber to improve their strength. In order to improve the recycling rate, it is preferable to recycle such complex components as well.

[0003] In composite materials such as FRP, the filling rate of the inclusions has a significant effect on the material properties such as the strength and shrinkage of the composite material. For this reason, it is preferable to design products by appropriately controlling the content (filling rate) of inorganic fibers.

[0004] The abstract of Patent Document 1 states, "A method for producing recycled FRP molded products, comprising the steps of: crushing FRP waste to a size with an average diameter of 0.1 to 30 mm; adding and mixing this with a thermoplastic resin binder and charging the mixture into a kneader; kneading and melting the mixture using frictional heat generated by the high-speed rotation of the kneader; charging the molten material into a mold for forming a plastic molded product; and hardening the molten material under pressure." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-305876 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] A composite material composed of an organic material and an inorganic material has, for example, a solid inorganic material present as an inclusion in a solid organic material as a matrix. For example, a composite material in which glass fiber is present in a resin is glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP). The content (content) of the solid inorganic material in a composite material varies depending on the device, member, etc. in which the composite material is used. Therefore, if the content of, for example, the solid inorganic material in a composite material recovered for recycling can be determined non-destructively, the amount of the solid inorganic material obtained from the recycled composite material can be grasped, and the recycling of the composite material can be promoted. These points are also true for a composite material in which a solid organic material is present as an inclusion in a solid inorganic material as a matrix. The problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to provide a determination system and a determination method capable of determining the content of at least one of a solid inorganic substance and a solid organic substance in a composite material. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The determination system of the present disclosure is characterized by comprising: a receiving unit that influences the determination of the content rate of at least one of the base material and the inclusions, for a composite material in which an inclusion made of one solid material, either an organic material or an inorganic material, is disposed in a base material made of the other solid material, and that receives an index related to the composite material, a database that associates the index with the content rate, and a determination unit that determines the content rate based on the index received by the receiving unit. Other solutions will be described later in the description of the embodiment of the invention. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a determination system and a determination method capable of determining the content of at least one of a solid inorganic substance and a solid organic substance in a composite material. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a decision system of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a composite material whose content can be determined by the determination system of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] 1 is a graph showing an example of a regression equation that can be created by the determination system of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 13 is a graph showing the correlation between the content rate determined by the determination system of the present disclosure and the actual content rate. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the determination system of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a determination method of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a decision system according to another embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a decision system according to another embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a decision system according to another embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a decision system according to another embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a decision system according to another embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a decision system according to another embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a decision system according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, a form for carrying out the present disclosure (referred to as an embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of one embodiment, other embodiments applicable to the one embodiment will also be described as appropriate. The present disclosure is not limited to the following one embodiment, and different embodiments can be combined with each other or modified as desired without significantly impairing the effects of the present disclosure. In addition, the same symbols will be used for the same members, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted. Furthermore, the same names will be used for members having the same functions. The contents shown are merely schematic, and for the sake of illustration, changes may be made from the actual configuration within a range that does not significantly impair the effects of the present disclosure, and some members may be omitted or modified between drawings. In addition, the same embodiment does not necessarily need to have all the configurations.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a determination system 100 of the present disclosure. For example, a composite material 50 composed of organic and inorganic substances used as a constituent material of a home appliance, industrial product, etc. is preferably recycled. However, the content of, for example, inorganic substances contained in the composite material 50 may vary greatly depending on the origin of the recovered composite material 50 (for example, the type of product, the product manufacturing company, the product sales company, etc.). In addition, when the recovered composite material 50 is divided into lots according to, for example, the time of recovery, the region of recovery, etc., the content of, for example, inorganic substances may vary greatly between lots. For this reason, when the recovered composite material 50 is used to manufacture another component (for example, a new composite material 50), if the content of, for example, inorganic substances in the recovered composite material 50 can be grasped, the content in the new component 50 can be made as desired. Therefore, the determination system 100 of the present disclosure nondestructively determines (estimates) the content of inorganic substances (which may be organic substances) in a composite material 50 (FIG. 2) composed of organic and inorganic substances.

[0012] In the determination system 100, for example, the content (e.g., percentage) of either the organic substance or the inorganic substance is determined based on a database 21 (described later). Then, the content of the other substance can be determined by subtracting the determined content of one substance from the total (100% when the content is expressed as a percentage).

[0013] In the example of the present disclosure, the determination system 100 determines the content of inorganic matter (inclusions 52, FIG. 2) contained in an organic matter (base material 51, FIG. 2) in a composite material 50. Hereinafter, as an example, when the term "content" is used, it refers to the content of inorganic matter contained in an organic matter in the composite material 50, unless otherwise specified. And, unless otherwise specified, the following description of the content can be applied to any one of the inclusions 52 other than the resin, the base material 51, or the composite material 50 in the same manner.

[0014] 2 is a cross-sectional view of a composite material 50 whose content can be determined by the determination system of the present disclosure. In the composite material 50, an inclusion 52 is disposed in a base material 51. The base material 51 is composed of one solid material, either an organic material or an inorganic material. Thus, the base material 51 is composed of a solid organic material (solid organic material) or a solid inorganic material (solid inorganic material). The inclusion 52 is composed of the other solid material, either an organic material or an inorganic material. Thus, the inclusion 52 is composed of a material, either a solid organic material or a solid inorganic material, that is different from the base material 51.

[0015] As a combination of the base material 51 and the internal object 52, the base material 51 is, for example, a resin (thermosetting resin, thermoplastic resin, etc.), and the internal object 52 is, for example, an inorganic fiber (carbon fiber, glass fiber, etc.). As another such combination, the base material 51 is, for example, a ceramic, and the internal object 52 is, for example, a resin. However, the combination is not limited to these examples.

[0016] Returning to FIG. 1, the determination system 100 includes a reception unit 1, a memory unit 2, a determination unit 3, a display unit 5, and a control unit 6. Furthermore, the determination system 100 includes an input device 30. Note that all components of the determination system 100 may be integrated, or at least some of the components may be configured separately. When configured separately, the components may be connected to each other by wire or wirelessly, or may be connected via a network. For example, the determination system 100 may include the memory unit 2 in a remote server (not shown), and the determination unit 3 may be connected to a database 21 (described later) stored in the remote server.

[0017] The receiving unit 1 receives an index that influences the determination of the content of at least one of the base material 51 (FIG. 2) and the inclusion 52 (FIG. 2) in the composite material 50 (FIG. 2). The index is further an index related to the composite material 50. In the example of the present disclosure, as described above, the index is an index that influences the determination of the content of the inclusion 52 composed of, for example, an inorganic substance.

[0018] The indicator includes, for example, at least one of the density of the composite material 50 and a physical property of the composite material 50 that affects the density of the composite material 50. By including at least one of these, the content of at least one of the base material 51 or the inclusions 52 can be determined.

[0019] Among them, it is preferable that the index includes density. Since the content and density are correlated, the content can be determined by including density. Specifically, for example, in the case of a composite material 50 including an inorganic substance having a higher density than an organic substance, the higher the content of the inorganic substance, the higher the overall density of the composite material 50. Therefore, as will be described in detail later, by previously associating the content and density, the content can be determined from the density. In particular, the density can be easily determined based on the mass and size (dimensions) of the composite material 50. This makes it easy to determine the content.

[0020] In addition, the physical properties of the composite material 50 that affect the density preferably include at least one of the size of the composite material 50, the mass of the composite material 50, and at least one of the constituent materials of the base material 51 and the inclusions 52. These affect the density of the composite material 50. That is, for example, when the content of the inclusions 52 is the same, the content of the inclusions 52 decreases as the composite material 50 becomes larger. Also, for example, if it is assumed that the composite material 50 does not contain the inclusions 52, the mass of the composite material 50 can be estimated from the size of the composite material 50 and the constituent material of the base material 51. However, since the inclusions 52 are actually contained, a difference occurs between the estimated mass and the actual mass. Therefore, the content can be determined based on the difference. In this way, the content can be determined without determining the density.

[0021] The index is input to the input device 30. Therefore, the index input through the input device 30 is received by the receiving unit 1. In this manner, for example, an index actually measured by an operator can be input through the input device 30. The input device 30 is composed of, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc., all of which are not shown. However, the input device 30 may also function as, for example, the I / F 1004 (FIG. 5), and an index related to a composite material 50 located in a remote location may be input via a network (not shown).

[0022] The storage unit 2 stores the database 21. The database 21 associates an index (e.g., density) with a content rate. The database 21 can be created in advance, for example, by associating an index with a content rate by any method for a composite material 50 whose content rate is known. A method for creating the database 21 will be described below using an example in which the index is density, the base material 51 is polypropylene, and the inclusion 52 is glass fiber.

[0023] The composite material 50 is preferably processed as debris crushed into various shapes such as chips, flakes, pellets, etc., each having a rod shape with a length of about 1 mm to 30 mm. Hereinafter, an aggregate of the composite material 50 crushed in this manner is referred to as a debris group. The debris is obtained by crushing, for example, with a crusher. However, the determination system 100 of the present disclosure may determine the content rate in a single composite material 50 (which may be debris or a member other than debris). In addition, the composite material 50 constituting the aggregate may be debris obtained by crushing, or may not be debris.

[0024] The association (e.g., correlation) is performed between the average density ρ (density of the entire debris group) of the debris group and the content rate Vf. First, the mass m of an arbitrarily acquired aggregate of composite materials 50 is measured using an electronic balance or the like. The content rate varies greatly depending on the location where the recovered composite material 50 was used (i.e., the origin of the composite material 50). Therefore, it is preferable that the debris has multiple origins rather than a single origin.

[0025] The debris group includes a plurality (a large number) of crushed pieces, such as rod-shaped chips. The volume V of the debris group is measured, for example, by a three-dimensional shape measuring device, a total of three cameras arranged in the x, y, and z axis directions. Next, the debris group is placed in a combustion furnace or the like and burned, after which the mass mf of the remaining glass fibers is measured. The glass fiber content by mass ratio w f can be calculated using formula (1), where m is the mass of the debris group.

[0026]

number

[0027] By performing the process from measuring the mass m to calculating using formula (1) for multiple different groups of debris, the average density ρ and content w of the debris groups can be calculated. f Correlation data between the average density ρ of the debris group and the content wf is obtained. The debris is composed of a resin matrix (resin matrix) such as polypropylene, and inorganic materials such as inorganic fibers (glass fibers, etc.), although this is merely an example and not limited to the above. If the density of the resin matrix is ​​ρm and the density of the glass fiber is ρf, the relationship between the average density ρ of the debris group and the content wf is expressed by the formulas (2) to (4).

[0028]

number

[0029] Regardless of the type of debris, the density ρf of glass fiber does not change significantly. For this reason, the density ρf of general glass fiber (2.6 g / cm 3 ), the only unknown is ρm. Using the correlation data created by the above method, a regression equation expressing the correlation between ρ and wf can be created by finding ρm through an optimization technique such as the least squares method. Then, by substituting the average density ρ of the newly measured debris group into the created regression equation, the content wf of the new debris group can be determined (estimated). The average density ρ can be calculated from the total mass m and volume V of the debris group and the following equation (5). The calculated average density ρ is stored in memory unit 2.

[0030]

number

[0031] FIG. 3 is a graph showing an example of a regression equation that can be created by the determination system 100 of the present disclosure. The horizontal axis is the average density ρ, and the vertical axis is the content rate wf. The plots shown with open triangles are the average density ρ and content rate wf (i.e., teacher data) determined by the above method, and the graph shown with a solid line is the regression equation created from the teacher data. The plots shown with open circles are the average density ρ and content rate wf additionally determined by the above method after the regression equation was created. It can be seen that the additionally determined average density ρ and content rate wf fit well into the regression equation.

[0032] The database 21 can be configured in any form, such as a table, a graph, etc., in addition to the regression equations shown in FIG.

[0033] 1, the database 21 may be configured by, for example, further associating base materials 51 or inclusions 52 that have common components with each other. For example, for composite materials 50 in which the base materials 51 are the same type of resin (e.g., resins with the same name), inclusions 52 having various constituent materials may be associated with their contents. In this way, the accuracy of the database 21 can be improved.

[0034] The determination unit 3 determines the content rate based on the database 21 and the index received by the reception unit 1. The determined content rate is displayed on the display device 32 via the display unit 5. The display device 32 is, for example, a display or a tablet. The determined content rate is also output to an arbitrary controlled device 31 via the control unit 6. The controlled device 31 is, for example, a device that is controlled based on the content rate determined by the determination system 100.

[0035] FIG. 4 is a graph showing the correlation between the content rate determined by the determination system 100 of the present disclosure and the actual content rate. The horizontal axis is the actual content rate (experimental value), and the vertical axis is the content rate determined by the determination system 100 of the present disclosure (estimated value). The plots shown with circles are well on a straight line with a slope of 1. When an approximation line was created for each plot, R 2 The value was 0.97, which indicates high accuracy. Therefore, it was found that the determination system 100 can predict the content of the composite material 50 non-destructively with high accuracy.

[0036] 5 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the determination system 100 of the present disclosure. The determination system 100 is configured to include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1001, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1002, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1003, an I / F (Interface) 1004, a bus 1005, and the like. The CPU 1001, the RAM 1002, the ROM 1003, and the I / F 1004 are connected via, for example, the bus 1005. The determination system 100 is realized by a predetermined control program (for example, the determination method of the present disclosure) stored in the ROM 1003 being expanded in the RAM 1002 and executed by the CPU 1001. In terms of hardware, the determination system 100 exchanges signals and information with various devices (such as the mass measuring device 7 and the controlled device 31 described below) and external networks through the I / F 1004.

[0037] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the determination method of the present disclosure. The flow shown in Fig. 6 can be executed by, for example, the determination system 100. Therefore, Fig. 6 will be described with reference to Fig. 1 as appropriate. In addition, in the flow shown in Fig. 6, as an example, the index is density.

[0038] In step S1, data on the mass and volume of the composite material 50 is received. The reception is performed by the reception unit 1. Thus, step S1 is a reception step that affects the determination of the content rate of the inclusion 52 in the composite material 50 and receives indicators (mass and volume) related to the composite material 50. The received indicators, that is, the mass and volume, may be measured by any method. Furthermore, the received indicators may be indicators related to a single composite material 50, or may be indicators related to an aggregate of multiple composite materials 50 (i.e., a group of debris).

[0039] In step S2, the determination unit 3 calculates the density of the composite material 50 (the average density in the case of the debris group) based on the mass (the total mass in the case of the debris group) and volume of the composite material 50. In the case of the debris group, the density can be calculated, for example, using the above formula (5).

[0040] In step S3 (determination step), the determination unit 3 determines the content rate of the inclusions 52 in the composite material 50 based on the database 21 and the index received in step S1. The database 21 associates the average density ρ with the content rate of the inclusions 52. The content rate to be determined may be the content rate in a single composite material 50, or may be the content rate (average content rate) in an aggregate of a plurality of composite materials 50 (i.e., a group of debris).

[0041] In step S4, the determined content rate is output to the display device 32 and the controlled device 31. The output to the display device 32 is performed by the display unit 5. The output to the controlled device 31 is performed by the control unit 6.

[0042] According to the present disclosure, the content of at least one of the base material 51 or the contained material 52 can be determined non-destructively, simply, and in a short time, compared to the conventional method of measuring the content based on the mass of the residue after combustion. As a result, even if the composite material 50 is prepared in multiple lots and the content varies from lot to lot, it is not necessary to actually measure the content of the material burned in each lot. By determining the content for each lot (average content within the same lot), the labor required for determination can be reduced. In addition, since the determination can be performed non-destructively, the determination system 100 can be incorporated on the production line. As a result, the content can be grasped in real time, and adjustments such as the amount of additive added and separation by content can be performed as appropriate.

[0043] Furthermore, the composite material 50 does not need to be a composite material 50 collected for recycling, but may be a composite material 50 with an unknown content. For example, when a new composite material 50 is manufactured under predetermined manufacturing conditions to have a desired content, the content may not be the desired content due to the manufacturing location (e.g., manufacturing environment), manufacturing lot, manufacturing error, aging deterioration of the manufacturing equipment, etc. Thus, the content of the newly manufactured composite material 50 can be determined non-destructively by the determination system 100 of the present disclosure.

[0044] Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing a determination system 100 according to another embodiment. The determination system 100 further includes a mass measuring device 7 and a volume measuring device 8 in addition to the determination system 100 shown in Fig. 1 above. The mass measuring device 7 measures the mass of the composite material 50. Any type of device, such as a load cell type, an electromagnetic type, or a tuning fork vibration type, can be used as the mass measuring device 7. The mass measuring device 7 may be a separate device. It is preferable that the mass measuring device 7 is incorporated into a line that continuously determines the mass of the composite material 50, so that the mass is measured in real time.

[0045] The volume measuring device 8 measures the volume of the composite material 50. As the volume measuring device 8, any type of device can be adopted, such as the Archimedes method, the rapeseed displacement method, the gas displacement method, a method using a laser, a method using a three-dimensional camera, a method using a sensor, etc. The volume measuring device 8 may be a separate device. It is preferable that the volume measuring device 8 is incorporated into a line that continuously determines the volume of the composite material 50, so that the volume is measured in real time. The volume measuring device 8 can be installed, for example, on the top of the belt conveyor that constitutes the line. In order to measure the volume more accurately, a mechanism for rotating the base on which the composite material 50 is placed, turning over the composite material 50, etc. may be provided.

[0046] 7, the mass measured by the mass measuring device 7 and the volume measured by the volume measuring device 8 are received as indices by the receiving unit 1. This makes it possible to efficiently obtain the mass and volume of the composite material 50 as part of the system for determining the content ratio.

[0047] Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing a determination system 100 according to another embodiment. The determination system 100 further includes an alignment device 9 in addition to the determination system 100 shown in Fig. 7 above. The alignment device 9 aligns a plurality of composite materials 50. For example, the alignment device 9 aligns debris, which is an aggregate of crushed composite materials 50, in a line, for example. The alignment may be performed, for example, by dividing the plurality of composite materials 50 into single composite materials 50 and aligning each composite material 50, or by extracting a portion (at least two) of the composite materials 50 and aligning each group of the extracted composite materials 50.

[0048] Any method can be used as the aligning device 9, such as a method using vibration, a method in which a partition is provided on the belt conveyor when the material is installed on the line and the material is aligned by passing through the partition, etc. Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a mechanism for aligning the height of the composite material 50 by providing a partition in the height direction of the belt conveyor.

[0049] In the determination system 100 shown in Fig. 8, the mass measuring device 7 measures the mass of each composite material 50 aligned by the alignment device 9. The volume measuring device 8 measures the volume of each composite material 50 aligned by the alignment device 9. This allows the alignment device 9 to eliminate overlapping of the composite materials 50 that affects the volume measurement, and improves the accuracy of the volume measurement.

[0050] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a determination system 100 according to another embodiment. The determination system 100 further includes a press device 10 in addition to the determination system 100 shown in FIG. 7 above. The press device 10 presses the composite material 50. Any type of press device, such as a hydraulic press or a hot press, can be used as the press device 10. The press is preferably performed with a pressure that gives the composite material 50 a predetermined thickness. In other words, the press is preferably performed so that the thickness of each composite material 50 is constant. This makes it possible to grasp the thickness of the composite material 50 after pressing without actually measuring the thickness after pressing.

[0051] In the determination system 100 shown in FIG. 9, the volume measuring device 8 measures the volume of the composite material 50 pressed by the press device 10. Even if there are cavities or unevenness inside or on the back side of the composite material 50 before pressing, these can be eliminated by pressing. This improves the accuracy of the volume measurement. Also, as described above, by pressing each composite material 50 to a predetermined thickness, the volume can be measured more easily by calculating the area by, for example, taking a photograph from above taken by a two-dimensional camera and analyzing the image.

[0052] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a determination system 100 according to another embodiment. The determination system 100 further includes a separation device 11 in addition to the determination system 100 shown in FIG. 7. The separation device 11 separates composite materials 50 having a predetermined size or more from an aggregate (e.g., a group of debris) including a plurality of composite materials 50. The separation device 11 is, for example, a sieve having a predetermined size of openings, but is not limited thereto. By placing a plurality of composite materials 50 on the sieve and vibrating it, composite materials 50 having a predetermined size or more can be separated. The predetermined size is, for example, 1 mm or more, but is not limited thereto, and it is preferable to separate composite materials 50 having a size of 1 mm or more. This allows fine dust, debris, foreign matter, etc. to be removed.

[0053] 10, the mass measuring device 7 measures the mass of the composite material 50 separated by the separating device 11. The volume measuring device 8 measures the volume of the composite material 50 separated by the separating device 11. This makes it possible to determine the density and content using the composite material 50 having a certain size, and since the measurement error can be reduced, the accuracy of determining the density and content can be improved.

[0054] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a determination system 100 according to another embodiment. The determination system 100 further includes a separation device 12 in addition to the determination system 100 shown in FIG. 7. The separation device 12 separates composite materials 50 having at least one common type of organic matter or inorganic matter from an aggregate (e.g., a group of debris) including a plurality of composite materials 50. The type of organic matter is, for example, a type (constituent) of resin, and resins having a common constituent monomer are separated. The type of inorganic matter is, for example, a type of inorganic fiber, a type of metal element constituting ceramic, and the like. The determination of whether the types are common or not can be performed using any method, such as infrared absorption spectroscopy (IR) or atomic absorption spectroscopy.

[0055] In the determination system 100 shown in Fig. 10, the mass measuring device 7 measures the mass of the composite material 50 separated by the sorting device 12. The volume measuring device 8 measures the volume of the composite material 50 separated by the sorting device 12. According to such a determination system 100, the composite material 50 is separated based on commonalities of, for example, resins, metal elements, etc. Therefore, it is possible to exclude composite materials 50 that are not common to the types of composite materials 50 for which the database 21 of indexes and content rates has been created. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of estimating the content rate.

[0056] Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing a determination system 100 according to another embodiment. The determination system 100 further includes an adding device 13 in addition to the determination system 100 shown in Fig. 7 above. The adding device 13 adds at least one of the base material 51 and the internal material 52 to the composite material 50 whose content has been determined based on the content determined by the determining unit 3, so that the content of the base material 51 and the internal material 52 becomes a desired content. The added base material 51 and the internal material 52 are, for example, a new resin material, a virgin fiber material, etc., respectively.

[0057] By providing the additional device 13, a target component having a desired content can be efficiently manufactured from the determined content. The target component here may be a new composite material 50 or a component other than the composite material 50.

[0058] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a determination system 100 according to another embodiment. The determination system 100 further includes a manufacturing device 14 and a learning unit 15 in addition to the determination system 100 shown in FIG. 12. The manufacturing device 14 newly manufactures a member (not shown) containing an organic substance and an inorganic substance by using a composite material 50 to which at least one of a base material 51 and an inclusion 52 has been added by an adding device 13. The specific manufacturing method is not particularly limited and may be appropriately determined depending on the type of the newly manufactured member. The newly manufactured member may be the composite material 50 or a member other than the composite material 50.

[0059] When the newly manufactured member is, for example, a composite material 50, the manufacturing method is exemplified as follows. As described above, at least one of the base material 51 and the inclusions 52 is added to the composite material 50 whose content has been determined, so that the newly manufactured composite material 50 has a desired content. Then, the entire composite material 50 to which at least one of the base material 51 and the inclusions 52 has been added is, for example, melt-kneaded to preferably uniformly disperse the inclusions 52, and then cooled, whereby the new composite material 50 can be manufactured.

[0060] The learning unit 15 learns the content from the determined content of the composite material 50 and the actual content of the composite material 50 for which the content has been determined, or the actual content of a component manufactured from the composite material 50 for which the content has been determined, and corrects the database 21. The content determination by the determination system 100 of the present disclosure is based on the database 21 created, for example, by actual measurement, and can be performed with a certain degree of accuracy. However, by providing the learning unit 15, the information (association such as correlation) stored in the database 21 can be corrected (updated) using the content of a component manufactured using the determined content. This can further improve the accuracy of determination using the database 21.

[0061] The learning method is not particularly limited, and any machine learning method such as supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, etc. can be used. The learning method is not limited to machine learning, and the database 21 may be reconstructed, for example, by using the actually measured content rate in a manner similar to the method for creating the database 21.

[0062] 13, the learning unit 15 modifies the database 21 using the actual content of the components manufactured from the composite material 50 whose content has been determined. In this way, the database 21 can be modified while a new component (such as the composite material 50) is being manufactured, thereby reducing the work required for modification. In addition, as the amount of new components manufactured increases, the amount of data relating to the actual content of the new components also increases, thereby further improving the accuracy of the database 21.

[0063] The specific method of correcting the database 21 is not particularly limited. For example, when at least one of the base material 51 and the inclusion 52 is added to the composite material 50 whose content has been determined based on the determined content, the determined content may differ greatly from the actual content. In this case, the content in the newly manufactured member differs greatly from the desired content. Therefore, the learning unit 15 corrects the database 21 so as to reduce the difference (deviation) between the desired content and the actual content (preferably to 0). That is, the database 21 can be corrected based on the difference.

[0064] Furthermore, the correction may be performed, for example, based on the physical properties (e.g., the above-mentioned index) of the newly manufactured component. Specifically, if the content in the newly manufactured component is the desired content, the physical properties of the newly manufactured component can be estimated with a certain degree of accuracy. However, if the actual content is different, it is estimated that the physical properties will also be different. Therefore, the database 21 can be corrected so as to reduce (preferably reduce to zero) such differences (differences) in physical properties (deviations).

[0065] Although it is preferable to correct the database 21, instead of or in addition to correcting the database 21, for example, the added amount of at least one of the base material 51 and the inclusions 52 may be changed based on the new contents actually measured for the new component. Also, for example, the manufacturing conditions of the new component may be changed based on the new contents actually measured for the new component.

[0066] The actual content rate can be measured, for example, by the method of measuring the content rate measured for creating the database 21. However, it is preferable that the measurement is performed by at least one of the following methods.

[0067] In some embodiments, the learning unit 15 determines the actual content by measuring at least one of the mass and specific gravity of the component manufactured by the manufacturing device 14 before and after firing. This allows the database 21 to be corrected using at least one of the mass and specific gravity that affect the content. In particular, organic matter is removed by firing the component, and inorganic matter remains. Therefore, the content can be determined from the change in mass before and after firing. The same applies to the change in specific gravity before and after firing.

[0068] In some embodiments, the learning unit 15 determines the actual content rate of the component manufactured by the manufacturing device 14 through the determining unit 3. In this way, the content rate can be determined simply and easily.

[0069] In some embodiments, the learning unit 15 determines the actual content by measuring the mechanical properties of the member manufactured by the manufacturing device 14. For example, if the content of the inorganic substance differs, the mechanical properties of the member also change. For example, in a composite material 50 containing an inorganic substance having excellent mechanical strength, the higher the content of the inorganic substance, the higher the mechanical strength of the composite material 50. Therefore, by relating the content and the mechanical properties, the content in the member can be determined based on the mechanical properties of the member. The mechanical properties are, but are not limited to, at least one of elastic modulus, tensile strength, bending strength, impact value, hardness, and the like.

[0070] In some embodiments, the learning unit 15 determines the actual content by measuring the thermal properties of the member manufactured by the manufacturing device 14. As with the mechanical properties, the thermal properties of the member change when the content of the inorganic substance differs. For example, in a composite material 50 containing an inorganic substance with excellent thermal properties, the higher the content of the inorganic substance, the better the thermal properties of the composite material 50. Therefore, by associating the content with the thermal properties, the content in the member can be determined based on the thermal properties of the member. The thermal properties are not limited to, but are at least one of, for example, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and linear expansion coefficient.

[0071] In some embodiments, the learning unit 15 determines the actual content by measuring the fluidity (melt fluidity) of the component manufactured by the manufacturing device 14 when the component is melted. As with the above mechanical properties, for example, if the content of inorganic matter differs, the melt fluidity of the component also changes. For example, in a composite material 50 containing an organic material having excellent melt fluidity, the higher the content of the organic matter (i.e., the lower the content of inorganic matter), the better the melt fluidity of the composite material 50. Therefore, by relating the content and the melt fluidity, the content in the component can be determined based on the melt fluidity. The melt fluidity is at least one of, but not limited to, viscosity, metal flow rate, and the like.

[0072] In some embodiments, the learning unit 15 determines the actual content by measuring the shrinkage rate before and after molding of the member manufactured by the manufacturing device 14. As with the above mechanical properties, if the content rate of the inorganic substance differs, the shrinkage rate of the member before and after molding also changes. For example, in a composite material 50 containing an inorganic substance with a high shrinkage rate, the higher the content rate of the inorganic substance, the larger the shrinkage rate of the composite material 50 before and after molding. For this reason, a certain degree of correlation is recognized between the content rate and the shrinkage rate. Therefore, by relating the content rate and the shrinkage rate, the content rate in the member can be determined based on the change in the shrinkage rate before and after molding. The shrinkage rate can be determined based on, for example, the dimensional change before and after molding.

[0073] In some embodiments, the learning unit 15 determines the actual content by measuring the electrical properties of the member manufactured by the manufacturing device 14. As with the mechanical properties, for example, if the content of inorganic matter differs, the electrical properties of the member also change. For example, in a composite material 50 containing an inorganic matter having excellent electrical properties, the higher the content of inorganic matter, the better the electrical properties of the composite material 50. For this reason, a certain degree of correlation is recognized between the content and the electrical properties. Therefore, by relating the content and the electrical properties, the content in the member can be determined based on the change in the electrical properties of the member. The electrical properties are, for example, electrical conductivity and relative permittivity. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 1. Reception 10 Press equipment 100 Decision System 11 Separation device 12 Sorting device 13 Additional equipment 14 Manufacturing equipment 15 Learning Department 2 Storage section 21 Database 3 Decision Section 30 Input Devices 31 Controlled Device 32 Display device 5 Display section 50 Composites 51 Base material 52 Intrinsics 6. Control Unit 7 Mass measuring device 8 Volume measuring device 9 Alignment device

Claims

1. a receiving unit that influences a determination of a content rate of at least one of the base material and the inclusions, the base material being made of one solid material selected from an organic material and an inorganic material, in a composite material in which an inclusion made of the other solid material is disposed in the base material, and receives an index related to the composite material; a database associating the index with the content rate, and a determination unit that determines the content rate based on the index received by the reception unit. A decision system comprising:

2. an input device for inputting the index; The indicator input through the input device is received by the receiving unit. The system of claim 1 .

3. A mass measuring device for measuring the mass of the composite material; A volume measuring device for measuring the volume of the composite material, The mass measured by the mass measuring device and the volume measured by the volume measuring device are received by the receiving unit as the indexes. The system of claim 1 .

4. An alignment device for aligning a plurality of the composite materials, the mass measuring device measures a mass of each of the composite materials aligned by the alignment device; The volume measuring device measures the volume of each of the composite materials aligned by the alignment device.

4. The system of claim 3.

5. A press device for pressing the composite material is provided, The volume measuring device measures the volume of the composite material pressed by the pressing device.

4. The system of claim 3.

6. A separation device is provided for separating the composite material having a predetermined size or larger from an assembly including a plurality of the composite materials, the mass measuring device measures a mass of the composite material separated by the separating device; The volume measuring device measures the volume of the composite material separated by the separating device.

4. The system of claim 3.

7. A separation device is provided for separating the composite materials having at least one common type of organic matter or inorganic matter from an aggregate including a plurality of the composite materials, The mass measuring device measures a mass of the composite material separated by the separation device, The volume measuring device measures the volume of the composite material separated by the separation device.

4. The system of claim 3.

8. and an adding device that adds at least one of the base material or the inclusion to the composite material whose content has been determined so as to make at least one of the base material or the inclusion have a desired content based on the content determined by the determining unit. The system of claim 1 .

9. The indicator includes at least one of the density of the composite material or a physical property of the composite material that affects the density of the composite material. The system of claim 1 .

10. The physical properties include at least one of the size of the composite material, the mass of the composite material, and the constituent material of at least one of the base material and the inclusion. The system of claim 9 .

11. A learning unit is provided that learns the content rate from the determined content rate of the composite material, the actual content rate of the composite material from which the content rate has been determined, or the actual content rate of a member manufactured from the composite material from which the content rate has been determined, and corrects the database. The system of claim 1 .

12. an adding device that adds at least one of the base material and the inclusion to the composite material whose content has been determined, based on the content determined by the determining unit, so that the content of the base material and the content of the inclusion become desired content; a manufacturing device for newly manufacturing a member containing an organic substance and an inorganic substance by using the composite material to which at least one of the base material and the inclusion material is added by the adding device; The learning unit modifies the database based on the actual content of the newly manufactured component. The system of claim 11 .

13. The learning unit determines the actual content by measuring at least one of the mass and the specific gravity of the component manufactured by the manufacturing device before and after firing.

13. The system of claim 12.

14. The learning unit determines, via the determining unit, the actual content rate of the component manufactured by the manufacturing device.

13. The system of claim 12.

15. The learning unit determines the actual content by measuring mechanical properties of the component manufactured by the manufacturing device.

13. The system of claim 12.

16. The learning unit determines the actual content by measuring thermal properties of the component manufactured by the manufacturing device.

13. The system of claim 12.

17. The learning unit determines the actual content by measuring the fluidity of the component manufactured by the manufacturing device when the component is melted.

13. The system of claim 12.

18. The learning unit determines the actual content by measuring the shrinkage rate before and after molding of the component manufactured by the manufacturing device.

13. The system of claim 12.

19. The learning unit determines the actual content by measuring electrical characteristics of the component manufactured by the manufacturing device.

13. The system of claim 12.

20. a receiving step of receiving an index relating to a composite material in which an inclusion made of an organic or inorganic solid is disposed in a base material made of the other solid material, the receiving step affecting a determination of a content rate of the inclusion and the index relating to the composite material; and a determination step of determining the content rate based on a database in which the index and the content rate are associated with each other and the index received in the receiving step. A method for determining whether or not a

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