Bottle cap collection system

Abstract

To motivate a user to actively collect a bottle cap.SOLUTION: A bottle cap collection system 1 comprises a play area 10 having drop surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c. A passage 13 is formed on the drop surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c, through which a bottle cap 2 passes while falling under its own weight.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3A

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a collection system for bottle caps, and more particularly to a collection system for bottle caps that gives users an incentive to actively collect bottle caps.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a system for separately collecting bottle caps from the bottle body is known.

[0003] However, in fact, a collection system for bottle caps that gives users an incentive to actively collect bottle caps has not yet been developed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of such points, and an object thereof is to provide a collection system for bottle caps that gives users an incentive to actively collect bottle caps.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present disclosure relates to a bottle cap recovery system that includes a play section having a falling surface on which a dropped bottle cap falls and is visible from the outside, and a passage for the bottle cap is formed on the falling surface.

[0007] The present disclosure provides an input section at the upper stage of the play section, which includes a sorting mechanism for sorting the bottle caps according to the characteristics of the bottle caps when the bottle caps are inserted. A plurality of falling surfaces corresponding to the sorted number of the bottle caps are provided on the play section. This is a bottle cap recovery system.

[0008] The present disclosure provides a recovery section at the lower stage of the play section, which has a recovery box installed corresponding to each falling surface. This is a bottle cap recovery system.

[0009] The present disclosure provides that the input section includes a detection sensor for detecting the characteristics of the bottle cap, and the sorting mechanism sorts the bottle caps based on the detection signal from the detection sensor. This is a bottle cap recovery system.

[0010] The present disclosure provides that the detection sensor includes any one or more of a material detection sensor for detecting the material of the bottle cap, a color detection sensor for detecting the color of the bottle cap, and a shape sensor for detecting the size of the shape of the bottle cap. This is a bottle cap recovery system.

[0011] The present disclosure provides that the passage on the falling surface includes a slide on which the bottle cap slides or a runner that the bottle cap contacts and rotates. This is a bottle cap recovery system.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] As described above, according to the present disclosure, the user removes the bottle cap from the bottle body and recovers it with the motivation to actively recover the bottle cap.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3A

Figure 3B

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of a bottle cap collection system according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] FIGS. 1 to 7 are views showing embodiments of a bottle cap collection system according to the present disclosure.

[0016] A bottle cap collection system 1 according to the present disclosure is for a user who has used a bottle (not shown) to remove a bottle cap 2 from the bottle body (not shown) after use and collect each individual bottle cap 2.

[0017] Such a bottle cap collection system 1 includes a play section 10 having a plurality of, for example, three falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c visible from the outside where the bottle caps 2 dropped as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 fall, a feeding section 30 provided above the play section 10 into which the bottle caps 2 are inserted and including a sorting mechanism 37A for sorting the bottle caps according to the characteristics of the bottle caps 2, and a collection section 20 provided below the play section 10 and having collection boxes 23a, 23b, 23c installed corresponding to the respective falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c of the play section 10.

[0018] Among these, the play section 10 and the collection section 20 will be described below. The play section 10 has three falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c having a rectangular shape extending in the vertical direction (the vertical direction) as described above, and a regular triangular prism is formed by these three falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c (see FIG. 1).

[0019] In this embodiment, the terms "upward", "downward" and "vertical direction" refer to the upward, downward and vertical directions when the bottle cap collection system 1 is arranged in the state shown in FIG. 1.

[0020] On the outer side of the side of the falling surface 11a, two synthetic resin transparent plates 12a, 12a having a rectangular shape are provided, and a partition chamber 12A forming a regular triangular prism is formed by the falling surface 11a and the two transparent plates 12a, 12a (see FIGS. 1 and 5).

[0021] On the outer side of the side of the falling surface 11b, two synthetic resin transparent plates 12b, 12b having a rectangular shape are provided, and a partition chamber 12B forming a regular triangular prism is formed by the falling surface 11b and the two transparent plates 12b, 12b (see FIGS. 1 and 5).

[0022] On the outer side of the side of the falling surface 11c, two synthetic resin transparent plates 12c, 12c having a rectangular shape are provided, and a partition chamber 12C forming a regular triangular prism is formed by the falling surface 11c and the two transparent plates 12c, 12c (see FIGS. 1 and 5).

[0023] Next, each of the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c will be further described with reference to FIG. 3A.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3A, each of the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c has the same configuration, and an inlet 15 into which the bottle cap 2 is inserted is provided at the upper part of each of the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c. Then, the bottle cap 2 supplied from the supply unit 30 and inserted through the inlet 15 falls by its own weight along each of the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c.

[0025] A passage 13 through which the bottle cap 2 passes is formed in each of the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c. That is, the bottle cap 2 inserted through the inlet 15 first falls downward by its own weight through the slide 16 located above, and then abuts against the impeller 18 and further falls downward by its own weight while rotating the impeller 18.

[0026] Thereafter, it falls downward by its own weight through the space between the slide 16a located below and the limiting plate 17, and is sent from the discharge port 19 to the collection unit 20 located below. In FIG. 3A, the passage 13 through which the bottle cap 2 passes includes the slide 16 located above, the impeller 18, the slide 16a located below, and the limiting plate 17.

[0027] Note that the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c do not necessarily have the structure shown in FIG. 3A, and may have, for example, the structure shown in FIG. 3B.

[0028] That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, the bottle cap 2 supplied from the supply unit 30 and inserted through the inlet 15 may fall by its own weight along the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c.

[0029] A passage 13 through which the bottle cap 2 passes is formed in each of the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c. After the bottle cap 2 inserted through the inlet 15 falls by its own weight, it abuts against the impeller 18 and further falls by its own weight while rotating the impeller 18.

[0030] Thereafter, it falls downward by its own weight through the space between the slide 16a and the limiting plate 17, or falls downward by its own weight through the space between the pair of guides 16b, 16b.

[0031] Thereafter, the bottle cap 2 is sent downward to the collection part 20 located below from any one of the plurality of discharge ports 19 provided in the entire lower part of each of the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c.

[0032] In FIG. 3B, the passage 13 through which the bottle cap 2 passes includes the impeller 18, the slide 16a, the limiting plate 17, and the pair of guides 16b, 16b.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 5, the three falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c that constitute the play part 10 form an equilateral triangle as a whole when viewed in a horizontal cross-section, and the partition chambers 12A, 12B, 12C corresponding to each of the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c also form an equilateral triangle when viewed in a horizontal cross-section.

[0034] And the entire play part 10 including the three partition chambers 12A, 12B, 12C also forms an equilateral triangle when viewed in a horizontal cross-section.

[0035] Next, the collection part 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 6, and 7. As shown in FIGS. 1, 6, and 7, the collection part 20 includes three collection chambers 22A, 22B, 22C each having a regular triangular prism.

[0036] And the collection chamber 22A is composed of two transparent plates 22b, 22b, and the arrow L side in FIG. 1 is open. Also, the collection chamber 22B is composed of two transparent plates 22b, 22b, and the arrow L side in FIG. 1 is open.

[0037] Furthermore, the collection chamber 22C is composed of two transparent plates 22c, 22c, and the arrow L side in FIG. 1 is open.

[0038] The recovery chambers 22A, 22B, and 22C are all equilateral triangular in shape when viewed in a horizontal cross-section, and the entire recovery section including the three recovery chambers 22A, 22B, and 22C is also equilateral triangular in shape when viewed in a horizontal cross-section (see Fig. 6).

[0039] Also, inside each of the recovery chambers 22A, 22B, and 22C, recovery boxes 23a, 23b, and 23c that are equilateral triangular in shape are stored, and each of the recovery boxes 23a, 23b, and 23c can be taken in and out using rollers 25a, 25b, and 25c in the direction of arrow L in Fig. 1 (see Figs. 1 and 7).

[0040] Next, the input section 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 4.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 4, the input section 30 includes an input cylinder body 31 into which the used bottle cap 2 is input, a discharge path 35 that is connected to the bottom of the input cylinder body 31 via a shutter 34 and through which the bottle cap passes, and an extrusion mechanism 32 provided on the bottom of the input cylinder body 31 on the side opposite to the shutter 34.

[0042] Also, the discharge path 35 branches into discharge paths 37 and 38 via a branch section 36, and the discharge path 38 further branches into discharge paths 40 and 41 via a branch section 39.

[0043] A switching piece 42 for sending the bottle cap 2 to either the discharge path 37 or the discharge path 38 is provided at the branch section 36, and a switching piece 43 for sending the bottle cap 2 to either the discharge path 40 or the discharge path 41 is provided at the branch section 39.

[0044] Furthermore, a material detection sensor (detection sensor) 33 for detecting the material of the bottle cap 2 inside the input cylinder body 31 is provided below the bottom of the input cylinder body 31.

[0045] Furthermore, each component of the bottle cap recovery system 1 is driven and controlled by a control unit 50. Also, in this embodiment, a sorting mechanism 30A for sorting the bottle cap 2 is constituted by the discharge paths 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, the branch sections 36, 39, and the switching pieces 42, 43.

[0046] Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

[0047] First, the user removes the bottle cap 2 from the bottle body, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the bottle cap 2 is inserted into the insertion cylinder 31 of the insertion portion 30. The bottle cap 22 inserted into the insertion cylinder 31 reaches the bottom of the insertion cylinder 31. Next, near-infrared rays are irradiated from the material detection sensor 33 onto the bottle cap 2 at the bottom of the insertion cylinder 31.

[0048] The near-infrared rays irradiated on the bottle cap 2 are reflected from the bottle cap 2, and this reflected light is received by the material detection sensor 33. Information from the material detection sensor 33 is sent to the control unit 50, and the control unit 50 analyzes the information from the material detection sensor 33 to identify the material of the bottle cap 2 as, for example, three types of materials: type A, type B, and type C.

[0049] In this way, the information from the material detection sensor 33 is sent to the control unit 50, and in the control unit 50, the material of the bottle cap 2 is identified.

[0050] Next, based on the material of the bottle cap 2 identified according to the information from the material detection sensor 33, the control unit 50 opens the shutter 34 and operates the extrusion mechanism 32 to discharge the bottle cap 2 in the insertion cylinder 31 to the discharge path 35 side. The bottle cap 2 discharged to the discharge path 35 side then falls in the discharge path 35 by its own weight.

[0051] At the same time, based on the information from the material detection sensor 33, for example, when it is determined that the material of the bottle cap 2 is type A, the control unit 50 operates the switching piece 42 to cause the bottle cap 2 in the discharge path 35 to fall by its own weight from the switching piece 42 to the discharge path 37 side. Thereafter, the bottle cap 2 in the discharge path 37 is sent into the partition chamber 12A of the play portion 10 along the direction of arrow L1 (see FIG. 5).

[0052] Alternatively, when the control unit 50 determines that the material of the bottle cap 2 is of type B based on the information from the material detection sensor 33, for example, it actuates the switching pieces 42 and 43 to cause the bottle cap 2 in the discharge path 35 to fall by its own weight from the switching piece 42 to the discharge path 38 side, and then to fall by its own weight from the switching piece 43 to the discharge path 40 side. Thereafter, the bottle cap 2 in the discharge path 40 is sent into the partition chamber 12B of the play section 10 along the direction of arrow L1 (see FIG. 5).

[0053] Alternatively, when the control unit 50 determines that the material of the bottle cap 2 is of type C based on the information from the material detection sensor 33, for example, it actuates the switching pieces 42 and 43 to cause the bottle cap 2 in the discharge path 35 to fall by its own weight from the switching piece 42 and to the discharge path 38 side, and then to fall by its own weight from the switching piece 43 to the discharge path 41 side. Thereafter, the bottle cap 2 in the discharge path 41 is sent into the partition chamber 12C of the play section 10 along the direction of arrow L1 (see FIG. 5).

[0054] Next, the behavior of the bottle cap 2 that falls by its own weight and is sent to the partition chambers 12A, 12B, and 12C of the play section 10 will be described.

[0055] Here, since the behavior of the bottle cap 2 in the partition chambers 12A, 12B, and 12C is substantially the same, the behavior of the bottle cap 2 sent to the partition chamber 12A will be described.

[0056] When the bottle cap 2 is sent into the partition chamber 12A, this bottle cap 2 is inserted from the insertion port 15 onto the falling surface 11a shown in FIG. 3A installed in the partition chamber 12A.

[0057] The bottle cap 2 inserted from the insertion port 15 first passes through the sliding table 16 located above the falling surface 11a and falls downward by its own weight, and then abuts on the impeller 18 and falls downward while rotating this impeller 18.

[0058] Thereafter, it falls downward by its own weight through the space between the sliding table 16a located below and the limiting plate 17.

[0059] In this case, between the slide 16a and the limiting plate 17, the bottle cap 2 moves while its movement is restricted and its speed is reduced.

[0060] Next, the bottle cap 2 passing between the slide 16a and the limiting plate 17 is sent to the collection part 20 located below from the discharge port 19.

[0061] The collection part 20 has three collection chambers 22A, 22B, and 22C as described above. Among them, the collection chamber 22A corresponds to the partition chamber 12A of the play part 10 and is arranged directly below the partition chamber 12A.

[0062] Also, the collection chamber 22B corresponds to the partition chamber 12B of the play part 10 and is arranged directly below the partition chamber 12B.

[0063] Furthermore, the collection chamber 22C corresponds to the partition chamber 12C of the play part 10 and is arranged directly below the partition chamber 12C.

[0064] Since the behavior of the bottle cap 2 in the collection chambers 22A, 22B, and 22C of the collection part 20 is the same for each, here, the behavior of the bottle cap 2 in the collection chamber 22A of the collection part 20 will be described.

[0065] When the bottle cap 2 is sent from the partition chamber 10A of the play part 10 to the collection chamber 22A of the collection part 20, the bottle cap 2 is discharged into the collection box 23a stored in the collection chamber 22A.

[0066] In this way, the bottle caps 2 are accumulated in the collection box 23a of the collection part 20. Next, the collection box 23a is taken out by sliding the roller 25a in the direction of arrow L from the collection chamber 22A, and the bottle caps 2 in the collection box 23a are collected at a desired collection location, and in this way, the bottle caps 2 can be appropriately collected.

[0067] In addition, in this embodiment, bottle caps 2 of type A material are accumulated in the collection box 23a of the collection unit 20, bottle caps 2 of type B material are accumulated in the collection box 23b, and bottle caps 2 of type C material are accumulated in the collection box 23c.

[0068] As described above, according to this embodiment, the bottle cap 2 input into the input unit 30 is detected for its material by the material detection sensor 33, and then the bottle cap 2 is sorted by the sorting mechanism 30A according to the detected material and sent to the respective falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c of the play unit 10. Next, it is sorted and collected into the collection boxes 23a, 23b, 23c of the collection unit 20 through the respective falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c of the play unit 10. Therefore, the bottle cap 2 can be appropriately sorted and collected in the collection unit 20 according to its material.

[0069] Also, when the bottle cap 2 input into the input unit 30 falls on the respective falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c of the play unit 10, it passes through the slide 16 or falls while rotating the impeller 18.

[0070] Also, when the bottle cap 2 falls on the respective falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c, it falls while reducing its speed between the slide 16a and the limiting plate 17.

[0071] During this time, the user can visually observe the behavior of the bottle cap 2 when it falls on the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c with interest from the outside through the transparent plates 12a, 12b, 12c.

[0072] In this way, the user can confirm the behavior of the bottle cap 2 when it falls on the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c with interest, and the user can further have the feeling of wanting to see the behavior of the bottle cap 2. Therefore, it is possible to motivate the user to actively collect the bottle cap.

[0073] Furthermore, on the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c of the play section 10, a large number of bottle caps 2 can be continuously dropped. Therefore, using the bottle cap recovery system 1 according to the present embodiment, a large amount of bottle caps 2 can be recovered.

[0074] Furthermore, when cleaning the bottle cap recovery system 1 according to the present embodiment, for example, the transparent plates 12a, 12b, and 12c made of synthetic resin of the play section 10 are removed, and the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c can be easily and simply cleaned by spraying cleaning water onto the falling surfaces 11a, 11b, and 11c.

[0075] Note that although the material detection sensor 33 includes a built-in battery, the power supply of the vending machine may be used as the power supply for the material detection sensor 33. Also, a display may be provided in any one of the input section 30, the play section 10, and the recovery section 20 of the bottle cap recovery system 1, and electricity may be supplied from the vending machine to this display to electrically display the display.

[0076] In the above embodiment, the behavior of the bottle cap 2 falling along the falling surface 11a shown in FIG. 3A has been described. However, the bottle cap 2 may be dropped along the falling surface 11a shown in FIG. 3B. That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, after the bottle cap 2 introduced from the inlet 15 falls by its own weight, it contacts the impeller 18 and falls while rotating the impeller 18.

[0077] Thereafter, the bottle cap 2 passes between the slide 16a and the limiting plate 17, reduces its speed and falls downward, or falls downward through between the pair of guides 16b, 16b.

[0078] Thereafter, the bottle cap 2 is sent to the recovery section 20 located downward and at any one of the plurality of discharge ports 19 provided over the entire lower part of the falling surface 11a.

[0079] Furthermore, a material detection sensor 33 is provided as a detection sensor in the input unit 30, and an example is shown in which the bottle cap 2 introduced into the input cylinder 31 is detected by the material detection sensor 33 and sorted into three types of materials. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the material detection sensor 33 may sort the materials into four, five, or more types. In this case, the number of each falling surface 11a, 11b, 11c of the play unit 10 can be determined to be four, five, or more according to the number of materials to be sorted (for example, four, five, or more).

[0080] Also, as a detection sensor, instead of the material detection sensor 33, a shape sensor such as a camera that detects the size of the shape of the bottle cap 2 may be provided. Alternatively, instead of the material detection sensor 33, a color detection sensor such as a color sorter that detects the color of the bottle cap 2 may be provided. Further, one or more of these material detection sensors 33, shape sensors, or color detection sensors, for example, two or three, may be provided.

[0081] Furthermore, an example in which the bottle cap recovery system 1 includes the play unit 10, the recovery unit 20, and the input unit 30 is shown. However, the bottle cap recovery system 1 may include only the play unit 10, and the recovery unit 20 and the input unit 30 do not necessarily have to be provided. Also, an example in which the play unit 10 has three falling surfaces 11a, 11b, 11c is shown. However, the play unit 10 may have only a single falling surface 11a, and as described above, the number of falling surfaces can be determined to be four, five, or more according to the number of materials to be sorted (for example, four, five, or more). For example, when the number of falling surfaces is four, a regular quadrangular prism can be formed by the four falling surfaces, and when the number of falling surfaces is five, a regular pentagonal prism can be formed by the five falling surfaces.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0082] 1 Bottle cap recovery system 2 Bottle cap 10 Play unit 11a, 11b, 11c Falling surface 12a, 12b, 12c Transparent plate Partition rooms 12A, 12B, 12C Passage 13 Inlet 15 Slide 16 Slide 16a Guide 16b Restricting plate 17 Impeller 18 Outlet 19 Recovery section 20 Transparent plates 22a, 22b, 22c Recovery rooms 22A, 22B, 22C Recovery boxes 23a, 23b, 23c Rollers 25a, 25b, 25c Feeding section 30 Sorting mechanism 30A Feeding cylinder 31 Extrusion mechanism 32 Material detection sensor 33 Shutter 34 Discharge path 35 Branching section 36 Discharge path 37 Discharge path 38 Branching section 39 Discharge path 40 Discharge path 41 Switching piece 42 Switching piece 43 Control unit 50

Claims

1. It is provided with a play section having a falling surface where the bottle caps to be dropped fall and are visible from the outside, A recovery system for bottle caps in which a passage for the bottle caps is formed on the falling surface.

2. An input section including a sorting mechanism for sorting the bottle caps according to the characteristics of the bottle caps is provided above the play section, where the bottle caps are input, The falling surface of the play section is provided with a plurality corresponding to the number of sorted bottle caps. The bottle cap recovery system according to claim 1.

3. A recovery section having recovery boxes installed corresponding to each falling surface is provided below the play section. The bottle cap recovery system according to claim 2.

4. The input section includes a detection sensor for detecting the characteristics of the bottle caps, and the sorting mechanism sorts the bottle caps based on the detection signal from the detection sensor. The bottle cap recovery system according to claim 2.

5. The detection sensor includes any one or more of a material detection sensor for detecting the material of the bottle cap, a color detection sensor for detecting the color of the bottle cap, and a shape sensor for detecting the size of the shape of the bottle cap. The bottle cap recovery system according to claim 4.

6. The passage on the falling surface includes a slide for the bottle cap to slide on or a paddle wheel that the bottle cap abuts against and rotates. The bottle cap recovery system according to claim 1.

Images