Garbage truck

Abstract

To provide a garbage truck capable of separating a garbage back in which inflammable waste is mixed from a garbage tank and discriminating the garbage back.SOLUTION: A garbage truck which includes a garbage tank and a garbage input port at a vehicle body rear part includes: a lifter provided inside the garbage input port and for carrying a garbage bag; a falling passage for allowing the garbage bag to fall into a bag receiving chamber from an upper end of the lifter; an X-ray device comprising an X-ray source and an X-ray line sensor provided so as to sandwich the falling passage, and for acquiring an X-ray image by imaging the falling garbage bag; determination means for determining whether or not a foreign object is mixed in the garbage bag from the X-ray image; and a rotary plate for rotating so as to discriminate a garbage bag with foreign objects and a garbage bag without foreign objects, according to the determination result of the determination means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a garbage collection truck, and more specifically to a garbage collection truck that can prevent garbage bags containing flammable gas cartridges, spray cans, and the like from being pushed into a garbage tank even if the garbage bags contain flammable garbage. [Background technology]

[0002] There have been cases where gas cartridges or spray cans have been mixed in with garbage bags of combustible garbage, causing fires in garbage trucks. The garbage truck in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a metal detector (21) made of a coil at the garbage bag insertion port at the rear of the vehicle to detect potentially explosive gas cylinders and the like. Because the metal detector (21) reacts to aluminum, operations such as stopping the alarm bell when garbage bags contain aluminum-coated snack bags are cumbersome.

[0003] The applicant proposed an X-ray foreign object detection device in Patent Document 2, which captures an image of an object by dropping it, and a small household waste disposal device equipped with an X-ray device in Patent Document 3. The X-ray device can detect gas cartridges, spray cans, etc. that have been mistakenly mixed into opaque garbage bags. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-12004 [Patent Document 2] Utility Model Registration No. 3238689 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 7389528 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] To provide a garbage collection vehicle which can push garbage bags without foreign matter into a garbage tank and can separate garbage bags containing foreign matter such as metal from those without foreign matter. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The garbage collection vehicle according to the present invention is a garbage collection vehicle having a garbage tank and a garbage inlet at the rear of the vehicle, and is characterized by comprising: a lifter provided inside the garbage inlet for carrying garbage bags; a drop passageway for dropping garbage bags from the upper end of the lifter into a bag receiving chamber; an X-ray device comprising an X-ray source and an X-ray line sensor provided on either side of the drop passageway and for capturing images of the falling garbage bags to obtain X-ray images; discrimination means for discriminating whether or not foreign matter has been mixed into the garbage bags from the X-ray image; and a rotating plate that rotates to separate garbage bags into those with foreign matter and those without foreign matter depending on the discrimination result of the discrimination means.

[0007] A foreign matter bag collection chamber is provided behind the bag receiving chamber, a discharge plate is provided at the entrance of the foreign matter bag collection chamber, and a push-out plate is provided at the entrance of the garbage tank, so that when a garbage bag contains foreign matter, the rotating plate rotates in one direction to send the garbage bag containing foreign matter to the entrance of the foreign matter bag collection chamber, and the discharge plate dispenses the garbage bag containing foreign matter into the foreign matter bag collection chamber, and when a garbage bag does not contain foreign matter, the rotating plate rotates in the other direction to send the garbage bag without foreign matter to the entrance of the garbage tank, and the push-out plate pushes the garbage bag without foreign matter into the garbage tank.

[0008] The foreign matter bag recovery chamber is characterized by having an openable and closable bottom lid.

[0009] In the case of the garbage bag containing foreign matter, the rotation of the rotating plate is stopped, and in the case of the garbage bag without foreign matter, the rotating plate rotates to send the garbage bag without foreign matter to the inlet of the garbage tank. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The garbage collection vehicle according to the present invention is equipped with a lifter that carries garbage bags at regular intervals, a drop passage that drops the garbage bags from the top end of the lifter and leads them to a bag receiving chamber, an X-ray device that takes an image of the falling garbage bags to obtain an X-ray image, discrimination means that determines from the X-ray image whether the garbage bags contain foreign matter such as metal, and a rotating plate that rotates to separate the garbage bags into those with and without foreign matter depending on the results of the discrimination means, so that the garbage bags that have fallen into the bag receiving chamber can be separated by the rotating plate into those with and without foreign matter.

[0011] A dust bag collection chamber is provided behind the bag receiving chamber, a discharge plate is provided at the entrance of the dust bag collection chamber, and a push-out plate is provided at the entrance of the waste tank. Therefore, when a dust bag contains dust, the rotating plate rotates in one direction to send the dust bag containing dust into the entrance of the dust bag collection chamber, and the discharge plate dispenses the dust bag containing dust into the dust bag collection chamber. Since the dust bag containing dust is collected in the dust bag collection chamber, there is no need to press it into the waste tank. Furthermore, because the lifter and rotating plate are never stopped, continuous operation is possible, allowing for smooth collection operations. When a dust bag contains no dust, the rotating plate rotates in the other direction to send the dust bag containing no dust into the entrance of the waste tank, and the push-out plate pushes the dust bag containing no dust into the waste tank.

[0012] The garbage bag collection chamber is equipped with an openable bottom lid, making it easy to discharge garbage bags containing foreign objects at the garbage disposal site. If the bottom lid is left open, garbage bags containing foreign objects will fall from the rear of the garbage collection truck onto the road, preventing the collection of garbage bags containing foreign objects. This also makes it possible to collect garbage bags containing foreign objects using a separate vehicle.

[0013] If a garbage bag contains foreign matter, the rotating plate will stop, allowing workers to remove the bag. The removed bag can then be collected by another vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view of the internal structure of a garbage collection vehicle according to the present invention. [Figure 2]These are rear views of the rear of a garbage collection truck. (A) is an example where a lifter is provided on the left rear of the vehicle body, but there is no lifter on the right rear of the vehicle body. (B) is an example where there are lifters on both the left and right rear of the vehicle body. [Figure 3] Block diagrams for identifying garbage bags. (A) shows an example of a configuration in which an element including an X-ray device is located only on the left side of the vehicle, while (B) shows an example of a configuration in which an element including an X-ray device is located on both the left and right sides of the vehicle. [Figure 4] 10 is a timing chart for identifying garbage bags, in an example configuration in which an element including an X-ray device is located only on the left side of the vehicle body. [Figure 5] 1 is a time chart for identifying garbage bags, in an example configuration in which elements including X-ray devices are provided on both the left and right sides of the vehicle body. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart for identifying a garbage bag. [Figure 7] 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of sorting foreign matter-free garbage bags. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of sorting garbage bags containing foreign matter. FIG. [Figure 9] This is an example of waste that has a high risk of ignition. [Figure 10] This is an example of a small home appliance that uses lithium-ion batteries. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] In the past, foreign objects in garbage bags were detected using sorting machines such as metal detectors, color sorters, and magnetic separators, but in recent years, aluminum packaging materials and lithium-ion batteries and button batteries that ignite when crushed have become mixed into garbage bags, making it impossible to remove them with conventional sorting machines.The present invention makes it possible to sort such garbage bags using X-rays.

[0016] Hereinafter, a garbage collection vehicle according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a side view of the internal structure of a garbage collection vehicle 100 according to the present invention. A garbage tank 1 is provided at the rear of the vehicle, and a garbage inlet 2 is provided at the rearmost part, through which garbage bags 15 are dropped. A lifter 4 is provided inside the garbage inlet 2, which carries garbage bags 15 at regular intervals. A drop passage 5 is also provided, through which garbage bags 15 are dropped from the upper end of the lifter 4 and led to a bag receiving chamber 6. A foreign object bag recovery chamber 12 is located behind the bag receiving chamber 6. An X-ray device 7 is provided, consisting of an X-ray source 8 and an X-ray line sensor 9, which are provided on either side of the drop passage 5, and which captures the falling garbage bags 15 to obtain an X-ray image.

[0018] Furthermore, there is provided discrimination means 11 (not shown in FIG. 1) that analyzes the X-ray images to determine whether or not a foreign object has been mixed into the garbage bag. A PC (personal computer) can be used as discrimination means 11. If discrimination means 11 determines that the garbage bag is free of metallic foreign objects, it is provided with a rotating plate 10 that sorts garbage bags 15 in bag receiving chamber 6 toward garbage tank 1, and if discrimination means 11 determines that the garbage bag 15 contains metallic foreign objects, it is provided with a rotating plate 10 that sorts garbage bags 15 in bag receiving chamber 6 toward foreign object bag recovery chamber 12. Furthermore, there is provided a push-out plate 3 that pushes sorted garbage bags free of foreign objects into garbage tank 1, and a discharge plate 13 that discharges garbage bags containing foreign objects into foreign object bag recovery chamber 12.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the rear of a garbage collection truck 100. (A) is an example in which a lifter 4 is provided on the left rear part of the vehicle body, and no lifter 4 is provided on the right rear part of the vehicle body. (B) is an example in which lifters 4 are provided on both the left and right rear parts of the vehicle body. The lifters 4 rotate at a constant speed and lift up garbage bags 15 supported by protrusions. In the configuration of (A), the lifter 4 is provided only on the left rear part of the vehicle body, and the right side is a garbage inlet without a lifter 4, as in the conventional configuration. In the configuration of (B), lifters 4 are provided on both the left and right rear parts of the vehicle body.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a block diagram for distinguishing between garbage bags 15. (A) is an example of a configuration in which elements including an X-ray device 7 are provided only on the left side of the vehicle, and (B) is an example of a configuration in which elements including an X-ray device 7 are provided on both the left and right sides of the vehicle. In the configuration of (A), a lifter 4 is provided only on the left side of the vehicle, and the right side has a garbage inlet without a lifter 4, as in the past. Garbage bags 15 whose contents are known, such as fallen leaves, can be quickly placed in the garbage inlet without a lifter 4. In the configuration of (B), lifters 4 are provided on both the left and right rear sides of the vehicle, so garbage bags 15, 15 can be placed on the lifters 4 at the same time.

[0021] Figure 4 is a time chart for identifying the type of garbage bag 15, showing an example configuration in which only the left side of the vehicle has elements including an X-ray device. Figure 5 is a time chart for identifying the type of garbage bag 15, showing an example configuration in which both the left and right sides of the vehicle have elements including X-ray devices. The lifter 4 free-falls at a triangular time interval. The interval at which the garbage bag 15 falls is a constant pitch because the speed of the lifter 4 is constant and the garbage bag 15 is supported by a protrusion. For example, the pitch can be set to 2 seconds. In a free fall with an initial velocity of 0, the bag falls approximately 2.5 meters in 0.5 seconds. Depending on the height of the fall passage 5, the time until the bag falls into the bag receiving chamber 6 is shorter than this. During this time, the X-ray device 7 captures an image of the garbage bag 15.

[0022] The X-ray image discrimination process is performed by a computer in the discrimination means 11. Pixels in the captured X-ray image where X-rays are blocked and the amount of received light is less than a threshold are identified. If the X-ray line sensor has 2000 pixels and 2000 pixels in the falling direction, the X-ray image will have 4 million pixels (= 2000 × 2000), which requires processing time. For example, this can be assumed to be about 1 second. For a pitch of 2 seconds, the time remaining after subtracting the imaging time and X-ray image discrimination processing time from 2 seconds is the distribution time of the rotating plate 10 and the operation time of the push-out plate 3 or the dispensing plate 13. If these processing times are within 2 seconds, the garbage bag 15 has been ejected from the bag receiving chamber 6 and is no longer present, allowing the next garbage bag 15 to drop from the lifter 4. With a configuration in which lifters 4 are located on the left and right sides of the vehicle body as shown in Figure 5, two garbage bags can be fed in at a rate of 2 bags per 2 seconds (= 1 bag per second).

[0023] Figure 6 is a flowchart for identifying garbage bags 15. S1 is the step for binarizing the X-ray image by converting the pixel's light intensity below a threshold to 1 and otherwise to 0. Each pixel contains a value indicating the amount of light received, which is then binarized as either 1 or 0 to reduce the size of the X-ray pixel. The threshold value can be set to a value that indicates a low amount of X-ray light received, such as metal. S2 is the step for reducing the density by defining NxN (e.g., 8x8) pixels as one pixel. For example, if all 8x8 pixels are 1, they are converted to 1, and all other pixels are converted to 0. This allows small metal particles such as grains of metal to be ignored. When imaging 1m with 2000 pixels, one pixel is 0.5mm, so 8x8 pixels equals 64 4mm squares. This represents a section where all 64 pixels are 1 and below the threshold. S3 counts the number of '1' pixels in the reduced-density X-ray image. S4 determines whether there are a predetermined number of 1s or more. In other words, it determines whether there are any metal chunks larger than a predetermined size. S5 is the case where there are no lumps that block the X-rays and the garbage bag is determined to be free of foreign matter. S6 is the case where there are lumps that block the X-rays and the garbage bag is determined to contain foreign matter. By binarizing the X-ray image and reducing the image quality, the processing speed can be increased.

[0024] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the sorting operation for garbage bags 15 without foreign objects. This figure shows a case where the garbage bag 15 is determined to be free of foreign objects after falling and being photographed. If the garbage bag 15 that fell into the bag receiving chamber 6 is determined to be free of foreign objects, the rotating plate 10 lifts the garbage bag 15 toward the garbage tank 1, sorting it, and the push-out plate 3 pushes it into the garbage tank 1. As shown in FIG. 7, the process is performed in the order of (1) to (8) from (A) to (C). (1) The push-out plate 3 (bottom end) faces the 8 o'clock position, the rotating plate 10 faces the 9 o'clock position, and the dispensing plate 13 faces the 7 o'clock position. (2) If the garbage bag is free of foreign objects, the rotating plate 10 rotates clockwise once, moving the garbage bag toward the entrance of the garbage tank 1. (3) Next, the push-out plate 3 rotates counterclockwise toward the 5 o'clock position, preparing to push the garbage bag in. In (B), (4) the rotating plate 10 is rotated clockwise toward 9 o'clock, pushing the garbage bag up to the entrance of the garbage tank 1. (5) The push-out plate 3 is rotated clockwise toward 8 o'clock. In (C), (6) the rotation of the push-out plate 3 pushes the garbage bag into the garbage tank 1. (7) In this state, the next garbage bag can fall into the bag receiving chamber 6. (8) Return to (1) above.

[0025] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of sorting garbage bags 15 containing foreign objects. This figure shows a case where a garbage bag 15 is identified as containing foreign objects after falling and being photographed. If a garbage bag 15 that has fallen into the bag receiving chamber 6 is identified as containing foreign objects, the rotating plate 10 lifts the garbage bag 15 toward the foreign object bag recovery chamber 12 for sorting, and the dispensing plate 13 dispenses it into the foreign object bag recovery chamber 12. As shown in FIG. 8, the process is performed in the order of (1) to (8) from (A) to (C). (1) The push-out plate 3 (bottom end) is facing the 8 o'clock direction, the rotating plate 10 is facing the 9 o'clock direction, and the dispensing plate 13 is facing the 7 o'clock direction. (2) If the garbage bag contains foreign objects, the dispensing plate 13 is rotated clockwise toward 10 o'clock. (3) The rotating plate 10 is rotated counterclockwise toward 5 o'clock. (4) Rotate the discharge plate 13 in the 7 o'clock direction to discharge the garbage bag into the garbage bag recovery chamber 12. (5) The garbage bag moves into the garbage bag recovery chamber 12. (6) Return the rotating plate 10 clockwise to the 9 o'clock direction. (7) In this state, the next garbage bag can fall into the bag receiving chamber 6. (8) Return to (1) above.

[0026] Figure 9 shows examples of waste that have a high risk of ignition. Cassette gas bottles (e.g., 20 cm high, 7 cm diameter), lighters (e.g., 8 cm high, 2.5 cm wide), spray cans (e.g., 20 cm high, 7 cm diameter), and lithium-ion batteries (cylindrical 18650: 6.5 cm high, 1.8 cm diameter) all have metal covers and can be detected by X-ray equipment. Note that the orientation of a spray can varies depending on the bag, so it may be imaged as a circle or a rectangle. Small needles and nails can be ignored with image processing, but metal coffee tubes and the like can be detected.

[0027] Figure 10 shows examples of small home appliances that use lithium-ion batteries, with the names of the appliances also listed. Even if these small home appliances are mistakenly mixed into garbage bags, they can be detected because they are covered with a specified metal cover.

[0028] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which a foreign object bag recovery chamber 12 is provided to separate and recover garbage bags containing foreign objects. If the discrimination means 11 determines that a garbage bag contains foreign objects, the lifter 4 and rotating plate 10 can be immediately stopped, a buzzer can sound, and an operator can remove the garbage bag containing foreign objects from a side door of the bag receiving chamber. This structure eliminates the need for reverse rotation of the rotating plate 10, and also eliminates the need for a dispensing plate and foreign object bag recovery chamber 12, allowing for a simpler and more compact structure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0029] The present invention is suitable for a garbage collection vehicle that can separate and collect combustible garbage bags containing flammable gas cartridges and the like without forcing them into the garbage tank, even if such items are mistakenly mixed in with combustible garbage bags. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1. Garbage tank 2 Garbage inlet 3 Extrusion Plate 4 Lifter 5 Fall passage 6 Bag receiving room 7 X-ray equipment 8 X-ray source 9 X-ray line sensor 10 Rotating plate 11 Discrimination means 12 Foreign object bag collection room 13. Dispatch board 14 Bottom lid 15 Garbage Bags 100 Garbage Truck

Claims

1. A garbage collection vehicle equipped with a garbage tank and a garbage inlet at the rear of the vehicle body, a lifter provided inside the garbage inlet for carrying garbage bags; a drop passage through which garbage bags are dropped from the upper end of the lifter into the bag receiving chamber; an X-ray device comprising an X-ray source and an X-ray line sensor disposed across the passageway, for capturing an image of the falling garbage bag to obtain an X-ray image; A discrimination means for discriminating whether or not a foreign object is mixed in the garbage bag from the X-ray image; The garbage collection vehicle is characterized in that it is provided with a rotating plate that rotates to separate garbage bags into those containing foreign matter and those without foreign matter depending on the discrimination result of the discrimination means.

2. A waste bag collecting chamber is provided behind the bag receiving chamber, a discharge plate is provided at the entrance of the waste bag collecting chamber, and a push-out plate is provided at the entrance of the waste tank, In the case of the garbage bag containing foreign matter, the rotating plate rotates in one direction to send the garbage bag containing foreign matter to the entrance of the garbage bag recovery chamber, and the discharging plate discharges the garbage bag containing foreign matter into the garbage bag recovery chamber, 2. The garbage collection vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, in the case of the garbage bag without foreign matter, the rotating plate rotates in the other direction to send the garbage bag without foreign matter to the inlet of the garbage tank, and the pushing plate pushes the garbage bag without foreign matter into the garbage tank.

3. 4. The garbage collection vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the foreign object bag recovery chamber has an openable bottom cover.

4. If the garbage bag contains foreign matter, the rotation of the rotating plate is stopped.

2. The garbage collection vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, in the case of the garbage bag without foreign matter, the rotating plate rotates to send the garbage bag without foreign matter to the inlet of the garbage tank.

Images