Sorting system and method

Abstract

A sorting system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a sorting device that sorts a mixture containing multiple types of materials by material type; a first arithmetic unit including an acquisition unit that acquires mixture information, operating status information, and sorting result information, a first arithmetic unit that performs a first arithmetic process on the mixture information, operating status information, and sorting result information, and a transmission unit that transmits information obtained by the first arithmetic process; and a second arithmetic unit that calculates sorting conditions for the sorting device based on the information transmitted from the first arithmetic unit and a transmission unit that transmits information indicating the sorting conditions for the sorting device calculated by the second arithmetic unit to the first arithmetic unit, wherein the first arithmetic unit includes a receiving unit that receives the information indicating the sorting conditions transmitted by the second arithmetic unit, and a control unit that controls the sorting device based on the sorting conditions.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a sorting system and a sorting method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technique for separating a mixture containing a plurality of types of objects into different types of objects. In this separating technique, for example, there is an electrostatic separating device that electrically charges a plurality of types of objects contained in the mixture and separates specific objects as objects to be recycled by electrostatic separation. As a technique for improving the accuracy of electrostatic separation, for example, an electrostatic separating device described in the following Patent Document 1 is known.

[0003] The electrostatic sorting device of Patent Document 1 stirs a group of plastic pieces containing a mixture of multiple types of plastic pieces, charges each plastic piece, drops each charged plastic piece into an electrostatic field formed by a pair of electrodes, and collects each dropped plastic piece in a collection box. This electrostatic sorting device is provided with an imaging unit between the pair of electrodes and the collection box that captures the falling plastic pieces, binarizes the image of the plastic pieces captured by the imaging unit, calculates the weight ratio of the plastic pieces in the image, and creates a drop distribution that distributes the weight ratio of the plastic pieces according to the drop position. Furthermore, this electrostatic sorting device provides a partition plate in the collection box to separate the plastic pieces by type, and optimizes the position of the partition plate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2022-195712 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the electrostatic separation device described above, it is necessary to collect sufficient data to optimally control the position of the partition plate, etc. However, immediately after a customer installs an electrostatic separation device or when there is a significant change in the materials fed into the electrostatic separation device, it takes time to collect data to optimally control the position of the partition plate, etc., and there is a problem that the separation efficiency decreases during the period until sufficient data is collected.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a sorting system and a sorting method that can improve the sorting efficiency of a sorting device by utilizing sorting conditions obtained from outside. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one aspect of the present disclosure is a sorting system comprising: a sorting device that sorts a mixture containing multiple types of materials by material type; a first arithmetic unit that includes: a first arithmetic unit that acquires mixture information regarding the mixture, operating status information that indicates an operating status of the sorting device, and sorting result information that indicates a sorting result of the sorting device; a first arithmetic unit that performs a first arithmetic process on the mixture information, the operating status information, and the sorting result information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a transmission unit that transmits information on which the first arithmetic process has been performed by the first arithmetic unit; and a second arithmetic unit that includes: a second arithmetic unit that calculates sorting conditions for the sorting device based on the information transmitted from the first arithmetic unit; and a transmission unit that transmits information indicating the sorting conditions of the sorting device calculated by the second arithmetic unit to the first arithmetic unit, wherein the first arithmetic unit includes: a receiving unit that receives the information indicating the sorting conditions transmitted by the second arithmetic unit; and a control unit that controls the sorting device based on the sorting conditions.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a sorting method including the steps of: a sorting device that sorts a mixture containing multiple types of materials by material type generating mixture information regarding the mixture in response to a supply of the mixture to be sorted; a first arithmetic device performing a first arithmetic process on the mixture information and transmitting information resulting from the first arithmetic process; a second arithmetic device calculating sorting conditions for the sorting device based on the information transmitted from the first arithmetic device and transmitting information indicating the sorting conditions of the sorting device to the first arithmetic device; and a step of the first arithmetic device controlling the sorting device to sort the mixture to be sorted based on the sorting conditions of the sorting device. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present disclosure, the sorting efficiency of the sorting device can be increased by utilizing sorting conditions obtained from outside. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrostatic separation system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a learning unit 308 according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electrostatic separation device 100 according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a first calculation unit 204 in the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the electrostatic separation system 1 according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of a first arithmetic device 200 and a second arithmetic device 300 in the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a gravity-type separator 500 according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an optical sorting device 600 according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, a sorting system and a sorting method to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] (First embodiment) 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrostatic separation system 1 in the first embodiment. The electrostatic separation system 1 includes, for example, a plurality of electrostatic separation devices 100A, 100B, 100C, ..., a plurality of first arithmetic devices 200A, 200B, 200C, ..., a second arithmetic device 300, and a database device 400. In the following description, the electrostatic separation devices are collectively referred to as "electrostatic separation device 100," and the plurality of first arithmetic devices are collectively referred to as "first arithmetic device 200."

[0013] The electrostatic separation device 100, the first calculation device 200, the second calculation device 300, and the database device 400 each have a communication interface (not shown) such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) or a wireless communication module for connecting to a communication network NW such as the Internet. The communication network NW may include, for example, a general-purpose network such as the Internet, and a private network such as local 5G or WiFi (registered trademark).

[0014] In the embodiment, an electrostatic sorting device 100 that uses static electricity to sort materials to be recycled from a mixture containing multiple types of resins will be described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The electrostatic sorting system 1 of the embodiment may be a sorting device that sorts a mixture containing multiple types of materials by material type. The electrostatic sorting system 1 of the embodiment can also be applied to a sorting device that sorts a specific object from a mixture containing metal or glass, and can also be applied to a sorting device that sorts a specific object from a mixture containing food.

[0015] The electrostatic sorting device 100 sorts recycling materials from a mixture (hereinafter also referred to as raw material) containing multiple types of resins (plastics). The recycling materials contain multiple types of plastic pieces with different charging characteristics. The electrostatic sorting device 100 includes, for example, a detection unit 102, a sorting unit 104, a receiving unit 106, and a transmitting unit 108. The detection unit 102 detects sensing data. The sensing data is data indicating the state of the mixture. The sorting unit 104 performs an operation of sorting the plastic pieces from the mixture. The receiving unit 106 receives a control command from the first arithmetic device 200. The transmitting unit 108 transmits the sensing data to the first arithmetic device 200.

[0016] The first arithmetic device 200 is, for example, an information processing device having a function called an edge server. The first arithmetic device 200 is installed, for example, in correspondence with the electrostatic separation device 100 installed in one factory. The first arithmetic device 200 and the electrostatic separation device 100 are connected by a communication line such as a LAN line installed in the factory.

[0017] The first calculation device 200 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 202, a first calculation unit 204, a receiving unit 206, a transmitting unit 208, and a control unit 210. The first calculation unit 204 and the control unit 210 are functional units that are realized by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program stored in a program memory. The acquisition unit 202 is connected to the electrostatic separation device 100 via, for example, a LAN line. The acquisition unit 202 acquires mixture information, operation state information, and sorting result information. The mixture information is information about the mixture in the electrostatic separation device 100. The mixture information may be information including, for example, at least one of the type, composition, and particle size of the material. The operation state information is information indicating the operation state of the electrostatic separation device 100. The sorting result information is information indicating the sorting result of the electrostatic separation device 100.

[0018] The first calculation unit 204 performs a first calculation process on at least one of the mixture information, the operation status information, and the sorting result information acquired by the acquisition unit 202. The first calculation process is, for example, a process of extracting at least a part of the mixture information, the operation status information, and the sorting result information. The first calculation process is, for example, a process of reducing the amount of data to be transmitted to the second calculation device 300 by organizing the mixture information, the operation status information, and the sorting result information. The transmission unit 208 transmits the information on which the first calculation process has been performed from the first calculation unit 204.

[0019] The receiving unit 206 receives the sorting conditions from the second arithmetic device 300. The control unit 210 controls the electrostatic sorting device 100 based on the sorting conditions received by the receiving unit 206. The sorting conditions are information that become target values ​​for operating the electrostatic sorting device 100. Specifically, the sorting conditions are a target value for the voltage value to be applied to the electric field generating unit 130, a target value for the partition plate position, and the like.

[0020] The second arithmetic device 300 is, for example, an information processing device having a function as a server that performs processing in response to a request from the first arithmetic device 200 and transmits the processing result to the first arithmetic device 200. The second arithmetic device 300 is, for example, one second arithmetic device corresponding to a plurality of first arithmetic devices 200.

[0021] The second arithmetic device 300 includes, for example, a receiving unit 302, a second arithmetic device 304, a trained model 306, a learning unit 308, and a transmitting unit 310. The second arithmetic device 304 and the learning unit 308 are functional units that are realized by a processor such as a CPU executing a program stored in a program memory. The receiving unit 302 receives information transmitted from the first arithmetic device 200. The second arithmetic device 304 calculates the sorting conditions of the electrostatic sorting device 100 based on the information transmitted from the first arithmetic device 200. The trained model 306 is a machine learning model used in the second arithmetic processing. The learning unit 308 performs a process of training the trained model 306. The transmitting unit 310 transmits the sorting conditions of the electrostatic sorting device 100 calculated by the second arithmetic device 304 to the first arithmetic device 200.

[0022] The second calculation unit 304 inputs information transmitted from the first calculation device 200 to the trained model 306, and calculates the sorting conditions based on the output of the trained model 306. The trained model 306 learns the mixture information, operation state information, and sorting result information transmitted by each of the multiple first calculation devices 200 as learning data. Note that the second calculation unit 304 may calculate the sorting conditions by calculation processing using an arithmetic expression or rule-based calculation processing without using the trained model 306.

[0023] The database device 400 is an information processing device including a data storage device, a processor for constructing a database (DB), and the like. The database device 400 stores, for example, a user database 410, a sorting device database 412, and a trained model 414. The user database 410 is a database in which, for example, user information for identifying a user, an industry, a product, and the like of the electrostatic sorting device 100 is associated with the trained model 414. The sorting device database 412 is a database in which mixture information, operating state information (sensing data), and sorting result information for each electrostatic sorting device 100 are associated with each other. The trained model 414 is information for identifying a trained model, such as information indicating training data and processing parameters for identifying a machine learning model. The trained model 414 may be constructed by type, composition, or grain size of resin pieces. The trained model 414 may be constructed for each user, each industry, and each product.

[0024] The electrostatic separation system 1 in the embodiment includes a plurality of electrostatic separation devices 100A, 100B, 100C, a plurality of first arithmetic units 200A, 200B, 200C corresponding to the plurality of electrostatic separation devices 100A, 100B, 100C, respectively, and a second arithmetic unit 300 corresponding to the plurality of first arithmetic units 200A, 200B, 200C. The second arithmetic unit 304 calculates the sorting conditions of one electrostatic separation device 100 based on the plurality of sorting conditions transmitted by the plurality of first arithmetic units 200A, 200B, 200C. The electrostatic separation system 1 is not limited thereto, and may include, for example, one each of the electrostatic separation device 100, the first arithmetic unit 200, and the second arithmetic unit 300.

[0025] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the learning unit 308 in the first embodiment. The learning unit 308 inputs the sorting conditions of one electrostatic sorting device 100 as learning data based on the sensing data acquired from the multiple first arithmetic devices 200A, 200B, and 200C, the processing result of the first arithmetic processing, and the sorting conditions calculated by the second arithmetic unit 304, and updates the processing parameters of the trained model 306 based on the output from the trained model 306. The processing parameters are, for example, filters (also called weights and biases) included in a neural network, but are not limited thereto. The machine learning method in the trained model 306 may be commonly used deep learning or random forest, etc.

[0026] 3 is a diagram showing an example of an electrostatic separation device 100 in the first embodiment. The electrostatic separation device 100 includes, for example, an input side detection unit 110A, a recovery side detection unit 110B, a charging cylinder 120, a vibrating feeder 122, an electric field generation unit 130, a recovery box 140, and a control device 150.

[0027] A raw material (mixture) containing multiple types of plastic pieces to be sorted is supplied to the charging cylinder 120. For example, a predetermined amount of raw material is fed into the charging cylinder 120 per unit time. The raw material in the embodiment includes plastic pieces containing a mixture of multiple types of materials obtained by crushing the housings of home appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines to be recycled. The plastic pieces in the embodiment are ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) pieces and PS (Polystyrene) pieces having different charging characteristics. The plastic pieces are, for example, about 5 mm square in size.

[0028] The charging cylinder 120 agitates the raw material by rotating. Plastic pieces A and B contained in the raw material rub against each other and become charged inside the charging cylinder 120 due to rotation and agitation. The charged plastic pieces A and B each have a polarity and charge amount according to their triboelectric series. Specifically, plastic piece A (e.g., ABS) is positively charged, and plastic piece B (e.g., PS) is negatively charged.

[0029] The plastic pieces A and B charged by the charging cylinder 120 are discharged into the vibrating feeder 122. The positively charged plastic piece A and the negatively charged plastic piece B are attracted to each other by electrostatic force. The vibrating feeder 122 vibrates the plastic pieces A and B up and down while pushing them toward the electric field generating unit 130, thereby separating the plastic pieces A and B and causing them to fall from the tip of the vibrating feeder 122. A portion of the plastic pieces A and B in the vibrating feeder 122 are collected and fed into the separating and feeding device 124.

[0030] The electric field generating unit 130 generates an electrostatic field. The electric field generating unit 130 includes, for example, a pair of electrodes 131 and 132 and a DC power supply 133. Each of the pair of electrodes 131 and 132 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape. The pair of electrodes 131 and 132 are arranged opposite each other so as to sandwich the path along which the plastic pieces A and B fall. A ground voltage is applied to the electrode 131. The DC power supply 133 applies a DC voltage between the electrode 131 and the electrode 132 to generate an electrostatic field between the pair of electrodes 131 and 132. The DC voltage between the electrode 131 and the electrode 132 is adjusted by a control signal output from the control device 150.

[0031] Plastic pieces A and B that have fallen from vibrating feeder 122 are attracted to one of the pair of electrodes 131 and 132 by electrostatic force according to the charge state, such as polarity and charge amount, and fall. In other words, plastic pieces A and B fall to different positions depending on the charge state. In the embodiment, plastic piece A is positively charged and is attracted to electrode 131 and falls. Plastic piece B is negatively charged and is attracted to electrode 132 and falls.

[0032] The dropped plastic pieces A and B are collected in a collection box 140. The collection box 140 collects the plastic pieces A and B. The collection box 140 includes, for example, partition plates 141 and 142 and a partition drive device 143. The partition plates 141 and 142 are movable, for example, in the directions of the arrows in the figure. The movement of the partition plates 141 and 142 adjusts the size of the three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142. The partition drive device 143 includes a drive mechanism such as a motor. The partition drive device 143 supplies a drive force to the partition plates 141 and 142 based on a control signal supplied from the control device 150.

[0033] The partition plates 141 and 142 may be moved manually. In the embodiment, the partition plates 141 and 142 are described as partitions that separate the areas that contain the material induced by the electrostatic force, but they are not limited to a plate shape and may be other shapes.

[0034] Plastic pieces A and B dropped from the vibrating feeder 122 are collected in one of three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142 depending on their charge state. Positively charged plastic pieces A are collected mainly in the area on the partition plate 141 side. Negatively charged plastic pieces B are collected mainly in the area on the partition plate 142 side. Plastic pieces that are not sufficiently charged are collected in the area between the partition plates 141 and 142. The plastic pieces collected in each area are transported by a conveyor (not shown) and stored in separate containers. The electrostatic sorting device 100 may return the plastic pieces collected in the area between the partition plates 141 and 142 to the supply section 220 and perform sorting again.

[0035] The input side detection unit 110A includes, for example, a plastic type identification sensor 111, a charge amount sensor 112, a plastic type identification sensor 113, and a mass sensor 114.

[0036] The plastic type identification sensor 111 detects sensing data for identifying the plastic type of the plastic pieces fed into the charging cylinder 120. The plastic type identification sensor 111 is, for example, an optical sensor that captures an image of the mixture. The optical sensor may be one that generates image information, such as a near-infrared camera or a visible light camera. The plastic type identification sensor 111 may also be a sensor for detecting particle size or foreign matter.

[0037] The charge sensor 112 is, for example, a pass-through type Faraday cage sensor. The charge sensor 112 drops a charged plastic piece from above and detects an electrostatic induction voltage waveform (sensing data) generated when the plastic piece falls. The electrostatic induction voltage waveform is converted into an amount of charge by being analyzed by the first calculation unit 204. The plastic type identification sensor 113 is, for example, an optical sensor that images a mixture. The plastic type identification sensor 113 detects sensing data for identifying the plastic type of the plastic piece that has passed the charge sensor 112. The mass sensor 114 detects sensing data for determining the mass of the plastic piece that has passed the charge sensor 112.

[0038] The collection side detection unit 110B includes, for example, a plastic type identification sensor 115 and a mass sensor 116. The plastic type identification sensor 115 is, for example, an optical sensor that images the mixture. The plastic type identification sensor 115 detects sensing data for identifying the plastic type of the plastic pieces collected in each of the three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142 in the collection box 140. The mass sensor 116 detects sensing data for determining the mass of the plastic pieces collected in each of the three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142.

[0039] The control device 150 controls each unit in the electrostatic separation device 100 and performs various calculations. In response to acquiring sensing data detected by the input side detection unit 110A and the recovery side detection unit 110B, the control device 150 immediately transmits at least one of the acquired sensing data to the first calculation device 200. The control device 150 controls the operation of at least one of the charging cylinder 120, the vibration feeder 122, the electric field generation unit 130, and the recovery box 140 according to a control command received from the first calculation device 200.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the first calculation unit 204 in the first embodiment. As described above, the electrostatic separation device 100 includes the input side detection unit 110A, the recovery side detection unit 110B, and the control device 150. The input side detection unit 110A detects, for example, a near-infrared image or a visible image, charge amount information, and mass information as sensing data, and the control device 150 outputs the sensing data to the first calculation unit 204. The first calculation unit 204 includes, for example, an image processing unit 204a and data conversion units 204b and 204c in order to process the sensing data detected by the input side detection unit 110A.

[0041] As described above, the electrostatic sorting device 100 includes the plastic type identification sensor 111 as an optical sensor that captures an image of the mixture to be sorted and generates an image signal as mixture information, and the image processing unit 204a of the first calculation unit 204 generates mixing ratio data indicating the mixing ratio of the mixture based on the image signal generated by the plastic type identification sensor 111. The image processing unit 204a may, for example, analyze an infrared image signal detected by the plastic type identification sensor 111 and convert it into mixing ratio data indicating the mixing ratio of the plastic pieces in the mixture. In this way, the image processing unit 204a converts the infrared image signal into mixing ratio data with a smaller data capacity than an infrared image.

[0042] As described above, the electrostatic sorting device 100 is equipped with a plastic type identification sensor 111 as an optical sensor that images the mixture to be sorted and generates an image signal as mixture information, and the image processing unit 204a of the first calculation unit 204 extracts a portion of the image signal generated by the plastic type identification sensor 111, and the transmission unit 108 transmits a portion of the image signal to the second calculation device 300.

[0043] The first calculation unit 204 may analyze the visible image signal and convert it into particle size data and foreign matter data of the mixture. As a result, the first calculation unit 204 outputs particle size data and foreign matter data having a smaller data volume than the visible image. The first calculation unit 204 may also convert a particle passing waveform signal detected by a particle sensor (not shown) for the mixture supplied to the charging cylinder 120, for example, into a fluid passing amount, and output the particle size and foreign matter data.

[0044] The electrostatic sorting device 100 includes a charge sensor 112 that generates a charge signal that changes according to the charge of the mixture to be sorted as mixture information. The electrostatic sorting device 100 is an electrostatic sorting device that adjusts the magnitude of the voltage applied to electrodes 131, 132 (electrode pair) that apply an electrostatic force to the charged mixture, or the positions of partition plates 141, 142 that divide an area that contains the mixture induced by the electrostatic force. The data conversion unit 204b of the first calculation unit 204 analyzes the charge signal generated by the charge sensor 112 to generate charge data that indicates the charge of the mixture. The data conversion unit 204b inputs an electrostatic induction voltage waveform from the plastic type identification sensor 113 and converts it into charge data. As a result, the data conversion unit 204b outputs charge data with a smaller data capacity than the electrostatic induction voltage waveform.

[0045] The data conversion section 204c receives the mass signal from the mass sensor 114 and converts it into mass data, thereby outputting charge amount data having a smaller data capacity than the mass signal.

[0046] The electrostatic separation device 100 may include a flow sensor that generates, as mixture information, a flow rate signal that changes according to the flow rate of the mixture to be separated. The flow rate sensor may be, for example, a sensor that detects the amount of raw material fed into the charging cylinder 120. It may be a sensor integrated with the plastic type identification sensor 111, or may be a flow rate sensor provided separately from the plastic type identification sensor 111. The data conversion unit 204d of the first calculation unit 204 may analyze the flow rate signal generated by the flow rate sensor to generate flow rate information indicating the flow rate of the mixture, and transmit the flow rate information to the second calculation device 300.

[0047] The control device 150 outputs operation status information indicating the operation status of the electrostatic separation device 100, such as, for example, partition plate position information, voltage information, MID circulation information, charged cylinder information, and feeder speed information, to the data processing unit 204e. The partition plate position information is information indicating the positions of the partition plates 141 and 142. The voltage information is information indicating the voltage between the electrodes 131 and 132, and the MID circulation information is information indicating the amount of plastic pieces circulated from the area between the partition plate 141 and the partition plate 142 to the charged cylinder 120. The charged cylinder information is information indicating the rotation speed of the charged cylinder 120. The feeder speed information is information indicating the vibration speed of the vibration feeder 122. The data processing unit 204e performs, for example, a predetermined data processing, and transmits operation status data in which the partition plate position information, voltage information, MID circulation information, charged cylinder information, and feeder speed information are linked for each time to the second calculation device 300.

[0048] The first calculation unit 204 includes, for example, an image processing unit 204f and a data conversion unit 204g in order to process the sensing data detected by the collection side detection unit 110B. The image processor 204f analyzes the infrared image detected by the plastic type identification sensor 115 and converts it into composition ratio data indicating the composition ratio of the mixture. As a result, the image processor 204f outputs composition ratio data having a smaller data volume than the infrared image. The data conversion section 204g receives the mass signal from the mass sensor 116 and converts it into mass data, so that the data conversion section 204c outputs charge amount data having a smaller data capacity than the mass signal.

[0049] FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the electrostatic separation system 1 in the embodiment. First, when the supply of the raw material to be sorted is started (step S100), the electrostatic sorting device 100 acquires sensing data detected by the plastic type identification sensor 111 and transmits it to the first arithmetic device 200 (step S102).

[0050] The first calculation unit 204 executes a first calculation process using the sensing data acquired by the acquisition unit 202 (step S104). The transmission unit 208 transmits a processing result of the first calculation process to the second calculation device 300 (step S106).

[0051] The control device 150, in response to acquiring sensing data from each of the plastic type identification sensor 111, the charge amount sensor 112, the plastic type identification sensor 113, and the mass sensor 114, immediately transmits each sensing data to the first arithmetic device 200. In response to receiving each of the multiple sensing data, the first arithmetic unit 204 immediately performs a first arithmetic process on each of the multiple sensing data, and transmits a plurality of processing results corresponding to each of the multiple sensing data to the second arithmetic device 300.

[0052] The receiving unit 302 of the second arithmetic device 300 receives the processing result of the first arithmetic processing, and the second arithmetic device 304 executes the second arithmetic processing using the processing result of the first arithmetic processing (step S108) to calculate the sorting conditions for the raw material to be sorted. The transmitting unit 310 transmits information indicating the sorting conditions as the processing result of the second arithmetic processing to the first arithmetic device 200 (step S110).

[0053] The second calculation unit 304 performs advanced automatic sorting by sensing the mixture ratio of the raw materials, the sorting result, and the specific charge distribution of the plastic pieces based on the processing result of the first calculation process. The specific charge is a physical property value obtained by dividing the charge amount of the plastic pieces charged by friction by the mass. Even for the same type of plastic pieces, the specific charge does not have a constant value but has a distribution due to the variation in shape of each plastic piece and the difference in the way they rub during frictional charging. There is a correlation between the specific charge distribution and the distribution of the falling positions of the plastic pieces after passing between the electrodes 131 and 132. For this reason, the second calculation unit 304 calculates the specific charge distribution and predicts the optimal positions of the partition plates 141 and 142 based on the specific charge distribution.

[0054] The electrostatic sorting device 100 collects a portion of the mixed plastic immediately after it has been frictionally charged by the charging tube 120, and feeds the collected plastic pieces one by one into the plastic type identification sensor 113 by the separation and feeding device 124. Then, sensing data obtained by the plastic type identification sensor 113 (optical sensor) and the mass sensor 114 is transmitted to the second computing device 300 via the first computing device 200. The second computing device 300 predicts the distribution of the drop positions of the plastic pieces based on the specific charge distribution, thereby determining the optimal positions (sorting conditions) of the partition plates 141 and 142, and remotely controls the partition driving device 143.

[0055] The receiving unit 206 of the first arithmetic device 200 receives information indicating the sorting conditions from the second arithmetic device 300, and the transmitting unit 208 transmits the information indicating the sorting conditions as a control command to the electrostatic separation device 100 (step S112).

[0056] The receiver 106 of the electrostatic sorting device 100 receives the control command, and the control device 150 controls the sorting unit 104 including the charging cylinder 120, the vibration feeder 122, the electric field generator 130, and the collection box 140, so that the electrostatic sorting device 100 sorts out single plastics (step S114). The collection side detection unit 110B detects sensing data, and the control device 150 transmits the sensing data acquired from the collection side detection unit 110B to the first arithmetic device 200 (step S116).

[0057] The first calculation unit 204 performs a first calculation process using the sensing data transmitted by the first calculation device 200 (step S118), and transmits the processing result of the first calculation process to the second calculation device 300 (step S120).

[0058] The second arithmetic device 300 updates the selection conditions by executing a second arithmetic process using the processing result of the first arithmetic process (step S122), and transmits the updated selection conditions to the first arithmetic device 200 (step S124).

[0059] The electrostatic sorting device 100 also obtains sensing data from the plastic pieces collected in the three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142 after sorting using the plastic type identification sensor 115 and the mass sensor 116. The second calculation unit 304 calculates the sorting results of the plastic pieces for each of the three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142. The sorting results are, for example, purity and amount collected. The second calculation unit 304 compares the predicted value of the distribution of the drop positions of the plastic pieces with the actual measured value of the distribution of the drop positions of the plastic pieces to recalculate the optimal positions (sorting conditions) of the partition plates 141 and 142. In this way, the second calculation unit 304 increases the accuracy of determining the positions of the partition plates 141 and 142 due to raw material fluctuations.

[0060] The receiving unit 206 of the first calculation device 200 receives information indicating the updated sorting conditions from the second calculation device 300, and the transmitting unit 208 transmits the information indicating the sorting conditions as a control command to the electrostatic separation device 100 (step S126). The receiving unit 106 of the electrostatic separation device 100 receives the control command, and the control device 150 controls the separation unit 104 including the charging cylinder 120, the vibrating feeder 122, the electric field generating unit 130, and the collection box 140. In this way, the electrostatic separation device 100 separates the raw materials to be separated (step S128).

[0061] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the first arithmetic unit 200 and the second arithmetic unit 300 in the embodiment. The first arithmetic device 200 determines whether the electrostatic separation device 100 is in operation (step S200). If the electrostatic separation device 100 is in operation (step S200: YES), the first arithmetic device 200 performs the process described with reference to FIG. 5 (step S202).

[0062] When the electrostatic sorting device 100 is stopped operating (step S200: NO), the first calculation device 200 determines whether there is any untransmitted data (step S204). The untransmitted data is an image signal other than a part of the image signal when a part of the image signal generated by the plastic type identification sensor 111 or the plastic type identification sensor 113 is extracted. The untransmitted data may be raw information used to calculate the calculation result information in the case where the calculation result information on which the first calculation process is performed by the first calculation unit 204 is transmitted while the electrostatic sorting device 100 is operating.

[0063] The first calculation unit 204 acquires the untransmitted data from the electrostatic separation device 100 (step S206). The first calculation unit 204 may acquire raw information of the first calculation process from an internal storage device. The transmission unit 208 transmits the acquired untransmitted data to the second calculation device 300 (step S208). The reception unit 302 of the second calculation device 300 receives the untransmitted data, and the learning unit 308 trains the learned model 306 using the received untransmitted data (step S210).

[0064] As described above, the electrostatic separation system 1 in the embodiment includes a plurality of electrostatic separation devices 100, a plurality of first arithmetic devices 200 that transmit information obtained by performing a first arithmetic process on the mixture information, operating status information, and sorting result information acquired by the electrostatic separation device 100, and a second arithmetic device 300 that calculates sorting conditions for the electrostatic separation device 100 based on the information transmitted from the first arithmetic device 200, and the electrostatic separation device 100 is controlled by the first arithmetic device 200 based on the sorting conditions transmitted by the second arithmetic device 300. According to such an electrostatic separation system 1, by utilizing the separation conditions acquired from outside the electrostatic separation device 100, even in a situation where there is little sensing data or data on separation conditions, such as immediately after the installation of the electrostatic separation device 100, it is possible to utilize sensing data and data on separation conditions of other electrostatic separation devices 100, thereby improving the separation efficiency of the electrostatic separation device 100. Furthermore, according to the electrostatic separation system 1, it is possible to reduce the calculation load of the electrostatic separation device 100 and the second arithmetic device 300 and to reduce communication delays, compared to transmitting data directly from the electrostatic separation device 100 to the second arithmetic device 300.

[0065] (Second embodiment) FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a gravity-type separator 500 according to the second embodiment. The sorting device in the first embodiment described above is the electrostatic sorting device 100, but the sorting device may be a specific gravity sorting device 500. The specific gravity sorting device 500 is a sorting device that performs sorting by utilizing differences in specific gravity according to the types of resin pieces contained in the mixture to be sorted. The specific gravity sorting device 500 sorts plastic pieces contained in the mixture by, for example, a wet specific gravity sorting method. The specific gravity sorting device 500 includes, for example, a float-sink sorting section 510 and a jig sorting section 520.

[0066] The float / sink sorting section 510 uses water as a medium to separate plastic pieces by floating PP, which is lighter than water, and sinking PS, ABS, and other plastics, which are heavier than water. The plastic pieces floating on the water in the float / sink sorting section 510 are collected. The plastic pieces that have settled in the float / sink sorting section 510 are transported to the jig sorting section 520.

[0067] The jig sorting unit 520 generates a pulsating water current by transmitting a piston motion to the water, forming layers of different specific gravity. The jig sorting unit 520 separates the light specific gravity PS and ABS mixture from the heavy specific gravity flame-retardant plastics, and collects the light specific gravity plastic pieces and the heavy specific gravity plastic pieces separately.

[0068] As described above, the first arithmetic unit 200 and the second arithmetic unit 300 are connected to the specific gravity sorting device 500. The first arithmetic unit 204 performs a first arithmetic process on at least a part of the mixture information related to the mixture in the specific gravity sorting device 500, the operation state information indicating the operation state of the specific gravity sorting device 500, and the sorting result information indicating the sorting result of the specific gravity sorting device 500, and transmits the processing result of the first arithmetic process to the second arithmetic unit 300. The second arithmetic unit 300 calculates sorting conditions for the specific gravity sorting device 500 by the second arithmetic process, and transmits the calculated sorting conditions to the first arithmetic unit 200. The first arithmetic unit 200 controls the specific gravity sorting device 500 based on the sorting conditions received from the second arithmetic unit 300.

[0069] (Third embodiment) FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an optical sorting device 600 according to the third embodiment. The sorting device in the first embodiment described above is the electrostatic sorting device 100, but the sorting device may be an optical sorting device 600. The optical sorting device 600 is an optical sorting device that includes an optical sensor (X-ray source 620, detector 622) that captures images of resin pieces contained in the mixture to be sorted, and performs sorting by utilizing differences in light absorption characteristics according to the type of resin pieces. The optical sorting device 600 includes, for example, a conveyor unit 610, an X-ray source 620, a detector 622, an air gun unit 630, recovery units 640 and 642, and a control device 650.

[0070] The optical sorting device 600 irradiates the mixture conveyed by the conveyor unit 610 with X-rays from the X-ray source 620, and detects the transmitted light with the detector 622. This generates an X-ray transmission image signal of the mixture to be sorted. The X-ray transmission image signal is, for example, an image in which a shadow is projected on the bromine-containing plastic. The X-ray transmission image signal is transmitted to the first arithmetic unit 200 as sensing data by the control device 650. The first arithmetic unit 204 transmits the processing result of the first arithmetic processing on the sensing data to the second arithmetic unit 300. The second arithmetic unit 300 transmits to the first arithmetic unit 200 sorting conditions indicating the operation of the air gun unit 630 based on the processing result of the first arithmetic processing. The first arithmetic unit 200 controls the air gun unit 630 based on the sorting conditions received from the second arithmetic unit 300. As a result, the optical sorting device 600 sorts, for example, plastics containing brominated flame retardants into collection section 642 and plastics not containing brominated flame retardants into collection section 640.

[0071] Although each embodiment and each variant have been described, these are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, any of the embodiments or variants, or a part of each embodiment or a part of each variant, may be combined with one or more other embodiments or one or more other variants to realize one aspect of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1...electrostatic sorting system, 100, 100A, 100B, 100C...electrostatic sorting device, 102...detection unit, 104...sorting unit, 106...receiving unit, 108...transmitting unit, 110A...feed-in side detection unit, 110B...recovery side detection unit, 111, 113, 115...plastic type identification sensor, 112...charge amount sensor, 114, 116...mass sensor, 120...charging tube, 122...vibration feeder, 124...separation and feeding device, 130...electric field generating unit, 131, 132...electrode, 133...DC power supply, 140...recovery box, 141, 142...partition plate, 143, 150...driving device, 200, 200A, 200B, 200C...first calculation unit, 202...acquisition unit, 204...first calculation unit, 204a, 20 4f...image processing unit, 204b, 204c, 204d, 204g...data conversion unit, 204e...data processing unit, 206...receiving unit, 208...transmitting unit, 210...control unit, 220...supply unit, 300...second calculation unit, 302...receiving unit, 304...second calculation unit, 306...trained model, 308...training unit, 310...transmitting unit, 400...database device, 410...user database, 412...sorting device database, 414...trained model, 500...specific gravity sorting device, 510...floating / sinking sorting unit, 520...jig sorting unit, 600...optical sorting device, 610...conveyor unit, 620...X-ray source, 622...detector, 630...air gun unit, 640, 642...recovery unit, 650...control device

Claims

1. A sorting device that sorts a mixture containing multiple types of materials into individual types of materials; a first arithmetic device including: an acquisition unit that acquires mixture information related to the mixture, operation status information indicating an operation status of the sorting device, and sorting result information indicating a sorting result of the sorting device; a first arithmetic unit that performs a first arithmetic process on the mixture information, the operation status information, and the sorting result information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a transmission unit that transmits information on which the first arithmetic process has been performed by the first arithmetic unit; a second arithmetic unit that calculates sorting conditions of the sorting device based on information transmitted from the first arithmetic unit, and a transmission unit that transmits information indicating the sorting conditions of the sorting device calculated by the second arithmetic unit to the first arithmetic unit; The first arithmetic device includes a receiving unit that receives information indicating the selection condition transmitted by the second arithmetic device, and a control unit that controls the selection device based on the selection condition. Sorting system.

2. A plurality of the sorting devices; A plurality of the first arithmetic units corresponding to the plurality of the sorting devices, respectively; A second arithmetic unit corresponding to the plurality of first arithmetic units; The second calculation unit calculates a sorting condition of one of the sorting devices based on information received from a plurality of the first calculation devices. The sorting system of claim 1 .

3. The second calculation unit inputs information transmitted from the first calculation device to a trained model, and calculates the selection condition based on an output of the trained model; The trained model is trained using the mixture information, the operating state information, and the sorting result information transmitted by each of the plurality of first computing devices as training data. The sorting system of claim 2.

4. the sorting device includes an optical sensor that captures an image of the mixture to be sorted and generates an image signal as the mixture information; The first calculation unit generates mixing ratio data indicating a mixing ratio of the mixture based on the image signal generated by the optical sensor. The sorting system of claim 1 .

5. the sorting device includes an optical sensor that captures an image of the mixture to be sorted and generates an image signal as the mixture information; The first calculation unit extracts a portion of the image signal generated by the optical sensor, The transmission unit transmits a portion of the image signal to the second arithmetic device. The sorting system of claim 1 .

6. The sorting system according to claim 5 , wherein the transmission unit transmits information other than the part of the image signal to the second calculation device when the sorting device is stopped operating.

7. The transmission unit is When the sorting device is in operation, the first calculation unit transmits calculation result information obtained by performing the first calculation process; transmitting raw information used to calculate the calculation result information when the sorting device is stopped; The sorting system of claim 1 .

8. The sorting device includes a flow sensor that generates, as the mixture information, a flow rate signal that changes according to a flow rate of the mixture to be sorted; The first calculation unit analyzes a flow rate signal generated by the flow rate sensor to generate flow rate information indicating a flow rate of the mixture. The sorting system of claim 1 .

9. the sorting device is an electrostatic sorting device that includes an electric charge sensor that generates, as mixture information, an electric charge signal that changes according to the electric charge of the mixture to be sorted, and adjusts the magnitude of a voltage applied to an electrode pair that applies an electrostatic force to the charged mixture, or the position of a partition that divides an area containing the mixture induced by the electrostatic force, the first calculation unit analyzes the charge amount signal generated by the charge amount sensor to generate charge amount information indicating the charge amount of the mixture; The sorting system of claim 1 .

10. The sorting device is a gravity sorting device that performs sorting by utilizing differences in specific gravity according to the types of resin pieces contained in the mixture to be sorted, the first calculation unit performs a first calculation process on at least a part of information including mixture information regarding the mixture in the specific gravity sorting device, operation status information indicating an operation status of the specific gravity sorting device, and sorting result information indicating a sorting result of the specific gravity sorting device; The sorting system of claim 1 .

11. the sorting device is an optical sorting device that includes an optical sensor that captures images of resin pieces contained in the mixture to be sorted, and sorts the resin pieces by utilizing differences in light absorption characteristics according to the types of the resin pieces captured by the optical sensor; the first calculation unit performs a first calculation process on at least a part of information including mixture information regarding the mixture in the optical sorting device, operation status information indicating an operation status of the optical sorting device, and sorting result information indicating a sorting result of the optical sorting device; The sorting system of claim 1 .

12. A sorting device that sorts a mixture containing a plurality of types of materials by material type generates mixture information regarding the mixture in response to a mixture to be sorted being supplied; A step in which a first calculation device performs a first calculation process on the mixture information and transmits information on which the first calculation process has been performed; A step in which a second calculation device calculates a sorting condition of the sorting device based on the information transmitted from the first calculation device, and transmits information indicating the sorting condition of the sorting device to the first calculation device; A step in which the first calculation device controls the sorting device to sort the mixture to be sorted based on a sorting condition of the sorting device; A selection method comprising:

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