Control device, foreign object removal device, and control method

Abstract

The control device of the present disclosure is used for a foreign substance removal device that comprises: a removal unit for collecting foreign substances from waste material transported by a transport device and removing the foreign substances; a dust-protection unit for carrying out dust-protection which relates to maintenance of the foreign substance removal device and intends protection from dust derived from the waste material; and an imaging unit that is placed on the upstream side of the removal unit and images the waste material. This control device executes at least one of: control processing for controlling the dust-protection unit on the basis of information on the amount of waste material obtained from an image captured by the imaging unit; and output processing for outputting information on the maintenance of the foreign substance removal device on the basis of the information on the amount of waste material obtained from the image captured by the imaging unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification discloses a control device, a foreign matter removal device, and a control method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a processing device containing combustible dust that crushes combustibles such as waste plastics as waste materials with a crusher and burns them in a heat treatment furnace has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this processing device, it is said that the height of the object to be processed is detected using a height sensor, and the supply amount of water vapor is controlled according to the height, thereby preventing the occurrence of dust explosion.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, maintenance of the device was not considered. For example, when removing foreign matter from waste materials, it is desirable to be able to perform appropriate maintenance.

[0005] This disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and the main object is to provide a control device, a foreign matter removal device, and a control method that can perform more appropriate maintenance when removing foreign matter from waste materials.

[0006] This disclosure has adopted the following means to achieve the above main object.

[0007] The control device disclosed in this specification is A control device used in a foreign matter removal device comprising: a removal unit that collects and removes foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a dust prevention unit that performs dust prevention for maintenance of the foreign matter removal device against dust originating from the waste material; and an imaging unit located upstream of the removal unit that images the waste material, A control unit that performs one or more of the following: a control process that controls the dustproof unit based on information regarding the amount of waste material obtained from the captured image taken by the imaging unit, and an output process that outputs information regarding the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device based on information regarding the amount of waste material obtained from the captured image taken by the imaging unit. It is something that is provided.

[0008] This control device performs control processing to control the dustproof section, which is involved in dust prevention during the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device, based on information about the amount of waste material obtained from images of the waste material. Alternatively, this control device performs output processing to output information about the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device based on information about the amount of waste material obtained from images of the waste material. Because this control device outputs information about the control and maintenance of the dustproof section in response to increases or decreases in the amount of waste material, it is possible to perform more appropriate device maintenance when removing foreign matter from waste material. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] An explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of the recycling system 10. [Figure 2] An explanatory diagram showing an example of the general configuration of the foreign object removal device 30. [Figure 3] A perspective view showing an example of the schematic configuration of the removal section 34. [Figure 4] An explanatory diagram showing an example of information stored in the memory unit 52. [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram of correspondence information 55, including the correspondence between waste material images and dust volume. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram of correspondence information 55, including the correspondence between dust volume and dust control level. [Figure 7]An explanatory diagram showing an example of images 81 and 82 captured by the recognition unit 31. [Figure 8] A flowchart illustrating an example of a foreign object removal process routine. [Figure 9] A flowchart showing an example of a dust control output processing routine. [Figure 10] An explanatory diagram of correspondence information, including the relationship between images of waste materials and the amount of waste materials. [Figure 11] An explanatory diagram of the relationship information, including the correspondence between the amount of waste material and the amount of dust control. [Figure 12] A flowchart showing an example of another dust control output processing routine. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments for implementing this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a recycling system 10 for recycling waste materials. Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of a foreign matter removal device 30. Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the schematic configuration of a removal unit 34. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of cumulative information 53, threshold information 54, and correspondence relationship information 55 stored in the storage unit 52. Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of correspondence relationship information 55, including the correspondence between the waste material image and the amount of dust in the captured image. Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of correspondence relationship information 55, including the correspondence between the amount of dust and the dust control amount. Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of captured images 81 and 82 of the recognition unit 31. In this embodiment, the left-right direction, front-back direction, and up-down direction are as shown in Figures 1 to 3 and 7. In this embodiment, the direction in which the waste material 12 is transported will be referred to as the transport direction D.

[0011] The waste material 12 processed in the recycling system 10 is a mixture of recyclable materials 13 such as stone, sand, and concrete, and foreign matter 14 including paper, resin, wood, and metal. As shown in Figure 1, the recycling system 10 includes a primary crusher 15, a primary magnetic separator 16, a screen machine 17, a foreign matter removal device 30, a secondary crusher 18, a secondary magnetic separator 19, and conveying devices 20-25.

[0012] The primary crusher 15 is a device that performs primary crushing of the raw material waste material 12. This primary crusher 15 crushes the waste material 12 to a predetermined primary size or smaller (for example, 40 cm or less). The primary magnetic separator 16 is a device that removes magnetic foreign matter contained in the waste material 12 by magnetic force. The screen machine 17 is a device that separates waste material 12 larger than the primary size from waste material 12 smaller than the primary size by having the waste material 12 pass over a mesh. The secondary crusher 18 is a device that performs secondary crushing of the waste material 12 to a size smaller than that of the primary crusher 15. This secondary crusher 18 crushes the waste material 12 to a predetermined secondary size or smaller (for example, 10 cm or less). The secondary magnetic separator 19 is a device that removes magnetic matter from the waste material 12 that could not be removed by the primary magnetic separator 16 and the foreign matter removal device 30.

[0013] The conveying devices 20-25, which serve as a conveying line, are devices that place the waste material 12 on a conveying surface and convey it along the conveying direction D, and are configured, for example, as belt conveyors. However, the conveying devices 20-25 may be configured in ways other than belt conveyors, as long as they convey the waste material 12.

[0014] The foreign matter removal device 30 is a device that is placed on the conveying surface of the conveying device 22 to convey the waste material 12 within the conveying line and remove foreign matter 14. As shown in Figure 2, the foreign matter removal device 30 consists of a recognition unit 31, a removal unit 34, a control device 50, and a dustproof unit 60. The conveying device 22 places the waste material 12 on its conveying surface and conveys the waste material 12 at a predetermined conveying speed.

[0015] The recognition unit 31 is arranged on the upstream side of the removal unit 34 in the conveyance direction D. The recognition unit 31 includes an imaging unit 32 that images foreign matter 14 contained in the waste material 12 conveyed by the conveyance unit 22, and a detection unit 33 that detects the height of the waste material 12. The imaging unit 32 is configured, for example, as a camera that images an image of the waste material 12 placed and conveyed on the conveyance surface 30 of the conveyance device 22. The imaging unit 32 is held above the conveyance surface of the conveyance device 22 by a holding member provided so as to straddle the conveyance device 22 in the left-right direction. The imaging unit 32 images a predetermined range including the waste material 12 from above the conveyance surface of the conveyance device 22 and outputs the image data to the control device 50 of the foreign matter removal device 30. As shown in FIG. 7, the imaging unit 32 images imaging images 81, 82 including the object 13 and the foreign matter 14. The control device 50 acquires the widths W1, W2 of the waste material 12 from the imaging images, and acquires the amount of the waste material 12, the amount of dust from the waste material 12, and the like. The detection unit 33 detects the height of the waste material 12 on the conveyance device 22. This detection unit 33 may be provided, for example, on the upstream side of the removal unit 34 in the conveyance direction D and may be configured as a stereo camera including two cameras. The detection unit 33 is held above the conveyance surface of the conveyance device 22 by a holding member provided so as to straddle the conveyance device 22 in the left-right direction. The detection unit 33 outputs information regarding the detected height of the waste material 12 to the control device 50. The recognition unit 31 may include a dust-proof cover 48 that covers the imaging unit 32 as shown in FIG. 2. Note that the foreign matter removal device 30 including the detection unit 33 can perform conveyance control of the waste material 12 using information in the height direction of the waste material 12. On the other hand, the foreign matter removal device 30 may omit this detection unit 33 or may omit the use of the height information of the waste material 12.

[0016] The removing unit 34 is a device that removes foreign objects 14 from the waste material 12 conveyed by the conveying device 22, and is configured as, for example, an XY robot. The removing unit 34 removes the foreign objects 14 present in the waste material 12 based on the captured image captured by the imaging unit 32. The removing unit 34 is provided on the downstream side of the recognition unit 31 in the conveying direction D. The removing unit 34 includes an X-axis slider 35, a Y-axis slider 40, a lifting unit 41 (see FIG. 5), a sampling unit 46, a support unit 57, a removing head 58, and a dust box 59. The removing unit 34 discards the sampled foreign objects 14 into a dust box 59 disposed on the side of the conveying device 22. Note that the removing unit 34 may have other configurations such as an articulated arm robot.

[0017] The X-axis slider 35 includes a guide rail installed along a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction D of the conveying device 22, a slider that moves along the guide rail, and a drive mechanism 36 that drives the slider. The guide rail is fixed to the slider of the Y-axis slider 40 installed on the conveying unit 22 along the conveying direction D. A removing head 58 provided with a lifting unit 41 is fixed to the slider. The drive mechanism 36 may be, for example, a linear motion mechanism using a ball screw including a screw shaft 37, a nut 38, and a motor 39. Note that the drive mechanism 36 is not particularly limited as long as it is a linear motion mechanism, and may be a linear motor or the like. In the X-axis slider 35, the drive mechanism 36 moves the removing head 58 along the X-axis direction.

[0018] The Y-axis slider 40 includes a guide rail installed along the conveying direction D, a slider that moves along the guide rail, and a drive mechanism that drives the slider. The guide rail is fixed to the support unit 57 installed on the conveying unit 22 along the conveying direction D. The X-axis slider 35 is disposed on the slider. The drive mechanism may be, for example, a linear motion mechanism using a ball screw including a screw shaft, a nut, and a motor. Note that the drive mechanism has the same configuration as the drive mechanism 36, and its description is omitted. In the Y-axis slider 40, the drive mechanism moves the X-axis slider 35 along the Y-axis direction.

[0019] The lifting unit 41 is fixed to the removal head 58, which is mounted on the X-axis slider 35. The lifting unit 41 includes a drive mechanism 42 that moves the sampling unit 46 up and down along the Z-axis. The drive mechanism 42 may be, for example, a linear motion mechanism using a ball screw comprising a screw shaft 43, a nut 44, and a motor 45. The drive mechanism 42 is not particularly limited as long as it is a linear motion mechanism, and may be a linear motor or the like. In the lifting unit 41, the sampling unit 46 is moved up and down along the Z-axis direction by the drive mechanism 42.

[0020] The sampling unit 46 has multiple gripping claws. The sampling unit 46 grips and releases foreign matter 14 by opening and closing the gripping claws to collect and remove it from the waste material 12. The sampling unit 46 is opened and closed by a gripping drive unit (not shown). The sampling unit 46 is moved in the X, Y, and Z directions within a predetermined range of the transport unit 22 by an X-axis slider 35, a Y-axis slider 40, and a lifting unit 41.

[0021] The dustproof unit 60 is a unit that performs dust protection for the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device 30 against dust originating from the waste material 12. Here, "dust protection" includes, for example, preventing dust from entering the device and removing dust to the outside of the device if it has entered the device. The dustproof unit 60 includes, for example, a gas circulation unit 61 through which a gas to remove dust from the waste material 12 flows, a liquid circulation unit 65 through which a liquid to remove dust from the waste material 12 flows, and a filter unit 75 for filtering out dust from the waste material 12. The gas circulation unit 61 performs dust protection, for example, by circulating gas in the recognition unit 31. Examples of gases include air. More specifically, for example, the gas circulation unit 61 may suppress dust adhesion by blowing gas onto the lens surface of the imaging unit 32. In this case, the gas circulation unit 61 has an air supply unit 62, a supply pipe 63, and a discharge port 64. The air supply unit 62 may be a compressor that discharges compressed air. The supply pipe 63 is a tubular member through which gas flows from the gas flow unit 61 to the imaging unit 32. The discharge port 64 is an opening that opens toward the lens surface of the imaging unit 32. In the gas flow unit 61, maintenance is performed by cleaning the air supply unit 62 and the supply pipe 63, etc., according to the usage conditions, including the amount of dust. Alternatively, for example, the gas flow unit 61 may prevent dust from entering the dust cover 48 of the recognition unit 31 by circulating gas inside the dust cover 48. In this case, maintenance in the gas flow unit 61 is performed by adjusting the flow rate of the circulating gas according to the usage conditions, including the amount of dust.

[0022] The liquid circulation section 65 is a device that washes away dust that enters movable parts such as the X-axis slider 35, the Y-axis slider 40, and the lifting section 41 using liquid. Examples of liquids include oil. The liquid circulation section 65 has a slider dustproof section 66 installed on the X-axis slider 35 and the Y-axis slider 40, and a lifting dustproof section 70 installed on the lifting section 41. The slider dustproof section 66 has a cleaning liquid pipe 67 and a circulation pump 68. The cleaning liquid pipe 67 is a tubular member through which liquid flows and is connected to both ends of the drive mechanism 36. The circulation pump 68 is a liquid pump that circulates liquid into the inside of the drive mechanism 36 via the cleaning liquid pipe 67. The lifting dustproof section 70 has a cleaning liquid pipe 71 and a circulation pump 72. The cleaning liquid pipe 71 is a tubular member through which liquid flows and is connected to both ends of the drive mechanism 42. The circulation pump 72 is a liquid transfer pump that circulates liquid into the drive mechanism 42 via the cleaning liquid pipe 71. The liquid circulation section 65 has a filter (not shown) installed inside. This filter separates foreign matter such as dust. In the liquid circulation section 65, maintenance is performed, including cleaning of the cleaning liquid pipes 67, 71 and circulation pumps 68, 72, and filter replacement, depending on the usage conditions, including the amount of dust. The filter section 75 has a filter 76 that is removablely installed outside the cooling fan 56 of the control device 50. The filter section 75 does not have a drive unit controlled by the amount of dust, but the filter 76 is replaced as part of maintenance, depending on the usage conditions, including the amount of dust.

[0023] The control device 50 is a device that controls the entire foreign matter removal device 30 and comprises a control unit 51, a storage unit 52, and a cooling fan 56. The control unit 51 is configured as a microprocessor centered on a CPU and controls the entire device. The control unit 51 outputs control signals to the recognition unit 31, the removal unit 34, and the dustproof unit 60, and also receives signals from the recognition unit 31, the removal unit 34, and the dustproof unit 60. The control unit 51 performs one or more of the following: control processing that controls the dustproof unit 60 based on information about the amount of waste material 12 obtained from the image captured by the imaging unit 32, and output processing that outputs information about the maintenance of each component of the foreign matter removal device 30 based on information about the amount of waste material 12 obtained from the image captured by the imaging unit 32. For example, the control unit 51 acquires the amount of dust from the waste material 12 as information about the amount of waste material 12 from the image captured by the imaging unit 32. Alternatively, the control unit 51 may acquire the amount of waste material as information about the amount of waste material 12. The memory unit 52 is a storage medium for storing information, and is composed of, for example, an HDD or flash memory. The cooling fan 56 is used to dissipate heat when the control unit 51 is operating, and is driven to a stepped airflow rate according to the load on the control unit 51.

[0024] As shown in Figure 4, the memory unit 52 stores various control programs in addition to cumulative information 53, threshold information 54, and correspondence relationship information 55. The cumulative information 53 is information that associates the date and time of the previous maintenance execution with the cumulative operating time accumulated since the maintenance execution date and time for each component of the dustproof unit 60. Examples of components of the dustproof unit 60 include a gas flow unit 61 that protects the imaging unit 32 from dust, a liquid flow unit 65 that protects the X-axis slider 35, Y-axis slider 40 and lifting unit 41 from dust, and a filter unit 75 that protects the control device 50 from dust. The cumulative operating time represents the accumulated operating time, with the load taken into account according to the amount of dust from the waste material 12. The threshold information 54 is information that associates a notification threshold and a maintenance execution threshold with each component of the dustproof unit 60. The notification threshold indicates that the preparation period for maintenance execution has begun based on the cumulative operating time. The maintenance execution threshold indicates that the period for actually performing maintenance has begun.

[0025] Correspondence relationship information 55 is information used to obtain the amount of dust from the information of the waste material contained in the image captured by the imaging unit 32, and to obtain the control amount of the dustproof unit 60 from the amount of dust. This correspondence relationship information 55 can determine the amount of dust from the waste material 12 by using at least the width W which is substantially perpendicular to the transport direction D of the waste material 12 contained in the image. Correspondence relationship information 55 includes a correspondence relationship between the width W of the waste material 12 in the image captured, as shown in Figure 5, and the amount of dust, and a correspondence relationship between the amount of dust and the control amount of the dustproof unit 60, as shown in Figure 6. Correspondence relationship information 55 has a correspondence relationship in which, for example, a larger width W of the waste material 12 obtained from the image captured, or the larger the area of ​​the waste material 12 obtained from the width W, results in a larger amount of dust. Furthermore, in correspondence relationship information 55, the control amount that controls the dustproof unit 60 tends to suppress the operation of the dustproof unit 60 more as the amount of dust from the waste material 12 obtained from the image captured is smaller. Furthermore, in the correspondence information 55, the control amount for controlling the dustproof unit 60 tends to increase the operation of the dustproof unit 60 as the amount of dust from the waste material 12 obtained from the captured image increases. Note that "tendency" indicates that while the correspondence is shown overall, it is permissible to include parts with different correspondences, such as constant values ​​or inverse correspondences. Note that the correspondences for each configuration may be determined empirically through experiments, etc. The correspondence for determining the amount of dust may be a linear relationship as shown in Figure 5A, or a curved relationship as shown in Figure 5B. Also, the correspondence for determining the control amount may be a proportional relationship as shown in Figure 6A for configurations that allow stepless control, or a step-like relationship as shown in Figure 6B for configurations that only allow step control.

[0026] Next, the operation of the foreign object removal device 30 configured in this manner will be explained. First, the process of removing foreign objects 14 from the waste material 12 will be explained. Figure 8 is a flowchart of an example of a foreign object removal processing routine executed by the control unit 51 of the control device 50. This routine is stored in the storage unit 52 and is executed by the control unit 51 after the foreign object removal device 30 is started. When this routine is started, the control unit 51 drives the transport device 22 (S100) and determines whether or not it is the imaging timing (S110). The imaging timing may be set to the timing when the waste material 12 transported by the transport device 22 is captured in a continuous still image. If the imaging unit 32 is shooting a video, this process may be omitted. If it is not the imaging timing in S110, the control unit 51 remains in standby mode. If it is the imaging timing in S110, the control unit 51 has the imaging unit 32 capture an image, acquires the image, and performs recognition processing of the foreign object 14 (S120). The control unit 51 performs a process to recognize foreign matter 14, for example, by detecting a region with a different brightness from the target object 13 and designating that region as the region of foreign matter 14. Next, the control unit 51 determines whether or not foreign matter 14 is present (S130), and if foreign matter 14 is present, it performs a foreign matter removal process (S140). In the foreign matter removal process, the control unit 51 moves the sampling unit 46 to the region where foreign matter 14 was recognized, grasps the foreign matter 14, and then performs a process to move the foreign matter 14 to the dust box 59. After S140, or if no foreign matter 14 is found in S130, the control unit 51 determines whether or not the recycling process of the waste material 12 has been completed (S150). If the recycling process is not completed, the control unit 51 repeatedly executes the processes from S110 onward. On the other hand, if the recycling process is completed in S150, the control unit 51 terminates this routine. In this manner, the foreign matter removal device 30 uses the captured image of the waste material 12 on the conveying device 22 to perform the foreign matter removal process 14.

[0027] Next, the process by which the foreign matter removal device 30 notifies the execution of dust prevention for each component and the maintenance of each component will be described. Figure 9 is a flowchart of an example of a dust prevention control output processing routine executed by the control unit 51. This routine is stored in the storage unit 52 and is executed by the control unit 51 in parallel with the foreign matter removal process. Here, we will mainly describe the case in which the amount of dust originating from the waste material 12 is acquired as information regarding the amount of waste material 12 and used in the processing. When this routine is started, the control unit 51 determines whether or not it is the imaging timing, similar to S110 (S200). If it is not the imaging timing, the control unit 51 remains in standby mode. If it is the imaging timing, the control unit 51 acquires the image captured by the imaging unit 32 and acquires the amount of dust from the waste material 12 as information regarding the amount of waste material based on the correspondence relationship information 55 (S210). From the image, the control unit 51 acquires the width W of the waste material 12 on the transport device 22 at predetermined intervals along the transport direction D. The control unit 51 acquires information regarding the amount of waste material using information that at least includes the width W of the waste material 12. The control unit 51 may determine the amount of dust from the width W of the waste material 12. Alternatively, the control unit 51 may determine the area of ​​the waste material 12 using the width W and a predetermined interval and then determine the corresponding amount of dust. As shown in Figure 7, the width W of the waste material 12 is correlated with the amount of waste material 12 present on the conveying device 22. The control unit 51 can use the empirically obtained correspondence information 55 shown in Figures 5 and 6 to determine the amount of waste material and dust according to the width W.

[0028] Next, the control unit 51 uses the correspondence relationship information 55 to obtain a control amount for the dustproof unit 60 corresponding to the acquired amount of dust (S230). The control amount includes, for example, the air supply amount of the air supply unit 62, the liquid supply amount of the circulation pump 68, and the liquid supply amount of the circulation pump 72. Since the control unit 51 sets the control amount based on the correspondence relationship information 55, it tends to set the control amount for the dustproof unit 60 in such a way that the operation of the dustproof unit 60 is suppressed more as the amount of dust from the waste material 12 obtained from the captured image is smaller. Also, since the control unit 51 sets the control amount based on the correspondence relationship information 55, it tends to set the control amount for the dustproof unit 60 in such a way that the operation of the dustproof unit 60 is increased as the amount of dust from the waste material 12 obtained from the captured image is larger. Next, the control unit 51 drives and controls the dustproof unit 60 using the set control amount (S240). Then, the control unit 51 obtains the operating amount corresponding to that control amount or the amount of dust, and updates the cumulative information 53 with the obtained operating amount (S250). The control unit 51 updates the cumulative operating amount according to the control amount for the air supply unit 62 and circulation pumps 68 and 72, which are directly driven, for example. The control unit 51 also updates the cumulative operating amount for the filter unit 75, which is not directly driven, according to the amount of dust. The control unit 51 may also accumulate an operating amount according to the ratio to the standard control amount or the amount of dust, when the standard operating amount is set to 1. For example, if the control unit 51 sets the cumulative operating amount to 10 when operating at an operating amount of 1 for 10 minutes, the cumulative operating amount will be 5 when operating at an operating amount of 0.5 for 10 minutes. Also, if the control unit 51 sets the cumulative operating amount to 15 when operating at an operating amount of 1.5 for 10 minutes. In the dustproof unit 60, the cumulative operating amount will be a smaller value when the load of dustproofing is smaller, and the cumulative operating amount will be a larger value when the load of dustproofing is larger.

[0029] When the cumulative operating time of the dustproof unit 60 is updated in S250, the control unit 51 determines whether there are any cumulative operating times that are equal to or greater than the warning threshold set in the threshold information 54 (S260). The control unit 51 performs the warning threshold determination for each component of the dustproof unit 60. If there are any cumulative operating times that are equal to or greater than the warning threshold, the control unit 51 determines whether there are any cumulative operating times that are equal to or greater than the maintenance execution threshold (S270). If the cumulative operating time is equal to or greater than the warning threshold and less than the maintenance execution threshold, the control unit 51 outputs a maintenance notice for that component of the dustproof unit 60 (S280). The maintenance notice may be, for example, displayed on a display unit such as an operation panel, indicating that maintenance will be performed soon. Upon confirming this, the worker M can prepare to perform maintenance on that component of the dustproof unit 60. On the other hand, if the cumulative operating time is equal to or greater than the warning threshold and also equal to or greater than the maintenance execution threshold, the control unit 51 outputs a maintenance execution notice for that component of the dustproof unit 60 (S290). Here, the control unit 51 may output information indicating that maintenance will be performed to a display unit such as an operation panel. The control unit 51 may also output information regarding the replacement of the filter 76 as maintenance information. Furthermore, if maintenance is left unattended, the control unit 51 may stop the operation of the foreign matter removal device 30 after a predetermined period of time to prevent equipment failure. Since the cumulative operating time of the dustproof unit 60 corresponds to the amount of dust from the waste material 12, the control unit 51 will notify the operator of maintenance information at a longer interval if the amount of dust from the waste material 12 is small. On the other hand, if the amount of dust from the waste material 12 is large, the control unit 51 will notify the operator of maintenance information at a shorter interval.

[0030] Then, after S290, or after S280, or if the cumulative operating amount is less than the warning threshold in S260, the control unit 51 determines whether or not to terminate the dustproof control output routine (S300). For example, the control unit 51 determines to terminate the dustproof control output routine when the recycling process of the waste material 12 is completed. Alternatively, the control unit 51 determines to terminate the dustproof control output routine when it receives an instruction to terminate the dustproof control output routine. For example, the instruction to terminate the dustproof control output routine may be input by the operator via the operation panel. If the control unit 51 determines not to terminate the dustproof control output routine, it executes the processing from S200 onwards. On the other hand, if the control unit 51 determines to terminate the dustproof control output routine, it terminates this routine. In this way, the foreign matter removal device 30 obtains information on the amount of waste material 12 using an image of the waste material 12 on the conveying device 22, changes the control amount of the dustproof unit 60 according to this information, accumulates the operating amount according to the control amount and the amount of dust, and performs maintenance at a more appropriate timing.

[0031] Here, the correspondence between the components of this embodiment and the components of the present disclosure will be clarified. The foreign matter removal device 30 of this embodiment is an example of the foreign matter removal device of the present disclosure, the control device 50 is an example of the control device, the imaging unit 32 is an example of the imaging unit, the removal unit 34 is an example of the removal unit, the dustproof unit 60 is an example of the dustproof unit, and the control unit 51 is an example of the control unit. Furthermore, the transport device 22 is an example of the transport device, the waste material 12 is an example of the waste material, and the foreign matter 14 is an example of the foreign matter. In addition, in this embodiment, an example of the control method of the present disclosure is also clarified by explaining the operation of the foreign matter removal device 30.

[0032] The foreign matter removal device 30 described above includes a removal unit 34 that collects and removes foreign matter 14 from waste material 12 transported by a transport device 22, a dustproof unit 60 that performs dustproofing related to the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device 30 against dust originating from the waste material 12, and an imaging unit 32 located upstream of the removal unit 34 that images the waste material 12. The control device 50 includes a control unit 51 that performs one or more of the following: a control process that controls the dustproof unit 60 based on information regarding the amount of waste material 12 obtained from an image captured by the imaging unit 32, and an output process that outputs information regarding the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device 30 based on information regarding the amount of waste material 12 obtained from an image captured by the imaging unit 32. The control device 50 performs a control process that controls the dustproof unit 60 that performs dustproofing related to the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device 30 based on the amount of dust, which is information regarding the amount of waste material 12 obtained from an image captured of the waste material 12. Alternatively, the control device 50 performs output processing to output information regarding the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device 30 based on the amount of dust, which is information regarding the amount of waste material 12 obtained from the captured image of the waste material 12. Since the control device 50 outputs information regarding the control and maintenance of the dustproof section 60 in accordance with the increase or decrease in the amount of waste material 12, more appropriate maintenance of the device can be performed when removing foreign matter 14 from the waste material 12.

[0033] Furthermore, the control unit 51 acquires the amount of dust as information regarding the amount of waste material from the captured image, and performs control processing and / or output processing based on the acquired amount of dust. Since this control device 50 can obtain the amount of dust originating from the waste material 12 from the captured image, it is possible to perform maintenance on the device more appropriately based on this amount of dust. In addition, the control unit 51 performs one or more of the following: control processing to control the dustproof unit 60 based on the amount of dust, and output processing to output information regarding the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device 30 based on the amount of dust. This control device 50 can perform control processing and output processing more appropriately using the amount of dust obtained from the captured image. Furthermore, the control unit 51 determines the amount of waste material 12 and / or the amount of dust from the waste material 12 based on information that includes at least the width W of the waste material contained in the captured image. This control device 50 can obtain information regarding the amount of waste material with relatively easy processing using information that includes at least the width of the waste material 12. Furthermore, the control unit 51 may determine the amount of waste material and / or the amount of dust from the waste material from the width W of the waste material included in the captured image, or it may determine the area of ​​the waste material using the width W of the waste material included in the captured image and determine the amount of waste material and / or the amount of dust from the waste material from this area. In addition, the control unit 51 may obtain information regarding the amount of waste material using correspondence information 55 that empirically associates information including at least the width W of the waste material 12 with the amount of waste material and / or the amount of dust.

[0034] Furthermore, the control unit 51 executes a control process that controls the dustproof unit 60 in such a way that the operation of the dustproof unit 60 tends to be suppressed more as the amount of waste material 12 obtained from the captured image and / or the amount of dust from the waste material 12 obtained from the captured image decreases. With this control device 50, excessive operation of the dustproof unit 60 and other components can be suppressed more effectively according to the amount of waste material 12, and maintenance of the device can be performed more appropriately. In addition, the control unit 51 executes an output process that outputs maintenance information in such a way that the output period for maintenance information of the foreign matter removal device 30 tends to be extended as the amount of waste material 12 obtained from the captured image and / or the amount of dust from the waste material 12 obtained from the captured image decreases. With this control device 50, excessive maintenance of the dustproof unit 60 and other components can be suppressed more effectively according to the amount of waste material 12, and maintenance of the device can be performed more appropriately. Furthermore, the control unit 51 executes a control process that controls the dustproof unit 60 in such a way that the operation of the dustproof unit 60 tends to be increased more as the amount of waste material 12 obtained from the captured image and / or the amount of dust from the waste material 12 obtained from the captured image increases. This control device 50 can more effectively suppress insufficient operation of the dustproof unit 60 and other components according to the amount of waste material 12, thereby enabling more appropriate dustproofing. Furthermore, the control unit 51 performs output processing that tends to shorten the output period for information regarding maintenance of the foreign matter removal device 30 as the amount of waste material 12 and / or the amount of dust from the waste material 12 obtained from the captured image increases. This control device 50 can more effectively suppress insufficient maintenance of the dustproof unit 60 and other components according to the amount of waste material 12, thereby enabling more appropriate maintenance of the device. Furthermore, in the output processing, the control unit 51 accumulates the operating amount of the dustproof unit 60, and outputs maintenance information when the accumulated operating amount reaches a predetermined maintenance execution amount. This control device 50 notifies the execution of maintenance according to the operating amount of the dustproof unit 60, thereby enabling more appropriate maintenance of the device.

[0035] Furthermore, the dustproof section 60 includes one or more of the following: a gas flow section 61 through which a gas to remove dust from the waste material 12 flows; a liquid flow section 65 through which a liquid to remove dust from the waste material 12 flows; and a filter section 65 for filtering out dust from the waste material 12. This control device 50 can remove dust by the flow of gas or liquid, or by the filter 76. Moreover, this control device 50 can more appropriately control the operation of these components. Furthermore, the removal section 34 removes foreign matter 14 present in the waste material 12 based on the image captured by the imaging section 32. This control device 50 can determine the amount of waste material 12 using the image of foreign matter removal captured by the imaging section 32. Therefore, it does not require other detection sections, and more appropriate device maintenance can be performed while further suppressing the complexity of the configuration.

[0036] Furthermore, the foreign matter removal device 30 includes a removal unit 34 that collects and removes foreign matter 14 from the waste material 12 transported by the transport device 22, a dustproof unit 60 that prevents dust originating from the waste material 12 from affecting the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device 30, an imaging unit 32 located upstream of the removal unit 34 that images the waste material 12, and the control device 50 described above. Because this foreign matter removal device 30 is equipped with the control device 50 described above, maintenance of the device can be performed more appropriately.

[0037] Furthermore, the dustproof section 60 can suppress excessive operation, thereby further reducing the consumption of air and oil. In addition, consumables such as oil and filters in the dustproof section 60 can be replaced at the appropriate time. Moreover, the foreign matter removal device 30 can utilize the imaging unit 32 that detects foreign matter 14, thereby further reducing the need for additional components and lowering additional costs while obtaining information on the amount of waste material 12.

[0038] It goes without saying that this disclosure is not limited in any way to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various forms as long as they fall within the technical scope of this disclosure.

[0039] For example, in the embodiment described above, the amount of dust is obtained from the captured image as information regarding the amount of waste material, and control processing and output processing are performed based on the obtained amount of dust. However, the control device is not limited to this, and output processing may be omitted. Also, although the control device 50 uses the amount of dust, it is not limited to this, and may obtain the amount of waste material and perform control processing and output processing based on the amount of waste material. Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram of correspondence information including the correspondence between the waste material image and the amount of waste material. Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram of correspondence information including the correspondence between the amount of waste material and the dustproof control amount. Figure 12 is a flowchart of an example of another dustproof control output processing routine. Note that in Figure 12, the same number is used for the same steps as in the dustproof control output processing routine described above, and a detailed explanation is omitted. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the control device 50 may use correspondence information that associates the width or area of ​​the waste material 12 obtained from the captured image with the amount of waste material, and correspondence information that associates the amount of waste material with the control amount of the dustproof unit 60. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 12, the control unit 51 acquires the amount of waste material in S300, acquires a control amount corresponding to the amount of waste material in S310, and acquires a cumulative operating amount corresponding to the control amount or the amount of waste material in S320. This control device 50 also outputs information on the control and maintenance of the dustproof unit 60 in accordance with the increase or decrease in the amount of waste material, so that more appropriate maintenance of the device can be performed.

[0040] In the embodiment described above, the control unit 51 determines the amount of dust and waste material from the waste material 12 based on the width W of the waste material 12 included in the captured image. However, the amount of dust and waste material may also be determined from the area using the width W. The area of ​​the waste material 12 may be obtained by multiplying the width W of the waste material 12 by a predetermined coefficient. In this case, the predetermined coefficient may be, for example, a predetermined distance (predetermined interval) in the transport direction D. Alternatively, multiple widths W may be obtained at multiple locations, and the area of ​​the waste material 12 may be obtained based on the lines connecting the multiple obtained widths W and the distance in the transport direction D of the region including the multiple locations. Alternatively, the area of ​​the waste material 12 may be obtained as the area of ​​the waste material 12 in a predetermined region in the captured image, based on the captured image. Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the amount of dust and waste material from the waste material 12 is determined based on the width W of the waste material 12. However, the control unit 51 may also acquire height information of the waste material 12 from a detection unit 33 located upstream of the removal unit 34 and detecting the height of the waste material, and determine the amount of waste material and / or the amount of dust from the waste material based on this height information. For example, the amount of waste material 12 can be determined by using the width W, height H, and transport amount C of the waste material 12 to derive the volume of the waste material 12. In this control device 50, information regarding the amount of waste material can be obtained with relatively easy processing using the height of the waste material 12. The detection unit 33 may, for example, acquire a first distance from the detection unit to the transport surface of the transport device 22 and a second distance from the detection unit to the top of the waste material 12. The difference between the first distance and the second distance may then be acquired as the height of the waste material 12.

[0041] In the embodiment described above, the dustproof section 60 includes a gas flow section 61, a liquid flow section 65, and a filter section 75. However, one or more of these may be omitted, or other components may be added. Furthermore, the gas flow section 61 may be applied to other components such as each slider or control device 50, the liquid flow section 65 may be used in other components, and the filter section 75 may be applied to other components.

[0042] In the embodiment described above, the imaging unit 32 of the foreign matter removal device 30 is used for detecting foreign matter present in the waste material and acquiring information regarding the amount of waste material 12. However, the device is not limited to this, and the foreign matter removal device 30 may have multiple imaging units. However, from the viewpoint of reducing the complexity of the device, it is preferable not to have multiple imaging units 32.

[0043] In the embodiments described above, the present disclosure was described as a foreign matter removal device 30 equipped with a control device 50, but it is not limited thereto, and the present disclosure may be the control device 50 itself or a control method.

[0044] Herein, the control device 50 of the present disclosure may be configured as follows. For example, the control device of the present disclosure is a control device used in a foreign matter removal device which comprises a removal unit that collects and removes foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device, a dust prevention unit that performs dust prevention for maintenance of the foreign matter removal device against dust originating from the waste material, and an imaging unit located upstream of the removal unit that images the waste material, and includes a control unit that acquires the amount of dust as information relating to the amount of waste material from the image captured by the imaging unit.

[0045] This control device acquires information about the amount of waste material, specifically the amount of dust, from images captured of the waste material. Because this control device can obtain the amount of dust originating from the waste material, it is possible to perform more appropriate maintenance on the equipment when removing foreign matter from the waste material using this dust amount.

[0046] The control method disclosed herein is a control method used in a foreign matter removal device comprising: a removal unit that collects and removes foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a dust prevention unit that performs dust prevention related to the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device against dust originating from the waste material; and an imaging unit located upstream of the removal unit that images the waste material, the control method comprising the steps of: performing a control process that controls the dust prevention unit based on information regarding the amount of waste material obtained from an image captured by the imaging unit; and outputting information regarding the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device based on information regarding the amount of waste material obtained from an image captured by the imaging unit. It includes.

[0047] This control method, similar to the control device described above, outputs information for controlling and maintaining the dustproof section in response to increases or decreases in the amount of waste material, thereby enabling more appropriate maintenance of the device. In this control method, various embodiments of the control device described above may be adopted, and steps to implement each of the functions of the control device described above may be added.

[0048] Alternatively, the control method of the present disclosure is a control method used in a foreign matter removal device that removes foreign matter contained in waste material, comprising: a removal unit that collects and removes foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a dust prevention unit that performs dust prevention for maintenance of the foreign matter removal device against dust originating from the waste material; and an imaging unit located upstream of the removal unit that images the waste material, the control method of the foreign matter removal device that removes foreign matter contained in the waste material, the method comprising the step of acquiring the amount of dust as information relating to the amount of waste material from an image captured by the imaging unit.

[0049] This control method, like the control device described above, allows for obtaining the amount of dust derived from waste materials, and this dust amount can be used to perform more appropriate maintenance on the equipment. Furthermore, various embodiments of the control device described above may be adopted in this control method, and steps to implement each of the functions of the control device described above may be added. Potential for Industrial Application

[0050] This disclosure is applicable to technological fields such as industrial waste recycling. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 10 Recycling system, 12 Waste material, 13 Target object, 14 Foreign object, 15 Primary crusher, 16 Primary magnetic separator, 17 Screening machine, 18 Secondary crusher, 19 Secondary magnetic separator, 20-25 Conveying device, 30 Foreign object removal device, 31 Recognition unit, 32 Imaging unit, 33 Detection unit, 34 Removal unit, 35 X-axis slider, 36 Drive mechanism, 37 Screw shaft, 38 Nut, 39 Motor, 40 Y-axis slider, 41 Lifting unit, 42 Drive mechanism, 43 Screw shaft, 44 Nut, 45 Motor, 46 Sampling unit, 48 Dustproof cover, 50 Control device, 51 Control unit, 52 Memory unit, 53 Accumulated information, 54 Threshold information, 55 Correspondence relationship information, 56 Cooling fan, 57 Support unit, 58 Removal head, 59 Dust box, 60 Dustproof section, 61 Gas flow section, 62 Air supply section, 63 Supply pipe, 64 Outlet, 65 Liquid flow section, 66 Slider dustproof section, 67 Cleaning liquid pipe, 68 Circulation pump, 70 Lifting dustproof section, 71 Cleaning liquid pipe, 72 Circulation pump, 75 Filter section, 76 Filter, D Conveying direction, M Operator, W, W1, W2 Width.

Claims

1. A control device for a foreign matter removal device comprising: a removal unit for collecting and removing foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a dust protection unit for protecting the foreign matter removal device from dust originating from the waste material, having one or more of the following: a removal unit for collecting and removing foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a gas flow unit for circulating gas to remove dust from the waste material; a liquid flow unit for circulating liquid to remove dust from the waste material; and a filter unit located upstream of the removal unit for imaging the waste material, wherein the control device is used in a foreign matter removal device, A control unit that performs one or more of the following: a control process that controls the dustproof unit based on information regarding the amount of waste material obtained from the image captured by the imaging unit, and an output process that outputs information regarding the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device based on information regarding the amount of waste material obtained from the image captured by the imaging unit. A control device equipped with the following features.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires the amount of dust as information relating to the amount of waste material from the captured image, and performs the control process and / or the output process based on the acquired amount of dust.

3. A control device for a foreign matter removal device comprising: a removal unit for collecting and removing foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a dust protection unit for protecting the foreign matter removal device from dust originating from the waste material, having one or more of the following: a removal unit for collecting and removing foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a gas flow unit for circulating gas to remove dust from the waste material; a liquid flow unit for circulating liquid to remove dust from the waste material; and a filter unit located upstream of the removal unit for imaging the waste material, wherein the control device is used in a foreign matter removal device, A control unit that acquires information regarding the amount of waste material, namely the amount of dust, from the image captured by the imaging unit. A control device equipped with the following features.

4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit performs one or more of the following: a control process for controlling the dustproof unit based on the amount of dust, and an output process for outputting information regarding the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device based on the amount of dust.

5. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit determines the amount of waste material and / or the amount of dust from the waste material based on information that includes at least the width of the waste material in the captured image.

6. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control unit obtains height information of the waste material from a detection unit located upstream of the removal unit and detecting the height of the waste material, and determines the amount of the waste material and / or the amount of dust from the waste material based on the height information of the waste material.

7. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit performs either a control process to control the dustproof unit in such a way that the operation of the dustproof unit is suppressed more as the amount of waste material obtained from the captured image and / or the amount of dust from the waste material obtained from the captured image is smaller, or an output process to output information regarding maintenance in such a way that the output period for information regarding maintenance of the foreign matter removal device is increased as the amount of waste material obtained from the captured image and / or the amount of dust from the waste material obtained from the captured image is smaller.

8. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control unit performs either a control process to control the dustproof unit in such a way that the operation of the dustproof unit tends to increase as the amount of waste material obtained from the captured image and / or the amount of dust from the waste material obtained from the captured image increases, or an output process to output information regarding maintenance in such a way that the output period for information regarding maintenance of the foreign matter removal device tends to shorten as the amount of waste material obtained from the captured image and / or the amount of dust from the waste material obtained from the captured image increases.

9. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the control unit performs output processing to output information regarding the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device based on information regarding the amount of waste material obtained from the image captured by the imaging unit, and in the output processing, the operating amount of the dustproof unit is accumulated, and when the accumulated operating amount reaches a predetermined maintenance execution amount, the control device outputs information regarding the maintenance.

10. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the dustproof section comprises one or more of the following: a gas flow section through which a gas for removing dust from the waste material flows; a liquid flow section through which a liquid for removing dust from the waste material flows; and a filter section for filtering out dust from the waste material.

11. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the removal unit removes foreign matter present in the waste material based on the image captured by the imaging unit.

12. A removal unit that collects and removes foreign matter from waste materials transported by a conveying device, A dustproof section having one or more of the following: a gas flow section through which a gas for removing dust from the waste material flows; a liquid flow section through which a liquid for removing dust from the waste material flows; and a filter section for filtering out dust from the waste material, and which prevents dust from the waste material from affecting the foreign matter removal device. An imaging unit located upstream of the removal unit for imaging the waste material, A control device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, A foreign object removal device equipped with the following features.

13. A control method for a foreign matter removal device comprising: a removal unit for collecting and removing foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a dust-proof unit for protecting the foreign matter removal device from dust originating from the waste material, having one or more of the following: a removal unit for collecting and removing foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a gas flow unit for circulating gas to remove dust from the waste material; a liquid flow unit for circulating liquid to remove dust from the waste material; a filter unit for filtering out dust from the waste material; and an imaging unit located upstream of the removal unit for imaging the waste material. A step of performing one or more of the following: a control process that controls the dustproof unit based on information regarding the amount of waste material obtained from the image captured by the imaging unit, and an output process that outputs information regarding the maintenance of the foreign matter removal device based on information regarding the amount of waste material obtained from the image captured by the imaging unit. A control method including

14. A control method for a foreign matter removal device comprising: a removal unit for collecting and removing foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a dust-proof unit for protecting the foreign matter removal device from dust originating from the waste material, having one or more of the following: a removal unit for collecting and removing foreign matter from waste material transported by a transport device; a gas flow unit for circulating gas to remove dust from the waste material; a liquid flow unit for circulating liquid to remove dust from the waste material; a filter unit for filtering out dust from the waste material; and an imaging unit located upstream of the removal unit for imaging the waste material. A step of obtaining the amount of dust as information regarding the amount of waste material from the image captured by the imaging unit, A control method including

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