Item recovery device

Abstract

To deal with a situation where efficiency and labor saving of bag replacement work are required to alleviate a workload, as replacement work of a recovery bag requires its share of a workload from an operator of an installation store.SOLUTION: An article recovery device includes: a bag holding part for holding a bag for storing a container; and a movement part for moving the bag holding part between an in-device storage position and a bag replacement position so as to advance / retreat. The bag holding part can remove the bag also in a direction other than an opening direction of the bag, at the bag replacement position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , , , [Figure 1] , , ,

[0001] The present invention relates to an article collection device.

Background Art

[0002] Container collection devices are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the container collection device described in Patent Document 1, an empty container such as a plastic bottle is inserted into an inlet.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The empty container collection device crushes and compresses plastic bottles to reduce their volume and then stores them in a collection bag. For the operator at the installation store, the task of replacing the collection bag is rather burdensome. Therefore, in order to reduce the workload, there has been a demand for improving the efficiency and labor-saving of the bag replacement task.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The article collection device according to the present invention comprises at least the following configuration. A bag holding part for holding a bag for containing containers, and a moving part for moving the bag holding part forward and backward between a storage position inside the device and a bag replacement position, wherein the bag holding part is capable of removing the bag in a direction other than the opening direction of the bag at the bag replacement position Furthermore, it does not have a bottom plate to support the bag. which is characterized in that.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] [Figure 1]This is an overall conceptual diagram of an article recovery device (empty container recovery device) according to one embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a front view of the article recovery device, (b) is a left side view of the article recovery device, and (c) is a top view of the article recovery device. [Figure 2] These are perspective views (left perspective view, right perspective view) of an item collection device (empty container collection device). [Figure 3] This is a side cross-sectional view of the item recovery device (empty container recovery device), specifically a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Figure 1(a). [Figure 4] This diagram shows the front left door of the item recovery device (empty container recovery device) in an open state. (a) is a front view of the item recovery device, (b) is a left side view of the item recovery device, and (c) is a top view of the item recovery device. [Figure 5] This diagram shows the front left door of the item collection device (empty container collection device) in an open state, and is a perspective view (left perspective view, right perspective view) of the item collection device (empty container collection device). [Figure 6] This is a perspective view showing only the bag-holding section. [Figure 7] This is a perspective view showing the item collection device (empty container collection device) with both the front left door and the front right door open, and only the left bag holding section pulled out. [Figure 8] This diagram illustrates the item recovery device (empty container recovery device). (a) is an electrical functional block diagram of the item recovery device (empty container recovery device), and (b) is a functional block diagram of the control unit. [Figure 9] This is a conceptual diagram of the container input section of an item recovery device (empty container recovery device). [Figure 10] These diagrams illustrate the detection unit and other components of the item recovery device (empty container recovery device). Specifically, (a) is a left-side perspective view of the container input section, (b) is a right-side perspective view of the container input section, and (c) is a front view of the container input section. [Figure 11] This is a perspective view showing an example of an empty container collection device with the outer door closed and the inner door closed. [Figure 12] This is a side view conceptual diagram showing an example of an empty container recovery device with the outer door closed and the inner door closed. [Figure 13]This is a perspective view showing an example of an empty container collection device with the outer door open and the inner door closed. [Figure 14] This is a side view conceptual diagram showing an example of an empty container recovery device with the outer door open and the inner door closed. [Figure 15] This is a front perspective view showing an example of an item retrieval device (empty container retrieval device) with the outer door closed (not shown) and the inner door open. [Figure 16] This figure shows the inner door of an article retrieval device according to one embodiment of the present invention in a slightly open state when in cleaning mode. [Figure 17] This is a lower perspective view of the item collection device (empty container collection device) with a portion of the right side cut out. [Figure 18] This is a perspective view of the upper part of an item recovery device (empty container recovery device), with (a) showing the deflection mechanism facing left front and (b) showing the deflection mechanism facing left rear. [Figure 19] This is a perspective view of the item recovery device (empty container recovery device) with both the front left door and the front right door open, and a portion of the upper part cut out. [Figure 20] This figure shows the folded disc of the deflection mechanism tilted towards the front left, where (a) is a front view of Figure 18(a) viewed from the front in direction C, and (b) is a rear view of Figure 18(a) viewed from the rear in direction C. [Figure 21] This figure shows the folded disc of the deflection mechanism in a horizontal position, where (a) is a front view of Figure 19 viewed from the front in direction D, and (b) is a rear view of Figure 19 viewed from the rear in direction D. [Figure 22] This is a perspective view of an article recovery device (empty container recovery device) according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] This is a perspective view of the drawer section of an article recovery device (empty container recovery device) according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24] This figure shows a bag extrusion section as an example of a component of the bag holding section of the present invention. [Figure 25]The six views and the front perspective view of the article collection device (empty container collection device) according to the embodiment of the present invention by the orthographic projection method.

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0007] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments of the present invention include the illustrated contents, but are not limited thereto. In the description of each of the following figures, parts common to those already described are denoted by the same reference numerals, and some of the overlapping descriptions are omitted.

[0008] (Basic Configuration of Article Collection Device) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an empty container collection device 100 that collects empty containers (such as PET bottles) to be collected as an article collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. (a) is a front view of the article collection device, (b) is a left side view of the article collection device, and (c) is a top view of the article collection device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the article collection device (empty container collection device). FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1(a).

[0009] In standby mode, the empty container collection device 100 has an outer door 111 of the item input section in a closed state, and an inner door 112, which is provided between the container input section 110 and the bag holding section 140 so as to be openable and closable, is also in a closed state. The bag holding section 140 holds a bag (plastic bag) used to collect empty containers. When collecting items, the outer door 111 of the container input section 110 opens, and a discrimination unit determines whether the item placed on the placement section of the container input section 110 is an item to be collected (for example, an empty plastic container such as a PET bottle). If it is determined that the item is an item to be collected (an empty container), the outer door 111 closes, the inner door 112 provided between the container input section 110 and the bag holding section 140 (in this embodiment, there are two bag holding sections 140) opens, and the container is collected into the bag held by the bag holding section 140. In this embodiment, the empty container recovery device is equipped with a volume reduction mechanism (also referred to as the volume reduction section 120 or container volume reduction section), and by reducing the volume of the container using the volume reduction mechanism (volume reduction section 120), a large amount of reduced-volume empty containers can be recovered in two bags (plastic bags) of a specified capacity. Furthermore, the deflection mechanism 151 allows the direction in which the empty containers are discharged to be varied in various directions such as front, back, left, and right, enabling efficient bag replacement. This will be described in detail later.

[0010] Furthermore, the items to be collected are not limited to PET bottles, cans, and glass bottles, but can include, for example, milk cartons, trays, ink cartridges, items returned to libraries and rental shops (such as books and DVDs), dry cleaning items, batteries, light bulbs, or any other items that are eligible for collection. In other words, the empty container collection device is one embodiment of the device or item collection device according to the present invention.

[0011] More specifically, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the empty container collection device 100, as an article collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, has a container input section 110 at the top of the main body 100B of the device, and an outer door 111 is provided on the outside of the opening of the container input section 110. The main body 100B of the device has a display operation section 3, a transmitting / receiving section 4 (communication section), and a reader / writer 17 (card reader / writer) on the front side near the top of the outer door 111. In addition, a luggage hook 100f is provided on the front side of the main body 100B of the device.

[0012] Furthermore, a space is provided below the container input section 110 to guide the container to the bag holding section 140, and an inner door 112 is provided on the container input section 110 for sending the empty container P towards this space.

[0013] In this embodiment, the empty container collection device 100 is provided with a volume reduction section 120 (volume reduction mechanism) and a deflection mechanism 151 between the inner door 112 and the bag holding section 140. When the inner door 112 is open, the volume reduction section 120 crushes and reduces the volume of the empty container P from the container input section 110, and sends the reduced-volume container to the upper surface of the deflection mechanism 151. The deflection mechanism 151 causes the direction in which the empty container is sent to differ in various directions, such as front, back, left, and right.

[0014] The main body 100B of the empty container collection device 100 is larger than that of conventional devices. The increased height and depth dimensions are expected to increase the amount of containers collected per collection bag change. In particular, the width has been doubled to allow two bags (plastic bags) to be placed side by side. By switching to collecting empty containers from one bag when the other bag is full, for example, the number of empty containers that can be collected can be greatly increased with almost no downtime for the device.

[0015] The main body 100B of the empty container collection device 100 has a slide rail 144 (not shown in Figures 1-3) which functions as a movable part that moves the two bag holding parts 140 so that they can move back and forth between a storage position inside the device and a bag replacement position. The main body 100B has a front left door 100LD and a front right door 100RD corresponding to each of the two bag holding parts 140.

[0016] The front left door 100LD and the front right door 100RD are each provided with a light-transmitting section 100A (light-transmitting window) on their front sides, allowing the empty containers housed in bags (plastic bags) to be visible from the outside.

[0017] Furthermore, the main body 100B of the device is equipped with a cap insertion section 108 on its front side, and is configured so that caps inserted into the cap insertion section 108 are stored in a cap storage section (not shown) via a cap passage (not shown). In conventional designs, the cap storage section had to be positioned at the expense of a portion of the empty container storage space, but in this embodiment, since the width dimension has been doubled, it is possible to position the cap storage section higher than the empty container storage space with ample clearance. Furthermore, the cap passage (not shown) may have a mechanism for separating caps from items smaller than caps. Specifically, the cap passage (not shown) may be branched, and a mesh-like material may be used at the branching point to allow leftover cigarette butts, rainwater, etc. to be discharged and accumulated via a separate route, so that only caps are placed in the cap storage section (not shown).

[0018] The volume reduction section 120 shown in Figure 1 has a structure in which a pair of rotating shafts 811 and 911 are rotatably supported, as shown in Figure 3, which is a side cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 1(a)) of the article recovery device (empty container recovery device 100). A gear is provided at one end of the rotating shaft 811 and is configured to mesh with a gear provided at one end of the rotating shaft 911. These rotating shafts 811 and 911 are rotationally driven by a drive motor (not shown). In the space behind the area enclosed by the dashed circle B in Figure 3, compression rollers 81 and 91, each of the pair of rotating shafts 811 and 911, which have cutting surfaces on both axial sides, and spacers (not shown) with a smaller diameter than the compression rollers 81 and 91 and slightly thicker than the thickness of the compression rollers 81 and 91 are alternately arranged along the axial direction (see also Figure 17).

[0019] The outer circumference of a compression roller 81 provided on one rotating shaft 811 is positioned between compression rollers 91 provided on the other rotating shaft 911, and is positioned at a predetermined distance from a spacer provided between the compression rollers 91 on the other rotating shaft 911.

[0020] Furthermore, a feeding mechanism (not shown) is provided at the top of the volume reduction section 120. The feeding mechanism (not shown) has a rotating shaft with multiple blade sections (not shown) as paddles. As the rotating shaft rotates, the blade sections (not shown) rotate around the rotating shaft as the center of rotation, guiding the empty container P to the volume reduction section 120.

[0021] The rotating shafts 811 and 911 are driven by a drive motor (not shown). When driven, the rotating shafts 811 and 911 rotate in opposite directions, and the empty container P placed in the center is compressed by the compression rollers 81 and 91, and the reduced-volume empty container is output downwards.

[0022] Below the volume reduction section 120, a deflection mechanism 151 is positioned to change the direction in which the empty container is discharged in various directions, including front, back, left, and right. The deflection mechanism 151 consists of a disc with a notched circle in which at least a portion of the circle is cut out in a straight line. The disc is bent so that the left and right portions of both ends of the notch are slightly inclined, and by rotating the disc from side to side, the disc is tilted to the front right, front left, rear right, and rear left. When the notched portion is facing directly forward, the disc is in a horizontal position. Figure 3 shows this state.

[0023] Furthermore, the empty container collection device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention performs a process to notify the user when the bag (plastic bag) held in the bag holding section 140 becomes full. When the empty container collection device 100 detects, for example, an operation by an administrator or cleaner to open the bag holding section 140, or more specifically, an unlocking operation to pull the bag holding section 140 to the bag replacement position, it performs a process to notify the user to clean the storage section on which the items are placed.

[0024] Figure 4 shows an item recovery device (empty container recovery device 100) according to one embodiment of the present invention with the front left door 100LD open and the bag holding section 140 pulled out, where (a) is a front view of the item recovery device, (b) is a left side view of the item recovery device, and (c) is a top view of the item recovery device. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the item recovery device (empty container recovery device 100) with the bag holding section 140 pulled out.

[0025] As shown in Figures 4(a) and 4(c), the bag holding section 140 is constructed around a frame and does not have side or bottom plates. Conventional item retrieval devices had a box-like structure consisting of left and right side plates, a rear plate, and a front plate, into which a bag (plastic bag) was placed. The entire box was then pulled out to the front to replace the bag. Therefore, while there were no problems when setting up the bag, when removing a bag full of empty containers for replacement, it was necessary to lift the heavy bag straight up from inside the box, which placed a considerable burden on the worker. On the other hand, in this embodiment, which does not have side or front plates, the bag can be removed and moved not only upwards, which is the direction of the bag opening, but also forwards and to the left and right, eliminating the need to lift heavy bags. Furthermore, since there is no bottom plate, the replacement work can be performed with less burden by pulling out the bag holding section 140 while the trolley is adjacent to the empty container retrieval device 100. As shown in Figure 4(a), when the front left door 100LD is open and the front right door 100RD is closed, the trolley can be approached from the right side, which is convenient. Figure 4(a) also shows that the bent disc of the deflection mechanism 151 is tilted to the left and forward so that the empty container P can be sent out in the left-front direction.

[0026] As shown in Figure 4(c), the shape of the bag holding member 140 in plan view is set such that depth > width so that the deflection mechanism 151 can function effectively. The reason for this is that the deflection mechanism 151 has a wide range of access to the storage area, and the distance from the deflection mechanism 151 to the edge of the box does not become extremely long. In other words, by adopting this positional relationship, it is possible to drop the containers evenly into the storage area, and the entire storage area can be used without bias. If, assuming the same storage volume is achieved, the relationship were set so that depth < width, the range of access to the storage area by the deflection mechanism 151 would be narrow, and the distance from the deflection mechanism 151 to the edge of the box would become extremely long. In this positional relationship, containers tend to accumulate near the deflection mechanism 151, making it impossible to use the entire storage area evenly. This can lead to problems such as a pile of containers forming near the deflection mechanism 151, causing the full sensor to detect fullness prematurely, and increasing the frequency of contact between the pile of containers and the deflection mechanism 151. Therefore, in the case of a retrieval machine equipped with two storage areas and a sorting mechanism (deflection mechanism 151) in the center, it is concluded that it is desirable for the sorting mechanism and the long side of the storage area to be in contact, and that a structure in which the depth is longer than the door width is advantageous. This is merely one example, but to give a specific example of the outer dimensions, if the radius of the disc of the deflection mechanism 151 is 16 cm, and the drop position of the container that falls via the disc is set to a position about 20 cm away from the disc, then the container can be dropped evenly along a circular arc with a radius of 36 cm centered on the deflection mechanism 151. In this case, if the depth of the plan view shape of the bag holding member 140 is 80 cm and the width is 50 cm, then the opening of the bag set in the bag holding member 141 will be approximately 80 cm x 50 cm. If the deflection mechanism 151 is positioned at the midpoint in the front-to-back direction of the 80 cm depth, the 36 cm drop arc will fit within the bag opening (80 cm x 50 cm) formed by the bag holding member 141. If the depth and width dimensions of the bag holding member 141 were swapped, the depth would become 50 cm and the width 80 cm. If the deflection mechanism 151 were placed at the center of the 50 cm depth, it would no longer fit within the opening (80 cm x 50 cm) of the falling arc (arc with radius 36 cm) created by the deflection mechanism 151. Therefore, it is desirable that the dimensional relationship between the bag holding portion 140 and the deflection mechanism 151 be such that they are arranged in a size and orientation that can accommodate the falling circle (or surface) drawn by the deflection mechanism.

[0027] As shown in the right perspective view of Figure 5, a ramp SL is provided on the inner surface of the bottom plate on the front open side of the empty container collection device 100, attached with a 180-degree hinge. Normally, it is held up by a spring, but when attempting to pull out the bag holding member 140, the ramp SL is pushed down by the bag (plastic bag) full of empty containers. This ramp SL allows for the smooth transfer of the bag (plastic bag) full of empty containers from the empty container collection device 100 to the trolley. When attaching a new bag, the ramp SL returns to its upright position, but interference between the soft empty plastic bag and the ramp SL is not a significant problem, and the bag can be easily attached.

[0028] Figure 6 is a perspective view showing only the bag holding section 140. Figure 7 shows the empty container collection device 100 with both the front left door 100LD and the front right door 100RD open, and only the left bag holding section 140 pulled out.

[0029] As shown in Figure 7, slide rails 144 are provided on the left and right inner surfaces and the central partition of the main body 100B of the device, functioning as movable parts that allow the bag holding part 140 to move back and forth between the storage position inside the device and the bag replacement position. The bag holding part 140 is based on an upper frame and consists of a bag pushing part 143 that functions as a structure and pushes the bag out from the back when the bag holding part 140 is advanced to the bag replacement position, three or more columnar parts 141 (in this embodiment, four corner columnar parts 141), and hooking parts 142 provided at or near the top of each of the columnar parts 141. As is clear from the positional relationship between the slide rails 144 and the hooking parts 142, the slide rails 144 are positioned at a height closer to the opening surface of the bag than the bottom surface of the bag when the bag is held. Since there is no bottom plate to support the bag, the force due to the weight of the bag is applied to the hooking parts 142, and this arrangement is suitable in terms of weight balance. Furthermore, a handle 147 is provided to pull out the entire bag holding section 140 from the device.

[0030] The latching portion 142 is, for example, made of an elastomer, and more specifically, of an elastic material such as rubber or other resin, or a non-slip material. By using such a shape and material, attaching and detaching the bag becomes safe and easy, and furthermore, by using a material with good adhesion such as rubber, the top opening of the bag can be hooked without sagging. Furthermore, the latching portion 142 has a shape that protrudes outward, making it easy to latch the bag. In addition, the tip of the latching portion 142 is formed in a roughly spherical shape, making it difficult for the bag to tear. The handle 147 has its gripping portion positioned upward when viewed from the front, similar to the locking portion 142. While it is possible to position the handle 147 towards the front when viewed from the front, this would require reducing the external dimensions of the bag holding portion 140 by the amount of the handle, thus requiring a smaller bag to be used. Alternatively, if the external dimensions of the bag holding portion 140 are not changed, the entire device would have to be enlarged to fit it inside. Since both cases present inconveniences, it is preferable to position the handle 147 upward.

[0031] This explains one example of how to replace the bags (plastic bags) used for collecting items. As shown in Figure 5, for example, with the front left door 100LD open, the trolley is positioned adjacent to the left front of the main body 100B of the device, either from the front or right side. Next, the bag holding unit 140 is pulled forward. As the bag holding unit 140 is pulled out, the bag pushing unit 143 also moves forward, pushing out the bag that is full of empty containers. The full bag pushes down the slope SL and slides along the slope SL, allowing the heavy full bag to be easily moved onto the trolley. Once the bag is fully positioned on the trolley, the four corners of the bag that are hooked onto the latching unit 142 are removed, and the bag is placed on the trolley. In this way, the bag that is full of empty containers can be collected without requiring much force. While there may be some inconvenience if a suitable-sized cart is unavailable or if placement constraints prevent the cart from being positioned next to the work area, the overall workload is still lightened because the heavy bags do not need to be lifted straight up, but can be pulled forward or to the right. After collecting the full bags, the ends (top ends) of the empty bags (plastic bags) are hooked onto the rubber balls (hooking parts 142) at the four corners, and the bag holding part 140 is pushed into the main body part 100B of the device, taking care to ensure that the bottom end of the bag avoids the slope SL.

[0032] (Electrical configuration of the item recovery device) Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the electrical configuration of an empty container recovery device 100 as an article recovery device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 is a conceptual diagram of the container input section 110 of the empty container recovery device 100. Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the detection section of the empty container recovery device, and in detail, Figure 10(a) is a left perspective view of the container input section, Figure 10(b) is a right perspective view of the container input section, and Figure 10(c) is a front view of the container input section.

[0033] As shown in Figure 8, the empty container recovery device 100 includes a control unit 1 (CPU), a storage unit 2, a display operation unit 3, a transmitting / receiving unit 4, an outer door drive unit 5, an inner door drive unit 6, a weighing unit 7, a metal detection sensor 8, a PET sensor 901, a container detection sensor 902, a safety detection sensor 903, a door position sensor 10, a door lock unit 11, a volume reduction drive unit 15, a reader / writer 17, a deflection drive unit 18, an imaging unit 19, and the like. Each component is electrically connected by signal lines or the like. In this embodiment, for example, the PET sensor 901, the container detection sensor 902, and the safety detection sensor 903 are all composed of optical sensors 9. Furthermore, the weighing unit 7, metal detection sensor 8, PET sensor 901, container detection sensor 902, safety detection sensor 903, and imaging unit 19 are provided near the mounting unit 116 or on the mounting unit 116 itself, and function as cleaning detection means 180 that detect whether cleaning has been performed on the mounting unit 116 depending on a predetermined mode as the processing mode of the control unit 1, specifically a first mode (normal processing mode), a second mode (cleaning mode), or the state of the recovery device. The control unit 1 controls one or more detection units (weighing unit 7, metal detection sensor 8, PET sensor 901, container detection sensor 902, safety detection sensor 903, imaging unit 19, etc.) differently depending on whether it is in the first mode (normal processing mode) or the second mode (cleaning mode).

[0034] The control unit 1 (CPU) comprehensively controls each component of the item recovery device (empty container recovery device 100). The control unit 1 implements the functions of the invention of this embodiment in a computer, for example, by executing a control program. The control unit 1 has a determination unit 101 that determines whether cleaning has been performed on the mounting section 116 of the recovery device 100 based on detection results from the cleaning detection means 180, etc.

[0035] Memory unit 2 is a memory device such as RAM or ROM. Memory unit 2 stores control programs and other information. Memory unit 2 also stores the characteristics of empty containers of the items to be recovered. These characteristics include, for example, the range of container mass and whether or not the container is made of resin.

[0036] The display operation unit 3 performs predetermined displays under the control of the control unit 1. The display operation unit 3 also outputs signals to the control unit 1 in response to user operations. The display operation unit 3 is, for example, a touch panel display device.

[0037] The transmitting / receiving unit 4, under the control of the control unit 1, performs predetermined communication with other terminal devices (computers) via a wireless or wired communication path.

[0038] The reader / writer 17 (card reader / writer) is a transceiver that communicates with contactless IC cards, IC tags, etc., and performs predetermined communication under the control of the control unit 1. Alternatively, the collection device 100 may have a code reader that reads a barcode or 2D code indicating a card identifier (member identifier) ​​recorded on the member card CD instead of the reader / writer 17.

[0039] The outer door drive unit 5 is a motor or the like for opening and closing the outer door 111, and its drive is controlled by the control unit 1.

[0040] The inner door drive unit 6 is a motor or the like for opening and closing the inner door 112, and is controlled by the control unit 1 to drive the inner door to either the open or closed state.

[0041] The deflection drive unit 18 controls the rotational drive of the bent disc of the deflection mechanism 151 so that it tilts to the front right, front left, rear right, and rear left, in order to switch to the other bag for collection when one bag is full, and to prevent empty containers from accumulating unevenly within the bag.

[0042] The weighing unit 7 weighs the mass of the empty container or non-recoverable object placed on the placement section 116 of the container input section 110 (in the first mode (normal processing mode)). The weighing unit 7 is a weighing device such as a load cell. Furthermore, the weighing unit 7 is used as a sensor to determine whether or not a container can be recovered by detecting the weight (measured value) of any remaining liquid inside the container placed on the placement section 116 of the container input section 110. The weighing unit 7 is also configured to determine the total weight contained in the bag holding section 140 by accumulating the weight values ​​of the containers that have been determined to be recoverable. This function eliminates the need to provide a weighing means in the bag holding section 140, allowing for a larger capacity bag holding section 140 and making the weighing unit 7 itself smaller. Because the object to be weighed is relatively small, there is no need to provide a large weighing means. Furthermore, in the second mode (cleaning mode), when removing dirt from the mounting section 116, a load is applied to the mounting section 116 to apply force for cleaning, causing the level of the signal indicating the measured value in the weighing section 7 to fluctuate. Specifically, when cleaning is done correctly and thoroughly, the value (measured value) becomes relatively large and the fluctuation range is large, while when cleaning is insufficient, the value (measured value) becomes relatively small and the fluctuation range is small. In cleaning mode, the control unit 1 detects whether cleaning is being done properly based on the fluctuation range of the measured value from the weighing section 7. Specifically, if the fluctuation range of the measured value is above a set threshold, it is determined that cleaning is being done properly, and if it is below the set threshold, it is determined that cleaning is insufficient. Furthermore, the process for determining whether cleaning is being performed is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, as long as the measured value output from the weighing unit 7 continues to fluctuate, it is considered that cleaning is actually being performed. More specifically, the control unit 1 may determine that cleaning is being performed correctly and sufficiently if the time for which the measured value output from the weighing unit 7 continues to fluctuate is equal to or greater than a set time, and determine that cleaning is insufficient if it is less than the set time.

[0043] The metal detection sensor 8 detects whether an object placed on the placement section 116 of the container input section 110 is metallic or non-metallic (in the first mode (normal mode)). In this embodiment, if the metal detection sensor 8 detects that an object placed on the placement section 116 is metallic, the control unit 1 determines that the object placed on the placement section 116 is not subject to recovery. In this embodiment, the metal detection sensor 8 is provided on the inner door 112, as shown in Figure 10(c). Alternatively, the metal detection sensor 8 may be provided on the mounting section 116. Furthermore, in the second mode (cleaning mode), for example, if the cleaner is wearing a metal ring or other metal product on their finger or wrist, or if the cleaning tool contains metal, the metal detection sensor 8 will detect that metal. In cleaning mode, the control unit 1 will determine whether the cleaning has been performed correctly and sufficiently based on the metal detection result by the metal detection sensor 8 and the length of time the detection occurred.

[0044] In this embodiment, the PET sensor 901, container detection sensor 902, and safety detection sensor 903 are all optical sensors 9. The optical sensor 9 is configured to receive light from a light-emitting unit provided on one of the left or right sides of the mounting unit 116 with a light-receiving unit provided on the other side.

[0045] As shown in Figure 10, the PET sensor 901 is configured to receive light from a light-emitting part provided on one of the left and right side walls 116W of the mounting part 116, with a light-receiving part provided on the other side. The PET sensor 901 also includes a polarizing plate and is configured to receive light through the polarizing plate, enabling it to detect empty containers to be collected by detecting polarized light transmitted through a translucent empty container such as a PET bottle (in the first mode (normal processing mode)). The control unit 1 detects the light received through the translucent empty container placed on the container loading area using the light receiving section (optical sensor 9) of the PET sensor 901, and determines whether or not it is an empty container to be recovered based on the detection signal from the optical sensor 9 (in the first mode (normal processing mode)).

[0046] As shown in Figure 10, the container detection sensor 902 is configured to receive light from a light-emitting unit provided on one of the left or right side walls of the mounting unit 116 with a light-receiving unit provided on the other side. When an empty container or the like is placed on the mounting unit 116 of the container loading unit, the control unit 1 determines whether or not an empty container is placed there based on the intensity of the light received by the light-receiving unit of the container detection sensor 902 (in the first mode (normal processing mode)).

[0047] As shown in Figure 10, the safety detection sensor 903 has a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit on the left and right sides near the input slot. More specifically, it is positioned where the outer door 111 is closed, and is configured to receive light from the light-emitting unit on one side and the light-receiving unit on the other side. The control unit 1 detects whether, for example, a person's hand is in or near the input slot based on the intensity of the light received by the light-receiving unit of the safety detection sensor 903. If the light from the light-emitting unit of the safety detection sensor 903 is received by the light-receiving unit, the control unit 1 determines that there is no person's hand or other object in the input slot. If the light is not received by the light-receiving unit, the control unit 1 determines that there is a person's hand or other object in the input slot and determines, for example, that the outer door 111 cannot be safely closed (in the first mode (normal processing mode)).

[0048] In the second mode (cleaning mode), the PET sensor 901, container detection sensor 902, and safety detection sensor 903 described above are light detection sensors, and the control unit 1 may detect whether cleaning is taking place based on, for example, the number of times the light emitted from the light-emitting part of each sensor toward the light-receiving part, or the duration of the light being blocked by the cleaner's hand or cleaning tools.

[0049] Furthermore, the control unit 1 may determine whether cleaning is being performed based on the output signals from two or more of the three sensors mentioned above (PET sensor 901, container detection sensor 902, and safety detection sensor 903). Furthermore, in the second mode (cleaning mode), the control unit 1 may determine which part of the mounting area has been cleaned based on the type of light detection sensor that has been blocked from light. In detail, the control unit 1 may determine that only the front part of the mounting section has been cleaned if the safety detection sensor 903 located on the front side of the mounting section detects that light has been blocked, or it may determine that both the front and back parts of the mounting section have been cleaned if the PET sensor 901, container detection sensor 902, and safety detection sensor 903 all detect that light has been blocked.

[0050] For example, an imaging unit 19 for imaging the mounting unit 116 may be provided near the mounting unit 116. The imaging unit 19 is used, for example, to determine whether an item placed on the mounting unit 116 is to be collected or not (in the first mode (normal processing mode)). The imaging unit 19 may also be used to determine whether the mounting unit 116 has been cleaned by a cleaner or the like, depending on a predetermined mode as the processing mode of the control unit 1, more specifically, the first mode (e.g., normal processing mode) or the second mode (cleaning mode), or the state of the collection device.

[0051] Furthermore, the item retrieval device is equipped with the aforementioned sensors around the placement area to determine whether or not an item needs to be retrieved. For example, in conventional retrieval devices, items are taken into the device, a determination is made as to whether or not they are items to be retrieved, and non-items are discharged from an outlet different from the input port. Since the device is equipped with a determination unit, an outlet is required. On the other hand, the article recovery device according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured such that it is not necessary to take the items to be recovered into the device, as sensors for determining whether or not recovery is necessary are provided in the mounting section which is the input port of the device. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide an outlet, and a compact article recovery device can be provided.

[0052] The door position sensor 10 detects the position of the outer door 111 and the inner door 112, and outputs signals related to the positions of the outer door 111 and the inner door 112 to the control unit 1. Based on these signals, the control unit 1 controls the opening and closing states of the outer door 111 and the inner door 112.

[0053] The door locking unit 11 has a locking device such as a solenoid, and locks the movement of the outer door 111 or inner door 112 as needed under control from the control unit 1.

[0054] (Specific configuration of the container loading section) Figure 11 is a perspective view showing an example of an empty container collection device 100 with the outer door 111 closed and the inner door 112 closed. Figure 12 is a side conceptual view showing an example of an empty container collection device 100 with the outer door 111 closed and the inner door 112 closed. Figure 13 is a perspective view showing an example of an empty container collection device 100 with the outer door 111 open and the inner door 112 closed. Figure 14 is a side conceptual view showing an example of an empty container collection device 100 with the outer door open and the inner door closed. Figure 15 is a front perspective view showing an example of an empty container collection device 100 with the outer door 111 closed and the inner door 112 open. Note that the outer door 111 is not shown in Figure 15. Figure 16 is a diagram showing the inner door slightly open during cleaning mode of an article collection device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] As shown in Figures 9 to 16, the container input section 110 of the empty container recovery device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a mounting section 116, an outer door 111, an inner door 112, a base 118, a weighing section 7, an outer door support section S111, an inner door support section S112, an outer door drive section 5, an inner door drive section 6, a first restriction section K111, a second restriction section K112, and the like.

[0056] The mounting section 116 is configured to allow the placement of objects to be collected. The side wall 116w of the mounting section 116 is equipped with light sensors 9, such as a light receiving section 9a and a light emitting section 9b. A weighing section 7 is also provided at the bottom of the mounting section 116.

[0057] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the mounting section 116 is not horizontal, but is inclined so that the bag holding section 140 side is lower than the article input side (the opening side when the outer door 111 is open). In other words, the mounting section 116 is configured to encourage the inserted articles to fall towards the bag holding section 140 side (or the volume reduction section 120 side) due to their own weight. As a result, there is no need to provide a transport mechanism to send the articles (input items) to the bag holding section 140, and a compact article retrieval device can be provided. Furthermore, the mounting section 116 has a surface treatment applied to the surface of the mounting surface, forming an uneven surface, which prevents the placed items from sticking to the mounting section. When the item retrieval device is a container retrieval device, even if the container is wet, the contact area between the container surface and the uneven surface of the mounting section is relatively small, so the surface tension due to wetness is reduced, and the container moves easily toward the bag holding section 140. In other words, it is possible to prevent problems such as wet containers not falling toward the container storage section.

[0058] The outer door 111 is located on the outside of the mounting section 116. The outer door drive unit 5 drives the outer door 111 so that it can be opened and closed. The inner door 112 is provided between the placement section 116 and the volume reduction section 120. The inner door drive unit 6 drives the inner door 112 so that it can be opened and closed. As shown in Figure 13, the inner door 112 is provided with a guide section 112D that guides the placement of empty containers. The guide section 112D is exposed and provided in a position visible from the main body of the device. The guide section 112D provides information to guide the placement of items (empty containers such as PET bottles) in a specified orientation and position (for example, 350ml, 500ml, 2000ml, etc.). This guide section 112D may be a recess, protrusion, sticker, LED display, LCD, etc., provided on the surface of the inner door 112. Furthermore, the item retrieval device may be equipped with a determination means that uses detection sensors such as the imaging unit 19 to determine whether the item is correctly placed at the placement position indicated by the guide unit 112D. In addition, if the orientation and position of the item are incorrect, the device may provide notification or other similar information using imaging processing or detection units such as optical sensors.

[0059] As shown in Figure 9, in this embodiment, the empty container collection device 100 has a base 118, which has outer door support parts S118, S111 that support the outer door 111 and the outer door drive unit 5. In detail, the outer door drive unit 5 and a rotating shaft C111 are provided at the upper ends of the two outer door support parts S118, and a fan-shaped outer door support part S111 is rotatably mounted on the rotating shaft C111, and the outer door 111 is supported by the fan-shaped outer door support part S111. One of the two rotating shafts C111 is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor of the outer door drive unit 5. The fan-shaped outer door support portion S111 is provided with a hole S111h through which the rotation axis C112 of the inner door 112 passes.

[0060] The weighing unit 7 is positioned between the base 118 and the mounting unit 116, and supports the mounting unit 116.

[0061] Furthermore, the inner door 112 is configured to guide the empty container placed on the mounting section 116 to the volume reduction section 120 when it is in the open position. In this embodiment, the inner door drive unit 6 and the inner door 112 are supported by an inner door support section S112, which is positioned on the weighing section 7 and extends from between the weighing section 7 and the mounting section 116. The inner door drive unit 6 is provided with a rotation shaft C112 for the inner door 112, and the inner door 112 is mounted on this rotation shaft C112. By opening the inner door 112, the items to be collected can be guided to the bag holding section 140 inside the main body of the device. The inner door support section S112 also has a hole S112h through which the rotation shaft C111 passes.

[0062] In other words, the outer door drive unit 5 and the outer door 111 are supported by the outer door support part S111 of the base 118, and a mounting part 116 is provided on top of the weighing unit 7 which is positioned on the base 118. Therefore, the weighing unit 7 can accurately weigh the mass of objects to be recovered that are placed on the mounting part 116. More specifically, since the weighing unit 7 does not support the outer door 111 or the outer door drive unit 5, the weighing unit 7 is less susceptible to vibrations from the outer door 111 and the outer door drive unit 5, and can accurately weigh the mass of objects to be recovered on the mounting part 116.

[0063] Furthermore, the outer door 111 of the empty container collection device 100, which is an article collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, is configured to be movable between an open position that exposes the mounting section 116 and a closed position that covers the mounting section 116. When the outer door 111 is closed, it is configured to be movable from the open position towards the mounting section 116 to the closed position. In other words, since the outer door 111 is configured to move from the open state towards the mounting section 116 and close, for example, when a user's hand or arm gets caught between the outer door 111 and the mounting section 116, the measurement value by the measuring unit 7 changes, and the control unit detects this change, making it easy to detect that a user's hand or arm, foreign object, etc., is caught between the outer door 111 and the mounting section 116.

[0064] Furthermore, in the empty container recovery device 100 as an article recovery device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the outer door 111 is provided with a first restricting part K111 that restricts the movement of the inner door 112. The inner door 112 is provided with a second restricting part K112 that restricts the movement of the outer door 111. The first restricting part K111 and the second restricting part K112 provide a mechanism that prevents both the outer door 111 and the inner door 112 from being in an open state. In other words, the empty container collection device 100 has a first restricting section K111 provided on the outer door 111 and a second restricting section K112 provided on the inner door 112, so it has a mechanically simple structure and can restrict the opening and closing operation of each door according to the open and closed state of the outer door 111 and the inner door 112, respectively.

[0065] Furthermore, the first restricting part K111 of the empty container collection device 100, which functions as an item collection device, is configured to respond to the movement of the outer door 111. The second restricting part K112 is configured to respond to the movement of the inner door 112. In addition, the empty container collection device 100 is configured such that when the outer door 111 is open, the first restricting part K111 restricts the movement of the inner door 112, and when the inner door 112 is open, the second restricting part K112 restricts the movement of the outer door 111. In detail, in this embodiment, the empty container collection device 100 is configured such that when the outer door 111 is open, the inner door 112 remains closed and is prevented from opening. That is, when the outer door 111 is open and an item is placed on the loading section 116, the inner door 112 remains closed and does not open, and regardless of whether the item placed on the loading section 116 is an item to be collected or not, it is not placed in the bag holding section 140 within the main body 100B of the collection device. In other words, in this state, the item (item to be collected or not) is in contact with the inner door 112, and the inner door 112 also serves as part of the loading section.

[0066] Furthermore, the first restricting portion K111 and the second restricting portion K112 are configured such that their movement paths overlap. In this embodiment, when one of the first restricting portion K111 and the second restricting portion K112 restricts the movement of the other, the empty container collection device 100 has a structure in which the first restricting portion K111 and the second restricting portion K112 are adjacent to each other with a slight gap in an arc shape. In detail, in this embodiment, the first restricting portion K111 is formed in a substantially fan shape. The first restricting portion K111 has a convex arc-shaped portion K111a and a concave portion K111b. The second restricting portion K112 is also formed in a substantially fan shape. In detail, the second restricting portion K112 has a convex arc-shaped portion K112a and a concave portion K112b.

[0067] As shown in Figures 13 and 14, when the outer door 111 is open and the inner door 112 is closed, and the first restricting part K111 restricts the movement of the second restricting part K112, the convex arc-shaped part K111a of the first restricting part K111 and the concave arc-shaped part K112b of the second restricting part K112 are adjacent to each other with a slight gap in the arc shape. In other words, in the embodiment of the present invention, as described above, when the outer door 111 is open, the inner door 112 is closed, and the movement of the second restricting part K112 is restricted by the first restricting part K111, so the inner door 112 remains closed and does not open.

[0068] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 15, when the inner door 112 is open and the outer door 111 is closed, and the second restricting part K112 restricts the movement of the first restricting part K111, the convex arc-shaped part K112a of the second restricting part K112 and the concave arc-shaped part K111b of the first restricting part K111 are adjacent to each other with a slight gap in the arc shape.

[0069] In other words, in the empty container collection device as an article collection device according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the outer door 111 is closed and the inner door 112 is open, the movement of the first restricting part K111 is restricted by the second restricting part K112, so that the outer door 111 remains closed and does not open. However, as shown in Figure 16, in cleaning mode, the inner door 112 can be opened slightly to facilitate cleaning the rear end of the mounting part 116. There is a small amount of clearance between the first restricting part K111 and the second restricting part K112.

[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the empty container recovery device 100 may have a prohibition means for prohibiting the movement of one or both of the first limiting portion K111 and the second limiting portion K112. In particular, the prohibition means may include, for example, a solenoid. This solenoid has a structure in which, for example, a metal movable pin (plunger) is arranged inside a coil, and when the coil is not energized, the movable pin (plunger) is positioned to protrude from the end of the coil by a biasing portion, and is configured to move inside the coil when the coil is energized. For example, as a means of preventing movement of the outer door 111 from a closed state to an open state, the movable pin (plunger) of the solenoid for the outer door may be configured to engage with a hole provided in the first restricting part K111. The control unit controls the system so that when the closed state of the first restricting part K111 is maintained and movement to the open state is prohibited, the movable pin is engaged with the hole, and when movement is not prohibited, the movable pin is disengaged. In other words, the means of preventing movement of the first restricting part K111 from a closed state to an open state can be prevented with a simple structure. Furthermore, as a means of preventing the inner door 112 from moving from the closed state to the open state, the movable pin (plunger) of the solenoid for the inner door may be configured to engage with a hole provided in the second restricting part K112. The control unit controls the system so that when the closed state of the second restricting part K112 is maintained and movement to the open state is prohibited, the movable pin is engaged with the hole, and when movement is not prohibited, the movable pin is disengaged. In other words, the means of preventing movement of the second restricting part K112 from the closed state to the open state can be prevented with a simple structure.

[0071] (LE configuration of the deflection mechanism) Figure 17 is a lower perspective view of the item recovery device (empty container recovery device 100) with a portion of the right side cut out. Figure 18 is a perspective view of the item recovery device (empty container recovery device 100) with a portion of the top cut out, where (a) shows the deflection mechanism 151 facing left front, and (b) shows the deflection mechanism 151 facing left rear. Figure 19 is a perspective view of the item recovery device (empty container recovery device 100) with both the front left door and the front right door open, with a portion of the top cut out.

[0072] As can be clearly seen by looking at the item collection device (empty container collection device) from below in Figure 17, a deflection mechanism 151 is positioned below the volume reduction section 120, allowing the containers whose volume has been reduced by the volume reduction section 120 to be released in various directions such as front, back, left, and right. More specifically, the deflection mechanism 151 is configured such that a disc with a notched circle, in which at least a part of the circle is cut out in a straight line, is bent so that the left and right portions of both ends of the notch are slightly inclined, and the disc is rotated left and right so that the disc tilts to the front right, front left, rear right, and rear left. Figure 18(a) shows the state in which the inclined surface of the bent disc is facing to the front left. In this state, the reduced-volume containers are released in front of the left bag (plastic bag). Figure 18(b) shows the state in which the inclined surface of the bent disc is facing to the rear left. In this state, the reduced-volume containers are released behind the left bag (plastic bag). Although not shown in the diagram, when releasing the reduced-volume container to the front right or rear right, the inclined surface of the folded disc should be directed towards the front right or rear right.

[0073] In Figure 19, the bent disc is positioned so that the notched portion faces the front of the device body 100B. In this state, the bent disc does not tilt and maintains a horizontal position. This makes it possible to move the bag holding section 140 between the storage position inside the device and the bag replacement position without interfering with the bent disc.

[0074] Figure 20 shows the state in which the bent disc of the deflection mechanism 151 is tilted toward the front left, where (a) is a front view of Figure 18(a) viewed from the front in direction C, and (b) is a rear view of Figure 18(a) viewed from the rear in direction C. Figure 21 shows the state in which the bent disc of the deflection mechanism 151 is horizontal, where (a) is a front view of Figure 19 viewed from the front in direction D, and (b) is a rear view of Figure 19 viewed from the rear in direction D.

[0075] The bent disc is driven to rotate around the vertical axis 1511. The disc's center of gravity is located off-center from the vertical axis 1511, and it is also pivotable due to a horizontal axis provided on the upper part of the vertical axis 1511. Therefore, without support, it will tilt towards the center of gravity. Figures 20(a) and (b) show that the disc is tilted towards the left and forward.

[0076] A deflection roller 1513 is positioned at the bottom of the disc. As the disc rotates, the deflection roller 1513 contacts a mountain-shaped slope 1512 provided around the upper side of the vertical axis 1511, and the tilt of the disc decreases. When the notched portion of the disc, which is a notched circle, faces the front of the device body 100B, the bent disc maintains a horizontal position. This is shown in Figure 21. As shown in Figure 21, interference with the bag holding section 140 can be avoided by setting the deflection mechanism 151 to a horizontal position. Therefore, when there is a possibility that the bag holding section 140 may be pulled out, control is executed to set the deflection mechanism 151 to a horizontal position. For example, when a transition to the maintenance screen is declared, when a declaration for bag replacement is received, when the front door 100LD is opened, or when an abnormality is detected in any of the devices, the deflection mechanism 151 is set to a horizontal position.

[0077] In this embodiment, a deflection roller 1513 is provided on the disc and an inclined surface (mountain-shaped slope) is provided on the upper part of the vertical shaft 1511. However, this relationship may be reversed, with the inclined surface provided on the disc and the deflection roller on the upper part of the vertical shaft 1511. The bending process of the notched disc contributes to more accurate direction setting of the discharge destination of the empty container, but since the direction of the discharge destination is set to a certain extent by the tilting of the disc, it is also possible to omit the bending process. As shown in Figure 4(b), the deflection mechanism 151 is configured such that when the disc is tilted, the tip (notched side) is below the upper end surface of the bag hooked onto the latch 142. This configuration has the function of reliably dropping the container guided by the deflection mechanism 151 into the storage bag. Another effect is that by having the deflection mechanism 151 and the latch 142 overlap in height, the overall height of the device can be reduced. This container retrieval device is intended to be usable regardless of the operator's physical characteristics (children, adults, the elderly, men, women, wheelchair users), so the height of the input opening and operation display is designed not to exceed a certain value. If the deflection mechanism 151 and the latch 142 were not positioned to overlap, the height of the device would increase, the position of the input opening and operation display would also increase, and the external dimensions and appearance of the device would also become larger, creating limitations during installation compared to a smaller device. This embodiment can adequately resolve such problems. The reason for providing a notch on the downstream side of the deflection mechanism 151 in the direction of insertion is that, as described above, the position of the container's descent is controlled by rotating the deflection mechanism 151 inside the storage bag. Therefore, contact between the operating deflection mechanism and the storage bag should be kept to a minimum to prevent damage or destruction of the storage bag. Thus, the notch is not necessarily a required feature, and the deflection mechanism 151 could be a disc shape without any notches overall. The deflection mechanism does not need to be of a specific shape, as long as it has the directional capability to control the direction of fall so that the container can be dropped to a targeted position inside the storage bag, and the safety feature to prevent damage to the storage bag even if it rotates inside.

[0078] (Control mechanisms for deflection) In this embodiment, the folded disc is controlled to tilt to the front right, front left, rear right, and rear left by rotating it left and right. By switching between left and right, the destination of the reduced-volume containers can be distributed to two bags (plastic bags) on the left and right. The switching between the left and right bags is performed so that the containers are continuously released into one bag, and the amount of empty containers contained is monitored by the weighing unit 7 of this embodiment, or by appropriate means such as a weight sensor or a level sensor using a proximity switch. When one bag becomes full or nearly full, the destination is switched to the other bag, thereby reducing the impact of device downtime associated with bag changes. Such control is particularly effective in stores where customers frequently use the empty container collection device 100 for extended periods. On the other hand, in stores where the empty container collection device 100 is not used frequently for extended periods, it is possible to control the deflection mechanism 151 to switch its direction each time an empty container is released or each time a customer uses the device, thereby allowing the vendor to collect a large number of empty containers at once by changing bags. In this way, the control mode of the deflection mechanism 151 can be set differently depending on the store's situation. Furthermore, by recording history information for the cleaning detection means and cleaning mode of this embodiment and linking it with this history information, it is possible to prioritize reducing downtime when it is determined that cleaning has been sufficient, and to control the system to ensure sufficient bag change time and cleaning time when it is determined that cleaning has not been performed for some time.

[0079] Switching the discharge direction between the front and back does not result in distribution to the left and right bags, but by switching to front and back, it is possible to suppress the bridging phenomenon that tends to occur when containers are discharged in a uniform direction, and to store containers evenly in the bags. Furthermore, when used in a large empty container collection device that holds four bags, it can also be used to distribute the containers to four bags. Moreover, the discharge direction is not limited to four directions, but can be controlled in a larger number of directions, such as eight.

[0080] (Another embodiment) Figure 22 is a perspective view showing an example of an empty container collection device 100' for collecting empty containers (such as PET bottles) as an article collection device according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 23 is a right side view of the empty container collection device 100' of another embodiment. In the first embodiment, the bag holding section 140 is centered around a frame and does not have side plates or a bottom plate. However, in another embodiment, it is equipped with a box-shaped drawer section 140', similar to conventional item retrieval devices, and as shown in Figures 22 and 23, it has left and right side plates 145 and a bottom plate 146. However, unlike conventional item retrieval devices, the device body is equipped with a hinged door, so the drawer section 140' does not have a front plate. On the other hand, the height dimension of the item retrieval device itself is larger compared to conventional item retrieval devices. As shown in Figure 23, the positions of the latching parts 142 at the right and left ends are different. Specifically, in a front view, the latching part 142 at the right end is positioned further back than the latching part 142 at the left end. This is because the cap bag is located at the position of the latching part 142 at the right end. By overlapping the cap bag and the storage bag, even if trash or leftover drinks are thrown in as a prank, they will first be caught in the cap bag, and if they overflow from the cap bag, the storage bag, which is positioned below to overlap, will catch them. In addition to this, a bottom plate 146 is also provided, so even if the storage bag cannot catch them, the bottom plate 146 will catch them, preventing trash or leftover drinks from overflowing outside the device. This has the effect of keeping the area around the device clean, whether it is installed outside or inside a store.

[0081] In conventional item retrieval devices, when replacing a bag full of empty containers, it was necessary to lift the bag above the front panel of the drawer, which was a heavy burden. However, increasing the height would require lifting the bag even higher. In contrast, the drawer section 140' of another embodiment of the present invention has virtually no front panel, allowing the bag to be removed in a forward direction, which is a direction other than the opening direction of the bag. Transferring the bag to a trolley and other operations can be done easily without requiring much force.

[0082] Although not shown in Figure 22, a deflection mechanism 151 is provided inside the device, which allows the direction of discharge of the reduced-volume containers to be switched at appropriate timings. This suppresses the bridging phenomenon that tends to occur when containers are discharged in a uniform direction, and makes it possible to evenly store the containers in the bag.

[0083] (Another embodiment of the bag extrusion section included in the bag holding section) Figure 24 shows a bag extrusion unit 143', which is another example of the components of the bag holding unit 140. When the bag holding unit 140 is pulled out from inside the device, if a pile of containers has been built up inside the storage bag, the container at the top may collapse due to vibration during pulling or contact with other parts. If the collapsed container falls to the opposite side of the pulling direction (towards the back of the device), in the configuration of the bag extrusion unit 143 shown in Figure 6, the container will be located between the back of the device housing and the bag extrusion unit 143, which presents a problem as it becomes impossible to return the bag holding unit 140 to the device. Therefore, the bag extrusion unit 143' is equipped with a hinge, and the lower side of the bag extrusion unit 143' is configured to only rotate in the pulling direction. With this configuration, while retaining the function of pushing out the storage bag as before, even if containers that have fallen and other waste have accumulated on the back side, the hinge allows the entire bag holding unit 140 to return to the position where it is stored inside the device, while avoiding them. The accumulated material can be removed by lifting the lower side of the bag extrusion section 143' while the bag holding section 140 remains set inside the device. In situations where customers are waiting, for example, priority can be given to changing the bags, leaving the accumulated material, and then the accumulated material can be removed during cleaning when there are no customers, thus reducing the downtime of the device (the time when customers cannot use it).

[0084] (Exterior view of the empty container collection device using orthographic projection) To help understand the stylishness of this invention, for reference, six-view and front perspective views of the empty container collection device 100 of this embodiment are shown as Figure 25. In terms of the item, the central part of the front view is a container input opening with an outer door, through which empty containers to be collected are inserted and appropriately sorted into the storage bags on the left and right.

[0085] <Summary of Embodiments> [Technical field] This invention relates to an article recovery device. [Background technology] Container recovery devices are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the container recovery device described in Patent Document 1, empty containers such as PET bottles are inserted into the input port. [Prior art document] [Patent] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-175789 [Overview of the prefecture] [Problems the invention aims to solve] The empty container collection device crushes PET bottles to reduce their volume and stores them in collection bags. For the workers at the stores where the device is installed, changing the collection bags is a considerable workload, and there was a need to improve the efficiency and reduce the labor involved in changing the bags in order to alleviate this workload. [Means for solving the problem] (1) As described above, one aspect of this embodiment is an article recovery device 100 comprising a bag holding part 140 for holding a bag containing a container, and a moving part 144 for moving the bag holding part so that it can move back and forth between a storage position within the device and a bag replacement position, wherein the bag holding part 140 is capable of removing the bag in a direction other than the opening direction of the bag at the bag replacement position. With the above configuration, employees can perform the bag replacement work without requiring excessive force.

[0086] (2) One embodiment of this invention is the article retrieval device 100 described in (1), wherein the moving part is a slide rail 144 and is provided at a height closer to the opening surface of the bag than the bottom surface of the bag when the bag is held. The above configuration allows for a favorable arrangement in terms of weight balance.

[0087] (3) One aspect of this embodiment is the article recovery device 100 described in (1) or (2), wherein the bag holding section 140 includes a bag extrusion section 143 that moves in conjunction with the advancement and retraction of the moving section 144. With the above configuration, bags that are full of empty containers can be efficiently pulled out.

[0088] (4) One aspect of this embodiment is an article recovery device 100 according to any one of (1) to (3), comprising a volume reduction means for reducing the volume of the container and a deflection means below the volume reduction means for controlling the direction in which the volume-reduced container falls, wherein the deflection means is located between a plurality of bag holding parts. With the above configuration, it becomes possible to house two bags around the deflection mechanism.

[0089] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and any design changes, etc., that do not depart from the gist of the present invention are also included. In particular, it is important to note that the target of the item collection device may be cans and bottles other than PET bottles, and furthermore, it includes any item that can be collected, such as milk cartons, trays, ink cartridges, items returned to libraries and rental stores (books, DVDs, etc.), dry cleaning items, batteries, and light bulbs. Even a collection device without a volume reduction mechanism still faces the challenge of reducing the workload when changing bags. Furthermore, the embodiments shown in the figures above can be combined, provided there are no particular inconsistencies or problems in terms of purpose, structure, etc. Furthermore, the contents of each figure can represent an independent embodiment, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to a single embodiment that combines each figure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0090] 1…Control Unit (CPU) 2...Storage section 3…Display operation section 7…Weighing section (load cell, etc.) 8…Metal detection sensor 9…Light sensor 17…Reader / Writer (Method of Acquisition) 18... Deflection drive unit 19…Imaging Department 100... Empty container collection device (item collection device, or collection device) 100'... Empty container collection device (item collection device, or collection device) 100B...Main unit (Main unit of the recovery device) 101…Judgment section 110...Container input section (goods input section) 111...Outer door 112...Inner door 116... Mounting section 120...Volume reduction section (volume reduction mechanism) 140...Bag holding part 140'...Drawer section 141...Column part 142...Latching part 143...Bag extrusion section 143'...Bag extrusion section 144...Slide rail (moving part) 145...Side plate part 146...Bottom plate part 151...Deflection mechanism 1511…Vertical axis 1512...Mountain-shaped slope 1513...Deflection roller 180... Cleaning detection means 901...PET sensor (light sensor) 902...Container detection sensor (optical sensor) 903... Safety detection sensor (light sensor) P…Empty container (goods)

Claims

1. A bag holder that holds the bag containing the container, The device includes a movable part that moves the bag holding part so that it can move back and forth between a storage position within the device and a bag replacement position. The bag holding section allows the bag to be removed in a direction other than the opening direction of the bag at the bag replacement position, and does not have a bottom plate to support the bag. A device for recovering items characterized by the following features.

2. The aforementioned movable part is a slide rail and is positioned at a height closer to the opening of the bag than the bottom surface of the bag when the bag is being held. The article recovery device according to feature 1.

3. The bag holding part includes a bag extrusion part that moves in conjunction with the movement of the movable part. The bag extrusion unit functions to extrude the bag from the center of the back when the bag holding unit is advanced to the bag replacement position. The article recovery device according to feature 1 or 2.

4. A volume reduction means for reducing the volume of the container, Below the volume reduction means, a deflection means controls the direction in which the volume-reduced container falls, Equipped with, The deflection means is located between the plurality of bag holding portions. The article recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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