Pet classifying device

Abstract

A transparent PET bottle sorting device is disclosed. The transparent PET bottle sorting device comprises a case, an input port including a first input port and a second input port provided on the front of the case, a return port provided on the lower part of the front of the case, an output port including a first output port and a second output port provided on the lower part of the rear of the case, a recognition unit on which an input material introduced through the first input port is placed, and a control unit that performs a sorting operation on the input material and, based on the sorting result, forms a return path extending from the input port to the return port, forms a first output path extending from the input port to the first output port, or forms a second output path extending from the input port to the second output port.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a transparent PET bottle sorting device, and more particularly to a device for sorting transparent PET bottles in accordance with the PET bottle separation and disposal system. Background Technology

[0002] Conventional AI-based transparent PET bottle sorting robots are not only large but also incur significant installation costs, resulting in a limited number of installed units. Consequently, there is a problem with somewhat poor accessibility for users. Additionally, since there is only a single input opening, there is an issue with inefficient space utilization, such as multiple identical sorting devices being placed in the same location.

[0003] Accordingly, the present invention aims to determine the type of an inserted PET bottle using two types of object data, namely weight and image. For image processing, ResNet18 among Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models can be utilized. As the ResNet18 model uses a small number of parameters, it exhibits high processing speed. For training, photos (images), transparency, content information, and labeled data of PET bottles were used. At this time, to secure sufficient data, the data can be augmented by adjusting the left-right flip, rotation, contrast, and brightness of the photos. Through this, 30,000 training data (10,000 each of transparent PET bottles, labeled PET bottles, and plastics) and 6,000 test data (2,000 each of transparent PET bottles, labeled PET bottles, and plastics) were used. Training was performed for a total of 30 epochs, and the accuracy on the test data was measured at 97.55%. Prior art literature

[0004] Republic of Korea Registered Patent No. 2633479 (Published Feb. 06, 2024) Republic of Korea Registered Patent No. 2383115 (Published Apr. 08, 2022) The problem to be solved

[0005] The technical objective of this invention is to improve the efficiency of a PET bottle sorting device by reducing the time required to sort PET bottles through weight and image analysis of input PET bottles using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Additionally, by reducing the space required for the transparent PET bottle sorting process, the invention aims to enable the placement of transparent PET bottle sorting robots (transparent PET bottle sorting devices) in more locations and to increase the recycling rate of transparent PET bottles. means of solving the problem

[0006] A transparent PET bottle sorting device having a case according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an input port including a first input port and a second input port provided on the front of the case, a return port provided on the lower part of the front of the case, an discharge port including a first discharge port and a second discharge port provided on the lower part of the rear of the case, a recognition unit on which an input material introduced through the first input port is placed, and a control unit that performs a sorting operation on the input material and, based on the sorting result, forms a return path extending from the input port to the return port, forms a first discharge path extending from the input port to the first discharge port, or forms a second discharge path extending from the input port to the second discharge port. Effects of the invention

[0007] According to the present invention, since the size of the transparent PET bottle sorting device is small, it can be installed in an accessible location such as a recycling center in each apartment complex.

[0008] In addition, it can accurately sort transparent PET bottles and plastics, and easily return PET bottles containing contents and those with labels attached. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0009] Detailed descriptions of each drawing are provided to help to more fully understand the drawings cited in the detailed description of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a transparent PET bottle sorting device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the transparent PET bottle sorting device shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a rear view of a transparent PET bottle sorting device with the rear surface removed. Figure 4 is a perspective view of a transparent PET bottle sorting device with the rear surface removed. Figure 5 is a partially exploded perspective view of a transparent PET bottle sorting device, showing the return port and the discharge port. Figure 6 illustrates a recognition unit. Figure 7 illustrates the gateway section. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0010] Specific structural or functional descriptions of embodiments according to the concept of the present invention disclosed herein are provided merely for the purpose of explaining embodiments according to the concept of the present invention, and embodiments according to the concept of the present invention may be implemented in various forms and are not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0011] Since embodiments according to the concept of the present invention may be subject to various modifications and may take various forms, embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in this specification. However, this is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention to specific disclosed forms, and includes all modifications, equivalents, or substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0012] Terms such as "first" or "second" may be used to describe various components, but said components should not be limited by said terms. For the sole purpose of distinguishing one component from another, for example, without departing from the scope of rights according to the concept of the present invention, the first component may be named the second component and similarly the second component may be named the first component.

[0013] When it is stated that one component is "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that while it may be directly connected or connected to that other component, there may also be other components in between. Conversely, when it is stated that one component is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between. Other expressions describing the relationships between components, such as "between" and "exactly between," or "adjacent to" and "directly adjacent to," should be interpreted in the same way.

[0014] The terms used herein are used merely to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as “comprising” or “having” are intended to indicate the existence of the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described herein, and should not be understood as precluding the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0015] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in this specification.

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings attached to this specification. However, the scope of the patent application is not limited or restricted by these embodiments. Identical reference numerals in each drawing indicate identical components.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a transparent PET bottle sorting device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the transparent PET bottle sorting device shown in FIG. 1.

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1, the front of the case of the transparent PET bottle sorting device is provided with at least one input port and a return port, and the rear of the transparent PET bottle sorting device is provided with at least one discharge port. The input port, return port, and discharge port may be formed in a polygonal shape or a cylindrical shape.

[0019] According to an embodiment, two input ports may be provided for inserting materials, which refer to PET bottles. Additionally, the two input ports may be formed spaced apart from each other at the same height on the front of the transparent PET bottle sorting device. Since the materials must move to a return port or discharge port provided at the bottom after being inserted into the input port, the input port is provided at a position at least higher than the discharge port or return port. By providing multiple input ports, waiting time can be reduced by inserting materials into another input port when PET bottles are being sorted at one input port.

[0020] A return port may be provided at the lower front of a transparent PET bottle sorting device as a configuration for returning an input when the classification result of the input is a PET bottle containing contents or a PET bottle with a label attached. Additionally, the return port is provided at the bottom of a space separated by two input ports so that the inputs fed into the two input ports can be easily returned.

[0021] Two discharge ports may be provided for discharging transparent PET bottles or PET bottles classified as plastic. Additionally, the two discharge ports may be formed spaced apart from each other at the same height on the rear of the transparent PET bottle sorting device, and each discharge port may be formed spaced apart from each other at the same height as the return port. According to an embodiment, one of the two discharge ports may be configured for discharging plastic, and the other discharge port may be configured for discharging transparent PET bottles.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a rear view of a transparent PET bottle sorting device with the rear removed, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a transparent PET bottle sorting device with the rear removed, FIG. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view of a transparent PET bottle sorting device showing a return port and an outlet, and FIG. 6 shows a recognition unit.

[0023] Inside the input port, a recognition unit is provided to perform the sorting operation of the input. That is, the input inserted through the input port settles on the recognition unit. The number of recognition units is equal to the number of input ports, and a slope is formed that becomes lower from the side to the center inside the transparent PET bottle sorting device. The recognition unit is equipped with a weight sensing sensor (e.g., a load cell) to detect the weight of the input. The weight sensing sensor may be provided at a predetermined location within the recognition unit, for example, at the bottom of the recognition unit.

[0024] The transparent PET bottle sorting device includes a control unit for controlling the operation of the transparent PET bottle sorting device. The control unit is provided at a predetermined location of the transparent PET bottle sorting device and can receive weight information of an input from a recognition unit, compare the weight information with a reference value (e.g., 30g), and then perform a primary sorting operation. For example, if the received weight information exceeds the reference value, the control unit classifies the input as a PET bottle containing contents (or a PET bottle containing contents). In addition, to return the PET bottle containing contents, the control unit forms a return path for returning the input by controlling the operation of a gateway unit described later. Accordingly, since the end of the return path is a return port, the PET bottle containing contents can be returned to the user through the return port.

[0025] If the received weight information does not exceed a threshold, the control unit may perform a secondary classification operation on the input. At this time, the primary classification operation and the secondary classification operation may be performed simultaneously or separately.

[0026] The control unit receives an image of the input from a predetermined image capturing device to perform a secondary sorting operation. Accordingly, the transparent PET bottle sorting device is equipped with an image capturing device installed above the recognition unit to photograph the input and / or a light source installed above the recognition unit to radiate light onto the input to obtain the best image. Accordingly, the image capturing device can photograph an image of the input inserted through the input port and placed on the recognition unit, and transmit it to the control unit.

[0027] The control unit can obtain a classification result for a PET bottle by inputting a received image into a pre-trained PET bottle classification model. At this time, the classification result may be any one of a transparent PET bottle, a PET bottle with a label attached, and plastic.

[0028] When the input is classified as a labeled PET bottle, the control unit forms a return path so that the input is returned to the user. When the input is classified as a clear PET bottle, the control unit forms a first discharge path by controlling the operation of the gateway unit, and when the input is classified as plastic, the control unit forms a second discharge path by controlling the operation of the gateway unit. The end of the first discharge path is one of the two discharge ports, and the end of the second discharge path is the other of the two discharge ports. Therefore, either the clear PET bottle or the plastic is discharged through one discharge port, and the other of the clear PET bottle or the plastic is discharged through the other discharge port.

[0029] Looking again at Fig. 5, the return port and the discharge port are connected to an inclined surface. That is, the return port is provided with an inclined surface such that the opposite side of the return port is higher than the return port, and the discharge port is provided with an inclined surface such that the opposite side of the discharge port is higher than the discharge port.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a gate section provided in a transparent PET bottle sorting device. The gate section includes an upper gate section and a lower gate section, the upper gate section includes a first upper gate section and a second upper gate section, and the lower gate section includes a first lower gate section and a second lower gate section.

[0031] Each gate section comprises a plate-shaped gate plate, a servo motor fixedly installed on a part of the gate plate to rotate the gate plate at a predetermined angle, and a support member that supports a part of the gate plate to enable rotation. In the case of the upper gate section, the servo motor is fixed to one side of the upper portion of the gate plate, and the support member supports the other side of the upper portion of the gate plate. In the case of the lower gate section, the servo motor is fixed to one side of the lower portion of the gate plate, and the support member supports the other side of the lower portion of the gate plate. At this time, the servo motor and the support member may be fixedly installed in the case of a transparent PET bottle sorting device, etc.

[0032] Meanwhile, the control unit controls the servo motor of each gate unit to rotate the gate plate, thereby forming a discharge path or a return path.

[0033] The gate plate of the upper gate section serves to support the input so that it does not deviate toward the lower side of the slope formed in the recognition section during the sorting operation of the input. For example, the gate plate of the upper gate section may be positioned vertically so as to contact the lower side of the slope formed in the recognition section or spaced apart by a predetermined distance. When the recognition operation of the input is completed, the servo motor rotates the gate plate to a predetermined angle under the control of the control unit. At this time, the gate plate rotates inward toward the transparent PET bottle sorting device (so as to move further away from the lower side of the slope formed in the recognition section).

[0034] The gate plate of the lower gate section may be positioned vertically so as to contact the lower side of the slope formed in the recognition section or spaced apart by a predetermined distance. When the recognition operation for the input is completed, the servo motor rotates the gate plate to a predetermined angle or stops rotating it according to the control of the control unit. That is, when the input is returned (when the input is classified as a PET bottle containing contents or a PET bottle with a label), the control unit does not control the servo motor of the lower gate section, thereby forming the input port, the slope formed in the recognition section, the slope formed in the return port, and the return path to the return port. When the input is discharged (when the input is classified as a transparent PET bottle or plastic), the control unit controls the servo motor of the lower gate section, thereby forming the input port, the slope formed in the recognition section, the slope formed in the discharge port, and the discharge path to the discharge port. At this time, the control unit can control only the servo motor of the first lower gate unit to form a discharge path extending to one of the discharge outlets, or control only the servo motor of the second lower gate unit to form a discharge path extending to another discharge outlet. The gate plate of the lower gate unit also rotates inward toward the transparent PET bottle sorting device (so that it becomes farther from the lower side of the slope formed in the recognition unit). Accordingly, the input material free-falling through the slope of the recognition unit can be guided to the discharge outlet corresponding to the sorting result.

[0035] In addition, if the control unit needs to control the servo motor of the lower gate unit, it can control the servo motor of the lower gate unit first and then control the servo motor of the upper gate unit. This prevents the input from being discharged or returned through an incorrect path before a path corresponding to the classification result is formed.

[0036] Separate plastic bags or trash cans can be connected to each of the two discharge ports so that PET bottles sorted by the transparent PET bottle sorting device can be automatically collected.

[0037] Meanwhile, the PET bottle classification model is pre-trained and can classify PET bottles included in the image into one of labeled PET bottles, clear PET bottles, or plastic. A CNN model (e.g., ResNet18 model) can be utilized. As the ResNet18 model uses a small number of parameters, it exhibits high processing speed. For training, at least one of the following was used: photos (images) of PET bottles, transparency, contents information, and labeled data. At this time, sufficient data can be secured by augmenting the data through horizontal flipping, rotation, contrast, brightness, etc., of the photos. Through this, 30,000 training data samples (10,000 each of clear PET bottles, labeled PET bottles, and plastic) and 6,000 test data samples (2,000 each of clear PET bottles, labeled PET bottles, and plastic) were used. Training was performed for a total of 30 epochs, and the accuracy on the test data was measured at 97.55%.

[0038] The device described above may be implemented as a set of hardware components, software components, and / or a combination of hardware components and software components. For example, the device and components described in the embodiments may be implemented using one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers, such as, for example, a processor, a controller, an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a microcomputer, a Field Programmable Array (FPA), a Programmable Logic Unit (PLU), a microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing unit may execute an Operation System (OS) and one or more software applications executed on said OS. Additionally, the processing unit may access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to the execution of the software. For ease of understanding, the processing unit may be described as being used as a single unit, but those skilled in the art will understand that the processing unit may include multiple processing elements and / or multiple types of processing elements. For example, the processing unit may include multiple processors or one processor and one controller. Additionally, other processing configurations, such as parallel processors, are also possible.

[0039] Software may include computer programs, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of these, and may configure a processing unit to operate as desired or command the processing unit independently or collectively. Software and / or data may be permanently or temporarily embodied in any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage medium or device, or transmitted signal wave in order to be interpreted by the processing unit or to provide instructions or data to the processing unit. Software may be distributed over networked computer systems and may be stored or executed in a distributed manner. Software and data may be stored on one or more computer-readable recording media.

[0040] The method according to the embodiment may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., either alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specifically designed and configured for the embodiment, or they may be those known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; ROMs; RAMs; flash memory; and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions. Examples of program instructions include machine code, such as that generated by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operation of the embodiment, and vice versa.

[0041] The present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, but this is merely illustrative, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent alternative embodiments are possible therefrom. For example, suitable results may be achieved even if the described techniques are performed in a different order than described, and / or the components of the described system, structure, device, circuit, etc. are combined or assembled in a form different from described, or replaced or substituted by other components or equivalents. Accordingly, the true technical scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

Claim 1 A transparent PET bottle sorting device comprising a case, the device comprising: an input port including a first input port and a second input port provided on the front of the case; a return port provided on the lower part of the front of the case; an discharge port including a first discharge port and a second discharge port provided on the lower part of the rear of the case; a recognition unit on which an input material introduced through the first input port is placed; and a control unit that performs a sorting operation on the input material and, based on the sorting result, forms a return path extending from the input port to the return port, forms a first discharge path extending from the input port to the first discharge port, or forms a second discharge path extending from the input port to the second discharge port. Claim 2 A transparent PET bottle sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the first input port and the second input port are formed spaced apart at the same height on the front of the case, the return port is formed at the center of the lower part on the front of the case, and the first discharge port and the second discharge port are formed spaced apart at the same height on the rear of the case. Claim 3 In paragraph 2, the recognition unit is provided with a slope in which the height decreases as it goes from the side toward the center of the transparent PET bottle sorting device, and the recognition unit includes a weight sensing sensor that detects the weight of the input material, a transparent PET bottle sorting device. Claim 4 In paragraph 3, the control unit classifies the input received from the weight sensing sensor into a PET bottle containing contents when the weight exceeds a reference value, and forms the return path, a transparent PET bottle sorting device. Claim 5 In paragraph 4, the control unit inputs an image of the input into a PET bottle classification model to classify the input into one of a transparent PET bottle, a labeled PET bottle, and plastic, a transparent PET bottle classification device. Claim 6 In claim 5, the transparent PET bottle sorting device further comprises: an image capturing device that generates an image of the input; and a light source that emits light toward the input. Claim 7 A transparent PET bottle sorting device according to claim 6, wherein the return port and the discharge port include a slope in which the height increases as they extend inward. Claim 8 In claim 7, the transparent PET bottle sorting device comprises an upper gateway portion, wherein the upper gateway portion further comprises: an upper gateway plate that supports the input by being vertically positioned at or separated from the lowest part of the slope formed in the recognition portion by a predetermined distance; a servo motor that rotates the upper gateway plate by a predetermined angle by being coupled to one end of the upper portion of the upper gateway plate; and a support portion that supports the other end of the upper portion of the upper gateway plate. Claim 9 In claim 8, the transparent PET bottle sorting device comprises a lower gateway, wherein the lower gateway comprises: a lower gateway plate vertically positioned at or separated from the lowest part of the slope formed in the recognition part by a predetermined distance; a servo motor coupled to one end of the lower portion of the lower gateway plate to rotate the lower gateway plate by a predetermined angle; and a support member supporting the other end of the lower portion of the lower gateway plate, wherein the lower gateway is provided at the lower portion of the upper gateway. Claim 10 In claim 9, when the input is classified as the transparent PET bottle, the control unit controls the servo motor of the upper gate unit to rotate the upper gate plate in the direction of the inside of the transparent PET bottle sorting device, and controls the servo motor of the first lower gate unit among the first lower gate unit and the second lower gate unit included in the lower gate unit to rotate the lower gate plate of the first lower gate unit in the direction of the inside of the transparent PET bottle sorting device, thereby forming the indentation formed at the input port, the recognition unit, the first discharge port, and the first discharge path extending to the first discharge port. Claim 11 In claim 10, when the above input is classified as plastic, the control unit controls the servo motor of the upper gate unit to rotate the upper gate plate in the internal direction of the transparent PET bottle sorting device, and controls the servo motor of the second lower gate unit to rotate the lower gate plate of the second lower gate unit in the internal direction of the transparent PET bottle sorting device, thereby forming the indentation formed at the input port, the recognition unit, the second discharge port, and the second discharge path extending to the second discharge port. Claim 12 A transparent PET bottle sorting device according to claim 11, wherein when the input is classified as a PET bottle containing the contents or a PET bottle with the label attached, the control unit controls the servo motor of the upper gate unit to rotate the upper gate plate in the inward direction of the transparent PET bottle sorting device, thereby forming the indentation formed in the input port, the recognition unit, and the return port, and the return path extending to the return port. Claim 13 In claim 12, the above PET bottle classification model is a pre-trained ResNet18 model, a transparent PET bottle classification device.

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