Separation system and separation method

Abstract

A separation system of one embodiment according to the present disclosure comprises: a separation device which performs, among a plurality of recycling steps, a separation step for separating a mixture including a plurality of kinds of materials according to the kinds of the materials; an arithmetic device which includes an acquisition unit for acquiring information, an arithmetic unit for calculating separation conditions for the separation device on the basis of the acquired information, and a transmission unit for transmitting the calculated separation conditions to the separation device; and an information storage system which stores a plurality of recycling history information items corresponding to the plurality of recycling steps. The acquisition unit acquires information related to a separation target mixture from the separation device, and acquires the recycling history information items related to the separation target mixture from the information storage system. The arithmetic unit calculates the separation conditions on the basis of the information related to the separation target mixture acquired from the separation device and the recycling history information items related to the separation target mixture acquired from the information storage system.　

Description

Sorting system and sorting method

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

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a technique for separating a mixture containing multiple types of objects into individual types of objects. For example, one such separation technique is an electrostatic separation device that electrically charges multiple types of objects contained in the mixture and separates specific objects as objects to be recycled by electrostatic separation. Examples of techniques related to recycling processes, such as electrostatic separation, include those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 listed below.

[0003] The recycled metal counting system in Patent Document 1 is a recycling-oriented society system in which dismantlers separate collected metal-containing materials into individual parts, and companies such as collectors, dismantlers, steel manufacturers, aluminum smelters, and non-ferrous smelters process the parts to recover recycled metals and return them to the manufacturing companies. The system clearly displays the total amount of metal-containing materials and the various recycled metals recovered and their amounts. This recycled metal counting system includes a host computer and multiple clients for each company. The host computer stores, based on the total amount of metal-containing materials, the estimated amount to be separated into individual parts by the dismantlers, the estimated amount to be delivered to each company, and the estimated amount of recycled metal to be processed and recovered by each company. The multiple clients for each company modify the estimated amounts related to their own business stored in the host computer.

[0004] The recycling device of Patent Document 2 has an input means for reading first product information attached to a piece of equipment, a storage means for storing an equipment recovery and dismantling information database of information for matching, dismantling, and sorting the equipment corresponding to the first product information attached to the equipment, and a matching means for matching the first product information of the equipment obtained by the input means with the equipment corresponding to the equipment recovery and dismantling information database.

[0005] JP 2011-164792 A JP 2002-197147 A

[0006] In the electrostatic separator described above, sufficient data must be collected to perform separation with high accuracy. However, immediately after a customer installs an electrostatic separator or when there is a significant change in the materials fed into the electrostatic separator, data collection takes time, and there is a problem in that separation efficiency decreases during the period until sufficient data is collected.

[0007] The techniques described in the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not mention using information obtained in other processes in the sorting process, and therefore could not improve the accuracy of the sorting process.

[0008] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a sorting system and a sorting method that can increase the accuracy of sorting mixtures by utilizing information from the recycling process in the sorting process.

[0009] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one aspect of the present disclosure is a sorting system comprising: a sorting device that performs a sorting process among a plurality of recycling processes, in which a mixture containing a plurality of types of materials is sorted by material type; a calculation device including: an acquisition unit that acquires information; a calculation unit that calculates sorting conditions for the sorting device based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a transmission unit that transmits the sorting conditions calculated by the calculation unit to the sorting device; and an information storage system that stores a plurality of pieces of recycling history information corresponding to the plurality of recycling processes, wherein the acquisition unit acquires information related to the mixture to be sorted from the sorting device and acquires the recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted from the information storage system, and the calculation unit calculates the sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device and the recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the information storage system.

[0010] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a sorting method including the steps of: a computing device acquiring information related to a mixture to be sorted that contains multiple types of materials from a sorting device; the computing device acquiring recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted from an information storage system that stores multiple pieces of recycling history information corresponding to multiple recycling processes; the computing device calculating sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device and the recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the information storage system; the computing device transmitting information indicating the sorting conditions to the sorting device; and the sorting device sorting the mixture containing multiple types of materials by material type.

[0011] According to the present disclosure, the accuracy of sorting a mixture can be increased.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrostatic separation system 1 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an information storage system 500 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a learning unit 308 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an electrostatic separation device 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a first calculation unit 204 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the electrostatic separation system 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the edge server device 200 and the calculation device 300 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a gravity-type separation device 600 according to a second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an optical separation device 700 according to a third embodiment.

[0013] Hereinafter, a sorting system and a sorting method to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an electrostatic separation system 1 according to a first embodiment. The electrostatic separation system 1 includes, for example, multiple electrostatic separation devices 100A, 100B, 100C, etc., multiple edge server devices 200A, 200B, 200C, etc., a computing device 300, a database device 400, and an information storage system 500. In the following description, the multiple electrostatic separation devices are collectively referred to as "electrostatic separation device 100," and the multiple edge server devices are collectively referred to as "edge server device 200." Note that the electrostatic separation system 1 according to the embodiment includes the edge server device 200, but is not limited thereto. The electrostatic separation system 1 may not include the edge server device 200, and the electrostatic separation device 100 and the computing device 300 may be connected via a communication network NW.

[0015] The electrostatic separation device 100, the edge server device 200, the computing device 300, the database device 400, and the information storage system 500 each have a communication interface (not shown) such as a network interface card (NIC) or a wireless communication module for connecting to a communication network NW such as the Internet. The communication network NW may include, for example, a general-purpose network such as the Internet, and a private network such as local 5G or Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0016] In the embodiments, the electrostatic separation device 100 that separates resins (plastics) contained in a mixture by utilizing differences in the amount of charge of each type of resin (plastic) contained in the mixture is described as a separation device, but this is not limited to this. The electrostatic separation system 1 of the embodiment may be any separation device that separates a mixture containing multiple types of materials by material type. The electrostatic separation system 1 of the embodiment can also be applied to a separation device that separates specific objects from a mixture containing metal or glass, for example, or a separation device that separates specific objects from a mixture containing food.

[0017] The electrostatic separation device 100 performs a separation process among multiple recycling processes, in which a mixture (hereinafter also referred to as raw material) containing multiple types of resin fragments is separated by resin type. The separation process of the electrostatic separation device 100 is for recycling materials. The recycling materials include multiple types of plastic fragments with different charging characteristics. The electrostatic separation device 100 includes, for example, a detection unit 102, a separation unit 104, a reception unit 106, and a transmission unit 108. The detection unit 102 detects sensing data. The sensing data is data indicating the state of the mixture. The separation unit 104 operates to separate plastic fragments from the mixture. The reception unit 106 receives control commands from the edge server device 200. The transmission unit 108 transmits the sensing data to the edge server device 200.

[0018] The edge server device 200 is, for example, an information processing device that has a function of communicating with the electrostatic separation device 100 and the calculation device 300. For example, the edge server device 200 is installed corresponding to the electrostatic separation device 100 installed in one factory. The edge server device 200 and the electrostatic separation device 100 are connected by a communication line such as a LAN line installed in the factory.

[0019] The edge server device 200 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 202, a first calculation unit 204, a receiving unit 206, a transmitting unit 208, and a control unit 210. The first calculation unit 204 and the control unit 210 are functional units realized by a processor, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), executing a program stored in a program memory. The acquisition unit 202 is connected to the electrostatic separation device 100, for example, via a LAN line. The acquisition unit 202 acquires mixture information, operating status information, and sorting result information. The mixture information is information about the mixture in the electrostatic separation device 100. The mixture information may include, for example, at least one of the material type, composition, and particle size. The operating status information is information indicating the operating status of the electrostatic separation device 100. The operating status information includes, for example, the voltage value for generating an electrostatic field and the position of a partition plate. The sorting result information is information indicating the sorting result of the electrostatic separation device 100. The sorting result information includes, for example, the purity and the recovered amount of the sorted resin.

[0020] The first calculation unit 204 performs a first calculation process on at least one of the mixture information, operation status information, and sorting result information acquired by the acquisition unit 202. The first calculation process is, for example, a process of extracting at least some information from the mixture information, operation status information, and sorting result information. The first calculation process is, for example, a process of reducing the amount of data to be transmitted to the calculation device 300 by organizing the mixture information, operation status information, and sorting result information. The transmission unit 208 transmits the information that has undergone the first calculation process from the first calculation unit 204.

[0021] The receiving unit 206 receives the sorting conditions from the computing device 300. The control unit 210 controls the electrostatic separation device 100 based on the sorting conditions received by the receiving unit 206. The sorting conditions are information that serve as target values ​​for operating the electrostatic separation device 100. Specifically, the sorting conditions include a target value for the voltage value to be applied to the electric field generating unit 130, a target value for the partition plate position, and the like.

[0022] The arithmetic device 300 is, for example, an information processing device that functions as a server that performs processing in response to a request from the edge server device 200 and transmits the processing result to the edge server device 200. The arithmetic device 300 is, for example, a single device that corresponds to multiple edge server devices 200.

[0023] The arithmetic device 300 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 302, a second arithmetic unit 304, a trained model 306, a learning unit 308, and a transmission unit 310. The second arithmetic unit 304 and the learning unit 308 are functional units realized by a processor such as a CPU executing a program stored in a program memory.

[0024] The acquisition unit 302 acquires information related to the mixture to be sorted from the electrostatic separation device 100 and acquires recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted from the information storage system 500. The mixture to be sorted is a mixture to be sorted that has been supplied to the electrostatic separation device 100. The second calculation unit 304 calculates sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100 and the recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the information storage system 500. The trained model 306 is a machine learning model used in the second calculation process. The learning unit 308 performs a process of training the trained model 306. The transmission unit 310 transmits the sorting conditions calculated by the second calculation unit 304 to the electrostatic separation device 100 via the edge server device 200. Note that the second calculation unit 304 may calculate the sorting conditions by calculation using an arithmetic expression or rule-based calculation without using the trained model 306.

[0025] The database device 400 is an information processing device including a data storage device, a processor for constructing a database (DB), and the like. The database device 400 stores, for example, a user database 410, a sorting device database 412, and a trained model 414. The user database 410 is a database that associates user information, which identifies the user, industry, product, etc. of the electrostatic separation device 100, with the trained model 414. The sorting device database 412 is a database that associates mixture information, operating status information (sensing data), and sorting result information for each electrostatic separation device 100. The trained model 414 is information for identifying the trained model, such as information indicating the training data and processing parameters for identifying a machine learning model. The trained model 414 may be constructed by type, composition, or particle size of resin pieces. The trained model 414 may be constructed for each user, industry, or product.

[0026] The electrostatic separation system 1 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of electrostatic separation devices 100A, 100B, and 100C, a plurality of edge server devices 200A, 200B, and 200C corresponding to the plurality of electrostatic separation devices 100A, 100B, and 100C, respectively, and one calculation device 300 corresponding to the plurality of edge server devices 200A, 200B, and 200C. The second calculation unit 304 may calculate the sorting conditions for the single electrostatic separation device 100 based on the plurality of sorting conditions transmitted by the plurality of edge server devices 200A, 200B, and 200C. However, the electrostatic separation system 1 is not limited to this, and may include, for example, one each of the electrostatic separation device 100, edge server device 200, and calculation device 300.

[0027] The information storage system 500 includes an information processing device that stores multiple pieces of recycling history information corresponding to multiple recycling processes. The multiple recycling processes include, for example, a sorting process, a material production process, a product production process, a use process, a recovery process, a separation process, and a pulverization process. The multiple recycling processes include a sorting process performed by the electrostatic separation device 100, an upstream process that is a process before the sorting process, and a downstream process that is after the sorting process. The upstream process is, for example, a pulverization process. The downstream process is, for example, a material production process.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an information storage system 500 according to the first embodiment. The information storage system 500 includes a plurality of recycler devices (510A, 510B, 510C, 510D, 510E, 510F) corresponding to a plurality of recycling processes, and an information management device 520 that manages recycling history information acquired from the plurality of recycler devices. The recycler devices are, for example, at least one of a crusher device 510A, a material manufacturer device 510B, a product manufacturer device 510C, a user device 510D, a collector device 510E, and a sorting company device 510F. The crusher device 510A, the material manufacturer device 510B, the product manufacturer device 510C, the user device 510D, the collector device 510E, and the sorting company device 510F are collectively referred to as "recycler devices 510."

[0029] The recycler device 510 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 512, an information processing unit 514, and a transmission unit 516. The acquisition unit 512 and the transmission unit 516 are, for example, communication circuits that communicate with other devices via a communication network NW. The information processing unit 514 is, for example, a functional unit realized by a CPU executing a program.

[0030] The acquisition unit 512 acquires recycling history information related to recycled products from the information management device 520. For example, the calculation device 300 (sorter) acquires recycling history information related to mixed plastics from a process upstream of the sorting process. The recycling history information is, for example, information indicating the correspondence between information identifying recycled products from upstream processes and information identifying recycled products processed in the recycling process. The recycling history information may include detailed information about the recycled products. The detailed information about the recycled products may include, for example, at least one of the composition, particle size, color, additives, surface treatment, surface contamination level, or information related to the number of times the plastic pieces have been recycled. The information processing unit 514 creates the recycling history information. The transmission unit 516 transmits the recycling history information to the information management device 520.

[0031] Recycled products are linked using blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is a mechanism for distributing and storing the same data across multiple recycler devices 510. The recycler devices 510 and the information management device 520 may include, for example, information about materials using the same single plastic, information about products or parts, and information about mixtures in the same recycling history information. By referencing the recycling history information, each recycler can confirm the linkage between single plastics, materials, products or parts, recovered items, separated items, and crushed items.

[0032] The information management device 520 includes an acquisition unit 522, an information processing unit 524, and a transmission unit 526. The acquisition unit 522 and the transmission unit 526 are, for example, communication circuits that communicate with other devices via the communication network NW. The information processing unit 524 is, for example, a functional unit realized by a CPU executing a program.

[0033] Acquisition unit 522 acquires recycling history information from recycler device 510 .

[0034] The information processing unit 524 manages linking information for multiple pieces of recycling history information. The information processing unit 524 generates linking information that associates multiple pieces of recycling history information acquired from multiple recycler devices 510, for example. The linking information is, for example, identification information that identifies a single plastic selected by the computing device 300. A code for reading the identification information that identifies the single plastic selected by the computing device 300 is affixed to a material, product, or part that uses the single plastic selected by the computing device 300. This allows the information processing unit 524 to store multiple pieces of recycling history information by associating, for example, a single plastic, material, product or part, user, recovered product or part, separated product or part, and crushed mixed plastic.

[0035] Transmitting unit 526 transmits recycling history information in response to a request received from recycler device 510. Transmitting unit 526 transmits recycling history information corresponding to the mixture to be sorted to computing device 300 in response to a request from computing device 300, for example.

[0036] The crusher's device 510A is an information processing device used by the crusher. The material manufacturer's device 510B is an information processing device used by the material manufacturer. The product manufacturer's device 510C is an information processing device used by the product manufacturer. The user's device 510D is an information processing device used by the user. The recycler's device 510E is an information processing device used by the recycler. The sorting company's device 510F is an information processing device used by the sorting company. The computing device 300 is a sorting company's device in the information storage system 500. Each of the recycler's devices 510 stores recycling history information related to the recycling process corresponding to the device in the information management device 520.

[0037] The recycling process includes, for example, a crushing process, a sorting process, a material production process, a product production process, a use process, a recovery process, and a sorting process. The sorting process is a process in which a mixture is separated into multiple types of plastic fragments using an electrostatic separation device 100. The sorting process separates mixed plastics into single plastics. The single plastics are recycled products recycled through the sorting process. The material production process is a process in which a material manufacturer produces materials from single plastics that have undergone the sorting process. The product production process is a process in which a product manufacturer produces products or parts from materials that have undergone the material production process. The use process is a process in which a user uses products or parts that have undergone the product production process. The recovery process is a process in which a recovery company recovers products or parts that have undergone the use process. The separation process is a process in which a separation company separates products or parts that have undergone the recovery process. The crushing process is a process in which a crusher crushes products or parts that have undergone the separation process into a mixture.

[0038] In this way, recycled products processed in each process are circulated through multiple recycling processes. Crushing company device 510A, material manufacturer device 510B, product manufacturer device 510C, user device 510D, collection company device 510E, and sorting company device 510F transmit information related to each process as recycling history information to information management device 520. Information management device 520 stores multiple pieces of recycling history information corresponding to the multiple recycling processes.

[0039] The information storage system 500 includes, for example, a crusher device 510A, a material manufacturer device 510B, a product manufacturer device 510C, a user device 510D, a recycler device 510E, a sorting company device 510F, and an information management device 520. The computing device 300 may be a sorting company device in the information storage system 500. The information management device 520 is connected to the computing device 300, the crusher device 510A, the material manufacturer device 510B, the product manufacturer device 510C, the user device 510D, the recycler device 510E, and the sorting company device 510F via a communication network NW.

[0040] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the learning unit 308 according to the first embodiment. The learning unit 308 acquires, as learning data, the sensing data, the operation status information, the sorting result information, the processing results of the first calculation process, the sorting conditions calculated by the second calculation unit 304, and the recycling history information acquired from the plurality of edge server devices 200A, 200B, and 200C. The recycling history information may be at least one of the recycling history information acquired from the crusher device 510A, the recycling history information acquired from the material manufacturer device 510B, the recycling history information acquired from the product manufacturer device 510C, the recycling history information acquired from the user device 510D, the recycling history information acquired from the collector device 510E, and the recycling history information acquired from the sorting company device 510F.

[0041] The learning unit 308 inputs training data into the trained model 306 and updates the processing parameters of the trained model 306 based on the output from the trained model 306. The processing parameters are, for example, but not limited to, filters (also called weights or biases) included in a neural network. The machine learning method used in the trained model 306 may be commonly used deep learning or random forest, etc.

[0042] 4 is a diagram showing an example of an electrostatic separation device 100 according to the first embodiment. The electrostatic separation device 100 includes, for example, a feed-side detection unit 110A, a recovery-side detection unit 110B, a charging cylinder 120, a vibrating feeder 122, an electric field generation unit 130, a recovery box 140, and a control device 150.

[0043] A raw material (mixture) containing multiple types of plastic pieces to be sorted is supplied to the charging cylinder 120. For example, a predetermined amount of raw material is fed into the charging cylinder 120 per unit time. In the embodiment, the raw material includes plastic pieces containing a mixture of multiple materials obtained by, for example, crushing the housings of recycled home appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines in a crushing process. In the embodiment, the plastic pieces are ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) pieces and PS (Polystyrene) pieces, which have different charging characteristics. The plastic pieces are, for example, approximately 5 mm square.

[0044] The charging cylinder 120 agitates the raw material by rotating. Plastic pieces A and B contained in the raw material rub against each other and become electrically charged inside the charging cylinder 120 as they rotate and agitate. The electrically charged plastic pieces A and B each have a polarity and amount of charge according to their triboelectric series. Specifically, plastic piece A (e.g., ABS) is positively charged, and plastic piece B (e.g., PS) is negatively charged.

[0045] Plastic pieces A and B, charged by charging cylinder 120, are discharged into vibrating feeder 122. Positively charged plastic piece A and negatively charged plastic piece B are attracted to each other by electrostatic force. Vibrating feeder 122 vibrates plastic pieces A and B up and down while pushing them toward electric field generator 130, causing plastic pieces A and B to separate and fall from the tip of vibrating feeder 122. Some of plastic pieces A and B are collected from vibrating feeder 122 and fed into separating and feeding device 124.

[0046] The electric field generating unit 130 generates an electrostatic field. The electric field generating unit 130 includes, for example, a pair of electrodes 131 and 132 and a DC power supply 133. Each of the pair of electrodes 131 and 132 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape. The pair of electrodes 131 and 132 are arranged opposite each other, sandwiching the path along which the plastic pieces A and B fall. A ground voltage is applied to the electrode 131. The DC power supply 133 applies a DC voltage between the pair of electrodes 131 and 132, thereby generating an electrostatic field between the pair of electrodes 131 and 132. The DC voltage between the electrodes 131 and 132 is adjusted by a control signal output from the control device 150.

[0047] Plastic pieces A and B that fall from vibrating feeder 122 are attracted to one of the pair of electrodes 131 and 132 by electrostatic force according to their charge state, such as polarity and charge amount, and fall. In other words, plastic pieces A and B fall to different positions depending on their charge state. In this embodiment, plastic piece A is positively charged and therefore is attracted to electrode 131 and falls. Plastic piece B is negatively charged and therefore is attracted to electrode 132 and falls.

[0048] The dropped plastic pieces A and B are collected in a collection box 140. The collection box 140 collects the plastic pieces A and B. The collection box 140 includes, for example, partition plates 141 and 142 and a partition drive device 143. The partition plates 141 and 142 are movable, for example, in the directions of the arrows in the figure. The movement of the partition plates 141 and 142 adjusts the size of the three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142. The partition drive device 143 includes a drive mechanism such as a motor. The partition drive device 143 supplies drive force to the partition plates 141 and 142 based on a control signal supplied from the control device 150.

[0049] The partition plates 141 and 142 may be moved manually. In the embodiment, the partition plates 141 and 142 are described as partitions that separate the areas that contain the material induced by the electrostatic force, but they are not limited to a plate shape and may have other shapes.

[0050] Plastic pieces A and B dropped from the vibrating feeder 122 are collected in one of three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142 depending on their charge state. Positively charged plastic pieces A are collected mainly in the area on the partition plate 141 side. Negatively charged plastic pieces B are collected mainly in the area on the partition plate 142 side. Plastic pieces that are not sufficiently charged are collected in the area between the partition plates 141 and 142. The plastic pieces collected in each area are transported by a conveyor (not shown) and stored in separate containers. The electrostatic separation device 100 may return the plastic pieces collected in the area between the partition plates 141 and 142 to the supply section 220 and perform separation again.

[0051] The input side detection unit 110A includes, for example, a plastic type identification sensor 111, a charge amount sensor 112, a plastic type identification sensor 113, and a mass sensor 114.

[0052] The plastic type identification sensor 111 detects sensing data for identifying the plastic type of the plastic pieces fed into the charging cylinder 120. The plastic type identification sensor 111 is, for example, an optical sensor that captures an image of the mixture. The optical sensor may be one that generates image information, such as a near-infrared camera or a visible light camera. The plastic type identification sensor 111 may also be a sensor for detecting particle size or foreign matter.

[0053] The charge sensor 112 is, for example, a pass-through Faraday cage sensor. The charge sensor 112 drops charged plastic pieces from above and detects an electrostatic induction voltage waveform (sensing data) generated as the plastic pieces fall. The electrostatic induction voltage waveform is analyzed by the first calculation unit 204 and converted into an amount of charge. The plastic type identification sensor 113 is, for example, an optical sensor that captures an image of the mixture. The plastic type identification sensor 113 detects sensing data for identifying the plastic type of the plastic pieces that have passed through the charge sensor 112. The mass sensor 114 detects sensing data for determining the mass of the plastic pieces that have passed through the charge sensor 112.

[0054] The collection-side detection unit 110B includes, for example, a plastic type identification sensor 115 and a mass sensor 116. The plastic type identification sensor 115 is, for example, an optical sensor that captures an image of the mixture. The plastic type identification sensor 115 detects sensing data for identifying the plastic type of the plastic pieces collected in each of the three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142 in the collection box 140. The mass sensor 116 detects sensing data for determining the mass of the plastic pieces collected in each of the three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142.

[0055] The control device 150 controls each unit in the electrostatic separation device 100 and performs various calculations. Upon acquiring sensing data detected by the input side detection unit 110A and the recovery side detection unit 110B, the control device 150 immediately transmits at least one of the acquired sensing data to the edge server device 200. The control device 150 controls the operation of at least one of the charging tube 120, the vibrating feeder 122, the electric field generation unit 130, and the recovery box 140 in accordance with a control command received from the edge server device 200.

[0056] 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the first calculation unit 204 in the first embodiment. As described above, the electrostatic separation device 100 includes the input-side detection unit 110A, the recovery-side detection unit 110B, and the control device 150. The input-side detection unit 110A detects, for example, near-infrared images or visible images, charge amount information, and mass information as sensing data, and the control device 150 outputs the sensing data to the first calculation unit 204. The first calculation unit 204 includes, for example, an image processing unit 204a and data conversion units 204b and 204c to process the sensing data detected by the input-side detection unit 110A.

[0057] As described above, the electrostatic separation device 100 includes the plastic type identification sensor 111 as an optical sensor that captures an image of the mixture to be separated and generates an image signal as mixture information, and the image processing unit 204a of the first calculation unit 204 generates mixing ratio data indicating the mixing ratio of the mixture based on the image signal generated by the plastic type identification sensor 111. The image processing unit 204a may, for example, analyze the infrared image signal detected by the plastic type identification sensor 111 and convert it into mixing ratio data indicating the mixing ratio of plastic pieces in the mixture.

[0058] As described above, the electrostatic sorting device 100 is equipped with a plastic type identification sensor 111 as an optical sensor that captures an image of the mixture to be sorted and generates an image signal as mixture information, and the image processing unit 204a of the first calculation unit 204 extracts a portion of the image signal generated by the plastic type identification sensor 111, and the transmission unit 108 transmits a portion of the image signal to the calculation device 300.

[0059] The first calculation unit 204 may analyze the visible image signal and convert it into particle size data and foreign matter data of the mixture. Also, the first calculation unit 204 may convert a particle passing waveform signal detected by a particle sensor (not shown) for the mixture supplied to the charging cylinder 120 into a fluid passing amount, and output the particle size and foreign matter data.

[0060] The electrostatic separation device 100 includes a charge sensor 112 that generates a charge signal as mixture information, which varies in accordance with the charge of the mixture being separated. The electrostatic separation device 100 adjusts the magnitude of the voltage applied to electrodes 131, 132 (electrode pair) that apply an electrostatic force to the charged mixture, or the position of partition plates 141, 142 that separate areas containing the mixture induced by the electrostatic force. The data conversion unit 204b of the first calculation unit 204 analyzes the charge signal generated by the charge sensor 112 to generate charge data indicating the charge of the mixture. The data conversion unit 204b inputs the electrostatic induction voltage waveform from the plastic type identification sensor 113 and converts it into charge data. The data conversion unit 204c inputs the mass signal from the mass sensor 114 and converts it into mass data.

[0061] The electrostatic separation device 100 may include a flow sensor that generates, as mixture information, a flow rate signal that changes according to the flow rate of the mixture to be separated. The flow rate sensor may be, for example, a sensor that detects the amount of raw material fed into the charging cylinder 120. It may be a sensor integrated with the plastic type identification sensor 111, or may be a flow rate sensor provided separately from 111. The data conversion unit 204d of the first calculation unit 204 may analyze the flow rate signal generated by the flow rate sensor to generate flow rate information indicating the flow rate of the mixture and transmit the flow rate information to the calculation device 300.

[0062] The control device 150 outputs operating status information indicating the operating status of the electrostatic separation device 100, such as partition plate position information, voltage information, MID circulation information, charging cylinder information, and feeder speed information, to the data processing unit 204e. The partition plate position information is information indicating the positions of the partition plates 141 and 142. The voltage information is information indicating the voltage between the electrodes 131 and 132. The MID circulation information is information indicating the amount of plastic pieces circulated from the area between the partition plates 141 and 142 to the charging cylinder 120. The charging cylinder information is information indicating the rotation speed of the charging cylinder 120. The feeder speed information is information indicating the vibration speed of the vibrating feeder 122. The data processing unit 204e, for example, performs predetermined data processing and transmits operating status data linking the partition plate position information, voltage information, MID circulation information, charging cylinder information, and feeder speed information for each time period to the calculation device 300.

[0063] The first calculation unit 204 includes, for example, an image processing unit 204f and a data conversion unit 204g for processing sensing data detected by the recovery-side detection unit 110B. The image processing unit 204f analyzes the infrared image detected by the plastic type identification sensor 115 and converts it into composition ratio data indicating the composition ratio of the mixture. The data conversion unit 204g inputs a mass signal from the mass sensor 116 and converts it into mass data.

[0064] 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of electrostatic separation system 1 in the first embodiment. In information storage system 500, recycling history information is transmitted from recycler device 510 to information management device 520, and information management device 520 stores the recycling history information (step S100). Note that in the embodiment, the recycling history information is stored in information management device 520, but this is not limiting, and the recycling history information may be stored in each of recycler devices 510.

[0065] The raw material information of the raw material (mixture to be sorted) supplied to the electrostatic separation device 100 is read (step S102). The raw material information is, for example, identification information of the raw material assigned in an upstream process of the sorting process. The raw material information is transmitted from the electrostatic separation device 100 to the calculation device 300 via the edge server device 200. The calculation device 300 transmits a request for recycling history information corresponding to the raw material information to the information management device 520. The information management device 520 extracts the recycling history information corresponding to the request and transmits it to the calculation device 300 (step S104). As a result, the calculation device 300 acquires the recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted.

[0066] When the supply of raw materials to be sorted begins (step S106), the electrostatic sorting device 100 acquires sensing data detected by the plastic type identification sensor 111 as information related to the mixture to be sorted and transmits it to the edge server device 200 (step S108).

[0067] The first calculation unit 204 executes a first calculation process using the sensing data acquired by the acquisition unit 202 (step S110). The transmission unit 208 transmits the processing result of the first calculation process to the calculation device 300 (step S112).

[0068] The control device 150 immediately transmits each sensing data to the edge server device 200 in response to acquiring sensing data from each of the plastic type identification sensor 111, the charge amount sensor 112, the plastic type identification sensor 113, and the mass sensor 114. In response to receiving each of the plurality of sensing data, the first calculation unit 204 immediately performs a first calculation process on each of the plurality of sensing data, and transmits a plurality of processing results corresponding to each of the plurality of sensing data to the calculation device 300.

[0069] The acquisition unit 302 of the calculation device 300 receives the processing result of the first calculation process, and the second calculation unit 304 calculates the sorting conditions by executing the second calculation process based on the processing result of the first calculation process and the recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the information storage system 500 (step S114). The transmission unit 310 transmits information indicating the sorting conditions as the processing result of the second calculation process to the edge server device 200 (step S116).

[0070] The second calculation unit 304 performs advanced automatic sorting by sensing the raw material mixture ratio, sorting results, and specific charge distribution of the plastic pieces based on the processing results of the first calculation process and recycling history information. The specific charge is a physical property value obtained by dividing the charge amount of plastic pieces charged by friction by their mass. Even for plastic pieces of the same type, the specific charge does not have a constant value but varies depending on the shape of each plastic piece and the way they rub against each other during frictional charging. There is a correlation between the specific charge distribution and the distribution of the falling positions of the plastic pieces after passing between the electrodes 131 and 132. Therefore, the second calculation unit 304 calculates the specific charge distribution and predicts the optimal positions of the partition plates 141 and 142 based on the specific charge distribution.

[0071] The electrostatic separation device 100 collects a portion of the mixed plastic immediately after it has been frictionally charged by the charging tube 120, and then uses the separation and charging device 124 to feed the collected plastic pieces one by one into the plastic type identification sensor 113. The sensing data obtained by the plastic type identification sensor 113 (optical sensor) and the mass sensor 114 is then transmitted to the computing device 300 via the edge server device 200. The computing device 300 predicts the distribution of the drop positions of the plastic pieces based on the specific charge distribution, thereby determining the optimal positions (sorting conditions) of the partition plates 141 and 142 and remotely controlling the partition drive device 143.

[0072] The receiving unit 206 of the edge server device 200 receives the information indicating the sorting conditions from the arithmetic device 300, and the transmitting unit 208 transmits the information indicating the sorting conditions as a control command to the electrostatic separation device 100 (step S118).

[0073] The receiving unit 106 of the electrostatic separation device 100 receives the control command, and the control device 150 controls the separation unit 104, which includes the charging cylinder 120, the vibrating feeder 122, the electric field generator 130, and the recovery box 140, so that the electrostatic separation device 100 separates single plastics (step S120). The recovery-side detection unit 110B detects sensing data, and the control device 150 transmits the sensing data acquired from the recovery-side detection unit 110B to the edge server device 200 (step S122).

[0074] The first calculation unit 204 performs a first calculation process using the sensing data transmitted by the edge server device 200 (step S124), and transmits the processing result of the first calculation process to the calculation device 300 (step S126).

[0075] The acquisition unit 302 acquires information related to the mixture to be sorted and sorting result information indicating the sorting results of the sorting device acquired from the edge server device 200, and the transmission unit 310 transmits the information related to the mixture to be sorted and the sorting result information acquired by the acquisition unit 302 to the information storage system 500 (step S128). The information management device 520 updates the recycling history information for the sorting process based on the information acquired from the calculation device 300 (step S130).

[0076] The electrostatic separation device 100 also acquires sensing data from the plastic type identification sensor 115 and mass sensor 116 for the plastic pieces collected in the three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142 after separation. The second calculation unit 304 calculates the separation results for the plastic pieces for each of the three areas formed by the partition plates 141 and 142. The second calculation unit 304 compares the predicted value of the distribution of the drop positions of the plastic pieces with the actual measured value of the distribution of the drop positions of the plastic pieces to recalculate the optimal positions (separation conditions) of the partition plates 141 and 142. In this way, the second calculation unit 304 improves the accuracy of determining the positions of the partition plates 141 and 142 in response to fluctuations in the raw material.

[0077] The acquisition unit 302 may acquire product information using the target mixture from the information storage system 500 based on information related to the target mixture acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100 (step S104). The product information may include information indicating the manufacturer, model number, and specific parts of the product from which the target mixture originated. The product information may also include recycling history information disclosed by the collection company device 510E, the sorting company device 510F, and the crushing company device 510A. The second calculation unit 304 may calculate sorting conditions based on the information related to the target mixture acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100 and the product information acquired from the information storage system 500 (step S114). For example, the condition of the target mixture, such as additives, surface treatment, and surface contamination level, may vary depending on the product. In response to this, the second calculation unit 304 may calculate appropriate sorting conditions for each product. The calculation device 300 may calculate appropriate sorting conditions for each product by building a trained model 306 for each product.

[0078] The acquisition unit may acquire detailed information about the plastic pieces contained in the mixture to be sorted from the information storage system 500 based on information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device (step S104). The detailed information includes at least one of information related to the composition, particle size, color, additives, surface treatment, surface contamination level, or number of recycling times of the plastic pieces contained in the mixture to be sorted. The second calculation unit 304 can calculate sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100 and the detailed information acquired from the information storage system 500 (step S114). The second calculation unit 304 can simulate predicted values ​​of sorting results based on the composition and particle size of the plastic pieces and calculate sorting conditions based on the predicted values. Furthermore, by storing detailed information about the plastic pieces and the sorting results, the calculation unit 300 can estimate the cause of sorting failures due to charging abnormalities and calculate sorting conditions to prevent sorting failures. Furthermore, after the sorting process, if quality defects occur after the sale of a single plastic or in downstream processes, the electrostatic sorting system 1 can estimate the cause of the quality defects and calculate sorting conditions to prevent quality defects from occurring.

[0079] The electrostatic separation system 1 includes multiple electrostatic separation devices 100. The acquisition unit 302 may acquire, from the information storage system 500, sorting process information related to a sorting process other than the sorting performed by the electrostatic separation device 100A, which is included in the recycling process of the mixture to be separated (step S104). The second calculation unit 304 calculates sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be separated acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100A and the sorting process information acquired from the information storage system 500. As a result, when the electrostatic separation device 100A performs the sorting process, the calculation device 300 can calculate the sorting conditions for the electrostatic separation device 100A using sensing data acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100A, as well as sensing data, operating status information, and sorting result information acquired from other electrostatic separation devices, such as the electrostatic separation device 100B (step S114). In addition, the calculation device 300 can train a learned model 306 for calculating the sorting conditions of the electrostatic separation device 100A using sensing data, operating status information, and sorting result information acquired from electrostatic separation devices 100 other than the electrostatic separation device 100A, and calculate the sorting conditions of the electrostatic separation device 100A based on the output of the learned model 306 (step S114).

[0080] The acquisition unit 302 may acquire, from the information storage system, subsequent process information related to processes subsequent to the sorting process based on information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100 (step S104). The subsequent process information is recycling history information on material production processes, etc., following the sorting process. The subsequent process information may be, for example, information indicating the final use of the single plastics sold to the material production process. The information indicating the use is, for example, information indicating whether the single plastics sorted in the sorting process were material recycled, chemically recycled, or thermally recovered. The second calculation unit 304 can calculate sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100 and the subsequent process information acquired from the information storage system 500 (step S114).

[0081] The acquisition unit 302 may acquire circulation amount information indicating the circulation amount of each type of resin circulated in the multiple recycling processes from the information storage system 500 based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100 (step S104). The second calculation unit 304 can calculate sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100 and the circulation amount information acquired from the information storage system 500 (step S114). This allows the electrostatic separation system 1 to calculate sorting conditions taking into account the circulation amount of each material, the product cycle, etc.

[0082] 7 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the edge server device 200 and the computing device 300 according to the first embodiment. The edge server device 200 determines whether the electrostatic separation device 100 is operating (step S200). If the electrostatic separation device 100 is operating (step S200: YES), the edge server device 200 performs the processing described with reference to FIG. 6 (step S202).

[0083] When the electrostatic separation device 100 is stopped (step S200: NO), the edge server device 200 determines whether there is untransmitted data (step S204). The untransmitted data is image signals other than a portion of the image signals extracted when a portion of the image signals generated by the plastic type identification sensor 111 or the plastic type identification sensor 113 is extracted. When the electrostatic separation device 100 is operating and transmitting calculation result information resulting from the first calculation process performed by the first calculation unit 204, the untransmitted data may be raw information used to calculate the calculation result information.

[0084] The first calculation unit 204 acquires the untransmitted data from the electrostatic separation device 100 (step S206). The first calculation unit 204 may acquire raw information for the first calculation process from an internal storage device. The transmission unit 208 transmits the acquired untransmitted data to the calculation device 300 (step S208).

[0085] The acquisition unit 302 of the calculation device 300 receives the untransmitted data and transmits it to the information management device 520 (step S210). The untransmitted data includes information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired by the acquisition unit 302 and sorting result information indicating the sorting results of the electrostatic separation device 100. The transmission unit 310 then transmits the information acquired by the acquisition unit 302 to the information storage system 500 while the electrostatic separation device 100 is stopped. The learning unit 308 trains the trained model 306 using the received untransmitted data (step S212). The information management device 520 accumulates the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the calculation device 300 and the sorting result information indicating the sorting results of the electrostatic separation device 100 as recycling history information (step S214).

[0086] As described above, the electrostatic separation system 1 in the embodiment acquires information related to the mixture to be sorted from the electrostatic separation device 100 using the acquisition unit 302 of the calculation device 300, acquires recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted from the information storage system 500, and can calculate sorting conditions using the second calculation unit 304 based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the electrostatic separation device 100 and the recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the information storage system 500. According to this electrostatic separation system 1, the accuracy of sorting can be improved by performing the sorting process under sorting conditions calculated using information from the recycling process. In other words, according to the electrostatic separation system 1, optimal sorting conditions can be calculated using information from processes other than the sorting process in the recycling process for the sorting process, and the sorting process can be remotely controlled.

[0087] In the recycling process, regardless of the industry, waste products are never collected in the same condition. Therefore, the mixture ratio of the mixed plastic pieces (raw materials) obtained by crushing them varies widely. For example, a change in the raw material mixture ratio affects the frictional charge of the plastics, causing the position of the various plastics to change between the electrodes. Therefore, to maintain optimal purity and recovery rates of various plastics in the sorting process, operational know-how is required, such as adjusting the voltage applied to electrodes 131 and 132 and the position of partition plates 141 and 142. Without operational know-how to accommodate raw material variations, the electrostatic separation device 100's performance cannot be maximized and the quality of the recycled materials cannot be stabilized. Therefore, the electrostatic separation system 1 can derive optimal sorting conditions by training the trained model 306 using information from other processes (such as crushing conditions in upstream processes, component information obtained during sorting, and product information) obtained from the information storage system 500.

[0088] Furthermore, with the electrostatic separation system 1, for example, there may be cases where the collection of sensing data, operating status information, and separation results for the electrostatic separation device 100 is insufficient, or where there is little data on the separation process for products in a certain industry. In such cases, high separation efficiency cannot be achieved until sufficient data is accumulated. However, with the electrostatic separation system 1, by acquiring recycling history information from the information storage system 500 and acquiring data on the upstream separation process and crushing process (crushed particle size, ratio of parts from which the raw materials originated, material type, additive information, amount sent to the separation system, etc.), it is possible to predict the mixing ratio, composition, and specific charge of the raw materials and control the electrostatic separation device 100.

[0089] Second Embodiment FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a gravity-based separator 600 according to a second embodiment. While the separator according to the first embodiment described above is the electrostatic separator 100, the separator may be a gravity-based separator 600. The gravity-based separator 600 is a separator that performs separation by utilizing differences in the specific gravities of resin pieces contained in a mixture to be separated. The gravity-based separator 600 separates plastic pieces contained in a mixture by, for example, a wet gravity separation method. The gravity-based separator 600 includes a float-sink separator 610 and a jig separator 620.

[0090] The float / sink sorting section 610 uses water as a medium to separate plastic pieces by floating PP, which is lighter than water, and sinking PS, ABS, and other plastics, which are heavier than water. Plastic pieces floating on the water in the float / sink sorting section 610 are collected. Plastic pieces that have settled in the float / sink sorting section 610 are transported to the jig sorting section 620.

[0091] The jig sorting unit 620 generates a pulsating water current by transmitting a piston motion to the water, forming layers of different specific gravity. The jig sorting unit 620 separates the light-specific gravity PS and ABS mixture from the heavy-specific gravity flame-retardant plastic, and collects the light-specific gravity plastic pieces and the heavy-specific gravity plastic pieces separately.

[0092] As described above, the edge server device 200 and the calculation device 300 are connected to the gravity-type sorting device 600. The first calculation unit 204 performs a first calculation process on at least some of the information: mixture information about the mixture in the gravity-type sorting device 600, operating status information indicating the operating status of the gravity-type sorting device 600, and sorting result information indicating the sorting results of the gravity-type sorting device 600; and transmits the processing results of the first calculation process to the calculation device 300. The calculation device 300 calculates sorting conditions for the gravity-type sorting device 600 by a second calculation process based on the processing results of the first calculation process and information acquired from the gravity-type sorting device 600; and transmits the calculated sorting conditions to the edge server device 200. The edge server device 200 controls the gravity-type sorting device 600 based on the sorting conditions received from the calculation device 300.

[0093] Third Embodiment FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an optical sorting device 700 according to a third embodiment. While the sorting device according to the first embodiment described above is the electrostatic sorting device 100, the sorting device may be an optical sorting device 700. The optical sorting device 700 is an optical sorting device that includes an optical sensor (X-ray source 720, detector 722) that captures images of resin pieces contained in a mixture to be sorted, and performs sorting by utilizing differences in the captured images of the resin pieces captured by the X-ray source 720 and the detector 722. The optical sorting device 700 includes, for example, a conveyor unit 710, the X-ray source 720, the detector 722, an air gun unit 730, recovery units 740 and 742, and a control device 750.

[0094] The optical sorting device 700 irradiates the mixture conveyed by the conveyor unit 710 with X-rays from the X-ray source 720 and detects the transmitted light with the detector 722. This generates an X-ray transmission image signal of the mixture to be sorted. The X-ray transmission image signal is, for example, an image in which a shadow is projected on the bromine-containing plastic. The X-ray transmission image signal is transmitted to the edge server device 200 as sensing data by the control device 750. The first calculation unit 204 transmits the processing result of the first calculation process on the sensing data to the calculation device 300. The calculation device 300 transmits to the edge server device 200 sorting conditions indicating the operation of the air gun unit 730 based on the processing result of the first calculation process and information acquired from the information storage system 500. The edge server device 200 controls the air gun unit 730 based on the sorting conditions received from the calculation device 300. As a result, the optical sorting device 700 sorts, for example, plastics containing brominated flame retardants into the recovery section 742 and plastics not containing brominated flame retardants into the recovery section 740.

[0095] Although each embodiment and variant have been described, these are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. For example, one of the embodiments or variants, or a part of each embodiment or a part of each variant, may be combined with one or more other embodiments or one or more other variants to realize one aspect of the present invention.

[0096] 1...electrostatic separation system, 100, 100A, 100B, 100C...electrostatic separation device, 102...detection unit, 104...sorting unit, 106...receiving unit, 108...transmitting unit, 110A...feeding side detection unit, 110B...recovery side detection unit, 111, 113, 115...plastic type identification sensor, 112...charge amount sensor, 114, 116...mass sensor, 120...charging cylinder, 122...vibration feeder, 124...separation feeding device, 130...electric field generation unit, 131, 132...electrode, 133...DC power supply, 140...recovery box, 141, 142...partition plate, 143...driving device, 150...control device, 200, 200A, 200B, 200C...edge server device, 202...acquisition unit, 204...first calculation unit, 204a, 204f...image processing unit, 204b, 204c, 204d, 204g...data conversion unit, 204e...data processing unit, 206...receiving unit, 208...transmitting unit, 210...control unit, 220...supply Unit, 300... Calculation device, 302... Acquisition unit, 304... Second calculation unit, 306... Trained model, 308... Learning unit, 310... Transmission unit, 400... Database device, 410... User database, 412... Sorting device database, 414... Trained model, 500... Information storage system, 510... Recycler device, 510A... Crushing company device, 510B... Material manufacturer device, 510C... Product manufacturer device, 510D... User device , 510E...recycling company device, 510F...sorting company device, 512...acquisition unit, 514...information processing unit, 516...transmission unit, 520...information management device, 522...acquisition unit, 524...information processing unit, 526...transmission unit, 600...specific gravity sorting device, 610...float-sink sorting unit, 620...jig sorting unit, 700...optical sorting device, 710...conveyor unit, 720...X-ray source, 722...detector, 730...air gun unit, 740, 742...recovery unit, 750...control unit

Claims

1. A sorting system comprising: a sorting device that performs a sorting process for sorting a mixture containing multiple types of materials by material type among multiple recycling processes; a calculation device including: an acquisition unit that acquires information; a calculation unit that calculates sorting conditions for the sorting device based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a transmission unit that transmits the sorting conditions calculated by the calculation unit to the sorting device; and an information storage system that stores multiple pieces of recycling history information corresponding to the multiple recycling processes, wherein the acquisition unit acquires information related to the mixture to be sorted from the sorting device and acquires the recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted from the information storage system, and the calculation unit calculates the sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device and the recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the information storage system.

2. The sorting system described in claim 1, wherein the information storage system comprises a plurality of recycling company devices corresponding to a plurality of recycling processes and an information management device that manages the recycling history information acquired from the plurality of recycling company devices, each of the recycling company devices stores recycling history information relating to the recycling process corresponding to the device in the information management device, and the information management device manages linking information for the plurality of recycling history information.

3. The sorting system described in claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires product information using the mixture to be sorted from the information storage system based on information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device, and the calculation unit calculates the sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device and the product information acquired from the information storage system.

4. The sorting system described in claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires detailed information about the plastic pieces contained in the mixture to be sorted from the information storage system based on information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device, and the calculation unit calculates the sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device and the detailed information acquired from the information storage system, and the detailed information includes at least one of information related to the composition, particle size, color, additives, surface treatment, degree of surface contamination, or number of recycling times of the plastic pieces.

5. A sorting system as described in claim 1, comprising a plurality of said sorting devices, wherein the acquisition unit acquires from the information storage system sorting process information relating to a sorting process other than the sorting performed by the sorting devices included in the recycling process of the mixture to be sorted, and the calculation unit calculates the sorting conditions based on the information relating to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting devices and the sorting process information acquired from the information storage system.

6. The sorting system described in claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires post-process information related to processes subsequent to the sorting process from the information storage system based on information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device, and the calculation unit calculates the sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device and the post-process information acquired from the information storage system.

7. The sorting system described in claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires circulation amount information indicating the circulation amount of each type of material circulated in the multiple recycling processes from the information storage system based on information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device, and the calculation unit calculates the sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device and the circulation amount information acquired from the information storage system.

8. The sorting system described in claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device and sorting result information indicating the sorting results of the sorting device, and the transmission unit transmits the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired by the acquisition unit and the sorting result information to the information storage system.

9. The sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the information acquired by the acquiring unit to the information storage system when the sorting device is not operating.

10. The sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the sorting device is an electrostatic sorting device that performs sorting by utilizing the difference in the amount of charge of each type of resin contained in the mixture.

11. The sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the sorting device is a gravity-type sorting device that performs sorting by utilizing the differences in specific gravity of each type of resin contained in the mixture.

12. The sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the sorting device is an optical sorting device that performs sorting by utilizing differences in captured images for each type of resin contained in the mixture to be sorted.

13. A sorting method comprising: a step by a computing device acquiring information related to a mixture to be sorted that contains multiple types of materials from a sorting device; a step by the computing device acquiring recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted from an information storage system that stores multiple pieces of recycling history information corresponding to multiple recycling processes; a step by the computing device calculating sorting conditions based on the information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the sorting device and the recycling history information related to the mixture to be sorted acquired from the information storage system; a step by the computing device transmitting information indicating the sorting conditions to the sorting device; and a step by the sorting device sorting a mixture containing multiple types of materials by material type.

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