Method of and apparatus for disposing waste

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for recovering valuables which can be recycled from waste, and specifically, a method and an apparatus which are suitable for disposing waste including circuit boards.

RELATED ART

As to a process of recovering variables which can be recycled from waste, various technologies have been proposed in view of kinds of waste or valuables.

For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H5-147040 discloses a waste disposal method for waste of household appliance such as a refrigerator, wherein metal blocks are separated from waste, and then waste from which the metal blocks are removed, are pulverized into fragments, and then foaming materials are recovered from the fragments from which a gaseous foaming agent is recovered while iron, nonferrous metals and plastics are separated from frozen and pulverized fragments of the metal blocks and the fragments from which the foaming materials are removed, so as to recover the valuables. In order to separate iron, nonferrous metals and plastics, the fragments are subjected to magnetic separation in order to separate iron, and then the remaining fragments are subjected to eddy current separation under the action of eddy current generated by the application of a.c. magnetic fields so as to separate nonferrous metals and plastics. Further, nonferrous metals are then subjected to gravity concentration using difference in specific weight, or wind separation, so as to be sorted into copper, aluminum and other nonferrous metals, and similarly, the plastics are subjected to gravity concentration or wind separation so as to be sorted into different kinds.

Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H8-318256 proposes such a process that waste is manually disassembled so as to recover reusable parts such as CPU, and the remainder parts are pulverized and then sorted into iron, nonferrous metals and plastics in order to recover reusable parts as valuables. The remainder is further pulverized in order to recover valuables if present, and are finally subjected to innocuous disposal.

However, the waste disposal process disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H5-147040 is unsatisfactory for disposing OA equipment including a circuit board. There have been offered the following matters which should be improved. That is, OA equipment such as a personal computer, a printer, a copier or a facsimile, includes a circuit board carrying thereon an electronic circuit component such as a CPU, and as well, solder which has been used for connecting electronic circuit components and wiring members, and which contains toxic lead, thereby it is desirable to enhance the recovery rate of solder. However, should OA equipment including such circuit boards be pulverized into fragments, without removing these circuit boards, the fragments would be dispersed around, solder and copper and aluminum wires being stuck thereto. Thus it is impossible to enhance the recovery rate of lead. Further, when copper, aluminum and the like of the nonferrous metal group are sorted by an eddy current classifier, eddy current is induced through solder and wiring stuck to the fragments of the circuit boards, and accordingly, a large volume of fragments of the circuit boards is recovered as nonferrous metal. As a result, a large volume of impurities relating to the circuit boards is mingled in separated nonferrous metals including copper and aluminum, and accordingly, the value of the separated nonferrous metals as valuables is lowered. Similarly, if the fragments of the circuit boards are sorted into plastics, the fragments of the circuit boards which are usually sheet-like, are likely to be sorted into phenol resin having a specific weight of 1.25 to 1.30 or polyvinyl chloride having a specific weight of 1.33 to 1.44 due to the affection by the shapes of the fragments when the fragments are sorted into different kinds of plastics since the specific weight of the circuit boards is in a range from 1.6 to 2.0, and accordingly, there would be caused a risk such that the degrees of purity of sorted plastics are lowered. Further, even after the fragments of the circuit boards are separated from nonferrous metals and other plastics, the remaining fragments are finally collected as dust together with plastic chips, metals chips, wiring chips and other particles, and accordingly, the volume of dust becomes very large so as to increase the costs of reclamation becomes high, resulting in increase in both cost of waste disposal and burden upon the environment.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, Japanese Patent No. H8-318256 discloses a method in which OA equipment is manually disassembled or wrecked so as to remove circuit boards, and then, valuables including CPUs are recovered as reusable parts from the circuit boars. However, it is difficult to remove circuit boards from OA equipment in view of its structure since the OA equipment is usually has a compact form. Accordingly, the removable of the circuit boards would require a huge cost and a long working time. Further, in this document, the remaining circuit boards are simply subjected to innocuous disposal for reclamation after valuables are recovered therefrom, that is, this document fails to disclose the separation and recovery of valuables such as lead contained in solder and noble metal from the circuit boards, and the reutilization thereof as resources.

Meanwhile, if a plastics housing which is one of the components of OA equipment is made of ABS resin or the like, plastics having different specific weights in a narrow range would be mingled together. That is, the specific weight of polystyrene is in the range of 1.02 to 1.51 which is substantially equal to the specific weight (1.03 to 1.09) of the ABS resin. There would be a risk such that different kinds of plastics are sorted into one and the same kind, and recovered. Accordingly, the colors and the materials of the recovered plastics are not uniform, and accordingly, the quality of the recycled resources is low.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first object of the present invention is to enhance the quality of recovered valuables which are obtained by pulverizing waste including circuit boards, and to restrain diffusion of toxic lead included in the circuit board.

A second object of the present invention is provide an automated process for selecting and separating fragments of circuit boards from fragments of waste other than the circuit boards in order to recover valuables are recovered through the disposal of the waste including the circuit boars.

A third object of the present invention is to enhance the quality of recovered plastics, relating to colors and materials thereof.

The first object of the present invention can be achieved by such an arrangement that a circuit board sorting means for sorting and separating fragments of circuit boards from pulverized waste is provided downstream of a pulverizing means for pulverizing waste including circuit boards. That is, although it is difficult to separate fragments of circuit boards from nonferrous metals and plastics through eddy current classification or gravity concentration, with the provision of the circuit board sorting means for sorting and separating fragments of circuit boards, the amount of fragments of circuit boards mingled into nonferrous metals and plastics can be restrained. As a result, the qualities of nonferrous metals and plastics which are valuables to be recovered, can be enhanced. Further, with the provision of the circuit board sorting means, since waste including circuit boards can be directly pulverized by, for example, the pulverizing means, and accordingly, the necessity of handwork for disassembly can be eliminated, thereby it is possible to reduce the processing time for recovering circuit boards and the processing cost.

In this case, it is preferable to arrange the circuit board sorting means upstream of a nonferrous metal sorting means for sorting nonferrous metals. With this arrangement, it is possible to restrain fragments of circuit boards from being mingled into nonferrous metals. Further, since the fragments of circuit boards are separated, it is possible to apply eddy current for sorting nonferrous metals. Similarly, the circuit board sorting means is preferably provided upstream of a plastic sorting means for sorting plastics. With this arrangement, it is possible to restrain fragments of circuit boards form being mingled into plastics, and to apply gravity concentration for sorting plastics into different kinds.

Further, since fragments of circuit boards are sorted and separated, toxic lead can be separated and recovered, thereby it is possible to prevent diffusion of toxic lead. Further, noble metals contained in circuit boards can be separated and recovered. Further, since circuit boards includes, in general, glass fibers impregnated with resin, the quantity of dust to be reclaimed can be reduced by decomposing the resin so as to recover oil or the like contained therein.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a circuit board sorting means adapted to identify fragments of circuit boards in accordance with colors of circuit boards in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. That is, since the color of circuit boards is, in general, green or brown, the fragments of circuit boards can be separated from other waste. Specifically, fragments are passed through the field of vision of a TV camera or a CCD camera which can therefore pick up images therefrom. Then colors of the picked-up images are compared in contrast with one or a plurality of specific colors which have been previously set in order to determine whether the fragments are those of that other than the circuit boards so as to identify fragments of circuit boards among fragments of other waste, and accordingly, the fragments of circuit boards are mechanically separated from those of other waste.

Specifically, the circuit board sorting means may be composed of an array means for arraying the fragments, being spaced from one another, in a row, and an image pick-up means such as a CCD camera for picking up images from the fragments, and an identifying means for comparing colors of images picked up from the fragments in contrast with one or a plurality of preset specified colors so as to determine whether fragments are those of the circuit boards or other waste. The array means may be composed of conveying means such as belt conveyers having a V-like sectional shape and coupled together in multiple stages in such a way that the speeds of the conveying means are higher and higher successively, and means for introducing fragments of wastes including fragments of circuit boards onto the conveying means. The circuit board identifying means may be composed of a computer or the like.

A circuit board separating means for separating fragments of circuit boards from those of other waste tracks those fragments which are sorted by the circuit board sorting means, during conveyance of arrayed fragments on a conveying path, and drops fragments of circuit boards from the conveying path at a position where the fragments of circuit boards are collected. Specifically, a ring-like fragment receiving part which is defined by an inner and an outer peripheral wall is formed on a rotatable circular table, and the outer peripheral wall is composed of several openable and closable doors which are circumferentially arranged, being adjacent to one another. The fragments discharged from the sorting means are shifted one by one onto the fragments receiving part while the circular table is rotated. Further, there is provided an image pick-up means for picking up images from the fragments having been shifted onto the fragment receiving means. The circuit board separating means determines whether a fragment is one of those of circuit boards or not in accordance with the thus picked-up image delivered from the image pick-up means. If it is a fragment of circuit boards, the position where the fragment of circuit board is located is stored in memory, in relation to the associated door. When the door comes to predetermined collecting position, a signal is delivered to a means for opening and closing the associated door in order to open the door, and accordingly, the fragment is dropped from the circular table under centrifugal force so as to separate the fragments from the other waste. It goes without saying that the above-mentioned separating means can be used for separating not only fragments of circuit boards but also those which can be identified through their picked-up images. Thus, the fragments which are conveyed on the circular table can be separated under centrifugal force, desired fragments can be separated at a high rate from a huge number of fragments of waste. That is, the method disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H6-23328, using a separating device in which parts are conveyed along a predetermined conveying path by a rotary part feeder composes of a bowl and a rotatable table, then kinds of parts are determined in accordance with an image from a CCD camera, and air is blown onto these parts in order to sort the parts into different kinds and a method disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H9-201572, including steps of extending a piston toward a cullet on a disc on rotation, and sucking air through a pipe line provided at the forward end of the piston so as to hold the cullet, and sorting parts into different kinds in accordance with colors with the use of images obtained by a CCD camera, would not be suitable for sorting a huge quantity of waste.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a method such that plastic parts including a housing constituting an OA equipment are wrecked, and a color and a material of the part are measured so as to sort recovered plastics into different kinds in accordance with the color and the material, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, it is possible to enhance the quality, such as a color and a material of thus recovered plastics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a waste disposal apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2

is a view illustrating an embodiment of a wrecking section;

FIG. 3

is a view illustrating an embodiment of a pulverizing means;

FIG. 4

is a view illustrating an embodiment of an iron sorting means;

FIG. 5

is a view illustrating a general configuration of an embodiment of a circuit board sorting means;

FIG. 6

is a view illustrating an embodiment of a door opening means in the circuit board sorting means shown in

FIG. 5

;

FIG. 7

is a view illustrating an all door closing means and a stopper returning means in the circuit board sorting means shown in

FIG. 5

;

FIG. 8

is a view illustrating another embodiment of the door opening means in the circuit board sorting means shown in

FIG. 5

;

FIG. 9

is a view illustrating further another embodiment of the circuit board sorting means shown in

FIG. 5

;

FIG. 10

is a view illustrating an eddy current sorter as an example of a nonferrous metal sorting means;

FIG. 11

is a view illustrating an example of a gravitation concentration machine as an example of a plastic sorting means;

FIG. 12

is a view illustrating a general configuration of an embodiment of a plastic part disposing means;

FIG. 13

is a view for explaining process steps for a material identifying means; and

FIG. 14

is a view for explaining process steps for a material identifying means; and

FIG. 15

is a view illustrating a configuration of a reusable part processing means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Explanation will be hereinbelow made of an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to

FIG. 1

which shows a general configuration of a waste disposal apparatus according to the present invention, waste

1

including OA equipment is introduced into a wrecking section

2

where it is wrecked manually with the use of tools including pliers and drivers. It is noted that the OA equipment to be wrecked includes a desk-top personal computer, a notebook-type personal computer, a display unit, a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine and the like.

The desk-top personal computer is composed of a housing, a frame, circuit boards, a power source, a hard disc unit, a floppy disc unit, a battery and the like. The housing is formed of iron or plastic (ABS resin or polycarbonate), and the frame is made of iron. The circuit boards includes a mother board composed of a board part made of epoxy resin, wiring made of copper, legs or leads of elements of electronic parts, made of iron, gold (in a CPU and sockets), silver (in a CPU and sockets). The power source is composed of a plastic housing, copper coils and the like. The hard disc unit and the floppy disc unit are made of aluminum or iron, and the battery is made of iron, carbon and lead.

The notebook type personal computer is similarly composed of a housing, a frame, circuit boards, a power source, a hard disc unit, a floppy disc unit, a battery, a liquid crystal display unit and the like. The housing is made of a plated plastic (ABS resin, polycarbonate or nylon), and the liquid display unit is formed of glass and liquid crystal. The remainder are similar to the desk-top personal computer as mentioned above.

The display unit is composed of a picture tube made of glass, lead and iron, a housing made of plastic (ABS resin or polycarbonate), a frame made of iron, a circuit board composed of a board part made of epoxy resin, wiring made of copper, legs of elements made of iron, and a power source formed of plastic and copper.

The printer is composed of a housing made of iron or plastic (ABS resin or polycarbonate), a frame made of iron, a circuit board composed of a board part made of epoxy resin, wiring made of copper, leg or leads of elements made of iron, and a CPU and sockets made of gold or silver, a power source composed of a housing made of plastic and coils made of copper, and a toner cartridge formed of iron and toner.

The copier is composed of a housing made of iron or plastic (ABS resin or polycarbonate), a frame made of iron, a circuit board composed of a board part made of epoxy resin, wiring made of copper, leg or leads of elements made of iron, and a CPU and sockets made of gold or silver, a power source composed of a housing made of plastic and coils made of copper, a toner cartridge formed of iron and toner, and a fluorescent tube made of glass and mercury, and a glass panel.

The facsimile machine is composed, similar to the copier.

The OA equipment introduced into the wrecking section, plastic parts

3

including a plastic housing, which are relatively large so as to be simply separated, reusable parts

4

which have been previously specified, a battery

5

, a picture tube

6

, a liquid crystal display unit

7

, a toner cartridge

8

, a fluorescent tube

9

, a glass panel

10

are removed. The thus removed battery

5

, the picture tube

6

, the liquid crystal display unit

7

, the toner cartridge

8

, the fluorescent tube

9

and the glass panel

10

are recovered as valuables while the plastic parts

3

is sent to a plastic part disposing means

11

, and the reusable parts

4

are sent to a reusable part processing means

12

so that they are processed in respective ways. The plastic part disposing means

11

sorts plastics into different kinds in accordance with their colors. Accordingly, plastics

15

can be recovered with colors and materials which are uniform. Further, the reusable part processing means

12

sorts the reusable parts into inferior reusable parts

14

which malfunction, and reusable parts

17

which can properly function. The reusable parts

17

are cleaned up so as to remove dirt therefrom in order to enhance the buying eagerness of the consumer.

Further, as to the recovered picture tube

6

, a front glass panel and a rear glass funnel are separated from each other so as to recover a mask made of iron, and lead, which are then recycled into resources. The housing of the battery is decomposed so as to recover iron and lead which are recycled into resources. The liquid crystal display unit

7

is made to be innocent through incineration or the like. The toner cartridge

8

is disassembled so as to withdraw toner for being reused or recycled into resources. As to a photosensitive drum, a photosensitizer such as selenium, with which the outer surface of the drum is coated thereover, is peeled off from the drum, and is then recycled into resources while aluminum from the drum is reused or recycled into resources, and iron therefrom is pulverized, sorted and recovered in order to be recycled into resources. As to the fluorescent tube

9

, glass and mercury are separated and recycled into resources. The glass panel is recycled into resources.

Meanwhile, the remaining waste

20

after wrecking in the wrecking section

2

is fed through a pulverizing means

21

, an iron sorting means

22

, a circuit board sorting means

23

, a nonferrous metal sorting means

24

and a plastic sorting means

25

, successively so as to be processed thereby. The pulverizing means

21

which is composed of a crusher or the like, pulverizes the remaining waste

20

conveyed from the wrecking section

2

into fragments having sizes of less than 100 mm, preferably 3 to 5 cm, and sends the thus obtained fragments into the iron sorting means

22

. Further, inferior reusable parts

14

which malfunction are also conveyed into the pulverizing means

21

in accordance with a result of processing by the reusable part processing means

12

, as will be explained latter.

The iron sorting means

22

incorporates a magnetic separator for sorting ferromagnetic iron with the use of electromagnets with which iron fragments

27

included in fragments

26

of the waste are separated and recovered. The iron fragments

27

includes iron fragments of frames and housing. It is preferable to use a suspended magnetic separator in the iron sorting means, being arranged just above a conveying part on which the fragments of waste is conveyed. Should a magnetic separator of a magnetic drum type be used, iron of leg parts or leads of circuit elements stuck to the fragments of the circuit boards, would likely to be attracted to the magnets, and accordingly, fragments of circuit boards would be mingled into the iron. However, in the case of the suspended magnetic separator, a magnetic force exerted to these small legs or leads cannot lift up the weights of the fragments of circuit boards, thereby it is possible to restrain the fragments of circuit boards from being mingled in the iron group. On the contrary, due to a similar point of view, it would be desirable to reverse the order of arrangement of the iron sorting means

21

and the circuit board sorting means

21

. That is, should fragments of circuit boards have a larger rate of iron which is used for the legs or leads of circuit elements, the fragments would be recovered as iron by the iron sorting means

21

. In this case, the circuit board sorting means

23

is arranged upstream of the iron sorting means

21

so as to prevent the fragments of circuit boards from being introduced into the iron sorting means

21

in order to enhance the purity of recovered iron.

The circuit board sorting means

23

receives fragments

28

discharged from the iron sorting means

22

, identifies fragments of circuit boards in accordance with their colors with the use of a CCD element or a color sensor, from the other fragments

28

, and then separates and recovers them.

The nonferrous metal sorting means

24

is composed of an eddy current separator for separating nonferrous metal with the use of action of eddy current induced through the application of an a.c. magnetic field, and is adapted to sort and separate nonferrous metal fragments

31

from fragments

30

discharged from the circuit board sorting means

23

.

The plastic sorting means

25

sorts fragments

32

discharged from the nonferrous metal sorting means

24

with the use of difference specific weight, into different kinds of plastics

33

which are then recovered. That is, the plastic fragments are sorted in accordance with their specific gravities, into different kinds such as polyethylene (having a specific ratio of 0.90 to 0.98), polypropylene (having a specific weight of 0.090 to 0.96), polystyrene (having a specific weight of 1.02 to 1.15), ABS resin (having a specific weight of 1.03 to 1.09), phenol resin (having a specific weight of 1.25 to 1.30), polyvinyl chloride (having a specific weight of 1.33 to 1.44) and epoxy resin (having a specific weight of 1.6 to 2.0). After the plastics are separated, the remainder is processed so as to be wasted as dust

34

.

With the embodiment shown in

FIG. 1

, as mentioned above, since the circuit board sorting means

23

is provided upstream of the nonferrous metal sorting means

24

and the plastic sorting means

25

, it is possible to prevent fragments of circuit boards from being mingled into nonferrous metals and plastics to be recovered, and accordingly, the purities of recovered nonferrous metals and plastics can be enhanced so as to enhance the value or recycling. That is, in the case of no provision of the circuit board sorting means

23

, the fragments

29

of circuit boards contain copper or the like of wiring, which would possibly be separated and recovered together with nonferrous metals. In this case, nonferrous metals are contained therein with impurities, thereby the value of the nonferrous metals would be lowered.

Similarly, in the case of no provision of the circuit board sorting means

23

, when the plastics

33

are sorted, depending upon difference in specific weight, the fragments

29

of circuit boards would be mingled into phenol resin (having a specific weight of 1.25 to 1.30) or polyvinyl chloride (having a specific weight of 1.33 to 1.44) due to affection by shapes of the fragments since the fragments

29

of circuit boards have a specific ratio of 1.6 to 2.0, which is nearly equal to those of phenol resin and polyvinyl chloride, and accordingly, the purities of these plastics are lowered. Thus, the values of the recovered plastics are lowered so that the recycling of the plastics becomes impossible. That is, they should be subjected to waste disposal such as reclamation. In this case, since circuit boars contain toxic substance such as lead, and accordingly, they are made to be innocent or they are reclaimed in a controlled reclaiming area, thereby the disposal costs become inevitably high. These problems can be simply solved by the embodiment, shown in

FIG. 1

, in which the circuit board sorting means

23

is provided between the pulverizing means

21

and the nonferrous metal sorting means

24

, and between the pulverizing means

21

and the plastic sorting means

23

, and between the pulverizing means

21

and the plastic sorting means

25

so that the fragments

29

of circuit boards have been removed from the fragments

30

,

34

introduced into the nonferrous metal sorting means

24

and the plastic sorting means

25

, thereby it is possible to enhance the purities of nonferrous metals, and accordingly, it is possible to enhance the values of recovered items.

Further, with the provision of the circuit board sorting means

23

, the waste of OA equipment containing circuit boards can be directly pulverized, and accordingly, the efficiency of the waste disposal can be enhanced. That is, the waste

1

such as a personal computer mainly has, in general, a complicated structure since it is desired to be compact, and accordingly the circuit board can hardly be removed only after the computer is wrecked. The removable of the circuit boards requires a long time so that the cost of the disposal inevitably becomes higher. However, according to the embodiment shown in

FIG. 1

, with the provision of the circuit board sorting means

23

for sorting and separating fragments of circuit boards among fragments, the time of the disposal can be shortened as to lower the cost. Further, since the circuit board sorting means

23

sorts and separates fragments of circuit boards, the volume of dust

23

to be subjected to waste disposal, can be reduced, thereby it is possible to reduce the cost of the reclamation.

In particular, since the fragments

29

of circuit boards can be separated and recovered, toxic substance such as leads contained in the circuit boards is mixed with sand iron, and then is heated and vibrated in order to be melted and separated for recovery by a process technology disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H9-262573, and further, the resin is thermally decomposed into oil which is then recovered, thereby it is possible to carry out waste disposal which can satisfy the environmental safeguard. In addition, the recovered lead can be recycled into valuables. Further, the fragments

29

of circuit boards are dissolved by aqua regia or nitric acid, and is then electrolyzed in order to recover noble metals such as gold and silver contained in circuit boards, as valuables. In addition, the fragments

29

of circuit boards separated and recovered may be dissolved and solidified in order to cause lead contained in circuit boards, to be innocent.

Detailed explanation will be hereinbelow made of components in the embodiment shown in

FIG. 1

, with reference to

FIGS. 2

to

15

.

An Embodiment of the Wrecking Section

2

The wrecking section

2

is, as shown in

FIG. 2

, composed of a conveying means

41

such as a free conveyer, a working table

42

laid along one side of the conveying means

41

, and wrecking tools

43

such as pliers and drivers, a reusable part list

44

, a picture tube recovery box

45

set on the working table, and a recovery box

46

for a battery, reusable parts, a liquid crystal display unit, a toner cartridge, a fluorescent tube and a glass panel, which are set on the working table

42

, and conveying means

47

,

48

such as conveyers. The conveying means

47

is laid along one side of the working table

42

at a level which is lower than the level of the working table

42

by about 1 to 10 cm, and the conveying means

48

is laid along one side of the working table

42

at a level which is higher than the level of the conveying means

47

.

Waste transferred in the direction of the arrow

49

by the conveying means

41

is set on the working table

42

, and plastic parts such as a plastic housing is removed through wrecking with the use of the wrecking tools

43

, and plastic parts are set on the conveying means

48

so as to be fed into the plastic part disposing means

11

. Housings other than that made of plastic are set onto a conveying mans

212

so as to be fed into the pulverizing means

104

. Similarly, parts

3

listed on the reusable list

44

, (that is, reusable parts) are removed with the use of the wrecking tools, and are then set in predetermined recovery boxes

46

. These recovered reusable parts

3

are then fed into the reusable part processing means

12

. In the case of a display unit having a picture tube, a picture tube

6

is removed and is then set in a picture tube recovery box

45

. Similarly, a battery

5

, a liquid crystal display unit

7

, a toner cartridge

8

, a fluorescent tube

9

and a glass panel

120

are removed, and are set in the associate boxes

46

, respectively. Thus, the remaining waste after wrecking is carried on the conveying means

47

, and is then conveyed into the pulverizing means

21

.

As mentioned above, since the carrying surface of the conveying means

47

is laid at a level which is lower than the level of the working table

42

by about 1 to 10 cm, the remaining waste

20

after the parts such as plastic housing are removed, can be set onto the conveying means

47

without lifting the same, thereby it is possible to facilitate the working and to enhance the working efficiency.

Embodiment of the Pulverizing Means

21

Referring to

FIG. 3

which is a partly sectioned view illustrating the arrangement of an embodiment of the pulverizing means

21

, the waste

20

conveyed by the conveying means

47

is introduced into the pulverizing means

21

where a cutting blade

51

in a crusher

50

is rotated so as to pulverize the waste

20

into fragments

26

having a size of less than 100 mm (preferably in a range of 3 to 5 cm). The fragments

26

are conveyed by a conveying means

52

into the iron sorting means

22

.

An Embodiment of the Iron Sorting Means

22

Referring to

FIG. 4

which is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the iron sorting means

22

, the iron sorting means

22

is composed of a pair of rollers

56

,

57

between which the belt conveyer

55

is interposed, and a belt conveyer

58

wound around the pair rollers

56

,

57

, and an electromagnet

59

is set above the rear surface of the belt of the belt conveyer

58

which is opposed to the belt conveyer

55

. With this arrangement, if some of the fragments

26

of the waste conveyed on the belt conveyer

55

contain iron, those are attracted by the electromagnet

59

so as to be lifted up and attracted to the conveying surface of the belt conveyer

58

. Further, the conveying surface of the belt conveyer

58

travels in the direction of the arrow

61

due to the rotation of a motor

60

coupled to the roller

56

, and accordingly, the attracted iron steel fragments

27

are conveyed to a position above an iron recover box

63

, at which the attracting force of the electromagnet

59

is weakened so as to allow the iron fragments to drop into an iron recovery box

63

so as to be recovered.

An Embodiment of the Circuit Board Sorting Means

23

Referring to

FIG. 5

which is a perspective view illustrating a general arrangement of an embodiment of the circuit board sorting means

23

, the circuit board sorting means

23

is mainly composed of an array device

70

as an array means, a circuit board identifying device

80

as a circuit board identifying means, a circuit board separating device

90

as a circuit board separating means. The array device

70

is composed of a plurality of belt conveyers

71

,

72

,

73

each of which has a conveying surface made of rubber and a V-like cross-sectional shape, that is, the center part of the conveying surface is caved, and which are arranged in multiple stages. The conveying speeds of these belt conveyers

71

,

72

,

73

are set to, for example, 2 m/sec, 4 m/sec and 6 m/sec, respectively, so that their speeds are higher and higher toward the downstream side. Accordingly, the fragments

28

of the waste from which iron is separated and removed are introduced onto the most upstream belt conveyer

71

by means of the belt conveyer

20

, and then they are conveyed on the belt conveyers

71

,

72

,

73

, successively, while the fragments

28

are arranged in a row in the conveying direction under action of a V-like belts, at intervals caused by the different conveying speeds. The fragments arranged in a row are fed into the circuit board separating device

90

by way of a chute

74

.

The circuit board separating device

90

is composed of a circular rotary table

91

rotatably journalled, and a ring-like fragment receiving part

94

defined on this table

91

between an inner peripheral wall

62

and an outer peripheral wall

63

, and the fragments

28

of waste to be separated is introduced into the fragment receiving part

94

from the chute

74

. The outer peripheral wall

93

is composed of a plurality of doors

95

which are circumferentially arranged, adjacent to one another, and the doors can be opened and closed by means of the opening and closing mechanism which will be described hereinbelow. Chutes

96

,

97

are arranged underneath the peripheral edge part of the rotary table

9

, and are isolated from each other by a partition panel

98

. A circuit board recovery box

99

is provided at the discharge end of the chute

93

, and a belt conveyer

100

is provided at the discharge end of the chute

97

. The rotary table

91

is rotated by means of a motor which is not shown, in the direction of the arrow

102

. A computer

101

controls the operation of the rotary table

91

, the doors

95

and the like.

The circuit board sorting means

80

is composed of a CCD element as an image pick-up means and an image processing device. The CCD element is arranged, confronting the fragment receiving part

94

downstream of the position where the fragments

28

is introduced. An image picked up by the CCD element is taken into the image processing device so that whether a fragment

28

is a fragment

29

of circuit boards or not is determined. This determination is made in accordance with a cooler of the image. That is, since the circuit boards have, in general, a green color or a brown color, specific colors have been previously stored in memory in the image processing device, and the color of the image of the fragment is compared in contrast with the specified colors so as to determine whether the fragment

28

is one of the fragments

29

of circuit boards or not. If it is determined that the fragment

28

is one of the fragments

29

of circuit boards, a circuit board detection signal

81

is delivered to the computer

101

. Conventional color image processing technologies for comparing the color of the image in contrast with the specified colors so as to determine an object to be identified as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H07-021375 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H06-208621 can be used.

The computer

101

receives a rotating phase of the rotary table

91

from a rotary encoder engaged with a rotary shaft

106

of the rotary table

91

when the circuit board detection signal

81

is received, and stores in memory an identification mark of a door

95

corresponding to the rotating phase with which a fragment

29

of circuit boards is detected. Further, by tracking the position of the door

95

, and when the door comes to, for example, the chute

96

, an opening instruction is delivered to the opening and closing mechanism for the door

95

which is therefore opened. Thus, the fragment

29

of circuit board received in the fragment receiving part

94

is dropped from the rotary table

91

under centrifugal force. With this arrangement, the fragment

29

of circuit boards is stored in the circuit board recovery box

99

, being separated from the fragments

30

of the remaining waste.

Next, explanation will be hereinbelow made of an example of the opening and closing mechanism in detail, with reference to

FIGS. 5

,

6

,

7

and

8

. The opening mechanism in this embodiment is composed of a door opening means

110

, an all door closing means

118

and a door closing means

120

, as shown in FIG.

5

. Referring to

FIG. 5

, the chute

96

is, in part, cut off in order to show the door opening means and the all door opening means

118

. As shown in

FIG. 6

, the door

95

can be opened and closed by swingably attaching the upper end part thereof to a support shaft

111

formed in a ring-like shape. A magnetic protrusion

112

is projected from the outer surface of the door

95

, and a stopper

114

having a magnet whose shape corresponding to the protrusion

112

is extended through the rotary table

91

so as to be vertically movable. Further, a planar actuating panel

115

is provided at the lower end of each stopper

114

. This planar actuating panels

115

are periodically arranged over the entire periphery, each three adjacent planer actuating parts

115

being positionally shifted, radially of the rotary table

91

. Further, three solenoid valves

116

for jetting compressed air onto the upper surfaces of the actuating panels

115

are provided at three positions where the actuating panels

115

pass through. This compressed air is fed from an air compressor

105

shown in FIG.

5

. The solenoid valves

116

jets the compressed air onto the associated actuating panels

15

in response to a door opening instruction delivered from the computer

105

, and accordingly, the magnets

113

are pulled off from the protrusions

112

so that the stoppers

114

drops downward. As a result, the swinging of the doors can be freely made, and accordingly, the doors

95

are opened under a centrifugal force due to rotation of the rotary table

19

, and the fragments

29

of circuit boards are discharged from the fragment receiving part

94

onto the chute

96

also under the centrifugal force, and accordingly, the fragments

29

of circuit boards can be separated from the fragments

30

of the remaining waste. Further, when the doors pass by the partition panel

98

through the rotation of the rotary table

91

, the solenoid valves of the all door opening means

118

are energized so as to depress all stoppers

114

in order to all fragments

30

remaining in the fragment receiving part

94

are dropped into the chute

97

. With this arrangement, the fragments

30

other than the fragments

29

of circuit boards are conveyed by means of the conveyer

100

.

Referring to

FIG. 7

which shows a door closing guide

121

and a stopper retuning guide

122

which constitute the door shut-off means

120

. The door closing guide

121

is arranged at the upper parts of the outer peripheral side of the doors

95

, gradually approaching the outer surfaces of the doors from a position distant from the outer surfaces of the doors, and accordingly, the doors

95

are automatically closed as the rotary table

91

is rotated. The stopper returning guide

122

is formed by a slope panel provided under the position where the actuating panels

115

of the stopper pass by. With this arrangement, the stoppers

114

are automatically pushed up as the rotary table

61

is rotated so as to cause the magnets

113

to be attracted to the protrusions

112

.

In the above-mentioned embodiment of the circuit board sorting means

23

, the speed of the rotary table

91

at the position of the fragment receiving part

94

, is set to be 6 m/sec, images of the fragments are picked up by the image pick-up means such as the CCD element, at a rate of 60 frames per second, and the circuit board identification by colors are carried out at a rate of 60 frames per second. Accordingly, the fragments of circuit boards can be smoothly identified among fragments of waste to be conveyed on-line, and can be sorted and separated. Further, in this case, the opening time of each solenoid valves is set to about 10 mse. For example, the time required for opening the solenoid valves is, in general, 8 to 15 msec, and the time required for closing the solenoid valves is 15 to 20 msec. Thus, if the method of directly blowing jetted air onto the fragments, from the solenoid valves is used, and if the valve opening time is set to 25 msec, the critical sorting speed is 16 to 20 per second. In view of this point, according to the above-mentioned embodiment, the stoppers

114

are operated by three solenoids

116

so as to open the doors

95

, the fragments can be sorted and separated at a speed of 60 per second. Thus, the fragments are carried on the rotary table, being lined up in a row, and are separated with the use of a centrifugal force, and accordingly, desired fragments can be separated from fragments of a huge quantity of waste, at a high speed, in comparison with a conventional separating device.

Further, if the number of the solenoid valves is increased from three, the processing speed can be increased from 60 per second. Accordingly, the processing volume per unit time can be increased while the running cost per unit time is held to be constant, thereby it is possible to lower the running cost. Further, due to a huge processing volume, the fragments of circuit boards cam be separated on-line from fragments discharged from the pulverizing means.

Further, if two conveyers are use in the array means

70

while the conveying speeds of these conveyers are set to 1 m/sec and 2 m/sec, respectively, and if the processing speed of the circuit board identifying device

80

is set to 20 frames/sec while the number of the solenoid valves

116

is set to two, the processing speed may be set to 20/sec. Accordingly, the number of the conveying means can be reduced and the diameter of the rotary table

91

can be decreased. Further, the output power of the motor for driving the rotary table can be reduced. Similarly, if the array means

70

is composed of a conveyer having a conveying speed of 1.5 m/sec and a conveyer having a conveying speed of 3 m/sec, and the processing speed of the circuit board identifying deice

80

is set to 30 frames/second while the number of the solenoid valves

16

is set to 2, the processing speed may be set to 30/sec.

Further, the fragment receiving part

94

may be circumferentially divided into a plurality of sections in accordance with the number of the doors. With this arrangement, it is possible to prevent an introduced fragment from spanning between two doors, and accordingly, the fragments can be simply separated from one by one. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility of simultaneous recovery of both one of the fragments

29

of circuit board and one of the fragments of the remaining waste.

A Variant Form of the Circuit Board Sorting Means

23

The above-mentioned circuit board identifying device can be used for sorting any of objects to be sorted, irrespective of circuit boards. For example, with the use of the circuit board identifying device

80

, wire-like objects are sorted in accordance with an image picked up from the objects to be sorted, that is, fragments of covered copper wires, other than those of circuit boards may be sorted. That is, an image of a fragment is extracted from an image due to a color different from that of the background, so as to measure a width and a length of the image of the fragment if the width or the length is shorter than 2 mm, the fragment is determined as a covered copper wire. In order to separate and recover it from other fragments, the opening of the door is controlled by the computer

101

, similar to the separation of the fragments of circuit boards, the covered copper wire can be sorted. Thus, since the covered copper wire is recovered, it is possible restrain copper wires from mingled into the nonferrous metals

31

and the plastics

33

which are recovered by the nonferrous metal sorting means

24

and the plastic sorting means. Further, the mechanism of the door opening means

110

is changed in accordance with a number of objects to be separated, and the numbers of the chutes

96

and the partition panels

98

are suitably increased. Similarly, the with the use of the circuit board identifying device

80

, valuables such as copper or brass are sorted in accordance with colors, and are separated by the circuit board separating device

90

, the valuables including copper or brass can be sorted at a high speed.

Similarly, in the circuit board identifying means, an infrared beam is irradiated onto objects to be sorted, and an infrared spectrum is measured from the reflection thereof so as to identity a material in order to recover rubber and wood. Further, with the use of wind force sorting, paper can be sorted. With this arrangement, it is possible to restrain rubber, wood and paper from being mingled into the nonferrous metals or the plastics.

A Variant Form of the Circuit Board Separating Device

90

Instead of the opening and closing structure of the door and the door opening means

110

shown in

FIGS. 5

,

6

, as shown in

FIG. 8

, the base surface of the rotary table

91

, corresponding to the bottom surface of the fragment receiving part

94

which is not shown, is formed therein with an opening, and a door

95

having such a structure that the door

95

is opened downward around the center side of the rotary table as a fulcrum, is provided to the opening. With this arrangement, a fragment is dropped onto the chute from the opening under centrifugal force. In this case, the stoppers

114

are arranged so as to be extendable underneath the door

95

toward the center from the outer peripheral surface of the rotary table

91

, and air is jetted from the solenoid valve

116

in a direction in which the stopper

114

is extended, onto an actuating panel

115

provided to the front end of each of the stoppers

114

. Further, the door closing guide

121

shown in

FIG. 7

is provided underneath the rotary table

91

, and the stopper returning guide

122

is provided in the outer peripheral side of the rotary table

91

.

Another Embodiment of the Circuit Board Sorting Means

23

Referring to

FIG. 9

which is a schematic view illustrating another embodiment of the circuit board sorting means

23

, the circuit board separating device

90

is the same as that shown in

FIG. 5

, but the circuit board sorting means is alone different. The circuit board identifying means in this embodiment is composed of a magnetic element detecting means

131

, a plastic sorting means

132

, and a circuit board determining means

133

, and the magnetic element detecting means

131

is composed of a coil

134

and an inductance measuring means

135

while the plastic sorting means

133

is composed of a light source

139

, a light receiver

137

, an infrared spectrum measuring means

138

and a plastic determining means

139

. The circuit board determining means

133

is connected to the computer

101

. A coil

134

is arranged above the final stage belt conveyor

73

. The light source and the light receiver

137

are arranged above the fragment receiving part

94

of the rotary table.

Explanation will be hereinbelow made of the detailed structure and the operation of the thus constituted circuit board sorting means

80

. At first, the inductance measuring means causes a.c. current to run through the coil

134

so as to generate an a.c. magnetic field. With this arrangement, if a magnetic element is included in fragments conveyed by he belt conveyer

73

, eddy current is induced in the fragment containing the magnetic element when the fragment passes underneath the coil

134

due to an a.c. magnetic field. This eddy current causes the a.c. magnetic field to vary so that current running through the coil

134

varies. The variation of the current is measured by the inductance measuring means

135

in order to measure a variation in the inductance of the coil

134

. If the variation of the inductance exceeds a set value, it is determined that a fragment containing a magnetic element, and a magnetic element detection signal

140

is delivered to the circuit board determining means

133

.

Meanwhile, as the light source

136

, a ceramic light source which emits a near infrared beam. A near infrared spectrum means

138

extracts light received by the light receiver

13

which receives reflected light which is obtained by light emitted from the light source and reflected by a fragment or the rotary table

91

, so as to measure an intensity of the received light in a near infrared range. A difference between the measured intensity of the light in the near infrared range, and a light intensity which has been previously measured, is calculated so as to obtain a near infrared spectrum which is then delivered to the plastic determining means

139

. The plastic determining means

139

integrates the difference between the near infrared spectrum obtained by the measuring, and near infrared spectra of epoxy resin and phenol resin in the direction of the wave number, and compares the integrated value with a predetermined threshold value. If the integrated value is smaller than the threshold value, it is determined that the fragment is made of epoxy resin or phenol resin, and a resin detection signal

141

is delivered to the circuit board determining means

133

.

If the circuit board determining means

133

receives the magnetic element detection signal

140

and the resin detection signal

141

, it determines that the fragment is one of the fragment

29

of circuit board, and delivers a circuit board detection signal to the computer

101

.

That is, in this embodiment, in view of such a fact that the fragments of circuit boards contain copper or iron which are magnetic, and epoxy resin or phenol resin, the fragments

29

of the circuit board are detected by the above-mentioned method in addition to the method of identifying the fragments of circuit boards in accordance with colors.

Further, in the plastic determining means

139

, epoxy resin or phenol resin can be identified even though the methods disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H6-308022 and Japanese Laid-Open No. H8-300354 are used.

An Embodiment of the Nonferrous Metal Sorting Means

24

Referring to

FIG. 10

which is a sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the nonferrous metal sorting means

24

, fragments

30

conveyed on a belt conveyer

100

is fed above a rotating magnet

151

. Accordingly, if nonferrous metal is contained in the fragments

30

, eddy current is induced in the nonferrous metal. A magnetic field induced by the eddy current and a magnetic field induced by the rotary magnet

151

are repulsive with each other, and accordingly, a fragment containing the nonferrous metal are ejected in the direction of the arrow

152

so as to be separated from the remaining fragments

32

. Further, fragments

31

are recovered into a nonferrous metal recovery box

153

, and the fragments including plastics and dust are conveyed into the plastic sorting means

25

by the belt conveyer

15

.

An Embodiment of the Plastic Sorting Means

25

Referring to

FIG. 11

which is perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the plastic sorting means

25

, the plastic sorting means

25

is composed of a water tank

156

filled therein with water, a plurality of partition panels

157

,

158

laid in the water tank

156

, a pump

159

and a pipe line

160

by which water is sucked into the water tank

156

on the upstream thereof and is then discharged to the opposite side from the tank

156

on the opposite side thereof, three conveyers

161

,

162

,

163

for scarping up fragments sunk into three isolated sections defined by the partition panels

157

,

163

, a conveyer

164

for taking up fragments floated in the water tank

156

, and plastic recovery boxes

165

,

166

,

167

,

168

which are arranged corresponding to these conveyers.

With this arrangement, the water from the water tank

156

is circulated through the pipe line

10

by means of the pump

159

so that the water in the water tank

156

flows in the direction of the arrow. In this case, when the fragments

32

conveyed on the conveyer

155

are introduced into the most upstream section of the water tank

156

, epoxy resin having a high specific weight (1.6 to 2.0) and dust are settled onto the conveyer

161

in the section where the fragments are introduced, without overriding the partition panel

157

since the settling velocities thereof are high, and are then recovered into the plastic recovery box

165

. Phenol resin having a secondary small specific weight (1.25 to 1.30) and polyvinyl chloride resin having a specific weight (1.25 to 1.44) overrides the partition panel

157

so as to be settled in the section between the partition panels

157

,

158

, and recovered into a plastic recover box

166

by means of the conveyer

162

. Further, polystyrene having a smaller specific weight (0.90 to 0.98) and polypropylene having a smaller specific weight (0.90 to 0.96) are lighter than water, and accordingly, it is left to be floated on in the water so as to be directly recovered into a plastic recovery box

168

by means of the conveyer

168

. It is noted that the number of the partition panels

157

,

158

should not be limited to two, but the number may be increased so as to finely sort the plastics in accordance with different specific weights. For example, the phenol resin and the polyvinyl chloride are separated from each other and are then recovered, respectively.

An Embodiment of a Plastic Part Disposing Means

11

The plastic part disposing means

11

identifies colors and materials (ABS resin, polycarbonate, nylon and the like) so as to sort the plastic parts

3

in accordance with colors and materials. The plastic parts

3

are recovered in accordance with colors or materials. The plastic parts which are sorted in accordance with colors or the materials are pulverized and recovered in view of respective colors or materials.

Referring to

FIG. 12

which is a view illustrating a general arrangement of the embodiment of the plastic part processing means

11

, the plastic part processing means

11

is composed of a plastic part separating device

170

, and a pulverizing device

180

. The plastic part separating device

170

includes a color and material recognizing means

171

such as a visible near infrared spectrophotometer, and a plurality of plastic recovery boxes

172

. Plastic parts

173

sorted and separated by the plastic part separating device

170

are introduced into the pulverized device

18

composed of a crusher by means of a conveying means

181

such as a conveyer. Fragments

183

(plastics

15

) pulverized by a cutting blade rotated in the pulverizing device

80

are received into the plastic boxes

172

.

Explanation will be hereinbelow made of the detailed arrangement and the operation of the plastic part sorting device

170

. The color and material identifying means

171

identifies, for example, colors and materials of the plastic parts

183

fed from the wrecking section

2

, and displays on a display unit. The plastic parts

3

are sorted and separated into different color and material groups and are then introduced into the plastic recovery boxes

172

. The number of the plastic recovery boxes

172

is increased in accordance with colors and materials of the plastic parts so as to sort the plastic parts into several color and material groups, thereby it is possible to enhance the quality of recovered plastics.

Next, each of the cooler or material gropes of the plastic parts

173

recovered into the plastic recovery boxes

172

is introduced into the pulverizing device

80

through the intermediary of the conveying means

181

. The pulverizing device

180

rotates the cutting blade

182

so as to pulverize the plastic parts

17

s

into fragments

183

(plastics

15

) having a size of less than 10 mm, and the fragments

183

are recovered into a plastic recovery box

184

.

Since the plastic parts are sorted and separated by the material identifying means

171

into respective color and material groups, plastics parts having a uniform color or material can be recovered, it is possible to enhance the value of recycling. Since the plastic parts

173

which are recovered into the respective color and material groups are pulverized by the pulverizing device

80

, the volume reduction can be made. If the pulverizing device is eliminated from the plastic part processing means

11

, the installation cost can be reduced.

Details of the Color and Material Identifying Means

171

Referring to

FIG. 13

, explanation will be made of the color and material identifying means

171

. The color and material identifying means is composed of a light emitting and receiving means

211

, a light transmitting means

212

such as a fiber probe connected to the light emitting means

211

, and a visible near infrared spectrophotometer means

213

connected to the light transmitting means

212

, and an identifying means

214

such as a CPU connected to the visual near infrared spectrophotometer means

213

, a spectrum storage means

215

such as a hard disc unit or a memory connected to the identifying means

214

, and a display means

216

such as a monitor connected to the identifying means

215

.

Explanation will be hereinbelow made of the operation of the color and material identifying means

171

which are formed as mentioned above with reference to a procedure shown in FIG.

14

. First, at step S

1

, an intensity of light corresponding to a calibration element in the visual infrared range is measured. That is, after a white surface made of alumina or a white calibration element such as magnesium carbide, barium sulfide or a milky white glass surface is made into contact with the light emitting means

211

, when light is emitted thereto from the visual near infrared spectrophotometer means

213

, the light transmitting means

211

transfers light from the visual near infrared spectrophotometer means

213

to the light emitting and receiving means

211

. The light emitting receiving means

211

irradiates the light onto the light calibration element, and accordingly the light is reflected thereon, and is then transmitted to the visual near infrared spectrophotometer means

213

through the light emitting and receiving means

211

and the light transmitting means

212

. The visible near infrared spectrophotometer means

213

measures an intensity of the transmitted light in the visible near infrared range so as to store the intensity of the light with respect to the calibration element in the near infrared range.

Next, at step S

2

, a part

32

such as a plastic housing or the like is made into contact with the light emitting and receiving means

211

, and then light is emitted from the visible near infrared spectrophotometer means

213

so as to irradiate the light onto the plastic part

3

. Accordingly, the irradiated light having a specific wavelength is absorbed by the plastic part

3

. Reflected light without being absorbed in the plastic part

3

is transmitted to the visible near infrared spectrophotometer means

213

through the light transmitting and receiving means

211

and the light transmitting means

212

.

At step S

3

, the visible near infrared spectrophotometer means

213

measures an intensity of the reflected light transmitted through the light transmitting means

212

in the near infrared range, and calculates a visual near infrared absorption spectrum with the use of Formula 1:

A

=log{IO/(IO−

I

)} (1)

where A is an absorbance at each wavelength, IO is an intensity at each wavelength of light with respect to the plastic part

3

, and I is an intensity at each wavelength with respect to the plastic part

3

. The spectrum corresponding to the plastic part

3

is transmitted to the spectrum identifying means

214

.

At step S

4

, the identifying means

214

compares the measured spectrum transmitted from the visible near infrared spectrophotometer means

213

in contrast with reference spectra of various materials stored in the spectrum storage means

215

in the visible near infrared range (900 to 2,500 nm). Further, if a coincident reference spectrum is obtained, the material relating to this reference spectrum is determined as the material of the plastic part

3

, and accordingly, the determined material is displayed on the display means

216

(S

5

). Further, a difference between the color reference spectra stored in the spectrum storage means

215

and the measured spectrum is obtained in the visible range (280 to 780 mm), and this difference is integrated in the direction of the wavelength. A color with which the integrated value is below the threshold value is determined as the color of the plastic part

3

, and then the color data is displayed on the display means

216

(S

6

).

In another method of determining a color, the measured spectrum is converted into a transmissivity, and tristimulus values are obtained with the use of a color-matching function so as to calculate a color difference. Then, the color difference is compared with a predetermined threshold value, and the reference color determined in accordance a value below the threshold value is used as a color of an object to be sorted, for determination. In further another method, the color of the plastic part

3

is exhibited by a L*a*b*color system and L*u*v*color system with the use of the tristimulus values, and a color difference is obtained with respect to a color of an object to be sorted, and a color determined in such a way that the color difference corresponds to a value below a certain threshold value is determined as a color of the plastic part

3

.

The Reusable Part Processing Means

12

The reusable part processing means

12

shown in

FIG. 1

, cleans, inspects and repairs reusable parts

4

wrecked by the wrecking section

2

, and so forth. As the result of the inspection after cleaning, the reusable parts

17

which can be normally operated are recovered for reusing. The reusable parts

14

which malfunction are sent to the pulverizing means

21

so as to be pulverized into fragments which are then disposed, similar to the other waste. It is preferable to repair the reusable parts

14

which malfunction, so as to recovers them as the reusable parts

17

which can be normally operated. Accordingly, the disposal burden for pulverization, sorting and the like for recycling into resources, can be reduced, and further, the environmental burden for waste reclamation can be reduced.

Referring to

FIG. 15

, explanation will be made in detail of the reusable part processing means

12

. The reusable part processing means

12

is composed of a cleaning means

251

, an inspecting means

252

and recovery boxes

253

for reusable parts

253

. The cleaning means

251

is composed of an ultrasonic washing machine

254

and a dryer

252

. The ultrasonic washing machine

254

is composed of a tank

256

filled therein with water, and a vibrating means

257

for vibrating the bottom of the tank

256

at a high frequency. The dryer

255

is composed of a drying chamber

258

in which the reusable parts

4

are accommodated, a heating means

259

for maintaining a temperature of the drying chamber

258

at a constant value, and a fan

28

for discharging air from the drying chamber

258

outside of the dryer

255

.

The inspecting means

252

is composed of a display means

261

as a monitor, a mother board

262

mounted thereon with a CPU and connected to the display means

261

, a storage means

263

such as a hard disc drive or a memory connected to the mother board

262

, An SCSI board

264

connected to the mother board

262

, a power source

265

for supplying a power to the mother board

262

, and an IDE cord

266

connected to the mother board

262

, an SCSI cord

267

connected to the SCSI board

264

, a power source cord

268

connected to the power source

265

, and input means

269

such as a keyboard and a mouse connected to the mother board

262

.

Next, explanation will be made of the thus constructed reusable part processing means. Reusable parts are introduced into the tank

256

of the ultrasonic washing machine

254

so as to vibrate the water in the tank at a high frequency by the vibrating means

257

so as to remove dirt on the outer surface of the reusable parts

4

. The thus washed reusable parts

4

are introduced into the drying chamber

255

in which the temperature is maintained, for example, in a range of 60 to 61 deg. C. by means of the heating means

259

. By raising the temperature in the drying chamber

255

, the time required for drying can be reduced. Further, the temperature in the drying chamber

255

is maintained in a range of 60 to 61 deg. C., in order to reduce the provability of damaging the reusable parts

4

by heat. The fan

260

expels wetted air from the drying chamber

25

into the outside so as to enhance the efficiency of drying.

The reusable parts

4

dried by the dryer

255

are selectively connected to the IDE cord

265

of the inspection means

252

, the SCSI cord

267

and the power source cord

268

in accordance with kinds thereof. For example, an IDE connection drive

4

a

such as the floppy disc drive, an IDE hard disc drive or the like is connected to the SISC cord

267

and the power source cord

268

. An SCSI connection drive

4

b

such as the SCSI hard disc drive, a magneto-optical disc unit or the like is connected to the SCSI cord

267

and the power source cord

266

. Further, an inspection starting instruction is delivered through the input means

269

, the mother board

262

carries out reading, writing or the like onto the disc as the reusable part

14

, following an inspection procedure stored in the storage means

261

, so as to determine whether the reusable part

14

is normally operated or not, and the result of the determination is displayed on the displaying means

261

. If the reusable part

14

malfunctions, it is sent to the pulverizing means

21

, but the reusable part

17

which can be normally operated is recovered into the reusable component recovery box

253

.

Further, even though the inspection means

252

determines that the reusable part malfunctions, that is, it is inferior, the part is diagnosed with the use of a tester so as to seek a failure part. Then, if it can be repaired, it can be recovered as the reusable part

17

after repairing and confirmation by retests for normal operation.

It is noted that a blush attached to a suction port for sucking air may be used instead of the ultrasonic washing machine

252

, in order to scrape off dirt from the outer surface of the reusable part, the thus scraped-off dirt may be sucked by using a cleaning device. With this arrangement, the necessity of drying can be eliminated, and the time required for cleaning can be shortened.

As mentioned above, according to the present invention, in order that the waste including circuit boards is pulverized so as to recover valuables, since the circuit boards are sorted and separated, lead contained in the circuit board can be recovered without being diffused, and further, it is possible to enhance the qualities of valuables such as nonferrous metals and plastics to be recovered. Further, in order to dispose waste including circuit boards so as to recover valuables, such a process that pulverized fragments of circuit boards sorted and separated from fragments of other waste can be automated.

Further, it is possible to enhance the qualities such as colors and the materials of recovered plastics.

Number	Name	Date	Kind
5547134	Rubenstein	Aug 1996	A
5683040	Jakob et al.	Nov 1997	A
5829694	Chapman	Nov 1998	A

Method of and apparatus for disposing waste

Information

Patent Number

Date Filed

Date Issued

Inventors

Original Assignees

Examiners

Agents

CPC

US Classifications

Field of Search

US

International Classifications

Abstract

Description

Claims

Priority Claims (1)

US Referenced Citations (3)

Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)

Entry
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 5-147040.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 8-318256.