JP3489632B2 - Styrofoam reprocessing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a styrofoam recycling apparatus, and more particularly to a styrofoam recycling apparatus formed so that used styrofoam can be recycled and reused.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus of this type, for example, the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 340939/1992 proposed by the present applicant,
Some are shown in the drawings. This conventional apparatus is configured to include a styrofoam crusher, a means for selecting crushed styrofoam, a means for conveying the styrofoam after selection, and a heater for irradiating the styrofoam being conveyed with far infrared rays. Is.

[0003]

By the way, when used Styrofoam is finely crushed to be a recycled raw material and mixed into the virgin raw material of the Styrofoam to be used, the bulk specific gravity of the virgin raw material and that of the recycled raw material are the same. Is desirable. This is because when a recycled raw material and a virgin raw material having different bulk specific gravities are mixed and molded, there is a difference in the foaming state and the shrinkage ratio that occurs during molding, and a molded product of high quality cannot be obtained.
However, in the case of the conventional device, it was formed with a heater for irradiating far infrared rays, but in this conventional product, the size of the crushed particles was merely reduced by the heater, and this was no more. Therefore, in the conventional device, even if the produced recycled raw material is mixed with the virgin raw material and foamed, there is a difference in the foamed state of both and the shrinkage rate at the time of molding, so a recycled product with a good foamed state and dimensional accuracy cannot be obtained. It was That is, according to the conventional product, there is a problem that it is not possible to provide a recycled raw material for molding a Styrofoam product that is practically usable.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems of the conventional apparatus. Accordingly, the technical problem of the present invention is to produce a recycled product having the same foaming state and shrinkage ratio as the virgin raw material of styrofoam, that is, a recycled raw material having the same bulk specific gravity as the virgin raw material, so that a recycled product of good quality worthy of practical use can be produced. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for recycling Styrofoam formed so as to be provided.

[0005]

The present invention employs the following technical means in order to solve the above problems. That is, the present invention adjusts the bulk specific gravity of the styrofoam crusher 2 equipped with a filter 6 for selecting the size of the crushed granules 7 and the crushed granules 7 of the styrofoam 1 discharged from the crusher 2 to a set value. A bulk specific gravity adjusting mechanism 11 is provided, and the bulk specific gravity adjusting mechanism 11 conveys the crushed particles 7 described above.
A heater 13 for irradiating the crushed particles 7 being conveyed by the conveyor 12 with far infrared rays; a selection device 14 for selecting only a certain size from the crushed particles 7 after the heat treatment by the heater 13; A specific gravity measuring device 15 for measuring the specific gravity of the pulverized particles 7 sorted by the sorting device 14, and a controller 16 for comparing the measured value of the specific gravity measuring device 15 with a set value and outputting a control signal to the drive motor 12b of the conveyor 12. It is characterized by being formed with.

In this case, in the present invention, the set value of the bulk specific gravity is
It is preferably a numerical value within the range of 15 g / liter to 25 g / liter. In the present invention, instead of the controller 16 outputting the control signal to the drive motor 12b of the conveyor 12, the controller 16 may be formed to output the control signal to the temperature control unit of the heater 13.
May be configured to output control signals to both the drive motor 12b of the conveyor 12 and the temperature controller of the heater 13.

[0007]

In the present invention, the used Styrofoam 1 is crushed by the crusher 2 and only the crushed particles 7 of a certain size are discharged from the crusher 2 through the filter 6. Then, the bulk specific gravity of the crushed particles 7 is adjusted to a set value by the bulk specific gravity adjusting mechanism 11. In the bulk specific gravity adjusting mechanism 11, first, the conveyor 1
2 sends the crushed particles 7, and the heater 1
3 irradiates far infrared rays to reduce the bulk. Next, the sorting device 14 sorts only those having a certain size, and the specific gravity measuring device 15 measures the specific gravity of the sorted crushed particles 7. This measured value is compared with the set value by the controller 16, and if the measured value is different from the set value, the drive motor 1 of the conveyor 12
A control signal for increasing or decreasing the rotation speed is output to 2b.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Reference numeral 1 is a used Styrofoam, and 2 is a crusher of the Styrofoam 1. 3 is
It is a pair of crushing rolls provided with cutting blades 3a (see FIG. 2) on the peripheral surface and provided in parallel so as to rotate inward with respect to each other. Reference numeral 4 is a scraping roll disposed in the vicinity of and above the pulverizing roll 3 so as to scrape the styrofoam 1 that cannot be completely pulverized and further guide it between the pulverizing rolls 3 and 3. The scraping roll 4 also has a function of receiving the introduced polystyrene foam 1 and guiding it between the crushing rolls 3 and 3. Further, 5 is a drive motor for the crushing roll 3 and the scraping roll 4, and 5a is, for example, a chain.

Reference numeral 6 is a filter made of, for example, a metal plate for selecting the size of the crushed particles 7. The crusher 2 uses this filter 6
Is formed. 6a is a sorting hole formed in the filter 6, and the hole 6a has a diameter of 10 mm in this embodiment. The filter 6 is
As shown in the figure, it is formed in a concave curve so as to surround the lower surface side of the pulverizing roll 3, and is provided below the pulverizing roll 3. The crusher 2 has a processing capacity of 25 kg in this embodiment.
/ H and power consumption is designed to be 2.2 Kw / H.

Reference numeral 8 (see FIG. 1) is a storage portion for storing the crushed particles 7 discharged by the crusher 2. The crushed particles 7 are stored in the storage portion 8 directly, for example, via the discharge port 2a of the crusher 2 or via a conveyor or the like. Reference numeral 9 is a blower for sending the crushed particles 7 in the storage section 8 to one end of the conveyor 12 under pressure. In addition, 10 is the crushed granules 7 which are blown by the blower 9,
It is a flexible pipe that leads to one end of the conveyor 12.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a bulk specific gravity adjusting mechanism for adjusting the bulk specific gravity of the crushed particles 7 to a set value. The bulk specific gravity of the crushed particles 7 is adjusted to a set value by the bulk specific gravity adjusting mechanism 11. The bulk specific gravity adjusting mechanism 11 includes a conveyor 12 that conveys the crushed particles 7, a heater 13 that irradiates the crushed particles 7 that are being conveyed by the conveyor 12 with far infrared rays, and a crushed particle 7 that has been heat-treated by the heater 13 from the crushed particles 7. A sorting device 14 that sorts only those of a certain size, a specific gravity measuring device 15 that measures the specific gravity of the crushed particles 7 sorted by this sorting device 14, and the measured value of this specific gravity measuring device 15 is compared with the set value. A controller 1 for outputting a control signal to the drive motor 12b of the conveyor 12
And 6 are formed.

In the case of this embodiment, the conveyor 12 is formed by a belt conveyor. In FIG.
12a is a pair of pulleys.
The distance D between a is set to 1350 mm in this embodiment. Further, 12b is a variable speed motor for driving, for example, an output of 60W. Reference numeral 12c is a chain stretched around the drive motor 12b and one side of the pulley 12a. The belt 12d of the conveyor 12 is surface-treated with a fluorocarbon resin containing conductive carbon in this embodiment so that the crushed particles 7 are not attached by static electricity.
It has been selected to be mm.

As shown in FIG. 5C, the heater 13 has a total of four far infrared ray irradiators 13a in this embodiment.
It is formed in the shape of a single plate so as to be symmetrical with respect to the upper, lower, left and right lines. In this embodiment, each far-infrared irradiator 13a has an output of 2 Kw, dimensions of vertical X (see FIG. B) of 300 mm, and horizontal Y.
Is 400 mm, and the thickness Z (see FIG. A) is 40 mm. Reference numeral 13b (see D in the same figure) is a heater frame which is freely adjustable in the vertical direction.

The sorting device 14 has a diameter of 3 to 8 mm in this embodiment from the crushed particles 7 after being heat-treated by the heater 13.
It is formed with a sieve so that only the size of is selected. In FIG. 6, 14a is a wire net for selecting those having a diameter of 8 mm or less and exceeding 8 mm, and 14b is a wire net for selecting those having a diameter of less than 3 mm and 3 mm or more. In the sorting apparatus 14 of this embodiment, such two kinds of wire nets 14a and 14b are placed on top of the wire net 14a.
They are stacked with 4b down, and vertically vibrated at 5 to 10 cycles / second. Therefore, with this vibration action and the wire nets 14a and 14b, only the crushed particles 7 having a diameter of 3 to 8 mm are sorted between the upper and lower wire nets 14a and 14b.

In this embodiment, the specific gravity measuring device 15 is, as shown in FIG. 7, a container portion 15a for always holding a fixed amount of the crushed particles 7 and a measuring portion arranged on the opposite side via a fulcrum 15b. 15c, and is configured to measure specific gravity by a weight balance method. The above sorting device 14
The specific gravity of the crushed particles 7 having a diameter of 3 to 8 mm selected in step 1 is constantly measured while the apparatus is in operation while a constant amount is always held in the container portion 15a.
An electric quantity is output from 5c.

The controller 16 is composed of a microcomputer in this embodiment, and compares the set value of the bulk specific gravity preset in the memory with the measured value input from the specific gravity measuring device 15 to drive the conveyor 12. It is formed to output a predetermined control signal to the motor 12b.

That is, the controller 16 has a set value (for example, 20 g / liter) when the measured value is 10 g / liter, for example.
If it is smaller, a control signal for decreasing the rotation speed is output to the drive circuit of the motor 12b so that the conveyance speed of the belt 12d becomes slow. This is because, in this case, the crushed particles 7 contain a large amount of air, are bulky, and are light, so the conveyance speed of the belt 12d is slowed, the heat treatment time by the heater 13 is increased, and the size of the crushed particles 7 is increased. This is because it needs to be reduced. On the contrary, when the measured value is larger than the set value, which is the opposite of the above case, the controller 16 outputs the control signal for increasing the conveying speed of the belt 12d to the motor 12b.

In this case, since the particle size of the crushed particles 7 cannot be directly changed, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, after the motor 12b is turned on and a fixed time (for example, 5 minutes) has passed, The measurement value and the set value are compared again, and as a result, the motor 12b is turned on or off. In addition, the controller 16 will
After a certain period of time, the two are compared again, and the bulk specific gravity is constantly adjusted during operation of the device.

In this case, the set value of bulk specific gravity is 15
g / liter to 25 g / liter (1 per 1 liter
It is preferable to set the value within the range of 5 g to 25 g).
This is because the styrofoam product obtained with the bulk specific gravity within this range is most practically preferable. That is, the expansion ratio of a Styrofoam product practical as a packing material is generally in the range of 60 times to 40 times. This magnification is
If it is larger than this range, the molded product becomes brittle, and if it is small, it becomes hard and unsuitable as a packing material or cushioning material. When the expansion ratio is 40 times, the bulk specific gravity is usually 25 g.
/ L, 50 times 20 g / l, 60 times about 15 g / l. Therefore, in the case of the present invention, the set value of the bulk specific gravity is preferably initialized in the memory of the controller 16 within this range.

Reference numeral 17 is a funnel-shaped collector provided on the discharge end side of the conveyor 12, and 18 is a similar collector disposed below the specific gravity measuring device 15. Further, 19 is a storage container disposed below the collector 18, and 20 is a recycled raw material produced by the apparatus of the present invention.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the used Styrofoam 1 is put into the crusher 2. Then, the pulverizing roll 3 finely pulverizes the Styrofoam 1. Due to the action of the filter 6, only the crushed particles 7 having a diameter of 10 mm or less are discharged from the discharge port 2a.
Emitted from.

Next, the crushed particles 7 are stored in the storage section 8,
It is sent to the conveyor 12 by the action of the blower 9. The bulk specific gravity of the crushed particles 7 is adjusted to a set value while being conveyed by the conveyor 12. That is, first, the heater 13 irradiates the pulverized particles 7 being conveyed with far infrared rays. Then, the crushed particles 7 generate internal heat, the foaming space is broken and contracted, and the corners of the peripheral surface are removed to be round particles. And this crushed grain with reduced bulk 7
Is discharged from the conveyor 12 and sent to the sorting device 14 via the collector 17. In the sorting device 14, the diameter is 3 to
Only those having a size of 8 mm are selected, and the specific gravity of the crushed particles 7 in this range is measured by the specific gravity measuring device 15. The measurement value of the specific gravity measuring device 15 is converted into an electric quantity and sent to the controller 16, and the controller 16 sets the set value (for example, 20
g / liter). When the measured value is smaller than the set value, the crushed particles 7 contain a large amount of air and the crushed particles 7 have a large volume. Therefore, the controller 16 drives the motor 12b until the measured value matches the set value. A control signal for lowering the rotation speed is output. On the contrary, when the measured value is larger than the set value, it means that the reduction ratio of the crushed particles 7 is large due to the heating action of the heater 13.
A control signal for increasing the rotation speed is output from 6 to the drive circuit of the motor 12b. In this case, the state in which the rotation speed is increased or decreased is maintained for a certain period of time (for example, 5 minutes), the measured value and the set value are compared again after the lapse of time, and the bulk specific gravity of the pulverized particles 7 is always set during the operation of the device. Adjusted to the value.

The crushed particles 7 whose bulk specific gravity is adjusted are stored in a storage container 19 via a collector 18. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the recycled raw material 20 thus obtained is mixed with the virgin raw material of the expanded polystyrene 1 at a constant ratio, and is recycled through a molding process using a mold. In this case, the mixing ratio of both is preferably such that the recycled raw material 20 is usually mixed with the virgin raw material at a ratio of 30 to 50% by weight. This is because if the ratio is the same, the Styrofoam product to be recycled is not inferior in quality to the molded product when molded with 100% virgin raw material, and the raw material cost of the recycled product is low.

In the above, according to the present invention, the diameter of the hole 6a of the filter 6 is not limited to the above example. However, if the holes 6a are too large, a problem tends to occur when the crushed particles 7 are pressure-fed by the blower 9. That is, if the crushed particles 7 are too large, they collide with each other in the flexible tube 10 and the crushed particles 7 cannot be smoothly fed under pressure. The recycled raw material 20 produced in the present invention is mixed with a virgin raw material. In this case, the size of the virgin raw material after pre-foaming is usually 3 to 8 m.
Since the diameter is m, the hole 6 of the filter 6 is slightly larger than the diameter of 8 mm in consideration of the reduction ratio by the heater 13.
It is efficient to select the diameter of a. Therefore, in the present invention, it is usually preferable that the diameter of the hole 6a be selected to be around 10 mm.

In the above example, the crushed particles 7 are supplied from the storage section 8 to the conveyor 12 via the blower 9, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, in the device of the present invention, for example, the discharge port of the storage unit 8 may face one end of the conveyor 12 and the crushed particles 7 may be directly supplied from the storage unit 8 to the conveyor 12. In this case, there is an advantage that the blower 9 can be omitted.

The present invention also includes a controller 16 and a heater 1.
3 is connected to the temperature control section of the heater 13, and the control signal from the controller 16 is output to the temperature control section of the heater 13.
The bulk specific gravity may be adjusted by controlling the heating temperature of No. 3. Further, in the device of the present invention, when controlling either the transport speed of the conveyor 12 or the heating temperature of the heater 13 in this way, it does not stop, and it is possible to control both so as to achieve more detailed control. good.

Further, in the present invention, the types of the sorting device 14 and the specific gravity measuring device 15 are not limited to those having the structure of the above example, and are arbitrary. Also, in the above example, considering the sorting efficiency, etc., 3-8 mm
Although the sorting device 14 is formed so as to sort the crushed particles 7 in the diameter range, the present invention is not limited to this and, for example, the sorting device 14 can sort only those having a specific size.
Of course, it is also possible to form

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the bulk specific gravity of the crushed particles can be adjusted to a preselected value by the bulk specific gravity adjusting mechanism. Therefore, the regenerated raw material having the same bulk specific gravity as the virgin raw material of expanded polystyrene is used. Can be provided. Therefore, if the recycled raw material obtained in the present invention is mixed with the virgin raw material and molded, the same foamed state as that of the virgin raw material and the same shrinkage ratio can be obtained, so that a recycled product of high quality can be manufactured.

When the set value of the bulk specific gravity is selected within the range defined in claim 2, it is possible to provide a recycled raw material for styrofoam products, which is suitable for packaging materials and cushioning materials.

Further, in the present invention, when the controller outputs a control signal to the temperature control section of the heater as in claim 3 or 4, the control signal is output to both the drive motor of the conveyor and the temperature control section of the heater. Even in such a case, a recycled raw material having the same bulk specific gravity as that of the virgin raw material can be provided, and in this case, particularly in the latter case, the combination of controls can be diversified, so that finer control becomes possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a preferred example of a device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a crusher, where A is a front view of a main part and B is a side view of the main part.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an essential part for explaining the operation of the blower.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration of a conveyer, where A is a side view of a main part and B is a plan view of the main part.

5A and 5B are views showing the structure of a heater, in which A is a side view of a main part, B is a plan view of a main part, C is a plan view of a main part for explaining an array state, and D is a side view of the main part.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration of a sorting device, in which A and B are plan views of a main part of a wire mesh, and C is a perspective view of the main part.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a main portion showing the configuration of a specific gravity measuring device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the controller.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating steps for manufacturing a recycled product.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Styrofoam 2 crusher 6 filters 7 crushed grains 11 Bulk density adjustment mechanism 12 conveyor 13 heater 14 Sorting device 15 Specific gravity measuring instrument 16 controller

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-238690 (JP, A) JP-A-6-166034 (JP, A) JP-A-5-320406 (JP, A) JP-A-5- 269740 (JP, A) JP 3-203612 (JP, A) JP 1-110912 (JP, A) JP 57-32921 (JP, A) JP 53-77284 (JP, A) JP-A-53-61658 (JP, A) JP-A-48-66172 (JP, A) Jikkaihei 1-89110 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B29B 7/00-11/14 B29B 13/00-15/06 B29B 17/00-17/02 C08J 11/00-11/28 B09B 3/00-5/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A styrofoam crusher having a filter for selecting the size of crushed particles, and a bulk specific gravity adjusting mechanism for adjusting the bulk specific gravity of the crushed styrene particles discharged from the crusher to a set value. , This bulk specific gravity adjusting mechanism, a conveyor for conveying the crushed particles, a heater for irradiating far infrared rays to the crushed particles being conveyed by this conveyor, and a constant size from the crushed particles after heat treatment by this heater A sorting device that sorts only items, a specific gravity measuring device that measures the specific gravity of the crushed particles sorted by this sorting device, and the measured value of this specific gravity measuring device is compared with the set value, and a control signal is sent to the drive motor of the conveyor. A styrofoam reproduction processing apparatus, which is formed by including a controller for outputting. 2. The set value of bulk specific gravity is 15 g / liter or more.
The styrene foam regeneration treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the value is within a range of 25 g / liter. 3. The Styrofoam recycling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller outputs a control signal to a temperature control unit of the heater instead of outputting the control signal to the drive motor of the conveyor. . 4. The Styrofoam recycling processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller outputs a control signal to both the drive motor of the conveyor and the temperature control unit of the heater.