Device and method for sorting objects

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10512940-B2
Application number	US-201615759868-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 20, 2016
Priority date	Sep 17, 2015
Publication date	Dec 24, 2019
Grant date	Dec 24, 2019

Abstract

In order to provide an airflow sorting device having high accuracy and easy adjustment properties with a simple configuration, there are provided a conduit which has a central shaft line and which lets an object to be sorted to fall due to gravity on the inside of the conduit along the central shaft line; an air supply port which is provided at a lower part of the conduit and configured to blow air upward along the central shaft line; a suction port which is provided above the air supply port of the conduit and is an opening oriented downward of a suction pipe provided parallel to the central shaft line; and an input port provided above the suction port of the conduit through which the object to be sorted is input into the periphery of the suction pipe which is in the conduit. Sorting is performed in the sorting device according to whether or not the object to be sorted is being suctioned by the suction port together with a part or the entirety of an airflow generated in the conduit by the air blown from the air supply port, and an airflow adjusting body which is provided below the suction port in the conduit and blocks a falling path of the object to be sorted which falls due to gravity, is provided, and the airflow adjusting body includes: a vertex on the central shaft line; and an inclined surface having a sectional shape, sectional areas of which are similar to each other and increase in size downward, and a drag force which acts on the object to be sorted which falls due to gravity increases downward from the suction port.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sorting device configured to sort an object to be sorted comprising:
a conduit which has a central shaft line and allows the object to be sorted to fall due to gravity inside the conduit along the central shaft line;
an air supply port provided at a lower part of the conduit and configured to blow air upward along the central shaft line;
a suction port which is provided above the air supply port of the conduit and is an opening oriented downward of a suction pipe provided parallel to the central shaft line; and
an input port provided above the suction port of the conduit through which the object to be sorted is input into a periphery of the suction pipe which is in the conduit,
wherein the sorting device is configured to sort the object to be sorted according to whether or not the object to be sorted is being suctioned by the suction port together with part or an entirety of an airflow generated in the conduit by the air blown from the air supply port,
the sorting device further comprises an airflow adjusting body which is provided below the suction port in the conduit and blocks a falling path of the object to be sorted which falls due to gravity,
the airflow adjusting body includes: a vertex on the central shaft line; and an inclined surface having a sectional shape, sectional areas of which are similar to each other and increase in size downward,
a drag force which acts on the object to be sorted which falls due to gravity increases downward from the suction port,
the conduit has an inner surface inclined portion inclined to expand a horizontal sectional area downward, and the airflow adjusting body is positioned in the inner surface inclined portion, and
an inner wall of the conduit located in the inner surface inclined portion includes an inclined portion inclined to expand a horizontal sectional area downward, and to extend along the airflow adjusting body which faces the inclined portion.

2. The sorting device according to claim 1 , wherein the airflow adjusting body has a shape of a rotating body.

3. The sorting device according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of suction ports are provided to be open in the same horizontal plane.

4. The sorting device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a second suction port which is an opening oriented downward of a second suction pipe provided above the suction port in parallel to the central shaft line.

5. The sorting device according to claim 4 , wherein each of the flow rates of the suction port and the second suction port is independently controllable.

6. The sorting device according to claim 1 , wherein the airflow adjusting body has a substantially spindle-like structure.

7. A sorting device configured to sort an object to be sorted comprising:
a conduit which has a central shaft line and allows the object to be sorted to fall due to gravity inside the conduit along the central shaft line;
an air supply port provided at a lower part of the conduit and configured to blow air upward along the central shaft line;
a suction port which is provided above the air supply port of the conduit and is an opening oriented downward of a suction pipe provided parallel to the central shaft line; and
an input port provided above the suction port of the conduit through which the object to be sorted is input into a periphery of the suction pipe which is in the conduit,
wherein the sorting device is configured to sort the object to be sorted according to whether or not the object to be sorted is being suctioned by the suction port together with part or an entirety of an airflow generated in the conduit by the air blown from the air supply port,
the sorting device further comprises an airflow adjusting body which is provided below the suction port in the conduit and blocks a falling path of the object to be sorted which falls due to gravity,
the airflow adjusting body includes: a vertex on the central shaft line; and an inclined surface having a sectional shape, sectional areas of which are similar to each other and increase in size downward,
a drag force which acts on the object to be sorted which falls due to gravity increases downward from the suction port,
the conduit has an inner surface inclined portion inclined to expand a horizontal sectional area downward, and the airflow adjusting body is positioned in the inner surface inclined portion, and
the shape of the inner surface inclined portion of the conduit and the inclined surface of the airflow adjusting body is controlled to make the flow velocity of the airflow in the inner surface inclined portion constant in a height direction.

8. The sorting device according to claim 7 , wherein the conduit has a ring portion which makes the horizontal sectional area of the inner surface inclined portion oriented downward.

9. The sorting device according to claim 7 , wherein the airflow adjusting body positions at least a greatest sectional area portion of the airflow adjusting body in the inner surface inclined portion, and the sectional area of the greatest sectional area portion is greater than the sectional area of an inner surface straight portion.

10. The sorting device according to claim 7 , wherein the airflow adjusting body is provided with vertical position adjusting means, is configured to moves up and down in the inner surface inclined portion, and is configured to control the drag force.

11. A sorting method for sorting objects to be sorted, in a sorting device comprising:
a conduit which has a central shaft line and allows an object to be sorted to fall due to gravity inside the conduit along the central shaft line;
an air supply port provided at a lower part of the conduit and configured to blow air upward along the central shaft line;
a suction port which is provided above the air supply port of the conduit and is an opening oriented downward of a suction pipe provided parallel to the central shaft line; and
an input port provided above the suction port of the conduit through which the object to be sorted is input into a periphery of the suction pipe which is in the conduit, wherein
the sorting device is configured to sort the object to be sorted according to whether or not the object to be sorted is being suctioned by the suction port together with part or an entirety of an airflow generated in the conduit by the air blown from the air supply port, the method comprising:
providing an airflow adjusting body below the suction port in the conduit to block a falling path of the object to be sorted which falls due to gravity such that a drag force which acts on the object to be sorted which falls due to gravity increases downward from the suction port,
wherein the conduit has an inner surface inclined portion inclined to expand a horizontal sectional area downward, and the airflow adjusting body is positioned in the inner surface inclined portion, and
an inner wall of the conduit located in the inner surface inclined portion includes an inclined portion inclined to expand a horizontal sectional area downward, and to extend along the airflow adjusting body which faces the inclined portion.

12. The sorting method according to claim 11 , wherein airflow control is performed such that the flow velocity of the airflow in a side portion of the airflow adjusting body is constant in a height direction.

13. The sorting method according to claim 12 , wherein the airflow adjusting body is a rotating body with respect to the central shaft line and has an inclined surface of which a sectional area expands downward.

14. The sorting method according to claim 11 , wherein the airflow adjusting body

Assignees

• Aist

Inventors

• Nishisu Yoshihiro

Classifications

• B07B11/04

  Control arrangements · CPC title

• B04C5/00

  Apparatus in which the axial direction of the vortex is reversed {(combined with other devices B04C9/00)} · CPC title

• B07B11/02

  Arrangement of air or material conditioning accessories · CPC title

• B04C5/04

  Tangential inlets · CPC title

• B07B4/02 Primary

  while the mixtures fall · CPC title