Method and system for recycling discarded industrial products

• US 6,305,548 B1
• Filed: 09/17/1999
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sato, Eiji, Aoki, Toshiyuki, Kunii, Shigeki, Hayashi, Masakatsu, Hasegawa, Tsutomu, Takagi, Takeo, Takamura, Yoshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, Donald P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miller, Jonathan R
• Application Number:
  US09/398,045
• Time in Patent Office: 767 Days
• Field of Search: 209/33, 209/630, 209/702, 209/705, 209/583, 209/742, 209/933
• US Class Current: 209/3.3
• CPC Class Codes: B09B 5/00 Operations not covered by a single other subclass or by a single other group in this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 2017/0089 Recycling systems, wherein the flow of products between producers, sellers and consumers includes at least a recycling step, e.g. the products being fed back to the sellers or to the producers for recycling purposes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/933 Accumulation receiving separated items

Abstract

A discarded industrial product recycling system capable of acquiring pertinent data required for processings of discarded industrial products such as discarders, reception dates, persons responsible for disposal, disposal dates and so forth for selecting proper disposal for each of the discarded industrial products while automatizing the article data acquisition to a possible maximum for enhancing the enhance disposal rate. An electronic tag (radio-frequency identifier tag) is attached to each of discarded industrial products to allow data required for the processing to be written and read by readers/writers. At a time point and a place where a discarded industrial product is received, basic data required for the processing of that article is written in the electronic tag. Pertinent processing route for each of the manufactured articles is decided by reading the data from the electronic tag while writing additional data in the tag as occasion requires. Properties of plastic material are measured, results of which are written in the electronic tag. Classification of component parts resulting from disassembling is carried out by affixing an electronic tag to each palette, reading the data from the electronic tag attached to the discarded industrial product and writing a code of assortment destination for the parts carried by the palette in the electronic tag affixed thereto on the basis of the data read from the electronic tag attached to the discarded industrial product.

Claims

1. A system for recycling discarded industrial products, including a process for transporting discarded industrial products discharged from individual discard sources to a disposal center and a process for treating of said discarded industrial products at said disposal center, wherein information required for treating each of said discarded industrial products is written in an electronic tag affixed to each of said discarded industrial products in the course of transferring said discarded industrial products to said disposal center from said individual discard sources, said electronic tag being sent to said disposal center together with said discarded industrial product affixed to said discarded industrial products.

2. A discarded industrial product recycling system according to claim 1,

wherein said electronic tag sent to said discarded industrial product disposal center, being affixed to said discarded industrial product, is sent back to a place where said information has been written in said electronic tag.

3. A discarded industrial product recycling system, including,

individual discard sources from which industrial products are discharged as discarded industrial products,

dealer agencies, lease agencies and rental agencies for collecting discarded industrial products primarily from said individual discard sources,

at least one recovery center for collecting the discarded industrial products primarily from said dealer agencies, said lease agencies and said rental agencies, and

a disposal center for treating of the discarded industrial products received primarily from said recovery center,

wherein an electronic tag in and from which data can be written and read is attached to said discarded industrial product or alternatively a major component part thereof or alternatively a container accommodating therein said discarded industrial product at one of said dealer agencies, said lease agencies, said rental agencies, said recovery center and said disposal center, and

wherein data required for recycling is written in and read from said electronic tag by reader/writer means.

4. A discarded industrial product recycling system according to claim 3,

wherein said data is read by said reader/writer means for thereby assorting selectively said discarded industrial products by deciding to which of a shredding/sorting route, a disassembling route and a reuse-destined route said discarded industrial product is to be sent on the basis of said data read from said electronic tag.

5. A discarded industrial product recycling system according to claim 4,

comprising assorting means installed at said disposal center for sorting/classifying disassembled parts,

said assorting means including a plurality of palettes disposed on a transferring line for receiving disassembled parts resulting from disassembling of the discarded industrial products;

and

discharge ports for allowing the component parts on said palettes to be discharged;

wherein the data recorded in the electronic tags attached to the discarded industrial products, respectively, are read by said reader/writer means to thereby determine destinations of said palettes, respectively, on the basis of said data read from said electronic tags, respectively, for thereby allowing said disassembled parts to be sent to said discharge ports while being assorted from one another.

6. A discarded industrial product recycling system according to claim 3,

wherein for the discarded industrial product having box-like members made of plastics, degree of deterioration, quality and color of said plastic box-like members are measured, results of which are additionally written in said electronic tag by reader/writer means.

7. A discarded industrial product recycling system according to claim 6,

comprising assorting means installed at said disposal center for sorting/classifying disassembled parts,

said assorting means including a plurality of palettes disposed on a transferring line for receiving disassembled parts resulting from disassembling of the discarded industrial products;

and

discharge ports for allowing the component parts on said palettes to be discharged;

wherein the data recorded in the electronic tags attached to the discarded industrial products, respectively, are read by said reader/writer means to thereby determine destinations of said palettes, respectively, on the basis of said data read from said electronic tags, respectively, for thereby allowing said disassembled parts to be sent to said discharge ports while being assorted from one another.

8. A discarded industrial product recycling system according to claim 3,

comprising assorting means installed at said disposal center for sorting/classifying disassembled parts,

said assorting means including a plurality of palettes disposed on a transferring line for receiving disassembled parts resulting from disassembling of the discarded industrial products;

and

discharge ports for allowing the component parts on said palettes to be discharged;

wherein the data recorded in the electronic tags attached to the discarded industrial products, respectively, are read by said reader/writer means to thereby determine destinations of said palettes, respectively, on the basis of said data read from said electronic tags, respectively, for thereby allowing said disassembled parts to be sent to said discharge ports while being assorted from one another.

9. A discarded industrial product recycling system according to claim 3, wherein said electronic tag is written and attached at one of said dealer agencies, said lease agencies and said rental agencies.

10. A discarded industrial product recycling system, comprising:

a plurality of palettes;

palette-dedicated electronic tags attached to said palettes, respectively;

first reader/writer means for writing data in said palette-dedicated electronic tags;

discharge ports at which said palettes are unloaded, respectively; and

second reader/writer means disposed at said discharge ports, respectively, for reading the data recorded in said palette-dedicated electronic tags, respectively;

wherein delivery-destination codes indicating the destination discharge ports are written in said palette-dedicated electronic tags, respectively, each of said palettes being carried to said discharge ports where the data recorded in said palette-dedicated electronic tags are read by said second reader/writer means, and wherein when a code of the palette-dedicated electronic tag coincides with a code of the discharge port, component parts on the palette assigned with said coincident code are discharged into said discharge port for which inter-code coincidence has been detected.

11. A system for recycling discarded industrial products, comprising:

a plurality of palettes;

electronic tags attached to said palettes, respectively;

conveyer means for carrying said palettes;

a plurality of discharge ports for receiving the palettes carried thereto by said conveyer means;

write means for writing in said electronic tag information concerning a destination discharge port of the palette to which said electronic tag is attached; and

read means for reading the information concerning said destination discharge port of the palette transported by said conveyer means from the electronic tag attached to said palette to thereby send said palette selectively to the destination discharge port indicated by said destination information.

12. A method for recycling discarded industrial products comprising the steps of a process for transporting discarded industrial products discharged from individual discard sources to a disposal center, and a process for treating of said discarded industrial products at said disposal center, wherein the process for transporting includes writing in an electronic tag information required for treating each of said discarded industrial products and affixing said electronic tag to each of said discarded industrial products at a predetermined place in the course of transferring said discarded industrial products to said disposal center from said individual discard sources, and said electronic tag sending to said disposal center together with said discarded industrial product.

13. A method for recycling discarded industrial products according to claim 12, wherein the individual discard sources include at least one of an individual, a dealer agency, a lease agency and a rental agency which utilize the industrial product and discard the same and collect discarded industrial products primarily from an individual.

14. A method for recycling discarded industrial products according to claim 13, wherein the process for treating includes sending said electronic tag which is sent to said discarded industrial product disposal center as affixed to said discarded industrial product back to said predetermined place where said information is written in said electronic tag.