Patent ID: 7736460

Claim:
A method for film removal and sorting of coated resin products, said method comprising the steps of: a film removal step of feeding a target material which comprises a mixture of plural types of coated resin products each having a different softening temperature in at least either one of a film and a substrate thereof, into a film removing apparatus, and heating said target material in said film removing apparatus up to a temperature allowing the substrate or the film of at least either one of said coated resin products to be softened in a non-molten state, so as to remove said film from said substrate; and a sorting step of sorting said target material after being subjected to said film removal step, between a film-free material consisting of the substrate of said coated resin product which has succeeded in removing the film therefrom, and an untreated target material consisting of the remaining coated resin products having residual films, characterized in that: said film removal step and said sorting step are repeatedly carried out while increasing the temperature of the target material in said film removal step stepwise within a temperature range equal to or less than a highest one of softening temperatures of the films and the substrates of said coated resin products, in such a manner that: said target material is heated in said film removal step up to a first softening temperature which is a lowest one of softening temperatures of the films and the substrates of said coated resin products, and then sorted in said sorting step between a film-free material and an untreated target material having residual films; and said untreated target material is heated in said film removal step up to a softening temperature which is a lowest one of softening temperatures of the films and the substrates of the remaining coated resin products and greater than said first softening temperature, and then sorted in said sorting step between a film-free material and an untreated target material having residual films.