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US 11,907,318 B2Granted
Waste container monitoring system
AssigneeAdvanced Custom Engineered Systems & Equipment Co.
InventorChristopher M. Flood
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A container having a compactor and bin for waste is disclosed permitting on-premises and remote monitoring of the system and collection is disclosed. The system can also detect non-complaint materials placed therein and act thereon. Methods are further disclosed for inventorying identification tags for tracking packages, merchandise and tags disposed of.
Claims20
A method for monitoring a waste container for storing waste, the method comprising:
- receiving data from at least one sensor of a plurality of sensors, wherein the plurality of sensors comprises:
- at least one hazardous or non-compliant material sensor for detecting for hazardous or non-compliant material, wherein the at least one hazardous or non-compliant material sensor detects for a tag associated with hazardous or non-compliant material placed inside the waste container, and
- a system overload sensor for detecting for a power spike or power outage associated with a compactor attached to the waste container;
- based on the data, selecting a triggering event from a group of triggering events, the group of triggering events comprising (i) the at least one hazardous or non-compliant material sensor detecting a presence of hazardous or non-compliant material in the waste container, and (ii) the system overload sensor detecting an overload of the compactor;
- in response to selecting the triggering event, setting a preselected interval according to a type of the triggering event selected from the group of triggering events, wherein the preselected interval comprises a first preselected time before the triggering event and a second preselected time after the triggering event;
- controlling a camera to record images proximate to the waste container for the set preselected interval;
- and
- storing, in a memory, the camera-recorded images for the set preselected interval,
- wherein the method is performed by a computing device that has access to event information, the event information correlating each triggering event of the group of triggering events with a respective preselected interval, and
- wherein selecting the triggering event and setting the preselected interval are performed based on the event information.
7 more elements
A waste container monitoring system for monitoring a waste container for storing waste comprising:
- a camera positioned and operative so as to record images proximate to the waste container;
- a memory associated with the camera for recording camera-recorded images for a preselected interval associated with a triggering event, wherein the preselected interval comprises a first preselected time before the triggering event and a second preselected time after the triggering event, and wherein the preselected interval is set according to a type of the triggering event detected;
- a plurality of sensors configured for detecting the triggering event, the plurality of sensors comprising:
- at least one hazardous or non-compliant material sensor for detecting for hazardous or non-compliant material, wherein the at least one hazardous or non-compliant material sensor for detecting for hazardous or non-compliant material detects for a tag associated with hazardous or non-compliant material placed inside the waste container, and
- a system overload sensor for detecting for a power spike or power outage associated with a compactor attached to the waste container;
- a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of sensors, the camera, and the memory, and configured to:
- based on data received by the controller from at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors, select the triggering event from a group of triggering events, the group of triggering events comprising (i) the at least one hazardous or non-compliant material sensor detecting a presence of hazardous or non-compliant material in the waste container, and (ii) the system overload sensor detecting an overload of the compactor, and
- in response to selecting the triggering event:
- setting the preselected interval according to the type of the triggering event selected from the group of triggering events,
- controlling the camera to record images proximate to the waste container for the set preselected interval, and
- storing, in the memory, the camera-recorded images for the set preselected interval,
- wherein the controller has access to event information correlating each triggering event of the group of triggering events with a respective preselected interval, and
- wherein selecting the triggering event and setting the preselected interval are performed based on the event information.
10 more elements
A waste container monitoring system for monitoring a waste container for storing waste comprising:
- a camera positioned and operative so as to record images proximate to the waste container;
- a memory associated with the camera for recording camera-recorded images for a preselected interval associated with a triggering event, wherein the preselected interval comprises a first preselected time before the triggering event and a second preselected time after the triggering event, and wherein the preselected interval is set according to a type of the triggering event detected;
- a plurality of sensors configured for detecting the triggering event, the plurality of sensors comprising:
- a photocell sensor disposed between an opening of a waste bin of the waste container and an opening of a compactor, wherein the compactor is attached to the waste container, and wherein the photocell sensor is configured to determine whether the opening of the waste bin and the opening of the compactor are correctly aligned, and
- at least one hazardous or non-compliant material sensor for detecting for hazardous or non-compliant material, wherein the at least one hazardous or non-compliant material sensor for detecting for hazardous or non-compliant material detects for a tag associated with hazardous or non-compliant material placed inside the waste container,
- a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of sensors, the camera, and the memory, and configured to:
- based on data received by the controller from at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors, select the triggering event from a group of triggering events, the group of triggering events comprising (i) the at least one hazardous or non-compliant material sensor detecting a presence of hazardous or non-compliant material in the waste container, and (ii) the photocell sensor detecting that the opening of the waste bin and the opening of the compactor are not correctly aligned;
- and
- in response to selecting the triggering event:
- setting the preselected interval according to the type of the triggering event selected from the group of triggering events,
- controlling the camera to record images proximate to the waste container for the set preselected interval, and
- storing, in the memory, the camera-recorded images for the set preselected interval.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.