System and method for managing waste services

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10378912-B2
Application number	US-201715853966-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 26, 2017
Priority date	Feb 9, 2017
Publication date	Aug 13, 2019
Grant date	Aug 13, 2019

Abstract

A system is disclosed for managing waste services. The system may have a locating device configured to generate a signal indicative of a location of a service vehicle on a roadway, a communication device, and a controller in communication with the locating and communication devices. The controller may be configured to determine a side of the roadway at which a first target location is currently being serviced by the service vehicle, and to determine based on the signal from the locating device a proximity of the service vehicle to a second target location at which the waste services are to be performed. The second target location may be on the same side of the roadway as the first target location. The controller may also be configured to automatically provide via the communicating device an estimated time of arrival to a customer corresponding to the second target location, based on the proximity.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for managing waste services, comprising:
a locating device configured to generate a signal indicative of a location of a service vehicle on a roadway;
a tag located on a waste receptacle containing information corresponding to a location of the waste receptacle;
a sensor located onboard a service vehicle and configured to detect the tag and to generate a signal indicative of the information contained on the tag when waste services are performed on the waste receptacle;
a communication device; and
a controller in communication with the locating device, sensor, and communication device, the controller being configured to:
determine based on the signal generated by the locating device, a location of the service vehicle;
determine based on the signal generated by the sensor, a side of the roadway at which a first target location is currently being serviced by the service vehicle;
determine based on the location of the service vehicle and the first target location, a proximity of the service vehicle to a second target location at which waste services are to be performed, wherein the second target location is on the same side of the roadway as the first target location; and
based on the proximity, automatically provide via the communication device a first alert comprising an estimated time of arrival of the waste vehicle to the second target location.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the controller is further configured to:
determine a travel direction of the service vehicle based on the signal generated by the locating device; and
determine the proximity of the service vehicle to a second target location at which waste services are to be performed based on the travel direction of the service vehicle and the signal generated by the sensor.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the information contained on the tag includes an address corresponding to the first target location.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises an RFID reader, and the tag comprises an RFID tag.

5. The system of claim 1 , further including an optical sensor located onboard the service vehicle and configured to capture an image of the roadway, wherein the controller is configured to determine the side of the roadway at which the first target location is currently being serviced by the service vehicle based on the image.

6. The system of claim 2 , wherein:
the locating device is a GPS receiver; and
the controller is configured to determine the proximity of the service vehicle to a second target location at which waste services are to be performed based on a GPS signal received by the GPS receiver and based on known coordinates of the second target location.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
determine that the waste services have been completed at the second target location; and
automatically provide via the communication device a second alert to the second target location that the waste services have been completed.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine that the waste services have been completed at the second target location based on the signal generated by the sensor corresponding to the second target location.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to send the first alert to the customer corresponding to the second target location.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to send the first alert to the waste receptacle corresponding to the second target location.

11. A method for managing waste services, comprising:
detecting a location of a service vehicle on a roadway;
detecting a tag located on a waste receptacle containing information corresponding to a location of the waste receptacle when waste services are performed on the waste receptacle;
determining a first target location based on the detected location of a service vehicle and the location of the waste receptacle where waste services are performed;
determining a side of the roadway at which a first target location is currently being serviced by the service vehicle;
determining a proximity of the service vehicle to a second target location at which waste services are to be performed based on the location of the service vehicle and the first target location, wherein the second target location is on the same side of the roadway as the first target location; and
based on the proximity, automatically providing an alert comprising an estimated time of arrival of the waste vehicle to the second target location.

12. The method of claim 11 , further including:
determining a travel direction of the service vehicle based on the signal generated by the locating device; and
determining the proximity of the service vehicle to a second target location at which waste services are to be performed based on the travel direction of the service vehicle and the first target location.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein:
detecting the location of the service vehicle on the roadway includes detecting GPS coordinates of the service vehicle; and
determining the proximity of the service vehicle to a second target location at which waste services are to be performed includes comparing the GPS coordinates of the service vehicle to known GPS coordinates of the second target location.

14. The method of claim 11 , further including:
detecting a tag located on a waste receptacle containing information corresponding to the second target location; and
providing a second alert to the second target location that the waste services have been completed.

15. The method of claim 11 , further including sending the first alert to the customer corresponding to the second target location.

16. The method of claim 11 , further including sending the first alert to the waste receptacle corresponding to the second target location.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing computer-executable programming instructions for performing a method of waste service management, the method comprising:
detecting a location of a service vehicle on a roadway;
detecting a tag located on a waste receptacle containing information corresponding to a location of the waste receptacle when waste services are performed on the waste receptacle;
determining a first target location based on the detected location of a service vehicle and the location of the waste receptacle where waste services are performed;
determining a side of the roadway at which a first target location is currently being serviced by the service vehicle;
determining a proximity of the service vehicle to a second target location at which waste services are to be performed based on the location of the service vehicle and the first target location, wherein the second target location is on the same side of the roadway as the first target location; and
based on the proximity, automatically providing an alert comprising an estimated time of arrival of the waste vehicle to the second target location.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 , further including:
determining a travel direction of the service vehicle based on the signal generated by the locating device; and
determining the proximity of the service vehicle to a second target location at which waste services are to be performed based on the travel direction of the service vehicle and the first target location.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 , further including:

Assignees

• Rubicon Global Holdings Inc
• Rubicon Global Holdings Llc

Inventors

• RODINI Philip
• Podgorny Samantha
• Alexander Ryan

Classifications

• G01S5/0269

  Inferred or constrained positioning, e.g. employing knowledge of the physical or electromagnetic environment, state of motion or other contextual information to infer or constrain a position · CPC title

• G01S5/0295

  Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals · CPC title

• G01C21/343 Primary

  Calculating itineraries (travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047) · CPC title

• G06Q10/30

  Administration of product recycling or disposal · CPC title

• G01S19/14

  specially adapted for specific applications · CPC title