Patent Application
20180079591
The present invention is generally directed toward an autonomous vehicle, and more specifically to an autonomous platform vehicle for delivering and/or retrieving waste and/or waste containers.
Trash is created in the majority of households and businesses across America and collected by cities as a public service. The trash that is created in and around a dwelling or business must be collected and deposited in a receptacle and placed in a designated location to receive pickup services. The designated locations usually reside on the side of the road or alley way a distance away from the indoors to facilitate pick up by the trash service. Moving the trash in the receptacle to the designated pick up location is burdensome and can be difficult for some classes of people due to numerous factors, such as, weight, distance, crime, topography, etc. There is a need for a solution to these problems in the field.
An automated trash cart is provided as a mobile platform that is accessible online. The platform transports trash, recycling, and other waste (“waste”) from a home station to a designated pickup station along a designated route, for example at a curbside location. After the waste is picked up, the platform returns along the designated route to the home station, hence, automating the task of moving waste for pickup. The platform is accessible online and via smart device applications. It navigates autonomously to the designated pickup station, and returns after waste has been removed from the platform. The platform is capable of alerting a user if there are obstacles on its path. The platform charges itself while at home station. This charging may optionally be solar powered. Once programmed, the device is completely autonomous and is capable of numerous ancillary functions such as opening and closing garage doors as needed to travel along the designated route as per user instructions and programming.
Further advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the detailed description of preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the drawings:
The following detailed description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. For purposes of explanation, specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required to practice the invention. Descriptions of specific applications are provided only as representative examples. Various modifications to the preferred embodiments will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the scope of the invention. The present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest possible scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.
The process of taking out the trash is time consuming and effort intensive and can be difficult for elderly people and those with physical disabilities. The designated route 3 of the trash 2 from the place of residence or commercial property 7 to the pickup location 5 may contain obstacles and/or be a far distance, which can place the individual taking out the trash vulnerable to crime and inclement weather. The present invention discloses an automated trash cart 1 on a mobile platform that transports waste 2 from a home station 4 to a pickup location 5 along a designated route 3 alleviating the difficulties associated with individuals taking out the waste 2.
In the preferred embodiment, the automated trash cart 1 is comprised of a cart 6, onboard microcontroller, a network connection, and one or more of a variety of sensors. The cart 6, as shown in
After the microcontroller software is downloaded by a user, the user designates the route for the waste 2, which is picked up from the home station 4 and transported autonomously along the designated route 3 to the pickup location 5, as shown in
After the waste 2 is picked up at the pickup location, the automated trash cart returns along the designated route to the home station, hence, automating the task of moving waste for pickup. The automated trash cart is capable of alerting a user if there are obstacles on the designated route. The automated trash cart 1 will use ultrasonic and/or IR (or other frequency light sensors) to detect obstacles along the designated route(s) 3. When an obstacle is detected, the user is notified to remedy the situation. The automated trash cart 1 may be programmed for self-help, such as to go around obstacles, as an added feature and when such is possible.
The automated trash cart is battery powered. The battery will be charged while at the home station 4. This can be done by induction or any other charging means known in the field of remote and/or autonomous vehicle, such as via solar power.
The preferred use of the automated trash cart 1 is in urban environments, where the distance is small between the home station 4 and the designated pickup station 5, and also where Wi-Fi or other communication frequencies and systems can be accessed throughout the operation range of the platform. In a preferred embodiment, the system will rely on Wi-Fi for all communications.
The system may also be configured to operate in rural areas where the distance between the home station 4 and the designated pickup station 5 is large and Wi-Fi may not be available throughout the operational range of the automated trash cart 1. In this situation, cellular communication may be used.
The automated trash cart 1 is equipped with a manual override, allowing the user to drive the automated trash cart 1 as needed. The security levels of all automated trash cart 1 communications are user defined, allowing the use of fully encrypted communications.
The market potential for the automated trash cart 1 is vast. Urban and rural communities alike will benefit from the safety and convenience of having to spend less time attending to the burdensome task of transporting waste 2 to a designated pickup location 5 and retrieving waste containers. Additionally, there is a substantial market which is poised for a product of this type. Environmental conditions, disabled individuals, and elderly persons also enhance the marketability of this innovative idea.
The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” as used in the claims and specification herein, shall be considered as indicating an open group that may include other elements not specified. The terms “a,” “an,” and the singular forms of words shall be taken to include the plural form of the same words, such that the terms mean that one or more of something is provided. The term “one” or “single” may be used to indicate that one and only one of something is intended. Similarly, other specific integer values, such as “two,” may be used when a specific number of things is intended. The terms “preferably,” “preferred,” “prefer,” “optionally,” “may,” and similar terms are used to indicate that an item, condition or step being referred to is an optional (not required) feature of the invention.
The invention has been described with reference to various specific and preferred embodiments and techniques. However, it should be understood that many variations and modifications may be made while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that methods, devices, device elements, materials, procedures and techniques other than those specifically described herein can be applied to the practice of the invention as broadly disclosed herein without resort to undue experimentation. All art-known functional equivalents of methods, devices, device elements, materials, procedures and techniques described herein are intended to be encompassed by this invention. Whenever a range is disclosed, all subranges and individual values are intended to be encompassed. This invention is not to be limited by the embodiments disclosed, including any shown in the drawings or exemplified in the specification, which are given by way of example and not of limitation.
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.
All references throughout this application, for example patent documents including issued or granted patents or equivalents, patent application publications, and non-patent literature documents or other source material, are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, as though individually incorporated by reference, to the extent each reference is at least partially not inconsistent with the disclosure in the present application (for example, a reference that is partially inconsistent is incorporated by reference except for the partially inconsistent portion of the reference).
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/396,330 to Charles Doty, et al. filed on Sep. 19, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62396330 | Sep 2016 | US |
