Systems, methods, computer-readable storage mediums including computer-readable instructions and/or circuitry for monitoring efficiency and/or ecological impact of a use of a product by a user may implement operations including, but not limited to: computing at least one of an efficiency-of-use score and an environmental impact quantification according to data associated with a use of a physical product by a user over a period of time the user is indicated as having control of the physical product; and publishing the at least one of an efficiency-of-use score and an ecological impact quantification associated with the use of the product by the user to a social media interface.
In one or more various aspects, related systems include but are not limited to circuitry and/or programming for effecting the herein referenced aspects; the circuitry and/or programming can be virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware configured to effect the herein-referenced method aspects depending upon the design choices of the system designer.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here.
The consumption of rare materials and the ecological impact caused by human behavior are both becoming serious problems for the Earth. For example, some experts estimate that our use of the ecosystem to obtain food, timber, energy, exceeds the planet's ability to provide. As if the scarcity of resources was not enough of a problem, human behavior is also causing increasing amounts of greenhouse gasses to be emitted into the atmosphere. Certain greenhouse gasses, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrogen oxides, are generated by manufacturing, using, and disposing of products and the general consensus is that these greenhouse gases cause harm to the environment. For example, according to the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), greenhouse gases have caused the global surface temperature increased 0.74±0.18 C (1.33±0.32 F) during the 20th century. Climate models project that the temperature will increase another 1.1 to 6.4 C (2.0 to 11.5 F) during the 21st century. It is likely that this increase in temperature is a significant problem for living creatures. For example, the living planet index, which is an indicator of the state of global biological diversity, shows that between the period of 1970 and 2003 biodiversity fell 30 percent.
While the demand for products is causing significant damage to the environment, most people are complacent. People generally indicate that they care about the environment; however, people typically do not act in an environment friendly way because they are not aware of how their actions truly affect the environment. One reason for this may be that impact is too abstract to appreciate. For example, a person may recognize that driving a car causes harm to the environment; however, the person may not appreciate how much harm it causes because the person is not penalized nor does the person have to perceive any link between their behavior and the damage caused.
Accordingly, robust methods, systems, and computer program products are provided to, among other things; bring about an operational system wherein users can perceive how consumption behavior affects the environment in relation to their use of a shared product. In an exemplary embodiment, multiple users' use of a shared product can be quantified and a score can be calculated that reflects how efficiently a given user is using or has used the product, perhaps in comparison to other users of the same shared product. For example, use data can be mapped to a discrete set of numbers (−99 to 99), or mapped to an abstract scale, e.g., “awful,” “bad,” “neutral,” “good,” and “exceptional” to express how efficiently each user of a shared product is using that product.
Referring now to
Each location within
A product 101 can be resold to product retailer 103 (or another product retailer), donated (not shown), or sold to another user (not shown). Eventually, product 101 will be fully consumed, i.e., used up, broken, etc., and can be disposed of. A product 101 can be transported to a product disposal facility 105, e.g., landfill, recycling facility, incineration facility, etc., where it can be disposed of.
In an exemplary embodiment, an ecological service provider 106 can generate ecological impact quantifications and/or efficiency-of-use scores and communicate them (or information based on them) to users at different points in the lifecycle of product 101. The ecological service provider 106 may provide monitoring services associated with tracking the efficiency and/or ecological impact of use of the product 101 by users and provide that information to entities at various points in the product lifecycle so that the efficiency and/or ecological impact of the use of the product 101 can be evaluated.
For example, ecological service provider 106 can include system 107, which can include one or more computer systems having processors, memory, operating system software, network adaptors, circuitry, etc. As shown by the figure, system 107 can include database 108, which is described in more detail in
Continuing with the high-level overview of
A media distribution center 114 is also illustrated in
In the same, or other embodiments, system 107 which can include one or more computer systems having processors, memory, operating system software, network adaptors, etc., can be used to compute efficiency-of-use scores and/or ecological impact quantifications for users based on how they use products. For example, system 107 could be maintained by any number of individuals or organizations that wish to monitor how efficiently users use products. In a specific example, system 107 could be maintained by a governmental entity. In this exemplary embodiment, the government can monitor how users use products (their own products) and compute efficiency-of-use scores and/or ecological impact quantifications. In another exemplary embodiment, system 107 can be controlled by a Green Organization, e.g., an entity that stands for reducing the impact humans have on the environment. In this example, enrollment with system 107 can be voluntary. In yet another exemplary embodiment, system 107 can be controlled by the owner of product 101, which could be a user or a company. In this case, the owner may require potential users of the product 101 to register with the system in order to use product 101. For example, if product is a rental car, system 107 could be controlled by the rental car company. In another specific example, system 107 could be controlled by a neighborhood or condominium association that has communal assets that can be used by various members of the association. In this case, each person that lives in the neighborhood or is a member of the condominium association may register with system 107 in order to use product 101. The system 107 may include a network module 115 configured to transceive signals between the ecological service provider 106 and one or more of the product manufacturer 102, product retailer 103, product usage location 104 and or product disposal facility 105 in order to obtain ecological impact and/or efficiency of use data associated with the product 101.
Referring now to
The user account database 203 can be maintained by the entity that controls or uses system 107. For example, suppose system 107 is setup by a rental company. In this example, user account database 203 may include user accounts for users that contract with the rental company to rent a product. In another example, suppose system 107 is setup by an energy provider utility. In this example, user account database 203 may include user accounts for users that receive energy from the utility company.
Each user account 204, can optionally include a product list 205, which can contain a listing of products associated with user account 204, i.e., products rented, borrowed, or products that the user owns. Each product in the list can be associated with information that describes its status, e.g., owned, borrowed, or disposed of, the disposal method selected to dispose of the product, how long the product has been associated with the user account, a unique serial number for the product (which can be used to associate specific instances of a product with a specific user), etc.
In another embodiment, the user account 204 can be associated with one or more efficiency-of-use scores that reflect how efficiently the user 300 has used or is using a product 101 and/or ecological impact quantifications that reflect how much impact that use has on the environment. In an exemplary embodiment, these values can be stored in efficiency-of-use table 206 and ecological impact table 221, respectively.
In the same, or another embodiment, a cumulative efficiency-of-use score can be generated and stored in efficiency-of-use table 206. Briefly, the cumulative efficiency-of-use score can be a combination of efficiency-of-use scores for different products. Similar to the ecological impact quantification described briefly above, an efficiency-of-use score can be a numerical value, e.g., a value from 0 to 10, −100 to 100, etc. In a specific example, higher efficiency-of-use scores could reflect more inefficient use. Thus, a score of 0 in a specific embodiment where the score runs from 0 to 10 would reflect an extremely efficient use whereas a score of 10 would reflect an incredibly inefficient use of a product. In other exemplary embodiments, the efficiency-of-use score could be an abstract indicator such as “bad” or “good.”
As described in more detail in the following paragraphs, one or more efficiency-of-use scores can be calculated and used in a variety of ways. For example, in a specific exemplary embodiment, reward/penalty module 207 can be configured to reward or penalize the user based on his or her efficiency-of-use score. After a user finishes using a product or while the user is using the product, an efficiency-of-use score can be computed and routed to reward/penalty module 207. The reward/penalty module 207 can process the efficiency-of-use score and determine whether to reward or penalize the user based on the score. If the user is penalized or rewarded, information can be stored in reward/penalty module 207. For example, a reward stored in reward/penalty information table 208 could include an icon indicative of a trophy created by an organization committed to acting in an environmentally friendly way. In another embodiment, reward/penalty information table 208 could include a graphic indicative of a coupon, a gift certificate, information indicating free or reduced services given to user 300, etc. Similarly, reward/penalty information table 208 can include penalties associated with user account 204 based on product use behavior. For example, a penalty could be a fee charged to user 300, a trophy with a negative association, etc. In another specific example, efficiency-of-use scores can be used to charge users based on inefficient use of products. For example, accounting module 209 can be configured to charge user accounts fees based on their efficiency-of-use score or scores.
Continuing with the brief overview of certain elements depicted within
In a specific example, each category of data used to compute a score can be associated with a use profile, which can be stored in product profile database 210. Each profile can indicate a standard that reflects efficient use for a category of data. For example, the light bulb referred to above could be associated with a use profile that defines an efficient amount of energy that a light bulb should use over a 24 hour period. In this example, the amount of energy actually used and the amount of energy that defines efficient use can be used to compute the efficiency-of-use score.
As shown in
Further, as shown by
The product information database 212 can include one or more collections of information gathered by an agent of ecological service provider 106 and/or by an agent of product manufacturer 102. In embodiments of the present disclosure, the collected data can be used to generate ecological impact quantifications, e.g., values such as 5 impact points or abstract values such as “good,” “average,” or “bad,” for at least one stage of a product's lifecycle, e.g., its production phase, use phase, and/or disposal phase, that can be stored in product information database 212 in the appropriate section (namely, production phase quantification table 217, use phase quantification table 218, and/or disposal phase quantification table 219, the latter potentially including multiple quantifications for a product: one quantification for each disposal mode for a product.)
One type of data can be gathered and stored in rare materials table 213 is an itemized list of the materials that are used up and/or the materials that that a product 101 is made from when it is manufactured. In at least one exemplary embodiment, data that identifies the rare materials that are in product 101 (and other products) and/or the rare materials that were consumed in the process of making product 101 can be used to generate one or more ecological impact quantifications. For example, an agent from ecological service provider 106 and/or product manufacturer 102 can obtain a breakdown of the components in product 101 and derive the amount of rare-earth materials and/or rare materials that were used to create product 101.
Rare materials can include rare-earth materials and/or materials that are simply scarce. For example, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has established a collection of chemical elements from the periodic table that are considered “rare-earths.” For the most part, these elements are not rare in the sense that they are not abundant, but that they are difficult to purify from their oxides. Rare-earth elements are essential components in modern electronics and demand is growing. For example, Cerium oxide, the lowest value rare earth, jumped 930 percent from 2007 to over $35 per kilogram in 2010. The rare-earth elements are Lanthanum (which can be used to create high refractive index glass, camera lenses, battery-electrodes), Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium (which can be used to create nuclear batteries), Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium (which can be used to create computer memory), Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium (which can be used to produce vanadium steel), Thulium, Ytterbium, Lutetium, Actinium, Thorium, Protactinium, Uranium, Neptunium, Plutonium, Americium, Curium, Berkelium, Californium, Einsteinium, Fermium, Mendelevium, Nobelium, and Lawrencium.
Hazardous materials information for each product can be collected and stored in product information database 212 in, for example, hazardous materials table 214 and used to create one or more ecological impact quantification for products such as product 101. Hazardous waste can include waste that poses a substantial or potential threat to public health and/or the environment. The list of hazardous substances tracked and stored in hazardous materials table 214 may vary a bit from one country to another and can include, but is not limited to, substances that may explode when exposed to a flame or when shocked, substances that are highly flammable, etc., and/or substances that are toxic, corrosive, infectious, carcinogenic, etc.
Ground pollutant data can be stored in ground pollutant table 215 and used to create one or more ecological impact quantifications. Generally, ground pollutant data can include information such as the estimated amount of pollutants that are emitted by product manufacturer 104 (other than hazardous waste) when producing a product and/or the estimated amount of ground pollution generated by disposing of a product according to different disposal modes. In an exemplary embodiment, the ground pollutants tracked can include, but are not limited to, heavy metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, led, zinc, benzene, etc. This type of typically enters the environment via landfills.
Carbon dioxide equivalent table 216 can include information about the greenhouse gases (i.e., normalized greenhouse gases expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent or CO2e) that are associated with product 101. Greenhouse gasses are emitted in almost every stage of a product's lifecycle and in an exemplary embodiment, the amount of normalized greenhouse gasses that can be attributed to the production, use, and/or disposal of a product can be collected and used to generate one or more ecological impact quantifications. For example, an agent from ecological service provider 106 or product manufacturer 102 can measure the amount of electricity used by product manufacturer 102 and determine how much energy is used to manufacturer one product. The source of the energy can be determined from the power plant and the amount of CO2e emissions generated by the power plant in order to produce the power used to acquire raw materials and manufacture a product can be captured and stored in CO2e table 216.
The amount of CO2e generated from power plants can be estimated from information obtained from the energy grid. For example, the power company that manages the grid can provide information that identifies the source of the energy, e.g., hydro-power, natural gas, coal, etc., and the CO2e emissions with each energy source can be calculated as well as the percentage of energy generated from each source. In this example, the amount of CO2e emissions that can be tied to the production of the energy needed to create product 101 can be captured and stored in CO2e table 216.
The list of gasses can include the following and an amount of each gas can be multiplied by a scalar value, shown in parenthesis, in order to convert the gases (in metric tons) to CO2e: carbon dioxide (1), methane (21), nitrous oxide (310), perfluorocarbons (2,300), hydrofluorocarbons (12,000), and sulfur hexafluoride (23,900). This shows that one million metric tons of methane and nitrous oxide is equivalent to emissions of 21 and 310 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. In an exemplary embodiment, information provided from the Environment Protection Agency (the “EPA”) can be used to estimate the amount of CO2e associated with products. This information can be found in the report entitled “Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005” and the EPA's report entitled “Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A lifecycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks,” 3rd Edition September 2006, both of which are herein incorporated in their entirety.
In exemplary embodiments, some or all of the above mentioned data can be used to generate one or more ecological impact quantifications for one or more products. For example, an exemplary ecological impact quantification could be based at least in part on the amount of rare-materials associated with a product, the amount of hazardous waste associated the product, the amount of ground pollution associated with the product, and/or the amount of CO2e associated with the product. For example, 60 kilograms of CO2e may be emitted during the manufacturing process for a cellular phone. In an exemplary embodiment, this amount of CO2e can be quantized along with the amount of rare materials in the cellular phone, the amount of hazardous waste and ground pollution created to make the cellular phone. The quantifications can then be combined, e.g., added, multiplied, etc., in order to create an ecological impact quantification.
Each ecological impact quantification can be categorized into groups for different stages of a product's lifecycle. For example, ecological impact associated with a production phase can be stored in production phase quantification table 217. The other tables being use phase quantification table 218, and disposal phase quantification table 219. In an exemplary embodiment, a single product may be associated with an ecological impact quantification that is based on the potential harm to the environment caused by producing the product, an ecological impact quantification that is based on the potential harm caused by using the product, and ecological impact quantifications for the potential harm that could be caused by the different ways of disposing of the product. In another exemplary embodiment, a single ecological impact quantification can be generated that shows the cumulative ecological impact caused by the product, e.g., the ecological impact quantification could be the sum of all of the aforementioned ecological impact quantifications for the different phases of the product's lifecycle.
In a specific example, production ecological impact quantifications can be based on the amount of rare-materials in a product or the amount of rare-materials that were consumed to create a product. In this example, the quantification process can use the price of the rare-material and/or the amount of the rare-material in product 101 when generating an ecological impact quantification. For example, a kilogram of a less valuable rare-earth material such as cerium oxide could be mapped to a materials-score of 1 where as a kilogram of praseodymium (a more expensive rare-earth) can be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of 9. The materials ecological impact quantification can optionally be combined with other ecological impact quantifications to create a production ecological impact quantification.
In addition to rare-materials, a production ecological impact quantification can be based on the amount and type of hazardous waste that was created to produce a product. For example, a high amount of a dangerous type of hazardous waste can be mapped to a high ecological impact quantification. This ecological impact quantification can optionally be combined with other ecological impact quantifications to create production ecological impact quantification.
In yet another embodiment, a production ecological impact quantification can be based on the amount of CO2e generated to create a product 101. For example, CO2e is typically emitted during this phase in order to generate the energy to transport raw/manufactured materials to product manufacturer 102 and the energy needed to assemble the materials into the product 101. In this example, the amount of CO2e generated to build one product can be estimated and mapped to a CO2e-based ecological impact quantification. For example, low amounts of CO2e can be mapped to low CO2e-based ecological impact quantifications and high amounts of CO2e can be mapped to high CO2e-based ecological impact quantifications. A CO2e-based ecological impact quantification can then be combined with one or more other ecological impact quantifications to obtain a production phase ecological impact quantifications.
CO2e emissions associated with acquiring raw materials and manufacturing product 101 can include energy consumed to obtain raw materials, manufacturer products, manage the corporation, and dispose of waste. In general, the majority of energy used for these activities is derived from fossil fuels burned to operate mining equipment, fuel blast furnaces, etc., and to generate electricity to power machines used during the manufacturing stage.
Use phase ecological impact quantifications can reflect the potential harm caused to the environment due to the transporting, storing, and actually using a product. The majority of the ecological impact in this phase can be attributed to CO2e emissions associated with the power used by a product, and/or the CO2e emitted by product as it operates, e.g., a vehicle. Food services products may require refrigeration, which requires electricity that is associated with CO2e emissions. Most cold storage facilities operate at a wide range of temperatures. In an exemplary embodiment, an average temperature can be estimated along with an average size of a storage facility and the average amount of energy used to refrigerate a product, which may be a six pack of beer. This information along with the volume of the product can be used to estimate the CO2e emissions caused by storing the product in a refrigerated facility. The CO2e emissions can be used to generate a use phase ecological impact quantification, which can be stored in use phase quantification table 218.
Similar to the aforementioned ecological impact quantification associated with transportation and/or storage, an ecological impact quantification associated with operating the product can be calculated from mostly the CO2e emitted in order to generate the power for a product and/or the CO2e emitted by the product as it is running. This data can be gathered for product 101; stored in CO2e table 216; and used to generate a CO2e based use phase ecological impact quantification. For example, any product that consumes electricity most likely causes harm (even if it is indirect harm) to the environment due to the fact that the power it consumes likely comes from a source of energy that generates CO2e.
When a user is finished with a product (when it is at the end of its life for example) it can be disposed of. In an exemplary embodiment, disposal phase ecological impact quantifications can be based on one or more of the amount of rare materials lost due to disposing of a product, the amount of CO2e emitted when disposing of a product (either from the product or from the equipment used to dispose of the product), the amount of hazardous waste that product emits during disposal, the amount of ground pollution generated by disposing of a product, etc. In an exemplary embodiment, each disposal phase ecological impact quantification can be associated with a disposal-mode-identifier stored in disposal-mode-identifier table 220. The disposal-mode-identifier can be associated with information that describes how to dispose of the product according to a disposal mode. For example, a recycling disposal-mode-identifier could be associated with text that provides the address of a recycling facility or a map to the recycling facility. In another specific example, an incineration disposal-mode identifier can include audio describing which type of disposal receptacle, e.g., trash can, dumpster, etc., the product should be placed in to have it incinerated.
Since a product can be disposed of in different ways, each product can be associated with multiple disposal ecological impact quantifications. An exemplary, non-exhaustive list of disposal modes can include reselling (and/or donating, trading, etc), recycling, composting, incinerating, landfilling, etc. Thus, in an exemplary embodiment a product can be associated with one or more potential ecological impact quantification for each disposal mode that is available to a product. For example, a product such as an mp3 player may have available modes that include a reselling mode, a recycling mode, and a landfilling mode.
In an exemplary embodiment, a product can be associated with a resell disposal mode. In this exemplary embodiment, the ecological impact quantification associated with reselling the product can be based on an estimated amount of CO2e used to transport the product from one user to the next user. In some instances, the CO2e may be negligible.
In an exemplary embodiment, a product can be associated with an ecological impact quantification associated with a recycling disposal mode. In an exemplary embodiment, the ecological impact quantification for recycling can be based on, for example, the amount of CO2e associated with generating the power used to disassemble the product, the amount of rare materials that are lost during the recycling process, etc. Since recycling a product involves disassembling the product and using parts of it in other products, products made from a recycled product may have lower production phase ecological impact quantifications than similar products made from virgin materials.
Composting is another disposal mode and an ecological impact quantification for composting a product can be generated. Composting is the process of disposing of organic material by way of aerobic decomposition. For example, composing may result in CH4 emissions from anaerobic decomposition and N2O may be released by the soil after compost is applied to the ground, however these emissions are essentially zero. Composing has an additional benefit of capturing carbon and can be used to enrich soils. Disposal by sequestration is another technique used to reduce the amount of carbon that escapes into the environment. The EPA estimates composting/sequestering reduces the amount of CO2e emitted by 0.05 metric tons of CO2e per ton of compost. In an exemplary embodiment, the information can be used to generate a composing CO2e-based ecological impact quantification for products that can be composted. In some instances, this ecological impact quantification could reduce the harm caused to the planet.
Another disposal mode is incineration. Incineration involves the combustion of organic substances within waste materials thereby converting the waste into ash, heat, and flue gases, which may contain significant amounts of particulate matter, heavy metals, dioxins, furans, sulfur dioxide, and hydrochloric acid, and/or CO2. Municipal solid waste (“MSW”) contains approximately the same mass fraction of carbon as CO2 itself (27%), so incineration of 1 ton of MSW produces approximately 1 ton of CO2. In an exemplary embodiment, the amount of CO2e emitted by incineration, the amount of CO2e generated in order to power the incineration facility, the amount of hazardous waste generated, etc., can be gathered; and used to create a potential ecological impact quantification for disposing of a product according to an incineration mode of disposal. Similar to incineration, waste can evaporated by storing liquids in evapo-transpiration beds or mechanical evaporation units and ecological impact quantifications can be developed that reflect the harm to the environment caused by evaporating liquid products.
A disposal mode for a product could include sending the product to a landfill. During solid-waste landfill operations, waste collection vehicles transport the waste materials to a tipping face or working front where they unload their load. After loads are deposited, compactors or dozers can be used to spread and compact the waste on the working face and the compacted waste can be covered with soil daily.
Landfills cause a number of problems for the environment such as pollution by the contamination of groundwater and soil and the gasses released by decaying organic material. The CO2e emissions of a landfill are mostly due to methane emissions, transportation related carbon dioxide emissions, and carbon storage resulting from landfilling organic waste and solid waste. Metals do not contain carbon and do not generate CO2e emissions, however they could cause ground pollution. For example, salt, nitrates, led, copper, nickel, cadmium, etc., are different materials that can cause ground pollution. Plastics do not biodegrade and therefore do not emit greenhouse gases. This information can then be used to create a landfill ecological impact quantification.
Ocean floor disposal is another disposal method. This technique involves depositing waste, e.g., radioactive waste, in ocean floor sediment. Exemplary techniques for depositing waste involve encasing the waste in concrete or in a shaft drilled into the bottom of the ocean. Ecological impact quantifications can be created that take into account the ecological harm caused by depositing waste in the ocean.
In another embodiment, ecological impact quantifications may be one factor used to calculate an ecological impact score. In this specific example, the ecological impact score can be adjusted by the amount of environmentally friendly activities the user undertakes, e.g., by purchasing carbon credits or performing other activities that have a positive effect on the environment. In another exemplary embodiment, the ecological impact score can be adjusted based on how a user uses a product. For example, a user that purchases a car and drives it once a month is not efficiently using the vehicle and a better decision would have been for the user to take public transportation or join a car-sharing group such as Zipcar®. In this specific example, information that describes how intensely the product has been used could negatively/positively affect the user's ecological impact score. In another exemplary embodiment, the ecological impact score can be adjusted based on a group the user is a member of. For example, a user could be part of a “Green” group that sets requirements for how long products should be used before disposal. In this example, the user's compliance/noncompliance rate can affect his or her ecological impact score.
Each user account 204 may include one or more ecological impact quantification values maintained in ecological impact table 221, which can be based in part on an estimated impact on the environment associated with use of a product 101 by a user 300. In a specific example embodiment, an ecological impact score can be a running score of the ecological impact quantifications associated with ownership and use of a product 101 by a user 300. For example, suppose a user has an estimated impact score of zero points and purchases a product 101 (e.g. a mobile phone) with an ecological impact quantification due to manufacturing the mobile phone of 4 impact points. The user uses the product 101 for three years and accumulates 5 impact points from charging the product 101 over the years. After the three years user may throw the product 101 out in a landfill and cause 3 impact points. The total ecological impact for the product 101 could be 12 impact points. In this specific example, the ecological impact table 221 associated with use of the product 101 by the user 300 could be 12 impact points.
Further, a user account 204 can be tied into a social network where users can blog, post pictures, send message to each other, etc. A social networking module 111 can be configured to generate one or more web-pages that can be downloaded to computing devices, e.g., table personal-computers, smart phones, etc., that include logic operable to allow users to interact with each other. For example, social networking module 111 may include a web-server module 222. The web-server module 222 can be configured to generate one or more web-pages that can be downloaded to computing devices, e.g., desktop personal-computers, smart phones, etc., that include logic operable to allow users to interact with each (blog, post pictures, personal status updates, etc).
Continuing with the description of
Turning back to user account 204, a user account can have a friends list 223, which links user account 204 to other user accounts. Also shown is ecological statistics table 224, which can include information such as the number of times a user has selected an incineration mode of disposal vs. recycling or reselling mode of disposal, how user 300 compares to other users on his or her friends list, etc.
The system 107 is also shown as including lifecycle module 113. The lifecycle module 113 can be configured to generate an ecological impact score for a user account, determine whether to display disposal mode indicators, (which are described in more detail in the following paragraphs), and/or search for various information within database 108, etc.
In an exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle module 113 can be associated with tables of information, which can be used in exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure to configure lifecycle module 113. Briefly, the tables can include, but are not limited to, threshold table 225 and/or a quantification adjustment table 226. The threshold table 225 may include threshold data associated with various computations executed by the lifecycle module 113. For example, threshold table 225 may include threshold data associated with: quantities of raw materials used to manufacture product 101; CO2e values associated with various phases of the lifecycle of the product 101; and other characteristics of the product 101. The quantification adjustment table 226 can include adjustment-quantifications that can be used to adjust ecological impact scores based on certain criteria that will be described in more detail in the following paragraphs.
A group profile database 227 can be used to store information about one or more groups of users 300 such as group profile 228, of which user 300 may be a member in an exemplary embodiment. A group profile 228 can store information such as a group policy, which includes various criteria that can be used to adjust ecological impact scores, reward users, etc. For example, a group policy can include a disposal timetable for a product or a type of product. The timetable can be used to determine whether a user has owned a product for an acceptable length of time before disposing of it according to disposal mode that causes harm to the environment. In a specific example, product 101 is an mp3 player, and group profile 228 includes a list of acceptable disposal modes for the mp3 player, each of which is associated with a time-value. Also suppose that a user wants to dispose of the mp3 player by sending it to a landfill. In this example, a time-value for landfilling the mp3 player is 5 years. In this example, suppose a landfill disposal mode was selected for the mp3 player in year 3 of its existence. In this example, lifecycle module 113 can calculate the amount of time the mp3 player has existed and compare it to the time-value. In this example, lifecycle module 113 can determine that the mp3 player has been owned less than the time-value and generate an adjustment-quantification. For example, the adjustment-quantification could be 2, which indicates that the mp3 player is being disposed of 2 years early. The lifecycle module 113 can combine the adjustment-quantification with the ecological impact quantification for disposing of the mp3 player via a landfill and add the result to ecological impact score.
In another embodiment, product 101 may be owned by a user, such as user 300A and used by user 300B and/or user 300C. For example, product 101 could be owned by a head of a household (e.g. user 300A) and used by other members of the family (e.g. user 300B and/or user 300C). In another instance, product 101 could be owned by a corporation and used by employees of the company.
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In an exemplary embodiment, an ecological impact quantification can be attached to product 101 in attached ecological impact quantification 304. In this example, a device 309 or the ecological service provider 106 may be able to obtain one or more ecological impact quantification 304 from product 101. Similar to the aforementioned device-readable indicator 303, attached ecological impact quantification 304 can be stored in memory, a barcode, an RFID tag, and/or etched onto product 101.
In yet another embodiment, product 101 may have at least one attached disposal-mode identifier 305. The disposal-mode identifier 305 can include instructions, e.g., text, audio, images, for disposing of product according to a disposal mode, e.g., incineration, recycling, landfilling, etc.
Referring to
The device 309 can further include sensor module 402, association module 403, reward/penalty module 404, efficiency-of-use module 405, user account database 406 and product profile database 407 that may operate similar to association module 201, efficiency-of-use module 202, reward/penalty module 207, user account database 203, and product profile database 210 as described above with respect to system 107 and/or product 101. Consequently, in embodiments of the present disclosure, the functionality described as being associated with association module 201, efficiency-of-use module 202, reward/penalty module 207, and product profile database 210 could be integrated within device 309. Thus, in certain embodiments of the present disclosure, efficiency-of-use scores may be computed by a device external to product 101 (e.g. device 309) using one or more use profiles that could be locally stored or stored by system 107. Accordingly, while certain operations described with respect to
The device 309 can obtain device-readable indicator 303 of the product 101 by communicating with product 101 and/or extracting it from product 101 using a barcode reader 408, RFID reader module 409, network adapter 410, or camera 411. In other exemplary embodiments, product 101 may not have an attached device-readable indicator 303, instead device-readable indicator 303 can be looked up from an image of product 101, audio of a user speaking about product 101, or from user input received by user interface 401. The device 309 can obtain device location information using device location determination module 412 (e.g. a GPS module).
A user 300 can optionally use device 309 to obtain ecological information about product 101 such as ecological impact quantifications. For example, product 101 can include memory, e.g., a barcode, random access memory, read-only memory, etc., which can be used to store information that can be used by device 309 to obtain information based off ecological impact quantifications and/or the ecological impact quantifications themselves, among other things.
As shown by the figure, product 101 can optionally include device-readable indicator 303, which can be information that can be extracted by device 309 in order to identify product 101. The device-readable indicator 303 could be an alphanumeric value, which can be stored in memory, e.g., RAM or ROM, in a barcode, in an RFID tag, or etched into product 101. In an exemplary embodiment, device-readable indicator 303 can be stored with a unique serial number that also identifies the specific instance of product 101. The device 309 can obtain device-readable indicator 303 by communicating with product 101 and/or extracting it from product 101 using a barcode reader 408, RFID reader module 409, network adapter 410, or camera 411. In other exemplary embodiments, product 101 may not have an attached device-readable indicator, instead device-readable indicator 303 can be looked up from an image of product 101, audio of a user speaking about product 101, or from user input.
In an exemplary embodiment, an ecological impact quantification can be attached to product 101 in attached ecological impact quantification 304. In this example, device 309 may be able to obtain one or more ecological impact quantifications from product 101 instead of from database 108 or client database 413. Similar to the aforementioned device-readable indicator 303, attached ecological impact quantification 304 can be stored in memory, a barcode, an RFID tag, and/or etched onto product 101. In an exemplary embodiment where product 101 does not include attached ecological impact quantifications, lifecycle module 113 or client lifecycle module 414 can be used to obtain device-readable indicator 303, which can be used to search database 108 or client database 413 for ecological impact quantifications, among other things.
In yet another embodiment, product 101 may have one or more attached disposal-mode identifier 305. Disposal mode identifiers can include instructions, e.g., text, audio, images, for disposing of product according to a disposal mode, e.g., incineration, recycling, landfilling, etc. Similar to the aforementioned device-readable indicators, a disposal mode identifier may not be attached to product 101. Instead, this information could be stored within database 108 and/or client database 413.
In an exemplary embodiment, user 300 can use device 309 to obtain ecological impact quantifications for product 101 so he or she can learn about the ecological impact associated with product 101. For example, suppose user 300 is interested in purchasing product 101, which could be a car, and may want to know the ecological impact the car had on the environment by being produced. In this specific example, user 300 may obtain the ecological impact the car had on the environment by using camera 411, e.g., a video camera and/or a still image camera, to take at least one picture of product 101. The one or more pictures can be processed by client lifecycle module 414 and/or lifecycle module 113 and device-readable indicator 303 can be obtained by client lifecycle module 414 and/or lifecycle module 113. For example, the image can be compared to other images stored in image table 211 and a match can be made.
Alternatively, an RFID (radio frequency identifier) tag can be attached to the car and device-readable indicator 303 can be stored therein. In this exemplary embodiment, device 309 can include RFID reader module 409, which can be configured to obtain device-readable indicator 303 from the car. The device-readable indicator 303 could then be used by client lifecycle module 414 and/or lifecycle module 113 to search a database such as database 108 and/or client database 413.
In another specific example embodiment, suppose a network adapter 410 is attached to the car. In this exemplary embodiment, device-readable indicator 303 can be stored in memory, e.g., RAM, ROM, etc. In this specific example, a point-to-point connection, e.g., via Bluetooth®, or a network connection, e.g., Wi-Fi, GSM, Wi-Max, etc., can be established between device 309 and product 101. The car can send information indicative of device-readable indicator 303 to device 309 within one or more packets of information via network adapter 410. The network adapter 410 of device 309, e.g., a Wi-Fi radio, can receive the packets and extract device-readable indicator 303. The device-readable indicator 303 could then be used by client lifecycle module 414 and/or lifecycle module 113 to search a database such as database 108 and/or client database 413.
Regardless of how device-readable indicator 303 is obtained, device 309 can use device-readable indicator 303 to obtain one or more ecological impact quantifications for the car in the instance that the car does not have attached ecological impact quantification 304. For example, suppose device 309 includes client lifecycle module 414, which can interact with lifecycle module 113 and does not include a client database in this specific example. Here, client lifecycle module 414 could request at least one ecological impact quantification associated with the production of the car from database 108 by sending device-readable indicator 303 to lifecycle module 113, which can use device-readable indicator 303 to search production phase quantification table 217 for an ecological impact quantification associated with producing the car. For example, lifecycle module 113 can receive a message which includes information such as a user account identifier for user account 204, device-readable indicator 303, and a value indicative of a request for a production ecological impact quantification for the product associated with device-readable indicator 303, i.e., the car. The lifecycle module 113 can receive the message and use device-readable indicator 303 to find a production ecological impact quantification for the car. The lifecycle module 113 can then send the ecological impact quantification to client lifecycle module 414 via network 100. In this example, client lifecycle module 414 can cause user interface 301 to render a bitmap in memory indicative of the potential ecological impact quantification. The user interface 301 can then render the bitmap to a display.
Turning back to
The product 101 can then be disposed of by user 300 by placing product 101 within a disposal receptacle 310. In an exemplary embodiment, disposal receptacle 310 can detect product 101 (by extracting a device-readable indicator 303 from product 101 and/or or passively inferring the presence of product 101 within disposal receptacle 310, e.g., by taking a picture of product 101) via at least one of a camera 311, a barcode reader 312 and an RFID reader 313. The disposal receptacle 310 can use network adaptor 314 to send device-readable indicator 303 to client lifecycle module 414 or lifecycle module 113. The client database 413 and/or database 108 can be searched and a disposal-mode identifier 305 and/or a ecological impact quantification 304 can be found. The user interface 301 can then display a disposal-mode identifier 305 and/or a ecological impact quantification 304.
In another example, product 101 can be placed in disposal receptacle 310 and taken to product disposal facility 105. In this example, an agent of the product disposal facility 105 could extract device-readable indicator 303 and optionally the serial number of product 101 and send a message to lifecycle module 113 that includes the serial number, device-readable indicator 303, and the identity of product disposal facility 105. The lifecycle module 113 can use device-readable indicator 303 to find one or more disposal modes for product in disposal-mode-identifier table 220 and send the information back to product disposal facility 105. The agent can then select one of the disposal modes. The lifecycle module 113 can then use the serial number to identify a user account 204 that is associated with product 101 and update product list 205 to reflect that product 101 was disposed of according to the disposal mode selected by disposal facility.
Turning now to
It may be the case that, while a manufacturer of the product 101 may be aware of manufacturing specification data directly associated with the manufacturing process for product 101 (e.g. amount of materials used to construct the product, travel distances from vendor locations to the product manufacturer 102, manufacturing process parameters (e.g. process temperatures, pressures, residence times), etc.), the manufacturer may be unaware of the actual ecological impact of that manufacturing specification data. To that end, as shown in
The product specification module 501 may further provide a product specification interface 502. The product specification interface 502 may present one or more data entry fields to a user allowing for the entry of product specification data associated with the manufacturing of a product 101. For example, the product specification interface 502 may be configured to receive product specification data such as product construction material data 503 (e.g. rare-earth material data 504, hazardous material data 505, ground pollutant data 506, etc.) and/or product manufacturing process data 507 (e.g. product construction material transportation data 508, product manufacturing energy use data 509, product manufacturing waste data 510).
The product specification module 501 may further include a database 511, lifecycle module 512 and network adapter 513 configured to provide functionality as described above with respect to database 108, lifecycle module 113 and network module 115 of system 107 of the ecological service provider 106. Such components may provide the functionality of remote system 107 at a location local to product manufacturer 102.
Following receipt of the product specification data by the product specification module 501, an ecological impact quantification may be computed from the product specification data. For example, the product specification module 501 may provide the product specification data associated with the manufacturing of a product 101 to at least one of the lifecycle module 512 associated with the product specification module 501 (i.e. local to the product manufacturer 102) and the lifecycle module 113 associated with the system 107 of the ecological service provider 106. The lifecycle module 512 associated with the product specification module 501 and/or the lifecycle module 113 of the ecological service provider 106 may access database 108 or database 511 respectively to obtain ecological impact quantification data associated product specification data associated with the manufacturing of a product 101.
For example, the product specification data may include data indicative of the mileage between a raw material supplier and the product manufacturer 102. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may obtain a CO2e value associated with transporting a designated raw material the specified mileage from CO2e table 216 of database 108/database 511 and correlate that CO2e value to ecological impact quantification data maintained in production phase quantification table 217 to compute an ecological impact quantification associated with the mileage between a raw material supplier and the product manufacturer 102.
Turning now to
In addition, the social media content of the social media interface 600 may include notifications associated with user accounts 204 associated with users 300 designated as “friends” of the user 300A. For example, an efficiency-of-use score notification 601B for use of a product (e.g. “ProductXYZ”) or an ecological impact quantification notification 602B by a “friend” of user 300A (e.g. user 300B, user 300B). Further, the social media content may include an eco-status update 603C whereby a user 300B may post a self-authored notification regarding an eco-friendly activity.
Further, in the following figures that depict various flow processes, various operations may be depicted in a box-within-a-box manner. Such depictions may indicate that an operation in an internal box may comprise an optional example embodiment of the operational step illustrated in one or more external boxes. However, it should be understood that internal box operations may be viewed as independent operations separate from any associated external boxes and may be performed in any sequence with respect to all other illustrated operations, or may be performed concurrently.
Operation 610 shows computing at least one of an efficiency-of-use score and an environmental impact quantification according to data associated with a use of a physical product by a user over a period of time the user is indicated as having control of the physical product. Turning again back to
In a specific example, suppose user 300A rents product 101, which could be an automobile. In this example, an efficiency-of-use score could be computed each time user 300A drives car, at the end of each day, week, month, etc.
Alternately, as shown in
For example, the product specification data may include raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may query the hazardous materials table 214 of database 108/client database 413 to determine if any of the raw materials are classified as hazardous materials. Upon a determination that one or more raw materials constitute the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compare the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials to a threshold amount of hazardous materials maintained in threshold table 225. Should the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials be below the threshold amount of hazardous materials, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials be above the threshold amount of hazardous materials, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to the comparison between the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials and the threshold amount of hazardous materials. For example, an amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials below the threshold amount of hazardous materials may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, an amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials substantially equal to the threshold amount of hazardous materials may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and an amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials above the threshold amount of hazardous materials may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
In an alternate example, the product specification data may include data associated with the transportation of quantity raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may query the CO2e table 216 of database 108/client database 413 to determine the CO2e value associated with transporting an amount of raw material a given distance. Upon a determination of the CO2e value associated with transporting an amount of raw material a given distance, lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compare the CO2e value to a threshold CO2e value maintained in threshold table 225. Should the CO2e value associated with transporting an amount of raw material the given distance be below the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance be above the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to the comparison between the CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance and the threshold CO2e value. For example, a CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance below the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, a CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance equal to the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and a CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance above the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
Still further, the product specification module 501 may receive product specification data (e.g. user inputs from designers, process engineers, business executives) defining one or more manufacturing characteristics associated with a product 101 (e.g. construction materials). The product specification module 501 may provide the product specification data to an lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may receive product specification data associated with manufacturing the product 101 and correlate that product specification data to product information repository data maintained in product information database 212 of database 108/client database 413. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute an ecological impact quantification associated with disposal of at least a portion of the product according to a product disposal mode from the product information repository data maintained in database 108/client database 413.
The product specification data may include raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may query the disposal phase quantification table 219 of database 108/client database 413 to determine the various disposal mode options for disposing of the product based on the raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101 and assign an ecological impact quantification to one or more disposal modes according to the raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101.
For example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of recyclable materials, the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a recycling disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a low percentage of recyclable materials, the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a recycling disposal mode.
As a further example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of hazardous materials, the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a landfill disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of hazardous materials, the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to an incineration disposal mode.
Following computation of ecological impact quantifications associated with various product specification data types, those individual ecological impact quantifications may be aggregated (e.g. summed, averaged, weighted average) to provide an overall ecological impact quantification for the manufacture of the product 101. Upon association of a product 101 with a user 300 (as described above with respect to operation 610), the ecological impact quantification for the product 101 (e.g. manufacturing and/or disposal ecological impact quantifications) may be stored to a user account 204 associated with the user 300.
Referring again to
It may be the case that the efficiency-of-use score and/or the ecological impact quantification associated with use of a product 101 by a user 300 may be compared to a prior or contemporaneous efficiency-of-use scores and/or ecological impact quantifications to determine whether the use by user 300 was more or less efficient, or more or less environmentally friendly than uses by other users 300 or as compared to a standard set by the ecological service provider 106. In order to affect efficient use of the product 101, it may be desirable to notify users 300 of the relative efficiency of their use of the product 101 relative to the efficiency of the use of product 101 by other users 300 or relative to the standard set by the ecological service provider 106 so that the user 300 may track/modify their behavior. As such, social media content (e.g. an eco-status update, blog post, etc.) associated with the efficiency-of-use score and/or the environmental impact quantification may be published to the social media interface 600 (e.g. Facebook®, Twitter®, Google+®, etc.) so that the users 300 may be made aware of the relative efficiency of their use of the product 101. The social media content such as the efficiency-of-use score and/or the environmental impact quantification may be associated (e.g. listed in a profile section, posted as a blog posting, status update, or other message) with a user account 204 associated a user 300 and maintained by social networking module 111. The social media interface 600 may then be displayed on devices 309 associated with users 300 in order to present the efficiency-of-use score and/or the environmental impact quantification to users 300.
For example, a social media content associated with a computed efficiency-of-use score and/or an ecological impact quantification associated with one or more uses of the product 101 by a may be automatically posted by the ecological service provider 106 to a social media database account of a user 300 (e.g. a Twitter® “tweet” or a Facebook® “status update”) so that individuals having access to the social media database account of user 300 may view the notification. Alternately, the social media content may be published upon a receipt of a user request to publish a user-generated status update.
Referring to
Operation 802 shows computing an efficiency-of-use score according to data associated with the use of the physical product by the user during a period of time the user has control of the physical product. Turning again back to
In a specific example, suppose user 300A rents product 101, which could be an automobile. In this example, an efficiency-of-use score could be computed each time user 300A drives car, at the end of each day, week, month, etc.
Referring to
Operation 902 shows computing an efficiency-of-use score from at least information that defines an efficiency-of-use pattern for the physical product. Referring to
Suppose that product 101 is a washing machine located in a self-service laundry facility called a laundromat. In this example, a use-profile for the washing machine in the product profile database 210 could include an efficiency metric that indicates the efficient amount of clothing that should be washed in a single cycle in terms of weight. In this example, suppose the information that describes how the washing machine was used includes the weight of the clothing washed by user 300 in a wash cycle. In this example, efficiency-of-use module 202 could compare the weight of the clothing washed by user to a use-profile for the washing machine and calculate the percentage. The percentage could then be normalized and mapped to a numerical score or an abstract score. For example, the use-profile may indicate that the most efficient weight per wash cycle is 10 pounds and the weight of the clothing washed by user 300 was 8 pounds. The efficiency-of-use module 202 can calculate the percentage and determine that the wash was 20% inefficient (8/10=0.2). The efficiency-of-use module 202 can then map the calculated efficiency percentage to a score, e.g., a score of 1 in the instance that the scale is 0-5, i.e., 0.2100/20=1 where 20 is a normalizing value.
In another specific example, suppose that the use-profile for the washing machine includes multiple efficiency metrics, e.g., weight and water used. In this example, the use-profile could indicate the efficient amount of weight and water used to wash clothing. In this example, suppose the information that describes how the washing machine was used indicates that 8 pounds of clothing were washed in 21 gallons of water. In this example, the use-profile may indicate that the most efficient weight per wash cycle is 10 pounds and the most efficient amount of water to use per wash is 15 gallons of water. The efficiency-of-use module 202 can calculate the difference and determine that the weight was 20% inefficient and amount of water used was 40% inefficient. The efficiency-of-use module 202 can then apply weights to the two scores, and calculate a score that takes both variables into consideration. For example, if both the weight category and the water category had the same weights (which are 1 in this example), then a score could be calculated to be 1.5, i.e., (((0.2*100)+(0.4100))/(1+1))/20=1.5, where 20 is a normalizing value.
Operation 904 shows computing the efficiency-of-use score using information set by a service provider. For example, efficiency-of-use standards may be set by ecological service provider 106 for use in computation of an efficiency-of-use score. For example, ecological service provider 106, which could be an entity that controls system 107 such as a rental car company, a rent-to-own company, a neighborhood association, a product owner, etc., can set information, e.g., weights, variables, use-profiles for one or more categories, etc. to affect how efficiency-of-use module 202 computes efficiency-of-use scores. Thus, what it means to “use” product 101 efficiently could be defined by a ecological service provider 106. For example, the information could be used to change the weights used for different sub-scores when efficiency-of-use module 202 computes them. In another example, the information could be a use-profiles for categories of data. For example, product 101 could be a rental product 101 such as a car, a piece of heavy machinery, a TV, etc. In this example, ecological service provider 106 could create an efficiency-of-use profile that takes the interests of the owner into account. The ecological service provider 106 could emphasize certain categories of data over others based on the organization's interest in product 101. For example, in the instance that product 101 is a rental car, ecological service provider 106, e.g., the rental car company, could deemphasized a use profile associated with average miles per gallon of gasoline by using a use profile that defines efficient use more leniently.
Operation 906 shows computing the efficiency-of-use score using information set by a group of users. For example, information set by a group of users 300 who are each associable with a product 101 can be used to compute the efficiency-of-use score. For example, a group of users 300 such as a “Green group” can organize itself and create its own use profiles for a product 101. In this example, the users may hold themselves to different standard than a company or the government by setting information, e.g., weights, variables, use-profiles for one or more categories, etc. to affect how efficiency-of-use module 202 computes efficiency-of-use scores to compute scores based on how the use of products directly affect the environment. Here, the users may create a group and add information to product profile database 210 and/or a table of variables and weights that efficiency-of-use module 202 uses when computing scores. When efficiency-of-use module 202 computes scores for the members of the group, it can use the identifier for the user account 204 to locate the information instead of, or in addition to, the standard information, e.g., variables, weights, and/or use profiles. In this regard, a user 300 may receive a plurality of efficiency-of-use scores for his or her use of product 101: a standard score, a score calculated using the user group-defined use profiles, a score calculated from use profiles set by a service provider, etc.
Referring to
Operation 1002 shows computing an environmental impact quantification according to the data associated with the use of the physical product by the user during a period of time the user has control of the physical product. As shown in
For example, the product specification data may include raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may query the hazardous materials table 214 of database 108/client database 413 to determine if any of the raw materials are classified as hazardous materials. Upon a determination that one or more raw materials constitute the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compare the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials to a threshold amount of hazardous materials maintained in threshold table 225. Should the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials be below the threshold amount of hazardous materials, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials be above the threshold amount of hazardous materials, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to the comparison between the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials and the threshold amount of hazardous materials. For example, an amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials below the threshold amount of hazardous materials may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, an amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials substantially equal to the threshold amount of hazardous materials may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and an amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials above the threshold amount of hazardous materials may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
In an alternate example, the product specification data may include data associated with the transportation of quantity raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may query the CO2e table 216 of database 108/client database 413 to determine the CO2e value associated with transporting an amount of raw material a given distance. Upon a determination of the CO2e value associated with transporting an amount of raw material a given distance, lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compare the CO2e value to a threshold CO2e value maintained in threshold table 225. Should the CO2e value associated with transporting an amount of raw material the given distance be below the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance be above the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to the comparison between the CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance and the threshold CO2e value. For example, a CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance below the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, a CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance equal to the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and a CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance above the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
Still further, the product specification module 501 may receive product specification data (e.g. user inputs from designers, process engineers, business executives) defining one or more manufacturing characteristics associated with a product 101 (e.g. construction materials). The product specification module 501 may provide the product specification data to an lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may receive product specification data associated with manufacturing the product 101 and correlate that product specification data to product information repository data maintained in product information database 212 of database 108/client database 413. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute an ecological impact quantification associated with disposal of at least a portion of the product according to a product disposal mode from the product information repository data maintained in database 108/client database 413.
The product specification data may include raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may query the disposal phase quantification table 219 of database 108/client database 413 to determine the various disposal mode options for disposing of the product based on the raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101 and assign an ecological impact quantification to one or more disposal modes according to the raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101.
For example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of recyclable materials, the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a recycling disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a low percentage of recyclable materials, the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a recycling disposal mode.
As a further example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of hazardous materials, the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a landfill disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of hazardous materials, the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to an incineration disposal mode.
Following computation of ecological impact quantifications associated with various product specification data types, those individual ecological impact quantifications may be aggregated (e.g. summed, averaged, weighted average) to provide an overall ecological impact quantification for the manufacture of the product 101. Upon association of a product 101 with a user 300 (as described above with respect to operation 610), the ecological impact quantification for the product 101 (e.g. manufacturing and/or disposal ecological impact quantifications) may be stored to a user account 204 associated with the user 300.
Referring to
Operation 1102 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with manufacturing at least a portion of a product. As shown in
For example, the product specification data may include raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may query the hazardous materials table 214 of database 108/database 511 to determine if any of the raw materials are classified as hazardous materials. Upon a determination that one or more raw materials constitute the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compare the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials to a threshold amount of hazardous materials maintained in threshold table 225. Should the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials be below the threshold amount of hazardous materials, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials be above the threshold amount of hazardous materials, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to the comparison between the amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials and the threshold amount of hazardous materials. For example, an amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials below the threshold amount of hazardous materials may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, an amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials substantially equal to the threshold amount of hazardous materials may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and an amount of raw material classified as hazardous materials above the threshold amount of hazardous materials may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
In an alternate example, the product specification data may include data associated with the transportation of quantity raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may query the CO2e table 216 of database 108/database 511 to determine the CO2e value associated with transporting an amount of raw material a given distance. Upon a determination of the CO2e value associated with transporting an amount of raw material a given distance, lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compare the CO2e value to a threshold CO2e value maintained in threshold table 225. Should the CO2e value associated with transporting an amount of raw material the given distance be below the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance be above the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to the comparison between the CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance and the threshold CO2e value. For example, a CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance below the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, a CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance equal to the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and a CO2e value associated with transporting the amount of raw material the given distance above the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
Operation 1104 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with manufacturing at least a portion of a product according to product construction material identification data. For example, the product specification data received via the product specification module 501 may include raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may query the product information database 212 of database 108/database 511 to determine various ecological impact characteristics of the raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compare the amount of a given raw material to a threshold amount (e.g. as governmentally recommended amount) of the given raw materials maintained in threshold table 225. Should the amount of raw material be below the threshold allowable amount of the given raw material, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the amount of the given raw material be above the threshold amount, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to the comparison between the amount of raw material and the threshold amount of raw materials. For example, an amount of the given raw material below the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, an amount of the given raw material substantially equal to the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and an amount of the given raw material above the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
Operation 1106 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with manufacturing at least a portion of a product according to an amount of rare-earth materials in the product. For example, the product specification data received via the product specification module 501 may include raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may query the rare materials table 213 of database 108/database 511 to determine whether any of the raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101 are classified as rare-earth materials. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compare the amount of raw material classified as rare-earth materials to a threshold amount of rare-earth materials maintained in threshold table 225. Should the amount of rare-earth material in product 101 be below a threshold allowable amount of the rare-earth material, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the amount of the rare-earth material in product 101 be above the threshold amount, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to the comparison between the amount of rare-earth material and the threshold amount of rare-earth materials. For example, an amount rare-earth material below the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, an amount rare-earth material substantially equal to the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and an amount of rare-earth material above the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
Operation 1108 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with manufacturing at least a portion of a product according to an amount of hazardous materials in the product. For example, the product specification data received via the product specification module 501 may include raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may query the hazardous materials table 214 of database 108/database 511 to determine whether any of the raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101 are classified as hazardous materials. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compare the amount of a raw material classified as hazardous materials to a threshold amount of hazardous materials maintained in threshold table 225. Should the amount of hazardous material in product 101 be below a threshold allowable amount of the hazardous material, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the amount of the hazardous material in product 101 be above the threshold amount, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to the comparison between the amount of hazardous material and the threshold amount of hazardous materials. For example, an amount hazardous material below the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, an amount hazardous material substantially equal to the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and an amount of hazardous material above the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
Operation 1110 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with manufacturing at least a portion of a product according to an amount of ground pollutants in the product. For example, the product specification data received via the product specification module 501 may include raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may query the ground pollutant table 215 of database 108/database 511 to determine whether any of the raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101 are classified as ground pollutant materials. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compare the amount of a raw material classified as ground pollutant materials to a threshold amount of ground pollutant materials maintained in threshold table 225. Should the amount of ground pollutant material in product 101 be below a threshold allowable amount of the ground pollutant material, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the amount of the ground pollutant material in product 101 be above the threshold amount, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to the comparison between the amount of ground pollutant material and the threshold amount of ground pollutant materials. For example, an amount ground pollutant material below the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, an amount ground pollutant material substantially equal to the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and an amount of ground pollutant material above the threshold amount may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
Referring to
Operation 1202 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with manufacturing at least a portion of a product according to a carbon dioxide equivalent value associated with the manufacturing of at least a portion of the product. For example, the product specification data received via the product specification module 501 may include manufacturing process steps for manufacturing the product 101 and/or parameters associated with those manufacturing process steps. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may query the CO2e table 216 of database 108/database 511 to determine a CO2e value associated with a manufacturing process step for the product 101. Upon a determination of the CO2e value associated with the manufacturing process step, lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compare the CO2e value to a threshold CO2e value maintained in threshold table 225. Should the CO2e value associated with the manufacturing process step be below the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the CO2e value associated with the manufacturing process step be above the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to a comparison between the CO2e value associated with the manufacturing process step and the threshold CO2e value. For example, a CO2e value associated with the manufacturing process step below the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, a CO2e value associated with the manufacturing process step to the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and a CO2e value associated with the manufacturing process step above the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
Operation 1204 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with manufacturing at least a portion of a product according to product construction material transportation data. For example, the product specification data received via the product specification module 501 may include product construction material transportation data (e.g. material transportation mileage, material transportation method (e.g. rail, truck, ship, aircraft, etc.) associated with manufacturing the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may query the CO2e table 216 of database 108/database 511 to determine the CO2e value associated with the product construction material transportation data. Upon a determination of the CO2e value associated with the product construction material transportation data, lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compare the CO2e value to a threshold CO2e value maintained in threshold table 225. Should the CO2e value associated with the product construction material transportation data be below the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the CO2e value associated with the product construction material transportation data be above the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to a comparison between the CO2e value associated with the product construction material transportation data and the threshold CO2e value. For example, a CO2e value associated with the product construction material transportation data below the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, a CO2e value associated with the product construction material transportation data to the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and a CO2e value associated with the product construction material transportation data above the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
Operation 1206 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with manufacturing at least a portion of a product according to product manufacturing energy use data. For example, the product specification data received via the product specification module 501 may include product manufacturing energy use data (e.g. process step parameters (e.g. process step durations, temperatures, pressures) energy consumption rates for a process step, energy sources supplying the energy, etc.) associated with manufacturing the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may query the CO2e table 216 of database 108/database 511 to determine the CO2e value associated with the product manufacturing energy use data. Upon a determination of the CO2e value associated with the product manufacturing energy use data, lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compare the CO2e value to a threshold CO2e value maintained in threshold table 225. Should the CO2e value associated with the product manufacturing energy use data be below the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of a reduced ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. Should the CO2e value associated with the product manufacturing energy use data be above the threshold CO2e value, it may be indicative of an increased ecological impact associated with the manufacturing of the product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute an ecological impact quantification according to a comparison between the CO2e value associated with the product manufacturing energy use data and the threshold CO2e value. For example, a CO2e value associated with the product manufacturing energy use data below the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “1”, a CO2e value associated with the product manufacturing energy use data to the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “2” and a CO2e value associated with the product manufacturing energy use data above the threshold CO2e value may be mapped to an ecological impact quantification of “3.”
Operation 1302 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with disposal of at least a portion of the product according to a product disposal mode. For example, the product specification module 501 may receive product specification data (e.g. user inputs from designers, process engineers, business executives) defining one or more manufacturing characteristics associated with a product 101 (e.g. construction materials). The product specification module 501 may provide the product specification data to an lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may receive product specification data associated with manufacturing the product 101 and correlate that product specification data to product information repository data maintained in product information database 212 of database 108/database 511. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute an ecological impact quantification associated with disposal of at least a portion of the product according to a product disposal mode from the product information repository data maintained in database 108/database 511.
The product specification data may include raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101. The lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may query the disposal phase quantification table 219 of database 108/database 511 to determine the various disposal mode options for disposing of the product based on the raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101 and assign an ecological impact quantification to one or more disposal modes according to the raw materials used in the manufacture of product 101.
For example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of recyclable materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a recycling disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a low percentage of recyclable materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a recycling disposal mode.
As a further example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of hazardous materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a landfill disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of hazardous materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to an incineration disposal mode.
Following computation of ecological impact quantifications associated with various product specification data types, those individual ecological impact quantifications may be aggregated (e.g. summed, averaged, weighted average) to provide an overall ecological impact quantification for the manufacture of the product 101. Upon association of a product 101 with a user 300 (as described above with respect to operation 610), the ecological impact quantification for the product 101 (e.g. manufacturing and/or disposal ecological impact quantifications) may be stored to a user account 204 associated with the user 300.
Operation 1304 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with disposal of at least a portion of the product according to a resale disposal mode. For example as shown in
For example, the product 101 (e.g. a battery) may have energy usage properties (e.g. storage capacity) that degrade over its lifespan. In this case, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a time-dependent ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a resale disposal mode. Specifically, if the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 determines that the product is relatively close to the beginning of its product lifespan (e.g. by comparing a product manufacturing date to a current date), the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a resale disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 is nearing the end of its product lifespan, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification (e.g. the ecological impact costs of carrying out the resale transaction (e.g. shipping the product) outweigh the useful portion of the product lifespan) for a disposal of the product 101 according to a resale disposal mode.
Operation 1306 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with disposal of at least a portion of the product according to a recycling disposal mode. For example as shown in
For example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of recyclable materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a recycling disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a low percentage of recyclable materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a recycling disposal mode.
Operation 1308 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with disposal of at least a portion of the product according to a composting disposal mode. For example as shown in
For example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of materials that, upon degradation, provide one or more reusable byproduct materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a composting disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a low percentage of materials that, upon degradation, provide one or more reusable byproduct materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a composting disposal mode.
Operation 1402 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with disposal of at least a portion of the product according to an incineration disposal mode. For example as shown in
For example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of materials that, upon exposure to excessive heat, generate one or more hazardous byproducts or are highly explosive, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to an incineration disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a low percentage of materials that, upon degradation, upon exposure to excessive heat, generate one or more hazardous byproducts or are highly explosive, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a composting disposal mode.
Operation 1404 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with disposal of at least a portion of the product according to a landfilling disposal mode. For example as shown in
For example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of biodegradable materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to an incineration disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a low percentage of biodegradable materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a composting disposal mode.
Operation 1406 shows computing an ecological impact quantification associated with disposal of at least a portion of the product according to an ocean floor disposal mode. For example as shown in
For example, if a product 101 contains a high percentage of water-soluble materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively low ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to an incineration disposal mode. Alternatively, if a product 101 contains a low percentage of water-soluble materials, the lifecycle module 113/lifecycle module 512 may compute a relatively high ecological impact quantification for a disposal of the product 101 according to a composting disposal mode.
Referring to
Operation 1502 shows publishing the at least one of the efficiency-of-use score and the ecological impact quantification associated with the use of the product by the user to a social media interface associated with the user. For example, as shown in
Operation 1504 shows generating a webpage that includes information based at least in part on at least one of the efficiency-of-use-score and the environmental impact quantification. For example, system 107 can include web-server module 222, which can be configured to generate a web-page displaying social media interface 600 that can include information that is based at least in part on an efficiency-of-use score or an ecological impact quantification associated with a use of product 101 by a user 300. For example, the web-page could include a listing of efficiency-of-use scores and/or ecological impact quantifications for uses of the product 101 by one or more users 300, a graph that includes the efficiency-of-use scores and/or ecological impact quantifications for uses of the product 101 by one or more users 300, a graph that uses the efficiency-of-use score and/or ecological impact quantification for uses of the product 101 by one or more users 300 as a data point, a cumulative efficiency-of-use score and/or ecological impact quantification, reward/penalties associated with user account 204, etc.
Operation 1506 shows providing an e-mail notification to one or more e-mail accounts associated with one or more users of the product. For example, following the computation of an efficiency-of-use score and/or an ecological impact quantification associated with a use of the product 101 by a user 300, the system 107 may transmit an e-mail message via network 100 to an e-mail server (not shown) maintaining an e-mail account associated (e.g. registered to) at least one user 300 of product 101 according to any number of e-mail protocols (e.g. IMAP, POP3, SMTP and HTTP protocols). For example, following a use of the product 101 by user 300, an e-mail message that includes an efficiency-of-use score and/or an ecological impact quantification associated with a use of the product 101 by a user 300 may be sent to the e-mail accounts of any user 300 of the product 101. When viewed on a device 309, the e-mail message may present social media interface 600 that can include information that is based at least in part on an efficiency-of-use score or an ecological impact quantification associated with a use of product 101 by a user 300. For example, the e-mail message could include a listing of efficiency-of-use scores and/or ecological impact quantifications for uses of the product 101 by one or more users 300, a graph that includes the efficiency-of-use scores and/or ecological impact quantifications for uses of the product 101 by one or more users 300, a graph that uses the efficiency-of-use score and/or ecological impact quantification for uses of the product 101 by one or more users 300 as a data point, a cumulative efficiency-of-use score and/or ecological impact quantification, reward/penalties associated with user account 204, etc.
Operation 1508 shows providing a text messaging notification to one or more devices associated with one or more users of the product. For example, following the computation of an efficiency-of-use score and/or an ecological impact quantification associated with a use of the product 101 by a user 300, the system 107 may transmit a text message via network 100 to a device 309 associated with (e.g. owned by) at least one user 300 according to any number of text messaging protocols (e.g. SMS text message protocols). For example, following a use of the product 101 by user 300, a text message that includes an efficiency-of-use score and/or an ecological impact quantification associated with a use of the product 101 by a user 300 may be sent to device 309 associated with any user 300 of the product 101. When viewed on a device 309, the text message may present social media interface 600 that can include information that is based at least in part on an efficiency-of-use score or an ecological impact quantification associated with a use of product 101 by a user 300. For example, the text message could include a listing of efficiency-of-use scores and/or ecological impact quantifications for uses of the product 101 by one or more users 300, a graph that includes the efficiency-of-use scores and/or ecological impact quantifications for uses of the product 101 by one or more users 300, a graph that uses the efficiency-of-use score and/or ecological impact quantification for uses of the product 101 by one or more users 300 as a data point, a cumulative efficiency-of-use score and/or ecological impact quantification, reward/penalties associated with user account 204, etc.
Operation 1602 shows publishing at least one of an efficiency-of-use score and an ecological impact quantification associated with a use of a product by a second user to the social media interface associated with the user. For example, as shown in
Referring to
Operation 1702 shows receiving a request to associate a user account associated with a second user with the social media interface associated with the user. For example, a user 300 may desire to have social media content associated with user accounts 204 associated with one or more second users 300 displayed in his or her social media interface 600 in order to view the ecological activity status updates of those second users 300. It may be the case that the ecological service provider 106 maintaining the social networking module 111 hosting the social media interface 600 may restrict access to user accounts 204 by non-owners of those user accounts 204. As such, a user 300 may submit a request (e.g. a “friend request”) to the ecological service provider 106 to obtain access to the ecological status data (e.g. efficiency-of-use and/or ecological impact quantification data) other users 300. For example, the user interface 401 of a device 309 associated may provide a request interface (e.g. a web-portal providing access to the web-server module 222 of the social networking module 111) whereby a user 300 may access a request application in order to make a request for access to the user accounts 204 of other users 300.
Operation 1704 shows receiving a request from the user to associate a user account associated with a second user with the social media interface associated with the user. For example, a primary user 300A may desire to have social media content associated with user accounts 204 associated with one or more second users 300 (e.g. user 300B and/or user 300C) displayed in his or her social media interface 600 in order to view the ecological activity status updates of those second users 300. It may be the case that the ecological service provider 106 maintaining the social networking module 111 hosting the social media interface 600 may restrict access to user accounts 204 by non-owners of those user accounts 204. As such, the user 300A may submit a request (e.g. a “friend request”) to the ecological service provider 106 to obtain access to the ecological status data (e.g. efficiency-of-use and/or ecological impact quantification data) for those second users 300. For example, the user interface 401 of device 309A associated with user 300A may provide an request interface (e.g. a web-portal providing access to the web-server module 222 of the social networking module 111) whereby the user 300A may access a request application in order to make a request for access to the user accounts 204 of user 300B and/or user 300C.
Operation 1706 shows receiving a request from the user to associate a user account associated with a second user with the social media interface associated with the user. For example, a secondary user 300B may desire to make social media content associated with user accounts 204 associated with secondary user 300B viewable in the social media interface 600 of user 300A in order to allow user 300A to monitor the ecological activity status updates of user 300B. It may be the case that the ecological service provider 106 maintaining the social networking module 111 hosting the social media interface 600 may restrict access to user accounts 204 by non-owners of those user accounts 204. As such, the user 300B may submit a request (e.g. a “friend request”) to the ecological service provider 106 to provide access to the ecological status data (e.g. efficiency-of-use and/or ecological impact quantification data) of user 300B to user 300A. For example, the user interface 401 of device 309B associated with user 300B may provide an request interface (e.g. a web-portal providing access to the web-server module 222 of the social networking module 111) whereby the user 300B may access a request application in order to make a request to provide access to the user accounts 204 of user 300B to user 300A.
Referring to
Operation 1802 shows receiving an authorization to associate a user account associated with the second user with the social media interface associated with the user. For example, as noted above, it may be the case that the ecological service provider 106 maintaining the social networking module 111 hosting the social media interface 600 may restrict access to user accounts 204 by non-owners of those user accounts 204. As such, in order to gain access to the user accounts 204 of one or more other users 300, a user 300 may be required to request such access and, in turn, be granted access by an owner of a given user account 204. As referenced above with respect to operations 1504 and 1506, either a user 300A having a user account associated with a social media interface 600 or secondary user (e.g. user 300B or user 300C) having a user account 204 which is not presently associated with social media interface 600 may make a request to the ecological service provider 106 hosting the social media interface 600 to associate the user account 204 for user 300B and/or user 300C with social media interface 600. Upon receiving such a request, the ecological service provider 106 may provide a notification to the party to whom the request is addressed. For example, should a secondary user 300B and/or user 300C request to have their user account 204 made viewable in social media interface 600, ecological service provider 106 may provide a “confirm/deny” message (e.g. an e-mail, text message, web-interface notification, etc.) to user 300A asking them to authorize the request by a secondary user 300B and/or user 300C. Alternately, should user 300A request to have user account 204 for secondary user 300B and/or user 300C displayed in social media interface 600, ecological service provider 106 may provide a “confirm/deny” message (e.g. an e-mail, text message, web-interface notification, etc.) to user 300B and/or user 300C asking them to authorize the request by user 300A. The ecological service provider 106 may receive a corresponding authorization response message from a user 300.
Operation 1804 shows publishing at least one of an efficiency-of-use score and an ecological impact quantification associated with a use of a product by the second user to the social media interface associated with the user in response to the authorization to associate a user account associated with the second user with the social media interface associated with the user. For example, it may be the cast that only upon receipt of an authorization response message from a user 300, the ecological service provider 106 may publish social media content including at least one of an efficiency-of-use score and an ecological impact quantification associated with a use of a product by the second user (e.g. user 300B and/or user 300C) to the social media interface 600 associated with the user 300A according to the authorization response. If the user 300A accepts a request by a user 300B and/or user 300C to associate the user account 204 for secondary user 300B and/or user 300C with the social media interface 600 the ecological service provider 106 may publish an efficiency-of-use score notification 601, an ecological impact quantification notification 602 associated with a use of a product by the secondary user 300B and/or user 300C to the social media interface 600. Alternately, if the user 300B and/or user 300C accepts a request by a user 300A to associate the user account 204 for secondary user 300B and/or user 300C with the social media interface 600 the ecological service provider 106 may publish an efficiency-of-use score notification 601, an ecological impact quantification notification 602 associated with a use of a product by the secondary user 300B and/or user 300C to the social media interface 600.
Referring to
Operation 1902 shows receiving data associated with use of the physical product by the user during a period of time the user has control of the physical product. For example, data associated with use of the product 101 can be generated by sensor module 302. For example the efficiency data may include one or more of operating temperature data, operating pressure data, operating duration data, power consumption data, and the like. The data associated with use of the product 101 can be provided to and received by at least one of the efficiency-of-use module 202/efficiency-of-use module 405 and/or the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 via network 100. The efficiency-of-use module 202/efficiency-of-use module 405 and/or the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 may compute at least one of an efficiency-of-use score and an ecological impact quantification from the received data associated with use of the product 101.
In a specific example, suppose product 101 is an automobile and the use profile is generated over time for miles per gallon of gasoline. In this example, suppose that the automobile, when running efficiently, obtains 33 miles per gallon of gasoline on the highway. The miles per gallon data may be collected by the sensor module 302 and then provided to and received by at least one of the efficiency-of-use module 202/efficiency-of-use module 405 and/or the lifecycle module 113/client lifecycle module 414 via network 100.
Operation 2002 shows receiving at least temperature data generated by a temperature monitoring sensor over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. As shown in
In a specific example, suppose product 101 is a computing device such as a laptop computer system. In this example, suppose a user 300 uses the laptop computer in a way that causes it to generate large amounts of heat, e.g., the user overclocks the processor or leaves the laptop on instead of in sleep mode. In another specific example, suppose product 101 is an automobile. In this example, the temperature monitoring sensor could be used to determine the operating temperature of the car. In another example, product 101 could be a battery, e.g., a lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion batteries have a lifespan that is affected by the temperature at which the battery is stored and the state-of-charge of the battery when it is stored. In this example, the temperature monitoring sensor can generate a signal that indicates the temperature of the battery and a message including the temperature can be sent to system 107 and used to generate an efficiency-of-use score.
Operation 2004 shows receiving at least pressure data generated by a pressure monitoring sensor over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. As shown in
In a specific example, suppose the pressure monitoring sensor is a MEMS sensor that can be placed within a tire, a liquid, e.g., water, oil, etc. In this example, as product 101 is being used, pressure data can e captured and routed to efficiency-of-use module 202. The efficiency-of-use module 202 can then use the data to compute an efficiency-of-use score. For example, suppose product 101 is a tire of a rental car. In this example, the pressure data could indicate that the tire and by extension the car is being stressed, which in turn could cause unreasonable wear-and-tear on one or more components of the vehicle.
Operation 2006 shows receiving at least one image over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. Referring again to
In another specific example, product 101 can include camera module 306, which can be configured to capture images of one or more subcomponents of product 101. For example, product 101 could be a chainsaw and the camera module 306 can be configured to capture images of the blades in the chainsaw before and after user 300 uses product 101. In this example, the difference between how one or more blades appear in the images can be computed by efficiency-of-use module 202 and quantified. The quantification can then be used by efficiency-of-use module 202 to calculate an efficiency-of-use score. For example, suppose user 300 uses the chainsaw to cut down a tree and in the process damages one or more teeth of the chainsaw. In this example, efficiency-of-use module 202 can determine from one or more images that one or more of the teeth were damaged and compute an efficiency-of-use score that reflects that the chainsaw was used inefficiently, i.e., the user caused great wear-and-tear on product 101.
In another specific example, suppose product 101 is a vehicle that includes camera module 306 configured to take images of a tire. In this example, the difference between how the tread of the tire appears in before and after images can be computed by efficiency-of-use module 202 and quantified. The quantification can then be used by efficiency-of-use module 202 to calculate an efficiency-of-use score. For example, suppose user 300 slams on the breaks of the vehicle and causes large portions of the tire to wear off. In this example, efficiency-of-use module 202 can determine an efficiency-of-use score that reflects that the vehicle was used inefficiently.
Operation 2002 shows receiving at least information obtained by a laser over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. Referring now to
In a specific example, suppose product 101 is a set of breaks within an automobile. In this example, the laser module may be installed within the automobile so that it can reflect a laser beam off the brake pads and determine thickness information. After a user 300 uses the automobile, the laser module can again gather information that indicates how thick the brake pads are and send the information to system 107, which could be located at a rental company, or store the information for extraction by an agent of the rental car company. The information can be routed to the efficiency-of-use module 202 and used to calculate an efficiency-of-use score that takes into account the amount of wear that was placed on the breaks relative to an amount that constitutes an efficient use of the breaks.
Operation 2104 shows receiving at least vibration information generated from a vibration monitoring sensor over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. Again turning to
For example, internal components vibrate differently when under different amounts of stress. For example, a refrigerator's internal cooling machinery may vibrate when cooling the refrigerator. A situation where the internal cooling machinery is operating for long periods of time can be indicative of inefficient use of the refrigerator, e.g., the temperature is set too low. In another example, the vibration monitoring sensor could be placed relative to an engine in a vehicle, e.g., automobile, boat, etc. In this example, a vibration profile could be created for the engine that reflects efficient operation of the engine. As the stress on the engine changes it may vibrate differently and the vibration sensor can generate an electrical signal indicative of how the engine is vibrating and send it to efficiency-of-use module 202, which can use the difference between the profile and how the engine is or was vibrating to calculate an efficiency-of-use score.
Operation 2106 shows receiving at least impact data generated by an impact sensor over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again turning to
Operation 2202 shows receiving at least corrosion data generated by a corrosion sensor over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again turning to
In a specific example, suppose user 300 borrows a lawn mower and then leaves it outside overnight prior to returning it to his neighborhood association. In this example, suppose an agent of the neighborhood association checks the lawn mower back in and uses device 309, which could include a corrosion sensor, to scan the lawn mower. In this example, the agent could receive a signal indicative of how much corrosion occurred and use this along with a corrosion profile for the lawn mower to compute an efficiency-of-use score that takes corrosion that was caused by the inefficient use of product 101 in account.
Operation 2204 shows receiving at least an output of a sensor configured to measure concentrations of metallic elements in a lubricant over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again turning to
In a specific example, suppose the product 101 is an automobile that a user 300 leases for an extended period of time, but fails to regularly change the oil. In this example, suppose the automobile includes a sensor (e.g. a capacitive concentration sensor) to monitor one or more lubricants and generates an electrical signal indicating that the oil is polluted, which causes the automobile to operate inefficiently. In this example, the sensor module 302 can generate a value based on the pollution within the lubricant and send a signal, which can eventually be routed to efficiency-of-use module 202. The efficiency-of-use module 202 can compute an efficiency-of-use score that is based at least in part on the inefficient use of the automobile.
Operation 2206 shows receiving at least information obtained by a diagnostic computing device associated with the physical product over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again turning to
Operation 2302 shows receiving at least revolutions per minute data generated by a tachometer over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again turning to
Operation 2304 shows receiving at least status information associated with a battery over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again turning to
In an exemplary embodiment where status information of the battery is used to calculate an efficiency-of-use score, the sensor can be operatively coupled to the battery and can track the number of charge cycles and/or the amount of charge that is discharged and either record it (within memory, e.g., RAM, ROM, etc.) or send it to system 107. The efficiency-of-use module 202 can receive the battery status data and compute an efficiency-of-use score for the use of product 101 that takes at least this category of data into account. For example, the if user 300 uses product 101, e.g., a laptop and discharges the battery to 20% prior to charging it, a message including information such as an identifier for the user account for user; the type of data stored in the message; and the battery charge percentage can be generated and sent to system 107. In this example, efficiency-of-use module 202 can use the information that indicates that the battery was discharged down to 20% prior to it was recharged and compute an efficiency-of-use score that reflects how efficiently user 300 used the laptop.
Operation 2306 shows receiving at least information associated with processor utilization over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again turning to
In a specific example, suppose user 300 logs into a computer system located at a library and starts watching a high-definition movie. In this example, suppose the playing of the movie causes the central processing unit to operate at near maximum capacity and in turn causes it to consume large amounts of energy of a long period of time. In this example, a program running on the computer system can record the CPU utilization information while user 300 is playing the movie and cause a message to be sent to system 107, which in this example could be a computer system within the library that maintains user accounts for people who visit and use the services of the library. The efficiency-of-use module 202 can receive the message and any other messages associated with the user account, and compute an efficiency-of-use score that at least takes CPU utilization into account.
Operation 2402 shows receiving at least information associated with an amount of energy consumed over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again turning to
Suppose product 101 is a high definition plasma TV. In this example, suppose the TV includes a sensor module that measures how much energy is consumed by the TV. For example, the sensor module could be placed within the circuit that interfaces the TV with an electrical outlet. In this example, the sensor module can record how much energy the TV consumes and send the information to system 107, which could be maintained by the government, a “Green organization,” or the user, i.e., system 107 could be a home computer system. Suppose in this example that user 300 has left the TV on for that past two days while he or she was away from home. In this example, at the end of each day the sensor module could send how much energy it has consumed to system 107. The efficiency-of-use module 202 can receive the information and compare it to a use profile that includes information that indicates normal use of the TV. The efficiency-of-use module 202 can use the profile and the information from sensor to compute an efficiency-of-use score that reflects that the user has inefficiently used the TV by leaving it on for two full days.
Operation 2404 shows receiving at least information associated with an estimated amount of work per unit of fuel achieved by the physical product over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again turning to
Similar to the foregoing examples, product 101 can be associated with fuel efficiency profile, which describes an efficient amount of work achieved per unit of fuel. In this example, a sensor can be incorporated into product 101, e.g., a module of executable instructions running on a cellular phone can compute the total amount of time it has been in operation since its last charge, which can compute the fuel efficiency of product 101 and send the information to system 107, e.g., a computer system controlled by user, the cellular phone company, the electric company, etc., and used to compute an efficiency-of-use score.
Operation 2406 shows receiving at least information associated with an estimated amount of miles per gallon of gasoline achieved by the physical product over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and turning to
Operation 2502 shows receiving at least information associated with mileage driven over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again referring to
Operation 2504 shows receiving at least sound information for the physical product generated by a microphone over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again turning to
Operation 2506 shows receiving at least information associated with an amount of light reflected by the physical product over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. Referring now to
In a specific example, suppose product 101 is a blender located in product usage location 104, which could be a communal kitchen area of an apartment building or dormitory. In this example, suppose the laser module is installed within the blender so that it can reflect a laser beam off the blades of the blender. In this example, the laser module can determine how much light reflects off the blades and store the information. After user 300 uses the blender, the laser module can again gather information that indicates how much light is reflecting off the blades and send the information that reflects how much light reflected off the blades before and after the user used the blender to system 107. The information can be routed to the efficiency-of-use module 202; and used to calculate an efficiency-of-use score. Alternatively, instead of sending the before and after laser information, the blender may transmit the laser information gathered after the use; compare it to a use profile stored in product profile database 210; calculate an efficiency-of-use score; and update the profile for the blender to reflect the current state of it.
Referring to
Operation 2602 shows receiving at least information associated with an amount of bandwidth used by the physical product over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. For example, and again referring to
Operation 2604 shows receiving at least information associated with an amount of physical damage to the physical product that occurred over the period of time that a user has control of the physical product. Turning back to
Operation 2606 shows receiving at least information associated with a product control element. For example, and again turning to
Those having skill in the art will recognize that the state of the art has progressed to the point where there is little distinction left between hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems; the use of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts the choice between hardware and software can become significant) a design choice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs. Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are various vehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologies described herein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/or firmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context in which the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies are deployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet again alternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles by which the processes and/or devices and/or other technologies described herein may be effected, none of which is inherently superior to the other in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon the context in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns (e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any of which may vary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that optical aspects of implementations will typically employ optically-oriented hardware, software, and or firmware.
The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).
In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various aspects described herein which can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof can be viewed as being composed of various types of “electrical circuitry.” Consequently, as used herein “electrical circuitry” includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electrical circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one application specific integrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computer configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessor configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), and/or electrical circuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communications switch, or optical-electrical equipment). Those having skill in the art will recognize that the subject matter described herein may be implemented in an analog or digital fashion or some combination thereof.
Those having skill in the art will recognize that it is common within the art to describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein, and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such described devices and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and/or processes described herein can be integrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount of experimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that a typical data processing system generally includes one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatile and non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or control systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback for sensing position and/or velocity; control motors for moving and/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components, such as those typically found in data computing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems.
The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or “operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.
While particular aspects of the present subject matter described herein have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the subject matter described herein and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by the appended claims.
It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations.
In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.).
In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
The present application is related to and claims the benefit of the earliest available effective filing date(s) from the following listed application(s) (the “Related Applications”) (e.g., claims earliest available priority dates for other than provisional patent applications or claims benefits under 35 USC §119(e) for provisional patent applications, for any and all parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. applications of the Related Application(s)). All subject matter of the Related Applications and of any and all parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. applications of the Related Applications, including any priority claims, is incorporated herein by reference to the extent such subject matter is not inconsistent herewith. For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the present application constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/928,638, entitled LIFECYCLE IMPACT INDICATORS, naming Mark Aggar, Christian Belady, Rob Bernard, Angel Calvo, Larry Cochrane, Jason Garms, Roderick A. Hyde, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, Jennifer Pollard, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., Clarence T. Tegreene, Rene Vega, Lowell L. Wood, Jr., and Feng Zhao, as inventors, filed 14 Dec. 2010, which is currently co-pending or is an application of which a currently co-pending application is entitled to the benefit of the filing date. For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the present application constitutes a continuation-in-part of the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/135,674 having an entitled EFFICIENCY-OF-USE TECHNIQUES, naming Mark Aggar, Christian Belady, Rob Bernard, Angel Calvo, Larry Cochrane, Jason Garms, Roderick A. Hyde, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, Jennifer Pollard, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., Clarence T. Tegreene, Rene Vega, Lowell L. Wood, Jr., and Feng Zhao, as inventors, filed Jul. 12, 2011, which is currently co-pending or is an application of which a currently co-pending application is entitled to the benefit of the filing date. For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the present application constitutes a continuation-in-part of the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/135,683 entitled USER AS PART OF A SUPPLY CHAIN, naming Christian Belady, Rob Bernard, Angel Calvo, Larry Cochrane, Jason Garms, Roderick A. Hyde, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, Jennifer Pollard, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., Clarence T. Tegreene, Rene Vega, Lowell L. Wood, Jr., and Feng Zhao, as inventors, filed Jul. 12, 2011, which is currently co-pending or is an application of which a currently co-pending application is entitled to the benefit of the filing date. For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the present application constitutes a continuation-in-part of the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/199,475, entitled EFFICIENCY OF USE OF A SHARED PRODUCT naming Christian Belady, Rob Bernard, Angel Calvo, Larry Cochrane, Jason Garms, Roderick A. Hyde, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, Jennifer Pollard, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., Clarence T. Tegreene, Rene Vega, Lowell L. Wood, Jr., and Feng Zhao, as inventors, filed Aug. 31, 2011, which is currently co-pending or is an application of which a currently co-pending application is entitled to the benefit of the filing date. For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the present application constitutes a continuation-in-part of the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/199,476, entitled ECOLOGICAL IMPACT QUANTIFICATION IDENTIFIERS naming Christian Belady, Rob Bernard, Angel Calvo, Larry Cochrane, Jason Garms, Roderick A. Hyde, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, Jennifer Pollard, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., Clarence T. Tegreene, Rene Vega, Lowell L. Wood, Jr., and Feng Zhao, as inventors, filed Aug. 31, 2011, which is currently co-pending or is an application of which a currently co-pending application is entitled to the benefit of the filing date. For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the present application constitutes a continuation-in-part of the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/199,995, entitled MONITORING EFFICIENCY AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSOCIATED WITH A USE OF A PRODUCT naming Christian Belady, Rob Bernard, Angel Calvo, Larry Cochrane, Jason Garms, Roderick A. Hyde, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, Jennifer Pollard, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., Clarence T. Tegreene, Rene Vega, Lowell L. Wood, Jr., and Feng Zhao, as inventors, filed Sep. 14, 2011, which is currently co-pending or is an application of which a currently co-pending application is entitled to the benefit of the filing date. For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the present application constitutes a continuation-in-part of the United States Patent Application having attorney docket number 0109-003-020-000000, entitled DISPOSAL MODE ECOLOGICAL IMPACT MONITORING naming Christian Belady, Rob Bernard, Angel Calvo, Larry Cochrane, Jason Garms, Roderick A. Hyde, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, Jennifer Pollard, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., Clarence T. Tegreene, Rene Vega, Lowell L. Wood, Jr., and Feng Zhao, as inventors, filed Sep. 30, 2011, which is currently co-pending or is an application of which a currently co-pending application is entitled to the benefit of the filing date. The United States Patent Office (USPTO) has published a notice to the effect that the USPTO's computer programs require that patent applicants reference both a serial number and indicate whether an application is a continuation, continuation-in-part, or divisional of a parent application. Stephen G. Kunin, Benefit of Prior-Filed Application, USPTO Official Gazette Mar. 18, 2003. The present Applicant Entity (hereinafter “Applicant”) has provided above a specific reference to the application(s) from which priority is being claimed as recited by statute. Applicant understands that the statute is unambiguous in its specific reference language and does not require either a serial number or any characterization, such as “continuation” or “continuation-in-part,” for claiming priority to U.S. patent applications. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Applicant understands that the USPTO's computer programs have certain data entry requirements, and hence Applicant has provided designation(s) of a relationship between the present application and its parent application(s) as set forth above, but expressly points out that such designation(s) are not to be construed in any way as any type of commentary and/or admission as to whether or not the present application contains any new matter in addition to the matter of its parent application(s).