1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor-equipped garbage bin that indicates the used or unused level of its capacity and alerts conditions that require service.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In existing janitorial services for commercial buildings, the process for managing garbage bins involves having facility workers manually inspect every garbage bin periodically during the day and provide cleanup when service is found needed during such inspections. The process for servicing the bins for document disposal, especially confidential documents, is similar, typically requiring a shredding service to periodically empty the bins.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a container (e.g., a garbage bin or document disposal bin) includes a sensor for sensing a quantity indicative of the amount of items deposited into the container, and a local controller capable of wireless communication with a remote controller for sending the sensed data to the remote controller. The sensor may be mounted on the cover, or at the bottom of the container. The sensor placed on the cover may be a range finder that measures the distance between the container and its content. The sensor that is placed at the bottom of the container may be sensitive to the weight of the container and its contents. The sensor may be, for example, a reflective IR range finder, or a pressure sensor, such as a force sensing resistor. In addition, the sensed quantity may be the presence of a gaseous compound, such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and methane.
In one embodiment, upon detecting that the sensor reading exceeds a predetermined value, the local controller sends an alert to the remote controller. Upon detecting such a condition, the local controller may increase the rate at which the local controller activates the sensor. Otherwise, the local controller may decrease the rate at which the local controller activates the sensor.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a garbage bin detects its own fullness (i.e., a level of garbage or other material contained in the bin), thereby eliminating the laborious process of having a service personnel to perform periodical checking. In another embodiment, the garbage bin may alert facility management or the cleaning crew, even though it is not full, when its content emits an unpleasant odor. The sensors in the garbage bin may include sensor specialized for various gases.
The present invention is better understood upon consideration of the detailed description that follows and the accompanying drawings.
The present invention provides a sensor-equipped garbage bin that reports its fullness and its physical condition. In one embodiment, the garbage bin sends an alert indicating that an immediate service (e.g., cleaning) is required. The garbage bin may be equipped with a number of types of sensors, such as those for detecting garbage level and presence of odors. In addition, the garbage bin may include a microprocessor for controlling data collection and a wireless radio transmitter for providing the collected data to a remote controller over wireless communication. The garbage bin finds a wide range of applications in facility management and waste management, such as automating janitorial services, and document disposal and shredding services. The garbage bins of the present invention may be used in conjunction with a facility management platform, such as that described in the co-pending patent application (“Smart Facility Management Application”) by the same inventor, entitled “Smart Facility Management Platform,” filed on the same day as the present application. The disclosure of the Smart Facility Management Application is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
By combining sensors that allow various aspects of the environment within a garbage bin with wireless communication capability, such that the sensed data may be sent for processing and analysis by a remote server or controller, the present invention provides numerous unexpected advantages in both garbage bin technology and facility management. For example, sensed data from multiple sensors of different types can help formulate timely and energy-efficient, system-wide cleaning policies in a facility management system overseeing a large number of such garbage bins in multiple facilities. As the sensor devices of the present invention are battery operated, the embodiments of the present invention described herein, including the selected sensors, the data processing and communication hardware and the software for their control are designed to be power efficient.
Several factors inform the selection of the IR range finder sensor, such as range and power. For example, the short range reflective IR sensor GP2Y0A41SK0F has a maximum range of up to one foot (1′) and dissipates a 5 mA current at a 5-volt power supply voltage. As most indoor garbage cans are not higher than three feet (3′), so that even in the case of the three-feet garbage bin, reflective IR sensor GP2Y0A41SK0F allows detecting the situation when the garbage bin is filled to the critical top ⅓rd or ¼th of the garbage bin. By forgoing detection to a greater range, the reflective IR sensor GP2Y0A41SK0F allows a power savings of 700% relative to existing state-of-the-art ultrasonic sensors. In one example, the ultrasonic sensor may dissipate a 35 mA current, and has a 20′-30′ range, which is an unnecessarily long range for the present application.
As shown in
In one embodiment, a software module running on the microprocessor in sensor device 201 can be taught to subtract the weight of garbage bin 200 from the sensed data to provide the amount of garbage (in lbs) that is inside garbage bin 200. The software module may learn the weight of garbage bin 200 by observing the cycles of emptying. For example, a sudden drop in weight may be recognized as garbage emptying or cleaning up at garbage bin 200. Sensor device 201 tracks the maximum weight before cleanup cycles to adjust its calculation. The capacity of garbage bin 200 may also be programmed manually through a software interface. The software module may also be taught about a heavy object being dropped into garbage bin 200 by observing an abrupt increase in weight. In such a situation, the software module may be programmed to generate an event that reports the sudden increase in weight. Although the abrupt increase in weight does not convey that garbage bin 200 is full, an event reporting that a heavy object could have been placed in garbage bin 200 allows the facility managers to make an appropriate cleanup decision.
As in sensor device 101 of
In one embodiment, the software module running on the microprocessor in sensor device 101 of
The above detailed description is provided to illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to be limiting. Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible. The present invention is set forth in the accompanying claims.