Patent Application
20170221017
Field
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a system and method to manage waste resources. In particular, embodiments relate to a system and method to manage the collection of waste resources and provide incentives to a user for participating.
Description of Related Art
It is estimated that the average U.S. household throws out 300 pounds of used clothing, shoes, and sheets every year. This waste stream results in about 80 million tons of such used articles sent annually to landfills. It is also estimated that an additional 2 million tons of electronic waste is generated annually in the U.S. Consumers (through either municipal collection cost or the cost of private haulers) pay at least $400 million annually to dispose of such used articles. Furthermore, usage of landfill capacity for such items in some locations may be discouraged, either by policy or by law. Therefore, ways of reducing cost and the waste stream are attractive.
The recycling industry has become more active in recent years. Increasing amounts of waste resources are being recycled in order to reduce disposal costs and reduce demand for natural resources. Therefore, companies and industries conduct various recycling processes and encourage consumers to recycle more and more waste resources. Conventionally, collected waste resources are disposed in landfills. However, the cost of waste resource disposal in various cities has increased as landfill capacity for disposing the waste resources has decreased. Further, collection and disposal of electronic waste or textile waste from household is not an easy job.
For example, scrap cars, appliances, electronic waste (e.g., televisions, computers), and the like, are difficult to collect and then dispose because the waste may include metals that can give rise to environment pollution, may contain toxic, dangerous or harmful products (e.g., chemicals, compressed gas cylinders), or may require governmental permits for lawful disposal or recycling (e.g., asbestos products). Also, textile waste such as apparel, footwear, bedding, and the like, typically is not disposed in landfills as they can have an adverse effect on the environment if ground water causes clothes to decompose in a way that can spread biological hazards. Therefore, conventional systems refrain from collecting electronic or textile waste from households or industries.
Thus, there is a need for an improved technique to manage the collection and distribution of waste resources and encourage customers and companies alike to take part in waste management processes.
Embodiments provide a system and method to manage the collection of waste resources. In one embodiment, a system comprises a non-transitory computer readable medium to store instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform operations to support collection of waste resources from a plurality of customers. Further, the waste resources are processed and rewards may be allocated to the plurality of customers based on the recycled waste resources. The system also includes, but is not limited to, a resource management system, a server, and an interface to a communication network to communicate between the resource management system and the plurality of customers. There is also provided a database to store the customers' information along with the rewards allocated to the customers.
Embodiments, in accordance with the present disclosure, are directed to a system for distribution of a plurality of collected waste resources. The system comprises a processor coupled to a memory. The memory stores sets of program instructions. The processor is configured to execute sets of program instructions stored in the memory so as to generate categorizations of the plurality of collected waste resources based at least on respective brands of the plurality of collected waste resources. The processor further stores the categorizations in the memory. An entity-facing communication interface is coupled to the processor, the entity-facing communication interface configured to receive a query from a brand entity, display a list of the collected waste resources from the plurality of collected waste resources based on the stored categorizations, in response to the query and receive a request from the brand entity to deliver at least a subset of the collected waste resources from the list of collected waste resources to at least one delivery location corresponding to the brand entity. The processor is further configured to determine a route to deliver the subset of the collected waste resources to the at least one delivery location corresponding to the brand entity.
Embodiments, in accordance with the present disclosure, are further directed to a method to distribute a plurality of collected waste resources. The method comprises generating, by a set of instructions executing on a processor, categorizations of the plurality of collected waste resources based at least on respective brands of the plurality of collected waste resources; storing, by the set of instructions, the categorizations in a memory. The method further comprises a step of receiving, via an entity-facing communication interface coupled to the processor, a query from a brand entity, and a step of displaying, via the entity-facing communication interface, a list of collected waste resources from the plurality of collected waste resources based on the stored categorizations in response to the query. The entity-facing communication interface receives one or more requests from the brand entity to deliver at least a subset of the list of collected waste resources, to at least one delivery location corresponding to the brand entity. A set of instructions executing on the processor determine a route for a distribution vehicle to deliver the subset of the list of collected waste resources.
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present embodiments may be understood in detail, a more particular description of embodiments of the present invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, several of which are illustrated in the appended drawings.
The above and still further features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of embodiments thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals in the various figures are utilized to designate like components, and wherein:
The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including but not limited to.
In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments or other examples described herein. In some instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail, so as to not obscure the following description.
Further, the examples disclosed are for exemplary purposes only and other examples may be employed in lieu of, or in combination with, the examples disclosed. It should also be noted the examples presented herein should not be construed as limiting of the scope of embodiments of the present disclosure, as other equally effective examples are possible and likely.
The value of electronic waste can very significantly. Valuable items may lead to a profit if the valuable items are identified, refurbished, and resold (e.g., smart phones, tablet PCs, video game consoles, etc.). Conversely, some electronic waste cannot be resold or refurbished at a profit, but may still be recycled in order to avoid disposal cost or avoid an environmental risk of disposing the items (e.g., televisions, computer monitors, etc.).
Customers 102a-n, generically referred to as customers 102 or customer 102, may submit to a server 104 a request to collect waste resources from, for example, their households, community, locality, industries, and the like, according to an embodiment of the present invention. A customer-facing communication interface 105 provides a physical-layer networking interface to receive the request from customer 102, and in turn forwards the request from customer 102 to resource management system 106. Resource management system 106 of server 104 then may receive and process the customers' and the brand entities' requests. Resource management system 106 may also retrieve, from database 108, data associated with a customer. Database 108 may store, customers' information, such as a name, a contact number, email identification (ID), an address, benefits such as loyalty points or rewards, and the like. In another embodiment, more than one database 108 may be used in system 100 for various purposes.
Customers 102 may submit the collection request by use of user equipment 110a-n, generically referred to as user equipment 110, according to an embodiment of the present invention. User equipment 110 may include a laptop, a computer, a Personal Digital Assistance (PDA), a tablet, a smart phone, a palmtop, a notebook, a mobile phone, or any other computing device. User equipment 110 may support any type of user interface to submit the collection request. In addition, user equipment 110 may facilitate various user input devices, e.g., a touch screen, a keyboard and keypad data entry, a voice-based input mechanisms, and the like. User equipment 110 may also include other applications 112 (i.e., computer-implemented processes) such as, but are not limited to, social networking applications, communication applications, business intelligent applications, educational applications, and the like, according to an embodiment. In another embodiment user equipment 110 may include a browser 114. In an exemplary scenario, customers 102 may initiate collection requests by logging into a user account on a website of resource management system 106. In another exemplary scenario, customer 102 may submit a collection request through application 112, for example, a social networking website.
Customers' requests may be transmitted from user equipment 110 to server 104 through a network 116. Network 116 may be a telephony network, a wireless network, a data network, a service provider data network, and the like, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the telephony network may include a circuit-switched network, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), a Private Branch Exchange (PBX), or other like networks. The service provider network may embody circuit-switched and/or packet-switched networks that may include facilities to provide for transport of circuit-switched and/or packet-based communications. Network 116 may include components and facilities to provide signaling and/or bearer communications between the various components or facilities of system 100. In this manner, network 116 may embody or include portions of a Signaling System 7 (SS7) network, or other suitable infrastructure to support control and signaling functions. In addition, system 100 may operate as separate parts that rendezvous and synchronize periodically to form a larger system with similar characteristics. Further, the data network may be any Local Area Network (LAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), the Internet, or any other suitable packet-switched network, such as a commercially owned, proprietary packet-switched network, such as a proprietary cable or fiber-optic network. Further, the wireless network may employ various technologies including, for example, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Enhanced Data Rates For Global Evolution (EDGE), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET), Global System For Mobile Communications (GSM), 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), etc., as well as any other suitable wireless medium, for example, microwave access (WiMAX), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), satellites, and the like.
Resource management system 106 may receive requests from customers 102 to collect the waste resources from, for example, households. In an embodiment of the present invention, resource management system 106 may facilitate customer 102 to create a user account by use of an email ID to make the request. Resource management system 106 may facilitate customers 102 to create a user account by use of a social media account, according to another embodiment. Resource management system 106 may facilitate customers 102 to create a user account by use of their contact details, for example, a mobile phone number, according to yet another embodiment. Customers 102 may use a username-password pair to login to their accounts. Customers 102 may use a pattern created on the touch interface of user equipment 110 to login to their accounts, wherein the pattern is pre-stored by customer 102 within user equipment 110, according to another embodiment. The pattern may include, for example, a gesture (e.g., a swipe), a simple figure (e.g., a hand-drawn geometric figure), a simple alphanumeric sequence (e.g., PIN number, initials, passcode, etc.).
Embodiments of resource management system 106 may facilitate customer 102 to provide information associated with the waste resources and to select a category for the waste resource. Categories of waste resources may include apparel, shoes, bed and bath, computers, printers, others, and the like. The categories may further include “other”, “miscellaneous”, or the like, for hard-to-categorize waste resources. Further, customer 102 may upload a photograph of the waste resource. In an embodiment, customer 102 may dynamically click a photograph and then upload the photograph on the website. In another embodiment, customer 102 may upload the photograph that is stored in a photo library of user equipment 110. Embodiments may use a photograph in order to help determine and schedule what assets are needed to collect the waste resource to recycle (e.g., extra workers or equipment if any, what type of collection vehicle should be dispatched such as van, small truck, flatbed trailer, etc.). The photograph may also be useful to screen the waste resources for items that may not be handled or may require special handling (e.g., toxic chemicals, radiological materials, biohazard materials, compressed gas cylinders, etc.), or may require governmental permits for lawful disposal or recycling (e.g., asbestos products), or to screen for condition (e.g., verify there are no obvious defects), or to assist collection personnel in identifying the waste resource to collect upon arrival.
Furthermore, customer 102 may select an estimated condition of the waste resource, according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, customer 102 may qualitatively estimate a condition of the waste resource as being one of “good”, “medium”, “bad”, and so forth. A good condition may indicate an operable piece of electronic equipment, or an apparel wearable as second-hand or vintage clothing, and so forth. A medium condition may indicate electronic equipment that needs minor repair, or wearable apparel with minor problems such as a missing button, minor fraying, and so forth. A bad condition may indicate that the waste resource is not usable again, for example, torn or threadbare apparel. In another exemplary scenario, the good condition may indicate that the waste resource may be processed or recycled, a medium condition may indicate that some of the parts of the waste resource may be processed or recycled, and the bad condition may indicate that the waste resource cannot be processed or recycled. The condition of the waste resource may be used, e.g., to route the collected waste resource for further processing. For example, items in “good” condition may be immediately routed to a distribution center for refurbishment and resale. Items in a “bad” condition may be immediately routed to a scrap dealer for disposal. Items in a “medium” condition may be routed to a processing facility for further evaluation.
Moreover, resource management system 106 may provide options to customers 102 to provide additional information associated with the waste resource. In an embodiment of the present invention, the additional information may include a review of the resource, date of purchase, year of manufacture, a rating of the resource, and the like. Customer 102 then may submit the request to collect the waste resource from their household. A customer-facing communication interface 105 provides a physical-layer networking interface to receive the request from customer 102, and in turn forwards the request from customer 102 to resource management system 106. In an embodiment, customer 102 may submit a collection request for more than one waste resource. For example, customer ‘A’ may select apparel and provide information about an apparel in order to dispose the apparel, whereas, customer ‘B’ may provide information for both an apparel and a computer, for disposal of both of them.
Next, customer 102 may submit, and resource management system 106 may receive, the collection request for the waste resources from customer 102. For purpose of routing a collection vehicle, each pickup address from customer 102 is a separate destination. A routing module of resource management system 106 may determine a relatively efficient route for the collection of the waste resources from the plurality of customers 102 who have submitted a collection request within a given period of time. Given a list of destinations and the cost to travel between each pair of destinations (cost as measured by, e.g., distance, time to travel, tolls, multivariate function thereof, etc.), the routing module determines a low-cost route (i.e., ideally the least costly route) that visits each destination once and upon conclusion goes to a predetermined location (e.g., a depot to unload the collection vehicle, or a designated waiting location, etc.). The routing module may be implemented as a set of program instructions executing on the processor. Efficiency may be judged by, e.g., reducing an estimated travel time to make all collections, or reducing the number of miles to make all collections, or reducing tolls paid, and so forth. Some embodiments may apply multiple criteria simultaneously, e.g., find a fast route while keeping tolls below a predetermined threshold (e.g., zero tolls or one toll, or total tolls no more than X dollars).
By including multiple types of items to pick up on the collection route (e.g., both electronic items and apparel), the routing module can construct a relatively efficient route that reduces collection cost.
As a baseline for judging an efficient route, and using travel distance as a metric to judge efficiency, a first approximation of an efficient route may be to go to whichever of N collection locations is physically closest to the present location of the collection vehicle. After that collection, the collection vehicle may go to the closest of the remaining N−1 collection locations, and the process repeated until all collection locations are serviced. Such a route is referred to herein as a “closest pickup route”. An analysis to identify a more efficient result may then include other factors, such as a different order of collection, travel time between collection locations, whether the collection vehicle may become full after some collections (necessitating a trip back to a distribution center to unload), etc. In some circumstances when one route may reduce a first metric (e.g., distance traveled) but another route may reduce a second metric (e.g., time to travel) at a cost of a higher first metric, a weighting may be applied (e.g., dollars per hour and dollars per mile) in order to determine an efficient route taking into account multiple metrics. In some embodiments, a weighting may take into account a statistical uncertainty of the metric, e.g., travel times may vary depending upon traffic and thus may carry less weighting in close situations. In contrast, distances are fixed for a given route and thus may carry greater weighting. Some routes may be excluded if a roadway cannot accommodate commercial traffic, or vehicles over a certain height or weight.
Embodiments may wait a predetermined amount of time between collection runs in order for a sufficient number of requests to arrive within a predefined service area. A sufficient number would be one that is likely to utilize at least a threshold cargo capacity of a collection vehicle (e.g., a truck) for a route within the service area, without risking user antagonism about a delay in scheduling a collection. Cargo capacity criteria may include weight, volume, interior dimensions, exterior dimensions (e.g., trailer size, roof rack size, etc.), or any combination of criteria. For example, vehicles may be dispatched once per day, once per week, twice per week, etc. within a service area, depending upon volume in the service area. There may exist several overlapping or non-overlapping service areas within a geographic region, depending upon collection request volume. Alternatively, service area boundaries may vary depending upon a volume of received collection requests. In other embodiments and circumstances, a collection vehicle may be dispatched relatively quickly after receiving a submitted request, e.g., if picking up an item of high expected value, or if the collection location is relatively close to a present location of the collection vehicle, or if the size or other characteristic of the waste resource makes it impractical to combine a collection of the waste resource with a collection of another waste resource, or upon customer request for expedited service.
Some embodiments of resource management system 106 may calculate an estimated collection date and/or collection time to collect the waste resources from respective customers. In another embodiment, resource management system 106 may calculate more than one collection date and/or collection time to collect the waste resources. In an exemplary scenario, resource management system 106 may calculate that on January 3rd, collection times on separate routes (or separate runs on a same route) may be 8:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 5:30 PM. In another exemplary scenario, the resource management system 106 may calculate that on January 3rd and January 4th, the waste resources may be collected at 9:00 AM on a single route.
Resource management system 106 may use one or more of various communication channels to communicate with customer 102. Communication channels may include, e.g., an email, a Short Messaging Service (SMS), a text message, a web message, a message on a social networking website, a voice call, a video call, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call, and the like. A conversation history may be visible or available. A scheduling module of resource management system 106 may use one or more of these communication channels to prompt customer 102 to provide a selection of an appropriate or preferred date and/or time at which the waste resources may be collected. Thereafter, the scheduling module of resource management system 106 may receive the customer's selection of the appropriate date and/or time to collect the waste resources. For example, customer 102 may select a preferred collection date/time appointment of January 3rd at time 8:00 AM.
Further, resource management system 106 may provide notifications to customer 102, using one or more of the communication channels. Notifications may include a reminder of a waste resource collection, any delay in collection, a status of accrued loyalty points, etc. Embodiments may provide the notifications periodically (e.g., for a periodic collection) or as needed (e.g., if a service delay is expected).
Upon collection, embodiments of resource management system 106 may attempt to verify automatically at least some information provided by customer 102. For example, resource management system 106 may include a condition verification module to verify if possible the customer-provided qualitative grade estimate. For example, a high-resolution photograph may be taken and analyzed by computer-implemented processes to identify any apparent defects, e.g., a cracked screen on an electronic device, torn clothing, missing parts, chipped, cracked or scratched items, etc. Such processes may be more effective in identifying physical defects rather than operating defects, e.g., a TV that will not turn on or has degraded picture quality. In some embodiments, a computer-verified quality score may be compared to a customer-provided quality score, and the result of the comparison may be stored with customer information. Divergent results may be an indication of a reduced weighting, trust, or reliance upon future condition grade estimates provided by the customer, or that future items picked up from the customer need to be examined more carefully.
Upon collection, and verification if performed, resource management system 106 may include an assignment module to assign each collected waste resource to one of a set of categories. The categories may indicate a disposition of the waste resource, e.g., (1) to resell as used goods (e.g., as vintage clothing), or (2) to examine further for possible refurbishment, or (3) to sell for scrap value, or (4) to discard. Discarding an item may include sending the waste resource to a traditional landfill.
The assignment module may be implemented as a set of program instructions executing on the processor. The assignment module may use product photographs submitted by customer 102 to help identify the highest-value disposition of collected items, and to help avoid inventory costs. For example, image recognition processes may detect items in the product photographs, may detect conditions that may affect value (e.g., apparent broken items), and assign a category of disposition (e.g., one of categories (1)-(4) discussed above).
Loyalty points may be allocated to customers 102 based on factors such as an amount of waste resources recycled by customer 102, or based on the frequency of disposing waste resources, etc. For example, if customer ‘A’ disposes waste resources every three months, and customer ‘B’ disposes waste resources once per year, then customer ‘A’ will earn more frequency-based loyalty points as compared to customer ‘B’. On the other hand, if customer ‘B’ disposes more amount of waste resources once per year than customer ‘A’ who disposes waste resources every three months, then more quantity-based loyalty points may be allocated to customer ‘B’ than customer ‘A’.
At step 302, customer 102 logs in to a user account that is used to submit a request to collect waste resources. Customer 102 may use a username-password pair to login to the user account, in an embodiment Customers 102 may use a pattern created on the touch interface of user equipment 110 to login to their accounts, wherein the pattern is pre-stored by customer 102 within user equipment 110, according to another embodiment. The pattern may include, for example, a gesture (e.g., a swipe), a simple figure (e.g., a hand-drawn geometric figure), a simple alphanumeric sequence (e.g., PIN number, initials, passcode, etc.). In another embodiment, customer 302 may use biometric data of customer 302 (e.g., retina, iris, fingerprint, face or voice recognition, etc.) to log into the user account.
At step 304, customer 102 selects a category for the waste resource, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Categories may include, e.g., apparel, shoes, bed and bath, computers, printers, miscellaneous, and the like. Categories may be hierarchical and selected in several parts (e.g., men's or women's apparel, followed by type of apparel (e.g., shirts, pants, formal wear, outerwear, etc.), color description, etc.).
Next, at step 306, customer 102 may upload information associated with the waste resource, e.g., a picture of the waste resource. In an embodiment, customer 102 may upload a picture simply by clicking on the picture or a listing of the picture (e.g., in a file list box, Windows Explorer, etc.). In another embodiment, customer 102 may select a picture stored in a photo library of user equipment 110 and then upload the picture. In another embodiment, customer 102 may select a condition of the waste resource, as previously described.
Thereafter, at step 308, customer 102 submits a collection request to collect the waste resources, e.g., from the customer's home. In another embodiment, waste resources may be collected from the customer's workplace, such as an office. Embodiments may provide to customer 102 a confirmation of receiving the request and/or a scheduled collection date/time appointment.
Next, at step 404, scheduling module of resource management system 106 schedules collection of the waste resources based on the received requests, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Scheduling module of resource management system 106 may schedule collections based on factors such as customer addresses, or customer-preferred collection dates and/or collection times. For example, waste resources may be collected from customer ‘A’ at 6 AM, from customer ‘B’ at 6:15 AM, from customer ‘C’ at 6:30 AM, and from customer ‘D’ at 7 AM. Customer-preferred collection dates and/or collection times may be known to embodiments by asking the customer, or by allowing the customer to self-configure or self-schedule preferred collection dates and/or collection times.
In some embodiments, a customer-preferred collection time may refer to a specific time or may refer to a time window. A customer-preferred collection time may cause recalculation of an efficient route to collect all waste resourced planned for pickup, so that the collection vehicle should arrive within a predetermined time window around the customer-preferred collection time (e.g., +/−one hour), or within a time window provided by customer 102 (e.g., “come in the afternoon”), or after a time specified by customer 102 (e.g., “I'll leave it out after 9:00 AM”), or before a time specified by customer 102 (e.g., “it has to be gone by 5:00 pm”). In some embodiments, limits to a time window may be set by rules within scheduling module of resource management system 106 unless overridden by request from customer 102 (e.g., do not pick up before 7:00 AM or after 7:00 PM, do not pick up after local sundown, etc.). In some embodiments, customer 102 may indicate whether the customer-preferred collection is optional (e.g., customer may leave out a bag of clothing for pickup), or is required (e.g., if customer presence is needed to gain access to the waste resource in a house, etc.). If customer presence is required, the customer-preferred collection time will be assigned a greater weight when calculating an efficient route, as compared to when the customer-preferred collection time is optional.
At step 406, resource management system 106 may transmit messages or notifications to customers, e.g., to remind or confirm collection dates/times, or to inform customer 102 of a service delay or cancellation, etc. The message may be transmitted to the customers through one or more of various communication channels, as previously described. In an embodiment, notifications may be transmitted periodically or more than once to at least some customers.
Furthermore, resource management system 106 allocates rewards to customers, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, resource management system 106 may allocate rewards to customers based on an amount or quantity of waste resources recycled. In another embodiment, resource management system 106 may allocate rewards to the customers based on a frequency of disposing the waste resources. In yet another embodiment, resource management system 106 may allocate a fixed amount of reward to each customer. In another embodiment, the resource management system 106 may allocate rewards to customers based on a total amount or value of waste resources collected from all customers, and distributed to individual customers either as a fixed share of the total, or in proportion to the contribution from respective individual customers.
The reward may be a financial reward (e.g., monetary reward) or substantially any other type of rewards feasible in the context of the present embodiments. Examples of financial rewards may include cash, a credit, a gift certificate, a gift card, coupons, etc. In another embodiment, rewards may include points or tokens redeemable for a financial reward. The reward may be allocated electronically to customers (e.g., a transaction between two bank accounts, an entry into an electronic database, PayPal™, etc.), or issued physically to customers through, e.g., a check, a money order, a certificate, and the like.
Upon submission of a request through interface 500, a confirmation screen such as interface 550 of
Brand entities 702a-n, generically referred to as brand entity 702 or interchangeably as brand entities 702, may submit to server 104 a request to deliver waste resources to, for example, their factories, refurbishment facilities, redistribution facilities, recycling facilities, and the like, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Brand entity 702 may be any company, individual and the like that manufactures or sells the products that had been disposed as waste resources. Brand entity 702 also may own one or more brands of products that had been purchased and used by customers 102. Due to various reasons, customers 102 may desire to dispose the products as waste resources. As described above, resource management system 106 collects such waste resources from customers 102 for recycling or disposal. Brand entity 702 may desire to know various details of waste resources that are part of the brands owned by brand entity 702, and may send a request for information to server 104.
An entity-facing interface 705 provides a physical-layer networking interface to receive the request for information from brand entity 702, and in turn forwards the request from brand entity 702 to resource management system 106. Resource management system 106 of server 104 receives and processes requests from brand entities 702a-n. Resource management system 106 also may retrieve, from database 108, data associated with a brand entity.
Brand entity 702 registers with resource management system 106 by providing information about itself. After registration, resource management system 106 may create a secure channel through which brand entities 702 can access entity-facing interface 705. Database 108 may store, brand entity information, such as a name, a contact number, the brands owned, an email identification (ID), an address, options to participate in loyalty points or rewards and the like.
Brand entities 702 may submit requests or queries by use of corresponding user equipment 710a-n, generically referred to as user equipment 710, according to an embodiment of the present invention. User equipment 710 may include a laptop, a computer, a Personal Digital Assistance (PDA), a tablet, a smart phone, a palmtop, a notebook, a mobile phone, a group of networking computers or any other computing device. User equipment 710 may support any type of user interface to submit a request from brand entity 702. In addition, user equipment 710 may facilitate various user input devices, e.g., a touch screen, a keyboard and keypad data entry, a voice-based input mechanisms, and the like. User equipment 710 also may include other applications 712 (i.e., computer-implemented processes) such as, but are not limited to, social networking applications, communication applications, business intelligent applications, educational applications, and the like, according to an embodiment. Applications 712 also may be an executable shell for entity-facing interface 705. Applications 712 on user equipment 710 may exchange information with entity-facing interface 705 through network 116. In another embodiment, user equipment 710 may include browser 114. In an exemplary scenario, entities 702 may initiate requests by logging into a user account on a website of resource management system 106 through entity-facing interface 705. User equipment 710 may transmit requests of entities 702 to server 104 through network 116.
Resource management system 106 may facilitate entities 702 to create a user account by use of their contact details (e.g., a mobile phone number). Brand entity 702 may use a username-password pair to login to their accounts. Brand entity 702 may use a pattern created on the touch interface of user equipment 710 to login to the corresponding account, wherein the pattern is pre-stored by brand entity 702 or by a person working at brand entity 702 using user equipment 710. The pattern may include, for example, a gesture (e.g., a swipe), a simple figure (e.g., a hand-drawn geometric figure), a simple alphanumeric sequence (e.g., PIN number, initials, passcode, etc.), and so forth.
Embodiments of the resource management system 106 may facilitate entity 702 to provide information associated with the waste resources and to select a category for the waste resource. Categories of waste resources may include apparel, shoes, bed and bath, computers, printers, others, and the like. The categories may further include “other”, “miscellaneous” or the like, for hard-to-categorize waste resources.
Upon collection of a plurality of waste resources from customer 102, and verification if performed by processor 206 (as shown in
Embodiments may assign a specific waste resource to a category at least in part based upon a combination of factors. Factors may include: (1) quality of the specific waste resource (e.g., “like new”, “good”, “fair”, “poor”); (2) average selling price for new and/or used similar waste resources (e.g., a flat screen TV in good condition may be more desirable than a pair of shoes in good condition); (3) a balance of supply and demand for the specific waste resource (e.g., clothing in common sizes may be more desirable than clothing in unusual sizes), and so forth. Some embodiments may predict a value of a specific waste resource based upon the factors, and then assign the specific waste resource to one of condition categories (1)-(4) based upon the predicted value.
In some embodiments, processor 206 may determine a route to send the collected waste resources to a processing facility or a distribution center or a scrap dealer based on the categorizations assigned. Upon verification and based on the information provided by customer 102, processor 206 may execute sets of program instructions stored in memory 204 in order to categorize each collected waste resource further based upon respective brands of each collected waste resource. For example, a waste resource branded with “Company A” may be categorized accordingly under a category “Company A”, in addition to categorizing the waste resource in one of condition categories (1)-(4).
Processor 206 may use product photographs submitted by customer 102 to help identify the highest-value disposition of collected items, and to help avoid inventory costs. For example, image recognition processes may detect items in the product photographs, may detect conditions that may affect value (e.g., apparent broken items), and assign a category of disposition (e.g., one of categories (1)-(4) discussed above). Alternately, the collected waste resources may be verified upon collection and any inconsistency with the information provided by customer 102 is corrected. Processor 206 may store information related to the collected waste resources and the categorizations in memory 204. Embodiments also may store this information in database 108.
Queries to entity-facing interface 705, from brand entity 702, includes search parameters relating to collected waste resources directed to a brand, or to any of the dispositions mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. Based on the categorizations stored in memory 204 or in database 108 and the search parameters, processor 206 may retrieve a list of collected waste resources from the plurality of collected waste resources and transmit the retrieved list to the entity-facing interface for display to brand entity 702 on user equipment 710. Brand entity 702 may then send a request through entity-facing interface 705 to deliver selected waste resources from the displayed list of collected waste resources, to a delivery location. The delivery location may be part of the registration information provided by brand entity 702 and stored on database 108. In other embodiments, brand entity 702 may provide the delivery location at the time of making the request.
In some embodiments, loyalty points allocated to customers 102 may be based on factors such as an amount of waste resources recycled by customer 102, or based on the frequency of disposing waste resources, or the number of times brand entity 702 requests a delivery of a waste resource recycled or disposed by customer 102. For example, if customer ‘A’ disposes waste resources every three months, and customer ‘B’ disposes waste resources once per year, then customer ‘A’ will earn more frequency-based loyalty points as compared to customer ‘B’. On the other hand, if customer ‘B’ disposes more amount of waste resources once per year than customer ‘A’ who disposes waste resources every three months, then more quantity-based loyalty points may be allocated to customer ‘B’ than customer ‘A’. Additionally, if an entity ‘C’ requests more waste resources disposed or recycled by the customer ‘A’ than that of customer ‘B, then customer ‘A’ is accorded more loyalty points. Brand entity 702 may choose to be part of loyalty programs at the time of registration.
For the purpose of routing a delivery vehicle, each delivery location from brand entity 702 may be a separate destination. Resource management system 106 may determine a relatively efficient route for the delivery of the selected waste resources to brand entities 702 who have submitted a delivery request within a given period of time. Given a list of destinations and the cost to travel between each pair of destinations (cost as measured by, e.g., distance, time to travel, tolls, multivariate function thereof, etc.), processor 206 determines an efficient route (i.e., ideally the least costly route) that visits each destination once and upon conclusion goes to a predetermined location (e.g., a designated waiting location, etc.). The step of routing may be implemented as a set of program instructions executed by processor 206. Embodiments may judge efficiency by, e.g., reduction of an estimated travel time to make all deliveries, or reduction of a number of miles to make all deliveries, or reduction of tolls paid, and so forth. Some embodiments may apply multiple criteria simultaneously, e.g., find a fast route while keeping tolls below a predetermined threshold (e.g., zero tolls or one toll, or total tolls no more than X dollars).
By including multiple types of items to deliver on a route (e.g., both electronic items and apparel), processor 206 can construct a relatively efficient route that reduces delivery cost.
As a baseline for judging an efficient route, and using travel distance as a metric to judge efficiency, a first approximation of an efficient route may be to go to whichever of N delivery locations is physically closest to the present location of the delivery vehicle. After that delivery, the delivery vehicle may go to the closest of the remaining N−1 delivery locations, and the process repeated until all delivery locations are serviced. Such a route is referred to herein as a “closest delivery route”. An analysis to identify a more efficient result may then include other factors, such as a different order of delivery, travel time between delivery locations and the like. In some circumstances, when one route may reduce a first metric (e.g., distance traveled) but another route may reduce a second metric (e.g., time to travel) at a cost of a higher first metric, embodiments may apply a weighting (e.g., dollars per hour and dollars per mile) in order to determine an efficient route taking into account multiple metrics. In some embodiments, a weighting may take into account a statistical uncertainty of the metric, e.g., travel times may vary depending upon traffic, and therefore may carry less weighting in close situations because travel time estimates have a greater variance. In contrast, distances are fixed for a given route, and therefore may carry greater weighting because distances would be known relatively more precisely. Embodiments may exclude some routes if a roadway along the route cannot accommodate commercial traffic, or vehicles over a certain height or weight.
Embodiments may wait a predetermined amount of time between delivery runs in order for a sufficient number of requests to arrive within a predefined service area. A sufficient number of requests would be one that is likely to utilize at least a threshold cargo capacity of a delivery vehicle (e.g., a truck) for a route within the service area, without risking antagonism of brand entity 702 about a delay in scheduling a delivery. Cargo capacity criteria may include weight, volume, interior dimensions, exterior dimensions (e.g., trailer size, roof rack size, etc.), or any combination of criteria. For example, embodiments may dispatch vehicles once per day, once per week, twice per week, etc. within a service area, depending upon volume in the service area. There may exist several overlapping or non-overlapping service areas within a geographic region, depending upon delivery request volume. Alternatively, service area boundaries may vary depending upon a volume of received delivery requests. In other embodiments and circumstances, a delivery vehicle may be dispatched relatively quickly after receiving a submitted request, e.g., if delivering an item of high expected value, or if the delivery location is relatively close to a present location of the delivery vehicle, or if the size or other characteristic of the waste resource makes it impractical to combine a delivery of the waste resource with a delivery of another waste resource, or upon a request from brand entity 702 for expedited service.
Some embodiments of resource management system 106 may calculate an estimated delivery date and/or delivery time to deliver the waste resources to the respective brand entities 702. In another embodiment, resource management system 106 may calculate more than one delivery date and/or delivery time to deliver the waste resources.
Resource management system 106 may use one or more of various communication channels to communicate with brand entity 702. Communication channels may include, e.g., an email, a Short Messaging Service (SMS), a text message, a web message, a message on a social networking website, a voice call, a video call, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call, and the like. A conversation history may be visible or available. Resource management system 106 may use one or more of these communication channels to prompt brand entity 702 to provide a selection of an appropriate or preferred date and/or time at which the waste resources may be delivered. Thereafter, the scheduling module of resource management system 106 may receive the selection of the appropriate date and/or time to deliver the waste resources.
Further, the resource management system 106 may provide notifications to brand entity 702, using one or more of the communication channels. Notifications may include any delay in delivery etc.
In some embodiments, a vehicle may be scheduled and routed to combine pickups from customers 102 with deliveries to brand entities 702, so that efficiencies can be increased.
At step 902, processor 206 generates categorizations of a plurality of waste resources based on brand name, dispositions of the waste resources, e.g., (1) to resell as used goods (e.g., as vintage clothing), or (2) to examine further for possible refurbishment, or (3) to sell for scrap value, or (4) to discard and type of waste resource, e.g., electronics or apparel. At step 904, entity-facing interface 705 receives a query from brand entity 702 as shown in
At step 906, based on the search parameters in the query from brand entity 702, as shown in
At step 910, resource management system 106 may determine a relatively efficient route for the delivery of the selected waste resources to the plurality of brand entities 702 who have submitted a delivery request within a given period of time. Given a list of destinations and the cost to travel between each pair of destinations (cost as measured by, e.g., distance, time to travel, tolls, multivariate function thereof, etc.), processor 206 determines a low-cost route (i.e., ideally the least costly route) that visits each destination once and upon conclusion goes to a predetermined location (e.g., a designated waiting location, etc.). The step of routing may be implemented as a set of program instructions executed by processor 206. Embodiments may judge efficiency by, e.g., reduction of estimated travel time to make all deliveries, or reduction of the number of miles to make all deliveries, or reduction of tolls paid, and so forth. Some embodiments may apply multiple criteria simultaneously, e.g., find a fast route while keeping tolls below a predetermined threshold (e.g., zero tolls or one toll, or total tolls no more than X dollars).
At step 912, brand entity 702 provides a preferred date and time for the delivery of the subset of displayed waste resources. Processor 206 may schedule delivery based on factors such as delivery locations provided, or entity-preferred delivery dates and/or delivery times.
In some embodiments, an entity-preferred delivery time may refer to a specific time or may refer to a time window. An entity-preferred delivery time may cause recalculation of an efficient route to deliver all waste resourced planned for pickup, so that the distribution vehicle should arrive within a predetermined time window around the entity-preferred delivery time (e.g., +/−one hour), or within a time window provided by brand entity 702, or after a time specified by brand entity 702, or before a time specified by brand entity 702. In some embodiments, rules within the executable instructions of processor 206 may set limits to a time window unless overridden by a request from brand entity 702.
Bus 1202 may couple mobile system 1200 to a display 1212, such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, an active matrix display, or a plasma display, to display information to a mobile user. An input device 1214, such as a keyboard including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to bus 1202 to communicate information and command selections to processor 1204. Another type of a user input device may be a cursor control 1216, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys, to communicate direction information and command selections to processor 1204 and to control cursor movement on display 1212.
According to an exemplary embodiment, processes described herein are performed by mobile system 1200, in response to processor 1204 executing an arrangement of instructions contained in main memory 1206. Such instructions may be read into main memory 1206 from another computer-readable medium, such as storage device 1210. Execution of instructions contained in main memory 1206 causes processor 1204 to perform process steps described herein. One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement also may execute instructions contained in main memory 1206. Alternative embodiments may use hard-wired circuitry in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement exemplary embodiments. Thus, exemplary embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.
Mobile system 1200 also may include a communication interface 1218 coupled to bus 1202. Communication interface 1218 provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link 1220 connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) 1222. For example, communication interface 1218 may be a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) card or modem, an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) card, a cable modem, a telephone modem, or any other communication interface to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of communication line. As another example, communication interface 1218 may be a Local Area Network (LAN) card (e.g., for Ethernet™ or an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network) to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN. Embodiments also may include wireless links. In such implementation, communication interface 1218 may send and receives electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information. Further, communication interface 1218 may include peripheral interface devices, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) interface, etc. Although
Network link 1220 typically provides data communication through networks to other data devices. For example, network link 1220 may provide a connection through LAN 1222 to a host computer 524, which has connectivity to a network 1226 (e.g., a Wide Area Network (WAN) or a global packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the “Internet”) or to data equipment operated by a service provider. LAN 1222 and network 1226 both use electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals to convey information and instructions. Exemplary forms of carrier waves bearing information and instructions include signals through various networks and signals on network link 1220 and through communication interface 1218, which communicate digital data with mobile system 1200.
Mobile system 1200 may send messages and receive data, including program code, through network 1226, network link 1220, and communication interface 1218. In the Internet example, a server (not shown) might transmit requested code, belonging to an application program, through network 1226, LAN 1222 and communication interface 1218. Processor 1204 may execute transmitted code while being received and/or store the code in storage device 1210, or other non-volatile storage for later execution. In this manner, mobile system 1200 may obtain application code in the form of a carrier wave.
Various embodiments described herein confer benefits across a value chain of a product at the end of its usefulness to a consumer. For example, customer 102 may have products that no longer are useful to the owner, or do not have enough benefit to the owner to keep them. Such products may include old clothes and unwanted or obsolete electronics. Embodiments provide solutions to customer 102 by offering a convenient way to dispose of old clothes, electronics, and the like. For haulers and entities that contract with haulers (e.g., cites and municipalities), conventional solutions of sending discarded but recyclable articles to landfills is expensive (e.g., due to tipping fees) and depletes landfill space. In contrast, embodiments provide a way for haulers and cities to reduce the waste stream, thereby reducing tipping fees, conserving landfill space, and generating a new source of revenue. For textile and electronic recyclers, conventional solutions lead to a greater demand for recyclable goods than the existing infrastructure can accommodate. In contrast, embodiments provide an organized infrastructure to provide adequate recyclable articles, and may stimulate new uses or markets for recyclable articles due to a greater availability of recyclable articles. For brand owners (e.g., manufacturers), conventional solutions fail to provide a way to gather feedback regarding how their products perform or withstand usage in real-life situations. In contrast, embodiments provide an infrastructure that can be organized to examine collected articles and give feedback to brand owners about any frequently-observed traits (e.g., that a certain type of smart phone screen is often broken, etc.).
Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure provide numerous benefits compared to the background art for the collection of recyclable items. First, mailing recyclable items to a collection center suffers from a low participation rate due to inconvenience, and in practice is limited to high-value items. In contrast, embodiments are able to accept substantially all kinds of recyclable waste, with greater convenience to consumers.
Second, taking recyclable items back to a retail location (e.g., “bricks and mortar store”) suffers from inconvenience, and low participation by retailers, and often times fees charged by retailers. In contrast, embodiments focus on consumer convenience (e.g., collection vehicle comes to the consumer), and once collected there is opportunity to find a high-value resale market (e.g., because the quantity of material collected stimulates knowledge of and markets for the recycled materials), while keeping storage and inventory cost low through fast turnover.
Third, one-at-a-time, on-demand pickup of recyclable items is inefficient and costly (including usage or other resources such as vehicle fuel). In contrast, embodiments handle a large number of collection requests within a limited geographic area and time window, thus spreading fixed costs (e.g., overhead, cost of collection vehicle, etc.) over a larger number of items, making lower-value items more economical to recycle.
Fourth, municipal drop-off of recyclable items (e.g., a collection bin in a parking lot) suffers from a physical limit on the quantity of material that can be collected before the bins need to be emptied. Fragile electronic items may break when dropped into a bin, and items may be damaged (e.g., by water leakage, vermin, mildew in the containers, etc.), and may be susceptible to theft. Drop-off also is inconvenient to consumers 102, and thus would tend to discourage participation because it requires time and effort to go back and forth to a drop-off location, and (for larger items) a physical effort to transfer it. In contrast, embodiments focus on consumer convenience by having a collection vehicle coming to the consumer at a convenient time of the customer's choosing.
The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 1204 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 1210. Volatile media may include a dynamic memory, such as main memory 1206. Transmission media may include coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including wires that include bus 1202. Transmission media also may take the form of acoustic, optical, or electromagnetic waves, such as those generated during Radio Frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications. Common forms of computer-readable media may include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, a Compact Disc-Rewritable (CDRW), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, optical mark sheets, any other physical medium with patterns of holes or other optically recognizable indicia, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer can read. In certain cases, computer readable media may include an unknown physical component wherein information is uniquely defined by a special digital unique identifier and is available through multiple physical channels either simultaneously or exclusively.
Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in providing instructions to a processor for execution. For example, instructions to carry out at least part of the exemplary embodiments initially may be stored on a magnetic disk of a remote mobile device. In such a scenario, the remote mobile device loads instructions into main memory and sends instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem of a local computer system receives data on a telephone line and uses an infrared transmitter to convert data to an infrared signal and transmit the infrared signal to a portable computing device, such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or a laptop. An infrared detector on the portable computing device receives information and instructions transmitted by the infrared signal and places data on a bus. The bus conveys data to a main memory, from which a processor retrieves and executes instructions. Instructions received by main memory can optionally be stored on storage device either before or after execution by processor.
As used herein, the term “module” refers generally to a logical sequence or association of steps, processes or components. For example, a software module may comprise a set of associated routines or subroutines within a computer program. Alternatively, a module may comprise a substantially self-contained hardware device. A module also may comprise a logical set of processes irrespective of any software or hardware implementation.
A module that performs a function also may be referred to as being configured to perform the function, e.g., a data module that receives data also may be described as being configured to receive data. Configuration to perform a function may include, for example: providing and executing sets of computer code in a processor that performs the function; providing provisionable configuration parameters that control, limit, enable or disable capabilities of the module (e.g., setting a flag, setting permissions, setting threshold levels used at decision points, etc.); providing a physical connection, such as a jumper to select an option, or to enable/disable an option; attaching a physical communication link; enabling a wireless communication link; providing electrical circuitry that is designed to perform the function without use of a processor, such as by use of discrete components and/or non-CPU integrated circuits; energizing a circuit that performs the function (e.g., providing power to a transceiver circuit in order to receive data); and so forth.
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. It is understood that various embodiments described herein may be utilized in combination with any other embodiment described, without departing from the scope contained herein. Further, the foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the disclosure. Certain exemplary embodiments may be identified by use of an open-ended list that includes wording to indicate that the list items are representative of the embodiments and that the list is not intended to represent a closed list exclusive of further embodiments. Such wording may include “e.g.,” “etc.,” “such as,” “for example,” “and so forth,” “and the like,” etc., and other wording as will be apparent from the surrounding context.
Moreover, the claims should not be read as limited to the described order or elements unless stated to that effect. In addition, use of the term “means” in any claim is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f), and any claim without the word “means” is not so intended.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/060,717 filed on Mar. 4, 2016, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/141,691 filed on Apr. 1, 2015, the entire content of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62141691 | Apr 2015 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15060717 | Mar 2016 | US |
| Child | 15491386 | US |
