1 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT "Improved Logistics" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 2 Improved Logistics 5 Field of the Invention This invention relates to real time monitoring of a variety of parameters relating to the storage of milk, and the utilisation of that data for maximising the efficiency of the logistics relating to the handling and transportation of milk. 10 Background Milk is commonly bulk stored in vats. These vats often contain many thousands of litres of milk. Dairy farms may have one or more vats for storing the milk produced. 15 Sometimes several farms may share a single milk storage facility. The milk remains in storage until it is collected by a transport tanker and delivered to the customer. Since milk is a perishable commodity, and its quality is heavily dependent on the temperature at which it is stored, and the time that is has been in storage, it is vital 20 that real time monitoring of critical parameters such as temperature, storage time and volume is accurately maintained at all times. A critical temperature is 40C. Under Australian regulations governing the handling and storage of milk, any milk stored above 4oC is classified as "degraded product", and is therefore is sold at a lower price per litre than first class milk. Degraded milk can also be sold to a reduced number of 25 customers because many customers require the delivery of non-degraded milk. It is common for monitoring technology to be connected to a vat that monitors important parameters such as milk temperature and volume, and typically this data is kept on the site where the milk is stored. Typically there is no communication of this 30 data between storage sites, so any use of the data for determining the logistics of collecting and transporting the milk to the customers has to be manually determined by interaction between the storage facility and the transportation company. This 3 creates a problem where a less efficient pickup and delivery routing is created due to the manual input of the storage parameter data, and also may mean that degraded product is collected and delivered first while the more valuable premium product remains in storage. 5 In addition, there are problems associated with the collection of the storage parameter data itself. As an example, typically many milk storage vats utilise manual "dip stick" techniques for getting a reading on the level of the milk stored in the vat. From this reading, the quantity of milk stored can be determined. There is inherent risk 10 involved in this technique because an operator must climb upon the vat to utilize the dip stick, and there is a danger of falling. Also manual data collection techniques such as the utilisation of manual dip sticks, in combination with other poorly maintained sensors may lead to the farmer receiving either overpayment or underpayment for his/her goods. 15 Overall the deleterious effect of poor monitoring and logistics planning will mean that it is possible that lower value degraded product is collected and delivered first, while premium product remains in storage, thereby reducing profit potential. A less efficient pickup and delivery schedule will also increase the time it takes to complete 20 the schedule, and thereby operational costs such as fuel consumption and driver costs will be higher. Also the ratio of litres delivered to service costs for maintaining the roadworthiness of the delivery vehicles will be reduced. The carbon footprint associated with the collection and delivery is increased. 25 It is an object of the present invention to improve the monitoring and collection of sensor data from a plurality of storage vats that are geographically dispersed and thereby enabling a transportation company to plan the most efficient and cost effective route for the pickup and delivery of milk to customers. Additional benefits include a reduction in the carbon emissions from the transport vehicles. The quality 30 control of the milk is also improved, and the likelihood of price penalties associated with the delivery of degraded milk is reduced. Improved sensor technology means that the risk of injury associated with using the traditional dip method. Due to the 4 automation of the collection and processing of the sensory data, administration costs associated with the logistics of collecting and delivering the product to the customer is reduced. 5 Disclosure of the Invention Accordingly one aspect of the present invention is a data collection system for a milk storage facility having at least one vat for storing milk. Each milk storage vat includes an array of sensors that monitor at least the ambient temperature in the 10 vicinity of that particular vat, the temperature of the milk stored in that particular vat, and the level of the milk stored in that particular vat. Each vat includes a vat sensor data collector that receives the sensor data from the array of sensors associated with that particular vat. The milk storage facility also includes a storage facility vat sensor data collector that receives and collects the sensor data from each vat sensor data 15 collector. The storage facility sensor data collector includes the capability of sending the collected data to a remote sensor data storage server. Another aspect of the present invention is a data collection system for a milk storage facility having at least one vat for storing milk. Each milk storage vat includes an 20 array of sensors that monitor at least the ambient temperature in the vicinity of the particular vat, the temperature of the milk stored in the particular vat, and the level of the milk stored in the particular vat. The milk storage facility also includes a storage facility vat sensor data collector. Each individual sensor includes the ability to send its respective sensor data directly to the said storage facility vat sensor data collector. 25 The said storage facility sensor data collector includes the capability of sending the collected data to a remote sensor data storage server. It is preferable that at least the data sent from the storage facility sensor data collector to the remote sensor data storage server is sent either wirelessly via a mobile phone 30 network or via other wireless communication means, or over wired data communication means.
5 It is preferable that at least the data sent from the storage facility sensor data collector to the remote sensor data storage server is encrypted to ensure data integrity and veracity. 5 It is preferable that the remote sensor data storage server is capable of receiving, collecting and collating incoming collected sensor data from a plurality of storage facility vat sensor data collectors that may be geographically dispersed. In another aspect of the invention, the present invention is a logistics system for the 10 collection, transport and delivery of milk from a plurality of geographically dispersed milk storage facilities to at least one customer. The milk storage facilities each have at least one milk storage vat and each milk storage vat includes an array of sensors that monitor at least the ambient temperature in the vicinity of its associated vat, the temperature of the milk stored in its associated vat, and the level of the milk stored in 15 its associated vat. The logistics system includes a sensor data storage server that receives, collects and collates sensor data automatically sent to it from the plurality of geographically dispersed milk storage facilities. The logistics system also includes at least one computer that is capable of running a computer program. The computer program utilises the sensor data stored on the sensor data storage server and calculates 20 from that data a pickup and delivery route and schedule for an associated fleet of milk transport vehicles. The pickup and delivery route maximises efficiency and cost effectiveness associated with the schedule. Preferably the pickup and delivery route generated by the computer program is 25 capable of accounting for any degraded milk that may be stored at at least one storage facility and ensures that the correct grade of milk is collected and transported to the appropriate customer. Preferably at least some of the milk transport vehicles in the associated fleet include a 30 global positioning system that is able to send the relevant speed and location data for the at least some milk transport vehicles in the fleet to either the computer or the 6 sensor data storage server, and the computer program is capable of using that data to continuously improve the pickup and delivery route. Preferably at least some of the milk transport vehicles in the associated fleet include 5 an array of sensors that monitor critical parameters of the storage facility associated with the transport vehicle such as the volume of the milk being transported by that vehicle, and its storage temperature, and the data produced from the array of sensors is capable of being either directly, or indirectly sent to either the computer, or the sensor data storage server, and the computer program is capable of using that data to 10 continuously improve the pickup and delivery route. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a schematic view of the data collection system in accordance with 15 one preferred embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 is a schematic view of the data collection system in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the invention. In order that the invention may be more fully understood there will now be described, by way of example only, preferred embodiments and other elements 20 of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings will now be discussed. Description of the Preferred Embodiment and Other Examples of the Invention 25 Turning firstly to Figure 1, we see a milk vat I that is storing milk up to the level indicated by the line 3. The vat is shown with a level measuring sensor 5, a milk storage temperature sensor 7 and an ambient air temperature sensor 9. Each of these sensors monitors their respective parameter of the milk storage and feed that data to a vat sensor data collector 11. The vat sensor data collector 11 then feeds its collected 30 sensor data to a storage facility vat sensor data collector 13. The milk storage facility may have a plurality of vats, and each vat has its own vat sensor data collector 11, and 7 the storage facility vat sensor data collector 13 is capable of receiving and collecting the sensor data from each vat sensor data collector 11. The storage facility vat sensor data collector 13 is capable of sending its collected data to a remote sensor data storage server 15. The remote sensor data storage server 15 may be in another 5 geographic location to the milk storage facility, and it may also be capable of receiving the sensor data from a plurality of geographically dispersed storage facility vat sensor collectors 13. Any suitable sensor may be used for determining the level of the milk in the storage 10 vat such as a sensor utilising a laser. The vat sensor data collector 11 may send data to the storage facility vat sensor data collector 13 continuously or in batches. 15 Similarly the storage vat sensor data collector 13 may send its collected data to the remote sensor data storage server 15 either continuously or in batches. Optionally at least the data sent from the storage vat sensor data collector 13 to the remote sensor data storage server 15 is encrypted to ensure the integrity and veracity 20 of the data. Now turning to Figure 2 we can see an alternative embodiment of the invention where the sensors 5, 7 and 9 send their respective data directly to the storage facility vat sensor data collector 13. The storage facility vat sensor data collector 13 is capable of 25 directly receiving the data from a plurality of sensors associated with a plurality of vats located in the milk storage facility. This embodiment omits the need for a vat sensor data collector. In either embodiment, the sensor and data collection system allows for remote 30 monitoring of all the critical parameters of the milk stored in a plurality of vats in plurality of milk storage facilities dispersed geographically. This data can be used by relevant computer software to manage the milk storage to maximise efficiency and 8 profitability relating to the logistics of collecting the milk from the plurality of disparate sites and transporting it to the customer. In another embodiment of the invention a computer is used in conjunction with the 5 remote sensor data storage server 15 to plan a collection and delivery route and schedule for a fleet of milk transport vehicles. The route and schedule produced by the computer maximises the efficiency and cost effectiveness associated with the collection and delivery route and schedule. This generates significant benefits. Firstly the cost of running the fleet of transport vehicles is reduced. Secondly the 10 amount of carbon emissions associated with the transport of the milk is reduced. Thirdly it reduces the likelihood that the farmer will either receive an overpayment or underpayment for his or her milk. It is also possible to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the routing and 15 delivery schedule by installing global positioning monitoring (GPS) equipment on each vehicle in the milk transport fleet. The GPS equipment can monitor both the speed of the vehicle as well as its position, and either directly or indirectly feed that data back to either the computer or the remote sensor data storage server 15. The inclusion of real time position and speed data of each vehicle in the fleet enables the 20 computer program to assign the most appropriate vehicle to a particular pickup location etc. Additionally each transport vehicle in the fleet could have an array of sensors that monitor critical parameters associated with the quantity and condition of the milk on a 25 particular transport vehicle. Again this data can be either directly or indirectly send from the transport vehicle to the computer or remote sensor data storage server 15, and the data can help to further improve efficiency and cost effectiveness of the route and schedule. 30 Whilst the above description includes the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that many variations, alterations, modifications and/or additions may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts previously 9 described without departing from the essential features or the spirit or ambit of the invention. It will be also understood that where the word "comprise", and variations such as 5 "comprises" and "comprising", are used in this specification, unless the context requires otherwise such use is intended to imply the inclusion of a stated feature or features but is not to be taken as excluding the presence of other feature or features. The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, 10 an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.