ES2378389A1 - Set of devices for checking the status of waste containers, and corresponding check method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a set of devices for checking the status of waste containers and to the corresponding check method. The set of devices includes: a set of standard waste containers (21) at least one local telemetry device (1) disposed in each of the standard containers, in turn containing a device for checking the fill level of the standard containers and a device for transmitting information from each container to at least one receiving unit a central information processing unit and a connection between the local telemetry devices disposed in each of the standard containers and the central information processing unit. The method includes: grouping of the containers into groups or clusters communication between the containers from one group and a master container and communication between the master container and a central information processing unit.

Description

Set of devices for the control of status of waste containers and control method correspondent.

The present invention aims at a set of devices for container status control of waste, said containers being provided with a device load detector as well as a power device electric and a recharging device of said device of electrical power supply. The invention also relates to a method of control of the state of said containers for and optimization of their collection routes and policy setting aimed at improving the quality level.

Currently the generation and management of waste It constitutes a serious environmental problem for modern societies. A significant fact is that 2.8% of greenhouse gases (GHG), are contributed by waste. This fact is so important that there are policies at all levels for the minimization of these effects, as is the case in Spain of the Plan National Integrated Waste. Within this area and with the aim of establishing more efficient management models in the entire waste collection process is important the research and development of technology in the field of waste collection and treatment processes that replace the traditional processes and devices for more efficient ones, contributing to environmental sustainability thanks to the incorporation of information technologies and communications

The total waste production volume recycled metal, paper and cardboard, wood, glass and plastic in 2007 in Spain it reached 15.7 million tons, which It represents an increase of 12.5 percent over the year above, according to data from the DBK report "Recycling of Waste".

In terms of value, the total production of recycled waste reached 1,720 million euros in 2007 (including metal, paper and cardboard, wood, glass and plastic), after record growth of 25% in 2006 and 17% in the past exercise.

For its part, the volume of paper production and cardboard reached 4.9 million tons, around 6% more than the previous year generating more than 5,000 million euros annual and employing 17,750 direct workers.

In the case of glass, the recycling volume was estimated at 936 million tons, which represents a recycling rate of 56% with an annual growth of close to 10%. From the moment of the implementation of the GIS of
ECOVIDRIO, the rate of containerization (containers / inhabitant) begins to grow rapidly. Currently, in Spain there are more than 106,000 glass containers installed in the streets of 7,466 municipalities throughout the country, covering approximately 99% of the population. This implies an average containerization ratio of one per 400 inhabitants; the largest in Europe, when the forecast of the National Urban Waste Plan for 2006 was to reach the figure of one per 500 inhabitants.

As a whole and taking into account all The different types of containers (Organic, Packaging, Paper, Cardboard and Glass) it is estimated that there may be around half million containers in Spain.

Forecasts of production evolution of recycling of metal, paper and cardboard, wood, glass and waste plastic for the next few years point to growth rates high, expecting production increases close to 10%. From In this way, total production stood at about 17.4 million tons at the end of 2008.

There are some systems that allow you to optimize urban waste collection circuits but based on datawarehouse system that are fed with the information daily provided by operators but at no time they are able to offer reliable information about the situation in real time.

According to the invention they are intended to achieve, between others, the following objectives:

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establishment and monitoring in Real-time quality levels in the process of collecting waste, such as urban waste;

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alarm level generation when quality levels are not reached;

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permanent monitoring and control of the level of filling of the containers;

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obtaining statistics and behavior patterns in the process of generating urban waste;

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productivity increase by reducing costs in the service;

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efficiency improvement in pickup routes; avoid unnecessary displacements with special impact on geographically dispersed urban centers or with containers in areas far from cities and towns;

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charging time minimization and unloading on carrier vehicles; focusing on those with optimum filling levels;

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productivity increase by truck, person and container;

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greater control for knowledge of real-time work, location, telemetry;

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decision support with real-time information of what is happening;

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product traceability for manufacturers;

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for City Halls and Public Services, cost reduction, "Peer per Use ";

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reduce error rate, real-time controls, information to the employee;

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image enhancement, avoid bad image of overflow containers and dirt on the road public;

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new services to customers, "On Demand" service;

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information on guidelines social in waste recycling, potential application of individualized rate by volume of waste.

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The proposed invention focuses on the improved profitability of recycling companies solving technical aspects that affect the cost of collection and the lack of information on the patterns and social patterns of recycling the different types of waste as well as the knowledge of the Traceability of recycling bins and containers. The incorporation of economies of scale in activity and greater specialization could generate considerable savings in the sector.

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State of the art

ES 2138514 describes a procedure and solid waste collection container in which it is disposed a filling level detector, the connection comprising of a self-powered transmitter with a control center operational

GB 2402737 also describes a level sensor for waste containers, with at least one level indicator which indicates when the container must be emptied. Also includes means of transmission to a computerized system.

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Description of the invention

The proposed invention consists of a set of devices formed by:

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A set of containers of waste, such as urban waste containers;

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At least one telemetry equipment premises arranged in each of the containers, containing its time:

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A control device of the container load level; such control device can consist of a volumetric ultrasonic sensor, a device electronic weighing, among others, that measures the load volume of the container; it is an electronic device of dimensions reduced and of very low consumption so that it has enough autonomy and which will be inserted into the container chassis; this team can be equipped with GPS tracking functions, communications UMTS for permanent communication with a Control Center, High Skill sensors for measuring the filling level of the container and programmable operating software to configure the operation of the equipment;

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A transmission device of the information from each container to at least one unit recipient;

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A feeding device electric electronic weighing device and / or device of transmission of information; said feeding device electric will normally consist of a rechargeable battery, but in static containers, for example underground, can also be powered by the power grid;

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A recharge device power supply device, when said device power supply be a rechargeable battery; the device of recharging can be formed by a photovoltaic solar collector normally arranged on the upper deck of the container;

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It is planned that the units local electronics understand:

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Ports: the units local electronics will comprise RS232 communications ports, IO;

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Ultrasonic sensors: all systems can connect up to 16 sensors ultrasound, sharing the same RS232 bus;

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GPS: a port will be available series for the possible connection of a GPS device;

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RTC: Real Timer Clock real time), to have the time and date accurately; be will use for general network timing.

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One or more receiving units arranged in at least one fixed location or container "master" (we call it "master" as a collecting unit and re-issuer of information on nearby containers); may have a set of nearby containers forming a cluster; in In this case, one of them will be the master (you will have communications by mobile phone and ZigBee) and the rest of the containers will be Slaves (your electronics will only have communications ZigBee); in this case a communications network is created, thereby that the master centralize communications with the Central Server. ZigBee is the name of the specification of a set of High level wireless communication protocols for your use with low consumption digital radios;

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A central unit of information processing; This central information processing unit will be in a waste control and monitoring center ; it comprises a web application together with a database manager in which all the measurements in real time of the managed containers are stored; These measurements are obtained through a communications manager that will periodically synchronize with all telemetry equipment; The application includes a graphical interface that will be displayed on the management monitors through a Geographic Information System of the city with visual signals that will indicate the quality levels of each area, type of container, and that allows to incorporate an integral scorecard from that a centralized management of the entire container network can be carried out; changes or updates of software or configuration parameters can be made from the central processing unit of the information;

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A connection between the / s receiving unit (s) and an information processing center; the connection will be normally wireless, but it can be a connection fixed by cable in the event that the location of the receiving unit be fixed, for example arranged in a building or is in a fixed underground container; in wireless communications, the electronic system will have the option of communications through UMTS, GSM. GPRS or via SMS and ZigBee communications, to Implement a local network of nearby containers (cluster). In the manufacturing phase will install one or both systems of communication in each container depending on the specifications and requirements of it.

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Each of the containers will also include an identification device, and possibly a detector of position, such as a GPS device.

Wireless communication may take place through different communication devices, using any available technology, such as radio frequency, UMTS broadband wireless technology, GSM. GPRS or through SMS, WiFi, ultrasound technology (although this is not enough ideal for communications at a distance), and in general a low cost electronic communications technology, dimensions and consumption, fed by means of a feeding system autonomous with long duration, etc.

A control method of the container status for route planning collection, which includes:

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A container pool in groups or clusters;

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A communication from containers of a group with a master container or with a unit of communications of each group or cluster;

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A direct communication or indirect of the master container or the communications unit of each group or cluster with a central processing unit of the information; The connection can be wired or wireless, by example through mobile telephony;

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An identification of container and its geographical position;

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The combination of the location of the container with an information system geographical;

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Issuance of status alarms of the containers depending on the levels of mass load or volumetric;

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The route generation of collected from the information obtained.

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Brief description of the drawings

In order to illustrate the explanation that will follow, herewith three sheets of drawings, in which the essence of the present invention, and in which:

Figure 1 shows a representation of a example scheme of a telemetry equipment arranged in each of The containers;

Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a example of the communication system of the invention; in which the communication between different containers called standard with A container called a master is done wirelessly, so as well as the master container communicates wirelessly with a central unit of information processing;

Figure 3 shows a schematic view of a example of the communication system according to the invention, in the that an communication interface has been optionally arranged between the master containers and the central processing unit of the information, the communication between said interface and said central processing unit by cable or wireless.

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Description of an embodiment of the invention

By way of example, and without limitation a preferred embodiment of the invention.

So you have a set of containers (21, 22) in a geographical area where these must be managed containers (21, 22), so that each of the containers it comprises a telemetry equipment (1).

Each telemetry equipment (1) is composed of a PLC (2) provided with a microprocessor (11) with its corresponding memory, a wireless communication module (13), for example via mobile telephony, measuring sensor (s) (14), charging system (12), and a battery (15) as a device for electrical power supply. The PLC (2) is provided with a system operating (Firmware) (16) that manages the different operations that They are made. The telemetry team will have a transformer (17) to adjust the electrical voltage to that required.

The sensor or measurement sensors (14) are at minus one of the following:

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Sensor via ultrasound;

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Radiation sensor infrared;

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Optical sensors.

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There are, according to the invention, at least one set of standard containers (21) provided with a team of telemetry (1), as well as a receiving equipment. The receiving team it can be a master container (22), in which in addition to the equipment The receiver also has a sending device. Said issuing team can form a joint unit with the corresponding team receiver, or constitute a different unit.

According to one option, the master container (22), for through your sending equipment, you communicate directly with the unit central information processing, so that the central unit of information processing (23) permanently has the data, not only of the master container (22), but also of the standard containers (21) that form a group, through said master container (22) of the group itself.

According to another option, there is also a unit of communications (24) independent of the master container (22) and of the standard containers (21), so that a group of containers it may not need said master container (22), but to communicate directly with said communications unit (24), or communicate with said communications unit (24) through the master container (22). The communication unit (24) can be connected to the central unit of information processing (23) by wireless means or by cable; for how much said communications unit (24) will be (if any) in a fixed location, may be powered by the power grid, thus allowing the master container (22) to require a power moderately small, and therefore also a small consumption, while the powerful transmission that requires higher consumption It can be done through a communications unit.

Said communications unit (24) can also be arranged in one or more vehicles, and may also be said vehicles unloading said containers, so that either during a certain route when it is established, depending on the frequency of passage of the vehicle and the load level of the container, whether or not to proceed with the collection of said container. Obviously, this option will be more appropriate when try products for recycling or reuse, such as paper or cardboard, glass, clothing, rather than organic products, which they will require a very frequent collection regardless of the state container load.

In addition, collection routes can be established "urgent" containers that have reached a level saturation

A communications unit (24) can correspond to a single group of containers, or allow the grouping of several of these, depending on the existing distance between ones and others.

Master containers are likely to be programmed from the central unit of information processing, as well as, where appropriate, standard containers.

A management center will include all functional elements of management, whose architecture will be endowed normally of a GSM communications system. GPRS, SMS, or UMTS, a connectivity software, and in which it will be performed periodically a process of collecting data from containers, a database information store, as well as a graphic management interface and alert notification.

We stand out as a very important advantage, the real-time measurement capacity of the filling level of the urban waste containers through the devices electronics incorporated in the container chassis itself and endowed with autonomy for long periods of time. This feature is the one that certainly allows a global system Efficient management with all the objectives mentioned previously.

Claims (16)

1. Set of devices for the control of status of waste containers formed by:

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A set of containers standard (21) of waste, such as waste containers urban;

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At least one telemetry equipment (1) premises arranged in each of the standard containers, containing in turn:

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A control device of the loading level of standard containers;

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A transmission device of the information from each standard container to at least one unit recipient;

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A central processing unit of information;

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A connection between the teams of local telemetry arranged in each of the containers standard and the central unit of information processing.

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2. Set of devices for controlling the status of waste containers, according to claim 1, characterized in that the standard containers are divided into groups or clusters, each of the groups comprising at least one "master" container (22), comprising said "master" containers, in addition to the devices comprising the standard containers, a receiving device and a device for re-sending the information of the group or cluster containers to the central information processing unit. 3. Set of devices for controlling the status of waste containers, according to claim 2, characterized in that the communication devices between the standard containers of a group or cluster and the master container of said group or cluster are of the ZigBee type. 4. Set of devices for controlling the condition of waste containers, according to any of claims 2 to 3, characterized in that the master container comprises at least one communication device, selected from the following:

Communication by cable.

Radio Frequency

Telephony mobile.

Wifi.

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5. Set of devices for monitoring the condition of waste containers, according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each of the containers also comprises an identification device. 6. Set of devices for monitoring the condition of waste containers, according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that each of the containers also comprises a position detector, such as a GPS device. 7. Set of devices for controlling the condition of waste containers, according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that at least one of the containers comprises a power supply device consisting of a rechargeable battery. 8. Set of devices for monitoring the condition of waste containers, according to claim 7, characterized in that each container further comprises a recharging device of the rechargeable battery power supply device, consisting of a photovoltaic solar collector normally arranged in the top cover of the container. 9. Set of devices for monitoring the condition of waste containers, according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that each telemetry equipment (1) is composed of:

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a PLC (2) provided with a microprocessor (11) with its corresponding memory;

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a communication module wireless (13);

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measuring sensor / s (14);

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a charging system (12), Y

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a battery (15) as power supply device

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A set of devices for the control of the condition of waste containers, according to claim 9, characterized in that the sensor or the measurement sensors (14) are at least one of the following:

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Sensor via ultrasound;

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Radiation sensor infrared;

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Optical sensors.

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11. Method of monitoring the state of waste containers for the planning of collection routes, characterized in that it includes:

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A team schedule of local telemetry providing an identification of each container, said programming configuring a grouping of containers in groups or clusters;

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Establishment of a communication of a group's containers with a container Master's degree or with a communications unit of each group or cluster;

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Establishment of a Direct or indirect communication of the master container or unit of communications of each group or cluster with a central unit of Information process

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12. Method of monitoring the condition of the containers for the planning of collection routes, according to claim 11, characterized in that it also includes:

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The communication of the container identification;

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The detection and emission of geographical position.

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13. Method of controlling the condition of the containers for the planning of collection routes, according to claim 12, characterized in that it also includes a process of integrating the geographical position with a geographic information system. 14. Method of monitoring the condition of the containers for the planning of collection routes, according to any of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that it comprises the issuance of status alarms of the containers based on predetermined mass or volumetric load levels . 15. Method of monitoring the condition of the containers for the planning of collection routes, according to any of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the establishment of direct or indirect communication of the master container or the communication unit of each group or cluster with the central unit of information processing takes place through mobile telephony. 16. Method of monitoring the condition of the containers for the planning of collection routes, according to any of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the direct or indirect communication of the master container or the communication unit of each group or cluster with the unit Information processing center takes place through the establishment of a communication via a fixed cable connection as long as the location of the receiving unit is fixed.