FR3093713A1 - Method and device for detecting waste containers - Google Patents

Abstract

Method and device for detecting waste containers The present invention relates to a method for detecting at least one waste container (1, 11, 111) during its collection by a waste collection vehicle (2) equipped with a dumpster (3) comprising a wall right side (7) and a left side wall (10) and provided, at a rear opening, with a right lifting arm (4) and a left lifting arm (5), or alternatively, at the level of a side opening, a side lifting arm (16). In this method, in particular, said container or containers (1, 11, 111) are identified by reading information from one or more RFID chips (13, 113, 123) fitted to said container or containers (1, 11, 111) and the intensity of the signals emitted by each RFID chip (13, 113, 123) in the direction of transmission-reception devices positioned to the right and to the left of the lifting arm or arms is compared. (figure 1)

Description

Method and device for detecting waste containers

The present invention falls within the field of the collection and transport of waste, in particular rubbish, in particular household waste.

The invention relates more particularly to the specific field of the detection of waste containers, of the trash can type, during the collection of the latter.

To this end, the invention relates specifically and globally to a system for detecting waste containers or bins and relates to a method for detecting at least one waste container, during its collection by means of a vehicle equipped with a skip provided, at a rear opening or laterally, with at least one lifting arm.

Traditionally, the collection and transport of household waste is carried out periodically by a waste collection vehicle, commonly called a garbage truck and equipped with a dumpster into which the waste in a container is dumped, after automatic or manual lifting of the the latter by means of a lifting arm at the level of a recovery device mounted at the rear of the bucket, which arm is generally provided with a comb on which said container is loaded by an operator, then pivoting of said container for the dumping of its contents inside said bucket under the effect of gravity.

It is also known, from the state of the art, that the dumpster incorporates other specific means such as, for example, a device for compacting waste.

At present, environmental constraints require particular attention to the collection and sorting of waste and household waste. In particular, it is increasingly common for households to carry out selective sorting, in order to separate different categories of waste, with a view to recycling them, such as glass, paper and cardboard, certain plastic packaging, or even compostable and/or biodegradable waste.

The operators of the waste collection service are generally responsible for checking that the selective sorting of the different categories of waste has been correctly carried out, for each container, when it is picked up. If this is not the case, it is the duty of the operator to report this, or even to refuse to collect the container in which the sorting has not been properly carried out.

This operation can be carried out manually, possibly with computerized monitoring.

However, the tools implemented remain impractical, in particular because they are not at all adapted to the work of the operators, and cause them to waste precious time during collection rounds.

More specifically, the operator must manually identify the waste container, in order to match it with an address, and, possibly, with a holder of a waste collection service contract. Furthermore, if such a contract is suspended for any reason, in particular in the event of non-payment or insufficient payment for the service, or even moving, etc., the operator must not collect the corresponding container.

Without rapid and automatic identification, the operator must find this information on his own, making his work tedious and causing a considerable loss of time.

Initially, temporary solutions were put in place, consisting of indicating, on each container, information such as the address, the name of the holder, etc., that the operator or driver of the waste collection vehicle record and record manually.

In addition, during the collection round, it may happen that containers are forgotten, and it is then difficult for the operators, during their work, to check that all the containers have been taken care of and emptied.

It should also be noted that, with the development of selective sorting mentioned above, households increasingly have a plurality of waste containers, each of these containers for a particular category of waste.

Thus, for example, in addition to the traditional container for non-recoverable or recyclable household waste, households are equipped with a second container for compostable and/or biodegradable waste, a third container for waste containing paper/cardboard / plastic, etc

Local authorities, with a view to reducing the proportion of waste that cannot be recovered by recycling, seek to encourage citizens to sort their waste efficiently and reduce, to the strict minimum, the quantity of waste thrown into the traditional container. Such an incentive can be made, for example, by granting a certain frequency of collection, for example monthly, of these traditional containers of household waste, and by imposing additional costs in the event of more frequent collections.

For all the aforementioned reasons, it is currently essential to guarantee both reliable identification of waste containers and traceability of the latter, during the actual collection of the waste.

It was thus imagined to equip the various waste collection vehicles with means suitable for the detection and automatic identification of each of the containers which is emptied during the collection round.

The solution, which was initially recommended, implements a wireless and contactless radio-identification or RFID (for "Radio Frequency IDentification") communication technology.

In this solution, the skip is equipped with an antenna for transmitting and receiving a signal, reciprocally, to and from a chip, also called a "tag", which is affixed to each of the waste containers and which contains the unique identification information, specific to this container, for example the address and name of the holder, or even the associated category of waste, etc.

These data can be matched with computer management means, which can be either integrated into the waste collection vehicle, or located remotely, for example at the level of a connected server, in real time or delayed.

More specifically, currently, the waste container recovery device, mounted at the rear of a skip on a waste collection vehicle, generally comprises two lifting arms, right and left, each comprising, among other elements, a comb which is intended to engage under a flange of a waste container to be emptied, for lifting and then emptying the contents of the bin into the dumpster.

Thus, such a recovery device is likely to be able to process two waste containers simultaneously.

With a view to identifying each of these two waste containers, it has been imagined, in the state of the art, to position means of identification of the waste bin, preferably by RFID, for example in the form an antenna on each of the lifting arms.

This solution is notably retained in the patent document
EP 2 305 578.

A first drawback of this solution lies in the very positioning of this antenna, namely exposed at the rear of the skip, at the level of the lifting arms of the waste containers, and therefore liable to undergo numerous shocks responsible, generally, rapid degradation of the antenna which must be replaced.

To remedy this, it was imagined to integrate this antenna in a protection device, of the box type. However, this may have the disadvantage of reducing the emission field of said antenna.

It should also be noted that, for optimum detection and identification of the waste container, the chip of each of the containers in position for their emptying must be located opposite each of the antennas on their respective lifting arms.

However, depending on the type of container and its dimensions, the placement of the chip can be greatly complicated.

In particular, when the container to be identified is small, the chip is likely not to be perfectly opposite the antenna at arm level, and the information contained on the chip will not be read by said antenna.

In addition, depending on the degree of filling of the waste container, the communication between the antenna and the chip located on said container will be more or less good. In other words, the quality of the signal will be conditioned by the filling level of the tank and the correct identification of this will be dependent on an uncontrollable factor.

It should also be noted that the RFID technology conventionally used only offers a detection field limited to a few centimetres, due to the standardized wavelengths used. This communication distance limit requires positioning of the chip, and therefore of the container on which it is affixed, close to and in alignment with the antenna to allow detection.

Thus, the use of this technology currently has many disadvantages and is not reliable. In particular, it emerges from the above that the chip of each container must be affixed to a delimited area of a determined face to allow its reading by the antenna. Generally, a housing is provided for this purpose in the molds used for the manufacture of the containers. In addition, depending on the type of vehicle and its container recovery means, each lifting arm being different, the antenna has a different position on its arm, not making it possible to adapt to any positioning of the chip on any container, especially since it is impossible to change the chips present on the containers, in particular when they are incorporated during manufacture.

In an attempt to remedy these aforementioned drawbacks, patent document FR 3 010 028 proposes a container detection system using ultra high frequency (“UHF”) technology, in a frequency interval ranging from 860 to 960 MHz.

In this system, the means of detection have been moved from the outside and the lifting arms towards the inside of the skip to limit their exposure to shocks.

Also, this patent document provides for the use of two distinct and specific antennas, one for the detection of the container positioned to the right of the skip, and the second for the detection of the container positioned on the left, each of the two antennas being positioned, in upper part of the bucket, above and opposite its lifting arm. In this way, it was imagined that a detection field emitted by an antenna, for example the right antenna, could detect the presence of a container equipped with an RFID chip and positioned at the level of the right lifting arm, following this example.

This solution, although interesting, because notably ensuring a higher detection range by the use of a UHF chip, as well as detection and interaction with a chip independently of the location of the chip on the container, however, still has some drawbacks.

In particular, it is also provided, in this document, that the arm lifting control is carried out automatically or manually, after an interpretation of the information detected on the RFID chip. The lifting of an arm can thus be blocked for various reasons (for example, lack of payment of contributions by the holder of the container, etc.). In this respect, document FR 3 010 028 mentions the possibility, to determine which lifting arm, right or left, supports the container whose chip has been detected, of carrying out a comparison of the intensity of the signals exchanged between each antenna and the chip of each container.

However, such an operation may not be reliable, especially when two containers are positioned at their respective lifting arms, and the chips of the two containers are close to each other, depending on their location. on the containers.

In this case, it may happen that the signals are misinterpreted and that the blockage occurs on the wrong lift arm, preventing the collection of waste that should have been picked up and, conversely, causing the emptying of containers whose the lift had to be blocked.

Accuracy is less reliable the farther the containers are and the system described here does not allow a bin to be blocked before it is lifted and therefore emptied, which is too late.

Also, the inversion of left/right containers is all the more serious when the system is coupled to a dynamic weighing system. Indeed, it is essential that the weight measured on the left tilter is assigned to the chip number of the tray hooked on the left, which is not the case in the event of inversion of the containers.

The invention offers the possibility of overcoming, at least in part, the various drawbacks of the state of the art by proposing a system and a method for detecting waste containers during their collection by means of a suitable vehicle, using Ultra-High Frequency RFID technology, in which the detection means, in the form of RFID transmission-reception devices, are positioned laterally, in particular at the level of the right and left internal walls of the vehicle.

In this way, when a waste container, equipped with an RFID chip, is positioned at the level of the left lifting arm of the collection vehicle, the signal level between said chip and the transceiver device positioned on the left side wall of the vehicle will be substantially higher than the signal level between this same chip and the second transceiver positioned on the opposite right side wall.

Thus, more specifically, the present invention relates to a method for detecting at least one waste container during its collection by a waste collection vehicle equipped with a dumpster comprising a right side wall and a left side wall and provided, at a rear opening, a right lifting arm and a left lifting arm, or alternatively, at a side opening, a lateral lifting arm, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

- Positioning at least two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices, a straight transceiver device to the right of the lifting arm(s) of said bucket oriented so as to broadcast a first detection at least to the left, and a left transceiver device to the left of the lifting arm(s) of said bucket oriented so as to broadcast a second detection signal at least to the right;

- During collection, the presence of said at least one container is detected, the latter being equipped with at least one RFID chip, when it passes within the range of said first detection signal and of said second detection signal;

- Said container(s) are identified by reading the information from the RFID chip(s) and the intensity of the signals emitted by each RFID chip towards the transmission-reception devices is compared, in order to determine the positioning of the container(s);

- Depending on the identification information of said container, the lifting arm at which said container is located is authorized or blocked.

Preferably, the invention relates to a method for detecting at least one waste container during its collection by a vehicle equipped with a skip provided, at the rear opening, with a straight lifting arm and of a left lifting arm, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

- Positioning at least two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices, a right transceiver device on the right side wall of said bucket oriented so as to broadcast a first detection signal to the left , and a left transceiver device on the left side wall of said bucket oriented so as to broadcast a second detection signal to the right, said two right and left transceiver devices being positioned in the lower half of the height of the respective right and left side walls of said bucket;

- During collection, the presence of said at least one container is detected, the latter being equipped with at least one RFID chip, when it passes within the range of said first detection signal and of said second detection signal;

- Said container is identified by reading the information from the RFID chip and the intensity of a first signal emitted by said RFID chip towards the right transceiver device is compared with the intensity of a second signal emitted by said RFID chip in the direction of the left transceiver device, in order to determine whether said container is located at the level of the right lifting arm and/or the left lifting arm;

- Depending on the identification information of said container, the lifting arm at which said container is located is authorized or blocked.

Advantageously, the method comprises an additional step during which it is determined whether the waste container consists of a bin of a size requiring the two lifting arms for the collection of the waste it contains and comprising four wheels, by means of at least one large four-wheel bin presence sensor.

In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the detection method according to the invention is implemented to detect two waste containers, during their collection by a waste collection vehicle equipped with a skip provided, at an opening rear, a right lifting arm and a left lifting arm, and it consists of the following steps:

- Positioning at least two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices, a right transceiver device on the right side wall of said bucket oriented so as to broadcast a first detection signal to the left , and a left transceiver device on the left side wall of said bucket oriented so as to broadcast a second detection signal to the right, said two right and left transceiver devices being positioned in the lower half of the height of the respective right and left side walls of said bucket;

- During collection, the presence of said two containers is detected, these being each equipped with at least one RFID chip, when they pass within the range of said first detection signal and of said second detection signal;

- Said containers are identified by reading the information from the RFID chip and the intensity of a first signal emitted by said RFID chip towards the right transceiver device is compared with the intensity of a second signal emitted by said RFID chip in the direction of the left transceiver device, in order to determine the first container located at the level of the left lifting arm and the second container located at the level of the right lifting arm;

- Depending on the identification information of said containers, the left lifting arm is authorized or blocked at the level of which the said first container is located and the right lifting arm at the level of which the said second container is located is authorized or blocked.

In another exemplary embodiment, the invention relates to a method for detecting at least one waste container, during its collection by a waste collection vehicle equipped with a skip provided, at an opening rear, a right lifting arm and a left lifting arm, said method comprising the following steps:

- Positioning at least two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices, a right transceiver device on the right side wall of said bucket oriented so as to broadcast a first detection signal to the left , and a left transceiver device on the left side wall of said bucket oriented so as to broadcast a second detection signal to the right, said two right and left transceiver devices being positioned in the lower half of the height of the respective right and left side walls of said bucket;

- During collection, the presence of said at least one container is detected, the latter being equipped with two RFID chips, a first RFID chip of the container being detected during its passage within the range of said first detection signal and a second chip RFID being detected as it passes within the range of said second detection signal;

- Said container is identified by reading the information from said RFID chips and the intensity of a first signal emitted by said first RFID chip towards the right transceiver device is compared with the intensity of a second signal emitted by said second RFID chip in the direction of the left transceiver device, in order to determine whether said container is located at the level of the right lifting arm and/or the left lifting arm;

- Depending on the identification information of said container, the lifting arm at which said container is located is authorized or blocked.

In another exemplary embodiment, the invention relates to a method for detecting at least one waste container during its collection by a waste collection vehicle equipped with a skip provided, at a side opening , of a lateral lifting arm comprising a lifting comb, and comprises the following steps:

- At least two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices are positioned at both ends of the lifting comb oriented so as to broadcast a first detection signal at a first end of the comb and a second signal detection at a second end of the comb;

- During collection, the presence of said at least one container is detected, the latter being equipped with two RFID chips, a first RFID chip of the container being detected during its passage within the range of said first detection signal and a second chip RFID being detected as it passes within the range of said second detection signal;

- Said container is identified by reading the information from said RFID chips, in order to determine whether said container is located between the two RFID transceiver devices;

- Depending on the identification information of said container, the lifting arm at which said container is located is authorized or blocked.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the detailed description which will follow of the non-limiting embodiments of the invention, with reference to the appended figures in which:

• FIG. 1 schematically represents a first particular embodiment of the invention on which is represented a view of the rear face of a waste collection vehicle comprising a dumpster, each of the side walls of which, at the level of the rear opening of said skip is equipped with means for detecting an RFID chip positioned on a waste container to be collected, when a single container of this type is positioned at the level of the left lifting arm of the vehicle;
• Figures 2a and 2b schematically illustrate a top view of this first particular embodiment of the method for detecting a waste container when the latter is positioned at the level of the left lifting arm, respectively at the level of the right lifting arm ;
• FIG. 3 schematically represents a top view of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2a and 2b, of the detection method of the invention when a first waste container is positioned at the level of the left lifting arm of the vehicle of collection and that a second waste container is positioned at the level of the right lifting arm of the same vehicle;
• FIG. 4 schematically represents a top view of the embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2a, 2b and 3, of the detection method of the invention when a single waste container, of large size, is positioned at the level the two lifting arms of the vehicle;
• FIGS. 5a and 5b each schematically represent a top view of a second particularly interesting embodiment of the method for detecting at least one waste container according to the invention, where each of the side walls, at the level of the rear opening of said bucket, is equipped with a detection means of the transmission-reception device type and where each of the waste containers is equipped with two RFID chips, a waste container being positioned at the level of the left lifting arm in Figure 5a, while a container is positioned at the right lifting arm in Figure 5b;
• FIG. 6 is a representation similar to FIGS. 5a and 5b, where the two right and left lifting arms are each engaged with a waste container, each of these containers being provided with two RFID chips;
• FIG. 7 consists of a representation similar to FIGS. 5a, 5b and 6 where a single waste container, of large size, and equipped with two RFID chips, is positioned at the level of the two lifting arms of the vehicle;
• FIG. 8 represents, schematically, a top view of a third embodiment of the method of the invention, in the case of a waste collection vehicle not carrying out a lifting of the waste at the rear of the dumpster , but a lateral lifting by a lateral lifting arm, where each of the containers is equipped with two RFID chips while said lateral lifting arm is provided with two RFID transceiver devices, one at each of its ends.

With reference to Figures 1 to 7 of the attached drawings, the present invention relates to a method for detecting at least one waste container 1, 11, 111, during its collection by a vehicle 2 for collecting waste.

Such a vehicle 2 is equipped with a bucket 3 provided, preferably at a rear opening, with a right lifting arm 4 and a left lifting arm 5.

However, this is not an embodiment to be considered as limiting the invention, the waste collection vehicle can also be a side-loading vehicle, comprising a single side arm for loading containers waste 1, 11, 111. Such an embodiment will be described in detail later with reference to Figure 8.

Note that a waste container 1, 11, 111 can be of any size and be made of any type of material. Moreover, figures 1 to 3, 5, 6, and 8 illustrate containers 1, 11 considered to be of small size, intended to equip private houses, while figures 4 and 7 represent waste containers considered to be being of large size, and generally intended to equip buildings or businesses.

According to the preferred mode, the waste waste containers 1, 11, 111 have standardized dimensions and consist of a tank forming a waste reception tray, said tank being open in its upper part and generally closed by means of a removable cover, preferably hinged free in rotation.

Such waste containers 1, 11, 111 are traditionally equipped with rolling means in the form of wheels, two in number for small containers 1, 11 or four for large containers 111, in order to facilitate the movement of these objects, as well as a handle, to help grip them.

These waste containers 1, 11, 111 are generally made from plastic materials.

The lifting arms 4, 5 each make it possible to hang a different waste container 1, 11 or support, in cooperation, a waste container 111 of large size, in particular by means of a comb provided with 'at least one hooking tooth provided to cooperate with an upper collar of said waste container 1, 11, 111 in order to secure it and hold it to the lifting arm 4, 5 during lifting and rotation of said container waste 1, 11, 111, generally causing the opening of its cover and the dumping of its contents inside the bucket 3.

Advantageously, in the present invention, the detection of each waste container 1, 11, 111 is carried out without contact, by transmission and reception of radio waves. In particular, the invention uses RFID technology for communication by radio waves. In addition, the invention uses Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID technology, namely in a frequency range between 860 and 960 MHz.

Within the present invention, the waste container 1, 11, 111 is passive, receiving signals from active means with which the dumpster of the collection vehicle 2 is equipped.

In particular, in the method of the invention, each of the waste containers 1, 11, 111 is equipped with at least one RFID chip 13, 113, 123 and, even more preferably, as will be described later with reference to the 'one of the preferred embodiments of the invention, each of the containers comprises two RFID chips referenced 13a, 13b; 113a, 113b and 123a, 123b.

The latter can be introduced into a housing provided especially for this purpose, within one of the walls of said waste container 1, 11, 111. It can also be incorporated directly at the time of its manufacture during molding or plastic injection of the container tray 1, 11, 111.

According to a preferred embodiment, said RFID chip 13, 113, 123 may be in the form of a label having an adhesive face so as to be able to be glued to one of the walls of the tray of the waste container 1, 11 , 111.

Preferably, it will be noted that each RFID chip 13, 113, 123 can comply with the “EPC Gen 2” standard. In particular, this marking standard defines several technical characteristics linked to each RFID chip 13, 113, 123, namely:

• that it uses a passive protocol and without assisted battery, said chip 13, 113, 123 only emitting a signal in response to a signal already emitted, in particular by a reader or an antenna;
• that it uses the UHF frequency band between 860 and 960 MHz; and that it provides for a minimum memory size of 96 bits and that each RFID chip 13, 113, 123 thus confers a unique and unitary identification on the product to which it is affixed;
• that it authorizes the simultaneous reading and identification of several hundred objects, the writing and updating of the data present on the chip 13, 113, 123, the blocking and restrictions of access to the data recorded on the chip 13, 113, 123 and the deactivation which makes it possible to make a chip 13, 113, 123 permanently inoperative.

In this standard, when an RFID chip is interrogated by a signal emitted by a reader, in particular in the form of a transceiver device, then it emits a signal in response, in which it sends its unique identifier corresponding to its electronic product code (EPC for “Electronic Code Product”).

To return, now, to the first step of the method for detecting at least one waste container 1, 11, 111 of the invention, this consists in positioning at least two detection means in the zone rear of the dumpster 3, in other words on the side of the dumpster 3 where the waste containers 1, 11,111 are loaded by operators on lifting arms 4, 5, to be lifted in order to dump the contents of their bin at the inside of dumpster 3.

These detection means take the form, in the present invention, of two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices.

More particularly, in the first step of the present method, at least one first right transceiver device 6 is positioned on the right side wall 7 of said bucket 3, at the rear of the latter, and inside the volume of said bucket 3.

Most preferably, as illustrated in the figures, this right transceiver device 6 is oriented so as to broadcast a first detection signal 8 at least to the left, in other words towards the loading zone of the waste containers 1, 11, 111 on the right 4 and left 5 lifting arms.

In the present method, a second left transceiver device 9 is also positioned, this time on the left side wall 10 of said bucket 3.

The left transceiver device 9 is oriented so as to broadcast a second detection signal 12 to the right, towards the loading area of the waste containers 1, 11,111 on the right 4 and left 5 lifting arms, just like the detection signal 8 broadcast by the right transceiver device 6.

In a particularly advantageous manner, said two right 6 and left 9 transceiver devices are positioned in the lower half of the height of the respective right 7 and left 10 side walls of said bucket 3.

More particularly, advantageously, said two right 6 and left 9 transceiver devices are positioned at a height of between 40 and 120 cm, relative to the ground, in other words relative to the lowest part of the vehicle. collection 2 which rests on the ground.

Thus, it is clear from the foregoing that the two right 6 and left 9 transceiver devices are positioned laterally, in the lower part of said bucket 3, and in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the right lifting arms 4 and left 5.

In a preferential and particularly interesting example, in order to direct and limit the beams of the first 8 and second 12 detection signals emitted by the right 6 and left 9 transmission-reception devices respectively, it is chosen to use transmission devices - reception patch with circular polarization, or with linear polarization or with bi-linear polarization, namely that said patch that they comprise authorizes transmission of signals and reception of signals only in front of the device in question, limiting the propagation of signals in the other directions.

Thus, during waste collection, the presence of at least one waste container 1, 11, 111 is detected, the latter being provided with at least one RFID chip 13, 113, 123, during the passage of said chip 13, 113, 123, within, on the one hand, within the range of the first detection signal 8 broadcast by the right transceiver device 6 and, on the other hand, within the range of the second detection signal 12 broadcast by the left transmission-reception device 9. Advantageously, the power of the signal transmitted by the active elements, the transmission-reception devices 6 and 9, is adjusted to restrict the reading zone at the rear of the dumpster, within a radius corresponding to container.

The method of the invention can also make it possible to ensure the automatic and simultaneous detection of two different containers, for example two containers 1, 11 as illustrated more particularly in FIGS. 3 and 6 during their collection, in particular at the time of their handling and handling by an operator.

Following this detection step, said container 1, 11, 111 is identified by reading the information contained on the RFID chip 13, 113, 123, in particular its EPC identifier.

In short, the step of detecting the presence of a container 1, 11, 111 consists in transmitting a detection signal by each of the right 6 and left 9 transceiver devices, consisting of an identification request to destination of the RFID chip 13, 113, 123. The latter then sends a response signal comprising the identification data in the form of a signal substantially in the direction of said transceiver devices 6, 9, which the latter receive and record.

It should also be noted that, in particular to the invention, the intensity of a first signal 14,114,124 emitted by said RFID chip 13, 113, 123 towards the right transceiver device 6 will be compared to the intensity of a second signal 15,115,125 emitted by this same RFID chip 13, 113, 123 towards the left transceiver device 9.

In this way, the detection method of the invention makes it possible to determine, with certainty, whether said waste container 1, 11, 111 is located either at the level of the right lifting arm 4, as visible in particular in FIG. 2b, or at the level of the left lifting arm 5, corresponding to the illustration of FIG. 2a, or even at the level of the two lifting arms 4 and 5 simultaneously, as visible, in particular, in FIG. 4, when it comes of a large container 111.

It should be noted that, in the latter case, an additional step of determining the size of the container 1, 11, 111 is implemented using a large four-wheeled bin presence sensor. Insofar as the signal emitted by this presence sensor is positive, this means that the container has a large size and requires the action of the two right 4 and left 5 lifting arms to support it. The large four-wheel bin presence sensor is preferably included in the tilting system. The information is provided by this failover system. The selection can be: manual, by activating a switch made by the operator to synchronize the left and right lifting arms or by a presence sensor detecting a presence between the two lifting arms, and therefore the presence of a large bin.

Advantageously, once the waste container 1, 11, 111 has been identified, it is possible to check the contractual status of the collection service and, if the contractor holding said container 1, 11, 111 is up to date with his contributions, there are no errors, for example bans on the removal of waste, or a history showing previous poor sorting of waste, etc.

The comparison of the intensity of the first signal 14, 114, 124 emitted to the right transceiver device 6 with that of the second signal 15, 115, 125, possibly supplemented by four-wheel presence detection, detailed above, allows to determine the exact location of the waste container 1, 11, 111, with respect to the lifting arm(s) 4, 5, and to block effectively and without error one and/or the other of these arms 4, 5 by correlating signal comparison and identification information. This also advantageously allows the measured weight to be assigned to the correct container 1, 11, 111, if such an option is present.

A first particular and advantageous embodiment of the method for detecting at least one waste container 1, 11, 111 will initially be detailed below, with reference to Figures 1 to 4.

In this embodiment, specifically, each of the waste containers 1, 11, 111, which should be collected by means of a suitable vehicle 2, is equipped with a single RFID chip referenced respectively 13, 113, 123, positioned, preferably but not limited to, substantially in the center of the wall of the waste container tray 1, 11, 111 at the level of which is provided, in the upper part, a handle for gripping said container 1, 11, 111.

In this configuration, when a waste container 1 is brought to the level of the left lifting arm 5, as illustrated in FIG. 2a, the step of comparing the intensity of the signals 14, 15 emitted respectively by the RFID chip 13 in direction of the right 6 and left 9 transceiver devices will result in the information that the signal 15 (also denoted P _FL in the figure) emitted by said chip 13 towards the left transceiver device 9 is greater than signal 14 (also denoted P _FR in the figure) transmitted by this same chip 13 towards the right transceiver device 6.

Conversely, when a waste container 11 is brought to the level of the right lifting arm 4, as illustrated in FIG. 2b, it is the intensity of the signal 114 emitted by the RFID chip 113 towards the device. transmission-reception right 6 (also denoted P _FR in the figure) which will be greater than the intensity of the signal 115 emitted by this same chip 113 towards the left transceiver device 9 (this signal 115 also being denoted P _FL in the figure).

Preferably, for the comparison of the signals and the deduction of the positioning of the container, the processing is carried out digitally by means of a computer on board the collection vehicle 2.

In the hypothesis, shown in Figure 3, where a waste container 1 is positioned vis-à-vis the left lifting arm 5 while a second waste container 11 is positioned simultaneously at the level of the right lifting arm 4, each of the signals emitted by the chips 13, 113 respectively equipping the containers 1, 11, will be read by the right 6 and left 9 transceiver devices.

Thus, for the waste container 1, located at the level of the left lifting arm 5, the intensity of the signal 15 (PA _FL ) emitted by the chip 13 in the direction of the left transceiver device 9 will be greater than the intensity of the signal 14 (PA _FR ) emitted by the chip 13 in the direction of the right transceiver device 6, while for the second waste container 11, located at the level of the right lifting arm 4, the intensity of the signal 115 (PB _FL ) emitted by chip 113 in the direction of the left transceiver device 9 will be less than the intensity of the signal 114 (PA _FR ) emitted by this chip 113 in the direction of the right transceiver device 6 .

The implementation of the method of the invention will then make it possible to determine, with precision, the information of the container 11 located at the level of the right lifting arm 4 and the information of the container 1 positioned vis-à-vis the left lifting arm 5, and, depending on this information, we will come to authorize or, on the contrary, block the lifting arm 4, 5, to allow or not the lifting and emptying of the container that it supports.

In the case where the waste container transported at the level of the lifting arms 4, 5 is a large container 111, mounted on four wheels for easy movement, the RFID chip 123 is read by the right transceiver devices 6 and left 9, and the signal 124 emitted by this chip 123 to the right transceiver device 6 (denoted P _FR ) can be equal or substantially equal to the signal 125 (denoted P _FL ) emitted towards the device of left transmit-receive 9.

In this case, the step of identifying and comparing the signal is completed by a step of determining the presence of four wheels by means of a suitable sensor.

A second embodiment of the method which is the subject of the present invention, which is even more advantageous, is now described in detail below, with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 of the attached drawings.

In this embodiment, specifically, each of the waste containers 1, 11, 111, which should be collected by means of a suitable vehicle 2, is equipped with two RFID chips referenced respectively 13a, 13b; 113a, 113b and 123a, 123b.

In this configuration, the two RFID chips 13a, 13b; 113a, 113b and 123a, 123b are preferably positioned parallel to each other at the level of the two walls of the tray of the container 1, 11, 111 which are perpendicular to the wall at the level of which is provided a handle for gripping said container 1, 11, 111, so that, when positioning the latter at the level of the waste loading zone of the collection vehicle 2, a first chip 13a, 113a, 123a, or "right chip" is closer to the device right transceiver 6 than the second chip 13b, 113b, 123b or "left chip" which, conversely, is positioned closer to the left transceiver device 9 than said first chip 13a, 113a, 123a.

It results from such a positioning of two RFID chips 13a, 13b; 113a, 113b and 123a, 123b on a waste container 1, 11, 111, that when such a container, for example such a container 1 shown in Figure 5a, arrives in the loading area on the left lifting arm 5 , the intensity of the signal 15 (denoted P _FL ) sent by the left RFID chip 13b to the left transceiver device 9 will be, due to the proximity between said chip 13b and the transceiver device 9, much higher than the intensity of the signal 14 sent by the right RFID chip 13a to the right transceiver device 6.

Referring now to FIG. 5b, where a container 11 is positioned in the loading zone at the level of the right lifting arm 4, the intensity of the signal 114 (denoted P _FR ), sent by the right RFID chip 113a, in the direction of the right transceiver device 6 is much greater than the intensity of the signal 115 (denoted P _FL ) sent by the left RFID chip 113b in the direction of the left transceiver device 9.

In the hypothesis shown in Figure 6, a first waste container 1 is positioned at the level of the left lifting arm 5 and a second container 11 is positioned at the level of the right lifting arm 4, each of the containers 1, 11 being equipped two RFID chips respectively 13a, 13b and 113a, 113b.

In this case, each of the containers 1, 11 can be detected both by the right transceiver device 6 and by the left transceiver device 9.

For the container 1 located at the level of the left lifting arm 5, the left RFID chip 13b sends a signal 15 to the left transceiver device 9 (also denoted PA _FL ) of much greater intensity than the signal 14 (also denoted PA _FR ) sent by the right RFID chip 13a towards the right transceiver device 6.

With regard to the container 11 located at the level of the right lifting arm 4, the signal intensities are reversed, namely that the left RFID chip 113b sends a signal 115 to the left transceiver device 9 (also denoted PB _FL ) of much lower intensity than the signal 114 (also denoted PB _FR ) sent by the right RFID chip 113a towards the right transceiver device 6.

Thus, the two containers 1, 11 are identified and their precise positioning is deduced from comparisons of the intensity of the signals emitted by their right and left chips in the direction of the right 6 and left 9 transceiver devices.

Referring to Figure 7, in the case of a waste container 111 of large size, equipped with four wheels, which requires the action of the two right 4 and left 5 lifting arms to be supported, and equipped with a right RFID chip 123a and a left RFID chip 123b, said container 111 is read by the two right 6 and left 9 transceiver devices with a signal intensity of 124 emitted by the right RFID chip 123a towards the device right transceiver 6 substantially equal to the signal intensity 125 emitted by the left RFID chip 123b to the left transceiver device 9.

This signal intensity comparison step can be completed, preferably, by an additional step during which it is determined whether the waste container 111 comprises four wheels by means of at least one four-wheel presence sensor.

Be that as it may, such an embodiment of the method of the invention, where two RFID chips are fitted to each of the containers 1, 11, 111 is particularly advantageous.

Indeed, this makes it possible in particular to avoid the lifting and emptying of a container not equipped with an RFID chip, in the particular case where the latter is positioned at the level of a right 4 or left 5 lifting arm while being close to a container 1, 11, 111 equipped with an RFID chip 13, 113, 123. In this case, which is extremely rare, it could happen that the container 1, 11, 111 equipped with a chip 13, 113, 123, is detected and identified, because falling within the field or the range of the signal emitted by one of the two transceiver devices 6, 9, and considered as having to be taken into load by one of the lifting arms 4, 5, while in reality another container, not equipped with a chip, is in position to be emptied.

The embodiment described above, where the containers are equipped with two chips, makes it possible to avoid in a particularly effective way and without possible error, the taking over of an unidentified container.

By implementing the present invention, the containers that need to be emptied are, while those that, for various reasons (lack of identification, presence on a "black list" for non-payment, etc.) must not be emptied, cause the lift arm to jam where it is positioned.

Referring now to Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings, a third embodiment of the detection method of the invention is described. It concerns waste collection vehicles which have a lateral lifting arm 16, which is equipped with a comb 17 to which the waste container 1, 11, 111 is attached in order to empty it. In this lateral hypothesis, the collection is carried out on containers 1, 11, 111 which are generally positioned at the edge of the road by the users and several of these containers 1, 11, 111 can follow each other, as illustrated by this figure 8.

It is then no longer possible, as in the previous configurations, to place the transceiver devices on a fixed part of the vehicle, because the chip(s) fitted to the trays could not be read correctly. The possible blocking of the lifting of containers without chips or placed on a "black list" would therefore no longer be assured.

Said transmitter-receiver devices are then preferably placed on the lifting comb, but this solution at first glance has a drawback when the containers are arranged close to each other, as illustrated in Figure 8: in this case, a parasitic detection of nearby containers, without it necessarily being known that it relates with certainty to the person being emptied, may occur. With the consequence that an emptying of a "prohibited" tank or one without an RFID tag can then be carried out, if the reading of the signal in response indeed concerned one of the neighboring tanks.

To avoid this, it is provided, within the meaning of the invention, to provide the lifting comb 17 of the lateral lifting arm 16 with two transmission-reception devices 6, 9. The first transmission-reception device 6 is placed at the right end of the lifting comb 17 while the second transmission-reception device 9 is placed at the left end of this comb 17. Said right 6 and left 9 transmission-reception devices always operate together so as to make certain the recognition of the container 1 which is at the center of the comb 17, and which is in principle the sole object of the processing. If two identical or substantially identical identification signals are received, for example the PA _FR and PA _FL signals from the right 13a and left 13b RFID chips respectively, intended respectively for the right 6 and left 9 transmission and reception devices, plus distinct identification signals, for example a PC _FR signal from the left RFID chip 123b of container 111 to the right transceiver device 6 and/or a PB _FL signal from the right RFID chip 113a of container 11 to the left transceiver device 6, this means that a container 1 placed centrally, the one which must be emptied, is equipped with two RFID chips 13a and 13b. The identification is certain, and the system can move on to the next step: is this container 1 eligible for an emptying operation?

Conversely, if the two right 6 and left 9 transceiver devices placed at the two ends of the lifting comb 17 receive separate identification signals, this means that the central container 1, in position to be treated by the comb 17, does not include an RFID chip and must therefore be redeposited without being emptied.

In this configuration, and as illustrated in FIG. 8, it is conceivable that the right transceiver device 6 sends, on the one hand, a detection signal 8 to the left and, on the other hand, a detection 81 to the right, while the left transceiver device 9 sends a detection signal 12 to the right and a detection signal 121 to the left, for optimum detection of the RFID chips fitted to the waste containers 1, 11, 111.

It should be noted that these containers 1, 11, 111 are preferably, in these modes of operation, equipped with two right and left RFID chips respectively 13a, 13b; 113a, 113b and 123a, 123b, as shown in figure 8, so that the readings are reliable, in particular not degraded by distance and not impacted by full containers.

Claims (6)

Method for detecting at least one waste container (1, 11, 111) during its collection by a waste collection vehicle (2) equipped with a skip (3) comprising a straight side wall (7) and a left side wall (10) and provided, at a rear opening, with a right lifting arm (4) and a left lifting arm (5), or alternatively, at a side opening, of a lateral lifting arm (16), characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

• At least two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices are positioned, a right transceiver device (6) to the right of the lifting arm(s) of said bucket (3) oriented so as to broadcast a first detection signal (8) at least to the left, and a left transceiver device (9) to the left of the lifting arm(s) of said bucket (3) oriented so as to broadcast a second signal detection (12) at least to the right;
• During collection, the presence of said at least one container (1, 11, 111) is detected, the latter being equipped with at least one RFID chip (13, 113, 123), during its passage within the range of said first detection signal (8) and said second detection signal (12);
• Said container or containers (1, 11, 111) are identified by reading the information from the RFID chip or chips (13, 113, 123) and the intensity of the signals emitted by each RFID chip (13, 113, 123) is compared. in the direction of the transceiver devices, in order to determine the positioning of the container(s);
• Depending on the identification information of said container (1, 11, 111), the lifting arm (4, 5, 16) at which said container (1, 11, 111) is located is authorized or blocked.

Method for detecting at least one waste container (1, 11, 111) according to the preceding claim during its collection by a vehicle (2) equipped with a bucket (3) provided, at the level of the rear opening, a right lifting arm (4) and a left lifting arm (5), characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

• At least two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices are positioned, a right transceiver device (6) on the right side wall (7) of said bucket (3) oriented so as to diffuse a first detection signal (8) to the left, and a left transceiver (9) on the left side wall (10) of said bucket (3) oriented so as to broadcast a second detection signal (12 ) to the right, said two right (6) and left (9) transceiver devices being positioned in the lower half of the height of the respective right (7) and left (10) side walls of said bucket (3) ;

• During collection, the presence of said at least one container (1, 11, 111) is detected, the latter being equipped with at least one RFID chip (13, 113, 123), during its passage within the range of said first detection signal (8) and said second detection signal (12);
• Said container (1, 11, 111) is identified by reading the information from the RFID chip (13, 113, 123) and the intensity of a first signal (14,114,124) emitted by said RFID chip (13, 113, 123) towards the right transceiver device (6) at the intensity of a second signal (15,115,125) emitted by said RFID chip (13, 113, 123) towards the left transceiver device ( 9), in order to determine whether said container (1, 11, 111) is located at the level of the right lifting arm (4) and/or the left lifting arm (5);
• Depending on the identification information of said container (1, 11, 111), the lifting arm (4, 5) at which said container (1, 11, 111) is located is authorized or blocked.

Detection method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it comprises an additional step during which it is determined whether the waste container (1, 11, 111) consists of a bin of a size requiring the two lifting arms (4, 5) for collecting the waste it contains and comprising four wheels, by means of at least one large four-wheel bin presence sensor. Detection method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is implemented to detect two waste containers (1, 11) during their collection by a waste collection vehicle (2) equipped with a skip (3) provided, at a rear opening, with a right lifting arm (4) and a left lifting arm (5), characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

• At least two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices are positioned, a right transceiver device (6) on the right side wall (7) of said bucket (3) oriented so as to diffuse a first detection signal (8) to the left, and a left transceiver (9) on the left side wall (10) of said bucket (3) oriented so as to broadcast a second detection signal (12 ) to the right, said two right (6) and left (9) transceiver devices being positioned in the lower half of the height of the respective right (7) and left (10) side walls of said bucket (3) ;
• During collection, the presence of said two containers (1, 11) is detected, these being each equipped with at least one RFID chip (13, 113), when they pass within the range of said first detection signal ( 8) and said second detection signal (12);
• Said containers (1, 11) are identified by reading the information from the RFID chip (13, 113) and the intensity of a first signal (14,114) emitted by said RFID chip (13, 113) towards the device is compared. right transceiver (6) to the intensity of a second signal (15,115) emitted by said RFID chip (13, 113) towards the left transceiver device (9), in order to determine the first container (1) located at the level of the left lifting arm (5) and the second container (11) located at the level of the right lifting arm (4);
• Depending on the identification information of said containers (1, 11), the left lifting arm (5) is authorized or blocked at the level of which said first container (1) is located and the right lifting arm (1) is authorized or blocked (4) at which said second container (11) is located.

Method for detecting at least one waste container (1, 11, 111), according to any one of the preceding claims, during its collection by a waste collection vehicle (2) equipped with a skip (3) provided, at a rear opening, with a right lifting arm (4) and a left lifting arm (5), characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

• At least two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices are positioned, a right transceiver device (6) on the right side wall (7) of said bucket (3) oriented so as to diffuse a first detection signal (8) to the left, and a left transceiver (9) on the left side wall (10) of said bucket (3) oriented so as to broadcast a second detection signal (12 ) to the right, said two right (6) and left (9) transceiver devices being positioned in the lower half of the height of the respective right (7) and left (10) side walls of said bucket (3) ;
• During collection, the presence of said at least one container (1, 11, 111) is detected, the latter being equipped with two RFID chips (13a, 13b; 113a, 113b; 123a, 123b), a first RFID chip ( 13a; 113a; 123a) of the container (1, 11, 111) being detected during its passage within the range of said first detection signal (8) and a second RFID chip (13b; 113b; 123b) being detected during its passage within range of said second detection signal (12);
• Said container (1, 11, 111) is identified by reading the information from said RFID chips (13a, 13b; 113a, 113b; 123a, 123b) and the intensity of a first signal (14,114,124) emitted by said first chip is compared. RFID (13a, 113a, 123a) towards the right transceiver device (6) at the intensity of a second signal (15,115,125) emitted by said second RFID chip (13b, 113b, 123b) towards the device left transceiver (9), in order to determine whether said container (1, 11, 111) is located at the level of the right lifting arm (4) and/or the left lifting arm (5);
• Depending on the identification information of said container (1, 11, 111), the lifting arm (4, 5) at which said container (1, 11, 111) is located is authorized or blocked.

Method for detecting at least one waste container (1, 11, 111), according to claim 1, during its collection by a waste collection vehicle (2) equipped with a skip (3) provided, at the level a lateral opening, a lateral lifting arm (16) comprising a lifting comb (17), characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

• At least two ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID transceiver devices (6, 9) are positioned at both ends of the lifting comb (17) oriented so as to broadcast a first detection signal (8) at the level of a first end of the comb and a second detection signal (12) at a second end of the comb;
• During collection, the presence of said at least one container (1, 11, 111) is detected, the latter being equipped with two RFID chips (13a, 13b; 113a, 113b; 123a, 123b), a first RFID chip ( 13a; 113a; 123a) of the container (1, 11, 111) being detected during its passage within the range of said first detection signal (8) and a second RFID chip (13b; 113b; 123b) being detected during its passage within range of said second detection signal (12);
• Said container (1, 11, 111) is identified by reading the information from said RFID chips (13a, 13b; 113a, 113b; 123a, 123b), in order to determine whether said container (1, 11, 111) is located between the two RFID transceiver devices (6, 9);
• Depending on the identification information of said container (1, 11, 111), the lifting arm (16) at which said container (1, 11, 111) is located is authorized or blocked.