WO2017175244A1

WO2017175244A1 - A smart bin

Info

Publication number: WO2017175244A1
Application number: PCT/IN2017/050131
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chitransh SRIVASTAVA
Original assignee: Srivastava Chitransh
Priority date: 2016-04-06
Filing date: 2017-04-05
Publication date: 2017-10-12

Abstract

Disclosed is a smart bin capable of being installed at any location in a city. The system comprises a set of proximity sensors for sensing contents of a bin and activates an identification device to send the data of the user of the bin to a social media platform and to a civic agency for appropriate action. In a preferred embodiment the smart bin is used as a garbage bin wherein the system helps immensely in keeping the city clean by regular updates to the civic authorities for quick action on alerts. The system being connected to social media platform will encourage citizens to be more responsive to maintain a discipline of cleanliness.

Description

A SMART BIN

Field of Invention

Disclosed is a smart bin.

Particularly the invention discloses a smart bin which is capable of setting alert to an internet portal, and perform necessary actions.

Still more particularly the smart bin is a garbage bin.

Background of Invention

The population worldwide is growing at an alarming pace and especially so in developing countries. This population explosion obviously creates an increased waste generation not only by humans but also by industries thereby creating an urgent need to monitor collection and disposal. The task is huge to manage the waste in entirety and there is a dire need to be able to monitor if waste is disposed scientifically and managed efficiently to maintain a cleaner environment and society. Besides waste generation there is need to monitor storage of items and thereby monitoring of the contents from time to time for inventory management stored in stand alone containers.

Objectives of Invention

Principal object of the invention is to provide a smart bin.

A further object of the invention is to provide for storage of non liquid articles. Still another objective of the invention is to provide an alert to owner of bin of the fill situation of the content in the bin.

Another object of the invention is to provide smart bin for garbage dispose Another object of the invention is to provide communication of the activity at the bin through internet to social networking site.

Still another objective of the invention is to provide an alert to civic agencies of the fill situation of the garbage content in the bin. Yet another object of the invention is to provide an option to insert a bin inside the main smart bin.

Further object of the invention is to provide proximity sensors, camera for s content assessment and communication means for remote monitoring.

Still further object of the invention is to provide power to sensors of smart bin by solar power module, DC power module by rechargeable batteries.

A further object of the invention is to use AC to DC converter to charge the battery,

Still further object of the invention is to provide an adapter to get direct supply from the AC supply line.

Drawings ίτ Embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings.

Fig 1 shows an embodiment of the bin with various components. (1 ) is an identification device . (2. a) and (2.b) are a solar panel , (3), (4) (5) and (6) are sensors. (7) is the bin which takes in the garbage. (8) is a rechargeable battery. (10) is a camera. (9) is a controller and (1 1 ) is the doorknob of the bin .

Fig 2 shows an optional embodiment wherein the smart bin comprises of an inner bin (202) with the outer bin (201 ) having the system elements of Fig 1 Fig 3 shows the architecture of the system wherein (21 ) is a set of proximity sensors connected to a controller (22). (23) is the identification device. (24) is a controller with Wi-Fi adapter. (25) is the communication port to a server

Summary of Invention

According to main embodiment of the invention there is provided a smart bin0 comprising a standard bin (7) of any non corrosive material with a lid, the said bin has an identification device (1 ) fixed at the top rim of the bin , (2) is a solar panel charging a battery (8), providing power to a controller (9) communicating with plurality of proximity sensors (3) ,(4) ,(5) and (6) , the said sensors being fixed to top rim of the bin, the controller (9) being capable of transmitting the data from the identification device (1 ) and proximity sensors to a remote device identifying the event of a material dropped in the bin, the controller has further capability of sending an alarm to an interested s party of the bin being full, the said sensors controllers being powered by a power source.

In another embedment wherein the identification device is a digital camera, an identification card with RFID tag.

In another embedment wherein the identification device is any biometric system.

In still another embodiment wherein the proximity sensors are ultrasonic/IR/PIR proximity sensors, hall sensor

In a further embodiment of the invention wherein camera on the bin acts as a security cam

ίτ According to anoither embodiment the preferred shape of the bin is any regular geometrical contour , circular , square, rectangular , a regular polygon.

According to an embodiment the content in the bin is garbage

According to anoither embodiment the garbage of waste is a dry waste, wet0 waste.

According to still another embodiment the bin as garbage bin has sanitizer. According to another embodiument there is a command action for emptying the bin

According to still anoither embodiment the bin is adouble layered structure, According to yet another embodiment wherein the inner structure is of bamboo , of any bio degradable mayerial.

According to yet another embodiment wherein the outer structure is of plastic ,any durable material.

According to yet another embodiment the dc power source to sensors is a0 chargeable battery, a solar power packs Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention is described in detail as hereunder

When the lid is open, or the garbage is thrown, the proximity sensor senses the motion of the garbage below. If found it triggers the controller to activate the camera/ Reader.

Firstly considering the camera as the identification device, (installed at places like parks, tourist spots, city lanes, colleges etc. when the proximity sensors sense the motion of the garbage going down, the camera after a delay catches a picture of the person (maybe in front of a scenic view, a monument or whatnot) throwing the garbage in. These pictures are then sent over internet (here Wi-Fi), to a local server, and collected these images. These images from random individuals are then kept over a period of time (to check the decency and quality of the picture and prevent upload of any pictures if the user doesn't want it to be uploaded, which can be achieved by the personby pressing a "do not click button" or just by pinging the server the estimate time of their usage and their appearance) and then a handful are uploaded on the various social media sites like facebook, instagram etc., appreciating the effort of those individuals as they thrive to build a better and cleaner tomorrow. The aim using this is to motivate the people over the nation for taking a step towards cleaning the environment, here, by making the people in the pictures famous as the heroes of the greener tomorrow.

Next is a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) based identification system for school, pre-school, kindergarten etc. where the users have an ID all the time. The triggering of the sensors, by throwing the garbage in, can activate the RFID reader. A small light will be on, indicating the RFID reader is ready to read the ID card of the user. After the user has thrown the garbage in, he/she can swipe the card to notify the system of his/her use of the dustbin. This data from the ID card (Name, Class, Sec, Roll No. etc.) updates the system by incrementing the usage detail of the individual's weekly/monthly usage by a unit. As soon as the data is collected, it is sent over Wi-Fi to the main server where the database is maintained. The same process can be done by replacing the RFID reader with any biometric reader, say fingerprint reader.

This database is maintained as a list of all the students and how many times s they have used the dustbin over a selected span of time and then they can be awarded according to their usage details by giving them more credits in SUPW ('Socially Useful and Productive Work' a subject in schools), awarding them for environment cleanliness and what now. This won't only encourage the people who are awarded for their good deed to repeat the action again, but also will motivate the others to do the same. This process can be performed by attaching a communication device like LAN cable, Ad-hocs, Wi- Fi adapter/shield etc. to the controller board which sends it to the server based on a registered IP address. This data can be accessed solely by the teachers over their school computers to check and manage the details.

ίτ Any suitable controller can be used for the prototype, currently using a

Raspberry Pi 3. Although it's not necessarily discrete to use this controller only. The power to the controller, camera, sensors, etc. are provided by a portable battery which is connected to a solar powered charging unit for increased life. This doesn't only provide the system a better sustainability, but0 also supports the use of alternate eco-friendly resources of energy.

In one of the preferred embodiment the smart bin is used in Festivals fairs, Parties, gatherings etc. In this [referred use the pictures of the users can be uploaded on the big video boards/hoarding boards for a brief time appreciating the users with their pictures on the board thanking them for their contribution towards a cleaner tomorrow. Whenever the pictures are taken, they are stored in a local database which can be monitored and whenever a specific threshold is reached, the next 'n' numbers of pictures can be uploaded.

In another preferred embodiment the smart bin is used in running trains for0 efficient waste management and thereby maintain cleanliness and hygiene.

The size of the bins may be appropriately designed to be accommodated in the space available. In a still preferred embodiment a plurality of bins may be used wherein different types of wastes are disposed, The detection and communication of waste situation remains same without any limitations. Such wastes may be like dry waste, wet waste.

In a preferred embodiment the dustbins contains two sets, one an outer structure and the bin inside where the garbage will be collected. The bin inside preferably be made of bamboo being highly sturdy, water resistant, provides great insulation and most importantly, is biodegradable. The outer structure can be made from a non-corrosive material which will have a long life

While the invention provides a preferred embodiment for intelligent management of waste and garbage, there is no limitation whatsoever to replace waste or garbage with any other useful materials to people edible or non edible.

The scope of invention is not limited by using any specific shape, size and material of the bin. Preferred shape of the bin is any regular geometrical contour like circular , square, rectangular , a regular polygon.

Main advantages of the invention

1 . A simple system capable of being installed at any location in a city.

2. A system which will help immensely in keeping the city clean by regular updates to the civic authorities for quick action on alerts

3. A system capable to cultivate the habit of cleanliness and proper garbage disposal among the budding students of schools, kindergartens etc.

4. The system being connected to social media platform will encourage citizens to be more responsive to maintain a discipline of cleanliness.

5. The system uses eco-friendly solar power for the charging of the battery and working of the system

6. The system uses AC power supply for the charging of the battery and working of the system .

Claims

A smart bin comprising a standard bin (7) of any non corrosive material with a lid, the said bin has an identification device (1 ) fixed at the top rim of the bin , (2) is a solar panel charging a battery (8), providing power to a controller (9) communicating with plurality of proximity sensors (3) ,(4) ,(5) and (6) , the said sensors being fixed to top rim of the bin, the controller (9) being capable of transmitting the data from the identification device (1 ) and proximity sensors to a remote device identifying the event of a material dropped in the bin, the controller has further capability of sending an alarm to an interested party of the bin being full, the said sensors controllers being powered by a AC/DC power source.

A smart bin as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the identification

device is a digital camera , an identification card with RFID tag.

A smart bin as claimed in claim 1 wherein, sensors are

ultrasonic/IR/PIR proximity sensors, halleffect sensor

A smart bin as claimed in claims l and 2 wherein camera on the bin acts as a security cam.

A smart bin as claimed in claims 1 to 4 wherein the preferred shape of the bin is any regular geometrical contour , circular , square, rectangular , a regular polygon.

A smart bin as claimed in claims 1 to 5 wherein content in the bin is garbage

A smart bin as claimed in claims 1 to 6whereinthe garbage of waste is a dry waste, wet waste.

A smart bin as claimed in claims 1 to 7 wherein the bin as garbage bin has sanitizer.

A smart bin as claimed in claims 1 to 8 wherein there is a command action for emptying the bin

A smart bin as claimed in claims 1 to 8wherein the bin is adouble layered structure,

A smart bin as claimed in claims 1 to 8whereinthe inner structure is of bamboo , of any bio degradable mayerial.

12. A smart bin as claimed in claims 1 to 8 wherein the outer structure is of plastic , any durable material

13. A smart bin as claimed in claims 1 to 8 wherein the dc power source to sensors is a chargeable battery, a solar power packs

14. A smart bin as claimed in claims 1 and 13 wherein the battery is charged with the AC power supply with an adapter

15. A smart bin as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sensors circuit is powered directly by the AC power supply using an adapter