Granted Patent B2

US 11,080,628 · App. 15/151,009 · Granted Aug 3, 2021

Inventor: Philip Rodoni (Decatur, GA)

Assignee: Rubicon Technologies, LLC

G06Q10/063114G06Q10/0832G06Q10/0833G06Q10/30Y02P90/00Y02P90/80

Abstract

Claims (83)

1. A system for managing waste services performed by a service vehicle, comprising:

an acoustic sensor disposed onboard a first service vehicle that has lift arms that engage a receptacle and that are raised by one or more hydraulic actuators to one of: (i) tilt and dump the receptacle into the first service vehicle; and (ii) place the receptacle onto the first service vehicle for transport, the acoustic sensor positioned to detect a frequency signature produced by the one or more hydraulic actuators during lifting of the receptacle;

one or more power sensors that generate at least one signal indicative of an amount of power used to drive the one or more hydraulic actuators; and

a computing device communicatively coupled to the acoustic sensor and the one or more power sensors and configured to:

monitor location of a service vehicle using a locating device onboard the service vehicle;

monitor motion of the service vehicle using a motion sensor onboard the service vehicle;

determine the service vehicle has arrived at a first service location based on determining a stop of the service vehicle using the monitored motion of the service vehicle being below a threshold speed and based on a proximity of the service vehicle from the first service location being below a threshold using the monitored location of the service vehicle;

monitor the one or more power sensors;

determine based on the at least one signals from the one or more power sensors that the hydraulic actuators are driven to move the lift arms;

capture sound vibrations that comprise the frequency signature using the acoustic sensor based on the determination that the service vehicle has arrived at the first service location;

identify the frequency signature in the captured sound vibrations during a first waste service;

determine, based on a comparison of the frequency signature to a stored profile unique to a type, size, and configuration of the service vehicle, that the service vehicle has activated the one or more hydraulic actuators of lift arms of the service vehicle while engaged to a receptacle to perform the first waste service;

in response to determining that the hydraulic actuators have been activated based on the one or more power sensors, and that the lifting arms lifted the receptacle, based on the frequency signature, generate an electronic record of the first waste service, including the comparison of the frequency signature to the stored profile and the monitored motion and location data corresponding to the first service vehicle.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is configured to determine that the waste service has been performed at a target location based on the determination of the first waste service and based on the location of the service vehicle.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the type of the service vehicle is front-loading.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:

determine that the service vehicle has stopped; and

to selectively activate the acoustic sensor only when the service vehicle has stopped.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein generating an electronic record of the first waste service includes a recommendation for an adjustment.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:

receive a schedule of stops to be completed by the service vehicle at a plurality of known customer locations;

make a determination that the service vehicle cannot complete a second waste service at one of the plurality of known customer locations based on the location of the service vehicle and the schedule of stops; and

selectively adjust the schedule of stops based on the determination.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein:

the service vehicle is a first service vehicle; and

the computing device is further configured to selectively adjust the schedule of stops for the first service vehicle by removing the second waste service from the schedule of stops and selectively adding the second waste service to a schedule of stops corresponding to a second service vehicle.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the computing device is further configured to adjust the schedule of stops by:

rescheduling the second waste service; and

adjusting a schedule of remaining stops within the schedule of stops to account for rescheduling of the second waste service.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein the computing device is configured to determine that the service vehicle cannot complete the second waste service at the one of the plurality of known customer locations based on the location of the service vehicle being outside of a distance to the one of the plurality of known customer locations.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the computing device is further configured to continuously adjust the distance based on at least one of a movement direction of the service vehicle, a speed of the service vehicle, and a time at which a waste service is to be completed at the one of the plurality of known customer locations.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the frequency signature of the one or more hydraulic actuators comprises an acoustic sound having a frequency in a range of 6000 Hz to 7000 Hz.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to identify the frequency signature in the captured sound vibrations during a first waste service by:

performing a fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the captured sound vibrations, and

identifying the frequency signature based on a frequency domain output of the FFT.

13. A method for managing waste services performed by a service vehicle, the method comprising:

monitoring location of a service vehicle using a locating device onboard the service vehicle;

monitoring motion of the service vehicle using a motion sensor onboard the service vehicle;

determining the service vehicle has arrived at a first service location based on determining a stop of the service vehicle using the monitored motion of the service vehicle being below a threshold speed and based on a proximity of the service vehicle from the first service location being below a threshold using the monitored location of the service vehicle;

in response to determining that the service vehicle has arrived at the first service location:

determining based on one or more power sensors that the hydraulic actuators are being driven to move the lift arms;

capturing sound vibrations using an acoustic sensor disposed onboard the first service vehicle that has lift arms that engage a receptacle and that are raised by one or more hydraulic actuators to one of: (i) tilt and dump the receptacle into the first service vehicle; and (ii) place the receptacle onto the first service vehicle for transport, the one or more hydraulic actuators producing a frequency signature during lifting of the receptacle;

identifying the frequency signature in the captured sound vibrations during a first waste service;

determining, based on a comparison of the frequency signature to a stored profile unique to a type, size, and configuration of the service vehicle, that the service vehicle has activated the one or more hydraulic actuators of lift arms of the service vehicle, moving the receptacle, to perform the first waste service; and

in response to determining that the hydraulic actuators have been activated based on the one or more power sensors, and that the lifting arms lifted the receptacle, based on the frequency signature, generating an electronic record of the first waste service, including the comparison of the frequency signature to the stored profile and the monitored motion and location data corresponding to the first service vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising determining that the waste service has been performed at a target location based on the determination of the first waste service and based on the location of the service vehicle.

15. The method of claim 13 , further including:

determining that the service vehicle has stopped; and

wherein the acoustic sensor is activated only when the service vehicle has stopped.

16. The method of claim 13 , further including:

receiving a schedule of stops to be completed by the service vehicle at a plurality of known customer locations;

making a determination that the service vehicle cannot complete a second waste service at one of the plurality of known customer locations based on the schedule of stops; and

selectively adjusting the schedule of stops based on the determination.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein:

the service vehicle is a first service vehicle; and

selectively adjusting the schedule of stops includes selectively adjusting the schedule of stops by removing the second waste service from the schedule of stops and selectively adding the second waste service to a schedule of stops corresponding to a second service vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein making the determination that the service vehicle cannot complete the second waste service includes making the determination based on the location of the service vehicle being outside of a distance to the one of the plurality of known customer locations.

19. The method of claim 13 , wherein the frequency signature of the one or more hydraulic actuators comprises an acoustic sound having a frequency in a range of 6000 Hz to 7000 Hz.

20. The method of claim 13 , wherein identifying the frequency signature in the captured sound vibrations during the first waste service comprises:

performing a fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the captured sound vibrations, and

identifying the frequency signature based on a frequency domain output of the FFT.

21. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing computer-executable programming instructions for performing a method of waste management by a service vehicle, the method comprising:

monitoring location of a service vehicle using a locating device onboard the service vehicle;

monitoring motion of the service vehicle using a motion sensor onboard the service vehicle;

determining the service vehicle has arrived at a first service location based on determining a stop of the service vehicle using the monitored motion of the service vehicle being below a threshold speed and based on a proximity of the service vehicle from the first service location being below a threshold using the monitored location of the service vehicle;

in response to determining that the service vehicle has arrived at the first service location:

determining based on one or more power sensors that the hydraulic actuators are being driven to move the lift arms;

capturing sound vibrations using an acoustic sensor disposed onboard the first service vehicle that has lift arms that engage a receptacle and that are raised by one or more hydraulic actuators to one of: (i) tilt and dump the receptacle into the first service vehicle; and (ii) place the receptacle onto the first service vehicle for transport, the one or more hydraulic actuators producing a frequency signature during lifting of the receptacle;

identifying the frequency signature in the captured sound vibrations during a first waste service;

determining, based on a comparison of the frequency signature to a stored profile unique to a type, size, and configuration of the service vehicle, that the service vehicle has activated the one or more hydraulic actuators of lift arms of the service vehicle, moving the receptacle, to perform the first waste service; and

in response to determining that the hydraulic actuators have been activated based on the one or more power sensors, and that the lifting arms lifted the receptacle, based on the frequency signature, generating an electronic record of the first waste service, including the comparison of the frequency signature to the stored profile and the monitored motion and location data corresponding to the first service vehicle.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 21 , the method further comprising:

receiving a schedule of stops to be completed by the service vehicle at a plurality of known customer locations;

making a determination that the service vehicle cannot complete a second waste service at one of the plurality of known customer locations based on the schedule of stops; and

selectively adjusting the schedule of stops based on the determination.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 21 , the method further comprising:

receiving a schedule of stops to be completed by the service vehicle at a plurality of known customer locations;

determining that the service vehicle cannot complete a second waste service at one of the plurality of known customer locations based on the location of the service vehicle being outside of a distance to the one of the plurality of known customer locations; and

continuously adjusting the distance based on at least one of a movement direction of the service vehicle, a speed of the service vehicle, and a time at which the second waste service is to be completed at the one of the plurality of known customer locations.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the frequency signature of the one or more hydraulic actuators comprises an acoustic sound having a frequency in a range of 6000 Hz to 7000 Hz.

25. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 21 , wherein identifying the frequency signature in the captured sound vibrations during the first waste service comprises:

performing a fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the captured sound vibrations, and

identifying the frequency signature based on a frequency domain output of the FFT.

Assignments (13)

Continuity (5)

Cited By (3)

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