Granted Patent B1

US 12,694,377 · App. 18/751,447 · Granted Jul 28, 2026

Inventor: Ravi Bellur (Norwell, MA)

Assignee: Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc.

G06Q10/30G06F18/24G06Q10/047G06Q10/0631

Abstract

Claims (76)

1 . An automated apparatus for classifying and managing the transport of hazardous waste, the apparatus comprising:

at least one specialized hazardous waste collection and transportation device (CTD) configured for collecting and transporting hazardous waste to a receiving facility;

at least one specialized property analyzer configured to analyze the hazardous waste, and to generate an output corresponding to physical characteristics of the hazardous waste;

a classification and control system communicably coupled to the specialized property analyzer and to the CTD;

the control system having a memory and a processor, wherein the memory includes a stored program executable by the processor;

a specialized ecommerce platform communicably coupled to the classification and control system, the ecommerce platform configured to electronically receive from customers, waste management requests, waste profile data, and waste pickup locations;

an artificial intelligence (AI) data processor communicably coupled to the classification and control system;

the classification and control system configured to capture from the ecommerce platform, waste management requests, waste profile data, and waste pickup locations; and

the stored program of the classification and control system configured to:

(a) capture from the ecommerce platform, the waste management requests, waste profile data, and waste pickup locations;

(b) enter the waste profile data into the AI data processor;

(c) cause the AI data processor to use the waste profile data to generate a predicted waste class code (WCC) for the waste;

(d) use the WCC to determine an optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations for analysis and/or disposal of the waste;

(e) use the WCC and optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations, to generate and send operational directives to the CTD for collecting and transporting at least a sample of the waste for analysis;

(f) cause the specialized property analyzer to generate an analysis of physical properties of the sample of the waste, and to capture the analysis;

(g) compare the analysis with the WCC to confirm compliance with the WCC and, if non-compliant, transmit the analysis to the AI data processor and cause the AI data processor to repeat said (a)-(f);

(h) use the WCC and optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations, to generate and send operational directives to the CTD for collecting and transporting the waste for disposal.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one specialized property analyzer comprises a spectrometer.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the AI data processor is configured to compare the profile data to a corpus of stored WCC data to generate the WCC.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said capture (a) is further configured to determine whether sufficient data has been captured from the ecommerce platform for generation of the WCC, or whether additional data is required.

5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein:

the stored program is further configured to:

approve a waste collection request;

generate documentation including the WCC and the optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations; and

transmit the documentation to the customers via the ecommerce platform.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said use (d) further comprises generating the optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations based on cost.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the CTD comprises a vacuum truck and/or trailer configured to vacuum wet and/or dry hazardous waste into an on-board tank for transport to the waste receiving location.

8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the classification and control system is communicably coupled to the CTD by one or more cellular and/or GPS networks.

9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said (e) comprises:

(f) upon receipt of customer authorization, use the WCC and optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations, to generate and send operational directives to the CTD for collecting and transporting at least a sample of the waste for analysis.

10 . A method for automatically classifying and managing the transport of hazardous waste, the method comprising:

providing at least one specialized hazardous waste collection and transportation device (CTD) configured for collecting and transporting hazardous waste to a receiving facility;

configuring at least one specialized property analyzer to analyze the hazardous waste, and to generate an output corresponding to physical characteristics of the hazardous waste;

communicably coupling a classification and control system to the specialized property analyzer and to the CTD, the control system having a memory and a processor, wherein the memory includes a stored program executable by the processor;

communicably coupling a specialized ecommerce platform to the classification and control system, the ecommerce platform configured to electronically receive from customers, waste management requests, waste profile data, and waste pickup locations;

communicably coupling an artificial intelligence (AI) data processor to the classification and control system;

configuring the classification and control system to capture from the ecommerce platform, waste management requests, waste profile data, and waste pickup locations; and

with the stored program of the classification and control system:

(a) capturing from the ecommerce platform, the waste management requests, waste profile data, and waste pickup locations;

(b) entering the waste profile data into the AI data processor;

(c) causing the AI data processor to use the waste profile data to generate a predicted waste class code (WCC) for the waste;

(d) using the WCC to generate an optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations for analysis and/or disposal of the waste;

(e) using the WCC and optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations, to generate and send operational directives to the CTD for collecting and transporting at least a sample of the waste to the waste for analysis;

(f) causing the specialized property analyzer to generate an analysis of physical properties of the sample of the waste, and to capture the analysis;

(g) comparing the analysis with the WCC to confirm compliance with the WCC and, if non-compliant, transmitting the analysis to the AI data processor and causing the AI data processor to repeat said (a)-(f);

(h) using the WCC and optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations, to generate and send operational directives to the CTD for collecting and transporting the waste to the waste receiving location for disposal.

11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising, with the AI data processor, comparing the profile data to a corpus of stored WCC data to generate the WCC.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein said capturing (a) further comprises determining whether sufficient data has been captured from the ecommerce platform for generation of the WCC, or whether additional data is required.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising, with the stored program:

approving a waste collection request;

generating documentation including the WCC; and the optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations; and

transmitting the documentation to the customers via the ecommerce platform.

14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein said using (d) further comprises generating the optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations based on cost.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the CTD comprises a vacuum truck and/or trailer configured to vacuum wet and/or dry hazardous waste into an on-board tank for transport to the waste receiving location.

16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the classification and control system is communicably coupled to the CTD by one or more cellular and/or GPS networks.

17 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the at least one specialized property analyzer comprises a spectrometer.

18 . The method of claim 10 , wherein said (e) comprises:

(f) upon receipt of customer authorization, use the WCC and optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations, to generate and send operational directives to the CTD for collecting and transporting at least a sample of the waste for analysis.

19 . An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory program storage medium readable by a computer, the medium tangibly embodying one or more programs of instructions executable by the computer to perform a method for automatically classifying and managing the transport of hazardous waste, the article of manufacture comprising:

a stored program configured to:

(a) capture from an ecommerce platform, waste management requests, waste profile data, and waste pickup locations;

(b) enter the waste profile data into an AI data processor;

(c) cause the AI data processor to use the waste profile data to generate a predicted waste class code (WCC) for the waste;

(d) use the WCC to determine an optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations for analysis and/or disposal of the waste;

(e) use the WCC and optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations, to generate and send operational directives to a specialized hazardous waste collection and transportation device (CTD) for collecting and transporting at least a sample of the waste to a waste receiving location for analysis;

(f) cause a specialized property analyzer to generate an analysis of physical properties of the sample of the waste, and to capture the analysis;

(g) compare the analysis with the WCC to confirm compliance with the WCC and, if non-compliant, transmit the analysis to the AI data processor and cause the AI data processor to repeat said (a)-(f);

(h) use the WCC and optimal one of a plurality of predetermined waste receiving locations, to generate and send operational directives to the CTD for collecting and transporting the waste for disposal.

20 . The article of manufacture of claim 19 , wherein:

said capture (a) is further configured to determine whether sufficient data has been captured from the ecommerce platform for generation of the WCC, or whether additional data is required.

21 . The article of manufacture of claim 20 , wherein:

the stored program is further configured to:

approve a waste collection request;

generate documentation including the WCC, and the optimal route; and

transmit the documentation to the customers via the ecommerce platform.

22 . The article of manufacture of claim 19 , wherein said use (d) further comprises generating the optimal route based on cost.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (38)