Intelligent and informatized multi-vehicle collaboratively operating municipal refuse collection and transfer system and method

• US 10,214,350 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2014
• Issued: 02/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hunan University
• Original Assignee: Hunan University
• Inventors: Liu, Keli, Wen, Guilin
• Primary Examiner(s): Heinle, Courtney D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Martinez Borrero, Luis A
• Application Number:
  US15/125,963
• Publication Number:
  US 20170081120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,635 Days
• Field of Search: 701484, 701 1, 701468, 701517, 701519
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 3/00 Vehicles particularly adapted for collecting refuse vehicles in general B60; driving vehicle equipment or auxiliaries B60K; discharging contents by tilting entire vehicles B65G; wheeled apparatus for emptying sewers or cesspools E03F7/10
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 9/00 Transferring of refuse between vehicles or containers with intermediate storage or pressing presses for baling per se B30B9/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0297 by controlling means in a control room

Abstract

An intelligent and information multi-vehicle collaboratively operating municipal refuse collection and transfer system and method are provided. The system comprises an automated system with multiple-degree of freedom intelligent dustbin grabbing, an operating system with two types of refuse vehicles collaborating, a multi-vehicle collaborative operation information system, and a fixed-point refuse collection operation confirmation and remote monitoring information management system for coordinating overall operation of the systems. The automated system with multiple-degree of freedom intelligent dustbin grabbing system is used for the refuse vehicles to automatically collect dustbins; the operating system with two types of refuse vehicles collaborating comprises a plurality of small- and medium-sized refuse vehicles and large capacity refuse vehicles. The small- and medium-sized refuse vehicles collect refuse in the dustbins according to multi-vehicle collaborative operation information with the support of the multi-vehicle collaborative operation information system, and the large capacity refuse vehicles are used to dock with the collected refuse and transport the refuse out of town with the support of the multi-vehicle collaborative operation information system. The method is the implementation of the above system. The system and method have good operability and high degree of intelligence and provide good results of refuse disposal.

Claims

1. An intelligent informatization and multi-vehicle collaboration, urban garbage collection system, comprising:

a multi-freedom intelligent automation trash grabbing system comprising a multi-freedom intelligent grabbing system,

a two types of garbage truck docking operating system comprising a plurality of small and medium sizes of garbage trucks and large capacity garbage trucks,

a multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system,

a garbage collection point confirmation information system, and

a remote monitoring informatization management system for organizing said multi-freedom intelligent automation trash grabbing system, said two types of garbage truck docking operating system and a multi-vehicle collaborative operation information system, and said garbage collection point confirmation information system,

wherein trash cans are able to be automatically collected by said multi-freedom intelligent automation trash grabbing system, wherein said multi-freedom intelligent automation trash grabbing systems is installed on said small and medium sizes and large capacity of garbage trucks, wherein said trash cans are efficiently collected by said small and medium sizes of garbage trucks based on said multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system through a multi-vehicle collaboration information, wherein said large capacity garbage trucks are adapted to be docked with said small and medium sizes of garbage trucks to transport a garbage out of a city based on said multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system,

wherein said small and medium sizes of garbage trucks are adapted for collecting the garbage inside said trash cans placed all over urban streets based on an area seamless management database and multi-vehicle collaboration real-time operation information,

wherein said multi-freedom intelligent grabbing system is installed on a garbage container of each of said small and medium sizes and large capacity of garbage trucks, and a top portion of said garbage container having a garbage opening operated by a door system which is linked with said multi-freedom intelligent grabbing system to operate between an open door position and a close door position, wherein a rear portion of said garbage truck comprises another door system to dock with other comportment,

wherein lifting and translating mechanisms are arranged on a bottom portion of said garbage container,

wherein a pushing mechanism is designed inside said garbage container of said garbage truck.

2. The intelligent informatization and multi-vehicle collaboration, urban garbage collection system, as recited in claim 1, wherein said large capacity garbage truck is seamlessly connected with a tail of said small and medium sizes of garbage truck through said lifting and translating mechanisms, so that the garbage is able to be automatically translated and compressed, wherein a tail portion of said garbage container of said large capacity garbage truck comprises a docking speaker, wherein a wrinkle and elastic rubber seal is sealed on an edge of said docking speaker, wherein a matching door, an automatic opening and closing system, and a garbage compressing system are designed inside said garbage container, wherein a wastewater docking transporting system is arranged between said large capacity garbage truck and said small and medium sizes of garbage trucks, wherein a lower end of said small and medium sizes of garbage trucks comprises at least a docking probe, wherein when rears of said two garbage trucks are approaching during a docking process, said docking probe is inserted into said docking speaker of said large capacity garbage truck, and then the garbage deposed inside said small and medium garbage trucks is extracted to said large capacity garbage truck to achieve a sealing transportation of the garbage.

3. An intelligent informatization and multi-vehicle collaboration, urban garbage collection system, comprising:

a multi-freedom intelligent automation trash grabbing system,

a two types of garbage truck docking operating system,

a multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system,

a garbage collection point confirmation information system, and

a remote monitoring informatization management system for organizing said multi-freedom intelligent automation trash grabbing system, said two types of garbage truck docking operating system and a multi-vehicle collaborative operation information system, and said garbage collection point confirmation information system,

wherein trash cans are able to be automatically collected by said multi-freedom intelligent automation trash grabbing system, wherein said two types of garbage truck docking operating system comprises a plurality of small and medium sizes of garbage trucks and large capacity garbage trucks, wherein said multi-freedom intelligent automation trash grabbing systems is installed on said small and medium sizes and large capacity of garbage trucks, wherein said trash cans are efficiently collected by said small and medium sizes of garbage trucks based on said multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system through a multi-vehicle collaboration information, wherein said large capacity garbage trucks are adapted to be docked with said small and medium sizes of garbage trucks to transport a garbage out of a city based on said multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system,

wherein each of said trash cans, large capacity garbage trucks, and small and medium garbage trucks have classification, orderly codes and labels, wherein said multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system is operated based on various types of information analysis, and a forecasting of completion of tasks for said garbage trucks, wherein urban electronic maps and urban traffic information are combined to be used to analysis a vehicle supporting schedule and a route program for said garbage trucks in different areas in real-time situation, and then automatically calculate and plan optimal solutions which small garbage trucks are collected by said large capacity garbage trucks, wherein a fast transition route is provided for exiting and returning back to the city, so as to ensure an efficiency for garbage collection and transportation.

4. A collection and transportation method for a multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system, comprising the following steps:

(a) based on duty information and barcode information, assigning daily duties to each of garbage trucks through a confirmation information of one or more garbage collection points and a remote monitoring and information management system;

(b) departing a first class of small and medium sizes of said garbage trucks to different areas and going through streets to collect a garbage inside roadside trash cans, wherein a multi-freedom intelligent grabbing system is adapted to automatically recognize and record a barcode of said trash cans, wherein after collection tasks of said trash cans are completed, a task completion information, including barcodes of said trash cans, a driver'"'"'s information, barcodes of said garbage trucks, and locations of said garbage trucks of an electrical traffic map, are wirelessly transmitted to said garbage collection points and processed by a remote monitoring informatization management system, wherein said task completion information is able to be analyzed and updated by said remote monitoring informatization management system, and then, an updated information and tasks are sent back to said multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system, wherein at the same time, a feedback information, comprising said barcodes, electronic routes and other task information for said trash cans, is displayed in a display screen; and

(c) operating a second class of said garbage trucks based on said confirmation information of said garbage collection points and said remote monitoring and information management system to schedule departures of said garbage trucks, wherein the step (c) further comprise the steps of;

(c.1) docking said second class of said garbage trucks with said first class of said garbage trucks; and

(c.2) when said second class of said garbage trucks are full of the garbage, sending an out of town command to said garbage collection points and said remote monitoring and information management to activate said second class of said garbage truck to move out of a city, wherein based on a real time traffic condition networking, an optimal route of said garbage truck is generated to provide an effective path for exiting an urban and returning back to said urban, wherein after the garbage of said garbage truck is completely dumped into a landfill, said garbage truck is assigned to a next garbage collection point of said garbage collection points according to real time refreshing results of task statistical analysis.

5. The collection and transportation method for the multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system, as recited in claim 4, wherein in the step (c.1), said first class of said garbage trucks are parked in a suitable place, and tail ends of said first class of said garbage trucks are aligned with that of said second class of said garbage trucks based on a video environment information, and then, a driver of said first class of said garbage truck operates said garbage truck to be lifted and translated, wherein docking mouths of said tail ends of said first class of said garbage trucks are docking with that of said second class of said garbage trucks, wherein at this time, openings of rear doors of said second class of said garbage trucks are based on contact distance sensors arranged on contact surfaces of said tail ends of the garbage trucks, wherein after docking, a pushing mechanism of said first class of said garbage truck is adapted to push the garbage to said second class of said garbage trucks, wherein a compression mechanism of said second class of said garbage trucks is activated to compress the garbage, wherein after that, said first class and said second class of said garbage trucks are separated, and said rear doors of said first class and said second class of said garbage trucks are automatically closed, wherein said first class and said second of said garbage trucks are separated, said first class of said garbage trucks are continuously operated to collect the garbage of said trash cans on roadsides, and said second class of said garbage trucks are moving out of the city.

6. The collection and transportation method for the multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system, as recited in claim 4, wherein said confirmation information of said garbage collection points and said remote monitoring information system are adapted to analyze and optimize a task completion of said first class of said garbage trucks, and said garbage trucks are scheduled by said multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system to support areas with large amount of mission, wherein a docking of said first class and said second class of said garbage trucks and a transportation of the garbage are optimized.

7. The collection and transportation method for the a multi-vehicle collaboration informatization system, as recited in claim 4, wherein said confirmation information of said garbage collection point and said remote monitoring information management are basic databases to store a mass of information, so as to achieve an objective of monitoring, an optimization of garbage truck scheduling, and an analysis and evaluation for said first class and said second class of said garbage trucks at on-site accidents.