waste collection facility

Abstract

To provide a waste collection facility capable of dealing with problems such as illegal dumping of waste that should not be brought in, theft of magazines and used clothing brought in, scattering of cardboard boxes outside the facility, etc., which frequently occur at drive-through waste collection facilities. [Solution] A waste collection facility is surrounded by side walls 11 and has multiple storage areas 12 separated by partitions 13 within the space surrounded by the side walls.The facility is equipped with a network camera system that allows images taken by a photographing device 100 such as a digital camera installed within the facility to be viewed from an external device via a network.The network camera system is equipped with a microphone and speaker 102, and is configured to enable the distribution of audio to people who bring waste into the waste collection facility and external devices, as well as the reception of audio from people who bring waste into the waste collection facility and external devices.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to an unmanned collection facility for paper, cardboard, used clothing, etc., and is a waste collection facility characterized by a drive-through system in which people load various types of waste paper, etc. into their cars, etc., and sort and transport them to a designated area within the facility, where they are collected by a waste collection company. [Background technology]

[0002] Waste paper generated in households is collected through various routes, including collection by collection companies, collection through newspaper sales channels, administrative collection by local governments, and collection by organizations such as children's groups.

[0003] Among the waste paper that is subject to collection, old newspapers and the like are often collected periodically through the above-mentioned newspaper sales channels or by children's groups and the like.

[0004] On the other hand, old magazines, used clothing, cardboard, etc. often have to be collected by recycling companies.

[0005] However, collection operations by collection companies are not always carried out everywhere, and may be rare in some areas. Therefore, waste collection facilities such as those described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 below exist as drive-through waste collection facilities where the general public can voluntarily dispose of waste paper and the like. Such waste collection facilities are also useful for collection companies, as they enable collection of waste products without the need for collection operations. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-225572 [Patent Document 2] Registered Utility Model Publication No. 3165132 [Patent Document 3] Registered Utility Model Publication No. 3217911 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-297840 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In the waste collection facilities shown in the above patent documents, the items to be collected, specifically used clothing, newspapers, old magazines, and cardboard, are usually separated by walls, and users generally bring in these items by car.

[0008] FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view showing a schematic configuration of such a waste collection facility.

[0009] The scrap collection facility 1 is surrounded by a steel side wall 2. An entrance / exit 2a is provided in the side wall 2 facing the road, allowing cars A to enter and exit. A gate is provided at the entrance / exit 2a, and entry is often prohibited at night, etc.

[0010] A storage area 3 is provided at the back of the premises where users who bring in waste paper, used clothing, etc. using automobile A through entrance 2a can sort and store a wide variety of waste items themselves.

[0011] This storage area 3 is separated by partition walls 4 .

[0012] A sprinkler system is installed near storage area 3 as a fire extinguishing measure, and automatically extinguishes the fire in response to heat, smoke, etc. In many cases, facilities are set up to carry out this task.

[0013] The general-purpose sprinklers shown below are commonly used in parking lots and other areas. A sprinkler head is installed on the ceiling or wall of a building, and one end of the sprinkler body has a nozzle connected to a water supply source, which is sealed by a valve. The valve is supported by a heat-sensitive decomposition unit located on the other end of the body. When a fire breaks out, the heat-sensitive decomposition unit decomposes, separating the valve from the nozzle and releasing water from the nozzle. This is a general-purpose sprinkler, and the water released from the nozzle hits a deflector located on the extension of the nozzle outlet and is scattered in all directions, extinguishing the fire.

[0014] Drive-through waste collection facilities configured as described above are becoming increasingly popular nationwide due to their convenience.

[0015] Along with this nationwide increase, problems are also on the rise, such as the illegal dumping of waste that should not be brought in, the theft of magazines and used clothing that have been brought in, and the scattering of cardboard boxes and other items outside the facility.

[0016] The purpose of this invention is to provide a self-service waste collection facility that can deal with such problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0017] The configuration of the present invention to solve the above problems is as follows.

[0018] (1) The waste collection facility described in claim 1 is a waste collection facility that is surrounded by side walls, has an entrance and exit in the side walls that allows vehicles to enter and exit, and further has multiple storage areas divided by partitions within the space surrounded by the side walls.The waste collection facility is equipped with a network camera system that allows images taken by a photographing device such as a digital camera installed in the waste collection facility to be viewed from an external device via a network, and the network camera system is equipped with a microphone and a speaker, and is configured to enable the distribution of audio to people who bring waste into the waste collection facility and external devices, and to enable the reception of audio from people who bring waste into the waste collection facility and external devices.

[0019] (2) The invention described in claim 2 is a waste collection facility described in claim 1, in which the upper ends of the side walls are bent inward toward the inside of the waste collection facility, and a roof is provided above the storage area that can cover the entire storage area. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] How the present invention configured as above works and solves the problems will be generally explained with reference to the drawings.

[0021] The waste collection facility described in claim 1 employs a network camera system that is capable of transmitting and receiving images as well as audio data.

[0022] Such a network system makes it possible to monitor the inside of a waste collection facility using images from a viewing device located in a remote location, specifically a personal computer installed in an office outside the facility or at home.

[0023] Furthermore, because it can send and receive voice data, it can also communicate with people inside the waste collection facility, making it possible to warn people about illegal dumping or theft within the facility, or to advise them on how to properly separate their waste at the waste disposal site.

[0024] Furthermore, since the occurrence of a fire can be visually confirmed in real time from an external device, it is possible to quickly notify the fire department.

[0025] In addition, in the waste collection facility described in claim 2, the upper end 11a of the side wall 11 is bent toward the inside of the waste collection facility as shown in Figure 1, so that when waste brought into the waste collection facility 10 is blown up by the wind, it gets caught in the bent part and is prevented from scattering outside the waste collection facility 10.

[0026] Furthermore, a roof 14 that can cover the entire storage area 12 is provided on top of the storage area 12, making it possible to more efficiently prevent waste from scattering.

[0027] This is because waste is dumped and left in the storage area 12, but since the roof 14 covers the entire storage area 12, the wind blowing up hits the roof 14, which means that almost all of the blown up waste hits the roof 14 and falls into the storage area 12. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] Partially cutaway perspective view of the present invention [Figure 2] Network camera system concept diagram [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] The following describes preferred embodiments of the components of the present invention with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments of the components of the present invention are not limited to the following embodiments and may take various forms as long as they fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0030] The scrap collection facility 10 is surrounded by a side wall 11 made of steel. An entrance / exit 15 is provided on the side wall 11 facing the road, allowing cars to enter and exit the facility. It is desirable to provide a gate at the entrance / exit 15 so that entry can be prohibited at night, etc. Furthermore, if the gate is set up to open and close automatically according to business hours, it will be very convenient.

[0031] A storage area 12 with a roof 14 is provided at the back of the premises, where users who bring in waste paper, used clothing, etc. by car through an entrance 15 can sort and store a wide variety of waste items themselves. This storage area 12 is separated by a partition wall 13.

[0032] The parking area 12 is preferably provided in a partitioned area within a close range so that cars that have stopped there once do not need to be moved again.

[0033] The invention described in claim 1 is equipped with a network camera system that allows images taken by a photographing device such as a digital camera installed within the waste collection facility 10 to be viewed from an external device via a network.

[0034] A conceptual diagram of this network camera system is shown in Figure 2. The camera server 100, speaker 102, and other components of this network camera system can be attached to a support 16 installed within the facility 10, or can be attached directly to the side wall 11.

[0035] In FIG. 2, a network 200 is a line or network such as a digital line network that transmits digitized image data, and is an internet network or internet network typified by the Internet. The physical media of the network 200 may be a wireless LAN, optical fiber, or the like, but as long as logical connection is possible, there is no particular restriction on the type of network, whether wireless or wired.

[0036] Furthermore, although the present embodiment will be described assuming that TCP / IP is used, any protocol may be used as long as it can achieve the same purpose.

[0037] Reference numeral 100 denotes a camera server connected to a network, and is assumed to be configured to include a camera. The physical connection form from camera server 100 to network 200 does not need to be specifically determined; as long as they are logically connected, there is no problem.

[0038] The camera server 100 also has an audio input terminal and an audio output terminal, to which a microphone 101 and a speaker 102 are connected, respectively. The microphone 101 and the speaker 102 may be built into the camera server 100. Furthermore, the microphone 101 and the speaker 102 may be any device that can input and output audio signals to and from the camera server 100.

[0039] Reference numeral 300 denotes a viewing device, which may be a personal computer. An information processing device logically connected to network 200 may be used as viewing device 300. A video output device and operation input devices such as a mouse and keyboard are connected to viewing device 300, enabling operation of camera server 100 and viewing of distributed images.

[0040] Furthermore, a microphone and a speaker are connected to each viewing device 300. The microphone and speaker enable listening to audio distributed from the camera server 100 and transmitting audio to the camera server 100.

[0041] It should be noted that the video output device, operation input device, microphone, and speaker may be configured as a single unit with viewing device 300 in part or in whole.

[0042] The camera server 100 basically has the same configuration as a general computer, and specifically includes a central processing unit (CPU), a main memory unit, an external memory unit such as a hard disk or flash memory, a network connection unit, a camera unit, an image input unit, an audio input unit, and an audio output unit. These units are connected by a bus line, allowing them to operate in unison.

[0043] The main memory temporarily stores programs and information.

[0044] The CPU executes the programs stored in the main memory, controls the entire device, and delivers image data and audio data.

[0045] The external storage unit stores, as files, programs, stored image information, stored audio information, etc. The network connection unit is used to connect to the network 200.

[0046] The image input unit digitizes the image information from the camera unit, and the image input unit enables the camera server 100 to process the digital image data input from the camera unit using the CPU.

[0047] The camera unit is a device that converts the image of an optical camera into an electrical signal. There are several methods for using the camera unit and image input unit. For example, there are some that can directly convert optical images into electrical signals and read them out as digital signals, such as CCD, and there are also some that first convert the image signal into an analog electrical signal and then digitize it.

[0048] The camera unit does not need to be built into the camera server 100, but may be connected externally.

[0049] An external microphone 101 is connected to the audio input unit. The microphone 101 may be a microphone that converts air vibrations into an electrical signal, or may be an audio signal generating device such as a CD recorder. By connecting these microphones 101 to the audio input unit, it becomes possible to digitize the audio signal, and the CPU processes the digitized audio data.

[0050] The audio output unit is connected to an external speaker 102. The audio output unit converts digitized audio data into an analog electrical signal and outputs it to the speaker 102, thereby enabling audio reproduction. As described above, the speaker 102 is a device that converts an electrical signal into air vibrations.

[0051] Next, a description will be given of the hardware configuration of the viewing device 300. Note that the viewing device 300 is often installed outside the facility 10, such as in an office or at home.

[0052] The viewing device 300 is basically composed of a personal computer (PC), and specifically includes a central processing unit (CPU), a main memory unit, an external memory unit such as a hard disk or flash memory, a network connection unit, an image output unit, an input unit, an audio input unit, and an audio output unit.

[0053] These components are connected by a bus line, allowing them to operate in unison.

[0054] The main memory temporarily stores programs and calculation results, and the CPU reads and executes the programs from the main memory and sends the results to each component to control the entire device. Similarly, by reading and calculating information from each component, the status of each component can be grasped.

[0055] The external storage unit stores information such as files and software. The network connection unit is used to connect to the network 200.

[0056] The image output unit creates a memory space equipped with a video RAM and image signal information from that memory space. By connecting to a video output device, the image obtained by the viewing device 300 can actually be visualized as an image signal.

[0057] The input unit is primarily configured to connect to an operation input unit for inputting operator instructions, and may be connected to a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, or the like. A microphone is connected to the audio input unit, which is a device that digitizes input audio to create digital audio data. The audio output unit converts the digital audio data into an analog audio signal. Connecting a speaker to this audio output unit converts the digital audio data into audio.

[0058] It should be noted that the above-mentioned video output device, operation input unit, microphone, and speaker may be integrated into viewing device 300. Examples of such an integrated device include a notebook computer and a mobile phone. As such, in this embodiment, the form of viewing device 300 is not particularly important, and any configuration or shape may be used as long as it performs the same operation.

[0059] In the invention described in claim 2, the upper end 11a of the side wall 11 is bent toward the inside of the waste collection facility as shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, a roof 14 capable of covering the entire storage area 12 is provided on top of the storage area 12. "Capable of covering the entire storage area" means that the horizontal length H1 of the partition wall 13 and the horizontal length H2 of the roof 14 are approximately the same length. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 10. Waste collection facility 11‥Side wall 11a...Top edge 12. Storage area 13...bulkhead 14. Roof 15...Entrance / exit 16...post

Claims

1. A waste collection facility is surrounded by side walls, has an entrance in the side wall through which automobiles can enter and exit, and further has a plurality of storage areas separated by partitions within the space surrounded by the side walls, The facility is equipped with a network camera system that enables images taken by a photographing device such as a digital camera installed in the waste collection facility to be viewed from an external device via a network. The network camera system is equipped with a microphone and a speaker, and is capable of transmitting audio to a person who has brought waste into the waste collection facility and to an external device, and is also capable of receiving audio from a person who has brought waste into the waste collection facility and from an external device; A waste collection facility characterized by:

2. 2. A waste collection facility according to claim 1, wherein the upper ends of the side walls are bent inward of the waste collection facility, and a roof capable of covering the entire storage area is provided above the storage area.

Images