Waste Collection System

Abstract

To provide a waste collection system capable of enhancing a possibility of efficiently collecting waste.SOLUTION: In a waste collection system to be used by a system in which a collector collects waste of a client on the basis of a request from the client, there are provided a primary collector for transporting the waste to a waste station, and a secondary collector for transporting the waste from the waste station to a predetermined prescribed place. The same system includes a waste information acquisition part for acquiring waste information including a collection planned place of the waste from the client, a primary collection notification part for notifying the primary collector of the waste information, a storage amount acquisition part for acquiring a storage amount of the waste in the waste station, and a secondary collection notification part for notifying the secondary collection of an instruction to transport the waste to the prescribed place in the case that the storage amount is more than or equal to a predetermined threshold.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a waste recovery system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a management system in which, when collecting waste (garbage), a requester sets a garbage collection location using an application on a smartphone or the like, and a government agency photographs the set garbage collection location and registers the garbage collection location. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2021-103388 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the management system described in Patent Document 1, the administrative agency photographs the garbage collection location set by the requester, so for example, if there are many requests for garbage collection, the administrative agency needs to photograph (confirm) the collection locations according to the number of requests, which takes time to register as a garbage collection location. In such a case, the requester will not be able to put out garbage at the set location until the set location is registered as a garbage collection location, which means that the efficiency of the collection system as a whole will decrease.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a waste recovery system that can increase the possibility of efficiently recovering waste. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the waste collection system is a waste collection system used in a system in which a collector collects waste from a client based on a request from the client, the collector including a primary collector who transports the waste to a waste station and a secondary collector who transports the waste from the waste station to a predetermined designated location, and is equipped with a waste information acquisition unit that acquires waste information including the planned collection location of the waste from the client, a primary collection notification unit that notifies the primary collector of the waste information, an accumulation amount acquisition unit that acquires the accumulation amount of the waste at the waste station, and a secondary collection notification unit that notifies the secondary collector of an instruction to transport the waste to the designated location if the accumulation amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0007] That is, in the waste collection system, a requester who requests waste collection requests a primary collector to collect the waste, and the primary collector collects the waste. Specifically, the requester inputs waste information including the collection date and time and any planned collection location. The primary collector then collects the waste based on that waste information. That is, the requester can request waste collection without being limited to a specific location or date and time. Furthermore, since the requester's request for waste collection is made by a collector who has been notified, the collector only needs to collect the waste when notified of the collection request. Therefore, it is possible to avoid or reduce inefficient work such as collecting waste periodically regardless of whether there is waste or not.

[0008] In addition, in this waste collection system, the primary collector transports the waste to a waste station, and when the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station reaches or exceeds a threshold, the secondary collector collects the waste from the waste station to a specified facility such as an incineration plant. Therefore, regardless of the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station, it is possible to avoid or suppress inefficient work such as periodically collecting waste from the waste station. In addition, since the primary collector can know the planned collection location and the type of waste by referring to the waste information, waste can be collected more efficiently than, for example, the system described in Patent Document 1, which takes a photo of the collection location for each request and registers the location set by the requester as the collection location. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of waste information. [Diagram 3] 4 is a sequence chart showing an example of processing of the system in the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a sequence chart showing another example of the processing of the system in the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Here, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order. (1) Waste collection system configuration: (2) Sequence chart: (3) Other embodiments:

[0011] (1) Waste collection system configuration: The waste collection system in this embodiment relates to a system for collecting so-called general waste, such as household waste generated at home or clerical waste generated at offices, which is ultimately managed by wards, cities, towns, and villages, based on a request from a client. Hereinafter, general waste will be referred to simply as "waste" or "garbage."

[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a waste collection system 1 according to the present invention. The waste collection system 1 has a requester terminal 10, a primary collector terminal 20, a waste station terminal 30, and a secondary collector terminal 40. The requester terminal 10 and the primary collector terminal 20 can communicate with each other. Similarly, the primary collector terminal 20 and the waste station terminal 30 can communicate with each other. Similarly, the waste station terminal 30 and the secondary collector terminal 40 can communicate with each other. In the waste collection system 1 shown in FIG. 1, information about waste is transmitted from the requester to the primary collector, the primary collector transports the waste to the waste station, and the waste accumulated at the waste station is collected by the secondary collector. That is, in this embodiment, the waste discarded by the requester is collected by the primary collector and the secondary collector. Note that the waste collection system 1 shown in FIG. 1 shows one each of the requester terminal 10, the primary collector terminal 20, the waste station terminal 30, and the secondary collector terminal 40, but there may be a plurality of these terminals. The waste recovery system 1 according to this embodiment will be specifically described below.

[0013] The requester terminal 10 is an information processing device used by a requester who requests the collection (or collection) of garbage. The requester terminal 10 is, for example, a smartphone. The requester terminal 10 may be a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a PC (Personal Computer), or the like. The requester terminal 10 may be installed, for example, in front of the entrance of a waste collection site. The requester terminal 10 also includes a communication unit 100, a control unit 110 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like, and a user I / F unit 120. The communication unit 100 is a device for wirelessly communicating with an external device, and the control unit 110 can communicate with the primary collector terminal 20 via the communication unit 100. The user I / F unit 120 is an interface unit for inputting instructions from the requester and providing various information to the requester, and includes a touch panel display, switches, speakers, and the like (not shown). That is, the user I / F unit 120 includes an input unit for instructions from the requester and an output unit for images and sounds.

[0014] The control unit 110 can execute various programs stored in a recording medium or ROM (not shown). The control unit 110 of this embodiment can execute, as an example of such a program, a program for acquiring waste information. The program executed by the control unit 110 is a program for causing the computer of the requester terminal 10 to function as a waste information acquisition unit 110a. Note that the processing described below as being performed by the waste information acquisition unit 110a is processing realized by the control unit 110.

[0015] The waste information acquisition unit 110a acquires various information related to the waste, including the planned waste collection site, input by the requester through the operation of the user I / F unit 120. The waste information acquired by the requester terminal 10 is transmitted to the primary collector terminal 20. In other words, the requester's request for waste collection is notified to the primary collector.

[0016] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a list of data configurations of waste information. In the data configuration shown here, the requester ID, the date of waste collection, the planned collection location, the type of waste, and the amount of waste to be collected are recorded. Of the waste information shown in Fig. 2, waste information corresponding to a specific requester (e.g., requester 01) is transmitted from the requester terminal 10 to the primary collector terminal 20.

[0017] The requester ID is identification information of the requester, and various information such as the date, the planned collection location, the type of waste, and the amount of waste to be collected is associated with this requester ID.

[0018] The planned collection site is a point designated by the requester as a waste collection site, and is determined, for example, based on coordinate information. The collection site designated by the requester may be, for example, the entrance in the case of a detached house, or a designated garbage dump in the case of a collective housing such as an apartment or condominium, or an office building, and such specific collection site may be included as information on the planned collection site.

[0019] The waste type is information that indicates the type of waste, such as burnable waste, non-burnable waste, plastic, cans, bottles, PET bottles, etc. The waste types are not limited to these, and may include other types that can be collected as general waste, such as cardboard and waste paper. In addition, each type of waste may be transported to a different waste station, or multiple types of waste may be transported to one waste station.

[0020] The collected amount is information indicating the amount of garbage, and includes, for example, information such as how many designated bags, such as those designated by the ward, city, town, or village, and how many non-designated bags (such as supermarket bags). If the bags are not designated bags, information such as whether the size of the bags is larger or smaller than normal bags may be included. The collected amount may also include other information regarding the amount of collected garbage, such as how many liters the bags are, how many cardboard boxes, etc.

[0021] In the example shown in Fig. 2, the following information is associated with requester 01: "Date: October 29, 2021", "Planned collection location: Designated collection location (not specified)", "Waste type: Burnable waste", and "Collection amount: Designated bag 3". Note that the other requesters are as shown in Fig. 2, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0022] Returning to FIG. 1, the primary collector terminal 20, the waste station terminal 30, and the secondary collector terminal 40 will be described.

[0023] The primary collector terminal 20 is an information processing device used by a primary collector who receives a request from a requester to collect waste. The primary collector here refers to a person who does not belong to a public institution such as a local government that ultimately disposes of waste, but a person who does not belong to a public institution (hereinafter also referred to as a private citizen). The primary collector transports the waste collected from the requester to a waste station where waste is temporarily accumulated, and a secondary collector transports the waste accumulated at the waste station from the waste station to an incineration plant or a disposal site. In other words, the primary collector temporarily collects the waste discarded by the requester, and a person (secondary collector) who belongs to a public institution ultimately disposes of it. It is assumed that there are multiple primary collectors, not just one, and when there are multiple primary collectors, the requester designates any one of them as the primary collector.

[0024] The primary collector terminal 20 is, for example, a smartphone. The primary collector terminal 20 may be a tablet terminal, a PC, or the like, in addition to a smartphone. The primary collector terminal 20 also includes a communication unit 200, a control unit 210 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like, and a user I / F unit 220. The communication unit 200 is a device for wireless communication with an external device, and the control unit 210 can communicate with the requester terminal 10 and the waste station terminal 30 via the communication unit 200. The user I / F unit 220 is an interface unit for inputting instructions from the primary collector and providing various information to the primary collector, and includes a touch panel display, switches, speakers, and the like (not shown). That is, the user I / F unit 220 includes an input unit for instructions from the primary collector, and an output unit for images and sounds.

[0025] The control unit 210 can execute various programs stored in a recording medium or ROM (not shown). As an example of such a program, the control unit 210 in this embodiment can execute a program for notifying information to the primary collector. The program executed by the control unit 210 is a program for causing the computer of the primary collector terminal 20 to function as the primary collection notification unit 210a. Note that the processing described below as being performed by the primary collection notification unit 210a is processing realized by the control unit 210.

[0026] The primary collection notification unit 210a notifies the primary collector of information related to waste. That is, the primary collection notification unit 210a controls the user I / F unit 220 and notifies the requester of information related to waste by displaying it on the output unit of the user I / F unit 220. For example, the primary collection notification unit 210a notifies the primary collector of information associated with the requester ID described above in FIG. 2. That is, the primary collection notification unit 210a notifies the primary collector of information such as "when, where, what waste, and how much the requester will dispose of" on the primary collector terminal 20.

[0027] The primary collection notification unit 210a also notifies multiple primary collectors of the waste information from the requester. As described above, since it is assumed that there are multiple primary collectors, the primary collection notification unit 210a notifies multiple primary collectors of the waste information from the requester, i.e., displays it on the primary collector terminal 20. The primary collection notification unit 210a also notifies one of the primary collectors who has accepted the waste collection request from among the multiple primary collectors who received the notification of an instruction to collect the waste related to the request. In other words, the primary collection notification unit 210a notifies the primary collector terminal 20 of the primary collector designated by the requester from among the primary collectors who have accepted the waste collection request of an instruction to collect the waste.

[0028] Furthermore, when the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station is less than a predetermined threshold, the primary collection notification unit 210a notifies the primary collector of that fact. That is, the primary collection notification unit 210a controls the user I / F unit 220 to notify the primary collector of that fact by displaying on the output unit of the user I / F unit 220 that the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station is less than the threshold. The primary collector transports the waste collected from the requester to the waste station. Furthermore, waste based on multiple requests accumulates at the waste station. Therefore, when the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station is equal to or greater than the threshold, even if the primary collector transports the waste to the waste station, the waste may not be able to accumulate because the capacity of the waste station is full. Therefore, the primary collection notification unit 210a notifies the primary collector terminal 20 of waste stations where the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station is less than the threshold (in other words, it does not notify waste stations where the amount of accumulated waste is equal to or greater than the threshold), thereby reducing the possibility that the primary collector will not be able to accumulate the waste when transporting the waste to the waste station.

[0029] The waste station terminal 30 is an information processing device used at a waste station where a primary collector transports waste requested by a requester. In this embodiment, the waste station is a place (hub station) where waste from homes, offices, etc. is temporarily accumulated, and the primary collector transports the waste based on the request from the requester, where the waste is accumulated. The accumulated waste is collected by a secondary collector. The waste stations are installed at a predetermined range (interval) within the area, i.e., waste stations exist at multiple locations.

[0030] The waste station terminal 30 is, for example, a tablet terminal. The waste station terminal 30 may be a smartphone, a PC, or the like, in addition to a tablet terminal. The waste station terminal 30 also includes a communication unit 300 and a control unit 310 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like. The communication unit 300 is a device for wirelessly communicating with an external device, and the control unit 310 can communicate with the primary collector terminal 20 and the secondary collector terminal 40 via the communication unit 300.

[0031] The control unit 310 can execute various programs stored in a recording medium or ROM (not shown). The control unit 310 of this embodiment can execute, as an example of such a program, a program for acquiring the amount of accumulated waste. The program executed by the control unit 310 is a program for causing the computer of the waste station terminal 30 to function as an accumulated amount acquisition unit 310a. Note that the processing described below as being performed by the accumulated amount acquisition unit 310a is processing realized by the control unit 310.

[0032] The accumulated amount acquiring unit 310a acquires the amount of waste accumulated in the waste station. Specifically, the waste station is provided with a weight sensor 320, and the accumulated amount acquiring unit 310a detects the weight of the waste by the weight sensor 320. That is, the accumulated amount acquiring unit 310a acquires a signal from the weight sensor 320 and acquires the weight of the waste accumulated by being transported by the primary collector as the accumulated amount.

[0033] The control unit 310 also transmits information about waste stations where the amount of accumulated waste obtained by the accumulation amount obtaining unit 310a is less than a predetermined threshold to the primary collector terminal 20. The control unit 310 also transmits information about waste stations where the amount of accumulated waste obtained by the accumulation amount obtaining unit 310a is equal to or greater than the threshold to the secondary collector terminal 40.

[0034] The secondary collector terminal 40 is an information processing device used by a secondary collector. The secondary collector here refers to a person who belongs to a public institution such as a local government that ultimately disposes of waste, and the secondary collector transports the waste accumulated in the waste station to a specified location such as an incineration plant or a processing plant.

[0035] The secondary collector terminal 40 is, for example, a smartphone. The secondary collector terminal 40 may be a tablet terminal, a PC, or the like, in addition to a smartphone. The secondary collector terminal 40 also includes a communication unit 400, a control unit 410 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like, and a user I / F unit 420. The communication unit 400 is a device for wireless communication with an external device, and the control unit 410 can communicate with the waste station terminal 30 via the communication unit 400. The user I / F unit 420 is an interface unit for inputting instructions from the secondary collector and providing various information to the secondary collector, and includes a touch panel display, switches, speakers, and the like (not shown). That is, the user I / F unit 420 includes an input unit for instructions from the secondary collector, and an output unit for images and sounds.

[0036] The control unit 410 can execute various programs stored in a recording medium or ROM (not shown). As an example of such a program, the control unit 410 in this embodiment can execute a program for notifying information to a secondary collector. The program executed by the control unit 410 is a program for causing the computer of the secondary collector terminal 40 to function as a secondary collection notification unit 410a. Note that the processing described below as being performed by the secondary collection notification unit 410a is processing realized by the control unit 410.

[0037] When the accumulated amount of waste is equal to or greater than a threshold, the secondary collection notification unit 410a notifies the secondary collector terminal 40 of an instruction to transport the waste to a predetermined location such as an incineration plant or a treatment plant. Specifically, when the accumulated amount of waste acquired by the function of the accumulated amount acquisition unit 310a in the waste station terminal 30 is equal to or greater than a threshold, the secondary collection notification unit 410a determines that the capacity of the waste station is full, identifies the waste station with an accumulated amount equal to or greater than the threshold, and notifies the secondary collector terminal 40 that the accumulated waste will be transported to a predetermined location (incineration plant, treatment plant). That is, the secondary collection notification unit 410a displays the waste station with an accumulated amount of waste equal to or greater than a threshold on the output unit of the user I / F unit 420 in the secondary collector terminal 40, and displays that the accumulated waste will be transported to a predetermined location. Based on this, the secondary collector transports the waste.

[0038] The waste collection system 1 configured in this manner is composed of the requester terminal 10, the primary collector terminal 20, the waste station terminal 30, and the secondary collector terminal 40, as described above, and transmits and receives information via the communication unit of each terminal. That is, the primary collector who receives a request to dispose of waste from the requester collects the waste, and when the amount of waste transported by the primary collector to the waste station accumulates to a threshold value or more, the secondary collector collects the accumulated waste, transports it to an incineration plant or a treatment plant, and incinerates or treats it. The processing contents executed by the waste collection system 1 of this embodiment will be described below using a sequence chart.

[0039] (2)Sequence chart: FIG. 3 is a sequence chart including the processing executed by the control unit of each terminal in the waste collection system 1. In the sequence chart shown in FIG. 3, processing is executed by the requester terminal 10 and the primary collector terminal 20, processing is executed by the primary collector terminal 20 and the waste station terminal 30, and processing is executed by the waste station terminal 30 and the secondary collector terminal 40. When the requester inputs waste information at the requester terminal 10, processing at the requester terminal 10 is started (step S1 described later). Then, when the waste information is transmitted from the requester terminal 10 to the primary collector terminal 20 and received by the primary collector terminal 20, processing at the primary collector terminal 20 is started (step S3 described later). Processing at the primary collector terminal 20 and the waste station terminal 30 is started when the waste station terminal 30 detects the amount of accumulated waste (step S100 described later). Note that processing at the waste station terminal 30 is executed at predetermined regular intervals. Similarly, the processing between the waste station terminal 30 and the secondary collector terminal 40 is started when the waste station terminal 30 detects the amount of accumulated waste (step S100). Note that steps S1 and S100, which function as triggers for starting this sequence chart, may be executed independently of each other or simultaneously.

[0040] First, the processing of the requester terminal 10 and the primary collector terminal 20 will be described. The requester terminal 10 acquires waste information (step S1). That is, the requester terminal 10 acquires waste information input by the requester using the function of the waste information acquisition unit 110a. Specifically, the requester terminal 10 can acquire waste information by the requester operating the user I / F unit 120 to input waste information. As described above, the waste information is, for example, the waste information shown in FIG. 2, and includes the date, planned collection location, waste type, and amount of waste to be collected, associated with the requester ID.

[0041] When the requester terminal 10 acquires the waste information in step S1, it transmits the acquired waste information to the primary collector terminal 20 (step S2). That is, the waste information input by the requester is transmitted to the primary collector who collects the waste. This initiates a request from the requester to the primary collector to collect the waste. Note that, when waste information is transmitted to multiple primary collectors based on a request from one requester, the waste information is transmitted to multiple primary collectors by the processing of step S2. That is, a request for waste collection is transmitted from the requester to multiple primary collectors.

[0042] Next, the primary collector terminal 20 receives the waste information transmitted by the requester terminal 10 in step S2 (step S3). The primary collector terminal 20 also notifies the primary collector of the received waste information (step S4). That is, the primary collector terminal 20 causes the output section of the user I / F section 220 in the primary collector terminal 20 to display the waste information by using the function of the primary collection notification section 210a. This allows the primary collector to be notified of the waste information.

[0043] Next, the primary collector terminal 20 judges whether the primary collector has accepted the collection request from the requester (step S5). As described above, the requester requests collection of waste, and waste information indicating the requested waste is notified to the primary collector in step S4. In step S5, the control unit 210 controls the user I / F unit 220 to display an input screen for accepting or not accepting the request, and accepts input from the requester. If the primary collector has made an input indicating acceptance, the primary collector terminal 20 judges that the request has been accepted. If the judgment in step S5 is negative, that is, if the primary collector has chosen not to accept the request from the requester, the processing of the sequence chart shown in FIG. 3 is temporarily terminated without executing the subsequent control.

[0044] On the other hand, if the answer is affirmative in step S5, that is, if the primary collector selects to accept the request from the requester, the primary collector terminal 20 transmits the identification information of the primary collector to the requester terminal 10 (step S6). That is, information indicating the primary collector who has accepted the response to the waste collection request from the primary collector is transmitted. As described above, there may be multiple primary collectors, and in that case, responses are transmitted to the requester terminal 10 in order from the primary collector terminal 20 of the primary collector who responded first.

[0045] Next, when the requester terminal 10 receives a response from the primary collector terminal 20 in step S6, it notifies the requester of the primary collector (step S7). That is, the requester terminal 10 displays information (identification information) of the primary collector who accepted the request on the output section of the user I / F section 120 of the requester terminal 10, and notifies the requester of the information about the primary collector. The information about the primary collector includes, for example, an evaluation of the primary collector, that is, the past collection performance of the primary collector, etc. The requester refers to this evaluation to decide whether or not to request the primary collector to collect waste.

[0046] Next, it is determined whether or not a primary collector has been designated by the requester terminal 10 (step S8). As described above, the requester determines whether or not to request the notified primary collector to collect the waste. Therefore, in this step S8, if the requester designates the notified primary collector in step S7 as the waste collector, the determination is affirmative. Note that, in step S7, if the requester terminal 10 receives notifications from multiple primary collectors, the requester can designate one of the multiple collectors, and the processing of this step S8 proceeds to step S9.

[0047] If the determination in step S8 is negative, i.e., if the requester does not specify the primary collector notified in step S7 as the waste collector, the process returns to step S7. In this case, for example, the requester operates the requester terminal 10 to prompt the primary collector terminal 20 to notify another primary collector. That is, the requester requests collection by another primary collector, in other words, the requester makes a request for waste collection again.

[0048] On the other hand, if the answer to this step S8 is affirmative, that is, if the requester designates the primary collector notified in step S7 as the waste collector, the requester terminal 10 transmits a waste request to the primary collector terminal 20 of the designated primary collector (step S9). That is, the requester notifies the primary collector designated in step S8 of the decision to request waste. The requester terminal 10 also notifies the primary collector terminals 20 of the primary collectors not designated in this step S9 that they were not designated as collectors by the requester. After requesting the designated primary collector to collect waste, the requester places the waste at the planned collection site. That is, the waste is placed at the predetermined planned collection site entered in the waste information. This completes the request from the requester to the primary collector to collect waste.

[0049] Here, the processing of the waste station terminal 30 will be described. As described above, the processing between the primary collector terminal 20 and the waste station terminal 30, and the processing between the waste station terminal 30 and the secondary collector terminal 40, is started when the waste station terminal 30 detects the amount of accumulated waste. As described above, the processing of the waste station terminal 30 is executed at predetermined fixed time intervals. The waste station terminal 30 transmits information about the waste station to the primary collector terminal 20 or the secondary collector terminal 40 according to the amount of accumulated waste. Therefore, the processing in the waste station terminal 30 detects the amount of accumulated waste at predetermined time intervals. Below, the processing between the waste station terminal 30 and other terminals will be described while explaining the processing in the waste station terminal 30.

[0050] First, the waste station terminal 30 detects the amount of accumulated waste (step S100). That is, the waste station terminal 30 detects the weight of the waste transported by the primary collector to the waste station based on the output information of the weight sensor 320 by the function of the accumulated amount acquisition unit 310a, and acquires it as the accumulated amount.

[0051] Next, the waste station terminal 30 judges whether the accumulated amount of waste detected in step S100 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S110). Waste collected by a primary collector is transported to the waste station. Therefore, if the accumulated amount at the waste station is greater than the threshold, even if the primary collector transports the waste to the waste station, the waste may not be accumulated at the waste station. In addition, the secondary collector transports the accumulated waste from the waste station to an incineration plant or a treatment plant. Therefore, for example, if the accumulated amount at the waste station is less than the threshold, even if the secondary collector comes to collect the waste at the waste station, the secondary collector cannot transport a sufficient amount of waste (i.e., a small accumulated amount) to an incineration plant or a treatment plant, and the efficiency of the waste collection system as a whole decreases. Therefore, in this step S110, the accumulated amount of waste is detected by the function of the accumulated amount acquisition unit 310a. The threshold for the accumulated amount of waste is set, for example, to such an extent that the capacity of the waste station is not filled. In addition, the threshold for the accumulated amount may be changed, for example, according to the frequency at which the process is executed in the waste station terminal 30. For example, if the processing in the waste station terminal 30 is performed at intervals shorter than a predetermined reference time, the threshold value of the accumulation amount will be larger than the threshold value set for the reference time. Conversely, if the processing in the waste station terminal 30 is performed at intervals longer than a predetermined reference time, the threshold value of the accumulation amount will be smaller than the threshold value set for the reference time.

[0052] If the answer to this step S110 is affirmative, i.e., if the waste station terminal 30 determines that the amount of accumulated waste is equal to or greater than the threshold, the waste station terminal 30 transmits a transportation instruction to the secondary collector terminal 40 (step S120). In other words, since the amount of accumulated waste is equal to or greater than the threshold and the capacity of the waste station is full, the waste station instructs the secondary collector to collect the waste. Specifically, the waste station terminal 30 transmits identification information of the waste station to the secondary collector terminal 40. The identification information is associated with at least the location information of the waste station, the amount of accumulated waste, and the like.

[0053] The secondary collector terminal 40, which has received the waste transport instruction from the waste station terminal 30, issues a waste transport instruction to the secondary collector, i.e., a notice to collect the waste to the waste station (step S200). Specifically, the secondary collector terminal 40, by using the function of the secondary collection notification unit 410a, displays the waste station identification information, etc. on the output unit of the user I / F unit 420 in the secondary collector terminal 40, and notifies the secondary collector of the collection of the waste accumulated in the waste station. The secondary collector who has received this notice collects the waste from the specified waste station and transports the collected waste to an incineration plant or a treatment plant.

[0054] On the other hand, if the above-mentioned step S110 is negative, that is, if the waste station terminal 30 determines that the accumulated amount of waste is less than the threshold, the waste station terminal 30 transmits the waste station identification information to the primary collector terminal 20 (step S130). That is, the waste station terminal 30 transmits to the primary collector terminal 20 the waste station identification information associated with at least the waste station's location information, the accumulated amount of waste, and the like. Note that the transmission of the waste station identification information from the waste station terminal 30 to the primary collector terminal 20 in this step S130 may be processed to be executed when there is a transmission request for the waste station identification information from the primary collector terminal 20. If there is no transmission request from the primary collector terminal 20, step S130 is skipped.

[0055] The primary collector terminal 20, which has received the waste station identification information from the waste station terminal 30, notifies the primary collector of the received waste station identification information (step S10). That is, the primary collector terminal 20 displays the waste station identification information, i.e., information on the waste station in which the accumulated amount of waste is less than the threshold, on the output section of the user I / F section 220 in the primary collector terminal 20, and notifies the primary collector of that fact. Note that the processing of this step S10 is a processing performed by executing the processing in the waste station terminal 30, so it may be executed at any timing. For example, if the primary collector terminal 20 receives the waste station identification information from the waste station terminal 30 before or after step S10, the primary collector terminal 20 records the received waste station identification information in a recording medium (not shown), and when a request for waste collection is received from a requester, the primary collector terminal 20 refers to the waste station identification information recorded in the recording medium to obtain information on the waste station to be transported.

[0056] In addition, if the process of transmitting the waste station identification information from the waste station terminal 30 to the primary collector terminal 20 in the above-mentioned step S130 is executed in response to a transmission request from the primary collector terminal 20, the process of this step S10 (i.e., the process of receiving the waste station identification information and notifying the primary collector) will be in accordance with the timing of the transmission request from the primary collector.

[0057] Next, the primary collector terminal 20 notifies the primary collector of a collection instruction based on the waste collection request from the requester terminal 10 in the above-mentioned step S9 (step S11). That is, the primary collector terminal 20 displays the waste collection instruction on the output section of the user I / F section 220 in the primary collector terminal 20, and notifies the primary collector. The primary collector collects the instructed waste from the scheduled collection site, and transports the waste to an arbitrary waste station by referring to the identification information of the waste station notified in step S10.

[0058] Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described. As described above, in the waste collection system 1 of this embodiment, a requester who requests waste collection requests a primary collector to collect the waste, and the primary collector collects the waste. Specifically, the requester inputs waste information including the collection date and time and an arbitrary planned collection location. The primary collector then collects the waste based on the waste information. In other words, the requester can request waste collection without being limited to a specific location or specific date and time. Furthermore, since the requester's request for waste collection is made by a collector who has been notified, the collector only needs to collect the waste when notified of the collection request. Therefore, it is possible to avoid or suppress inefficient work such as periodically collecting waste regardless of whether there is waste or not.

[0059] In addition, in this waste collection system 1, the primary collector transports the waste to a waste station, and when the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station reaches or exceeds a threshold, the secondary collector collects the waste from the waste station to a specified facility such as an incineration plant. Therefore, regardless of the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station, it is possible to avoid or suppress inefficient work such as periodically collecting waste from the waste station. In addition, since the primary collector can know the planned collection location and the type of waste by referring to the waste information, waste can be collected more efficiently than, for example, the system described in Patent Document 1, which takes a photo of the collection location for each request and registers the location set by the requester as the collection location.

[0060] In addition, in this embodiment, waste is collected by a primary collector who does not belong to a public institution and a secondary collector who belongs to a public institution when collecting waste requested by a client. In the conventional technology, all waste collection is performed by a government institution, i.e., by a collector who belongs to a public institution, so that the operation cost increases in order to meet the individual requests of the client. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the operation related to the individual requests of the client is performed by a so-called private person who does not belong to a public institution, so that it is possible for administrative agencies such as local governments to reduce the cost of the entire waste collection system. In other words, in this embodiment, the operation up to accumulating the waste at the waste station is performed by a primary collector who is a private person, so that the secondary collector who belongs to a public institution only has to transport the accumulated waste to an incineration plant or a treatment plant. In addition, by having private citizens carry out the initial collection from the planned collection site set by the requester to the waste station, waste can be collected regardless of the time of day, etc., so long as the requester's requests match the requests (planned) of the initial collector. This means that the requester can request collection of the waste at the time they want it collected, and it is expected that the efficiency of the waste collection system 1 will increase dramatically compared to when all work is performed by people belonging to a public institution.

[0061] Furthermore, in the waste collection system 1 of this embodiment, the identification information of the waste station where the accumulated amount of waste is less than the threshold is notified to the primary collection party. Therefore, when the primary collection party receives the notification and transports the waste collected from the requester to the waste station, the primary collection party can transport the waste to the waste station where the accumulated amount is less than the threshold without checking the waste accumulation state at the waste station.

[0062] (3) Other embodiments: Next, another embodiment will be described. For example, when the identification information of a waste station is notified to the primary collector, the location of the waste station may be notified. This configuration is realized by adding the configuration shown by the dashed line to the configuration shown by the solid line in FIG. 1. Specifically, the primary collector terminal 20 includes a primary collection notification unit 210a and a current location acquisition unit 210b. Also, the waste station terminal 30 includes an accumulation amount acquisition unit 310a and a station location acquisition unit 310b. In this configuration, for example, when the primary collection notification unit 210a notifies the primary collector of the identification information of the waste station, it is possible to notify the waste station closest to the current location of the primary collector based on the current location of the primary collector and the location of the waste station.

[0063] Specifically, the current position acquisition unit 210b acquires the current position of the primary collector from the GNSS receiver 230. The GNSS receiver 230 is a device that receives signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System, receives radio waves from navigation satellites, and outputs a signal for calculating the current position of the primary collector terminal 20 via an interface (not shown). Therefore, the current position acquisition unit 210b acquires this signal to acquire the current position of the primary collector terminal 20, i.e., the current location of the primary collector.

[0064] The station position acquisition unit 310b acquires the position information of the waste station. Specifically, the station position acquisition unit 310b acquires the position of the waste station based on the coordinate information recorded in the recording medium 330. The acquired waste station position information is transmitted to the primary collector terminal 20 by the control unit 310.

[0065] The primary collection notification unit 210a notifies the primary collection of a waste station where the amount of accumulated waste is less than the threshold and is closest to the current location of the primary collection, based on the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station, the current location of the primary collection person, and the location of the waste station. That is, the primary collection notification unit 210a controls the user I / F unit 220, and when the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station is less than the threshold, displays the waste station closest to the current location of the primary collection person on the output unit of the user I / F unit 220 to notify the primary collection of information on the target waste station. As described above, the primary collection person transports the waste collected from the requester to the waste station. On the other hand, the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station may be equal to or greater than the threshold. Therefore, the primary collection notification unit 210a notifies the primary collection of a waste collection system where the amount of accumulated waste is less than the threshold and is closest to the current location, based on the current location of the primary collection person and the location of the waste station.

[0066] FIG. 4 is a sequence chart including a process of notifying the primary collector terminal 20 of the waste station closest to the current location of the primary collector based on the current location of the primary collector and the location of the waste station. For convenience of explanation, the sequence chart shown in FIG. 4 will be described assuming that there is only one primary collector. As described in the sequence chart of FIG. 3, the sequence chart may include a configuration in which there are multiple primary collectors and the requester selects one of the multiple primary collectors. In addition, in the explanation of the sequence chart of FIG. 4, the same step numbers are assigned to processes similar to those in the sequence chart of FIG. 3, and explanations of those processes are omitted or simplified. Specific processes will be explained below.

[0067] First, the requester terminal 10 acquires waste information and transmits the acquired waste information to the primary collector terminal 20 (steps S1 and S2). The primary collector terminal 20, which has received the waste information, notifies the primary collector of the received waste information (steps S3 and S4). That is, the primary collector terminal 20 displays the waste information requested by the requester on the output section of the user I / F section 220 by the function of the primary collection notification section 210a, and notifies the primary collector accordingly.

[0068] Next, the primary collector terminal 20 acquires the current position of the primary collector (step S50). That is, the primary collector terminal 20 acquires the current position of the primary collector from the GNSS receiver 230 by the function of the current position acquisition unit 210b.

[0069] Here, the processing of the waste station terminal 30 will be described. The waste station terminal 30 detects the amount of waste accumulated in the waste station, and judges whether the detected amount of accumulated waste is equal to or greater than a threshold (steps S100, S110). If the amount of accumulated waste is equal to or greater than the threshold, it instructs the secondary collector terminal 40 to transport the waste (step S120), and the secondary collector terminal 40, which has received the transport instruction, notifies the secondary collector of the transport instruction by the function of the secondary collection notification unit 410a (step S200).

[0070] On the other hand, when the amount of accumulated waste is less than the threshold, the waste station terminal 30 acquires the position of the waste station (step S1300). That is, the waste station terminal 30 acquires the position information of the waste station by the function of the station position acquisition unit 310b.

[0071] Next, the waste station terminal 30 transmits the identification information of the waste station to the primary collector terminal 20 (step S1400). Specifically, the waste station terminal 30 transmits to the primary collector terminal 20 the identification information of the waste station in which the accumulated amount of waste is less than the threshold, which is associated with the position of the waste station acquired in step S1300. The process of this step S1400 may be executed when the process of the waste station terminal 30 is executed at regular intervals, or may be transmitted when there is a request from the primary collector terminal 20 to transmit the identification information of the waste station. If there is no request from the primary collector terminal 20, step S1400 is skipped.

[0072] Returning to the processing of the primary collector terminal 20, the primary collector terminal 20 receives the waste station identification information transmitted from the waste station terminal 30 (step S60). That is, the primary collector terminal 20 acquires the location information of the waste station where the accumulated amount of waste is less than the threshold. The waste station identification information received in this step S60 is received in conjunction with step S1400 of the waste station terminal 30, since the processing of the waste station terminal 30 is executed at regular intervals. In this case, the primary collector terminal 20 records the received waste station identification information in a recording medium (not shown), and when a request for waste collection is received from a requester, the primary collector terminal 20 refers to the waste station identification information recorded in the recording medium and acquires the waste station identification information. The primary collector terminal 20 may also execute step S60 at any timing of the primary collector. That is, when the primary collector requests the transmission of the waste station identification information, the primary collector terminal 20 may receive the identification information from the waste station terminal 30.

[0073] Next, the primary collector terminal 20 notifies the primary collector of the identification information and the location of the waste station closest to the primary collector's current location based on the current location of the primary collector acquired in step S50 and the identification information of the waste station received in step S60 (step S70). That is, the primary collector terminal 20 acquires the distance between the current location of the primary collector acquired in step S50 and the location of the waste station acquired in step S60 by the function of the primary collection notification unit 210a. Furthermore, the primary collector terminal 20 identifies the waste station that is closest to the current location of the primary collector and has an accumulated amount of waste less than a threshold value by the function of the primary collection notification unit 210a. Then, the primary collector terminal 20 displays information indicating the identification information and location of the identified waste station on the output unit of the user I / F unit 220 by the function of the primary collection notification unit 210a, and notifies the primary collector of the fact.

[0074] 4, the primary collector is notified of information on the waste station that is closest to the current location and has an accumulated amount of waste less than the threshold. Therefore, the primary collector who receives the notification can transport the waste to the waste station that is closest to the current location and has an accumulated amount of waste less than the threshold. In other words, the primary collector does not need to consider which of the multiple waste stations the waste should be transported to, and as a result, the efficiency of the waste collection system 1 can be improved.

[0075] The above embodiment is an example for implementing the present invention, and various other embodiments can be adopted. In the above embodiment, the waste collection system 1 includes a requester terminal 10, a primary collector terminal 20, a waste station terminal 30, and a secondary collector terminal 40, and is configured to execute various programs in the control unit of each terminal, but a management server that manages the waste collection system 1 may be provided. In that case, information is sent and received between the management server and each terminal, and the management server executes each of the above-mentioned controls.

[0076] In addition, at least some of the components constituting the waste recovery system 1 may be separated into multiple devices or systems. In addition, configurations in which some of the components of the above-described embodiments are omitted, configurations in which the processes are changed, or configurations in which processes are omitted may be assumed.

[0077] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, a predetermined information processing is performed on the primary collector or the secondary collector depending on whether the accumulated amount of waste is equal to or greater than a threshold value; however, the threshold value for the amount of accumulated waste when processing is sent to a primary collector and the threshold value for the amount of accumulated waste when processing is sent to a secondary collector may not be the same and may be different.

[0078] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the requester was configured to designate any one of the primary collectors as the requested collector when multiple primary collectors have responded by accepting the request; however, when multiple primary collectors have responded by accepting the request, the requester may designate, for example, the person who responded by accepting the request the earliest as the requested primary collector.

[0079] The waste information acquisition unit 110a only needs to acquire waste information including the planned waste collection site from the requester, and therefore may acquire information on waste other than the waste information shown in FIG.

[0080] The primary collection notification unit 210a only needs to be able to notify the primary collector of waste information, and may notify the primary collector of various information, not limited to the above examples. The secondary collection notification unit 410a only needs to be able to notify the secondary collector of instructions to transport the waste to a specified location (e.g., an incineration plant or a treatment plant), and therefore the information notified to the secondary collector may include information on the transport destination.

[0081] The accumulation amount acquisition unit 310a is required to be able to acquire the amount of accumulated waste at the waste station, and therefore is not limited to the signal from the weight sensor 320, and may acquire the accumulation amount from, for example, the weight of the waste that has been linked to waste information in advance.

[0082] Furthermore, the waste station may have a function of compressing the waste, a function of deodorizing the waste, a function of dehydrating the waste, etc., in addition to the weight sensor 320. In particular, if the waste station has a function of compressing the waste, the volume of the waste can be reduced, which can prevent the waste station from becoming full to capacity too quickly.

[0083] It is sufficient for the current position acquisition unit 210b and the station position acquisition unit 310b to be able to acquire position information, and therefore the means for acquiring the position information is not limited to the above-mentioned examples.

[0084] Furthermore, the present invention can be applied as a program or a method. The above-mentioned system, program, and method may be realized as a single device or may be realized by using shared components, and include various aspects. For example, it is possible to provide a method or program realized by the above-mentioned system. Also, it is possible to change it as appropriate, such as partly being software and partly being hardware. Furthermore, the invention can be established as a recording medium of a program that controls the device. Of course, the recording medium of the software may be a magnetic recording medium or a semiconductor memory, and any recording medium developed in the future can be considered in the same way. [Explanation of symbols]

[0085] 1...waste collection system, 10...requester terminal, 20...primary collector terminal, 30...waste station terminal, 40...secondary collector terminal, 100,200,300,400...communication unit, 110,210,310,410...control unit, 120,220,420...user I / F unit, 110a...disposal information acquisition unit, 210a...primary collection notification unit, 210b...current position acquisition unit, 230...GNSS receiving unit, 310a...accumulated amount acquisition unit, 310b...station position acquisition unit, 320...weight sensor, 330...recording medium, 410a...secondary collection notification unit.

Claims

1. A waste collection system for use in a system in which a collector collects waste from a client based on a request from the client, comprising: The collectors include a primary collector that transports the waste to a waste station, and a secondary collector that transports the waste from the waste station to a predetermined location; a waste information acquisition unit that acquires waste information including a planned collection site of the waste from the requester; a primary collection notification unit that notifies the primary collection company of the waste information; an accumulation amount acquisition unit that acquires an accumulation amount of the waste in the waste station; and a secondary collection notification unit that notifies the secondary collector of an instruction to transport the waste to the predetermined location when the accumulated amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. Waste collection system.

2. the waste stations are located at a plurality of locations; each of said waste stations includes a sensor for detecting said accumulated amount; The primary collection notification unit, notifying the primary collector of the waste stations where the accumulation is below the threshold; 2. The waste recovery system of claim 1.

3. the waste stations are located at a plurality of locations; each of said waste stations includes a sensor for detecting said accumulated amount; A current location acquisition unit that acquires a current location of the first collector and a station location acquisition unit that acquires a location of the waste station, The primary collection notification unit, notifying the first collector of the waste station in which the accumulation amount is less than the threshold and which is closest to the current location of the first collector, based on the accumulation amount, the current location of the first collector, and the location of the waste station; 2. The waste recovery system of claim 1.

4. There are multiple primary collectors, The primary collection notification unit, notifying the waste information to a plurality of the primary collectors; obtaining from the primary collectors who have received the notification whether or not they will accept the request, and notifying one of the primary collectors who has accepted the request of an instruction to collect the waste related to the request; A waste recovery system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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