Parent-Dependent Recycling Codes for Disposed Product Sorting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional recycling processes for manufactured goods are inefficient due to the lack of accessible information about finished products and their components, leading to significant energy and labor costs, and often result in wasted items as manual sorting cannot handle the volume of disposed heterogeneous materials effectively.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a universal manufacturing recycling product code that stays with a product throughout its life, allowing for global identification and communication of essential information about products and their components, using databases and IoT technology to facilitate consistent repair or recycle decisions across recycling centers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual sorting processes are used to identify and process disposed items, then flexibility in handling heterogeneous materials is maintained, but productivity is severely limited and cannot handle the volume of disposed items effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by embedding product codes and component information in products before they become waste. This allows automated systems to quickly identify and sort disposed items without manual intervention, dramatically increasing processing volume while reducing the complexity of the recycling system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses product codes as information copies that travel with the physical product throughout its lifecycle. These codes contain essential identification data that enables automated sorting systems to process heterogeneous materials efficiently without requiring complex manual analysis of each item.
2Loss of information
If comprehensive information about products and components is made accessible, then recycling efficiency is improved, but loss of information in conventional systems is eliminated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements nesting by creating a hierarchical information structure where product codes contain component codes, which in turn contain sub-component information. This nested organization allows comprehensive information accessibility while managing data complexity through structured layers of detail.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses product codes as intermediaries between the physical product and the information management system. These codes serve as standardized interfaces that enable efficient information exchange without requiring direct complex communication between all system components.
3Productivity
If automated processing systems are implemented to handle high volumes of disposed items, then productivity increases, but the initial system complexity and information requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent ensures that all necessary identification information is preliminarily embedded in product codes before items enter the recycling stream. This preliminary preparation enables automated systems to process high volumes without requiring complex real-time information gathering, maintaining both productivity and information completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
A universal, parent-to-dependent manufacturing recycling product code is provided for use on various types of manufactured goods. The recycling product code represents a tool that can be used to process a significant volume of disposed finished products, to capture and communicate essential information about finished products and their components and materials, and to make consistent repair or recycle determinations for the products. Multiple components of the finished product may be associated with dependent recycling product codes (e.g., children and grandchildren codes) which are related to the parent recycling product code.