The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 21, 1999
Filed:
Jan. 25, 1999
Jonathan A Little, Kalamazoo, MI (US);
PMDS, L.L.C., Otsego, MI (US);
Abstract
A system (22) for monitoring the fullness of a waste container (20). Waste in the container is compressed by a ram (26). The system includes a sensor (42) for monitoring the force employed to actuate the ram. A container state processor (46) receives the signal from the sensor. The container state processor generates data representative of the fullness of the container. The data generated by the container state processor are transmitted through a modem (50) over the public telephone network to a remote location such as to waste hauler's dispatcher. The system also includes a supervisory processor (58) that is connected to both the container state processor and the modem. The supervisory processor monitors operating state signals generated by both the container state processor (46) and the modem (50). If the operating state signals generated by the container state processor (46) indicate that it is malfunctioning, the supervisory processor (58) attempts to correct for this malfunction. If the operating state signals generated by the modem (50) indicate this it is malfunctioning, the supervisory processor (58) attempts to correct for the malfunction. If corrections for the malfunctions are unsuccessful, the supervisory processor (58) broadcasts an error message over a second modem (136).