Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A SELF-CONTAINED EQUIPMENT RENTING SYSTEM
Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a mobile renting system and more
particularly to a self-contained mobile renting system for remote areas.
Background
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are
not prior
art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by
inclusion in this
section.
In the construction industry, it is common to rent some of equipment and
tools,
especially heavy equipment, on a need to use basis. Usually the rental
equipment must be
picked up from a rental office and returned it back upon usage. This requires
a customer to
spend time and effort to obtain the rental equipment. In addition, the pick-up
and return of
the equipment must be performed during business hours, which further
complicate the rental
process for the customer. In some cases, the customer needs a piece of rental
equipment for a
very short amount of time or briefly each day over several days or weeks.
Conventional
rental equipment systems can be costly in such a situation because a customer
may spend
more time to pick up and return a piece of equipment than is actually using
the rented
equipment or may need to pay rent for a prolong period of time to avoid
repeated rentals.
Additional cost and complications may be encountered when the customer site is
in a remote
location making renting equipment very inconvenient, expensive and time
consuming for the
customer.
Current known rental equipment systems use computers and management systems to
keep track of rental equipment, reservation statuses and maintenance statuses
which are
registered in a database that is made available to a central office and
individual branches via
an in-house network and/or internet communication. Such systems are resource
dependent
and are complicated and not convenient for use in remote locations.
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SUmMarv
In one aspect, a self-contained equipment renting system is provided. The self-
contained equipment renting system comprises a container with a door to access
an inner
cavity of the container where the equipment is placed. Each piece of equipment
has an
identification sensor attached thereto which contains data unique to the
equipment it is
attached to. The identification sensor is configured to transmit an
identification signal that
can be received by a scanning antenna. The antenna is configured to transmit
electromagnetic
signals and receive the identification signals from the identification sensors
attached to the
equipment. It is mounted in proximity to the door such that a reception range
of the scanning
antenna defines a scanning corridor near the door. The scanning antenna is
configured to
track equipment passing through the scanning corridor. One or more motion
sensors are
configured to detect opening/closing of the door and any motion within the
inner cavity of
the container. The rental system is brought into an active state upon motion
sensors detect
opening of the door or detect motion that occurs in the inner cavity of the
container. Once the
motion sensors do not detect any motion in the inner cavity of the container,
the rental
system is put into inactivate state. The scanning antenna and the one or more
motion sensors
are in electrical communication with a controller so that it receives signals
from the scanning
antenna and electronically record and store data about a removal of a piece of
equipment
from the container and/or return of a piece of equipment into the container.
The renting system further comprises an image detection system that comprises
one
or more digital cameras positioned at various locations within the inner
cavity to
automatically capture images or record videos when the renting system is in
the active state
and transmit such images or videos to the controller.
The image detection system further comprises at least one close-up digital
camera
positioned near the door which is in communication with the scanning antenna
so that the
scanning antenna automatically triggers the close-up digital camera upon
detecting an
identification signal from the identification sensor. The close-up digital
camera captures an
image/video of each piece of equipment passing through the scanning corridor
and
transmitting the captured images/videos to the controller.
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In one aspect, the controller comprises a global positioning system configured
to
receive the identification signal from the identification sensor to track in
real time a location
of each piece of equipment.
In another aspect a method for equipment rental using the self-contained
mobile
renting system is provided. The method comprises activating the renting system
by a
controller once it receives an activation signal from one or more motion
sensors detecting
motion at an entrance door of a container, detecting an identification signal
from an
identification sensor attached to each piece of equipment when a piece of
equipment passes
through a scanning corridor of a scanning antenna, processing the
identification signal using
the controller and determining a new status of the piece of equipment passing
through the
scanning corridor and recording the new status and deactivating the renting
system once no
motion is detected by any of the one or more motion sensors.
The method for equipment rental further comprises capturing images or videos
using
one or more digital cameras located at various locations within the container
and transferring
such images or videos to the controller. The method also comprises capturing
close-up
images or videos of each piece of equipment passing through the scanning
corridor.
In addition to the aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects
and
embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings and study of the
following
detailed description.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicate
correspondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided to
illustrate
example embodiments described herein and are not intended to limit the scope
of the
disclosure. Sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not
necessarily drawn
to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are not drawn
to scale, and
some of these elements are arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve
drawing legibility.
FIG. I is a perspective view of an example of a self-contained mobile renting
system
of the present invention.
FIG.2 is a schematic view of an electric circuit showing components and
components' interactions.
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=
FIG. 3 is a flow chart of one example of an equipment rental method using a
self-
contained mobile renting system of the present invention.
Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments
FIG. 1 illustrates a self-contained mobile renting system 10 according to one
exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The system 10 comprises a
container 12 that
can be positioned at a customer site at a remote location. For example, a
container can
include general inventory of equipment for rent and/or specific equipment
based on
customer's needs or requests. Such container can be driven or otherwise moved
to the
location of the customer's site and positioned there. Each item of equipment
contained in the
container 12 has an identification tag, such as a Radio Frequency-
Identification tag (RF1D) or
any other magnetic or optical identification tag or barcode. Such tag is
attached to each piece
of equipment or item contained in the container 12. The tag contains pre-set
information
which can be programmed in the tag to help identify such piece of
equipment/item. It can be
a read/write tag that can carry data about identification of the
equipment/item and/or
information relating to the status of the equipment/item. For example, the tag
can include
information about the type of equipment, a serial number associated with the
equipment,
configuration of the equipment, number of miles or hours that the equipment
has been in
operation and/or the equipment's maintenance information, such as diagnostic
data,
maintenance data, etc. In one implementation, the identification tag can be an
active tag with
a local power supply such as a battery. In one embodiment the identification
tag can be a
passive tag that can collect energy from a nearby reader's interrogating radio
waves. In one
implementation, the identification tag can be connected to a Global
Positioning System to
track the location of each item in real time using a tracking software install
on a computer in
a central office or in the container 12.
The system 10 further comprises an access door 14 with a lock 16, a scanning
antenna 20 mounted at an inner wall of the container 12 near the door 14 to
define a scanning
corridor 18 n proximity to the door 14. For example the scanning antenna 20
can be a RFID
reader that sends out a radio-frequency signal thus providing a means of two-
way
communication with the RF1D tag attached to each piece of equipment in the
container. The
scanning corridor 18 is an interrogation zone defined by the reception range
of the scanning
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antenna 20. When a piece of equipment passes through the frequency field of
the scanning
antenna 20 (pass through the scanning corridor 18), the RF1D tag detects the
activation signal
from the scanning antenna 20 and can transfer the information data it holds to
be picked up
by the scanning antenna 20. The scanning antenna 20 can comprise a transceiver
with a
decoder to interpret the data received from the ID tag and a transmitter to
transmit such
information to a controller 22. The controller 22 can comprise an input unit,
a processor and
an output unit. For example the controller can comprise a low powered computer
connected
to the scanning antenna 20 wirelessly or by a wire. The controller 22 receives
the signal from
the antenna 20 and processes such signal, such as for example access inventory
database,
identify the equipment/unit associate with the identification tag, determines
its current status
and change such status due to the new input from the scanning antenna 20 to
either "in store"
(for returning equipment) or "rented out" (for equipment taken out of the
container 12). The
controller 22 can also record and report change of the status in the inventory
database as well
as determine a duration period between removal and return of the equipment
(for returning
equipment) and/or track a location of the equipment using the GPS and record
such new
position in the database. The inventory database of the inventory contained in
the container
and a program for managing, recording and reporting rental and/or sale of any
equipment/item can be installed on the local computer of the controller 22 or
the computer
can be connected to a central office through an intemet or a satellite to
access the database
install on the central computer. The data may be transmitted to the central
computer via
satellite/internet communication at off-peak times, such as in the middle of
the night. In one
implementation, the central office can be connected to the computer of the
controller 22 to
monitor the activities and inventory status of the equipment.
The scanning antenna 20 can read signals from multiple tags at the same time
and is
used to track what equipment is removed from and/or returned to the container
12. It is
mounted on or near the door 14 to ensure that each piece of equipment removed
or returned
passes through the scanning corridor 18 and such movement is detected by the
scanning
antenna 20. Person skilled in the art would understand that the scanning
antenna 20 can
include any other system for tracking the removal/return of the items, such as
for example
magnetic technology bar-code readers or any other suitable readers without
departing from
the scope of invention.
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The system 10 can be designed and configured to be energy smart and be powered
and operable only when in use. The system 10 can comprise one or more sensors
24 to detect
any movement inside the container 12. In addition, the sensors 24 may detect
opening/closing of the door 14. The one or more sensors 24 can be motion
sensors such as
passive infrared sensors, microwave sensors, ultrasonic or any other suitable
sensor or a
combination thereof The motion sensors can be in electrical communication with
the
controller 22 so that when opening of the door 14 is detected, the sensors 24
send a signal to
the controller to activate the system 10. The system 10 is configured to be
"energy smart"
such that when there is no activity within the container 12 the system 10 is
automatically
deactivated, and once the sensors 24 detect activities (e.g. unlocking or
opening of the door
14) they can automatically activate the system 10 so that the scanning antenna
20 can read
signal from any tag passing through the scanning corridor 18 (in case of
customer returning
an item). Once the door 14 is closed and no motion can be detected by any of
the sensors 24,
they can send a signal to the controller 22 to deactivate all parts including
lightings. The
sensors 24 can be self-powered by battery independent from the power supply
source of the
system 10. The power supply of the system 10 can include at least one of: a
battery bank 26,
a solar power source 28, a generator such as for example an oil generator (not
shown), or the
system 10 can be connected (plug in) to the grid (to an outlet of the local
power supplier if
one is available). The solar power source 28 can be used to power the system
10 and/or to
charge the battery bank 26 by using a solar charger 28a (FIG. 2), such as for
example a 12V,
A solar charger. The power supply system can further comprise a convertor for
converting
12volt DC (direct current) to 110volt AC (alternating current) or any other
required voltage.
In one implementation, the solar power source 28 can include a solar tracking
system 30
configured to adjust an orientation of the solar panel to face towards the
sun. The solar
25
tracking system 30 can comprise a single axis tracking system that is pre-
programed to rotate
the solar panel, between the dawn and sunset, in the east-west direction to
match the travel of
the sun during the day. In one embodiment, the tracking system 30 can be a
dual axis system
that in addition to the adjustment of the solar panel position to address
sun's travel per day
also adjusts the position of the solar panel to match seasonal position of the
sun.
30 An
image detection system 32 can be used to provide images of events occurring
inside the container 12. For example, the image detection system 32 can
comprise one or
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more digital cameras, video recorders, positioned at various locations in the
container 12 to
image and/or record events occurring in the container 12, such as for example,
a person
taking the item(s) out of or returning it back to the container 12 through the
scanning corridor
18 or any other movement in the container 12. In one implementation, a close
up digital
camera can be provided to image the equipment/item passing through the
scanning corridor
18. The image detection system 32 is in communication with the controller 22
to transmit
captured image/video to the input unit of the controller 22. In addition, the
image detection
system 32 can record the time of the event and transmit such information along
with the
image/video to the controller 22. In one implementation, the image detection
system 32 can
be in communication with the scanning antenna 20 so that when the scanner 20
detects signal
from the RFID tag it can trigger the imaging system (e.g. close up camera) to
capture an
image/video of the item passing through the scanning corridor 18. In one
implementation, the
image detection system 32 is triggered automatically by turning on the system
10. When the
system 10 is deactivated (when the motion sensors 24 do not detect any
movement inside the
container 12), the image detection system 32 can be inactive or in a save mode
("sleep
mode").
A storing space 34 can be provided to store and display the equipment and
items
available for renting. For example, a number of shelves and smaller containers
or boxes can
be provided to place the items for renting. Each of the shelf and/or container
(box) can be
labeled to guide the customer to a particular item. In addition, the storing
space 34 can
provide retail space 34a that contains items that are available for sale such
as bolts, nuts,
screws, nails, cables or any other standard items frequently used by the
customer. The system
10 can further comprise a low voltage LED light string 36 and a photo sensor
switch 38 to
provide lightening in the container 12. The photo sensor switch 38 can be
positioned in
proximity to the LED light string 36 and can be configured to adjust the
sensitivity level of
the LEDs. The photo sensor switch 38 can be in communication with the sensors
24 to turn
on the lightening upon opening of the door 14 and turn them off when the
system 10 is in
inactive state.
FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the electrical circuit 200 of the system 10.
All the
electrical components are powered by 12 V DC (direct current). The circuit 200
can
comprise a power supply system 210 that can include any or all of: the battery
bank 26, the
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solar power source 28, an AC power supply 220 and/or an electric generator
230. For
example, the battery bank 26 can be a 480 AHR, 12 V battery bank. The solar
power source
28 can be a 400W solar panels and can include 12 V, 30 A solar charger 28a and
a dual axis
tracking system 30. The solar charger 28a can be used to supply electricity to
the devices of
the system 10 or to charge the battery bank 26. The power supply system 210
can further
include one or more inverters 240, such as for example a 12VDC/120VAC inverter
for
converting power obtained from the 12 volt battery bank 26. The AC/DC power
supply 240
can convert the grid power obtained from AC circuit breaker 220 to 12volt DC
power for
charging the battery bank 26 during rainy days and nights. Consider that
without any grid
power and a full week rainy days situation the system can use battery bank 26
for own power
needs.
The scanning system 20, the sensors 24, lightening 36, 38 and the image
detection
system 32 can all be in electrical communication with the controller 22 so
that each of such
systems/sensors transmits the detected signals to the controller 22 and/or
receive trigger
signals from the controller 22. The controller 22 can process and analyze such
signals and in
some situation provides output signal to any of these devices. For example,
upon obtaining
signal from the sensors 24 it can send a signal to the scanning antenna 20
and/or the image
detection system 32 to activate them.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary method 300 for equipment rental using
the self-
contained mobile rental system 10. A customer may request that a self-
contained rental
system 10 be provided to the customer's construction site to facilitate
equipment rental at that
site. The customer may provide a description of the project and an inventory
list of
equipment that may be needed. The self-contained rental system 10 can be taken
and
positioned to the customer's site and the customer is provided with access
keys or access
cards to enter the container 12. At step 302 the system 10 is activated by
unlocking/opening
the door 14. At step 304 the scanning antenna detects signal from equipment's
ID tag to
indicate that the equipment is removed from and/or returned to the container
12. The image
detection system captures image of the equipment passing through the scanning
corridor 18
and/or a person that have the equipment taken and record the event (step 306).
The controller
22 records the activity and updates the status of the rented or returned
equipment accordingly
(step 308). When sensors 24 do not sense any movement in the container, the
system is
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deactivated (step 310). At step 312 the controller 22 determines the time
equipment was out
of the container 12 and the customer is charged for the time the equipment was
absent from
the container 12.
Further, the central office can be connected to the controller 22 to monitor
the
activities and inventory status of the equipment the customer is renting,
items that have been
sold or any equipment that is not being used. The central office may be
tracking/analyzing
usage over a period of time to determine what equipment (if any) a customer
does not have a
need for or check the inventory at a pre-determined time (e.g. once per day or
once per
week). In one implementation, the controller 22 of the system 10 can send an
alert to the
central office when some of the equipment/items in the inventory are low to
request restock.
In one embodiment, the central office may monitor status of the equipment,
such as if repair
is needed or if fuel is needed, and provide service/fuel to keep the rental
equipment available
and functional at the customer site.
While particular elements, embodiments and applications of the present
disclosure
have been shown and described, it will be understood, that the scope of the
disclosure is not
limited thereto, since modifications can be made without departing from the
scope of the
present disclosure, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. Thus,
for example, in any
method or process disclosed herein, the acts or operations making up the
method/process
may be performed in any suitable sequence and are not necessarily limited to
any particular
disclosed sequence. Elements and components can be configured or arranged
differently,
combined, and/or eliminated in various embodiments. The various features and
processes
described above may be used independently of one another, or may be combined
in various
ways. All possible combinations and sub-combinations are intended to fall
within the scope
of this disclosure. Reference throughout this disclosure to "some
embodiments," "an
embodiment," or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, step,
process, or
characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at
least one
embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in some embodiments," "in an
embodiment,"
or the like, throughout this disclosure are not necessarily all referring to
the same
embodiment and may refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments.
Indeed, the
novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of
other forms;
furthermore, various omissions, additions, substitutions, equivalents,
rearrangements, and
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changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without
departing
from the spirit of the inventions described herein.
Various aspects and advantages of the embodiments have been described where
appropriate. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such aspects or
advantages may be
achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, it
should be
recognized that the various embodiments may be carried out in a manner that
achieves or
optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without
necessarily
achieving other aspects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, "can," "could,"
"might,"
"may," "e.g.," and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or
otherwise understood
within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain
embodiments include,
while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or
steps. Thus, such
conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features,
elements and/or steps
are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more
embodiments
necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without operator input or
prompting, whether
these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in
any particular
embodiment. No single feature or group of features is required for or
indispensable to any
particular embodiment. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and the
like are
synonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not
exclude
additional elements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term
"or" is used in its
inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, for
example, to connect a
list of elements, the term "or" means one, some, or all of the elements in the
list.
Conjunctive language such as the phrase "at least one of X, Y and Z," unless
specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as
used in general to
convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Y or Z. Thus, such
conjunctive language is
not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require at least one
of X, at least
one of Y and at least one of Z to each be present.
The example calculations, simulations, results, graphs, values, and parameters
of the
embodiments described herein are intended to illustrate and not to limit the
disclosed
embodiments. Other embodiments can be configured and/or operated differently
than the
illustrative examples described herein. Indeed, the novel methods and
apparatus described
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herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various
omissions,
substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described
herein may be
made without departing from the spirit of the inventions disclosed herein.
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