Field

This specification describes systems, apparatuses, and methods for issuing alerts associated with concrete mixers or the like.

Background

Concrete mixers, e.g. vehicle concrete mixers, can be left with a quantity of concrete mix in the mixing drum of the concrete mixer. If the mixing drum is not operational for a period of time, this means that the concrete mix will set and it can take days to remove the set concrete from the mixing drum. It may even require a complete replacement of the drum.

This can be expensive for operators and/or takes the mixing drum out of use for the time period.

Summary

According to a first aspect, there is described a method, the method comprising: receiving, from one or more sensors, data indicative of a non-zero quantity of a concrete mix, above a predetermined threshold, present in a mixing drum of a concrete mixer; determining that the mixing drum is not operational for a predetermined time period; and issuing an alert in the event of the determination.

The one or more sensors may comprise load-sensor(s) for measuring a load value of the mixing drum. The quantity of the concrete mix may be determined based on subtracting a stored zero or baseline -load value of the mixing drum from the measured load value of the mixing drum.

The method may further comprise updating the stored zero or baseline -load value of the mixing drum by means of a user interface.

Determining that the mixing drum is not operational may comprises determining that an ignition status of the concrete mixer is set to off.

Determining that the mixing drum is not operational for a predetermined time period may comprise initiating a timer responsive to determining that the mixing drum is not operational and detecting when the timer either reaches the predetermined time period or counts down from the predetermined time period to zero.

The method may further comprise resetting the timer in the event that the mixing drum becomes operational before the time reaches the predetermined time period or counts down from the predetermined time period to zero.

The method may further comprise determining a slump value of the concrete mix and the predetermined time period may be dynamically updated based on the slump value.

The predetermined time period may be decreased from a prior time period value in the event that a current slump value is lower than a prior slump value. Alternatively, the predetermined time period maybe increased from a prior time period value in the event that a current slump value is greater than a prior slump value.

Issuing the alert may comprise sending or initiating one or more of an email, text message, telephone call or app-based alert to one or more predetermined users.

The alert may comprise information indicative of one or more of an identifier of the concrete mixer, the non-zero quantity of the concrete mix and an indication of the time that the mixing drum has not been operational.

The alert may comprise information indicative of the geolocation of the concrete mixer.

The information indicative of the geolocation of the concrete mixer may be provided by a GNSS receiver associated with the concrete mixer.

The method maybe performed by a control system that receives electrical power independent of the ignition status of the concrete mixer.

According to another aspect, there is described an apparatus comprising means for performing: receiving, from one or more sensors, data indicative of a non-zero quantity of a concrete mix, above a predetermined threshold, present in a mixing drum of a concrete mixer; determining that the mixing drum is not operational for a predetermined time period; and issuing an alert in the event of the determination.

According to another aspect, there is described a system comprising: a mixing drum of a concrete mixer; one or more sensors for providing data indicative of a non-zero quantity of a concrete mix, above a predetermined threshold, being present in the mixing drum; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to perform the method of the first aspect.

A concrete mixer truck maybe provided, comprising the system.

According to another aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed by the above apparatus or the above system, cause the apparatus or system to perform the method of the first aspect.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Example implementations will be described by way of reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a concrete mixing system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of data sources of a control system according to one or more example embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of operations according to one or more example embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a generalised flow diagram of operations according to one or more example embodiments; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic overview of a computer system.

Detailed Description

Example embodiments describe systems, apparatuses, and methods for issuing alerts associated with concrete mixers or the like.

In example embodiments, an alert maybe an audible alert, a visual alert and/or a haptic alert that, in some cases, maybe transmitted to one or more remote users, e.g. a group of users associated with, or responsible for, a given concrete mixer or the like.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example concrete mixing system loo (herafter “system.”) In the embodiments shown, the system too is part of a concrete mixer truck 102, i.e. a vehicular system, although it will be appreciated that the system may be applied to other types of concrete mixer or the like.

The system too comprises a drum 104 for mixing concrete.

The drum 104 is rotatable about a central axis to mix the concrete. The drum 104 may contain internal protrusions (not shown) to aid turning of the concrete mix. A drive motor 106 is coupled to the drum 104 via a gearbox 108. The drive motor 106 applies torque to the drum 104 via the gearbox 108 in order to rotate the drum 104. The drive motor 106 may be a bi-directional drive motor, i.e. capable of rotating the drum 104 both clockwise and anticlockwise around the central axis. The drive motor 106 maybe a hydraulic or electric motor.

The system too further comprises one or more sensors 110A-D. The one or more sensors 110A-D are configured to measure properties of the system too and/or the concrete mix, primarily a quantity of concrete mix in the drum 104.

For this purpose, the one or more sensors 110A-D may comprise one or more load sensors 110A.

The one or more load sensors 110A may be configured to measure, or enable measurement of, the load value of the drum 104, which may or may not contain concrete mix in the drum at a given time. The one or more load sensors 110A may generate load data indicative of the load value of the drum 104. The quantity of concrete mix in the drum 104 may be determined based on subtracting a stored zero or baseline -load value of the drum from the measured load value of the drum as indicated by the load data. The zero or baseline -load value of the drum 104 maybe predetermined, e.g. factory-set as a zeroing value. Additionally, or alternatively, the zero or baseline -load value of the drum 104 may be updated by the operator over time using a drum zeroing procedure via a user interface.

In some embodiments, the one or more load sensors 110A may comprise at least two load sensors: a front load sensor arranged to measure the load at the front of the drum 104 (i.e. the end closest to the drum mouth) and a rear load sensor arranged to measure the load at the rear of the drum (i.e. the end furthest from the drum mouth). Although not required, the one or more sensors noA - D may comprise one or more further sensors which may produce data which may be indicative in some way of the quantity of concrete mix in the drum 104.

Reference numeral 112 indicates an ignition sensor associated with the ignition status of the concrete mixer truck 102; in other words, the ignition sensor 112 can indicate whether the concrete mixer truck 102 is operational, or not operational.

The system too may be associated with a control system 112 according to example embodiments. The control system 112 may be remote or local to the system too.

As noted, the control system 112 may be remote from the system too; for example, the control system may be provided at a centralized location in a control centre associated with an operator of the concrete mixer truck 102. The control system 112 may comprise software, hardware or a combination thereof and may provide control functions to be described below in relation to one, or a fleet of concrete mixer trucks such as the one shown in FIG. 1. For example, the control system 112 may form part of an operator’s database system. The control system 112 may receive data from at least the one or more load sensors 110A and the ignition sensor 112 over one or more wireless channels, e.g. using a cellular radio access network or similar. Where the control system 112 receives such data from each of a plurality of concrete mixer trucks, the received data may also indicate which of the concrete mixer trucks the data relates to, e.g. using a separate identifier and/or metadata accompanying the received data.

As also noted, the control system 112 maybe local to the system too, e.g. a standalone system. For example, the control system 112 may be a unit carried by the concrete mixer truck 102 at any suitable location, e.g. on the body, in the cab etc. The control system 112 may comprise software, hardware or a combination thereof and may provide control functions to be described below in relation to the concrete mixer truck 102. The control system 112 may receive data from at least the one or more load sensors 110A and the ignition sensor 112 over a wired or wireless channel, e.g. using Bluetooth, a cellular radio access network or similar. The control system 112 may receive electrical power independent of the ignition status of the concrete mixer. For example, the control system 112 may be powered by one or more batteries.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram indicative of data sources that may be provided to such a control system 112, whether remote or local to the system too. For example, the control system 112 may receive, or calculate, a so-called payload value 203 based on a drum zero value 205 and a current load value 207. The drum zero value 205 may represent the above-mentioned zero or baseline -load value of the drum 104. The drum zero value 205 maybe stored by, or made accessible to, the control system 112. The payload value 203 may be determined by subtracting the drum zero value 205 from the current load value 207. The current load value 207 may be provided continuously in real-time or near real-time or periodically, possibly on-demand. As such, the payload value 203 can be determined continuously or periodically.

In some examples, the payload value 203 may need to be above a predetermined quantity in order to trigger subsequent operations described below. For example, the non-zero quantity may be > 15 Kg or similar. This is to avoid triggering subsequent operations due to relatively small load determinations which could be caused by sensor variations, tolerances, changes in temperature affecting the load sensors 110A, etc.

The control system 112 may also receive an ignition status 209 of the concrete mixer truck 102 using data from the ignition sensor 112.

In some example embodiments, the control system 112 may also receive geolocation data 211 from, for example, a GNSS receiver or the like associated with the concrete mixer truck 102. The GNSS receiver maybe a GPS receiver, for example.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram indicative of example operations that may be performed by the control system 112. The operations maybe performed in software, hardware or a combination thereof.

In a first operation 301, the ignition status (on / off) is determined. If off, the process may move to a second operation 303.

The second operation 303 may comprise determining if the payload value 203 is at or above a predetermined threshold. If so, the process may move to a third operation 305.

The third operation 305 may comprise running (starting) a timer. The process may then move to a fourth operation 309. The fourth operation 309 may comprise determining if the timer reaches a predetermined timer threshold, labelled “timer above.” If so, the process may move to a fifth operation 311.

The fifth operation 311 may comprise issuing an alert. The alert may include data indicative of the current geolocation 211 of the concrete mixer truck 102, among other information.

Returning to the first and second operations 301, 303, if the ignition status is on and/or the payload is less than the predetermined threshold, then the timer may be reset in a sixth operation 307.

In the above, it will be noted that the first and second operations 301, 303 may be reversed in order.

Example embodiments seek to avoid a quantity of concrete mix from setting inside the drum 104 due to it being non-operational. The alert may trigger the operator, whether local or remote from the system 100, to take remedial action such as adding water to the drum, operating the drum 104 to cause its rotation and/or emptying the drum of the remaining quantity of concrete mix.

Regarding the third and fourth operation 305, 309, the timer may count down to zero from a predetermined time, or may count up from a start time, e.g. zero, to the predetermined time. If the predetermined time period is reached, the control system 112 may trigger the issuing of the alert in the fifth operation 311.

In some example embodiments, the predetermined time period that is used in the fourth operation 309 maybe dynamically updated based on a current slump value of the concrete mix. Slump refers to the viscosity of the concrete mix; the higher the slump, the less viscous the concrete mix is and the lower the slump, the more viscous the concrete mix is. There are a number of ways of measuring or estimating slump, for example by using one or more sensors inside the mixing drum and/ or based on the power required of the drive motor 106 to rotate the drum. More sophisticated methods may be used, for example using machine learning models that are trained to determine an estimated slump value based on various inputs. Any suitable method maybe employed to measure or estimate slump.

For example, the predetermined time period may be decreased for a slump value that is lower than the previous slump value and/ or the predetermined time period may be increased for a slump value that is higher than the previous slump value. The amount of time period increase or decrease maybe based on prior measurements or a machine learning model trained to determine an optimal time period based on the slump value.

In some example embodiments, the fifth operation 311 of issuing the alert may comprise sending or initiating one or more of an email, text message, telephone call or app-based alert to one or more predetermined users. The one or more predetermined users may be identified using stored data within the control system 112 or via a separate database which receives the alert from the control system 112.

The alert, in whichever form, may comprise information indicative of one or more of an identifier of the concrete mixer, the non-zero quantity of the concrete mix and an indication of the time that the mixing drum has not been operational.

The alert, in whichever form, may comprise information indicative of the geolocation of the concrete mixer 102, e.g. provided by the GNSS receiver associated with the concrete mixer, such as a GPS receiver carried by the concrete mixer. In this way, the informed operator knows where the concrete mixer 102 is and, if necessary, can get a nearby driver to perform remedial actions.

As noted above, the control system 112 may be remote from the system too; for example, if operated at a control centre associated with a fleet of such concrete mixer trucks, all trucks could be continuously or periodically checked in this manner; in the event of an alert condition for a given concrete mixer truck, the alert could be sent to a particular operator, software user or manager associated with the given truck so that the remedial action can be taken, e.g. restarting the given truck.

FIG. 4 is a more general flow diagram indicative of example operations that may be performed by the control system 112. The operations may be performed in software, hardware or a combination thereof.

A first operation 401 may comprise receiving, from one or more sensors, data indicative of a non-zero quantity of a concrete mix, above a predetermined threshold, present in a mixing drum of a concrete mixer.

A second operation 402 may comprise determining that the mixing drum is not operational for a predetermined time period. A third operation 403 may comprise issuing an alert in the event of the determination.

When alerts have been issued, example embodiments may also provide means and methods for cancelling and/ or clearing the particular alert. These options may be required even if a driver of the relevant truck switches on their ignition as this would not necessarily mean that the driver is aware of the payload in the mixing drum.

In at least some embodiments, the person or persons so alerted (whether local or remote) may be given the option to ignore the alert by cancelling it and/ or to clear the alert to indicate that the underlying issue has been resolved, e.g., by remedial action. Cancelling or clearing an alert may be performed using any suitable input means, such as via selecting a button or graphical element on a user interface associated with the control system 112, making a voice command to the control system and/ or by sending a command message via email or text message to the control system or an associated receiving device. For example, an SMS message maybe sent to a particular telephone number with the text “CANCEL” or “CLEAR” to effect the corresponding cancel or clear action at the receiving end.

If no cancellation or clearing action is taken within a predetermined time period from the alert being issued, the alert may be re-issued to prompt user action. This process may be repeated until user action is received to cancel or clear the alert.

Upon user action to cancel or clear the alert being received, the timer of the control system 112 maybe reset in readiness for future alert situations. The control system 112 may, however only initiate again the method described above with reference to FIGs. 3 and/or 4 when the ignition status changes to “on” such that the control system returns to an active state with the timer reset.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic example of a system/ apparatus 500 for performing any of the methods or processed described herein. The system/apparatus shown is an example of a computing device.

The apparatus (or system) 500 comprises one or more processors 502. The one or more processors control operation of other components of the system/apparatus 500. The one or more processors 502 may, for example, comprise a general-purpose processor. The one or more processors 502 may be a single core device or a multiple core device. The one or more processors 502 may comprise a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a graphical processing unit (GPU). Alternatively, the one or more processors 502 may comprise specialised processing hardware, for instance a RISC processor or programmable hardware with embedded firmware. Multiple processors maybe included.

The system/ apparatus comprises a working or volatile memory 504. The one or more processors may access the volatile memory 504 in order to process data and may control the storage of data in memory. The volatile memory 504 may comprise RAM of any type, for example, Static RAM (SRAM) or Dynamic RAM (DRAM), or it may comprise Flash memory, such as an SD-Card.

The system/ apparatus comprises a non-volatile memory 506. The non-volatile memory 506 stores a set of operation instructions 508 for controlling the operation of the processors 502 in the form of computer readable instructions. The non-volatile memory 506 may be a memory of any kind such as a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Flash memory or a magnetic drive memory.

The one or more processors 502 are configured to execute operating instructions 508 to cause the system/apparatus to perform any of the methods described herein. The operating instructions 508 may comprise code (i.e. drivers) relating to the hardware components of the system/apparatus 500, as well as code relating to the basic operation of the system/apparatus 500. Generally speaking, the one or more processors 502 execute one or more instructions of the operating instructions 508, which are stored permanently or semipermanently in the non-volatile memory 506, using the volatile memory 504 to store temporarily data generated during execution of said operating instructions 508.

Any mentioned apparatus and/or other features of particular mentioned apparatus maybe provided by apparatus arranged such that they become configured to carry out the desired operations only when enabled, e.g. switched on, or the like. In such cases, they may not necessarily have the appropriate software loaded into the active memory in the non-enabled (e.g. switched off state) and only load the appropriate software in the enabled (e.g. on state). The apparatus may comprise hardware circuitry and/or firmware. The apparatus may comprise software loaded onto memory. Such software/ computer programs may be recorded on the same memory/processor/functional units and/or on one or more memories/processors/ functional units.

Any mentioned apparatus/circuitry/elements/processor may have other functions in addition to the mentioned functions, and that these functions may be performed by the same apparatus/circuitry/elements/processor. One or more disclosed aspects may encompass the electronic distribution of associated computer programs and computer programs (which may be source/transport encoded) recorded on an appropriate carrier (e.g. memory, signal).

Any “computer” described herein can comprise a collection of one or more individual processors/processing elements that may or may not be located on the same circuit board, or the same region/position of a circuit board or even the same device. In some examples one or more of any mentioned processors maybe distributed over a plurality of devices. The same or different processor/processing elements may perform one or more functions described herein.

The term “signalling” may refer to one or more signals transmitted as a series of transmitted and/or received electrical/ optical signals. The series of signals may comprise one, two, three, four or even more individual signal components or distinct signals to make up said signalling. Some or all of these individual signals may be transmitted/ received by wireless or wired communication simultaneously, in sequence, and/or such that they temporally overlap one another.

With reference to any discussion of any mentioned computer and/ or processor and memory (e.g. including ROM, CD-ROM etc.), these may comprise a computer processor, Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and/or other hardware components that have been programmed in such a way to carry out the inventive function.

The applicant hereby discloses in isolation each individual feature described herein and any combination of two or more such features, to the extent that such features or combinations are capable of being carried out based on the present specification as a whole, in the light of the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art, irrespective of whether such features or combinations of features solve any problems disclosed herein, and without limitation to the scope of the claims. The applicant indicates that the disclosed aspects/examples may consist of any such individual feature or combination of features. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications maybe made within the scope of the disclosure.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features as applied to examples thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices and methods described may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/ or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the disclosure. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/ or elements and/ or method steps shown and/ or described in connection with any disclosed form or examples may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or example as a general matter of design choice. Furthermore, in the claims means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.