Abstract:
A remotely attended scale system for providing certified weighing services for a vehicle. The system having a plurality of weigh sites located remotely from one another and a weighmaster located at a central location. The weighmaster verifies proper placement of the vehicle upon the scale, may facilitate a normal weighing process, and may interact with the driver before issuing a certificate of weight. The method of the present invention includes steps of initiating a weigh cycle, delegating a weighmaster located at a central location for the weigh cycle, establishing communication between a driver and the weighmaster, weighing the vehicle, downloading weight information to the central location, and dispensing a certificate of weight at the weigh site.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to a scale system for providing certified weighing service and specifically to a remotely attended scale.  
         [0002]     Trucks and other vehicles are weighed on public weigh scales for commercial purposes including transactions based on weight and to compare actual weights to state limits of weight that do not require overweight permits or restricted access routes. Most states charge and collect significant fines from truckdrivers for overweight penalties to prevent harm and promote safety issues related to its roads and bridges.  
         [0003]     While the maximum allowed weight varies, the common standard is 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. Weight is usually calculated in two measurements: axle weight, the amount of weight carried by each axle and gross weight, the combined weight of all the axles.  
         [0004]     The penalties for a vehicle not falling within the weight guidelines that each state has in place for its road system are often severe. Therefore, a certified weighing service has been developed which permits a driver the ability to pre-weigh their load prior to encountering a state monitoring site. The certified weighing services are typically at truck stops which weigh the trucks after they have been fully loaded with fuel. If the certified weighing service indicates that the truck and trailer are overweight, the driver may respond by removing cargo from the trailer and/or readjusting the weight on the trailer bed. The certified weighing service verifies the weight of the vehicle and issues a certificate of weight to the driver. Although the states do not unconditionally recognize these certified weigh receipts, should the driver be in violation of a state&#39;s weight guidelines, the certifying company may pay the overweight fine or send a representative to appear in court with the driver as an expert witness.  
         [0005]     These certifying scales are typically located at truck stops which have a staff manning them onsite or at freestanding stops which have a full-time attendant. Operating these certifying scales thus can be labor intensive and training intensive.  
         [0006]     Another problem found in commercial certified weighing is that scales are not located in remote areas. It would be beneficial to the driver if scales were located in areas immediately before and after entry into a state that may have different weight guidelines, in less traveled parts of the country, or in places that do not have a conventional truck stop facility.  
         [0007]     Therefore, one objective of the present invention is to overcome the problems associated with the prior art.  
         [0008]     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a certified weighing service for a weigh site remote from a weighmaster.  
         [0009]     A further objective of the present invention is to provide the remote weigh sites with at least one sensor to indicate the position of the vehicle relative to the scale so that a weighmaster may verify proper vehicle placement upon the scale.  
         [0010]     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a weigh site in a remote location that may be verified by a weighmaster such that the weighmaster may issue a certificate of weight.  
         [0011]     A further feature of the present invention is to permit a driver of a tractor/trailer or other vehicle the ability to process a payment at the weigh site to compensate the certified weighing service for use of their weigh sites.  
         [0012]     A further objective of the present invention is to enable weigh sites to be located in remote areas that would have difficulties in providing an on-site weighmaster.  
         [0013]     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a system which improves the quality of scale measurement by having a central location of weighmaster as opposed to a truck stop operator who may not be carefully monitoring the weighing operation or pay close attention to the scale&#39;s operation.  
         [0014]     A further objective of the present invention is to be able to receive information from a plurality of weigh sites and to be directed towards a centrally located weighmaster.  
         [0015]     Additionally, an objective is to enable the division of the workload of the plurality of work sites to a plurality of weighmasters.  
         [0016]     A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a system and method which is relatively inexpensive to operate and efficient in use.  
         [0017]     One or more of these and/or other objectives will become apparent from the specification and claims that follow.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]     According to one aspect of the invention, a system provides certified weighing services at remotely attended scales. The system includes a number of weigh sites located remotely from one another. Each of the weigh sites has a scale capable of weighing a vehicle that may be a tractor/trailer. The weigh sites have at least one sensor to indicate the location of the vehicle relative to the scale. A remotely attended scale system also has at least one weighmaster located at a central location that verifies proper vehicle placement upon the scale and facilitates a normal weighing process. At the conclusion of the weighing process, the weighmaster issues a certificate of weight. The remotely attended scale system is complimented by a driver interface for communication between a driver at the weigh site and the weighmaster.  
         [0019]     According to another feature of the present invention, a remotely attended scale system has a control center capable of distributing one or more of the weigh sites to a weighmaster when the vehicle is being weighed.  
         [0020]     According to another feature of the present invention, the remotely attended scale system may utilize video cameras to indicate the location of the vehicle relative to the scale.  
         [0021]     According to another feature of the present invention, the remotely attended scale system may utilize a payment interface that includes a credit or debit card reader (i.e. a magnetic strip reader) and/or a currency acceptor.  
         [0022]     According to another aspect of the invention, a method provides certified weighing services at a remotely attended scale. The method including the steps providing a plurality of weigh sites located remotely from one another for weighing a vehicle, initiating a weigh cycle at one of the weigh sites, delegating a weighmaster located at a central location for the weigh cycle, establishing communication between a driver and the weighmaster, verifying proper placement of the vehicle upon the scale using sensors, weighing the vehicle, downloading weight information to the central location, and dispensing a certificate of weight at the weigh site.  
         [0023]     According to another feature of the present invention, the method includes the step selecting from a plurality of weigh masters one with the ability to wait on a customer.  
         [0024]     According to another feature of the present invention, communication may be established between the driver and the weighmaster through video and audio communication. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0025]      FIG. 1  is a flow diagram of the remotely attended scale system of the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is a top plan layout of the weigh site of the present invention.  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the scale of the present invention.  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the driver interface on a kiosk of the present invention.  
         [0029]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the kiosk used in the present invention having an internal portion exposed.  
         [0030]      FIG. 6  is a certificate of weight issued by the present invention.  
         [0031]      FIG. 7  is a flow diagram of the idle/startup operations of the method of the present invention.  
         [0032]      FIG. 8  is a flow diagram of the delegation operation step of the present invention.  
         [0033]      FIG. 9  is a flow diagram of a method of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0034]     The present invention relates to a system and method for providing certified weighing services at remotely attended scales. As seen in  FIG. 1 , the remotely attended scale system is referred to generally by the numeral  10 .  
         [0035]     The remotely attended scale system  10  has weigh sites  12  that may be located in areas where a conventional truck stop facility does not exist or one in which providing a full-time attendant on location would be cost prohibitive due to staffing and training concerns. Alternatively, the weigh site  12  may be located at a truck stop that is currently fully attended but converted to be a weigh site  12  that is remotely attended to benefit the truck stop by reducing labor and training.  
         [0036]     The remotely attended scale system  10  has a weighmaster at work station  14 . Information from the weigh sites is transferred to the work station  14  through a computer network. The weighmaster communicates with the weigh site  12  through work station  14 . One work station  14  can handle a number of weigh sites  12 . Alternatively, a number of work stations may handle the number of weigh sites  12 . A control center  16  utilizing a server may be used to receive information from the weigh sites  12  and distribute them to work stations  14  in an organized manner. The server  16  may also serve to verify credit or debit cards and perform other functions that don&#39;t require the personal attention of a weighmaster at weigh station  14 .  
         [0037]     As seen in  FIG. 2 , a weigh site  12  has a drive path  18  surrounded by perimeter lights  20 . The truck stops at an entry location  22  until instructional signage  24  indicates to the driver that he/she may enter scale  26 . The scale  26  is commonly a load-cell system with a strain gauge embedded in it, a column type sensing element with strain gauges attached to them, or a piezoelectric system which uses a series of piezoelectric sensors. Each of these systems transmits an electrical current to a junction box typically housed within a kiosk  30 . The scale  26  may have one or more platforms  28  permitting several different weighment types. Typical weighment options provided to a driver may include standard, reweigh, split axle, and double trailer.  
         [0038]     There are different types of vehicle scale equipment that may be used, these include but are not limited to: 1) a one-axle weighing system which uses a single scale and requires a driver to stop each time a set of wheels is on the scale and once all axles have been weighed a total added together; 2) a one-stop scale which uses a series of platforms  28  so that the entire vehicle can be weighed at once, the scales typically connected to a single electronic controller that automatically combines actual weights to get the gross weight; or 3) a weigh-in-motion system which uses sensors to calculate the weight per axle as a vehicle drives over the sensor pad. The weigh-in-motion method does not need for the vehicle to come to a complete stop while on the scales.  
         [0039]     Prior to the driver entering the scale, he/she drives over an inductive loop  32  at the approach area indicating to a scale controller  66  to initialize zeroing the scale. The driver  30  can then pull onto the scale platforms  28 A-C such that they may register a weight upon the scale.  
         [0040]     A canopy  34  covers the kiosk  30  and the portion of the scale under which the tractor cab will be positioned and where the driver will exit the tractor. Thus, the canopy  34  protects both the kiosk and the driver from weather elements.  
         [0041]     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , platform  28 A is designed to weigh the steer axle, platform  28 B is designed to weigh the drive axle, platform  28 C is designed to measure the weight of the trailer axle(s). Alternatively, other configurations of platforms  28  are available.  
         [0042]     At least one placement sensor is provided to confirm proper placement of the vehicle and/or trailer. As seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a front camera  36  and a rear camera  38  are at opposite corners of the scale  26  to provide visual confirmation of proper placement of the vehicle and trailer. Proper placement is essential for verifying and certifying the weight of the vehicle and trailer. A side camera  40  may be located on kiosk  30  and provide confirmation of the truck and trailer placement upon platforms  28 A-C. The side camera  40  may also be used to collect digital images of the driver. A surveillance camera  42  is a mounted from a pole overlooking the site. Cameras  36 ,  38 ,  40  and  42  may be either color or black and white. The side camera  40  affixed to the kiosk would have the ability to pan and tilt for ease of identification of the driver and the vehicle being weighed.  
         [0043]     Alternatively, the placement sensor may be a light beam system such as an infrared light beam system. Still alternatively, the placement sensor may be an in-ground sensor that recognizes the weight of a vehicle. Once such in-ground sensor using fiber optics embedded in the concrete and spaced at intervals. Still alternatively, the placement sensor may be a camera imaging system that recognizes the scale footprint and identifies proper placement of the vehicle upon the footprint.  
         [0044]     As seen in  FIG. 4 , a front view of the driver interface and its components are shown. The camera  40  is provided with pan, tilt, and zoom features. The camera  40  is positioned behind a camera window  41 . The driver interface  44  also includes a microphone  46  and a speaker  48  that permits verbal communication from a driver at the weigh site  12  with the weighmaster at work station  14 . The driver interface  44  also includes a video display that facilitates the verification of information by the weighmaster and displays questions from the weighmaster. The video display  50  as illustrated is a color TFT VGA display. The display  50  is connected to a node PC  62  within the kiosk via a VGA cable.  
         [0045]     The driver interface also includes a payment interface  52  that may be a credit or debit card reader  54 , a currency acceptor  56 , or a combination credit or debit card reader and currency acceptor. The credit or debit card information may be entered using the credit or debit card reader  54  which reads the magnetic strip on the back of the credit or debit card, manually using an alpha numeric key pad  58 , or vocally from the driver to the weighmaster.  
         [0046]     A user interface key pad  58  is used for the driver to enter information regarding their vehicle, truck, trailer and identification information. Two printers  60 A and  60 B may be used to provide two full scale tickets. These printers as illustrated are Telpar Model NTP-2283 8.5 inch cut-tape thermal printers. A rain guard is provided over each to protect the printers. Each printer is fed from an 8 inch diameter spool of thermal paper to minimize maintenance issues.  
         [0047]     The driver interface may also include a help button. The system can be operated without any communication between the driver and the weighmaster. The help button is provided to allow the driver to initiate a dialog with the weighmaster that facilitates operation of the system.  
         [0048]     As seen in  FIG. 5 , the inside of the kiosk  28  is shown with its internal hardware. The kiosk  28  is fully climate controlled and accessible only to authorized personnel. To the front of the kiosk is positioned the driver interface including the side camera  40  and printers  60 . Housed in a back portion of the kiosk  28  is the node PC  62  that is designed to handle the card reader and associated information transfer, to drive the remote display, and to run the remote site node program. As illustrated, the node PC  62  is a Dell® Mini-Optiplex computer. A scale controller  64  is a custom version of the Fairbanks IND-2600 Intalogix controller. The controller  64  receives input from the platforms  28 A-C and communicates them to the node PC  62  through a network connection. A T1 router  66  is provided to connect the node PC  62  to the work station  14  and alternatively the server  16  via a high speed data link.  
         [0049]     Additionally, a digital video recorder  68  is housed in the kiosk  28  that permits recording of the four different cameras  36 ,  38 ,  40 , and  42 . As illustrated the digital video recorder is a Toshiba Surveilex KV-KLR960 GB unit.  
         [0050]     A network video server  70  provides video from the three different positioning cameras  36 ,  38 , and  40  to the weighmaster. These cameras allow the weighmaster to visually verify vehicle placement as well as provide security monitoring. Communication with the driver is handled through an audio module  72 . As illustrated, the audio module  72  is coupled with the video server  70  to allow bi-directional half-duplex audio with good clarity. The audio module  72  is linked with a speaker  48  and microphone  46  located on the driver interface  44 . These two modules  70 ,  72  interact with the work station  14  to communicate with the weighmaster.  
         [0051]     As seen in  FIG. 6 , a scale ticket  74  is issued from the printer  60 . The scale ticket  74  includes each axle weight and the gross weight total. The scale ticket  74  is guaranteed such that if the driver after receiving a legal weight certificate from one of company&#39;s scales and then receives an overweight fine from a state the driver will be reimbursed for the cost of the overweight fine or have a scale company representative appear in court with the driver as an expert witness. The scale ticket  74  is generally referred to as a certificate of weight. The certificate of weight may be a certified weight which is certified by a weighmaster, a weighmaster certificate as commonly referred to in California, or a document that has been issued at weigh sites not regulated by a national or state governing body. The scale ticket  74  meets the requirements of the national or state governing body. Additionally, the scale ticket  74  may be used by those concerned about the maximum weight of their vehicle, those transporting grain or other commodities, and/or those weighing their vehicles, such as moving vans, to calculate a charge to their clients moving.  
         [0052]      FIGS. 7-9  detail the cycle of operation of the present invention. Initially, as seen in  FIG. 7 , the system is idle and must be started. The weighmaster at the work station logs into the server and then the server polls the site  12  for weight data. Should no weight data be received from the site, the work station  14  remains idle. During this start up phase, one work station  14  may be logged into the server or a plurality of work stations  14  depending upon the amount of work flow. As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the site  12  is in contact with the server  16 . When a site  12  first comes on line a similar logging into the server  16  is initiated.  
         [0053]     Although the person facilitating the system&#39;s operation is generally referred to as a weighmaster, the person may also be referred to as a public weigher and/or a deputy weighmaster. The weighmaster may therefore be able conform to the regulations of a national or state governing body.  
         [0054]     When a vehicle approaches the scale  26 , it pulls over an inductive loop  32  and the scale controller  64  verifies a zero condition. If for some reason the scale controller  64  is unable to verify a zero condition, a message will be displayed saying the scale  26  was unable to reach a zero condition and for the driver to exit the scale  26 . The driver then has the option of pulling around and attempting another weighment. The vehicle then pulls onto at least one of platforms  28 A-C and causes a weight to register with the controller  64 . If the weight passes a threshold weight, site  12  as seen in  FIG. 8  initiates a data link to the server PC  16 . As seen in  FIG. 8 , this is the first step of the delegation operation.  
         [0055]     As seen in  FIG. 9 , a weigh cycle is initiated from the remote site. The system then prompts the driver to insert his/her payment to begin the transaction. The driver, using a credit or debit card, has the card information sent to the server PC  16  and preauthorized for a currency amount. The system then asks the driver for the driver&#39;s billing zip code to finish the preauthorization. If the card is declined, the transaction may be aborted.  
         [0056]     The system determines a weighment type, then proceeds with a normal weighment process. The system then asks the driver for his/her company name, tractor number, trailer number(s), and commodity. The VGA display  50  also prompts the driver for the information as it is being requested.  
         [0057]     As the information is entered by the driver, the information is displayed on the remote display  50  for driver verification. The system will then ask if the information displayed is correct and give the driver the option to have any incorrect information edited. If any of the information needs to be edited, it can be done at this point without aborting the transaction.  
         [0058]     When the driver indicates the information is correct, the weighmaster will verify position, then authorize initiation of a print command on the work station  14  which will then send the vehicle information to the controller  64  at the remote site. The controller  64  will then take the vehicle information, add the weights to it, and issue a print command to the thermal printer  60 . Each transaction will print two receipts.  
         [0059]     At the time of the print command, a charge will be issued to the customer&#39;s credit or debit card and a log of the transaction will be stored on the server PC  16 .  
         [0060]     After issuing the two weight certificates  74 , the driver will be prompted by the system to exit the scale. When the driver has exited and the controller verifies a zero condition, the scale is ready for another weighment to occur.  
         [0061]     A method and system for providing certified weighing surfaces at remotely attended scales has been disclosed. The present invention is not limited to a particular method, step, procedure, or system component. Instead, the invention contemplates that numerous variations may be used as may be appropriate to a particular use. For example, the present invention contemplates variations in the particular structures, configurations, and methodologies used, the type of weighing system used, the manner in which computers are networked, variations in hardware and software, and other variations that may be appropriate in particular circumstances, applications, or environments.