Patent Publication Number: US-2021192447-A1

Title: Real-time collection and communication of quarry scale ticket information

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present application relates generally to quarry sites. More particularly, the present application relates to real-time collection and provision of scale ticket information for outbound trucks at quarry sites. 
     BACKGROUND 
     At a quarry worksite, trucks arrive, are loaded with material, and are dispatched to a customer. When a truck is loaded and ready to leave the quarry, the truck is weighed, and a ticket is printed that specifies the weight and other information (material, contract details, etc.). The truck driver is provided with the printed ticket and delivers the ticket to the customer along with the hauled material. Thus, the customer receives the printed ticket at the same time as the material is received. If something unexpected occurred at the quarry site with respect to the truck or the material, the customer often does not learn of this information until the truck has arrived. 
     US 20190181917 A1 teaches a system that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) to track coal mining operations. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one example, a method of collecting ticket information from a scale computer includes identifying, by a hardware device connected to the scale computer, a command received from the scale computer for generating a scale ticket for a respective truck hauling a material; extracting, by the hardware device, ticket information from data sent from the scale computer and associated with the command, the extracted ticket information including one or more properties with respect to the truck hauling the material; and transmitting the extracted ticket information from the hardware device to one or more remote computing systems. 
     In another example, a scale ticketing system includes a scale computer and a hardware device. The scale computer is configured to issue a command with associated data that includes the ticket information to generate a scale ticket for a truck positioned at a scale associated with the scale ticketing system. The hardware device is connected to the scale computer and configured to identify the command and extract the ticket information from the associated data in response to identifying the command. The hardware device is also configured to transmit the extracted ticket information to a remote computing device. 
     In another example, a method includes detecting, by a hardware device connected to a scale computer, a command for generating a ticket for a respective truck hauling a material from a quarry site; determining, by the hardware device, ticket information from data sent from the scale computer and associated with the command, the extracted ticket information including one or more properties with respect to the truck and the material; and transmitting the extracted ticket information from the hardware device to a remote server. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a flowchart illustrating a method of collecting and providing scale ticket information regarding an outbound truck at a quarry site. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating logical connections between a backend engine and various entities. 
         FIGS. 3A-3D  are flowcharts illustrating methods of using scale ticket information obtained in real-time by the various entities from the backend engine. 
         FIG. 4  is a system diagram illustrating a system for automatically obtaining and providing scale ticket information for an outbound truck at a quarry site. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a flowchart illustrating a method  100  of automatically collecting and providing ticket information regarding an outbound truck at a quarry site or other material loading/construction site. By collecting and providing the ticket information to a backend engine, for example, a customer and/or other entities can be provided with the scale ticket information in real-time, providing the customer with data indicative of events that occurred at the quarry site, allowing the customer to act earlier than would have otherwise been possible. 
     Trucks arrive at a quarry site, are loaded with a desired amount of material, and are dispatched from the quarry site to transport the material to a customer&#39;s work site, for example. At step  102 , a truck has arrived at the quarry site, is loaded with material, and arrives at a scale in a quarry site to be weighed and dispatched from the quarry site. This may be one of several trucks currently located at the quarry site. The quarry may include any material such as stone, sand, gravel, slate, coal, granite, asphalt, and the like. 
     At step  104 , scale ticket information is collected for the outbound truck. This information may include the weight measured by the scale, the customer, contract details, the time the truck arrived at the quarry site, the current time, a driver of the truck, and the like. This information may be collected automatically by the scale and/or input by a quarry site operator. For example, the scale may be connected to a computer system that includes a printer and one or more input/output (IO) devices. The computer system may collect the weight of the truck directly from the scale and customer details from a site operator through an IO device. The computer system may also include an IO device, such as a button, touchscreen, or the like, selectable by the truck driver and/or the quarry site operator for printing, providing, or otherwise displaying a ticket that includes the scale ticket information. 
     Method  100  stays at step  106  until the truck driver or the quarry site operator provides an input to print or otherwise provide the scale ticket. In an example, the scale computer system provides a print command and associated data to the scale printer to print the scale ticket for the driver. At step  108 , a hardware device connected to the scale computer detects the print command generated in response to the truck driver or site operator requesting a ticket. The print command may be generated by the scale computer system and provided to the scale ticket printer or hardware device in any format. In one example, the scale printer is connected to the scale computer through the hardware device. For example, the hardware device receives an input from the scale computer through a parallel or serial port and provides an output to the scale printer through another parallel or serial port. In another example, the hardware device is connected to the scale computer separately from the scale printer but still receives the print command and associated data. 
     When the hardware device identifies the print command, the hardware device extracts the scale ticket information from the data sent to the scale printer for printing of the ticket. In one example, the hardware device is connected between the scale printer and the scale computer system in which case all commands for the scale printer go through the hardware device. In another example, the hardware device may be connected to the scale computer system separately from the printer with printer commands being received both by the scale printer and the hardware device. The data sent from the scale computer system may be in any format. For example, the print command may be followed by one or more data frames that include several data fields, each providing a different value for printing by the scale printer. The hardware device knows the data format and extracts the ticket information from the data sent to the printer. This data may include load size/weight, customer, contract details, quarry arrival time, quarry departure time, material type, material quality, truck driver, and the like. In some examples, the hardware device may identify a format from one of several known predetermined formats. For example, different types of scale computers may package data in different formats. The hardware device may be compatible with several different formats or be configured for a respective format when installing with a respective scale computer system. 
     At step  110 , the hardware device transmits the scale ticket information to one or more servers or other computing devices. The hardware device may include a wireless transmission device capable of wireless communication of data over one or more wireless networks. For example, the hardware device may connect to a Wi-Fie network, a cellular network, or any other wireless network. In another example, the hardware device may transmit the data over a wired connection. For example, the hardware device may include an Ethernet connector configured to provide connection to a local area network (LAN). The one or more servers may implement a backend engine, for example, capable of packaging the scale ticket information and transmitting the information to one or more entities including customer servers, quarry management servers, transportation entity servers, supplier servers, and the like. 
     At step  112 , the backend engine provides a digital copy of the scale ticket to the customer associated with the material haul. This may be packaged in any data format to include properties of the haul such as the load size/weight, customer, contract details, quarry arrival time, quarry departure time, truck driver, material type, material quality, and the like. In addition to the customer, the information can also be transmitted to other entities such as a transportation entity, quarry manager, supplier, and the like. At step  114 , a ticket is provided to the truck driver with the scale ticket information. This may be a printed ticket using a scale printer, a ticket displayed through a display device connected to the scale computer system, a ticket attached and emailed to the truck driver in any format, and the like. At step  116 , the truck is dispatched from the quarry. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating connections between a backend engine  200  and various entities. The backend engine  200  may be implemented by one or more servers or other computing devices through hardware and/or software to provide one or more services for one or more entities. As described above with respect to step  112  of  FIG. 1 , the backend engine  200  receives ticketing information from a ticketing system. The backend engine  200  may also be configured to receive data from one or more other sources. For example, the backend engine  200  may also receive data indicating arrival times of respective trucks from a system separate from the quarry scale computer. 
     The backend engine  200  may be implemented and connected to communicate data to, or otherwise provide a service for, a customer  202 , a transportation entity  204 , a quarry manager  206 , and a supplier  208 . While illustrated as four connections in  FIG. 2 , the backend engine  200  may be connected to any other entities. The customer  202 , transportation entity  204 , quarry manager  206 , and supplier  208  may each include systems implemented on one or more servers or other computing systems operated by those entities. In another example, the backend engine  200  may be implemented as a web-service in which each of the customer  202 , the transportation entity  204 , quarry manager  206 , and/or supplier  208  have an account with the web-service and are able to login to the web service to access data. 
     The backend engine  200  may transmit the data received from the scale computing system to each of the customer  202 , the transportation entity  204 , the quarry manager  206 , and/or the supplier  208  in real-time. Real-time may be defined as concurrently, or within a threshold amount of time, of a respective event such as a ticket request. The customer  202  may be the consumer of the material being hauled by the dispatched truck. The transportation entity  204  may be a company or other entity that owns the dispatched truck, manages a fleet that includes the dispatched truck, and/or employs the driver of the dispatched truck. The quarry manager may be the on-site manager or management company of the quarry site, and the supplier may be the supplier of the material at the quarry site. The data may be provided to the entities in the same format as was received by the backend engine  200 . In another example, the data may be repackaged by the backend engine  200  prior to transmission to the entity. This may be advantageous if specific entities want specific details regarding dispatched trucks. The backend engine  200  can provide customized data to each respective customer regarding material hauls. 
     The backend engine  200  may also implement one or more databases for storing data received from the scale ticketing computer and other sources. The databases may store this data for each respective customer  202 , transportation entity  204 , quarry manager  206 , supplier  208 , and/or other entities. This data can be compiled and provided to the entities at any desirable time. The backend engine  200  may also be configured to coordinate actions between the customer  202 , the transportation entity  204 , the quarry manager  206 , and the supplier  208  using the received and/or stored data. 
       FIGS. 3A-3D  are flowcharts illustrating methods of using scale ticket information obtained in real-time for the various entities. By receiving scale ticket information in real-time, each entity can plan and take action with respect to hauled material more quickly than with conventional ticketing methods. For example, with paper tickets, a customer must wait until the driver arrives at a respective construction site and provides the printed paper ticket to the customer to learn the details of a respective material haul.  FIG. 3A  is a flowchart illustrating a method  300  of using scale ticket information for a customer of the material. At step  302 , the customer  202  receives scale ticket information from the backend engine  200  in real-time with respect to a truck dispatching from the quarry site. At step  304 , the customer  202  determines the properties of the respective material haul from the received scale ticket information. In an example, the material haul may be 20 tons of stone. The customer  202  can then, in real-time, determine that a truck has dispatched with the 20 tons of stone at a respective time. 
     At step  306 , the customer  202  can use the determined properties to plan for the arrival of the material based on temporal data from the determined properties. In an example, the data may indicate that the truck has dispatched from the site much earlier or later than expected. For example, the customer  202  may have expected the truck to dispatch at 1:00 pm, with the truck actually dispatching at 3:30 pm. The customer  202  may change plans at the work site based on this data in order to optimize workforce. For example, if workers have not yet arrived at the site, the customer  202  may inform the workers that the truck is delayed, allowing the workers to arrive at a time closer to when the material will arrive, which may save resources, optimize labor, busy-ness, and the like. 
     At step  308 , the customer  202  uses the determined properties of the material haul to execute or adjust a project plan for one or more projects that use the material. For example, the customer  202  may rent dozers or other construction machines for compacting the soil and assign subzones where stone is to be placed. The customer  202  may also plan workforce to optimize use of rental equipment to have two/three shifts of workers beginning when the material arrives. By obtaining the scale ticket data in real-time, the customer  202  can better plan for the dispatched material, improving the quality and efficiency of project execution. While described with respect to the customer  202 , the method  300  may be performed by one or more computing systems or servers implemented by the customer  202 . 
       FIG. 3B  is a flowchart illustrating a method  320  of using scale ticket information for a supplier  208  of the material. At step  322 , the supplier  208  receives scale ticket information for a respective truck hauling material in real-time. At step  324 , the supplier  208  determines the properties of the respective material haul from the received scale ticket information. These properties may include the amount of material, the quality of material, the time of dispatch, and the like. In an example, the material haul may be 15 tons of granite. The supplier can, in real-time, determine that a truck has dispatched with the 15 tons of granite, and the quality of the granite. 
     At step  326 , the supplier  208  updates inventory, manages on-site material, requests additional material, and coordinates workers in real-time based on the determined properties from the scale ticket information. The supplier  208  may use additional details already known or obtained from other sources. In an example, the supplier  208  may monitor material and update inventory in a database based on the haul of each dispatched truck. The supplier  208  may then consolidate physical groupings of material at the quarry based on the inventory database. The supplier  208  may also request additional material and plan workforce. 
     At step  328 , the supplier  208  is also able to evaluate transportation fleets and customers  202  based on the determined properties for respective material hauls. For example, the supplier can monitor the performance of a specific transportation fleet based on time of entry, time spent at quarry site, time in transit, and the like. Several of these properties can be obtained in real-time based on the properties obtained from the scale ticket information, for example, his allows the supplier  208  to rank the transportation entity in real-time. Similarly, the supplier can rank/prioritize customers  202  based on factors that include size of delivery, type of material to be delivered, size of material to be delivered, quality of material delivered, and the like. The supplier  208  is then able to coordinate transportation fleets and customers  202  such as by allocating high efficiency fleets to high priority customers. By accomplishing this in real-time, the supplier can better keep high priority customers  202  satisfied. While described with respect to the supplier  208 , the method  320  may be performed by one or more computing systems or servers implemented by the supplier  208 . 
       FIG. 3C  is a flowchart illustrating a method  340  of using scale ticket information for a transportation entity  204 . At step  342 , the transportation entity  204  receives scale ticket information for a respective truck hauling material in real-time. The transportation entity  204  may be a company that owns or rents the truck, for example, and/or employs the driver of the truck. At step  344 , the transportation entity  204  determines the properties of the respective material haul from the received scale ticket information. These properties may include the amount of material, the type of material, the quality of the material, the time of dispatch, an arrival time of the truck, a driver of the truck, and the like. Thus, the transportation entity  204  can, in real-time, evaluate performance of a driver of the truck based on the determined properties. 
     At step  346 , the transportation entity  204  monitors the performance of a respective truck driver based on the determined properties including time of entry, time spent at the quarry, and the like. The transportation entity  204  may also monitor the performance of the respective truck driver based on the type of material hauled, the quantity of material loaded, the quantity of material delivered, damage incurred by the material while loading, when in transit, and while unloading. Some of these properties may be determined in real-time by the scale ticket information, and some other properties may be obtained from other sources. 
     At step  348 , the transportation entity  204  ranks the drivers and prioritizes and allocates drivers according to the rankings. For example, each driver may be ranked, and the rankings may be updated each time scale ticket information is received. The transportation entity may prioritize truck drivers based on the rankings and allocate high efficiency drivers to high priority customers, for example. By accomplishing this in real-time, the transportation entity  204  can better keep high priority customers satisfied. While described with respect to the transportation entity  204 , the method  340  may be performed by one or more computing systems or servers implemented by the transportation entity  204 . 
       FIG. 3D  is a flowchart illustrating a method  360  of using scale ticket information by a quarry manager  206 . At step  362 , the quarry manager  206  receives scale ticket information for a respective truck hauling material in real-time from the backend engine  200 , for example. At step  364 , the quarry manager  206  determines the properties of the respective material haul from the received scale ticket information. These properties may include the amount of material, the quality of material, the time of dispatch, and the like. 
     At step  366 , quarry manager  206  monitors material within the quarry and material hauled from the quarry in real-time using determined properties. For example, the quarry manager  206  may monitor a type, quantity, and quality of materials hosted at the quarry in real-time (for example, sand, 200 tons, fine sand; asphalt, 300 tons, driveway grade). The quarry manager  206  can monitor, in real-time, the type, quality, and quantity of material being hauled away by each dispatched truck and can identify existing piles of material where the hauled material is located. At step  368 , the quarry manager  206  can contact external suppliers if the material demanded is less than the material currently available. At step  370 , the quarry manager  206  monitors, in real-time, the type, quality, and quantity of material being hauled away by respective trucks dispatched from the quarry site and updates a material database accordingly. While described with respect to the quarry manager  206 , the method  360  may be performed by one or more computing systems or servers implemented by the quarry manager  206 . 
       FIG. 4  is a system diagram illustrating a system  400  for automatically obtaining and providing scale ticket information for an outbound truck  402  at a quarry site. The system  400  includes a scale ticketing system  404  that includes a computer system  406 , a scale printer  408 , and a hardware device  410 . Conventional scale ticketing systems may include only the computer system  406  and the scale printer  408  without the hardware device  410 . The computer system  406  may be any computer system including one or more controllers, processors, input/output devices, displays, volatile and/or non-volatile memories, peripheral devices, and/or any other computer components. The scale printer  408  may be a general-purpose printer, or a printer designed specifically for printing scale tickets. In another example, the scale printer  408  may be a logical printer implemented by the computer system  406  such as a portable document format (PDF) printer configured to generate a document with the ticket information in PDF or other format. The computer system  406  may be implemented to receive data from a scale  412  configured to weigh the truck  402 . 
     The hardware device  410  is added to the scale ticketing system  404  and is configured to communicate with one or more servers  414  or other computing devices. The hardware device  410  may be connected between the computer system  406  and the scale printer  408  or may be connected to the computer system  406  separately from the scale printer  408 . 
     The hardware device  410  can include, for example, software, hardware, and combinations of hardware and software configured to execute several functions related to the extraction of scale ticket information based on monitored print data generated by the computer system  406 . The hardware device  410  can include an analog, digital, or combination analog and digital controller including a number of components. As examples, the hardware device  410  can include integrated circuit boards or ICB(s), printed circuit boards PCB(s), processor(s), data storage devices, switches, relays, or any other components. Examples of processors can include any one or more of a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or equivalent discrete or integrated logic circuitry. 
     The hardware device  410  may include storage media to store and/or retrieve data or other information such as, for example, data received from the computer system  406 . Storage devices, in some examples, are described as a computer-readable storage medium. The storage devices, for example, are used by software, applications, algorithms, as examples, running on and/or executed by the hardware device  410 . The storage devices can include short-term and/or long-term memory and can be volatile and/or non-volatile. Examples of non-volatile storage elements include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. Examples of volatile memories include random access memories (RAM), dynamic random-access memories (DRAM), static random-access memories (SRAM), and other forms of volatile memories. 
     The hardware device  410  may also include one or more connectors for connecting to the computer system  406  and/or the scale printer  408 . For example, the hardware device  410  may include one or more parallel ports, serial ports, universal serial bus (USB) ports, and the like. For example, the hardware device  410  may connect to the computer system  406  through an input parallel port and may connect to the scale printer  408  through an output parallel port. 
     The hardware device  410  may also include one or more network interfaces. For example, the hardware device  410  may include a wireless network interface and/or wired network interface for connecting to one or more types of network including a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®), and the like. The one or more network interfaces may be used to communicate data to the servers  414 , for example. 
     The servers  414  may be implemented using any suitable computing devices. In one example, the servers  414  may be configured to implement the backend engine  200 . Thus, the servers  414  may be configured to communicate data to one or more entities including customers, transportation entities, material suppliers, quarry managers, and the like. 
     Hardware device  410  may be configured to identify printing commands generated by the computer system  406  for the scale printer  408 . Once the hardware device  410  identifies the print command, the hardware device  410  obtains the data related to the print command provided by the computer system  406  for printing the ticket. The hardware device  410  knows the format of this data and is able to extract the scale ticket information from the data. Once the hardware device  410  had extracted the data, the hardware device  410  transmits the data to the servers  414  in real-time. This may occur before or during printing of the physical ticket by the scale printer  408 . The hardware device  410  also passes through or otherwise transmits the print command and the data to the scale printer  408  so that the scale printer  408  prints the physical ticket, which is then provided to a driver of the truck  402  and the truck  402  is dispatched from the quarry site. 
     In another example, the scale ticketing system  404  may not include a scale printer  408  and the hardware device  410  may act as the scale printer. For example, the hardware device  410  may be connected as a printer to the computer system  406  to receive commands and associated data from the computer system  406 . When a ticket is requested, a command with associated data is provided to the hardware device  410 , which receives the ticketing information and transmits the ticketing information to the servers  414 . By adding the hardware device  410  to the scale ticketing system  404 , the customer and/or other entities receive scale ticketing information in real-time, allowing the customer and other entities to improve planning and efficiency as described above with respect to  FIGS. 3A-3D . 
     While described with respect to a quarry site, those skilled in the art will understand that the systems and methods disclosed herein may apply to any material loading site or other construction site. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     In one illustrative example, the hardware device is a Caterpillar® G6M7 device installed at a quarry site scale ticketing system. The G6M7 device may be connected between the scale computer and the scale printer using input and output parallel ports, for example. When a truck arrives at the scale and requests a ticket, the G6M7 device identifies the print command from the scale computer. The scale computer provides the ticket information to the scale printer. The ticket information includes the load weight, the material type, the material quality, contract details, a current time, a check-in time of the truck, a driver of the truck, and a customer to receive the material. The G6M7 device is configured to receive the data from the scale computer on the way to the scale printer and extract the ticket information from the data. The G6M7 device then transmits the ticket information to a Caterpillar® back office. 
     The back office, which implements a backend engine, collects and compiles the ticket information, linking the dispatching truck to the customer. The backend engine then provides the ticket information to the customer in real-time. The backend engine may also provide the ticket information to the respective quarry manager, material supplier, and transportation fleet. The customer, quarry manager, material supplier, and transportation fleet receive the information and act accordingly. For example, the customer can use the load size, material type, material quality, and dispatch time to better plan for the arrival of the material. The customer can initiate these actions prior to arrival of the dispatched truck, whereas in conventional systems, the customer needed to wait for the dispatched material to arrive to receive the printed ticket. This required the customer to guess as to the time of arrival of the dispatched material, leading to inefficiencies in the event that the loading and dispatch of material did not go exactly as planned. 
     The above detailed description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the disclosure should, therefore, be determined with references to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.