A REVISING VENDING MACHINE

Nour Awad, Efraim Hanna, Ibrahim Wane, Jessie Su

City College of New York

ENGL 21007

Professor Jacobson

Nov 19, 2020

 

Introduction

       Innovation is simply the process of introducing something new, a new idea, method, or device. When planning on doing an innovation, we need to have an idea of what we want to invent. The process of innovation can take a long time before it is actually completed. It is no secret that innovation is a difficult task and it requires dedication, commitment, and focus.  Innovation is a complex, company-wide, group, and individual endeavor, it requires a set of cross cutting practices and processes to structure, organize, and encourage it. Innovation involves the whole process from opportunity identification, ideation, or invention to development, prototyping, production marketing, and sales, while entrepreneurship only needs to involve commercialization.

      In my group, we are planning on improving the reverse vending machine. The reverse vending machine will be able to recycle masks, papers, bottles ( plastics, glass, and aluminum) while allowing you to add credit to your Metrocard.  Since the promotion of mask-wearing is a way to slow the spread of COVID-19, it has led to an extraordinary increase in the rate of pollution. As a result of the extraordinary rise in pollution, the need to improve and promote such innovation is important because it is going to help in reducing pollution. Aside from reducing the fight against pollution, people will see it as a big opportunity to add money to their MetroCard, it will also help in keeping the environment and the ocean clean. This innovation is going to make the city and most especially the subway station clean; it will also make the subway system safer and more efficient to ride, it will also help in taking out labor from the MTA staff and make their system more efficient.  Although there already exists a reverse vending machine that exists we are improving on this innovation which will provide a larger incentive for people to take action towards recycling

Past innovations

The reverse vending machine is an innovation made to provide people with an incentive to recycle. Such vending machines are already in effect in the UK, China, and Singapore. The reverse vending machine is like a recycling machine but instead of getting credit for the grocery store, the credit is now transferred into a MetroCard. The way that this works is that a person would insert their MetroCard into the machine, insert whatever item they want to recycle or throw away, and in return get credit for their MetroCard. The UK, China, and Singapore have already implemented this type of vending machine in their subway stations. Unlike the reverse vending machines we have at the grocery stores it does not have a great enough incentive to motivate people to recycle. So although the reverse vending machine exists at grocery stores it does not work because the incentive is not enough as well as it not being widely available to people in some districts.

New York City is considered to contain one of the busiest subways stations in the world but unlike other countries, our subway stations are not clean. So our group thought of a way to clean up the streets while saving the planet during a pandemic. During the pandemic, the rise of pollution is caused by people not throwing away their masks properly. This causes masks to be easily swept out of the street trash cans. It is even more evident in subway stations. We chose to put reverse vending machines in subway stations that allow you to recycle your bottles as well as masks, and paper. We implemented masks and paper because when people leave or enter the subway station sometimes they have bottles, masks, or even paper they want to throw out. Instead of using a normal trash can, they can now get money for it.

Our innovation is better than the innovations created in China, UK, and Singapore because it does not limit the user to only bottles but also masks and paper. This is a greater improvement because it caters to what is happening in our everyday lives. Since the pandemic people have been throwing away masks but not properly doing it.

 

Technical Description

Recycling your empties ( bottle, plastics, mask and paper) is as easy as 1-2-3.

• Insert your recyclable product into the chute that is meant for  that product.

As you insert your recyclable product, the reverse vending machine will scan the product, barcodes, materials or shapes, to identify the type of packaging and give the correct deposit refund. The next step involves selection. The machine will then sort the containers into different types. Depending on the containers in your region, refillable containers are moved to one storage area in the machine, while containers that can’t be refilled and are crushed and stored in different bins.

• On the display screen, tap on the bar that display confirm the number of product you inserted

• Click on  Confirm

• After confirming the transaction, You will have to insert your metro card so that the funds will be added to it.

• After the funds has been added to your metro card, click on the bar that display confirm all transaction

• Click on the print receipt bar and take back your metro card.

• Take back your metro card.

                   The reverse vending machine is highly efficient, easy to use, and cost-effective. The inclusion of a side cabinet enables this machine to accept the three main types of articles: bottles, paper, and masks. The capacity of the machine takes up to 800 articles. The accepted Container size is up to 3L. Its compact size means it will fit your location and budget. The machine has a container receiving area including an entry port communicating with the interior of the machine and a vending mechanism for receiving and supporting the plastic container and transferring it to the cutting means. It is preferred that the identifying means include means to compare the weight of the received container to predetermined weight limits and scanning means, including means to manipulate the container, for reading and identifying a uniform product code (UPC).The accepting means includes a vend mechanism for transferring the container to the cutting means when the container is of a predetermined identity. The first cutting means also preferably includes feed paddles for forcing the plastic container between the cutters of the first cutting means. If the object inserted is paper or masks it will be compressed to minimize the space taken by it.

 

Description of external and internal parts

 

FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of the exterior of the machine.   US4784251-drawings-page-2.png

Referring to FIG 1, machine 20 includes a rectangular cabinet 22 having a front wall 24 which is hinged to allow access to the interior of the cabinet, for maintenance of the operating components and removal of the comminuted containers stored. A push button 36 is provided for the customer to request a metro card in exchange for a plurality of bottles, papers and masks such as 29, which are deposited through opening 38.

FIG. 2  A front view of the interior portion of the machine and the rear of the front door. US4784251-drawings-page-2.png

          As shown in FIG. 2, vendor mechanism 48 is in its “down” position for alignment with entry port 30 when front wall 24 is closed. A front acoustic sensor 50 is provided to sense a container in the vend mechanism 48; and a laser scanning mechanism 52 is mounted adjacent vending mechanism 48 for scanning such as a barcode on a label of plastic container such as 29. In the lower portion of cabinet 22, and in accordance with the present invention, is a feeding and shredding apparatus 54 positioned below vending mechanism 48, and a granular 56 position below shredder 54. A reversible AC motor referred to at 58 is provided to drive the feeding and shedding mechanisms. Between shredder 54 and vend mechanism 48 is a rear acoustic sensor 60 which detects a container being fed into the shredding mechanism. A cabinet is provided to house the control apparatus or operating machine 20 as described hereinafter. There’s a sensor that differentiates between plastic, paper and masks and each have their own storing box. Paper and masks are also shredded but they’re stored separately.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the container in its various stages as it proceeds through the shredder into the granulator and lastly, into the collection boxes. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/74/fe/2f/35a2ca07be2f9b/US4784251-drawings-page-3.png

Referring to FIG. 3, size reduction of the three articles is done through a two stage process. First cutting means includes shredding means 54 having a feeding apparatus 90, and a shredder 92, is disposed to receive a container, such as 29, dumped for forcing the container into the shredder for cutting the container longitudinally into a plurality of strips of predetermined width. Second cutting means includes granulator 56, disposed to receive elongated strips from shredder 92. Granulator 56 cuts each of the strips at an angle to the longitudinal cut of the shredder to comminute each strip into a plurality of pieces. Storage means are also provided for receiving the comminuted containers from granulator 56. Preferably, bin-full sensors 94 are included to detect when the storage areas are full. An infrared emitter and detector pair are fastened to the cabinet sides. The sensor is used after each bottle is collected to detect a bin-full condition when this beam is blocked. When a bin-full condition is detected, the machine is prevented from accepting further articles.

Information of Reverse Vending Machine

The price of a regular average vending machine varies from $10,000 to $25,000. However our product is much more advanced than that because not only does it take your recycled material but it also exchanges it into money that is added onto your MetroCard. A reverse vending machine would cost around $30,000, this price is based on the price from a similar invention that already exists in Istanbul. Our innovation costs more due to the fact that it also accepts masks and paper, not just glass, plastic, and aluminum bottles.  That price is just the price it costs to create the machine however, there are many other things to consider. Such as processing facilities ($1500/mo), drop-offs ($1000 per unit), employees ($15/hour), taxes, and insurance. How the machine would work is that once the recycling machine has reached maximum capacity it will send an alert to the employees telling them it must be emptied. When this happens someone will arrive to pick up all the recycled material so the machine can be ready for use again.

A majority of vending machines are made up of galvanized steel that ranges from 10 to 22 gauge of thickness. The thicker gauges are used for the outside components of the machine such as the outside cabinet, external doors and sometimes the internal tank. The thinner gauges are used for the internal doors and plates. Another component that is used is lexan which is an extremely tough plastic that is very difficult to break and fire resistant. Lexan is used to make up the front panels of the vending machine, this prevents theft. Acrylic powder is used to paint the surfaces of the vending machine. It is able to withstand harsh weather conditions making it ideal. For the insulation inside the vending machine polyurethane foam is used. The foam is sprayed between the outer cabinet and the internal tank, where it is then formed into a stiff material that adds structural stability to the vending machine.

Conclusion

Although there has already been a reverse vending machine created in China, UK, and Singapore, we have improved the reverse vending machine by adding different options to recycle masks and paper in exchange for credit on a MetroCard. This will provide people in NYC with a bigger incentive to recycle and use the machine. The machine is fairly simple to use, it is like any other recycling machine with a display and indicating to the user what to do. It will indicate the user to insert their MetroCard then the items they want to recycle and be returned their MetroCard with the amount of credit obtained.

           The reverse vending machine is not only created just to be seen as a source of exchange but from a different angle, the reverse vending machine is a very good invention. It is a good invention to the country as a whole because it benefits the environment, the end user and the company collecting and the recycling business. It will benefit the environment because it will ensure good, clean quality materials that can be reused again to create a new product. It will also reduce the need for  new raw material in making new products.

 

Reference page

Cowan, S. (n.d.). Plastics by the Numbers. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/plastics-by-the-numbers/

Ramly, A. (2020, January 27). Incentivizing NYC Subway Commuters to Recycle Waste. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://uxplanet.org/incentivizing-nyc-subway-commuters-to-recycle-waste-4cfbfcec5270

US4784251A – Reverse vending machine. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://patents.google.com/patent/US4784251A/en