Researchers Submit Patent Application, “Sustainable Resources Exchange Method And System”, for Approval (USPTO 20230067755): Patent Application

2023 MAR 20 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Washington, D.C., NewsRx journalists report that a patent application by the inventors Kumar, Mithilesh (New Delhi, IN); Raj, Sahil (Babhniyawan, IN); Tiwari, Saumya (Etawah, IN), filed on August 25, 2021, was made available online on March 2, 2023.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Industrial waste produced by chemical companies is often a byproduct of a process meant to produce a particular product. This waste is mostly disposed of in landfills or incinerated, and only a small percentage is recycled or composted. When manufacturers try to recycle chemical byproducts, they usually either float tenders or use informal channels to trade off their industrial grade wastes or byproducts to a party in need. However, this process is not regularized. Thus, the large majority of industrial waste-which can be readily or with minimal processing re-used-goes unnoticed and its value is destroyed.

“Chemicals management covers sourcing, transport, storage, use, production and management of occupational health and environmental risks throughout a material’s life cycle. Successful outcomes in chemicals waste management ultimately require industry and regulators to develop workable policies, robust assessment methods and sound risk management measures. Unfortunately, due to the depletion of fossil fuels, the emerging effects of CO₂ emissions, and the rising demands for energy, there is a growing need for alternative waste management processes. Beyond industrial waste, there are also agricultural waste, biological waste, municipal sewage sludge (MSS), municipal solid waste (MSW), and shredder residue being produced. Due to the limited amount of space available for landfill use and the increasing costs of hazardous waste disposal, an alternative solution is needed. Although a number of waste management methods are currently employed, they are either impractical, generate further pollution, mainly cover only solid waste, are not regulated, or are too costly in terms of energy and economics. For example, existing methods fail to provide end-to-end services such as listing, search, purchase, intelligent process matching, etc. Matching a buyer and seller based on a chemical byproduct available by the seller and need of buyer is particularly difficult with chemical byproducts because the byproducts may need to go through further processing to produce the product needed by the seller. This means that it may not be immediately apparent that a buyer has a byproduct available that would be of value to a seller, making the buyer and seller a good match for an exchange. In addition, conventional marketplace portals generally allow only listing of the products, while the sales are executed through agreements which are conducted outside the portal. There is also a discouraging lack of transparency on inclusion of sustainability as a factor for product recommendations in current waste exchange paradigms.

“There is a need in the art for a system and method that addresses the shortcomings discussed above.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “A system and method for identifying suppliers in a marketplace for the exchange of industrial byproducts that promotes compliance with sustainability goals and facilitates the implementation of a circular economy is disclosed. The system and method solve the problems discussed above by providing an intelligent system that is designed to bring together consumers and suppliers of waste products across industries. The system is designed to operate automatically with little human intervention during sale or purchase of the products. The automated architecture includes a recommendation engine for identifying suppliers that match a buyer’s specifications and are aligned with minimum sustainable waste management practices. In particular, the disclosed system and method can match a seller of a byproduct with a buyer when it is not immediately obvious that the byproduct can be further processed to yield the product desired by the buyer.

“In one aspect, the disclosure provides a method of identifying suppliers in a marketplace for the exchange of industrial byproducts. The method includes a first step of receiving, from a first consumer and at a cloud-based trading system, a search request for a first product, and a second step of mining data from a profile of the first consumer in order to obtain process capability data for the first consumer. A third step includes generating a process dictionary specific to the first customer based on the process capability data, the process dictionary including at least a first process, and a fourth step includes automatically identifying, at the trading system and with reference to the process dictionary, a first conversion option for the first product by which the first product can be obtained from a second product via the first process. The method further includes a fifth step of generating, via a recommendation engine of the trading system, a list including either or both of: direct suppliers offering the first product, or indirect suppliers offering the second product. In addition, the method includes a sixth step of displaying the list via a buyer dashboard for the trading system wherein the list indicates whether the supplier is a direct supplier or an indirect supplier, and the required process for converting the second product to the first product is indicated for indirect suppliers.

“In another aspect, the disclosure provides a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to: (1) receive, from a first consumer and at a cloud-based trading system, a request for a first product; (2) mine data from a profile of the first consumer in order to obtain process capability data for the first consumer; (3) generate a process dictionary specific to the first customer based on the process capability data, the process dictionary including at least a first process; (4) automatically identify, at the trading system and with reference to the process dictionary, a first conversion option for the first product by which the first product can be obtained from a second product via the first process; (5) generate, via a recommendation engine of the trading system, a list including either or both of: direct suppliers offering the first product, or indirect suppliers offering the second product; and (6) display the list via a buyer dashboard for the trading system wherein the list indicates whether the supplier is a direct supplier or an indirect supplier, and the required process for converting the second product to the first product is indicated for indirect suppliers.

“In another aspect, the disclosure provides a system for identifying suppliers in a marketplace for the exchange of industrial byproducts, the system comprising one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to: (1) receive, from a first consumer and at a cloud-based trading system, a request for a first product; (2) mine data from a profile of the first consumer in order to obtain process capability data for the first consumer; (3) generate a process dictionary specific to the first customer based on the process capability data, the process dictionary including at least a first process; (4) automatically identify, at the trading system and with reference to the process dictionary, a first conversion option for the first product by which the first product can be obtained from a second product via the first process; (5) generate, via a recommendation engine of the trading system, a list including either or both of: direct suppliers offering the first product, or indirect suppliers offering the second product; and (6) display the list via a buyer dashboard for the trading system wherein the list indicates whether the supplier is a direct supplier or an indirect supplier, and the required process for converting the second product to the first product is indicated for indirect suppliers.

“Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the disclosure will be, or will become, apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description and this summary, be within the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the following claims.

“While various embodiments are described, the description is intended to be exemplary, rather than limiting, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of the embodiments. Although many possible combinations of features are shown in the accompanying figures and discussed in this detailed description, many other combinations of the disclosed features are possible. Any feature or element of any embodiment may be used in combination with or substituted for any other feature or element in any other embodiment unless specifically restricted.

“This disclosure includes and contemplates combinations with features and elements known to the average artisan in the art. The embodiments, features, and elements that have been disclosed may also be combined with any conventional features or elements to form a distinct invention as defined by the claims. Any feature or element of any embodiment may also be combined with features or elements from other inventions to form another distinct invention as defined by the claims. Therefore, it will be understood that any of the features shown and/or discussed in the present disclosure may be implemented singularly or in any suitable combination. Accordingly, the embodiments are not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. Also, various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the attached claims.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method of identifying suppliers in a marketplace for the exchange of industrial byproducts, the method comprising: receiving, from a first consumer and at a cloud-based trading system, a request for a first product; mining data from a profile of the first consumer in order to obtain process capability data for the first consumer; generating a process dictionary specific to the first customer based on the process capability data, the process dictionary including at least a first process; automatically identifying, at the trading system and with reference to the process dictionary, a first conversion option for the first product by which the first product can be obtained from a second product via the first process; generating, via a recommendation engine of the trading system, a list including either or both of: direct suppliers offering the first product, or indirect suppliers offering the second product; and displaying the list via a buyer dashboard for the trading system wherein the list indicates whether the supplier is a direct supplier or an indirect supplier, and the required process for converting the second product to the first product is indicated for indirect suppliers.

“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the first consumer and at the cloud-based trading system, one or more product fulfillment parameters; and filtering the list in order to include only those suppliers that match the first consumer’s product fulfillment parameters.

“3. The method of claim 2, wherein the product fulfillment parameters include one or more of industry type, supplier company rating, location of supplier, distance to supplier, processes available to the supplier, processes available to the consumer, cost per ton, minimum order quantity limit, and types of waste.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the process dictionary includes conversion processes available to either or both of the consumer and suppliers.

“5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a first supplier and at the trading system, a first registration profile; determining, at the trading system, a sustainability score for the first supplier, the sustainability score being based in part on a record of the first supplier in meeting one or more sustainability parameters; determining, at the trading system, that the sustainability score is below a minimum score threshold for the marketplace; and causing, at the trading system, the first supplier to be excluded from the list.

“6. The method of claim 5, wherein the sustainability parameters include one or more of energy usage, carbon intensity, greenhouse gas emissions, and green practice certifications.

“7. The method of claim 5, further comprising displaying, at a seller dashboard of the trading system for the first supplier, an alert describing the exclusion and one or more recommendations for improving the sustainability score.

“8. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting one or more industry-specific trends related to re-usability of byproducts in order to promote a circular economy.

“9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the first consumer and by the trading system, a first order for a first amount of the first product from a first supplier identified on the list; displaying, at a seller dashboard of the trading system for the first supplier, a message indicating a confirmation of the first order; and automatically modifying, at the trading system, a quantity of the first product available from the first supplier to reflect the purchase of the first amount by the first consumer.

“10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to: receive, from a first consumer and at a cloud-based trading system, a request for a first product; mine data from a profile of the first consumer in order to obtain process capability data for the first consumer; generate a process dictionary specific to the first customer based on the process capability data, the process dictionary including at least a first process; automatically identify, at the trading system and with reference to the process dictionary, a first conversion option for the first product by which the first product can be obtained from a second product via the first process; generate, via a recommendation engine of the trading system, a list including either or both of: direct suppliers offering the first product, or indirect suppliers offering the second product; and display the list via a buyer dashboard for the trading system wherein the list indicates whether the supplier is a direct supplier or an indirect supplier, and the required process for converting the second product to the first product is indicated for indirect suppliers.

“11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software of claim 10, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computers to: receive, from the first consumer and at the cloud-based trading system, one or more product fulfillment parameters; and filter the list in order to include only those suppliers that match the first consumer’s product fulfillment parameters.

“12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software of claim 11, wherein the product fulfillment parameters include one or more of industry type, supplier company rating, location of supplier, distance to supplier, processes available to the supplier, processes available to the consumer, cost per ton, minimum order quantity limit, and types of waste.

“13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software of claim 10, wherein the process dictionary includes conversion processes available to either or both of the consumer and suppliers.

“14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software of claim 10, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computers to: receive, from a first supplier and at the trading system, a first registration profile; determine, at the trading system, a sustainability score for the first supplier, the sustainability score being based in part on a record of the first supplier in meeting one or more sustainability parameters; determine, at the trading system, that the sustainability score is below a minimum score threshold for the marketplace; and cause, at the trading system, the first supplier to be excluded from the list.

“15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software of claim 14, wherein the sustainability parameters include one or more of energy usage, carbon intensity, greenhouse gas emissions, and green practice certifications.

“16. A system for identifying suppliers in a marketplace for the exchange of industrial byproducts, the system comprising one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to: receive, from a first consumer and at a cloud-based trading system, a request for a first product; mine data from a profile of the first consumer in order to obtain process capability data for the first consumer; generate a process dictionary specific to the first customer based on the process capability data, the process dictionary including at least a first process; automatically identify, at the trading system and with reference to the process dictionary, a first conversion option for the first product by which the first product can be obtained from a second product via the first process; generate, via a recommendation engine of the trading system, a list including either or both of: direct suppliers offering the first product, or indirect suppliers offering the second product; and display the list via a buyer dashboard for the trading system wherein the list indicates whether the supplier is a direct supplier or an indirect supplier, and the required process for converting the second product to the first product is indicated for indirect suppliers.

“17. The system of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computers to: receive, from a first supplier and at the trading system, a first registration profile; determine, at the trading system, a sustainability score for the first supplier, the sustainability score being based in part on a record of the first supplier in meeting one or more sustainability parameters; determine, at the trading system, that the sustainability score is below a minimum score threshold for the marketplace; and cause, at the trading system, the first supplier to be excluded from the list.

“18. The system of claim 17, wherein the sustainability parameters include one or more of energy usage, carbon intensity, greenhouse gas emissions, and green practice certifications.

“19. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computers to display, at a seller dashboard of the trading system for the first supplier, an alert describing the exclusion and one or more recommendations for improving the sustainability score.

“20. The system of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computers to: receive, from the first consumer and by the trading system, a first order for a first amount of the first product from a first supplier identified on the list; display, at a seller dashboard of the trading system for the first supplier, a message indicating a confirmation of the first order; and automatically modify, at the trading system, a quantity of the first product available from the first supplier to reflect the purchase of the first amount by the first consumer.”

For additional information on this patent application, see: Kumar, Mithilesh; Raj, Sahil; Tiwari, Saumya. Sustainable Resources Exchange Method And System. U.S. Patent Application Number 20230067755, filed August 25, 2021 and posted March 2, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20230067755)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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