Industrial Vehicle Operator Authentication Using A Removable Storage Device

Abstract

Operation of the industrial vehicle is managed by devices onboard the vehicle. One such management device includes a portable memory device issued to a person authorized to operate the vehicle. The vehicle control system, by reading data from the portable memory device, determines whether the person is permitted to operate that particular industrial vehicle and if so enables that operation. The portable memory device also can be used to transfer operating data between the control system onboard the vehicle and a remote computer.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 13 / 524,610 filed on Jun. 15, 2012, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.STATEMENT CONCERNING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not applicable.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]1. Field of the Invention[0004]The present invention relates to industrial vehicles, such as lift trucks; and more particularly monitoring and managing the operation of the industrial vehicles.[0005]2. Description of the Related Art[0006]Material handling vehicles are powered vehicles commonly used in a facility, such as warehouse, a factory or a store, to transport materials and finished goods. A human operator either sits on a seat or stands on a platform of the vehicle and manipulates controls which govern movement through the facility and operation of a load carrier on which items being transported are placed. Examples of material handling vehicles i...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a device that can receive signals from different components on an industrial vehicle and identify which component those signals are from. This is done by using a mapping table that connects the inputs of the device to the components. The device then sends the information it receives to a data acquisition module, which can identify the vehicle component and collect the necessary data. This allows for easier communication and monitoring of the vehicle's components.

Problems solved by technology

Some AGV's followed a wire buried in the floor and thus were limited to traveling along a fixed path defined by that wire.

In warehousing operations, material quantities and inventory turnover rates are increasing rapidly.

Running the wiring harness throughout the vehicle is time consuming and expensive because of the number of connection points.

Such a local area communication network was relatively expensive and sometimes too costly for small facilities or those with only a few vehicles.

Although a person may have received basic training for a material handling vehicle, his or her operation may be limited until a level of experience has been acquired.

For example, until a person has operated a vehicle for a specified number of hours the speed at which his / her vehicle may travel or certain other function may be limited.

Images