Fleet Management Wireless Data Exchange for Industrial Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for managing fleets of material handling vehicles in warehouses face challenges with inaccurate and limited data collection, susceptibility to failures due to numerous connection points in wiring harnesses, and the need for improved operator productivity monitoring.
Innovation Solution
A wireless communication system that connects material handling vehicles to a centralized warehouse computer system, allowing bidirectional data exchange for operational and performance data, enabling efficient monitoring and control of vehicle operations, operator performance, and maintenance scheduling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If wiring harnesses and sensors are added to vehicles after manufacture to monitor operations, then operator performance and vehicle data collection are enabled, but system reliability deteriorates due to susceptibility to failure from numerous connection points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the monitoring function from external add-on sensors and integrates it into the vehicle's existing controller area network (CAN) system. By utilizing the vehicle's built-in controllers and communication infrastructure, the system eliminates the need for separate wiring harnesses and connection points, thereby maintaining system reliability while enabling comprehensive operator performance monitoring through parameters like acceleration, deceleration, and vehicle state data already generated by the vehicle's control systems.
2Quantity of substance
If ad-on sensing systems with numerous connection points are installed, then data collection capability is improved, but device complexity increases and susceptibility to failure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the vehicle's existing CAN communication system serve multiple functions: its primary function for vehicle control and a secondary function for operator performance monitoring and fleet management. By extracting performance parameters from the same communication infrastructure already used for vehicle operations, the system achieves comprehensive data collection without adding separate sensing systems, connection points, or communication channels, thereby avoiding increased device complexity.
3Productivity
If comprehensive monitoring of vehicle operations and operator performance is implemented, then productivity improvement is enabled, but loss of time for data processing and analysis increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary processing of operator performance data by the vehicle's onboard controller, which continuously monitors and stores performance parameters in structured formats during normal operations. This preliminary action organizes raw data into meaningful performance metrics before transmission to the fleet management system, reducing the computational burden and data processing time required at the central facility, thereby enabling productivity analysis without significant time loss.
4Ease of operation
If post-manufacture sensors are added to vehicles, then operational monitoring is enabled, but measurement precision deteriorates due to limited information and inaccuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates accurate copies of vehicle operational parameters by extracting data from the vehicle's existing control systems and sensors that were originally designed for vehicle operation, not monitoring. By utilizing the same sensors and controllers that generate authentic operational data for vehicle control, the system obtains precise measurements of acceleration, deceleration, and vehicle state without introducing measurement errors associated with separate monitoring sensors.
Data Source
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AI summary
Operational data are transmitted, by each of a plurality of material handling vehicles at a facility, into a communications system. A computer connected to the communications system processes the operational data and presents reports on a monitor screen. The computer operates in an impact report mode which provides reports about material handling vehicle impacts with objects, a maintenance report mode for reports pertaining to vehicle maintenance, a verify report mode presenting reports about vehicle inspections, and a metrics report mode for reports describing amounts of work performed by the vehicles, and an overview mode summarizes information from each of other report modes. Each report mode has different display modes which summarize data for a group of the vehicles or provide detailed information about one particular vehicle or one specific vehicle operator.