Fleet Operator Profile Management for Work Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the construction industry, operators of work vehicles, such as articulated dump trucks, face frustration due to the need to remember and enter multiple unique access codes for different vehicles, leading to inefficient operation.
Innovation Solution
A fleet management system that uses a remote processing system to receive and process operator identification and permissions data, enabling a single operator identifier for multiple vehicles, allowing operators to access and operate various work vehicles with ease by verifying their credentials and applying preferences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each work vehicle has a unique access code, then vehicle security and identification are improved, but operator convenience and system simplicity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal access system where a single operator identifier can access multiple work vehicles through a fleet management system. The remote processing system stores operator profiles and permissions data, allowing one identifier to authenticate across the entire fleet rather than requiring separate codes for each vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The fleet management system with remote processing acts as an intermediary between the operator identifier and the work vehicle controllers. It receives the identifier, verifies permissions, and communicates with the vehicle controller to enable or disable operation, eliminating the need for direct vehicle-specific access codes.
2Reliability
If multiple access codes are required for different vehicles, then individual vehicle control is improved, but operator efficiency and time consumption deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes operator profiles with permission sets that define which vehicles each operator can access. This preliminary configuration allows the remote processing system to quickly verify permissions without requiring operators to manually select or switch between multiple access codes during vehicle transitions.
Solution Approach 2:
A single operator identifier serves multiple functions by providing authenticated access to multiple different work vehicles based on pre-configured permissions, eliminating the need for operators to carry and manage multiple vehicle-specific access codes.
3Ease of operation
If a centralized fleet management system is implemented, then operator access simplification is improved, but system complexity and data processing requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex permission verification and authentication logic from the individual vehicle controllers and places it in a remote processing system. This allows the vehicle controllers to remain relatively simple while the centralized system handles the complex data processing, operator profile management, and permission verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The remote processing system serves as an intermediary that handles the complexity of fleet management data processing, operator profile storage, and permission verification. It communicates with both the operator input devices and the vehicle controllers, shielding the vehicle control systems from the complexity of centralized fleet management while providing simplified access control.
Data Source
AI summary
A fleet management control system and method are disclosed for a plurality of work vehicles each having a respective work tool. The work vehicles are associated with an owner and a plurality of operators. The fleet management system includes a source of input data that provides operator identification data for the work vehicles and operator permissions data that indicates at least which of the work vehicles each of the operators is permitted to operate. The fleet management system includes a remote processing system having a processor that receives and processes the operator identification and operator permissions data, outputs fleet management data that includes a fleet operator profile for the work vehicles based on the operator identification and operator permissions data, and communicates the fleet management data to a controller of each of the work vehicles.