Forklift Sensor Contour Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing environmental sensor devices on industrial trucks require time-consuming manual input to differentiate between truck components and external objects, leading to unnecessary vehicle reactions when truck parts are mistakenly identified as obstacles.
Innovation Solution
The environmental sensor device autonomously determines the contour of the industrial truck within its monitoring area by using the vertical distance from its mounting position to the driving floor, allowing it to distinguish between truck components and external objects, thus avoiding manual contour entry and preventing false reactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual entry of the truck's contour is performed on the environmental sensor device, then the sensor device can differentiate between truck components and external objects, but the process becomes extremely time-consuming and requires laborious adjustment when vehicle changes occur
Solution Approach 1:
The environmental sensor device automatically determines the contour of the industrial truck by itself during a teach-in process. The control device enables the sensor device to autonomously identify and store the truck's contour data, eliminating the need for manual contour entry and adjustment when vehicle configurations change.
Solution Approach 2:
The contour of the industrial truck is determined and stored in advance during a teach-in process before actual operation. This preliminary determination allows the sensor device to quickly differentiate between truck components and external objects during normal operation without requiring time-consuming manual adjustments.
2Reliability
If the sensor monitoring area is aligned with the running floor to detect objects, then obstacle detection capability is improved, but parts of the industrial truck itself are detected as obstacles triggering false vehicle reactions
Solution Approach 1:
The contour data of the industrial truck is extracted from the sensor monitoring area and stored separately in the control device. During operation, the environmental sensor device uses this extracted contour information to distinguish between truck components and actual obstacles, preventing false vehicle reactions while maintaining comprehensive obstacle detection.
3Reliability
If the environmental sensor device monitors the sensor monitoring area for objects, then safety is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for contour determination and object differentiation
Solution Approach 1:
The contour determination function is merged with the existing environmental sensor device and control device of the industrial truck. The control device that already manages truck operations is extended to include contour storage and object differentiation capabilities, avoiding the need for separate complex systems while maintaining safety monitoring.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution eliminates the need for manual contour input, enabling the sensor device to accurately differentiate truck parts from external objects, reducing false triggers and simplifying the process of adapting to changes in the truck's configuration.
Implementation Method 1
the environmental sensor device is designed to detect objects in the sensor monitoring area and to determine distance information of the detected objects
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a forklift truck (1) with an environmental sensor device (10) mounted at a mounting point (11) on the forklift truck (1) and having a sensor monitoring area (SB) oriented towards a running surface (FB), wherein the environmental sensor device (10) is configured to detect objects in the sensor monitoring area (SB) and to determine distance information (AI) of the detected objects. The environmental sensor device (10) is configured to identify objects detected in the sensor monitoring area (SB) as contours (K) belonging to the forklift truck (1). The environmental sensor device (10) is further configured to treat the contours (K) belonging to the forklift truck (1) as irrelevant during environmental monitoring.