Industrial Vehicle Harness Tag Control for Safety State Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional enterprise software and management systems do not effectively track, communicate, or provide insight into the availability, health, status, and suitability of materials handling vehicles for performing required work, leading to disruptions in operations and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A system that controls industrial vehicles using working environment tags, incorporating a tag reader on the vehicle, a tag in the operator's harness, and an information processing device that communicates with the tag reader to modify the vehicle's state based on the detected tag, ensuring proper operation and safety protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional enterprise software is used to manage materials handling vehicles, then the system is simple and easy to operate, but it cannot effectively track, communicate, or provide insight into vehicle availability, health, status, and suitability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces wireless transceivers, tag readers, and information processing devices as intermediary components between the materials handling vehicles and the enterprise software system. These intermediaries capture, process, and transmit vehicle status information (location, health, availability) to the management system, enabling effective tracking and communication without fundamentally altering the core enterprise software architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The materials handling vehicles are equipped with self-monitoring capabilities through onboard sensors, transceivers, and information processing devices that automatically track and report their own status, health, and location. This self-service approach eliminates the need for manual tracking and provides continuous, real-time information to the management system.
2Productivity
If manual monitoring of materials handling vehicles is implemented, then the system remains simple, but operational disruptions occur due to lack of real-time visibility into vehicle availability and status
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous monitoring of materials handling vehicles through wireless transceivers and tag readers that operate without interruption. The system continuously tracks vehicle location, status, and availability, ensuring real-time visibility and enabling immediate response to operational needs, thereby maintaining uninterrupted productive action.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where vehicle status information is continuously captured by onboard sensors and transceivers, transmitted to the information processing device, and used to update the enterprise software management system. This closed-loop feedback enables real-time decision-making and operational optimization.
3Reliability
If no automated tag detection system is used, then the vehicle control system is simple, but safety protocols and operational procedures cannot be automatically enforced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by requiring operators to wear tagged harnesses before operating materials handling vehicles. The tag reader on the vehicle detects the operator's presence and status before allowing vehicle operation, ensuring that safety protocols are verified in advance. The system can also pre-validate operator credentials and vehicle readiness before permitting operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system that controls an industrial vehicle responsive to encountering working environment tags comprises a tag reader mounted on an industrial vehicle. Further, a tag is incorporated into a harness that is to be worn by an operator of the industrial vehicle. An information processing device on the industrial vehicle is communicably coupled to the tag reader and comprises a processor that is programmed to receive an identifier of the tag in the harness, access a predetermined action based upon the identifier of the detected tag, and communicate information across a vehicle network bus to an electronic component of the industrial vehicle to perform the predetermined action. The predetermined action automatically modifies a working state of the industrial vehicle to a first action when the harness worn by the operator is not clipped in, and a second action when the harness worn by the operator is clipped in.