Industrial Truck Priority Control for Logistics Bottlenecks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for managing industrial trucks in logistics facilities are limited in their ability to efficiently coordinate the movement of multiple trucks within a local area, failing to prioritize tasks effectively based on the type, weight, and urgency of goods being transported, leading to suboptimal operation and potential bottlenecks.
Innovation Solution
A procedure and system where industrial truck driving assistance devices are connected to a central control device, allowing for wireless transmission of movement commands and prioritization information, enabling trucks to adjust speed and routing based on the importance of goods and operational demands, ensuring that higher-priority trucks are given precedence over lower-priority ones, especially at narrow points and during peak times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If industrial trucks are moved at high speed to transport goods quickly, then productivity is improved, but congestion and bottlenecks occur in local areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic speed adjustment by assigning different priority levels to industrial trucks based on real-time task urgency and goods importance. The control device dynamically modifies driving control commands to allow high-priority trucks to exceed standard speed limits while constraining low-priority trucks, enabling speed adaptation to changing operational conditions without causing congestion
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the speed parameter of industrial trucks based on priority markings. The control device transmits modified driving control commands that adjust speed limits according to the priority level assigned to each truck, allowing critical goods transport to proceed faster while non-critical transport maintains lower speeds to avoid bottlenecks
2Productivity
If multiple industrial trucks operate simultaneously in a local area, then productivity is improved, but coordination and priority management become complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a central control device as an intermediary between multiple industrial trucks and the facility management system. This control device receives task information, determines priority levels, and transmits modified driving control commands to appropriate trucks, simplifying the coordination complexity by centralizing the decision-making process rather than requiring direct truck-to-truck communication or complex distributed algorithms
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different control strategies to different trucks based on their individual priority markings. Each truck receives customized driving control commands tailored to its specific task urgency and goods importance, allowing the system to manage multiple trucks with differentiated control policies rather than uniform management, thereby reducing overall coordination complexity
3Productivity
If priority-based speed adjustment is implemented, then critical goods transport is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies priority-based speed adjustment selectively rather than universally. Only high-priority trucks transporting critical goods receive modified driving control commands allowing excessive speed beyond standard limits, while low-priority trucks maintain normal speed constraints. This partial application of the speed enhancement minimizes overall energy consumption while still achieving improved delivery speed for critical goods
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates inter alia to a method for controlling at least two mobile industrial trucks (30.1, 30.2, 30.3, 30.4, 30.5) in an area of a goods logistics facility (10), wherein the industrial trucks (30.1, 30.2, 30.3, 30.4, 30.5) each have an industrial truck driving control device for controlling the driving movements of the respective industrial truck (30.1, 30.2, 30.3, 30.4, 30.5), wherein the industrial truck driving control devices are each, preferably wirelessly, connected to a, in particular central and/or stationary, control device (40) of the goods logistics facility (10). The control device (40) of the goods logistics system (10) sends individual travel control commands and/or individual industrial truck markings to the respective industrial truck travel control devices of the industrial trucks (30.1, 30.2, 30.3, 30.4, 30.5) transmitted, so that in a local area (25) of the area of the goods logistics facility (10), in which the industrial trucks (30.1, 30.2, 30.3, 30.4, 30.5) are moved, preferably driven, simultaneously, the industrial trucks (30.1, 30.2, 30.3, 30.4, 30.5) are moved, in particular driven, or are movable, in particular driveable, in different ways depending on the individual driving motion control commands and/or depending on the individual industrial truck markings.