Onboard Lift Documentation Access for Remote Worksites
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Solution Overview
Problem
Work equipment such as lifts and telehandlers require decentralized systems for tracking, tasking, monitoring, and servicing, leading to inefficiencies and challenges in accessing and managing documentation across worksites, especially in remote locations without network access.
Innovation Solution
An onboard documentation system for lift devices that includes a controller to store and provide documentation locally, establishing a local mesh network to connect with other work machines, allowing for secure access and updating of documents based on user access codes, and enabling communication via low-energy wireless networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If decentralized media and systems are used to store and retrieve documentation, then flexibility and distribution are improved, but access efficiency and documentation management become problematic especially in remote locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple decentralized documentation systems into a unified onboard documentation system that integrates local storage, wireless communication capabilities, and user interface components into a single cohesive system mounted on the work machine, thereby maintaining distribution flexibility while improving access efficiency through centralized control and immediate local retrieval
Solution Approach 2:
The onboard documentation system acts as an intermediary between external documentation sources and users, receiving documentation via wireless networks or direct connections, storing it locally, and providing it to users through various interfaces, thereby eliminating the need for users to access multiple decentralized external systems while maintaining the benefits of distributed storage
2Quantity of substance
If documentation is stored externally or on centralized servers, then storage capacity is improved, but access speed and reliability in remote locations deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by downloading and storing documentation locally on the work machine before it is needed, so that when users require documentation, it is immediately available from local storage without requiring network access or external connections, thereby eliminating access delays in remote locations
Solution Approach 2:
The onboard documentation system embeds a complete documentation storage and retrieval system within the work machine itself, nesting the documentation storage capacity inside the machine's existing structure and power system, thereby providing both adequate storage capacity and immediate local access without requiring external infrastructure
3Ease of operation
If documentation is made accessible to multiple users, then usability and collaboration are improved, but security and access control become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements local quality by providing different levels of documentation access to different user categories (operators, maintainers, managers) based on their specific needs and authorization levels, with each user type receiving appropriately filtered and controlled access to relevant documentation without requiring a complex centralized authorization system
4Reliability
If documentation is stored locally on the lift device, then access speed and reliability are improved, but device complexity and initial setup requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The onboard documentation system implements self-service by automatically receiving, storing, and organizing documentation without requiring manual configuration or intervention, with the system autonomously managing file transfers, local storage, and user access provisioning, thereby reducing the complexity burden on users despite the added functionality
Data Source
AI summary
An onboard documentation system for a lift device comprises a controller coupled to the lift device, the controller configured to receive documentation associated with the lift device, store the documentation locally on the lift device, receive a request for the documentation from a user, and provide the documentation stored locally on the lift device to the user in response to the request.