Mobile Safety Vehicle Control for Cage-Free Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional manufacturing systems with safety cages restrict access and efficiency, as machines must be enclosed to ensure safety, limiting logistical flexibility and person-machine interaction.
Innovation Solution
A system featuring a vehicle equipped with sensors, cameras, and microphones that determines the position of a person and automatically puts machines within a safety zone into a safe state, eliminating the need for cages by maintaining a safe distance and reducing machine speeds, allowing unrestricted access and improved logistical methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If safety cages are used to enclose machines, then safety of persons is improved, but access to machines and logistical flexibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the safety function from the physical cage structure and relocates it to a mobile detection vehicle that patrols the area. The vehicle equipped with sensors (cameras, microphones, LIDAR) detects persons and communicates their positions to machine controls, which then adjust speeds or stop accordingly. This removes the need for fixed enclosures while maintaining safety through dynamic monitoring and responsive machine control.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety system transitions from a static cage structure to a dynamic mobile vehicle that continuously moves through the workspace. The vehicle's position, detection range, and machine safety zones are all dynamic variables that change in real-time. Machines dynamically adjust their operational state based on the vehicle's detected person positions, creating a flexible yet safe operational environment.
2Reliability
If machines are enclosed in safety cages, then safety of persons is improved, but productivity and logistical efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The safety function is extracted from fixed enclosures and assigned to a mobile patrol vehicle, freeing up workspace and eliminating barriers to material flow. Logistics vehicles and personnel can move freely through the area without navigating around or through cage structures, improving overall system productivity while safety is maintained through the vehicle's detection and machine control responses.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile vehicle serves multiple functions: it patrols the workspace, detects persons using various sensors, determines safety zones, and communicates with machine controls. This single multi-functional unit replaces the static safety cage while adding value through active monitoring and adaptive machine control, thereby improving both safety and productivity simultaneously.
3Reliability
If all machines are put into safety state when a person is detected, then safety is improved, but operational time and productivity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying a uniform safety state to all machines when any person is detected anywhere in the workspace, the system calculates specific safety zones around each detected person. Only machines located within these calculated safety zones are put into safety states, while other machines continue operating normally. This localized approach maintains safety for affected areas while preserving productivity in unaffected areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies safety measures partially rather than universally - only to the extent necessary for protection. By calculating distance-based safety zones and selectively controlling only those machines within the zones, the system avoids excessive safety actions that would unnecessarily stop all machines. This partial application of safety measures optimizes the balance between protection and productivity.
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
Enhances safety without cages, enabling effective logistical operations and reducing noise pollution by dynamically adjusting machine states based on person presence, ensuring safety and efficient operation.
Implementation Method 1
the vehicle including at least one sensor for ascertaining the relative position of a person, in particular a sensor for ascertaining the distance between the vehicle and the person and for ascertaining the angle between the driving direction of the vehicle and the connecting line between the person and the vehicle
Implementation Method 2
the vehicle having a position acquisition means for sensing the position of the vehicle, especially a GPS system or a triangulation system for ascertaining the position of the vehicle
Implementation Method 3
the vehicle has a loudspeaker and a multitude of microphones, especially a microphone array and/or an acoustic camera, the vehicle in particular including a means for ascertaining a control signal for the loudspeaker, so that noise is suppressed at the position of the person
Data Source
AI summary
A system, in particular a manufacturing system, the system including machines, especially stationary and mobile machines, and at least one vehicle and a control, the vehicle having at least one sensor for ascertaining the relative position of a person, in particular a sensor for ascertaining the distance between the vehicle and the person, and for ascertaining the angle between the driving direction of the vehicle and the connecting line between the person and the vehicle, the vehicle having a position acquisition means for sensing the position of the vehicle, in particular a GPS system or a triangulation system for ascertaining the position of the vehicle, the control including a means for ascertaining the safety zone around the person and the machines situated therein, a data transmission channel being provided between the control and the machines.