Transparent Dash Window for Elevated Order Picker Visibility
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing materials handling vehicles face challenges in providing adequate downward visibility for operators when elevated, requiring head movement outside the vehicle perimeter, which can be hazardous and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A materials handling vehicle with a mast assembly featuring telescoping sections and a transparent window integrated into the dash, allowing operators to maintain visibility without leaving the vehicle, with control devices positioned between the telescoping rails for safe and efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the operator compartment is elevated to retrieve items from shelves, then the operator can access higher locations, but downward visibility is blocked requiring the operator to move their head outside the vehicle perimeter
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies transparency (optical property) to the dash material, transforming it from an opaque obstacle to a transparent window. This allows light to pass through the dash, enabling the operator to see downward through the horizontal support surface without moving their head outside the vehicle perimeter, thus resolving the visibility loss caused by elevation.
2Loss of information
If the operator moves their head outside the vehicle perimeter to see downward, then visibility is improved, but operator safety is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
By making the dash transparent, the operator can maintain their head within the protected vehicle perimeter while still achieving unobstructed downward visibility through the transparent window, thus eliminating the safety hazard associated with moving the head outside the vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The transparent window acts as an intermediary between the operator and the external environment, allowing visual information to pass through while maintaining the physical barrier that protects the operator. The dash material serves as a mediator that enables visibility without compromising safety.
3Strength
If a traditional opaque dash is used to support packages, then structural support is provided, but the operator cannot see through it when elevated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the optical property of the dash material from opaque to transparent. The transparent window is formed in the dash, allowing light transmission while the surrounding dash structure maintains its strength to support packages on the horizontal support surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The dash is segmented into a transparent window portion and an opaque structural portion. The transparent window provides visibility, while the surrounding dash material maintains structural integrity for supporting packages, separating the visual function from the structural support function.
Data Source
AI summary
A materials handling vehicle including a power unit supported on wheels, and a mast assembly supported on the power unit. The mast assembly includes four or more telescoping sections defined by pairs of laterally spaced rails. An operator compartment is supported on the mast assembly for vertical movement relative to the mast assembly and includes a front wall defining a side of the operator compartment adjacent to the mast assembly. The laterally spaced rails have a height that is generally equal to the height of the front wall. A dash is located adjacent to the operator compartment.