Industrial Truck Lighting Patterns for Vehicle State Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial trucks lack efficient means to communicate vehicle state information visually, as their lighting systems are not governed by statutory road traffic regulations and do not effectively convey parameters like battery state, service requirements, or operational readiness.
Innovation Solution
An industrial truck with a lighting device comprising vehicle lights and a control unit that captures vehicle state parameters to actuate the lights in patterns, such as color, luminosity, and rhythmic sequences, using existing lights for non-road vehicle operation without additional fixtures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If additional vehicle lights are mounted on the industrial truck to communicate vehicle state information, then the information communication capability is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies multi-functionality by enabling existing vehicle lights to serve dual purposes: their original function (illumination for operation) and a new function (communicating vehicle state information through controlled patterns). The control unit modulates the existing lights to display different states such as battery charge level, service requirements, and operational status without adding new light fixtures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the industrial truck's own existing lighting infrastructure to communicate its state, rather than requiring separate dedicated indicator lights. The vehicle lights essentially serve themselves by being controlled to provide both illumination and information display functions, eliminating the need for additional communication-specific components.
2Loss of information
If dedicated indicator lights are added to display vehicle state parameters, then the visibility of vehicle information is improved, but the ease of operation and simplicity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The existing vehicle lights are made multi-functional by programming the control unit to modulate them for information display. The same lights that provide operational illumination now also convey vehicle state information through specific patterns, colors, and timing sequences, maintaining simplicity while improving information visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the illumination function and information display function into a single lighting system. Rather than having separate indicator lights, the control unit combines both purposes by controlling the existing lights to provide ambient/working illumination while simultaneously encoding vehicle state information through modulated patterns.
3Device complexity
If existing vehicle lights are used to communicate state information through patterns, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision and clarity of information transmission may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit segments the information transmission by dividing it into distinct temporal and spatial patterns. Different vehicle states are communicated through specific sequences (e.g., flashing rates, duration patterns, color sequences), allowing clear differentiation between various parameters such as battery charge levels, service requirements, and operational status despite using the same physical light sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses periodic modulation of the vehicle lights to encode information. By varying the timing, duration, and repetition patterns of light emission, the control unit transmits multiple distinct states through a single light source, maintaining clarity of information while avoiding the need for multiple dedicated indicators.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial truck having a lighting device, a logistics system having multiple industrial trucks as well as methods for operating the lighting device as well as the logistics system. The industrial truck includes at least one vehicle light and a controller for actuating the vehicle light. The controller is configured to capture at least one vehicle state parameter and to actuate the vehicle light in a pattern based on the at least one vehicle state parameter.