Industrial Vehicle Direction Control for High-Speed Object Detection

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing industrial vehicles face issues with maintaining accurate travel direction recognition by the controller when the vehicle speed is high, leading to potential discrepancies between the recognized and actual travel directions, which can result in missed object detection by the object detector.

Innovation Solution

The industrial vehicle is equipped with a travel direction detector, a vehicle speed sensor, a travel direction determiner, an object detector, and a controller that sets a particular state when the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a first threshold value. In this state, the controller maintains recognition of the travel direction before a change until the vehicle speed drops below the first threshold value, ensuring consistent object detection based on the previous travel direction.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If the controller switches travel modes immediately when the direction lever is operated, then the travel mode responds quickly to driver input, but the controller may recognize the wrong travel direction when vehicle speed is high, causing object detection failures

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveResponse speed of travel mode switchingVSAvoidAccuracy of travel direction recognition
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies dynamics by making the travel mode switching behavior adaptive based on vehicle speed. When vehicle speed is below a threshold, the controller switches modes immediately upon direction lever operation. When vehicle speed exceeds the threshold, the controller delays mode switching until the vehicle actually changes direction. This dynamic adjustment of switching criteria based on operating conditions resolves the contradiction between fast response and accurate recognition.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the parameter of mode switching timing based on the parameter of vehicle speed. By using vehicle speed as a conditional parameter, the system adjusts its response behavior: at low speeds, immediate switching is safe and provides quick response; at high speeds, delayed switching ensures accurate direction recognition. This parameter-based adaptation resolves the contradiction between response speed and reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If the controller maintains the previous travel mode when vehicle speed is high, then object detection accuracy is maintained, but the response to driver's direction change command is delayed

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveAccuracy of travel direction recognitionVSAvoidTime delay in travel mode switching
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the mode switching strategy based on vehicle speed conditions. At high speeds, it prioritizes accuracy by maintaining the previous mode until actual direction change occurs. At low speeds, it prioritizes responsiveness by switching immediately. This dynamic strategy minimizes time loss only when it is safe to do so, resolving the contradiction between reliability and time delay.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The controller continuously monitors vehicle speed and actual travel direction as feedback signals. When the vehicle speed exceeds the threshold, the controller uses feedback from the actual direction change (detected via vehicle speed and direction sensors) to trigger mode switching, ensuring accuracy. This feedback mechanism ensures that mode switching occurs at the appropriate moment, resolving the contradiction between maintaining accuracy and responding timely.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP4242168B1Industrial vehicle
Publication Date: 2025.06.18 TOYOTA INDUSTRIES CORP
  • EP4242168B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4242168B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4242168B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An industrial vehicle (10) includes a travel direction detector (90) configured to detect a travel direction of the industrial vehicle (10), a vehicle speed sensor (62) configured to detect a vehicle speed of the industrial vehicle (10), a travel direction determiner (89), an object detector (131), and a controller (81). The controller (81) is set in a particular state when the vehicle speed of the industrial vehicle (10) is equal to or higher than a first vehicle speed threshold value. In the particular state, even when a travel direction command is changed by the travel direction determiner (89), the controller (81) recognizes that a traveling state of the industrial vehicle (10) before the travel direction command is changed continues and the object detector (131) operates based on the traveling state of the industrial vehicle (10) before the travel direction command is changed.