Warehouse Vehicle Intersection Navigation With Traffic Clearance Rules

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Solution Overview

Problem

In warehouse environments, materials handling vehicles face challenges in navigating intersections safely and efficiently, leading to delays and deadlocks due to the lack of effective traffic management systems that can coordinate the movement of semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles with manual operators and obstacles.

Innovation Solution

A traffic management system that includes a navigation subsystem in materials handling vehicles, which uses obstacle detection and pre-positioned warehouse object data to navigate through intersections, combined with a remote or local server that grants permission to proceed based on clearance of prior requests and exit notifications, ensuring safe and efficient traffic flow.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If materials handling vehicles navigate intersections without a traffic management system, then vehicles can move freely and quickly, but delays and deadlocks occur due to lack of coordination

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetraffic flow efficiencyVSAvoiddelay at intersections

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

A centralized traffic management server acts as an intermediary between materials handling vehicles and intersections. The server receives requests from vehicles, determines safe passage based on current intersection status and pre-positioned object data, and grants permission to proceed. This mediator coordinates vehicle movements to prevent deadlocks while maintaining efficient traffic flow.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-positioning warehouse object data (such as fixed obstacles, storage racks, and infrastructure) in the database before vehicles arrive at intersections. When a vehicle requests to enter an intersection, the system has already prepared the contextual information needed to make a safe passage determination, enabling rapid decision-making without delays.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If a traffic management system is implemented to coordinate vehicle movement, then safety and efficiency improve, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafe navigationVSAvoidtraffic management system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Materials handling vehicles autonomously generate navigation requests and receive permission decisions from the traffic management server without requiring manual intervention. The obstacle detection subsystem on each vehicle independently detects obstacles and provides data to the server, which then autonomously determines whether to grant passage. This self-service approach enhances safety while keeping the system architecture relatively simple.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback loops where vehicles continuously report their status and obstacle detections to the traffic management server, which responds with permission decisions. The server monitors intersection clearance status and adjusts subsequent permission grants based on this feedback. This feedback mechanism ensures safe navigation while maintaining manageable system complexity through standardized communication protocols.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Reliability

If manual intervention is used to resolve intersection conflicts, then safety can be maintained, but productivity decreases due to the need for human operators

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety at intersectionsVSAvoidoperational efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual mechanical intervention with an automated electronic traffic management system. The centralized server uses computer algorithms to analyze vehicle requests, obstacle data, and intersection status, then automatically grants or denies passage permissions. This substitution of manual operations with automated electronic control maintains safety through consistent rule application while significantly improving productivity by eliminating human response delays and enabling parallel processing of multiple vehicle requests.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS10962985B2Traffic management for materials handling vehicles in a warehouse environment

Publication Date: 2021.03.30 CROWN EQUIP CORP

AI summary

Systems and methods for a materials handling vehicle to navigate a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment including a navigation subsystem configured to cooperate with a traction control unit, a braking system, a steering assembly, and an obstacle detection subsystem to: determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection; associate with the intersection pre-positioned warehouse object data, a set of road rules, and obstacle data; and navigate the materials handling vehicle through the intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.