Warehouse Machine Maintenance via Acoustic Fingerprint Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for maintaining warehouse machinery via wireless connections fail to ensure that service technicians have visual contact with the machines, violating regulatory requirements.
Innovation Solution
The method ensures visibility by using optical and acoustic recognition to determine the position and orientation of a mobile computer relative to the machinery, allowing control only when the technician is in close proximity, using built-in microphones and cameras to compare fingerprints of system noises and patterns with stored data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If wireless connections (radio/WiFi) are used for maintenance, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability of visual contact verification deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/wired connection system with an acoustic field-based system. The service technician's mobile device captures acoustic signals (sound waves) from the machine, and the central controller processes these acoustic fingerprints to verify proximity and visual contact, substituting physical cable connections with acoustic field detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces acoustic signals as an intermediary between the service technician and the machine. Instead of directly verifying visual contact, the system uses acoustic fingerprints captured by the mobile device as a mediator to infer the technician's proximity and line-of-sight to the machine.
2Reliability
If wired connections are used for maintenance, then reliability of visual contact verification is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/wired connection system with an acoustic field-based system. The service technician's mobile device captures acoustic signals (sound waves) from the machine, and the central controller processes these acoustic fingerprints to verify proximity and visual contact, substituting physical cable connections with acoustic field detection.
3Ease of operation
If radio-based connections are used for maintenance, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision of technician position deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces radio-based positional determination with acoustic field analysis. The mobile device captures acoustic signals from the machine, and the central controller uses acoustic fingerprint matching to precisely determine the technician's position and orientation relative to the machine, providing more accurate spatial information than radio triangulation.
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
This approach simplifies and secures maintenance by ensuring the technician's visibility and proximity, enabling automated control and efficient access, while preventing unauthorized remote access and facilitating error documentation and expert support.
Implementation Method 1
the acoustic recognition is effected by means of a microphone of the mobile computer which enables the central controller to compare an acoustic fingerprint stored in the central controller with instantaneous acoustic recordings of the noises of the respective system
Implementation Method 2
the optical recognition is effected by means of a camera of the mobile computer which enables the central controller to compare an optical fingerprint stored in the central controller with instantaneous optical recordings of patterns of the respective system
Data Source
AI summary
A method for maintaining, commissioning and checking systems in warehouses, where a service technician has a view of the respective system and makes wireless contact with the controller of the system via a mobile computer in order to take over control thereof, where the taking over of control by the mobile computer is permitted by a central controller only if the service technician can have visual contact with the corresponding system, for which purpose the determination of the position and/or the orientation of the mobile computer of the service technician with respect to the respective system is effected via optical and/or acoustic recognition of a fingerprint of the system.