Wireless Liftgate Controller with Motion Feedback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional controllers for liftgates and wheelchair lifts lack advanced motion control and monitoring capabilities, leading to unintended movements due to simple toggle switches and a lack of real-time operational feedback, necessitating a more sophisticated control system.
Innovation Solution
A wireless control system that includes a field subsystem on the vehicle with a lift gate, capable of receiving operator inputs and sensor data, and a remotely located station that analyzes and processes this data to provide feedback and determine maintenance schedules, ensuring safe and efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional toggle switches are used for lift control, then the control system is simple and easy to operate, but the system lacks motion monitoring capability and is prone to unintended movements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a controller that monitors lift motion and provides feedback signals to detect unintended movements. The system continuously tracks the lift position and compares it with expected positions based on operator inputs, enabling real-time detection of abnormal movements and providing feedback to prevent unsafe operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces simple mechanical toggle switches with an electronic control system that includes a controller, sensors, and wireless communication components. This substitution enables sophisticated monitoring and control capabilities while maintaining ease of operation through wireless interfaces and automated safety features.
2Reliability
If a controller with motion monitoring is implemented, then operational safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller is designed as a multi-functional device that integrates motion monitoring, wireless communication, diagnostic capabilities, and maintenance scheduling functions. By consolidating multiple functions into a single controller, the system achieves enhanced safety and monitoring without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller automatically performs diagnostic functions and generates maintenance schedules without requiring external intervention. The system self-monitors its own operation, detects potential issues, and provides maintenance recommendations, reducing the complexity burden on operators while maintaining high reliability.
3Loss of information
If wireless communication and remote monitoring are added, then real-time operational feedback is improved, but the device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless communication system operates periodically rather than continuously, transmitting data at scheduled intervals or when significant changes occur. This periodic operation provides real-time operational feedback while minimizing energy consumption by keeping the communication module in low-power states between transmissions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transmits only critical operational data and status information rather than continuous streams of all sensor data. By selectively transmitting only the most important information (partial action), the system achieves effective remote monitoring while reducing communication energy consumption and data processing requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A controller for a lift, includes a communication module configured to wirelessly transmit data relating to the personnel operating and operating conditions of a lift to a remotely located station. The remote station wirelessly sends satisfaction or non-satisfaction messages to the lift controller in response to received input data or sensed conditions relating to the operation of the lift. The lift controller includes circuitry for obtaining and/or storing the sensed conditions and received input data, where the communication module then transmits this information to a remote station using a wireless network either public or private depending on the desired application. In accordance with one implementation, the sensed conditions can include a lift state, a motion of the lift, a load applied to the lift, a lift temperature, a hydraulic fluid pressure, a wait time for recharging a hydraulic pump, an operator safety condition and a number of cycles of operation of the lift. The operator safety conditions may include, for example, whether the operator is using both hands for inputting a command into the lift controller, whether the vehicle is properly parked, whether the operator is off a deck of the lift, and whether the operator is clear of a projected motion pay of the lift.