Electronic badge to authenticate and track industrial vehicle operator

• US 10,558,907 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2019
• Issued: 02/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
• Original Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
• Inventors: Simon, Andreas, Buchmann, Juergen, Manci, Lewis H., Sick, Sebastian
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton, Dionne
• Application Number:
  US16/238,801
• Publication Number:
  US 20190138875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 404 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 11/00 Lifting devices specially adapted for particular uses not otherwise provided for ground-engaging vehicle fittings for supporting, lifting or manoeuvring the vehicle B60S9/00
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 17/003 for fork-lift trucks
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/20 Means for actuating or controlling masts, platforms, or forks power take-off from vehicle transmissions, combined with vehicle propulsion systems B60K
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/24 Electrical devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07762 the adhering arrangement making the record carrier wearable, e.g. having the form of a ring, watch, glove or bracelet record carriers for insertion in the human body for medical purposes A61B90/00; record carriers adapted for attachment to animals A01K11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/59 inside of a vehicle, e.g. relating to seat occupancy, driver state or inner lighting conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/103 Static body considered as a whole, e.g. static pedestrian or occupant recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00301 starting ignition
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/20 involving the use of a pass
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/22 in combination with an identity check of the pass holder
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/38 with central registration

Abstract

A system for controlling an industrial vehicle comprises an information linking device, a badge communicator, an operator badge, and a controller. The controller controls the industrial vehicle operating state by identifying that an operator possessing the operator badge has approached the industrial vehicle, communicating with the server via the information linking device to authenticate the operator as authorized to operate the industrial vehicle, and pairing the operator badge with the industrial vehicle upon determining that the operator is authorized to operate the industrial vehicle. Moreover, the controller controls the industrial vehicle operating state by controlling the industrial vehicle based upon a location of the operator badge relative to the industrial vehicle.

Claims

1. A system for controlling an industrial vehicle comprising:

a badge communicator that communicates with electronic badges that are in short range proximity of the industrial vehicle;

an operator badge that is worn by an operator of the industrial vehicle;

a controller coupled to memory, wherein the controller executes program code stored in the memory to control an operating state of the industrial vehicle based upon the operator badge, wherein the controller executes the program code to;

log the operator onto the industrial vehicle if the operator is determined to be authorized to operate the industrial vehicle based upon an identification provided by the operator badge;

pair the operator badge with the industrial vehicle upon determining that the operator is authorized to operate the industrial vehicle; and

control the industrial vehicle based upon a location of the operator badge relative to the industrial vehicle to;

enable the industrial vehicle for normal operation where the badge communicator detects that the operator badge is on the industrial vehicle;

place the industrial vehicle in a standby mode where the badge communicator detects that the operator badge is in proximity to the industrial vehicle, but not on the industrial vehicle; and

lock the industrial vehicle from use by another operator so long as the industrial vehicle is paired with the operator badge and the industrial vehicle is in the standby mode.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further programmed to:

place the industrial vehicle in a stop mode where the badge communicator no longer detects that the operator badge is in proximity to the industrial vehicle; and

lock the industrial vehicle from use by another operator so long as the industrial vehicle is paired with the operator badge and the industrial vehicle is in the stop mode.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operator badge further comprises;

at least one inertial sensor that tracks movement of the vehicle operator by generating movement data; and

a badge controller that reads the movement data collected by the inertial sensor and wirelessly transmits the collected movement data to the badge communicator of the industrial vehicle; and

the badge controller of the industrial vehicle communicates the collected movement data such that the collected movement data is received by a remote server.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the industrial vehicle further comprises an environmental based location tracking device that identifies an absolute position of the industrial vehicle within a limited, defined environment over a third wireless communication link;

the badge communicator of the industrial vehicle tracks the relative position of the operator badge as the operator steps off of the industrial vehicle to perform a pick operation; and

at least one of a processing device on the industrial vehicle and a remote server;

computes the absolute position of the operator while off of the industrial vehicle based upon an absolute position of the industrial vehicle as recorded by the environmental based location tracking device, and the relative position of the vehicle operator tracked by the badge communicator;

compares the computed absolute position of the operator to coordinates of a storage location containing the requested pick content, where the coordinate information is extracted from a warehouse management system;

verifies that the operator picked from a correct location based upon the computed operator position and the identified storage coordinates; and

transmits a message to an output device on the industrial vehicle if the operator picked from a wrong location.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the industrial vehicle further comprises an environmental based location tracking device that identifies an absolute position of the industrial vehicle within a limited, defined environment over a third wireless communication link;

the badge communicator of the industrial vehicle tracks the relative position of the operator badge as the operator steps off of the industrial vehicle to perform a pick operation; and

at least one of a processing device on the industrial vehicle and a remote server;

computes an absolute position of the operator while off of the industrial vehicle based upon the absolute position of the industrial vehicle as recorded by the environmental based location tracking device and the relative position of the vehicle operator tracked by the badge communicator;

compares the computed absolute position of the operator to a weight of the pick content, where the weight of the pick content is extracted from a warehouse management system; and

records the weight in an aggregated total of weight lifted by the vehicle operator over a predetermined time period.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the controller further executes program code to:

monitor a travel path of the vehicle operator while off of the vehicle during the pick operation;

record a first distance that the operator traveled to arrive at the storage location;

record a second distance that the operator traveled to return from the storage location; and

compute an amount of work performed by the vehicle operator based upon the first distance, the second distance, and the weight of the pick content.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operator badge is further configured to record into memory of the operator badge a number of steps taken by the vehicle operator, based upon at least one inertial sensor in the operator badge; and

the controller is further configured to create a digitally stored computer record for the vehicle operator based upon information communicated from the operator badge to the badge communicator, wherein the information includes the number of steps that the vehicle operator took while off of the industrial vehicle.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operator badge records, based upon at least one inertial sensor in the operator badge, a number of times the vehicle operator bent over to pick up an item; and

the controller creates a digitally stored computer record for the vehicle operator based upon information communicated from the operator badge to the badge communicator, wherein the information includes the number of times that the vehicle operator bent over to pick up an item based upon inertial measurements recorded by the operator badge.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

a processing device on the industrial vehicle;

detects that the vehicle operator is present on the industrial vehicle;

records a total amount of time that the vehicle operator is present on the industrial vehicle over a predetermined time interval;

records an amount of time that the vehicle operator was seated while on the industrial vehicle based upon at least one;

of an inertial measurement from the operator badge, and a seat switch on the industrial vehicle; and

creates a digitally stored computer record for the vehicle operator based upon information communicated from the operator badge to the badge communicator, wherein the information includes the amount of time that the vehicle operator is on the industrial vehicle, an amount of time on the industrial vehicle that the operator is standing, and the amount of time on the industrial vehicle that the vehicle operator is sitting.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operator badge further comprises;

at least one temperature sensor that tracks the body temperature of the vehicle operator by generating temperature data; and

a badge controller that reads the temperature data collected by the temperature sensor and wirelessly transmits the collected temperature data to the badge communicator of the industrial vehicle; and

the badge controller of the industrial vehicle communicates the collected temperature data such that the collected temperature data is received by a remote server.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operator badge further comprises;

at least one heart rate sensor that tracks the body heart rate of the vehicle operator by generating heart rate data; and

a badge controller that reads the heart rate data collected by the heart rate sensor and wirelessly transmits the collected heart rate data to the badge communicator of the industrial vehicle; and

the badge controller of the industrial vehicle communicates the collected heart rate data such that the collected heart rate data is received by a remote server.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to lock the industrial vehicle from use by another operator so long as the industrial vehicle is paired with the operator badge and the industrial vehicle is in the standby mode, by executing program code to:

restrict or prevent functionality of at least one industrial vehicle feature via communication with a vehicle controller across a vehicle network bus of the industrial vehicle.

12. A process for controlling an industrial vehicle comprising:

logging an operator onto an industrial vehicle if the operator is determined to be authorized to operate the industrial vehicle based upon an identification stored in an operator badge that is worn by the operator of the industrial vehicle;

pairing the operator badge with the industrial vehicle upon determining that the operator is authorized to operate the industrial vehicle, where the badge communicator communicates with electronic badges that are in short range proximity of the industrial vehicle; and

controlling the industrial vehicle based upon a location of the operator badge relative to the industrial vehicle by;

enabling the industrial vehicle for normal operation where the badge communicator detects that the operator badge is on the industrial vehicle;

placing the industrial vehicle in a standby mode where the badge communicator detects that the operator badge is in proximity to the industrial vehicle, but not on the industrial vehicle; and

locking the industrial vehicle from use by another operator so long as the industrial vehicle is paired with the operator badge and the industrial vehicle is in the standby mode.

13. The process of claim 12 further comprising:

placing the industrial vehicle in a stop mode where the badge communicator no longer detects that the operator badge is in proximity to the industrial vehicle; and

locking the industrial vehicle from use by another operator so long as the industrial vehicle is paired with the operator badge and the industrial vehicle is in the stop mode.

14. The process of claim 12 further comprising:

providing at least one inertial sensor in the operator badge that tracks movement of the vehicle operator by generating movement data;

reading, by a badge controller in the operator badge, the movement data collected by the inertial sensor;

wirelessly transmitting the collected movement data to the badge communicator of the industrial vehicle; and

communicating, by the badge controller of the industrial vehicle, the collected movement data such that the collected movement data is received by a remote server.

15. The process of claim 12 further comprising:

identifying, by an environmental based location tracking device of the industrial vehicle, an absolute position of the industrial vehicle within a limited, defined environment over a third wireless communication link;

tracking, by the badge communicator of the industrial vehicle, the relative position of the operator badge as the operator steps off of the industrial vehicle to perform a pick operation; and

performing by at least one of a processing device on the industrial vehicle and a remote server;

computing the absolute position of the operator while off of the industrial vehicle based upon an absolute position of the industrial vehicle as recorded by the environmental based location tracking device, and the relative position of the vehicle operator tracked by the badge communicator;

comparing the computed absolute position of the operator to coordinates of a storage location containing the requested pick content, where the coordinate information is extracted from a warehouse management system;

verifying that the operator picked from a correct location based upon the computed operator position and the identified storage coordinates; and

transmitting a message to an output device on the industrial vehicle if the operator picked from a wrong location.

16. The process of claim 12 further comprising:

identifying, by an environmental based location tracking device on the industrial vehicle, an absolute position of the industrial vehicle within a limited, defined environment over a third wireless communication link;

tracking, by the badge communicator of the industrial vehicle, the relative position of the operator badge as the operator steps off of the industrial vehicle to perform a pick operation; and

performing by at least one of a processing device on the industrial vehicle and a remote server;

computing an absolute position of the operator while off of the industrial vehicle based upon the absolute position of the industrial vehicle as recorded by the environmental based location tracking device and the relative position of the vehicle operator tracked by the badge communicator;

comparing the computed absolute position of the operator to a weight of the pick content, where the weight of the pick content is extracted from a warehouse management system; and

recording the weight in an aggregated total of weight lifted by the vehicle operator over a predetermined time period.

17. The process of claim 16 further comprising:

monitoring a travel path of the vehicle operator while off of the vehicle during the pick operation;

recording a first distance that the operator traveled to arrive at the storage location;

recording a second distance that the operator traveled to return from the storage location; and

computing an amount of work performed by the vehicle operator based upon the first distance, the second distance, and the weight of the pick content.

18. The process of claim 12 further comprising:

recording into memory of the operator badge, a number of steps taken by the vehicle operator, based upon at least one inertial sensor in the operator badge; and

creating a digitally stored computer record for the vehicle operator based upon information communicated from the operator badge to the badge communicator, wherein the information includes the number of steps that the vehicle operator took while off of the industrial vehicle.

19. The process of claim 12 further comprising:

recording, by the operator badge, based upon at least one inertial sensor in the operator badge, a number of times the vehicle operator bent over to pick up an item; and

creating a digitally stored computer record for the vehicle operator based upon information communicated from the operator badge to the badge communicator, wherein the information includes the number of times that the vehicle operator bent over to pick up an item based upon inertial measurements recorded by the operator badge.

20. The process of claim 12 further comprising:

detecting that the vehicle operator is present on the industrial vehicle;

recording a total amount of time that the vehicle operator is present on the industrial vehicle over a predetermined time interval;

recording an amount of time that the vehicle operator was seated while on the industrial vehicle based upon at least one;

of an inertial measurement from the operator badge, and a seat switch on the industrial vehicle; and

creating a digitally stored computer record for the vehicle operator based upon information communicated from the operator badge to the badge communicator, wherein the information includes the amount of time that the vehicle operator is on the industrial vehicle, an amount of time on the industrial vehicle that the operator is standing, and the amount of time on the industrial vehicle that the vehicle operator is sitting.

21. The process of claim 12 further comprising:

tracking, by at least one temperature sensor in the operator badge, the body temperature of the vehicle operator by generating temperature data;

reading the temperature data collected by the temperature sensor and wirelessly transmits the collected temperature data to the badge communicator of the industrial vehicle; and

communicating, by the badge controller of the industrial vehicle, the collected temperature data such that the collected temperature data is received by a remote server.

22. The process of claim 12 further comprising:

tracking, by at least one heart rate sensor of the operator badge, the body heart rate of the vehicle operator by generating heart rate data;

reading, by a badge controller of the operator badge, the heart rate data collected by the heart rate sensor;

wirelessly transmitting the collected heart rate data to the badge communicator of the industrial vehicle; and

communicating, by the badge communicator, the collected heart rate data such that the collected heart rate data is received by a remote server.

24. The process of claim 12, wherein:

locking the industrial vehicle from use by another operator so long as the industrial vehicle is paired with the operator badge and the industrial vehicle is in the standby mode, comprises;

restricting or preventing functionality of at least one industrial vehicle feature via communication with a vehicle controller across a vehicle network bus of the industrial vehicle.