INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR INDUSTRIAL VEHICLES INCLUDING CYCLICAL RECURRING VEHICLE INFORMATION MESSAGE

• US 20110022442A1
• Filed: 08/30/2010
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
• Original Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
• Inventors: Winner, Dean E., Wellman, Timothy A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,984,341 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/9
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0287 involving a plurality of land vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00, particularly anticollision systems G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0291 Fleet control monitoring fleets in traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/127, G08G1/127
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping

Abstract

Industrial vehicles communicate across a wireless environment and the wireless communication, data collection and/or processing capabilities of industrial vehicles are leveraged against robust software solutions to implement enterprise wide vehicle management functions, to integrate industrial vehicle data into existing enterprise workflows and/or to enable trusted third party integration into the enterprise for enhanced asset and/or workflow management. Still further, wireless communication, data collection and/or processing capabilities of industrial vehicles are leveraged with robust software solutions that aggregate and analyze data across multiple enterprises and/or promote the exchange of information between independent entities.

Claims

1. A method of dynamically generating industrial vehicle information for distribution on an industrial vehicle network bus, comprising:

designating a select component within an industrial vehicle as an information master, where the information master is capable of data communication across a vehicle network bus of the industrial vehicle;

obtaining data by the information master, where the data is obtained from at least one other component of the corresponding industrial vehicle that is connected to the vehicle network bus;

storing industrial vehicle information based upon the obtained data in a memory device accessible by the information master according to a mapping specified by a data object model;

designating at least a portion of the memory associated with the data object model as broadcast information; and

repeatedly performing by the information master;

extracting at least a portion of the information stored in the memory designated as broadcast information by the information master;

generating a broadcast message representing the extracted broadcast information; and

transmitting the generated broadcast message on the vehicle network bus;

wherein the entire contents of the designated broadcast information is eventually transmitted on the industrial vehicle network bus across a plurality of transmitted broadcast messages.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein assigning a select component within an industrial vehicle as an information master comprises designating a network bus-enabled vehicle electronic control module as the information master.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the industrial vehicle network bus comprises one or more communications strategy, further comprising:

configuring the information master for transmitting the generated broadcast messages across at least one of said one or more communications strategy.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the industrial vehicle network bus comprises a controller area network (CAN) bus, further comprising:

configuring the information master for transmitting the generated broadcast messages across the CAN bus.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein storing industrial vehicle information based upon the obtained data comprises storing the obtained data as industrial vehicle information.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein storing industrial vehicle information based upon the obtained data comprises manipulating the obtained data to derive industrial vehicle information.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein repeatedly performing by the information master:

transmitting the generated broadcast message on the vehicle network bus, comprises;

transmitting each generated broadcast message based upon a predetermined periodic time interval.

8. A method of automatically monitoring industrial vehicle information of an industrial vehicle, the industrial vehicle having a transceiver provided thereon, wherein the transceiver is configured for wireless data communication with a server computer, and a processor configured to communicate with the transceiver, wherein the method comprises the industrial vehicle:

obtaining data by an information master;

wherein;

the information master is a designated component within the industrial vehicle that is capable of data communication across a vehicle network bus of the industrial vehicle; and

the obtained information is from at least one other component of the corresponding industrial vehicle that is connected to the vehicle network bus;

storing industrial vehicle information based upon the obtained data in a memory device accessible by the information master according to a mapping specified by a data object model;

designating at least a portion of the memory associated with the data object model as broadcast information; and

repeatedly performing;

extracting at least a portion of the information stored in the memory designated as broadcast information by the information master;

generating a broadcast message representing the extracted broadcast information; and

transmitting the generated broadcast message on the vehicle network bus;

wherein the entire contents of the designated broadcast information is eventually transmitted on the industrial vehicle network bus across a plurality of transmitted broadcast messages;

reading the transmitted broadcast message off the vehicle network bus; and

wirelessly communicating the broadcast message information from the industrial vehicle to the server computer via the transceiver.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein repeatedly performing:

transmitting the generated broadcast message on the vehicle network bus comprises;

transmitting each generated broadcast message based upon a predetermined periodic time interval.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

operating the transceiver in a first mode, wherein;

each transmitted broadcast message is read off the vehicle network bus and the corresponding broadcast message information is wirelessly communicated from the industrial vehicle to the server computer via the transceiver; and

operating the transceiver in a second mode, wherein;

each transmitted broadcast message is read off the vehicle network bus and the corresponding broadcast message information is temporarily stored before being communicated from the industrial vehicle to the server computer via the transceiver.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein each transmitted broadcast message is read off the vehicle network bus and the corresponding broadcast message information is temporarily stored by:

summarizing the read broadcast message information and communicating the summarized broadcast information from the industrial vehicle to the server computer via the transceiver.

12. A method of automatically monitoring industrial vehicle information of an industrial vehicle, the industrial vehicle having a transceiver and a processor provided thereon, wherein the transceiver is configured for wireless data communication with a server computer, and the processor is configured to communicate with the transceiver, wherein the method comprises the industrial vehicle:

internally transmitting across a vehicle network bus, a cyclical recurring vehicle information message that encodes, encapsulates or otherwise includes a collection of parameters and/or data that represents or otherwise characterizes industrial vehicle information;

reading the internally transmitted cyclically recurring vehicle information message; and

wirelessly communicating the vehicle information message from the industrial vehicle to the server computer via the transceiver.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the vehicle network bus comprises a controller area network (CAN) bus.

14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising operating in one of:

a live mode where the transceiver wirelessly communicates the vehicle information messages to a server computer as they are internally transmitted across the vehicle network bus; and

a non-live mode where the vehicle information messages are collected, aggregated, summarized or otherwise processed, and the transceiver subsequently wirelessly transmits information to the server based upon one of;

the processed vehicle information messages, a request from the server and a remote network device connected to the server.

15. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

multiplexing a collection of industrial vehicle information across a plurality of recurring vehicle information messages so that after a cycle of the cyclically recurring vehicle information messages, the collection of vehicle information is conveyed.