SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SUPERVISING INDUSTRIAL VEHICLES VIA ENCODED VEHICULAR OBJECTS SHOWN ON A MOBILE CLIENT DEVICE

• US 20150227862A1
• Filed: 09/17/2014
• Published: 08/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
• Original Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
• Inventors: Waltz, Lucas B., Chandrasekar, Kashyap, Wong, Lisa
• Granted Patent: US 10,613,549 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0027 Post collision measures, e.g. notifying emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/00 Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles B60R22/00; seats constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats, B60N2/42; energy-absorbing arrangements for hand wheels for steering vehicles B62D1/11; energy-absorbing arrangements for vehicle steering columns B62D1/19
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0289 with means for avoiding collisions between vehicles vehicle fittings for automatically controlling speed including means for detecting potential obstacles B60K31/0008; avoiding obstacles by action on the steering system B62D; radar, sonar, lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/105 Human resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/28 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading, distribution or shipping
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/005 Transmission of information for alerting of incoming communication

Abstract

The embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods for showing information from a management server on a mobile client device to facilitate the management of industrial vehicles. Embodiments of the system can include a plurality of industrial vehicles communicatively coupled to the management server, and a mobile client device communicatively coupled to the management server. The mobile client device can include a display, a wireless communication circuit, and one or more client processors. Encoded objects, vehicular objects, or combinations thereof can be shown upon the display of the mobile client device to show information from the management server.

Claims

1. A system comprising a management server, a plurality of industrial vehicles, and a mobile client device, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises one or more vehicular processors and is communicatively coupled to the management server;

the mobile client device comprises a display, a wireless communication circuit, and one or more client processors, and is communicatively coupled to the management server;

the one or more vehicular processors of each of the industrial vehicles execute vehicle functions to;

(i) determine a localized position with respect to an inventory transit surface of an industrial facility;

(ii) detect an operational characteristic;

(iii) transmit vehicular data indicative of the localized position and the operational characteristic to the management server; and

(iv) navigate along the inventory transit surface of the industrial facility to change a state of the industrial vehicles;

the wireless communication circuit of the mobile client device receives a location descriptor indicative of the localized position of each of the industrial vehicles;

the wireless communication circuit of the mobile client device receives an operational descriptor indicative of the operational characteristic of each of the industrial vehicles; and

the one or more client processors of the mobile client device execute client functions to;

(i) display a topographical warehouse object via the display of the mobile client device, wherein the topographical warehouse object comprises a geometric representation indicative of the inventory transit surface of the industrial facility; and

(ii) display a plurality of vehicular objects contemporaneously with the topographical warehouse object via the display of the mobile client device, wherein each of the vehicular objects is positioned with respect to the topographical warehouse object based at least in part upon the location descriptor, wherein each of the vehicular objects is encoded based at least in part upon the operational descriptor, and wherein the display of the topographical warehouse object and the plurality of encoded vehicular objects is near enough to real-time to permit corrective action to be taken quickly enough to mitigate the negative impact of latency caused by a communication of changing states of the plurality of industrial vehicles to the mobile client device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the wireless communication circuit of the mobile client device receives an updated location descriptor indicative of a change in the localized position of each of the industrial vehicles; and

the one or more client processors of the mobile client device execute the client functions to reposition the vehicular objects with respect to the topographical warehouse object based at least in part upon the updated location descriptor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operational descriptor comprises information indicative of a heading of each of the industrial vehicles; and

each of the vehicular objects is encoded to indicate the heading.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein each of the vehicular objects comprises an encoded object that is shaped to indicate the heading.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operational characteristic comprises a usage parameter; and

the wireless communication circuit of the mobile client device receives a productivity descriptor indicative of the usage parameter of each of the industrial vehicles; and

each of the vehicular objects is encoded to indicate the usage parameter.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises a battery;

the usage parameter is indicative of power level of the battery; and

each of the vehicular objects comprises an encoded object that is indicative of the power level of the battery.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the one or more client processors of the mobile client device execute the client functions to show a consumable scale contemporaneously with the encoded object via the display of the mobile client device;

the consumable scale comprises a color gradient having a first end and a second end;

the color gradient of the consumable scale varies from the first end to the second end corresponding to multiple levels of power; and

the encoded object is colored according to a color of the color gradient to quantify an amount of battery power of each of the industrial vehicles.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the encoded object is indicative of an absolute level, a percentage consumed, or a percentage remaining.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more client processors of the mobile client device execute the client functions to:

(i) receive selection input indicative of a selected industrial vehicle;

(ii) determine the selected industrial vehicle based at least in part upon the selection input; and

(iii) show an encoded object indicative of the operational descriptor of the selected industrial vehicle via the display of the mobile client device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises one or more forks that are movable vertically;

the operational characteristic is indicative of a lift height of the one or more forks; and

the encoded object comprises a lift height object that is indicative of the lift height of the selected industrial vehicle.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises a battery;

the operational characteristic is indicative of power level of the battery; and

the encoded object is indicative of the power level of the battery of the selected industrial vehicle.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein:

the operational characteristic comprises an operator association indicative of an identity of an operator; and

the encoded object is indicative of the operator association of the selected industrial vehicle.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises an operator identification system;

the one or more vehicular processors of each of the industrial vehicles execute the vehicle functions to;

(i) detect an identity of an operator with the operator identification system; and

(ii) create an operator association indicative of the identity of the operator and identifying indicia of an industrial vehicle;

the vehicular data is indicative of the operator association;

the wireless communication circuit of the mobile client device receives an operator descriptor indicative of the operator association of each of the industrial vehicles; and

the one or more client processors of the mobile client device execute the client functions to;

(i) receive selection input indicative of a selected operator;

(ii) determine the selected operator based at least in part upon the selection input and the operator descriptor; and

(iii) show an encoded object indicative of the operator descriptor of the selected operator via the display of the mobile client device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein:

the one or more client processors execute the client functions to determine a selected industrial vehicle based at least in part upon the selection input; and

the encoded object is indicative of the operational descriptor of the selected industrial vehicle.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises one or more forks that are movable vertically;

the operational characteristic is indicative of a lift height of the one or more forks; and

the encoded object comprises a lift height object that is indicative of the lift height of the selected industrial vehicle.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises a battery;

the operational characteristic is indicative of power level of the battery; and

the encoded object is indicative of the power level of the battery of the selected industrial vehicle.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein:

the operator descriptor comprises information indicative of an operator certificate, a training requirement, or the operator certificate and the training requirement; and

the encoded object is indicative of the operator certificate, the training requirement, or the operator certificate and the training requirement.

18. A method comprising:

disposing each of a plurality of industrial vehicles upon an inventory transit surface of an industrial facility, wherein each of the plurality of industrial vehicles is in communication with a management server, and wherein the management server is in communication with a mobile client device comprising a display, a wireless communication circuit, and one or more client processors;

determining a localized position of each of the industrial vehicles with respect to the industrial facility;

detecting an operational characteristic of each of the industrial vehicles;

navigating each of the industrial vehicles upon the inventory transit surface of the industrial facility to change states of the industrial vehicles;

receiving, automatically with the wireless communication circuit of the mobile client device, a location descriptor indicative of the localized position of each of the industrial vehicles at a state;

receiving, automatically with the wireless communication circuit of the mobile client device, an operational descriptor indicative of the operational characteristic of each of the industrial vehicles at the state;

displaying, automatically with the one or more client processors of the mobile client device, a topographical warehouse object via the display of the mobile client device, wherein the topographical warehouse object comprises a geometric representation indicative of the inventory transit surface of the industrial facility; and

displaying, automatically with the one or more client processors of the mobile client device, a plurality of vehicular objects contemporaneously with the topographical warehouse object via the display of the mobile client device to represent the state, wherein each of the vehicular objects is positioned with respect to the topographical warehouse object based at least in part upon the location descriptor at the state, wherein each of the vehicular objects is encoded based at least in part upon the operational descriptor, and wherein the displaying of the topographical warehouse object and the plurality of encoded vehicular objects is near enough to real-time to permit corrective action to be taken quickly enough to mitigate the negative impact of latency caused by a communication of changing states of the plurality of industrial vehicles to the mobile client device.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving, with the wireless communication circuit of the mobile client device, an updated location descriptor indicative of the localized position of each of the industrial vehicles at a second state; and

repositioning, with the display of the mobile client device, the vehicular objects with respect to the topographical warehouse object based at least in part upon the updated location descriptor.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the operational descriptor comprises information indicative of a heading of each of the industrial vehicles; and

each of the vehicular objects is encoded to indicate the heading.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein each of the vehicular objects comprises an encoded object that is shaped to indicate the heading.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving, with the wireless communication circuit of the mobile client device, a productivity descriptor indicative of a usage parameter of each of the industrial vehicles, wherein the operational characteristic comprises the usage parameter, and wherein each of the vehicular objects is encoded indicate the usage parameter.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises a battery;

the usage parameter is indicative of power level of the battery; and

each of the vehicular objects comprises an encoded object that is indicative of the power level of the battery.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising showing a consumable scale contemporaneously with the encoded object via the display of the mobile client device, wherein:

the consumable scale comprises a color gradient having a first end and a second end;

the color gradient of the consumable scale varies from the first end to the second end corresponding to multiple levels of power; and

the encoded object is colored according to a color of the color gradient to quantify an amount of battery power of each of the industrial vehicles.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the encoded object is indicative of an absolute level, a percentage consumed, or a percentage remaining.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein:

receiving, automatically with the one or more client processors of the mobile client device, selection input indicative of a selected industrial vehicle; and

determining, automatically with the one or more client processors of the mobile client device, the selected industrial vehicle based at least in part upon the selection input; and

showing an encoded object indicative of the operational descriptor of the selected industrial vehicle via the display of the mobile client device.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises one or more forks that are movable vertically;

the operational characteristic is indicative of a lift height of the one or more forks; and

the encoded object comprises a lift height object that is indicative of the lift height of the selected industrial vehicle.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises a battery;

the operational characteristic is indicative of power level of the battery; and

the encoded object is indicative of the power level of the battery of the selected industrial vehicle.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein:

the operational characteristic comprises an operator association indicative of an identity of an operator; and

the encoded object is indicative of the operator association of the selected industrial vehicle.

30. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

detecting an identity of an operator with an operator identification system of each of the industrial vehicles;

creating an operator association indicative of the identity of the operator and identifying indicia of an industrial vehicle;

receiving, with the wireless communication circuit of the mobile client device, an operator descriptor indicative of the operator association of each of the industrial vehicles;

receiving, automatically with the one or more client processors of the mobile client device, selection input indicative of a selected operator;

determining the selected operator based at least in part upon the selection input and the operator descriptor; and

showing an encoded object indicative of the operator descriptor of the selected operator via the display of the mobile client device.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein:

determining a selected industrial vehicle based at least in part upon the selection input; and

the encoded object is indicative of the operational descriptor of the selected industrial vehicle.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises one or more forks that are movable vertically;

the operational characteristic is indicative of a lift height of the one or more forks; and

the encoded object comprises a lift height object that is indicative of the lift height of the selected industrial vehicle.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein:

each of the industrial vehicles comprises a battery;

the operational characteristic is indicative of power level of the battery; and

the encoded object that is indicative of the power level of the battery of the selected industrial vehicle.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein:

the operator descriptor comprises information indicative of an operator certificate, a training requirement, or the operator certificate and the training requirement; and

the encoded object is indicative of the operator certificate, the training requirement, or the operator certificate and the training requirement.