TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT FOR MATERIALS HANDLING VEHICLES IN A WAREHOUSE ENVIRONMENT

• US 20190033882A1
• Filed: 07/26/2018
• Published: 01/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
• Original Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
• Inventors: Collett, Toby, McArdle, Sam, Phillips, Sian, Sumner, Greg
• Granted Patent: US 10,671,087 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• 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: G08G 1/162 event-triggered
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

Systems and methods for a materials handling vehicle to navigate a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment including a navigation subsystem configured to cooperate with a traction control unit, a braking system, a steering assembly, and an obstacle detection subsystem to: determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection; associate with the intersection pre-positioned warehouse object data, a set of road rules, and obstacle data; and navigate the materials handling vehicle through the intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.

Claims

1. A materials handling vehicle configured to navigate a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment, the materials handling vehicle comprising

a vehicle body,

a plurality of vehicle wheels supporting the vehicle body,

a traction control unit, a braking system, and a steering assembly, each operatively coupled to one or more of the plurality of vehicle wheels,

an obstacle detection subsystem, and

a navigation subsystem, wherein the navigation subsystem is configured to cooperate with the traction control unit, the braking system, the steering assembly, and the obstacle detection subsystem to:

determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection;

associate pre-positioned warehouse object data derived from a database of pre-positioned warehouse objects in the warehouse environment with the potentially contested intersection;

associate a set of road rules with the potentially contested intersection;

associate obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem with the potentially contested intersection; and

navigate the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.

2. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the navigation subsystem is further configured to:

determine whether at least a portion of the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem correlates with a competing materials handling vehicle; and

navigate the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing the warehouse navigation maneuvers and the associated set of road rules, when the obstacle data correlates with a competing materials handling vehicle.

3. The materials handling vehicle of claim 2, wherein the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data represents warehouse racking features, warehouse hardware defining warehouse aisles, other warehouse infrastructure, or a combination thereof.

4. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the navigation subsystem is further configured to:

determine whether the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem correlates with a competing materials handling vehicle or a non-vehicular obstacle; and

navigate the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing the warehouse navigation maneuvers and either the associated set of road rules or the obstacle avoidance maneuvers, depending on whether the obstacle data correlates with a competing materials handling vehicle or a non-vehicular obstacle.

5. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the navigation subsystem is further configured to:

determine whether the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem correlates with a pre-positioned warehouse object from the database of pre-positioned warehouse objects; and

navigate the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing the warehouse navigation maneuvers when the obstacle data correlates with a pre-positioned warehouse object.

6. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the navigation subsystem is further configured to:

determine whether the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem correlates with a competing materials handling vehicle; and

navigate the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing the warehouse navigation maneuvers and the associated set of road rules, when the obstacle data correlates with a competing materials handling vehicle.

7. The materials handling vehicle of claim 6, wherein the associated set of road rules accounts for vehicle positioning relative to the potentially contested intersection, intersection characteristics defining the potentially contested intersection, or both.

8. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the navigation subsystem is further configured to:

determine whether the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem correlates with a non-vehicular obstacle; and

navigate the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing the warehouse navigation maneuvers and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers, when the obstacle data correlates with a non-vehicular obstacle.

9. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the navigation subsystem is further configured to:

define a give way region associated with the potentially contested intersection, wherein the give way region is a function of an intersection type associated with the potentially contested intersection and a projected vehicle heading associated with the materials handling vehicle, relative to the potentially contested intersection;

limit the set of road rules associated with the potentially contested intersection by conforming the set of road rules to the defined give way region;

navigate the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing the warehouse navigation maneuvers and the conformed set of road rules when the obstacle data correlates with a competing materials handling vehicle.

10. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the navigation subsystem is further configured to:

define a give way region associated with the potentially contested intersection, wherein the give way region is a function of an intersection type associated with the potentially contested intersection and a projected vehicle heading associated with the materials handling vehicle, relative to the potentially contested intersection;

limit the obstacle data associated with the potentially contested intersection by conforming the obstacle data to the defined give way region;

navigate the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing the warehouse navigation maneuvers, the obstacle avoidance maneuvers, and the conformed obstacle data, when the obstacle data correlates with a non-vehicular obstacle.

11. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the navigation subsystem is configured to determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection by:

establishing or recognizing an entry zone associated with the potentially contested intersection; and

indicating a presence of the materials handling vehicle in the entry zone.

12. The materials handling vehicle of claim 11, wherein the navigation subsystem establishes the entry zone as a virtual boundary in the warehouse environment or recognizes a literal entry zone defined by boundary elements in the warehouse environment.

13. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the navigation subsystem is configured to determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection by interacting with a localization subsystem to determine a position and heading of the materials handling vehicle relative to the potentially contested intersection.

14. The materials handling vehicle of claim 13, wherein the localization subsystem is configured to receive measurement data from one or more sensors of the materials handling vehicle and determine the position and heading of the materials handling vehicle in the warehouse environment based on the measurement data.

15. The materials handling vehicle of claim 14, wherein the localization subsystem is configured to interact with one or more warehouse maps to determine the position and heading of the potentially contested intersection relative to the materials handling vehicle.

16. The materials handling vehicle of claim 13, wherein the localization subsystem resides on the materials handling vehicle or is remote from the materials handling vehicle.

17. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the navigation subsystem comprises one or more environmental sensors configured to capture data indicative of a heading and position of the materials handling vehicle relative to the vehicle transit surface.

18. The materials handling vehicle of claim 17, wherein the one or more environmental sensors comprise one or more image sensors disposed to face an upward direction to detect upwardly disposed features in the warehouse environment.

19. The materials handling vehicle of claim 17, wherein the one or more environmental sensors comprise one or more image sensors disposed to face a lateral direction in the warehouse environment to detect laterally disposed features in the warehouse environment.

20. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein the database of pre-positioned warehouse objects resides on the materials handling vehicle.

21. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein:

the database of pre-positioned warehouse objects is stored at a location that is remote from the materials handling vehicle; and

the materials handling vehicle comprises communications hardware configured to access the remote database of pre-positioned warehouse objects.

22. The materials handling vehicle of claim 1, wherein:

the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data represents warehouse racking features, warehouse hardware defining warehouse aisles, other warehouse infrastructure, or a combination thereof; and

the navigation subsystem is further configured to

determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection by interacting with a localization subsystem to determine a position and heading of the materials handling vehicle relative to the potentially contested intersection,

define a give way region associated with the potentially contested intersection, wherein the give way region is a function of an intersection type associated with the potentially contested intersection and a projected vehicle heading associated with the materials handling vehicle, relative to the potentially contested intersection,

limit the set of road rules associated with the potentially contested intersection by conforming the set of road rules to the defined give way region,

determine whether at least a portion of the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem correlates with a competing materials handling vehicle, and

navigate the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing the warehouse navigation maneuvers and the conformed set of road rules, when the obstacle data correlates with a competing materials handling vehicle.

23. A system comprising a remote terminal, a materials handling vehicle configured to navigate a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment, and a database of pre-positioned warehouse objects in the warehouse environment, wherein

the materials handling vehicle comprises a vehicle body, a plurality of vehicle wheels supporting the vehicle body, a traction control unit, a braking system, and a steering assembly, each operatively coupled to one or more of the plurality of vehicle wheels, an obstacle detection subsystem, and a navigation subsystem configured to communicate with the remote terminal;

the remote terminal is configured to maintain the database of pre-positioned warehouse objects; and

the navigation subsystem is configured to cooperate with the traction control unit, the braking system, the steering assembly, and the obstacle detection subsystem to;

determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection;

associate pre-positioned warehouse object data derived from the database of pre-positioned warehouse objects in the warehouse environment with the potentially contested intersection;

associate a set of road rules with the potentially contested intersection;

associate obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem with the potentially contested intersection; and

navigate the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.

24. A method of navigating a materials handling vehicle with respect to a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment, comprising:

utilizing the materials handling vehicle disposed on the vehicle transit surface, the materials handling vehicle comprising a vehicle body, a plurality of vehicle wheels supporting the vehicle body, a traction control unit, a braking system, and a steering assembly, each operatively coupled to one or more of the plurality of vehicle wheels, an obstacle detection subsystem, and a navigation subsystem, wherein the navigation subsystem is configured to cooperate with the traction control unit, the braking system, the steering assembly, and the obstacle detection subsystem;

determining with the navigation subsystem whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection;

associating pre-positioned warehouse object data derived from a database of pre-positioned warehouse objects in the warehouse environment with the potentially contested intersection;

associating a set of road rules with the potentially contested intersection;

associating obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem with the potentially contested intersection; and

navigating by the navigation subsystem the materials handling vehicle through the potentially contested intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein:

the database of pre-positioned warehouse objects is dynamic; and

the method comprises updating the database of pre-positioned objects to represent location changes of one or more pre-positioned warehouse objects with respect to the warehouse environment, additions to or deletion of one or more pre-positioned warehouse objects in the warehouse environment, or a combination thereof.

26. A traffic management system comprising a remote or local traffic management server configured to grant permission to submitted vehicle requests to proceed through an intersection based on clearance of prior submitted requests and corresponding exit notifications.