Fleet management system

• US 8,249,910 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2007
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
• Original Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
• Inventors: Wellman, Timothy A., Winner, Dean E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zare, Scott
• Assistant Examiner(s): Masud, Rokib
• Application Number:
  US11/956,045
• Publication Number:
  US 20080154691A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/29, 701/31, 702/122, 702/182, 705/26, 705/34, 705/8
• US Class Current: 705/7.26
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/55 Remote control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/589 Wireless data transfers
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/592 Data transfer involving external databases
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/55 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/589 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/592 External database involved
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/80 Arrangements for controlling instruments
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/85 Arrangements for transferring vehicle- or driver-related data
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/15 Fork lift trucks, Industrial trucks
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/07581 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/24 Electrical devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0282 generated in a local control room
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0291 Fleet control monitoring fleets in traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/127, G08G1/127
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0297 by controlling means in a control room
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/223 Command input arrangements on the remote controller, e.g. joysticks or touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/69 Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06316 : Sequencing of tasks or work
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 : Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 : Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 : Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 : communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 : Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 : by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 : for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Systems of hardware and software are provided for enabling mobile assets to communicate across a wireless network environment. Systems, computer-implemented methods and computer program products are also provided for leveraging wireless communication and/or processing capabilities of mobile assets against a robust software solution to implement enterprise wide asset management functions, to integrate mobile asset data into existing enterprise workflows and/or to enable trusted third party integration into the enterprise for enhanced asset and/or workflow management.

Claims

1. A method of integrating materials handling vehicles with enterprise computing systems for materials handling vehicle fleet management, the method comprising:

configuring a processor on a materials handling vehicle to communicate with a transceiver on the materials handling vehicle for wireless communication to a server computer, the server computer having an application for managing data collected from a corresponding fleet of materials handling vehicles;

configuring the transceiver on the materials handling vehicle to receive from the application of the server computer, condition data associated with an event of interest, wherein;

the condition data defines when an associated action is required by the processor on the materials handling vehicle in order to perform a predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting the event of interest;

configuring the processor to monitor information communicated across a vehicle network bus, wherein;

the vehicle network bus enables communication between existing electronic controllers of the material handling vehicle according to a vehicle network protocol;

the existing electronic controllers communicate with each other independently of the processor; and

the processor communicates across the network bus according to the vehicle network protocol;

configuring the processor to implement the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest, where the event of interest is detected using the received condition data and monitored information communicated across the materials handling vehicle network bus, by;

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver, where the communicated information is collected from at least one electronic component of the materials handling vehicle across the vehicle network bus; and

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus to implement the predetermined function.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises detecting an impact on the materials handling vehicle; and

configuring the processor to implement the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest further comprises configuring the processor to respond to the detected impact by classifying the severity of the detected impact.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein:

classifying the severity of each detected impact comprises at least one of;

distinguishing normal or anticipated shocks from unanticipated shocks;

or

distinguishing types of impacts based upon an assessment of impact signatures.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

allowing an operator to annotate impact information with metadata from at least one of the server computer or the materials handling vehicle.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein:

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver comprises wirelessly communicating impact information to the server computer if it is determined that the detected impact exceeds at least one predetermined impact condition; and

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus in response to the detection of the occurrence of the event of interest comprises polling at least one vehicle component across the materials handling vehicle network bus to determine the extent of any damage that may have been caused by a detected impact that exceeds predetermined impact conditions.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises detecting a triggering event for data reporting;

configuring the processor to implement the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises creating an event report from a log of data gathered during vehicle operation, where the event report covers data gathered over a window of time spanning from a time period before the triggering event to a time after the triggering event;

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus in response to the detection of the occurrence of the event of interest comprises communicating data to the log of data; and

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver comprises wirelessly communicating the generated event report to the server computer.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

configuring the processor to implement the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises providing interactive operator training by;

logging the manner in which an operator uses at least one control of a materials handling vehicle by monitoring corresponding information transmitted across the materials handling vehicle network bus;

wirelessly transmitting the logged operator use information to the server computer across the wireless network;

wirelessly obtaining relevant reference or training materials from the server computer based upon an analysis of the logged information; and

displaying the obtained training materials relevant to the logged use on a display of the materials handling vehicle for the operator.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein:

providing interactive operator training further comprises at least one of;

implementing interaction between the processor and at least one component across the materials handling vehicle network bus to provide a demonstration of a feature being taught to the operator that is relevant to the logged use; and

testing the operator with regard to a feature being taught to the operator by monitoring communications across the materials handling vehicle network bus to log use relevant to the feature being taught to ensure that the component is responding appropriately.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises detecting that a component of the materials handling vehicle has been replaced;

configuring the processor to implement the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises determining if the replacement part is suitable for operation;

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus in response to the detection of the occurrence of the event of interest comprises detecting whether the replaced component is a certified component; and

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver comprises communicating a message to the computer server if the replaced component is not a certified component.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises detecting an error in operation of the materials handling vehicle;

configuring the processor to implement the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises initiating a remote diagnostic check of at least one component of the materials handling vehicle;

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus in response to the detection of the occurrence of the event of interest comprises gathering information related to at least one condition of the materials handling vehicle by communicating the gathered information across the materials handling vehicle network bus; and

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver comprises;

communicating the gathered information to the computer server;

communicating the gathered information from the computer server to a remote third party server for remote service diagnostics; and

receiving a message back to the server computer from the third party server corresponding to the remote service diagnostics.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises detecting a request for a software version of at least one vehicle component that is coupled to the materials handling vehicle network bus;

configuring the processor to implement the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises configuring the processor to perform a software version change;

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver comprises;

wirelessly receiving a software change from the server computer that is directed to a selected vehicle component connected to the materials handling vehicle network bus; and

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus in response to the event to implement the function comprises reprogramming the selected vehicle component based upon the received software version by communicating with the materials handling vehicle component across the network bus.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

receiving the software version at the computer server from a third party server across the Internet.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

receiving condition data from the server comprises receiving a notification of available software versions;

configuring the processor to implement the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises;

detecting a software version of at least one vehicle component that is coupled to the materials handling vehicle network bus is older than the available software version for that vehicle component;

wirelessly receiving a software change from the server computer that is directed to a selected vehicle component connected to the materials handling vehicle network bus; and

reprogramming the selected vehicle component based upon the received software version by communicating with the materials handling vehicle component across the vehicle network bus.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises detecting an impact on the materials handling vehicle;

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver comprises wirelessly communicating information related to the impact to the server computer; and

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus in response to the detection of the occurrence of the event of interest comprises polling at least one vehicle component across the materials handling vehicle network bus to determine the extent of any damage that may have been caused by the detected impact.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein:

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver further comprises;

communicating an event report from a log of data gathered during vehicle operation, where the event report covers data gathered over a window of time spanning from a time period before the triggering event to a time after the triggering event.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

configuring the processor to monitor information communicated across a vehicle network bus comprises;

configuring the processor to understand event codes and other communications across the vehicle network bus by other electrical components connected to the vehicle network bus at the machine component level.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

configuring the processor to monitor information communicated across a vehicle network bus comprises configuring the processor to communicate over the vehicle network bus with native components of the vehicle.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein:

configuring the processor to monitor information communicated across a vehicle network bus further comprises configuring the processor to communicate over a controller area network (CAN) bus.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein:

configuring the processor to monitor information communicated across a vehicle network bus further comprises configuring the processor to communicate over the vehicle network bus with a vehicle control module.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein:

configuring the processor to communicate across a vehicle network bus further comprises configuring the processor to communicate over the vehicle network bus, wherein the vehicle network bus couples the processor to the native components of the vehicle such that the native components of the vehicle communicate directly with each other and with the processor.

21. A method of integrating materials handling vehicles with enterprise computing systems for materials handling vehicle fleet management, the method comprising:

communicating wirelessly, by a transceiver on a materials handling vehicle, to a server computer, the server computer having an application for managing data collected from a corresponding fleet of materials handling vehicles;

receiving from the application of the server computer, condition data associated with an event of interest, wherein;

the condition data defines when an associated action is required by the processor on the materials handling vehicle in order to perform a predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting the event of interest;

monitoring information communicated across a vehicle network bus, wherein;

the vehicle network bus enables communication between existing electronic controllers of the material handling vehicle according to a vehicle network protocol;

the existing electronic controllers communicate with each other independently of the processor; and

the processor communicates across the network bus according to the vehicle network protocol;

implementing the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest, where the event of interest is detected using the received condition data and monitored information communicated across the materials handling vehicle network bus, by;

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver, where the communicated information is collected from at least one electronic component of the materials handling vehicle across the vehicle network bus; and

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus to implement the predetermined function.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein:

detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises detecting an impact on the materials handling vehicle; and

implementing the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest further comprises configuring the processor to respond to the detected impact by classifying the severity of the detected impact.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein:

classifying the severity of each detected impact comprises at least one of;

distinguishing normal or anticipated shocks from unanticipated shocks;

or

distinguishing types of impacts based upon an assessment of impact signatures.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein:

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver comprises wirelessly communicating impact information to the server computer if it is determined that the detected impact exceeds at least one predetermined impact condition; and

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus in response to the detection of the occurrence of the event of interest comprises polling at least one vehicle component across the materials handling vehicle network bus to determine the extent of any damage that may have been caused by a detected impact that exceeds predetermined impact conditions.

25. The method according to claim 21, wherein:

detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises detecting a triggering event for data reporting;

implementing the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises creating an event report from a log of data gathered during vehicle operation, where the event report covers data gathered over a window of time spanning from a time period before the triggering event to a time after the triggering event;

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus in response to the detection of the occurrence of the event of interest comprises communicating data to the log of data; and

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver comprises wirelessly communicating the generated event report to the server computer.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein:

providing interactive operator training further comprises at least one of;

implementing interaction between the processor and at least one component across the materials handling vehicle network bus to provide a demonstration of a feature being taught to the operator that is relevant to the logged use; and

testing the operator with regard to a feature being taught to the operator by monitoring communications across the materials handling vehicle network bus to log use relevant to the feature being taught to ensure that the component is responding appropriately.

27. The method according to claim 21, wherein:

implementing the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises providing interactive operator training by;

logging the manner in which an operator uses at least one control of a materials handling vehicle by monitoring corresponding information transmitted across the materials handling vehicle network bus;

wirelessly transmitting the logged operator use information to the server computer across the wireless network;

wirelessly obtaining relevant reference or training materials from the server computer based upon an analysis of the logged information; and

displaying the obtained training materials relevant to the logged use on a display of the materials handling vehicle for the operator.

28. The method according to claim 21, wherein:

detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises detecting an error in operation of the materials handling vehicle;

implementing the predetermined vehicle function in response to detecting an occurrence of the event of interest comprises initiating a remote diagnostic check of at least one component of the materials handling vehicle;

interacting with at least one component of the materials handling vehicle across the materials handling vehicle network bus in response to the detection of the occurrence of the event of interest comprises gathering information related to at least one condition of the materials handling vehicle by communicating the gathered information across the materials handling vehicle network bus; and

wirelessly communicating information associated with the detected occurrence of the event of interest between the server computer and the materials handling vehicle via the transceiver comprises;

communicating the gathered information to the computer server;

communicating the gathered information from the computer server to a remote third party server for remote service diagnostics; and

receiving a message back to the server computer from the third party server corresponding to the remote service diagnostics.