FLEET MANAGEMENT PORTAL FOR OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT

• US 20150058062A1
• Filed: 03/08/2013
• Published: 02/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Husqvarna AB (HUSQVARNA)
• Original Assignee: Husqvarna AB (HUSQVARNA)
• Inventors: Mejegrd, Peter, Wahlstrm, Per, Holmberg, Stefan, Philpott, Gary, Wahlgren, Hkan
• Granted Patent: US 10,032,123 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.22
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 related to drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/00 Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 99/008 by doing functionality tests
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 3/00 Measuring linear or angular speed; Measuring differences of linear or angular speeds G01P5/00 - G01P11/00 take precedence; direction and speed indication G01P13/045; counting mechanisms G06M
• 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 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• 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: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention are directed to a fleet management system that assists with management and monitoring fleets of powered machines and their operators, such as fleets engaged in landscaping, grounds care, and forestry service. In this regard, embodiments of the invention are directed to systems and methods for automatically gathering data about one or more pieces of outdoor power equipment and one or more human operators of the equipment, processing the data into more useful data and data formats, and providing useful feedback, data, and tools to users of the system via, for example, a web portal that either assists users with management of a fleet of equipment and operators or provides useful information to owner-operators of outdoor power equipment about their performance and their machines.

Claims

1. A data management server system comprising:

a network interface configured to receive data via a network from a plurality of remote devices, wherein the data comprises information about outdoor power equipment, the outdoor power equipment'"'"'s performance, and/or the outdoor power equipment'"'"'s environment, and wherein the data further includes identification (ID) information that can be used to identify the operator of each piece of outdoor power equipment for which data is received; and

a processing device configured to use the network interface and the data to provide over the network a portal that provides users with information about outdoor power equipment with which the user is associated and information about the operators of the outdoor power equipment.

2. The data management server system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is configured to use the data to calculate information about the skill, experience, or performance of an operator and present a graph, chart, notice, or warning to a user of the portal about the skill, experience, or performance of the operator.

3. The data management server system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is configured to present via the portal a summary of a plurality of outdoor power equipment associated with the user and a summary of a plurality of equipment operators.

4. The data management server system of claim 3, wherein the summary of the plurality of equipment comprises images of the equipment, and wherein the summary of the plurality of equipment operators comprises images of the operators.

5. The data management server system of claim 1, wherein the portal device comprises a workday summary for each operator showing which equipment the operator used and information about one or more conditions of the equipment while the operator was operating the equipment.

6. The data management server system of claim 1, wherein the portal device comprises an equipment summary for each piece of equipment showing which operator used the equipment and any maintenance or service alerts automatically generated by the processing device.

7. The data management server system of claim 1, wherein the portal comprises information about the performance, skill, or experience of one or more operators automatically determined by the processing device based on information sensed from the equipment when the operator was using the equipment.

8. The data management server system of claim 1, wherein the portal comprises a system for allowing a user to register identification units and associate them with particular people.

9. The data management server system of claim 1, wherein the portal comprises a dealer portal, a manufacturer portal, a service provider portal, a fleet manager portal, a retailer portal, and an operator portal.

10. The data management server system of claim 1, wherein the portal comprises information about each operator'"'"'s exposure to vibration or noise during a period of work, the exposure calculated automatically by the processing device based at least partially on information sensed from equipment used by the operator during operation of the equipment by the operator.

11. A method for monitoring the running of at least one powered machine comprising:

a) providing the at least one machine with a communication device including a memory and means for wire-less communication,

b) obtaining values of at least one parameter associated with running of the machine and storing the values in said memory, wherein said at least one parameter includes position of a throttle valve or geographic position of the machine/s and/or operator/s running the machine,

c) connecting the communication device to a server for transmitting the values to said server, and

e) displaying the values associated with running of the machine in the server or in a terminal connected to said server.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11 comprising the steps of:

f) providing an identification unit associated with a specific operator ID-code for a specific operator of the machine, the identification unit being a separate entity from the machine and intended to be worn or carried by the operator,

g) communicating said operator ID-code to the communication device, and

h) storing said operator ID-code in said memory.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, comprising:

i) providing the machine and/or operator with a GPS unit, and

j) communicating geographic position of the operator and/or the machine to said server.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

k) evaluating the obtained geographic positions of the machine and/or operator during a specific operating time for tracking the actual pathway of the machine/operator at the area where the machine/operator was operating,

l) evaluating the area where the machine/operator was operating so as to determine an optimized route, and

m) comparing the actual pathway of the machine/operator to the optimized route for evaluating the efficiency of the actual pathway.

15. The method according to claim 13, comprising the steps of:

n) obtaining and storing at least the geographic positions and the engine speed of the machine during a specific operating time,

o) pairing registered geographic positions with the engine speed obtained and stored at each geographic position,

p) evaluating the paired data to determine for each registered geographic position whether a combustion engine/electric motor of the machine was in idle mode or in active operating mode, and

q) based on the evaluation determining the total area at which the machine was in active operating mode during the operating time.

16. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the at least one parameter includes at least one of RPM, oil temperature, oil pressure and transmission temperature.