Industrial vehicle comprising tag reader and reader module

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9811088-B2
Application number	US-201615148195-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 6, 2016
Priority date	May 6, 2015
Publication date	Nov 7, 2017
Grant date	Nov 7, 2017

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an industrial vehicle is provided comprising industrial vehicle hardware, a user interface, tag reader, reader module, and vehicle controller. The tag reader and the reader module cooperate to identify individual tags of a tag layout comprising a plurality of zone identification tags and a plurality of zone tags. Each zone identification tag occupies a position in the tag layout that corresponds to a unique set of zone tags. Each unique set of zone tags comprises a plurality of zone tags. The reader module discriminates between the plurality of zone identification tags and the plurality of zone tags identified in the tag layout, correlates an identified zone identification tag with a unique set of zone tags, and correlates vehicle functionality with an identified zone tag within the unique set of zone tags, tag-dependent positional data derived from the identified zone tag, or both.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An industrial vehicle comprising industrial vehicle hardware, a user interface, a tag reader, a reader module, and a vehicle controller, wherein:
the industrial vehicle hardware comprises storage and retrieval hardware and a vehicle drive mechanism;
the tag reader and the reader module cooperate to identify individual tags of a tag layout;
the individual tags of the tag layout comprise a plurality of zone identification tags and a plurality of zone tags;
each zone identification tag occupies a position in the tag layout that corresponds to a unique set of zone tags;
each unique set of zone tags comprises a plurality of zone tags;
the reader module
discriminates between the plurality of zone identification tags and the plurality of zone tags identified in the tag layout,
correlates an identified zone identification tag with a unique set of zone tags, and
correlates vehicle functionality with an identified zone tag within the unique set of zone tags, tag-dependent positional data derived from the identified zone tag, or both; and

the vehicle controller controls operational functions of the industrial vehicle hardware in response to (i) the correlation of vehicle functionality with an identified zone tag, tag-dependent positional data, or both, (ii) user input at a user interface of the industrial vehicle, or (iii) both.

2. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
the individual tags of the tag layout comprise a plurality of function tags;
the reader module
discriminates between the function tags identified in the tag layout, and
correlates vehicle functionality or at least partial negation of currently implemented vehicle functionality with an identified function tag; and

the vehicle controller controls operational functions of the industrial vehicle hardware in response to the correlation of vehicle functionality with an identified function tag.

3. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 2 wherein:
the plurality of zone tags are spaced along respective aisle paths of a plurality of aisle paths;
the respective aisle paths along which the plurality of zone tags are spaced comprise respective end points; and
the plurality of function tags are positioned beyond the respective end points.

4. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 2 wherein:
the plurality of zone tags are spaced along an aisle path;
an aisle path comprises one or more aisle function zones; and
respective aisle function zones are bounded by function tags positioned on opposite sides of the aisle function zone along the aisle path.

5. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
the individual tags of the tag layout comprise a plurality of aisle extension tags;
the reader module correlates vehicle functionality with an identified aisle extension tag, tag-dependent positional data derived from the identified aisle extension tag, or both;
the vehicle controller controls operational functions of the industrial vehicle hardware in response to the correlation of vehicle functionality with an identified aisle extension tag, tag-dependent positional data, or both;
the plurality of zone tags are spaced along respective aisle paths of a plurality of aisle paths;
the respective aisle paths along which the plurality of zone tags are spaced comprise respective end points;
the respective aisle paths comprise respective aisle expansion areas beyond the respective end points; and
the plurality of aisle extension tags are positioned along the respective aisle paths in the aisle expansion areas.

6. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
the individual tags of the tag layout comprise a plurality of aisle extension tags;
the reader module correlates vehicle functionality with an identified aisle extension tag, tag-dependent positional data derived from the identified aisle extension tag, or both;
the vehicle controller controls operational functions of the industrial vehicle hardware in response to the correlation of vehicle functionality with an identified aisle extension tag, tag-dependent positional data, or both;
the plurality of zone tags are spaced along respective aisle paths of a plurality of aisle paths;
the respective aisle paths along which the plurality of zone tags are spaced comprise respective end points; and
the plurality of aisle extension tags are positioned along the respective aisle path between the end points.

7. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
the plurality of zone tags are spaced along respective aisle paths of a plurality of aisle paths;
the respective aisle paths along which the plurality of zone tags are spaced comprise respective end points;
the tag layout comprises end-cap pairs positioned at the end points of the respective aisle paths;
respective end-cap pairs comprise an outer end-cap tag and an inner end-cap tag;
each outer end-cap tag of an end-cap pair is positioned farther from an aisle path midpoint than a corresponding inner end-cap tag of the end-cap pair; and
the reader module discriminates between the outer end-cap tag and the inner end-cap tag.

8. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 7 wherein:
the reader module correlates exit-specific vehicle functionality with an identified outer end-cap tag and correlates entry-specific vehicle functionality with an identified inner end-cap tag; and
the vehicle controller controls operational functions of the industrial vehicle hardware in response to entry-specific vehicle functionality as the industrial vehicle enters an aisle path and exit-specific vehicle functionality as the industrial vehicle exits an aisle path.

9. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 7 wherein the inner end-cap tag comprises a zone identification tag of the plurality of zone identification tags.

10. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 7 wherein:
the inner end-cap tag comprises an outermost zone tag of the unique set of zone tags; and
the outermost zone tag is a zone tag which is positioned farther from the aisle path midpoint than corresponding zone tags from the unique set of zone tags.

11. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 7 wherein:
respective aisle paths comprise vehicle entry and vehicle exit portions;
the individual tags of the tag layout comprises one or more end-cap rows;
respective end-cap rows comprise a plurality of end-cap pairs; and
the end-cap rows are spaced across respective end points in vehicle entry and vehicle exit portions such that the reader module identifies the individual tags of the end-cap row regardless of where the industrial vehicle crosses the end-cap row within the vehicle entry or vehicle exit portion of the aisle path.

12. The industrial vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
the individual tags of the tag layout comprise a plurality of aisle entry tags;
respective aisle entry tags are positioned along an aisle path between vehicle entry and vehicle exit portions of the aisle path;
the reader module discriminates between the aisle entry tags and the tags of tag layout along the aisle path and correlates end-of-aisle vehicle functionality with an identified aisle entry tag;
the industrial vehicle hardware comprises a vehicle drive mechanism;
the end-of-aisle vehicle functionality comprise a traveling speed of the vehicle drive mechanism; and
the vehicle controller controls operational functions of the industrial vehicle hardware in response to the correlation of end-of-aisle traveling speed with an identified aisle entry tag and the traveling speed of the vehicle drive mechanism as a function of tag-dependent positional data and an exit port

Assignees

• Crown Equip Corp

Inventors

• Walton Daniel D
• Sherman Nicholas J

Classifications

• E04H5/02

  Buildings or groups of buildings for industrial purposes, e.g. for power-plants or factories (buildings forming part of cooling plants E04H5/10) · CPC title

• G06K7/10366

  the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications · CPC title

• G06K7/0095

  Testing the sensing arrangement, e.g. testing if a magnetic card reader, bar code reader, RFID interrogator or smart card reader functions properly (testing of electrical circuits G01R31/28) · CPC title

• G06Q10/00

  Administration; Management · CPC title

• G06K17/0029

  the arrangement being specially adapted for wireless interrogation of grouped or bundled articles tagged with wireless record carriers · CPC title