Patent Application
20250164992
The present disclosure generally relates to work machines, and more specifically systems for managing a fleet of work machines.
Mobile work machines may be used in the heavy industries such as mining, construction, and the like to transport materials and personnel. These work machines are often large in size, and may require an operator, e.g., a driver, to manually operate the machine in order for the machine to perform its designated/intended operations.
Typically, work sites may utilize a fleet of various mobile work machines, as well as workers performing a wide variety of jobs. It is critical on these work sites to have accurate positioning and awareness systems for collision avoidance, path planning, and site management. These systems may include positioning systems associated with each machine and person at a work site, that further include communications devices that generate a series of repeating signals (a “heartbeat”) for confirmation that communications are working and position information is accurate.
As work machines are often very large in size and have the capability of causing large amounts of damage, these work machines are often equipped with emergency stops to immediately shut down the work machine. These emergency stops (“E-Stops”) are usually placed at a ground level to be accessible by job site workers, and have usage directives governed by the International Organization for Standards (ISO).
Existing site safety systems may rely on either a single pre-configured heartbeat between statically registered devices or requires zonal based configuration where a site is managing safety devices within a specified static zone. Both of these approaches may be prone to mistake in dynamically changing environments that are found in Construction and Mining spaces. The larger the site becomes, the harder it is to manage the connectivity between registered devices at a single heartbeat rate, especially if they are moving long distances away from each other during the course of a work cycle. Long timeframe failure modes such as batteries getting low and then failing, machines entering brief periods of disconnectivity, and other potential failure modes can create unnecessary site shutdowns.
In light of the aforementioned shortcomings, there remains a need for a positioning system with nodes that can provide both long range and short range signals depending on the geospatial position of each node and its proximity or association with a collection of nodes. There also remains a need for a positioning system for managing a fleet of work machines to control E-Stops for work machines across large work sites.
In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a work machine may be provided. The work machine may include a frame, a power source supported by the frame, and a control module configured to control operation of the vehicle and interact with a node monitoring system having a controller. The controller may be configured to register the work machine as a short poll node with the controller, the controller configured to send a short poll signal to a plurality of short poll nodes. The controller may also be configured to register the work machine as a long poll node with the controller, the controller configured to send a short poll signal to a plurality of long poll nodes. The controller may also be configured to send the short poll signal to the control module of the work machine and shut down the power source if the short poll signal is not returned. The controller may also be configured to simultaneously send the long poll signal to the control module of the work machine and alert nearby ones of the plurality of long poll nodes if the long poll signal is not returned.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a node monitoring system may be provided. The node monitoring system may include a plurality of nodes, each of the plurality of nodes registered and connected with a controller to simultaneously receive and return a short poll signal and a long poll signal, and a controller. The controller may be configured to register an area as an operation zone having a boundary, and simultaneously send and receive a short poll signal and a long poll signal to and from each of the plurality of nodes. The controller may also be configured to command at least one of the plurality of nodes to power off in response to a failure to receive the short poll signal from the at least one of the plurality of nodes. The controller may also be configured to alert others of the plurality of nodes that the at least one of the plurality of nodes is operating outside of a spatial boundary.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, a method for monitoring a work site may be provided. The work site may have a plurality of work machines, a plurality of equipment, and a plurality of workers forming a plurality of nodes. The method may include determining a boundary for an area in which each of the plurality of nodes may travel. The method may include determining an allowable proximity between each of the plurality of nodes. The method may include determining a position of each of the plurality of nodes, and reporting the position of each of the plurality of nodes to a controller. Determining the position of each of the plurality of nodes may include registering each of the plurality of nodes with a short poll signal, the short poll signal being sent out to each of the plurality of nodes to determine an instantaneous position. Determining the position of each of the plurality of nodes may also include registering each of the plurality of nodes with a long poll signal, the long poll signal being sent out to each of the plurality of nodes to determine if any of the plurality of nodes are operating outside of the boundary. The method may also include shutting down at least one of the plurality of nodes, after determining that one of the plurality of nodes has not returned the short poll signal. The method may also include determining that one of the plurality of nodes is operating outside of the boundary, and alerting nearby nodes.
These and other aspects and features of the present disclosure will be more readily understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, and with specific reference to
Work machines are heavy machinery which may be configured to perform a variety of tasks. The exemplary work machine 10 is supported by a frame 11. The work machine 10 may include a drivetrain 12 powered by an engine 13 and driving ground-engaging members 14 contacting the ground and supporting the frame 11 in order to operate the work machine 10. The work machine 10 may also include an implement 15 to perform a work job. In the view of
As the work machine 10 may be very large, an emergency stop 18 may be provided on the exterior of the work machine 10. The emergency stop 18 may be located proximate to a ground level such that an operator or a work site worker may easily access the emergency stop 18. The emergency stop 18 may take the form of a switch, button, lever, or other triggering devices as known, and may disconnect electric power within the work machine 10 such that all systems on the work machine 10 including the engine 13 are shut down.
While the work machine 10 of
The work machine 10 may also be fully autonomous. An autonomous work machine 10 may provide a number of benefits for automating simple, repetitive tasks at a work site. The work machine 10 may be capable of autonomously navigating around work sites and performing one or more tasks with little or no intervention by an operator. Workers may be remotely located from the work machine 10 and may be able to monitor multiple autonomous machines at the same time. Remote workers monitoring the autonomous machines may also have the secondary emergency stop 19 proximate to the remote operator that also may disconnect electric power to the work machine 10.
As the work machine 10 may be an incredibly large moving object, it is important to monitor the position of the work machine 10 and the interaction of the work machine 10 in proximity with other worksite equipment and workers.
Within the work site, the node monitoring system 40 may track a plurality of nodes. The plurality of nodes may be formed by a wide variety of objects, such as a work machines 10, work site equipment 20, and a worker 30, among others. Each of the plurality of nodes may be provided with a transponder device that may be configured to receive a signal from the controller 42 and transmit the signal back. The control module 17 of the work machine 10 may be configured to receive and return the signals. The work site equipment 20 and the worker 30 may each be equipped with a portable transponder to send and receive these signals.
In order to dynamically monitor the work site, the controller 42 may transmit a variety of signals to the work machine 10, the work site equipment 20, and the worker 30. This signal may be a periodic signal generated by the controller 42 that looks for a response signal from the work machine 10, the work site equipment 20, and the worker 30, known as a “heartbeat” signal. The controller 42 may simultaneously send two forms of a heartbeat signal, a short poll signal 44, and a long poll signal 45.
In the short poll signal 44, the controller 42 requests a return signal from the node and the node will return the response if it is available, in the case of the work site, where the work machine 10, the work site equipment 20, and the worker 30 are within the boundary 43 of the operation zone 41.
The controller 42 may set conditions for what information the heartbeat signal contains and may further set parameters for positive return signaling from the nodes. In the example of
The controller 42 may be configured to trigger an emergency stop in any of the work machine 10, the work site equipment 20, and the worker 30. If the controller 42 determines that any two or more of the work machine 10, the work site equipment 20, and the worker 30 are in a closer proximity as specified in parameters defined by the controller 42, the controller 42 may trigger the emergency stop of any number of the nodes. The controller 42 may also be configured to trigger the emergency stop of a nodes if it is detected to be operating outside of the operation zone 41. While each of the work machine 10 and the work site equipment 20, may be equipped with an emergency stop to shut off power, the worker 30 does not have an emergency stop. Each transponder of the work machine 10, the work site equipment 20, and the worker 30 may therefore include warning lights, buzzers, or any other warning signals as known to provide additional alerts.
In the long poll signal 45, the controller 42 requests a return signal from the node and if the return signal is not available then the node will hold the request until the return signal gets available, and then send the response back.
The long poll signal 45 is advantageously used in the example of the work site as shown by
In the depiction of
In operation, the teachings of the present disclosure can find applicability in many industries including but not limited to work machines used in the earth moving, mining, agricultural, and construction industries. While depicted and described in conjunction with a mining machine, such teachings can also find applicability with other machines such as automobiles, on and off highway trucks, excavators, track-type tractors, factory robotics, and other types of machines as known to person skilled in the art.
The node monitoring system 40 determines the position of each of the nodes tracked by the controller 42. In a second step 102, the controller 42 simultaneously sends the short poll signal 44 and the long poll signal 45 to each of the plurality of nodes. For each of the nodes, the controller 42, in a second step 103, determines if an acceptable return has been received. If so, the short poll signal 44 is sent again after a defined period of time. If not, in a fourth step 104, the controller 42 determines if the node is operating within an acceptable parameter deviation as defined in the first step 101. For example, in the embodiment of
The long poll signal 45 is simultaneously sent to the nodes as the short poll signal 44. In a sixth step 106, the controller 42 determines if an acceptable return has been received for the long poll signal 45. If so, as with the short poll signal 44, the long poll signal 45 is sent again after a defined period of time. If not, the controller 42, in a seventh step 107, may be prompted to wait for the signal for a defined period of time. This defined wait time may be defined in the parameters of the first step 101. In an eighth step 108, the controller 42 may alert any nearby nodes that a positive return from the long poll signal 45 has not been received from the node.
In a ninth step 109, the long poll signal 45 may eventually be returned to the controller 42 within the wait time parameter. For example, in the embodiment of
The method 100 for monitoring a plurality of nodes describes operation of the node monitoring system 40 of the primary embodiment, and how in operation, the node monitoring system 40 may dynamically manage fleets of vehicles, equipment, and personnel. The node monitoring system 40 allows an understanding of what specific nodes are being shut down when an emergency stop is being pressed, as well as shutting down vehicles that unexpectedly go out of a defined range. Simultaneously providing the short poll signal 44 and the long poll signal 45 allows for optimization of bandwidth of the short poll signal 44, while also providing acceptable operation deviations that are tracked by the long poll signal 45.
The node monitoring system 40 can be adapted to any work site, and can solve problems of vehicles going out of a defined range without a need for physical fixed infrastructure. The node monitoring system 40 can also be adapted to other industries that utilize fleets of vehicles, movable equipment, and workers that may interact with them.
It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure. The invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited.
