Granted Patent B2

US 12,190,296 · App. 17/542,848 · Granted Jan 7, 2025

Inventor: Philip W. Swift (Oakwood, OH)

Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation

G06Q10/1097G06Q10/06G06Q10/063114G06Q10/0639G08B21/182G08B25/10H04W4/02H04W4/029G06F16/951G06Q50/01H04W4/40H04W4/44H04W4/80

Abstract

Claims (86)

1. A computer-implemented process of tracking events, comprising:

detecting that a first electronic badge is within a predetermined range of a second electronic badge, thus designating an encounter; and

performing, by a processor executing instructions read out from memory, an event logging transaction responsive to the encounter by:

receiving, from the first electronic badge, an electronic message characterizing an observation made by a user of the first electronic badge relative to a user of the second electronic badge, wherein the observation is made without use of sensors;

converting the electronic message received from the first electronic badge into a pinpoint response, the pinpoint response associated with a pinpoint;

generating an event record comprising an identification of an event type, and the pinpoint response;

wirelessly sending at least one of a confirmation to the first electronic badge, or a message to the second electronic badge that an observation was made about the user of the second electronic badge;

wirelessly communicating the event record to a remote server;

storing the wirelessly communicated event record on the remote server; and

augmenting at the remote server, an operational generated event record collected by sensors in a work environment of the first electronic badge and the second electronic badge with the wirelessly communicated event record.

2. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

forming a temporary wireless communication between the first electronic badge and the second electronic badge using an ultra-wide band radio of the first electronic badge to communicate with an ultra-wide band radio of the second electronic badge, using a Bluetooth radio of the first electronic badge to communicate with a Bluetooth radio of the second electronic badge, or a combination thereof.

3. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving by the first electronic badge, an electronic identifier message comprising at least one of:

an identifier associated with the user of the second electronic badge;

an electronic badge identifier associated with the second electronic badge;

a task identifier associated with the second electronic badge;

a position identifier designating a position of the second electronic badge; or

an event identifier associated with the second electronic badge;

selecting a pinpoint to output based upon the received electronic identifier message, where the pinpoint further corresponds to the characteristic associated with an event carried out by the user of the second electronic badge that is observable by the user of the first electronic badge;

outputting a prompt to the user of the first electronic badge associated with the selected pinpoint; and

receiving, by the first electronic badge, from the user of the first electronic badge, an electronic message designating an observation responsive to the prompt that is output to the user of the first electronic badge.

4. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving from a positioning system, the location of the second electronic badge, where the location of the second electronic badge is derived from at least one of the relative position of the second electronic badge relative to the first electronic badge, or a coordinate location of the second electronic badge;

selecting a pinpoint to output based upon the location of the second electronic badge, where the pinpoint further corresponds to the characteristic associated with an event carried out by the user of the second electronic badge that is observable by the user of the first electronic badge;

outputting a prompt to the user of the first electronic badge associated with the selected pinpoint; and

receiving, by the first electronic badge, from the user of the first electronic badge, an electronic message designating an observation responsive to the prompt that is output to the user of the first electronic badge.

5. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

extracting electronic metadata, the metadata corresponding to at least one of time read from an electronic clock, data extracted from a health and wellness database, information received from a task manager, or information received from a labor management system;

selecting a pinpoint to output based upon the extracted electronic metadata, where the pinpoint further corresponds to the characteristic associated with an event carried out by the user of the second electronic badge that is observable by the user of the first electronic badge;

outputting a prompt to the user of the first electronic badge associated with the selected pinpoint; and

receiving, by the first electronic badge, from the user of the first electronic badge, an electronic message designating an observation responsive to the prompt that is output to the user of the first electronic badge.

6. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting that the first electronic badge is in range of a fixed position marker badge;

selecting a pinpoint to output based upon the detected fixed position marker badge, where the pinpoint further corresponds to the characteristic associated with an event carried out by the user of the second electronic badge that is observable by the user of the first electronic badge;

outputting a prompt to the user of the first electronic badge associated with the selected pinpoint; and

receiving, by the first electronic badge, from the user of the first electronic badge, an electronic message designating an observation responsive to the prompt output to the user of the first electronic badge.

7. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

querying a data source to identify the pinpoint based upon an electronic message designating the observation made by the user of the first electronic badge relative to a characteristic associated with an event carried out by the user of the second electronic badge.

8. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

converting audio corresponding to a phrase spoken by the user of the first electronic badge into a microphone of the first electronic badge into the electronic message.

9. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

communicating a signal to the second electronic badge that causes the second electronic badge to output a notification to the user of the second electronic badge that feedback was received.

10. The computer-implemented process of claim 9 further comprising:

communicating a signal to the second electronic badge so as to cause the second electronic badge to output to the user of the second electronic badge, the pinpoint response.

11. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

wirelessly communicating the event record to a select one of the remote server or the second electronic badge by transmitting the event record to the remote server in such a way that the user of the second electronic badge remains anonymous, the user of the first electronic badge remains anonymous, or both users remain anonymous.

12. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising at least one of:

using a reading from at least one of a direction sensor or an orientation sensor of the first electronic badge to verify that the user of the first electronic badge can properly make the observation characterized in the electronic message and rejecting the electronic message if it is judged that the user of the first electronic badge cannot have made the observation characterized in the electronic message; or

using a distance between the first electronic badge and the second electronic badge to verify that the user of the first electronic badge can properly make the observation characterized in the electronic message and rejecting the electronic message if it is judged that the user of the first electronic badge cannot have made the observation characterized in the electronic message.

13. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

using at least one sensor of the first electronic badge to capture information associated with the observation which is incorporated into the electronic message, comprising at least one of:

capturing an image using a camera;

capturing a video; or

recording data using a sensor; and

attaching the captured information to the event record.

14. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

sending information captured by the second electronic badge responsive to the event record, where the captured information is appended to the event record, the captured information comprising at least one of:

capturing an image using a camera;

capturing a video; or

recording data using a sensor; and

capturing an electronic message typed or spoken into the second electronic badge by the user of the second electronic badge.

15. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

performing at least one of:

masking the first electronic badge so that the user of the first electronic badge does not have an opportunity to provide an observation responsive to an event; or

requiring the user of the first electronic badge to interact with the first electronic badge to provide an input designating the observation according to a prescribed interval.

16. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

accessing at least one of geo-information, or detecting proximity of a fixed position marker badge to predict where a user will be in the short term, and based upon the prediction;

queueing automatically, for display to the user via the first electronic badge, one or more pinpoints that are relevant to the prediction; and

presenting the queued pinpoints, such that the user of the first electronic badge can select one of the presented pinpoints to provide an observation.

17. The computer-implemented process of claim 1 further comprising:

associating the user of the second electronic badge as an operator that is currently operating a materials handling vehicle; and

performing at least one of:

providing feedback to the operator by sending a message to a display on the materials handling vehicle so as to display the identification of the pinpoint and the pinpoint response from the event record; and

using the event record to modify a score of the operator, and providing feedback to the operator by electronically modifying at least one performance setting of the materials handling vehicle responsive to the score associated with the materials handling vehicle.

18. A computer-implemented process of tracking events, comprising:

detecting that a first electronic badge is within a predetermined range of a second electronic badge, thus designating an encounter; and

performing, by a processor executing instructions read out from memory, an event logging transaction responsive to the encounter by:

receiving, from the first electronic badge, an electronic message characterizing an observation made by a user of the first electronic badge relative to a user of the second electronic badge, wherein the observation is made without use of sensors;

converting the electronic message received from the first electronic badge into a pinpoint response, the pinpoint response associated with a pinpoint;

generating an event record comprising an identification of an event type, and the pinpoint response;

wirelessly sending at least one of a confirmation to the first electronic badge, or a message to the second electronic badge that an observation was made about the user of the second electronic badge;

associating the user of the second electronic badge as an operator that is currently operating a materials handling vehicle; and

performing at least one of:

providing feedback to the operator by sending a message to a display on the materials handling vehicle so as to display the identification of the pinpoint and the pinpoint response from the event record; or

using the event record to modify a score of the operator, and providing feedback to the operator by electronically modifying at least one performance setting of the materials handling vehicle responsive to the score associated with the materials handling vehicle.

Continuity (5)

References Cited (38)