WO2021207855A1 - Mobile inventory management system using modular intelligent device - Google Patents
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- G—PHYSICS
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Abstract
The invention discloses a modular intelligent device with a microcontroller having CPUs and storage memory, communication interfaces mobile devices and a server, a GPS interface, affixing means, through which the device is affixed to a container for transporting the material, the container having a door, a door sensor for the container, an actuator lock controller that controls the lock and open of the door of the container, a leak sensor for the container, wherein the device is accessed by the user via a swipe/tap key card, or via mobile application, the device provides location tracking data of the material, event logging data of the material, data of the door of the container, leak detection data, and the device communicates the location tracking data of the material, event logging data of the material, data of the door of the container and leak detection data to the server in real-time.
Description
MOBILE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM USING MODULAR INTELLIGENT DEVICE
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to supply chain automation, material handling system, and more particularly, intelligent and secure mobile material inventory platform for use in an industrial site, for example, in mining.
Background of the Invention
The cost of handling, warehousing and delivery of materials is not a trivial cost to an industrial operation, for example, a mining operation. The process is made more challenging by having to commit vehicles and manpower to ensure that material logistics is not a bottleneck to an operation.
Orders for materials are commonly generated by maintenance technicians and planners, and are associated with a particular task, or work order. The technicians either themselves, or through planners, submit reservations for maintenance materials within an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system or directly to a vendor with a purchase order. Additionally, production materials are managed by maintaining the minimum quantities underground in specified storage areas. The request for material re-supply is triggered by an audit process, when materials are observed to be sufficiently drawn down, or on an as needed basis. This task is typically completed by production and maintenance team members.
As a vendor receives a purchase order or order request, they will confirm they have the stock available to fulfill the order. If the vendor does not have the available stock to fulfill the order, they will request it from their upstream supplier or manufacturer, adding to the time it takes to receive the material.
As the materials are produced, they are packaged and shipped to the vendors. If the materials are already loaded on shipping pallets, they will commonly be unpackaged from the pallets, and then repackaged on other pallets with other corresponding materials ordered. This involves
a substantial amount of manual labour. Further, packages are commonly shrink-wrapped to each pallet to ensure they are securely fastened and protected for transport.
The materials are then once again reloaded by a shipping company or outbound logistics crew and delivered either to an industrial site directly or a cross-dock facility. Cross dock facilities enable the materials to be grouped and consolidated with other materials from other vendors and moved to an industrial site utilizing fewer vehicles at the expense of further material handling and labour.
As the materials arrive at an industrial site, a dedicated logistics crew becomes responsible to ensure the materials are recorded as received, stored, consolidated, and delivered to a work site when required.
It has been observed that most materials are delivered to an industrial site by trucks and are received utilizing the surface area forklifts. The materials are then stored either in surface laydown areas, in warehouses or work sites. Warehouse personnel are also required to update inventory data within the ERP system upon receipt of the materials.
Another team of logistics workers then transfer the materials from the headframe to the specified work area via a transporting device used to access the industrial working site. Instructions are commonly communicated verbally over the radio or in person, increasing the likelihood of errors or omissions. The transporting device then moves the materials from the headframe to the industrial working site.
Research has shown that at least 50% of the transporting device occupation time (for material movement) was due to stowing and un-stowing activities. Space within the transporting device is typically unused as only a few pallets of materials will be placed within the transporting device. Moving explosives and associated hazardous materials requires special operating procedures and may only occur at specific times due to health and safety regulations.
This process is time and labour consuming. Further, a lot of errors can and do occur between system errors, vendor errors, communication issues (over radio) and result in additional movement of material or re-order of missing materials.
According to research studies, a large percentage of materials may be damaged, missing, or is ordered when not required.
Therefore, the industrial market requires a solution to not only track and protect the materials needed in an industrial site but also improve delivery times, reduce material waste and improve worker safety.
The ideal solution is a combination of software and hardware solutions designed to track, manage, dispatch and protect the integrity of the required materials.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention discloses a modular intelligent device which provides the capability for users to track, locate and update material inventory in real-time. The device also provides alerting and monitoring conditions such as unauthorized access, leak detection, impacts, and other environmental conditions.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a modular intelligent device, said device comprises: a microcontroller comprising one or more CPUs and storage memory, one or more communication interfaces in communication with one or more mobile devices and a server, a GPS interface, affixing means, through which the modular intelligent device is affixed to a container for transporting and storing the material, the container may have a door, and at least one of:
(a) a door sensor for the container,
(b) an actuator lock controller that controls the lock and open of the door for the container, and
(c) a leak sensor for the container, wherein the modular intelligent device is accessed by the user via a swipe/tap key card, or via mobile application through a mobile device, wherein the modular intelligent device provides location tracking data of the material based on triangulation with received signal from nearby nodes,
wherein the modular intelligent device provides event logging and inventory management data of the material using the microcontroller, wherein the modular intelligent device provides data of the door of the container using the door sensor, wherein the modular intelligent device provides door open data using actuator lock controller, wherein the modular intelligent device provides leak detection data using the leak sensor, wherein the modular intelligent device communicates the location tracking data of the material, the event logging data of the material, and at least one of (a) the data of the door of the container (b) the door open data, and (c) the leak detection data, to the server in real-time.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the modular intelligent device further comprises means for environmental data collection and monitoring.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the means for environmental data collection and monitoring includes monitoring of temperature surrounding the modular intelligent device.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the modular intelligent device further comprises object recognition means based on artificial intelligence, and the object recognition is for edge processing.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the object recognition means is vision recognition.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the data of the door of the container includes unauthorized access detection or door jamming detection.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the modular intelligent device further comprises accelerometer and gyroscopic alarm for detection of acceleration.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the modular intelligent device further comprises an LED indicator.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the modular intelligent device further comprises one or more expansion slots.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the one or more communication interfaces include WIFI and/or BLE and/or LTE communication interfaces.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the location tracking is via GPS, access point in a wireless LAN, or via RSSI strength of communications field.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the modular intelligent device provides offline synchronization to enable communication to a local mobile device when network to the server is offline, and when networks to the server is online communications become available, the local mobile device syncs to the server. The modular intelligent device may further comprise means of providing enterprise resource planning (ERP) functionality for item consolidation and inventory management without a real time connection to the ERP platform and means of storing and forwarding information to the local mobile device when network to an ERP system is offline.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
Brief Description of the Drawings
By way of example only, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure lis an embodiment of the modular intelligent device according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic representation of communications from the modular intelligent device according to the present invention to Server/ App.
Figure 3 is a system overview of the mobile inventory management system using modular intelligent device according to the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention
It is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of the embodiments as set forth in the following description. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. By way of example only, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Furthermore, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Any numerical range recited herein is not intended to include all values from the lower value to the upper value of that range. Contrary to the use of the term “consisting”, the use of the terms “including”, “containing”, “comprising”, or “having” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The use of the term “a” or “an” is meant to encompass “one or more”. Any numerical range recited herein is intended to include all values from the lower value to the upper value of that range.
The present invention is designed to address many of the following issues, including:
• lack of visibility of supply risk,
• lack of accurate demand cycle visibility,
• lack of visibility on who is managing supplies (poor auditing capabilities)
• over response to assumed supply risk (ordering too much),
• poor product sourcing and procurement,
• poor specification of the materials,
• poor schedule synchronization,
• process disruption,
• damage to the materials,
• leaks and environmental concerns,
• security of the stored materials, and
• physical protection of stored material.
The present invention discloses a modular intelligent device which provides the capability for users to track, locate and update inventory in real-time.
The modular intelligent device can be mounted onto a storage unit, allowing it to be fully trackable.
The modular intelligent device may have several on board features to ensure the security and integrity of the contained material. Not only does the modular intelligent device function to securely transport the material but it also may be used as a unit of mobile warehousing throughout an industrial site.
The modular intelligent device is also designed to address specific material movement and storage concerns, for example, around:
• explosives and blasting supplies security,
• environmentally sensitive materials (concrete, chemicals),
• hydrocarbon and other flammable material safety,
• temperature sensitive materials (freeze alerts, over temperature alerts),
• production material organization and link to site development.
The modular intelligent device relies on an on-board microcontroller, storage memory (flash/ROM), communications interface(s), actuators and sensors to allow users of the system to interact with stored inventory.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a modular intelligent device in a mobile inventory management system, said system comprising one or more of the following features:
• means for placing orders for a material including means for processing said orders,
• means for automatic inventory tracking of the material via remote user interface or Artificial Intelligence (AI) based object recognition,
• means for inventory identification with the use of a light-emitting diode (LED) light source,
• means for electronically securing the material in a container equipped with the modular intelligent device and permitting access only to authorized users,
• means for permitting access to the secured material with swipe/tap key card, through mobile application, or remotely from central control,
• means for charging on-board batteries,
• means of monitoring temperature and other environmental characteristics,
• means of storing information internally with memory, and processing locally with a microcontroller on-board the modular intelligent device,
• means of detecting impacts due to acceleration events,
• means of detecting unauthorized access by sensing forced door openings,
• means of detecting material leakage via leak sensors,
• means of indicating location via GPS, access point in a wireless LAN (SSID), or via RSSI strength of communications field,
• means of providing ERP functionality for item consolidation and inventory management without a real time connection to the ERP platform,
• means of intelligently storing and forwarding information to mobile devices when primary networks to the ERP system are offline.
The modular intelligent device is mechanically constructed with one or more of the following physical features:
• heavy duty,
• lightweight construction,
• water resistant.
The modular intelligent device is equipped with communication and electronics interface designed with one or more of the following features:
• storing information internally with memory, and processing locally with a microcontroller on-board the modular intelligent device,
• multiple communications interfaces including WI-FI and/or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and/or LTE technologies,
• inventory identification with the use of a light-emitting diode (LED) light source,
• expansion slot(s) to permit other communication devices including cellular and Zigbee,
• extended 1-year battery life when commissioned with external battery pack,
• built in batery charging and protection circuitry for maintaining voltage of internal batery,
• authorized access using communication protocol with swipe/tap key card, or via mobile application,
• actuator lock controller with feedback and control system in place to ensure lock reliably opens and closes,
• location tracking based on triangulation with received signal strength indication from nearby nodes, for example, location tracking via GPS, access point in a wireless LAN, or via RSSI strength of communications field,
• capable of using multiple location engines simultaneously (RSSI triangulation, beacon and GPS),
• offline synchronization protocol to enable server communications relay through a local mobile device or standalone operation with a mobile device in an unconnected area, for example, storing and forwarding information to the mobile device when primary networks to the ERP system are offline,
• event logging with on-board flash storage and processing of data locally using the microcontroller on-board the modular intelligent device,
• unauthorized access detection with the use of door sensors, for example, detection of unauthorized access by sensing forced door openings,
• door jamming alarm,
• detection of impacts due to acceleration events, for example, by using an accelerometer and gyroscopic alarm,
• leak detection using a variety of leak sensors,
• environmental data collection and monitoring including monitoring temperature and other environmental characteristics, stored locally and synchronized to server upon communications availability,
• AI based object recognition, for example, vision recognition, in order to implement edge processing capabilities.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the modular intelligent device can be mounted to existing pallet(s), specialized container(s), or other material movement platform(s) for easy material identification and locating.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the modular intelligent device contains a microcontroller that provides WI-FI and/or BLE and/or LTE communications to nearby mobile devices.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the modular intelligent device provides a Wi-Fi, LTE or other network interface that may be activated for direct communication to a central server in the mobile inventory management system when required, for example, on the detection of an adverse condition such as a leak, or unauthorized entry attempt.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, when equipped with the vision sensor and the associated processing unit, the modular intelligent device will turn power on to the connected AI edge processing unit and camera and signal it to run a scripted routine. The output of the scripted routine is the compiled image processing data sent back to the modular intelligent device over a serial communication link. The routine followed by the AI edge processing unit includes, for example:
• Capture of pictures using an attached RGB camera,
• Picture processing through a convolutional neural network (CNN) or additional set of layers/fdters,
• Edges and other elements are extracted and marked,
• Model is compiled,
• Model is compared to previously generated models to identify similarities,
• The model provides an output of what objects are located in the frame with an associated confidence level.
Sensing elements may include, but are not limited to:
• Door opening contacts,
• Accel erometer/gyroscope to provide tilt angle, impact event reporting, etc.,
• Temperature sensor,
• Leak sensor (water and/or hydrocarbon),
• Atmospheric pressure sensor (altitude/depth measurement, environmental),
• GPS sensor for positioning information when a clear view of the sky is available,
• Triangulation using available wireless network beacons (anchor points),
• Vision Sensor, using edge processing, an AI based convolutional neural network (CNN) and a prebuilt model running on an embedded processor designed for the task.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the modular intelligent device is battery powered and is designed to operate up to a period of one (1) year without the need for recharge.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the modular intelligent device in combination with a mobile application permits authorized employees the ability to access the contents of the storage container by commanding an unlock signal from their personal or shared mobile device. The lock is specifically designed to not consume battery energy while locked or unlocked.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, users of the system are able to command an LED light to illuminate to aid in identification of the required modular intelligent device, as many other modular intelligent devices may be present, or the unit may be located in a dark area. Coarse positioning techniques also leverage mobile tagging systems, and distance estimation using received signal strength indication (RSSI).
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the software component of the modular intelligent device consists not only of a mobile application but also a server-side application. The server-side application is responsible for communicating with other software systems, such as ERP packages, and tagging/tracking systems. The server-side application continually monitors and records patterns and using elements of AI and is able to better prescribe the ordering and movement of material for the mine site.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, communication to the server from the modular intelligent container occurs, using one or more of the following communication pathways:
• direct connection to the modular intelligent container using Wi-Fi or other wireless technologies,
• indirect connection using an offline syncing methodology to a tablet or other mobile device, which when the device re-enters an area with wireless coverage will transfer the data to the centralized software platform.
Referring to Figure 1 , a modular intelligent device 10 is shown which has a housing containing a control board therein.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the modular intelligent device further comprises batteries, and optionally sensors and associated circuitry and communications hardware contained within the housing of the modular intelligent device.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the modular intelligent device further comprises affixing means, through which the modular intelligent device may be affixed to a pallet, or other platform for moving the material, by using bolts, tie downs or any other appropriate affixing means such as a fastener or screw.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the modular intelligent device works in coordination with a mobile application for identification and communication with users of the system and a server application to manage user and historical data. By doing this, the system will provide ERP edge processing capabilities and focus operational efforts on core responsibilities, organization and inventory tracking and will address issues of lack of physical tracking of items, the need for high-tumover consumption items, the ability to integrate with Kanban processes and track leftover items being returned to the warehouse.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the control board situated within the housing of the modular intelligent device comprises a microcontroller. The microcontroller may contain one or more CPUs (processor cores) along with memory (for example, flash memory, NVRAM).
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the control board may further comprise programmable input/output peripherals, communication interfaces such as WIFI and/or BLE and/or LTE communication interfaces, power regulation circuit, and GPS interface.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the control board may comprise an indicator, for example, an LED indicator.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the control board may comprise expansion slot(s).
Referring to Figures 2 and 3, the system diagrams shown therein demonstrate the communications pathways between the modular intelligent device 10 and the Server (via WIFI or equivalent) and between the modular intelligent device 10 and the mobile application.
Referring to Figure 2, the system diagram shows the communication pathways between the modular intelligent device 10 and the Server (via WIFI or equivalent) (1) when the network infrastructure is available and (2) when the network infrastructure is unavailable.
According to one embodiment of the invention, when the network infrastructure is available, the data collected, stored and transmitted by the modular intelligent device 10 is optionally transmitted via wireless communication means, for example, WI-FI, LTE, long range (LoRa) or similar means, to a wireless infrastructure, and to the server.
According to one embodiment of the invention, when the network is unavailable, the data collected, stored and transmitted by the modular intelligent device 10 is synced, via communication means, for example, BLE or similar means, to nearby mobile device(s). When the network is available, the nearby mobile devices will sync the data optionally to a wireless infrastructure via wireless communication means, for example, WI-FI, LTE, or similar means, and to the server.
According to one embodiment of the invention, using the onboard memory of the modular intelligent device 10, the data collected, stored and transmitted may comprise, but is not limited to one or more of the following:
• the location data of the modular intelligent device via GPS, access point in a wireless LAN (SSID), or via RSSI strength of communications field,
• inventory information of the materials,
• unauthorized access detection with the use of door sensors, for example, detection of unauthorized access by sensing forced door openings,
• door jamming alarm,
• recent user list,
• accelerometer and gyroscopic alarm and history,
• leak detection and notification, and
• temperature exceptions, for example, usually low or high temperatures.
Figure 3 shows the system overview of the mobile inventory management system using the modular intelligent device 10 and associated sensors and actuators according to the present invention. It further shows the flow of process from mobile application to the modular intelligent device and the server to the modular intelligent device.
Referring to Figure 3, a user can gain authorized access to the modular intelligent device 10 by swiping/tapping a swipe/tap key card 20 using communication protocol such as BLE or, for example by swiping/tapping a swipe/tap key card to log in at a mobile device via mobile application.
The modular intelligent device 10 can further transmit, communicate, and store data to Input and Output device(s) (IO Devices), for example, regarding data of the door contacts, leak sensor data, temperatures sensor information, and actuators data of the modular intelligent device.
The modular intelligent device 10 can further transmit, communicate, and store data relating to the location data of the modular intelligent device via GPS, access point in a wireless LAN (SSID), or via RSSI strength of communications field.
The modular intelligent device 10 is an edge processing unit and can further transmit, communicate, and store data to another Edge Processing Unit and/or RGB Camera, for example, RGB camera for image capture, on-board offline models for image recognition. The Edge Processing Unit may be AI based.
The modular intelligent device 10 can further transmit, communicate, and store data to a server or central server platform through the pathways as described previously in Figure 2.
The system and process according to the present invention therefore is able to achieve, inter alia : · location tracking of the material through the modular intelligent device,
• event logging,
• consumption reporting of the materials,
• inventory management,
• controlled access of the modular intelligent device, · long battery life of the modular intelligent device.
The invention described herein can be used in any mobile inventory management system, for example, land or underground mining inventory management system. Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, other embodiments and modifications are possible. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
Claims
1. A modular intelligent device, said device comprises: a microcontroller comprising one or more CPUs and storage memory, one or more communication interfaces in communication with one or more mobile devices and a server, a GPS interface, affixing means, through which the modular intelligent device is affixed to a container for transporting and storing the material, the container may have a door, and at least one of:
(a) a door sensor for the container,
(b) an actuator lock controller that controls the lock and open of the door for the container, and
(c) a leak sensor for the container, wherein the modular intelligent device is accessed by the user via a swipe/tap key card, or via mobile application through a mobile device, wherein the modular intelligent device provides location tracking data of the material based on triangulation with received signal from nearby nodes, wherein the modular intelligent device provides event logging and inventory management data of the material using the microcontroller, wherein the modular intelligent device provides data of the door of the container using the door sensor, wherein the modular intelligent device provides door open data using actuator lock controller, wherein the modular intelligent device provides leak detection data using the leak sensor, wherein the modular intelligent device communicates the location tracking data of the material, the event logging data of the material, and at least one of (a) the data of the door of the container (b) the door open data, and (c) the leak detection data, to the server in real-time.
2. The modular intelligent device of claim 1, further comprising means for environmental data collection and monitoring.
3. The modular intelligent device of claim 2, wherein the means for environmental data collection and monitoring includes monitoring of temperature surrounding the modular intelligent device.
4. The modular intelligent device of claim 1 , further comprising obj ect recognition means based on artificial intelligence.
5. The modular intelligent device of claim 4, wherein the object recognition means is vision recognition.
6. The modular intelligent device of claim 1, wherein the data of the door of the container includes unauthorized access detection or door jamming detection.
7. The modular intelligent device of claim 1, further comprising accelerometer and gyroscopic alarm for detection of acceleration.
8. The modular intelligent device of claim 1, further comprising an LED indicator.
9. The modular intelligent device of claim 1, further comprising one or more expansion slots.
10. The modular intelligent device of claim 1, wherein the one or more communication interfaces include WIFI and/or BLE and/or LTE communication interfaces.
11. The modular intelligent device of claim 1, wherein the location tracking is via GPS, access point in a wireless LAN, or via RSSI strength of communications field.
12. The modular intelligent device of claim 1, wherein the modular intelligent device provides offline synchronization to enable communication to a local mobile device when network to the server is offline, and when networks to the server is online communications become available, the local mobile device syncs to the server.
13. The modular intelligent device of claim 12, further comprising:
means of providing enterprise resource planning (ERP) functionality for item consolidation and inventory management without a real time connection to the ERP platform, and means of storing and forwarding information to the local mobile device when network to an ERP system is offline.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US202063011440P | 2020-04-17 | 2020-04-17 | |
| US63/011,440 | 2020-04-17 |
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| WO2021207855A1 true WO2021207855A1 (en) | 2021-10-21 |
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| PCT/CA2021/050522 WO2021207855A1 (en) | 2020-04-17 | 2021-04-16 | Mobile inventory management system using modular intelligent device |
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| US20080186163A1 (en) * | 2006-08-10 | 2008-08-07 | Ian Michael Mills | Self contained container tracking device |
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- 2021-04-16 WO PCT/CA2021/050522 patent/WO2021207855A1/en active Application Filing
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US20040007050A1 (en) * | 2002-07-12 | 2004-01-15 | Stetter Joseph R. | Apparatus and method for leak detection |
| US20080186163A1 (en) * | 2006-08-10 | 2008-08-07 | Ian Michael Mills | Self contained container tracking device |
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