Patents by Inventor Sian Phillips

Sian Phillips has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11609578
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a materials handling vehicle to navigate a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment including a navigation subsystem configured to cooperate with a traction control unit, a braking system, a steering assembly, and an obstacle detection subsystem to: determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection; associate with the intersection pre-positioned warehouse object data, a set of road rules, and obstacle data; and navigate the materials handling vehicle through the intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
    Inventors: Toby Collett, Sam McArdle, Sian Phillips, Greg Sumner
  • Publication number: 20220089372
    Abstract: According to the subject matter of the present disclosure, an automated warehouse environment is provided where designated materials handling vehicles are programmed to initiate permission inquiries at primary and secondary nodes of a travel route in the warehouse environment. Alternatively, or additionally, the present disclosure also presents an automated warehouse environment where an asset manager comprises an occupancy grid generator, and a designated materials handling vehicle is programmed to avoid otherwise unpermitted travel along path segments that overlap the locked cells of the occupancy grid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2021
    Publication date: March 24, 2022
    Applicant: Crown Equipment Corporation
    Inventors: Sian Phillips, Samuel McArdle
  • Publication number: 20210181761
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a materials handling vehicle to navigate a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment including a navigation subsystem configured to cooperate with a traction control unit, a braking system, a steering assembly, and an obstacle detection subsystem to: determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection; associate with the intersection pre-positioned warehouse object data, a set of road rules, and obstacle data; and navigate the materials handling vehicle through the intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2021
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Applicant: Crown Equipment Corporation
    Inventors: Toby Collett, Sam McArdle, Sian Phillips, Greg Sumner
  • Patent number: 10962985
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a materials handling vehicle to navigate a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment including a navigation subsystem configured to cooperate with a traction control unit, a braking system, a steering assembly, and an obstacle detection subsystem to: determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection; associate with the intersection pre-positioned warehouse object data, a set of road rules, and obstacle data; and navigate the materials handling vehicle through the intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
    Inventors: Toby Collett, Sam McArdle, Sian Phillips, Greg Sumner
  • Publication number: 20200264633
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a materials handling vehicle to navigate a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment including a navigation subsystem configured to cooperate with a traction control unit, a braking system, a steering assembly, and an obstacle detection subsystem to: determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection; associate with the intersection pre-positioned warehouse object data, a set of road rules, and obstacle data; and navigate the materials handling vehicle through the intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2020
    Publication date: August 20, 2020
    Applicant: Crown Equipment Corporation
    Inventors: Toby Collett, Sam McArdle, Sian Phillips, Greg Sumner
  • Patent number: 10671087
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a materials handling vehicle to navigate a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment including a navigation subsystem configured to cooperate with a traction control unit, a braking system, a steering assembly, and an obstacle detection subsystem to: determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection; associate with the intersection pre-positioned warehouse object data, a set of road rules, and obstacle data; and navigate the materials handling vehicle through the intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
    Inventors: Toby Collett, Sam McArdle, Sian Phillips, Greg Sumner
  • Publication number: 20190033882
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a materials handling vehicle to navigate a vehicle transit surface in a warehouse environment including a navigation subsystem configured to cooperate with a traction control unit, a braking system, a steering assembly, and an obstacle detection subsystem to: determine whether the materials handling vehicle is approaching, or has arrived at, a potentially contested intersection; associate with the intersection pre-positioned warehouse object data, a set of road rules, and obstacle data; and navigate the materials handling vehicle through the intersection utilizing warehouse navigation maneuvers in combination with the associated set of road rules, obstacle avoidance maneuvers, or both, the warehouse navigation maneuvers accounting for the associated pre-positioned warehouse object data and the obstacle avoidance maneuvers accounting for the obstacle data derived from the obstacle detection subsystem.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 26, 2018
    Publication date: January 31, 2019
    Applicant: Crown Equipment Corporation
    Inventors: Toby Collett, Sam McArdle, Sian Phillips, Greg Sumner
  • Patent number: 9990535
    Abstract: An image of a physical environment is acquired that comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel including a two-dimensional pixel location in the image plane and a depth value corresponding to a distance between a region of the physical environment and the image plane. For each pixel, the two dimensional pixel location and the depth value is converted into a corresponding three-dimensional point in the physical environment defined by three coordinate components, each of which has a value in physical units of measurement. A set of edge points is determined within the plurality of three-dimensional points based, at least in part, on the z coordinate component of the plurality of points and a distance map is generated comprising a matrix of cells. For each cell of the distance map, a distance value is assigned representing a distance between the cell and the closest edge point to that cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Crown Equipment Corporation
    Inventors: Sian Phillips, Shantanu Padhye
  • Publication number: 20170316253
    Abstract: An image of a physical environment is acquired that comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel including a two-dimensional pixel location in the image plane and a depth value corresponding to a distance between a region of the physical environment and the image plane. For each pixel, the two dimensional pixel location and the depth value is converted into a corresponding three-dimensional point in the physical environment defined by three coordinate components, each of which has a value in physical units of measurement. A set of edge points is determined within the plurality of three-dimensional points based, at least in part, on the z coordinate component of the plurality of points and a distance map is generated comprising a matrix of cells. For each cell of the distance map, a distance value is assigned representing a distance between the cell and the closest edge point to that cell.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2016
    Publication date: November 2, 2017
    Inventors: Sian Phillips, Shantanu Padhye