# US 11,897,734 B2 · Systems and methods for guiding a crane operator > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,897,734 B2 - Document ID: US11897734B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/109,972 - Filed: 2023-02-15 - Published: 2023-08-24 - Granted: 2024-02-13 - Earliest claimed: 2021-04-12 - Assignees: Structural Services, Inc. - Applicants: Structural Services, Inc. - Inventors: James T. Benzing; William R. Haller; Seth T. Slavin; Marta Kasica-Soltan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11897734B2 ## CPC - B66C 13/16: Applications of indicating, registering, or weighing devices (in crane hooks B66C1/40; in safety gear B66C15/00; weighing-apparatus G01G; remote indicating in general G08) - B66C 13/46: Position indicators for suspended loads or for crane elements - B66C 13/48: Automatic control of crane drives for producing a single or repeated working cycle; Program control - G01S 17/08: for measuring distance only (indirect measurement G01S17/46; active triangulation systems G01S17/48) - G06Q 10/08: Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management - G06Q 50/08: Construction - B66C: CRANES; LOAD-ENGAGING ELEMENTS OR DEVICES FOR CRANES, CAPSTANS, WINCHES, OR TACKLES ({specially adapted for lifting invalids A61G7/10;} rope, cable, or chain winding mechanisms, braking or detent devices therefor B66D; specially adapted for nuclear reactors G21) - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract The present disclosure presents systems and methods for assisting a crane operator. An imaging system automatically images each building material object contained within a shakeout field on a construction site and processes the images to determine each object's identifying indicium and its geometric properties. These values are compared with a construction site database to ensure that all necessary building materials are present. A positioning device tracks, in real time, the location of the imaging system, the location of structural members within the shakeout field, and/or other important features of the job site, such as obstacles that the crane operator will need to avoid while lifting a structural member from its initial location to its destination location. Real-time images of the construction site, including indications of the next building material object to be hoisted and/or a path between the object's initial and final locations, can be generated to guarantee that the crane operator hoists the expected object to the expected location. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A guidance system for guiding a crane operator to a location of a first building material object having a first identifying indicium and located within a shakeout field, the guidance system comprising: an imager providing at least one image of the shakeout field, including the first building material object; a GPS receiver coupled to a hook-block of a crane operated by the crane operator, wherein the GPS receiver is configured to provide a GPS location of the hook-block and a GPS location of the first building material object within the shakeout field; and a computer coupled to the imager and the GPS receiver, wherein the computer is configured to: recognize the first building material object within the shakeout field image based upon the first identifying indicium; and provide a visual recognition to the crane operator for guiding the operation of the hook-block to the location of the first building material object based on of the GPS location of the first building material object. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the GPS receiver provides a two-dimensional location of the hook-block. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer determines a two-dimensional location of the first recognized building material object. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The system of claim 3, wherein the visual recognition includes the two-dimensional location of the recognized building material object. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the imager includes a wavelength-responsive progressive scan CMOS imager. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the imager is calibrated for lens and perspective distortion. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the imager is calibrated to determine a GPS position of the imaged object. ### Claim 8 A guidance system for guiding a crane operator to a location of a first building material object having a first identifying indicium and located within a shakeout field, the guidance system comprising: an imager mounted on a hook-block of a crane, the imager providing a sequence of overlapping images of the shakeout field; a GPS receiver coupled to the imager and the hook-block, wherein the GPS receiver is capable of providing a GPS location of the hook-block and a GPS location of the first building material object; a computer coupled to the imager and the GPS receiver, wherein the computer is configured to: generate an image of the shakeout field including the first building material object based on the sequence of overlapping images; recognize the first building material object within the image; recognize the first identifying indicium of the first building material object within the image; and provide a visual recognition to the crane operator for guiding the operation of the hook-block to the location of the first building material object based on of the GPS location of the first building material object. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the computer determines a two-dimensional location of the hook-block and a two-dimensional location of the first recognized building material object. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9, wherein the visual recognition includes the two-dimensional location of the hook-block. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the visual recognition includes the two-dimensional location of the recognized building material object. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the imager includes a wavelength-responsive progressive scan CMOS imager. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the imager is calibrated for lens and perspective distortion. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the imager is calibrated to determine a GPS position of each image pixel. ### Claim 15 A guidance system for guiding a crane operator to a location of a first building material object having a first identifying indicium and located within a shakeout field, the guidance system comprising: an imager mounted on a hook-block of a crane, wherein the imager is configured to generate one or more images of the shakeout field; a GPS receiver coupled to the imager and the hook-block, wherein the GPS receiver is capable of providing a GPS location of the hook-block and a GPS location of the first building material object; and a computer coupled to the imager and the GPS receiver, wherein the computer is configured to: generate a composite image of the shakeout field including the first building material object based on the one or more images; recognize the first identifying indicium of the first building material object within the composite image; recognize the first building material object within the shakeout field image based on the first identifying indicium; obtain the GPS position of the first building material object; and provide a visual recognition to the crane operator for guiding the operation of the hook-block to the location of the first building material object based on of the GPS location of the first building material object. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein the computer determines a two-dimensional location of the hook-block. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the computer determines a two-dimensional location of the first recognized building material object. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the visual recognition includes the two-dimensional location of the recognized building material object relative to the two-dimensional location of the hook-block. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein the imager includes a wavelength-responsive progressive scan CMOS imager. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The system of claim 19, wherein the imager is calibrated for lens and perspective distortion. ### Claim 21 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein the imager is calibrated to determine a GPS location of the imaged object. ### Claim 22 A guidance system for guiding a crane operator to a location of a first building material object having a first identifying indicium and located within a shakeout field, the guidance system comprising: means for providing one or more images of the shakeout field; a GPS receiver for providing a location of the hook-block and a GPS location of the first building material object; and a computer coupled to the imaging means and the GPS receiver, the computer configured to: generate a composite image of the shakeout field including the first building material object based on the one or more images; recognize the first building material object within the composite image using the first identifying indicium; obtain the GPS location of the first building material object and the GPS location of the hook-block; and provide a visual recognition to the crane operator for guiding the operation of the hook-block to the location of the first building material object based on of the GPS location of the first building material object. ### Claim 23 (depends on 8) The guidance system of claim 8, wherein the image is formed from a sequence of overlapping images of the shakeout field. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The guidance system of claim 23, wherein the image includes a stitched sequence of the overlapping images formed into a composite image. ### Claim 25 (depends on 15) The guidance system of claim 15, wherein the composite image is formed from a sequence of overlapping images of the shakeout field. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The guidance system of claim 25, wherein the composite image includes a stitched sequence of the overlapping images formed into the composite image. ### Claim 27 (depends on 22) The guidance system of claim 22, wherein the composite image is formed from a sequence of overlapping images of the shakeout field. ### Claim 28 (depends on 27) The guidance system of claim 27, wherein the composite image includes a stitched sequence of the overlapping images formed into the composite image.