Customized message protocol in mining vehicle operations
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorsVeronica Jericho, Glen Blanchard, Nicolas Noben
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A communication system in a mining environment customizes messages and responses to both conserve radio bandwidth and to accommodate different communication terminal types in use. Messages to a loader with a communication terminal having a four line display and four keys may be tailored to the capabilities of the terminal, while a similar message to a foreman terminal with a full keyboard or a tablet touch screen display may include both more detail and a richer set of responses. To save bandwidth, common messages and responses can be pre-loaded onto the communication terminals so that many messages and responses can be transmitted using only the message identifier.
Claims20
A method of communicating messages with machines having a communication terminal in a mining environment, the method comprising:
- determining a communication terminal type for machines capable of data communication in the mining environment;
- assigning the machines to communication groups by communication terminal type;
- acquiring a message for distribution to one or more machines;
- selecting a separate message format for the message for each communication group represented in the one or more machines;
- reformatting the message according to each selected separate message format;
- and
- sending the message to the machines.
A communication platform for communicating messages to and from a plurality of machines used in a mining environment, the communication platform comprising:
- a server having a physical memory, a processor, a user interface, and a network interface configured to send and receive messages via a network,
- wherein the physical memory stores executable instructions and data that are used by the processor to cause the communication platform to:
- receive, via the user interface, a message to be sent to the plurality of machines;
- maintain characteristics of a message capability for each of the plurality of machines;
- transform the message according to the message capability of a target machine of the plurality of machines;
- and
- sending the transformed message to the target machine.
A method of communicating messages with machines having a communication terminal in a mining environment, the method comprising:
- determining a communication terminal type for machines capable of data communication in the mining environment;
- assigning the machines to communication groups by communication terminal type and machine type;
- acquiring a message for distribution to one or more machines;
- selecting a separate message format for the message for each communication group represented in the one or more machines;
- developing a set of responses to the message;
- customizing the set of responses based on the capability of the communication terminal type in each communication group;
- reformatting the message according to each selected separate message format;
- and
- sending the message and a customized set of responses based on the communication group to the machines.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.