Dock controllers and loading dock area management systems and methods
AssigneeThe Chamberlain Group, Inc.
InventorsChase Bussie, Jeremy Abel, Sunil Kalavathi, Eric Lay, Michael Beaster, Nathaniel Shoener
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dock controller for a loading dock environment, the dock controller including: a base; a cover coupled to the base, the base and cover defining an internal volume; control circuitry disposed in the internal volume, the control circuitry configured to affect control of loading dock component in the loading dock environment; and a camera disposed within the internal volume and configured to capture a field of view (FOV) of the loading dock environment.
Claims20
A dock controller for a loading dock environment, the dock controller comprising:
- a base;
- a cover coupled to the base, the base and cover defining an internal volume;
- control circuitry disposed in the internal volume, the control circuitry configured to affect control of a loading dock component in the loading dock environment;
- and
- a camera disposed within the internal volume and configured to capture a field of view (FOV) of the loading dock environment.
A loading dock environment comprising:
- a first movable barrier operator having a first motor configured to drive a first movable barrier between an open position and a closed position;
- a second movable barrier operator having a second motor configured to drive a second movable barrier between an open position and a closed position;
- a first dock controller operatively coupled to the first movable barrier operator to affect operation of the first motor;
- and
- a second dock controller operatively coupled to the second movable barrier operator to affect operation of the second motor;
- wherein the first and second dock controllers each includes a camera disposed in an internal volume of the respective dock controller, wherein each camera is configured to capture a field of view (FOV) of the loading dock environment, and wherein the FOVs at least partially overlap one another.
A method of operating a dock controller in a loading dock environment, the method comprising:
- capturing image data, via a camera disposed in an internal volume of a dock controller, associated with the loading dock environment;
- analyzing, by a processor of the dock controller or a remote computing device, the image data to detect occurrence of an issue at the loading dock environment;
- generating, by the processor, a notification in response to a detected issue;
- and
- displaying, via a display of the dock controller, the notification, the image data, or a combination thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.