Temperature Control Systems and Methods for a Material Handling Vehicle
AssigneeThe Raymond Corporation
InventorsDaniel B. Miller, Andrew Fugh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A temperature control system and method for a material handling vehicle includes a housing, a heater disposed within the housing, a fan to direct air across the heater, a nozzle extending from the housing and configured to direct heated air from the fan over the surface of an object detection sensor positioned behind a bumper of the material handling vehicle, a temperature sensor, the temperature sensor to measure a temperature of the object detection sensor; and a controller. The controller activates the heater and the fan based on a temperature reading from the temperature sensor corresponding to the temperature of the object detection sensor.
Claims19
A temperature control system for a material handling vehicle, the temperature control system comprising:
- a housing;
- a heater disposed within the housing;
- a fan to direct air across the heater;
- a nozzle extending from the housing and configured to direct heated air from the heater over a surface of an object detection sensor positioned behind a bumper of the material handling vehicle;
- a temperature sensor, the temperature sensor to measure a temperature of the object detection sensor;
- and
- a controller, the controller to activate the heater and the fan based on a temperature reading from the temperature sensor corresponding to the temperature of the object detection sensor.
A method of controlling a temperature of an object detection sensor positioned behind a bumper of a material handling vehicle, the method comprising:
- monitoring a temperature of the object detection sensor using a temperature sensor positioned adjacent to the object detection sensor;
- determining whether the monitored temperature of the object detection sensor is below a predetermined lower threshold;
- in response to determining that the temperature of the object detection sensor is below the predetermined lower threshold, activating a temperature control system to heat the object detection sensor.
A temperature control system for a material handling vehicle, the temperature control system comprising:
- a housing;
- a heater disposed within the housing;
- a fan secured to the housing and configured to direct air across the heater;
- a nozzle extending from the housing, the nozzle including a mounting flange and a curved body extending from the mounting flange, the nozzle configured to direct heated air from the heater over a surface of an object detection sensor of the material handling vehicle;
- a first temperature sensor positioned on the surface of the object detection sensor of the material handling vehicle;
- and
- a controller configured to activate the heater and the fan based on a temperature of the object detection sensor of the material handling vehicle as measured by the first temperature sensor;
- wherein the object detection sensor is positioned within a recessed area behind a bumper of the material handling vehicle, the bumper including a first portion and a second portion separated by a slot forming a horizontal opening, and wherein the object detection sensor is aligned with the slot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.