The invention relates to a machine (1) for handling loads (24), comprising: —a wheeled chassis (2), —a drive system (3) for moving the wheeled chassis (2), —a load handling system (4) carried by the chassis (2), —a control unit (5), a device (6) for controlling the load handling system (4) that can be manually actuated by an operator, the control unit (5) being configured to receive control signals from said control device (6), a member (7) for activating the manually actuatable control device (6). The handling machine (1) comprises a sensor (8) of a parameter representative of a movement of the machine (1), and the control unit (5) is configured to allow the control of the handling system (4) with the control device (6) as a function of at least the parameter representative of a movement of the machine (1).

The vehicle includes a load bearing portion, a counterweight, a stability control system and a controller. The counterweight is mounted on the load transport vehicle along a longitudinal axis of the load transport vehicle. The counterweight is configured to counter a first moment generated by a load carried by the load bearing portion. The first moment causes the load transport vehicle to rotate along a first vertical plane perpendicular to a ground on which the load transport vehicle rests or is driven. The first plane is parallel to the longitudinal axis. The stability control system is mounted on the load transport vehicle. The stability control system is extendable along the longitudinal axis to counter a second moment causing the load transport vehicle to rotate along the first vertical plane.

A method of controlling a movable body includes: a step of causing a sensor provided on the movable body to detect an obstacle; a step of determining the position and attitude of a front surface, of the obstacle, opposite to the travel direction of the movable body based on the detection result of the obstacle; a step of generating an avoidance path that avoids the obstacle while heading toward a side of a first direction intersecting the travel direction based on the position and attitude of the front surface; a step of causing the movable body to move along the avoidance path; a step of detecting the obstacle while the movable body is moving along the avoidance path; a step of determining the position and attitude of the side surface of the obstacle on the side of the first direction based on the detection result obtained during movement along the avoidance path; and a step of updating the avoidance path so as to return to a side of a second direction opposite to the first direction while avoiding the obstacle based on the position and attitude of the side surface.

An obstacle detection device includes: a position and posture detector; a detection-disallowed-area setter; a detection-allowed-area determiner; and an obstacle detector. The position and posture detector detects a position and a posture of an object. The detection-disallowed-area setter sets an obstacle-detection disallowed area in which the object is undetectable as an obstacle based on the position and the posture of the object detected by the position and posture detector. The detection-allowed-area determiner determines an obstacle-detection allowed area in which the object is detectable as the obstacle based on the obstacle-detection disallowed area set by the detection-disallowed-area setter. The obstacle detector detects the obstacle in the obstacle-detection allowed area determined by the detection-allowed-area determiner. The detection-disallowed-area setter sets an area that encloses the object as the obstacle-detection disallowed area.

A remote operation system provides support to utility vehicles (such as forklifts). The remote operation system controls a forklift to safely perform an emergency stop when the remote operation system determines that safe operation of the forklift is difficult. To perform an emergency stop of a forklift, the system monitors the kinematics of the forklift based at least in part on the mass distribution of a load being carried by the forklift and an elevation of the fork of the forklift. Moreover, in response to determining to execute an emergency stop, the system determines a deceleration limit for the forklift based on the kinematics of the forklift, and activates the brakes of the forklift based on the determined deceleration limit.

The present disclosure provides a lift truck attachment system that includes a lift truck weighing device with a carriage mounted scale configured to support load handling fixtures and to be secured to a lift truck carriage. The weighing device includes one or more sensors arranged at a mounting interface between the lift truck carriage and the carriage mounted scale. The lift truck weighing device includes one or more of rails, plates, and/or mounting brackets, as a list of non-limiting examples, arranged at the interface with the one or more sensors, which measure a load from the load handling fixtures.

Attachment assemblies for industrial material handling equipment are shown and disclosed. In some embodiments, the attachment assembly includes a carriage assembly having a carriage and a linear actuator fixedly attached to the carriage. The carriage is mountable to industrial material handling equipment. The attachment assembly additionally includes a frame assembly slidably connected to the carriage. The attachment assembly further includes a faceplate assembly fixedly attached to the frame assembly. The faceplate assembly is configured to receive one or more support members for supporting a load. The faceplate assembly includes one or more load cells configured to measure horizontal and vertical forces applied to the one or more support members. The linear actuator slides the frame assembly laterally relative to the carriage assembly.

Materials-handling vehicles, such as counterbalanced lift trucks, can incorporate a counterweight that includes a frame, a cavity, and a sensor-mounting recess. The counterweight may be configured to provide an unobstructed horizontal line of sight of at least 180 degrees for a sensor, such as an object-detection sensor, that is mounted within the sensor-mounting recess. A lift truck can include a lift assembly comprising a mast and a pair of forks, an operator compartment comprising truck steering and speed controls, a plurality of wheels, an energy source, a counterweight comprising a frame and a sensor-mounting recess, and a sensor.

An industrial vehicle includes a vehicle body, a driver compartment provided in the vehicle body, an obstacle detector configured to detect an obstacle existing behind the vehicle body, a warning generator configured to generate a warning, and a control device configured to control the warning generator. The warning generator is positioned at least in front of the driver compartment. The control device actuates the warning generator when the obstacle detector detects an obstacle behind the vehicle body that is moving rearward.

A method is provided for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication between a remote control device comprising a peripheral BLE device and a controller on a materials handling vehicle comprising a central BLE device. The method comprises: polling via a plurality of connection requests, by the central BLE device, communicated with the peripheral BLE device with which the central BLE device is paired. The peripheral BLE device comprising one or more activatable switches. Based on the status of the one or more activatable switches, the peripheral BLE device sending reply messages to at least a portion of the plurality of connection requests in accordance with at least one of a first or a second communication operating mode. When operating in the first communication operating mode, the peripheral BLE device replies to only a portion of the plurality of connection requests, wherein each reply message is indicative of the status of the one or more activatable switches.