Active-Standby Synchronization for Seamless Train Failover

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing high-speed railway on-board devices face significant delays and efficiency losses due to the time-consuming process of eliminating failures, as they lack effective synchronization and hot backup systems, leading to potential system failures and safety risks.

Innovation Solution

A method and system that ensures the active and standby systems are synchronously powered and their operating states and external inputs are synchronized, allowing seamless and safe switching from the active to the standby system in case of failure, without requiring the train to stop, by using fast and slow tasks within the application software to maintain timely synchronization and prevent redundant operations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the on-board device uses a single system without hot backup, then the system complexity is reduced, but the system reliability and availability deteriorate because the train must stop and delay occurs when failure occurs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem availabilityVSAvoidsystem structure
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The standby system performs preliminary synchronization with the active system before failure occurs, maintaining real-time consistency of operating states and external inputs. This preliminary action ensures that when the active system fails, the standby system can immediately take over without requiring train stoppage, thus improving reliability while managing complexity through proactive preparation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the operational state parameter of the standby system from passive to actively synchronized, maintaining real-time parameter consistency (operating states and external inputs) with the active system. This parameter change enables seamless failover while controlling the complexity through structured synchronization protocols

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If the on-board device implements dual-system hot backup, then the system reliability is improved, but the time to eliminate failure increases due to synchronization requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem availabilityVSAvoidfailure elimination time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The standby system continuously synchronizes with the active system in advance, maintaining real-time consistency of operating states and external inputs. This preliminary synchronization eliminates the time required for failure elimination, as the standby system is already prepared to take over immediately without requiring additional setup or configuration time

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The synchronization between active and standby systems occurs continuously during normal operation, ensuring that the standby system remains up-to-date with the latest operating states and external inputs. This continuous useful action eliminates gaps in readiness, allowing immediate failover without time loss when failure occurs

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

3Ease of operation

If the standby system synchronizes with the active system, then the seamless switching capability is improved, but the risk of redundant operations and system safety issues increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveswitching capabilityVSAvoidredundant operations risk
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different operational qualities to different systems: the active system has full operational authority to output control commands, while the standby system has synchronized data but restricted output capability. This local quality differentiation ensures seamless switching capability while preventing redundant operations, as only the active system can generate control commands at any given time

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3748439B1Synchronization and hot standby method and system for primary system and standby system of apparatus
Publication Date: 2022.11.09 CRSC RESEARCH & DESIGN INSTITUTE GROUP CO LTD
  • EP3748439B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3748439B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

The present disclosure provides a method and system for synchronization and hot backup of active-standby system of a device. When the active system and the standby system are synchronized, if the active system has a failure, the standby system is upgraded to an active system, the train can realize seamless and safe switching without stopping and performing other special operations; when the standby system enters a failure state, the active system and the standby system are out of synchronization. The hardware platform of the present disclosure ensures that the active system and the standby system are synchronously powered on, the software platform thereof ensures that operating states and external inputs of the active system and the standby system are synchronized, hot backup of the active system and the standby system is achieved, and the standby system does not output control commands while the active system outputs control commands, so the standby system can be upgraded to an active system if the active system has a failure in the case where the active system and the standby system are synchronized, thus seamless and safe switching can be realized.