Actuator and Heater Control Blocks With Rule-Based Safety Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional home appliances require pre-developed control programs by manufacturers, making it difficult to customize and update control settings to meet user-specific needs, and there is a challenge in ensuring safety when third-party applications are used.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a controller that modifies applications defined by function blocks to ensure safe operation of actuators and heaters by consulting parameter ranges, allowing for a wide variety of control programs to be executed while maintaining safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If control programs are pre-developed and stored by manufacturers, then product safety is ensured, but customization and update flexibility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The control program is segmented into multiple blocks, each representing a specific control function or parameter set. This segmentation allows the controller to selectively execute only the necessary blocks from the application, enabling customization while maintaining safety through structured validation of each block
Solution Approach 2:
A rule database acts as an intermediary between the application and the actuator/heater. The rule database stores parameter ranges and validation rules that mediate the control signals, ensuring safety constraints are met while allowing flexible application execution
2Reliability
If control programs are pre-developed and stored by manufacturers, then execution reliability is ensured, but development time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Safety rules and parameter ranges are pre-configured in the rule database during product manufacturing. This preliminary setup eliminates the need for time-consuming safety validation during each application development cycle, reducing development time while maintaining execution reliability
Solution Approach 2:
Control blocks are designed as reusable templates that can be copied and modified for different applications. This copying mechanism allows rapid application development by reusing validated control patterns, reducing development time while maintaining reliability through proven block designs
3Adaptability or versatility
If third-party applications are allowed to drive actuators and heaters, then adaptability is improved, but safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rule database serves as a safety intermediary that validates all control parameters before they reach the actuator or heater. This intermediary layer enables third-party applications to drive the actuators/heaters with diverse functionality while systematically preventing unsafe operations through rule-based validation
Solution Approach 2:
The controller continuously monitors execution parameters and compares them against the rules in the rule database. This feedback mechanism detects and prevents unsafe operations in real-time, allowing adaptability for third-party applications while maintaining safety through active monitoring and correction
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes at least one of an actuator or a heater, and a controller that controls the at least one of the actuator or the heater. The controller: obtains an application defined by a plurality of blocks that drive the at least one of the actuator or the heater, each of the plurality of blocks including a parameter for driving the at least one of the actuator or the heater; consults a first rule that defines a first parameter range within which the at least one of the actuator or the heater is not permitted to be driven, and modifies the application by changing at least one block included in the plurality of blocks, the at least one block including a parameter included in the first parameter range; and drives the at least one of the actuator or the heater based on the modified application.