Appliance Event Notification System Architecture
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of household appliance components and diverse implementation choices make it difficult to design, develop, test, diagnose, control, and debug appliances, hindering the creation of interoperable and reusable componentry.
Innovation Solution
A software architecture that connects appliance components through an internal communications network, enabling dynamic memory heaps and data acquisition engines to evaluate conditions and generate notification messages, facilitating control and communication between components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If diverse componentry is used to achieve specific appliance functions, then functional versatility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal event structure and data acquisition engine that can handle multiple event types (temperature, pressure, flow, etc.) through a single standardized framework. This allows diverse sensor components to be integrated using the same event handling mechanism, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining functional versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The event structure uses configurable parameters such as event IDs, data addresses, operator types, and threshold values that can be dynamically adjusted to accommodate different sensor types and monitoring requirements. This parameter-based configuration allows the same structural framework to adapt to diverse componentry without increasing complexity.
2Reliability
If traditional discrete circuits are used for component communication, then communication reliability is improved, but device complexity and wiring complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple discrete communication circuits into a unified event-driven communication framework. Instead of having separate dedicated circuits for each component interaction, the system uses a single data acquisition engine that processes events from all components through a common interface, significantly reducing wiring complexity while maintaining communication reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The data acquisition engine acts as an intermediary between sensors and the appliance management component. It receives raw data from diverse sensors, evaluates events against configured criteria, and generates standardized notification messages, thereby simplifying the communication architecture while ensuring reliable data processing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If software is added to each component for network participation, then interoperability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a universal event structure that can be implemented across multiple components using the same software framework. This standardized approach allows different components (sensors, actuators, controllers) to interoperate through common event handling mechanisms, improving interoperability while simplifying the manufacturing process through code reusability.
4Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If dynamic memory heap with event structures is implemented, then diagnostic capability is improved, but memory usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments diagnostic information into structured event records with specific fields (event ID, data address, operator, arguments, notification messages). This segmentation allows efficient storage and retrieval of diagnostic data, improving diagnostic capability while optimizing memory usage through organized data structures.
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprising a memory heap generated dynamically by useful software and a data acquisition engine. The memory heap comprises a plurality of event structures, each including at least one each of pointers into memory external to the event structure, event operators, and arguments. The data acquisition engine is configured to look into the memory heap, evaluate event conditions as true or false based on the at least one each of the pointers, operators, and arguments, and generate a notification message when a true condition is found.