Data Providing Apparatus for Field Service Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data management systems face challenges in efficiently integrating and processing field data from multiple sources with varying data granularity, frequency, and amounts, leading to increased man-hours for service application revisions due to changes in field system specifications.
Innovation Solution
A data providing apparatus and method that acquire field data, manage conversion rules, and convert data to match service data specifications, reducing the need for frequent service application modifications by comparing and converting field data specifications to service data specifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If field data from multiple sources with varying specifications are integrated directly, then data integration capability is improved, but service application complexity increases and requires frequent modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a data providing apparatus as an intermediary component between field systems and service applications. This apparatus includes a data acquisition unit that collects field data, a data conversion unit that transforms data according to conversion rules, and a data providing unit that delivers processed data to services. By positioning this intermediary layer, the system absorbs specification variations from different field sources without propagating complexity to service applications, thus resolving the contradiction between data integration capability and service application complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the data conversion functionality from service applications and centralizes it in the data providing apparatus. The conversion rules mapping field data specifications to service data specifications are managed separately in the data conversion unit. This extraction removes the burden of handling diverse field data formats from service applications, allowing them to remain simple while still achieving comprehensive data integration
2Adaptability or versatility
If field system specifications change, then system adaptability is improved, but service application maintenance effort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes conversion rules in advance that define the mapping relationships between field data specifications and service data specifications. These pre-defined conversion rules are stored in the data providing apparatus and automatically applied when field data is acquired. When field system specifications change, the system can accommodate them by updating conversion rules without requiring service application modifications, thus reducing maintenance time while maintaining adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The data providing apparatus performs automatic data conversion based on predefined conversion rules without requiring manual intervention or service application modification. The system self-adjusts to field specification changes by applying appropriate conversion rules automatically, eliminating the need for administrators to manually revise service applications, thereby reducing maintenance effort while maintaining system adaptability
3Productivity
If data conversion rules are managed centrally, then data processing efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions including data acquisition, data conversion, and data provision into a single integrated data providing apparatus. The conversion rules management is merged with the data flow processing, allowing centralized management of conversion logic while maintaining efficient data processing. This merging approach improves productivity by streamlining the data processing pipeline while containing system complexity within a dedicated component rather than dispersing complexity across multiple service applications
Data Source
AI summary
A data providing apparatus includes a field data acquisition unit configured to acquire field data relating to field equipment, and a data providing unit configured to transmit and receive information to and from a service providing unit, the service providing unit being a communication target and configured to use the field data as service data, in which the data providing unit manages information on a conversion rule defining a relationship between the field data and the service data, acquires the field data specified in a data acquisition request from the service providing unit, from the field data acquisition unit, converts the acquired field data to service data according to the conversion rule when there is a difference between a specification of the field data and a specification of the service data, and transmits the data obtained by the conversion to the service providing unit.