Distributed Actuator Control via Port Mapping and Protocol Mediation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Integrating and controlling distributed actuators from different manufacturers in a common system is complex, requiring significant efforts for setup and maintenance, often necessitating professional programmers to handle various communication protocols and programming tools.
Innovation Solution
A system where a computer system generates and sends control instructions to control devices, which then forward signals to actuators, decoupling the tasks of control instruction generation and communication, allowing standard control devices to be used without reconfiguration and reducing the need for professional expertise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If control devices from different manufacturers are integrated into a common system, then the system can control diverse actuators with different communication protocols, but the system complexity and difficulty of setup and maintenance increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a computer system as an intermediary between the user and control devices. This computer system handles all communication with control devices using a single standardized protocol, while the control devices themselves maintain their original communication protocols. The intermediary translates and standardizes communications, allowing diverse actuators to be controlled without increasing user-facing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the communication protocol handling and programming tasks from the control devices themselves and relocates them to a centralized computer system. This separation allows control devices to be simple, standardized endpoints while the complex protocol translation and control logic reside in the external computer system, reducing on-device complexity and simplifying maintenance.
2Extent of automation
If control devices are programmed with device-specific programming tools, then they can fulfill their respective control tasks, but professional programmers are required for setup and adaptation
Solution Approach 1:
The computer system acts as an intermediary that handles all device-specific programming and communication protocol translations. Users interact with a standardized interface on the computer system, which automatically manages the complex programming tasks required by different control devices. This eliminates the need for users to learn multiple device-specific programming tools while maintaining full automated control capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service operation where the computer system automatically handles communication with control devices using standardized protocols. The computer system independently manages protocol translation, device addressing, and control signal generation without requiring user intervention in complex programming tasks, making the system accessible to non-expert users.
3Reliability
If control devices communicate with actuators using their own communication protocols, then they can operate reliably, but integration efforts and programming requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The computer system serves as an intermediary communication layer that translates between a single standardized protocol used by the computer system and the various proprietary protocols used by different control devices and actuators. This intermediary approach maintains reliable communication with each device using its native protocol while simplifying the overall system integration to a single standardized interface.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a System (10) for controlling distributed actuators (16), with: a plurality of control devices (14, 15) that are each connected to at least one actuator (16) via at least one communication port (18) of a respective control device (14, 15); and a computer system (12) that is connected to each control device (14, 15) via at least one communication link (19), wherein at the least the following information are available to the computer system (12): - communication information enabling communicating with control devices (14, 15); - mapping information on which communication port (18) of each control device (14, 15) is connected to which actuator (16); the computer system (12) further being configured to: - determine a control instruction based on which at least one of the actuators (16) can be controlled; and - with help of the available information, send the control instruction to at least one of the the control devices (14, 15) via the communication link (19), the control instructions defining the control device's output port (18) to which said actuator (16) is connected. Further, the invention relates to computer system (12) and to a method for controlling distributed actuators (16).