Dynamic Timing Adjustment for Synchronous Electronic Shelf Label Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Synchronous electronic shelf label systems face interference and reduced synchronization accuracy due to clock drift among master and secondary base stations, leading to mutual interference between networks in adjacent or same-store stores during initial establishment and over time.
Innovation Solution
A method of dynamically adjusting timing between adjacent networks in a synchronous network, where a server controls base stations to perform interference scanning, constructs an interference timing relationship diagram, determines timing adjustments, and processes these adjustments to prevent interference by shifting the timing of networks based on the diagram.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If base stations use fixed timing in synchronous networks, then initial network establishment is simple, but clock drift causes timing conflicts and mutual interference between adjacent networks over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic timing adjustment by introducing a timing offset parameter that can be continuously updated. The system transitions from fixed timing to adaptive timing where base stations dynamically adjust their transmission timing based on real-time interference detection and calculated offset values, resolving the contradiction between initial simplicity and long-term stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a feedback mechanism where base stations continuously scan for interference, report timing conflict information to the server, receive timing offset adjustments, and apply these adjustments to their transmission timing. This closed-loop feedback system maintains synchronization stability despite clock drift over time.
2Reliability
If timing avoidance is implemented between adjacent networks during initial establishment, then mutual interference is prevented, but network configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables networks to self-adjust their timing offsets autonomously. Each base station independently scans for interference, receives timing adjustment instructions from its own server, and applies corrections to its transmission timing without manual configuration, reducing the complexity of initial network setup while maintaining reliable interference avoidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary timing offset calculations and adjustments during the network initialization phase. The server pre-calculates appropriate timing offsets for each base station based on the network topology and potential interference scenarios, allowing networks to start with pre-configured timing avoidance without requiring complex real-time negotiation.
3Reliability
If clock accuracy is improved to reduce drift, then synchronization stability increases, but hardware cost and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the reliance on high-precision hardware clocks with a software-based timing adjustment mechanism. Instead of using expensive, highly accurate atomic clocks or precision oscillators, the system uses standard clocks combined with software algorithms that calculate and apply timing offsets to compensate for drift, substituting mechanical precision with computational correction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the timing parameter dynamically rather than relying on fixed high-precision clocks. The system monitors actual timing performance and adjusts the timing offset parameter in response to detected drift and interference conditions, allowing standard clocks to achieve synchronization accuracy through adaptive parameter adjustment rather than inherent hardware precision.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure provides a method of dynamically adjusting timing between adjacent networks in a synchronous network and an electronic shelf label system. The method includes: determining, by a server, a timing adjustment direction and a timing adjustment value of a current network based on an interference timing relationship diagram; generating, by the server, a corresponding adjustment task form the timing adjustment direction and the timing adjustment value of the current network, and sending the adjustment task to a master base station in the current network in the processing of each of the current networks, such that the master base station and a secondary base station dynamically adjust timing based on the adjustment task.