Fire Alarm Slave Device Intermittent Power Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing automatic fire alarm systems face high power consumption due to continuous operation of receivers waiting for signals, leading to unnecessary energy usage and potential false fire notifications.

Innovation Solution

The automatic fire alarm system incorporates a controller in the slave device that switches the receiver's state between an enabled and disabled state by intermittently applying a power supply signal, allowing operation only when necessary, and also adjusts the processing circuit's state to reduce power consumption by varying clock signals.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the receiver operates continuously to receive signals from the master device, then the system maintains high reliability and responsiveness, but power consumption increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesignal reception reliabilityVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The receiver operates periodically rather than continuously. The control unit activates the receiver at specific intervals to receive signals from the master device, then deactivates it to conserve power. This periodic operation maintains necessary system responsiveness while dramatically reducing energy consumption compared to continuous operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

2Measurement precision

If the receiver operates continuously to ensure no signals are missed, then detection precision is improved, but energy waste increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesignal detection precisionVSAvoidenergy waste
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses periodic receiver activation with carefully timed intervals that ensure all signal transmissions from the master device are captured. The control unit synchronizes receiver operation with expected signal transmission periods, maintaining complete signal detection capability while eliminating energy waste during periods when no signals are transmitted.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

3Loss of energy

If the receiver is disabled to reduce power consumption, then energy efficiency improves, but the system may miss signals and reduce reliability

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveenergy efficiencyVSAvoidsignal reception reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of energyVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The receiver is disabled during periods when signal transmission is not expected, significantly improving energy efficiency. The control unit activates the receiver periodically at predetermined intervals to receive signals during expected transmission windows, ensuring reliability is maintained during critical periods while maximizing energy savings during idle periods.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by activating the receiver before expected signal transmission periods. The control unit anticipates when signals will be transmitted and pre-activates the receiver accordingly, ensuring no signals are missed while minimizing the total activation time and energy consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3333817B1Automatic fire alarm system slave device, automatic fire alarm system, and automatic fire alarm system master device
Publication Date: 2019.09.11 PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO LTD
  • EP3333817B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3333817B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3333817B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An object of the present invention is to reduce power consumption. An automatic fire alarm system slave device (1) includes a receiver (15) and a controller (17). The receiver (15) is electrically connected to a pair of cables (31, 32) and receives a signal transmitted from a master device (2) by varying a voltage (VI) applied between the pair of cables (31, 32). The controller (17) switches a state of the receiver (15) to either a reception enabled state in which the receiver (15) is operating or a reception disabled state in which the receiver (15) stops operating. The controller (17) is configured to switch the state of the receiver (15) to either the reception enabled state or the reception disabled state by intermittently applying a power supply signal (PS1) to the receiver (15). The power supply signal (PS1) supplies power to operate the receiver (15).