Grouped Wireless Controller Links for Reliable Plant Networks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional distributed control systems require complex and costly wired connections to establish a network for communication between controllers and higher-level systems, making it difficult to simplify the setup and maintain a reliable communication path.
Innovation Solution
A plant system that uses wireless communication units connected via wired connections to access nodes, allowing controllers to communicate with a network through a wireless connection, providing redundancy and diversity in communication paths to ensure reliability and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wired connections are used to connect controllers to higher-level systems, then communication reliability is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments controllers into multiple groups, with each group having a dedicated wireless communication unit. This segmentation allows wireless communication to be implemented in a structured manner, maintaining reliability through organized group management while reducing overall system complexity by dividing the communication architecture into manageable units.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple controllers within the same group share a common wireless communication unit. This merging approach reduces the total number of wireless communication units needed, simplifying the system architecture and reducing cost while maintaining reliable communication through shared access to the wireless interface.
2Reliability
If wired connections are used to connect controllers to higher-level systems, then communication stability is improved, but installation cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces physical wired connections with wireless communication units that transmit data via radio waves. This substitution eliminates the need for physical cable installation, reducing installation cost and time while maintaining communication stability through established wireless protocols and redundancy mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The wireless communication unit serves multiple controllers within a group, providing a universal communication interface that can be deployed across different locations without requiring location-specific wiring. This multi-functionality reduces overall installation complexity and cost while maintaining stable communication for all connected controllers.
3Ease of operation
If wireless communication units are introduced, then network setup is simplified, but communication reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements different communication qualities for different groups of controllers based on their specific requirements. Each group can be configured with appropriate wireless communication parameters and redundancy levels, allowing simplified setup while maintaining reliability through localized optimization of communication quality for each group's needs.
Data Source
AI summary
A plant system includes: an access node connected to a network; a plurality of controllers configured to perform distributed control on a plurality of field devices provided in a plant; and a wireless communication unit provided in each group of a plurality of groups into which the plurality of controllers are grouped and connected to each controller in the corresponding group via a wired connection, and configured to connect each controller to the access node via a wireless connection.