Hydraulic Unit Control Setup Using Sensor-Stored Configuration Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
In complex hydraulic systems, such as those in large building heating systems, ensuring the correct connection and setup of control devices with hydraulic units is challenging, often requiring manual tracking or configuration, which is time-consuming and prone to errors due to the potential mixing of controllers during installation.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic system with integrated sensor devices that store unit-specific information, allowing a generic control device to automatically configure and verify the correct assignment of control devices to hydraulic units, utilizing a majority principle for redundancy and easy replacement of sensors, and separating the drive and control units for efficient installation and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If control devices are removed from hydraulic units during installation, then hydraulic installation is simplified, but controllers may be mixed up requiring manual tracking or setup
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor device is pre-configured with identification information and control data before installation. This preliminary action eliminates the need for manual setup after installation, as the control device automatically receives the pre-stored configuration data through the sensor device.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor device automatically provides identification information and control data to the control device without requiring manual intervention. The system self-configures by reading the stored information from the sensor device, eliminating the need for installers to manually track or set up controllers.
2Ease of manufacture
If control devices are removed during installation, then installation process is simplified, but verification of correct assignment becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The control device reads identification information from the sensor device and uses this feedback to verify correct assignment. The system provides automatic verification by comparing the read identification with the expected hydraulic unit configuration, ensuring correct pairing without manual checking.
3Device complexity
If hydraulic units contain no electronics, then unit design is simplified, but storage of unit specification information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor device acts as an intermediary carrier that stores identification information and control data. Instead of embedding electronics in the hydraulic unit, the sensor device (which can be attached or integrated) serves as the information storage medium, allowing the hydraulic unit to remain purely mechanical while still providing access to digital information.
4Reliability
If multiple sensor devices are used with identical information, then redundancy and easy replacement are achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses identical parameter sets (identification information and control data) across multiple sensor devices. This parameter uniformity allows any sensor device to replace another without reconfiguration, as they all contain the same essential information needed for system operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A hydraulic system includes at least one hydraulic unit (2) having at least one flow path (14, 16, 18), an hydraulic actuator (22), provided for influencing a hydraulic flow through the flow path (14, 16, 18), at least one sensor device (24, 26), and a control device (10) for controlling the hydraulic actuator (22). The at least one sensor device (24, 26) includes a storage device (32) provided for containing information specifying the hydraulic unit (2). The control device (10) is configured to receive the information stored in the storage device (32) of the sensor device (24, 26) and to set up a control of the hydraulic actuator (22) based on the received information specifying the hydraulic unit (2). A method is provided for controlling the hydraulic actuator.