I2C Sensor Buffering Controller for Real-Time Data Retrieval
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
I2C communication systems face challenges in handling large systems efficiently due to serial communication, which can lead to long and time-consuming queries, making real-time operations problematic.
Innovation Solution
A controller with a communications interface for I2C communications and a memory buffer is used to store and manage sensor data. The controller receives data requests from a server, retrieves buffered data, and updates the buffer with new sensor data, allowing for efficient data retrieval without the need for serial polling of sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If I2C communication is used to query sensors, then the system is cost-effective and simple to implement, but the query time becomes long and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a buffer that pre-stores sensor data before it is requested. When a data request arrives, the controller can immediately retrieve the most recent buffered data without initiating a new serial I2C query, thus eliminating the time penalty of serial communication while maintaining system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically updates the buffer with new sensor data as it becomes available from periodic I2C queries. The buffer acts as a dynamic cache that refreshes in the background, allowing the system to respond to requests with up-to-date information without the overhead of immediate serial querying.
2Device complexity
If serial I2C communication is used for large sensor systems, then device complexity is reduced, but real-time operation capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Sensor data is pre-fetched and stored in the buffer during periodic I2C communication cycles. When real-time data requests occur, the controller serves data from the pre-populated buffer, achieving fast response times without requiring complex parallel communication infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer serves as an intermediary between the slow serial I2C sensor interface and the fast data request interface. It decouples the timing between data acquisition and data retrieval, allowing real-time performance without compromising the simplicity of serial communication for sensor access.
3Reliability
If continuous sensor polling is implemented for real-time data, then data freshness is improved, but system time consumption and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs sensor data acquisition in periodic batches and stores it in the buffer in advance. This preliminary action ensures that fresh data is always available in the buffer when requested, eliminating the need for continuous polling while maintaining data freshness.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of continuous polling, the system uses periodic I2C queries to update the buffer. This periodic action reduces the total time the system spends on data acquisition while ensuring the buffer is regularly refreshed with current sensor data, balancing reliability with time efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A controller includes: a communications interface to communicate with a set of sensors; a memory including a buffer to store buffered data; wherein the controller is configured to: receive, from a server, a first data request; in response to the first data request, send the buffered data in the buffer, the buffered data including first sensor data from the sensors in the set; obtain, from at least one given sensor in the set, second sensor data detected at the least one given sensor in the set; update the buffered data in the buffer to include second sensor data for the at least one given sensor; receive a second data request; and send to the server the buffered data in the buffer, the buffered data including the second sensor data for the at least one given sensor and the first sensor data for a remainder of the sensors in the set.