Rotary Milking Parlor Ring Network Fault Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rotary milking parlors face challenges in ensuring reliable operation and safe braking of the rotating platform, particularly when communication links to drive units are broken or damaged, and existing safety systems do not adequately address the robustness and flexibility needed for larger setups.
Innovation Solution
A rotary milking parlor arrangement featuring a ring network of bi-directional links connecting drive units, allowing for identification and redundancy in faulty links, with primary and secondary control units to maintain operation even during faults, and power-line carrier signals for electric power and control signals, enabling flexible installation and reliable operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a ring network with bi-directional links is implemented to improve reliability, then the system can identify and bypass faulty links, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The communication network is segmented into multiple bidirectional links arranged in a ring topology, where each link can independently transmit signals in both directions. This segmentation allows the system to identify and isolate faulty links while maintaining communication through alternative paths, thereby improving reliability without requiring a complete system redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces bidirectionality as an additional dimension to the communication network, allowing signals to traverse the ring in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. This dimensional addition provides redundant communication paths, enabling the system to maintain operation even when individual links fail, thus enhancing reliability while managing complexity through structured organization.
2Productivity
If multiple drive units are added to increase productivity, then the rotating platform can be controlled more precisely, but the communication network complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ring network architecture provides universal connectivity for multiple drive units, where each drive unit can communicate with the control unit and other drive units through the bidirectional links. This multi-functional network structure allows scalable addition of drive units while maintaining consistent communication protocols and control capabilities, thereby increasing productivity without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The bidirectional links enable continuous feedback communication between the control unit and drive units, allowing real-time monitoring and adjustment of platform motion. This feedback mechanism ensures precise control of the rotating platform with multiple drive units, improving productivity while managing network complexity through efficient data exchange and coordination.
3Productivity
If the rotating platform size is increased to handle more animals, then productivity improves, but the braking distance requirement becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The drive units are segmented and distributed around the rotating platform, with each drive unit responsible for a specific sector. This segmentation allows the control unit to independently manage braking commands for each drive unit, enabling precise control of the platform's deceleration and ensuring the platform can be brought to a halt within the required braking distance even when handling larger numbers of animals.
Solution Approach 2:
The bidirectional communication links enable real-time feedback between the control unit and drive units during braking operations. This feedback mechanism allows the control unit to monitor platform speed and position, dynamically adjusting braking commands to ensure the platform stops within the prescribed distance, thereby maintaining reliability while supporting higher productivity through increased platform capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
A rotary milking parlor arrangement contains a rotating platform with stalls configured to house a respective animal during milking, a set of at least three drive units causing the rotating platform to move in a first rotational direction, and a primary control unit controlling operation of each drive unit in the set of drive units. A set of links connect the drive in a ring network in including the primary control unit. Each link is bi-directional. The primary control unit identifies any single faulty link in the set of links by: transmitting a first signal in a clockwise direction through the ring network, transmitting a second signal in a counter clockwise direction through the ring network, and checking how far the first and second signals can be transmitted through the ring network in the clockwise and counter clockwise direction respectively without being interrupted by the single faulty link.