Modular Sensor Nodes with TDMA Clock Sync
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sensor nodes are inflexible, requiring redesign for different applications and power sources, and face limitations in sampling and transmission rates due to power constraints, which hinders their effectiveness in various monitoring applications, including health, security, and process monitoring.
Innovation Solution
A modular sensor node system comprising a core component with interchangeable power and sensor interfaces, a microprocessor, and a wireless transceiver, allowing for customization based on specific applications, along with a TDMA communication network for efficient data transmission, enabling independent operation and high sampling rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If sensor nodes are designed as single integrated units for specific applications, then manufacturing and deployment are simplified, but adaptability to different applications and power sources is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor node is divided into separate functional modules: sensor module, processing module, and communication module. These modules can be independently configured and assembled to create customized sensor nodes for different applications, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while enabling adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates universal interface standards and protocols that allow the same base platform to support multiple sensor types, power sources, and communication methods. This enables a single manufacturing process to produce nodes adaptable to various applications through module substitution.
2Productivity
If higher sampling and transmission rates are implemented, then monitoring capability and data accuracy are improved, but power consumption increases beyond available limits
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor node implements periodic sampling and transmission schedules rather than continuous operation. The microprocessor enters low-power sleep modes between active measurement and transmission cycles, enabling high sampling rates during active periods while maintaining average power consumption within available limits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous monitoring capability through buffered data storage in memory. During low-power intervals, data continues to be collected and stored locally, then transmitted in batches when power is available, ensuring no useful data is lost while managing power consumption.
3Reliability
If mesh network topology is used for sensor node deployment, then network coverage and redundancy are improved, but effective bandwidth utilization drops to approximately twenty percent due to data collision and relaying requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor node implements intelligent data prioritization and local processing capabilities. Critical data is transmitted immediately with higher priority, while non-critical data is buffered and transmitted during lower-traffic periods. The node autonomously manages its own transmission schedule to minimize collisions and maximize bandwidth utilization in the mesh network.
Data Source
AI summary
A network of nodes communicating with a central node using a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) communications network is disclosed. Each node can synchronize an internal clock with an internal clock of the central node when entering the TDMA communications network using a packet received from the central node. Furthermore, each node can maintain synchronization using subsequent packets communicated in the TDMA communications network and a time slot assigned for the subsequent packet.