Network Binder Accessory for Appliance Wireless Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household appliances have closed internal communication networks that are difficult to modify or expand, limiting their capabilities and functionality due to hard-wired connections, making it impractical to add external or internal components.
Innovation Solution
A network binder accessory that creates a private wireless network between appliances using a processor, memory, and a limited-range wireless transmitter/receiver, allowing external components to communicate with internal components and each other, expanding the appliance's capabilities and usability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hard-wired ribbon cables or connectors are used to implement the internal network, then the network structure is stable and reliable, but the network becomes a closed system that is difficult or not possible to modify, limiting adaptability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical hard-wired connection system (ribbon cables, connectors, harnesses) with a wireless communication system. The network binder accessory uses wireless transmitters and receivers to establish communication between appliance components and external devices, eliminating the need for physical wired connections and enabling flexible network expansion without modifying the appliance's internal structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The network binder accessory acts as an intermediary device that bridges the appliance's internal components and external devices. It receives wireless signals from external devices and relays them to internal components, and vice versa, enabling communication without direct physical connections to the appliance's internal network.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the network relies on hard-coded or hard-wired solutions, then the existing network structure is maintained, but it is not practical to couple additional external or internal components, reducing versatility
Solution Approach 1:
The network binder accessory provides a universal communication interface that can couple with multiple different external and internal components wirelessly. It supports various wireless communication protocols and can establish connections with diverse devices without requiring component-specific wired interfaces, thereby enhancing the appliance's versatility while maintaining existing network integrity.
3Reliability
If discrete circuits are used for communication between components, then individual communication paths are reliable, but the closed network cannot easily be adapted for communication with additional components, limiting functionality expansion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the discrete wired circuit communication system with a wireless communication system managed by the network binder accessory. This allows multiple communication paths to be established simultaneously with different components without the physical constraints of wired connections, maintaining reliability through protocol management while providing the flexibility to add or remove components as needed.
Data Source
AI summary
An appliance network has a network binder accessory to establish a private network among nodes that might be on different networks, using “one-click”.