Industrial Network Cable Fault Localization via Slave Diagnosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
In industrial network systems, administrators face challenges in identifying and locating communication cable breakdowns, as existing technologies only allow for breakdown state determination from specific communication terminals, making it difficult to efficiently perform maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A control device with a master device and slave devices, equipped with detection and recording units in each communication unit, allows for breakdown diagnosis and length calculation of communication cables, enabling administrators to specify breakdown locations and perform targeted maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a master-slave network structure is used in an industrial network system, then centralized management and data collection are achieved, but the ability to locate communication cable breakdowns is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the communication cable into multiple segments by introducing intermediate slave devices at regular intervals. Each slave device independently diagnoses its connected cable segments, breaking down the large-scale network into manageable sections for localized diagnosis, thereby enabling precise breakdown location identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces slave devices as intermediary elements between the master device and communication cables. These intermediary slave devices perform local cable diagnosis and report results to the master device, enabling indirect but precise detection of breakdown locations without requiring the master device to directly monitor entire cable lengths.
2Area of stationary object
If communication cables are extended to cover larger factory areas, then network coverage is improved, but breakdown location identification becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments long communication cables by placing slave devices at regular intervals (e.g., every 100m). Each slave device diagnoses its adjacent cable segments, allowing the system to maintain high location precision even over extended factory areas by identifying which specific segment contains the breakdown.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the one-dimensional problem of locating breakdowns along a long cable into a two-dimensional grid by introducing multiple slave devices at different positions. This creates a spatial distribution of diagnosis points, enabling precise location identification through coordinate-based segment identification.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive cable diagnosis is performed across the entire network, then breakdown detection accuracy is improved, but system complexity and diagnosis time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service diagnosis where each slave device autonomously diagnoses its connected communication cables without requiring centralized control or complex external diagnostic equipment. This distributes the diagnostic function across multiple simple nodes, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs partial diagnosis by having each slave device diagnose only its adjacent cable segments rather than the entire network. This localized approach achieves sufficient diagnostic accuracy for practical purposes while significantly reducing the complexity and time required compared to comprehensive full-network diagnosis.
Data Source
AI summary
A control device (master device 10) is provided with: a communication instruction unit (112) that instructs a slave device (20c) to execute/stop communication with another device; a diagnosis instruction unit (113) that provides instruction to implement a breakdown diagnosis including detection of a breakdown location; a diagnostic results reading unit (114) that reads out the results of the breakdown diagnosis from the slave device; and a calculation unit (115) that calculates, from the results of the breakdown diagnosis, the length of a communication cable from the slave device to the breakdown location.