Networked Lighting Status Reporting via Command Inhibition
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In large networked lighting systems, verifying the status of each node is inefficient due to the need for unicast messages and responses, leading to increased network traffic and delayed status updates, especially when nodes are outside direct communication range from the central controller.
Innovation Solution
A networked system where controlled devices inhibit status report messages if the status change was initiated by the central device and adhered to, sending reports only when the change was not initiated by the central device or when there is a significant discrepancy, reducing unnecessary data traffic and enabling rapid status updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If controlled devices send status report messages for every status change, then status monitoring accuracy is improved, but network traffic increases and latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts unnecessary status report messages from the network communication stream. Controlled devices determine whether to send status reports based on local logic that filters out redundant updates (when status changes are due to central device commands that were successfully executed), thereby removing excess traffic while preserving important status information.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of sending all status changes and filtering at the receiver, the patent inverts the approach by having controlled devices filter status changes before sending them. The device sends status reports only when necessary (when the status change is significant or not caused by a successful central command), making the filtering decision at the source rather than at the destination.
2Measurement precision
If controlled devices send status report messages for every status change, then status monitoring accuracy is improved, but communication time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes redundant status report messages from the communication stream by having controlled devices filter out unnecessary updates before transmission. This extraction of superfluous messages directly reduces the total communication time while maintaining accurate status monitoring for significant changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional approach by having controlled devices decide locally whether to send status reports based on the cause of status changes. This local decision-making eliminates unnecessary round-trip communications, significantly reducing total communication time while preserving monitoring accuracy for important events.
3Measurement precision
If unicast messages are used to verify status of each node, then status verification accuracy is improved, but network complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by having controlled devices autonomously determine whether their status changes need to be reported. Each device independently evaluates the cause of its status change and decides whether to send a report, eliminating the need for complex centralized coordination of status verification and reducing network communication complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic behavior where controlled devices adapt their reporting behavior based on the cause of status changes. Devices send reports only when necessary (e.g., unexpected changes or changes not caused by successful central commands), creating a flexible, context-aware status verification system that reduces network complexity compared to static unicast verification of every node.
Data Source
AI summary
A networked system has a first device which sends commands to one or more other devices. If those other devices are able to follow the commands, they inhibit reporting of their status. Thus, network status data is maintained based on the commands, unless status reports indicate that the commands could not be followed or that status changes have been made which were not in response to commands from the first device.