Electrical Interface Module With NFC Data Bus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrical interface modules in industrial systems face challenges due to limited installation space, making it cumbersome to label and provide instructions for components, leading to omitted indicators, inaccessible data, and difficulties in identifying faults and replacing components efficiently.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a memory device and an integrated wireless interface, such as NFC, that allows for data storage and retrieval without physical contact, enabling the storage and retrieval of product data, assembly instructions, and configuration data, facilitating component identification, replacement planning, and fault detection through external reading devices like smartphones or tablets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If physical labels and identifiers are provided on components, then component identification is improved, but installation space is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses NFC tags as a form of copying information. Instead of physical labels on components, the system embeds NFC tags that contain identical identification and configuration data. This allows information to be copied onto a small, standardized tag rather than requiring space for physical labeling on each component.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system - the NFC tag and reader combination - that mediates between the component and the information retrieval process. The NFC tag acts as an intermediary carrier that stores component data, allowing information access without direct physical labels on the component itself.
2Ease of operation
If comprehensive assembly instructions and test records are provided for each component, then ease of assembly and maintenance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple types of documentation (assembly instructions, test records, configuration data) into a single integrated data structure stored in the NFC tag. This combines what would traditionally be separate documents into one unified information source, reducing the complexity of managing multiple documentation files.
Solution Approach 2:
The NFC tag serves multiple functions: it stores identification data, assembly instructions, test records, and configuration information all in one location. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate documentation systems for each type of information.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If indicators are provided on components, then fault detection is improved, but installation space is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical indicators (mechanical/electrical display devices) with a wireless NFC-based information system. Instead of using physical LED indicators or display devices that consume space, the system uses NFC tags to store and transmit fault status information wirelessly to external readers.
Solution Approach 2:
The NFC tag acts as an intermediary that carries fault detection information without requiring physical indicator devices on the component itself. The fault status is stored in the NFC tag and retrieved wirelessly, eliminating the need for space-consuming physical indicators.
4Area of stationary object
If components are installed in constrained spaces, then space utilization is improved, but accessibility for maintenance is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The NFC tag serves as an intermediary that bridges the gap between the inaccessible component and the maintenance personnel. Even when components are installed in hard-to-reach locations, the NFC tag can be accessed wirelessly from external readers, allowing maintenance information to be retrieved without physically accessing the component.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical access requirements with wireless communication. Instead of requiring physical access to read labels or indicators on inaccessible components, the system uses NFC wireless communication to transmit information, eliminating the mechanical barrier of physical accessibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution simplifies component identification, assembly, and fault detection, reduces space requirements, and enables quick configuration and replacement of components, while providing essential data for maintenance and troubleshooting in constrained installation environments.
Implementation Method 1
an integrated wireless interface IO, in particular a NFC interface, for making data available to an external reading device RW
Data Source
AI summary
The object of the invention is an electrical interface module. The electrical interface module has a memory device for storing data and an integrated wireless interface that makes data available to an external reading device, wherein the electrical interface module can exchange data with other nearby electrical interface modules via the integrated wireless interface, wherein adjacent electrical interface modules form a logical bidirectional data bus via the integrated wireless interfaces, wherein data are made available by one nearby electrical interface module or by the other nearby electrical interface modules via the integrated wireless interface(s) in the manner of a bus to the external reading device, and wherein each electrical interface module makes a unique identification available via the integrated wireless interface, so that each electrical interface module is unambiguously identifiable.