Power Electronics Monitoring With Heterogeneous Fault Comparison
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power electronics monitoring techniques for safety, such as lockstep and reciprocal comparison, are costly, area-consuming, and prone to false positives due to using identical components, which fail to detect common cause faults and are inflexible for real-time control systems.
Innovation Solution
Implementing heterogeneous comparison using diverse primary and redundant components with adaptable reciprocal comparison, allowing for wider signal variability margins and reducing costs by up to 30% compared to existing methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If identical components are used for lockstep and reciprocal comparison, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by using heterogeneous components (different manufacturers, processes, or designs) for redundant components instead of identical copies. This asymmetric approach maintains fault detection capability while reducing the complexity and cost associated with maintaining perfect symmetry in redundant systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of component identity from 'identical' to 'heterogeneous' while maintaining functional equivalence. This parameter change allows the system to detect faults through comparison while avoiding the complexity and cost of using exactly identical components.
2Reliability
If identical components are used for reciprocal comparison, then reliability is improved, but area consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
By using heterogeneous redundant components instead of identical copies, the patent reduces the area required for implementation while maintaining reliability through functional comparison. The asymmetric design allows for more efficient space utilization on the chip.
3Measurement precision
If identical components are used for lockstep comparison, then measurement precision is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameter from using identical components (high cost) to heterogeneous components (lower cost) while maintaining measurement precision through functional equivalence and comparison mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs cheaper heterogeneous components for redundant functions instead of expensive identical components, reducing overall manufacturing cost while maintaining the necessary measurement precision through comparison-based fault detection.
4Measurement precision
If strict comparison thresholds are used, then measurement precision is improved, but false positives increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the comparison threshold parameter from strict to adaptable, allowing the system to adjust thresholds based on the specific characteristics of heterogeneous components. This reduces false positives while maintaining fault detection precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic threshold adjustment based on the comparison of heterogeneous components, allowing the system to adapt to variations in component characteristics and reduce false positives while maintaining measurement precision.
5Device complexity
If fixed comparison configuration is used, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic configuration that can be programmed and adjusted in real-time based on the specific power electronics circuit being monitored. This allows the system to adapt to different applications and conditions without requiring complex fixed configurations for each scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal monitoring system with programmable configuration that can adapt to multiple different power electronics circuits and applications, reducing the need for application-specific fixed configurations while maintaining simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
An example system includes a component configured to generate a signal associated with a power electronics circuit. The system includes a hardware processor circuit coupled to the component, wherein the hardware processor circuit is configured to: measure, based on a configuration programmed by one or more programmable processor circuits, the signal over an amount of time to generate a first value, the configuration based on a model of the power electronics circuit; and based on a comparison between the first value and a second value satisfying at least one threshold, generate an interrupt associated with the power electronics circuit. Other examples are described.