PPE Alert Response Link for Industrial Controller Events
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing personal protective equipment (PPE) systems do not effectively integrate with industrial devices to provide real-time alerts and responses to potential hazards, leading to potential safety risks for workers in hazardous environments.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising an article of PPE and an industrial controller device that communicates with a first computing device, which wirelessly broadcasts event messages to a second computing device integrated with the PPE, generating outputs to solicit worker actions and sending responses to control the industrial device based on user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If PPE systems are integrated with industrial devices to provide real-time alerts, then worker safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the safety monitoring function into separate modules: industrial controller devices monitor industrial device events, computing devices process event messages, and PPE devices deliver alerts to workers. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in specific tasks, improving overall reliability while managing complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
Computing devices serve as intermediaries between industrial controller devices and PPE devices. The computing device receives event messages from controllers, processes them, and forwards appropriate alerts to PPE devices. This intermediary layer simplifies the communication protocol for each individual component while enabling complex integrated functionality.
2Loss of time
If real-time wireless communication is implemented between industrial devices and PPE, then response time to hazards is reduced, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses event-triggered communication rather than continuous transmission. Industrial controller devices broadcast event messages only when specific industrial device events occur, and PPE devices receive and process these periodic updates. This approach provides real-time safety alerts while minimizing energy consumption by avoiding constant communication.
3Reliability
If multiple computing devices are used to manage communication between industrial devices and PPE, then system reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Computing devices are designed with multi-functionality to handle multiple roles: receiving event messages from industrial controllers, processing alert logic, communicating with multiple PPE devices, and maintaining system state. This universal design reduces the need for specialized dedicated components, managing complexity while improving reliability through flexible fault tolerance.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system includes an article of personal protective equipment (PPE) and an industrial controller device configured to control an industrial device. The system includes a first computing device and a second computing device. The first computing device, in response to detecting an industrial controller event, wirelessly broadcasts an event message that solicits an action from a worker. The second computing device, in response to receiving the event message, generates an output that solicits the action from the worker, and in response to detecting a user input associated with the article of PPE, send, a response from the second computing device to the first computing device. The first computing device, in response to receiving the response from the second computing device, performs at least one operation associated with the industrial controller device.