Private Wireless Networking for Industrial Machine Configuration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Deploying and configuring industrial machines in cabled infrastructure is complex due to the variety of machines and frequent changes in industrial environments, which complicates connectivity and management.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of private wireless networking using 3GPP networks like 4G/LTE and 5G, enabling device-to-device connectivity and establishing a trusted proxy machine for configuration, management, and telemetry across a network, eliminating the need for network cabling and allowing for flexible reconfiguration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cabled infrastructure is used to connect industrial machines, then network connectivity and data transmission are established, but deployment complexity and configuration difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical cabled infrastructure with a wireless communication system. Industrial machines communicate over the air using wireless protocols, eliminating the need for physical cable connections. This substitution maintains network connectivity while dramatically reducing deployment complexity, as wireless networks can be established without installing extensive cabling infrastructure throughout the industrial environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal wireless communication framework that can connect diverse industrial machines regardless of their specific types or functions. The system provides a common communication platform that handles various data transmission needs (telemetry, control signals, configuration data) through a single wireless infrastructure, replacing the need for machine-specific cabled connections and simplifying the overall deployment process.
2Adaptability or versatility
If machines are frequently moved, replaced, or taken offline in industrial environments, then operational flexibility is improved, but connectivity management and network reconfiguration become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic wireless network configuration where connection parameters and device identifiers can be automatically updated without physical reconfiguration. When machines are moved or replaced, the wireless system dynamically adjusts network topology and reassigns communication channels, eliminating the need for manual cable reconnection and network reconfiguration that would otherwise be required in a cabled system.
Solution Approach 2:
The wireless communication system incorporates self-service capabilities where devices automatically register, authenticate, and configure their network connections upon entering the industrial environment. This self-configuration process eliminates the need for manual connectivity management when machines are added, moved, or replaced, allowing operational flexibility to improve without increasing management complexity.
3Ease of operation
If wireless networking is implemented to simplify deployment, then ease of configuration is improved, but meeting strict latency and quality of service requirements becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wireless network into dedicated communication channels and priority queues that separate different types of traffic (e.g., control signals, telemetry data, configuration commands). This segmentation allows the system to maintain ease of wireless configuration while ensuring that time-sensitive communications receive prioritized handling, thereby meeting strict latency and quality of service requirements through structured traffic management.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are described to provide industrial machine configurations using private wireless networking. In one example, a method includes provisioning a segmentation policy for a network area, wherein the segmentation policy identifies policy groups for the network area in which each policy group comprises a plurality of devices capable of inter-device communications; provisioning, at a proximity services controller, a connectivity policy for each policy group, wherein the connectivity policy for each of policy group identifies at least one proxy configuration for one or more types of information to be communicated among the plurality of devices of each policy group; establishing connectivity between each device of each of the policy groups and an access point; and communicating the one or more types of information to each of the policy groups based on the at least one proxy configuration for each policy group.