PWM Event Capture Buffering for Fault Data Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fault-detection and analysis systems in electrical devices inefficiently store significant volumes of information, requiring substantial memory and storage resources, while failing to collect desirable data for effective fault analysis.
Innovation Solution
A fault-detection and analysis system that acquires and temporarily stores device information in a first memory, such as a FIFO buffer, and transfers it to non-volatile memory upon detecting a fault condition, minimizing resource usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the system continuously stores all device information in memory, then complete fault analysis data is available, but memory and storage resources are significantly consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and stores only the essential fault analysis parameters (temperature, voltage, current, frequency, power, and fault type) rather than continuously storing all device information. This selective extraction approach maintains complete fault analysis capability while minimizing memory consumption by storing only the critical data needed for effective fault diagnosis.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the system stores detailed device information for fault analysis, then effective fault diagnosis is enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The memory system is segmented into two distinct parts: a first memory for temporary storage of device information and a second non-volatile memory for permanent fault data storage. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple temporary buffering while enabling comprehensive fault analysis through selective transfer to non-volatile memory, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device acts as an intermediary that selectively processes and transfers data between the first memory and second memory. It determines which parameters to store based on fault conditions, simplifying the memory system architecture by centralizing the intelligence in the control device rather than requiring complex memory management hardware.
3Measurement precision
If the system acquires data at high frequency, then accurate real-time fault detection is achieved, but processing and storage overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary acquisition of essential parameters (temperature, voltage, current, frequency, power) at high frequency and stores them temporarily in the first memory. This preliminary action ensures accurate real-time fault detection capability while deferring the heavier processing and permanent storage operations until fault conditions are detected, thereby maintaining data processing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system acquires more data than strictly necessary for normal operation (excessive action) by continuously monitoring multiple parameters at high frequency, but only stores the essential subset in permanent memory. This approach ensures accurate fault detection by having complete temporary data available for analysis while avoiding the overhead of permanently storing all acquired data.
Data Source
AI summary
According to one example, an electrical device is provided comprising an input configured to receive power from at least one power supply, an output configured to provide the power to at least one load, a first memory configured to store data temporarily, a second memory, the second memory being non-volatile memory, and at least one control device configured to acquire data indicative of at least one parameter of the power responsive to a sample condition being met, store the acquired data in the first memory, determine that a fault condition exists based on the acquired data, the fault condition being indicative of a fault of one or more electrical-device components, and store the acquired data in the second memory responsive to determining that the fault condition exists.