Relay Communication Routing for Sensor and Self-Diagnosis Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing maintenance methods for field devices, such as pressure and flow transmitters, often rely on breakdown maintenance, which is reactive and inefficient, whereas predictive maintenance is preferable but hindered by the need to transmit self-diagnosis data alongside sensor data without interfering with the sensor data communication.
Innovation Solution
A field communication system with separate communication paths for sensor data and self-diagnosis data, utilizing a relay communication device to segregate and transmit these data types independently, allowing for predictive maintenance without disrupting sensor data transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If self-diagnosis data and sensor data are transmitted through the same communication path, then device complexity is reduced, but sensor data transmission may be hindered and predictive maintenance cannot be effectively realized
Solution Approach 1:
The communication system is segmented into two separate communication paths: one dedicated to sensor data transmission and another to self-diagnosis data transmission. This segmentation allows each path to operate independently without interfering with the other, ensuring reliable sensor data transmission while enabling effective predictive maintenance through dedicated self-diagnosis data transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
A relay communication device is introduced as an intermediary to receive both sensor data and self-diagnosis data from the field device and forward them through separate communication paths to respective communication devices. This mediator resolves the conflict by providing a structured method to handle both data types without direct interference between their transmission paths.
2Reliability
If separate communication paths are used for sensor data and self-diagnosis data, then predictive maintenance is enabled and sensor data transmission is ensured, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The relay communication device performs multiple functions: it receives both sensor data and self-diagnosis data from the field device, determines the type of each data packet, and forwards them through appropriate communication paths. This multi-functional approach consolidates the complexity into a single device rather than requiring separate dedicated systems for each data type.
Solution Approach 2:
The relay communication device autonomously determines whether received data is sensor data or self-diagnosis data and automatically routes it through the appropriate communication path without requiring external intervention or complex manual configuration, reducing operational complexity.
3Device complexity
If breakdown maintenance is used instead of predictive maintenance, then communication path structure remains simple, but operating ratio of field device decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables preliminary detection of potential failures by transmitting self-diagnosis data through a dedicated communication path, allowing maintenance to be performed before actual failures occur. This preliminary action increases the operating ratio by preventing breakdowns rather than responding to them after they happen.
Solution Approach 2:
The separate communication path for self-diagnosis data provides continuous feedback about the field device's health status to the relay communication device, which can then trigger appropriate maintenance actions. This feedback mechanism enables predictive maintenance that improves productivity while maintaining reasonable system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
In a field communication system 1, each of a field device 40-1, a second filed device 40-2, . . . , and a N-th field device 40-N has a sensor, transmits senso data, performs self-diagnosis on the field device to transmit self-diagnosis data, a relay communication device 10 receives the sensor data and the self-diagnosis data and transmits the sensor data and the self-diagnosis data using communication paths that are different from each other, a first communication device 20 receives the sensor data using a first communication path P1, and a second communication device 30 receives the self-diagnosis data using a second communication path P2.