Ring Bus Coupler Delay-Free Forwarding for Fire Alarm Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ring bus systems in fire alarm and firefighting systems suffer from limited bandwidth, resulting in slow response times for status polling and restart times, which are inadequate for detecting analog values from sensors and meeting the time-based requirements of electrical control and delay devices.
Innovation Solution
A bus system with a control unit and peripheral devices connected via a ring topology with two independently realized data communication interfaces, where each bus node has a transmit/receive switching unit to automatically detect data reception and connection, ensuring delay-free data forwarding and rapid communication, even in the event of an open circuit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a ring bus system is used to link fire alarm components, then the system remains responsive even in the event of a short or open circuit, but the bandwidth is limited resulting in slow response times for status polling and restart times
Solution Approach 1:
The bus system is divided into multiple independently operable bus segments, each with its own control unit. This segmentation allows parallel processing of data across multiple segments, significantly reducing the overall response time for status polling while maintaining the reliability of the ring topology for fault tolerance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single-dimension ring bus to a multi-dimensional architecture with multiple control units and bus segments operating in parallel. This dimensional expansion enables simultaneous data transmission across multiple paths, improving both response time and bandwidth while preserving the fault-tolerant characteristics of the original ring topology.
2Reliability
If a ring bus system is used to link fire alarm components, then the system remains responsive even in the event of a short or open circuit, but the restart times after line failure are extended to one to five minutes
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements preliminary failover mechanisms where backup control units are pre-configured and ready to immediately assume operation when a line failure is detected. This eliminates the need for lengthy restart procedures, reducing recovery time from minutes to seconds while maintaining continuous system availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs continuous feedback monitoring of bus segment health and control unit status. When a line failure is detected, the feedback mechanism triggers automatic reconfiguration and failover to backup units, enabling rapid recovery without manual intervention and reducing restart time from one to five minutes to near-instantaneous recovery.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a ring bus system with limited bandwidth is used, then fire alarm components can be connected, but the response times are insufficient for detecting analog values from sensors at sufficient resolution or sampling
Solution Approach 1:
The bus system is divided into multiple independently operable bus segments, each with its own control unit. This segmentation allows parallel processing of data across multiple segments, significantly reducing the overall response time for status polling while maintaining the reliability of the ring topology for fault tolerance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single-dimension ring bus to a multi-dimensional architecture with multiple control units and bus segments operating in parallel. This dimensional expansion enables simultaneous data transmission across multiple paths, improving both response time and bandwidth while preserving the fault-tolerant characteristics of the original ring topology.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a bus system (1) comprising a control unit (2) and at least one bus node (3.1, 3.2, 3.3). The control unit (2) is allocated at least two data communication interfaces (2.1, 2.2) which are respectively designed to transmit and receive data. The at least one bus node (3.1, 3.2, 3.3) comprises a bus coupler having at least two data communication interfaces (3.11, 3.12; 3.21, 3.22; 3.31, 3.32) respectively designed to transmit and receive data. The control unit (2) and the at least one bus node (3.1, 3.2, 3.3) are respectively connected together via their data communication interfaces and corresponding two-point connections (8) to form a ring topology. The bus coupler of the at least one bus node is designed to directly and without delay transmit, and thus forward, data received at one of its at least two communication interfaces via its other data communication interface.