Airport Runway Lighting Control via Optical Fiber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing airport runway lighting control systems face challenges in precisely identifying and localizing faults without on-site checks, are vulnerable to power supply and communication faults, and have high power consumption and response time issues, making them inefficient and costly to maintain.
Innovation Solution
A control installation with a series of transformers and control modules connected via primary and secondary optical channels, allowing for independent power supply and communication, enabling fault identification and bypassing, reducing power consumption, and ensuring system operability even with faults, using a management unit with bidirectional optical communication channels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If carrier-wave transmission module is used to monitor lights, then existing circuits can be avoided modification, but ground isolation level must be high (51MΩ) and power consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the electrical carrier-wave transmission system with an optical fiber communication system. Optical signals are used instead of electrical signals to transmit data between the control unit and lighting modules, eliminating the need for high ground isolation and reducing power consumption since optical receivers require minimal power compared to carrier-wave transmitters.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces optical fiber as an intermediary medium for data transmission. The optical fiber acts as a mediator that carries information between the control unit and lighting modules without requiring electrical connections, thus avoiding ground isolation issues and reducing power consumption while maintaining circuit simplicity.
2Ease of manufacture
If carrier-wave transmission module is used to monitor lights, then existing circuits can be avoided modification, but detection time interval exceeds safety standards (30 Kb/s vs 2 seconds requirement)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the slow electrical carrier-wave transmission (30 Kb/s) with optical fiber communication, which provides significantly higher data transmission rates. This enables the system to detect lighting faults within the required 2-second safety interval by rapidly transmitting status information from all lighting modules to the control unit.
3Reliability
If additional carrier-wave transmission modules are introduced, then light monitoring is achieved, but power consumption increases equivalent to lamp power requiring CCR replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes electrical carrier-wave transmission modules with optical fiber-based communication. The optical receivers in each lighting module consume minimal power compared to the carrier-wave transmitters, eliminating the need to replace the constant current regulator and avoiding power consumption increases equivalent to lamp power.
4Speed
If optical-fibre ring bus is used for data connection, then connection speed improves and lamp breakage can be coped with, but system is compromised by power supply circuit faults or optical-fibre faults
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates redundancy by providing alternative communication paths. When a fault occurs in the optical fiber ring bus or power supply circuit, the system can switch to backup pathways or modes, ensuring continuous operation and preventing total system compromise. This cushioning approach maintains reliability despite potential faults.
5Reliability
If faults occur in primary power supply or optical-fibre ring bus, then system operation is compromised, but precise fault identification is difficult for quick repair
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements comprehensive feedback mechanisms where each lighting module continuously reports its status through the optical fiber network to the control unit. The control unit receives real-time information about lighting operation and can precisely identify which specific module or optical connection has failed, enabling quick repair by providing exact fault location information rather than requiring systematic troubleshooting.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides high reliability in fault identification and localization, maintains system operability during faults, reduces power consumption, and speeds up response times, ensuring optimal airport categorization and energy efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a transformer for each light, the transformers being connected in series to the primary power supply
Implementation Method 2
The control modules and the management unit are connected in parallel by means of an optical-fibre ring bus which provides a data connection
Data Source
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AI summary
Installation for powering and controlling a plurality of signalling lights (1), arranged in series, each comprising at least one light source (L1,L2), the installation comprising at least: - a unit (100) for remotely programming/managing the operation of the installation, with a primary power supply (110) situated upstream (M); - a primary series circuit (110) for powering the lights, with a transformer (200) for each light (1), the transformers being connected in series with the primary power supply (110); - a control module (300) for each light (1), arranged between a respective transformer (200) and the associated light (1); - a secondary power supply circuit (140) for powering the control modules (300), independent of the primary circuit (110) for powering the lights (1); - a first optical cable (131a) for bidirectionally connecting the first upstream module (300) of the series to the programming/management unit (100); - a second optical cable (132a) for bidirectionally connecting the last downstream control module (300n) of the series to the programming/management unit (100); - each control module (300) being connected in series to the adjacent upstream module and to the adjacent downstream module by means of a respective bidirectional optical connection.