Sanitary Fixture Connectivity for Direct Setup and Gateway Backup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing networked sanitary systems lack flexibility in installation and maintenance, particularly for plumbing professionals, as they often require a fully set-up system to configure individual fixtures and do not allow independent addressing during installation or in case of gateway failures.
Innovation Solution
A sanitary system with a mobile computer that can establish direct or indirect data connections to sanitary fixtures via a gateway or control system, enabling independent configuration and monitoring of each fixture, using processors and communication interfaces for data exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a central gateway is used to control all sanitary fixtures, then system integration is achieved, but flexibility for individual fixture configuration and maintenance is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides communication paths into segments: fixtures can communicate through the gateway (indirect connection) or directly with mobile computers (direct connection). This segmentation allows plumbers to work on individual fixtures independently without requiring the entire system to be fully integrated and operational, resolving the contradiction between system integration and individual configuration flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway acts as an optional intermediary rather than a mandatory bottleneck. Mobile computers can bypass the gateway to communicate directly with fixtures when needed, providing flexibility for installation and maintenance work. The gateway remains available for centralized control when needed, thus maintaining adaptability without forcing complex system-wide integration for every task.
2Ease of operation
If direct connection between mobile computer and sanitary fixture is enabled, then installation flexibility is improved, but communication interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Sanitary fixtures are equipped with multiple communication interfaces (first and second interfaces) that can serve different functions. The first interface handles gateway-based indirect connections, while the second interface enables direct connections with mobile computers. This multi-functionality allows the same fixture to operate in different modes without requiring separate devices, improving ease of operation while managing interface complexity through unified fixture design.
3Reliability
If gateway-based indirect connection is used, then centralized control is maintained, but resilience to gateway failures is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The communication architecture is dynamic rather than static. During installation and maintenance, direct connections can be established for independent fixture addressing. During normal operation, indirect connections through the gateway can be used for centralized control. This dynamic adaptability ensures the system can switch between modes based on operational needs, improving reliability by providing fallback options when the gateway is unavailable while maintaining ease of operation for different tasks.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A sanitary system comprises at least one sanitary article (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e) with a sanitary article controller configured to interact with the sanitary article (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e), wherein the sanitary article controller has at least one processor, a first sanitary article-side communication interface (SK1) operatively connected to the processor, and a second sanitary article-side communication interface (SK2) operatively connected to the processor, at least one gateway (3), wherein the gateway has a first gateway-side communication interface (GK1) and a second gateway-side communication interface (GK2), and a mobile computer (4) with at least one processor, at least one computer-side communication interface (CK) operatively connected to the processor, and a screen operatively connected to the processor.wherein the at least one gateway (3) is connected via the first gateway-side communication interface (GK1) to the first sanitaryware-side communication interface (SK1) via a data connection, wherein the mobile computer (4) is connected via the at least one computer-side communication interface (CK) either - to the second sanitaryware-side communication interface (SK2) via a data connection, so that a direct data connection (D) between the mobile computer (4) and the at least one sanitaryware control unit can be provided, or - to another gateway-side communication interface (GK4) via a data connection, so that an indirect data connection (iD') between the mobile computer (4) and the at least one sanitaryware control unit can be provided,wherein the direct data connection (D) or the indirect data connection (iD') between the mobile computer (4) and the sanitaryware control unit are configured such that data can be exchanged between the processor of the mobile computer (4) and the processor of the at least one sanitaryware control unit.