Scent Delivery Scheduling With Anti-Event Conflict Priority
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing scent delivery systems lack the ability to efficiently manage conflicting scent activation and deactivation schedules, leading to potential scent overlap or exclusion issues in environments where precise scent control is required, such as during events like wine tastings.
Innovation Solution
A network-controlled scent delivery system with a central controller that schedules scent events and anti-events, prioritizing anti-events to prevent scent activation during specified exclusion periods, and allows for manual override and dynamic scent level adjustments through a graphical user interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple scheduled events are maintained for scent delivery units, then scent delivery can be controlled at different time periods, but conflicting control instructions may occur when events and anti-events overlap
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary conflict detection by comparing scheduled events and anti-events before generating control commands. The central controller identifies overlapping time periods in advance and resolves conflicts by prioritizing anti-events, preventing conflicting control instructions from being sent to scent delivery units.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the central controller continuously monitors scheduled events and anti-events, detects conflicts when they occur, and adjusts control commands accordingly. The controller generates updated command data that reflects the resolved conflict state and communicates it back to the scent delivery units.
2Productivity
If scheduled events are used to activate scent delivery units, then scent can be delivered during specific time periods, but unwanted scent delivery may occur during exclusion periods
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by establishing anti-events that preemptively block scheduled events during exclusion periods. When an anti-event is detected to overlap with a scheduled event, the system generates control commands that prioritize the anti-event, preventing the scent delivery unit from activating during the exclusion period.
3Ease of operation
If manual activation requests are allowed, then users can override scheduled control, but conflicts may arise between manual requests and scheduled anti-events
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic priority assignment where the relative priority between manual activation requests and scheduled anti-events can be configured. The central controller evaluates the nature of the conflict and applies appropriate priority rules, allowing flexible resolution that maintains both manual control capability and schedule control reliability based on system configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling one or more scent delivery units includes maintaining one or more scheduled events, maintaining one or more scheduled anti-events, and generating, based on the one or more scheduled events and the one or more scheduled anti-events, command data to be communicated to the one or more scent delivery units to control their activation and deactivation. Generating the command data includes identifying a conflicting period of time during which control specified by the one or more scheduled events differs from control specified by the one or more scheduled anti-events and also includes generating command data that gives priority to control specified by the one or more scheduled anti-events. Control for the one or more scent delivery units during the conflicting period of time is in accordance with control logic of the one or more scheduled anti-events and not the one or more scheduled events.