Scent Delivery Scheduling for Overlap and Overscenting Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing scent delivery systems in commercial or office environments often face challenges in managing conflicting scheduled scent events, leading to overscenting or concurrent emission of conflicting scents, which can be unpleasant for occupants.
Innovation Solution
A scent delivery system that includes a central controller to coordinate the operation of multiple scent delivery units by determining their relatedness and priority, ensuring that only one unit is activated during overlapping activation times, thereby preventing simultaneous activation of scent delivery units that are related and adjusting scent levels to avoid conflicts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple scent delivery units are activated simultaneously according to their schedules, then each unit can deliver its scheduled scent, but conflicting scents are emitted concurrently causing unpleasant experiences for occupants
Solution Approach 1:
The central controller performs preliminary analysis of scent delivery schedules to identify potential conflicts before they occur. By determining relatedness and priority levels in advance, the system proactively prevents conflicting scent emissions by adjusting activation times of lower-priority units, ensuring only compatible scents are delivered simultaneously.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the central controller coordinates all scent delivery units to prevent conflicts, then overlapping scent emissions are prevented, but the system complexity increases due to relationship determination and priority management
Solution Approach 1:
The central controller serves as an intermediary between multiple scent delivery units, managing their schedules and resolving conflicts centrally. This mediator approach allows individual units to remain simple while the controller handles the complexity of determining relatedness, establishing priority levels, and coordinating activation times to prevent overscenting and conflicting emissions.
3Ease of operation
If scent delivery units operate independently without coordination, then the system is simpler to operate, but overlapping activation times cause simultaneous emission of related scents leading to overscenting
Solution Approach 1:
The central controller implements a feedback mechanism where scent delivery units report their activation schedules and status. The controller analyzes this feedback to identify overlapping activation times for related units and adjusts schedules accordingly, reducing scent concentration during overlaps while maintaining independent operation capability of individual units when no conflicts exist.
Data Source
AI summary
A scent delivery system includes first and second scent delivery units and a central controller. The central controller is configured to generate command data capable of affecting operation of at least the first and second units based on one or more scenting schedules. The central controller is also configured to determine a relatedness and an order of priority between the units, and determine whether a desired activation time for the first unit overlaps at least partially with a desired activation time for the second unit. Based upon a determination that the first unit is related to the second unit and that a desired activation time for the first unit overlaps at least partially with a desired activation time for the second unit, the central controller is further configured to coordinate activity level of each of the first and second delivery units during the overlapping activation time according to the order of priority.