Sensor Data Consistency via Freeze Block Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sensor systems often experience data consistency errors due to ongoing data sensing and acquisition activities while data is being retrieved through a communication interface, leading to intermixing of digital data from different system snapshots.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a data freeze block that prevents data registers from updating with new data until retrieval is complete, ensuring that only the stored digital data is retrieved, thereby maintaining data consistency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data sensing and acquisition activities continue while data is being retrieved through the communication interface, then the sensor system maintains continuous operation and productivity, but data consistency errors occur due to intermixing of digital data from different system snapshots
Solution Approach 1:
The data freeze block is activated before data retrieval begins, preemptively preventing any new data from being written to the registers during the retrieval process. This preliminary action ensures that the data remains static and consistent throughout the entire retrieval operation, eliminating the risk of intermixing data from different snapshots while maintaining continuous sensor operation.
2Reliability
If data registers are prevented from updating during retrieval, then data consistency is maintained, but the time required to complete data acquisition increases due to the freeze period
Solution Approach 1:
While the data registers are frozen during retrieval, the sensor system continues to operate continuously. The sensing elements keep sensing, and the data acquisition block continues to prepare new data. The freeze only affects the registers temporarily during retrieval, and immediately after retrieval completes, the registers are unfrozen and new data writing resumes without interruption, maintaining the continuity of useful action throughout the system.
3Reliability
If a data freeze block is implemented to prevent register updates during retrieval, then data consistency errors are eliminated, but device complexity increases due to additional control logic
Solution Approach 1:
The data freeze block serves as an intermediary control element between the data acquisition block and the data registers. It receives control signals from the microcontroller or control logic and translates them into enable/disable signals for the data registers. This intermediary simplifies the overall control architecture by providing a dedicated component that handles the freeze/thaw functionality, rather than requiring complex control logic distributed throughout the system.
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor system includes a signal sensing block including at least two sensing elements. Each of the at least two sensing elements is configured to generate an output that represents a first parameter associated with the sensor system. The sensor system also includes a data acquisition block configured to convert the outputs of the at least two sensing elements into digital data to be retrieved by a data retrieval block. The digital data is stored in one or more data registers of the data acquisition block. The sensor system also includes a data freeze block configured to cause the one or more data registers to refrain from updating with new data while the data retrieval block is retrieving the stored digital data.