Serial Peripheral Addressing for Emergency Vehicle Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Emergency response vehicles face challenges in distinguishing and addressing multiple instances of the same peripheral devices in serial networks, as traditional methods like mechanical dip switches and dedicated ports are prone to failure or costly, and cannot accommodate varying quantities of peripherals effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for configuring and controlling multiple serial devices in emergency response vehicles, where each peripheral device receives and stores a selectable address, allowing a controller to transmit addressable commands, and a computer-readable storage medium with program instructions detects and configures devices, enabling user selection and assignment of unique addresses for each device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mechanical dip switches are used to address multiple instances of the same peripheral, then individual device identification is enabled, but reliability deteriorates due to susceptibility to failure in rugged environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical dip switches with electronic addressing through software configuration. Each peripheral device is assigned a unique address via software, eliminating mechanical components that are prone to failure in rugged emergency vehicle environments. This substitution maintains the ability to individually identify devices while dramatically improving reliability.
2Ease of operation
If dedicated ports are provided for each instance of a peripheral, then individual device control is enabled, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal serial communication bus that can address multiple instances of the same peripheral type through software configuration rather than requiring dedicated physical ports. A single controller can manage multiple lights, sirens, or other peripherals by assigning unique addresses to each device, allowing one controller to perform the function of what would traditionally require multiple dedicated port configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple dedicated port functions into a single serial communication bus. Instead of having separate physical ports for each peripheral instance, multiple devices share the same communication bus with unique addressing, reducing the number of physical connections and controller ports needed while maintaining individual device control capability.
3Ease of manufacture
If serial networks are used to control peripherals, then cost is reduced and installation is eased, but the ability to support multiple devices of the same type deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic software-based addressing to a serial network, allowing the system to adapt and support multiple instances of the same peripheral type. Rather than being limited by fixed hardware configurations, the serial network can dynamically assign and reassign addresses to multiple devices of the same type through software, making the system versatile while maintaining the cost benefits of serial communication.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A system, method and storage medium for configuring and operating a plurality of serial devices in an emergency response vehicle. The system may include a plurality of peripheral devices, each configured to receive and store an address, a controller configured to transmit addressable commands to each of the devices, at least two of the devices having a first device type wherein the addresses of each of the devices are selectable by a user. The method may include selecting a plurality of peripheral devices, each configured to receive and store an address, with at least two of the devices have a same device type, connecting each of the devices to a computer executing configuration software, detecting each of the devices, receiving an address for at least one of the devices, and storing the address in a storage medium.