Smart Cable Usage Tracking for Purpose and Degradation Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cables are often lost or misplaced, their intended use is not easily ascertainable, and there is no mechanism to track their purpose or degradation, leading to reliability issues in data communication.
Innovation Solution
A wire system with a controller that includes a memory and processor to detect usage and update status information, tracking cable usage and providing intelligence to manage cable operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If cables are stored in temporary storage with other types of cables, then storage space is utilized, but the intended use of specialty cables becomes difficult to ascertain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses RFID tags that store digital copies of cable identification and purpose information. Instead of relying on physical labels that can be lost or obscured, the cable's identity information is copied into an electronic format that can be easily retrieved and displayed, solving the problem of information loss during storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The RFID reader acts as an intermediary between the stored cables and the user. When a cable is scanned, the system retrieves and displays the cable's purpose information, serving as a mediator that bridges the gap between the physical cable and the information about its intended use.
2Device complexity
If no mechanism exists to check dedicated memories tied to cables, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to determine cable purpose and track degradation is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The cable itself carries its own identification and status information through the RFID tag embedded within it. The cable essentially serves itself by containing all necessary information about its identity, purpose, and degradation status, eliminating the need for external tracking systems while improving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The RFID tag is pre-loaded with cable identification, purpose, and manufacturing information before the cable is put into service. This preliminary action ensures that all necessary information is already available when the cable is deployed, enabling immediate tracking and monitoring without requiring complex external systems.
3Ease of operation
If cables are used without usage tracking, then ease of operation is improved, but cable deterioration and reliability degradation cannot be monitored
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring cable usage through the RFID tag and comparing it against replacement thresholds. When a cable approaches its replacement limit, the system provides feedback alerts, enabling proactive replacement before reliability degrades, thus maintaining both ease of operation and high reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual cable tracking and inspection mechanisms with automated RFID-based monitoring. Instead of physically inspecting cables or maintaining manual logs, the system uses electronic RFID tags and readers to automatically track usage, eliminating complex mechanical tracking systems while improving both ease of operation and reliability monitoring.
Data Source
AI summary
A wire system (100A) includes a wire body (110) and a controller (150). Data are communicated by the wire body (110). The controller (150) is dedicated to the wire body (110) and includes a memory (151) that stores instructions and a processor (1010) that executes the instructions. When executed by the processor (1010), the instructions cause the controller (150) to detect usage of the wire system (100A) when data are communicated; and update status information for the wire system (100A) stored in the memory (151) to track usage of the wire system (100A).