Sterilization Chamber Control Software for Hardware Compatibility
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sterilization chambers from different manufacturers with varying hardware configurations face challenges in ensuring consistent quality control, require labor-intensive software maintenance, and are difficult to upgrade due to memory structure differences, leading to inefficient debugging and potential loss of configuration data.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that abstracts chambers, subsystems, and devices into configurable building blocks, separates configuration and state data, and uses a standard interface to manage sterilization cycles across different hardware configurations, allowing a single program to control multiple chambers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If custom control software is developed for each chamber to match its specific hardware configuration, then the chamber can be controlled and monitored properly, but software maintenance becomes labor intensive and debugging becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The control software is segmented into a standardized core component and chamber-specific configuration modules. The standardized core handles common sterilization cycle logic, while configuration files define hardware-specific parameters. This segmentation allows the core software to remain consistent across chambers while adapting to different hardware through configuration, reducing maintenance burden and debugging difficulty.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses parameter-based configuration where hardware-specific variations are defined through configurable parameters rather than custom code. Each chamber's hardware configuration is represented as a set of parameters that the standardized software reads and adapts to, allowing proper control without requiring custom software development for each chamber.
2Reliability
If separate control programs are maintained for each chamber, then each chamber can be controlled according to its specific hardware, but software upgrades become difficult and may affect chambers differently
Solution Approach 1:
A universal standardized control program is developed that can control multiple chamber types through configuration parameters. This single program performs the sterilization cycle control function across all chambers, eliminating the need for separate programs. Software upgrades are applied uniformly to all chambers, ensuring consistent behavior while maintaining hardware-specific functionality through parameter configuration.
3Device complexity
If configuration data and program code are stored in the same memory area, then the PLC program is simpler, but new program code cannot be downloaded without overwriting configuration data
Solution Approach 1:
The PLC memory is segmented into distinct areas: one for standardized program code and another for chamber-specific configuration data. This segmentation allows independent downloading and updating of program code without affecting configuration data stored in separate memory locations, eliminating the overwrite problem while maintaining relatively simple memory structure.
4Reliability
If custom software versions are created for each chamber type, then each chamber can be properly controlled, but quality control across chambers becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating custom software versions for different chamber types, the system uses parameter-based configuration where hardware variations are accommodated through configurable parameters within a single standardized software version. This approach maintains consistent quality control across all chambers while achieving proper control accuracy for each specific hardware configuration through parameter adaptation.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
There is provided a method and apparatus for operating a sterilization chamber such that one version of Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) software is compatible with any number of hardware configurations of the sterilization chamber. The PLC software is divided into a core module for operations which are the same across all hardware configurations, and a template module for hardware specific operations. Configuration data, state data, and live data are segregated from each other.