TDMA Wireless Network for Aircraft Cabin Energy Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft cabin information systems face challenges with significant installation and maintenance efforts, weight issues due to signal lines, and high energy consumption in wireless transmission systems, which are not suitable for emergency situations.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a wireless network with TDMA synchronization to reduce energy consumption and improve response time, allowing for quick and economic information transmission, featuring nodes with specific sending and receiving time slots, and adaptable network configurations for varying conditions, enabling efficient communication and redundancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of stationary object
If wireless transmission is used to replace signal lines, then weight is reduced, but energy consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic transmission by dividing communication into discrete time slots within TDMA frames. Nodes transmit only during their assigned time slots rather than continuously, reducing energy consumption while maintaining wireless communication capability. This periodic action allows the system to achieve weight reduction from wireless transmission while mitigating excessive energy consumption.
2Ease of manufacture
If wireless network is used for information transmission, then installation effort is reduced, but transmission time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-assigning specific time slots to each node during network initialization. This preliminary configuration of TDMA schedules enables nodes to transmit immediately during their assigned slots without negotiation or contention, reducing actual transmission time while maintaining the installation advantages of wireless networks.
3Speed
If nodes are kept active continuously for communication, then response time is reduced, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action through TDMA frames where nodes alternate between active transmission/reception periods and sleep periods. Each node is active only during its assigned time slot and during receptions from neighbors, then enters sleep mode. This periodic activation maintains communication responsiveness while dramatically reducing energy consumption compared to continuous operation.
4Reliability
If emergency systems must be both energy efficient and fast, then a trade-off between response time and energy consumption must be made
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the network configuration adaptive rather than static. The system can dynamically adjust TDMA frame structures, time slot assignments, and node activation patterns based on current operating conditions such as emergency vs. normal operation. This dynamic adaptability allows the emergency system to optimize between response time and energy consumption depending on the specific situation, enhancing both reliability and versatility.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for activating and maintaining a plurality of separate and distanced functional units in an aircraft cabin, in particular an aircraft. A separate and distanced functional unit may in particular be a remotely operable device used inside an aircraft cabin. According to the invention, a wireless network comprising a plurality of nodes is initialized , wherein each node is associated with a device, in particular a remotely operable device, wherein said initializing comprises associating each node a sending time slot within a time frame using a TDMA synchronization scheme, wherein each node is active to send signals during its sending time slot and is active to receive signals during a first set of time slots comprising a number of time slots of said frame, wherein the sending time slot of a node is different from the sending time slots of at least a plurality of its neighbored nodes, preferably all neighbored nodes, wherein a neighbored node of a node is defined to be within a predetermined distance to said node, sending an activation signal from one of the nodes to at least the plurality of nodes in a predetermined neighborhood distance to said node, wherein each node after having received said activation signal transmits said activation signal during the sending time slot associated to said node to at least one neighbored node.