Terminal Address Setting by Reply-Count Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication systems require complex processing to set communication addresses for terminal devices, involving sequential issuance of operation requests and responses, which is inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A terminal device with a number-of-times setting unit that sets an acceptable number of times for reply request signals, a counter to count down these times, and an address setting unit that sets a communication address when the times reach zero, along with a response time setting unit to manage the timing of replies, simplifying the address setting process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the management device issues operation request commands while sequentially changing destination addresses to set communication addresses, then communication addresses can be set for terminal devices, but the processing becomes complicated and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal device autonomously determines when to accept the communication address by internally managing a counter and random number generation. Instead of the management device controlling the entire address setting process through sequential commands, the terminal device self-manages the timing and conditions for address acceptance, reducing management device processing complexity while maintaining address setting functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal device pre-generates a random number and stores it before the address setting process begins. This preliminary action allows the terminal device to independently determine when to accept the address based on pre-computed criteria, eliminating the need for the management device to perform complex sequential checking and reducing overall processing complexity
2Reliability
If the management device sequentially changes destination addresses and checks responses to set communication addresses, then address allocation can be controlled, but the address setting process becomes time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal device generates and stores a random number before the address setting process begins. This allows the terminal device to independently determine address acceptance timing based on pre-computed criteria, eliminating the need for time-consuming sequential checking by the management device while ensuring reliable address allocation through the predetermined random number comparison
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal device can quickly determine whether to accept an address by comparing the received address with its pre-generated random number, allowing it to skip unnecessary waiting periods and rapidly complete the address setting process. This eliminates the time-consuming sequential response checking that previously required the management device to wait for each terminal's response
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3(a)~3(i)
Figure 4(a)~4(c)
AI summary
A terminal device is a terminal device communicatively connected to a management device. The terminal device includes a number-of-times setting unit that sets an acceptable number of times with respect to a reply request signal transmitted from the management device, a counter that counts down the acceptable number of times each time the reply request signal is accepted, and an address setting unit that sets a communication address transmitted from the management device as a communication address of the terminal device when the acceptable number of times is 0.