Time-Variant Data Profile for Fabric Network Chronological Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Smart home networks face challenges in accurately recording chronological data across devices with intermittent connections and unclear temporal relationships between events, leading to inaccurate data management and coordination of automated control systems.
Innovation Solution
A fabric network that enables devices to communicate using various protocols and profiles, including a time-variant data profile for reporting historical observations, ensuring accurate chronological data exchange and coordination across devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If devices use intermittent connections to save power, then energy consumption is reduced, but chronological accuracy of recorded data deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing a reference time source before devices go into sleep mode. Each device records its local clock time and the reference time when connected, calculates time offsets in advance, and uses these pre-calculated offsets to accurately timestamp events even when disconnected. This preliminary time synchronization allows devices to operate intermittently while maintaining chronological accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a reference time source as an intermediary between multiple devices with intermittent connections. This mediator provides a common time reference that all devices can use to synchronize their local clocks and establish accurate chronological relationships between events, even when devices are not continuously connected to each other or to a central server.
2Device complexity
If devices operate independently with intermittent connections, then device complexity is reduced, but temporal relationship clarity between events deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The reference time source acts as a temporal intermediary that provides a common reference frame for all devices. By recording events with timestamps based on this shared reference rather than relying on complex inter-device communication protocols, the system maintains clear temporal relationships between events across different devices while keeping each device relatively simple and independent.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the time parameter representation by recording not just absolute timestamps but also time offsets between devices and the reference time source. This parameter transformation allows the system to reconstruct accurate temporal relationships between events from different devices even when they operate independently with intermittent connections.
3Ease of operation
If devices use local clock times for recording events, then ease of operation is improved, but data chronology accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by having devices periodically compare their local clock time with the reference time source and calculate time offsets. This feedback mechanism allows devices to automatically adjust their timekeeping while maintaining the simplicity of using local clocks for event recording. The chronological accuracy is restored by applying the calculated offsets to the locally-recorded timestamps.
Solution Approach 2:
The reference time source serves as an intermediary that enables devices to maintain simple local clock operation while achieving accurate chronological data. Devices use their local clocks for easy event timestamping, then use the reference time intermediary to calculate and apply necessary time corrections, combining operational simplicity with chronological accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods for exchanging a data stream of information that varies over time using a message format. The message format includes a version field that indicates a version of a structure of the message format. The message format also includes one or more resources fields that each identifies a resource to be imported into the data stream exchanging the data stream. Moreover, the message format includes one or more records that represent time-variant data samples being exchanged in the message. Furthermore, the message format includes one or more descriptor fields, wherein each descriptor field corresponds to at least one respective record of the one or more records and contains metadata describing data contained within the at least one record.