Wireless Equipment Control with Intended-Data Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing equipment management systems for manufacturing plants face challenges in ensuring that only intended information is detected and transmitted securely via wireless communication, as they lack effective control mechanisms to prevent the leakage of unintended information, which can lead to contract violations and data security breaches.
Innovation Solution
An equipment management system with an adaptive system control unit that includes information detection, detected information control, data propagation adjustment, and equipment control mechanisms to guarantee the acquisition and transmission of only intended information, using a layered structure of service manager, field manager, and flexible system manager to manage communication paths and policies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If wireless communication is used for equipment management, then flexibility in equipment arrangement and production line construction is improved, but control reliability deteriorates due to potential communication interference and data security issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway device as an intermediary between wireless equipment management systems and the wired network infrastructure. This gateway receives management data from multiple wireless systems, performs protocol conversion and data validation, then transmits processed data through the wired network. This mediator approach maintains wireless flexibility while ensuring reliable centralized control and data security through the gateway's filtering and validation functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a virtualization approach where a virtual equipment management system is created through software rather than physical wired connections. This virtual copy allows equipment to be managed wirelessly while maintaining the functional equivalence of traditional wired systems, enabling flexible equipment arrangement without sacrificing management capability or control reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If wireless communication systems are individually introduced per equipment, then ease of implementation is improved, but system coordination and frequency management deteriorate due to interference and resource conflicts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual wireless equipment management systems into a unified centralized management architecture. Instead of allowing each equipment to operate independently with its own wireless system, the patent combines them through a common gateway and shared wired network infrastructure. This consolidation maintains the ease of wireless implementation while reducing frequency conflicts and improving resource utilization through centralized coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway device is designed with universal functionality to handle multiple wireless communication protocols and equipment types simultaneously. This multi-functional gateway can manage diverse equipment through a single interface, eliminating the need for separate coordination systems for each equipment type and simplifying overall system management while maintaining implementation ease.
3Loss of information
If all detected information is transmitted, then information completeness is improved, but data security and contract compliance deteriorate due to unintended information leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway device extracts and filters specific required information from the data stream before transmission. Instead of transmitting all detected information, the gateway identifies and extracts only the necessary management data based on predefined criteria and contract requirements. This extraction approach maintains information completeness for essential data while eliminating security risks associated with transmitting unnecessary or sensitive information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the gateway receives data from equipment, validates it against security policies and contract requirements, then selectively forwards approved data. This feedback loop ensures that only compliant information is transmitted, maintaining necessary information flow while preventing unintended information leakage through continuous validation and policy enforcement.
Data Source
AI summary
An equipment management system includes an adaptive system control unit which is assigned to at least one piece of equipment installed in a plant and which monitors and controls the equipment via wireless communication. The adaptive system control unit includes an information detection unit for detecting information from the equipment, a detected information control unit for guaranteeing that only acquisition intended information previously intended to be acquired in the information detected by the information detection unit is acquired by the adaptive system control unit, a first data propagation adjustment unit for adjusting a propagation path when transmitting data including information controlled by the detected information control unit to the outside, and an equipment control unit for controlling the equipment on the basis of the information detected by the information detection unit or a control policy from the outside.