Wireless Fault Beacon Signalling for Unpowered Electrical Controls
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electrical installations, control devices become inoperable when the power supply is interrupted, requiring laborious and risky manual checks of switching devices, especially in large installations with difficult access.
Innovation Solution
A control device with a wireless transceiver and dual power supply system that broadcasts alert beacon packets using short-range protocols like Bluetooth or Zigbee when the primary power is lost, allowing mobile devices to detect and respond to faults without direct access, enabling remote monitoring and notification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If control devices are fed from the electric line and switch off when power is interrupted, then the control devices operate reliably during normal conditions, but manual field checking becomes laborious and risky when power is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by activating the wireless transceiver and broadcasting beacon packets before the operator needs to check the field. When power is interrupted, the control device immediately transitions to battery power and starts transmitting alert signals, preparing the system state in advance so that mobile devices can detect the fault condition without requiring physical field inspection.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical/physical system of manual field checking with an electromagnetic communication system. Instead of operators physically accessing switching devices to check status, the system uses wireless transceivers to broadcast fault information that can be detected by mobile devices, substituting direct mechanical inspection with remote electromagnetic detection.
2Loss of information
If operators directly access switching devices to check status after power loss, then accurate fault information is obtained, but safety risks and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless transceiver acts as an intermediary between the control device and the operator's mobile device. Instead of direct access being required, the transceiver broadcasts beacon packets containing fault status information, which are then detected and processed by the mobile device's software application, providing accurate fault information through an intermediate communication channel.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the fault status information by broadcasting beacon packets that contain the same data that would be obtained through direct field checking. The mobile device receives this information copy wirelessly, eliminating the need for physical access while maintaining information accuracy.
3Reliability
If a second power supply unit is added to feed the wireless transceiver during power loss, then fault signalling is enabled after power interruption, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the essential function needed for fault signalling by using a simple battery-powered wireless transceiver that operates independently when main power is lost. Rather than making the entire control system complex, only the critical alerting function is equipped with separate power supply, keeping the rest of the system simple and manageable.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a control device for electrical installations, which has improved signalling capabilities in alert conditions, particularly when said control device is no more fed by a power supply and it cannot carry out its control and monitoring functionalities. In further aspect, the present invention relates to a computerised signalling system for an electrical installation, characterised in that it comprises one or more control devices having the above-mentioned improved signalling capabilities and a software application stored in one or more mobile computerised devices. Said software application is configured to make each mobile computerised mobile detect the beacon data packets broadcasted by said control devices in alert conditions.