Wireless Hopping Sequence for Industrial Automation Reliability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional wireless communication systems fail to meet the unique reliability and latency requirements of industrial automation scenarios, particularly in preventing consecutive packet failures, which are critical for uninterrupted production cycles, and incur high resource or complexity overhead to ensure robust transmission.

Innovation Solution

A wireless communication system that includes a network device and a wireless communication device, utilizing beamforming and time/frequency resource allocation to provide a hopping sequence and its periodic repetition, ensuring high reliability by minimizing delays and avoiding consecutive failures through dedicated resource usage and feedback-based updates.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional wireless communication systems are used for industrial automation, then basic communication functionality is provided, but reliability requirements fail due to consecutive packet failures and high resource overhead is incurred to ensure robust transmission

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepacket transmission reliabilityVSAvoidresource overhead
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements periodic repetition of hopping sequences with defined periods, where the same resource allocation pattern is repeated cyclically. This periodic structure ensures that reliable transmission opportunities occur at regular intervals, guaranteeing that at least one transmission within each period succeeds, thereby meeting industrial automation reliability requirements without requiring excessive redundancy resources

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs dynamic hopping sequences that change spatial and/or frequency resources across different transmissions. Instead of using static resource allocation, the system dynamically switches between multiple resources according to the hopping sequence, providing adaptability to channel conditions and avoiding consecutive failures while maintaining efficient resource utilization

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If robust transmission measures are implemented to avoid consecutive failures, then communication reliability improves, but transmission delays increase due to time-consuming procedures like beam alignment

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication reliabilityVSAvoidtransmission delay
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs beam alignment and resource configuration in advance before actual data transmission begins. The hopping sequence and spatial resources are predetermined and configured upfront, so that when transmission is needed, the devices can immediately use the pre-established reliable pathways without time-consuming real-time beam search or alignment procedures

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent maintains continuous communication availability through periodic repetition of hopping sequences. Instead of interrupting transmission for re-alignment or reconfiguration, the system continuously provides transmission opportunities using the established hopping pattern, ensuring uninterrupted useful action and minimizing delays while maintaining reliability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

3Productivity

If single beam or single resource allocation is used, then resource efficiency is improved, but QoS failure occurs when beam failure or data decoding failure happens

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource efficiencyVSAvoidQoS guarantee
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent assigns different spatial and frequency resources to different portions of the transmission sequence within the hopping pattern. Each resource has specialized characteristics suited for specific transmission conditions, allowing the system to exploit local resource qualities to ensure that at least one resource maintains adequate quality for successful transmission, thereby guaranteeing QoS while using resources efficiently

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3868027B1Network device and wireless communication device for cyclic communication
Publication Date: 2025.03.26 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3868027B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3868027B1 patent drawingFigure 2(a)~2(c)
  • EP3868027B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present invention relates to wireless communications suitable for smart manufacturing and industrial automation. In particular, the invention proposes a wireless communication device (UE) and a network device (BS), in particular suitable for cyclic communication. The BS is configured to provide a first information defining a hopping sequence to a UE, and to provide a second information to the UE defining when the hopping sequence should be repeated, in particular periodically repeated. The UE is accordingly configured to receive the first information from the BS, and to receive the second information from the BS. The hopping sequence specifies at least two spatial resources and/or at least two radio resources, which the UE is configured to use for transmissions to and/or from the BS.