Wireless Lighting Network Coordinator Redundancy via Substitute Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lighting control networks face disruptions when the network coordinator goes offline due to electrical faults or communication failures, leading to loss of control over connected devices.
Innovation Solution
A method where network devices determine if a control message is received from a primary device, and if not, they transmit messages to identify a substitute control device with the lowest node index value to assume control, ensuring continuous operation of the wireless lighting control network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single network coordinator is used to control the wireless lighting control network, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but the reliability deteriorates when the coordinator goes offline due to electrical faults or communication failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designates a substitute network coordinator in advance (before failure occurs) among the network devices. When the primary coordinator fails, the substitute can immediately take over control without requiring complex real-time negotiation or system reconfiguration, thus maintaining reliability while keeping the overall structure relatively simple
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a substitute network coordinator as an intermediary backup component. This substitute acts as a mediator that can assume control when the primary coordinator fails, effectively distributing the control function while maintaining a clear hierarchical structure that doesn't significantly increase complexity
2Reliability
If network devices continuously monitor for control messages to detect coordinator failure, then the reliability is improved through faster failure detection, but the use of energy increases due to continuous monitoring and message transmission
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring, network devices check for control messages at periodic intervals. This approach maintains adequate failure detection capability while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous monitoring, as devices can enter low-power states between periodic checks
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the absence of control messages from the coordinator as the trigger for failure detection, rather than requiring active probing or monitoring by network devices. This passive detection method reduces energy consumption while maintaining reliability, as devices only wake up to check for messages at scheduled intervals
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling a wireless lighting control network includes determining, by a first network device, whether a message is received from a control device during a first time interval; in response to determining that the message was not received, transmitting, by the first network device, a message to other network devices to determine whether another network device received the message from the control device; in response to determining, during a second time interval, that the first network device did not receive the message from the control device and did not receive an indication from another network device that the message from the control device was received, transmitting a message to the other network devices to indicate that the first network device is a substitute control device; and periodically transmitting messages to the other network devices indicating that the first network device is an active substitute control device.