Wireless Strobe Synchronization via Beacon Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless strobes face reliability and latency issues during long exposure times in rear curtain synchronous firing control, leading to potential loss of communication and unsynchronized firing.
Innovation Solution
A control apparatus and method that manages beacon packets to maintain communication with the wireless strobe during long exposures, ensuring reliable synchronization by stopping and resuming beacon packets in conjunction with the firing sequence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If beacon packets are stopped during long exposure to reduce communication overhead, then communication reliability deteriorates and the wireless strobe cannot fire synchronously with the rear curtain, but continuous beacon transmission consumes excessive communication resources and increases latency
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by sending timing information multiple times before the actual firing moment. The image capturing apparatus transmits timing information instructing the firing timing multiple times to the wireless strobe in advance, ensuring the strobe receives and processes the timing data before the critical firing moment during long exposure shooting.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements periodic beacon transmission instead of continuous transmission. Beacon packets are sent at regular intervals to maintain communication links during long exposure, reducing communication overhead while ensuring the wireless strobe remains connected and can fire synchronously with the rear curtain.
2Reliability
If multiple timing information packets are sent to ensure reliable reception, then communication reliability improves, but communication time and data transmission overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by sending timing information multiple times only during the critical period before firing, rather than continuous transmission. This sends just enough timing information packets to ensure reliable reception without excessive data volume, balancing reliability with communication efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
A control apparatus that controls a strobe to fire in synchronization with an end of an exposure period of an image capturing apparatus, includes a wireless communication device that communicates wirelessly with the strobe, and a controller that controls the wireless communication device, and the wireless communication device periodically sends a signal for maintaining communication with the strobe during the exposure period of the image capturing apparatus.