Wiring Aggregation Apparatus for Railway Vehicle Contact Information

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional railway vehicle systems require time-consuming reconfiguration of networks and increased wiring when device connections or VLAN configurations change, leading to complexity and unnecessary wire growth.

Innovation Solution

A wiring aggregation apparatus with subunits that perform parallel-serial and serial-parallel conversions on contact information, allowing transmission and reception without reconfiguration, by generating and extracting frames between connected apparatuses, thereby reducing the need for additional wires.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If one wire is assigned to one piece of contact information, then contact information can be transmitted reliably, but the number of wires increases with an increase in contact information

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontact information transmissionVSAvoidnumber of wires

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple contact information signals into a single communication line by implementing a master-slave relationship where a master device transmits contact information to multiple slave devices through one shared wire, eliminating the need for separate wires for each contact information pair

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The communication line serves multiple functions by allowing a single wire to carry contact information between one master device and multiple slave devices, making the wiring system universal rather than dedicated to specific device pairs

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If many wires are used to transmit contact information, then each contact information can be transmitted independently, but the weight of the railway vehicle increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontact information transmissionVSAvoidrailway vehicle weight

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple wire connections are merged into a single communication line, significantly reducing the total wire weight in the railway vehicle while maintaining reliable contact information transmission through the master-slave device architecture

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Reliability

If many wires are installed in the railway vehicle, then contact information can be transmitted between all devices, but limited space is occupied by wires

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontact information transmissionVSAvoidspace occupied by wires

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple separate wiring paths into a single shared communication line, freeing up significant space in the railway vehicle while maintaining full contact information transmission capability between the master and multiple slave devices

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

4Reliability

If VLAN configuration is changed to accommodate new devices, then network security and organization are maintained, but time-consuming setting is required

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork configurationVSAvoidsetting time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically manages device connections and contact information routing without requiring manual VLAN configuration or network setting, allowing new devices to be integrated simply by connecting them to the existing communication line with the master device

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

5Adaptability or versatility

If network configuration is changed to add devices, then system functionality is improved, but setting is required which is time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedevice configurationVSAvoidsetting time

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The master-slave device architecture with automatic connection management allows the system to adapt to new devices automatically without manual configuration, reducing setting time while improving system adaptability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adapts to changing device configurations by allowing slave devices to be added or removed from the communication line without requiring reconfiguration of the overall network structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS11354265B2Wiring aggregation apparatus, wiring aggregation system, and contact information transfer method

Publication Date: 2022.06.07 MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP

AI summary

A wiring aggregation apparatus includes at least one subunit. The subunit includes: an input/output module to output, to a control module, a first serial signal obtained by performing parallel-serial conversion on plural pieces of contact information collected from devices, and to output, to a corresponding device, each of plural pieces of contact information obtained by performing serial-parallel conversion on a second serial signal acquired from the control module; and the control module to generate a transmit frame by arranging the first serial signal acquired from the input/output module at a defined frame position, to transmit the generated transmit frame to another wiring aggregation apparatus, to extract the second serial signal arranged at a defined frame position from a receive frame acquired from the another wiring aggregation apparatus, and to output the extracted second serial signal to the corresponding input/output module.