Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
  • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
  • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
  • G06F1/1632—External expansion units, e.g. docking stations

Definitions

• This Invention concerns the fields of electronics and prototyping related to such a field, in particular this invention might promote a specific sector, which is the one of rapid prototyping in ambit of electronics/electric and of micro and nano-electronics.
• such a system applies to various domains of electric and electronics prototyping (i.e. monitoring and control systems, gauging systems, electro-mechanical devices and actuators) and includes different basic versions with a more or less wide selection of sensors or interconnection features; such a base can be further broadened by adding functionalities through the use of more specific modules.
• the central unit which usually includes a microcontroller, is programmed by loading sketches (software programs) that are elaborated, for example, by mean of a PC.
• sketches software programs
• the detailed features of the Microduino alternative are yet still unclear because the product is still in a launch phase.
• the central unit presents a high degree of complexity because it includes a microcontroller and various interconnection interfaces.
• the micro-controller in turn, needs an external programming activity made in its own development platform.
• the Hardware is essentially exposed and results liable to be damaged from external agents, is not exempt from soldering and needs many floating wirings.
• many of the available expansions modules turn out to be quite complex, thus expensive and, likely, less reliable with respect to simpler modules that in this case cannot be used, because they are not suitable for this kind of management system.
• the product needs a certain degree of technical preparation from side of the user, and thus just a narrow range of skilled customers can actually use it, to the detriment of a wider range of interested ones, that cannot use it due to the lack of technical/specific knowledges. Therefore in order to use such a product it is necessary to be an expert of the field and, obviously, this fact notably penalizes the device, the system and what else is based on a similar technology, destining it to niche market, even though it is an interesting and technologically innovative product.
• State of the Art State of the Art
• the scope of this invention is to provide a simple but efficient solution to the mentioned problems.
• One scope of this invention is to allow anyone, such as, as an example, companies or privates without specific technical skills, to build in an immediate and efficient way their own prototypes of their own devices.
• a further scope of this invention is therefore to implement a prototyping system that is easy to use.
• a further scope of this invention is to implement a rapid prototyping system that can therefore be used also outside the mere prototyping carried out at company or industrial level.
• Another scope is to implement a low power system able to work for long time.
• One and more scopes of this invention are to solve the prior art's problems mentioned above. These and further scopes will be implemented with the system described in the present invention including at least a primary device, which comprises at least one wireless interface module, at least one connection interface with one or a plurality of expansion modules that in turn include one or more connection interfaces with likewise expansion modules or primary devices.
• said system further includes a terminal apt to connect said device through a wired or wireless interface, said terminal being suitable to manage the device and one or a plurality of the system's expansion modules.
• Said primary device furtherly comprises a power supply filtering unit, said system being suitable to manage the power supply coming from an electric power supply source, such as a battery that is eventually placed in an expansion module.
• Said prototyping system in a particularly advantageous way allows the connection of said at least a primary device to said at least one or more expansion modules in a "plug and play" manner, in other words self-recognizing and self-configuring.
• said prototyping system can be easily configured, that is, it does not require informatics knowledges to be used and put into action because said terminal of said system includes means of interaction to recognize the primary device and the coupling of said primary device with each of the said plurality of expansion modules.
• the user can set some functional parameters at his own discretion depending on the used primary devices and/or expansion modules.
• said expansion modules are recognized from said primary device by means of self-recognition such as the recognition of an ID that uniquely identifies each expansion module.
• the recognition through ID allows the self-configuration at primary device level that, once the expansion module gets recognized, dynamically assigns to the latter a specific address allowing the communication on a bus that is common to all devices, avoiding the use of static assignments (i.e. deep Switches) that would require the intervention from side of the user; here occurs, hence, a configuration and a recognition at hardware level.
• the terminal in turn, through said means of interaction, can operate a further recognition at software level of what has been connected to at least a primary device.
• the terminal could interact with the primary device and the expansion modules, for example, to set some custom parameters and/or to refine an overall functionality.
• the prototyping system thus, quickly activates itself as the user customised it, in a functional and immediately efficient way.
• the user could therefore easily build his own hardware prototype without committing errors or making soldering etc, and interact with said terminal of said system just to introduce the desired functionalities or read the collected parameters.
• said terminal can be released from the other parts of the system that, once set, could also autonomously perform the chosen functionalities.
• said terminal which includes a specific and dedicated user interface
• said terminal which includes a specific and dedicated user interface
• the inexperienced user having no specific skills in this field of interest, can build one or a plurality of different prototyping systems without the possibility of committing errors thanks, for instance, to the presence of pins in the connection interface of the expansion modules, in an advantageous way, the positioning of said pins of said interconnection interfaces, that can be furtherly mutually coupled in an unambiguous way, ensure to exclude that the modules could be connected to the device in an erroneous way.
• said expansion modules depending on the types of module, can include one or more sensors of different kind or more sensors of the same kind (and/or interfaces such as relays, buttons, buzzers, displays and/or actuators and/or intelligent systems with CPU on board).
• said expansion modules might also include just a single sensor of whatever kind depending on the chosen functionality; in this way said expansion modules result to be extremely simple to use and do not require, in their simplest implementation forms, any battery, to the benefit of a very competitive cost and of a reduced size in addition to a benefit for the eventual needs of certification of the system's prototype. Therefore in a particularly advantageous way, this allow to implement expansion modules dedicated to the basic prototyping operations that are leaner indeed to use and quickly configurable with no need of practical intervention.
• expansion modules can be more or less complex and therefore include electric and electronics parts or other things depending on the requirements.
• said primary device and said expansion modules do not need any physical interaction of modification from side of the user, that is there is no need for the user to physically intervene in any way on said primary devices and/or said modules, because said primary device and said modules, as said, are managed from the said terminal for any setting, therefore in a very advantageous way, said at least one primary device and said modules can be enclosed in specific protective housings, i.e., substantially closed including said physical connection interfaces, such as slots or grafting areas for other modules or sensors or additional elements. Therefore in a definitively advantageous way, said at least one primary device and said modules turn out to be easy to handle and to use.
• said primary device serves as a basis for the successive insertion of one or more expansion modules that are connected to said primary device through the coupling of a simple interface for physical insertion such as, for instance, a housing with a male/female insertion pin.
• a simple interface for physical insertion such as, for instance, a housing with a male/female insertion pin.
• the insertion or connection interfaces can allow a direct insertion at hardware level or "Plug and Play", or physical connections. It has to be noted that said interfaces in some alternative realizations might also be not physical ones.
• a further advantage is that to considerably wide the market of interest, passing from a device that is mainly used in laboratory and/or in technical ambit (hobbyists and industrial prototyping) to the larger market of the "consumers” and of the accessories for widely used devices such as Smart Phones, Tablets, PCs etc.
• said rapid prototyping system is based on communication technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZIG-BEE, UWB etc. or further technologies that might be implemented and apt to the purpose of the invention.
• said innovative rapid prototyping system could work for a long time, this because the prototyping system herein described bases on a low power wireless technology and typically it could work for months and even years, considering that in a particularly advantageous way, its constituting parts can be powered by common batteries, such as those used for watches.
• the presence of at least one power supply system makes the said system self-powered.
• figure 1 it is represented a possible basic implementation of the, industrial and not, rapid prototyping system 1 realized in accordance to the present invention that includes a primary device 2, one or more expansion modules 3, where at least one expansion module 3 is physically connected to said primary device 2 and the other expansion modules 3 can be connected to the primary device 2 or among themselves i.e. in series or in parallel or in multiple combinations.
• the primary device 2 includes a wireless interface module 4 to communicate with a communication and management terminal 5, at least one physical connection interface 7 with one or a plurality of expansion modules 3 that in turn include one or more physical connection interfaces 7', 7" with as much modules 3 or primary devices 2.
• a dedicated port such as i.e. an analogue/digital port and/or a serial/parallel/I2C etc.
• the communication modality between the said device 2 and the communication and management terminal 5 is herein preferably described as a wireless data transmission and reception modality, even though the said connection between said primary device 2 and said communication and management terminal 5 could be realized also through a physical connection, that is through a cable such as, for example, USB, mini USB connection or other.
• the primary device 2 communicates with a terminal 5 such as i.e. a tablet, a smartphone, a PC, a dedicated hardware (readers) etc. and/or directly with communication infrastructures 10 such as Internet, Internet of things, clouds etc. and with external devices (here not represented) that will be mentioned in the following possible favourites implementations.
• the communication with the expansion modules usually occurs through dedicated connections that are interfaces 7 (i.e. serial, parallel, dedicated digital and/or analogue lines), even though it might also be implemented through other not-physical (RF, light, sounds and ultrasounds, etc.) communication technologies.
• the expansion modules usually consist of elementary modules such as sensors (i.e. temperature, pressure, acceleration etc.) interfaces (i.e. relays, buttons, buzzers, led, displays, etc.) actuators (i.e. electro-valves, motors etc.) and power supply modules (i.e. batteries, DC/DC converter, etc).
• the expansion modules can also be more "advanced” that is, for instance, can include peripherals, computational capabilities (CPU) etc. to elaborate the eventual commands sent by terminal 5 and/or autonomously execute more complex operations.
• the communication primary device 2 can also have on board a filtering and/or power supply management unit (power supply) including i.e. DC/DC converters, filters, etc.
• power supply including i.e. DC/DC converters, filters, etc.
• the basic operative functions of system 1 are managed by terminal 5 through, for example, specific applications or programs dedicated to the scope and therefore the primary device 2 acts as an interface for the management of the communications amongst the expansion modules 3 and the terminal 5.
• FIG 2 it is represented an alternative possible favourite basic implementation of the said prototyping system 1 where said primary device 2, also includes a power supply filtering unit, a processor 11 , including basic elements such as a flash memory 12 and a RAM 13 that also act as internal memory of the prototyping system 1. Said processor 11 with the annexed flash memory 12 and RAM 13 allows the primary device 3 to implement some functionalities even, eventually, without communication with the communication and management terminal 5. In fact, it has to be noted that, in some possible implementations of this invention, the terminal 5 might not be available in phases occurring after the setting at manufacturing.
• FIG 3 it is represented an example of additional elements that can be included in the primary device 2 of the prototyping system 1 in a particular possible implementation of this invention; in addition to the interface module 4 it is also included a System On Chip 15 (SOC) that comprises for instance an additional sensor and a Real Time Clock (RTC). Said system on chip 15 (SOC) allows to broaden the functionalities of the primary device 2, for instance also including a cryptographic device or a temperature sensor etc. It appears evident to an expert of this field that said primary device 2 allows the provision of multiple basic functionalities with very low costs and power consumption because, as it is known, the parts constituting the system are definitively simple and cheap to realize and assembly.
• SOC System On Chip 15
• RTC Real Time Clock
• thermosensor might have different obvious applications, whereas the cryptography match needs of specific applications requiring a high security in data transmission as usually occurs in payment systems (if we would for instance use the system to open the access barriers in a parking and meanwhile manage in total security the payments of said parking; or else for the management of personal information, such as sanitary data, banking accounts or private data of any nature).
• said system 1 includes a primary device 2 configured with a power supply filtering unit 6, a physical connection interface 7 with a first expansion module 3.1 that here is an analogue temperature sensor, connected in turn with a second expansion module 3.2 that here is a battery.
• the modules 3.1 and 3.2 are interconnected through one or more physical connection interfaces 7'. 7".
• connection interfaces 7 of said at least one primary device 2 and said connection interfaces 7', 7" etc. of said one or more expansion modules 3 are standardized, meaning that are mutually equal and/or compatible each with the other, therefore the number of expansion modules 3 connected amongst themselves and/or with said device can be substantially expanded with no limits, this also because said primary device can recognize a substantially unlimited number of modules connected to it and amongst themselves.
• the primary device 2 gets the data from the temperature sensor through an analogue to digital converter ADC 20 allowing the radio modem 4 to transmit the digitalized temperature value.
• the external expansion modules 3.1, 3.2 are elementary indeed and, as said, are constituted by said analogue temperature sensor (module 3) and by a battery (module 3'), the values from said temperature sensor are sampled from the analogue to digital converter 20 and transmitted from the radio modem 4 to the terminal 5 for their further elaboration.
• said data can be transferred, i.e. via Bluetooth or W-Fi or other suitable technologies that not necessarily employ the radio frequency (i.e. optics, sounds, ultrasounds etc.)
• the communication terminal 5 is in all respects an interface terminal that includes, in a more advantageous way, said communication means that can be set depending on the used primary devices and/or expansion modules, therefore the unexperienced user with any specific knowledge of the sector can put together one or a plurality of different prototyping systems that, when reciprocally interconnected, self-recognize each the other and consequently execute the required function or functions in a completely automated way with respect to the actions of the same user. Therefore the user could interface just with said terminal of said system to set the parameters or some desired functionalities; in this case for instance terminal 5 can be a tablet or a smartphone and said communication means could for instance be specific user friendly applications (Apps) for said devices.
• Apps user friendly applications
• the terminal 5 further recognises said modules 3.1, 3.2 and consequently allows, through said communication means, the interaction with said the whole device 2 / modules 3.1, 3.2; a further recognition is thus performed at software level through terminal 5.
• said expansion modules can be sensors, actuators, power supply systems that can also be different from batteries (i.e. solar cells, inductive systems, etc.), or intelligent units, that is equipped in turn with microprocessors apt to autonomously execute further functionalities, etc.
• batteries i.e. solar cells, inductive systems, etc.
• intelligent units that is equipped in turn with microprocessors apt to autonomously execute further functionalities, etc.
• terminal 5 can also be present only during the firmware's configuration of the prototyping system 1 at manufacturing.
• an intelligent control device to automatically watering plants that in this possible implementation includes a primary device 2 with a processor 11 including basic elements 12, 13 as described in fig. 3, serial 8 ports and the basic elements also described in the figures from 1 to 4.
• Said primary device 2 is connected to an expansion module 3.1 that includes a digital temperature sensor, a module 3.2 with a humidity sensor in turn connected to a module 3.3 including a pressure sensor connected in turn to an electro-valve module 3.4 (having thus different nature from the previous modules) that is connected in turn to a battery module 3.5.
• the modules from 3.1 to 3.5 are serially interconnected trough communication interfaces 7 of the primary module 2 (even though could also be interconnected in parallel through a specific expansion or in different modes as said before).
• the primary device 2 manages the serial communications of the external modules from 3.1 to 3.4 equipped, as said, with elementary sensors such as temperature, humidity and pressure and is powered up by the battery that has been defined in module 3.5.
• Such a system activates said electro- valve module 3.4 that is connected to the irrigation pipes.
• the terminal 5 through a specific software program, interacts with the user and uses the data coming from the sensors to detect the external climatic conditions (barometer) and/or the physical parameters of the plants (i.e. soil humidity).
• Such a software program can thus control in a smart way the opening of the electro-valve to water the plants, can further compare such values with the meteorological data available on the internet to implement a more sophisticated barometer and manage in the best way the irrigation also using data of timetables and day/night cycles of the specific period.
• the processor 11 available on the primary device 2 can autonomously take care of watering the plants even in absence of a communication with the terminal 5, basing on the conditions detected from the sensors embedded in the external modules 3.1, 3.2, 3.3; said primary device 2 can hence, in some implementations, operate autonomously.
• the preferred possible implementation of figure 5 gets furtherly specialized in the possible implementation of figure 6.
• an expansion module 3.6 that, in this case, is a complex intelligent module used to take care of the watering of plants when there is no communication with terminal 5 on the basis of the conditions detected from the sensors of the external expansion modules with the aim to relieve the primary device 2 from specific computational needs; this way the primary device 2 could, for instance, dedicate its own resources, that is processor 11, to the execution of other functionalities.
• a battery module 3.7 and power charging unit module 3.8 to provide a continuous power supply.
• each module gets automatically recognized at central level thanks to the primary device 2 and/or to terminal 5 and, consequently, the prototyping system is active and works without the user had to take care of informatics programming or actions of physical electrical or electronic modification of the system 1.
• FIG 7 it is represented a further practical application example of a possible implementation of the rapid prototyping system 1 described by the present invention.
• the primary device 2 in this case, is the same of figures 2, 5 and 6, whilst the expansion modules here used are an accelerometer module 3.0 connected in turn to an ethylometer module 3.1 connected in turn to a relay module 3.2 connected in turn to a battery module 3.3 connected in turn to a charging unit 3.4.
• the car's ignition can be activated only in presence of a communication with a specific terminal 5 that identifies the driver. Said terminal 5 will instruct the driver to make a test with the ethylometer that will be available in the vehicle and the said system will allow the start of the vehicle only after the outcome of the test.
• the system here described is powered by the module 3.3 rechargeable battery and from module charging unit 3.4.
• the relay module 3.2 in this case allows the start of the car.
• the primary device 2 and the relative expansion modules 3 can have whatever shape which is suitable for the specific implementation of the device or module, depending on the scope of the primary device or of the same expansion module; again, an eventual housing or case for the said device and/or said one o more modules, can have whatever shape which is suitable to the specific purpose.
• An element might be a shape of a cube, triangle, parallelepiped, cylinder, cone etc., provided that the reciprocal connection interfaces 7 are those standardized as previously defined. More specifically, as said, the interfaces 7, 7', 7" can also be not physical interfaces, in other words based on other possible means of communication and/or energy transfer (electromagnetic, light, sound, ultrasound, etc. ) that do not necessarily require a physical connection.
• Said modules advantageously include some standardised connection "pins", that is identical in every particular and shaped in a way to define a univocal connection by the geometric constraints between the modules.
• Said pins are implemented through prismatic bodies 14 that support electrical contacts 15 for the communications amongst the modules and the transmission of energy from the battery module to the other modules, shaped in a way to insert themselves in the female cavities 16 included in one of the other modules and including in turn the electrical contacts 15.
• Said prismatic bodies and said corresponding female cavities are placed on the modules in an asymmetric way so that to implement an unambiguous coupling.
• Said prismatic bodies and said corresponding female cavities are further characterized by having insides 17 typified by a slight conical shape in order to implement a stable coupling between the modules, that is irreversible unless it is applied a sufficient force to detach the modules.
• the Bluetooth technology is the mostly preferred communication technology between the primary device 2 and said communication and transmission terminal 5, because the present technology turns out to be very low power, cheap, simple to use and handy for this kind of applications.
• the used communication technology can be of whatever type provided that is suitable for the scope of the present invention: for instance communication technologies such as Wi-Fi, ZIG- BEE, UWB etc. or, again, other communication technologies based on different physical principles (light, sound, ultrasound, etc.)
• the primary device 2 and expansion module 3 do not include a computational unit (CPU).
• the innovative industrial prototyping system 1 described by the present invention exploits the computational capability of a popular smart phone, tablet, pc or other computational system and does not require a own elaboration and computational system for its own functioning.
• said primary device (2) and said expansion modules (3) are produced in one or a plurality of standard typologies each of said typologies being contradistinguished by a uni vocal ID for the immediate recognition from side of every other device (2) and/or module (3), said terminal (5) being provided with a computational unit for the automatic recognition of the IDs of the connected primary device (2) and expansion modules (3) and the corresponding automatic configuration of the system and in which the computational capability that is necessary for the automatic recognition and configuration of the primary device (2) and of the relative expansion modules (3) is only provided by said terminal (5) and it is not included internally to the primary device (2) or expansion modules (3).
• the innovative industrial prototyping system 1 described with the present invention presents innovative features for what it does concern the easiness of use and of expansion, the simplicity and the subsequent hardware reliability, the possibility of being managed and controlled through terminal 5 of the last generation, delegating to them the eventual computational complexity through an intuitive user interface.
• Said prototyping system results, hence and at all the effects, a rapid prototyping system, that allows both the skilled and not skilled users to create new prototypes without the need of informatics knowledges.
• the same prototype, thanks to the expansion modules here inventively described could instead perform both simple and extremely complex tasks.
• the herein described innovative rapid prototyping system could thus in turn constitute a mean for the creation of devices, systems or innovative methods, leaving room to the inventive ability and the problem solving of companies and privates.
• said communication and transmission terminal 5 will be integrated with dedicated communication means (such as i.e. applications for smartphones or programs) allowing to interact with any part of the system in an intuitive, quick, direct and thus user-friendly way.
• dedicated communication means such as i.e. applications for smartphones or programs

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Citations (12)

• 2015
  • 2015-11-20 IT ITUB2015A005775A patent/ITUB20155775A1/it unknown
• 2016
  • 2016-11-21 WO PCT/IB2016/001649 patent/WO2017085541A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (12)

Non-Patent Citations (2)

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