1、 Application of explosion-proof certification technology for gateway products

explosion-proofGateway has the advantages of strong compatibility, large capacity, wide coverage, low power consumption, and low comprehensive network deployment cost. It has been widely used in IoT systems such as intelligent operation and maintenance, unmanned monitoring, cold chain logistics, environmental monitoring, smart agriculture, smart factories, and smart transportation in fields such as electricity, petroleum, industrial and mining, medical, food, transportation, and agriculture and forestry. Can be used in environments with explosive hazards such as indoors, outdoors, in vehicles, and in navigation.

2、 What explosion-proof type certification is suitable for explosion-proof gateway products?

The explosion-proof certification of gateway products is typical, and their products mainly consist of two parts, namely the gateway body and the antenna. So what is the explosion-proof certification technology design and certification scheme for this gateway?

1. Explosion proof and intrinsic safety type

The most common type of explosion-proof certification for explosion-proof gateways is the explosion-proof and intrinsic safety type. The specific approach is to separate the gateway body from the antenna, using antennas such as dish antennas that can be separated from the body. The gateway and antenna are connected through communication cables, and isolation capacitors or safety barriers are applied in the middle for isolation to meet the external antenna requirementsIntrinsic safetyCurrent limiting requirements.

There are two main technical and cost difficulties regarding this plan.

（1）IncreaseExplosion proofThe cost of the casing. Explosion proof enclosures can generally be made of stainless steel or cast aluminum materials. The advantage of stainless steel casing is corrosion resistance, which meets the requirements of long-term use, and it is also easy to find a suitable size casing, but the cost is relatively expensive; Another type is the cast aluminum shell, which has the advantage of low cost but the disadvantage of not being very corrosion-resistant. At the same time, the appropriate size may be larger than the current gateway body1.8-2About times.  

（2）Increase the cost of isolation capacitors and safety barriers. The advantage of applying a safety barrier is that it is convenient for production. As long as the antenna outlet of the gateway body and the suction cup antenna are connected to both ends of the safety barrier separately, each of the three antennas requires a safety barrier. Isolation capacitors can also be used, which has the advantage of low cost, but requires an additional welding process during production, prolonging the production time.

2. Explosion proof and increased safety type

Explosion proof and increased safety is another explosion-proof technology solution for gateway products. Like the explosion-proof and intrinsic safety type, this explosion-proof type also increases the cost of the explosion-proof enclosure, but there are differences in the treatment of the antenna. The antenna is no longer exposed to the outside, but installed in aIncreased safety typeInside the shell. The advantage of this approach is that it does not require any modifications to the circuit. The main approach is to purchase an additional safety shell and install the antenna into the shell, while the antenna is still connected to the gateway body through a communication cable. The increased cost is mainly due to the cost of increasing the safety shell. The increased safety shell can be made of cast aluminum material, which is low-cost, but it is not corrosion-resistant and may affect some antenna signals. Plastic material can also be used to increase the safety of the casing, which has the advantages of corrosion resistance and not affecting the antenna signal, but the cost is relatively high.

Both of the above schemes can obtain the corresponding level of explosion-proof certification. The certification time for the first scheme depends on the progress of the customer's prototype modification, and the certification time cannot be determined. The certification time for the second scheme will be faster, and the design guidance and certification time can be controlled within one and a half months.

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