Adaptive Optics for Industrial Safety Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial safety devices, such as single beam safety devices and safety light curtains, face signal degradation due to vibration and misalignment, leading to reduced effectiveness and increased need for manual realignment.
Innovation Solution
Adaptive optics systems using deformable mirrors/lenses coupled with actuators to dynamically shape and enhance optical signals, maintaining signal quality and alignment between light emitters and detectors, and providing automatic realignment and error reduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vibration occurs in industrial environments, then the emitter and detector become misaligned, but manual realignment is required which reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a deformable mirror that automatically adjusts its shape based on feedback from the detected signal quality, enabling the optical system to self-correct misalignment without manual intervention. The mirror's shape changes in response to control signals that optimize the optical path, allowing the system to maintain alignment autonomously despite vibrations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where the detected signal quality is continuously monitored and used to adjust the deformable mirror's shape. The control system analyzes the received optical signal and modifies the mirror configuration in real-time to maximize signal quality, creating a closed-loop control system that automatically compensates for misalignment.
2Reliability
If deformable mirrors are used to correct misalignment, then signal quality is maintained, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The deformable mirror serves as an intermediary element between the light emitter and detector, introducing a controllable degree of freedom to correct optical path deviations. Rather than mechanically adjusting the entire optical assembly, the mirror acts as a flexible intermediary that can be dynamically shaped to compensate for misalignment, simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining functionality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the reliability and efficiency of industrial safety devices by maintaining signal strength, reducing false alarms, and extending the time between required realignments, thereby improving safety and machine uptime.
Implementation Method 1
Adaptive optics, which include deformable mirrors/lenses, can be associated with the optical elements coupled to the emitter and/or the detector
Implementation Method 2
the deformable mirror/lens can be physically proximate to the emitter and optically coupled thereto, such that light emitted from the emitter travels through the deformable mirror/lens
Implementation Method 3
A light emitter, such as a light emitting diode, outputs light energy, which can be collimated by means of optical elements and travel through space to a detector
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial device comprises a light emitter and a detector that is optically coupled to the emitter. A first deformable mirror/lens is optically coupled to the emitter, the first deformable mirror/lens is dynamically shaped to facilitate receipt of light at the detector. For example, the deformable mirror/lens can be associated with one or more actuators that causes the mirror/lens to be shaped in a desirable manner.