Adjustable Time-of-Flight Sensor Assembly for Multi-Angle Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing smart apparatuses, such as paper towel dispensers and waste bins, face challenges in efficiently integrating adjustable sensors for various mounting configurations, leading to potential misalignment and increased manufacturing complexity.
Innovation Solution
A sensor assembly with a pivotally engaging mounting member, an adjustable member, and a locking mechanism allows for angular positioning and secure locking of sensors, enabling a single manufacturing process for multiple applications and simplifying installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If sensors are fixed in specific angular positions for different mounting configurations, then manufacturing precision can be maintained, but device complexity increases due to multiple sensor assembly variants
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor housing is made adjustable relative to the mounting member through a pivot joint, allowing the sensor to be positioned at different angular orientations. This dynamic adjustment capability eliminates the need for multiple fixed sensor assembly variants, as a single assembly can be configured for different mounting surfaces (horizontal, inclined, vertical) by adjusting the sensor housing angle before locking it in place.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor assembly is designed with universal mounting capabilities that allow the same assembly to be used across multiple mounting configurations and apparatus types. The adjustable sensor housing combined with the locking mechanism enables one sensor assembly design to serve multiple functions and mounting scenarios, reducing the need for application-specific variants.
2Adaptability or versatility
If sensors are made adjustable for different mounting configurations, then adaptability improves, but manufacturing precision may deteriorate due to adjustment and locking mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor housing is adjusted to the desired angular position before being locked in place by the locking mechanism. This preliminary adjustment allows the sensor to be precisely positioned and then secured, ensuring that the adjustment process does not compromise the final positioning accuracy. The locking mechanism preserves the adjusted position without allowing drift.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism replaces continuous mechanical adjustment with a discrete locking system that secures the sensor housing at the desired angular position. This substitution ensures that once the sensor is positioned, it remains fixed without requiring complex continuous adjustment mechanisms, thereby maintaining positioning accuracy while providing adjustability.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple sensor assembly variants are produced for different mounting surfaces, then manufacturing precision can be maintained, but ease of manufacture decreases due to multiple production processes
Solution Approach 1:
A single sensor assembly design with an adjustable sensor housing and locking mechanism serves multiple mounting configurations, eliminating the need to produce separate sensor assembly variants for different mounting surfaces. This universal design allows one production process to generate assemblies that can be adapted to horizontal, inclined, and vertical mounting surfaces through adjustment and locking, rather than requiring multiple specialized production lines.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable sensor housing provides dynamic positioning capability that allows a single manufactured assembly to be configured for different mounting angles and orientations. This dynamic feature replaces the need for multiple static assembly variants, simplifying manufacturing to a single production process that produces versatile assemblies capable of adapting to various mounting requirements.
4Device complexity
If sensors are fixed in predetermined positions, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability worsens due to inability to accommodate different mounting orientations
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor housing is designed to be adjustable relative to the mounting member, providing dynamic positioning capability that allows the sensor to accommodate different mounting orientations and angles. This adjustability is achieved through a pivot joint that enables angular movement, and the locking mechanism secures the housing at the desired position, thus providing adaptability without significantly increasing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor assembly is segmented into distinct components: the mounting member, the sensor housing, and the locking mechanism. This segmentation allows the sensor housing to be independently adjusted and positioned relative to the mounting member, providing adaptability for different mounting orientations while keeping each component relatively simple in design.
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor assembly including a sensor, a sensor housing that carries the sensor, a mounting member that pivotally engages with the sensor housing, an adjustment member for selecting an angular position of the sensor housing relative to the mounting member, and a locking mechanism for locking the sensor housing at the selected angular position relative to the mounting member. The adjustment member is moveable relative to the mounting member between a first location and a second location, and engages with the sensor housing to pivot the sensor housing about a pivot axis relative to the mounting member between a first angular position and a second angular position.