Analog Meter Cover Positioning for Centered Sensor Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing positioning devices require detachment of the cover from the analog meter for sensor attachment, which is laborious and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A positioning device with a body, slides, claws, synchronizing driver, sensor holder, and pusher that allows the sensor to be positioned at the center of a transparent cover without detaching it, using synchronized radial movements and adhesive fixation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the cover is detached from the analog meter for sensor attachment, then the sensor can be attached to the cover, but the operation becomes laborious and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a positioning device as an intermediary tool that facilitates sensor attachment directly to the cover while it remains mounted on the analog meter. This positioning device includes a body with a sensor holder and multiple slides with claws that can hold the cover's outer circumferential surface, enabling precise positioning and attachment without cover detachment
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning device is divided into functional segments: a body housing, multiple independent slides with claws for holding the cover, a sensor holder for securing the sensor, and a pusher mechanism. Each segment performs a specific function that collectively enables the overall task of sensor attachment without cover removal
2Productivity
If the cover remains attached to the analog meter during sensor positioning, then operation efficiency improves, but precise center alignment becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning device integrates multiple functions into a single tool: it holds the cover using claws on slides, positions the sensor at the center using a dedicated sensor holder, and provides pushing force through a pusher mechanism. This multi-functional design enables both efficient operation and precise alignment simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning device uses asymmetric claw mechanisms on the slides that can adaptively grip the cover's outer circumferential surface at different positions. The slides are arranged radially around the body center, allowing asymmetric adjustment to achieve symmetric center alignment of the sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A positioning device includes a body to be disposed to face a surface of a cover; a plurality of slides provided, in the body, to be movable in different directions along a radial direction of the cover; a plurality of claws provided at tips of the plurality of slides and configured to hold an outer circumferential surface of an analog meter; a synchronizing driver configured to move the plurality of slides in the radial direction in synchronization with each other such that distances of the plurality of claws from a center of the body are always equal to each other; a sensor holder provided at a center of a surface of the body facing the surface of the cover, and configured to hold the sensor; and a pusher configured to push the sensor held by the sensor holder toward a center of the surface of the cover facing the sensor.