Annular LED State Display for Industrial Inverter Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Power conversion devices in industrial machinery are often installed in hard-to-reach locations, making it difficult to visually inspect their control states, especially in dark environments.
Innovation Solution
A state display device with an annular arrangement of LEDs that input and display control signals, allowing for easy visual inspection of the machinery's state from a distance, even in dark environments, through distinct lighting patterns and colors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a power conversion device is installed in a dark room inside a switchboard or at a location apart from a user pathway, then the device can be properly housed and protected, but it becomes difficult to visually inspect the control state
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary optical display system that converts internal control signals into visible light patterns. This mediator allows operators to view device status remotely through transmission paths (optical fibers or light guides) that extend from the device location to accessible viewing points, thus resolving the contradiction between device protection in dark rooms and ease of visual inspection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical/electronic display mechanisms (such as LCD screens requiring power and complex circuitry) with a simplified optical display system using LEDs and light transmission. This substitution enables visual inspection in dark environments with minimal power consumption while maintaining device protection, as the optical system can be viewed from a distance through the transmission path.
2Loss of information
If conventional display methods are used in dark environments, then control state information can be displayed, but power consumption increases and visibility is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs LEDs (light-emitting diodes) as the light source, which are low-cost, energy-efficient, and have long operational life. These LEDs consume minimal power compared to conventional display backlights while providing sufficient brightness for dark environment visibility, thus resolving the contradiction between information display and power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes power-hungry LCD or LED matrix displays with a passive optical transmission system. The control state information is encoded into light patterns from LEDs that travel through optical fibers or light guides to the viewing point, eliminating the need for powered display screens at the remote location and dramatically reducing overall power consumption while maintaining information visibility.
3Ease of operation
If complex display systems are installed to show control state in dark rooms, then visibility improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the display function from the main device body and separates it into two independent components: a simple control signal generator inside the power conversion device, and a passive optical transmission path leading to a viewing point. This extraction eliminates complex display electronics from the device while maintaining visibility, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses optical fibers or light guides as intermediaries to transmit control state information from the device to the viewing point without requiring complex processing or power at the display location. This intermediary approach simplifies the overall system architecture while enabling remote visual inspection in dark environments.
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
Enables intuitive and easy checking of the control state of industrial machinery and power conversion devices, improving visibility and reducing power consumption compared to liquid crystal displays.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of displays configured to display in a lighting state corresponding to a state of the industrial machinery
Data Source
AI summary
An LED indicator 4 connected to industrial machinery including an inverter 1, includes: an LED substrate 8 into which a display control signal according to a state relating to the industrial machinery is input; and a plurality of displays 31, 32, and 33 configured to display in a lighting state corresponding to a state of the industrial machinery, on the basis of the display control signal input by the LED substrate 8. The plurality of displays 31, 32, and 33 each include a partially circular-arc shape, and are generally arranged in an approximately annular shape. The plurality of displays 31, 32, and 33 include the two displays 31, 32 that generally configure a half ring at one side of the approximately annular shape, and the one display 33 that generally configures a half ring at the other side of the approximately annular shape.