Ball-and-Socket Luminaire for Precise Road Marking Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing luminaires face challenges in accurately positioning and orienting light beams for road markings while ensuring easy installation and resistance to unauthorized changes or theft.
Innovation Solution
A luminaire with a rotatable spherical housing and a socket forming a ball-and-socket joint, allowing precise orientation along three axes, and equipped with sensing means to detect and adjust light output based on position or orientation changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the housing is made difficult to change position and orientation for security, then resistance to theft and vandalism improves, but installation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into separate components: a spherical socket fixed to the support structure and a spherical cap on the housing that can be independently installed and locked. This segmentation allows simplified installation through separate positioning steps while maintaining security through the interlocking mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The spherical socket is pre-fixed to the support structure during manufacturing or initial installation. This preliminary action simplifies the final housing installation, as the housing only needs to be positioned and locked into the pre-prepared socket, reducing overall installation complexity while maintaining security.
2Ease of operation
If the housing is made easy to install with simple mounting, then installation time and complexity decrease, but vulnerability to displacement and theft increases
Solution Approach 1:
Both the socket and housing mounting interface are designed with spherical geometry. The spherical cap on the housing fits into the spherical socket, providing a simple insertion motion for easy installation. The curved surfaces distribute mechanical loads and create a stable, hard-to-displace connection that resists theft and vandalism.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system transitions from a static, permanently fixed connection to a dynamic system that allows controlled movement during installation (easy insertion and removal) but provides stable, secure positioning during operation. The spherical joint enables this dynamic behavior through its inherent mechanical properties.
3Manufacturing precision
If the light beam orientation is made adjustable for precise positioning, then projection accuracy improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical joint serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural mounting support, enables precise angular adjustment of the light beam in multiple directions, and acts as a security feature. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate adjustment mechanisms, maintaining simplicity while achieving high positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The spherical geometry of the joint allows the housing to be oriented in any direction by simple rotation around the spherical center. This provides intuitive, multi-axis adjustment capability without complex mechanical linkages, achieving precise projection positioning through the natural degrees of freedom of the spherical connection.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
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AI summary
The document relates to a luminaire, comprising a rotatable body and a socket. The rotatable body comprising a housing defining an outer shape of the rotatable body, a part of which is shaped as at least part of a sphere; and, a light source, arranged inside of the housing and providing a diverging light beam. The socket is configured to receive the part of the housing shaped as at least part of a sphere as the ball part of a ball-and-socket joint. Said part of the housing and the socket are shaped complementary to allow for the rotatable body to be rotated along three orthogonal axes of rotation, thereby changing the field of view.