Card Positioning Manipulator for Tilted Beam Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in efficiently and automatically handling flat pieces like cards for treatments such as engraving, printing, and laminating, particularly in tilting and positioning them at various angles and distances relative to treatment devices like lasers.
Innovation Solution
A positioning device with a card holder and manipulator featuring a cardanic structure with two axes of rotation and three linear guides, allowing for precise positioning and tilting of cards relative to a treatment unit, combined with an x-y shifting unit for enhanced flexibility and a controller for automated movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a card is tilted and positioned at different angles relative to a treatment device, then the treatment can be applied to different areas of the card, but the axis of the treatment beam undergoes an offset on the card
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cardanic manipulator as an intermediary device between the treatment device and the card. This manipulator with its cardanic structure (two rotational axes intersecting at a virtual pivot point) serves as a mediator that can tilt and rotate the card holder while maintaining precise control over the card's position relative to the treatment beam, thereby eliminating unwanted beam offsets
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a dynamic positioning system where the card holder is attached to a manipulator that can actively adjust the card's orientation and position in real-time. The manipulator includes linear guides for precise positional adjustment and cardanic elements for rotational movement, allowing the system to dynamically compensate for beam offsets and maintain treatment precision across different card angles
2Productivity
If automated handling of cards is implemented, then efficiency and productivity improve, but complexity of the handling system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The card holder is designed as a universal component that can accommodate different card types and sizes while being integrated into the manipulator system. The manipulator itself serves multiple functions: it provides both linear positioning (via three linear guides) and angular positioning (via cardanic elements), thereby consolidating what could be separate systems into one multi-functional device, reducing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the positioning and tilting functions into a single integrated manipulator assembly. The card holder is directly attached to the manipulator, which combines linear guides for positional control and cardanic elements for rotational control, eliminating the need for separate positioning and tilting mechanisms and thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining automation
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a positioning device for rotatably and rectilinearly positioning a card with respect to a treatment unit having an axis of treatment. The positioning device comprises a card holder for holding a card in a fixed position, wherein the card holder defines a virtual card surface plane coincident with the surface of a card facing the treatment unit once the card is placed in the card holder, and wherein the card holder defines a virtual card center point coincident with the intersection point of the axis of treatment and the virtual card surface plane. The positioning device further comprises a manipulator to which the card holder is attached, wherein the manipulator comprises: a cardanic element with a first axis of rotation and a second axis of rotation; and a virtual pivot point being the intersection of the first and the second axis of rotation.