Confocal Displacement Sensor Visual Feedback Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing confocal displacement sensors face challenges in accurately measuring displacement due to difficulties in aligning the optical path with the measurement object, as the user cannot visually recognize the reflected light, requiring skilled positioning and being prone to noise.
Innovation Solution
A confocal displacement sensor with a light projecting section that emits light with chromatic aberration, a pinhole member, and a display section to show changes in light reception signals, allowing users to adjust the relative positions and postures of optical components for optimal signal intensity, facilitating accurate displacement measurement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the user positions the optical path and measurement object manually without visual feedback, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ease of operation deteriorates because skilled positioning is required and accurate work is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a visual feedback mechanism by displaying the spectrum profile on a display unit. The spectrum profile shows peaks corresponding to different focal positions, allowing the user to visually identify when the measurement object is in focus. This feedback enables non-expert users to easily position the optical path relative to the measurement object without requiring specialized skills, while the feedback is provided through a simple display interface that does not significantly increase device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary element - the spectrum profile display - that mediates between the optical measurement system and the user. Instead of directly observing light or requiring complex alignment tools, the user interacts with the simplified spectrum profile visualization. This intermediary translates complex optical information into an easily interpretable visual format, improving ease of operation without adding significant device complexity
2Measurement precision
If the user performs relative positioning to maximize light passing through the opening section, then the measurement precision is improved, but the loss of time increases because the user cannot visually recognize the light and positioning requires skill
Solution Approach 1:
The spectrum profile display provides immediate visual feedback during the positioning process. As the user adjusts the relative position between the optical path and measurement object, the spectrum profile updates in real-time, showing when the measurement object enters the focal range. This eliminates the need for time-consuming trial-and-error positioning by skilled operators, as non-expert users can quickly identify the correct position through the visual feedback, reducing positioning time while maintaining measurement precision
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary spectral analysis and displays the spectrum profile before the actual displacement measurement begins. This preliminary action of visualizing the spectrum allows the user to complete positioning in advance with confidence, ensuring that when measurement starts, the optical path is already correctly positioned relative to the measurement object, thereby eliminating time loss during the measurement process itself
3Measurement precision
If the light reflected while focusing on the surface travels to a position deviating from the opening section, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision deteriorates because the light is not detected by the wavelength detector
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic approach by allowing the focal position to vary across a range rather than being fixed at a single point. The confocal optical system is designed with a focal depth range that accommodates surface variations and positioning tolerances. This dynamic focal range ensures that even when the measurement object surface has variations or slight positioning deviations occur, light from different wavelengths still passes through the opening section and reaches the wavelength detector, maintaining detection accuracy without requiring more complex fixed-position control mechanisms
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 easy and accurate measurement of displacement by visually displaying signal changes, improving alignment and reducing noise effects, thus enhancing measurement precision.
Implementation Method 1
an optical member that causes a chromatic aberration along an optical axis direction in the light emitted by the light projecting section, converge the light having the chromatic aberration
Implementation Method 2
a pinhole member that allows, in the light irradiated on the measurement object, light having a wavelength reflected while focusing on a surface of the measurement object to pass
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a confocal displacement sensor capable of easily and accurately measuring displacement of a measurement object. Light having a chromatic aberration is converged by a lens unit 220 and irradiated on a measurement object S from a measurement head 200. Light having a wavelength reflected while focusing on the surface of the measurement object S passes through the optical fiber 314 in the measurement head 200. The light passed through the optical fiber 314 is guided to a spectral section 130 in a processing device 100 and spectrally dispersed. In the processing device 100, the light spectrally dispersed by the spectral section 130 is received by a light receiving section 140. A light reception signal output from the light receiving section 140 is acquired by a control section 152. The control section 152 measures displacement on the basis of the acquired light reception signal and gives the light reception signal to a PC 600 on the outside. A CPU 601 of the PC 600 causes a display section 700 to display, as change information, a change from a light reception signal acquired at a point in time before a present point in time to a light reception signal acquired at the present point in time.