Dual-Sensor C-Frame Scanner for Half-Width Web Scanning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional C-shaped scanners require a frame displacement equal to the width of the web being monitored, limiting their versatility in applications where space is limited.
Innovation Solution
A compact C-shaped scanner design with two sensors and a calibration mechanism that allows scanning across a continuous sheet by moving the frame only half the width of the sheet, utilizing standardization tiles for sensor calibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a conventional C-shaped scanner uses a single sensor and moves the frame across the entire web width, then the entire web can be scanned, but the required off-sheet displacement distance is equal to the full web width, consuming excessive space
Solution Approach 1:
The scanning function is segmented into two sensors positioned at different locations on the C-frame. The first sensor scans the first portion of the web while the second sensor scans the second portion, allowing the frame to cover the entire web width with only half the displacement distance required by a single-sensor system
Solution Approach 2:
The solution adds the spatial dimension of sensor placement on the C-frame structure. By positioning sensors at different locations along the frame arms, the system achieves extended scanning coverage without requiring proportional increases in frame displacement distance
2Area of stationary object
If a C-shaped scanner is designed for narrow webs to save floor space, then space is reduced, but the scanner cannot accommodate wider webs without increasing displacement distance
Solution Approach 1:
The dual-sensor C-frame design creates a universal scanner that can accommodate various web widths. The fixed sensor positions on the C-frame allow the system to scan different web widths effectively, providing adaptability across multiple application scenarios without requiring space-consuming large displacement ranges
Solution Approach 2:
By dividing the scanning task between two sensors positioned at different locations, the system achieves versatile web width accommodation. Each sensor handles a specific portion of the web, allowing the scanner to adapt to different web widths while maintaining a compact displacement distance suitable for limited floor space
Data Source
AI summary
A compact C-shaped scanner employs at least two sensors and has a mechanism to standardize or calibrate the sensors. The upper and lower elongated beams of the C-frame include a mid-beam sensor and an outer beam sensor. The scanner can monitor the entire width of a continuous sheet by advancing the scanner back and forth along a scanning distance that is only about half that of the sheet width thereby minimizing the required offsheet distance by an amount approaching half the width of the sheet being monitored. Standardization tiles consisting of references materials that are positioned laterally from the edges of the moving sheet allow for calibration of the sensors which operate either in the transmissive or reflective mode. Selected sheet properties or characteristics of the sheet material can be measured. The two sensors can operate in the transmissive or four sensors can operate in the reflective mode.