Elevator LiDAR Sensor Beam Guide for Faster Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The installation time of LiDAR sensors in elevator systems is a concern due to alignment issues, which can affect the detection of mechanics in the path of moving elevator components.
Innovation Solution
A sensor system utilizing a housing with a transparent cover glass, an infrared beam emitter, a visible light beam emitter, and a beam guide, such as a dichroic mirror, to align coaxially or parallelly emit beams for accurate detection, allowing for easy alignment during maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If LiDAR sensors are installed to detect mechanics in the path of moving elevator components, then detection capability is improved, but installation time increases due to alignment requirements
Solution Approach 1:
A visible alignment laser is introduced as an intermediary tool within the sensor housing. This alignment laser projects a visible beam that serves as a guide for operators during installation, allowing them to easily align the infrared LiDAR sensor with the elevator car top without requiring complex alignment procedures. The visible beam acts as a mediator between the invisible infrared beam and the operator's visual system, resolving the time-consuming alignment issue while maintaining detection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes different wavelengths of light (visible vs. invisible) to achieve different functions within the same device. The visible alignment laser emits light in the visible spectrum for alignment purposes, while the LiDAR sensor emits and detects infrared light for actual detection. This wavelength differentiation allows the system to provide visual guidance during installation without interfering with the detection function, thereby reducing installation time while maintaining detection capability.
2Ease of operation
If a visible light beam emitter is added to the sensor housing to provide alignment guidance, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The visible alignment laser and the infrared LiDAR sensor are merged into a single integrated housing. Both emitters, along with their respective optical components and the dichroic mirror, are combined within one unit. This integration allows the alignment function and detection function to work together without requiring separate devices, and the shared housing structure minimizes the overall complexity increase while maximizing operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor housing is designed to perform multiple functions: it houses both the visible alignment laser emitter and the infrared LiDAR sensor, integrates a dichroic mirror to separate the light paths, and provides structural mounting features. This multi-functional design consolidates what could have been separate components into one unified device, improving ease of operation without proportionally increasing complexity.
3Measurement precision
If beam paths are made coaxial or parallel through a beam guide, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A dichroic mirror is introduced as an optical intermediary element within the housing. This mirror is specifically designed to reflect visible light while transmitting infrared light. By positioning the dichroic mirror at a specific angle, the system achieves coaxial or parallel beam paths for both visible and infrared light without requiring complex mechanical alignment mechanisms. The dichroic mirror acts as a passive optical element that simplifies the overall optical design while maintaining high measurement precision.
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
Reduces the time spent on sensor alignment and ensures precise detection of mechanics, enhancing safety by stopping the elevator when necessary.
Implementation Method 1
the beam guide is a dichroic mirror disposed along the first path and at a first angle to the second path such that the first and second beams are coaxial or parallel and exit the front of the housing
Implementation Method 2
the beam guide is configured to allow transmission of the first beam, and reflection of the second beam
Implementation Method 3
the photodiode is an avalanche photodiode (APD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor having: a housing extending from a front to a back, where the front has a transparent cover glass; an infrared (IR) beam emitter within the housing that emits a first beam along a first path; a visible light beam emitter within the housing that emits a second beam along a second path that is noncongruent with the first path; and a beam guide within the housing that engages the first and second beams so that the first and second beams are coaxial or parallel and exit the front of the housing.