Environment Measurement Device Dust Sensor Housing Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing environment measurement devices that combine dust and environmental sensors in a single housing face challenges in miniaturization due to the need for separate compartments to prevent dust from affecting the environmental sensor's performance, leading to increased component count and potential hindrance of device miniaturization.
Innovation Solution
The device incorporates a housing with separate intake ports for dust and environmental sensors, a dust filter, and a fan that creates negative pressure to direct air flows, allowing for dust measurement while preventing dust from reaching the environmental sensor, thus enabling the measurement of other environmental values without compromising miniaturization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a dust sensor and environmental sensor are accommodated in a single housing, then device miniaturization is achieved, but dust may attach to the environmental sensor and deteriorate its performance
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into a dust sensor room and an environmental sensor room, with each room having its own intake port. This segmentation isolates the environmental sensor from dust while maintaining a compact single-housing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
A partition wall with a through-hole and a buffer room are introduced between the dust sensor room and environmental sensor room. The buffer room acts as an intermediary that prevents direct contact between dust-laden air and the environmental sensor, protecting sensor performance while maintaining compact dimensions.
2Reliability
If separate rooms with separate fans are provided for dust sensor and environmental sensor, then sensor performance is protected, but device miniaturization is hindered due to increased component count
Solution Approach 1:
Both the dust sensor room and environmental sensor room share a common exhaust port and use a single fan for air exhaust. This merging of exhaust components reduces the total component count while still maintaining separate intake paths that protect sensor performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The single fan serves dual purposes: it exhausts air from both the dust sensor room and environmental sensor room through the common exhaust port. The partition wall with through-hole provides universal protection for the environmental sensor while allowing compact integration.
3Device complexity
If a single intake port is used for both sensors, then device complexity is reduced, but dust will attach to the environmental sensor and deteriorate its performance
Solution Approach 1:
The intake function is segmented into two separate intake ports: one for the dust sensor room and another for the environmental sensor room. This segmentation ensures that dust-laden air and clean air are drawn through separate paths, protecting the environmental sensor while maintaining relatively simple device structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Different intake port configurations are provided for different functional rooms: the dust sensor room has an intake port optimized for dust measurement, while the environmental sensor room has a separate intake port that draws cleaner air. Each intake port is locally optimized for its specific sensor's requirements.
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
This design allows for the simultaneous measurement of dust and other environmental values while maintaining device miniaturization by preventing dust from accumulating inside the housing, reducing the need for additional fans and components, and enhancing cost efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The dust sensor sucks air by a fan, irradiates light to the sucked air, and measures an amount of change in intensity of light transmitted through the air by a measuring device. The amount of change in intensity of light depends on an increase or a decrease in dust in air.
Implementation Method 2
a fan configured to generate an air flow inside the housing, the fan being spaced apart from the dust sensor and disposed on the exhaust port inside the housing such that a discharge of the fan is directed toward the exhaust port
Implementation Method 3
a dust filter provided in the second intake port and configured to collect dust contained in the air supplied from the second intake port
Data Source
AI summary
The environment measurement device includes: a housing having a first intake port, a second intake port, and an exhaust port, a dust sensor defining a first flow path and configured to detect dust contained in the air passing through the first flow path, the dust sensor being disposed inside the housing such that an inlet of the first flow path is connected to the first intake port, a fan disposed on the exhaust port such that a discharge of the fan is directed toward the exhaust port, a dust filter provided in the second intake port and configured to collect dust contained in the air supplied from the second intake port, and an environmental sensor configured to measure air supplied from the second intake port through the dust filter, wherein the air supplied from the first intake port and the second intake port are exhausted from the exhaust port.