Illumination Unit Controller for Flexible Lighting Setup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing illumination devices in factory automation have limited degree of freedom due to fixed light sources, leading to unnecessary costs and reduced flexibility in setting lighting conditions.
Innovation Solution
A controller that allows detachable illumination units to be connected according to a predetermined disposition rule, enabling easy recognition and setting of lightable areas, irradiation patterns, and power management, thereby enhancing usability and flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If light sources are fixed on the illumination device, then the structure is simple and reliable, but the degree of freedom is low and unused light sources cannot be detached leading to wasted cost
Solution Approach 1:
The illumination device is divided into multiple independent illumination units that can be selectively attached and detached. Each illumination unit corresponds to a specific inspection area, allowing the system to be segmented into functional modules that can be configured according to different inspection needs without requiring a complete redesign of the entire illumination system.
Solution Approach 2:
The illumination units are designed to be dynamically configurable rather than fixed. The system allows for attachment and detachment of illumination units based on the specific inspection requirements, enabling the illumination configuration to adapt dynamically to different inspection scenarios, object types, and area-of-interest definitions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If illumination units are detachably held, then the degree of freedom is improved, but the complexity of setting lighting conditions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller automatically performs preliminary actions by acquiring the attachment status of illumination units before the user sets lighting conditions. The system pre-processes the configuration information and uses it to automatically generate or filter available irradiation patterns, so that users only need to select from pre-validated options rather than configuring everything from scratch.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the attachment status of illumination units and using this information to dynamically adjust the presentation of lighting conditions. The controller provides feedback to the user interface about which illumination units are attached and which irradiation patterns are available based on the current configuration, creating a closed-loop system that adapts to the actual hardware state.
3Ease of operation
If all illumination units are always available, then the system is simple to control, but unnecessary light sources cannot be detached leading to increased cost
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by allowing different parts of the illumination system to have different states of attachment. Instead of treating all illumination units uniformly as always available or always detached, the system enables selective attachment based on the specific inspection requirements, so that only the necessary local components are present and active for each inspection task.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of illumination unit availability based on the defined area of interest and inspection requirements. The controller dynamically adjusts which illumination units are considered available for use by changing the attachment status parameter, thereby optimizing the system configuration to match the specific inspection task and avoiding the cost of using unnecessary light sources.
Data Source
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AI summary
An object is to facilitate setting at the time of setting lighting conditions for an illumination device (4) that can detachably hold illumination units (6). A controller (100) includes a specifying part (110) and a reception part (120). The specifying part (110) specifies positions where the illumination units (6) are connected. The reception part (120) presents a lightable area (352) and an unlightable area (354) in different modes based on the positions where the illumination units (6) are connected, the positions being specified by the specifying part (110). The reception part (120) receives settings of the lighting conditions for the lightable area (352).