Scattered Light Sensor Compact Housing Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing scattered light sensors for turbidity measurements require a compact design while maintaining robustness and insensitivity to vibrations, which is challenging due to the need for a small diameter feed pipe or opening, and previous designs often compromise on compactness or robustness.
Innovation Solution
A scattered light sensor with an elongated sensor housing featuring a radiation source and detector arranged at an angle of 50° to 130°, a holding element acting as an optical shading element, and a shield between the detector and radiation source, allowing for a compact and robust structure with lateral exit and entry windows, and using commercially available cylindrical tubes for cost-effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the sensor housing is designed with a small diameter to enable insertion via a narrow feed tube or opening, then the compactness is improved, but the structural robustness and stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a conventional transmissive design (opposing components on opposite sides of the housing) to a backscatter design where both the radiation source and detector are positioned on the same side of the sensor housing. This dimensional reconfiguration allows the optical paths to exit and enter through the same lateral surface, enabling a compact cylindrical housing with reduced diameter while maintaining structural integrity and vibration resistance
2Device complexity
If the radiation source and detector are arranged with parallel optical axes relative to the longitudinal axis of the sensor housing, then the structural simplicity is improved, but the cross-sectional area and diameter increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetric angular arrangement of the optical components, positioning the radiation source and detector at specific angles (50°-130°) relative to each other and to the longitudinal axis of the sensor housing. This asymmetric configuration optimizes the backscatter measurement geometry while minimizing the cross-sectional area, allowing compact cylindrical housing design
3Ease of manufacture
If the detector is exposed to direct beam paths from the radiation source within the sensor housing, then the manufacturing simplicity is improved, but the measurement accuracy deteriorates due to stray light
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts or removes direct beam paths from the optical system by using the backscatter configuration where the detector measures only scattered light at angles of 50°-130° relative to the radiation source. This eliminates the need for complex internal shading structures while ensuring that only scattered light from the medium reaches the detector, maintaining measurement accuracy
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
The solution enables a compact and robust scattered light sensor with a smaller diameter and increased stability, reducing the risk of dirt deposits and ensuring accurate measurements by shielding direct beam paths and stray radiation.
Implementation Method 1
a measuring beam is emitted into the medium to be measured using a radiation source, and the reflected or scattered portion of the measuring beam is detected as the received beam by a detector
Implementation Method 2
the reflected or scattered portion of the measuring beam is detected as the received beam by a detector
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
A scattered light sensor for measuring turbidity in a liquid, pasty, gaseous, and/or powdery medium (4) in a container is described. The sensor comprises an elongated sensor housing (3) with mounting means (5) for attaching the scattered light sensor to a wall (6) of the container. The sensor housing has an exit window region and an inlet window region in a side wall between the mounting means (5) and an end region (7) of the sensor housing.The scattered light sensor further comprises a radiation source for emitting a measuring beam through the exit window area into the medium, a detector for capturing the measuring beam scattered and/or reflected in the medium as a receiving beam through the entry window area, and a mounting element arranged in the sensor housing, on which the radiation source and the detector are arranged such that their optical axes intersect at an angle between 50° and 130°, wherein the mounting element is designed as an optical shading element for the measuring beam, so that the detector is shading against direct beam paths between the radiation source and the detector within the sensor housing.