Self-aligning Optical Component Mount on Single Rail
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Optical measurement systems require significant effort and time to align optical components properly, as existing fixed mounts necessitate manual adjustment of each component to ensure perpendicular and concentric alignment with respect to incoming light beams.
Innovation Solution
A rail-based mounting system with self-aligning optical component mounts, featuring a 'D' shaped rail and locking mechanisms, allows for secure and precise alignment of optical axes without the need for live beam alignment, accommodating components of varying sizes and diameters through telescopic assemblies and link blocks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fixed mounts on separate posts are used to mount optical components, then each component can be securely mounted, but significant effort and time are required to manually adjust and align each component's position and orientation
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple optical components that were previously mounted on separate posts are now combined and mounted on a single rail structure. The rail integrates multiple mounting positions into one unified support system, allowing components to be aligned along a common axis without requiring separate adjustment procedures for each post-mounted component.
Solution Approach 2:
The rail-mounted system provides self-aligning features where the rail structure itself defines the optical axis and provides reference surfaces that automatically guide component alignment. The design includes self-centering mechanisms and reference surfaces that eliminate the need for manual live-beam alignment procedures, allowing components to self-align to the common optical axis.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual adjustment is used to orient optical components perpendicular to incoming beams and concentric with each other, then proper optical alignment is achieved, but considerable effort and repeated adjustments are required
Solution Approach 1:
The rail system is pre-configured with precise mechanical tolerances and geometric relationships during manufacturing. The rail includes pre-defined mounting positions, reference surfaces, and alignment features that are precisely machined to ensure proper optical alignment. This preliminary precision work eliminates the need for extensive field adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical adjustment process (using live beams and visual alignment) with a mechanically precise rail system that provides inherent alignment through its structure. The rail's physical geometry and mounting mechanisms substitute for the need for iterative manual adjustment procedures.
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate posts are used for each optical component, then each component has independent mounting flexibility, but the overall system alignment and concentricity become complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The rail system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support for multiple components, defines a common optical axis, provides alignment references, and enables precise positioning. This multi-functional design replaces the need for multiple separate posts and their associated alignment procedures with a single integrated structure.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to an apparatus for mounting optical components in a manner that self-aligns the optical axes of the optical components. The apparatus uses an optical component mount that includes a housing consisting of a single rail mount configured to mechanically couple to a portion of a rail for supporting the optical component mount on a rail. The housing also has an optical component dock configured to support an optical component in a manner that defines an optical axis. The rail mount and the optical component dock are configured to make the optical axis substantially parallel with a longitudinal axis of the rail. Using such optical component mounts secured to the rail would result in the self-alignment of the optical axes of optical components on the optical component mounts. Various embodiments of such apparatus are also provided in the disclosure.