Self-Retaining Lens Frame for Electro-Optical Readers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electro-optical readers, both moving beam and imaging types, are large and expensive due to the difficulty in accurately positioning a collection lens relative to a sensor using adhesives, which is uneconomical and space-consuming in compact applications like coffee makers and mobile devices.
Innovation Solution
A self-retaining frame made of light-transmissive optical material with a single collection lens is non-adhesively mounted within a chassis, using legs that yield to anchor the frame in place, maintaining optical alignment and reducing assembly costs, allowing for a miniature and cost-effective reader design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If adhesive is used to mount collection lens, then lens can be fixed in position, but assembly precision and manufacturing cost are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The frame structure provides self-retaining features through integrated legs that snap-fit into the chassis, eliminating the need for adhesive application. The lens is held in position by the frame's geometric constraints and the legs' elastic retention, achieving precise positioning through self-aligning mechanical features rather than chemical bonding processes
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive bonding system is replaced with a mechanical retention system consisting of a frame with legs that elastically engage with the chassis. This mechanical system provides both positioning and retention functions through physical interference fits and elastic deformation, substituting the chemical bonding mechanism with a purely mechanical solution
2Reliability
If adhesive is used to mount collection lens, then lens can be fixed, but reader size and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The frame combines multiple functions into a single component: it provides structural support for the lens, positions the lens with precise optical alignment, retains the lens through elastic legs, and integrates with the chassis as a unified assembly. This merging of functions reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the overall reader structure
Solution Approach 2:
The frame structure is self-retaining through its own geometric features and elastic legs, requiring no additional adhesives or fasteners. The lens positioning is self-aligning through the frame's precision-machined surfaces and the legs' elastic compliance, providing reliable fixation without adding external complexity
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 solution enables a high-accuracy, adhesive-free assembly of a single collection lens relative to the sensor, reducing manufacturing costs and enabling the use of electro-optical readers in compact, space-constrained devices such as coffee makers and mobile computers.
Implementation Method 1
The frame has an integral collection lens optically aligned with the port in the assembled position for optically modifying the light passing through the port
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly for collecting light from indicia includes a chassis having a port through which the light from the indicia passes, and walls bounding an interior compartment. A self-retaining frame constituted of an optical material is non-adhesively mounted within the compartment in an assembled position. The frame has an integral lens optically aligned with the port in the assembled position for optically modifying the light passing through the port, and a plurality of legs in gripping frictional interference engagement with the walls in the assembled position. A sensor is optically aligned with the lens, for sensing the light optically modified by the lens.