Industrial Vision Lighting Device Homogenization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial vision lighting devices are bulkier and less reliable for wide areas of interest, leading to inconsistent lighting and reduced control accuracy in sorting devices, especially when combined with mechanical arms.
Innovation Solution
A lighting device with adjustable LEDs and lenses that homogenize light intensity across the area of interest using an electronic control unit and PID regulators, ensuring consistent illumination by modifying light source configurations based on intensity comparisons.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a large number of light sources are used to illuminate a wide area of interest, then the illumination coverage is improved, but the device bulk and complexity increase making it incompatible with mechanical sorting arms
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting device divides the area of interest into multiple zones, each illuminated by a dedicated light source. This segmentation allows comprehensive coverage of wide areas while maintaining a compact device structure that accommodates mechanical sorting arms.
Solution Approach 2:
Each light source is configured with specific optical parameters (lens focal length, emission angle) tailored to illuminate its designated zone. This local optimization ensures uniform illumination across the entire area of interest while keeping the overall device compact and compatible with sorting mechanisms.
2Area of stationary object
If light sources are positioned to cover a large area of interest, then the coverage is improved, but the light intensity uniformity deteriorates with variations greater than 5%
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts light source parameters (intensity, position, lens focal length) to compensate for non-uniform illumination. By modifying these parameters in real-time, the device maintains less than 5% intensity variation across the entire area of interest while covering wide regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates sensors that monitor light intensity distribution across the area of interest and feed this information back to the control system. The controller then adjusts individual light source parameters to correct intensity variations, ensuring uniform illumination over large areas.
3Productivity
If the area of interest is enlarged for better sorting coverage, then the sorting capability is improved, but the lighting control reliability deteriorates due to brightness variations
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting device transitions from static to dynamic control, continuously adjusting light source parameters based on real-time measurements. This dynamic adaptation maintains reliable and uniform illumination across enlarged areas of interest, supporting enhanced sorting capability without sacrificing control reliability.
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 provides reliable and consistent illumination, allowing for accurate identification and sorting of goods regardless of their position, even over large areas, by minimizing light intensity variations to less than 5% across the zone of interest.
Implementation Method 1
industrial vision lighting systems comprising a large number of light sources, including LEDs (from the English 'light-emitting diode' (for 'light-emitting diode' or LED))
Implementation Method 2
LEDs (12) distributed in a ring at the base of a hemispherical reflective dome (14), reflecting the light beams towards the area of interest (16)
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an industrial vision device (106) comprising: - a camera, - a device for processing images captured by the camera, and - a lighting device (108) for industrial vision, comprising: - a plurality of light sources for lighting a zone of interest (110), - an optical sensor for sensing the light emitted by the plurality of light sources and reflected by at least two distinct portions (1101 – 1105) of the zone of interest (110), - a module for comparing the luminous intensity of the light reflected by the at least two distinct portions (1101 – 1105) of the zone of interest (110), and sensed by the optical sensor, and - a module for modifying the configuration of the light sources according to the comparison of luminous intensities reflected by the at least two distinct portions (1101 – 1105) and sensed by the optical sensor, in particular in order that the difference between the compared luminous intensities is less than 20 %, preferably less than 10 %, more preferably less than 5 %.