Present disclosure generally relates to devices configured to emit radiation. Particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to device and method for controlled emission of electromagnetic radiation onto a surface of an object.
A device that is configured to emit radiation on a surface may be used for various purposes including diagnosis, determination of characteristics/properties of the surface or matter underneath the surface and so on. Emitted radiation may vary based on application of the device. An investigating device may use the emitted radiation to analyse properties associated with the surface or matter underneath it. A therapeutic device may use the emitted radiation to bring about a desired effect on the surface or matter underneath it. The investigating device may include a trans-receiver and the therapeutic device may include a transmitter. Consider the device is an optical device and the radiation emitted by the optical device is laser beams. Such lasers have applications in field of surveying, garment industry, laser nuclear fusion, communication, laser printing, spectroscopy, medical procedures and so on. The laser beams emitted from the optical device of narrow wavelength band may be referred to as monochromatic beams. Such laser beams are associated with low divergence. Due to such characteristics, the laser beams emitted during medical procedures may harm several parts of a human body especially skin and eye. Particularly, high power of the laser beams may be hazardous to an eye over considerable distances. Due to the monochromatic and the low divergence properties of the laser beams, the laser beams may directly fall on lens of the eye, thus directly affecting retina of the eye. Also, human eye is extremely sensitive to the laser beams and may be permanently damaged from direct or reflected beams. The laser beams may harm skin via photochemical or thermal burns resulting in sunburn, risk of developing skin cancer and premature aging and so on.
Existing measures for protection from an accidental exposure of the laser beams include safety goggles. The safety goggles may be worn by a user operating the optical devices. Existing measures also include costumes to cover skin to avoid contact of skin with the laser beams. However, such measures may not provision complete protection from the accidental exposures due to negligence by the user or due to unavailability or high cost of costumes or safety goggles.
Some other existing measures for the protection include, providing a maximum permissible exposure to limit the emission of the laser beams. The maximum permissible exposure is a highest power or energy density of light source that provisions negligible risk for causing damage to an exposed surface of the human body which could be skin, eye or both. In case the maximum permissible exposure is in accordance with that of skin, user's skin may not be affected by the emitted laser beams. However, the eyes are still at risk of accidental exposure.
Some of other existing systems may be configured to emit the electromagnetic radiation, based on a physical contact between probe of the optical device and surface of an object on which the electromagnetic radiation is to be emitted. Such existing systems may work with error caused in detecting contact with uneven surface. When uneven surfaces are encountered, many a times, the electromagnetic radiations may be triggering to be emitted, even if there is not proper contact of probe with the surface. This may cause Fresnel losses, erratic readings, uneven absorption and so on. Also, when the undesired emission of the electromagnetic radiation occurs, power in the optical device is consumed. Hence, proper utilization of power may not be achieved.
The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.
In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a device for controlled emission of radiation. The device comprises at least one probe unit, at least one sensor unit and at least one switch unit. The at least one probe unit is configured to emit a radiation on surface of an object. The at least one probe unit is supported, via an elastic mechanism, to a supporting structure of the device. The at least one sensor unit is placed at a predefined distance from the at least one probe unit, along the supporting structure, to establish contact with the surface. The at least one sensor unit comprises a flexible material, mounted to the supporting structure, with a cavity and a first force sensing unit placed in the cavity of the flexible material. The first force sensing unit is configured to detect first force transferred from the surface to the at least one sensor unit. The at least one switch unit is configured to control emission of the radiation on the surface, based on at least one of the first force detected by the first force sensing unit, upon contact of the at least one sensor unit with the surface and identification of the at least one probe unit to be one of in contact with the surface of the object and at a minimal distance from the surface of the object.
In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a method of controlled emission of radiation. The method comprises to identify at least one probe unit of a device to be one of in contact with a surface of an object and at a minimal distance from the surface of the object. The at least one probe unit is configured to emit a radiation on the surface. The at least one probe unit is supported, via an elastic mechanism, to a supporting structure of the device. The method further comprises to detect first force between at least one sensor unit and the surface, upon contact of the at least one sensor unit with the surface. The at least one sensor unit is placed at a predefined distance from the at least one sensor unit, along the supporting structure, to establish contact with the surface. The at least one sensor unit comprises a flexible material, mounted to the supporting structure, with a cavity and a first force sensing unit placed in the cavity of the flexible material. The first force sensing unit is configured to detect the first force. Upon the identification relating to the at least one probe and the detection of the first force, the method comprises to control emission of the radiation on the surface using at least one switch unit, based on at least one of the identification related to the at least one probe unit and the detection of the first force.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and regarding the accompanying figures, in which:
a and 5b show exemplary representation of probe unit in a device configured to control emission of radiation on a surface of an object, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether such computer or processor is explicitly shown.
In the present document, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the spirit and the scope of the disclosure.
The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.
The terms “includes”, “including”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device or method that includes a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “includes . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.
In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
Present disclosure teaches a device and method for controlled emission of radiation on surface of an object. The device is configured to control the emission based on contact of the device with the surface. The device includes combination of a probe unit and a sensor unit to detect the contact and a switch unit to control the emission of the radiation. Sensors are coupled in at least one of the probe unit and the sensor unit for accurately controlling the emission of the radiation.
As shown in
The at least one sensor unit 101 in the device 100a is placed at a predefined distance from the at least one probe unit 102, along the supporting structure. Arrangement of the at least one sensor unit 101 in the device 100a establishes contact of the at least one sensor unit 101 with the surface 104. The at least one sensor unit 101 may comprise a flexible material and a first sensing unit. The flexible material may include a cavity. The at least one sensor unit 101 may be mounted to the supporting structure via the flexible material. The first force sensing unit may be placed in the cavity of the flexible material. The first force sensing unit may be configured to detect first force transferred from the surface 104 to the at least one sensor unit 101, upon contact of the at least one sensor unit 101 with the surface 104. The first force may be caused due to force exerted by the operator. The operator may be a human or a machine configured to operate the device 100a in a desired manner.
The at least one switch unit 103 may be configured to control emission of the radiation 105 on the surface 104. In an embodiment, the control may be proportional to the first force detected by the first force sensing unit. In an embodiment, the control may be based on identification of the at least one probe unit 102 to be in contact with the surface 104 of the object or at a minimal distance from the surface 104 of the object. In an embodiment, the controlling may be based on both the first force and said identification. In an embodiment, the at least one switch unit 103 may be configured to control emission of the radiation 105 by controlling supply of power to the at least one probe unit 102. In an embodiment, the at least one switch unit 103 may be configured to control emission of the radiation 105 by varying one or more properties of the radiation 105 emitted on the surface.
Consider the at least one switch unit 103 is configured to control supply of power to the at least one probe unit 102. An exemplary block diagram of a device 100b for controlling supply of the power to the at least one probe unit 102 is illustrated in
Consider the at least one switch unit 103 may be configured to control emission of the radiation by varying one or more properties of the radiation 105 emitted on the surface 104. The at least one switch unit 103 may be coupled with at least one of the at least one sensor unit 101 and the at least one probe unit 102. Either proportional to the first force or based on the identification or both, the one or more properties of the radiation 105 may be varying. In such scenario, the at least one switch unit 103 may be configured to adjust or vary the properties of the radiation 105. In an embodiment, the one or more properties may include, but is not limited to, intensity, frequency, wavelength, duration of emission and so on.
In an embodiment, the at least one switch unit 103 may be configured to perform both switching of supply of the power to the at least one probe unit 102 and varying the one or more properties of the radiation 105. In an embodiment, the device 100b may include more than one switch units. One of the switch units may be configured to control the supply of the power and other switch unit/units may be configured to vary the one or more properties.
The at least one probe unit 102 may be supported, via an elastic mechanism, to the supporting structure 201 of the device. The elastic mechanism may be achieved using any elastic material/elastic element 202. In an embodiment, as shown in the figure, the elastic mechanism may be achieved using a spring. In an embodiment, the spring may be replaced with any component or mechanism with properties of compressibility. The at least one sensor unit 101 and the at least one probe unit 102 are placed at a predefined distance from each other. In an embodiment, the portion of the supporting structure 201 supporting the at least one probe unit 102 is of different plane with respect to portion of the supporting structure 201 mounting the at least one sensor unit 101. Some of exemplary arrangements of the at least one sensor unit 101 and the at least one probe unit 102 is shown in
In an embodiment, the first force sensing unit of the at least one sensor unit 101 may be configured to detect the first force transferred from the surface 104 to the at least one sensor unit 101. In an embodiment, the first force between the surface 104 and the at least one sensor unit 101 may be in axial direction, transverse direction, torsional direction or combination thereof.
In an embodiment, the first force sensing unit may include two plates placed on opposite sides of the cavity 204. An exemplary arrangement of the at least one sensor unit 101 with two plates 301a and 301b is shown in
In an embodiment, the first force sensing unit may include a flex sensor along with the two plates 301a and 301b on opposite sides of the cavity 204. An exemplary arrangement of the at least one sensor unit 101 with the two plates 301a and 301b and a flex sensor 302 is shown in
In an embodiment, the first force sensing unit may include a block along with at least one of Infrared (IR) sensor and sound sensor. An exemplary arrangement of the at least one sensor unit 101 with a block 303 and at least one of the IR sensor and the sound sensor is shown in
In an embodiment, the first force sensing unit may include a force sensor. An exemplary arrangement of the at least one sensor unit with the force sensor 305 is shown in
In an embodiment, the first force sensing unit may be embedded inside the at least one sensor unit 101, covering the cavity. An exemplary representation of such arrangement is illustrated in
In an embodiment, the first force sensing unit may implement any sensor which may output a parameter proportional to the first force. In an embodiment, the first force sensing unit may implement combination of sensors. In an embodiment, the device may include a processing module which is configured to receive at least one of the distance between the two plates 301a and 301b, the flex parameter, the displacement of the block 303, the force, to determine the first force at the at least one sensor unit 101.
In an embodiment, the at least one probe unit 102 may include a second force sensing unit. The second force sensing unit may be coupled with the at least one probe unit 102. In an embodiment, the second force sensing unit may be configured to detect a second force transferred between the surface 104 and the at least one probe unit 102. In an embodiment, the second force sensing unit may be a force sensor. In an embodiment, the force sensor may be at least one of stress sensor, touch sensor, pressure sensor and strain gauge sensor and so on, which is configured to determine the force between the surface 104 and the at least one probe unit. In an embodiment, the force may be in form of pressure, stress, touch and strain and so on. The force is directly proportional to the second force. An exemplary arrangement of the at least one probe unit 102 with the force sensor 401 is shown in
In an embodiment, the second force sensing unit may be at least one of IR sensor and sound sensor 502, coupled with a movable cable 501 in the at least one probe unit 102, as shown in
In an embodiment, the second force sensing unit may implement any sensor which may output a parameter proportional to the second force. In an embodiment, the second force sensing unit may implement combination of sensors. In an embodiment, the processing module of the device may be configured to receive at least one of the displacement of the movable cable 501, the force to determine the second force at the at least one probe unit 102. In an embodiment, the at least one switch unit 103 is configured to control emission of the radiation 105 on the surface 104 by detecting the second force to be greater than a second threshold value.
In an embodiment, the processing unit of the device may be configured to adjust at least one of the first threshold value and the second threshold value. In an embodiment, at least one of the first threshold value and the second threshold value may be adjusted either manually or automatically, based on one or more factors associated with the device. In an embodiment, the one or more factors may depend on geography/environment of operation of the device. In an embodiment, the one or more factors may depend on the operator of the device or the object on which the device is operated. One or more other factor, known to a person skilled in the art may be included, for adjusting at least one of the first threshold value and the second threshold value.
In an embodiment, the identification of the at least one probe unit 102 to be at the minimal distance is performed when radius of curvature of the surface 104 is known in advance. The displacement in the sensor or the first force is proportional to the minimal distance of the at least one probe unit to the surface. In such scenario, the at least one switch unit 103 may be configured to control emission of the radiation 105 on the surface 104 upon identification of the at least one probe unit 102 to be at the minimal distance. In an embodiment, the minimal distance associated with the at least one probe unit 102 and the surface 104 of the object may be derived based on radius of curvature of the surface 104
Consider the value of “x” is known and also (A to B)max and (A to B)min is predetermined. Based on “x”, (A to B)max and (A to B)min, “y1max” and “y2max” may be calculated using equations 1 and 2, respectively.
y1max=(A to B)max−x (1)
y2max=x−(A to B)min (2)
In another aspect, consider values “y1max”, “y2max” and the distance between the point “A” to the point “B” referred to as “p” is known. Based on the value “p”, the value of “x” may be determined using equation 3, given below.
Value of “x” lies between [(p−y1max),(p+y2max)] (3)
The equation 3 may determine possible value of “x” whose value may lie between [(p−y1max), (p+y2max)].
Also, from
Therefore, EC=FB=a
AH=q
OD=r1 and OB=r2.
Considering triangle OBF, from Pythagoras theorem that, it may be derived that:
(OB)2=(OF)2+(FB)2
(OF)2=(OB)2−(FB)2
(OF)2=(r2)2−(a)2
(OF)=((r2)2−(a)2))1/2
Also, it can be said that
OD=OF+FD
FD=OD−OF
FD=r1−((r2)2−(a)2)1/2
Also, from
FG=FD−DG
FG=FD−DG+ED−ED
FG=FD−(DG+ED)+ED
FG=FD−GE+ED
AB=FD−AC+ED
AB=FD−(AH+HC)+ED
AB=r1−((r2)2−(a)2)1/2−(q+y2)+m
AB=r1+m−((r2)2−(a)2)1/2−q−y2
AB=r1+m−((r2)2−(a)2)1/2−q−y2 (4)
Considering distance between two plates and the flexible material negligible,
m=y1+x
so,
AB=r1+y1+x+((r2)2−(a)2)1/2−q−y2 (5)
Thus, the distance between the point “A” and the point “B” can be calculated by using equation 4. When the distance between point “A” and point “B” is zero, it may be said that the at least one probe unit 102 is in contact with the surface 104.
In an embodiment, the surface 104 may have irregularities and it may not be possible for both the at least one sensor unit 101 and the at least one probe unit 102 to be in contact with the surface 104.
Due to the irregularities, with the proposed device, one or more possibilities of the contact of each of the at least one sensor unit 101 and the at least one probe unit 102 with the surface 104 is illustrated. The one or more possibilities may include, but limited to, following scenarios.
Scenario 1: Initially, the at least one sensor unit 101 touches the surface 104. Upon the force applied by the operator, the two plates of the at least one sensor unit 101 coincides first and distance between point “A” and point “B” is equal to value x.
Scenario 2: The at least one sensor unit 101 first touches the surface 104. Upon the force applied by the operator, the two plates of the at least one sensor unit 101 coincides first and distance between point “A” and point “B” is more than x.
Scenario 3: The at least one probe unit 102 first touches the surface 104. In this case, the at least one probe unit 102 touches the surface 104 first and distance between the point “A” to point “B” may be zero and the value of x to be 0 needs to be ensured for the emission of the radiation 105.
In this case the distance between point “A” and a point “B” is limited by controlling and designing the length “y1” and “y2”. The same is depicted in equation 5. In majority of cases of devices, the distance between “A” and a point “B” would be required to be zero. Hence, the length of the flexible material (“y1”) and the length of the elastic material (“y2”) is selected in order to achieve distance between point “A” and point “B” equals to zero before the two plates coincide (i.e., x=0). [refer equations 1 and 2].
Further, as shown in
In an embodiment, the device may be placed on an irregular surface 802 as shown in
Further, the flexible material of the sensor unit 704.1 is further compressed as shown in the
The next step as shown in
Finally, as shown in the
In an embodiment, each of the plurality of probe units 702 may be associated with a respective sensor unit forming pair of sensor and probe system. In such arrangements, each of the plurality of probe units 702 may be configured to emit the radiation when contact plates of the corresponding sensor unit coincide with each other. Here, the emission from the plurality of probe units 702 may be discrete and independent from each other.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provisions to eliminate accidental exposure to radiation in a device. This is achieved by implemented mechanism where the radiation is emitted only when contact of the probe unit and sensor unit with the surface of the subject is determined.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provisions to reduce contact error.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provisions to provide power to the probe unit only upon determining contact of probe unit with the surface of the subject with sufficient force. Thus, leading in optimising power consumption in an optical device.
Embodiment of the present disclosure provisions contact based sensor unit to ensure accurate detection of contact with surface of the subject. Also, the sensor unit is protected with soft material like foam, which reduces harshness or harm caused on surface due to force on the sensor unit.
The terms “flexible” “elastic” “compressible” and so on mean to a mechanism or element or component which exhibit properties of elasticity by virtue of the material properties or design of the mechanism.
The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “the embodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “some embodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all) embodiments of the invention(s)” unless expressly specified otherwise.
The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise.
The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.
The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise.
A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention.
When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the invention need not include the device itself.
The illustrated operations of present disclosure show certain events occurring in a certain order. In alternative embodiments, certain operations may be performed in a different order, modified, or removed. Moreover, steps may be added to the above described logic and still conform to the described embodiments. Further, operations described herein may occur sequentially or certain operations may be processed in parallel. Yet further, operations may be performed by a single processing unit or by distributed processing units.
Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.
While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201821034397 | Sep 2018 | IN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2019/057706 | 9/12/2019 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2020/053810 | 3/19/2020 | WO | A |
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20080221409 | Hoarau | Sep 2008 | A1 |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20220034649 A1 | Feb 2022 | US |