ABOUT inSight® SENSORS
A New Sensor Means New Solutions, Discoveries,Breakthroughs
New inSight® Sensor
The QVLA® process is the LED-based technology which is used by Motion Controls’ inSight® sensor. The QVLA® process works by utilizing an ultra-stable LED light source to fill a volume with diffuse white light. The filled volume, called the “sensing volume” can be almost any enclosed volume. Since Motion Controls is a pneumatic cylinder company, the first use of the inSight® sensor utilized the inside of an air cylinder as the sensing volume. As the sensing volume changes, the amount of light measured in the sensing volume varies and can be resolved into linear or, given the correct shaped sensing volume, rotary motion. This process is performed by our inSight® sensor which is rugged, inexpensive, fast, and non-contact. Thus far, inSight® has been used to sense the position of industrial machinery, replacing traditional potentiometers, LVDT’s, and magnetostrictive sensors all at a reduced cost and higher mean time between failure (MTBF). Our inSight® sensor is now available completely integrated into any size of our D or K Series air cylinders. Cylinders with inSight® inside are able to provide analog position feedback in the same footprint as a normal D or K Series actuator. The inSight® sensor can also be purchased as a stand alone sensor for custom applications or even licensed for seamless integration into your own product line.
How Does the QVLA® Process Work?
Imagine two enclosed volumes, X and Y, of different sizes but with the same interior reflectivity. If these volumes are flooded with light by sources emitting the same quantity of light, the intensity of light reflected back measured within each of these volumes will be different. The larger volume X will have a lower measured light intensity than the smaller volume Y.
The disparity between measured light intensities inside each volume reveals the difference or change in volume, X-Y.
Bellows expansion and/or retraction, fluctuating fluid levels and mechanical movement of walls are all examples of volume changes measurable by the QVLA® Process.
