Device and method for arranging a housing in a specified position relative to a reference object

• US 20100132459A1
• Filed: 11/24/2009
• Published: 06/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Baumer Electric AG (Baumer Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Baumer Innotec AG
• Inventors: Roehm, Thomas, Beerli, Martin, Dossenbach, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 8,245,574 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/431
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 11/30 Supports specially adapted for an instrument; Supports specially adapted for a set of instruments

Abstract

For positioning and/or aligning a housing with respect to a reference object, a detachable positioning means is constructed on the housing. The positioning means comprises at least one stop element that is brought into contact with the reference object. After mounting the housing in the desired position, the positioning means is separated from the housing.

Claims

1. Device for arranging a housing (5) in a specified position relative to a reference object, characterized in that, on the housing (5), a positioning means (21) is constructed that can be detached or removed reversibly from a positioning region and that can be brought into contact with the reference object.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing (5) is a sensor or actuator housing.

3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the positioning means (21) comprises at least one stop element for positioning and/or aligning on the reference object.

4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the one or more stop elements are sections of the positioning means (21) constructed as spacers (25) or distance plates and that these spacers (25) comprise a first stop face (25b) facing the housing (5) and a second stop face (25a) constructed for contacting the reference object.

5. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the positioning means (21) comprises a carrier arm (26) connecting the housing (5) and the stop element and that the connection of the carrier arm (26) to the housing (5) is designed as a desired fracture point.

6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that a grip (27) for separating the positioning means (21) from the housing (5) is constructed on the carrier arm (26).

7. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing (5) is produced as a plastic injection-molded housing and that the positioning means (21) is integrally formed on the injection-molded housing.

8. Device according to claim 2, wherein the housing (5) is a sensor housing, characterized in that one or more sensor elements (11) are arranged in or on the housing (5).

9. Device according to claim 1, wherein the positioning means is held so that it is also fixed on the housing (5) in a location away from the positioning region.

10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that the positioning means (21) is held so that it can rotate.

11. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that the positioning means (21) is held so as to be displaceable along the housing (5).

12. Method for arranging a housing (5) in a specified position relative to a reference object by means of a device according to claim 2, characterized by bringing the sensor or actuator housing into the specified position and/or alignment through contact with the one or more stop elements on the reference object.

13. Method according to claim 12, characterized in that the housing (5) is fixed to a contact part or machine part and that afterwards the positioning means (21) is separated from the housing (5) or moved away from the positioning region.