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Safety First! Pulling the alarm – in a panic – with gloves on
A lone worker has just fallen off of a ladder in the middle of the night. He is outside, it is cold, and he can't get up. In a bit of a panic, with his winter gloves on, he looks to activate the alarm on his Loner.

These are the types of scenarios that were thought through and tested for during development. Can the alarm be activated without looking at it, with winter gloves on? Using simple models during early design development, these key features were tested. It is important to figure out these functions early in the process because all of the subsequent development and detailed mechanical design depend on their resolution.

The overall size of the product, the aesthetics, the shape of the electronic circuit boards, and the materials all depend on defining the important functional details beforehand.

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"In a product such as Loner, getting the safety and ergonomics validated at the start leads to appropriate and appealing visual solutions.

Kent Davidson - Design Director

A switch with a magnetic personality
How to have an easily activated alarm latch without compromising the watertight integrity of the product sealing? This was the question that Blackline GPS and Advanta wrestled with.

The solution was a magnetically activated alarm circuit. When the magnet on the alarm latch is swung away from the sensor inside the device, the alarm starts. This idea permitted us to keep the enclosure tightly sealed and avoid having to deal with tricky mechanisms.

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"Getting an enclosure to meet water immersion standards is tricky, but we have the know-how."
Jean-Sebastien Langlois - Project Lead & Product Designer

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When to whisper and when to shout – the alarm light 
A key industrial design challenge: Keep the alarm light subtle during normal monitoring, but have a large area of flashing lights during alarm conditions.

The solution: The entire top area and half of the sides function as a flashing alarm area when required, yet subtly blend in with the rest of the product during normal monitoring time.

 

Coupled with the loud alarm and RF locating signals, this unique system makes it easier to help locate workers in times of crises.

 

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Clear light; No leaks
Light pipes bring indicator light signals from circuit board mounted LEDs to be visible for users.

For Loner, we needed to develop a mechanical design solution that permitted a very clear light signal with a sealed unit to achieve an IP67 rating (IP ratings measure the amount of water and dust ingress protection). To accomplish this, we settled on a custom moulded acrylic light pipe with a thermoplastic rubber (TPE) overmould to seal the unit.

If you have a light pipe challenge on your hands, Advanta has enhanced expertise developing and implementing light pipe solutions over many years and multiple projects. Whether using an off-the-shelf or custom moulded plastic, our LED light pipe specialists will be glad to help out.

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"We know how to design for your water ingress requirements. We even do pre-tests in-house before the certified test. "
André Huard - Product Designer

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"Designing a good plastic part for injection molding is an art. We know the steps to get there. "
Sebastien Bonneau - Product Designer

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"At times, reducing risks of failure with a simple Finite Element Analysis is the way to go. "
Jean-Sebastien Langlois - Project Lead & Product Designer

 

 

 

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"Our product documentation is key to good production parts."

Vincent Hamelin - Product Designer

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