Anti-vibration Mounting System for Electronic Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anti-vibrational mountings for electronic components in projectiles, such as inertial measurement units, face issues with creep and deformation due to weight, especially during storage and elevated temperatures, compromising their damping effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A mounting system that separates the weight of the component from the damping element using a selectively releasable support, which is designed to deform or collapse under high launch forces, allowing the damping element to provide vibration isolation only during flight, thus preventing creep and ensuring proper damping functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a soft damping material is used to provide vibration protection, then the damping function is improved, but the material creeps and deforms under the component weight during storage and at elevated temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The support system is divided into multiple discrete support elements (fingers) that can independently deform. Each finger acts as a separate structural unit that provides mechanical support while allowing controlled deformation under launch loads, preventing permanent creep of the damping material.
Solution Approach 2:
The support elements transition from a rigid support state during storage to a deformed state during launch. The fingers are designed to elastically deform under high acceleration forces, allowing the damping material to be relieved of supportive function temporarily, then return to original shape after launch, maintaining long-term stability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the support continuously supports the component, then creep is prevented, but the damping element cannot isolate the component from vibration during flight
Solution Approach 1:
The support system operates in periodic cycles: providing continuous support during storage and transportation, then temporarily releasing support during launch when high forces are applied, and returning to support mode afterward. This periodic engagement and disengagement allows both stable support and effective vibration isolation at appropriate times.
Solution Approach 2:
The supportive function is temporarily extracted from the support elements during launch by allowing them to deform and collapse under applied forces. This extraction of the support function enables the damping element to assume full load-bearing responsibility, isolating the component from vibration during the critical launch phase.
3Reliability
If the support is designed to deform under launch forces, then vibration isolation is achieved, but the support may deform under normal operational conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The support elements have non-uniform cross-sectional geometry with varying thickness along their length. The fingers are thicker at the base for strength and thinner at the tips for flexibility, creating local variations in mechanical properties that enable controlled deformation under launch loads while maintaining adequate strength for normal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The geometric parameters of the support elements (cross-sectional area, thickness, length) are specifically designed to create a nonlinear stress-strain response. The fingers are dimensioned to remain rigid under normal operational loads but yield and deform plastically or elastically under the extreme stresses of launch, providing vibration isolation only when needed.
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 effectively prevents creep and maintains damping effectiveness by releasing the support during launch, ensuring the component is isolated from damaging vibrations while stored and supported during flight, even under extreme accelerations.
Implementation Method 1
a first damping element (14) arranged between opposed axially facing surfaces (16, 18) of the base (12) and component (2) and a second damping element (20) arranged between the annular shoulder (10) and an axially forward facing surface (22) of the component (2)
Implementation Method 2
the support is collapsible or permanently deformable in response to a predetermined movement of the component relative to the housing
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4A~4E
AI summary
A mounting system for mounting an electronic component (2) in a housing (8) comprises a visco-elastic damping element (14, 20) for damping the transmission of vibration from the housing (8) to the component (2) in use, and a support (24, 52) for supporting the component (2) in the housing (8) independently of the damping element (14, 20) whereby the weight of the component (2) is substantially or completely removed from the damping element (14, 20). The support (24, 52) is configured to be selectively releasable from the component (2) such that the component (2) is then supported only by the damping element (14, 20).