Appliance control panel with in-molded electronic film directly mounted to printed circuit board
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Solution Overview
Problem
In-molded electronics on appliance control panels often require additional connection elements like cables, increasing the panel's size and introducing potential failure points due to loose connectors from vibrations.
Innovation Solution
Directly mounting in-molded electronic film with conductive ink to a printed circuit board via a header, eliminating the need for intervening cables and connectors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If in-molded electronics are connected to circuit boards using additional connection elements like cables, then the electrical connection is established, but the overall size of the control panel increases and additional failure points are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the in-molded electronics directly with the circuit board by integrating the conductive ink traces and components into the film substrate that is laminated onto the circuit board. This eliminates the need for separate cables and connectors, reducing control panel size while maintaining reliable electrical connections through direct conductive pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the intermediate connection elements (cables, connectors, and mounting hardware) from the traditional assembly. By directly integrating the conductive ink electronics into the circuit board structure, the solution removes the problematic components that caused size increases and reliability issues.
2Reliability
If in-molded electronics are connected using additional connection elements, then electrical connection is achieved, but the number of potential failure points increases due to loose connectors from vibrations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the electronics and circuit board into a single integrated structure where conductive ink traces are embedded in a film that is laminated directly to the circuit board. This merging eliminates multiple separate connection elements and their associated mounting points, thereby reducing the number of potential failure points from vibrations and assembly issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent removes intermediate connection elements such as cables, connectors, and mounting hardware that create potential failure points. By extracting these components and replacing them with direct conductive ink pathways integrated into the film-circuit board assembly, the solution eliminates the sources of vibration-induced loosening and connection failures.
3Volume of moving object
If in-molded electronics are used, then the overall size of the control panel is decreased, but additional connection elements are required to connect to circuit boards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the in-molded electronics with the circuit board by integrating conductive ink traces into a film substrate that is directly laminated onto the circuit board. This integration maintains the space-saving benefits of in-molded electronics while eliminating the need for additional connection elements, as the electrical connection is achieved through direct conductive pathways within the integrated structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the additional connection elements (cables, connectors, mounting hardware) that would otherwise be required to connect in-molded electronics to the circuit board. By integrating the conductive ink electronics directly into the film-circuit board assembly, the solution maintains compact size while removing the complex connection infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
A control panel of an appliance includes a film comprising conductive ink embedded in the film. A header on the film is in electrical communication with the conductive ink embedded in the film. The control panel also includes a printed circuit board. The film is directly mounted to the printed circuit board via the header. With this direct mounting, the printed circuit board is in operative communication with the conductive ink embedded in the film.