Configurable Electronics Packages for Modular Housing Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical devices with multiple functions often require specially designed electronics packages that are not modular or configurable, limiting design flexibility and compatibility with different housing shapes and sizes, especially in hazardous environments where standardization and reliability are crucial.
Innovation Solution
Configurable electronics packages with modular designs that include a circuit board, multiple electrical components, and connectors allowing for mechanical and electrical connections to other packages, enabling flexible arrangements within variously shaped housings while meeting standards for protection and safety in diverse environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electronics packages are designed to fit specific housing shapes and sizes, then they can be reliably installed in those housings, but design flexibility and compatibility with different housing configurations are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The electronics package is divided into a base portion and a circuit board assembly that can be separated and reconfigured. The base portion remains fixed in the housing while the circuit board assembly can be removed, reoriented, and reinstalled to accommodate different housing shapes and sizes, thus maintaining installation reliability while improving housing compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The electronics package incorporates dynamic reconfigurability through the ability to change the orientation and arrangement of electrical components on the circuit board assembly. This allows the same package to adapt to various housing configurations without compromising the reliability of the electrical connections.
2Device complexity
If multiple functions are integrated on the same circuit board, then device complexity is reduced, but design flexibility and modularity are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The circuit board is segmented into a fixed base portion containing essential circuitry and a removable circuit board assembly that can be configured with different electrical components. This segmentation reduces overall device complexity by maintaining a stable base while enabling modular customization of the circuit board assembly for different functional requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The base portion of the circuit board is designed with universal mounting features and electrical connection points that can accommodate various circuit board assemblies with different functions. This allows a single base design to support multiple functional configurations, reducing the need for entirely different circuit boards for each application.
3Reliability
If electronics packages are customized for specific applications, then performance is optimized, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The electronics package is segmented into a standardized base portion that can be mass-produced using conventional manufacturing processes, and a customizable circuit board assembly that can be configured for specific applications. This approach maintains manufacturing efficiency for the base while allowing cost-effective customization of the circuit board assembly through standard PCB fabrication techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The base portion is pre-configured with standardized mounting features, electrical connection points, and structural elements during mass production. This preliminary action eliminates the need for custom manufacturing of the entire electronics package for each application, reducing overall manufacturing cost while maintaining application-specific performance through customized circuit board assemblies.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical device can include a first housing having at least one wall that forms a first cavity, where the first cavity formed by the at least one wall has a first shape and a first size. The electrical device can also include multiple configurable electronics packages disposed within the first cavity, where the configurable electronics packages are connected to each other and positioned in a first orientation within the first cavity. The configurable packages can be configured to be connected to each other and positioned in a second orientation within a second cavity of a second housing, where the second cavity has a second shape and a second size.