Self-Configuring Contact Array for Soft Circuit Power Harvesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in connecting and repairing soft circuits due to their lack of dimensional stability, thermal incompatibility with conventional soldering methods, and the difficulty in reestablishing connections when circuits deform or stretch, making it hard to add sensors and actuators to e-textiles like garments and wallpaper.
Innovation Solution
A self-configuring contact array with a grid of independent electrical contacts, each connected to diodes or transistors, that can extract power and signals from a power source with unknown trace locations, using springy microelectromechanical contacts and fabric mesh to maintain connections despite deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional PCB fabrication methods and rigid contact arrays are used, then manufacturing precision and connection reliability are improved, but adaptability to soft, deformable circuits and ease of repair are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs) instead of rigid PCBs to create contact arrays that can conform to and maintain reliable connections with soft, deformable circuits. The flexible substrate allows the contact array to bend and stretch with the target circuit while maintaining electrical connectivity, resolving the contradiction between connection reliability and adaptability to soft materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the mechanical parameters of the contact array by using flexible materials with appropriate elastic moduli and thicknesses that allow the array to deform within a specific range while maintaining contact. This parameter adjustment enables the rigid-like precision of PCB fabrication to work with soft, deformable circuits.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional soldering methods are used, then manufacturing precision is improved, but thermal compatibility with soft circuits is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal soldering process with mechanical bonding methods such as adhesive bonding, ultrasonic welding, or friction stir welding. These mechanical bonding techniques achieve reliable electrical connections without exposing the soft circuit to high temperatures that would damage the polymer or fabric substrates, thus resolving the contradiction between connection precision and thermal compatibility.
3Manufacturing precision
If fixed geometry contact arrays are used, then manufacturing precision is improved, but ease of operation and repair are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a dynamic contact array system where the flexible PCB can be repositioned, bent, and conform to different locations on the soft circuit. This dynamic flexibility allows the same precision-manufactured contact array to be easily relocated and reconnected to different circuit areas, greatly improving ease of repair and reconfiguration while maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact array is designed as a modular flexible PCB that can be divided into smaller segments or sections. This segmentation allows individual damaged areas to be replaced or repositioned independently, improving ease of repair while maintaining the overall precision of the connection system.
4Manufacturing precision
If rigid PCBs are used, then manufacturing precision and connection stability are improved, but adaptability to stretching and deformation is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid PCBs with flexible PCBs that maintain precise contact registration through controlled flexibility. The flexible substrate can stretch and deform with the soft circuit while the printed conductive traces maintain their geometric relationships, ensuring stable electrical connections even under deformation conditions that would fail rigid PCBs.
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
Enables reliable power and signal transmission in soft circuits, allowing modular assembly and repair of large-area wearables, even when the underlying circuit stretches or distorts, without the need for alignment or rigid PCBs.
Implementation Method 1
springy microelectromechanical contacts
Implementation Method 2
each connected to diodes or transistors, that can extract power from a power source
Data Source
AI summary
Circuitry and circuit elements allow harvesting of power. Some embodiments of the invention are circuits that include a contact array, with redundant external electrical contacts, providing a physical interface configured to extract power from a power source for an electronic device in contact with a larger underlying circuit without needing any alignment. The contact array includes a mesh.