Fire Bottle Igniter Adapter With Asymmetric Posts to Prevent Miswiring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electrical connection systems for fire suppression devices in aircraft are prone to miswiring due to identical-sized positive and negative studs, leading to safety concerns and reliability issues during servicing and replacement, as the potential for switching these wires is high with each disconnection and reconnection.
Innovation Solution
An adapter system that includes a bus bar and auxiliary post of different sizes, configured to create a secure electrical load pathway, ensuring the center stud of a fire bottle cartridge can be resized for adapter attachment, preventing incorrect connections by making the positive and negative studs distinguishable through different diameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If identical-sized positive and negative studs are used in electrical connection systems, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but miswiring risk increases due to inability to distinguish polarity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by making the positive stud have a different diameter than the negative stud. Specifically, the positive stud has a larger diameter than the negative stud, creating a physically distinguishable difference that prevents miswiring. This asymmetric design allows technicians to easily identify polarity without complex markings or additional components, directly resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and miswiring prevention.
2Ease of repair
If electrical connection components are disconnected and reconnected during servicing, then maintenance operations can be performed, but polarity switching risk increases with each connection cycle
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric stud diameters provide a tactile and visual guide that remains effective throughout multiple disconnection and reconnection cycles. The larger positive stud and smaller negative stud create an obvious physical difference that prevents accidental polarity reversal even when technicians are working under time pressure or in challenging maintenance environments.
3Reliability
If different-sized auxiliary posts are created through the adapter, then polarity identification is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter serves as an intermediary component that interfaces between the fire bottle cartridge and the electrical connection system. It features an auxiliary post with a diameter different from the main posts, creating a distinct polarity identification point. This intermediary structure with differentiated post sizes provides reliable polarity identification while maintaining a relatively simple overall design.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for establishing an auxiliary electrical connection for an igniter configured to puncture a fire bottle. The system having an adapter configured to conceal an electrical connection of the igniter and electrically couple the concealed electrical connection to the auxiliary connection. The auxiliary connection preventing an improper connection being made to the igniter by having a different connection size than the electrical connections on the igniter.