Insulating Latching Element for High Voltage PCB Flashover Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connection devices fail to provide sufficient clearance and creepage distances to prevent flashover voltages between closely arranged electrical contacts on a printed circuit board, especially when subjected to high voltage values.
Innovation Solution
A connection device comprising a plug part and a latching element, where the electrical contacts are housed in an insulating body with separate chambers, and the latching element directs forces onto the printed circuit board to separate soldering points and maintain a safe distance from conductor tracks, using an electrically insulating material with sleeves for the contacts and spacers for minimum distance from the board.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If electrical contacts are arranged relatively close together in a connector housing, then device compactness is improved, but flashover voltages occur between conductors due to insufficient clearance and creepage distances
Solution Approach 1:
An insulating body is introduced as an intermediary element between the electrical contacts and the printed circuit board. This insulating body includes separate chambers that physically separate the soldering points and maintain safe distances from conductor tracks, thereby preventing flashover voltages while allowing compact contact arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulating body is segmented into separate chambers, each housing individual electrical contacts. This segmentation ensures electrical isolation between contacts and maintains required clearance and creepage distances to the printed circuit board, preventing harmful electrical breakdown while keeping the connector compact.
2Power
If higher voltages are transmitted to the printed circuit board, then power transmission capability is improved, but sufficient safety distance must be maintained to avoid flashover voltages
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating body extends in the vertical dimension between the electrical contacts and the printed circuit board, creating additional insulation path length without increasing the horizontal footprint. This allows high voltage transmission while maintaining required safety distances through three-dimensional space utilization.
3Reliability
If the latching element separates soldering points with chamber walls, then electrical isolation is improved, but the plug part requires precise positioning and insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The latching element is merged with the insulating body to form an integrated assembly. This combination ensures that when the latching element is inserted into the printed circuit board, the chamber walls automatically position themselves to separate soldering points and maintain electrical isolation, reducing the complexity of precise positioning requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
For an electrical connector on a printed circuit board (20) with a plug part (1) which is subjected to relatively high electrical voltage values, a locking element (10) with several chambers (13) is provided to prevent voltage flashovers between the conductor tracks arranged on the printed circuit board and the solder points (22) of the electrical contacts (8) in the plug part (1), the chamber walls (12) of which can be inserted into slots (23) which are recessed in the printed circuit board (20), the chambers each enclosing a solder point of one of the electrical contacts in the plug part.