Integrated Electrode Terminal Structure for Smaller, Stronger Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
As electronic components shrink in size to meet demands for smaller and higher performance, they often compromise on mechanical strength, and existing methods for connecting electric elements to terminals can damage the components and require additional separate members, leading to size and reliability issues.
Innovation Solution
The electronic component integrates an electrode terminal continuously formed with the embedded electric element wire, processed into a sheet shape with a smaller thickness and wider width, allowing it to be exposed on the component's surface without a separate connecting member, thus reducing size and enhancing mechanical strength and adhesion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the electronic component size is reduced, then the component meets the demand for smaller size, but the mechanical strength becomes weaker
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the wire and terminal into a single continuously formed integral structure, eliminating the need for separate connecting members. This integration reduces the overall component size while the continuous formation process ensures adequate mechanical strength is maintained throughout the structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the terminal by forming it with controlled thickness and width dimensions. The terminal has a thickness smaller than the wire diameter and a width larger than the wire diameter, creating an optimized geometry that balances size reduction with mechanical strength requirements.
2Reliability
If a separate connecting member is used to connect the wire to the terminal, then the connection is secure, but the component size increases and additional damage risk is introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates separate connecting members by merging the wire and terminal into a single continuously formed integral structure. This reduces component size and eliminates potential failure points from additional connections while maintaining secure electrical and mechanical connectivity.
3Strength
If the wire end is flattened and bent to connect to the terminal, then the connection pressure on the flange is reduced, but the component requires additional separate members increasing its size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the wire and terminal into a single continuously formed structure, eliminating the need for separate connecting members and the associated flattening and bending operations. This simplifies the device structure while the integral formation process ensures adequate connection strength without concentrating stress on specific flange areas.
4Productivity
If the component size is reduced, then the performance density increases, but the reliability decreases due to weaker mechanical strength
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the wire and terminal into a continuously formed integral structure, eliminating weak points from separate connections. This maintains high reliability in the reduced-size component by ensuring structural continuity while achieving the desired size reduction for improved performance density.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the terminal dimensions with controlled thickness and width parameters, creating a geometry that maintains mechanical strength despite overall size reduction. This ensures reliability is preserved while achieving the compact form factor needed for high performance density.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic component includes an element body, an electric element embedded inside the element body, and an electrode terminal connected to the electric element so as to be exposed to an outer surface of the element body. The electrode terminal includes a terminal body continuously and integrally formed with a wire of the electric element embedded inside the element body and extending in a planar shape along a main surface of the element body. The wire is drawn out to an outside of the element body from the main surface of the element body to form the electrode terminal.