Interlocking EMI Shield with Offset Snaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing EMI shielding solutions for electronic devices require significant space, especially when multiple components need to be individually shielded, as they often involve surrounding each component with a conductive box, which is inefficient in terms of space utilization.
Innovation Solution
An interlocking EMI shield system comprising a frame coupled to a circuit board and a cover with snaps that can be offset and staggered to minimize space usage, allowing adjacent shields to interlock and reduce the overall size of the electronic device while maintaining effective shielding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If individual conductive boxes are used to shield each electronic component, then EMI protection is provided, but space consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual conductive boxes are merged into a single shared conductive enclosure that houses multiple electronic components. The common wall between adjacent shields is eliminated, and the side walls of adjacent shields are joined to form a continuous external wall, reducing the total volume required for EMI shielding while maintaining protection for all components.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple electronic components are nested within a single conductive enclosure rather than each component having its own separate enclosure. The shared enclosure acts as a container that houses multiple components, allowing them to be nested spatially within the same protective boundary, thereby reducing overall space consumption.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If multiple individual EMI shields are provided for different components, then each component is protected, but the device footprint increases
Solution Approach 1:
Adjacent EMI shields are merged into a shared enclosure where the external walls are common to multiple components. The side walls that would normally separate individual shields are eliminated and replaced with shared structural elements, reducing the overall footprint while maintaining individual component protection through internal partitions or positioning.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional EMI shielding structures are used, then shielding effectiveness is achieved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple separate shielding structures are merged into a single integrated enclosure with shared walls. This consolidation reduces the number of discrete parts and assembly steps required, simplifying manufacturing while maintaining shielding effectiveness through the continuous conductive enclosure that protects all components.
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
The interlocking EMI shield system effectively reduces space requirements by allowing adjacent shields to interlock, saving space that would be occupied by the thickness of the snaps and enabling more components to be shielded within a smaller device footprint without compromising EMI protection.
Implementation Method 1
a frame and a cover. The frame may be coupled to the circuit board using any suitable approach, including for example soldering, a mechanical fastener, an adhesive, or a snapping mechanism
Data Source
AI summary
An electromagnetic interference shield system is provided. Each EMI shield may include a frame providing the structure around the electronic device components to be shielded, and a cover operative to be placed over the frame to prevent electromagnetic radiation from passing over the frame. Each frame may be coupled to a circuit board, and enclose electronic components in need of shielding. Each cover may be coupled to its corresponding frame using at least one snap that extends from the periphery of the cover towards the frame and circuit board. To minimize the space taken by the EMI shields, the snaps of adjacent covers may be offset or staggered so that opposing snaps engage voids left between snaps of the opposing cover, thus reducing the space needed between adjacent EMI shields by up to the width of a snap.