Multi-portion Housing with Common Mating Surface for Modular Handheld Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current handheld terminal housings lack modularity and adaptability to accommodate changing user requirements, leading to increased manufacturing costs and inventory needs due to incompatibility between mounting arrangements and component functionality changes, while also facing challenges in sealing durability during rugged conditions.
Innovation Solution
A variable form factor multi-portion housing system where a first housing portion with a common mating surface couples with a secondary housing portion having different configurations, allowing for interchangeable components and enhanced sealing through a partial clamshell design that reduces seal length and increases access for maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the seal length is increased to improve sealing durability, then sealing reliability is improved, but the opening size between mating parts increases providing greater access into the interior
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into multiple separable portions (first housing portion, second housing portion, third housing portion) with mating surfaces that allow modular assembly and disassembly. This segmentation enables the seal to be positioned only at the necessary mating interfaces rather than requiring a continuous long seal around the entire housing, thus maintaining sealing reliability while minimizing opening size when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal is applied partially only at the critical mating surfaces between housing portions where sealing is actually needed, rather than providing excessive sealing coverage throughout the entire housing. This partial action approach maintains adequate sealing durability at the interfaces while minimizing the overall seal length and associated opening size.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the housing is made modular to improve adaptability and ease of repair, then adaptability and ease of repair are improved, but the sealing reliability may deteriorate due to more mating surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The mating surfaces between housing portions are designed with universal features including standardized sealing interfaces, alignment features, and fastening mechanisms. This universality allows the same housing portions to be reliably assembled and disassembled multiple times while maintaining consistent sealing reliability, thus enabling modular adaptability without compromising sealing performance.
3Volume of moving object
If the housing is made compact to reduce size, then the device becomes sleeker and smaller, but access for maintenance and component replacement becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The compact housing is segmented into multiple portions that can be easily separated through mating surfaces. This segmentation allows maintenance personnel to access internal components by simply separating the housing portions, thus maintaining ease of repair despite the compact overall size of the device.
4Adaptability or versatility
If different housing configurations are created to meet varying user functionality needs, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing costs and inventory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing system uses universal mating surfaces and standardized components that can be combined in different configurations to meet varying user functionality needs. This universality allows manufacturers to produce a core set of standardized housing portions and assemble different functional configurations, thus improving adaptability while reducing manufacturing costs and inventory requirements compared to producing entirely different housing designs for each functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
A variable form factor multi-portion housing of a handheld computer. The housing includes a first housing portion to provide a first interior for mounting a first electronic component, the first housing portion having a common first mating surface for facilitating coupling to a secondary housing portion. The housing includes the secondary housing portion having a version configuration of a first form factor selectable from a family of different version configurations having a plurality of different form factors contributing to a selectable variable form factor nature of the multi-portion housing, such that each of the version configurations from the family of different version configurations has a same second mating surface that is configured to couple to the common first mating surface. The first form factor of the secondary housing portion is configured to facilitate at least one of housing a portion of the first electronic component or housing at least a portion of a second electronic component that is interconnected with the first electronic component. Further, the secondary housing portion extends from an intermediate location (between proximal and distal ends) to the distal end of the first housing portion, such that the intermediate location is positioned on a bottom or top surface of the housing of the mobile terminal. The first and second housings also provide a majority of the internal space of the multi-portion housing.