Parallel Light Guide for Compact Circuit Board Indicator Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
The decreasing physical dimensions of electrical devices and increasing number of connectors on control panels have reduced the available space for light guides, necessitating a solution to minimize the space required for these guides while maintaining effective indicator light display.
Innovation Solution
The electrical device incorporates a circuit board with indicator light sources and light guides that direct light parallel to the board's edge, allowing the light guide to be positioned between parallel geometrical planes on the fringe area, thus not occupying space perpendicular to the board, enabling more connectors or instruments on the control panel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If light guides are used to conduct indicator lights from the circuit board to the control panel, then the operational status can be displayed to the user, but the light guides occupy space perpendicular to the circuit board, reducing the available room for connectors and other equipment on the control panel
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide is configured to conduct light in a direction substantially parallel to the circuit board, changing the propagation dimension from perpendicular to parallel. This dimensional change allows the light guide to traverse the circuit board without occupying vertical space, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining indicator light display functionality and preserving room for connectors and equipment on the control panel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the orientation parameter of the light guide from a perpendicular arrangement to a parallel arrangement relative to the circuit board. This parameter change enables the light guide to maintain its light-conducting function while minimizing its spatial footprint in the vertical dimension, thus freeing up space for additional connectors and equipment.
2Volume of moving object
If the physical dimensions of electrical devices are decreased, then the device becomes more compact, but the room available for light guides and other components decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By reorienting the light guide to conduct light parallel to the circuit board rather than perpendicular to it, the patent enables the light guide to fit within the planar dimensions of the circuit board without requiring additional vertical space. This allows compact device design while maintaining sufficient room for all necessary components.
Solution Approach 2:
The light guide is designed to be flexible and adaptable in its routing, allowing it to conform to the available space within the circuit board's plane. This dynamic configuration enables the light guide to efficiently utilize the available area without requiring fixed vertical clearance, supporting more compact overall device dimensions.
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
This configuration allows for the display of operational status indicators without occupying additional space, enabling a more compact design with enhanced usability by allowing additional features on the control panel.
Implementation Method 1
at least one light guide for receiving, at a first end of the light guide, light from the indicator light source and for conducting the received light to a second end of the light guide so that the light crosses, in a direction parallel with the circuit board, an edge of the circuit board
Implementation Method 2
each light guiding member has a reflecting surface positioned in a path of light emitted from the respective light emitting diode to redirect the light through the respective aperture of the face plate
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3~4b
AI summary
An electrical device comprises a circuit board (101), a light source (104), and a light guide (105). The light guide receives light from the light source and conducts the received light to an end of the light guide so that the light crosses, in a direction parallel with the circuit board, an edge of the circuit board. The end of the light guide constitutes a display surface for showing the light to a user. On a fringe area extending from the edge of the circuit board a distance (D) towards the opposite edge of the circuit board, the light guide is between geometrical planes parallel and coinciding with surfaces of the circuit board. Hence, the light guide does not require room in directions perpendicular to the circuit board. Therefore, for example, more connectors, key buttons, and/or other instruments can be placed on a control panel of the electrical device.