PCB Power Distributor Assembly for Compact Connector Modules
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical energy distributors between connectors face challenges such as complex and difficult assembly, excessive size, and limited modularity in current regulation, restricting their applications.
Innovation Solution
A compact distributor with a plastic containment body, featuring interlocking parts for easy assembly, a printed circuit for current modulation, and integrated LEDs for operational indication, allowing flexible configuration and efficient energy transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If metal bars are used to connect input poles to output poles, then electrical energy distribution is achieved, but assembly operation becomes complex and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical metal bar connection system with a printed circuit board (PCB) that uses electrical traces to connect input and output poles. This substitution transforms the mechanical assembly process into a more manageable electrical connection system, where the PCB can be pre-assembled and tested before final integration, significantly simplifying the assembly operation while maintaining reliable electrical energy distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The distributor is divided into distinct modular components: the containment body, the printed circuit board with electrical traces, and the connector assemblies. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured and tested independently, then assembled together, reducing the complexity of the overall assembly operation while ensuring reliable electrical connections through the PCB's trace network.
2Reliability
If metal bars are positioned inside the containment body, then electrical connection is established, but the containment body dimensions become excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The printed circuit board replaces the bulky metal bar structure with a thin, flexible electrical trace network that achieves the same electrical connection function in a much more compact form factor. This allows the containment body to be significantly reduced in size while maintaining all necessary electrical connections between input and output poles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from using three-dimensional metal bars that require significant spatial arrangement to two-dimensional electrical traces on a flat PCB. This dimensional change allows electrical connections to be established within a much smaller volume, as the traces can be routed efficiently across the PCB surface without requiring the vertical or lateral space needed for metal bar positioning and manipulation.
3Reliability
If standard distributors are used, then basic electrical connection is provided, but current modulation capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The printed circuit board serves multiple functions: it provides the electrical connection network for energy distribution, incorporates current modulation through integrated circuit elements (such as resistors, capacitors, or active components), and can include LED indicators for operational status. This multi-functionality allows a single component to replace what would otherwise require separate elements, achieving both reliable electrical connection and current modulation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the electrical connection function with the current modulation function into a single integrated printed circuit board assembly. By combining these functions that would traditionally be separate (metal bars for connection and external modulation circuits for current control), the design achieves both reliable electrical connection and adaptable current modulation capability within a unified structure.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The distributor (1) of electrical energy between connectors comprises: - one containment body (2) made of an electrically insulating material comprising at least one input portion (3) connectable to an input connector and at least one output portion (4) connectable to an output connector; - at least two input poles (5) made of an electrically conductive material arranged at the input portion (3); - at least two output poles (6) made of an electrically conductive material arranged at said output portion (4); - at least one printed circuit (7) arranged inside the containment body (2), associated with the input poles (5) and with the output poles (6) and adapted to distribute electrical energy between the input poles (5) and the output poles (6).