PCB Rail Connector for Compact Lighting Power Coupling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lighting systems require a large amount of installation space and a high level of design effort to ensure reliability, due to the use of internal wiring for connector components.
Innovation Solution
The use of a connector with a printed circuit board and conductive traces to electrically couple conductor arrangements of rail portions, eliminating the need for internal wiring and allowing for a more compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If internal wiring with individual cables or cores is used for connector components, then electrical connection between rail portions can be achieved, but installation space requirements increase and design effort increases to ensure reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple individual cable connections into a single integrated printed circuit board structure. The PCB integrates multiple conductive traces that correspond to individual cables, merging the function of multiple separate connectors into one unified component. This reduces the number of individual conductive connectors from multiple separate cables to a single integrated board, thereby reducing design effort while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical cable wiring system with an electronic printed circuit board system. Instead of using individual physical cables that require manual routing and connection, the invention uses a PCB with conductive traces that provides electrical connection through a more compact and reliable electronic pathway, eliminating the need for complex mechanical cable management
2Reliability
If internal wiring with individual cables or cores is used for connector components, then electrical connection can be established, but the amount of installation space required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate cable pathways into a single compact PCB structure. The printed circuit board integrates multiple conductive traces that would otherwise require separate cable routes, consolidating the space required for internal wiring into a much smaller footprint. This allows the connector to fit within tighter housing spaces while maintaining all necessary electrical connections
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a three-dimensional cable routing approach to a two-dimensional PCB trace layout. Instead of cables extending through space in multiple directions, the electrical connections are planarized onto the surface of the PCB, dramatically reducing the volumetric space required for wiring and allowing for more compact connector designs
3Reliability
If conventional connectors with internal cabling are used, then electrical connection is achieved, but the minimum height of the connector increases to maintain tolerance range during wire bending
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical wire bending and routing system with a rigid PCB structure. The PCB maintains fixed, precise trace geometries that eliminate the need for wire bending tolerances. This substitution allows the connector to achieve the required tolerance range without needing excessive height, as the PCB provides inherent structural stability and precise electrical pathways without mechanical flexibility requirements
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 solution increases the reliability of the lighting system by avoiding loose cables, reduces installation space requirements, and allows for cost-effective, high-accuracy manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
the connector has a printed circuit board with conductive traces, and the connector has contact elements which are each firmly connected to the printed circuit board and are each designed to contact a conductor of one of the conductor arrangements
Data Source
AI summary
A connector with a connector portion can be inserted into rail portions of a lighting system in each case. The rail portions are each provided with a conductor arrangement for supplying lighting devices with at least electrical operating current. The connector is configured to electrically couple the conductor arrangements of at least two of the rail portions to one another. The connector comprises a printed circuit board with conductive traces, and the connector comprises contact elements, each of which being firmly connected to the printed circuit board and configured to contact a conductor of one of the conductor arrangements in each case. In this case, the connector enables an electrical coupling of the corresponding conductors of the conductor arrangements by means of an electrical coupling of associated contact elements using at least one of the conductive traces.