PCB Tab-Guided Inverter Connection With Polarity Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical devices, such as inverters and converters, face challenges in ensuring a safe and secure connection between circuit boards, particularly in preventing misalignment, mechanical damage, and ensuring proper polarity.
Innovation Solution
The electrical device employs a design with a first and second circuit board, where the first circuit board features protruding tubes that fit into recesses on the second circuit board, guiding contact pins into holes and providing mechanical protection. This design also includes irregularly arranged tab areas for polarity protection and a heat sink connection for thermal management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If contact pins are inserted directly into holes without guidance, then the connection process is simple, but misalignment and mechanical damage occur
Solution Approach 1:
The tab regions are prepared in advance on the first circuit board, protruding beyond the contact pins. These tab regions are inserted into corresponding recesses in the second circuit board before the contact pins are inserted into the holes, creating a pre-guiding structure that ensures proper alignment and prevents misalignment during the connection process.
Solution Approach 2:
The tab regions act as intermediary elements between the first circuit board and the second circuit board. They protrude into recesses of the second circuit board and provide mechanical guidance and protection for the contact pins during insertion, ensuring proper alignment without requiring complex external guiding mechanisms.
2Reliability
If additional mechanical protection structures are added for contact pins, then mechanical damage is prevented, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tab regions serve multiple functions simultaneously: they provide mechanical protection for the contact pins by protruding beyond them, guide the alignment between circuit boards by inserting into recesses, and prevent reverse polarity through asymmetric positioning. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate protective structures, reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective and guiding functions are merged into the tab regions themselves, which are formed as integral parts of the first circuit board. The tab regions combine mechanical protection, alignment guidance, and polarity prevention in a single structural element, avoiding the need for additional separate components.
3Reliability
If tab areas are arranged regularly for symmetry, then manufacturing is easier, but reverse polarity protection is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The tab regions are positioned asymmetrically on the first circuit board, with irregular spacing between them. This asymmetric arrangement prevents reverse polarity connection because the tab regions will not align with the recesses in the second circuit board when the boards are connected in the wrong orientation. The asymmetry is simple to implement in manufacturing while providing reliable polarity protection.
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 ensures a secure, guided connection between the circuit boards, preventing misalignment and mechanical damage, while also providing effective polarity protection and efficient heat dissipation, thus enhancing the reliability and safety of the electrical device.
Implementation Method 1
the first and second circuit boards are connected to a heat sink of the electrical device... is thermally connected to the heat sink
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an electrical device, in particular an inverter or a converter, wherein the electrical device has a first and a second printed circuit board, wherein the first printed circuit board comprises protruding tab regions, wherein a respective tab region protrudes into a respective recess of the second printed circuit board, and wherein contact pins, in particular of one or multiple plug connector parts, protrude into holes of the second printed circuit board.