Reconfigurable Personal Lab Kit for Automated Circuit Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional laboratory settings are limited by high costs, space requirements, and management needs, making it difficult to provide individualized hands-on lab experiences for students, especially in distance education, and often result in students encountering wiring errors during circuit development and testing.
Innovation Solution
A self-contained, miniaturized, portable electronics personal laboratory kit that allows for easy and automated assembly, disassembly, and reconfiguration of hardware circuits, featuring a reconfigurable circuit with MEMS or semiconductor switches, and integrated signal generators and data acquisition systems, enabling flexible circuit design and testing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional laboratory equipment is provided in a classroom setting, then students can gain hands-on lab experience, but the expense, physical space, and management requirements make it infeasible to provide individualized lab setups for each student
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the traditional laboratory system into modular, portable units that can be individually distributed to students. Each student receives a compact personal laboratory kit containing essential circuit components and testing equipment, eliminating the need for shared complex laboratory infrastructure while enabling individualized hands-on learning experiences.
2Ease of operation
If traditional laboratory equipment is provided, then hands-on learning is possible, but wiring errors cause student frustration during circuit development and testing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual wiring operations with automated circuit assembly technology. The personal laboratory kit incorporates pre-configured circuit boards and automated connection systems that eliminate manual wire connections, thereby preventing wiring errors while maintaining hands-on learning value through programmable and reconfigurable circuit elements.
3Productivity
If traditional laboratory setups are used, then circuit testing can be performed, but the lack of automated assembly and reconfiguration capabilities reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic, reconfigurable circuit elements within the personal laboratory kit that can be automatically assembled, disassembled, and reconfigured through software control. This enables rapid iteration through multiple circuit designs and testing scenarios, significantly improving productivity compared to static traditional laboratory equipment while incorporating substantial automation capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
A personal laboratory includes a self-contained, miniaturized, portable kit that provides for design, testing, and automated assembling, dissembling, and reassembling of a physical system (rather than a simulation) with flexibility as to the variety of configurations of components that may be designed and assembled, and easy integration of complex components. The personal laboratory includes a reconfigurable system, the reconfigurable system includes a plurality of functional components, and a plurality of connectors configured for operatively connect respective functional components to other functional components; a stimulus generator configured to apply a stimulus to the reconfigurable system; and a measurement system configured to measure a response to the applied stimulus generated by the reconfigurable system. In the context of electronic circuits, the reconfigurable system is a reconfigurable circuit, the functional components are circuit elements and the connectors are electrical connectors.