Transport Refrigeration Electronics Housing With Reinforced Plug Mount
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing design of transport refrigeration machines for commercial vehicles requires significant design effort and increased costs due to the need for connecting electronics housings to external electrical and electronic components, posing risks during maintenance and repair.
Innovation Solution
The electronics housing is predominantly made of sheet metal or plastic with an adapter plate of thicker material, providing a reliable and cost-effective solution for plug connections, which simplifies production and ensures safe operation by using a thicker adapter plate in a recess within the housing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the electronics housing is made of thin sheet metal or plastic to reduce weight and cost, then manufacturing costs are reduced, but the plug connections become less reliable and more difficult to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two functional zones: the main housing body made of thin sheet metal or plastic for cost-effectiveness, and a localized reinforcement area (adapter plate) made of thicker material for reliable plug connections. This segmentation allows each part to optimize its material properties for its specific function.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the entire housing thick for structural integrity, the patent applies thicker material locally only where plug connections are required. The adapter plate provides localized reinforcement at the connection points while the rest of the housing remains thin-walled, achieving both cost reduction and connection reliability.
2Reliability
If the electronics housing is made of thicker material to ensure reliable plug connections, then connection reliability improves, but manufacturing costs and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing structure is segmented into thin-walled and thick-walled regions, with the thick-walled adapter plate only where necessary for plug connections. This avoids the cost and weight penalty of making the entire housing thick while ensuring connection reliability where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by providing enhanced material thickness specifically at the plug connection areas through the adapter plate, while the majority of the housing maintains thin-walled construction. This localized approach optimizes the balance between connection reliability and manufacturing cost.
3Reliability
If the electronics housing is designed with integrated thick walls for plug connections, then connection reliability improves, but design complexity and production difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing design is segmented into a simple thin-walled main body and a separate thick-walled adapter plate component. This segmentation simplifies the overall design process by allowing the main housing to be designed as a simple enclosure, while the complex thick-walled connection area is handled as a separate, standardized adapter component.
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter plate acts as an intermediary component that mediates between the thin-walled housing and the plug connections. It provides the necessary structural support for reliable connections without requiring the main housing design to be complex, thus simplifying the overall design while ensuring connection reliability.
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 design reduces manufacturing costs and ensures reliable, long-lasting plug connections, enhancing safety during maintenance and operation by providing a secure and efficient electrical connection between the electronics housing and external components.
Implementation Method 1
at least one plug and/or at least one socket of the electronics unit is mounted on an adapter plate with a material thickness at least substantially greater than the sheet metal and/or the plastic of the electronics housing
Data Source
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AI summary
Transport refrigeration unit for cooling a box body of a commercial vehicle, in particular a truck, a trailer or a semi-trailer, with a refrigeration circuit for circulating a refrigerant and with an electronic unit (17) for operating the refrigeration circuit, wherein the electronic unit (17) is housed in an electronics enclosure (18) and wherein the electronic unit (17) has at least one plug and/or at least one socket (23) for forming an electrical connection with at least one corresponding socket and/or plug.It is provided that the electronic housing (18) is made at least predominantly of sheet metal and/or plastic, that the at least one plug and/or the at least one socket (23) of the electronic unit (17) is mounted on an adapter plate (22) with a material thickness that is at least substantially greater than that of the sheet metal and/or plastic of the electronic housing (18), and that the adapter plate (22) is mounted in a recess (21) in the electronic housing (18).