Rotating Ball Socket Contacts for Thin Biosensor Connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional physiological signal monitoring devices face challenges in reducing overall thickness due to minimum thickness restrictions of contactor heads and potential misalignment or thickness mismatches leading to improper electric connections between the biosensor and transducer.
Innovation Solution
A physiological signal monitoring device with a sensing member and transmitter, featuring a socket with conducting members like conducting coil springs or steel rings that provide bidirectional electrical connections, allowing for stable insertion and removal, reducing friction, and enabling reliable signal transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If conventional contactor heads are used to enable electric connection between transducer and sensing member, then electric connection is achieved, but the thickness of contactor heads cannot be smaller than the distance between transducer and sensing member, making it difficult to reduce overall device thickness
Solution Approach 1:
The contactor head is divided into multiple contact pins arranged in series. Each contact pin makes contact with corresponding contact points on the transducer and sensing member sequentially, allowing the overall thickness to be reduced while maintaining reliable electric connection through multiple discrete contact points rather than a single thick contactor head
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of extending the contactor head in the thickness direction (vertical dimension), the electrical connection is achieved by arranging multiple contact pins in a planar arrangement (horizontal dimension) that spans the gap between transducer and sensing member, effectively moving the solution from one dimension to another
2Manufacturing precision
If contactor heads are used for electric connection, then connection is enabled, but manufacturing errors such as misalignment or thickness mismatch may prevent proper electric connection
Solution Approach 1:
The single contactor head is segmented into multiple independent contact pins. This segmentation provides manufacturing tolerance compensation because if one contact pin is slightly misaligned, other contact pins can still establish reliable electrical connection, distributing the alignment requirement across multiple independent elements rather than requiring perfect alignment of a single thick contactor head
Solution Approach 2:
The design changes from a single thick contactor head to multiple thinner contact pins, altering the geometric parameters. This parameter change allows for smaller individual contact elements that are easier to manufacture with precise alignment, while the collective arrangement of multiple pins provides redundancy against manufacturing variations
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
The device achieves reliable electric connections and reduced device thickness while facilitating reuse by minimizing friction and ensuring consistent contact between the sensing member and circuit board, thereby enhancing signal transmission efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the steel balls is frictionally rotated by the sensing member during insertion of the sensing member into the socket and removal of the sensing member from the socket
Data Source
AI summary
A physiological signal monitoring device includes a sensing member and a transmitter connected to the sensing member and including a circuit board that has electrical contacts, and a connecting port, which includes a socket communicated to the circuit board and a plurality of steel balls. The sensing member is removably inserted into the socket. The steel balls are electrically connected to the electrical contacts and the sensing member for enabling electric connection therebetween. Each of the steel balls is frictionally rotated by the sensing member during insertion of the sensing member into the socket and removal of the sensing member from the socket.