Safety Device Housing with Guide Elements for Simplified Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety devices for emergency deactivation of electric water heaters and heat pumps require complex assembly and precise placement of components, leading to increased assembly time and potential misalignment issues.
Innovation Solution
A safety device design featuring a housing with guide and positioning elements that ensures correct alignment and easy assembly, including a retaining device with a tension rod to interrupt power supply, and a base element with wall elements for stability and arc prevention, allowing for precise positioning and reduced size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If contact carriers are soldered to the circuit board with contacts projecting into the housing, then reliable electrical connection is achieved, but assembly work increases and precise placement is required
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into cover and base element that can be assembled separately with components arranged in the cover first, then secured by the base element. This segmentation allows pre-assembly of contact carriers in the cover before final housing assembly, reducing overall assembly complexity while maintaining connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Guide elements and positioning elements act as intermediaries between the cover and base element, ensuring correct alignment during assembly. These intermediary features facilitate precise placement without requiring complex external alignment tools or procedures.
2Manufacturing precision
If contact carriers are placed very precisely on the circuit board, then exact contacting is ensured, but assembly time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Contact carriers and other components are first arranged in the cover before final assembly. The cover serves as a preliminary assembly platform where components can be positioned and secured among themselves, then the entire assembly is transferred to the base element. This preliminary arrangement reduces the precision requirements during final assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
Mechanical guide elements and positioning features replace the need for precise manual placement. The guide pins, guide elements, and positioning elements provide mechanical constraints that automatically ensure correct alignment, substituting for skilled manual positioning and reducing assembly time.
3Manufacturing precision
If guide pins are used for positioning, then correct alignment is ensured, but additional components increase device size
Solution Approach 1:
The guide pins serve multiple functions: they provide positioning guidance for the base element relative to the cover, accommodate and guide springs, and support the carrier element for counter contacts. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated positioning features, thereby minimizing additional space requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Positioning and guiding functions are merged into integrated features rather than separate components. The guide elements and positioning elements are combined with the housing structure itself, and the guide pins integrate multiple functions into single elements, reducing overall device volume.
4Stability of the object's composition
If wall elements are added for stability, then dimensional stability increases, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
Wall elements are added only in specific locations where dimensional stability is most needed, rather than uniformly throughout the housing. The wall elements are positioned strategically to prevent jamming of moving components and maintain cover stability, minimizing material usage while achieving the required stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall elements extend between side walls of the cover, utilizing the internal three-dimensional space of the housing to provide structural reinforcement. This internal reinforcement approach maintains external housing dimensions while improving internal dimensional stability.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a safety device (1) for the emergency deactivation of an electrical water heater or a heat pump, wherein the safety device (1) comprises at least one contact pair (70, 80, 90) having at least one first contact assembly (71, 81, 91) and at least one second contact assembly (72, 82, 92), which are designed to direct the current to supply the water heater or the heat pump in a contacted state, and to interrupt the current supply to the water heater or the heat pump in an open state, as well as comprising a retaining device (94) for retaining the second contact assembly (72, 82, 92) on a tension rod (40), wherein the tension rod (40) is designed to release the retaining device (94) and the second contact assembly (72, 82, 92) from the first contact assembly (71, 81, 91) in order to interrupt a current supply to the water heater or the heat pump. The safety device (1) also comprises a housing (10) having a cover (20) and a base element (30), wherein the base element (30) has guide elements (34) and positioning elements (32) for the cover (20), which cooperate with corresponding counter guide elements (22) and counter positioning elements (20d) of the cover (20).