Screw Thread Coil for Implantable Device Space Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing components, such as those in implantable devices, face challenges in minimizing space usage while maintaining efficient RF signal reception and voltage conversion functions, as traditional coils occupy valuable space.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an electrical wire within the screw thread of a component, where the wire follows the turns of the thread to form a coil, allowing for a compact design that maximizes coil surface area and efficiency without additional space, and enabling multiple electromagnetic functions through frequency filtering and parallel or series coil configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional coil is used for RF signal reception and voltage conversion, then the component can perform electromagnetic functions, but the coil occupies valuable space within the implantable device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the screw thread structure with the coil winding by arranging the electrical wire to follow the turns of the screw thread. This merging eliminates the need for separate coil windings, thereby performing electromagnetic functions (RF signal reception and voltage conversion) without occupying additional valuable space within the implantable device.
Solution Approach 2:
The screw thread is designed to serve dual purposes: mechanical fastening and electromagnetic induction. By integrating the coil function into the thread structure itself, the same component performs both mechanical and electromagnetic functions, maximizing space utilization while maintaining versatility.
2Productivity
If the coil surface area is increased to improve coupling efficiency with external RF fields, then better electromagnetic performance is achieved, but the component size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the helical geometry of the screw thread to create a three-dimensional coil structure that maximizes surface area within a compact volume. By following the threaded path, the electrical wire creates multiple turns in a compact space, achieving high coupling efficiency without increasing the overall component footprint.
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 approach results in a compact, efficient component that achieves optimal coupling with external inductive RF fields, supports multiple electromagnetic functions, and provides reliable electrical connections, particularly beneficial in space-constrained medical devices like implantable pacemakers and brain stimulation devices.
Implementation Method 1
The coil may be used in a time-multiplexing scheme to provide for both the receipt of RF signals, and a voltage conversion function
Implementation Method 2
a component having a screw thread for fastening
Data Source
AI summary
Components having a screw thread useful for mechanical fixation of the component to a corresponding component may be equipped with electrical wire following at least part of the turns of the screw thread and thereby forming at least a part of a coil. The corresponding component may have a matching screw thread, or the component of the invention may be self-tapping, in which case a matching screw thread in the corresponding component would be superfluous. The coil may be used as charging and/or power-conversion coil and/or communication antenna. The reuse of the screw thread for a coil maximizes the coil area without consuming extra space of the component. This is in particular useful in medical electrical implant devices, such as a pace maker or a neuron pace maker in deep brain stimulation, in that the maximum size of such a pace maker is very limited. Moreover, the screw thread of such components may additionally comprise connectors for providing electrical connection to other electrical parts in a matching component.