Sealed Plug-in Circuit Breaker Panel for Aircraft
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft circuit breaker panels are prone to reliability issues due to exposure to harsh environmental conditions such as moisture, salt fog corrosion, sand, and dust, as they lack a sealed enclosure for protection.
Innovation Solution
A sealed plug-in circuit breaker panel is designed with a housing and face plate that are sealingly engaged by a front seal member, along with a rear cover and rear seal member, creating an environmentally sealed enclosure that includes an electrical bus structure, plug-in members, circuit breakers, feeders, and load connectors, all of which are electrically coupled and sealed to prevent contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If circuit breaker panels are exposed to harsh environmental conditions without a sealed enclosure, then accessibility and ease of maintenance are improved, but reliability deteriorates due to moisture, salt fog corrosion, sand, and dust intrusion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs seal members (gaskets or seals) disposed between the face plate and housing, and between the rear cover and housing, to create a sealed enclosure. These flexible sealing elements prevent harmful environmental factors (moisture, salt fog, sand, dust) from entering the interior portion while maintaining the structural integrity and accessibility of the circuit breaker panel.
2Reliability
If a sealed enclosure is implemented to protect against environmental conditions, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional seal members and sealing structures
Solution Approach 1:
The sealed enclosure is segmented into multiple sealing zones: a front seal between the face plate and housing, and a rear seal between the rear cover and housing. This segmentation allows each seal member to independently address specific sealing requirements at different locations, improving overall reliability while keeping each individual sealing component relatively simple and manageable.
3Ease of manufacture
If circuit breaker panels use traditional mounting methods with threaded bezels and nuts, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability deteriorates in harsh environments due to potential corrosion and loosening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a sealed enclosure as an intermediary protective layer between the circuit breaker components and the harsh external environment. This sealed intermediate space isolates the electrical components from direct exposure to corrosive elements, preventing corrosion and loosening issues that would otherwise affect the traditional threaded bezel and nut mounting system in harsh environments.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
A sealed plug-in circuit breaker panel (2) has an enclosure (4, 12, 14) defining a sealed interior portion. The enclosure includes a housing (4), a face plate (1.4) removably coupled to the housing and a front seal member (44) disposed between the face plate and the housing such that the face plate and the housing are sealingly engaged. The panel further includes an electrical bus structure (6) coupled to the housing, a plurality of first plug-in members (8) coupled to the bus structure and a number of circuit 'breakers (10) disposed in the enclosure, Each circuit breaker includes a manual operator (30) and at least a pair of second plug-in members (32) which are electrically coupled to corresponding first plug-in members. The manual, operator protrudes through and extends from a respective aperture formed in the face plate. The panel further includes a number of feeders (16J 8,20) and load connectors (22, 24) electrically coupled to the bus structure.