Sensor Node Mounting Bracket With Rotatable Anti-Theft Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mounting systems for electric or electronic devices, such as sensor nodes, lack flexibility and security when engaging with AC power outlets, particularly in terms of orientation and theft prevention, and often fail to provide a robust connection to underlying structures.
Innovation Solution
A mounting system comprising a housing with power plug prongs and a releasable bracket that can engage in multiple orientations, featuring flanges that extend beyond the housing perimeter, allowing for secure attachment to various surfaces, including wall studs, with frangible regions for customization and a rotatable engagement mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional mounting system is used for sensor nodes, then the device can be mounted on surfaces, but the system lacks flexibility in orientation and security against theft
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket is designed with a rotatable engagement mechanism that allows it to be mounted in multiple orientations (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) while maintaining secure attachment. The dynamic reconfigurability of the bracket's orientation provides mounting flexibility without compromising security, as each orientation maintains the same secure engagement characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The flanges extend beyond the housing perimeter in directions perpendicular to the power plug prongs, creating a mounting system that operates in a different spatial dimension. This allows the mounting holes to be positioned optimally for wall attachment while the power plug prongs extend in a different direction, resolving the conflict between mounting flexibility and secure connection.
2Ease of operation
If power plug prongs extend from the rear surface, then the device can be powered from standard outlets, but the mounting bracket cannot securely connect to wall studs near the outlet
Solution Approach 1:
The flanges extend perpendicular to the power plug prongs, creating a spatial separation between the power connection dimension and the mounting connection dimension. This allows the mounting holes in the flanges to be positioned to clear wall studs while the power plug prongs extend toward the electrical outlet, enabling both functions to operate effectively without interference.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system is segmented into distinct functional components: the power plug prongs for electrical connection and the flanges with mounting holes for structural attachment. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, with the flanges extending beyond the housing perimeter to provide secure mounting independent of the power plug position.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the bracket is made fully removable for flexibility, then the device can be repositioned easily, but the connection to the underlying structure becomes less secure
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket employs a rotatable engagement mechanism that provides secure, fixed attachment in any of four orientations while allowing controlled repositioning. The engagement mechanism maintains strong structural connection during normal use but enables deliberate repositioning when needed, achieving a balance between security and flexibility through dynamic reconfigurability rather than complete removability.
Data Source
AI summary
Example embodiments include a mounting system and method for a sensor node or other electrical or electronic device. An apparatus according to some embodiments includes a housing having a perimeter and a rear surface, a set of power plug prongs extending from the rear surface of the housing, and a bracket releasably engageable with the rear surface of the housing, the bracket having at least one flange that extends beyond the perimeter of the housing when the bracket is engaged with the rear surface. In some embodiments, at least one of the flanges includes a frangible region allowing for removal of at least a portion of the respective flange.