Slim USB Connector for Electronic Pen Chassis
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing USB connectors in electronic pens are bulky due to their design, which hinders the miniaturization of the pen's chassis, as the protrusion portions on the shell require a wider circuit board, making it difficult to accommodate the connector within a slim chassis.
Innovation Solution
The design features a USB connector with a shell that is smaller in the direction parallel to the planar surface of the contact portion, allowing it to be accommodated within a cylindrical chassis without increasing the width of the circuit board, enabling a slimmer pen design by optimizing the shell's size and placement on the circuit board.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the existing USB connector design with protrusion portions on the shell is used, then the connector can be electrically connected to the circuit board, but the width of the circuit board increases, making it difficult to accommodate the connector within a slim chassis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reorients the USB connector from a horizontal arrangement (requiring wide circuit board) to a vertical arrangement along the axial direction of the hollow portion. The contact portion extends in the axial direction, allowing electrical connection without increasing the width of the circuit board, thus resolving the contradiction between connection capability and board width.
Solution Approach 2:
The shell is designed with asymmetric dimensions where the length in the axial direction (L1) is greater than the width in the radial direction (L2). This asymmetric configuration allows the connector to fit within the hollow portion while maintaining electrical connection capability, reducing the required circuit board width compared to symmetric traditional designs.
2Reliability
If the USB connector is designed with a larger shell to accommodate protrusion portions, then the connector provides stable electrical connection, but the overall size of the connector increases, hindering miniaturization of the pen chassis
Solution Approach 1:
The USB connector is nested within the cylindrical hollow portion of the chassis. The shell's outer dimensions are designed to fit within the hollow portion, with the contact portion nested inside and extending axially. This nesting approach allows stable connection without increasing the overall volume of the connector beyond the hollow portion's capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrical connection is achieved by extending the contact portion in the axial direction (vertical dimension) rather than requiring lateral extension in the radial direction. This dimensional change reduces the connector's footprint in the radial plane, allowing miniaturization while maintaining connection stability through the extended axial contact conductors.
3Ease of manufacture
If the circuit board width is increased to accommodate the existing connector design, then the connector can be mounted with proper electrical connection, but the pen chassis becomes wider and less slender
Solution Approach 1:
The connector mounting is reconfigured from a lateral mounting approach (requiring wide circuit board) to an axial mounting approach. The contact portion extends in the axial direction, allowing the connector to be mounted on the circuit board without increasing the board's width, thus enabling slender chassis design while maintaining proper mounting and electrical connection capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic pen has a cylindrical chassis, a circuit board disposed within a pillar-shaped hollow portion of the chassis, and a connector exposable from an opening in the chassis to outside of the chassis. The connector includes a housing and a shell. The shell has a first size in a direction parallel to a planar surface of a contact portion of the connector and orthogonal to the axial direction of the chassis that is smaller than a diameter of the hollow portion of the chassis. The shell is coupled to the circuit board in a state in which the direction of the first size of the shell is parallel to a planar surface of the circuit board, and a width of the circuit board in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the circuit board is less than the first size of the shell.