Slip Ring Segmented Conductors for High-Frequency Signal Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing slip ring units face challenges in efficiently transmitting high-frequency currents and signals while maintaining simplicity and cost-effectiveness, particularly due to limitations in conductor design and electrical connectivity.
Innovation Solution
A slip ring design featuring a dielectric carrier body with radially oriented feed-through leads and conductive elements arranged in parallel sections with axial offsets and radial extensions, ensuring electrical connection and minimizing discontinuities for reliable contact and reduced electric capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional conductor designs are used in slip rings, then structural simplicity is maintained, but transmission efficiency of high-frequency currents and signals deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The conductor is divided into multiple conductor sections arranged circumferentially around the carrier body, with each section spanning less than 360°. This segmentation reduces the effective capacitance of the conductor, enabling efficient high-frequency signal transmission while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductor sections are arranged in multiple axial layers with corresponding sections electrically connected through feed-through leads. This three-dimensional arrangement optimizes the electrical path for high-frequency signals while keeping the radial and axial dimensions compact, thus improving transmission efficiency without significantly increasing device complexity.
2Reliability
If continuous conductive elements are used along the full circumference, then electrical connectivity is improved, but electric capacity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single continuous conductive element around the full circumference, the conductor is segmented into multiple sections, each spanning less than 360°. This reduces the total capacitance of the conductor while maintaining electrical connectivity through the arrangement of multiple sections and their interconnections via feed-through leads.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple conductor sections are electrically connected in series or parallel through feed-through leads to maintain continuous electrical connectivity around the carrier body. This ensures that the useful function of signal transmission is maintained while the physical continuous conductor is replaced by a segmented structure with lower capacitance.
3Reliability
If multiple conductive elements are added to reduce discontinuities, then contact reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conductor is segmented into multiple sections that can be manufactured separately and then assembled around the carrier body. This segmentation allows for simpler manufacturing of individual sections while achieving improved contact reliability through the multi-section configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple conductor sections are combined around the carrier body and electrically connected through feed-through leads to create a unified conductive structure. This merging approach achieves the reliability benefits of multiple conductive elements while using standardized components that can be manufactured efficiently.
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
Enables efficient transmission of high-frequency signals with reduced electric capacity and cost-effective production, ensuring reliable contact across the entire circumference and supporting high data rates for applications like Ethernet and real-time data links.
Implementation Method 1
radially oriented feed-through leads, which penetrate the lateral surface and the carrier body. Furthermore, the slip ring includes a first and a second conductive element... The first and the second conductive elements are electrically connected to each other
Data Source
AI summary
A slip ring includes a dielectric carrier body having a circumferential lateral surface and radially oriented feed-through leads, a first conductive element, and a second conductive element. In a first section, the conductive elements extend in parallel at an axial offset on the lateral surface in the circumferential direction, and in a second section, they extend in the feed-through leads with a radial directional component. The first sections extend in the circumferential direction across a first angular dimension of less than 360°, so that a discontinuity is present along the circumferential direction of the conductive elements in a second angular dimension. The feed-through leads are arranged such that the second angular dimension of the first conductive element is situated at an offset from the second angular dimension of the second conductive element in the circumferential direction, the first and the second conductive elements being electrically connected to each other.