Spring-Loaded Connector Pin for Secure PCB Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors face challenges in accurately positioning and securely attaching to circuit boards due to their small size, making soldering difficult and permanent, and often require expensive or fragile connectors.
Innovation Solution
A connector device with a body portion and legs that removably attach to a secondary device, featuring a spring-loaded contact pin to maintain spatial relationship and provide counterforce, allowing for easy attachment and removal without a mating connector.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If soldering is used to attach connectors to circuit boards, then the connection is permanent and secure, but the process is difficult and time-consuming, and removal is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is divided into separate components: a body portion and legs that can be independently positioned and attached. This segmentation allows for easier assembly compared to traditional soldering while maintaining secure connection through the leg structure that engages with openings in the circuit board.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector transitions from a static soldered joint to a dynamic mechanical attachment system. The legs can be inserted and removed from openings, providing a reusable connection that maintains reliability while enabling easy installation and removal without time-consuming soldering processes.
2Manufacturing precision
If soldering is used to attach connectors to circuit boards, then the connection is permanent, but accurate positioning and holding the connector during soldering becomes increasingly difficult on crowded circuit boards
Solution Approach 1:
The legs are pre-formed with specific geometries that match corresponding openings in the circuit board. This preliminary preparation of the attachment structure enables accurate positioning to be achieved during assembly without requiring complex positioning operations or tools during the attachment process itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The legs serve as intermediary elements between the connector body and the circuit board. These intermediate structures provide mechanical engagement features that facilitate accurate positioning and secure attachment, eliminating the need for direct soldering operations that are difficult to perform on crowded boards.
3Reliability
If traditional connectors are used, then electrical connection is achieved, but they are often expensive or substantially fragile
Solution Approach 1:
The connector uses simple, inexpensive materials for the legs and body structure. Rather than using expensive precious metals or complex assemblies, the design employs basic conductive materials that are cost-effective and resistant to damage during handling and assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector design changes the physical parameters of traditional connectors by using thicker, more robust leg structures that are less fragile. The geometric parameters of the legs are optimized to provide both mechanical strength and electrical conductivity, eliminating the need for expensive materials while maintaining connection reliability.
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, secure, and stable connection to circuit boards or other platforms, facilitating easy removal and adjustment while preventing damage and ensuring reliable electrical contact.
Implementation Method 1
The contact pin maintains the separation between the body portion and the secondary device and includes a spring for providing a counter force against the secondary device with respect to the foot member
Data Source
AI summary
A connector device for maintaining a desired spatial relationship for spatially and securely connecting to a platform, such as a circuit board, in an efficient manner. The connector device generally includes a body portion separated from the secondary device, a plurality of legs extending from the body portion for removably attaching the body portion to the secondary device, wherein the plurality of legs each include a foot member insertable within an opening of the secondary device for grasping the secondary device and at least one contact pin extending from the body portion to contact the secondary device on an opposite surface as the foot member. The contact pin maintains the separation between the body portion and the secondary device and includes a spring for providing a counter force against the secondary device with respect to the foot member.