Surface Mount Spacer for Tilted SMD Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surface mount technology (SMT) limits the customization of electronic component placement on printed circuit boards (PCBs), as components must lie flat, restricting flexibility in position and orientation, which can lead to suboptimal performance in applications like eye illumination where a tilted or elevated position would improve power distribution.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of surface mountable spacers with an electrically non-conducting body and electrical conductors that allow for elevated height, offset, or tilted orientations of surface-mount devices (SMDs) on PCBs, enabling greater freedom in placement and improved power profiles by allowing SMDs to be tilted or elevated relative to the PCB surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If surface-mount devices are placed directly on the PCB surface using traditional SMT, then the manufacturing process is simple and cost-effective, but the position and orientation of the devices are restricted and cannot be customized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a spacer as an intermediary component between the PCB and the surface-mount device. The spacer includes a body portion mounted on the PCB and a mounting portion extending from the body, allowing the SMD to be positioned at elevated heights and tilted orientations. This intermediary structure enables position and orientation customization without requiring complex customized PCBs, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer adds a vertical dimension (z-axis) to the traditional two-dimensional PCB surface mounting. By extending the mounting portion from the body portion at various angles, the spacer enables three-dimensional positioning of SMDs, allowing customization of both position and orientation while maintaining a relatively simple structure that does not significantly increase device complexity.
2Use of energy by moving object
If a customized tilted or curved PCB is used to tilt the SMD toward an illumination target, then the illumination power profile is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of customizing the PCB itself (which is costly and complex), the patent uses a spacer as an intermediary component to achieve the desired tilt angle. The spacer's mounting portion can be oriented at various angles relative to the body portion, allowing the SMD to be tilted toward the illumination target while using a standard, cost-effective PCB. This resolves the contradiction between improved illumination power profile and manufacturing cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer enables easy adjustment of the mounting angle parameter without changing the PCB design. By varying the angle at which the mounting portion extends from the body portion, the illumination direction can be optimized for different applications while maintaining the same simple PCB structure, thus improving ease of manufacture while achieving the desired power profile.
3Illumination intensity
If surface-mount devices are constrained to lie flat on the PCB surface, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the illumination distribution and power profile are suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer serves multiple functions: it provides mechanical support for the SMD, enables tilted positioning for optimized illumination, and incorporates electrical conductors for electrical connection. By integrating these multiple functions into a single component, the spacer achieves improved light distribution without proportionally increasing device complexity, as the electrical conductor integration is done through straightforward embedding or attachment processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer is constructed as a composite structure combining an electrically non-conducting body portion with electrical conductors. This composite design allows the spacer to provide both mechanical positioning (through the non-conducting body) and electrical connection (through the conductors) while enabling tilted orientations for optimized illumination. The composite nature allows independent optimization of each function without significantly increasing overall complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A spacer is provided to allow a surface mount device (SMD) to be surface mounted onto a PCB with greater degrees of freedom. The spacer is designed to be surface mountable to the PCB and includes an electrically non-conducting body that has a first surface facing the SMD, a second surface facing the PCB, and through holes and/or indents in the electrically non-conducting body to accommodate electrical conductors that provide electrical connections between the SMD and the PCB. The spacer may provide one or more of: an elevated height (so that the SMD is elevated above the PCB), an offset along the surface of the PCB relative to a designated position for the SMD on the PCB, or a tilt in one or more directions relative to a surface of the PCB.