Electronic Thermometer Lead Alignment via Adhesive Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electronic thermometers face issues with increased material costs, wastefulness, and slow thermal response due to the need for specially-shaped temperature sensors and printed circuit boards, which lead to bending and directional misalignment of leads during assembly, affecting measurement precision and speed.
Innovation Solution
An electronic thermometer design featuring a radial lead temperature sensor with a plate-shaped member having adhesive characteristics on its top face to fix and position the lead, reducing contact and curvature, and a method for manufacturing that includes preparing the assembly, attaching the plate-shaped member, and inserting it into a housing to prevent misalignment and enhance thermal response.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the printed circuit board is extended to the temperature measuring unit, then electrical connection is ensured, but material cost increases and manufacturing waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the electrical connection system into separate components: the printed circuit board remains rectangular and separate, while a distinct lead wire connects the temperature sensor to the board. This segmentation eliminates the need to extend the PCB, reducing material waste while maintaining electrical connectivity.
2Reliability
If the printed circuit board is extended to the temperature measuring unit, then electrical connection is ensured, but material cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the PCB from the temperature sensor connection function, the patent allows use of a standard rectangular PCB (reducing cost) combined with a simple lead wire, rather than requiring an expensive custom-shaped extended PCB.
3Ease of manufacture
If the temperature sensor lead becomes bent or directionally misaligned, then assembly is simplified, but measurement precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a pre-formed curved section in the lead wire that anticipates the insertion geometry. This preliminary shaping ensures that when the lead is inserted into the housing, it naturally aligns the temperature sensor tip with the measurement position, preventing misalignment while maintaining assembly simplicity.
4Device complexity
If the lead portion is integrated with the printed circuit board and temperature sensing unit, then structural simplicity is achieved, but thermal response slows down in low-temperature environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the temperature sensor and its lead connection from direct integration with the PCB, creating a separate temperature measuring unit. This extraction reduces thermal mass in the measurement path and minimizes heat sink effects from the PCB, thereby improving thermal response speed while maintaining structural simplicity through modular design.
5Temperature
If heat applied to the temperature sensor escapes via the printed circuit board, then thermal stability is improved, but measurement speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the temperature sensor from direct PCB contact through the lead wire connection, the patent reduces parasitic heat conduction paths to the PCB. This allows heat to remain concentrated at the sensor longer, improving measurement speed while the PCB provides stable electrical connection without excessive thermal interference.
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
The solution provides an inexpensive electronic thermometer with fast thermal response and reduced bending and directional misalignment of leads, improving measurement precision and reducing material costs by using a common radial lead thermistor and minimizing heat transfer, thus enabling faster and more accurate temperature measurements.
Implementation Method 1
a plate-shaped member (20) attached to the assembly (18) and arranged on a tip side of the housing (10) relative to the assembly (18). The plate-shaped member (20) has an adhesion portion (41) that has adhesive characteristics on a top face (21) that opposes the lead (72)
Implementation Method 2
a temperature sensing unit (73) that measures the body temperature of a measurement subject
Implementation Method 3
a hollow housing (10) that houses the lead (72), and in which the temperature sensing unit (73) is arranged on a tip side
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic thermometer that is inexpensive, has fast thermal response, and suppresses bending and directional misalignment of the lead of the temperature sensor during assembly. The electronic thermometer includes: a thermistor that includes a temperature sensing unit that measures the body temperature of a measurement subject and a lead having one end that is fixed to the temperature sensing unit; a hollow housing that houses the lead, and in which the temperature sensing unit is arranged on the tip side; a printed circuit board to which the other end of the lead is fixed; an assembly that includes the printed circuit board and is housed in the housing; and a plate-shaped member that is attached to the assembly and is arranged on the tip side of the housing relative to the assembly. The plate-shaped member has adhesive characteristics on a top face that opposes the lead.