Vehicle Communication Unit Inner Wall Water Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication units for vehicles, especially those located close to the ground, face challenges in resisting water ingress without requiring a completely sealed structure, which complicates manufacturing and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A communication unit design featuring a housing with an upper plate, lower plate, and outer wall, where the upper plate is above the lower plate, and an inner wall surrounds the circuit board, preventing water from reaching it, and includes a drainage path to reduce water accumulation, allowing for easy manufacturing and reduced costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a completely sealed structure is used to protect the circuit board from water, then water resistance is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into an outer wall and an inner wall, creating a nested structure where the inner wall forms a protective chamber around the circuit board. This segmentation allows water to be blocked at the inner wall level while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure that does not require complete sealing of the entire housing.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner wall provides localized protection around the circuit board area, concentrating water resistance where it is most needed. The housing structure has different functional zones: the outer wall provides structural support and basic protection, while the inner wall creates a dedicated protected space for the circuit board, allowing selective water resistance without complete sealing.
2Reliability
If a completely sealed structure with resin coating is used to protect the circuit board, then water resistance is improved, but manufacturing process becomes complicated and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The protective function is segmented between the inner wall structure and the housing assembly. The inner wall creates a physical barrier that prevents water from reaching the circuit board, eliminating the need for additional resin coating processes that would be required for complete sealing approaches.
Solution Approach 2:
The water protection function is extracted from the housing as a whole and implemented specifically through the inner wall structure. This separates the protection mechanism from the general housing structure, allowing the circuit board area to be protected without requiring the entire housing to be sealed with resin or other complex sealing processes.
3Reliability
If the communication unit is positioned close to the ground for electromagnetic induction communication, then communication performance is improved, but water intrusion risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The communication unit can be positioned close to the ground for better electromagnetic induction communication while the inner wall structure provides localized protection around the circuit board. This segmentation allows the antenna and communication components to be exposed for optimal performance while the sensitive circuit board remains protected from water intrusion risks associated with ground-level positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner wall provides localized protection specifically around the circuit board area, allowing different parts of the communication unit to have different exposure levels. The antenna and communication components can be positioned close to the ground for optimal electromagnetic induction performance, while the circuit board receives targeted protection from water intrusion risks.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication unit includes a circuit board on which a communication circuit is provided, an antenna connected to the circuit board, and a housing storing the circuit board and the antenna. The housing includes an upper plate, a lower plate, and an outer wall. The upper plate is located above the lower plate. An inner space is defined by the upper plate, the lower plate, and the outer wall. In the inner space, an inner wall surrounds the entire periphery of the circuit board in a plan view and projects from a lower surface of the upper plate to a position farther downward than the circuit board in a side view.