TWI836776B - Housing assembly and method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for a housing assembly including a housing comprising a conductive material, a conductor extending through the housing, and a dielectric material at least partially surrounding the conductor. Portions of the housing may surround the conductor such that the conductor, the dielectric, and the portions of the housing form a channel through the housing.

Description

Housing assembly and method for housing assembly

The present invention relates to an electromechanical assembly with integrated wires.

As is known in the art, electromechanical assemblies require electrical interconnections. As assemblies shrink in size and become more integrated, interconnections can become the limiting factor. A wide variety of interconnects and connectors can be used to provide the required signal paths. For example, in conventional systems, cables and connectors may be routed independently or routed with cable ties.

Example embodiments of the present invention provide methods and apparatus for electromechanical housing assemblies having integrated cable raceways, such as DC and RF cable raceways. In some embodiments, the housing is 3D printed. In some embodiments, conductive conduits are used for coaxial RF electrical The outer ground conductor of the cable, and the shielding protection used for DC/logic cable (Logic Cable). Direct contact between the cable structure and the housing serves as a thermal connection to the housing for improved power handling. A wide variety of complex geometries can be implemented to control cable length, phase, loss, etc., as well as simplify assembly and reduce the possibility of miswiring. In addition, embodiments of the present invention can provide techniques that enable high frequency arrays with high interconnect densities. In some embodiments, the conduit can be used as a high-efficiency coaxial transmission line.

In one embodiment, a housing assembly includes: a housing including a conductive material; a wire extending through the housing; and a dielectric material at least partially surrounding the wire, wherein a portion of the housing surrounds the wire such that the wire, the dielectric, and the portions of the housing form a conduit passing through the housing.

A housing assembly can further include one or more of the following features: the first conduit includes a coaxial transmission line; the housing is printed; the housing forms part of a conformal antenna array; and is conformally mounted to the housing the circuit board; the housing has a hemispherical shape; the housing has a cylindrical shape; the housing is grounded; the housing provides a heat dissipation path; the path of the conductors through the housing is non-linear and Selected to achieve the length selected for the conductor; the path of the conductor through the housing is non-linear and selected for phase performance; the path of the conductor through the housing is non-linear and selected for loss performance ; The housing includes a surface having a series of facets on which respective circuit cards are mounted and respective conduits are connected to the circuit cards; the housing further includes structural members to increase the thermal performance of the assembly; the housing further includes structural members to increase the structural strength of the housing; and/or the ends of the wires provide an interface to the through-hole soldering of the circuit board.

In another aspect, a method includes using a housing including a conductive material; using a conductor extending through the housing; and using a dielectric material at least partially surrounding the conductor, wherein a portion of the housing surrounds the conductor. The wire allows the wire, the dielectric, and the portions of the housing to form a conduit through the housing.

A method can further include one or more of the following features: the first conduit includes a coaxial transmission line; the housing is printed; the housing forms part of a conformal antenna array; a circuit board conformally mounted on the housing ; the housing has a hemispherical shape; the housing has a cylindrical shape; the housing is grounded; the housing provides a heat dissipation path; the path of the conductors through the housing is non-linear and selected to achieve The length of the conductor is selected for the conductor; the path of the conductor through the housing is non-linear and selected for phase performance; the path of the conductor through the housing is non-linear and selected for loss performance; the housing The body includes a surface having a series of facets on which respective circuit cards are mounted and respective ducts are connected to the circuit cards; the housing also includes structural members to increase the thermal performance of the assembly ; The housing further includes structural components to increase the structural strength of the housing; and/or the ends of the wires provide an interface to the through-hole soldering of the circuit board.

100:Assembly parts

102: Shell

104:Wire

106:Dielectric materials

108: Shield

120: Conformal antenna array

300: Shell

302:Trench

400: Shell assembly

402: Shell

404: Small noodles

408: Bottom

410:Circuit card assembly

412: Dielectric materials

414:Block

500: Shell assembly

502:Pipeline

504: Structural components

506: Expanded in a trumpet shape

600: Shell assembly

602: Circuit board (printed circuit board)

604: Shell

606:Wire

610: Solder filling

612:Through hole pad

The aforementioned features of the present invention, as well as the present invention itself, can be more fully understood from the following drawings, wherein: [FIG. 1A] is a partial cross-sectional side view of a housing assembly having an integrated cable, [FIG. 1B] is a first isometric view of the housing assembly having an integrated cable, and [FIG. 1C] is a second isometric view of the housing assembly having an integrated cable; [FIG. 2A] is a graphical representation of S-mode parameters for the housing assembly of FIG. 1A; [FIG. 2B] is a graphical representation of the E-field for the housing assembly of FIG. 1A; [FIG. 3] is a graphical representation of the E-field for the housing assembly of FIG. 1A; and [FIG. 4] is a graphical representation of the E-field for the housing assembly of FIG. 1A. isometric view of a conductive cylindrical housing; [FIG. 4A] is an isometric view of a housing assembly with an integrated conduit, [FIG. 4B] is a cross-sectional view of a housing assembly with an integrated cable, and [FIG. 4C] is a cross-sectional view of a housing assembly with an integrated cable with certain features removed; [FIG. 5] is a cutaway isometric view of a housing assembly with an integrated cable and structural members; and [FIG. 6A] is an isometric view of a housing assembly with an integrated cable interconnected to a circuit board, and [FIG. 6B] shows further details of the cable connection to the circuit board.

Before describing an example embodiment of the present invention, some information is provided. Coaxial cable refers to a type of cable having an inner conductor surrounded by concentric conductive material that forms a shield that is isolated from the inner conductor by a dielectric material. A protective sheath or jacket can form the outer layer of the coaxial cable. Coaxial cable can be considered a type of transmission line that transmits high-frequency electrical signals with relatively low losses. In a coaxial cable configuration, the electromagnetic field corresponding to the transmitted signal only appears in the space between the inner conductor and the outer conductor, allowing the coaxial cable to be located near conductive objects and materials without any power loss. Similarly, the outer conductors prevent external signals from interfering with the signal carried by the center conductor. Typically, the outer side of the shield is held at ground potential, and the signal carrying the voltage is applied to the center conductor.

In general, the characteristic impedance of a coaxial cable corresponds to the dielectric constant of the insulating material and the dimensions of the center and outer conductors. For applications where the cable length is comparable to the wavelength of the signal being transmitted, a uniform characteristic cable impedance minimizes signal loss. The source and load impedances can be selected to match the cable impedance for better power transfer and wave-carrying characteristics.

Understand that any suitable dielectric can be used to meet the needs of a particular application. Example dielectrics include solid and foamed dielectric materials, which may contain air or other gases to achieve desired operating characteristics. In some embodiments, the dielectric is air.

Coaxial cables have connectors at the ends to maintain the coaxial connection and provide the same impedance as the cable. Connectors are usually coated with highly conductive metal.

Figure 1 shows an example assembly 100 including a conductive metal shell Body 102 and conductors 104 at least partially contained within dielectric material 106 to provide a low loss, high isolation interconnect. Example interconnect configurations are used for RF signals, DC signals, digital logic signals, etc. In some embodiments, conductive wire 104 is entirely contained in dielectric material 106 . In other embodiments, conductive wire 104 is not entirely contained in the dielectric material. In some embodiments, the coaxial cable includes conductors 104, dielectric material 106, and shielding 108 provided by conductive housing 102. In some embodiments, conductors 104 are entirely contained within shield 108 . In other embodiments, conductors 104 are not fully contained within shield 108 .

In an embodiment, wires 104, dielectric 106, and shield 108 provide signal conduits in the 3D printed housing. The use of 3D printing provides more freedom to form housings with better properties than conventional assemblies.

With this configuration, conduits can be added to existing housing and cables can be secured in place without the need for additional tie down points. Because the housing 102 is electrically conductive, the housing can be used as the outer conductor of a coaxial cable to reduce the overall size of the cable. In some embodiments, the conduit can be used as a high-efficiency coaxial transmission line.

In an embodiment, the wires 104 are integrally formed in the housing 102, which provides a thermal path to dissipate heat generated in and around the wires.

In aspects of the present invention, complex geometries can be implemented to control cable length, phase, loss, etc. for respective conduits to meet the needs of a particular application. In embodiments, pipes can be used to carry large numbers of signals as enablers for high frequency and conformal arrays. In addition, example piping embodiments can reduce the possibility of assembly wiring errors.

As best seen in Figure 1A, the conduits can contain respective conductors 104 interconnected to the conformal antenna array 120, as shown in Figure 1C. As used herein, a conformal array refers to an array that conforms to the shape of a non-planar substrate. For example, a conformal array can conform to the exterior surface of an aircraft.

In an embodiment, the conduit can be matched to better phase and loss than conduits with standard connectors and cables. The conduit can be optimized to a length and shape for desired performance.

FIG2A shows an example S-parameter plot of modes S(1,1) 200 and S(2,1) versus frequency for the housing assembly of FIG1A. FIG2B shows an example graphical E-field representation for the example conduit (e.g., conductor 104, dielectric 106, shield 108 configuration) of FIG1A.

FIG. 3 shows an example conductive housing 300 that is cylindrical in shape. Housing 300 includes trenches 302 along the length of the housing that are configured to receive conductive wires and dielectric material. The grooves 302 allow cables to be routed on the interior surface of the conductive housing 300 . It is understood that trench 302 can have any suitable geometry, location, size, etc., to accommodate a particular conductor and dielectric configuration to form a conduit with selected characteristics.

Figure 4A is an isometric view of the housing assembly 400 with integrated cables, Figure 4B is an isometric cross-sectional view of the housing assembly 400 of Figure 4A, and Figure 4C is an isometric view of the housing assembly 400 of Figure 4B Angular cross-sectional view of a cable without outer conductors provided by a conductive casing.

In the illustrated embodiment, the housing 402 includes a top with eight facets 404 and a bottom surface 408. A respective circuit card assembly (CCA) 410 is mounted on each facet 404. Additional CCAs (not shown) can be mounted on the bottom surface 408 of the housing.

At least some of the CCAs 410 are interconnected to circuit boards on the bottom surface 408 of the housing. In the illustrated embodiment, the respective conduits include cables (not shown) surrounded by a dielectric material 412 and a shield 414 provided by the same material as the conductive housing 402.

In an embodiment, the housing 402 can be 3D printed using conductive material to form the facets 404, sides 416, and outer wire/cable shielding 414 for the pipe. For example, pipes can carry large amounts of high-frequency signals for use in antenna arrays. In some embodiments, the array can include a conformal array. Cables can be inserted and/or embedded in the housing to reduce or eliminate miswiring connections and speed assembly.

FIG. 5 shows a housing assembly 500 having an integrated duct 502 shaped and configured to match phase and loss to provide improved performance over conventional cable configurations. The duct 502 can have a length and shape that optimizes desired performance characteristics.

The duct walls, which can comprise the same conductive material as the housing, provide the thermal interface to the remainder of the system. In some embodiments, structural members 504 can increase structural support and thermal performance.

It is understood that any practical number of support members of any suitable geometry can be used to achieve the desired structural, thermal, and/or electrical performance characteristics. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the conduit 502 can be flared 506 at one or both ends.

FIG. 6A is an isometric view of a housing assembly 600 having an integrated cable capable of providing an interface to a circuit board 602 (e.g., a printed circuit board). FIG. 6B shows further details of the connection to the circuit board.

In the illustrated embodiment, a printed wiring board (PWB) 602 is conformally mounted to a hemispherical housing 604. As described above, a wire 606 surrounded by a dielectric material can pass through the housing 604. The wire 606 can extend upward from the surface of the housing. In an embodiment, the wire 606 can be used as a through-hole solder interface to the PWB 602.

As best seen in Figure 6B, a portion of wire 606 extends through PWB 602. Solder fillet 610 and solder via pad 612 provide connections to PWB 602 . With this configuration, the circuit card can be mounted on the housing with wires soldered into through-holes in the circuit board.

It is understood that embodiments of assemblies having integrated conductors may be applied to a wide variety of applications where highly integrated electromechanical assemblies are desirable, such as radar antenna feeds, computer network connections, digital audio, streaming configurations, cellular network connections, vehicular vehicles, and the like.

Having described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it will now become apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments incorporating their concepts may also be used. The embodiments contained herein should not be limited to the embodiments disclosed, but rather should be limited solely by the scope of the appended patent applications. All publications and references cited herein are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Elements of different embodiments described herein may be combined to form other embodiments not expressly set forth above. Various elements, which are described in the context of a single embodiment, may be separated or provided in any suitable subcombination. Other embodiments not expressly presented herein are also within the scope of the following claims.

100:Assembly

102: Shell

104:Wire

106:Dielectric materials

108: Shield

120:Conformal antenna array

Claims (20)

A housing assembly includes: a housing including a conductive material; a conductor extending through the housing; and a dielectric material at least partially surrounding the conductor, wherein a portion of the housing surrounds the conductor such that the conductor , the dielectric material, and the portions of the housing form a conduit through the housing. A combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conduit comprises a coaxial transmission line. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the shell is printed. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing forms part of a conformal antenna array. The assembly of claim 4 further includes a circuit board conformally mounted on the housing. As an assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shell has a hemispherical shape. As an assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shell has a cylindrical shape. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing is grounded. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing provides a heat dissipation path. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the path of the wire through the housing is non-linear and is selected to achieve a selected length for the wire. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the path of the conductor through the housing is non-linear and selected for phase performance. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the path of the conductor through the housing is non-linear and selected for loss performance. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing includes a surface having a series of facets, respective circuit cards are mounted on the facets, and respective conduits are connected to the circuit cards. As an assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises structural members to increase the thermal performance of the assembly. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing further includes structural components to increase the structural strength of the housing. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the end of the wire provides an interface to the through-hole soldering of the circuit board. A method for a housing assembly, comprising: using a housing including a conductive material; using a wire extending through the housing; and using a dielectric material at least partially surrounding the wire, wherein a portion of the housing Surround the conductor such that the conductor, the dielectric, and the portions of the housing form a conduit through the housing. The method of claim 17, wherein the shell is printed. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the housing forms part of a conformal antenna array. The method of claim 19 further includes using a circuit board conformally mounted on the housing.

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