US20020179315A1 - Circuit shell enclosure - Google Patents
Circuit shell enclosure Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20020179315A1 US20020179315A1 US09/865,746 US86574601A US2002179315A1 US 20020179315 A1 US20020179315 A1 US 20020179315A1 US 86574601 A US86574601 A US 86574601A US 2002179315 A1 US2002179315 A1 US 2002179315A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- printed circuit
- board
- circuit board
- enclosure
- boxes
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
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Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02G—INSTALLATION OF ELECTRIC CABLES OR LINES, OR OF COMBINED OPTICAL AND ELECTRIC CABLES OR LINES
- H02G3/00—Installations of electric cables or lines or protective tubing therefor in or on buildings, equivalent structures or vehicles
- H02G3/02—Details
- H02G3/08—Distribution boxes; Connection or junction boxes
- H02G3/088—Dustproof, splashproof, drip-proof, waterproof, or flameproof casings or inlets
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K5/00—Casings, cabinets or drawers for electric apparatus
- H05K5/02—Details
- H05K5/0247—Electrical details of casings, e.g. terminals, passages for cables or wiring
Definitions
- This invention relates to enclosures, specifically for printed circuit boards.
- Compression fittings are designed for the round cross-section of cables or tubing and cannot seal effectively around a group of individual wires.
- the enclosure must be oversized to contain relief bends in cables and tubing, to provide working room for attaching terminals and connectors, and to contain extra cable or tubing for slack if the card is to be removed from the enclosure while operating for access during test, modification, or repair.
- the enclosure needs to be no larger than the printed circuit board since no working room is needed inside the enclosure for installing connectors, nor is room needed inside the enclosure to contain extra cable for relief bends or slack to allow removal of the board from the enclosure
- the Circuit Shell Enclosure thus provides complete protection of circuits on a printed circuit board but does not restrict, enclose, or complicate external wiring connections to the board. Indeed the external wiring is greatly simplified because there are no redundant connections or feed through fittings in the walls of the enclosure.
- the Circuit Shell Enclosure is completely independent of the wiring and easily removed to gain unrestricted access to the operating board for test, modification, and repair. No enclosed coils of wire or cable are needed to provide slack for removing the printed circuit board from the enclosure.
- the inexpensive and easy to manufacture Circuit Shell Enclosure is compatible with all types of standard printed circuit board mounted connectors and terminals.
- FIGS. 1A and 1B show perspective and elevation views of the two boxes comprising the Circuit Shell Enclosure attached to opposite sides of a printed circuit board.
- FIGS. 2A and 2B show the bottom view and cross section of one of the boxes.
- FIGS. 3A and 3B show a typical circuit board designed for the Circuit Shell Enclosure, and a cross section of the circuit board with the two boxes of the Circuit Shell Enclosure installed along with a typical circuit component, connector, and feed through.
- FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective and elevation views of a printed circuit board with the two boxes of the circuit shell enclosure attached to the top and bottom of the board.
- the boxes in this embodiment are identical to reduce the number of parts, and are made of plastic by injection molding.
- the printed circuit board is 6 inches square and the boxes are 4.5 inches wide by 6 inches long by 1.3 inches deep.
- the boxes are fastened to opposite sides of the board with their long dimensions perpendicular to achieve the desired result of having the protected area on one side of the board opposite both protected and unprotected areas on the other side of the board.
- FIG. 2A shows the bottom of a box with a groove 11 to contain the o-ring, and four box mounting holes 12 outside the area enclosed by the o-ring.
- the mounting holes are sized to accept # 4 self-threading screws for fastening to the printed circuit board.
- Metal inserts or machine screws with nuts could alternatively be used in applications where the boxes must be frequently removed.
- FIG. 2B shows the cross section of a box and the groove 11 to contain the o-ring.
- 3A shows a bottom view of a printed circuit board laid out to accommodate the boxes and a simple example circuit.
- printed circuit traces have been laid out where the o-rings of the top and bottom boxes contact the printed circuit board, with the trace on the top of the board being shown in dashed lines.
- screws are inserted into the holes 12 in the board and threaded into the four mounting holes in the corners of the boxes. With the boxes attached the corners of the board remain unprotected on both sides and have four board mounting holes 13 for attaching the board and enclosure assembly to a surface by means of brackets or stand-off posts.
- FIG. 3A when the two boxes are in place there will be a central area 6 protected on both sides of the board. Areas 4 A and 4 B will be protected only on the top side of the board. Areas 5 A and 5 B will be protected only on the bottom side of the board.
- FIG. 3B shows a cross section of the printed circuit board with the boxes attached and with the typical circuit component, connector, and feed through fitting installed.
- the circuit component in this example is a pressure sensor 7 which requires both electrical and physical connection to the outside of the enclosure. The electrical connection is accomplished by printed circuit traces on the bottom side of the board connecting pins of the pressure sensor with the solder side of a connector 8 soldered into holes in the board in area 5 B.
- the physical connection of the pressure sensor is accomplished by plastic tubing 10 which connects the port of the pressure sensor to a feed through fitting 9 which has been soldered into a hole in the board in area 5 A.
- plastic tubing 10 which connects the port of the pressure sensor to a feed through fitting 9 which has been soldered into a hole in the board in area 5 A.
- This example illustrates how the Circuit Shell Enclosure protects both sides of a circuit board where there are components and interconnections between components, and also protects the side of the circuit board where wires, traces, and tubing are run from components to the solder side of connectors and feed through fittings.
- areas 4 A and 4 B are not used in this simple example, it can be seen that additional connectors could be installed in those areas on the bottom side of the board having their solder sides on the top side of the board in protected areas.
- the unused holes can be filled with solder to maintain the water and dust proof integrity of the protected areas.
- the protected areas available for circuits and connectors are controlled by the size of the board and boxes. Additional circuit area could be gained by stand-off boards mounted to the main board in the areas underneath the boxes. All printed circuit board mounted connectors and terminals are compatible with the circuit shell enclosure. Single wires, flat and round cables, co-axial cables, fiber-optic cables, and pressure/vacuum tubing can all be accommodated using standard connectors and fittings.
- Universal printed circuit boards could be designed for the Circuit Shell Enclosure with circuit solder pad arrays and a variety of connector footprints for prototype use. Downloadable outlines of printed circuit boards compatible with the Circuit Shell Enclosure could be made available as templates for customers desiring to lay out custom printed circuit boards.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Architecture (AREA)
- Civil Engineering (AREA)
- Structural Engineering (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Casings For Electric Apparatus (AREA)
Abstract
An enclosure for a circuit on a printed circuit board consisting of two boxes fastened to the opposite sides of the printed circuit board. The boxes each have one open side which faces the printed circuit board and seals against it by means of a gasket, creating protected areas under the boxes on both sides of the printed circuit board. The boxes are offset so that protected areas on one side of the board are directly opposite both protected and unprotected areas on the other side of the board. This allows the top sides of connectors, terminals, and feed-through fittings installed on the board to be unprotected and accessible, while their solder sides are protected as are all components of the circuit and interconnecting wiring on both sides of the board.
Description
- Not Applicable
- Not Applicable
- Not Applicable
- This invention relates to enclosures, specifically for printed circuit boards.
- Circuits on printed circuit boards often need to be enclosed to prevent physical damage, to keep out dust and moisture, and to eliminate electric shock and short circuit hazards. The prior art in enclosures for printed circuit boards consists of a large variety of metal and plastic boxes designed to totally contain the printed circuit board. Wires, cables, and pressure/vacuum tubing attached to the printed circuit board must first pass through the walls of the enclosure by means of feed-through fittings, compression fittings, or connectors. This type of enclosure for printed circuit boards has the following deficiencies:
- (a) Penetration of the enclosure by the wiring harness is a design problem requiring significant engineering effort.
- (b) Connectors and compression fittings installed on the enclosure, and the labor to install them, add significantly to the cost of the enclosure.
- (c) Compression fittings are designed for the round cross-section of cables or tubing and cannot seal effectively around a group of individual wires.
- (d) Connectors on the enclosure are redundant when connectors are also located on the printed circuit board.
- (e) Cables and tubing are not separable from the compression or feed-through fittings and enclosure once the end connectors are attached. Wires are not separable from the enclosure once soldered to connectors mounted on the enclosure. The enclosure consequently becomes part of the wiring harness and cannot be replaced or moved without considerable effort.
- (f) Removing the lid of the enclosure allows only very restricted access to the card for test, modification, or repair.
- (g) The enclosure must be oversized to contain relief bends in cables and tubing, to provide working room for attaching terminals and connectors, and to contain extra cable or tubing for slack if the card is to be removed from the enclosure while operating for access during test, modification, or repair.
- There is a need for an improved enclosure that protects the circuits on a printed circuit board without the above deficiencies.
- Accordingly, the advantages of the Circuit Shell Enclosure are that the above mentioned prior art deficiencies are eliminated as follows:
- (a) There is no penetration of the enclosure by the wiring harness, so no engineering effort is required in that regard.
- (b) No feed-through fittings, compression fittings, or connectors are needed on the enclosure so the expense of those devices and the labor to install them is eliminated. Pressure/vacuum tubing, cable, and wires are run directly to fittings and connectors on the printed circuit board.
- (c) Individual wires pose no special sealing problem and, like cable, can be run straight to terminals or connectors on the printed circuit board without first going through the enclosure.
- (d) There are no connectors on the enclosure redundant to the connectors on the printed circuit board.
- (e) The enclosure stays completely separate from the wiring harness and can be removed or replaced without disturbing the wiring.
- (f) The enclosure is easily removed without disturbing the wiring to give access to both sides of the operating printed circuit board for test, modification, or repair.
- (g) The enclosure needs to be no larger than the printed circuit board since no working room is needed inside the enclosure for installing connectors, nor is room needed inside the enclosure to contain extra cable for relief bends or slack to allow removal of the board from the enclosure
- The Circuit Shell Enclosure thus provides complete protection of circuits on a printed circuit board but does not restrict, enclose, or complicate external wiring connections to the board. Indeed the external wiring is greatly simplified because there are no redundant connections or feed through fittings in the walls of the enclosure. The Circuit Shell Enclosure is completely independent of the wiring and easily removed to gain unrestricted access to the operating board for test, modification, and repair. No enclosed coils of wire or cable are needed to provide slack for removing the printed circuit board from the enclosure. The inexpensive and easy to manufacture Circuit Shell Enclosure is compatible with all types of standard printed circuit board mounted connectors and terminals.
- The following description illustrates an embodiment of the circuit shell enclosure but should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims.
- In the drawings FIGS. 1A and 1B show perspective and elevation views of the two boxes comprising the Circuit Shell Enclosure attached to opposite sides of a printed circuit board.
- FIGS. 2A and 2B show the bottom view and cross section of one of the boxes.
- FIGS. 3A and 3B show a typical circuit board designed for the Circuit Shell Enclosure, and a cross section of the circuit board with the two boxes of the Circuit Shell Enclosure installed along with a typical circuit component, connector, and feed through.
- A typical embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B which are perspective and elevation views of a printed circuit board with the two boxes of the circuit shell enclosure attached to the top and bottom of the board. Although not required to be so constructed, the boxes in this embodiment are identical to reduce the number of parts, and are made of plastic by injection molding. In this embodiment the printed circuit board is 6 inches square and the boxes are 4.5 inches wide by 6 inches long by 1.3 inches deep. The boxes are fastened to opposite sides of the board with their long dimensions perpendicular to achieve the desired result of having the protected area on one side of the board opposite both protected and unprotected areas on the other side of the board. The boxes each have one open side which faces the printed circuit board and seals against the board by means of a perimeter gasket which in this embodiment is an o-ring. FIG. 2A shows the bottom of a box with a
groove 11 to contain the o-ring, and fourbox mounting holes 12 outside the area enclosed by the o-ring. In this embodiment the mounting holes are sized to accept #4 self-threading screws for fastening to the printed circuit board. Metal inserts or machine screws with nuts could alternatively be used in applications where the boxes must be frequently removed. FIG. 2B shows the cross section of a box and thegroove 11 to contain the o-ring. When the boxes are fastened to the printed circuit board areas of the printed circuit board underneath the boxes and any contained components and interconnections are protected. FIG. 3A shows a bottom view of a printed circuit board laid out to accommodate the boxes and a simple example circuit. Although not necessary, printed circuit traces have been laid out where the o-rings of the top and bottom boxes contact the printed circuit board, with the trace on the top of the board being shown in dashed lines. To achieve a flat surface where the o-ring contacts the board it is desirable that either a continuous printed circuit trace as in this embodiment, or no traces at all be located underneath the o-ring. Screws are inserted into theholes 12 in the board and threaded into the four mounting holes in the corners of the boxes. With the boxes attached the corners of the board remain unprotected on both sides and have fourboard mounting holes 13 for attaching the board and enclosure assembly to a surface by means of brackets or stand-off posts. - In FIG. 3A when the two boxes are in place there will be a
central area 6 protected on both sides of the board.Areas Areas pressure sensor 7 which requires both electrical and physical connection to the outside of the enclosure. The electrical connection is accomplished by printed circuit traces on the bottom side of the board connecting pins of the pressure sensor with the solder side of aconnector 8 soldered into holes in the board inarea 5B. The physical connection of the pressure sensor is accomplished byplastic tubing 10 which connects the port of the pressure sensor to a feed through fitting 9 which has been soldered into a hole in the board inarea 5A. This example illustrates how the Circuit Shell Enclosure protects both sides of a circuit board where there are components and interconnections between components, and also protects the side of the circuit board where wires, traces, and tubing are run from components to the solder side of connectors and feed through fittings. Althoughareas
Claims (1)
1. An enclosure for a circuit on a printed circuit board,
comprised of two boxes,
said boxes being attached to opposite sides of said printed circuit board by fastening means,
said boxes each having one open side facing said printed circuit board,
said open side of each said box having a perimeter gasket means for sealing against said printed circuit board resulting in a protected area on both sides of said printed circuit board underneath said boxes,
such that at least one of said protected areas is opposite both protected and unprotected areas on the other side of said printed circuit board.
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US09/865,746 US20020179315A1 (en) | 2001-05-29 | 2001-05-29 | Circuit shell enclosure |
US10/371,105 US6858801B1 (en) | 2001-05-29 | 2003-02-21 | Circuit shell enclosure |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US09/865,746 US20020179315A1 (en) | 2001-05-29 | 2001-05-29 | Circuit shell enclosure |
Related Child Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/371,105 Continuation-In-Part US6858801B1 (en) | 2001-05-29 | 2003-02-21 | Circuit shell enclosure |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20020179315A1 true US20020179315A1 (en) | 2002-12-05 |
Family
ID=25346131
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/865,746 Abandoned US20020179315A1 (en) | 2001-05-29 | 2001-05-29 | Circuit shell enclosure |
US10/371,105 Expired - Fee Related US6858801B1 (en) | 2001-05-29 | 2003-02-21 | Circuit shell enclosure |
Family Applications After (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/371,105 Expired - Fee Related US6858801B1 (en) | 2001-05-29 | 2003-02-21 | Circuit shell enclosure |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US20020179315A1 (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20080120086A1 (en) * | 2006-11-17 | 2008-05-22 | Protocase Inc. | Method and system for the design of an enclosure to house internal components |
US10340615B2 (en) * | 2017-03-10 | 2019-07-02 | Tarng Yu Enterprise Co., Ltd. | Altitude increasing connector and method for manufacturing the same |
CN113939965A (en) * | 2019-05-30 | 2022-01-14 | 环球城市电影有限责任公司 | System and method for quick change of accessories for amusement attractions |
Families Citing this family (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20060036702A1 (en) * | 2004-07-02 | 2006-02-16 | Theimer Gerhard K | Personal notification device |
US8269116B2 (en) * | 2008-01-24 | 2012-09-18 | Tsugio Ambo | Circuit board case with electric connector and electronic unit provided with the same |
EP2372184B1 (en) * | 2010-03-31 | 2013-05-29 | Electrolux Home Products Corporation N.V. | Home appliance |
US20130014983A1 (en) * | 2011-07-14 | 2013-01-17 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Device contactor with integrated rf shield |
WO2019242005A1 (en) * | 2018-06-22 | 2019-12-26 | Intel Corporation | Package protector with integrated guide pin |
CN111970886B (en) * | 2020-08-06 | 2022-05-17 | 贵州振华群英电器有限公司(国营第八九一厂) | Analog deputy device for double-redundancy transient pulse input |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPH03212006A (en) * | 1990-01-17 | 1991-09-17 | Sony Corp | Package for high frequency circuit |
US5594199A (en) | 1995-03-23 | 1997-01-14 | Ford Motor Company | EMI baffle for electronic control |
DE19710514C2 (en) | 1997-03-13 | 2001-06-28 | Itt Mfg Enterprises Inc | Plug-in card for electronic devices |
US6222122B1 (en) * | 1998-01-13 | 2001-04-24 | Sun Microsystems, Inc. | Sealed liquid-filled module and method of forming same |
-
2001
- 2001-05-29 US US09/865,746 patent/US20020179315A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2003
- 2003-02-21 US US10/371,105 patent/US6858801B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20080120086A1 (en) * | 2006-11-17 | 2008-05-22 | Protocase Inc. | Method and system for the design of an enclosure to house internal components |
US8050893B2 (en) * | 2006-11-17 | 2011-11-01 | Protocase Inc. | Method and system for the design of an enclosure to house internal components |
US10340615B2 (en) * | 2017-03-10 | 2019-07-02 | Tarng Yu Enterprise Co., Ltd. | Altitude increasing connector and method for manufacturing the same |
CN113939965A (en) * | 2019-05-30 | 2022-01-14 | 环球城市电影有限责任公司 | System and method for quick change of accessories for amusement attractions |
US11330729B2 (en) * | 2019-05-30 | 2022-05-10 | Universal City Studios Llc | System and method for rapidly changing an accessory for an amusement attraction |
US20220232718A1 (en) * | 2019-05-30 | 2022-07-21 | Universal City Studios Llc | System and method for rapidly changing an accessory for an amusement attraction |
US11672094B2 (en) * | 2019-05-30 | 2023-06-06 | Universal City Studios Llc | System and method for rapidly changing an accessory for an amusement attraction |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US6858801B1 (en) | 2005-02-22 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO PAY ISSUE FEE |