Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
Reexamination Certificate
2003-07-01
2004-11-30
Gushi, Ross (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
C439S091000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06824394
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
Growing environmental consciousness and a corresponding body of law place ever-increasing emphasis on maintaining water quality in lakes, streams, and groundwater. Due to this emphasis, there is a growing market for systems capable of monitoring various physical and chemical properties of water resources. A sampling of the parameters of interest includes conductivity, dissolved-oxygen concentration, oxygen-reduction potential (ORP), pH, temperature, depth, and specific ion concentrations.
Surface-water data is typically collected using immersed sensors. Collecting groundwater data can be more troublesome, often requiring that wells be drilled for sensor insertion. Drilling wells is expensive, but minimizing bore diameter can reduce the cost. Sensors for use in wells are therefore made to have relatively small diameters. For a detailed description of typical sensors, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,944 to Henry et al., which is incorporated herein by reference.
While smaller sensor systems are desirable from the end-user's perspective, smaller systems are generally more difficult and expensive to build and maintain. There is therefore a need for small, reliable sensor systems that are easily assembled and maintained.
FIG. 1
(prior art) is an exploded view of a system
100
that can be adapted for monitoring water quality in e.g. lakes, rivers, ponds, tanks, and groundwater. System
100
is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,117 B1 issued to Gary L. Brundage, which is incorporated herein by reference.
System
100
includes a pair of circuit modules
110
and
120
disposed between connector supports
125
and
130
, respectively. Module
120
includes printed circuit boards
122
A and
122
B each having respective integrated circuits
124
A and
124
B. A conductive member
135
is disposed between wiring boards
140
A and
140
B of respective circuit modules
110
and
120
. System
100
is completed when a component housing
145
, typically a stainless-steel tube, is threaded onto each of connector supports
125
and
130
. A pair of dimples
150
and
155
, pressed into the side of component housing
145
, create corresponding protrusions on the inside surface of component housing
145
. These protrusions mate with threads
160
and
165
to secure respective connector supports
125
and
130
to component housing
145
. As compared with other types of machine threads, dimples
150
and
155
are relatively easily and inexpensively formed.
Once system
100
is assembled, spring
170
exerts a compressive force on a stack of circuit components, including circuit modules
110
and
120
and conductive member
135
. This compressive force ensures excellent electrical contact between opposing wiring boards (e.g., boards
140
D and
140
E).
Each circuit module
110
and
120
can be virtually any type of electrical circuit. Being arranged as they are, components
110
and
120
can be removed and replaced as easily as batteries in a flashlight. Moreover, component housing
145
can be substituted with a longer or shorter housing to accommodate more or fewer electrical components or to accommodate components of different sizes. Dummy components can be inserted to allow room for future additions. For example, a particular system may be adapted for use where no power supply is readily available by substituting a dummy component with a battery-pack module.
System
100
can support a number of applications. Sensor
175
may be, for example, an ion sensor for monitoring ground water, a thermometer, a microphone, a video camera, or any of a variety of other conventional transducers. In one embodiment, sensor
175
is a pH sensor for monitoring groundwater acidity or alkalinity, circuit module
120
is a differential amplifier configured to amplify an output signal from sensor
175
, and circuit module
110
is a transmitter that transmits versions of signals received from module
120
via cable
180
. This system is easily adapted for used as e.g. a pressure sensor by installing an appropriate pressure transducer/pre-amplifier combination as sensor
175
and module
120
. Alternatively, the above-described pH sensor can be adapted to transmit signals in compliance with different communication standards by substituting the module
110
for a different type of transmitter. Many permutations are possible, as will be obvious to those of skill in the art.
The order and orientation of the various modules can be critical to system function. Some systems may therefore include modules that can only be installed in a particular orientation, thus ensuring that the systems cannot be assembled improperly. For example, wiring board
140
D of system
100
is smaller in diameter than wiring board
140
B so that circuit module
120
cannot contact wiring board
140
E should circuit module
120
be installed backwards. For more information and details on system
100
, see the above-referenced patent to Brundage.
The modularity of system
100
advantageously reduces required inventory by supporting a large number of common parts among a relatively large number of applications. This advantage is further enhanced by the system's ease of assembly: instead of having a fixed number of each of many types of sensors on hand to fill orders quickly, a manufacturer can fill a particular customer requirement from stock by combining appropriate modules. Despite these advantages, there is an ever-present demand for systems and methods that speed assembly and otherwise improve manufacturability without sacrificing quality or performance.
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U.S. Department of Defense, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Project Summary (Phase I). Topic No.: A94-091. Proposal Title, “In-Situ Electronic Sensors to Determine Analytes in Cold-Regions Soils,” date Jul. 1994. 12 pages (Appendix A, Appendix B and pp. 1-10).
U.S. Department of Defense, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Project Summary (Phase II). Topic No.: A94-091. Proposal Title “In-Situ Electronic Sensors to Determine Analytes in Cold-Regions Soils,” dated Sep. 1995. 14 pages (Appendix A, Appendix B and pp. 1-12).
Solicitation, Offer and Award, Contract No. DACA39-95-C-0029, dated Mar. 1995. Includes: Section B, supplies or Services and Prices/Costs; Section C, Description/Specs./Work Statement; Section E, Inspection and Acceptance; Section F, Deliveries or Performance; Section H, Special Contract Requirements; Section I, Contract Clauses; Section J, List of Attachments; Section K, Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors; and Section L, Instrs., Conds., and Notices to Offerors. 98 pages, (A-1, B-1, C-1, E-1, F-1 to F-2, H-1, I-1 to I-71, J-1, K-1 to K-15, L-1 to L-4).
Solicitation, Offer and Award, Contract No. DACA39-96-C-0022, dated Apr. 1996. Inclu
Behiel Arthur J.
Gushi Ross
Nguyen Phuongchi
Phionics, Inc.
Silicon Edge Law Group LLP
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