ECE 477 Digital Systems Senior Design Project Rev 8/09

ECE 477 Digital Systems Senior Design Project Rev 8/09

Homework 4: Packaging Specifications and Design

Team Code Name: ______Solar Telematics System______Group No. __8___

Team Member Completing This Homework: ______Clayton Dickemann______

E-mail Address of Team Member: ______cdickema@ purdue.edu_____

Evaluation:

SCORE

DESCRIPTION

Excellent – among the best papers submitted for this assignment. Very few corrections needed for version submitted in Final Report.

Very good – all requirements aptly met. Minor additions/corrections needed for version submitted in Final Report.

Good – all requirements considered and addressed. Several noteworthy additions/corrections needed for version submitted in Final Report.

Average – all requirements basically met, but some revisions in content should be made for the version submitted in the Final Report.

Marginal – all requirements met at a nominal level. Significant revisions in content should be made for the version submitted in the Final Report.

Below the passing threshold – major revisions required to meet report requirements at a nominal level. Revise and resubmit.

* Resubmissions are due within one week of the date of return, and will be awarded a score of “6” provided all report requirements have been met at a nominal level.

Comments:

Comments from the grader will be inserted here.

1.0  Introduction

As part of the Solar Telematics System Team, our project is building interactive touch screen displays for both the driver and the pit crew of the Purdue Solar Racing Team to be used in their upcoming car Navitas. The overall packaging must include the 7” touch screen, graphics controller (PIC24DA), control microcontroller (PIC32), and various peripherals including GPS data, 2 Mini USB outputs, CAN output, Ethernet output, SD card slot, and speaker jack, while remaining unobtrusive to the driver when he is operating the vehicle. One of the biggest packaging issues will be compacting all of the components together to minimize size while also ensuring noise levels do not rise beyond acceptable measurements and ensure enough heat dissipation from the micro controllers to not overheat in the enclosed space. Also, we will have to ensure that there is plenty of room to incorporate all of the outputs along the edges while making sure the screen is centered in the middle and pleasing to look at.

2.0  Commercial Product Packaging

In commercial products, there are virtually zero items that are identical to what our system is trying to do. Most products involving telemetry systems are extremely high tech and deal with gas engines and streaming everything to multiple devices and monitors in a large pit crew room rather than another identical device. We decided to look at a high tech GPS device and a dashboard touch screen to help us make our decisions about what we wanted our packaging to look like. The GPS device from Garmin emulates the GPS interface we will be implementing while the touch screen stereo epitomizes the built into the dashboard nature of our device along with the larger touch screen.

2.1 Product #1 advanced stero/gps car device to go in dashboard

For an in-dashboard device, the Clarion NX501 strives to deliver the functionality of the GPS while also servicing as a high tech stereo for the driver. It does take voice commands and also uses the car speakers to keep the driver informed of upcoming directions. In addition, the users cell phone can connect via Bluetooth while allows for texting verbally through the device to minimize the distraction to the driver. This particular device has a touch screen in addition to its plethora of buttons around the edges. This multifunctional item looks a little overwhelming for the driver and seems to be trying to do some of everything rather than focusing on a couple of things and completing them well. Having buttons and a touch screen is another one of the confusing ideas behind this device. We believe in limiting the amount of inputs available and just having more menus in our touch screen to keep continuity. The idea of directly putting the product into the dashboard is a rather elegant idea and is one we will look into pursuing for our device. The overall look of the device is also aesthetically pleasing which is another factor we want to incorporate into our telematics system.

2.2 Product #2 nüvi® 3590LMT from Garmin

For more day-to-day driving, there is the nüvi® 3590LMT from Garmin [2]. This small lightweight unit is basically an advanced GPS system for the driver. It focuses primarily on navigation for the driver, while not displaying much car information except for speed and direction. It is designed to attach to the glass rather than be integrated into the dashboard. It features a 5” screen (800 x 480 pixels), as apposed to our 7” screen (800 x 480) [2]. This smaller size allows it to be unobtrusive to the drivers view when he is driving, however makes the images more compacted. This device has a higher pixel per inch comparatively, which means the images will be sharper but smaller. Garmin compensates for this by implementing a voice controlled feature for the unit which prevents the driver from having to touch small buttons while driving [2]. We plan to copy the design look for having the screen be the majority of the front of the device and using depth to contain all necessary chips instead of expanding the front face of the device. Their device looks rather fragile, while ours will have a backup display being used by the pit crew. This backup can be switched in at any time and function identically to the original display.

The overall size of the unit is 5.4”W x 3.4”H x 0.5”D, which is a quite a bit smaller than our packaging estimates[2]. Our box will be approximately 200 W x 140 H x 38 D millimeters as the larger screen is going to require a larger container. A decent size boarder will be added around the touch screen for our package to increase aesthetics and add a little more room for wiring and the printed circuit board. Overall, we really liked the look of Garmin and will strive to copy the general sleek look, however we have a lot more outputs to incorporate into our product.

3.0  Project Packaging Specifications

This project is going to be contained within a white plastic box of approximately 200 x 140 x 38 millimeters. Our goal was to keep the main face mostly the screen and minimize the extra plastic on the face. This size was determined by looking at the size of the LCD screen and then adding a small border around it. The bulk of the room for the inside wiring and printed circuit board will be made by making the box as deep as needed. Right now, our initial idea is to have an approximately 2-3 inch deep container to fit all of the components, which should leave room for all of the connectors around the outside and allow for plenty of room wiring. The connectors on the device should be along the outside edges and preferably clumped up on one to two sides, depending on the wiring difficulties.

Another major concern is protecting the electronics. As a display to be moved around and used in the racing scene, an extremely durable package is wanted and needed. By using a thick and durable plastic membrane to contain our device and firmly soldering all components into place, we hope to ensure the longevity and durability of this display.

4.0  PCB Footprint Layout

Overall, the size of our PCB layout is dictated by the size of our container. Currently, our design incorporates a 195 x 140 millimeter board, which leaves enough room to add the incorporated input output ports around the edges of the board and also fit with the openings of the boxes ports. The components that we are currently using fall drastically short of the available area that we have, which should lead to plenty of room to rout the wires. The current layout of the PCB is attempting to keep most of the chips needing the PIC32 near it, while keeping the graphics and LCD connectors around the PIC24. By attempting to minimize the distance between connecting chips, we hope to minimize the difficulty in routing while also reducing noise. One of the largest devices we must place on the board is the GPS chip. It contains an extremely large chip, measuring approximately 30 mm x 30 mm. This chip needs to stay away from as much metal as possible to reduce the amount of interference when the chip is attempting to establish communications with satellites to determine the cars position and speed.

5.0  Summary

The packaging for our Solar Telemetics System is focused on making a sleek, appealing look while also ensuring all of the outputs are easy to get to and protecting the circuit board. The overall package must contain all of our components including the LCD touch screen, graphics controller, communication controller, and all the other related chips, inputs, and outputs. Being used on a racecar, albeit one that will never go above 40 MPH, protecting our electronics was a major concern. By using a tough plastic membrane to encase the device and touch screen, it should be able to take some abuse.

List of References

[1]  “nüvi® 3590LMT”. Internet: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=401&pID=96637. [Feb 7, 2012].

[2]  “35578 Clarion NX501”. Internet: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_35578_Clarion-NX501-NX-501.html. [Feb 9, 2012]

Provide analysis of at least two commercial products that are similar to your project. Provide an illustration and description of packaging used. Discuss the positive and negative aspects of the product’s packaging, aspects of the commercial product’s packaging you plan to copy or adapt and aspects of your project’s packaging that are unique (or that differentiate it from the commercial product under consideration)

Appendix A: Project Packaging Illustrations

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Appendix B: Project Packaging Specifications

Appendix C: PCB Footprint Layout

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