FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to an On-B.oard Diagnostic (.OBD) device and more particularly to an improved OBD device housing structure for automobiles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVFlNTION
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art(s).
Generally, the On-board diagnostics (OBD) is an automotive term referring to a vehicle's self-diagnostic and reporting capability. The system for On-board diagnostics (hereinafter may be referred as OBD) is provided with the automobile to constantly monitor the state and health of the engine and its malfunctions. The system is designed to consequently issue a warning with respect to said malfunctioning, for instance, the fault lamp (MIL) or an engine check (check engine) warning light, and the. like. Such warnings are subsequently.indicated in the vehicle information display apparatus fitted with the vehicles. The system for On-board diagnostics is also provided with an OBD device that basically read these malfunction to store the same in the form of fault codes which is afterward stored on the cloud as well.
A lot of prior art technologies suggested a number of ways to design the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device housing structure. CN 204650618 discloses an outer casing connected to an OBD female base enclosing plurality of PCBs as shown in FIG. 1. The prior art further explains the advancement of an upper fixing seat and a lower fixing seat to further encompass the PCBs from the upper side and lower side respectively. However, such structure invites loopholes such as solder/placement of electronic components oh the PCBs and also during the assembly of the structure. Another prior art CN 207265365 discloses a housing snapfitted to a plug connector in an OBD housing assembly as shown in FIG. 2. CN 207265365 further explain the fact that a square plate-like PCB is placed parallel to the plug connector and perpendicular to the plugging direction of the plug connector. The said PCB comprises of soldered electrical pins that passes through the plug connectors for

setting up the electrical connection with the OBD diagnostic: interface through a cable, as shown in FIG. 2. However, such OBD housing assembly encourages soldering of /electrical" pins on the PCB itself and subsequently inserting the pins in respective Holgs provided with the plug connector. This invites the risk of irreparable damages to the pins being soldered to the PCB. Further, such assembly requires a lot more precision, especially during inserting-the pins into the holes, and thus can be handled by only skilled workers. Additionally, if the workers are not the skilled one, the plug connector can be wrongly/reversely fitted to the housing in the absence of any guiding parameter or any poke yoke arrangement for snap fitting the two parts i.e. the plug connector and the housing.
Various attempts have been made to replace the conventional OBD housing and its assembly to meet the necessities of the present OBD devices in all kinds of vehicles. However, the concepts could not be commercially accepted due to some drawbacks such as less focus on the precision in designing the part, increasing demand of the customers, rising cost, and many more. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved OBD device housing which does not suffer from the foregoing drawbacks and also without losing the basic requirements of user- ,' friendly, reliability, safety, less extra cost, and the like.
BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION
The present subject matter relates to an On-board diagnostic device fitted to a vehicle which is basically an assembly of three major components i.e. a housing, a plug connector and triple printed circuit boards. The housing receives the plug connector in the plurality, of locking latches provided on the inner circumference of the housing. Also, the plug connector is provided with plurality of pins to get connected with a cable harness (further connected to the vehicles). The present subject matter explains that the housing is structured with an outer frame that accommodate the plug connector. In a unique feature of the present subject matter, the housing is provided with a poke-yoke for engaging the plug connector to the housing with plurality of latches provided along the inner circumference of the housing. Advantageously, the plurality of pins on the plug connector are soldered to

one of the three printed circuit boards encompassed within the housing once engaged. This reduces the risk of pins damages and also reduces the requirement of additional repair and cost.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The summary narrated above and the following detailed description of the invention can be understood with the drawings appended to this claim. The illustrations provide the details of the invention. However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the arrangements shown. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 show an exploded perspective view of an OBD device housing as disclosed in CN 204650618.
FIG. 2 show an exploded perspective view of an OBD device housing as disclosed in CN 207265365.
FIG. 3 shows an assembled perspective view of an OBD device housing in an embodiment of the present subject matter.
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a housing of an OBD device housing in an embodiment of the present subject matter.
FIG. 5A shows a front perspective view of a plug connector in an embodiment of the present subject matter.
FIG. 5B shows a rear perspective view of a plug connector in an embodiment of the present subject matter.
FIG. 6 shows an exploded perspective view of an OBD device housing in an embodiment of the present subject matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The embodiments of the present subject matter are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present subject matter is not

limited to these embodiments which' are only provided to explain more clearly the present subject matter to the ordinarily skilled in the art of the present disclosure. In the accompanying drawings, like reference alphabets and numerals are used to indicate like components. The present invention relates to the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device housing structure and more particularly to an improved OBD device housing structure for automobiles. The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. The present invention will hereinafter be described in detail below as applied to an automobile.
The present subject matter relates to an On-board diagnostic device fitted to a vehicle which is basically an assembly of three major components i.e. a housing, a plug connector and triple printed circuit boards. The housing receives the plug connector in the plurality of locking latches provided on the inner circumference of the housing. Also, the plug connector is provided with plurality of pins to get connected with a cable harness (further connected to the vehicles). The present subject matter explains that the housing is structured with an outer frame that accommodate the plug connector. In a unique feature of the present subject matter, the housing is provided with a poke-yoke for engaging the plug connector to the housing with plurality of latches provided along the inner circumference of the housing. Advantageously, the plurality of pins on the plug connector are soldered to one of the three printed circuit boards encompassed within the housing once engaged. This reduces the risk of pins damages and also reduces the requirement of additional repair and cost.
Generally, OBD devices are provided with the automobiles to diagnose and communicate the vehicle's capability and malfunctions to the user. Precisely, the OBD device gathers information from a vehicle's engine control module ("ECM") in order to provide diagnostic data. The engine control module ("ECM") is basically an on-board computer which ensures the engine and its transmission ,to run efficiently, and that exhaust emissions are kept within the permitted ranges. The ECM further communicate the received information to vehicle (vehicle information display

instrument) and/or the user (driver's smart phone) in the form of warning signals or intimations (such as "check engine" light and the like). Hand-held scanning devices are available ranging from simple consumer level tools to original equipment manufacturer ("OEM") tools used by dealers and mechanics/The devices simply plug into the OBD port using a specialized male connector. The devices are capable of interacting with the vehicle's systems by way of its ECM to consequently signal the vehicle's capability and malfunctions to the system. A few Indian patent application, from the same assignee i.e. JNS Instruments Limited, IN201611014548, IN201611019880, IN201611023763 and IN201811022802 also talk about similar OBD devices provided to read and communicate any irregularities present in the engine to the driver of the automobiles. Additionally, such OBD devices are also specialized in transmitting the received information on cloud servers connected with the OBD devices and the smart phones of the driver/user.
FIG. 3 illustrates an assembled view of an On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100 in an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter. The OBD device 100 is structured with a housing 102 that protect and receive a plug connector 104 illustrated in an embodiment of the present subject matter in FIG. 3. The housing 102 is designed with plurality of ribs 106 to accommodate the printed circuit boards 108 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The shape, structure and design of the ribs 106 are not within the scope of the present subject matter as the ribs 106 are functionally provided to receive and lock the plurality of printed circuit boards 108. In an embodiment of the present subject matter, each of the three printed circuit boards 108 are assembled at a uniform distance of 4.25 mm inside the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100. Additionally, the PCBs 108 are designed with a thickness of 1.4 mm to 1.6 mm. In an embodiment of the present subject matter, the housing 102 receives the plug connector 104 in the plurality of locking latches 114 (pis refer FIG. 4) provided on the inner circumference of the housing 102. The top middle end edge of the housing 102 is structured with an inset-lens 110 (of the dongle) that gets illuminated by a light emitting diode (not shown) (hereinafter referred as LED) fitted on one of the PCB 108 to indicate the working status of the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100. The said insert-lens 110 is equipped with bi-color LED (not

shown) characterized to Highlight the status of the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100 iri-cplprS'like green, orange, red and the like for indicating- yaripus running status of thef^eviceyin an embodiment of the present subject matteS-Further; in a unique embodiment'of the present subject matter, FIG. 3 shows tHe^presence of a poke-yoke 116 provided on one of the outer edge of the housing 100: The said poke-yoke 116 ensures an accurate fitment of the plug connector 104 with the housing 102, thus avoiding any discrepancy in fitting the, two parts i.e. the housing 102 and the plug connector 104. Such poke-yokes were-absent in the prior arts and thus used to avoid fitment issues and subsequently electronic fault issues in the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) devices 100.
FIG. 5A arid FIG. 5B demonstrate the front and rear views of the plug
connector 104 in an embodiment of the present subject matter. As shown earlier with
reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 5A' illustrates the front view of the plug connector 104
configured with atleast 16 pins 122 protruded outside the plug connector 104 in an
embodiment of the present subject matter. These 16 pins 122 are rearwardly (as
shown in FIG. 5B) soldered to one of the three printed circuit boards 108 provided in
the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100. In an embodiment of the present subject
matter, the front view (pis refer FIG. 5A) of the plug connector 104 demonstrates a
snap-plug 118 for receiving a cable harness (not shown) for completing the electrical
connection between the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100 and the vehicle, in
an embodiment of the present subject matter. Further, FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B also
shows the plurality of locking latches 114 that receive the plug connector 104 as
t already explain with reference to FIG. 4. In an exemplary embodiment of the present
subject matter, FIG. 5B explains the presence of a battery cabinet 120 provided to accommodate a battery (not shown) within a compartment (i.e. the battery cabinet 120) designed at the rear of the plug connector 104. The said battery, having a capacity in the range of 0 mAh to 150 mAh, is provided as a back up for the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100. The back up mechanism of the device is activated only when the main power supply of the vehicle i.e. battery of the vehicle gets exhausted. In such case, the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100 signals to

all the attached components and cloud storage (if any) about the exhaust stage of the battery and thus the vehicle.
FIG. 6 illustrates an exploded view of the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100 in an embodiment of the present subject matter. As explained above, the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100 is structured with three primary components i.e. the housing 102, triple PCBs and the plug connector 104. The three printed circuit boards 108 are soldered and sandwiched between the housing 102 and the plug connector 104. FIG. 6 also shows the insert lens 110 provided with the housing 102 to indicate the working status of the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100. Also, the presence of poke-yoke 116 on the outer edge of the housing 102 ensures an accurate fitment of the plug connector 104 with the housing 102, thus avoiding any discrepancy in fitting the two parts i.e. the housing 102 and the plug connector 104.
The On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100 according to the present subject matter advantageously facilitates an improved mechanical structure of the device wherein the the protruded pins 122 from the plug connector are soldered on the PCB instead of pins 122 to be soldered on the PCB and subsequently to be inserted into the plug connector. This reduces the possibility of pins getting destroyed during assembly of the arrangement. Further, the present subject matter also discloses the presence of poke-yoke on the casing which make sure the perfect alignment of the housing and the plug connector. Additionally, the snap-plug designed with the plug connector is also beneficial in alignment because of its improved design that diminishes any looseness between the housing and the plug connector. Therefore, the present subject matter results in an improved, advanced, reliable, and customers' friendly On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device suitable for every vehicle.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all variations,

substitutions and changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

WE CLAIM:
1. An On-board diagnostic device 100 fitted to a vehicle comprising:
a plug connector 104 provided with plurality of pins 122 to get connected
with a cable harness;
a housing 102 to accommodate the plug connector; wherein
the housing 102 is provided with a poke-yoke 116 for engaging the plug
connector 104 with the housing 102 with plurality of latches 114 provided
along the inner circumference of the housing 102;
the plurality of pins on the plug connector 104 are soldered to one of the
three printed circuit boards 108 encompassed within the housing 102 once
engaged.
2. The On-board diagnostic device 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing 102 is structured with plurality of ribs 106 to accommodate the printed circuit boards 108.
3. The On-board diagnostic device 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plug connector 104 is provided with a snap-plug 118 for receiving the cable harness (not shown) for completing the electrical connection between the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) device 100 and the vehicle.
4. The On-board diagnostic device 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein a battery cabinet 120 is provided to accommodate a battery within a compartment designed at the rear of the plug connector 104.
5. The On-board diagnostic device 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery is provided as a back up mechanism for the On-board diagnostic device 100.