{"schema_version":1,"experiment_id":"eoa_inverse_innovation_exp12_substrate_denial72_20260805","cell_id":"progressive_disclosure__computer_science","arm":"CONSTRAINED_HIGH","candidate_id":"progressive_disclosure__computer_science__CONSTRAINED_HIGH","decision":"PROPOSAL","abstention_reason":null,"proposal":{"schema_version":1,"experiment_id":"eoa_inverse_innovation_exp12_substrate_denial72_20260805","cell_id":"progressive_disclosure__computer_science","arm":"CONSTRAINED_HIGH","candidate_id":"progressive_disclosure__computer_science__CONSTRAINED_HIGH","proposal_index":1,"version":0,"title":"Layered Physical Test-Point Fixture for Dense Circuit-Board Diagnosis","problem":"During bench diagnosis of densely populated circuit boards, technicians may need measurements from many power, clock, reset, and subsystem nodes, but exposing every small test point simultaneously creates a crowded probing field. The resulting search and probe-placement burden can delay fault localization and can cause accidental shorts or contact with nodes inappropriate for the current diagnostic stage.","actors":["Circuit-board technician","Board under test","Layered test-point fixture","Oscilloscope or multimeter probes","Board designer or hardware laboratory owner"],"observable_state":"A board presents numerous closely spaced or physically inaccessible diagnostic nodes; technicians repeatedly consult node maps, reposition probes among visually similar pads, or contact adjacent conductors while moving from board-level checks to subsystem-level checks.","consequence":"Diagnosis can stall, measurements can be taken from the wrong node, and probe slips can reset, damage, or further obscure the condition of the board under test.","affected_objective":"Safe and efficient localization of hardware faults while retaining access to detailed electrical measurements.","intervention":"Attach a passive, board-specific diagnostic interposer that fans selected electrical nodes out to larger insulated test pads arranged in nested physical layers. The fixed top plate exposes only ground references, input supplies, reset, and coarse subsystem-presence points. Lifting a labeled hinged plate exposes subsystem banks such as memory, clocking, and peripheral rails; lifting the next plate exposes component-level nodes. Registration marks preserve each bank's relation to the board, and every plate can be opened for full access. High-energy or damage-sensitive nodes remain individually shrouded and carry permanently visible engraved ratings rather than being hidden in an optional layer. Electrical fan-out, spatial separation, insulation, and mechanically selective exposure perform the intervention without software or automated interpretation.","structural_mapping":[{"archetype_element":"Default Summary","domain_realization":"The fixture's top plate physically exposes a small set of board-level measurement points sufficient for initial power, ground, reset, and subsystem-presence checks."},{"archetype_element":"Information Layer","domain_realization":"Each nested plate contains a progressively finer bank of physically accessible electrical measurement points."},{"archetype_element":"Reveal Trigger","domain_realization":"Manually lifting a labeled plate removes an insulating barrier and exposes the next bank when finer diagnosis is needed."},{"archetype_element":"Drilldown Path","domain_realization":"Pads are arranged from whole-board signals to subsystem signals to component-level nodes, with aligned coordinates connecting each deeper bank to its parent region."},{"archetype_element":"Orientation Cue","domain_realization":"Engraved layer names, subsystem outlines, color bands, and registration marks remain visible while plates are open."},{"archetype_element":"Return Path","domain_realization":"A plate can be closed to restore the coarser, less crowded probing surface without disconnecting the interposer."},{"archetype_element":"Critical Detail Exception","domain_realization":"Voltage ratings, ground references, and warnings for high-energy or sensitive nodes remain visible at every layer; hazardous contacts are individually shrouded."},{"archetype_element":"Full Access Escape Hatch","domain_realization":"All hinged plates can be opened and retained outside the probe field, exposing the complete fan-out when comprehensive access is necessary."}],"mechanism_mapping":[{"mechanism_slug":"summary_detail_view","role":"The top plate provides coarse board-level measurement access, while successive physical plates provide detailed subsystem and component access.","counterfactual_removal":"If the coarse-to-fine plate arrangement were replaced by one flat field, all nodes would again compete for visual and physical probe space, removing the staged-access effect."},{"mechanism_slug":"drilldown_disclosure","role":"The technician follows a physically registered path from a board-level pad to the corresponding subsystem bank and then to component-level nodes.","counterfactual_removal":"Without registered parent-to-child placement, opening more pads would add detail but would not preserve orientation or a defensible drilldown path."},{"mechanism_slug":"expandable_section","role":"Each hinged insulating plate acts as a physical expandable section whose opening exposes an additional measurement bank.","counterfactual_removal":"Without mechanically selective covers, the same number of exposed pads would be present at every diagnostic stage, eliminating progressive exposure."},{"mechanism_slug":"risk_or_exception_disclosure","role":"Permanent markings and individual shrouds cause safety-critical constraints to bypass the ordinary layering scheme.","counterfactual_removal":"If ratings and hazardous-node distinctions appeared only beneath optional covers, the fixture could conceal information that changes safe probe selection."}],"causal_chain":["The interposer electrically fans dense or inaccessible board nodes out to larger separated pads.","Nested insulating plates leave only the coarse diagnostic bank physically reachable by default.","The reduced exposed set narrows visual search and increases spacing around the probes during initial checks.","When a coarse measurement implicates a subsystem, opening its registered plate physically exposes the corresponding finer measurement bank.","Persistent alignment marks preserve the relationship between the coarse region and the newly exposed nodes.","Permanent ratings and shrouds keep action-changing hazards visible or physically guarded regardless of layer.","The technician can therefore move from coarse localization to detailed measurement while retaining complete physical access when required."],"baseline":"A conventional board is diagnosed by probing exposed onboard pads or one flat fan-out fixture while consulting a separate schematic or node map. All available nodes share the probing surface from the outset, including nodes irrelevant to the current diagnostic stage.","nearest_rivals":["A single-level bed-of-nails or fan-out fixture exposing every measurement node simultaneously","A flying-probe station that mechanically visits selected nodes","Additional large test pads incorporated directly into the circuit-board layout","Connectorized boundary-scan or built-in self-test access","Interchangeable subsystem-specific probe cards"],"remaining_contrastive_claim":"Compared with a flat fan-out fixture, the candidate specifically predicts that physically staged exposure will improve coarse-to-fine probe selection and reduce interference from currently irrelevant pads while preserving manual access to the same deeper electrical nodes. The claim is about the layered physical access geometry, not automated diagnosis, novelty, or any asserted effect size.","authority_safety":{"decision_authority":"The hardware laboratory owner and the engineer responsible for the board's electrical limits decide whether the fixture may be connected and which nodes may be fanned out.","authorized_first_step":"Build and evaluate an unpowered mechanical mock-up over a sacrificial board or dimensional coupon, then perform continuity and isolation checks before any low-voltage energized measurement.","excluded_actions":["Connection to mains-referenced or otherwise hazardous-energy circuits","Use on production or irreplaceable boards during the first test","Fan-out of nodes whose added capacitance or impedance has not been reviewed","Concealment of voltage ratings, discharge requirements, or other action-changing warnings beneath optional plates","Automated fault classification or software-controlled switching as a substitute for the physical layering mechanism"],"halt_rollback":"Stop if a plate obstructs safe probe withdrawal, labels lose registration, exposed conductors can bridge, or the interposer measurably disturbs the circuit. De-energize and detach the reversible fixture, returning diagnosis to the unchanged baseline board."},"negative_tests":{"strongest_counterevidence":"The added plates and fan-out may obstruct probe movement, alter sensitive signals, or force technicians through a layer hierarchy that does not match actual fault propagation; a flat fixture may prove clearer and safer.","problem_falsifier":"Observation of representative diagnoses would falsify the stated problem if technicians reliably select and contact the correct nodes without crowding, repeated map consultation, or probe interference, and if inaccessible or excessive simultaneous test points are not a material source of diagnostic difficulty.","intervention_falsifier":"The intervention is undermined if blinded bench trials show that the layered fixture does not improve correct node selection or safe probe placement relative to an electrically equivalent flat fixture, or if opening layers introduces comparable or greater obstruction, wrong-layer search, shorts, or signal disturbance.","risks":["Fan-out traces may add capacitance, inductance, leakage, or antenna coupling that changes the measured circuit.","Hinges or covers may trap leads or strike energized probes.","Layer labels may create false confidence when a fault crosses subsystem boundaries.","Frequently needed nodes may be assigned to an inconvenient depth.","Wear, contamination, or misalignment may degrade insulation and contact identification.","A permanently visible warning may still be overlooked; physical shrouding must carry the primary protection where contact is hazardous."]},"next_evidence_step":"Using one representative board layout, fabricate two unpowered, electrically equivalent dimensional coupons: one flat fan-out and one three-layer hinged fixture. Have a small set of intended technicians perform scripted coarse-to-fine node-location and probe-placement tasks while recording wrong-pad contacts, search time, cover interference, loss of orientation, and requested full-access events. Proceed to current-limited low-voltage electrical testing only if dimensional, insulation, continuity, and added-impedance checks pass.","prior_art_status":"UNSEARCHED","diversity_from_prior_proposals":"Not assessed against other proposals because runtime isolation forbids inspecting them; this candidate is derived solely from the supplied archetype and domain card.","revision_record":{"parent_version":null,"progress_targets_addressed":["Construct a progressive-disclosure intervention whose essential effect is physical and measurement-based","Preserve coarse-to-fine layers, meaningful reveal triggers, orientation, deeper access, and mandatory risk visibility","State counterfactual independence from software and governance wrappers","Provide falsifiers, rivals, safeguards, and a bounded evidence step"],"conceptual_changes":["Translated information depth into physically selectable depth of electrical measurement access.","Made insulation and spatial separation, rather than interface logic, the reveal mechanism.","Separated optional diagnostic depth from permanently visible and physically guarded hazards."],"operational_changes":["Specified nested hinged plates, registered pad banks, fan-out conductors, shrouds, and a full-open configuration.","Limited initial evaluation to reversible coupons and unpowered mechanical testing before current-limited electrical use."],"evidence_changes":["Prior art remains unsearched.","Defined a paired comparison with an electrically equivalent flat fixture and explicit observable failure measures."],"claim_changes":["No novelty, prevalence, demand, or effect-size claim is made.","The contrastive claim is limited to the causal contribution of staged physical access geometry."]},"substrate_contract":{"primary_allowed_process":"MEASUREMENT_INSTRUMENTATION","counterfactual_independence":"If all software, algorithms, databases, analytics, reporting, incentives, permissions, training requirements, and procedural enforcement are removed, the interposer still electrically routes board nodes to separated pads, its insulating plates still determine which pads are physically exposed, and its shrouds still block accidental contact. A person using an ordinary meter or oscilloscope can obtain the coarse-to-fine measurement-access effect without computation or governance.","forbidden_channel_audit":"The candidate contains no model, algorithmic inference, dashboard, recommender, database, information-routing service, software control loop, adaptive access rule, incentive, or authorization gate. Labels support orientation but do not cause the essential effect; physical fan-out, spacing, insulation, hinging, and shrouding do. Manual opening selects a physical measurement layer and does not depend on a mandated workflow. Reporting and human compliance are not required for the fixture to restrict simultaneous pad exposure and preserve access to deeper nodes."}}}