Battery Pack Hinged Door Stationary Contacts
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery packs require alternating battery orientation during insertion, leading to wear and reliability issues due to moving electronics and connection methods like pogo pins.
Innovation Solution
A hinged mechanism with stationary electrical contacts and a printed circuit board that allows for easy battery insertion and reverse polarity protection, ensuring reliable connection regardless of orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional battery packs use moving electronics and pogo pins to connect stationary and moving parts, then the battery can be inserted in different orientations, but the reliability deteriorates due to wear over time
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the electronics move to accommodate different battery orientations, the patent inverts the approach by making the battery compartment door move while keeping the electronics stationary. The hinged door mechanism allows the compartment to open and close, enabling battery insertion in different orientations while the electrical contacts remain fixed to the circuit board, eliminating wear on moving electronic components
Solution Approach 2:
The battery compartment is segmented into a stationary housing containing the electronics and a movable door assembly. This segmentation allows the door to independently move for battery insertion while the electronics remain fixed, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and reliability by separating the moving and stationary functions
2Reliability
If a hinged mechanism is used to alternate the door between open and closed positions, then the electronics can remain stationary, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly combines multiple functions into a single structure: it serves as both the access cover and the mounting structure for the electrical contacts. By integrating the contact assembly with the door, the patent reduces the number of separate components and simplifies the overall mechanism while maintaining reliable electrical connections
Solution Approach 2:
The spring-loaded electrical contacts act as an intermediary between the stationary circuit board and the moving door. These compliant contacts accommodate the movement of the door while maintaining continuous electrical connection, simplifying the mechanism by providing a passive, self-adjusting connection method rather than requiring active positioning mechanisms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances battery pack reliability by maintaining stationary electronics and ensuring correct polarity connection, allowing single-handed battery insertion and reducing wear over time.
Implementation Method 1
The electrical contacts can be spring contacts, such that the battery is configured to engage and compress the spring contacts
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A battery pack includes a housing 104 connected to a plurality of battery compartments 106. Each battery compartment configured to accept a battery 108 therein. Each battery compartment has a first electrical contact 112a positioned on a first end of the housing and a second electrical contact 112b positioned on a second end, opposite the first end, of the housing. The electrical contacts are configured for electrical connection to respective ends of a respective battery. An outlet is coupled to the housing for supplying power from the electrical contacts. A printed circuit board 120 is in communication with the electrical contacts configured to connect batteries to supply a predetermined voltage to the outlet when a positive end of each respective battery within the battery compartments is in electrical communication with the respective first electrical contact. The printed circuit board can be configured to dictate series or parallel connection of the electrical contacts.