Battery Pack Latch with Molded Rigid Insert
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery packs for electrical devices and power tools lack a reliable and durable latch mechanism that securely couples and easily releases the battery pack, often resulting in mechanical stress and potential breakage during use.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring a latch arrangement with a cantilevered actuator and latch, where at least one of the latch or actuator is partially molded over a rigid latch insert, providing increased rigidity and strength to the latch mechanism, allowing for secure coupling and easy release without the need for tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a traditional latch mechanism is used in battery packs, then the device can be assembled and disassembled, but the latch lacks sufficient rigidity and strength leading to mechanical stress and potential breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The latch mechanism combines a rigid latch insert (formed from rigid material) with a polymeric latch and actuator, creating a composite structure that leverages the strength of the rigid insert while maintaining the flexibility and ease of molding of the polymeric components. This composite construction directly addresses the strength deficiency of traditional single-material latches.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch mechanism is divided into distinct functional components: a rigid latch insert providing structural strength, a polymeric latch providing flexibility and engagement, and an actuator for operation. These segmented components are molded together as an integrated assembly, combining the advantages of separate rigid parts with the benefits of integrated molding.
2Reliability
If the latch is made more rigid to reduce mechanical stress, then durability improves, but the latch becomes more complex and harder to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
By combining rigid latch inserts with polymeric materials in a composite structure, the invention achieves high durability through the rigid insert while maintaining ease of manufacture through integral molding. The rigid insert provides the necessary durability, while the molding process integrates all components in a single manufacturing step.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid latch insert, polymeric latch, and actuator are merged into an integrated assembly through integral molding. This combining of components simplifies manufacturing by reducing the number of separate parts and assembly steps, while the rigid insert ensures durability.
3Ease of operation
If a simpler latch design is used, then manufacturing is easier, but the latch cannot provide secure coupling and easy release functionality
Solution Approach 1:
The composite structure of rigid insert and polymeric materials enables both strong secure coupling and easy release operation. The polymeric actuator provides ease of operation through its flexible, moldable design, while the rigid insert ensures the coupling strength necessary for secure attachment.
4Stress or pressure
If the latch mechanism is reinforced with rigid materials, then mechanical stress is reduced, but the overall device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid latch insert reduces mechanical stress through its inherent rigidity, while the integral molding of the composite structure avoids the complexity of assembling multiple separate rigid parts. The stress reduction comes from the material properties, not from complex structural arrangements.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack includes at least one battery cell configured to provide electrical power to a device, a housing configured to receive the at least one battery cell, a latch cantilevered on the housing and configured to couple the battery pack to the device, an actuator configured to move the latch toward a release position in which the latch is configured to release the battery pack from the device, and a latch insert. At least one of the latch or the actuator is at least partially molded over the latch insert.