Battery Pack Latching Arrangement for Secure One-Handed Attachment
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery pack designs lack a secure and user-friendly mechanism for attachment and detachment from receptacles, making it difficult to ensure the battery pack remains securely attached during use while allowing easy removal for storage or recharging.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack with a housing, handle, and a latching arrangement that includes a latch member and an actuator, allowing the battery pack to be securely attached to a receptacle and easily removable using a single-hand operation by moving the actuator from a latched to an unlatched position, converting linear movement along the insertion axis into transverse movement of the latch members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a latching arrangement is added to secure the battery pack to the receptacle, then reliability of attachment is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The latching arrangement is divided into separate functional components: a latch member that engages with the receptacle and an actuator that controls the latching action. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while keeping the overall mechanism relatively simple and reliable.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuator is positioned within the aperture of the handle, inverting the conventional approach where control mechanisms are typically external. This internal positioning allows the actuator to be easily accessible through the handle aperture while maintaining a compact and secure latching mechanism.
2Ease of operation
If the actuator is positioned within the aperture for easy access, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator is nested within the handle structure, specifically positioned within the aperture region. This nesting allows the actuator to be easily accessible from the outside while being compactly integrated into the handle's internal structure, avoiding the need for separate external control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of placing the actuator externally on the handle surface, the design inverts this approach by positioning it internally within the aperture. This inversion provides easy access through the existing aperture opening while maintaining a clean, integrated appearance and reducing external complexity.
3Ease of operation
If the actuator converts linear movement to transverse movement of latch members, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanism dynamically converts the direction of movement: the actuator moves linearly along the insertion axis, and through its mechanical connection to the latch member, this linear motion is transformed into transverse movement that engages or disengages the latch. This dynamic movement conversion provides intuitive operation while using straightforward mechanical linkages.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack for selective attachment to a receptacle includes a housing enclosing a battery, a handle extending from the housing and defining an aperture between the housing and the handle, and a latching arrangement coupled to the housing and engageable with the receptacle for inhibiting the battery pack from being removed from the receptacle. The latching arrangement includes a latch member and an actuator movable relative to the housing from a first position to a second position to move the latch member from a latched position to and an unlatched position. The actuator is at least partially located within the aperture when the actuator is in the first position.