Flashlight Battery Cartridge with Segmented Housing and Tactile Markings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flashlights often have battery replacement difficulties, especially in low-light conditions, and lack durability and adaptability for various operational scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A flashlight design featuring a lens housing, body housing, and end cap housing with battery cartridges that include distinct orientations and markings for tactile identification, along with reinforcement ribs and one-way snaps for easy battery replacement, and a durable construction with a metallic reinforcement sleeve and interchangeable lenses for different focal distances and widths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional battery compartments are used in flashlights, then the structure is simple, but battery replacement becomes difficult especially in low-light conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The battery compartment is segmented into a removable battery cartridge that can be easily extracted from the flashlight body. The cartridge is divided into separate sections (first and second cartridge housings) that can be independently manipulated, allowing users to replace batteries without disassembling the entire flashlight, thus improving ease of operation while maintaining reasonable structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery cartridge serves as an intermediary component between the user and the batteries. It includes tactile features such as ridges and markings that provide feedback to users during battery replacement, making the operation easier in low-light conditions without requiring complex visual aids or tools.
2Strength
If standard battery housings are used, then manufacturing is simple, but durability is insufficient for various operational scenarios
Solution Approach 1:
The battery cartridge housing is constructed using composite materials that combine the strength of metal reinforcement ribs with the durability of polymer housing. This composite structure provides enhanced durability for withstanding various operational scenarios while remaining manufacturable through standard injection molding and metal insertion processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The cartridge housing incorporates curved and rounded features rather than sharp corners, distributing stress more evenly throughout the structure. This curvature design enhances durability by preventing stress concentration points while maintaining ease of manufacture through conventional molding techniques.
3Adaptability or versatility
If single-function flashlight design is used, then device complexity is low, but adaptability for various operational scenarios is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The flashlight is designed with universal components that can serve multiple functions. The battery cartridge can accommodate different battery configurations (series or parallel orientations) to provide various voltage outputs. The lens system can be adjusted or replaced to change beam focus and spread, allowing the single device to adapt to different operational scenarios such as emergency lighting, hunting, or general illumination without requiring multiple separate flashlights.
Data Source
AI summary
Flashlight apparatus, battery cartridge for the flashlight apparatus, and methods of manufacturing the same. In one embodiment, a battery cartridge is disclosed that includes a cartridge housing having two battery-receiving cavities disposed therein and an end cap that interfaces with the cartridge housing. Each of the two battery-receiving cavities is configured to receive a series of cylindrical batteries therein, the series of cylindrical batteries being configured to power one or more light sources disposed within a flashlight apparatus. In other variants, methods of installing batteries within the aforementioned battery cartridge as well as flashlights that incorporate the aforementioned battery cartridge are also disclosed.