GNSS Receiver Handle Assembly for Hot-Swappable Battery Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Professional GNSS receivers require a user-friendly and versatile solution for battery management and integration with computing devices, especially in scenarios where handheld or pole-mounted configurations are necessary, while maintaining continuous operation and reducing user fatigue.
Innovation Solution
A handheld receptacle system that allows for interchangeable battery placement between the GNSS receiver and a handle, providing a secure mechanical and electrical connection, enabling hot-swapping and central weight distribution for balanced handling, along with a pole-mount adapter for versatile device mounting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the battery is integrated inside the GNSS receiver housing, then the device structure is simplified and manufacturing is easier, but the user experiences fatigue due to unbalanced weight distribution and cannot easily swap batteries during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate functional modules: the GNSS receiver housing and a detachable handle assembly. The battery is placed in the handle rather than integrated into the housing, allowing independent replacement of the handle-battery unit without affecting the receiver housing. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling easy battery swapping while maintaining manufacturing simplicity for each modular component.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery location is moved from the horizontal plane (inside the housing) to the vertical dimension (in the handle extending from the housing). This dimensional change allows the battery to be positioned in a way that improves weight distribution for handheld operation and enables easy removal/replacement of the handle assembly, thus reducing user fatigue while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Ease of operation
If the battery is placed in a detachable handle, then battery swapping becomes easy and weight distribution is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components and interfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is designed to combine multiple functions into a single integrated component: it provides ergonomic handling, houses the battery, and includes the battery receptacle interface. By merging these functions into one detachable assembly, the device achieves easy battery swapping without proportionally increasing overall complexity, as the handle itself becomes a multifunctional unit rather than adding separate components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle assembly serves multiple purposes: it acts as the grip for handheld operation, contains and protects the battery, provides the mechanical interface for attachment/detachment, and enables hot-swapping capability. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maximizing operational flexibility.
3Productivity
If the battery receptacle is designed to accept both the battery and the handheld receptacle, then hot-swapping is enabled and operational continuity is maintained, but the precision of the mechanical interface becomes more difficult to ensure
Solution Approach 1:
The handheld receptacle acts as an intermediary component between the battery and the GNSS receiver housing. It provides a standardized mechanical interface with rails and recesses that facilitate precise alignment and secure connection. This intermediary structure enables hot-swapping by allowing the battery to be transferred through the handheld receptacle into the housing receptacle, maintaining operational continuity while managing the precision requirements through a dedicated interface design.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical interface uses specific geometric parameters (rails, linear recesses, complementary shapes) that are designed to guide and constrain the battery and handheld receptacle during insertion and removal. By carefully controlling these dimensional parameters and tolerances, the design achieves reliable hot-swapping capability while managing manufacturing precision requirements through standardized interface geometry rather than complex adjustment mechanisms.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a pole-mount adapter is added for versatile mounting, then adaptability to different configurations is improved, but the device complexity and number of components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pole-mount adapter is designed as a universal mounting solution that can be attached to the GNSS receiver housing and used in various field configurations (handheld, pole-mounted, or tripod-mounted). By creating a single versatile adapter that works across multiple mounting scenarios, the design improves adaptability without proportionally increasing complexity, as one multi-functional component replaces the need for multiple specialized mounting devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The pole-mount adapter incorporates dynamic elements such as adjustable clamps or movable mounting interfaces that can adapt to different pole diameters and mounting positions. This dynamic design allows the same adapter component to function across a range of configurations and environments, improving versatility while limiting the need for multiple fixed-design components for different mounting scenarios.
Data Source
AI summary
A system having a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver having a GNSS receiver battery receptacle for housing a battery therein, and a handheld receptacle which has an insertion portion which is shaped as an outer portion of the battery and which is adapted for insertion into the battery receptacle of the GNSS receiver instead of the battery, wherein the handheld receptacle has a handheld receptacle battery receptacle to receive the battery therein. The battery can be swapped from the GNSS receiver and the handheld receptacle. A socket can be provided on the handheld receptacle for mounting a computing device thereon in communication with the GNSS receiver. A pole-mount adapter can be used for connecting the GNSS receiver onto a pole below the GNSS battery receptacle and can be mounted and dismounted even when the handheld receptacle is inserted in the GNSS receiver.