Integrated Battery Armor for Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Frontline personnel and vehicles face significant weight burdens due to carrying extensive equipment and batteries of various sizes, which also lead to rapid battery depletion when powering electrical loads, generating noise and exhaust.
Innovation Solution
Integration of non-conductive and conductive materials to form ballistic armor with embedded battery layers, where passive components act as electrodes, enclosures, and separators, providing both ballistic protection and electrical power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional armor and separate batteries are used, then ballistic protection is provided, but weight increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines armor plates with battery components into a single integrated structure. The battery housing serves dual purposes as both protective armor and battery enclosure, eliminating the need for separate armor plates and reducing overall weight while maintaining ballistic protection capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The armor housing is designed to perform multiple functions: providing ballistic protection, serving as battery enclosure, acting as structural support, and functioning as mounting surface for electronic components. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed and decreases total system weight.
2Use of energy by moving object
If multiple separate batteries are carried for different equipment, then power is provided, but weight and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single integrated battery pack is designed to power multiple different pieces of equipment simultaneously through multiple output terminals. This universal power source eliminates the need to carry separate batteries for radios, night vision devices, flashlights, and other equipment, reducing both weight and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple battery cells are combined into a single integrated pack with common housing, control circuitry, and output interface. This consolidation provides unified power management for all equipment, reducing the number of separate battery components from multiple individual batteries to one integrated unit.
3Use of energy by moving object
If engine is run to power electrical loads, then battery power is replenished, but noise and exhaust are generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical engine-generators with solid-state battery technology for powering electrical loads. The integrated battery pack provides electrical power directly without requiring combustion engines, eliminating noise and exhaust emissions while maintaining the ability to recharge equipment.
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
This solution reduces the need for carrying discrete batteries, offering comparable ballistic protection and power to conventional armor while minimizing weight and noise, enhancing operational efficiency and performance.
Implementation Method 1
a first battery layer including: an anode layer having opposing first and second surfaces; a cathode layer having opposing first and second surfaces; and an electrolyte layer chemically coupled to the first side of the anode layer and the first side of the cathode layer
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and apparatus for battery armor including a first ballistic protection layer comprising a non-conductive material to provide ballistic protection, and a second ballistic protection layer abutting the first ballistic protection layer, the second ballistic protection layer including a battery layer. Exemplary embodiments for battery armor include layers of non-conductive and conductive materials to provide ballistic protection and electrical power.