Integrated Battery Heatable Grip for Bicycles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heatable handlebar grips for bicycles are cluttered and prone to damage due to external battery packs and wires, which can be vulnerable during crashes or drops, failing to provide a compact and durable solution for warming hands in cold conditions.
Innovation Solution
A heatable grip design that integrates a battery or battery housing within the handlebar tube, eliminating external wires and using a bayonet-type connection for secure electrical power supply to the heat generating element, which can be a resistive wire or film, with an insulating layer to retain heat and a user-friendly outer layer for grip and heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If external battery packs and wires are used to power heatable grips, then the heatable grip can be powered, but the bicycle becomes cluttered and the exposed components are susceptible to damage
Solution Approach 1:
The battery is nested within the handlebar tube, and the electrical connection is nested within the grip assembly. The battery housing is received within the handlebar tube, creating a compact integrated structure that eliminates external wires and reduces clutter while improving durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery housing and grip assembly are merged into a single integrated unit. The electrical connection integrates the battery power source with the heat generating element, combining previously separate components (battery pack, wires, grip) into one unified assembly that reduces complexity and improves reliability.
2Temperature
If thick insulated gloves are worn to protect from cold, then hand warmth is improved, but manual dexterity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The heating function is extracted from the gloves and transferred to the handlebar grip itself. The heat generating element is embedded in the grip, allowing riders to warm their hands through the grip without wearing thick insulated gloves, thereby maintaining manual dexterity while achieving hand warmth.
3Device complexity
If the battery is housed within the handlebar tube, then the grip becomes more compact and durable, but the electrical connection must be integrated
Solution Approach 1:
The battery housing is nested within the handlebar tube, and the electrical connection is nested within the grip assembly structure. This nesting approach allows for integrated manufacturing where the electrical components are built into the grip during the molding or assembly process, making the integrated connection manageable despite the compact design.
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 design provides a more compact, durable, and user-friendly heatable grip that maintains hand warmth without external wires, reducing the risk of damage and enhancing usability by housing the battery within the handlebar tube, ensuring reliable operation and improved safety.
Implementation Method 1
a heat generating element... The heat generating element may comprise at least one resistive wire disposed about the sleeve
Implementation Method 2
The first part may comprise an insulating layer disposed between the heat generating element and the sleeve to inhibit dissipation of heat from the heat generating element into the sleeve and, in use, into the handlebar tube
Data Source
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AI summary
There is provided a heatable grip comprising first and second parts. The first part has a sleeve and the second part has a battery or a battery housing. The sleeve is receivable over a handlebar tube and the battery or the battery housing is receivable within the handlebar tube such that the first and second parts are releasably securable to one another to provide an electrical connection therebetween for suppling electrical power from the battery or the battery housing to the heat generating element. The heatable grip is particularly suited for use with a bicycle.