Modular Battery With Through-Substrate Conductive Couplers
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Solution Overview
Problem
As portable electronic devices become smaller and more compact, there is a need for reliable and secure interconnection methods for batteries and other electronic components that are also easily manufacturable and configurable.
Innovation Solution
The use of a planar dielectric substrate with conductive couplers extending through it, allowing for mechanical and electrical engagement with other modules, enabling various interconnection schemes such as parallel, series, or combined connections by offsetting modules, facilitated by specific geometrical arrangements of apertures and couplers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional interconnection methods are used for batteries in compact devices, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but reliability and security of connection deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The battery system is divided into multiple modular battery packs, each containing a battery cell and associated circuit board. These modules can be independently manufactured and assembled, improving connection reliability through standardized interfaces while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through modular construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductive coupler is embedded within the substrate, with connector elements extending from both surfaces. This nested structure integrates the connection mechanism within the battery pack housing, providing secure and reliable connections without adding external complexity to the interconnection system.
2Volume of moving object
If battery devices are made smaller and thinner, then device compactness is improved, but ease of manufacture and configurability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the battery system into standardized modular packs with uniform interfaces, the design accommodates smaller form factors while maintaining ease of manufacture through repetitive assembly processes. Each module can be manufactured independently and assembled in various configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized conductive coupler design with matching connector elements creates universal interfaces that work across different battery pack sizes and configurations. This universality enables easy manufacturing through standardized processes while allowing flexible arrangement of modules to achieve compact device layouts.
3Reliability
If conductive couplers are extended through the substrate with connector elements, then electrical connectivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive coupler integrates multiple functions into a single component: it provides mechanical support, establishes electrical connectivity through conductive paths, and enables modular assembly through connector elements. This merging reduces overall system complexity compared to separate components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector elements are nested within the substrate structure, with conductive paths embedded within the coupler body. This nested arrangement consolidates the connection mechanism within the battery pack housing, providing secure electrical connectivity without adding external complexity to the interconnection system.
Data Source
AI summary
A modular battery device may include a substantially planar dielectric substrate having a first major surface and a second major surface spaced from and opposite the first major surface. A plurality of conductive couplers may extend through the substrate from the first major surface to the second major surface at spaced locations. Each conductive coupler may have a first connector element disposed at the first major surface of the substrate electrically connected to an associated second connector element forming an extension extending from the second major surface of the substrate. The device may be selectively engageable with another such device by selectively mating the first connector element of a first conductive coupler on the device in mechanical and electrical engagement with the second connector element of a second conductive coupler on the other such device. Devices having batteries may be stacked to provide parallel and/or series connections.