Modular Battery Assembly Layout for Compact, Serviceable User Equipment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing user equipment (UE) designs face challenges in increasing battery capacity while maintaining a compact size and allowing for serviceability, as traditional integration methods often inhibit servicing and may require larger physical sizes to accommodate larger batteries.
Innovation Solution
A space-saving, serviceable modular battery assembly is implemented, featuring a battery cell with a cuboid shape and a fixture assembly with alignment brackets, allowing the battery module assembly to be stacked with the system module assembly, which increases battery size without consuming additional space and enables easier servicing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the battery is epoxied to the interior surface of the housing, then the battery is securely fixed, but the UE becomes difficult to service
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the battery assembly into separable components: the battery cell, the fixture assembly with alignment brackets, and the housing. This segmentation allows the battery to be securely fixed during operation while enabling easy removal and replacement for servicing, resolving the contradiction between fixation stability and serviceability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a static, permanent bonding method (epoxy) to a dynamic, reversible fixation method using alignment brackets and fixtures. This allows the battery assembly to be securely held during use but easily repositioned or removed when servicing is needed, balancing fixation reliability with repair ease.
2Quantity of substance
If the battery size is increased to increase capacity, then the battery capacity increases, but the physical size of the UE increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the third dimension (vertical stacking) by positioning the battery module assembly and system module assembly in overlapping关系的空间布局. This allows the battery capacity to be increased without proportionally increasing the UE's footprint area, as the modules are arranged to overlap in the vertical dimension rather than extending horizontally.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested arrangement where the battery module assembly and system module assembly are positioned in overlapping configurations. The alignment brackets and fixtures enable one module to be partially positioned within or alongside the other, maximizing space utilization and allowing increased battery capacity within the same overall UE volume.
3Device complexity
If the battery module assembly and system module assembly are arranged side-by-side, then the layout is simple, but the space consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional side-by-side arrangement to a three-dimensional overlapping arrangement. The alignment brackets facilitate positioning the system module assembly partially over the battery module assembly, utilizing vertical space to reduce the horizontal footprint while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates preliminary alignment features (alignment brackets, positioning protrusions, and recesses) that are pre-designed into the module assemblies. These features guide the overlapping arrangement during assembly, making the complex three-dimensional configuration as straightforward as a simple side-by-side layout while achieving superior space efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes one or more aspects of a space-saving, serviceable modular battery assembly that may be used as part of a user equipment. The space-saving, serviceable modular battery assembly includes a battery cell electrically coupled to a first module assembly that monitors a state of the battery cell, a first alignment bracket located at a first end of the battery cell, and a second alignment bracket located at a second end of the battery cell. The first module assembly overlaps a second module assembly that supports system-level functions of the user equipment.