Modular Flashlight Tail Assembly for Configurable Carry and Switch Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flashlights with fixed form factors are often ill-suited for multiple use scenarios, leading to reduced functionality and usability in different circumstances.
Innovation Solution
A customizable flashlight design featuring a tail assembly with individually releasable segments and a tail switch, allowing for configuration changes such as left-hand or right-hand draw options, and adjustable clip positioning to enhance usability and prevent accidental triggering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a flashlight has a fixed form factor tailored to one circumstance, then it performs well in that specific circumstance, but it becomes less suitable for other circumstances
Solution Approach 1:
The tail assembly is divided into multiple individually replaceable segments (first segment, second segment, third segment) that can be attached or removed independently. This segmentation allows the flashlight to be customized for different circumstances without redesigning the entire device, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity by making only the necessary portions modular.
2Reliability
If tail segments are made extendable to prevent accidental triggering, then safety is improved, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The tail segments are designed with dynamic extendability, where segments can protrude beyond the tail switch to provide safety coverage when needed. This dynamic configuration allows the structure to adapt its protective function without requiring a completely complex fixed structure, balancing reliability improvements with manageable device complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple segments are individually releasable independently of the tail switch, then customization flexibility is improved, but the attachment interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment interface is segmented into standardized components (lug and peg with cross-sectional dimensions) that enable individual segment attachment and removal. This standardized segmentation allows flexible reconfiguration while keeping each interface element relatively simple, resolving the contradiction between customization flexibility and interface complexity.
4Reliability
If segments are sized to provide offset protection, then accidental triggering is reduced, but the overall device length increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tail segments provide partial offset protection by extending only as far as necessary to prevent accidental triggering, rather than making the entire tail assembly excessively long. This partial action approach achieves the safety function with minimal additional length, resolving the contradiction between reliability improvement and device compactness.
Data Source
AI summary
A flashlight can include a body defining a head portion, a tail portion, and a middle portion extending between the head portion and the tail portion. A light source may be located in the head portion. A tail switch may be located in the tail portion and operable to change a setting of or otherwise control the light source. A customizable tail assembly may include a plurality of segments individually releasably attached to the tail portion.