Pivotable Battery Interface for Cordless Tools
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrical devices with integral battery pack interfaces are bulky and difficult to access, making it challenging to couple or decouple battery packs, which hinders operator convenience and design aesthetics.
Innovation Solution
A pivotable battery pack interface with a fixing unit and unlocking mechanism allows the interface to be easily accessed, enabling the battery pack to be integrated further into the device, facilitating easier coupling and decoupling while maintaining a slim design, and can be operated manually or wirelessly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the battery pack interface is made integral to the device housing, then the device structure is simplified, but the device becomes wider and the battery pack interface becomes difficult to access
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack interface is designed to be pivotable between a first position (integrated into the device housing) and a second position (extended outward). This dynamic configuration allows the interface to be compact during operation while being easily accessible during battery pack connection or disconnection, resolving the contradiction between structural integration and operational accessibility
2Ease of operation
If the battery pack interface is extended outward for easy access, then the battery pack is easily accessible, but the device housing becomes wider
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable battery pack interface allows the device to maintain a slim profile during normal operation while extending the interface outward only when needed for battery pack connection or disconnection, eliminating the need to permanently increase device housing dimensions
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of extending the battery pack interface in a straight line perpendicular to the device housing, the interface is designed to pivot at an angle, utilizing angular space more efficiently and reducing the linear width requirement while maintaining accessibility
3Stability of the object's composition
If a locking unit is added to fix the battery pack interface, then the interface can be secured in position, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking unit is designed to automatically engage and disengage based on the position of the battery pack interface. When the interface is in the first position, the locking unit automatically locks it; when the interface is moved to the second position, the locking unit automatically releases. This self-actuating mechanism provides position stability without requiring complex manual locking systems
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
An electrical device (10) in the form of a tool, garden or cleaning device comprises a tool and/or processing unit (16), a drive unit which drives the tool and/or processing unit (16), and a battery pack interface (26) to which at least one battery pack (28) can be mechanically and/or electrically coupled for supplying the drive unit with electrical energy. The battery pack interface (26) is designed to be pivotable about a rotary axis and can be fixed in a first position, particularly temporarily, by means of a fixing unit (30).