Removable Battery Compression Devices for Aircraft
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Solution Overview
Problem
Batteries in vehicles are susceptible to internal damage and wear during charging and discharging due to lack of compression, leading to reduced service life and performance degradation.
Innovation Solution
Removable battery compression devices are installed during transport and charging to apply compressive force to the battery layers, using inflatable bladders, spring-biased plates, or biasing members, and can be removed before flight or operation to improve flight characteristics and extend battery life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If batteries are restrained but not compressed during installation, then ease of installation is improved, but battery service life and reliability deteriorate due to internal damage and wear during charging and discharging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary compression action to the battery layers during installation and transport, then removes the compression device before flight. This preliminary compression prevents internal damage during charging/discharging without affecting flight performance
Solution Approach 2:
The compression device is designed to be removable, transitioning the battery from a compressed state during transport/charging to an uncompressed state during flight. This dynamic adjustment optimizes both battery protection and flight characteristics
2Reliability
If compression devices are permanently installed to maintain battery compression, then battery reliability is improved, but vehicle weight and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The compression device is designed as removable rather than permanent, allowing it to be installed only when needed (during transport and charging) and removed before flight. This reduces the vehicle's operating weight while maintaining battery protection during critical phases
Solution Approach 2:
The compression device is discarded (removed) from the vehicle after serving its protective function during transport and charging. The device can be recovered and reused for subsequent battery installations, avoiding permanent weight addition
3Duration of action of stationary object
If compression is applied during charging, then battery service life is extended through maintained layer integrity, but device complexity and installation requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The compression device uses segmented spring-biased plates that can be independently positioned and adjusted. This segmentation simplifies installation and allows the device to adapt to different battery configurations without requiring complex integrated systems
Solution Approach 2:
Spring-biased plates serve as intermediary elements between the compression device and battery layers. These plates distribute compression force evenly and can be adjusted to accommodate varying battery dimensions, reducing the complexity of direct compression mechanisms
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
The removable compression devices significantly improve battery resilience and service life by maintaining layer integrity, allowing for hundreds or thousands of charge cycles instead of tens, and reduce the need for frequent replacements, especially beneficial in aircraft where replacement is costly and laborious.
Implementation Method 1
spring-biased plates
Implementation Method 2
inflatable bladders
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a vehicle, comprising: a housing (104); a battery (106) comprising a plurality of layers and disposed within the housing; and a first removable battery compression device (108) disposed within the housing and configured to apply compressive force to the plurality of layers of the battery via a first side of the battery.