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As you probably know, a lot of batteries are disc-shaped, about as big as a coin, only thicker. I suggest that their shape instead be square-ish, maybe even rectangular, instead of circular. Yes, I am aware that the circle has the greatest surface area for its perimeter, but I'm not sure that this
is the rationale for circular batteries.
The holder for a round battery is usually a kind of socket into which the battery fits snugly. Often a small device has an even smaller battery, but in this case I'm going to suggest that there is such a thing as TOO small, and so it should at least be considered, that a battery could have 2 dimensions nearly as large as the small device.
Given a largish/square-ish battery, it could be expected to last longer than a smaller circular one. Note that the holder for this battery, inside the small device, consists of two parallel "walls" that extend across the width of the device. The square battery shape could fit between the parallel walls, and equally easily slide along them -- except for the "gates". These gates could be something as simple as the outer covering/shell of the small device; the gates are open when the shell is removed from the base of the device.
Looking at such an opened device, you see a spring-clip that presses down upon one side of the battery. This clip does not contact the battery at a single contact point; it is at least a centimeter long, where it contacts the battery.
And now to replace the battery with a new one. Just insert between the walls, and push. The new battery pushes out the old, and NO POWER IS LOST as the spring-clip momentarily contacts both batteries at the same time (This is a "parallel" and not a "series" connection, and does not significantly change the voltage that powers the device, as the new battery is slid in.)
With the old battery pushed out, you put the cover/shell/"gates" back on, and the new battery is now secured in place.
[link]
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Canon Elphs have flat squarish batteries, for what it's worth. Each one a slightly different size, of course, just in case you thought you could re-use your old spares on a new camera. |
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the batteries for all of my phones for thelast 4 years have been flat and squarish, though not on the scale you describe. |
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No doubt that "flat square batteries" are baked as the day is long, however the point of the idea (correct me if I'm wrong [Vernon]) is that you can change batteries without interrupting the power supply. This becomes evident from the 2nd sentence of the 3rd paragraph onwards. Everything prior is essentially bollocks. |
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Overall, a good idea that was poorly titled and poorly rendered. Neutral. |
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[Texticle], did you read the subtitle? |
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I'm not seeing this so much as a "scale" issue as an "interface" issue. |
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Most batteries have either one connection at each end or both connections at one end, and are almost universally of a configuration that requires the removal of the current battery prior to the insertion of the new battery. |
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The form factor here (if I may be so bold as to distill your idea, [Vernon]), is such that the old battery can be slid out as the new battery is being slid in, in such a fashion that power is never lost. |
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This would be beneficial to users of laptop computers and cellphones. Have you ever had to say "Sorry, my battery is dying. Let me swap out my batteries and I'll call you back." No more with this battery design principle. |
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I think [Vernon] that the real neat idea here is the hot swapable battery, not the Square battery as those are widely known to exist. If you redirected your idea I think I would have to vote [+]. until then Neutral. |
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As usual, it reads fine to me. (slides square croissant into gate) |
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I think the idea title is misleading, because you could make a hot-swap-capable holder for the traditional cylindrical cells too. It just wouldn't be as space-efficient. |
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FWIW, my old laptop had something like this idea, but less mechanically clever: it had two battery bays, and could run from either or both, so you could swap out the batteries alternately if you wanted. |
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This Idea was about those fairly common smallish batteries that you find in watches, computer motherboards, and so on. I used the phrase "coin sized" to indicate their smallness. Note I didn't even mention the OTHER electrical contact of the battery, which is normally built into the base of the socket that holds the battery. I specified "square" because I thought one would have more control over manipulating it, when trying to use it to slide in and push out an old battery. |
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I don't mind that you-all have extended that hot-swappable thing to other areas where flat square batteries already exist, but they don't exist in the realm where this Idea was intended to be applied. Therefore I won't be re-focussing this Idea. It is about what I wanted it to be about. |
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I less than three this idea. [+] |
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