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Standard "square/flat" battery

Like a cell phone/Ipod battery but not device-specific
  (+10, -2)(+10, -2)
(+10, -2)
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against]

I hate how so many device manufacturers just HAVE to make the devices super-small. At present, there is no standard battery that fits devices this size. therefore, when you get a smaller device, you end up with built in rechargeable batteries that are expensive to replace when they cease to function (it happens eventually to all rechargeable batteries) and in some cases require you to open the whole device yourself, or else sending it in to service which will likely cost an arm and a leg to replace the batteries! Ipods are especially bad-it's almost half the cost of a new Ipod!!!!! grrrr

I think that someone should come up with a new type of battery that all "micro/mini/nano/" devices use. (i.e. the stuff that companies make really small and their size becomes the main selling point) Think a cell phone battery, but instead of being designed for one specific device, they could be standard, kind of like a triple-a battery. the battery will be a square/rectangle shape instead of round, so that there's no "wasted space" like there is with AAA batteries. I would guess it would end up being the size of, say, a "thumb-drive" Yes, larger skinny devices would probably need a bigger battery, but what's to stop manufacturers from having the compartment accept more than one of these batteries?

As an added bonus, maybe they could come in different varietes of battery technology (i.e. you can choose between disposable alkaline, disposible lithium, rechargeable NIMH or rechargeable LI. I would say that a RAZR cell phone for example would take 2 of these.

the good- 1. it would be like an AAA battery- available just about anywhere, and no more prohibitave replacement costs 2.You can carry extra batteries if you want to 3. It would allow the device to be smaller yet still use a standard battery

The bad- 1.The device would need to know how/if to charge the batteries when plugged in if there was more than one type of battery technology employed in these things, which would drive up the cost of the device itself (but once again, this would be offset by NOT having to spend so much money on replacement batteries) 2.If the device mis-read the battery type, it could over charge the batteries, or give a low battery warning too early or too late or not give one at all.

The ugly- Getting companies to understand the advantages!

PS. I know this kind of goes against my other Idea about a cell phone that uses AAA batteries, but this is for people who want their stuff to be small/skinny

EDIT- Due to different varietys of size and power requirements for devices, the battery companies would end up having to produce, say, 2 or 3 different sizes. but they did the same basic thing with the AA and AAA batteries- cant they do that sort of thing with slim batteries, rechargeable or not?

Dickcheney6, Jun 01 2008

Another reason for flat square batteries Flat_20Square_20Batteries
An older Idea posted here at the 'bakery. [Vernon, Aug 24 2008]

BL-5C example 1 - Nokia Lumia Grip http://forums.windo...ip-disassemble.html
Example of BL-5C being used elsewhere [mofosyne, Jan 10 2015]

BL-5C example 2 - pocket mp3 speaker uses it! http://www.dx.com/p...233638#.VLD2ySuUf4U
Example of BL-5C being used elsewhere [mofosyne, Jan 10 2015]

BL-5C example 3 - Even this battery is used in a car DVR! http://www.dx.com/p...258364#.VLD3HSuUf4U
" Rechargeable li-ion battery (BL-5C / 1020mAh / 3.7V) " [mofosyne, Jan 10 2015]

BL-5C example 4 - Some chinese radio thingy http://www.dx.com/p...221170#.VLD3FCuUf4U
You seeing a pattern here? BL-5C is treated as a common alternative to the typical AA batteries. [mofosyne, Jan 10 2015]

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       Speaking of smaller devices, I don't understand the "smaller=better" mindset. What's the point? I would rather pay less for something that was larger- the small stuff is too easy to lose. In terms of portable devices, as long as it's small enough to be "portable", I'm happy. I don't spend more money on crap just because it's smaller.
Dickcheney6, Jun 01 2008
  

       This would upset the secondary sellers of accessories. [+]   

       That CLA (cigarette lighter adaptor) that you bought for $35.00, wholesales for $2.15. Batteries that you pay $45.00 for, wholesale around $5.50.   

       Anything to drive the cost and mark-up down gets my vote.
Klaatu, Jun 01 2008
  

       I don't think advocating for standardized batteries is a new idea, regardless of formfactor.
phoenix, Jun 01 2008
  

       hey, personally I'd like a cellphone with an AA batterie(s) (AAA don't last very long)[+]
FlyingToaster, Jun 01 2008
  

       Nope, I don't want a flat battery.
AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 01 2008
  

       Are 9v "transistor radio" batteries still kicking ?
FlyingToaster, Jun 01 2008
  

       9v batteries are still commonly used but they've never been and never will be as widely used as AA and AAA batteries. BTW, by "flat" i meant that it's a square-ish shape and it's skinny, not flat as in dead :) If the batteries were dead, they'd give them away free of charge.
Dickcheney6, Jun 01 2008
  

       Isn't this just "Let's all use a standard battery size"?
krelnik, Jun 01 2008
  

       Manicdictator, I don't trust ebay for things like rechargeable batteries and such-how would I know the seller was not just pushing an old set of batteries on you that barely worked anymore? That's one reason I feel there should be a standard for smaller batteries. something relatively the size of a coin cell battery, but square so that they cannot be mistaken for one another, would be a great solution, cos they would be small enough for even something the size of an Ipod nano. for larger devices that need more power than that, could accept several of these in a series. I know that generic replacement batteries are not that expensive, but that's usually because they're not nearly as good as the original batteries. Also, there's still the problem of tracking down the exact right one for your particular phone-a problem that would be avoided with standard batteries.
Dickcheney6, Jun 03 2008
  

       Maybe the battery could plug in via a mini usb connection. This is already a standard for other things, and the technology could be expanded for making the battery more flexible, for instance it could communicate simple things like if it's Lithium ion or some other technology (supercapacitor hybrids) to overcome certain compatibility problems.
talldave, Jun 04 2008
  

       Talldave, so what I picture from your little tidbit, the battery would be kind of like a 9 volt battery, only smaller and using a mini-usb connection into a port inside the device.
Dickcheney6, Jun 04 2008
  

       "I like small and thin phones because they don't make the pockets of your pants bulge. It looks unattractive and it gets in the way of walking and cycling."   

       You're exactly the kind of person that this idea is geared towards-the phone wouldn't be particularly bulky then, but still use a standard battery type
Dickcheney6, Feb 27 2009
  

       I think mobile phones are a lost cause when it comes to standarizing cell size.   

       However on the other hand I seen "nokia" batteries used in stuff like "buddha box" (chanting machine), and radios... from china. But the design reason is more likely in terms of savings in cost in terms of sourcing batteries rather than for standardizing.   

       But that brings to mind that if we standarize battery size, and provide a free design and mold for the socket for "hobbiest" and engineers... then this thing may catch on.   

       Especially if you can make it somewhat optional (e.g. implement the charging circuit in the battery itself)
mofosyne, Aug 03 2014
  

       It would result in strong competition for better batteries, emphasize power usage between phones, and divorce batteries from phone features and performance. You may have all of my croissants.
Voice, Aug 03 2014
  

       Just had another though on how one could make this more hobbyist friendly.   

       Basically design the battery and socket around 'edge connectors' on a PCB board. E.g. mini pcie connectors   

       As for why? This makes it easier for hobbyist to create their own batteries, by simply printing the same PCB board and mounting their own lithium ion battery pack.   

       If popular enough with the hobbyist community, you can mass print blank pcbs, for hobbyist to use.   

       ------   

       How possible would it be to use mini pcie board? But modified in a way, to prevent normal mini PCIe boards from being inserted and getting blown up.   

       The benefit of using mini PCIe form factor, is that the sockets are plentiful already. Also it has lots of pins, which allows for standardising other features (e.g. charging over usb, or providing other voltage levels.)   

       Also how large is the mini pcie form factor, vs say a typical nokia battery?
mofosyne, Sep 26 2014
  

       The existing rectangular 9 volt batteries vary in dimension from manufacturer to manufacturer. We learned this the hard way. Designed a battery enclosure that worked fine until we bought a different brand of batteries. Luckily the molds had not been machined yet.
popbottle, Sep 27 2014
  

       Yea, we need consistent set of different sizes. But the connectors should be at the same corner. Think for instance, the fact that you can fit a laptop sata drive in a PC. Now isn't that rather cool, I like to see that for this battery as well?   

       -----   

       Btw, for the connectors, I think we should aim to have two particular designs, that both can connect to the same battery.   

       One is like an edge connector (similar to mini PCIe connector), and another with pogo pins (like tag- connect.com ) {leaf springs are also a good choice}   

       I think we can do this, by designing it to first fit into an edge socket, but with good pad spacings for the pogo pins based socket as well. Also, much like the tag-connect, it must have the ability to be locked into place via locking tabs, so that the pogo pins don't push the battery out and can maintain good connections.
mofosyne, Sep 27 2014
  

       Seems like the simplest solution is often the easiest. Perhaps instead of forging a new battery type or size, just adopt the most common one.   

       ===   

       BL-5C nokia battery seem to be a good contender. Since it's already adopted as a 'defacto standard' by some chinese manufacturers as a 3.3V battery cell.   

       By default it contains 3 pins. Maybe we can extend this somewhat?   

       nokia BL-5C:   

       [+Bat][BSI][-Bat]   

       Extended version (I2C lipo fuel gauge IC):   

       [+Bat][BSI][-Bat][SDA][SCL][ At least 5V charge ]   

       This is so you can charge via USB :D (These battery usually have protection ICs, but these have gotten pretty small, so probably have space for at least a charger IC.).   

       Adding a linear charge pin to the actual battery, would make the battery a tiny bit more expensive. But would encourage more kinds of usb chargeable trinket!
mofosyne, Jan 10 2015
  


 

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