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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?
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]
[link]
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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. |
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This would upset the secondary sellers of accessories. [+] |
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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. |
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Anything to drive the cost and mark-up down gets my vote. |
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I don't think advocating for standardized batteries is a new idea, regardless of formfactor. |
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hey, personally I'd like a cellphone with an AA batterie(s) (AAA don't last very long)[+] |
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Nope, I don't want a flat battery. |
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Are 9v "transistor radio" batteries still kicking ? |
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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. |
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Isn't this just "Let's all use a standard battery size"? |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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"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." |
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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 |
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I think mobile phones are a lost cause when it
comes to standarizing cell size. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Especially if you can make it somewhat optional
(e.g. implement the charging circuit in the battery
itself) |
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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. |
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Just had another though on how one could make this
more hobbyist friendly. |
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Basically design the battery and socket around 'edge
connectors' on a PCB board. E.g. mini pcie connectors |
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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. |
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If popular enough with the hobbyist community, you can
mass print blank pcbs, for hobbyist to use. |
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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. |
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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.) |
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Also how large is the mini pcie form factor, vs say a
typical nokia battery? |
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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. |
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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? |
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Btw, for the connectors, I think we should aim to have
two particular designs, that both can connect to the same
battery. |
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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} |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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By default it contains 3 pins. Maybe we can extend this
somewhat? |
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Extended version (I2C lipo fuel gauge IC): |
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[+Bat][BSI][-Bat][SDA][SCL][ At least 5V charge ] |
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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.). |
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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! |
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