Pouch Battery Technology: More Runtime, Longer Life, Less Weight

Battery cells can be manufactured in different physical formats. Traditional battery designs commonly use cylindrical cells, which have a rigid form factor.

The latest TOUGHBOOK G3 and 34 use flexible pouch cells.

Instead of enclosing the cell in a rigid cylindrical casing, a pouch cell uses a flexible enclosure. This gives engineers greater freedom to shape and position the battery within the available space.

This flexibility enables a different approach to battery design: rather than simply increasing the physical size of the battery to increase capacity, engineers can make more efficient use of the space already available inside the device.

Structural Innovation

TOUGHBOOK's pouch battery uses its flexible form factor together with an innovative internal structure to maximise battery capacity within the limited space available inside a rugged computer.

Overlapping internal components helps accommodate greater cell capacity within the available space, while the flexible pouch format allows the battery to be designed in a more compact and space-efficient shape.

This approach provides two important advantages:

• More capacity within limited internal space 
• A more compact battery design with less packaging overhead 

The result is a battery architecture designed around the specific requirements of rugged mobile computing, rather than simply adapting a conventional battery format to fit the device.

Battery capacity and battery weight are closely connected. Traditionally, adding more energy to a mobile computer can mean adding battery mass.

The pouch-cell architecture provides another option: use the available internal space more efficiently to accommodate the required capacity while reducing the size and weight of the battery. At the same time, the increased energy density (Wh/kg) means more energy can be stored for every gram of battery weight.

This can help deliver the energy required for a working shift without adding unnecessary weight to the device.

For workers carrying a computer throughout an entire shift, even a relatively small reduction in weight can make a practical difference.

For field service, utilities, public safety and other mobile applications, this means less weight to carry while maintaining the battery capacity needed for the job.

Cold environments create another challenge for battery-powered computers.

Battery performance can change at low temperatures, affecting the amount of usable energy available to the device.

TOUGHBOOK's pouch battery is designed for less degradation in cold conditions, down to -20°C.

For users working outdoors in winter, in refrigerated environments or in other applications where a computer cannot simply be moved into a warmer environment, more predictable battery performance can be important to maintaining productivity.

The benefits of TOUGHBOOK battery technology become most apparent when viewed together.

• Longer runtime means more time between charges.
• Lower weight means less to carry.
• Lower degradation means the battery can maintain useful capacity for longer.
• More stable cold-weather performance means more predictable operation in demanding temperatures.
• Smart Power Control helps optimise energy management between the battery and device.
• And hot-swap capability, where supported, allows users to replace a depleted battery without interrupting their workflow.

These are not isolated battery specifications. Together, they address some of the practical limitations mobile workers face when relying on battery-powered computing throughout the working day.