Using Zipblocks to build hybrid electric battery systems.
Hybrid electric vehicles are creating some fierce competition in the battery technology market. This is really great news as it promises to bring us better battery technologies at lower costs.
Most of the computerized aspects of battery management are maturing fairly well. It seems as though piecing the actual physical components together has become one of the larger issues with this technology as of late.
At Zipblocks we felt that we might be able to contribute something to this market as well. We feel that that a convergence of existing battery technologies with our interlocking technologies would help to further standardize this industry, make it more efficient, and a bit easier to manage.
This movie illustrates one aspect of how we think our technologies can contribute. We have a lot of other interesting ideas/concepts in regards to hybrid electric vehicles as well. One other concept on our drawing board is an "electromechanical transmission." It would provide a means to manage and/or create the wide range currents and voltages needed for efficient operation of hybrid electric car motors under different load conditions.
Interlocking bridges.
This movie shows a small interlocking bridge being constructed using basic blocks. As you watch the movie you can see how all of the pieces overlap each other and take on an almost woven appearance. If you pause for a second and think about how the entire bridge is constructed...you get the sense that entire bridge has become a single solid structure even though it was built out of many components. The bridge takes on fiber-like characteristics that enhance its strength. It is as if this bridge were made out of one thick, giant, solid piece of plywood! It is obvious that if you were build a bridge with our blocks, that it would be extremely strong...especially if you glued everything together.
Landscape edging.
In this picture, the snake blocks at the base of this tree curve in several directions and form a heart. Snake blocks make for excellent landscape edging as they stack easily, interlock, follow curves, and do not readily shift out of place. It would certainly be much harder to create a heart like this with regular landscaping blocks. No other blocks on the market can do what snake blocks do. Think about it. You could build a circle around a tree ten feet high if you wanted to and not have to worry about it falling over or coming apart. Don't try that with conventional blocks, you would certainly be asking for trouble.
Interlocking tunnel walls.
Imagine a tunnel boring machine burrowing thru a mountain. The head of the machine is slightly larger in diameter than the remainder of its body. As the tunneling machine digs and moves forward it creates a small void of space immediately behind the head. The tunnel boring machine places curve blocks into this void and builds an interlocking tunnel wall around itself as it continues to move forward. Some of the curve blocks would have holes in them to allow the passage of concrete from the inside of the wall to the outside. As the tunnel boring machine passes these holes it injects concrete thru the holes and fills up any voids on the outside of the wall with concrete.
Interlocking balconies.
This interlocking balcony may look familiar to you. That is because we actually built it and put a picture of it in our "built prototypes section." We chose to go ahead and build it as we thought that it would do a great job of illustrating how versatile our products are. This balcony would be very difficult to create using traditional construction methods. Using Zipblocks, all that you need is an inventory of blocks and some instructions on how to put them together. Think of it as an oversized toy-construction brick project. You buy the desired kit, open the instructions, and then simply create your balcony. Snap, snap, snap and you are done. How much simpler could it get?
Custom curved walls.
You do not have to be a brick mason to build custom curvy walls like the one shown in this picture. All you need a bit of creativity and some Zipblocks. This wall is constructed with only two different types of block. The tan colored blocks are curve blocks. The brown colored blocks are wave blocks. The blocks in this picture are colored so that you can see their placement and analyze how they combine and create the unique curvy pattern. If you ever need to make changes to a wall made of Zipblocks you can disassemble and reassemble it to suite your needs. With traditional walls this is not so easy, you will probably need a sledgehammer to break apart some dried mortar.