thumb|Logo '''InstaLoad''' is a patented technology developed by Microsoft which allows cylindrical batteries to function in a battery holder regardless of the batteries' polarity.<!--reword-->
==Design== The device is designed to save time when swapping out batteries and reduce confusion from hard to read battery diagrams.<ref>{{cite news|title=Microsoft InstaLoad lets you insert batteries in any direction|url=http://www.gizmag.com/microsoft-instaload/15605/|accessdate=11 August 2012|newspaper=Gizmag|date=July 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119035500/http://www.gizmag.com/microsoft-instaload/15605/|archive-date=19 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=BLAHA>{{cite journal|last=BLAHA|first=TOM|title=What the doctor ordered: A reversible battery holder|journal=Electronic Products|date=August 2012|pages=48–49|url=http://www2.electronicproducts.com/What_the_doctor_ordered_A_reversible_battery_holder-article-fapo_MPD_aug2012-html.aspx|access-date=2012-08-11|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121225509/http://www2.electronicproducts.com/What_the_doctor_ordered_A_reversible_battery_holder-article-fapo_MPD_aug2012-html.aspx|archive-date=2013-01-21|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Perez|first=Sarah|title=InstaLoad to Revolutionize Battery Installation|url=http://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/coolstuff/InstaLoad-to-Revolutionize-Battery-Installation|publisher=Channel 9|date=July 7, 2010|access-date=August 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305200532/https://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/coolstuff/InstaLoad-to-Revolutionize-Battery-Installation|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
Initially battery cell sizes CR123, AA, AAA, C and D were to be catered for.<ref name="Fiveash-2010a">{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2010/07/02/microsoft_instaload/|date=2 July 2010|first=Kelly|last=Fiveash|access-date=2 November 2019|title=Microsoft goes AC/DC with Instaload battery tech|website=The Register|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102215613/https://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2010/07/02/microsoft_instaload/|archive-date=2 November 2019}}</ref>
InstaLoad was designed to address the large number of phone calls to the Microsoft customer help desk in which consumers were improperly placing batteries in Microsoft wireless devices (such as the keyboard and mouse).<ref name=BLAHA/> In 2012 Memory Protection Devices began manufacturing and selling battery carriers that use InstaLoad. Their products are used by EMTS on ambulances and by patients who use life saving devices that are unable to physically change the batteries on their device.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Designing a more patient-centric battery holder.(Emphasis On Batteries)|author=Blaha, Tom|journal=Medical Design Technology|date=September 2012|volume=16|issue=7| page=16}}</ref>
==Licensing== The InstaLoad technology can be licensed from the Microsoft hardware Intellectual Property Licensing program.<ref name=Microsoftnews1>{{cite web|title=Microsoft Unveils InstaLoad Battery Installation Technology That Allows Batteries to Be Inserted in Either Direction|url=http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2010/jul10/07-01InstaLoadPR.aspx|work=Microsoft News Center|publisher=Microsoft|accessdate=10 August 2012|date=July 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104012047/http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2010/jul10/07-01InstaLoadPR.aspx|archive-date=4 November 2012|url-status=unfit}}</ref> Microsoft provides royalty-free licensing for manufacturers of accessibility devices.<ref name=Microsoftnews1/> InstaLoad is purely mechanical.
==Reception== There were concerns that while "cheap gadgets" could benefit from the technology the licensing terms might prove an obstacle to uptake.<ref name="Sorrel-2010a">{{cite magazine|title=Microsoft Instaload: Insert Batteries Any Way You Like|last=Sorrel|first=Charlie|magazine=Wired |date=2010|access-date=2 November 2019|url=https://www.wired.com/2010/07/microsoft-instaload-insert-batteries-any-way-you-like/|url-status=live|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306195358/https://www.wired.com/2010/07/microsoft-instaload-insert-batteries-any-way-you-like/|archive-date=6 March 2015}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{US patent|7527893}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/support/licensing-instaload-overview|title=Microsoft IP Licensing: InstaLoad Battery Installation Technology Overview|website=Microsoft |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308035510/http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/support/licensing-instaload-overview|archive-date=8 March 2016}}
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Category:Electric battery Category:Usability
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