JPH11146568A - Locking mechanism of charging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain the locking mechanism of a charging device which is capable of locking a battery pack securely when the battery pack of a portable telephone, etc., is charged and, further can clean connection terminals to secure electrical connection. SOLUTION: Pockets 2 and 3 into which battery packs B are inserted are provided in a charger main body 1. Charging terminals 4 are provided on the bottoms of the respective pockets 2 and 3, and protrusions 5 are provided on both the sidewalls of the respective pockets 2 and 3. Grooves 10 are provided in both the side surfaces of the battery pack B, and each groove 10 is composed of a straight groove part 10a and a retaining groove part 10b. The battery pack B is inserted into the pocket to its bottom, while the protrusions 5 are inserted into the straight groove parts 10a of the battery pack B and then the battery pack B is inclined, the battery pack B is securely locked, and furthermore, a connection terminals 11 of the battery pack B are cleaned by the charging terminals 4, so that electrical connection can be established.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lock structure of a charging device for charging a secondary battery or a single secondary battery mounted on a portable device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art While a secondary battery as a power source to be attached to a portable device such as a portable telephone is attached to the portable device, the secondary battery alone removed from the portable device at the same time or separately can be charged. A charging device of a type in which two pockets are provided for charging is generally used. A secondary battery is generally called a battery pack, and uses a battery in which a battery is built in a thin box-shaped case and a connection terminal is provided on a lower end surface of the case.

A charging terminal is provided at the inner bottom of each pocket of the charging device, and the charging terminal is connected to a connection terminal of a battery pack mounted on a portable device inserted into each pocket or a battery pack inserted alone. Abuts to charge.

[0004] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. Hei 4-351431, Hei 5-167498, and Hei 7-313830 disclose a battery pack charging device mounted on the portable device.
JP, JP-A-8-204801, JP-A-9-9-9
No. 8541, and the like.

[0005] The charging devices described in these publications are:
When a portable device or the like with a battery pack is inserted into the pocket, the connection terminal of the battery pack contacts the charging terminal at the bottom of the pocket to make electrical connection and charge, but this electrical connection is maintained. As a method of carrying out the method, the connection terminal of the battery pack is held in contact with the charging terminal at the bottom of the pocket by using the weight of the battery pack (JP-A-4-351431, JP-A-8-204801, JP-A-9-204801). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 98541/98, a method in which the opposing surface of the peripheral wall of the pocket is slightly inclined, and a projection provided on the inclined wall is engaged with a recess provided on the back surface of the battery pack inserted along the pocket to lock.
167498), or a method in which two pairs of the recess and the protrusion are provided on both side walls to be engaged, locked and held (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-31830).

[0006]

However, each of the above-mentioned conventional various types of connection holding has the following problems, and is not always satisfactory. In the case of the method of maintaining connection by using its own weight, even if it is called its own weight, it is not so large, so that the contact is not stable and a contact failure is likely to occur. In addition, battery packs tend to be reduced in size year by year, and because of their light weight, it is increasingly difficult to stabilize contact only by the weight of the battery pack.

In the method of locking engagement with the projection on the inclined wall surface or side wall, when the recess is inserted to the position of the projection when the battery pack is inserted, the recess is engaged by utilizing the elasticity of the projection. Since the locking method is used, the projection may be deformed or damaged during many uses and the locking function may be lost.

[0008] Further, since portability is emphasized in portable equipment, dirt adheres to the battery pack terminal surface while the portable equipment is carried in a clothes pocket or bag. For this reason,
Contact failure due to dirt on the terminal surface is likely to occur, but in any of the above methods, the connection terminal of the battery pack only contacts the charging terminal of the charging device in the pack insertion direction as it is, so the connection is performed by the pack insertion operation The terminals cannot be expected to be cleaned.

The present invention takes into account the various problems of the conventional charging device described above, and makes use of the stable contact of the connection terminal of the battery pack with the charging terminal of the charging device and the operation of inserting the battery pack. An object of the present invention is to provide a lock structure of a charging device that can also obtain a cleaning effect.

[0010]

According to the present invention, as a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, a charging unit having a built-in charging unit is provided with a storage unit for inserting and storing a battery pack mounted on a portable device or a single battery pack. A plurality of charging terminals having elasticity for pushing the battery pack back in the insertion direction are disposed on the bottom of the storage unit, protrusions are provided on both side walls of the storage unit, and grooves for receiving the protrusions are provided on both side surfaces of the inserted battery pack. By inserting the battery pack into the storage portion and tilting it, the protrusion is locked and engaged with the groove, and the battery pack is fixed so that the connection terminal is connected to the charging terminal.

[0011] According to the lock structure of the charging device of the present invention having the above-described structure, the lock of the battery pack is securely held as described below, and the electrical connection is reliably obtained. The battery pack is inserted into the storage section of the charging device along the insertion direction, and the projection of the storage section is inserted into the groove.

When the battery pack is pushed down to the lower bottom of the storage section, a force is exerted which is pushed back in the insertion direction by the elastic force of the charging terminal, and the battery pack is pushed against the elastic force to tilt the battery pack at the lower bottom position. Then, the battery pack is elastically locked by the engagement between the protrusion and the groove.

When the battery pack is tilted, the point at which the charging terminal of the charger main body contacts the connection terminal of the battery pack moves. For this reason, even if the connection terminal of the battery pack is dirty, the contact terminal moves to the connection terminal of the charging terminal to clean the connection terminal. Therefore, the electrical connection in the inclined state can be reliably performed by cleaning the dirt.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing that a charging device, a battery pack with a mobile phone inserted into the charging device, and a single battery pack are used.

The illustrated charger main body 1 has a built-in charging section (not shown), and the main body 1 is provided with two pockets 2 and 3. In the pocket 2, a battery pack B attached to a mobile phone is inserted, and in the pocket 3, a storage space for each pocket is set so that a single battery pack B can be inserted. In each of the pockets 2 and 3, the wall surface facing the back surface of the battery pack B is formed in a slightly inclined shape, and both side walls are formed vertically. One side of the pocket 3 is open.

A plurality of charging terminals 4 of the charger are provided at the lower bottom corners of the pockets 2 and 3, and these charging terminals push back the battery packs inserted into the pockets 2 and 3 in the insertion direction. Each has a spring provided on the back side of the lower bottom of the pocket so as to provide an elastic force. A substantially oval projection 5 is provided on the side wall of each pocket along the insertion direction of the battery pack inserted vertically.

On the other hand, a battery pack B with a mobile phone HT inserted into the charger body 1 or a single battery pack B
As shown in FIG. 1, a box type is used.
The illustrated one is a thick type, and there are various other types such as a thin type. A groove 10 is provided on a side surface of the battery pack B.

The groove 10 has a straight groove portion 10a for receiving the projection 5 of the charger main body 1 when the battery pack B is inserted straight down, and a triangular engagement groove portion 10b formed at the back thereof. . The groove 10 is provided at a position offset to one side with respect to the thickness of the battery pack B to be inserted. A plurality of connection terminals 11 are provided at the lower corner of the battery pack B, and are provided so as to correspond to the charging terminals of the charger main body 1 when the battery pack B is inserted.

The charging device according to the embodiment having the above-described configuration includes:
It is used as follows. As shown in FIG.
The battery pack B with the mobile phone HT is inserted straight with the groove 10 aligned with the position of the protrusion 5. At this time, since the groove 10 is provided in a skew with respect to the battery thickness, the battery pack cannot be inserted into the pocket 2 when the battery pack is upside down, so that the battery pack can be correctly inserted. That you have secured.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the battery pack B
When the bottom of the mobile phone is inserted until it contacts the bottom of the pocket 2, the mobile phone is rotated so as to be slightly inclined as shown in FIG. Due to this inclination, the projection 5 is inserted up to the engagement groove portion 10b of the groove 10, so that the projection 5 is
b.

When the battery pack B is inserted, a spring is incorporated in the charging terminal 4 of the charger body 1 until the battery pack B comes into contact with the lower bottom of the pocket, so that the battery pack B is pushed in against the elastic force of the spring. It is. Therefore, the battery pack B is pushed back upward by this upward elastic force, but the protrusion 5 is engaged with the engagement groove portion 10b due to the rotation inclination of the battery pack B, so that the engagement groove is provided below the protrusion. The upper portion of the portion abuts and is elastically locked to hold the lock.

When the battery pack B is tilted while the charging terminal 4 is biased by the elastic force to the connecting terminal 11 of the battery pack B, the contact moves along the peripheral surface of the connecting terminal 11 as shown in FIG. Electrical connection is ensured in such a state. At this time, the tip of the charging terminal 4 forcibly removes the dirt attached to the connection terminal 11 while the contact contact moves due to the inclination of the battery pack B. For this reason, even if the mobile phone is stored in a clothes pocket or the like when it is stored, the mobile phone is cleaned and the electrical connection is always reliably maintained.

In the above-described embodiment, the shape of the protrusion 5 of the charger main body 1 is shown as an example of an elliptical shape.
Needless to say, as shown in (a) and (b) of FIG.

In the above description, the insertion and the lock engagement of the battery pack B with a portable telephone have been described, but the basic operation is exactly the same for a single battery pack B. Furthermore, the charging device of the above-described embodiment shows only necessary components, and the details of the charging section and the connection cord in the charger main body 1 are omitted.

[0025]

As described in detail above, the lock structure of the charging device according to the present invention has a resilient charging terminal disposed on the lower bottom of the battery pack storage portion of the charger main body, and a projection provided on both side walls to provide a battery. Grooves are provided on both sides of the pack to receive the protrusions, and by tilting the battery pack, the protrusions are engaged with the grooves and locked, and the charging terminals are electrically connected to the connection terminals of the battery pack. The battery pack is resiliently locked by the charging terminal to the charger body, and the connection terminal is electrically connected to the charging terminal while being constantly cleaned by the charging terminal. There is a remarkable effect that connection can be made.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a configuration in which a battery pack is combined with a charging device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an operation.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a connection state between a connection terminal and a charging terminal.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a modified example of a projection.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Charger main body 2, 3 Pocket 4 Charging terminal 5 Projection 10 Groove 10a Straight groove portion 10b Engagement groove portion 11 Connection terminal B Battery pack HT Mobile phone

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A charger body having a built-in charging section, a storage section for inserting and storing a battery pack mounted on a portable device or a single battery pack is provided, and the bottom surface of the storage section has elasticity to push back the battery pack in the insertion direction. A plurality of charging terminals are arranged, protrusions are provided on both side walls of the storage unit, grooves for receiving the protrusions are provided on both side surfaces of the inserted battery pack, and the protrusions are formed into grooves by inserting the battery pack into the storage unit and inclining. Lock engagement,
A lock structure for a charging device comprising a battery pack fixed and a connection terminal connected to a charging terminal. 2. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein the groove is provided at a position offset with respect to the thickness of the battery pack, and the groove is formed by a straight groove portion and an engaging groove portion following the straight groove portion. Lock structure.