AU729794B2

AU729794B2 - AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery

Info

Publication number: AU729794B2
Application number: AU73222/98A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Hung-Ming Shih
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-06-26
Filing date: 1998-06-26
Publication date: 2001-02-08
Anticipated expiration: 2018-06-26
Also published as: FR2783108A1; GB2339092A; NZ330831A; CA2242664A1; FR2783108B3; NL1010026C2; AU7322298A; GB9814265D0; BE1012166A6; DE29812606U1; NO983173L

Description

*I,

Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

(ORIGINAL)

9* Name of Applicant: Actual Inventors: Address for Service: Invention Title: Hung-Ming Shih Hung-Ming Shih DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

"AC/DC Rechargeable Mobile Phone Battery" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: C:\WPWIN\PRECOMPFILE.FRM 8/1/99 P;\WPDOCS\GLF\SPECI\691090- 8/11/00 -1- AC/DC RECHARGEABLE MOBILE PHONE BATTERY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a rechargeable mobile phone battery, which can be charged directly by AC mains electrical supply or a DC power supply.

To recharge a traditional mobile phone battery a charger must be used. For this reason, the user has to buy a charger at an extra cost. The charger is often large, heavy and cumbersome 10 to carry.

Manufacturers have attempted to overcome these disadvantages. As shown in Figure 1, the rechargeable battery is composed of a case 10 and a charger, etc. A housing 13 with two *notches on its left and right walls is provided on a panel 12 of the case 10 to hold an extendable and retractable plug 15. The plug 15 has two forwardly extending terminals 16 ooo and conducting support pins 17, each connected with a terminal 16. Left and right conducting plates 18 with notches are installed on a circuit board 11 of the charger to hold •the pins 17 of the plug 15. Mains supply (AC) can be supplied to the charger through the ooooo Sterminals 16, conducting pins 17 and the conducting plates 18 of the plug 15. However, pins S 20 17 increase resistance; and in addition, the contacts between the pins 17 and the conducting plates 18 of the circuit board 11 is in a coupling form which does not allow firm contact.

Also, when the plug 15 is retracted, the pins 17 are not detached from the conducting plates 18, thus wear arises resulting in lower conductivity. Further, because the positioning of the pins 17 requires the secure assembly of the circuit board 11 and the conducting plate 18, losses always occur. Thus the construction is disadvantageous.

Another disadvantage is: Plug 15 is the AC input terminal of the charger. After rectifying, filtering and stabilising, the AC is converted into DC to drive the transformer and charging circuit through a driving circuit composed of transistors. The DC, on the one hand, is used to charge the rechargeable cell 19, and on the other hand, supplies energy to the mobile ST- phone through the DC output terminals of the panel 12. When the cells 19 are fully charged, P:\WPDOCS\GLF\SPECI\691090 8/11/00 -2the charger cannot shut down the drive circuit automatically. This results in energy wastage and a reduction in the life of the circuit and cells 19. Another problem is that there is no indicator showing full charging and there is no overheating protection for the cells 19.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention seeks to address at least one of the above disadvantages.

The invention seeks to provide an AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery, which can be directly charged by AC mains electrical supply or a DC power supply said battery including: A plug having at least one conducting electrical terminal which passes through and is/are held by a body of the plug, wherein the plug is rotatable between extended and retracted positions, such that, in said extended positions, a first end of the terminals bears on a pair of resilient contacts arranged within a case and a second end of the terminals being adapted to be plugged into an AC or DC power source, in a retracted position, said first end o of said terminals do not bear on the said contacts.

•BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS ••o.oi S 20 One preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a standard rechargeable mobile phone battery.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a mobile phone battery according to the invention, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the battery of Figure 2, Figure 4 is a perspective view as in Figure 2 with the plug in an extended position, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the plug as in Figure 4, Figure 6 is a side view of Figure Figure 7 is a view as in Figure 6 but showing the plug in a retracted position, Figure 8 is a block diagram of the charging device of the invention, Figure 9 is a circuit diagram of Figure 8, l'\WPDOCS\GLF\SPECI\691090 8/11/00 -3- Figure 10 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention.

List of parts: Front panel (24) Side wall (21) Back body (22) Housing (25) Notch (26) Supporting plate (23) Side wall (27) Supporting plate (220) Housing (33) Support pin (28) Notch Plug

S

(34) Electric terminals (40) Resilient contact (50) Circuit board AC input terminal (63) Voltage stabilising unit (66) Overheating protection circuit (68) DC output terminal (29) Light window (31) Plastic body (35) Electric terminals (41) Resilient contact (51) Resilient contact (61) Rectifying circuit (210) Back body (32) Support pin (42) Resilient contact (52) Resilient contact (62) Filtering circuit (64) Driving circuit (67) Rechargeable battery (65) Charging circuit (69) DC input terminal DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As indicated in Figure 2, the AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery is a rechargeable mobile phone battery which can be directly charged from a mains power supply (usually AC 100-240V). A charging device is mounted in a case and a housing 22 is formed on the front panel 20 of the case to hold a plug 30 which can be extended or retracted and which is used for direct charging from the mains supply.

Sindicated in Figure 3, the case of the rechargeable battery is composed of the front panel P:\WPDOCS\GLF\SPECI\691090- 8/11/00 -4and a back body 21. The front panel 20 and back body 21 can be connected, for example, by the use of high frequency fusion joining. A housing 22 is provided on the inner surface of the panel 20. Notches 25 are made in the inner edges of the left and right side walls 23, 24 of the housing 22 to receive electrically insulating support pins 32, 33 which may be of plastic material. The pins 32 and 33 extend from a body 31, which also may be of plastic material and form part of plug 30. Left and right electric terminals 34, 35 of the plug 30 pass through and are held in the body 31. The terminals 34, 35 have a longer end to extend through apertures in the front panel 20 adjacent housing 22 and a shorter end at the inwardly facing end. A pair of spaced apart support plates 26, 27 of plastic material are provided on 10 the inner face of the back body. The support plates 26, 27 grip the pins 32, 33 of the plug in notches 28, formed at the free ends of the plates. This enables the plug 30 and thus :terminals 34 and 35 to be positioned in extended and retracted positions.

o* The circuit board 50 and rechargeable cells 67 are mounted within the case of the rechargeable battery. Two resilient contacts 51, 52 extend from the circuit board 50 to :provide AC input terminals. The rear ends of the terminals 34, 35 bear against the resilient contacts 51, 52. Figures 4, 5 and 6 show the plug 30 in extended position. The body 31 of •the plug 30 is of a size to pass between the left and right walls 23, 24 of the housing 22. The .o.ooi Spins 32, 33 are gripped and held by the supporting plates 26, 27 and the side walls of the S 20 housing so that the pins 32, 22 are held by pairs of notches 25, 28. This method can reduce electrical resistance, improve current conducting quality, and as a result, the AC current can pass into the charger through the electric terminals 34, 35 and resilient contacts 51, 52. In addition, the construction is durable and can be assembled quickly and in a secure manner.

As shown in Figure 7, when the rechargeable cell does not require charging the terminals 34, may be retracted removing the rear ends of the terminals 34, 35 from contact with the contacts 51, 52 of the circuit board 50. This is achieved by rotating the terminals 34, downwardly into the housing 22.

S As shown in Figure 8, AC110-240V power enters the AC input terminal 60 of the c rechargeable cell, and passes in sequence to the rectifying circuit 61, filtering circuit 62, P:\WPDOCS\GLF\SPECI\691090- 8/I 1/00 voltage stabilising circuit 63, driving circuit 64 and charging circuit 65 to charge the rechargeable cells 67. When using mains power, the charging circuit runs through the DC terminal 69 and resilient contact 42 (shown in Figure 3) into rechargeable cells 67. When the rechargeable cells are fully charged, the DC current is directed into the mobile phone through DC output terminal 68 and the contact 40 as shown in Figure 3.

By reference to Figure 9: The AC 110-240V power enters the AC input terminal 60 of the charging device and is then rectified into DC current through a bridge connected rectifier D1 of the rectifying circuit 61. Current limiting resistor R1 is used to limit the current within a defined range; the resistor R2 and diode D2 combined with the translator Q1 are used as a filter, and together with a Zener diode D3 in the voltage stabilising circuit provide a S reference voltage for current protection in the driving circuit.

A switching current, which provides a selected voltage to control the transistor Q2, is composed of a transistor Q1 and an optical coupler El. The rechargeable cells 67 are charged through the transformer T and charging circuit 65. The charging circuit 65 is :connected to the output terminal of the transformer's secondary coil. The following elements are connected in the charging circuit 65 in parallel: a dual colour LED, a capacitor E4 oo.o:o o connected in series with a diode D4, and the rechargeable cells 67. Through a Zener diode 20 D5 and resistor R7, a linear IC E2 is connected to the capacitor C4 and diode D4 to provide a reference voltage. Another terminal of the linear IC E2 is connected to the cross-over point of the dual. colour LED to enable comparison of the charging voltage with the reference voltage. When the charging voltage is lower than the reference voltage (the potential of pin #3 lower than that of pin the driving circuit 64 operates, and the rechargeable cells 67 is charged through the transformer T and the charging circuit 65. At the same time, the dual colour LED which is visible through the light window 29 in Figure 3 shows red indicating charging. When the rechargeable cells are fully charged (the potential of pin #2 lower than that of pin the diode D4 conducts and the dual LED shows a green colour. At the same time, a lower potential is provided to the optical switch IC (El) from the linear IC (E2) to cut off the transistor Q2 and stop charging. As a result, energy is saved and the life of the 11'ircuit and cells is prolonged.

P:\WPDOCS\GLF\SPECI\691090 8/11/00 -6- While the rechargeable cells 67 are connected to the output terminals of the transformer's T secondary side, overheating protection is provided by two thermal sensitive resistors R11. While the temperature inside the rechargeable cell 67 is rising, the resistance of the thermal sensitive resistors R10, R11 reduces correspondingly, thus providing an over-heating protection to stop charging of the rechargeable cells.

As shown in Figure 10, the housing 220 can be placed on the back 210 of the case enabling the rechargeable cell to be charged by mains supply without detaching the battery from the mobile phone.

In summary, the AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery is durable and can be assembled quickly and securely; its conductivity is high and it is suitable for charging a standby mobile phone; it has indicators for displaying the charging conditions (charging or fully charged); and it can stop charging automatically. As a result, the life-time of the circuits and the rechargeable cells are prolonged.

oooo oooo S* Throughout the specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires oooo• otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps oooo but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.

Claims

1. A rechargeable mobile phone battery which can be charged directly by AC mains electrical supply or DC power supply, said battery including: a plug having at least one conducting electrical terminal which passes through and is/are held by a body of the plug, wherein the plug is rotatable between extended and retracted positions, such that, in said extended positions, a first end of the terminals bears on a pair of resilient contacts arranged within a case and a second end of the terminals being adapted to be plugged into a AC or DC power source, in a retracted position, said first end 10 of said terminals do not bear on the said contacts.

2. An AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein electrically insulating pins are provided on the plug for mounting the plug to the housing and *the case.

3. An AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery as claimed in either claim 1 or claim o*2 wherein the terminals pass through the plug. .:oo•i

4. An AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery as claimed in any one of the preceding claims further including: an optical coupling switch connected to a base of a transistor of a driving circuit of a charging circuit, the charging circuit being connected to an output terminal of a secondary coil of a transformer, and connected across the charging circuit are: a dual colour LED, a capacitor serially connected with a diode and rechargeable cells, a linear IC connected at a connecting point of the capacitor and the diode through a Zener diode to provide a reference voltage, a further connector of the linear IC being connected to a cross-over point of he dual colour LED to compare a charging voltage with the reference voltage, so that while the charging voltage is lower than the reference voltage, the dual colour LED shows a first colour, and when the rechargeable cells are fully charged, the diode conducts and the dual 0 LED shows a second colour, at the same time, a lower potential being provided from the inear IC to cut-off the transistor in the driving circuit.

P:\WPDOCS\GLF\SPECI\691090- 8/11/00 -8- An AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the terminals can be retracted into the housing causing the terminals to be removed from contact with the resilient contacts.

6. An AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the housing is placed so that the mobile phone can be charged from the mains supply without detaching the battery from the mobile phone.

7. An AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery as claimed in any one of the preceding S. 10 claims wherein the rechargeable cells are connected in series with a thermally sensitive S. resistor prior to the secondary coil of the charger.

8. An AC/DC rechargeable mobile phone battery substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 8th day of January, 1999 Hung-Ming Shih 20 By his Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE