CN112531276A

CN112531276A - Structure of battery box

Info

Publication number: CN112531276A
Application number: CN202010748821.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 德田良彦
Original assignee: Topcon Corp
Current assignee: Topcon Corp
Priority date: 2019-08-28
Filing date: 2020-07-30
Publication date: 2021-03-19
Also published as: JP2023091067A; JP2021034312A; JP7543483B2; JP7335756B2

Abstract

A battery case is provided which is strong and compact. The battery box is loaded in a power supply accommodating chamber arranged in a casing of the equipment, and comprises: a hollow battery case main body having electrode points on an upper wall and a lower wall inside thereof, and provided on both side walls opposed to an opening for attaching and detaching a battery; and a pair of covers for covering the two opposing openings, wherein 2 or more batteries of the same number are loaded in parallel from the two opposing openings in the hollow battery box main body, and are housed in an opposing manner, and a column is formed in the battery box main body, the column being erected at the center of the opposing and adjacent batteries, and being in contact with the batteries at four sides to assist in holding the batteries.

Description

Structure of battery box

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a structure of a battery box provided in a device.

Background

Patent document 1 discloses a battery fixing structure in which batteries having different sizes are detachably mounted as a structure of a device (specifically, a measuring machine). Thus, even if the size of the dedicated battery is different in the measuring machine of different model, the batteries can be replaced with each other.

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2018-113236

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2006-221825

Patent document 3: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 9-199097

There is a need to use this fixed construction and utilize readily available standard size batteries that exist anywhere in the world as the power source for the measuring machine. A battery box that can house a standard-sized battery and can replace a dedicated battery (battery), a robust structure that can withstand a measurement site in a severe environment of the world, and a compact structure for use in various types of machines are required.

On the other hand, if a lid portion for covering the opening of the case is provided and the lid portion is provided with a conduction portion as in the battery case disclosed in patent document 2, the joint portion between the lid portion and the main body, which is a separate structure, is weak in circuit structure, and there is a problem that the lid portion is easily broken when dropped or even if the lid portion is lost, the lid portion cannot be used at all.

Further, if the housing for housing the battery is covered with the cover as in the battery box described in patent document 3, there is a problem that the portion where the cover and the housing are overlapped (upper and lower surfaces in patent document 3) has a double structure, and the size of the whole is increased by that amount. That is, even if a fixing structure capable of fixing batteries of different sizes is provided on the measuring instrument side, it is not possible to mount a battery of a maximum size or more that can be accommodated, and therefore, if the battery is provided in a compact shape, the battery can be used only for a limited number of models, and it is desirable that the overall size is as small as possible.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a battery box in which a battery can be housed instead of a dedicated battery for a device, and which is strong and compact.

Therefore, a battery box according to an aspect of the present invention is a battery box to be loaded into a power supply storage chamber provided in a casing of an apparatus, the battery box including: a hollow battery case main body having electrode points on an upper wall and a lower wall inside thereof, and provided on both side walls opposed to an opening for attaching and detaching a battery; and a pair of covers for covering the two opposing openings, wherein 2 or more batteries of the same number are loaded in parallel from the two opposing openings in the hollow battery box main body, and are housed in an opposing manner, wherein a column is formed in the battery box main body, and the column is erected at the center of the opposing and adjacent batteries, and is in contact with the batteries at four sides, thereby assisting in holding the batteries.

The cover is separate from the battery case main body, but the conduction portion is only the battery case main body and the cover does not have the conduction portion, so that it is not necessary to conduct the cover and the battery case main body, and the cover has a strong structure in both the structure and the conduction. If all the batteries are stored in parallel in one opening, the width direction becomes large, or the batteries are stored in a stacked manner in front of and behind or in the up-down direction in one opening, and the batteries are difficult to hold. In the present embodiment, since the same number of cells are arranged in parallel from the two openings facing each other and are arranged facing each other, the number of cells becomes half in the width direction. The battery as a whole is arranged in a matrix, and the size of the whole can be reduced. The support for holding is only a minimum column, and is held in close contact with all the batteries arranged in the square, and therefore is held firmly. The opening of the battery box main body is only covered by the cover body, and the case has no overlapping part, so that the whole size is compact.

In another aspect, the battery box main body is configured to house therein batteries accommodated in the battery box main body such that adjacent batteries and opposing batteries are in contact with each other. The batteries arranged in two rows are closely arranged, so that the overall structure is strong and the batteries are stably held.

In another aspect, two batteries are disposed from one of the two openings, two batteries are disposed from the other opening, and four batteries in total are disposed facing each other in the battery box main body. The four batteries are arranged at the front and the rear, and the column is formed by one battery at the minimum limit, so that the whole body is thin.

In another aspect, the pair of cover bodies are configured such that engagement claws are formed at the lower ends of the cover bodies, respectively, and engage with locking portions formed in the battery box main body, and the two openings are covered to sandwich the battery housed in the battery box. According to this aspect, the battery housed is held firmly by being sandwiched from the front and the rear.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a robust and compact battery case can be provided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a measuring machine equipped with a battery box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the power supply storage chamber of the surveying instrument as viewed from the gantry side (inside).

Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view showing an outline of the battery box.

Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view of the battery case main body.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the battery case.

Fig. 6 is an exploded front perspective view of the battery case.

Fig. 7 is an exploded rear perspective view of the battery case. The battery and the conducting parts are omitted in this figure.

Description of the symbols

1, a battery box; 2. 3, covering the cover body; 4 a battery case main body; 5, column; 11 a measuring machine; 15 a power supply storage chamber; 41. 42 an opening part; D1-D4 battery

Detailed Description

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention, and all the features and combinations described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

(measuring machine)

Fig. 1 shows a measuring machine 11 equipped with a battery box 1 (described later) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The surveying machine 11 is a total station capable of distance measurement and angle measurement, and operates by a power supply installed therein. The power supply is not limited to the battery box 1 of the present embodiment, and a dedicated battery may be mounted. However, the configuration of the battery box 1 of the present invention is not limited to the measuring machine 11, and may be fitted to other devices that can be used as a power source. In the present embodiment, a case where the battery case 1 is mounted on the measuring machine 11 instead of the dedicated battery will be described as an example.

The measuring machine 11 includes a base 12 and a stand 13. The base portion 13 is provided on, for example, a tripod (not shown) via the base portion 12. The base portion 12 has a calibration screw, and the pedestal portion 13 is maintained horizontal by performing calibration using the calibration screw. The gantry portion 13 is rotatable about a vertical axis a 1. The collimating telescope unit 14 including the optical unit for measuring distance is supported by the frame unit 13 and is rotatable about a horizontal axis a 2.

A power supply housing chamber 15 for mounting a power supply such as the battery box 1 or a dedicated battery is provided at a side portion of the rack portion 13. The power supply storage chamber 15 includes an openable and closable lid 16. The lid portion 16 is rotatable about a horizontal axis a3 and has a protrusion 161.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of power supply storage chamber 15 of measuring machine 11 as viewed from the side (inside) of gantry 13. The power supply storage compartment 15 includes a box-shaped case portion 17 formed in a housing (casing) of the mount portion 13, and an opening portion 19 formed in the case portion 17 as a power supply attachment opening is covered with a lid portion 16. Fig. 2 shows a state where the opening 19 of the case 17 is covered with the cover 16, and a surface facing the opening 19 (the back surface of the case 17) is omitted for explaining the inside of the power supply storage compartment 15.

As shown in fig. 2, the power supply storage chamber 15 includes a battery pressing portion 18 as a fixing structure of the battery case 1 stored therein. The battery pressing portion 18 is provided in the case 17 and is movable in the vertical direction. The battery pressing portion 18 has a stopper portion 181 at the upper side and an abutting portion 182 at the lower side.

In a state where the lid portion 16 covers the opening 19 of the case portion 17, the protrusion 161 of the lid portion 16 extends toward the inside of the measuring machine 11. When the lid 16 is closed, the contact portion 182 is locked to the protrusion 161 to suppress the movement thereof, and thus the battery case 1 mounted in the power supply storage chamber 15 is also suppressed from moving in the upward direction. The stopper 181 presses the upper surface of the battery case 1 attached thereto, and suppresses the upward movement of the battery case 1. This fixing structure is disclosed in detail in japanese patent laid-open nos. 2018-113236, and detailed description is omitted.

In this manner, in the measuring machine 11, the battery pressing portion 18 suppresses the vertical movement of the assembled battery case 1 and holds the battery case in the power supply storage chamber 15. With this fixing structure of the power supply storage chamber 15, the battery pack 1 can be assembled even when the size is different from that of the dedicated battery. Further, as long as the measuring machine has the same fixing means in the power supply storage room, even if the sizes of the dedicated batteries are different from each other, the battery box 1 can be used as a power supply instead of this, and can be inserted and removed.

(Battery box)

Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of the battery case 1 mounted to the measuring machine 11. Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view showing only the battery case body 4 with the cover portion and the battery of fig. 3 omitted. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the battery case 1. Fig. 6 is a front exploded perspective view of the battery case 1. Fig. 7 is an exploded rear perspective view of the battery case 1. The conducting parts and the battery are omitted in fig. 7.

As shown in fig. 3 to 4, the battery case 1 has a hollow cubic shape, has electrode points on the upper wall and the lower wall of the hollow interior, and accommodates batteries in an upright state. The battery is not limited to a primary battery such as an alkaline dry battery, but may be a secondary battery such as a lithium ion rechargeable battery, and the type thereof is not limited.

The battery box 1 is housed as a power supply of the measuring instrument 11 in the present embodiment, for example, instead of a dedicated battery. Instead of using the dedicated battery when the charge of the dedicated battery is exhausted, or the like, the user can selectively use the dedicated battery and the battery box 1 for the measuring machine 11.

Engaging portions 48 that engage with the power supply storage chamber 15 are formed on both left and right side surfaces of the battery case 1, and are hooked on protrusions (not shown) provided in the power supply storage chamber 15 to prevent the battery case 1 from coming off. Further, a positive electrode output portion 49p and a negative electrode output portion 49n are provided on the bottom surface, from which the battery voltage is output to the measuring machine 11 side.

The battery box 1 includes: a battery case main body 4 as a case for housing a battery, and covers 2 and 3 for covering

openings

41 and 42 provided in front and rear of the battery case main body 4. Since the

openings

41 and 42 are formed over substantially the entire front and rear surfaces of the battery case 1, the cover 2 substantially forms the front surface of the battery case 1, and the cover 3 substantially forms the rear surface of the battery case. The same shape and the same number (2 batteries in the present embodiment) of batteries are housed from the front and

rear openings

41 and 42 of the battery box body 4, respectively, the longitudinal direction of the batteries corresponds to the vertical direction, and the batteries are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction, and the same number of batteries loaded from different openings are arranged so as to face each other. A column 5 is provided at the center of the internal space S of the hollow battery case 1.

As shown in fig. 5, the four batteries D1 to D4 housed in the battery box 1 are held such that adjacent batteries and opposing batteries are in contact with each other at least partially.

The column 5 is disposed at the center of the four batteries D1 to D4 that are in contact with each other. The cross-sectional shape of the column 5 has four arc portions so as to contact all of the four batteries arranged in four directions, and the arc portions are respectively contacted as curved walls in the longitudinal direction of the batteries, thereby stably holding the batteries D1 to D4.

The side walls 44 to 47 inside the battery box main body 4 are the inner walls of the battery box main body 4 located at the side portions of the batteries D1 to D4 that are respectively housed. These inner walls are formed by bending in accordance with the diameter of the battery so as not to hinder the attachment and detachment of the battery, and are each connected to the battery in the longitudinal direction as a bent wall, and hold the batteries D1 to D4 together with the column 5. Further,

ribs

21, 31 are formed on the inner sides of

covers

2, 3 corresponding to the shape of the battery, and thereby, batteries D1 to D4 are sandwiched between the front and rear surfaces. The batteries D1 to D4 are firmly held in contact with the side walls 44 to 47, the post 5, and the

ribs

21 and 31 of the

covers

2 and 3.

(exploded perspective view)

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the battery box body 4 is divided into front and rear portions 2 at substantially the center, and a1 st case 50 as a front body and a2 nd case 60 as a rear body are engaged with each other.

An engaging claw 61 is formed toward the 1 st case 50 substantially in the middle of the right and left side surfaces of the 2 nd case 60. In the 1 st case 50, the engaged portion 51 is formed at a position facing the engaging claw 61, and the engaged portion are engaged and integrated with each other.

Since column 5 is divided into two front and rear portions at substantially the center thereof, divided column 55 is formed on the 1 st case 50 side and divided column 65 is formed on the 2 nd case 60 side. The plurality of projections 54 formed on the division surface of the 1 st case 50 including the division column 55 are fitted into the plurality of fitting holes 64 formed on the 2 nd case 60 side including the division column 65, thereby integrating the 1 st case 50 and the 2 nd case 60, and the column 5 is formed by the division column 55 and the division column 65 by fitting.

Since the internal space S for housing the batteries D1 to D4 is also divided into two, the 1 st case 50 and the 2 nd case 60 each have the internal space S.

An engaging claw 22 is formed at the center of the lower end of the cover 2, and is slid from above the 1 st case 50 to engage with a locking portion 52 formed on the upper surface of a bottom portion 53 of the 1 st case 50, thereby closing the opening 41 on the front surface side. Similarly, an engaging claw 32 is formed at the lower end of the cover 3, and is slid from above the 2 nd housing 60 to engage with a locking portion 62 formed on the upper surface of a bottom 63 of the 2 nd housing 60, thereby closing the opening 42 on the back surface side.

(conduction part)

A slit 57 extending in the front-rear direction is formed in the bottom portion 53 of the 1 st case 50. Slit 57 is formed under split pillar 55 so as to be wide in the left-right direction across split pillar 55. Here, the wide conductive tab 73 is inserted from the dividing surface (the 2 nd case 60 side), and is exposed at two places on the upper surface of the bottom portion 53, that is, in the internal space S for housing the battery, via the dividing column 55, and becomes the electrode point 2 on the lower side of the 1 st case 50. The battery D4 and the battery D3 housed in the 1 st case 50 are electrically connected in series by the conductive piece 73. Since the batteries D3 and D4 are electrically connected in series, the batteries D3 and D4 are housed in the opposite directions, and a conductive elastic body 80 (a coil spring in the present embodiment) is crimped and fixed to the upper surface of the conductive piece 73 at a portion where one battery (the battery D3 in the present embodiment) serving as a negative electrode on the lower end side contacts.

A pair of left and right flat plate-

like engagement tongues

66, 66 are formed on a top wall portion 68 of the 2 nd casing 60 so as to protrude toward the 1 st casing 50 with the partition column 65 interposed therebetween. Further,

engagement grooves

67, 67 extending in the front-rear direction are formed below the

engagement tongues

66, 66. The plate-shaped, one long, conductive pieces 71, 72 are inserted into the

engagement grooves

67, 67 from the divided surface (the 1 st case 50 side) and are disposed below the

engagement tongues

66, 66. A part of each of the electrodes is exposed to the bottom surface of the top wall portion 68 of the 2 nd case 60, that is, to the internal space S for housing the battery, and each of the electrodes becomes an electrode point 2 above the 2 nd case 60.

The length of the conductive pieces 71, 72 is longer than the depth of the engagement grooves 67, and one end of the inserted conductive pieces 71, 72 protrudes from the 2 nd housing 60 toward the 1 st housing 50. The

engagement tongues

66, 66 assist the fixing of the conductive pieces 71, 72, and engage with the

engagement grooves

56, 56 formed in the top wall portion 58 of the 1 st case 50 for each of the conductive pieces 71, 72. The communication pieces 71 and 72 protruding from the 2 nd case 60 enter the 1 st case 50 side and are disposed over the 1 st case 50 and the 2 nd case 60. The conductive sheets 71 and 72 are exposed in the bottom surface of the top wall portion 58 of the 1 st case, i.e., in the internal space S for housing the battery, and also serve as the upper electrode point 2 in the 1 st case 50.

The conductive sheet 71 electrically connects the battery D2 and the battery D4, which are arranged to face each other in the front-rear direction, in series. Similarly, the conductive sheet 72 connects the battery D1 and the battery D3 in series. The batteries D1 and D3 and the batteries D2 and D4 connected to each other are housed in the vertical direction, and the upper end of one battery serves as a negative electrode. In the present embodiment, since the battery D1 and the battery D4 are disposed with the upper ends thereof being negative, the conductive elastic bodies 80 are crimped and fixed to the portions of the conductive tabs 71 and 72 that are in contact with each other.

Further, a pair of

slits

69, 69 are formed in the bottom portion 63 of the 2 nd housing 60 with a partition column 65 interposed therebetween. The

conductive pieces

74, 75, which are substantially square metal flat plates, are inserted into the conductive pieces 71-73 by a size of substantially half. The

conductive sheets

74 and 75 are partially exposed in the internal space S for housing the battery, and contact the electrodes on the bottom surfaces of the batteries D1 and D2 housed in the 2 nd case 60 at 2 nd point, which is the lower electrode point of the 2 nd case 60. A conductive elastic body 80 is fixed by caulking to the upper surface of the conductive piece 75 that contacts the battery D2 whose lower end is a negative electrode.

The conductive pieces 71 to 75 serve as electrode points of the battery case 1, the batteries D1 to D4 are electrically connected in series, and the batteries D1 to D4 are held in a standing state by the biasing force of the conductive elastic body 80.

Further, a pair of engaging

holes

91, 91 for inserting the tubular female terminals 90p, 90n are formed in the bottom surface of the 2 nd housing 60. The female terminals 90p and 90n inserted here are fixed so that a part of the trunk portion is bent to prevent falling off, and are electrically connected to the

conductive pieces

74 and 75, respectively, thereby forming output portions of the batteries D1 to D4 connected in series via the conductive pieces 71 to 75.

The terminals 90p and 90n and the

conductive pieces

74 and 75 may be connected by wires, or may be integrally formed. In addition, the conductive pieces 71 to 75 and the terminals 90p and 90n may be a plurality of integral structures.

In the battery case 1, the engagement and conduction of the respective components are achieved only by engagement or fitting, and the components are integrated, so that a strong structure can be achieved with a simple configuration.

The battery box 1 configured as described above is mounted in the power supply storage chamber 15 of the measuring machine 11. The measuring machine 11 can also be equipped with batteries of mutually different sizes, and the battery box 1 can also be equipped without problems instead of a dedicated battery. The battery box 1 can firmly hold the batteries by the minimum holding, and as a battery box for storing four batteries, the battery box has a very compact configuration with a small outer shape on one side, and can be assembled to various other measuring machines having a power supply storage chamber with the same structure as the measuring machine 11.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and modifications and combinations can be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, and such embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A battery box loaded in a power supply storage chamber provided in a casing of an apparatus, comprising:

a hollow battery case main body having electrode points on an upper wall and a lower wall inside thereof, and provided on both side walls opposed to an opening for attaching and detaching a battery; and

a pair of covers for covering the two openings facing each other,

the hollow battery box main body is internally loaded with 2 or more batteries of the same number in parallel from the two opening parts facing each other and housed facing each other,

a post is formed inside the battery box body, and the post is erected at the center of the opposing and adjacent batteries, and is in contact with the batteries at all sides to assist in holding the batteries.

2. The battery box according to claim 1, wherein the battery box is a battery box,

the battery box main body is configured such that adjacent ones of the batteries housed in the battery box main body and opposing ones of the batteries are housed in contact with each other.

3. The battery box according to claim 1 or 2,

two batteries are disposed in the battery box main body through one opening of the two openings, two batteries are disposed in the other opening, and four batteries in total are disposed to face each other.

4. The battery box according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the pair of covers are configured such that engagement claws are formed at the lower ends of the covers, respectively, and engage with locking portions formed in the battery box main body, and the two openings are covered, thereby sandwiching the battery housed in the battery box.