JP2002199596A - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide electronic equipment that has charging terminals capable of avoiding short-circuiting. SOLUTION: Positive and negative terminals 3 project from the end of a charging jack 1, and contact plates 8 are connected to a rechargeable battery and attached on the case 7 of a communication terminal. Two intermediate contact pins 9 are provided near but apart from the contacts 8. Thus, the contact plates 8 do not touch the intermediate contact pins 9 and are discontinued. When the charging jack 1 is inserted into the opening 5 on the case, the two terminals 3 push the pins 9 making them slide along the guide 14 on the case to contact the contact plates 8 for charging. Removing the jack 1 and the pressure makes the pins 9 to return to the original location by a coil spring 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an electronic device having a charging terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many small electronic devices are driven by dry batteries. However, smaller and more frequently-held electronic devices have been required to be smaller and flatter, making it difficult to use dry batteries. On the other hand, the development of small, high-performance rechargeable batteries such as lithium-ion type and nickel-metal hydride type batteries has progressed, and rechargeable batteries have come to be used in small electronic devices.

When a rechargeable battery is exhausted, a charging operation is required. Looking at small electronic devices that use rechargeable batteries, most of them are of the type that performs charging work by setting up a communication device on a charger. In order to perform this work, it is common that a charging terminal is exposed at the bottom of the electronic device body. Then, when charging, the electronic device main body is leaned against the charger to bring the exposed terminal into contact with the terminal on the charger side to establish conduction. Also,
In this charging operation, there has been a configuration in which the contact pressure between the terminals is stably obtained by the weight of the electronic device.

[0004]

However, since the charging terminals of the above-mentioned conventional electronic devices are exposed to the body, there is a problem that the terminals are easily short-circuited due to erroneous operation. This short circuit causes an overcurrent to flow through the charger and the internal circuit, causing a failure. Further, in the charging terminal structure using the weight of the electronic device, the arrangement has to be set on the bottom surface of the communication device, and the position of the charging terminal cannot be freely set.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device which prevents a short circuit between terminals and has no restriction on an arrangement position.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a charging jack having both positive and negative terminals projecting therefrom, and a contact which is electrically connected to a rechargeable battery and is fixed to a housing. A plate and the housing in the vicinity of the contact plate,
The charging jack is inserted into the housing opening so as to be in non-contact with the contact plate, and is slid along the guide portion of the housing until the charging jack comes into contact with the contact plate by pressing from the charging jack. Movable, and, when the pressing is removed, by an elastic body sandwiched between the housing, an intermediate contact pin that returns to an original position that is not in contact with the contact plate;
An electronic device characterized by having:

A rechargeable battery mounted on an electronic device is supplied with power when it is consumed, stores the power, and can be used again. Normally, power is supplied by connecting a charger from outside the electronic device. In the present invention, a charging jack having both positive and negative terminals protruding is used. The intermediate contact pin is provided so as not to be in contact with the contact plate that is in conduction with the rechargeable battery, and comes into contact with the contact plate by being pressed by inserting the charging jack into the housing opening. As a result, the charger and the rechargeable battery conduct, and charging becomes possible.

When charging is completed, the charging jack is detached from the opening of the housing of the electronic device, and when the pressing up to that point is removed, the intermediate contact pin is urged by the elastic body and returns to the original position. As a result, the intermediate contact pins again come out of contact with the contact plate, and even if they are short-circuited, the rechargeable battery is not affected at all. The intermediate contact pin may be slid in the same direction as the insertion direction of the charging jack, or may be slid in a direction at an angle to the insertion direction. Also,
The elastic body may be a spring such as a coil spring or an elastic body such as rubber.

Further, in the present invention, the insertion direction of the charging jack and the sliding direction of the intermediate contact pin are the same, and the housing opening has an end abutting on the end of the intermediate contact pin. The electronic device according to claim 1, which appears.

Since the sliding direction of the intermediate contact pin is the same as the direction in which the charging jack is inserted, the insertion of the charging jack is directly transmitted to the intermediate contact pin as a press. Thus, the contact and non-contact of the intermediate contact pin with the contact plate can be switched with a simple structure. Further, by disposing the intermediate contact pin in a recessed position at the end of the opening, the intermediate contact pin is not erroneously pressed at times other than charging. Here, the term “abutment portion” refers to a portion inside the housing opening and other than the side surface.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a front and side sectional view showing an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows a state before the charging jack 1 is inserted. The electronic device according to the present embodiment is characterized by the charging jack 1 side and the electronic device main body 2 side. The charging jack 1 is extended from a charger or a transformer (not shown), and positive and negative terminals 3 protrude from its tip. A slit 4 is provided at the tip of the charging jack 1 and on the side thereof so that the engaging portion 6 is engaged with the housing opening 5 by being inserted into the housing opening 5 of the communication device main body. It has become.

A contact plate 8 connected to a rechargeable battery is fixed to a housing 7 of the communication device main body 2 as a positive / negative pair. Two intermediate contact pins 9 are provided at a certain distance from the contact plate 8 near the contact plate 8 and on the housing opening 5 side where the charging jack 1 is inserted. Housing opening 5
When viewed from the side, the intermediate contact pin 9 is
Is attached in a state where the end of the 現 れ る appears. As a result, the contact plate 8 and the intermediate contact pin 9 come out of contact with each other and become electrically non-conductive. The intermediate contact pin 9 is connected to the charging jack 1
The end on the side is a flange 11. Coil spring 12
Is sandwiched between the housing and the housing using the flange 11. The intermediate contact pin 9 is formed with a groove at an end opposite to the flange 11 so that the intermediate contact pin 9 is not dropped by the bias of the coil spring 12, and a retaining ring 13 is mounted thereon.

Further, in order to ensure waterproofness between the guide portion 14 enabling the sliding of the intermediate contact pin 9 and the intermediate contact pin 9, a waterproof groove is formed in the groove of the intermediate contact pin 9 in the same manner as described above. It is preferable that the packing 15 is attached. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing a state when the charging jack 1 is inserted and engaged. As shown in the figure, when the charging jack 1 is inserted into the casing opening 5 of the communication device main body and is engaged, the two terminals 3 at the tips press the intermediate contact pins 9 and the contact plates 8 and The intermediate contact pin 9 and the charging jack terminal 3 are arranged in a straight line and come into contact with each other. As a result, the above three elements are brought into an electrically conductive state and can be charged.

With such a configuration, when the charging jack 1 is not inserted, the intermediate contact pin 9 is electrically disconnected from the rechargeable battery. When the charging jack 1 is inserted, the intermediate contact pin 9
Is slid along the guide portion 14 of the housing by the pressing of the charging jack 1 until it comes into contact with the contact plate 8. When the charging jack 1 is released and the pressing is removed, the intermediate contact pin 9 returns to the original position by the bias of the coil spring 12.

(Modification) FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a modification of the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram when the charging jack 1 is inserted into the housing opening 20 of the electronic device main body. Note that the charging jack 1 is the same as in the above-described embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. In this variation,
The sliding direction 22 of the intermediate contact pin 21 differs from the charging jack insertion direction 23 by 90 degrees.

A contact plate 24 is fixed to the housing of the communication device main body as a positive / negative pair. The intermediate contact pin 21 slides the flange 25 having a wider edge against the guide 26 of the housing,
It can be moved up and down. The lower end of the intermediate contact pin 21 is formed at an appropriate angle to convert a horizontal force into a vertical force. An elastic body such as a coil spring 27 has a hole through only the intermediate contact pin 21 above the flange 25 and is sandwiched by an elastic body retainer 28 integrated with the housing. The contact plate 24 that is electrically connected to the rechargeable battery is fixed to the housing above the elastic body holder 28.

It is preferable that the cross-sectional shape of the intermediate contact pin 21 and the hole shape of the elastic body holder 28 are matched to prevent the intermediate contact pin 21 from rotating around the axis. Even if the terminals of the charging jack 1 are formed at an appropriate angle and the lower end of the intermediate contact pin 21 is blunt, the horizontal pressing of the charging jack 1 is applied to the intermediate contact pin 21 by 9 degrees.
It can be applied by converting it to 0 degrees.

With such a configuration, when the charging jack 1 is inserted into the housing opening 20 of the communication device main body and is engaged, the two terminals 3 at the tips press the intermediate contact pin 21, Push up. As a result, the intermediate contact pin 21 and the contact plate 24 are electrically connected and can be charged. When the charging jack 1 is released and the pressing is removed, the intermediate contact pin 21 returns to the original position by the bias of the coil spring 28 as in the above-described embodiment.

As described above, according to the electronic apparatus according to the above-described embodiment and its modifications, as long as the intermediate contact pin 9 appearing in a part of the housing 7 of the electronic apparatus is not pressed by the charging jack 1, Since there is no contact with the rechargeable battery, there is no danger of erroneously shorting the intermediate contact pins 9. Therefore, an overcurrent does not flow in the internal circuit of the electronic device, and the circuit does not fail. In addition, except when charging, the intermediate contact pin 9 is in a non-conductive state.
Since the intermediate contact pin 9 is located in the recessed portion of the abutting portion 10 of the opening, the intermediate contact pin 9 is not erroneously pressed, whereby the short-circuit prevention between the terminals can be enhanced.
Further, if the waterproof packing 15 is provided on the intermediate contact pin 9, it is possible to prevent water or the like from entering at the same time as the short circuit. In this case, since the contact pressure due to the weight of the electronic device body 2 is not required, the arrangement of the charging terminals is not limited to the lower portion when the housing 7 is erected.

[0021]

As described above, according to the electronic apparatus of the present invention, the intermediate contact pin, which appears in a part of the housing of the electronic apparatus, does not come into contact with the rechargeable battery unless pressed by the charging jack. In addition, the risk of erroneously shorting the intermediate contact pins can be prevented. Therefore, an overcurrent does not flow in the internal circuit of the electronic device, and the circuit does not break down. Further, in the charging terminal structure according to the present invention, since the contact pressure due to the weight of the electronic device main body is not required, the charging terminal position of the housing is not limited to the lower part when the housing is erected.

Further, according to the electronic device of the present invention, since the insertion direction of the charging jack is the same as the sliding direction of the intermediate contact pin, the electronic device has a simple structure while preventing short-circuiting between the terminals. It is possible to reliably switch between conduction and non-conduction with the rechargeable battery during charging. In addition, except when charging, the intermediate contact pin is in a non-conductive state and is located in a deep portion called an abutting portion, so that the intermediate contact pin is not erroneously pressed and thereby the terminals can be connected to each other. Short circuit prevention can be enhanced. Furthermore, the charging terminal structure according to the present invention does not require a contact pressure due to its own weight of the electronic device main body, so that there is no restriction on the position of the charging terminal of the housing, not limited to the lower portion when the housing is set up.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front and side sectional view showing an electronic apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing a state when a charging jack is inserted and engaged.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a modification of the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Charging jack 2 Electronic device main body 4 Slit 5, 20 Housing opening 6 Engagement part 7 Housing 8, 24 Contact plate 9, 21 Intermediate contact pin 10 Opening end part 11, 25 Flange 12, 27 Coil spring 14, 26 Guide part

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Ito 1-8-8 Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba F-term (reference) in Seiko Instruments Inc. 5G003 AA01 BA01 FA03

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A charging jack having both positive and negative terminals projecting therefrom, a contact plate electrically connected to a rechargeable battery and fixed to a housing, and the housing near the contact plate, wherein the charging A jack is inserted into the housing opening so as to be in non-contact with the contact plate, and can be slid along the guide portion of the housing until it comes into contact with the contact plate by pressing from the charging jack. And an intermediate contact pin that returns to an original position where it is not in contact with the contact plate by an elastic body sandwiched between the housing and the housing when the pressing is removed. Electronics. 2. The insertion direction of the charging jack and the sliding direction of the intermediate contact pin are the same, and the end of the intermediate contact pin appears at the end of the housing opening. Electronic device as described.