JP3239111B2 - Battery pack - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery pack which is mounted in a battery storage section of an electric device instead of a dry battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electric device can be used economically by repeatedly charging and discharging a battery several times by using a battery pack instead of a dry battery. In particular, an electric device such as a game machine, which has a long usage time and a large amount of usage, has a feature in that the amount of discarded dry batteries can be significantly reduced by replacing the dry batteries with battery packs. A battery pack for such a use has already been developed as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-44011. The battery pack described in this publication is shown in FIG. In this battery pack, two cylindrical batteries 15 are arranged in parallel and connected by a holder 4. In the illustrated battery pack, the + and-electrode terminals 5 of the two secondary batteries are disposed at the same end. The dry battery storage section of the electric device to which the battery pack is mounted has a structure in which + and-of the battery pack are on the same side.

However, as shown in FIG. 2, electric equipment designed for a dry battery used in practice, such as a game machine for a dry battery, has a structure in which the + and-of the dry battery 16 are mounted in opposite directions, as shown in FIG. Almost. Adjacent dry cell 1
This is because one of the electrode terminals 5 of 6 can be connected in series by connecting with the lead wire 8. Further, the dry cell storage section 2 shown in FIG. 2 is provided with an elastic projecting contact 6 such as a spring that is elastically pressed against the negative electrode terminal 5 of the dry cell 16 in order to eliminate a poor contact of the dry cell 16 to be mounted. I have. Since the dry cell storage section 2 is mounted with the + and-of the dry cell 16 in the opposite direction,
The elastic projecting contacts 6 are arranged on diagonal lines at both ends.

[0004]

In the dry cell storage section 2 having the structure shown in FIG. 2, two dry cells 16 are separately mounted to reduce the contact failure. However, the dry battery storage section 2 having this structure has a disadvantage that the battery pack cannot be easily mounted. This is because the elastic protruding contacts 6 at both ends of the dry battery housing 2 are mounted in a state of being pressed and compressed by the battery pack. The battery pack can be pressed against one side of the dry cell storage section to compress the elastic projecting contact provided at one end thereof. However, when one side is pressed, the elastic projecting contact on the side opposite to the pressing direction is not pressed. For this reason, both elastic projecting contacts cannot be compressed.To compress and mount both elastic projecting contacts, use another member to compress the elastic projecting contact that is not pressed by the battery pack. In such a situation, it is necessary to mount the battery pack, which has a disadvantage that the mounting is extremely troublesome. This disadvantage can be solved by reducing the amount of protrusion of the elastic projecting contact provided in the dry battery housing. However, when the elastic projecting contact is designed to be low, when the dry battery is mounted, it cannot be sufficiently pressed, and a contact failure is likely to occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been developed to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an important object of the present invention is to provide a simple and easy-to-use battery pack for electric equipment having elastic projecting contacts at both ends. It is another object of the present invention to provide a battery pack that can be easily and quickly mounted.

[0006]

The battery pack of the present invention comprises:
A battery pack which is mounted in the battery storage section 2 of the electric device 1 instead of the dry battery, and a plurality of secondary batteries 3 are connected in parallel by a holder 4. Holder 4 molded insulation
An output terminal cover portion 12a on the output terminal 10 side;
The bottom cover 12b provided at the opposite end is
Prepare. Further, the holder 4 is provided with a bottom cover 12b.
In addition, a guide groove 13 for guiding the elastic projecting contact 6 of the dry cell housing 2 and an inclined surface 45 are provided. This inclined surface 45 is
A corner portion of the bottom cover portion 12b and a dry cell storage portion
The shape that diagonally cuts the corner that approaches the bottom of 2
are doing.

In the battery pack according to the second aspect of the present invention, the secondary battery 3 is shorter than the dry battery mounted in the dry battery housing 2.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the two rechargeable batteries 3 are held by the holder 4 in parallel with the + and-polarities reversed. Adjacent secondary batteries 3 have + -electrode terminals 5 connected in series by lead members 9. The guide groove 1 is formed at the end of the battery pack connected by the lead member 9.
3 are provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery pack comprising :
The bar portion 12b is adjacent to the slit-shaped guide groove 13.
An inclined surface 45 is provided.

In the battery pack according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the holder 4 is an end on the side where the guide groove 13 is provided,
A handle recess 14 is provided between the secondary batteries 3.

In a battery pack according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the holder 4 has a groove shape into which a plurality of secondary batteries 3 are inserted in parallel. The holder 4 includes a holder plate 11 having both side walls curved along the surface of the cylindrical secondary battery 3, and an insulating holder 12 mounted on the holder plate 11.
The insulating holder 12 is provided with an output terminal cover 12a.
And a bottom cover portion 12b.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the following examples illustrate the battery pack for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention does not specify the battery pack as follows.

Further, in this specification, in order to make it easy to understand the claims, the numbers corresponding to the members shown in the embodiments will be referred to as “claims” and “ In the column of “means”. However, the members described in the claims are not limited to the members of the embodiments.

The battery pack shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is mounted in the dry cell storage section 2 of the electric device 1 shown in FIG. 5 instead of the dry cell. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the battery pack shown in FIG. 3 is viewed from the lower rear side. Electric device 1 of FIG.
Is a game machine. However, the present invention does not specify an electric device to which a battery pack is mounted as a game machine.

[0015] Dry battery storage section 2 of electric equipment 1 shown in FIG.
Install the batteries in +-reverse direction. Therefore, the dry battery housing 2 is provided with the elastic projecting contacts 6 so as to be located on diagonal lines at both ends. The elastic projecting contact 6 is formed by winding an elastic wire in a coil shape, and is elastically pressed against the negative electrode terminal of the dry battery to make electrical contact therewith. Although not shown, the elastic projecting contact may have a shape in which the elastic metal plate elastically projects toward the dry battery. The non-elastic contact 7 that is in contact with the positive electrode terminal of the dry battery is fixed next to the elastic projecting contact 6 in the dry battery housing 2. The non-elastic contact 7 is also disposed on the diagonal line of the dry cell housing 2. The inelastic contact 7 is
The metal plate is fixed to the inner surface of the dry cell housing 2.
The elastic projecting contact 6 is provided in the dry battery housing 2 so as to project beyond the non-elastic contact 7.

In the dry cell housing 2 shown in FIG. 5, an elastic projecting contact 6 and a non-elastic contact 7 provided on the right side are connected by a lead wire 8. This is for connecting the dry batteries mounted adjacent to the dry battery storage section 2 in series. In the figure, an elastic projecting contact 6 and a non-elastic contact 7 disposed on the left side of the dry battery housing 2 serve as a power supply terminal of the electric device 1 to supply power to the electric device 1.

The battery pack mounted in the dry battery housing 2 is electrically connected to the left elastic projecting contact 6 and the non-elastic contact 7 to supply electric power to the electric device 1. The battery pack shown in the drawing has a lead member 9 on the right side of the built-in secondary battery 3.
Connected with. The battery pack of this structure is a secondary battery 3
The power can be supplied to the electric device 1 without electrically connecting the positive and negative electrode terminals 5 on the right side to the elastic projecting contacts 6 and the non-elastic contacts 7 provided on the right side of the dry cell housing 2. Therefore, in the battery pack, it is not necessary to make the opposite side of the output terminal 10 contact the elastic projecting contact 6 and the non-elastic contact 7 of the dry cell housing 2.

In the battery packs shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, two rechargeable batteries 3 are connected in parallel by a holder 4 and fixed. The secondary battery 3 is fixed to the holder 4 with the positive output terminal 10A protruding from the negative output terminal 10B. The secondary battery 3 is a cylindrical rechargeable battery, for example, a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel-hydrogen battery, a lithium ion secondary battery, or the like. The secondary battery 3 has substantially the same thickness as the dry battery mounted in the dry battery storage section 2 or is slightly thinner. Further, the overall length of the secondary battery 3 is slightly shorter than that of the dry battery.

The battery pack set in the battery compartment 2 designed to mount AA type batteries is almost the same as or slightly thinner than AA batteries, and is somewhat shorter than AA batteries. The secondary battery 3 has a built-in shape.
The illustrated battery pack contains two secondary batteries 3, but the battery pack can also contain three or more secondary batteries.

The total length of the battery pack is determined by the minimum distance between the two elastic projecting contacts 6 disposed opposite to each other at both ends of the dry battery housing 2, that is, the elastic projecting contacts 6
Is longer than the interval between the distal end surfaces of the resilient projecting contacts 6 disposed opposite to each other. If the total length of the battery pack is shorter than the minimum interval between the elastic projecting contacts 6, the +-output terminal 10 cannot be electrically connected to the elastic projecting contact 6 serving as the power supply terminal of the electric device 1 and the inelastic contact 7. .

Further, in the battery pack shown in the figure, two rechargeable batteries 3 are connected and fixed by a holder 4 so that the + and-polarities are reversed. In the battery pack, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 5, the + -electrode terminals 5 of the adjacent secondary batteries 3 are connected in series on the opposite side of the output terminal 10 by a lead member 9.

The holder 4 includes a holder plate 11 and an insulating holder 12, as shown in FIGS. The holder plate 11 is manufactured by processing an elastically deformable metal plate, for example, a stainless steel plate.
The holder plate 11 is made of a metal plate and two rechargeable batteries 3.
Are processed into a groove shape that can be held in parallel, and both side walls are curved along the surface of the cylindrical secondary battery 3. The holder plate 11 having this structure is made extremely thin and can reliably hold the secondary battery 3 in a state of being elastically pressed. For this reason, in the battery pack holding the secondary battery 3 by the metal plate holder plate 11, the built-in secondary battery 3 can be made almost the same thickness as the dry battery mounted in the dry battery storage unit 2.
This is because the holder plate 11 does not increase the substantial thickness of the secondary battery 3. Therefore, in the battery pack having this structure, the charging capacity can be increased by using the thick secondary battery 3. The metallic holder plate 11 holds and connects the secondary batteries 3 covered with an insulating material such as a heat-shrinkable film.

The insulating holder 12 is formed by molding an insulating material such as plastic, and includes an end cover portion 12A provided at an end of the secondary battery 3 and a plate portion provided on the inner surface of the holder plate 11. 12B. The end cover portion 12A is connected to the output terminal cover portion 12a on the output terminal 10 side.
And a bottom cover part 12b.

The bottom cover 12b is provided with two rechargeable batteries 3
Are connected on the inner surface.
Further, the bottom cover portion 12b has a slit, and the slit forms a guide groove 13 for guiding the elastic projecting contact 6 of the dry cell storage portion 2. The guide groove 13 is provided at a position facing the negative electrode terminal 5 of the built-in secondary battery 3. In the illustrated bottom cover portion 12b, since the guide groove 13 is formed by a slit, the negative electrode terminal surface of the secondary battery 3 is the bottom surface of the guide groove 13. The guide groove 13 formed of a slit is formed from the center of the negative electrode terminal 5 of the secondary battery 3.
It is provided to extend to the bottom side of the dry cell storage section 2. When the battery pack is inserted into the battery compartment 2, the elastic projecting contacts 6
Is moved along the guide groove 13. The guide groove 13 can be deepened in a battery pack having the negative electrode terminal surface of the secondary battery 3 as the bottom surface of the guide groove 13.

However, in the battery pack in which the secondary batteries are connected in series inside the bottom cover, the positive and negative electrode terminals of the secondary battery provided inside the bottom cover are connected to the elastic protrusions of the dry battery housing. Since there is no need to contact the contact and the inelastic contact, a guide groove having a bottom can be formed in the bottom cover.

The depth of the guide groove 13 is preferably a depth at which the elastic projecting contact 6 of the dry cell storage section 2 does not elastically press the bottom of the guide groove 13 when the battery pack is mounted in the dry cell storage section 2. I do. The battery pack having this structure can be most easily inserted into the dry cell housing 2. that is,
The battery pack is inserted into the battery storage section 2 without compressing the elastic projecting contacts 6 disposed opposite the bottom cover section 12b at all.
It is because it can be attached to.

The battery pack shown in FIG.
A guide groove 13 is provided at one end from the center of b. The guide groove 13 does not necessarily need to be provided on both the upper and lower surfaces of the battery pack in FIGS. This is because the elastic projecting contact 6 is located substantially at the center of the negative electrode terminal 5 of the secondary battery 3 in a state where the battery pack is placed in the fixed position of the dry battery storage unit 2.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the battery pack is provided with an inclined surface 45 below the bottom cover 12b.
It is easy to insert into the dry cell storage part 2. The slope of this figure
The surface 45 is a corner portion of the bottom cover portion 12b and is
Diagonally cut the corner near the bottom of the battery compartment
Shape. In FIG. 5, the battery pack is inserted in a state in which the elastic projecting contact 6 located on the left side of the dry battery housing 2 is pressed and compressed by the output terminal 10 of the battery pack.
At this time, since the battery pack is provided with the inclined surface 45 below the bottom cover portion 12b located on the right side, the battery pack has a feature that the battery pack can be inserted smoothly without contacting the opening edge of the battery storage section 2.

Further, in the battery pack shown in the figure, a handle concave portion 14 is provided in the bottom cover portion 12b so that it can be easily pulled out from the dry battery storage portion 2. The handle recess 14
It is provided at the center of the bottom cover part 12b. In the battery pack shown in the figure, convex portions are provided on both sides of the bottom cover portion 12b, and the portions between the convex portions are thinly formed as handle concave portions 14. A slit is provided in a portion where the handle concave portion 14 is provided and formed thin, and this is used as the guide groove 13.

In the battery pack, the built-in secondary battery 3 is shorter than the dry battery mounted in the dry battery housing 2.
This is because a handle recess 14 is provided in the holder 4 to provide a gap between the holder 4 and the inner surface of the dry battery housing 2.

Further, the battery pack is provided on the holder plate 11 with a reverse insertion preventing projection 41 for preventing the battery pack from being inserted in the dry battery housing 2 in the opposite direction. In the illustrated battery pack, a reverse entry prevention projection 41 is provided so as to protrude from one side surface of the battery pack. When the battery pack is inserted into the dry cell storage unit 2 in a normal direction, the reverse insertion preventing projection 41
To the gap in the dry cell storage section 2. However, when the battery pack is inserted in the dry cell storage section 2 in the reverse direction, the reverse insertion prevention projection 41 hits the inner surface of the dry cell storage section 2 and the battery pack cannot be mounted. Dry battery storage unit 2 shown in FIG.
In this configuration, the reverse insertion prevention projection 41 of the battery pack is guided to a hook space 42 for guiding the hook of the opening / closing lid so that the battery pack can be mounted in a normal direction.

The structure for preventing the battery pack from being inserted in the opposite direction can also be realized by the partition ribs 43 provided in the dry battery housing 2. The partition ribs 43 are disposed between the two batteries and set the batteries in place in parallel. The partition ribs 43 have a left-right asymmetric height, and the two secondary batteries 3 are fitted so that the asymmetric partition ribs 43 can be fitted.
To form a valley space.

[0033]

The battery pack according to the present invention has a feature that it can be easily, easily and quickly mounted in a dry cell storage section of an electric device having elastic projecting contacts at both ends. The reason is that the battery pack of the present invention has a guide groove at the end, and the battery pack can be mounted in the dry battery storage section while guiding the elastic projecting contact provided on one side of the dry battery storage section in the guide groove. is there. In other words, the battery pack of the present invention can be smoothly mounted in the dry battery housing without compressing the elastic projecting contacts protruding on the opposite side of the elastic projecting contacts that are brought into contact with the output terminals.

In the battery pack according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the secondary battery is shorter than the dry battery mounted in the dry cell storage portion, the guide groove is deepened so that the elastic projecting contact can be guided more smoothly. There is.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the battery pack, the two secondary batteries are held by a holder in parallel with the + and-polarities reversed, and the + and-electrodes of the adjacent secondary batteries are held. Are connected in series by a lead member, so that it is not necessary to connect the opposite side of the output terminal to the elastic protruding contact and the non-elastic contact of the dry cell housing.

In the battery pack according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the battery pack is mounted on the dry cell storage section, the elastic projecting contact of the dry cell storage section has a depth that does not elastically press the bottom of the guide groove. There is a feature that can be installed very smoothly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional battery pack.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a dry cell storage section of the electric device to which the battery pack is mounted.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the battery pack shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the battery pack shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the battery pack shown in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electric equipment 2 ... Dry battery storage part 3 ... Secondary battery 4 ... Holder 5 ... Electrode terminal 6 ... Elastic protruding contact 7 ... Inelastic contact 8 ... Lead wire 9 ... Lead member 10 ... Output terminal 10A ... + output terminal
10B-output terminal 11-holder plate 12-insulating holder 12A-end cover
12B: Plate portion 12a: Output terminal cover portion 12b: Bottom cover portion 13: Guide groove 14: Handle concave portion 15: Cylindrical battery 16: Dry battery 41: Reverse entry prevention protrusion 42 ... Hook space 43 ... Partition rib 45 ... Inclined surface

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-10-40884 (JP, A) JP-A-5-15316 (JP, U) JP-A-63-77258 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int) .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01M 2/10

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A battery housing part of the electrical apparatus (1) to (2), a battery pack to be mounted in place of the batteries, are connected plural secondary batteries (3) in a flat line holder ( 4) is the output terminal cover on the output terminal (10) side, which is formed by molding insulating material.
Section (12a) and the bottom cover at the opposite end
In a battery pack and a section (12b), the bottom cover portion (12b), the elastic protrusion contacts the battery housing portion (2)
A guide groove (13) for guiding (6) and an inclined surface (45) are provided.
The guide groove (13) is slit-shaped, and the guide groove (13)
From the center of the negative electrode terminal (5) of the secondary battery (3).
It is provided to extend to the bottom side of the storage section (2), and furthermore, the inclined surface (45) is provided at the corner of the bottom cover
Corner near the bottom of the battery compartment (2)
A battery pack characterized in that its part is obliquely cut . 2. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the secondary battery (3) is shorter than the dry battery installed in the dry cell storage section (2). 3. The two rechargeable batteries (3) are held in parallel by a holder (4) in a posture in which the + and-polarities are reversed, and the + and-electrodes of the adjacent rechargeable batteries (3) are held. Terminal (5) lead member
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein a guide groove (13) is provided at an end of the battery pack connected in series at (9) and connected by a lead member (9). 4. A bottom cover (12b) having a slit-shaped cover.
An inclined surface (45) is provided adjacent to the id groove (13).
The battery pack described in 1. The holder (4) is an end on the side where the guide groove (13) is provided, and the handle recess (1) is located between the secondary batteries (3).
The battery pack according to claim 1, comprising: (4). 6. A rechargeable battery comprising: a holder (4) having a groove shape for inserting a plurality of rechargeable batteries (3) in parallel;
Holder plate (11) curved along the surface of (3)
And an insulating holder (12) mounted on the holder plate (11), and the insulating holder (12) is provided with an output terminal cover.
2. The battery pack according to claim 1, comprising a part (12a) and a bottom cover part (12b) .