JP3913382B2 - Charger - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a charger that can be charged by attaching a plurality of battery built-in cases such as a battery pack and an electronic device incorporating a secondary battery.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A charger that can be charged by attaching a plurality of battery built-in cases such as a battery pack together can be used very conveniently in an apparatus that uses a large number of battery packs. This is because it is not necessary to mount and recharge a battery pack or the like while replacing one by one each time charging is completed. This type of charger can charge a plurality of battery packs in order or charge them simultaneously, so that all the battery packs can be charged efficiently.
[0003]
There are two types of chargers, one that sets the battery pack in a self-supporting manner and the other that holds the battery pack held by an elastic holding lever. The battery charger that is installed independently makes the charging terminal come into contact with the contact point by the weight of the battery pack. This type of charger allows easy removal of the battery pack. However, since the contact point is electrically connected to the charging terminal by its own weight, the contact point may not be reliably contacted with the charging terminal. In particular, when the battery pack becomes lighter, the contact pressure at which the contact is pressed against the charging terminal is reduced, and there is a problem that contact failure tends to occur.
[0004]
This problem can be solved by a structure that holds and holds the battery pack with elastic holding levers provided on both sides of the mounting portion. This charger is provided with elastic holding levers on both sides of the mounting portion. The elastic holding lever tilts when the battery pack or the like is detached. When a specific battery pack is attached to or removed from the battery charger having this structure, the mounting position of the adjacent battery pack may be shifted and charging may not be performed normally. In order to eliminate this problem, in the conventional charger, adjacent mounting portions are arranged apart from each other so that the adjacent battery pack is not touched when the battery pack is removed.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By disposing the plurality of mounting portions apart from each other, each of the battery packs can be accurately and independently detached. However, the battery charger of this structure has a drawback that it cannot be made compact because the whole is large. In particular, a charger for charging a plurality of battery packs and the like is larger than a single charger, so it is important to make it as small as possible.
[0006]
The present invention was developed for the purpose of solving the conventional drawbacks, and an important object of the present invention is to securely attach and detach a plurality of battery built-in cases despite the fact that the whole can be made compact. An object of the present invention is to provide a charger that can reliably charge all the secondary batteries built in a battery built-in case.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The charger according to claim 1 of the present invention has a plurality of mounting portions 2 adjacent to each other for detachably mounting a battery built-in case 3 containing a secondary battery, and has the following unique configuration. .
(A) An elastic holding lever 5 is provided at a boundary portion between the plurality of mounting portions 2 to elastically sandwich and hold the battery built-in case 3 from both sides.
(B) One end of the elastic holding lever 5 is connected to the charger main body 1 so that it can tilt, and the other end has a hook portion 5A that holds the battery built-in case 3 therebetween.
(C) The elastic holding lever 5 is pressed by the elastic body 10 in the direction in which the battery built-in case 3 is elastically sandwiched.
(D) one and the other of the elastic retaining lever 5 the back side was placed to face the Rutotomoni hook portion disposed adjacent to the boundary portion (5A) of the adjacent mounting portion (2) is in the mounted unit 2 In order to detach the battery built-in case 3, the elastic holding lever 5 is disposed close enough to contact the other elastic holding lever 5 with the one elastic holding lever 5 tilted.
[0008]
The charger according to claim 2 of the present invention is a battery built-in case 3 set in the mounting portion 2, either a pack battery incorporating a secondary battery, or an electronic device incorporating a secondary battery, Both.
[0009]
The charger according to claim 3 of the present invention is provided with side walls 6 for holding the battery built-in case 3 in a fixed position on both sides of the mounting portion 2. The side wall 6 has a high part in which the elastic holding lever 5 is incorporated, and a low part in which a hand for gripping both sides of the battery built-in case 3 is inserted when the battery built-in case 3 is detached. The battery charger having this structure can be securely attached to the attachment part 2 in a state in which the battery built-in case 3 is easily removed.
[0010]
Further, in the charger according to claim 4 of the present invention, the elastic holding lever 5 is disposed in the vicinity of the contact 9 connected to the charging terminal 13 of the battery built-in case 3. The charger having this structure has a feature that the battery holding case 3 is held by the elastic holding lever 5 and the contact 9 can be reliably brought into contact with the charging terminal 13 of the battery containing case 3.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below exemplifies a charger for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention does not specify the structure of the charger as follows.
[0012]
Further, in this specification, in order to facilitate understanding of the scope of claims, the numbers corresponding to the members shown in the examples are referred to as “the scope of claims” and “the means for solving the problems”. It is added to the member shown by. However, the members shown in the claims are not limited to the members in the embodiments.
[0013]
The charger shown in the plan view of FIG. 1 and the front view of FIG. 2 is provided with a plurality of mounting portions 2 on the upper surface of the charger body 1. In the charger of this figure, the four mounting portions 2 are provided in parallel with each other so as to be adjacent to each other in a horizontal posture. The mounting portion 2 does not necessarily have to be in a horizontal posture as shown in the figure, and for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the battery built-in case 3 can be mounted in a tilted posture.
[0014]
A battery built-in case 3 containing a secondary battery, such as an electronic device or a battery pack, is attached to the mounting part 2 so that it can be detached. As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 4, upper and lower stoppers 4 are provided above and below the mounting portion 2. However, in this specification, the vertical direction means the vertical direction in FIG. 1, that is, the horizontal direction in FIG. The distance between the upper and lower stoppers 4 is substantially equal to the vertical length of the battery built-in case 3 set in the mounting portion 2. This is to prevent the battery built-in case 3 set in the mounting part 2 from shifting up and down. In the illustrated charger, the upper upper and lower stoppers 4 are made higher than the lower upper and lower stoppers 4. The upper vertical stopper 4 has a slightly inclined inner surface so that the battery built-in case 3 can be set smoothly.
[0015]
Further, elastic holding levers 5 are provided on both sides of the mounting portion 2 to hold the battery built-in case 3 elastically between both sides. 4 and 5, the elastic holding lever 5 is built in the side wall 6 disposed on both sides of the mounting portion 2. However, the charger of the present invention does not necessarily need to incorporate the elastic holding lever in the side wall. The battery charger in which the elastic holding lever 5 is built in the side wall 6 has a feature that the elastic holding lever 5 that tilts can be protected by the side wall 6. In addition, the battery charger having this structure has a feature that the battery built-in case 3 set in the mounting portion 2 can be prevented from being displaced from side to side by both the side wall 6 and the elastic holding lever 5. The side wall 6 that prevents the right and left positional deviation has an inner space substantially equal to the lateral width of the battery built-in case 3.
[0016]
As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, the side wall 6 is vertically raised and lowered in the middle. The elastic holding lever 5 is built in the raised part of the lower part. The side wall 6 that lowers the middle is easy to put a hand to grip both sides of the battery built-in case 3 when the battery built-in case 3 is attached to and detached from the mounting portion 2. Further, the side wall 6 having a low middle can be attached and detached in a well-balanced manner by grasping the central portion of the battery built-in case 3 from both sides by hand. Further, in the charger of FIG. 4, a pillow 7 is integrally formed on the bottom surface of the mounting portion 2 so that the battery built-in case 3 does not adhere to the bottom surface of the mounting portion 2, and the side wall 6 is lowered. The portion is a recess 8. The mounting portion 2 having this structure can easily put a hand in the gap between the battery built-in case 3 and the bottom surface of the mounting portion 2, and the battery built-in case 3 can be attached and detached more smoothly. Further, as shown in the figure, the side wall 6 that is vertically raised has a feature that the case 3 with the battery built in the mounting portion 2 can be held from both sides at the upper and lower portions to prevent the right and left displacement. is there.
[0017]
In the charger of FIG. 4, a contact 9 connected to the charging terminal 13 of the battery built-in case 3 is disposed at the bottom of the mounting portion 2. This is for connection to a charging terminal 13 provided on the back surface of the battery built-in case 3. The battery built-in case 3 is provided with a charging terminal 13 at the bottom. Therefore, the contact 9 connected to the charging terminal 13 is also arranged at the lower part of the mounting portion 2. As shown in this figure, the contact 9 is disposed at the lower portion of the mounting portion 2 and the elastic holding lever 5 is disposed at the lower portion of the side wall 6 so that the contact 9 and the elastic holding lever 5 are brought close to each other. The battery charger to be arranged has an advantage that the contact 9 can be more reliably electrically connected to the charging terminal 13 of the battery built-in case 3 with the elastic holding lever 5. This is because the portion of the battery built-in case 3 provided with the charging terminal 13 can be set in the mounting portion 2 so as to be held by the elastic holding lever 5.
[0018]
One end of the elastic holding lever 5 is connected to the charger main body 1 so that it can tilt, and the other end has a hook portion 5A for holding and holding the battery built-in case 3. This elastic holding lever 5 is pressed by the elastic body 10 in a direction in which the battery built-in case 3 is elastically sandwiched.
[0019]
The elastic holding lever 5 is shown in FIGS. The elastic holding lever 5 shown in these figures protrudes on both sides of the lower end and is provided with a rotating shaft 5B and an upper portion with a hook portion 5A integrally formed of plastic. As shown in the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 4 and 5, the rotating shaft 5 </ b> B is supported in a state of being sandwiched so as to be rotatable by the case 11. In the case 11 shown in the figure, an upper case portion 11A and a lower case portion 11B are integrally formed with a support portion 12 that supports the rotating shaft 5B. The support portion 12 has a support surface that is curved in a shape along the rotation shaft 5B. The support surface is brought into contact with the rotation shaft 5B so as to be slidable so that the rotation shaft 5B of the elastic holding lever 5 can be rotated. That is, the elastic holding lever 5 is supported so that it can tilt.
[0020]
The hook portion 5 </ b> A has a convex portion protruding from the opening window 6 a provided on the side wall 6 to the mounting portion 2. As shown in FIG. 7, the convex portion has an upper surface as an inclined surface so that the battery built-in case 3 can be smoothly inserted into the mounting portion 2. Furthermore, the lower surface of the convex portion is also inclined so as to be steeper than the upper surface so that the battery built-in case 3 set on the mounting portion 2 can be removed smoothly. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, both sides of the convex portion are inclined surfaces whose width gradually decreases toward the tip, so that the battery built-in case 3 can be easily and smoothly attached and detached.
[0021]
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the elastic holding lever 5 has an upper end surface that is inclined downwardly toward the upper side of the side wall 6, that is, in the right direction in this figure. The side wall 6 is also inclined in the same direction as the upper surface of the elastic holding lever 5, as shown in FIG. In the charger having this structure, the side wall 6 and the upper surface of the elastic holding lever 5 are inclined downward toward the portion where the side wall 6 is lowered, so that as shown by the chain line in FIG. Therefore, the side wall 6 and the elastic holding lever 5 do not get in the way when the hand hits them.
[0022]
The elastic holding lever 5 built in the side wall 6 is pressed by the elastic body 10 in a direction in which the battery built-in case 3 is elastically sandwiched. The elastic body 10 shown in the figure has a shape in which both end portions are coiled, and presses the back surface of the elastic holding lever 5 in the middle thereof. The elastic body 10 has a rotating shaft 5B of the elastic holding lever 5 inserted in a coiled portion. Furthermore, both ends of the elastic body 10 press the inner surface of the case 11, and the elastic holding lever 5 is pressed in the clamping direction of the battery built-in case 3 by its reaction. The illustrated elastic body 10 presses the inner surface of the case 11 forming the mounting portion 2.
[0023]
Since the charger shown in the figure is provided with a plurality of rows of mounting portions 2, two elastic holding levers 5 are arranged at the boundary between adjacent mounting portions 2 so as to face each other in a back-to-back posture. is doing. Two elastic holding levers, that is, a pair of elastic holding levers 5 arranged at the boundary of the mounting portion 2, tilted one elastic holding lever 5 in order to detach the battery built-in case 3 from the mounting portion 2. In this state, they are arranged close enough to abut against the other elastic holding lever 5. This is to prevent the battery built-in case 3 set in the adjacent mounting part 2 from being displaced when the elastic holding lever 5 is tilted to remove the battery built-in case 3 from one mounting part 2. .
[0024]
The pair of elastic holding levers 5 disposed close to each other is tilted as shown by a chain line in FIG. 5 when the battery built-in case 3 is attached to or detached from the mounting portion 2. One elastic holding lever 5 that tilts approaches the back surface of the other elastic holding lever 5 that is disposed adjacent thereto, or abuts on the back surface. When one elastic holding lever 5 approaches or contacts the back surface of the other elastic holding lever 5, the tilting elastic holding lever 5 prevents the non-tilting elastic holding lever 5 from tilting. The elastic holding lever 5 that does not tilt holds the battery built-in case 3 set in the mounting portion 2 so as not to be displaced. This is because the battery built-in case 3 is not detached from the mounting portion 2 unless the elastic holding lever 5 is tilted.
[0025]
The pair of elastic holding levers 5 are brought close to each other so that the battery built-in cases 3 of both mounting portions 2 cannot be removed at the same time. The ideal distance between the pair of elastic holding levers 5 is that when one elastic holding lever 5 is inclined at an angle to attach and detach the battery built-in case 3, the inclined elastic holding lever 5 is the back of the other elastic holding lever 5. In this state, the other elastic holding lever 5 can be prevented from tilting. However, in a state where one elastic holding lever 5 is tilted to such an extent that the battery built-in case 3 can be detached, the other elastic holding lever 5 cannot be detached from the battery built-in case 3 but is brought close enough to be able to tilt slightly. You can also.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
The charger according to the present invention has a feature that, despite the fact that the whole can be made compact, a plurality of battery built-in cases can be reliably detached and all the battery built-in cases can be reliably charged. It charger of the present invention, the one and the other resilient retaining lever and disposed opposite the back side of the Rutotomoni hook portion disposed at the boundary of the mounting portion being disposed adjacent (5A), This is because, in order to attach and detach the battery built-in case to one of the mounting portions, the one elastic holding lever is tilted and arranged close enough to abut against the other elastic holding lever. In the charger with this structure, when one elastic holding lever is tilted to detach one battery built-in case, the tilted elastic holding lever restricts the tilt of the other elastic holding lever, This prevents the battery built-in case set in the battery from being removed or displaced, and eliminates poor contact between the charging terminal and the contact.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a plan view of a charger according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the charger shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side view of a charger according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the charger shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the charger shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is an enlarged front view of the elastic holding lever of the charger shown in Fig. 5. FIG. 8 is a side view of the elastic holding lever shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the elastic holding lever shown in FIG.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Charger main body 2 ... Mounting part 3 ... Battery built-in case 4 ... Vertical stopper 5 ... Elastic holding lever 5A ... Hook part 5B ... Rotating shaft 6 ... Side wall 6a ... Opening window 7 ... Pillow 8 ... Concave 9 ... Contact 10 ... Elasticity Body 11 ... Case 11A ... Upper case part 11B ... Lower case part 12 ... Support part 13 ... Charge terminal

Claims (4)

A charger having all of the following configurations in a charger adjacent to a mounting portion (2) for detachably mounting a plurality of battery built-in cases (3) containing secondary batteries. .
(A) An elastic holding lever (5) for elastically sandwiching and holding the battery built-in case (3) from both sides is provided at a boundary portion between the plurality of mounting portions (2).
(B) One end of the elastic holding lever (5) is connected to the charger main body (1) so that it can be tilted, and the hook portion (5A) holds the battery built-in case (3) at the other end. ).
(C) The elastic holding lever (5) is pressed by the elastic body (10) in a direction to elastically sandwich the battery built-in case (3).
(D) one was placed back side of Rutotomoni hook portion disposed adjacent to the boundary portion of the mounting portion adjacent (2) (5A) is opposed and the other resilient retaining lever (5) is mounted portion In order to detach the battery built-in case (3) in (2), it is arranged close enough to contact the other elastic holding lever (5) with one elastic holding lever (5) tilted. ing.   The charger according to claim 1, wherein the battery built-in case (3) is one or both of a battery pack incorporating a secondary battery and an electronic device incorporating a secondary battery.   Side walls (6) for holding the battery built-in case (3) in place are provided on both sides of the mounting part (2), and the side wall (6) has a high part with a built-in elastic holding lever (5), and The battery charger according to claim 1, further comprising a lower portion for inserting a hand for gripping both sides of the battery built-in case 3 when the battery built-in case (3) is detached.   The charger according to claim 1, wherein the elastic holding lever (5) is disposed in the vicinity of the contact (9) connected to the charging terminal (13) of the battery built-in case (3).

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