JP3953215B2 - Charger - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a charger for charging a secondary battery by attaching a battery pack or an electronic device so as to be detachable. In particular, the present invention relates to a charger in which contacts are mounted on a case with a unique structure.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The charger has a contact for charging the attached battery pack or the like. This contact comes into contact with the charging contact of the attached battery pack and charges the secondary battery built in the battery pack. In the conventional charger, one end of the contact is soldered and fixed to a printed circuit board built in the case, and is arranged at a fixed position. Furthermore, in order to arrange the contacts in place, a charger for fixing the contacts to the printed circuit board via a plastic support has been developed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The battery charger in which the contacts are fixed via the support has the feature that the contacts can be arranged at a predetermined and precise position with the support. However, the battery charger of this structure requires a space for incorporating the support, and thus it is difficult to design the whole compactly, and there is a disadvantage that the outer shape becomes large. Furthermore, since it is necessary to fix both a support body and a contact to a printed circuit board and to incorporate in a case, there also exists a fault which requires time for an assembly.
[0004]
The present invention has been developed for the purpose of solving such drawbacks. An important object of the present invention is that the whole can be designed compactly, and the contacts can be arranged at a predetermined position via the support, and the support and the contact can be easily and easily arranged. Furthermore, the object is to provide a charger that can be assembled efficiently.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The charger of the present invention includes a case 1 in which an electrode window 4 is opened, a substrate 6 built in the case 1, and a substrate 7 fixed to the substrate 6 via a support 7. And a contact 5 that can be elastically deformed.
Furthermore, the charger of the present invention has the contact 5 and the support 7 as the following unique configurations.
(A) The contact 5 has a coil portion 5A formed by winding an elastic metal wire in a coil shape, has a fixed end portion 5B connected to the substrate 6 at one end, and a support 7 at the other end. A locking portion 5C that is locked to the coil portion 5C and a connection portion 5D that is exposed to the outside from the electrode window 4 are provided between the locking portion 5C and the coil portion 5A.
(B) The support 7 is disposed between the case 1 and the substrate 6.
(C) The support 7 has a holding wall 14 that holds the coil portion 5A of the contact 5 from both sides and holds it in place, and the holding portion 15 of the coil portion 5A is provided between the holding walls 14. .
(D) The support 7 has an opening 20 that projects the connection 5D of the contact 5 upward, and the connection 5D of the contact 5 passes through the opening 20 of the support 7 and the electrode window 4 of the case 1. Then, it is expressed outside the case 1.
[0006]
Charger of the present invention, the upper surface of the supporting body 7 of the casing 1, is molded thinner than a portion with no support 7 downward, and the more compact the entire charger.
[0007]
Charger of the present invention, the bottom surface of the holding portion 15 provided for the support 7, and a curved surface 17 along the coil portion 5A of the contact 5.
[0008]
Charger of the present invention, the substrate 6 for fixing the support 7 and a printed circuit board, securing the support 7 on the pattern surface of the printed circuit board.
[0009]
Charger of the present invention, the support 7 has a connecting portion 7a is coupled to the substrate 6. And this connection part 7a is made into an elastic hook, and this elastic hook is inserted in the through-hole 6c provided in the board | substrate 6, and the support body 7 is connected to the board | substrate 6. FIG.
[0010]
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 charger as follows.
[0011]
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.
[0012]
The charger shown in the perspective view of FIG. 1 is provided with a mounting portion 3 for attaching / detaching the battery pack 2 on the upper surface of the case 1. In order to charge the battery pack 2 set in the mounting portion 3, an electrode window 4 is opened on the bottom surface of the mounting portion 3, and a contact 5 is exposed here. The contact 5 is connected to a charging contact (not shown) of the battery pack 2 set in the mounting portion 3 so that the battery pack 2 is charged.
[0013]
The charger shown in the figure is charged with a battery pack 2 to charge a secondary battery. The charger of the present invention can also be equipped with an electronic device and charge a secondary battery built in the electronic device. The charger for mounting the electronic device has a structure that allows the mounting portion to be mounted so that the electronic device can be detached.
[0014]
The internal structure of the charger shown in FIG. 1 is shown in the sectional view of FIG. The charger shown in this figure includes a case 1 in which an electrode window 4 is opened, a substrate 6 built in the case 1, and a substrate 7 fixed to the substrate 6 via a support 7. And a contact 5 that can be elastically deformed and is connected to a charging circuit (not shown) built in the case 1.
[0015]
The case 1 includes an upper case 1A and a lower case 1B made of plastic. The upper and lower cases 1 are connected to each other, and the substrate 6 is sandwiched between the upper and lower sides and arranged at a fixed position. In order to fix the substrate 6, a boss 8 is integrally formed on the upper case 1A. A rib 9 is provided on the outer periphery of the boss 8 to press the upper surface of the substrate 6. Further, the lower case 1B supports the lower surface of the substrate 6 and is integrally provided with a cylindrical body 10 into which the boss 8 of the upper case 1A is inserted. The substrate 6 has a through hole 6a that penetrates the boss 8 of the upper case 1A. Further, the lower case 1B is integrally provided with a support portion 11 that locally supports the lower surface of the substrate 6. The upper and lower cases 1 are coupled by screwing a set screw 12 that is screwed through the bottom surface of the lower case 1B to the lower end of the boss 8 of the upper case 1A. In this state, the upper surface of the substrate 6 is pressed by the rib 9, and the lower surface is supported by the cylindrical body 10 and the support portion 11, and is fixed to a fixed position of the case 1.
[0016]
In this state, the substrate 6 fixed to the case 1 has a support 7 fixed to the upper surface. The support 7 is fixed in place while being sandwiched between the substrate 6 and the case 1. In the upper case 1A, the upper surface portion of the support 7 is formed thinner than the portion where the support 7 is not provided. In the upper case 1 </ b> A of FIG. 2, the upper surface portion of the support body 7 is formed to have a thickness that is approximately half that of the other portions without the support body 7. The upper case 1 </ b> A having this structure can be formed thinner by sandwiching the support 7.
[0017]
Further, the upper case 1A is opened at a portion where the electrode window 4 for exposing the contact 5 fixed via the support 7 to the outside is thinly formed. The upper case 1A of FIGS. 1 and 2 is formed in a shape that protrudes highly around the electrode window 4. The case 1 having this structure has a feature that water can be prevented from entering from the electrode window 4. Furthermore, the charger shown in FIG. 1 has a recess for mounting the battery pack 2 on the upper surface of the upper case 1A. The battery pack 2 is fitted into the recess and is mounted at a fixed position of the charger. A removal claw 13 for detachably connecting the battery pack 2 is provided on one side of the recess. The removal claw 13 is hooked on the battery pack 2 and attached to the recess so as not to remove the battery pack 2.
[0018]
As shown in the side view of FIG. 3 and the plan view of FIG. 4, the contact 5 is provided with a coil portion 5 </ b> A formed by winding an elastic metal wire in a coil shape, and a fixed end connected to the substrate 6 at one end. 5C is provided, and the other end is provided with a locking portion 5C that is locked to the support 7, and a connection that is exposed to the outside from the electrode window 4 between the locking portion 5C and the coil portion 5A. Part 5D is provided. The fixed end portion 5B is bent in an L shape and is inserted into the through hole 6b of the substrate 6 and fixed. The connecting portion 5D is bent into a mountain shape so as to protrude from the electrode window 4. In addition, the contact 5 which is an elastic metal wire is fixed in place via the support 7, and in a state where it is freely deformed in order to elastically protrude the connection portion 5 </ b> D from the electrode window 4, 3 so that it can be elastically deformed into the shape indicated by the chain line for mounting.
[0019]
The support 7 has a connecting portion 7 a for connecting to a fixed position of the substrate 6. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the support 7 is connected to the substrate 6. The support body 7 in this figure is provided with connecting portions 7a on both sides, and the connecting portions 7a are elastic hooks. The entire support 7 having an elastic hook is integrally formed of hard plastic that can be elastically deformed. The elastic hook is inserted into a through hole 6 c provided in the substrate 6, and the hook portion at the tip is locked to the lower surface of the substrate 6 to connect the support body 7 to a fixed position of the substrate 6. The support 7 having this structure can be easily and accurately connected to the substrate 6 via the connecting portion 7a.
[0020]
Furthermore, the top view of the support body 7 is shown in FIG. 6, and the sectional view on the AA line of this figure is shown in FIG. The support body 7 shown in these drawings has a holding wall 14 that holds the coil portion 5A of the contact 5 from both sides and holds it in place, and the holding portion 15 of the coil portion 5A is interposed between the holding walls 14. Provided. The width of the holding portion 15, that is, the interval between the holding walls 14 and the height of the holding wall 14 are formed to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the coil portion 5 </ b> A of the contact 5. This is because the coil portion 5A is freely elastically deformed by the holding portion 15.
[0021]
In order to project the contact 5 for disposing the coil portion 5A in the holding portion 15 to the outside from the holding portion 15, one holding wall 14 is provided with a cut portion 14a at the lower end. By this cut portion 14 a, a clamping gap 16 for the contact 5 is provided between the substrate 6. The retaining wall 14 is provided with a cut portion 14a so that the clamping gap 16 is slightly wider than the thickness of the elastic metal wire of the contact 5. This is because the elastic metal wire as the contact 5 is fixed in a state of being sandwiched by the sandwiching gap 16.
[0022]
Further, a curved surface 17 along the coil portion 5 </ b> A of the contact 5 is provided on the bottom surface of the holding portion 15. The support body 7 having the bottom surface as the curved surface 17 along the surface of the coil portion 5A can be formed in a thin shape at the bottom center of the holding portion 15, or as shown in the figure, so that the holding portion 15 can be cut into the coil portion 5A. The support 7 can be made thin, and the coil portion 5 </ b> A can be held on the lower surface by the curved surface 17.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 2, the contact 5 has a coil portion 5A placed in a holding portion 15 and is disposed in a sandwiching gap 16 between the coil portion 5A and the fixed end portion 5B. Is fixed to the substrate 6 outside the holding portion 15. The fixed end 5B is fixed to the substrate 6 by soldering, for example. The substrate 6 is preferably a printed circuit board. However, the substrate is not necessarily a printed circuit board. The contact 5 that fixes the fixed end 5B to the substrate 6 and is clamped by the clamping gap 16 causes the connecting portion 5D to elastically protrude from the electrode window 4.
[0024]
The contact 5 in FIG. 2 is fixed to the substrate 6 with a fixed end 5B protruding outside the support 7. The contact 5 having this shape can elastically protrude the connection portion 5 </ b> D from the electrode window 4 by a reaction that is pressed against the lower end of the holding wall 14. Although not shown, the fixed end portion of the contact can be fixed to the substrate by protruding from the holding wall on the opposite side of FIG. The contact of this structure can elastically protrude the connecting portion from the electrode window by the reaction of the fixed end pressing the substrate.
[0025]
In order to limit the position at which the connecting portion 5D of the contact 5 mounted on the support 7 protrudes from the electrode window 4, a stopper 18 is provided on the support 7. As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 2, the stopper 18 is provided above the locking portion 5 </ b> C of the contact 5. The support 7 in this figure is provided with a stopper 18 horizontally in the same plane as the upper surface of the support 7. The locking portion 5C of the contact 5 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the stopper 18 to limit the protruding amount of the connecting portion 5D. The support 7 in FIG. 6 is provided with a slit opening 19 adjacent to the stopper 18. The support body 7 provided with the slit opening 19 on the side can be easily moved to the lower surface of the stopper 18 by passing the engaging portion 5C of the contact 5 through the slit opening 19. The support without the slit opening elastically deforms the contact and moves the locking portion to the lower surface of the stopper. The support body 7 provided with the stopper 18 does not protrude abnormally in the state in which the contact point 5 is mounted, and the substrate 6 on which the contact point 5 and the support body 7 are mounted can be easily attached to the case 1. Can be set to
[0026]
Further, the support 7 is provided with an opening 20 for projecting the connecting portion 5D upward in order to expose the connecting portion 5D of the contact 5 from the electrode window 4 to the outside. The connecting portion 5D protruding upward from the opening 20 protrudes outside from the electrode window 4 provided in the upper case 1A and contacts the charging contact 5 of the battery pack 2 set in the mounting portion 3.
[0027]
The charger shown in the figure is provided with a + -contact 5 on the case 1. Therefore, the support body 7 is provided with portions for mounting the contacts 5 in two rows in parallel. Some chargers are charged by bringing a signal contact into contact with the battery pack in addition to + −. Since this charger makes three or more contacts contact the battery pack, three or more contacts are attached to the case via the support.
[0028]
The charger having the above structure is assembled as follows.
(1) The coil portion 5A of the contact 5 is inserted into the holding portion 15 of the support 7 so that the fixed end portion 5B of the contact 5 protrudes from the cut portion 14a to the outside of the holding portion 15. In this state, the locking portion 5C of the contact 5 is not locked to the stopper 18.
{Circle around (2)} The support 7 in which the coil portion 5A of the contact 5 is placed in the holding portion 15 is connected to the substrate 6 through an elastic hook which is a connecting portion 7a. When using a printed circuit board for the substrate 6, the support 7 is mounted on the pattern surface of the printed circuit board. Since the pattern surface is a flat surface on which the electronic component fixed to the printed circuit board is not mounted, it is convenient for fixing the support 7.
(3) The fixed end portion 5B of the contact 5 is fixed to the substrate 6 by a method such as soldering.
(4) The locking portion 5C of the contact 5 is placed on the lower surface of the stopper 18 of the support 7 and the locking portion 5C is hooked on the lower surface of the stopper 18. In this state, the contact 5 is fixed to the substrate 6 via the support 7.
(5) The upper case 1A is connected to the lower case 1B in a state where the substrate 6 is set at a fixed position of the lower case 1B. The substrate 6 is sandwiched between the upper and lower cases 1 and fixed in place.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
The battery charger of the present invention can be designed compactly as a whole, and can be accurately mounted with a support at a predetermined position with a support. This is because the charger of the present invention is arranged in such a state that a support is sandwiched between the substrate and the case, and the contact is mounted on the substrate via this support. In particular, the coil part of the contact is put in the holding part between the holding walls of the support and fixed to the substrate, and the support is thinned to a thickness almost comparable to the outer diameter of the coil part of the contact to ensure the contact. Can be fixed in place. For this reason, there is a feature that the distance between the substrate and the case can be narrowed and the contacts can be arranged at a fixed position. Furthermore, the charger according to the present invention has a feature that the support and the contact can be easily and easily connected to the substrate by the above structure, simplify the assembly, and can attach the contact accurately.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a perspective view of a charger according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the charger shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a contact of the charger shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the support is connected to the substrate. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the support of the charger shown in FIG. 2. FIG. -A line cross section [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Case 1A ... Upper case 1B ... Lower case 2 ... Pack battery 3 ... Mounting part 4 ... Electrode window 5 ... Contact point 5A ... Coil part 5B ... Fixed end part 5C ... Locking part 5D ... Connection part 6 ... Substrate 6a ... Through Hole 6b ... through hole 6c ... through hole 7 ... support 7a ... connecting portion 8 ... boss 9 ... rib 10 ... tubular body 11 ... support 12 ... set screw 13 ... removing claw 14 ... holding wall 14a ... cutting portion 15 ... hold Part 16 ... clamping gap 17 ... curved surface 18 ... stopper 19 ... slit opening 20 ... opening

Claims (4)

A case (1) opening an electrode window (4), a substrate (6) built in the case (1), and an electrode fixed to the substrate (6) via a support (7) In the charger comprising the window (4) and the elastically deformable contact (5) that is exposed to the outside of the case (1),
Support of the case (1) the upper surface (7), molded thinner than a portion not support (7) is provided, that the support contacts (5) and (7) but having all of the following configurations A charger characterized by.
(A) The contact (5) has a coil portion (5A) formed by winding an elastic metal wire in a coil shape, and has a fixed end portion (5B) connected to the substrate (6) at one end. The other end has a locking portion (5C) locked to the support (7), and further, between the locking portion (5C) and the coil portion (5A) from the electrode window (4) It has a connection part (5D) exposed to the outside.
(B) The support (7) is disposed between the case (1) and the substrate (6).
(C) The support (7) has a holding wall (14) that holds the coil portion (5A) of the contact (5) from both sides and holds it in place, and the coil (5) is interposed between the holding walls (14). A holding part (15) for the part (5A) is provided.
(D) The support (7) has an opening (20) for projecting the connecting portion (5D) of the contact (5) upward, and the connecting portion (5D) of the contact (5) ) And the electrode window (4) of the case (1) and are exposed to the outside of the case (1).   The charger according to claim 1, wherein a curved surface (17) along the coil portion (5A) of the contact (5) is provided on the bottom surface of the holding portion (15) of the support (7).   The charger according to claim 1, wherein the substrate (6) is a printed circuit board and the support (7) is fixed to a pattern surface of the printed circuit board.   The support (7) has a connecting portion (7a) connected to the substrate (6), the connecting portion (7a) is an elastic hook, and the through hole (6c) provided with the elastic hook in the substrate (6). The charger according to claim 1, wherein the charger is connected to the substrate (6).

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