JP6969594B2 - battery - Google Patents

Description

This technology relates to the technical field of a battery having a charging function.

Some electronic devices, including image pickup devices such as still cameras and video cameras, are made operable by the power of a battery. The battery is, for example, mounted on a charger and charged, and is mounted on a battery mounting portion of an electronic device in a charged state. Since these chargers and electronic devices are connected to the battery, they function as connected devices.

A battery as described above is provided with a connection terminal including a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal, and an electrode terminal of a charger or an electrode terminal provided on a battery mounting portion is connected to the connection terminal to charge the battery or from the battery. The electric power is supplied to the electronic device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The battery described in Patent Document 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing, a cell housed inside the housing, and a connection terminal electrically connected to the cell, and the connection terminal is the housing. It is located at one end in the longitudinal direction.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-92511

By the way, the battery is manually attached to and detached from the charger and the battery mounting portion. Therefore, there is a risk that the battery may be accidentally dropped when the attachment / detachment work is performed or when the battery is being held by hand, or the battery may be brought into contact with another structure when the attachment / detachment work is performed.

If such a battery is dropped or touched, a good connection state to the connected device may not be ensured due to damage or damage to the connection terminal.

Therefore, it is an object of the present technology to overcome the above-mentioned problems, reduce the occurrence of damage and scratches on the connection terminals, and secure a good connection state with the connected equipment.

The battery according to the present technology has a housing having a plurality of exterior surfaces having different orientations and having an arrangement recess formed therein, a connection terminal connected to an electrode terminal of a connecting device, and the connection terminal in the arrangement recess. The exterior surface of the housing is located between the top surface and the bottom surface located on the opposite side in the height direction and the top surface and the bottom surface on the opposite side in the length direction. It has front and rear surfaces and two sides located between the top surface and the bottom surface on opposite sides in the width direction, and the placement recess is a recess between the front surface and the connector in the length direction. It has a forming surface, the connection terminal is located on the rear surface side of the front surface, and the front end edge of the recess forming surface is wider than the connector side end edge of the recess forming surface. It is long in the direction. Alternatively, a housing having a plurality of exterior surfaces having different orientations and having an arrangement recess formed therein, a connection terminal connected to an electrode terminal of a connecting device, and a connector having the connection terminal and arranged in the arrangement recess. The exterior surface of the housing is a top surface and a bottom surface located on opposite sides in the height direction, and front and rear surfaces located on the opposite side in the length direction between the top surface and the bottom surface. It has two sides located between the top surface and the bottom surface on opposite sides in the width direction, and the placement recess has a recess forming surface between the front surface and the connector in the length direction. The connection terminal is located on the rear surface side of the front surface, and the edge of the concave portion forming surface on the front surface side is longer in the width direction than the width of the connector.

As a result, the concave portion forming surface functions as a guide surface when the electrode terminal is inserted into the arrangement concave portion.

In the battery according to the present technology described above, it is desirable that the front edge of the concave portion forming surface is shorter in the width direction than the front edge of the housing.

In the battery according to the present technology described above, it is desirable that the edge of the concave portion forming surface on the front surface side is shorter in the width direction than the width of the front surface.

In the battery according to the present technology described above, it is desirable that the arrangement recesses are opened in two orthogonal directions, and the recess forming surface is present between the exterior surface and the connector in the two directions.

In the battery according to the present technology described above, it is desirable that a part of the concave portion forming surface has a large opening area of the arrangement concave portion as it is separated from the connector in the direction in which the arrangement concave portion opens.

According to this technology, since the connection terminal is located inside the housing from the exterior surface, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of damage or scratches on the connection terminal when it is dropped, and to ensure a good connection state to the connected device. can. Further, the concave portion forming surface may function as a guide surface when the electrode terminal is inserted into the arrangement concave portion.

It should be noted that the effects described in the present specification are merely examples and are not limited, and other effects may be used.

2 to 61 show an embodiment of the battery of the present technology, and this figure is an exploded perspective view showing the battery. It is a perspective view of a battery. It is a bottom view of a battery. It is a front view of a battery. It is a rear view of a battery. It is a side view of a battery. It is an exploded perspective view which shows the accommodating case and a connector in a battery. It is a perspective view of the battery which has a different structure of a guide groove. It is a side view of the battery which has a different structure of a guide groove. It is a side view of another battery which has a different structure of a guide groove. It is a perspective view of the battery which has a different structure of a guide groove. It is a perspective view of another battery which has a different structure of a guide groove. It is a perspective view of another battery with a different structure of a guide groove. It is a front view of the battery which the structure of the arrangement recess is different. It is a bottom view of another battery having a different arrangement of the arrangement recesses. It is a front view of another battery which has a different arrangement recess structure. It is a bottom view of another battery having a different arrangement recess. It is a front view of another battery which has a different arrangement recess structure. It is a perspective view of the image pickup apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the mounting space is open in the image pickup apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the battery mounting part. It is a bottom view which shows the state which the battery is inserted in the mounting space of the battery mounting part. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the battery is attached to the battery mounting part. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the pressed recess is formed in the rear end part of a battery, and the battery is pressed by a holding lever. It is a perspective view of a charger. It is a top view of the charger. It is a side view of a charger. It is an enlarged perspective view which shows the guide engaging part of a charger and the like. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the battery is inserted in the recess for mounting of a charger. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the battery is attached to the battery attachment part of the charger. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the battery is attached to the battery attachment part of the charger. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the state which is guided to the terminal connection part when a battery is attached to a charger. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the state which the battery is attached to the charger, and the terminal connection part and the connector are connected. It is a perspective view which shows the example which the connector is positioned above the bottom surface. It is a perspective view which shows the example which the connector is located behind the front surface and above the bottom surface. It is a bottom view which shows the example which one of the wall part in the recess formation surface is inclined. It is a perspective view which shows the example in which the pair of wall portions and the intermediate portion in the concave portion forming surface are inclined. It is a perspective view which shows another example of a charger together with a battery. It is a perspective view which shows another example of a charger together with a battery. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the battery is held in the charger in another example of the charger. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the battery which formed the three engaging recesses. It is a side view which shows the example of the battery formed by opening the engaging recess in the frontmost guided groove. It is a side view which shows the example of the battery formed by opening the engaging recess in the rearmost guided groove. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the battery which the engaging recess was formed in the lower end part in the rear end part. It is an enlarged bottom view which shows the front end part of a battery. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the dimension of the identification groove and the like. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of another shape of the identification groove. It is a bottom view which shows the identification groove etc. in a large capacity type battery. It is a bottom view which shows the identification groove etc. in a small capacity type battery. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the battery mounting part in a low power camera. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the battery mounting part in the medium power camera. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the battery mounting part in a high power camera. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the battery mounting part in a charger. It is a figure for demonstrating the discriminative property of the identification groove. It is an enlarged front view which shows the example which the 2nd part of the identification groove was formed into another shape. It is an enlarged perspective view which shows the example of the identification groove in which the 1st part and the 2nd part were formed continuously in the vertical direction. It is a perspective view which shows another shape of the wall part in the recess formation surface. It is a bottom view which shows another shape of the wall part in the recess formation surface. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the battery which the positioning groove was formed in the housing. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the battery which the terminal arrangement groove and the positioning groove were formed in the housing. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another example of a battery in which a terminal arrangement groove and a positioning groove are formed in a housing.

Hereinafter, a mode for implementing the present technology battery will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

The battery is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. It shall be. The vertical direction connecting the top surface side (upper surface side) and the bottom surface side (lower surface side) with the top surface (upper surface) and the bottom surface (lower surface) is the height direction, and the left and right connecting the left side surface side and the right side surface side with the left and right side surfaces. The direction is defined as the width direction, and the front-rear direction connecting the front side and the rear surface side having the front surface and the rear surface is also defined as the length direction. In addition, the upper end side including the top surface is the top side part, the lower end side part including the bottom surface is the bottom side part, and the left and right end side parts including the side surface are the side parts (left side part, right side part). The front end side portion including the front surface is the front side portion, and the rear end side portion including the rear surface is the rear side portion. Further, each outer surface of the top side portion, the bottom side portion, the side portion, the front side portion and the rear side portion is not limited to a flat surface, and at least a part thereof may be formed into a curved surface.

In the following, a still camera, which is an image pickup device, is shown as an example of a connected device to which a battery is connected. It shall indicate the direction. Therefore, the object side is the front and the image plane side is the rear.

Furthermore, the charger is also shown below as another example of the connected device to which the battery is connected. It shall indicate the left and right directions. The charger is formed with an insertion recess into which the battery is inserted. In the charger, the direction in which the battery is inserted is downward, and the direction in which the battery is slid and mounted is forward, indicating the front-back, up-down, left-right directions. It shall be.

The directions shown below in the front-back, up-down, left-right directions are for convenience of explanation, and the implementation of the present technology is not limited to these directions.

<Battery configuration>
First, the configuration of the battery 1 will be described (see FIGS. 1 to 7).

The battery 1 is configured by arranging necessary parts inside and outside the housing 2.

The housing 2 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the case cover (upper case) 3 and the storage case (lower case) 4 are vertically connected to each other. The case cover 3 is formed in a box shape that is opened downward (see FIGS. 1 to 6). The storage case 4 is formed in the shape of a box opened upward. In a state where the case cover 3 and the housing case 4 are vertically connected to form the housing 2, the internal space of the housing 2 is formed as the housing space.

A separator 5, cells 6, 6 and connecting sheet metals 7, 8 and 8 and a circuit board 9 are arranged in the accommodation space of the housing 2 (see FIG. 1). The separator 5 is attached to the storage case 4. The cells 6 and 6 are arranged so as to be partitioned to the left and right by the separator 5. The connection sheet metal 7 is connected to one of the terminals of the cells 6 and 6, and the lower end thereof is connected to an electrode terminal (not shown) formed on the lower surface of the circuit board 9. The connection sheet metals 8 and 8 are connected to the other terminals of the cells 6 and 6, respectively, and the lower ends thereof are connected to electrode terminals (not shown) formed on the lower surface of the circuit board 9. The circuit board 9 is attached to the housing case 4 and is covered with the separator 5 from above except for a part of the circuit board 9.

The outer surface 10 of the housing 2 has a top surface 11, a bottom surface 12, a side surface 13, 13 and a front surface 14, and a rear surface 15, and the size in the front-rear direction (length direction) is larger than the size in the left-right direction (width direction). , The size in the left-right direction (width direction) is larger than the size in the up-down direction (height direction) (see FIGS. 1 to 6). In the housing 2, slopes 16 and 16 are formed between the top surface 11 and the side surfaces 13 and 13, respectively. The slopes 16 and 16 are displaced downward as they approach the side surfaces 13 and 13 from the top surface 11.

The top surface 11, the bottom surface 12, the side surfaces 13, 13, the front surface 14, the rear surface 15, and the slopes 16, 16 are all formed as exterior surfaces 17, 17, ....

Notches 2a and 2a are formed on both left and right sides of the lower end of the housing 2, respectively. The notch 2a is opened laterally (left or right), downward, anteriorly, and posteriorly, and is formed by a stepped surface 18 that faces downward and extends back and forth and a groove forming surface 19 that faces sideways and extends anteriorly and backward. The outer edge of the stepped surface 18 is continuous with the lower edge of the side surface 13. The groove forming surface 19 has an upper edge continuous with the inner edge of the stepped surface 18 and a lower edge continuous with the side edge of the bottom surface 12. The stepped surface 18 and the groove forming surface 19 are formed continuously from the front surface 14 to the rear surface 15, respectively.

The stepped surface 18 and the bottom surface 12 are formed as planes substantially parallel to each other, and the intermediate portion and the side surface 13 in the front-rear direction excluding the front and rear ends of the groove forming surface 19 are formed as planes substantially parallel to each other. The front ends of the groove forming surfaces 19 and 19 are formed as outwardly convex curved surfaces 19a and 19a that are displaced in the direction of approaching each other as they approach the front surface 14, and the rear ends of the groove forming surfaces 19 and 19 approach the rear surface 15. It is formed as outwardly convex curved surfaces 19b and 19b that are displaced in the direction of approaching each other. It can be said that the housing 2 is composed of a main body portion 20 which is a portion above the virtual surface including the stepped surfaces 18 and 18, and a bottom portion 21 which is a portion below the virtual surface. .. The stepped surfaces 18 and 18 are included in the main body portion 20.

As described above, since the front and rear ends of the groove forming surfaces 19 and 19 are formed as curved surfaces 19a, 19a, 19b and 19b, respectively, stress concentration is unlikely to occur and the battery 1 comes into contact with the ground or the like in the unlikely event of a fall. It is difficult to do so, the impact can be mitigated, and the occurrence of damage can be reduced.

As described above, the housing 2 is provided with an upper portion including the stepped surfaces 18 and 18 as the main body portion 20 with reference to a virtual plane including the stepped surfaces 18 and 18, and a portion below the main body portion 20. Is provided as the bottom 21. The width of the bottom 21 is smaller on the left and right than that of the main body 20, the distance between the side surfaces 13 and 13 is larger than the distance between the groove forming surfaces 19 and 19, and the bottom 21 has grooves and the like having each function. It is formed.

First guided grooves 22, 22 and second guided grooves 23, 23 and third guided grooves 24, 24 are formed on both left and right sides of the bottom portion 21 in order from the front side. The first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 are all opened in the groove forming surface 19.

The first guided groove 22 is formed at the front end portion of the bottom portion 21 and is opened laterally and anteriorly. The second guided groove 23 extends back and forth and is opened laterally. The housing 2 may not have the second guided groove 23 formed. In this case, the portion where the second guided groove 23 was formed is formed by a part of the groove forming surface 19 and a part of the bottom surface 12. The third guided groove 24 extends back and forth and is opened laterally. The third guided groove 24 may have a shape that is also opened rearward (see FIG. 8).

Insertion grooves 25, 25 and insertion grooves 26, 26 are formed on the left and right sides of the bottom portion 21 in order from the front side, respectively. Both the insertion groove 25 and the insertion groove 26 are opened in the groove forming surface 19. The insertion groove 25 is opened laterally, upwardly and downwardly, and the upper opening communicates with a substantially half portion of the front side of the second guided groove 23. The insertion groove 26 is opened laterally, upwardly and downwardly, and the upper opening communicates with a substantially half portion of the front side of the third guided groove 24.

The portions between the lower edges 22b and 22b of the first guided grooves 22 and 22 in the housing 2 and the bottom surface 12 are provided as the first engaging claw portions 2p and 2p, respectively, and the second covering in the housing 2 is provided. The portions between the lower edges 23b and 23b of the guide grooves 23 and 23 and the bottom surface 12 are provided as the second engaging claw portions 2q and 2q, respectively, and the lower edges of the third guided grooves 24 and 24 in the housing 2 are provided. The portions between the 24b and 24b and the bottom surface 12 are provided as third engaging claw portions 2r and 2r, respectively. Both the first engaging claw portion 2p and the second engaging claw portion 2q are located on the front surface 14 side from the center in the front-rear direction of the housing 2, and the third engaging claw portion 2r is the front and rear of the housing 2. It is located on the rear surface 15 side from the center in the direction or in the rearmost region obtained by dividing the housing 2 into three equal parts in the front-rear direction.

Although the above shows an example in which the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction, the first guided groove is shown. The 22 and the second guided groove 23 and the third guided groove 24 may be formed as one guide groove 45 (see FIG. 9). The guide groove 45 is formed on the groove forming surface 19 from the front end to the position near the rear end. Further, the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 may be formed as one guided groove 46 (see FIG. 10). The guide groove 46 is formed on the groove forming surface 19 from the front end to the rear end.

Further, the above shows an example in which the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 are formed on both the left and right sides of the housing 2, respectively. At least one of the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 may be formed on both the left and right sides of the above.

For example, only the first guided groove 22 and the third guided groove 24 may be formed on one of the left and right sides, and only the second guided groove 23 may be formed on the left and right sides (see FIG. 11). .. Further, for example, only the first guided groove 22 and the second guided groove 23 are formed on one of the left and right sides, and only the second guided groove 23 and the third guided groove 24 are formed on the left and right sides. It may be (see FIG. 12). Further, for example, only the first guided groove 22 and the second guided groove 23 may be formed on one of the left and right sides, and only the third guided groove 24 may be formed on the other side of the left and right sides (FIG. 13). reference).

As such a configuration example, including each of the above-mentioned examples (see FIGS. 11 to 13), the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, or the third covered groove is on one of the left and right sides. Only one of the guide grooves 24 is formed, and one or two of the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 are formed on the left and right sides. Or there is an example in which three guide grooves are formed. Further, only two of the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, or the third guided groove 24 are formed on one of the left and right sides, and the first guided groove is formed on the left and right sides. There is an example in which two or three guide grooves of the guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 are formed.

A placement recess 27 is formed at the front end of the bottom 21 (see FIG. 7). The placement recess 27 is formed in a substantially central portion in the left-right direction, and is opened forward and downward. The housing 2 is formed with an arrangement hole 28 that communicates with a portion other than the front end portion of the arrangement recess 27 and penetrates vertically.

The upper edge 22a of the first guided groove 22, the upper edge 23a of the second guided groove 23, and the upper edge 24a of the third guided groove 24 are all located below the stepped surface 18, and the first One of the groove forming surfaces 19 between the guided groove 22 and the stepped surface 18 of 1, between the second guided groove 23 and the stepped surface 18, and between the third guided groove 24 and the stepped surface 18. There is a part (see FIGS. 2 to 7). Therefore, the distance from the lower end of the groove forming surface 19 to the upper edge 22a of the first guided groove 22 and the distance from the lower end of the groove forming surface 19 to the upper edge 23a of the second guided groove 23 and the groove forming surface 19 The distance from the lower end of the third guided groove 24 to the upper edge 24a of the third guided groove 24 is smaller than the distance from the upper end to the lower end of the groove forming surface 19. Further, the vertical distance (groove width) between the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 is from the upper end of the groove forming surface 19 to the upper edges 22a, 23a, 24a. The distance above and below the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 may be larger or smaller than the distance between the two, and the upper edge 22a from the upper end of the groove forming surface 19. , 23a, 24a may be the same as the distance.

The corner portion 2f where the stepped surface 18 and the side surface 13 intersect may be chamfered, and the corner portion 2f extends from the front surface 14 toward the rear surface 15 and is the same as or half the length of the housing 2. Alternatively, the length may be about one-third. Further, one corner portion 2f may be chamfered, or both corner portions 2f and 2f may be chamfered. The width of the chamfer of the corner portion 2f may be the same as the width of the stepped surface 18, or may be smaller than the width of the stepped surface 18.

Further, the corner portion 2g where the groove forming surface 19 and the bottom surface 12 intersect may be chamfered, and the corner portions 2h, 2h and the second guide between the first guided groove 22 and the second guide groove 23 may be chamfered. Any or all of the corners 2i and 2i between the groove 23 and the third guide groove 24 and the corner 2j between the third guide groove 24 and the rear surface 15 may be chamfered. In this case, the corners 2g, 2h, 2i, and 2j on either the left or right side or the left and right sides of the housing 2 may be chamfered.

The placement recess 27 is formed by the recess forming surface 29. The concave portion forming surface 29 is composed of a base portion 29a, wall portions 29b and 29b, and an intermediate portion 29c. The lower edges of the recess-forming surfaces 29 and 29 are continuous on the left and right sides of the bottom surface 12, respectively, and the distance from the bottom surface 12 to the upper edges of the recess-forming surfaces 29 and 29 is from the bottom surface 12 to the upper edges 22a, 23a and 24a. It is larger than the distance of. Further, the upper edges of the concave portion forming surfaces 29 and 29 are continuous with the inner edges of the stepped surfaces 18 and 18, respectively, and the distance from the bottom surface 12 to the upper edges of the concave portion forming surfaces 29 and 29 is from the bottom surface 12 to the stepped surfaces 18 and 18. It is the same as the distance to. The lower edge 22b of the first guided groove 22, the lower edge 23b of the second guided groove 23, and the lower edge 24b of the third guided groove 24 are all located above the lower edge of the groove forming surface 19. And the positions in the vertical direction are the same.

The base portion 29a is formed in a U-shape that is opened forward, and is in a state of facing in the horizontal direction. The wall portions 29b and 29b are formed as inclined surfaces that are continuous with the front end of the base portion 29a and are separated from each other in the left-right direction toward the front. That is, the left wall portion 29b is formed on an inclined surface that approaches the left side surface 13 as it goes forward, and the right wall portion 29b is formed on an inclined surface that approaches the right side surface 13 as it goes forward. In the wall portions 29b and 29b, one wall portion 29b may be formed on an inclined surface, and the other wall portion 29b may be formed on a surface facing left or right without being inclined. The intermediate portion 29c faces downward and is formed between the lower edges of the wall portions 29b and 29b. The wall portions 29b and 29b are inclined by, for example, 45 degrees with respect to the surface facing the left-right direction. The intermediate portion 29c is located below the stepped surface 18 and has substantially the same height as the upper edges 22a, 23a, 24a of the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24. It is located or is located slightly below the upper edges 22a, 23a, 24a. The intermediate portion 29c may be located above the upper edges 22a, 23a, and 24a.

Identification grooves 30 and 30 are formed at the front end of the bottom 21 so as to be separated from each other on the left and right. The identification groove 30 has a role as a functional groove having a predetermined function, and for example, identifies a type of a charger or the like described later that functions as a connecting device. The functional groove is not limited to the identification groove 30, and the functional groove includes, for example, a positioning groove for positioning the charger or the like instead of the identification groove 30, a detection groove for detecting the connection state of the charger, or the like. A groove having a function other than the identification of the above may be formed.

However, since the predetermined function is an identification function for identifying the type of the connected device, the type of the connected device is identified by the functional groove, and the battery is attached to the connected device, and the battery is attached to the connected device. The type of connected device connected to the battery can be easily identified by the state in which the battery is not connected.

The predetermined function may be a function of identifying the type of the battery itself.

The identification grooves 30 and 30 are formed on opposite sides of the arrangement recess 27, respectively. The identification groove 30 is formed by continuously forming a first identification portion 31 and a second identification portion 32 having different front and rear lengths in the left-right direction.

The first identification unit 31 and the second identification unit 32 have a role as a first functional unit and a second functional unit, respectively.

Of the surfaces forming the identification groove 30, the surface facing downward located on the upper side is formed as the inner bottom surface 30a. The inner bottom surface 30a is located below the intermediate portion 29c, which is a downward-facing surface located on the upper side of the concave portion forming surface 29. Therefore, the depth of the identification groove 30 in the vertical direction is shallower than the depth of the arrangement recess 27 in the vertical direction. Further, the inner bottom surface 30a is located below the upper edges 22a, 23a, 24a of the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 and the stepped surface 18. Further, the inner bottom surface 30a is located above the lower edges 22b, 23b, and 24b of the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24. However, the inner bottom surface 30a may be located below the lower edges 22b, 23b, 24b, or may be located at the same height as the lower edges 22b, 23b, 24b.

Of the surfaces forming the identification groove 30, the front-facing surface located on the rear side of the first identification unit 31 is formed as the back bottom surface 31a, and the front-facing surface located on the rear side of the second identification unit 32. Is formed as a back bottom surface 32a. The inner bottom surfaces 31a and 32a are located in front of the front-facing surface located on the rearmost side of the base portion 29a of the concave portion forming surfaces 29, and are located behind the front surface of the connector 33. Further, the inner bottom surfaces 31a and 32a are located in front of the inner bottom surface 36a of the terminal arrangement groove 36 and the inner bottom surface 37a of the positioning groove 37. Further, the inner bottom surfaces 31a and 32a are located in front of the rear end edge of the first guided groove 22. However, the back bottom surfaces 31a and 32a may be located behind the rear end edge of the first guided groove 22, and may be located at the same position as the rear end edge of the first guided groove 22 in the front-rear direction. May be good.

The front and rear lengths of the first identification unit 31 are longer than those of the second identification unit 32, the back bottom surface 31a is located behind the back bottom surface 32a, and the first identification unit 31 is the second identification unit 32. It is located closer to the placement recess 27. It can be said that the second identification unit 32 is located on the side surface 13 side of the first identification unit 31. The width of the second identification unit 32 in the left-right direction is smaller than the width of the first identification unit 31 in the left-right direction.

A connector 33 is arranged in the arrangement recess 27 of the housing 2. The connector 33 is a portion connected to an electrode terminal of a charger or the like, which will be described later, which functions as a connecting device, functions as a terminal portion, and has at least a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal.

The connector 33 has a housing 34 formed of a non-conductive material and connection terminals 35, 35, 35 formed of a conductive material, and at least a part of the connection terminals 35, 35, 35 is formed in the housing 34, respectively. It is held in the housing 34 in a state of being arranged in the terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, 36. The connection terminal 35 has a pair of contact portions in which one end of a metal piece is branched to the left and right from a predetermined portion, and the pair of contact portions have elasticity in the direction in which the tip portions are in contact with each other and are in contact with each other or close to each other. It is arranged in the terminal arrangement groove 36 in the state.

The connection terminals 35, 35, and 35 function as positive electrode terminals, negative electrode terminals, and information terminals, respectively. Has been made.

The information terminal is used for the connected device to recognize the internal temperature of the battery 1 to be described later, and also for the connected device to recognize various information of the battery 1 such as the remaining charge of the battery 1 and deterioration information. ..

The connector 33 may be provided with two terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36 and two connection terminals 35, 35. When two connection terminals 35, 35 are provided, the two connection terminals 35, 35 function as positive electrode terminals and negative electrode terminals, respectively, and the positive electrode terminals and negative electrode terminals are arranged in order from the left side, or the positive electrode terminals are arranged in order from the right side. The negative electrode terminals are arranged side by side. Further, the connector 33 may be provided with four terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, ... And four connection terminals 35, 35, .... When four connection terminals 35, 35 are provided, the four connection terminals 35, 35, ... Functions as positive electrode terminals, negative electrode terminals, information terminals, and communication terminals, respectively, and the positive electrode terminal and information terminal are sequentially provided from the left side. The arrangement of the communication terminal and the negative electrode terminal, the arrangement of the positive electrode terminal, the information terminal, the communication terminal, and the negative electrode terminal in order from the right side, the arrangement of the positive electrode terminal, the communication terminal, the information terminal, and the negative electrode terminal in order from the left side, or the arrangement of the positive electrode in order from the right side. The terminals, communication terminals, information terminals, and negative electrode terminals are arranged side by side. The communication terminal is used by the connected device to recognize various information of the battery 1 such as the remaining charge of the battery 1 and deterioration information, and in this case, the information terminal is used exclusively to inform the connected device of the temperature information.

The terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, 36 are opened forward and downward and are formed so as to be separated from each other to the left and right. The housing 34 is formed with positioning grooves 37, 37 opened forward and downward on the outside of the terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, 36 in the left-right direction, respectively.

The portion between the terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, 36 in the housing 34 of the connector 33 is provided as the terminal isolation ribs 34a, 34a, and the portion between the terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36 and the positioning grooves 37, 37 in the housing 34 is between the grooves. It is provided as ribs 34b and 34b. The width of the terminal isolation rib 34a in the left-right direction is made larger than the width of the inter-groove rib 34b in the left-right direction so that the connection terminals 35, 35, 35 can be prevented from coming into contact with each other.

The surface of the terminal arrangement groove 36 located on the most top surface 11 side and the surface of the positioning groove 37 located on the most top surface 11 side are formed as inner bottom surfaces 36a and 37a, respectively, and the inner bottom surfaces 36a and 37a are positioned in the vertical direction. Are almost the same. The inner bottom surfaces 36a and 37a are located below the stepped surface 19. Further, the inner bottom surfaces 36a and 37a are located below the upper edge 22a of the first guided groove 22, the upper edge 23a of the second guided groove 23, and the upper edge 24a of the third guided groove 24. It is located above the lower edge 22b of the first guided groove 22, the lower edge 23b of the second guided groove 23, and the lower edge 24b of the third guided groove 24.

The connection terminal 35 is elastically deformable in the substantially left-right direction, and is held in the housing 34 in a state of being inserted into the terminal arrangement groove 36.

In the above, an example is shown in which the upper ends of the wall portions 29b and 29b and the intermediate portion 29c are located at the same height as the upper end of the housing 34 of the connector 33 on the concave portion forming surface 29, but for example, the wall portion. The upper ends of 29b, 29b and the intermediate portion 29c may be located above the upper end of the housing 34 (see FIG. 14). In this case, the upper ends of the wall portions 29b, 29b and the intermediate portion 29c may be at arbitrary positions at positions below the upper end of the housing 2.

Further, for example, the concave portion forming surface 29 may not have the intermediate portion 29c and the wall portions 29b and 29b may be formed at positions extending from the upper end to the lower end of the housing 2 (see FIGS. 15 and 16).

Further, the wall portions 29b and 29b inclined with respect to the front, back, left and right may not be formed, and instead of the wall portions 29b and 29b, the first wall surface portions 29x and 29x and the first wall surface portions facing forward, respectively. Second wall surface portions 29y and 29y that are continuous with the outer edges of 29x and 29x in the left-right direction and face each other in the left-right direction may be formed (see FIGS. 17 and 18). The first wall surface portions 29x and 29x and the second wall surface portions 29y and 29y may be inclined at any angle with respect to the left-right direction, the front-back direction, and the up-down direction.

One end of the connection terminals 35, 35, and 35 of the connector 33 is connected to a circuit board 9 arranged inside the housing 2 via an arrangement hole 28.

When the connector 33 is arranged in the arrangement recess 27, the front surface 33a is located behind the front surface 14 of the housing 2. The connector 33 is located in the region of the placement recess 27 surrounded by the base portion 29a of the recess forming surface 29, and the wall portions 29b, 29b and the intermediate portion 29c of the recess forming surface 29 are located on the front side of the connector 33.

The lower surface 33b of the connector 33 is located on the same plane as the bottom surface 12 of the housing 2 when the connector 33 is arranged in the arrangement recess 27.

<Configuration example of connected device>
Next, an image pickup device (still camera) 50 will be described as an example of the connected device to which the battery 1 is connected (see FIGS. 19 to 21).

The image pickup apparatus 50 is composed of, for example, the required parts arranged inside and outside the horizontally long flat outer casing 51 (see FIG. 19). Accessories such as an interchangeable lens 70 and an adapter (not shown) can be attached to and detached from the image pickup device 50. The interchangeable lens 70 is provided with operation rings 71, 72, 73 that are rotated and operated. The operation rings 71, 72, and 73 function as a focus ring for focusing, a zoom ring for adjusting the angle of view, and an iris ring for adjusting the amount of light, respectively.

Various operation units 52, 52, ... Are provided on the upper surface of the outer casing 51. The operation units 52, 52, ... Are provided with, for example, a shooting button, a zoom picker, a power button, a mode selection picker, and the like. A flash 53 that can be taken in and out is provided at the upper end of the outer casing 51.

A finder 54 is provided on the rear side of the flash 53 at the upper end of the outer casing 51. A display 55 and various operation units 52, 52, ... Are provided on the rear surface of the outer casing 51 (see FIG. 20).

An image sensor (not shown) is arranged inside the outer casing 51. As the image pickup device, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor), or the like is used.

A mount (not shown) to which an interchangeable lens is connected at one end in the left-right direction of the image pickup device 50 and a battery mounting portion 56 are provided at the rear portion behind the image pickup element (see FIGS. 20 and 21).

The battery mounting portion 56 has a part of the outer casing 51 and a lid 57 rotatable at the lower end portion of the outer casing 51. The internal space of the battery mounting portion 56 is formed as a mounting space 56a, and the mounting space 56a is opened downward.

An urging spring 58 and a terminal connection portion 59 are arranged at the inner portion (upper end portion) of the battery mounting portion 56. The terminal connection portion 59 has a holding portion 60 formed of a non-conductive material and electrode terminals 61, 61, 61 formed of a conductive material, and the electrode terminals 61, 61, 61 are separated from each other to the left and right. It is held by the holding portion 60.

The holding portion 60 is provided with positioning protrusions 60a, 60a on the outside of the electrode terminals 61, 61, 61 in the left-right direction.

The terminal connection portion 59 is connected to a control board (not shown) in which one ends of the electrode terminals 61, 61, and 61 are arranged inside the outer casing 51, respectively.

At the lower end of the battery mounting portion 56, a holding lever 62 is rotatably supported on the opening edge of the mounting space 56a. The pressing lever 62 is rotatable between the pressing position and the non-pressing position, and is urged by a spring (not shown) in the direction from the non-pressing position to the pressing position, for example.

The erroneous insertion prevention protrusions 56b and 56b are provided inside the battery mounting portion 56. The battery mounting portion 56 is provided with a locking mechanism that locks the lid 57 when the mounting space 56a is closed.

<Installing the battery for the connected device (imaging device)>
The mounting of the battery 1 on the battery mounting portion 56 in the image pickup device 50 will be described below (see FIGS. 22 to 24).

With the lid 57 open, the user can insert the battery 1 into the mounting space 56a to mount the battery 1 on the battery mounting portion 56 as follows.

The battery 1 is inserted into the mounting space 56a from the front surface 14 side (see FIG. 22). At this time, the battery 1 is inserted into the mounting space 56a in a direction in which the notches 2a and 2a coincide with the erroneous insertion prevention protrusions 56b and 56b. Therefore, when the battery 1 is inserted into the mounting space 56a in a direction in which the notches 2a and 2a do not match the erroneous insertion prevention protrusions 56b and 56b, a part of the housing 2, for example, the top surface 11 and the side surface 13 is used. The slope 16 which is a corner portion formed is brought into contact with the erroneous insertion prevention protrusions 56b and 56b, and erroneous insertion of the battery 1 into the mounting space 56a is prevented.

The battery 1 is inserted into the mounting space 56a in a state where the pressing lever 62 is rotated to the non-pressing position. When the battery 1 is inserted into the mounting space 56a, the holding lever 62 is slid on one side surface 13 of the battery 1, and the rotation of the holding lever 62 to the holding position is restricted.

In the battery 1 inserted in the mounting space 56a, the connection terminals 35, 35, 35 of the connector 33 are connected to the electrode terminals 61, 61, 61 of the terminal connection portion 59, respectively. At this time, the electrode terminal 61 is inserted between a pair of contact portions of the connection terminal 35 which are branched to the left and right and have elasticity in the direction of contact with each other, and the connection terminal 35 has a pair of contact portions sandwiching the electrode terminal 61 from both left and right sides. In this state, it is connected to the electrode terminal 61. At this time, the positioning protrusions 60a and 60a of the terminal connection portion 59 are inserted into the positioning grooves 37 and 37 of the connector 33, respectively, and the connector 33 is positioned with respect to the terminal connection portion 59.

When the connection terminals 35, 35, and 35 are connected to the electrode terminals 61, 61, 61, respectively, the rear surface 15 is located behind the pressing lever 62 in the mounting space 56a, and the pressing lever 62 is the urging force of the spring. The front surface 14 is pressed against the urging spring 58 and the battery 1 is urged backward (see FIG. 23). Therefore, in the battery 1, the pressed portion 15a (see FIG. 22) provided on the rear surface 15 is pressed against the pressing lever 62, and the battery 1 is restricted from falling out of the mounting space 56a. The pressed portion 15a is located on the top surface 11 side of the notch 2a.

As described above, in a state where the battery 1 is restricted from falling out of the mounting space 56a by the holding lever 62, the battery 1 is mounted on the battery mounting portion 56 by blocking the mounting space 56a by the lid 57. NS. At this time, the lid 57 is locked to the outer casing 51 by the locking mechanism.

On the other hand, the lock on the outer casing 51 of the lid 57 is released, the lid 57 is rotated to open the mounting space 56a, and the holding lever 62 is rotated to the non-holding position to mount the battery 1 in the mounting space 56a. It can be pulled out from the battery mounting portion 56 and taken out from the battery mounting portion 56.

In the above, an example is shown in which the pressed portion 15a of the rear surface 15 is pressed against the pressing lever 62 to prevent the battery 1 from falling out of the mounting space 56a. For example, the rear end portion of the battery 1 is restricted. It is also possible to form a pressed recess 38 that is opened at least rearward, and a part of the pressing lever 62 is inserted into the pressed recess 38 to prevent the battery 1 from falling out of the mounting space 56a. There is (see FIG. 24).

By forming the pressed recess 38 into which a part of the pressing lever 62 is inserted in the battery 1 in this way, the pressing lever 62 can be positioned on the back side of the mounting space 56a by that amount. , The image pickup device 50 can be miniaturized.

<Another configuration example of connected devices>
Next, the charger 80 will be described as another example of the connected device to which the battery 1 is connected (see FIGS. 25 to 29). Although the charger 80 is a device separate from the image pickup device 50 and the like, the connection structure shown below of the charger 80 may be integrally provided with various devices such as the image pickup device. Therefore, it is possible to connect the battery 1 to an image pickup device or the like provided with the connection structure shown below of the charger 80.

The charger 80 is formed by arranging necessary parts inside and outside the case body 81. The charger 81 is provided with the following connection structure.

The case body 81 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and one substantially half portion in the left-right direction is provided as a mechanism arrangement portion 82, and the other substantially half portion in the left-right direction is provided as a battery mounting portion 83.

A substrate (not shown), a light emitting body such as a light emitting diode, or the like is arranged inside the mechanism arrangement unit 82. Window portions 82a and 82b are provided on the upper surface portion of the mechanism arrangement portion 82. The light emitted from the light emitting diode via the windows 82a and 82b is irradiated to the outside, and the state of the charging operation and the state of the charge amount are recognized by the irradiation state through the windows 82a and 82b. Is made possible.

The battery mounting portion 83 is formed with mounting recesses 83a opened upward and rearward. Step portions 84, 84 are provided on both left and right sides of the mounting recess 83a, and the step portions 84, 84 are formed in a shape that protrudes upward and extends back and forth. The step portions 84 and 84 have planes 84a and 84a facing upward, respectively, and facing surfaces 84b and 84b that are continuous with the inner edges of the planes 84a and 84a and face each other. It should be noted that some batteries have a configuration in which only one notch 2a is formed in the housing, but in the case of a battery mounting portion in which such a battery is mounted, one step portion 84 is provided. You just have to.

The mounting recess 83a is formed by each surface portion including the bottom plate surface portion 85 facing upward and the front plate surface portion 86 facing rearward located between the step portions 84 and 84, in addition to the step portions 84 and 84. The 86 is continuous with the front edges of the step portions 84 and 84 and the front edges of the bottom plate surface portion 85. The first guide engaging portions 87, 87, the second guide engaging portions 88, 88, and the third guide engaging portions 89, 89 are separated from each other in order from the front side to the step portions 84, 84, respectively. It is provided. The first guide engaging portions 87, 87, the second guide engaging portions 88, 88, and the third guide engaging portions 89, 89 are all projected from the facing surfaces 84b, 84b in the direction of approaching each other.

The first guide engaging portion 87 is formed in a protruding shape extending in the front-rear direction, and the front end thereof is continuous with the front plate surface portion 86 and protrudes from the intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the facing surface 84b. The second guide engaging portion 88 is formed in a protruding shape extending back and forth, and is located at the same height as the first guide engaging portion 87. The third guide engaging portion 89 is composed of an engaging portion 89a extending back and forth and a vertical wall portion 89b protruding downward from the front end portion of the engaging portion 89a, and the lower end of the vertical wall portion 89b is continuous with the bottom plate surface portion 85. There is.

In addition, only the first guided groove 22 and the third guided groove 24 are formed on one of the left and right sides, and only the second guided groove 23 is formed on the other side of the left and right. When the formed type of battery is mounted, only the guide engaging portion corresponding to the guided groove needs to be provided. For example, when a battery in which only the first guided groove 22 and the third guided groove 24 are formed on one of the left and right sides and only the second guided groove 23 is formed on the left and right sides is mounted. Only the first guide engaging portion 87 and the third guide engaging portion 89 may be provided on one of the left and right sides, and only the second guide engaging portion 88 may be provided on the other left and right sides.

The battery mounting portion 83 is provided with an identification protrusion 90 protruding upward from the front end portion of the bottom plate surface portion 85. The identification protrusion 90 is provided with a longitudinal portion 90a and a short portion 90b having different lengths in the front-rear direction continuously on the left and right, and the front-rear length of the longitudinal portion 90a is made longer than the front-rear length of the short portion 90b. ing. The left-right width of the longitudinal portion 90a is smaller than the left-right width of the short portion 90b.

The front end of the identification protrusion 90 is continuous with the front plate surface portion 86, and is provided at a position closer to one of the first guide engaging portions 87 in the left-right direction. Specifically, the identification protrusion 90 is located closer to the first guide engaging portion 87 than the center of the distance between the center of the bottom plate surface portion 85 and the one first guide engaging portion 87 in the left-right direction. It is positioned and is located on the one side of the first guide engaging portion 87 with respect to the center of the distance between the terminal connecting portion 93 and the one first guide engaging portion 87. The identification protrusion 90 has a short portion 90b located on one side of the longitudinal portion 90a on the side of the first guide engaging portion 87.

A detection protrusion 91 that can move in the front-rear direction is provided at the front end portion of the battery mounting portion 83. The detection protrusion 91 is urged rearward by a spring member (not shown), and is provided at a position closer to the other first guide engaging portion 87 in the left-right direction.

The detection protrusion 91 may be provided at a symmetrical position closer to one of the first guide engaging portions 87 with respect to the center of the bottom plate surface portion 85 in the left-right direction. Further, although the above shows an example in which the identification protrusion 90 and the detection protrusion 91 are located on opposite sides in the left-right direction with the terminal connection portion 93 interposed therebetween, the identification protrusion 90 and the detection protrusion 90 are shown. Both of 91 may be located to the left or right of the terminal connection portion 93. In this case, the terminal connection portion 93 and the detection protrusion 91 are located on opposite sides in the left-right direction with the identification protrusion 90 interposed therebetween.

A part of the bottom plate surface portion 85 is provided as an engagement holding portion 92. The engagement holding portion 92 is an inner portion of a U-shaped slit formed in a part of the bottom plate surface portion 85, and is elastically deformable substantially up and down with the front end portion as a fulcrum. The engagement holding portion 92 is provided with a locking protrusion 92a projecting upward at the rear end portion.

A terminal connection portion 93 is arranged at the front end portion of the battery mounting portion 83. The terminal connection portion 93 has a holding portion 94 formed of a non-conductive material and electrode terminals 95, 95, 95 formed of a conductive material, and the electrode terminals 95, 95, 95 are separated from each other to the left and right. It is held by the holding unit 94.

The holding portion 94 is provided with positioning protrusions 94a, 94a on the outside of the electrode terminals 95, 95, 95 in the left-right direction, respectively. The size of the width of the positioning protrusions 94a, 94a in the left-right direction is larger than the size of the width of the electrode terminals 95, 95, 95 in the left-right direction.

In the terminal connection portion 93, one end of the electrode terminals 95, 95, 95 is connected to a substrate arranged inside the case body 81.

<Installing the battery on the connected device (charger)>
The attachment of the battery 1 to the battery attachment portion 83 in the charger 80 will be described below (see FIGS. 29 to 31).

The user can mount the battery 1 on the battery mounting portion 83 by inserting a part of the battery 1 into the mounting recess 83a as described below.

The battery 1 is inserted into the mounting recess 83a from above (see FIG. 29). At this time, the second guide engaging portions 88 and 88 are inserted into the second guided grooves 23 and 23 via the insertion grooves 25 and 25, respectively, and the third guided groove 24 is inserted through the insertion grooves 26 and 26. , 24, respectively, the engaging portions 89a and 89a of the third guide engaging portions 89 and 89 are inserted. Therefore, the step portions 84 and 84 of the charger 80 are inserted into the notches 2a and 2a of the battery 1, respectively, and the stepped surfaces 18 and 18 are positioned so as to face the planes 84a and 84a in the vertical direction and the groove forming surface 19 respectively. , 19 are positioned to face the facing surfaces 84b and 84b in the left-right direction, respectively.

At this time, since the battery 1 is arranged on the bottom plate portion 85 from above, the engaging holding portion 92 is elastically deformed by the locking protrusion 92a being pressed downward.

When the battery 1 is inserted into the mounting recess 83a in a direction in which the step portions 84 and 84 are not inserted into the notches 2a and 2a, a part of the housing 2 comes into contact with the step portions 84 and 84, and the battery 1 is connected. The erroneous insertion into the mounting recess 83a is prevented.

Next, the battery 1 is slid forward with respect to the charger 80 (see FIG. 30). When the battery 1 is slid forward, the first guided grooves 22 and 22 are guided to the first guide engaging portions 87 and 87, respectively, and the second guided grooves 23 and 23 are the second guides, respectively. Guided by the joint portions 88 and 88, the third guided grooves 24 and 24 are guided to the engaging portions 89a and 89a of the third guide engaging portions 89 and 89, respectively. The battery 1 is slid forward to the moving ends where the rear opening edges of the third guided grooves 24 and 24 are in contact with the restricting portions 89b and 89b of the third guide engaging portions 89 and 89, respectively.

In a state where the battery 1 is slid forward to the moving end, the opening edges of the first guided grooves 22 and 22 are engaged with the first guide engaging portions 87 and 87, respectively, and the second guided groove The opening edges of 23 and 23 are engaged with the second guide engaging portions 88 and 88, respectively, and the opening edges of the third guided grooves 24 and 24 are engaged with the third guide engaging portions 89 and 89, respectively. It is engaged with the portions 89a and 89a. Therefore, the upper edge of the first engaging claw portion 2p is engaged with at least a part of the lower edge of the first guide engaging portion 87, and the upper edge of the second engaging claw portion 2q is the second guide. The third engaging claw portion 2r is engaged with at least a part of the lower edge of the engaging portion 88, and the upper edge is engaged with at least a part of the lower edge of the third guide engaging portion 89.

At this time, the rear end edge of the battery 1 is positioned on the front side of the locking protrusion 92a of the engaging holding portion 92, the engaging holding portion 92 is elastically restored, and the locking protrusion 92a is the lower end of the rear end edge of the battery 1. The battery 1 is mounted on the battery mounting portion 83 by being engaged with the portion.

When the battery 1 is mounted on the battery mounting portion 83, the detection protrusion 91 of the charger 80 is pressed and operated by the detection pressed portion 14a provided on the front surface 14 of the battery 1. The detection protrusion 91 is moved forward, and the detection protrusion 91 is moved forward, so that the detection unit (not shown) detects that the battery 1 is mounted on the battery mounting portion 83.

When it is detected that the battery 1 is mounted on the battery mounting portion 83, light is emitted from the light emitting diode and the light is directed upward through the windows 82a and 82b while the charger 80 is connected to the power supply. Is irradiated. Therefore, by visually recognizing the state of the light emitted through the windows 82a and 82b, the user can recognize whether or not the battery is in a rechargeable state and the amount of charge for the battery 1.

Further, when the battery 1 is mounted on the battery mounting portion 83, the identification protrusion 90 of the charger 80 is inserted into one of the identification grooves 30 of the battery 1 (see FIG. 31). As for the identification protrusion 90, the longitudinal portion 90a is inserted into the first identification portion 31, and the short portion 90b is inserted into the second identification portion 32.

By inserting the identification protrusion 90 into the identification groove 30, it is identified that the battery 1 mounted on the battery mounting portion 83 is of a type that can be charged by the charger 80. The battery 1 is, for example, a type having a medium rechargeable power capacity.

Further, when the battery 1 is mounted on the battery mounting portion 83, the terminal connection portion 93 of the charger 80 is inserted between the wall portions 29b and 29b of the battery 1. At this time, since there is a gap, a dimensional tolerance, etc. between the battery 1 and the charger 80 to ensure smooth insertion of the battery 1 into the battery mounting portion 83, the battery 1 moves to the left and right with respect to the charger 80. It may be inserted into the battery mounting portion 83 in a tilted or displaced state (see FIG. 32).

Even when the battery 1 is inserted in a state of being tilted or displaced with respect to the charger 80, the wall portions 29b and 29b are formed as inclined surfaces that are separated from each other in the left-right direction as they go forward. The connection portion 93 is guided by the wall portions 29b and 29b and approaches the connector 33. Therefore, in the battery 1, the connection terminals 35, 35, and 35 of the connector 33 are securely connected to the electrode terminals 95, 95, and 95 of the terminal connection portion 93, respectively (see FIG. 33). At this time, the positioning protrusions 94a and 94a of the terminal connection portion 93 are inserted into the positioning grooves 37 and 37 of the connector 33, respectively, and positioning of the connector 33 with respect to the terminal connection portion 93 is performed.

On the other hand, the battery 1 is slid rearward to release the engagement with the rear end edge of the locking protrusion 92a, and the first guide engaging portions 87, 87 and the second guide engaging portions 88, 88 and the third. It is possible to take out the battery 1 from the battery mounting portion 83 by disengaging the guide engaging portions 89 and 89 of the above and pulling the battery 1 upward from the mounting recess 83a.

<Summary>
As described above, in the battery 1, the surface forming the arrangement recess 27 of the housing 2 is formed as the recess forming surface 29, and a part of the recess forming surface 29 is formed between the front surface 14 of the outer surface 10 and the connector 33. There is an intermediate portion 29c that is.

Therefore, since the front surface 33a of the connector 33 is located inside the housing 2 from the front surface 14 of the housing 2, the occurrence of damage or scratches on the connector 33 when dropped or the like is reduced, and the electrode terminal 61 of the connection terminal 35, A good connection state with respect to 95 can be ensured.

In particular, since it is difficult for the impact force to be transmitted to the connector 33 due to the drop impact, cracks in the solder for connecting the connection terminal 35 to the circuit board 9 are unlikely to occur, and the occurrence of electrical connection failure can be reduced.

Further, since the occurrence of damage or scratches on the connector 33 is reduced, the connection terminal 35 is less likely to be exposed from the housing 34, and high quality of the connector 33 can be ensured.

Although the front surface 33a of the connector 33 is located inside the housing 2 from the front surface 14 of the housing 2, for example, the lower surface 33b of the connector 33 is housed from the bottom surface 12 of the housing 2. It may be located inside the body 2 (see FIG. 34).

Even when the lower surface 33b of the connector 33 is located inside the housing 2 from the bottom surface 12 of the housing 2, the occurrence of damage or scratches on the connector 33 is reduced when the connector 33 is dropped or the like, and the connection terminal 35 A good connection state to the electrode terminals 61 and 95 can be ensured.

Further, for example, the front surface 33a of the connector 33 is located inside the housing 2 from the front surface 14 of the housing 2, and the lower surface 33b of the connector 33 is located inside the housing 2 from the bottom surface 12 of the housing 2. It may be good (see FIG. 35).

When the front surface 33a is located inside the housing 2 from the front surface 14 and the bottom surface 33b is located inside the housing 2 from the bottom surface 12, the entire connector 33 is located inside the housing 2. Be positioned. Therefore, the occurrence of damage or scratches on the connector 33 when dropped or the like is further reduced, and a better connection state of the connection terminal 35 with respect to the electrode terminals 61 and 95 can be ensured.

Further, in the battery 1, the arrangement recess 27 is opened in the connection direction of the connection terminal 35 with respect to the electrode terminals 61 and 95, and the intermediate portion 29c which is the recess forming surface 29 is provided between the outer surface 10 and the connector 33 in the connection direction. exist.

Therefore, since the connector 33 is located inside the housing 2 from the outer surface 10 in the connection direction, the electrode terminals 61 and 95 are inserted to the back side of the arrangement recess 27 at the time of connection, and the connection device (imaging device 50, The size of the charger 80) can be reduced.

Further, a part of the recess forming surface 29 is formed on an inclined surface in which the opening area of the placement recess 27 increases as the distance from the connector 33 increases in the opening direction (connection direction) of the placement recess 27.

Therefore, since a part of the recess forming surface 29 functions as a guide surface when the electrode terminals 61 and 95 are inserted into the arrangement recess 27, it is possible to secure a good connection state between the connection terminal 35 and the electrode terminals 61 and 95. can.

Furthermore, the recess forming surface 29 has a pair of wall portions 29b and 29b separated from each other in a direction orthogonal to the connection direction, and is formed as an inclined surface in which the wall portions 29b and 29b are separated from each other as they go in the connection direction. Has been done.

Therefore, since the wall portions 29b and 29b function as a guide surface when the electrode terminals 61 and 95 are inserted into the arrangement recesses 27, a better connection state between the connection terminal 35 and the electrode terminals 61 and 95 can be ensured. ..

The above shows an example in which the pair of wall portions 29b and 29b are formed as inclined surfaces that are separated from each other as they go in the connection direction. For example, the arrangement recess 27 as one wall portion 29b goes in the connection direction. It may be formed on an inclined surface having a large opening area (see FIG. 36).

Further, in the battery 1, the intermediate portion 29c of the concave portion forming surface 29 may be formed on an inclined surface in which the opening area of the arrangement concave portion 27 increases as the distance from the connector 33 increases in the connection direction (see FIG. 37).

Since the intermediate portion 29c is formed on the inclined surface in this way, the intermediate portion 29c functions as a guide surface when the electrode terminals 61 and 95 are inserted into the arrangement recesses 27, so that the connection terminals 35 and the electrode terminals 61 and 95 It is possible to secure a better connection state.

In this case, the wall portions 29b and 29b may be formed on the inclined surface in addition to the intermediate portion 29c, and one wall portion 29b may be formed on the inclined surface in addition to the intermediate portion 29c. Only 29c may be formed on the inclined surface.

Further, the inclination angle of the wall portion 29b or the intermediate portion 29c with respect to the connection direction is arbitrary, but for example, it is desirable that the inclination angle is larger than 0 degrees and 45 degrees or less.

When the inclination angle of the wall portion 29b or the intermediate portion 29c is made larger than 0 degrees and 45 degrees or less, the inclination angle of the recess forming surface 29 that functions as a guide surface becomes an acute angle, so that the electrode terminal guided to the guide surface The 61 and 95 can be smoothly inserted into the arrangement recess 27.

In the above, the charger 80, which is a type in which the battery 1 is inserted into the mounting recess 83a from above and then slid forward for mounting, is shown as an example, but as another type, the battery 1 is mounted from above. There is a charger 80A that is attached by being inserted (see FIG. 38).

The charger 80A is provided as a whole as, for example, a battery mounting portion 83A, and the battery mounting portion 83A is formed with a mounting recess 83b opened upward. A terminal connection portion 96 having an electrode terminal is arranged in the battery mounting portion 83A. The battery 1 is inserted into the mounting recess 83b of the charger 80A with the front surface 14 facing downward.

In such a case, by forming at least one of the wall portions 29b and 29b and the intermediate portion 29c of the battery 1 as an inclined surface (guide surface), the weight of the battery 1 itself when the battery 1 is inserted into the mounting recess 83b. Guides the terminal connection portion 96 to the inclined surface.

Therefore, an easy and good connection state to the charger 80A of the battery 1 can be ensured.

In the battery 1, a notch 2a is formed in the housing 2 by a stepped surface 18 continuous on the side surface 13 and a groove forming surface 19 continuous on the bottom surface 12, and a second portion opened in the groove forming surface 19. The guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 of 1 are formed, and the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 are formed. It is located on the bottom surface 12 side of the step surface 18.

Therefore, the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, the third guided groove 24, and the stepped surface 18 are not continuously positioned, and the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove, and the second guided groove 22 are not positioned continuously. Since a part of the groove forming surface 19 is located between the 23 and the third guided groove 24 and the stepped surface 18, the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23 and the third guided are guided. Compared to the case where the groove 24 and the stepped surface 18 are continuously positioned, the groove forming surface 19 and the stepped surface 18 are closer to the cell 6, and the battery 1 can be miniaturized.

Further, since the notches 2a and 2a are formed at positions continuous with the two side surfaces 13 and 13, the notches 2a and 2a exist on both sides of the two side surfaces 13 and 13, and the outer surface 10 of the housing 2 is present. Are located close to the cells 6 and 6 at two locations, so that the battery 1 can be further miniaturized.

Further, the first guided groove 22, 22 and the second guided groove 23, 23 and the third guided groove 24, 24 are formed so as to be separated from each other in the connection direction of the connection terminal 35 with respect to the electrode terminals 61, 95. ing. Therefore, the portion of the housing 2 between the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, and the third guided groove 24 is the first guided groove 22 and the second guided groove 23. Since it is formed as a protrusion with respect to the third guided groove 24, the protrusion functions as a reinforcing rib, and the strength of the housing 2 can be improved.

<Other battery configuration examples>
An example of another configuration of the battery 1 will be described below (see FIGS. 39 to 44).

The battery 1 may be formed with engaging recesses 39, 39 at least on both the left and right sides (see FIG. 39). The engaging recesses 39 and 39 are opened, for example, in the second guided grooves 23 and 23, respectively.

The battery 1 in which the engaging recesses 39 and 39 are formed is connected, for example, while being held in the charger 80B. The charger 80B has a main body 97, holding arms 98 and 98 projecting rearward from the main body 97, and a terminal connection portion 99 arranged in a state of projecting rearward from the main body 97 and having an electrode terminal.

An operation button 97a is arranged on the main body 97, and by operating the operation button 97a, the holding arms 98 and 98 are operated in a direction in which they are separated from each other.

The holding arms 98, 98 are provided as engaging protrusions 98a, 98a in which the tip portions are bent in a direction in which the tip portions approach each other. Sliding surfaces 98b and 98b are formed at the tips of the holding arms 98 and 98 so as to approach each other as they approach the main body 97. The holding arms 98, 98 are urged in a direction approaching each other by a spring (not shown) arranged inside the main body 97.

When the battery 1 is moved forward with respect to the charger 80B, the leading edges of the battery 1 are slid on the sliding surfaces 98b and 98b, respectively, and the holding arms 98 and 98 are separated from each other against the urging force of the spring. The holding arms 98 and 98 are inserted into the first guided grooves 22 and 22, respectively. The holding arms 98 and 98 are relatively moved from the first guided grooves 22 and 22 toward the second guided grooves 23 and 23, respectively, and once from the first guided grooves 22 and 22 the groove forming surface 19 , 19 is moved toward each other again and inserted into the second guided grooves 23, 23, and the engaging protrusions 98a, 98a are engaged with the engaging recesses 39, 39, respectively (see FIG. 40). ).

In the charger 80B, the engaging protrusions 98a and 98a are engaged with the engaging recesses 39 and 39, respectively, and the battery 1 is sandwiched from both the left and right sides, and the battery 1 is held by the charger 80B. When the engaging protrusions 98a and 98a are engaged with the engaging recesses 39 and 39, respectively, the connector 33 is connected to the terminal connecting portion 99 at the same time.

When releasing the holding of the battery 1 by the charger 80B, the operation button 97a is operated to move the holding arms 98 and 98 in directions to separate them from each other with respect to the engaging recesses 39 and 39 of the engaging protrusions 98a and 98a. This can be done by disengaging the engaged state and pulling the battery 1 and the charger 80B apart.

Although the above shows an example in which the engaging recesses 39 and 39 are opened in the second guided grooves 23 and 23, respectively, the engaging recesses 39 and 39 are opened in the insertion grooves 24 and 24, respectively. May be. However, when the engaging recesses 39, 39 are opened in the guided grooves 23, 23, the engaging protrusions 98a, 98a of the charger 80B are inserted into the guided grooves 23, 23 and guided. , The engaging protrusions 98a, 98a can be reliably engaged with the engaging recesses 39, 39.

As described above, the engaging recesses 39, 39 are formed on the surfaces of the housing 2 facing in opposite directions, respectively, and the engaging protrusions 98a, 98a are engaged with the engaging recesses 39, 39, respectively. It is possible to hold the battery 1 by engaging the engaging protrusions 98a and 98a from the opposite sides, respectively, and the battery 1 can be easily held in a stable state.

In addition, although the example in which the engaging recesses 39 and 39 are formed on the left and right sides of the battery 1 is shown above, for example, in addition to the engaging recesses 39 and 39 on both the left and right sides, at least the top surface 11 or the bottom surface 12 is at least. An engaging recess 39 opened on one side may be formed (see FIG. 41).

By forming the engaging recesses 39 opened in the top surface 11 or the bottom surface 12 orthogonal to the left and right sides facing in the opposite directions in this way, the engaging recesses 39, 39, 39 are opposed to the opposite side. The battery 1 can be held by engaging the engaging protrusions 98a, 98a, and 98a from the side orthogonal to the side, respectively, and the battery 1 can be held in a more stable state.

Further, since the engaging recess 39 is formed in the region where the second guided groove 23 exists, the engaging protrusion 98a is guided by the second guided groove 23 and engaged with the engaging recess 39. Therefore, the engaging protrusion 98a can be easily and surely engaged with the engaging recess 39.

The engaging recess 39 may be formed in a region where the first guided groove 22 exists instead of the region where the second guided groove 23 exists (see FIG. 42), and the second It may be formed in the region where the guided groove 24 of 3 exists (see FIG. 43).

In particular, when the engaging recess 39 is formed in the region where the first guided groove 22 exists, the first guided groove 22 in which the engaging recess 39 is located on the most distal end side in the connection direction is formed. It exists in the area where it exists.

Therefore, when the battery 1 is mounted on the charger 80B, the engaging protrusion 98a does not need to get over the groove forming surface 19, and the engaging protrusion 98a can be easily and quickly engaged with the engaging recess 39. It can be carried out.

Further, when the engaging protrusion 98a is engaged with the engaging recess 39, the electrode terminal of the terminal connecting portion 99 is connected to the connecting terminal 35 of the connector 33.

Therefore, since the engagement of the engaging protrusion 98a with the engaging recess 39 and the connection of the electrode terminal to the connection terminal 35 are performed at the same time, the engagement work of the engaging protrusion 98a with the engaging recess 39 and the electrode It is not necessary to connect the terminals to the terminal 35 separately, and workability can be improved.

The engaging recess 39 may be formed in a region other than the region where the first guided groove 22, the second guided groove 23, or the third guided groove 24 exists, and may be formed on the groove forming surface 19. It may be formed in an open state. For example, engaging recesses 39 and 39 opened at least downward and rearward at the lower ends of the groove forming surfaces 19 and 19 may be formed at the lower ends (see FIG. 44).

By forming the engaging recesses 39 and 39 at the lower ends of the groove forming surfaces 19 and 19, respectively, for example, in the charger 80 or the like, two engaging holding portions 92 and 92 are provided. The battery 1 can be held by the charger 80 or the like by locking the locking protrusions 92a and 92a of the engaging holding portions 92 and 92 to the opening edges of the engaging recesses 39 and 39, respectively. Is.

In this case, since the engaging recesses 39 and 39 are located on the front side of the rear surface 15 of the battery 1, the locking protrusions 92a and 92a are also located on the front side by that amount, and the length of the charger 80 and the like in the front-rear direction is increased. It is possible to shorten the size of the charger 80 and the like.

<Structure of identification groove, etc.>
Next, the configuration of the identification groove 30 and the like will be described (see FIGS. 45 to 56).

As described above, the identification groove 30 is composed of a first identification unit 31 and a second identification unit 32 having different lengths in the front-rear direction, and the first identification unit 31 and the second identification unit 32 are in the left-right direction. (See the upper part of FIGS. 45 and 46). The first discriminating unit 31 and the second discriminating unit 32 each have discriminating power.

On the other hand, in the conventional battery, the first identification groove A corresponding to the first identification unit 31 and the second identification groove B corresponding to the second identification unit 32 have a certain interval and are separated in the left-right direction. (See the lower part of FIG. 46).

Generally, the width of the identification groove in the left-right direction is determined by the resin fluidity at the time of molding the housing, the flame-retardant grade, and the like.

Further, the width of the identification groove is formed so as to secure the strength of the identification protrusion inserted into the identification groove. Specifically, if the width of the identification groove is small, it is necessary to reduce the width of the identification protrusion to be inserted, but if the width of the identification protrusion is small, the strength of the identification protrusion is reduced and the identification protrusion is damaged. And cracks are more likely to occur. Therefore, it is necessary to make the width more than a certain amount in order to secure the strength of the identification protrusion more than a certain amount, and it is necessary to make the width of the identification groove more than a certain amount by that amount.

On the other hand, for example, the width of the mounting recess 83a in the charger 80 is made larger than the width of the battery 1 by a margin (rattling) for ensuring smooth insertion into the mounting recess 83a of the battery 1. Therefore, the width of the identification groove also needs to have a dimension sufficient to ensure that the identification protrusion is inserted. In addition, the width of the identification groove is formed to a size that takes into account the dimensional tolerances and assembly tolerances of each part, and the width of the identification groove is determined including these margins.

Further, in the conventional battery, a constant gap H is formed between the first identification groove A and the second identification groove B, and the gap H also needs to secure a certain strength or more. The width of is required.

Therefore, assuming that the widths of the identification protrusions inserted into the first identification groove A and the second identification groove B in the conventional battery are W1, the first identification groove A and the second identification groove B, respectively. Each width becomes "W1 + C" when the margin (rattling + common difference) is C. Further, since a gap H is required between the first identification groove A and the second identification groove B, it is necessary for the housing to form the first identification groove A and the second identification groove B. The dimension Wp in the left-right direction is "2W1 + 2C + H".

On the other hand, in the battery 1, the first identification portion 31 corresponding to the first identification groove A and the second identification portion 32 corresponding to the second identification groove B are continuously formed in the left-right direction. (See the upper part of FIG. 46). Therefore, the dimension W in the left-right direction required for the housing 2 to form the identification groove 30 composed of the first identification unit 31 and the second identification unit 32 does not require the gap H. The dimensions are 2W1 + 2C "or less.

Further, since the identification groove 30 is formed with the first identification portion 31 and the second identification portion 32 continuously in the left-right direction, the dimension W does not require the margin C of one of the margins 2C. , The dimension W is a dimension of "2W1 + C" or less.

Further, since a part of the identification protrusion inserted into the second identification portion 32 on the shorter side may be inserted into the first identification portion 31, the width of the second identification portion 32 is W1. Assuming that the dimension that can be made smaller and can be made smaller is α, the dimension W is “2W1-α + C”.

Therefore, the dimension W in the left-right direction required for the housing 2 to form the identification groove 30 is smaller by "C + H + α" with respect to the dimension Wp in the left-right direction required for the housing in the conventional battery. Therefore, it becomes possible to reduce the size of the battery 1 by that amount.

In the above, the identification groove 30 composed of the rectangular first identification unit 31 and the second identification unit 32 is shown as an example. In the identification groove 30, for example, the back bottom surfaces 31a and 32a are inclined. It may be formed in such a shape (see FIG. 47). In the identification groove 30 having a shape in which the inner bottom surfaces 31a and 32a are inclined, one portion in the left-right direction is the first identification portion 31 and the other portion is the second identification portion 32.

Since there is no step in the identification groove 30 in which the back bottom surfaces 31a and 32a are formed in an inclined shape, the identification groove 30 can be easily formed in the housing 2.

Next, an example of the batteries 1A and 1B having the identification groove different from that of the battery 1 will be described (see FIGS. 48 and 49).

As described above, the battery 1 is formed with two identification grooves 30 and 30 separated from each other on the left and right sides. The battery 1 is, for example, a medium capacity type having a standard maximum charge capacity.

The battery 1A is, for example, a high-capacity type having a maximum charge capacity larger than that of the battery 1. One identification groove 30 and one identification groove 30A are formed in the battery 1A (see FIG. 48). The identification groove 30A is composed of a first identification unit 31A and a second identification unit 32, which are longer in the front-rear direction than the first identification unit 31.

The battery 1B is, for example, a low capacity type having a maximum charge capacity smaller than that of the battery 1. One identification groove 30 is formed in the battery 1B (see FIG. 49).

Next, a configuration example of the battery mounting portion of the connected device to which the battery 1, the battery 1A or the battery 1B is mounted will be described (see FIGS. 50 to 53).

As connected devices, for example, a low power camera that can be driven with a small power, a medium power camera that can be driven with a larger power than a low power camera, and a high power camera that can be driven with a larger power than a medium power camera. And the charger 80 is present.

A terminal connection portion 59 is arranged in the battery mounting portion of the low power camera, and an identification protrusion inserted into the identification groove 30 or the like is not provided (see FIG. 50).

A terminal connection portion 59 is arranged on the battery mounting portion of the medium-power camera, and an identification protrusion 90B is provided on the side of the terminal connection portion 59 (see FIG. 51). The identification protrusion 90B has a length that allows the entire identification portion 90B to be inserted into both the first identification portion 31 and the first identification portion 31A.

A terminal connection portion 59 is arranged on the battery mounting portion of the high-power camera, and an identification protrusion 90C is provided on the side of the terminal connection portion 59 (see FIG. 52). The identification protrusion 90C is longer than the identification protrusion 90B so that the entire identification portion 90C is not inserted into the first identification portion 31 and the entire identification portion 31A can be inserted into the first identification portion 31A.

As described above, the battery mounting portion 83 of the charger 80 is provided with the terminal connecting portion 93, and the identification protrusion 90 is provided on the side of the terminal connecting portion 93 (see FIG. 53). The identification protrusion 90 is composed of a longitudinal portion 90a and a lateral portion 90b.

Next, an example regarding the discriminability of the above-mentioned identification grooves 30 and 30A will be described (see FIG. 54).

Hereinafter, as an example, the distinctiveness of the battery 1, the battery 1A and the battery 1B with respect to the low power camera, the medium power camera, the high power camera and the charger 80 will be described. In FIG. 54, "Y" indicates that the battery can be attached to the camera or charger, and "N" indicates that the battery cannot be attached to the camera or charger.

The large-capacity type battery 1A has an identification groove 30 located on the left side and an identification groove 30A located on the right side, and the medium-capacity type battery 1 has identification grooves 30 and 30 located separated from each other to the left and right. The small capacity type battery 1B has one identification groove 30 located on the left side.

Since the low power camera does not have a protrusion for identification in the battery mounting portion, there is no portion to be inserted into the identification grooves 30 and 30A. Therefore, any of battery 1, battery 1A, and battery 1B can be attached to the battery mounting portion of the low power camera, and any of battery 1, battery 1A, and battery 1B can be used for the low power camera. Is identified as a battery.

The medium-power camera has an identification protrusion 90C located on the right side of the battery mounting portion, and the identification protrusion 90C is used to identify the first identification portion 31 of the identification groove 30 and the first identification groove 30A. It can be inserted into any of the portions 31A. The identification protrusion 90C is inserted into the first identification portion 31 of the identification groove 30 located on the right side of the battery 1 and the first identification portion 31A of the identification groove 30A located on the right side of the battery 1A. On the other hand, the identification protrusion 90C interferes with the battery 1B because the identification groove is not formed on the right side of the battery 1B.

Therefore, both the battery 1A and the battery 1 can be mounted on the battery mounting portion of the medium power camera, but the battery 1B cannot be mounted, and both the battery 1A and the battery 1 are used for the medium power camera. It is identified that the battery is capable of being capable, and the battery 1B is identified as a battery that cannot be used in a medium power camera.

The high-power camera has an identification protrusion 90B located on the right side of the battery mounting portion, and the identification protrusion 90B can be inserted into the first identification portion 31A of the identification groove 30A. The identification protrusion 90B is inserted into the first identification portion 31A of the identification groove 30A located on the right side of the battery 1A. On the other hand, the identification protrusion 90B can be inserted into the first identification portion 31 of the identification groove 30 located on the right side of the battery 1, but is inserted only halfway, and the connection terminal 35 of the connector 33 of the battery 1 is inserted. The electrode terminal 95 is not connected to. Further, the identification protrusion 90B interferes with the battery 1B because the identification groove is not formed on the right side of the battery 1B.

Therefore, the battery 1A can be mounted on the battery mounting portion of the high power camera, but the battery 1 and the battery 1B cannot be mounted, and the battery 1A is a battery that can be used for the high power camera. Is identified, and battery 1 and battery 1B are identified as batteries that cannot be used in high power cameras.

The charger 80 has an identification protrusion 90 located on the left side of the battery mounting portion 83, and the identification protrusion 90 can be inserted into the identification groove 30. The identification protrusion 90 is inserted into the identification groove 30 located on the left side of the battery 1, the battery 1A, and the battery 1B.

Therefore, any of the battery 1, the battery 1A, and the battery 1B can be attached to the battery mounting portion 83 of the charger 80, and any of the battery 1, the battery 1A, and the battery 1B can be used for the charger 80. It is identified as a possible battery.

In addition, although the example regarding the identification of the battery by the difference in the charge capacity is shown above, the identification by the identification groove 30 or the like is not limited to the identification by the difference in the charge capacity, for example, whether or not it is a rechargeable type. It can also be applied to the identification of other differences such as the difference in the charging speed and the difference in the charging speed.

Further, the above shows an example of the identification groove 30 composed of two parts of the first identification unit 31 and the second identification unit 32 having different lengths, but the identification grooves 30 have different lengths. It may be composed of one or more identification units.

As described above, the battery 1 (batteries 1A and 1B) is formed with an identification groove 30 in the housing 2 for identifying connected devices, and the identification groove 30 has a plurality of identification portions having different lengths in succession. It is formed.

Therefore, since there is no portion that partitions the identification portion between the plurality of identification portions having different lengths, the size of the identification portion 30 in the continuous direction is the total size of the plurality of identification portions, which is high. The size of the battery 1 can be reduced while ensuring the distinctiveness.

Further, since the first identification unit 31 and the second identification unit 32 are formed as the identification unit, the size of the identification groove 30 in the continuous direction is the size of the first identification unit 31 and the second identification unit 32. The total size of the parts 32 is increased, and the size of the battery 1 can be reduced after improving the distinctiveness.

Further, since the identification groove 30 has a plurality of identification portions continuously formed in the width direction, the size of the identification groove 30 in the width direction becomes the total size of the plurality of identification portions, and the plurality of identification grooves are formed. It is possible to reduce the size of the battery 1 in the width direction while improving the distinctiveness as compared with the case where the batteries are formed apart in the width direction.

Furthermore, the widths of the plurality of identification portions are reduced in ascending order of length. For example, in the first identification unit 31 and the second identification unit 32, the width of the second identification unit 32 having a short length is smaller than the width of the first identification unit 31 having a long length.

Therefore, the size of the identification groove 30 in the width direction becomes smaller than the total width when the identification portions having the same width are formed, and the battery 1 is further reduced in size in the width direction while improving the identification. Can be achieved.

In addition, since the two identification grooves 30 and 30 are formed so as to be separated from each other in the width direction, it becomes possible to identify the connected device using the two identification grooves 30 and 30, and the connectable device can be identified. You can increase the types of.

In this case, it is also possible to form the two identification grooves 30 and 30 so as to have different shapes and sizes.

Further, in the identification groove 30, the first identification portion 31 and the second identification portion 32 may be formed in different shapes (see FIG. 55). In the identification groove 30, for example, the second identification portion 32 may be formed in a space having a substantially triangular columnar shape, and by forming the identification groove 30 in such a shape, the inner bottom surface 30a of the identification groove 30 may be formed. A portion of the region of the second identification portion 32 is formed as an inclined surface 32c. The inclined surface 32c is inclined so as to be displaced toward the bottom surface 12 as it approaches the side surface 13 located on the opposite side of the first identification portion 31 which is continuous in the left-right direction.

The identification groove 30 is a portion formed in the vicinity of the first guided groove 22, and by forming the identification groove 30 in such a shape, the first guided groove 22 and the identification groove in the housing 2 are formed. The thickness (width) of the portion between the 30s becomes large, and the peripheral portion of the first guided groove 22 can be reinforced.

Further, although the identification groove 30 in which the first identification unit 31 and the second identification unit 32 having different lengths are continuous in the width direction is shown as an example, the identification groove 30X is used instead of the identification groove 30. It may be formed (see FIG. 56). The identification groove 30X is composed of a first identification unit 31X and a second identification unit 32X having different sizes in the vertical direction (depth direction) in succession. For example, the first identification unit 31X has a second identification unit 31X. The length is longer than that of the identification unit 32X, and the first identification unit 31 is continuously formed under the second identification unit 32.

Similarly to the identification groove 30, the identification groove 30X may be composed of three or more identification portions having different lengths.

By forming the plurality of identification portions continuously in the depth direction in this way, the size of the identification groove 30X in the depth direction becomes the total size of the plurality of identification portions, and the plurality of identification grooves are deep. It is possible to reduce the size of the battery 1 in the depth direction (vertical direction) while improving the distinctiveness as compared with the case where the batteries are formed apart from each other in the vertical direction.

Further, the depths of the plurality of identification portions of the identification groove 30X may be reduced in ascending order of length.

By making the identification groove 30X in such a configuration, the size of the identification groove 30X in the depth direction becomes smaller than the total depth when the identification portions having the same depth are formed, and the identification property is improved. After that, the battery 1 can be further miniaturized in the depth direction.

<Modification example>
An example of modification of each part of the battery 1 will be described below (see FIGS. 57 to 59).

The first modification is a modification of the concave portion forming surface (see FIGS. 57 and 58). The recess forming surface 29A according to the first modification has wall portions 29d and 29d. The wall portions 29d and 29d are the second inclined surfaces 40 and 40 continuous with the base portion 29a and the intermediate surfaces 41 and 41 continuous with the first inclined surfaces 40 and 40, respectively. It is composed of inclined surfaces 42 and 42.

The first inclined surfaces 40, 40 are continuous with the front end of the base portion 29a, and are inclined in a direction in which they are separated from each other in the left-right direction toward the front. The intermediate surfaces 41 and 41 are continuous with the front ends of the first inclined surfaces 40 and 40 and are formed as surfaces facing forward. The second inclined surfaces 42, 42 are continuous with the outer ends of the intermediate surfaces 41, 41 in the left-right direction, and are inclined in a direction in which they are separated from each other in the left-right direction toward the front.

The inclination angle of the first inclined surface 40 with respect to the intermediate surface 41 is larger than the inclination angle of the second inclined surface 42 with respect to the intermediate surface 41. However, the inclination angle of the first inclined surface 40 with respect to the intermediate surface 41 may be smaller than the inclination angle of the second inclined surface 42 with respect to the intermediate surface 41, and the inclination of the second inclined surface 42 with respect to the intermediate surface 41 may be made smaller. It may be the same as the angle.

Further, the width of the first inclined surface 40 in the inclined direction is made larger than the width of the second inclined surface 42 in the inclined direction. However, the width of the first inclined surface 40 in the inclined direction may be smaller than the width of the second inclined surface 42 in the inclined direction, and the width of the second inclined surface 42 in the inclined direction may be smaller. It may be the same as the width.

By forming the concave portion forming surface 29A having the wall portions 29d and 29d as described above, the thickness of the front and rear portions of the wall portions 29d and 29d in the housing 2 becomes large, and the strength of the housing 2 becomes stronger. It can be improved.

The second modification is a modification of the connector (see FIG. 59). The connector 33A according to the second modification has a housing 34 made of a non-conductive material and connection terminals 35, 35, 35 made of a conductive material. The housing 34 is formed with terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, 36 in which connection terminals 35, 35, 35 are arranged, but the positioning grooves 37, 37 are not formed.

Connection terminals 35, 35, and 35 that function as positive electrode terminals, negative electrode terminals, and information terminals are arranged in the terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, and 36, respectively. In the connector 33A, two terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36 or four terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, ... May be formed. When two terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36 are formed in the connector 33A, positive electrode terminals and negative electrode terminals are arranged in the two terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, respectively, and four terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, in the connector 33A. When ... Is formed, positive electrode terminals, negative electrode terminals, information terminals, and communication terminals are arranged in the four terminal arrangement grooves 36, 36, ..., Respectively.

When the connector 33A is used, the positioning grooves 37 and 37 are formed on both the left and right sides of the connector 33A in the housing 2, respectively.

By using the connector 33A as described above, the width of both side portions of the arrangement recess 27 in the housing 2 in the left-right direction becomes large, and the strength of the housing 2 can be improved.

<Structure of another battery>
Next, the configuration of the battery 1C different from the battery 1 will be described (see FIGS. 60 and 61).

The battery 1C shown below differs from the battery 1 described above only in that there is no connector, and the configuration of each part other than that and the positional relationship and size between the parts are the same as those of the battery 1. .. Therefore, in the following, only the parts that are different from the battery 1 will be described in detail, and the other parts will be given the same reference numerals as those given to the same parts in the battery 1 and the description thereof will be omitted.

A recess 27C is formed at the front end of the bottom 21 (see FIG. 60). It is formed in a substantially central portion of the recess 27C in the left-right direction, and is opened forward and downward.

The recess 27C is formed by the recess forming surface 29C. The concave portion forming surface 29C includes a base portion 29e, wall portions 29b and 29b, and an intermediate portion 29c.

The base portion 29e is in a state of facing forward. The wall portions 29b and 29b are continuous at both left and right ends of the base portion 29e, respectively, and are formed as inclined surfaces that are separated from each other in the left-right direction toward the front. The intermediate portion 29c faces downward and is formed between the lower edges of the wall portions 29b and 29b.

Terminal arrangement grooves 36C, 36C, 36C are formed so as to be separated from each other to the left and right in a portion of the housing 2C that is continuous to the rear side of the recess 27C. The terminal arrangement groove 36C is opened downward and forward, and the front opening is formed in the base portion 29e. At least a part of the connection terminals 35, 35, and 35 is held in the housing 2C in a state of being arranged in the terminal arrangement grooves 36C, 36C, 36C, respectively. The battery 1C is not provided with a connector, and the connection terminals 35, 35, and 35 are configured as terminal portions.

The housing 2C is formed with positioning grooves 37C, 37C opened forward and downward on the outside of the terminal arrangement grooves 36C, 36C, 36C in the left-right direction, respectively.

The portion between the terminal arrangement grooves 36C, 36C, 36C in the housing 2C is provided as the terminal isolation ribs 2b and 2b, and the portion between the terminal arrangement grooves 36C, 36C and the positioning grooves 37C, 37C in the housing 2C is the inter-groove rib. It is provided as 2c and 2c. The width of the terminal isolation rib 2b in the left-right direction is made larger than the width of the groove-to-groove rib 2c in the left-right direction so that the connection terminals 35, 35, and 35 can be prevented from coming into contact with each other.

Although the above shows an example in which the positioning grooves 37C and 37C are formed at positions continuous with the recess 27C, even if the positioning grooves 37C and 37C are formed on both the left and right sides of the recess 27C in the housing 2C, respectively. Good (see FIG. 61).

Further, in the battery 1C, similarly to the battery 1, two terminal arrangement grooves 36C, 36C or four terminal arrangement grooves 36C, 36C, ... May be formed.

As described above, the battery 1C is not provided with a connector, and the terminal arrangement groove 36C and the positioning groove 37C are formed in the housing 2C. Therefore, the structure is simplified and the number of parts is reduced. The cost can be reduced.

<This technology>
The present technology can be configured as follows.

(1)
A housing having a plurality of exterior surfaces having different outer surfaces and having an arrangement recess formed therein.
The cell housed inside the housing and
It has a connection terminal connected to the electrode terminal of the connecting device and is provided with a connector arranged in the arrangement recess.
The surface forming the arrangement recess of the housing is formed as the recess forming surface.
A battery in which the recess-forming surface exists between the exterior surface and the connector.

(2)
The arrangement recess is opened at least in the connection direction between the connection terminal and the electrode terminal.
The battery according to (1) above, wherein the recess forming surface is present between the exterior surface and the connector in the connection direction.

(3)
The placement recesses are opened in two orthogonal directions and
The battery according to (1), wherein the recess forming surface is present between the exterior surface and the connector in the two directions.

(4)
The battery according to (2) or (3) above, wherein a part of the concave portion forming surface is formed on an inclined surface in which the opening area of the arrangement concave portion increases as the portion thereof separates from the connector in the opening direction of the arrangement concave portion.

(5)
The concave portion forming surface has a pair of wall portions separated from each other in a direction orthogonal to the connection direction.
The battery according to (4) above, wherein the pair of walls are formed as inclined surfaces that are separated from each other as they are separated from the connector in the connection direction.

(6)
The recess forming surface has an intermediate portion between the pair of wall portions.
The battery according to (5) above, wherein the intermediate portion is formed on an inclined surface in which the opening area of the arrangement recess increases as the intermediate portion separates from the connector in the connection direction.

(7)
The battery according to any one of (4) to (6) above, wherein the inclination angle of the concave portion forming surface with respect to the connection direction is larger than 0 degrees and 45 degrees or less.

(8)
A housing having a plurality of exterior surfaces having different outer surfaces and having an arrangement recess formed therein, a cell housed inside the housing, and a connection terminal connected to an electrode terminal and arranged in the arrangement recess. Batteries with connectors are removable and
In the battery, a connecting device in which a surface forming the arrangement recess of the housing is formed as a recess forming surface, and the recess forming surface exists between the exterior surface and the connector.

(9)
Front and rear parts arranged in the length direction, right and left parts arranged between the front side and the rear side in the width direction orthogonal to the length direction, in the length direction and the width direction. A housing having a top side portion and a bottom side portion arranged between the front side portion and the rear side portion and the right side portion and the left side portion in the height directions orthogonal to each other.
The cell housed inside the housing and
It is provided with a connection terminal including a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal which are arranged in a terminal arrangement groove formed on the front end side of the housing and which are connected to the electrode terminals of the connecting device.
A battery in which at least one front end of the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal is located behind the front end of the front side portion.

(10)
In a state where the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal are connected to the electrode terminal, at least a part of the electrode terminal is arranged in the housing, and a continuous recess is formed in the terminal arrangement groove.
The recess is opened at least in the connection direction between the connection terminal and the electrode terminal.
The battery according to (9) above, wherein a concave portion forming surface, which is a surface forming the concave portion, is present between the outer surface of the housing and the terminal arrangement groove in the connection direction.

(11)
In a state where the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal are connected to the electrode terminal, at least a part of the electrode terminal is arranged in the housing, and a continuous recess is formed in the terminal arrangement groove.
The recess is opened in two orthogonal directions and
The battery according to (9) above, wherein the concave portion forming surface, which is a surface forming the concave portion, is present between the outer surface of the housing and the terminal arrangement groove in the two directions.

(12)
The battery according to (10) or (11).

(13)
The concave portion forming surface has a pair of wall portions separated from each other in a direction orthogonal to the connection direction.
The battery according to (12) above, wherein the pair of wall portions are formed as inclined surfaces that are separated from each other as they are separated from the terminal arrangement groove in the connection direction.

(14)
The recess forming surface has an intermediate portion between the pair of wall portions.
The battery according to (13), wherein the intermediate portion is formed on an inclined surface in which the opening area of the recess increases as the intermediate portion separates from the terminal arrangement groove in the connection direction.

(15)
The battery according to any one of (12) to (14) above, wherein the inclination angle of the concave portion forming surface with respect to the connection direction is larger than 0 degrees and 45 degrees or less.

(16)
Front and rear parts arranged in the length direction, right and left parts arranged between the front side and the rear side in the width direction orthogonal to the length direction, in the length direction and the width direction. In a housing having a top side portion and a bottom side portion arranged between the front side portion and the rear side portion and between the right side portion and the left side portion in the height directions orthogonal to each other, and inside the housing. A battery having a housed cell and a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal arranged in a terminal arrangement groove formed on the front end side of the housing and connected to an electrode terminal is detachable.
In the battery, a connecting device in which at least one front end of the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal is located behind the front end of the front side portion.

1 ... Battery, 2 ... Housing, 6 ... Cell, 10 ... Outer surface, 11 ... Top surface (top side), 12 ... Bottom surface (bottom side), 13 ... Side surface (right side, left side), 14 ... Front (Front side part), 15 ... Rear surface (rear side part), 17 ... Exterior surface, 27 ... Arrangement recess, 29 ... Recessed surface, 29b ... Wall part, 29c ... Intermediate part, 33 ... Connector, 35 ... Connection terminal, 36 ... Terminal arrangement groove, 50 ... Imaging device (connecting device), 61 ... Electrode terminal, 80 ... Charger (connecting device), 95 ... Electrode terminal, 80A ... Charger (connecting device), 80B ... Charger (connecting device) 1, 1A ... Battery, 1B ... Battery, 29X ... Recessed surface, 29d ... Wall, 33A ... Connector, 1C ... Battery, 2C ... Housing, 27C ... Recessed, 29C ... Recessed surface, 36C ... Terminal placement groove, 37C … Positioning groove

Claims (6)

A housing having a plurality of exterior surfaces having different orientations and having an arrangement recess formed therein.
The connection terminal connected to the electrode terminal of the connected device and
A connector having the connection terminal and arranged in the arrangement recess is provided.
The exterior surface of the housing has a top surface and a bottom surface located on opposite sides in the height direction, a front surface and a rear surface located on the opposite side in the length direction between the top surface and the bottom surface, and a width direction. It has two sides located between the top surface and the bottom surface on opposite sides.
The placement recess has a recess forming surface between the front surface and the connector in the length direction.
A battery in which the connection terminal is located on the rear surface side of the front surface, and the front end edge of the recess forming surface is longer in the width direction than the connector side edge of the recess forming surface. A housing having a plurality of exterior surfaces having different orientations and having an arrangement recess formed therein.
The connection terminal connected to the electrode terminal of the connected device and
A connector having the connection terminal and arranged in the arrangement recess is provided.
The exterior surface of the housing has a top surface and a bottom surface located on opposite sides in the height direction, a front surface and a rear surface located on the opposite side in the length direction between the top surface and the bottom surface, and a width direction. It has two sides located between the top surface and the bottom surface on opposite sides.
The placement recess has a recess forming surface between the front surface and the connector in the length direction.
A battery in which the connection terminal is located on the rear surface side of the front surface, and the edge of the concave portion forming surface on the front surface side is longer in the width direction than the width of the connector. The battery according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front edge of the concave portion forming surface is shorter in the width direction than the front edge of the housing. The battery according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the edge of the concave portion forming surface on the front surface side is shorter in the width direction than the width of the front surface. The placement recesses are opened in two orthogonal directions and
The battery according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recess forming surface is present between the exterior surface and the connector in the two directions, respectively. The battery according to claim 5, wherein a part of the concave portion forming surface has a large opening area of the arrangement concave portion as the arrangement concave portion is separated from the connector in the opening direction.

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