JPH10284135A - Battery charger - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect a charge plug when a battery charger is not used or is carried, by providing a recess on a part of an outer surface of its main body case and housing the charge plug in the recess with universal detachability. SOLUTION: Below a power source insertion plug 2 on a back surface 3a of a main body case 3, a recess 12 with a shape which nearly coincides with a shape of a charge plug 5 is formed so that it is open backward and downward. The charge plug 5 is fitted in the recess 12 from the rear and lower part and is then housed. It is effective to take the following means to prevent the charge plug 5 from being detached carelessly. For example, its removal is prevented by friction engagement force between right and left sides of the charge plug 5 and right and left wall sides 12a, 12a of the recess 12 when fitting the plug 5 a little strongly in the recess 12. Also, it is possible that an operation button 11 is housed in the recess 12 while keeping it pushed in, and after that friction engagement force is obtained by spring action of the operation button 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a charger for charging a device to be charged, such as a portable telephone or an electronic organizer, having a built-in rechargeable battery by being inserted into an AC outlet or a cigarette lighter socket mounted on a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art AC adapters and chargers for cigarette lighters that are charged by being inserted into an AC outlet or cigarette lighter socket derive an output cord from a main body case having a built-in charging circuit, and are provided at the end of the output cord. The charging plug is connected to an external device connection terminal of a device to be charged such as a mobile phone or an electronic organizer.

[0003]

However, in this type of charger, the charging plug at the end of the output cord is exposed while hanging down from the main body case, so that the charging plug is attached to dust, sand or water. There is a risk of being damaged by intrusion, deformation or damage by touching or stepping on other objects, and short-circuiting due to metal clips, insect pins, etc. intruding into the charging plug while the power plug is plugged in and causing a short circuit. It was the cause of failure.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a charger which can protect a charging plug when not in use or when carrying.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a battery charger which can be made compact and which is excellent in portability.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a main body case 3 having a built-in charging circuit and having a power supply plug 2;
A charger provided with an output cord 4 having a charging plug 5 that is led out of the main body case 3 and that is connected to the external device connection terminal 7 of the device 6 to be charged so as to be connected to and detached from the body at the tip is configured as follows. It is characterized by. A recess 12 is provided in a part of the outer surface of the main body case 3, and the charging plug 5 is detachably stored in the recess 12.

[0006]

In order to charge the device to be charged 6 such as a mobile phone,
Insert the power plug 2 into an AC outlet or cigarette lighter socket, and insert the charging plug 5 into the body case 3.
Is taken out of the recess 12 and connected to the external device connection terminal 7 of the device 6 to be charged for charging. After use, the charging plug 5 is stored in the recess 12 of the main body case 3. Since the charging plug 5 thus housed can be covered by the wall surface forming the recess 12, it can be protected from dust adhesion, sand and water intrusion, and can also be protected from contact with other objects and stepping on. In addition, the charging plug 5 can be stored compactly without being bulky on the main body case 3 and is excellent in portability.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the charger according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a charger for charging by plugging into an AC outlet, and incorporates various well-known charging circuits (not shown) such as a rapid charging circuit for controlling charging completion and a trickle charging circuit having no control function. A power supply plug 2 is provided rotatably in a protruding posture and a storage posture, and a main body case 3 and an output cord 4 derived from the main body case 3. Is provided. Reference numeral 6 denotes a mobile phone which exemplifies a device to be charged.
A small electric device such as an electronic organizer can be charged.

The main body case 3 is formed in a rectangular shape.
The built-in charging circuit is a step-down circuit, and the AC power supply 100
It is assumed that V can be stepped down to 3.6 to 7.2 V and the mobile phone 6 can be rapidly charged by the capacity that can be used two to three times. Of course,
It can be charged up to full charge. The power supply plug 2 is provided on the back surface 3 a of the main body case 3, and the output cord 4 is led out from the lower surface 3 b of the main body case 3. At the tip of the charging plug 5 at the tip of the output cord 4, there is provided a charging terminal 9 that is inserted and connected to an external device connection terminal 7 such as a composite input / output terminal connector of a mobile phone 6. When the charging plug 5 is inserted into the external device connection terminal 7, in order to prevent the charging plug 5 from being accidentally pulled out, the left and right sides of the charging plug 5 are provided with the external device connection terminal 7 of the mobile phone 6. Lock claws 10 that engage and disengage on both left and right sides
Are provided for free movement. The operation of the lock claw 10 is performed by a push-type operation button 11 provided on the left and right side surfaces of the charging plug 5 so as to be able to protrude and retract using spring force.

A recess 12 having a shape substantially conforming to the outer shape of the charging plug 5 is formed in a rearward and downward opening shape below the power supply plug 2 on the back surface 3a of the main body case 3. The charging plug 5 is fitted from behind or from below and housed as shown in FIG. At this time, it is preferable that the charging plug 5 is not accidentally detached from the recess 12. As the detachment prevention means, for example,
The charging plug 5 is firmly fitted into the recess 12, and the left and right side surfaces of the charging plug 5 and the left and right wall surfaces 12 a and 12 in the recess 12 are inserted.
The separation is prevented by the frictional engagement force with a. Further, the left and right operation buttons 11 are stored in the recess 12 while being pushed into the recessed state, and the operation buttons 11 are automatically returned to the protruding state by the action of the spring after being stored, so that the operation buttons 11 are left and right in the recess 12. Even if the projections and depressions are engaged with the wall surfaces 12a, 12a, 12a, 12a, the separation can be similarly prevented.
Further, as shown in the illustrated example, if the lower portions of the left and right side surfaces of the charging plug 5 are formed to be narrower downward, and the lower opening of the recess 12 is formed to have a narrower width corresponding to this, the charging can be performed. The plug 5 can be prevented from falling out of the recess 12 downward. Alternatively, these means can be combined.

When the charging plug 5 is stored in the recess 12 of the main body case 3 as described above, the left and right wall surfaces 12
Since the charging terminal 9 can be surrounded by the a terminal 12a and the upper wall surface 12b, it is possible to prevent dust and water from entering the charging terminal 9 and prevent damage due to touching or stepping on another object. If the depth of the recess 12 is set so that the charging plug 5 is substantially flush with the back surface 3a of the main body case 3 or less, it is possible to prevent the plug 5 from being accidentally dropped off and increase the bulk. And can be stored compactly.

In the above configuration, in order to charge the portable telephone 6 quickly, the power supply plug 2 is projected from the main body case 3 and inserted into an AC outlet, the charging plug 5 is removed from the recess 12 and the portable telephone 6 is removed. External device connection terminal 7
It allows quick charging by plugging in.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the lead-out position of the output cord 4 from the body case 3 side and the lead-out position in the stored state of the charging plug 5 side are shifted in the left-right direction, so that the charging plug 5 can be attached and detached. The output cord 4 on the main body case 3 side does not get in the way. After charging, plug the power plug 2 into AC
It is pulled out from the outlet and stored and rotated in the main body case 3. The charging plug 5 is an external device connection terminal 7 of the mobile phone 6
By taking out from the recess and storing it in the recess 12 of the main body case 3, it can be stored in the above-described protected state and compactly.

In the above embodiment, the back surface 3a of the main body case 3
Although the recess 12 is provided on the front surface 3c, the recess 12 may be provided on the front surface 3c.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The battery charger of this embodiment is a battery charger which is inserted into a vehicle-mounted cigarette lighter socket and is charged. The battery charger includes a well-known charging circuit (not shown) and has a round rod-shaped power supply plug 2 which is inserted into the cigarette lighter socket. A main body case 3 and an output cord 4 derived from the main body case 3 are provided, and a charging plug 5 is provided at an end of the output cord 4.

The main body case 3 is formed in a rectangular shape.
The built-in charging circuit is a step-down circuit, which can step down the cigarette lighter power supply 12V or 24V to 3.6-7.2V and rapidly charge the mobile phone 6 by the capacity that can be used two or three times. . The power supply plug 2 is provided on the back surface 3a of the main body case 3 so as to protrude rearward and inclined upward, and the output cord 4 is led out from the lower surface 3b of the main body case 3. At the tip of the charging plug 5 at the tip of the output cord 4, as in the first embodiment, a charging terminal 9 is provided which is inserted into the external device connection terminal 7 of the mobile phone 6. A lock claw 10 is provided on both side surfaces, and push-type operation buttons 11 which can be put in and out of the left and right sides of the charging plug 5 are provided.

On the front surface 3c of the main body case 3, an eave portion 15 is formed in a raised shape in an upper half portion thereof, and a concave portion 12 is formed in a lower half portion in a forward, left, right, and lower opening shape. A pair of left and right engaging projections 14 are provided in the recess 12. The charging plug 5 is housed and arranged between the engagement projections 14 in the recess 12 such that the left and right operation buttons 11 are pressed by the projections 14a on the inner surfaces of the engagement projections 14 facing each other. Is done. In addition, the charging plug 5 can be inserted between the engagement protrusions 14 in the recess 12 by strongly fitting the portions other than the operation buttons 11 on the left and right sides between the engagement protrusions 14. It can also be stored in a suspended state to be pinched.

The charging plug 5 housed in the recess 12 of the main body case 3 is placed so that the charging terminal 9 is covered by the eaves 15 above the recess 12, so that the charging terminal 9
Protects against dust, sand, and water ingress. Further, when the charging plug 5 is stored and disposed on the main body case 3 as described above, it is possible to provide good protection from stepping, which often occurs when the charging plug 5 hangs on the vehicle floor.

In the above embodiment, the front face 3c of the main body case 3
The recess 12 is provided on the rear surface 3a, but the recess 12 may be provided below the power supply plug 2 on the back surface 3a. As means for forming the recess 12, as shown in FIG. 5 showing the third embodiment, an eave portion 15 may be provided separately or integrally with the flat front surface 3 c of the main body case 3. Good. If the whole of the pair of engaging projections 14 is formed into a shape having elasticity by a leaf spring or the like as shown in FIG. 5, it can be detachably attached to the recess 12 without depending on the elasticity of the operation button 11. Can be installed. The engaging projection 14 is formed as a single body having a C-shaped cross section having an opening 14b as shown in FIG. 6 showing the fourth embodiment, and the cord armor portion of the charging plug 5 can be freely inserted and removed from the opening 14b. According to this, the mountability is good. Further, as shown in FIG. 7 showing the fifth embodiment, the shape of the recess 12 is formed on the front surface 3c of the main body case 3 in a vertically elongated slot shape substantially matching the longitudinal cross-sectional shape of the charging plug 5. It may be configured such that the charging plug 5 can be freely inserted into and removed from one side of the left and right sides of the recess 12 having the shape.

[0018]

According to the present invention, by storing the charging plug 5 in the recess 12 of the main body case 3 when not in use, it is possible to protect from dust adhesion, dust, water intrusion and damage. In addition, the charging plug 5 can be compactly stored in the main body case 3 and is excellent in portability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a charger and a mobile phone according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a charging plug is stored in the charger shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the charger of the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state where a charging plug is stored in the charger shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a charger according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a charger according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a charger according to a fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Charger 2 Power supply plug 3 Body case 4 Output cord 5 Charging plug 6 Charged device 7 External device connection terminal 12 Recess

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A main body case 3 having a built-in charging circuit and provided with a power supply plug 2. In the charger provided with an output cord 4 having a charging plug 5, a recess 12 is provided in a part of the outer surface of the main body case 3, and the charging plug 5 is detachably stored in the recess 12. A charger characterized in that: