KR20060014750A - Battery charger for mobile communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery charger for a mobile communication terminal capable of charging a battery such as a mobile phone. The present invention, the battery is inserted into the case having a slot; A circuit board having a charging circuit and installed inside the case; A charging terminal disposed in the case and electrically connected to the charging circuit; A sensing member provided in the case to sense whether the battery is inserted into the case; And provided in the case provides a battery charger for a mobile communication terminal comprising an operation member for exposing the charging terminal to the outside of the case through the slot when the sensing member detects the battery.

Mobile terminal, battery, charger, charging terminal, safety, switch

Description

Battery charger for mobile communication terminal {Battery charger for mobile communication device}

1 is a perspective view showing a typical mobile phone and a battery charger;

2 is a perspective view showing a battery charger for a mobile communication terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

3A and 3B are schematic cross-sectional views of the battery charger of FIG. 2.

3A is a cross-sectional view showing a battery before mounting; and

3B is a sectional view showing when the battery is mounted;

4 is a perspective view showing a battery charger for a mobile communication terminal according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

5A and 5B are cross-sectional views briefly illustrating the battery charger of FIG. 4.

5A is a cross-sectional view showing a battery before mounting; and

5B is a sectional view showing when the battery is mounted; And

6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a battery charger for a mobile communication terminal according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: case 11: slot

13: hole 15: mounting groove

20: circuit board 25: charging terminal

30: safety switch 31: supporter

33: pin 35: elastic member

40: lever 41: first member

43: second member 45: shaft

50: battery 60: sensor

61: transmitter 62: receiver

70: actuator

The present invention relates to a charger, and more particularly, to a battery charger for a mobile communication terminal capable of charging a battery such as a mobile phone.

BACKGROUND ART In general, mobile communication devices such as mobile phones and PDAs have been developed to provide not only simple voice information but also text information, image information, and games to users. In addition, recently, an audio player function capable of reproducing an audio file such as an MP3 file and a digital camera function capable of capturing digital photos and images have been combined in a mobile communication terminal. Therefore, the mobile communication terminal, which is gradually expanding its use, has now become a necessity of life.

On the other hand, the mobile communication terminal is provided with a battery, the battery is generally charged through a charger. 1 shows a mobile phone 1, which is one of the representative mobile communication terminals, and a charger 3 capable of charging the battery 2 thereof. Hereinafter, the charger 3 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, an outer surface of the case 4 of the charger 3 is provided with a mounting groove 5 into which the battery 2 of the mobile phone 1 may be inserted. Here, the mounting groove 5 is formed on the upper surface of the case 4, for example, and has an open top to push the battery 2 of the mobile phone 1 from top to bottom. In addition, a plurality of slots 7 are formed in the bottom surface of the mounting groove 5, and the charging terminals 6 are installed to be exposed to the outside through the slots 7.

Here, the charging terminal 6 comes into contact with a contact terminal (not shown) formed on the rear surface of the battery 2 when the battery 2 is fitted into the mounting groove 5. In addition, the charging terminal 6 is electrically connected to the charging circuit provided in the case 4, the power cable 8 is connected to the charging circuit. Therefore, the battery 2 is charged by inserting the battery 2 of the mobile phone 1 into the mounting groove 5 while the power cable 8 is plugged into a power plug (not shown).

On the other hand, in order to prevent a safety accident, it is preferable to plug the power cable 8 into a power plug to use the charger 3, and to unplug the power cable 8 after using the charger 3. However, because this is inconvenient, many people have always used the power cable 8 plugged into the power plug.

In this case, when the charging terminals 6 are shorted by a conductive object, there is a high risk that the charging circuit is broken or a safety accident occurs. In addition, in the case of infants and young children, the habit of biting an object is a lot, a fatal safety accident may occur when the infant or infant touches the charger 3 at home.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, the purpose of which is that even if the power cable is plugged into the power plug, the charging circuit is damaged or a safety accident such as an electric shock occurs due to short circuit of the charging terminal or contact with the human body. It is to improve the structure of the battery charger to prevent.

In one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a battery is inserted, the case having a slot; A circuit board having a charging circuit and installed inside the case; A charging terminal disposed in the case and electrically connected to the charging circuit; A sensing member provided in the case to sense whether the battery is inserted into the case; And provided in the case provides a battery charger for a mobile communication terminal comprising an operation member for exposing the charging terminal to the outside of the case through the slot when the sensing member detects the battery.

Here, the slot and the sensing member are arranged to be spaced apart by a predetermined distance.

The sensing member may be installed to penetrate the case, and may be configured as a contact switch that is pressed by the battery when the battery is inserted into the case. In this case, the actuating member may comprise a lever that pushes the charging terminal to the slot side when the switch is pressed.

On the other hand, the sensing member, it is mounted on one side of the case may be made of a non-contact sensor for detecting the battery when the battery is adjacent.

In addition, the operation member may include an actuator provided in the case, at least a portion of the charging terminal inserted therein, and electrically operated to push the charging terminal toward the slot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention in which the above object can be specifically realized are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the embodiments, the same names and symbols are used for the same components, and additional description thereof will be omitted below.

2 to 3b show a battery charger according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a structure of a battery charger according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to these drawings.

2, the mounting groove 15 is provided on the outer surface of the case 10 so that the battery 50 may be fitted therein. Here, the mounting groove 15 is provided in the upper portion of the case 10 as shown in FIG. Then, the upper portion of the mounting groove 15 is opened so that the battery 50 can be pushed down from the top. In addition, the mounting groove 15 is formed to be inclined as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B so that a user can easily insert the battery 50 into the mounting groove 15.

In the mounting groove 15 formed as described above, a plurality of slots 11 are formed as shown in FIG. 2. Here, the slot 11 penetrates the case 10 to communicate the inside and the outside of the case 10 as shown in FIG. 3A.

The circuit board 20 is provided in the space provided inside the case 10 as shown in FIG. 3A. In addition, the circuit board 20 is provided with a charging circuit. Here, the charging circuit is provided in a conventional battery charger, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art and further detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the case 10 includes a charging terminal 25 electrically connected to the charging circuit. Here, the charging terminal 25 is made of a conductor and has a bent shape as shown in FIG. 3A to be elastically contacted with the contact terminal 51 of the battery 50. But not limited to this. For example, the charging terminal 25 may be formed of a cylindrical pin.

 In a conventional battery charger, the charging terminal is installed to always be exposed to the outside through the slot 11 as described with reference to FIG. 1. However, in the battery charger according to the present invention, the charging terminal 25 is exposed through the slot 11 when the battery 50 is not mounted in the mounting groove 15 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A. As shown in 3b, the charging terminal 25 passes through the slot 11 only when the battery 50 is mounted in the mounting groove 15 of the case 10. Exposed to the outside.

To this end, the battery charger according to the present invention is provided with a sensing member and an operating member. Here, the sensing member is provided in the case 10 to detect whether the battery 50 is fitted to the case 10. In addition, the operation member serves to expose the charging terminal 25 to the outside of the case 10 through the slot 11 when the sensing member detects the battery 50.

For reference, in the battery charger according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a safety switch 30 is provided as the sensing member and the lever 40 is provided as the operating member. With reference to 3b, their configuration will be described in more detail.

2 and 3A, the safety switch 30 is installed to penetrate the case 10 as a contact switch pressed by the battery 50. To this end, a hole 13 is formed at one side of the case 10, more specifically, the bottom surface of the mounting groove 15, and the safety switch 30 penetrates the hole 13 to mount it. It is installed to be exposed to the bottom surface of the groove (15). The safety switch 30 installed as described above includes, for example, a supporter 31, a pin 33, and an elastic member 35 as illustrated in FIG. 3A.

Here, the supporter 31 is provided in the inner space of the case 10, as shown in Figure 3a, it is firmly fixed to the case (10). The pin 33 is installed to penetrate the hole 13 formed in the case 10, and an elastic member 35 is provided between the supporter 31 and the pin 33. Here, one example of the elastic member 35 is a compression spring that accumulates elastic energy when compressed.

For reference, FIG. 3A illustrates a structure in which an upper portion of the supporter 31 is inserted into a lower portion of the pin 33. With this structure, since the supporter 31 stably guides the vertical movement of the pin 33, it is possible to easily prevent the failure and malfunction of the safety switch 30. On the other hand, although not shown, even if the lower portion of the pin 33 has a structure that is inserted into the supporter 31 will be able to obtain the same effect as described above.

In the above, a structure in which the safety switch 30 includes the supporter 31, the pin 33, and the elastic member 35 has been described. However, the structure of the safety switch 30 is not limited thereto. For example, the safety switch 30 may include the pin 33 and the elastic member 35 without the supporter 31. In this case, the elastic member 35 may be fixed to the case 10 and the pin 33, respectively.

In operation, when the battery 50 is mounted in the mounting groove 15, the pin 33 is pushed into the case 10 while being pressed by the battery 50 as shown in FIG. 3B. On the other hand, when the battery 50 is removed from the mounting groove 15, the pin 33 protrudes out of the case 10 again by the elastic restoring force of the elastic member 35. . Therefore, since the position of the pin 33 varies depending on whether the battery 50 is mounted in the mounting groove 15, the safety switch 30 can easily detect whether the battery 50 is mounted. Can be.

Meanwhile, when the safety switch 30 is pressed, the lever 40 pushes the charging terminal 25 provided in the case 10 toward the slot 11 to expose the mounting groove 15 outside. . This lever 40 comprises a first member 41, a second member 43, and a shaft 45, as shown in Figures 3a and 3b, which are described in more detail below. Explain.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the first member 41 is connected to the safety switch 30, more specifically, the pin 33 to interlock with the pin 33 of the safety switch 30. The second member 43 is connected to the charging terminal 25 to support the charging terminal 25, and interlocks with the first member 41. In addition, the shaft 45 is formed between the first member 41 and the second member 43, it is connected to the case 10 is fixed. The shaft 45 provided as described above becomes a center of rotation of the first member 41 and the second member 43.

In the lever 40 formed as described above, the first member 41 and the second member 43 may be integrally formed and rotatably coupled to the shaft 45. In this case, the charging terminal 25 supported by the second member 43 is electrically connected to the charging circuit of the circuit board 20 by a cable 23 separately provided as shown in FIG. 3A. Connected. However, it is not limited thereto. For example, although not shown, the charging terminal 25 and the second member 43 may be made of the same material, and the first member 41 may be coupled to cooperate with them. Of course, even in this case, the charging circuit of the circuit board 20 is electrically connected to the second member 43 and the charging terminal 25 by a cable.

Hereinafter, a process of operating the safety switch 30 as the sensing member and the lever 40 as the operating member when the battery 50 is mounted in the battery charger according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. It demonstrates in detail with reference to FIG. 3B.

First, referring to FIG. 3A, before the battery 50 is mounted in the mounting groove 15, the pin 33 of the safety switch 30 passes through the hole 13 to the mounting groove 15. Is exposed to the outside. In this case, since the charging terminal 25 is located inside the case 10, the charging terminal 25 is not exposed to the outside of the mounting groove 15 through the slot 11.

In this state, when the battery 50 is mounted in the mounting groove 15, the pin 33 is pressed by the battery 50 as shown in FIG. 3B. Then, the lever 40 connected to the pin 33 of the safety switch 30 rotates about the rotation center, more specifically, about the shaft 45, and moves the charging terminal 25 to the slot 11. Push it up. Therefore, the charging terminal 25 is exposed to the outside of the mounting groove 15 through the slot 11, the exposed charging terminal 25 is in contact with the contact terminal 51 of the battery 50 The battery 50 is charged by the charging circuit.

Next, when the battery 50 is charged, when the battery 50 is removed from the mounting groove 15, the elastic member 35 of the safety switch 30 is the pin 33 with elastic restoring force. Is pushed up to the hole 13 side of the case 10. Then, the pin 33 is raised to be exposed again to the outside of the mounting groove 15, the lever 40 is rotated back about the center of rotation, that is, the shaft 45. Therefore, since the charging terminal 25 descends into the case 10, the charging terminal 25 is not exposed to the outside of the case 10 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3B.

As described above, according to the present invention, the charging terminal 25 is exposed to the outside of the case 10 only when the sensing member detects the battery 50. Therefore, when the battery 50 is not mounted to the case 10, the charging terminal 25 is located inside the case 10, so that a safety accident due to a short circuit and an electric shock may be effectively prevented. Meanwhile, in order to effectively prevent safety accidents of infants and toddlers, the slot 11 to which the charging terminal 25 is exposed and the sensing member, that is, the safety switch 30 are separated from each other by a predetermined distance, for example, as shown in FIG. 2. It would be desirable to be placed far enough apart.

On the other hand, Figure 4 to 5b is a battery charger according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown. The structure of the battery charger according to the second embodiment of the present invention is very similar to that of the battery charger according to the first embodiment described above, but the non-contact sensor 60 is provided as the sensing member and is electrically operated as the operating member. The point where the actuator 70 is provided is different. Therefore, hereinafter, the structure of the battery charger according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on differences from the structure of the battery charger according to the first embodiment in order to avoid duplication of description.

Referring to FIG. 4, the sensor 60 provided as the sensing member is provided at one side of the case 10, more specifically, the mounting groove 15. As the sensor 60, for example, a non-contact sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object using infrared rays or ultrasonic waves may be used.

In the case of such a non-contact sensor, generally includes a transmitter for transmitting a signal such as infrared rays or ultrasonic waves, and a receiver for receiving a signal transmitted from the transmitter. Therefore, if there is no object between the transmitter and the receiver, the signal transmitted from the transmitter reaches the receiver normally, but if the object exists between the transmitter and the receiver, the receiver does not receive the signal. Therefore, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of an object between the transmitter and the receiver through the presence or absence of a signal received in the receiver.

Therefore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the sensor 60 is provided with a transmitter 61 and a receiver 62. Here, the transmitter 61 is provided on one side wall of the mounting groove 15, as shown in Figure 4, the receiver 62 is the transmitter 61 with the mounting groove 15 therebetween. ) Is provided on the other side wall of the mounting groove 15 to face. Therefore, the receiver 62 can easily receive the signal transmitted from the transmitter 61. When the sensor 60 including the transmitter 61 and the receiver 62 is provided as described above, it is possible to easily detect whether the battery 50 is mounted in the mounting groove 15.

On the other hand, the actuator 70 provided as the operation member is provided in the case 10 as shown in Fig. 5a. At least a portion of the charging terminal 25 is inserted into the actuator 70. The actuator 70 provided as described above is pushed to expose the charging terminal 25 to the outside of the slot 11 while being electrically operated or pulled to the charging terminal 25 to be positioned inside the case 10.

In the battery charger according to the second embodiment of the present invention, for example, a solenoid type actuator is used as the actuator 70 operating as described above. Here, the solenoid type actuator generates electromagnetic force when power is applied, and the charging terminal 25 inserted into the actuator 70 moves by the electromagnetic force.

In more detail, a solenoid is provided inside the actuator 70, and at least a portion of the charging terminal 25 is disposed to be inserted into the solenoid. Here, when the charging terminal 25 is made of a nonmagnetic material, the charging terminal 25 is fixed to a magnetic material, and the magnetic material is installed to be inserted into the solenoid.

In addition, an elastic member (not shown) may be connected to the charging terminal 25 or the magnetic body. Here, the elastic member provides a force for pulling the charging terminal 25 or the magnetic material into the actuator 70. However, it is not limited thereto. For example, the elastic member may not be provided, and the charging terminal 25 or the magnetic body may be installed to be inserted into the actuator 70 only by its own weight.

When power is applied to the actuator 70 formed as described above, electromagnetic force is generated around the solenoid, and the charging terminal 25 or the magnetic body is moved by the electromagnetic force. Accordingly, the charging terminal 25 is moved to the slot 11 side and then exposed to the outside of the mounting groove 15. On the other hand, if no power is applied to the actuator 70, the charging terminal 25 or the magnetic material is moved toward the inside of the actuator 70 by the elasticity or the magnetic weight of the elastic member. Therefore, the charging terminal 25 is inserted into the case 10 and is not exposed to the outside of the mounting groove 15.

Meanwhile, hereinafter, a process of operating the sensor 60 as the sensing member and the actuator 70 as the operating member when the battery 50 is mounted in the battery charger according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5A. It will be described in detail with reference to Figure 5b.

First, when the battery 50 is not mounted in the mounting groove 15 of the case 10, the signal transmitted from the transmitter 61 of the sensor 60 is received by the receiver 62 (see FIG. 4). Is received by. Therefore, the sensor 60 detects that the battery 50 is not fitted into the mounting groove 15. In this state, since power is not applied to the actuator 70 as shown in FIG. 5A, the charging terminal 25 is not exposed to the outside of the slot 11. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent safety accidents such as a short circuit and an electric shock that may occur when the charging terminal 25 is exposed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the battery 50 is inserted into the mounting groove 15 of the case 10, the signal transmitted from the transmitter 61 of the sensor 60 is received by the receiver ( 62). Therefore, the sensor 60 senses that the battery 50 is present, and accordingly power is applied to the actuator 70. Then, the charging terminal 25 is moved toward the slot 11 by the electromagnetic force generated by the solenoid of the actuator. In addition, the charging terminal 25 exposed to the outside of the mounting groove 15 through the slot 11 is in contact with the contact terminal 51 of the battery 50.

Finally, when the battery 50 is removed from the mounting groove 15, the sensor 60 detects the absence of the battery 50 in the manner described above. Then, no power is applied to the actuator 70, so that the charging terminal 25 enters the case 10 by the elastic member or its own weight. Therefore, the charging terminal 25 is not exposed to the outside of the case 10 when the battery 50 is not inserted into the case 10.

On the other hand, in the above, when the sensor 60 detects the battery 50, power is supplied to the actuator 70, and when the sensor 60 does not detect the battery 50, power is supplied to the actuator 70. An example of this blocking has been described. However, it is not limited thereto. For example, the sensor 60 may be designed to change the direction of the current applied to the actuator 70 when detecting the presence or absence of the battery 50.

In this case, for example, a current is applied to the actuator 70 such that when the sensor 60 detects the battery 50, the solenoid exerts a repulsive force pushing the charging terminal 25. On the other hand, when the sensor 60 does not detect the battery 50, a current is applied to the actuator 70 to exert an attraction force for pulling the solenoid to the charging terminal 25.

6 shows a battery charger according to a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the structure of the battery charger according to the third embodiment of the present invention is similar to that of the battery charger according to the first and second embodiments. However, the battery charger according to the third embodiment is provided with a safety switch 30 which is a contact switch as the sensing member, and an actuator 70 which is electrically operated as the operating member. Here, the structures of the safety switch 30 and the actuator 70 are substantially the same as those already described in the first and second embodiments. However, in the third embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, when the pin 33 of the safety switch 30 is pressed, power is applied to the actuator 70 while closing the contact (not shown). Since the structure of the battery charger according to the third embodiment can be sufficiently implemented only by the description in the first and second embodiments and the above description, further description thereof will be omitted.

Although several embodiments have been described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many other forms without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

Accordingly, the above-described embodiments should be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and all embodiments within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents are included within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the battery charger according to the present invention includes a sensing member for sensing the presence of a battery and an operation member for selectively exposing the charging terminal to the outside of the case according to a sensing result of the sensing member. Therefore, the charging terminal is not exposed to the outside of the case when the battery is not inserted into the case.                     

Accordingly, the charging terminal may be shorted by a conductor to prevent the battery charger from being damaged. In addition, safety accidents of infants and young children can be prevented.

In addition, since the charging terminal is not exposed to the outside of the case in general, it is beautiful in appearance.

In addition, it is also possible to prevent a poor contact and a charging failure due to foreign matters that may occur due to long-term exposure of the charging terminal.

Furthermore, when the safety switch is provided as the sensing member and the lever is provided as the operating member, the safety device can be implemented at a very low cost.

Claims (14)

A case into which the battery is inserted and having a slot; A circuit board having a charging circuit and installed inside the case; A charging terminal disposed in the case and electrically connected to the charging circuit; A sensing member provided in the case to sense whether the battery is inserted into the case; And And an operating member provided in the case to expose the charging terminal to the outside of the case through the slot when the sensing member detects the battery. The method of claim 1, The slot and the sensing member is a battery charger for a mobile communication terminal, characterized in that disposed at a predetermined distance apart. The method of claim 1, The sensing member, And a contact switch installed to penetrate through the case and pressed by the battery when the battery is inserted into the case. The method of claim 3, wherein The working member is And a lever for pushing the charging terminal toward the slot side when the switch is pressed. The method of claim 1, The sensing member, And a non-contact sensor mounted on one side of the case and detecting the battery when the battery is adjacent to the battery charger. The method according to any one of claims 1, 3, and 5, The operation member, A battery charger for a mobile communication terminal, the actuator being provided in the case and having at least a portion of the charging terminal inserted therein, the actuator being electrically operated to push the charging terminal toward the slot. A case including a mounting groove formed on an outer surface of the battery and a slot formed in the mounting groove so that the battery can be inserted therein; A circuit board having a charging circuit and installed inside the case; A charging terminal disposed in the case and electrically connected to the charging circuit; A safety switch installed to penetrate the case and pressed by the battery when the battery is inserted into the mounting groove; And And a lever which, when the safety switch is pressed, pushes the charging terminal to the slot while rotating about the rotation center. A case including a mounting groove formed on an outer surface of the battery and a slot formed in the mounting groove so that the battery can be inserted therein; A circuit board having a charging circuit and installed inside the case; A charging terminal disposed in the case and electrically connected to the charging circuit; A safety switch installed to penetrate the case and pressed by the battery when the battery is inserted into the mounting groove; And And an actuator provided in the case and configured to apply power when the safety switch is pressed to push the charging terminal to the slot. The method according to claim 7 or 8, The safety switch is a battery charger for a mobile communication terminal, characterized in that exposed on the bottom surface of the mounting groove. The method according to claim 7 or 8, The safety switch, A supporter fixed to the case, A pin installed to penetrate the case and to which the lever is connected; and Battery charger for a mobile communication terminal comprising an elastic member provided between the supporter and the pin. The method of claim 7, wherein The lever is A first member connected to the safety switch and interlocked with the safety switch; A second member supporting the charging terminal and interlocked with the first member, and And a shaft connected to the case, the shaft being formed between the first member and the second member and serving as a rotation center of the first member and the second member. A case including a mounting groove formed on an outer surface of the battery and a slot formed in the mounting groove so that the battery can be inserted therein; A circuit board having a charging circuit and installed inside the case; A charging terminal disposed in the case and electrically connected to the charging circuit; A sensor mounted on one side of the case; And an actuator provided in the case and configured to supply power when the battery is detected by the sensor and to push the charging terminal to the slot. The method of claim 12, The sensor, Transmission unit provided on one side wall of the mounting groove, And The battery charger for a mobile communication terminal provided on the other side wall of the mounting groove, comprising a receiving unit for receiving a signal transmitted from the transmitter. The method of claim 8 or 12, The actuator is, And the sensor detects the battery and moves the charging terminal by electromagnetic force when electricity is applied.

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