KR20100002902A - Portable terminal and battery used for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A portable terminal and a battery used for the same are provided to form a plurality of terminal areas in a plurality of sides of the battery, thereby utilizing one battery in a plurality of portable terminals having different main terminal positions. CONSTITUTION: A main body has a containing room(51) and a main terminal(61). A battery(27a) is contained into the containing room. At least a part of the main terminal is exposed through the containing room. A battery terminal(70) is formed in a plurality of areas which is contactable with the main terminal in two or more sides among the external sides of the battery. When the battery is contained into the containing room, the part(72) of at least one area is touched with the main terminal.

Description

PORTABLE TERMINAL AND BATTERY USED FOR THE SAME}

The present invention relates to an electrical connection structure between a battery for power supply and a portable terminal.

A portable terminal is a portable electronic device that is portable and has one or more functions such as voice and video call, information input and output, and data storage.

As the functions are diversified, for example, the portable terminal is implemented in the form of a multimedia player having complex functions such as taking a picture or a video, playing a music or a video file, playing a game, or receiving a broadcast.

Many new attempts have been applied to these multimedia devices in terms of hardware or software in order to implement complex functions and make them easier to use.

One object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal having a battery connection structure different from that of the prior art.

Another object of the present invention is to allow one battery to be commonly used in portable terminals having different types of main terminals.

A mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention for realizing the above object includes a main body and a battery terminal.

The main body includes a storage chamber that can accommodate a battery. The accommodating chamber is provided with a main terminal at least partially exposed. And a plurality of regions in contact with the main terminal of at least two of the outer surfaces of the battery. The battery terminal is formed such that a portion formed in at least one of the plurality of regions contacts the main terminal when the battery is accommodated in the storage chamber.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the battery includes a pair of main surfaces and side surfaces connecting the main surfaces and having a smaller area than the main surfaces. The battery terminal includes at least one main surface portion formed on at least one of the main surfaces and a side portion formed on any one of the side surfaces. The at least one main surface portion may be formed in a pair respectively formed on the pair of main surfaces so as to be connected to each other by the side portion.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in a state in which at least one surface of the battery is exposed to the outside, the terminal cover may be further provided to surround at least some of the regions. The terminal cover is detachably coupled to the battery so as to surround at least some of the regions, or the terminal cover is formed in the main body to cover a portion of the battery terminal exposed while the battery is accommodated in the accommodation chamber. It can be implemented to.

A battery according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a battery cell for storing power, and a battery terminal electrically connected to the battery cell and in contact with a main terminal formed in the portable terminal. The battery terminal may be in contact with the main terminal and may be formed in a plurality of regions located on at least two of the outer surfaces of the battery, and formed in at least one region of the battery terminal when the battery is mounted in the portable terminal. Is configured to be in contact with the main terminal. The terminal cover may further include a terminal cover detachably coupled to the battery to surround at least some of the regions.

In the portable terminal according to the present invention configured as described above, a plurality of terminal regions are formed on the plurality of surfaces of the battery, so that a single battery can be used for a plurality of portable terminals having different positions of the main terminals.

This enables the common use of the battery at a certain level, thus eliminating the need to produce many types of batteries unnecessarily. Even if a user also uses another model of the portable terminal, there is an advantage that the existing battery can be used as it is.

Hereinafter, a portable terminal according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present specification, the same or similar reference numerals are assigned to the same or similar configurations in different embodiments, and the description thereof is replaced with the first description.

1 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of a mobile terminal related to the present invention;

The portable terminal of the present invention includes a first body 10 and a second body 20 configured to be slidable in at least one direction on the first body 10. The first and second bodies 10 and 20 may be collectively referred to as a main body.

A state in which the first body 10 is disposed to overlap the second body 20 may be referred to as a closed configuration (see FIG. 3), and as shown in FIG. An exposed state of at least a portion of the two bodies 20 may be referred to as an open configuration.

The portable terminal operates mainly in the standby mode in a closed state, but the standby mode may be released by a user's operation. In addition, although the portable terminal operates mainly in a call mode or the like in an open state, the portable terminal may be switched to a standby mode by a user's operation or a lapse of a predetermined time.

The case (casing, housing, cover, etc.) forming the exterior of the first body 10 is formed by the front case 11 and the rear case 12. Various electronic components are embedded in the space formed by the front case 11 and the rear case 12. At least one intermediate case may be further disposed between the front case 11 and the rear case 12. The cases may be formed by injecting a synthetic resin or may be formed of a metal material, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti).

The display unit 13, the audio output unit 14, the first image input unit 15, or the first manipulation unit 16 may be disposed on the first body 10, specifically, the front case 11.

The display unit 13 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) module, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) module, and the like that visually express information. The display unit 13 may further include a touch screen to enable input of information by a user's touch.

The sound output unit 14 may be implemented in the form of a receiver or a speaker. The first image input unit 15 may be implemented in the form of a camera module for capturing an image or a video of a user.

The first manipulation unit 16 receives a command for controlling the operation of the portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Like the first body 10, the front case 21 and the rear case 22 may form a case of the second body 20.

The second manipulation unit 23 may be disposed on the front surface of the second body 20, specifically, the front case 21.

The third manipulation unit 24, the first sound input unit 25, and the interface 26 may be disposed on at least one of the front case 21 and the rear case 22.

The first to third manipulation units 16, 23, and 24 may be collectively referred to as manipulating portions, and may be employed in any manner as long as the user is tactile in a tactile manner.

For example, the operation unit may be implemented as a dome switch or a touch screen that can receive a command or information by a user's push or touch operation, a touch pad, or a wheel or jog method that rotates a key, or a manipulation method such as a joystick. Or the like.

In the functional aspect, the first operation unit 16 is for inputting a command such as start, end, scroll, etc., and the second operation unit 23 may be for inputting numbers, letters, symbols, and the like. In addition, the third manipulation unit 24 may operate as a hot-key that performs a special function such as activation of the first image input unit 15.

The first sound input unit 25 may be implemented in the form of a microphone, for example, to receive a user's voice, other sounds, and the like.

The interface 26 serves as a passage for allowing a portable terminal related to the present invention to exchange data with an external device. For example, the interface 26 may be wired or wireless, and a connection terminal for connecting to an earphone, a port for short-range communication (for example, an infrared port (IrDA port), a Bluetooth port, a wireless LAN port ( wireless LAN port), or at least one of power supply terminals for supplying power to the mobile terminal. The interface 26 may be a card socket for receiving an external card, such as a subscriber identification module (SIM) or a user identity module (UIM), a memory card for storing information.

On the rear case 22 side, a power supply unit 27 for supplying power to the portable terminal is mounted. The power supply unit 27 may include, for example, a rechargeable battery 27a (see FIG. 3), and the battery 27a may be detachably coupled to the rear case 22 for charging or the like.

2 is a rear perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, a second image input unit 28 may be additionally mounted on the rear surface of the rear case 22 of the second body 20. The second image input unit 28 may be a camera having a photographing direction substantially opposite to that of the first image input unit 15 (see FIG. 1) and having different pixels from the first image input unit.

For example, the first image input unit 15 has a low pixel so that the user's face is photographed and transmitted to the counterpart in case of a video call, and the second image input unit 28 immediately photographs a general subject. It is preferable to have a high pixel because it is not transmitted in many cases.

The flash 29 and the mirror unit 30 are further disposed adjacent to the second image input unit 28. The flash 29 emits light toward the subject when the subject is photographed by the second image input unit 28. The mirror unit 30 allows the user to see his / her own face or the like when the user wants to photograph himself (self-photographing) by using the second image input unit 28.

The second sound output unit 31 may be further disposed on the lower cover 22. The second sound output unit 31 may implement a stereo function together with the first sound output unit 14 (see FIG. 1), and may be used for a call in a speakerphone mode.

An antenna 32 for receiving a broadcast signal may be disposed on one side of the lower cover 22 in addition to an antenna for a call. The antenna 32 may be installed to be pulled out from the second body 20.

A portion of the slide module 33 that slidably couples the first body 10 and the second body 20 to the rear case 12 side of the first body 10 is disposed. The other part of the slide module 33 may be disposed on the front case 21 side of the second body 20, and may not be exposed to the outside as shown in the drawing.

In the above description, the second image input unit 28 is disposed on the second body 20, but is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, at least one or more of the components 28 to 32 described as disposed on the lower cover 22, such as the second image input unit 28, may be disposed on the first body 10, mainly the lower cover 12. It is also possible to be mounted. If so, there is an advantage that the configuration (s) arranged in the lower cover 12 in the closed state are protected by the second body 20. In addition, even if the second image input unit 28 is not separately provided, the first image input unit 15 may be rotatably formed so that the image capturing direction of the second image input unit 28 can be taken.

3 is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating the power supply unit 27 of the portable terminal of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a conceptual cross-sectional view of the battery 27a of FIG. 3.

Referring to this figure, the rear case 22 of the second body 20 is formed with an accommodating chamber 51 for accommodating the battery 27a. The battery 27a accommodated in the storage chamber 51 is covered by the battery cover 27b.

The storage chamber 51 may have a recessed shape than other portions of the rear case 22 and may have a size corresponding to the battery 27a. The storage chamber 51 has one bottom surface 52 and a plurality of wall surfaces 53 having an area smaller than the bottom surface 52.

At least a part of the main terminal 61 mounted on the main body of the portable terminal is exposed through the storage chamber 51. As illustrated in the figure, the main terminal 61 is generally exposed through the wall surface 53 of the storage chamber 51. However, the main terminal 61 may be exposed through the bottom surface 52 of the storage chamber 51.

The battery 27a may be generally hexahedral in shape. In this case, a pair of main surfaces facing each other and having the largest area and four side surfaces connecting the main surfaces are formed.

A battery terminal 70 is formed over a plurality of surfaces of the main surfaces and side surfaces of the battery 27a. The battery terminal 70 is formed in a plurality of areas that may correspond to the main terminal 61.

In this embodiment, the battery terminal 70 is disposed on one of the side surfaces to connect them with the first and third portions (main surface portions) 71 and 73 respectively formed on the main surfaces of the battery 27a. A second portion (side portion) 72 which is to be formed.

The battery terminal 70 having three parts 71 to 73 has been described above, but the battery terminal may have a form in which two of the above parts 71 to 73 are combined. It is also possible that the battery terminal 70 is formed to have four or more parts.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual view illustrating a state in which the battery 27a of FIG. 3 is connected to main terminals 61, 61 ′, 61 ″ respectively disposed at various positions.

Referring to the figure, for the terminal in which the main terminal 61 is formed on the wall surface 53, when the battery 27a is accommodated in the storage chamber 51, the second portion 72 is the main terminal 61. ) Will be connected.

When the main terminal 61 'uses a terminal formed on the upper right side of the bottom surface 52, the first portion 71 is connected to the upper main terminal 61'.

When the main terminal 61 "uses the terminal arrange | positioned at the upper left side of the bottom surface 52, the 3rd part 73 should just connect with the said main terminal 61". To this end, the battery 27a may be rotated about the line along the extension direction of the third portion 73 in the presently illustrated state and accommodated in the storage chamber 51.

From these usage states, it can be seen that one battery 27a can be used for three different portable terminals. However, even in the case of the portable terminal in which the main terminal 61 is disposed on the left side of the wall 53, the rotation of the battery 27a may allow the second portion 72 to be connected to the main terminal 61. Further, depending on the additional terminal portion (s) of the battery terminal 70, the battery 27a may further be used for other types of terminals.

6 is an exploded perspective view showing a battery 27a according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the figure, the battery 27a is formed of a battery cell 27a 'that stores power and a battery terminal 70 formed on an outer surface of the battery cell 27a' and electrically connected to the battery cell 27a '. It includes. The battery terminal 70 includes a plurality of portions as described above.

The battery cover 81 may be coupled to the battery cell 27a ′ to cover a portion of the battery terminal 70. The battery cover 81 is preferably formed of a non-conductive material. In consideration of the thickness of the battery cover 81, a portion to which the battery terminal 70 of the battery cell 27a ′ is coupled may be thinner than other portions.

The battery cover 81 may be detachably coupled to the battery cell 27a 'by fastening portions 81a and 82 formed in the battery cell 27a' and itself. The fastening portions 81a and 82 may be in an easily removable form, for example, a combination of a hook and a hole through which the hook is caught.

If the main terminal 61 ′ of the terminal is formed on the upper right side of the bottom surface 52 of the storage chamber 51 (see also FIG. 5 above), the terminal cover 81 covers the third portion 73. It may be mounted to the battery cell 27a '. In this case, the first portion 71 is connected to the main terminal 61 ′, and the second portion 72 faces the wall surface 53 of the storage chamber 51. As a result, even if the battery cover 27b is removed in the state where the battery 27a is accommodated in the accommodating chamber 51, none of the battery terminals 70 can be exposed to the outside.

If the third portion 73 is to be used, the battery cover 81 may be coupled to the other side of the battery cell 27a 'so that the first portion 71 is covered.

7 is an exploded perspective view of a mobile terminal for showing the terminal cover 91 according to another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 8 is a partial cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the battery 27a is mounted in the enlarged portion of FIG. to be.

Referring to these drawings, the terminal cover 91 is formed not on the battery 27a but on the main body of the portable terminal, specifically, the rear case 22. In the case where the main terminal 61 "is formed at the upper left of the bottom surface 52 of the storage chamber 51, the terminal cover 91 is accommodated correspondingly to the main terminal 61" from the rear case 22. It is formed to protrude toward the chamber 51.

When the battery 27a is accommodated in the accommodation chamber 51, the area where the battery terminal 70 is formed enters between the terminal cover 91 and the bottom surface 52. In this state, the third portion 73 is connected to the main terminal 61 ", and the second portion 72 is covered by the wall surface 53. The first portion 71 is the rear case 22. It is covered by the terminal cover 91 formed in the.

As such, when the terminal cover 91 is formed in the terminal body, there is an advantage in that the terminal cover 81 (refer to FIG. 6) does not need to be separately installed for each battery 27a.

The portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the slide type shown in FIG. 1, but may be applied to various structures such as a bar type, a folder type, a swing type, and the like.

9 is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to the present invention.

9, the portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a wireless communication module 41, an operation unit 16, 23, 24, an image input unit 15, 28, an audio input unit 25, a display unit ( 13), the sound output unit 14, 31, the sensing unit 46, the interface 26, the broadcast receiving module 45, the memory 44, the power supply unit 27, and the control unit 40.

The controller 40 typically controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal. For example, perform related control and processing for voice calls, data communications, video calls, and the like. In addition to the normal function control, the controller 40 additionally controls the operation of the portable terminal related to the present invention.

The wireless communication module 41 transmits / receives a radio signal with a mobile communication base station through an antenna. For example, under the control of the controller 40, the transmitter 42 is responsible for transmitting and receiving voice data, text data, image data, and control data, and modulates and transmits a signal to be transmitted, and a receiver for demodulating the received signal. 43).

The operation units 16, 23, and 24 are configured as shown in FIG. 1 to provide the control unit 40 with key input data input by the user for controlling the operation of the terminal. The operation units 16, 23, and 24 are composed of a dome switch, a touch pad (static pressure / capacitance), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The image input units 15 and 28 process image frames such as still images or moving images obtained by the image sensor in a video call mode or a photographing mode. The processed image frame is converted into image data displayable on the display unit 13 and output to the display unit 13. The image frames processed by the image input units 15 and 28 are stored in the memory 44 or transmitted to the outside through the wireless transceiver 41 under the control of the controller 40.

The sound input unit 25 receives an external sound signal by a microphone in a call mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, etc., and processes the external sound signal into electrical voice data. The processed voice data is converted into a form transmittable to the mobile communication base station through the wireless communication module 41 and output to the wireless communication module in the call mode. In the recording mode, the processed voice data is output to be stored in the memory 44. The sound input unit 25 may implement various noise removing algorithms for removing noise generated in the process of receiving an external sound signal.

The display unit 13 displays and outputs information processed by the portable terminal. For example, when the mobile terminal is in the call mode, the control unit 40 displays and outputs a user interface (UI) or a graphic user interface (GUI) related to the call. When the mobile terminal is in a video call mode or a photographing mode, the mobile terminal displays and outputs the captured image, UI, or GUI under the control of the controller 40. When the display unit 13 includes a touch screen, the display unit 13 is used as an input device in addition to the output device.

The sound output units 14 and 31 are sound data or memory 44 received from the wireless communication module 41 under the control of the control unit 40 in call signal reception, call mode or recording mode, voice recognition mode, broadcast reception mode, and the like. ) Converts the sound data stored in) and outputs it to the outside. In addition, the sound output units 14 and 31 output sound signals related to functions (eg, call signal reception sound, message reception sound, etc.) performed in the portable terminal. The sound output units 14 and 31 include a speaker, a receiver, a buzzer, and the like.

The sensing unit 46 generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the portable terminal by detecting a current state of the portable terminal such as an open / closed state of the portable terminal, a location of the portable terminal, presence or absence of a user contact. For example, when the portable terminal is in the form of a slide phone, whether the slide phone is opened or closed is sensed so as to output a sensing result to the controller 40 to control the operation of the terminal. In addition, it is responsible for sensing functions related to whether the power supply unit 27 is supplied with power, whether the interface 26 is coupled to an external device, and the like.

The interface 26 may be connected to a mobile terminal such as a wired / wireless headset, an external charger, a wired / wireless data port, a card socket (eg, a memory card, a SIM / UIM card), or the like. It serves as an interface with the device. Such an interface 26 receives data from an external device or receives power and transmits the data to each component inside the mobile terminal or transmits the data inside the mobile terminal to the external device.

The memory 44 may store a program for processing and controlling the control unit 40, and provides a function for temporarily storing input / output data (for example, a phone book, a message, a still image, a video, etc.). It can also be done. The memory 44 also stores a program for controlling the operation of the portable terminal according to the present invention. Memory 44 includes generally known concepts such as hard disks, card type memory (eg SD or XD memory, etc.), flash memory, RAM, ROM, and the like.

The broadcast receiving module 45 receives a broadcast signal transmitted through a satellite or terrestrial wave, converts the broadcast signal into a broadcast data format that can be output to the sound output units 14 and 31 and the display unit 13 and outputs it to the control unit 40. . In addition, the broadcast receiving module 45 receives additional data related to the broadcast (for example, an EPG (electric program guide), a channel list, etc.). The broadcast data and additional data converted by the broadcast receiving module 45 may be stored in the memory 44.

The power supply unit 27 receives an external power source and an internal power source under the control of the control unit 40 to supply power for operation of each component.

The portable terminal is not limited to the configuration and method of the embodiments described above, but the embodiments may be configured by selectively combining all or some of the embodiments so that various modifications can be made.

1 is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a rear perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating a power supply unit of the portable terminal of FIG. 1.

4 is a conceptual cross-sectional view of the battery of FIG. 3.

5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a state in which the battery of FIG. 3 is connected to main terminals respectively disposed at various locations.

6 is an exploded perspective view showing a battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is an exploded perspective view of a portable terminal for showing a terminal cover according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a battery is mounted in an enlarged portion of FIG. 7.

9 is a block diagram illustrating a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (10)

A main body including a storage chamber capable of accommodating a battery and a main terminal at least partially exposed through the storage chamber; And A portion formed in a plurality of regions in contact with the main terminal of at least two surfaces of the outer surface of the battery, wherein a portion formed in at least one region when the battery is accommodated in the accommodation chamber includes a battery terminal in contact with the main terminal; A mobile terminal that includes. The method of claim 1, The battery, A pair of major surfaces and side surfaces connecting the major surfaces and having an area smaller than the major surfaces, The battery terminal includes at least one main surface portion formed on at least one of the main surfaces and a side portion formed on any one of the side surfaces. The method of claim 2, The at least one main surface portion is a portable terminal, characterized in that formed in a pair formed on each of the pair of main surfaces to be connected to each other by the side portion. The method of claim 1, And at least one surface of the battery is exposed to the outside, the terminal cover being formed to surround at least a portion of the regions. The method of claim 4, wherein And the terminal cover is detachably coupled to the battery to surround at least some of the regions. The method of claim 4, wherein The terminal cover is formed in the main body, characterized in that for covering the portion of the battery terminal exposed in the state that the battery is accommodated in the housing chamber. The method of claim 6, And the terminal cover protrudes to occupy a portion of the area occupied by the accommodation chamber. The method of claim 7, wherein And a portion of the battery where the terminal is formed has a smaller thickness than the other portion. A battery cell for storing power; And a battery terminal electrically connected to the battery cell and in contact with the main terminal formed in the portable terminal. The battery terminal may be in contact with the main terminal and may be formed in a plurality of regions located on at least two of the outer surfaces of the battery, and formed in at least one region of the battery terminal when the battery is mounted in the portable terminal. Is in contact with the main terminal. The method of claim 9, And a terminal cover detachably coupled to the battery to surround at least some of the regions.

Images