JPH0452935Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] This invention relates to the structure of a battery case externally attached to an electronic device or the like. [Prior Art] Electronic devices require an energy source to operate them, and while stationary devices can be supplied with a commercial power source, portable devices usually use batteries. At that time, for devices with very low power consumption such as electronic clocks and desk calculators, built-in dry batteries can be used
It is good because it can be used for 3 years, but batteries of sufficient capacity cannot be used in wireless communication devices and audio equipment that require electricity due to battery volume and weight restrictions, so they must be replaced every 2 to 3 hours of use. However, if used continuously, it is inconvenient that it must be replaced several times a day. Therefore, portable devices are now equipped with external power terminals so that large-capacity external power sources can be used, and the case for the external battery can be attached to the main body of the electronic device to make it more convenient to carry. . As batteries, cylindrical unit batteries (electromotive force 1.5V), which are cheap and easily available due to mass production, are used in a series of 4 to 9 units (13.5V) in series. It is common to use small AA and AAA batteries, and large AA and AA batteries as external batteries. The structure of the unit battery is such that an electrode is provided at the center of one end surface of a cylinder, and the other outer peripheral portion including the bottom surface forms electrodes. The battery storage case has various structures, as shown in Figure 5, in order to automatically connect multiple unit batteries in series simply by installing them. Figures A and B show unit batteries connected in parallel. The bottom of each battery is pressed by a coiled spring that also serves as a connection between the poles, thereby connecting the battery to the outside and preventing contact failure due to vibration. Further, B has a structure in which the connection lines between the batteries are made as short as possible by setting the mounting directions of adjacent batteries in opposite directions. In addition, C has a shape in which several unit battery electrodes are attached in a row so that they are in direct contact with the bottom electrode of the next battery, and individual pressure springs can be omitted, reducing unnecessary space and simplifying the structure. Become. [Problem to be Solved by the Invention] In the case of A in Fig. 5, a coil spring is used to prevent contact failure due to vibration, but for this reason the pressure of one spring is equal to that for AA batteries. in
The weight for AA and AA batteries is about 1kg, which is about 0.5kg, so the battery as a whole weighs several kilograms, and the outer wall of the battery case that receives this force needs to be made of strong material and structure, resulting in an increase in weight and cost. It becomes a problem. In case B, since the batteries are installed in the opposite direction, it is easy to install the batteries in the wrong direction, and if one battery is connected in series in the opposite direction, the total electromotive force will drop by 3V, making the device almost impossible to use. . In the case of Figure 5C, several electrodes are attached in a row so that they are in direct contact with the bottom electrode of the next battery, and in the case of multiple rows, they are folded back and used, so it is difficult to attach the unit battery. There is a risk of taking the wrong direction. In addition, in a structure where the side cover is used as a cover and the battery is installed from the side, the mounting direction can be clearly indicated by printing the battery outline on the mounting groove surface, but if you try to install three or more unit batteries, the side cover will close due to the pressure of the spring. Since the unit pops out forward, an extra mechanism is required to hold the unit in the mounting groove. As described above, each structure of a battery case for a household electronic device has its own problems that must be solved, and an object of the present invention is to provide a structure suitable for an external battery case for an electronic device. [Means for Solving the Problems] Figure 1 is an outline drawing of a storage case for batteries to be attached externally to electronic equipment, etc. of the present invention, in which a parallelepiped box 1 is divided into two parts, 1A and 1B . Although the shape of the division is not specified, for the sake of ease of handling when assembling the 1A part and 1B part with the battery and contact electrode holding plate attached to each part as described later, 1A and 1B are divided into two parts. One side wall 11A, 11B of 1B is long, and the opposite side wall 12A, 1
It is convenient for 2B to be short. Figure 2 shows the battery case of the present invention divided into two parts .
It is a sketch of the internal structure of A and 1B , and partition walls 2A _a to 2A _o and _{2B a to Bo} of compartments accommodating unit dry cells in one parallel row inside, and partition walls 3A, 4A, and 3B perpendicular to the partition walls 2A a to 2A o and 2B a to Bo, 4B, and groove portions 5A, 5 between one of the partition walls 3A, 3B and the outer walls 11A, 11B of the case adjacent to and parallel to the partition walls 3A, 3B.
This is a structure in which contact electrode holding plates 7A and 7B are inserted into B. The contact electrode holding plates 7A and 7B include an insulating plate 7.
Case 1A, 71B as shown in Figure 3.
Metal contacts 73A _{a to} 73A _o , 73B a _to 7 contact the upper electrode terminals of the unit batteries at positions corresponding to the central axis of the unit batteries housed in the compartment 1B.
It has a structure with 3B _o attached. Figure 4 shows the battery case 1A divided into two parts,
1B shows a battery case 1 in which contact electrode holding plates 7A and 7B and a unit battery are attached to the battery case 1 . [Operation] The operation of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4. The contact electrode holding plate 7A on the 1A side holds the coiled contact spring 72A _a when 1A and 1B are mated.
With the metal contact 73A _a electrically connected to 72A _a kept in contact with the bottom of unit battery A ₁ housed in A, touch the upper electrode terminal of unit battery B ₁ housed in 1B. Similarly, coiled contact springs 72Ab _{to 72Ao} contact the bottoms of unit batteries _A2 to _Ao , respectively, and metal contacts 73b to _73Ao contact unit batteries A2 _{to A2.}
～A _o contacts the bottom of each metal contact 73
Unit battery B ₂ on the 1B side with A _b ~73A _o
It is set in contact with the upper electrode terminal of B _o . In addition, the contact electrode holding plate 7B on the 1B side remains in contact with the bottom of _the unit battery _B1 housed in 1B with the coiled contact spring 72Ba.
A metal contact 73B _a electrically connected to B _a is brought into contact with the upper electrode terminal of a unit battery A ₂ housed within 1A, and similarly a coiled contact spring 72
The unit batteries B ₂ -B _o are brought into contact with the bottoms of the unit batteries B ₂ -B _o with coiled contact springs _72B - _{72B o} , respectively _.
metal contacts 73B _b ~
73B _o is set in contact with the upper electrode terminals of unit batteries A ₃ to _{A o} on the 1A side. However, the metal contact _73B0 that contacts the upper electrode terminal of the unit battery _A1 independently serves as a lead-out electrode.
Further, 73A _o and 73B _o connected to the coiled contact springs 72A _o and 72B _o become extraction electrodes.
Whether it will be _Ao or 73B depends on whether the total number of unit batteries is an even number or an odd number. A unit battery stored in 1A in this way
Unit batteries B ₁ to B _o housed in A ₁ to A _o and 1B
are connected in series with the same polarity. [Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In the drawings, the same symbols as in FIGS. 1 to 4 indicate the same mechanical parts. This external battery case is intended to store 9 AA unit batteries, with 5 unit batteries stored in case 1A section, 4 unit batteries stored in case 1B section, and 5 batteries in 1A section. By placing the four batteries of section 1B at the joint of battery case 1
The thickness is reduced. Note that the structure is such that a push button mechanism and an external connection jack are installed in the left and right spare spaces of the storage battery 1B. The cases 1A and 1B can be formed by hot press molding or injection molding, and are integrated with a fitting structure at the ends, eliminating the need for hinges or fasteners. As seen in the plan view of FIG. 6, section 1A includes partition walls 3A and 4A that are parallel to the front and rear outer walls 11A and 12A.
By providing grooves 5A, 6A between them,
In addition, between the partition walls 3A and 4A, four partition walls 2A ₁ , 2A ₂ , 2A ₃ , and 2A ₄ are provided perpendicularly to the partition walls 3A and 4A to form a compartment for accommodating the unit battery. It reinforces the strength of 4A. As shown by the chain line in the side view of FIG. 6, the partition wall 3A has a coil spring 7 that presses the bottom of the unit battery.
Notches 31A ₁ to 31A ₅ for passing A ₁ to 7A ₅
The partition wall 4A is provided with notches 41A ₁ to 41A ₅ for projecting the upper electrode terminals of the unit batteries to the outside of the partition wall 4A. Therefore, when installing a unit battery in the compartments _13A1 to _13A5 that accommodate batteries, the insertion direction of the battery is determined naturally, and the unit batteries are lined up in the same direction, so installation is easy and there is no possibility of mistakes. . The installed unit battery has its bottom surface pressed by the coiled contact spring 72A and its top shoulder portion pressed against the partition wall 4A, and the left and right sides are held by the partition wall 2A, so that the unit battery is placed in compartment 1.
3A, and there is no fear that the battery will pop out when the case 1A part and the case 1B part are combined. As seen in the plan view of FIG. 7, the case 1B has a partition wall 3 parallel to the front and rear outer walls 11B and 12B.
By providing B and 4B, a groove 5 is formed between them.
B, 6B, and between the partition walls 3B and 4B, there are four partition walls 2B ₁ , 2B ₂ , 2B ₃ , orthogonal thereto.
_2B4 is provided to form a compartment for accommodating the unit battery, and at the same time to reinforce the strength of the partition walls 3B and 4B. As shown by the chain line in the side view of FIG. 7, the partition wall 3B has a coil spring 7 that presses the bottom of the unit battery.
Notches 31B ₁ to 31B ₄ for passing B ₁ to 7B ₄
The partition wall 4B is provided with notches 41B ₁ to 41B ₄ for projecting the upper electrode terminals of the unit batteries to the outside of the partition wall 4B. The effect thereof is exactly the same as that described for case 1A in FIG. Furthermore, the case 1B has a battery storage compartment 13B _1.
A space 14 for accommodating an external connection jack on the outside of the
A holding part 15 of a push button mechanism for connecting to an external electronic device is formed on the outside of the compartment _13B4 , and a hole 16 of this holding part 15 is provided, and when this push button is pressed, Therefore, it has a structure in which it is connected to an external electronic device and operates the electronic device. Although the battery case of the present invention has a structure in which it is divided into two parts, it is integrated into one body when in use, so the conventional battery case mounting method can be applied as is, so there is no need to specify it. However, it is desirable to take into account that the clamp is applied to both the 1A section and the 1B section of the battery case. For electrical connection between the external battery and the main body of the electronic device, there are two methods: when the battery case is attached to the main body, the connection is automatically made using a contact electrode or a plug jack, and the other method is to connect the external battery's connection lead plug to the main body's external power supply. There is a method of inserting the battery into a jack, but either method can be used with the battery case of the present invention. [Effects of the invention] This invention is a battery case 1 that is attached externally to electronic equipment, etc.
Since it is divided into parts 1A and 1B and a unit battery is installed in each part, it is extremely easy to replace the battery, and the direction of installation of the battery is also the same, using the notches provided in the partition walls 4A and 4B. 41A,
41B, so there is no need to worry about incorrect mounting direction. The unit battery has partition walls 2A, 2B and 3A, 3.
B, 4A, 4B surround one battery each in compartments 13A, 13B, and the batteries will not fly out during the work of combining cases 1A and 1B . Also spring 7
The pressure of 2A and 72B is applied to each partition wall and the contact electrode holding plate 7.
Since the pressure is applied to A and 7B in a distributed manner, it is possible to prevent the pressing force from concentrating on the outer wall of the case and causing distortion or cracks in the case. As seen in the embodiments, the cases 1A and 1B are produced by plastic molding, making them suitable for mass production and inexpensive to manufacture, making them highly practical.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a sketch of the external appearance of the battery case of the present invention, Figure 2 is a sketch of the internal structure, Figure 3 is a diagram of the structure of the contact electrode holding plate installed inside the battery case, and Figure 4 shows the state in which the battery is installed. A sectional view of the case, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of how to install a unit battery, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are detailed views of the case portion of the embodiment of the present invention. 1 , 1A , 1B ...Battery case, 11A, 11
B, 12A, 12B...battery case outer wall, 2A,
2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B... Bulkhead, 13
A, 13B... Battery storage compartment, 7A, 7B... Contact electrode holding plate, 71A, 71B... Insulating plate, 72
A, 72B... Coiled contact spring, 73A, 73
B...Metal contact, 16...Push button mechanism holding hole.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a storage case for batteries externally attached to electronic equipment, etc., a parallelepiped box 1 is divided into two parts, 1A and 1B , and dry batteries are housed in a parallel row in each of the 1A and 1B parts. Partition partition wall 2A _a ~ 2A _o
and 2B _a to 2B _o , and the partition wall 3A perpendicular thereto,
3B and the outer wall 11 of the case adjacent to and parallel to this
A, 11B, the groove portions 5A, 5B, and the partition walls also perpendicular to the above-mentioned 2Aa to 2An and 2Ba to 2Bn.
4A, 4B and the case outer wall adjacent to and parallel to them
Contact springs 72Aa~72An and 72Ba~ that press the bottom of the battery into the grooves 6A and 6B between 12A and 12B.
72Bn and the metal contact that contacts the top electrode terminal of the battery
Insert the contact electrode holding plates 7A and 7B made of insulators to which 73Aa to 73An and 73Ba to 73Bn are added, and attach the contact springs 72Aa to the case 1A and 1B parts, respectively.
~72An and 72Ba~72Bn and said metal contacts
73Aa to 73An, 73Ba to 73Bn, after mounting the battery on the bridge in which the bottom of the battery and the upper electrode terminal of the battery are in contact with each other, the case 1A and 1B are combined and configured to form a connection circuit for the stored battery. A battery case characterized by being completed.