JPH0734369B2 - Battery pack charger - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a charging device for a battery pack for a power supply, which is separable from the device in an electronic device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a charging device for a battery pack of this type, one having a structure as shown in FIG. 2 is known. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional battery pack charging device.

In FIG. 2, 101 is a charging device and 102 is a battery pack. A case 104 of the charging device 101 is formed with a pocket 104 for accommodating the battery pack 102. A tubular portion 105 is integrally provided on the inner bottom portion of the pocket 104.
A hole 106 is formed in the bottom wall of the. The head portion 108 of the movable terminal 107 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 105, the shaft portion 109 of the movable terminal 107 is inserted into the hole 106, and the movable terminal 107 is supported so as to be able to move forward and backward. A compression spring 110 is interposed between the head portion 108 of the movable terminal 107 and the inner surface of the bottom wall of the tubular portion 105 so as to surround the shaft portion 109, and the elasticity of the compression spring 110 keeps the movable terminal 107 in the pocket 104 at all times. Pressure is applied to the storage port 111 side. A retaining member 112 made of an E ring is attached to the protruding portion of the shaft portion 109 of the movable terminal 107, and the retaining member 112 abuts the outer surface of the bottom wall of the tubular portion 105 to prevent the movable terminal 107 from retaining. ing. Further, the movable terminal 107 has its shaft portion 109 connected to a charging circuit board 114 via a lead wire 113. The base of an engaging member 115 made of a leaf spring material is attached to the outer surface of the bottom of the pocket 104 with a screw 116. A wedge-shaped engaging portion 117 formed at the tip of this engaging member is projected in the pocket 104 from a hole 118 formed in the side wall of the pocket 104. The protruding engaging portion 117 has an inclined portion 119 that gradually inclines outward as it reaches the tip side, and the retaining portion 120 formed at the tip comes into contact with the outer surface edge portion of the hole 118 in the side wall of the pocket 104. ing.

On the other hand, a charging terminal 121 that can come into contact with the movable terminal 107 is provided in the lower portion of the battery pack 102, and an engaging recess 122 having a shape corresponding to the engaging portion 117 is formed laterally near the charging terminal 121 side. There is.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below.

When the battery pack 102 is pushed into the pocket 104 from the accommodation port 111, the movable terminal 107 is retracted against the elasticity of the compression spring 110 by the charging terminal 121 at the bottom of the battery pack, and the side end of the pack causes the engaging member 115 to move. The elasticity of the inclined portion 119 can be used to retract so that the engagement recess 122 is engaged with the engagement portion 117. This allows the battery pack 102 to be housed in the pocket 104 with the charging terminal 121 of the battery pack 102 being in contact with the movable terminal 107 in the pocket 104.

Therefore, even when the weight of the battery pack 102 is light, the contact pressure between the charging terminal 121 and the movable terminal 107 can be secured and the battery can be charged by locking the engagement concave portion and the wedge-shaped engagement portion. Further, after charging, by forcibly pulling the battery pack 102 upward, the engaging recess 122 is disengaged from the engaging portion 117 by utilizing the elasticity of the engaging member 115 that opens to the outside of the inclined portion 119, and the battery pack The 102 can be removed from the pocket 104 upwards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, in the above-mentioned conventional battery pack charging device,
Since the engaging recess 122 and the wedge-shaped engaging portion 117 are engaged in the battery pack 102 inside the pocket 104, when the battery pack 102 is housed in the pocket 104 or separated from the pocket 104, the side surface of the battery pack 102 is Since the wedge-shaped engaging portion 117 rubs, frictional scratches occur. Also, as described above, the battery pack
Since the engaging recess 122 of the engaging member 102 and the engaging portion 117 of the engaging member 115 engage with each other inside the pocket 104, the engaged state cannot be visually confirmed. Further, since the engaging member 115 made of a leaf spring material is required as described above, there is a problem that the cost is increased.

The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and the engagement and disengagement with the pocket of the battery pack is performed by the concave-convex portion, and the battery pack can be reliably accommodated in the pocket by the engagement of the concave-convex portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a battery pack charging device capable of easily confirming whether or not the battery pack can be formed from the outside and further reducing the cost of the device.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention moves a battery pack for power supply and a pack having a storage opening larger than this pack and stored in an inclined state to a vertical state inside. And a movable terminal that is provided at the inner bottom of this pocket and that contacts the charging terminal provided at the bottom of the pocket regardless of the position of the battery pack, and this movable terminal is always on the accommodation opening side of the pocket. A spring for pressurizing so as to protrude, and an uneven portion provided on the accommodation opening side of the pocket and on the upper portion of the battery pack to engage with each other,
By pushing the battery pack into the pocket and retracting the movable terminal at the bottom of the pocket against the elasticity of the spring, by changing the position state of the battery pack inside the pocket from the inclined state to the vertical state, The concavo-convex portion can be engaged with or disengaged from each other.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the battery pack is pushed into the pocket from the accommodation opening, and the movable terminal at the bottom of the pocket is forcibly retracted against the elasticity of the spring by the charging terminal at the bottom of the battery pack. By changing the position angle of the battery pack in the pocket, it is possible to engage the uneven parts provided on the upper part of the battery pack and on the accommodation opening side of the pocket, and even when the weight of the battery pack is light, the charging terminal at the bottom of the pack The contact with the movable terminal at the bottom of the inside of the pocket can be reliably held by the spring for charging.

Examples Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a battery pack charging device in an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a charging device and 2 is a battery pack to be charged. A case 3 made of, for example, a synthetic resin of the charging device 1 is provided with a pocket 4 having a housing opening 11 larger than the battery pack 2 for housing the battery pack 2. A tubular portion 5 is continuously provided on the inner bottom portion of the pocket 4, and a hole 6 is formed in the bottom wall of the tubular portion 5. The head portion 8 of the movable terminal 7 is inserted into the tubular portion 5, and the shaft portion 9 of the movable terminal 7 is inserted into the hole 6, so that the movable terminal 7 is supported so as to be able to move forward and backward. Further, the head portion 8 and the tubular portion 5 of the movable terminal 7 are
A compression spring 10 is provided so as to surround the outer circumference of the shaft portion 9 between the inner surface of the bottom wall and the inner surface of the bottom wall, and the elasticity of the compression spring 10 allows the movable terminal 7 to be constantly protruded toward the accommodation port 11 side of the pocket 4. Is under pressure.

A retaining member 12 composed of an E ring is attached to the outer protruding portion of the shaft portion 9 of the movable terminal 7, and the retaining terminal 12 contacts the outer surface of the bottom wall of the tubular portion 5 to prevent the movable terminal 7 from retaining. ing. Further, the movable terminal 7 has a shaft portion 9 as a lead wire.
It is connected to the charging circuit board 14 via 13. An engaging projection 15 is integrally formed with the housing 3 on one side of the pocket 4 on the accommodation port 11 side. On the other hand, at the bottom of the battery pack 2, a pair of charging terminals that can contact the movable terminals 7 at the bottom of the pocket
16 is provided, and the engaging projection 15 is provided on one side of the upper part.
An engaging recess 17 that can engage with is formed.

This charging device will be described in more detail below along with its operation.

When the battery pack 2 is pushed diagonally into the pocket 4 as shown by the arrow A from the accommodation opening 11 larger than this, the charging terminal 16 at the bottom of the pack abuts the movable terminal 7 in a chain line state,
This is retracted against the elasticity of the compression spring 10. In this state, change the position angle of the battery pack 2 from diagonal to vertical,
When the pressing force pushing the battery pack 2 is released, the battery pack 2 is slightly pushed up in the direction of arrow B by the restoring elasticity of the spring 10 on the movable terminal 7 side as shown by the solid line, and the engaging recess 17 at the upper part of the battery pack 2 is reached. Engages with an engaging projection 15 provided on the upper portion of the pocket 4. As a result, the battery pack 2 can be reliably accommodated in the pocket 4 while the charging terminal 16 at the lower portion thereof is kept in contact with the movable terminal 7 at the bottom of the pocket 4.

Therefore, even if the weight of the battery pack 2 is light, the springs 10 of the charging terminal 16 and the movable terminal 7 are engaged by the engagement of the uneven portions 17 and 15.
It is possible to charge the battery pack 2 while ensuring the contact pressure due to. In this state, the concave and convex portions 17 and 15 are engaged with each other at the upper portion of the pocket, so that the visual confirmation can be easily performed. Further, after charging, the battery pack 2 is pushed in the direction opposite to the arrow B direction to move the battery pack 2 and the movable body. The terminal 7 resists the elasticity of the compression spring 10,
The engaging recess 17 of the battery pack 2 is disengaged from the engaging projection 15 on the pocket 4 side by moving the battery pack 2 in the downward direction opposite to the arrow B direction, and the position angle of the battery pack 2 is changed from the vertical state to the accommodation port 11 direction. It should be inclined to. This allows the battery pack 2
Is pressed by the spring 10 in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction, and the battery pack 2
Can be removed from the pocket 4.

It should be noted that, as opposed to the above example, the concave and convex portions are engaged with each other by forming an engaging concave portion on the accommodation port 11 side of the pocket 4 so that the battery pack 2
It is also possible to provide an engaging projection on the upper part of the. Besides this, the present invention can be variously modified in design without departing from the basic technical idea thereof.

As described above, according to the present invention, the battery pack is tilted and pushed into the pocket from the accommodation opening larger than the pack, and the movable terminal in the pocket resists the elasticity of the spring by the charging terminal at the bottom of the battery pack. By forcibly retreating, and in this state the position angle in the battery pack is changed from the tilted state to the vertical state, so that the upper part of the battery pack and the uneven portion provided on the accommodation opening side of the pocket are engaged by the pressing force of the spring. Even if the weight of the battery pack is light, the concave and convex portions are not disengaged, and the contact between the charging terminal and the movable terminal can be secured by the spring for charging. In this way, since the engaging means by the unevenness of the battery pack and the pocket is provided on the accommodation port side of the upper part of the pocket, the engaged state can be easily visually confirmed. Further, even when the battery pack is pushed into the pocket from the storage port or released from the storage port, the surface of the battery pack is not scratched by the engaging means and the surface of the battery pack is not scratched. Since it is not necessary to use a separate component such as the locking spring of the conventional example to hold the engaged state, the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a battery pack charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a conventional battery pack charging device. 1 ... Charging device, 2 ... Battery pack, 4 ... Pocket,
7 ... Movable terminal, 10 ... Compression spring, 11 ... Storage port, 14 ...
… Charging circuit board, 15 …… Protrusions for engagement, 16 …… Charging terminal,
17: Engagement recess.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A battery pack for a power source, a pocket having a housing opening larger than that of the battery pack and accommodating in an inclined state, and a pocket in which the battery pack can be vertically moved inside, and an inner bottom portion of the pocket. A movable terminal that is provided and contacts the charging terminal provided at the lower portion of the battery pack regardless of the position of the battery pack, a spring that constantly presses the movable terminal toward the accommodation opening side of the pocket, and the pocket. And a recessed portion provided on the accommodation port side of the battery pack and on the upper part of the battery pack that engage with each other.The battery pack is pushed into the pocket and the movable terminal at the bottom of the pocket is retracted against the elasticity of the spring. In this state, by changing the angle of the battery pack from the tilted state to the vertical state, the recessed portion provided on the accommodation opening side of the pocket and the upper portion of the pack are engaged with each other. Or charging device for the battery pack be separated.