Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Cell or battery charger structure – For battery pack
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-04
2001-04-03
Tso, Edward H. (Department: 2838)
Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging
Cell or battery charger structure
For battery pack
Reexamination Certificate
active
06211648
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to a battery pack for removable attachment to a portable computer.
FIG. 1
illustrates a known portable computer
1
that uses a removable battery pack
2
to provide electrical power to circuitry and devices of the computer, such as for example a central microprocessor, a memory module and an LCD display. The battery pack
2
comprises an elongate housing enclosing a series of battery cells and is shown in
FIG. 1
detached or removed from the portable computer
1
. A pair of guide slots
110
,
115
are located at opposite end surfaces of the battery pack housing. During attachment of the battery pack to the portable computer, the guide slots are aligned and slidingly cooperate with a pair of complementary rails
120
,
125
located in a battery-receiving cavity
130
of the computer. In this way, the battery is slid or translated towards the computer in a lateral fashion during attachment.
The battery pack
1
is secured in place by a simple mechanical latch arrangement in the form of a sprung barb on the computer which engages complementary retention means on the battery pack. The retention means are implemented on a raised portion
135
depending from a side surface of the battery pack, whilst the sprung barb is implemented in a recess
140
in the battery-receiving cavity. The recess is designed to accommodate the raised portion during attachment of the battery pack so that the sprung barb and the retention means correctly latch. Subsequent removal of the battery pack is achieved by a user releasing the mechanical latch and sliding the battery pack out of the battery-receiving cavity. The mechanical latch is released by means of a sliding button
145
which moves the sprung barb out of engagement with the retention means on the battery pack.
A battery attachment arrangement similar to that shown in
FIG. 1
is employed in the Libretto 20CT portable computer, available from Toshiba, Japan. A drawback with this battery attachment arrangement is that the battery has a tendency to pivot or rock about the centrally-positioned mechanical latch. In other words, the ends of the battery pack remain loose even when the battery is secured with the mechanical latch.
FIG. 2
illustrates another known portable computer
1
that uses a removable battery pack
2
to supply power to the computer. The battery pack is attached to the portable computer using a modified version of the aforementioned battery attachment arrangement of FIG.
1
. In this version, the single, centrally-positioned mechanical latch is replaced by a pair of spaced-apart mechanical latches. Accordingly, the battery-receiving cavity
130
now includes two recesses
210
,
215
that are designed to accommodate two raised portions
220
,
225
on the side of the battery pack. The pair of mechanical latches are positioned so that once attached, the battery pack is secured towards each end. Thus, the ends of the battery pack are held more firmly and there is less tendency for the battery pack to pivot or rock. The user-actuable slide button
145
in
FIG. 2
is simultaneously linked to a barb of each mechanical latch, thereby allowing a user to release the pair of latches in a single operation. A battery attachment arrangement similar to that shown in
FIG. 2
is employed in the Cassiopeia A-51 portable computer, available from Casio, Japan.
Unfortunately, the two latch design of
FIG. 2
has a drawback when compared to the single latch design of FIG.
1
. The two latches not only impose increased material and production costs but they also occupy extra space in the computer. This is particularly undesirable for portable computers where cost and size are sensitive factors to consumers.
According to the present invention there is provided an elongate battery pack for removable attachment to a portable computer. The battery pack includes guides at each end surface which enable the battery to be attached in a lateral fashion to the computer, and locked in place by a separate mechanical latch mechanism. One of the guides is modified to include a catch which, during attachment of the battery pack to the computer, engages a complementary guide on the computer to locally restrain that end of the battery.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a battery pack for removable attachment to a portable computer, comprising an elongate housing including a side-surface and first and second opposing end-surfaces, latch means associated with the side-surface, and respective first and second guide means associated with the first and second opposing end surfaces, in which, during attachment of the battery pack to the computer, the first and second guide means cooperate respectively with first and second complementary guides on the computer in order to guide the battery pack in a lateral direction towards the computer whereby the latch means engage with complementary latch means on the computer to lock the battery pack to the computer, wherein the first guide means of the battery pack further comprises a catch which, during attachment of the battery pack to the computer, engages the first complementary guide to locally restrain the first guide means at a predetermined position.
A battery pack in accordance with the invention has the advantage that it enables the ends portions of the battery pack to be held firmly in place using a simple single-latch design. Thus, compared to previous single-latch designs, there is less tendency for a battery pack in accordance with the invention to pivot or rock.
Preferably, the guide means on the battery pack enable the battery to be slid in a lateral manner towards and away from the portable computer. The guide means may be formed by one or more protrusions extending from the end-surfaces of the battery pack. Ideally, these protrusions are ribs which slide in complementary channels or grooves formed on inward facing surfaces of the portable computer housing. Alternatively, channels or grooves may be formed on the end surfaces of the battery pack for cooperation with protrusions on the portable computer housing. Furthermore, the guides and guide means may be provided by multiple protrusions or channels.
Suitably, the catch of the first guide is formed by an indent on the rib which is designed to be engaged by a projection in the guide channel on the portable computer. Alternatively, this arrangement may be reversed such that the catch is formed by a projection on the rib which is designed to engage an indent in the channel.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5455737 (1995-10-01), Ogami et al.
patent: 5578391 (1996-11-01), Meyers et al.
patent: 5697070 (1997-12-01), Liebler
patent: 5841630 (1998-11-01), Seto et al.
Hewlett--Packard Company
Tso Edward H.
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