Electrical connectors – Energy cell substitution device including plural contacts or...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-31
2003-03-04
Nasri, Javaid (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Energy cell substitution device including plural contacts or...
C429S097000, C429S100000, C439S341000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06527584
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a battery holder for use in backing up a memory in various electronic devices including game software and office machines, and more particularly to a housing structure for a flat battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
The structure of a battery holder for a flat battery according to the prior art is illustrated in FIG.
14
through FIG.
16
.
FIG. 14
is a plan of the battery holder;
FIG. 15
, a sectional view along a line
15
—
15
in
FIG. 14
; and
FIG. 16
, a perspective view of the battery cut along the line
15
—
15
in FIG.
14
.
Referring to the drawings, a case
31
, consisting of an insulator such as a synthetic resin, is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with an opening at the top. In this case
31
are provided a bottom plate
31
a
to meet one face of a flat battery
32
and a peripheral wall
31
b
to meet this battery
32
, and at its top is arranged an opening
31
c
through which the battery
32
is to be inserted. At one end of the peripheral wall
31
b
is provided a notch
31
d,
and opposite this notch
31
d
is arranged, inside the peripheral wall
31
b
and in contact with the peripheral face of the inserted battery
32
, a first terminal
33
having elasticity to press this battery
32
toward the notch
31
d.
Inside the bottom plate
31
a
is arranged a second terminal
34
in contact with one face of the battery
32
. Toward the upper end of the peripheral wall
31
b
where the notch
31
d
and the first terminal
33
are provided, protruding barriers
31
e
and
31
f
to prevent the battery
32
from coming off from the opening
31
c
are arranged to suppress the upper face of the battery
32
inserted through the opening
31
c.
The first and second terminals
33
and
34
are formed of plates of springy metal, such as stainless steel, and nickel-plated or otherwise appropriately treated on the surface. The first terminal
33
is provided with a pair of first contacts
33
a
arranged within the peripheral wall
31
b
of the case
31
and in contact with the peripheral face (the positive pole face)
32
a
of the flat battery
32
, while the second terminal
34
is provided with a second contacts
34
a
arranged within the bottom plate
31
a
of the case
31
and in contact with the bottom face (the negative pole face)
32
b
of the battery
32
. One end each of the first and second terminals
33
and
34
, protruding out of the case
31
, is connected to the conduction pattern (not shown) of a printed circuit board
35
.
Then, to house the flat battery
32
in the battery holder, after mounting the battery holder on the printed circuit board
35
and soldering the first and second terminals
33
and
34
on the conduction pattern (not shown), the battery
32
is inserted in a slanted state into the case
31
through its opening
31
c.
During this action, the battery
32
is engaged by the protruding barriers
31
e
and
31
f
provided toward the upper end of the peripheral wall
31
b,
and its bottom face (the negative pole face)
32
b
is held by being in contact with the second contact
34
a
arranged on the bottom plate
31
a,
and the peripheral face (the positive pole face)
32
a
of the battery
32
is housed in the case
31
by being in contact with the paired first terminals
33
a.
However, in the conventional battery holder structure for the flat battery described above, the protruding barriers
31
e
and
31
f
for preventing the battery
32
from coming off are formed toward the upper end of the peripheral wall
31
b
of the case
31
, and the battery is inserted in the slanted state into the opening
31
c
of the case
31
to have the battery engaged by these protruding barriers
31
e
and
31
f.
Therefore, considering the ease of inserting the battery, it is impossible to form the protruding barriers
31
e
and
31
f
in too large a size, and this makes it impossible to engage the battery
32
so firmly, resulting in the problem that any vibration or impact from outside may cause the battery
32
to spring out of the case
31
or its contacts to become momentarily disconnected to let the power supply go off.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to solve the above-noted problem and to provide a battery holder for a flat battery which, when a flat battery is to be inserted into the battery holder, allows the battery to be easily inserted and held firmly to prevent it from springing out or its contacts from becoming disconnected when any vibration or impact from outside is suffered.
In order to achieve the object stated above, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a battery holding section comprising a bottom plate meeting one face of a flat battery, a peripheral wall meeting the peripheral face of the battery, a case having in its top face an opening through which the battery is to be inserted, and first and second terminals, arranged within this opening of the case, to be in elastic contact with the poles of the battery, wherein protruding barriers are formed toward one end of the opening in the case to engage with the top face of the inserted battery to prevent the battery from coming off, and elastically deformable elastic arms toward the other end of the opening in the case opposite these protruding barriers, the arms turning toward the bottom plate along with the insertion of the battery and pressing the peripheral face of the battery toward the peripheral wall.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there are formed, toward one end of the peripheral wall where the battery holding section is formed, the first terminal pressing the battery toward the opposite part of the peripheral wall by being in contact with the peripheral face of the battery and, toward the other opposite end of the peripheral wall, the second terminal pressing the battery toward the protruding barriers provided toward the top face of the opening of the case by being in contact with one face of the battery, wherein the peripheral face of the inserted battery is pressed by the pressures of both the elastic arms and the first terminal toward the opposite part of the peripheral wall where the protruding barriers are formed.
According to a third aspect of the invention, the elastic arms are formed of hinges integrally extending from the peripheral wall of the case, and the battery holding section is rotatably held by the peripheral wall of the case via the elastic arms.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the battery holding section has a receptacle at the center of which the battery is to be inserted and pinches, opposite each other with this receptacle in-between, for pinching the battery, wherein a slope for preventing the battery from being inserted any farther, when it is inserted in the wrong direction, by being in contact with an edge of the top face of the battery is provided in the lower part within the pinches formed toward the bottom face.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the diameter of the hollow part of a virtual circle which is the trajectory of a tip of the slope toward the bottom face and tips of the protruding barriers is smaller than the external diameter of the battery.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5931693 (1999-08-01), Yamazaki
patent: 5980309 (1999-11-01), Frantz et al.
Alps Electric Co. ,Ltd.
Beyer Weaver & Thomas LLP
Nasri Javaid
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