Battery retainer

Details Battery retainer Battery retainer

2001-04-20

2003-11-11

Ryan, Patrick (Department: 1745)

Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and

Cell support for removable cell

Support or holder per se

C429S097000, C429S123000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06645665

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a battery retainer for retaining a battery.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the prior art, several ways of holding a battery in a battery retainer are known.
In particular, it is known to retain circular-disk shaped coin batteries
102
in a corresponding cylindrical chamber
101
of a device D by a friction fit (
FIGS. 1
,
2
and
3
). One drawback of such a friction fit is that removal of the battery from the chamber is difficult and must be performed by means of a tool, e.g. a ballpoint pen. Further, the friction fit will wear over time so that, when the device is turned upside down or is exposed to vibrations, the battery can drop out, or the electric contact with the battery can be lost.
According to a further known battery retainer a coin battery
102
is retained in a corresponding chamber
101
by means of a side spring
103
exerting a lateral force upon the battery
102
.
A further known method for holding a battery in place in a device is to place the battery
102
in a cavity
101
and to place a cover
104
over the battery
102
so as to ensure retention of and electric contact with the battery (
FIGS. 2
,
3
and
4
). This method has the drawback that the device D can be turned over to check for proper operation only when the cover
104
is placed over the battery. Further, the battery is difficult to remove. A similar known method with the same inherent drawbacks is to use, instead of the cover
104
, a metal slide bar
105
which can be slid over the battery
102
to hold it down in the cavity
101
and which serves as an electric battery contact.
For both the friction-type and the side spring-type battery holder a cover
104
or a slide bar
105
is usually required for ensuring electric contact with the battery.
U.S. Pat. No 5,922,489 discloses a module-type battery holder comprising a bottom, the battery holder being open to the top, and in which a battery holder is held/forced down to the bottom by a retainer at its one side and by a removing flange for battery removal at its other side. A fulcrum is provided on the bottom between the retainer and the removing flange, which fulcrum contacts an inserted battery from a position under and near its center. For inserting the battery, one end of the battery is slipped over the fulcrum and under the removing flange, and then the other end of the battery is pressed down, so as to be forced under the retainer, while the battery pivots around the fulcrum. For removing the battery, the removing flange and, with it, the end of the battery below the flange is pressed down so that the battery pivots around the fulcrum and the opposite end of the battery pops up from below the retainer. However, this prior art battery holder has several drawbacks. The battery holder of U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,489 requires the use of many parts in a complicated arrangement. This renders the battery holder expensive and susceptible to damage and malfunction. Furthermore, due to its complex design, the battery holder has to be provided as an isolated module, but cannot be simply incorporated into a device.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a battery retainer, in particular for coin batteries, having a simple design, thereby providing safe and reliable retention and safe and reliable electric contact with the battery while at the same time allowing simple and easy insertion and removal of the battery.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objects of the present invention are achieved by a battery retainer for retaining a battery having a positive electrode and a negative electrode, the battery retainer having a positive terminal for contacting the positive electrode of the battery, a negative terminal for contacting the negative electrode of the battery, a receiving chamber designed to receive a battery and being open at the top, a pivotable retaining arm located at the top of the receiving chamber and designed and arranged to hold a battery received in the receiving chamber therein, and a spring element located at the bottom of the receiving chamber and designed and arranged to at least partly eject the battery received in the receiving chamber therefrom upon a pivotal movement of the pivotable retaining arm off the battery.
The battery retainer described above has the advantage that a battery inserted thereto is safely and reliably retained. When a battery to be retained is received in the receiving chamber, the pivotable retaining arm is positioned above the battery and prevents the battery from falling out of the receiving chamber.
A further advantage of the battery retainer of the present invention is that a battery received in the receiving chamber can easily be removed therefrom. The spring element at the bottom of the receiving chamber is located below the received battery and tends to push the battery upwards against the action of the pivotable retaining arm. When the pivotable retaining arm is pivoted off of the battery, the battery pops out of the receiving chamber by the action of the spring element, or is at least lifted to an extent that it can easily be removed.
The design of the battery retainer of the present invention is very simple. Apart from a receiving chamber for receiving a battery and from a positive and a negative terminal for contacting the battery, only a retaining arm for retaining the battery and a spring element for ejecting the battery are required.
The spring element can be a coil or a plate spring or an arrangement of several such springs. It can for example be a single plate spring made of 0.06 mm spring steel. However, any other suitable kind of spring element and any other suitable material can be used.
Preferably, the negative or/and the positive electrode/s is/are used as the spring element. This further simplifies the design of the battery retainer. In this case, the corresponding electrode/s can have the shape of plate springs, e.g. made of 0.06 mm spring steel.
The electrodes can be nickel-plated to prevent corrosion.
If the electric terminals are used as the spring element, a battery received in the receiving chamber is automatically contacted as soon as the battery is fully received therein, since the battery is squeezed between the retaining arm and the spring element, i.e. the terminals. Hence the reliability of the electric battery contact is especially high.
To further increase its reliability, the battery retainer of the present invention can further include a static retention element located at the top of the receiving chamber, wherein the pivotable retaining arm and the static retaining element are located near opposite edges of the top of the receiving chamber. By this, the battery is fixed from the top at two separate points. Hence, an even more reliable protection against tilting of the battery is provided. Thus, also a more reliable electric contact is provided.
The receiving chamber can be a separate module. However, if the battery retainer is used in an electric device, the receiving chamber is preferably incorporated into the device, e.g. into its housing so as to further simplify the design of the battery retainer.
There are several possible designs for the pivotable retaining arm.
For example, the pivotable retaining arm can include an elongated arm pivotably connected to or near a side wall of the receiving chamber by a hinge, wherein the pivotable retaining arm is pivotable between a closed position, in which a battery received in the receiving chamber is retained by the elongated arm, and an open position, in which insertion and removal of a battery into or from, respectively, the chamber is allowed.
In this latter case, the pivotable retaining arm preferably further includes a locking mechanism by which the elongated arm is lockable in the closed position and in the open position or a friction mechanism by which the elongated arm is fixable in any position from the closed position to the open position.
Any plastic or metal or other material is possible for the retaining arm as long as no short circuit is ge

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