Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus – product – and – Current producing cell – elements – subcombinations and... – Cell enclosure structure – e.g. – housing – casing – container,...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-01
2002-10-08
Ryan, Patrick (Department: 1745)
Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and
Current producing cell, elements, subcombinations and...
Cell enclosure structure, e.g., housing, casing, container,...
C429S178000, C429S179000, C429S169000, C429S163000, C429S096000, C429S097000, C429S098000, C429S099000, C429S100000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06461764
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a protective casing for housing an electric component and for providing electric conduction between the electric component and an external object. It also relates to a rechargeable battery pack using such a protective casing.
BACKGROUND ART
A prior-art rechargeable battery pack used for electric equipment such as a mobile phone has such a structure as shown in
FIGS. 5 and 6
. The rechargeable battery pack
101
includes a casing body
101
A and a lid
101
B. The casing body
101
A is upwardly open and has a side wall
110
formed with a through-hole
101
a.
The lid
101
B, which is capable of closing the upward opening
112
of the casing body
101
A, is formed with a plurality of through-holes
111
a.
The casing body
101
A accommodates rechargeable batteries
102
and a protective circuit board
103
.
The protective circuit board
103
functions to prevent the rechargeable batteries
102
from being overcharged. The protective circuit board
103
is electrically connected to the rechargeable batteries
102
. The protective circuit board
103
is formed with a plurality of terminals
130
protruding from the surface thereof. When the protective circuit board
103
is housed in the casing body
101
A, the terminals
130
protrude outwardly from the casing body
101
A via a through-hole
101
a.
The rechargeable battery pack
101
is provided with a plurality of terminal segments
121
extending onto the upper surface of the rechargeable batteries
102
. Each of the terminal segments
121
has an end
121
a
electrically connected to a terminal
120
of a corresponding rechargeable battery
102
and the other end
121
b
protruding outward from the lid
101
B through a corresponding through-hole
111
a.
Thus, it is possible for the rechargeable batteries
102
to be charged from the outside through the terminals
130
and to discharge (to supply power) to the outside through the terminal segments
121
.
The through-hole
110
a
is designed to have a size sufficient for easily receiving a corresponding terminal
130
. Each of the through-holes
111
a
is designed to have a size sufficient for easily receiving the other end
121
b
of a corresponding terminal segment
121
. Accordingly, a clearance is formed around each of the terminals
130
and each of the other ends
121
b
of the terminal segments
121
, which allows communication between the inside and the outside of the casing body
101
A. As a result, moisture and/or dust for example may enter from the outside via the through-holes
101
a
,
111
a,
which may cause a problem such as shorting in the protective circuit board
103
.
To solve this problem, it may be considered that the surface of the protective circuit board
103
may be coated with a resin for example for protecting the protective circuit board
103
. However, to perform such an additional step decreases the production efficiency, increases the cost, and further, bars the weight reduction of the rechargeable battery pack
101
.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to positively protect electric components such as rechargeable batteries and a protective circuit board without increasing the cost.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective casing for housing an electric component and for providing electric conduction between the electric component and an external object, wherein the protective casing is integrally formed with terminal segments each of which has one end for electrical connection to the electric component, each said terminal segment having another end for electrical connection to the object.
The terminal segments integrated with the protective casing are utilized as a means for providing conduction between the electric component housed in the protective casing and the external object. Unlike the prior art arrangement in which each terminal of an electric component is externally exposed via a through-hole, the terminal segments provide an integral structure together with the protective casing for electrical connection to both the inside and the outside of the protective casing, thereby enhancing the hermetic ability of the protective casing against entry of moisture or the like from the outside. As a result, it is possible to reliably protect the electric component housed in the protective casing from moisture, dust or the like.
The electric component to be housed in the protective casing may be a circuit board which carries semiconductor chips for example, or a rechargeable battery.
According to a preferred embodiment, the protective casing comprises a box-like casing body which is formed by resin-molding to have an opening, and a resin lid for closing the opening, wherein at least one of the casing body and the lid being insert-molded with the terminal segments.
According to another preferred embodiment, said one end of each said terminal segment is exposed or extended internally of the casing body, whereas said another end of said each terminal segment is exposed or extended externally of the casing body or the lid.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the terminal segments include a first terminal segment insert-molded with the casing body, and a second terminal segment insert-molded with the lid, wherein the first terminal segment comes into contact with the second terminal segment when the lid is mounted on the casing body to close the opening.
According to still another preferred embodiment, the second terminal segment is pressed against a terminal of the electric component due to elastic restoration of the first terminal segment.
According an alternative preferred embodiment, the first terminal segment is pressed against a terminal of the electric component due to elastic restoration of the second terminal segment.
According to a still further preferred embodiment, the first terminal segment has a portion extending internally of the casing body, wherein said portion is convexly bent to have an apex for clamping the second terminal segment between the apex and the terminal of the electric component.
According to an alternative preferred embodiment, the second terminal segment has a portion extending internally of the casing body, wherein said portion is convexly bent to have an apex for clamping the first terminal segment between the apex and the terminal of the electric component.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rechargeable battery pack comprising rechargeable batteries, a protective circuit board electrically connected to the rechargeable batteries for protecting the rechargeable batteries, and a resin casing for housing the batteries and the protection circuit board, wherein the casing is insert-molded integrally with terminal segments which are electrically connected to the protective circuit board and/or the rechargeable batteries and are electrically connectable to an external object.
In this rechargeable battery pack, the terminal segments are integrated with the casing by insert molding, and the rechargeable batteries and the protective circuit board housed in the casing are electrically connected to the external object, so that the casing is not formed with a passageway for communication between the inside and the outside of the casing, as opposed to the prior art. Therefore, moisture and dust are unlikely to enter the casing, and hence, it is unnecessary to coat the protective circuit board with a resin for example to prevent shorting in the protective circuit board. Further, since the terminal segments can be mounted at the same time as resin-molding the casing, it is possible to provide electric conduction between the inside and the outside of the casing and to reliably protect the protective circuit board against moisture and dust without causing a decrease of the assembly efficiency and an increase of the manufacturing cost.
According to a preferred embodiment, the protective casing comprises a box-like casing body which is for
Martin Angela J.
Merchant & Gould P.C.
Rohm & Co., Ltd.
Ryan Patrick
LandOfFree
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