Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus – product – and – Current producing cell – elements – subcombinations and... – Cell enclosure structure – e.g. – housing – casing – container,...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-22
2001-04-17
Kalafut, Stephen (Department: 1741)
Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and
Current producing cell, elements, subcombinations and...
Cell enclosure structure, e.g., housing, casing, container,...
C429S121000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06218044
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an opening and closing mechanism for a battery compartment, and a cover of a water-proof structure for a battery compartment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a known cover which opens and closes an opening of a battery compartment, the cover is rotated between an unlocking position in which the cover is detachably attached and a lock position wherein the cover cannot be removed. A battery received in the battery compartment is biased in a discharge direction by a resilient piece constituting an electrical conductor, so that the cover can be easily moved upward in the unlocking position. However, if a cover having a seal member such as an O-ring is used to close a battery compartment of a water proof/drip-proof device, it is difficult to detach the cover even the cover is positioned at the unlocking position. The seal member is elastically deformed to seal the battery compartment in a water-tight fashion when the cover is in a lock position. If the cover is in a locked state for long time, the seal member tends not to be restored rapidly from a deformed state. Consequently, the cover does not tend to move upward (open) in the unlocking position, and hence, it is necessary to forcedly insert a tool having a sharp end between the cover and the opening of the battery compartment in order to open the cover. When no battery is loaded in the battery compartment, since there is no biasing force acting on the battery, the cover tends not to open. If a mechanism which makes it possible to always forcedly detach the cover in the unlocking position is provided, the cover has a tendency to be accidentally detached, and thus, the cover can be easily lost or damaged. Under these circumstances, it has been necessary to provide an opening and closing mechanism for a battery compartment in which a forced open position in which the cover can be forcedly opened and a normal unlocking position can be selected.
Moreover, there is a problem with the cover itself. Namely, the cover for a battery compartment of a water-proof and drip-proof structure must be provided with a receiving portion in which an elastic seal member such as an O-ring is held, so that the seal member is exposed to the peripheral surface of the cover. The receiving portion for the elastic seal member can be obtained by forming an annular groove on the peripheral surface upon forming the cover body. Alternatively, the receiving portion can be obtained by forming a projection in the form of a rib on the peripheral surface of the cover body, so that another member which defines opposed wall surfaces is secured to the projection by means of screws, etc.
To form an annular groove on the peripheral surface of the cover body, expensive sliding dies must be used. In addition, a parting line of the dies extends across the annular groove, i.e., the elastic seal member receiving portion. Since a stepped portion or a burr tends to occur at the parting line, a gap between the elastic seal member and the annular groove tends to occur, thus resulting in a failure to seal properly. On the other hand, in the above mentioned alternative, the screws must be used to attach the separate member which defines the opposed wall surfaces to the cover body, thus resulting in an increased number of assembling processes and an increased manufacturing cost. Therefore, there is a need to provide a cover of waterproof/drip-proof structure for a battery compartment cover which is free from the above mentioned drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple opening and closing mechanism for a battery compartment in which the operation efficiency can be enhanced.
Another object of the present invention to provide a cover of a water-proof/drip-proof structure for a battery compartment which can be easily assembled at a lower manufacturing cost without reducing the water-proof efficiency thereof.
According to the present invention, there is provided an opening and closing mechanism for a battery compartment including: a circular opening formed in a battery compartment; a plurality of disengagement prevention flanges that are formed at the peripheral edge of the circular opening; a circular cover for the circular opening; and a plurality of lock pawls provided at the peripheral edge of the circular cover. The lock pawls can enter the spaces between the flanges in an unlocking position of the circular cover and are located on the back surfaces of the flanges when the circular cover rotates from the unlocking position to a lock position. The lengths of the disengagement prevention flanges and the lock pawls in the circumferential direction are set so that when the circular cover is rotated by a predetermined angle from the unlocking position in a direction opposite to the direction toward the lock position, the lock pawls are still held in the spaces between the disengagement prevention flanges.
Preferably a forced opening mechanism is further provided between the circular opening and the circular cover, which forces the circular cover to move in a direction away from the circular opening in accordance with the rotation of the circular cover through a predetermined angle from the unlocking position toward the opposite direction.
Preferably, the forced opening guide mechanism includes: a cam projection provided at the periphery of the circular cover, the cam projection extending in a plane perpendicular to the axis thereof; a guide recess that is formed at the periphery of the circular opening to guide the cam projection so as to allow rotation of the circular cover; and an oblique cam surface that is formed at the periphery of the circular opening and that is connected to the guide recess, the depth of the oblique cam surface being gradually decreased from the guide recess, so that the cam projection can be guided to move away from the circular opening.
Preferably, the guide recess has a uniform depth.
Preferably, the circular cover is provided with a seal member, the seal member being depressed between the circular cover and the periphery of the circular opening to be elastically deformed in the lock position to seal the circular opening of the battery compartment in a water-tight fashion.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is also provided a circular cover for closing a cylindrical battery compartment which has a circular opening at one end thereof, in a water-tight fashion including: a cover body which is composed of a circular disc portion corresponding to the circular opening and a cylindrical portion which extends in a direction perpendicular to the circular disc portion and which supports an annular elastic seal member on the outer peripheral surface thereof to seal the circular opening in a water-tight fashion; a battery contact plate including a conductor and secured to the cover body at a predetermined distance from the end of the cylindrical portion of the cover body; a support plate which is provided between the end of the cylindrical portion of the cover body and the battery contact plate to hold the annular elastic seal member between the support plate and the circular disc portion; and a plurality of projecting supports which are provided on either the support plate or the battery contact plate so as to bias the support plate to abut against the end of the cylindrical portion.
Preferably, the support plate is not secured to the cover body while the battery contact plate is secured to the cover body, whereby the support plate is biased to abut against the end of the cylindrical portion of the cover body through the projecting supports.
Preferably, the projecting supports have enough resilience to bias the support plate in a direction to abut against the end of the cylindrical portion of the cover body.
Preferably, the length of the projecting supports (in a direction parallel to the axis of the circular cover) is greater than the distance between the battery contact plate secured to the cover
Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
Kalafut Stephen
Wills M.
LandOfFree
Opening and closing mechanism for battery compartment and... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Opening and closing mechanism for battery compartment and..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Opening and closing mechanism for battery compartment and... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2479469