JP3276789B2 - Battery pack - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery pack containing a battery therein.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A battery pack is widely used as a portable power supply containing a plurality of batteries therein. The battery pack is very convenient because the type and number of built-in batteries are adjusted according to the rating of the electric equipment to be connected and the batteries are incorporated. In addition, there is also a feature that a plurality of batteries are stored in one pack when carrying, so that the battery is not bulky.

In recent years, battery packs have been increased in capacity to cope with multi-functionality of electric equipment and continuous use for a long time. If terminals are short-circuited, short-circuit current will flow and cause danger. There is. For example, when carrying a battery pack in a bag, shorting between terminals with a piece of metal put together in the bag, or when placing the battery pack on a desk or the like, They may be placed on a metal piece or the like without noticing, causing a short circuit between the terminals.

For this reason, various measures have been taken to prevent a short circuit between terminals of a battery pack. For example, Kimiaki Jitsu
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-19336 has a movable piece that covers a terminal at all times and exposes the terminal when connected to an electric device. This movable piece can be freely moved in and out by a spring, the number of parts is large, and the structure is complicated. In addition, what is shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-43661, a reed switch is provided in series between a built-in battery and a terminal, and the reed switch is always open, but when connected to an electric device, The reed switch is closed by a magnet provided on the device side. However, in the case of this publication as well, the number of parts is large and the structure is complicated as in the former case.

[0005]

Therefore, the present invention provides
It is intended to prevent a short circuit between terminals of a battery pack with a very simple structure.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a battery mounted on a charger and charged.
A repack with a charging terminal and an end
A child short prevention rib is formed.

[0007] The short prevention rib has a built-in rib .
Provided at different positions depending on the type and capacity of the battery, and
The charge formed on the charger when attached to the charger
Selectable at the position where it is pressed against the current adjustment contact
It is provided in.

[0008]

According to the present invention, even if a metal piece or the like is to be short-circuited between terminals, a predetermined distance is provided between the metal piece and the terminal by the terminal short prevention rib protruding near the terminal. The short circuit can be prevented without the metal piece directly touching the terminal.

Further, since the terminal short prevention ribs are provided at different positions depending on the type and capacity of the built-in battery, the battery pack can be identified by checking the position of the ribs. Further, when the battery pack is connected to the charger, the charging current and the like can be changed by detecting the position of the rib.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Both 1 and 2 are battery packs, and 1 has three built-in cylindrical nickel-metal hydride batteries having a large diameter. 2 is a cylindrical nickel-metal hydride battery with a small diameter of 3
The book is built-in. The first battery pack is called an L pack, and the second battery pack is called an S pack. L Pack 1
Has a larger capacity than the S pack 2 and can be used for a long time. Each of the L pack 1 and the S pack 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a discharge terminal 4 and a charge terminal 5 are provided on a mounting surface 3 on which an electric device or a charger is mounted.

The discharge terminal 4 has a positive terminal, a negative terminal, and a signal terminal arranged in a line, and ribs 6 for preventing terminal short-circuit are provided at both ends of the terminal 4. The charging terminal 5 has three terminals, that is, a + terminal, a-terminal, and a signal terminal, which are arranged in an L-shape. Terminal short prevention ribs 7, 8, and 9 are also protruded near the charging terminal 5. ing. L Pack 1
Comparing the shapes of the mounting surfaces 3 of the S pack 2 and the S pack 2, the positions of the terminal short prevention ribs 8 and 9 are different.

On the other hand, reference numeral 10 denotes a charger, which can selectively charge the L pack 1 and the S pack 2 for charging. That is, the charger 10 includes the L pack 1 or the S pack 2
The battery insertion recess 11 for inserting the battery is formed.
A guide groove 12 for guiding the terminal short prevention rib is formed in the battery insertion recess 11. In the battery insertion recess 11, the three charging terminals 5 are provided.
And a charging contact 13 electrically connected to the battery. Further, reference numeral 14 denotes a charging current adjusting contact,
2 are provided. The charging current adjusting contact 14 is 2
It has two contacts and is always in an open state. As will be described later, when the rib 9 is inserted into the guide groove 12, the contact is short-circuited by the rib 9 so that the charging current is switched. Has become.

In the above configuration, first, the L-pack 1 and the S-pack 2 according to the present invention are provided with the terminal short prevention ribs 6, 7, 8, 9 so that, for example, When placed on a desk, etc., discharge terminals 4
And the charging terminal 5 are lifted up from the surface of the desk by the height of the rib. Therefore, even if there is a metal piece or the like on the desk and the battery pack is erroneously placed thereon, the presence of the rib prevents the terminal and the metal piece from touching each other, thereby preventing a short circuit between the terminals. In addition, even when the battery pack is carried, the rib prevents the terminals from being contacted from the outside, so that the short circuit between the terminals can be prevented and the terminals can be protected from being damaged. The height of the terminal short prevention ribs protruding from the mounting surface 3 is 0.5 to 2 mm.
mm.

Next, when the L pack 1 or the S pack 2 according to the present invention is mounted on the charger 10 for charging, the L pack 1 or the S pack 2 is inserted into the battery insertion recess 11 of the charger 10.
Insert At this time, since the short prevention rib can be inserted into the guide groove 12 on the charger side so as to be guided, the rib also plays a role of positioning at the time of mounting on the charger. The charging terminal 5 and the charging contact 13
Are electrically connected to perform charging.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, when the L pack 1 is inserted into the charger 10, the short prevention rib 8 does not reach the bottom of the guide groove 12. Therefore, the rib 8 does not press the charging current adjusting contact 14. As a result, the charger 10 charges the L pack 1 with a large current. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the S pack 2 is inserted into the charger 10, the short prevention rib 9 reaches the bottom of the guide groove 12. Therefore, the rib 9 presses the charging current adjusting contact 14. As a result, the charger 10 charges the S-pack 2 with a small current.

[0016]

According to the present invention, the terminal short prevention rib is protruded in the vicinity of the terminal. Therefore, even if a metal piece or the like is short-circuited between the terminals, the terminal protruded in the vicinity of the terminal. The short prevention rib keeps a predetermined distance between the metal piece or the like and the terminal, and prevents the metal piece or the like from directly touching the terminal to prevent a short circuit. Therefore, even if the battery pack is inadvertently placed on a metal piece or the like, shorts can be prevented by the presence of the ribs, and even when the battery pack is carried, an object directly contacts the terminals by the ribs. This can prevent the terminal from being damaged.

Further, since the terminal short prevention ribs are provided at different positions depending on the type and capacity of the built-in battery, the battery pack can be identified by checking the position of the ribs. Further, when the battery pack is connected to the charger, the charging current and the like can be changed by detecting the position of the rib. As a result, a plurality of battery packs having different charging currents can be charged by a single charger.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing two types of battery packs and a charger according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cutaway side view showing an L pack according to the present invention mounted on a charger.

FIG. 3 is a cutaway side view showing an S-pack according to the present invention mounted on a charger.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 L pack 2 S pack 3 Mounting surface 4 Discharge terminal 5 Charging terminal 6,7,8,9 Short prevention rib 10 Charger 11 Battery insertion recess 12 Guide groove 13 Charging contact 14 Charging current adjusting contact

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01M 2/10

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A battery mounted on a charger and charged.
A pack with charging terminals and terminals on the mounting surface to the charger
A short prevention rib is formed, and a terminal short prevention
Position depends on the type and capacity of the internal battery.
And when attached to the charger,
Presses against the formed charging current adjustment contact
A battery pack selectively provided at a position .