JPH11297287A - Battery holder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery holder capable of selectively housing a secondary battery pack and primary battery having different outer diameter dimensions, so that an apparatus can be continuously used by substituting a commercially available dry battery (primary battery) when the output of the secondary battery pack is insufficient during the use of the apparatus. SOLUTION: A recessed groove 20 parallel to the battery inserting direction is provided on the outside surface of a secondary battery pack 2, and a protruding part 19 to be fitted to the recessed groove 20 is provided on the inside surface of a holder case 1. The height of the protruding part 19 is set according to the dimensional difference between the outer diameter of a primary battery 3 and the outer diameter of a secondary battery pack 2 having an outside diameter larger than it. Thus, when the secondary battery pack 2 is replaced by the primary battery 3 according to the capacity shortage of the secondary battery pack 2, the primary battery 3 can be supported by the protruding part 19 and housed without shaking within the holder case 1, and substituted for an equipment power source.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery holder capable of selectively storing secondary battery packs and primary batteries having different outer diameters.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a power source for devices such as digital cameras,
A secondary battery pack containing a dedicated lithium-ion secondary battery in a battery case is mounted.

[0003]

However, when the secondary battery pack runs out of capacity (insufficient output) during use of the device,
It is not unusual to find it unusable. In such cases, if you carry a spare rechargeable battery pack, you can continue using the device by replacing it, but there is no problem, but if you do not carry this, you need to charge it, Unavailable. In this case, it is convenient if a commercially available dry cell can be used instead. However, commercially available dry batteries cannot be substituted because they have a different outer diameter from the secondary battery pack.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a secondary battery pack having an outer diameter such that a commercially available dry battery (primary battery) can be used continuously when the output of the secondary battery pack becomes insufficient during use of the device as described above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a battery holder capable of selectively storing a secondary battery pack and a primary battery having different dimensions.

[0005]

The battery holder of the present invention comprises:
As shown in FIG. 1, a battery holder capable of accommodating a plurality of sets of cylindrical primary batteries 3 having positive and negative terminals 3 a and 3 b at upper and lower end surfaces in a longitudinal direction, respectively, comprising a plurality of sets. In a battery case 5 having an outer diameter different from the outer diameter of the primary battery 3, a plurality of secondary batteries 4 are connected in parallel and the positive and negative terminals 8.9 are exposed on the upper end surface of the battery case 5. A secondary battery pack 2 housed to
A bottomed cylindrical holder case 1 having a battery insertion opening 13 at the front end side and a bottom wall 14 at the bottom side is provided. The plurality of primary batteries 3 are connected to the positive and negative terminals 3a on the upper and lower end surfaces.
3b, the secondary battery pack 2 is alternatively inserted and housed in the holder case 1 such that the positive and negative terminals 8 and 9 are exposed to the battery insertion opening 13, respectively. On the inner surface side of the bottom wall 14 of the holder case 1, there is provided a conductive terminal plate 17 for connecting the positive and negative terminals 3a and 3b on the upper and lower end surfaces of the plurality of primary batteries 3 in series. Thus, a groove 20 parallel to the battery insertion direction is formed on one of the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery pack 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the holder case 1.
On the other hand, there is provided a convex portion 19 that fits into the concave groove 20.

When the projection 19 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery pack 2, a concave groove 20 parallel to the battery insertion direction is provided only on the front end side in the insertion direction of the secondary battery pack 2, and the inside of the holder case 1 is formed. On the peripheral surface, a convex portion 19 that fits into the concave groove 20 is provided. At this time, the holder case 1 is formed at a depth substantially equal to the length of the primary battery 3, and the convex portion 19 is provided on the bottom side of the inner peripheral surface of the holder case 1 and the inner peripheral surface of the holder case 1 is formed. An elastically deformable steady rest protruding portion 22 can be provided on the side of the battery insertion opening 13 so as to protrude into the holder case 1.

[0007]

When the capacity of the secondary battery pack 2 is exhausted during use of the device, the secondary battery pack 2 is removed from the holder case 1 of the device and replaced with a plurality of commercially available primary batteries 3.
The equipment can be used continuously. At this time, the difference in outer diameter between the plurality of sets of the primary batteries 3 and the battery case 5 of the secondary battery pack 2 can be absorbed by the fitting portion between the concave groove 20 and the convex portion 19. Therefore, the primary battery 3 can be stored in the holder case 1 without play. The removed secondary battery pack 2 is charged and reused.

When the concave groove 20 is provided only on the front end side in the insertion direction of the secondary battery pack 2, it is possible to prevent the secondary battery pack 2 from being erroneously inserted into the holder case 1 upside down. When the holder case 1 is provided with the steady rest projection 22, when the primary battery 3 is stored in the holder case 1, the primary battery 3 is stored in the steady rest state by the pressing action of the steady rest projection 22.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of a battery holder according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, this battery holder is a secondary battery pack 2
Alternatively, a holder case 1 that can alternatively store the primary battery 3
Having. The primary battery 3 uses two AA type dry batteries, etc., but uses two of them connected in series to correspond to the operating voltage of the secondary battery pack 2 connected in parallel at a higher voltage than the dry batteries. .

In FIG. 3, a secondary battery pack 2 uses a lithium ion battery or the like as a secondary battery 4, and this lithium ion battery is formed in the same cylindrical shape as an AA type dry battery. Battery case 5 for two rechargeable batteries 4
In a parallel connection state. This secondary battery pack 2
Has a protection circuit board 6 for protecting the battery from overcharge and overdischarge, a thermal fuse, and the like. The battery case 5 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an elliptical cross section, and two holes 7 are provided side by side on the upper end wall surface.
Is exposed. The length of the battery case 5 in the up-down longitudinal direction is set to be substantially the same as the length of an AA dry battery that is a primary battery 3 described later. One of the front wall 10 and the rear wall 11 in the lower half of the battery case 5 in the longitudinal direction is formed flat, and the other is formed in a cross-sectional shape (three-letter shape) so as to be adjacent to each other. A recess 12 corresponding to a valley formed between the secondary batteries 4 is formed in the up-down direction.

In FIG. 2, a holder case 1 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an oblong cross section capable of completely accommodating the secondary battery pack 2, and has a battery insertion opening 13 opened on the upper surface thereof and a bottom surface formed on the lower surface. It is closed by the wall 14. Holder case 1
The cross-sectional shape of the upper half is formed into an elliptical shape corresponding to the outer shape of the upper half of the battery case 5, and the cross-sectional shape of the lower half corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the lower half of the battery case 5. To
One of the front wall 15 or the rear wall 16 is flat,
The other is formed in a cross section having a double mountain shape (a three-letter shape), and a ridge wall 18 having a mountain cross section corresponding to the recess 12 of the battery case 5 is formed in a vertical direction. Bottom wall 14 of holder case 1
A conductive terminal plate 17 is attached to the inner surface of the battery by caulking or welding. When the two primary batteries 3 are inserted into the holder case 1 in the upside down direction, the positive terminal 3a of one primary battery 3 and the other primary battery 3 The negative electrode terminal 3b of the battery 3 contacts the conductive terminal plate 17 and is connected in series.

As described above, in the secondary battery pack 2 using the lithium ion battery having the same shape as the AA type dry battery, the outer diameter of the battery case 5 is larger than that of the dry battery in which the two batteries are arranged in pairs. The primary battery 3 and the battery case 5 of the secondary battery pack 2 have an outer diameter difference. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the inner peripheral surface of the holder case 1 is substantially the same as the outer diameter difference so that one holder case 1 can be shared even when the two have an outer diameter difference. The protrusions 19 having the same height are provided continuously or intermittently in the vertical direction parallel to the battery insertion direction, while the concave grooves into which the protrusions 19 fit on the outer peripheral surface of the battery case 5 of the secondary battery pack 2. 20 are provided. The uppermost end of the convex portion 19 has a taper 19a.
Is provided, so that the concave groove 20 of the secondary battery pack 2 can be easily inserted into the convex portion 19.

When the primary battery 3 is stored in the holder case 1, the outer peripheral surface of the primary battery 3 is inscribed in the projection 19 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, so that the primary battery 3 does not rattle in the holder case 1. In addition, the positive and negative electrode terminals 3a and 3b can be stored so as to be exposed at the battery insertion slot 13. The primary battery 3 is placed on the left and right sides of the inner peripheral surface of the holder case 1 so as to be stably supported with as few protrusions 19 as possible.
Three projections 19 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction so that three points can be supported.

When the secondary battery pack 2 is stored in the holder case 1 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the concave groove 20 on the secondary battery pack 2 side is fitted into the projection 19 on the holder case 1 side. At this time, the secondary battery pack 2 is inserted into the battery insertion opening 13 from the lower end surface thereof so that the positive and negative terminals 8 and 9 on the upper end surface thereof are exposed to the battery insertion opening 13. The lower end surface of the secondary battery pack 2 is defined as the distal end in the insertion direction. In order to prevent the secondary battery pack 2 from being erroneously inserted in the upside-down direction, the groove 20 is not provided over the entire length of the secondary battery pack 2 in the insertion direction, but is provided only on the tip side in the insertion direction. I have. Correspondingly, the convex portion 19 is provided only on the bottom side of the inner peripheral surface of the holder case 1.

As described above, the primary battery 3 is housed in a state where it is supported by the convex portion 19 that fills a gap between the primary battery 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the holder case 1. Is provided only in the lower half of the holder case 1 in correspondence with the concave groove 20 in order to prevent erroneous insertion. Therefore, a gap is generated between the inner peripheral surface of the upper half portion of the holder case 1 and the primary battery 3, and the primary battery 3 may be tilted or rattled in the holder case 1 due to the gap. As a countermeasure, as shown in FIG. 2, vertically long openings 21 are provided in the left and right side walls of the upper half portion of the holder case 1 in the longitudinal direction. The portion 22 is formed so as to integrally connect the upper and lower ends 22a and 22b thereof to the holder case 1 and to project an intermediate chevron 22c between the upper and lower ends 22a and 22b inward from the inner surface of the holder case. . Therefore, the primary battery 3
As shown in FIG. 7, by receiving the pressing action by the steady rest projection 22 and the support action by the projection 19, the holder case 1 can be stably and reliably stored in the vertical posture. However, the anti-sway projection 22 also exerts the anti-sway effect of the secondary battery pack 2 as shown in FIG.

(Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the holder case 1 is formed deep so that the secondary battery pack 2 or the primary battery 3 can be completely inserted.
The holder case 1 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 0 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a shallower bottom. The holder case 1 has a front wall 1 so as to correspond to the cross-sectional shape of the lower half of the battery case 5.
One of the rear wall 5 and the rear wall 16 is formed flat, and the other is formed into a double-peaked cross section (three-letter shape), and the inner peripheral surface of the convex portion 19 is fitted into the concave groove 20 on the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery pack 2. Is formed. In other words, the holder case 1 of the second embodiment is
The holder case 1 of the first embodiment is formed by cutting off the upper half having the steady rest protruding portion 22 on the inner surface and forming a shallow bottomed cylindrical shape having only the lower half having the convex portion 19 on the inner peripheral surface. Has become. Accordingly, in the holder case 1 of the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the secondary battery pack 2 or the primary battery 3 is stored in a state where each upper half is exposed and only the lower half is inserted. Will be done.

(Third Embodiment) In the first and second embodiments, the inner surface of the holder case 1 is convex so that the secondary battery pack 2 can be applied when the outer diameter is larger than that of the primary battery 3. The portion 19 is formed with a concave groove 20 on the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery pack 2. On the contrary, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a convex portion 19 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery pack 2. In addition, a concave groove 20 can be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the holder case 1. In this case, the outer diameter of the secondary battery 4 built in the secondary battery pack 2 is formed smaller than that of the primary battery 3, the outer diameter of the battery case 5 is set equal to the outer diameter of the primary battery 3, and then The inner diameter of the holder case 1 is set according to the outer diameter of the battery case 5 or the outer diameter of the primary battery 3 which is equal to the outer diameter of the battery case 5. In each of the embodiments, the primary battery 3 and the secondary battery 4 are each set of two,
Each can also be a triple or more.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the difference between the outer diameters of the primary battery 3 and the battery case 5 of the secondary battery pack 2 is determined by the outer circumferential surface of the battery case 5 and the inner circumferential surface of the holder case 1. The groove 20 provided on one of the surfaces and the convex portion 1 provided on the other
9 can be absorbed by the fitting portion. Therefore, when the capacity of the secondary battery pack 2 is exhausted, the primary battery 3 is replaced with the secondary battery pack 2 and housed in the holder case 1, so that the device can be used continuously.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a holder case, a secondary battery pack, and a primary battery of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a plan view of a holder case of the first embodiment,
(B) is a front view, (c) is a side view.

3A is a plan view of the secondary battery pack according to the first embodiment, FIG. 3B is a front view, and FIG. 3C is a side view.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a state where the secondary battery pack is stored in the holder case of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where the primary battery is stored in the holder case of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state where the secondary battery pack is stored in the holder case of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state where the primary battery is stored in the holder case of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a holder case, a secondary battery pack, and a primary battery of a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a state where a secondary battery pack is stored in a holder case of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a state where a primary battery is stored in a holder case of a second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state where a secondary battery pack is stored in a holder case according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a state where a primary battery is housed in a holder case of a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Holder case 2 Secondary battery pack 3 Primary battery 4 Secondary battery 5 Battery case 13 Battery insertion port 14 Bottom wall 19 Convex part 20 Concave groove 22 Steady protrusion

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A battery holder capable of accommodating a plurality of sets of cylindrical primary batteries 3 connected in series with each other and having positive and negative terminals 3a and 3b at upper and lower ends in a longitudinal direction, respectively. In a battery case 5 having an outer diameter different from the outer diameter of the primary battery 3, a plurality of secondary batteries 4 are connected in parallel and the positive and negative terminals 8.9 are exposed on the upper end surface of the battery case 5. And a bottomed cylindrical holder case 1 having a battery insertion opening 13 at the front end side and a bottom wall 14 at the bottom side. The primary battery 3 has positive and negative terminals 3 on one of the upper and lower end surfaces.
a, 3b, and the holder case 1 so that the secondary battery pack 2 exposes the positive and negative terminals 8, 9 to the battery insertion slot 13, respectively.
The positive and negative terminals 3a and 3b on the upper and lower ends of the plurality of primary batteries 3 are provided on the inner surface of the bottom wall 14 of the holder case 1. A conductive terminal plate 17 for connecting in series is provided. One of the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery pack 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the holder case 1 has a concave groove 20 parallel to the battery insertion direction, and the other has a conductive groove. A battery holder provided with a convex portion (19) fitted into a concave groove (20). 2. A battery holder capable of accommodating a plurality of sets of cylindrical primary batteries 3 connected in series to each other and having positive and negative terminals 3a and 3b at upper and lower end surfaces in a longitudinal direction, respectively. In a battery case 5 having an outer diameter different from the outer diameter of the primary battery 3, a plurality of secondary batteries 4 are connected in parallel and the positive and negative terminals 8.9 are exposed on the upper end surface of the battery case 5. And a bottomed cylindrical holder case 1 having a battery insertion opening 13 opened on the tip side and a bottom wall 14 on the bottom side. The primary battery 3 has positive and negative terminals 3 on one of the upper and lower end surfaces.
a, 3b, and the holder case 1 so that the secondary battery pack 2 exposes the positive and negative terminals 8, 9 to the battery insertion slot 13, respectively.
The positive and negative terminals 3a and 3b on the other side of the upper and lower ends of the plurality of primary batteries 3 are provided on the inner surface side of the bottom wall 14 of the holder case 1. Are provided in parallel with the battery insertion direction only on the front end side in the insertion direction of the secondary battery pack 2. And a battery holder provided with a convex portion 19 fitted into the concave groove 20. 3. The holder case 1 is formed at substantially the same depth as the length of the primary battery 3, and the convex portion 19 is provided on the bottom side of the inner peripheral surface of the holder case 1. 3. The battery holder according to claim 2, wherein an elastically deformable steady rest protruding portion is provided on an inner peripheral surface of the battery casing in a direction toward the battery insertion port so as to protrude into the holder case.