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IES950100A2 - A battery charger - Google Patents

A battery charger

Info

Publication number
IES950100A2
IES950100A2 IES950100A IES950100A2 IE S950100 A2 IES950100 A2 IE S950100A2 IE S950100 A IES950100 A IE S950100A IE S950100 A2 IES950100 A2 IE S950100A2
Authority
IE
Ireland
Prior art keywords
battery
housing
charging
charger
catch
Prior art date
Application number
Inventor
Walter Haehnel
Original Assignee
Walter Haehnel
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Walter Haehnel filed Critical Walter Haehnel
Priority to IES950100 priority Critical patent/IES68328B2/en
Priority to GB9602596A priority patent/GB2297861B/en
Priority to IE960108A priority patent/IE79674B1/en
Publication of IES950100A2 publication Critical patent/IES950100A2/en
Publication of IES68328B2 publication Critical patent/IES68328B2/en

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H02GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02JCIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J7/00Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
    • H02J7/0042Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries characterised by the mechanical construction

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Secondary Cells (AREA)
  • Charge And Discharge Circuits For Batteries Or The Like (AREA)
  • Battery Mounting, Suspending (AREA)

Abstract

A battery charger (1) has a housing (2) within which is mounted battery charging means. A battery receiver (4) on an upper face of the housing (2) has a stepped platform for mounting batteries of two different lengths on the housing (2). The stepped platform comprises an upper platform (20) and a lower platform (21). Each battery engages with a spring loaded movable catch (17) at one end of the lower platform (21) and with a fixed catch (18,19) at the opposite end of the upper platform (20) or lower platform (21) depending on whether it is a long battery or short battery respectively. A battery charger switch is operable in response to placement of a battery on the receiver (4) to select an appropriate charging voltage for the battery. Preferably the movable catch (17) carries a charging contract for connecting a battery to the charging means in the housing (2). Fig. 1.

Description

This invention relates to battery chargers.
According to the invention, there is provided a battery charger comprising a housing with battery charging means, the battery charging means having charging contacts for engagement with the terminals of a battery to connect the battery to the battery charging means, and a battery receiver on the housing having means for mounting two or more different types of battery on the housing with the battery terminals in engagement with the charging compacts. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the receiver is adapted to enable the mounting of a number of different types of battery on the housing for charging the batteries .
In one embodiment of the invention, the mounting means comprises a releasable catch and two or more associated spaced-apart fixed catches, a battery being engagable with the releasable catch and one of the fixed catches to mount the battery in the housing.
Conveniently, the fixed catches are arranged in a stepped formation on the housing.
In a further embodiment, the battery charging means has a charge selector switch means operable to select a charging voltage appropriate for a particular battery when said battery is mounted on the receiver.
In another embodiment, the movable catch carries a charging contact.
In another embodiment, the movable catch is a springloaded catch slidably mounted on the housing for movement OPEN TO PUP' ;r INSPECTION SECTION Zb AND RULE 23 JNLNo « OF V/ fa WT BJaaLL·........z/sx. ' Γ'ΪΤιΠΟ Μ·>ΠΙ|ΙΙ»»>|<1 .. Π. I..LHlH[Ul>HlW 950100 - 2 between a released position and a battery engaging position, the movable catch being biassed towards the battery engaging position.
In a preferred embodiment, one or more adjustable charging contacts are provided on the housing, the or each adjustable charging contact being movable on the housing to position the contact for alignment with associated battery terminals .
Preferably the adjustable charging contact is pivotally mounted on the housing.
In another aspect, the invention provides a battery charger in combination with an adapter having means to engage the receiver, means for mounting a battery on the adapter, and means to connect battery terminals with the charging contacts on the housing.
In a preferred embodiment, the battery charging means has a charge selector switch means for selecting a desired charging voltage for a battery mounted on the adaptor, said charge selector switch means being operable in response to engagement of the adapter with the receiver.
The invention will be more clearly understood by the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which : Fig. 1 is a plan view of a battery charger according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a side sectional elevational view of the battery charger; 950100 - 3 Fig. 3 is another side sectional elevational view of the battery charger; Fig. 4 is another plan view of the battery charger; Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of a movable charging contact forming portion of the battery charger; Fig. 6 shows plan views of batteries which can be charged using the charger; Fig. 7 is a further plan view of the charger shown in use with a battery mounted on the battery charger; Fig. 8 shows plan views of various different types of battery which can be charged using the battery charger; Fig. 9 is a side sectional elevational view of the charger together with an adapter for use with the charger; and Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 showing the adapter in engagement with the battery charger.
Referring to the drawings, and initially to Figs. 1 to 8 thereof, there is illustrated a battery charger according to the invention indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The battery charger 1 has a housing 2 within which is mounted battery charging means (not shown) of conventional type. A battery receiver 4 on an upper face of the housing has means for mounting a number of different types of battery on the housing 2 for charging. ®5 0 1 ο ρ - 4 The battery charging means has a number of charging contacts 5,6,7,8,9,10,11 for engagement with the terminals of a battery when the battery is mounted on the receiver 4 to connect the battery to the battery charging means.
A thermal contact Tl is also provided for use with some battery types as appropriate.
Referring to Fig. 8, it will be seen that various different battery types have their positive and negative terminals 13,14 located in different positions. It will be noted that the arrangement of the charging contacts on the housing 2 is such as to accommodate these various different arrangements. The batteries shown in Figs. 8(d) and 8(e) also have thermal contacts T2.
Referring to Fig. 2, a battery 16 is shown mounted on the charger 1. The receiver 4 has mounting means comprising a spring-loaded releasable catch 17 and two spaced-apart fixed catches 18,19, each battery 16 being engagable with the releasable catch 17 and one of the fixed catches 18,19 to mount the battery 16 on the housing 2. It will be noted that the fixed catches 18,19 are arranged in a stepped formation on the housing, the receiver 4 having an upper platform 20 associated with the fixed catch 18 for supporting a larger battery 16 on the receiver and a lower platform 21 associated with the fixed catch 19 for mounting smaller sized batteries on the receiver. It will be noted that each battery 16 has sockets 22,23 at each end for engagement with the fixed catch 18,19 and movable catch 17.
The battery charging means has a charge selector switch 25 mounted on the lower platform 21 and operable to select the charging voltage appropriate for a particular battery when the battery is mounted on the receiver. The switch 25 is a spring loaded switch which projects outwardly of 950100 the lower platform 21. When a larger six volt battery is mounted on the receiver as shown in Fig. 2, the switch 25 is in one position of use. When a smaller 4.8 volt battery 26 (see Fig. 3) is mounted on the receiver, the switch 25 is depressed to reduce the output voltage of the charger for charging the 4.8 volt battery.
It will be noted that the movable catch 17 carries the negative charging contact 6 of the charging contact pair 5,6 adapted for engagement with the battery shown in Fig. 8a.
Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, the charging contact 9 is movably mounted on the housing 2, being carried on a pivot arm 30 on the housing 2. In this way, advantageously as shown in Fig. 6, the arm 30 can be pivoted on the housing 2 to locate the positive charging contact 9 appropriately for engagement with either the battery shown in Fig. 8c or Fig. 8d or 8e.
In use, a front edge of a battery 16,26 is engaged with one of the fixed catches 18,19 and then a rear end of the battery 16,26 is snapped into engagement with the movable catch 17. Before mounting the battery 16 on the housing, the contact switch 9 may be positioned as appropriate. It will be noted that when charging batteries of the type shown in Fig. 8a, the negative charging contact 6 which is carried on the movable catch 17 engages with the battery as it is snapped onto the receiver 4.
Referring now to Fig. 7, the mounting of a battery of the type shown in Fig. 8b on the receiver 4 is shown. As can be seen, the battery is centrally mounted on the receiver and then slid in the direction of Arrow A to engage the charging contacts 7,8 with the terminals 13b,14b of the 550 100 - 6 battery. This arrangement provides a stable mounting of the battery on the housing 2.
Chargers which are able to charge different battery sizes (4.8V and 6V) are readily available, however, the system of other chargers require adapters to extend or reduce the battery receiving platform which is not user friendly. With the present invention, advantageously, the stepped format allows fitting of different sized batteries without the requirement of an adapter or altering the length of the platform 20,21.
Further, due to the design and arrangement of the stepped platform 20,21, it is also possible to identify the battery type (battery voltage 4.8V or 6V) and the appropriate changing voltage is activated automatically by switch 25 or 44 when a battery is fitted. This is only possible due to the step formation. Other known prior art chargers need manual setting by a user of voltage which is not user friendly and can cause overcharging or damage of battery if charge voltage is not selected correctly.
Also, due to the arrangement of the stepped platform it is possible to position the fitting of Canon battery 8b centrally which keeps the centre of gravity of fitted battery 8b and charger centrally on the housing making it more stable. Other known prior art chargers available on the market have to fit battery 8b from the outside edge of the housing due to a different platform construction. This causes the centre of gravity of the known prior art chargers to move to the outside edge when battery 8b is fitted which in turn causes the charger to be unstable and topple over if exposed to any slight touch or vibration.
Advantageously, due to the step arrangement design of platforms the charger can use the same contacts 9,10,11 9 5 Ο 10 φ - Ί for different battery sizes 8c,8d,8e and also allows the same release catch 17 to be used for different battery sizes. Further, the release catch 17 which has a builtin contact 6 is unique.
Another important novel feature of the present invention is the movable charging contact 9. In the prior art, a charger with two fixed plus contacts in position 1 and 2 (Fig. 6) and thermal contact Tl are readily available. The disadvantages of this type of prior art type of design is that if a battery Panasonic 4.8V or 6V (Fig. 6, 14d, 13d) is fitted to charger fixed contact position 2 (positive contact) will make contact with battery thermal contact T2 and thereby give a battery voltage to thermal charger contact Tl. This gives the charger a false signal and the thermal contact detection may fail. With the present invention, the adjustable contact 9 eliminates this problem due to the fact that if Panasonic battery 6V or 4.8V is used, contact 9 is moved to position 1 eliminating the possibility of positive charger contact making contact with the battery contact T2.
Referring now to Figs. 9 and 10, the charger 1 is shown in combination with an adapter 40. An underside 41 of the adapter 40 is formed for complementary engagement with the receiver 4 on the housing 2. The adapter 40 snaps into engagement with the receiver 4 in similar fashion to the batteries previously described. A tongue 42 on the underside 41 of the adapter 40 projects through an associated opening 43 adjacent the fixed catch 19 to operate a charge selector switch 44 to select the appropriate charging voltage for batteries mounted in the adapter 40. 950 100 - 8 The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail.

Claims (5)

1. A battery charger comprising a housing with battery charging means, the battery charging means having charging contacts for engagement with the terminals of a battery to connect the battery to the battery charging means, and a battery receiver on the housing having means for mounting two or more different types of battery on the housing with the battery terminals in engagement with the charging contacts, the mounting means comprising a movable catch and two or more associated spacedapart fixed catches, a battery being engagable with the movable catch and one of the fixed catches to mount the battery in the housing, the fixed catches being arranged in a stepped formation on the housing.
2. A battery charger as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the battery charging means has a charge selector switch operable to select a charging voltage appropriate for a particular battery when said battery is mounted on the receiver.
3. A battery charger as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the movable catch carries a charging contact and preferably wherein the movable catch is a spring-loaded catch slidably mounted on the housing for movement between a released position and a battery engaging position, the movable catch being biassed towards the battery engaging position.
4. A battery charger as claimed in any preceding claim wherein one or more adjustable charging
5. 9 5 Ο 1 Ο (|·ί - 10 contacts are provided on the housing, the or each adjustable charging contact being movable on the housing to position the contact for alignment with associated battery terminals. A battery described drawings . charger substantially as hereinbefore with reference to the accompanying
IES950100 1995-02-08 1995-02-08 A battery charger IES68328B2 (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IES950100 IES68328B2 (en) 1995-02-08 1995-02-08 A battery charger
GB9602596A GB2297861B (en) 1995-02-08 1996-02-08 A battery charger
IE960108A IE79674B1 (en) 1995-02-08 1996-02-08 A battery charger

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IES950100 IES68328B2 (en) 1995-02-08 1995-02-08 A battery charger

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
IES950100A2 true IES950100A2 (en) 1996-06-12
IES68328B2 IES68328B2 (en) 1996-06-12

Family

ID=11040656

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
IES950100 IES68328B2 (en) 1995-02-08 1995-02-08 A battery charger

Country Status (2)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2297861B (en)
IE (1) IES68328B2 (en)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2912298B2 (en) * 1996-07-05 1999-06-28 埼玉日本電気株式会社 Charging device

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4303876A (en) * 1980-03-27 1981-12-01 Union Carbide Corporation Multi-cell battery charger
US4636703A (en) * 1984-09-03 1987-01-13 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. Charging apparatus
US5059885A (en) * 1989-08-23 1991-10-22 Motorola, Inc. Battery charger with battery positioning and support apparatus
US4963812A (en) * 1989-10-02 1990-10-16 Motorola, Inc. Battery charger housing for batteries of differing dimensions

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IES68328B2 (en) 1996-06-12
GB9602596D0 (en) 1996-04-10
GB2297861B (en) 1997-08-13
GB2297861A (en) 1996-08-14

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
FD4E Short term patents deemed void under section 64