JPH08190905A - Inter-terminal short-circuit preventing structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent short-circuit between connecting terminals. CONSTITUTION: A battery pack 11 is formed by accommodating batteries in an almost rectangular parallelepipedic battery case, and has electrode terminals 25, 26 exposed outside, to be connected to a pair of power source electrodes of a video camera or an AC charger. Different two surfaces are selected from the surfaces constituting the outer surface of the battery case 13, and the electrode terminals 25, 26 for preventing short-circuit are separately arranged on the two surfaces. By arranging connecting terminals such as combined electrode terminals for preventing short-circuit on the different surfaces of the battery case, other metal hardly comes in contact with the combined connecting terminals to prevent short-circuit.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a short-circuit prevention device for a power supply unit mounted on an electronic device such as a video camera,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a structure for preventing a short circuit between terminals of a power supply unit such as a battery pack connected to an electronic device or a coupler of a power supply adapter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic device such as a portable video camera (hereinafter referred to as a video camera) which can be carried and used, power is supplied by mounting a battery pack containing a battery. By making the battery pack detachable, the video camera can be downsized and the battery can be replaced. When the battery is exhausted and photography becomes impossible, the attached battery pack By exchanging another battery pack prepared in advance, it is convenient to continue shooting. Battery packs are available not only as a type in which a storage battery (secondary battery) that can be repeatedly charged by a charger is used, but also as a type in which a dry battery (primary battery) is loaded and used. For the sake of simplicity, the storage battery and the dry battery are generically called a battery. By using a coupler of a power supply adapter instead of the battery pack, power can be supplied to the video camera from a household power supply, a car battery, or the like.

Various types of battery packs are prepared for each manufacturer and each electronic device used.
Most of them have a pair of power supply connection terminals (electrode terminals) exposed outside the case body of the battery pack so as to be easily connected to the power supply terminals of the electronic device. Some battery packs are provided with a connection terminal (signal terminal) for outputting a signal such as the remaining capacity of the built-in battery or the capacity balance of a plurality of batteries to an electronic device.

When carrying a battery pack for replacement, the battery pack may be stored in a camera bag, a handbag or the like as a single unit. As described above, when the battery pack is a single body, a pair of connection terminals exposed on the outside of the case body, for example, electrode terminals, are short-circuited by contact with another metal, for example, a conductor such as a key chain, a necklace, and scissors, and the battery in the battery pack is shorted. May be damaged. In addition, the signal terminal may short-circuit with another connection terminal for supplying power, and the electronic circuit built in the battery pack may be destroyed.

In order to prevent such a problem, there is a battery pack in which two recessed portions are provided on the wall surface, and a pair of flat plate electrode terminals are respectively provided in these recessed portions. According to this, even when a plate-shaped conductor such as scissors comes into contact with the wall surface, it does not come into contact with both electrode terminals at the same time, so that a short circuit does not occur between both electrode terminals. . In addition, a peripheral wall that surrounds the one end surface of the battery pack case is extended in an eaves shape,
It is known that a connecting terminal is arranged on the inner surface of the extended peripheral wall to prevent metal from contacting or short-circuiting the connecting terminal (Battery pack described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-45083).

[0006]

In the battery pack as described above, in the case of a foldable chain-shaped necklace or undulating metal, a part of the metal is formed in the recess or inside the extended peripheral wall. There is a problem in that the battery and the electronic circuit may be damaged by contacting with the pair of electrode terminals or the signal terminal and the electrode terminal to cause a short circuit.

Further, there is a battery pack in which a connection terminal is not exposed to the outside when the battery pack is in a single state, thereby preventing a short circuit. For example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-526, an electrode terminal portion is provided with a cover that can be opened and closed, and when the battery pack is attached to an electronic device, the cover is opened by a cover opening member on the electronic device side to expose the electrode to the outside. Connect the terminal to the power supply terminal on the electronic device side. Then, when the battery pack is removed from the electronic device, the cover is closed so that the electrode terminals of the battery pack are covered to prevent a short circuit between the terminals. However, in such a battery pack, a cover member for the electrode terminals and an opening / closing mechanism for the cover member are required, which increases the cost of the battery pack, and the cover member and the opening / closing mechanism are provided in the case of the battery pack. This is not suitable for battery packs that require a space to be built in and require miniaturization while increasing battery capacity.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a space-saving structure suitable for downsizing and a structure for preventing short circuit between terminals which surely prevents short circuit between terminals due to contact of metal products. The purpose is to provide.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides connecting terminals so as to be exposed to the outside of a power supply unit, and each connecting terminal of a combination for avoiding a short circuit has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The power supply unit is divided into different surfaces and arranged on different surfaces. It is preferable to arrange the respective connection terminals of the combination that should avoid a short circuit by dividing them into two facing surfaces.

[0010]

According to this, since the connection terminals of the combination which should avoid the short circuit are separately arranged on the different surfaces of the power supply unit, it is difficult for metal such as a necklace to contact these connection terminals at the same time. Short circuit between terminals is prevented.

[0011]

EXAMPLE A video camera is provided with a battery pack, a power adapter, an AC charger, and a DC charger for supplying power. In this embodiment, a battery pack, a power adapter, etc. are referred to as a power supply unit, and a video camera, an AC charger, a DC charger, etc. are referred to as an electronic device. Electrode terminals and signal terminals for external connection provided in the power supply unit. It is designed to prevent a short circuit between connection terminals such as.

The battery pack 11 shown in FIG. 2 comprises a storage battery (secondary battery) 12, for example, a lithium ion battery, and a substantially rectangular parallelepiped battery case 13 containing the same, and the battery case 13 is an upper case 13a. It is composed of a lower case 13b. The bottom of the lower case 13b has a video camera 14, an AC charger 15, and a DC.
Mounting surface 16 that can be attached to a charger (not shown)
Are formed. Outside the back of the video camera 14,
A receiving surface 19 for mounting the coupler 18 of the battery pack 11 or the power adapter 17 is provided.

The AC charger 15 has a built-in primary circuit having a power transformer and a secondary circuit including a rectifying circuit and a charge control circuit. This AC charger 1
5 takes in household power (AC 100V) from the power plug 20 connected to the primary circuit, and supplies DC current from the charging control circuit to the battery pack 11 mounted via the receiving surface 21 provided on the upper surface. To charge. Also, AC
A connector receiver 22 connected to the rectifying circuit is provided outside the charger 15, and a DC voltage necessary for driving the video camera 14 is output from the connector receiver 22.

The DC charger is a power plug 2
It has a plug connected to the cigarette socket of the car instead of 0, and the DC voltage (12V,
24V) is built in to transform the DC pack circuit to charge the battery pack 11 and to output the DC voltage necessary for driving the video camera 14 from the connector receiver. The connector receiver is
Since it is structurally and functionally the same as the AC charger 15, detailed description will be omitted.

The power adapter 17 is the AC charger 1
5 or the DC charger and the video camera 14 are used by being connected to each other. The connector 23 is connected to the connector receiver 22 and the coupler 18 is connected to the video camera 14. In this coupler 18,
A mounting surface 24 that can be mounted on the receiving surface 19 of the video camera 14 is formed. In addition, the battery pack 11,
It is preferable that the mounting surface of the coupler 18 and the receiving surfaces of the video camera 14, the AC charger 15, and the DC charger are shaped so that the coupler 18 cannot be erroneously mounted on the receiving surfaces of the AC charger 15 and the DC charger.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower case 13b of the battery pack 11 is provided with a pair of electrode terminals 25 and 26 at the tip ends of the side surfaces 43 and 44 in the width direction.
The electrode terminals 25 and 26 will be described later. In addition, the mounting surface 16 has four concave grooves 2 on both side surfaces 43 and 44.
7 to 30 have auxiliary grooves 31 at the center of the rear end in the longitudinal direction.
Are formed respectively. The four concave grooves 27 to 30 are
It has a substantially L shape.

As shown in FIG. 3, the receiving surface 19 of the video camera 14 is provided with a mounting restriction wall 32 that surrounds the receiving surface 19 in a U-shape. The receiving surface 19 is surrounded by the mounting restriction wall 32. The size of is the same as or slightly wider than the size of the battery pack 11. As a result, the movement of the battery pack 11 in the width direction is regulated, and
The battery pack 1 can be opened by opening the side.
1 is allowed to slide along the longitudinal direction.

Inner surfaces 32a, 3 of the mounting control wall 32 facing each other
2b is provided with four convex portions 34 to 37. Each of the protrusions 34 to 37 is formed in an inverted L shape so as to project, and engages with the four recessed grooves 27 to 30 of the battery pack 11, respectively, and is indicated by an arrow B in the longitudinal direction of the battery pack 11 shown in FIG. Restrict slide movement in the direction.

The battery pack 11 is mounted on the mounting surface 16 at a position where the battery pack 11 is displaced in the longitudinal direction.
Is pressed against the receiving surface 19 surrounded by the mounting restriction wall 32 (arrow A) and then slid in the direction of arrow B (mounting direction). This sliding movement is restricted when the four convex portions 34 to 37 engage with the four concave grooves 27 to 30. When removing, reverse operation is performed. Reference numeral 38 is an elastic auxiliary claw formed by cutting out a part of the receiving surface 19, and engages with the auxiliary groove 31 when the battery pack 11 is mounted at a predetermined position. As a result, the movement of the battery pack 11 in the direction opposite to the arrow B direction is regulated, and the attached battery pack 11 is prevented from falling off.

At the position of the mounting restriction wall 32 where the pair of electrode terminals 25 and 26 face each other when the battery pack 11 is mounted,
A pair of power supply terminals 39 and 40 are provided. A cover member 41 having a substantially T-shaped cross section is provided between the pair of power supply terminals 39 and 40. This cover member 41 is
It is slidable along the mounting direction between a covering position where the power supply terminals 39 and 40 are covered in the gaps at the lower ends of both ends and an exposing position where the power supply terminals 39 and 40 are exposed from the gaps at the lower ends of both ends.

As shown in FIG. 4 which is a sectional view of the main parts of the battery pack 11 and the video camera 14, the cover member 41 is constantly urged toward the covering position by urging means 42 such as a coil spring or a leaf spring. . The cover member 41 abuts against and is pressed against the tip surface of the battery case 13 of the battery pack 11 inserted in the direction of the arrow B, and slides from the covering position to the exposing position against the bias of the biasing means 42. To do. When the battery pack 11 is removed, the cover member 41 is biased by the biasing means 42 and slides to the covering position to cover the power supply terminals 39 and 40. This prevents the power supply terminals 39, 40 from being corroded or deformed.

The power supply terminals 39 and 40 have contacts 39 at one end.
a and 40a, and is formed by bending a conductive material having elasticity. The power supply terminals 39 and 40 have an inner space L so that they are surely in contact with the pair of electrode terminals 25 and 26.
1 is smaller than the outer distance L2 between the electrode terminals 25 and 26. The other ends of the power supply terminals 39 and 40 are connected to a circuit inside the video camera 14.

The lower case 13b of the battery pack 11 is
It is made of an insulating material, for example, an insulating engineering plastic. Grooves 43a and 44a are formed in the lower case 13b at the tip ends of the side surfaces 43 and 44 in the width direction facing each other with the axis along the mounting direction (arrow B direction) interposed therebetween. Into the grooves 43a and 44a, conductive members 45 and 46 bent in a substantially "U" shape are fitted and fixed. One end of each of the conductive members 45 and 46 has a groove 43.
The electrode terminals 25 and 26 are exposed to the outside from a and 44a and extend to the tip of the lower case 13b along the mounting direction.

As described above, by separately arranging the combined electrode terminals 25 and 26 for preventing the short circuit on the different surfaces of the battery case 13, it is possible to reduce the probability that other metal will contact these terminals at the same time and short-circuit. It is extremely low. Further, the electrode terminals 25 and 26 are arranged at a position one step lower than the contours of the side surfaces 43 and 44, so that careless contact with a finger or the like is prevented and contact failure is avoided. Further, in the battery case 13, the conductive member 4
5,46 and only the structure for fixing this need be provided,
Besides, since a short-circuit preventing component and a space for arranging the same are not necessary, the space in the battery case 13 can be effectively used.

The other ends of the conductive members 45 and 46 are arranged inside the lower case 13b and connected to the respective electrodes of the storage battery 12. For example, the electrode terminal 25 is a positive electrode and the electrode terminal 26 is a negative electrode. . The shapes of the lower case 13b and the electrode terminals 25 and 26 are not limited to the above shapes. Further, the structure of the power supply electrodes 39, 40 is not limited to the above structure. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the contactor 5 having a hemispherical tip with a biasing means 50 such as a coil spring or a leaf spring.
The structure for urging 1 may be adopted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the mounting surface 24 of the coupler 18 is of the same size as the mounting surface 16 of the battery pack 11, and the battery 18 can be mounted on the receiving surface 19 of the video camera 14 as well. A pair of electrode terminals 50 and 51, concave grooves 52 to 55, and auxiliary groove 56 similar to the pack 11 are provided.

Further, the receiving surface 21 of the AC charger 15
Is the receiving surface 19 of the video camera 14 as shown in FIG.
It has the same size as the battery pack 1
The mounting restriction wall 57 and the pair of power supply terminals 58, 5 similar to those of the video camera 14 so that the mounting surface 16 of 1 can be mounted.
9, convex portions 60 to 63, auxiliary claw 64 and cover member 665
It is provided.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When mounting the battery pack 11 on the video camera 14, as shown in FIG. 3, the mounting surface 16 is pressed in the receiving surface 19 surrounded by the mounting restriction wall 32 in a state of being displaced in the longitudinal direction (arrow A). As a result, the auxiliary pawl 38 is pushed by the mounting surface 16 and elastically deforms downward.

Next, the battery pack 11 is slid in the direction of arrow B. This sliding movement is restricted when the four convex portions 34 to 37 engage with the four concave grooves 27 to 30. By this sliding movement operation of the battery pack 11, as shown in FIG.
1, the cover member 41 is moved to the exposed position against the bias of the biasing means 42. In the power source terminals 39, 40, the contacts 39 a, 40 a contact the tip portions of the electrode terminals 25, 26 to open in the width direction, and the electrode terminals 25, 26 are sandwiched.
Thereby, the power supply terminals 39, 40 and the electrode terminals 25, 26
Are electrically connected. Once installed,
The auxiliary claw 38 enters the auxiliary groove 31 to prevent the battery pack 11 from sliding in the direction opposite to the arrow B direction, and prevents the battery pack 11 from falling out of the mounted state.

When removing the battery pack 11, the battery pack 11 is slid in the direction opposite to the arrow B direction. At this time, since the auxiliary claw 38 is pushed down by the rear end edge of the auxiliary groove 31 in the moving direction, the auxiliary claw 38 is elastically deformed downward and the engagement is released. As a result, the battery pack 11 can be slid in the opposite direction to the arrow B direction. Next, the battery pack 11 is pulled out upward and removed from the video camera 14. When the battery pack 11 is removed, the cover member 41 is moved to the covering position by the urging of the urging means 42, so that the power supply terminals 39 and 40 of the video camera 14 are protected from contact with fingers and the like. It prevents contact with the metal and short circuit.

On the other hand, since the electrode terminals 25 and 26 of the removed battery pack 11 are separately provided on different surfaces of the battery case 13, that is, the two side surfaces 43 and 44, other metal such as a necklace is not attached when carrying. At the same time, it is difficult to contact the electrode terminals 25 and 26. Therefore, a short circuit between the electrode terminals 25 and 26 is prevented, and the battery is not damaged. Also, for example, the battery pack 1 on a metal plate
Even if 1 is placed, one of the electrode terminals does not come into contact with the metal plate, so that the electrode terminals 25 and 26 are not short-circuited.

When the coupler 18 of the power adapter 17 is attached to the video camera 14 and the battery pack 11 is attached to the AC charger 15, the attachment / detachment may be performed by the same procedure as described above. By the way, plug the power plug 20 into an outlet, and power adapter 1
If the electrode terminals 50 and 51 of the coupler 18 are short-circuited in the state where 7 is connected to the AC charger 15, the internal circuit of the AC charger 15 is damaged. However, since the electrode terminals 50 and 51 of the coupler 18 are also separately provided on different surfaces in the same manner as the battery pack 11, even if they are placed in a metal camera bag or stored in a bag or the like. , Metal such as necklace is used for each electrode terminal 2 at the same time
Since it is difficult to contact with 5, 26, short circuit is prevented. In addition,
Since the power supply terminals 58 and 59 of the AC charger 15 are covered with the cover member 65, short-circuiting is unlikely to occur.

An embodiment in which an electrode terminal is provided on the side surface other than the side surface will be described below. Note that the coupler of the power adapter is similar to that of the battery pack, and therefore illustration and description thereof will be omitted. Further, the same parts as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the battery pack 7
The negative side electrode terminal 26 is provided on the side surface 44 of 0, and the positive side electrode terminal 71 is provided on the mounting surface 16. The electrode terminal 71 is provided on the mounting surface 16 on the tip side and the side surface 43 side. In this case, the video camera side, the AC charger, the DC charger side,
The power supply terminal corresponding to the electrode terminal 71 is arranged so as to project above the receiving surface, and is covered by the cover member when the battery pack 71 is not mounted. Even in this case, it becomes difficult for other metals to come into contact with the electrode terminals 26 and 71 at the same time, and the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

The position of the electrode terminal 71 may be provided at the center on the tip side of the mounting surface 16 or on the side surface 44, but the probability that metal will simultaneously contact the electrode terminals 26, 71 and short-circuit will be sufficiently low. In order to do so, it is preferable to provide it on the side surface 43 side and sufficiently separate it from the electrode terminals 26, 71 as shown in the figure. Further, the positions of the positive and negative electrode terminals may be exchanged.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, a groove 73 is formed on the mounting surface 16 of the battery pack 72, and two surfaces 73a and 73b are selected from the four surfaces 73a to 73d constituting the groove 73, These surfaces 73a, 73b
Are provided with electrode terminals 74 and 75. The combination of the surfaces on which the electrode terminals 74 and 75 are provided is the surface 73a,
Other than the combination of 73b, the electrode terminals 74, 7
It is preferable to select a combination of surfaces such that the distance of 5 is sufficient. In addition, the battery pack 76 shown in FIG.
When the groove portion 73 is formed on the mounting surface 16 as described above, one electrode terminal 77 is provided on one surface of the groove portion 73, for example, 73a, and the other electrode terminal 78 is provided on one side surface, for example, the side surface 44. Yes. Even in this case, a similar effect can be obtained.

Next, an embodiment in which connection terminals other than the pair of electrode terminals are provided will be described. The same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 12, the battery pack 80 is provided with a pair of electrode terminals 25, 26 and a connection terminal (hereinafter referred to as a signal terminal) 81 for outputting a battery remaining capacity signal. Battery pack 8
An electronic circuit for detecting the remaining capacity of the battery is built in 0. For example, the electronic circuit uses the negative electrode of the electrode terminal 26 as a ground level to indicate the remaining capacity of the battery built in from the signal terminal 81. Output a signal.
The video camera to which this battery pack 80 is attached is
An input terminal that is in contact with and electrically connected to the signal terminal 81 is provided, and based on the signal from the signal terminal 81, for example, the battery capacity is displayed in the finder to notify the photographer of this.

For example, when the electronic circuit in the battery pack is destroyed when the signal terminal 81 is short-circuited with the positive electrode terminal 25, as shown in the figure, the positive electrode terminal 25 and the signal terminal 81 are Each of them is arranged on a different surface which constitutes the battery case 13. In addition, each electrode terminal 25, 26 also has a battery case 1 in order to prevent a short circuit.
3 are arranged on separate surfaces. Of course, the signal terminal 81 and the negative electrode terminal 26 may be arranged on the same surface, but in order to avoid an unnecessary load on the electronic circuit when the terminals 26 and 81 are short-circuited, these terminals 26 are not disposed. ，
81 is preferably provided on a separate surface. Also, each terminal 2
The positions of 5, 26 and 81 may be exchanged.

By doing so, the electrode terminal 2
5 and 26 can be prevented from being short-circuited and the signal terminal 81
It is also possible to prevent a short circuit between the electrode terminal 25 and the electrode terminal 25. In this embodiment, the case of outputting the signal of the remaining capacity of the battery is described, but it may be a signal terminal for outputting another signal.

In the above embodiment, an example having three connection terminals has been described, but even in the case of having four or more connection terminals, each terminal pair whose short circuit is to be prevented is arranged on a separate surface. You can do it like this. Even in this case, in order to avoid unnecessary load, it is preferable to arrange each terminal one on each surface.

In each of the above embodiments, the battery pack of the type having the storage battery built therein has been described, but the battery pack having the type of built-in dry battery may be used. Further, although the battery pack is an external type that is mounted on the outside of the video camera, it may be a battery pack that is built in the video camera. In each of the above-described embodiments, the battery pack is slid in the longitudinal direction, but the present invention can be applied to those in which the battery pack is slid in the width direction and mounted.

In addition, although the video camera has been described in the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a battery of an electronic still camera, a portable telephone, a portable word processor, a portable liquid crystal television, a toy or the like. It can also be applied to an electronic device using a pack.

[0043]

As described above, according to the inter-terminal short-circuit preventing structure of the present invention, the connection terminals for which a short circuit is to be prevented are separately arranged on different surfaces of the power supply unit and are provided so as to be exposed to the outside. Therefore, it is advantageous for downsizing of the battery pack, and it becomes difficult for metal to contact these connection terminals at the same time, so that a short circuit can be reliably prevented at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a battery pack embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing appearances of a video camera, a power adapter, an AC charger, and a battery.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a mounting surface of a battery pack and a receiving surface of a video camera.

FIG. 4 is a main-portion cross-sectional view illustrating structures of a power supply terminal and an electrode terminal.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a power supply terminal having another structure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a power adapter.

FIG. 7 is an external view showing an external view of an AC charger.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part for explaining the connection between the power supply terminal and the electrode terminal when the battery pack is attached.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a battery pack in which a pair of electrode terminals are provided on a mounting surface and a side surface.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a battery pack in which a pair of electrode terminals are provided on two surfaces forming a groove.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a battery pack in which a pair of electrode terminals is provided on one surface and a side surface that form a groove.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a battery pack provided with signal terminals in addition to the pair of electrode terminals.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 70, 72, 76, 80 Battery pack 13 Battery case 14 Video camera 15 AC charger 16, 24 Mounting surface 17 Power adapter 18 Coupler 19, 21 Receiving surface 25, 26, 71, 73, 74, 77, 78 Electrode terminals 39,40 Power supply terminal 81 Signal terminal

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of connection terminals such as electrode terminals which are mounted on an electronic device and are connected to a power supply terminal provided on the electronic device by this mounting, and signal terminals connected to input terminals for various signals provided on the electronic device. In a structure for preventing short circuit between terminals of a power supply unit for power supply, the connection terminal is provided so as to be exposed to the outside of the power supply unit, and each connection terminal of a combination for avoiding a short circuit has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. An inter-terminal short-circuit prevention structure, characterized in that the power supply unit is separately arranged on different surfaces of a plurality of surfaces. 2. The inter-terminal short-circuit prevention structure according to claim 1, wherein the connection terminals of the combination for avoiding the short-circuit are separately arranged on two opposite surfaces.