Battery pack lock structure and electronic apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9735400-B2
Application number	US-201113881988-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 26, 2011
Priority date	Oct 29, 2010
Publication date	Aug 15, 2017
Grant date	Aug 15, 2017

Abstract

The present invention simplifies locking of a battery pack ( 12 ) within a cell-phone lower case ( 13 ). A battery lock member ( 50 ) has a first inclined surface that permits sliding of the battery lock member ( 50 ) in such a way that an operation of housing the battery pack ( 12 ) in the battery pack housing ( 33 ) causes an engagement protrusion ( 32 ), which is formed to protrude from a side face of the battery pack ( 12 ), to slide in contact with the first inclined surface, thereby releasing the locking, and a second inclined surface that permits sliding of the battery lock member ( 50 ) in such a way that an operation of attaching a battery lid ( 11 ) to a battery lid holder ( 43 ) causes a depression protrusion ( 31 ), which is formed to protrude from the bottom face of the battery lid ( 11 ), to slide in contact with the second inclined surface, thereby achieving the locking.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A battery pack lock structure comprising:
a battery pack;
a battery pack housing provided on an electronic apparatus body for housing the battery pack;
a battery lid detachably attached to the electronic apparatus body to close an opening of the battery pack housing; and
a battery lock member for locking the battery pack,
wherein
the battery lock member comprises:
a slider for sliding the battery lock member; and
a lock portion integrally formed with the slider and protruding from a front side of the slider,

a top face of the lock portion comprises a first inclined surface downwardly inclined, and a second inclined surface downwardly inclined,
the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface of the battery lock member are opposed to each other to form a first angular portion therebetween along a moving direction of the battery lock member,
the battery pack comprises an engagement protrusion that protrudes from the battery pack,
the battery lid comprises a depression protrusion that protrudes downward from the battery lid,
in response to inserting the battery pack in the battery pack housing, the slider causes the battery lock member to slide to release the locking by the engagement protrusion of the battery pack sliding in contact with the first inclined surface, and
in response to an attachment of the battery lid, the slider causes the battery lock member to slide to achieve the locking by the depression protrusion of the battery lid sliding in contact with the second inclined surface.

2. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 1 , wherein
the lock portion further comprises an engagement recess,
a top face of the engagement recess serves as a third inclined surface that faces, in parallel, a back face of the engagement protrusion when the engagement recess engages with the engagement protrusion of the battery pack,
the first inclined surface and the third inclined surface of the battery lock member are opposed to each other to form a second angular portion therebetween along the moving direction of the battery lock member, and
in response to a removal of the battery pack, the slider causes the battery lock member to slide to release the locking by the engagement protrusion of the battery pack sliding in contact with the third inclined surface.

3. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 2 , wherein in response to the engagement recess of the lock portion engaging with the engagement protrusion of the battery pack, the battery lock member causes the battery pack to be locked within the battery pack housing.

4. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 1 , wherein
the lock portion comprises a side surface continual with the second inclined surface,
the depression protrusion of the battery lid is disposed in a position where the depression protrusion abuts on one of the second inclined surface and the side surface of the lock portion while the battery lid is covering the opening of the battery pack housing, and
as the depression protrusion the battery lid abuts on one of the second inclined surface and the side surface of the lock portion while the battery lid is covering the opening of the battery pack housing, a locked state of the battery pack is maintained.

5. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 1 , wherein a guide portion that permits slide movement of the battery lock member is provided in the electronic apparatus body.

6. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 5 , wherein the battery lock member is engaged with the guide portion in a non-disengageable manner.

7. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 5 , wherein a battery lid holder for holding the battery lid is provided at a peripheral region of the opening of the battery pack housing, and
the guide portion is provided in a recessed space formed in the battery lid holder.

8. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 5 , wherein the slider of the battery lock member has a guided portion that is slidably fitted on the guide portion.

9. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 8 , wherein the guide portion is a rail-like guide rail, and the guided portion is a recessed guided groove that is slidably fitted on the guide rail.

10. An electronic apparatus comprising having the battery pack lock structure according to claim 1 .

11. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 3 , wherein
the lock portion comprises a side surface continual with the second inclined surface,
the depression protrusion of the battery lid is disposed in a position where the depression protrusion abuts on one of the second inclined surface and the side surface of the lock portion while the battery lid is covering the opening of the battery pack housing, and
as the depression protrusion of the battery lid abuts on one of the second inclined surface and the side surface of the lock portion while the battery lid is covering the opening of the battery pack housing, a locked state of the battery pack is maintained.

12. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 3 , wherein a guide portion that permits slide movement of the battery lock member is provided in the electronic apparatus body.

13. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 12 , wherein the battery lock member is engaged with the guide portion in a non-disengageable manner.

14. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 12 , wherein a battery lid holder for holding the battery lid is provided at a peripheral region of the opening of the battery pack housing, and
the guide portion is provided in a recessed space formed in the battery lid holder.

15. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 12 , wherein the slider of the battery lock member has a guided portion that is slidably fitted on the guide portion.

16. The battery pack lock structure according to claim 15 , wherein the guide portion is a rail-like guide rail, and the guided portion is a recessed guided groove that is slidably fitted on the guide rail.

17. An electronic apparatus comprising the battery pack lock structure according to claim 3 .

Assignees

• Watanabe Yoshitaka
• Nec Corp

Inventors

• Watanabe Yoshitaka

Classifications

• H04M1/0262 Primary

  for a battery compartment · CPC title

• H01M2/1066

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01M2220/30

  Batteries in portable systems, e.g. mobile phone, laptop · CPC title

• H01M2/04 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title