# US 2017/0288178 A1 · Battery pack > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2017/0288178 A1 - Document ID: US20170288178A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/628,385 - Filed: 2017-06-20 - Published: 2017-10-05 - Earliest claimed: 2010-03-29 - Assignees: Sony Corporation - Applicants: Sony Corporation - Inventors: Mieko Hara; Jiro Moriya; Tomomaru Ueda; Michihito Kobayashi; Toshiyuki Okada; Hideki Kamiya - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20170288178A1 ## CPC - H01M 10/0525: Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries - H01M 50/103: prismatic or rectangular (H01M50/109, H01M50/11 take precedence) - H01M 50/15: for prismatic or rectangular cells (H01M50/153 takes precedence) - H01M 50/202: Casings or frames around the primary casing of a single cell or a single battery - H01M 50/256: Carrying devices, e.g. belts - H01M 50/296: characterised by terminals of battery packs (terminals of batteries H01M50/543) - H01M 2220/30: Batteries in portable systems, e.g. mobile phone, laptop - Y02E 60/10: Energy storage using batteries - H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION ## Abstract Provided are a pack main body of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape in which a battery cell is embedded, and a terminal portion provided on a front face of the pack main body. The pack main body includes bevelled portions at corner portions formed by a top face and a bottom face and opposite side faces. The terminal portion is provided, in a protruding manner, on the front face at a position biased with respect to centre lines in a width direction and a height direction. The corner portions on one side have a chamfered shape and the corner portions on the other side have a rounded shape. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A battery having a height, a width, a length, top and bottom surfaces substantially perpendicular to a height direction, first and second side surfaces disposed between said top and bottom surfaces, and front and rear end surfaces disposed between said top and bottom surfaces and also disposed between said first and second side surfaces, said battery comprising: a terminal area provided at a junction of the front end surface and the bottom surface and having a first surface raised from the front end surface in a length direction of the battery and a second surface offset from the bottom surface in a direction of the top surface in the height direction, the terminal area positioned at a position biased to one side with respect to center lines in a width direction and the height direction; a first concave portion stretching between the first side surface and the bottom surface are formed on the front end surface; and a second concave portion stretching between the second side surface and the bottom surface and formed on the front end surface, wherein: the terminal area has a plurality of inside slits and a plurality of outside slits located at opposite ends of the inside slits in the width direction, the plurality of inside slits comprising a negative terminal, a control terminal, and a positive terminal in this order from the center line in the width direction, the outside slits being formed wider in the width direction and larger in the height direction than the inside slits, the outside slits being configured to engage with guide protrusions at a bottom face of a battery housing of an apparatus when the battery is housed in the battery housing; the terminal area is separated from the first and second concave portions by the front end surface in the width direction; a depth of the first concave portion in the length direction closer to the terminal area in the width direction is shallower than a depth of the second concave portion in the length direction further from the terminal area in the width direction; the depth of the second concave portion in the length direction is larger than a distance in the length direction that the first surface of the terminal area is raised from the front end surface; the height of the battery is smaller than the width and the length of the battery; and the width of the battery is smaller the length of the battery. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1,wherein: corners formed by the first and second side surfaces and the bottom surface are chamfered; corners formed by the first and second side surfaces and the top surface are rounded; and the first and second concave portions are opened to the chamfered corners. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, further comprising: a first beveled portion formed at a corner portion formed by the front end surface, the top surface and the bottom surface; and a second beveled portion formed at a corner portion formed by a rear end surface, the top surface and the bottom surface, wherein the second beveled portion is smaller than the first beveled portion. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, further comprising: first beveled portions at corner portions formed by the first and second side surfaces and the bottom surface; and second beveled portions at corner portions formed by the first and second side surfaces and the top surface, wherein the first beveled portions and the second beveled portions are differently shaped. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, further comprising: a battery case formed by half cases, wherein: the half cases are configured to meet parallel to the top surface and the bottom surface; and one of the half cases is matte finished. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, further comprising: a battery case formed by half cases, wherein: the half cases are configured to meet parallel to the top surface and the bottom surface; and the half case having the bottom surface includes the concave portions and the inside and outside slits. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, further comprising: a battery case formed by a bottom side case including the whole bottom surface; and a top side case including the whole top surface, wherein the first and second concave portions are formed on the bottom side case. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, further comprising: a first base surface formed in a first outside slit, of the plurality of outside slits, parallel to the front and rear end surfaces; a second base surface in the first concave portion parallel to the front and rear end surfaces; wherein a position of the second base surface in the first concave portion in the length direction is closer to the front end surface than a position of the first base surface in the length direction. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, wherein: each of the first and second concave portions is of trapezoidal shape and has a short side and a long side viewed from the length direction, wherein said short side and said long side extend in the height direction; a long side of the first concave portion is closer to the terminal area than a short side of the first concave portion; and a long side of the second concave portion is closer to the terminal area than a short side of the second concave portion. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, wherein: each of the first and second concave portions has a trapezoidal shape and has a standing wall parallel to the top and bottom surfaces; and a position of each of said standing walls in the height direction is overlapped with the terminal area in the height direction and is not overlapped with the plurality of outside slits in the height direction. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, wherein: a part of the front end surface located between the terminal area and the second concave portion is configured to contact an ejection spring provided on the bottom face of the battery housing of the apparatus when the battery is housed in the battery housing. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, wherein the first surface of the terminal area is an outermost surface of the battery in the length direction. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, wherein the terminal area comprises a terminal portion and upright walls. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, wherein the first and second concave portions are for discrimination between the battery and a DC plate connected with an AC adapter that converts AC power into DC power. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, further comprising: an insertion direction display portion formed on the top surface. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, wherein the battery is configured to supply power to an imaging apparatus. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The battery according to claim 1, wherein the battery is configured to be received in a battery loading portion of an imaging apparatus. ### Claim 18 An imaging apparatus comprising: a battery housing; and a battery comprising: a height; a width; a length; top and bottom surfaces substantially perpendicular to a height direction of the battery; first and second side surfaces disposed between said top and bottom surfaces; front and rear end surfaces disposed between said top and bottom surfaces and also disposed between said first and second side surfaces; a terminal area provided at a junction of the front end surface and the bottom surface and having a first surface raised from the front end surface in a length direction of the battery and a second surface offset from the bottom surface in a direction of the top surface in the height direction, the terminal area being positioned at a position biased to one side with respect to center lines in a width direction and a height direction of the battery; a first concave portion stretching between the first side surface and the bottom surface and formed on the front end surface; and a second concave portion stretching between the second side surface and the bottom surface and formed on the front end surface, wherein the terminal area has a plurality of inside slits and a plurality of outside slits located at opposite ends of the inside slits in the width direction, the plurality of inside slits comprising a negative terminal, a control terminal, and a positive terminal in this order from the center line in the width direction, the outside slits being formed wider in the width direction and larger in the height direction than the inside slits, the outside slits being configured to engage with guide protrusions at a bottom face of a battery housing of an apparatus when the battery is housed in the battery housing; the terminal area is separated from the first and second concave portions by the front end surface in the width direction; a depth of the first concave portion in the length direction closer to the terminal area in the width direction is shallower than a depth of the second concave portion in the length direction further from the terminal area in the width direction; a depth of the second concave portion in the length direction is larger than a distance in the length direction that the first surface of the terminal area is raised from the front end surface; the height of the battery is smaller than the width and the length of the battery; and the width of the battery is smaller the length of the battery. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The imaging apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the battery housing comprises: a guide protrusion formed on a bottom face of the battery housing, wherein the guide protrusion is positioned to engage with a first outside slit of the plurality of outside slits when the battery is housed in the battery housing. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The imaging apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the battery housing comprises: first chamfered corner positioned to correspond, when the battery is housed in the battery housing, to second chamfered corners formed at intersections of the first and second side surfaces and the bottom surface of the battery.