Battery pack charging device
AssigneeSony Corporation
InventorsYouichi Haga, Michihito Kobayashi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A charging device for a battery pack in which universality is achieved without restrictions imposed by the charging terminal unit of the battery pack, a demand for size reduction can be met, and in which the request for safety and reliability may be met with reduction in production cost. To this end, the battery pack charging device includes an ejection member 14 thrust by a battery pack 60 loaded in a battery pack loading unit 6 to accumulate the elastic force, and a lock member 13 engaged with a mating lock portion 66 to hold the battery pack in the battery pack loading unit. On completion of the charging operation, the locked state by the lock member is annulled and the battery pack is uplifted by the ejection member from the battery pack loading unit.
Claims7
A battery pack charging device in which a battery pack, including a charging terminal unit arranged on a first lateral surface and a mating lock portion on a second lateral surface opposite to said first lateral surface, is loaded in a battery pack loading unit formed as a recess in a major surface of a device casing, from said first lateral surface, comprising:
- a charging electrode unit arranged on a first lateral surface section of the battery pack loading unit, to which the first lateral surface of the battery pack is abutted, said charging electrode unit being connected to said charging terminal unit of the loaded battery pack;
- a holder provided to the first lateral surface section of said battery pack loading unit for holding the first lateral surface of the loaded battery pack;
- a lock member provided on a second lateral surface section opposite to said first lateral surface section of said battery pack loading unit and slidably mounted to the major surface of said device casing, said lock member including a lock portion engaged with said mating lock portion of the loaded battery pack;
- and
- an ejection member having one end rotatably carried by a support formed in an inner surface of said device casing and having its other end facing a guide opening formed in the bottom surface of said second lateral surface section of said battery pack loading unit, said ejection member being biased to be intruded into said guide opening;
- wherein
- said battery pack having said first lateral surface held by said holder in said battery pack loading unit as the battery pack thrusts said ejection member to accumulate the elastic force therein, said battery pack being accommodated as said second lateral surface is locked by said lock member;
- and wherein
- said lock member is slid in this state to unlock the mating lock portion from said lock portion, said battery pack being uplifted from the bottom surface of the battery pack loading unit under the elastic force accumulated in said ejection member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.