Patent Application
20110156645
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an all-in-one lithium battery charger, and more particularly to a charger that is suitable for charging six types of Kodak KLIC series lithium batteries.
2. Description of the Related Art
The 3C-products (computer/communication/consumer electronics) continue to introduce new designs, styles, and functions. Accordingly, the lithium batteries needed for the operation thereof were brought into the market unceasingly. The lithium batteries for Kodak 3C products alone have different models such as KLIC-7000, KLIC-7001, KLIC-7003, KLIC-7004, KLIC-7005 and KLIC-7006.
Previously, different chargers have to be designed for different models of the conventional nickel batteries. As a result, the user needs to prepare for corresponding chargers. This causes inconvenience in use. Moreover, much trouble tends to arise when so many different chargers are stored and carried, thereby increasing invisible cost.
Therefore, a Kodak type all-in-one charger 10, shown in
The above-mentioned all-in-one charger 10 has the function to adjust the size of the charging groove. However, it is impractical to carry it due to its large volume. Moreover, the use is not convenient since the position of the slide cover 121 has to be adjusted when different batteries are charged.
An object of the invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional all-in-one charger and to provide a multipurpose charger, based on the conventional charger's structure, for charging at least six types of Kodak KLIC series lithium batteries without increasing the volume thereof, thereby achieving the six-in-one charging effect.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the invention includes:
a) a bottom casing having a through hole at the tail thereof;
b) a circuit board positioned within the bottom casing with a USB port facing to the through hole such that an electric connection to an external power source may be established via the USB port and the external power source may serve as the charging power source, the circuit board being provided with a first charging terminal set in the lateral direction and a second charging terminal set in the longitudinal direction such that the first and second charging terminal sets are arranged in an L-shaped manner;
c) a charging seat having a bottom plate, a lateral upright plate at the tail of the bottom plate, and an upright side plate adjacent to the lateral upright plate, the lateral upright plate and the upright side plate having a plurality of slots facing to the first and second charging terminal sets such that the first and second charging terminal sets may jut out of the slots, respectively; and
d) a top casing having an opening corresponding to the charging seat such that the charging seat may fit into the opening, the front side of the top casing having a first bottom portion and a second bottom portion positioned closely to the bottom plate of the charging seat, the second bottom portion being disposed higher than the first bottom portion, the top casing sitting on the bottom casing to permit a practical insertion of different kinds of lithium batteries into a charging groove (positioned at the top of the top casing) for conducting a charging process.
According to the invention, at least four charging grooves are created by different bottom portions formed at different heights such that six types of Kodak KLIC series lithium batteries may be placed and charged within the corresponding charging grooves.
The accomplishment of this and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following descriptions and its accompanying figures of which:
First of all, referring to
The bottom casing 20 includes a through hole 21 at the tail thereof. The position of the through hole 21 is not limited to thereto. That is, it may be formed at the side of the bottom casing 20, too.
The circuit board 30 is positioned within the bottom casing 20 with a USB port 31 facing to the through hole 21. In this way, an electric connection to an external power source may be established via the USB port 31 such that the external power source may serve as the charging power source. The circuit board 30 is provided with a first charging terminal set 32 in the lateral direction and a second charging terminal set 33 in the longitudinal direction such that the first and second charging terminal sets 32, 33 are arranged in an L-shaped manner.
The charging seat 40 includes a bottom plate 41, a lateral upright plate 42 at the tail of the bottom plate 41, and an upright side plate 43 adjacent to the lateral upright plate 42. The lateral upright plate 42 and the upright side plate 43 include a plurality of slots 421, 431 facing to the first and second charging terminal sets 32, 33 such that the first and second charging terminal sets 32, 33 may jut out of the slots 421, 431, respectively.
The top casing 50 includes an opening 51 corresponding to the charging seat 40 such that the charging seat 40 may fit into the opening 51. The front side of the top casing 50 includes a first bottom portion 52 and a second bottom portion 53 positioned closely to the bottom plate 41 of the charging seat 40. The second bottom portion 53 is disposed higher than the first bottom portion 52. The top casing 50 sits on the bottom casing 20. In this way, different kinds of lithium batteries may be placed into a charging groove 70 (positioned at the top of the top casing 50) for conducting a charging process.
Moreover, a light-emitting diode 35 is disposed on the circuit board 30 while the top casing 50 includes a round hole 55 from which the top the light-emitting diode 35 projects. In addition, the top casing 50 includes a pivot seat 54 at the rear side thereof for pivotally connecting a swivel cover 60. According to the embodiment, the swivel cover 60 includes pivot pins 61 fitting into the corresponding pivot holes in the pivot seat 54 such that the swivel cover 60 may be moved upwards in an opened position or moved downward to the surface of the top casing 50 in a closed position. The swivel cover 60 is mounted when required, and it is not a necessary component for the structure of the invention.
Another feature of the invention lies in that the circuit board 30 includes a temperature sensor 34 (see
In order to build up an all-in-one charging groove, the first bottom portion 52 of the top casing 50 is flushed with the bottom plate 41 of the charging seat 40. Meanwhile, the higher U-shaped member 531 of the second bottom portion 53 is adjacent to the front side wall of the top casing 50. In this way, a first charging groove 71 is formed in the area between the first charging terminal set 32 and the surface of the second bottom portion 53 (see
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
It is apparent from the above-mentioned that the charging groove 70 does its best to fulfill the all-in-one purpose such that different charging grooves 71-76 are created within a small space for charging six types of lithium batteries. Thus, a full utilization of space is achieved. Besides, the structure of the invention is sufficiently small and light-weight to allow convenient carry and use. Moreover, the cost can be minimized.
Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiments of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
