1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a portable electronic apparatus and a removable battery case therefor, and especially relates to a removable battery case of rotational engagement and a portable electronic apparatus having the removable battery case.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Batteries are still the power source for portable electronic apparatuses, mostly in single battery module for operation. Under consideration of operation convenience, the methods for installing the current removable battery module into an accommodating slot of the portable electronic apparatus are described in the following. One is to insert the battery module directly into the accommodating slot and then to close a cover disposed at the opening of the accommodating slot to fix the battery module in the accommodating slot, such as battery module for camera. However, in such structure design, the closing mechanism of the cover is usually based on an engagement structure of single directional sliding. When an external force is loaded on the cover in a reverse direction, it tends to causing instability of the fixing structure of the cover making the cover open and the battery module slipping out possible.
Another method is to structurally integrate the battery module into the portable electronic apparatus, such as battery module for notebook. When the battery module is inserted into the accommodating slot and fixed by at least one latch, the appearance of the battery module matches with that of the portable electronic apparatus. In such structure design, the battery module is hard to fall due to a loading with an external force. However, the exposed portion of the battery module is too much so that the battery module is probably damaged during use. Furthermore, the seam of the engagement between the battery module and the portable electronic apparatus is too long to draw mist, particles and so on in, leading to structural damage on the electrical connection between the battery module and the portable electronic apparatus.
There is another method performed for the battery module made in a single structure. The main portion of the battery module is inserted into the accommodating slot. The cover portion of the battery module is exposed out of the portable electronic apparatus and is capable of being rotation engaged to the portable electronic apparatus. In such structure design, the battery module can be fixed firmly and sealed well. However, the battery module needs to be rotated during the engagement with the portable electronic apparatus, so that the structure design for the electrical connection between the battery module and the portable electronic apparatus is limited. In general, the electrical connection is designed on the basis of elastic contacts. A violent vibration may induce intermittent electrical connection, leading to influence on the operation of the portable electronic apparatus. Therefore, the engagement mechanism for the current removable battery module and the portable electronic apparatus cannot satisfy all the requirements of convenient operation, firm engagement structure, and stable electrical connection.
An objective of the invention is to provide a removable battery case, which achieves effect of the casing cover and casing body acting separately by use of a connection mechanism of the casing cover capable of rotating relative to the casing body, so as to solve the problem in the prior art that the conventional engagement mechanism for the removable battery module and the portable electronic apparatus cannot satisfy all the requirements of convenient operation, firm engagement structure, and stable electrical connection.
The removable battery case of the invention is capable of being accommodated in an accommodating slot of an apparatus casing. The accommodating slot has an opening. The apparatus casing includes a first rotation engagement structure at the opening. The removable battery case includes a casing body and a casing cover. The casing body has a first end portion and a second end portion opposite to the first end portion. The casing body has a battery accommodating space for accommodating a battery. The casing cover is connected to the first end portion in a rotatable way and includes a second rotation engagement structure. The second rotation engagement structure is capable of being rotationally engaged with the first rotation engagement structure. When the casing body through the second end portion is inserted into the accommodating slot from the opening, the casing cover is capable of covering the opening by the second rotation engagement structure engaging with the first rotation engagement structure. Thereby, during the insertion, the casing body can be kept not rotated, while the casing cover still can rotate so as to be engaged firmly with the apparatus casing. Furthermore, the invention permits various structure designs for the electrical connection between the apparatus casing and the removable battery case. Therefore, the removable battery case of the invention can satisfy the requirements of convenient operation, firm engagement structure, and stable electrical connection, solving the problem in the prior art.
An objective of the invention is to provide a portable electronic apparatus having the removable battery case of the invention. Similarly, the portable electronic apparatus of the invention can solve the problem in prior art that the conventional engagement mechanism for the removable battery module and the portable electronic apparatus cannot satisfy all the requirements of convenient operation, firm engagement structure, and stable electrical connection.
The portable electronic apparatus of the invention includes an apparatus casing, a removable battery case, and a battery. The apparatus casing has an accommodating slot. The accommodating slot has an opening. The apparatus casing includes a first rotation engagement structure at the opening. The removable battery case includes a casing body and a casing cover. The casing body has a first end portion and a second end portion opposite to the first end portion. The casing body has a battery accommodating space. The battery is accommodated in the battery accommodating space. The casing cover is connected to the first end portion in a rotatable way and includes a second rotation engagement structure. The second rotation engagement structure is capable of being rotationally engaged with the first rotation engagement structure. The casing body through the second end portion is inserted into the accommodating slot from the opening. The casing cover covers the opening by the second rotation engagement structure engaging with the first rotation engagement structure. Similarly, the portable electronic apparatus of the invention uses the design of the casing cover and casing body acting separately to satisfy the requirements of convenient operation, firm engagement structure, and stable electrical connection, solving the problem in the prior art.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
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The casing cover 122 includes a main part 1220 and a cap 1222. The cap 1222 is bound to the main part 1220, for example by gluing or tight fitting. The casing cover 122 includes a recess 1224 and is sleeved on the connection part 1202 by the recess 1224 so as to achieve the effect of the casing cover 122 being capable of rotating relative to the connection part 1202. In the first embodiment, the casing cover 122 includes a first limitation portion 1226 in the recess 1224. The connection part 1202 includes a second limitation portion 12028 at the threaded part 12022. The threaded part 12022 extends into the recess 1224 such that the second limitation portion 12028 can be movably disposed in the recess 1224 and be capable of being retained by the first limitation portion 1226 so as not to escape from the recess 1224. The main part 1220 forms an inner thread 1228 at the opening of the recess 1224 correspondingly to the outer thread 12026. Therefore, the whole casing cover 122 can rotate relative to the casing body 120. Furthermore, because the inner thread 1228 meshes with the outer thread 12026, when the casing cover 122 rotates relative to the casing body 120, the casing cover 122 moves forward in the axial direction of the casing body 120 without ineffective rotation. The casing cover 122 can still rotate relative to the casing body 120 even if the outer thread 12026 and the inner thread 1228 are omitted, which is understood easily by a person having ordinary skill in the art and is not described in detail herein.
In the first embodiment, the threaded part 12022 and the fixed part 12020 are jointed by the jointing part 12024, such as a screw, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the connection part 1202 can be formed in one piece in practice. In addition, in practice, the fixed part 12020 can be fixed on the first end portion 1208 by gluing or tight fitting, but the invention is not limited thereto. In the first embodiment, the fixed part 12020 is fixed on the first end portion 1208 by structural fitting. Please refer to
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Furthermore, the casing cover 122 is engaged with the casing body 120 and the apparatus casing 10 by use of thread structure, which improves the structural strength of jointing the casing body 120 and the apparatus casing 10 and is conducive to the stability of the electrical connection between the clip connector 1204 and the electrical connection port 108. In addition, in the first embodiment, the casing cover 122 includes a seal ring 1232 such as an O-ring. When the casing cover 122 is engaged with the apparatus casing 10, the casing cover 122 uses the seal ring 1232 to seal the seam between the casing cover 122 and the apparatus casing 100, which further improves the dust-proof and waterproof capability of the portable electronic apparatus 1. Furthermore, the accommodating slot 100 is located at a side of the apparatus casing 10; however, the invention is not limited thereto.
In the first embodiment, the engagement of the casing cover 122 and the apparatus casing is realized by use of thread structure; however, the invention is not limited thereto. Please refer to
In the above embodiments, the casing bodies 120 and 320 are cylindrical; however, the invention is not limited thereto. In the removable battery case of the invention, the casing cover can rotate relative to the casing body, and the profile of the casing body does not constrain the rotation of the casing cover no longer, so the profile of the casing body can be determined by product design, for example designing the cross section of the casing body to be a non-circular figure, such as rectangle, ellipse and so on. The cross section of the accommodating slot of the apparatus casing can also be designed to be a rectangle, ellipse or other non-circular figures accordingly. In this case, the casing body not only can accommodate a required battery but also can provide orientation function during insertion.
As discussed above, the invention achieves effect of the casing cover and casing body acting separately by use of a connection mechanism of the casing cover capable of rotating relative to the casing body, so that the insertion of the casing body is free from the engagement of the casing with the apparatus casing. In other words, the insertion of the casing body can be designed in coordination with requirement for the engagement of the connectors of the casing body and the apparatus casing without influence on the engagement of the casing cover and the apparatus casing. The engagement mechanism of the casing cover and the apparatus casing therefore can be designed independently by product specification or use habit. Therefore, the invention can solve the problem in the prior art that the conventional engagement mechanism for the removable battery module and the portable electronic apparatus cannot satisfy all the requirements of convenient operation, firm engagement structure, and stable electrical connection.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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100224276 | Dec 2011 | TW | national |