Patent Application
20180358604
The present invention is broadly concerned with improvements in devices with replaceable batteries and, more particularly, to improvements in battery terminals and battery receptacle terminals.
A great many devices are powered by batteries. The devices may be designed for the use of rechargeable batteries or by so-called primary batteries which function until the chemical elements generating electrical currents are exhausted. Such batteries are then replaced, typically by the user of the device. Batteries are received in a battery receptacle of a device with anodes (positive terminals) and cathodes (negative terminals) electrically engaged with appropriate device or receptacle terminals of the device.
A common problem with batteries having terminals which bear against or directly contact device terminals is corrosion of the battery terminals, the device terminals, or both. Terminal corrosion is much less of a problem with batteries which use soldered connections. However, batteries using soldered connections are rarely used in devices with consumer replaceable batteries. Terminal corrosion is especially a problem for devices which are used in humid, dusty, or smoky environments. When battery terminal corrosion occurs, performance of the device may deteriorate, become unreliable, or fail. Electrical continuity between battery and device terminals can be interfered with by other substances which are not necessarily corrosive, such as dust, smoke, and oil particles, and the like.
A common technique for overcoming suspected contact problems between battery and device terminals is to remove the battery and reinsert it into the device receptacle. However, batteries are often replaced unnecessarily when the battery or batteries do not appear to function when the problem is actually an occurrence of contact resistance.
The present invention provides embodiments of improvements battery powered apparatus with replaceable batteries which overcome some of the contact problems associated with such devices. In an embodiment of the apparatus, a battery-operated device having a battery receptacle with a set of device receptacle terminals is adapted to receive a battery having a set of battery terminals corresponding to the receptacle terminals and electrically engaging the receptacle terminals upon placement of the battery in the receptacle. A first of the sets of terminals has respective contact surfaces with a surface characteristic such that placement of the battery in the battery receptacle engages the first set of terminals with the other set of terminals in such a manner as to establish electrical contact therewith through an electrical contact interfering substance, if present on a terminal of the other set of terminals. The surface characteristic provided on the first or cleaning set of terminals may be a slight abrasiveness or roughening of the surface of the cleaning terminals, as by scoring, knurling, or the like or by a somewhat abrasive surface finish. The degree of abrasiveness or roughening is slight in order to avoid undesired wearing between the sets of terminals.
The cleaning set of terminals may be the positive and negative electrodes of the battery. Alternatively, the cleaning set of terminals may be receptacle contacts present in the battery-operated device. The cleaning set of terminals may establish contact with the other set of contacts by removing the electrical contact interfering substance, such as corrosion or the like, from one or both of the other set of terminals.
Various objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.
The drawings constitute a part of this specification, include exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.
Referring to the drawings in more detail, the reference numeral 1 generally designates an embodiment of a battery powered device which receives a battery 2 within a device battery receptacle 3 thereof to power functions of the device 1. The device 1 has device terminals 5 (
The battery terminals 9 and 10 electrically engage the respective device terminals 5 and 6 when the battery 2 is placed properly in the battery receptacle 3.
In the present invention, either the battery terminals 9 and 10 or the device terminals 5 and 6 is provided with a terminal surface characteristic or cleaning characteristic 12 (indicated by cross hatching in the drawings) which enhances electrical continuity between the engaging battery and device terminals when the battery 2 is placed in the battery receptacle 3 of the device 1. The terminals which are provided with the terminal surface cleaning characteristic 12 are referred to as cleaning terminals 14. It is foreseen that both the battery terminals 9 and 10 and the device terminals 5 and 6 could be provided with the surface characteristic 12.
The terminal surface characteristic 12 preferably is provided with a slight abrasiveness which causes the cleaning terminals 14 to scrape through any electrically interfering substance which may be present on the terminals engaged by the cleaning terminal 14. The abrasiveness of the surface characteristic may be provided by scoring, knurling, or the like of the cleaning terminals 14 or by a somewhat rough or abrasive surface finish on the cleaning terminals 14. The degree of abrasiveness on the cleaning terminals 14 is preferably only high enough to enhance electrical contact between the cleaning terminals 14 and the terminals engaged by the cleaning terminals, but low enough to avoid undesired wearing away of the terminals engaged by the cleaning terminals.
In an alternative embodiment shown in
It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.
