This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. ยง119(a) on Patent Application No. 101200431 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Jan. 6, 2012, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a battery, and more particularly to a thin type battery having a connector.
2. Related Art
In recent years, the rapid development of electronic technology has exceeded popular imagination considerably. In particular, smart mobile phones and tablet computers have developed very rapidly. Before the smart mobile phones or tablet computers are released, customers usually have no knowledge of the device's functions. However, once becoming commercially available, smart mobile phones and tablet computers cause a purchase craze. Manufacturers of consumer electronics therefore, already play the role of creating market demand by supplying products according to market demand. Additionally, an emerging new electronic device can even change the social activities of many customers. For example, the widespread use of smart mobile phones with mobile Internet access has demonstrably changed the social activities of the public.
When selecting portable electronic devices, customers not only focus on high-speed Internet access and multimedia playback functions, but also pay attention to portability. To make a portable electronic device having functions analogous to those of a personal computer, in addition to the improvement of the Integrated Circuit (IC) technology, it is also necessary to further enhance the energy density of the battery. Energy density refers to the electric power supplied by a unit volume or weight of the battery. Therefore, without reducing the capacity of the battery, the energy density of the battery can be effectively enhanced by reducing the volume and weight of the battery, facilitating its application to a portable electronic device. Currently, the most widely selected power supply source for portable electronic devices is a lithium battery.
As discussed, to reduce the volume of a portable electronic device, currently some manufacturers already join a lithium battery on a main board directly in a soldering manner (for example, resistance spot welding, ultrasonic welding, laser spot welding, and a conductive medium welding type soldering). That is, the original detachable manner is changed into an undetachable manner such that the lithium battery is built directly in a portable electronic device. Although such a manner definitely reduces the volume of the portable electronic device, if a process defect occurs in the joint process (for example, a defect occurs to the lithium battery or the main board), the rework cannot be performed in accordance with the conventional design, with the result that the lithium battery and the main board must both be scrapped. Additionally, when a client sends a defective product to the factory for repair, if it is discovered that the defect only affects either the lithium battery or the main board, the rework cannot be performed either, due to the conventional fabrication manner, with the result that the lithium battery and the main board must both be scrapped.
Therefore, when soldering technology is used to connect the lithium battery and the circuit board, rework is impossible or is difficult, resulting in the necessity of an alternative solution.
In view of this, the present invention provides a thin type battery, including a shell body, a soft packaging cell, and an electric connector. The soft packaging cell is disposed in the shell body and includes a battery body and a top sealing area. The electric connector is disposed between the shell body and the top sealing area and is connected electrically to the soft packaging cell. The electric connector includes a first insulating body and a plurality of conductive terminals. The first insulating body includes two positioning grooves and a plurality of terminal grooves. Each positioning groove has a first socket and a second socket. A first guiding groove, a second guiding groove, and a concave portion are disposed at a groove wall of each positioning groove. The first guiding groove extends from the first socket in a first direction to the concave portion. The second guiding groove extends from the second socket in a second direction to the concave portion. The plurality of terminal grooves is disposed at an interval between two positioning grooves. Each terminal groove has a third socket and a fourth socket. The plurality of conductive terminals is individually disposed in the terminal grooves. The first socket, the second socket, the third socket and the fourth socket are exposed from the shell body.
The present invention also provides a thin type battery, in which, in addition to the above features, the electric connector further includes a second insulating body and a plurality of metal pins. The second insulating body includes two positioning boards correspondingly connected to the two positioning grooves. Each positioning board includes a positioning bump. The positioning bump is inserted in the concave portion from the first guiding groove or the second guiding groove to fix the second insulating body at the first insulating body. The plurality of metal pins is disposed at an interval between the two positioning boards. When the positioning bumps of the positioning boards are inserted in the concave portions, the metal pins are individually plugged in the terminal grooves to be connected electrically to the conductive terminals.
In conclusion, the thin type battery of the present invention is connected electrically to a circuit board disposed with a joint connector in a first direction or a second direction, so that not only is the conventional welding technology not required but the combination of the battery and the circuit board can also be provided with directional flexibility.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein:
Please refer to
In one implementation aspect, the electric connector of the present invention further includes a second insulating body 20 and a plurality of metal pins 23, as shown in
In one implementation aspect, the first insulating body 10 further includes two positioning bumps 119 separately disposed at the groove walls of the two positioning grooves 11. Each positioning board 21 further includes a positioning hole 212. When the two positioning boards 21 are correspondingly connected to the two positioning grooves 11, the two positioning bumps 119 of the first insulating body 10 are individually inserted at the positioning holes 212 of the two positioning boards 21. By disposing the positioning bumps 119, the first insulating body 10 and the second insulating body 20 do not easily rotate relative to each other when connected, and are thus not easily detached from each other due to an external force.
In one implementation aspect, the first guiding groove 113 has a slope 117 and a plane 118 connected to the slope 117. The two positioning bumps 211 of the two positioning boards 21 are plugged from the first sockets 111, pass through the slopes 117 and the planes 118 in sequence, and are inserted in the concave portions 115.
In one implementation aspect, the second guiding groove 114 has a slope and a plane connected to the slope. The two positioning bumps 211 of the two positioning boards 21 are inserted in the concave portions 115 from the second sockets 112, the slopes and the planes in sequence.
In one implementation aspect, a terminal bulge 151 is disposed at an end of each conductive terminal 15 and a terminal sliding groove 231 is disposed at an end of each metal pin 23. When the two positioning boards 21 are correspondingly connected to the two positioning grooves 11, the terminal bulges 151 are inserted in the terminal sliding grooves 231.
Please refer to
In one implementation aspect, the shell body 30 of the thin type battery 3 includes a frame body 31 and an extending wall 319. The frame body 31 includes a first sidewall 311, a second sidewall 312, a third sidewall 313, and a fourth sidewall 314. The first sidewall 311 has a first flange 311A, a first side 311B, and a second side 311C. The first side 311B is opposite the second side 311C. The first flange 311 A is connected to the first side 311 B and protrudes from a surface of the first sidewall 311. The first flange 311A is used for abutting against the top sealing area 322. The second sidewall 312 is opposite the first sidewall 311. Two ends of the third sidewall 313 are connected to the first sidewall 311 and the second sidewall 312, respectively, and the third sidewall 313 has a first clamping portion 313B. The fourth sidewall 314 is opposite the third sidewall 313. Two ends of the fourth sidewall 314 are connected to the first sidewall 311 and the second sidewall 312, respectively, and the fourth sidewall 314 has a second clamping portion 314B.
The extending wall 319 is connected to the second side 311C in a bendable manner. A first clamping piece 319D and a second clamping piece 319E are provided at two ends of the extending wall 319, respectively. The first clamping piece 319D is used for clamping the first clamping portion 313B. The second clamping piece 319E is used for clamping the second clamping portion 314B. When the first clamping piece 319D and the second clamping piece 319E are clamped to the first clamping portion 313B and the second clamping portion 314B, respectively, the extending wall 319 and the first flange 311A envelop the top sealing area 322 of the soft packaging cell 32.
In one implementation aspect, the second sidewall 312 of the thin type battery 3 has a second flange 312A. The second flange 312A is used for abutting against the battery body 321. As a seal rim is provided at an edge of the soft packaging cell 32, when the soft packaging cell 32 is placed in the frame body 31, in addition to that the top sealing area 322 abuts against the first flange 311A, the second flange 312A abuts against the seal rim, so that the soft packaging cell 32 is supported when being placed in the shell body 31 and at the same time the subsequent assembly process becomes easier. The second flange 312A protrudes from the second sidewall 312 by a first distance. The first distance is in a range of 0.5 mm to 2 mm. If the first distance is too small, it is not easy to securely support the battery body 321. If the first distance is too large, the overall thickness of the thin type battery 3 becomes larger.
In one implementation aspect, a third flange 313A is provided at the third sidewall 313 of the thin type battery 3 and protrudes from the third sidewall 313 by a second distance. The third flange 313A is also used for abutting against the battery body 321. The second distance is in a range of 0.5 mm to 2 mm.
In one implementation aspect, a fourth flange 314A is provided at the fourth sidewall 314 of the thin type battery 3 and protrudes from the fourth sidewall 314 by a third distance. The fourth flange 314A is also used for abutting against the battery body 321. The third distance is in a range of 0.5 mm to 2 mm.
In one implementation aspect, the extending wall 319 of the thin type battery 3 includes a first region 319B and a second region 319C. The thickness of the second region 319C is between one third and two thirds of the thickness of the first region 319B. The extending wall 319 is connected to the second side 311 C with the second region 319C. As the thickness of the second region 319C is between one third and two thirds of the thickness of the first region 319B, when the extending wall 319 is bent, the compression and deformation of the material of the bendable region do not cause a bulging phenomenon to the bendable region to further affect the external size of the thin type battery 3.
In one implementation aspect, the extending wall 319 has at least one hole 319A. As shown in
In one implementation aspect, the thin type battery 3 further includes an adhesive tape 33, as shown in
While the present invention has been described by the way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention need not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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101200431 | Jan 2012 | TW | national |