Battery pack

• US 6,440,602 B1
• Filed: 02/08/2000
• Issued: 08/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Morita, Yuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ryan, Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALEJANDRO, RAYMOND
• Application Number:
  US09/500,370
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: 429/99, 429/100, 429/96, 429/120, 429/97, 429/62, 429/61, 429/90, 429/92, 429/149, 429/159, 429/7, 320/150
• US Class Current: 429/120
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/486 for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/615 Heating or keeping warm
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/647 Prismatic or flat cells, e.g. pouch cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6571 Resistive heaters arrangements for heating the battery by its resistance to the internal current H01M10/637
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

Even when an ambient temperature of a battery housed in a battery pack is detrimentally low, the battery is capable of performing its normal discharge operation, and thereby preventing the available period of time of an electronic device powered by the battery from decreasing due to such detrimentally low ambient temperature. In the battery pack: a positive plate and a negative plate are in a side portion of the battery; a heating element receives therein the battery, wherein the battery has both the positive plate and the negative plate electrically connected with a control circuit board, the control circuit board being electrically connected with the heating element through a pair of lead wires, wherein these components are assembled into an assembly which is inserted into a lower casing in a condition in which the control circuit board is projected outward from the heating element, so that the control circuit board is mounted on a board support base provided with a plurality of terminal output ports; and, an upper casing is mounted on both the assembly and the lower casing 8 to cover them from above.

Claims

1. A battery pack comprising:

a battery provided with a positive plate and a negative plate and serving as a power supply of an electronic device, said battery providing an available period of time to use the electronic device,

a control circuit board electrically connected with both said positive plate and said negative plate of said battery;

a case shaped of heating element electrically connected with said control circuit board said case shaped heating element comprising a bottom plate portion and at least three side wall portions to receive said battery therein;

a lower casing for receiving therein said battery within said case shaped heating element;

a board support base provided with a plurality of terminal output ports and projected outward from a side portion of said lower casing, such that said board support base mounts thereon said control circuit board which is projected outward from said case shaped heating element;

an upper casing for covering said battery, said case shaped heating element, said control circuit board, and said lower casing; and

whereby, even when an ambient temperature of said battery decreases to a level reducing the available period of time to use the electronic device, said battery prevents the available period of time to use the electronic device from decreasing by activating said case shaped heating element.

2. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein said control circuit board comprises:

a temperature detecting element for issuing a detection signal to said control circuit board when the ambient temperature of said battery decreases to a level reducing the available period of time to use the electronic device;

a switching element for turning ON and OFF the electric power supplied from said battery to said heating element; and

a control circuit for controlling the electric current from said battery to said switching element and to said heating element upon receipt of said detection signal issued from said temperature detecting element.