Rechargeable battery packs

• US 6,777,910 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2003
• Issued: 08/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Shoot The Moon Products II LLC
• Original Assignee: Shoot The Moon Products II LLC
• Inventors: Small, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward H.
• Application Number:
  US10/412,509
• Publication Number:
  US 20030227277A1
• Time in Patent Office: 494 Days
• Field of Search: 320/106, 320/107, 320/110, 320/112, 320/113, 320/150
• US Class Current: 320/106
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2200/10 Temperature sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/213 adapted for cells having curved cross-section, e.g. round or elliptic H01M50/209, H01M50/216 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/5066 Type recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0045 concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

Rechargeable battery packs include one or more key slots along a rear edge in order to distinguish it from other battery pack types and rectangular guide tabs to be backward compatible with former battery pack chargers and former battery operated devices. Battery pack chargers include one or more key tabs in a door and rectangular guide tabs to differentiate rechargeable battery packs that can be safely charged. Door closure switches on a safety switch to activate safe charging of a rechargeable battery pack with matching one or more key slots. The one or more key tabs and the one or more key slots provide a safety mechanism to distinguish rechargeable battery packs which can be safely charged. Rectangular guide tabs on sidewalls of an inner housing allow rectangular guide tabs of the rechargeable battery packs to slide under and further differentiates those that can be safely charged.

Claims

1. A rechargeable battery pack comprising:

a plurality of batteries coupled in series to generate electrical capacity for a battery powered device and to receive a charging current from a charger; and

a battery pack housing to house the plurality of batteries, the battery pack housing having an opening to provide access to a battery case of one of the plurality of batteries, and, a left rectangular guide tab and a right rectangular guide tab to guide the rechargeable battery pack into a battery powered device or a charger.

2. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 wherein,

the left rectangular guide tab is the first guide tab near the front of the left side of the rechargeable battery pack and

the right rectangular guide tab is the first guide tab near the front of the right side of the rechargeable battery pack.

3. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 wherein,

the left rectangular guide tab slides over a ramp of a charger latch to allow insertion into a charger and engages with a vertical face of the charger latch to lock the rechargeable battery pack in place in the charger.

4. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 3 wherein,

a bottom side of the left rectangular guide tab slides over the ramp of the charger latch and

a rear side of the left rectangular guide tab engages with the vertical face of the charger latch to lock the rechargeable battery pack in place in the charger.

5. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 wherein,

the right rectangular guide tab slides over a ramp of a right charger latch and engages with a vertical face of the right charger latch to lock the rechargeable battery pack in place in a charger.

6. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 5 wherein,

a bottom side of the right rectangular guide tab slides over the ramp of the right charger latch and

a rear side of the right rectangular guide tab engages with the vertical face of the right charger latch to lock the rechargeable battery pack in place in the charger.

7. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 5 wherein,

the left rectangular guide tab slides over a ramp of a left charger latch initially at a front edge and engages with a vertical face of the left charger latch to lock the rechargeable battery pack in place in the charger.

8. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 wherein,

the opening in the battery pack housing allows a temperature sensor of a charger to thermally couple to the battery case of the one of the plurality of batteries.

9. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 wherein,

the battery case is the terminal casing of the one of the plurality of batteries and the opening in the battery pack housing allows a temperature sensor of a charger to mechanically, thermally, and electrically couple to the terminal casing of the one of the plurality of batteries.

10. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 wherein,

the left rectangular guide tab and the right rectangular guide tab are respectively on a left side and a right side and nearest a front side of the rechargeable battery pack and the rechargeable battery pack further includes,

a first mirrored-L shaped guide tab on the left side and a first L shaped guide tab on the right side of the battery pack housing.

11. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 10 wherein,

the first mirrored-L shaped guide tab and the first L shaped guide tab are respectively nearest the middle on the left side and the right side of the rechargeable battery pack and

the rechargeable battery pack further includes,

a second mirrored-L shaped guide tab on the left side and a second L shaped guide tab on the right side of the battery pack housing nearest a rear side of the rechargeable battery pack.

12. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 10 wherein,

the first mirrored-L shaped guide tab and the first L shaped guide tab engage with rectangular guide tabs of a charger to hold it in place and stop its forward insertion into the charger.

13. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 further comprising:

one or more key tabs to distinguish the rechargeable battery pack.

14. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 further comprising:

an edge having one or more key slots to distinguish the rechargeable battery pack.

15. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1, wherein

the battery pack housing further having a distinguishing feature, the distinguishing feature to distinguish the rechargeable battery pack from others in order to indicate that it has the opening in the battery pack housing to provide access to the battery case of the one of the plurality of batteries.

16. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 further comprising:

a surface having one or more key slots to distinguish the rechargeable battery pack.

17. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 14 wherein,

the one or more key slots is an elongated key slot.

18. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 wherein,

a first battery of the plurality of batteries coupled in series has a first terminal case with a first terminal at one end,

a second battery of the plurality of batteries coupled in series has a second terminal at an opposite end, and

the opening in the battery pack housing provides access to the first terminal case of the first battery.

19. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 further comprising:

a first contact on a right side and a second contact on a left side to couple to a charger to charge the plurality of batteries or to couple to a battery powered device to power it with the plurality of batteries.

20. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 19 wherein,

the battery pack housing has an upper half and a lower half, a front side and a back side and,

the first contact is in the upper half on the right side near the front side and the second contact is in the upper half on the left side near the front side.

21. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 wherein,

a first battery of the plurality of batteries coupled in series has a first terminal case with a first terminal at one end,

a second battery of the plurality of batteries coupled in series has a second terminal at an opposite end,

the opening in the battery pack housing provides access to the first terminal case of the first battery, and

the rechargeable battery pack further includes,

a first contact on a right side, the first contact coupled to the first terminal of the first battery, and

a second contact on a left side, the second contact coupled to the second terminal of the second battery.

22. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 1 wherein,

the opening is in a front side of the battery pack housing nearer a right side,

the left rectangular guide tab is in a base of a left side of the rechargeable battery pack nearer the front side, and

the right rectangular guide tab is in a base of the right side of the rechargeable battery pack nearer the front side.

23. A rechargeable battery pack comprising:

a plurality of batteries coupled in series to generate electrical capacity for a battery powered device and to receive a charging current from a charger; and

a battery pack housing to house the plurality of batteries, the battery pack housing having

an opening to provide access to a battery case of one of the plurality of batteries,

a left rectangular guide tab and a right rectangular guide tab to guide the rechargeable battery pack into a battery powered device or a charger, the left rectangular guide tab and the right rectangular guide tab are respectively on a left side and a right side and nearest a front side of the rechargeable battery pack,

a first mirrored-L shaped guide tab on the left side and a first L shaped guide tab the right side of the battery pack housing, the first mirrored-L shaped guide tab and the first L shaped guide tab are respectively nearest the middle on the left side and the right side of the rechargeable battery pack, and

a second mirrored-L shaped guide tab on the left side and a second L shaped guide tab on the right side of the battery pack housing nearest a rear side of the rechargeable battery pack,

wherein the left rectangular guide tab and the right rectangular guide tab provide backward compatibility to allow the rechargeable battery back to be charged by former battery pack chargers at a slow charge rate and to operate in a plurality of former battery powered devices.

24. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 23 further comprising:

one or more key tabs to distinguish the rechargeable battery pack.

25. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 23 further comprising:

an edge of the housing having one or more key slots to distinguish the rechargeable battery pack.

26. A method of constructing a rechargeable battery pack, the method comprising:

forming a top half and a bottom half of a battery pack housing, the battery pack housing having

an opening in a front side to allow insertion of a temperature probe, and

a pair of openings on a right and left side to allow protrusion of a pair of contact terminals,

the bottom half having a pair of rectangular guide tabs near a front side on the left and right sides to couple the rechargeable battery pack into a battery pack charger or a battery powered device;

coupling a plurality of rechargeable batteries in series together, a first rechargeable battery of the series having a terminal coupled to one of the pair of contact terminals, a last rechargeable battery of the series having an opposite terminal coupled to the other one of the pair of contact terminals;

inserting the plurality of rechargeable batteries into the battery pack housing so that the terminal casing of the first rechargeable battery of the series is contactable by a temperature probe through the opening in the front side of the battery pack housing and the pair of contact terminals protrude through the pair of openings on the left and right side; and

fusing the top half and the bottom half of the battery pack housing together to hold the plurality of rechargeable batteries coupled in series together within the rechargeable battery pack.

27. The method of claim 26 of constructing a rechargeable battery pack wherein,

the battery pack housing further has

a first L shaped guide tab near a middle of the right side and

a first mirrored-L shaped guide tab near a middle of the left side.

28. The method of claim 27 of constructing a rechargeable battery pack wherein,

the battery pack housing further has

a second L shaped guide tab near a near side on the right side and

a second mirrored-L shaped guide tab near the rear side on the left side.

29. The method of claim 26 of constructing a rechargeable battery pack wherein,

the battery pack housing further has

one or more key slots in a top rear edge to differentiate the rechargeable battery pack as being safe for fast charging by a battery pack charger.

30. The method of claim 29 of constructing a rechargeable battery pack wherein,

the one or more key slots is an elongated key slot in the top rear edge.

31. A method of constructing a rechargeable battery pack comprising:

forming a top half and a bottom half of a battery pack housing, the battery pack housing having

an opening in a front side to allow insertion of a temperature probe, and

a pair of openings on a right and left side to allow protrusion of a pair of contact terminals,

the bottom half having a pair of rectangular guide tabs near a front side on the left and right sides to couple the rechargeable battery pack into a battery pack charger or a battery powered device;

coupling a plurality of rechargeable batteries in series together, a first rechargeable battery of the series having a terminal coupled to one of the pair of contact terminals, a last rechargeable battery of the series having an opposite terminal coupled to the other one of the pair of contact terminals;

inserting the plurality of rechargeable batteries into the battery pack housing so that the terminal casing of the first rechargeable battery of the series is contactable by a temperature probe through the opening in the front side of the battery pack housing and the pair of contact terminals protrude through the pair of openings on the left and right side; and

fusing the top half and the bottom half of the battery pack housing together to hold the plurality of rechargeable batteries coupled in series together within the rechargeable battery pack,

wherein the battery pack housing provides backward compatibility by coupling to former battery pack chargers and former battery powered devices.

32. The method of claim 31 of constructing a rechargeable battery pack, wherein

the battery pack housing further has

one or more key slots in an edge to differentiate the rechargeable battery pack as being safe for fast charging by a battery pack charger.

33. The method of claim 31 of constructing a rechargeable battery pack, wherein

the battery pack housing further has

one or more key tabs extending from an edge to differentiate the rechargeable battery pack as being safe for fast charging by a battery pack charger.

34. A rechargeable battery pack comprising:

a plurality of batteries coupled in series to generate electrical capacity for a battery powered device and to receive a charging current from a charger;

a top half case and a bottom half case coupled together to form a battery pack housing around the plurality of batteries, the top half case including

one or more key slots configured to distinguish the rechargeable battery pack from other rechargeable battery packs;

a left rectangular guide tab coupled to a left side of the bottom half case, the left rectangular guide tab to guide the rechargeable battery pack into a battery powered device or a charger; and

a right rectangular guide tab coupled to a right side of the bottom half case, the right rectangular guide tab to guide the rechargeable battery pack into a battery powered device or a charger.

35. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 34 wherein,

the left rectangular guide tab is the first guide tab near the front of the left side of the bottom half case and the right rectangular guide tab is the first guide tab near the front of the right side of the bottom half case.

36. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 34 wherein,

the left rectangular guide tab is configured to slide over a ramp of a left charger latch to allow insertion of the battery pack housing into a charger and

the left rectangular guide tab is configured to engage with a vertical face of the left charger latch to lock the battery pack housing in place in the charger.

37. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 36 wherein,

a bottom side of the left rectangular guide tab is configured to slide over the ramp of the left charger latch and

a rear side of the left rectangular guide tab is configured to engage with the vertical face of the left charger latch to lock the battery pack housing in place in the charger.

38. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 34 wherein,

the right rectangular guide tab is configured to slide over a ramp of a right charger latch to allow insertion of the battery pack housing into a charger and

the right rectangular guide tab is configured to engage with a vertical face of the right charger latch to lock the battery pack housing in place in a charger.

39. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 38 wherein,

a bottom side of the right rectangular guide tab configured to slide over the ramp of the right charger latch and

a rear side of the right rectangular guide tab is configured to engage with the vertical face of the right charger latch to lock the battery pack housing in place in the charger.

40. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 38 wherein,

the left rectangular guide tab is configured to slide over a ramp of a left charger latch initially at a front edge and

the left rectangular guide tab is configured to engage with a vertical face of the left charger latch to lock the battery pack housing in place in the charger.

41. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 34 wherein,

the battery pack housing further has an opening to provide access to a battery case of one of the plurality of batteries.

42. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 41 wherein,

the opening in the battery pack housing is configured to allow a temperature sensor of a charger to thermally couple to a battery case of one of the plurality of batteries to be housed therein.

43. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 41 wherein,

the opening in the battery pack housing is configured to allow a temperature sensor of a charger to mechanically, thermally, and electrically couple to a terminal casing of one of the plurality of batteries to be housed therein.

44. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 34 wherein,

the left rectangular guide tab and the right rectangular guide tab are respectively on a left side and a right side and nearest a front side of the bottom half case and

the battery pack housing further includes,

a first mirrored-L shaped guide tab on the left side and a first L shaped guide tab on the right side of the bottom half case.

45. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 44 wherein,

the first mirrored-L shaped guide tab and first L shaped guide tab are respectively nearest the middle on the left side and the right side of the bottom half case and

the battery pack housing further includes,

a second mirrored-L shaped guide tab on the left side and a second L shaped guide tab on the right side of the bottom half case nearest a rear side of the battery pack housing.

46. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 44 wherein,

the first mirrored-L shaped guide tab and the first L shaped guide tab are configured to engage with rectangular guide tabs of a charger to hold the rechargeable battery pack in place and stop its forward insertion into the charger.

47. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 45 wherein,

the left rectangular guide tab and the right rectangular guide tab are configured to provide backward compatibility

to allow the rechargeable battery back to be charged by former battery pack chargers at a slow charge rate and

to operate in a plurality of former battery powered devices.

48. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 47 wherein,

the opening in the battery pack housing is configured to allow a temperature sensor of a charger to thermally couple to a battery case of one of the plurality of batteries housed therein.

49. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 34 wherein,

a rear edge of the top half case has the one or more key slots configured to distinguish the rechargeable battery pack from other rechargeable battery packs.

50. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 49 wherein,

the rechargeable battery pack has an opening in the battery pack housing configured to provide access to the battery case of the one of the plurality of batteries and

the one or more key slots in the rear edge distinguishes that the rechargeable battery pack has the opening from other rechargeable battery packs that do not have the opening.

51. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 34 wherein,

a rear surface of the top half case has the one or more key slots configured to distinguish the rechargeable battery pack from other rechargeable battery packs.

52. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 51 wherein,

the opening in the battery pack housing is in a front side of the top half case nearer a right side,

the left rectangular guide tab is in a base of a left side of the bottom half case nearer the front side, and

the right rectangular guide tab is in a base of the right side of the bottom half case nearer the front side.

53. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 50 wherein,

the one or more key slots are one or more elongated key slots.

54. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 34 wherein,

the top half case further has a first contact opening on the right side near the front side, the first contact opening configured to receive a first contact, and

the top half case further has a second contact opening on the left side near the front side, the second contact opening configured to receive a second contact.

55. The rechargeable battery pack of claim 54 wherein,

the first contact on the right side is a negative terminal to couple to a negative terminal of a charger or a battery powered device and

the second contact on the left side is a positive terminal to couple to a positive terminal of the charger or the battery powered device.