Battery charger with improved terminal protection
First Claim
1. A charger comprising:
- a housing including on an outside surface thereof a connecting portion to which a battery pack is attached by a slide of the battery pack in a predetermined direction on the connecting portion;
a plurality of terminals provided in the connecting portion for establishing electrical connection with the battery pack upon attachment of the battery pack to the connecting portion;
urging means;
protective means provided on the connecting portion and capable of linear movement in the predetermined direction wherein under normal operating conditions, the protective means is urged by the urging means to a covering position in which the protective means covers the terminals, and when the battery pack is attached to the connecting portion, the protective means is adapted so as to be abutted and moved by the battery pack to a withdrawn position in which the terminals are exposed;
a terminal block on which the terminals are erected and oriented in the predetermined direction, wherein the protective means is a slide cover including a top plate and a pair of side plates that extend orthogonally downwards from side edges of the top plate and are oriented in the predetermined direction, the top plate being located directly over the terminals and the side plates flanking the terminals when no battery pack is attached to the charger; and
means for limiting the movement of the slide cover, the means for limiting the movement including a through-hole which is provided in the outside surface of the housing below the slide cover and elongated in the predetermined direction, the means for limiting the movement further including a stopper protruding from an under surface of the top plate into the elongated through-hole, such that the movement of the slide cover with respect to the housing is limited to the movement of the stopper within the elongated through-hole.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A charger (1) includes a connecting portion (5) provided in an upper case (3) of the charger. The connection portion (5) includes a pair of guide rails (6) to which a battery pack (40) is slidably attached. The charger further includes between the guide rails (6) a terminal block having various terminals (12–14) as well as a slide cover (21) linearly slidable in parallel with the direction in which the battery pack slides on the charger. Under normal operating conditions, the slide cover (21) is biased to a rear position in which the cover (21) is located over and protects a terminal block (11). When the battery pack (40) is set on the charger, the battery pack abuts and slides the slide cover to a forward position in which the terminal block (11) is exposed.
-
Citations
13 Claims
-
1. A charger comprising:
-
a housing including on an outside surface thereof a connecting portion to which a battery pack is attached by a slide of the battery pack in a predetermined direction on the connecting portion; a plurality of terminals provided in the connecting portion for establishing electrical connection with the battery pack upon attachment of the battery pack to the connecting portion; urging means; protective means provided on the connecting portion and capable of linear movement in the predetermined direction wherein under normal operating conditions, the protective means is urged by the urging means to a covering position in which the protective means covers the terminals, and when the battery pack is attached to the connecting portion, the protective means is adapted so as to be abutted and moved by the battery pack to a withdrawn position in which the terminals are exposed; a terminal block on which the terminals are erected and oriented in the predetermined direction, wherein the protective means is a slide cover including a top plate and a pair of side plates that extend orthogonally downwards from side edges of the top plate and are oriented in the predetermined direction, the top plate being located directly over the terminals and the side plates flanking the terminals when no battery pack is attached to the charger; and means for limiting the movement of the slide cover, the means for limiting the movement including a through-hole which is provided in the outside surface of the housing below the slide cover and elongated in the predetermined direction, the means for limiting the movement further including a stopper protruding from an under surface of the top plate into the elongated through-hole, such that the movement of the slide cover with respect to the housing is limited to the movement of the stopper within the elongated through-hole. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A charger comprising:
-
a housing including on an outside surface thereof a connecting portion to which a battery pack is attached by a slide of the battery pack in a predetermined direction on the connecting portion; a plurality of terminals provided in the connecting portion for establishing electrical connection with the battery pack upon attachment of the battery pack to the connecting portion; urging means; protective means provided on the connecting portion and capable of linear movement in the predetermined direction wherein under normal operating conditions, the protective means is urged by the urging means to a covering position in which the protective means covers the terminals, and when the battery pack is attached to the connecting portion, the protective means is adapted so as to be abutted and moved by the battery pack to a withdrawn position in which the terminals are exposed; means for limiting the movement of the protective means, the means for limiting the movement including a trough-hole which is provided in the outside surface of the housing below the protective means and elongated in the predetermined direction, the means for limiting the movement further including a stopper protruding from an under surface of the protective means into the elongated through-hole, such that the movement of the protective means with respect to the housing is limited to the movement of the stopper within the elongated through-hole. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
Specification