Watertight battery compartment cover with latch actuated o-ring seal

• US 6,007,941 A
• Filed: 06/19/1998
• Issued: 12/28/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ICU Medical Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Abbott Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Lawless, Michael W., Soberon, Peter A., Hermann, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maples, John S.
• Application Number:
  US09/100,370
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• Field of Search: 429/100, 429/96, 429/99
• US Class Current: 429/99
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/202 Casings or frames around the primary casing of a single cell or a single battery
• 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 50/247 specially adapted for portable devices, e.g. mobile phones, computers, hand tools or pacemakers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A cover for a battery compartment in a medical device such as an ambulatory pump that is used for infusing a medicinal fluid. The battery compartment cover includes a lever that is pivotal between an open and a closed position. The lever is connected to a plunger that applies a compressive force against an O-ring, which is trapped between a shoulder on a washer through which the plunger extends and an end of the plunger. When the lever is pivoted to its open position, the compressive force on the O-ring is released, enabling the battery compartment cover to be removed from the opening into the battery compartment. However, when the lever is pivoted to its closed position, it draws the plunger outwardly, applying a compressive force to the O-ring that causes the O-ring to expand radially outward, sealing the opening into the battery compartment against the intrusion of water or other liquids and securing the battery compartment cover in engagement with the opening.

Claims

1. A battery compartment cover for sealing an opening into a battery compartment that is disposed within a housing of a portable battery powered device, comprising:

(a) a supporting member having;

(i) an inner portion shaped and sized to fit within the opening into the battery compartment;

(ii) an outer portion shaped and sized to overlie the opening into the battery compartment; and

(iii) an aperture disposed within the outer portion and extending through the inner portion of the supporting member;

(b) an elastomeric seal disposed around the inner portion of the supporting member;

(c) a plunger shaped and sized to fit within the opening into the battery compartment and having;

(i) a shoulder disposed at one end, said shoulder being sized to abut against one side of the elastomeric seal; and

(ii) a tab disposed at said one end of the plunger, surrounded by said shoulder, said tab extending through the aperture of the supporting member, through the inner portion to the outer portion of the supporting member; and

(d) a lever pivotally coupled to the tab and rotatable between a first position and a second position, rotation of said lever from the second position to the first position drawing said tab and said plunger toward the outer portion of the supporting member so that when said battery compartment cover is disposed within the opening of the battery compartment and said lever has been rotated to the first position, the elastomeric seal is compressed between the shoulder and the outer portion of the supporting member, causing the elastomeric seal to expand radially within the opening, forming a substantially watertight seal between the inner portion of the supporting member and the opening into the battery compartment, and thereafter, when said lever is rotated from the first position to the second position, a force applied by the shoulder against the elastomeric seal is substantially reduced, enabling the battery compartment cover to be readily removed from the opening into the battery compartment.

2. The battery compartment cover of claim 1, further comprising a spring disposed on an end of the plunger opposite that on which the tab is disposed, said spring providing an electrical contact adapted to engage a terminal of a battery when the plunger is disposed within the opening of the battery compartment.

3. The battery compartment cover of claim 2, further comprising an electrical wiper that is mechanically and electrically coupled to the spring, said electrical wiper extending to a periphery of the plunger and being adapted to electrically couple with a terminal on the housing of the portable battery powered device when the plunger is inserted within the opening.

4. The battery compartment cover of claim 3, further comprising a fastener that connects the electrical wiper and the spring to the plunger.

5. The battery compartment cover of claim 1, further comprising a flexible tether that is coupled to the plunger and is adapted to connect to an interior point within the battery compartment, said flexible tether securing the battery compartment cover to the housing to prevent the battery compartment cover from being inadvertently misplaced, while enabling the battery compartment cover to be removed to access the interior of the battery compartment, to facilitate removing or inserting a battery therein.

6. The battery compartment cover of claim 1, further comprising a pivot pin that extends through the lever and through the tab, forming a pivot joint between the lever and the tab.

7. The battery compartment cover of claim 1, wherein the elastomeric seal comprises an O-ring.

8. The battery compartment cover of claim 1, wherein when in the second position, the lever is generally aligned with a longitudinal axis of the plunger, and when in the first position, the lever is generally transverse to said longitudinal axis.

9. The battery compartment cover of claim 1, wherein a surface of the lever rides against a surface of the outer portion of the supporting member as the lever is rotated between to the first position and the second position, a distance between a center of rotation of the lever and a point on said surface of the lever that rides on the surface of the outer portion of the supporting member increasing as the lever is rotated from the second position to the first position.

10. The battery compartment cover of claim 9, wherein the lever has a generally flat end and a flat side that contact the surface of the outer portion of the supporting member, a shape of the lever thus tending to resist rotation of the lever between the second position and the first position.

11. A battery compartment cover for sealing an opening into a battery compartment of a battery powered medical device that may be exposed to a liquid, comprising:

(a) a plug having a cross-sectional size and shape to enable the plug to fit within the opening of the battery compartment and a supporting surface that is larger than the opening and overlies the opening when the plug is inserted therein;

(b) an elastomeric ring fitted around the plug and disposed against a shoulder that extends around a periphery of the plug;

(c) said plug also including a movable plunger that moves generally along a longitudinal axis of the plug, one end of said movable plunger having a sleeve that abuts against the elastomeric ring; and

(d) a lever that is disposed adjacent the supporting surface of the plug and coupled to the plunger, rotation of the lever about a pivot point drawing the movable plunger against the elastomeric ring, compressing the elastomeric ring so that it expands radially outward into sealing contact with a surface defined by the opening, thereby sealing the opening so as to prevent a liquid from entering the battery compartment.

12. The battery compartment cover of claim 11, wherein said lever is pivotally connected to said plunger by a pivot pin that passes through an orifice formed in an end of the plunger and through an orifice formed in the lever, said end of the plunger extending through an aperture formed in the plug.

13. The battery compartment cover of claim 11, further comprising an electrical contact connected to an inner end of the plug, said electrical contact being adapted to electrically couple a terminal of a battery to a terminal within the medical device when the plug is inserted into the opening of the battery compartment.

14. The battery compartment cover of claim 13, further comprising a fastener that connects the electrical contact to the plug.

15. The battery compartment cover of claim 11, further comprising a flexible cord that connects the plug to the medical device to prevent the battery compartment cover from being misplaced when the plug is not inserted into the opening of the battery compartment.

16. The battery compartment cover of claim 11, wherein the movable plunger includes an annular groove that is circumscribed by the shoulder, a central portion of the movable plunger defining a radially inner surface of the annular groove and extending through an aperture formed in the outer surface of the plug, to connect with the lever.

17. Apparatus for sealingly enclosing a battery within a portable device, comprising:

(a) a housing that defines a battery compartment having an opening for insertion and removal of the battery; and

(b) a cover for sealing closing the opening, said cover comprising;

(i) a plug sized to fit within the opening;

(ii) an elastomeric seal fitted around the plug;

(iii) a lever that is pivotally mounted adjacent to an external surface of the plug; and

(iv) a plunger that is moved by pivoting the lever into compressive contact with the elastomeric seal, causing the seal to expand radially outward within the opening, sealing the opening.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the plunger is pivotally coupled to the lever, so that rotation of the lever from a first position to a second position releases the compression of the elastomeric seal to enable the cover to be removed.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the elastomeric seal comprises an O-ring seated against a shoulder formed on the plug.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising an electrical conductor mounted on the plunger that is adapted to electrically couple to a battery disposed within the compartment and to a terminal on the portable device.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a tether for connecting the cover to the housing of the portable device.