Wearable terminal with a battery latch mechanism

• US 7,052,799 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2002
• Issued: 05/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Vocollect, Inc. (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Vocollect, Inc. (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Lacy, Graham Keith, Zatezalo, Douglas Mark, Davis, Michael, Zoschg, Ryan Anthony, Heseltine, Ian, Barnes, Nicholas, Mellott, Mark Bradford
• Primary Examiner(s): Alejandro, Raymond
• Application Number:
  US10/185,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20040001997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,433 Days
• Field of Search: 429/99, 429/100, 429/97, 429/96, 429/181, 429/151, 429/159, 292/165, 292/169, 292/175, 292/145, 292/159, 292/170, 305/00, 227/8, 439/500, 439/624, 439/660, 320/112, 206/703, 206/704, 361/679
• US Class Current: 429/97
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/052 Li-accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/24 adapted for protecting batteries from their environment, e.g. from corrosion thermal insulation H01M10/658
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0262 for a battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/0976 Sliding cam

Abstract

A wearable, mobile and/or portable terminal for use in an inventory management system. The terminal includes a terminal housing, a battery pack removably receivable within an external battery-receiving cavity of the terminal housing, and a battery latching mechanism that secures the battery pack in the battery-receiving cavity in a latched condition. The battery pack has an unlatched condition in which the battery latch mechanism is disengaged from the battery pack. A camming surface of the battery latching mechanism lifts the unlatched battery pack from the battery-receiving cavity to promote its removal from the terminal housing. The terminal housing is sealed relative to the environment surrounding the wearable terminal battery pack and yet permits electrical coupling between the battery pack and the terminal in the latched condition.

Claims

1. An electronic device adapted to be powered by a battery pack having opposite first and second ends, comprising:

a housing having a shallow external battery-receiving cavity configured to receive the battery pack;

a battery latch mechanism having a slider configured to latch the battery pack in the battery-receiving cavity and configured to unlatch the battery pack for removing the battery pack from the battery-receiving cavity; and

a spring-biased battery lifter arrangement including a battery-elevating camming surface at an interface between the housing and the first end of the battery pack and a spring biasing arrangement at a location of the second end of the battery pack which cooperates with the camming surface to cause the first end of the battery pack to elevate to an elevated state when the battery latch mechanism is unlatched, wherein the slider of the battery latch mechanism re-engages the battery pack while in the elevated state to at least assist in preventing the battery pack from falling back into the battery-receiving cavity.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the spring biasing arrangement comprises electrical spring contacts.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said housing includes a chamber proximate to said battery-receiving cavity, an end wall separating said chamber from said battery-receiving cavity, and said electrical contacts extend through a corresponding plurality of openings defined in said end wall.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the slider is spring-biased and is mounted to reciprocate.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the slider is spring-biased and mounted to reciprocate.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the battery latch mechanism is mounted in the cavity, and the battery latch mechanism further includes a finger-depressible pushbutton coupled with the slider, the battery latch mechanism being configured such that depressing the pushbutton causes the slider to release the battery back and exposes the battery pack for quick and easy removal of the battery pack with the finger used to depress the pushbutton.

7. An electronic device adapted to be powered by a battery pack having opposite first and second ends, comprising:

a housing having an external battery-receiving cavity and a plurality of spring-loaded first electrical contacts positioned in said battery-receiving cavity;

a battery latch mechanism mounted proximate to said battery-receiving cavity;

a battery pack configured to be removably received within said battery-receiving cavity, said battery pack including a plurality of second electrical contacts and a peripheral edge adjacent to said battery latch mechanism, said latch mechanism and said battery pack having a latched condition in which said battery latch mechanism engages and secures said battery pack within said battery-receiving cavity and an unlatched condition, and said second electrical contacts being electrically coupled with said first electrical contacts when said battery pack is in the latched condition; and

a battery lifter arrangement configured to elevate the first end of an installed battery pack adjacent the battery latch mechanism when the battery latch mechanism is unlatched, the battery lifter arrangement including a battery-elevating camming structure at an interface between the housing and a first end of the battery pack and a spring biasing arrangement at a location of the second end of the battery pack which cooperates with the camming structure to cause the first end of the battery pack to elevate when the battery latch mechanism is unlatched, wherein said battery latch mechanism includes a camming surface, and said first electrical contacts directing said peripheral edge of said battery pack to engage said camming surface in the unlatched condition, the engagement between said camming surface and said peripheral edge lifting said peripheral edge of said battery pack a distance sufficient for removing said battery pack from said battery-receiving cavity.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the battery latch mechanism includes a reciprocating latching member for latchingly engaging and disengaging the battery pack while in the battery-receiving cavity, a release button configured to reciprocate the latching member and a spring captured between the housing and the release button to provide spring bias for both the release button and the reciprocating latching member.

9. An electronic device adapted to be powered by a battery pack having opposite first and second ends, comprising:

a housing having a shallow external battery-receiving cavity configured to receive the battery pack;

a battery latch mechanism including a slider and a pivotally mounted, finger-operable release button located on the housing adjacent the first end of the battery pack and in operable engagement with the slider, the slider being configured to latch the battery pack in the battery-receiving cavity and configured to unlatch the battery pack for removing the battery pack from the battery-receiving cavity; and

a spring-biased battery lifter arrangement including a battery lifter arrangement configured to elevate a first end of the battery pack when the battery latch mechanism is unlatched, wherein the slider of the battery latch mechanism re-engages the battery pack while in the elevated state to at least assist in preventing the battery pack from falling back into the battery-receiving cavity, and the battery latch mechanism is configured such that a user can unlatch the battery pack by depressing the release button and with the same hand readily grasp the first end of the battery pack while the battery pack is in the elevated state.

10. An electronic device adapted to be powered by a battery pack having opposite first and second ends, comprising:

a housing having a shallow external battery-receiving cavity configured to receive the battery pack;

a battery latch mechanism including a slider, a release button pivotally mounted for rotary motion, a latching member configured for linear reciprocation, and a motion converter for converting rotary motion of the button to linear reciprocation of the latching member, the slider being configured to latch the battery pack in the battery-receiving cavity and configured to unlatch the battery pack for removing the battery pack from the battery-receiving cavity; and

a spring-biased battery lifter arrangement including a battery lifter arrangement configured to elevate a first end of the battery pack when the battery latch mechanism is unlatched, wherein the slider of the battery latch mechanism re-engages the battery pack while in the elevated state to at least assist in preventing the battery pack from falling back into the battery-receiving cavity.