JP2001250520A - Battery packs and electronic devices - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a battery pack which does not require assembling a terminal plate, reduces the number of parts, and simplifies the configuration. SOLUTION: A flexible circuit board 13 is incorporated in a battery pack main body (casing) 15 containing a battery main body 11 and mounts a protection circuit 12 for the battery main body.
And a part 13a functioning as an external connection terminal of the battery main body, part of which is led out from the side of the battery pack main body.
And Then, this piece is directly held and electrically connected by a connector provided in the electronic device, so that the connector is not required to be overlapped with a battery pack, thereby reducing the thickness of the electronic device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery pack having a simple structure and an electronic apparatus having a thin structure using the battery pack as a driving source.

[0002]

2. Related Art Recently, secondary batteries have been widely used as driving sources for various electronic devices. This type of secondary battery is generally realized as a battery pack integrated with a protection circuit and the like for the secondary battery, and is configured to be easily attached to and detached from an electronic device such as a mobile phone. .

A protection circuit incorporated in a conventional general battery pack includes an electronic component 2 on a printed circuit board 1 made of glass epoxy resin or the like as shown in FIG.
Is implemented and implemented. The protection circuit is connected by welding a tab 1a provided on the printed circuit board 1 to a pair of positive and negative electrode lead tabs 3a drawn from the battery body 3, and is connected to the box-shaped casing (with the battery body 3). (The battery pack body) 4. On the printed circuit board 1, for example, a terminal plate 5 having a plurality of external connection terminals (pads) 5a plated with gold is provided.
Is attached. The plurality of external connection terminals 5a provided on the terminal plate 5 are exposed to be externally connectable, for example, through openings 4a formed in the bottom surface of the casing 4 as shown in FIG.

The electrode terminals of electronic equipment are, for example, shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6A, a connector 6 having a pin-type contact terminal 6a which is biased and deflected in its axial direction and is provided so as to be able to move forward or backward, or as shown in FIG. 7
a, which is usually mounted on a printed circuit board 8 of an electronic device so as to overlap the battery pack. When the battery pack is fitted into the battery pack housing 9 of the electronic device, the contact terminals 6a, 7a
Contacts the external connection electrode 5a through the opening 4a of the battery pack, and is pressed by the external connection electrode 5a to make an electrical connection.

[0005]

According to the battery pack having such a structure, the electronic device can be easily mounted and dismounted.
Also, there is an advantage that the electric connection with the electronic device can be easily and reliably performed only by the mounting. However, for the battery pack, the contact terminals 6a, 7a of the connectors 6, 7 are provided.
Is pressed down from above by the external connection terminal 5a to make the electrical connection. Therefore, the terminal plate 5 needs to have a robust structure that is superior to the elastic force of the contact terminals 6a and 7a.

In electronic devices such as mobile phones,
There is an advantage that the mounting area of the battery pack including the connection portion with the connectors 6 and 7 can be narrowed, but on the other hand, the connectors 6 and 7 are arranged to be vertically overlapped with the battery pack. However, there is a limit in reducing the thickness of electronic devices. Some battery packs have a structure in which a connector is connected to the ends of a plurality of lead wires derived from the battery pack to make electrical connection therewith, but there is a problem that the lead wires themselves are obstructive. .

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack which does not require assembling a terminal plate, reduces the number of parts, and simplifies the configuration. is there. Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device that uses the battery pack as a drive source and is thinner.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery pack including a battery pack body including a battery body and a flexible circuit board incorporated in the battery pack body. A circuit attached to the battery main body is mounted on the flexible circuit board, and a part of the flexible circuit board is formed as a piece derived from the battery pack body, and the piece is formed as the battery body. The external connection terminal is characterized in that:

Preferably, the accessory circuit comprises a protection circuit for the battery main body, which is constituted by circuit components surface-mounted on the flexible circuit board, and wherein the flexible circuit is provided. The substrate is characterized in that a part thereof has a tab connected to an electrode lead tab of the battery body. Further, as described in claim 3, the battery pack main body has a flat box shape, and one end of the flexible circuit board used as the external connection terminal is moved from one end of the battery pack to the other end. It is characterized by being led out parallel to the main surface of the battery pack body.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus using the battery pack having the above-described configuration as a driving source, wherein the piece of the flexible circuit board which is led out of the battery pack body and used as an external connection terminal is provided. The connector is characterized by comprising a connector for holding the unit from both sides thereof and connecting to the battery body. That is, a connector provided on the electronic device and making an electrical connection with the battery pack has a structure in which a portion of the flexible circuit board derived from the battery pack body is sandwiched from both sides thereof to make the connection. With this configuration, for example, the connectors can be arranged side by side on the battery pack, thereby effectively reducing the thickness of the electronic device and ensuring the electrical connection with the battery pack. It is characterized by having.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery pack incorporated in a battery pack body having a built-in battery body, wherein the battery pack body is mounted on a circuit board on which an accessory circuit of the battery body is mounted. A connector for connecting to the battery body is provided by sandwiching one side of a connection terminal formed of a flexible circuit board derived from a mounted electronic device from both sides thereof.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention and an electronic apparatus using the battery pack as a drive source will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a characteristic structure of a battery pack according to this embodiment. Reference numeral 11 denotes a battery body (battery cell) composed of a Ni-MH battery, a Li-ion battery, or the like, and 12 denotes protection of the battery body 11. It is a circuit (attached circuit). The protection circuit 12 is constructed by mounting a plurality of electronic components 14 on a flexible circuit board 13 called a so-called flexible printed wiring board.
Further, the flexible circuit board 13 is provided with a tab 13a that is connected to the pair of positive and negative electrode return tabs 11a derived from the battery body 11 by welding or the like. Further, a part of the flexible circuit board 13 is formed as a piece 13b which is led out of the battery pack main body 11 and serves as an external connection terminal.

Thus, the flexible circuit board 13 having such a piece 13b and mounting the protection circuit 12 is integrally incorporated into the flat box-shaped casing 15 which forms the battery pack main body together with the battery main body 11. It is. The piece 13b forming the external connection terminal is drawn out from one end of the casing 15 to the outside in parallel with the main surface of the casing 15, for example, as shown in FIG. It functions as a connection terminal portion held between the connectors.

That is, the battery pack according to this embodiment is
A flexible circuit board 13 on which the protection circuit 12 of the battery body 11 is mounted is provided, and the protection circuit 12 can be mounted by using a piece 13b forming a part of the flexible circuit board 13 as an external connection terminal. It has a structure in which the flexible circuit board 13 is integrally incorporated into the casing 15 together with the battery main body 11, and the piece 13 b is led out of the casing 15 to the outside. And FIG.
As shown in the figure, the connector 16 provided in the electronic device includes:
The electrical connection is made by sandwiching the piece 13b from both surfaces.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 17 denotes a printed circuit board on the electronic device side, and the connector 16 is mounted on the printed circuit board 17. The connector 16 may be a connector that sandwiches the piece 13b of the flexible circuit board 13 by, for example, opening and closing the holding piece 16a.
Is provided with a slit-shaped groove that can be inserted, and a piece 13b inserted in this groove is sandwiched from both sides by a contact member made of an elastic piece provided therein to make an electrical connection. May be.

Thus, according to the battery pack having the above-described configuration, the piece 13b forming a part of the flexible circuit board 13 on which the protection circuit 12 of the battery body 11 is mounted is pulled out of the casing (battery pack body) 15. Since the piece 13b itself is used as an external connection terminal for the electronic device, it is not necessary to incorporate the terminal plate 5 as in the related art, and the number of components can be reduced. In addition, since the piece 13b which is drawn out of the casing (battery pack body) 15 and functions as an external connection terminal is a part of the flexible circuit board 13, it is tough against bending and relatively arbitrarily bent. It is possible. Therefore, even though it protrudes from the side of the casing 15, there is relatively little risk of damage due to external force. By the way, when a conventional printed circuit board made of glass epoxy resin is similarly protruded to the outside of the casing 15, there is a problem that damages such as cracks are likely to occur due to an external force. It can be said that it is structurally stable.

Also, since the piece 13b forming a part of the flexible circuit board 13 is used as it is as an external connection terminal, the piece 13b is bent in accordance with the position of the connector 16 in an electronic device, for example. However, it is also possible to make an electrical connection with the connector 16, so that the connection with the electronic device can be made simply and reliably. Furthermore, since the one-side part 13b can be inserted into the slit-like groove of the connector 16 by utilizing the rigidity of the flexible circuit board 13, the one-side part 13b and the connector 16 associated with the mounting of the battery pack on the electronic device can be formed. There is an advantage that the connection work is easy.

In the case of an electronic device, it is not necessary to arrange the connector 16 so as to overlap with the battery pack as in the prior art, and only the connector 16 needs to be provided on the side of the battery pack. It is convenient. In addition, even when the mounting portion of the battery pack in the electronic device is largely opened in the main surface direction of the battery pack so that the battery pack can be attached and detached, the electric part is bent by using the bending portion 13b. It is possible to attach the battery pack while making the connection, and it is possible to obtain the effect that there is no need to make the direction of the electrical connection by the connector 16 coincide with the direction of the attachment / detachment of the battery pack.

In the above-described embodiment, the flexible circuit board 1 on which the protection circuit 12 of the battery body 11 is mounted.
3 is illustrated as an example of a battery pack having a structure in which the piece 13b forming a part of the battery pack 3 is drawn out of the casing 15 as an external connection terminal for making an electrical connection with an electronic device. A connection terminal made of a flexible circuit board for electrical connection may be provided. In this case, the protection circuit 1 of the battery body 11 in the battery pack
2 may be provided on the flexible circuit board 13 on which the connection terminals made of the flexible circuit board led out from the electronic device side are sandwiched from both sides to make electrical connection. .

As described above, a battery pack having a structure in which a connection terminal formed of a flexible circuit board is provided on the electronic device side, and a connector for holding one side of the flexible board from both sides thereof on the battery pack side. Also, since the electrical connection between the battery pack and the electronic device can be made via the flexible substrate, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained. In addition, since a connector provided in the battery pack can have a thin structure in which only the flexible substrate is sandwiched, the thickness does not increase. Furthermore, unlike the previous embodiment, since the piece 13b forming a part of the flexible circuit board 13 does not protrude from the battery pack (casing 11), there is an effect that the handling is easy. Can be

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the size of the battery body 11 and its battery capacity may be in accordance with the specifications. The functions of the protection circuit include not only overcharge protection and overdischarge protection, but also a remaining battery level monitoring function. It may be provided. The number of terminals as external connection terminals only needs to include at least a pair of positive and negative electrodes of the battery body 11. In addition, the structure of the connector 16 that holds the piece 13b serving as an external connection terminal is not particularly limited. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0022]

As described above, according to the battery pack of the present invention, a flexible circuit board is mounted on a battery pack body having a built-in battery body and as a circuit board for mounting an accessory circuit of the battery body. It is used, and a part thereof is led out from the battery pack main body to form a single part that functions as an external connection terminal of the battery main body. Therefore, the incorporation of a terminal plate is unnecessary, and the configuration is simplified, and it is strong in bending and the like. A battery pack having a structure that facilitates electrical connection with the connector can be provided.

Moreover, for an electronic device using the battery pack as a drive source, it is not necessary to provide a connector for making an electrical connection with the battery pack so as to overlap the battery pack, so that the thickness required for installing the connector is omitted. The effect that the thickness can be easily reduced can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the battery pack shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of mounting the battery pack shown in FIG. 1 on an electronic device.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a conventional general battery pack.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an appearance of the battery pack shown in FIG.

6 is a diagram showing an example of mounting the battery pack shown in FIG. 4 to an electronic device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Battery main body 12 Protection circuit 13 Flexible circuit board 13a Tab 13b One part (external connection terminal) 15 Casing (battery pack main body) 16 Connector

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A battery pack body containing a battery body,
A flexible circuit board which is incorporated in the battery pack main body and mounts an accessory circuit of the battery main body, and has a part derived from the battery pack main body as an external connection terminal of the battery main body. And battery pack. 2. The accessory circuit comprises a protection circuit for the battery main body, which is constituted by circuit components surface-mounted on the flexible circuit board, and the flexible circuit board has a part thereof, The battery pack according to claim 1, further comprising a tab connected to an electrode lead tab of the battery body. 3. The battery pack main body has a flat box shape, and a portion of the flexible circuit board used as the external connection terminal is connected to a main surface of the battery pack main body from one end thereof. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the battery pack is led out in parallel. 4. An electronic device using the battery pack according to claim 1 as a drive source, wherein the flexible circuit board is derived from the battery pack body and used as an external connection terminal. An electronic device, comprising: a connector for holding a piece from both sides thereof and connecting to the battery body. 5. A battery pack body containing a battery body,
A connection comprising a circuit board mounted on the battery pack body and mounting an accessory circuit of the battery body, and a flexible circuit board provided on the circuit board and derived from an electronic device to which the battery pack body is mounted. A battery pack comprising: a connector for holding one end of a terminal from both sides thereof and connecting to the battery body.