Abstract:
A battery charger for indoor use and motor vehicle, primarily includes a battery charging board disposed on a base, and being covered by an upper casing to form a battery charger; an end of the charging board having a connector for connecting to the cigarette lighter socket in the car, and the other end of the charging board having an inserting plate for connecting to the indoor electric socket such that the battery charger of the present invention can be used for the battery charging indoors as well as in the car. In the meantime, the power cord can be stored by coiling; it does not only enhance the effect of use, but also provides a compact battery charger for convenient carrying.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    (a) Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention is related to a battery charger, and more particularly, to a battery charger that can be used indoors as well as in a motor vehicle.  
           [0003]    (b) Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    In the severe competition of the industrial society, mastering the time in order to capture the first opportunity becomes the one and only way to success. Therefore the mobile phone, which can make contact with others anytime, becomes a necessary tool. With the constructive research and development of the telecommunication industry, the size of the mobile phone is getting smaller and smaller for easy carrying. In the meantime, the battery idling time and telephone time is being extended. However, for those who have to travel a lot, they heavily rely on the timely battery charging. The battery charger is divided into two types according to its use: indoors and in the motor vehicle. The indoor battery charger  1 , as shown in FIG. 1, has two parallel inserting plates  12  extended from a connector  11 , and a power cord  13  being connected to the other end of the connector  11 . The connector of the power cord has a connector  14  at its end and the shape of such connector  14  is different from different brand of mobile phones, such that the connector  14  is inserted into the mobile phone, and the inserting plates  12  being inserted into the indoor socket for battery charging. In FIG. 2, the car battery charger  2  has a power cord  22  at the rear end of a connector  21 , and the power cord  22  has a connector  23  at its end so that the connector  23  can be inserted into the mobile phone, and the connection card of the connector is inserted into the cigarette lighter socket for battery charging in the car. The foregoing two battery charger structures definitely provide the battery charging for indoors use and the use in a car and also meet the requirements for the traveling and business trips. However, the two cannot be used interchangeably. The user has to bring both battery chargers with him/her for the need of battery charging. It is not convenient to carry both, and there is a need for improvement.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    The present invention is related to a battery charger, and more particularly, to a battery charger that can be used indoors as well as in a motor vehicle.  
           [0006]    The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a battery charger for indoor use as well as use in a car; by means of the connector for connecting to the cigarette lighter socket in the car and the indoor sockets, the battery charger can be used in two different occasion and thus enhance the use of battery charger.  
           [0007]    The secondary purpose of the present invention is to provide a battery charger for indoor use and the use in a car; by means of coiling the power cord along the periphery, the connector at the end of the power cord can be hidden to reduce the overall volume for easy carrying.  
           [0008]    The foregoing object and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.  
           [0009]    Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 shows a prior art indoor battery charger.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 shows a prior art battery charger in a car.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of FIG. 3.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of FIG. 3.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the vertical insert plates and the closed accommodating groove of the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 shows the insert plate according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 8 shows the insert plate of another preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing the storage of the power cord according to the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]    The following descriptions are of exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.  
         [0020]    Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4. The battery charger of the present invention comprises a base  3 , a charging board  4 , an upper casing  5 , and a cover  6 ; the top of the base  3  having a recession  31  for fixing the charging board  4  into position, and a passing groove hole  32  being disposed at the rear end of the recession  31  for holding two parallel insert plates  33 , and a plug  34  being inserted to secure the insert plates  33  into position. In the meantime, the insert plates  33  can be folded freely as shown in FIG. 5 such that the insert plates can be attached to the bottom side of the base  3  for easy storage, or the insert plates could stand vertically as shown in FIG. 6 for inserting into the indoor socket. A guiding protrusion  331  is disposed on the bottom of the insert plate  33  such that when the insert plates are bent to the vertical position, the guiding protrusion  331  will be in contact with charging board  4  to give a conductive status, and parallel vertical plates  35  are disposed on both sides at the front of the base  3 . A gap is left between the vertical plates  35  and the sidewall of the base  3 , and an opening  36  of appropriate size is disposed on the sidewall. Please refer to FIGS. 5 and 6. An outwardly protruded wing board  37  is disposed on both sides of the bottom of the base  3  such that there is a gap between the outwardly protruded board of the wing board  37  and the bottom side of the base  3 , and in the same time, a concave accommodating groove  38  is formed at the centers of the two wing boards  37 . The groove  38  is formed with a recess  381  at the top of the inner wall and two cavities  382  at two sides of the recess  381 .  
         [0021]    The circuitry and electronic component for the battery charging are formed on the board charging board  4 . Since these circuitry and components are prior arts and thus will not be described here. Two brackets  41  are disposed at the front side of the charging board  4 , which are embedded into the gap between the vertical plates  35  at the front end of the base  3  and the sidewall, while the protruded end  411  of the two brackets  41  protrude outside the opening  36  to secure the two brackets in position, and the ends of the two brackets  41  press against a connector  42 , and the head of the connector  42  protrudes from the corresponding end of the base  3  in order to correspond the negative node of the two brackets  41  to the positive node of the connector  42 . It thus forms a connector that can adapt to the cigarette lighter socket in a car. A power cord  43  is set at the rear lateral side of the charging board  4 , and such power cord  43  passes from the opening groove  39  at the center of the rear lateral side of the base, and in the meantime, a connector  44  is disposed at an end power cord  43 . The shape of the connector  44  may differ according to different brands of mobile phones in order to adapt all kinds of mobile phones. The upper casing is a hollow body with the same appearance as the base  3 , which can be coupled to the upper side of the case  3  such that the charging board  4  can be sealed between the base  3  and the upper casing  5 . Screws can be used to fix the base  3  and the upper casing  5  more securely in practical implementation. As shown in FIG. 9, the connecting member for engaging with a mobile phone is not fixedly connected with the connector  44  of the power cord  43 , so that it is only necessary for the manufacturer to prepare a number of connectors with different shapes in the groove  38  thereby enabling the present invention to adapt for use with different mobile phones. For the manufacturer, as the connecting member is not fixedly engaged with the connector  44 , it will be unnecessary to fabricate a particular connector  44  for a certain mobile phone thus reducing the stock and therefore decreasing the capital required.  
         [0022]    The cover  6  is a hollow body with an opening on the side for covering the front side of the battery charger, and two wing board  61  are formed on each side at the bottom of the cover for keeping an appropriate gap between the wing board  61  and the body and a shielding plate  62  extends between the wing boards  61 . The shielding plate  62  is provided with two protuberances  63  at the outer edge aligned with the cavities  382  of the groove  38 . Please refer to FIGS. 5 and 9. When the cover  6  is engaged with the head portion of the base  3 , the top of the groove  8  is covered with the shielding plate  62  thereby closing the groove  38 . In the meantime, the protuberances  63  are engaged with the cavities  382  to keep the shielding plate  62  firmly in place.  
         [0023]    When the user wants to charge a battery in a car, the user just needs to plug the insert card of the connector  44  at the end of the power cord  43 , and pull the cover  6  out to expose the connector  42  and the brackets  41  for the connection with the cigarette lighter socket and the process of charging battery. If the battery needs to be charged indoors, the insert plates  33  should be in the vertical position so that the insert plate can be inserted into the indoor socket for the battery charging. Therefore the battery charger of the present invention can use the insert plates at both ends of the brackets  41  of the connector  42  for charging battery indoors as well as in a car. It has the two-in-one function, and there is no need for the users to bring two battery chargers with then, which is very convenient in use.  
         [0024]    In addition, the insert plate  33  is a replaceable structure, and its shape can be changed according to different specifications in different countries. The insert plate could be in the shape of a rod as shown in FIG. 7, or a rotary V-shaped plate as shown in FIG. 8 to adapt the indoor sockets in different countries. Please refer to FIG. 6. When the battery charging is completed, the power cable  43  can be coiled around the battery charger since there is a gap reserved between the wing boards  37 ,  38 , the base  3 , and the cover  6 . In the meantime, the connector  44  can be secured in the recess  381  of the accommodating groove  38 , and the shielding plate  62  is pushed towards the bottom of the base  3  to keep the accommodating groove  38  in a closed condition such that the entire appearance of the battery charge is very neat and the power cord will not be tangled and swung freely.  
         [0025]    It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.  
         [0026]    While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.