Abstract:
A universal battery assembly operable to fit and supply power to a plurality of electronic devices having different shapes and sizes. The battery assembly has a chargeable power supply cell and at least one extension means for attachment to the cell. The battery assembly may also include several extension means having different shapes and sizes for interchangeable use with many different electronic devices.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The present invention generally relates to a universal battery assembly that is adaptable to fit a wide range of portable electronic devices of different shapes and sizes, for example mobile phones. 
         [0004]    There are an increasing number of makes and models of portable electronic equipment on the market. This particularly applies to mobile phones, which are becoming smaller at the same time as the range of designs and shapes is becoming more diverse. Each mobile phone manufacturer will require several different battery shapes and sizes. This is inconvenient and costly for manufacturers, who must manufacture different batteries every time a new model of mobile phone or other portable electronic device is produced. It also presents a problem for retail outlets of electronic equipment, which must stock a wide range of batteries having different shapes and sizes, which take up a large amount of retail space. 
         [0005]    Therefore, it would be desirable to have one battery that fits many makes and models of electronic equipment. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0006]    Thus one aspect of the present invention provides a battery assembly adaptable to be fitted into one of a plurality of electronic devices, comprising: a cell; and at least one extension means, the extension means being attachable to the cell for increasing one or more dimensions of the battery when the at least one extension means is attached to the cell. 
         [0007]    The extension means can be removably attachable to the cell and several extension means can be provided that are removably attachable to each other. This means that the battery assembly is adaptable to fit many models of electronic devices by reducing or increasing the size of the battery assembly according to requirements. 
         [0008]    The cell can be generally planar or flat. Electrical contacts are preferably provided at one end for connection to electrical contacts in an electronic device to supply power to the electronic device. Extension means can then be attached to the cell at the other end of the cell and/or on one or both of a first face and a second face of the cell and/or on one or both peripheral edges of the cell. This allows the length, thickness and width of a single cell to be adjusted to suite a large number of applications. 
         [0009]    The extension means can be of any shape and size so as to allow the cell to be used in any portable electronic device. Many different shapes and sizes of extension means can be supplied with the battery assembly. For example, the extension means and cell can both be of a substantially cuboid shape. 
         [0010]    The extension means could include a recess portion on the side where it is not attached to the cell, with the remaining portion forming “legs”, which are able to fit into the space provided in an electronic device for the battery that is not occupied by the cell, to restrain the battery assembly within the space. This provides an extension with minimum weight and cost. 
         [0011]    In this way the battery assembly can be extended in any dimension to fit the shape and size of the electronic device to which it is required to supply power. 
         [0012]    The extension means can be attached to the cell and/or to another extension means by a sliding mechanism, e.g. a dovetail joint, so that the extension means is slidably attachable to the cell and/or with another extension means. Alternatively, the extension means can be attached to the cell and/or to another extension means using lugs provided on the extension means adaptable to engage apertures provided in the cell or other extension means. The lugs may be frictionally engageable with the apertures or include a catch mechanism. The lugs and apertures may be reversed, with the lugs provided on the cell and the apertures on the extender. 
         [0013]    The extension means does not have to be attached to the cell and may be adapted just to rest against the cell so as to retain the cell in the space provided in the electronic device. 
         [0014]    The extension means may be shaped to extend the cell in two or three dimensions. 
         [0015]    Preferably, the extension means engages the cell on a surface other than the surface having the electrical connection. 
         [0016]    Preferably the connectors on the cell are not obstructed by the extension means. In other words, the extension means is attached on part of the cell separate from the connectors. 
         [0017]    Thus the present invention provides the advantage of a battery assembly that can be adapted to be used with a plurality of different electronic devices. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    An example of an embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a battery assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is an exploded front view of a battery assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is an exploded side view of a battery assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is an exploded front view of a battery assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a front view of a battery assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is an end view of a battery assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a battery assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a battery assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a view showing some of the optional ways of connecting extensions. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0028]      FIG. 7  shows a battery assembly  100  according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The assembly has a generally planar cuboid cell  101  for supplying power to an electronic device such as a mobile phone. The cell  101  is suitable for supplying charge to an electronic device and can be rechargeable by known charging means, or can be a disposable pre-charged cell. Electrical contacts  407  are provided at one end of the cell so as to supply power from the cell  101  to an electronic device having corresponding electrical contacts.  FIG. 1  shows a generally cuboid extender  102  attached to cell  101 . 
         [0029]    Smaller designs of electronic devices place a limit on the size of conventional cells that can be used to power the device. The cell  101  will have its maximum size determined by the smallest size of electronic device that it is required to power. By attaching the extender  102  to the cell, the size of the battery assembly  100  can be increased to fit a larger device. 
         [0030]      FIG. 2  shows the battery assembly  100  of the first embodiment with the cell  101  and two extenders  102 . The figure shows more clearly how the extenders  102  are attached to the cell. Each extender  102  comprises a male fitting  103  and a female fitting  104 . The cell  101  also comprises a female fitting  104 . The extender  102  may then be removably attached to the cell  101 , or to another extender  102 , by means of a sliding mechanism comprising a male fitting  103  and a female fitting  104 . The male fitting  103  of an extender  102  is adapted to slide into the female fitting  104  of the cell  101 , or another extender  102 , in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the dimension of the cell  101  is increased by the extension means  102 . Alternatively the fitting  103  may slide into the fitting  104  in a direction parallel to the direction in which the dimension of the cell  101  is increased by the extender  102 . 
         [0031]    Further extension means  102  may also be slidably attached to and detached from the battery assembly  100  to increase or decrease the effective size of the cell  101  as required. 
         [0032]      FIG. 3  shows a side view of the battery assembly  100  according to the first embodiment. The sliding mechanism I shown here in more detail and it can be send that the male fittings  103  and the female fittings  104  are formed with a “dovetail”-type shape. This helps to hold the extender  102  firmly in place to the battery assembly  100  when they are slidably engaged with the cell  101  or another extender  102 . The male fittings  103  and female fittings  104  may be reversed. 
         [0033]      FIG. 4  shows a front battery assembly  200  according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The batter assembly  200  comprises a cell  201  having apertures  204 . The extension means  202  are provided with pins or lugs  203  and apertures  204   a .  FIG. 8  shows a perspective view of the second embodiment, including the optional additional apertures  204   a.    
         [0034]    The pins  203  are adapted to engage frictionally with apertures  204  such that the extender  202  can be removably attached to the cell  201 . When the extender  202  is attached to the cell  201  it is held firmly in place by the action of frictional forces between the pins  203  and the apertures  204 . The apertures  204  may be wider such that each of the pins  203  only engages one end of the aperture  204 . The extender  202  may also comprise apertures  204   a  so that an additional extender  202  may be attached as required to increase or decrease the size of the battery assembly  200  to fit a range of electronic devices of different sizes. 
         [0035]    The frictional engagement mechanism of this embodiment is an alternative to the sliding mechanism of the previous embodiment and may be preferred depending on how device manufacturers wish to utilize battery space. 
         [0036]      FIG. 5  shows a third embodiment with a battery assembly  300  having a cell  301  and an extender  302  attached to the cell  301 . The extender  302  has two end pieces  305 , a straight side  306  attached to the cell  301  and an arcuate side  304 . 
         [0037]    The straight side  306  of the extender  302  is removably attached to the cell  301  by either the sliding mechanism or the pin and aperture mechanism described in the previous two embodiments. The maximum length to which the cell  301  can be extended by the extender  302  is defined by the length of the “legs” formed where arcuate side  304  joins the side edges  305  This shape of extender  302  helps to make the battery assembly more lightweight than the generally cuboid shape of the previous embodiments, while still providing extension of the cell  301  to the required length. 
         [0038]    In this embodiment, an arcuate recess is provided. However, it will be appreciated that any kind of recess can be used to minimize the size of the extension means  302 . Furthermore, recesses may be provided on the sides of the extender  302 . The side edges  305  may be individually extended by attaching separate extenders to each side. 
         [0039]      FIG. 6  shows an end view of a battery assembly  400  according to a fourth embodiment having a cell  401  and an extension means  402 . The extension means  402  has mail fittings  403 , which are operable to fit female fittings  404  provided in the cell  401 . 
         [0040]    The fittings  403  and  404  form a sliding mechanism so that the extension means  402  can be slidably engaged with the cell  401 . The extender forms a sleeve around the cell  401  to extend the thickness of the cell and the width or length of the cell. 
         [0041]    The extension means of this embodiment may be used in conjunction with that of the first, second and/or third embodiments so that all three dimensions of a cell may be increased or decreased as desired. 
         [0042]    Although the extension means of the first, second and third embodiments have been shown as being attached to the cell at the opposite end of the cell from where the electrical contacts are provided, the may also be attached to the cell on one or both sides of the cell. This may be instead of, or in addition to, being attached to the cell at the end.  FIG. 9  shows how extenders can be attached at the end as well as the sides. Additionally, although not shown, extenders can be attached to the faces to increase the thickness. 
         [0043]    The extenders each may be of different shapes and sizes and a battery assembly may be provided with a variety of different extension means. 
         [0044]    The extension means do not have to be electrically isolated from the cell. They may comprise circuitry to allow them to be charged and store charge so as to maximize the amount of power that the battery assembly can supply. The extenders may also include electrical conductors or through connectors on the extension means in order to extend the cell at an end having electrical connectors. 
         [0045]    Furthermore, the cell does not have to be chargeable and may be a disposable cell provided with charge before use. 
         [0046]    Alternatively the cell and extension means may be cylindrical. 
         [0047]    The male and female connectors may be reversed to that male connectors are provided in the cell adaptable to fit into female connectors provided on the extenders. 
         [0048]    The cell and extenders may be attachable by means of any suitable form of attachment. In addition, it is not necessary for the cell and extenders to be attachable to each other—extenders may rest against the cell without being attached to it so as to extend one or more dimensions of the cell to restrain it in the space provided in an electronic device. 
         [0049]    Although the present invention has been described hereinbefore with reference to specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments and modifications will be apparent to a skilled person in the art which lie within the scope of the present invention as claimed.