Battery pack for video lighting apparatus

A lighting apparatus is comprised of an illumination unit arranged so as to project from a light apparatus body by a predetermined distance, a spring for spring-biasing the illumination unit in the direction in which the illumination unit is projected from the light apparatus body, a power switch for the illumination unit which is switched in accordance with a movement of the illumination unit, an engaging portion for engaging the illumination unit at the position close to the light apparatus body, and a releasing portion for releasing the engaging portion, wherein the lighting apparatus can be energized only when the illumination unit is projected from the lighting apparatus body. Also, an electrode apparatus attached to power source equipments such as a battery pack or the like is comprised of an electrode cover for shielding an electrode portion, wherein the electrode cover can be opened by a projected electrode portion of the equipments to which the power source equipment is attached.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a video lighting apparatus and an 
electrode apparatus such as a battery back or the like which is for use in 
such lighting apparatus. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
With regards to lighting apparatus operable by batteries, there is known a 
video lighting apparatus that can be mounted on a portable video camera 
which is in use. In general, when in use, such video lighting apparatus is 
attached to the rear portion of the video camera and a lighting unit 
thereof is energized at the same time that the video camera starts the 
recording. Also, the video lighting apparatus is miniaturized as the video 
camera becomes smaller. 
When the video lighting apparatus attached to the rear portion of the video 
camera is in use, in order to illuminate an object to be picked up and 
which is in front of the camera, the lighting unit thereof must be 
projected upwardly or laterally from the video lighting apparatus body by 
a relatively long distance so that the light is not shielded by the video 
lighting apparatus body. For this reason, the lighting unit of the 
conventional video lighting apparatus is projected from the video lighting 
apparatus body by a long distance so that the whole length thereof is 
increased. Such long video lighting apparatus is difficult for the user to 
handle. 
Some known video lighting apparatus is designed such that a lighting unit 
thereof can be detached from the video lighting apparatus body when not in 
use. This type of video lighting apparatus has the problem such that, when 
the cameraman wishes to take a picture on the spot, the cameraman will 
lose a shutter release opportunity because the lighting unit cannot be 
attached to the video lighting apparatus body immediately. This problem is 
not limited to the video lighting apparatus, but rather is common to 
lighting apparatus such as flashlights or the like that can be operated by 
a battery. 
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a handy video camera 1 and a 
battery pack 2 used as a power supply of the video camera 1 according to 
the prior art. As shown in FIG. 2, electrode portions 21 provided on one 
surface of the battery pack 2 are formed to be flat with a small 
depression from a surface 22 in which the battery pack 2 is brought in 
contact with the video camera 1. This surface 22 will be referred to as 
the contact surface 22 for simplicity. The reason for this is that the 
electrode portions 21 must be prevented from inadvertently contacting with 
the contact surface 22 when the video camera 1 is not in use. The contact 
surface 22 has an engagement recess 24 which is fitted into an engagement 
tab 13 (see FIG. 3) as will be described later. 
Electrode portions 11 of the video camera 1 are located at the positions 
matched to the electrode portions 21 of the battery pack 2. The electrode 
portions 11 are protruded in a pin-like manner and are retractable as 
shown in FIG. 3. To this end, the electrode portions 11 are outwardly 
spring-biased by a spring-biasing force of springs (not shown) provided 
therein. Under the condition such that the battery pack 2 is brought in 
contact with the video camera 1 in the direction shown by an arrow A in 
FIG. 3, slid and then attached to the video camera 1 as shown in FIG. 1, 
the electrode portions 11 of the video camera 1 are brought in contact 
with the electrode portions 21, of the battery pack 2 with a pressure by a 
spring-biasing force of the springs (not shown), whereby the the video 
camera 1 and the battery pack 2 are coupled to each other reliably. 
When the battery back 2 is attached to the video camera 1 in actual 
practice, the contact surface 22 of the battery pack 2 is brought in 
contact with an attaching surface 15 of the video camera 1 and moved in 
the lateral direction in this state (as shown by the arrow A in FIG. 3) 
while one side end edge 23 (see FIG. 3) of the battery back 2 is made 
coincident with a reference line 12 marked on the video camera 1. At this 
time, the retractable engagement tab 13 provided on the video camera 1 is 
inserted into the engagement recess 24 of the battery pack 2 by a 
spring-biasing force of an inside spring (not shown), thereby restricting 
the attachment position of the battery pack 2 on the video camera 1. 
Furthermore, upper and lower engagement portions (not shown) of the video 
camera 1 and the battery pack 2 are engaged with one another, ensuring 
that the battery pack 2 is positively locked to the video camera 1. 
The battery pack 2 is detached from the video camera 1 as follows. 
First, the engagement between the engagement tab 13 and the engagement 
recess 24 is released by pulling a lock releasing lever 14 unitarily 
formed with the engagement tab 13 of the video camera 1 in the direction 
shown by a broken line arrow B in FIG. 3. In this state, the battery pack 
2 is moved horizontally in the direction opposite to the direction when it 
is attached to the video camera 1, thereby the battery pack 2 being 
released from the video camera 1 with ease. 
A plastic carrying case is exclusively prepared for the battery pack 2 so 
that the cameraman can carry the battery pack 2 alone. However, in some 
cases such as when the cameraman lost or forgot to bring the 
above-mentioned plastic case, the cameraman has to carry the battery pack 
2, for example, in a bag or pocket of a suit. At that time, since the 
electrode portions 21 are exposed in the conventional battery pack 2, a 
metal piece or the like accidentally lying in the back or pocket touches 
the two electrode portions 21 simultaneously. As a result, the metal piece 
is heated or dissolved in some case. 
As for power supply equipments, the exposed electrode portions may be 
short-circuited by such a metal piece causing an excess current to flow 
through an electric circuit, thereby damaging the electric circuit 
components. 
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting 
apparatus and an electrode apparatus thereof in which the aforesaid 
shortcomings and disadvantages encountered with the prior art can be 
substantially eliminated. 
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a 
lighting apparatus in which an illumination unit is housed near a lighting 
apparatus body and can be momentarily projected from the light apparatus 
body when the light apparatus is in use. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighting apparatus 
which can be carried and be put conveniently in some suitable 
accommodating means. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide an electrode 
apparatus in which an electrode portion is shielded except for the case 
such that the electrode apparatus is coupled to an electrode portion of 
other apparatus. 
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a lighting apparatus 
is comprised of an illumination unit arranged so as to project from a 
light apparatus body by a predetermined distance, a spring for 
spring-biasing the illumination unit in the direction in which the 
illumination unit is projected from the light apparatus body, a power 
switch for the illumination unit which is switched in accordance with a 
movement of the illumination unit, an engaging portion for engaging the 
illumination unit at the position close to the light apparatus body, and a 
releasing portion for releasing the engaging portion, wherein the lighting 
apparatus can be energized only when the illumination unit is projected 
from the lighting apparatus body. 
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, an electrode 
apparatus attached to power source equipments such as a battery pack or 
the like is comprised of an electrode cover for shielding an electrode 
portion, wherein the electrode cover can be opened by a projected 
electrode portion of the equipment to which the power source equipment is 
attached. 
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present 
invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of 
illustrative embodiments thereof to be read in conjunction with the 
accompanying drawing, in which like reference numerals are used to 
identify the same or similar parts in the several views.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the 
drawings. 
In a first embodiment, the lighting apparatus according to the present 
invention is applied to the above-mentioned video lighting apparatus. In 
order to understand the present invention more clearly, a specific example 
in which the video lighting apparatus is attached to the video camera in 
actual practice will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and the 
following sheets of drawings. 
FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings shows the condition such that a video 
lighting apparatus 100 to which the present invention is applied is 
attached to a video camera K. The video camera K is a small portable type 
video camera and a battery pack C is used as a power supply thereof. In 
this embodiment, the video lighting apparatus 100 is interposed between 
the video camera K and the battery pack C. The battery pack C is used as a 
power supply source of the video lighting apparatus 100. A lighting unit 
104 of the video lighting apparatus 100 pops up from the body of the video 
camera K only when the video camera K is in use, so that the video camera 
K can be prevented from interrupting an illumination light from the 
lighting unit 104, as will be described later. 
As shown in FIG. 5, an attachment surface K1 of the video camera K is 
molded as a recess shape into which there is fitted an attaching surface 
C1 of the battery pack C or a front surface 121 of the video lighting 
apparatus 100. To this end, the attaching surface C1 of the battery pack C 
and the front surface 121 of the video lighting apparatus 100 are 
similarly shaped and dimensioned. 
Moreover, the battery pack C is attached to a rear surface 133 of the video 
lighting apparatus 100 and therefore the rear surface 133 is shaped and 
dimensioned similarly to the attaching surface K1 of the video camera K. 
Electrode portions 136 having pin configurations are horizontally implanted 
on the attaching surface K1 of the video camera K and the rear surface 133 
of the video lighting apparatus 100 and coupled to corresponding electrode 
portions 126 (see FIG. 6). Engagement portions 134 and 135 for engaging 
corresponding parts are formed on the attaching surface K1 of the video 
camera K and the rear surface 133 of the video lighting apparatus 100, and 
a reference line 137 acting as a reference in the attachment and a locking 
protrusion 170 are formed on the attaching surface K1 of the video camera 
K and the rear surface 133, as will be described more fully later. 
As shown in FIG. 6, an electrode device 125 is housed in the attaching 
surface C1 side of the battery pack C. A similar electrode is located on 
the front surface 121 of the video lighting apparatus 100 (FIG 5). The 
electrode portions 126 are exposed only when they are coupled to the 
corresponding electrode portions 136 as will be described later. Further, 
engagement slots 123 are respectively formed on the upper and lower end 
portions of the surface C1. Locking slots 124 are formed on the lower 
portion of the battery pack C. 
The attaching process of the devices will be described below. 
When the video lighting apparatus 100 is attached to the video camera K, as 
shown in FIG. 5, a side end edge 169 of the video lighting apparatus 100 
is fitted to the reference line 137 of the video camera K and the front 
surface 121 of the video lighting apparatus 100 is urged against the 
attaching surface K1 of the video camera K. Then, in this state, the video 
lighting apparatus 100 is horizontally moved in a predetermined direction, 
i.e., in the direction shown by an arrow D in FIG. 5. 
As a consequence, the upper and lower engagement recesses 222 and 223 (see 
FIG. 7) of the video lighting apparatus 100 and the upper and lower 
engagement portions 134 and 135 of the video camera K are respectively 
engaged with one another and the locking protrusion 170 of the video 
camera K is inserted into the locking recess 224 of the video lighting 
apparatus 100, whereby the video lighting apparatus 100 is attached to the 
video camera K reliably. 
At this time, an electrode lid 166 (see FIG. 6) of the video lighting 
apparatus 100 is opened by the protruded electrode portions 136 of the 
video camera K so that the electrode portions 136 and 126 are coupled 
electrically. 
After the video lighting apparatus 100 is attached to the video camera K as 
described above, the battery pack C is attached to the rear surface 133 of 
the video lighting apparatus 100. The attaching surface C1 of the battery 
pack C is formed similarly to the front surface 121 of the video lighting 
apparatus 100 and therefore, the attaching process of the battery pack C 
is substantially the same as that of the video lighting apparatus 100. 
The video lighting apparatus 100 will be described below in detail. 
FIG. 7 of the accompanying drawings shows an external appearance of an 
example of the video lighting apparatus 100 according to the present 
invention. Although this video lighting apparatus 100 is attached to the 
portable video camera K when in use, the video lighting apparatus 100 is 
not limited thereto and may be utilized as an illumination equipment 
without the video camera K. As shown in FIG. 7, the video lighting 
apparatus 100 comprises a video lighting apparatus body 200 in which 
printed circuit boards and so on are housed. Though not shown, a slide 
unit 300 is slidably attached to the video lighting apparatus body 200 and 
an illumination unit 400 is attached to the top of the slide unit 300. 
The video lighting apparatus body 200 is shaped as substantially a flat box 
and engaging recesses 222 and 223 for fitting the video lighting apparatus 
body 200 to the attaching surface K1 of the video camera K. These engaging 
recesses 222 and 223 are formed on the upper and lower end portions of a 
front surface 221 side of the video lighting apparatus body 200. A locking 
recess 224, into which a locking protrusion 170 of the video camera K is 
inserted, is formed on the lower portion side of the front surface 221. 
Further, openings 227 for exposing electrode portions 226, of an electrode 
apparatus 225 housed in the video lighting apparatus body 200 are formed 
on the front surface 221, as will be described later. 
On one side surface 228 of the video lighting apparatus body 200, there are 
provided an automatic/manual change-over switch 260, an illumination unit 
elevating button 230, a lock level 231 for locking the illumination unit 
elevating button 230 and an operation portion of an engagement releasing 
lever 232 that releases the engagement of the battery pack C (see FIG. 2) 
which are housed within the video lighting apparatus body 200. A rear 
surface 233 of the video lighting apparatus body 200 is the surface to 
which the battery pack C is attached, and therefore is recessed so as to 
accept the battery pack C. 
On the upper and lower portions of the rear surface 233, there are provided 
engagement portions 234 and 235 with which the engagement recesses 122, 
123 of the battery pack C are engaged and electrode portions 236, 235 
(positive side and negative side) which connect the battery pack C and the 
video lighting apparatus body 200 electrically as shown in FIG. 8A. The 
electrode portions 236 are protruded as pins and constantly spring-biased 
toward the outside so as to become freely retractable. 
A retractable locking protrusion 270 is formed on the rear surface 233 and 
this retractable locking protrusion 270 is inserted into the locking 
recess 124 of the battery pack C. Further, a reference line 237 is drawn 
on the rear surface 233. In use, if the battery pack C is pushed 
horizontally with the side end thereof coincident with the reference line 
237 and then moved in the lateral direction, then the battery pack C is 
attached to the rear surface 233 of the video lighting apparatus body 200. 
Further, referring to FIG. 7, the illumination unit 400 comprises a frame 
member 241 secured to the slide unit 300, a protecting cover 242 fitted to 
the frame member 241 and a halogen lamp 271 installed in the inside of the 
frame member 241. The protecting cover 242 is detached from the frame 
member 241 when slightly turned in one direction. The illumination unit 
400 is popped upwardly by operating the illumination unit elevating button 
230 (as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7) as will be described 
later, thereby preventing the illumination light from being cut off by the 
video camera K. 
The inside structure of the video lighting apparatus 100 will be described 
below. FIG. 9 of the accompanying drawings shows a cross-sectional view of 
the video lighting apparatus 100. Referring to FIG. 9, the slide unit 300 
is shaped as a plate and loosely fitted into a guide slit 238 formed on 
the upper portion of the video lighting apparatus body 200. One end of a 
plate-shaped coiled spring 243 is engaged with a protrusion 239 formed on 
the upper portion of the video lighting apparatus body 200. 
The other end of the coiled spring 243 is wound around a coil rewinding 
portion 244 rotatably attached to the lower portion side of the slide unit 
300, whereby the slide unit 300 is constantly spring-biased in the upper 
direction. Thus, when the slide unit 300 is placed in its uppermost 
position, or a stopper 245 of the slide unit 300 is brought in contact 
with an engagement tab 246 of the video lighting apparatus body 200, the 
spring-biasing force of the coiled spring 243 is minimized, thereby 
protecting the stopper 245 and the engagement tab 246 from an 
extraordinarily strong force of the spring-biasing force of the coiled 
spring 243. 
A hook portion 247 for fastening the slide unit 300 to the video lighting 
apparatus body 200 is protrusively provided on the lower portion side of 
the slide unit 300. The hook portion 247 is made of a resilient material 
and has a hook member 248 formed on a lower surface thereof as shown in 
FIG. 10. The hook member 248 is fastened to a protrusion 249 of the video 
lighting apparatus body 200. The outer side surface of the hook member 248 
is slanted so as to be easily hooked to the protrusion 249. 
The engagement between the apparatus body 200 and the slide unit 300 is 
released by operating the above-mentioned illuminating unit elevating 
button 230 (FIG. 9). The illumination unit elevating button 230 is 
attached to the apparatus body 200 so as to become retractable by some 
suitable means (not shown) and is constantly spring-biased to the outside 
by the compression spring 251 engaged to an engagement portion 250 of the 
apparatus body 200. 
A top portion 252 of the illumination unit elevating button 230 is slanted 
downwardly as shown in FIG. 11A. The top portion 252 is used to push the 
engagement portion 247 of the slide unit 300 in the upward direction so 
that the engagement between the slide unit 300 and the apparatus body 200 
can be released. 
One end of the lock lever 231 of a U-letter configuration is fixed to the 
operation portion 253 of the illumination unit elevating button 230 as 
shown in FIG. 9. The lock lever 231 is made of a resilient material and is 
spring-biased in the opening direction. An engagement protrusion 255 is 
formed near the operation portion 254 of the lock lever 231 as shown in 
FIGS. 12A through 12C. When this engagement protrusion 255 is engaged with 
the engagement portion 256 of the apparatus body 200, the respective 
operation portions 253 and 254 can be prevented from being depressed 
inadvertently. 
When the illumination unit elevating button 230 is operated, as shown in 
FIG. 12B, the operation portion 254 of the lock lever 231 is initially 
pushed downwards, thereby the engagement between the lock lever 231 and 
the apparatus body 200 being released. Then, under this condition, when 
the lock lever 231 and the illumination unit elevating button 230 are 
pushed into the inside, as shown in FIG. 12C, the engagement portion 247 
of the slide unit 300 is pushed upwards by the top portion 252 of the 
illumination unit elevating button 230. Therefore, the slide unit 300 is 
moved in the upper direction as shown in FIG. 13. 
Projection members 257 and 258 are provided on the side portion of the 
slide unit 300 with a proper distance therebetween. The projection members 
257 and 258 are used to switch a power switch 259 of the illumination unit 
400 in accordance with the slidable movement of the slide unit 300. More 
specifically, when the slide unit 300 is moved upwardly, the lower 
projection member 258 switches the power switch 259 to its ON state, while 
when the slide unit 300 is moved downwardly, the upper projection member 
257 switches the power switch 259 to its OFF state. 
When the power switch 259 is set in its ON state and the automatic/manual 
change-over switch 260 is set in the automatic side, an operation current 
flowing through the video camera K is detected by a current detecting 
circuit 261 at the same time when the recording by the video camera K is 
started, whereby an internal switch 262 is turned on to energize a halogen 
lamp 271 in the illumination unit 400. Further, when the automatic/manual 
change-over switch 260 is set in the manual side, if the illumination unit 
400 is moved upwardly regardless of the operation condition of the video 
camera K, or the power switch 259 is turned on, the halogen lamp 271 is 
energized simultaneously. 
Referring back to FIG. 9, a base plate 263 on which the above-mentioned 
electric circuit is mounted is installed on the lower portion side of the 
apparatus body 200. The above-mentioned electrode apparatus 225 is 
attached to the upper surface side of the base plate 263. In this 
electrode apparatus 225, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the electrode 
portions 226 (plus side and minus side) are mounted on the upper surface 
of the base 264. 
The electrode portions 226 are shielded by the electrode cover 266 which is 
constantly spring-biased in the lid-closing side by the tension spring 
265. When the video lighting apparatus 100 is installed on the video 
camera K, the projected electrode portions 136 of the video camera K are 
moved in the lateral direction while being engaged with the openings 267, 
of the electrode cover 266, thereby the electrode cover 266 is opened as 
shown in FIG. 15B. 
Thus, the electrode portions 136 of the video camera K and the electrode 
portions 236 of the video lighting apparatus 100 can be connected with 
each other. An attaching pedestal 268 is provided on the base 264. If this 
electrode apparatus 225 is employed, then the electrode portions 226, 226 
can be prevented from inadvertently being short-circuited, thereby making 
it possible to prevent the internal circuit from being damaged. 
While the light apparatus according to this embodiment is applied to the 
video light apparatus, the present invention is not limited thereto and 
can be applied to portable illumination apparatus such as a flash light 
and so on. 
As described above, according to the present invention, the illumination 
unit is projected only when this lighting apparatus is in use, while the 
illumination unit can be prevented from being inadvertently projected when 
the lighting apparatus is not in use. 
Therefore, according to the present invention, the light apparatus is easy 
to handle when not in use. When in use, the lighting apparatus of the 
present invention can illuminate the object sufficiently. Further, the 
present invention can achieve various effects, such as preventing the 
illumination unit from being damaged by other objects when the 
illumination unit is suddenly projected upon non-use. 
A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with 
reference to the drawings. 
FIG. 16 of the accompanying drawings shows a similar battery pack 302. To 
this battery pack 302, there is attached an electrode apparatus 303 in 
which electrode portions 321, 321 are shielded by an electrode cover 331 
when the battery pack 302 is not coupled to a video camera, for example. 
FIGS. 17 and 17B of the accompanying drawings show an example of the 
electrode apparatus 303. The electrode apparatus 303 is comprised of a 
base 330 of trapezoidal configuration in cross section, a pair of 
electrode portions 321 attached to the upper surface of the base 330 with 
a predetermined distance therebetween, an electrode cover 331 slidably 
fitted into the upper portion side of the base 330, and a tension spring 
332 interposed between the base 330 and the electrode cover 331. 
Semicircular openings 334 are formed on an upper plate portion 333 of the 
electrode cover 331 so as to expose the electrode portions 321. 
A projection member 337 of the base 330 is inserted into an oblong guide 
aperture (slit) 336 formed through a side plate portion 335 of the 
electrode cover 331, whereby the electrode cover 331 can be slidably moved 
in one direction while it can be prevented from being disengaged from the 
base 330. Also, the stroke amount of the electrode cover 331 is thereby 
restricted. 
Pedestals 338 for wholly attaching the electrode apparatus 303 to the 
inside of the battery pack 302 are provided on the respective end sides of 
the base 330. Attaching apertures 339 are bored through the pedestals 338. 
One end of the tension spring 332 is engaged with an engagement member 340 
of the base 330 and the other end thereof is engaged with an engagement 
member 341 of the electrode cover 331, whereby the electrode cover 331 is 
constantly spring-biased in the closing side. 
Plate-shaped electrode portions (plus side and minus side) 321, are 
installed on the upper surface portion of the base 330. The electrode 
portions 321, are provided with narrow lead portions 342 shown in FIG. 18 
in order to connect them to a circuit portion (not shown) located within 
the battery pack 302. 
When the electrode cover 331 is in the closed state as shown in FIG. 17A, 
the electrode portions 321 are shielded by the upper plate portion 333 of 
the electrode cover 331. Further, when the electrode cover 331 is in the 
opened state as shown in FIG. 17B, the electrode portions 321 are exposed 
from the openings 334 formed through the upper plate portion 333, whereby 
the electrode portions 11 (see FIG. 3) of the video camera 1, for example, 
can be brought in contact with the electrode portions 321 of the electrode 
apparatus 303. 
Then, as shown in FIG. 19, the electrode apparatus 303 is secured to the 
battery pack 302 by engaging the attaching apertures 339 of the pedestals 
338 into inside projections 326 provided on the frame 325 of the battery 
pack 302. Openings 327 formed through the upper surface side of the frame 
325 are rectangular and large enough to expose the openings 334 of the 
electrode cover 331 in a whole range in which the electrode cover 331 is 
slidably moved. 
The thus constructed battery pack 302 of the electrode apparatus 
incorporated type is attached to the video camera 1 in a manner similar to 
the conventional manner. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 20A, the side 
end edge 323 of the battery pack 302 is matched with a reference line 412 
of the video camera 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 20B, a contact surface 322 
of the battery pack 302 is brought in contact with an attaching surface 15 
of the video camera 1. At that time, the electrode portions 11 of the 
video camera 1 are inserted into the openings 327 of the frame 325 and the 
openings 334 of the electrode cover 331. Then, these electrode portions 11 
are pushed by the upper surface of the base 330 so that the projected 
lengths thereof are reduced. 
Then, the battery pack 302 is moved laterally in a predetermined direction 
(in the lefthand direction in FIG. 20B) while the battery pack 302 is 
brought in contact with the video camera 1. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 
20C, the electrode portions 11 of the video camera 1 are brought in 
contact with the electrode cover 331 so that, when the battery pack 302 is 
moved in the lateral direction, then the electrode cover 331 is opened. 
Then, the video camera 1 and the battery pack 302 are engaged with and 
secured to each other at the matched position. At that time, the electrode 
portions 11 of the video camera 1 contacts with substantially the central 
surface of the electrode portions 321 of the battery pack 302. Further, 
since the electrode portions 11 are spring-biased toward the electrode 
portions 321 by an inside spring (not shown), the video camera 1 and the 
battery pack 302 are coupled electrically in a reliable manner. 
When the battery pack 302 is detached from the video camera 1, the battery 
pack 302 is moved laterally in the direction (in the righthand direction 
in FIGS. 20A to 20C) opposite to the direction in which the battery pack 
302 is attached. At that time, the electrode cover 331 is spring-biased by 
the tension spring 332 (see FIG. 17) and therefore the electrode portions 
321 are shielded by the electrode cover 331. 
As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present 
invention, the electrode apparatus is provided with the electrode cover 
which constantly shields the electrode portion when it is not coupled to 
the video camera or the like. Also, this electrode cover can be opened by 
the corresponding electrode portion of the video camera or the like. 
Therefore, if the second embodiment of the electrode apparatus of the 
present invention is applied to the battery pack, the video light or the 
like, when these equipments such as the battery pack, the video light or 
the like are utilized alone or carried alone, then the electrode portions 
can be prevented from being touched by metal pieces or fingers. Thus, the 
metal pieces touched can be prevented from being dissolved or the 
electrode portion can be prevented from being short-circuited, for thereby 
preventing the electric circuit provided within the equipment from being 
damaged. Further, the electrode portion can be prevented from being 
smudged by alien substances and therefore can be kept in a clean 
condition. 
Having described the preferred embodiments of the invention with reference 
to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is 
not limited to those precise embodiments and that various changes and 
modifications thereof could be effected by one skilled in the art without 
departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the 
appended claims.