Battery holder attachment structure

A battery holder attachment structure in which a battery holder for holding a button-type battery is provided with a flexible and elastic tongue-shaped portion having a locking projection, and a casing body to which the battery holder is removably attached has a fitting opening portion so that the locking projection is fitted into the fitting opening portion from below so as to be locked therein, and a locked state of the locking projection is released by inserting a coin or the like into the fitting opening portion from above to press the locking projection.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an attachment structure of a battery 
holder for holding a button-type battery, which is removably attached on a 
casing body of an AV equipment remote controller or the like, and 
particularly relates to such an attachment structure in which the 
button-type battery is locked so as not to be taken out easily by an 
infant, a baby, or the like. 
2. Related Art 
FIGS. 3A and 3B show an example of the conventional battery holder 
attachment structure, wherein FIG. 3A is a top view and FIG. 3B is a side 
sectional view. An illustrated battery holder 10' is U-shaped roughly so 
as to be removably attached into a casing body 1' of a remote controller. 
The battery holder 10' is constituted by a base portion 11 and a pair of 
right and left holding portions 12 and 12. The base portion 11 has a 
locking recess portion 13 formed on this side when viewed from the 
draw-out direction of the battery holder 10' so as to be utilized as a 
handle at the time of attachment and removal of the battery holder 10'. 
The holding portions 12 and 12 are projected forward from the opposite end 
portions of the base portion 11 and have arcuate mount portions 15 and 15 
on which a button-type battery 50 can be mounted. 
A flexible and elastic tongue-shaped portion 16 having a locking projection 
17 projected upward is provided at the central portion of the base portion 
11. Semicircular locking concave portions 14 and 14 are formed in the 
holding portions 12 and 12 in their front end outside edge portions 
respectively. 
The casing body 1', on the other hand, is provided with upper and lower 
tray-like casings 2 and 3. An attachment portion 5 is provided between the 
casings 2 and 3 so that the holding portions 12 and 12 of the battery 
holder 10' can be inserted into the attachment portion 5 so as to be held 
therein. In the attachment portion 5, a fitting recess portion 7 is formed 
in the upper casing 2 in its lower surface on this side when viewed from 
the draw-out direction of the battery holder 10' so as to be fitted onto 
the locking projection 17 of the elastic tongue-shaped portion 16. Fitting 
convex portions 6 and 6 each of which is semicircular in section are 
projected inward from the inner opposite sides of the attachment portion 5 
so as to be engaged with the locking concave portions 14 and 14 formed in 
the holding portions 12 and 12 respectively. 
In the thus configured attachment structure of the battery holder 10', a 
button-type battery (for example, a lithium battery) 50 is mounted on the 
mounting portions 15 and 15 provided on the holding portions 12 and 12 
respectively, and then the battery holder 10' is inserted into the 
attachment portion 5 of the casing body 1'. At that time, the holding 
portions 12 and 12 of the battery holder 10' are slightly bent inward so 
that the locking concave portions 14 and 14 are fitted onto the fitting 
convex portions 6 and 6 of the casing body 1' respectively, while the 
elastic tongue-shaped portion 16 is slightly bent downward and the locking 
projection 17 is fitted into the fitting recess portion 7 of the casing 
body 1' to complete the attachment of the battery holder 10' to the casing 
body 1'. 
Thereafter, when the battery holder 10' is to be removed from the casing 
body 1' for the purpose of replacing the battery by a new one or the like, 
the battery holder 10' is drawn out backward, for example, by a nail or 
the like hooked in the locking recess portion 13 of the base portion 11 of 
the battery holder 10'. At that time, the holding portions 12 and 12 and 
the elastic tongue-shaped portion 16 are bent so that the respective 
fit-locked states between the locking concave portions 14 and 14 and the 
fitting convex portions 6 and 6 and between the locking projection 17 and 
the fitting recess portion 7 are released. Thus, the battery holder 10' 
having the button-type battery 50 mounted thereon is completely drawn out 
so as to be removed from the casing body 1'. 
The battery holder can be relatively easily drawn out so as to be removed 
from the casing body in the conventional battery holder attachment 
structure as described above. Although this fact means that battery 
exchange or the like can be easily performed without taking a long time 
and much labor, there is a possibility that an infant, a baby, or the 
like, may unintentionally draw out the battery holder while fingering a 
remote controller. There is therefore a possibility of occurrence of an 
accident that an infant, a baby, or the like, swallows a button-type 
battery mounted on the battery holder. 
In order to surely prevent occurrence of such an accident as described 
above, therefore, a strong demand exists for a battery holder attachment 
structure in which a battery holder cannot be drawn out from a casing body 
by an infant or baby who may swallow a button-type battery, while the 
battery holder can be relatively easily drawn out of the casing body by 
any person other than infants. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention has been accomplished to solve the foregoing problem 
and an object thereof is to provide such a battery holder attachment 
structure that an infant, a baby or the like cannot draw a battery holder 
out of a casing body, while any person other than infants, babies, or the 
like, can relatively easily draw the battery holder out of the casing 
body. 
In order to attain the foregoing object, according to an aspect of the 
present invention, in a battery holder attachment structure, a battery 
holder for holding a button-type battery is provided with a flexible and 
elastic tongue-shaped portion having a locking projection, and a casing 
body to which the battery holder is removably attached has a fitting 
opening portion so that the locking projection is fitted into the fitting 
opening portion from below so as to be locked therein, and a locked state 
of the locking projection is released by inserting a coin or the like into 
the fitting opening portion from above to press the locking projection. 
In such configuration, when the battery holder is to be drawn out, one is 
required to insert a coin or the like from above into the fitting opening 
portion formed in the casing body to thereby downwardly press the locking 
projection provided on the elastic tongue-shaped portion of the battery 
holder so as to release the locked state of the locking projection. In 
this case, such an operation to insert a coin or the like into the fitting 
opening portion to thereby press the locking projection downward cannot be 
thought of by an infant, a baby, or the like, and therefore any infant, a 
baby, or the like cannot draw the battery holder out of the casing body. A 
person other than infants, babies or the like can relatively easily draw 
the battery holder out of the casing body only if the person reads a 
notice described in the instructions attached to the battery holder or the 
like.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Next, referring to the drawings, an embodiment of the present invention 
will be described. 
FIGS. 1A and 1B show an embodiment of the battery holder attachment 
structure according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a top 
view and FIG. 1B is a side sectional view. An illustrated battery holder 
10 is U-shaped roughly so as to be removably attached into a casing body 1 
of a remote controller. The battery holder 10 is constituted by a base 
portion 11 and a pair of right and left holding portions 12 and 12. The 
base portion 11 has a locking recess portion 13 formed on this side when 
viewed from the draw-out direction of the battery holder 10 so as to be 
utilized as a handle at the time of attachment and removal of the battery 
holer 10. The holding portions 12 and 12 are projected forward from the 
opposite end portions of the base portion 11 and have arcuate mount 
portions 15 and 15 on which a button-type battery 50 can be mounted. 
A flexible and elastic tongue-shaped portion 16 having a locking projection 
30 which is projected so as to be higher than the conventional one (17 in 
FIG. 3B) is provided at the central portion of the base portion 11. 
Semicircular locking concave portions 14 and 14 are formed in the holding 
portions 12 and 12 in their front end outside portions respectively. 
Similarly to the conventional example, the casing body 1, on the other 
hand, is provided with upper and lower tray-like casings 2 and 3. An 
attachment portion 5 is provided between the casings 2 and 3 so that the 
holding portions 12 and 12 of the battery holder 10 can be inserted into 
the attachment portion 5 so as to be held therein. Fitting convex portions 
6 and 6 each of which is semicircular in section are projected inward from 
the inner opposite sides of the attachment portion 5 so as to be engaged 
with the locking concave portions 14 and 14 formed in the holding portions 
12 and 12 respectively. 
In this embodiment, in the attachment portion 5, a slit-like fitting 
opening portion (e.g., a through-hole) 20 is provided in the upper casing 
2 on this side when viewed from the draw-out direction of the battery 
holder 10 so that a locking projection 30 of the elastic tongue-shaped 
portion 16 is fitted into the fitting opening portion 20 from the under 
side so as to be locked therein. The fitting opening portion 20 has a 
width and a length so that at least a part of a coin (a ten-yen coin or 
the like) can be inserted into the fitting opening portion 20. 
When a coin or the like is thus inserted from above into the fitting 
opening portion 20, the locking projection 30 fitted in and locked in the 
fitting opening portion 20 is pressed downward by the coin or the like so 
that the elastic tongue-shaped portion 16 is bent downward to thereby 
release the locked state between the locking projection 30 and the fitting 
opening portion 20. 
In the thus configured attachment structure of the battery holder 10, a 
button-type battery (for example, a lithium battery) 50 is mounted on the 
mounting portions 15 and 15 provided on the holding portions 12 and 12 
respectively, and then the battery holder 10 is inserted into the 
attachment portion 5 of the casing body 1. At that time, the holding 
portions 12 and 12 of the battery holder 10 are slightly bent inward so 
that the locking concave portions 14 and 14 are fitted onto the fitting 
convex portions 6 and 6 of the casing body 1 respectively, while the 
elastic tongue-shaped portion 16 is slightly bent downward and the locking 
projection 30 is fitted into the fitting opening portion 20 of the casing 
body 1 to complete the attachment of the battery holder 10 to the casing 
body 1. 
Thereafter, when the battery holder 10 is to be removed from the casing 
body 1 for the purpose of replacing the battery by a new one or the like, 
as shown in FIG. 2, a coin or the like is inserted from above into the 
fitting opening portion 20 so as to downwardly press the locking 
projection 30 fitted and locked in the fitting opening portion 20 to bend 
the elastic tongue-shaped portion 16 downward. Then, the battery holder 10 
is led out backward, for example, by a nail or the like hooked in the 
locking recess portion 13 of the base portion 11 of the battery holder 10 
under the state where the locking projection 30 has been pushed out 
downward from the fitting opening portion 20. 
Then, similarly to the conventional example, both the fitted and locked 
states between the locking concave portions 14 and 14 and the fitting 
convex portions 6 and 6 are released and between the locking projection 30 
and the fitting opening portion 20 are released, and the battery holder 10 
on which the button-type battery 50 is mounted can be drawn out so as to 
be removed from the casing body 1. 
In this case, an infant, a baby, or the like, cannot think of such an 
operation to insert a coin 60 or the like into the fitting opening portion 
20 to thereby press the locking projection 30 downward, and therefore 
cannot draw the battery holder 10 out of the casing body 1. Accordingly, 
such a serious situation that an infant, a baby, or the like, may 
unintentionally draw out the battery holder while fingering a remote 
controller does not occur, and such an accident that an infant, a baby, or 
the like, swallows a button-type battery 50 mounted on the battery holder 
10 can be surely prevented from occurring. 
Further, a person other than infants, babies or the like can relatively 
easily draw the battery holder out of the casing body only if the person 
reads a notice described in the instructions attached to the battery 
holder or the like. 
As understood by the foregoing explanation, in the battery holder 
attachment structure according to the present invention, there are effects 
that such a serious situation that an infant, a baby, or the like, may 
unintentionally draw out the battery holder while fingering a remote 
controller can be prevented and such an accident that an infant, a baby, 
or the like, swallows a button-type battery 50 mounted on the battery 
holder 10 can be surely prevented from occurring. Further, a person other 
than infants, babies or the like can relatively easily draw the battery 
holder out of the casing body.