Opening/closing device for battery cover

A battery cover opening/closing device which prevents a battery from being opened when the power switch is in the on position and prevents the switch from being turned on when the cover is not completely closed. The device includes a cover opening member (21), a power switch manipulator (51) for turning on and off the power switch for the battery and a safety mechanism for enabling the opening operation of the cover opening member (21) only when the power switch manipulator (51) is in the position of turning off the power switch. The safety mechanism comprises a slide-locking plate (14) having an opening/closing hole means (20) in which a bar coupled to the member integrally therewith is fitted. The opening/closing hole means includes an entry hindrance hole (20b) which does not allow the member (21) to be pressed to open the cover when the manipulator is in the position of turning on the power switch and an entry allowance hole (20a) which is continuous to the entrance hindrance hole (20b) and allows the member (21 ) to be pressed to open the cover when the manipulator is in the position of turning off the switch.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field Of The Invention 
The present invention relates to a device for opening and closing a cover 
for a battery which is the power supply of an appliance. 
2. Background 
In a conventional appliance such as a magnetic recording camera, a lap-top 
wordprocessor and a personal computer, which has a battery as a power 
supply and a magnetic recorder for recording and reproducing information 
onto and from a floppy disk, the disk is plastically deformed if a pad for 
holding the disk and a magnetic head for recording the information onto 
the disk are left in the recording positions thereof for a long time 
during the non-rotation of the disk, namely, during the non-recording 
period. For that reason, a mechanism for moving the pad and the magnetic 
head away from the floppy disk by a solenoid or the like is provided in 
the appliance to prevent the disk from being plastically deformed. 
However, since the mechanism is the type which driven by the battery, the 
mechanism does not function if a cover for the battery is opened and the 
battery is taken out from the appliance before a power switch is turned 
off. This is a problem. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention was made in order to solve the problem. Accordingly, 
it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery cover 
opening/closing device which functions so that a cover for a battery 
cannot be opened when a power switch remains turned on and that the switch 
cannot be turned on when the cover is not completely closed. 
The device provided in accordance with the present invention includes a 
cover opening member for opening the battery cover, and a power switch 
manipulator for turning on and off the power switch for the battery and is 
characterized in that a safety mechanism for enabling the opening 
operation of the cover opening member only when the power switch 
manipulator is in the position of turning off the power switch is provided 
between the member and the manipulator. The cover opening member and the 
power switch manipulator may be of either the type which is slid for 
operation or of the type which is pressed for operation. If the member is 
of the type of being pressed for operation and the manipulator is of the 
type which is slid for operation, a slide-locking plate is provided on the 
manipulator integrally therewith. The slide-locking plate includes an 
opening/closing hole means in which a bar coupled to the member integrally 
therewith is fitted. The opening/closing means consists of an entry 
hindrance hole which does not allow the member to be pressed and moved to 
open the cover when the manipulator is in the position of turning on the 
power switch, and an entry allowance hole which is continuous to the entry 
hindrance hole and allows the member to be pressed and moved to open the 
cover when the manipulator is in the position of turning off the switch. 
On the other hand, if the cover opening member is the type which is slid 
for operation and the power switch manipulator is the type which is 
pressed for operation, a slide-locking plate is provided on the member 
integrally therewith and has an opening/closing hole means in which a bar 
coupled to the manipulator integrally therewith is fitted. The 
opening/closing hole means consists of an entry hindrance hole which does 
not allow the member to be slid to open the cover when the manipulator is 
in the position of turning on the power switch, and an entry allowance 
hole which is continuous to the entry hindrance hole and allows the member 
to be slid to open the cover when the manipulator is in the position of 
turning off the switch.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Embodiments of the present invention are hereafter described with reference 
to the drawings attached hereto. 
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device for opening and closing a cover 
for a battery for a magnetic recorder whose internal mechanism is driven 
by the electric power of the battery. In the device, the main plate 10 of 
the magnetic recorder is coupled with a power switch manipulator 11 and a 
cover opening/closing button 21. The manipulator 11 is of the type which 
is slid to turn either on or off a power switch (not shown). The button 21 
is the type that is pressed for operation. The manipulating portion 12 of 
the power switch manipulator 11 and the cover opening/closing button 21 
project from the outside surface of the main plate 10 and are located near 
each other. The cover 41, for opening and closing a battery accommodation 
opening, is disposed near the main plate 10. The manipulating portion 12 
of the manipulator 11 is coupled to a slide-locking plate 14 by the bent 
coupling portion 13 of the manipulator. The plate 14 has a pair of slender 
guide holes 15 in which a pair of large-headed pins 16 projecting from the 
inside surface of the main plate 10 are fitted so that the slide-locking 
plate is horizontally slidable in the longitudinal direction of the main 
plate. As a result, when the manipulating portion 12 of the manipulator 11 
is moved rightward or leftward, the slide-locking plate 14 is slid 
rightward or leftward so that the power switch is turned on or off. 
The cover opening/closing button 21 is coupled with an opening/closing bar 
22 of smaller diameter than the button and coaxial to the bar. The button 
21 extends through the main plate 10 and the slide-locking plate 14. The 
bar 22 is supported at the inner end thereof by a lug 18 provided at the 
end of a bottom plate 17 extending inward from the main plate 10, and can 
be moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of sliding of the 
slide-locking plate 14. A plate spring 19 is attached to the lug 18 and 
urges the button 21 in such a direction as to normally protrude the button 
from the outside surface of the main plate 10. A push flange 23, which is 
engaged with a moving connection arm 31 of a cover opening/closing arm 
means 30 to push the arm, and an engaging flange 24, which can be engaged 
with an, disengaged from an engaging projection 36 of a cover moving 
connection arm 35, are provided on the bar 22 integrally therewith. 
The slide-locking plate 14 has an opening/closing hole means 20 in a 
position corresponding to that of the cover opening/closing button 21. The 
hole means 20 consists of an entry allowance hole 20a whose diameter is 
large enough to allow the button 21 to enter into the hole, and an entry 
hindrance hole 20b whose diameter is small enough to hinder the button 
from entering into the hole. The diameter of the entry allowance hole 20a 
corresponds to that of the button 21. When the power switch manipulator 11 
is in the position of turning off the power switch, the position of the 
entry allowance hole 20a coincides with that of the button 21. The 
diameter of the entry hindrance hole 20b corresponds to that of the 
opening/closing bar 22. When the power switch manipulator 11 is in the 
position of turning on the power switch, the position of the entry 
hindrance hole 20b coincides with that of the bar 22. 
The cover opening/closing arm means 30 is secured to the top of a rotary 
pin 32 supported on the bottom plate 17. An engaging arm 33 having an 
engaging claw 33a, which is engaged with and disengaged from an engaging 
portion 42 formed on the inside surface of the battery cover 41, and the 
moving connection arm 31, which is put in contact with the push flange 23 
of the opening/closing bar 22, are included in the arm means 30. A spring 
force transmission arm 43 is secured to the bottom of the rotary pin 32. 
The cover moving connection arm 35 is pivotally coupled to the bottom plate 
17 by a rotary shaft 37 so that the arm is moved in conjunction with the 
opening and closing of the battery cover 41. The arm 35 includes a moving 
connection part 38 in contact with the inside surface of the cover 41, the 
engaging projection 36, which is engaged with and disengaged from the 
engaging flange 24 of the opening/closing bar 22, and a spring engaging 
portion 39. A tension spring 40 engaged with the spring engaging portion 
39 and the spring force transmission arm 43 urges the cover moving 
connection arm 35 in such a direction as to push the moving connection 
part 38 of the cover moving connection arm onto the inside surface of the 
cover 41 to open the cover, and urges the spring force transmission arm in 
such a direction as to engage the engaging arm 33 of the cover 
opening/closing arm means 30 with the engaging portion 42 of the cover. 
Because of the above-described constitution and operation of the battery 
cover opening/closing device, the opening/closing bar 22 is fitted in the 
entry hindrance hole 20b of the opening/closing hole means 20 when the 
power switch manipulator 11 is in the position of turning on the power 
switch. In that state, even if the cover opening/closing button 21 is 
pressed, the button cannot be moved because of the small diameter of the 
entry hindrance hole 20b located at the button, as shown in FIG. 2B. For 
that reason, the engaging portion 42 of the cover 41 remains engaged with 
the engaging arm 33, despite the pressing of the button 21, so that the 
cover cannot be opened. On the other hand, if the power switch manipulator 
11 is slid into the position of turning off the power switch, the entry 
allowance hole 20a is moved so that the axis of the hole coincides with 
that of the cover opening/closing button 21, as shown in FIG. 2A. For that 
reason, the button 21 can then be pressed so as to be moved as shown in 
FIG. 2C, so that the opening/closing bar 22 is moved in the same direction 
as the button against the force of the plate spring 19. Because of that 
movement of the bar 22, the push flange 23 pushes the moving connection 
arm 31 of the cover opening/closing arm means 30 to turn the arm means 
counterclockwise with regard to FIG. 1, to disengage the engaging claw 33a 
of the engaging arm 33 from the engaging portion 42. At that time, the 
spring force transmission arm 43 is turned together with the cover opening 
arm means 30 in the same direction as the latter, and the cover moving 
connection arm 35 is also turned counterclockwise through the action of 
the tension spring 40. As a result, the moving connection part 38 of the 
arm 35 pushes the inside surface of the battery cover 41 so that the cover 
is opened. At that time, the engaging projection 36 is engaged with the 
engaging flange 24 of the opening/closing bar 22 so that the bar is kept 
in a cover opening position. When the cover 41 is thereafter closed, the 
inside surface thereof pushes the moving connection part 38 so that the 
cover moving connection arm 35 is turned clockwise against the force of 
the tension spring 40. As a result the engaging projection 36 is 
disengaged from the engaging flange 24, and the opening/closing bar 22 is 
returned to such a cover closing position by the force of the plate spring 
19 that the bar projects together with the cover opening/closing button 
21. At the same time, the spring force transmission arm 43 coupled to the 
cover moving connection arm 35 by the tension spring 40 is turned 
clockwise to turn the cover opening/closing arm means 30 clockwise to 
engage the engaging claw 33a of the engaging arm 33 with the engaging 
portion 42. If the power switch manipulator 11 is then slid into the 
position of turning on the power switch the cover opening/closing button 
21 is locked again. 
FIGS. 3 and 4 show a device according to another embodiment for opening and 
closing a cover for a battery for a magnetic recorder whose internal 
mechanism is driven by the electric power of the battery. The power switch 
manipulator 51 of the device is of the type which is pressed for 
operation. The cover opening/closing knob 61 of the device is of the type 
which is slid for operation. The knob 61 is coupled to a slide-locking 
plate 62 slidable rightward and leftward on the inside surface of the main 
plate 10 of the magnetic recorder. The manipulator 51 extends through the 
guide hole 10a of the main plate 10 and the opening/closing hole means 20 
of the slide-locking plate 62, and is movingly coupled to a power switch 
54. The slide-locking plate 62 is slid in the same manner as the 
slide-locking plate 14 in the preceding embodiment. The tip of the 
slide-locking plate 62 engages and disengages an engaging recess 63 of the 
battery cover 41. A compressed spring 64 urges the slide-locking plate 62 
in such a direction as to engage the tip thereof into the recess 63. The 
tip of the plate 62 has a slope 65, which slides on the end portion of the 
cover 41. 
The opening/closing hole means 20 consists of an entry allowance hole 20c 
of large diameter and an entry hindrance hole 20d of small diameter in the 
same manner as the preceding embodiment. The power switch manipulator 51 
includes a large-diameter portion 52 corresponding in diameter to the 
entry allowance hole 20c, and a small-diameter portion 53 corresponding in 
diameter to the entry hindrance hole 20d. When the large-diameter portion 
52 of the manipulator 51 is in the entry allowance hole 20c, the 
slide-locking plate 62 is in a locking position. When the small-diameter 
portion 53 of the manipulator 51 is in the entry hindrance hole 20d, the 
slide-locking plate 62 is in an unlocking position. When the 
large-diameter portion 52 of the power switch manipulator 51 is in the 
entry allowance hole 20c as shown in FIG. 3, the slide-locking plate 62 is 
prevented from being slid into the unlocking position. At that time, the 
manipulator 51 is in the position of turning on the power switch 54, and 
the slide-locking plate 62 is in the locking position so that the battery 
cover 41 cannot be opened. On the other hand, when the manipulator 51 is 
pushed into the position of turning off the power switch 54, the 
small-diameter portion 53 of the manipulator engages the entry allowance 
hole 20c so that the slide-locking plate 62 can be slid rightward and 
leftward, as shown in FIG. 4. If the plate 62 is then slid into the 
unlocking position by operating the cover opening/closing knob 61 against 
the force of the compressed spring 64, the tip of the plate is disengaged 
out of the engaging recess 63 so that the cover 41 can be opened. When the 
operating force on the knob 61 is then removed therefrom, the 
slide-locking plate 62 is slid into the locking position by the force of 
the compressed spring 64 so that the slope 65 of the tip of the plate is 
engaged with the battery cover 41. When the cover 41 is thereafter closed, 
the end thereof comes into pressure contact with the slope 65 of the plate 
62 so that the plate is moved into the unlocking position. When the cover 
61 is completely closed, the plate 62 is slid into the locking position by 
the force of the compressed spring 64 so that the tip of the plate is 
engaged into the engaging recess 63. 
According to the present invention, a cover opening/closing member cannot 
be moved into a battery cover opening position when a power switch 
manipulator is in the position of turning on a power switch. For that 
reason, a battery cover is prevented from being opened as the power switch 
remains turned on, to cause such a trouble as that the magnetic head of a 
magnetic recorder or the like is left in contact with a floppy disk or the 
like and plastically deforms it.