Abstract:
A modular thin-line battery pack for, e.g., motorized window coverings can hold one or two columns of type AA batteries end-to-end. The battery pack has a female socket on one end and a male-ended cord on the other end, and is internally wired such that plugging the male-ended cord of one battery pack into the female socket of a second battery pack results in ganging the packs together in parallel.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to dc battery holders.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Small, primary direct current (dc) batteries are used in a wide variety of applications owing to their low cost, ease of use, and portability. One such application is motorized window coverings. Window coverings such as horizontal blinds, vertical blinds, pleated shades, roll-up shades, and cellular shades made by, e.g., Spring Industries®, Hunter-Douglas®, and Levellor® can be motorized.  
           [0003]    Indeed, the present assignee has provided several systems for either lowering or raising a window covering, or for moving the slats of a window covering between open and closed positions. Such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,433,498, 6,338,377, 6,189,592, 6,060,852, 5,495,153, and 5,907,227, incorporated herein by reference. These systems include a motor driven gear box that is coupled to a tilt rod of the window covering. When the motor is energized, the tilt rod rotates clockwise or counterclockwise.  
           [0004]    The assignee&#39;s systems are powered by multiple small (e.g., type AA) batteries that are mounted in the head rail of the window covering. The batteries can be conveniently mounted in a modular case or holder, for ease of installation and replacement. As recognized herein, however, many head rails are narrow, and thus require slim line battery packs. As further recognized herein, some window coverings might require a few batteries for operation while other window coverings might require a greater number of batteries. The present invention understands that it would be advantageous to provide battery packs that can be “ganged” together in parallel to render a more powerful and/or longer lasting battery pack assembly when required for larger window coverings without necessarily increasing the voltage provided by a single battery pack. Specifically, when Lithium batteries with long shelf lives are arranged as disclosed herein and used with any of the electrical control systems in the above-incorporated patents, long battery life can be obtained.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    A battery pack includes a hollow housing that defines a battery enclosure configured for holding at least one battery. A positive terminal and a negative terminal are supported on the housing, with a first connector being electrically connected to both terminals and with a second connector being electrically connected to both terminals.  
           [0006]    In a preferred embodiment, the first connector is disposed at a first end of the housing and the second connector is disposed at a second end of the housing. The housing can includes opposed female sockets each defining first and second receptacles for engaging male plugs defining first and second elements. The first and second elements of the male plugs are respectively complementarily formed with the first and second receptacles of the female sockets.  
           [0007]    In a non-limiting application, the battery pack can be held in the head rail of a window covering. A clip can be mounted on the head rail for detachably engaging the battery pack.  
           [0008]    In one embodiment, the enclosure of the battery pack is configured for holding at least two batteries end-to-end. In another embodiment, the enclosure is configured for holding at least two columns of batteries, each column including at least two batteries oriented end-to-end with each other. The batteries can be type AA batteries or other type of batteries, such as camera batteries.  
           [0009]    In another aspect, a battery carriage includes a housing configured for holding at least one battery, and positive and negative terminals electrically connected to positive and negative poles of a battery when the battery is disposed in the housing. First and second connector means are on the housing, with each connector means being electrically connected to both terminals.  
           [0010]    In still another aspect, a method for powering a component includes providing at least a first battery pack that holds at least two batteries end-to-end and that has first and second connectors. The first connector includes a male connector and the second connector includes a female socket. The method also includes providing at least a second battery pack that is substantially identical to the first battery pack such that the first connector of the first battery pack is substantially identical to the first connector of the second battery pack and the second connector of the first battery pack is substantially identical to the second connector of the second battery pack. The battery packs are ganged together by engaging the first connector of the first battery pack with the second connector of the second battery pack.  
           [0011]    The details of the present invention, both as to its construction and operation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanying drawing, in which like numerals refer to like parts, and which: 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a modular battery pack, shown in one intended environment, with portions of the head rail cut away to expose the internal electrical components;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of two identical battery packs of a first embodiment, with portions of one battery pack broken away to show the single column of batteries oriented end-to-end and portions of one connector element shown in phantom; and  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the battery pack, showing two columns of batteries disposed end-to-end.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0015]    The present invention is directed to modular dc battery packs, also referred to as carriages, that can be used in a wide range of applications. By way of non-limiting illustration only, referring to FIG. 1, a modular battery power pack  10  is disposed in a head rail  12  of a window covering  14 . The battery pack  10  is electrically connected to a dc motor assembly  16  that can include appropriate gearing and control circuitry including a microprocessor programmed according to any one of the above-referenced patents. The assembly  16  is mechanically coupled to a rotatable tilt rod  18 , which in turn is coupled to slats or other movable features of the window covering  14  in accordance with principles known in the art to alter the amount of light passing through the window covering  14 . FIG. 1 shows that the battery pack  10  is held by at least one plastic clip  20  that is affixed (as by, e.g., glue or fasteners) to the head rail  14 . In a non-limiting embodiment, the battery pack  10  snaps into the clip  20  so that the battery pack  10  can be easily engaged and disengaged by hand with the head rail  14 .  
         [0016]    It is to be understood that the principles of the present invention apply to a wide range of window coverings. For example, the window covering  14  can be any window covering including, but not limited to the following: horizontal blinds, vertical blinds, fold-up pleated shades, roll-up shades, cellular shades, skylight covers, and any type of blinds that use vertical or horizontal louvered slats, including any of the motorized window coverings of the above-referenced patents that can be locally controlled and wirelessly controlled by a remote control device. It is to be further understood that the present battery pack can be used to power other non-limiting devices such as: laptop computers, hand held computers, telephones, lights, toys, calculators, or any other devices that can be powered by dc power sources.  
         [0017]    Now referring to FIG. 2, two identical battery packs  10 ,  10 ′ are shown that can be ganged together in electrical parallel to render a two-pack assembly that produces more power than a single pack but at the same voltage of the single pack. More than two battery packs can be ganged together if desired in accordance with present principles.  
         [0018]    Focussing on the battery pack  10 , a hollow, preferably plastic, generally cylindrical housing  22  can be produced by extrusion or other fabrication techniques and cut or molded to a length that is appropriate for holding a desired number of batteries  24 . In the embodiment shown three type AA alkaline or Lithium batteries are disposed in the housing  22  end-to-end such that their voltages are cumulative. Other battery types can be used, e.g., camera batteries can be used. If desired, the batteries  24  can rest on a flat platform  25  that extends the length of the housing  22 .  
         [0019]    The housing  22  can include first and second end caps  26 ,  28 , one or both of which can be detachably engaged with the body of the housing by threaded fasteners  30  or other fastening structure. When the end caps  26 ,  28  are attached to the body of the housing, the housing  22  forms a completely enclosed space in which the batteries  24  are disposed.  
         [0020]    In the non-limiting embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the first end cap  26  bears a metal, generally flat positive terminal  32  that contacts a positive pole  34  of the nearest battery  24  when the end cap  26  is engaged with the body of the housing. Also, the second end cap  28  bears a metal spring-like negative terminal  36  that contacts a negative pole  38  of the nearest battery  24  when the end cap  28  is engaged with the body of the housing.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 further shows that the battery pack  10  can include two preferably identically-formed connector elements  40 ,  42  that are disposed opposite each other relative to the body of the housing  22 . Each preferred non-limiting connector element  40 ,  42  establishes a female socket that includes two receptacles. Taking the connector element  40  as an example, first and second receptacles  44 ,  46  are established with the first receptacle  44  being electrically connected to the negative terminal  36  via a conductor  48  and with the second receptacle  46  being electrically connected to the positive terminal  32  via a conductor  50 . It is to be understood that the connector element  42  likewise is a female socket that has first and second receptacles respectively connected to the negative and positive terminals  36 ,  32 .  
         [0022]    In accordance with the preferred non-limiting embodiment shown in FIG. 2, one of the connector elements (in the case shown, the connector element  42 ) is engaged with a two-lead cord  52  that has opposed male plugs  54 ,  56  at least one of which is complementarily configured to the connector element  42 . It is to be understood that, e.g., the left-most male plug  54  includes first and second male elements  58 ,  60  that respectively engage the first and second receptacles of the connector element  42 . Also, the right-most male plug  56  includes first and second male elements that are electrically connected through the cord  52  with the corresponding male elements of the left-most plug  54 . A key  62  or other alignment structure can be formed on each plug  54 ,  56  to slidably engage complementary structure in a connector element only when the plug is properly inserted into the connector element, i.e., with the first male element of the plug oriented to electrically contact the first receptacle of the connector element and with the second male element of the plug oriented to electrically contact the second receptacle of the connector element. Together, the second connector element  42  and two-lead cord  52  with plugs  54 ,  56  establish a male plug connector, whereas the first connector element  40  establishes a female socket connector.  
         [0023]    While FIG. 2 shows plugs  54 ,  56  and connector elements  40 ,  42  that are parallelepiped-shaped plastic electrical connectors, with the male elements essentially being established by respective contacts within the plugs  54 ,  56 , other types of connections can be used. For example, the connector elements  40 ,  42  can be simple sockets and the plugs  54 ,  56  can be conventional male plugs that have externally-protruding prongs.  
         [0024]    In any case, it may now be appreciated that the cord  52  may be engaged with the motor assembly  16  (FIG. 1) to power the window covering  14  through any one of the electrical circuits disclosed in the above-incorporated patents. Or, the right-most plug  56  of the cord  52  can be engaged with the free connector element (i.e., the female connector) of the battery pack  10 ′ to gang the two battery packs  10 ,  10 ′ together, with the cord  52 ′ of the battery pack  10 ′ then being used to connect the battery packs  10 ,  10 ′ to a load or to yet another battery pack (not shown).  
         [0025]    It is to be further appreciated that owing to the internal wiring described above, when the battery packs  10 ,  10 ′ are ganged together, the negative terminals of the packs  10 ,  10 ′ are connected together and the positive terminals are likewise connected together, resulting in a parallel connection. In other words, the batteries in the pack  10 , while being in electrical series with each other, are in electrical parallel with the batteries in the other pack  10 ′. Series connection of the packs  10 ,  10 ′ can also be achieved if desired simply by reversing the terminal connections of the receptacles of either connector element.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 show an alternate battery pack  100  that is in all substantial respects identical to the pack  10  shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, except that it is generally flat and parallelepiped-shaped and it holds two columns of series-oriented batteries  102 . A removable lid  104  can be provided.  
         [0027]    While the particular MODULAR BATTERY PACK as herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the above-described aspects of the invention, it is to be understood that it is the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention and thus, is representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention, that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described preferred embodiment that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is not necessary for a device or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the present invention, for it is to be encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. section 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” 
         [0028]    WE CLAIM: