Abstract:
A battery locking apparatus to conveniently and easily separate a battery from an image photographing apparatus with one hand. The battery locking apparatus locks and releases a battery that is detachably mounted to the image photographing apparatus by a sliding operation of a sliding button. The releasing directions of the sliding button and the battery are opposite to each other.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-16029, filed Mar. 10, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to an electronic device having a rechargeable battery. More particularly, the present invention relates to a battery locking apparatus removably mounted on the electronic device, such as a digital camera and a video camcorder.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     As portability of electronic devices has been emphasized, a rechargeable battery for supplying power to the electronic device has been introduced and popularized. Such a rechargeable battery is removably mounted inside or outside of the electronic device. When an inner space of the electronic device is not enough to accommodate the battery due to compactness, the rechargeable battery may be disposed on the outside of the electronic device. In this case, the electronic device is typically provided with a certain locking apparatus for locking or releasing the rechargeable battery selectively by a user.  
         [0006]     Generally, the battery locking apparatus primarily fixes the battery in a sliding manner by lockers respectively formed on the electronics and the battery for engagement with each other. A dedicated locking apparatus is provided to secure the locked state of the battery.  
         [0007]     However, with the above structure, releasing of the battery locking apparatus is inconvenient since the user needs to use both hands to grab the battery and release the battery locking apparatus. Therefore, an improved battery locking apparatus has been in demand for easier manipulation for replacing the rechargeable battery.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved battery locking apparatus for enabling a user to conveniently replace a rechargeable battery using one hand.  
         [0009]     A battery locking apparatus locks and releases a rechargeable battery detachably mounted to an electronic device by a sliding operation of a sliding button, wherein releasing directions of the sliding button and the battery are opposite to each other.  
         [0010]     The battery is mounted to a rear side of the electronic device and separated in a gravity direction.  
         [0011]     According to another embodiment of the present invention, a battery locking apparatus includes a plurality of guide ribs protruding from a battery mounting frame connected to one side of an electronic device. A plurality of rib grooves corresponding to the guide ribs are adapted to engage the guide ribs in a sliding manner. A fixing member is formed at the battery mounting frame to appear and disappear by a user&#39;s selection, thereby restricting sliding movement of the battery. A sliding button moves the fixing member up and down. The sliding button is slid in the opposite direction to a releasing direction of the battery to separate the battery from the electronic device.  
         [0012]     The fixing member is elastically supported by a fixing member holder that may be integrally formed with the battery mounting frame to slide according to the operation of the sliding button.  
         [0013]     The fixing member holder has a guide groove for guiding the sliding movement of the fixing member.  
         [0014]     The fixing member includes a fixing member body, and a fixing projection integrally formed with the fixing member body to restrict the sliding movement of the battery. A guide projection slides along the guide groove. A first slope contacts the sliding button to move up and down the fixing member body in a perpendicular direction to the movement of the sliding button.  
         [0015]     The sliding button has a second slope contacting the first slope, and a sloping angle of the second slope being approximately the same as that of the first slope.  
         [0016]     The battery mounting frame includes a switching unit for detecting whether the battery is mounted or not. The switching unit has a sensor plate vertically reciprocating as the battery slides. A sensor elastic member elastically supports the sensor plate. A supporting bracket fixes the sensor plate and moves in association with the reciprocation of the sensor plate. A micro switch mounted on a circuit board is connected to a rear side of the battery mounting frame and turned on and off by the supporting bracket.  
         [0017]     Other objects, advantages and salient features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses preferred embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES  
       [0018]     The above aspect and other features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein;  
         [0019]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  are perspective views of an image photographing apparatus having a battery locking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is an exploded and perspective view of a battery mounting frame and a rechargeable battery constructing the battery locking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a partially-enlarged side view of the battery locking apparatus of  FIG. 2  showing a fixing member;  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a rear view of a sliding button sliding in engagement with the fixing member of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a switching unit mounted at an upper part of the battery mounting frame to determine whether the battery is mounted; and  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  is a rear view of the switching unit of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
       [0025]     Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like parts, components and structures.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]     Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing figures.  
         [0027]     The matters defined in the description, such as a detailed construction and elements thereof, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the invention. Thus, it is apparent that the present invention may be carried out without those defined matters. Also, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail for brevity and conciseness.  
         [0028]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate an image photographing apparatus having a battery locking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0029]     An image photographing apparatus  100  mounts a detachable battery  200  at a rear side of a main body  101 . Therefore, the main body  101  has a battery mounting frame  110  at the rear side thereof to receive the battery  200 .  
         [0030]     The battery mounting frame  110  includes a first terminal  111  to contact the battery  200 , and the battery  200  has a second terminal  211  corresponding to the first terminal  111 , such that the image photographing apparatus  100  and the battery  200  are electrically connected.  
         [0031]     A bottom surface of the battery mounting frame  110  is open to receive the battery  200  from the bottom in a sliding manner.  
         [0032]     The battery mounting frame  110  and the battery  200  respectively have a guide member  300  for guiding the sliding movement of battery  200  and a locking member (not shown) for fixing the battery  200  at a position where the first and the second terminals  111  and  211  contact each other.  
         [0033]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the guide member  300  has a plurality of guide ribs  310  formed on the battery mounting frame  110  and rib grooves  320  correspondingly formed to the guide ribs  310  on the battery  200 .  
         [0034]     The guide rib  310  is received in the rib groove  320  as the battery  200  slides. The guide rib  310  has a latching jaw recess  311  at a bottom thereof for engagement with a battery latching jaw  321  formed at the rib groove  320 .  
         [0035]     By the sliding movement of the battery  200 , the guide rib  310  and the rib groove  320  are engaged with each other, thereby restricting a sliding distance and guiding the sliding movement of the battery  200 .  
         [0036]     The locking member has a fixing member  410  mounted to the battery mounting frame  110  to appear and disappear according to a user&#39;s selection to restrict the sliding movement of the battery  200  and a sliding button  420  ( FIG. 1A ) for moving the fixing member  410 .  
         [0037]     The fixing member  410  is elastically mounted to a fixing member holder  112 , which is integrally formed with the battery mounting frame  110  to restrict the sliding movement of the battery  200 , as being engaged with the rib groove  320 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the fixing member  410  is inserted in the fixing member holder  112  disposed at the rear side of the battery mounting frame  110 . An opening where the fixing member  410  is inserted is closed by a holder cap  114 , thereby preventing separation of the fixing member  410 . An elastic member  115  is formed between the holder cap  114  and the fixing member  410  to elastically support the fixing member  410 . The above-configured fixing member  410  is able to slide along an inner circumferential surface of the fixing member holder  112  according to the operation of the sliding button  420 . To prevent deviation of the fixing member  410  during the sliding movement, a guide groove  113  for guiding the fixing member  410  is provided to the fixing member holder  112 .  
         [0038]     The fixing member  410  comprises a fixing member body  411 , a fixing projection  412  integrally formed with the fixing member body  411  to restrict the sliding movement of the battery  200 , a guide projection  413  sliding along the guide groove  113  and a first slope  414  contacting the sliding button  420  to move up and down the fixing member body  411  perpendicularly to the sliding direction of the sliding button  420 .  
         [0039]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of a part IV of  FIG. 1A , showing the sliding button  420  from an inside thereof.  
         [0040]     The sliding button  420  has a second slope  424  to engage the first slope  414 . The sloping angle of the second slope  424  is substantially the same as that of the first slope  414 . As the first and the second slopes  414  and  424  slide in contact with each other, the sliding button  420  having the second slope  424  moves only in the sliding direction whereas the fixing member  410  having the first slope  414  moves perpendicularly to the sliding direction of the sliding button  420 . As a result, the fixing member  410  appears and disappears in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding movement of the sliding button  420 .  
         [0041]     Therefore, when the sliding button  420  is slid in a direction indicated by an arrow in  FIG. 1 , the fixing member  410  moves in a direction indicated by an arrow in  FIG. 3 . Therefore, the fixing projection  412  is depressed into the battery mounting frame  110 . Accordingly, the sliding movement of the battery  200  is restricted.  
         [0042]     At an upper part of the battery mounting frame  110 , a switching unit  500  is provided to detect a position of the battery where the first and the second terminals  111  and  211  correspond to each other.  
         [0043]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the switching unit  500  has a sensor plate  510  vertically reciprocating depending on the sliding movement of the battery  200 . A plate elastic member  520  elastically supports the sensor plate  410 . A supporting bracket  530  fixes the sensor plate  510  and moves in association with the reciprocal movement of the sensor plate  510 . A micro switch mounted on a circuit board  600  is connected to the rear side of the battery mounting frame  110  and is turned on and off by the supporting bracket  530 .  
         [0044]     The sensor plate  510  is fixed by the supporting bracket  530 . The supporting bracket  530  has a fixing hook  531  and a fixing hook recess  511  formed to correspond to the fixing hook  531  to be engaged with the fixing hook  531 .  
         [0045]     One end of the sensor elastic member  520  is supported by the battery mounting frame  110  that guides a sliding movement of the sensor plate  510 , and the other end is supported by an inner side of an elastic member receiving part  512  of the sensor plate  510 .  
         [0046]     The supporting bracket  530  supports the sensor plate  510 , turns on and off the micro switch  540 , and guides the sensor plate  510  sliding upwardly in contact with the battery  200 . The fixing hook  531  is penetratingly connected where the supporting bracket  530  of the battery mounting frame  110  is mounted, and a fixing hook sliding hole  119  ( FIG. 6 ) is formed for the fixing hook  531  to slide therethrough.  
         [0047]     As shown in  FIG. 6 , when the battery  200  is mounted, and the sensor plate  510  is slid upwardly, the supporting bracket  530  also moves upwardly together with the sensor plate  510 , thereby pushing the micro switch  540  for the operation.  
         [0048]     The position of the battery  200  may be determined according to the on and off state of the micro switch  540 . Therefore, when the image photographing apparatus  100  is connected to an external power to recharge the battery  200 , if the battery  200  is separated or mounted, the switching unit  500  detects the separation or mounting to prevent the external power from being supplied to the first terminal  111 . As a result, mishap such as electric shock may also be prevented.  
         [0049]     Hereinbelow, the operation of the battery locking apparatus constructed as the above will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing figures.  
         [0050]     As shown in FIG  1 A, the battery  200  is detachably mounted to a rear portion of the image photographing apparatus  100 . The battery  200  may be recharged by use of a dedicated recharging device or by direct connection with the external power, as being mounted to the image photographing apparatus  100 .  
         [0051]     If replacement of the battery  200  is required during use of the apparatus  100 , a user may remove the exhausted battery  200  using one hand while the other hand is grabbing the image photographing apparatus  100 .  
         [0052]     For example, with the rest fingers and a palm of a right hand grabbing the battery  200 , as a thumb of the right hand pushes the sliding button  420  upwardly (FIG  1 A), as indicated by an arrow in FIG  1 A, the rest fingers pull down the battery  200  in a gravity direction, thereby separating the battery  200 .  
         [0053]     Accordingly, the user can separate the battery  200  with only one hand by operating the sliding button  420  with the thumb. Furthermore, since the battery  200  is separated in the gravity direction, the weight of the battery  200  may help the user conveniently separate the battery  200 .  
         [0054]     As can be appreciated from the above description, due to the sliding button  420  disposed near the thumb of the right hand that usually grips the battery  200 , the battery  200  may be safely released from the image photographing apparatus  100 .  
         [0055]     In addition, since the sliding button  420  is slid by the thumb of the hand holding the battery  200 , the battery  200  may be separated in an easy manner with the thumb functioning as a supporting point.  
         [0056]     While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.