Abstract:
A battery includes a battery case including battery chemistry for supplying electricity, a first end, and a second end opposite the first end; a first positive terminal, a first negative terminal, and a first insulator therebetween at the first end that together form a first positive terminal and negative terminal configuration; a second positive terminal, a second negative terminal, and a second insulator therebetween at the second end that together form a second positive terminal and negative terminal configuration, wherein the second positive terminal and the second negative terminal configuration is a mirror image of the first positive terminal and the first negative terminal configuration.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional application No. 61/586,196, filed on Jan. 13, 2012, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to batteries and to battery circuits. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A typical battery has two terminals. One terminal is marked (+), or positive, and the other is marked (−), or negative. In normal flashlight batteries, such as conventional AA, C or D cell batteries, the terminals are located at the opposed ends of the battery. To harness the electric charge produced by a battery, the battery must be connected to a load, such as a light bulb, a motor, or an electrical circuit. 
     The internal workings of a battery are housed within a metal or plastic case. Inside this case are a cathode, which connects to the positive terminal, and a corresponding anode, which connects to the negative terminal. These components, which are electrodes, occupy most of the space in a battery and are the place where the chemical reactions occur to produce electricity. An insulator or separator creates a barrier between the cathode and anode isolating the cathode from the anode preventing the electrodes from touching while allowing electrical charge to flow freely between them. The medium that allows the electric charge to flow between the cathode and anode is known as the electrolyte. A collector conducts the charge to the outside of the battery and through the applied load. 
     When a load completes the circuit between the positive and negative terminals, the battery produces electricity through a series of electromagnetic reactions between the anode, the cathode, and the electrolyte. The anode experiences an oxidation in which two or more ions from the electrolyte combine with the anode, producing a compound and releasing one or more electrons. At the same time, the cathode goes through a reduction reaction, in which the cathode substance, ions, and free electrons also combine to form compounds. The reaction in the anode creates electrons, the reaction in the cathode absorbs them, and the net product is electricity. The battery will continue to produce electricity until one or both of the electrodes run out of the substance necessary for the reactions to occur. Modern batteries use a variety of chemicals to power their reactions. Common battery chemistries include zinc-carbon batteries, alkaline batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and lead-acid batteries. 
     The zinc-carbon chemistry of zinc-carbon batteries is common in many inexpensive AAA, AA, C, and D dry cell batteries, in which the anode is zinc, the cathode is manganese dioxide, and the electrolyte is ammonium chloride or zinc chloride. The chemistry of alkaline batteries is also common in AA, C, and D dry cell batteries. In alkaline batteries, the cathode is composed of a manganese dioxide mixture, the anode is a zinc powder, and the electrolyte is potassium hydroxide, which is an alkaline substance. The lithium chemistry of lithium-ion batteries is often used in high-performance devices, such as cell phones, digital cameras, and electric cars. Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable, and a variety of substances are used in lithium batteries, and a common combination is a lithium cobalt oxide cathode and a corresponding carbon anode. Lead-acid batteries are also rechargeable, and the corresponding chemistry, which is used in conventional car batteries, includes lead dioxide and metallic lead for the electrodes, and a sulfuric acid solution for the electrolyte. The most common form of rechargeable battery is the lithium-ion battery. 
     With the rise of portable electronic devices, such as laptops, cell phones, flashlights, cordless power tools, and the like, the need for rechargeable batteries has grown substantially in recent years. Many portable electronic devices that use rechargeable batteries incorporate one contact region for an operating circuit for operating the load, and a second contact point for a charging circuit used to recharge the battery. The operating circuit operates separately from the charging circuit. This is normally achieved by using either a battery cradle that contains the necessary circuits, or an inner barrel inside the body of the electronic device to carry the extra current. Although both methods are effective, they add extra weight and increased cost in the product of the electronic devices and in some instances make it inconvenient and cumbersome to remove or replace a battery as may be necessary from time-to-time. Given these and other deficiencies in the art of batteries, the need for continued improvement in the field is evident. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An aspect of the invention involves a battery having a battery case including battery chemistry for supplying electricity, a first end, and a second end opposite the first end; a first positive terminal, a first negative terminal, and a first insulator therebetween at the first end that together form a first positive terminal and negative terminal configuration; a second positive terminal, a second negative terminal, and a second insulator therebetween at the second end that together form a second positive terminal and negative terminal configuration, wherein the second positive terminal and the second negative terminal configuration is a minor image of the first positive terminal and the first negative terminal configuration. 
     One or more implementations of the aspect of the invention described immediately above include one or more of the following: the battery is rechargeable; the battery chemistry lithium-ion chemistry; the battery chemistry is zinc-carbon chemistry; the battery chemistry is lead-acid chemistry; the battery chemistry is alkaline chemistry; the battery is elongated and cylindrical in shape; the first positive terminal and the second positive terminal are circular, located at a geometric center of the first and second ends, and are symmetrical about a longitudinal axis of the battery, the first and second insulators are continuous circular rings, encircle the first and second positive terminals, are located between the first and second positive terminals and the first and second negative terminals, and are symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of the battery, and first and second negative terminals are continuous circular rings that concurrently encircle first and second separators and first and second positive terminal, and are symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of the battery, the first and second positive terminals, the first and second negative terminals, and first and second insulators are concentric and share the longitudinal axis as a common center; a first load connected to the first positive terminal and the first negative terminal at the first end and a second load connected to the second positive terminal and the second negative terminal at the second end; a load connected to the first positive terminal and the first negative terminal at the first end and a charger connected to the second positive terminal and the second negative terminal at the second end; a first charger connected to the first positive terminal and the first negative terminal at the first end and a second charger connected to the second positive terminal and the second negative terminal at the second end; a battery-powered electronic device comprising a body; and a load carried by the body and powered by the battery; a charger coupled to the battery to charge the battery; the battery-powered electronic device is a portable flashlight, the body is a handle of the flashlight, the load is a lamp of the flashlight, and the battery is carried in the handle of the flashlight; a charger coupled to the battery to charge the battery; a battery-powered electronic device including a body and a load carried by the body and powered by the battery, comprising: receiving a first battery in the battery-powered electronic device, the first battery having the construction of the battery and being disposed in a first orientation with the second positive terminal and second negative terminal configuration facing in one direction and the first positive terminal and first negative terminal configuration facing in an opposite direction; replacing the first battery with a second battery in the battery-powered electronic device, the second battery having the construction of the battery of claim  1  and being disposed in a second orientation opposite the first orientation; a method of using a battery-powered electronic device including a body and a load carried by the body and powered by the battery, comprising: receiving a first battery in the battery-powered electronic device, the first battery having the construction of the battery and being disposed in a first orientation with the second positive terminal and second negative terminal configuration facing in one direction and the first positive terminal and first negative terminal configuration facing in an opposite direction; receiving a second battery in the battery-powered electronic device adjacent to the first battery and in direct series connection therewith, the second battery having the construction of the battery of claim  1  and being disposed in a second orientation opposite of the first orientation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective of a battery constructed and arranged in accordance with the principle of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the battery of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of the battery of  FIGS. 1 and 2  incorporated into a battery-powered electronic device having a load component and a charging component, and further illustrating a load circuit for powering the load component formed between one end of the battery and the load component, and a charging circuit for charging the battery formed between the opposed end of the battery and the charging component. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Turning now to the drawings, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding elements throughout the several views, attention is first directed to  FIGS. 1 and 2  in which there is seen a battery  10  constructed and arranged in accordance with the principle of the invention. Battery  10  is elongate and cylindrical in shape, has opposed ends  11  and  12 , and is symmetrical along its central, longitudinal axis X extending centrally through battery  10  from end  11  to end  12 . The internal workings of battery  10  are housed within a metal or plastic case  13 , which extends along the length of battery  10  from end  11  to end  12 . End  11  of battery  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 1  is formed with a positive terminal denoted at  20  and a negative terminal denoted at  21 , and end  12  of battery  10  as shown in  FIG. 2  is formed with a positive terminal denoted at  30  and a negative terminal denoted at  31 . Positive and negative terminals  20  and  21  are located at end  11  of battery  10 , and positive and negative terminals  30  and  31  are located at end  12  of battery  10 . Positive terminal  20  and negative terminal  21  at end  11  of battery  10  are separated by an insulator or separator  22  at end  11  of battery  10  that electrically isolates positive terminal  20  from negative terminal  21 . Positive terminal  30  and negative terminal  31  at end  12  of battery  10  are separated by an insulator or separator  32  at end  11  of battery  10  that electrically isolates positive terminal  30  from negative terminal  31 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 1 , positive terminal  20  is circular, is located at the geometric center of end  11  of battery  10 , and is symmetrical about longitudinal axis X of battery  10 . Separator  22  is a continuous circular ring, encircles positive terminal  20 , and is, like positive terminal  20 , symmetrical about longitudinal axis X of battery  10 . Separator  22  is located between positive terminal  20  and negative terminal  21 . Negative terminal  21  is located distally of positive terminal  20  and separator  22 , is a continuous circular ring that concurrently encircles separator  22  and positive terminal  20 , and is, like positive terminal  20  and separator  22 , symmetrical about longitudinal axis X of battery  10 . Positive terminal  20 , negative terminal  21 , and separator  22  at end  11  of battery  10  are concentric in arrangement in that they encircle and share a common center, namely, longitudinal axis X of battery  10 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 2 , positive terminal  30  is circular, is located at the geometric center of end  12  of battery  10 , and is symmetrical about longitudinal axis X of battery  10 . Separator  32  is a continuous circular ring, encircles positive terminal  30 , and is, like positive terminal  30 , symmetrical about longitudinal axis X of battery  10 . Separator  32  is located between positive terminal  30  and negative terminal  31 . Negative terminal  31  is located distally of positive terminal  30  and separator  32 , is a continuous circular ring that concurrently encircles separator  32  and positive terminal  30 , and is, like positive terminal  30  and separator  32 , symmetrical about longitudinal axis X of battery  10 . Positive terminal  30 , negative terminal  31 , and separator  32  at end  12  of battery  10  are concentric in arrangement in that they encircle and share a common center, namely, longitudinal axis X of battery  10 . 
     Positive terminal  30  at end  12  of battery  10  is identical in size and shape to positive terminal  20  at end  11  of battery  10 , negative terminal  31  at end  12  of battery  10  is identical in size and shape to positive terminal  21  at end  11  of battery  10 , and separator  32  at end  12  of battery  10  is identical in size and shape to separator  22  at end  11  of battery  10 . The arrangement and geometry of positive and negative terminals  30  and  31  and separator  32  at end  12  of battery  10  is identical to or otherwise the minor image of the arrangement and geometry of positive and negative terminals  20  and  21  and separator  22  at end  11  of battery  11 . 
     The internal workings of battery  10  inside case  13  are not shown as they are conventional. As with a conventional battery, inside case  13  are a cathode that connects to opposed positive terminals  20  and  30 , and a corresponding anode that connects to opposed negative terminals  21  and  31 . These components, which are electrodes, occupy most of the space in battery  10  and are the place where the chemical reactions occur to produce electricity. An insulator or separator creates a barrier between the cathode and anode isolating the cathode from the anode preventing the electrodes from touching while allowing electrical charge to flow freely between them. In a preferred embodiment, separators  22  and  32  form part of the separator separating the cathode from the anode. However, the separator separating the cathode from the anode can be different from separators  22  and  32  in an alternate embodiment. The medium that allows the electric charge to flow between the cathode and the anode is the electrolyte, and, as in a conventional battery a collector conducts the charge to the outside of the battery and through the applied load. Battery  10  is a rechargeable battery, and preferably utilized lithium chemistry to power its reactions to produce electricity. The lithium chemistry used by the battery  10  preferably includes lithium cobalt oxide for the cathode, and carbon for the corresponding anode. 
     Because both ends  11  and  12  of battery  10  have positive and negative terminals according to the principle of the invention, harnessing the electric charge produced by battery  10  can be produced at end  11  of battery  10  with positive and negative electrodes  20  and  21 , and can also be identically produced at end  12  of battery with positive and negative electrodes  30  and  31 . Recharging battery  10  can also be made at end  11  of battery  10  with positive and negative electrodes  20  and  21 , and can further be identically made at end  12  of battery with positive and negative electrodes  30  and  31 . 
     As a matter of example,  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of battery  10  incorporated into a body  40  of a battery-powered electronic device  35  having a load component  41  and a charging component  42 , a load circuit  45  for powering load component  41  formed between end  11  of battery  10  and load component  41 , and a charging circuit  46  for charging battery  10  formed between end  12  of battery  10  and charging component  42 . In  FIG. 3 , positive and negative terminals at end  11  of battery  10  are denoted generally at  20  and  21 , respectively, and are shown as they would appear connected to load component  41  forming or otherwise completing load circuit  45  between load component  41  and positive and negative terminals  20  and  21  at end  11  of battery  10  causing battery  10  to produce electric power for powering load component  41 . Positive and negative terminals at end  12  of battery  10  are denoted generally at  30  and  31 , respectively, and are shown as they would appear connected to charging component  42  forming or otherwise completing charging circuit  46  between charging component  42  and positive and negative terminals  30  and  31  at end  11  of battery  10  causing battery  10  to receive charging energy from charging component  42  for charging battery  10 . Because the positive and negative terminal geometry and configuration is the same at ends  11  and  12  of battery  10 , the orientation of battery  10  in body  40  of battery-powered electronic device  35  can be reversed for forming load circuit  45  between load component  41  and positive and negative terminals  30  and  31  at end  12  of battery  10 , and for forming charging circuit  46  between charging component  42  and positive and negative terminals  20  and  21  at end  11  of battery  10 , in accordance with the principle of the invention. Regardless of the position of battery  10  in the battery receptacle of body  40 , whether end  11  to load component  41  and end  12  to charging component  42  or end  11  to charging component  42  and end  12  to load component, the positive and negative terminal geometry and configuration at ends  11  and  12  of battery  10  are able to produce the corresponding load and charging circuits  45  and  46 , in accordance with the principle of the invention. In  FIG. 3 , battery-powered electronic device  35  is generally representative of a portable flashlight, where body  40  is the body of the flashlight, load component  41  is the lamp of the flashlight, and charging component  42  is the charging cap of the flashlight. Battery  10  can be similarly used in other portable electronic devices having corresponding load and charging components. 
     By providing battery  10  with identical positive and negative terminals at ends  11  and  12 , the need for incorporating dedicated load and charging contacts and circuits, a battery cradle wired with dedicated load and charging circuitry, or an inner barrel to carry the extra current in a battery-powered electronic device is no longer necessary, which reduces the overall weight and cost of a battery-powered electronic device. Furthermore, because the positive and negative terminals at ends  11  and  12  of battery  10  are identical, battery  10  may be installed into a battery cradle or receptacle of a battery-powered electronic device simply and efficiently without the need to find the correct way of inserting the battery as it can be inserted both ways or otherwise in either direction. This is especially useful when a battery needs to be replaced urgently and quickly, such as in the dark. In the present embodiment, terminals  20  and  30  are positive and terminals  21  and  31  are negative, and this can be reversed if so desired. 
     While illustrative embodiments of the invention are disclosed herein, it will be appreciated that numerous modifications and other embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art. Features of the embodiments described herein, can be combined, separated, interchanged, and/or rearranged to generate other embodiments. Therefore, it will be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and embodiments that come within the spirit and scope of the present invention.