Patent Publication Number: US-2007097614-A1

Title: Battery apparatus for different kinds of notebook computers

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Serial Number 94218694, filed Oct. 28, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.  
     BACKGROUND  
      1. Field of Invention  
      The present invention relates to a battery apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a battery apparatus suitable for different kinds of notebook computer.  
      2. Description of Related Art  
      A battery is a very important component of any notebook computer. When the notebook computer is located in a place where no external power is available, the battery becomes the only way to supply power.  
      Conventionally, a battery apparatus is uniquely designed to match a certain notebook computer, in color or material. In order to satisfy such requirements, manufacturing costs for the battery apparatus are constrained and hard to reduce. Thus, battery apparatus venders are interested in reducing costs of new battery design as well as costs of battery materials management.  
     SUMMARY  
      It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a battery apparatus of a common battery design for different kinds of notebook computers.  
      In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives of the present invention, a common battery design for different kinds of notebook computers is provided. The common battery design includes a battery body and an L-shaped cover. The battery body has three pairs of parallel surfaces, and each of a first pair of parallel surfaces includes a set of grooves. The L-shaped cover has two sets of hooks respectively clamping two sets of grooves on the first pair of parallel surfaces. The L-shaped cover covers up one of a first pair of parallel surfaces and its adjacent surface so as to form part of a notebook computer&#39;s housing. The L-shaped cover can have the same material or color as the notebook computer that the battery body belongs to; the common battery design is then suitable for different kinds of notebook computers.  
      Thus, the battery apparatus, because of a common battery design, can be suitable for different kinds of notebook computers so as to reduce costs of new battery design and costs of battery materials management. Moreover, when a new type of notebook computer is designed, a potential shortcoming in battery design can be avoided based on an old common battery design.  
      It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings,  
       FIG. 1  illustrates a battery apparatus and a notebook computer to which the battery apparatus belongs according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;  
       FIG. 2  illustrates a battery apparatus according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;  
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  respectively illustrate grooves located on a pair of parallel surfaces according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;  
       FIG. 4  illustrates a battery apparatus and its cover according to one preferred embodiment of this invention; and  
       FIG. 5  illustrates a battery apparatus to which a tape is attached according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.  
      In order to reduce costs of new battery design and costs of battery materials management, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a common battery design for different kinds of notebook computers. The common battery design includes a battery body and a cover attached to it. The cover has the same material or color as the notebook computer to which the battery body belongs. Therefore, the combination of a battery body and a cover with the same material or color as the notebook computer can form a common battery design for different kinds of notebook computers.  
       FIG. 1  illustrates a battery apparatus and a notebook computer to which the battery apparatus belongs according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. A cutout  106  on a notebook computer  102  can accommodate a battery body  104 . When the battery body  104  is inserted into the cutout  106 , a rail  114  (another rail is on the right side of the cutout but not illustrated in drawings) is used to fit and secure the battery body  104 . After the battery body  104  is inserted into the cutout  106 , a lock hook  112  (another hook is on the right side of the cutout but not illustrated in drawings) is used to secure the battery body  104  in the notebook computer  102 . Lock switches  108   a  and  108   b  are used to control the lock hooks in order to lock or unlock the battery body  104  within the cutout  106 . When locked, the lock switch  108   a  and the lock hook  112  are disposed as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . When unlocked, the lock hook  112  is withdrawn when the lock switch  108   a  is pushed to the left position. A connector  110   a  in the cutout  106  is used to couple the battery body  104  to the notebook computer so as to provide power thereto.  
       FIG. 2  illustrates a battery apparatus according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. The battery apparatus of  FIG. 2  is shown flipped over in relation to the battery apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 . The battery body  104  can be considered as a parallelepiped, which has three pairs of parallel surfaces, except for a battery connector  110   b . A surface  140   a  and its opposite surface are a pair of parallel surfaces. Due to limitations in viewpoint,  FIG. 2  only illustrates one of each pair of parallel surfaces, surfaces  140   a ,  140   c  and  140   e . An elongated groove  122  and recesses  120   a ,  120   b ,  120   c  and  140   e  are located on the surface  140   e  and its opposite surface (not illustrated in drawings). Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , when the battery body  104  is inserted into the cutout  106 , the rail  114  fits into elongated groove  122  and the lock hook  112 , clamping the recess  120   a  so as to secure the battery body  104  to the cutout  106 . Recesses  120   a ,  120   b ,  120   c  and  120   d  are preset on the surface  140   e  and its opposite surface to meet a lock hook  112  of different locations. Therefore, when a cutout  106  of a notebook computer is designed, the location of the lock hook is flexibly chosen.  
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  respectively illustrate grooves located on a pair of parallel surfaces according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. The surface  140   d  of  FIG. 3A  and the surface  140   c  of  FIG. 3B  are a pair of parallel surfaces. A set of grooves  105   a ,  105   b ,  105   c ,  105   d  and  105   e  are located on the surface  140   d , and another set of grooves  107   a ,  107   b ,  107   c  and  107   d  as well as a connector  110   b  are located on the surface  140   c . All grooves mentioned above are to secure an L-shaped cover. A set of grooves should include at least two grooves in order to secure an L-shaped cover firmly. The quantity of groove depends upon the area of the surfaces  140 . Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 B, the battery connector  110   b  is employed to contact the connector  110   a  to supply power to the notebook computer  102 .  
       FIG. 4  illustrates a battery apparatus and its cover according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. An L-shaped cover  130  is attached to the battery body  104  to match different kinds of computer in material or color. The L-shaped cover  130  can have the same color or material as the housing of the notebook computer  102  in order to save material cost. The L-shaped cover  130  has hooks  130   a  and  130   b  so as to clamp the battery body  104 . The hooks  130   a  can clamp grooves (such as grooves  105   a ,  105   b ,  105   c ,  105   d  and  105   e  illustrated in  FIG. 3A ) on the surface  140   d , and the hooks  130   a  can clamp grooves (such as grooves  107   a ,  107   b ,  107   c  and  107   d ) on the surface  140   c . The L-shaped cover  130  covers up the surface  140   d  and its adjacent surface  140   b , and its hooks  130   b  extend to surface  140   c . The quantity of hooks  130   a  and  130   b  should match with the quantity of grooves.  
       FIG. 5  illustrates a battery apparatus to which a tape is attached according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. When the battery body  104  matches with the notebook computer  102  in color, the battery body  104  itself can be inserted into the cutout without a cover. Due to appearance considerations, a tape  150  (the tape can be a bulk tape covering all grooves or several tapes, covering separate grooves) can be attached to the surface  140   d  (and  140   c ). Thus, the battery body itself can be assembled to a notebook computer with matched color.  
      According to preferred embodiments described above, the battery apparatus, because of a common battery design, can be suitable for different kinds of notebook computers so as to reduce costs of new battery design and costs of battery materials management. Moreover, when a new type of notebook computer is designed, a potential shortcoming in battery design can be avoided based on an old common battery design.  
      It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.