Patent Publication Number: US-2004056636-A1

Title: Portable power supply having replaceable rechargeable battery for video game machine

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention relates to power supplies and more particularly to a portable power supply having a replaceable rechargeable battery adapted to be used in a video game machine such as Sony PS I.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] Conventionally, a video game machine is played at home or an indoor amusement place rather than outdoors. Thus, such video game machine is limited in applications. For solving this problem, a portable video game machine is developed. The video game machine has a builtin screen. Further, a portable power supply is provided for outdoor use.  
       [0003] For Sony PS I, a typical charger therefor comprises a boultin rechargeable battery having a charger circuit in a bottom. The charger circuit has one end coupled to a power plug for plugging to an outlet for charging to the charger and the other end coupled to the video game machine for supplying power thereto. Hence, a user can carry a charged charger for supplying power to the video game machine for outdoor use.  
       [0004] However, the prior art suffered from several disadvantages. For example, when the rechargeable battery in the charger is discharged, the user has to find a power source for charging the rechargeable battery. This is not feasible in an outdoor place. Moreover, the charger has to be discarded if the rechargeable battery is malfunctioned since the rechargeable battery is not replaceable. This is a waste. Further, the cost borne on a consumer is increased. In addition, typically the charger has two upper hooks caught on two holes on the machine&#39;s rear panel. However, such fastening is not reliable. In fact, they are susceptible of disengagement. Also, such holes may be reserved for securing to a screen if there is such screen provided on the machine. Thus improvement exists.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a portable power supply for a video game machine mounted thereon comprising a charger comprising an internal charger circuit, a plurality of vent openings on both a top and a bottom, a power plug on a side, a line coupled to the video game machine for supplying power thereto, a parallelepiped receiving space a charge indicator, a power indicator both on an opposite side, and two terminals on a side of the receiving space, the terminals being electrically coupled to the charger circuit; a parallelepiped replaceable rechargeable battery received in the receiving space, the rechargeable battery comprising two side electrodes electrically coupled to the terminals for being charged therefrom, two tabs adjacent the electrodes, the tabs being flexible for fixing the rechargeable battery in the receiving space, and two latches on bottoms of the tabs, the latches being caught on the side of the receiving space for securing the rechargeable battery to the charger; and a soft protective cover comprising a bottom containing space shaped to conform to and receive the charger, a plurality of openings disposed corresponding to the rechargeable battery, the vent openings, the charge indicator, and the power indicator respectively, and two top trims for restraining the received charger and the video game machine from disengagement. By utilizing the invention, not only the drawbacks of the prior art are eliminated but also a plurality of advantages are obtained. For instance, components are secured and protected by the protective cover. Also, it is portable for being adapted to outdoor use. Further, a prolonged playing time of the video game machine in an outdoor place is made possible.  
       [0006] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a portable power supply for video game machine according to the invention;  
     [0008]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1;  
     [0009]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of charger, rechargeable battery, and protective cover; and  
     [0010]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the portable power supply with a video game machine mounted thereon. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0011] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and  3 , there is shown a portable power supply for video game machine in accordance with the invention comprising a charger  1 , a rechargeable battery  2 , and a protective cover  3 . Each of above components will now be described in detail below.  
     [0012] The charger  1  comprises an internal charger circuit  12  in a rear, a plurality of vent openings  17  on both top and bottom, a power plug  13  on a side for coupling to an outlet via a power cord for charging, a line  14  coupled to a video game machine (not shown) for supplying power thereto, a parallelepiped receiving space  11 , two terminals  18  on a side of the receiving space  11 , the terminals  18  being electrically coupled to the charger circuit  12 , a charge indicator  15  on an opposite side, the charge indicator  15  being lit during charging, and a power indicator  16  on the same side as the charge indicator  15 , the power indicator  16  being lit when power is being supplied to the video game machine through the line  14 .  
     [0013] The rechargeable battery  2  is a parallelepiped received in the receiving space  11 . The rechargeable battery  2  comprises two side electrodes  22  electrically coupled to the terminals  18  for being charged therefrom, two tabs  21  adjacent the electrodes  22 , the tabs  21  being flexible for fixing the rechargeable battery  2  in the receiving space  11 , and two latches  23  on the bottoms of the tabs  21 , the latches  23  being caught on a projected edge  19  of the receiving space  11  for securing the rechargeable battery  2  to the charger  1 .  
     [0014] Note that the rechargeable battery  2  is replaceable. Hence, there is no need to discard both the rechargeable battery  2  and the charger  1  if the rechargeable battery  2  is malfunctioned. To the contrary, in a replacement operation, a user simply pushes the tabs  21  outward to remove the discharged rechargeable battery  2 . This has the advantages of saving resources and reducing the cost borne on a consumer. Further, a user can prepare a plurality of charged rechargeable batteries  2  prior to outing. When the installed rechargeable battery  2  is low a simple replacement of a new one is sufficient. This can prolong a playing time of the video game machine. Thus, this is very convenient.  
     [0015] Referring to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIG. 3, there is also provided a soft protective cover  3 . The protective cover  3  comprises a bottom receiving space  31  shaped to conform to the charger  1  so as to receive the charger  1  (including the rechargeable battery  2 ) therein, a plurality of openings  32  disposed corresponding to the rechargeable battery  2 , the vent openings  17 , the charge indicator  15 , and the power indicator  16  respectively for exposing them, and two top trims  33  for restraining the received charger  1  and a video game machine  4  from disengagement. In detail, the receiving space  11  is disposed at a lower side (i.e., the bottom receiving space  31 ) of the protective cover  3 . The rechargeable battery  2  may be either installed in the receiving space  11  in advance or inserted into the receiving space  11  through the corresponding opening  32 . Next, place the video game machine  4  on the top of the charger  1  by slightly bending the trims  33 . This is a complete assembly of a portable power supply and a video game machine. Hence, a number of advantages are obtained. For example, components are secured and protected by the protective cover  3 . Also, it is portable for being adapted to outdoor use.  
     [0016] While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.