PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8284546-B2
Application Number: US-201113104584-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Battery connector structures for electronic devices

Abstract:
A portable computer is provided that has a housing. A removable battery may provide power to the portable computer. A connector on the battery may mate with a corresponding battery connector in the portable computer housing. The battery connector may be mounted in the portable computer housing a floating arrangement. This allows the position of the connector to move slightly to accommodate variations in the position of the battery. A cable may be used to route power between the battery and a main logic board. A cover may be used to hold the battery connector and cable to the housing of the portable computer without excessively impeding movement of the connector.

Claims:
1. A battery connector structure for an electronic device having a housing, comprising:
 a cable; 
 a battery connector attached to the cable; and 
 a cover mounted to the housing that covers the cable while allowing the cable to float with respect to the housing to accommodate variations in battery connector position. 
 
     
     
       2. The battery connector structure defined in  claim 1  wherein the cover comprises a sheet of material having a plurality of perforations. 
     
     
       3. The battery connector structure defined in  claim 1  wherein the cover comprises a metal sheet and wherein there are perforations over substantially all of the metal sheet. 
     
     
       4. The battery connector structure defined in  claim 1  wherein the cover comprises a sheet of material having an opening and wherein the battery connector protrudes through the opening when the cover is mounted to the housing. 
     
     
       5. The battery connector structure defined in  claim 4  wherein the battery connector has lateral dimensions and wherein the opening is configured to have lateral dimensions that are larger than the lateral dimensions of the battery connector so that the battery connector translates laterally to accommodate variations in battery connector position. 
     
     
       6. The battery connector structure defined in  claim 5  wherein the cover is mounted to the housing on a planar surface of the housing, wherein the cable has a vertical dimension perpendicular to the planar surface, and wherein the cover has a vertical dimension that is greater than the cable vertical dimension so that the battery connector and the cable translate laterally to accommodate variations in battery connector position. 
     
     
       7. A portable computer, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a printed circuit board having circuitry; 
 a cable connected on one end to the printed circuit board; 
 a battery connector on another end of the cable; and 
 a cover with which the cable and battery connector are mounted to a planar inner surface of the housing. 
 
     
     
       8. The portable computer defined in  claim 7  wherein the cover comprises a metal sheet that covers substantially all of the cable. 
     
     
       9. The portable computer defined in  claim 7  wherein the cover comprises a sheet of material having edges that are attached to the planar inner surface. 
     
     
       10. The portable computer defined in  claim 9  wherein the cover comprises a metal sheet having an array of at least ten holes. 
     
     
       11. The portable computer defined in  claim 7  further comprising a midwall member under which the cable is routed. 
     
     
       12. The portable computer defined in  claim 7  wherein portions of the cover are configured to define an opening through which the battery connector protrudes and connects to a battery. 
     
     
       13. The portable computer defined in  claim 12  wherein the opening is substantially rectangular and wherein the portions of the cover are further configured to define screw holes at either end of the rectangular opening. 
     
     
       14. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing; 
 circuitry on a printed circuit board mounted within the housing; 
 wires connected to the circuitry; 
 a battery connector that is attached to the wires; 
 a battery with a connector that mates with the battery connector attached to the wires; and 
 a planar cover that is attached to the housing and that holds the wires to a planar inner surface of the housing. 
 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14 , wherein the planar cover has an opening through which the battery connector protrudes. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  wherein the planar cover comprises a sheet of material and a strip of adhesive interposed between the sheet of material and the planar inner surface. 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  wherein the planar cover has a portion that defines an opening between the planar cover and the housing when the planar cover is attached to the housing, wherein the wires pass through the opening between the planar cover and the housing. 
     
     
       18. The electronic device defined in  claim 17  wherein the planar cover comprises a sheet of material and a strip of adhesive interposed between the sheet of material and the planar inner surface and wherein the planar cover comprises a rectangular opening through which the battery connector protrudes to mate with the battery.

Description:
This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 12/340,612, filed Dec. 19, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,965,495 which claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 61/105,030, filed Oct. 13, 2008, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates to electronic devices and, more particularly, to battery connector structures for electronic devices such as portable computers. 
     Electronic devices such as portable computers are powered by batteries. Some electronic devices use permanently attached batteries. This type of arrangement is satisfactory for devices where the additional cost, size, and complexity associated with a removable battery is not warranted. In other electronic devices, however, removable batteries are used. 
     In devices such as portable computers with removable batteries, a satisfactory battery connector arrangement is required. Battery connector arrangements allow spare batteries to be used when a battery becomes depleted. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved battery connector structures for electronic devices such as portable computers. 
     SUMMARY 
     Improved battery connector structures for electronic devices such as portable computers are provided. A portable computer may be powered by a battery. The battery may have electrical contacts. The electrical contacts may be used for positive and ground power supply voltages and for monitoring signals. A battery connector on the battery may be used to form an electrical connection with a mating battery connector in the portable computer. The battery connector in the portable computer may be attached to the end of a cable. The other end of the cable may be connected to a logic board. 
     To accommodate battery size variations and various methods of insertion, the portable computer battery connector may be connected to the portable computer using a floating battery connector mounting structure. This floating arrangement may allow the battery connector in the portable computer to move slightly when inserting the battery into the portable computer. 
     Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative portable computer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of an illustrative battery connector that may be used in a portable computer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an illustrative battery connector that may be used in a portable computer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an illustrative cover member that may be used in securing a battery connector in a portable computer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of an illustrative battery connector in a portable computer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention relates to battery connector structures. The battery connector structures may be used to interconnect batteries with electronic components in an electronic device that require power. For example, a battery connector may be used to interconnect a rechargeable battery with circuitry on a main logic board in an electronic device. The circuitry on the main logic board may distribute battery power to electrical components within the electronic device such a disk drives, processors, memory, input-output circuitry, displays, etc. 
     The electronic device in which the battery connector structures are provided may be a handheld computer, a miniature or wearable device, a portable computer, a desktop computer, a mobile telephone, a music player, a remote control, a global positioning system device, devices that combine the functions of one or more of these devices and other suitable devices, or any other electronic device. With one suitable arrangement, which is sometimes described herein as an example, the electronic devices in which the battery connector structures are provided may be portable computers such as laptop (notebook) computers. This is, however, merely illustrative. Battery connector structures may, in general, be provided in any suitable electronic device. 
     An illustrative electronic device such as a portable computer in which the battery connector structures may be provided is shown in  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , portable computer  10  may have a housing  12 . Housing  12 , which is sometimes referred to as a case, may be formed from one or more individual structures. For example, housing  12  may have a main structural support member that is formed from a solid block of machined aluminum or other suitable metal. One or more additional structures may be connected to the housing  12 . These structures may include, for example, internal frame members, external coverings such as sheets of metal, etc. Housing  12  and its associated components may, in general, be formed from any suitable materials such as such as plastic, ceramics, metal, glass, etc. An advantage of forming housing  12  at least partly from metal is that metal is durable and attractive in appearance. Metals such as aluminum may be anodized to form an insulating oxide coating. 
     Case  12  may have an upper portion  26  and a lower portion  28 . Lower portion  28  may be referred to as the base or main unit of computer  10  and may contain components such as a hard disk drive, battery, and main logic board. Upper portion  26 , which is sometimes referred to as a cover or lid, may rotate relative to lower portion  28  about rotational axis  16 . Portion  18  of computer  10  may contain a hinge and associated clutch structures and is sometimes referred to as a clutch barrel. 
     Lower housing portion  28  may have a slot such as slot  22  through which optical disks may be loaded into an optical disk drive. Lower housing portion may also have a touchpad such as touchpad  24  and may have keys  20 . If desired, additional components may be mounted to upper and lower housing portions  26  and  28 . For example, upper and lower housing portions  26  and  28  may have ports to which cables can be connected (e.g., universal serial bus ports, an Ethernet port, a Firewire port, audio jacks, card slots, etc.). Buttons and other controls may also be mounted to housing  12 . 
     If desired, upper and lower housing portions  26  and  28  may have transparent windows through which light may be emitted (e.g., from light-emitting diodes). This type of arrangement may be used, for example, to display status information to a user. Openings may also be formed in the surface of upper and lower housing portions to allow sound to pass through the walls of housing  12 . For example, openings may be formed for microphone and speaker ports. With one illustrative arrangement, speaker openings such as speaker openings  30  may be formed in lower housing portion  28  by creating an array of small openings (perforations) in the surface of housing  12 . 
     A display such as display  14  may be mounted within upper housing portion  26 . Display  14  may be, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, or plasma display (as examples). A glass panel may be mounted in front of display  14 . The glass panel may help add structural integrity to computer  10 . For example, the glass panel may make upper housing portion  26  more rigid and may protect display  14  from damage due to contact with keys or other structures. 
     Computer  10  may have input-output components such as touch pad  24 . Touch pad  24  may include a touch sensitive surface that allows a user of computer  10  to control computer  10  using touch-based commands (gestures). A portion of touchpad  24  may be depressed by the user when the user desires to “click” on a displayed item on screen  14 . 
     When unplugged from alternating current (AC) power sources, computer  10  may be powered by a battery. To allow a battery that has become depleted to be replaced with a fresh battery, computer  10  may be provided with a battery connector that mates with a corresponding connector on each battery. When desired, a battery may be inserted into device  10  by forming an electrical connection between the battery connector on the battery and the battery connector in computer  10 . 
     The battery connectors may have electrical contacts. These contacts may be used to convey power. For example, a connector may have one contact that serves as a positive power supply voltage terminal and another contact that serves as a ground power supply voltage terminal. If desired, additional contacts may be included in the connector. For example, additional contacts may be provided that serve as battery cell monitoring tap points. The voltages on these battery cell tap points may be monitored by control circuitry in computer  10 . 
     The battery connector in computer  10  may be connected to circuitry in computer  10  using a cable or other suitable electrical path. The cable may have a connector on one end that allows the cable to be connected to a printed circuit board such as a main logic board. The other end of the cable may be provided with a battery connector for receiving the corresponding battery connector on the battery. 
     An illustrative cable of this type is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , battery cable  32  may have a first connector such as connector  34  that plugs into a mating connector on a printed circuit board. Wires  36  or other suitable electrical paths in cable  32  may be used to electrically connect connector  34  to a second connector such as battery connector  40 . Connector  40  may have contacts that are configured to mate with corresponding contacts on a battery. 
     Connector  40  may have a support member such as member  52  that includes channels  42 . Wires  36  may be routed through channels  42  and soldered to corresponding electrical contacts. Low current contacts may be connected to single corresponding wires  36 . Higher current contacts such as the positive and ground terminals in connector  40  may be associated with multiple wires. For example, the three uppermost channels  42  in  FIG. 2  may be used to route three corresponding wires  36  to a positive power supply voltage terminal and the three lowermost channels  42  may be used to route three other wires  36  to a ground power supply voltage terminal. Channels  42  that lie between the channels that are associated with the positive and ground power terminals may be used for routing wires  36  to lower current battery monitoring tap point electrodes. 
     Wires  36  in cable  32  may be wrapped with a wrap material  38 . Wrap  38  may be a fabric (e.g., a synthetic fabric) or any other suitable material. 
     Cable  32  may be mounted within lower housing portion  28  of computer  10 . Lower housing portion  28  may be formed from aluminum or other suitable materials. In the illustration of  FIG. 2 , cable  32  is shown from its underside (i.e., i.e., looking outwardly from within housing portion  28  in computer  10  to view the bottom portion of cable  32  that normally rests against housing  28 ). To prevent undesirable shorting contact between the metal of wires  36  and metal in housing portion  28 , an insulating layer such as insulator  44  may be mounted to the underside of member  52  and connector  40 . Insulating layer  44  may serve as a spacer that raises connector  40  off of the surface of housing portion  28  and thereby helps to prevent shorting. Insulating layer  44  may be formed from plastic or any other suitable dielectric. 
     A perspective view of cable  32  is shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , wires  36  may be soldered to electrical contacts such as contacts  48 . There may be any suitable number of contacts  48  in connector  40 . As an example, there may be five contacts  48 . Contacts  48  may be mounted within protruding portion  50  of support member  52 . Planar base structures  46  may be used to support protruding portion  50 . Structures  50  and  52  may be formed from plastic or other suitable materials. In the vicinity of connector  34 , wires  36  may have a bend. This bend may allow wires  36  to be routed under housing structures such as a midwall member in housing portion  28 . 
     To secure cable  32  within housing portion  28  while allowing connector  40  to float and thereby accommodate various possible battery positions, cable  32  may be held in place using a cover member. An illustrative cover member is shown in  FIG. 4 . In the example of  FIG. 4 , cover member  64  is shown in an inverted orientation. The upper surface of cover member  64  in  FIG. 4  is normally placed directly against wrap  38  of cable  32  ( FIG. 3 ). 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , cover member  64  may have an opening  54  through which protruding portion  50  of connector  40  may pass when cover  64  is used to mount cable  32  to housing portion  28 . Opening  54  may be rectangular in shape or may have any other suitable shape that accommodates connector  40 . 
     Holes  62  in cover  64  may be used to receive screws. The screws may be screwed into mating threaded portions of lower housing portion  28  when it is desired to fasten cover  64  to housing portion  28 . This is merely illustrative. If desired, other attachment mechanisms may be used. For example, a strip of adhesive such as adhesive strip  58  may be used to attach cover  64  to housing portion  28 . Cover  64  may be provided with holes  56 . Holes  56  (i.e., perforations) may be provided over substantially all of cover  64 . Perforations  56  may provide an attractive appearance for cover  64  and may save weight. Cover  64  may be formed from sheet metal such as a 0.5 mm thick sheet of aluminum or other suitable materials. Holes  56  may be formed in cover  64  by punching, mechanical drilling, laser drilling, etc. After holes  56  have been formed, cover  64  may be provided with a desired three-dimensional shape using a stamping process. For example, cover  64  may be provided with protruding edges  74 . Edges  74  help to hold the main surface of cover  64  off of the planar surface of lower housing portion  28 , thereby allowing wrap  38  and the rest of cable  32  to float relative to housing portion  28 . Opening  60  in edges  74  may be used to allow cable  32  to exit from under cover  64 . 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of an interior portion of computer  10  showing how connector  40  may be mounted to lower housing portion  28  using cover  64 . Battery  66  may have a connector  68  that mates with connector  40 . Opening  54  in cover  64  may be large enough to allow connector  40  to translate somewhat in lateral dimensions X and Y (i.e., in the plane of the inner surface of housing  28 ). This allows connector  40  to move to accommodate variations in the position of connector  68 . In the vertical (“Z”) dimension (i.e., perpendicular to the plane of the housing surface), the planar portions of cover  64  are preferably raised sufficiently off of housing portion  28  so that wrap  38  and the other portions of cable  32  are not held firmly in place. This clearance in the vertical dimension between cover  64  and cable  32  helps reduce friction in the X and Y dimensions and thereby ensures a satisfactory float in the position of connector  40 . At the same time, there is preferably not too much clearance in dimension Z, so that connector  40  is maintained at its desired position on housing portion  28 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , computer  10  may have housing structures such as midwall member  72 . Wires  36  of cable  32  ( FIG. 3 ) may be routed under midwall  72  and connected to printed circuit board  70  using connector  34 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20110510
Publication Date: 20121009
Grant Date: 20121009
Priority Date: 20081013
Inventors: HENDREN KEITH J.
COSTER DANIEL J.
BROCK JOHN
GOLDBERG MICHELLE RAE
MATHEW DINESH
LIGTENBERG CHRIS
CHING HANK D.
WHEELOCK GLENN E.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F1/188", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1635", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1616", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/188", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1616", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1635", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 42098654