JP3643358B2 - Waterproof structure for battery - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable device such as a mobile phone that is suitable for use on a ship or at the beach, and particularly for a battery pack that is mounted on the portable device and replaced as necessary. It relates to a waterproof structure.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A mobile phone is a small and light mobile communication terminal, and it is already popular on a national scale. Some mobile phones have been developed and designed for specific usage environments. For example, when developing and designing a mobile phone used at the water's edge, waterproofing measures are taken so as not to cause a failure or the like even if it is slightly wetted or immersed in water. In mobile phone related companies including the applicant of the present application, various studies have been conducted in order to ensure and improve the waterproof performance. In fact, waterproof mobile phones that have been developed so far have excellent waterproof performance to such an extent that even if they are immersed in water for several minutes or even several tens of minutes, there is almost no internal flooding and failure associated therewith. Is being realized.
[0003]
Further, among the components constituting the mobile phone, the battery pack is a component that an end user or the like may exchange. Therefore, the waterproof structure for preventing moisture from entering the battery pack must be independent of the waterproof structure for the circuit board or the like incorporated in the main body housing. As described above, since the waterproof structure of the mobile phone body and the waterproof structure of the battery pack are independent, in order to obtain the above-mentioned level of waterproof performance, not only the waterproof measures for the mobile phone body but also the waterproof measures for the battery pack. But you have to devise enough.
[0004]
FIG. 10 shows an example of a conventional battery pack waterproof structure. In the figure, 10 is the main body of the mobile phone, 12 is a battery pack, and 14 is a pocket for accommodating the battery pack 12. The pocket 14 is provided in the lower part of the back surface of the main body 10 and has an opening size and depth that can accommodate the battery pack 12. The battery pack 12 can be attached to and detached from the pocket 14 at any time, as indicated by a double-ended arrow line in the figure. The end user or the like performs this attaching / detaching operation when the worn battery pack 12 is replaced with a new battery pack 12 or the like. Further, a mechanism for locking and fixing the battery pack 12, a connector for electrically connecting the battery pack 12 to a circuit in the main body 10, and the like are provided in the pocket 14. For example, 16 in the figure is a connector for connecting the battery pack 12 to a circuit, and 18 is a claw for fixing the battery pack 12.
[0005]
FIG. 11 shows an AA cross section of the battery pack 12. As illustrated, the conventional battery pack 12 has a structure in which cells 20 having electromotive force are housed in a case formed of resin or the like. The case shown in this figure is composed of a case main body 22 for accommodating the cell 20 and a lid 24 for closing the opening of the case main body 22. The lid 24 is provided with a low-profile peripheral wall, and a slit for receiving the peripheral wall is provided at the end of the side wall of the case main body 22, and the figure of the lid 24 with respect to the case main body 22 is obtained by engaging the peripheral wall with the slit. The mid-lateral position is regulated and regulated.
[0006]
In the case of such a structure, it is expected that moisture will enter the case from the joint portion 26 of the case main body 22 and the lid 24 (see the arrow line in FIG. 11). Therefore, in order to prevent moisture intrusion from the joint portion 26 and thereby failure or malfunction of the cell 20, the lid 24 is fixed to the case body 22 by means such as ultrasonic welding or adhesive fixing. Is done.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Here, when a poor welding or poor adhesion of the lid 24 to the case main body 22 occurs, the expected waterproof performance cannot be obtained. Therefore, when manufacturing the battery pack 12, it is necessary to perform an inspection using a leak inspection machine or the like after performing a process of incorporating the cell 20 into the case or a process of fixing the lid 24 by welding or adhesion. As a result of this inspection, products that have been found to be defective in welding or adhesion and fail to meet the standards for waterproof performance are excluded and put into separate processes including manual work.
[0008]
That is, since the cell 20 is generally expensive, it is uneconomical to dispose of this kind of defective product as it is. On the other hand, in the case of external weathering (repair), surface-to-face welding or adhesion failure at the joint portion 26 is caused. Since it cannot be repaired sufficiently, conventionally, a series of operations such as peeling the joint portion 26 to open the case, taking out the cell 20 inside, returning the taken cell 20 back to the previous process and incorporating it into a new case. I was going. Of these series of operations, the operation of opening the case and the operation of taking out the cell 20 are difficult to mechanize (manual operation is less expensive than mechanization). Moreover, since the case where welding or adhesion failure has occurred is destroyed when the cell 20 is taken out, it must be discarded.
[0009]
As described above, conventionally, defects such as welding and adhesion for watertight sealing of the case may occur, and there are problems such as a decrease in productivity due to manual work following the case and an increase in cost due to case disposal. there were. The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and is suitable for a portable device such as a waterproof mobile phone, and can only stably obtain a high level of waterproof performance with respect to its battery. The object is to provide a waterproof structure that does not require the case to be tightly sealed by welding or adhesion.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve such an object, a waterproof structure according to the present invention is (1) a waterproof structure for a battery in a portable device having a pocket for accommodating the battery, and (2) the pocket An inner cover for covering the opening of the portable device, and (3) an outer cover for providing a part of the exterior surface of the portable device, wherein the inner cover substantially covers the opening of the pocket. An outer cover, and (4) a packing attached to the inner cover so as to prevent moisture from entering into the opening through a gap between the inner cover and the peripheral wall of the pocket, The attached inner cover and the outer cover that is integral with or separate from the inner cover are attached to and detached from the opening of the pocket as needed. (6) The inner cover is provided with a peripheral wall so as to be fitted into the pocket, and the inner cover is fixed to the inner bottom surface of the outer cover. (7) The O-ring used as the packing is attached to the entire inner surface of the pocket peripheral wall. It is mounted on the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the inner cover so as to come into contact with the periphery and elastically deform. The back peripheral wall is provided on the outer cover so as to surround at least a part of the peripheral wall of the pocket. It is characterized by that.
[0011]
In the waterproof structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, , Outside The cover is provided with a low-back peripheral wall that is lower than the peripheral wall of the inner cover when viewed from the inner bottom surface of the outer cover. The low-back peripheral wall is provided so as to surround at least a part of the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the inner cover and to sandwich the tip of the peripheral wall of the pocket in cooperation with the high-back peripheral wall. In addition, it is desirable to provide a bent portion facing outward at the tip of the peripheral wall of the inner cover, and to form a space for mounting the O-ring at a fixed position between the tip of the low-back peripheral wall. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a lock mechanism that exhibits a first state in which the outer cover is fixed to the peripheral wall of the pocket while pressing the inner cover toward the inside of the pocket and a second state in which the fixation is released. The lock mechanism is incorporated in the inner cover and the outer cover so that the state is switched according to a manual operation from the outside as viewed from the outer cover. It is desirable to further connect a handle to the lock mechanism. The handle is incorporated in the inner cover and the outer cover so that the handle can be raised from the outer bottom surface of the outer cover by manual operation from the outside of the outer cover and rotated around an axis orthogonal to the surface, and By rotating in an upright state, the lock mechanism is connected to the lock mechanism so that the state of the lock mechanism is switched between the first and second states.
[0012]
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a non-porous plate-like packing fixed to the inner bottom surface of the inner cover is used as the packing. The inner cover has a peripheral wall that engages with the tip of the peripheral wall of the opening of the pocket and defines its position in a plane parallel to the opening. The outer cover is provided so as to be slidable in a predetermined direction with respect to the inner cover, and a claw is provided on each of the outer peripheral surface of the pocket and the outer cover. These claws place the inner cover on the opening so that the packing contacts the entire circumference of the peripheral wall tip of the opening of the pocket, and further place the outer cover on the inner cover in the direction of the inner cover. In a pressed state, when the outer cover is slid to a predetermined position along the predetermined direction, the outer cover is provided so as to be locked to the peripheral wall of the pocket.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an example of application to a waterproof cellular phone is shown, but the present invention can be applied to other types of portable devices as long as the essence is not impaired. Although the structure of the battery pack itself is not particularly described, in the present invention, waterproofness, productivity, exterior properties, etc. are made side by side by incorporating a packing such as an O-ring into a double cover structure including an outer cover and an inner cover. Therefore, the battery pack can have a simple structure as compared to the battery pack 12 in the prior art shown in FIG. 11, that is, a structure that is not strictly waterproofed. More essentially, any component that functions as a battery (such as a cell itself or a battery pack in which the cell is incorporated) for operating the portable device may be used.
[0014]
1 to 4 show a waterproof structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 28 is a main body of the mobile phone, and 30 is a pocket for accommodating the battery pack 36. The pocket 30 is provided, for example, in the lower part of the back surface of the mobile phone, and its size, shape, etc. are designed so that the battery pack 36 can be accommodated and a double cover structure can be attached to the opening. Further, in this drawing, in order to show the structure simply, the double cover structure constituted by the outer cover 32 and the inner cover 34 and the lock mechanism incorporated therein are shown in an exploded manner. The connectors are also omitted (hidden).
[0015]
Furthermore, the double cover structure in this embodiment is a structure in which the outer bottom surface of the inner cover 34 is fixed to the inner bottom surface of the outer cover 32 with an adhesive or the like, and a lock mechanism is further incorporated therein. Fixing with screws is not used. The “inner bottom surface” of the outer cover 32 referred to here is a surface facing downward in FIG. 1 and hidden, and the “outer bottom surface” of the inner cover 34 is the upper side appearing in FIG. Surface. In FIG. 1, a hatched portion 38 drawn on the outer bottom surface of the inner cover 34 is a surface for fixing to the outer cover 32. Preferably, an adhesive is applied to this portion 38 and the inner cover 34 is bonded to the outer cover 32.
[0016]
The inner cover 34 has a peripheral wall 40 as shown in FIG. 2 (BB cross section) and FIG. 3 (CC cross section). The distal end portion 42 of the peripheral wall 40 is bent outward. The peripheral wall 40 surrounds the inner cover 34 over the entire circumference. Therefore, the tip end portion 42 borders the inner cover 34 over the entire circumference. As shown in FIG. 2, the outer dimension of the border, that is, the contour dimension of the inner cover 34 is set so as to fit into the opening of the pocket 30 with almost no gap. In other words, one of the roles played by the inner cover 34 when the double cover structure is attached to the opening of the pocket 36 is to block the opening of the pocket 30. Further, an O-ring 56 is attached to the outer surface of the peripheral wall 40 of the inner cover 34. The O-ring 56 closes the gap between the peripheral wall 64 of the pocket 30 and the peripheral wall 40 of the inner cover 34 when the double cover structure is mounted on the opening of the pocket 30.
[0017]
The inner cover 34 further includes a recess 46 for storing the rotation lock 44, a claw 48 for fixing the rotation lock 44 to the inner cover 34, and a rotation of a locking claw 50 provided at the tip of the rotation lock 44. A space 52 and the like are also provided. The rotation lock 44, its claw 48, the leaf spring 49, etc., together with the lock portion 62, constitute a lock mechanism that fixes / unfixes the double cover structure to the opening of the pocket 30. The lock portion 62 is a part of the peripheral wall 64 of the pocket 30 and is taller than the other portions of the peripheral wall 64, and is provided on the left and right sides of the pocket 30 in the example of this figure. The inner wall surface is provided with a recess 61 that engages with the tip of the locking claw 50. When the tip of the locking claw 50 engages with this recess 61, the locking state is established, and when the engagement is released, the fixing is released. It becomes a state. The leaf spring 49 gives a click feeling to the holding / unlocking operation. These locking mechanisms are not easily damaged because they are covered by the outer cover 32 except for a part accessed by an end user, for example, a part such as the handle 45.
[0018]
The handle 45 is a member for simplifying manual operation of the lock mechanism, and both ends of the handle 45 are pivotally supported by the rotation lock 44. The outer cover 32 is provided with a substantially circular hole 47 so that the user can access the handle 45 or the locking mechanism. The handle 45 can be laid down as shown in FIG. 1 or can be raised outward through the hole 47 as shown in FIG. 1, when the handle 45 is rotated about an axis orthogonal to the outer bottom surface of the outer cover 32, the locking claw 50 is interlocked and rotated in the rotation space 52. . Therefore, when attaching / detaching the double cover structure to / from the opening of the pocket 30, the user may turn the handle 45 by raising the handle 45 and pinching it with a finger. Although the operational convenience is somewhat impaired, the number of members may be reduced by omitting the handle 45 and providing a slit into which the coin or the like can be inserted on the externally exposed surface of the rotation lock 44.
[0019]
Further, of the unevenness provided on the outer bottom surface of the inner cover 34, the recess 46, the rotation space 52, and the like are spaces for providing the lock mechanism and the handle 45. The inner cover 34 has no holes except for a vent for providing the vent film 54 (hidden by the vent film 54 in the figure). The ventilation film 54 is a film 54 that communicates the sealed space between the outer cover 32 and the inner cover 34 with the space in the pocket 30. Since the ventilation film 54 is provided to eliminate or reduce the pressure difference, fluctuations in the pressure difference inside and outside the pocket 30 can be absorbed. For this reason, when removing the double cover structure from the opening of the pocket 30, it is not necessary to pull the handle 45 with a large force. Further, since the air permeable membrane 54 is hidden from the end user or the like by the outer cover 32, the end user or the like is not accidentally peeled off.
[0020]
On the other hand, the outer cover 32 is also provided with peripheral walls 58 and 60. The peripheral walls 58 and 60 surround the outer cover 32. However, as shown in FIG. 1, a part is missing so as not to conflict with the lock portion 62 and the like. Further, the outer peripheral wall 58 is taller and the inner peripheral wall 60 is shorter than the peripheral wall 40 of the inner cover 34 with the inner bottom surface of the outer cover 32 as a reference. The outer surface of the former, that is, the high-back peripheral wall 58 is a part of the exterior of the mobile phone together with the outer bottom surface (the upper surface in FIG. 1) of the outer cover 32. That is, the outer cover 32 constitutes a part of the exterior surface of the mobile phone. Further, when the double cover structure is attached to the opening of the pocket 30, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D, the high-back peripheral wall 58 that is taller than the peripheral wall 40 plays a guiding role. Thereby, the convenience of the mounting work and the like is enhanced.
[0021]
Further, a gap portion 68 (see FIG. 4) between the high-back peripheral wall 58 and another peripheral wall, that is, the low-back peripheral wall 60 is a slit for receiving and sandwiching the distal end portion 66 of the peripheral wall 64. The width of the slit 68 is set so that the front end 66 of the peripheral wall 64 of the pocket 30 can be received without any gaps. When the double cover structure is attached to the opening of the pocket 30, as described above, the high-back peripheral wall 58 is used as a guide and the slit 30 is fitted to the pocket 30 so that the tip 66 of the peripheral wall 64 fits into the slit 68. The position of the double cover structure is generally determined, and the mounting process is performed according to the flow shown in FIGS. After the mounting, the slit 68 has a role of holding and fixing the distal end portion 66 of the peripheral wall 64. Further, the protrusion 70 provided on the outer surface of the peripheral wall 64 serves as a stopper for stopping the tip of the high-back peripheral wall 58.
[0022]
The low back peripheral wall 60 also plays a role of determining the position of the O-ring 56 at the same time. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the position of the O-ring 56 attached to the outer surface of the peripheral wall 40 of the inner cover 34 is orthogonal to the outer surface of the peripheral wall 40 in the direction parallel to the opening surface of the pocket 30. Are defined by the tip 42 of the peripheral wall 40 and the tip of the low-back peripheral wall 60. In particular, as clearly shown in FIG. 4, the O-ring 56 is sandwiched (crushed) between the outer surface of the peripheral wall 40 and the inner surface of the peripheral wall 66, and closes the gap between the inner cover 34 and the peripheral wall 66. 64, the gap between the outer cover 32 and the peripheral wall 64 and the gap between the low-back peripheral wall 60 and the peripheral wall 40 are also blocked.
[0023]
As described above, in the present embodiment, among the roles of the lid 24 in the conventional example shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the role of forming a part of the mobile phone exterior surface is imposed on the outer cover 34. Conventionally, the cell 20 is waterproofed by welding or adhesion between the lid 24, which is a member having this role, and the case main body 22, but as a result, it is expensive to deal with defects. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the opening of the pocket 30 is covered by the inner cover 34 which is a member different from the outer cover 32 having the role of the exterior, and the inner cover 34 substantially covers the opening of the pocket 30. The inner cover 34 is positioned with respect to the opening by the outer cover 32, in particular, the high-back peripheral wall 58 and the slit 68 so as to cover the inner cover 34, and the O cover 56 is a kind of packing attached to the inner cover 34. A gap between the pocket 30 and the peripheral wall 64 is closed to prevent moisture from entering the pocket 30. That is, no measure corresponding to welding / bonding of the seam portion 26, which has conventionally been the cause of occurrence of defects, has not been taken.
[0024]
Therefore, according to the waterproof structure according to the present embodiment, since the welding / adhesion failure itself of the joint portion 26 does not occur, it is possible to obtain effects such as productivity improvement, cost reduction for defective measures, and yield improvement. In this embodiment, the inner cover 34 is bonded to the outer cover 32. However, since the bonded portion 38 is not a portion that directly contributes to the prevention of moisture intrusion, even if a defect occurs in this bonding, There is no need to take measures that involve destruction or destruction of members.
[0025]
Further, in the conventional example, since the lid 24 forms a part of the exterior surface, the case design of the battery pack 12 must be determined for each model. That is, the battery pack 12 using the case with the same design cannot be used between models having different external appearance and external design including design, texture, and the like. On the other hand, the member depending on the external appearance / outer shape design of the model in the present embodiment is mainly the outer cover 32, and other members, particularly the battery pack 36 that is waterproof, is not related to the exterior design. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the battery pack 36 of the same design can be diverted between different models. As a result, the production cost of the battery pack 36 and the development cost related to the exterior can be reduced, and the price of the mobile phone can be further reduced.
[0026]
Further, in a portable device such as a mobile phone, an end user or the like generally performs battery replacement or the like. For this reason, it is desirable to avoid as much as possible the trouble of replacing the battery due to taking waterproof measures. Therefore, in this embodiment, the inner cover 34 and the outer cover 32 are integrated by bonding or the like, and the double cover structure formed thereby can be attached to and detached from the opening of the pocket 30 as needed. As the packing, an O-ring 56 is attached to the inner cover 34. A screw or the like is not used as a member for mounting and fixing the double cover structure, and a hole communicating with the pocket 30 is not provided. Therefore, for the end user or the like, the battery pack 36 can be replaced by a simple operation of attaching / detaching the double cover structure. Furthermore, in the work, the operation of the handle 45 or the operation with a coin or the like may be performed, and the inconvenience is hardly felt. Since the inner cover 34 and the outer cover 32 are integrated by bonding or the like, the outer cover 32 is unlikely to rise from the inner cover 34.
[0027]
Furthermore, the waterproof portable device is required not to deteriorate the waterproof performance of the battery even if the end user or the like repeatedly replaces the battery. In the present embodiment, the O-ring 56 is incorporated in the double cover structure in a stable form of being attached to the inner cover 34, and the waterproof performance is not significantly deteriorated even when the battery replacement operation is frequently repeated. More specifically, the peripheral wall 40 of the inner cover 34 provided so as to be fitted into the pocket 30 is fixed to the inner bottom surface of the outer cover 32, while the O-ring 56 is attached to the outer surface of the peripheral wall 40 of the inner cover 34, When the double cover structure is attached to the opening, the O-ring 56 comes into contact with the entire inner surface of the peripheral wall 66 of the pocket 30 and is elastically deformed. As described above, the position of the O-ring 56 is stably maintained by the action of the peripheral wall 40, its tip 42, the low-back peripheral wall 60, and the like. The direction in which the distal end portion 66 enters is also substantially constant by the action of the peripheral wall group (40, 58, 64) and the like. Therefore, the moisture intrusion path can be closed over the entire circumference, and the O-ring 56 is not deformed or damaged, so that the waterproof performance is not greatly impaired even when the attachment / detachment is repeated. Further, the elastic deformation direction of the O-ring 56 is a direction parallel to the opening surface, that is, a direction parallel to the rotation surface of the locking claw 50 as shown in FIG. There is no burden on the locking mechanism.
[0028]
Thus, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a waterproof structure that is suitable for a portable device such as a waterproof cellular phone and that can stably obtain a high level of waterproof performance with respect to the battery pack 36. For example, even if a cellular phone having a battery portion with a waterproof structure according to the present embodiment is immersed in still water having a depth of 1 m for 30 minutes, moisture penetration into the pocket 30 and thus the battery pack 36 hardly occurs. Further, as prior art documents regarding battery waterproofing, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-17413 (mounting of packing on the body side, etc.), Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-77990 (sliding opening type lid, etc.), Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-25940 However, even if the techniques described in these documents are combined, the double cover structure as in this embodiment cannot be obtained. It is impossible to improve the productivity, cost, yield and the like by solving the above-mentioned problems while stably obtaining the waterproof performance as described above.
[0029]
5 to 9 show a waterproof structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, 72 is a main body of the mobile phone, and 74 is a pocket for accommodating the battery pack 76. In this figure, the state where the double cover structure constituted by the outer cover 78 and the inner cover 80 is removed from the opening of the pocket 74 is drawn for the sake of simplicity. In the present embodiment, the outer cover 78 and the inner cover 80 are separate bodies. Further, as a means for fixing the outer cover 78 to the main body 72, a plurality of (eight in total, right and left in FIG. 5) claws 84 are provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 82 of the outer cover 78, and correspondingly, A plurality of claws 86 are provided on the side surfaces. That is, the outer cover 78 is fixed to the main body 72 by sliding and mounting the outer cover 78 as indicated by the white arrow line in FIG. When releasing the lock, the operation is reversed. The peripheral wall 82 is provided only on the left and right sides in the example shown in FIG.
[0030]
Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (DD cross section) and FIG. 7 (EE cross section), the inner cover 80 has a peripheral wall 88 over the entire circumference, and a flat plate non-porous packing is provided on the inner bottom surface thereof. 90 is incorporated. Preferably, the packing 90 is bonded to the inner bottom surface of the inner cover 80. The size and shape of the peripheral wall 88 is set so that the inner surface thereof is substantially in surface contact with the outer surface of the peripheral wall 92 over the entire periphery when the inner cover 80 is attached to the opening of the pocket 74. When the double cover structure according to the present embodiment is attached to the opening of the pocket 74, the peripheral wall 88 is first positioned with respect to the peripheral wall 92 and the inner cover 80 is attached to the opening, and then described above. The outer cover 78 is attached and locked and fixed as described above. When this operation is performed, the packing 90 comes into close contact with the rib 93 provided at the tip of the peripheral wall 92, and as a result, the space between the inner cover 80 and the main body 72 is suitably closed. Further, since the outer cover 78 slides and the inner cover 80 does not slide, the packing 90 is not twisted and the packing 90 is not damaged. In addition, 94 in FIG. 7 is a protrusion provided on the outer surface of the peripheral wall 92 to restrain the peripheral wall 88.
[0031]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the role of the cover 24 in the conventional example shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. In the present embodiment, the opening of the pocket 74 is covered with an inner cover 80 which is a member different from the outer cover 78. More specifically, the inner cover 80 is positioned with respect to the opening so that the inner cover 80 substantially covers the opening of the pocket 74 by the parallel positioning of the opening by the peripheral wall 88 to the peripheral wall 92 and the vertical positioning by the outer cover 78. Further, the gap between the inner cover 80 and the peripheral wall 92 of the pocket 74 is closed by the packing 90 attached to the inner cover 80 to prevent moisture from entering the pocket 74. Accordingly, no measures corresponding to the welding / bonding of the seam portion 26, which has conventionally caused defects, have not been taken, and as a result, effects such as productivity improvement, defect countermeasure cost reduction, and yield improvement can be obtained.
[0032]
In addition, as described above, the packing 90 is not twisted or scratched due to the attachment / detachment, and a plurality of claws 84 and 86 are provided, so that the load is dispersed and the entire contact portion between the packing 90 and the rib 93 is distributed. Even if moisture enters between the inner cover 80 and the packing 90 as shown by the arrow lines in FIGS. 8B and 9B, the moisture remains in the pocket 74. The waterproof performance in this embodiment is stable because it does not enter the inside, and the waterproof performance can be continuously provided with sufficient resistance to repeated mounting and dismounting of the double cover structure and the battery pack 76 by the user.
[0033]
8A and 9A show an example in which a rectangular frame-shaped packing 90A is used as a comparison with the present embodiment. In this shape, if there is a gap between the peripheral wall 88 and the projection 94 and between the inner cover 80 and the packing 90, moisture may enter the pocket 74. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the packing 90 is a non-porous flat plate shape, the intrusion path is blocked.
[0034]
Further, in the present embodiment, the battery pack 76 having the same design can be diverted between different models for the same reason as in the first embodiment, and the production cost and the development cost of the battery pack 76 can be easily reduced. Can be suppressed more. The work for exchanging the battery pack 76 is also simple. Even if the techniques described in JP-A-8-17413, JP-A-8-77990, JP-A-11-25940 and the like are combined, the double cover structure as in the present embodiment cannot be obtained, as described above. There is no effect. Including these points, according to the present embodiment, it is suitable for a portable device such as a waterproof cellular phone, and not only can a high level of waterproof performance be stably obtained with respect to the battery pack 76 but also a case by welding or adhesion. It is possible to provide a waterproof structure that does not need to be tightly sealed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a waterproof structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a BB sectional view showing the structure of the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a CC sectional view showing the structure of the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a procedure at the time of mounting in the CC cross section in the present embodiment, and in particular, shows a progress state from the start of mounting to the end of mounting in the order of (a), (b), (c), (d). FIG.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a waterproof structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a DD cross-sectional view showing the structure of the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is an EE cross-sectional view showing the structure of the present embodiment.
FIGS. 8A and 8B are views showing a packing shape in the present embodiment, in particular, FIG. 8B shows a non-porous flat packing used in the present embodiment, and FIG. 8A shows a rectangular frame packing to be compared with the non-porous flat packing. It is a perspective view.
FIG. 9 is a view showing one of the advantages of the non-perforated flat packing in the present embodiment. In particular, FIG. 9B shows intrusion prevention by the non-perforated flat packing used in the present embodiment, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the penetration | invasion by the square frame-shaped packing to be compared in a cross section, respectively.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a battery pack according to a conventional example.
FIG. 11 is an AA sectional view showing the waterproof structure.
[Explanation of symbols]
28, 72 Body, 30, 74 Pocket, 32, 78 Outer cover, 34, 80 Inner cover, 36, 76 Battery pack, 38 Adhesive part, 40, 64, 82, 88, 92 Perimeter wall, 42, 66 Tip, 44 Rotation lock, 45 Handle, 49 Leaf spring, 50 Locking claw, 54 Venting membrane, 56 O-ring, 58 High back wall, 60 Low back wall, 61 Recess, 62 Lock part, 68 Slit, 84, 86 Claw, 90 Packing 93 ribs.

Claims (5)

A waterproof structure for a battery in a portable device with a pocket for accommodating the battery,
An inner cover for covering the opening of the pocket;
An outer cover that provides a part of the exterior surface of the portable device, the outer cover holding the state where the inner cover substantially covers the opening of the pocket;
A packing attached to the inner cover so as to prevent moisture intrusion into the opening through a gap between the inner cover and the peripheral wall of the pocket;
An inner cover to which packing is attached and an outer cover that is integral with or separate from the inner cover are attached to and detached from the opening of the pocket as needed .
The inner cover has a peripheral wall provided to fit in the pocket, and is fixed to the inner bottom surface of the outer cover;
The O-ring mounted on the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the inner cover so that the packing contacts the entire inner periphery of the peripheral wall of the pocket and elastically deforms;
A waterproof structure characterized in that a high-back peripheral wall that is taller than the peripheral wall of the inner cover as viewed from the inner bottom surface of the outer cover is provided on the outer cover so as to surround at least a part of the peripheral wall of the pocket. Construction. The waterproof structure according to claim 1,
The low-back peripheral wall that is lower than the peripheral wall of the inner cover as viewed from the inner bottom surface of the outer cover surrounds at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the inner cover and cooperates with the high-back peripheral wall. It is provided in the outer cover so as to sandwich the tip of the peripheral wall of the pocket,
A bent portion facing outward is provided at the tip of the peripheral wall of the inner cover so that a space for mounting the O-ring at a fixed position is formed between the tip of the low-back peripheral wall. Waterproof structure. In the waterproof structure according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A lock mechanism that exhibits a first state in which the outer cover is fixed to the peripheral wall of the pocket while pressing the inner cover toward the inside of the pocket, and a second state in which the fixation is released, A waterproof structure comprising a lock mechanism incorporated in the inner cover and the outer cover so that the state is switched according to a manual operation from the outside as viewed from the outer cover . In the waterproof structure according to claim 3,
It is incorporated into the inner cover and the outer cover so that it can be raised from the outer bottom surface of the outer cover by manual operation from the outside of the outer cover, and can be rotated around an axis perpendicular to the outer cover. A waterproof structure comprising: a handle coupled to the lock mechanism so that the state of the lock mechanism is switched between the first and second states by being moved . A waterproof structure for a battery in a portable device with a pocket for accommodating the battery,
An inner cover for covering the opening of the pocket;
An outer cover that provides a part of the exterior surface of the portable device, the outer cover holding the state where the inner cover substantially covers the opening of the pocket;
A packing attached to the inner cover so as to prevent moisture intrusion into the opening through a gap between the inner cover and the peripheral wall of the pocket;
An inner cover to which packing is attached and an outer cover that is integral with or separate from the inner cover are attached to and detached from the opening of the pocket as needed.
The packing is a non-porous flat packing fixed to the inner bottom surface of the inner cover,
The inner cover has a peripheral wall that engages with a front end of the peripheral wall of the opening and defines its position in a plane parallel to the opening;
The outer cover is slidable in a predetermined direction with respect to the inner cover;
The inner cover is placed on the opening so that the packing contacts the entire circumference of the peripheral wall tip of the opening, and the outer cover is further placed thereon to press the outer cover toward the inner cover. In this state, when the outer cover is slid to a predetermined position along the predetermined direction, the outer cover is locked to the peripheral wall of the pocket, and the outer peripheral surface of the pocket and the outer cover, respectively. Waterproof structure characterized by providing claws .

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