1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to battery holders and battery handles. The battery handles are such that they are attached to the battery and in addition to being used for installing the battery into the holder the battery handle preferably is used to "key" the battery properly into the holder to prevent the installer from inserting the battery incorrectly. The batteries of concern in this invention are of a flat configuration, i.e. their length and width are considerably greater than their thickness.
The battery indicator of this invention relates to a means of visually verifying that the battery is properly installed in its holder and that the battery is properly connected into the circuit that it is intended to power.
The intended application for this invention is in electronic equipment. Of particular interest is an application to personal computers.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many personal computers in use today accept and log data against a time base measured by their real time clocks. These clocks are powered by normal AC power systems when the computers are being used, but require a battery to maintain key time and memory functions, such as tracking internal memory and system configuration information, when the computer is turned off.
The battery typically used for this backup function has been a nominal 6 volt lithium battery. The chemistries which have been used are lithium thionyl chloride, lithium carbon monofluoride and lithium manganese dioxide. These have resulted in a service life of approximately 3 years. The majority of these batteries are attached to an inside surface of the computer, usually with Velcro, some are clipped into specially designed holders, and a few are soldered directly onto the motherboard. The batteries attached to an inside surface with Velcro are connected electrically to the motherboard of the computer via lead wires and a connector.
With these typical installations, in order to replace a depleted battery the computer case must be opened. The old battery can then be unplugged and removed. After the new battery is installed the time and configuration information must be reprogrammed into the computer if the computer has been left, with the AC power turned off, for more than about 15 minutes without a working battery.
Battery holders, battery handles and battery connection indicators have been provided for various types of batteries. In some instances the holder has been a thin battery-containing structure for an electronic apparatus which includes a lock pin provided on a flexible arm, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,944. This type of holder is intended to simplify the handling of button-type batteries with the holder being designed to prevent unintentional removal of the holder itself. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,539 there is described a battery receptacle to be used in combination with a receiver for a laser transmitter. That battery holder was intended to eliminate the problems of loose wires and loose doors of other battery holder types.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,978 describes a battery and mount combination comprising a battery having a case that has an underside to which a pair of battery terminals are mounted. This structure was developed to ease in the handling and installation of larger automotive type batteries.
Additionally, indicators have been provided on jumper cables for indication of correct polarity by the illumination of included LED elements upon inappropriate polarity connection between associated batteries. Such an indicator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,583.
Thin, flat batteries, generally envelope-shaped, were developed by Polaroid Corporation to form a part of film packs for Polaroid instant cameras. Similarly shaped lithium batteries have been produced for general purposes by Gould, Inc. Eastlake, Ohio, under the trademark Powerdex. Such batteries generally have a flexible outer casing or cover which is edge sealed. They are advertised and designated by Powerdex (Gould, Inc. Materials and Components Business Section), and generally known, as ultra-thin, planar geometry type batteries.
Further, slot structures for receiving these thin, card-like lithium batteries have been available and were produced for Polaroid and Gould, Inc by Powercard Corp. of Waltham, Mass. The slot structures have included a pair of internal terminals for engagement against positive and negative contacts positioned on one side of the thin battery.