Field

[001] The present disclosure relates to power storage apparatus, and more particularly to portable power supply apparatus such as power banks. Background

[002] Power storage devices such as batteries are widely used for supplying power to mobile devices such as smart phones, portable computers and mobile entertainment devices. Power banks are one type of power storage devices which are suitable for use as back-up or stand-by electrical power sources. Typical power banks comprise a battery and power regulation devices such as voltage regulators and voltage converters to facilitate charging and/or discharging and a main controller. Power banks are widely used as ancillary power supply to portable communication and computing devices such as mobile smart phones or computers to provide supplementary power, so that the devices can maintain operation when stored power in the main battery is exhausted.

[003] Portable power banks provide convenience to many users and power banks having enhanced features to enhance flexibility for convenience of users are desired.

Disclosure

[004] Power storage and supply apparatus are disclosed herein. An example power storage and supply apparatus (or "portable power supply apparatus" in short) disclosed herein is in the form of a power bank which has a cartridge type battery. The cartridge type battery (or "battery cartridge") is detachably received inside a cartridge reception housing. The battery cartridge comprises at least one battery or a plurality of batteries which is detachably received inside a cartridge housing. The cartridge housing comprises internal electrical contacts for making releasable electrical contact with the at least one battery or the plurality of batteries and external contacts for making releasable electrical contact with the cartridge reception housing. The cartridge reception housing comprises inside contacts for making releasable electrical contact with the external contacts of the cartridge housing and outside contacts for making power connection between the battery cartridge and an external power source and/or an external load.

[005] The cartridge reception housing defines a cartridge reception compartment for reception of the battery cartridge. The cartridge reception housing comprises cartridge latching means for releasable latching of the battery cartridge to the cartridge reception housing, internal electrical contacts inside the cartridge reception compartment for making releasable electrical contact with terminals of the battery cartridge, and external electrical contacts for making releasable electrical contact with an external device.

[006] The cartridge housing may be formed as a reclose-able clam shell, the reclose-able clam shell defining a battery receptacle for releasable receiving the at least one battery or the plurality of batteries.

[007] The clam shell may comprise a first clam shell portion defining a base of the battery receptacle and a second clam shell portion defining a lid of the battery receptacle, the lid being connected at one end to the base by a hinge and being movable about the hinge between an opened configuration when the at least one battery or the plurality of batteries is insertable into or removable from the battery receptacle and a close position when the at least one battery or the plurality of batteries is retained inside the battery receptacle.

[008] The internal electrical contacts may be for making releasable compressive or interference fitted electrical and mechanical contact with the battery. The external contacts may be contacts for making releasable compressive or interference fitted electrical and mechanical contact with the inside contacts of the cartridge reception housing.

[009] The cartridge reception housing may comprise a first axial end portion on which the inside contacts are disposed and a peripheral wall surrounding the first axial end portion and extending in an axial direction to define an end aperture on a second axial end portion distal from the first axial end portion, and wherein the battery cartridge is slidable along the axial direction into or out of the cartridge reception housing through the end aperture, the axial direction being orthogonal to the hinge axis of the clam shell or an end plane on the first axial end portion on which the inside contacts are held; and/or wherein a releasable latching means is provided to releasably latch the battery cartridge in position when the battery cartridge is fully inside the cartridge reception housing.

[0010] There is also provided a battery cartridge for forming the power bank disclosed herein. A battery or a plurality of batteries is receivable inside the cartridge housing in a releasable manner, and the battery or the plurality of batteries is removable for replacement by hand without use of tool.

[0011] The battery cartridge comprises a cartridge housing, a battery or a plurality of batteries received inside said cartridge housing, battery contact terminals inside said cartridge housing for making releasable electrical contact with said battery or said plurality of batteries, external contact terminals outside said cartridge housing for making releasable electrical contact with said internal contact terminals on said cartridge reception housing and in electrical connection with said battery contact terminals, and battery latching mechanism for releasable latching of said battery or said plurality of batteries on said cartridge housing. [0012] An assembly of power control device may be provided on the cartridge reception housing to regulate charging and discharging of the battery cartridge.

Figures

[0013] The disclosure will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a power bank according to the present disclosure,

Figure 1A is a cross-sectional view of a power bank of Figure 1 along AA',

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the power bank of Figure 1 from another end,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a battery cartridge according to the present disclosure, Figure 4 is a perspective view of the battery cartridge of Figure 3 from another end,

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the battery cartridge of Figure 3 with the cartridge housing opened,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the battery cartridge of Figure 3 with the cartridge housing opened and batteries removed,

Figure 7 is a perspective view depicting a minor portion of the battery cartridge of Figure 3 inside the cartridge reception housing of the power bank,

Figure 8 is a perspective view depicting a major portion of the battery cartridge of Figure 3 inside the cartridge reception housing of the power bank,

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the power bank in connection with a power cable,

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a charging dock,

Figure 10A depicts a battery cartridge of Figure 3 on the charging dock of Figure 10, Figure 10B depicts two battery cartridges of Figure 3 on the charging dock of Figure 10, Figure 11 is a circuit block diagram depicting example control circuitry of the power bank, Figure 12 is a partially exploded view of the power bank of Figure 1 ,

Figure 13 is another partially exploded view of the power bank of Figure 1 ,

Figure 14A shows a battery cartridge and a battery cartridge charger,

Figure 14B shows a battery cartridge inside the battery cartridge charger of Figure 14A, Figure 15A shows another example battery cartridge,

Figure 15B shows an example cartridge housing of the example battery cartridge of Figure 15A, Figure 15C shows the cartridge housing of Figure 15B with batteries sitting on its battery receptacle,

Figure 15D depicts insertion of the example battery cartridge of Figure 15A into the cartridge housing in an axial direction, and

Figure 15E depicts an example potable power supply apparatus comprising the example battery cartridge of Figure 15A.

Description

[0014] An example power storage and supply apparatus in the form of a power bank 100 as depicted in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a battery cartridge 120 and a cartridge reception housing 140.

[0015] The cartridge reception housing 140 comprises a main body which is moulded of hard plastics. The plastic main body includes a peripheral wall 141 and a base member 143. The peripheral wall 141 extends along an outer edge of the base member 143 and projects in an axial direction orthogonally away from the base member 143 to define a cartridge reception compartment. The cartridge reception compartment is surrounded by the peripheral wall 141 and defines an axial bore. The axial bore includes a battery reception bore for reception of the battery cartridge 120 and a circuitry bore or circuitry compartment for receiving operation circuitry of the power bank 100. The distal end of the peripheral wall 141 , which is in the axial direction away from the base member 143, defines an insertion aperture through which the battery cartridge 120 can be inserted into the cartridge reception compartment or removed therefrom.

[0016] A cartridge latching means is formed on the peripheral wall 141 of the cartridge reception housing 140. The cartridge latching means is for releasable latching of the battery cartridge 120 on the cartridge reception housing 140 after the battery cartridge 120 has been fully inserted into the cartridge reception compartment. The example cartridge latching means includes a pair of latching grooves 142. The latching grooves 142 are on opposite lateral sides of the peripheral wall 141. The lateral sides are thinner sides of the example cartridge reception housing 140. Each one of the latching grooves 142 is shaped and dimensioned to facilitate interference fit with a corresponding latching head 122 on the battery cartridge 120. Each of the latching grooves 142 is an axially extending groove which opens at the distal end of the peripheral wall 141 which defines the insertion aperture so that the latching heads 122 will slide into the corresponding latching grooves 142 when the battery cartridge 120 slides into a fitted position.

[0017] Internal contact terminals 144 are formed on inside of the cartridge reception compartment for making releasable electrical contact with external contact terminals 130 of the battery cartridge120. The internal contact terminals 144 are formed on a partitioning member 145 which divides the cartridge reception compartment and the circuitry compartment and projects axially towards the insertion aperture. Corresponding external contact terminals 130 on the battery cartridge 120 will engage with the internal contact terminals 144 when the battery cartridge 120 is in the fitted position.

[0018] In some embodiments, the internal contact terminals 144 and the external contact terminals 130 are complementary in shape. As shown in Figure 1A, the internal contact terminals 144 comprise a plurality of strip members, while the external contact terminals 130 comprise a plurality of clip members. Each strip member is received by the corresponding clip member. When the battery cartridge 120 moves towards the cartridge reception housing 140, the strip members are inserted into the clip members. The clip members may be made of resilient material, such that the clip members return to its original shape when the battery cartridge 120 is removed from the cartridge reception housing 140.

[0019] In some embodiments, each of the internal contact terminals 144 comprises a resilient contact member which is resiliently compressible and extensible in the axial direction so that corresponding external contact terminals 130 on the battery cartridge 120 will engage compressively with the internal contact terminals 144 when the battery cartridge 120 is in the fitted position.

[0020] External electrical contacts 146 are formed on outside of the cartridge reception compartment for making releasable electrical contact with an external device. The external electrical contacts 146 are formed on the base member 143 and on the opposite side of the insertion aperture. External electrical contacts 146 may include a charging connection terminal and a discharging connection terminal. Example connection terminals may be in the form of USB ports or plugs or micro-USB ports or plugs. An indicator such as an LED lamp 150 may be provided to display charge status, charging status, or operation status, that is, charging or discharging of individual cells.

[0021] In some embodiments, the external electrical contacts 146 include a charging socket and a discharging socket. The charging and discharging sockets may be USB ports or micro-USB ports, and may be of different standard sizes for user distinction. In example embodiments, a micro-USB port is provided for battery charging while a USB port is for discharging or power supply. In some embodiments, the charging and/or discharging sockets include axially extending bores for receiving counterpart charging and/or discharging sockets.

[0022] Operation circuitry of the power bank is mounted on the cartridge reception housing 140. The operation circuitry is to operate as an operation interface between an external device and the battery cartridge 120, or between the external electrical contacts 146 and the internal contact terminal 144.

[0023] An example battery cartridge 120 depicted in Figures 3 to 6 comprises a main cartridge housing 124 inside which a battery reception compartment 126 is defined. The battery reception compartment 126 is partitioned into a plurality of battery seats. Each battery seat includes an axially extending curved bed, battery contact terminals 128 at opposite axial ends, and axially extending partitioning fins on lateral sides to provide separation between adjacent batteries. In example embodiments, cylindrical batteries of standard '2A' or '18650' sizes are placed inside the battery reception compartment 126 and the battery seats are elongate and parallel. The battery contact terminals 128 on opposite axial ends of a battery seat form a pair of battery contacts and the contact terminals are in releasable engagement with the battery 160 inside the battery seat. The battery contact terminal 128 is a resilient contact to facilitate releasable yet reliable electrical and physical contact with a battery. The resilient contact is extendible and compressible in the axial direction between a 'released' and a 'latched' configurations. In some embodiments, the battery contact terminal 128 may comprise a spring-type contact plate. An indicator such as an LED lamp 134 may be provided to display charge status, charging status, or operation status, that is, charging or discharging.

[0024] In some embodiments, the battery contact terminal 128 may be mounted on a movable base which is movable between a first configuration defining a longer seat and a second configuration defining a shorter length. The movable base may be mounted about a pivot axis to change between the first and the second configurations without loss of generality.

[0025] In some embodiments, a single battery, for example, a single pre-packaged battery comprises a plurality of batteries but have a single pair of terminals may be fitted inside the battery reception compartment 126 in which case a single corresponding pair of contact terminals on the battery reception compartment 126 would suffice.

[0026] The main cartridge housing 124 comprises a lower housing portion 124A and an upper housing portion 124B which are connected by a hinge mechanism so that the main cartridge housing 124 is movable between a closed configuration and an open configuration. The lower housing portion defines a lower half of the battery reception compartment 126 and the upper housing portion defines an upper half or a lid of the battery reception compartment 126. The battery contact terminals 128 are mounted on the lower housing portion and the battery or the plurality of batteries will seat in the lower housing portion under friction fit compression by the battery contact terminals 128 on opposite axial ends of a battery seat. [0027] When in the open configuration, the upper housing portion 124B is pivoted away from the lower housing portion 124A to expose the battery reception compartment 126, as depicted in Figure 5. When in the open configuration, a battery or a plurality of batteries can be friction or interference fitted into the battery reception compartment 126 or hand removed from the battery reception compartment 126. When the battery or batteries are removed, the battery reception compartment 126 is as depicted in Figure 6. In some embodiments, the battery or a plurality of batteries may be soldered to the battery contact terminals 128 and the batteries can be removed by de-soldering.

[0028] When in the closed configuration, the upper housing portion 124B is latched with the lower housing portion 124A to form a clam shell. In some embodiments, the upper housing portion 124B and the lower housing portion 124A can be detached and snap or interference fittable to form a battery cartridge housing.

[0029] The battery reception compartment 126 comprises battery contact terminals 128 which are configured to facilitate releasable reception of batteries 160. Releasable reception herein means batteries can be fitted inside the battery reception compartment 126 or removed therefrom by hand or without tool. This means batteries of different energy or power capacity can be fitted inside the battery reception compartment 126 according to requirements. This also means that primary batteries (i.e., one time or non-chargeable battery) can be used to replace rechargeable batteries which are releasably fitted inside the battery reception compartment 126. This provides useful flexibility, for example, in places where no charging power is available.

[0030] The main cartridge housing 124 comprises an insertion end and a removal end. The insertion end is on the axial end which is proximal the base member 143 of the cartridge reception housing 140 when the battery cartridge 120 is fitted inside the cartridge reception housing 140, that is, in the 'fitted configuration'. External contact terminals 130 are mounted on the insertion end and outside the main cartridge housing 124 for making releasable electrical contact with corresponding internal contact terminals 144 on the cartridge reception housing 140 when in the fitted configuration.

[0031] An end plate 132 is formed on an axial end of the lower housing portion which is distal to the insertion end. The end plate 132 defines a handgrip portion to facilitate hand removal of the battery cartridge from the cartridge reception housing 140.

[0032] A pair of latching heads 122 is formed on the lateral sides of the main cartridge housing 124. The latching head 122 includes a resilient boss portion which is receivable inside a corresponding latching slot or aperture formed on the receiving end of the cartridge reception housing 140. The latching groove or aperture 142 defines a receiving bore having a smaller clearance dimension than the corresponding dimension of the latching head 122 so that the latching head 122 and the latching groove or aperture 142 cooperate to define a latching mechanism and the latching head 122 will be in friction or interference fit with the cartridge reception housing 140 when in the fitted configuration.

[0033] To form the power bank, the battery cartridge 120 is inserted into the main cartridge housing 140 as depicted in Figures 7 and 8. When the battery cartridge 120 is retained inside the main cartridge housing 140 in the fitted configuration as depicted in Figures 1 and 2, the external contact terminals 130 on the outside of the battery cartridge 120 will be in contact with the corresponding internal contact terminals 144 on the inside of the cartridge reception housing 140 to establish power connection. In use, the power back is connected with a flexible cable 162 having USB (universal serial bus) connectors for use with device with a compatible head.

[0034] When the battery cartridge 120 requires charging, charging may take place while the battery is inside the main cartridge housing 124 or by placing in a charging dock 164 as depicted in Figures 10, 10A and 10B.

[0035] Operation circuitry is required to facilitate operation of the power bank. In general, the operation circuitry will include circuitry to control battery charging and battery discharging. Example operation circuitry is depicted in Figure 1 1 and comprises a microprocessor and peripheral circuitry. The peripheral circuitry includes a load monitor and a voltage converter, such as a 'buck and boost' circuitry. The buck circuitry is for voltage down-conversion and the boost circuitry is for voltage up-conversion. The load monitor is to monitor the load and to provide information to the microprocessor as a controller to determine the output voltage. The microprocessor is to control the 'buck and boost' circuitry to output a charging voltage through an output USB socket. The load monitor may comprise current sensing device to control discharging current to prevent current overload or overheat. The charging circuit obtains its operation power from the charging USB port which is designed to connect with a standard 5V USB supply. The supply voltage is down converted to 3.7V where a lithium battery is being charged or 4.8 V where 4 pieces of NiMH rechargeable batteries are connected in series in the battery reception compartment in the present example. The peripheral circuitry may include a temperature sensor or a plurality of temperature sensors to monitor battery temperature. Temperature information obtained by the temperature sensor(s) is fed to the controller to determine whether and how to operate. A plurality of indicators in the form of LED lamps is provided to assist user monitoring of operation status. The peripheral circuitry includes voltage sensing circuitry to sense battery voltage during charging and discharging to promote safe and efficient charging and discharging. [0036] The controller and the peripheral circuitry are mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) 148 and the PCB assembly is mounted inside the cartridge reception housing 140 and proximal the base member 143. The portion of the cartridge reception housing 140 proximal the base member 143 is an operation circuitry compartment for receiving the assembly of operation circuitry, as depicted in Figures 12 and 13. External contact terminals 144 for making releasable electrical contact with the external contact terminals 130 are formed on the assembly of operation circuitry at the end facing the insertion aperture defined by the peripheral wall 141. The resilient battery cartridge contacts provide a resilient urging force in the axial direction to drive the battery cartridge to move axially away from the base member 143 when unlatched.

[0037] An example battery charger depicted in Figure 14A comprises a main housing defining a battery cartridge receptacle and a charging circuitry compartment. Battery charging circuitry including a charging controller and power regulation circuitry is housed inside the charging circuitry compartment, and a charging connector is provided as a charging interface between the charging circuitry and the battery cartridge. For example, the charging connector may comprise electrical contacts which are positioned to correspond with the external contacts of the battery cartridge to facilitate charging of the battery cartridge when detached from the cartridge reception housing and the charging circuitry associated therewith.

[0038] When the battery cartridge is duly placed inside the battery cartridge receptacle as depicted in Figure 14B, the battery cartridge is ready for recharging outside the battery cartridge receptacle. At the same time a charged battery cartridge may be inserted into the cartridge reception housing for operation while a standby battery cartridge is being charged outside of the cartridge reception housing to ensure continuity of service.

[0039] Another example battery cartridge depicted in Figure 15A comprises a cartridge housing which defines a battery receptacle and a plurality of four cylindrical batteries received inside the battery receptacle. The cartridge housing, more particularly shown in Figure 15B, comprises a base portion and an upper portion which are interconnected by a hinge. The base portion and the hinge portion are relative movable about a hinge axis defined by the hinge and between an opened configuration as depicted in Figure 15C when the batteries are exposed for removal and a closed configuration as depicted in Figure 15A when the batteries are retained inside the battery receptacle. The battery cartridge, comprising the cartridge housing and the batteries sitting in the battery receptacle, is inserted into the cartridge housing in an axial direction as depicted in Figure 5D. When the battery cartridge is fully inserted into the cartridge housing, the battery cartridge is latched in position and a cover member 232 is mounted on the end aperture of the cartridge housing to form a complete potable power supply apparatus as depicted in Figure 15E. The example battery cartridge of Figure 15A is substantially identical to that of Figure 1 and the description thereto is incorporated herein by reference mutatis mutandis. In this example, a power on/off button is provided for user operation.

[0040] While the disclosure has been described herein with reference to examples, the examples are not intended and should not be used to limit the scope of disclosure.

[0041] Table of numerals