A rechargeable battery pack

Abstract

A rechargeable battery pack 2, comprising a manual actuator (e.g. rotatable crank) to generate power via a generator (32 figure 6) with said power charging a rechargeable battery (36 figure 6). The pa

Description

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of batteries and power packs. More specifically the present invention is an adaptable, rechargeable battery pack which can be used with a variety of portable electronic devices which typically require the used of sets of batteries (e.g. television remote controls, clocks). Background of the Invention Many portable electronic devices such as, for example, clocks and remote controls for televisions and the like require batteries to power those devices. The most common type of batteries used in these devices are 9 V, AA and AAA batteries, which are inserted into a battery compartment within the device. These batteries may be standard, single-use alkaline batteries or they may be rechargeable. Either way, when the batteries run out of power they must be replaced before the device can operate again. Often, the user may not have any new batteries to hand, or they may only have AAA batteries when AA batteries are needed or vice versa, or they may not have recharged a spare set of rechargeable batteries. The device is thus rendered inoperable until the user sources new batteries of the correct type or charges a set of rechargeable batteries. Whether or not a user has replacement batteries to hand such batteries are expensive to buy, especially in rechargeable form. Regular alkaline batteries are cheaper but the cost quickly adds up when the user has numerous devices needing battery power. These is also an important environmental downside to using standard batteries in that they are very often simply thrown away by users when finished with, rather than being sent for recycling at a dedicated recycling point. It is an aim of the present invention to obviate or mitigate one or more of the disadvantages highlighted above. Statement of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a rechargeable battery pack for charging an electrical or electronic device having a battery compartment, the battery pack comprising: a rechargeable battery; a generator configured to charge the rechargeable battery; a manually-operable actuator mechanism adapted to act upon the generator such that it charges the battery; at least one connector element having first and second terminals and being electrically connected to the rechargeable battery, the at least one connector element being configured such that the first and second terminals are contactable with corresponding terminals in the battery compartment of the device; and a switch having open and closed positions and being located between the battery and the at least one connector element, wherein power is only supplied from the battery to the at least one connector element when the switch is closed. Preferably, the at least one connector element is a primary connector element having first and second primary terminals, and the battery pack further comprises at least one secondary connector element having first and second secondary terminals, the at least one secondary connector element being configured such that the secondary terminals are contactable with corresponding terminals in the battery compartment of the device and / or a primary terminal of the primary connector element, wherein the secondary connector element is not directly connected to the rechargeable battery. Preferably, the battery pack includes a power transfer portion and the at least one connector element is selectively detachable from the power transfer portion whilst remaining electrically connected to the rechargeable battery. Preferably, the at least one connector element has a wired connection to the rechargeable battery. Alternatively, the at least one connector element has a wireless connection to the rechargeable battery. Preferably, the at least one connector element is magnetically attached to the power transfer portion. Preferably, the power transfer portion comprises at least one recess shaped to contain the at least one connector element. Preferably, the manually-operable actuator mechanism is a rotatable crank. Preferably the or each connector element is sized and shaped so as to substantially conform with the size and shape of a battery selected from the group comprising AA batteries, AAA batteries and 9V batteries. According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an electrical or electronic device comprising: a battery compartment configured to hold one or more batteries therein; and a battery pack according to the first aspect, wherein the at least one connector element is located within the battery compartment. According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of powering an electrical or electronic device having a battery compartment, the method comprising: providing a rechargeable battery pack according to the first aspect; manually operating the actuator mechanism so as to charge the rechargeable battery; inserting the at least one connector element into the battery compartment such that the first and second terminals of the connector element contact corresponding terminals in the battery compartment; and closing the switch so that power is supplied from the rechargeable battery to device via the at least one connector element. Preferably, the step of manually operating the actuator mechanism is performed before or after the step of inserting the at least one connector element into the battery compartment of the device. Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 are side, top, back and perspective views respectively of a mechanically-rechargeable battery pack; Figures 5 and 6 show internal components of the battery pack shown in Figures 1-4; Figure 7 is a circuit diagram of the key components shown in Figure 5; Figures 8-10 show various configurations of an adapter which forms part of the battery pack; and Figures 11-15 show the various steps involved in employing the battery pack with a portable electronic device. Detailed Description of the Drawings Figures 1-4 show various views of a mechanically-rechargeable battery pack, generally designated 2. The pack 2 comprises a body, or housing, 4 which contains the internal components of the pack. Mounted on a back side 6 of the pack 2 is a rotatable crank, or handle, 8 which when rotated by a user will transfer rotational motion to the internal components as will be described in more detail below. On a front side 10 of the pack is a power transfer portion 12, which is configured to transfer power from the pack 2 to an electronic device (not shown in Figures 1-4). The power transfer portion 12 comprises at least one connector element which is configured to transfer power from the pack 2 to the battery compartment of battery-powered electrical or electronic device. In the preferred embodiment illustrated the power transfer portion 12 comprises primary and secondary connector elements 14,16 which can be selectively detached from the pack 2. Although physically detachable from the pack 2 the primary connector element 14 is electrically connected to the internal power circuit of the pack 2, as will be described below in respect of Figure 6. The secondary connector element 16 is not permanently connected to the power circuit. Both connector elements 14,16 have the size and shape of batteries which are compatible with a battery-powered electrical or electronic device which is to be powered by the pack 2. For example, and as shown in the illustrated embodiments, the connector elements 14,16 can be the shape and size of AA or AAA batteries, with terminals corresponding to those on such batteries located at either end of each connector element. Alternatively, the at least one connector element may take the shape of a 9V battery, again with terminals matching the configuration and location of those on such a 9V battery. A switch 18 projecting through an aperture on the exterior of the housing 4 switches the pack 2 between charging and standby modes. Figures 5 and 6 show the components of the pack 2 contained within the housing 4. The housing 4 has been split in two for illustrative purposes, with Figure 5 showing the interior of a first side 3 of the housing and Figure 6 showing the interior of a second side 5 of the housing. As shown in Figure 5, the first side 3 of the housing 4 contains a number of meshed gears, which transfer the rotational movement of the crank 8 to an electric motor or generator (not shown in Figure 5). A crank gear 20 is rotatably mounted in the housing 4 and non-rotatably connected to the crank 8, such that rotation of the crank rotates the crank gear. A pair of reduction gears are also rotatably mounted in the housing. A first reduction gear 22 has a set of first inner gear teeth 23 which mesh with a set of crank gear teeth 21 on the outer circumference of the crank gear 20. A second reduction gear 24 has a set of second inner gear teeth 25 which are meshed with a set of first outer gear teeth 26 on the circumference of the first reduction gear 22. Finally, a drive gear 28 is also rotatably mounted in the housing 4 and has a set of drive gear teeth 29, which are meshed with a set of second outer gear teeth 27 provided on the circumference of the second reduction gear 24. The drive gear 28 is connected to, or integrally formed with, a drive shaft 30 which extends across the housing 4 and drives an electric motor, or generator 32, as shown in Figure 6. Also shown in Figure 6 is a circuit, or control, board 34 into which the generator 32 is connected. Also connected to the circuit board 34 is a battery cell 36, with the circuit board configured such that current generated by the generator 32 is passed to, and stored in, the battery cell. The primary connector element on the exterior of the second side 5 of the housing 4 (and hence not visible in Figure 6) is also connected to the circuit board 34 via connector wiring 35, as is the switch 18 which projects through the aperture in the first side 3 of the housing 4 when the two sides are attached to enclose the interior components. The circuit board 34 is configured so that when the switch 18 is in a closed position charge stored in the battery cell 36 will pass to the primary connector element. When the switch 18 is in an open position no charge will pass from the battery cell 36 to the primary connector element 14. Figure 7 is a circuit diagram of an exemplary circuit which could be employed in the pack, and which connects the various components described above in respect of Figure 6. The generator 32 is connected in a loop with the battery cell 36. A barrier diode 33 may be provided between the generator 32 and battery cell 36 in order to ensure that current passes from the generator to the battery cell but not the other way around. The switch 18 selectively connects the battery cell 36 to the primary (and secondary, if required) connector element(s) 14,16. The switch 18 is shown in the open position in Figure 7, with no charge able to pass from the battery cell 36 to the connector element(s) 14,16. If deemed necessary, a resistor 40 may be provided in the circuit between the switch 18 and the connector element(s) 14,16 in order to limit the power drawn by whichever device the connector element(s) is / are connected to. Figures 8-10 show various configurations that the power transfer portion 12 of the pack 2 may take. In each of the illustrated configurations the connector elements 14,16 have the same size and shape as AA batteries with positive and negative terminals at either end thereof. However, as described above the present invention is not limited to replicating one particular battery type. The power transfer portion 12 includes one or more recesses 13 configured to house one or more connector elements 14,16. Preferably, the or each recess 13 is shaped so as to substantially match the exterior shape of the connector element(s) 14,16 to ensure a snug fit of the connector element(s) on the power transfer portion 12. In the preferred embodiments shown each connector element 14,16 is attached to the power transfer portion 12 using at least one pair of integrated magnets 50 with at least one corresponding pair of magnetic elements 52 provided on the power transfer portion 12. The magnets and magnetic elements may alternatively be arranged the other way around, with the magnets on the housing and the magnetic elements on the connector elements. Whatever the configuration of the connector elements, and as described above, the primary connector element 14 is electrically connected into the power circuit inside the housing 4 via the connector wiring 35. The or each secondary connector element is simply a pass-through element provided in order to complete the circuit through whatever configuration of battery compartment the device being powered has. Figure 8 shows a first configuration of the power transfer portion 12, which is intended for a device which only requires a single battery or else a number of batteries arranged in series. In this first configuration if it is to replace a single battery then only the primary connector element 14 is needed. If two or more batteries are used in the device in series then one or more of the secondary connector elements 16 can be inserted into the battery compartment of the device along with the primary connector element 14. In Figure 9 a replacement for a two-battery arrangement is also shown, but in this instance the batteries are arranged in parallel, and thus the primary and secondary connector elements 14,16 are arranged in this parallel form too. As with the first configuration the connector elements are attached to the housing with magnets 50 so that they can be deployed in different formations to match whatever formation is dictated by the battery compartment of the device to be powered. Figure 10 illustrates how a configuration to replace a four-battery parallel arrangement would look. The connector elements are not shown for clarity purposes, but as with the other configurations a primary connector element would be wired into the power circuit in the pack, and three second connector elements would be attached in parallel alongside the primary connector element. Again, magnetic connectors a preferably used to attach and detach the connector elements from the housing 4. Figures 11-15 show how the pack 2 is used. In this example, the device to be charged is a remote control 50 for a television, where the battery compartment 52 of the remote control is configured to hold a pair of AA batteries in a parallel, or side-by-side, arrangement. In this instance, the power transfer portion 12 of the pack 2 will be in the form as shown in Figure 9, using a primary and a secondary connector 14,16 which both have the size and shape of an AA battery. In the first instance, as shown in Figure 11, a cover of the battery compartment 52 is removed to expose the compartment. As shown in Figure 12, the secondary connector element 16 is inserted into the battery compartment 52 where one of the pair of AA batteries would usually be fitted. The terminals at either end of the secondary connector 16 are in contact with the corresponding terminals in the battery compartment 52. Next, as seen in Figure 13, the pack 2 and associated power transfer portion 12 are brought into proximity with the remote control 50. The primary connector element 14 is then guided into the remaining battery space within the battery compartment 52 alongside the secondary connector element 16 until the terminals at either end of the primary connector contact the respective terminals within the battery compartment and the primary connector is firmly secured within the compartment. As shown in Figure 14, once the primary and secondary connector elements 14,16 are fully inserted and secured in the battery compartment 52 the power transfer portion 12 of the pack 2 will lie against an underside 54 of the remote control 50, with the two components now effectively secured together. The crank 8 can then be wound to send current to the battery cell within the pack 2. The switch 18 can then be pressed to send stored charge from the battery cell to the primary connector element so as to power the remote control 50. The switch 18 is preferably moved to an off, or open, position when the remote control 50 is not in use to save the charge in the battery cell. With the switch 18 in an on, or closed, position the remote control 50 can then be operated as shown in Figure 15. The present invention takes kinetic energy, converts it to electrical power and stores that power in an internal battery. The present invention is designed to fit into the battery compartments of most electrical or electronic devices which do not consume a large amount of power (e.g. remote controls, clocks), thanks to the various configurations that the power transfer portion and / or connector elements can assume. The stored power in the internal battery will provide power to the device it is connected to, avoiding the expense and inconvenience of using standard or rechargeable batteries. The present invention is also considerably more environmentally friendly as it avoids the need for such batteries, which are often disposed of by users in ways which harm the environment. The types of electrical / electronic device to be powered by the present invention consume very small amounts of power, and so only a few seconds winding the crank to store charge in the internal battery cell will result in enough stored power to operate a TV remote control, for example, for a number of days or indeed weeks. In tests performed so far on a pack configured to provide 3.5V it has been found that only 30 seconds of winding can store enough charge to power a remote control for between 3 and 6 months. Whilst a rotatable crank is a preferred actuator for storing charge in the pack, other actuator arrangements may also be employed. For example, a trigger mechanism may be used, where reciprocal movement of the trigger rotates a drive shaft which drives the electric motor / generator and which in turn sends current to the battery cell. Other options for the actuator include a retractable pull cord, a mechanism which responds to shaking of the pack, a compression mechanism, a foot pedal or a hand grip. The connector wires connecting the primary connector element to the remainder of the power circuit may be provided in different lengths, depending on the application for the pack. For example, one version of the pack may use comparatively long connector wires so that the housing can be located at a distance from the battery compartment of the device being powered. In an alternative embodiment, the primary connector may not be connected to the battery cell by connector wires. Instead, the primary (and secondary, if required) connector elements may contain rechargeable battery cells. The charging circuit of the pack would charge those rechargeable battery cells via cooperating terminals on the power transfer portion of the pack and the connector elements. Modifications and improvements may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

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