Battery housing structure

Abstract

To provide a battery housing structure capable of suppressing backlash of a battery pack of a column-shaped battery having a plurality of diameters while further suppressing the number of spring members.SOLUTION: A battery housing structure is for housing a battery pack where a plurality of column-shaped batteries 21 are parallely arranged and coated in a pack part, and comprises: a housing part that has at least one side opened and includes a bottom wall 18 onto the other side while, and can house the battery pack; a spring member that is provided at a position that becomes one side of the battery pack housed, and energizes the battery pack to the other side from the one side; and a battery suppression part 19 that is provided at a position covering one part on the opened side of the housing part. The battery suppression part 19 includes a notch part 19a that is inclined facing the one side and the other side. The notch part 19a is contacted to any one of colum-shaped side surfaces of the plurality of column-shaped batteries 21 of the battery pack when the battery pack is energized to the other side by the spring member even if a diameter of each column-shaped battery 21 constructing the battery pack is a first diameter or a second diameter that is different from the first diameter.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery housing structure. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, battery packs have been known in which multiple cylindrical batteries are arranged in parallel and wrapped in a pack shape using heat shrink tubing or the like. Such battery packs are stored in storage compartments in electrical equipment that match the shape of the battery pack. Furthermore, cylindrical batteries that make up such battery packs come in a variety of diameters, and therefore battery packs come in a variety of sizes. A battery storage structure that can store battery packs of various sizes without rattling is therefore desired. Thus, a battery storage structure has been proposed that includes spring members that apply elastic forces to the battery pack from three directions (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-114377 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the battery storage structure described in Patent Document 1 has a large number of spring members because the spring members are present on three sides of the battery. Since the spring members are the parts that exert elastic force and are therefore easily damaged, it is preferable to have as few spring members as possible.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and its purpose is to provide a battery storage structure that can suppress rattling in a battery pack of cylindrical batteries of multiple diameters while reducing the number of spring members. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The battery storage structure of the present invention is a battery storage structure that stores a battery pack which has multiple cylindrical batteries arranged in parallel and wrapped in an outer cover, and comprises: a storage section which is open on at least one side and has a bottom wall on the other side and is capable of storing the battery pack; a spring member which is provided in the storage section at a position which is one side of the parallel arrangement of the stored battery pack and which urges the battery pack from the one side to the other side; and a battery holding section which is provided at a position which covers a portion of the one side which is the open side of the storage section, and the battery holding section has an inclined cutout portion facing the one side and the other side, and the cutout portion abuts against the cylindrical side surface of any of the multiple cylindrical batteries of the battery pack when the battery pack is urged to the other side by the spring member, regardless of whether the diameter of the cylindrical batteries constituting the battery pack is a first diameter or a second diameter different from the first diameter. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a battery storage structure that can reduce the number of spring members and suppress rattling in a battery pack of cylindrical batteries with a plurality of diameters. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing a gas meter to which a battery housing structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Diagram 2] 2 is a front view of a holder mounted on the gas meter shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a rear view of a holder mounted on the gas meter shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 2 is a perspective view of a holder mounted on the gas meter shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a battery pack stored in the storage section shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. [Figure 6] 5 is a cross-sectional view of the battery retainer shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. [Figure 7] 5 is a first cross-sectional perspective view showing a method of storing a battery pack in the storage section shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. [Figure 8] 5 is a second sectional perspective view showing a method of storing a battery pack in the storage section shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. [Figure 9] 5 is a third cross-sectional perspective view showing a method of storing a battery pack in the storage section shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. [Figure 10] 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a contact state between the battery retainer and a cylindrical battery in the battery pack after the battery pack is stored. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a holder according to a second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a front view of a holder according to a second embodiment. [Figure 13] 13 is a cross-sectional view of a battery retainer in a position including an extension portion according to a second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 14] 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a contact state between a battery retainer and a battery pack according to a second embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The present invention will be described below along with preferred embodiments. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown below, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the present invention. In addition, in the embodiments shown below, some configurations are omitted from illustration and description, but it goes without saying that publicly known or well-known technologies are appropriately applied to the details of the omitted technologies within the scope of the contents described below.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a front view showing a gas meter to which a battery storage structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied. The gas meter 1 shown in Fig. 1 is an electrical device that is provided on a flow path for supplying fuel gas such as city gas or LP gas to a consumer, and that accumulates and displays the flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the consumer side. Such a gas meter 1 has a box-shaped body 1a that is substantially rectangular when viewed from the front, and is provided on the upper surface of the body 1a with a gas inlet 1b to which an upstream flow path pipe (not shown) is connected, and a gas outlet 1c to which a downstream flow path pipe (not shown) is connected. The gas inlet 1b is provided to the left of the gas meter 1 when viewed from the front, and the gas outlet 1c is provided to the right of the gas meter 1 when viewed from the front.

[0011] Furthermore, the gas meter 1 is provided with a display unit 1d and a reset button 1e on the front surface of the body 1a. The display unit 1d is provided near the upper center of the front surface of the body 1a, and displays the integrated flow rate of the measured fuel gas and any abnormalities in the gas meter 1. The reset button 1e is provided on the left side of the display unit 1d when viewed from the front, and is an operation unit for opening an internal shutoff valve (not shown) when the shutoff valve is closed.

[0012] Furthermore, the gas meter 1 is provided with a cover 1f on the lower front surface of the body 1a. The cover 1f is removable. The gas meter 1 is configured such that when the cover 1f is removed, a terminal block (not shown) is exposed, and the terminal block is provided with a ground terminal, a terminal for communication, and the like.

[0013] Here, such a gas meter 1 includes a control board (not shown) inside the body 1a for controlling the display unit 1d and for controlling operation by receiving operation of the reset button 1e. The control board may also execute processing by inputting a signal from a terminal block. Such a control board is mounted on a holder (to be described later) provided at a location indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 1. The gas meter 1 is controlled by the control board operating with a battery.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a front view of a holder mounted on the gas meter 1 shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a back view of the holder mounted on the gas meter 1 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an oblique view of the holder mounted on the gas meter 1 shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] As shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the holder 10 is provided with a storage section 12 having a substantially concave shape on the back side of the plate material 10a. The front side of the plate material 10a is a mounting section 11 on which a control board is mounted. Furthermore, the holder 10 is also provided with mounting sections 13a and 13b for fixedly mounting the holder 10 in the gas meter 1. The mounting sections 13a and 13b are composed of a first mounting section 13a protruding to the right side (second side) when viewed from the front, and a second mounting section 13b formed in the lower left corner (one side of the first side) of the plate material 10a. Each mounting section 13a and 13b is formed with a through hole, and the holder 10 can be assembled inside the gas meter 1 by a screw or the like through the through hole. In addition, the mounting section 11 is formed in a rectangular shape that avoids the position of the second mounting section 13b, for example, as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 2. Therefore, the control board is mounted at a position that avoids such a second mounting section 13b. The control board is not limited to being rectangular, and may be divided into two or more boards.

[0016] The storage section 12 shown in Figs. 3 and 4 stores a battery pack that supplies power to the control board. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a battery pack stored in the storage section 12 shown in Figs. 3 and 4. As shown in Fig. 5, the battery pack 20 is composed of multiple cylindrical batteries 21 and a pack section (exterior cover) 22. The multiple cylindrical batteries 21 each function as a battery independently and are arranged in parallel. The pack section 22 is composed of, for example, a heat shrink tube, and collectively wraps the multiple cylindrical batteries 21 arranged in parallel. By being wrapped in the pack section 22, the battery pack 20 is fixed in place so that the cylindrical sides are in contact with each other.

[0017] 5 are arranged in parallel in one tier, but the battery packs 20 may be arranged in parallel in two or more tiers by being stacked in a direction perpendicular to the parallel arrangement direction (third direction when mounted in the storage section 12). The pack section 22 is not limited to a heat shrink tube, and may be a sheet-like material simply wrapped around the pack section 22 to collectively wrap multiple cylindrical batteries 21.

[0018] The storage section 12 shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 is configured to store such a battery pack 20 in a state where rattling is suppressed. As shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the storage section 12 is generally configured to include one side wall 14 located on one side, another side wall 15 located on the other side opposite to the one side, a first horizontal wall 16 located on the first side, a second horizontal wall 17 located on the second side opposite to the first side, and a bottom wall 18. The direction connecting the one side and the other side is defined as a first direction, and the direction connecting the first side and the second side is defined as a second direction. The first direction and the second direction are orthogonal to each other on a plane including the plate material 10a.

[0019] The one side wall 14 is a wall material provided perpendicular to the plate material 10a on one side of the plate material 10a. The one side wall 14 has a non-step portion 14a, a step portion 14b, and a spring member 14c. The non-step portion 14a is a wall material extending along the second direction. The one side wall 14 has two non-step portions 14a, and the two non-step portions 14a are arranged so as to be continuous in the second direction with a gap therebetween. The step portion 14b is a wall material that is recessed one step toward one side from the two non-step portions 14a. The step portion 14b connects the two non-step portions 14a that are provided with a gap therebetween. The spring member 14c is a member that extends from the connection portion between the non-step portion 14a and the step portion 14b toward the other side slightly toward the center. Two spring members 14c are provided, each extending from the connection portion. The two spring members 14c each have a cantilever shape and are elastically deformable in a first direction.

[0020] The other side wall 15 is a wall material provided on the other side of the plate material 10a substantially perpendicular to the plate material 10a, and is disposed opposite the one side wall 14. The other side wall 15 includes a straight wall 15a, a C-shaped wall 15b, a hook portion 15c, and a curved wall 15d. The straight wall 15a is a plate material extending in the second direction on the other side of the plate material 10a. The C-shaped wall 15b is a wall material in which the rear side of the C-shape is connected to one end of the straight wall 15a. The hook portion 15c and the curved wall 15d are formed extending in the second direction slightly on one side of the straight wall 15a. In addition, two hook portions 15c are provided on either side of the curved wall 15d, and the tip of one side of each hook portion 15c (the end portion farther from the plate material 10a) forms a curved surface protruding to one side. In addition, the curved wall 15d has a curved structure in which the plate material 10a side protrudes to one side more than the tip. The hook portion 15c and the curved wall 15d are each configured to sandwich the other end of the battery pack 20 assembled in the storage section 12 by their curved surfaces. In particular, the hook portion 15c is configured to prevent the other side of the battery pack 20 from coming off to one side (the open side of the storage section 12).

[0021] The first horizontal wall 16 is a wall material that is provided perpendicular to the plate material 10a slightly to the first side from the center of the plate material 10a. The first horizontal wall 16 extends in the first direction with one side connected to the one side wall 14 and the other side connected to the other side wall 15. The first horizontal wall 16 has a first recess 16a that is hollowed out in a part of the other side. The first recess 16a is cut deeper in the third direction (direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction) than a second recess 17a of the second horizontal wall 17 described later. Furthermore, the first recess 16a is cut deeper in the first direction than a second recess 17a described later.

[0022] The second lateral wall 17 is a wall material provided perpendicular to the plate material 10a so as to face the first lateral wall 16 on the second side of the plate material 10a. The second lateral wall 17 extends in the first direction with one side connected to the one side wall 14 and the other side connected to the other side wall 15 (only the end of the hook portion 15c on the second lateral side). The second lateral wall 17 has a second recess 17a hollowed out in a portion of the other side. The second recess 17a is cut out shallower in the third direction than the first recess 16a of the first lateral wall 16 and smaller in the first direction.

[0023] The bottom wall 18 is a portion of the plate material 10a that is surrounded by the walls 14-17. As shown in Fig. 2, a portion of the bottom wall 18 is hollowed out. In particular, the bottom wall 18 is hollowed out in a substantially rectangular shape at a position (a position overlapping in the third direction) corresponding to a battery retaining portion 19 described below, with a size corresponding to the size of the substantially rectangular battery retaining portion 19, to form a hollowed out portion 18a. Note that the other hollowed out portions are hollowed out for convenience of removal during molding.

[0024] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the holder 10 is provided with a battery retaining portion 19. The battery retaining portion 19 retains the battery pack 20 assembled in the storage portion 12 from the open side. The battery retaining portion 19 is provided integrally with both the first horizontal wall 16 and the second horizontal wall 17 from a portion slightly toward one side thereof so as to bridge between them, and covers a portion of the open side of the storage portion 12.

[0025] Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the battery retaining portion 19 shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 6, the battery retaining portion 19 has a notch 19a formed on one side thereof. The notch 19a has a surface structure that is inclined with respect to the plane of the plate material 10a, and faces one side of the storage portion 12 and the bottom wall 18. Note that, although the notch 19a is flat in this embodiment, it is not limited thereto, and may be a curved surface or a surface having a step.

[0026] Next, a method of storing the battery pack 20 in the storage section 12 will be described with reference to Fig. 7 to Fig. 9. Fig. 7 to Fig. 9 are cross-sectional perspective views showing a method of storing the battery pack 20 in the storage section 12 shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. In Fig. 7 to Fig. 9, the battery pack 20 is shown by a dashed line for simplification.

[0027] First, when storing the battery pack 20, one side of the battery pack 20 is inserted into the other side of the battery retaining portion 19 as shown in Fig. 7. At this time, one side of the battery pack 20 is inserted obliquely with respect to the bottom wall 18. Here, a hollow portion 18a is formed in the bottom wall 18 corresponding to the position of the battery retaining portion 19. Therefore, a part of the battery pack 20 is inserted into the hollow portion 18a.

[0028] 8, the battery pack 20 is further inserted while the other side of the battery pack 20 is brought closer to the bottom wall 18. As a result, the battery pack 20 is inserted to the maximum extent into the hollowed-out portion 18a.

[0029] Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 9, the battery pack 20 is inserted while the other side of the battery pack 20 is brought closer to the bottom wall 18. At this time, one side of the battery pack 20 leaves the hollowed-out portion 18a and comes into contact with the spring member 14c on one side of the storage section 12. At the same time, the other side of the battery pack 20 is sandwiched between the hook portion 15c and the curved wall 15d. In particular, the hook portion 15c makes it difficult for the other side of the battery pack 20 to come off toward the open side. In this manner, the battery pack 20 is stored in the storage section 12.

[0030] Here, the storage section 12 as described above is capable of storing cylindrical batteries 21 with minimal rattle when the batteries have at least two different diameters: a first diameter and a second diameter different from the first diameter. The sizes of battery packs 20 vary between manufacturers, and even cylindrical batteries 21 of the same standard (e.g., the same AAA batteries) vary slightly in size between manufacturers (e.g., by about 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm per battery). In this embodiment, the storage section 12 can store battery packs 20 with minimal rattle even when there are size differences between such manufacturers.

[0031] Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the contact state between the battery retaining portion 19 and the cylindrical battery 21 inside the battery pack 20 after the battery pack 20 has been stored. In Fig. 10, the case where the cylindrical battery 21 has a first diameter is indicated by a two-dot chain line, and the case where the cylindrical battery 21 has a second diameter is indicated by a dashed line.

[0032] First, a battery pack 20 consisting of cylindrical batteries 21 with a first diameter (two-dot chain line) will be described as an example. As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 10, the cylindrical side surface (the other side of the cylinder) of the cylindrical battery 21a located at the most one side of the battery pack 20 is in contact with the notch portion 19a of the battery retaining portion 19. Moreover, the cylindrical battery 21a is biased from one side toward the other side by the spring member 14c (see symbol A1). Therefore, the cylindrical battery 21a is first prevented from rattling in the first direction by being sandwiched between the spring member 14c and the notch portion 19a (see symbols A1 and A2). Furthermore, because the notch portion 19a of the cylindrical battery 21a faces the bottom wall 18 side, the cylindrical battery 21a is pressed toward the bottom wall 18 side by the bias of the spring member 14c (see symbol A3). As a result, rattling in the third direction is also prevented.

[0033] Next, a battery pack 20 consisting of cylindrical batteries 21 with a second diameter (broken line) smaller than the first diameter will be described. As shown by the broken line in Fig. 10, for the cylindrical battery 21 with the second diameter, the cylindrical side surface (the other side of the cylinder) of the cylindrical battery 21a located at the most one side of the battery pack 20 is in contact with the notch 19a of the battery pressing part 19, as in the case of the first diameter. Therefore, although the cylindrical battery 21 with the second diameter is different from the cylindrical battery 21 with the first diameter, it is sandwiched between the spring member 14c and the notch 19a (see symbols A1 and A2) and pressed against the bottom wall 18 (see symbol A3). Therefore, rattling in the first and third directions is suppressed.

[0034] Although the pack section 22 of the battery pack 20 is omitted in FIG. 10, the pack section 22 encases the cylindrical batteries 21 in a state of close contact with the cylindrical batteries 21 to a certain extent so as not to impede the above-mentioned functions.

[0035] In this way, according to the battery storage structure of this embodiment, when the battery pack 20 is biased to the other side by the spring member 14c, the cylindrical side surfaces of the cylindrical batteries 21 with the first and second diameters can abut against the notches 19a. Here, the notches 19a are inclined facing one side. Therefore, the battery pack 20 can be sandwiched in the first direction connecting the one side and the other side by the spring member 14c and the notches 19a, and rattling in the first direction can be suppressed for both battery packs 20 composed of the cylindrical batteries 21 with the first and second diameters. Furthermore, since the notches 19a also face the bottom side (other side), when the battery pack 20 is biased by the spring member 14c, the battery pack 20 itself is biased to the bottom side through the notches 19a. As a result, rattle in the third direction can be suppressed for both battery packs 20 composed of cylindrical batteries 21 of the first and second diameters. Therefore, for a battery pack 20 composed of cylindrical batteries 21 of both the first and second diameters, rattle in the first and third directions can be suppressed by only the spring member 14c arranged on one side. Therefore, rattle can be suppressed for a battery pack 20 composed of cylindrical batteries 21 of multiple diameters while further reducing the number of spring members 14c.

[0036] In addition, since the storage section 12 has a hook section 15c on the other side that prevents the battery pack 20 from moving toward the open side, the other side of the battery pack 20 moving toward the open side after the battery pack 20 is stored can reduce the possibility that the battery pack 20 itself will become detached.

[0037] Furthermore, the battery retaining portion 19 is formed integrally with the storage portion 12 so as to cover the open side of the cylindrical battery 21 located at the most one side of the stored battery pack 20, and the bottom wall 18 has a hollowed-out portion 18a that corresponds to the battery retaining portion 19. Therefore, without forming the battery retaining portion 19 separately, the battery pack 20 can be stored by inserting the battery pack 20 from the other side of the battery retaining portion 19 while utilizing the hollowed-out portion 18a as described with reference to Figures 7 to 9. This makes it possible to prevent an increase in the number of parts due to the separate formation of the battery retaining portion 19 and the detachment of the battery pack 20 due to the detachment of the battery retaining portion 19.

[0038] Furthermore, since the first recess 16a is formed deep, when it is desired to remove the battery pack 20, the battery pack 20 can be easily removed by holding it from a deep position. As a result, even if the other side of the battery pack 20 is held down by the hook portion 15c as in this embodiment, the deep first recess 16a ensures that the battery pack 20 can be easily removed.

[0039] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The battery storage structure according to the second embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment, but the configuration is partially different. Differences from the first embodiment will be described below. In the second embodiment, the same or similar configurations as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0040] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the holder 10 according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a front view of the holder 10 according to the second embodiment.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 11, the holder 10 of the second embodiment has a storage section 12 on the back side of the plate material 10a, the storage section 12 having one side wall 14, another side wall 15, a first horizontal wall 16, a second horizontal wall 17 and a bottom wall 18, similar to the first embodiment.

[0042] Here, in the second embodiment, the first lateral wall 16 has a first recess 16a as in the first embodiment, but the size of the first recess 16a is the same as that of the second recess 17a. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the other side wall 15 has a straight wall 15a, a C-shaped wall 15b, and a curved wall 15d, but does not have the hook portion 15c of the first embodiment, and is provided with a second straight wall 15e that is parallel to the straight wall 15a at the position of the hook portion 15c.

[0043] In addition, the battery retaining portion 19 according to the second embodiment has an extension portion 19b that protrudes from the center to the other side and is narrower than the battery retaining portion 19. The battery retaining portion 19 also has cuts 19c that extend toward one side on both sides of the extension portion 19b. These cuts 19c allow the extension portion 19b to be elastically deformable in the third direction. As shown in FIG. 12, in the second embodiment, the hollowed-out portion 18a is hollowed out corresponding to the position of the extension portion 19b, forming an inverted T-shape.

[0044] Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pressing portion 19 at a position including the extended portion 19b according to the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 13, the extended portion 19b is formed on the other side of the battery pressing portion 19. The extended portion 19b has an arc-shaped recess 19b1 formed on the bottom wall 18 side in cross-section, and is provided with a sharp portion 19b2 having a pointed shape on the other side of the recess 19b1.

[0045] When assembling the battery pack 20 into the storage section 12 according to the second embodiment, the process is basically the same as in the first embodiment, but during assembly, the extension portion 19b elastically deforms toward the opening side to a position where it does not get in the way.

[0046] Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing the contact state between the battery pressing portion 19 and the battery pack 20 according to the second embodiment. Note that in Fig. 14, the case where the cylindrical battery 21 has a first diameter is indicated by a two-dot chain line, and the case where the cylindrical battery 21 has a second diameter is indicated by a dashed line.

[0047] 14, the battery pack 20 is designed to abut against the notch 19a regardless of whether the diameter of the cylindrical battery 21 is the first diameter or the second diameter. That is, similar to the first embodiment, the cylindrical side surface (the other side of the cylinder) of the cylindrical battery 21a located on the most one side abuts against the notch 19a of the battery pressing part 19, preventing rattling in the first and third directions.

[0048] Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the sharp-pointed portion 19b2 of the extension portion 19b is adapted to come into contact with the adjacent cylindrical battery 21b. The adjacent cylindrical battery 21b is the cylindrical battery 21 adjacent to the other side of the cylindrical battery 21a that is in contact with the notch portion 19a. As shown in FIG. 14, for example, the tip of the sharp-pointed portion 19b2 is located at the intersection of the two-dot chain line indicating the adjacent cylindrical battery 21b of the first diameter and the dashed line indicating the adjacent cylindrical battery 21b of the second diameter. Therefore, the adjacent cylindrical battery 21b is held down by the sharp-pointed portion 19b2 whether the battery pack 20 is composed of cylindrical batteries 21 of the first diameter or the battery pack 20 is composed of cylindrical batteries 21 of the second diameter. In particular, the sharpened portion 19b2 contacts the other side of the adjacent cylindrical battery 21b of the first diameter and also contacts the other side of the adjacent cylindrical battery 21b of the second diameter. This allows the extension portion 19b to suppress excessive movement of the battery pack 20 itself to the other side or floating toward the open side. This reduces the possibility that the battery pack 20 will move to the other side due to the biasing force of the spring member 14c, causing the other side of the battery pack 20 to float toward the open side and become detached along the curved wall 15d.

[0049] In this way, according to the battery storage structure of the second embodiment, like the first embodiment, it is possible to reduce the number of spring members 14c and suppress rattling in the battery pack 20 of cylindrical batteries 21 with multiple diameters. In addition, it is possible to prevent an increase in the number of parts due to the battery retaining portion 19 being configured as a separate body, and to prevent the battery pack 20 from coming off due to the battery retaining portion 19 coming off.

[0050] Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, the battery retaining portion 19 has an extension portion 19b that contacts the other side of the adjacent cylindrical battery 21b that is adjacent to the other side of the cylindrical battery 21a that is in contact with the notch portion 19a. This reduces the possibility that the battery pack 20 will move excessively to the other side due to the biasing force of the spring member 14c, causing the battery pack 20 to become detached.

[0051] The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and techniques from the embodiments or well-known and publicly known techniques may be combined.

[0052] For example, in the above embodiment, the notch 19a of the battery holding portion 19 is configured to contact the cylindrical battery 21 located at the furthest side of the battery pack 20, but this is not particularly limited as long as it is configured to contact any cylindrical battery 21. In this case, taking into consideration the ease of assembly of the battery pack 20, the battery holding portion 19 may be configured as a separate body from the storage portion 12, and after the battery pack 20 is stored in the storage portion 12, the battery holding portion 19 may be assembled to the storage portion 12 to hold down the battery pack 20.

[0053] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the spring member 14c provided on one side of the storage section 12 can suppress rattling in the first and third directions, but this does not deny the possibility of providing a separate spring member as an auxiliary means.

[0054] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the battery housing structure is applied to the gas meter 1, but the battery housing structure is not limited to the gas meter 1 and may be applied to other electrical appliances such as an alarm device or a cooking appliance. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 12: Storage area 14c: Spring member 15c: Hook part 18: Bottom wall 18a: hollow part 19: Battery holder 19a: Notch 19b: Extension site 19b2 ​​:Sharp part 19c: Cutting 20: Battery pack 21, 21a: Cylindrical battery 21b: Adjacent cylindrical battery 22: Pack section (outer cover)

Claims

1. A battery storage structure that stores a battery pack in which multiple cylindrical batteries are arranged in parallel and wrapped in an exterior cover, a storage section having at least one open side and a bottom wall on the other side capable of storing the battery pack; a spring member provided in the storage portion at a position on one side of the parallel arrangement of the stored battery packs, the spring member biasing the battery packs from the one side to the other side; a battery holder provided at a position that covers a part of one side of the storage section, the one side being an open side of the storage section; the battery holder has an inclined cutout portion facing the one side and the other side, The notch portion abuts against a cylindrical side surface of any one of the plurality of cylindrical batteries of the battery pack when the battery pack is biased toward the other side by the spring member, regardless of whether the diameter of the cylindrical batteries constituting the battery pack is a first diameter or a second diameter different from the first diameter. A battery storage structure characterized by:

2. The storage section includes a hook portion on the other side that prevents the battery pack from moving toward the open side.

2. The battery storage structure according to claim 1 .

3. The battery retaining portion has an extension portion that contacts the other side of an adjacent cylindrical battery that is adjacent to the other side of the cylindrical battery that abuts against the notch portion of the battery pack.

2. The battery storage structure according to claim 1 .

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