Battery unit and lighting device

Abstract

To provide a battery unit that can be easily attached to and detached from the main body of the device. [Solution] This is a battery unit 16 that is attached to the fixture body of a lighting device. The battery unit 16 comprises a battery, a case 41 for housing the battery, and magnets 42 and 43. The magnets 42 and 43 are arranged on at least one surface of the case 41 and are attached to the fixture body by magnetic force.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a battery unit and a lighting device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a disaster prevention lighting device has a battery unit as an emergency power source, and this battery unit is screwed and attached to the inner surface of the recess of the appliance body.

[0003] However, when attaching or replacing the battery unit, it is necessary to attach or detach the battery unit to the appliance body using tools, so the workability is poor and there is room for improvement.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a battery unit and a lighting device that can be easily attached to and detached from an appliance body.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An embodiment is a battery unit attached to an appliance body of a lighting device. The battery unit includes a battery, a case for housing the battery, and a magnet. The magnet is disposed on at least one surface of the case and is attached to the appliance body by magnetic force.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the embodiment, it can be expected to provide a battery unit and a lighting device that can be easily attached to and detached from an appliance body. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view of a lighting device using a battery unit, illustrating the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view of the same lighting device with the main light source removed. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view of the same battery unit. [Figure 4] This is an exploded perspective view showing the internal structure of the same battery unit. [Figure 5] Figures (a), (b), and (c) are perspective views of a lighting device showing examples of the arrangement of the battery unit described above. [Figure 6] This is a perspective view of a battery unit showing a second embodiment. [Figure 7] This is a cross-sectional view of the same battery unit. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The first embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 5.

[0010] Figures 1 and 2 show the lighting device 10. The lighting device 10 is installed on a surface such as a ceiling and is a disaster prevention combined lighting device that uses both a regular light and an emergency light. In the following description, the lighting device 10 will be described as being installed on a ceiling, with the front side in the direction of light irradiation being the lower side and the back side opposite the direction of light irradiation being the upper side.

[0011] The lighting device 10 comprises a long fixture body 11, a main light source 12 which is a normal light source detachably attached to one end of the fixture body 11 in the longitudinal direction, an emergency light source 13 which is an emergency light attached to the other end of the fixture body 11 in the longitudinal direction, and a terminal block 14, a power supply unit 15, an emergency battery unit 16, etc., which are located on the fixture body 11 between the fixture body 11 and the main light source 12.

[0012] The fixture body 11 is made of metal, which is a magnetic material to which magnets can be attracted by magnetic force. The fixture body 11 comprises an upper surface 20 which is the mounting surface to the ceiling, side surfaces 21 arranged on both sides in the short direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the upper surface 20, and end surfaces 22 arranged on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the upper surface 20. The fixture body 11 has an elongated opening 23 on the lower side between the side surfaces 21 on both sides and the end surfaces 22 on both ends, facing the upper surface 20, and an elongated recess 24 which opens on the lower side is formed inside the fixture body 11. The upper surface 20, side surfaces 21, and end surfaces 22 are adjacent to each other at approximately right angles. The opening 23 and recess 24 are opened to correspond to the mounting area of ​​the detachable main light source 12, except for the mounting area of ​​the emergency light source 13.

[0013] A wiring hole 25 is provided near the center of the longitudinal direction of the upper surface 20 through which a power line supplying external power, which is AC power from a commercial AC power source, is inserted. In addition, multiple mounting holes 26 are provided near both ends of the longitudinal direction of the upper surface 20 for attachment to the ceiling surface using suspension bolts, screws, etc.

[0014] Furthermore, the main light source 12 is provided in a long length and comprises a chassis, a light source module located on the underside of the chassis, and a translucent cover 29 that covers the light source module and is attached to the chassis. The light source module is constructed by mounting multiple light-emitting elements, such as LEDs, on a long substrate. Wiring electrically connected to the light source module is brought out to the upper side of the chassis and electrically connected to the power supply unit 15 when the main light source 12 is installed on the fixture body 11.

[0015] The main light source 12 is detachably attached to the opening side of the recess 24 of the fixture body 11. A pair of mounting springs, for example, made of torsion springs, are attached to the upper surface of the chassis of the main light source 12 near both ends in the longitudinal direction, and a pair of spring receiving members 30, which are the main light source mounting parts that engage with the mounting springs, are attached to the recess 24 of the fixture body 11 near both ends in the longitudinal direction. When attaching the main light source 12 to the fixture body 11, the pair of mounting springs are hooked onto the pair of spring receiving members 30, thereby suspending and supporting the main light source 12 below the fixture body 11. In this state, electrical connection and disconnection between the main light source 12 and the power supply unit 15 is possible, and by pushing the suspended main light source 12 toward the fixture body 11, the spring force of the mounting springs pulls the main light source 12 up and attaches it to the fixture body 11.

[0016] Here, in Figure 2, the arrangement of each component in the recess 24 of the fixture body 11 will be explained as follows: In the central region of the fixture body 11, a terminal block 14 is located on one end of the longitudinal direction relative to the wiring hole 25, and a power supply unit 15 is located on the other end. A pair of spring receiving members 30 are located on the end side of the fixture body 11, further than the terminal block 14 and power supply unit 15, and further than the pair of mounting holes 26. A battery unit 16 is located on the end side of the fixture body 11 opposite to the emergency light source 13.

[0017] In addition, the emergency light source 13 includes a housing 33 attached to the appliance main body 11, a light source unit 34 disposed on the lower surface side of the housing 33, and an emergency power supply unit disposed in the housing 33. The light source unit 34 has a light emitting element such as an LED, for example, and a lens that emits the light of the light emitting element with a predetermined light distribution. The emergency power supply unit is electrically connected to the terminal block 14 and the battery unit 16, respectively, by wiring disposed in the recess 24 of the appliance main body 11. The emergency power supply unit charges the battery unit 16 when external power is supplied through the terminal block 14, and lights the light source unit 34 with the power of the battery unit 16 during a power outage when external power is interrupted. The emergency power supply unit has an inspection function for inspecting the battery unit 16 and the like. In the inspection function, the light source unit 34 is lit with the power of the battery unit 16, and the power of the battery unit 16 is discharged for a predetermined inspection time. The voltage of the battery unit 16 is detected, and by comparing the detected voltage of the battery unit 16 with a predetermined threshold value, abnormalities such as normal or deteriorated conditions of the battery unit 16 are determined.

[0018] Also, a power cord drawn into the recess 24 through the wiring hole 25 of the appliance main body 11 is electrically connected to the terminal block 14. Further, the terminal block 14 is electrically connected to the power supply unit 15 and the emergency power supply unit of the emergency light source 13, respectively, by wiring disposed in the recess 24 of the appliance main body 11.

[0019] Also, the power supply unit 15 converts the external power supplied through the terminal block 14 into a predetermined lighting power and supplies it to the main light source 12 to light the main light source 12. Note that the power supply unit 15 may be disposed on the main light source 12. <U+

[0020] Also, the battery unit 16 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The battery unit 16 includes a battery 40, a case 41 that houses the battery 40, magnets 42 and 43 for attachment to the appliance main body 11, and the like.

[0021] The battery 40 is composed of a battery pack that integrates multiple cylindrical cell elements 44 by electrically connecting these cell elements 44 in series. The cell elements 44 are rechargeable secondary batteries such as nickel-metal hydride batteries or lithium-ion batteries, and have a positive terminal on one end face in the axial direction and a negative terminal on the other end face. For example, four cell elements 37 are arranged in parallel with their positive and negative terminals facing opposite directions, and a conductive connecting plate 45 is welded to the positive terminal of one adjacent cell element 44 and the negative terminal of the other cell element 44, thereby connecting multiple cell elements 44 in series. A pair of terminals 46 are welded to the positive and negative terminals of the cell elements 44 at one end where the connecting plate 45 is not connected, and are electrically connected. Wiring with connectors at the ends is electrically connected to the pair of terminals 46. The connector of the wiring connected to the battery 40 is electrically connected to the connector of the wiring from the emergency power supply unit of the emergency light source 13.

[0022] The case 41 is made of a magnetic metal and has a case portion 47 that covers the circumferential surface of the battery 40 and cover portions 48 that cover both end faces. The case 41 has a flat portion 49 with the largest area corresponding to the surface where the multiple elementary cells 44 of the battery 40 are lined up.

[0023] The magnet 42 is made of a sheet-like magnetic sheet and is placed between the surface where multiple elementary cells 44 of the battery 40 are arranged and one of the flat surfaces 49 of the case 41, so that it can be attracted and held by magnetic force to the device body 11, which is a magnetic material to which the outer surface of the flat surface 49 comes into contact.

[0024] Multiple magnets 43 are button-shaped magnets with one side facing south and the other side facing north. The magnets 43 are positioned between the end face opposite the end face where the terminals 46 of the battery 40 are located and the cover portion 48, and are able to be attracted and held by magnetic force to the device body 11, which is a magnetic material that the outer surface of the cover portion 48 contacts. Multiple magnets 43 are arranged with their same poles, for example, the north poles facing the cover portion 48. An insulating plate 50 is interposed between the battery 40 and the magnets 43 to provide electrical insulation.

[0025] Next, Figure 5 shows an example of the arrangement of the battery unit 16.

[0026] In the example shown in Figure 5(a), the battery unit 16 is attached to the upper surface 20 of the device body 11. By placing the flat surface 49 on which the sheet-shaped magnet 42 of the battery unit 16 is located in contact with the upper surface 20, the battery unit 16 is attracted and held to the upper surface 20 by the magnetic force of the magnet 42. Because the seed-shaped magnet 42 has a large surface area, the magnet 42 alone can exert sufficient attractive force to the device body 11. Furthermore, when replacing the battery unit 16, it can be removed by pulling it away from the upper surface 20 of the device body 20 against the magnetic force of the magnet 42.

[0027] In the example shown in Figure 5(b), the battery unit 16 is attached to two surfaces of the device body 11: the top surface 20 and the side surface 21. By placing the flat surface 49 on which the sheet-shaped magnet 42 of the battery unit 16 is located in contact with the side surface 21 of the device body 11, the battery unit 16 is attracted and held to the side surface 21 by the magnetic force of the sheet-shaped magnet 42. Furthermore, by placing the cover surface 48 on which the button-shaped magnet 43 of the battery unit 16 is located in contact with the top surface 20 of the device body 11, the battery unit 16 is attracted and held to the top surface 20 by the magnetic force of the button-shaped magnet 43. Therefore, the battery unit 16 is attached to two surfaces of the device body 11, the top surface 20 and the side surface 21, by the magnets 42 and 43, thereby increasing the fixing strength to the device body 11. This makes it possible to accommodate even large and heavy batteries 40. Furthermore, when replacing the battery unit 16, it can be removed by pulling it away from the side portion 21 and top portion 20 of the device body 20 against the magnetic force of the magnets 42 and 43.

[0028] In the example shown in Figure 5(c), the battery unit 16 is attached to two surfaces of the device body 11: the side surface 21 and the end surface 22. By placing the flat surface 49 on which the sheet-shaped magnet 42 of the battery unit 16 is located in contact with the side surface 21 of the device body 11, the battery unit 16 is attracted and held to the side surface 21 by the magnetic force of the sheet-shaped magnet 42. Furthermore, by placing the cover surface 48 on which the button-shaped magnet 43 of the battery unit 16 is located in contact with the end surface 22 of the device body 11, the battery unit 16 is attracted and held to the end surface 22 by the magnetic force of the button-shaped magnet 43. Therefore, the battery unit 16 is attached to two surfaces of the device body 11, the side surface 21 and the end surface 22, by the magnets 42 and 43, thereby increasing the fixing strength to the device body 11. This makes it possible to accommodate even large and heavy batteries 40. Furthermore, when replacing the battery unit 16, it can be removed by pulling it away from the side portion 21 and end portion 22 of the device body 20 against the magnetic force of the magnets 42 and 43.

[0029] In addition, in the example shown in Figure 5(a), in addition to placing the flat portion 49 on which the sheet-shaped magnet 42 of the battery unit 16 is located on the inside in contact with the top portion 20, the cover portion 48 on which the button-shaped magnet 43 of the battery unit 16 is located on the inside in contact with the side portion 21 or end portion 22 of the device body 11, thereby attaching two sides of the battery unit 16 to the device body 11 and increasing the fixing strength.

[0030] Furthermore, the battery unit 16 can be attached anywhere on the fixture body 11 as long as there is mounting space, using the magnets 42 and 43. For example, it may be attached between the terminal block 14 and the spring receiving member 30, or between the emergency light source 13 and the spring receiving member 30.

[0031] In this way, the battery unit 16 can be attached to the fixture body 11 by the magnetic force of the magnets 42 and 43, eliminating the need for tools or mounting brackets, and making it easy to attach and detach from the fixture body 11.

[0032] Since the battery unit 16 has magnets 42 and 43 on two adjacent sides, the fixing strength to the device body 11 can be increased by attaching two sides of the battery unit 16 to the device body 11.

[0033] Since the battery unit 16 is not fixed in its mounting position on the fixture body 11, but can be freely mounted, it can be placed in a spacious area on the fixture body 11 or in a location that facilitates wiring work, thereby improving the ease of installation and replacement.

[0034] Since the battery unit 16 can be attracted to the surface of the device body 11 with the magnets 42 and 43 positioned on it in contact with the surface of the device body 11, the heat generated during charging and discharging of the battery 40 can be dissipated to the device body 11 through the magnets 42 and 43, thereby suppressing the temperature rise of the battery 40.

[0035] Furthermore, the magnet in the battery unit 16 is not limited to being sheet-shaped or button-shaped; it can take any form.

[0036] Furthermore, the battery unit 16 may have magnets on at least one surface, or, for example, magnets on three adjacent surfaces.

[0037] Next, Figures 6 and 7 show the battery unit 16 of the second embodiment.

[0038] The battery unit 16 comprises a battery 40, an inner case 41 that houses the battery 40, a second magnet 60 positioned inside the case 41, an outer case or second case 61, and a first magnet 43 for attachment to the device body 11.

[0039] The battery 40 and case 41 are configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment. The second magnet 60 is a button-shaped magnet with one side facing south and the other side facing north, and multiple magnets are used. The second magnets 60 are positioned between both end faces of the battery 40 and the cover portions 48 at both ends of the case 41. Multiple second magnets 60 are positioned with their same poles, for example, the south pole facing outwards, away from the battery 40. An insulating plate 62 is interposed between the battery 40 and the second magnets 60 to provide electrical insulation. The battery body 63 is composed of the battery 40, case 41, and second magnets 60, among other components.

[0040] The case 61 comprises a thin, rectangular parallelepiped case body 64 with one side open, and a lid 65 that is detachably attached to close the opening of the case body 64. The battery body 63 is housed between the case body 64 and the lid 65. The end faces 64a of the case body 64 and 65a of the lid 65 are positioned opposite each other, and the battery body 63 is movably housed between these end faces 64a and 65a. The distance between the end faces 64a and 65a of the case 61 and the battery body 63 is wider than the distance between the side of the case 61 and the side of the battery body 63.

[0041] Multiple magnets 43 are arranged on the end faces 64a of the case body 64 and 65a of the lid 65, which are the ends of the case 61. Each magnet 43 is positioned opposite each second magnet 60 of the battery body 63, and is positioned with a polarity that repels the second magnet 60, that is, with the same south pole opposite the south pole that faces outward from the second magnet 60.

[0042] The magnet 43, which is positioned on the end face 64a of the case body 64, is attached to a mounting plate 66 made of a magnetic metal. The mounting plate 66 is attached to the end face 64a of the case body 64, and the magnet 43 is positioned in a hole 67 provided in the end face 64a.

[0043] The magnet 43, positioned on the end face 65a of the cover 65, is attached to the inner surface of the end face 65a of the cover 65. In the center of the end face 65a of the cover 65, there is an exit hole 69 for bringing out wiring 68 connected to a pair of terminals 46. A connector 70 is connected to the end of the wiring 68.

[0044] Then, by placing the mounting plate 66 in contact with either the top surface 20, side surface 21, or end surface 22 of the fixture body 11, the battery unit 16 is attracted and held to the fixture body 11 by the magnetic force of the magnet 43.

[0045] The battery body 63 housed in the case 61 is held in a floating state within the case 61 because the second magnets 60 positioned at both ends of the battery body 63 repel the magnets 43 positioned at both ends of the case 61. Therefore, regardless of the orientation in which the battery unit 16 is positioned relative to the device body 11 (vertical, horizontal, etc.), it is held in a floating state within the case 61, protecting the battery 40, connection plate 45, and terminals 46 from external shocks and vibrations. In addition, a gap is secured between the terminals 46 and the end face 65a of the cover 65, making it easy to pull out the wiring 68 connected to the terminals 46 through the pull-out hole 69, and also protecting the wiring 68.

[0046] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 10 Lighting devices 11. Main body of the device 16 Battery Unit 40 batteries 41 cases 42,43 Magnets 60 Second Magnet 61 cases

Claims

1. A battery unit that is attached to the main body of a lighting fixture, Battery and; A case for housing the aforementioned battery; A magnet is placed on at least one side of the case and is attached to the main body of the device by magnetic force; A battery unit characterized by comprising the following features.

2. The magnets are arranged on two adjacent surfaces of the case. The battery unit according to feature 1.

3. The battery is equipped with a second magnet arranged on two opposing surfaces, The aforementioned magnets are positioned on two opposing sides of the case, opposite to the second magnets which are positioned on two sides of the battery, and are positioned with polarities that repel each other from the second magnets. The battery unit according to feature 1.

4. The main body of the device and; A battery unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is attached to the main body of the device by the magnetic force of the magnet; A lighting device characterized by having the following features.

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