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EP-4736267-A1 - BATTERY POLE CONNECTOR

EP4736267A1EP 4736267 A1EP4736267 A1EP 4736267A1EP-4736267-A1

Abstract

There is provided a battery pole connector for providing an electrical connection between a battery pole and a circuit board, the battery pole connector comprising: a soldering portion having a flat soldering surface for attachment to the circuit board and a lifting surface opposite the flat soldering surface for application of a suction pressure by a suction cup, and a pole connecting portion for providing electrical contact to the battery pole; wherein the soldering portion is provided with at least one projection for insertion into an opening of the circuit board, the projection protruding from the flat soldering surface, the projection comprising: a displaced section arranged at a distance from the flat soldering surface, and a wall section protruding from the soldering portion and connecting the soldering portion to an outer edge of the displaced section.

Inventors

  • MÅRTENSSON, Henrik

Assignees

  • Verisure Sàrl

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240626

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A battery pole connector (100) for providing an electrical connection between a battery pole and a circuit board (200), the battery pole connector (100) comprising: a soldering portion (101) having a flat soldering surface (103) for attachment to the circuit board (200) and a lifting surface (107) opposite the flat soldering surface (103) for application of a suction pressure by a suction cup, and a pole connecting portion (102) for providing electrical contact to the battery pole, the pole connecting portion (102) comprising a spring (501) extending away from the soldering portion (101); wherein the soldering portion (101) is provided with at least one projection (104) for insertion into an opening (201) of the circuit board (200), the projection (104) protruding from the flat soldering surface (103), the projection (104) comprising: a displaced section (106) arranged at a distance from the flat soldering surface (103), and a wall section (105) protruding from the soldering portion (101) and connecting the soldering portion (101) to an outer edge of the displaced section (106).
  2. 2. The battery pole connector (100) according to claim 1 , wherein the spring (501) extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the projection (104), and/or is positioned to be substantially non-overlapping with the soldering portion.
  3. 3. The battery pole connector (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the soldering portion (101) comprises one or more arms (504) extending from the soldering portion (101) towards a free end of the spring (501).
  4. 4. The battery pole connector (100) according to claim 3, wherein the arms (504) extend, in the direction of the spring (501), past a centre of gravity of the battery pole connector (100).
  5. 5. The battery pole connector (100) according to any preceding claim, wherein the soldering portion (101) is provided with one or more counterweights (601) arranged on an opposite side of the projection (104) compared to a free end of the spring (501).
  6. 6. The battery pole connector (100) according to claim 5, wherein the battery pole connector (100) has a centre of gravity within the lifting surface (107) and/or the flat soldering surface (103).
  7. 7. The battery pole connector (100) according to any preceding claim, wherein the pole connecting portion (102) comprises one or more support structures (604) having a surface in the same plane as the flat soldering surface (103), such that, when placed on an even surface, both the flat soldering surface (103) and the one or more structures of the pole connecting portion (102) can simultaneously rest on the even surface.
  8. 8. The battery pole connector (100) according to claim 7, wherein the support structures (604) are arranged on the same side of the centre of gravity of the battery pole connector (100) as a free end of the spring (501).
  9. 9. The battery pole connector (100) according to any preceding claim, wherein the pole connecting portion (102) comprises an alignment structure (702) for interaction with an edge of the circuit board (200), wherein the alignment structure (702) extends in a plane perpendicular to the flat soldering surface (103), wherein a first end (705) of the alignment structure (702) is arranged at a side of the flat soldering surface (103) provided with the projection (104), wherein a width of the alignment structure (702), in a direction parallel to the plane, decreases towards the first end (705).
  10. 10. A battery pole connector (100) for providing an electrical connection between a battery pole and a circuit board (200), the battery pole connector (100) comprising: a soldering portion (101) having a flat soldering surface (103) for attachment to the circuit board (200) and a lifting surface (107) opposite the flat soldering surface (103) for application of a suction pressure by a suction cup, a pole connecting portion (102) for providing electrical contact to the battery pole, wherein the soldering portion (101) is provided with at least one projection (104) for insertion into an opening (201) of the circuit board (200), the projection (104) protruding from the flat soldering surface (103), the projection (104) comprising: a displaced section (106) arranged at a distance from the flat soldering surface (103), and a wall section (105) protruding from the soldering portion (101) and connecting the soldering portion (101) to an outer edge of the displaced section (106); wherein the pole connecting portion (102) extends at least partially away from the soldering portion (101) in a direction opposite to the projection (104).
  11. 11. The battery pole connector (100) according to claim 10, wherein the pole connecting portion (102) comprises a sheet, at least a portion of which is bent into a rounded shape.
  12. 12. The battery pole connector (100) according to claim 11, wherein the bent portion of the sheet has a shape of an arc of a circle or ellipse.
  13. 13. The battery pole connector (100) according to claim 12, wherein the arc is an arc of at least 100 degrees, optionally at least 130 degrees, optionally at least 150 degrees, optionally at least 180 degrees.
  14. 14. The battery pole connector (100) according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the arc has an angle of less than 360 degrees, optionally less than 270 degrees, optionally less than 230 degrees.
  15. 15. The battery pole connector (100) according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the arc defines a portion of the sheet that is bent at least partly on itself.
  16. 16. A circuit board (200) comprising an opening (201) for receiving a projection (104) of a battery pole connector (100), and at least one battery pole connector (100) according to any preceding claim connected to the circuit board (200) in an electrically conductive manner.
  17. 17. An alarm system device comprising: a circuit board (200) according to claim 16; and at least one battery arranged to make contact with the pole connecting portion (102) of the at least one battery pole connector (100).
  18. 18. A method of attaching a battery pole connector (100) to a circuit board (200), the method comprising: providing a battery pole connector (100) for providing an electrical connection between a battery pole and a circuit board (200), lifting the battery pole connector (100) by means of a robot applying a suction pressure to a lifting surface (107) of the battery pole connector (100), rotationally aligning, using a vision system of the robot, the battery pole connector (100) in dependence on one or more visual alignment means of the battery pole connector (100), placing a projection (104) of the battery pole connector (100) into an opening (201) of the circuit board (200), and soldering the battery pole connector (100) to the circuit board (200).
  19. 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the battery pole connector (100) comprises: a soldering portion (101) having a flat soldering surface (103) for attachment to the circuit board (200) and a lifting surface (107) for application of a suction pressure, and a pole connecting portion (102) for providing electrical contact to the battery pole; wherein the soldering portion (101) is provided with at least one projection (104) for insertion into the opening (201) of the circuit board (200), the projection (104) protruding from the flat soldering surface (103), the projection (104) comprising: a displaced section (106) arranged at a distance from the flat soldering surface (103), and a wall section (105) protruding from the soldering portion (101) and connecting the soldering portion (101) to an outer edge of the displaced section (106).
  20. 20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the visual alignment means comprises: the lifting surface (107) and/or the soldering portion (101) having two or more edges or sides that are perpendicular to each other; the lifting surface (107) and/or the soldering portion (101) having a rectangular or square shape; and/or one or more visual alignment indicators provided in or on the lifting surface (107) and/or the soldering portion (101).

Description

BATTERY POLE CONN ECTOR TECH N ICAL FI ELD The present invention relates to a battery pole connector, and more particularly to a battery pole connector for attachment to a circuit board, and a method of attaching the same. BACKG ROU N D Electrical devices often comprise a circuit board, such as a printed circuit board, provided with electronic components. When the electrical devices are battery-powered, a contact must be made between the poles of the battery and the circuit board so as to provide power from the battery to the circuit board and its electronic components. A known solution for providing contact between the poles of the battery and the circuit board is to provide the circuit board with an electrically conductive element which is configured to contact one of the poles of the battery. The electrically conductive elements are commonly soldered onto the circuit board. However, the electrically conductive elements must withstand large axial forces from the battery. To achieve a structure that is capable of withstanding such forces, known electrically conductive elements are designed in a way that makes them difficult or impossible to accurately position and attach on a circuit board using an automated process. Furthermore, soldering of the electrically conductive elements to the circuit board often needs to be performed manually. The manufacturing process thus involves manual labour leading to high manufacturing costs as well as low output and yield. Therefore, there is a need for improved electrically conductive elements, and manufacturing methods of circuit boards provided with these elements, that can overcome the above-described challenges. SU MMARY The invention is defined by the appended independent claims. Additional features and advantages of the concepts disclosed herein are set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be clear from the description, or may be learned by practice of the described technologies. The features and advantages of the concepts may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the described technologies will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosed concepts as set forth herein. According to a first aspect, there is provided a battery pole connector for providing an electrical connection between a battery pole and a circuit board, the battery pole connector comprising: a soldering portion having a flat soldering surface for attachment to the circuit board and a lifting surface opposite the flat soldering surface for application of a suction pressure by a suction cup, and a pole connecting portion for providing electrical contact to the battery pole, the pole connecting portion comprising a spring extending away from the soldering portion; wherein the soldering portion is provided with at least one projection for insertion into an opening of the circuit board, the projection protruding from the flat soldering surface, the projection comprising: a displaced section arranged at a distance from the flat soldering surface, and a wall section protruding from the soldering portion and connecting the soldering portion to an outer edge of the displaced section. The battery pole connector according to the first aspect, and in particular the projection, allows for attachment to a circuit board using surface mount technology and in particular automated surface mount technology by one or more robots. The optional positioning of the lifting surface opposite to the flat soldering surface allows the size of the battery pole connector to be reduced while still allowing it to be lifted by a robot using a suction pressure. Furthermore, the spring ensures that the battery pole connector is particularly advantageous for connection to a negative battery pole. The spring is optionally extending away from the soldering portion to allow (direct or indirect) connection with a battery which is located outside of the surface of the circuit board. The spring may alternatively extend in other directions, as long as the lifting surface remains suitable for application of a suction pressure. Preferably, the spring extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the projection, and/or is positioned to be substantially non-overlapping with the soldering portion. This is a preferred way of ensuring that the lifting surface is suitable for application of a suction pressure by a suction cup. Preferably, the soldering portion comprises one or more arms extending from the soldering portion towards a free end of the spring. The one or more arms advantageously gives the battery pole connector a larger area on which it can rest when arranged on the circuit board, thus reducing the risk of imbalance during lifting, transportation and/or soldering of the battery pole connector. Preferably, the arms e