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EP-4736268-A1 - BATTERY POLE CONNECTOR

EP4736268A1EP 4736268 A1EP4736268 A1EP 4736268A1EP-4736268-A1

Abstract

There is provided a battery pole connector for providing an electrical connection be- tween 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 pro- truding from the flat soldering surface, the projection comprising: a displaced sec- tion 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 (16)

  1. 1 . A battery pole connector (100, 800) for providing an electrical connection between a battery pole and a circuit board (200), the battery pole connector (100, 800) comprising: a soldering portion (101) having a flat soldering surface (103) for attachment to the circuit board (200); 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 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); the battery pole connector (100, 800) being characterised in that: the pole connecting portion (102) forms substantially a circular arc, and a central axis of the projection (104) substantially coincides with a centre of curvature of the circular arc.
  2. 2. The battery pole connector (100, 800) according to claim 1 , wherein the pole connecting portion (102) is substantially circular or cylindrical.
  3. 3. The battery pole connector (100, 800) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the soldering portion (101) is substantially circular and the pole connecting portion (102) extends around a circumference of the soldering portion (101).
  4. 4. The battery pole connector (100, 800) according to claim 1 , wherein the soldering portion (101) substantially forms a circular segment or a circular sector and wherein the pole connecting portion (102) extends along an edge of the soldering portion (101).
  5. 5. The battery pole connector (100, 800) according to any preceding claim, wherein the soldering portion (101) comprises a lifting surface (107) opposite the flat soldering surface (103) for application of a suction pressure by a suction cup.
  6. 6. The battery pole connector (100, 800) according to any preceding claim, wherein the pole connecting portion (102) extends at least partially away from the soldering portion (101) in a direction opposite to the projection (104).
  7. 7. The battery pole connector (100, 800) according to any preceding claim, wherein the circular arc extends at least 45 degrees, optionally at least 60 degrees, optionally at least 90 degrees, optionally at least 120 degrees, optionally at least 150 degrees, optionally at least 180 degrees, optionally at least 225 degrees, optionally at least 270 degrees, optionally substantially 360 degrees.
  8. 8. A circuit board (200) comprising an opening (201) for receiving a projection (104) of a battery pole connector (100, 800), and at least one battery pole connector (100, 800) according to any preceding claim, wherein the battery pole connector (100, 800) is attached to the circuit board (200) in an electrically conductive manner, wherein the pole connecting portion (102) of the battery pole connector (100, 800) at least partially extends past an edge of the circuit board (200).
  9. 9. An alarm system device comprising: a circuit board (200) according to claim 8; and at least one battery arranged to make contact with the pole connecting portion (102) of the at least one battery pole connector (100, 800).
  10. 10. A battery pole connector (100, 800) 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, 800) according to claim 10, wherein the pole connecting portion (102) forms substantially a circular arc, and a central axis of the projection (104) substantially coincides with a centre of curvature of the circular arc.
  12. 12. The battery pole connector (100, 800) according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the pole connecting portion (102) comprises a sheet, at least a portion of which is bent into a rounded shape, wherein optionally the bent portion of the sheet has a shape of an arc of a circle or ellipse, wherein optionally the arc defines a portion of the sheet that is bent at least partly on itself.
  13. 13. The battery pole connector (100, 800) 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; and/or the arc has an angle of less than 360 degrees, optionally less than 270 degrees, optionally less than 230 degrees.
  14. 14. A method of attaching a battery pole connector (100, 800) to a circuit board (200), the method comprising: providing a battery pole connector (100, 800) for providing an electrical connection between a battery pole and a circuit board (200), lifting the battery pole connector (100, 800) 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, 800) in dependence on one or more visual alignment means of the battery pole connector (100, 800), placing a projection (104) of the battery pole connector (100, 800) into an opening (201) of the circuit board (200), and soldering the battery pole connector (100, 800) to the circuit board (200).
  15. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the battery pole connector (100, 800) 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), wherein the pole connecting portion (102) of the battery pole connector (100, 800) forms substantially a circular arc, and a central axis of the projection (104) substantially coincides with a centre of curvature of the circular arc.
  16. 16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, 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; the battery pole connector (100, 800) having a circular edge, a straight edge, or an edge in the shape of an arc; 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 CON NECTOR 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. BACKGROU 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 ex