Battery pack

1. A battery having a height, a width, a length, top and bottom surfaces substantially perpendicular to a height direction, first and second side surfaces disposed between said top and bottom surfaces, and front and rear end surfaces disposed between said top and bottom surfaces and also disposed between said first and second side surfaces, said battery comprising:

a terminal area provided at a junction of the front end surface and the bottom surface and having a first surface raised from the front end surface in a length direction of the battery and a second surface offset from the bottom surface in a direction of the top surface in the height direction, the terminal area being disposed at a position biased to one side with respect to a first center line extending in a width direction and centered in the height direction on the front end surface and the terminal area being further biased to one side with respect to a second center line extending in the height direction and centered in the width direction on the front end surface, and wherein the first surface of the terminal area is an outermost surface of the battery in the length direction;

a first concave portion stretching between the first side surface and the bottom surface are formed on the front end surface; and

a second concave portion stretching between the second side surface and the bottom surface and formed on the front end surface,

wherein:

the terminal area has a plurality of inside slits and a plurality of outside slits located at opposite ends of the inside slits in the width direction, the plurality of inside slits comprising a negative terminal, a control terminal, and a positive terminal in this order from the first center line in the width direction, the outside slits being formed wider in the width direction and larger in the height direction than the inside slits, the outside slits being configured to engage with guide protrusions at a bottom face of a battery housing of an apparatus when the battery is housed in the battery housing;

the terminal area is separated from the first and second concave portions by the front end surface in the width direction;

a depth of the first concave portion in the length direction closer to the terminal area in the width direction is shallower than a depth of the second concave portion in the length direction further from the terminal area in the width direction;

the depth of the second concave portion in the length direction is larger than a distance in the length direction that the first surface of the terminal area is raised from the front end surface;

the height of the battery is smaller than the width and the length of the battery; and

the width of the battery is smaller the length of the battery.

2. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein:

corners formed by the first and second side surfaces and the bottom surface are chamfered;

corners formed by the first and second side surfaces and the top surface are rounded; and

the first and second concave portions are opened to the chamfered corners.

3. The battery according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a first beveled portion formed at a corner portion formed by the front end surface, the top surface and the bottom surface; and

a second beveled portion formed at a corner portion formed by a rear end surface, the top surface and the bottom surface,

wherein the second beveled portion is smaller than the first beveled portion.

4. The battery according to claim 1 , further comprising:

first beveled portions at corner portions formed by the first and second side surfaces and the bottom surface; and

second beveled portions at corner portions formed by the first and second side surfaces and the top surface,

wherein the first beveled portions and the second beveled portions are differently shaped.

5. The battery according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a battery case formed by half cases,

wherein:

the half cases are configured to meet parallel to the top surface and the bottom surface; and

one of the half cases is matte finished.

6. The battery according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a battery case formed by half cases,

wherein:

the half cases are configured to meet parallel to the top surface and the bottom surface; and

the half case having the bottom surface includes the concave portions and the inside and outside slits.

7. The battery according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a battery case formed by

a bottom side case including the whole bottom surface; and

a top side case including the whole top surface,

wherein the first and second concave portions are formed on the bottom side case.

8. The battery according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a first base surface formed in a first outside slit, of the plurality of outside slits, parallel to the front and rear end surfaces;

a second base surface in the first concave portion parallel to the front and rear end surfaces; wherein

a position of the second base surface in the first concave portion in the length direction is closer to the front end surface than a position of the first base surface in the length direction.

9. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein:

each of the first and second concave portions is of trapezoidal shape and has a short side and a long side viewed from the length direction, wherein said short side and said long side extend in the height direction;

a long side of the first concave portion is closer to the terminal area than a short side of the first concave portion; and

a long side of the second concave portion is closer to the terminal area than a short side of the second concave portion.

10. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein:

each of the first and second concave portions has a trapezoidal shape and has a standing wall parallel to the top and bottom surfaces; and

a position of each of said standing walls in the height direction is overlapped with the terminal area in the height direction and is not overlapped with the plurality of outside slits in the height direction.

11. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein:

a part of the front end surface located between the terminal area and the second concave portion is configured to contact an ejection spring provided on the bottom face of the battery housing of the apparatus when the battery is housed in the battery housing.

12. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the terminal area comprises a terminal portion and upright walls.

13. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second concave portions are for discrimination between the battery and a DC plate connected with an AC adapter that converts AC power into DC power.

14. The battery according to claim 1 , further comprising:

an insertion direction display portion formed on the top surface.

15. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the battery is configured to supply power to an imaging apparatus.

16. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the battery is configured to be received in a battery loading portion of an imaging apparatus.

17. An imaging apparatus comprising:

a battery housing; and

a battery comprising:

a height;

a width;

a length;

top and bottom surfaces substantially perpendicular to a height direction of the battery;

first and second side surfaces disposed between said top and bottom surfaces;

front and rear end surfaces disposed between said top and bottom surfaces and also disposed between said first and second side surfaces;

a terminal area provided at a junction of the front end surface and the bottom surface and having a first surface raised from the front end surface in a length direction of the battery and a second surface offset from the bottom surface in a direction of the top surface in the height direction, the terminal area being disposed at a position biased to one side with respect to a first center line extending in a width direction and centered in the height direction on the front end surface and the terminal area being further biased to one side with respect to a second center line extending in the height direction and centered in the width direction on the front end surface, and wherein the first surface of the terminal area is an outermost surface of the battery in the length direction;

a first concave portion stretching between the first side surface and the bottom surface and formed on the front end surface; and

a second concave portion stretching between the second side surface and the bottom surface and formed on the front end surface,

wherein

the terminal area has a plurality of inside slits and a plurality of outside slits located at opposite ends of the inside slits in the width direction, the plurality of inside slits comprising a negative terminal, a control terminal, and a positive terminal in this order from the first center line in the width direction, the outside slits being formed wider in the width direction and larger in the height direction than the inside slits, the outside slits being configured to engage with guide protrusions at a bottom face of a battery housing of an apparatus when the battery is housed in the battery housing;

the terminal area is separated from the first and second concave portions by the front end surface in the width direction;

a depth of the first concave portion in the length direction closer to the terminal area in the width direction is shallower than a depth of the second concave portion in the length direction further from the terminal area in the width direction;

a depth of the second concave portion in the length direction is larger than a distance in the length direction that the first surface of the terminal area is raised from the front end surface;

the height of the battery is smaller than the width and the length of the battery; and

the width of the battery is smaller the length of the battery.

18. The imaging apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the battery housing comprises:

a guide protrusion formed on a bottom face of the battery housing, wherein the guide protrusion is positioned to engage with a first outside slit of the plurality of outside slits when the battery is housed in the battery housing.

19. The imaging apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the battery housing comprises:

first chamfered corner positioned to correspond, when the battery is housed in the battery housing, to second chamfered corners formed at intersections of the first and second side surfaces and the bottom surface of the battery.