Battery holder
First Claim
1. A battery holder adapted to hold at least one battery cell, said at least one battery cell having a pair of terminals of opposite polarity, the holder comprising:
- a housing including;
an exterior wall having an access opening sized to allow said at least one battery cell to pass therethrough in a longitudinal direction;
interior support structure defining a guide channel for guiding and substantially surrounding said at least one battery cell when said at least one battery cell is within said housing;
an interior wall situated inwardly of said guide channel and providing an inner limit to longitudinal travel of said at least one battery cell along said guide channel; and
a pair of conductive contact elements mounted to said interior wall, each of said pair of contact elements adapted to be in electrical contact with a respective terminal of said at least one battery cell; and
a carrier for retaining said at least one battery cell and for covering said access opening, said carrier including;
a generally planar cover wall having an outer periphery which is complemental to the periphery of said access opening and having a pair of opposed major surfaces;
a handle secured to a first of said cover wall major surfaces;
at least one clip member secured to the other of said cover wall major surfaces, each of said at least one clip member being resilient and at least partially surrounding a respective one of said at least one battery cell to frictionally engage and retain the respective one of said at least one battery cell; and
a latch member movably mounted on said cover wall;
wherein the latch member and the housing exterior wall surrounding the access opening are formed with cooperating structure so that;
a) when the latch member is moved to a first position relative to the cover wall the carrier is free to move in and out of the access opening with the at least one battery cell moving along the guide channel so that the at least one battery cell can be inserted into or removed from the housing; and
b) when the latch member is moved to a second position relative to the cover wall the latch member and the cooperating structure of the housing exterior wall interfere to prevent the at least one battery cell from being inserted into or removed from the housing.
16 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A holder for a pair of cylindrical battery cells includes a carrier which retains the batteries in parallel side-by-side relationship and in series electrical connection. The cells are installed into a housing longitudinally and the housing is formed with guide channels for guiding and substantially surrounding the cells. At the ends of the guide channels, there are provided contact elements for electrically connecting the battery cells to circuitry. Electric shock hazard to a user is eliminated because the internal contact elements are inaccessible to the operator, even when the carrier is removed from the housing.
31 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A battery holder adapted to hold at least one battery cell, said at least one battery cell having a pair of terminals of opposite polarity, the holder comprising:
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a housing including; an exterior wall having an access opening sized to allow said at least one battery cell to pass therethrough in a longitudinal direction; interior support structure defining a guide channel for guiding and substantially surrounding said at least one battery cell when said at least one battery cell is within said housing; an interior wall situated inwardly of said guide channel and providing an inner limit to longitudinal travel of said at least one battery cell along said guide channel; and a pair of conductive contact elements mounted to said interior wall, each of said pair of contact elements adapted to be in electrical contact with a respective terminal of said at least one battery cell; and a carrier for retaining said at least one battery cell and for covering said access opening, said carrier including; a generally planar cover wall having an outer periphery which is complemental to the periphery of said access opening and having a pair of opposed major surfaces; a handle secured to a first of said cover wall major surfaces; at least one clip member secured to the other of said cover wall major surfaces, each of said at least one clip member being resilient and at least partially surrounding a respective one of said at least one battery cell to frictionally engage and retain the respective one of said at least one battery cell; and a latch member movably mounted on said cover wall; wherein the latch member and the housing exterior wall surrounding the access opening are formed with cooperating structure so that; a) when the latch member is moved to a first position relative to the cover wall the carrier is free to move in and out of the access opening with the at least one battery cell moving along the guide channel so that the at least one battery cell can be inserted into or removed from the housing; and b) when the latch member is moved to a second position relative to the cover wall the latch member and the cooperating structure of the housing exterior wall interfere to prevent the at least one battery cell from being inserted into or removed from the housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. In combination:
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circuitry powered from a power source; and a battery holder for holding at least one battery cell to supply backup power to said circuitry in the event of failure of said power source, the battery holder having internal terminals for connecting the at least one battery cell to the circuitry and a cover for attaching the at least one battery cell thereto, the cover being selectively settable into a latching state and a releasing state, wherein when the cover is in the latching state the at least one battery cell is in contact with the internal terminals and when the cover is in the releasing state the cover and the at least one battery cell are removable from the battery holder to effect replacement of the at least one battery cell while the circuitry continues to be powered from the power source.
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12. Apparatus comprising:
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circuitry for drawing power from a power source; and a battery compartment having a cover for attaching at least one battery for use to supply backup power to the circuitry, wherein the cover is used for transporting the at least one battery into and out of the battery compartment while the circuitry is drawing power from the power source, the compartment and the cover having cooperating means for restricting a user from contacting the at least one battery unless the at least one battery is out of electrical contact with the circuitry; whereby the at least one battery is replaceable without having to power-down the circuitry from the power source and electric shock hazard to the user is avoided.
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Specification