Battery cartridge with hollow case of minimum weight and dimensions

Claim 2

A battery for use with a portable apparatus, comprising a plurality of cells electrically connected in predetermined electrical relation, and providing two electrode terminals of the battery; a case for said cells, consisting of a hollow shell of two cofitting and mating parts having their internal surfaces shaped to fittingly engage and hold said cells in place; said case having two windows for access from outside the case to said two electrode terminals of said battery, within said case, for engagement by two external circuit electrode terminals correspondingly positioned on an external apparatus to be serviced by said battery; and means on said case to cooperate with a predesigned element of said apparatus for requiring the case to be properly positioned and also preventing the case from being improperly positioned in movement to its operating position relative to said apparatus, to assure proper engagement of said internal battery electrode terminals and said external circuit electrode terminals, whereby proper circuit connections will be made between said battery and the circuitry of said apparatus when the battery case is inserted to its operating position on said apparatus.

Claim 3

A battery for use with a portable apparatus, comprising a plurality of cells electrically connected in predetermined electrical relation, and providing two electrode terminals of the battery; a case for said cells, consisting of a hollow shell of two cofitting and mating parts having their internal surfaces shaped to fittingly engage and hold said cells in place; said case having two windows for access from outside the case to said two electrode terminals of said battery, within said case, for engagement by two external circuit electrode terminals correspondingly positioned on an external apparatus to be serviced by said battery; and means on said case to cooperate with a predesigned element of said apparatus for requiring the case to be properly positioned and also preventing the case from being improperly positioned in movement to its operating position relative to said apparatus, to assure proper engagement of said internal battery electrode terminals and said external circuit electrode terminals, whereby proper circuit connections will be made between said battery and the circuitry of said apparatus when the battery case is inserted to its operating position on said apparatus.

Claim 4

A battery for use with a portable apparatus, comprising a plurality of cells electrically connected in predetermined electrical relation, and providing two electrode terminals of the battery; a case for said cells, consisting of a hollow shell of two cofitting and mating parts having their internal surfaces shaped to fittingly engage and hold said cells in place; said case having two windows for access from outside the case to said two electrode terminals of said battery, within said case, for engagement by two external circuit electrode terminals correspondingly positioned on an external apparatus to be serviced by said battery; and means on said case to cooperate with a predesigned element of said apparatus for requiring the case to be properly positioned and also preventing the case from being improperly positioned in movement to its operating position relative to said apparatus, to assure proper engagement of said internal battery electrode terminals and said external circuit electrode terminals, whereby proper circuit connections will be made between said battery and the circuitry of said apparatus when the battery case is inserted to its operating position on said apparatus.

Claim 5

A battery, as in claim 1, in which said case has one side edge shaped to serve as a pilot guide to properly mate with and be guided by an element of said external apparatus, to thereby assure that the battery case is being properly inserted into said appartus.

Claim 6

A battery, as in claim 1, in which said two windows are situated non-symmetrically spaced transversely from a central axial, on said case, parallel to the direction of movement predesigned for said battery case into said apparatus to be serviced by said battery.

Claim 7

A hollow shell battery case, as in claim 1, designed and molded to be of minimum dimension and weight, comprising a base or platform shell having a floor shaped to embody a plurality of parallel grooves to accommodate a plurality of cylindrical electric cells of predetermined size in closely spaced parallel separation, with the thickness of the floor, at the bottom of each groove, being relatively of minimum self-sustaining dimension that is too small as a thickness space dimension in the forming mold to permit free longitudinal flow of fluid plastic along the length of each groove during the molding operation; and integrally molded parallel spacers between said grooves to keep the cell bodies insulatingly spaced, the spaces for said spacers in the molding operation being of sufficient sectional dimensions to serve as runners to permit free longitudinal flow of fluid plastic during the molding operation, with lateral flow possible from said runner spaces through the short path to said thin floor space in the mold for forming the floor of each groove; and end walls to limit and close the ends of said grooves and to serve as reinforcement to the thin floors at the bottom of each groove; and a cover plate to cover and close said shell; whereby said case is of minimum thickness, of minimum body material volume, and of minimum weight, to serve as a compact cartridge and assembly of a multi-cell battery, ready for immediate insertion as a cartridge into an apparatus to be energized from said battery.

Claim 8

A battery case, as in claim 4, to be of minimum possible weight, in which said cover is provided with shallow flutes in its inner surface above the respective grooves in the base shell, to cup and nestle each of the cells in cooperation with the grooves, to hold the cells in place against casual displacement in said case.

Claim 9

A battery case, as in claim 4, in which said platform shell is of relatively shallow cup shape with vertical side walls and end walls, and one end wall has two openings for accessibility from outside the case to the inside of the case; and means constituting polar electrodes of the battery disposed within said shell directly adjacent said openings for engagement by an external circuit terminal of an external circuit for electrically connecting to said battery.

Claim 10

A battery case, as in claim 1, in which co-fitting pilot ribs and recesses are formed on the top edges of the walls of the respective parts of the shell, and on the under surface of the cover plate adjacent its edges, for controlling proper closure fit of the cover on the shell bottom for final sealing of the two parts of the case.

Claim 11

A battery, as in claim 1, in which said two electrode terminals of the battery are entirely within the case and accessible only through said windows.

Claim 12

A battery for use, as in claim 1, in which a contact element within said case and behind one of said windows, to be engaged by an external circuit terminal.

Claim 13

A battery, as in claim 9, in which said contact element consists of a metallic strip electrically connected to a terminal cell of the battery and is disposed to present a contact area under one of said windows, to be accessible for engagement by an external circuit terminal.

Claim 14

A battery, as in claim 10, in which said metallic strip has inherent resiliency to provide reaction pressure against an applied external terminal to establish desirable resilient contact pressure.

Claim 15

A battery, as in claim 11, in which the case structure embodies an integral element to support and back stop said contact element in line with said access window.

Claim 16

A battery, as in claim 11, in which said metallic element is anchored at one end to a terminal cell; and said case embodies co-acting integral elements that anchor the other end of said metallic strip to prevent any shifting movement of the strip from redetermined operative position.