Patent ID: 8227102
Filing Date: 2012-07-24
Classification: H01M,Y02E

Abstract:
1. A battery tray, comprising: a battery tray body extending along a lengthwise axis in a lengthwise direction, a widthwise axis in a widthwise direction and a heightwise axis in a heightwise direction, the lengthwise axis, the widthwise axis and the heightwise axis interconnecting perpendicularly with one another at a common point to form a conventional Cartesian coordinate system, the, heightwise axis and the lengthwise axis defining a heightwise-lengthwise plane, the battery tray body having a bottom wall panel extending in the widthwise direction and in the lengthwise direction terminating in opposing bottom wall panel edges spanning the widthwise direction, a pair of side wall panels disposed apart from and extending parallel to one another and connected to the bottom wall panel to extend in the lengthwise and heightwise directions to form a channel with the bottom wall panel, each side wall panel having a side wall top edge extending in the lengthwise direction and a side wall end edge connected to the side wall top edge and the bottom wall panel and extending in the heightwise direction, and a middle wall panel disposed in the channel and connected to and between the pair of side wall panels and to the bottom wall panel to form a forward battery accommodation space and a rearward battery accommodation space disposed on opposing sides of the middle wall panel with the pair of side wall panels and the bottom wall panel, the middle wall panel having a middle wall top edge spanning the widthwise direction, the forward battery accommodation space having a first forward accommodation space unobstructed opening and a second forward accommodation space unobstructed opening oriented generally perpendicularly to one another as viewed in the heightwise-lengthwise plane and intersecting one another along a forward intersection line extending in the widthwise direction, the rearward battery accommodation space having a first rearward accommodation space unobstructed opening and a second rearward accommodation space unobstructed opening oriented generally perpendicularly to one another as viewed in the heightwise-lengthwise plane and intersecting one another along a forward intersection line extending in the widthwise direction, each one of the first forward accommodation space unobstructed opening and first rearward accommodation space unobstructed opening is defined by the side wall end edges, and a respective one of the bottom wall panel edges and a respective one of the forward and rearward intersection lines and each one of the second forward accommodation space unobstructed opening and second rearward accommodation space unobstructed opening is defined by the side wall top edges, the middle wall top edge and a respective one of the forward and rearward intersection lines; a pair of tray side terminal assemblies connected to the middle wall panel, one of the pair of tray side terminal assemblies having at least one rigid terminal projecting from the middle wall panel in the lengthwise direction and directed towards the first forward accommodation space unobstructed opening into the forward battery accommodation space and a remaining one of the pair of tray side terminal assemblies having at least one rigid terminal projecting from the middle wall panel in the lengthwise direction and directed towards the first rearward accommodation space unobstructed opening disposed opposite the first forward accommodation space unobstructed opening and into the rearward battery accommodation space.