Patent Publication Number: US-2011052967-A1

Title: Cableless battery connection system

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The disclosure relates to motor vehicle battery systems and more particularly to interconnecting individual batteries in multiple battery systems. 
     2. Background Description 
     Battery based starter systems for heavy duty trucks often rely on the connection of three or four batteries in parallel to supply the current drawn by a twelve volt direct current starter motor. The starter motor draws so much current due to the substantial displacement and high compression of the vehicles&#39; diesel engines. Twenty-four volt systems usually employ two twelve volt automotive type batteries connected in series. Whichever system is used, connection of the batteries to one another has typically been done by using jumper cables connected between battery terminals. For a truck having a twelve volt starting system and using four parallel connected batteries, this has meant using six jumper cables, three for connecting the positive terminals to one another and three for connecting the negative terminals to one another. Given that there are typically two battery cables for connecting the positive and negative terminals of one battery to the vehicle&#39;s starter system and possibly another battery cable for connecting one negative terminal of a battery to the frame of the vehicle to ground it, the presence of so many cables has the latent possibility of promoting a mistake in connection of one or more batteries. 
     SUMMARY 
     A battery for a motor vehicle electrical system application includes a first pair of terminal connectors including a positive and a negative terminal connector and a second pair of terminal connectors including a positive and a negative terminal connector. The positive and negative terminal connectors of the first pair of terminal connectors are sized and shaped for mating with the positive and negative terminal connectors of the second pair of terminal connectors, allowing the battery to coupled by like polarity terminals to a second like battery. This allows arrays of batteries to be built in parallel electrical connection and in physically close proximity without the use of jumper cables. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a truck. 
         FIGS. 2A  and B are front and back views of a battery having front and rear side terminals. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of a battery having front and rear side terminals. 
         FIG. 4  is a possible configuration of an array of batteries constructed from the battery type of  FIGS. 2A-B  and  FIG. 3  and connected in parallel for use in a truck electrical system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a truck  101  is shown. Truck  101  has a vehicle electrical system which includes an array of batteries. The array of batteries may be located in a battery box  102  is installed on a frame rail  103  of the vehicle  101 , just forward from rear wheels  104 . The array of batteries in battery box  102  is electrically connected to a vehicle electrical system which includes an engine starter system. 
       FIGS. 2A-B  and  FIG. 3  illustrate a battery  200 . Lead acid automotive batteries have usually been constructed with a pair of external terminal connectors. The pair of terminal connectors have been located on the top of the battery or along one side. Battery  200  has pairs of positive and negative side terminal connectors (including front side terminal connectors  201 ,  202  and rear side terminal connectors  203 ,  204 ) on each of two opposed sides, here arbitrarily defined as a front side  208  and a rear side  210 . The front side  208  has post type terminals including a positive male terminal connector  201  and a negative male terminal connector  202 , which are outwardly projecting frusto-conical elements. The rear side  210  is equipped with recessed terminals including a positive female terminal connector  203  and a negative female terminal connector  204 , which are shaped, spaced and located on the rear side to be mated with the positive male and negative male terminal connectors  201 ,  202  of a second battery  200  when two batteries are positioned side by side with rear and front sides proximate to each other. Put another way, the positive terminal connectors  201  and  203  are located aligned on one another from back to front of the battery  200 . The negative terminal connectors  202  and  204  are similarly aligned. The positive terminal connectors  201 ,  203  of a battery  200  are internally connected by conductors  301 ,  302  to one another, as are the negative terminal connectors  202 ,  204 . The female terminal connectors  203 ,  204  may be spring  205  loaded to urge the surface of the female terminal connectors into solid electrical contact with the surfaces of the male terminal connectors  201 ,  202 . The female terminal connectors  203 ,  204  are joined to the case  207  forming an outer wall for battery  200  by pliable circular seals  206  set around the open end of the terminal connectors adjacent the wall. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a system or array  400  of batteries  200 A,  200 B,  200 C and  200 D is illustrated with the batteries places front to back to connect the batteries in parallel to supply a vehicle electrical system including a starter system  407 . The positive male and negative male terminal connectors  201 ,  202  of the final battery  200 D in the array  400  are connected by battery cables  401 ,  402 , respectively to the starter system  407 . The negative female terminal connector  204  of the first battery  200 A in the array  400  is connected electrically to the vehicle chassis or other local ground by a conductor or battery cable  408 . Starter system has a ground conductor  409  connected to an engine ground. Array  400  is held together by a clamping system  410 . The number of batteries in the array  400  is limited only by the size of the battery box and clamping system it is used with. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Table of Reference Numerals 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 101 
                 Truck 
               
               
                 102 
                 Battery Box 
               
               
                 103 
                 Frame Rail 
               
               
                 104 
                 Rear Wheels 
               
               
                 200 
                 Battery 
               
               
                 201 
                 Positive F.S. Terminal Connector 
               
               
                 202 
                 Negative F.S. Terminal Connector 
               
               
                 203 
                 Positive R.S. Terminal Connector 
               
               
                 204 
                 Negative R.S. Terminal Connector 
               
               
                 205 
                 Spring 
               
               
                 206 
                 Seal 
               
               
                 207 
                 Case 
               
               
                 208 
                 Front Side (of Battery) 
               
               
                 210 
                 Rear Side 
               
               
                 301 
                 Conductor 
               
               
                 302 
                 Conductor 
               
               
                 400 
                 Array (of Batteries) 
               
               
                 401, 402 
                 Battery Cables 
               
               
                 407 
                 Starter System 
               
               
                 408 
                 Ground Conductor 
               
               
                 409 
                 Ground Conductor 
               
               
                 410 
                 Clamping System