Abstract:
An increased capacity battery holder, which allows a device to be used for a longer time duration than can be achieved from solely internally contained batteries, capable of providing additional energy to the device, beyond internal space and volume limitations of the device, having additional battery holding capacity external to the device, with the additional battery holding capacity self contained within the battery holder. The battery holder provides maximum energy output, a portion of the battery holder being matingly removably attachable and optionally removably lockable to the device. The battery holder is safe, of simple construction, easy to install and remove therefrom the device, acts as an additional means for holding and/or handling the device, and is capable of forming an integral assembly with the device. The battery holder has means for preventing inadvertent shorting and/or reversing polarity of the batteries, and optionally recharging means for recharging the batteries.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to battery holders and more particularly to increased capacity battery holders. 
     2. Background Art 
     Devices requiring portable power sources typically have compartments for housing batteries, battery packs, or battery holders, the battery packs or battery holders having batteries therein. Energy supplied to the devices, and, thus, the time durations that the devices may perform, without battery replacement and/or battery recharging, is typically limited to the batteries that are capable of being incorporated into the compartments within the devices and the energy densities of the batteries. 
     Designers and users of the devices usually prefer the devices to be available for long time durations, with minimal recharging and minimal resultant down times. However, the users in many cases do not have any options, but to replace or to recharge the batteries, the battery holders, or the battery packs, during critical periods, as a result of insufficient battery capacity for the tasks at hand. This results in undesirable and unnecessary down times, the batteries, battery holders, or the battery packs limiting use of the devices to the energy stored in the batteries within the battery compartments, and operating the devices only for time durations allowed by the energy densities of the batteries and the volume restrictions of the compartments within the devices. 
     Removable batteries, battery packs, and battery holders may be carried or stored while not installed in the devices from time to time, giving rise to the possibility that the batteries may be inadvertently shorted or the intended polarity of one or more cells reversed, thus, damaging the devices, and/or the batteries, and/or creating other safety implications in which exposed cell contacts may be shorted or polarity reversed in potentially dangerous environments. 
     An increased capacity battery holder, which allows a device to be used for a longer time duration than can be achieved from solely internally contained batteries, without recharging, replacement of the batteries, or connection to an external power source, is necessary. The battery holder should be capable of providing additional energy to the device, beyond internal space and volume limitations of the device. The battery holder may have additional battery holding capacity external to the device, but any additional battery holding capacity should be self contained within the battery holder. The battery holder should be safe and easy to use, and provide maximum energy output, with minimal damage to the batteries, during use, installation, transportation, and storage. The battery holder should be lightweight, transportable, durable, sturdy, long lasting, easy to use and handle, a portion of the battery holder being matingly removably attachable thereto the device, and optionally removably lockable to the device. The battery holder should also be simple, effective, quickly and easily accessible, of simple construction, easy to install and remove therefrom the device, require no assembly or minimal assembly, act as an additional means for holding and/or handling the device, and should be capable of forming an integral assembly with the device one with the other. The battery holder should have means for preventing inadvertent shorting and/or reversing polarity of the batteries, and optionally recharging means for recharging the batteries. 
     Different battery holders, associated accessories, connection devices, and safety devices have heretofore been known. However, none of the battery holders, accessories, connection devices, and safety devices alone or in combination adequately satisfies these aforementioned needs. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,857 (Kaneko) discloses a camera system including a camera, and an accessory to be secured to the camera, by means of a screw to an upper surface of the accessory and a threaded hole formed on a bottom surface of the camera. A portion of the accessory inserts thereinto the camera, and another portion of the accessory has a battery therein. At least first and second circuits are respectively provided in the camera and the accessory. First and second connectors, each of which are electrically connected to the first circuit, are provided on the bottom surface of the camera. The first and second connectors are arranged at opposite portions, with respect to the threaded holes on the bottom surface of the camera. Third and fourth connectors to be respectively connected to the first and second connectors are provided on the upper surface of the accessory. Each of the third and fourth connectors, which are electrically connected to the second circuit, are arranged at portions corresponding to the first and second connectors. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,143 (Kawano) discloses an adapter for a camera, having a mounting device for detachably mounting the adapter to the bottom of a camera, a release switch, a release signal transmitting device for releasing a shutter of the camera, in accordance with the operation of the release switch, and a battery. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,514 (Johnson) discloses a camera having a recess in an exterior surface thereof and a battery assembly having mounting structure adapted to be slidably received by the recess, for attaching the battery assembly to the camera to provide a source of energy for operating various components of the camera. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,870 (Havener) discloses a battery compartment for use with an electrical device having a circuit, which is powered by one or more batteries. The electrical device has a housing for substantially housing the circuit and a surface with an aperture therethrough. Each battery has first and second terminals. The battery compartment includes a slidable drawer for insertion through the housing aperture and receipt of the battery, a plurality of connectors for electrical connection to the battery&#39;s terminals, and a plurality of conductors to eclectically connect the connectors to the device&#39;s circuit. The drawer is movable between an open position exposing at least a portion of interior of the drawer, and a closed position. Electrical connection of the batteries to the circuit is maintained, whether the door is in the open or closed position. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,105 (Kawamura) discloses a video camera having a built-in secondary battery, a terminal used for connection with an external power source, and a main switch for controlling the supply of electric power to a circuit provided for a control system, and a signal processing system. The video camera is arranged, such that the circuit is connected to the built-in secondary battery or to the external power source, when the main switch is closed, and the built-in secondary battery can be connected to the external power source when the main switch is open. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,784,105 (4,409,645 Sloan) discloses a combination flashlight and auxiliary power pack, which accommodates spent instant photography film cartridges, and which includes a substantially flat battery. A battery and electrical carrier subassembly are accommodated within a housing, which serves as a covering shell, and does not have any of components of the device depending therefrom. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,777 (Garcia et al) discloses a latching mechanism for a removable cell battery pack. The latching mechanism includes a first member having a first catch, lateral catches, and a second member having a notch and lateral catches. In a first position, the first catch of the first member engages the notch of the second member. In a second position, the lateral catches of the first member engage the lateral catches of the second member. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,682 (Nakao) discloses a battery case holding mechanism, comprising an engaging means for engaging a battery case, which is detachably inserted into a concave formed in a body of an electric apparatus, and is biased so as to be detached from the concave, and disengagement preventing means, which is actuated when the engaging means operates and engages the battery case temporarily, in order to prevent the case from springing out of the concave. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,031 (Iwashita et al.) discloses a connection arrangement for camera system components, which has a camera attachable to a motor drive unit and a flash unit. The camera, the motor drive, and the flash unit each have respective batteries therein. In the camera, a detector produces a first signal before wind-up of the camera is completed. An interconnection terminal receives a second signal from the flash unit, before charging of the flash unit is completed. A disabling arrangement prevents shutter release, as long as one of the first and second signals is sensed. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,235 (Clanton et al.) discloses a holder for a pair of cylindrical battery cells, including 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. Contact elements are provided at the ends of the guide channels for electrically connecting the battery cells to circuitry. The contact elements, which are internal to the holder, are substantially inaccessible to a user, even when the carrier is removed from the housing, thus minimizing electric shock hazard to the user. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,824 (Womack) discloses a battery holder of electrical non-conductive plastic, shorter than elongate batteries inserted therein, having an opening receiving the upper contact end of an elongate nickel-cadmium battery. A manually pressable release detent latching lever is pivotally mounted in the battery holder, and resiliently biased to the detent battery hold position. A cam surface on the detent is engaged at the top edge of the battery and case structure, and the detent is moved outwardly by the cam, as the battery assembly is inserted into the opening of the plastic battery holder, and then is snapped back into the detent hold state in the detent opening of the battery and the case assembly. A two path connection socket is provided with the battery holder and a resistor, contained within an upper chamber of the holder, for powering bulbs connected to the socket. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,639 (Bryant et al) discloses a battery cartridge, which holds a plurality of batteries for insertion into a battery cavity, comprising a housing, including first and second flexible holding members oppositely disposed with respect to one another on a first outer surface, the first and second holding members defining a cavity contoured to the shape of the batteries for receiving the batteries and securing thereto, a second inner surface having a recess formed therein, and a latching means coupled between the inner surface of the housing and a front cover portion and retractably extendable for engaging/disengaging slots positioned on a peripheral lip portion of the battery cavity for permitting insertion/ejection of the battery cartridge into/from the battery cavity. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,247,962 (DeSorbo) discloses a battery pack connection adapter, including an adapter plate for electrical connection between a battery charger and battery pack. The adapter plate includes a partially conductive strip. The pattern of conductive material on the strip establishes a circuit between underlying electrical contact pins on either the charger or the battery pack, so as to render the charger compatible with and capable of charging the battery pack. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,470 (Land) discloses a battery operated camera having a handle thereon formed in part by an external battery. U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,362 (Dietz et al) discloses a battery operated camera having means for mounting an external battery. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,546 (Dulaney et al) discloses a battery compartment for portable electrical equipment, such as computers, tape recorders, VCR recorders, camera flash equipment and other such devices. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,440 (Hahs, Jr. et al) discloses a battery holder, which accommodates D-cell batteries, and is suitable for substitution of conventional lantern batteries therewith. U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,644 (Okada et al) discloses a battery pack, capable of replacing a plurality of primary or secondary batteries, having at least one battery body, a battery holder that houses the battery body, and a pair of positive and negative terminals. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,491 (Carducci et al) discloses a camera frame assembly having a standby battery station. U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,277 (Goto et al) discloses a battery pack having a first battery and a second battery arranged separately from the first battery. U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,767 (Small, et al) discloses a rechargeable battery pack charging system with redundant safety systems. 
     For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an increased capacity battery holder, which allows a device to be used for a longer time duration than can be achieved from solely internally contained batteries, without recharging, replacement of the batteries, or connection to an external power source. The battery holder should be capable of providing additional energy to the device, beyond internal space and volume limitations of the device. The battery holder may have additional battery holding capacity external to the device, but any additional battery holding capacity should be self contained within the battery holder. The battery holder should be safe and easy to use, and provide maximum energy output, with minimal damage to the batteries, during use, installation, transportation, and storage. The battery holder should be lightweight, transportable, durable, sturdy, long lasting, easy to use and handle, a portion of the battery holder being matingly removably attachable thereto the device, and optionally removably lockable to the device. The battery holder should also be simple, effective, quickly and easily accessible, of simple construction, easy to install and remove therefrom the device, require no assembly or minimal assembly, act as an additional means for holding and/or handling the device, and should be capable of forming an integral assembly with the device one with the other. The battery holder should have means for preventing inadvertent shorting and/or reversing polarity of the batteries, and optionally recharging means for recharging the batteries. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention is directed to an increased capacity battery holder, which allows a device to be used for a longer time duration than can be achieved from solely internally contained batteries, without recharging, replacement of the batteries, or connection to an external power source. The battery holder is capable of providing additional energy to the device, beyond internal space and volume limitations of the device. The battery holder has additional battery holding capacity external to the device, with the additional battery holding capacity self contained within the battery holder. The battery holder is safe and easy to use, and provides maximum energy output, with minimal damage to the batteries, during use, installation, transportation, and storage. The battery holder is lightweight, transportable, durable, sturdy, long lasting, easy to use and handle, a portion of the battery holder being matingly removably attachable thereto the device, and optionally removably lockable to the device. The battery holder is also simple, effective, quickly and easily accessible, of simple construction, easy to install and remove therefrom the device, requiring no assembly or minimal assembly, acts as an additional means for holding and/or handling the device, and is capable of forming an integral assembly with the device one with the other. The battery holder has means for preventing inadvertent shorting and/or reversing polarity of the batteries, and optionally recharging means for recharging the batteries. 
     A battery holder having features of the present invention comprises: a battery pack adapted to be interiorly disposed therein a device; a battery pack adapted to be exteriorly disposed thereto the device; a base adjoining the interiorly disposed battery pack and the exteriorly disposed battery pack; the interiorly disposed battery pack and the exteriorly disposed pack having a gap therebetween and being substantially parallel one to the other. 
    
    
     DRAWINGS 
     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery holder, constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the battery holder of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the battery holder of FIG. 1 and a camera device; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the battery holder of FIG. 1 fastened thereto the camera device of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a side section view of the battery holder of FIG. 1 and a portion of the camera device of FIG. 3, the battery holder fastened to the camera device; 
     FIG. 6 is a top section view of the battery holder of FIG.  1  and the camera device of FIG. 3, the battery holder fastened to the camera device; 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded cutaway perspective view of latch tabs of the battery holder of FIG.  1  and latch assembly of the camera device of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 8 is a cutaway perspective view of an interlock switch and a portion of the latch assembly of the battery holder of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 9 is an end section view of the battery holder of FIG. 1 and a portion of the camera device of FIG. 3, the battery holder fastened to the camera device; 
     FIG. 10 is a top section view of the battery holder of FIG. 1 showing the battery holder being inserted thereinto the camera device of FIG. 3, the latch tabs of the battery holder, and the latch assembly of the camera device, prior to the latch tabs of the battery holder contacting the latch assembly of the camera device; 
     FIG. 11 is a top section view of the battery holder of FIG. 1 showing the battery holder being inserted thereinto the camera device of FIG. 3, the latch tabs of the battery holder and the latch assembly of the camera device contacting one another; 
     FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the battery holder of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 13 is an alternate schematic diagram of the battery holder of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an alternate battery holder fastened thereto an alternate camera device; and 
     FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an alternate battery holder fastened thereto an alternate camera device; 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1-15 of the drawings. Identical elements in the various figures are identified with the same reference numbers. 
     FIGS. 1-13 show an embodiment of the present invention, a battery holder  10  having a battery pack  12  adapted to be removably insertable thereinto a camera  14  or other device, a battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device, and a base portion  18  adjoining the removably insertable battery pack  12  and the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device. The battery holder  10  has wall  20  of the removably insertable battery pack  12  and wall  22  of the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device preferably adapted to matingly receive wall  23  and edge  24  of the wall  23  of the camera  14  or other device therebetween. The battery holder  10  has gap  25  therebetween the wall  20  of the removably insertable battery pack  12  and the wall  22  of the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device, the gap  25  extending to the base portion  18 , the battery holder  10  being substantially U shaped. The base portion  18  of the battery holder  10  may be used to limit the extent of travel of the removably insertable battery pack  12  within the camera  14  or other device. 
     The battery pack  12  adapted to be removably insertable thereinto the camera  14  or other device and the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device have compartments  26  and  28  therein, respectively, each of the compartments  26  and  28  having at least one battery  30  therein. 
     The wall  20  of the removably insertable battery pack  12  and the wall  22  of the battery pack  16  have the gap  25  therebetween preferably adapted to matingly receive the edge  24  and the wall  23  of the camera  14  or other device therebetween. 
     The battery pack  12  adapted to be removably insertable thereinto the camera  14  or other device and the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device may each be substantially rectangular parallelepiped shaped or substantially cuboid shaped, with the wall  20  of the removably insertable battery pack  12  and the wall  22  of the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device substantially parallel one to the other. Battery packs having other suitable shapes other than rectangular parallelepiped shaped or cuboid shaped battery packs, such as cylindrical or other suitable shapes, may be used depending upon the form factor required by the camera  14  or other device. 
     The removably insertable battery pack  12  has end  34  adjoined thereto the base portion  18 , and the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device has end  36  adjoined thereto the base portion  18 , a portion  38  of the base portion  18  optionally being integral with the end  36 . The removably insertable battery pack  12  has end  40  having positive and negative battery holder terminals  42  and  44 , respectively, opposing the end  34  adjoined thereto the base portion  18 . The removably insertable battery pack  12  also has exterior wall  46  having optional keyed notches  48  and  50  to facilitate matingly inserting the removably insertable battery pack  12  thereinto the camera  14  or other device, the exterior wall  46  opposing the wall  20 , and opposing walls  51  substantially perpendicular to the exterior wall  46  and the wall  20 , although other suitably shaped internally disposed battery packs, such as cylindrical or other suitable shapes, may be used. The battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device has end  52  having female battery charging sense terminals  53  opposing the end  36 . The batteries  30  of the battery holder  10  may be charged therewith a battery charger, having male matingly removable battery terminals inserted thereinto the battery terminals  53 , as needed The battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device also has exterior wall  54  opposing the wall  22 , and opposing walls  56  substantially perpendicular to the exterior wall  54  and the wall  22 , although other suitable shaped exteriorly disposed battery packs, such as cylindrical or other suitable shapes, may be used. 
     The removably insertable battery pack  12  and the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device may each have different suitable shapes, depending upon requirements and applications under which the camera  14  or other devices are used. The removably insertable battery pack  12  and the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device may, thus, have different size and/or shaped cross sections. The end  34  of the removably insertable battery pack  12  adjoined thereto the base portion  18  may, thus, have a different cross section, size, and/or shape from the end  36  of the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device. The battery holder  10  of the present invention is shown for illustrative purposes, with the end  34  of the removably insertable battery pack  12  having a smaller cross section than the end  36  of the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device, to facilitate insertion of the removably insertable battery pack  12  thereinto the camera  14  or other device and allow the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device to contain a larger battery capacity than the removably insertable battery pack  12 . The base portion  18  may, thus, have arcuate sections  57  as transitions, or other suitable shaped transitions, from one cross section to another, and allow the end  34  of the removably insertable battery pack  12  adjoined thereto the base portion  18  to have a different cross section, size, and/or shape from the end  36  of the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device. 
     The base portion  18  of the battery holder  10  may have latching tabs  58  and  59  to facilitate matingly locking the removably insertable battery pack  12  therein the camera  14  or other device. The latching tabs  58  and  59  of the battery holder  10  may have oblique angle edges  60  and  61 , and notches  64  and  65 , respectively. The camera  14  or other device may have spring loaded latches  66  and  67 , having oblique angle edge  68  and  69 , respectively, and notches  70  and  71 , respectively, latch control  72 , and spring  73 , associated therewith. 
     As the removably insertable battery pack  12  is inserted thereinto the camera  14  or other device, the oblique angle edges  60  and  61  of the battery holder  10  abut the oblique angle edges  68  and  69  of the camera  14  or other device, respectively, forcing the spring loaded latches  66  and  67  of the camera  14  or other device to open in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of motion of the battery holder  10  with respect to the camera  14  or other device. At the end of travel of the oblique angle edges  60  and  61  of the battery holder  10  with respect to the oblique angle edges  68  and  69  of the camera  14  or other device, tab portions  74  and  75  of the spring loaded latches  66  and  67  of the camera  14  or other device snap thereinto the notches  64  and  65  of the battery holder  10 , respectively, and tab portions  76  and  77  of the battery holder  10  matingly fit therein the notches  70  and  71  of the spring loaded latches  66  and  67  of the camera  14  or other device, respectively. The spring loaded latches  66  and  67  of the camera  14  or other device and the latching tabs  58  and  59  of the battery holder  10  lock one to the other, and, thus, lock the battery holder  10  and the camera  14  or other device one to the other, at the end of travel of the removably insertable battery pack  12  therein the camera  14  or other device. 
     The battery holder  10  may be removably released therefrom the camera  14  or other device, by retractably pulling the latch control  72 , which retracts the spring loaded latches  66  and  67 , the spring  73  being compressed until the latch control  72  is released, and by retractably pulling the removably insertable battery pack  12  therefrom the camera  14  or other device, thus, releasing the battery holder  10  from the camera  14  or other device. 
     The battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device may also have corner portion  78  at the end  52 , the corner portion  78  having hole  80  therethrough for fastener  82  to be inserted therethrough and fasten the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device to the camera  14  or other device, as an alternative or in addition to the latching tabs  58  and  59 ,which facilitate matingly locking the removably insertable battery pack  12  therein the camera  14  or other device. 
     The battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device may also have tripod mount  83  having threaded hole  84  therein for inserting a threaded fastener therein and facilitate mounting the battery holder  10 , which may be affixed to the camera  14  or other device, to a tripod or other device. 
     The battery holder  10  may optionally have interlock switch  86  mounted on the base portion  18 , for connecting and disconnecting electrical output from the batteries  30  therein to the positive and negative battery holder terminals  42  and  44 . The interlock switch  86  has hinged switch leaf control  88 , which allows electrical output from the batteries  30  to be connected to the positive and negative battery holder terminals  42  and  44 , when the hinged switch leaf control  88  contacts the edge  24  of the camera  14 , at the end of travel of the removably insertable battery pack  12  within the camera  14  or other device, and disconnects the batteries  30  from the positive and negative battery holder terminals  42  and  44 , when the battery holder  10  is removed therefrom the camera  14  or other device. 
     The removably insertable battery pack  12  has notch  90  substantially centrally located in the wall  20  adjacent the end  34  adjoined thereto the base portion  18 ; and the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device has notch  92  substantially centrally located in the wall  22  adjacent the end  36  adjoined thereto the base portion  18 , the notches  90  and  92  substantially aligned one with the other. The hinged switch leaf control  88  of the interlock switch  86  is located within the notches  90  and  92 , and extends across the gap  25 , with free end  96  of the hinged switch leaf control  88  adjacent edge  98  at the notch  92 , and hinged end  100  adjacent edge  102  at the notch  90 . 
     When the removably insertable battery pack  12  is inserted thereinto the camera  14  or other device, the hinged switch leaf control  88  contacts the edge  24  of the camera  14 , at the end of travel of the removably insertable battery pack  12  within the camera  14  or other device, the free end  96  of the hinged switch leaf control  88  adjacent the edge  98  at the notch  92  moves toward side  104  of the base portion  18 , turning the interlock switch  86  on at the hinged end  102 , connecting the batteries  30  to the positive and negative battery holder terminals  42  and  44 . When the battery holder  10  is removed therefrom the camera  14  or other device, the hinged switch leaf control  88  ceases to contact the edge  24  of the camera  14 , the free end  96  of the hinged switch leaf control  88  adjacent the edge  98  at the notch  92  moves away from the side  104  of the base portion  18 , turning the interlock switch  86  off at the hinged end  102 , disconnecting the batteries  30  from the positive and negative battery holder terminals  42  and  44 . 
     The interlock switch  86  has terminals  106  on side  108  of the base portion  18  opposing the removably insertable battery pack  12  and the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  or other device. The battery holder  10  has switch cover  110  for protecting the terminals  106  of the interlock switch  86 , and optional mounting blocks  112  mounted on the side  108  of the base portion  18  for fastening the switch cover  110  thereto. The switch cover  110  may be alternatively affixed to the base portion  18  by other suitable means. The interlock switch  86  may be a micro switch having a hinged switch leaf control, as shown, or another suitable switch. The batteries  30  may be connected in series, as shown, in series-parallel, or in parallel. 
     The battery holder  10  has battery capacity and energy capacity greater than would otherwise be available with batteries in battery compartment  114  of the camera  14  or other device, alone. The battery holder  10  also has the interlock switch  86 , for safety and preventing accidental discharge of the batteries  30 . 
     The battery holder  10  is preferably of ABS plastic, but may be of thermoplastics, thermosetting polymers, rubber, metal, or other suitable material or combination thereof. 
     FIGS. 12 and 13 show schematic diagrams of alternate battery arrangements  116  and  118 , respectively, of the battery holder  10 , although other suitable battery arrangements may be used. The batteries  30  are connected in series and in series with a circuit of the camera  14  or other device in the battery arrangement  116  of FIG.  12 . In the battery arrangement  118  of FIG. 13, the batteries  30  of the removably insertable battery pack  12  are connected in parallel one with the other, and the batteries  30  of the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  are connected in parallel one with the other, the parallel batteries  30  of the removably insertable battery pack  12  and the parallel batteries  30  of the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  being in series and in series with a circuit of the camera  14  or other device. A battery charger may be connected to the battery charging sense terminals  53  for charging the batteries  30 , the sens terminals  53  being female socket contacts, which prevent inadvertent shorting of the sense terminals, when the battery charger is not connected to the battery holder  10 . The interlock switch  86  and optional fuses  120  are also shown. The interlock  86  is in series with the batteries  30  of the removably insertable battery pack  12  and the batteries  30  of the battery pack  16  adapted to be exteriorly disposed adjacent the camera  14  in the battery arrangement  116  of FIG.  12  and in the battery arrangement  118  of FIG.  13 . The optional fuses  120  are in series with the sense terminals  53  in the battery arrangement  116  and in the battery arrangement  118 . 
     FIGS. 14 and 15 show alternate embodiments of battery holders  200  and  300  which are substantially the same as the battery holder  10 , except that the battery holder  200  is mounted adjacent side  202  of camera  204  or other device, and the battery holder  300  is mounted adjacent front portion  302  of camera  304  or other device. 
     Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.