Patent ID: 7767347

Claim:
A battery grid comprising: a frame comprising a top element, a bottom element, a first side element, and a second side element; a plurality of wires provided within the frame and defining a plurality of open areas, each of the wires comprising a plurality of wire segments joined at nodes to other wire segments; a current collection lug extending from the top element in a first direction; and at least one growth reduction feature provided in the battery grid that is configured to reduce the amount of growth of the battery grid in the first direction due to corrosion of the battery grid during the life of the battery grid, wherein the at least one feature is selected from the group consisting of: (a) a wire segment having a first portion adjacent a first node, a second portion adjacent a second node, and a weak link provided intermediate the first end and the second end; (b) a wire segment having a first generally linear portion adjacent a first node, a second generally linear portion adjacent a second node, and a distortion provided between the first and second generally linear portions; and (c) a portion of the top element of the frame that is arranged at an angle to one of the side elements such that the top element and the side element are not perpendicular to each other.