Patent ID: 7238443

Claim:
A battery pack comprising: a plurality of battery cells, each battery cell having a first battery terminal and a second battery terminal, the plurality of battery cells being positioned side-by-side such that at least one set of battery terminals is positioned within the same plane, and the at least one set of battery terminals being electrically connected to each other, a housing substantially enclosing the plurality of battery cells, a cooling air intake port and a cooling air exhaust port defined within the housing, at least one cooling air passage extending between the cooling air intake port and the cooling air exhaust port, the at least one cooling air passage being at least partially defined by at least one peripheral side surface of the battery cells and an inner surface of the housing, whereby cooling air directly communicates with the at least one peripheral side surface of the battery cells, and a first isolated space defined within the housing, wherein the first isolated space physically isolated or shielded from the at least one cooling air passage and the at least one set of battery terminals is disposed within the first isolated space.