Patent ID: 7924137

Claim:
A fuse, comprising: a housing defining an upper surface and a lower surface, wherein the upper surface includes a first terminal and the lower surface includes a second terminal, and wherein the housing, the first terminal and the second terminal define a central opening extending between the upper and lower surfaces, the central opening configured to receive at least one of a terminal of a storage battery and a stud of a mounting plate associated with the storage battery; and a fusible element having an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion being engaged to the first terminal and the lower portion being engaged to the second terminal; the fusible element further comprising a fault element extending between the upper portion and the lower portion, the fault element configured to open an electrical circuit coupled to the storage battery in response to an over-current in the electrical circuit, wherein the fault element is encased within the housing; and wherein the housing comprises an insulating material configured to contain an arc generated by the fault element in response to the over-current in the electrical circuit, shield the fusible element from ambient particles, and prevent the arc from mixing with such ambient particles.