Motor vehicles – Power – Battery mountings and holders
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-18
2001-09-18
Vanaman, Frank (Department: 3611)
Motor vehicles
Power
Battery mountings and holders
C180S069100, C296S038000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06290013
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to motor vehicle battery housing tray and, in particular, to a battery housing tray with a trough system that will direct any acid spills towards a drain and away from other parts of the motor vehicle.
2. Discussion
With respect to conventional battery tray or battery housing designs, the primary focus in the art has been to ensure a good seating of the battery in the tray or housing. However, no attention has been paid to the degradation of components of the motor vehicle surrounding the tray of the housing. Moreover, there has been very little focus on providing a battery tray or housing tray that will prevent acid leaks to other parts of the motor vehicle. Further, known battery housing or tray designs fail to provide a cost effective solution for directing battery acid away from vehicle components. In view of the above, it is desirable to provide a battery tray which directs battery acid, or water containing battery acid away from the components of the vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a battery tray with a trough system to direct any acid toward a drain and away from other parts of the vehicle is provided. The present invention reduces or limits the accidental acid spill to other parts of the vehicle by plugging or damming all the points where such spill can occur and directing the flow of the acid toward the drain. Another object of the present invention is to provide a battery tray that can easily replace existing battery tray designs without any substantial increase in cost. Finally, it is desirable to provide a battery tray that can support other vehicle components within the engine compartment.
In particular, the present invention includes a battery tray having a substantially planar surface having a front wall, a back wall, and first and second side walls. The center of the surface has an opening for receiving a temperature measuring device. The first drain trough is formed around this opening and is disposed below the bottom surface of the battery tray. Further, the tray includes a second drain trough connected to the first drain trough through a drain passage. The second drain trough is generally perpendicular to the passage and parallel to the front wall. Additionally, the battery tray contains a third drain trough that is offset at an angle to the second trough. The pitch of the drain troughs are all angled in such a way that the acid flow is towards the drain. The third drain trough has a drain hole that has a hose attached thereto.
The present invention also provides that the mounting points for the battery tray are outside the battery support area. In particular, the battery tray has two support brackets for securing the battery tray within the engine compartment. To prevent movement of the battery, the battery is securely fastened to the battery housing tray by way of a battery retainer. The battery tray of the present invention can be economically manufactured from molded plastic, glass reinforced plastic or other suitable formable material. However, it is preferable to make the tray out of materials that are highly resistant to acid corrosion. The various features, objects and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from a review of the following description of the drawings and invention in detail.
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Calcaterra Mark P.
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
Divine David
Vanaman Frank
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