Jump tab battery terminal clamp

Abstract

A battery terminal clamp is provided for a rechargeable storage battery. The battery terminal clamp includes a body portion made of a conductive material. The body portion has a top planar element and a bottom planar element. The top planar element includes an orifice for accommodating the terminal post of a storage battery, and a tab integrally formed with the body portion. This tab extends upwardly from the top planar element, and serves as a secure attachment point for jumper cables.

Claims

1. A battery terminal clamp for a rechargeable storage battery, the battery terminal clamp comprising: (a) a body portion made of a conductive material; (b) the body portion including a top planar element and a bottom planar element; (c) the top and bottom planar elements including an orifice for accommodating a terminal post of a storage battery; (d) a first flange extending from the top planar element, and a second flange extending from the bottom planar element, the flanges being separated by a gap; (e) a tab integrally formed with the body portion, and extending upwardly from the top planar element past an edge of the orifice in the top planar element, the tab arranged to couple the body portion to jumper cables.

2. The battery terminal clamp of claim 1, wherein the tab includes a downwardly angled portion at a distal end of the tab to secure the jumper cables during a jumping operation.

3. The battery terminal clamp of claim 1, the tab having a tab width and a tab length that exceeds said tab width, the body portion having a body width and a body length that exceeds said body width, and wherein a lengthwise axis of the tab is generally parallel with a lengthwise axis of the body portion.

4. The battery terminal clamp of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the tab is substantially identical to a thickness of the body portion.

5. The battery terminal clamp of claim 1, wherein the tab extends upwardly relative to the top planar surface at an angle of approximately 45 degrees.

6. A battery terminal clamp, comprising: (a) a body portion made of a conductive material and including a top planar element and a bottom planar element; (b) a first flange extending downward from the top planar element and having a semi-continuous configuration that includes a first flange space, and a second flange extending upward from the bottom planar element and having a semi-continuous configuration that includes a second flange space, the flanges being separated by a gap and the first and second flange spaces are offset from each other; (c) a tab integrally formed with the body portion, and extending upwardly from the top planar element, the tab configured for attachment of a pair of jumper cables to the body portion, during recharging of a rechargeable storage battery; wherein the top planar element includes a top orifice and the bottom planar element includes a bottom orifice, and wherein the tab extends past an edge of the top orifice.

7. The battery terminal clamp of claim 6, wherein the first and second flange spaces are angularly offset from each other.

8. The battery terminal clamp of claim 7, wherein the top and bottom orifices are aligned to form a passageway that receives an extent of a terminal post of the rechargeable storage battery.

9. The battery terminal clamp of claim 6, wherein the tab includes a base portion adjacent the top planar element, an intermediate portion and an angled portion disposed at a distal end of the tab, and wherein the angled portion overlies the top orifice.

10. The battery terminal clamp of claim 6, wherein the angled portion is angled downward towards the top orifice.

11. The battery terminal clamp of claim 6, wherein the tab extends from an end of the top planar element opposite the first flange space.

12. A battery terminal clamp for a rechargeable battery, the battery terminal clamp comprising: a body portion made of a conductive material and including: (a) a top planar element having a downwardly extending top flange that defines a top orifice, the top flange having a semi-continuous configuration that includes a top flange space; (b) a bottom planar element having an upwardly extending bottom flange that defines a bottom orifice, the bottom flange having a semi-continuous configuration that includes a bottom flange space; and, (c) a tab integrally formed with the body portion and extending upwardly from the top planar element past an edge of the top orifice, the tab configured for attachment of a pair of jumper cables to the body portion during recharging of the rechargeable battery.

13. The battery terminal clamp of claim 12, wherein the top and bottom flange spaces are angularly offset from each other.

14. The battery terminal clamp of claim 12, wherein the top and bottom orifices are aligned to form a passageway that receives an extent of a terminal post of the storage battery.

15. The battery terminal clamp of claim 12, wherein the tab includes a base portion adjacent the top planar element, an intermediate portion and an angled portion disposed at a distal end of the tab, and wherein the angled portion overlies the top orifice.

16. The battery terminal clamp of claim 15, wherein the angled portion is angled downward towards the top orifice.

17. The battery terminal clamp of claim 12, wherein the tab extends from an end of the top planar element opposite the top flange space, and wherein the tab does not extend beyond an outer periphery of the body as defined by the top planar element.

18. The battery terminal clamp of claim 12, the tab having a tab width and a tab length that exceeds said tab width, the body portion having a body width and a body length that exceeds said body width, and wherein a lengthwise axis of the tab is generally aligned with a lengthwise axis of the body portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the battery terminal clamp of the invention.

(3) FIG. 2 is a second perspective view of the battery terminal clamp of FIG. 1

(4) FIG. 3 is a right side view of the battery terminal clamp of FIGS. 1 and 2.

(5) FIG. 4 is a left side view of the battery terminal clamp of FIGS. 1 and 2.

(6) FIG. 5 is a rear view of the battery terminal clamp of FIGS. 1 and 2.

(7) FIG. 6 is an overhead view of the battery terminal clamp of FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the invention is a battery terminal clamp 10 for a rechargeable storage battery. The battery terminal clamp 10 is used, for example, to connect a rechargeable storage battery (not shown) of an automobile or other motor vehicle to the accessories, safety and engine control systems, and other power-consuming parts and components of that vehicle. Rechargeable storage batteries used in most contemporary gasoline and hybrid vehicles are rated at approximately twelve volts.

(9) The battery terminal clamp 10 of the invention is made from a rugged, electrically conductive metal, such as a copper material, or a brass material, or any other suitable conductive metal or alloy. In this case, the preferred alloy is a C194 alloy, which is a copper alloy, and specifically a copper-iron-phosphorus alloy.

(10) The battery terminal includes a main body portion 12. In this embodiment, the battery terminal clamp 10 and its body portion 12 are made from a one-piece, stamped element. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the stamped element is made from C194 alloy having a thickness of approximately 1.63 millimeters. The stamped element is folded and further stamped in the manner necessary to create the battery terminal clamp 10 having the shape depicted in FIGS. 1-6. Preferably, the battery terminal clamp and its body portion 12 are plated with tin, at a plating thickness of at least 0.001 millimeters.

(11) The body portion may include a top planar element 14, and may further include a bottom planar element 16. When battery terminal clamp 10 is mechanically secured to a top-mounted terminal post of a rechargeable storage battery, the top planar element 14 faces upward, and is normally visible to the motorist or mechanic. In contrast, the bottom planar element 16 faces downward, and abuts against and is supported by the outer battery case of the rechargeable storage battery.

(12) The top 14 and bottom planar elements 16 include an orifice 18 for accommodating the terminal post of the rechargeable storage battery. The portion of this orifice 18 within the top planar element 14 has a diameter of approximately 18.08 millimeters, while the portion of this orifice 18 within the bottom planar element 16 has a diameter of approximately 18.66 millimeters

(13) Referring now to FIGS. 1-3 and especially FIG. 5, the top planar element 14 includes a first flange 30 that extends downwardly from the bottom surface 32 of the top planar element 14. The bottom planar element 16 includes a second flange 34 that extends upwardly from the top surface 36 of the bottom planar element 16. There is a gap 38 between the bottom 40 of the first flange 30 and the top 42 of the second flange 34. In this way, the flanges 30 and 34 are separated by this gap 38. Referring to FIG. 5, a first space 44 is disposed along an extent of the first flange 30 and a second space 46 is disposed along an extent of the second flange 34. The first and second spaces 44, 46 are offset from one another as shown in the elevational view of FIG. 5.

(14) As may be seen in each of FIGS. 1-6, a tab 20 is integrally formed with the body portion 12. In this context, integrally formed means that the tab 20 is made of the same stamping as the body portion 12, i.e., that the tab 20 and its body portion 12 are of one piece of metal. Because the tab 20 is integrally formed with the body portion 12, the thickness of the tab 20 is substantially identical to the thickness of the body portion 12, i.e., approximately 1.63 millimeters.

(15) In this preferred embodiment, as may best be seen in FIGS. 1-5, the tab 20 is of a substantially rectangular shape. The tab 20 also extends upwardly from the top planar element 12. This specific orientation of tab 20 has certain advantages. As may be seen in FIG. 6, no portion of the tab 20 extends beyond the entire perimeter of the body portion 12. More specifically, as may also been seen in FIG. 6, no portion of the tab 20 extends outwardly beyond the right side wall 22 and the left side wall 24 of the body portion 12.

(16) Because of these features and the orientation of the tab 20, the motorist or mechanic who seeks to jump start a battery will have easy access to the tab 20. First, the tab 20 is at the top of the battery terminal clamp 10, which is an area that is generally open to view, unobstructed, and easily accessible.

(17) Second, the tab 20 is not outside of the perimeter of the body portion 12 of the battery terminal clamp 10, and specifically the tab 20 is inboard both the right side wall 22 and the left side wall 24 of the body portion 12. As a result, the tab 20 is not in an area closely adjacent to other under-hood components, nor near walls or suspension components that could obstruct access to that tab 20.

(18) As may best be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tab 20 is positioned at an angle to the top planar element 14. The angle between the tab 20 and the top planar element 14 should be adequate to ensure that the jaws of a jumper cable will be able to be securely fastened to the tab 20, and especially to the underside 26 of the tab 20. The probable range of angles that the tab 20 may extend upwardly is from about an acute angle of 30 degrees to about an obtuse angle of 120 degrees. The most preferred angle that this tab 20 may extend upwardly from the top planar element is forty-five (45) degrees.

(19) For these and other reasons, the tab 20 is especially suited for facilitating the attachment of the jaws of jumper cables to the body portion 12. In this way, the tab 20 enables the easy, quick jumping of a discharged, rechargeable storage battery. This flat, generally rectangular construction provides an adequate, effective mechanical and electrical connection between the jaws of the jumper cables and the tab 20.

(20) As may best be seen in FIGS. 1-4, the battery terminal clamp 10 of the invention may further include an angled portion 28 at the distal end of the tab 20. This angled portion 28 provides additional aid in securing the jumper cables to the tab 20 during the jumping operation, and particularly in aiding in preventing the inadvertent removal of the jumper cables from the tab 20 during that jumping operation.

(21) As may best be understood from the two horizontal, dashed lines of FIG. 6, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the lengthwise axis of the tab 20 is generally parallel with the lengthwise axis of the body portion 12. This common axial orientation of the tab 20 and the body portion 12 is yet another reason why the tab 20 does not extend laterally outwardly from the perimeter of the battery terminal clamp 10.