Omnidirectional biasing elements for a battery coupling in a materials handling vehicle, and materials handling vehicles incorporating the same

A materials handling vehicle comprising a materials handling mechanism, a drive mechanism, a battery receiving space, and a removable battery assembly, wherein:

• the materials handling mechanism is configured to engage goods in a warehouse environment and cooperates with the drive mechanism, under power from the removable battery assembly, to move goods along an inventory transit surface in the warehouse environment;
• the removable battery assembly and the battery receiving space cooperate to define a battery insertion and removal axis along which the removable battery assembly is inserted into and removed from the battery receiving space;
• the removable battery assembly comprises a battery-side connector assembly;
• the battery receiving space comprises a vehicle-side connector assembly;
• the battery-side connector assembly and the vehicle-side connector assembly are configured to electrically couple the removable battery assembly and an electrical system of the materials handling vehicle;
• the battery-side connector assembly and the vehicle-side connector assembly each comprises a connector housing and an electrical coupler corresponding to and secured within the connector housing;
• the respective electrical coupler of the battery-side connector assembly and the respective electrical coupler of the vehicle-side connector assembly are configured to couple together electrically as a result of relative movement along a coupler pairing axis that is parallel to the battery insertion and removal axis;
• at least one of the electrical coupler of the battery-side connector assembly or the electrical coupler of the vehicle-side connector assembly, or both, is an omnidirectional biasing coupler, wherein the omnidirectional biasing coupler comprises an omnidirectional biasing element;
• the omnidirectional biasing element secures the omnidirectional biasing coupler against the respective connector housing of the battery-side connector assembly or the vehicle-side connector assembly to:
• limit axial movement of the omnidirectional biasing coupler relative to the respective connector housing of the battery-side connector assembly or the vehicle-side connector assembly in a decoupling direction along the pairing axis, and
• permit omnidirectional spring-loaded deflection of the omnidirectional biasing coupler between a resting position and a spring-loaded deflected position;
• and
• the connector housing of the battery-side connector assembly or the vehicle-side connector assembly insertably engages the connector housing of the other of the battery-side connector assembly or the vehicle-side connector assembly.