Battery contact mechanism for a battery charger

An apparatus, comprising:

• a housing having a first wall;
• a sliding tray having a second wall that is generally parallel to the first wall, wherein the sliding tray slides between a retracted position and an extended position in which the first and second walls define a battery receiving region in the sliding tray;
• a first battery contact provided in the first wall;
• a second battery contact proximate to the second wall, wherein the first and second battery contacts electrically communicate with battery charging circuitry;
• and
• a spring-loaded plunger that slides the second battery contact with respect to the second wall in a direction that changes a distance between the first and second battery contacts so that the pair of battery contacts is configured to receive different sized batteries.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a housing having a first wall;
• a sliding tray having a second wall that is generally parallel to the first wall, wherein the sliding tray slides between a retracted position and an extended position in which the first and second walls define a battery receiving region in the sliding tray;
• a spring having a first end affixed to the housing and a second end affixed to the sliding tray, wherein the spring pulls the sliding tray to the retracted position;
• a first battery contact provided in the first wall;
• a second battery contact provided in the second wall, wherein the first and second battery contacts electrically communicate with battery charging circuitry;
• and
• a releasable latch, wherein the releasable latch holds the sliding tray in an intermediate position between the retracted and extended position, and wherein the intermediate position corresponds to a first battery size and the extended position corresponds to a second battery size.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a housing having a first wall;
• a sliding tray having a second wall that is generally parallel to the first wall, wherein the sliding tray slides between a retracted position and an extended position in which the first and second walls define a battery receiving region in the sliding tray;
• a plurality of gears that moves the sliding tray between the closed and the extended positions;
• and
• a first battery contact provided in the first wall;
• and
• a second battery contact provided in the second wall, wherein the first and second battery contacts electrically communicate with battery charging circuitry,
• wherein the plurality of gears slides the sliding tray to a first position between the retracted and extended position at which the pair of battery contacts accommodate a first size battery and a second position between the retracted and extended position at which the pair of battery contacts accommodate a second size battery.