Battery lift apparatus for electric vehicles

A vehicle battery lift apparatus for use with an overhead air hoist comprising:

• a plurality of suction assemblies mounted on a bottom surface of a rectangular-shaped carrier beam of electrically insulative structural plastic material, said beam being formed with a plurality of manifold passageways which, together with a plurality of flexible connecting lines, provide a system air distribution network supplying system air from the air hoist to said apparatus;
• said network supplying system air to a vacuum generator of each suction assembly for evacuating air from a vacuum cup supported on each generator, thereby enabling said vacuum cups to lift and hold a heavy battery, and said network adapted for supplying system air to each said vacuum cup to release the battery;
• said beam having an electrically insulative cable connection arrangement, adjacent its midpoint, adapted for attachment to a vertically extending flexible cable of the air hoist;
• and
• first and second handles supported on said beam adjacent each end face thereof, said first handle supporting a pair of system air valve actuators for controlling down and up movement of the air hoist cable, and a release valve actuator operable to communicate vacuum releasing system air to each vacuum cup, whereby each said actuator is adapted for manipulation by a finger of an operator's hand gripping said first handle.