Charging unit for a battery-containing handle for an electric knife or the like

Claim 1

IN A CHARGING UNIT FOR A BATTERY-CONTAINING HANDLE OF AN ELECTRIC KNIFE OR THE LIKE, THE HANDLE HAVING A PAIR OF BATTERY-CONNECTED SPACED ELECTRICAL CONTACTS EXPOSED ADJACENT THE BOTTOM THEREOF, COMPRISING THE COMBINATION OF A CASING OF MOLDED PLASTIC MATERIAL, SAID CASING HAVING A WELL FORMED IN THE FORWARD FACE THEREOF HAVING UPRIGHT SIDE WALLS AND REAR WALL AND AGAINST WHICH A SAID HANDLE MAY BE LEANED FOR MAINTAINING THE HANDLE IN A SUBSTANTIALLY UPRIGHT POSITION, THE SAID WELL HAVING AN OPEN FORWARD SIDE THROUGH WHICH THE HANDLE MAY BE MOVED IN INSERTING IT AND REMOVING IT FROM THE WELL, A BOTTOM MEMBER CARRIED BY THE CASING AND DISPOSED AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID WELL FOR SUPPORTING A SAID HANDLE THEREIN, SAID BOTTOM MEMBER HAVING A BOTTOM WALL, SAID BOTTOM WALL HAVING A PAIR OF LATERALLY OPENED SLOTS EXTENDING THERETHROUGH, A PAIR OF RESILIENT ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBERS POSITIONED BELOW SAID BOTTOM MEMBER, EACH OF SAID CONTACT MEMBERS HAVING AN ANCHORED END PORTION AND A FREE END PORTION RESILIENTLY MOVABLE RELATIVE TO THE PLANE OF SAID BOTTOM WALL UPON FLEXING OF THE CONTACT MEMBERS, SAID FREE END PORTIONS EACH BEING BENT TO PROTRUDE UPWARDLY THROUGH THE RESPECTIVE SAID SLOTS UNDER THE RESILIENT BIAS OF THE CONTACT MEMBERS FOR ELECTRICAL ENGAGEMENT WITH THE EXPOSED ELECTRICAL CONTACTS, RESPECTIVELY, OF A HANDLE DISPOSED IN SAID WELL, EACH OF SAID FREE END PORTIONS BEING BIFURCATED TO PROVIDE INDEPENDENTLY RESILIENT PARALLEL PORTIONS ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID ELECTRICAL CONTACT OF SAID HANDLE, SAID BOTTOM MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED DOWNWARDLY DIRECTED SADDLE PORTIONS ADJACENT SAID ANCHORED END PORTIONS OF THE CONTACT MEMBERS AND DEFINING APERTURES BETWEEN THE SADDLE PORTIONS AND SAID BOTTOM WALL, SAID ANCHORED END PORTIONS BEING EXTENDED THROUGH THE RESPECTIVE APERTURES AND HELD BY SAID SADDLE PORTIONS, EACH ANCHORED END PORTION AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SADDLE PORTION BEING SLIT AND BENT DOWNWARDLY AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO THE PLANE OF THE CONTACT MEMBER TO ENGAGE THE SIDES OF THE SADDLE PORTIONS AND TO RESIST REMOVAL OF THE ANCHORED END PORTIONS FROM THE APERTURES AND THEREBY RETAIN THE CONTACT MEMBER TO THE BOTTOM MEMBER.