Alcatel

Saft America

Antonio L Romero

Salah M Oweis

Guy Chagnon

Peter Alunans

Robert Staniewicz

Douglas Briscoe

A novel battery with a venting device and overcharge protection system. The battery casing has an inner tube that completely surrounds a hollow core, an outer tube that surrounds the inner tube, and end plates. The inner tube is welded at its ends to two end plates. The inner tube, outer tube, and end plates form a sealed, hermetic annular space in which the battery components are held. The inner tube is designed to collapse into the hollow core when a pressure inside the annular space exceeds a predetermined collapsing pressure, and the welds connecting the inner tube to the end plates are designed to break when the pressure inside the annular space exceeds a predetermined breaking pressure. In addition, the invention can take advantage of the fact that the inner tube is negatively charged by have a connecting member, which is electrically connected to the anode and thus positively charged, that extends into the hollow core. When the negatively charged inner tube collapses, it makes contact with the positively charged connecting member, to provide a short circuit for reducing the voltage of the battery.

Battery having tube collapsing vent system and overcharge protection

A feed through arrangement for a battery cell which transfers torque that is applied to the terminal into a plurality of smaller compression forces. The arrangement permits a high torque on the terminal without damaging the seals of the feed throughs. Preventing damage to the seals increases the durability and accordingly the life of the battery. The seals of the present invention are also hermetic to moisture, have excellent thermal-shock properties and have a very low impedance, volume and weight.

Structural feed through arrangement for lithium ion cells

An electrochemical cell, including a jelly-roll type electrode stack, and a method for making such cell. The electrochemical cell includes folded electrode portions which form a plane recessed from the end of the electrode stack. The folded electrode portions are preferably formed by making pairs of slits in the electrode end and bending over the electrode portions between each pair of slits. The recessed plane forms a large area to which a current collection tab is subsequently connected. A coating may be applied to the folded portions of the electrode to further increase the contact area with the current collection tab by eliminating the slight variations in the recessed plane which are due to the overlap of the folded electrode portions.

Current collection through the ends of a spirally wound electrochemical cell

A bussing structure for bussing current within an electrochemical cell. The bussing structure includes a first plate and a second plate, each having a central aperture therein. Current collection tabs, extending from an electrode stack in the electrochemical cell, extend through the central aperture in the first plate, and are then sandwiched between the first plate and second plate. The second plate is then connected to a terminal on the outside of the case of the electrochemical cell. Each of the first and second plates includes a second aperture which is positioned beneath a safety vent in the case of the electrochemical cell to promote turbulent flow of gasses through the vent upon its opening. The second plate also includes protrusions for spacing the bussing structure from the case, as well as plateaus for connecting the bussing structure to the terminal on the case of the electrochemical cell.

Bussing structure in an electrochemical cell

A circuit breaker which automatically interrupts the flow of current from a battery upon the development of a predetermined overcurrent. A weld connection around a periphery of an aperture determines a current path which has the lowest current carrying capacity in the battery. Therefore, the diameter of the aperture determines the amount of current which will break the weld thereby disconnecting the battery from a circuit.

Automatic circuit breaker for a battery

An electrochemical cell having a spiral winding around a central core, wherein the central core is provided with longitudinal grooves on its outer surface to facilitate electrolyte filing and accommodate overpressure. The core itself improves dissipation of heat generated along the center of the cell, and the hollow core design allows the cell core to have a larger radius, permitting the 'jelly roll' winding to begin at a larger radius and thereby facilitate the initial turns of the winding by decreasing the amount of bending required of the electrode laminate at the beginning of the winding operation. The hollow core also provides mechanical support end-to-end. A pair of washers are used at each end of the cell to sandwich current collection tabs in a manner that improves electrical and thermal conductivity while also providing structural integrity.

Electrochemical cell design with a hollow core

Current collection through the ends of a spirally wound electrochemical

In a preferably cylindrical sheet metal casing to be hermetically sealed and having a thinwall portion, the improvement in a vent for the casing which ruptures when internal casing pressure exceeds a given value, the vent including at least one vent-forming rib projecting outward from a circular end wall thereof, said rib having formed therein a vent-forming groove which extends transversely of the length of the rib only part way along the transverse contour thereof, so that the groove ends are spaced from the base of the rib preferably a distance at least equal to the end wall thickness.

Growing community of inventors

Parkton, MD, United States of America

Antonio L Romero