Eveready Battery Company, Inc.

Union Carbide Corporation

Ernest D Botos

John C Bailey

Timothy D Foley

Alexander Jacobs, Iii

Rick Burkholder

David Baggaley

Marcus K Boolish

The invention pertains to housings and enclosures for assemblies of electrochemical cells such as used in consumer electronic devices. A system of structural elements having constant cross-section along at least one axis is provided to construct protective housings for electrochemical cell assemblies. Where cell assemblies include sensitive circuit elements such as circuit boards the fabricated housings include cover portions to reduce the chance of impact or contact damage to the circuit elements. By designing structural elements having open and constant cross-sections, a family of housing components may be fabricated from a single structural element by altering a length. Different configuration housings may also be constructed by rearranging the housing components or introducing additional interconnecting components. By incorporating a unified interconnecting element into each component, interchangeability is increased. In this way, the number of distinct housings that can be constructed from a limited number of distinct structural elements is increased. The invention includes cell assemblies incorporating such housing components. The invention provides inexpensive and easy methods of forming enclosures for a variety of cell assemblies by avoiding multiple toolings for unique parts.

Protective electrochemical cell package

An electrochemical cell having a cell housing containing active components of the cell and having an inner cover and vent passage provided in the inner cover. A vent with a seal member is force-fitted within the vent passage. A current interrupt contact is provided on an outer cover and facing the seal member for providing electrical contact between the outer cover and a current path of the cell. Upon reaching a predetermined internal cell pressure, the seal member is forcibly released from the vent passage and, at the same time, forcibly engages the current interrupt contact to interrupt the flow of current from within the cell to the outer cover.

Electrochemical cell having current path interrupter

Disclosed is a method of forming porous carbon cathode collectors for electrochemical cells by mixing carbon black with binder and liquid to form a dough, drying it at an elevated temperature, compacting the dried mix at an elevated temperature, milling it to a particle size greater than 0.05 mm and preferably 0.1 to 0.3 mm, and molding the dry milled mix, preferably by auger feeding, to form a collector having a pore size at least 50% by volume being 10 microns or larger and most preferably in the range of 10 to 90 microns.

Dry molded cathode collector for liquid cathode systems

The housing of an electrochemical cell system has a vent passageway defined by a flared flange. The flange is flared outwardly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the passageway so that the opening of the vent passageway facing to the interior of the housing is smaller than the opening of the vent passageway facing to the exterior of the housing. An electrically insulating material, such as glass, is fused in the passageway to form a hermetic seal. The outwardly flared flange facilitates removal of the seal material responsive to excessive internal cell pressures so the cell can be vented safely.

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Bay Village, OH, United States of America

Ernest D Botos