Toshiba Battery Co., Ltd.

Hideaki Kitazume

Tomoyuki Ono

Kouji Taguchi

Kazuo Kojima

Hideaki Kozawa

Hirofumi Yanagawa

Tsutomu Matsui

Reiji Nishikawa

Kayo Tanaka

Masazumi Tsukada

Noriyuki Shimizu

Kaoru Hosobuchi

Provided are a battery and a lead member, designed so that high strength of weld between them can be maintained with less variation despite the supply of lower welding current thereto when the lead member is welded to the outer surface of the battery by the parallel resistance welding method, and a battery pack using the same. A layer of an Ni-based alloy, e.g., an Ni&mdash;Fe alloy, is formed on a part or the whole of the outer surface of the battery. The lead member for battery connection is composed of a substrate and an Ni&mdash;Sn alloy layer formed on that surface of the substrate which is welded to the outer surface of the battery. The battery pack is composed of a battery group that is assembled by using the battery and/or the lead member and stored in a shell.

Battery, lead member for battery connection, and battery pack using the same

A rectangular nickel-metal hydride secondary cell permits improving the air-tightness and also permits preventing a metal case from being deformed in a step of folding an open end portion of the metal case. The rectangular nickel-metal hydride secondary cell, includes a rectangular cylindrical metal case having a bottom, an electrode group housed in the metal case, an alkali electrolyte contained in the metal case, a rectangular sealing plate mounted near the open end portion of the metal case. An insulating gasket is interposed in a compressed state between the inner wall near the open end of the metal case and the sealing plate. The metal case comprises a folded portion formed by inwardly folding the open end portion of the metal case and an inwardly projecting stepped portion formed along the inner surface of the metal case below the folded portion. The sealing plate is fixed to the metal case at the portion between the folded portion and the stepped portion of the metal case with the insulating gasket interposed therebetween, the folded portion at a corner portion of the open end portion of the metal case has an angle of 80.degree. to 100.degree.. Such a secondary cell can be formed by a process which includes charging-discharging cycles, an aging step, and a full charging step.

Method of manufacturing a nickel-metal hydride secondary cell

A rectangular nickel-metal hydride secondary cell permits improving the air-tightness and-also permits preventing a metal case from being deformed in the step of folding an open end portion of the metal case. The rectangular nickel-metal hydride secondary cell, comprising a rectangular cylindrical metal case having a bottom, an electrode group housed in the metal case, an alkali electrolyte contained in the metal case, a rectangular sealing plate mounted near the open end portion of the metal case; and an insulating gasket interposed in a compressed state between the inner wall near the open end of the metal case and the sealing plate, wherein the metal case comprises a folded portion formed by inwardly folding the open end portion of the metal case and an inwardly projecting stepped portion formed along the inner surface of the metal case below the folded portion, the sealing plate is fixed to the metal case at the portion between the folded portion and the stepped portion of the metal case with the insulating gasket interposed therebetween, the folded portion at a corner portion of the open end portion of the metal case has an angle of 80.degree. to 100.degree..

Method of making a rectangular nickel-metal hydride secondary cell

A rectangular nickel-metal hydride secondary cell permits improving the air-tightness and also permits preventing a metal case from being deformed in the step of folding an open end portion of the metal case. The rectangular nickel-metal hydride secondary cell, comprising a rectangular cylindrical metal case having a bottom, an electrode group housed in the metal case, an alkali electrolyte contained in the metal case, a rectangular sealing plate mounted near the open end portion of the metal case; and an insulating gasket interposed in a compressed state between the inner wall near the open end of the metal case and the sealing plate, wherein the metal case comprises a folded portion formed by inwardly folding the open end portion of the metal case and an inwardly projecting stepped portion formed along the inner surface of the metal case below the folded portion, the sealing plate is fixed to the metal case at the portion between the folded portion and the stepped portion of the metal case with the insulating gasket interposed therebetween, the folded portion at a corner portion of the open end portion of the metal case has an angle of 80.degree. to 100.degree..

Rectangular nickel-metal hydride secondary cell

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Hideaki Kitazume