General Electric Company

Kenneth C LeDuc

James A Madden

Raymond K Sugalski

Jon Kenneth West

Joseph P Bellino

Jesse L Morris

Serge Ferrus

Apparatus for the automatic assembly and closure of rechargeable cells packaged in a cylindrical casing, wherein the cell casing, containing a coiled electrode assembly, is advanced by a horizontal rotary index table through a series of operational locations. A connector tab electrically connected to and extending from the top of the electrode coil is automatically oriented at one of the locations and is thereafter welded to a cover assembly at another location to which the cover assembly is advanced by a cover placement including a vertical rotary indexing wheel moving synchronously, or in timed sequence, with the horizontal index table. The vertical rotary index wheel includes forwardly extending spindles spaced about the periphery, each spindle releasably and rotatably carrying a cover assembly. The wheel moves the cover assemblies through a sealant applicator station prior to advancing them for placement at the welding location. After welding, the cover assembly is automatically folded down into the open end of the casing; the casing's top edge is then folded over the cover, and the cell is sized to complete the manufacturing operation.

Apparatus for the automatic closure of electrochemical cells

An improved sealant for battery cells is disclosed. The new sealant is prepared by mixing trichloroethane with asphalt. This composition, is less flammable than known battery cell sealants and, when appiled to the seal ring of a battery cell, yields unexpected improvements in preventing leakage of electrolyte from the battery cell.

Sealant for battery cells

An apparatus for assembling the component parts of a cover for an electrochemical cell into a cover assembly and for welding the assembly, the apparatus including a carousel having a plurality of equally spaced receptacles, an equal number of equally spaced stations around the carousel, a drive for intermittently turning the carousel to advance the receptacles to each of the stations and holding the receptacle in the station, a feeder at selected stations for feeding a part of the component parts to the carousel, inspection apparatus at stations intermediate the selected stations for inspecting the part assembly in the receptacle, a welder at a station following the selected and inspection stations for welding the assembled cover in the receptacle and an extractor at a station following the welding station for removing the assembled and welded cover from the receptacle.

Apparatus for assembling and welding vented cell covers

An apparatus for inserting and seating an insulator disc in an electrochemical cell container, the apparatus including a carousel having a plurality of receptacles, an actuator station, an index for moving a receptacle with a container therein to the actuator station, a plunger assembly in the actuator station for receiving, holding and releasing an insulator disc feed thereto and for aligning such disc with the open end of the container at the actuator station, shuttle means for feeding an insulator disc to the plunger assembly and means for feeding the discs to the shuttle including means for rejecting discs which are upside down.

Apparatus for inserting insulating disc in cell container

A battery manufacturing operation employs a first NaOH solution for washing an intermediate product generating a waste caustic, and a second NaOH solution for impregnation. In addition, quasi-periodically a fixed quantity of waste wash water is available. The invention includes a process, and an apparatus for carrying out the process, for using the waste wash water as one component of the second NaOH solution, to which is automatically added fresh NaOH until a specific NaOH solution (25% NaOH), by weight is obtained. Thereafter, the waste caustic is added resulting in the second solution. The process is effected typically automatically notwithstanding variations in the components of the waste water, and normal variations in the flow rates, etc.

Growing community of inventors

Gainesville, FL, United States of America

Kenneth C LeDuc