Eveready Battery Company, Inc.

Energizer Brands, LLC

Truelove & Maclean, Incorporated

H & T Waterbury, Inc.

H & T Battery Components Usa, Inc.

Robert E Ray

James Xixian Wu

Richard L Bouffard

R Justin Begg

John C Stearns

Walter B Ebner

Huaxin Li

Weiwei Huang

Steven J Limmer

Zhufang Liu

Robert P Johnson

Paul R Elsdon, Jr

Richard J Sosnovich, Jr

Warren Emerson Sweet

Peter M Lewis

John O'Halloran

Raymond W Piantoni

Mark A Schubert

Manuel R Malay

William R Bennett

Diana Dreher

John C Steams

Alkaline electrochemical cells are provided, wherein dissolved zinc oxide or zinc hydroxide is included at least in the free electrolyte solution, and/or solid zinc oxide or zinc hydroxide is included in the anode, so as to slow formation of a zinc oxide passivation layer on a zinc electrode. Methods for preparing such cells are also provided.

Alkaline electrochemical cells comprising increased zinc oxide levels

An electrochemical cell is provided with an enhanced pressure relief vent formed in a closed end of the cell container that allows for effective venting of gas from the closed end of the container. The cell includes a container having a first end, a second end, a side wall extending between the first and second ends, and an end wall extending across the first end. The cell has a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an aqueous alkaline electrolyte, all disposed in the container. The cell further includes a pressure relief vent mechanism having an offset C-shaped reduced thickness groove formed in the end wall of the container. A cover can be welded to the closed end wall of the container over the pressure relief vent mechanism.

Battery can having off-center vent

An electrochemical cell is provided with an enhanced pressure relief vent formed in a closed end of the cell container that achieves effective venting of gas from the closed end of the container. The electrochemical cell including a container having a first end, a second end, a side wall extending between the first and second ends, and an end wall extending across the first end. The cell has a positive electrode, a negative, and an aqueous alkaline electrolyte, all disposed in the container. The cell further includes a pressure relief vent having a reduced thickness groove formed in the end wall of the container. The reduced thickness groove is formed having eight segments extending radially from a central location. A cover is welded on the end wall of the container via at least three welds, wherein the angular spacing between two adjacent welds is greater than 120&#xb0;.

Battery container having cruciform vent and cover

An electrochemical cell with a pressure relief vent formed in a metal plate disposed in at least one of the closed end and the open end of the container. The pressure relief vent has an annular ring that includes a reduced thickness groove, interrupted in at least two places by unthinned sections of the plate. When the vent opens to relieve pressure from within the cell, the area of the plate within the annular ring remains attached to the remainder of the plate by at least one of the unthinned sections. A can with such a pressure relief vent formed in the can bottom is useful as an electrochemical cell container.

Battery cell with improved pressure relief vent

Battery can having off-center C-shaped vent

An electrochemical cell is provided with an enhanced pressure relief vent formed in a closed end of the cell container that allows for effective venting of gas from the closed end of the container. The cell includes a container having a first end, a second end, a side wall extending between the first and second ends, and an end wall extending across the first end. The cell has a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an aqueous alkaline electrolyte, all disposed in the container. The cell further includes a pressure relief vent mechanism having a reduced thickness groove formed in the end wall of the container. A cover is welded to the closed end wall of the container over the pressure relief vent mechanism and is welded via at least three welds, wherein two adjacent welds are angularly separated by more than 120&#xb0;.

Battery can having vent and asymmetric welded cover

A low profile collector and seal assembly for sealing the open end of a container of an electrochemical cell and providing venting of pressurized gases. An electrochemical cell has a can with a closed bottom end and an open top end, positive and negative electrodes disposed in the can, and a collector and seal assembly disposed in the open top end of the can for closing the open top end of the can. The collector and seal assembly includes a current collector and an annular seal that move relative to each other from a sealed position to a vented position when the internal cell pressure reaches a pressure threshold to vent pressurized gases.

Electrochemical cell having venting current collector and seal assembly

The invention is an injection-molded thermoplastic seal member for use in an electrochemical cell and a cell containing the seal member. The thermoplastic material comprises a mixture of a polyolefin matrix, comprising more than 30 weight percent of the thermoplastic material, and an aromatic polymer having a repeating unit that comprises at least one aromatic functional group. The material has excellent molding properties and results in a seal member that forms a superior compressive seal in the electrochemical cell.

Seal for electrochemical cell

An electrochemical battery cell comprising a metal container with an open end closed with a metal cover. The top portion of the container side wall has a torus above an inward necked area, and the cover has a flange shaped around the outside of the torus and extending into the necked area. The inside diameter of the cover flange is smaller than the outside diameter of the torus, so that the cover is locked onto the top of the can. The components sealing the top of the cell require a small volume so that the internal volume for active materials and electrolyte is large. The cell can be closed and sealed with little downward force on the can side wall below the neck, allowing use of a thinner can.

Electrochemical cell with low volume cover assembly

An electrochemical cell is provided having an anode cup, a gasket, and a cathode can. The anode cup has a ratio of an upper diameter to a lower diameter greater than about 0.86 and a ratio of cup height at the upper diameter to cup height at the lower diameter of not greater than about 2.19. The external cup diameter exceeds an internal cup diameter to prevent nesting of anode cups during the assembly process. The cell has a ratio of the total height to the can height of greater than 1.35 and preferably a difference between the total height and can height of more than 0.04 inch.

Increased volume electrochemical cell

Disclosed is an electrochemical cell using a gasket with projections on both surfaces of an upstanding wall. When used as a seal member between two parts of the housing of an electrochemical cell, a plurality of high compressive stress areas is formed in the gasket wall. When projections on opposite sides of the gasket are not horizontally aligned, an effective seal can be achieved with a thinner-wall gasket, providing more internal cell volume for active materials. Also disclosed is a process for assembling the cell.

Electrochemical cell with improved gasket and seal

A forming die includes a base and at least two die segments. At least a first one of the die segments is moveably mounted to the base for shifting between closed and opened positions. The die segments together define a cavity having an opening when the first die segment is in the closed position. A punch is moveably mounted to the base for shifting between a retracted position and an extended position wherein the punch crimps a part positioned within the cavity. A powered actuator is connected to at least the first one of the die segments, and shifts the first die segment between the closed and opened positions such that a part positioned within the cavity can be removed after crimping by shifting of the first die segment to the open position. The forming die is particularly well-suited for crimping electrochemical cells.

Growing community of inventors

Strongsville, OH, United States of America

Robert E Ray