Comsat Corporation

William H Kelly

Martin W Earl

Ronald R Kessler

Wein-Shen Jiang

Max A Morris

Fred W Brantner

A common pressure vessel type Ni-H.sub.2 battery having a thermally conductive rack disposed within the pressure vessel and having an outer wall conforming to and in thermal contact with the inner surface of a cylindrical center wall portion of the pressure vessel and a plurality of fins dividing the rack into a plurality of compartments. A Ni-H.sub.2 battery cell is disposed in each of the compartments in thermal contact with adjacent ones of the fins. A plurality of flexure springs extend between racks, providing a radial force on the racks so as to urge the outer walls of the racks into contact with respective portions of the wall of the pressure vessel. A stopper is formed internally of the pressure vessel and a wave spring is disposed between a weld ring provided at the end of the rack opposite the stopper for forcing the racks in the longitudinal direction of the pressure vessel into contact with the stopper.

Ni-H.sub.2 battery having improved thermal properties

A common pressure vessel type Ni--H.sub.2 storage battery having an outer pressure vessel that contains a stack of compartments. Each of the compartments including at least one battery cell, a heat transfer member, and a cell spacer for maintaining a relatively constant distance between adjacent compartments. The heat transfer members include a fin portion, which is in thermal contact with the battery cell, and a flange portion which extends longitudinally from the fin portion and is in tight thermal contact with the inner wall of the pressure vessel. The heat transfer member serves to transfer heat generated from a battery cell radially outward to the pressure vessel, which is capable of dissipating the heat into the surrounding atmosphere.

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Gaithersburg, MD, United States of America

William H Kelly