CA1068333A - Lightweight battery with selectively strengthened structure - Google Patents

Lightweight battery with selectively strengthened structure

Info

Publication number
CA1068333A
CA1068333A CA294,060A CA294060A CA1068333A CA 1068333 A CA1068333 A CA 1068333A CA 294060 A CA294060 A CA 294060A CA 1068333 A CA1068333 A CA 1068333A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
cells
cell walls
strengthened
cell
end plates
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA294,060A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Donald C. Briggs
Ronald J. Haas
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Lanteris Space LLC
Original Assignee
Ford Aerospace and Communications Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ford Aerospace and Communications Corp filed Critical Ford Aerospace and Communications Corp
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1068333A publication Critical patent/CA1068333A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01MPROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M10/00Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M10/04Construction or manufacture in general
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01MPROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M50/00Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the non-active parts of electrochemical cells other than fuel cells, e.g. hybrid cells
    • H01M50/20Mountings; Secondary casings or frames; Racks, modules or packs; Suspension devices; Shock absorbers; Transport or carrying devices; Holders
    • H01M50/258Modular batteries; Casings provided with means for assembling
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01MPROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M6/00Primary cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M6/42Grouping of primary cells into batteries
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02EREDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E60/00Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02E60/10Energy storage using batteries
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02PCLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P70/00Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
    • Y02P70/50Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Electrochemistry (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Secondary Cells (AREA)
  • Sealing Battery Cases Or Jackets (AREA)
  • Primary Cells (AREA)
  • Battery Mounting, Suspending (AREA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
This specification teaches a battery structure of lightweight construction. Such a battery is particularly useful as the power source for a space satellite. The battery structure includes a plurality of cells. Each cell has a plurality of non-strengthened cell walls which contact other nonstrengthened cell walls when the cells are in an assembled condition. Each cell also has strengthened cell walls which do not contact any other cell walls when the cells are in an assembled condition. Structurally strengthened end plates are located at opposite ends of the assembled cells to provide support for any nonstrengthened cell walls of the cells coming in contact therewith. Struc-ture is provided for holding the structurally strengthened end plates and cells in an assembled condition. By strengthening only exposed walls, a lightweight battery con-struction is achieved.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
17 In recent years, the communication industry has i& used a n~llber or eartn orbiting communications satellites 19 for the purpose of transmitting communication signals ketween various countries. In general, the communication satellites 21 are stabilized in a synchronous orbit at a fixed point above 22 the earth. A signal is beamed from one country to the 23 satellite, is received by the satellite, amplified and 24 rebeamed from the satellite back to an earth station in , r~

~L068333 1 another country. The types of messages which can be so
2 transmitted include not only telephone conversations but also such things as data communications and television 4 pictures.
In constructing such a communication satellite, it 6 is important to make the components thereof as light in weight 7 as possible. The lighter each component is the more fuel 8 that may be carried in the satellite for the purpose of 9 stabilizing the same~ The increase in fuel capacity for stabilization purposes means that the satellite will have a ll longer useful time in earth orbit as that location in earth 12 orbit is controlled by the stabilizing systems.
13 One item which is used on such communication 14 satellites is a storage battery. This invention is directed to a storage battery for such use which is of lightweight 16 construction. By reducing the weight of the battery, addi-17 tional fuel may be carried in the satellite.
18 It is a principal object of this invention to pro-l9 vide a lightweight battery structure which is suitable for use in communication satellites.
21 A novelty study conducted on the subject matter of 22 this invention disclosure contained the following cited 23 patents: 2,757,222; 3,061,662; 3,338,007; 3,553,020;
24 3,623,917; and 3,~44,841.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a battery structure and, 26 more particularly, to a lightweight battery structure which 27 is suitable for use in spacecraft applications.

1061~333 1 In accordance with the general teachings of this 2 invention, the lightweight battery structure comprises a
3 plurality of cells. Each cell has a plurality of non-
4 strengthened cell walls. Such nonstrengthened cell walls contact other nonstrengthened cell walls of other cells when 6 the celis are in an assembled condition. Each cell also has 7 at least one strengthened cell wall. This strengthened cell 8 wall does not contact any other cell wall of any other cell g when the cells are in an assembled condition. A pair of structurally strengthened end plates are located at opposite 11 ends of the cells when the cells are in an assembled condi-12 tion. These end plates provide support for any nonstrengthened 13 cell walls of the cells coming in contact therewith. Holding 14 structure is provided for holding the cells and the struc-turally strengthened end plates in an assembled condition.
16 In such an assembled condition, the nonstrengthened cell 17 walls are supported by one another or by the structurally 18 strengthened end plates whereas the strengthened cell walls 19 Of the cells are exposed and not supported by any contacting cell walls of other cells.
21 In accordance with the preferred teachings of this 22 invention, the nonstrengthened cell walls may be made from 23 a thin metal sheet. In this case, the strengthened cell walls 24 are made from the same thin metal sheet which has die form channels located therein in order to lend rigidity and greater 26 strength to the walls.
27 Another form of the invention is embodied in a 28 structure in which the nonstrengthened cell walls are formed 29 from a very thin fiber reinforced composite material of 1~)68333 1 lightweight. In this case, the strengthened walls are formed 2 from a reinforced honeycomb structure which has substantially 3 greater strength than do the nonstrengthened walls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
4 FIGURE 1 is a view of a battery formed in accordance with one preferred embodiment of this invention. FIGURE 2 is 6~ a cross section view in elevation taken along line 2-2 of 7 FIGURE 1~ FIGURE 3 is a partial cross section view taken 8 along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2. FIGURE 4 is a view of one corner 9 of a cell. FIGURE 5 is a view of an alternate form of the structure of this invention. FIGURE 6 is a cross section 11 view in elevation taken along line 6-6 of FIGURE 5. FIGURE 7 12 is a partial cross sectional view taken along line 7-7 of 13 FIGURE 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
14 In order to illustrate the principals of this inven-tion, two preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed 16 herein. The first embodiment is disclosed in FIGURES 1 through 17 4 in which individual cells of the overall battery are made 18 from metal walls. In the second embodiment disclosed in lg FIGURES 5 through 7, the cell walls are made from a mixture of metal and fiber reinforced composite structures. These two 21 different embodiments will be discussed in detail hereinbelow.
22 In FIGURE 1, there is seen a battery generally 23 designated by the numeral 10. The battery includes a plurality 24 of cells 12 which in the embodiment shown are formed so that four cells make up one cross section of the battery. In the ~106~3333 1 battery shown there are eighteen rows of the four-cell units.
2 In total, therefore, the battery 10 contains 72 individual 3 cells.
4 The construction for the individual cells is best seen by referring to FIGURES 2 and 3. In this embodiment the 6 individual cells 12 are formed from a plurality of cell walls.
7 With reference to FIGURE 2, a back cell wall 14 and a bottom 8 cell wall 16 of an individual cell 12 are formed from a 304L
9 stainless steel or nickel alloy such as 718A Inconel (trade-mark) sold by International Nickel Company which has a thick-11 ness in the range from .004 inch to .010 inch. Side walls 18 12 (shown best in FIGURE 3) of each cell are formed of the same 13 material. The walls 14, 16 and 18 are nonstrengthened walls.
14 It is readily apparent, however, that these nonstrengthened walls abut similar nonstrengthened walls of other cells either 16 in the same row therewith or in adjacent rcws whereby support 17 is obtained for the nonsupported walls. The support obtained 18 is a mutually dependent support with one nonsupported wall 19 supporting that in contact with it in a mutual relationship.
Once again with reference to FIGURE 2, an upper wall 21 20 and an outer side wall 22 of each of the cells 12 has a 22 plurality of die formed strengthening channels 24 therein for 23 the purpose of strengthening these outer walls. These outer 24 walls are also formed of the same material as the previously described walls. These die formed channels have a radius of 26 75 to 120 mils and are formed by metal sheet drawing process.
27 These die formed channels strengthened the outer wall to pre-28 vent bending and deflection damage to the container due to 29 internal cell pressure increases normally encountered during 1 overcharge operation. When the individual cells 12 are in an 2 assembled condition, the strengthened walls are not in contact 3 with cell walls of other cells.
4 A pair of structurally strengthened end plates generally identified by the numeral 26 are located at opposite 6 ends of the assembled cells 12 as is best seen in FIGURE 1.
7 These end plates have a pair of projecting portions 28 through ; 8 which a through bolt 30 extends to receive suitable nuts 32 9 thereon. By such means, the end plates hold the plurality of cells 12 in an assembled condition.
11 Each end plate 26 is formed from a llghtweight alumi-12 num structure in which the faces o~ the members are made from 13 thin aluminum. The internal portion of each end plate is 14 formed from an aluminum honeycomb 34, shown only in FIGURE 1, in which the cell spacing is approximately 1/4 inch. Each 16 end plate also provides structural support for the non-17 strengthened side cell walls which come in contact therewith.
18 In accordance with the construction of this inven-19 tion, individual cells 12 have both nonstrengthened cell walls and strengthened cell walls. In the final assembly, the non-21 strengthened cell walls contact either other nonstrengthened 22 cell walls to provide support therefor or contact the struc-23 turally strengthened end plates to provide support therefor.
24 The structurally strengthened cell walls do not engage any other cell wall and are generally exposed. By providing 26 strengthened walls for only those walls which arenonsupported, 27 the cost of making the battery cell is reduced because it is 28 not necessary to carry out the die forming strengthening opera-29 tion on the nonsupported walls. Also, the walls can be rela-- `~
~L06~333 1 tively thin because those which are not supported ky other 2 walls are the only walls which are strengthened.
3 Reference is now made to the battery generally 4 identified by the numeral 110 as shown in FIGURE 5. Once again in this construction, a plurality of battery cells 6 generally identified by the numeral 112 are provided. These 7 cells are stacked in a manner similar to the stacking of the 8 cells 12 previously described with the battery 10. In this 9 situation, however, the structure is built slightly different.
Reference is made to-FIGURE 6 wherein a back wall 114 and a 11 bottom wall 116 are shown. These walls are nonstrengthened 12 walls and they are made from a fiber reinforced epoxy com-13 posite such as manufactured by Fiberite Corporation of 14 Winoma, Minnesota which has a thickness of ~004 inches. This material is identified by Fiberite as their material HYE 1334.
16 The material could also be an epoxy fiber such as manufactured 17 by DuPont under the name Kevlar (trademark) whlch has a thick-18 ness of 0.004 inches. Another material which is suitable is a 19 fiberglass epoxy manufactured by Hexcell having a thickness of 0~004 inches and identified by Hexcell as their number 21 F161-120. As shown in FIGURE 7, the side walls 118 of each 22 cell 112 can also be made of this same relatively thin material.
23 An upper wall 120 and an outer side wall 122 are 24 made by forming a sandwich of ~wo thir. sheets of materials such as identified above between a honeycomb matrix formed 26 of this material. Such material may be konded together with 27 an epoxy adhesive such as manufactured by American Cynamid 28 and identified by their number FM123. This laminated sand-29 wich provides structural strength in those walls which are not supported ky other adjacent walls.

r ~
106~333 1 The plurality of individual cells 112 are supported 2 by the use of structurally strengthened end plates 26, 26 as 3 was described before during the description of the battery 10.
4 These structurally strengthened end plates 26 are formed in the same manner as described previously and function in a 6 manner whereby they hold the plurality of cells in an assembled 7 condition. In their assembled conditions, the structurally 8 strengthened walls of the cells are exposed and not engaged 9- by other cell walls whereas the nonstrengthened walls engage other nonstrengthened walls to find support therefor or engage 11 the strengthened end plates to provide strength therefor.
12 There has been disclosed herein a battery structure 13 which is of lightweight construction. In view of the teach-14 ings of this specification, those skilled in the art will be able to make other modifications thereof which fall 16 within the true spirit and scope of this invention. It is 17 intended that all such modifications be included within the 18 scope of the appended claims.
19 ~

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

A battery structure which comprises:
a plurality of cells;
each cell having a plurality of non-strengthened cell walls, such nonstrengthened cell walls contacting other nonstrengthened cell walls of other adjacent cells when said cells are in an assembled condition;
each cell also having strengthened cell walls, such strengthened cell walls not contacting any cell walls of other cells when said cells are in an assembled condition;
a pair of structurally strengthened end plates located at opposite ends of said cells when said cells are in an assembled condition, said end plates providing support for. any nonstrengthened cell walls of said cells coming in contact therewith; and means for holding said cells and said struc-turally strengthened end plates in an assembled condi-tion, whereby said nonstrengthened cell walls are supported by one another or by said structurally strengthened end plates and said strengthened cell walls of said cells are exposed and not supported by a contacting cell wall.

A battery structure which comprises:
a plurality of cells;
each cell having a plurality of non-strengthened metal cell walls, such nonstrengthened metal cell walls contacting nonstrengthened metal cell walls of other adjacent cells when said cells are in an assembled condition;
each cell also having die-formed strengthened metal cell walls, such die-formed strengthened metal cell walls not contacting any cell walls of other cells when said cells are in an assembled condition;
a pair of structurally strengthened end plates located at opposite ends of said cells when said cells are in an assembled condition, said end plates providing support for any nonstrengthened metal cell walls of said cells coming in contact therewith; and a pair of structurally strengthened end plates located at opposite ends of said cells when said cells are in an assembled condition, said end plates providing support for any nonstrengthened metal cell walls of said cells coming in contact therewith; and means for holding said cells and said structurally strengthened end plates in an assembled condition whereby said nonstrengthened metal cell walls are supported by one another or by said structurally strengthened end plates, and said die-formed strengthened channel metal walls of said cells are exposed and not supported by a contacting cell wall.

A battery structure which comprises:
a plurality of cells;
each cell having a plurality of fiber reinforced com-posite nonstrengthened cell walls, such fiber reinforced composite cell walls contacting fiber reinforced composite cell walls of other adjacent cells when said cells are in an assembled condition;
each cell also having reinforced honeycomb strengthened cell walls, such reinforced honeycomb strengthened cell walls not contacting any cell walls of other cells when said cells are in an assembled condition;
a pair of structurally strengthened end plates located at opposite ends of the cells when said cells are in an assembled condition, said end plates providing support for any fiber reinforced composite nonstrengthened cell walls of said cells coming in contact therewith; and means for holding said cells and said structurally strengthened end plates in an assembled condition, whereby said fiber reinforced composite nonstrengthened cell walls are supported by one another or by said structurally strengthened end plates, and said reinforced honeycomb strengthened walls of said cells are exposed and not supported by a contacting cell wall.
CA294,060A 1977-05-04 1977-12-29 Lightweight battery with selectively strengthened structure Expired CA1068333A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US05/793,907 US4100333A (en) 1977-05-04 1977-05-04 Battery structure

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1068333A true CA1068333A (en) 1979-12-18

Family

ID=25161124

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA294,060A Expired CA1068333A (en) 1977-05-04 1977-12-29 Lightweight battery with selectively strengthened structure

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US4100333A (en)
JP (1) JPS5836832B2 (en)
BR (1) BR7800171A (en)
CA (1) CA1068333A (en)
DE (1) DE2819488A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2390018B3 (en)
IT (1) IT1101839B (en)

Families Citing this family (19)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4347294A (en) * 1981-02-12 1982-08-31 Santiago Mejia Novel electric storage battery assembly
GB2136629B (en) * 1983-03-16 1986-11-19 South African Inventions Power storage battery
DE4226428C3 (en) * 1992-08-10 1996-09-26 Friedhelm Mesmer Battery block box made of thermoplastic with a mechanical clamping device
DE4227915A1 (en) * 1992-08-22 1994-02-24 Friedhelm Mesmer Electrode for lead@ batteries - has central lead@ sheet coated on both sides with active materials
KR100696631B1 (en) * 2005-08-11 2007-03-19 삼성에스디아이 주식회사 Secondary battery module
US7921946B2 (en) * 2007-05-07 2011-04-12 General Electric Company System and method for cooling a battery
US7770525B2 (en) 2007-05-07 2010-08-10 General Electric Company System and method for segregating an energy storage system from piping and cabling on a hybrid energy vehicle
US8006626B2 (en) * 2007-05-07 2011-08-30 General Electric Company System and method for cooling a battery
US20080276631A1 (en) * 2007-05-07 2008-11-13 Ajith Kuttannair Kumar System and Method for Cooling a Battery
US20080280198A1 (en) * 2007-05-07 2008-11-13 Ajith Kuttannair Kumar Battery mechanical packaging
US20080293277A1 (en) * 2007-05-23 2008-11-27 Ajith Kuttannair Kumar System and method for connecting a battery to a mounting system
JP4835742B2 (en) 2009-02-20 2011-12-14 ソニー株式会社 Battery and battery pack
KR101201740B1 (en) * 2010-11-12 2012-11-15 에스비리모티브 주식회사 Battery module
DE102011076580A1 (en) 2011-05-27 2012-11-29 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft Energy storage module of several prismatic storage cells
DE102011076583A1 (en) 2011-05-27 2012-11-29 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft Energy storage module of several particular prismatic memory cells and method for producing an energy storage module
DE102011076575A1 (en) 2011-05-27 2012-11-29 Bmw Ag Energy storage module of several, in particular prismatic memory cells and method for producing an energy storage module and method for producing an end plate for an energy storage module
US9373870B2 (en) * 2013-03-15 2016-06-21 Elwha Llc Battery damage indicator
US9437849B2 (en) * 2013-03-15 2016-09-06 Elwha Llc Battery damage indicator
DE102014223047A1 (en) * 2014-11-12 2016-05-12 Robert Bosch Gmbh Receptacle for a battery module and battery module having such a receptacle

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2980751A (en) * 1957-09-20 1961-04-18 Electro Acid Corp Of Nevada Electric storage battery and case

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IT7848384A0 (en) 1978-03-10
JPS53136628A (en) 1978-11-29
IT1101839B (en) 1985-10-07
US4100333A (en) 1978-07-11
JPS5836832B2 (en) 1983-08-11
BR7800171A (en) 1978-12-12
FR2390018A1 (en) 1978-12-01
FR2390018B3 (en) 1980-09-12
DE2819488A1 (en) 1978-11-09

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