CA1157088A - Side terminal battery case having a side terminal molded therein - Google Patents

Side terminal battery case having a side terminal molded therein

Info

Publication number
CA1157088A
CA1157088A CA000379404A CA379404A CA1157088A CA 1157088 A CA1157088 A CA 1157088A CA 000379404 A CA000379404 A CA 000379404A CA 379404 A CA379404 A CA 379404A CA 1157088 A CA1157088 A CA 1157088A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
terminal
interior surface
battery
side terminal
battery container
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
CA000379404A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Terry Oxenreider
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.)
General Battery Corp
Original Assignee
General Battery 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 General Battery Corp filed Critical General Battery Corp
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1157088A publication Critical patent/CA1157088A/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
    • H01M50/00Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the non-active parts of electrochemical cells other than fuel cells, e.g. hybrid cells
    • H01M50/50Current conducting connections for cells or batteries
    • H01M50/543Terminals
    • H01M50/552Terminals characterised by their shape
    • 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
    • H01M50/50Current conducting connections for cells or batteries
    • H01M50/543Terminals
    • H01M50/547Terminals characterised by the disposition of the terminals on the cells
    • H01M50/55Terminals characterised by the disposition of the terminals on the cells on the same side of the cell
    • 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
    • H01M50/50Current conducting connections for cells or batteries
    • H01M50/543Terminals
    • H01M50/562Terminals characterised by the material
    • 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

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Electrochemistry (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Connection Of Batteries Or Terminals (AREA)
  • Sealing Battery Cases Or Jackets (AREA)

Abstract

?C-280 ABSTRACT

A side terminal battery container of the type having a side terminal molded therein is disclosed. The side terminal of the present invention does not extend into the interior of the battery container and is particularly useful for resistance welding techniques during the battery manufacturing process.

Description

7V~il8 BATTERY CASE H~VING A SIDE TERMINAL MOLDED THEREIN
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention . _ This invention relates to electric storage batteries having their external terminals in the~ side or end walls of the battery container. More particularly this invention relates to electric storage batteries primarily for use in starting, light-ing, and ignition type applications.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
One method of assembling side terminals in a battery case is to provide a terminal which is inserted through an aperture in the case wall and is mated with a retaining ring on the inside of the case wall. In such a method the terminal and inside ring are fused by turning the case on its side and gas burning the terminal and ring together. Connections of this type, however, have a tendency to leak not only because of a deficiency in the mechanical joint itself, but also because the heat generated during the fusing operation, if not properly controlled by the operator, causes distortion of the case surrounding the terminal and further degrades the seal about the terminal con-nection. One solution in the prior art to the difficulty ofsealing this type of terminal has been to provide an additional sealant or gasket, which is applied at the case terminal inter-face to insure adequate sealing.
A second approach to the manufacturer of side terminal batteries has been to cast a terminal in place within an aperture which has been formed in a battery case. This method has achieved some success, however, the difficulty with this cast in place method is that the manufacturing variables are critical and therefore the tooling and apparatus used must be controlled within very close limits. Aaditionally, the apparatus required `~

115~088 for such manufacturing technique is Capital Intensive.
While this technique has provided a terminal which has a better seal, it does tend to result in a reduced rate of production which may counterbalance the advantages of the better seal.
Both of the prior art methods of producing a terminal in the side or end wall of the battery case share a common defect which is that there is a protrusion or an encroachment of the lead terminal into the battery container. This is necessary to affect sealing between the terminal and the inside wall of the battery container.
This protrusion into the cell or cavity of the battery container results in slowed production and also in production damage if the technician assembling the battery is not careful while placing the cell element in the cell cavity, OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a side terminal battery case having an improved seal between the terminal and the case.
It is an ob~ect of the invention to provide a side terminal for use in a molded side terminal battery case which will permit the use of resistance welding in connecting the battery element plate strap to the side terminal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention consists of a battery container with a terminal for making the terminal electrical connection with an end element of the battery through the side wall of the battery container, said battery container side wall having an exterior surface and an interior surface and said terminal molded therein, said terminal B8~

comprising; a unitary body, said unitary body having a forward face associated with said exterior surface and a rearward portion associated with said interior surface for completing the electrical connection with said end element adjacent to said interior surface; said rearward portion further comprising a border portion substantially co-planar with said interior surface and a node portion, said node portion further comprising a base recessed from said interior surface and a conical portion extending from said base; wherein the upstanding portion of the battery strap associated with said end element is placed against said interior surface and said upstanding portion is welded to said rearward portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a battery container in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 2 is a sectional view through a side terminal prior to molding the battery container.
Figure 3 is a section through 3-3 of Figure 1 showing a side terminal molded in a battery container.
Figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating the relationship between a side terminal and a plate strap from the battery elements.

~ lS7&~38 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now in detail to the attached drawings, wherein like numbers indicate similar features, the invention will be described in detail.
~ eferring now to Figure 1, there is shown a typical six cell, twelve volts side terminal container 1, with side terminal 2 molded therein. The form of battery container 1 will be well known to those skilled in the art and requires no further explanation here.
Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown the terminal prior to molding in the battery case. The terminal 2 has a lead body 4, and a stainless steel insert 6, both of which will be known to those in the art. The terminal 2 is symetric about the centerline c-c. Extending around the exterior surface of the terminal 4 there are a plurality of angular rings 8, 10, 12 and 14 which define the voids 16, 18 and 20, to provide a space for the thermal plastic material of the battery case to interlock with the terminal and form a positive lock. This prevents the terminal 2 from withdrawing from the battery case.
While four angular rings are shown in the preferred embodiment, it will be obvious that the number of angular rings may be varied according to the depth o~ the terminal desired and the threading surfaces `: :

.. i ~' - , , -.

~:~S7~

provided on the insert 6. A radius 26 is formed between the forward edge 22, of ring 8, and the forward surface 24 of the terminal, Likewise it can be seen that between the lead edge 7 of the insert 6, and the forward surface 24 there is formed a radius of 28. The radii 26 and 28 of the instant terminal when molded in the battery case appeàrs as the front surface of any of the known side terminals.
The rear surface 42 of the terminal 2 angles outwardly from the trailing edge 40 of ring 14 to the plateau 44.
Plateau 44 extends rearward for approximately the same distance as one of the angular rings. A short vertical face can be seen on collar 46. Collar 46 surrounds the node 50 and the face thereof between the outward edge of plateau 44 and inwardly tapered sur-face 48. The inwardly tapered surface 48 extends to the base of a conical node S~. As can be seen the conical node 50 term-inates in a tip 52. The tip 52, in the preferred embodiment, is recessed slightly from the plane of collar 46 which provides a crush sleeve surrounding the conical node 50. The purpose of having collar 46 form a crush sleeve, is to enable the core in the injection molding process, used for forming the battery cases, to come into a firm contact with the collar 46 and through the pressure exerted on the core to collapse the ring slightly and thereby assure a good seal between the terminal 2 and the core of the molding apparatus. In this way the resulting seal will prevent the thermal plastic material of which the container is formed from bleeding into the node area of the terminal.
However, it will be appreciated that the collar 46 and the node tip 52 may be co-planar.

G~C-~ Q
~S~88 ~ eferring now to Figure 3, there is shown a battery terminal 2 in a molded condition in a battery container 6Q. Note that the-inner wall 62 of the battery container lies within a - -single plane and that the tip 52 of node 50 is substantially equal with the plane defined by the inner wall 62. The thermal plastic material which makes up the battery container 60 and forms the collar 64 has fully filled the voids 16, 18 and 20 which are formed between the angular rings 8 through 14. It is this formation of the thermal plastic in the collar 64 which secures the terminal against being withdrawn or pulled from the battery container during fastening of an external electi-ical lead to the terminal via insert 6. Also note that the material which has been formed behind rear surface 42 prevents the pulling or movement of the terminal 2, into the battery case auring the lS final assembly stages. It should be noted at this time, that while the collar 64 appears to be somewhat larger than those normally seen on-a side terminal battery, this is only a result of the design used for the preferred embodiment. If it should become critical to maintain identical outward appearances, it would be possible to use an insert which is narrower and therefore reduce the number of angular rings and bring the dimensions of the collar more in line with those normally seen.
Turning now to Figure 4, there is shown a typical interconnection between the terminal 2 and the upstanding lug of the plate strap. The plate strap 70 has a lower portion 72 which is cast on or suitably welded to the lugs of the battery plates comprising the element to be placed in the cell. An upstanding lug 74 is provided for interconnecting the element to the terminal 2. The lug 74 is an upstanding lug of lead, as is 7C~8 generally known in the art, which has been modified to have a recess 76, which is positioned to oppose the conical node 50 of the terminal 2. As an advantage of the present invention, the luq 74 may be made of a reduced amount of lead as was generally used for similar lugs which had to be gas burned. The present lug is particularly designed to make efficient use of electrode resistance welding~ Thus, as the tolerances for casting and joining the lugs 74 become more controllable, it becomes possi~le to reduce the upward extending portion 78 and to make the lug 74 smaller. This reduction is possible because of the increased controllability which electrode welding provides and because the method of welding provides for more controllable heat.
In the actual welding operation electrode tips 82 and 84, shown in phantom in Figure 3, are brought into contact with the recess 76 of the upstanding lug 74 and the forward surface 54 of node 50. As the current is applied to the electrode tips 82 and 84 there is an area of high resistance at the inner face of tip 52 and lug 74. As a result of resistance ana increased temperature the metal will become softened as is known in the art. The electrodes 82 and 84 will continue toward each other.
When sufficient material has been joined the power to the tips 82 and 84 will be turned off and the tips will be held momentarily to insure that the weld solidifies before the electrodes are removed.
It will be recognized, by those skilled in the art, that, if desired, lug 74 may be casted without the recess 76 therein, in which case the welding electrode would form the recess during the squeeze portion of the welding operation. Likewise, if so desired, ,he electrode 84 may be a simple flat face electrode which contacts the forward surface 24. Surface 24, heing of lead and conductive, will pass the current.

o ~ :~.5i7~88 As is ~nown in the art, terminal 4 is generally provided with an anti-rotation lock feature. In the instant invention, the anti-rotation lock may take the form of perpendicular slots - -cut a;round the circumference of the angular rings, to permit plastic flow therein or may be projections or depressions formed with or within the base of the voids to interrupt the smooth circumference thereof.
Having fully disclosed my invention, it is realized that variations thereon may be made without departing from the spirit of my ;nvention or the scope of the claims amended hereto.

Claims (6)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A battery container with a terminal for making the terminal electrical connection with an end element of the battery through the side wall of the battery container, said battery container side wall having an exterior surface and an interior surface and said terminal molded therein, said terminal comprising;
a unitary body, said unitary body having a forward face associated with said exterior surface and a rearward portion associated with said interior surface for completing the electrical connection with said end element adjacent to said interior surface;
said rearward portion further comprising a border portion substantially co-planar with said interior surface and a node portion, said node portion further comprising a base recessed from said interior surface and a conical portion extending from said base;
wherein the upstanding portion of the battery strap associated with said end element is placed against said interior surface and said upstanding portion is welded to said rearward portion.
2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said base is recessed from said interior surface by approximately 0.015 inches.
3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said unitary body further comprises circumferential lock means thereon.
4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said conical portion extends from said base to a plane substantially co-planar with said interior surface.
5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said unitary body further comprises circumferential lock means.
6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said unitary body further comprises anti-rotation means thereon.
CA000379404A 1980-07-31 1981-06-09 Side terminal battery case having a side terminal molded therein Expired CA1157088A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US06/174,126 US4351890A (en) 1980-07-31 1980-07-31 Battery case having a side terminal molded therein
US174,126 1980-07-31

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1157088A true CA1157088A (en) 1983-11-15

Family

ID=22634936

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000379404A Expired CA1157088A (en) 1980-07-31 1981-06-09 Side terminal battery case having a side terminal molded therein

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (1) US4351890A (en)
CA (1) CA1157088A (en)

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4729934A (en) * 1986-11-25 1988-03-08 Krystaszek Henry J Battery side terminal
US6025088A (en) * 1997-10-31 2000-02-15 Gnb Technologies, Inc. Lead-acid battery designed to readily receive charging leads
US6803146B2 (en) * 2001-07-19 2004-10-12 Delphi Technologies, Inc. Battery terminal and method for making the same
US20050238955A1 (en) * 2004-04-26 2005-10-27 Hooke John W Battery and battery terminal structure and method of manufacture
US8372537B2 (en) * 2008-06-03 2013-02-12 C&D Technologies, Inc. Battery with a molded in-front terminal
US9099730B2 (en) * 2010-01-21 2015-08-04 C&D Technologies, Inc. Storage battery having molded-in terminal
KR20160071424A (en) * 2013-10-16 2016-06-21 알리스 에코 에이알케이 코. 엘티디. Method for confirming locked state of battery contact dedicated to electric vehicle
WO2021102976A1 (en) * 2019-11-29 2021-06-03 东莞新能德科技有限公司 Battery

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3632450A (en) * 1970-06-22 1972-01-04 Esb Inc Side entering storage battery terminal construction
US3711335A (en) * 1971-02-12 1973-01-16 Esb Inc Battery having terminal molded in wall of container
FR2140836A6 (en) * 1971-04-08 1973-01-19 Fulmen
AU463814B2 (en) * 1971-11-17 1975-08-07 Joseph Lucas (Australia) Proprietary Limited Improvements in electric storage batteries

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US4351890A (en) 1982-09-28

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