2456results about "Current conducting connections" patented technology

In an exemplary embodiment, a method of charging a battery includes supplying a charging current to the battery and measuring one or more battery parameters. The battery parameters may be, for example, temperature, voltage and / or charging current. The battery parameter measured is used to determine a charging current set point. The set point may be selected from a number of different set points stored in memory, where each set point corresponds to a respective battery parameter range. If the charging current being supplied to the battery is different from the charging current set point determined the charging current is adjusted to match the set point. This process is repeated for each of a plurality of time periods (e.g., sampling periods) during charging of the battery.

A cordless power tool has a housing which includes a mechanism to couple with a removable battery pack. The battery pack includes one or more battery cells as well as a vent system in the battery pack housing which enables fluid to move through the housing. A mechanism is associated with the battery pack to dissipate heat from the battery pack.

The battery pack includes: a battery cell including a cell tab; a housing configured to accommodate the battery cell; a middle cover configured to close the housing in a state where the cell tab extends outward through the middle cover; a bus bar electrically connected to the cell tab extending outward through the middle cover; a sensing circuit board disposed on the bus bar and electrically connected to the bus bar; an isolation plate coupled to the middle cover to cover the bus bar and the sensing circuit board; and a battery management system disposed on the isolation plate and electrically connected to the sensing circuit board.

In a battery pack having a plurality of battery cells 10 connected in series and / or parallel, the battery pack is provided with a plurality of battery cells 10 each encased in a rectangular external case, and a plurality of separators 20 with electrical and heat insulating properties covering the outside of each battery cell external case excluding electrode terminals 12. Each separator 20 is disposed to intervene between adjacent battery cells 10 putting the external cases of those battery cells 10 in contact with both sides of the separator 20. With the external case of each battery cell 10 covered by separators 20 while exposing electrode terminals 12, those electrode terminals 12 are connected together. As a result, excluding required regions, battery cells 10 can be enclosed and unintended events such as short circuits can be effectively prevented.

A prismatic battery according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a flat electrode group 10 stacked or rolled by mutually positive and negative electrodes with a separator therebetween, a pressing plate 13A, a current collecting body 18A or 18B and a plurality of exposed sections 16, at least one end of the positive and negative electrodes substrates in a width direction being uncoated with a positive or negative electrode mixture. The pressing plate 13A is welded to the exposed sections 16. The pressing plate 13A includes opposing surfaces with a space therebetween provided by folding back a metal plate, and includes a slit 15 along a folded back section at least to one of the opposing surface's side. The exposed sections 16 are inserted into a gap of the pressing plate 13A, and the exposed sections 16 and the pressing plate 13A are welded by a high energy beam from a transverse direction through the slit 15. This provides a prismatic battery for large current application in electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles.

The disclosed embodiments provide a battery pack for use with a portable electronic device. The battery pack includes a first set of cells with different capacities electrically coupled in a parallel configuration. Cells within the first set of cells may also have different thicknesses and / or dimensions. The first set of cells is arranged within the battery pack to facilitate efficient use of space within a portable electronic device. For example, the first set of cells may be arranged to accommodate components in the portable electronic device.

A battery system for storing electrical power and supplying electrical power to a vehicle is disclosed. The system includes multiple battery packs, each with a plurality of cells. The cells in each battery pack are electrically connected with one another and the multiple battery packs are also electrically connected with one another to combine the total energy output of the cells of the system. The electrical connections between at least some of the cells include a severable feature, whereby the electrical connection is severed locally at the severable feature in response to an impact force that is in excess of a predetermined magnitude and / or an overcurrent / overtemperature condition.

A rechargeable battery includes an electrode assembly in a battery case, the electrode assembly including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator, a cap plate connected to the battery case, the cap plate including a short member configured to deform and electrically connect the positive and negative electrodes, and a current collecting portion including at least one fuse, the at least one fuse being electrically connected to one of the negative and positive electrodes of the electrode assembly.

A power supply system includes a number of battery cells connected in rows in an end-to-end fashion to form a battery module. A number of these battery modules are placed into a housing to form a battery brick, which is a basic building block that can be used to create a larger battery assembly. The power supply system may include locators to position individual battery cells within a row, to help ensure proper alignment of battery terminals extending outside the battery housing. Terminal connectors can be used to reduce the magnitude of the voltage seen across exposed terminals. The terminal connectors connect two of the battery terminals, while covering, and inhibiting access to, adjacent battery terminals. The power supply system may also include sensor stations to facilitate use of temperature sensors such that uniformity of airflow around the battery cells is maintained regardless of how many temperature sensors are used.

A battery connector system includes a tray assembly configured to be mounted to a battery module made from a plurality of battery cells. The tray assembly has a tray and a plurality of busbars held by the tray. The tray has a tray connector defining a mating interface being configured to mate with an electrical connector. The electrical connector may be either a wire harness connector or a circuit board connector. The busbars are coupled to the tray and have plates being configured to be electrically connected to corresponding cell tabs of the battery cells. The busbars have fuse terminals positioned in the tray connector. A plurality of fuses are coupled to the fuse terminals. The fuses may be serviceable fuses or resettable fuses. The fuses are connected between the plates of the busbars and the electrical connector.

A Kelvin connector for coupling to a post of a battery includes a first contact having a surface which at least partially conforms to and is adapted to engage and electrically connect to a surface of the post. The connector also includes a second contact having a surface which at least partially conforms to and is adapted to engage and electrically connect to the surface of the post. An electrical insulator between the first contact and the second contact urges the surface of the first contact and the surface of the second contact against the surface of the post and thereby forms a Kelvin connection to the post.

A guide plate on the head of the flashlight provides an alignment feature which aligns a pair of flashlight charging contacts with a pair of terminals in charging unit for releasably holding the flashlight in its charging receptacle. The flashlight is held within the charging receptacle in a consistent orientation, so that the flashlight switch may be easily found when the flashlight is grasped. The charging receptacle grips the head portion of the flashlight with a pair of spring-loaded jaws. A battery assembly is provided which presents both positive and negative terminals at the forward end of the battery unit. Connections are made from the forward end of the battery to an interconnection module within the flashlight head assembly.

A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, having an internal resistance of 10 mΩ or less as an alternating-current impedance value of 1 kHz, comprises a metal outer container, a nonaqueous electrolyte contained in the container, a positive electrode contained in the container, a negative electrode contained in the container, a separator interposed between the negative electrode and the positive electrode, a negative electrode lead having one end connected to the negative electrode, and a negative electrode terminal attached to the outer container so as to be connected electrically to the other end of the negative electrode lead, at least the surface of the negative electrode terminal which is connected to the negative electrode lead being formed of aluminum alloy with an aluminum purity of less than 99 wt. % containing at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mg, Cr, Mn, Cu, Si, Fe and Ni.

A battery module includes a plurality of flat cells and a plurality of nipping plates. Each of the flat cells has a cell main body and at least one electrode tab. The cell main body includes a power storage element sealed in a package member. The electrode tab is electrically connected to the power generating member and protruding outwardly from the cell main body. The flat cells are stacked on one another such that the electrode tabs are electrically connected in a stacking direction. Adjacent ones of the nipping plates in the stacking direction nip the electrode tab and a portion of the cell main body of a corresponding one of the flat cells from both opposite side surfaces of the corresponding one of the flat cells along the stacking direction.

The board assembly portion includes a circuit board, a communication terminal, and an insulating formed section. A data-processing circuit is mounted on the circuit board. The insulating formed section positions the communication terminal in a predetermined position. A penetrating opening is formed in the central part of the board assembly portion to receive the protruding terminal of the base battery portion. The communication terminal that is formed in a ring shape is secured around the periphery of the penetrating opening on the upper surface side of the board assembly portion. The protruding terminal of the base battery portion has a height that protrudes from the upper surface of the board assembly portion. In the state where the board assembly portion is secured to the base battery portion, the whole cylindrical battery has the same exterior size as a standard size battery.

A battery module includes a plurality of secondary batteries, each of the secondary batteries having a first terminal and a second terminal comprising different metals; and a plurality of bus bars, each of the bus bars including a first connecting portion comprising a first metal and connected to the first terminal of one of the secondary batteries, and a first end portion, and a second connecting portion comprising a second metal different from the first metal and connected to the second terminal of another one of the secondary batteries adjacent to the one secondary battery, and a second end portion, wherein the first end portion is connected to the second end portion by a weld.

A battery apparatus with a heat absorbing body includes a casing, a cell and a heat absorbing body. The casing includes a containing space, an anode and a cathode disposed at the exterior of the casing, and a cell and a heat absorbing body installed in the containing space. The cell includes an anode handle and a cathode handle connected to the anode and cathode respectively. The heat absorbing body is attached onto a surface of the cell and includes an upper soft film and a lower soft film sealed with the upper soft film, and a phase change material is filled between the upper and lower soft films, such that the phase change material can absorb or release large amounts of heat in a phase change process to maintain the cell operated at a lower and more stable operating temperature and extend the life of the battery apparatus.

Disclosed herein is an electrode assembly constructed in a structure in which a plurality of electrochemical cells, formed of full cells having a cathode / separator / anode structure, as basic units, are overlapped, and a continuous separator sheet is disposed between the overlapped electrochemical cells, wherein a unit electrode surrounded by the separator sheet is located at a middle of the overlapped electrochemical cells, which is a winding start point, and the full cells disposed above and below the unit electrode are symmetrical to each other about the unit electrode in the direction of electrodes of the full cells. The electrode assembly is manufactured with high productivity while the electrode assembly exhibits performance and safety equal to those of a conventional stack / folding type electrode assembly.

A lid 3 that closes the upper surface of the opening of a closed-bottom prismatic tubular battery can 1, an electrode body 2 accommodated in the battery can 1, a negative terminal 12 penetratively fastened to the lid 3, an insulating plate 11 placed on the lower surface side of the lid 3, a lead plate 17 placed on the lower surface side of the insulating plate 11, and a negative electrode current collector lead 7 led upwardly of the electrode body 2 are included. The upper end portion of the current collector lead 7 is welded to the lower surface of the lead plate 17 and bent in a position located rather closer to the front wall of the battery can 1. The insulating plate 11 has a lid side insulating portion 22 held between the lid 3 and the lead plate 17 and a front sidewall 25 that extends downwardly from the-front end side of the lid side insulating portion 22. In a free state before the battery is assembled, the lid side insulating portion 22 and the sidewall 25 of the insulating plate 11 extend roughly straightly.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide flexible, multi-voltage battery modules having multiple cells that are nested together. The cells can be, for example, cylindrical lithium ion cells. To increase cell package density, the cells can be disposed in a nested configuration so that adjacent cell centers form equilateral triangles. The cells can be placed in a housing or case with interlocking tabs that allow multiple modules to be connected together. Within a module, the cells can be connected in different configurations by buss bars at the top and the bottom of the battery cells. The different configurations may provide different voltages for the module.

A battery cell interconnect and voltage sensing assembly and a method for coupling a battery cell assembly thereto are provided. The battery cell interconnect and voltage sensing assembly includes a frame member holding a plurality of electrical interconnect members and a circuit board with an electrical connector. The assembly routes an electrical current from battery cell assemblies through the electrical interconnect members and can allow a voltage at each of the electrical interconnect members to be sensed at the electrical connector.

A method of producing a battery-connecting plate by providing busbars which connect batteries together, attaching terminals to one end of wires to produce terminal-attached wires for detecting voltage of desired ones of the batteries, placing the terminal-attached wires in a predetermined layout in a wire protector, setting the busbars and wire protector in a mold with the burbars positioned corresponding to an arrangement of the batteries, injecting resin into the mold to produce a molded piece with the burbars and the terminal-attached wires therein, and cutting an element mount portion of each of the terminals and connecting a respective circuit protector element to the element mount portion in a bridging manner across the cut.

A combined battery (100) comprising a plurality of flat-type cells (10A to 10F) by laminating thereof so that polarity of electrode tabs (11A to 11F and 12A to 12F) is alternately set, wherein welding parts to connect in series the flat cells themselves, to compose a set when all the flat-type cells (10A to 10F) are laminated, are separated at a plurality of positions of the combined battery, and the flat-type cells having such a structure that all the flat-type cells are electrically connected in series by welding each of the welding parts.

An inter-battery connection device for connecting terminals of two batteries (1a, 1b) arranged with their axes parallel to each other. The inter-battery connection device includes an inter-battery connection plate (11) that connects the battery case bottom (2) and the sealing plate (3) of the two batteries. The inter-battery connection plate (11) includes welding portions (4) at the ends of its base plate (6) for welding to the case bottom (2) and the sealing plate (3), respectively. An intermediate metal plate (7) is joined to the middle part of the base plate (6) between the welding portions (4, 4) to form an intermediate portion (5) having a greater thickness than each welding portion (4). The inter-battery connection device has reduced electric resistance while achieving improved weldability.

A secondary battery module includes a connector, which electrically connects a first unit battery to an adjacent unit battery. The connector is connected to the first battery through a connecting member, which is connected to a terminal of the first battery. The connecting member has external threads and a flange on which the connector is positioned. The connector is also fitted to the connecting member and fixed thereto through a nut, which is joined with the external threads of the connecting member.