Rebuilt rechargeable battery with welded grip
First Claim
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1. A rebuilt rechargeable battery comprising:
- a battery case;
a plurality of electrochemical cells within said battery case, each of said cells having a cylindrical shell, a positive terminal at one end of the shell, and a negative terminal at an opposite end of the shell, wherein at least two of said cells are electrically connected in series with each other by an electrical connection comprising first and second star-shaped grips and a conductive connector;
in which each grip is composed of sheet metal and has a hub and a plurality of arms extending from the hub;
in which the hub of the first grip is welded to the positive terminal of one of said two cells, and the hub of the second grip is welded to the negative terminal of the other of said two cells;
in which said conductive connector has a first part engaged with the hub of the first grip and a second part engaged with the hub of the second grip;
in which a plurality of arms of the first grip is bent so that a portion of each of said plurality of arms of the first grip is in opposed, spaced relationship to the hub of the first grip and said first part of the conductive connector is clamped between said portions of the bent arms of the first grip and the hub of the first grip and held by said portions of the bent arms of the first grip against the hub of the first grip, and a plurality of arms of the second grip is bent so that a portion of each of said plurality of arms of the second grip is in opposed, spaced relationship to the hub of the second grip and said second part of the conductive connector is clamped between said portions of the bent arms of the second grip and the hub of the second grip and held by said portions of the bent arms of the second grip against the hub of the second grip; and
in which each said conductive connector is a unitary strip of sheet metal and includes an intermediate part connecting said first and second parts thereof, said intermediate part extending between two arms of the first grip and between two arms of the second grip.
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Abstract
A rechargeable power tool battery is rebuilt by replacing its spent cells with an array of replacement cells in which connections are made by conductive connectors, ends of which are clamped by bent-over arms of star-shaped malleable metal grips, the hubs of which are spot welded to cell terminals by the replacement cell supplier. Replacement cells can be supplied in pairs with the positive terminal of one cell of the pair permanently connected to the negative terminal of the other cell of the pair and with the other positive and negative terminals each provided with a spot-welded star-shaped grip.
15 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A rebuilt rechargeable battery comprising:
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a battery case; a plurality of electrochemical cells within said battery case, each of said cells having a cylindrical shell, a positive terminal at one end of the shell, and a negative terminal at an opposite end of the shell, wherein at least two of said cells are electrically connected in series with each other by an electrical connection comprising first and second star-shaped grips and a conductive connector; in which each grip is composed of sheet metal and has a hub and a plurality of arms extending from the hub; in which the hub of the first grip is welded to the positive terminal of one of said two cells, and the hub of the second grip is welded to the negative terminal of the other of said two cells; in which said conductive connector has a first part engaged with the hub of the first grip and a second part engaged with the hub of the second grip; in which a plurality of arms of the first grip is bent so that a portion of each of said plurality of arms of the first grip is in opposed, spaced relationship to the hub of the first grip and said first part of the conductive connector is clamped between said portions of the bent arms of the first grip and the hub of the first grip and held by said portions of the bent arms of the first grip against the hub of the first grip, and a plurality of arms of the second grip is bent so that a portion of each of said plurality of arms of the second grip is in opposed, spaced relationship to the hub of the second grip and said second part of the conductive connector is clamped between said portions of the bent arms of the second grip and the hub of the second grip and held by said portions of the bent arms of the second grip against the hub of the second grip; and in which each said conductive connector is a unitary strip of sheet metal and includes an intermediate part connecting said first and second parts thereof, said intermediate part extending between two arms of the first grip and between two arms of the second grip. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A rebuilt rechargeable battery comprising:
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a battery case; a plurality of electrochemical cells of substantially uniform size within said battery case, each of said cells having a cylindrical shell, a positive terminal at one end of the shell, and a negative terminal at an opposite end of the shell, and said cells being arranged in an array in which the cylindrical shell of each cell is in close proximity to the cylindrical shell of at least one other cell in the array, and in which a first set of ends composed of one end of each of the shells is disposed substantially in a first plane and the remaining ends of the shells are disposed substantially in a second plane parallel to the first plane and spaced from the first plane by a distance substantially equal to the length of each of the shells; and a plurality of electrical connections, each connection being from a terminal of one cell to a terminal of another cell and comprising first and second star-shaped grips, each composed of sheet metal and having a hub and a plurality of arms extending from the hub, the hub of the first grip being welded to said terminal of one cell, and the hub of the second grip being welded to said terminal of another cell, and a conductive connector connecting said first and second grips, the conductive connector having a first part engaged with the hub of the first grip and a second part engaged with the hub of the second grip; wherein a plurality of arms of the first grip is bent so that a portion of each of said plurality of arms of the first grip is in opposed, spaced relationship to the hub of the first grip and said first part of the conductive connector is clamped between said portions of the bent arms of the first grip and the hub of the first grip and held by said portions of the bent arms of the first grip against the hub of the first grip, and a plurality of arms of the second grip is bent so that a portion of each of said plurality of arms of the second grip is in opposed, spaced relationship to the hub of the second grip and said second part of the conductive connector is clamped between said portions of the bent arms of the second grip and the hub of the second grip and held by said portions of the bent arms of the second grip against the hub of the second grip; and wherein each said conductive connector is a unitary strip of sheet metal and includes an intermediate part connecting said first and second parts thereof, said intermediate part extending between two arms of the first grip and between two arms of the second grip. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A rebuilt rechargeable battery comprising:
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a battery case; a plurality of electrochemical cells within said battery case, each of said cells having a cylindrical shell, a positive terminal at one end of the shell, and a negative terminal at an opposite end of the shell, wherein at least two of said cells are electrically connected with each other by an electrical connection comprising first and second star-shaped grips and a conductive connector; in which each grip is composed of sheet metal and has a hub and a plurality of arms extending from the hub; in which the hub of the first grip is welded to a terminal of one of said two cells, and the hub of the second grip is welded to a terminal of the other of said two cells; in which said conductive connector has a first part engaged with the hub of the first grip and a second part engaged with the hub of the second grip; in which a plurality of arms of the first grip is bent so that a portion of each of said plurality of arms of the first grip is in opposed, spaced relationship to the hub of the first grip and said first part of the conductive connector is clamped between said portions of the bent arms of the first grip and the hub of the first grip and held by said portions of the bent arms of the first grip against the hub of the first grip, and a plurality of arms of the second grip is bent so that a portion of each of said plurality of arms of the second grip is in opposed, spaced relationship to the hub of the second grip and said second part of the conductive connector is clamped between said portions of the bent arms of the second grip and the hub of the second grip and held by said portions of the bent arms of the second grip against the hub of the second grip; and in which each said conductive connector is a unitary strip of sheet metal and includes an intermediate part connecting said first and second parts thereof, said intermediate part extending between two arms of the first grip and between two arms of the second grip. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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Specification