End cap seal assembly for an electrochemical cell

An electrochemical cell comprising a housing having an open end an opposing closed end and cylindrical side wall therebetween and an end cap assembly inserted into the open end of said housing closing said housing, said cell having a positive and a negative terminal,

• wherein the end cap assembly comprises an insulating sealing disk, a support disk comprising metal overlying said insulating sealing disk, and an end cap comprising metal overlying said metal support disk, and an elongated current collector in electrical contact with said end cap, when the cell is viewed in vertical position with the end cap assembly on top, wherein said insulating sealing disk electrically insulates the support disk and end cap from the cell housing;
• wherein said insulating sealing disk comprises a plastic material having an upwardly extending surface slanted at an angle less than 90 degrees from the cell's central longitudinal axis and not parallel to said longitudinal axis, said upwardly extending surface of said insulating disk extends upwardly from a low point thereon to a high point thereon, said low point being closer to the cell's central longitudinal axis than said high point when the cell is viewed in vertical position with the end cap assembly on top;
• wherein said housing has an edge at the open end thereof and said insulating sealing disk, metal support disk, and end cap each have a peripheral edge;
• wherein said support disk is of single piece metallic construction and has at least one aperture therethrough;
• wherein the edge of said housing at the open end thereof is crimped over the peripheral edge of said insulating sealing disk locking said insulating sealing disk in place within said housing;
• wherein the peripheral edge of the insulating sealing disk is crimped over the peripheral edge of both said end cap and the peripheral edge of said metal support disk thereby locking said metal support disk and said end cap in place within said insulating sealing disk;
• wherein said insulating sealing disk has a portion of its surface underlying said aperture in said support disk when the cell is viewed in vertical position with the end cap assembly on top.

In an electrochemical cell comprising a housing having an open end an opposing closed end and cylindrical side wall therebetween and an end cap assembly inserted into the open end of said housing closing said housing, said cell having a positive and a negative terminal, said end cap assembly comprising an electrically insulating sealing disk, said insulating sealing disk having an elongated electrically conductive current collector passing therethrough, the current collector being in electrical contact with a cell terminal, the improvement comprising:

• wherein the end cap assembly comprises an insulating sealing disk, a support disk comprising metal overlying said insulating sealing disk, and an end cap comprising metal overlying said metal support disk, and an elongated current collector in electrical contact with said end cap, when the cell is viewed in vertical position with the end cap assembly on top, wherein said insulating sealing disk electrically insulates the support disk and end cap from the cell housing;
• wherein said insulating sealing disk comprises a plastic material having a upwardly extending surface slanted at an angle less than 90 degrees from the cell's central longitudinal axis and not parallel to said longitudinal axis, said upwardly extending surface of said insulating disk extends upwardly from a low point thereon to high point thereon, said low point being closer to the cell's central longitudinal axis than said high point when the cell is viewed in vertical position with the end cap assembly on top;
• wherein said support disk is of single piece metallic construction having at least one aperture therethrough;
• wherein said insulating sealing disk has a portion of its surface underlying said aperture in said support disk when the cell is viewed in vertical position with the end cap assembly on top.