Rebuilt rechargeable battery and method
OwnerJoseph Krzywickiinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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.
Claims20
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 over the first part of the conductive connector whereby said first part is clamped 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 over the second part of the conductive connector whereby said second part is clamped by the bent arms of the second grip against the hub of the second grip.
A rebuilt rechargeable battery comprising:
- 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 over the first part of the conductive connector whereby said first part is clamped 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 over the second part of the conductive connector whereby said second part is clamped by the bent arms of the second grip against the hub of the second grip.
A method of rebuilding a rechargeable battery comprising a set of spent, electrically interconnected, electrochemical cells of substantially uniform size within a battery case, the cells being connected to battery terminals on 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, the method comprising the steps of:
- removing said set of spent cells from the battery case;
- arranging a fresh set of cells in substantially the same arrangement as that of the spent cells, wherein terminals of cells of the fresh set at the ends of the shells thereof in said first plane are permanently connected to metal grips before said fresh set of cells is arranged in said arrangement;
- establishing electrical interconnections in said fresh set of cells corresponding to the electrical interconnections in said set of spent cells, at least in part by connecting each of said metal grips to another of said metal grips by mechanically securing first and second parts of a conductive connector to respective metal grips to be connected;
- enclosing the fresh set of cells within said battery case;
- and
- electrically connecting said fresh set of cells to said battery terminals on said battery case.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.