Method for the assembly of lead-acid batteries and associated apparatus

A method of making a lead-acid battery includes providing continuous lengths of end separator stock, positive plate stock, intermediate separator stock and negative plate stock with optional use of end separators. The separators, positive plates and negative plates are individually severed from the continuous length of stock and sequentially formed into an assembly. The assembly is introduced into a battery cell container. A plurality of assemblies may be established prior to introduction into the battery cell container. In a preferred embodiment, the assembly zone moves relative to the cutting stations for the respective continuous lengths of stock and facilitates sequential establishment of the assembly without intermediate storage of the individual separators and elements. The apparatus includes equipment for supplying continuous lengths of end separator stock, positive plate stock, intermediate separator stock and negative plate stock. An assembly zone is adapted to receive the individual separator end plates from which the assembly may be introduced into a battery cell container. In one embodiment, a separator and an associated positive or negative plate may be cut substantially simultaneously. In another embodiment, they are cut individually.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
1. Field of Invention 
This invention relates to an improved method for the assembly of lead-acid 
batteries and an apparatus related thereto More specifically, the 
invention relates to a flexible, high speed method for the manufacture of 
lead-acid batteries in a wide variety of sizes and configurations from 
continuous lengths of battery plate stock. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Conventional lead-acid storage batteries generally consist of a plurality 
of alternating flat pasted positive plates and flat pasted negative plates 
which are electrically insulated from one another by a porous separator 
material. The cell assembly so constituted is placed into a suitable 
container in which the positive and negative plates are brought into 
contact with a sulfuric acid electrolyte. In batteries containing free 
electrolyte, the cell assembly is generally fully immersed in the sulfuric 
acid. In batteries containing no free electrolyte, the sulfuric acid is 
fully absorbed in the plates and separator material. 
The manufacture of storage batteries of the type described hereinabove, 
generally involves alternately stacking cured pasted positive plates and 
cured pasted negative plates to form a cell assembly in which each 
positive plate is separated from each negative plate by a porous separator 
material. The cell components are aligned such that all of the positive 
current collecting lugs are aligned with one another. All of the negative 
current collecting lugs are aligned with one another in a zone 
significantly separated from the plane of the aligned positive lugs. The 
porous separator material overlaps the plates on four sides to provide 
effective electrical insulation. The positive lugs are electrically 
connected to one another and the negative lugs are electrically connected 
to one another by means of separate electrically conductive plate straps. 
The completed cell assembly is placed in a battery container. If the 
battery contains more than one cell, intercell electrical connections are 
then made and the battery container and cover are sealed together. The 
sulfuric acid electrolyte is next added to the battery and the plates are 
electrochemically formed. Following electrochemical formation, the acid 
used for formation may be removed from the battery and replaced with 
sulfuric acid of a different specific gravity. The battery is then washed 
and dried, vent caps are installed, and the final production steps are 
completed. 
An alternative method of manufacture involves the use of individual 
positive and negative plates that have been electrochemically formed, 
washed and dried prior to cell assembly. This method eliminates the need 
to electrochemically form the plates in the battery container, thereby 
increasing the speed and minimizing the cost of final assembly. These cost 
savings are generally offset, large number of individual plates involved 
prior to the cell assembly operation. 
Generally, pasted battery plates are cured and, if electrochemically formed 
prior to assembly, formed as "doubles", i.e., two attached plates which 
must be separated prior to the cell assembly step. One method of 
separating paired battery plates which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 
4,285,257, involves a rotary cutting blade which separates a stack of 
paired plates into two stacks of individual plates of the same polarity 
which represent the starting material for commonly used cell assembly 
processes, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,784,380, 4,720,227, 
4,728,093, 4,534,549, 4,168,772, and 3,982,624. All of these methods and 
related apparatus utilize feedstock consisting of stacks of singular 
negative plates, stacks of singular porous separator pieces, and stacks of 
singular positive plates which are automatically combined on a conveyor to 
progressively form cell assemblies containing the desired number of 
positive plates, negative plates, and separator pieces which normally 
overlap the positive and negative plates on four sides. The battery cell 
assemblies so produced must be removed from the conveyor and the positive 
and negative plate lugs aligned in a separate operation prior to the 
subsequent production steps of forming the positive and negative plate 
straps and inserting the completed cell assembly into the battery 
container. 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,479,300, 4,510,682, and 4,583,286 describe alternative 
methods and apparatus for the production of a lead-acid battery cell 
assembly which involve building a cell assembly from a plurality of 
positive plates obtained from a source of individual positive plates, a 
plurality of negative plates obtained from a source of individual negative 
plates, and a continuous length of porous separator material containing 
accordion-type folds. In this construction, the positive and negative 
plates are located within accordion folds and are on opposite sides of the 
separator from one another. The cell assemblies so produced are subjected 
to additional production steps in which the positive plate lugs and 
negative plate lugs are properly aligned, the cell assembly is taped 
together to hold the alignment during the subsequent and separate 
production steps of forming the plate strap and inserting the taped cell 
assembly into the battery container. 
Another known method for the production of lead-acid battery cell 
assemblies from stacks of singular positive plates, stacks of singular 
negative plates, and a continuous length of porous separator material 
involves properly locating a positive plate on top of a piece of separator 
material cut from said continuous length such that the length of the cut 
piece is at least twice the height of said positive plate, folding the 
separator material over the bottom of said positive plate and sealing it 
on both sides to form a 3-sided envelope, properly positioning said 
negative plate relative to the envelope containing the positive plate, and 
repeating these steps until the cell assembly contains the desired number 
of positive and negative plates. A rotary apparatus utilized in this 
production method, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,834, removes the 
aforesaid battery plates from the stacks of individual plates of singular 
polarity and positions the plates relative to the separator and each 
other. 
Cell assemblies produced in accordance with the above method and apparatus 
must be physically removed from the apparatus and subjected to separate 
production steps in which the positive and negative plate lugs are 
aligned, the plate straps are formed, and the cell assembly is inserted 
into the battery container. U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,307 describes a method and 
apparatus for automatically transporting and aligning said cell assemblies 
prior to subjecting them to a means for forming the positive and negative 
plate straps. 
All of the hereinbefore described methods and apparatus involve extensive 
and costly handling of paired and singular plates prior to cell assembly 
and each requires additional production steps to align the plate lugs and 
insert the cell assembly into the battery container. Further, each 
requires a significant expenditure in dust control equipment in order to 
comply with mandated lead-in-air standards when as-cured plates are being 
handled. 
A method and apparatus for the production of lead-acid battery cell 
assemblies from continuous lengths of cured battery plate stock and 
continuous lengths of separator material, is disclosed in U.S. patent 
application Ser. No. 315,722. In this method, the required lengths of a 
plurality of cell components: e.g. a length of cured positive plate stock, 
a length of porous separator material, a length of cured negative plate 
stock, and a second length of porous separator material, all of which 
represent only a portion of the total number of cell components in the 
completed cell assembly, are indexed into a cutting chamber and 
simultaneously cut to length by a single cutting mechanism. The 
subassembly so produced is next transported to a stationary accumulation 
chamber where it is stored to await the cutting and transport of the 
remaining portions of said cell assembly. The process is then repeated 
until all of said portions are in the stationary accumulator chamber after 
which the components are moved as a unit into an alignment chamber in 
which the positive and negative plate lugs are aligned and the desired 
degree of separator overlap relative to each plate is achieved. The final 
cell assembly also contains two rigid end-plates, each containing 
outwardly projecting "wings", which are taped tightly circumferentially in 
a separate step and which, together with the plate and separator assembly, 
make up a rigid self-contained unitized cell module which can be easily 
handled during subsequent manufacturing steps which include insertion of 
the cell assembly into the battery container, formation of the positive 
and negative plate straps, formation of intercell connectors, sealing of 
the top cover to the cell container, addition of electrolyte, and 
electrochemical formation of the plates in the container. Upon completion 
of formation, the battery is washed and dried and final assembly is 
completed. 
Although the above method eliminates the heretofore described economic and 
ecological problems inherent in the cutting and handling of singular and 
paired battery plates, it still requires that a plurality of cell 
sub-assemblies be fabricated and transported to, and accumulated in, a 
stationary chamber; the final cell assembly be realigned after all 
sub-assemblies have been accumulated; separate rigid winged end-plates 
provide cell compression and hold the cell firmly in the container, and 
that the cell assembly be rigidized by taping in order to facilitate 
handling during transport to, and insertion of the completed cell assembly 
into, the battery container. Further, the need to electrochemically form 
the cured plates in the battery container prior to final assembly 
interrupts the smooth flow of the subsequent assembly steps and increases 
the cost of manufacture. 
None of these prior art cell assembly methods are adapted to achieving the 
required alignment of the cell components during the cell assembly 
operation, building a cell stack and inserting the stack into the battery 
container in a single continuous operation, and continuous "downstream" 
assembly operations that are uninterrupted by the need to 
electrochemically form the plates after insertion of the cell assembly 
into the battery container. There remains, therefore, a need for a 
practical method of properly aligning the positive and negative plate lugs 
during the cell assembly process, placing the completed cell stack 
directly into the battery container as the last step in the cell assembly 
process, and eliminating the need to electrochemically form the plates in 
the battery container. A process incorporating these improvements would 
substantially reduce the cost of producing lead-acid batteries and greatly 
improve worker safety. 
SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
The present invention has met the hereinabove described needs. The 
invention provides a method for the automated manufacture of lead-acid 
battery cell assemblies from continuous lengths of electrochemically 
formed battery plate stock, such as that described in U.S. patent 
application Ser. No. 361,029 and continuous lengths of porous separator 
material. Cell assembly is preferably achieved by cutting individual 
battery plates from the continuous lengths of the electrochemically formed 
plate stock and directly transporting said individual battery plates to a 
movable component assembly chamber without the need for intermediate 
storage. The movement of said component assembly chamber is controlled 
such that cut positive plates and cut negative plates are stacked 
alternately therein such that the adjacent surfaces of each cut positive 
plate and each cut negative plate are separated by a cut piece of porous 
separator material. 
The method preferably incorporates means for properly aligning the current 
carrying lugs of all positive plates and all negative plates within the 
component assembly chamber and means for inserting the completed cell 
assembly into the battery container without intermediate handling, 
transport, or storage. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus 
for assembling lead-acid batteries from continuous lengths of battery 
plate stock, including electrochemically formed battery plate stock. 
It is another object of this invention to provide a manufacturing system in 
which battery plates produced from continuous lengths of electrochemically 
formed battery plate stock are placed directly into a cell assembly means 
without the need for intermediate handling, transport, or storage. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a system for properly 
aligning the positive plate lugs and the negative plate lugs during the 
cell assembly operation. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a means of inserting a 
completed cell assembly directly into a battery container without 
intermediate handling, transport, or storage. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a high speed, 
economical, automated method of manufacturing lead-acid batteries. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method of making 
lead-acid batteries of improved quality and consistency. 
These and other objects of the invention will be more fully understood from 
the following detailed description of the invention and reference to the 
illustrations appended hereto.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
As employed herein, the expression "electrochemically formed battery plate 
stock" will refer to battery plate stock which has been subjected to 
electrochemical formation sufficient to convert a substantial portion of 
the active material of positive plate stock to lead dioxide and a 
substantial portion of the active material of negative plate stock to 
metallic lead. 
As employed herein the expression "continuous length of electrochemically 
formed plate stock will refer to battery plate stock that is 
electrochemically formed battery plate stock and is of sufficient size 
that a plurality of battery plates may be obtained therefrom by severing 
the stock at pre-determined lengths. 
FIGS. 1 through 4 illustrate a lead-acid battery cell assembly containing 
positive battery plates and negative battery plates severed from 
continuous lengths of electrochemically formed plate stock and constructed 
in accordance with the method of this invention. 
FIG. 1 illustrates a continuous length of electrochemically formed battery 
plate stock 1 from which a plurality of battery plates can be severed. 
Battery plate stock 1 consists of a layer of cured and electrochemically 
formed battery paste 2 (of a composition selected to achieve the desired 
polarity of the plate stock after electrochemical formation), which is 
secured to a continuous length of battery grid strip 3. The battery grid 
strip 3 consists of a reticulated grid portion 4, having secured thereto 
on one side an integral lug portion 5, and an integral bottom border 
portion 6 which has an edge section 6A on the other side. The lug portion 
5 may be continuous and of constant height along the length of grid strip 
3, as shown, or may consist of a top border portion 7 with a plurality of 
individual plate lugs 8 spaced periodically along the length of said grid 
stock and projecting therefrom, as shown by the broken lines in FIG. 1. 
The continuous grid strip 3 may be produced by continuous casting, metal 
expansion of as-cast or wrought sheet, or by any other suitable process 
used for the production of battery grid strip in relatively continuous 
form. The number, size, shape, and pattern of the wires making up 
reticulated grid portion 4 may be of any desired configuration that is 
suitable for the manufacture of battery plates. 
FIG. 2 illustrates a battery plate 9 produced by severing said plate from a 
continuous length of battery plate stock 1. Battery plate 9 contains an 
upwardly projecting lug and a top border 11 which have been severed from 
lug portion 5 of battery plate stock 1, an electrochemically formed paste 
portion 12 which has been severed from the pasted reticulated grid portion 
3 of continuous battery plate stock 1 and a bottom edge 13. As illustrated 
in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the distance between the bottom edge 13 of the pasted 
portion 12 and the top border 11 of battery plate 9 may be equal to or 
less than the distance H between the bottom edge 6A and the upper edge 5A 
of lug strip 5 of the continuous battery plate stock 1 from which the 
battery plate 9 was severed. 
In the form shown in FIG. 2A, the plates to be severed are shown in dashed 
lines and will have the severed plates the full height H. The lower edge 
13 of the plate is at stock edge 6A and the upper edge of tab 10 is at 
edge 5A. 
In the form shown in FIG. 2B, the plates to be severed as shown in dashed 
lines have tabs 10 with an upper edge below edge 5A and a lower edge 13 
above edge 6A. 
A cell assembly 14 constructed by the method of this invention is 
illustrated in FIG. 3. Cell assembly 14 has two end electrically 
insulative separators 15, a first positive battery plate 16 which has been 
severed from a continuous length of electrochemically formed positive 
battery plate stock, an intermediate electrically insulative separator 17, 
and a first negative battery plate 18 which has been severed from a 
continuous length of electrochemically formed negative battery plate 
stock. The plates and separators are preferably in surface-to-surface 
contact. The element may be further comprised of additional alternating 
positive battery plates 19 and negative battery plates 20 which have been 
severed from continuous lengths of electrochemically formed battery plate 
stock and which are separated by additional intermediate separators 21. 
The end separators 15 and the intermediate separators 17 and 21 are 
preferably composed of compressible fibrous porous mats such as those 
constructed from glass or polymer fibers, but they may also be constructed 
from microporous polymeric sheet materials such as polyethylene or 
polyvinylchloride, for example. Intermediate separators 17 and 21 may have 
a thickness equal to, less than, or greater than the thickness of end 
separators 15. End separators 15 and intermediate separators 17 and 20 may 
extend beyond the top edge, bottom edge, and both side edges of battery 
plates 16, 18, 19, and 20; or beyond only the top edge and the bottom edge 
of said battery plates while being flush with the two side edges; or 
beyond only one edge of the positive and negative battery plates while 
being flush with the remaining three edges of said plates. 
FIG. 4 illustrates a cell assembly 14 partially inserted into a battery 
container 21 in a manner such that all of the positive battery plate lugs 
22 are properly aligned, all of the negative battery plate lugs 23 are 
properly aligned, and the aligned positive plate lugs and aligned negative 
plate lugs are properly situated within the cell assembly so that 
formation of the positive plate straps and negative plate straps can be 
achieved without further movement of said plate lugs. Aligned lugs 22 are 
laterally spaced from aligned lugs 23. 
The present invention provides a single integrated continuous method of 
manufacturing a lead-acid battery cell assembly of the type heretofore 
described and inserting said assembly into a battery container which 
preferably includes the steps of: 
(a) Severing an individual piece of battery end separator material from a 
continuous length of porous end separator stock to form an end separator, 
directly transporting the end separator to a mobile cell assembly chamber 
which has been positioned to receive the end separator, and inserting said 
end separator into the mobile cell assembly chamber; and 
(b) Severing an individual piece of positive battery plate stock from a 
continuous length of electrochemically formed positive battery plate stock 
to form a positive battery plate, directly transporting the positive 
battery plate to the mobile cell assembly chamber which has been 
positioned to receive the positive battery plate, and inserting the 
positive battery plate into said mobile cell assembly chamber such that it 
is adjacent to the end separator and accurately positioned such that the 
lug portion of said positive battery plate will be properly aligned with 
the lug portion of any additional positive battery plates which may 
subsequently be inserted into the mobile cell assembly chamber; and 
(c) Severing an individual piece of battery intermediate separator material 
from a continuous length of porous intermediate separator stock to form an 
intermediate separator, directly transporting the intermediate separator 
to the mobile cell assembly chamber which has been positioned to receive 
the intermediate separator, and inserting the intermediate separator into 
the mobile cell assembly chamber; and 
(d) Severing an individual piece of negative battery plate stock from a 
continuous length of electrochemically formed negative battery plate stock 
to form a negative battery plate, directly transporting said negative 
battery plate to the mobile cell assembly chamber which has been 
positioned to receive said negative battery plate, inserting said negative 
battery plate into the mobile cell assembly chamber such that it is 
adjacent to the aforesaid intermediate separator and accurately positioned 
such that the lug portion of the negative battery plate will be properly 
aligned with the lug portion of any additional negative battery plates 
which may subsequently be inserted into said mobile cell assembly chamber. 
Step (a) is repeated with end separator placed adjacent to the exterior of 
said negative battery plate. 
FIGS. 5 through 10 illustrate in greater detail various aspects of the 
method of manufacturing a cell assembly 14. 
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the materials from which the components of cell 
assembly 14 are produced include a continuous length of porous end 
separator material 24, a continuous length of electrochemically formed 
battery plate stock of a first polarity 25, a continuous length of porous 
intermediate separator material 26, a continuous length of 
electrochemically formed battery plate stock of a second polarity 27, and 
a battery container 28. It is preferred that said continuous lengths of 
end separator material and intermediate separator material be in the form 
of coils or traverse wound spools and that said coils or spools be 
positioned on uncoiling means 29 and 30, respectively. The axes of the 
coils or spools may be essentially vertical, essentially horizontal, or 
inclined at a convenient angle therebetween. It is preferred that said 
continuous lengths of positive and negative battery plate stock be in the 
form of coils and that said coils be, positioned on uncoiling means 31 and 
32, respectively, such that the axis of each coil is essentially vertical 
and the lug strip 5 is positioned in a generally downward direction. 
The uncoiling means for the battery plate stock and for the separator 
materials may be powered in order to control the length of material 
uncoiled at a specific time or unpowered such that the length of material 
uncoiled at a specific time is controlled by another mechanism. 
Construction of cell assembly 14 and the insertion of said cell assembly 
into battery container 28 are accomplished in a single continuous 
operation utilizing a cell assembly means 33 comprised of an end separator 
fabrication station 34, a first polarity plate fabrication station 35, an 
intermediate separator fabrication station 36, a second polarity plate 
fabrication station 37, a mobile cell assembly chamber 38 containing a 
battery container support means 39, and a battery container loading 
station 40. 
In addition to a battery container support means 39, the mobile cell 
assembly chamber 38 contains an enclosure 41 into which the individual 
separator pieces and battery plates are sequentially placed and an 
alignment means that positions the first polarity plates and the second 
polarity plates such that the lugs of the first polarity plates 22 (shown 
in FIG. 4 as positive plate lugs 22) and the lugs of the second polarity 
plates 23 (shown in FIG. 4 as negative plate lugs 23) are properly aligned 
and do not have to be repositioned prior to fabrication of the positive 
and negative plate straps which will be secured to them. Further, the 
alignment means position said plates of opposite polarity relative to 
separators 15, 17, 21 (see FIG. 3) such that the desired degree of 
separator overlap is achieved. One such alignment means, illustrated in 
FIG. 5, consists of retractable plate alignment pins 42 which are inserted 
into the cell assembly enclosure 41 prior to introduction of said battery 
plates therein. The alignment pins 42 may be retracted from the enclosure 
after all of the cell components have been placed therein and prior to 
insertion of said cell assembly into the battery container 28. Insertion 
of said alignment pins into the enclosure 41, and retraction therefrom, 
may be accomplished by the use of an air-actuated cylinder or mechanical 
means well known to those skilled in the art. 
The battery container support means 39 positions the battery container 28 
such that the open end of said container faces the cell assembly enclosure 
41 and is aligned therewith such that the cell assembly 14 may be inserted 
snugly into the battery container 28 without damage to any of the cell 
components as disclosed hereinafter. 
The mobile cell assembly chamber 38 is provided with indexing means such 
that it may be sequentially transported to, and aligned with, fabrication 
stations 34, 35, 36, 37, and 40. The indexing means may be comprised of 
air actuated cylinders 38A and mechanical stops mounted to slide mechanism 
48, as shown in FIG. 5, a mechanical cam-activated drive, or any other 
mechanism capable of providing the desired motion. Suitable controls for 
effectuating such coordinated motion will be well know to those skilled in 
the art. 
With continued reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, an individual end separator 15 
is first fabricated by removing a length of continuous separator material 
equal to the height of said end separator from coil 24, which has been 
positioned on uncoiler 29, by means of stock feeder 43 which pushes the 
desired length of material onto a cutting table 44 which is an integral 
part of the end separator fabrication station 34. The porous separator 
material indexed onto said cutting table is held firmly in position by a 
pick-up head 45 and simultaneously acted upon by a cutting means which 
severs the continuous length to form said individual end separator. A 
preferred cutting means, illustrated in FIG. 6, consists of a mobile shear 
blade 46 positioned in a slot 47, located between the cutting table 44 and 
the stock feeder 43, which severs the continuous separator material with 
an upward motion while said separator material is being held securely in 
place by said pick-up head and said stock feeder 43. The height of the 
individual end separator 15 is controlled by the length of continuous 
separator material indexed onto the cutting table 44 and the width of said 
separator is equal to the width of the continuous separator material 
removed from coil 24. 
Once severed, the individual end separator 15 is lifted by the pick-up head 
45, which is connected to a vacuum means (not shown) through a channel 45A 
contained therein, transported (dotted lines) to a position directly above 
the cell assembly enclosure 41 in the mobile cell assembly chamber 38 
which has been indexed into position adjacent to the end separator 
fabrication station 34, and placed therein by a downward motion of said 
pick-up head and removal of the vacuum from channel 46. The vacuum line 
may next be slightly pressurized with air to assist with removal of the 
end separator from the pick-up head. The pick-up head 45 is then retracted 
in an upward direction, transported to a position directly above the 
cutting table 44 and moved vertically downward until it is securely in 
contact with the next segment of the continuous separator material which 
has been indexed onto the cutting table from coil 24, and the mobile cell 
assembly chamber 38 is indexed to a position adjacent to the first 
polarity plate fabrication station 35. The above cycle is repeated when 
the mobile cell assembly chamber 38 is next indexed into position adjacent 
to the end separator fabrication station 34. The vertical and lateral 
movements of the pick-up head 45 may be achieved by means of air-actuated 
cylinders 45B, 45C (FIG. 6), or mechanical means such as a cam-activated 
drive. The stock feeder means 43 may be of a reciprocating type, such as 
that shown in FIG. 5, a roll-actuated type, a tractor-activated type, or 
any other type which can be used to consistently deliver a specified 
length of separator material onto the cutting table 44. 
If end separator 15 is sized to overlap the positive and negative plates in 
the cell assembly, the length and width dimensions of said separators are 
greater than the distances between the retractable alignment pins 42 in 
the cell assembly enclosure 41 such that, when the separators are placed 
into said enclosure, portions of said separators are temporarily deformed 
in the vicinity of each locating pin 42 as illustrated in FIG. 7. The 
positive and negative plates are shown underlying separator 21. 
The second step in the cell assembly process involves the fabrication of a 
battery plate of a first polarity from a continuous length of 
electrochemically formed battery plate stock, transport of said battery 
plate to mobile cell assembly chamber 38, and insertion of said battery 
plate into said cell assembly chamber. 
With reference to FIGS. 1, 2A, 3, 5, and 8, an individual battery plate 9 
is fabricated by indexing a continuous length of electrochemically formed 
battery plate stock 1 of a first polarity, which may be in the form of a 
coil 25, through a lug cleaning station 49 (FIG. 8) in which the lug strip 
portion 5 of said battery plate stock is cleaned to remove loose dried 
battery paste and residual oxides. Such paste and residual oxides are 
created during the preceding curing and electrochemical formation 
processes,. A specified length of said battery plate stock equal to the 
width of the individual battery plate 9 of first polarity to be fabricated 
is transported onto cutting table 50 by means of stock feeder 51. It is 
preferred that said continuous length of battery plate stock be oriented 
vertically as it traverses the lug cleaning station 49 and that the 
cleaned plate stock exiting the lug cleaning station be reoriented prior 
to entering the stock feeder 51 (FIG. 5) such that the major pasted 
surfaces of the plate stock indexed onto the cutting table 50 are 
positioned parallel to the surface of said cutting table. 
The indexed length of battery plate stock is next acted upon by a cutting 
means which severs said individual battery plate from said continuous 
length such that said battery plate is comprised of a pasted portion 12 
and an accurately positioned lug portion 10. A preferred cutting means is 
comprised of a mobile cutting die 52, which may be shaped as indicated by 
the broken lines in FIGS. 2 or FIG. 2A, positioned in a slot of generally 
similar shape 53 located in the cutting table 50. In this instance the 
cutting die severs the continuous plate stock with an upward motion while 
said plate stock is being held securely in place on the cutting table 50 
by pick-up head 54 (FIG. 8) which contains a circumferential retractable 
portion 54A opposed to the cutting die. 
A second preferred cutting means, illustrated in FIG. 9, is comprised of a 
rigid cutting die 55 mounted circumferentially relative to pick-up head 54 
and adapted to reciprocate in the direction shown by the arrows and 
opposed to the surface of the cutting table 50 which severs the continuous 
plate stock 1 with a downward motion when said cutting die and said 
pick-up head are brought into contact with said plate stock. In this 
configuration, the pick-up head 54 is equipped with a means which permits 
an independent vertical motion relative to the rigid cutting die 55. 
Once severed, the individual battery plate of first polarity is lifted by 
the pick-up head 54, which is connected to a vacuum means not shown) 
through channel 56 contained therein and transported laterally to a 
position directly above the cell assembly enclosure 41 in the cell 
assembly chamber 38 which has been indexed into a position adjacent to the 
first polarity plate fabrication station 35 (FIG. 5). The pick-up head 54 
is next rotated 90 degrees by a rotation means (not shown) such that the 
battery plate lug is oriented towards the cutting table 50 and said 
individual battery plate is placed into said cell assembly enclosure by a 
downward motion of said pick-up head and removal of the vacuum from 
channel 56. The vacuum line may be slightly pressurized to assist removal 
of the battery plate from the pick-up head. Precise positioning of said 
individual battery plate is achieved by means of battery plate alignment 
pins 42, as illustrated in FIG. 7. 
The pick-up head 54 is next retracted in an upward direction and 
transported to a position directly above the cutting table 50 and the 
mobile cell assembly chamber 38 is indexed to a position adjacent to the 
intermediate separator fabrication station 36, and the above cycle may be 
repeated when the mobile cell assembly chamber 38 is next indexed into 
position adjacent to the first polarity plate fabrication station 35. 
The vertical and lateral movements of the pick-up head 54 and 
circumferentially retractable portion 54A, may be achieved by means of 
air-actuated cylinders 45D, 45E, 45F and 45G or mechanical means such as a 
cam-activated drive. The stock feeder means may be of a reciprocating 
type, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a roll-type, a tractor-feed type, or any 
other type which can be used to consistently deliver a specified length of 
continuous battery plate stock onto the cutting table 50. The first 
polarity plate fabrication station 35 also contains a means for removal of 
scrap generated during the plate severing operation (not shown). 
The third step in the cell assembly process, which involves fabrication of 
an individual intermediate separator from a continuous length of 
intermediate battery separator stock and insertion of said individual 
intermediate separator into cell assembly chamber, is essentially the same 
as that heretofore described pertaining to the fabrication, transport, and 
insertion of the individual end separator. 
In general, the subsequent cycles of operating will be generally identical 
to the previously described procedures with respect to the separator and 
battery plate stock handling and, as a result, will not be described in 
detail. 
With reference to FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, an individual intermediate battery 
separator 17 is fabricated by removing a length of continuous separator 
material equal to the height of said intermediate separator from coil 26, 
which has been positioned on uncoiler 30, by means of stock feeder 57 
which pushes the desired length of material onto a cutting table 58 which 
is an integral part of the intermediate separator fabrication station 36. 
With reference to FIG. 6, the porous separator material indexed onto said 
cutting table is held firmly in position by a pick-up head identical to 
pickup head 45 and simultaneously acted upon by a cutting means which 
severs the continuous length to form the individual intermediate separator 
17 (see FIG. 2). A preferred cutting means consists of a mobile shear 
blade such as a blade identical to blade 46 positioned in a slot, located 
between the cutting table 58 and the stock feeder 57. The blade severs the 
continuous separator material with an upward motion while said separator 
material is being held securely in place by said pick-up head and said 
stock feeder. The height of the individual intermediate separator 17 is 
controlled by the length of continuous separator material indexed onto the 
cutting table 58 and the width of said separator is equal to the width of 
the continuous separator material removed from coil 26. 
Once severed, the individual intermediate separator 17 is lifted by the 
pick-up head which is connected to a vacuum means through a channel 
contained therein, transported laterally to a position directly above the 
cell assembly enclosure 41 in the mobile cell assembly chamber 38 which 
has been indexed into position adjacent to the intermediate separator 
fabrication station 36, and placed therein by a downward motion of said 
pick-up head and removal of the vacuum from the channel. The vacuum line 
may next be slightly pressurized with air to assist removal of the 
intermediate separator from the pick-up head. The pick-up head is then 
retracted in an upward direction, transported laterally to a position 
directly above the cutting table 58 and moved vertically downward until it 
is securely in contact with the next segment of the continuous separator 
material which has been indexed onto the cutting table from coil 26, and 
the mobile cell assembly chamber 38 is indexed to a position adjacent to 
the second polarity plate fabrication station 37. The above cycle may be 
repeated when the mobile cell assembly chamber 38 is next indexed into 
position adjacent to the end separator fabrication station 34. The 
vertical and lateral movement of the pick-up head may be achieved by means 
of air-actuated cylinders or mechanical means such as a cam-activated 
drive. The stock feeder means 57 may be of a reciprocating type, as 
illustrated in FIG. 5, a roll-actuated type, a tractor-actuated type, or 
any other type which can be used to consistently deliver a specified 
length of separator material onto the cutting table 58. 
If end separator 15 and intermediate separator 17 are sized to overlap the 
positive and negative plates in the cell assembly, the length and width 
dimensions of said separators are greater than the distances between the 
retractable plate alignment pins 42 in the cell assembly enclosure 41 such 
that, when the separators are placed into said enclosure, portions of said 
separators are temporarily deformed in the vicinity of each locating pin, 
as shown in FIG. 7. 
The fourth step in the cell assembly process, which involves the 
fabrication of an individual battery plate of a second polarity from a 
continuous length of electrochemically formed battery plate stock, 
transport of said battery plate to mobile cell assembly chamber 38, and 
insertion of said battery plate into said cell assembly chamber, is 
essentially the same as that heretofore described pertaining to the 
fabrication, transport, and insertion of the individual battery plate of a 
first polarity. 
With reference to FIGS. 1, 2A, 5 and 8, an individual battery plate 9 of a 
second polarity is fabricated by indexing a continuous length of 
electrochemically formed battery plate stock 1, which may be in the form 
of a coil 27, through a lug cleaning station such as 61 in which the lug 
strip portion 5 of said battery plate stock is cleaned to remove loose 
dried battery paste and residual oxides created during the preceding 
curing and electrochemical formation processes, and transporting a 
specified length of said battery plate stock equal to the width of the 
individual battery plate of a second polarity to be fabricated onto 
cutting table 62 (FIG. 5) by means of stock feeder 63. It is preferred 
that the continuous length of battery plate stock be oriented vertically 
as it traverses the lug cleaning station and that the cleaned plate stock 
exiting said lug cleaning station be reoriented prior to entering the 
stock feeder 63 such that the major pasted surfaces of the plate stock 
indexed onto the cutting table 62 are positioned parallel to the surface 
of said cutting table. 
The indexed length of battery plate stock is next acted upon by a cutting 
means which severs said individual battery plate from said continuous 
length such that said battery plate is comprised of a pasted portion 12 
and an accurately positioned lug portion 10 positioned such that, when 
said battery plate is placed into the mobile cell assembly chamber 38, all 
of the lugs of the second polarity are properly aligned and situated 
relative to the aligned lugs of the first polarity such that formation of 
the individual plate straps connecting lugs of common polarity can be 
formed without further movement of said plate lugs. 
A preferred cutting means is generally identical to that of the type shown 
in FIG. 8 and has a mobile cutting die 64 (FIG. 5), which may be similar 
to mobile cutting die 52 (FIG. 8) and may be shaped as indicated by the 
broken lines in FIGS. 2 or FIG. 2A, positioned in a slot 65 (FIG. 5), of 
similar shape located in the cutting table. In this instance said cutting 
die severs the continuous plate stock with an upward motion while said 
plate stock is being held securely in place on the cutting table by 
pick-up head which may be identical to pick-up head 54 (FIG. 8) which 
contains a circumferential retractable portion which may be identical to 
retractable portion 54A (FIG. 8) opposed to said cutting die. A second 
preferred cutting means which may be identical to that shown in FIG. 9, is 
comprised of a cutting die which may be identical to cutting die 55 
mounted circumferentially relative to pick-up head which may be identical 
to pick-up head 54 and opposed to the surface of the cutting table 62 
which severs the continuous plate stock with a downward motion when said 
cutting die and said pick-up head are brought into contact with said plate 
stock. In this configuration, the pick-up head is equipped with a means 
that permits an independent vertical motion relative to the rigid cutting 
die. 
Once severed, the individual battery plate 9 of a second polarity is lifted 
by the pick-up head, which is connected to a vacuum means and transported 
laterally to a position directly above the cell assembly enclosure 41 in 
the cell assembly chamber 38 which has been indexed into a position 
adjacent to the second polarity plate fabrication station 37. The pick-up 
head is next rotated 90 degrees by a rotation means (not shown) such that 
battery plate lug 10 is oriented towards the cutting table 62 and said 
individual battery plate is placed into said cell assembly enclosure by a 
downward motion of said pick-up head and removal of the vacuum. The vacuum 
line may be slightly pressurized with air to assist removal of the battery 
plate from the pick-up head. Precise positioning of said individual 
battery plate is achieved by means of battery plate alignment pins 42, as 
illustrated in FIG. 7. 
The pick-up head is next retracted in an upward direction, returned to a 
position directly above the cutting table 62, and the mobile cell assembly 
chamber 38 is indexed to a position adjacent to the intermediate separator 
fabrication station 36 or end separator fabrication station 34 depending 
upon the specific cell construction derived. The above cycle may be 
repeated when the mobile cell assembly chamber 38 is next indexed into 
position adjacent to the second polarity plate fabrication station 37. 
The vertical and lateral movements of the pick-up head may be achieved by 
means of air-actuated cylinders or mechanical means as is well known to 
those skilled in the art. The stock feeder means may be of a reciprocating 
type such as is illustrated in FIG. 5, a roll-type, a tractor-feed type, 
or any other type which can be used to consistently deliver a specified 
length of continuous battery plate stock onto the cutting table. The 
second polarity plate station 37 also contains a means for removing any 
scrap generated during the plate severing operation. 
The hereinabove described sequence of fabricating, transporting individual 
intermediate separators, individual plates of a first polarity, individual 
plates of a second polarity, and an individual end separator is repeated 
until a completed cell assembly consisting of any desired number of 
alternating plates of a first polarity and plates of a second polarity 
separated by intermediate separators and two end separators has been 
obtained. 
Upon completion of the aforesaid sequence, the cell assembly chamber 38 
(FIGS. 5, 6 and 10) is indexed adjacent to the cell insertion station 40. 
With reference to FIG. 10, the completed cell assembly is acted upon in a 
downwardly direction by a compression means 69 such that the compressed 
cell assembly is 14 aligned with the top opening of the battery container 
28 which is disposed in the battery container support section 39 of mobile 
cell assembly chamber 38. The length and width of said compressed cell 
assembly are less than the equivalent length and width dimensions of the 
top opening of said battery container. The battery plate alignment pins 42 
are retracted by a pin retraction means 59 such as an air-actuated 
cylinder 68. The compressed cell assembly is next acted upon in a 
horizontal direction by a reciprocating insertion means 70 which slides 
said cell assembly laterally relative to compression means 69 and inserts 
said cell assembly into the battery container 28. Compression means 69 and 
cell insertion means 70 are next retracted, the battery container and the 
cell assembly therein are removed from the mobile cell assembly chamber 
38, a new container is inserted into the battery container support means 
39, and the cycle is repeated. 
Although a single cell battery container 28 has been used in the above 
illustration, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the 
method of this invention may also be used to fill multi-cell battery 
containers by mounting the battery container support means 39 upon a 
vertical indexing means which sequentially positions said multi-cell 
battery container such that the partitioned volume into which the cell 
assembly is to be inserted is properly aligned with the cell assembly 
enclosure 41. 
The sequence and speed of all of the operations involved in the method of 
battery cell assembly heretofore described may be controlled by any 
suitable means such as a programmable controller such as Model SLC-100 
produced by the Allan Bradley Company. 
As illustrated in FIG. 4, which shows a cell assembly partially inserted 
into a battery container, the aforesaid procedure results in a compressed 
cell in which all plate lugs of a first polarity and all plate lugs of the 
opposite polarity are aligned such that the assembled cell can be 
subjected to a subsequent plate strap formation step without further 
positioning of the plates within said assembly. 
In yet another embodiment of this invention, the number of steps and time 
involved in building a complete battery cell assembly is greatly reduced 
by simultaneously processing a continuous length of porous separator 
material and a continuous length of electrochemically formed battery plate 
stock. 
Referring to FIG. 11, this embodiment involves: 
(a) Indexing a length of continuous porous battery separator stock 24 into 
end separator station 34 and severing and transporting the same. The 
separator is inserted into the mobile cell assembly chamber 38, using the 
methods heretofore described for end separators and intermediate 
separators. The mobile cell assembly chamber is indexed to a position 
adjacent to the first polarity plate fabrication station 35 by means of 
air cylinder 38B; and 
(b) Aligning a second continuous length of porous battery separator stock 
26 vertically above and in contact with a continuous length of 
electrochemically formed battery plate stock of a first polarity 25 such 
that said separator stock overlaps both longitudinal edges of said battery 
plate stock to the degree desired; and 
(c) Simultaneously indexing equal lengths of the aforesaid second separator 
stock and battery plate stock onto cutting table 50 of the first polarity 
plate fabrication station 35 and simultaneously severing, transporting, 
and inserting the separator and battery plate thus formed into the mobile 
cell assembly chamber 38, using the methods heretofore described for 
processing battery plates of both polarities, and indexing said mobile 
cell assembly chamber to a position adjacent to the second polarity plate 
fabrication station 37; and 
(d) As shown in FIGS. 11 and 11A, aligning a third continuous length of 
porous battery separator stock 72 vertically above a continuous length of 
electrochemically formed battery plate stock of a second polarity 27 such 
that said separator stock overlaps both longitudinal edges of said battery 
plate stock to the degree desired; and 
(e) Simultaneously indexing equal lengths of the aforesaid third separator 
stock and second polarity battery plate stock onto cutting table 62 of 
second polarity plate fabrication station 37 and simultaneously severing, 
transporting, and inserting the separator and battery plate thus formed 
into the mobile cell assembly chamber 38, using the methods heretofore 
described for processing battery plates of both polarities, and indexing 
the mobile cell assembly chamber to first polarity plate fabrication 
station 50 (or to cell insertion station 40 if the cell assembly being 
produced only contains two plates of opposite polarity); and 
(f) Sequentially repeating steps 4 and 5 until the desired number of 
alternating plates of first and second polarity each separated by a porous 
separator have been placed in the aforesaid mobile cell assembly chamber; 
and 
(g) Indexing said mobile cell assembly chamber to the cell insertion 
station 40 in which the cell assembly is compressed and inserted into cell 
container 28 as heretofore described. 
The use of this embodiment greatly increases the speed of assembly by 
combining two processing steps into a single step in which one separator 
and one plate are processed simultaneously. 
Cell assemblies produced using this second embodiment are characterized by 
plates and separators of identical width such that the side edges of said 
separators and said battery plates are flush with one another. In order 
for the separators to overlap the top border of the plates to a desired 
degree, it is necessary to pre-punch the lug portion of the plate in lug 
punch stations 70 and 73 (FIG. 11) and to sever the battery plate and 
separator combination from the continuous lengths of plate stock and 
separator stock by means of a sole transverse cut across the entire width 
of said plate stock and separator stock in plate fabrication stations 35, 
37. The distance by which each separator overlaps each plate on the bottom 
edge is controlled by the relative widths and alignment of the plate stock 
and separator stock that are indexed into said plate fabrication stations. 
While the hereinabove discussion and illustrations of the method of this 
invention have been restricted to an apparatus having only a single end 
separator fabrication station, a single positive plate fabrication 
station, a single intermediate separator fabrication station, a single 
negative plate fabrication station, and a single reciprocating cell 
assembly chamber, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that one 
may practice the invention using an apparatus containing a plurality of 
cell assembly chambers which move in only one direction relative to a 
plurality of end separator fabrication stations, positive plate 
fabrication stations, intermediate separator fabrication stations, and 
negative plate fabrication stations, the number of each of said stations 
being equal to the number of end separators, positive plates, intermediate 
separators, and negative plates, respectively, contained in the finished 
cell assembly. The aforesaid plurality of cell assembly chambers my be 
indexed in a rotary manner or in a straight line manner past a series of 
adjacent separator and plate fabrication stations. 
While for convenience the above discussion and illustrations have made 
reference to specific configurations, polarities, and assembly steps, it 
will be apparent to those skilled in the art that one may practice the 
invention employing other configurations, relative polarities and plate 
positions, and assembly conditions. Also, if desired, the invention may be 
practiced without the use of end separators in the cell assembly. 
The following example provides specific preferred practices in employing 
the methods of this invention. 
EXAMPLE 
This example illustrates that lead-acid battery cell assemblies can be 
produced automatically by means of the method of this invention and that 
batteries made therefrom are equivalent in capacity and performance to 
similar batteries assembled by hand. 
Seventy-three lead-acid battery cell assemblies were produced using an 
automated cell assembly apparatus having of an end separator fabrication 
station, a positive plate fabrication station, an intermediate separator 
fabrication station, a negative plate fabrication station, a cell 
insertion station, and a reciprocating mobile cell assembly chamber 
containing an integral battery container support section. The stations and 
cell assembly chamber were positioned relative to one another as 
illustrated in FIG. 5. 
Each cell assembly consisted of two 2.10"L.times.1.41"H.times.0.078" porous 
microfiber glass mat end separators; four 
1.79"L.times.1.26"H.times.0.087"T positive plates, six 
2.10"L.times.1.41"H.times.0.086"T porous microfiber glass mat intermediate 
separators, and three 1.79"L.times.1.26"H.times.0.077"T negative plates. 
Each positive plate and each negative plate contained a 
0.188"L.times.0.100"W and 0.035"T lug portion protruding outwards from the 
top border portion thereof. Each positive plate contained approximately 
8.5 grams of electrochemically formed positive active material. Each 
negative plate contained approximately 6.9 grams of electrochemically 
formed negative active material. Each completed cell assembly was inserted 
into a single cell polypropylene battery container such that approximately 
25% of the height of the cell assembly protruded from the top of the 
container in order to facilitate formation of the positive and negative 
plate straps in a subsequent operation. The interior dimensions of the top 
opening of each battery container were approximately 1.97".times.0.910", 
the interior depth was 1.56", the wall thickness was approximately 0.035", 
and each wall of the container had a draft angle of approximately 
1.degree.. 
The end separator fabrication station and the intermediate separator 
fabrication station of the automated cell assembly apparatus were 
essentially the same as those described previously and illustrated in 
FIGS. 5 and 6. Each station included a cutting table, a reciprocating 
stock feeder, and upwardly acting shear blade, and a pick-up/transport 
head positioned so as to be directly above the cutting table when in the 
retracted position and to be directly above the aforesaid mobile cell 
assembly chamber when in the extended position. 
The positive and negative plate fabrication stations were modified from 
those previously described to accommodate pre-cut, pre-cleaned 
electrochemically formed battery plates which were used to simulate plates 
severed from continuous lengths of cleaned positive and negative plate 
stock. Each station contained a upwardly acting plate feeding magazine and 
a pick-up/transport head positioned so as to be directly above said 
magazine when in the retracted position and directly above the aforesaid 
mobile cell assembly chamber when in the extended position. 
In a separate experiment, it was determined that individual 
electrochemically formed positive and negative battery plates, each having 
a pre-formed top border and lug protruding outwardly therefrom, could be 
satisfactorily severed from a length of electrochemically formed battery 
plate stock containing five such plates, each measuring about 
1.79".times.1.26" and each containing a 0.188".times.0.100".times.0.035" 
lug. The positive plates were approximately 0.087" thick. The negative 
plates were approximately 0.077" thick. The hardened steel cutting tool 
employed to sever the plates was ground so as to have an included angle of 
5.degree. to 7.degree. between the intersecting surfaces which formed the 
cutting edge of said tool. 
Pre-cut electrochemically formed positive plates similar to those described 
hereinabove were placed into the positive plate feeding magazine and 
pre-cut, electrochemically formed negative plates similar to those 
described above were placed into a negative plate feeding magazine. The 
magazines were positioned in their respective stations such that an 
individual pre-cut plate was presented to the pick-up/transport head at 
precisely the same location and height as would have been the case if each 
plate had been severed from a continuous length of plate stock at that 
location. The lugs of all of the positive and negative plates had been 
pre-cleaned by wire brushing prior to insertion into said magazines. In 
order to simulate the lug orientation step described previously, all 
positive plates were placed in the positive magazine such that the plate 
lugs faced away from the mobile cell assembly chamber and were towards the 
left side of the magazine, whereas all negative plates were placed in the 
negative magazine such that the lugs faced away from the mobile cell 
assembly chamber and were towards the right side of the magazine. The 
operation of the plate fabrication stations involved removal of the 
topmost plate from a vertical stack of plates in the magazine and moving 
the remaining plates vertically upward until the top surface of the 
uppermost plate remaining in the magazine was positioned essentially in 
the same plane as was the top surface of the plate which had just been 
removed from the magazine. The upward motion of the plate stack in the 
magazine was provided by a commercially available air-over-oil cylinder. 
The height to which the plate stack was raised was controlled by an 
electric eye positioned so as to halt the upward motion of the cylinder 
when the topmost surface of the top plate in the magazine reached the 
desired level. 
The vertical movement of each pick-up/transfer head in the cell assembly 
apparatus was imparted by means of commercially available air-activated 
cylinders, whereas the horizontal movement of said pick-up/transfer head 
was imparted by means of commercially available air-activated slides. All 
cylinders and slides were controlled by a series of solenoids and 
pneumatic valves. A vacuum created by the use of a single commercially 
available vacuum pump attached in series with a vacuum accumulator tank 
and applied to each pick-up/transport head imparted the force required to 
hold the component firmly to said pick-up head. Removal of the vacuum from 
the pick-up head allowed the plates and separators to be released once 
placed in the mobile cell assembly chamber. The mobile cell assembly 
chamber of the cell assembly apparatus was essentially the same as that 
previously described and contained a cell assembly section into which 
retractable plate alignment pins were inserted and a battery container 
support section which properly aligned a battery container therewith. 
The battery container was placed in said container support section on its 
side such that the open top of the container faced said assembly section. 
The movement and proper positioning of the mobile assembly chamber 
relative to each fabrication station was provided by means of two 
commercially available 3-position air-activated cylinders, as shown in 
FIGS. 5 and 11. The first cylinder controlled both the movement of the 
mobile cell assembly chamber and its proper alignment with the cell 
insertion station, the end separator fabrication station, and the positive 
plate fabrication station. The second cylinder controlled alignment of the 
cell assembly chamber with the intermediate separator fabrication station 
and the negative plate fabrication station by accurately placing a 
positive stop at the desired station against which the cell assembly unit 
was positioned by movement of the first cylinder. The insertion of the 
retractable plate alignment pins into the cell assembly section and the 
retraction therefrom was accomplished by means of a commercially available 
air-actuated cylinder. 
The cell insertion station of the automated cell assembly apparatus was 
essentially the same as that previously described and contained a 
downwardly moving compression member which compressed the completed cell 
assembly such that the compressed height of said assembly was less than 
0.910", a downwardly moving pin retraction member which engaged the steel 
plate to which all of the retractable battery plate alignment pins were 
attached and pulled it downwards until all of the pins were retracted from 
the cell assembly section, and a forwardly moving insertion member which 
displaced the compressed cell assembly horizontally and caused it to be 
inserted into the battery container. The vertical motions of the 
compression member and the pin retraction member were imparted by means of 
commercially available air-activated cylinders. The horizontal motions of 
the insertion member were imparted by means of a commercially available 
air-activated slide device. All of the aforesaid air-activated devices 
were controlled by a series of solenoids and pneumatic valves. 
The sequence and speed of all of the motions described above were 
controlled by a commercially available programmable controller. 
The sequential steps followed in the automatic production of the aforesaid 
73 lead-acid battery cell assemblies were, as follows: 
(a) A single cell battery container was manually placed into the battery 
container support section of the mobile cell assembly chamber; and 
(b) The automatic cycle was begun by depressing the "Start" button on the 
automated cell assembly device, (Note: All steps described hereafter 
occurred automatically.); and 
(c) The mobile cell assembly chamber was indexed into position adjacent to 
the cell insertion station, the retractable battery plate alignment pins 
were inserted into the cell assembly section of said chamber, and the 
mobile cell assembly chamber was indexed into position adjacent to the end 
separator fabrication station; and 
(d) A 1.41" length of 2.10"W and 0.078"T porous microfiber glass mat end 
separator was indexed onto the cutting table of the end separator 
fabrication table; the pick-up/transport head was moved vertically 
downward to contact the separator and a vacuum was applied to said head; 
the separator was cut to length by the upward movement of the shear blade; 
the pick-up/transport head was next moved in an upwards direction, then 
moved horizontally until it was positioned directly above the mobile cell 
assembly chamber, and then moved vertically downwards until the severed 
separator was placed firmly into said assembly chamber; the vacuum was 
eliminated by bringing air into the vacuum channel in the 
pick-up/transport head which was then moved vertically upwards and then 
horizontally until it returned to its original position; and the mobile 
cell assembly chamber was indexed into position adjacent to the positive 
plate fabrication station; and 
(e) The pick-up/transport head of the positive plate fabrication station 
was moved in downwardly direction until it contacted the upper surface of 
the uppermost 1.79".times.1.26".times.0.087" positive plate in the 
positive plate magazine; a vacuum was applied to said pick-up/transport 
head; the pick-up/transport head was next moved in an upwards direction, 
then moved horizontally until it was positioned directly above the mobile 
cell assembly chamber, and then moved vertically downwards until the 
positive plate was placed firmly between the battery plate alignment pins 
in said assembly chamber; the vacuum was eliminated by bringing air into 
the vacuum channel in the pick-up/transport head which was next moved 
vertically upwards and then horizontally until it returned to its original 
position: and the mobile cell assembly chamber was indexed into position 
adjacent to the intermediate separator fabrication station; and 
(f) A 1.41" length of 2.10"W and 0.086"T porous microfiber glass mat 
intermediate separator was indexed onto the cutting table of the 
intermediate separator fabrication table; the pick-up/transport head was 
moved vertically downward to contact the separator and a vacuum was 
applied to said pick-up head; the separator was cut to length by the 
upward movement of the shear blade; the pick-up/transport head was next 
moved in an upwards direction, then moved horizontally until it was 
positioned directly above the mobile cell assembly chamber, and then moved 
vertically downwards until the severed separator was placed firmly into 
said assembly chamber; the vacuum was eliminated by bringing air into the 
vacuum channel in the pick-up/transport head which was then moved 
vertically upwards and then horizontally until it returned to its original 
position; and the mobile cell assembly chamber was indexed into position 
adjacent to the negative plate fabrication station; and 
(g) The pick-up/transport head of the negative plate fabrication station 
was moved in downwardly direction until it contacted the upper surface of 
the uppermost 1.79".times.1.26".times.0.077" negative plate in the 
negative plate magazine: a vacuum was applied to said pick-up/transport 
head; the pick-up/transport head was next moved in an upwards direction, 
then moved horizontally until it was positioned directly above the mobile 
cell assembly chamber, and then moved vertically downwards until the 
negative plate was placed firmly between the battery plate alignment pins 
in said assembly chamber such that the lug of the negative plate was 
positioned on the side of the cell assembly chamber opposite to the side 
containing the positive plate lug; the vacuum was eliminated by bringing 
air into the vacuum channel in the pick-up/transport head which was next 
moved vertically upwards and then horizontally until it returned to its 
original position: and the mobile cell assembly chamber was indexed into 
position adjacent to the intermediate separator fabrication station; and 
(h) Step (f) was next repeated; and 
(i) Steps (e), (f), (g), and (a) were next repeated in sequence such that a 
cell assembly containing two end separators, four positive plates, three 
negative plates, and six intermediate separators each positioned between 
one positive plate and one negative plate, was obtained after which the 
mobile cell assembly chamber was indexed adjacent to the cell insertion 
station; and 
(j) The cell compression member of the cell insertion station was next 
moved vertically downwards into the cell assembly chamber until the cell 
assembly was compressed to a height of about 0.850"; the battery plate 
alignment pins were retracted from the cell assembly chamber; and the cell 
insertion member was moved horizontally towards the battery container 
until the compressed cell assembly was inserted into the battery container 
such that approximately 75% of the height of said assembly was inserted 
into said container; the cell compression member was next moved vertically 
upwards to its original position; the cell insertion member was returned 
to its original position; and the mobile cell assembly chamber was indexed 
to the start position where the completed cell assembly/battery container 
module was removed manually from said chamber. 
The entire cycle described above was completed in approximately 35 seconds. 
Cell assemblies produced as described above were constructed into sealed 
batteries without further relative movement of the positive and negative 
plates by simultaneously forming integral positive plate straps and posts 
and negative plate straps and posts by means of a known cast-on-strap 
technique utilizing a lead-2% tin-0.08% selenium alloy, filling each cell 
with approximately 35 grams of 1.28 S.G. sulfuric acid, placing and 
sealing an inner cover and potting the plate straps into said inner cover 
using a commercially available epoxy cement, inserting a flexible 
closed-cell polymeric vent cap relative to the vent outlet in said inner 
cover, and sealing an outer cover to the cell container using the 
aforesaid epoxy cement. 
Batteries so produced were charged at a constant voltage of 2.40 volts for 
approximately eleven hours, discharged at 5 amperes to a cut-off voltage 
of 1.50 volts, and then cycle tested at a 5-ampere discharge rate using a 
regime of two 15-minute cycles, two 12-minute cycles, two 8-minute cycles, 
repeat. FIG. 11 compares typical discharge curves for a battery produced 
automatically in accordance with the method of this invention and an 
essentially identical battery for which all steps in the cell assembly 
operation were performed manually. These data indicate that the capacity 
and performance of the cell assembled automatically was essentially 
identical on the first and ninety-seventh cycles to the capacity and 
performance of the cell that was assembled manually. As will be obvious to 
those skilled in the art, the performance of the battery in which the cell 
was assembled in accordance with the method of this invention is typical 
of that expected from a lead-acid battery of this type. 
A preferred approach of establishing the assembly sequentially when the 
individual elements are cut from the continuous length and subsequent 
introduction of the cell assembly into the battery cell container has been 
disclosed, but it will be appreciated that the invention is not so 
limited. For example, the apparatus may be employed to create the cell 
assembly by sequential introduction of pre-cut and stacked elements. 
While for simplicity of illustration, a specific sequence of cutting the 
separator stock and plate stock has been illustrated, it will be 
appreciated by those skilled in the art that other sequences of cutting 
may be employed so long as a functional arrangement of the assembled 
plates and separators is achieved. 
While for simplicity of disclosure, a system having a single reciprocating 
assembly chamber has been shown, the invention is not so limited. For 
example, a plurality of assembly chambers moving in the same linear path 
and indexed from component station to component station may be employed. 
Also, a rotary version having a plurality of assembly chambers moving in a 
curved or circular path may be employed. 
The battery cell container may be indexed to and move with the assembly 
chamber, if desired, or may be stationary and be aligned where an assembly 
is to be inserted. 
While certain relationships between the number of plates and separators has 
been directed, the invention is not so limited. For example, the assembly 
may employ two end separators, one end separator or no end separators. The 
end separator may be of the same thickness or different thicknesses from 
the intermediate separators. The number of positive plates may be equal to 
the number of negative plates or may be one more or one less than each 
number. 
While certain forms of cutting means for severing material from a 
continuous length have been shown, it will be appreciated that a wide 
variety of cutting means, including but not limited to, shearing and 
punching may be employed. 
While reference has been made herein to use of electrochemically formed 
battery plate stock, it may be appreciated that the invention is also 
useable with as-cured plate stock. 
Whereas, particular embodiments of the invention have been described 
herein, for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled 
in the art that numerous variations of the details may be made without 
departing from the invention as set forth in the appended claims.