Source: http://www.google.fr/patents/US7955737?hl=fr
Timestamp: 2013-05-19 07:51:56
Document Index: 420632223

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 200680017715', 'Application No. 06', 'Application No. 06', 'Application No. 06', 'Application No. 06']

Brevet US7955737 - Battery grid - Google�BrevetsRecherche Images Maps Play YouTube Actualit�s Gmail Drive Plus » Recherche avanc�e dans les brevets | Historique Web | Connexion Recherche avanc�e dans les brevets BrevetsA battery grid includes a frame that includes a top element, a bottom element, a first side element, and a second side element. The battery grid also includes a plurality of wires provided within the frame and defining a plurality of open areas and a current collection lug extending from the top element...http://www.google.fr/patents/US7955737?utm_source=gb-gplus-shareBrevet US7955737 - Battery grid Num�ro de publicationUS7955737 B2Type de publicationOctroi Num�ro de demande12/823,803 Date de publication7 juin 2011 Date de d�p�t25 juin 2010 Date de priorit�23 mai 2005Autre r�f�rence de publicationCN101233635AEP1900048A1EP1900048B1EP2287948A1US7767347US8399135US20090258299US20100266903US20110262808US20120214062US20120219857WO2006127575A1 InventeursKenneth A. AdamsGlenn W. AndersenWen-Hong KaoEdward N. MrotekEric M. TaylorJeffrey P. Zagrodnik Cessionnaire d'origineJohnson Controls Technology Company Classification aux �tats-Unis429/241 Classification internationaleH01M4/74 Classification coop�rativeY02E60/12H01M4/73 Classification europ�enneH01M4/73R�f�rencesCitations de brevets (100)Citations hors brevets (26)Liens externesUSPTO Cession USPTO EspacenetBattery gridUS 7955737 B2 R�sum� A battery grid includes a frame that includes a top element, a bottom element, a first side element, and a second side element. The battery grid also includes a plurality of wires provided within the frame and defining a plurality of open areas and a current collection lug extending from the top element in a first direction. The battery grid further includes at least one feature provided in the battery grid that is configured to reduce the amount of growth of the battery grid in the first direction due to corrosion of the battery grid during the life of the battery grid.
a plurality of wires provided within the frame and defining a plurality of open areas;
at least one short prevention feature provided in the battery grid that is configured to help prevent a short between the battery grid and a battery component provided near the grid due to growth of the battery grid, wherein the at least one feature is selected from the group consisting of:
2. The battery grid of claim 1, wherein the short prevention feature reduces the amount of growth of the battery grid in the first direction due to corrosion of the battery grid during the life of the battery.
3. The battery grid of claim 2, wherein the short prevention feature is designed such that one or more of the wires will break after a predetermined amount of growth in the first direction thereby limiting continued growth in the first direction.
4. The battery grid of claim 1, wherein the short prevention feature is configured so as to withstand a greater amount of growth of the battery grid in the first direction before the short is generated.
5. The battery grid of claim 4, wherein the battery grid comprises at least one rounded corner between the top element and at least one of the first and second side elements that redirects forces due to growth of the grid from the first direction toward a second direction.
6. The battery grid of claim 4, wherein the short prevention feature comprises a distortion provided in the top element.
7. The battery grid of claim 6, wherein the top element meets at least one of the first and second side elements at an angle such that at least a portion of the top element is not perpendicular to at least one of the first and second side elements.
8. The battery grid of claim 7, wherein the angle between the top element and at least one of the first and second side elements is greater than ninety degrees.
9. The battery grid of claim 7, wherein the top element comprises a first generally linear portion near the current collection lug, a second generally linear portion near at least one of the first and second side elements and a non-linear portion between the first and second linear portions.
10. The battery grid of claim 9, wherein the non-linear portion comprises an indent provided in the top element.
11. The battery grid of claim 10, wherein the indent comprises a curved portion that extends toward the wires provided within the frame. Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/984,666, filed Nov. 20, 2007, which is national stage application of International Application No. PCT/US2006/019686, which has an international filing date of May 22, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/683,608 filed May 23, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND The present inventions relate to grids for use in batteries (e.g., lead-acid batteries such as batteries for vehicle starting, lighting, and ignition applications; marine batteries; commercial batteries; industrial batteries; batteries for use with hybrid-electric vehicles; etc.). More specifically, the present inventions relate to grids that have a configuration which resists shorting of a battery cell due to growth of the grids.
SUMMARY An embodiment of the present invention relates to a battery grid that includes a frame that includes a top element, a bottom element, a first side element, and a second side element. The battery grid also includes a plurality of wires provided within the frame and defining a plurality of open areas and a current collection lug extending from the top element in a first direction. The battery grid further includes at least one feature provided in the battery grid that is configured to reduce the amount of growth of the battery grid in the first direction due to corrosion of the battery grid during the life of the battery grid.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates the growth of a battery grid due to corrosion which may result in shorting of a battery cell.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 2 illustrates a battery grid 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. Grid 100 may be either a positive or a negative grid, and may be produced by any known method (e.g., by casting, by expansion of a sheet of material after piercing the sheet, by a progressive punching operation, etc.) using any known materials (e.g., lead or lead alloys, such as lead-calcium alloys, etc.). Various nonexclusive examples of battery grids that may be used in accordance with the present disclosure are shown, for example, in the following U.S. patents, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,936; U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,749; U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,948; U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,462; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,274,274.
As shown in FIG. 3, a �weak link� may be provided for one of the horizontal or vertical wire elements. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, a first portion or segment 220 of a wire 200 may be joined to a second portion or segment 230 of the wire 200 by a portion or segment 210 that is configured to break when a threshold amount of stress is applied to the wire 200. When growth of the grid 100 causes movement of the first portion 210 relative to the second portion 230, the middle portion 210 will break, which may act to interrupt the growth of the grid at this point. As shown in FIG. 3, middle portion 210 is provided to connect portion 220 to portion 230 such that portion 220 is �staggered� relative to portion 230. According to various exemplary embodiments, any suitable number of weak links may be provided in the grid to redirect the stresses caused by growth of the grid due to corrosion, and they may be provided for both vertical and horizontal wires as may be desired.
As shown in FIG. 9, various wires may be removed to form an engineered buffer zone within the grid (similar to a �crumple zone�). In a conventional grid (e.g., such as that shown in FIG. 1), vertical wire members are collinear with each other and extend, for example, from the top frame element to the bottom frame element. As a result, growth of one of the vertical wires is translated to others which are collinear, resulting in an additive growth effect that acts to force the top frame element toward a strap of opposite polarity (as shown, for example, in FIG. 1). According to the exemplary embodiment as shown in FIG. 9, one or more of the vertical wires are removed such that there is an interruption or discontinuity in the grid (e.g., wires 154 and 156 are separated by an open space 152). The open space 152 thus acts as a buffer zone into which the vertical wires may grow (instead of translating their growth in a manner which results in movement of the top frame element of the grid). The open space 152 thus acts to �absorb� the growth in the vertical direction. Any number of engineered buffer zones may be provided at various desired points within the grid.
It should be noted that while the above-described modifications to the grid have been discussed individually, any one or more of such modifications may be utilized in a single grid. For example, both a �weak link� (as shown, e.g., in FIG. 3) and a �distortion� (as shown, e.g., in FIG. 5) may be provided in a single grid. Any other combination of modifications such as those described above may also be utilized in order to manage the growth of the grid.
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