Through-the-partition battery connections

Claim 1

A STORAGE BATTERY COMPRISING: A CASING HAVING A PLURALITY OF CELL CAVITIES DEFINED BY THE WALLS OF SAID CASING AND INTEGRAL PARTITION WALLS THEREIN, SAID CELL CAVITY BEING CONFIGURED FOR CONTAINMENT OF BATTERY ELECTRODE PLATES AND ELECTROLYTE FLUID, A SAID PARTITION WALLS EACH DEFINING AT LEAST ONE OPENING BETWEEN PARTITIONS AND ABOVE THE TOPS OF SAID PLATES FOR PASSAGE THROUGH THE PARTITION WALL OF INTERCELL CONNECTORS, SAID OPENINGS EACH COMMUNICATING WITH THE TOPS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARTITION WALLS BY MEANS OF A CHANNEL IN THE PARTITION WALL, CONDUCTIVE STRAPS RESPECTIVELY CONNECTING THE POSITIVE PLATES OF A CELL ON THE SIDE OF A FIRST PARTITION WALL AND THE NEGATIVE PLATES OF A CELL ON THE SIDE OF THE SAME CELL OPPOSITE SAID FIRST PARTITION WALL, THE ORIENTATION OF SAID STRAPS ALTERNATING FROM CELL TO CELL FACILITATE SERIES CONNECTION OF CELLS, SAID STRAPS EACH INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE UPWARD POST ELEMENT EXTENDING ABOVE ASSOCIATED OPENINGS, FOR CONNECTION WITH INTERCELL CONNECTORS, AT LEAST ONE INTERCELL CONNECTOR BETWEEN ASSOCIATED POST ELEMENTS ON EITHER SIDE OF A PARTITION WALL, SAID CONNECTOR HAVING DOWNWARDLY DEPENDING END PORTIONS FROM THE TOPS OF THE POST ELEMENTS AND AN INTEGRAL CENTRAL PORTION THROUGH THE OPENING IN THE PARTITION, SAID CONNECTOR INCORPORATING A FLANGE ON ONE SIDE OF THE PARTITION WIDER THAN THE ASSOCIATED OPENING AND A THREADED PORTION FROM SAID FLANGE THROUGH THE ASSOCIATED OPENING TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ASSOCIATED PARTITION WALL, A SPACER BETWEEN SQAID FLANGE AND THE ASSOCIATED PARTITION WALL, A WASHER-NUT, WIDER THAN THE ASSOCIATED OPENING, TIGHTENED ON SAID THREADED PORTION AGAINST THE PARTITION WALL ON THE SIDE OPPOSITE SAID FLANGE, AND A SEALANT APPLIED THROUGH SAID CHANNEL TO FILL A VOID AROUND THE CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID CONNECTOR FORMED BY SAID FLANGES, SAID SPACER,AND APACER, AND SAID NUT.

Claim 8

A method of fabricating batteries comprising the steps of: providing a casing having a plurality of cells separated by partition walls; forming openings in said walls to accommodate intercell connectors; forming channels in said partition walls from the top thereof downwardly into said openings; providing electrode plates and spacers in said cells; electrically connecting plates of the same polarity at opposite ends of the cells, plates of alternate cells being connected in opposite fashion to one another for series interconnection of the cells, said connection being made with conductive straps having upward post elements for intercell connectors; penetrating each of said openings with an intercell connector element having a flange on one side and a threaded portion through to the other side, said element being provided with a spacer between said flange and the partition wall; tightening a washer-nut on said threaded portion to surround the opening and the element penetrating therethrough by a cavity formed by said spacer, said flange, and said nut; securing said connector to associated post elements by weldment; and injecting liquid, self hardening sealant through said channel to fill said cavity and thereby to seal the intercell connection.

Claim 9

A method of fabricating batteries comprising the steps of: providing a casing having a plurality of cells separated by partition walls; forming openings in said walls to accommodate intercell connectors; forming channels in said partition walls from the top thereof downwardly into said openings; providing electrode plates and spacers in said cells; electrically connecting plates of the same polarity at opposite ends of the cells, plates of alternate cells being connected in opposite fashion to one another for series interconnection of the cells, said connection being made with conductive straps having upward post elements for intercell connectors; penetrating each of said openings with an intercell connector element having a flange on one side and a threaded portion through to the other side, said element being provided with a spacer between said flange and the partition wall; tightening a washer-nut on said threaded portion to surround the opening and the element penetrating therethrough by a cavity formed by said spacer, said flange, and said nut; securing said connector to associated post elements by weldment; and injecting liquid, self hardening sealant through said channel to fill said cavity and thereby to seal the intercell connection.