Abstract: A spring contact is compressed against and electrically connected to a terminal of a dry cell battery, and the spring-like compressive force between the contact and the terminal is maintained by an adhesive. The spring contact and adhesive may be used with both single cell and multicell batteries. The spring may be situated between two cells of a multicell battery, with the adhesive adhering the two cells together and maintaining the spring-like compressive force between the contact and the terminals of the adjacent two cells. The terminal which is electrically connected with the spring contact may be a thin foil of metal, and the inner surface of the foil may serve as the negative electrode of a cell; the foil may be a metal selected from the group consisting of a zinc, magnesium, lead, aluminum and alloys thereof. The spring contact may have a burr where it electrically connects with the terminal.

Abstract: A battery is at least partially enclosed by a wrapper comprising a composite of a gas pervious plastic layer and a gas impervious layer. The gas impervious layer has a fracture wide enough to permit the transmission of gases, and the width of the fracture can be maintained at a predetermined and desired size. The combination of the gas pervious plastic layer and the fracture in the gas impervious layer provides a system for regulating the species of gases that enter and/or exit from the battery, as well as the rate at which such gas transmissions occur. The gas impervious layer may be a thin metal foil, preferably of aluminum.

Abstract: A composite of metal and an insulating material overlays a battery terminal, with openings in the composite exposing the terminal. A portion of the insulating material extends inside the opening in the metal layer, causing the edge of the metal to be set back from the edge of the insulator. Preferably the metal is aluminum foil.

Abstract: A battery has a metallic component the inner surface of which is in contact with the battery electrolyte and the outer surface of which is not in contact with the electrolyte. To prevent undesired corrosion a mask is placed over a portion of the inner surface in order to electrochemically inactivate the portion of the inner surface covered by it. Although the metallic component having the mask may be the positive electrode or a terminal, preferably it is the negative electrode and preferably the negative electrode is a metallic foil such as zinc, lead, magnesium, or aluminum or alloys thereof. The outer surface of the metallic component opposite the mask may be exposed to the air. An electrical lead may be connected to the outer surface of the metallic component opposite the mask.

Abstract: A plurality of deformations is provided in a metal layer in a battery to avoid wrinkles in that metal layer. The deformations may be situated in that portion of the metal layer which is part of a peripheral sealing system for the battery and/or in that portion of the metal layer inside the peripheral sealing system. The deformations may be oriented along axes which are (a) substantially concentric with the edges of the peripheral sealing system, (b) substantially perpendicular to the edges of the sealing system, or (c) neither (a) nor (b). The metal layer may have a pocket indented therein, the indented pocket being situated inside the peripheral sealing system and over the electrodes of the battery.

Abstract: The method, which provides liquid-impervious seals around opposed positive and negative battery electrodes in a collation of battery layers, concerns the need to apply energy around the opposed electrodes by some means other than and for a longer time period than the conventional pair of pressure rolls which have previously been used to seal moving battery layers. With this invention the seals are made by platens which either travel along with the moving collation during the sealing step or which are brought into contact with an increment of the collation which is temporarily stopped.