Abstract: An electrochemical cell employing a safety disconnect device which employs a low melting heat fusible conductive material, such as solder, to secure an outwardly biased external conductive terminal to one terminal of the cell so that when the solder melts, the external conductive terminal is pushed away from the cell thereby breaking electronic contact with the cell.

Abstract: The invention relates to an electrochemical cell employing a resettable or nonresettable safety disconnect device operable by a shape memory alloy element. The shape memory alloy element is preferably in the form of an accordion or coiled configuration that will be extended in normal operation of the cell and contract when the internal temperature exceeds a preselected value whereupon the shape memory alloy will break contact in the electrical circuit of the cell thereby rendering the cell inoperative.

Abstract: A novel circuit board and method of fabricating such, and a novel combination of a circuit board with batteries in a battery pack and assembly method are disclosed herein. The circuit board is connectable by welding or soldering of integral tabs of the circuit board metal layer to the battery terminals. The circuit board includes at least one, and preferably two, insulator sheets and a metal layer laminated between the insulator sheets in sandwich fashion. The metal layer has integral tabs extending in pairs into openings of the metal sheet, coincident with openings in the insulator sheets. The tabs are generally coplanar with the remainder of the metal sheet and readily accessible, for example, by a spot welder, through the openings. The metal and insulator components to form the circuit board are aligned with each other. The laminted board assembly is postpunched to remove sections of the metal layer, along with corresponding sections of the insulator sheets, to result in the desired circuitry.

Abstract: The invention relates to a cell employing a coiled electrode assembly having the edge of at least one electrode strip protruding above the coiled electrode assembly and wherein said electrode edge is electronically connected to a tab having a telescopic center portion that can flex below and then above the plane of the tab so that any bulge in the cell's housing will flex the tab without disturbing the electronic contact between the cell's housing and the edge of the electrode strip protruding above the coiled electrode assembly.

Abstract: The invention relates to a simple and inexpensive method for automatically producing a cell employing a coiled electrode assembly having the edge of one electrode strip extending beyond the coiled electrode assembly at one end and the edge of the other electrode strip extending beyond the opposite end of the coiled electrode assembly with the extending edge of each electrode strip being electronically connected to a terminal for the cell via a conductive tab. The invention also relates to the coiled electrode cells produced by the method.