A look at Old and New Battery Packaging

Early batteries of the 1700s and 1800s were mostly encased in glass jars, and as the batteries grew in size, sealed wooden containers were used. With the need for portability, sealed cylindrical cells appeared that eventually led to some standardization in size format. To satisfy our curiosity, let’s explore the history of these battery norms.

In the early days, standardization involved primary cells mostly in carbon-zinc; alkaline came only in the early 1960s. With the advent of the sealed nickel-cadmium batteries in the 1950s and 1960s, new sizes appeared, many of which were derived from the standard “A” and “C” sizes established at the end of the 1800s. Manufacturers of lithium-ion departed from the conventional sizes and invented their own formats of cylindrical, prismatic and pouch shapes. Looking at the many formats of cell phone batteries alone, one realizes that standardizing has begun to drift. Table 1 summarizes historic and current battery sizes.
 

Table 1: Common old and new battery norms. Some sizes come in fractural lengths mostly in nickel-based chemistries.
 

When first invented, a battery was perceived as being “big” and this reflects in the sizing convention. While “F” was chosen as a medium-size battery in the late 1800s, our forefathers did not anticipate the need for miniature batteries. Running out of letters towards smaller sizes brought on the awkward designations of AA, AAA and AAAA. It’s also interesting that many sizes never took off and “A” was replaced with the thinner “AA.”

A successful standard for a cylindrical cell is the 18650. Developed in the mid 1990s for lithium-ion, these cells are used for laptops, electric bicycles and even electric vehicles, such as the Tesla Roadster car.

Since the introduction of the 9V battery in 1956, no new consumer format has emerged. Meanwhile, portable devices have lowered the operating voltages and 9V is overkill. The 9V battery is expensive to manufacture and has a low specific energy. A 3.6V battery alternative should be offered in primary and secondary versions with different chemistries. Similar in size to the 9V, this pack would be protected with unique battery terminals that would only allow charging secondary batteries. A code would apply the appropriate algorithm.

Starter batteries for cars also follow battery norms, which consist of the North American BCI, the European DIN and the Japanese JIS standards. These batteries are similar in footprint to allow easy interchange. In an effort to standardize, all American car manufacturers are in the process of converting to the American DIN size batteries. Most manufacturers of deep-cycle and stationary batteries produce their own sizes and the replacement must be sourced from the original maker. Standardizing of the electric vehicle may be too early. Forcing the issue could follow the failed attempt to standardize laptop batteries in the 1990s.

Comments

On March 1, 2011 at 2:37am

Atul Gupta wrote:

i have seen some Li-ion pouch cells packaging with terminals on top. can we mount the same cell in 90 Deg rotation condition i.e. terminals are in side instead of top?

On August 18, 2011 at 11:00am

Steven wrote:

The B cell battery is 20.1 millimeters in diameter and 56.8 millimeters in length. It is still in use in Europe.

On February 17, 2012 at 3:58pm

BWMichael wrote:

Atul Gupta: Of course. You could easily modify the battery yourself to have the contacts on the side. Or just turn the battery 90 degrees? I see mobile phone batteries all the time which go in the phone sideways, the contacts being on the side of the phone.

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