BATTERY STANDARDIZATION 4.7
TABLE 4.3b Examples of IEC Nomenclature for Primary Batteries
IEC
Nomenclature
Number
of cells
System
letter
(Table 4.2c)
Shape
(Table 4.2b)
Cell
(Table 4.3a)
C, P,
S, X,
Y Parallel
Groups
in
parallel Example
R20 1 None R 20 * A unit round battery using
basic R20 type cell and
electrochemical system letter
(none) of Table 4.2c
LR20 1 L R 20 * Same as above, except using
electrochemical system letter
L of Table 4.2c
6F22 6 None F 22 * A 6-series multicell battery
using flat F22 cells and
electrochemical system letter
(none) of Table 4.2c
4LR25-2
CR17345
4
1
L
C
R
R
25
see Section
4.4.1
* 2 A multicell battery consist-
ing of two parallel groups,
each group having four cells
in series of the R25 type
and electrochemical system,
letter L, of Table 4.2c
A unit round battery, with a
diam. of 17 mm and height
of 34.5 mm, and
electrochemical system,
letter C, of Table 4.2c
* If required, letters C, P, or S will indicate different performance characteristics and letters X and Y different terminal arrangements.
4.4.2 Rechargeable Batteries
The documentation for standardization of rechargeable batteries is not as complete as the
documentation for primary batteries. Most of the primary batteries are used in a variety of
portable applications, using user-replaceable batteries. Hence, the need for primary battery
standards to insure interchangeability. Developing such standards have been active projects
by both IEC and ANSI for many years.
The early use of rechargeable batteries was mainly with larger batteries, however, usually
application specific and multicell. The large majority of rechargeable batteries were lead-
acid manufactured for automotive SLI (starting, lighting, ignition) use. Standards for these
batteries were developed by the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE), the Battery Coun-
cil International (BCI) and the Storage Battery Association of Japan. More recently, re-
chargeable batteries have been developed for portable applications, in many cases in the
same cell and battery sizes as the primary batteries. Starting with the portable-sized nickel-
cadmium batteries, IEC and ANSI are developing standards for the nickel-metal hydride and
lithium-ion batteries. The currently available standards are listed in Tables 4.1a and 4.1b.
The IEC has been considering a new nomenclature system, possibly covering both pri-
mary and rechargeable batteries but none have yet been published. Table 4.4a lists the letter
codes that are being considered by IEC and those adopted by ANSI for secondary or re-
chargeable batteries. The IEC nomenclature system for nickel-cadmium batteries is shown
in Table. 4.4b. In this system, the first letter designates the electrochemical system, a second
letter the shape, the first number of the diameter, and a second number the height. In addition,