This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number 100147437, filed Dec. 20, 2011, which is herein incorporated by reference.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a secondary battery and a manufacturing method of the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a battery core and a manufacturing method of the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A secondary battery is a battery which can be recharged. There are various types of secondary batteries that vary in structural design or in material utilized therein. It is not advisable to charge a primary battery due to the risk of explosion of the battery. Some secondary batteries may be damaged by reverse charging as a result of being totally discharged, while some secondary batteries have to be totally discharged periodically. Today, secondary batteries are widely used in various kinds of electrical devices with low power requirements, such as car starters, mobile apparatuses, uninterruptible power supplies, etc. Moreover, the requirements of low cost and weight, and increased lifetime of secondary batteries used in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles have been such that the technology of this field continues to improve.
In recent years, secondary batteries have been widely used as the power source in mobile electrical apparatuses. Among the different types of secondary batteries, the demand for lithium secondary batteries has been steadily increasing due to their characteristics of high energy density, high discharge voltage, and good power output stability.
A secondary battery usually includes a plurality of battery cores connected in series to satisfy the voltage and power requirements of various devices. In addition, because of the charge-discharge characteristics of the secondary battery and the fact that there are differences between the battery cores, an electrical balancing control of each battery core in the secondary battery is needed, so as to avoid overcharging or overdischarging of the battery cores which may cause early failure of the secondary battery.
One aspect of the invention is to provide a battery core and a manufacturing method of the same, so as to provide a structure to balance the electricity within battery cores.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a battery core includes a first electrode plate, a second electrode plate, and first and second separators.
The first electrode plate includes a substrate and a first active material. The substrate has a first area and a second area. The first active material has a first portion and a second portion, in which a first portion of the first active material is formed on the first area, and a second portion of the first active material is formed on the second area. The second electrode plate includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and a second active material, in which the first substrate and the second substrate are disconnected. The first substrate is positioned corresponding to the first area of the first electrode plate. The second substrate is positioned corresponding to the second area of the first electrode plate. The second active material has a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion of the second active material is formed on the first substrate, and the second portion of the second active material is formed on the second substrate. The first separator is disposed between the first and the second electrode plate.
The second electrode plate mentioned above further comprises two conductive handles. One of second conductive handles is disposed on an end of the first substrate, wherein the end of the first substrate is close to an end of the second substrate, and another handle is disposed on another end of the second substrate. The second portion of the second active material is located between the two second conductive handles.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a method of manufacturing a battery core includes a plurality of steps. A first electrode plate is formed. A second electrode plate is formed. The first electrode plate, a first separator, the second electrode plate, and a second separator are stacked and then wound. The step of forming the first electrode plate includes the step of separately forming a first portion of a first active material and a second portion of the first active material on a substrate. The step of forming the second electrode plate includes the step of respectively forming a first portion of a second active material and a second portion of the second active material on a first substrate and a second substrate, wherein the first and the second substrate are continuous. In the step of stacking and then winding the first electrode plate, the first separator, the second electrode plate, and the second separator, the first substrate and the second substrate are disconnected to form the battery core while winding the first electrode plate, the first separator, the second electrode plate, and the second separator.
The following paragraphs will provide specific details of the aforementioned description with some embodiments to interpret the techniques of the present invention.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to attain a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes reference to the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the terms “comprise” or comprising,” “include” or “including,” “have” or “having,” “contain” or “containing” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Also, as used in the description herein, the range of error to the values modified by the term “substantially” is generally 20%, and it can be 10% in some preferred cases, and moreover, it can also be 5% in some most preferred cases.
An aspect of the present invention is a battery core, which can be applied to a secondary battery or to various kinds of battery-related technologies. It is noted that electricity within the battery core disclosed herein can be balanced automatically. The following paragraphs will describe various exemplary embodiments of the battery core together with reference to the drawings.
In
Similarly, an area of a second portion 122 of the first active material 120 of the first electrode plate 100 is equal to or smaller than an area of a second portion 222 of the second active material 220 of the second electrode plate 200, to such that the second portion 222 of the second active material 220 can entirely overlay the second portion 122 of the first active material 120. As shown in
Because the first electrode plate 100 is a positive electrode plate in the first embodiment, the first active material 120 is mainly composed of metal oxides, and the second active material 220 is mainly composed of carbon materials. In addition, because of the differences in the areas as described above, the metal oxides within the first active material 120 can operate normally. That is, if the area of the first portion 121 of the first active material 120 were larger than the area of the first portion 221 of the second active material 220, then some part of the first portion 121 of the first active material 120 would not be covered by the first portion 221 of the second active material 220, such that the non-covered metal oxide could be damaged or shorted by the accumulation of charged ions. Similarly, if the area of the second portion 122 of the first active material 120 were larger than the area of the second portion 222 of the second active material 220, then some part of the second portion 122 of the first active material 120 would not be covered by the second portion 222 of the second active material 220, such that the non-covered metal oxide could be damaged or shorted by the accumulation of charged ions.
In
Because the second electrode plate 200 is a positive electrode plate in the second embodiment, the second active material 220 is mainly composed of metal oxides, and the first active material 120 is mainly composed of carbon materials. In addition, because of the differences in the areas described above, the metal oxides within the second active material 220 can operate normally. That is, if the area of the first portion 221 of the second active material 220 were larger than the area of the first portion 121 of the first active material 120, then some part of the first portion 221 of the second active material 220 would not be covered by the first portion 121 of the first active material 120, such that the non-covered metal oxide could be damaged or shorted by the accumulation of charged ions. Similarly, if the area of the second portion 222 of the second active material 220 were larger than the area of the second portion 122 of the first active material 120, then some part of the second portion 222 of the second active material 220 would not be covered by the second portion 122 of the first active material 120, such that the non-covered metal oxide could be damaged or shorted by the accumulation of charged ions.
During manufacture, In the case of the configuration of
More particularly, the manufacturing method mentioned above includes a number of steps. (a) The first electrode plate 100 is formed. (b) The second electrode plate 200 is formed. (c) The first electrode plate 100, the first separator 300, the second electrode plate 200, and the second separator 400 are stacked and then wound. The step of forming the first electrode plate 100 includes the step of separately forming the first portion 121 of the first active material 120 and the second portion 122 of the first active material 120 on a substrate 110. The step of forming the second electrode plate 200 includes the step of respectively forming the first portion 221 of the second active material 220 and the second portion 222 of the second active material 220 on a first substrate 210 and a second substrate 212, wherein the first and second substrates 210, 212 are continuous. Subsequently, stacking and then winding the first electrode plate 100, the first separator 300, the second electrode plate 200, and the second separator 400 are performed, wherein the first substrate 210 and the second substrate 212 are disconnected to form the battery core 10 while winding the first electrode plate 100, the first separator 300, the second electrode plate 200, and the second separator 400.
Because the first substrate 210 and the second substrate 212 are disconnected, the battery core 10 can be divided into a main capacity part 510 and a balancing capacity part 520. The main capacity part 510 of the battery core 10 includes the first portion 121 of the first active material 120, a first area 111 of the substrate 110, the first portion 221 of the second active material 220, and the first substrate 210. The balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 includes the second portion 122 of the first active material 120, a second area 112 of the substrate 110, the second portion 222 of the second active material 220, and the second substrate 212.
The balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 can be utilized to balance the electricity in the main capacity part 510 of the battery core 10. For example, when the main capacity part 510 of the battery core 10 is overcharged, the excess electricity can be delivered to the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10. On the other hand, when the main capacity part 510 of the battery core 10 is overly discharged, the electricity stored in the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 can be returned back to the main capacity part 510 of the battery core 10. In this manner, the electricity within the battery core 10 can be balanced.
In
If the first electrode plate 100 is a positive electrode plate, the first active material 120 is mainly composed of metal oxides, such as lithium oxides (for example, LiCoO2.) In addition, the first active material 120 may also include conducting material, an adhesive, and other materials. For example, a weight percent of metal oxides within the first portion 121 of the first active material 120 may be more than 85%, and a weight percent of metal oxides within the second portion 122 of the first active material 120 may be more than 80%.
If the first electrode plate 100 is a negative electrode plate, the first active material 120 is mainly composed of carbon materials, such as graphite. In addition, the first active material 120 may also include conducting material, an adhesive, and other materials. For example, a weight percent of carbon materials within the first portion 121 of the first active material 120 may be more than 90%, and a weight percent of carbon materials within the second portion 122 of the first active material 120 may be more than 85%.
The first electrode plate 100 also includes a first conductive handle 130. The first conductive handle 130 is disposed on an end of the substrate 110, that is, an end of the substrate 110 which is close to the first area 111. In practice, as shown in
To make the speed of charging and discharging of the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 faster than the speed of charging and discharging of the main capacity part 510, a thickness of the first portion 121 of the first active material 120 is substantially bigger than a thickness of the second portion 122 of the first active material 120. In addition, a content ratio of the conducting material of the first portion 121 of the first active material 120 is substantially smaller than a content ratio of the conducting material of the second portion 122 of the first active material 120. Through such a configuration, the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 can be utilized to balance the electricity in the main capacity part 510 of the battery core 10 efficiently.
In
If the second electrode plate 200 is a negative electrode plate, the second active material 220 is mainly composed of carbon materials, such as graphite. In addition, the second active material 220 may also include conducting material, an adhesive, and other materials. A weight percent of carbon materials within the second portion 221 of the second active material 220 may be more than 90%, and a weight percent of carbon materials within the second portion 222 of the second active material 220 may be more than 85%.
If the second electrode plate 200 is a positive electrode plate, the second active material 220 is mainly composed of metal oxides, such as lithium oxides (for example, LiCoO2.) In addition, the second active material 220 may also include conducting material, an adhesive, and other materials. A weight percent of metal oxides within the first portion 221 of the second active material 220 may be more than 85%, and a weight percent of metal oxides within the second portion 222 of the second active material 220 may be more than 80%.
The second electrode plate 200 also includes a second conductive handle 230 and another second conductive handle 232. The second conductive handle 230 is disposed on an end of the first substrate 210, that is, an end of the first substrate 210 which is close to an end of the second substrate 212. Another second conductive handle 232 is disposed on another end of the second substrate 212. With this configuration, the second portion 222 of the second active material 220 is located between the two second conductive handles 230, 232. In practice, as shown in
In practice, one or more battery core(s) may be disposed in a battery housing or a package, and electrodes with the same electrical polarity are connected together.
To make the speed of charging and discharging of the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 faster than the speed of charging and discharging of the main capacity part 510, a thickness of the first portion 221 of the second active material 220 is substantially bigger than a thickness of the second portion 222 of the second active material 220. In addition, a content ratio of the conducting material of the first portion 221 of the second active material 220 is substantially smaller than a content ratio of the conducting material of the second portion 222 of the second active material 220. Through such a configuration, the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 can be utilized to balance the electricity in the main capacity part 510 of the battery core 10 efficiently.
The main capacity part 510 of the battery core 10 acts as a main component for charging and discharging in the battery core 10, and the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 acts as an auxiliary component to balance the electricity within the main capacity part 510 of the battery core 10. Therefore, in practice, a ratio between the electrical capacity of the first portion 121 of the first active material 120 and the electrical capacity of the second portion 122 of the first active material 120 is substantially from 50:1 to 5:1. If the ratio between the electrical capacity of the first portion 121 of the first active material 120 and the electrical capacity of the second portion 122 of the first active material 120 is more than 50:1, then the capacity of the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 may not be sufficient to balance the electricity when the battery core 10 is overly charged or discharged. On the other hand, if the ratio between the electrical capacity of the first portion 121 of the first active material 120 and the electrical capacity of the second portion 122 of the first active material 120 is less than 5:1, then the capacity of the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 may be excessive, and the high capacity of the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 would be a waste.
Reference is now made to
The first predetermined interval is substantially smaller than the second predetermined interval, such that the second portion 122 of the first active material is substantially thinner than the first portion 121 of the first active material. In addition, a content ratio of the conducting material of the first active material in the mobile coating head 720 is substantially larger than a content ratio of the conducting material of the first active material in the fixed coating head 730. Through such a configuration, the speed of charging and discharging of the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 can be improved.
Reference is now made to
Reference is now made to
Therefore, compared with the conventional art, the invention has at least the following advantages:
1. With the separation of the first substrate and the second substrate, the battery core can be divided into a main capacity part and a balancing capacity part. The main capacity part of the battery core includes the first portion of the first active material, the first area of the substrate, the first portion of the second active material, and the first substrate. The balancing capacity part of the battery core includes the second portion of the first active material, the second area of the substrate, the second portion of the second active material, and the second substrate. When the main capacity part of the battery core is overcharged, the excess electricity can be delivered to the balancing capacity part of the battery core. On the other hand, when the main capacity part of the battery core is overly discharged, the electricity stored in the balancing capacity to part of the battery core can be returned back to the main capacity part of the battery core. In this manner, the electricity within the battery core can be balanced.
2. The winding battery core has a small size, has a long life, is low in cost and has a high stability. The first predetermined interval is substantially smaller than the second predetermined interval, such that the second portion 222 of the second active material is substantially thinner than the first portion 221 of the second active material. In addition, a content ratio of the conducting material of the second active material in the mobile coating head 820 is substantially larger than a content ratio of the conducting material of the second active material in the fixed coating head 830. Through such a configuration, the speed of charging and discharging of the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10 can be improved.
Reference is now made to
The step of forming the second electrode plate 200 further includes a plurality of steps. (a) The first substrate 210 and the second substrate 212 are transported, for example, by a transport roller 810. (b) A mobile coating head 840 is positioned over the second substrate 212 with a first predetermined interval therebetween, and the second portion 222 of the second active material is coated on the second substrate 212 by the mobile coating head 840. (c) The mobile coating head 840 is positioned over the first substrate 210 with a second predetermined interval therebetween after the second portion 222 of the second active material is coated, and then the first portion 221 of the second active material is coated on the first foil 210 sheet by the mobile coating head 840, in which the first predetermined interval is substantially smaller than the second predetermined interval to improve the speed of charging and discharging of the balancing capacity part 520 of the battery core 10. (d) Subsequently, the second electrode plate 200 is heated in an oven 850 to solidify the second active material.
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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100147437 | Dec 2011 | TW | national |