Patent Application
20060127752
The present invention relates to a battery and, more particularly, to a battery with a printed circuit formed thereon.
It is known to provide a battery as a source of electrical energy for powering a circuit of an electrical or electronic device. Typically, the battery is a separate component that is installed on the device as an end stage in manufacture of the device or by a user of the device. For example, the battery may be installed in a housing which also supports the components of the circuit. As another example, the battery may be installed in a receiving device, such as a socket, that is mounted on a circuit board (e.g., a printed circuit board) upon which other circuit components are mounted.
In one particular application in the automotive industry, a remote keyless entry device, such as a fob or an ignition key, includes a printed circuit board and a separate battery mounted in a plastic housing. In another automotive application, a wireless tire pressure monitor for mounting on rotatable vehicle wheels includes printed circuit board, a pressure transducer, and a separate battery mounted in a plastic housing.
In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus includes a battery that has a positive terminal and a negative terminal. At least one layer of electrical insulating material is disposed on one of the positive terminal and the negative terminal. At least one electrically conductive circuit layer is disposed on the at least one layer of electrical insulating material.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus includes a battery including a positive terminal and a negative terminal. A printed circuit is formed on at least one of the positive and negative terminals.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon consideration of the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention and the accompanying drawings, in which:
The circuit components 16 can be any electrical or electronic device. For example, the circuit components 16 may include one or more discrete components (e.g., resistors, capacitors, inductors), solid state devices (e.g., transistors or diodes), and integrated circuits (e.g., IC chips implementing analog or digital circuitry). By way of further example, the circuit components 16 may also include sensors, transducers, and antennas. Those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate how any combination of circuit components can be arranged and configured to implement a desired function.
The battery 12 may be of any type suited to support and provide the required power to the printed circuit 14 and circuit components 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the battery 12 is a conventional “flat” battery that has a generally rounded and elongated configuration. As an example, the battery 12 may have a configuration similar or identical to that of known coin-shaped batteries, which may be used to power a variety of devices, such as remote keyless entry devices, watches, computer clock devices, etc. The battery 12 may also be of any known cell type, such as a lithium battery.
One exemplary construction of the apparatus 10 is illustrated in
An insulating gasket 44 is positioned between the top case 40 and bottom case 42 to electrically isolate the cases from each other. The top and bottom cases 40 and 42 are crimped together to form a sealed chamber 46 in which the anode 32, cathode 34, and separator 36 are housed. In this assembled condition of the battery 12, the stainless steel top case 40 is pressed into abutting engagement with the cathode 34 and thus forms a positive terminal 50 of the battery. The stainless steel bottom case 42 is pressed into abutting engagement with the anode 32 and thus forms a negative terminal 52 of the battery 12.
According to the present invention, the printed circuit 14 is formed on a surface of the battery 12, i.e., the battery case 30. In the illustrated embodiment, the printed circuit 14 is formed on the top case 40, i.e., on the positive terminal 50 of the battery 12. The printed circuit 14 could, however, be formed on the bottom case 42, i.e., the negative terminal 52 of the battery 12. As another example, the apparatus 10 could include a printed circuit on both the top case 40 and the bottom case 42 of the battery 12.
In one embodiment, a process called “thick film printing” is used to print the printed circuit 14 onto the battery. Thick film printing involves printing layers of insulating material and electrically conductive material onto a substrate which, in the illustrated embodiment, is the positive terminal 50 of the battery 12. The layers are screened (e.g., silk screened) onto the positive terminal 50 in a known manner that may be similar or identical to those implemented in screening processes used to produce conventional printed circuit boards. Any other known method may be used to place the layers of insulating material and layers of conductive material on the battery 12.
The layers forming the circuit 14 include insulating layers 60 formed with the insulating material and circuit layers 62 formed with the electrically conductive material. The circuit layers 62 include the traces 20 that form the electrical connections of the circuit 14. The circuit layers 62 may include layers with connection traces, layers with ground traces, layers with positive traces, layers with negative traces, or layers having combinations of connection, positive, negative, and ground traces. Although the traces 20 have been illustrated as generally straight, thin lines, it will be understood and appreciated that the traces may have any desired shape or configuration.
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the insulating layers 60 include a bottom insulating layer 70 and a top insulating layer 72 of the circuit 14. The bottom insulating layer 70 is disposed on the positive terminal 50 of the battery 12. The circuit layers 62 include a bottom circuit layer 80 and a top circuit layer 82. The bottom circuit layer 80 is disposed on the bottom insulating layer 70. The insulating layers 60 also include a middle insulating layer 74 disposed on the bottom circuit layer 80. The top circuit layer 82 is disposed on the middle insulating layer 74. The top insulating layer 72 is disposed on the top circuit layer 82.
The bottom insulating layer 70 may leave selected portions of the positive terminal 50 of the battery 12 exposed in order to provide an electrical connection between the positive battery terminal and the bottom circuit layer 80. The middle insulating layer 74 may leave selected portions of the bottom circuit layer 80 exposed in order to provide an electrical connection between the bottom circuit layer and the top circuit layer 82. The top insulating layer 72 may leave selected portions of the top circuit layer 82 exposed in order to provide for establishing an electrical connection between the circuit 14 and the circuit components 16. For example, the top insulating layer 72 may leave portions of the top circuit layer 82 exposed to form pads 90 (see
The apparatus 10 may also include a metal lead or strap 92 that has a portion connected to the negative terminal 52 (i.e., the bottom case 42) of the battery 12 and a portion connected to the circuit 14. The strap 72 may be connected to the negative terminal 52 by known means, such as welding (e.g., laser welding). The strap 72 may be connected to the circuit 14 by known means, such as soldering. The strap 72 provides an electrical connection between the negative terminal 52 of the battery 12 and the circuit 14, more specifically, the circuit layers 62.
The present invention allows for a reduced package size of the apparatus 10. This is because the need for a conventional circuit, separate from the battery 12 (e.g., a printed circuit board), is eliminated. This also eliminates the need to provide a connection, such as wires, a battery socket, etc., between the separate conventional circuit board and the battery 12. Mounting the apparatus 10 to a structure, such as a housing, is also simplified because only one part, i.e., the battery 12, needs to be mounted.
It will be understood and appreciated that the apparatus 10 of the present invention may have a variety of implementations. For example, the apparatus 10 may be used in an automotive environment to perform remote wireless sensing functions or remote wireless control functions. This is shown schematically in
The wireless device 102 may include a housing, indicated schematically at 112, to which the apparatus 10 is mounted. The apparatus 10 may form the entire electronic structure of the wireless device 102. Alternatively, as shown in
By way of example, in one particular embodiment, the wireless device 102 may comprise a wireless tire pressure monitoring device for installation on rotatable wheels of a vehicle (not shown). In this embodiment, the circuit 14 (
As another example, in one particular embodiment, the wireless device 102 may comprise a remote keyless entry (“RKE”) device for a vehicle. In this embodiment, the circuit 14 (
From the above description of the invention, those skilled in the art will perceive improvements, changes and modifications. Such improvements, changes and modifications within the skill of the art are intended to be covered by the appended claims.
