Patent Application
20230261247
The present application claims the benefit of priority of Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2020-0159319, filed on Nov. 24, 2020, and 10-2021-0160686, filed on Nov. 19, 10 2021, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
The present invention relates to a cylindrical type secondary battery, and more particularly, to a cylindrical type secondary battery in which, when a center pin is inserted into a core of an electrode assembly, and a cap assembly is coupled to an upper portion of a battery case, the inserted center pin supports the electrode assembly in a radial direction on an inner circumferential surface of the core by elasticity to prevent collapse of the core and increase in adhesion force of positive and negative electrodes.
In general, secondary batteries refer to batteries that are chargeable and dischargeable unlike non-rechargeable primary batteries and have been widely used as power sources of electronic devices such as cellular phones, notebook computers and camcorders, electric vehicles or the like.
According to the shape of a battery case, such secondary batteries may be classified into a cylindrical type battery and a square type battery in each of which an electrode assembly is embedded in a metal can having a cylindrical or a square shape, a pouch type battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a pouch-shaped case made of an aluminum laminate sheet, and so on.
A cylindrical type battery commonly includes an electrode assembly constituted by a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a separator, a can that accommodates the electrode assembly and is provided with an opening in an upper end thereof, and a cap assembly that finishes the opening in the upper end of the can. The positive electrode of the electrode assembly is connected to a positive electrode tab, and the positive electrode tab is connected to the cap assembly on the upper end of the opening by welding. The negative electrode of the electrode assembly is connected to a negative electrode tab, and the negative electrode tab is connected to a bottom surface of the can by welding.
Generally, the electrode assembly is formed in a jelly-roll shape by stacking the positive electrode, the separator and the negative electrode and winding the positive electrode, the separator and the negative electrode, which are stacked, in the form of a roll, and then is accommodated in the can. A core, a central-most portion of the electrode assembly wound in the jelly-roll shape, has a hollow structure irrespective of an outer diameter thereof. However, since such a hollow structure is at high risk of collapsing by deterioration of the electrode assembly, there are problems that safety of the battery is hard to achieve and performance degradation of the battery is concerned.
In order to solve these problems, a cylindrical type secondary battery having a center pin inserted thereinto, as illustrated in
An object of the present invention devised to solve the problems as above is to provide a cylindrical type secondary battery in which a center pin is inserted into a core of an electrode assembly and a cap assembly is coupled to an upper portion of a battery case so that the inserted center pin may support the electrode assembly in a radial direction on an inner circumferential surface of the core by elasticity, thereby preventing collapse of the core and increasing an adhesion force of positive and negative electrodes, and also the center pin may function as a separate positive electrode tab or negative electrode tab as necessary, thereby reducing resistance.
A cylindrical secondary battery according to the present invention includes a jelly-roll electrode assembly wound by interposing a separator between sheet-shaped positive and negative electrodes, the electrode assembly defining a core; a battery case accommodating the electrode assembly therein, the battery case having an upper portion; a cap assembly coupled to the upper portion of the battery case; and a center pin inserted into the core of the electrode assembly, the center pin being configured to elastically support the electrode assembly in a radial direction on an inner circumferential surface of the core. The center pin includes an elastic body having a length.
The center pin may further include a lower support coupled to a first end of the elastic body and the lower support may be in contact with a lower portion of the battery case.
The center pin may further include an upper support coupled to a second end of the elastic body and the upper support may be in contact with the cap assembly.
The center pin may further include a tubular body between the lower support and the upper support. The tubular body may define a hollow and the elastic body is located in the hollow.
The tubular body may have an axial length shorter than the length of the elastic body.
A cutoff part may extend along an axial direction in the tubular body.
An end of the cutoff part of the tubular body may be rolled toward an inside of the hollow.
The elastic body may be curved in an outward radial direction by axial compressive stress acting on the lower support and the upper support to press the elastic body.
Each of the tubular body, the lower support, the upper support and the elastic body may be a nonconductor.
The upper support may be a conductor, the lower support may be a nonconductor, and the elastic body may be a conductor.
A first positive electrode non-coating portion may be located at a winding start portion of the sheet-shaped positive electrode, wherein one end of the first positive electrode non-coating portion may be longer than one end of the separator and protrude toward the core of the electrode assembly. The elastic body may be bonded to the first positive electrode non-coating portion protruding toward the core of the electrode assembly.
The upper support may be a conductor, the lower support may be a nonconductor, and each of the elastic body and the tubular body may be a conductor.
A first positive electrode non-coating portion may be located at a winding start portion of the sheet-shaped positive electrode, wherein one end of the first positive electrode non-coating portion may be longer than one end of the separator and protrude toward the core of the electrode assembly. The tubular body may be bonded to the first positive electrode non-coating portion protruding toward the core of the electrode assembly.
A second positive electrode non-coating portion and a positive electrode tab protruding from the second positive electrode non-coating portion may be located at a central portion of the sheet-shaped positive electrode, and the positive electrode tab may be bonded to the upper support.
The positive electrode tab may be bonded to a top surface of the upper support.
An insulating tape may be attached to a portion, not protruding toward the core of the electrode assembly, of the first positive electrode non-coating portion.
The upper support may be a nonconductor, the lower support may be a conductor, and the elastic body may be a conductor.
A first negative electrode non-coating portion may be located at a winding start portion of the sheet-shaped negative electrode, wherein one end of the first negative electrode non-coating portion may be longer than one end of the separator and protrude toward the core of the electrode assembly. The elastic body may be bonded to the first negative electrode non-coating portion protruding toward the core of the electrode assembly.
The upper support may be a nonconductor, the lower support may be a conductor, and the elastic body and the tubular body may be conductors.
A first negative electrode non-coating portion may be located at a winding start portion of the sheet-shaped negative electrode, wherein one end of the first negative electrode non-coating portion may be longer than one end of the separator and protrude toward the core of the electrode assembly. The tubular body may be provided to be bonded to the first negative electrode non-coating portion protruding toward the core of the electrode assembly.
A second negative electrode non-coating portion and a negative electrode tab protruding from the second negative electrode non-coating portion may be located at a winding end of the sheet-shaped negative electrode, and the negative electrode tab may be bonded to the lower support.
An insulating tape may be attached to a portion, not protruding toward the core of the electrode assembly, of the first negative electrode non-coating portion.
The elastic body may have one of a cylindrical shape, a plate shape or a ring shape.
A horizontal cross-sectional area of the upper support may be larger than a horizontal cross-sectional area of the core of the electrode assembly.
A diameter of the upper support may be larger than a diameter of the core of the electrode assembly.
The cylindrical type secondary battery according to the present invention may include the jelly-roll-type electrode assembly wound by interposing the separator between the sheet-shaped positive and negative electrodes, the battery case in which the electrode assembly is accommodated, the cap assembly coupled to the upper portion of the battery case, and the center pin inserted into the core of the electrode assembly and supporting the electrode assembly in the radial direction on the inner circumferential surface of the core by elasticity, wherein the center pin may include the elastic body having a length. Accordingly, when the center pin is inserted into the core of the electrode assembly and the cap assembly is coupled to the upper portion of the battery case, the inserted center pin may support the electrode assembly in the radial direction on the inner circumferential surface of the core by the elasticity, thereby preventing collapse of the core and increasing the adhesion force of the positive and negative electrodes, and the center pin may function as the separate positive electrode tab or negative electrode tab as necessary, thereby reducing resistance.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings to enable those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains to easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited by the embodiments set forth herein.
The parts unrelated to the description, or the detailed descriptions of related well-known art that may unnecessarily obscure subject matters of the present invention, will be ruled out in order to clearly describe the present invention. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the whole specification.
Moreover, terms or words used in this specification and claims should not be restrictively interpreted as ordinary meanings or dictionary-based meanings, but should be interpreted as meanings and concepts conforming to the scope of the present invention on the basis of the principle that an inventor can properly define the concept of a term to describe his or her invention in the best ways.
Referring to
The electrode assembly 110 is a jelly-roll-type electrode assembly wound by interposing a separator 113 between sheet-shaped positive electrode 111 and negative electrode 112. Here, interposing the separator 113 means that, in order to prevent a short of a positive electrode 111 and a negative electrode 112, a positive electrode 111, a separator 113, a negative electrode 112, a separator 113, a positive electrode 111, and so on are alternately stacked in sequence, i.e., a separator 113 is disposed between respective electrodes. The sheet-shaped positive electrode 111 includes a positive electrode collector made of a thin metal plate with excellent conductivity, for example, an aluminum (Al) foil, and positive electrode active material layers applied to two opposed surfaces thereof. The sheet-shaped negative electrode 112 includes a negative electrode collector made of a thin metal plate with excellent conductivity, for example, a copper (Cu) or nickel (Ni) foil, and negative electrode active material layers applied to two opposed surfaces thereof. An area, on which the active material layer is not formed, of a collector is a non-coating portion and means an area on which a positive electrode or negative electrode collector is exposed. A positive electrode tab 111-1 and a negative electrode tab 112-1 are respectively formed on the positive electrode and negative electrode non-coating portions, and then are drawn out from an upper portion and a lower portion of the electrode assembly 110 by a certain length and electrically connected to the cap assembly 130.
The wound electrode assembly 110 may be accommodated inside the battery case 120, and the cap assembly 130 may be coupled to an upper portion of the battery case 120. The cap assembly 130 may be made by stacking a safety vent, a current interruptive device, a PTC element, a top cap, and so on in sequence. In particular, the top cap is seated on and coupled to an upper end of the cap assembly 130 and delivers a current generated from a secondary battery to the outside.
In addition, the cylindrical type secondary battery 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention may include a center pin 140. The center pin 140 is inserted into a core 114 of the electrode assembly 110. Here, the core 114 means a hollow formed inside the wound electrode assembly 110 as illustrated in
When the length of the center pin 140 is longer than the axial length of the wound electrode assembly 110, the center pin 140 inserted into the core 114 of the electrode assembly 110 protrudes from an upper portion of the wound electrode assembly 110. In addition, when the length of the center pin 140 is formed so that when the cap assembly 130 is coupled to the upper portion of the battery case 120, the protruding center pin 140 is in contact with a lower portion of the cap assembly 130 to be slightly pressed, the inserted center pin 140 supports the electrode assembly 110 in a radial direction on an inner circumferential surface of the core 114 by elasticity.
When the center pin 140 is inserted into the core 114 of the electrode assembly 110, the core 114 may be prevented from collapsing by deterioration of the electrode assembly 110, and just by coupling the cap assembly 130, the center pin 140 may support the electrode assembly 110 in the radial direction on the inner circumferential surface of the core 114, thereby improving an electrode adhesion force of the positive electrode 111 and the negative electrode 112 to improve performance of the battery.
Hereinafter, with reference to
The body 141 may be made of a foil and have a tubular shape with a hollow. The hollow is formed in the tubular body 141 and thus, the inside thereof is provided with a space in which the elastic body 144 may be disposed. In addition, a cross-sectional shape of the body 141 may correspond to a cross section of the core 114 so that the center pin 140 may be readily inserted into the core 114 of the electrode assembly 110. The height, i.e., the axial length, of the tubular body 141 may be shorter than the length of the elastic body 144 so that the body 141 is not in contact with or bonded to the lower support 142 and the upper support 143. Accordingly, when the elastic body 144 presses the body 141 in the radial direction, the diameter of the body 141 may change while the lower support 142 and the upper support 143 are not affected.
Referring to (a) of
The elastic body 144 having a length may be provided in the hollow of the body 141. The elastic body 144 may be made of an elastic material, one end thereof may be coupled to the lower portion 142, and the other end may be coupled to the upper support 143. The lower portion 142 may be in contact with a lower portion of the battery case 120, and the upper support 143 may be in contact with a lower portion of the cap assembly 130. Due to such a structure, the elastic body 144 may be curved in a positive radial direction by axial compressive stress acting on the lower support 142 and the upper support 143 to press the body 141. In addition, even when the elastic body 144 is curved, the ends of the elastic body 144 are fixed by the lower support 142 and the upper support 143 so that a central portion of the elastic body 144 may be curved in the positive radial direction, i.e., outwardly, to press the body 141 (see
The horizontal cross-sectional area of the upper support 143 may be larger than the horizontal cross-sectional area of the core of the electrode assembly 110. In addition, when the upper support 143 and the core of the electrode assembly 110 each have a circular shape, the diameter of the upper support 143 may be larger than the diameter of the core of the electrode assembly 110. That is, the horizontal cross-sectional area or diameter of the upper support 143 needs not to be the same as the diameter of the core of the electrode assembly 110, and the horizontal cross-sectional area or diameter of the upper support 143 may be larger than the cross-sectional area or diameter of the core of the electrode assembly 110. Accordingly, when the upper support 143 is in contact with the cap assembly 130, a more stable support force may be achieved.
In addition, the center pin 140 may be constituted by only the lower support 142, the upper support 143 and the elastic body 144 without the body 141 so that the elastic body 144 may directly press the electrode assembly 110 when the axial compressive stress acts.
The shape of the elastic body 144 is not limited, but preferably may be one of a cylindrical shape, a plate shape or a ring shape as illustrated respectively in (a), (b) and (c) of
The body 141, the lower support 142, the upper support 143 and the elastic body 144 of the center pin 140 may be nonconductors. That is, when the components of the center pin 140 are nonconductors, performance of the battery may be easily improved just by inserting the center pin 140 without large change in the typical battery structure. Thus, the center pin is economical and may be applied to cylindrical type secondary batteries in various shapes.
Due to the structure of the center pin 140 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, when the cap assembly 130 is coupled to the upper portion of the battery case 120, the inserted center pin 140 may support the electrode assembly 110 in the radial direction on the inner circumferential surface of the core 114 by elasticity, thereby preventing the core 114 of the electrode assembly 110 from collapsing, and increasing an adhesion force of the positive electrode 111 and negative electrode 112 to provide the cylindrical type secondary battery 100 with the improved performance.
Embodiment 2 of the present invention is different from Embodiment 1 in that a body 241, an elastic body 244 and an upper support 243 are conductors so that the upper support 243 of a center pin may function as a positive electrode tab.
The content in common with Embodiment 1 will be preferably omitted and the description of Embodiment 2 will be focused on differences. That is, it is apparent that the content that is not described in Embodiment 2 may be regarded as the content of Embodiment 1 if necessary.
Referring to
Hereinafter, a process in which the upper support 243 functions as a positive electrode tab will be described in detail with reference to
A first positive electrode non-coating portion 211-2 may be formed at a winding start portion A of a sheet-shaped positive electrode 211. Here, one end of the first positive electrode non-coating portion 211-2 is longer than one end of a separator 213. Accordingly, when an electrode assembly 210 is wound, the first positive electrode non-coating portion 211-2 protrudes toward the inside of a core 214 of the electrode assembly 210, and the elastic body 244 of the center pin 240 may be provided to be bonded to the first positive electrode non-coating portion 211-2 protruding toward the core 214 of the electrode assembly 210. Alternatively, when the center pin 240 is provided with the body 241, the body 241 may be provided to be bonded to the first positive electrode non-coating portion 211-2 protruding toward the core 214 of the electrode assembly 210. That is, since the sheet-shaped positive electrode 211, and the body 241, the elastic body 244 and the upper support 243 of the center pin 240, are electrically connected, the upper support 243 may function as a positive electrode tab, and the upper support 243 may be bonded to a lower end of a cap assembly 230 and electrically connected to the outside.
In the cylindrical type secondary battery 200 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, a positive electrode tab 211-1 drawn out from an upper portion of the electrode assembly 210 by a certain length and electrically connected to the cap assembly 230 may be omitted as necessary. Accordingly, an internal structure of the battery may be simplified to stably ensure performance of the battery, and processes of manufacturing and attaching the positive electrode tab 211-1 may be omitted to save the costs thereof.
Embodiment 2 of the present invention may be applied even when a separate positive electrode tab 211-1 is provided like in a general battery structure. A second positive electrode non-coating portion 211-3, and a positive electrode tab 211-1 protruding from the second positive electrode non-coating portion 211-3, may be further formed at a central portion B of the sheet-shaped positive electrode 211. Here, the positive electrode tab 211-1 may be bonded to the upper support 243, and the upper support 243 may be bonded and electrically connected to the cap assembly 230 to finally function as a positive electrode tab. In such a structure, the sheet-shaped positive electrode 211 may be provided with multiple electrode tabs (positive electrode tabs), thereby improving output of the battery and remarkably improving performance. The upper support 243 may be bonded to the cap assembly 230 by welding. However, this is just one example, and Embodiment is not limited thereto. The upper support 243 may be bonded by various methods.
In addition, the positive electrode tab 211-1 may be bonded to the upper support 243, preferably on a top surface of the upper support 243. When the positive electrode tab 211-1 is bonded to the top surface of the upper support 243, the positive electrode tab 211-1 bonded to the top surface of the upper support 243 is in contact with the cap assembly 230 by elasticity without separately welding the positive electrode tab 211-1 on the cap assembly 230. Accordingly, the positive electrode tab 211-1 and the upper support 243 may function as leading wires. In addition, the positive electrode tab may be more stably bonded compared to when the positive electrode tab is bonded to a side surface of the upper support 243.
The horizontal cross-sectional area of the upper support 243 may be larger than the horizontal cross-sectional area of the core of the electrode assembly 210.
In addition, when the upper support 243 and the core of the electrode assembly 210 each have a circular shape, the diameter of the upper support 243 may be larger than the diameter of the core of the electrode assembly 210. That is, the horizontal cross-sectional area or diameter of the upper support 243 needs not to be the same as the cross-sectional area or diameter of the core of the electrode assembly 210. The horizontal cross-sectional area or diameter of the upper support 243 may be larger than the diameter of the core of the electrode assembly 210. Accordingly, when the upper support 243 is in contact with the cap assembly 230, a more stable support force may be achieved. In addition, when the positive electrode tab 211-1 is bonded to the upper support 243, there is an effect of improving bondability. When the upper support 243 functions as a positive electrode tab, the horizontal cross-sectional area or diameter of the upper support 243 may be larger than the cross-sectional area or diameter of the core of the electrode assembly 210 and the vertical (or axial) length may be shorter as necessary, thereby lowering the magnitude of resistance of the upper support 243.
In addition, an insulating tape T may be attached to a portion, not protruding toward the inside of the core 214 of the electrode assembly 210, of a first positive electrode non-coating portion 211-2. The insulating tape T may be attached also to a second positive electrode non-coating portion 211-3. In this case, a short that may occur when a separator 213 is damaged may be prevented and thus, there is an effect of improving safety of the battery. In particular, when the insulating tape T is attached to the boundary between a positive electrode active material layer and the first or second positive electrode non-coating portion 211-2 and 211-3, an active material may be prevented from being extracted due to a stepped portion between an active material-coated portion and a non-coating portion.
Embodiment 3 of the present invention is different from embodiments 1 and 2 in that a body 341, an elastic body 344 and a lower support 342 are conductors so that the lower support 342 of a center pin 340 may function as a negative electrode tab.
The content in common with embodiments 1 and 2 will be preferably omitted and the description of Embodiment 3 will be focused on differences. That is, it is apparent that the content that is not described in Embodiment 3 may be regarded as the content of embodiments 1 and 2 if necessary.
Referring to
Hereinafter, a process in which the lower support 342 functions as a negative electrode tab, will be described in detail with reference to
A first negative electrode non-coating portion 312-2 may be formed at a winding start portion A of a sheet-shaped negative electrode 312. Here, one end of the first negative electrode non-coating portion 312-2 is longer than one end of a separator 313. Accordingly, when an electrode assembly 310 is wound, the first negative electrode non-coating portion 312-2 protrudes toward the inside of a core 314 of the electrode assembly 310, and the elastic body 344 of the center pin 340 may be provided to be bonded to the first negative electrode non-coating portion 312-2 protruding toward the core 314 of the electrode assembly 310. Alternatively, when the center pin 340 is provided with the body 341, the body 341 may be provided to be bonded to the first negative electrode non-coating portion 312-2 protruding toward the core 314 of the electrode assembly 310. That is, since the sheet-shaped negative electrode 311, and the body 341, the elastic body 344 and the lower support 342 of the center pin 340, are electrically connected, the lower support 342 may function as a negative electrode tab, and the lower support 342 may be bonded to a lower portion of a battery case and electrically connected to the outside.
In the cylindrical type secondary battery 300 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, a negative electrode tab 312-1 drawn out from a lower portion of the electrode assembly 310 by a certain length and electrically connected to the lower portion of the battery case 320 may be omitted as necessary. Accordingly, an internal structure of the battery may be simplified to stably ensure performance of the battery, and processes of manufacturing and attaching the negative electrode tab may be omitted to save the costs thereof.
Embodiment 3 of the present invention may also be applied even when a separate negative electrode tab 312-1 is provided like in a general battery structure. A second negative electrode non-coating portion 312-3, and a negative electrode tab 312-1 protruding from the second negative electrode non-coating portion 312-3, may be further formed on a winding end C of the sheet-shaped negative electrode 312. Here, the negative electrode tab 312-1 may be bonded to the lower support 342, and the lower support 342 may be bonded and electrically connected to a lower end of the battery case 320 to finally function as a negative electrode tab. In such a structure, the sheet-shaped negative electrode 312 is provided with multiple electrode tabs (negative electrode tabs), thereby improving output and remarkably improving performance of the battery.
In addition, in the cylindrical type secondary battery according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, the axial length of the upper support 343 may be longer than the length of the lower support 342. When the lower support 342 functions as a negative electrode tab, the length of the lower support 342 may be relatively longer to prevent a positive electrode tab 311-1 from being in contact with the elastic body 344 electrically connected to the sheet-shaped negative electrode 312, thereby enhancing safety of the battery.
An insulating tape T may be attached to a portion, not protruding toward the inside of the core 314 of the electrode assembly 310, of a first negative electrode non-coating portion 312-2. The insulating tape T may be attached also to a second negative electrode non-coating portion 312-3. In this case, a short that may occur when a separator 313 is damaged may be prevented and thus, there is an effect of improving safety of the battery. In particular, when the insulating tape T is attached to the boundary between a negative electrode active material layer and the first or second negative electrode non-coating portion 312-2 and 312-3, an active material may be prevented from being extracted due to a stepped portion between an active material-coated portion and a non-coating portion.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be variously implemented by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, within the technical idea of the present invention and an equivalent of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2020-0159319 | Nov 2020 | KR | national |
| 10-2021-0160686 | Nov 2021 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2021/017435 | 11/24/2021 | WO |
