Patent Application
20250226557
The present application relates generally to battery cells, and in particular, to specific insulator designs for tabless jelly roll battery cell configurations.
Batteries, or battery cells, are critical in providing power to many electrical devices that are relied upon daily. Cylindrical batteries with a rolled arrangement are commonly used to power electrical devices. These battery types are often referred to as “jelly roll” batteries. A rolled cylindrical battery generally includes an anode and a cathode rolled cylindrically together with small gaps between concentric layers of the roll and placed into a battery housing with electrical terminals provided at either end of the housing. In tabless jelly roll battery cells, a conductive sheet generally runs the length of the cathode and/or the anode. The conductive sheet of each concentric layer of the roll may be rubbed (or otherwise formed) together with the other conductive sheets of each concentric layer of the jelly roll at a rubbing region such that they are able to form a connection point to effectively electrically connect to the electrical terminal of the battery housing. Insulators are required to provide electrical insulation between the rubbing region (or other conductive portions of the jelly roll) to other electrically conductive surfaces of the battery cell.
The battery cells described herein include configurations of an insulator for a jelly roll battery cell. Jelly roll battery cells generally include an insulator to prevent contact of the anodes, cathodes, and separator sheets of the jelly roll design to the outside can (or other conductive portion) of the cylindrical battery. Furthermore, an insulator is placed so that the spacing and all contacts within the cylindrical battery are maintained, even though an external event may have occurred (e.g., vibrations, falling, shock, etc.). The insulator will prevent the cylindrical battery assembly, as well as the jelly roll battery cell assembly, from being damaged or misaligned, and will ultimately prevent short circuiting between the jelly roll battery cell assembly and the cylindrical battery case.
Embodiments described herein describe a cylindrical battery cell. The cylindrical battery cell includes an anode sheet, a cathode sheet, and one or more separator sheets that separates the anode sheet from the cathode sheet. A rubbing region is positioned at a first end of the jelly roll assembly and formed at a first portion of an uncoated region at the first end of one of the anode sheet and the cathode sheet. The cylindrical battery cell further includes a header, a weld plate, and an outer housing. The weld plate is configured to provide an electrical connection between the jelly roll assembly and the header. The cylindrical battery cell also includes an insulator configured to separate a portion of the jelly roll assembly from the outer housing. The insulator includes a neck portion, an angular portion, a skirt portion, and a tapered portion. The neck portion is positioned between the outer housing and an extension portion of the weld plate. The angular portion connects the neck portion to the skirt portion and is positioned between the rubbing region and the outer housing. The skirt portion is parallel to the neck portion and is positioned between at least the first portion of the uncoated region. The tapered portion is parallel to both the neck portion and the skirt portion and positioned between at least a portion of the jelly roll assembly and the outer portion.
Other embodiments described herein provide a tabless battery cell. The tabless battery cell includes a cylindrical housing, a header, a first electrode sheet, a second electrode sheet, one or more separator sheets, a weld plate, and an insulator. The separator sheets separate the first electrode sheet and the second electrode sheet. The first electrode sheet, the second electrode sheet, and the one or more separator sheets are rolled together to form a jelly roll assembly. The jelly roll assembly further includes a rubbing region formed at a first end of the jelly roll assembly. The weld plate is coupled to the rubbing region. The insulator is positioned between the jelly roll assembly and the housing at the first end. The insulator includes a neck portion positioned between the outer housing and an extension portion of the weld plate. The insulator also includes a skirt portion parallel to the neck portion and positioned between at least a first portion of the jelly roll assembly and the outer housing. The insulator also includes an angular portion connecting the neck portion to the skirt portion and positioned between the rubbing region and the outer housing. The insulator also includes a tapered portion parallel to both the next portion and the skirt portion and positioned between at least a portion of the jelly roll assembly and the outer housing.
Other embodiments described herein provide an insulator of a jelly roll. The insulator includes a neck portion, a skirt portion, an angular portion, and a tapered portion. The neck portion extends towards a header of the jelly roll battery assembly. The skirt portion is parallel to the neck portion and is positioned between a portion of a rolled electrode assembly of the jelly roll battery assembly and an outer housing of the jelly roll battery assembly. The angular portion protruding at an angle from the neck portion, connects the neck portion to the skirt portion. The tapered portion is parallel to the neck portion and the skirt portion and is positioned below the neck portion and the skirt portion.
Before any embodiments are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited in its application to the details of the configuration and arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are capable of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof are meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings. connections, supports, and couplings.
In addition, it should be understood that embodiments may include hardware, software, and electronic components or modules that, for purposes of discussion, may be illustrated and described as if the majority of the components were implemented solely in hardware. However, one of ordinary skill in the art, and based on a reading of this detailed description, would recognize that, in at least one embodiment, the electronic-based aspects may be implemented in software (e.g., stored on non-transitory computer-readable medium) executable by one or more processing units, such as a microprocessor and/or application specific integrated circuits (“ASICs”). As such, it should be noted that a plurality of hardware and software-based devices, as well as a plurality of different structural components, may be utilized to implement the embodiments. For example, “servers,” “computing devices.” “controllers,” “processors,” etc., described in the specification can include one or more processing units, one or more computer-readable medium modules, one or more input/output interfaces, and various connections (e.g., a system bus) connecting the components.
Relative terminology, such as, for example, “about,” “approximately,” “substantially,” etc., used in connection with a quantity or condition would be understood by those of ordinary skill to be inclusive of the stated value and has the meaning dictated by the context (e.g., the term includes at least the degree of error associated with the measurement accuracy, tolerances [e.g., manufacturing, assembly, use, etc.] associated with the particular value, etc.). Such terminology should also be considered as disclosing the range defined by the absolute values of the two endpoints. For example, the expression “from about 2 to about 4” also discloses the range “from 2 to 4”. The relative terminology may refer to plus or minus a percentage (e.g., 1%, 5%, 10%, or more) of an indicated value.
It should be understood that although certain drawings illustrate hardware and software located within particular devices, these depictions are for illustrative purposes only. Functionality described herein as being performed by one component may be performed by multiple components in a distributed manner. Likewise, functionality performed by multiple components may be consolidated and performed by a single component. In some embodiments, the illustrated components may be combined or divided into separate software, firmware and/or hardware. For example, instead of being located within and performed by a single electronic processor, logic and processing may be distributed among multiple electronic processors. Regardless of how they are combined or divided, hardware and software components may be located on the same computing device or may be distributed among different computing devices connected by one or more networks or other suitable communication links. Similarly, a component described as performing particular functionality may also perform additional functionality not described herein. For example, a device or structure that is “configured” in a certain way is configured in at least that way but may also be configured in ways that are not explicitly listed.
Other aspects of the embodiments will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
The jelly roll 100 may have a nominal voltage between approximately 1 V and approximately 5 V and a nominal capacity between about 1 Ah and about 5 Ah or more (e.g., up to about 9 Ah). The jelly roll 100 may have any rechargeable chemistry type, such as, for example Lithium (“Li”), Lithium-ion (“Li-ion”), other Lithium-based chemistry, Nickel-Cadmium (“NiCd”), Nickel-metal Hydride (“NiMH)”, etc.
The battery cell case 205 is a casing in which the jelly roll 100 is seated, along with the jelly roll battery assembly 200 components described herein. In some embodiments, the battery cell case 205 may be referred to as a “can.” In some embodiments, the battery cell case 205 may be made of an insulative material. For example, the battery cell case 205 may be made of plastic or other non-conductive materials. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the battery cell case 205 may be made of a conductive material, such as steel, aluminum, or any other suitable metal. In some embodiments, the battery cell case 205 functions as a negative second terminal 240 at a distal end 215 of the battery cell case 205 to facilitate an external connection.
The first weld plate 210 may be affixed to the distal end 215 of the jelly roll 100. For example, the first weld plate 210 may be welded to a rubbing region 115 at the distal end 215 of the jelly roll 100 using one of laser welding, ultrasonic welding, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the first weld plate 210 may be comprised of a conductive material such as, but not limited to, nickel, copper, and/or the like. The second weld plate 220 may be affixed to a rubbing region 115, such as the rubbing region 115, at a proximal end 217 of the jelly roll 100. Similar to the first weld plate 210, the second weld plate 220 may be comprised of a conductive material such as, but not limited to, nickel, copper, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the second weld plate 220 may have a tab portion 222 extending radially inward and upward from an edge of the second weld plate 220. In some embodiments, the first insulating member 225 is made of plastic and/or rubber. The first insulating member 225 is provided with through holes such that the tab portion 222 will extend through the through hole and be welded to the terminal 235. The first insulating member 225 prevents contact between the tab portion 222 and the battery cell case 205.
In some embodiments, the second insulating member 230 may be a gasket made of an insulating material. The second insulating member 230 may be sandwiched between the terminal 235 and the battery cell case 205 to prohibit electrical contact between the terminal 235 and the battery cell case 205. In some embodiments, a height of the second insulating member 230 height may be reduced due to the additional insulation provided by the insulator 400, thus negating the need for an additional gasket to provide electrical isolation between the terminal 235 and the battery cell case. With the reduction of height of the second insulating member 230, move space within the jelly roll battery assembly 200 is available. This additional space within the jelly roll battery assembly 200 may allow for an increase of the power density of the jelly roll 100, which can further increase the efficiency of the jelly roll battery assembly 200. For examples, increased space within the jelly roll battery assembly can allow for larger anode sheets and cathode sheets (as described below) to be placed within the jelly roll battery assembly 200, thereby increasing the power density.
The terminal 235 is an electrical contact that connects an electrode sheet (e.g., anode sheet, or cathode sheet) of the jelly roll 100 to an external device in order to provide electrical power to the external device. In some embodiments, the terminal 235 may receive power from an external device to recharge the jelly roll 100. In some embodiments, the terminal 235 is a positive electrode and is therefore electrically connected to the positive electrode sheet within the jelly roll 100. For example, the terminal 235 may connect the positive electrode sheet of the jelly roll 100 to a positive terminal of an external device that is to be powered by the jelly roll battery assembly 200. In some embodiments, the terminal 235 is made of metal. For example, the terminal 235 may be made of stainless steel, copper, tin, silver, and/or various metals and alloys as appropriate for a given application.
A negative second terminal 240 is formed when the first weld plate 210 is connected to the distal end 215 of the battery cell case 205, as the jelly roll 100 and the first weld plate 210 are seated in the battery cell case 205.
In some embodiments, the jelly roll 100 uses a tabless design. Typically, tabless electrode assemblies may not include battery tabs that are attached to one or more of the anode and the cathode, which serve to connect the anode and the cathode to a respective battery terminal. Battery designs using a tabbed configuration may have increased resistance due to the required tabs, resulting in reduced current capacity of the battery. Thus, tabless electrode assemblies may have a reduced impedance between an output terminal and the anode and/or cathode, resulting in an increased current capacity over a tabbed battery configuration.
In some embodiments, the jelly roll 100 includes an electrode assembly comprising an anode sheet, one or more separator sheets, and a cathode sheet. In some embodiments, the anode sheet, the one or more separator sheets, and the cathode sheet are planar sheets that can be rolled to form a roll with concentric layers, such as a rolled electrode assembly. In some embodiments, multiple separator sheets may be used in the assembly. For example, a second separator sheet may be used to provide additional separation between a cathode sheet and an anode sheet when the electrode assembly is rolled.
The anode sheet may include a coated portion and an uncoated portion. In some embodiments, the anode sheet may be comprised of a base metal (e.g., copper (Cu)) with an anode material coated on a predetermined portion of the base metal to form the coated portion. The anode material forming the coated portion may be comprised of graphite (C6), graphene (e.g., graphene encapsulated silicon (Si) nanoparticles), silicon, silicon dioxide, etc. The uncoated portion 110 may include a metallic or otherwise conductive surface to electrically couple to a terminal, such as the terminal 235. For example, the uncoated portion 110 may have a metallic surface such as copper, aluminum, or other applicable metallic material.
The cathode sheet includes a coated portion and an uncoated portion, such as uncoated portion 110 (
The separator sheet is interspersed between the anode sheet and the cathode sheet. The separator sheet is a medium that allows the passage of ions between the anode sheet and the cathode sheet. For example, in a Lithium-ion battery cell, the separator sheet allows lithium-ion atoms to pass through while blocking electrons from passing through. In some embodiments, the separator sheet may have a thickness of 20 micrometers. However, thicknesses of more than 20 micrometers or less than 20 micrometers are also contemplated. In some embodiments, the separator sheet may be made of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), or other material suitable for a given application.
In some embodiments, the rubbing region 115 is provided at the proximal end 217 of the jelly roll battery assembly 200. In some embodiments, the rubbing region 115 is comprised of concentric layers of the uncoated portion 110 that are rubbed together to create a flat surface. In one example, the flat surface is orthogonal to the jelly roll 100. For example, the uncoated portion 110 may be between one and four mm tall prior to the rubbing region 115 being formed during a rubbing process. After the rubbing process, the uncoated portion 110 may extend between one and two mm past the rolled sheets of the jelly roll 100. The rubbing region 115 connects the jelly roll 100 to a weld plate, such as second weld plate 220 (
As shown in
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The angular portion 410 transitions into the skirt portion 415 of the insulator 400. The skirt portion 415 is designed to be positioned between the jelly roll 100 below the rubbing region 115. In some embodiments, the angular portion 410 protrudes at an outward angle towards the battery cell case 205 to transition into the skirt portion 415. The angle can be within a range from 10 degrees to 45 degrees, preferably 30 degrees. The skirt portion 415 may be configured to extend generally parallel to the sides of the battery cell case 205. In some embodiments, the skirt portion 415 is parallel to the neck portion 405. The skirt portion 415 encloses a portion of the jelly roll 100 below the rubbing region 115, such as a portion of the uncoated portion 110 and/or the coated portions of the relevant electrode sheets.
Lastly, the skirt portion 415 is connected to a tapered portion 420 of the insulator 400. In some embodiments, the tapered portion 420 is parallel to the skirt portion 415. The tapered portion 420 is designed to allow for an easy assembly of the insulator 400 into the jelly roll 100 of
In some embodiments the insulator 400 is made of an insulative material. For example, the insulator 400 may be constructed of perfluoroalkoxy, polyethylene terephthalate, or other insulative material as required for given application.
In some embodiments, the insulator 400 is positioned circumferentially along an inner diameter of the battery cell case 205. By being perpendicular to the battery cell case 205, the insulator 400 spans the diameter of the battery cell case 205, covering a portion of the jelly roll 100 that comes into contact with the battery cell case 205.
The neck portion 405 is configured to prevent contact between the battery cell case 205 and the tab portion 222 of the second weld plate 220. Contact between the battery cell case 205 and the tab portion 222 of the second weld plate 220 may cause a short circuit, which, in some instances, can cause damage to the jelly roll 100. In some embodiments, the insulator 400 is vertically parallel to the tab portion 222 of the second weld plate 220. As described above, the neck portion 405 of the insulator 400 may extends approximately the length of the tab portion 222 of the second weld plate 220.
In some embodiments, the neck portion 405, having inner diameter A, has a radius of about 8.00 mm and diameter of about 16.00 mm. In some embodiments, the neck portion 405 has a height of about 1.00 mm.
In some embodiments, the skirt portion 415, having outer diameter B, has a radius of about 10.00 mm. In some embodiments, the skirt portion 415 has a diameter of about 20.00 mm. In some embodiments, the angular portion 410 and the skirt portion 415 have a height of about 2.00 mm. In some embodiments, the angular portion 410 extends about 0.50 mm outwards to meet the skirt portion 415. In some embodiments, an inner diameter of the insulator 400 at the tapered portion 420 is greater than an inner diameter of the skirt portion 415. However, the values described above are for exemplary purposes only, and it is understood that the insulator 400 may be larger or smaller dimensions based on the size of the jelly roll 100.
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Thus, embodiments described herein provide, among other things, an insulator for a jelly roll battery cell. Various features and advantages are set forth in the following claims.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN22/80830 | 3/15/2022 | WO |
