Patent Application
20200136102
The present disclosure relates to a secondary battery and an electronic apparatus including the same, and more particularly, to a secondary battery which is removably attachable to an object, and an electronic apparatus including the same.
A secondary battery refers to a battery that is chargeable and dischargeable, unlike a primary battery that cannot be charged. The secondary battery has been widely used in the fields of high-tech electronic devices, including cellular phones, notebook computers, camcorders, etc.
In particular, a lithium secondary battery has a relatively higher voltage and higher energy density per unit weight than a nickel-cadmium battery or a nickel-hydrogen battery. The lithium secondary battery is widely used as a power source of portable electronic equipment, and thus, the demand thereof is increasing.
Provided are a secondary battery which is removably attachable to an object, and an electronic apparatus including the same.
Additional features will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.
According to an embodiment, a secondary battery includes a substrate defining a first through hole and a second through hole; a battery cell on a first surface of the substrate, the battery cell including a positive electrode, a separator and a negative electrode; an adhesive layer on a second surface of the substrate opposite to the first surface, the adhesive layer together with the substrate and the battery cell being removably attachable to an object outside of the secondary battery; a first electrode terminal including a first end electrically connected to the positive electrode of the battery cell and a second end which is opposite to the first end electrically connected to the positive electrode, the second end of the first electrode terminal being exposed to the outside of the secondary battery at the first through hole of the substrate; and a second electrode terminal including a first end electrically connected to the negative electrode of the battery cell and a second end which is opposite to the first end connected to the negative electrode, the second end of the second electrode terminal being exposed to the outside of the secondary battery at the second through hole of the substrate.
The second end of the first electrode terminal and the second end of the second electrode terminal may be exposed to the outside of the secondary battery at the second surface of the substrate.
The first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal may be spaced apart from each other within the substrate.
The first electrode terminal or the second electrode terminal may include a protruding portion protruding from the substrate.
The protruding portion may protrude from the second surface of the substrate.
The protruding portion may have a thickness greater than or equal to a thickness of the adhesive layer.
The adhesive layer may be provided on a region of the second surface of the substrate which surrounds the first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal.
The adhesive layer may be provided on a region of the second surface of the substrate between the first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal.
The adhesive layer may include a silicone adhesive including polydimethylsiloxane, an acrylic adhesive including polyacrylate, a polyisobutylene-based adhesive, or a combination thereof.
The substrate may include or be formed of a flexible material and insulating material.
The secondary battery may further include a protective layer which seals the battery cell.
The protective layer may include an organic film, an inorganic film, or a combination thereof.
The protective layer may include a metal material covered by a resin layer.
The object may include an electronic apparatus disposed in a living body, an outer surface of the living body, or a covering disposed on the outer surface of the living body.
The battery cell may be provided in plurality and include a first battery cell and a second battery cell which are stacked in a thickness direction of the substrate.
The battery cell may be provided in plurality and include a first battery cell and a second battery cell which are arranged adjacent to each other along the first surface of the substrate.
The secondary battery may further include a first electrode pattern provided on the first surface of the substrate and commonly connected to the positive electrode of each of the first and second battery cells; and a second electrode pattern on the first surface of the substrate and commonly connected to the negative electrode of each of the first and second battery cells. The second end of the first electrode terminal may be in contact with the first electrode pattern, and the second end of the second electrode terminal may be in contact with the second electrode pattern.
According to another embodiment, an electronic apparatus includes the secondary battery described above, and a power receiving module electrically connectable to and disconnectable from the secondary battery, and operable by power supplied thereto from the secondary battery.
The power receiving module may be insertable into a living body.
The power receiving module may be a wearable device or a portable device.
These and/or other features will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same elements, and the size or thickness of each element may be exaggerated for clarity. When a certain material layer is referred to as being on a substrate or another layer, the material layer may be in direct contact with the substrate or another layer or a third layer may be present between the material layer and the substrate or another layer. In the following embodiments, a material of each layer is merely illustrative and thus other materials may be used. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms, including “at least one,” unless the content clearly indicates otherwise. “At least one” is not to be construed as limiting “a” or “an.” “Or” means “and/or.” As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.
As used herein, the terms “comprise” and “comprising” should not be construed as necessarily including all of various elements or operations described in the specification, and it should be understood that some of the elements or operations may be omitted or additional elements or operations may be further included.
When an element or layer is referred to as being related to another element such as being “on” or “above” another element or layer, it should be understood to mean that the element or layer is on a top, bottom, a left side, or right side of another element or layer while being in contact with or not in contact with the other element or layer. In contrast, when an element or layer is referred to as being related to another element such as being “directly on” or “above” another element or layer, it should be understood to mean that no intervening layer is present between the element or layer and another element or layer.
The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements but the elements should not be limited by these terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one element from another element.
Furthermore, relative terms, such as “lower” or “bottom” and “upper” or “top,” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. For example, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as being on the “lower” side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper” sides of the other elements. The exemplary term “lower,” can therefore, encompasses both an orientation of “lower” and “upper,” depending on the particular orientation of the figure. Similarly, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements would then be oriented “above” the other elements. The exemplary terms “below” or “beneath” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of above and below.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
Exemplary embodiments are described herein with reference to cross section illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments described herein should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions as illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, a region illustrated or described as flat may, typically, have rough and/or nonlinear features. Moreover, sharp angles that are illustrated may be rounded. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the precise shape of a region and are not intended to limit the scope of the present claims.
The terms “unit,” “module” or the like described herein refers to a unit for processing at least one function or operation, and may be implemented by hardware, software, a combination thereof.
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The secondary battery 100 and components thereof may be disposed in a plane defined by a first direction and a second direction which cross each other. In
The substrate 110 may include or be formed of a flexible and insulating material. The substrate 110 may include a photo-crosslinkable material, a thermally crosslinkable material and/or a flexible polymeric material. In an embodiment, for example, the substrate 110 may include or be formed of a dielectric material or an insulating material, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon™), polydimethylsiloxane (“PDMS”), fluorinated ethylene propylene (“FEP”), poly (methyl methacrylate) (“PMMA”), polyvinylidene fluoride (“PVDF”), polycarbonate (“PC”), polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”), polyimide (Kapton®), polypropylene (“PP”), polyethylene (“PE”), polystyrene (“PS”), polyformaldehyde, ethylcellulose, polyamide, melamine formol, perfluoroalkoxy alkane (“PFA”), wool, silk, mica, or nylon, a photoresist such as SU-8, or the like.
The battery cell 120 may be provided on the top surface of the substrate 110 and may include the positive electrode 121 and the negative electrode 122 that are spaced apart from each other, and the separator 123 which is between the positive electrode 121 and the negative electrode 122. Each of the positive electrode 121, the negative electrode 122, and the separator 123 may have a rectangular sheet shape. The negative electrode 122, the separator 123, and the positive electrode 121 may be sequentially stacked on the substrate 110 but embodiments are not limited thereto. The positive electrode 121, the separator 123, and the negative electrode 122 may be sequentially stacked or may be arranged in a different form. In an embodiment, for example, the battery cell 120 may be configured by interposing the separator 123 between the positive electrode 121 and the negative electrode 122, which are in a strip form and shape, and then winding the resultant structure such as about an axis to form a stack of these elements.
The positive electrode 121 may include a positive electrode current collector 210 and a positive electrode active material layer 220 which is on the positive electrode current collector 210. The negative electrode 122 may include a negative electrode current collector 230 and a negative electrode active material layer 240 which is on the negative electrode current collector 230.
The positive electrode current collector 210 may include at least one conductive material such as Cu, Au, Pt, Ag, Zn, Al, Mg, Ti, Fe, Co, Ni, Ge, In, Pd, etc. The positive electrode current collector 210 may include a metal material layer, but is not limited thereto, and may include a layer including of formed of a conductive material other than a metal material.
The positive electrode active material layer 220 may include a Li-containing oxide. The Li-containing oxide may be an oxide including Li and a transition metal. The Li-containing oxide may be, for example, LiMO2 (here, M=metal). Here, M may be Co, Ni, Mn, or a combination thereof. In an embodiment, the LiMO2 may be LiCoO2. The positive electrode active material layer 220 may include a ceramic material having a positive electrode composition and may be a polycrystal or a single crystal. However, the material of the positive electrode active material layer 220 described herein is a merely an example, and other materials may be used.
The negative electrode current collector 230 may include or be formed of, for example, copper foil, nickel foil, stainless steel foil, titanium foil, nickel foam, copper foam, a conductive-metal-coated polymer-based material, or a combination thereof, but is not limited thereto.
The negative electrode active material layer 240 may include or be formed of, but is not particularly limited to, for example, a material for reversibly intercalating or deintercalating lithium ions, a lithium metal, a lithium metal alloy, a material for doping or dedoping lithium, a transition metal oxide, or the like. The material for forming the negative electrode active material layer 240 may further include a binder, a conductive material, and/or a thickener, as well as the material for forming the negative electrode active material layer 240.
The separator 123 separates the positive electrode 121 and the negative electrode 122 from each other and provides a passage for lithium ions therethrough. The separator 123 may include any material suitable for use in lithium batteries. That is, a material having a relatively low resistance to ion movement of an electrolyte and an excellent capability to impregnate the electrolyte may be used. In an embodiment, for example, a material of the separator 123 may be selected from among glass fiber, polyester, PE, PP, polytetrafluoroethylene (“PTFE”) or a combination thereof may be used.
The separator 123 may include nonwoven fabric or woven fabric. In an embodiment, in the lithium ion battery, for example, a separator 123 including a polyolefin-based polymer such as PE or PP is mainly used or a separator 123 which is coated and including a ceramic material or a polymer material may be used to secure heat resistance or mechanical strength. In embodiments, the separator 123 may be provided in a single layer or a multilayer structure.
The battery cell 120 of the secondary battery 100 may include a first lead wire 132 extending from the positive electrode 121, and particularly, from the positive electrode current collector 210 thereof, and a second lead wire 134 extending from the negative electrode 122, and particularly, from the negative electrode current collector 230 thereof. The first lead wire 132 and the second lead wire 134 may respectively include a same material as the positive electrode current collector 210 and the negative electrode current collector 230, respectively, but are not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the first lead wire 132 and the second lead wire 134 may respectively include different materials from the positive electrode current collector 210 and the negative electrode current collector 230.
A first insulating layer 133 may be provided on a region of the first lead wire 132 which is in contact with or faces a region of the battery cell 120 excluding the positive electrode current collector 210 (e.g., at the region of the battery cell 120 including the positive electrode active material layer 220, the negative electrode current collector 230, the negative electrode active material layer 240 and the separator 123). A second insulating layer (not shown) may be provided on a region of the second lead wire 134 which is in contact with or faces a region of the battery cell 120 excluding the negative electrode current collector 230.
In one embodiment, the secondary battery 100 may include a protective layer 140 for sealing the battery cell 120 on the substrate 110 such that no portion of the battery cell 120 is exposed to outside the secondary battery 100 or the battery cell 120 thereof. The protective layer 140 may reduce or effectively prevent deterioration of the battery cell 120 due to air or moisture incident thereto, and reduce or effectively prevent an electrical short circuit from occurring in the battery cell 120.
The protective layer 140 may include an organic material or an inorganic material, and may have a structure in which a layer including or formed of an organic material and a layer including or formed of an inorganic material are alternately stacked. In an embodiment, for example, the protective layer 140 may include, but is not limited to, at least one selected from among polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polybutylene naphthalate, a polyester copolymer, polycarbonate, a nylon film, polyolefin, and a polyolefin copolymer.
Alternatively, the protective layer 140 may include an outer resin layer, a metal material layer, and an inner resin layer. These layers may be disposed in order, without being limited thereto. The metal material layer within the protective layer 140 may reduce or effectively prevent penetration of moisture, etc. to components of the battery cell 120. The metal material layer within the protective layer 140 may include or be formed of only a metal, or may include or be formed of a resin surrounding metal particles. The metal of the protective layer 140 may include, but is not limited to, at least one material selected from among an alloy of iron (Fe), carbon (C), chromium (Cr) and manganese (Mn), an alloy of iron (Fe), carbon (C), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), and equivalents thereto. Relatively high bending properties or flexibility of the secondary battery 100 may be secured and water barrier properties thereof may be significantly improved by including the metal in the protective layer 140.
In one embodiment, the secondary battery 100 may further include a first electrode terminal 152 and a second electrode terminal 154 which are respectively provided or formed in a first through hole h1 and a second through hole h2 in the substrate 110. The first through hole h1 and the second through hole h2 are spaced apart from each other within the substrate 110 and thus an electrical short circuit between the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 may be reduced or effectively prevented. The first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 are respectively exposed outside of the secondary battery 100, corresponding to positions of the first through hole h1 and the second through hole h2.
A first end of the first electrode terminal 152 may be electrically connected to the positive electrode 121 of the battery cell 120, and a second end of the first electrode terminal 152 opposite to the first end thereof may be exposed to the outside at the first through hole h1. In an embodiment, for example, the first electrode terminal 152 may be electrically connected to the positive electrode 121 via the first lead wire 132. A first end of the second electrode terminal 154 may be electrically connected to the negative electrode 122 of the battery cell 120, and a second end of the second electrode terminal 154 opposite to the first end thereof may be exposed to the outside at the second through hole h2. In an embodiment, for example, the second electrode terminal 154 may be electrically connected to the negative electrode 122 via the second lead wire 134.
The first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 may include or be formed of a material having relatively high electrical conductivity. In an embodiment, for example, the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 may include or be formed of a metal material or the like. In an embodiment, for example, the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 may include or be formed of an alloy of iron (Fe), carbon (C), chromium (Cr), and manganese (Mn), an alloy of iron (Fe), carbon (C), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), a metal oxide such as an indium tin oxide (“ITO”) or an indium zinc oxide (“IZO”), a metal (gold (Au) or silver (Ag)) nanoparticle-dispersed thin film, a carbon nanostructure such as carbon nanotube (“CNT”) or graphene, a conductive polymer such as poly 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (“PEDOT”), polypyrrole (“PPy”), and poly 3-hexylthiophene (“P3HT”), or the like.
An adhesive layer 160 which is detachably attachable to an object disposed outside the secondary battery 100 may be provided on a bottom surface of the substrate 110. Here, the object to which the adhesive layer 160 is removably attachable may include, but is not limited to, an electronic apparatus within or outside of a living body such as a human, an outer surface of the living body such as human skin, a covering of the living body such as fabric of a garment, or instrument having a certain surface area such as an electronic instrument.
The adhesive layer 160 may be provided at a portion of the bottom surface of the substrate 110. In an embodiment, for example, the adhesive layer 160 may include at least one of a first adhesive layer 162 in a region between the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 along the bottom surface of the substrate 110, and a second adhesive layer 164 in remaining regions of the bottom surface of the substrate 110. The adhesive layer 160 may be provided on an entirety of the bottom surface of the substrate 110, excluding a planar area corresponding to the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 exposed to outside the secondary battery 100 at the first and second through holes h1 and h2. That is, the adhesive layer 160 is provided on a region of the second surface of the substrate 110 which surrounds the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154. The adhesive layer 160 may removably fix the secondary battery 100 onto an object and may removably fix the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 to be kept in electric contact with electrode terminals of an external device (not shown). The adhesive layer 160 together with the substrate 110 and the battery cell 120 are removably attachable to an object outside of the secondary battery 100.
The adhesive layer 160 may include, but is not limited to, a silicone-based adhesive containing polydimethylsiloxane, an acrylic adhesive containing polyacrylate, a polyisobutylene-based adhesive, or a combination thereof.
The second end of at least one of the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 may include a portion protruding downward from the substrate 110 to be disposed outside the substrate 110. The protruding portion may have a same thickness as the adhesive layer 160. Accordingly, no step is formed between a bottom surface of the adhesive layer 160 and a distal end of the second end of a respective one of the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154, and thus the respective one of the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 may be kept in electric contact with electrode terminals of an external device disposed outside of the secondary battery 100 while the adhesive layer 160 is adhered to an object. However, embodiments are not limited thereto, and a thickness of the protruding portion of the first electrode terminal 152 or the second electrode terminal 154 may be greater than a thickness of the adhesive layer 160. Accordingly, the respective one of the first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 includes the protruding portion, a connection failure between the first electrode terminal 152 and second electrode terminal, and a power receiving module (not shown), may be reduced or effectively prevented. The power receiving module receives power from the secondary battery 100 which is connected thereto.
Since the battery cell 120 is fixed onto the substrate 110 which is flexible, and the adhesive layer 160 is provided on the bottom surface of the substrate 110, the battery cell 120 is relatively easily detachable from and attachable to an object outside of the secondary battery 100, such as to removably connect the secondary battery 100 to a power receiving module disposed relative to the object. When the secondary battery 100 which is relatively easily attachable to and detachable from an object is used, an overall size or dimension of a power receiving module may be greatly reduced because a battery included within the power receiving module is obviated. In addition, since a portion of the secondary battery 100 is not inserted into the power receiving module for attachment thereto, charging and/or replacing of the secondary battery 100 is simplified. A secondary battery 100 detached from an object may maintain the adhesive layer 160 within a structure of the secondary battery 100, without being limited thereto.
As compared to
Alternatively, as illustrated in
The first electrode terminal 152 and the second electrode terminal 154 may be provided extended through a thickness of the substrate 110 to respectively correspond to a planar shape of the positive electrode 121a (particularly, of the positive electrode current collector, 210 in
The battery cell 120c may include a three-dimensional (“3D”) structure. In an embodiment, for example, the battery cell 120c may include a positive electrode current collector 210a as a sheet-type configuration and a negative electrode current collector 230a as a sheet-type configuration which are spaced apart from each other, a positive electrode active material layer 220a provided in plurality arranged along a top surface of the positive electrode current collector 210a and each extended along a thickness direction from the top surface of the positive electrode current collector 210a in a direction normal thereto, a separator 123c provided on each of the plurality of the positive electrode active material layer 220a to be disposed commonly therewith, and a negative electrode active material layer 240a provided on the separator 123c.
For the battery call 120c in
Alternatively, a secondary battery may include a plurality of battery cells.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
A secondary battery in one or more embodiments described above may be a power supply unit of an electronic device which receives power and performs a unique operation with the received power. An electronic device which receives power from the secondary battery may be referred to as a power receiving module. The power receiving module may be a wearable device or a portable device, or may be a medical device that senses biometric information of an object.
Since the secondary battery is separable from the power receiving module, the use and size of the power receiving module may vary. Particularly, when a medical device inserted into a living body such as a human body is a power receiving device, the size of the medical device may be reduced, and the secondary battery may be easily attached to and detached from the medical device while the medical device is inserted into the living body and may be easily charged away from the living body.
When the power receiving module is inserted into the human body, the secondary battery 100 may be attached to an outer surface of the human body, such as an outer surface defined by human skin 11, as illustrated in
Since a secondary battery and an adhesive layer are arranged on a flexible substrate as described above, the secondary battery may supply power while being adhered to an object. Furthermore, the size of a power receiving module which receives power from the secondary battery may be reduced by using the secondary battery 100 which is relatively easily attachable to and detachable from an object.
In addition, since insertion of a portion of a battery for supplying power into a power receiving module is obviated, stability and ease of battery charging or replacement may be achieved. When the power receiving module is an electronic device configured to be operated while being disposed inside a living body, the secondary battery may be attachable to or detachable from the living body at an outside thereof. Thus, a degree of freedom of selecting a material, size, etc. of the secondary battery may be increased. The secondary battery may be flexible according to a design and/or materials thereof, such that the secondary battery may conform to a shape of an object to which the secondary battery is attached. The secondary battery is removably attachable to the object and thus may be charged or replaced separate from a power receiving module, regardless of a state of the power receiving module.
Although one or more embodiment of a secondary battery is described above with reference to the drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein and equivalent embodiments may be derived therefrom. Accordingly, the embodiments set forth herein should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope of equivalents thereof should be construed as being included in the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2018-0128407 | Oct 2018 | KR | national |
This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0128407, filed on Oct. 25, 2018, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
