Electrode tab support

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrode tab support. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrode tab support comprising: a body part; and a tab accommodation part formed in the body part and configured to accommodate an electrode tab, wherein the tab accommodation part comprises: a first tab accommodation part and a second tab accommodation part, wherein: the first tap accommodation part is disposed on a first side of the body part; the second tab accommodation part is disposed on a second side of the body part; and the first tab accommodation part and the second tab accommodation part are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in the thickness direction of said body part, and are staggered relative to each other, rather than being in straight line, in the longitudinal direction of the body part.

Description

Electrode tab support

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0121661, dated September 13, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to an electrode tab support. More specifically, it relates to an electrode tab support including a first electrode tab receiving portion and a second electrode tab receiving portion.

[0003] As technological development and demand for mobile devices increase, rechargeable secondary batteries are being widely used as a power source for various mobile devices. Furthermore, secondary batteries are also attracting attention as an energy source for electric and hybrid vehicles, which are being proposed as a solution to address air pollution caused by existing gasoline and diesel vehicles.

[0004] Secondary batteries are classified into coin-type batteries, cylindrical batteries, square batteries, and pouch-type batteries depending on the shape of the battery case. Among these, pouch-type batteries are garnering much attention because their exterior is constructed using a pouch outer material composed of a multilayer film of a metal layer (foil) and synthetic resin layers coated on the upper and lower surfaces of the metal layer. This significantly reduces the weight of the battery compared to cylindrical or square batteries that use metal cans, enabling lightweight batteries and allowing for various changes in shape.

[0005] Pouch-type batteries are typically manufactured through a process of activating the battery cells after the battery assembly process. This activation process typically involves pressing the battery cells with a jig and applying current to the cells to charge and discharge them to a predetermined voltage.

[0006] In the manufacture of pouch-type batteries, it is important to apply uniform pressure during the pressurizing process of the battery cells during the cell assembly process. In particular, during the warm isostatic pressing (WIP) process in the manufacture of all-solid-state batteries, the tab portion of the electrode current collector also receives the same pressure as the electrode. At this time, the tab of the current collector protrudes outside the electrode, and when the cells are stacked, the gap between the tabs is positioned at a distance equivalent to the thickness of the electrode. Therefore, uneven pressure is applied to the portion of the electrode that comes into contact with the tab, which causes unevenness and cracks in the electrode, which reduces the cell life performance and also affects the cell stacking.

[0007] Therefore, in order to achieve excellent performance of all-solid-state batteries, it is necessary to develop an electrode tab support to prevent cracks in the electrode and form a uniform electrode.

[0008] [Prior Art Literature]

[0009] [Patent Document]

[0010] (Patent Document 1) Republic of Korea Publication No. 10-2015-0106026

[0011] One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an electrode tab support that can prevent cracks in an electrode and manufacture an electrode of uniform thickness and size in a process of applying high pressure during the manufacture of an all-solid-state battery.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrode tab support capable of preventing degradation of the performance and lifespan of a battery cell.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrode tab support that facilitates stacking of battery cells.

[0014] As one embodiment of the present invention, an electrode tab support is provided, including a body portion; and a tab receiving portion formed on the body portion and configured to receive an electrode tab, wherein the tab receiving portion includes a first tab receiving portion and a second tab receiving portion, the first tab receiving portion is disposed on a first side of the body portion, the second tab receiving portion is disposed on a second side of the body portion, and the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion are disposed at a predetermined distance in a thickness direction of the body portion and are staggered from each other rather than in a straight line in a length direction of the body portion.

[0015] As another embodiment of the present invention, an electrode tab support is provided in which the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion are spaced apart from each other in the thickness direction of the body portion and are arranged alternately.

[0016] As another embodiment of the present invention, the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion provide an electrode tab support having different spacing distances in the thickness direction of the body portion from the third side of the body portion.

[0017] As another embodiment of the present invention, the distance (d) between the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion in the thickness direction of the body portion provides an electrode tab support having the same thickness as the laminated thickness of the electrode and electrolyte layers.

[0018] As another embodiment of the present invention, an electrode tab support is provided, wherein the first tab receiving portion receives a first electrode tab, and the second tab receiving portion receives a second electrode tab.

[0019] As another embodiment of the present invention, the tab receiving portion provides an electrode tab support having three surfaces in contact with the body portion.

[0020] As another embodiment of the present invention, the width (W) of the tab receiving portion is provided as an electrode tab support having the same thickness as the electrode tab.

[0021] As another embodiment of the present invention, the length (L) of the tab receiving portion provides an electrode tab support that is equal to the width of the electrode tab.

[0022] As another embodiment of the present invention, the height (H) of the tab receiving portion r ) is the height of the above body part (H b ) provides the same electrode tab support.

[0023] As another embodiment of the present invention, an electrode tab support is provided, wherein the first tab receiving portion may include a plurality of first tab receiving portions, and the plurality of first tab receiving portions may include as many as the number (n) of the first electrodes.

[0024] As another embodiment of the present invention, an electrode tab support is provided, wherein the second tab receiving portion may include a plurality of second tab receiving portions, and the plurality of second tab receiving portions may include as many second electrodes (m).

[0025] As another embodiment of the present invention, an electrode tab support is provided in which the first side and the second side of the body portion are sides facing each other in the same direction as the thickness direction of the body portion.

[0026] As another embodiment of the present invention, the height (H) of the body portion b ) is the height (H) of the electrode tab t ) provides an electrode tab support smaller than or equal to that.

[0027] As another embodiment of the present invention, an electrode tab support is provided in which 50% of the CFD (Compression Force Deflection) of the body portion is 3000 kPa to 4000 kPa.

[0028] As another embodiment of the present invention, the electrode tab support provides an electrode tab support for an all-solid-state battery.

[0029] The present invention can provide an electrode tab support that prevents cracks in an electrode and manufactures an electrode of uniform thickness and size in a process of applying high pressure during the manufacture of an all-solid-state battery.

[0030] The present invention can provide an electrode tab support that prevents degradation of performance and lifespan of a battery cell.

[0031] The present invention can provide an electrode tab support that facilitates stacking of battery cells.

[0032] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the usage form of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 3 is a drawing showing the usage form of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] FIG. 4 is a drawing showing a plan view of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 5 is a plan view of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] FIG. 6 is a drawing showing a plan view of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. For convenience of explanation, the drawings may show exaggerated representations of all or part of the components.

[0039] In addition, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the attached drawings or the contents described in this specification, and that the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.

[0040]

[0041] In the process of manufacturing all-solid-state batteries, interfacial adhesion between electrodes is crucial for improving battery performance, such as ionic conductivity. To achieve this interfacial adhesion, a process of applying high pressure to the electrode laminate is necessary. In other words, during the warm isostatic pressing (WIP) process of manufacturing all-solid-state batteries, uniform pressure must be applied to the electrode laminate to facilitate lithium ion movement.

[0042] However, during the above isostatic pressing process, not only the electrode but also the tab portion of the electrode current collector is subjected to the same pressure, which causes the edge portion of the electrode where the electrode tabs come into contact to be crushed, making the thickness thinner than the portion without the electrode tabs, causing the electrode to stretch and causing cracks in the electrode. The above problem occurs not only in monocells manufactured by overlapping the positive and negative electrodes one by one, but also in bicells using double-sided positive or negative electrodes, and the more stacks are built up like the bicells, the greater the impact. This can lead to a decline in the performance and lifespan of the battery cell.

[0043] To solve these problems, the inventors of the present invention have completed an electrode tab support that can prevent uneven formation of the electrode and cracking of the electrode by maintaining the electrode and electrode tab flat during the pressurizing process.

[0044] Before going into a specific description of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of a battery cell stack accommodated through the electrode tab support will first be briefly described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0045] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the usage form of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] Referring to FIG. 2, the battery cell stack may include a first electrode (301), an electrolyte layer (302), and a second electrode (303) sequentially stacked. Here, the first electrode (301) may be a positive electrode or a negative electrode. The second electrode (303) may be a negative electrode or a positive electrode. The first electrode and the second electrode may be different electrodes.

[0047] The electrolyte layer (302) is disposed between the first electrode (301) and the second electrode (303), and may have an area equal to or larger than the sizes of the first electrode (301) and the second electrode (303) or larger than the first electrode (301) and the second electrode (303). Here, the electrolyte layer (302) may be a solid electrolyte, but is not limited to these examples.

[0048] Additionally, electrode tabs connected to the electrodes of the battery cell stack may be arranged. Here, the electrode tabs may include a first electrode tab (301a) protruding from the top of the first electrode (301) and a second electrode tab (303a) protruding from the top of the second electrode (303). At this time, the first electrode tab (301a) and the second electrode tab (303a) may be spaced apart from each other and arranged at opposite ends of the battery cell stack, respectively.

[0049] In the above battery cell stack, the first electrode tab (301a) and the second electrode tab (303a) can each be accommodated in the tab accommodation portion of the electrode tab support. This will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 1.

[0050] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a body portion (100); and a tab receiving portion (200) formed on the body portion and configured to receive an electrode tab, wherein the tab receiving portion includes a first tab receiving portion (201) and a second tab receiving portion (202), wherein the first tab receiving portion (201) is disposed on a first side of the body portion, and the second tab receiving portion (202) is disposed on a second side of the body portion, and the first tab receiving portion (201) and the second tab receiving portion (202) may be disposed at a predetermined distance in a thickness direction of the body portion and may be staggered rather than in a straight line in a length direction of the body portion.

[0052] According to one embodiment, the electrode tab support (1) may include a tab receiving portion (201, 202) for receiving the electrode tab. The tab receiving portion (201, 202) may be formed integrally with the body portion (100).

[0053] The above tab receiving portion may include a first tab receiving portion (201) and a second tab receiving portion (202).

[0054] The first tab receiving portion (201) and the second tab receiving portion (202) may be spaced apart in the thickness direction of the body portion and arranged alternately with each other.

[0055] The first tab receiving portion (201) and the second tab receiving portion (202) may be spaced apart from the third side of the body portion by different distances in the thickness direction of the body portion. Here, the third side of the body portion may be a side that is horizontal to the longitudinal direction of the body portion. Referring to Fig. 1, the third side of the body portion may be one side in the x-axis direction.

[0056] The distance (d) between the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion in the thickness direction of the body portion may be equal to the laminated thickness of the electrode and electrolyte layers.

[0057] The first tab receiving portion (201) may be arranged on the first side of the body portion (100), and the second tab receiving portion (202) may be arranged on the second side of the body portion (100).

[0058] The first side of the body portion may be a side that is parallel to the thickness direction of the body portion. Referring to Fig. 1, the first side of the body portion may be one side in the y-axis direction.

[0059] The second side of the body portion may be a side that is parallel to the thickness direction of the body portion. Referring to Fig. 1, the second side of the body portion may be a side in the y-axis direction, and may be a different side from the first side.

[0060] The above first side and second side may be sides facing each other in the same direction as the thickness direction of the body portion.

[0061] Referring to Fig. 1, the thickness direction of the body part means the y-axis direction, and the length direction of the body part means the x-axis direction.

[0062] The CFD (Compression Force Deflection) 50% of the above body portion may be 3000 kPa to 4000 kPa. Here, CFD means compression force deflection, which is a measure of the force required to compress the body portion to a specific strain (e.g., 50%). The CFD may be measured by applying a compressive load of 4 kPa to a single layer of a sample measuring 10 mm in width and 10 mm in length at 8 mm / min or 50 mm / min according to the method of ASTM D3574 test C. At this time, the CFD 50% of the body part may be 3000 kPa or more, 3100 kPa or more, 3200 kPa or more, 3300 kPa or more, 3400 kPa or more, 3500 kPa or more, or 4000 kPa or less, 3900 kPa or less, 3800 kPa or less, 3700 kPa or less, or 3600 kPa or less.

[0063] The first tab receiving portion (201) and the second tab receiving portion (202) may be arranged to be staggered with a predetermined distance (d) apart from a straight line in the longitudinal direction of the body portion (100). The reason why the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion are arranged to be staggered with respect to the first electrode (301), the electrolyte layer (302), and the second electrode (303) is that in a battery cell stack in which the first electrode (301), the electrolyte layer (302), and the second electrode (303) are stacked in that order, the first electrode (301) and the second electrode (303) are overlapped and therefore are not arranged on the same line. For example, in a battery cell stack in which the first electrode, the electrolyte layer, and the second electrode are stacked in that order, the electrodes are spaced apart from each other by a thickness of at least one first electrode, at least one second electrode, and / or at least one electrolyte layer, so that the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion may be arranged to be staggered with a predetermined distance (d).

[0064] Figure 3 is a drawing showing the usage form of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0065] Referring to the above Fig. 3, the first tab receiving portion (201) can receive a first electrode tab (301a), and the second tab receiving portion (202) can receive a second electrode tab (303a). The first electrode can be a positive electrode or a negative electrode, and the second electrode can be a negative electrode or an positive electrode. The first electrode and the second electrode can be different electrodes. However, the form of use of the electrode tab support is not limited as illustrated in Fig. 3.

[0066] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of electrode tab supports may be used depending on the arrangement direction of the electrode tabs. For example, although not illustrated, as in FIG. 2, when the arrangement direction of the first electrode tab and the arrangement direction of the second electrode tab are not the same direction, but are arranged in opposite or different directions, the first tab receiving portion of the first electrode tab support may receive the first electrode tab, and the second receiving portion of the second electrode tab support may receive the second electrode tab. Here, the first electrode tab support and the second electrode tab support may be different electrode tab supports. Therefore, a plurality of electrode tab supports according to the present invention may be applied depending on the arrangement direction of the electrode tabs.

[0067] The tab receiving portion may have three surfaces that are in contact with the body portion. The tab receiving portion may have a structure in which a groove is formed in the body portion. The shape of the groove is not particularly limited, and any shape that can accommodate the shape of the electrode tab may be used.

[0068] The width (W) of the above tab receiving portion may be the same as the thickness of the electrode tab. The electrode tab may be a single electrode tab or two or more electrode tabs welded together. Here, welding means joining two or more electrode tabs together.

[0069] The length (L) of the above tab receiving portion may be equal to the width of the electrode tab.

[0070] The height of the above tab receiving portion (not shown) is the height of the above body portion (H b ) may be the same. Here, the height of the body part (H b ) is the height (H) of the electrode tab t ) may be less than or equal to.

[0071] The first tab receiving portion may include a plurality of first tab receiving portions. The plurality of first tab receiving portions may further include a number (n) of first electrodes.

[0072] The second tab receiving portion may include a plurality of second tab receiving portions. The plurality of second tab receiving portions may include a number equal to the number (m) of the second electrodes.

[0073] FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are drawings showing a plan view of an electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0074] Referring to FIG. 5, an electrode tab support (1) according to one embodiment of the present invention may include one first tab receiving portion (201) and two second tab receiving portions (202a, 202b).

[0075] Referring to FIG. 6, an electrode tab support (1) according to one embodiment of the present invention may include two first tab receiving portions (201a, 201b) and three second tab receiving portions (202a, 202b, 202c).

[0076] An electrode tab support (1) according to one embodiment of the present invention may include n first tab receiving portions (not shown). Here, n is the number of first electrodes and is one of the integers from 1 to 100.

[0077] An electrode tab support according to one embodiment of the present invention may include m second tab receiving portions (not shown), where m is the number of first electrodes and is one of the integers from 1 to 100.

[0078] The above electrode tab support can be used in the manufacture of all-solid-state batteries, but is not limited thereto, and can also be used in a cell manufacturing process involving a pressurizing process.

[0079]

[0080] While one embodiment of the present invention has been exemplified above, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the aforementioned embodiments. Those skilled in the art will be able to appropriately modify one embodiment of the present invention, including omitting, modifying, or replacing all or part of the configuration of the present invention, or adding other configurations, without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention, by referring to this specification and the attached drawings.

[0081] The terms and expressions in this specification are to be interpreted broadly and not in a restrictive sense. As used herein, the word "comprises" does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components other than the components mentioned.

[0082] In this specification, expressions in the singular include the plural unless explicitly excluded by context.

[0083] Each of the embodiments exemplarily described herein can be combined with one another, and unless contradictory, the content described in a particular embodiment can be equally applied to other embodiments even if not described in the other embodiments.

[0084]

[0085] [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1: Electrode tab support

[0087] 100: Body

[0088] 201: 1st tab receiving section

[0089] 202: Second tap receiver

[0090] 301: First electrode

[0091] 301a: First electrode tab

[0092] 302: Electrolyte layer

[0093] 303: Second electrode

[0094] 303a: Second electrode tab

[0095] W: Width of the tab receptacle

[0096] L: Length of the tab receiving portion

[0097] H b : Height of body part

Claims

1. Body part; and A tab receiving portion formed on the above body portion and configured to receive an electrode tab; The above tab receiving portion includes a first tab receiving portion and a second tab receiving portion, The first tab receiving portion is arranged on the first side of the body portion, The second tab receiving portion is arranged on the second side of the body portion, An electrode tab support, wherein the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion are arranged at a predetermined distance in the thickness direction of the body portion and are staggered rather than in a straight line in the length direction of the body portion.

2. In paragraph 1, An electrode tab support, wherein the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion are spaced apart from each other in the thickness direction of the body portion and are arranged alternately.

3. In paragraph 1, An electrode tab support, wherein the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion are spaced apart from the third side of the body portion in the thickness direction of the body portion at different distances.

4. In paragraph 1, An electrode tab support, wherein the distance (d) between the first tab receiving portion and the second tab receiving portion in the thickness direction of the body portion is the same as the laminated thickness of the electrode and electrolyte layers.

5. In paragraph 1, The first tab receiving portion receives the first electrode tab, An electrode tab support, wherein the second tab receiving portion receives a second electrode tab.

6. In paragraph 1, An electrode tab support, wherein the tab receiving portion has three surfaces in contact with the body portion.

7. In paragraph 1, An electrode tab support, wherein the width (W) of the above tab receiving portion is the same as the thickness of the electrode tab.

8. In paragraph 1, An electrode tab support, wherein the length (L) of the above tab receiving portion is the same as the width of the electrode tab.

9. In paragraph 1, The height of the above tab receiving portion is equal to the height of the above body portion (H b ) is the same as the electrode tab support.

10. In paragraph 1, The first tab receiving portion may include a plurality of first tab receiving portions, An electrode tab support, wherein the plurality of first tab receiving portions can include as many first electrodes (n).

11. In paragraph 1, The second tab receiving portion may include a plurality of second tab receiving portions, An electrode tab support, wherein the plurality of second tab receiving portions can further include the number (m) of second electrodes.

12. In paragraph 1, An electrode tab support, wherein the first and second sides of the body portion are sides facing each other in the same direction as the thickness direction of the body portion.

13. In paragraph 1, The height of the above body part (H) b ) is the height (H) of the electrode tab t ) is less than or equal to the electrode tab support.

14. In paragraph 1, An electrode tab support, wherein 50% of the CFD (Compression Force Deflection) of the above body portion is 3000 kPa to 4000 kPa.

15. In paragraph 1, The above electrode tab support is an electrode tab support for an all-solid-state battery.

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