Battery Seal Design for Current Collector Spacing and Force Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery designs face challenges in maintaining electrical contact and preventing short circuits due to the close proximity of electrode and counter electrode current collectors, which can lead to breakage and delamination under external forces.
Innovation Solution
A battery structure featuring a seal disposed between the electrode and counter electrode current collectors, maintaining a certain distance and using different materials for the seal based on reactivity and mechanical properties, with a thicker first stack portion to absorb external forces and prevent direct contact between the electric power generating elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the electrode current collector and counter electrode current collector are placed close to each other to reduce battery thickness, then the battery size is reduced, but the risk of short circuits and breakage increases under external forces
Solution Approach 1:
A seal is introduced as an intermediary component between the electrode current collector and counter electrode current collector. This seal maintains a predetermined distance between the two current collectors, preventing direct contact while still allowing the battery to maintain a compact thickness. The seal acts as a mediator that ensures electrical isolation and mechanical protection without sacrificing space efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal serves as a cushioning element positioned in advance between the current collectors to absorb and distribute external forces before they can cause breakage or delamination. By pre-positioning this protective layer, the design anticipates and mitigates the effects of compression and mechanical stress, ensuring reliability under load conditions.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the electrode current collector and counter electrode current collector are placed close to each other to improve energy density, then the battery efficiency is improved, but the mechanical strength decreases due to lack of spacing
Solution Approach 1:
The seal introduces local quality differentiation into the battery structure. Rather than uniformly spacing components throughout, the seal provides localized mechanical support and spacing only where needed between the current collectors. This allows the battery to maintain high energy density in most regions while providing targeted mechanical strength enhancement at critical interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal is constructed from composite materials that combine electrical insulation properties with mechanical strength characteristics. This composite structure allows the seal to simultaneously provide electrical isolation for high energy density and mechanical reinforcement for structural integrity, resolving the contradiction between energy efficiency and mechanical strength.
3Reliability
If a seal is added between the current collectors to prevent short circuits, then the reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously provides electrical insulation to prevent short circuits, mechanical spacing to maintain component separation, and structural support to distribute external forces. By consolidating multiple functions into a single element, the design improves reliability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal merges several protective functions into a single integrated component. Rather than adding separate elements for electrical isolation, spacing maintenance, and mechanical support, the design combines these functions into one seal structure, thereby improving reliability while minimizing the increase in structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery includes: a unit cell including an electrode layer, a counter electrode layer, and a solid electrolyte layer; an electrode current collector; an electrode current collector; a counter electrode current collector; and a seal disposed between the electrode current collector and the counter electrode current collector. The thickness of a first stack portion is larger than the thickness of a second stack portion. The first stack portion includes: a first sealing portion that is at least part of the seal; a part of the electrode current collector that overlaps the first sealing portion; and a part of the counter electrode current collector that overlaps the first sealing portion. The second stack portion includes: the unit cell; a part of the electrode current collector that overlaps the unit cell; and a part of the counter electrode current collector that overlaps the unit cell.