Button Battery Shell Structure for Lower Weight and Safer Insulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing button batteries face issues with weight, cost, and safety due to their metal outer shells, which are heavy, costly, and prone to expansion and explosion from factors like overcharge, overdischarge, and high temperatures.
Innovation Solution
A button battery shell design featuring insulating sleeves and metal end covers that form an integrated insulating shell, reducing weight and cost while improving safety through enhanced insulation and mechanical stability, allowing for high energy density and efficient manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If metal outer shell is used for button battery, then structural strength and sealing are improved, but weight increases and specific energy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The battery shell is segmented into two parts: metal end covers (providing strength) and plastic insulating sleeves (providing light weight). This segmentation allows each material to perform its optimal function while reducing overall weight compared to a full metal shell.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery shell uses composite construction combining metal end covers with plastic insulating sleeves. This composite structure achieves the desired structural strength through the metal components while the plastic portions reduce the overall weight and improve specific energy.
2Strength
If metal outer shell is used for button battery, then structural strength is improved, but processing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shell is divided into metal end covers and plastic insulating sleeves, allowing each component to be manufactured using optimized processes for its material type. The plastic sleeves can be molded more cheaply than metal, reducing overall processing cost while maintaining necessary strength through the metal end covers.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic insulating sleeves provide a cost-effective alternative to metal for portions of the shell where full metal construction is not necessary. Using cheaper plastic material for the sleeve portions reduces processing cost while the metal end covers maintain structural integrity.
3Strength
If metal outer shell is used for button battery, then structural strength is improved, but safety deteriorates due to expansion and explosion risks
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic insulating sleeves act as an intermediary material between the internal battery components and the external environment. This plastic layer provides a safety buffer that can deform and absorb expansion forces, preventing the dangerous expansion and explosion risks associated with full metal shells while still maintaining structural strength through the metal end covers.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic insulating sleeves provide a flexible component in the shell structure that can deform under pressure from internal expansion, whereas rigid metal shells would be prone to catastrophic failure. This flexibility enhances safety by allowing controlled deformation rather than sudden explosion.
4Reliability
If insulating layer is added for connection between steel shell sleeves, then insulation is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to damage risks during encapsulation
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating sleeve is merged with the structural shell components, forming an integrated assembly where the plastic insulating sleeve and metal end covers are assembled together before encapsulation. This integration reduces the number of separate insulating layers that need to be handled during manufacturing, reducing the risk of damage and simplifying the manufacturing process.
Data Source
AI summary
A button battery shell includes a positive electrode metal end cover and a negative electrode metal end cover. The positive electrode metal end cover includes a first bottom cover and a first surrounding wall arranged around one side of the first bottom cover. The negative electrode metal end cover includes a second bottom cover and a second surrounding wall provided around one side of the second bottom cover. The positive electrode metal end cover and the negative electrode metal end cover are arranged opposite to each other. First insulating sleeve are arranged on the first surrounding wall. Second insulating sleeves are arranged on the second surrounding wall. The two insulating sleeves are connected at a connection surface to form an insulating shell having an integrated structure. The insulating shell, the positive electrode metal end cover, and the negative electrode metal end cover form an accommodating cavity.