Cable Battery Packaging with Wing Seal for Flexibility

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Cable-type secondary batteries face issues with electrode active material layer separation due to external forces and volumetric swelling, leading to decreased capacity and cycle life, as conventional packaging is not skin-tightly formed and lacks flexibility.

Innovation Solution

A cable-type secondary battery design featuring a packaging structure with a water barrier film, sealant polymer layers, and a mechanical support layer, where the packaging is sealed and folded to form a wing portion for enhanced flexibility and adhesion, and optionally enclosed in a heat shrinkable tube for additional sealing and protection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional packaging is used for cable-type secondary battery, then the packaging can be easily manufactured, but the packaging cannot be formed skin-tightly and lacks flexibility, causing electrode active material layer separation

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprevention of electrode separationVSAvoidpackaging structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The packaging is divided into multiple functional layers: a flexible substrate layer, a sealant layer for skin-tight sealing, and a wing portion for adhesion. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function while collectively providing the required reliability without excessive overall complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The packaging uses composite material structure combining flexible substrate material with sealant material. This composite approach provides both the flexibility needed to prevent electrode separation and the sealing capability to maintain battery integrity, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

2Strength

If the packaging is made rigid to protect from external forces, then protection is improved, but flexibility is reduced and electrode separation occurs during charging/discharging

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprotection from external forcesVSAvoidflexibility during charging/discharging
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The packaging employs a flexible substrate layer that can deform with the electrode assembly during charging and discharging cycles. This flexible shell structure maintains protection from external forces while adapting to volumetric changes, preventing electrode separation and maintaining battery performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Reliability

If the packaging is formed skin-tightly to prevent separation, then electrode adhesion is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveelectrode adhesionVSAvoidpackaging formation process
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The wing portion is pre-formed as an integral part of the packaging structure during the packaging manufacturing process. This preliminary action ensures proper adhesion geometry is already in place before battery assembly, simplifying the overall manufacturing process while achieving reliable electrode adhesion through the skin-tight formation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The solution provides a skin-tightly formed packaging that enhances flexibility, prevents electrode separation, and improves battery capacity and cycle life by ensuring secure adhesion and protection against external forces and water infiltration.

Implementation Method 1

a portion of the packaging is overlapped at an end thereof and sealed by heat compression

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectHeat compression sealing: Heating

Implementation Method 2

inserting the electrode assembly surrounded with the packaging into a heat shrinkable tube, followed by heating so that the heat shrinkable tube is shrunk

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectThermal shrinkage: Thermal Contraction

Data Source

PatentEP3331085B1Cable-type secondary battery and method for manufacturing the same
Publication Date: 2019.06.12 LG CHEM LTD
  • EP3331085B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3331085B1 patent drawingFigure 2a~2b
  • EP3331085B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The present disclosure provides a cable-type secondary battery, which has a packaging formed skin-tightly on the outer surface of an electrode assembly to improve flexibility significantly even when external force is applied to the cable-type secondary battery, and to prevent a decrease in capacity of the battery, thereby providing improved cycle life characteristics. The cable-type secondary battery comprises an electrode assembly comprising an electrode assembly comprising an inner electrode, a separator layer formed to surround the inner electrode, and an outer electrode formed to surround the outer surface of the separator layer; and a packaging surrounding the electrode assembly, wherein the packaging surrounds the top surface and the bottom surface of the electrode and a portion of the packaging is overlapped at an end thereof and sealed by heat compression, and the overlapped part is folded along the perimeter of the packaging to be a wing portion. The present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing the cable-type secondary battery.