Clad Tab Assembly for Electrochemical Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aluminum foil tabs in electrochemical devices are not sturdy enough to withstand assembly, handling, and applications with vibration or shock, and welding them to nickel plates can damage the cell chemistry.
Innovation Solution
The use of a tab assembly with clad regions, where a sturdier material like Nickel or Stainless Steel is cladded onto the tab, providing mechanical strength without the need for welding to a nickel plate, and allowing for the use of lightweight substrate materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If aluminum foil tabs are used in electrochemical devices, then the device can be lightweight and cost-effective, but the tabs are not sturdy enough to withstand assembly, handling, and applications with vibration or shock
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by creating a clad tab structure where a lightweight base material (aluminum or aluminum alloy) is combined with a cladding layer of stronger material (nickel, stainless steel, or other metal alloys). This composite structure provides both the lightweight property of aluminum and the mechanical strength of the cladding material, resolving the contradiction between weight and strength requirements for battery tabs.
2Strength
If aluminum tabs are welded to nickel plates to provide additional support, then the mechanical strength is improved, but the heat associated with welding can damage the cell chemistry
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the welding process from the tab reinforcement solution. Instead of welding aluminum tabs to nickel plates, the invention uses mechanically attached clad tabs where the cladding layer is bonded to the base material through rolling or other cold-forming processes. This eliminates the harmful thermal effects of welding on the battery cell chemistry while still providing the necessary mechanical strength through the composite clad structure.
3Strength
If aluminum tabs are welded to nickel plates to provide additional support, then the mechanical strength is improved, but the welding process is difficult to implement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the welding operation from the manufacturing process by using clad tabs where the strengthening layer is already bonded to the base material during tab fabrication. This eliminates the difficult welding step between dissimilar metals (aluminum to nickel) and replaces it with simpler processes such as mechanical attachment or direct use of the clad structure, significantly improving ease of manufacture while maintaining enhanced mechanical strength.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrochemical device has one or more electrodes in electrical communication with a tab assembly. The tab assembly includes a tab having one or more clad regions. Each clad region includes a metal clad onto the tab.