Electrode Structure With Hole And Folded Lead For Battery Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The caulking method for bonding electrode leads to electrodes in lithium-ion batteries faces issues with electrical conduction due to the active material layer interfering between the current collector and the electrode lead, leading to variations in electrical performance and reduced battery yields.
Innovation Solution
The method involves forming a hole through the electrode and electrode lead and folding them back around the hole, allowing the electrode lead to make contact with the current collector at specific points, ensuring uniform thickness of the active material layer where the electrode lead is not arranged and non-uniform where it is, thereby enhancing electrical conduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the active material layer is formed on the whole surface of the current collector by vapor-phase method, then adhesion between current collector and active material layer is improved, but it becomes difficult to pattern-form the active material layer
Solution Approach 1:
The current collector is divided into multiple regions: a first region where the active material layer is formed, a second region where it is removed to expose the current collector, and a third region where it is formed again. This segmentation allows both strong adhesion in coated areas and direct lead-to-current collector contact in exposed areas, resolving the contradiction between adhesion and pattern-forming capability.
2Ease of manufacture
If the active material layer is removed to expose the current collector for bonding, then electrode lead bonding is enabled, but the number of manufacturing steps is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The removal of the active material layer and the bonding of the electrode lead to the exposed current collector are merged into a single integrated step. The lead is bonded directly to the current collector in the second region during the same process where the active material layer is removed, reducing the total number of manufacturing steps while maintaining bonding capability.
3Reliability
If the electrode lead is bonded to the active material layer by welding, then electrical connection is established, but bonding strength is reduced and electrical resistance is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The active material layer is extracted or removed from the bonding interface between the electrode lead and the current collector. By creating a second region where the active material layer is removed, the lead bonds directly to the current collector without the active material layer, eliminating the material incompatibility issue while maintaining electrical connection.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrode capable of preventing variations in electrical performance to stabilize performance and improve yields is provided. An electrode structure includes: an electrode including an current collector and an active material layer arranged on the current collector; and an electrode lead arranged on the active material layer, wherein a hole is arranged so as to penetrate the electrode and the electrode lead, and the electrode and the electrode lead are folded back around the hole in a direction away from the hole so that the electrode is placed inside, and the thickness of the active material layer in a region where the electrode lead is not arranged is uniform, and the thickness of the active material layer in a region where the electrode lead is arranged is nonuniform.