Electrode Tab Trench Structure for Stable Ultrasonic Welding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Ultrasonic welding of thick electrode tabs in high-capacity secondary batteries is unstable, making it difficult to reliably join a plurality of stacked electrode tabs to an electrode lead.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating open trenches in the electrode tabs to reduce their thickness, allowing for uniform application of ultrasonic waves during welding and improving stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the number of stacked electrode plates is increased to improve battery capacity, then the battery capacity increases, but the thickness of the electrode tabs increases making ultrasonic welding unstable
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode tab is segmented by introducing open trenches that divide the tab into multiple regions. This segmentation reduces the effective welding thickness while maintaining the overall structural integrity and electrical conductivity of the tab, allowing stable ultrasonic welding even when the tab is part of a high-capacity battery with many stacked electrode plates.
Solution Approach 2:
The open trenches are strategically positioned at specific locations on the electrode tab where welding occurs. This creates local quality changes by reducing material thickness only at the welding interface while preserving the full thickness and strength of the tab in other critical areas, thus enabling reliable welding without compromising overall tab performance.
2Power
If the thickness of the electrode tab is increased to handle high current, then the current carrying capacity increases, but the ultrasonic welding becomes difficult to perform stably
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly reducing the tab thickness in all dimensions (which would compromise current carrying capacity), the open trenches introduce a new dimensional feature - vertical cavities or grooves - that reduce the welding interface thickness while preserving the horizontal cross-sectional area and overall mechanical strength of the tab for high current applications.
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 open trenches facilitate stable welding of electrode tabs to the electrode lead, enhancing the reliability and efficiency of the welding process in high-capacity secondary batteries.
Implementation Method 1
A plurality of stacked positive electrode tabs or a plurality of negative electrode tabs (hereinafter referred to as electrode tabs) may each be joined to a positive electrode lead together or a negative electrode lead together (hereinafter, referred to as electrode lead) through ultrasonic welding
Data Source
AI summary
An electrode assembly including: an electrode plate stack including a plurality of electrode plates stacked in a first direction; and a tab stack including a plurality of electrode tabs extending from the electrode plates from among the plurality of electrode plates having the same polarity as each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and having at least one open trench extending downward through an end thereof. A lower electrode tab located at a lower side from among the plurality of electrode tabs is exposed through the open trench in an adjacent upper electrode tab located at an upper side from among the plurality of electrode tabs.