Folded Electrode Assembly Without Taping for Faster Cell Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrode assemblies, such as simple stack and lamination & stack types, face issues with production speed, alignment, and damage during the taping process, leading to wrinkles or swells, and deintercalation of active materials, while stack & folding types have complex processes and reduced electrolyte impregnation.
Innovation Solution
The electrode assembly features a single-sided first electrode formed as a sheet, repetitively in-folded and out-folded, with a double-sided second electrode interposed in spaces, and a single-sheet separator, eliminating the need for tape and allowing continuous processing without unit cell formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a taping process is performed to maintain alignment of stacked electrodes and separators, then alignment is improved, but the electrode is damaged causing wrinkles, swells, or deintercalation of active material
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the harmful taping process from the manufacturing system. By designing the electrode assembly with alternating single-sided and double-sided electrodes that naturally align through their structural configuration, the patent removes the need for external tapes, thereby preventing electrode damage while maintaining alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrode assembly structure is designed to be self-aligning through the alternating arrangement of single-sided and double-sided electrodes. The electrodes themselves provide the alignment function without requiring external taping materials, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating the harmful effects of tape application.
2Device complexity
If simple stack or lamination & stack types are used, then structure is simple and electrolyte impregnation is high, but production speed is slow and alignment is lowered
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the electrode assembly into alternating single-sided and double-sided electrodes, creating a modular structure that can be manufactured more efficiently. This segmentation allows for better alignment during stacking while maintaining structural simplicity, thereby improving production speed without significantly increasing device complexity.
3Productivity
If stack & folding type is used, then production speed is high and structural stability is high, but process is complicated and electrolyte impregnation is lowered
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of folding the electrode assembly as in traditional stack & folding types, the invention inverts the approach by using alternating single-sided and double-sided electrodes that naturally align in a stacked configuration. This inversion simplifies the manufacturing process while maintaining high production speed and structural stability, and actually improves electrolyte impregnation by eliminating folding-related barriers.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrode assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises: a first electrode formed in the form of a single sheet and repetitively in-folded and out-folded at a predetermined interval; a second electrode formed into a plurality of pieces and respectively interposed in spaces formed by folding the first electrode; and a separator formed in the form of a single sheet and interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode so as to be repetitively in-folded and out-folded at a predetermined interval together with the first electrode, wherein the first electrode is a single-sided electrode in which a first electrode active material is applied to only one surface of a first electrode collector, and the second electrode is a double-sided electrode in which a second electrode active material is applied to all both surfaces of a second electrode collector.