Notched Electrode Plate Layout for Battery Cell Orientation Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lithium-ion batteries face safety risks due to easy tearing of the outer aluminum foil during falls, leading to short-circuit failures, and the existing double-side-coated electrode plates make it difficult to distinguish the head and tail portions, causing incorrect tab placement and packaging issues.
Innovation Solution
A battery cell design featuring notched electrode plates with specific notch configurations to differentiate head and tail portions, reducing the risk of direct external force on a single electrode plate during replacement and minimizing short-circuit risks by providing distinct markings for correct winding and packaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a double-side-coated electrode plate is used to reduce short-circuit risks, then safety is improved, but it becomes difficult to distinguish head and tail portions causing tab misplacement
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode plate incorporates asymmetric features including notches at specific positions and tabs extending from only one end. The first electrode plate has notches at its ends while the second electrode plate has notches at positions offset from its ends, creating asymmetric patterns that enable clear distinction between head and tail portions despite double-side coating.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses visual markers (notches and tab positioning) to create distinguishable features on the electrode plate. These markers serve as visual indicators similar to color changes, allowing operators to easily identify head and tail portions through visual inspection rather than relying on symmetric appearance.
2Reliability
If the outermost layer is a separator to reduce impact damage, then safety is improved, but the electrode plate cannot be distinguished for correct winding
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric notch configuration on the electrode plates provides orientation information that is preserved through the winding process. The notches create unique patterns at specific positions that indicate the correct winding direction and orientation, preventing loss of orientation information despite the separator being the outermost protective layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The notches and tab positions are pre-configured on the electrode plates before assembly to establish correct orientation. This preliminary marking system ensures that orientation information is built into the structure itself, allowing correct winding without requiring external markers or complex assembly procedures.
3Ease of operation
If notches are added to electrode plates for identification, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The identification features are segmented into discrete, simple elements: notches at specific positions and tabs extending from one end. These segmented features are easier to manufacture and assemble than continuous or complex markings, reducing the practical complexity despite adding identification capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The notches and tabs are localized to specific positions on the electrode plates rather than being distributed uniformly. This local quality approach concentrates the complexity only where needed for identification, keeping the rest of the electrode plate structure simple and maintaining ease of manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery cell, including a first electrode plate, a second electrode plate, a separator, and a first electrode tab. The separator is disposed between the first electrode plate and the second electrode plate. The first electrode plate, the second electrode plate, and the separator are wound along a length direction of the first electrode plate. The first electrode tab is located at an end in a width direction of the first electrode plate. In the length direction of the first electrode plate, the first electrode plate includes a first edge, and a first notch is disposed at the first edge.