Open-Ended Battery Housing for Compact Implantable Cell Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing implantable medical device batteries face challenges in packaging efficiency and consistency, leading to unpredictable life-cycles and larger sizes, which hinder their robustness and manufacturability.
Innovation Solution
The design features a battery case with open ends allowing for precise placement and inspection of electrodes, eliminating the need for separate current collectors and interconnects, using a housing as the current collector and employing a laminating process with a rolling pin to bond lithium directly to the inner surface, resulting in a more compact and consistent battery assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If traditional battery packaging is used with separate current collectors and interconnects, then the battery structure is more conventional and easier to manufacture, but the battery size is larger and packaging efficiency is lower
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed to serve dual functions: as the structural container and as the current collector. This merging of functions eliminates the need for separate current collector components and interconnects, reducing the overall battery volume while maintaining electrical functionality. The housing directly contacts the electrode to collect current, integrating multiple components into a single unified structure.
2Reliability
If traditional battery assembly methods are used, then manufacturing processes are more conventional, but consistency between batteries is lower and life-cycle is unpredictable
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode is pre-formed with tabs that extend beyond the electrode edges before assembly. This preliminary preparation ensures precise alignment and contact with the housing during assembly, reducing variability in electrical connection quality. The pre-formed tabs eliminate the need for post-assembly adjustments and ensure consistent electrical contact across all batteries, improving life-cycle predictability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces traditional mechanical interconnects and soldering processes with direct contact between the housing and electrode tabs. This substitution eliminates variability introduced by mechanical assembly steps such as alignment tolerances and solder joint quality, resulting in more consistent electrical connections and predictable battery performance across production batches.
3Manufacturing precision
If open-ended housing is used for electrode placement and inspection, then manufacturing precision and consistency are improved, but the housing design is more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed with open ends that allow segmentation of the assembly process: electrodes can be inserted and positioned independently, then secured within the housing. The open-ended design enables separate operations of electrode placement, inspection, and sealing, improving manufacturing precision by allowing each step to be optimized independently without compromising the overall housing structure.
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
This approach enables the creation of smaller, more efficient, and predictable batteries with improved manufacturability, suitable for implantable medical devices, by optimizing the use of space and ensuring precise component alignment and inspection.
Implementation Method 1
laminating a first electrode material directly to an inner surface of a battery housing
Data Source
AI summary
A battery includes a battery case including a housing having side walls defining a first open end and a second open end, the battery case including a separate top cover to cover the first open end of the housing and a separate bottom cover to cover the second open end of the housing; a first electrode located within the case; a second electrode located within the case; a first terminal coupled to the first electrode and exposed outside the case; and a second terminal coupled to the second electrode and exposed outside the case.