Orthogonal Battery Cell Tabs for Low-Resistance Dense Packaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery designs face challenges in accommodating multiple battery cells within constrained spaces, leading to increased resistance and reduced efficiency due to limited headspace for tabs and connections, especially in devices requiring reduced size and increased energy density.
Innovation Solution
The battery design incorporates anode and cathode current collectors with tabs extending in perpendicular directions, allowing for improved space utilization and reduced resistance by using a busbar to distribute current uniformly across the cathode current collector tabs, which are coupled with the housing to minimize travel distance and enhance efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional battery designs are used with tabs extending in the same direction, then the battery structure is simple, but the headspace for tabs and connections is limited, leading to increased resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by extending tabs in perpendicular directions (orthogonal arrangement) instead of parallel directions. The anode tab extends in a first direction while the cathode tab extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first, utilizing three-dimensional space more effectively. This reduces resistance by providing adequate headspace for connections without increasing overall device complexity.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple battery cells are accommodated in constrained spaces, then energy density increases, but the available space for tabs and connections is reduced, leading to increased resistance
Solution Approach 1:
By arranging tabs in perpendicular directions, the patent enables more battery cells to be packed into constrained spaces while maintaining adequate connection space. The orthogonal tab arrangement utilizes vertical and horizontal dimensions independently, allowing increased cell density without compromising tab connection headspace, thus maintaining low resistance even as energy density increases.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the tab connection spaces by assigning different spatial directions to anode and cathode tabs. This segmentation allows independent optimization of connection spaces for each electrode type, enabling multiple battery cells to be accommodated in constrained spaces while maintaining proper connection headspace for each cell.
3Reliability
If tabs are extended further to improve connections, then resistance decreases, but the volume and mass of the battery increase
Solution Approach 1:
The perpendicular tab arrangement allows tabs to extend in orthogonal directions, effectively utilizing three-dimensional space. This enables adequate tab extension for low resistance connections without proportionally increasing overall battery volume, as the tabs utilize different spatial dimensions rather than competing for the same linear space.
Data Source
AI summary
Batteries according to embodiments of the present technology may include a housing including a first terminal disposed on a first side of the housing and a second terminal disposed on the first side of the housing. The batteries may include an electrode stack positioned within the housing. The electrode stack may include an anode current collector. The anode current collector may define an anode tab along a first side of the anode current collector, and be electrically coupled with the first terminal. The electrode stack may include a cathode current collector. The cathode current collector may define a cathode tab along a second side of the cathode current collector. The cathode tab may extend from the cathode current collector in a direction normal to a direction the anode tab extends from the anode current collector. The cathode tab may be electrically coupled with a busbar disposed within the housing.