Radiography Registration Markers for Pouch Cell Image Stitching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods fail to effectively detect and monitor defects in lithium-ion battery cells, particularly in thin flexible materials like aluminum laminate films, leading to safety, reliability, and performance issues due to low contrast digital radiography images, which hinder high-resolution inspections and maintenance scheduling.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of surface modifications with high contrast registration markers on lithium-ion battery pouch cells to enable high-resolution composite digital radiography images, allowing for non-destructive inspection and monitoring of internal structure changes over time, using techniques like micro-CT and X-ray imaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional digital radiography is used to image thin flexible multilayer materials, then the imaging process is simple and quick, but the resulting images have low contrast and insufficient spatial resolution to detect defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces registration markers as an intermediary element that mediates between the thin flexible material and the imaging system. These markers provide high-contrast reference features that enable precise image registration and stitching, thereby achieving high spatial resolution without requiring complex imaging hardware modifications
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the imaging process into multiple segments: capturing multiple lower-resolution images of different regions, registering them using marker features, and stitching them together to form a high-resolution composite image. This segmentation allows achieving high overall resolution without requiring a single complex high-resolution imaging system
2Measurement precision
If multiple high-resolution images are captured to cover the entire product, then spatial resolution improves, but image registration becomes difficult due to lack of distinguishable features
Solution Approach 1:
Registration markers serve as intermediary reference features that are easily detectable and provide unique identifiers for each image region. These markers enable automated image registration algorithms to accurately align multiple high-resolution images without relying on subtle features in the thin flexible material itself
Solution Approach 2:
The registration markers utilize high-contrast visual features (analogous to color changes in the imaging context) that stand out clearly against the low-contrast background of thin flexible materials. This high contrast makes the markers easily detectable and reliable for image registration purposes
3Measurement precision
If surface modifications are added to create registration markers, then image registration and composite image formation become possible, but the product structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The registration markers are applied in advance during product manufacturing or preparation, before the imaging process begins. This preliminary action ensures that the markers are already in place to guide the imaging and registration process, eliminating the need for complex real-time feature detection or post-processing alignment operations
Solution Approach 2:
The surface modifications are localized specifically to the registration marker regions rather than altering the entire product surface. This localized approach provides the necessary registration features while minimizing overall product structure complexity and maintaining the integrity of the thin flexible material's primary functions
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 production of high-resolution composite images with improved spatial resolution, facilitating early defect detection and maintenance scheduling, thereby enhancing the reliability and safety of lithium-ion battery cells.
Implementation Method 1
digital radiography (DR) images
Data Source
AI summary
A registration method for digital radiography of thin flexible multilayer materials, which includes adding surface modifications to a product formed from thin flexible multilayer materials to create high contrast registration markers. The present approach is suited for products that would otherwise display few distinguishable features in high-resolution narrow field of view images. The registration markers are used to register and align a series of high-resolution narrow field of view images of separate portions of a thin, flexible, multilayer product. The aligned images may be digitally stitched together to form a high-resolution composite image of the whole product. The resulting composite image may allow nondestructive inspection to analyze changes to the internal structure of the product over time. The flexible multilayer materials with registration markers may be used in battery cell pouches, which permits tracking internal changes of a lithium-ion pouch cell battery over time.