Battery Separator Segmentation for Complex Electrode Shapes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in manufacturing battery cells with various shapes, particularly due to difficulties in precisely cutting thin, soft separator films to match the shape of electrodes, leading to increased manufacturing costs and reduced productivity, as well as design obstructions when the separator film does not coincide with the electrode shape.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the fusion and cutting of separation films to match the electrode shapes, using techniques like bonding at specific temperatures and cutting with tools such as blades or lasers, allowing for the creation of electrode assemblies with varying shapes and improved productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a thin separator film (10-30 μm) is cut using a mold, then the separator can be processed, but it causes rapid mold abrasion, difficult precise cutting, lowered productivity, and increased manufacturing costs
Solution Approach 1:
The separator film is divided into multiple segments corresponding to individual electrode shapes. Each separator segment is processed independently to match the shape of corresponding electrodes, eliminating the need for complex precise cutting of a single large film and reducing mold wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The separator film is pre-cut into segments before assembly with electrodes. This preliminary segmentation allows for easier handling and assembly, avoiding the need for precise cutting during final assembly and improving overall manufacturing efficiency.
2Ease of manufacture
If the separator film shape does not coincide with electrode shape, then the separator can be manufactured, but it requires additional space in the battery case causing design obstructions
Solution Approach 1:
The separator film is designed with varying local qualities - the shape and size of separator segments are locally adapted to match each electrode's specific shape. This ensures optimal fit and eliminates excess material while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of cutting the separator to a fixed shape and then adapting electrodes to it, the approach is inverted: electrodes define the required separator shape, and separators are segmented to match electrode contours, allowing maximum design flexibility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If various shaped battery cells are manufactured, then design freedom is increased, but processing difficulties arise due to the soft material properties of separators
Solution Approach 1:
The separator is segmented into multiple sections that can be independently shaped and assembled. This segmentation allows each segment to be processed separately using simpler methods, then combined to form complex overall battery shapes without requiring complex processing of the entire separator at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing process becomes dynamic and flexible through segmentation - separator segments can be processed, stored, and assembled in different sequences and configurations, enabling various battery shapes without requiring complex fixed processing equipment.
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 electrode assemblies with high design freedom and enhanced productivity, simplifying the manufacturing process for battery cells with complex shapes, thereby reducing costs and improving battery stability.
Implementation Method 1
bonding the remaining regions of the separation film to one another to generate a separation film assembly
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electrode assembly, the method including: preparing an electrode laminate including at least one negative electrode, at least one positive electrode, and at least one separation film; generating a separation film assembly by bonding remaining portions of the separation film positioned in regions not corresponding to shapes of the negative electrode and the positive electrode; and cutting the separation film assembly so as to correspond to the shapes of the negative electrode and the positive electrode, and an electrode assembly manufactured by the method.