Electrode assembly manufacture and device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12183892-B2
Application number	US-202117562228-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 27, 2021
Priority date	Aug 6, 2018
Publication date	Dec 31, 2024
Grant date	Dec 31, 2024

Abstract

Embodiments of a method for the preparation of an electrode assembly, include removing a population of negative electrode subunits from a negative electrode sheet, the negative electrode sheet comprising a negative electrode sheet edge margin and at least one negative electrode sheet weakened region that is internal to the negative electrode sheet edge margin, removing a population of separator layer subunits from a separator sheet, and removing a population of positive electrode subunits from a positive electrode sheet, the positive electrode sheet comprising a positive electrode edge margin and at least one positive electrode sheet weakened region that is internal to the positive electrode sheet edge margin, and stacking members of the negative electrode subunit population, the separator layer subunit population and the positive electrode subunit population in a stacking direction to form a stacked population of unit cells.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for the preparation of an electrode assembly, the method comprising:
providing a stacked population of unit cells comprising a population of negative electrode subunits, a population of separator layer subunits, and a population of positive electrode subunits, each unit cell in the stacked population comprising at least a unit cell portion of a member of the negative electrode subunit population, a member of the separator layer subunit population, and a unit cell portion of a member of the positive electrode subunit population, wherein (i) the negative electrode subunit and positive electrode subunit face opposing surfaces of the separator layer comprised by such stacked unit cell population member and (ii); the separator layer comprised by such stacked unit cell population member is adapted to electrically isolate the portion of the negative electrode subunit and the portion of the positive electrode subunit comprised by such stacked unit cell while permitting an exchange of carrier ions between the negative electrode subunit and the positive electrode subunit comprised by such stacked unit cell;
wherein the members of the population of negative electrode subunits have a first set of two opposing end surfaces, and opposing end margins adjacent each of the first set of opposing end surfaces, and members of the population of positive electrode subunits have a second set of two opposing end surfaces, and opposing end margins adjacent each of the first set of opposing end surfaces, and
wherein members of the population of negative electrode subunits comprise at least one subunit weakened region in at least one of the opposing end margins of the negative electrode subunit members, or members of the population of positive electrode subunits comprise at least one subunit weakened region in at least one of the opposing end margins of the positive electrode subunit members; and
applying tension to:
(i) at least one of the opposing end margins of the negative electrode subunit members in a tensioning direction, to remove a portion of the negative electrode subunit members that is adjacent the weakened region in the at least one opposing end margin, such that at least one of the first set of opposing end surfaces of the negative electrode subunit comprises at least one end surface exposed by removal of the portion, or
(ii) at least one of the opposing end margins of the positive electrode subunit members in a tensioning direction, to remove a portion of the positive electrode subunit members that is adjacent the weakened region in the at least one opposing end margin, such that at least one of the second set of opposing end surfaces of the positive electrode subunit comprises at least one end surface exposed by removal of the portion.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the separator layer subunits comprise at least one subunit weakened region.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein in the stacked population, an interior portion of the negative electrode subunit and an interior portion of the positive electrode subunit are aligned with respect to each other in a tensioning direction that is orthogonal to the stacking direction, and further comprising maintaining an alignment of the stacked population while the tension is applied, and wherein the alignment is maintained by compressing the stacked population between compression plates.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein members of the population of negative electrodes comprise negative electrode current collectors and members of the population of positive electrodes comprise positive electrode current collectors, and wherein the alignment is maintained by attaching a plurality of the negative electrode current collectors or positive electrode current collectors in the stacked population to one or more constraint members on a face of the stacked population that is in a plane of the stacking direction.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein following removal of the portion of the negative electrode subunit members or portion of the positive electrode subunit members, each positive electrode subunit in the population of positive electrode subunits comprises a predetermined position with respect to the other positive electrode subunits in the population in the tensioning direction and a third direction which is orthogonal to the tensioning direction and a stacking direction of the stacked population of unit cells, and each negative electrode subunit in the population of negative electrode subunits comprises a predetermined position with respect to the other negative electrode subunits in the population in the tensioning direction and the third direction.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein following removal of the portion of the negative electrode subunit members or portion of the positive electrode subunit members, each positive electrode subunit in the population of negative electrode subunits comprises a predetermined position with respect to the other positive electrode subunits in the population in the tensioning direction and the Z direction which is orthogonal to the tensioning direction, or each negative electrode subunit in the population of negative electrode subunits comprises a predetermined position with respect to the other negative electrode subunits in the population in the tensioning direction and the Z direction.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein members of the population of positive electrode subunits each have positive electrode unit centroids, and members of the population of negative electrode subunits each have a negative centroids, and wherein following removal of the portion of the negative electrode subunit members or portion of the positive electrode subunit members, the centroid separation distance between positive electrode subunit centroids in members of the population of positive electrode subunits and negative electrode subunit centroid centroids in members of the population of negative electrode subunits is within a predetermined limit.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the population of negative electrode subunits comprise negative electrode active material layers and population of positive electrode subunits comprise positive electrode active material layers, and wherein following removal of the portion of the negative electrode subunit members or portion of the positive electrode subunit members, the members of the stacked population of unit cells have a centroid separation distance between either or both of negative electrode active material layers and positive electrode active material layers of first and second members of the stacked population of unit cells, and wherein the centroid separation distance between first and second members of the population is the absolute value of the distance between the centroid of the unit cell portion of the negative electrode active material layer of the first member and the centroid of the unit cell portion of the negative electrode active material layer of the second member, or the absolute value of the distance between the centroid of the unit cell portion of the positive electrode active material layer of the first member and the centroid of the unit cell portion of the positive electrode active material layer of the second member, and the centroid distance is within a predetermined limit.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein members of the population of negative electrode subunits or members of the population of positive electrode subunits comprise a layer of sacrificial material having the at least one subunit weakened region therein.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the stacked population is formed by removin

Assignees

• Enovix Corp

Inventors

• Busacca Robert S
• Lahiri Ashok
• Ramasubramanian Murali
• Valdes Bruno A
• Dales Gardner Cameron
• Rust Iii Harrold J
• Varni John F
• Lee Kim Han
• Shah Nirav S
• Contreras Richard J
• Dalton Jeremie J
• Doan Jonathan C
• Armstrong Michael J
• Calcaterra Anthony
• Cardozo Benjamin J
• Winans Joshua David
• Singh Neelam
• Buck Jeffrey Glenn
• Schuerlein Thomas John
• Fortunati Kim Lester
• Sarswat Neal

Classifications

• H01M10/0525

  Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries · CPC title

• Y02P70/50

  Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product · CPC title

• H01M10/0404

  Machines for assembling batteries · CPC title

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title

• H01M10/0585 Primary

  of accumulators having only flat construction elements, i.e. flat positive electrodes, flat negative electrodes and flat separators · CPC title