High voltage capacitor having a dual tantalum anode/cathode current collector electrode assembly housed in a dual separator envelope design

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017148576-A1
Application number	US-201615356727-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 21, 2016
Priority date	Nov 20, 2015
Publication date	May 25, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A capacitor having at least two side-by-side anodes with a cathode current collector disposed between the anodes and housed inside a casing is described. Cathode active material is supported on the opposed major faces of the current collector and the current collector/cathode active material subassembly is housed in a first separator envelope. The first separator envelope is positioned between the side-by-side anodes and this electrode assembly is then contained in a second separator envelope. The two anodes can be connected in parallel inside or outside casing, or they can be unconnected to each other. There is also cathode active material supported on inner surfaces of the casing in a face-to-face alignment with an adjacent one of the anodes. That way, the second separator envelope also prevents direct physical contact between the anode pellets and the cathode active material supported on the casing sidewalls.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A capacitor, comprising:
a) a casing; b) a first anode of a first anode active material housed inside the casing; c) a second anode of a second anode active material housed inside the casing; d) a cathode comprising a cathode current collector disposed between the first and second anodes and having opposed first and second major faces supporting a first cathode active material thereon; e) a first separator envelope housing the cathode current collector supporting the first cathode active material; and f) an electrolyte contacting the cathode and the first and second anodes.

2 . The capacitor of claim 1 wherein the cathode further comprises second and third cathode active materials supported by and in contact with a respective one of a first inner surface of the casing and a second inner surface of the casing, and wherein the second and third cathode active materials are aligned with an adjacent major face of the respective first and second anodes.

3 . The capacitor of claim 2 wherein a second separator is disposed between the second cathode active material and the aligned first anode and a third separator is disposed between the third cathode active material and the second anode.

4 . The capacitor of claim 3 wherein the second and third separators are connected to each other at coincident peripheral margins to form a second separator envelope housing the first separator envelope and the first and second anode.

5 . The capacitor of claim 1 wherein the first anode is electrically connected in parallel to the second anode inside the casing.

6 . The capacitor of claim 5 wherein a feedthrough lead extends outside the casing and is electrically isolated there from by an insulative seal, and wherein the feedthrough lead is electrically connected to the parallel connected first and second anodes to thereby serve as an anode terminal.

7 . The capacitor of claim 6 wherein the insulative seal is a hermetic seal comprising a sealing glass.

8 . The capacitor of claim 6 wherein the insulative seal comprises a polymeric sealing material contacting the feedthrough lead and a ferrule supported in the casing, the insulative seal being devoid of a hermetic sealing glass.

9 . The capacitor of claim 1 wherein the first and second anode active materials are the same or different.

10 . The capacitor of claim 1 wherein the first and second anodes are sintered tantalum pellets that are characterized as having been anodized to a formation voltage that is greater than zero up to 550 V.

11 . The capacitor of claim 1 wherein the first anode is electrically connected in parallel to the second anode outside the casing.

12 . The capacitor of claim 9 wherein the first, second and third cathode active materials comprise ruthenium oxide.

13 . A capacitor, comprising:
a) a casing comprising first and second casing members secured to each other; b) a first anode of a first anode active material housed inside the casing; c) a second anode of a second anode active material housed inside the casing, wherein the first anode is electrically connected in parallel to the second anode inside the casing; d) a cathode comprising a cathode current collector disposed between the first and second anodes and having opposed first and second major faces supporting a first cathode active material thereon; e) a first separator envelope housing the cathode current collector supporting the first cathode active material; f) a feedthrough lead extends outside the casing, wherein the feedthrough lead is electrically isolated there from by an insulative seal, and wherein the feedthrough lead is electrically connected to the parallel connected first and second anodes to thereby serve as an anode terminal; and g) an electrolyte contacting the cathode and the first and second anodes.

14 . The capacitor of claim 13 wherein a second separator envelope houses the cathode current collector disposed between the first and second anodes.

15 . The capacitor of claim 14 wherein the cathode further comprises second and third cathode active materials supported by and in contact with a respective one of a first inner surface of the casing and a second inner surface of the casing, and wherein the second and third cathode active materials are aligned with an adjacent major face of a respective one of the first and second anodes housed in the second separator envelope.

16 . The capacitor of claim 13 wherein the insulative seal is a hermetic seal comprising a sealing glass.

17 . The capacitor of claim 13 wherein the insulative seal comprises a polymeric sealing material contacting the feedthrough lead and a ferrule supported in the casing, but the insulative seal is devoid of a hermetic sealing glass.

18 . The capacitor of claim 13 wherein the first and second anodes comprise tantalum, and wherein the first, second and third cathode active materials comprise ruthenium oxide.

19 . A method for providing a capacitor, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a casing; b) housing a first anode of a first anode active material spaced from a second anode of a second anode active material inside the casing; c) disposing a cathode comprising a cathode current collector between the first and second anodes, the cathode current collector having opposed first and second major current collector faces supporting a first cathode active material thereon; d) housing the cathode current collector supporting the first cathode active material inside a first separator envelope; and e) filling an electrolyte into the casing so that the electrolyte contacts the cathode and the first and second anodes.

20 . The method of claim 19 including providing a second separator envelope housing the cathode current collector disposed between the first and second anodes.

21 . The method of claim 20 including contacting second and third cathode active materials to a respective one of a first inner surface of the casing and a second inner surface of the casing, wherein the second and third cathode active materials are aligned with an adjacent major face of a respective one of the first and second anodes housed in the second separator envelope.

Assignees

• Greatbatch Ltd

Inventors

• Hahl Jason T
• Muffoletto Barry C
• Sutay Todd C
• Dumais Glenn A
• Baumler Wendy J

Classifications

• H01G9/0029

  Processes of manufacture · CPC title

• H01G9/06

  Mounting in containers · CPC title

• H01G9/10

  Sealing, e.g. of lead-in wires · CPC title

• H01G9/02

  Diaphragms; Separators · CPC title

• H01G9/12

  Vents or other means allowing expansion · CPC title