Rechargeable battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9627677-B2
Application number	US-201213469186-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 11, 2012
Priority date	Dec 23, 2011
Publication date	Apr 18, 2017
Grant date	Apr 18, 2017

Abstract

A battery includes a plurality of electrode assemblies arranged in a case, each electrode assembly including a first electrode, a second electrode and a separator between the first electrode and the second electrode, and an interior safety member including an interior plate between the electrode assemblies, the interior safety member being electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of electrode assemblies.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A battery, comprising:
a plurality of electrode assemblies arranged in a case, each electrode assembly consisting essentially of a first electrode, a second electrode and a separator between the first electrode and the second electrode; and
an interior safety member in the case, the interior safety member including an interior plate that extends between adjacent ones of the electrode assemblies so as to separate the adjacent ones of the electrode assemblies from each other, the interior plate including oppositely facing surfaces located between outer side surfaces of the adjacent ones of the electrode assemblies, the interior safety member including an insulation film that physically contacts the outer side surfaces of the adjacent ones of the electrode assemblies and insulates the oppositely facing surfaces of the interior plate from the outer side surfaces of the adjacent ones of the electrode assemblies, and the interior safety member further including a first connection portion extending from the interior plate and electrically connected to the second electrode of one of the adjacent ones of the electrode assemblies and a second connection portion extending from the interior plate and electrically connected to the second electrode of an other one of the adjacent electrode assemblies,
wherein:
the plurality of electrode assemblies includes a first electrode assembly at one outermost side of the plurality of electrode assemblies and a second electrode assembly at another outermost side of the plurality of electrode assemblies, and
the battery further includes:
a first end safety member including a first end plate between the first electrode assembly and a first inner side of the case, and
a second end safety member including a second end plate between the second electrode assembly and a second inner side of the case.

2. The battery as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
the second electrode of each of the electrode assemblies includes an active material coated on a metal plate, and
the metal plate of the second electrode and the interior plate of the interior safety member are formed of a same metal.

3. The battery as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the metal plate of the second electrode and the interior plate of the interior safety member are formed of copper.

4. The battery as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the first electrode, second electrode and separator of each electrode assembly are wound or stacked together such that an outermost facing electrode of each electrode assembly is the second electrode.

5. The battery as claimed in claim 4 , wherein:
the first electrode and the second electrode of each electrode assembly respectively include a first electrode uncoated region and a second electrode uncoated region.

6. The battery as claimed in claim 5 , wherein:
the first connection portion projects from an end of the interior plate to electrically connect to the second electrode uncoated region of the one of the adjacent ones of the electrode assemblies and the second connection portion projects from the end of the interior plate to electrically connect to the second electrode uncoated region of the other of the adjacent ones of the electrode assemblies.

7. The battery as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the first connection portion and the second connection portion extend from the end of the interior plate along an entire height of the interior plate.

8. The battery as claimed in claim 6 , wherein:
the first connection portion and the second connection portion each extend from the end of the interior plate along only a part of an entire height of the interior plate, and
the first connection portion and the second connection portion are spaced apart from each other in a height direction of the interior plate.

9. The battery as claimed in claim 6 , wherein:
the first connection portion and the second connection portion of the connection portion have a continuous, serpentine configuration, and
the connection portion includes a connection plate connecting the first connection portion and the second connection portion.

10. The battery as claimed in claim 6 , wherein:
the battery includes more than two of the electrode assemblies and a plurality of the interior safety members.

11. The battery as claimed in claim 6 , wherein:
the oppositely facing surfaces of the interior plate have a length and height that substantially correspond to a length and height of the outer side surfaces of the adjacent ones of the electrode assemblies.

12. The battery as claimed in claim 6 , wherein:
the first end safety member further includes a first end connection portion electrically connected to the second electrode uncoated region of the first electrode assembly, and
the second end safety member further includes and a second end connection portion electrically connected to the second electrode uncoated region of the second electrode assembly.

13. The battery as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the first end plate and the second end plate are made of copper.

14. The battery as claimed in claim 12 , wherein:
the first end plate and the second end plate each include a facing surface that faces a respective one of the first end one and the second end one of the electrode assemblies, and
the first end plate and the second end plate each have a length and height that substantially correspond to a length and height of the electrode assemblies.

15. The battery as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the first end safety member and the second end safety member each include an insulation film that electrically insulates the facing surface of the first end plate and the second end plate from the respective one of the first end one and the second end one of the electrode assemblies.

16. The battery as claimed in claim 15 , wherein:
the first electrode of the electrode assemblies is electrically connected to the case, and
the second electrode of the electrode assemblies, the interior safety member, the first end safety member and the second end safety member are electrically insulated from the case.

17. The battery as claimed in claim 16 , further including:
a first electrode terminal,
a first current collector electrically connecting the first electrode terminal and the first electrode,
a second electrode terminal, and
a second current collector electrically connecting the second electrode terminal and the second electrode.

18. The battery as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
the case is in a form of a rectangular parallelpiped having two wide sides opposite each other, two narrow sides opposite each other and connecting the two wide sides, a bottom side connected to the two narrow sides and the two wide sides, and an opening at an end opposite to the bottom side, the opening being sealed by a cap plate, the cap plate including a vent member including a notch that is fracturable in response to a predetermined pressure inside the case and an electrolyte injection hole through which an electrolyte is injected into the battery case, the electrolyte injection hole being sealable by a sealing plug,
the first electrode, second electrode and separator of each electrode assembly are spirally wound and compressed to form the outer side surfaces of the electrode assembly as planar surfaces on opposite sides of the electrode assembly, the planar surfaces being connected to each other by curved portions, the electrode assemblies being disposed in the case such that the planar surfaces of the electrode assemblies are parallel to each other and parallel to the wid

Assignees

• Kim In
• Kim Duk-Jung
• Kim Joong-Heon
• Samsung Sdi Co Ltd
• Bosch Gmbh Robert

Inventors

• Kim In
• Kim Duk-Jung
• Kim Joong-Heon

Classifications

• H01M50/528 Primary

  Fixed electrical connections, i.e. not intended for disconnection · CPC title

• H01M50/593

  Spacers; Insulating plates · CPC title

• H01M50/586

  inside the batteries, e.g. incorrect connections of electrodes · CPC title

• H01M50/103

  prismatic or rectangular (H01M50/109, H01M50/11 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01M50/572 Primary

  Means for preventing undesired use or discharge · CPC title