Secondary battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9761859-B2
Application number	US-201414341661-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2014
Priority date	Oct 8, 2013
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

A secondary battery includes an electrode assembly, a battery case, and a cap assembly. The electrode assembly includes first and second electrodes. The battery case accommodates the electrode assembly therein and has an opened surface. The cap assembly seals the battery case and includes first and second terminal portions coupled to the respective first and second electrodes. In the secondary battery, at least one of the first and second terminal portions is coupled to a variable member including a plurality of variable plates. Accordingly, the path and resistance of current may be varied in the secondary battery, so that it is possible to reduce or prevent generation of heat caused by overcurrent. Thus, it may be possible to reduce or prevent an explosion and fire of the battery, thereby improving the safety of the battery.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A secondary battery comprising:
an electrode assembly comprising first and second electrodes;
a battery case accommodating the electrode assembly therein, the battery case having an opened surface;
a cap assembly sealing the battery case, the cap assembly comprising a cap plate, a first through-portion extending through the cap plate, and first and second terminal portions outside of the battery case, the first and second terminal portions respectively coupled to the first and second electrodes, the first terminal portion being connected to the first electrode via the first through-portion; and
a variable member comprising a plurality of variable plates between the cap plate and one of the first and second terminal portions, at least one of the variable plates having an electrically insulative coating on a portion of an upper or lower surface thereof.

2. The secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of variable plates are a stacked structure.

3. The secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein each of the variable plates has a through-hole at a center thereof and extending through the variable plate.

4. The secondary battery of claim 3 ,
wherein the at least one of the variable plates has a coating portion without an electrically insulative coating at an other portion the upper or lower surface of the at least one of the variable plates adjacent the portion thereof having the electrically insulative coating.

5. The secondary battery of claim 4 , wherein the at least one of the variable plates has the electrically insulative coating at both the upper and lower surfaces thereof, and
wherein the electrically insulative coating at the upper surface and the electrically insulative coating at the lower surface of the at least one of the variable plates are at non-overlapping positions in a direction from the upper surface toward the lower surface.

6. The secondary battery of claim 5 , wherein the electrically insulative coating on the upper surface of the at least one of the variable plates is at one portion around the through-hole thereof, and
wherein the electrically insulative coating on the lower surface of the at least one of the variable plates is at an other portion around the through-hole thereof.

7. The secondary battery of claim 4 , wherein the electrically insulative coating comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of vinyl, rubber, polyethylene, germanium, silicon, silica, epoxy, polymer, alumina, magnesia, and selenium.

8. The secondary battery of claim 4 , wherein the at least one of the variable plates has at least one insulating opening in the electrically insulative coating and extending through the at least one of the variable plates.

9. The secondary battery of claim 4 , wherein the at least one of the variable plates has at least one cut-away portion at the portion thereof having the electrically insulative coating.

10. The secondary battery of claim 9 , wherein the cut-away portion opens one end portion of the electrically insulative coating at a side of the at least one of the variable plates.

11. The secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the battery case and the first terminal portion have a positive polarity, and
wherein the variable member is coupled to a lower portion of the first terminal portion and has the positive polarity.

12. The secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the variable member is a structure in which first, second, and third variable plates are stacked.

13. The secondary battery of claim 12 , wherein the first, second, and third variable plates comprise at least one material selected from the group consisting of carbon (C), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), chrome (Cr), silicon (Si), manganese (Mn), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S).

14. The secondary battery of claim 13 , wherein the first, second, and third variable plates comprise different materials.

15. The secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the variable member further comprises a conductive member between two of the variable plates.

16. A secondary battery comprising:
an electrode assembly comprising first and second electrodes;
a battery case accommodating the electrode assembly therein, the battery case having an opened surface;
a cap assembly comprising a cap plate sealing the battery case, a first terminal, a through-portion electrically coupling the first electrode to the first terminal, and an insulator surrounding a periphery of the through-portion; and
a plurality of variable plates stacked between the cap plate and the first terminal, the variable plates being stacked in a direction from the cap plate toward the first terminal, each of the variable plates having an opening extending therethrough in the stacking direction, the through-portion and the insulator extending through the openings of the variable plates, at least one of an upper surface and a lower surface of one of the variable plates being partially coated with an electrically insulative material such that a remaining portion of the at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the one of the variable plates is exposed.

17. The secondary battery of claim 16 , wherein both the upper surface and the lower surface of the one of the variable plates are partially coated with the electrically insulative material, and
wherein the electrically insulative material is coated on a first portion of the upper surface with respect to the opening therein, and the electrically insulative material is coated on a second portion of the lower surface with respect to the opening, the first and second portions being offset from each other in a cross-sectional view along the stacking direction.

18. The secondary battery of claim 16 , wherein the electrically insulative material comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of vinyl, rubber, polyethylene, germanium, silicon, silica, epoxy, polymer, alumina, magnesia, and selenium.

Assignees

• Samsung Sdi Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Hyun-Chul
• Soh Hyun

Classifications

• H01M50/15 Primary

  for prismatic or rectangular cells (H01M50/153 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M2200/00

  Safety devices for primary or secondary batteries · CPC title

• H01M50/591 Primary

  Covers · CPC title

• H01M50/176

  for prismatic or rectangular cells (H01M50/181 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M50/186

  characterised by the disposition of the sealing members · CPC title