Polymer fused batteries

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9793519-B2
Application number	US-201514820131-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 6, 2015
Priority date	Feb 3, 2012
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

Polymer-fused batteries are provided. The battery includes a casing, an anode coupled to the casing, an electrical source disposed between the casing and the anode, and a fuse. The polymer fuse comprises an electrically-conductive material formulated to decompose upon contact with a bodily fluid.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A battery comprising:
a casing;
an anode coupled to the casing;
an electrical source disposed between the casing and the anode; and
a polymer fuse comprising an electrically-conductive material, said material becoming non-conductive upon contact with a bodily fluid.

2. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the polymer fuse is over at least a portion of the anode, and the electrically-conductive material comprises a block copolymer including a hydrophobic block and a hydrophilic block formulated to provide electrical communication between the anode and the electrical source.

3. The battery of claim 2 , wherein the hydrophobic block has a Formula I:

wherein R is selected from a group consisting of hydrogen, methyl, and trifluoromethyl, and n is an integer from 1 to 500.

4. The battery of claim 3 , wherein the hydrophilic block includes an acrylate ester and has a Formula II:

wherein
R is selected from a group consisting of hydrogen, methyl, and trifluoromethyl,
n is an integer from 1 to 500, and
X is a 2-pyridyl pendant group.

5. The battery of claim 4 , wherein the 2-pyridyl pendant group has Formula III:

and R′ represents the connectivity to the acrylate ester.

6. The battery of claim 5 , wherein:
the 2-pyridyl pendant group further includes one or more groups selected from a group consisting of methyl and haloalkane.

7. The battery of claim 6 , wherein the 2-pyridyl pendant group is selected from a group consisting of

8. The battery of claim 4 , wherein:
X is

Y is selected from a group consisting of hydrogen and methyl, and
Z is selected from a group consisting of hydrogen and methyl, and Y and Z can be connected to form a ring.

9. The battery of claim 1 , further comprising an anode cap disposed over the anode, wherein the polymer fuse is formed over the anode cap.

10. The battery of claim 1 , further comprising a grid disposed over the polymer fuse.

11. The battery of claim 10 , wherein the grid comprises a conductive material.

12. The battery of claim 11 , wherein the conductive material comprises a material selected from a group consisting of chromed iron, copper, and stainless steel.

13. A battery comprising:
a casing;
an anode coupled to the casing;
an anode cap coupled to the casing and anode;
an electrical source disposed between the casing and the anode cap;
a polymer fuse over at least a portion of the anode cap, the polymer fuse comprising an electrically-conductive material formulated to at least partially decompose upon contact with a bodily fluid and to provide electrical communication between the anode cap and the electrical source when the polymer fuse is intact; and
a protective grid disposed on the polymer fuse.

14. The battery of claim 13 , wherein the polymer fuse is over at least a portion of the anode, and the electrically-conductive material comprises a block copolymer including a hydrophobic block and a hydrophilic block formulated to provide electrical communication between the anode and the electrical source.

15. The battery of claim 13 , wherein:
the hydrophobic block has a Formula I:

wherein R is selected from a group consisting of hydrogen, methyl, and trifluoromethyl, and n is an integer from 1 to 500, and
the hydrophilic block has a Formula II:

wherein R is selected from a group consisting of hydrogen, methyl, and trifluoromethyl, n is an integer from 1 to 500, and X is a 2-pyridyl pendant group.

16. A method of manufacturing a battery comprising:
providing a casing, an anode coupled to the casing, and an electrical source disposed between the casing and the anode; and
forming a polymer fuse, the polymer fuse comprising an electrically-conductive material formulated to at least partially decompose upon contact with a bodily fluid.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the step of providing comprises providing an anode cap over the anode, the anode cap coupled to the casing, and the step of forming a polymer fuse comprises coating the anode cap with the electrically-conductive material to provide electrical communication between the anode and the electrical source when the polymer fuse is intact.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising placing a protective grid over the polymer fuse.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the step of forming includes spin-applying the polymer fuse over the anode cap.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the electrically-conductive material comprises a block copolymer material including a hydrophobic block and a hydrophilic block.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the step of forming includes self-assembling the block copolymer material by implementing a standard curing technique.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Dipietro Richard A
• Fleischman Thomas J
• Hutzler Richard
• Maddern Keith B
• Smith Jr William M

Classifications

• H01M50/583

  in response to current, e.g. fuses · CPC title

• Y10T29/49115

  including coating or impregnating · CPC title

• H01M2/34

  Electricity · mapped topic

• Y10T29/49117

  Conductor or circuit manufacturing · CPC title

• H01M2200/103

  Fuse · CPC title