Variable layer thickness in curved battery cell

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9837682-B1
Application number	US-201615250628-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Aug 29, 2016
Priority date	Aug 29, 2016
Publication date	Dec 5, 2017
Grant date	Dec 5, 2017

Abstract

Examples are disclosed herein that relate to curved batteries. One example provides a battery comprising an anode arranged on an anode substrate, a cathode arranged on a cathode substrate, the anode substrate being curved at a first curvature and the cathode substrate being curved at a second curvature, and a separator between the anode and the cathode. A thickness of the anode substrate and a thickness of the cathode substrate are determined based on the curvature of the respective substrate, such that the one of the anode substrate and the cathode substrate with a larger curvature has a larger thickness.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A battery, comprising:
an anode arranged on an anode substrate;
a cathode arranged on a cathode substrate, the anode substrate being curved at a first curvature and the cathode substrate being curved at a second curvature; and
a separator between the anode and the cathode,
wherein a thickness of the anode substrate and a thickness of the cathode substrate are determined based on the first curvature and the second curvature, respectively, such that the thickness of the anode substrate is larger than the thickness of the cathode substrate, and the first curvature is larger than the second curvature.

2. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the anode substrate is between 2 and 18 μm.

3. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the cathode substrate is between 4 and 26 μm.

4. The battery of claim 1 , wherein
the anode is one of a plurality of anodes each arranged on a respective anode substrate,
the cathode is one of a plurality of cathodes each arranged on a respective cathode substrate,
the separator is one of a plurality of separators each arranged between a respective anode-cathode pair, the battery further comprising:
a plurality of anode tabs, each anode tab coupled to a respective anode of the plurality of anodes, the plurality of anode tabs coupled together to form a battery anode tab; and
a plurality of cathode tabs, each cathode tab coupled to a respective cathode of the plurality of cathodes, the plurality of cathode tabs coupled together to form a battery cathode tab.

5. The battery of claim 4 , wherein a thickness of a first cell formed of a first anode-cathode pair, a first anode substrate, a first cathode substrate, and a first separator is greater than a thickness of a second cell formed of a second anode-cathode pair, a second anode substrate, a second cathode substrate, and a second separator, a curvature of the first cell being greater than a curvature of the second cell.

6. The battery of claim 5 , wherein
a ratio of a curvature of an anode of the first anode-cathode pair to a thickness of the first anode substrate is substantially equal to a ratio of a curvature of an anode of the second anode-cathode pair to a thickness of the second anode substrate, and
a ratio of a curvature of a cathode of the first anode-cathode pair to a thickness of the first cathode substrate is substantially equal to a ratio of a curvature of a cathode of the second anode-cathode pair to a thickness of the second cathode substrate.

7. The battery of claim 5 , wherein a thickness of the first separator is greater than a thickness of the second separator.

8. The battery of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the anode differs from a thickness of the cathode.

9. The battery of claim 1 , wherein
the anode substrate is comprised of copper, and
the cathode substrate is comprised of aluminum.

10. A method of manufacturing a battery, comprising:
manufacturing two substrates to form an anode substrate curved at a first curvature and a cathode substrate curved at a second curvature, a thickness of the anode substrate being larger than a thickness of the cathode substrate, and the first curvature being larger than the second curvature;
arranging an anode on the anode substrate;
arranging a cathode on the cathode substrate;
insulating the anode from the cathode with a separator; and
providing tabs respectively coupled to the anode and the cathode.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the thickness of the anode substrate is between 2 and 18 μm.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the thickness of the cathode substrate is between 4 and 26 μm.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the battery is one of a plurality of cells manufactured according to the method of claim 10 , the method further comprising:
coupling together each of the tabs coupled to the anode of a respective cell to form a battery anode tab; and
coupling together each of the tabs coupled to the cathode of a respective cell to form a battery cathode tab.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein a thickness of a first cell formed of a first anode-cathode pair, a first anode substrate, a first cathode substrate, and a first separator is greater than a thickness of a second cell formed of a second anode-cathode pair, a second anode substrate, a second cathode substrate, and a second separator, a curvature of the first cell being greater than a curvature of the second cell.

15. A portable electronic device, comprising:
a housing including a curved portion;
a curved display; and
a curved battery electrically coupled to the display, the battery comprising:
an anode arranged on an anode substrate;
a cathode arranged on a cathode substrate, the anode substrate being curved at a first curvature and the cathode substrate being curved at a second curvature; and
a separator between the anode and the cathode,
wherein a thickness of the anode substrate and a thickness of the cathode substrate are determined based on the first curvature and the second curvature, respectively, such that the thickness of the anode substrate is larger than the thickness of the cathode substrate, and the first curvature is larger than the second curvature.

16. The portable electronic device of claim 15 , wherein
the curved battery is one of a plurality of curved batteries, and
a total thickness of the plurality of curved batteries is between 20 μm and 80 μm.

17. The portable electronic device of claim 15 , wherein
the portable electronic device is a smartphone, and
the curved battery is arranged in the curved portion of the housing.

18. The portable electronic device of claim 15 , wherein
the portable electronic device is a head-mounted display device, and
the curved battery is arranged in the curved portion of the housing.

19. A battery, comprising:
an anode arranged on an anode substrate;
a cathode arranged on a cathode substrate, the anode substrate being curved at a first curvature and the cathode substrate being curved at a second curvature; and
a separator between the anode and the cathode,
wherein a thickness of the anode substrate and a thickness of the cathode substrate are determined based on the first curvature and the second curvature, respectively, such that the thickness of the cathode substrate is larger than the thickness of the anode substrate, and the second curvature is larger than the first curvature.

20. The battery of claim 19 , wherein the thickness of the anode substrate is between 2 and 18 μm.

21. The battery of claim 19 , wherein the thickness of the cathode substrate is between 4 and 26 μm.

22. The battery of claim 19 , wherein
the anode is one of a plurality of anodes each arranged on a respective anode substrate,
the cathode is one of a plurality of cathodes each arranged on a respective cathode substrate,
the separator is one of a plurality of separators each arranged between a respective anode-cathode pair, the battery further comprising:
a plurality of anode tabs, each anode tab coupled to a respective anode of the plurality of anodes, the plurality of anode tabs coupled together to form a battery anode tab; and
a plurality of cathode tabs, each cathode tab coupled to a respective cathode of the plurality of cathodes, the plurality of cathode tabs coupled together to form a battery cathode tab.

23. The battery of claim 22 , wherein a thickness of a first cell formed of a first anode-cathode pair, a first ano

Assignees

• Nikkhoo Michael
• Boovaragavan Vijayasekaran
• Zeng Dongli
• Lin Tzu-Yuan
• Collins John Christopher
• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Nikkhoo Michael
• Boovaragavan Vijayasekaran
• Zeng Dongli
• Lin Tzu-Yuan
• Collins John Christopher

Classifications

• H05K5/0017

  with operator interface units · CPC title

• H01M2004/021

  Physical characteristics, e.g. porosity, surface area · CPC title

• H01M2/1673

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01M2/18

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01M10/0436 Primary

  Small-sized flat cells or batteries for portable equipment · CPC title