Printed circuit board with integrated thin film battery

• US 10,080,291 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2016
• Issued: 09/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sapurast Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Sapurast Research LLC
• Inventors: Neudecker, Bernd J., Keating, Joseph A.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HOA CAO
• Application Number:
  US15/347,705
• Publication Number:
  US 20170064836A1
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0436 Small-sized flat cells or batteries for portable equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/30 Batteries in portable systems, e.g. mobile phone, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/40 Printed batteries , e.g. thin film batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0313 Organic insulating material
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/16 incorporating printed electric components, e.g. printed resistor, capacitor, inductor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/185 Components encapsulated in the insulating substrate of the printed circuit or incorporated in internal layers of a multilayer circuit semiconductor chips encapsulated by interconnect and support structures H01L23/5389, H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10037 Printed or non-printed battery
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/2036 Permanent spacer or stand-off in a printed circuit or printed circuit assembly pattern for applying drops or paste H05K2203/0545
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

The present invention relates to, for example, printed circuit boards having a thin film battery or other electrochemical cell between or within its layer or layers. The present invention also relates to, for example, electrochemical cells within a layer stack of a printed circuit board.

Claims

1. A printed circuit board comprising:

a printed circuit board (PCB) layer stack having two outer electrically insulating layers, with conductor traces being formed on an outer surface of one or both of said two outer electrically insulating layers;

an electrochemical cell inserted in said PCB layer stack between said two outer electrically insulating layers of the PCB layer stack, wherein said electrochemical cell is in direct contact with each of said two outer electrically insulating layers of said PCB layer stack;

a spacer between the two outer electrically insulating layers; and

a void space provided in a gap located at an edge of said electrochemical cell, the gap of the void space directly defined by the spacer, said electrochemical cell and the two outer electrically insulating layers.

2. The printed circuit board of claim 1, wherein the spacer is a different material than materials of both of the two outer electrically insulating layers of the PCB layer stack and is a different material than any material of the electrochemical cell.

3. The printed circuit board of claim 1, wherein said spacer connects one of said two outer electrically insulating layers of the PCB layer stack to the other of said two outer electrically insulating layers of the PCB layer stack.

4. The printed circuit board of claim 1, further comprising an embedded conductor in electrical connection with said electrochemical cell, said embedded conductor being externally accessible at an edge of at least one of the two outer electrically insulating layers of the PCB layer stack.

5. The printed circuit board of claim 1, wherein the PCB layer stack is planar.

6. A printed circuit board comprising:

a printed circuit board (PCB) layer stack having a plurality of layers which include two outer electrically insulating layers;

wherein at least one of the two outer electrically insulating layers of the PCB layer stack comprises an insulator material disposed in an epoxy material;

an electrochemical cell embedded between said two outer electrically insulating layers of said PCB layer stack;

two spacers between the two outer electrically insulating layers;

a conductive layer extending along a surface of one of the two outer electrically insulating layers and in direct contact with the electrochemical cell and each of the two spacers, the conductive layer externally accessible between the one of the two outer electrically insulating layers and a respective spacer; and

two gaps of void space located at two edges of said electrochemical cell, the two gaps of void space defined by a respective spacer, said electrochemical cell, another of the two outer electrically insulating layers, and the conductive layer.

7. The printed circuit board of claim 6, wherein the two spacers are each a different material than materials of both of the two outer electrically insulating layers of the PCB layer stack and are each a different material than any material of the electrochemical cell.

8. The printed circuit board of claim 6, further comprising a wire bond, wherein said conductive layer is in electrical connection with said electrochemical cell through said wire bond.

9. A printed circuit board comprising:

a printed circuit board (PCB) layer stack having two outer electrically insulating layers, with conductor traces being formed on an outer surface of one or both of said two outer electrically insulating layers;

an electrochemical cell inserted in said PCB layer stack directly between and in contact with said two outer electrically insulating layers of the PCB layer stack, wherein said electrochemical cell is embedded between said two outer electrically insulating layers of said PCB layer stack; and

a gap of space located at an edge of the electrochemical cell, the gap of space defined only by the electrochemical cell and the two outer electrically insulating layers that wrap around the electrochemical cell until the two outer electrically insulating layers contact each other to seal the gap of space and the electrochemical cell.