Electrical-energy-storage unit (EESU) utilizing ceramic and integrated-circuit technologies for replacement of electrochemical batteries

• US 20040071944A1
• Filed: 04/12/2001
• Published: 04/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eestor Inc. (FuelPositive Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Eestor Inc. (FuelPositive Corp.)
• Inventors: Weir, Richard Dean, Nelson, Carl Walter
• Granted Patent: US 7,033,406 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/209
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 3/22 for producing castings from a slip
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 7/06 of composite workpieces or articles from parts, e.g. to form tipped tools B22F7/002 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/36 Glass starting materials for making ceramics, e.g. silica glass
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/6025 Tape casting, e.g. with a doctor blade
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/656 characterised by specific heating conditions during heat treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/468 based on barium titanates
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/62802 Powder coating materials
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/62813 Alumina or aluminates
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/62894 with more than one coating layer
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/62897 Coatings characterised by their thickness
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/012 Form of non-self-supporting electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/1227 based on alkaline earth titanates
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/30 Stacked capacitors H01G4/33 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49108 Electric battery cell making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49115 including coating or impregnating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24917 including metal layer

Abstract

An electrical-energy-storage unit (EESU) has as a basis material a high-permittivity composition-modified barium titanate ceramic powder. This powder is double coated with the first coating being aluminum oxide and the second coating calcium magnesium aluminosilicate glass. The components of the EESU are manufactured with the use of classical ceramic fabrication techniques which include screen printing alternating multilayers of nickel electrodes and high-permittivitiy composition-modified barium titanate powder, sintering to a closed-pore porous body, followed by hot-isostatic pressing to a void-free body.

The components are configured into a multilayer array with the use of a solder-bump technique as the enabling technology so as to provide a parallel configuration of components that has the capability to store electrical energy in the range of 52 kW·h. The total weight of an EESU with this range of electrical energy storage is about 336 pounds.

Claims

1. An electrical-energy-storage unit comprising of components containing;

calcined composition-modified barium titanate powder with;

a first uniform coating of 100 Å

of aluminum oxide; and

a second uniform coating of 100 Å

of calcium magnesium aluminosilicate glass; and

screen-printed into interleaved multilayers of preferentially aligned nickel electrode layers 12 and double-coated calcined composition-modified barium titanate high-relative-permittivity layers 11 with the use of screening inks having the proper rheology for each of the layers; and

dry and cut the green multilayer components 15 into a specified area; and

sinter the green multilayer components 15 to closed-pore porous ceramic bodies; and

hot isostatically press the closed-pore porous ceramic bodies into a void-free condition; and

grind and polish each side of the component to expose the preferentially aligned interleaved nickel electrodes 12; and

nickel side bars 14 are connected to each side of the components 15 that have the interleaved and preferentially aligned nickel electrodes 12 exposed by applying nickel ink with the proper rheology to each side and clamping the combinations together; and

components and side nickel bar combination 14-15 are then heated at the proper temperature and time duration to bond them together; and

wave solder each side of the conducting bars; and

components 15 with the connected nickel side bars 14 are then assembled into the first array, FIG. 3, utilizing unique tooling and solder-bump technology; and

the first arrays are then assembled into the second array, FIG. 4; and

the second arrays are then assembled into the EESU final assembly

2. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that will not degrade due to being fully charged or discharged.

3. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that has the capability to be rapidly charged without incurring any damage or degrading the specifications to the components.

4. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that due to the unique double coating of the basis particles and the hot isostatic pressing at the near-minimum-temperature viscous-flow condition of the glass, a dielectric voltage breakdown strength in the range of 1×

10⁶ to 5×

10⁶ V/cm or higher is allowed across the terminals of the components in this double-array configuration, FIG. 4.

5. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that has an ease of manufacturing due to the softening temperature of the calcium magnesium aluminosilicate glass allowing the relatively low hot-isostatic-pressing temperature of 800°

C. which in turn will provide a void-free ceramic body.

6. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that has an ease of manufacturing due to the softening temperature of the calcium magnesium aluminosilicate glass allowing the relatively low hot-isostatic-pressing temperature of 800°

C. which in turn will allow the use of nickel for the conduction-path electrodes.

7. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that has an ease of manufacturing due to the softening temperature of the calcium magnesium aluminosilicate glass allowing the relatively low hot-isostatic-pressing temperature of 800°

C. This feature along with the coating method providing a uniform-thickness shell of the calcium magnesium aluminosilicate glass in turn will provide a hot-isostatic-pressed double-coated composition-modified barium titanate high-relative-permittivity layer that is uniform and homogeneous in microstructure.

8. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that due to the double coating of the basis particles has reduced the leakage and aging of this material by an order of magnitude of the specification of the basis material or lower. This will reduce the discharge rate to 0.1% per 30 days or lower;

and

9. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that the relatively low 800°

C. hot-isostatic-pressing temperature allows nickel to be used as the electrode material rather than expensive platinum, palladium, or palladium-silver alloy.

10. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that due to the unique double-layered array configuration, FIG. 4, can store up to 52,220 W·

h of electrical energy or more depending on the size of the arrays or the value of the relative permittivity.

11. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that does not have any material that is explosive, corrosive, or hazardous.

12. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that can supply electrical energy to electrical vehicles, which include bicycles, tractors, buses, cars, or any device used for transportation or to perform work, that is not explosive, corrosive, or hazardous.

13. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that can store electrical energy from electrical-energy-delivery systems and then be used to supply electrical energy to residential, commercial, industrial applications and the present power grid that is not explosive, corrosive, or hazardous.

14. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that can store electrical energy from electrical-energy-delivery systems and then be transported to a required location and be used as a source of electrical energy that is not explosive, corrosive, or hazardous.

15. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that can supply electrical energy to portable electronic devices such as computers, radios, television sets, cameras, refrigerators, phones, lights, and other such devices.

16. An electrical-energy-storage unit as recited in claim 1 that can supply electrical energy to remote devices such as microwave repeaters, phones, traffic signals, recreational equipment, lighting systems, camping equipment, farming equipment, and other such devices.