Electrodes configured for high energy density galvanic cells

• US 5,667,909 A
• Filed: 06/23/1995
• Issued: 09/16/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Saft America, Inc. (Totalenergies Se)
• Original Assignee: Power Conversion, Inc.
• Inventors: Rodriguez, Pedro, Lenkiewicz, Andrew, Biegger, Dennis
• Primary Examiner(s): KALAFUT, STEPHEN J
• Application Number:
  US08/481,037
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 429/94, 429/127, 429/160, 429/161, 429/136, 29/623.3
• US Class Current: 429/127
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/10 with wound or folded electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/16 with organic electrolyte H01M6/18 takes precedence

Abstract

A high density cell stack is provided utilizing a flexible cathode material having at least four sections in the form of a rectangle and flexible anode materials folded over each other at right angles. A suitable anode material is lithium and a suitable cathode material is manganese dioxide. The disclosed cell stacks are rapidly manufactured to provide high density cells with good mechanical stability and good stability against shorting.

Claims

1. An electrochemical cell stack comprising:

(a) a segmented cathode material comprising four sections in the form of a rectangle, said four sections being connected together at their inner adjacent corners with a flexible current collector material;

(b) a strip of anode material including a current collector having flexibility sufficient to permit the strip to be folded over onto itself; and

(c) non-conductive porous separator means comprising an electrolyte positioned between said cathode material and anode strip to prevent electrical contact between said cathode material and anode strip, said anode strip and cathode material being folded over onto each other at right angles to each other to provide a cell stack.

2. The cell stack of claim 1 wherein said cathode material is in a square configuration to provide four cathode sections and said cathode sections being separated by said separator means from four layers of anode material.

3. The cell stack of claim 1 wherein said cathode material is in an H-configuration whereby each of said four sections has a first and an end segment, the end segment of each section being folded over onto the first segment, and thereafter said anode strip and cathode material are folded over each other to provide said cell stack.

4. The cell stack of claim 1 wherein said non-conductive flexible separator material is a porous polymeric material.

5. The cell stack of claim 4 wherein said non-conductive flexible separator material is in the form of an envelope.

6. The cell stack of claim 1 wherein said anode is lithium.

7. The cell stack of claim 6 wherein said lithium anode is a laminate comprising in order a first lithium foil layer, a copper current collector strip and a second lithium foil layer.

8. The cell stack of claim 7 wherein said cathode material comprises manganese dioxide as the active material.

9. The cell stack of claim 1 wherein the electrolyte is a liquid electrolyte.