Stacking-type secondary battery providing two or more operation voltages

• US 8,383,262 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2012
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Energy Solution Limited (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Chem Limited (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Park, Hey Woong, Hong, Seungtaek, Hwang, Ra Young, Yu, Jisang, Namgoong, John E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cantelmo, Gregg
• Application Number:
  US13/343,302
• Publication Number:
  US 20120121964A1
• Time in Patent Office: 419 Days
• Field of Search: 429152-154, 429/156
• US Class Current: 429/154
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0413 Large-sized flat cells or batteries for motive or stationary systems with plate-like electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0418 with bipolar electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/51 Connection only in series
• 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 a lithium secondary battery comprising a battery cell formed by stacking a plurality of full cells having a structure of cathode/separator/anode or bicells having a structure of cathode(anode)/separator/anode(cathode)/separator/cathode (anode), as a unit electrode assembly, wherein (i) a cathode active material or (ii) an anode active material or (iii) a cathode active material and an anode active material in two or more unit electrode assemblies are configured to have a different composition to induce a voltage difference and separate electrode terminals are installed in a battery case according to the voltage difference to thereby simultaneously provide two or more voltages by a single battery.

Claims

1. A lithium secondary battery comprising a battery cell formed by stacking a plurality of full cells or bicells, each full cell having a structure of cathode/separator/anode as a unit electrode assembly, and each bicell having a structure of cathode(anode)/separator/anode(cathode)/separator/cathode(anode) as a unit electrode assembly, wherein (i) a cathode active material or (ii) an anode active material or (iii) a cathode active material and an anode active material in two or more unit electrode assemblies are configured to have a different composition to induce at least one voltage difference between two or more voltages, each of the two or more voltages provided by a different one of the two or more unit electrode assemblies and separate electrode terminals are installed in a battery case according to the at least one voltage difference to thereby simultaneously provide the two or more voltages in a single battery.

2. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the battery comprises a battery cell consisting of two full cells having a different composition of an active material.

3. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the battery comprises a battery cell consisting of a combination of a first bicell where electrodes positioned on both ends of the first bicell are cathodes and a second bicell where electrodes positioned on both ends of the second bicell are anodes, the first and second bicells having a different composition of an active material.

4. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the at least one voltage difference is set within the range of 3.35 to 3.95 V.

5. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the cathode active materials of the lithium secondary battery are selected from active materials having a potential difference of 3.4 to 4.0 V relative to lithium.

6. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the anode active materials of the lithium secondary battery are selected from active materials having a potential difference of 0 to 1.6 V relative to lithium.

7. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the two or more unit electrode assemblies are arranged by alternate arrangement having a sequentially and alternately arranged structure of electrode assembly units, or block arrangement having a co-stacked structure of the same kinds of unit electrode assemblies, or random arrangement having a randomly stacked structure of electrode assembly units.

8. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein upon using two different unit electrode assemblies, the cathode and anode terminals of a first unit electrode assembly are installed on a top of the battery case, and the cathode and anode terminals of a second unit electrode assembly are installed on a bottom of the battery case.

9. The lithium secondary battery according to claim 8, wherein upon using four different unit electrode assemblies, the cathode and anode terminals of a third and fourth unit electrode assemblies are installed on both lateral sides of the battery case.

10. The secondary lithium battery according to claim 1, wherein upon using two different unit electrode assemblies, the respective cathode terminals of a first unit electrode assembly and a second unit electrode assembly are installed in a spaced state from one another on a top of the battery case, and the respective anode terminals of the unit electrode assemblies are installed in a spaced state from one another on a bottom of the battery case.