Electric device having a round corner and including a secondary battery

• US 9,484,560 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Energy Solution Limited (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Chem Limited (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kwon, Sungjin, Kim, Dong-Myung, Kim, Ki Woong
• Primary Examiner(s): Alejandro, Raymond
• Application Number:
  US13/838,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20140227573A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,327 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/105 Pouches or flexible bags
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/107 having curved cross-section, e.g. round or elliptic H01M50/103, H01M50/109, H01M50/11 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

An electric device has a curved structure formed at at least one position of an outside thereof. At least one secondary battery having an external appearance corresponding to a shape of the curved structure is mounted at the position of the electric device at which the curved structure is formed. The secondary battery is a battery cell having an electrode assembly including a cathode, an anode, and a separator disposed between the cathode and the anode mounted in a battery case or a battery pack having the battery cell mounted in a pack case.

Claims

1. An electric device having a curved structure formed at at least one position of an outside thereof,

wherein at least one secondary battery being configured to substantially conform to a shape of the curved structure is mounted at the position of the electric device at which the curved structure is formed,

wherein the secondary battery is a battery cell having an electrode assembly comprising a cathode, an anode, and a separator disposed between the cathode and the anode mounted in a battery case, or a battery pack having the battery cell mounted in a pack case,

wherein the battery cell is configured to have a rectangular parallelepiped structure comprising six faces, and comprises a top face and a bottom face, the top face and the bottom face being opposite to each other, four side faces tangent to the top face and the bottom face, four side edges forming interfaces between the respective side faces, four upper edges forming interfaces between the top face and the respective side faces, and four lower edges forming interfaces between the bottom face and the respective side faces,

wherein a round corner having the shape of the curved structure of the electric device is formed at at least one selected from among the upper edges, the lower edges, and the side edges of the battery cell,

wherein:

(1) the battery cell has electrode terminals formed at one side face thereof, and the round corner is formed at one upper edge and at least one side edge of the battery cell which are not tangent to one side face at which the electrode terminals are formed such that the top face and at least one side face of the battery cell are connected to each other in a continuously curved form, or

(2) the battery cell has electrode terminals formed at one side face thereof, and the round corner is formed at one upper edge, one lower edge, and at least one side edge of the battery cell which are not tangent to one side face at which the electrode terminals are formed such that the top face, the bottom face, and at least one side face of the battery cell are connected to each other in a continuously curved form, and

wherein the electrode assembly includes a stacked type electrode assembly having plural electrode groups configured to have a structure in which a cathode plate, an anode plate, and separator plates are laminated while being stacked such that the cathode plate or the anode plate and one of the separator plates are located at the outermost sides of the stacked type electrode assembly.

2. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the round corner has a radius of curvature of 10 mm to 200 mm.

3. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the round corner has a radius of curvature of 1 mm to 10 mm.

4. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the round corner has a radius of curvature equivalent to 20% to 100% of a width or a length of the electrode assembly in plane.

5. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the round corner is formed in a fixed arc shape having one radius of curvature or in a variable arc shape having two or more radii of curvature.

6. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the battery case is formed of a laminate sheet comprising a metal layer and a resin layer.

7. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell is a pouch-shaped battery having an electrode assembly in a pouch-shaped battery case.

8. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell is a lithium ion battery cell or a lithium ion polymer battery cell.

9. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the device is generally configured to have a hexahedral structure and the curved structure is formed at at least one edge thereof.

10. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the device is selected from among a mobile phone, a portable computer, a laptop computer, a smartphone, a smart pad, a tablet personal computer, a light electric vehicle, an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and a power storage device.

11. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the stacked type electrode assembly includes a fixing member to maintain a stack structure of the electrodes groups.