AU2019264656B2

AU2019264656B2 - Design and construction of non-rectangular batteries

Info

Publication number: AU2019264656B2
Application number: AU2019264656A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bradley L. Spare
Original assignee: Apple Inc
Current assignee: Apple Inc
Priority date: 2010-07-16
Filing date: 2019-11-15
Publication date: 2022-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 2031-07-13
Also published as: AU2015202067B2; AU2015202067A1; AU2017204391B2; AU2017204391A1; AU2019264656A1

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments relate to a battery cell which includes a set of electrode sheets of different dimensions arranged in a stacked configuration to facilitate efficient use of space inside a portable electronic device. For example, the electrode sheets may be arranged in the stacked configuration to accommodate a shape of the portable electronic device. The stacked configuration may be based on a non-rectangular battery design such as a toroidal design, an L-shaped design, a triangular design, a pie-shaped design, a cone-shaped design, and/or a pyramidal design.

Description

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF NON RECTANGULAR BATTERIES CROSS REFERENCE(S) TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0000] This application is a divisional of Australian patent application no. 2017204391. Australian patent application no. 2017204391 is a divisional of Australian patent application no. 2015202067, which is a divisional of Australian patent application no. 2011279202. The entirety of each of these documents is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field

[0001] The present embodiments relate to batteries for portable electronic devices. More specifically, the present embodiments relate to the design and constructions of non-rectangular battery cells to facilitate efficient use of space within portable electronic devices.

Related Art

[0002] Rechargeable batteries are presently used to provide power to a wide variety of portable electronic devices, including laptop computers, mobile phones, PDAs, digital music players and cordless power tools. The most commonly used type of rechargeable battery is a lithium battery, which can include a lithium ion or a lithium-polymer battery.

[0003] Lithium-polymer batteries often include cells that are packaged in flexible pouches. Such pouches are typically lightweight and inexpensive to manufacture. Moreover, pouches may be tailored to various cell dimensions, allowing lithium-polymer batteries to be used in space-constrained portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and/or digital cameras. For example, a lithium polymer battery cell may achieve a packaging efficiency of 90-95% by enclosing rolled electrodes and electrolyte in an aluminized laminated pouch. Multiple pouches may then be placed side-by-side within a portable electronic device and electrically coupled in series and/or in parallel to form a battery for the portable electronic device.

[0004] However, efficient use of space may be limited by the use and arrangement of cells in existing battery pack architectures. In particular, battery packs typically contain rectangular cells of the same capacity, size, and dimensions. The physical arrangement of the cells may additionally mirror the electrical configuration of the cells. For example, a six-cell battery pack may include six lithium polymer cells of the same size and capacity configured in a two in series, three in parallel (2s3p) configuration. Within the battery pack, two rows of three cells placed side-by-side may be stacked on top of each other; each row may be electrically coupled in a parallel configuration and the two rows electrically coupled in a series configuration. Consequently, the battery pack may require space in a portable electronic device that is at least the length of each cell, twice the thickness of each cell, and three times the width of each cell. Furthermore, the battery pack may be unable to utilize free space in the portable electronic device that is outside of a rectangular space reserved for the battery pack.

[00051 Hence, the use of portable electronic devices may be facilitated by improvements related to the packaging efficiency, capacity, form factor, cost, design, and/or manufacturing of battery packs containing lithium-polymer battery cells.

[0005A] Reference to any prior art in the specification is not an acknowledgement or suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in any jurisdiction or that this prior art could reasonably be expected to be combined with any other piece of prior art by a skilled person in the art.

SUMMARY

[0005B] In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable electronic device, comprising: a housing having a perimeter; a rechargeable battery pack disposed along the perimeter of the housing, the battery pack comprising: a plurality of layers, at least two of the plurality of layers having varying sizes, wherein the plurality of layers have a hollow interior portion; a pouch enclosing the plurality of layers; and a set of components powered by the battery pack, the set of components disposed within the hollow interior portion of the battery pack.

[0005C] In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable electronic device, comprising: a housing having a perimeter, the housing having a curved cross section; a rechargeable battery pack disposed along the perimeter of the housing, the battery pack comprising: a plurality of layers, at least two of the plurality of layers having varying sizes, wherein the plurality of layers have a hollow interior portion; and a set of components powered by the battery pack, the set of components disposed within the hollow interior portion of the battery pack.

[0005D] In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing a power source for a portable electronic device, the method comprising: arranging a rechargeable battery pack along a perimeter of a housing, wherein the battery pack comprises a plurality of layers, wherein at least two of the plurality of layers having varying sizes and wherein the plurality of layers have a hollow interior portion; and disposing a set of components powered by the battery pack within the hollow interior portion of the battery pack.

[0005E] There is also disclosed a secondary non-rectangular battery cell, comprising: a first electrode sheet having a first area; a second electrode sheet having a second area, wherein the second area is less than the first area; afirst conductive tab extending from thefirst electrode sheet; a second conductive tab extending from the second electrode sheet and overlapping a surface of the first electrode sheet at an overlapping portion; an insulator disposed between the second conductive tab and the first electrode sheet at the overlapping portion, the insulator configured to prevent electrical current from flowing between the first electrode sheet and the second conductive tab; a pouch enclosing the first and second electrode sheets; and a first and second battery terminal extending through the pouch wherein the first battery terminal is coupled to the first conductive tab, and wherein the second battery terminal is coupled to the second conductive tab.

2A

[0005F] There is also disclosed a method for providing a power source for a portable electronic device using a second non-rectangular battery cell, comprising: arranging a first electrode sheet and a second electrode sheet in a stacked configuration, wherein the first electrode sheet has a first area and the second electrode sheet has a second area, wherein the second area is less than the first area; connecting a first conductive tab to a first battery terminal, wherein the first conductive tab extends from thefirst electrode sheet; connecting a second conductive tab to a second battery terminal, wherein the second conductive tab extends from the second electrode sheet and overlaps a surface of thefirst electrode sheet at an overlapping portion; disposing an insulator in between the second conductive tab and the first electrode sheet at the overlapping portion, the insulator configured to prevent electrical current from flowing between the first electrode sheet to the second conductive tab; and enclosing the first and second electrode sheets in a pouch.

[0005G] There is also disclosed a portable electronic device, comprising: a set of components powered by a battery pack using a secondary non-rectangular battery cell, the battery pack comprising: a first electrode sheet having a first area; a second electrode sheet having a second area, wherein the second area is less than the first area; afirst conductive tab coupled to thefirst electrode sheet; a second conductive tab coupled to the second electrode sheet and overlapping a surface of the first electrode sheet at an overlapping portion; an insulator disposed between the second conductive tab and the first electrode sheet at the overlapping portion, the insulator configured to prevent electrical current from flowing between the first electrode sheet and the second conductive tab; a pouch enclosing the first and second electrode sheets; and a first and second battery terminal extending through the pouch, wherein the first battery terminal is coupled to the first conductive tab, and wherein the second battery terminal is coupled to the second conductive tab.

[00061 The disclosed embodiments relate to a battery cell which includes a set of electrode sheets of different dimensions arranged in a stacked configuration to facilitate efficient use of space inside a portable electronic device. For example, the electrode sheets may be arranged in the stacked configuration to accommodate a shape of the portable electronic device. The stacked configuration may be based on a non rectangular battery design such as a toroidal design, an L-shaped design, a triangular design, a pie-shaped design, a cone-shaped design,and/or a pyramidal design.

[00071 The electrode sheets may be electrically coupled in a parallel configuration. The parallel configuration may involve electrically coupling a first set of conductive tabs, wherein each of the first set of conductive tabs is coupled to a cathode of one of the electrode sheets, and electrically coupling a second set of conductive tabs, wherein each of the second set of conductive tabs is coupled to an anode of one of the electrode sheets.

[00081 In some embodiments, the first set of conductive tabs is electrically coupled using at least one of a wire-bonding technique, a spot-welding technique, a crimping technique, a riveting technique, and an ultrasonic-welding technique. The second set of conductive tabs may also be electrically coupled using the

2B

same technique(s).

[00091 In some embodiments, the battery cell also includes a pouch enclosing the electrode sheets.

[00101 In some embodiments, the battery cell also includes a rigid plate disposed beneath the electrode sheets inside the pouch.

[0010A] In some embodiments there is provided a battery cell. The battery cell can comprise a plurality of electrode sheets, at least two of the plurality of electrode sheets having varying sizes; and a pouch enclosing the electrode sheets. The battery cell can further comprise first and second battery terminals extending through the pouch. In the battery cell: each of the at least two of the plurality of electrode sheets is aligned with one another, thereby defining a first and second common, straight edges abut one another; and the first and second battery terminals extend outward from thefirst common, straight edge.

[0010B] In some embodiments the plurality of electrode sheets each comprises at least on rounded corner.

[0010C] In some embodiments the at least two of the plurality of electrode sheets can cooperate to define a first terrace adjacent a first end of the rounded corner and a second terrace adjacent a second end of the round corner.

[0010D] In some embodiments each of the plurality of electrode sheets can vary in size from every other one of the plurality of electrode sheets.

[0010E] By way of clarification and for avoidance of doubt, as used herein and except where the context requires otherwise, the term "comprise" and variations of the term, such as "comprising", "comprises" and "comprised", are not intended to exclude further additions, components, integers or steps.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[00111 FIG. 1 shows a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment.

[00121 FIG. 2 shows a non-rectangular design for a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment.

100031 FIG. 3 shows a non-rectangular design for a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment.

[00041 FIG. 4 shows a non-rectangular design for a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment. 10005] FIG. 5 shows a non-rectangular design for a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment. 100061 FIG. 6 shows the placement of a battery within a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 100071 FIG, 7 shows the placement of a battery within a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment.

[00111 FIG. 8 shows a flowchart illustrating the process of manufacturing a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment. 100081 FIG. 9 shows a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 100091 In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same figure elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the embodiments, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. 100111 The data structures and code described in this detailed description are typically stored on a computer-readable storage medium, which may be any device or medium that can store code and/or data for use by a computer system. The computcr-readable storage medium includes, but is not limited to, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, magnetic and optical storage devices such as disk drives, magnetic tape, CDs (compact discs), DVDs (digital versatile discs or digital video discs), or other media capable of storing code and/or data now known or later developed. 100121 The methods and processes described in the detailed description section can be embodied as code and/or data, which can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium as described above. When a computer system reads and executes the code and/or data stored on the computer-readable storage medium, the computer system performs the methods and processes embodied as data structures and code and stored within thecomputer-readable storage medium.

[00131 Furthermore, methods and processes described herein can be included in hardware modules or apparatus. These modules or apparatus may include, but are not limited to, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a dedicated or shared processor that executes a particular software module or a piece of code at a particular time, and/or other programmable-logic devices now known or later developed. When the hardware modules or apparatus are activated, they perform the methods and processes included within them.

[0014] The disclosed embodiments provide a battery cell with a non-rectangular design. The battery cell may include a set of electrode sheets of different dimensions arranged in a stacked configuration. The non-rectangular shape of the stacked configuration may facilitate efficient use of space in a portable electronic device. The term "non-rectangular" can mean that the cells are not rectangular through any cutting plane, which means that the cells are not rectangular when viewed from the top, bottom, or sides. For example, the non-rectangular stacked configuration may be based on a toroidal design, an L-shaped design, a triangular design, a pie-shaped design, a cone-shaped design, and/or a pyramidal design. The electrode sheets may also be enclosed in a pouch to form a lithium-polymer battery cell. Moreover, a rigid plate may be disposed beneath the electrode sheets inside the pouch to provide structural support for the battery cell.

[0015] The electrode sheets may then be electrically coupled in a parallel configuration. In particular, the cathode of each electrode sheet may be electrically coupled to one of a first set of conductive tabs, and the anode of each electrode sheet may be electrically coupled to one of a second set of conductive tabs. The first set of conductive tabs may then be electrically coupled using a wire-bonding technique, a spot-welding technique, a crimping technique, a riveting technique, and/or an ultrasonic-welding technique. The same technique(s) may also be used to electrically couple the second set of conductive tabs. The first and second sets of conductive tabs may extend through seals in the pouch to provide terminals for the battery cell.

[00161 FIG. I shows a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment. The battery cell may supply power to a portable electronic device such as a laptop computer, mobile phone, tablet computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), portable media player, digital camera, and/or other type of battery-powered electronic device.

[00171 As shown in FIG. 1, the battery cell includes a number of layers 102-108 that form a wedge-shaped, terraced structure. Layers 102-108 may be formed from thin electrode sheets; each electrode sheet may provide a cathode for the battery cell on one side aind an anode for the battery cell on the other side. For example, each electrode sheet may have a thickness of around 20 microns. The electrode sheet may also include an anode of lithium or zinc and a cathode of manganese dioxide. 100181 Moreover, the electrode sheets may be arranged in a stacked configuration to form layers 102-108. In particular, the terraced, curved structure of the battery cell may be created using flat pie-shaped electrode sheets of four different sizes. First, a series of electrode sheets of the largest size may be stacked to form layer 102, then a series of smaller pie-shaped electrode sheets may be stacked on top of layer 102 to form layer 104. After layers 102-104 are formed, a number of the third-largest electrode sheets may be stacked on top of layer 104 to form layer 106, and finally, the smallest electrode sheets are placed on top of layer 106 to form layer 108. 100191 To form a power source, the electrode sheets may be electrically coupled in a parallel configuration and enclosed in a pouch 116. To electrically couple the electrode sheets, each cathode from the electrode sheets may be electrically coupled to one of a first set of conductive tabs, and each anode from the electrode sheets may be electrically coupled to one of a second set of conductive tabs. The first set of conductive tabs may then be electrically coupled using a wire-bonding technique, a spot-welding technique, a crimping technique, a riveting technique, and/or an ultrasonic-welding technique to form a positive terminal 110 for the battery cell. 100201 The same technique(s) may also be used to electrically couple the second set of conductive tabs to form a negative terminal 112 for the battery cell. For example, the battery cell may be assembled by stacking electrode sheets coupled to conductive tabs against one or more surfaces that align the corners of the electrode sheets and the conductive tabs. The conductive tabs may then be spot-welded together to form terminals 110-112.

[00211 To enclose the battery cell in pouch 116, layers 102-108 may be placed on top of a sheet of polymer laminate and/or another type of flexible pouch material. Another sheet of pouch material may then be placed over the tops of layers 102-108, and the two sheets may be heat-sealed and/or folded. Alternatively, layers 102-108 may be placed in between two sheets of pouch material that are sealed and/or folded on some (e.g., non-terminal) sides. The remaining side(s) may then be heat-sealed and/or folded to enclose layers 102-108 within pouch 116. Terminals I 10-112 may extend through seals in pouch 116 to allow the battery cell to be electrically coupled to other components in the portable electronic device.

[00221 Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the thin and/or flexible nature of the electrode sheets may cause the electrode sheets to bend and/or deform within the battery cell during handling and/or installation within the portable electronic device. As a result, a rigid plate 114 may be disposed beneath layers 102-108 to provide structural support for the battery cell.

[00231 In one or more embodiments, the battery cell of FIG, 1 facilitates efficient use of space within the portable electronic device. For example, the terraced and/or curved edges of the battery cell may allow the battery cell to fit within a curved enclosure for the portable electronic device. The number of layers (e.g., layers 102-108) may also be increased or decreased to better fit the curvature of the portable electronic device's enclosure. In other words, the battery cell may include an asymmetric and/or non-rectangular design that accommodates the shape of the portable electronic device. In turn, the battery cell may provide greater capacity, packaging efficiency, and/or voltage than rectangular battery cells in the same portable electronic device. Non-rectangular designs for battery cells are discussed in further detail below with respect to FIGs. 2-5. 100241 FIG. 2 shows a non-rectangular design for a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 2 shows a top-down view of a battery cell with a number of layers 202-208. Layers 202-208 may be formed by arranging electrode sheets of different dimensions in a stacked configuration that is based on a toroidal and/or cone-shaped design for the battery cell. Consequently, the electrode sheets used in the battery cell of FIG. 2 may be round and/or ellipsoidal. 100251 Moreover, the electrode sheets forming layers 202-208 may be hollow to enable the formation of two terminals 210-212. Each terminal 210-212 may include a set of conductive tabs that connects the cathodes or the anodes of the electrode sheets. For example, terminal 210 may correspond to a positive terminal for the battery cell and include a first set of conductive tabs electrically coupled to one another and to the cathodes of the electrode sheets. Terminal 212 may correspond to a negative terminal for the battery cell and include a second set of conductive tabs electrically coupled to one another and to the anodes of the electrode sheets.

[00261 The battery cell of FIG. 2 may be designed to fit around the perimeter of a portable electronic device. For example, layers 202-208 may accommodate a curved and/or scalloped outline of the portable electronic device, while the hollow interior of the battery cell may allow components (e.g., printed circuit boards (PCBs), processors, memory, storage, display, optical drives, etc.) to be placed in the middle of the portable electronic device. Placement of battery cells within portable electronic devices is discussed in further detail below with respect to FIGs. 6-7. 00271 FIG. 3 shows a non-rectangular design for a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment. As with the battery cell of FIG. 2, the battery cell of FIG. 3 includes a number of layers 302-310 formed by stacking round and/or ellipsoidal electrode sheets of the same thickness (e.g., 10-20 microns) and varying sizes. However, because layers 302-310 are not hollow, terminals 312-314 for the battery cell may be placed outside layers 302-310. The skewed-cone shape of the battery cell may allow the battery cell to fit within a recessed pocket in a portable electronic device.

[00281 FIG. 4 shows a non-rectangular design for a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment. The battery cell of FIG. 4 may be formed from four layers 402-408 of triangular electrode sheets that are aligned along one edge and stacked. Each layer individual layer 402, 404, 406 and 408 may include electrode sheets of the same size, while the different layers 402, 404, 406 and 408 may be formed from electrode sheets of four different sizes. The battery cell may thus be based on a pyramidal and/or triangular design. Furthermore, a set of terminals 410 412 may electrically couple the electrode sheets in a parallel configuration and allow the battery cell to supply power to a portable electronic device. 100291 FIG. 5 shows a non-rectangular design for a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment. The battery cell of FIG. 5 may include four layers 502-508 of square electrode sheets arranged in a stacked configuration. However, unlike the battery cells of FIGs. 1-4, the electrode sheets of FIG. 5 may be centered on top of each other. As a result, terminals 510-512 for the battery cell may be formed from conductive tabs that overlap with surfaces ofelectrode sheets to which the conductive tabs should not be electrically coupled. For example, conductive tabs that are electrically coupled to electrode sheets of layer 504 may overlap with the topmost electrode sheet of layer 502. 00301 To prevent electric current from flowing between overlapping electrode sheets and conductive tabs, a conductive tab may be insulated from an overlapping surface of an electrode sheet to which the conductive tab should not be electrically coupled by placing a layer m is a registered trademark of E. L du Pont de of insulating material such as Kapton (Kapton' Nemours and Company Corporation) in between the conductive tab and the electrode sheet. Such use of insulating materials in the battery cell may enable the creation of battery cells of arbitrary three-dimensional (3D) shapes, which in turn may further facilitate the efficient use of space inside portable electronic devices that use the battery cells. 100311 FIG. 6 shows the placement of a battery 602 within a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, a top-down view of battery 602 shows that battery 602 is placed along the outside perimeter of the portable electronic device. Furthermore, the battery may include a toroidal, L-shaped, andor pie-shaped design to accommodate a curved and/or scalloped shape of the portable electronic device. The interior of the battery may be hollow to allow components to be placed within the portable electronic device. 100321 FIG. 7 shows the placement of a battery 702 within a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. Battery 702 may be based on the same design as battery 602 of

FIG. 6. More specifically, a cross-sectional view of battery 702 shows that battery 702 fills up the space along the curved sides of the portable electronic device. As a result, battery 702 may represent increased packaging efficiency and/or capacity over a rectangular battery that is used in the same portable electronic device. 00331 FIG. 8 shows a flowchart illustrating the process of manufacturing a battery cell in accordance with an embodiment. In one or more embodiments, one or more of the steps may be omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order. Accordingly, the specific arrangement of steps shown in FIG. 8 should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments.

[00341 First, a set ofelectrode sheets of different dimensions is arranged in a stacked configuration to facilitate efficient use of space within a portable electronic device (operation 802). For example, electrode sheets of the same thickness and varying lengths and/or widths may be stacked to form a battery cell that is based on a non-rectangular (e.g., toroidal, L-shaped, triangular, pie-shaped, cone-shaped, pyramidal) battery design.

[00351 Next, the electrode sheets are electrically coupled in a parallel configuration (operation 804). Each cathode from the electrode sheets may be electrically coupled to one of a first set of conductive tabs, and each anode from the electrode sheets may be electrically coupled to one of a second set of conductive tabs. The first set of conductive tabs may then be electrically coupled using a wire-bonding technique, a spot-welding technique, a crimping technique, a riveting technique, and/or an ultrasonic-welding technique to form a positive terminal for the battery cell. The same technique(s) may also be used toelectrically couple the second set of conductive tabs to form a negative terminal for the battery cell. In addition, a conductive tab may be insulated from an overlapping surface of an electrode sheet to which the conductive tab should not be electrically coupled by placing a layer of insulating material such as Kapton in between the conductive tab and the electrode sheet.

[00361 A rigid plate may also be disposed beneath the electrode sheets (operation 806) to provide structural support for the battery cell. Such structural support may prevent the battery cell from flexing and/or distorting during handling and/or installation within a portable electronic device. Finally, the electrode sheets and rigid plate may be enclosed in a pouch (operation 808). Consequently, the battery cell may correspond to a lithium-polymer battery cell that is designed to accommodate the shape of the portable electronic device. For example, the battery cell may be placed within a curved interior of the portable electronic device to provide increased capacity and/or packaging efficiency over battery packs containing rectangular cells. 100371 The above-described rechargeable battery cell can generally be used in any type of electronic device. For example, FIG. 9 illustrates a portable electronic device 900 which includes a processor 902, a memory 904 and a display 908, which are all powered by a battery

906. Portable electronic device 900 may correspond to a laptop computer, mobile phone, PDA, portable media player, digital camera, and/or other type of battery-powered electronic device. Battery 906 may correspond to a battery pack that includes one or more battery cells. Each battery cell may include a set of electrode sheets of different dimensions arranged in a stacked configuration. The stacked configuration may facilitate efficient use of space inside portable electronic device 900. For example, the stacked configuration may allow battery 906 to fit along the perimeter of a mobile phone with a scalloped shape.

[0037A] In some embodiments there is provided a battery cell, comprising a set of electrode sheets of different dimensions electrically coupled in a parallel configuration, wherein the electrode sheets are arranged in a stacked configuration to facilitate efficient use of space inside a portable electronic device.

[0037B] The battery cell can further provide a pouch enclosing the electrode sheets.

[0037C] The battery cell can further provide a rigid plate disposed beneath the electrode sheets inside the pouch. 10037D] Electrically coupling the electrode sheets in the parallel configuration can involve, electrically coupling a first set of conductive tabs, wherein each of the first set of conductive tabs is coupled to a cathode of one of the electrode sheets; and electrically coupling a second set of conductive tabs, wherein each of the second set of conductive tabs is coupled to an anode of one of the electrode sheets.

[0037E] The first set of conductive tabs can be electrically coupled using at least one of a wire bonding technique, a spot-welding technique, a crimping technique, a riveting technique, and an ultrasonic-welding technique.

[0037F] The electrode sheets can be arranged in the stacked configuration based on a non rectangular battery design.

[0037G] The non-rectangular battery design could be at least one of a toroidal design, an L-shaped design, a triangular design, a pie-shaped design, a cone-shaped design, and a pyramidal design.

[0037H] In some embodiments there is provided a method for providing a power source for a portable electronic device, comprising: arranging a set of electrode sheets of different dimensions in a stacked configuration to facilitate efficient use of space within the portable electronic device; and electrically coupling the electrode sheets in a parallel configuration.

[00371]The method can further comprise enclosing the electrode sheets in a pouch.

[0037J] The method can further comprise disposing a rigid plate beneath the electrode sheets.

[0037K] Electrically coupling the electrode sheets in the parallel configuration can involve electrically coupling a first set of conductive tabs, wherein each of the first set of conductive tabs is coupled to a cathode of one of the electrode sheets; and electrically coupling a second set of conductive tabs, wherein each of the second set of conductive tabs is coupled to an anode of one of the electrode sheets.

[0037L] The first set of conductive tabs can be electrically coupled using at least one of a wire bonding technique, a spot-welding technique, a crimping technique, a riveting technique, and an ultrasonic-welding technique.

[0037M] The electrode sheets can be arranged in the stacked configuration based on at least one of a toroidal design, an L-shaped design, a triangular design, a pie-shaped design, a cone-shaped design, and a pyramidal design.

[0037N] In some embodiments there is provided a battery pack, comprising: a set of cells. Each of the cells can comprise a set of electrode sheets of different dimensions electrically coupled in a parallel configuration, wherein the electrode sheets are arranged in a stacked configuration to facilitate efficient use of space inside a portable electronic device.

[003701 Each of the cells can further comprise a rigid plate disposed beneath the electrode sheets; and a pouch enclosing the electrode sheets and the rigid plate.

[0037P] Electrically coupling the electrode sheets in the parallel configuration can involve electrically coupling a first set of conductive tabs, wherein each of the first set of conductive tabs is coupled to a cathode of one of the electrode sheets; and electrically coupling a second set of conductive tabs, wherein each of the second set of conductive tabs is coupled to an anode of one of the electrode sheets.

[0037Q] The first set of conductive tabs can be electrically coupled using at least one of a wire bonding technique, a spot-welding technique, a crimping technique, a riveting technique, and an ultrasonic welding technique.

[0037R] The electrode sheets can be arranged in the stacked configuration based on at least one of a toroidal design, an L-shaped design, a triangular design, a pie-shaped design, a cone-shaped design, and a pyramidal design.

[0037S] The electrode sheets can be arranged in the stacked configuration to accommodate a shape of the portable electronic device.

[0037T] In some embodiments there is provided a portable electronic device, comprising a set of components powered by a battery pack. The battery pack can comprise: a set of cells, wherein each of the cells comprises: a set of electrode sheets of different dimensions electrically coupled in a parallel configuration, wherein the electrode sheets are arranged in a stacked configuration to facilitate efficient use of space inside a portable electronic device.

[0037U] Each of the cells can further comprise: a rigid plate disposed beneath the electrode sheets; and a pouch enclosing the electrode sheets and the rigid plate.

[0037V] Electrically coupling the electrode sheets in the parallel configuration can involve: electrically coupling a first set of conductive tabs, wherein each of the first set of conductive tabs is coupled to a cathode of one of the electrode sheets; and electrically coupling a second set of conductive tabs, wherein each of the second set of conductive tabs is coupled to an anode of one of the electrode sheets.

[0037W] The first set of conductive tables can be electrically coupled using at least one of a wire bonding technique, a spot-welding technique, a crimping technique, a riveting technique, and an ultrasonic technique.

[0037X] The electrode sheets can be arranged in the stacked configuration based on at least one of a toroidal design, an L-shaped design, a triangular design, a pie-shaped design, a cone-shaped design, and a pyramidal design.

[0037Y] The electrode sheets can be arranged in the stacked configuration to accommodate a shape of the portable electronic device.

[0038] The foregoing descriptions of various embodiments have been presented only for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the forms disclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Additionally, the above disclosure is not intended to limit the present invention.

Claims

10 CLAIMS

1. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a housing having a perimeter;

a rechargeable battery pack disposed along the perimeter of the housing, the battery pack

comprising:

a plurality of layers, at least two of the plurality of layers having varying sizes, wherein the plurality of layers have a hollow interior portion;

a pouch enclosing the plurality of layers; and a set of components powered by the battery pack, the set of components disposed

within the hollow interior portion of the battery pack.

2. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the battery pack is disposed along the

entire perimeter of the housing.

3. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of layers form a terraced structure at an outer edge of the plurality of layers, the terraced structure configured to accommodate a curved portion of the housing.

4. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein at least one layer of the plurality of

layers has a portion that is round in shape.

5. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein at least one layer of the plurality of

layers has a portion that is ellipsoidal in shape.

6. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein at least one layer of the plurality of layers has a portion that is triangular in shape.

7. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein at least one layer of the plurality of

layers has a portion that is square in shape.

11

8. The portable electronic device of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the battery pack further comprises a rigid plate disposed below the plurality of layers, wherein the rigid plate

is enclosed within the pouch.

9. A portable electronic device, comprising: a housing having a perimeter, the housing having a curved cross section;

comprising:

a plurality of layers, at least two of the plurality of layers having varying sizes,

wherein the plurality of layers have a hollow interior portion; and

a set of components powered by the battery pack, the set of components disposed

within the hollow interior portion of the battery pack.

10. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein the battery pack is disposed along the

entire perimeter of the housing.

11. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein the plurality of layers form a terraced

structure at an outer edge of the plurality of layers, the terraced structure configured to

accommodate the curved cross section of the housing.

12. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein at least one layer of the plurality of layers has a portion that is round in shape.

13. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein at least one layer of the plurality of

layers has a portion that is triangular in shape.

14. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein at least one layer of the plurality of

layers has a portion that is square in shape.

12

15. The portable electronic device of any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the battery pack

further comprises a pouch enclosing the plurality of layers and a rigid plate disposed below the

plurality of layers, wherein the rigid plate is enclosed within the pouch.

16. A method for providing a power source for a portable electronic device, the method

comprising:

arranging a rechargeable battery pack along a perimeter of a housing, wherein the battery

pack comprises a plurality of layers, wherein at least two of the plurality of layers having varying

sizes and wherein the plurality of layers have a hollow interior portion; and

disposing a set of components powered by the battery pack within the hollow interior

portion of the battery pack.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the battery pack is disposed along the entire perimeter

of the housing.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of layers form a terraced structure at an

outer edge of the plurality of layers, the terraced structure configured to accommodate a curved

cross section of the housing.

19. The method of any one of claims 16 to 18, further comprising enclosing the plurality of

layers within a pouch.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising disposing a rigid plate below the plurality of

layers, wherein the rigid plate is enclosed within the pouch.