FI129051B - A method and a manufacturing arrangement for manufacturing a loaded a battery group and a loaded electric battery group manufactured by the method - Google Patents

Abstract

The method according to the invention for producing a battery group and the battery group do not require separate working steps for connecting the manufactured batteries to an electrical component unit. An elastic electric battery group (100) produced by the manufacturing method according to the invention, the individual batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of which are produced by a mass production process in several successive steps on an elastic, insulating support film (10). In connection with each of the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) in the electric battery group (100), a charging circuit (13a, 14a) is produced which is connected to busbars (11, 12) on the insulating support film. In the last manufacturing step of the electric battery group (100), all electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of the electric battery group (100) are charged from a voltage source (20) through the busbars (11, 12).

Description

The invention relates to an electric battery group manufactured on a flexible substrate by a mass production method, the electric batteries of which are charged all at the same time in the final stage of manufacture.

The invention also relates to a manufacturing method suitable for the mass production of a flexible electric battery array, in which the electric batteries of the electric battery array are charged simultaneously at the end of the manufacture.

Background Art An electric battery manufactured by printing technology is a key component in the utilization of printed electronics in various applications.

In addition to printing technology, the battery can be manufactured by a variety of manufacturing methods, such as thin film technology, thick film technology, etching, or the growth of battery components in a chemical process.

Various combinations of the previous manufacturing techniques, such as etching and printing techniques, can also be used, whereby better current conductivity can be achieved in the wiring of electronic circuit elements.

The advantages of thick film technology are the simplicity and scalability of the process and the layer strength, which directly correlates with the capacity of the electric battery.

One customer need that requires small-scale monitoring equipment is cold chain - real-time monitoring.

In a monitoring device suitable for such use, an electric battery is a necessary component.

The known solutions are based on separate batteries, a separate RFID tag, which are connected to each other in separate connection processes.

A separate joining step increases the manufacturing cost of such a solution.

In addition, it is not possible to make a separate connection of the battery N in the roll-to-roll manufacturing process.

N 25 Patent FI 125257 describes a wirelessly rechargeable electric battery which is = manufactured by a roll-to-roll manufacturing method on a flexible substrate.

The electric battery according to the patent e also utilizes the metal film required for the manufacture of the antenna of the RFID tag I produced by etching as one of the second electrodes of the electric battery connected to the RFID tag.

This procedure does not require a separate RFID = 30 tag and battery connection process.

The manufacture of an electric battery R manufactured as described in the patent becomes cost-effective because both the electric battery and the antenna of the RFID tag are integrated in the manufacturing process into an electrical component assembly made on a flexible circuit board.

When the component assembly according to the patent is manufactured by a roll-to-roll manufacturing process, a product is obtained which is easily scalable to a bulk product.

One of the basic goals of printed electronics is to manufacture electronic products in a roll-to-roll manufacturing process from start to finish in a manner similar to the manufacture of the RFID tag described in the patent FI 125257 described above as an example.

However, the manufacture of an electric battery pack as described in the patent FI 125257 by a roll-to-roll manufacturing process requires that each electric battery be charged separately before it can be installed or connected to its end use.

A separate electric battery charging process is a cumbersome, slow, and expensive operation.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide a new method of manufacturing an electric battery array made on a flexible substrate, which can significantly reduce the disadvantages and disadvantages associated with the methods of manufacturing electric batteries according to the prior art.

With the manufacturing method of the electric battery array according to the invention, the electric batteries of the electric battery array manufactured on the flexible substrate can be charged all at once - at the end of the manufacture. Each manufactured electric battery has its own charging circuit, which is manufactured in connection with the manufacturing process of the electric battery. The battery-specific charging circuit both limits the charging current supplied to the electric battery and at the same time isolates the electric batteries of the electric battery group from each other during their charging.

The advantage of the method of manufacturing an electric battery array suitable for mass production according to the invention is that all the electric batteries of the electric battery array can be charged to the operating voltage at the same time as the process steps required by the electric battery array manufacturing method have been completed.

A further advantage of the invention is that the charge status of the electric batteries of the electric battery array can be maintained during their storage with one voltage source.

A further advantage of the invention is that the energized electric batteries E of the electric battery array can be detached from the electric battery array by disconnecting one or more components of the charging circuit n of an individual electric battery, for example by cutting.

O R A further advantage of the invention is that it enables the use of the roll-to-roll manufacturing method S30 in the manufacture of an electric battery array, whereby the manufacturing cost of a single electric battery is considerably reduced compared to prior art electric battery manufacturing methods.

A further advantage of the invention is that simultaneously with the manufacture of electric batteries, it is also possible to manufacture an electrical circuit component, for example an RFID tag, to which a single electric battery of the electric battery array is arranged to be connected.

The method of manufacturing an electric battery array according to the invention is characterized in that a charging circuit is manufactured in connection with the electric battery of each electric battery array, which is connected to busbars made of an insulating support film. The electric battery group according to the invention is characterized in that a charging circuit is made in connection with the electric battery of each electric battery group, which is connected to busbars made of an insulating support film. Some preferred embodiments of the invention are set out in the dependent claims. The basic idea of the invention is as follows: the electronic component assembly to be utilized in the application and the electric battery required therein are manufactured by mass-produced roll-to-roll manufacturing technique or sheet-fed printing technique by producing numerous similar component assemblies at the same time. One or more of the following manufacturing techniques may be used individually or in various combinations: printed electronics, thin film technology, thick film technology, or etching. The electric battery can also be grown using a chemical process. The electric battery required for the electronic component assembly can be manufactured in the same way as the actual electronic component assembly in the manufacturing method according to the invention. In this case, it is not necessary to connect the electric battery to the electronic component assembly in a separate work step.

N = 25 In the manufacturing process, the electrodes of the electric batteries are connected to two busbars e by a charging circuit according to the invention. A single battery belonging to the electric battery group I can be charged to the desired voltage via the charging circuit. The battery-specific charging circuit both limits the charging current supplied to the electric battery from the voltage source and at the same time isolates the electric batteries of the electric battery group from each other during their R 30 charging and storage. The charging of the electric batteries of the electric battery group is preferably performed simultaneously at the end of the manufacturing process. In charging, the operating voltage of the electric batteries can be supplied from at least one voltage source to all the electric batteries in the electric battery group simultaneously.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the charging circuit is a resistance arrangement made by printing technology. The resistor arrangement preferably comprises at least one resistor by which one of the electrodes of the electric battery is connected to the second busbar. In a preferred embodiment, both electrodes of the electric battery are connected by resistors to the busbars; a cathode to the live busbar and an anode to the busbar at ground potential. When the electronic component assembly is installed in its intended use, the electronic component assembly is preferably cut off from the electric battery array so that, as a result of the cut, both charging circuits of the individual electric battery, for example resistors, are disconnected. The invention is described in detail below. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1a shows by way of example an electric battery assembly made in accordance with the invention by a roll-to-roll method, illustrates by way of example another electric battery assembly made in accordance with the invention Fig. 2 shows by way of example how a single electric battery is cut off from the electric battery group and Fig. 3 shows by way of example the main steps of the manufacturing method of the electric battery group according to the invention. - The embodiments in the following description are only exemplary and a person skilled in the art can also implement the basic idea of the invention in some other way than described in the description. Although one n embodiment or embodiments may be referred to in the description in several places, this does not mean that the reference is to only one of the described embodiments, or that the described feature is useful in only one of the described embodiments. The two of you

The individual features of O 30 or more embodiments may be combined to provide new embodiments of the invention.

Figure 1a shows a part of an electric battery array 100 made by a roll-to-roll manufacturing method. The electric battery array 100 is preferably made of a flexible insulating substrate 10 to which a metal film is not laminated. One or more roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques suitable for use individually or in various combinations in roll-to-roll manufacturing or sheet-fed printing techniques may be used in the manufacture of the battery pack 100. The electric batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N shown in Fig. 1a are preferably manufactured, for example, by a printing technique, a thin film technique, a thick film technique on a flexible, insulating substrate 100 of various materials of an electric battery.

- In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the substrate is laminated with a metal film on at least one surface. In this embodiment, at least one of the electrodes can be fabricated by etching it from the metal film of the substrate 100.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the electric batteries are manufactured by growing at least one electrode of the electric battery in a chemical process.

- The part of the electric battery group 100 shown in Fig. 1a shown in the figure comprises electric batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N. The first electrode 5 (Fig. 2) of the electric battery 1 is connected to the busbar 11 by the first charging circuit 13. Correspondingly, the second the electrode 6 (Fig. 2) is connected by a second charging circuit 14 to the second busbar 12. Correspondingly, the other electric batteries of Fig. 1a 2, 3, ..., N are also connected to the busbars 11 and 12 on the substrate 10 by their own charging circuits.

The busbars 11 and 12 are preferably made by etching them from a copper film of a single-sided, flexible laminate. The busbars 11 and 12 made of copper foil allow a sufficiently high current when the batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N are preferably charged in the final stages of the manufacturing process. S 25 - In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the charging circuits T 13 and 14 shown in Fig. 1a are resistors manufactured by the printing technique. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the charging circuits 13 and 14 may also comprise other passive or active E components suitable for use as a part of the charging circuit by the roll-to-roll manufacturing technique or the sheet-fed printing technique. In the example of Fig. 1a, the electric battery array 100 is made only on the surface of the substrate 10 on which the busbars 11 and 12 are preferably made of copper film by etching. This avoids making electrically conductive vias through the substrate 10.

However, the invention is not limited to the embodiment of Figure 1a described above, but the busbars 11 and 12 can also be produced on the substrate, for example 10, by printing technique, thick film technique or thin film technique.

For the sake of clarity, Figure 1a does not show the electronic component assemblies whose voltage source is the batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N in the application.

Said electronic component assemblies can advantageously be manufactured by the same manufacturing techniques as the electric battery pack. Preferably, the electronic component assemblies are made between the electric batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N shown in Figure 1a.

- The electronic component assemblies can advantageously comprise, for example, a processor unit, a memory, an RFID circuit with antennas, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor or a pressure sensor.

Figure 1b shows a part of a second electric battery array 100a according to the invention manufactured by a roll-to-roll manufacturing method. Also, this electric battery array-100a is preferably made on a flexible insulating substrate 10 as described in connection with Fig. 1a.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1b, the part of the electric battery array 100a shown in the figure comprises electric batteries 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, ..., Na and Nb. The first electrode 5 (Fig. 2) of the electric batteries 1a and 1b is connected to the busbar 11 by a common first - charging circuit 13a. Respectively, the second electrode 6 (Fig. 2) of the electric batteries 1a and 1b is connected to the second busbar 12 by the second common charging circuit 14a. the other electric batteries 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, ..., Na and Nb of Fig. 1b are also connected to the busbars N11 and 12 on the substrate 10 by their charging circuits.

ON 25 In Fig. 1b, references 15a, 15b and 15c show the cutting lines along which the completed T-charged electric batteries 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, ..., Na and Nb according to the invention are separated from the busbars 11 and 12. It is advantageous to separate the electric batteries according to the invention from the busbars 11 and 12 as the last stage in the manufacture of the electric battery array.

O R 30 It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that there may also be more parallel electric batteries connected to the same two charging circuits than the two parallel electric batteries shown in Fig. 1b.

Fig. 1c shows the connection of the electric battery group 100 according to the invention according to Fig. 1a for charging batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N from a voltage source 20. The first busbar 11 of the electric battery group 100 is connected to the first terminal 21 of the voltage source 20. positive voltage. The voltage of the jannel source 20 is preferably higher than the final operating voltage of the rechargeable electric batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N. The second busbar 12 of the electric battery array 100 is connected to the second terminal 22 of the voltage source 20, which in the example of Figure 1c preferably has a ground potential.

References 15a1 and 15b1 show the cutting lines along which cutting - the batteries of the electric battery array 100 according to the invention can be separated from the voltage source

20.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the electric battery array 100 is connected to the voltage source 20 until the electric batteries of the electric battery array 100 are installed in their end use. The electric batteries of the electric battery group 100 are not cut into their own assemblies only when the manufactured electronic component assembly is started up in its application. In this way, it is ensured that the electric batteries of the electronic component assembly have the planned operating voltage at the beginning of use and that the charge of the electric battery is sufficient for the planned operating time.

Figure 2 shows by way of example a preferred embodiment of the electric battery 1 shown in Figure 1a. The first electrode 5 of the electric battery 1 is connected to the positive busbar 11 by the first charging circuit 13a, preferably using a resistor R1 manufactured by the printing technique. In the preferred embodiment of Fig. 2, the second electrode 6 of the electric battery 1 is also connected by a resistor R2, reference 14a, preferably to a ground rail 12 at a ground potential of ™ ~ 25.

O 2 When there is a sufficiently large resistance in the charging circuit as a whole, then it is possible to charge the electric battery 1 from a voltage source 20 significantly higher than the cell voltage> of the electric battery 1 with a constant current. The voltage supplied to the electric batteries may preferably be, for example, 24 volts. In this case, for example, a 4.2 Volt O 30 - Li-lon electric battery requires a total charging resistance of about 10 kQ (R1 3 + R2) in order to be charged with a current of 2.4 mA. When the cell voltage D of the electric battery 1 rises to 4.2 volts, then the charging current 2 is less than 2 mA. Since the charging voltage N used is considerably higher than the cell voltage of the electric battery 1, the manufacturing tolerances cannot affect the adjacent electric batteries, but - each electric battery receives a charging current defined by its own charging circuit. If the cell of one electric battery is short-circuited, it will not affect the charging of the cells of other electric batteries.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the charging circuit is made of non-printed electronics.

In this case, the charging circuit can be, for example, part of an RFID circuit - or a separate SMD component.

In this preferred embodiment, the charging of the electric battery array can only be performed after the charging circuits have been installed.

Figure 3 shows the main steps of the method used to manufacture the electric battery array according to the invention.

It is also possible to carry out some of the process steps in Figure 3 in a roll-to-roll manufacturing process in a different order from that shown in Flowchart 3 without changing the principle of the invention.

For example, busbars, charging circuits, battery electrodes, and any electrical circuit components may be fabricated in a different order from that of the battery assembly as described in the flowchart of Figure 3.

In step 30, the fabrication of the electric battery array is initiated by selecting a substrate material 10 to be utilized in the fabrication of the electric battery array 100 or 100a.

Some possible materials to be used as substrates are a polyimide-based film (PI), a polyester-based film (PET) or a polyether sulfone film (PES) with good insulating properties. The substrate can also be one of the above-mentioned films, in which a thin metal film, for example a copper film, is laminated on at least one side.

In step 31, busbars 11 and 12 are made. Busbars can be made either by etching them from a preferably copper film on the substrate 10 or by pressing the busbars on the substrate 10. It is also possible to make busbars 11 and 12 using thick film technology or thin film technology.

S 25 - Busbars 11 and 12 can also be manufactured by electrically growing busbars 7 if a thin metal film is laminated to the substrate 10.

I In step 32, charging circuits 13, 13a, 14 and 14a are prepared for each electric battery in the group 100.

With the first charging circuit 13 or 13a the first electrode 5 of the electric battery = 1 is arranged to be connected to the first current rail R 30 size 11 and the second charging circuit 14 or 14a is arranged to be connected to the second current rail 12 of the electric battery 1 with the first charging circuit 12, 13a , 14 and 14a may preferably be resistors made by either a printing technique, a thick film technique or a thin film technique.

technology. It is easy to disconnect the charging circuits of the electric battery array 100 or 100a made by one of these methods when installed in their application. In step 33, the first electrode 5 of the electric battery 1 is manufactured. The first electrode 5 can be manufactured by etching it from a metal foil or by making it on a substrate 10 using a printing technique, a thick film technique or a thin film technique. In connection with the manufacture, the first electrode 5 is preferably arranged to be connected to the first charging circuit 13 or 13a. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first electrode 5 of the electric battery 1 is precharged with the voltage of the voltage source 20 before the next process steps. In step 34, the electrolyte of the electric battery 1 is prepared on the first electrode 5. In step 35, the second electrode 6 of the electric battery 1 is manufactured. The second electrode 6 - can be preferably produced using the printing technique, the thick film technique or the thin film technique. In connection with the manufacture, the second electrode 6 is preferably connected to the second charging circuit 14 or 14a. In step 36, it is checked whether, in addition to the electric batteries of the electric battery group 100 or 100a, an electronic component assembly is also manufactured, the voltage source of which is the electric battery according to the invention. If the decision in step 36 is that other electrical components are also manufactured, the manufacturing process proceeds to step 37. In step 37, various passive and active components can be manufactured, the voltage source of which is the electric battery N. Once all the electrical components have been manufactured, the manufacturing process - 25 - proceeds to step 38.

If the decision in step 36 is that no other components are manufactured, the manufacturing process proceeds directly to step 38, where all the electric batteries of the electric battery array 100 O or 100a are charged simultaneously. One or 3 voltage sources 20 connected to busbars 11 and 12 can be used for charging.

O N 30 After step 38, the batteries of the electric battery array 100 or 100a are charged to their operating voltage, and the manufacturing process proceeds to step 39.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the finished electric battery array 100 or 100a is stored in step 39 so that the voltage of the voltage source 20 is connected to the batteries of the electric battery array 100 or 100a throughout the storage. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, in step 39, the electric batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N of the electric battery array 100 or 100a are cut apart at the first 13 or 13a and the second charging circuit 14 or 14a, in Fig. 1b references 15a, 15b , 15c and references 15a1 and 15b1 in Figure 1c. Some of the method of manufacturing an electric battery array according to the invention and an electric battery array manufactured by the manufacturing method have been described above. The invention is not limited to the solutions just described, but the inventive idea can be applied in numerous ways within the limits set by the claims.

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Claims (19)

Claims A rechargeable, flexible electric battery array (100, 100a), the individual electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of which are produced by a mass production method in several successive work steps on a flexible insulating support film (10), characterized in that each - electric battery array ( 100, 100a) a first charging circuit (13, 13a) is connected to the electric battery (1, 2, 3, N), which is connected to a first busbar (11) made of insulating support film (10), and a second charging circuit (14, 14a) , which is connected to a second busbar (12) made of insulating support film (10). Flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second charging circuits (13, 14) are a resistor connected to the first or second busbar (11, 12) made of insulating support film (10). 13a, 14a). Flexible electric battery array (100, 100a) according to claim 2, characterized in that the electric battery array (100, 100a) is manufactured by roll-to-roll manufacturing equipment. Flexible electric battery array (100, 100a) according to claim 2, characterized in that the electric battery array is manufactured by sheet-fed printing equipment. Flexible electric battery array (100, 100a) according to Claim 3 or 4, characterized in that at least one of the following manufacturing methods is used in the manufacture of the electric battery array (100, 100a): printing technique, thick film technique, thin film technique, etching technique or chemical growth technique. > 25 N A flexible electric battery array (100, 100a) according to claim 5, characterized in that the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of the electric battery array (100, 100a) are arranged to be charged simultaneously on the busbars (11, 12). voltage across the charging circuit (13, 13a, 14, 14a) to the entire electric battery array (100, 100a). © Flexible battery group (100, 100a) according to Claim 6, characterized in that the voltage supplied to the battery group (100, 100a) is supplied to the busbars (11, 12) from at least one voltage source (20). Flexible electric battery array (100, 100a) according to claim 7, characterized in that the electric battery array (100, 100a) is arranged to be charged via a charging circuit (13, 13a, 14, 14a) from a voltage source (20) having a higher voltage than electric batteries ( 1, 2, 3, N) cell voltage. Flexible electric battery array (100, 100a) according to Claim 8, characterized in that the charging circuits (13, 13a, 14, 14a) of the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of the electric battery array (100, 100a) are dimensioned so that the charging circuits of the electric batteries do not really load during charging. Flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to Claim 8, characterized in that the voltage of the voltage source (20) is dimensioned in such a way that an increase in the cell voltage of the electric battery (1, 2, 3, N) prevents the electric battery from overcharging. Flexible electric battery pack (100, 100a) according to Claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of the electric battery pack (100, 100a) are arranged to be charged electrochemically in the electrolyte treatment. Flexible electric battery pack (100, 100a) according to Claim 7, characterized in that the discharge of the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of the finished electric battery pack (100, 100a) during storage is arranged to be prevented by connecting to the busbars (11, 12). a voltage from a separate voltage source (20) higher than the cell voltage of the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N). Flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to Claim 7, characterized in that the resistor acting as a charging circuit (13, 13a, 14, 14a) is arranged to be> disconnected when the electronic device to which the electric battery is connected is connected to its N applications. 2 2 30 A method of manufacturing a rechargeable flexible electric battery array (100, 100a), I utilizing a mass production method in a plurality of successive work steps = for a flexible insulating support film (10), characterized in that each electric battery array (1, 2, 3, N ) a first charging circuit (13, 13a) is connected, which is connected to a> 35 - first busbar (11) made of insulating support film (10) and a second charging circuit (14, 14a) is connected to a second busbar (10) made of insulating support film (10). 12). A method of manufacturing a flexible electric battery array (100, 100a) according to claim 14, characterized in that a resistor (13a, 14a) arranged on the support film (10) for connection to at least one of the busbars is manufactured as a charging circuit (13a, 14a). A method of manufacturing a flexible electric battery array (100, 100a) according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the electric battery array (100, 100a) is manufactured by a roll-to-roll manufacturing apparatus. A method of manufacturing a flexible electric battery array (100, -100a) according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the electric battery array is manufactured by sheet-fed printing equipment. A method of manufacturing a flexible electric battery array (100, 100a) according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that at least one of the following manufacturing methods is used in the manufacture of the electric battery array (100, 100a): printing technique, thick film technique, thin film technique, etching technique or chemical growth technique. A method of manufacturing a flexible electric battery array (100, 100a) according to claim 14, characterized in that at least the first electrode (5) of the electrodes (1, 2, 3, N) of the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of the electric battery array (100, 100a) is preloaded. after manufacture before the final completion of the electric battery (1, 2, 3, N). oO O OF Is O I a a O O O OF O OF