FI20176013A1 - 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

In the battery group manufacturing method and battery group according to the invention, there is no need for separate work steps for connecting the manufactured batteries to an electrical component assembly. The flexible electric battery group (100) produced by the manufacturing process according to the invention, the individual electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of which are produced by a mass production process on a plurality of successive working steps on a flexible insulating backing film (10). A charging circuit (13a, 14a) is coupled to the electric rails (11, 12) of each insulating battery (1, 2, 3, N) connected to the insulating support film (10). At the last stage of manufacturing the battery pack group (100), all the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of the electric battery group (100) are charged from the voltage source (20) via the busbars (11, 12).

Description

The present invention relates to a mass production method for an elastic substrate made of an electric battery group, the electric batteries of which are charged at the end of the manufacturing process all at the same time. The invention also relates to a manufacturing method suitable for mass production of a flexible battery pack, in which, at the final stage of manufacture, the batteries of the battery pack are charged simultaneously.

State of the art

An electrical pair made by printing technology is a key component in utilizing printed electronic fabric in a variety of applications. In addition to printing technology, a 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, can also be used, whereby a better current conductivity can be achieved in the wiring of the electronic circuit elements. The advantages of thick-film technology are the simplicity and scalability of the process and the layer thickness, which directly correlates with the capacity of the electric battery.

One customer need for small-scale tracking devices is real-time monitoring of the cold chain 20. In a tracking device suitable for such use, an electric battery has a necessary component. Known solutions are based on separate batteries, a separate RFID tag, which are connected in separate connection processes. A separate connection step increases the cost of manufacturing such a solution. In addition, it is not possible to separately connect the battery during the roll-to-roll manufacturing process.

FI 125257 discloses a wirelessly rechargeable electric pair manufactured by roll-to-roll manufacturing on a flexible substrate. The patented electric battery also utilizes the metal foil needed to fabricate the antenna made by etching the RFID tag as one of the other electrodes of the electric battery connected to the RFID tag. This does not require a separate RFID30 tag and electric battery connection process. The manufacture of an electric battery manufactured in the manner described in the patent becomes cost-effective because both the electrical battery and the RFID tag antenna are integrated in the manufacturing process into an electronic component assembly made of a flexible circuit board. When a patented component assembly is manufactured by a roll-to-roll manufacturing process, a product is obtained that is easily scalable to a bulk product.

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One of the basic goals of printed electronics is to fabricate electronic products by roll-to-roll manufacturing process from start to finish in a manner similar to the RFID tag preparation described above in patent Fl 125257.

However, manufacturing the battery pack assembly from roll to roll as described in patent Fl 125257 requires that each battery pack be separately charged before being installed or connected to its end use. The separate process of charging the battery is a difficult, slow and expensive operation.

Objective of the Invention

It is an object of the invention to provide a new method of manufacturing an array of 10 battery cells made on a flexible substrate which can significantly reduce the drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art methods for manufacturing an battery.

The electric batteries of the electric battery pack manufactured on the flexible substrate according to the invention can be recharged all 15 at one time during the final stage of manufacture. Each manufactured battery has its own charging circuit, which is produced during the manufacturing process of the battery. The battery-specific charging circuit not only limits the charge current supplied to the battery, but also insulates the batteries in the battery group during charging.

An advantage of the inventive method of mass production of an electric battery pack is that all the electric batteries of the battery pack can be charged to the operating voltage at the same time when the process steps required by the method of manufacturing the battery pack have been completed.

A further advantage of the invention is that the battery 25 of the electric battery group can be maintained during storage by a single voltage source.

A further advantage of the invention is that the energized electric batteries of the electric battery group can be detached from the electric battery group by cutting off one or more components of a single electric battery charging circuit, for example by cutting.

A further advantage of the invention is that it enables utilization of the roll-to-roll manufacturing process 30 in the manufacture of an electric battery group, whereby the manufacturing cost of a single electric battery is significantly reduced compared to prior art electric battery manufacturing methods.

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A further advantage of the invention is that, simultaneously with the manufacture of electric batteries, it is also possible to manufacture an electronic circuit component, for example an RFID tag, to which a single electric battery of an electric battery group 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 connected to the electric battery of each electric battery group, which is connected to busbars made of an insulating backing film.

The array of electric batteries according to the invention is characterized in that a charging circuit is connected to the electric battery of each group of electric batteries, which is connected to the busbars made of 10 insulating support films.

Certain preferred embodiments of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims.

The basic idea of the invention is as follows: the electronic component assembly to be utilized in the field of application and the electric battery required therein are manufactured by mass-production by roll-to-roll manufacturing or by sheet printing technology by producing a plurality of similar component assemblies at the same time. One or more of the following manufacturing techniques may be used in their manufacture, individually or in combination: printed electronics, thin film technology, thick film technology, or etching. The electric battery can also be grown using a chemical process.

The electrical battery required by the electronic component assembly in the manufacturing process of the invention may be manufactured in the same context as the actual electronic component assembly. In this case, the electric battery need not be connected to the electronic component assembly in a separate operation.

In the manufacturing process, the electrodes of the electric batteries are connected to two busbars by a charging circuit according to the invention. Through the charging circuit, a single battery in the battery group can be charged to the desired voltage. The battery-specific charging circuit not only limits the charging current supplied to the electric battery from the voltage source, but also insulates the batteries of the battery group from each other during charging and storage. Charging of the electric batteries of the battery group is preferably carried out simultaneously at the end of the manufacturing process. During charging, the operating voltage of the electric batteries can be supplied from at least one voltage source to all electric batteries of the electric battery group simultaneously.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the charging circuit is a resistive arrangement made by printing technology. The resistor arrangement preferably comprises at least one resistor for connecting one of the electrodes of the electric battery to the second busbar. In a preferred embodiment, both electrodes of the electric battery are connected by resistors to the busbars; a cathode for a voltage busbar and an anode for a ground potential busbar.

When the electronic component assembly is installed in its application, the electronic component assembly is preferably cut off from the array of electrical batteries so that as a result of the cutting, both Charging circuits of a single electric battery, for example resistors, are cut off.

The invention will now be described in detail. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1a illustrates an electro-battery assembly according to the invention by roll-to-roll method, Fig. 1b exemplifies another electro-battery assembly according to the invention by roll-to-roll method Fig. 2 illustrates by way of example how a single electric pair is cut off from the electric battery array and Fig. 3 shows by way of example the main steps of the method of manufacturing an electric battery group according to the invention.

The embodiments in the following description are exemplary only and one of ordinary skill in the art may implement the basic idea of the invention in a manner other than that described in the description. Although the specification may refer to one embodiment or embodiments at multiple locations, this does not mean that the reference is directed to only one embodiment described, or that the feature described is useful in only one embodiment described. The individual features of two or more embodiments may be combined to provide new embodiments of the invention.

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Fig. 1a shows a part of a roll-on-roll electric battery pack 100. The battery pack 100 is preferably made on a flexible insulating substrate 10 which is not laminated with a metal film. One or more roller-to-roller fabrication techniques suitable for use individually or in various combinations for use in roller-roller or sheet printing techniques may be used to manufacture battery group 100. The electric batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N shown in Fig. 1a are preferably made, for example, by printing technique, thin-film technique, thick-film technique, on a flexible insulating substrate 100 of various materials of the 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 made by growing at least one electrode of the electric battery in a chemical process.

The portion of the electric battery group 100 shown in the example of Figure 1a comprises electric batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N. The first electrode 5 (Fig. 2) of the electric battery 1 is connected to a busbar 11. connected with the second charging circuit 14 to the second busbar 12. Similarly, with its own charging circuits, the other electric 20 batteries 2, 3, ..., N of Fig. 1a are also connected to the busbars 11 and 12 on the substrate 10.

The busbars 11 and 12 are preferably made by etching them from a copper mine of a single-sided flexible laminate. Power strips 11 and 12 made of copper mine provide sufficient current when batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N are preferably charged during the final stages of the manufacturing process.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the Charging Circuits 13 and 14 shown in Figure 1a are resistors made by printing technology. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the charging circuits 13 and 14 may also comprise other passive or active components suitable for use as a part of the charging circuit by roll-to-roll or sheet printing technology.

In the example of Figure 1a, the battery cell group 100 is made only on the surface of the substrate 10 on which the busbars 11 and 12 are preferably etched from copper foil. This prevents electrically conductive penetrations through the substrate 10 from being made.

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

For the sake of clarity, Fig. 1a does not show the electronic component assemblies powered by the batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N in the application.

Preferably, said electronic component assemblies can be fabricated using the same manufacturing techniques as the electro-battery array. Preferably, the electronic component assemblies are made between the electric batteries 1,2, 3, ..., N shown in Fig. 1a.

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

Figure 1b shows a second roll-on-roll manufacture of another electric battery group 100a according to the invention. Also, this array of electrical batteries 15 100a is preferably made on a flexible insulating substrate 10 as described in connection with Figure 1a.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1b, the portion shown in the figure of the electric battery group 100a 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. other electric batteries 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, ..., Na and Nb of Fig. 1b for the busbars 11 and 12 on the substrate 10.

Fig. 1b shows the cut-off lines 15a, 15b and 15c along which the finished charged electric batteries 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, ..., Na and Nb of the invention are separated from the busbars 11 and 12. Separation of the electric batteries according to the invention and 12 is preferably carried out as the last step in the manufacture of an electric battery group.

It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that there may be more than two parallel electrical batteries, shown in Figure 1b, which are connected in parallel to the same two charging circuits.

Fig. 1c illustrates the connection of an electric battery array 100 according to the invention of Fig. 1a to charge batteries 1, 2, 3, ..., N from a voltage source 20. The first busbar 11 of the battery pack 100 is connected to a first terminal 21 of a voltage source 20. The voltage of the voltage 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 battery pack 100 is coupled to the second terminal 22 of the voltage source 20, where the example in Fig. 1c preferably has a ground potential.

15a1 and 15b1 show cutting lines along which cutting the batteries of an electric battery group 100 according to the invention can be separated from the voltage source 20.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the battery pack 100 is connected to a voltage source 20 so long as the batteries of the battery pack 100 are installed in their end use. The electric batteries of the electric battery group 100 are not cut into their own assemblies until the manufactured electronic component assembly is started at its intended use. This ensures that the electronic batteries in the electronic component assembly have the intended operating voltage at the time of use and that the battery is sufficiently charged for the intended operating time.

Figure 2 illustrates 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 coupled to the positive busbar 11 by a first charging circuit 13a, preferably using a resistor R1 made by printing technology. In the preferred embodiment of Figure 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.

When the charging circuit has a sufficiently large resistor in its entirety, then it is possible to charge the electric battery 1 with a constant current 20 from a higher voltage source 20 than the cell voltage of the electric battery 1. The voltage supplying the electric batteries to the electric batteries may advantageously be, for example, 24 Volts. In this case, for example, a 4.2V Li-Ion electric battery needs a total charging resistor (R1 + R2) of about 10 kO to be charged at 2.4 mA. When the cell voltage of the electric battery 1 rises to 4.2 V, then the charging current 2 is less than 2 mA. Because the charge voltage used is considerably higher than the cell voltage of the battery 1, the manufacturing tolerances will not affect adjacent batteries, but each battery will receive its own charging current defined by its own charging circuit. If

20176013 prh 13-11-2017 The cell of one electric battery is short circuited, it has no effect on the charging of cells of other electric batteries.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the charging circuit is manufactured by means other than printed electronics. Here, for example, the charging circuit may be part of an RFID circuit 5 or a separate SMD component. In this preferred embodiment, charging of the battery pack can only be performed after the charging circuits have been installed.

Figure 3 illustrates the main steps of the method used to prepare the battery assembly according to the invention. Some of the process steps of Figure 3 can also be carried out in the roll-to-roll manufacturing process in a sequence other than 10, as shown in flow chart 3 without changing the principle of the invention. For example, busbars, Charging circuits, electrode battery electrodes, and any electrical circuit components may be fabricated in a different order from that described in the description of the flowchart of Figure 3.

In step 30, the production of the battery pack is initiated by selecting the substrate material 10 to be used in the manufacture of the battery pack 100 or 100a. Some of the possible substrate materials are polyimide-based film (P1), polyester-based film (PET) or polyethersulfone (PES) having good dielectric properties. The substrate may also be any of the aforementioned films in which at least one side is laminated with a thin metal film, for example a ku20 double film.

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

The busbars 11 and 12 can also be made by electrolytically increasing the busbars if a thin metal film is laminated to the substrate 10.

In step 32, Charging circuits 13, 13a, 14 and 14a are prepared for each of the electric batteries of the electric battery 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 circuit 30 size 11 and the second charging circuit 14 or 14a is arranged to connect the second electrode 6 to the second current bus 12.

The first and second charging circuits 13, 13a, 14 and 14a may advantageously be resistors made by either printing technique, thick film technology or thin film

20176013 prh 13-11-2017 by Technology. Disconnecting the battery charging circuits of an electric battery pack 100 or 100a made by one of these methods is easy when installing it in its application.

In step 33, the first electrode 5 of the electric battery 1 is fabricated. The first electrode 5 can be fabricated by etching it from a metal foil or by fabricating it on a substrate 10 using printing technology, thick film technology or thin film technology. During 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 by the voltage of the voltage source 20 before the subsequent process steps.

In step 34, the electrolyte of the electric battery 1 is fabricated over the first electrode 5.

In step 35, a second electrode 6 of the electric battery 1 is prepared. The second electrode 6 15 can advantageously be manufactured using printing technology, thick film technology or thin film technology. During manufacture, the second electrode 6 is preferably coupled 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 produced whose voltage 20 is supplied by the electric battery according to the invention.

If, in step 36, it is decided that other electrical components are also fabricated, the manufacturing process moves to step 37. In step 37, various passive and active components can be fabricated which are powered by an electrical pair. Once all the electrical components have been manufactured, the manufacturing process moves 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 in the battery pack 100 or 100a are charged simultaneously. One or more voltage sources 20 connected to the busbars 11 and 12 may be used for charging.

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

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, in step 39, the finished battery pack 100 or 100a is stored such that the voltage of the voltage source 20 is connected to the batteries 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 off from each other at the first 13 or 13a and the second charging circuit 14 or 14a; 1c, references 15a1 and 15b1.

Some of the processes for the manufacture of an electro-battery group according to the invention and an electro-battery group produced by a manufacturing process 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 scope of the claims.

Claims (20)

A rechargeable, flexible battery cell (100, 100a), wherein the individual electric batteries (1,2, 3, N) are produced by a mass production process in a plurality of successive stages on a flexible insulating support film (10), characterized in that The flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 1, characterized in that the charging circuit (13, 14) is made of a first The flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 2, characterized in that the electric battery group (100, 100a) is manufactured by roll-to-roll manufacturing equipment. 15 The flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 2, characterized in that the electric battery group is manufactured by means of a sheet printing apparatus. 5 is manufactured by roll-to-roll making equipment. 5, characterized in that the charging circuits (13, 13a, 14, 14a) of the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of the electric battery group (100, 100a) are dimensioned so that the charging circuits of the electric batteries do not really load during charging. The flexible battery pack (100, 100a) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the manufacture of the battery pack (100, 100a) comprises: 20 utilized at least one of the following manufacturing processes: printing technology, thick film technology, thin film technology, etching technology or chemical cultivation technology. Charging circuits (13, 13a, 14, 14a) are coupled to the busbars (11, 12) of the insulating support film (10) in connection with the electric battery (1, 2, 3, N) of the 5 batteries. The flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 5, characterized in that the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of the electric battery group (100, 100a) are arranged to be charged simultaneously with the voltage in the busbars (11, 12). , 13a, 14, 14a) after completion of the entire battery pack (100, 100a). 30 The flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 6, characterized in that the voltage supplied to the electric battery group (100, 100a) is supplied to the busbars (11, 12) from at least one voltage source (20). The flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 7, characterized in that the electric battery group (100, 100a) is arranged to be charged 20176013 prh 13-11-2017 via a back-up circuit (13, 13a, 14, 14a) from a voltage source (20) having a voltage higher than the cell voltage of the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N). The flexible battery cell group (100, 100a) according to claim 8, The flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 8, characterized in that the voltage of the voltage source (20) is dimensioned such that an increase in the cell voltage of the electric battery (1,2, 3, N) prevents overcharging of the electric battery. 10 a resistor (13a, 14a) connected to one or another busbar (11, 12). The flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the electric batteries (1, 2, 3a, The flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 7, characterized in that the discharge of the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N) of the finished electric battery group (100, 100a) during storage is arranged to be prevented by switching on the 20 to the terminals (11, 12) from a separate voltage source (20) higher than the cell voltage of the electric batteries (1, 2, 3, N). The flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 7, characterized in that a resistor acting as a charging circuit (13, 13a, 14, 14a) is provided. 25 to be disconnected when the electronic device to which the battery is connected is connected to its intended use. 14. Process for the manufacture of a rechargeable flexible battery pack (100, 100a) utilizing a mass production process in a plurality of successive operations 30 resilient insulating backing film (10), characterized in that a first charging circuit (13, 13a) is provided in connection with the electric battery (1, 2, 3, N) of each electrical battery group (100, 100a). 11) and a second charging circuit (14, 14a) coupled to a second busbar (12) made of an insulating support film (10). A method for manufacturing a flexible electric battery group (100, 100a) according to claim 14, characterized in that a resistor (13a, 14a) is arranged on the support film (10) as a charging circuit (13a, 14a). 15 breeding techniques. 15 N) is arranged to be electrochemically charged for electrolytic treatment. Process for the production of a flexible battery cell (100, 100a) according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the battery (100, 100a) A method of manufacturing a flexible electric battery assembly (100, 100a) according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the electrical battery assembly is manufactured by means of a sheet printing apparatus. A method of manufacturing a flexible battery cell (100, 100a) according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that at least one of the following manufacturing processes is used in the production of the battery cell (100, 100a): printing technology, thick film technology, thin film technology, etching technology or chemical A method of manufacturing a flexible battery cell (100, 100a) according to claim 14, characterized in that at least the first electrode (5) of the electrodes of the battery (1, 2, 3, N) of the battery (100, 100a) is precharged After manufacturing the first 20 electrodes (5) before the final production of the electric battery (1, 2, 3, N).