JPH0457071B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in flat nonaqueous electrolyte batteries called button batteries or coin batteries.

As is well known, nonaqueous electrolyte batteries that use light metals such as lithium as negative electrode active materials can achieve high theoretical energy density, making it possible to achieve long life and high discharge performance with small flat batteries. Can be done. In this type of flat non-aqueous electrolyte battery, when high-load discharge performance to obtain a large short-circuit current is particularly important, the following considerations must be made in the battery configuration. First, it is necessary to maintain good and stable electrical contact between the positive electrode can and the positive electrode mixture, and between the negative electrode can and the negative electrode. For this purpose, it is common practice to interpose current collectors such as metal nets or expanded metal between the positive electrode mixture and the positive electrode can, and between the negative electrode can and the negative electrode, respectively. The next important thing is to make the facing area of the positive electrode mixture and the negative electrode as large as possible, and to make the distance between the electrodes sufficiently small. However, the opposing area of the positive and negative electrodes is
It is largely regulated by the outer diameter of the flat battery.
Conventionally, it has not been possible to dramatically increase the facing area within limited dimensions.

By the way, the present applicants have previously proposed forming minute irregularities on the contact surface of the negative electrode with the separator for the purpose of removing the nonconductor film formed on the surface of the lithium negative electrode. Furthermore, it has already been proposed to form grooves on the abutting surfaces of the positive electrode mixture and the separator in order to prevent warping and cracking after the positive electrode mixture is press-molded. This 2
The depth (height difference) of the unevenness and grooves in these examples is considerably smaller than the thickness of the separator, and the separator fills in these unevenness and grooves, increasing the facing area of the positive and negative electrodes. It wasn't something I would do. Even if minute irregularities or grooves are formed only on the opposing surfaces of either the positive electrode mixture or the negative electrode, the surface area on the side where the irregularities or grooves are formed will certainly increase, but this is important for high-load discharge performance. The opposing area will hardly increase. In addition, if unevenness or grooves are formed only on one opposing surface, the average distance between the electrodes tends to increase, and in this respect as well, it is not useful for improving high-load discharge performance.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to overcome the dimensional limitations of the battery case, increase the facing area of positive and negative electrodes, reduce the distance between the electrodes, The object of the present invention is to provide a flat non-aqueous electrolyte battery that has a large short circuit current and excellent high-load discharge performance.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention forms an uneven surface with a corrugated cross section having a height difference sufficiently larger than the thickness of the separator on the joint surface of the negative electrode with the separator, and then tightly adheres the separator to this uneven surface. The separator itself is also formed to have a corrugated uneven surface, and the positive electrode mixture is bonded to the uneven surface of the separator in a filled state.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a flat lithium battery to which the present invention is applied. A flat battery case is composed of the positive electrode can 10, a dish-shaped negative electrode terminal plate 12 whose outer diameter is slightly smaller than the positive electrode can, and an annular sealing gasket 14. The negative electrodes 20 are stacked and loaded. The positive electrode can 10 and the negative electrode terminal plate 12 are made of stainless steel. The sealing gasket 14 is inserted between the periphery of the negative terminal plate 12 and the inner periphery of the positive electrode can 10, and is compressed using the inner bottom surface of the positive electrode can 10 as a seat to seal the battery case. The positive electrode mixture 16 is made by adding a conductive agent and a binder to manganese dioxide, kneading and molding the mixture.
Separator 18 is made of flexible polypropylene nonwoven fabric. The positive electrode mixture 16 and the separator 18 are impregnated with a non-aqueous electrolyte.

The surface of the lithium negative electrode 20 on the separator 18 side is
It has an uneven surface with a triangular wave-shaped cross section and a large height difference several times the thickness of the separator 18. The flexible separator 18 is placed in close contact with the corrugated surface of the negative electrode 20, and the separator 18 itself also has the same corrugated surface. The positive electrode mixture 16 is tightly packed into the uneven surface of the separator 18. In other words, the bonding surface of the positive electrode mixture 16 with the separator 18 is the same wavy uneven surface as the negative electrode 20, and these wavy uneven surfaces are connected to the separator 18.
They are facing each other with the two in between.

FIG. 2 shows the main parts of this invention in the order of manufacturing steps. Since the lithium negative electrode 20 is flexible, it can be pressed into a second form using an appropriate mold.
As shown in Figure A, an uneven surface having a concentric planar pattern as shown in the figure can be easily formed on one surface of the negative electrode 20. The smooth surface side of this negative electrode 20 is pressed onto the inner surface of the negative electrode terminal plate 12. Negative electrode 2
The height difference a of the unevenness of 0 is approximately 3 to 8 times the thickness of the separator 18, and is 1/2 or more of the maximum thickness b of the negative electrode 20.

After the negative electrode 20 is crimped onto the inner surface of the negative electrode terminal plate 12, as shown in FIG. 2B, the separator 18 is placed over the corrugated uneven surface of the negative electrode 20 and brought into close contact with the uneven surface. Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the positive electrode mixture 16 is stacked on the corrugated surface of the separator 18. There are several methods for manufacturing this part. Either a method of press-molding the positive electrode mixture 16 into a disk shape in advance and stacking it on the separator 18, or a method of molding the positive electrode mixture 16 on the separator 18 may be used. When the positive electrode mixture 16 is molded in advance, a concentric wave-shaped uneven surface with the unevenness reversed to that of the negative electrode 20 is simultaneously formed on the side of the contact surface with the separator 18 at the time of molding.

A non-aqueous electrolyte is injected into the assembly assembled up to the step shown in FIG. 2C, the sealing gasket 14 and the positive electrode can 10 are assembled, and the periphery of the positive electrode can 10 is caulked to complete the battery. In this way, in the battery of the present invention, the lithium negative electrode 20 and the positive electrode mixture 16 face each other with the corrugated uneven surfaces having a height difference sufficiently larger than the thickness of the separator 18, so that the battery case size is limited. On the other hand, the facing area of the positive and negative electrodes increases dramatically compared to the conventional method. Further, the distance between the electrodes is approximately equal to the thickness of the separator 18, and can be kept to a minimum distance. Therefore, the high load discharge performance of the battery is improved and a large short circuit current can be extracted.

In the above embodiment, the planar pattern of the corrugated surface formed on the lithium negative electrode 20 is concentric, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the planar pattern of the uneven surface may be parallel lines, a lattice, or a random pattern. But that's fine.

As explained in detail above, in the flat non-aqueous electrolyte battery of the present invention, the facing area of the positive and negative electrodes is significantly increased compared to conventional batteries of the same size, and the distance between the electrodes can also be kept sufficiently small. It has excellent high load discharge performance with a large short circuit current.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a flat non-aqueous electrolyte battery according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a process diagram showing in detail the structure of the essential parts of the present invention in the same battery. 10...Positive electrode can, 12...Negative electrode terminal plate, 14...
... Sealing gasket, 16... Positive electrode mixture, 18...
Separator, 20... negative electrode.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A non-aqueous electrolyte battery in which a negative electrode made of a light metal, a separator, and a positive electrode mixture are laminated and loaded in a flat battery case, wherein the bonding surface of the negative electrode with the separator is the separator. The separator is formed into an uneven surface with a corrugated cross section having a height difference sufficiently larger than the thickness of the separator. A flat non-aqueous electrolyte battery characterized by being bonded together in a filled state.