JPWO2018016653A1 - Electrochemical device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an electrochemical device which is less likely to be damaged in a film constituting an outer container housing an electrode assembly. The electrochemical device 1 has an electrode assembly 17, an outer container 13, and electrode terminals 7 and 8, and tabs 9 a and 11 a extending from the electrodes 2 and 3 correspond to the electrode terminals 7 and 8 in the outer container 13. It is superimposed on a part. The exterior container 13 is formed by bonding the films 6 overlapping each other outside the peripheral portion of the electrode assembly 17 with the film 6 covering the electrode assembly 17. The film 6 has a concave portion 6d having a shape in which the electrodes 2 and 3 are recessed inward in the laminating direction at a position closer to the laminated portion 17a of the electrode assembly 17 than the position facing the end of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 The film 6 is provided so as not to be in contact with the ends of the electrode terminals 7 and 8.

Description

  The present invention relates to electrochemical devices.

  BACKGROUND ART Electrochemical devices such as secondary batteries are widely used as power sources for portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, and laptop computers, and as power sources for vehicles and homes. In a general electrochemical device, two types of sheet-like electrodes, that is, an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are wound or stacked via a separator, are accommodated in an outer container made of a flexible film together with an electrolytic solution. It has the following configuration (patent documents 1 to 5).

  Specifically, the electrode assembly is covered with flexible films from the upper and lower sides in the overlapping direction of the positive electrode and the negative electrode (lamination direction), and the upper and lower films are superposed on the outer side of the peripheral portion of the electrode assembly. The outer container is configured by joining the overlapping portions to each other. The electrode assembly is provided with electrode terminals (a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal) for connecting each electrode to an external electric circuit or the like, and the electrode terminals extend outward from the inside of the outer container. Since the electrode terminal passes through a part of the outer container, some of the parts where the films are stacked and joined are such that the films located above and below the electrode assembly do not directly but sandwich the electrode terminal In the overlapping state.

  Patent Literatures 1 to 3 show a configuration in which current collectors of electrodes of the same polarity are superimposed and joined to the electrode terminals outside the laminated portion. Furthermore, Patent Document 4 discloses a configuration in which a reinforcing material is provided on the outside of a portion where films are overlapped and joined. Patent Document 5 discloses a configuration in which a film is temporarily shrunk at a position between a portion where the films are overlapped and joined and the peripheral edge of the electrode assembly. This is a configuration in which a film that is temporarily shrunk at the time of vacuum sealing of the outer container is spread outward by gas generated in the outer container at the time of use of the battery, and damage or rupture can be avoided.

  As disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 5, in general, the film constituting the exterior container has a heat-fusible resin layer formed on one side of a metal foil, and the other resin on the other side. It is a laminated film of the multilayer structure in which the layer was formed. By laminating the heat sealable resin layers of the laminate films located on the upper and lower sides of the electrode assembly outside the peripheral portion of the electrode assembly, and joining the heat sealable resin layers superposed to each other It constitutes an exterior container.

Patent No. 4360073 JP, 2005-317312, A JP, 2013-135186, A JP, 2006-313655, A JP, 2011-71133, A

  A film (particularly, a heat fusible resin layer located at the inner side of a portion of an electrochemical device such as a secondary battery joined in a state in which films located above and below the electrode assembly are directly or overlapping sandwiching an electrode terminal ) May not provide sufficient electrical insulation. In particular, when the tab of the negative electrode or the electrode terminal and the metal foil of the film come in contact and electrically short circuit to the same potential, the metal foil becomes finer (corrosion) and the film is broken, resulting in leakage of the electrolyte. May cause. In the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 5, the film is shrunk at a position between a portion where the films are overlapped and joined and the peripheral portion of the electrode assembly, but the shrunk shape of the film and the electrode terminal The relationship between the film and the film is not considered at all, so the inwardly contracted film may unintentionally come into contact with the end of the electrode terminal and be damaged, which may cause the above-mentioned failure.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an electrochemical device in which the film constituting the outer container accommodating the electrode assembly is less likely to be damaged.

  The electrochemical device of the present invention is connected to an electrode assembly comprising an electrode assembly in which two types of electrodes are stacked via a separator, an outer container made of a film for containing the electrode assembly, and an electrode And a pair of electrode terminals extending to the A tab extending from the electrode is superimposed on a portion of the electrode terminal inside the outer container. The outer container is formed by bonding the overlapping films outside the peripheral edge of the electrode assembly while the films cover the electrode assembly. The film is provided with a concave portion having a concave shape inward in the laminating direction of the electrode, at a position closer to the laminated portion of the electrode assembly than the position opposed to the end of the electrode terminal in the outer container. Is not in contact with the end of the electrode terminal in the outer container.

  According to the present invention, the film constituting the outer container accommodating the electrode assembly is less likely to be damaged.

It is a top view showing the basic structure of the rechargeable battery which is one embodiment of the electrochemical device of the present invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. 1A. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. 1B. It is an expanded sectional view in the position similar to the AA of FIG. 1A of the secondary battery which is a modification of the electrochemical device of this invention. It is the BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the support tab side of the secondary battery of the modification shown to FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1A and 1B schematically show the configuration of a laminated lithium ion secondary battery 1 as an example of the electrochemical device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view seen from the upper side perpendicular to the main surface (flat surface) of the secondary battery 1, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1A. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 1B (hatching is omitted).

  The lithium ion secondary battery 1 of the present invention includes an electrode assembly 17 in which two types of electrodes, that is, a positive electrode (positive electrode sheet) 2 and a negative electrode (negative electrode sheet) 3 overlap via a separator 4. The electrode assembly 17 is housed together with the electrolyte solution 5 in an outer case 13 made of a flexible film (flexible film) 6. One end of a positive electrode terminal 7 is connected to the positive electrode 2 of the electrode assembly 17, and one end of a negative electrode terminal 8 is connected to the negative electrode 3. The other end side of the positive electrode terminal 7 and the other end side of the negative electrode terminal 8 are drawn out of the exterior container 13 respectively. In FIG. 1B, the electrolyte solution 5 is shown by omitting a part of the layers constituting the electrode assembly 17 (a layer located in the middle part in the thickness direction). Along with this, the central portion of the electrode assembly 17 is illustrated even in the portion where the current collectors (tabs) 9 and 11 of the electrodes (positive electrode 2 and negative electrode 3) overlap the electrode terminals (positive electrode terminal 7 and negative electrode terminal 8). It is assumed that the omitted current collector of the electrode does not exist. Further, in FIG. 1B, although the positive electrode 2, the negative electrode 3, the separator 4, and the film 6 are not in contact with each other for easy viewing, in actuality, these are closely attached and laminated.

  The positive electrode 2 includes a positive electrode current collector 9 and a positive electrode active material layer 10 applied to the positive electrode current collector 9. The coated portion on which the positive electrode active material layer 10 is formed and the uncoated portion on which the positive electrode active material layer 10 is not formed are aligned along the longitudinal direction on the front surface and the back surface of the positive electrode current collector 9. The negative electrode 3 includes a negative electrode current collector 11 and a negative electrode active material layer 12 applied to the negative electrode current collector 11. The coated portion and the non-coated portion are positioned in line along the longitudinal direction on the front surface and the back surface of the negative electrode current collector 11.

  Portions 9a and 11a of uncoated portions (current collectors 9 and 11) of the positive electrode 2 and the negative electrode 3 are portions (laminated portions) of the electrode assembly 17 on which the electrodes 2 and 3 and the separator 4 are laminated. It is extended to the outer side of 17a, and is used as a tab for connecting with an electrode terminal (positive electrode terminal 7 or negative electrode terminal 8). As shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 2, the positive electrode tab 9 a (uncoated portion) of the positive electrode 1 is sandwiched between the positive electrode terminal 7 and the support tab 15 and connected to each other by ultrasonic welding or the like. Although not shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 1B, the negative electrode tab 11 a (uncoated portion) of the negative electrode 2 is sandwiched between the negative electrode terminal 8 and the support tab 15 and is ultrasonically welded or the like. Connected to each other. The other end of the positive electrode terminal 7 and the other end of the negative electrode terminal 8 are drawn to the outside of the outer container 13 made of the film 6. The outer dimensions of the coated portion (negative electrode active material layer 12) of the negative electrode 3 are larger than the outer dimensions of the coated portion (positive electrode active material layer 10) of the positive electrode 2 and smaller than or equal to the outer dimension of the separator 4.

  With the film 6 positioned above the electrode assembly 17 and the film 6 positioned below, the outer peripheral portions overlap and fuse with each other while surrounding the electrode assembly 17, whereby the outer peripheral portion is sealed The completed outer container 13 is completed. Here, “upper” and “lower” mean one end side and the other end side in a direction (stacking direction) in which the positive electrode 2 and the negative electrode 3 overlap.

  The film 6 of this embodiment is a laminated film of a multilayer structure in which resin layers 6b and 6c are provided on both sides of a metal foil 6a serving as a base, as shown in FIG. The metal foil 6 a is made of aluminum, stainless steel or the like having a barrier property such as preventing the leakage of the electrolyte solution 5 or the infiltration of water from the outside. The inner resin layer is a heat fusible resin layer 6b made of modified polyolefin or the like. The outer resin layer is, for example, another resin layer 6c made of nylon film, polyethylene terephthalate film, polyester film or the like. In a state where the heat fusible resin layer 6b of the upper film 6 and the heat fusible resin layer 6b of the lower film 6 overlap each other on the outer side of the peripheral portion of the electrode assembly 17, a heating jig (not shown) They are heat-sealed together by being heated and pressurized from the outside by the seal bar. However, in the portion where the positive electrode terminal 7 and the negative electrode terminal 8 extend from the inside to the outside of the outer container 13, the upper and lower films 6 do not overlap directly, but overlap with the positive electrode terminal 7 or the negative electrode terminal 8 interposed therebetween. . Therefore, a sealant (not shown) made of a heat fusible resin is provided in advance on both surfaces of the positive electrode terminal 7 and the negative electrode terminal 8, and heat sealing of the sealant and the film 6 is performed on each surface of the positive electrode terminal 7 and the negative electrode terminal 8. Heat-seal with the conductive resin layer 6b. As a result, the heat fusible resin layer 6 b of the upper film 6 and the heat fusible resin layer 6 b of the lower film 6 are fixed to each other with the positive electrode terminal 7 and the negative electrode terminal 8 and the sealant interposed therebetween.

  As described above, on the outside of the peripheral portion of the electrode assembly 17, the upper film 6 and the lower film 6 are fixed to each other in a state of overlapping directly or with the positive electrode terminal 7 and the negative electrode terminal 8 sandwiching the sealant. Thus, the exterior container 13 is configured.

  In the electrochemical device such as the secondary battery 1 or the like having such a configuration, the miniaturization (corrosion) of the metal foil 6a of the film 6 constituting the exterior container 13 sometimes becomes a problem. When the metal foil 6a is miniaturized, the film 6 is broken to cause problems such as leakage of the electrolytic solution. The main cause of the miniaturization of the metal foil 6a is that the metal foil 6a partially exposed due to damage to the heat-fusible resin layer 6b, which is the inner layer of the film 6, is an electrode (especially the negative electrode 3) It is to make an electrical short circuit to the same potential in contact. In order to prevent such miniaturization of the metal foil 6a, it is important to prevent damage to the heat-fusible resin layer 6b. As examined by the inventor, the film 6 may be damaged between the peripheral portion of the laminated portion 17a of the electrode laminate 17 and the portion (sealed portion) to which the film 6 is overlapped and joined. It has been found that one major cause of damage is the contact with the ends of the electrode terminals 7, 8 and the ends of the support tabs 15. In particular, the positive electrode terminal 7 is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy and the like, and the negative electrode terminal 8 is made of copper or copper alloy or those plated with nickel, etc. These electrode terminals 7 and 8 are relatively thick and highly rigid. The end has a strength enough to damage the heat-fusible resin layer 6b. In addition, although the support tab 15 is thinner and lower in strength than the electrode terminals 7 and 8, when the corner portion abuts on the film 6, there is a possibility that the heat fusible resin layer 6b may be damaged. Further, in any of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 and the support tab 15, when burrs are generated at the end during manufacturing, there is a high risk of damaging the heat fusible resin layer 6 b when coming into contact with the film 6 .

  Based on such examination results, in the present invention, in order to realize a configuration in which the film 6 does not abut on the ends of the electrode terminals 7 and 8, the film 6 faces the ends of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 At a position closer to the laminated portion 17 a of the electrode assembly 17 than the position, a concave portion 6 d having a shape which is concaved inward in the laminating direction of the electrodes 2 and 3 is provided. Thereby, the film 6 is not in contact with the end portion of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 located inside the exterior container 13. These positional relationships will be described with reference to FIG. 2. Between the position P1 of the peripheral portion of the laminated portion 17a of the electrode assembly 17 and the position P3 of the inner end of the outer container 13 of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 There is a position P2 of the apex (lowermost point) of the concave portion 6d. That is, in the direction in which the electrode terminals 7 and 8 extend from the inside to the outside of the outer container, the position P3 of the end of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 inside the outer container 13 and the position P2 of the apex of the concave portion 6d are It is important that they are offset, in particular, that the position P2 of the apex of the concave portion 6d is closer to the laminated portion 17a than the position P3 of the ends of the electrode terminals 7 and 8. With such a positional relationship, portions of the film 6 that are bent to the outside in the stacking direction face the end portions of the electrode terminals 7 and 8. Thereby, even if a force to deform the film 6 acts, for example, at the time of sealing under reduced pressure or at the time of expansion due to generation of gas thereafter, the film 6 is against the bending direction and ends of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 There is little possibility of deforming greatly until it touches the Accordingly, damage to the thermally adhesive resin layer 6b of the film 6 due to contact with the end portions of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 and, further, to the miniaturization of the metal foil 6a and breakage of the film 6 can be suppressed. As described above, according to the present invention, the film 6 becomes the end of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 by bending the film 6 constituting the outer container 13 once toward the inside in the stacking direction (forming the concave portion 6 d). The present invention proposes a new technical idea, which has never existed before the present application, to reduce the possibility of touching a part.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a convex portion 6e that protrudes continuously to the outer side in the laminating direction is provided at a position farther from the laminated portion 17a than the concave portion 6d of the film 6. According to this configuration, the portions of the film 6 facing the end portions of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 are more likely to be bent toward the outside in the stacking direction, and the film 6 opposes the bending direction to the electrode terminals 7, The possibility of large deformation until contact with the end of 8 becomes smaller. Therefore, breakage of the film 6 can be suppressed more reliably. In this configuration, the height H2 of the highest point of the convex portion 6e is lower than the height H1 of the film at a position overlapping the laminated portion 17a and higher than the height H3 of the lowermost point of the concave portion 6d in the laminating direction. Is preferred. The height H3 of the lowermost point of the concave portion 6d is higher than the height H4 of the electrode terminals 7 and 8.

  In the present embodiment, the support tab 15 is disposed on the side opposite to the electrode terminals 7 and 8 in the stacking direction of the tabs 9a and 11a. The support tabs 15 are metal pieces for helping to fix the tabs 9a and 11a and the electrode terminals 7 and 8 to each other by ultrasonic welding or the like in a state where the tabs 9a and 11a and the electrode terminals 7 and 8 overlap each other. Then, in order to prevent the film 6 from being damaged by coming into contact with the end portion of the support tab 15, a concave portion 6d and a convex portion 6e continuous to the concave portion 6d are formed in the film 6 on the lower side of FIG. That is, the lower film 6 of FIG. 2 is formed in a symmetrical shape with the upper film 6 of FIG. As a result, the lower film 6 is prevented from coming into contact with the end of the support tab 15 and being damaged, as in the case of the upper film 6 described above.

  The modification of the secondary battery which is an electrochemical device of this invention is shown by FIGS. In this modification, the concave portion 6 d and the convex portion 6 e are not provided in the film 6 on the lower side of the drawing, and the film 6 abuts on the end of the support tab 15. However, since it is not preferable that the corner of the support tab 15 abuts on the film, the corner of the support tab 15 (the stacking direction and the direction in which the electrode terminals 7 and 8 extend from the inside of the outer container to the outside) are orthogonal The small bulging part 6f is provided in the position which opposes the both ends of the width direction which each has. The size and shape of the bulging portion 6 f are not particularly limited, but a space surrounding the corner of the support tab 15 is formed, and the inner surface of the bulging portion 6 f and the corner of the support tab 15 do not contact directly. In this modification, the support tab 15 is not thick as in the electrode terminals 7 and 8 and the strength is small, and there is almost no risk that the film 6 may be damaged even if the middle portion between the corner portions abuts on the film 6 It is effective when there is not. In that case, it is sufficient to prevent only the contact between the film 6 and the corner of the support tab 15 in order to reduce the damage to the film 6, so that the efficiency of the lower film 6 can be achieved by only the minimum necessary processing. Damage to the film 6 can be prevented easily and easily.

  As described above, according to the present invention, damage to the film 6 constituting the outer container 13 can be suppressed, and an electrical short circuit of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 can be suppressed. Then, a good and stable outer container 13 can be formed stably, and as a result, a high performance electrochemical device 1 can be easily and efficiently manufactured. Although FIGS. 2-5 and the description regarding it mainly show the positive electrode terminal 7 side, the negative electrode terminal 8 side is also substantially the same structure, and the above-mentioned description is applied also to the negative electrode terminal 8 side. Further, the present invention is effective even if the electrode terminals 7 and 8 and the support tab 15 are vertically replaced. That is, regardless of the upper and lower sides, the concave portion 6 d is provided on the film 6 on the side facing the electrode terminals 7 and 8, and preferably, the convex portion 6 e is further provided. Then, the film 6 on the side facing the support tab 15 is provided with a concave portion 6 d (preferably further a convex portion 6 e) similarly to the positive electrode terminal 7 side, or faces the corner portion of the support tab 15 A bulging portion 6f is provided. However, in the case where the support tab 15 is not present, the film 6 located on the opposite side of the electrode terminals 7 and 8 in the stacking direction may not be specially processed.

  The embodiment described above has the electrode assembly 17 in which the plurality of positive electrodes 2 and the plurality of negative electrodes 3 are alternately and repeatedly stacked via the separator 4. However, the present invention is also applicable to a configuration having an electrode assembly 17 in which only one positive electrode 2 and only one negative electrode 3 overlap via the separator 4. Moreover, it is not restricted to the structure which the positive electrode terminal 7 and the negative electrode terminal 8 respectively extend outside from the edge | side from which the electrode laminated body 17 and the exterior container 13 differ, The positive electrode terminal 7 and the negative electrode terminal 8 extend side by side from the same edge May be Furthermore, a wound body in which one long positive electrode 2 and one long negative electrode 3 are wound with the separator 4 interposed therebetween may be used as the electrode assembly 17. In addition, although the lithium ion secondary battery adopting the present invention has been described, the present invention may be applied to a method of manufacturing a secondary battery other than a lithium ion battery or an electrochemical device other than a battery such as a capacitor. It is valid.

  Although the present invention has been described above with reference to some embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the embodiments described above, and the configuration and details of the present invention fall within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. There can be various modifications within the skill of the art.

  This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-144670 filed on July 22, 2016, and the entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-144670 is incorporated herein.

1 Electrochemical device (lithium ion secondary battery)
2 electrode (positive electrode)
3 electrode (negative electrode)
4 Separator 5 Electrolyte 6 Film (Flexible Film)
6a metal foil 6b heat-fusion resin layer 6c other resin layer 6d concave portion 6e convex portion 6f bulging portion 7 positive electrode terminal 8 negative electrode terminal 9 positive electrode current collector 9a positive electrode tab 10 positive electrode active material layer 11 negative electrode current collector 11a Negative electrode tab 12 Negative electrode active material layer 13 Outer container 15 Support tab 17 Electrode assembly 17a Stacked portion

Claims (9)

An electrode assembly in which two types of electrodes are stacked via a separator, an outer case made of a film for containing the electrode assembly, and the electrode are connected to extend from the inside of the outer case to the outside And a pair of electrode terminals,
A tab extending from the electrode is overlapped with a portion of the electrode terminal inside the outer container;
The outer container is formed by bonding the films overlapping each other outside the peripheral portion of the electrode assembly while the films cover the electrode assembly,
The film is provided with a concave portion having a concave shape inward in the laminating direction of the electrode at a position closer to the laminated portion of the electrode assembly than a position facing the end of the electrode terminal in the outer container. The electrochemical device, wherein the film is in non-contact with the end of the electrode terminal in the outer container.   The electrochemical device according to claim 1, wherein the film is provided with a convex portion protruding outward in the stacking direction at a position farther from the lamination portion than the concave portion.   The electrochemical device according to claim 2, wherein the convex portion and the convex portion of the film are formed continuously. The tab extending from the electrode further includes a support tab joined to the side opposite to the laminating direction of the electrode, of a portion of the external container in which the electrode terminal is overlapped in the outer container.
The electrochemical device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the film is in non-contact with the corner of the support tab in the outer container.   The film is provided with a bulging portion that protrudes outward in the stacking direction at a position facing the corner portion of the support tab in the outer container, and the corner portion of the support tab is bulgingly The electrochemical device according to claim 4 housed inside the part.   The electrochemical device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the film is in contact with an intermediate portion between corners of the support tab in the outer container.   The electrochemical device according to claim 4, wherein the film is not in contact with an intermediate portion between corners of the support tab in the outer container.   The electrochemical device according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the electrode terminal is thicker than the support tab.   The film has a heat fusible resin layer formed on one side of a metal foil, and another resin layer formed on the other side, and the heat melting is performed outside the peripheral portion of the electrode assembly. The electrochemical device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the adhesive resin layers are overlapped and bonded to each other to constitute the outer container.

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