VARTA MICROBATTERY GMBH (Ellwangen, DE)

The button cell is a kind of housing which has a cup and the casing. The bottom edge creates an opening between the bottom of the cell and the casing. Also, there is a top and cell top. The housing contains an electrode-separator winding. This assembly includes a multi-layer structure that is wound in a spiral shape around an axis. It also has the ability to separate two electrodes, a negative and positive one. An insulator is placed between the end of an electrode-separator’s winding and the first conductor for output. The initial output conductor is then welded to the flat bottom or top surface.

A button cell’s housing typically consists of two housing pieces, a cup, and an upper. As an example they can be made using deep-drawn nickel-plated metal as stamped and drawn parts. The cell cup normally haspositive polarity, and the housing top has negative polarity. The housing may contain widely different electrochemical systems, such as for instance, zinc/MnO.sub.2, primary and secondary lithium systems, or secondary ones such as nickel/cadmium or nickel/metalhydride.

By way of example rechargeable button cells based on nickel/metal hydride or lithium-ion systems are currently in wide use. The lithium-ion button cell’s electrochemically active elements don’t normally fit in the housing as electrodes. Instead they are placed in tablets that are separated by the separator. Instead, the electrode-separator assemblies prefabricated are preferably placed flat in the housing. In that case, a porous plasticfilm is most often used as a separator, onto which the electrodes are laminated or adhesively bonded flat. The entire assembly comprising electrodes and separator typically are a maximum of a few hundred .mu.m. In order to allow buttons with normal dimensions to be filled, several of such assemblies are therefore often laid flat over the other. This allows stacks with any height that is desired and width to be created, each case matched to the dimensions of the button cell housing in which the stack is to be installed. This ensures the best utilization of the space of the housing.

There are however some problems with buttons that have stacks of assembly assemblies made up of electrodes and separators. It is crucial that electrodes with identical polarities be joined within the stack before they come into contact. The cost of materials is excessive due to the necessity of electrical contacts. Furthermore, they occupy an area that is not suitable for the active material. In addition, the production of the electrode stacks can be complicated and expensive since faults are likely to occur when the components come into contact with one another, increasing the scrap rate. On the other hand, it has beenfound that buttons with a stack of electrodes and separators very quickly start to leak.

Traditionally, button cells are sealed in a liquid-tight manner by putting the edge of the cell cup on the edge of the cell top and utilizing the use of a plastic ring which is arranged between the cell cup and the top of the cell and simultaneously serves as a sealant and also for electrical insulation of the cell cup and of the cell top. These button cells are described in DE 31 13 309.

It can also be possible to make button cells where the cup of the cell and the top of the cell are connected in the axial direction only by a force-fitting connection, and that do not include beaded-over-cup edge.Button cells like these and methods for their production are described in German Patent Application 10 2009 017 514. The button cells, regardless of their many advantages, can not be loaded in the same direction as other button cells, without beading. This is due to the mechanical loads that are produced in the internals of the button cells. For example the electrodes in rechargeable lithium-ion systems are constantly subject to changes in their volume in the course of charging and discharging. The axial forces which occur in this scenario can of course, lead to leaks much more easily when it comes to button cells with no beading rather than button cells that have beading.

It may be beneficial to provide a button cell in which the problems mentioned above do not occur or are only present in a lesser degree. It is possible to create a button that is more resistant to mechanicalloads as compared to traditional button cells. This is particularly true in the case of button cells made without a cup edge.

The present invention provides a button cell, including: a housing, the housing including: a cell cup, the cell cup having a flat bottom area, a cell cup casing, and a bottom edge forming a transition between the flat bottom area and the cellcup casing, and a cell top, the cell top having a flat top area, a cell top casing, and a top edge forming a transition between the flat top area and the cell top casing; an electrode-separator assembly winding disposed within the housing, theelectrode-separator assembly winding including a multi-layer assembly that is wound in a spiral shape about an axis, the multi-layer assembly including: a positive electrode formed from a first metallic film or mesh coated with a first electrodematerial, a negative electrode formed from a second metallic film or mesh coated with a second electrode material, and a separator disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; a first output conductor connected to the firstmetallic film or mesh, wherein the first output conductor at least partially lies flat between (i) an end face of the electrode-separator assembly winding and (ii) a first of the flat bottom area or the flat top area; and an insulator disposed betweenthe end face of the electrode-separator assembly winding and the first output conductor, wherein the first output conductor is welded to the first of the flat bottom area or the flat top area.

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