Abstract:
Button-type battery electrode connection members, button-type battery constructions, and methods of establishing electrical connections with and between button-type batteries are described. In one implementation, an electrode connection member comprises an inner conductive surface, and outer peripheral conductive surface, and an intermediate conductive surface joined with and extending between the inner and outer surfaces. The connection member defines an internal volume which is sized to receive at least one thin-profile battery. In one aspect, the intermediate conductive surface tapers between the inner and outer surfaces. The taper enables more than one button-type battery to be mounted within the internal volume without the need for edge insulation material over one of the batteries to prevent grounding. The electrode connection member can be mounted on a substrate for providing a generally self-contained, space-conserving power source which can include more than one battery connected in a series electrical connection.

Description:
RELATED PATENT DATA 
     This patent resulted from a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/274,550, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,317, filed Mar. 23, 1999, entitled “Button-Type Battery Constructions” (as amended), naming Rickie C. Lake as inventor, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. Said U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/274,550, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,317, resulted from a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/954,224, filed Oct. 20, 1997, entitled “Thin-Profile Battery Electrode Connection Members, Button-Type Battery Electrode Connection Members, Thin-Profile Battery Constructions and Button-Type Battery Constructions” (as amended), naming Rickie C. Lake as inventor, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,061, issued Dec. 7, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates to thin-profile battery electrode connection members, button-type battery electrode connection members, thin-profile battery constructions, button-type battery constructions, and methods of establishing electrical connections with and between both thin-profile batteries and button-type batteries. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Thin-profile batteries are characterized by having thickness dimensions which are less than a maximum linear dimension of its anode or cathode. One type of thin-profile battery is a button-type battery. Such batteries, because of their compact size, permit electronic devices to be built which themselves are very small or compact. When a higher voltage is needed in such devices, the batteries can be stacked or cascaded with one another to achieve a series electrical connection. When the electrical devices with which such batteries are used are small in dimension, it is desirable to configure one or more of the batteries in such a way as to conserve or minimize the space requirements necessary to achieve a desirable electrical connection between the batteries and other components of the device. 
     This invention arose out of concerns associated with improving the structures and methods through which thin-profile or button-type batteries are interconnected with one another and with electrical devices. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Thin-profile battery electrode connection members, button-type battery electrode connection members, thin-profile battery constructions, button-type battery constructions, and methods of establishing electrical connections with and between both thin-profile batteries and button-type batteries are described. In one implementation, an electrode connection member comprises an inner conductive surface, and outer peripheral conductive surface, and an intermediate conductive surface joined with and extending between the inner and outer surfaces. The connection member defines an internal volume which is sized to receive at least one thin-profile battery. In one aspect, the intermediate conductive surface tapers between the inner and outer surfaces. The taper enables more than one thin-profile battery to be mounted within the internal volume without the need for edge insulation material over one of the batteries to prevent grounding. The electrode connection member can be mounted on a substrate for providing a generally self-contained, space-conserving power source which can include more than one battery connected in a series electrical connection. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the following accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an electrode connection member formed in accordance with one aspect of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the FIG. 1 electrode connection member. 
     FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of an electrode connection member formed in accordance with another aspect of the invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the FIG. 1 electrode connection member within which a thin-profile battery is received. 
     FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of an electrode connection member which is formed in accordance with an other aspect of the invention and within which two thin-profile batteries are received. 
     FIG. 6 is a view of the FIG. 4 electrode connection member mounted on a substrate. 
     FIG. 7 is a view of the FIG. 5 electrode connection member mounted on a substrate . 
     FIG. 8 is a view of an exemplary electronic device which incorporates an electrode connection member and battery stack in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 9 is a view which is taken along line  9 — 9  in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 10 is a view which is taken along line  10 — 10  in FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     This disclosure of the invention is submitted in furtherance of the constitutional purposes of the U.S. Patent Laws “to promote the progress of science and useful arts” (Article 1, Section 8). 
     Referring to FIGS. 1,  2 ,  9 , and  10 , a connection member or container is shown generally at  20  and is configured for use with at least one thin-profile or button-type battery. Connection member  20  can comprise any suitable conductive material such as nickel foil, stainless steel sheet, metal screen mesh, and the like, and can be formed by stamping, etching, drawing, or molding any of such materials. Connection member  20  includes an inner conductive electrode connection surface  22  which is sized to receive and form an electrical connection with a battery electrode surface as will become apparent below. A battery electrode surface is mounted over or atop surface  22  and can be fixed in place with conductive epoxy. Accordingly, surface  22  can be considered as a mounting surface. At least a portion of surface  22  is generally planar and is oriented within a mounting surface plane P 1 , Connection surface  22  has an outermost boundary edge  24  which is generally circular in shape. 
     A conductive side or intermediate surface  26  is provided and is joined with connection surface  22  proximate outermost boundary edge  24 . The outermost boundary edge defines a joinder location between surfaces  22 ,  26 , with both surfaces extending generally away therefrom. In the illustrated example, surface  26  tapers to extend generally outwardly from connection surface  22  and define a generally frustum-shaped side surface. 
     An outer peripheral conductive surface or rim  28  is provided and is joined with side surface  26  proximate a joinder location  30 . Outer surface or rim  28  defines an opening into an internal volume  32  which is defined by connection surface  22  and side surface  26 . Internal volume  32  is sized to receive a substantial portion of at least one thin-profile or button-type battery. Side surface  26  tapers generally outwardly from joinder location  24  toward joinder location  30 . The rim defines a terminus of side surface  26 . Outer surface  28  is oriented within a plane P 2  which is generally parallel with plane P 1  Side surface  26  includes at least a portion which extends away from plane P 1  at an angle θ which is generally oblique relative thereto. Other angles θ are of course possible. In the illustrated example, a substantial portion of side surface  26  extends away at the angle θ. Surface  26  is dimensioned to achieve substantial alignment between outer surface  28  and a battery electrode surface of a thin-profile or button-type battery which is received within connection member  20 . 
     In one aspect, connection member  20  has a thickness dimension t adjacent inner conductive surface  22  and in a direction A which is normal to plane P 1 , Outer surface or rim  28  includes first and second boundary edges  34 ,  36  respectively, which have a minimum separation distance d therebetween. First and second boundary edges  34 ,  36  are generally circular in shape and concentric with one another. In the illustrated example, minimum separation distance d is greater than the thickness dimension t of connection member  20 . 
     FIG. 3 shows a connection member  20  which is similar in construction to the FIG. 1 connection member except that outer surface or rim  28  defines a minimum separation distance d which is approximately equal to thickness dimension t. 
     FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate different cuts which are taken through connection member  20  of FIG.  1 . FIG. 9 shows a first portion or cut comprising side surface  26  which is taken through line  9 — 9  in FIG.  1 . FIG. 10 shows a second portion or cut comprising side surface  26  which is taken through line  10 — 10  in FIG.  1 . The side surface portions bound respective first and second areas inside surface  26  and within internal volume  32  which lie in respective first and second planes. The first and second planes are spaced from one another and the areas defined therewithin are different from one another. In the illustrated example, the first and second planes are generally parallel with one another and with plane P 1 . The first plane (FIG. 9) is disposed closer to connection surface  22  than the second plane (FIG.  10 ). In the illustrated example, the first area is less than the second area. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, an exemplary thin-profile battery comprising a button-type battery  38  is placed or mounted on connection member  20  and received within internal volume  32 . Battery  38  includes a pair of terminal housing members which define a pair of outwardly-facing electrodes  40 ,  42 . Electrode  40  comprises the lid or anode electrode of the battery and electrode  42  comprises the can or cathode electrode of the battery. Side surface  26  is dimensioned to achieve substantial alignment of outer surface  28  and electrode surface  40 . Such is observed as plane P 2  is seen to be generally coincident with surface  40 . Electrode  42  is conductively received against surface  22  and accordingly establishes electrical communication between electrode surface  42  and connection member  20 . Accordingly, a single battery is provided and comprises different respective surfaces with which electrical connection is made with connection member  20 , and substantial alignment is achieved with outer surface  28 . Conductive adhesion with epoxy or other suitable bonding techniques such as welding can be utilized to fixedly mount battery  38  within connection member  20 , if desired. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, a connection member which is formed in Is accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention is shown generally at  20   a . Like numerals from the above-described embodiment are utilized where appropriate, with differences being indicated by the suffix “a” or with different numerals. Accordingly, mounting surface  22   a  and side surface  26   a  define an internal volume  32   a  which is sized to receive substantial portions of two thin-profile batteries  44 ,  46 . For purposes of the ongoing discussion, battery  44  comprises a first battery and battery  46  comprises a second battery. The batteries are oriented in a stack, one atop the other, and can be conductively bonded together if desired. Battery  44  includes a pair of terminal housing members comprising lid and can terminals. The lid and can terminals respectively define a pair of outwardly-facing battery electrode surfaces  48 ,  50 . Battery  46  includes a pair of terminal housing members comprising lid and can terminals. The lid  5  and can terminals respectively define a pair of outwardly facing battery electrode surfaces  52 ,  54 . Side surface  26   a  is dimensioned to achieve substantial alignment of outer surface  28   a  and battery electrode surface  52 . Accordingly, substantial alignment is achieved with an electrode surface of a different battery from which desired electrical connection is made with connection surface  22   a.    
     Side surface  26   a  of connection member  20   a  extends away from connection surface  22   a  sufficiently to bring at least a portion of the side surface into abutting physical engagement with only one of the batteries received within internal volume  32   a . In the illustrated example, such abutting engagement is achieved with battery  44  only and not with battery  46  by imparting a desired degree of taper to side surface  26   a . The illustrated side surface  26   a  is generally frustum-shaped which is similar to the one-battery embodiment of FIG.  4 . By virtue of the angularity of side surface  26   a  relative to surface  22   a , no electrical insulation is necessary to protect battery  46  from undesirably grounding against the side surface. Such insulation can, however, be provided if desired. 
     FIGS. 6 and 7 show a substrate portion  56  having a generally planar substrate surface  58 . The substrate can comprise a printed circuit substrate, i.e. printed circuit board, or a flexible circuit board and the like. A pair of spaced electrical contacts or contact pads  60 ,  62  are supported. by substrate  56 . Contact  60  comprises two different spaced portions which are each laterally spaced from contact  62 . Exemplary materials for the contact pads include screen or stencil-printed conductive materials such as copper or conductive printed thick film (PTF). The material from which contacts  60 ,  62  are formed can be either recessed within substrate  56  or disposed atop the substrate. In the context of this document, both constructions are seen to provide a generally planar outer surface adjacent which one or more batteries can be mounted or received. 
     Outer surfaces or rims  28  (FIG.  6 ),  28   a  (FIG. 7) are disposed against substrate surface  58 . Surface  58  substantially encloses the battery or batteries received within the respective internal volumes  32 ,  32   a . Accordingly, containers  20 ,  20   a  and substrate surface  58  define respective enclosures  64 ,  64   a  inside of which a battery or batteries are received. Electrode surfaces  40  (FIG.  6 ),  52  (FIG. 7) are conductively received against contact pad  62 , while outer surfaces  28 ,  28   a  are conductively received against contact pad  60 . Outer surfaces  28 ,  28   a  can be conductively bonded to the contact pads by conductive epoxy. Accordingly an electrical circuit connection is formed. 
     Referring to FIG. 7, batteries  44 ,  46  are conductively connected together in a stack which defines a series electrical connection. A first electrical connection is defined between electrode surface  48  of battery  44  and electrode surface  54  of battery  46 . Such electrical connection can arise from a mere physical engagement of the batteries or through the application of a suitable conductive epoxy material or other bonding agent to effectively conductively bond the two together. A second electrical connection is provided between electrode surface  50  of battery  44  and electrode surface  52  of battery  46 . In the illustrated example, the second electrical connection is provided through the respective contact pads which operably connect with circuitry which is external to the batteries. An exemplary arrangement is shown in FIG. 8 where a single integrated circuitry chip  66  is mounted over substrate  56 . Connection member  20   a  is received over the substrate and operably mounted thereon so that the batteries are placed into electrical communication with chip  66 . The contact pads are defined by conductive traces which form, together with chip  66 , the second electrical connection mentioned above. In the illustrated and preferred embodiment, chip  66  is configured for wireless radio frequency communication. An exemplary chip is described is U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/705,043, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,602, which names James O&#39;Toole, John R. Tuttle, Mark E. Tuttle, Tyler Lowrey, Kevin Devereaux, George Pax, Brian Higgins, Shu-Sun Yu, David Ovard and Robert Rotzoll as inventors, which was filed on Aug. 29, 1996, is assigned to the assignee of this patent application, and is fully incorporated herein by reference. 
     In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural and methodical features. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown and described, since the means herein disclosed comprise preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.