Patent ID: 7846575

Claim:
A method of manufacturing an anode assembly, said anode assembly characterized by an electrically insulative cup, said cup having a major opening, a current collector disposed within the interior of the cup, a volume of anode material disposed within the interior of the cup and in electrical communication with the current collector, and a portion of separator material disposed across at least a majority of said major opening, wherein the separator material comprises at least one layer of one of the group: a perforated polypropylene material, a perforated polyurethane material, a non-woven material, the method comprising: inserting a current collector into the cup; threading a tab member coupled to the current collector to a location outside the periphery of the cup; filling at least a majority of the cup with an anode material comprising lithium; aligning a layer of separator material over the major opening; contacting the separator material with a pressing die; and applying force to the pressing die and compressing the separator material against the anode material until the anode material deforms to establish electrical communication with the current collector and the layer of separator material and thereby forming an integrated pressed anode assembly comprising the cup, the current collector, the deformed anode material and the separator material.