Cell structure for electrochemical devices and method of making same

A method of forming a laminate cell membrane for use in an electrochemical device comprising, the steps of forming components thereof including the positive and negative electrodes and the separator/electrolyte means interposed therebetween by sequentially layering each component individually on its adjacent underlying component as thin ribbon-like configurations of the material in pliant form, winding the layered ribbon-like configurations into a disc, with the wide opposing sides of each component layer being on one another and the narrow sides thereof being adjacent the opposite disc sides, and of sealing alternatively adjacent pairs of layers of the separator/electrolyte means together on each narrow side, for isolating each of the alternatively arranged positive and negative electrodes, respectively from one of the disc sides while allowing the same electrode to be exposed on the opposite disc side, whereby said positive and negative electrodes having surface configurations generally opposing one another and extended in directions primarily transverse to the disc and the interposed separator/electrolyte means having a serpentine configuration extended generally between the opposite disc sides, providing interfacial area "A" between the adjacent positive and negative electrodes across the interposed separator/electrolyte means greater than the area of either disc side by a minimum enhanced area ratio of 2.

A method of forming an electrochemical device comprising, the steps of providing laminate cell membrane discs each having components thereof including positive and negative electrodes and separator/electrolyte means interposed therebetween, each component individually being of a thin ribbon-like configuration and the components cooperating with one another with the wide opposing sides thereof overlying one another and with the narrow sides thereof adjacent the opposite disc sides, and alternatively adjacent pairs of layers of the separator/electrolyte means on each narrow side isolating each of the alternatively arranged positive and negative electrodes respectively from one of the disc sides while allowing the same electrode to be exposed on the opposite disc side, thereupon the electrodes having surface configurations generally opposing one another and extended in directions substantially perpendicular to the disc and the interposed separator/electrolyte means having a serpentine configuration extended generally between the opposite disc sides, providing interfacial area "A" between the adjacent positive and negative electrodes across the interposed separator/electrolyte means greater than the area of either disc side by a minimum enhanced area ratio of 2;

• providing positive and negative electrode material discs and current collector discs of approximately the same sizes as the cell membranes;
• assemblying each cell membrane in a sandwiched relationship between the electrode material discs and the current collector discs in sealed association within housing means, said electrode material discs thereby being disposed immediately adjacent and homogeneous with and electrically similar to its adjacent current collector disc and extended over substantially the full area thereof and with said respective positive and negative electrodes in the regions defining the surface configurations.