Component including a rechargeable battery
AssigneeBAE SYSTEMS plc
InventorsAmy Elizabeth Dyke, Michael Dunleavy, Martyn John Hucker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
According to the invention there is provided a component including a rechargeable battery and a method of producing same. The component uses one of an acid and an alkaline chemistry and the battery has an anode structure, a cathode structure, and a separator structure which separates the anode from the cathode and contains an electrolyte. The anode structure and the cathode structure are each formed from a composite material which includes electrically conductive fibres and electrochemically active material in a binder matrix including less than 50% w/w of an elastomer binder and the battery is formed to be structurally inseparable from the rest of the component.
Claims19
A substantially rigid structural component comprising:
- a rechargeable, rigid, structural battery using one of an alkaline and acid based chemistry, the battery having a rigid anode structure, a rigid cathode structure and a rigid separator structure which separates the anode structure from the cathode structure and contains an electrolyte, wherein:
- the anode structure and the cathode structure are each formed from a composite material which includes electrically conductive fibres and electrochemically active material in a cured binder matrix, and the separator structure is formed from a composite material which includes electrically insulating fibres in the cured binder matrix, so that the anode, cathode and separator provide a monolithic structure;
- the battery is structurally inseparable from a remainder of the substantially rigid structural component;
- and
- the binder matrix contains in a range of from 0.05% to 50% w/w of an elastomer binder.
A method of manufacturing a substantially rigid structural component including, and being structurally inseparable from, a rechargeable, rigid, structural battery using one of an acid and alkaline based chemistry, the rechargeable battery including a rigid anode structure and a rigid cathode structure containing fibrous reinforcing material and binder matrix material, and a rigid separator structure formed from a composite material which includes electrically insulating fibres in the cured binder matrix, the separator structure separating the anode structure from the cathode structure and being adapted to contain an electrolyte, the anode structure, cathode structure, and separator structure forming a monolithic structure, the method comprising:
- laying up, on either side of the separator structure, a layup of plies of electrically conductive fibrous reinforcing material for the anode structure and the cathode structure;
- introducing a curable binder matrix, containing in the range of from 0.05% to 50% w/w of an elastomer binder, into at least the anode and the cathode structures;
- and
- curing the layup of cathode, anode and separator structures into a single composite substantially rigid structural component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.