Spacers for providing protection of electrochemical battery enclosures and systems and methods therefor

1. A secondary battery for cycling between a charged state and a discharged state, the battery comprising a constraint and an electrode assembly disposed within the constraint, wherein

the electrode assembly has mutually perpendicular transverse, longitudinal, and vertical axes corresponding to x, y and z axes, respectively, of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system,

the electrode assembly comprises a population of unit cells comprising an electrode current collector layer, an electrode layer, a separator layer, a counter-electrode layer, and a counter-electrode current collector layer in stacked succession in the longitudinal direction,

the electrode layer comprises an electrode active material, and the counter-electrode layer comprises a counter-electrode active material, wherein one of the electrode active material and the counter-electrode material is a cathodically active material and the other of the electrode active material and the counter-electrode material is an anodically active material, and

a subset of the unit cell population further comprises at least one extended spacer member located in the stacked succession between the electrode current collector layer and the counter-electrode current collector layer, the at least one spacer member extending a distance SD in the x-axis direction beyond an x-axis edge of the constraint.

2. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the at least one extended spacer member comprises a pair of extended spacer members, each extended spacer member extending a distance SD in the x-axis direction beyond at least one of two opposing x-axis edges of the constraint.

3. The secondary battery set forth in claim 2 wherein the pair of extended spacer members are spaced apart from each other in the transverse direction.

4. The secondary battery set forth in claim 3 wherein at least a portion of the counter-electrode active material of the counter-electrode layer is located between the spaced apart extended spacer members such that the portion of the counter-electrode active material and the spacer members lie in a common plane defined by the x and z axes.

5. The secondary battery set forth in claim 2 wherein the pair of extended spacer members are spaced apart in the vertical direction.

6. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the distance SD is up to 4 mm.

7. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the distance SD is from 100 μm to 4000 μm.

8. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the at least one extended spacer member has a length extending in the x-axis direction, the length of the at least one extended spacer member being equal to or less than 3000 μm.

9. The secondary battery set forth in claim 8 wherein the at least one extended spacer member is adhered to the electrode current collector layer.

10. The secondary battery set forth in claim 8 wherein the at least one extended spacer member is adhered to the electrode layer.

11. The secondary battery set forth in claim 8 wherein the at least one extended spacer member is adhered to the separator layer.

12. The secondary battery set forth in claim 8 wherein the at least one extended spacer member is adhered to the counter-electrode current collector layer.

13. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the at least one extended spacer member is disposed between the separator layer and the electrode layer.

14. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the at least one extended spacer member is disposed between the separator layer and the electrode current collector layer.

15. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the at least one extended spacer member is disposed between the separator layer and the counter-electrode layer.

16. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the at least one extended spacer member is disposed between the separator layer and the counter-electrode current collector layer.

17. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the at least one extended spacer member is adhered to at least one of the electrode current collector layer, the electrode layer, the separator layer, the counter-electrode layer, and the counter-electrode current collector layer.

18. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the at least one extended spacer member has a total length greater than a total length of the electrode layer measured in the x-axis direction or a total length of the counter-electrode layer measured in the x-axis direction.

19. The secondary battery set forth in claim 1 wherein the electrode assembly and the constraint are disposed within a sealed enclosure, the at least one extended spacer member facilitating an increase in a radius of curvature of an inner surface of the enclosure around the x-axis edge of the constraint.

20. The secondary battery set forth in claim 19 wherein the radius of curvature of the inner surface of the enclosure around the x-axis edge of the constraint matches the distance SD.

21. The secondary battery set forth in claim 19 wherein the radius of curvature of the inner surface of the enclosure around the x-axis edge of the constraint is up to 4 mm.

22. A method of manufacturing a battery assembly for use with a secondary battery, the battery assembly having mutually perpendicular transverse, longitudinal, and vertical axes corresponding to x, y and z axes, respectively, of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, the method comprising:

preparing a unit cell by stacking an electrode current collector layer, an electrode layer, a separator layer, a counter-electrode layer, and a counter-electrode current collector layer in succession in the longitudinal direction, the electrode layer comprises an electrode active material, and the counter-electrode layer comprises a counter-electrode active material, wherein one of the electrode active material and the counter-electrode material is a cathodically active material and the other of the electrode active material and the counter-electrode material is an anodically active material, and

placing at least one extended spacer member in the stacked succession between the electrode current collector layer and the counter-electrode current collector layer, the x-axis extent of the at least one extended spacer member being a distance SD greater than the x-axis extent of the unit cell.

23. The method according to claim 22 wherein placing the at least one extended spacer member comprises placing a pair of extended spacer members in the stacked succession between the electrode current collector layer and the counter-electrode current collector layer, the pair of extended spacer members being spaced apart in one of the transverse direction and the vertical direction, the x-axis extent of the pair of extended spacer members being a distance SD greater than the x-axis extent of the unit cell.

24. The method according to claim 22 , further comprising placing the unit cell within a constraint such that the at least one extended spacer member extends the distance SD from an x-axis edge of the constraint.

25. An electrode assembly for a secondary battery, the electrode assembly having mutually perpendicular transverse, longitudinal, and vertical axes corresponding to x, y and z axes, respectively, of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, the electrode assembly comprising:

a unit cell comprising an electrode current collector layer, an electrode layer, a separator layer, a counter-electrode layer, and a counter-electrode current collector layer in succession in the longitudinal direction, the electrode layer comprises an electrode active material, and the counter-electrode layer comprises a counter-electrode active material, wherein one of the electrode active material and the counter-electrode material is a cathodically active material and the other of the electrode active material and the counter-electrode material is an anodically active material, and

at least one extended spacer member between the electrode current collector layer and the counter-electrode current collector layer, the x-axis extent of the at least one extended spacer member being a distance SD greater than the x-axis extent of the unit cell.

26. The electrode assembly set forth in claim 25 wherein:

the unit cell has a height measured in the vertical direction and the at least one extended spacer member has a height measured in the vertical direction,

the height of the unit cell is either equal to, greater than, or less than the height of the at least one extended spacer member.

27. A method of manufacturing an electrode assembly for a secondary battery, the electrode assembly having mutually perpendicular transverse, longitudinal, and vertical axes corresponding to x, y and z axes, respectively, of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, the method comprising:

preparing a unit cell by stacking an electrode current collector layer, an electrode layer, a separator layer, a counter-electrode layer, and a counter-electrode current collector layer in succession in the longitudinal direction, the electrode layer comprises an electrode active material, and the counter-electrode layer comprises a counter-electrode active material, wherein one of the electrode active material and the counter-electrode material is a cathodically active material and the other of the electrode active material and the counter-electrode material is an anodically active material, and

placing at least one extended spacer member between the electrode current collector layer and the counter-electrode current collector layer; and

placing the unit cell within a constraint, such that an x-axis extent of the at least one extended spacer member is a distance SD greater than an x-axis extent of the constraint.