Abstract: A method of forming a button-type battery, includes: a) providing an electrically conductive sheet having an exposed surface which is divisible into a plurality of areas; b) depositing an uncured electrically insulative gasket material onto the conductive sheet into a plurality of the areas, the gasket material being deposited to define at least one discrete pattern within the respective deposited areas, the respective discrete patterns covering less than a total of their respective areas; c) curing the deposited gasket material; d) cutting and forming a plurality of discrete first terminal housing members from the areas of the conductive sheet, the respective first terminal housing members comprising at least a portion of one of the discrete patterns of gasket material; d) providing a discrete electrically conductive second terminal housing member in facing juxtaposition to one of the first terminal housing members; e) providing an anode and a cathode having a separator and electrolyte positioned therebetwee

Abstract: A method of forming a button-type lithium electrode includes: a) masking an electrically conductive sheet with a material to which elemental lithium will not appreciably adhere to define a masked portion and an unmasked portion, the unmasked portion being in the shape of the desired electrode being formed; c) applying molten lithium to the masked sheet to cause elemental lithium to adhere to the unmasked portion but not appreciably adhere to the masked portion; alternately, directing a lithium stream onto the sheet; d) solidifying the lithium on the unmasked portion to in situ form a lithium electrode; and e) after solidifying, removing the masking material from the masked portion of the sheet.

Abstract: A container for a battery and a method for manufacturing such a container are provided. The container includes a housing; a cover adapted for attachment to the housing by crimping; and a gasket crimped to the cover and housing. One or more grooves are formed in the housing or cover or both. During assembly, the gasket is positioned between the cover and the housing, and a portion of the cover and a portion of the housing are crimped together causing the gasket to flow into and conform to the shape of the grooves. Placement of the gasket within the grooves increases the surface area of the resultant seal thereby improving the seal quality without significantly increasing the thickness of the battery or cell. In addition the grooves prevent the gasket from flowing out of the crimped seam and help to maintain the crimp pressure throughout the lifetime of the battery.

Abstract: The present invention introduces an RFID system that comprises a two-dimensional antenna configuration having a dipole in combination with a loop antenna or a second dipole with their dipole axes at approximately a 90.degree. angle to one another. The pattern of two dipole antennas combined with the pattern of a single loop antenna, allows the sequential combination of the patterns to represent a nearly spherical antenna pattern in three dimensions, while the antennas reside in a two-dimensional plane. The presence of multiple antennas also allows for a method to switch among the multiple antennas to find the antenna or combination of antennas that create(s) the strongest RF communication link thereby enabling more efficient transmitted power or more directional reception coverage. Improving efficiency can be further improved by taking this concept one step further by adding multiple antennas into the interrogator unit.

Abstract: A button-type battery includes, a) an anode; b) a cathode positioned adjacent to the anode; c) an electrolyte between the anode and the cathode; d) a conductive first terminal housing member in electrical contact with one of the anode or the cathode; the first terminal housing member having a periphery; e) a conductive second terminal housing member in electrical contact with the other of the anode or the cathode; the second terminal housing member having a periphery; f) the first and second terminal housing members forming an enclosed housing which holds and protects the anode, the cathode and the electrolyte; and g) the first and second terminal housing member peripheries being configured together to form an electrically insulative seal which seals the anode, the electrolyte and the cathode within the housing formed by the first and second terminal housing members, the electrically insulative seal comprising cross-linked butyl rubber.

Abstract: A method for encapsulating an electronic component includes providing a substrate; providing an enclosure dam around at least a portion of electronic component placed relative to the substrate; providing a first substantially uncured flowable encapsulation material outwardly of the electronic component and within the enclosure dam; providing a second encapsulation material atop the first encapsulation material and within the enclosure dam; and curing the first encapsulation material into a substantially non-flowable state, the second encapsulation material and the enclosure dam retaining the first flowable encapsulation material relative to the electronic component and substrate during the curing, the cured first material and the second material collectively forming a resultant encapsulation body on the electronic component. An encapsulated body having the above attributes is also disclosed.

Abstract: A method of forming a button-type battery terminal housing member sheet includes, a) providing an electrically conductive sheet having an exposed surface, the conductive sheet being divisible into a plurality of individual button-type battery terminal housing member regions; b) masking portions of the respective regions of the exposed sheet surface with a masking material; c) applying an uncured and flowable gasket material onto unmasked portions of the respective regions of the exposed sheet surface; d) allowing the applied uncured gasket material to at least partially cure; and e) after at least partially curing the gasket material, removing the masking material from the masked portions of the respective regions of the exposed sheet surface. The sheet is preferably utilized in formation of a plurality of button-type batteries. A plurality of discrete first terminal housing members are cut and formed from the electrically conductive sheet regions.

Abstract: A button-type battery is disclosed comprising a cathode, an anode, a solid electrolyte, a first terminal housing and a second terminal housing. The cathode is bonded to a conductive substrate which bears against one of the terminal housings. The anode has a diameter smaller than both the cathode and the solid electrolyte.

Abstract: An inexpensive low contact resistance electrical bonding interconnect having a metal bond pad portion and conductive epoxy portion. The conductive epoxy portion comprises a metal oxide reducing agent for reducing oxides formed before and/or during the fabrication of the bonding interconnect. The bonding interconnect is used to bond a die pad to a supporting substrate thereby forming a surface mount device.

Abstract: A button-type battery has an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte encased with two terminal housing members wherein at least one of the housing members is substantially planar. The terminal housing members have respective peripheries that are crimped together to form a fluid-tight seal. An insulating gasket is provided between the peripheries to electrically insulate the two terminal housing members. A porous separator physically separates the anode and cathode and extends between the terminal housing member peripheries at least partially into the fluid-tight seal. According to one aspect, the separator overlaps the gasket in the seal. According to another aspect, the separator and gasket are formed of a single, integral piece of material.

Abstract: A method of forming a button-type battery includes: a) positioning first and second terminal housing members in facing juxtaposition to one another, and providing an anode, a cathode and an electrolyte intermediate the first and second terminal housing member central portions; b) providing a peripheral insulative sealing gasket intermediate the first and second terminal housing members, the insulative sealing gasket being in the shape of an annulus and having a radial extent which extends radially outward beyond the surrounding peripheral portions of the first and second terminal housing members; c) moving at least one of the juxtaposed first and second terminal housing members in the direction of the other to push the first terminal housing member container wall against the first gasket face and to simultaneously force the second terminal housing member peripheral portion against the second gasket face, and continuing such moving to bend the insulative gasket about the container wall and force it to be recei

Abstract: A thin profile battery includes: a) an anode, b) a cathode positioned adjacent to the anode; c) a separator and electrolyte between the anode and the cathode; d) a conductive first terminal housing member in electrical contact with one of the anode or the cathode, the first terminal housing member having a surrounding periphery and a concave central portion intermediate of its surrounding periphery; e) a conductive second terminal housing member in electrical contact with the other of the anode or the cathode, the second terminal housing member having a surrounding periphery and a concave central portion intermediate of its surrounding periphery which is opposingly concave to the concave central portion of the first terminal housing member; and f) the first and second terminal housing members being insulatingly joined and sealed at their respective peripheries to form an enclosed housing which retains and protects the anode, cathode, separator and electrolyte, with the concave central portions of the first an

Abstract: A button-type battery has an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte encased with two terminal housing members. The terminal housing members have respective peripheries that are crimped together to form a fluid-tight seal. An insulating gasket is provided between the peripheries to electrically insulate the two terminal housing members. A porous separator physically separates the anode and cathode and extends between the terminal housing member peripheries at least partially into the fluid-tight seal. According to one aspect, the separator overlaps the gasket in the seal. According to another aspect, the separator and gasket are formed of a single, integral piece of material. The thickness of the entire battery is less than one millimeter.

Abstract: A button-type batter includes, a) a conductive first terminal housing member; b) a conductive second terminal housing member; c) an anode, a cathode and an electrolyte between the anode and cathode; the anode, the cathode and the electrolyte being collectively received intermediate the first and second terminal housing members; the first and second terminal housing members forming an enclosed housing which holds and protects the anode, the cathode and the electrolyte; and d) the anode having an operative surface within the enclosed housing which faces the cathode, the operative anode surface having been roughened prior to final assembly of the button-type battery.

Abstract: The structurally stable gelled electrolyte of the present invention includes a base electrolyte, a three-dimensional polymer precursor that is radiation curable and an electrically non-conducting solvent gelling agent. The base electrolytes of this invention are comprised of an aprotic liquid and a dissolved ionizable alkaline metal salt. The preferred radiation curable polymer pre-cursors of this invention include trimethylol propane ethoxy triacrylate (TMPEOTA) and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). The solvent gelling agent should be a solid powder or polymer with high surface area to adsorb the liquid electrolyte. Solid powders that can be used in the gelling agent include inorganic oxygen compounds such as silica (SiO.sub.2), titania (TiO.sub.2), alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3), magnesium oxide (MgO), barium oxide (B.sub.2 O.sub.3) and the like. Other compounds that can be used in the gelling agent include super absorbent polymers, clays, zeolite and such.

Abstract: A simple trip-wire or magnetic circuit associated with a shipping container provides continuity, which is detected electrically. Simply, if continuity is disabled by a forced entry of the container, electrical detection means, such as a radio-frequency-identification (RFID) tag, will alert the owner or monitoring station. The trip-wire concept would require the replacing of a broken trip wire (resulting from forced entry), while the magnetic circuit concept can be reused repetitively. In a second embodiment, a magnetic circuit and the detection device (RFID tag) are embedded into the shipping article during manufacturing. The preferred detection device, an RFID tag, could also be a battery backed transceiver type on which a replaceable or rechargeable battery could be mounted on the inside of the shipping container during manufacturing. The RFID tag would communicate with an interrogator unit, which could be connected to a host computer.

Abstract: A method of forming a button-type battery terminal housing member includes, a) providing an electrically conductive sheet having an exposed surface, the conductive sheet being larger than a desired resultant battery terminal housing member to be produced therefrom; b) providing a discrete solid gasket body, the gasket body being larger than a desired resultant gasket to be received relative to the battery terminal housing member; c) providing adhesive intermediate the conductive sheet exposed surface and the gasket body, and adhering the gasket body and conductive sheet together with the adhesive; d) positioning the conductive sheet with the gasket body adhered thereto between first and second forming members; and e) moving at least one of the forming members in the direction of the other to bear one of the forming members against the gasket body to simultaneously bend the solid gasket body and conductive sheet into a desired battery terminal housing member shape; the moving step also cutting through the gask

Abstract: A method of forming a button-type lithium electrode includes: a) masking an electrically conductive sheet with a material to which elemental lithium will not appreciably adhere to define a masked portion and an unmasked portion, the unmasked portion being in the shape of the desired electrode being formed; c) applying molten lithium to the masked sheet to cause elemental lithium to adhere to the unmasked portion but not appreciably adhere to the masked portion; alternately, directing a lithium stream onto the sheet; d) solidifying the lithium on the unmasked portion to in situ form a lithium electrode; and e) after solidifying, removing the masking material from the masked portion of the sheet.

Abstract: A button-type battery includes, a) an anode; b) a cathode positioned adjacent to the anode; c) an electrolyte between the anode and the cathode; d) a conductive first terminal housing member in electrical contact with one of the anode or the cathode; the first terminal housing member having a periphery; e) a conductive second terminal housing member in electrical contact with the other of the anode or the cathode; the second terminal housing member having a periphery; f) the first and second terminal housing members forming an enclosed housing which holds and protects the anode, the cathode and the electrolyte; and g) the first and second terminal housing member peripheries being configured together to form an electrically insulative seal which seals the anode, the electrolyte and the cathode within the housing formed by the first and second terminal housing members, the electrically insulative seal comprising cross-linked butyl rubber.

Abstract: An enclosed electrical circuit and method for manufacturing the electrical circuit are provided. Initially a flexible substrate is formed with a plurality of electrical circuits. By way of example, each circuit can contain a conductive trace, a battery and a die, all in electrical communication. During the manufacturing process, a barrier is placed on the substrate and a curable encapsulant is poured into a cavity formed by the barrier and the substrate to encapsulate each circuit. The barrier can be formed as a compartmentalized dam having a separate cavity for each circuit, as a perimeter dam having a single cavity, or as a spacer sheet having a separate cavity for each circuit formed by a pattern of cut outs. Following the encapsulation step, the electrical circuits can be singulated into separate encapsulated circuits.