Intellectual Property Office
Non-Confidential Disclosures
Use of a New Polymer System (MEEP) in Rechargeable Lithium Batteries
PSU Invention Disclosure No. 90-1001
Field of the Invention:
Electronic and Telecommunication Industries
Inventors:
H.R. Allcock, C.J. Nelson, W.D. Coggio
Patent status:
Issued Patent No. 5,414,025
Background:
The characteristics of a new polymer known as MEEP offer the potential to become the leading solid polymer electrolyte for the development of a new generation of batteries. Solutions of salts in MEEP have some of the highest conductivities known of solid polymer electrolytes. The above referenced invention offers an inexpensive method to crosslink MEEP and thereby greatly improves MEEP's properties and competitiveness against numerous other battery technologies.
Invention description:
The primary identified market for the invention appears to be as a battery for electrical automobiles. Current lead-acid automobile batteries contain only small amounts of stored energy in proportion to their weight. A General Motors prototype can travel 150 miles before requiring a time-consuming recharge. In addition, since lead-acid batteries last only 20,000 - 30,000 miles, the cost of replacing batteries is substantial to the consumer and to the environment. In addition, a consortium of American car manufacturers and the U.S. Department of Energy are investigating solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) technology as the basis for automobile power. Their system, the MEAD technology, suffers from many of the disadvantages that liquid electrolyte batteries have; high vapor pressure and the possibility of leaking. The invention may be suitable for the laptop computer market. The longest-lasting batteries for notebook computers do not provide power for long journeys. To increase the laptop's battery's life, some manufacturers are using nickel hybride batteries because they provide 30% more life than NiCd batteries and are environmentally safer. However, nickel hybride batteries are heavy, costly and less stable than NiCds. Additional lightweight, portable products in the consumer electronic and telecommunication industries will demand a lightweight, long-lasting battery. Portable medical devices, in addition to heart pumps and pacemakers, require energy from batteries and offer the potential of an additional inelastic market. With the trend toward more outpatient care, portability and lightweight requirements should dictate changes in the development of medical devices, which should favor lightweight batteries.
Advantages:
- A battery made of MEEP would be lighter than present batteries since no liquids would be present and lithium would be used as an electrode instead of lead,
- Crosslinked MEEP, which does not explode when subjected accidentally to high temperatures, can be disposed of with greater ease. This polymer degrades naturally into phosphate and ammonia.
- This system theoretically could approach the conductivity of the electrolytes used in present batteries. Experiments conducted by an independent analyst have shown that crosslinked MEEP batteries can be charged and discharged at least 200 times.
- This invention's low density and the projected thinness of the electrolyte portion of the battery should be advantageous for certain commercial applications other than as an automobile battery since this solid polymer can be shaped and used as a molding for any product.
Contact:
Mr. Bradley A. Swope
Sr. Licensing Officer
Intellectual Property Office
The Pennsylvania State University
113 Technology Center
University Park, PA 16802-7000
Phone: (814) 863-5987
Fax: (814) 865-3591
E-mail: bradswope@psu.edu
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