United States Patent and Trademark Office >>
Patent for multi-functional electrode devices for fast-charging of energy-storage devices and methods therein granted to StoreDot
Modern electronic appliances are becoming ubiquitous for personal, as well as business use. It cannot be overstated that with the evolution of such devices, mobility has emerged as a key driver in feature enhancement for technological innovation.
While the rapid advancement of low power-consumption processors and flash-memory devices have enabled such mobility to reach new levels of real-world productivity, further development is significantly hampered by the rather slow progress made in battery technology.
The proliferation of smart phones, tablets, laptops, ultrabooks and the like (acquiring smaller and smaller form factors) has made this issue even more abundantly apparent as consumers are eager to have longer and longer device usage periods between recharge cycles, without adding heft to the weight and footprint of such devices.
To meet the growing demand in portable electronic devices and devices having sporadic power-source connection, energy storage devices with high specific energy, high power density, long cycle life, low cost, and a high margin of safety must be employed.
This disclosure covers multi-functional electrode (MFE) device for fast-charging of energy-storage devices, the device comprising:
(a) a first MFE structure for forming a suitable electrochemical half-couple, said first MFE structure having a first fast-charging component (FCC) and a first MFE assembly;
(b) a counter-electrode structure for forming a complementary electrochemical half-couple to said first MFE structure; and
(c) an internal voltage controller (IVC) for applying a bias potential to said first MFE structure and/or said counter-electrode structure, whereby said bias potential is set in accordance with said first MFE structure and said counter-electrode structure.
