HellQat, This is an oversimplification, but I believe the laminate is made with a uniform thickness that can be used for different battery sizes. The standard cellphone batteries are 8 or 9 bi-cells (9mm thick) and one version of laptop cells are 4 mm thick. The same roll of laminate can be cut to either size and stacked as high as required for either application, or perhaps for palm pilots 2 or 3 bi-cells (layers of 1mm laminate) thick.
As illustrated in the Business technology section of the March 16,1994 New York Times, the Bellcore laminate consists of the following layers:
1-Aluminum mesh
2-Plastic anode layer
3-Plastic impregnated with electrolyte
4-Plastic cathode layer
5-Copper mesh
As I understand it, all required components are built and assembled as a 1mm thick "battery sandwich" on the coater laminators and stored on rolls until required at the assembly machines. For laptops, the laminate is cut into 4x4 inch squares and automatically stacked, 4 sheets high for the 4mm version, and electrical leads connected to the anode and cathode layers in a manner similar to electrical capacitors.
Each stack with attached leads is considered a cell, and with Manganese oxide cathodes, produces 3.8 volts under light load. A single cell should be all that is required for a cellphone and would therefore be considered a battery. Most laptops likely require three 4x4 cells connected in series to make 11.4 volt batteries.
If palm pilots require more than 3.8 volts, a battery could similarly be made, for example, by stacking 1mm or 2mm thick cells on top of each other and connecting them in series for the required voltage.
I must admit that I have never witnessed the operation, but this is the way I visualize after it was explained to me a long time ago by Engineers at Valence. |
