{
  "patent_number": "US 11094998",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "Making Safer Battery Separators with Ceramic Coatings",
  "original_title": "Ceramic-coated separators for lithium-containing electrochemical cells and methods of making the same",
  "summary": "This patent describes how to make a special ceramic coating for battery separators using specific lithium-containing materials and a precise drying process to improve the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent details a method to create a ceramic-coated separator for lithium-containing electrochemical cells, like those found in electric vehicles. It involves mixing a powder of specific lithiated oxides, such as Li2SiO3 or LiAlO2, with a binder to form a slurry with a controlled viscosity (Claim 1). This slurry is then applied onto a porous substrate, which acts as the base for the separator (Claim 1). Finally, the liquid is removed by drying the coated substrate at a temperature between 50°C and 100°C for 6 to 24 hours, forming a ceramic coating (Claim 1). This process aims to produce a separator that allows batteries to cycle at higher temperatures with reduced charge capacity loss (Claim 12). For instance, a manufacturer might use a doctor-blade coating method to apply a slurry containing LiNbO3 and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) onto a polymer film, then dry it in a controlled oven.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover ceramic coatings made from non-lithiated oxides or other ceramic materials not specifically listed in Claim 1.",
    "Does not cover manufacturing processes where the slurry viscosity falls outside the 300-1400 cps range at 25°C (Claim 1).",
    "Does not cover drying processes that use temperatures outside the 50-100°C range or drying times outside the 6-24 hour range (Claim 1).",
    "Does not cover separators where the ceramic coating is thicker than 10 μm (Claim 11).",
    "Does not cover ceramic coatings applied to non-porous substrates (Claim 1)."
  ],
  "filed": "2019-06-19",
  "granted": "2021-08-17",
  "expires": "2039-06-19",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "GM Global Technology Operations",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/gm-global-technology-operations",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Mei Cai",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/mei-cai"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xingcheng Xiao",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/xingcheng-xiao"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jiagang Xu",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/jiagang-xu"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 3,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "automotive",
    "energy",
    "materials",
    "telecommunications"
  ],
  "abstract": "A ceramic-coated separator for a lithium-containing electrochemical cell and methods of preparing the ceramic-coated separator are provided. The ceramic-coated separator may be manufactured by preparing a slurry that includes one or more lithiated oxides and a binder and disposing the slurry onto one or more surfaces of a porous substrate. The slurry may be dried to from a ceramic coating on the one or more surfaces of the porous substrate so as to create the ceramic-coated separator. The ceramic coating may include one or more lithiated oxides selected from Li2SiO3, LiAlO2, Li2TiO3, LiNbO3, Li3PO4, Li2CrO4, and Li2Cr2O7.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11094998/ceramic-coated-separators-for-lithium-containing-electrochemical-cells-and-metho",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11094998/ceramic-coated-separators-for-lithium-containing-electrochemical-cells-and-metho/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11094998",
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}