Patent Application
20250079430
The present disclosure relates to an electrode cutting device and a cell manufacturing device comprising the same.
As technology development and demand for mobile devices increase, a rechargeable secondary battery is being widely used as an energy source for various mobile devices. Further, the secondary battery is also attracting attention as an energy source for an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or the like, which have been proposed as a way to solve the air pollution or the like due to a conventional gasoline vehicle or diesel vehicle.
The secondary battery is classified into a coin-type battery, a cylindrical battery, a prismatic battery, and a pouch-type battery according to the shape of the battery case. In general, an electrode assembly embedded in the battery case is classified into a jelly-roll type in which a separator is interposed between a positive electrode and a negative electrode and is wound, a stack type in which a plurality of unit cells with a separator interposed between a positive electrode and a negative electrode is stacked, and a stack/folding type in which unit cells are wound with a separation film.
The unit cell in the stack type electrode assembly may be manufactured by stacking the separator on each of the upper surface and the lower surface of the cut central electrode, and additionally stacking a cut upper electrode and/or a cut lower electrode onto the separator. At this time, as the misalignment of the electrode during the driving, a planned cutting line of the central electrode, upper electrode, and/or the lower electrode may not coincide with an actual cutting line. Further, due to the misalignment of the electrode at the time of matching, the alignment of the electrodes in the matched cell may be misaligned.
One of the objects of the present disclosure is to provide a cutter capable of adjusting a cutting angle.
Another object of the present disclosure is to improve a precision of an electrode cutting position.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to improve an alignment of electrodes in a matched cell.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to improve a process efficiency by automatically adjusting the cutting angle.
One embodiment of the present invention relates to an electrode cutting device, including: a transfer unit that transfers an electrode; a vision unit that measures a misaligned angle of the electrode; a cutting unit including a cutter that cuts the electrode; and a control unit that controls the cutter, wherein the control unit adjusts a cutting angle of the cutter based on the misaligned angle of the electrode measured by the vision unit, and the cutting angle of the cutter is an angle formed by a blade of the cutter and an imaginary line perpendicular to a transfer direction of the electrode on a plane.
Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a cell manufacturing device, including: a first electrode cutting unit that cuts a first electrode; a first matching unit that matches the cut first electrode with a separator to form a first matched product; a second electrode cutting unit that cuts a second electrode; and a second matching unit that matches the cut second electrode with the first matched product to form a second matched product, wherein at least one of the first electrode cutting unit and the second electrode cutting unit includes the electrode cutting device.
As one effect of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a cutter capable of adjusting a cutting angle.
As another effect of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the precision of an electrode cutting position.
As yet another effect of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the alignment of electrodes in a matched cell.
As yet another effect of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the process efficiency by automatically adjusting the cutting angle.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings. In the drawings, all or a part of each configuration may be exaggerated for convenience of description.
Further, the present invention is not limited to the accompanying drawings or the contents described in this specification. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in various forms without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.
In this specification, the width direction W, the longitudinal direction L, and the thickness direction T will be described with the transfer direction of the electrode as the longitudinal direction L. Further, unless otherwise stated, in the present specification, a plane refers to a WL plane formed by a straight line in the width direction W and a straight line in the longitudinal direction L. The thickness direction T refers to a direction perpendicular to the WL plane.
A cell manufacturing device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a first electrode cutting unit 110 that cuts a first electrode 11; a first matching unit 210 that matches the cut first electrode 11 with separators 21 and 22 to form a first matched product 31; a second electrode cutting unit 310 that cuts a second electrode 12; and a second matching unit 410 that matches the cut second electrode 12 with the first matched product 31 to form a second matched product 32.
At least one of the first electrode cutting unit 110 and the second electrode cutting unit 310 includes an electrode cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electrode cutting device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes transfer units 111 and 311 to transfer electrodes 11 and 12; vision units 112 and 312 to measure a misaligned angle of the electrode 11 and 12; cutting units 113 and 313 including cutters 113c and 313c that cut the electrodes 11 and 12; and control units 114 and 314 to control the cutters 113c and 313c.
The transfer units 111 and 311 transfer the electrodes 11 and 12. For example, the transfer units 111 and 311 may be a conveyor belt. At this time, the transfer units 111 and 311 may transfer the electrodes 11 and 12 so that the electrodes 11 and 12 sequentially pass through a region measured by the vision units 112 and 312 and a region cut by the cutting units 113 and 313.
The vision units 112 and 312 measure the electrodes 11 and 12, and especially, measure the misaligned angle of the electrodes 11 and 12. The vision units 112 and 312 may include a vision device, and for example, may include a vision device such as a camera, an X-ray device, or the like.
The cutting units 113 and 313 cut an electrode sheet into an individual electrode. For convenience of description, in the specification, the electrode sheet and the individual electrode formed by cutting the electrode sheet are referred to as the electrodes 11 and 12 without distinguishing the terms from each other. The cutters 113c and 313c of the cutting units 113 and 313 may be a knife, a wheel, or the like, and may have a blade which is a region that is brought in contact with the electrodes 11 and 12 directly and performs the cutting. The cutters 113c and 313c may be lowered in the thickness direction T so that the blade cuts the electrodes 11 and 12, or may be lowered in the thickness direction T and then slide in the width direction W so that the blade cuts the electrodes 11 and 12. However, the cutting method of the blade is not limited to the method described above.
The control units 114 and 314 control the cutters 113c and 313c. For example, the control units 114 and 314 may calculate the moving distance, the moving direction, the cutting angle, or the like of the cutters 113c and 313c, and control the cutters 113c and 313c accordingly.
The control units 114 and 314 may adjust the cutting angle of the cutters 113c and 313c based on the misaligned angle measured by the vision units 112 and 312. At this time, the cutting angle of the cutters 113c and 313c is an angle formed by the blade of the cutters 113c and 313c and the imaginary line perpendicular to the transfer directions of the electrodes 11 and 12 on a plane. The electrode cutting device according to the embodiment of the present invention may improve the precision of the cutting angle by introducing the control units 114 and 314, and may increase the process efficiency by applying an automatic adjustment of the cutting angle.
Hereinafter, the vision units 112 and 312, the cutting units 113 and 313, and the control units 114 and 314 will be described in detail with reference to
Referring to
Meanwhile, in order to clearly indicate and recognize the position where the electrodes 11 and 12 are cut, a groove (g) may be formed at each of both end portions of the electrodes 11 and 12. As illustrated in the drawings, the both end portions of the electrodes 11 and 12 refer to both end portions that intersect a straight line extending the planned cutting line (c) of the electrodes 11 and 12. In other words, the both end portions of the electrodes 11 and 12 refer to both end portions in the width direction W perpendicular to the transfer direction L of the electrodes 11 and 12 on a plane when the electrodes 11 and 12 are in an aligned state, which is not misaligned. At this time, the planned cutting line (c) may be an imaginary line that connects the groove (g) formed at each of the both end portions of the electrodes 11 and 12. Therefore, the vision units 112 and 312 may recognize the planned cutting line (c) using the center of the groove (g) formed at each of the both end portions of the electrodes 11 and 12. When the planned cutting line is recognized by measuring a distance between taps (regions that protrude from one end portion) of the electrodes 11 and 12 and a length of the tap of the electrodes 11 and 12, it is difficult to recognize the accurate position when the tap of the electrodes 11 and 12 is damaged. However, as the embodiment of the present invention, when the planned cutting line (c) is recognized using the groove (g) formed at the electrodes 11 and 12, the problem mentioned above may be prevented.
Furthermore, the vision units 112 and 312 may further measure other information of the electrodes 11 and 12. For example, at one end portion where the tap of the electrodes 11 and 12 protrudes, the vision units 112 and 312 may measure at least one of a distance between the grooves (g), a distance between a side of the tap of the electrodes 11 and 12 and the groove (g), and a distance (length of the tap) between both sides of the tap of the electrodes 11 and 12. Further, at one end portion of the electrodes 11 and 12, the vision units 112 and 312 may measure at least one of the misalignment between a reference driving line of the electrodes 11 and 12 and an actual driving line of the electrodes 11 and 12, and a distance between a center line of the tap of the electrodes 11 and 12 and the groove (g). Here, the reference driving line of the electrodes 11 and 12 may be a line along the longitudinal direction L, and the actual driving line may be a lone along the one end portion of the electrodes 11 and 12. Further, the center line of the tap of the electrodes 11 and 12 may be a line perpendicular to the one end portion of the electrodes 11 and 12. Additionally, the vision units 112 and 312 may inspect whether there is a metal foil between shoulder lines that are extending lines of boundary lines of a region coated with an active material and a region not coated with the active material on the one end portion and the tap of the electrodes 11 and 12. Through this, it is possible to check the state of the electrodes 11 and 12, such as whether the groove (g) is defective, whether the tap is defective, whether the electrode is misaligned, or the like.
Referring to
The second matching unit 410 may include a nip roller 411 that matches the first matched product 31 including the first electrode 11 and the separators 21 and 22 and the cut second electrode 12, and a transfer unit 412 that transfers the second matched product 32. In particular, the second matching unit 410 may include a matching vision unit 413 that measures at least one of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12. The matching vision unit 413 will be described in detail later with reference to
The cutting units 113 and 313 may include a first rail 113r and a second rail 313r spaced apart from each other in the width direction W that is the direction perpendicular to the transfer direction L of the electrodes 11 and 12 on a plane, bodies 113b and 313b disposed between the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r and connected to each of the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r, the cutters 113c and 313c disposed on the bodies 113b and 313b to cut the electrodes 11 and 12, grippers 113g and 313g disposed on the bodies 113b and 313b to fix the electrodes 11 and 12, and a first motor 113m and a second motor 313m that each supplies power so as to move the bodies 113b and 313b on each of the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r. However,
The first rail 113r and the second rail 313r are disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the width direction W that is the direction perpendicular to the transfer direction L of the electrodes 11 and 12 on a plane. At this time, each of the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r may be disposed along the transfer direction L of the electrodes 11 and 12.
The bodies 113b and 313b are disposed between the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r and are connected to each of the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r. The bodies 113b and 313b may have a structure extending from the first rail 113r to the second rail 313r. Specifically, one end portion of the bodies 113b and 313b is connected to the first rail 113r and the other end portion is connected to the second rail 313r so as to movable on each of the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r. The shape of the bodies 113b and 313b is not limited, but may have a shape similar to a shape of a letter “C” rotated by 90° in a clockwise direction when viewed in the longitudinal direction L.
At this time, the bodies 113b and 313b are connected to each of the first motor 113m and the second motor 313m, which are individual motors. Therefore, the bodies 113b and 313b may independently move on each of the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r by each of the first motor 113m and the second motor 313m. For example, the moving distance of the bodies 113b and 313b on the first rail 113r may be different from the moving distance of the bodies 113b and 313b on the second rail 313r. At this time, by applying a hinge structure in a corner region of the bodies 113b and 313b, it is possible to make the moving distances of the bodies 113b and 313b on each of the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r different from each other.
The cutters 113c and 313c are disposed on the bodies 113b and 313b and connected to the bodies 113b and 313b. Therefore, when the bodies 113b and 313b move on the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r, the cutters 113c and 313c may also move together with the bodies 113b and 313b. Specifically, the cutters 113c and 313c are disposed in a direction directed from the one end of the bodies 113b and 313b to the other end on a plane such that the blade of the cutters 113c and 313c is directed to the width direction W as a reference before the cutting angle adjustment. Therefore, the body 313b may be moved on the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r to control the cutting angle of the cutters 113c and 313c.
The grippers 113g and 313g are disposed on the bodies 113b and 313b and connected to the bodies 113b and 313b, and may serve a role of fixing the electrodes 11 and 12. Specifically, the electrodes 11 and 12 are fixed by the grippers 113g and 313g before being cut, and then cut by the cutters 113c and 313c. Further, as will be described later, the gripper 113g and 313g may serve a role of feeding the electrodes 11 and 12. When the bodies 113b and 313b move on the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r, the grippers 113g and 313g connected to the bodies 113b and 313b may also move together with the bodies 113b and 313b. At this time, the grippers 113g and 313g may be disposed side by side with the cutters 113c and 313c in the direction directed from the one end of the bodies 113b and 313b to the other end on a plane. The grippers 113g and 313g may be lowered in the thickness direction T to apply a predetermined pressure to the electrodes 11 and 12 to fix the electrodes 11 and 12, but are not limited thereto.
Meanwhile, as illustrated in the drawing, the cutting unit may have a structure in which the cutters 113c and 313c and the grippers 113g and 313g are disposed on the bodies 113b and 313b. Therefore, when the bodies 113b and 313b move on the first rail 113r and the second rail 313r, the cutters 113c and 313c and the grippers 113g and 313g may also move together, and the cutting angle of the cutters 113c and 313c and the feeding angle (to be described later) of the gripper 113g and 313g may be easily controlled.
The matching vision unit 413 measures at least one of the cutting angle and the misaligned angle of each of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 of the second matched product 32. When it is recognized that the cutting of the measured electrodes 11 and 12 is misaligned, the matching vision unit 413 measures the cutting angle of the electrodes 11 and 12, and when it is recognized that the alignment of the electrodes 11 and 12 is misaligned, the misaligned angle of the electrodes 11 and 12 may be measured. The matching vision unit 413 may also include a vision device, and for example, may include a vision device such as a camera, an X-ray device, or the like.
Referring to
The control unit 114 of the electrode cutting device included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 may adjust the cutting angle of the cutter 113c included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 additionally based on the cutting angle of the first electrode 11 measured by the matching vision unit 413. In other words, the control unit 114 of the electrode cutting device included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 may calculate and adjust the cutting angle of the cutter 113c included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 based on the misaligned angle of the first electrode 11 measured by the vision unit 112 and the cutting angle of the first electrode 11 measured by the matching vision unit 413.
Similarly, the control unit 314 of the electrode cutting device included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 may further adjust the cutting angle of the cutter 313c included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 additionally based on the cutting angle of the second electrode 12 measured by the matching vision unit 413. In other words, the control unit 314 of the electrode cutting device included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 may calculate and adjust the cutting angle of the cutter 313c included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 based on the misaligned angle of the second electrode 12 measured by the vision unit 312 and the cutting angle of the second electrode 12 measured by the matching vision unit 413.
Meanwhile, as described above, the control units 114 and 314 may control the cutters 113c and 313c based on the misaligned angle measured by the vision units 112 and 312. However, after the adjustment, the cutting line of the cutters 113c and 313c may still not overlap with the planned cutting line (c) and may be misaligned with each other. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the matching vision unit 413 measures the actual cutting angle of each of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 after being cut, and additionally adjusts the cutting angle of the cutters 113c and 313c, and thus, the precision of the cutting angle may be further improved.
Referring to
Meanwhile, the cutting unit 113 of the electrode cutting device included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 may further include the first gripper 113g that fixes the first electrode 11 and feed the cut first electrode 11 to the first matching unit 210. The control unit 114 of the electrode cutting device included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 may adjust the feeding angle of the first gripper 113g by the misaligned angle of the first electrode 11 measured by the matching vision unit 413. Here, the feeding angle refers to an angle formed by the side (e) that connects the both end portions of the first electrode 11 fixed by the first gripper 113g and an imaginary line perpendicular to a feeding direction (f) of the first electrode 11 on a plane. In this specification, the feeding direction (f) refers to the moving direction of the electrode that is fed. When the cutting unit 113 of the electrode cutting device included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 has the structure illustrated in
The control unit 114 of the electrode cutting device included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 may also adjust the angle of the first electrode 11 supplied to the transfer unit 111 included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 based on the misaligned angle of the first electrode 11 measured by the matching vision unit 413. For example, when it is measured to be a state where both the first electrode 11 measured by the vision unit 114 of the electrode cutting device included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 and the first electrode 11 measured by the matching vision unit 413 are misaligned, the angle of the first electrode 11 supplied to the transfer unit 111 included in the first electrode cutting unit 110, which is an initial introducing position of the first electrode 11, may be adjusted.
Similarly, the cutting unit 313 of the electrode cutting device included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 may further include the second gripper 313g that fixes the second electrode 12 and feed the cut second electrode 12 to the second matching unit 410. The control unit 314 of the electrode cutting device included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 may adjust the feeding angle of the second gripper 313g by the misaligned angle of the second electrode 12 measured by the matching vision unit 413. Here, the feeding angle refers to an angle formed by the side (e) that connects the both end portions of the second electrode 12 fixed by the second gripper 313g and the imaginary line perpendicular to the feeding direction (f) of the second electrode 12 on a plane. When the cutting unit 313 of the electrode cutting device included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 has the structure illustrated in
The control unit 314 of the electrode cutting device included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 may also adjust the angle of the second electrode 12 supplied to the transfer unit 311 included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 based on the misaligned angle of the second electrode 12 measured by the matching vision unit 413. For example, when it is measured to be a state where both the second electrode 12 measured by the vision unit 314 of the electrode cutting device included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 and the second electrode 12 measured by the matching vision unit 413 are misaligned, the angle of the second electrode 12 supplied to the transfer unit 311 included in the second electrode cutting unit 310, which is an initial introducing position of the second electrode 12, may be adjusted.
Meanwhile, the alignment of the first electrode 11 and/or the second electrode 12 may be misaligned in the matching process. For example, due to the imbalance of the pressure applied to each region of the first electrode 11 and/or the second electrode 12 by a pair of rollers while passing through the nip rollers 211 and 411, the alignment of the first electrode 11 and/or the second electrode 12 may be misaligned. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the matching vision unit 413 may measure the misaligned angle of each of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 and adjust the feeding angle of each of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12, and thus, it is possible to improve the alignment of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 in the matched cell. Alternatively, by adjusting the angle of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 supplied to the transfer units 111 and 311, it is possible to improve the state where the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 are introduced and transferred in a misaligned state.
Meanwhile, the matching vision unit 413 can measure the position of at least one of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12. For example, the matching vision unit 413 can measure the position in the width direction W of at least one of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12. Therefore, the control unit 114 of the electrode cutting device included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 may also adjust the position in the width direction W of the first electrode 11 supplied to the transfer unit 111 included in the first electrode cutting unit 110 based on the position of the first electrode 11 measured by the matching vision unit 413. At this time, the position of the first electrode 11 supplied to the transfer unit 111 may be adjusted by an edge position control (EPC) device, and the control unit 114 may control the EPC device. Similarly, the control unit 314 of the electrode cutting device included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 may also adjust the position in the width direction W of the second electrode 12 supplied to the transfer unit 311 included in the second electrode cutting unit 310 based on the position of the second electrode 12 measured by the matching vision unit 413. At this time, the position of the second electrode 12 supplied to the transfer unit 311 may be adjusted by the edge position control (EPC) device, and the control unit 314 may control the EPC device.
In the above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described by way of example, but it is not intended to limit the embodiment of the present invention to the above-described embodiment. A person skilled in the art may appropriately modify and implement the embodiment of the present invention by omitting, changing, or substituting all or a part of the configuration of the present invention, or adding other configurations with reference to the present specification and the accompanying drawings within a scope without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.
In this specification, the order numbers such as the first, the second, or the like are for distinguishing the components from each other, but do not mean a priority between the components or an absolute order number. A first component in a part of the present specification may be referred to as a second component in another part of the present specification.
The terms and expressions in this specification should be interpreted broadly and not in a limiting sense. In this specification, the expression “including” does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components other than the stated components. In this specification, the singular expression includes the plural unless it is explicitly excluded in the context. Further, each embodiment may be combined to each other, and unless contradicted, the contents described in a specific embodiment may also be applied to other embodiments.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2021-0108477 | Aug 2021 | KR | national |
This application is a national stage entry of International Application No. PCT/KR2022/011986, filed on Aug. 11, 2022, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0108477, filed on Aug. 18, 2021, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2022/011986 | 8/11/2022 | WO |
