Welding inspection device for secondary battery and electrode manufacturing device comprising the same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a welding inspection device for a secondary battery for inspecting the welding condition of a welded area in which a non-welded portion and an electrode tab are welded, comprising a housing and a welding inspection unit comprising a probe detachably coupled to one surface of the housing and contacting the welded area to measure the resistance of the welded area.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a welding inspection device for a secondary battery and an electrode manufacturing device including the same. Specifically, the present invention relates to a welding inspection device for a secondary battery and an electrode manufacturing device including the same, wherein a probe in contact with a welding location is easily replaceable when contaminated or malfunctions. Background Technology

[0002] With the increasing technological development and demand for mobile devices, the demand for secondary batteries as an energy source is rapidly rising. Among these secondary batteries, lithium secondary batteries, which exhibit high energy density and operating potential, long cycle life, and low self-discharge rate, have been commercialized and are widely used.

[0003] Furthermore, with the recent increase in interest in environmental issues, extensive research is being conducted on electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) that can replace fossil fuel-powered vehicles, such as gasoline and diesel cars, which are major causes of air pollution. Lithium-ion batteries, characterized by high energy density, high discharge voltage, and output stability, are primarily being researched and used as the power source for these EVs and HEVs.

[0004] These lithium secondary batteries are generally manufactured by housing an electrode assembly, comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator, within a battery case while the assembly is immersed in an electrolyte. Additionally, each electrode is extended by being welded to an electrode lead, and electrical connection with the outside is established through the electrode lead. Therefore, the welding condition between the electrode tab and the electrode lead significantly affects the performance of the battery cell.

[0005] Conventional resistance measuring devices for battery welding inspection measure resistance by contacting a resistance measuring device to one side of the joint surface between the positive electrode lead and the positive electrode tab, and estimate the welding quality of the corresponding area from this.

[0006] At that time, there was a problem in that if the probe of the resistance measuring device became contaminated or malfunctioned, the entire resistance measuring device for battery welding inspection had to be replaced. Prior art literature

[0007] Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1470553 The problem to be solved

[0008] The present invention aims to solve the problems of the prior art and provides a welding inspection device for a secondary battery that can replace a probe in contact with the welding area where the unbonded portion and the electrode tab are welded.

[0009] In addition, we intend to provide an electrode manufacturing device capable of inspecting the welding condition of the welded area in real time during electrode manufacturing. means of solving the problem

[0010] One embodiment of the present invention provides a welding inspection device for a secondary battery for inspecting the welding condition of a welded portion where a non-welded portion and an electrode tab are welded, comprising a welding inspection unit that is detachably coupled to one surface of a housing and includes a probe that contacts the welded portion and measures the resistance of the welded portion.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, a welding inspection device for a secondary battery is provided, wherein the housing is provided in a pair and is separated and combined, and the probe is coupled to one surface of one of the pair of housings and protrudes through the other housing.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, a welding inspection device for a secondary battery is provided, further comprising a judgment unit that determines the welding condition of the welded area by comparing a reference value with a resistance value measured by the welding inspection unit.

[0013] Another embodiment of the present invention provides an electrode manufacturing apparatus for a secondary battery comprising: a roller-shaped winder on which an electrode current collector is wound; a coating unit for coating an electrode active material on at least a portion of one surface of the electrode current collector; a welding unit for welding an electrode tab to an area of ​​one surface of the electrode current collector where the electrode active material is not coated; a welding inspection unit for inspecting the welding condition by measuring the resistance of the welded portion where the electrode tab is welded to the electrode current collector; and a roller-shaped winder for rewinding the electrode current collector containing the electrode tab.

[0014] In another embodiment of the present invention, the welding inspection unit comprises a housing and one or more probes detachably attached to one surface of the housing and in contact with the welding area to measure the resistance of the welding area, thereby providing an electrode manufacturing apparatus for a secondary battery.

[0015] In another embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus for manufacturing an electrode for a secondary battery is provided, wherein the housing is provided in a pair and is separated and combined, and the probe is coupled to one surface of one of the pair of housings and is provided by penetrating the other.

[0016] In another embodiment of the present invention, an electrode manufacturing apparatus for a secondary battery is provided, further comprising a sensing unit for detecting the position of the welding area and a control unit for controlling the position of the electrode current collector through the welding area position data detected by the sensing unit.

[0017] In another embodiment of the present invention, an electrode manufacturing apparatus for a secondary battery is provided, further comprising a mounting member that supports the welding inspection unit and moves the welding inspection unit.

[0018] In another embodiment of the present invention, the welding inspection unit is coupled to the mounting unit so as to be detachably attached thereto, thereby providing an electrode manufacturing device for a secondary battery.

[0019] In another embodiment of the present invention, an electrode manufacturing apparatus for a secondary battery is provided, further comprising a transfer unit for continuously transferring the electrode current collector. Effects of the invention

[0020] According to the welding inspection device for a secondary battery and the electrode manufacturing device including the same according to embodiments of the present invention, if the probe in contact with the welding area where the uncoated portion and the electrode tab are welded becomes contaminated or malfunctions, it can be easily replaced.

[0021] Furthermore, it is possible to inspect the welding condition of the welded area in real time for precise results. In particular, this not only significantly reduces the manpower, time, and costs required for post-welding quality evaluation but also enables precise inspection, thereby increasing reliability. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0022] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a welding inspection device for a secondary battery according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a welding inspection unit according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an electrode manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4(a) is a cross-sectional view showing the weld inspection unit and the mounting unit separated according to the present invention, and FIG. 4(b) is a cross-sectional view showing the weld inspection unit and the mounting unit combined according to the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0023] The detailed description of the present invention is intended to fully explain the invention to those skilled in the art. Throughout the specification, when a part is described as “comprising” a certain component or “featuring” a certain structure and shape, unless specifically stated otherwise, this does not mean that other components are excluded or other structures and shapes are excluded, but rather that other components, structures, and shapes may be included.

[0024] The present invention is capable of various modifications and may have various embodiments, and specific embodiments are presented and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the scope of the invention by the embodiments, and it should be understood that it includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0025] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the drawings are intended to illustrate the invention, and the scope of the invention is not limited by the drawings.

[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a welding inspection device (100) for a secondary battery according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a welding inspection unit (120) according to the present invention.

[0027] A welding inspection device (100) can inspect the welding condition of a secondary battery semi-finished product, that is, an electrode, in which the electrode-free portion and the electrode tab are welded, wherein the electrode current collector and the electrode tab are provided with an active material portion coated with an electrode active material on one side and a non-coated portion not coated with an electrode active material.

[0028] A welding inspection device (100) may include a main body (110) and a welding inspection unit (120), and the main body (110) may include a welding inspection unit (120) coupled to one side and a support unit (111) for mounting an electrode.

[0029] For example, the main body (110) may be provided with a support member (111) at a right angle to one side of the main body (110) to which the welding inspection member (120) is joined.

[0030] The welding inspection device (100) may further include a lifting / lowering unit (130) for moving the welding inspection unit (120). The lifting / lowering unit (130) is not specifically limited as long as it can move the welding inspection unit (120) in the direction of the support unit (111) or the opposite direction, but a rail (not shown) may be provided on one side of the main body (110) to which the welding inspection unit (120) is coupled, so that the lifting / lowering unit (130) can move along the rail. The rail may provide a path for the welding inspection unit (120) to move in the direction of the support unit (111) or in the opposite direction.

[0031] Alternatively, the lifting / lowering unit (130) may be connected to one side of the welding inspection unit (120) and may be raised and lowered by external power (M).

[0032] A spring is included so that the weld inspection part (120) can be moved by the spring's extension and restoring force.

[0033] The welding inspection unit (120) may include a housing (121) and a probe (122) that contacts the welding area to measure the resistance of the welding area. At this time, the probe (122) may be detachably coupled to one side of the housing (121). The welding inspection unit (120) according to the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the housing (121) and the probe (122) are detachably coupled.

[0034] For example, when the housing (121) and the probe (122) are attached / detached by screw connection, one side of the housing (121) may have a connection groove with screw threads on its inner surface, and at least a portion of the outer surface of the probe (122) may have screw threads.

[0035] Alternatively, a fitting groove may be provided on one side of the housing (121), wherein the diameter of the upper inner portion of the fitting groove may be smaller than the cross-sectional diameter of the probe (122), and the diameter of the lower inner portion may be the same as the cross-sectional diameter of the probe (122). Here, the upper portion of the fitting groove may refer to the starting part where the probe (122) is first inserted into the fitting groove.

[0036] A plurality of probes (122) may be provided on one side of the housing (121) and positioned spaced apart from each other. For example, the width of the housing (121) may be equal to or wider than the width of the electrode current collector. Additionally, the probes (122) may be provided on one side of the housing (121) for a length corresponding to the width direction length of the electrode current collector in the welding area. That is, the probes (122) may be in contact from one end of the welding area to the other end to measure the resistance of the entire welding area.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 2, the welding inspection unit (120) may be provided with a pair of housings (121). The pair of housings (121) may be separated and joined. For example, the pair of housings (121) may be provided with one or more fixing grooves having screw threads on their inner surfaces so that they can be joined and separated by screws. When the pair of housings (121) are fixed, the screw head is positioned inside the joining groove, thereby preventing the cross-section of the screw from coming into contact with the weld area.

[0038] And, the probe (122) is coupled to one side of one of the housings (121) of the pair of housings (121) and can protrude through the other housing (121).

[0039] The welding inspection device (100) according to the present invention may further include a judgment unit (not shown). The judgment unit can determine the welding condition of the welding area by comparing a reference value with a resistance value measured by the welding inspection unit (120).

[0040] The reference value is a standard resistance value used to judge the welding condition, representing the resistance value based on the energy intensity during welding. Specifically, under conditions identical to those for resistance measurement, the resistance of the weld area can be measured in advance relative to a good electrode and set as the reference value. If the resistance falls outside the resistance range of the good electrode, it is judged as defective.

[0041] For example, the judgment unit can determine that the welding condition is poor if the resistance measured by the welding inspection unit (120) is higher than the previously stored resistance value.

[0042] The reference value is stored in the judgment unit, or the judgment unit can receive reference value data from an external source when determining the welding status.

[0044] FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an electrode manufacturing device (200) according to the present invention. The electrode manufacturing device (200) includes a winding machine (210), a coating unit (220), a welding unit (230), a welding inspection unit (120), and a winder (240).

[0045] The unwinder (210) is provided in the shape of a roller on which the electrode current collector is wound. The unwinder (210) can unwind the electrode current collector and supply the electrode current collector to the coating section (220).

[0046] Here, the electrode current collector is not specifically limited as long as it is made of a material that can serve as a channel for electrons to flow in an arc, but copper, stainless steel, aluminum, nickel, titanium, calcined carbon, copper or stainless steel surface-treated with carbon, nickel, titanium, silver, etc., and aluminum-cadmium alloy may be used. Furthermore, the electrode current collector may be provided in the form of a sheet.

[0047] The coating portion (220) coats an electrode active material on at least a portion of one surface of the electrode current collector. The coating portion (220) can form an active material portion coated with the electrode active material and a non-coated portion where the electrode active material is not coated on one surface of the electrode active material. That is, the coating portion (220) can intermittently coat the electrode active material on one surface of the electrode current collector.

[0048] The coating portion (220) is not particularly limited in shape as long as it can coat an electrode active material on one surface of the electrode, but can be coated by a conventionally known coating device such as a coating die, a coating roll, or a slide-slot.

[0049] The electrode manufacturing apparatus (200) according to the present invention may further include a drying unit (not shown). The drying unit is located at the rear end of the coating unit (220) with respect to the transport direction of the electrode current collector, and can dry the electrode active material coated on one surface of the electrode current collector by the coating unit (220). That is, the drying unit evaporates the solvent contained in the electrode active material, and although its form is not particularly limited, it can be performed by heating and / or hot air.

[0050] The welding portion (230) welds an electrode tab to an area on one side of the electrode current collector where the electrode active material is not coated. In other words, the welding portion (230) can weld an electrode tab to an uncoated area.

[0051] The welding part (230) is not specifically limited in method as long as it can weld an electrode tab to the unwelded part, but the welding part (230) can join the electrode tab to the unwelded part by laser or ultrasonic welding.

[0052] The welding inspection unit (120) measures the resistance of the welded area where the electrode tab is welded to the electrode current collector to inspect the welding condition of the welded area, and may be described as having a configuration that overlaps with the welding inspection unit (120) of the welding inspection device (100) for secondary batteries.

[0053] The electrode manufacturing device (200) may further include a sensing unit (not shown) for detecting the position of the welding area.

[0054] The electrode manufacturing device (200) can temporarily stop the electrode current collector, which moves from the unwinder (210) to the winder (240), at the location where the welding inspection unit (120) is located, measure the welding condition of the welding area, and then move the electrode current collector again. Therefore, a sensing unit is required to detect the location of the welding area so that the welding area corresponds to the location where the probe (122) of the welding inspection unit (120) is equipped.

[0055] In one embodiment, the sensing part may be located in the housing (121) or in the mounting part (270) described later.

[0056] The electrode manufacturing device (200) may further include a mounting part (270) that supports the welding inspection part (120) and moves the welding inspection part (120).

[0057] In one embodiment, when the electrode assembly moves in a direction horizontal to the direction of gravity, the mounting portion (270) can move the welding inspection portion (120) left / right to bring the probe (122) into contact with the welded portion of the electrode tab.

[0058] In another embodiment, when the electrode assembly moves in a direction perpendicular to the direction of gravity, the mounting portion (270) can move the welding inspection portion (120) up and down to bring the probe (122) into contact with the welded portion of the electrode tab.

[0059] Additionally, the welding inspection unit (120) can be detachably coupled to the mounting unit (270). For example, the housing (121) of the welding inspection unit (120) and the mounting unit (270) may include a fixing groove so that the welding inspection unit (120) and the mounting unit (270) can be coupled through a single screw. In this case, the housing (121) may be provided with a fixing groove that penetrates it, and the mounting unit (270) may be provided with a fixing groove at a depth shallower than the thickness of the mounting unit (270).

[0060] The electrode manufacturing device (200) may further include a control unit (not shown) that controls the position of the electrode current collector through position data of the welding area detected from the sensing unit.

[0061] Additionally, the control unit can also control the movement of the welding inspection unit (120). When the welding area is positioned from the detection unit to correspond to the location where the probe (122) is equipped, the control unit can move the welding inspection unit (120) left / right or up / down through the mounting unit (270) to bring the probe (122) into contact with the welding area.

[0063] The winder (240) is configured in the same way as the unwinder (210) as a roller that winds the electrode current collector onto a roll and rewinds the electrode current collector containing the electrode tab.

[0065] The electrode manufacturing device (200) may further include a transfer unit (250). The transfer unit (250) receives an electrode current collector unwound from the unwinder (210) and performs the function of transferring the electrode current collector in the order of the coating unit (220), drying unit, welding unit (230), and welding inspection unit (120). For example, the transfer unit (250) may be roll-to-roll.

[0067] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and changes can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims. Explanation of the symbols

[0068] 100: Welding inspection device for secondary batteries 110: Main unit 111: Support 120: Welding Inspection Department 121: Housing 122: Probe 130: Lifting / Lowering Unit 200: Electrode manufacturing device 210: Kwon Chul-gi 220: Coating section 230: Welded part 240: Winder 250: Transfer unit 260: Drying section 270: Mounting part

Claims

Claim 1 delete Claim 2 delete Claim 3 delete Claim 4 A secondary battery electrode manufacturing apparatus comprising: a roller-shaped winder on which an electrode current collector is wound; a coating unit for coating an electrode active material on at least a portion of the electrode current collector; a welding unit for welding an electrode tab to an uncoated portion of the electrode current collector where the electrode active material is not coated; a welding inspection unit for inspecting the welding condition by measuring the resistance of the welded portion where the uncoated portion and the electrode tab are welded; a mounting unit for supporting the welding inspection unit and moving the welding inspection unit; a sensing unit for detecting the position of the welded portion; a control unit for controlling the mounting unit to move the welding inspection unit using the welded portion position data detected by the sensing unit so that the welding inspection unit comes into contact with the welded portion where the uncoated portion and the electrode tab are welded; and a roller-shaped winder for rewinding the electrode current collector containing the electrode tab. Claim 5 An electrode manufacturing apparatus for a secondary battery according to claim 4, wherein the welding inspection unit comprises a housing and one or more probes detachably attached to one surface of the housing and contacting the welded area to measure the resistance of the welded area. Claim 6 An electrode manufacturing apparatus for a secondary battery according to claim 5, wherein the housing is provided in a pair and is separated and combined, and the probe is coupled to one surface of one of the pair of housings and is provided by penetrating the other. Claim 7 An electrode manufacturing apparatus for a secondary battery according to claim 4, further comprising a judgment unit that determines the welding condition of the welded portion by comparing a reference value with a resistance value measured by the welding inspection unit. Claim 8 delete Claim 9 A secondary battery electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the welding inspection unit is detachably coupled to the mounting unit. Claim 10 An electrode manufacturing apparatus for a secondary battery according to claim 4, further comprising a transfer unit for continuously transferring the electrode current collector.

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