Electrode assembly having a recess formed in an electrode terminal, a guiding member for stacking the same, and a method of manufacturing a stacked battery using the same

Abstract

The present invention relates to providing the following aspects: an electrode assembly including a plurality of electrode plates having outwardly protruding electrode joints and a separator interposed between the plurality of electrode plates, wherein a recessed portion is formed in at least one of three surfaces of a rectangular electrode joint protruding outward from the electrode assembly in an inward direction; a guiding member for laminating the electrode assembly; and a method of manufacturing a laminated battery using the electrode assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrode assembly having a recess formed in an electrode tab, a guide member configured to stack the electrode assemblies, and a method of manufacturing a stacked battery using the electrode assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrode assembly including a plurality of electrode sheets each having an electrode tab protruding outward and a separator interposed between the plurality of electrode sheets, wherein a recess is formed inwardly in at least one of three surfaces of each rectangular electrode tab protruding outward from the electrode assembly. The present invention also relates to a guide member configured to stack the electrode assemblies and a method of manufacturing a stacked battery using the electrode assembly. Background Art

[0002] With the technological development of mobile devices and the increasing demand for them, the demand for secondary batteries as an energy source has increased rapidly. Among these secondary batteries, secondary lithium batteries have a high energy density and a high discharge voltage, and a large amount of research has been conducted on them. They have also been commercialized and widely used.

[0003] An electrode assembly installed in a battery case is a power generation element having a structure in which a positive electrode, a separator, and a negative electrode are stacked, and can be charged and discharged. The electrode assembly is classified into: a jelly-roll type electrode assembly configured to have a structure in which a long strip-shaped positive electrode coated with an active material and a long strip-shaped negative electrode are wound in a state where a separator is disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; a stacked electrode assembly configured to have a structure in which a plurality of positive electrodes having a predetermined size and a plurality of negative electrodes having a predetermined size are sequentially stacked in a state where separators are respectively disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; or a stacked / folded electrode assembly configured to have a structure in which a unit cell such as a full cell or a dual cell is wound using a separator. Among them, the stacked electrode assembly has the advantage of being able to easily obtain various forms of electrodes.

[0004] Figure 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a conventional stacked electrode assembly and a guide member based on the electrode assembly. As can be seen from Figure 1 in, the conventional stacked electrode assembly has an electrode tab 200 protruding from the electrode assembly 100, and a guide member 300 configured to fix the electrode assembly 100 is provided. However, as Figure 1As shown, a specific surface of the conventional electrode assembly 100 contacts the guiding member 300. Therefore, the positive or negative electrode of the electrode assembly 100 may be pushed by an external impact or be pushed when laminating the electrode assembly 100, resulting in a possible short circuit or the position of the electrode joint 200 may be changed. Conventionally, to overcome this problem, the size of the positive electrode of each electrode assembly 100 is designed to be smaller than that of the negative electrode to prevent a short circuit between the electrode assemblies. However, in this case, there is a problem that the capacity of the battery will decrease.

[0005] In addition, in the case of adding a further alignment process to prevent the movement of the electrode assembly 100 to solve the above problems, the manufacturing process is complex, and it is difficult to prevent the shaking of the aligned electrode assembly. Thus, the alignment effect does not seem to be very significant. In this regard, Patent Document 1 simplifies the manufacturing process by assembling an electrode joint having holes formed therein between a flat plate and a guiding member located vertically above the plate with a space therebetween (the guiding member has two rods formed thereon), and overcomes the phenomenon that the electrode joint is pushed during lamination. However, when the guiding member having these two rods is separated from the electrode assembly, the laminated electrode joints may move. In addition, a predetermined portion of the electrode joint having simple holes is fixed, but not the entire electrode joint is fixed from moving in all directions (i.e., upward, downward, left, and right directions). Moreover, due to the circular characteristics, a predetermined gap is generated from the rods, and due to such a gap, complete fixation cannot be achieved.

[0006] Patent Document 2 discloses a positioning opening for positioning during assembly, where the positioning opening is configured to be easily removed using a guide pin after lamination, thereby overcoming the phenomenon that the electrode joint is pushed during lamination. However, in this case, the fixation of the electrode assembly that may move in all directions (i.e., upward, downward, left, and right directions) is not considered.

[0007] In the case of a laminated electrode assembly, as described above, lamination is complex and troublesome, and its fixed state must be maintained even after lamination. Therefore, there is a need for such an electrode assembly configured to be fixed so that the electrode assembly does not move in all directions while simplifying the electrode assembly lamination process, and there is also a need for a guiding member for the electrode assembly and a lamination method for the electrode assembly.

[0008] Prior Art Documents

[0009] Patent Documents

[0010] (Patent Document 1) Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2019 - 0041852 (April 23, 2019).

[0011] (Patent Document 2) Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-270242 (September 20, 2002). Summary of the Invention

[0012] Technical Problem

[0013] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide: an electrode assembly including a plurality of electrode sheets each having an electrode tab protruding outward and a separator interposed between the plurality of electrode sheets, wherein a recess is formed inwardly in at least one of three surfaces of each rectangular electrode tab protruding from the electrode assembly; a guiding member for laminating the electrode assemblies; and a method of manufacturing a laminated battery using the electrode assembly.

[0014] Technical Solution

[0015] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electrode assembly including: a plurality of electrode sheets each having an electrode tab protruding outward; and a separator interposed between the plurality of electrode sheets, wherein each of the electrode tabs has a hexahedral shape, and a recess is formed inwardly in at least one of three surfaces of each rectangular electrode tab protruding from the electrode assembly that are perpendicular to the lamination plane of the electrode tab and excluding the surface that is in complete contact with the electrode assembly.

[0016] The recess may be formed at an edge adjacent to each of the three surfaces of the electrode tab, may be formed through the electrode tab without being adjacent to each of the three surfaces of the electrode tab, or may be formed simultaneously in the inner surface and the edge of the electrode tab.

[0017] In addition, the recess may be formed in at least one of the three surfaces of the electrode tab in a triangular, concavo-convex, serrated, semi-circular, or semi-elliptical shape. Alternatively, the shape of the recess may consist only of curves and / or straight lines.

[0018] In addition, the recess may be formed in each surface of the electrode tab perpendicular to the electrode assembly, and the recesses may be symmetric with each other.

[0019] The recess may be configured to have a shape capable of forming one or more trapping portions in the electrode tab.

[0020] In addition, the present invention provides a guiding member configured to correspond to a plurality of electrode assemblies each having the recess, wherein the guiding member is configured to enable the electrode assemblies to be laminated while being aligned.

[0021] The guiding member may include: a flat plate; and a moving member configured to move in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction according to the shape of the electrode joint.

[0022] In addition, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a stacked battery, the method including the following steps: (1) preparing a plurality of electrode sheets, each of the electrode sheets including an electrode joint having a recessed portion; (2) laminating the electrode sheets and the separator to manufacture an electrode assembly; (3) assembling the guiding member on the electrode joints of the plurality of electrode assemblies to align the plurality of electrode assemblies; and (4) fixing the plurality of electrode assemblies and removing the guiding member.

[0023] In addition, in step (3), the guiding member may fix the electrode assemblies so as not to move in the dx, dy, and dθ directions based on the electrode joint.

[0024] In addition, in step (4), the guiding member may be separated to the left and right.

[0025] In addition, in step (4), after fixing the electrode assemblies, the moving member of the guiding member may be separated from the flat plate at its lower end and move so as to be removed from the electrode assemblies.

[0026] In the present invention, one or more non-conflicting configurations may be selected and combined from the above configurations. Description of the Drawings

[0027] Figure 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a conventional stacked electrode assembly and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0028] Figure 2 is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0029] Figure 3 is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0030] Figure 4 is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0031] Figure 5 is a perspective view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0032] Figure 6It is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0033] Figure 7 It is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0034] Figure 8 It is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0035] Figure 9 It is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0036] Figure 10 It is a perspective view schematically showing the state of a guiding member according to a third embodiment of the present invention before laminating an electrode assembly.

[0037] Figure 11 It is a perspective view schematically showing the state of a guiding member according to a third embodiment of the present invention after laminating an electrode assembly. Detailed Embodiments

[0038] Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the preferred embodiments of the present invention can be easily implemented by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. However, when describing the operating principles of the preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail, if the detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein may obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

[0039] In addition, throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals will be used to refer to components performing similar functions or operations. In the case where it is mentioned in the specification that one component is connected to another component, not only can the one component be directly connected to the other component, but also the one component can be indirectly connected to the other component via other components. In addition, including a certain element does not mean excluding other elements, but means that these elements can be additionally included unless otherwise mentioned.

[0040] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the following embodiments. These embodiments are provided only to more easily understand the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.

[0041] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042] The present invention provides an electrode assembly, which includes a plurality of electrode sheets each having an electrode joint protruding outward and a separator interposed between the plurality of electrode sheets. Each electrode joint has a hexahedron shape, and a recess is formed inwardly in at least one of three surfaces of each rectangular electrode joint protruding outward from the electrode assembly.

[0043] Any one of the three surfaces of the rectangular electrode joint refers to any one of the three surfaces in the side surfaces of the electrode joint perpendicular to the lamination plane of the electrode joint, excluding the surface that is completely in contact with the electrode assembly.

[0044] That is, when viewed from these three surfaces, one or more electrode joints are shown laminated.

[0045] The recess can be formed in the edge of each of these three surfaces adjacent to the electrode joint, can be formed through the electrode joint without being adjacent to each of these three surfaces of the electrode joint, or can be formed in the inner surface and the edge of the electrode joint simultaneously.

[0046] In addition, the recess can be formed in at least one of the three surfaces of the electrode joint in a shape of a triangle, a concavo-convex shape, a serrated shape, a semi-circular shape, or a semi-elliptical shape. Alternatively, the shape of the recess can consist only of curves and / or straight lines.

[0047] The three surfaces of the electrode joint are the surfaces that the electrode joint does not contact the main body of the electrode assembly. At this time, the recess can be formed only in one of these three surfaces of the electrode joint, can be formed in each of the three surfaces of the electrode joint, or can be formed in each of two surfaces opposite to each other among the three surfaces of the electrode joint.

[0048] Specifically, Figure 2 is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0049] Referring to Figure 2 , a recess 210 is formed to be recessed inwardly in one surface of each electrode joint protruding outward from the electrode assembly 100. The recess 210 is formed in the surface of the electrode joint parallel to the connection portion between the electrode assembly 100 and the electrode joint. At this time, the guiding member 310 is formed to have a shape corresponding to the recess 210. After laminating the electrode assembly 100, the guiding member 310 can move in the dy direction, or the electrode assembly 100 can move. Figure 2The recessed portion 210 of a triangle is shown. However, the shape of each recessed portion is not limited as long as at least one catching portion composed of a protruding portion and a constraining portion can be formed. The above-mentioned catching portion refers to the portion caught by the guiding member to fix the electrode joint so that the electrode joint cannot move in the dx direction and / or the dy direction. However, in the case where only a single catching portion is provided, the catching portion must have a shape capable of fixing the electrode joint so that the electrode joint cannot move in the dy and dx directions. In the case where two or more catching portions are provided, as long as the electrode joint is fixed in the dy and dx directions by any one of the two or more catching portions (i.e., the electrode joint is fixed so as not to move in the dy and dx directions based on all the catching portions), the shape of each catching portion is not limited. In addition to the shape shown in Figure 2 The recessed portion may have a shape such as an M shape, a W shape, or a U shape. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the recessed portion may have any of various shapes. In addition, the recessed portion may have a triangular, concave-convex, serrated, semicircular, or semi-elliptical shape. In the case where the recessed portion has a concave-convex shape, the advantage of the recessed portion is that the recessed portion can hold the electrode joint more firmly so that the electrode joint cannot move in the dx direction, the dy direction, and the dθ direction. In the case where the recessed portion has a triangular, semicircular, or semi-elliptical shape, the advantage of the recessed portion is that when the recessed portion is formed in the upper part of the electrode joint (as in the first embodiment), the guiding member can be easily removed. In particular, in the case where the recessed portion has a semicircular or semi-elliptical shape, another advantage of the recessed portion is that, compared with the case where the recessed portion has a concave-convex shape, the phenomenon that the electrode joint is worn due to being caught by the guiding member 310 is reduced. In the case where the recessed portion has a semicircular shape, compared with the case where the recessed portion has a semi-elliptical shape, the recessed portion can form a portion capable of holding the electrode joint while reducing the loss of the electrode joint. Therefore, preferably, the recessed portion has a semicircular shape. In addition, at least one of the three surfaces of the electrode joint may be serrated, and the guiding member may be configured to hold the serrated electrode joint. In the case where the recessed portion has a serrated shape, the advantage of the recessed portion is that the coupling area between the electrode joint and the guiding member 310 can be increased while reducing the loss portion of the electrode joint. In addition, according to the position of the electrode joint, the shape of the electrode assembly 100, the connection portion of the electrode joint, the power consumption, etc., the recessed portion 210 may be formed in a curved shape or a straight shape. In addition, the recessed portion 210 may have any of various shapes according to the purpose. All the shapes that the electrode joint can have are applicable to all the following embodiments.

[0050] The electrode assembly 100 can be easily fixed by means of the electrode connector 200 having the above-described recess 210, so that even when the positive electrode and the negative electrode are formed to have the same size, the concern about short circuit caused by shaking of the electrode assembly can be reduced.

[0051] Contrary to the conventional structure in which the size of the positive electrode is designed to be smaller than that of the negative electrode due to the concern about short circuit of the electrode assembly 100, the structure according to the present invention is used for the electrode connector, so that a battery can be manufactured based on the design in which the positive electrode and the negative electrode have the same size. Therefore, compared with the conventional laminated battery, the capacity of the laminated battery having the electrode connector according to the present invention is increased.

[0052] Figure 3 A top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0053] In the electrode connector according to the present invention, as Figure 3 shown, the recess 220 can be formed inwardly in the outer surface of the electrode connector protruding outward from the electrode assembly 100, and the recesses 220 do not face each other. Each recess 220 can be formed in a surface perpendicular to the surface of the electrode assembly from which the electrode connector 200 protrudes among three surfaces of the respective one of the electrode connectors 200 in the electrode connector 200. At this time, the recess 220 is formed symmetrically with respect to the center between the opposing electrode connectors of the electrode assembly 100. The larger the number of the recesses 220, the easier it is to fix the electrode assembly 100 so as not to move in the dx, dy, and dθ directions. In addition, after the electrode assemblies 100 are stacked, the guiding members 310 located on the left and right sides of the electrode assembly can be moved left and right respectively, and then the electrode assembly 100 can be removed, or the guiding member 310 located above the electrode assembly can be moved in the dy direction and then removed, whereby the mobility of the electrode assembly 100 can be minimized.

[0054] Figure 4 is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly, and Figure 5 is a perspective view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0055] In the electrode connector according to the present invention, as Figure 4 shown, the recess 230 can be formed inwardly in two non-facing surfaces of each electrode connector protruding outward from the electrode assembly 100. In this case, there is an advantage that the electrode assemblies 100 can be stacked with less shaking than the shapes of the first and second embodiments. In Figure 4In the third embodiment shown, the guiding member 300 is formed in a shape corresponding to the recessed portion, and thus is divided into three parts. As Figure 5 shown, in the guiding member 300, the left guiding member 300 and the right guiding member 300 are removed leftward and rightward (as in the second embodiment), and the middle guiding member 300 is removed in the Z-axis direction. In addition, the guiding member 300 may have a shape configured to hold only the electrode connector (as Figure 4 shown), or may have a shape configured to fix both the electrode assembly 100 and the electrode connector (as Figure 5 shown).

[0056] Figure 6 FIG. is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0057] In the electrode assembly 100 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 6 shown, the recessed portion 240 may be formed inwardly in two non-facing surfaces of each electrode connector protruding outward from the electrode assembly in the same manner as Figure 4 and Figure 5 . At this time, the recessed portion 240 may be rounded, so that damage to the recessed portion due to the movement of the guiding member 300 and other impacts can be reduced. In the case where the recessed portion 240 is provided as Figure 6 shown, the electrode assembly 100 can be fixed to the guiding member 300 by using all the outer surfaces of the electrode connector and the recessed portion 240.

[0058] Figure 7 FIG. is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0059] As Figure 7 in the fifth embodiment, the recessed portion 250 of the electrode assembly according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention may be formed in all three surfaces of each electrode connector, and the recessed portion 250 may be formed in different shapes in the three surfaces. In the case where the recessed portion is formed in all three surfaces, the electrode assembly can be firmly held, and the guiding member 300 may have a shape configured to fix the electrode assembly at only some of the three surfaces, thereby enabling the guiding member 300 configured to fix the electrode assembly 100 to be easily removed.

[0060] Figure 8 FIG. is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0061] As Figure 8As shown in [description], the electrode assembly 100 according to the present invention may have a recess 260 that passes through each electrode joint without adjoining three surfaces of the electrode joint. The recess 260 may be configured to have a shape capable of forming one or more penetrating capture portions. The recess may have a triangular shape or a quadrangular shape. In addition, the recess may have a snowman shape formed using two circular shapes or a flower shape formed using several circular shapes. Furthermore, the shape of the recess is not limited as long as the recess has a shape capable of fixing the electrode assembly so as not to move in the dx and dy directions. However, in the case where the recess has a circular or elliptical shape, it is difficult for the recess to fix the electrode assembly so as not to move in the dx and dy directions. Therefore, circular and elliptical shapes cannot be used. Embodiments of the above shapes may be formed in the electrode joint in a single form or a combined form.

[0062] In addition to the guiding members 300 arranged on opposite sides of the electrode joint to fix the electrode assembly, a separate guiding member 310 may be inserted into the recess 260 to fix the electrode assembly. The guiding member 310 formed to correspond to the shape of the recess 260 formed inside each electrode joint may be configured to move up and down. When stacking the electrode assemblies 100, the guiding member 310 may be inserted into the recess 260 and then removed after stacking.

[0063] Figure 9 is a top view schematically showing an electrode assembly according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention and a guiding member based on the electrode assembly.

[0064] As in Figure 9 In the seventh embodiment of [], recesses 270 may be formed simultaneously in the interior and edges of each electrode joint. Although not shown, the recess 270 may be formed only in one of the two electrode joints to fix the electrode assembly. In addition, even when the electrode joints protrude in different directions (different from this figure), the recess 270 of the present invention may be formed. The recess 270 may be formed only in one of the two electrode joints to fix the electrode assembly, or the recess 270 may be formed in both of the two electrode joints to fix the electrode assembly. In the case where the number of capture portions formed by the recesses increases (as in the second to seventh embodiments), in the form in which the recess 270 is formed in one of the two electrode joints, even if the recess is formed in one of the two electrode joints, the electrode assemblies can be stacked without wobbling. In the case where a small number of capture portions are formed, it is preferable that the recess 270 is formed in both of the two electrode joints in order to fix the electrode assembly 100 when stacking the electrode assemblies. This can be selected according to various conditions, such as the number of capture portions, the direction of the electrode joints, the ease of removing the guiding member 300, and the shapes of the electrode assembly 100 and the electrode joints.

[0065] In addition, the guiding member 300 or 310 of the present invention may be disposed on opposite sides of the electrode connectors protruding from the electrode assembly 100 and between the electrode connectors, or may be inserted into the recessed portion 270 located in the electrode connectors.

[0066] The present invention can provide a guiding member for laminating electrode assemblies, which is configured to correspond to a plurality of electrode assemblies in which the recessed portions are formed as described above, and is configured to enable the electrode assemblies to be laminated while being aligned. The guiding member may include a flat plate and a moving member, and the moving member is configured to move in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction according to the shape of the electrode connectors.

[0067] Figure 10 is a perspective view schematically showing the state of the guiding member according to the third embodiment of the present invention before laminating the electrode assemblies, and Figure 11 is a perspective view schematically showing the state of the guiding member according to the third embodiment of the present invention after laminating the electrode assemblies.

[0068] The guiding member 300 according to the present invention may have a moving member 320, and the shape of the moving member corresponds to the electrode assemblies to be laminated before laminating the electrode assemblies, as Figure 10 shown in. As Figure 11 shown in, the moving member 320 may be moved after laminating and fixing the electrode assembly 100. Each moving member 320 may be configured to be fixed to the plate 300 and separated from the plate so as to be removed. In addition, as Figure 5 shown in, the moving member 320 may move or be removed in the X-axis and Y-axis directions of the electrode assembly 100. A space may be formed for the moving member 320 to move in the dx direction so that the moving member 320 can move within the space. The movement of the moving member 320 may be performed by mechanical operation. The moving member 320 may be assembled into the groove of the plate to fix the electrode assembly, and may be separated from the groove of the plate so as to be removed.

[0069] Alternatively, the moving member 320 may be inserted into a predetermined space provided in the plate of the guiding member 300 so that the electrode assembly can be easily separated from the guiding member. The moving member 320 may be inserted to move downward to the same height as the plate of the guiding member 300 or move downward lower than the height of the plate, so that the electrode assembly 100 can be easily separated. The insertion of the moving member 320 may be performed by a dynamic operation based on an external force or may be performed by an electrical operation based on the system. In the case where the shape of each electrode connector is a shape capable of removing the guiding member 300 in one direction (as in the first embodiment), the electrode assembly 100 can be removed only in a state where the moving member 320 is fixed.

[0070] The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a stacked battery, the method comprising: preparing a plurality of electrode sheets, each electrode sheet including an electrode terminal having the above-mentioned recess; stacking the electrode sheets and a separator to manufacture an electrode assembly; and assembling a guiding member having a shape corresponding to the electrode terminal on the electrode terminal of the electrode assembly to align the electrode assembly. At this time, the manufacturing process of the electrode assembly and the alignment process of the electrode assembly can be integrated during the manufacture of the electrode assembly to provide a method for manufacturing an electrode assembly by assembling the electrode terminal in the guiding member and stacking the separator. In addition, the guiding member can fix the electrode terminal of the electrode assembly so as not to move in the dx, dy, and dθ directions, whereby the electrode assemblies can be stacked such that the positive and negative electrodes of the electrode assemblies are arranged in agreement with each other in the stacking direction. Subsequently, the electrode assembly is aligned, and then the guiding member is removed. The manner of removing the guiding member can be changed according to the shape of each electrode terminal.

[0071] Although the specific details of the present invention have been described in detail, those skilled in the art will understand that its detailed description only discloses the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and thus does not limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes and modifications are possible without departing from the category and technical concept of the present invention, and obviously, such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0072] Description of Reference Numerals

[0073] 100: Electrode assembly

[0074] 200: Electrode terminal

[0075] 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270: Recesses

[0076] 300, 310: Guiding member

[0077] 320: Moving member

[0078] 330: Plate

[0079] Industrial Applicability

[0080] It is obvious from the above description that the present invention relates to an electrode assembly having a recess formed in an electrode terminal, a guiding member configured to stack the electrode assemblies, and a method for manufacturing a stacked battery using the electrode assembly. The advantages of the present invention are that the phenomenon of the stacked electrodes being pushed can be reduced, whereby the positions of the electrodes or unit cells can be positioned more accurately and conveniently, thus simplifying the method for manufacturing a stacked battery.

[0081] In addition, it is not necessary to design the size of the positive electrode to be smaller than that of the negative electrode to prevent short circuits of the electrode assembly, thereby enabling an increase in the capacity of the battery.

[0082] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 2019-0119975, filed on September 27, 2019, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. An electrode assembly, the electrode assembly comprising: A plurality of electrode sheets protruding outward with electrode connectors; and a separator inserted between the plurality of electrode sheets, wherein each electrode connector has a hexahedron shape and includes: a first recess formed inwardly in at least one of three surfaces among the side surfaces perpendicular to the lamination plane of the electrode connector of each electrode connector having the hexahedron shape protruding outward from the electrode assembly, except for the surface that is completely in contact with the electrode sheet; and a second recess formed through the electrode connector without adjoining each of the three surfaces of the electrode connector, wherein the recess including the first recess and the second recess is formed simultaneously in the inner surface and the edge of the electrode connector, and wherein the recess is formed in each surface of the electrode connector perpendicular to the electrode assembly, and the recesses are symmetric with each other.

2. The electrode assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The recess is formed in a triangular shape.

3. The electrode assembly according to claim 1, wherein The recess is formed in a concavo-convex shape.

4. The electrode assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The recess is formed in a serrated shape.

5. The electrode assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The recess is formed in a semi-circular or semi-elliptical shape.

6. The electrode assembly according to claim 1, wherein The shape of the recess is composed only of curves and / or straight lines.

7. The electrode assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The recess is configured to have a shape capable of forming one or more capture portions in the electrode connector.

8. A guiding member for a stacked electrode assembly, the guiding member being configured to correspond to a plurality of electrode assemblies according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein, The guiding member is configured to enable the electrode assemblies to be laminated while being aligned.

9. The guiding member according to claim 8, wherein, The guiding member includes: a flat plate; and a moving member configured to move in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction according to the shape of the electrode connector.

10. A method for manufacturing a laminated battery, the method for manufacturing a laminated battery including the following steps: (1) Preparing a plurality of electrode sheets of the electrode assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 7; (2) Laminating the electrode sheets and the separator to manufacture the electrode assembly; (3) Placing the guiding member according to claim 8 or claim 9 on the electrode connectors of the electrode assembly to align a plurality of electrode assemblies; and (4) Fixing the plurality of electrode assemblies and removing the guiding member.

11. The method for manufacturing a stacked battery according to claim 10, wherein, In step (3), the guiding member fixes the electrode assemblies so as not to move in all directions based on dx, dy, and dθ of the electrode connector.

12. The method for manufacturing a stacked battery according to claim 10, wherein, In step (4), the guiding member separates to the left and to the right.

13. The method for manufacturing a stacked battery according to claim 10, wherein, The guiding member includes: a flat plate; and a moving member configured to move in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction according to the shape of the electrode connector, and wherein, in step (4), after fixing the plurality of electrode assemblies, the moving member of the guiding member separates from the flat plate at its lower end and moves so as to be removed from the plurality of electrode assemblies.

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