Electrode coating apparatus and electrode coating method

Abstract

An electrode coating apparatus and an electrode coating method are disclosed. The electrode coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes a slot die coater that applies a slurry to a substrate, and an edge adjustment material providing portion that provides an edge adjustment material to the slurry to adjust a protrusion formed at an end portion of the slurry by contacting the slurry.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0156040, filed in Korea on November 12, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This disclosure relates to an electrode coating apparatus and an electrode coating method, and more specifically, to an electrode coating apparatus and an electrode coating method that can make the overall thickness of the slurry uniform. Background Technology

[0003] With technological advancements and increasing demand for mobile devices, the need for secondary batteries as an energy source has increased dramatically. These secondary batteries essentially consist of electrode assemblies that act as power-generating elements.

[0004] The electrode assembly has a form in which a positive electrode, a separator, and a negative electrode are stacked at least once, and the electrodes, serving as positive and negative electrodes, are prepared by coating a positive electrode active material slurry and a negative electrode active material slurry, i.e., electrode slurry, onto a current collector made of aluminum foil and a copper foil, respectively, and then drying them.

[0005] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates the application of a slurry to a substrate using a conventional electrode coating apparatus. Here, the substrate is a current collector.

[0006] Reference Figure 1 When paste 2 is applied to substrate 1, protrusions 3 are formed at the ends of paste 2 in an upward direction due to surface tension, etc. When protrusions 3 are formed at the ends of paste in this way, the overall thickness of paste becomes uneven, thereby deteriorating the processing performance in the winding process and reducing the stability of the finished battery cell. Summary of the Invention

[0007] Technical issues

[0008] This disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related technology. Therefore, this disclosure aims to provide an electrode coating apparatus and electrode coating method that makes the overall thickness of the paste uniform by removing protrusions formed at the ends of the paste applied to the substrate.

[0009] Technical solution

[0010] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an electrode coating apparatus may be provided, comprising: a slot die coating machine for applying a slurry to a substrate; and an edge-adjusting material supply unit that provides edge-adjusting material to the slurry to adjust protrusions formed at the ends of the slurry by contacting the slurry.

[0011] In addition, multiple slurries can be provided, and the edge-adjusting material can be provided between the multiple slurries.

[0012] Furthermore, the edge-adjusting material can be configured to pull the slurry due to surface tension differences.

[0013] Furthermore, the edge conditioning material can use the same solvent as the slurry, and the surface tension of the edge conditioning material can be set to be greater than the surface tension of the slurry.

[0014] In addition, the edge-adjusting material may include an adhesive-like material with adhesive strength within a predetermined range to prevent delamination after drying.

[0015] In addition, the edge adjustment material may include at least one of the following: polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) materials, polyolefin materials, polyimide materials, polyurethane materials, polyester materials, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) materials, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) materials, ceramic materials, and silicone materials.

[0016] In addition, the slit mold coating machine may include: at least two mold blocks; a gasket disposed between the at least two mold blocks and forming a slit communicating with a discharge port; and a manifold formed in one or more of the at least two mold blocks and containing the slurry, wherein the edge adjusting material supply portion may be formed on the gasket.

[0017] Furthermore, the edge-adjusting material supply section may be configured as a flow path formed on at least one side of the gasket, through which the edge-adjusting material can be discharged into the slurry.

[0018] Furthermore, the gasket may include gasket teeth, and the flow path may be configured as a straight groove on one side of the gasket teeth of the gasket.

[0019] Furthermore, the edge conditioning material supply unit may be an edge conditioning material coating machine, which is provided separately from the slit mold coating machine, disposed above or below the slit mold coating machine, and configured to discharge the edge conditioning material toward the substrate.

[0020] In addition, according to another aspect of this disclosure, an electrode coating method may be provided, comprising: the step of applying a paste to a substrate; and the step of providing an edge conditioning material to the paste to adjust protrusions formed on the edge of the paste by contacting the paste.

[0021] In addition, multiple slurries may be provided, and the step of providing the edge conditioning material may include providing the edge conditioning material between the multiple slurries.

[0022] Beneficial effects

[0023] According to embodiments of this disclosure, an edge-adjusting material is provided to the slurry applied to the substrate to remove protrusions formed at the ends of the slurry, thereby achieving the effect of uniform overall thickness of the slurry. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing the application of paste to a substrate using a conventional electrode coating apparatus.

[0025] Figure 2 and Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating a process in which an edge-adjusting material is provided between slurries by means of an electrode coating apparatus or electrode coating method according to embodiments of the present disclosure to remove protrusions at the ends of the slurries and to make the overall thickness of the slurries uniform.

[0026] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of an electrode coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 5 This is an exploded perspective view of an electrode coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 The front view of the gasket.

[0029] Figure 7 yes Figure 5 Plan view of the gasket.

[0030] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of an electrode coating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 9 This is a cross-sectional view of an electrode coating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The preferred embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the terminology used in the specification and appended claims should not be construed as limited to its general or dictionary meaning, but rather interpreted based on its meaning and concept corresponding to the technical aspects of this disclosure, on the basis of allowing the inventors to appropriately define the terminology used for the best interpretation. Therefore, the description presented herein is merely a preferred example for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure; thus, it should be understood that other equivalents and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0033] In the accompanying drawings, for ease of description and clarity, the dimensions of each component or specific part constituting a component are exaggerated, omitted, or shown schematically. Therefore, the dimensions of each component do not perfectly reflect the actual dimensions. Such descriptions are omitted if a detailed description of the relevant known functions or configurations would unnecessarily obscure the essential points of this disclosure.

[0034] As used herein, the terms “joint” or “connection” refer not only to the direct joint or connection of one component with another, but also to the indirect joint or connection of one component with another through a joining component.

[0035] Figure 2 and Figure 3 This diagram illustrates a process in which an edge-adjusting material is provided between slurries using an electrode coating apparatus or method according to embodiments of the present disclosure to remove protrusions at the ends of the slurry and to achieve a uniform overall thickness of the slurry. Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of an electrode coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 This is an exploded perspective view of an electrode coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 yes Figure 5 The front view of the gasket. Figure 7 yes Figure 5 A plan view of the gasket. Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of an electrode coating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 9 This is a cross-sectional view of an electrode coating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] In this application, substrate 300 is a current collector, and slurry 400 refers to electrode active material slurry.

[0037] Referring to the accompanying drawings, an electrode coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a slit mold coating machine 100 and an edge adjustment material supply unit 200.

[0038] The slot die coating machine 100 is configured to apply slurry 400 onto substrate 300 through discharge port 150, thereby coating substrate 300.

[0039] Reference Figure 4 and Figure 5 The slot die coating machine 100 includes: die blocks 110 and 120; a gasket 130; and a manifold 140.

[0040] It can have two or more mold blocks 110, 120, such as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, two mold blocks, a lower mold block 110 and an upper mold block 120, can be set.

[0041] A gasket 130 is disposed between the lower mold block 110 and the upper mold block 120, thereby forming a slit 132. That is, the slit 132 is formed between the lower mold block 110 and the upper mold block 120 facing each other, and the gasket 130 is inserted between the lower mold block 110 and the upper mold block 120 to provide a gap between them, thereby forming a slit 132 corresponding to the passage for the slurry 400 to flow.

[0042] A lower mold block 110 is disposed below, and an upper mold block 120 is disposed above the lower mold block 110. Both the lower mold block 110 and the upper mold block 120 are provided with discharge ports 150 in the direction toward the substrate 300, allowing slurry 400 to be discharged toward the substrate 300. Furthermore, either the mold blocks 110 or 120 is provided with a manifold 140, which has a predetermined depth and communicates with a slit 132.

[0043] A rotatable coating roller 600 is disposed in front of the lower mold block 110 and the upper mold block 120. When the substrate 300 moves along the coating roller 600 during the rotation of the coating roller 600, the slurry 400 is applied to the substrate 300 through the discharge port 150 between the lower mold block 110 and the upper mold block 120, and the substrate 300 is coated.

[0044] The gasket 130 is disposed between at least two mold blocks 110, 120, for example, between the lower mold block 110 and the upper mold block 120, and forms a slit 132 communicating with the discharge port 150.

[0045] Here, a discharge port 150 for discharging slurry 400 to the outside is formed between the lower mold lip 111 and the upper mold lip 121. The lower mold lip 111 is the front end of the lower mold block 110, and the upper mold lip 121 is the front end of the upper mold block 120. The mold lips can be separated from each other to form the discharge port 150.

[0046] In addition, the gasket 130 may be made of a material with sealing properties to also serve as a gasket to prevent slurry 400 from leaking into the gap between the lower mold block 110 and the upper mold block 120, except for the area forming the discharge port 150.

[0047] Here, an edge adjustment material supply section 200, which will be described later, can be formed on the gasket 130.

[0048] Manifold 140 is formed in one or more of at least two mold blocks 110, 120 and is configured to receive slurry 400. That is, manifold 140 may be formed in the lower mold block 110 or the upper mold block 120.

[0049] Manifold 140 is connected to an externally mounted supply chamber (not shown) and supply pipe (not shown) to receive slurry 400. When manifold 140 is filled with slurry 400, the flow of slurry 400 is guided along slit 132 and discharged to the outside through discharge port 150.

[0050] The edge adjustment material supply unit 200 provides edge adjustment material 500 to the slurry 400 to adjust the protrusion 410 formed at the end of the slurry 400 by contacting the slurry 400.

[0051] Here, edge conditioning material 500 refers to a material provided for pulling slurry 400 by means of surface tension difference. For example, edge conditioning material 500 uses the same solvent as slurry 400. In addition, edge conditioning material 500 may include various materials in which the surface tension of edge conditioning material 500 is set to be greater than the surface tension of slurry 400.

[0052] The edge conditioning material 500 may include an adhesive material having an adhesive strength within a predetermined range to prevent delamination after drying.

[0053] As a specific example, the edge adjustment material 500 may include at least one of the following: polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) materials, polyolefin materials, polyimide materials, polyurethane materials, polyester materials, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) materials, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) materials, ceramic materials, and silicone materials.

[0054] Reference Figure 2 An edge-adjusting material 500 is provided between a plurality of slurries 400, and the edge-adjusting material 500 contacts each end of the plurality of slurries 400.

[0055] In addition, refer to Figure 3Because the surface tension of the edge adjusting material 500 is greater than that of the slurry 400, the force caused by the surface tension difference between the edge adjusting material 500 and the slurry 400 is applied, causing the edge adjusting material 500 to become W-shaped, and the protrusions 410 on the upper sides of both ends of the slurry 400 are pulled away by the edge adjusting material 500. The overall thickness of the slurry 400 becomes uniform.

[0056] Various devices for providing edge conditioning material 500 to the slurry 400 can be used here. For example, in one embodiment, the edge conditioning material providing part 200 may be configured as a flow path 200a formed on at least one side of the gasket 130 (see reference). Figure 5 That is to say, in the slot die coating machine 100 that provides slurry 400 to substrate 300, edge conditioning material 500 is also provided.

[0057] Here, edge adjustment material 500 can be supplied to flow path 200a through through hole 700 formed in upper mold block 120.

[0058] Furthermore, edge conditioning material 500 can be supplied to paste 400 through flow path 200a formed in gasket 130. That is, edge conditioning material 500 can be discharged onto substrate to contact paste 400.

[0059] Reference Figures 5 to 7 The gasket 130 includes gasket teeth 131, and the flow path 200a can be configured as a straight groove on one side of the gasket teeth 131 of the gasket 130. Here, the gasket teeth 131 may be provided with a central portion 131b and two ends 131a, 131c, and the flow path 200a for moving the edge adjusting material 500 may be formed at one or more portions of the central portion 131b of the gasket teeth 131 and the two ends 131a, 131c of the gasket teeth 131.

[0060] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, multiple slurries 400 can be provided, and edge-adjusting material 500 can be provided among the multiple slurries 400. For example, when passing through Figure 5 When the edge adjusting material 500 is provided in the central portion 131b of the shim tooth 131, the edge adjusting material 500 can be provided between multiple slurries 400.

[0061] However, it is not necessary to limit oneself to this; one can also use... Figure 5 The two ends 131a, 131c of the gasket tooth 131 are provided with edge adjustment material 500 to contact only one slurry 400.

[0062] As described above, the slurry 400 and the edge conditioning material 500 can be provided by a slot die coating machine 100, or in another embodiment, the slurry 400 and the edge conditioning material 500 can be provided separately by the slot die coating machine 100 and the edge conditioning material 500.

[0063] Reference Figure 8 The edge conditioning material supply unit 200 may be an edge conditioning material coating machine 200b, which is provided separately from the slit mold coating machine 100 and is located below the slit mold coating machine 100. Here, the edge conditioning material 500 is discharged toward the substrate 300 before the slurry 400.

[0064] Reference Figure 9 The edge conditioning material supply unit 200 can also be an edge conditioning material coating machine 200b, which is provided separately from the slit mold coating machine 100 and is disposed above the slit mold coating machine 100. Here, the slurry 400 is first discharged toward the substrate 300, and then the edge conditioning material 500 is discharged toward the substrate 300 after the slurry 400 to contact the slurry 400.

[0065] exist Figure 8 and Figure 9 In this context, the edge-adjusting material coating machine 200b operates on the same principle as the slot die coating machine 100 used for discharging slurry 400, and therefore its detailed description is replaced by the description of the slot die coating machine 100.

[0066] In addition, various other devices may be included, as long as edge conditioning material 500 can be provided between the slurry 400.

[0067] Alternatively, the edge-adjusting material 500 can be naturally cut and removed during the electrode manufacturing process. Or, since the edge-adjusting material 500 includes the material used to form the electrode, it may not be removed.

[0068] The operation and effects of the electrode coating apparatus according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0069] Reference Figures 5 to 7 The edge conditioning material supply unit 200 can be configured as a flow path 200a formed on the gasket 130 of the slot die coating machine 100, and the edge conditioning material 500 is supplied to the substrate 300 through the flow path 200a formed on the gasket 130, so that the edge conditioning material 500 contacts the slurry 400.

[0070] Additionally, refer to another embodiment. Figure 8An edge-adjusting material supply unit 200 is provided separately from the slit mold coating machine 100 and is disposed below the slit mold coating machine 100 to supply edge-adjusting material 500, as described in another embodiment. Figure 9 An edge-adjusting material supply unit 200 is provided separately from the slit mold coating machine 100 and is disposed above the slit mold coating machine 100 to supply edge-adjusting material 500.

[0071] Here, the edge conditioning material 500 provided to the slurry 400 has the same solvent as the slurry 400, but has a surface tension greater than that of the slurry 400, so that it contacts and pulls the slurry 400, thereby removing the protrusions 410 formed at the ends of the slurry 400, so that the entire thickness of the slurry 400 is uniform.

[0072] In the following description, the operation and effects of the electrode coating method according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, descriptions common to the above-described portions of the electrode coating apparatus according to embodiments of the present disclosure are replaced by the descriptions above.

[0073] Furthermore, the content described in the electrode coating method according to the embodiments of this disclosure, which is applicable to the electrode coating apparatus according to the above embodiments of this disclosure, is also applicable to the electrode coating apparatus according to the above embodiments of this disclosure.

[0074] There are various methods for providing edge conditioning material 500 to the slurry 400. An apparatus can be used, or the user can directly provide the edge conditioning material 500 to the slurry 400.

[0075] The electrode paste coating method applies paste 400 to substrate 300 and provides edge conditioning material 500 to paste 400 to condition protrusions 410 formed on the edges of paste 400 by contacting paste 400. The order of application of paste 400 and edge conditioning material 500 is irrelevant. That is, the edge conditioning material 500 can be applied to substrate 300 first and then applied to substrate 300, such that the edge conditioning material 500 contacts paste 400; or the edge conditioning material 500 can be applied to substrate 300 first and then applied to substrate 300, such that the paste 400 contacts edge conditioning material 500; or both paste 400 and edge conditioning material 500 can be applied to substrate 300 simultaneously.

[0076] Multiple slurries 400 may be provided here, and edge conditioning material 500 may be provided between the multiple slurries 400.

[0077] Although the present disclosure has been described above with respect to a limited number of embodiments and accompanying drawings, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to the technical aspects of the present disclosure and within the equivalent scope of the appended claims.

[0078] Industrial applicability

[0079] This disclosure relates to an electrode coating apparatus and method for secondary batteries, and in particular, it can be applied to industries related to secondary batteries.

Claims

1. An electrode coating apparatus, comprising: A slot die coating machine for applying paste to a substrate; and An edge-adjusting material providing unit provides edge-adjusting material to the applied slurry to adjust protrusions formed at the ends of the applied slurry by contacting the ends of the slurry. The edge conditioning material uses the same solvent as the slurry, and the surface tension of the edge conditioning material is set to be greater than that of the slurry.

2. The electrode coating apparatus according to claim 1, in, Multiple slurries are available, and The edge-adjusting material is provided between multiple slurries.

3. The electrode coating apparatus according to claim 2, in, The edge-adjusting material is configured to pull the slurry due to the difference in surface tension.

4. The electrode coating apparatus according to claim 1, in, The edge conditioning material includes an adhesive-like material with adhesive strength within a predetermined range to prevent delamination after drying.

5. The electrode coating apparatus according to claim 4, in, The edge adjustment material includes at least one of the following: polytetrafluoroethylene materials, polyolefin materials, polyimide materials, polyurethane materials, polyester materials, polyvinylidene fluoride materials, styrene-butadiene rubber materials, ceramic materials, and silicone materials.

6. The electrode coating apparatus according to claim 1, in, The slot die coating machine includes: At least two mold blocks; A gasket, wherein the gasket is disposed between the at least two mold blocks and forms a slit communicating with the discharge port; and A manifold formed in one or more of the at least two mold blocks and containing the slurry. The edge adjustment material supply portion is formed on the gasket.

7. The electrode coating apparatus according to claim 6, in, The edge adjustment material supply section is configured as a flow path formed on at least one side of the gasket. The edge-adjusting material is discharged into the slurry through the flow path formed on the gasket.

8. The electrode coating apparatus according to claim 7, in, The gasket includes gasket teeth, and The flow path is configured as a straight groove on one side of the gasket teeth of the gasket.

9. The electrode coating apparatus according to claim 1, in, The edge conditioning material supply unit is an edge conditioning material coating machine, which is provided separately from the slit mold coating machine, and is disposed above or below the slit mold coating machine, and is configured to discharge the edge conditioning material toward the substrate.

10. An electrode coating method, comprising: The step of applying paste to the substrate; and The step of providing an edge-adjusting material to the slurry to adjust the protrusions formed on the edge of the applied slurry by contacting the edge of the applied slurry. The edge conditioning material uses the same solvent as the slurry, and the surface tension of the edge conditioning material is set to be greater than that of the slurry.

11. The electrode coating method according to claim 10, in, Multiple slurries are available, and The step of providing the edge conditioning material includes providing the edge conditioning material between multiple slurries.

Images