A fully automatic coating slit cleaning device and cleaning method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a fully automatic coating slit cleaning device and cleaning method, wherein the cleaning device includes a machine vision detection mechanism for detecting the location of coating slit blockage, a labeling mechanism for attaching a cleaning label to an electrode to clear the blockage, and a control terminal electrically connected to the machine vision detection mechanism and the labeling mechanism; the cleaning method comprises: importing characteristic photos of the coating slit blockage into the control terminal; continuously photographing the electrode surface, and the control terminal comparing the real-time photos with the characteristic photos; the control terminal determines whether a blockage occurs; the control terminal establishes a coordinate axis based on the real-time photos to obtain the coordinates of the blockage location; the labeling machine moves to the corresponding coordinates to attach the cleaning label; the cleaning label moves to the blockage location and removes the blockage. The present invention facilitates automatic identification of the blocked location of the coating slit and automatic cleaning of the coating slit without stopping the machine. The present invention is suitable for lithium battery electrode production and is used to identify the blocked location of the coating slit and automatically clear it.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the production of lithium battery pole pieces, and in particular to a fully automatic coating slit cleaning device and a cleaning method. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, high-viscosity slurries are used in coating processes. The agglomeration effect of high-viscosity slurries is more obvious than that of ordinary slurries. Therefore, sedimentary particles may appear in the coating process. Sedimentary particles are substances produced by the agglomeration effect of the slurry, which are easy to clog in the coating slit. The blockage of the coating slit will cause uneven coating in the area or the appearance of stripes, affecting the quality of coating. In severe cases, it will cause blockage of the pipeline.

[0003] The current solution is generally to shut down the machine for cleaning or use a self-cleaning coating head, such as a coating mold and lithium battery electrode coating device disclosed in the Chinese utility model patent with authorization announcement number CN217989774U. An air path structure is added to the coating head to clear the coating head through high-pressure airflow to achieve self-cleaning of the coating head.

[0004] However, when the machine is shut down for cleaning, the slurry does not flow, which will increase the viscosity of the slurry. When the machine is restarted, a greater initial pressure is required to squeeze out the slurry with increased viscosity. Once the machine is shut down, the coating head needs to be readjusted for hundreds of meters after restarting to meet the process requirements. Therefore, the coating head strives to operate continuously without stopping. If a self-cleaning coating head is used, the original coating head needs to be replaced and the process needs to be adjusted accordingly, and the modification cost is relatively high. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to solve the above deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention aims to provide a fully automatic coating slit cleaning device and a cleaning device, so as to achieve the purpose of low-cost transformation of the production line to be able to automatically clean the coating slit without stopping the machine.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: a fully automatic coating slit cleaning device, comprising a machine vision detection mechanism for detecting the blocked position of the coating slit, a labeling mechanism for pasting a cleaning label on the electrode to clear the blocked position, and a control terminal electrically connected to the machine vision detection mechanism and the labeling mechanism, wherein an image processing module is provided in the control terminal, the machine vision detection mechanism is arranged above the electrode discharge end, and the labeling mechanism is arranged above the electrode feed end.

[0007] As a limitation of the present invention, the machine vision detection mechanism includes a CCD camera arranged above the pole piece discharge end, a light source arranged above the pole piece discharge end, and an image acquisition card connected to the CCD camera signal, the signal output end of the CCD camera is connected to the signal input end of the image acquisition card, and the signal output end of the image acquisition card is connected to the signal input end of the image processing module.

[0008] As a further limitation of the present invention, a display electrically connected to the control terminal is also included.

[0009] As another limitation of the present invention, the labeling mechanism includes a horizontal moving mechanism arranged above the electrode feeding end, a labeling machine assembled on the horizontal moving mechanism, and a PLC controller electrically connected to the horizontal moving mechanism, the labeling machine and the PLC controller are electrically connected to the control terminal; the distance between the labeling machine and the electrode matches the working height of the labeling machine.

[0010] A fully automatic coating slit cleaning method, the cleaning method using the fully automatic coating slit cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising the following steps performed in sequence:

[0011] S1: Import the characteristic photo of the coating slit blockage into the control terminal;

[0012] S2: The machine vision inspection mechanism continuously takes photos of the electrode surface, and the control terminal compares the real-time photos with the characteristic photos;

[0013] S3: The control terminal determines whether congestion occurs based on whether the real-time photo contains congestion features in the characteristic photo. If congestion features are present, the control terminal executes step S4; if congestion features are not present, the control terminal executes step S2 again.

[0014] S4: The control terminal establishes a coordinate axis according to the blockage feature position in the real-time photo, and obtains the position coordinate of the blockage feature position in the width direction of the pole piece;

[0015] S5: Send the position coordinates to the labeling mechanism, and the labeling machine moves to the corresponding coordinate position to clean and label;

[0016] S6: The cleaning label moves with the pole piece to the blocking position and removes the blocking material in the coating slit.

[0017] As a limitation of the present invention, in step S1 , a database of coating defect feature photos is established and imported into a control terminal for capturing and monitoring the electrode coating quality.

[0018] Due to the adoption of the above technical solution, the present invention has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0019] The present invention can be adapted to existing production lines and can be modified at low cost to achieve the effect of identifying the location of coating slit blockage and automatically clearing it without stopping the production line. The coating surface can be captured by a machine vision detection mechanism, and whether other coating defects occur on the electrode can be monitored. The defect location and specific information of the defect can be played back through the display for technical personnel to record and organize.

[0020] In summary, the present invention has a simple structure, is easy to use, and has good versatility. It is suitable for the production of lithium battery pole pieces and is used to identify the location of blocked coating slits and automatically clear them. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of Example 1 of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of point A.

[0024] In the figure: 1. Pole; 2. Machine vision inspection mechanism; 3. Labeling mechanism; 4. Label cleaning; 5. Coating head. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate and understand the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0026] Example 1 A fully automatic coating slit cleaning device

[0027] like Figures 1 to 2 As shown, this embodiment is used to monitor the blockage of the coating slit in the coating defect and automatically clean the blocked position of the coating slit, including a machine vision detection mechanism 2 arranged above the discharge end of the electrode 1, a labeling mechanism 3 arranged above the feed end of the electrode 1, and a control terminal electrically connected to the machine vision detection mechanism 2 and the labeling mechanism 3. The control terminal is provided with an image processing module for processing image information collected by the machine vision detection mechanism 2.

[0028] The machine vision detection mechanism 2 is used to monitor coating defects, including a CCD camera set above the discharge end of the electrode 1 through a bracket, a light source set on the bracket to assist the CCD camera, and an image acquisition card electrically connected to the CCD camera. The image acquisition card is electrically connected to the control terminal and can transmit the image information detected by the CCD camera to the control terminal. The control terminal can determine whether blockage occurs based on the coating status of the surface of the electrode 1 captured in real time by the CCD camera.

[0029] It should be noted that common coating defects include horizontal streaks, vertical streaks, diagonal streaks, ripples, non-wetting spots, thick edges, convection honeycombs, bubbles, blooming, tension lines, scratches, wire drawing, bruises, orange peel, wrinkles, fogging, pinholes, cracks, etc. Among them, the defects caused by the blockage of the coating slit appear as vertical streaks. Therefore, when vertical streaks appear on the coating surface, it can be considered that the coating slit is blocked.

[0030] The coating slit refers to the gap between the coating head 5 and the pole piece 1 in the slit coating process. In the slit coating process, the slurry is squeezed out of the coating head 5 and coated on the pole piece 1 from the coating slit.

[0031] The labeling mechanism 3 is used to attach a cleaning label 4 to the electrode 1, and includes a horizontal moving mechanism disposed above the feeding end of the electrode 1, a labeling machine mounted on the horizontal moving mechanism, and a PLC controller electrically connected to the labeling machine and the horizontal moving mechanism;

[0032] Among them, the labeling machine is a device used to stick labels in the prior art, the horizontal moving mechanism is a linear module in the prior art, the linear module is arranged above the feeding end of the electrode 1 through a bracket, and the labeling machine is installed on the linear module. The PLC controller and the labeling machine are both electrically connected to the control terminal. The PLC controller can receive the signal from the control terminal, control the linear module to move the labeling machine to the labeling position, and control the labeling machine to work to stick and clean the label 4.

[0033] The cleaning label 4 used in the labeling machine is a single-sided adhesive sticker with a thickness consistent with the thickness of the coating slit. The cleaning label 4 itself has a certain flexibility, so when it is pasted on the electrode 1, it can move with the electrode 1. When passing through the coating slit, it drives the blocked particles in the coating slit to clear the coating slit.

[0034] In this embodiment, the control terminal is a PC terminal with a display. An image processing module and an image processing program are provided in the control terminal. The defect features are pre-recorded in the control terminal. It can receive signals from the image acquisition card and compare and judge whether blockage occurs based on the surface state of the electrode 1 identified by the image acquisition card. When blockage is found, coordinates are established along the width direction of the electrode 1 according to the position of the stripe on the photo to judge the blockage position in the coating slit. The position coordinates of the blockage position in the width direction of the electrode 1 are obtained, and the PLC controller is controlled to move the labeling machine to the corresponding position of the coating slit blockage, and the labeling machine is controlled to paste a cleaning label to clear the coating slit. The staff can also review and record the defect information and defect position through the display screen.

[0035] It should be noted that the labeling mechanism 3 is arranged above the feed end of the electrode 1, and the machine vision detection mechanism 2 is arranged above the discharge end of the electrode 1. The surface condition of the electrode 1 detected by the machine vision detection mechanism 2 at the discharge end of the electrode 1 controls the labeling mechanism 3 to paste the cleaning label 4 to the corresponding position on the feed end of the electrode 1 to clear the blocked position.

[0036] When using this embodiment, the machine vision detection mechanism 2 is started, and the CCD camera works with the assistance of the light source. The CCD camera continuously captures the surface status of the electrode 1 in real time, and the control terminal compares the captured photos with the characteristic photos of the coating slit blockage. When blockage is found, the control terminal controls the PLC controller to drive the linear module to work, and the linear module moves the labeling machine to the position corresponding to the coating slit blockage in the width direction of the electrode 1. The control terminal controls the labeling machine to paste the cleaning label 4. After the cleaning label 4 is pasted on the electrode 1, it passes through the coating slit together with the electrode 1 to take away the blockage in the coating slit.

[0037] Example 2 A fully automatic coating slit cleaning method

[0038] This embodiment provides a fully automatic coating slit cleaning method, which uses the fully automatic coating slit cleaning device provided in Example 1.

[0039] Specifically, the cleaning method of this embodiment first requires the staff to import the characteristic photo of the coating slit blockage on the control terminal, and then connect the machine vision detection mechanism 2 to the control terminal;

[0040] Then, the machine vision detection mechanism 2 continuously captures the surface of the electrode 1 and transmits the state of the surface of the electrode 1 to the control terminal, which compares the real-time photo with the characteristic photo;

[0041] When a blockage feature appears in the real-time photo, the control terminal establishes a coordinate axis along the width direction of the electrode 1 according to the location of the blockage in the real-time photo, and obtains the position coordinates of the defect location in the width direction of the electrode 1;

[0042] The control terminal sends the position coordinates of the defect position to the labeling mechanism 3, and controls the labeling mechanism 3 to paste the cleaning label 4 at the corresponding position coordinates.

[0043] Specifically, the labeling mechanism 3 is arranged above the feed end of the electrode 1, and the machine vision detection mechanism 2 is arranged above the discharge end of the electrode 1. The principle of this method is that when a characteristic photo of the coating slit blockage is detected at the discharge end of the electrode 1, the control terminal obtains a position coordinate based on the position of the strip generated by the blockage in the width direction of the electrode 1, and sends the position coordinate to the labeling mechanism 3. The labeling mechanism 3 pastes a cleaning label 4 on the corresponding position coordinate of the feed end of the electrode 1.

[0044] After the cleaning label 4 is pasted on the electrode 1, as the electrode 1 moves to the blocked position, the thickness of the cleaning label 4 is consistent with the thickness of the coating slit, and it has a certain flexibility. When passing through the blocked coating slit, it can remove the blockage to achieve the purpose of unblocking the coating slit.

[0045] It should be noted that when the control terminal imports the blockage feature photos, it can also import the common defect feature photos to establish a defect database. The control terminal can compare the real-time photos with the feature photos in the defect database, and record the defect feature information that appears for the staff to replay and view on the display screen.

[0046] It should be noted that the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art may still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments or replace some of the technical features therein with equivalents. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention shall be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fully automatic coating slit cleaning device, characterized by: It includes a machine vision detection mechanism for detecting the blockage position of the coating slit, a labeling mechanism for sticking a cleaning label on the electrode to clear the blockage position, and a control terminal electrically connected to the machine vision detection mechanism and the labeling mechanism, wherein an image processing module is provided in the control terminal, the machine vision detection mechanism is provided above the electrode discharge end, and the labeling mechanism is provided above the electrode feed end.

2. The fully automatic coating slit cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The machine vision detection mechanism includes a CCD camera arranged above the pole piece discharge end, a light source arranged above the pole piece discharge end, and an image acquisition card connected to the CCD camera signal. The signal output end of the CCD camera is connected to the signal input end of the image acquisition card, and the signal output end of the image acquisition card is connected to the signal input end of the image processing module.

3. The fully automatic coating slit cleaning device according to claim 2, characterized in that: Also included is a display electrically connected to the control terminal.

4. A fully automatic coating slit cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The labeling mechanism includes a horizontal moving mechanism arranged above the electrode feeding end, a labeling machine assembled on the horizontal moving mechanism, and a PLC controller electrically connected to the horizontal moving mechanism. The labeling machine and the PLC controller are electrically connected to the control terminal; the distance between the labeling machine and the electrode is adapted to the working height of the labeling machine.

5. A fully automatic coating slit cleaning method, characterized by: The cleaning method uses the fully automatic coating slit cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising the following steps performed in sequence: S1: Import the characteristic photo of the coating slit blockage into the control terminal; S2: The machine vision inspection mechanism continuously takes photos of the electrode surface, and the control terminal compares the real-time photos with the characteristic photos; S3: The control terminal determines whether congestion occurs based on whether the real-time photo contains congestion features in the characteristic photo. If congestion features are present, the control terminal executes step S4; if congestion features are not present, the control terminal executes step S2 again. S4: The control terminal establishes a coordinate axis according to the blockage feature position in the real-time photo, and obtains the position coordinate of the blockage feature position in the width direction of the pole piece; S5: Send the position coordinates to the labeling mechanism, and the labeling machine moves to the corresponding coordinate position to clean and label; S6: The cleaning label moves with the pole piece to the blocking position and removes the blocking material in the coating slit.

6. The fully automatic coating slit cleaning method according to claim 5, characterized in that: In step S1, a database of coating defect feature photos is created and imported into the control terminal for capturing and monitoring the electrode coating quality.

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