Boundary line detection apparatus and method

Abstract

In a boundary line detection apparatus and method according to an embodiment of the present invention, an image of the same electrode is captured to acquire a first image and a second electrode image having different luminance values, and a boundary line of an uncoated portion is detected based on pixel coordinate information of the boundary line acquired from the first electrode image. And the final boundary line of the uncoated part is detected from the second electrode image, so that the detection accuracy of the boundary line can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0109764 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on August 31, 2022, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0103920 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on August 9, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for detecting a boundary of a battery electrode, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for detecting a boundary of an uncoated portion on an electrode image. Background Art

[0003] As the depletion of fossil fuels leads to rising energy prices and people's concern about environmental pollution increases, the demand for secondary batteries as an environmentally friendly alternative energy source is rapidly increasing.

[0004] Lithium batteries, which are secondary batteries, are used in a variety of industrial fields such as mobile application devices, automobiles, robots, and energy storage devices to cope with today's environmental regulations and high oil prices.

[0005] These lithium secondary batteries are generally classified into a cylindrical type, a square type, or a pouch type, depending on the shape of an external material accommodating an electrode assembly.

[0006] Among them, the cylindrical battery may be provided in a form in which the electrode assembly can be inserted into a battery can together with an electrolyte.

[0007] The electrodes constituting the electrode assembly may be divided into an electrode portion (ie, a region coated with positive and negative electrode active materials) and an uncoated portion (ie, a region not coated with the electrode active materials).

[0008] Generally, during the slitting process, the electrodes are cut to size to fit the size of the battery can.

[0009] Here, in order to measure the widths of the electrode portion and the uncoated portion of the electrode inserted into the battery can and uniformly cut the electrode, it is necessary to clearly detect the boundary dividing the electrode portion and the uncoated portion.

[0010] The conventional boundary detection device adjusts the exposure value of the camera so that the brightness pixel value (grayscale value) of the uncoated area is 255, and detects the boundary of the uncoated portion based on the electrode image captured by the camera.

[0011] More specifically, the conventional boundary detection apparatus detects at least one pixel having a brightness value different from a brightness value of a single pixel of the uncoated portion by more than a threshold value from the electrode image as a boundary.

[0012] However, according to conventional boundary detection devices, when setting the brightness pixel value (grayscale value) of the uncoated portion, the position of the boundary on the electrode image may be distorted and thus different from the position of the actual boundary. Therefore, conventional boundary detection devices have the disadvantage of deteriorating measurement accuracy due to erroneous detection of the boundary. Summary of the invention

[0013] Technical issues

[0014] In order to eliminate one or more problems in the related art, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a boundary detection device.

[0015] In order to eliminate one or more problems in the related art, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a boundary detection method.

[0016] In order to eliminate one or more problems in the related art, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a boundary detection system.

[0017] Technical Solution

[0018] To achieve the purpose of the present disclosure, a device for detecting the boundary of an uncoated portion within a battery electrode may include: at least one processor; and a memory, the memory being configured to store at least one instruction executed by the at least one processor, and the at least one instruction may include: instructions for obtaining a first electrode image and a second electrode image, in which the same electrode located at the same point is captured; instructions for detecting pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of an uncoated portion in the electrode from the first electrode image; and instructions for detecting final boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion from the second electrode image based on the pixel information.

[0019] Here, the first electrode image may be an image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a pixel brightness value of an uncoated portion in the first electrode image is a predetermined first threshold value.

[0020] In addition, the second electrode image may be an image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a pixel brightness value of an uncoated portion in the second electrode image is a second threshold value, wherein the second threshold value is different from the first threshold value.

[0021] In addition, the instructions for detecting pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion in the electrode may include: instructions for detecting temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image; and instructions for obtaining pixel coordinate information of the temporary boundaries.

[0022] Here, the instructions for detecting a temporary boundary may include: instructions for detecting a first temporary boundary on one side of an uncoated portion located on a first electrode image using a derivative mask filter, and instructions for detecting a second temporary boundary on the other side of the uncoated portion located on the first electrode image using a derivative mask filter.

[0023] For example, the derivative mask filter may be a Sobel filter.

[0024] At the same time, the instructions for detecting the final boundary may include: instructions for identifying pixel coordinate information of the first temporary boundary and the second temporary boundary and obtaining the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary, the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary are located at the same point on the second electrode image where the first temporary boundary and the second temporary boundary are located; and instructions for determining the first inspection area and the second inspection area based on the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary, respectively, and detecting the first final boundary and the second final boundary from the first inspection area and the second inspection area, respectively.

[0025] In addition, the instructions for detecting the first final boundary and the second final boundary may include: instructions for detecting a pixel having a maximum difference in brightness value (gray scale) compared with adjacent pixels in the first inspection area as the first final boundary, and instructions for detecting a pixel having a maximum difference in brightness value (gray scale) compared with adjacent pixels in the second inspection area as the second final boundary.

[0026] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for detecting the boundary of an uncoated area within a battery electrode may include the following steps: acquiring a first electrode image and a second electrode image, in which the same electrode located at the same point is captured; detecting pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of an uncoated portion in the electrode from the first electrode image; and detecting final boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion from the second electrode image based on the pixel information.

[0027] Here, the first electrode image may be an image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a pixel brightness value of an uncoated portion in the first electrode image is a predetermined first threshold value.

[0028] In addition, the second electrode image may be an image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a pixel brightness value of an uncoated portion in the second electrode image is a second threshold value, wherein the second threshold value is different from the first threshold value.

[0029] Furthermore, detecting pixel information of temporary boundaries at both sides of the uncoated portion may include the steps of: detecting temporary boundaries at both sides of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image; and obtaining pixel coordinate information of the temporary boundaries.

[0030] Here, detecting the temporary boundary may include the steps of: detecting a first temporary boundary on one side of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image using a derivative mask filter; and detecting a second temporary boundary on the other side of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image using the derivative mask filter.

[0031] For example, the derivative mask filter may be a Sobel filter.

[0032] At the same time, detecting the final boundary may include the following steps: identifying pixel coordinate information of the first temporary boundary and the second temporary boundary, and obtaining a first virtual boundary and a second virtual boundary, the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary are located at the same point on the second electrode image where the first temporary boundary and the second temporary boundary are located; and determining a first inspection area and a second inspection area based on the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary, respectively, and detecting a first final boundary and a second final boundary from the first inspection area and the second inspection area, respectively.

[0033] In addition, detecting the first final boundary and the second final boundary may include the following steps: detecting the pixel whose brightness value (gray scale) difference compared with the adjacent pixels in the first inspection area has the maximum value as the first final boundary; and detecting the pixel whose brightness value (gray scale) difference compared with the adjacent pixels in the second inspection area has the maximum value as the second final boundary.

[0034] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for detecting the boundary of an uncoated portion within a battery electrode may include: an imaging device configured to generate a first electrode image and a second electrode image, in which the same electrode located at the same point is captured with different brightness values ​​by adjusting an exposure value; and a boundary detection device configured to obtain the first electrode image and the second electrode image from the imaging device, detect pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion in the electrode from the first electrode image, and detect final boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion from the second electrode image based on the pixel information.

[0035] Beneficial Effects

[0036] The boundary detection device and method of the embodiment of the present invention can obtain a first electrode image and a second electrode image with different brightness values ​​that capture the same electrode, and detect the final boundary of the uncoated part from the second electrode image based on the pixel coordinate information of the boundary of the uncoated part obtained from the first electrode image, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the boundary detection. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 It is an electrode image of a general boundary detection device.

[0038] Figure 2 It is a graph showing the change in the boundary position set according to the brightness value of a general boundary detection device.

[0039] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a boundary detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a boundary detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a boundary detection method using a boundary detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram of a boundary detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 7 A flowchart for explaining a method of detecting a final boundary in a boundary detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 8 is an image showing pixel coordinates of a second final boundary of the boundary detection apparatus according to an experimental example of the present invention.

[0045] 1000: Camera 5000: Boundary detection device

[0046] 100: Memory 200: Processor

[0047] 300: transceiver 400: input interface

[0048] 500: output interface 600: storage device

[0049] 700: Bus DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] The present invention can be modified in various forms and has various embodiments, and its specific embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings by way of example and will be described in detail below. However, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, but on the contrary, the present invention will cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. In the description of the entire drawings, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements.

[0051] It will be understood that, although terms such as first, second, A, B, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes a combination of any of a plurality of associated listings or a plurality of associated listings.

[0052] It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "coupled" or "connected" to another element, it can be directly coupled or connected to the other element, or there can be intervening elements. Conversely, when an element is referred to as being "directly coupled" or "directly connected" to another element, there are no intervening elements.

[0053] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "one", "an" and "the" are also intended to include plural forms. It will also be understood that the terms "comprise", "contain", "include", "includes" and / or "have" when used herein specify the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, constituent elements, parts and / or combinations thereof, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, constituent elements, parts and / or combinations thereof.

[0054] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. It will also be understood that terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined as such herein.

[0055] Figure 1 It is an electrode image of a general boundary detection device.

[0056] Reference Figure 1 , the electrode applied to cylindrical batteries can be divided into a roll-bonded area, an electrode part, and an uncoated part.

[0057] In more detail, the roll bonding area may be an area bonded to the roll portion of the cylindrical battery, and the electrode portion may be an area coated with an electrode active material for the negative electrode and the positive electrode. In addition, the uncoated portion may be an area where the electrode active material is not coated.

[0058] In the slitting process, the width of the electrode part and the width of the uncoated part are calculated so as to form batteries with the same specifications, and the electrodes can be cut uniformly within the error range according to the calculation results.

[0059] Accordingly, in order to calculate the width of the electrode portion and the width of the uncoated portion, the boundaries between the roll-bonded area, the electrode portion and the uncoated portion need to be clearly detected. That is, the boundaries on both sides of the uncoated area need to be clearly detected.

[0060] A general boundary detection device detects the boundary of the uncoated portion based on an electrode image obtained from a camera.

[0061] Here, the exposure value of the camera can be set so that the brightness pixel value (grayscale value) of the uncoated portion on the electrode image has a specific value. Therefore, the general boundary detection device detects the pixels on the electrode image corresponding to the preset threshold brightness value as the boundary.

[0062] More specifically, a general boundary detection device can detect the boundary of the uncoated portion based on an electrode image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a brightness pixel value (grayscale value) of the uncoated portion is 255.

[0063] Figure 2 It is a graph showing the change in the boundary position set according to the brightness value of a general boundary detection device.

[0064] Reference Figure 2 , a general boundary detection device detects pixels corresponding to a preset threshold brightness value in the electrode image as the boundary.

[0065] However, the general boundary detection device has a disadvantage in that when the saturation value changes due to a change in the composition of the insulating liquid, a threshold value for boundary detection of the uncoated portion needs to be reset.

[0066] Therefore, the general boundary detection device has a disadvantage that accuracy deteriorates when the width of the electrode portion and the width of the uncoated portion are measured by erroneously detecting the boundary position of the uncoated portion.

[0067] In addition, according to a general boundary detection device, the position of the boundary of the uncoated portion may be changed according to a change in the threshold brightness value.

[0068] For example, if the threshold brightness value is defined as 50, the position of the boundary detected by a general boundary detection device may differ from the actual boundary by about 3.6 pixels.

[0069] For another example, when the threshold brightness value is defined as 100, the difference between the position of the boundary detected by a general boundary detection device and the actual boundary may be about 4 pixels.

[0070] For another example, when the threshold brightness value is defined as 150, the difference between the position of the boundary detected by a general boundary detection device and the actual boundary may be about 5 pixels.

[0071] The present invention is proposed to solve this technical problem. The present invention can detect the boundary of the uncoated part by adjusting the exposure of the camera and using the first electrode image and the second electrode image taken at different brightness values, thereby improving the accuracy of boundary detection.

[0072] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0073] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a boundary detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0074] Reference Figure 3 , the boundary detection system may include a camera (imaging device) 1000 and a boundary detection device 5000 .

[0075] More specifically, the camera 1000 can be installed at a location where the electrode preparation process is performed. In other words, the camera 1000 can be fixedly installed in a device in which a plurality of electrodes move sequentially. Therefore, the camera 1000 can acquire a plurality of electrode images by imaging a plurality of electrodes passing through the device individually.

[0076] Meanwhile, a plurality of cameras 1000 may be provided, and more specifically, the cameras 1000 may include a first camera 1100 and a second camera 1500 that photograph the same point.

[0077] The first camera 1100 and the second camera 1500 may have different exposure values.

[0078] According to an embodiment, the exposure value of the first camera 1100 may be preset so that the pixel brightness value of the uncoated portion corresponds to the first threshold value. Therefore, the first camera 1100 may acquire at least one first electrode image by imaging a plurality of electrodes passing through a specific point. For example, the first threshold value may be 255.

[0079] In addition, the exposure value of the second camera 1500 may be preset so that the pixel brightness value of the uncoated portion corresponds to the second threshold value. Therefore, the second camera 1500 may acquire at least one second electrode image by imaging a plurality of electrodes passing through a specific point. For example, the second threshold value may be 200.

[0080] In other words, the first electrode image and the second electrode image may be images captured of the same electrode at the same point.

[0081] The boundary detection device 5000 may be linked to at least one camera 1000 to obtain the first electrode image and the second electrode image from the camera 1000. However, the boundary detection device 5000 is not limited thereto, and may also obtain at least one first electrode image and at least one second electrode image in various other ways.

[0082] Thereafter, the boundary detection device 5000 may detect a temporary boundary based on the first electrode image, and detect a final boundary based on the detected temporary boundary. Therefore, the boundary detection device 5000 according to the embodiment of the present invention improves the accuracy of boundary detection of the uncoated area, and can accurately measure the width of the uncoated portion and the width of the electrode portion. Figure 4 The configuration of the boundary detection device 5000 is described in more detail.

[0083] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a boundary detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0084] According to the reference Figure 4 The configuration of the boundary detection device 5000 is described in more detail. The boundary detection device 5000 may include a memory 100, a processor 200, a transceiver 300, an input interface 400, an output interface 500, and a storage device 600.

[0085] According to the embodiment, the various components 100 , 200 , 300 , 400 , 500 , and 600 included in the boundary detection device are connected via a bus 700 and can communicate with each other.

[0086] In these components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600, the memory 100 and the storage device 600 may include at least one of a volatile storage medium and a non-volatile storage medium. For example, the memory 100 and the storage device 600 may include at least one of a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM).

[0087] The memory 100 may include at least one instruction executed by the processor 200 .

[0088] According to an embodiment, at least one instruction may include: instructions for obtaining a first electrode image and a second electrode image, in which the same electrode located at the same point is captured; instructions for detecting pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of an uncoated portion in the electrode from the first electrode image; and instructions for detecting final boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion from the second electrode image based on the pixel information.

[0089] Here, the first electrode image may be an image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a pixel brightness value of an uncoated portion in the first electrode image is a predetermined first threshold value.

[0090] In addition, the second electrode image may be an image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a pixel brightness value of an uncoated portion in the second electrode image is a second threshold value, wherein the second threshold value is different from the first threshold value.

[0091] In addition, the instructions for detecting pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion in the electrode may include: instructions for detecting temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image; and instructions for obtaining pixel coordinate information of the temporary boundaries.

[0092] Here, the instructions for detecting a temporary boundary may include: instructions for detecting a first temporary boundary on one side of an uncoated portion located on a first electrode image using a derivative mask filter, and instructions for detecting a second temporary boundary on the other side of the uncoated portion located on the first electrode image using a derivative mask filter.

[0093] For example, the derivative mask filter may be a Sobel filter.

[0094] At the same time, the instructions for detecting the final boundary may include: instructions for identifying pixel coordinate information of the first temporary boundary and the second temporary boundary and obtaining the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary, the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary are located at the same point on the second electrode image where the first temporary boundary and the second temporary boundary are located; and instructions for determining the first inspection area and the second inspection area based on the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary, respectively, and detecting the first final boundary and the second final boundary from the first inspection area and the second inspection area, respectively.

[0095] In addition, the instructions for detecting the first final boundary and the second final boundary may include: instructions for detecting a pixel having a maximum difference in brightness value (gray scale) compared with adjacent pixels in the first inspection area as the first final boundary, and instructions for detecting a pixel having a maximum difference in brightness value (gray scale) compared with adjacent pixels in the second inspection area as the second final boundary.

[0096] Meanwhile, the processor 200 may refer to a central processing unit (CPU), a graphic processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor that executes the method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0097] As described above, the processor 200 may execute at least one program command stored in the memory 100 .

[0098] Figure 5 is a flow chart of a boundary detection method using a boundary detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram of a boundary detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0099] Reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 , the boundary detection device 5000 can obtain a first electrode image (A) and a second electrode image (B) (S1000).

[0100] As described above, the first electrode image (A) and the second electrode image (B) may be images obtained by photographing the same electrode located at the same point.

[0101] Here, the pixel brightness value of the uncoated area in the first electrode image (A) may be a preset first threshold, and the pixel brightness value of the uncoated area in the second electrode image (B) may be a preset second threshold.

[0102] Subsequently, the boundary detection apparatus 5000 may detect a temporary boundary using the first electrode image (A) ( S3000 ).

[0103] In more detail, the boundary detection device 5000 may detect a first temporary boundary L1 and a second temporary boundary L2. Here, the first temporary boundary (L1) may be a boundary on one side of the uncoated area on the first electrode image (A), and the second temporary boundary (L2) may be a boundary on the other side of the uncoated area on the first electrode image (A). In other words, the first temporary boundary (L1) may be a boundary between the roll-bonded area and the uncoated area, and the second temporary boundary (L2) may be a boundary between the uncoated portion and the electrode portion.

[0104] According to an embodiment, the boundary detection apparatus 5000 may detect the first provisional boundary L1 and the second provisional boundary L2 using a derivative mask filter. For example, the derivative mask filter may be a Sobel filter.

[0105] For example, the boundary detection apparatus 5000 may obtain pixel coordinate information of the first provisional boundary L1 and the second provisional boundary L2 from the first electrode image A using a Sobel filter disclosed in the following [Equation 1] and [Equation 2].

[0106] [Equation 1]

[0107]

[0108] G x : x-direction partial derivative mask

[0109] [Equation 2]

[0110]

[0111] G y : y-direction partial derivative mask

[0112] Thereafter, the boundary detection apparatus 5000 may detect a final boundary from the second electrode image B based on pixel coordinate information of the first provisional boundary L1 and the second provisional boundary L2 detected from the first electrode image A ( S5000 ).

[0113] Figure 7 A flowchart for explaining a method of detecting a final boundary in a boundary detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0114] Reference Figure 7 , the boundary detection device 5000 can obtain a virtual boundary from the second electrode image B (S5100). Here, the virtual boundary ( Figure 6 L1, L2) in (B) may be the first temporary boundary ( Figure 6 (A) in L1) and the second temporary boundary ( Figure 6 The boundary corresponding to the pixel coordinate information of L2) in (A).

[0115] Thereafter, the boundary detection apparatus 5000 may set an inspection area for detecting a final boundary based on the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary in the second electrode image B ( S5300 ).

[0116] According to an embodiment, the inspection area may include a first inspection area and a second inspection area. The first inspection area may be an area having a predetermined interval D in the left direction and the right direction based on the first virtual boundary, such as Figure 6 shown.

[0117] In addition, the second inspection region may be a region having a predetermined interval D in the left direction and the right direction respectively based on the second virtual boundary. For example, the predetermined interval (D) may be 40 pixels.

[0118] Thereafter, the boundary detection apparatus 5000 may obtain final boundaries FL1 and FL2 using the difference in gray levels within the first inspection region and the second inspection region ( S5500 ).

[0119] More specifically, the boundary detection device 5000 may obtain a first final boundary FL1 having a maximum grayscale difference value in the first inspection area based on the first virtual boundary.

[0120] In addition, the boundary detection device 5000 can obtain a second final boundary FL2 having a maximum grayscale difference value in the second inspection area based on the second virtual boundary.

[0121] Therefore, the boundary detection device of the present invention can be used to detect the width of the uncoated area within the electrode and the width of the electrode area by obtaining the final boundary ( FL1 , FL2 ) of the uncoated area from the second electrode image.

[0122] Figure 8 is an image showing pixel coordinates of a second final boundary of the boundary detection apparatus according to an experimental example of the present invention.

[0123] Figure 8 It is shown that when the pixel coordinates where the actual boundary on the second electrode image is located are 5392 pixels, the boundary error of the final boundary measured by the boundary detection device according to the experimental example of the present invention is within 2 pixels.

[0124] The boundary detection apparatus and method according to the embodiments of the present invention have been described above.

[0125] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the boundary detection device and method can obtain a first electrode image and a second electrode image with different brightness values ​​that capture the same electrode, and detect the final boundary of the uncoated part from the second electrode image based on the pixel coordinate information of the boundary of the uncoated part obtained from the first electrode image, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the boundary detection.

[0126] The operation of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention can be implemented as a computer-readable program or code on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all types of recording devices having data readable by a computer system stored therein. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium can be distributed in a network-connected computer system to store and execute a computer-readable program or code in a distributed manner.

[0127] In addition, the computer readable recording medium may include hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. The program instructions may include not only machine language codes created by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter.

[0128] Although some aspects of the present invention have been described in the context of a device, it can also be represented according to the description of the corresponding method, wherein a block or device corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Similarly, the aspects described in the context of the method can also represent the features of the corresponding block or project or corresponding device. Some or all of the method steps can be performed by (or using) hardware devices such as, for example, a microprocessor, a programmable computer or an electronic circuit. In some embodiments, one or more of the most important method steps can be performed by such a device.

[0129] In the foregoing, the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that various corrections and changes may be made to the present invention within the scope without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A device for detecting a boundary of an uncoated portion in a battery electrode, the device comprising: at least one processor; as well as a memory configured to store at least one instruction executed by the at least one processor, The at least one instruction includes: instructions for obtaining a first electrode image and a second electrode image in which the same electrode at the same point is captured; instructions for detecting pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of an uncoated portion in the electrode from the first electrode image; and Instructions for detecting final boundaries of both sides of the uncoated portion from the second electrode image based on the pixel information.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The first electrode image is an image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a pixel brightness value of the uncoated portion in the first electrode image is a predetermined first threshold value.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein: The second electrode image is an image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a pixel brightness value of the uncoated portion in the second electrode image is a second threshold value, wherein the second threshold value is different from the first threshold value.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The instructions for detecting pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion include: instructions for detecting the temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image; and An instruction for obtaining pixel coordinate information of the temporary boundary.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein: The instructions for detecting the temporary boundary include: instructions for detecting a first temporary boundary located on one side of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image using a derivative mask filter; and Instructions for detecting a second temporary boundary located on another side of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image using the derivative mask filter.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein: The derivative mask filter is a Sobel filter.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The instructions for detecting the final boundary are: instructions for identifying pixel coordinate information of a first temporary boundary and a second temporary boundary and obtaining a first virtual boundary and a second virtual boundary, the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary being located at the same point on the second electrode image where the first temporary boundary and the second temporary boundary are located; and Instructions for determining a first inspection region and a second inspection region based on the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary, respectively, and detecting a first final boundary and a second final boundary from the first inspection region and the second inspection region, respectively.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein: The instructions for detecting the first final boundary and the second final boundary include: instructions for detecting a pixel having a maximum value in difference in brightness value (gray level) compared with adjacent pixels within the first inspection area as the first final boundary; and An instruction for detecting a pixel having a maximum value in difference in brightness value (gray level) between the pixel and adjacent pixels in the second inspection area as the second final boundary.

9. A method for detecting the boundaries of an uncoated area in a battery electrode, the method comprising the steps of: Acquire a first electrode image and a second electrode image, in which the same electrode located at the same point is captured; Detecting pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion in the electrode from the first electrode image; as well as Final boundaries of both sides of the uncoated portion are detected from the second electrode image based on the pixel information.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The first electrode image is an image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a pixel brightness value of the uncoated portion in the first electrode image is a predetermined first threshold value.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The second electrode image is an image captured by adjusting an exposure value of a camera so that a pixel brightness value of the uncoated portion in the second electrode image is a second threshold value, wherein the second threshold value is different from the first threshold value.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The step of detecting pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion comprises the following steps: detecting the temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image; and The pixel coordinate information of the temporary boundary is obtained.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The step of detecting the temporary boundary comprises the following steps: detecting a first temporary boundary located on one side of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image using a derivative mask filter; and A second temporary boundary located on the other side of the uncoated portion on the first electrode image is detected using the derivative mask filter.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The derivative mask filter is a Sobel filter.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The step of detecting the final boundary comprises the following steps: identifying pixel coordinate information of a first temporary boundary and a second temporary boundary, and obtaining a first virtual boundary and a second virtual boundary, wherein the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary are located at the same point on the second electrode image where the first temporary boundary and the second temporary boundary are located; and A first inspection region and a second inspection region are determined based on the first virtual boundary and the second virtual boundary, respectively, and a first final boundary and a second final boundary are detected from the first inspection region and the second inspection region, respectively.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The step of detecting the first final boundary and the second final boundary comprises the following steps: detecting a pixel having a maximum value in difference in brightness value (gray level) between the pixel and adjacent pixels within the first inspection area as the first final boundary; and A pixel having a maximum value in difference in brightness value (gray level) between the pixel and adjacent pixels in the second inspection area is detected as the second final boundary.

17. A system for detecting a boundary of an uncoated portion in a battery electrode, the system comprising: an imaging device configured to generate a first electrode image and a second electrode image in which the same electrode located at the same point is captured at different brightness values ​​by adjusting an exposure value; as well as A boundary detection device, wherein the boundary detection device is configured to: obtain the first electrode image and the second electrode image from the imaging device, detect pixel information of temporary boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion in the electrode from the first electrode image, and detect final boundaries on both sides of the uncoated portion from the second electrode image based on the pixel information.

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