Short circuit inspection device

Abstract

The invention provides a short circuit inspection device. The apparatus includes: a support plate supporting a bottom surface of a central region of an electrode assembly; a pressurizing unit including a first pressurizing member that pressurizes a top surface of a central region of the electrode assembly and a second pressurizing member that pressurizes opposite edge regions of the electrode assembly; and a short circuit measuring unit applying a voltage to the electrode assembly to check a short circuit. The pressurizing unit is configured to partially pressurize the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly by regions.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0109231, filed on August 21, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a short circuit inspection device, and more particularly, to a short circuit inspection device for an electrode assembly. Background Art

[0004] Secondary batteries are batteries that can be charged and discharged repeatedly, and are used as power sources with output characteristics and stability in environmentally friendly electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, energy storage systems (ESS), etc.

[0005] Generally, a secondary battery may include an electrode assembly including a positive electrode plate coated with a positive active material, a negative electrode plate coated with a negative active material and a separator, and a battery case (eg, a bag-shaped outer material) for accommodating the electrode assembly and an electrolyte.

[0006] Before inserting the electrode assembly into the battery housing, the electrode assembly is checked for short circuit by connecting each probe to the positive electrode sheet of the positive plate and the negative electrode sheet of the negative plate, respectively, and then applying voltage. If the separator between the positive plate and the negative plate is damaged (e.g., folded, torn, punctured, etc.), when the voltage is applied, the positive and negative electrodes adjacent to the damaged area of ​​the separator come into physical contact and short circuit occurs, and the detector detects the leakage current. When the leakage current deviates from the normal range, the electrode assembly is judged to be short-circuited.

[0007] In the process of stacking positive plates, separators and negative plates in sequence, it is difficult for traditional short-circuit measurement devices to detect pseudo defects in electrode assemblies due to the thickness of the separator, the spacing between the separator and the electrode plates, and the mixing of foreign matter. A method is described in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2022-0118250, which induces a temporary internal short circuit (short circuit) of the positive and negative plates by applying surface pressure to the electrode assembly and then making the distance between the positive and negative plates as close as possible through a pressurizing plate. The advantage of this countermeasure is that the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly can be uniformly pressurized to a predetermined pressure, but it inevitably has limitations when selectively performing partial pressurization on the electrode assembly or measuring electrode assemblies of various sizes. Summary of the invention

[0008] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a short circuit inspection device that determines whether an electrode assembly is short-circuited while pressurizing the electrode assembly.

[0009] In addition, the embodiments of the present disclosure are configured to continuously determine whether the electrode assembly is short-circuited.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a short circuit inspection device includes: a support plate that supports a bottom surface of a central area of ​​an electrode assembly; a pressurizing unit that includes a first pressurizing member that pressurizes a top surface of the central area of ​​the electrode assembly and a second pressurizing member that pressurizes an opposite edge area of ​​the electrode assembly; and a short circuit measurement unit that applies a voltage to the electrode assembly to inspect for a short circuit, wherein the pressurizing unit is configured to partially pressurize the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly by area.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pressurizing unit may be divided into a first pressurizing member and a second pressurizing member and the first pressurizing member and the second pressurizing member may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the support plate may include an ejection pin arranged to move up and down.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second pressing member may include an upper pressing block and a lower pressing block arranged to reciprocate up and down at a position between opposite edge regions of the electrode assembly.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second pressurizing member may be located on the same vertical line as the edge of the positive electrode plate to pressurize the opposite edge of the positive electrode plate of the electrode assembly.

[0015] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a short circuit inspection device includes: a conveying unit, configured to move a support plate on which an electrode assembly is mounted along a guide rail; a pressurizing unit, configured to pressurize the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly; a short circuit measurement unit, configured to determine whether a short circuit occurs by applying a voltage to the electrode assembly; and an installation unit, configured to position and arrange the pressurizing unit on the conveying unit along the length direction of the electrode assembly.

[0016] The embodiments of the present disclosure may divide the electrode assembly into a central region and opposite edge regions centered on the central region while being symmetrically arranged along a length direction of the electrode assembly.

[0017] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the support plate may be sized and shaped to support a central region of the electrode assembly.

[0018] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the support plate may include an ejection pin on a top surface of the support plate facing a central region of the electrode assembly.

[0019] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the pressurizing unit may include a first pressurizing member pressurizing a top surface of a central region of the electrode assembly and a second pressurizing member pressurizing an opposite edge region of the electrode assembly.

[0020] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the pressurizing unit may be divided into a first pressurizing member and a second pressurizing member, and the first pressurizing member and the second pressurizing member may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other.

[0021] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the second pressing member may include upper and lower pressing blocks arranged to reciprocate up and down at positions between opposite edge regions of the electrode assembly.

[0022] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the mounting unit includes: a horizontal frame extending in a direction orthogonal to above the conveying unit; a vertical frame installed to be slidable along the length direction of the horizontal frame and arranged to be connected to the second pressing member of the pressing unit to move up and down; and a driving device arranged to be connected to the horizontal frame to enable the first pressing member of the pressing unit to move up and down.

[0023] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the short circuit measurement unit may be disposed in the second pressurizing member to enable the first and second probes that contact the positive and negative electrode sheets of the electrode assembly and apply a voltage to be moved up and down.

[0024] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the transfer unit may further include a clamping plate that clamps and releases the electrode assembly on the support plate.

[0025] Features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description based on the accompanying drawings.

[0026] It should be noted that the terms and words used in this specification and claims are not to be interpreted according to their ordinary and dictionary meanings, but are to be interpreted based on the principle that the inventor can define the concepts of the terms according to what he believes is most suitable to describe his disclosure, in order to conform to the meaning and concept of the technical ideas of the present disclosure.

[0027] According to the above description of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the embodiment can reliably check whether the electrode assembly is short-circuited while pressurizing the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly.

[0028] In particular, the embodiment can partially pressurize the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly by region to more accurately identify the damaged portion of the separator. In addition, by partially pressurizing the electrode assembly as described above, the present embodiment can be generally applied to electrode assemblies of various standards.

[0029] In addition, an advantage of the embodiments of the present disclosure is that not only a comprehensive inspection can be achieved, but also the measurement time can be shortened by continuously performing short-circuit measurement on the electrode assembly.

[0030] The embodiments of the present disclosure can detect the abnormality (e.g., short circuit) of the electrode assembly in advance before packaging the electrode assembly into the battery case or activating it after packaging, thereby reducing unnecessary additional manpower and material losses. These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description and drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 is a simplified cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an electrode assembly.

[0032] Figure 2 is a simplified side cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a short circuit inspection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 3 The detection is schematically shown Figure 2 Another simplified cross-sectional view of the operation of the short circuit inspection device for short circuiting an electrode assembly.

[0034] Figure 4 is a simplified top perspective view of a support plate applied to a short circuit inspection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 5 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a short circuit inspection device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure 6 is a simplified diagram schematically illustrating a process of detecting a short circuit of an electrode assembly using a short circuit inspection device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The objects, advantages and features of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and various embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto. In addition, when describing an embodiment, if it is determined that a detailed description of the related known technology may unnecessarily obscure the main points of the present invention, the detailed description is omitted.

[0038] The embodiments and drawings described in the present disclosure are not intended to limit the present disclosure to specific embodiments. The present disclosure should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents and / or alternatives of the embodiments.

[0039] In assigning reference numerals to components in the drawings, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as much as possible even if the same components are shown in different drawings, and similar reference numerals are assigned to similar elements.

[0040] In the present disclosure, terms such as first and second are used to distinguish one component from another component, and the components are not limited by these terms. In the drawings, some components are exaggerated, omitted or schematically shown, and the size of each component does not completely reflect the actual size.

[0041] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a short circuit check device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail.

[0042] The embodiment relates to a short circuit inspection device capable of detecting whether a short circuit occurs in an electrode assembly using a pressurization method. The device may preferably be configured to inspect the short circuit while pressurizing the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly.

[0043] In addition, embodiments can detect whether the electrode assembly including a positive plate, a negative plate and a separator is short-circuited while guiding the electrode assembly into a subsequent process (e.g., an assembly process of inserting the electrode assembly into a battery case together with an electrolyte) after the electrode assembly including the positive plate, the negative plate and the separator is mounted on a conveying unit.

[0044] like Figure 1 As shown, as is generally known to those skilled in the art, the electrode assembly 100 includes a plurality of positive plates 110, a plurality of negative plates 120, and a separator 130 inserted and placed between the positive plates 110 and the negative plates 120 for providing insulation. The electrode assembly 100 may be configured to place the separator 130 at the outermost layer, i.e., the uppermost layer and the lowermost layer.

[0045] For reference, the positive electrode sheet 111 may extend outward from the outer edge of the positive electrode plate 110, and the negative electrode sheet 121 may extend outward from the outer edge of the negative electrode plate 120. As shown in the figure, the positive electrode sheet 111 and the negative electrode sheet 121 of the electrode assembly 100 may extend in opposite directions from opposite edges in the length direction of the electrode assembly. Here, the length direction of the electrode assembly may refer to the lead-out direction of the electrode sheets 111 and 121.

[0046] Reference Figure 1, in a state where a plurality of positive electrode sheets and a plurality of negative electrode sheets protruding from the electrode assembly 100 are gathered together and overlapped with the same electrode, by contacting a first probe and a second probe of a short circuit inspection device (to be described later), it can be determined whether the electrode assembly is short-circuited. In a state where the positive electrode sheets 111 and the negative electrode sheets 121 are respectively gathered according to the same electrode, a plurality of positive electrode sheets and a plurality of negative electrode sheets are bonded into each bundle form by pre-welding to prevent separation, and a bundle of positive electrode sheets and a bundle of negative electrode sheets can be contacted with the first probe and the second probe, respectively. Short circuit inspection can also be provided by welding a plurality of positive electrode sheets 111 to one electrode lead (not shown) and welding a plurality of negative electrode sheets 121 to another electrode lead (not shown) by lead welding, and then contacting one electrode lead and another electrode lead of the electrode assembly with the first probe and the second probe, respectively. For example, the separator 130 has a relatively larger size (e.g., area) than the positive electrode plate 110 and the negative electrode plate 120 to prevent the positive electrode plate 110 and the negative electrode plate 120 from short-circuiting.

[0047] It is known that the charging and discharging efficiency is reduced due to the growth of lithium dendrites in secondary batteries such as lithium secondary batteries. By using a large-area negative electrode plate 120 to suppress the formation of such lithium dendrites, it is possible to ensure that the battery performance effectiveness reaches a desired level. That is, the negative electrode plate 120 can be configured such that the area of ​​the negative electrode plate 120 is relatively larger than the area of ​​the positive electrode plate 110.

[0048] Reference Figures 2 to 4 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the short circuit inspection device electrically connects the short circuit measurement unit 30 with the electrode assembly 100 described above.

[0049] The short circuit measurement unit 30 includes a power source for applying a voltage to the electrode assembly and a current measurement unit (not shown) for checking a leakage current, and is provided with a first probe 30a and a second probe 30b for applying a predetermined voltage from the power source to the electrode assembly 100. As shown in the figure, the short circuit measurement unit 30 is connected to the electrode assembly 100 by contacting the first probe 30a with the positive electrode sheet 111 and the second probe 30b with the negative electrode sheet 121. Therefore, the short circuit measurement unit 30 can detect a short circuit of the electrode assembly 100 by applying a predetermined voltage to the positive electrode sheet 111 and the negative electrode sheet 121 of the electrode assembly 100.

[0050] When a predetermined voltage is applied to the electrode assembly 100, an internal short circuit occurs and a leakage current is detected at a damaged portion of the separator 130 between the positive plate 110 and the negative plate 120. Therefore, when the measured leakage current exceeds a normal range, the short circuit inspection device of the present disclosure can identify a fault caused by a separator defect.

[0051] As described above, the short circuit inspection device of the present disclosure can detect real defects (actual defects) in the short circuit measurement unit through leakage current. In addition, the device is configured to detect pseudo defects, such as the gap between the diaphragm 130 and the positive plate (or negative plate), which are not actual product defects.

[0052] In order to improve the detection capability of not only real defects but also pseudo defects, the embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that a voltage is applied while keeping the distance between the positive plate, the separator and the negative plate as close as possible by applying surface pressure to the electrode assembly. That is, when the separator has a damaged portion, a voltage is applied while pressurizing the electrode assembly, and a short circuit is intentionally induced by bringing the positive plate and the negative plate placed near the damaged portion of the separator into physical contact with each other, so as to detect whether the electrode assembly has a short circuit.

[0053] Preferably, the short circuit inspection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may inspect a short circuit while pressurizing the top and bottom surfaces of the electrode assembly in a thickness direction.

[0054] More preferably, the short circuit inspection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may pressurize the entire top and bottom surface portions of the electrode assembly.

[0055] To this end, the short circuit inspection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a support plate 11 supporting the electrode assembly 100, a pressurizing unit 20 pressurizing the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly 100, and a short circuit measurement unit 30 detecting an internal short circuit by applying a voltage to the electrode assembly 100.

[0056] The embodiment of the present disclosure includes a support plate 11 for supporting the electrode assembly 100. The support plate 11 faces and supports one flat surface of the electrode assembly, for example, a bottom surface of the electrode assembly 100.

[0057] As shown in the figure, the support plate 11 may be formed in a size and shape capable of supporting the central region R1 of the electrode assembly 100. That is, the support plate 11 is arranged not to support the opposite edge region R2 of the electrode assembly 100, but to support the central region R1. Here, the electrode assembly 100 is arranged to extend the opposite edge region R2 symmetrically along the length direction with the central region R1 of the electrode assembly 100 as the center. Figure 1 As shown, the opposite edge region R2 refers to a region adjacent to the opposite edge of the positive electrode plate 110 facing the separator 130 and / or the negative electrode plate 120 .

[0058] Therefore, the support plate 11 may support the electrode assembly at a position that does not interfere with the opposite edge region R2 of the electrode assembly 100 .

[0059] The embodiment includes a pressurizing unit 20 configured to perform partial pressurization on the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly 100 by dividing the entire upper and lower surfaces into several areas. As shown in the figure, the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly may form a flat shape.

[0060] The pressurizing unit 20 may be composed of a first pressurizing member 21 and a second pressurizing member 22, and the pressurizing unit 20 may be separated into the first pressurizing member 21 and the second pressurizing member 22 spaced apart from each other. Alternatively, the embodiment may configure the pressurizing unit 20 to include the second pressurizing member 22, the first pressurizing member 21, and the second pressurizing member 22 sequentially arranged along the length direction of the electrode assembly 100.

[0061] The first pressurizing member 21 may pressurize the central region (R1; see Figure 1 ) corresponding part is pressurized and can be specifically positioned to reciprocate up and down above the support plate 11.

[0062] The second pressurizing member 22 may be independent of the first pressurizing member 21 and may be applied to the opposite edge region (R2; see FIG. 1 ) of the electrode assembly 100. Figure 1 Preferably, the second pressurizing members 22 may be disposed at opposite edges of the electrode assembly 100 in the length direction.

[0063] Since damage to the separator generally occurs at the corners of the electrode assembly, the embodiment may effectively pressurize the opposite edge regions of the electrode assembly where the possibility of separator damage is high through the second pressurizing member 22 .

[0064] In addition, the second pressing member 22 can reliably fix the corners of the electrode assembly to maintain the fixed alignment of the electrode assembly while checking for short circuits. In particular, the second pressing member 22 can pressurize the opposite edges of the positive electrode plate 110 having a smaller area than the negative electrode plate 120 and the separator 130.

[0065] The second pressurizing member 22 includes a pair of pressurizing blocks arranged oppositely, with the opposite edge region of the electrode assembly located therebetween, and is configured to include an upper pressurizing block 22a that reciprocates up and down above the top surface of the opposite edge region of the electrode assembly 100, and a lower pressurizing block 22b that reciprocates up and down below the bottom surface of the opposite edge region of the electrode assembly 100. The upper pressurizing block 22a is configured to move upward to pressurize the opposite edge region R2 of the electrode assembly 100 mounted on the support plate 11, or to move downward to depress the opposite edge region R2 of the electrode assembly 100 mounted on the support plate 11; accordingly, the lower pressurizing block 22b is configured to move upward to pressurize the opposite edge region R2 of the electrode assembly 100 mounted on the support plate 11, or to move downward to depress the opposite edge region R2 of the electrode assembly 100 mounted on the support plate 11.

[0066] In addition, the second pressing member 22 arranges the upper pressing block 22a and the lower pressing block 22b on the same vertical line in the thickness direction of the electrode assembly. In particular, the second pressing member 22 may be located on the same vertical line as the edge of the positive electrode plate.

[0067] The first pressing member, the upper pressing block and the lower pressing block reciprocate up and down by a driving device (not shown). For reference, the driving device can be a hydraulic cylinder, a cylinder or a driving motor, and any structure can be used when reciprocating up and down in the thickness direction orthogonal to the length direction of the electrode assembly.

[0068] Optionally, the first pressurizing member 21 and the second pressurizing member 22 may be provided with a buffer pad (not shown) on a pressurizing portion connected to the electrode assembly interface. For example, the second pressurizing member 22 may be provided with a buffer pad on the bottom surface of the upper pressurizing block 22a and the top surface of the lower pressurizing block 22b.

[0069] The buffer may prevent the separator 130 from being damaged prematurely when the electrode assembly 100 is pressurized by the first and second pressurizing members.

[0070] The embodiment of the present disclosure may install the first probe 30a and the second probe 30b on the upper press block 22a of the second press member 22 so as to easily apply a voltage when the relative edge region R2 of the electrode assembly 100 placed near the positive electrode sheet 111 and / or the negative electrode sheet 121 is pressurized by the second press member 22. As shown in the figure, the first probe 30a and the second probe 30b may be spaced apart from each other toward the outside front from the upper press block 22a.

[0071] In addition, the ejection pins 11b may be arranged to be able to move up and down on the support plate 11 so that the electrode assembly 100 can be easily separated from the support plate 11 after checking for a short circuit. The support plate 11 includes a plurality of pin holes 11a perforated on a top surface in a thickness direction, a plurality of ejection pins 11b respectively inserted into the plurality of pin holes 11a to move up and down, and a lifting device 11c for lifting the plurality of ejection pins 11b.

[0072] In order to synchronize the ascending and descending motions of the plurality of ejection pins 11b, the plurality of ejection pins may be mounted and fixed to an ejection plate (no reference numeral). The ejection plate is coupled to the lifting device 11c and may move the plurality of ejection pins up and down according to the driving of the lifting device.

[0073] While the short circuit is checked by pressurizing the electrode assembly using the pressurizing unit, the front end of the ejection pin 11b can be moved backward into the pin hole 11a, and when the electrode assembly is released from pressurization, the front end of the ejection pin protrudes from the upper surface of the support plate 11, so that the electrode assembly 100 can be separated from the support plate 11. Therefore, the electrode assembly can be supported by the ejection pin through the ascending movement of the ejection pin 11b, so that the electrode assembly can be quickly and reliably taken out and enter the subsequent process.

[0074] like Figure 4 As shown, the plurality of ejection pins 11b are spaced apart from each other in the inner region of the support plate 11 so as to support the electrode assembly uniformly and horizontally. For example, the plurality of ejection pins 11b may be arranged in a grid shape at uniform intervals on the top surface of the support plate 11.

[0075] The short circuit inspection device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to continuously inspect the short circuit of the electrode assembly, and Figure 5 to Figure 6 The device shown is configured to detect whether a short circuit occurs while the electrode assemblies to be measured are sequentially conveyed.

[0076] For reference, a short circuit inspection device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is similar to the above-described embodiment except for a method of conveying an electrode assembly and an installation method of a pressurizing unit, and thus similar or identical configurations are not described herein to aid clear understanding.

[0077] As shown in the figure, a short circuit inspection device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a conveying unit 10, which sequentially conveys an electrode assembly 100 in a certain direction according to a process sequence; a pressurizing unit 20, which pressurizes the entire upper surface and lower surface of the electrode assembly mounted on the conveying unit 10; a short circuit measuring unit 30 (see Figure 2 ), detecting an internal short circuit by applying a voltage to the electrode assembly; and a mounting unit 40, helping to select a position of the pressurizing unit 20 to pressurize the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly.

[0078] As described above, the embodiment of the present disclosure may be configured to enable the electrode assembly 100 to be mounted on the conveying unit 10 and sequentially enter the pressurizing unit 20 .

[0079] Here, the conveying unit 10 may be a component capable of linearly moving the object to be measured in the horizontal direction, and may include a guide rail (no reference numeral) extending in the driving direction of the electrode assembly 100 and a support plate 11 driven along the guide rail. The embodiment of the present disclosure may position the electrode assembly 100 on the support plate 11 that may slide along the guide rail of the conveying unit 10, and then guide the electrode assembly 100 to be positioned at the pressurizing unit 20.

[0080] Optionally, the transfer unit 10 may include a clamping plate 12 that clamps or releases the electrode assembly on the support plate 11 .

[0081] The short circuit inspection device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure may be provided by a conveying unit 10 that moves together with the installed electrode assembly 100, such as Figure 5 The electrode assembly is positioned in the pressurizing unit 20 as shown. The device can then utilize the short circuit measurement unit 30 (see Figure 2 ) Check the internal short circuit of the electrode assembly and then guide it to the next facility. Optionally, the support plate 11 can move at a constant speed in the extension direction of the guide rail.

[0082] As shown, the support plate 11 is sized and shaped to support the bottom surface of the central region R1 of the electrode assembly 100 and provide a space for installing the clamping plate 12. The clamping plate 12 is sized and shaped to cover the top surface of the central region of the electrode assembly 100, corresponding to the support plate.

[0083] In addition, the support plate 11 is provided with a plurality of ejection pins 11b on the top surface facing the electrode assembly 100, more particularly, facing the central region R1 of the electrode assembly. The ejection pins 11b are provided to move up and down to separate the electrode assembly 100 from the support plate 11, referring to Figure 4 Describe in more detail.

[0084] As described above, the embodiment of the present disclosure includes the pressurizing unit 20, which can selectively perform partial pressurization on the electrode assembly 100, or pressurize the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly 100 when measuring the short circuit of the electrode assembly. The pressurizing unit 20 includes a first pressurizing member 21 for pressurizing the central region R1 of the electrode assembly 100 and a second pressurizing member 22 for pressurizing the opposite edge region R2 of the electrode assembly 100 (see Figure 1 ).

[0085] As shown in the figures, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, the first pressurizing member 21 and the second pressurizing member 22 may be positioned along the length direction of the electrode assembly by the mounting unit 40 .

[0086] In particular, the mounting unit 40 includes a horizontal frame 41 located above the conveying unit 10 configured to move with the mounted electrode assembly 100, a vertical frame 42 installed to slide in the length direction of the horizontal frame 41, and a driving device 43 coupled to the horizontal frame 41 to reciprocate the first pressurizing member 21 up and down. The arrangement direction of the horizontal frame 41 is orthogonal to the driving direction of the electrode assembly, and the horizontal frame 41 may be arranged to be orthogonal to the conveying device.

[0087] In addition, an embodiment of the present disclosure may be configured to arrange the first pressing member 21 on the same vertical line as the support plate 11 of the transfer unit 10 .

[0088] The first pressurizing member 21 can pressurize or depressurize the electrode assembly downward, more specifically, the central region R1 of the electrode assembly 100 using the driving device 43 .

[0089] After the first pressurizing member is pressed, the surface pressure is provided to the center area of ​​the electrode assembly 100 by pressing the clamping plate 12 covering the top surface of the center area of ​​the electrode assembly with the first pressurizing member 21. To this end, the clamping plate 12 should be configured to clamp or release the electrode assembly, and at the same time, be configured to move up and down by the pressurization of the first pressurizing member in a state of covering the top surface of the center area of ​​the electrode assembly.

[0090] Preferably, an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first slider 42a and a second slider 42b, which are coupled to move up and down along the length direction of the vertical frame 42. The second pressurizing member 22 includes an upper pressurizing block 22a and a lower pressurizing block 22b arranged relative to each other, the upper pressurizing block 22a being coupled to the first slider 42a, and the lower pressurizing block 22b being coupled to the second slider 42b. The upper pressurizing block 22a can move downward or upward to pressurize or depressurize the top surface of the opposite edge of the electrode assembly 100 downward or upward according to (or under) the downward or upward movement of the first slider 42a. Correspondingly, the lower pressurizing block 22b can pressurize or depressurize the bottom surface of the opposite edge of the electrode assembly 100 upward according to the up and down movement of the second slider 42b.

[0091] As described above, the first probe 30a and the second probe 30b may be located at the front outer side of the upper press block 22a to apply voltage while pressurizing the electrode assembly. Therefore, the first probe 30a and the second probe 30b may be arranged to move up and down in coordination with the up and down movement of the upper press block 22a.

[0092] like Figure 5 As shown, the embodiment of the present disclosure may allow the electrode assembly 100 (to be measured) to enter or exit between the upper press block 22 a and the lower press block 22 b spaced apart from each other on the vertical frame 42 .

[0093] like Figure 6 As shown, the embodiment of the present disclosure can reliably pressurize the relative edge region R2 of the electrode assembly 100 by adjusting the distance between the upper press block 22a and the lower press block 22b on the vertical frame 42 in the contact direction with each other. Through the downward movement of the upper press block 22a, the first probe 30a and the second probe 30b can contact the positive electrode sheet and the negative electrode sheet of the electrode assembly 100, and then apply a predetermined voltage. In this way, the short circuit measurement unit 30 can be electrically connected to the electrode assembly 100, and then determine whether the electrode assembly has a defect (e.g., a short circuit).

[0094] As shown, the vertical frame 42 and the second pressurizing member 22 may be arranged in a mirror-symmetrical manner with the driving device 43 in the horizontal frame 41 as the center. Therefore, it is helpful to pressurize the opposite edge region R2 of the electrode assembly 100 with the second pressurizing member 22.

[0095] As described above, the horizontal position of the second pressing member 22 can be changed in the length direction of the electrode assembly 100 mounted on the support plate 11 because the vertical frame 42 having the second pressing member 22 is installed to be slidable on the horizontal frame 41. In this way, by changing the horizontal position of the second pressing member 22 according to the size of the electrode assembly, the relative edge areas R2 of the electrode assembly are aligned between the upper pressing block 22a and the lower pressing block 22b of the second pressing member 22.

[0096] Various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail. These embodiments are provided as examples of implementation of the present invention, and do not mean that the scope of the present invention is limited to these examples. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make modifications and improvements within the scope of the present disclosure and according to the technical concepts of the present disclosure.

[0097] It should be understood that many modifications, variations and other embodiments may fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. In addition, embodiments may be combined from other embodiments.

Claims

1. A short circuit detection device, comprising: a support plate supporting a bottom surface of a central region of the electrode assembly; a pressurizing unit including a first pressurizing member pressurizing a top surface of a central region of the electrode assembly and a second pressurizing member pressurizing an opposite edge region of the electrode assembly; as well as a short circuit measuring unit, applying a voltage to the electrode assembly to check a short circuit of the electrode assembly, The pressurizing unit partially pressurizes the entire upper surface and the lower surface of the electrode assembly by region.

2. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 1, wherein: The pressurizing unit is divided into a first pressurizing member and a second pressurizing member which are spaced apart and separately arranged from each other.

3. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 1, wherein: The support plate includes an ejection pin arranged to move up and down.

4. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 1, wherein: The second pressing member includes an upper pressing block and a lower pressing block arranged to reciprocate up and down at a position between opposite edge regions of the electrode assembly.

5. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 1, wherein: The second pressing member is located on the same vertical line as an edge of a positive electrode plate of the electrode assembly to pressurize an opposite edge of the positive electrode plate.

6. A short circuit detection device, comprising: A conveying unit moves the support plate on which the electrode assembly is mounted along the guide rail; A pressurizing unit pressurizes the entire upper and lower surfaces of the electrode assembly; a short circuit measurement unit, for determining whether there is a short circuit in the electrode assembly by applying a voltage to the electrode assembly; as well as The mounting unit positions and arranges the pressurizing unit on the conveying unit along a length direction of the electrode assembly.

7. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 6, wherein: The electrode assembly is arranged to have a central region and opposite edge regions centered on the central region while being symmetrically arranged along a length direction of the electrode assembly.

8. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 6, wherein: The support plate is sized and shaped to support a central region of the electrode assembly.

9. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 6, wherein: The support plate includes an ejection pin on a top surface of the support plate facing a central area of ​​the electrode assembly.

10. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 6, wherein: The pressurizing unit includes a first pressurizing member pressurizing a top surface of a central region of the electrode assembly and a second pressurizing member pressurizing an opposite edge region of the electrode assembly.

11. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 6, wherein: The pressurizing unit is divided into a first pressurizing member and a second pressurizing member which are spaced apart and separately arranged from each other.

12. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 10, wherein: The second pressing member includes an upper pressing block and a lower pressing block arranged to reciprocate up and down at a position between opposite edge regions of the electrode assembly.

13. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 10, wherein: The installation unit comprises: A horizontal frame extending in a direction perpendicular to the top of the conveying unit; a vertical frame configured to be slidable in a length direction of the horizontal frame and arranged such that the second pressing member of the pressing unit is coupled to the vertical frame to move up and down; and A driving device is provided in the horizontal frame to enable the first pressing member of the pressing unit to move up and down.

14. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 10, wherein: The short circuit measurement unit is disposed in the second pressurizing member to enable first and second probes to move up and down, the first and second probes contacting positive and negative electrode sheets of the electrode assembly and applying voltage to the positive and negative electrode sheets.

15. The short circuit inspection device according to claim 6, wherein: The transfer unit further includes a clamping plate clamping and releasing the electrode assembly on the support plate.

16. A device for inspecting defects of a secondary battery by measuring short circuit, comprising: A support member for holding the electrode assembly; a first pressurizing member pressurizing a central area of ​​the electrode assembly of the secondary battery; a second pressing member for pressing regions on opposite side edges of the electrode assembly; as well as a short circuit measuring unit for applying a voltage to the electrode assembly and checking a short circuit of the electrode assembly by measuring a current generated by the applied voltage, Wherein, the electrode sheet extends out of the secondary battery from each side edge.

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