Current collector preparation equipment, current collector preparation method and battery monomer production line

Abstract

The invention discloses current collector preparation equipment, a preparation method of a current collector and a production line of a battery monomer. The current collector preparation equipment comprises an unwinding mechanism, a winding mechanism and a film coating mechanism, the unwinding mechanism is used for unwinding a base film of the current collector, and the winding mechanism is arranged at the downstream of the unwinding mechanism and is used for winding the prepared current collector; the film coating mechanism is arranged between the unwinding mechanism and the winding mechanism, the film coating mechanism comprises a plurality of film coating assemblies, the multiple film coating assemblies are arranged in the conveying direction of the base film and used for releasing different substances to the base film so as to form multiple film layers on the surface of the base film, and the substance release areas of at least two film coating assemblies partially coincide. According to the technical scheme, the current collector preparation equipment can be used for preparing multiple film layers in the same cavity of the same equipment, and is low in equipment cost, high in production efficiency and high in yield.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of battery technology, and more specifically, to a current collector preparation device, a current collector preparation method, and a battery cell production line. Background Technology

[0002] Current collectors are an indispensable component of batteries. They not only carry active materials but also collect and output the current generated by the electrode active materials. In related technologies, when producing current collectors with multiple conductive layers, it is necessary to first deposit a reactive film layer on both sides of the base film using one piece of equipment, and then deposit a second conductive layer on top using another piece of equipment; alternatively, a multi-chamber coating mechanism can be used to deposit different film layers in different chambers. This process results in high equipment costs, low production efficiency, and low yield. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention provides a current collector preparation device that can prepare multiple conductive layers in the same chamber of the same device. The device has low cost, high production efficiency, and high yield.

[0004] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a current collector preparation apparatus, the current collector preparation apparatus including an unwinding mechanism, a winding mechanism, and a coating mechanism. The unwinding mechanism is used to unwind the base film of the current collector, and the winding mechanism is located downstream of the unwinding mechanism and used to wind up the current collector prepared therefrom. The coating mechanism is located between the unwinding mechanism and the winding mechanism, and the coating mechanism includes a plurality of coating components. The plurality of coating components are arranged along the transport direction of the base film and are respectively used to release different substances to the base film to form a multilayer film on the surface of the base film. The substance release areas of at least two of the coating components partially overlap.

[0005] In the above technical solution, multiple coating components are arranged along the transport direction of the base film. These components release different substances to the base film, with at least two components having partially overlapping release areas. Within the overlapping area, the different substances released by the corresponding two coating components combine to form another substance. The base film continuously moves from the unwinding mechanism to the winding mechanism. The multiple release areas of the coating components are also arranged along the transport direction of the base film. The substance released by the upstream coating component, or the substance formed on the upstream side, is deposited on the base film to form a film layer. The substance released by the downstream coating component, or the substance formed on the downstream side, is deposited on the film layer to form another film layer. This achieves the preparation of multiple film layers on one side of the base film within the same chamber of the same equipment. Compared to using multiple equipment or chambers to prepare multiple film layers, this application has lower equipment costs and higher production efficiency. Furthermore, this application can prepare multiple film layers using only one coating mechanism, resulting in a shorter path for the base film to flow through, less loss, and improved production yield of the current collector.

[0006] In some embodiments, the multilayer film includes a reactive film and a deposited film, and the plurality of coating components include: a gas supply component for releasing an atmospheric gas to the base film; and an evaporation component for releasing an evaporation material to the base film, the evaporation material being adapted to react with the atmospheric gas to form a reactive film, and the evaporation material being deposited on the surface of the base film to form the deposited film.

[0007] In the above technical solution, two film layers are prepared on one side of the base film in the same chamber of the same equipment. Compared with using multiple equipment or multiple chambers to prepare two film layers, the equipment cost of this application is low and the production efficiency is high. At the same time, this application can prepare multiple film layers with one coating mechanism, the base film needs to flow through a shorter path and less loss, which is conducive to improving the production yield of the current collector.

[0008] In some embodiments, the coating mechanism includes: a coating roller and a coating baffle, the coating baffle being disposed on a radial side of the coating roller, the coating baffle and the coating roller together defining a coating window, a gap for accommodating the base film being formed between the coating baffle and the coating roller, and the coating window communicating with the gap; an evaporation assembly being disposed on the side of the coating baffle facing away from the coating roller and opposite to the coating window, and an air supply assembly being installed on the coating baffle, with the air outlet of the air supply assembly communicating with the gap.

[0009] In the above technical solution, the coating baffle and the coating roller together define a cylindrical coating window, so that the evaporation material contacts the base film of the corresponding coating window portion as much as possible, without contacting the base film of other locations, thereby improving the uniformity of the film layer on the base film; at the same time, the coating baffle can also reduce the heat radiated from the evaporation component to the base film.

[0010] In some embodiments, the circumferential dimension of the coating window is greater than the circumferential dimension of the air outlet.

[0011] In the above technical solution, only a portion of the evaporating material in the coating window reacts with the atmospheric gas released from the outlet, while the remaining portion of the evaporating material does not react with the atmospheric gas released from the outlet, so that both a deposited film layer and a reactive film layer can be formed.

[0012] In some embodiments, the diameter of the air outlet of the air supply component is 1 to 5 mm, and the size of the coating window along the transmission direction is 150 to 300 mm.

[0013] In the above technical solution, the diameter of the air outlet of the air supply component and the size of the coating window along the transmission direction are within this range, which can better realize the preparation of multiple film layers on one side of the base film in the same chamber of the same equipment.

[0014] In some embodiments, the coating baffle includes a first wall surface and a second wall surface that are circumferentially opposite to the coating roller, the first wall surface being located upstream of the second wall surface, and the first wall surface or the second wall surface being provided with an opening, wherein the air outlet of the air supply assembly communicates with the coating window through the opening; or, the air outlet pipe of the air supply assembly passes through the opening and communicates with the coating window.

[0015] In the above technical solution, the outlet of the gas supply component is connected to the coating window through the through-hole. This allows for control of the amount of atmospheric gas discharged from the outlet of the gas supply component entering the coating window by controlling the size of the through-hole. This, in turn, helps control the ratio of evaporating material that reacts with the atmospheric gas to evaporating material that does not react with the atmospheric gas, thereby achieving control over the thickness of the reaction film layer. The outlet pipe of the gas supply component passes through the through-hole and is connected to the coating window. This makes it difficult for evaporating material to enter the coating baffle, which helps increase the service life of the coating baffle.

[0016] In some embodiments, the coating window is located below the coating roller, and the evaporation assembly is located below the coating window.

[0017] In the above technical solution, there is no need to set up additional drive pipes or guide pipes, which can simplify the structure of the current collector preparation equipment, reduce the cost of the current collector preparation equipment, and most of the evaporation material can move directly to the coating window, resulting in less material loss and relatively good controllability of the formation of the conductive layer.

[0018] In some embodiments, the coating roller is provided with a cooling assembly for cooling the coating roller and the coating roller for cooling the base film.

[0019] In the above technical solution, the coating roller can cool the base film so that the base film will not be damaged due to high temperature, and the evaporation material or the substance generated after the evaporation material reacts with the atmospheric gas can also be easily and quickly deposited on the base film.

[0020] In some embodiments, the coating baffle has a plurality of coating windows spaced apart along the axial direction of the coating roller, or the coating windows extend in an elongated shape along the axial direction of the coating roller; there are a plurality of evaporation components arranged along the axial direction of the coating roller, and there are a plurality of gas supply components arranged along the axial direction of the coating roller.

[0021] In the above technical solutions, the smaller evaporation components are easier to manufacture and have lower operating costs. Compared to setting up only one gas supply component, setting up multiple gas supply components helps to improve the uniformity of the release rate of the atmosphere gas at various points along the axial direction of the coating roller.

[0022] In some embodiments, the current collector preparation apparatus further includes a flattening roller, which is fixed upstream and / or downstream of the coating roller. The outer peripheral surface of the flattening roller includes a convex arc surface, the axial middle portion of which protrudes relative to the two axial ends, and the convex arc surface is used to contact the base film or the current collector.

[0023] In the above technical solution, when the base film or multi-layer structure passes through the convex arc surface, the convex arc surface will apply a force from the middle to the edge of the base film or multi-layer structure, thereby eliminating the longitudinal wrinkles of the base film or multi-layer structure and making the base film or multi-layer structure flat.

[0024] In some embodiments, the current collector preparation apparatus further includes a plurality of guide rollers, and the guide rollers are provided at least at one location between the unwinding mechanism and the coating mechanism, and between the coating mechanism and the winding mechanism. The guide rollers are rotatable and are used to support the base film or the current collector.

[0025] In the above technical solution, the guide roller is used to support the base film or current collector during the transmission process and ensure the tension of the base film, so as to make the base film transmission stable.

[0026] In some embodiments, the current collector preparation apparatus further includes a take-up swing roller disposed between the take-up mechanism and the coating mechanism. The take-up swing roller is used to support the current collector in front of the take-up mechanism, and the take-up swing roller can swing to adjust the distance between itself and the take-up mechanism. The swing axis of the take-up swing roller is parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up mechanism.

[0027] In the above technical solution, as the number of layers of the multi-layer structure is increased on the winding mechanism, the winding roller gradually swings away from the winding mechanism. The main function of the winding roller is to press the multi-layer structure against the winding mechanism, performing contact winding or upper gap winding, so as to quickly wind the flat multi-layer structure onto the winding mechanism and achieve the purpose of flat winding.

[0028] In some embodiments, there are two coating mechanisms, which are spaced apart between the unwinding mechanism and the winding mechanism, and the two coating mechanisms are respectively used to form the film layer on both sides of the base film thickness direction.

[0029] In the above technical solution, by setting two coating mechanisms to form film layers on both sides of the base film thickness direction, for example, the film layer is a conductive layer, so that both sides of the base film thickness direction can be conductive, thereby meeting the usage requirements of the multi-film layer structure.

[0030] Secondly, embodiments of the present invention also provide a production line for a battery cell, including the aforementioned current collector preparation equipment. The production efficiency of the battery cell production line can be improved by using the aforementioned current collector preparation equipment.

[0031] Thirdly, embodiments of the present invention also provide a method for preparing a current collector, using the aforementioned current collector preparation equipment. The preparation method includes: unwinding and transporting a base film; controlling multiple coating components to release different substances at different positions along the transport direction of the base film, and ensuring that the substance release areas of at least two of the coating components partially overlap, thereby forming a multilayer film on the surface of the base film to obtain the current collector. The preparation method according to embodiments of the present invention can prepare current collectors efficiently and at low cost.

[0032] In some embodiments, controlling multiple coating components to release different substances at different positions in the transport direction of the base film includes: controlling an evaporation component to release evaporation material to the base film, and controlling a gas supply component to release atmospheric gas to the base film. The release area of ​​the evaporation material includes a front area and a rear area arranged along the transport direction, and the release area of ​​the atmospheric gas coincides with the front area or the rear area.

[0033] In the above technical solution, a base film can be formed with a stacked reaction film layer and a deposited film layer.

[0034] In some embodiments, the gas delivery rate of the gas delivery component is 10-80 mL / min, and the filament feeding rate of the evaporation component is 300-800 mm / min.

[0035] In the above technical solution, the above parameters can be used to prepare the current collector well, and the yield of the current collector is high.

[0036] In some embodiments, the atmospheric gas includes at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, oxygen ions, and nitrogen ions; the evaporation material includes at least one of copper, nickel, silver, aluminum, and titanium.

[0037] In the above technical solution, the current collector preparation equipment of this application can be applied to the formation of conductive layers on the base film by various atmospheric gases and various evaporation materials, and has a wider range of applications and better versatility.

[0038] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of this application. In order to better understand the technical means of this application and to implement it in accordance with the contents of the specification, and to make the above and other objects, features and advantages of this application more obvious and understandable, the following are specific embodiments of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0039] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the current collector preparation device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the coating mechanism in a current collector preparation device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the coating mechanism in a current collector preparation device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a current collector structure;

[0043] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another type of current collector;

[0044] Figure 6 This is a structural block diagram of a battery cell production line provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating the method for preparing a current collector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] Figure label:

[0047] 1000 battery cell production lines; 100 current collector preparation devices; 200 base films;

[0048] Current collector 300; Deposited film layer 400; Reactive film layer 500;

[0049] Unwinding mechanism 10; winding mechanism 20; coating mechanism 30; coating assembly 301; air supply assembly 302;

[0050] Evaporation assembly 303; Coating roller 304; Coating baffle 305; Coating window 3051; Gap 3052;

[0051] First wall surface 3053; Second wall surface 3054; Through-hole 3055; Flattening roller 40; Guide roller 50;

[0052] 60° winding roller; 70° swing arm. Detailed Implementation

[0053] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0054] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this invention have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains; the terminology used in the specification of this invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention; the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. The terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, or accompanying drawings of this invention are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a particular order or hierarchy.

[0055] In this invention, the reference to "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments.

[0056] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "attachment" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0057] In this invention, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, in this invention, the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0058] In the embodiments of the present invention, the same reference numerals denote the same components, and for the sake of brevity, detailed descriptions of the same components are omitted in different embodiments. It should be understood that the thickness, length, width, and other dimensions of various components in the embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings, as well as the overall thickness, length, width, and other dimensions of the integrated device, are merely illustrative and should not constitute any limitation on the present invention.

[0059] In this invention, "multiple" refers to two or more (including two).

[0060] In the description of the embodiments of this application, the technical terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of this application and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the embodiments of this application.

[0061] It should be noted that a battery refers to a single physical module comprising one or more individual battery cells to provide higher voltage and capacity. For example, the battery mentioned in this application may include a battery module or battery pack. A single battery cell includes a housing and an electrode assembly disposed within a receiving cavity defined by the housing. The electrode assembly includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator. The battery primarily operates by the movement of ions between the positive and negative electrode cells.

[0062] The positive electrode includes a positive current collector and a positive active material layer coated on the surface of the positive current collector. The positive current collector without the positive active material layer protrudes beyond the positive current collector with the positive active material layer, and serves as the positive electrode tab. Typically, in lithium-ion batteries, the positive active material layer can include ternary lithium, lithium manganese oxide, lithium cobalt oxide, or lithium iron phosphate, etc.

[0063] The negative electrode includes a negative current collector and a negative active material layer coated on the surface of the negative current collector. The negative current collector without the negative active material layer protrudes from the negative current collector with the negative active material layer, and the negative current collector without the negative active material layer serves as the negative electrode tab. Typically, in lithium-ion batteries, the negative active material layer can include carbon or silicon, etc.

[0064] Battery current collectors are mainly divided into two categories. One type uses pure metal foil as the current collector, such as aluminum foil for the positive electrode and copper foil for the negative electrode, to collect current. However, this type of pure metal foil has already achieved a high level of improvement in battery energy density, meaning that the mass of the foil in the total mass of the cell can hardly be reduced further. This makes it difficult to improve the thickness of the electrode sheets further, otherwise, it would be extremely difficult to control costs and quality. The other type is composite current collectors, which include a polymer material layer and conductive layers respectively laminated on both sides of the polymer material layer. This type of composite current collector can reduce the mass of the current collector per unit area, achieving high energy density and lightweight design in lithium batteries.

[0065] In related technologies, during the production of composite current collectors, multiple conductive layers, such as metal films and metal oxide films, need to be deposited on one side of the polymer material layer in the thickness direction, depending on design and performance requirements. To deposit multiple conductive layers on one side of the polymer material layer, it is typically necessary to first deposit a conductive layer on both sides of the base film using a first machine, and then deposit a second conductive layer using another machine; alternatively, a multi-chamber coating mechanism (30 machines) can be used to deposit different films in different chambers. This significantly increases the cost of the coating equipment, while also resulting in lower production efficiency. Furthermore, material flow between machines can easily cause losses, leading to a decrease in yield.

[0066] In view of this, in order to solve the above problems, this application proposes a current collector preparation device, which includes: an unwinding mechanism and a winding mechanism, wherein the unwinding mechanism is used to unwind the base film of the current collector, and the winding mechanism is located downstream of the unwinding mechanism and is used to wind up the current collector prepared therefrom; and a coating mechanism, wherein the coating mechanism is located between the unwinding mechanism and the winding mechanism, and the coating mechanism includes multiple coating components, which are arranged along the transport direction of the base film and are respectively used to release different substances to the base film to form multiple layers on the surface of the base film, wherein the substance release areas of at least two coating components partially overlap.

[0067] In the current collector preparation equipment with the above-described structure, multiple coating components are arranged along the transport direction of the base film. These components release different substances to the base film, with at least two components having partially overlapping release areas. Within this overlapping area, the different substances released by the corresponding two components combine to form another substance. The base film continuously moves from the unwinding mechanism to the rewinding mechanism, and the multiple release areas of the coating components are also arranged along the transport direction of the base film. Substances released or formed by the upstream coating component are deposited on the base film to form a film layer, while substances released or formed by the downstream coating component are deposited on the film layer to form another film layer. This achieves the preparation of multiple film layers on one side of the base film within the same chamber of the same equipment. Compared to using multiple equipment or chambers to prepare multiple film layers, this application offers lower equipment cost, higher production efficiency, and higher yield.

[0068] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a current collector preparation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0069] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the current collector preparation apparatus 100 provided in some embodiments of the present invention. The current collector preparation apparatus 100 includes an unwinding mechanism 10, a winding mechanism 20, and a coating mechanism 30.

[0070] Specifically, the unwinding mechanism 10 is used to unwind the base film 200 of the current collector 300, and the winding mechanism 20 is located downstream of the unwinding mechanism 10 and is used to wind up the current collector 300 prepared therefrom; the coating mechanism 30 is located between the unwinding mechanism 10 and the winding mechanism 20, and the coating mechanism 30 includes a plurality of coating components 301, which are arranged along the transport direction of the base film 200 and are respectively used to release different substances to the base film 200 to form a multilayer film on the surface of the base film 200, and the substance release areas of at least two coating components 301 partially overlap.

[0071] The current collector preparation apparatus 100 of this application is used to prepare a composite current collector, which includes a base membrane 200 and a membrane layer composited on both sides of the base membrane 200. The base membrane 200 can be a polymer material layer, for example, the material of the base membrane 200 can be made of one or more monomers selected from polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyamide, polyimide, polyvinyl chloride, or polystyrene. The membrane layer is a metal layer and / or a metal oxide layer to enable the membrane layer to conduct electricity.

[0072] The unwinding mechanism 10 is used to unwind the base film 200 of the current collector 300. The unwinding mechanism 10 may include an unwinding roller, and the base film 200 can be wound onto the unwinding roller. The base film 200 is provided when the unwinding roller unwinds the base film 200. The winding mechanism 20 is located downstream of the unwinding mechanism 10 and is used to wind up the current collector 300 obtained, that is, to wind up the base film 200 after it has formed multiple film layers. The winding mechanism 20 may include a winding roller, and the current collector 300 can be wound onto the winding roller. When the current collector preparation equipment 100 is operating, the base film 200 continuously moves from the unwinding mechanism 10 to the winding mechanism 20.

[0073] A coating mechanism 30 is disposed between an unwinding mechanism 10 and a winding mechanism 20 to perform a coating process on a base film 200 in motion, forming a film layer on its surface. Each coating mechanism 30 is used only to release one or more substances onto one side of the base film 200 along its thickness direction.

[0074] The coating mechanism 30 includes a plurality of coating components 301, which are arranged along the transport direction of the base film 200 and are respectively used to release different substances to the base film 200. The substance release areas of at least two coating components 301 partially overlap. Within the overlapping range of the substance release areas, different substances will combine with each other to form another substance. For example, one of the different substances is an atmospheric gas and the other is a metal vapor; or one of the different substances is a metal vapor and the other is a different metal vapor.

[0075] The material release areas of at least two coating components 301 partially overlap. Specifically, the material release areas of at least two coating components 301 can be arranged sequentially along the circumference of the coating roller 304, and the material release areas of at least two coating components 301 partially overlap in the circumference of the coating roller 304.

[0076] The coating assembly 301 for providing metal vapor can be a coating assembly 301 that obtains metal vapor by vacuum evaporation, a coating assembly 301 that obtains metal vapor by sputtering, such as magnetron sputtering, or a coating assembly 301 that obtains metal vapor by ion plating.

[0077] Different substances combine to form another substance that is deposited on the base film 200. At least one of the different substances will also be deposited. Here, we take the release of substance A and substance B from two coating components 301 respectively as an example to illustrate the formation process of the multilayer film of this application. The other substance generated by substance A and substance B is substance AB. As the base film 200 continuously moves along the transport direction, when the overlapping portion of the material release areas of the two coating components 301 is located upstream of the non-overlapping portion of the material release areas of the coating component 301, material AB will be deposited on the upstream portion of the base film 200 to form a film layer. Then, the portion of the base film 200 with a film layer deposited will move to the downstream side, and a single material A or a single material B located on the downstream side will be deposited on a film layer to form another film layer. When the overlapping portion of the material release areas of the two coating components 301 is located downstream of the non-overlapping portion of the material release areas of the coating component 301, a single material A or a single material B located on the upstream side will be deposited on the upstream portion of the base film 200 to form a film layer. Then, the portion of the base film 200 with a film layer deposited will move to the downstream side, and material AB will be deposited on a film layer to form another film layer. This results in multiple film layers being formed on one side surface of the base film 200.

[0078] By increasing the number of coating components 301, the number of film layers can be increased. For example, after forming two film layers, another coating component 301 can be set in the transport direction of the base film 200 to deposit another film layer on the two film layers to form a three-layer film. Thus, the number of film layers on one side of the base film 200 can be adjusted by adjusting the number of coating components 301.

[0079] If the overlapping area of ​​the material release area of ​​one coating component 301 and the material release area of ​​another coating component 301 is small, the thickness of the film layer corresponding to the other substance formed by the two substances will be smaller, and vice versa. In embodiments where the substances released by the two coating components 301 arranged along the transport direction of the base film 200 can both be deposited on the base film 200, the number of film layers or the thickness ratio between different film layers can be controlled by changing the size of the material release areas of the two coating components 301 and the overlap range of the material release areas. For example, if the material release area of ​​one coating component 301 is completely included in the material release area of ​​another coating component 301, then the number of film layers is two; if the material release area of ​​one coating component 301 partially overlaps with the material release area of ​​another coating component 301, then the number of film layers is three.

[0080] According to the embodiment of the present invention, in the current collector preparation device 100, a plurality of coating components 301 are arranged along the transport direction of the base film 200. The plurality of coating components 301 are used to release different substances to the base film 200. The substance release areas of at least two coating components 301 partially overlap. In the partially overlapping area, the different substances released by the corresponding two coating components 301 will combine with each other to form another substance. The base film 200 continuously moves from the unwinding mechanism 10 to the winding mechanism 20. Multiple material release areas of multiple coating components 301 are also arranged along the transport direction of the base film 200. The material released by the coating component 301 located on the upstream side or the material formed on the upstream side will be deposited on the base film 200 to form a film layer. The material released by the coating component 301 located on the downstream side or the material formed on the downstream side will be deposited on the film layer to form another film layer. This realizes the preparation of multiple film layers on one side of the base film 200 in the same chamber of the same equipment. Compared with the preparation of multiple film layers using multiple equipment or multiple chambers, the equipment cost of this application is low and the production efficiency is high. At the same time, this application can prepare multiple film layers using only one coating mechanism 30. The path that the base film 200 needs to flow through is shorter and the loss is less, which is conducive to improving the production yield of the current collector 300.

[0081] According to some embodiments of the present invention, reference can be made to Figures 1 to 3 As shown, where Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the coating mechanism 30 in the current collector preparation device 100 provided in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the coating mechanism 30 in the current collector preparation apparatus 100 provided in another embodiment of the present invention. The multilayer film includes a reaction film layer 500 and a deposition film layer 400. The multiple coating components 301 include a gas supply component 302 and an evaporation component 303. The gas supply component 302 is used to release atmospheric gas to the base film 200. The evaporation component 303 is used to release evaporation material to the base film 200. The evaporation material is suitable for reacting with the atmospheric gas to form the reaction film layer 500, and the evaporation material is deposited on the surface of the base film 200 to form the deposition film layer 400.

[0082] The gas supply component 302 is a coating component 301, and the evaporation component 303 is another coating component 301. The atmosphere gas may include at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, oxygen ions, and nitrogen ions. The evaporation component 303 uses a vacuum evaporation method to heat, vaporize, and evaporate a substance to form an evaporation material. The evaporation material may include at least one of copper, nickel, silver, aluminum, and titanium. For example, the evaporation component 303 may include an evaporation boat and an evaporation power source. The metal source material is heated, melted, and then evaporated in the evaporation boat to form the evaporation material, but it is not limited to this, and the evaporation component 303 may also be in other forms.

[0083] Specifically, the material release area of ​​the evaporation component 303 and the material release area of ​​the gas supply component 302 partially overlap, allowing some of the evaporation material to react with some or all of the atmospheric gas to form a reaction film layer 500. When the area where the evaporation material reacts with the atmospheric gas is located upstream of the area where the evaporation material does not contact the atmospheric gas, the reaction film layer 500 formed by the reaction of the evaporation material with the atmospheric gas is located in the inner layer, and the deposition film layer 400 formed by the evaporation material is located in the outer layer (see reference). Figure 4 , Figure 4 (This is a schematic diagram of a current collector structure); when the region where the evaporating material reacts with the atmospheric gas is located downstream of the region where the evaporating material does not contact the atmospheric gas, the reaction film layer 500 formed by the reaction of the evaporating material with the atmospheric gas is located on the outer layer, and the deposition film layer 400 formed by the evaporating material is located on the inner layer (refer to...). Figure 5 , Figure 5 (A schematic diagram of another type of current collector).

[0084] Thus, it is possible to prepare two film layers on one side of the base film 200 in the same chamber of the same equipment. Compared with using multiple equipment or multiple chambers to prepare two film layers, the equipment cost of this application is low and the production efficiency is high. At the same time, this application can prepare multiple film layers with one coating mechanism 30. The flow path of the base film 200 is shorter and the loss is less, which is conducive to improving the production yield of the current collector 300.

[0085] According to some embodiments of the present invention, such as Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the coating mechanism 30 includes a coating roller 304 and a coating baffle 305. The coating baffle 305 is disposed on one radial side of the coating roller 304. The coating baffle 305 and the coating roller 304 together define a coating window 3051. A gap 3052 for accommodating the base film 200 is formed between the coating baffle 305 and the coating roller 304. The coating window 3051 communicates with the gap 3052. The evaporation assembly 303 is disposed on the side of the coating baffle 305 facing away from the coating roller 304 and opposite to the coating window 3051. The air supply assembly 302 is installed on the coating baffle 305 and the air outlet of the air supply assembly 302 communicates with the gap 3052.

[0086] The coating roller 304 can be a rotating body in the shape of a cylinder or similar. The first side of the base film 200 facing the coating roller 304 is in contact with the circumferential surface of the coating roller 304. The first side of the base film 200 facing the coating roller 304 does not come into contact with the substance released by the coating assembly 301. The base film 200 moves within the gap 3052 formed between the coating baffle 305 and the coating roller 304. The coating window 3051 communicates with the gap 3052, and the base film 200 can move to the coating window 3051. The evaporation assembly 303 is opposite to the coating window 3051. The side of the base film 200 facing away from the coating roller 304 along the thickness direction is the second side of the base film 200, which can be referred to as... Figure 2 and Figure 3 The evaporation material released by the evaporation component 303 will diffuse to the coating window 3051. The second side of the base film 200, corresponding to the part of the coating window 3051, will come into contact with the evaporation material to form a deposited film layer 400, and will come into contact with the substance after the evaporation material and the atmospheric gas to form a reaction film layer 500.

[0087] The outlet of the gas supply component 302 is connected to the gap 3052. The atmospheric gas released by the gas supply component 302 can flow through the gap 3052 to the coating window 3051. The evaporation material released by the evaporation component 303 will move from the coating window 3051 to the gap 3052 so that the evaporation material can come into contact with the atmospheric gas and react. The substance formed after the reaction will be deposited on the base film 200 to form a reaction film layer 500. Some of the evaporation material that does not move to the range of the atmospheric gas will be directly deposited on the base film 200 to form a deposition film layer 400.

[0088] The coating baffle 305 and the coating roller 304 together define a cylindrical coating window 3051, so that the evaporating material contacts the base film 200 corresponding to the coating window 3051 as much as possible, and does not contact the base film 200 in other locations, thereby improving the uniformity of the film layer on the base film 200; at the same time, the coating baffle 305 can also reduce the heat radiated from the evaporation assembly 303 to the base film 200.

[0089] According to some embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, in the circumferential direction of the coating roller 304, the extension dimension of the coating window 3051 is greater than the extension dimension of the air outlet.

[0090] The outlet is located on one side of the coating window 3051 in the circumferential direction. The gas discharged from the outlet will diffuse around the outlet and react with the evaporating material at the coating window 3051.

[0091] The extension dimension of the coating window 3051 is larger than the extension dimension of the gas outlet. This allows only a portion of the evaporating material in the coating window 3051 to react with the atmospheric gas released from the gas outlet, while the remaining portion of the evaporating material does not react with the atmospheric gas released from the gas outlet. This allows both the deposited film layer 400 and the reactive film layer 500 to be formed.

[0092] In some embodiments, the diameter of the air outlet of the air supply assembly 302 is 1 to 5 mm, and the size of the coating window 3051 along the transmission direction is 150 to 300 mm.

[0093] The outlet diameter of the air supply assembly 302 can be 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, or any value between any two of these. For example, the dimension of the coating window 3051 along the transmission direction can be 150 mm, 160 mm, 170 mm, 180 mm, 190 mm, 200 mm, 210 mm, 220 mm, 230 mm, 240 mm, 250 mm, 260 mm, 270 mm, 280 mm, 290 mm, 300 mm, or any value between any two of these.

[0094] In the above technical solution, the outlet diameter of the gas supply component 302 and the dimensions of the coating window 3051 along the transport direction are within this range. This allows only a portion of the evaporating material in the coating window 3051 to react with the atmospheric gas released from the outlet, while the remaining portion does not react. This facilitates the formation of both the deposited film layer 400 and the reactive film layer 500, enabling the fabrication of multiple film layers on one side of the base film 200 within the same chamber of the same equipment. Furthermore, the thickness of the deposited film layer 400 and the reactive film layer 500 can be controlled by adjusting the outlet diameter of the gas supply component 302, the dimensions of the coating window 3051 along the transport direction, and the transport speed of the base film 200.

[0095] In some embodiments, the gas outlet and the coating window 3051 are spaced apart by a predetermined distance along the circumference of the coating roller 304. In practice, the predetermined distance can be adjusted to control the proportion of evaporating material that reacts with the atmospheric gas, thereby controlling the thickness of the reaction film layer 500 formed by the reaction of the evaporating material with the atmospheric gas.

[0096] According to some embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the coating baffle 305 includes a first wall surface 3053 and a second wall surface 3054 that are circumferentially opposite to the coating roller 304. The first wall surface 3053 is located upstream of the second wall surface 3054. The first wall surface 3053 or the second wall surface 3054 is provided with an opening 3055. The air outlet of the air supply assembly 302 is connected to the coating window 3051 through the opening 3055.

[0097] For example, the first wall surface 3053 or the second wall surface 3054 is spaced apart from the outer peripheral surface of the coating roller 304 to form an opening 3055, or the first wall surface 3053 or the second wall surface 3054 is provided with an opening, which is the opening 3055.

[0098] It should be noted that you can refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the coating baffle 305 is used to enclose the coating window 3051, and the walls facing each other in the circumferential direction are the first wall surface 3053 and the second wall surface 3054. The first wall surface 3053 and the second wall surface 3054 can extend in the vertical direction, or the extension direction of the first wall surface 3053 and the extension direction of the second wall surface 3054 can also have a certain angle with the vertical direction, such as 10°, 20°, 30°, 40°, etc., without specific limitations here.

[0099] Exemplarily, the outlet 3055 is located on the first wall surface 3053, that is, the outlet of the gas supply assembly 302 is located on the upstream side, and the overlapping area of ​​the evaporating material and the atmospheric gas is located on the upstream side. Exemplarily, the outlet 3055 is located on the second wall surface 3054, that is, the outlet of the gas supply assembly 302 is located on the downstream side, and the overlapping area of ​​the evaporating material and the atmospheric gas is located on the downstream side. The outlet of the gas supply assembly 302 is connected to the coating window 3051 through the outlet 3055. In other words, the outlet of the gas supply assembly 302 is located on the side of the first wall surface 3053 or the second wall surface 3054 away from the coating window 3051, and the atmospheric gas discharged from the outlet of the gas supply assembly 302 will enter the coating window 3051 through the outlet 3055.

[0100] This allows for control over the amount of atmospheric gas discharged from the outlet of the gas supply assembly 302 entering the coating window 3051 by controlling the size of the outlet 3055. This, in turn, helps control the ratio of evaporating material that reacts with the atmospheric gas to evaporating material that does not react with the atmospheric gas, thereby achieving thickness control of the reaction film layer 500.

[0101] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the coating baffle 305 includes a first wall surface 3053 and a second wall surface 3054 that are circumferentially opposite to the coating roller 304. The first wall surface 3053 is located upstream of the second wall surface 3054. The first wall surface 3053 or the second wall surface 3054 is provided with an opening 3055. The air outlet pipe of the air supply assembly 302 passes through the opening 3055 and communicates with the coating window 3051.

[0102] For example, the first wall surface 3053 or the second wall surface 3054 is spaced apart from the outer peripheral surface of the coating roller 304 to form an opening 3055, or the first wall surface 3053 or the second wall surface 3054 is provided with an opening, which is the opening 3055.

[0103] It should be noted that you can refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the coating baffle 305 is used to enclose the coating window 3051, and the walls facing each other in the circumferential direction are the first wall surface 3053 and the second wall surface 3054. The first wall surface 3053 and the second wall surface 3054 can extend in the vertical direction, or the extension direction of the first wall surface 3053 and the extension direction of the second wall surface 3054 can also have a certain angle with the vertical direction, such as 10°, 20°, 30°, 40°, etc., without specific limitations here.

[0104] For example, the outlet 3055 is located on the first wall surface 3053, that is, the outlet of the gas supply assembly 302 is located on the upstream side, and the overlapping area of ​​the evaporating material and the atmospheric gas is located on the upstream side. For example, the outlet 3055 is located on the second wall surface 3054, that is, the outlet of the gas supply assembly 302 is located on the downstream side, and the overlapping area of ​​the evaporating material and the atmospheric gas is located on the downstream side.

[0105] The air outlet of the air supply component 302 passes through the through-hole 3055 and communicates with the coating window 3051. Here, the air outlet of the air supply component 302 can be located in the through-hole 3055, or the air outlet of the air supply component 302 can also be located in the coating window 3051. In this way, the evaporating material is less likely to enter the coating baffle 305, which helps to increase the service life of the coating baffle 305.

[0106] According to some embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the coating window 3051 is located below the coating roller 304, and the evaporation assembly 303 is located below the coating window 3051.

[0107] The evaporation material released by the evaporation assembly 303 will spontaneously move upward. The coating window 3051 is located below the coating roller 304, and the evaporation assembly 303 is located below the coating window 3051. In this way, the evaporation material released by the evaporation assembly 303 will spontaneously move to the coating window 3051. The evaporation material entering the coating window 3051 will spontaneously move towards the coating roller 304 to be deposited on one side of the base film 200.

[0108] In some embodiments, the coating window 3051 may not be located below the coating roller 304. For example, the coating window 3051 may be located above, to the left, to the right, etc. of the coating roller 304. Correspondingly, the evaporation assembly 303 may also be located above, to the left, to the right, etc. of the coating roller 304.

[0109] The evaporation component 303 is located below the coating window 3051. In this way, the current collector preparation equipment 100 does not need to be equipped with additional drive pipes or guide pipes to direct the evaporation material. This helps to reduce the complexity of the current collector preparation equipment 100 and reduce its manufacturing cost. Most of the evaporation material can move directly to the coating window 3051, resulting in less material loss and relatively better controllability of the formation of the conductive layer.

[0110] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the coating roller 304 is provided with a cooling assembly for cooling the coating roller 304 and for cooling the base film 200.

[0111] The temperature of the evaporation material is very high before it is deposited on the base film 200, and the evaporation component 303 also radiates heat to the coating roller 304. The base film 200 is a polymer film with a low melting point.

[0112] By setting a cooling component to cool the coating roller 304, the coating roller 304 can cool the base film 200, so that the base film 200 will not be damaged due to high temperature, and the evaporation material or the substance generated after the evaporation material reacts with the atmospheric gas can also be easily and quickly deposited on the base film 200.

[0113] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the coating baffle 305 is provided with a plurality of coating windows 3051 arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the coating roller 304, or the coating windows 3051 extend in an elongated shape along the axial direction of the coating roller 304; there are a plurality of evaporation components 303 arranged along the axial direction of the coating roller 304, and there are a plurality of gas supply components 302 arranged along the axial direction of the coating roller 304.

[0114] The coating baffle 305 defines one or more coating windows 3051. It should be noted that the axial dimension of the coating roller 304 is relatively large, while the dimensions of the evaporation assembly 303 and the gas supply assembly 302 are relatively small. Therefore, multiple evaporation assemblies 303 and multiple gas supply assemblies 302 need to be arranged along the axial direction of the coating roller 304. In embodiments where multiple coating windows 3051 are provided, the evaporated material can diffuse to the position between two adjacent coating windows 3051 to achieve better uniformity of the film layer formed on the surface of the base film 200. However, this is not a limitation; the evaporated material may also be unable to diffuse to the position between two adjacent coating windows 3051 to meet some special film formation requirements.

[0115] The coating window 3051 can be rectangular, circular, elliptical, polygonal, or a regular or irregular ring or polygon, etc., without specific restrictions.

[0116] In embodiments where multiple coating windows 3051 are provided, the evaporation components 303 can be arranged one-to-one with the multiple coating windows 3051 in the radial direction of the coating roller 304. Multiple air supply components 302 can be arranged one-to-one with the multiple evaporation components 303, or one evaporation component 303 can correspond to two air supply components 302, or one air supply component 302 can correspond to two evaporation components 303. The air supply component 302 can be located between two evaporation components 303; in practice, this can be configured according to requirements.

[0117] Among them, the smaller evaporation component 303 is easier to manufacture and has lower operating costs. Compared to setting only one gas supply component 302, setting multiple gas supply components 302 is beneficial to improving the uniformity of the release speed of the atmosphere gas at various points along the axial direction of the coating roller 304.

[0118] According to some embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 1 As shown, the current collector preparation equipment 100 also includes a flattening roller 40. The flattening roller 40 is fixed upstream and / or downstream of the coating roller 304. The outer peripheral surface of the flattening roller 40 includes a convex arc surface. The axial middle part of the convex arc surface protrudes relative to the two axial ends, and the convex arc surface is used to contact the base film 200 or the current collector 300.

[0119] For example, the central axis of the flattening roller 40 can be arc-shaped, so that the outer peripheral surface of one side of the flattening roller 40 protrudes to form a convex arc surface, and the outer peripheral surface of the other side of the flattening roller 40 is concave to form a concave arc surface. The flattening roller 40 can be fixed only upstream of the coating roller 304, or only downstream of the coating roller 304, or the flattening roller 40 can be fixed simultaneously upstream and downstream of the coating roller 304. In this way, the flattening effect is good, so as to minimize wrinkles on the base film 200 or the current collector 300.

[0120] When the base film 200 or the current collector 300 passes through the convex arc surface, the convex arc surface will apply a force from the middle to the edge of the base film 200 or the current collector 300, thereby eliminating the longitudinal wrinkles of the base film 200 or the current collector 300 and making the base film 200 or the current collector 300 flatten.

[0121] According to some embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 1 As shown, the current collector preparation equipment 100 also includes a plurality of guide rollers 50. At least one guide roller 50 is provided between the unwinding mechanism 10 and the coating mechanism 30, and between the coating mechanism 30 and the winding mechanism 20. The guide roller 50 is rotatable and is used to support the base film 200 or the current collector 300.

[0122] The number of guide rollers 50 can be determined according to the size of the installation space to meet the needs of substrate transfer. For example, multiple guide rollers 50 can be provided between the unwinding mechanism 10 and the coating mechanism 30, and between the coating mechanism 30 and the winding mechanism 20. The multiple guide rollers 50 between the unwinding mechanism 10 and the coating mechanism 30, or between the coating mechanism 30 and the winding mechanism 20, can all contact one side of the base film 200 or the current collector 300, or some of the multiple guide rollers 50 can contact one side of the base film 200 or the current collector 300, while other parts of the multiple guide rollers 50 can contact the other side of the base film 200 or the current collector 300.

[0123] The guide roller 50 is used to support the base film 200 or the current collector 300 during the transmission process, and to ensure the tension of the base film 200 or the current collector 300, so that the transmission of the base film 200 or the current collector 300 is stable.

[0124] According to some embodiments of the present invention, reference can be made to Figure 1 The current collector preparation equipment 100 also includes a take-up swing roller 60, which is located between the take-up mechanism 20 and the coating mechanism 30. The take-up swing roller 60 is used to support the current collector 300 in front of the take-up mechanism 20, and the take-up swing roller 60 can swing to adjust the distance between it and the take-up mechanism 20. The swing axis of the take-up swing roller 60 is parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up mechanism 20.

[0125] Specifically, the take-up oscillating roller 60 can be mounted on the oscillating arm 70. The oscillation drive mechanism is connected to the oscillating arm 70 to drive the oscillating arm 70 to oscillate. The central axis of the take-up oscillating roller 60 is eccentrically set with the rotation center axis of the oscillating arm 70 to drive the oscillating roller 60 to oscillate. The oscillating arm 70 can be equipped with several guide rollers 50, such as two or three, etc. This can, on the one hand, keep the current collector 300 tensioned, and on the other hand, as the oscillating arm 70 oscillates, the contact area between the current collector 300 and the take-up oscillating roller 60 is not easily affected, resulting in better stability in use.

[0126] As the number of layers of the current collector 300 increases on the winding mechanism 20, the winding oscillating roller 60 gradually swings away from the winding mechanism 20. The main function of the winding oscillating roller 60 is to press the current collector 300 against the winding mechanism 20, performing contact winding or upper gap winding 3052, so as to quickly wind the flat current collector 300 onto the winding mechanism 20 and achieve the purpose of flat winding.

[0127] According to some embodiments of the present invention, there are two coating mechanisms 30, which are spaced apart between the unwinding mechanism 10 and the winding mechanism 20, and the two coating mechanisms 30 are respectively used to form film layers on both sides of the base film 200 in the thickness direction.

[0128] In other words, one of the two coating mechanisms 30 is used to form a multilayer film on one side of the base film 200 in the thickness direction, and the other of the two coating mechanisms 30 is used to form a multilayer film on the other side of the base film 200 in the thickness direction. By changing the arrangement of the base film 200, both sides of the base film 200 in the thickness direction can be made to contact the coating rollers 304 of the two coating mechanisms 30 respectively, so that the two coating mechanisms 30 can be used to form film layers on both sides of the base film 200 in the thickness direction respectively.

[0129] By setting two coating mechanisms 30 to form multiple layers on both sides of the thickness direction of the base film 200, such as conductive layers, both sides of the thickness direction of the base film 200 can be conductive to meet the usage requirements of the multi-layer structure.

[0130] You can refer to Figure 6 As shown, Figure 6 This is a structural block diagram of a battery cell production line provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The battery cell production line 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a current collector preparation device 100 according to an embodiment of this application.

[0131] In addition to the current collector preparation equipment 100 described above, the battery cell production line 1000 may also include equipment for coating a slurry of uniformly mixed active material onto the side of the current collector to form an electrode sheet of a predetermined thickness, equipment for drying the electrode sheet, equipment for cutting the electrode sheet, equipment for stacking the positive electrode sheet, separator, and negative electrode sheet in sequence to form an electrode assembly, equipment for laminating the electrode assembly and encapsulating the electrode assembly in a housing, and equipment for injecting electrolyte into the housing, etc.

[0132] The battery cell production line 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the current collector preparation equipment 100 of the above embodiment. Therefore, the battery cell production line of the present invention has at least the following advantages: by controlling multiple coating components 301 to release different substances at different positions in the transport direction of the base film 200, and making the substance release areas of at least two coating components 301 partially overlap, in the partially overlapping area, the different substances released by the corresponding two coating components 301 will combine with each other to form another substance. The base film 200 is continuously transported from the unwinding mechanism 10 to the winding mechanism 20. Multiple material release areas of multiple coating components 301 are also arranged along the transport direction of the base film 200. The material released by the coating component 301 located on the upstream side or the material formed on the upstream side will be deposited on the base film 200 to form a film layer. The material released by the coating component 301 located on the downstream side or the material formed on the downstream side will be deposited on the film layer to form another film layer. This realizes the preparation of multiple film layers on one side of the base film 200 in the same chamber of the same equipment. Compared with the preparation of multiple film layers using multiple equipment or multiple chambers, the equipment cost of this application is low and the production efficiency is high. At the same time, this application can prepare multiple film layers using only one coating mechanism 30. The path that the base film 200 needs to flow through is shorter and the loss is less, which is conducive to improving the production yield of the current collector 300.

[0133] You can refer to Figure 7 As shown, Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for preparing a current collector according to an embodiment of the present invention. The current collector preparation method according to an embodiment of the present invention uses a current collector preparation device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The preparation method includes: S1: unwinding and transporting a base film 200; S2: controlling multiple coating components 301 to release different substances at different positions along the transport direction of the base film 200, and causing the substance release areas of at least two coating components 301 to partially overlap, so as to form a multilayer film on the surface of the base film 200, thereby obtaining a current collector 300.

[0134] According to the current collector preparation method of the present invention, by controlling multiple coating components 301 to release different substances at different positions in the transport direction of the base film 200, and making the substance release areas of at least two coating components 301 partially overlap, in the partially overlapping area, the different substances released by the corresponding two coating components 301 will combine with each other to form another substance. The base film 200 is continuously transported from the unwinding mechanism 10 to the winding mechanism 20. Multiple material release areas of multiple coating components 301 are also arranged along the transport direction of the base film 200. The material released by the coating component 301 located on the upstream side or the material formed on the upstream side will be deposited on the base film 200 to form a film layer. The material released by the coating component 301 located on the downstream side or the material formed on the downstream side will be deposited on the film layer to form another film layer. This realizes the preparation of multiple film layers on one side of the base film 200 in the same chamber of the same equipment. Compared with the preparation of multiple film layers using multiple equipment or multiple chambers, the equipment cost of this application is low and the production efficiency is high. At the same time, this application can prepare multiple film layers using only one coating mechanism 30. The path that the base film 200 needs to flow through is shorter and the loss is less, which is conducive to improving the production yield of the current collector 300.

[0135] According to some embodiments of the present invention, controlling multiple coating components 301 to release different substances at different positions in the transport direction of the base film 200 includes: controlling the evaporation component 303 to release evaporation material to the base film 200, and controlling the gas supply component 302 to release atmospheric gas to the base film 200. The release area of ​​the evaporation material includes a front area and a rear area arranged along the transport direction, and the release area of ​​the atmospheric gas coincides with the front area or the rear area.

[0136] For example, the release area of ​​the atmospheric gas may coincide only with the front area or the release area of ​​the atmospheric gas may coincide only with the rear area. Correspondingly, the reaction film layer 500 is located outside the deposition film layer 400 or the reaction film layer 500 is located inside the deposition film layer 400.

[0137] In this way, a reaction film layer 500 and a deposition film layer 400 can be formed on the base film 200.

[0138] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the gas delivery speed of the gas delivery component 302 is 10-80 mL / min, the diameter of the gas outlet of the gas delivery component 302 is 1-5 mm, and the wire feeding speed of the evaporation component 303 is 300-800 mm / min.

[0139] For example, the gas delivery rate of the gas supply component 302 can be 10 mL / min, 20 mL / min, 30 mL / min, 40 mL / min, 50 mL / min, 60 mL / min, 70 mL / min, 80 mL / min, or any value between any two of these values. The metal consumable used in the evaporation component 303 is a metal wire, and the diameter of the metal wire can be 1 to 3 mm, for example, 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, or any value between any two of these values. Correspondingly, the wire feeding speed (i.e., the speed at which the metal wire is conveyed) of the evaporation component 303 can be 300 mm / min, 400 mm / min, 500 mm / min, 600 mm / min, 700 mm / min, 800 mm / min, or any value between any two of these values.

[0140] Since the evaporation material itself needs to form a deposited film layer 400, and the evaporation material also needs to react with the atmospheric gas to form a reaction film layer 500, the filament feeding speed of the evaporation component 303 in this application is relatively fast. Furthermore, the thickness of the deposited film layer 400 and the reaction film layer 500 can be controlled by controlling the outlet speed of the gas supply component 302, the filament feeding speed of the evaporation component 303, and the transport speed of the base film 200. Using the above parameters, the current collector 300 can be prepared well, and the yield of the current collector 300 is high.

[0141] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the atmospheric gas includes at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, oxygen ions, and nitrogen ions; the evaporation material includes at least one of copper, nickel, silver, aluminum, and titanium.

[0142] For example, the two film layers generated can be an aluminum layer and an aluminum oxide layer, or a copper layer and a copper oxide layer, or a titanium layer and a titanium oxide layer, or an aluminum-copper layer and an aluminum oxide-copper oxide layer.

[0143] The current collector preparation device 100 of this application can be used to form a film layer on a base film 200 for various atmospheric gases and various evaporation materials, and has a wider range of applications and better versatility.

[0144] A current collector preparation apparatus 100 according to a specific embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0145] like Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the current collector preparation equipment 100 is used to prepare current collectors. The current collector preparation equipment 100 includes an unwinding mechanism 10, a coating mechanism 30, and a winding mechanism 20. The unwinding mechanism 10 is used to unwind the base film 200 of the current collector. The winding mechanism 20 is located downstream of the unwinding mechanism 10 and is used to wind up the current collector prepared. A plurality of guide rollers 50 are provided between the unwinding mechanism 10 and the coating mechanism 30, and a plurality of guide rollers 50 are provided between the coating mechanism 30 and the winding mechanism 20. The guide rollers 50 are rotatable and are used to support the base film 200 or the current collector. A winding swing roller 60 is also provided between the winding mechanism 20 and the coating mechanism 30. The winding swing roller 60 is used to support the current collector in front of the winding mechanism 20, and the winding swing roller 60 can swing to adjust the distance between it and the winding mechanism 20. The swing axis of the winding swing roller 60 is parallel to the rotation axis of the winding mechanism 20.

[0146] The coating mechanism 30 is located between the unwinding mechanism 10 and the winding mechanism 20. The upstream and downstream of the coating roller 304 are fixed with flattening rollers 40. The outer peripheral surface of the flattening roller 40 includes a convex arc surface. The axial middle part of the convex arc surface protrudes relative to the two axial ends, and the convex arc surface is used to contact the base film 200 or the current collector.

[0147] There are two coating mechanisms 30, which are spaced apart between the unwinding mechanism 10 and the winding mechanism 20. The two coating mechanisms 30 are used to form multilayer films on both sides of the base film 200 in the thickness direction.

[0148] The coating mechanism 30 includes a coating roller 304, a coating baffle 305, an air supply assembly 302, and an evaporation assembly 303. The coating baffle 305 is located on one radial side of the coating roller 304 and has a coating window 3051. A gap 3052 for accommodating the base film 200 is formed between the coating baffle 305 and the coating roller 304, and the coating window 3051 communicates with the gap 3052. The evaporation assembly 303 is located on the side of the coating baffle 305 facing away from the coating roller 304 and opposite to the coating window 3051. The air supply assembly 302 is installed on the coating baffle 305, and the air outlet of the air supply assembly 302 communicates with the gap 3052.

[0149] The gas supply assembly 302 and the evaporation assembly 303 are arranged along the transport direction of the base film 200. The gas supply assembly 302 is used to release an atmospheric gas to the base film 200; the evaporation assembly 303 is used to release an evaporation material to the base film 200. The material release areas of the gas supply assembly 302 and the evaporation assembly 303 partially overlap. The evaporation material is suitable for reacting with the atmospheric gas to form a reaction film layer 500, and the evaporation material is deposited on the surface of the base film 200 to form a deposition film layer 400. The atmospheric gas includes at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, oxygen ions, and nitrogen ions; the evaporation material includes at least one of copper, nickel, silver, aluminum, and titanium.

[0150] The coating baffle 305 includes a first wall surface 3053 and a second wall surface 3054 arranged circumferentially around the coating roller 304. A coating window 3051 is defined between the first wall surface 3053 and the second wall surface 3054. The distance between the first wall surface 3053 and the coating roller 304 is greater than the distance between the second wall surface 3054 and the coating roller 304. An air supply assembly 302 is disposed on the side of the first wall surface 3053 facing away from the coating window 3051.

[0151] In the circumferential direction of the coating roller 304, the extension dimension of the coating window 3051 is larger than the extension dimension of the air outlet. The coating window 3051 is located below the coating roller 304, and the evaporation assembly 303 is located below the coating window 3051.

[0152] The coating roller 304 is equipped with a cooling assembly for cooling the coating roller 304 and the base film 200. The coating baffle 305 is provided with a plurality of coating windows 3051 arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the coating roller 304. There are multiple evaporation assemblies 303 arranged along the axial direction of the coating roller 304. There are also multiple air supply assemblies 302 arranged along the axial direction of the coating roller 304.

[0153] The base film 200 enters the coating roller 304 from the unwinding mechanism 10 via the guide roller 50 and the flattening roller 40. The air supply assembly 302 introduces atmosphere A, which reacts with substance B evaporated from the evaporation assembly 303 to produce AB, which is deposited on the base film 200 to form a reaction film layer 500. More substance B is deposited on the reaction film layer 500 to form a deposition film layer 400, ultimately achieving the formation of an AB / B double-layer film on one side of the base film 200. The same base film 200 enters the second coating roller 304, where a double-layer AB / A double-layer film is also deposited on the other side of the base film 200. After passing through the guide roller 50 and the winding swing roller 60, it enters the winding mechanism 20 for winding, completing the continuous production of the current collector 300 with double-layer film on both sides.

[0154] This embodiment achieves continuous production of composite membrane current collectors with double-layer film by setting an air supply component 302 on one side of the first wall surface 3053 away from the coating window 3051, so that part of the evaporation material reacts with the atmospheric gas to form a double-layer film layer. This enables continuous production of composite membrane current collectors with double-layer film layers in one current collector preparation device 100. Compared with the current method that requires two devices to complete the production, it reduces equipment costs, improves production efficiency, and reduces material loss caused by the flow between devices.

[0155] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in the present invention can be combined with each other.

[0156] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A current collector preparation device, characterized in that, include: An unwinding mechanism and a rewinding mechanism are provided, wherein the unwinding mechanism is used to unwind the base film of the current collector, and the rewinding mechanism is located downstream of the unwinding mechanism and is used to rewind the current collector prepared therefrom. A coating mechanism is provided between the unwinding mechanism and the winding mechanism. The coating mechanism includes multiple coating components, which are arranged along the transport direction of the base film and are respectively used to release different substances to the base film to form multiple layers on the surface of the base film. The substance release areas of at least two coating components partially overlap.

2. The current collector preparation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multilayer film includes a reactive film layer and a deposited film layer, and the plurality of coating components include: An air supply assembly for releasing atmospheric gas to the base membrane; An evaporation assembly for releasing evaporation material to the base film, the evaporation material being adapted to react with the atmospheric gas to form the reaction film layer, and the evaporation material being deposited on the surface of the base film to form the deposition film layer.

3. The current collector preparation equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that, The coating mechanism includes: A coating roller and a coating baffle, wherein the coating baffle is disposed on one radial side of the coating roller, the coating baffle and the coating roller together define a coating window, a gap for accommodating the base film is formed between the coating baffle and the coating roller, and the coating window communicates with the gap; The evaporation assembly is located on the side of the coating baffle facing away from the coating roller and opposite to the coating window. The air supply assembly is installed on the coating baffle and the air outlet of the air supply assembly is in communication with the gap.

4. The current collector preparation device according to claim 3, characterized in that, In the circumferential direction of the coating roller, the extension dimension of the coating window is greater than the extension dimension of the air outlet.

5. The current collector preparation device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The diameter of the air outlet of the air supply component is 1-5 mm, and the size of the coating window along the transmission direction is 150-300 mm.

6. The current collector preparation device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The coating baffle includes a first wall surface and a second wall surface that are circumferentially opposite to the coating roller. The first wall surface is located upstream of the second wall surface. The first wall surface or the second wall surface is provided with an opening, wherein the air outlet of the air supply component is connected to the coating window through the opening; or, the air outlet pipe of the air supply component passes through the opening and is connected to the coating window.

7. The current collector preparation device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The coating window is located below the coating roller, and the evaporation assembly is located below the coating window.

8. The current collector preparation device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The coating roller is equipped with a cooling assembly, which is used to cool the coating roller and the coating roller is used to cool the base film.

9. The current collector preparation device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The coating baffle is provided with a plurality of coating windows spaced apart along the axial direction of the coating roller, or the coating windows extend in an elongated shape along the axial direction of the coating roller. The evaporation components are multiple and arranged along the axial direction of the coating roller, and the air supply components are multiple and arranged along the axial direction of the coating roller.

10. The current collector preparation device according to claim 3, characterized in that, It also includes a flattening roller, which is fixed upstream and / or downstream of the coating roller. The outer peripheral surface of the flattening roller includes a convex arc surface, the axial middle portion of which protrudes relative to the two axial ends, and the convex arc surface is used to contact the base film or the current collector.

11. The current collector preparation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes multiple guide rollers, and the guide rollers are provided at least at one location between the unwinding mechanism and the coating mechanism, and between the coating mechanism and the winding mechanism. The guide rollers are rotatable and are used to support the base film or the current collector.

12. The current collector preparation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a take-up swing roller, which is disposed between the take-up mechanism and the coating mechanism. The take-up swing roller is used to support the current collector in front of the take-up mechanism, and the take-up swing roller can swing to adjust the distance between it and the take-up mechanism. The swing axis of the take-up swing roller is parallel to the rotation axis of the take-up mechanism.

13. The current collector preparation apparatus according to any one of claims 1-12, characterized in that, There are two coating mechanisms, which are spaced apart between the unwinding mechanism and the winding mechanism, and the two coating mechanisms are respectively used to form the film layer on both sides of the base film thickness direction.

14. A production line for a single battery cell, characterized in that, Includes the current collector preparation device according to any one of claims 1-13.

15. A method for preparing a current collector, using the current collector preparation equipment according to any one of claims 1-13, the preparation method comprising: Unwind and transfer the base film; Multiple coating components are controlled to release different substances at different positions in the transport direction of the base film, and the substance release areas of at least two of the coating components partially overlap, so as to form a multilayer film on the surface of the base film, thereby obtaining the current collector.

16. The method for preparing a current collector according to claim 15, characterized in that, The control of multiple coating components to release different substances at different positions along the transport direction of the base film includes: The evaporation assembly is controlled to release evaporation material to the base film, and the gas supply assembly is controlled to release atmospheric gas to the base film. The release area of ​​the evaporation material includes a front area and a rear area arranged along the transmission direction, and the release area of ​​the atmospheric gas coincides with the front area or the rear area.

17. The method for preparing a current collector according to claim 16, characterized in that, The gas delivery speed of the gas delivery component is 10-80 mL / min, and the wire feeding speed of the evaporation component is 300-800 mm / min.

18. The method for preparing a current collector according to claim 16, characterized in that, The atmospheric gas includes at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, oxygen ions, and nitrogen ions; The evaporation material includes at least one of copper, nickel, silver, aluminum, and titanium.

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