Thickness measuring method and device, storage medium, program product and coating equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a thickness measuring method and device, a storage medium, a program product and coating equipment, and relates to the technical field of batteries, and the thickness measuring method comprises the steps that in the process that a first pole piece moves in the transmission direction of the first pole piece, data collection is carried out back and forth in the transverse direction orthogonal to the transmission direction, obtaining first thickness data corresponding to different positions of the first pole piece; and based on the first thickness data corresponding to the different positions of the first pole piece, determining position information of a first area on the first pole piece and second thickness data corresponding to the first area. In the process of executing the coating procedure, first thickness data of different positions of a pole piece in the transverse direction are collected in real time, position information of a first area is determined based on the change trend of the first thickness data of the different positions, and then second thickness data corresponding to the first area are separated from the first thickness data; therefore, the quality of the pole piece can be effectively monitored, and the situation that the unqualified pole piece flows into the next working procedure is avoided.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of batteries, in particular to a thickness measurement method and device, a storage medium, a program product and a coating device. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the cathode coating process of a lithium battery, cathode slurry, AT11 ceramic and other materials need to be uniformly coated on a substrate to form a cathode electrode sheet. The thickness consistency of the coated cathode slurry, AT11 ceramic and other materials will directly affect the manufacturing quality and product safety of the subsequent process. Too large or too small thickness may cause quality problems in the subsequent process.

[0003] Currently, after coating each roll of electrode sheet, a section of electrode sheet sample is intercepted when winding at the tail of the machine, and the thickness of the coated material on the electrode sheet sample is measured offline. If the thickness exceeds the specification range, the roll of electrode sheet is marked and the coating process is notified to adjust the process parameters and continue coating.

[0004] However, intercepting a section of electrode sheet sample and measuring the thickness of the coated material on the electrode sheet sample offline cannot effectively represent the thickness of the coated material on this roll of electrode sheet, and unqualified electrode sheets may flow into the subsequent process, thereby affecting the performance and life of the finally produced battery. SUMMARY

[0005] The main purpose of the present application is to provide a thickness measurement method and device, a storage medium, a program product and a coating device, which aims to solve the problem that related technologies cannot effectively represent the thickness of the coated material on this roll of electrode sheet, and unqualified electrode sheets may flow into the subsequent process, thereby affecting the performance and life of the finally produced battery.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides a thickness measurement method, which comprises: During movement of a first electrode sheet along a transmission direction of the first electrode sheet, data acquisition is performed in a transverse direction perpendicular to the transmission direction, and first thickness data corresponding to different positions of the first electrode sheet is obtained; Based on the first thickness data corresponding to different positions of the first electrode sheet, position information of a first region on the first electrode sheet and second thickness data corresponding to the first region are determined.

[0007] In an embodiment, the position information of the first region includes a coordinate interval of the first region in the transverse direction; The determination of the position information of the first region on the first electrode sheet and the second thickness data corresponding to the first region based on the first thickness data corresponding to different positions of the first electrode sheet comprises: Based on the first thickness data corresponding to different positions of the first electrode, the coordinate range of the first region in the horizontal direction is determined; Based on the coordinate interval, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region is determined from the first thickness data.

[0008] This embodiment provides a specific implementation method for determining the location information of the first region and the corresponding second thickness data. Specifically, based on the first thickness data corresponding to the first electrode at different positions, such as referring to the changing trend of the first thickness data at different positions, the coordinate range of the first region in the horizontal direction can be determined. Then, based on this coordinate range, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can be separated from the first thickness data. By using the coordinate range of the first region in the horizontal direction, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can be separated from the first thickness data more conveniently, so as to effectively and meticulously monitor the coating thickness of the first region. This can effectively prevent unqualified electrodes from flowing into subsequent processes, improve the yield rate of electrode products, and ultimately improve the performance and lifespan of the produced battery.

[0009] In one embodiment, the first thickness data includes the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of a plurality of acquisition points in the first region, wherein the first coordinates of the plurality of acquisition points are located within the coordinate interval; The step of determining the second thickness data corresponding to the first region from the first thickness data based on the coordinate interval includes: Based on the first coordinates of multiple collection points within the coordinate interval, determine the second coordinates of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction; Based on the second coordinates and the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple collection points within the first region, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region is determined.

[0010] This embodiment provides a specific implementation for determining the second thickness data. Specifically, the first thickness data acquired can include the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points within a first region. That is, when the thickness measuring device acquires the thickness, it acquires the corresponding thickness at multiple acquisition points within the first region. When subsequently determining the second thickness data corresponding to the first region, the second coordinate of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction can be determined based on the first coordinates of the multiple acquisition points within the coordinate interval. Then, by referring to the second coordinate of the center point in the horizontal direction and the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of the multiple acquisition points, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can be determined. Since the thickness around the center point of the determined first region is more uniform and has less edge effect, it can better characterize the thickness of the region. Therefore, referring to its second coordinate and using the thickness acquired at multiple acquisition points to determine the second thickness data corresponding to the first region makes the second thickness data more closely match the actual thickness of the first region on the electrode, improving the accuracy of determining the second thickness data and facilitating more precise monitoring of the coating thickness of the first region.

[0011] In one embodiment, determining the second thickness data corresponding to the first region based on the second coordinates and the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points within the first region includes: Based on the second coordinate, a coordinate sub-interval is extracted from the coordinate interval, wherein the second coordinate is located within the coordinate sub-interval; Based on the average thickness of multiple collection points within the coordinate sub-interval, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region is determined.

[0012] This embodiment provides a specific implementation method for determining the second thickness data by referencing the second coordinate of the center point. Specifically, based on the second coordinate of the center point, a small segment can be extracted from the coordinate interval corresponding to the first region as a coordinate sub-interval. The second coordinate needs to be contained within this coordinate sub-interval, that is, a coordinate sub-interval is extracted around the center point. Then, the average thickness corresponding to multiple sampling points within this coordinate sub-interval can be calculated, and the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can be determined based on this average value. It is believed that the thickness of the sampling points near the center point, compared with the thickness of the first region and the edges near other regions, can better represent the overall thickness of the first region. Therefore, the obtained second thickness data can better match the actual overall thickness of the first region, effectively improving the accuracy of thickness measurement. Moreover, compared with relying only on the thickness of a single sampling point to determine the second thickness data, this application uses the average thickness of multiple sampling points within the coordinate sub-interval to determine the second thickness data, which can more realistically and accurately reflect the overall thickness of the measured first region and effectively avoid misjudgment caused by local special points.

[0013] In one embodiment, determining the second thickness data corresponding to the first region based on the second coordinates and the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points within the first region includes: The thickness corresponding to the second coordinate is determined from the thickness corresponding to the first coordinate of multiple collection points in the first region; Based on the thickness corresponding to the second coordinate, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region is determined.

[0014] This embodiment provides another specific implementation for determining the second thickness data using the second coordinates of the reference center point. Specifically, to simplify calculations, reduce data processing volume, and improve the real-time performance of acquiring the second thickness data of the first region, this application can directly use the thickness of the center point, which can better characterize the overall thickness of the first region, as the second thickness data corresponding to the first region. While ensuring that it can better characterize the second thickness data corresponding to the first region, it can effectively reduce the data processing volume, thereby improving the efficiency and real-time performance of determining the second thickness data. This facilitates timely and effective monitoring and control of the first region using the highly real-time second thickness data.

[0015] In one embodiment, determining the second coordinates of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction based on the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points within the coordinate interval includes: Along the horizontal direction, the thickness difference corresponding to the first coordinate of two adjacent acquisition points within the coordinate interval is calculated sequentially to obtain the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple acquisition points. Based on the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of acquisition points, the center point of the first region is determined from the plurality of acquisition points; From the first coordinates of the plurality of acquisition points, determine the second coordinates of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction.

[0016] This embodiment provides a specific implementation for determining the second coordinate of the center point in the horizontal direction. The thickness gradient values ​​of two adjacent sampling points can effectively characterize the thickness variation in the region where the two sampling points are located. Furthermore, the thickness of the electrode sheet obtained after the coating process often conforms to a certain thickness variation pattern. Therefore, this application can sequentially calculate the thickness difference between two adjacent sampling points along the horizontal direction as the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple sampling points. Based on the thickness variation pattern in the first region characterized by the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple sampling points, the center point and corresponding second coordinate of the first region can be determined from the multiple sampling points. By referring to the thickness variation area within the first region, a suitable center point and its corresponding coordinates can be accurately and efficiently determined, thereby improving the accuracy of the subsequent second thickness data determined around this center point.

[0017] In one embodiment, the first region is a ceramic material coated region; Determining the center point of the first region from the multiple acquisition points based on the thickness gradient values ​​of the multiple acquisition points includes: During the process of collecting first thickness data at different positions of the first electrode, the moving direction of the thickness acquisition mechanism when collecting data laterally is determined; wherein, the moving direction includes the direction of moving from the film area on the first electrode to the substrate area on the first electrode, and the direction of moving from the substrate area on the first electrode to the film area on the first electrode. Based on the direction of movement and the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of acquisition points, the center point of the first region is determined from the plurality of acquisition points.

[0018] This embodiment provides a specific implementation method for determining the center point. Specifically, the first region can be a ceramic material coating region. On the first electrode, the ceramic material coating region is usually located between the substrate region and the film region. Since the thickness variation pattern of the ceramic material coating region near the substrate region often differs from that near the film region under existing coating processes, when determining the center point based on the thickness variation pattern of the first region characterized by the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple acquisition points, the movement direction of the thickness measuring device during data acquisition can also be referenced to more accurately determine the center point, thereby improving the accuracy of the subsequent second thickness data determined around the center point.

[0019] In one embodiment, determining the center point of the first region from the plurality of acquisition points based on the movement direction and the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of acquisition points includes: When the moving direction is from the film region to the substrate region, the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of sampling points are traversed along the moving direction, and the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value less than 0 is determined as the center point of the first region. When the moving direction is from the substrate region to the film region, the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of sampling points are traversed along the moving direction, and the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value greater than 0 is determined as the center point of the first region.

[0020] This embodiment provides a specific implementation method for determining the center point based on the moving direction and thickness gradient value. Specifically, referring to the thickness variation law of the first region (the coating area of ​​the ceramic material) under existing coating processes, the center point can be identified as the point where the thickness of multiple sampling points within the first region suddenly decreases or increases (considered as an inflection point). Based on actual test data, this application sets the following method for determining the center point: if the moving direction is from the film region to the substrate region, the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple sampling points are traversed along the moving direction, and the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value less than 0 is determined as the center point; if the moving direction is from the substrate region to the film region, the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple sampling points are traversed along the moving direction, and the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value greater than 0 is determined as the center point. This method can be used for the cathode electrode, enabling more accurate determination of the center point of the first region, and thus more accurate determination of the corresponding second thickness data for the first region.

[0021] In one embodiment, determining the second coordinates of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction based on the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points within the coordinate interval includes: Based on the two edge coordinates of the coordinate interval, determine the third coordinate corresponding to the center position of the coordinate interval in the horizontal direction; Calculate the distance between the first coordinates of the plurality of collection points and the third coordinates; From the plurality of collection points, the collection point with the smallest distance is taken as the center point of the first region.

[0022] This embodiment provides another specific implementation method for determining the second coordinate of the center point in the horizontal direction. Specifically, the center point of the first region can be determined directly based on the coordinate interval. First, the physical center position of the coordinate interval can be determined based on the coordinates of the two edges of the coordinate interval in the horizontal direction. Since the thickness measuring device may not have a sampling point set at the center position, and the thickness of the sampling point is needed to determine the second thickness data in the first region, after determining the physical center position of the coordinate interval, this application needs to calculate the distance between the coordinates of each sampling point and the coordinates of the center position, and select the sampling point with the closest distance as the center point of the first region. The center point determined in this way not only has the collected thickness value, but is also close to the theoretically calculated center position, which facilitates a good characterization of the thickness of the first region and improves the accuracy of thickness measurement.

[0023] Furthermore, to achieve the above objectives, this application also proposes a coating apparatus, comprising: A thickness acquisition mechanism is used to acquire data by reciprocating laterally in a direction orthogonal to the transmission direction as the first electrode moves along the transmission direction of the first electrode, so as to obtain the first thickness data of the first electrode at different positions. The controller is used to determine the position information of a first region on the first electrode and the second thickness data corresponding to the first region based on the first thickness data corresponding to different positions of the first electrode.

[0024] In one embodiment, the device further includes: A transmission mechanism is used to drive the first electrode to move along the transmission direction of the first electrode and guide the first electrode to the working area of ​​the thickness acquisition mechanism, so that the thickness acquisition mechanism can collect data by reciprocating laterally orthogonal to the transmission direction.

[0025] In one embodiment, the thickness acquisition mechanism includes: a first slide rail, a second slide rail, a first ray device, and a second ray device; The first slide rail and the second slide rail are respectively arranged and are both arranged in the horizontal direction. The first ray device is arranged on the first slide rail and moves along the first slide rail. The second ray device is arranged on the second slide rail and moves along the second slide rail. One of the first ray device and the second ray device is arranged above the first electrode and the other is arranged below the first electrode. The first ray device and the second ray device are respectively arranged and move synchronously along the first slide rail and the second slide rail.

[0026] In addition, to achieve the above objectives, this application also proposes a thickness measuring device, the device comprising: a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, the computer program being configured to implement the steps of the thickness measuring method described above.

[0027] In addition, to achieve the above objectives, this application also proposes a storage medium, which is a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of the thickness measurement method described above.

[0028] In addition, to achieve the above objectives, this application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the thickness measurement method described above.

[0029] One or more technical solutions proposed in this application have at least the following technical effects: This application allows for the installation of a thickness measuring device, such as a thickness measuring instrument, during the movement of the first electrode sheet along the transport direction of the coating process. This device is controlled to move synchronously laterally, orthogonal to the transport direction of the first electrode sheet, to dynamically collect data on the thickness of the first electrode sheet. This yields first thickness data at different positions on the first electrode sheet. Based on this first thickness data, the location information of a designated first region on the first electrode sheet and the corresponding second thickness data can be determined. Compared to cutting a sample of the electrode sheet and measuring its thickness offline, this application can dynamically and in real-time collect first thickness data at different positions laterally on the electrode sheet during the coating process. Furthermore, based on the changing trends of the first thickness data at different positions, the location information of a pre-defined first region can be determined. The second thickness data corresponding to the first region can then be separated from the first thickness data, enabling effective and detailed monitoring of the electrode sheet quality. This effectively prevents defective electrodes from flowing into subsequent processes, improves the yield rate of the electrode sheet, and ultimately enhances the performance and lifespan of the produced battery. Attached Figure Description

[0030] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0031] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or related technologies, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0032] Figure 1 This is one of the flowcharts illustrating the thickness measurement method provided in this application; Figure 2 This is one of the top views of the first electrode in the thickness measurement method provided in this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of the thickness acquisition mechanism in the thickness measurement method provided in this application; Figure 4 This is the second top view schematic diagram of the first electrode in the thickness measurement method provided in this application; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the thickness at different positions on the first electrode in the thickness measurement method provided in this application; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the layout of the coating equipment in the thickness measurement method provided in this application; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the coating equipment in the thickness measurement method provided in this application; Figure 8This is the second flowchart illustrating the thickness measurement method provided in this application; Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the thickness measuring device provided in this application.

[0033] The purpose, features, and advantages of this application will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0034] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the technical solutions of this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0035] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains; the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the application; the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, in the specification, claims, and foregoing description of the drawings are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0036] In the description of the embodiments of this application, technical terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish different objects and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number, specific order, or primary and secondary relationship of the indicated technical features. In the description of the embodiments of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly defined.

[0037] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0038] To better understand the technical solution of this application, a detailed description will be provided below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0039] First, the relevant technical terms involved in the embodiments of this application will be explained: 1) Coating: This mainly refers to the lithium battery coating process, which is a key process for uniformly coating electrode slurry onto metal foil (such as copper foil or aluminum foil) to form electrode sheets, directly affecting battery performance and consistency.

[0040] 2) AT11: A ceramic coating. An AT11 coating is added to both sides of the film area of ​​the lithium battery cathode. In subsequent assembly, it serves to insulate the cathode from the anode.

[0041] 3) Laser thickness measurement: Laser thickness measurement is an advanced method for non-contact thickness measurement using laser technology. Its core principle is to sense the distance to the surface of an object through laser and convert it into an electrical signal output, thereby calculating the thickness of the object.

[0042] 4) Host computer: This typically refers to the computer or device responsible for monitoring, management, data processing, and human-machine interaction in a control system. It is widely used in industrial automation, the Internet of Things, and robot control, with core functions including monitoring and control, data processing and analysis, human-machine interaction, and communication and protocol conversion.

[0043] 5) Restful: A software architectural style or design style. It provides a set of design principles and constraints, primarily used for client-server interaction software.

[0044] In related technologies, during the lithium battery cathode coating process, it is necessary to inspect the thickness of the coated cathode slurry, AT11 ceramic, and other coating materials to control the consistency of the coating material thickness within and between rolls, thereby preventing quality problems from occurring at the source.

[0045] Currently, taking the measurement of the thickness of the AT11 area (the area coated with AT11 ceramic material) on the electrode as an example, in the coating process, after each roll of electrode is coated, a section of electrode sample is cut off at the tail of the machine during winding, and the thickness of the AT11 area on the electrode sample is measured using an offline laser thickness gauge; if the thickness of the AT11 area exceeds the specification range, the roll of electrode is marked, and the coating process is notified to adjust the process parameters.

[0046] The above solution mainly has the following technical problems: 1) Within the same roll of electrode sheets, the thickness of the AT11 region at different locations may fluctuate, and the fluctuation may be significant. Measuring the thickness of the AT11 region of a section of electrode sheet taken from the end of the roll cannot represent the thickness level of the AT11 region on the entire roll of electrode sheets. There may be cases where the thickness of the AT11 region at the end of the roll meets the specification range, but a section in the middle of the roll exceeds the specification range.

[0047] 2) Sample measurement is an offline and delayed detection method. This detection scheme cannot be used to control the thickness consistency of the AT11 area in real time, and it is also difficult to effectively avoid quality problems caused by the thickness of the AT11 area.

[0048] To address the aforementioned technical issues, this application provides a thickness measurement method. This method aims to collect the thickness data of the first region to be measured (e.g., the aforementioned AT11 region) on the electrode in real time during the dynamic movement of the electrode sheet along the coating process production line. This facilitates real-time control of the thickness consistency of the first region, effectively reduces the occurrence of defective electrode sheets flowing into subsequent processes, improves the yield rate of electrode sheet output, and ultimately improves the performance and lifespan of the produced battery.

[0049] It should be noted that the executing entity of the embodiments of this application can be a computing service device with data processing, network communication, and program execution functions, such as a tablet computer, personal computer, or mobile phone, or an electronic device or thickness measuring device capable of performing the above functions. The embodiments of this application and the following examples will be described using electronic devices as examples.

[0050] According to one aspect, embodiments of this application provide a thickness measurement method, referring to... Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is one of the flowcharts of the thickness measurement method provided in this application, which includes steps S101 to S102: Step S101: During the movement of the first electrode along the transmission direction of the first electrode, data is collected by reciprocating laterally along a direction orthogonal to the transmission direction to obtain the first thickness data corresponding to the first electrode at different positions.

[0051] It should be noted that the first electrode mentioned above is, for example, an electrode that moves dynamically with the coating process production line. It can be a cathode electrode coated with cathode paste, AT11 ceramic or other coating materials, or an electrode coated with other coating materials. This application does not limit this.

[0052] It should also be noted that in the electrode coating process, the first electrode moves along the conveying direction with the production line. Based on this, this embodiment can be equipped with a thickness acquisition mechanism to scan and measure the thickness of the electrode in a transverse direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. The specific scanning method includes, but is not limited to, unidirectional scanning or reciprocating scanning, so as to dynamically acquire the first thickness data corresponding to the first electrode at different positions. This application does not limit this.

[0053] For example, Figure 2 This is one of the top views of the first electrode in the thickness measurement method provided in this application, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the trajectory of the thickness acquisition mechanism scanning back and forth along the transverse direction B of the first electrode 10 during the movement of the first electrode 10 along the transmission direction A is marked. The trajectory is Z-shaped.

[0054] For example, Figure 3This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of the thickness acquisition mechanism in the thickness measurement method provided in this application, as shown below. Figure 3 As shown, the thickness acquisition mechanism includes, for example, a through-beam laser thickness measurement device, mainly comprising two sets of laser emitters and laser receivers. A set of laser emitters and laser receivers are respectively set on the upper and lower sides of the electrode. Taking the upper set of laser emitters and receivers as an example, after the upper laser emitter emits a laser beam towards the electrode, the laser beam is reflected back to the laser receiver on the upper laser emitter side after reaching the electrode. The distance x1 between the upper laser emitter and laser receiver and the electrode can be determined by determining the time interval between the moment the laser receiver receives the laser beam and the moment the laser emitter emits the laser beam. Similarly, the distance x2 between the lower set of laser emitters and laser receivers and the electrode can be measured using the same process. Since the distance y between the upper and lower laser emitters and laser receivers is known, the thickness at the laser beam scanning position on the electrode can be determined as y-x1-x2.

[0055] In other embodiments, the thickness acquisition mechanism may also include a transmission-type laser thickness measurement device, in which the laser emitter of the device can emit a laser beam toward the electrode, and the laser beam is received by the laser receiver after passing through the electrode. The thickness at the laser beam scanning position on the electrode can then be determined based on the intensity change of the laser beam.

[0056] During the real-time acquisition and monitoring of the thickness at different locations on the electrode sheet, if the thickness at at least some locations is detected to exceed the set range, the control system can issue an alarm or prompt message to remind the operator to make adjustments or stop the machine directly to prevent unqualified materials from entering subsequent processes.

[0057] Step S102: Based on the first thickness data corresponding to different positions of the first electrode, determine the position information of the first region on the first electrode and the second thickness data corresponding to the first region.

[0058] Optionally, the first region on the first electrode can be, for example, the AT11 region on the cathode electrode, a film region coated with cathode coating, or a substrate region, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0059] It should be noted that the thickness of the first electrode at different positions after the coating process varies in a certain regular pattern. Therefore, based on the first thickness data of the first electrode at different positions collected above, the position information of a specific first region on the first electrode can be determined according to the electrode coating pattern, and the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can be determined.

[0060] For example, taking the first electrode as an example, which includes a substrate region, an AT11 region, and a film region, Figure 4This is the second top view schematic diagram of the first electrode in the thickness measurement method provided in this application. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the thickness at different locations on the first electrode in the thickness measurement method provided in this application, as shown below. Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, according to Figure 4 The structure of the first electrode 10 can be scanned to obtain the corresponding... Figure 5 A thickness diagram in the image. Figure 5 The horizontal axis represents the position of the first electrode 10 on the horizontal plane B, and the vertical axis represents the thickness being collected. This can be based on... Figure 4 The structure of the first electrode 10, from Figure 5 The location of different regions can be determined from the thickness diagram; for example, it can be seen from... Figure 5 The thickness diagram identifies the substrate region C, AT11 region D, and film region E, and then separates the thickness data of each region. The thickness data corresponding to the first region is the second thickness data mentioned above.

[0061] It should also be noted that the above Figure 4 The first electrode is arranged in the horizontal direction as follows: "substrate region - AT11 region - film region - AT11 region - substrate region - AT11 region - film region - AT11 region - substrate region". This structure is only an example and is not limited in this application.

[0062] In the thickness measurement method provided in this application embodiment, during the process of the first electrode sheet moving along the transport direction of the coating process production line, a thickness measurement device can be set up and controlled to move synchronously in a lateral direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the first electrode sheet to dynamically collect data on the thickness of the first electrode sheet, obtaining the first thickness data corresponding to the first electrode sheet at different positions. Based on the first thickness data, the position information of a specified first region on the first electrode sheet and the second thickness data corresponding to that first region can be determined. Compared to cutting a section of electrode sheet sample and measuring its thickness offline, this application can dynamically and in real-time collect the first thickness data at different positions in the lateral direction of the electrode sheet during the coating process. It can also determine the position information of a pre-specified first region based on the changing trend of the first thickness data at different positions, and then separate the second thickness data corresponding to the first region from the first thickness data. This allows for effective and detailed monitoring of the electrode sheet quality, effectively preventing unqualified electrode sheets from flowing into subsequent processes, improving the yield rate of the electrode sheet, and ultimately improving the performance and lifespan of the produced battery.

[0063] The following describes the specific implementation method for determining the location information of the first region and the corresponding second thickness data, using feasible implementation methods as an example: In one feasible implementation, the location information of the first region may include the coordinate range of the first region in the horizontal direction; step S102 above may include: Step S1021: Based on the first thickness data corresponding to the first electrode at different positions, determine the coordinate range of the first region in the horizontal direction; Step S1022: Based on the coordinate interval, determine the second thickness data corresponding to the first region from the first thickness data.

[0064] For example, such as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the location information of the first region can include the coordinate range of the first region in the horizontal direction. Taking the first region as the first AT11 region in the horizontal direction as an example, the location information of the AT11 region can include the coordinate range of 230~297. The specific reading can be adjusted according to the actual situation. This is just an example.

[0065] After determining that the first AT11 region corresponds to the coordinate interval of 230~297, the thickness corresponding to the coordinate interval of 230~297 can be read and used as the second thickness data of the first AT11 region, or the thickness corresponding to at least some coordinates within the coordinate interval can be used to determine the second thickness data of the first AT11 region.

[0066] Specifically, based on the first thickness data corresponding to the first electrode at different positions, such as by referring to the changing trend of the first thickness data at different positions, the coordinate range of the first region in the horizontal direction can be determined. Then, based on this coordinate range, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can be separated from the first thickness data. By using the coordinate range of the first region in the horizontal direction, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can be separated from the first thickness data more conveniently, so as to effectively and meticulously monitor the coating thickness of the first region. This can effectively prevent unqualified electrode sheets from flowing into subsequent processes, improve the yield rate of electrode products, and ultimately improve the performance and lifespan of the produced battery.

[0067] Optionally, the first thickness data may include the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points in the first region, wherein the first coordinates of the multiple acquisition points are located within the coordinate range; Step S1022 above may include the following steps: Step S1022-1: Based on the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points within the coordinate interval, determine the second coordinates of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction; Step S1022-2: Based on the second coordinates and the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points in the first region, determine the second thickness data corresponding to the first region.

[0068] For example, the first thickness data may include the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points, such as Figure 5 The horizontal axis includes the first coordinates of multiple sampling points in the horizontal direction. Each first coordinate corresponds to the vertical coordinate on the curve, which is the thickness corresponding to each first coordinate.

[0069] Optionally, the center point of the first region determined above can be the physical center of the first region, or it can be the center point among multiple collection points in the first region. This application does not limit this.

[0070] Specifically, the first thickness data obtained above may include the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points in the first region. That is, when the thickness measuring device acquires the thickness, it acquires the corresponding thickness at multiple acquisition points in the first region. When determining the second thickness data corresponding to the first region, the second coordinate of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction can be determined based on the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points in the coordinate interval. Then, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can be determined by referring to the second coordinate of the center point in the horizontal direction and the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points. Since the thickness around the center point of the determined first region is more uniform and the edge effect is smaller, it can well characterize the thickness of the region. Therefore, referring to its second coordinate and using the thickness acquired at multiple acquisition points to determine the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can make the second thickness data more consistent with the actual thickness of the first region on the electrode, improve the accuracy of determining the second thickness data, and facilitate more precise monitoring of the coating thickness of the first region.

[0071] In some embodiments, a specific implementation is provided for determining the second thickness data using the second coordinates of the reference center point. Step S1022-2 above may include the following steps: Step S1-1: Based on the second coordinate, extract a coordinate sub-interval from the coordinate interval; The second coordinate is located within the coordinate sub-interval.

[0072] For example, assuming the coordinate range is 230~297, if the second coordinate of the center point is 263, then a sub-range of coordinates can be cut around the coordinate 263, for example, 260~266. In this case, a segment is cut with 263 as the center. Alternatively, the segment can be cut without using 263 as the center, as long as it includes the coordinates of the center point 263. For example, the cut sub-range of coordinates is 262~270. This application does not impose any restrictions on this and the segment can be flexibly cut according to the actual situation.

[0073] Step S1-2: Based on the average thickness of multiple collection points within the coordinate sub-interval, determine the second thickness data corresponding to the first region.

[0074] Optionally, for the thickness corresponding to multiple acquisition points within a coordinate sub-interval, before averaging these thicknesses, the thicknesses corresponding to multiple acquisition points can be preprocessed, for example, removing some thicknesses that are not within the preset range, to avoid local special points affecting the accuracy of determining the second thickness data. This application is only an example and does not impose any limitations on this.

[0075] Specifically, based on the second coordinate of the center point, a small segment can be extracted from the coordinate interval corresponding to the first region as a coordinate sub-interval. The second coordinate needs to be contained within this coordinate sub-interval, that is, a coordinate sub-interval is extracted around the center point. Then, the average thickness corresponding to multiple sampling points within this coordinate sub-interval can be calculated, and the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can be determined based on this average value. It is believed that the thickness of the sampling points near the center point, compared with the thickness of the first region and the edges near other regions, can better represent the overall thickness of the first region. Therefore, the obtained second thickness data can better match the actual overall thickness of the first region, effectively improving the accuracy of thickness measurement. Moreover, compared with relying only on the thickness of a single sampling point to determine the second thickness data, this application uses the average thickness of multiple sampling points within the coordinate sub-interval to determine the second thickness data, which can more realistically and accurately reflect the overall thickness of the measured first region and effectively avoid misjudgment caused by local special points.

[0076] In other embodiments, another specific implementation is provided for determining the second thickness data using the second coordinates of the reference center point. S1022-2 described above may include the following steps: Step S2-1: Determine the thickness corresponding to the second coordinate from the thickness corresponding to the first coordinate of multiple collection points in the first region; Step S2-2: Based on the thickness corresponding to the second coordinate, determine the second thickness data corresponding to the first region.

[0077] Specifically, in order to simplify calculations and reduce data processing volume, and improve the real-time performance of obtaining the second thickness data of the first region, this application can directly use the thickness of the center point that can better represent the overall thickness of the first region as the second thickness data corresponding to the first region. While ensuring that it can better represent the second thickness data corresponding to the first region, the amount of data processing can be effectively reduced, thereby improving the efficiency and real-time performance of determining the second thickness data. This facilitates timely and effective monitoring and control of the first region by utilizing the highly real-time second thickness data.

[0078] The following describes the specific implementation method for determining the second coordinate of the center point in the horizontal direction, using feasible implementation methods as an example: In one feasible implementation, step S1022-1 above may include the following steps: Step S3-1: Along the horizontal direction, calculate the thickness difference corresponding to the first coordinate of two adjacent acquisition points in the coordinate interval in sequence to obtain the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple acquisition points. Step S3-2: Based on the thickness gradient values ​​of the multiple acquisition points, determine the center point of the first region from the multiple acquisition points; Step S3-3: Determine the second coordinates of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction from the first coordinates of the plurality of acquisition points.

[0079] Specifically, the thickness gradient value of two adjacent sampling points can effectively characterize the thickness change in the region where the two sampling points are located. Moreover, the thickness of the electrode obtained after the coating process often conforms to a certain thickness change law. Therefore, this application can calculate the thickness difference of two adjacent sampling points in sequence along the horizontal direction as the thickness gradient value of multiple sampling points. Based on the thickness change law in the first region characterized by the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple sampling points, the center point of the first region and the corresponding second coordinate can be determined from multiple sampling points. By referring to the thickness change area in the first region, a suitable center point and corresponding coordinate can be accurately and efficiently determined, thereby improving the accuracy of the second thickness data determined around the center point.

[0080] Optionally, a specific implementation of determining the center point is provided. The first region can be a ceramic material coating area; step S3-2 above may include the following steps: Step S3-21: Determine the moving direction of the thickness acquisition mechanism when acquiring data laterally during the process of acquiring the first thickness data corresponding to different positions of the first electrode sheet. The moving direction includes the direction of moving from the film region on the first electrode to the substrate region on the first electrode, and the direction of moving from the substrate region on the first electrode to the film region on the first electrode.

[0081] Step S3-22: Based on the moving direction and the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of acquisition points, determine the center point of the first region from the plurality of acquisition points.

[0082] For example, the structure of the first electrode is as follows: Figure 4 The structure shown has a ceramic material coating area (i.e., the AT11 area mentioned above) positioned between the substrate area and the film area.

[0083] Specifically, the first region can be a ceramic material coating region. On the first electrode, the ceramic material coating region is usually located between the substrate region and the film region. Since the thickness variation pattern of the ceramic material coating region near the substrate region and the thickness variation pattern near the film region often differ under the existing coating process, when determining the center point based on the thickness variation pattern of the first region characterized by the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple collection points, the moving direction of the thickness measuring device during data acquisition can also be referenced to more accurately determine the center point, thereby improving the accuracy of the second thickness data determined around the center point.

[0084] Optionally, a specific implementation method for determining the center point based on the direction of movement and the thickness gradient value is provided. Step S3-22 above may include the following steps: 1) When the moving direction is from the film area to the substrate area, the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of sampling points are traversed along the moving direction, and the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value less than 0 is determined as the center point of the first area; It should be noted that if the direction of movement is from the film area to the substrate area, according to Figure 5 Based on the pattern of the thickness data of the first electrode shown, the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value less than 0 is selected, that is, the inflection point of the sampling point where the thickness suddenly increases is selected as the center point of the first region.

[0085] 2) When the moving direction is from the substrate region to the film region, the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of sampling points are traversed along the moving direction, and the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value greater than 0 is determined as the center point of the first region.

[0086] It should be noted that if the direction of movement is from the substrate area to the film area, according to Figure 5 Based on the pattern of the thickness data of the first electrode shown, the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value greater than 0 is selected, that is, the inflection point of the sampling point where the thickness suddenly changes from large to small is selected as the center point of the first region.

[0087] It should also be noted that the center point of the first region can also be determined according to different thickness variation patterns based on the actual situation. The above method is based on... Figure 4 and Figure 5 The method for determining the corresponding first electrode setting is only an example here and is not a limitation.

[0088] Specifically, referring to the thickness variation pattern of the first region (the coating area of ​​ceramic materials) under existing coating processes, the center point can be identified as the point where the thickness of multiple sampling points in the first region suddenly changes from large to small or from small to large (considered as an inflection point). Based on actual test data, this application sets the following method for determining the center point: if the movement direction is from the film area to the substrate area, the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple sampling points are traversed along the movement direction, and the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value less than 0 is determined as the center point; if the movement direction is from the substrate area to the film area, the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple sampling points are traversed along the movement direction, and the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value greater than 0 is determined as the center point. The above method can be used for cathode electrodes to more accurately determine the center point of the first region, and thus more accurately determine the second thickness data corresponding to the first region.

[0089] In another feasible implementation, step S1022-1 above may include the following steps: Step S4-1: Based on the two edge coordinates of the coordinate interval, determine the third coordinate corresponding to the center position of the coordinate interval in the horizontal direction; Step S4-2: Calculate the distance between the first coordinates of the plurality of collection points and the third coordinates respectively; Step S4-3: From the plurality of collection points, select the collection point with the smallest distance as the center point of the first region.

[0090] For example, assuming the coordinate range is 230~297, the two edge coordinates of this coordinate range can be considered to be 230 and 297. Then, the third coordinate corresponding to the center position of the coordinate range in the horizontal direction can be determined to be 230 + (297-230) / 2 = 263.5. However, this center position may not correspond to a sampling point where the thickness was collected. Therefore, the distance between the first coordinate of multiple sampling points and the third coordinate can be calculated, and the sampling point with the smallest distance can be selected as the center point of the first region. For example, the sampling point with coordinate 263 is closest to the center position, so sampling point 263 can be used as the center point of the first region. Then, based on this sampling point, the relevant operations for determining the second thickness data corresponding to the first region can be performed.

[0091] Specifically, the center point of the first region can be determined directly based on the coordinate interval. The physical center of the coordinate interval can be determined first based on the coordinates of the two edges of the coordinate interval in the horizontal direction. Since the thickness measuring device may not have a sampling point set at the center position, and the thickness of the sampling point is needed to determine the second thickness data in the first region, after determining the physical center position of the coordinate interval, this application needs to calculate the distance between the coordinates of each sampling point and the coordinates of the center position, and select the sampling point closest to it as the center point of the first region. The center point determined in this way not only has the collected thickness value, but is also close to the theoretically calculated center position, which is convenient for well characterizing the thickness of the first region and improving the accuracy of thickness measurement.

[0092] The following example illustrates the thickness measurement method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0093] For cathode electrodes, the thickness consistency of AT11 ceramic directly affects the manufacturing quality and product safety of subsequent processes. Too much or too little thickness may cause quality problems in subsequent processes, and if it is missed during inspection, it may also lead to customer complaints.

[0094] Currently, after each roll of electrode is coated, a section of electrode sample needs to be cut off at the tail of the machine for winding, and the thickness of the AT11 ceramic on the electrode sample needs to be measured offline. If the thickness of the AT11 ceramic exceeds the specification range, the roll of electrode is marked and the coating process is notified to adjust the process parameters before continuing coating.

[0095] However, the above method of cutting a section of electrode sample and measuring the thickness of AT11 ceramic on the electrode sample is difficult to effectively characterize the thickness of AT11 ceramic on the entire roll of electrode. This can easily lead to unqualified electrode samples flowing into subsequent processes, thereby affecting the performance and lifespan of the final produced battery.

[0096] To address the aforementioned issues, this application embodiment adds a movable scanning thickness acquisition mechanism to the coating equipment on the coating process production line and designs a hardware layout to detect the thickness of the AT11 area online in real time.

[0097] The layout of the coating equipment in the method of this application embodiment will be described below: Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the layout of the coating equipment in the thickness measurement method provided in this application, as shown below. Figure 6 As shown, a thickness acquisition mechanism based on the principle of through-beam laser can be installed at the head and tail of the coating process to detect the thickness of the electrode sheet.

[0098] After coating the substrate with materials such as cathode paste and AT11 ceramic, it can be guided by the machine head into the first and second drying ovens in sequence. The core task of the first and second drying ovens is to safely, uniformly and efficiently evaporate and remove the solvent in the paste coated on both sides of the substrate (such as metal foil), so that the coated material is firmly attached to the substrate to form an electrode sheet that meets the requirements.

[0099] In this embodiment, thickness acquisition mechanisms can be set on the output side of the first-layer oven and the second-layer oven respectively to detect the thickness of the electrode sheet after passing through the first-layer oven and the second-layer oven respectively. The thickness measurement method of this application embodiment can be used to measure the thickness data of at least some positions on the electrode sheet to monitor the thickness consistency of the coating material on the electrode sheet.

[0100] For thickness acquisition mechanisms Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the coating equipment in the thickness measurement method provided in this application, as shown below. Figure 7 As shown, four rollers 20 can be set as transmission mechanisms on the original coating process production line. The first electrode 10 is introduced into the thickness acquisition mechanism for thickness measurement through the rollers 20. On the upper and lower sides of the first electrode 10 between the two rollers 20 set on the upper side of the figure, two sets of laser emitters and laser receivers 30 are respectively set. The set of laser emitters and laser receivers 30 on the upper side (a specific implementation of the first ray device in the thickness acquisition mechanism) is fixed by the upper sliding rail 40 (that is, the first sliding rail in the thickness acquisition mechanism) to control the laser emitter and laser receiver 30 to move along the transverse direction B of the first electrode 10 through the upper sliding rail 40. Similarly, the set of laser emitters and laser receivers 30 on the lower side (a specific implementation of the second ray device in the thickness acquisition mechanism) is fixed by the lower sliding rail 40 (that is, the second sliding rail in the thickness acquisition mechanism) to control the laser emitter and laser receiver 30 to move along the transverse direction B of the first electrode 10 through the lower sliding rail 40.

[0101] It is important to emphasize that the two sets of laser emitters and receivers 30 on the upper and lower sides need to move synchronously to jointly measure the same position on the first electrode 10. The upper actuator of the upper laser emitter can emit a laser beam towards the electrode, and the laser beam is reflected back to the laser receiver on the same side after reaching the electrode. Similarly, the lower actuator of the lower laser emitter can emit a laser beam towards the electrode, and the laser beam is reflected back to the laser receiver on the same side after reaching the electrode. Thus, the laser beam can be measured... Figure 3 The working principle mentioned in the example determines the thickness corresponding to the scanning position.

[0102] The following explanation focuses on two aspects: detecting the thickness of the AT11 area using coating equipment and the software architecture for real-time detection of the AT11 area thickness. (a) Detecting the thickness of the AT11 area: 1) Laser thickness detection principle: like Figure 3 and Figure 7 As shown, the two sets of laser emitters and laser receivers on the upper and lower sides are respectively placed above and below the first electrode. During installation, it is necessary to ensure the coaxiality of the two sets. The thickness measurement principle of the two sets of laser emitters and laser receivers is the same as that of any of the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0103] 2) Layout and testing methods of coating equipment: like Figure 6 As shown, the coating process is double-sided coating. To detect the thickness of side A and side B of the electrode separately, two thickness acquisition devices need to be installed. The first device is deployed between the exit of the single-sided coating oven and the side B coating area to detect the thickness of the substrate plus the coating on side A. The second device is deployed between the exit of the double-sided coating oven and the winding mechanism to detect the thickness of the substrate, the coating on side A, and the coating on side B.

[0104] like Figure 7 As shown, the coating equipment includes a guide roller, upper and lower sliding rails, and upper and lower X-ray devices. The X-ray devices are centered on the sliding rails, which drive the opposing X-ray devices to move. The upper and lower sliding rails move synchronously. During coating production, the electrode sheet conveyed from the oven passes through the guide roller at a certain conveyor speed and enters the thickness acquisition mechanism. Simultaneously, the upper and lower sliding rails drive the X-ray devices to move back and forth along the transverse direction of the electrode sheet, scanning the entire electrode sheet. The actual scanning trajectory is Z-shaped, as shown in the attached diagram. Figure 4 During scanning, data is recorded for each pass over the electrode. Each pass of data includes thickness data at 0.1 mm intervals along the horizontal direction of the electrode.

[0105] (3) Thickness data extraction for AT11 region: like Figure 5 The image shows a line graph plotted from data from a single transverse scan. The data from one scan includes three parts: the thickness scanned to the substrate (e.g., using foil), the thickness scanned to AT11, and the thickness scanned to the film region. The thickness of the AT11 region can be extracted from the entire data using the following algorithm: Initialization: Using the data `val` scanned sequentially, determine the location index `loc_i` ​​of the i-th AT11 region. `i` starts counting from 1. If there are 4 AT11 regions, then the corresponding location indices `loc_1`, `loc_2`, `loc_3`, and `loc_4` need to be provided. The location indices of the AT11 regions often differ for each product, but they are all fixed.

[0106] Step 1: Extract the data from the i-th region, val[loc_i-5, loc_i+5], denoted as val_i.

[0107] Step 2: Iterate through val_i, and each time subtract the previous number from a given data point in val_i. This will ultimately yield the thickness gradient value grad_i for the AT11 region.

[0108] Step 3: Determine the AT11 type by dividing i by 2. If it is divisible by 2, then the AT11 area is the AT11 area from the film area to the substrate area. If it is not divisible by 2, then the AT11 area is the AT11 area from the substrate area to the film area.

[0109] Step 4: Iterate through grad_i sequentially. If it's an AT11 region from the membrane area to the substrate area, stop iterating until the first point with a value less than zero. If it's an AT11 region from the substrate area to the membrane area, stop iterating until the first point with a value greater than zero. Record the index dist_i of the point after the iteration ends.

[0110] Step 5: Extract the AT11 region data, val_i[dist_i-1, dist_i+2].

[0111] Step 6: Calculate the mean value of the AT11 area data, which is the thickness value of the AT11 area detected in this scan.

[0112] For each AT11 region, execute the above steps 1 to 6 to obtain the thickness data for each AT11 region.

[0113] (II) AT11 Real-time Thickness Detection Software Architecture: Figure 8 This is the second flowchart illustrating the thickness measurement method provided in this application, as shown below. Figure 8 As shown, the AT11 thickness real-time detection process is as follows: Step 1: After coating production begins, the host computer determines the start of coating based on information such as the conveyor belt speed of the coating equipment and the PLC position of the coating material.

[0114] Step 2: The host computer communicates with the thickness acquisition mechanism to obtain the thickness data of the latest scan.

[0115] Step 3: Convert the thickness data from one scan into JSON format and call the Python algorithm interface via RESTful request.

[0116] Step 4: After receiving the request from the host computer, the Python algorithm server parses the request data and obtains the thickness data.

[0117] Step 5: Extract and calculate the thickness data of the AT11 region from the thickness data of one scan.

[0118] Step 6: The Python algorithm service returns the calculated thickness of the AT11 region to the host computer program via a Restful response.

[0119] Step 7: The host computer program parses the response from the Python algorithm service, obtains the thickness of the AT11 region, and writes the current thickness of the AT11 region into a CSV or Excel file to save the latest thickness data.

[0120] The solution provided in this application has at least the following beneficial effects: 1) Real-time detection of AT11 thickness: Related technologies obtain thickness by collecting data from the last section of each roll of electrode sheet using an offline thickness gauge. This is not online monitoring and cannot reflect the thickness variation of an entire roll of electrode sheet. This application uses a through-beam laser with a thickness acquisition mechanism at the head and tail of the coating process to detect the electrode sheet thickness. During coating, the electrode sheet moves along the conveyor belt, and the thickness acquisition mechanism moves along the width direction of the electrode sheet, scanning the entire sheet and acquiring thickness data at fixed intervals along its width. Based on the thickness gradient at different positions on the electrode sheet, an algorithm is designed to identify the critical points of four transition regions: from substrate to AT11, from AT11 to the film region, from the film region to AT11, and from AT11 to the substrate. Based on these critical points, the thickness data belonging to the AT11 region is extracted from the total electrode sheet thickness data. By setting up the thickness acquisition mechanism, the thickness of the AT11 region can be detected in real time. This is a real-time detection method that can obtain thickness values ​​at different positions within a roll.

[0121] 2) A complete software solution is provided, fully leveraging the strengths of both the host computer and the Python algorithm. Specifically, this application designs software based on a thickness acquisition mechanism to achieve online monitoring of the thickness in the AT11 region. The software includes a host computer program and a Python algorithm service. The host computer program communicates with the thickness acquisition mechanism to collect thickness data in real time. After each set of thickness data is collected, the host computer sends the data to the Python algorithm service. The Python algorithm service extracts the thickness data of the AT11 region and then sends the obtained thickness of the AT11 region back to the host computer. After receiving the thickness data of the AT11 region, the host computer writes it to a CSV or Excel file. The host computer is responsible for data acquisition and thickness data storage, as well as interacting with the algorithm service, requesting the algorithm and obtaining the algorithm's results. The algorithm service is responsible for processing the data and extracting the thickness data of the AT11 region.

[0122] It should be noted that the above examples are only for understanding this application and do not constitute a limitation on the thickness measurement method of this application. Any simple modifications based on this technical concept are within the protection scope of this application.

[0123] On the other hand, this application also provides a coating apparatus, comprising: A thickness acquisition mechanism is used to acquire data by reciprocating laterally in a direction orthogonal to the transmission direction as the first electrode moves along the transmission direction of the first electrode, so as to obtain the first thickness data of the first electrode at different positions. The controller is used to determine the position information of a first region on the first electrode and the second thickness data corresponding to the first region based on the first thickness data corresponding to different positions of the first electrode.

[0124] In some embodiments, the coating apparatus may further include: A transmission mechanism is used to drive the first electrode to move along the transmission direction of the first electrode and guide the first electrode to the working area of ​​the thickness acquisition mechanism, so that the thickness acquisition mechanism can collect data by reciprocating laterally orthogonal to the transmission direction.

[0125] Optionally, the transmission mechanism described above may include multiple guide rollers; for example, refer to the above description. Figure 7 The transmission mechanism may include four rollers to guide the first electrode to move to the working area of ​​the thickness acquisition mechanism. The transmission mechanism may also be implemented in other ways. This embodiment is only for illustration and is not limited thereto.

[0126] In some embodiments, a specific implementation of the thickness acquisition mechanism is provided. The thickness acquisition mechanism may include: a first slide rail, a second slide rail, a first ray device, and a second ray device; The first slide rail and the second slide rail are respectively arranged and are both arranged in the horizontal direction. The first ray device is arranged on the first slide rail and moves along the first slide rail. The second ray device is arranged on the second slide rail and moves along the second slide rail. One of the first ray device and the second ray device is arranged above the first electrode and the other is arranged below the first electrode. The first ray device and the second ray device are respectively arranged and move synchronously along the first slide rail and the second slide rail.

[0127] The coating equipment provided in this application, using the thickness measurement method in the above-described method embodiments, can solve the problem that related technologies have difficulty in effectively characterizing the thickness of the coating material on this roll of electrode sheet, which easily leads to unqualified electrode sheets flowing into subsequent processes, thereby affecting the performance and lifespan of the final produced battery.

[0128] Compared with related technologies, the coating equipment provided in this application has the same beneficial effects as the thickness measurement method provided in the above embodiments, and other technical features in the coating equipment are the same as those disclosed in the methods of the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0129] This application provides a thickness measuring device, which includes: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, which are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the thickness measuring method in any of the above embodiments.

[0130] The following is for reference. Figure 9 , Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the thickness measuring device provided in this application, illustrating a structure suitable for implementing the embodiments of this application. The thickness measuring device in the embodiments of this application may include, but is not limited to, mobile terminals such as mobile phones, laptops, digital broadcast receivers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), PADs (Portable Application Description), PMPs (Portable Media Players), in-vehicle terminals (e.g., in-vehicle navigation terminals), and fixed terminals such as digital TVs and desktop computers. Figure 9 The thickness measuring device shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitations on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments of this application.

[0131] like Figure 9As shown, the thickness measuring device may include a processing unit 901 (e.g., a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, etc.), which can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to a program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 902 or a program loaded from a storage device 903 into a random access memory (RAM) 904. The RAM 904 also stores various programs and data required for the operation of the thickness measuring device. The processing unit 901, ROM 902, and RAM 904 are interconnected via a bus 905. An input / output (I / O) interface 906 is also connected to the bus. Typically, the following systems can be connected to the I / O interface 906: input devices 907 including, for example, a touchscreen, touchpad, keyboard, mouse, image sensor, microphone, accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.; output devices 908 including, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), speaker, vibrator, etc.; storage devices 903 including, for example, magnetic tape, hard disk, etc.; and communication devices 909. Communication device 909 allows the thickness measuring device to communicate wirelessly or wiredly with other devices to exchange data. Although thickness measuring devices with various systems are shown in the figures, it should be understood that implementation or possession of all the systems shown is not required. More or fewer systems may be implemented alternatively.

[0132] Specifically, according to the embodiments disclosed in this application, the processes described above with reference to the flowcharts can be implemented as computer software programs. For example, embodiments disclosed in this application include a computer program product comprising a computer program carried on a computer-readable medium, the computer program containing program code for performing the methods shown in the flowcharts. In such embodiments, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network via a communication device, or installed from storage device 903, or installed from ROM 902. When the computer program is executed by processing device 901, it performs the functions defined in the methods of the embodiments disclosed in this application.

[0133] The thickness measuring device provided in this application, employing the thickness measuring method described in the above embodiments, can solve the technical problem that related technologies struggle to effectively characterize the thickness of the coating material on the rolled electrode sheet, easily leading to defective electrode sheets flowing into subsequent processes, thereby affecting the performance and lifespan of the final produced battery. Compared with related technologies, the beneficial effects of the thickness measuring device provided in this application are the same as those of the thickness measuring method provided in the above embodiments, and other technical features of this thickness measuring device are the same as those disclosed in the previous embodiment method, and will not be repeated here.

[0134] It should be understood that the various parts disclosed in this application can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the description of the above embodiments, specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0135] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

[0136] This application provides a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions (i.e., a computer program) stored thereon, the computer-readable program instructions being used to execute the thickness measurement method in the above embodiments.

[0137] The computer-readable storage medium provided in this application may be, for example, a USB flash drive, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to: electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof. In this embodiment, the computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, system, or device. The program code contained on the computer-readable storage medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to: wires, optical cables, RF (Radio Frequency), etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0138] The aforementioned computer-readable storage medium may be included in the thickness measuring device; or it may exist independently and not assembled into the thickness measuring device.

[0139] The aforementioned computer-readable storage medium carries one or more programs, which, when executed by the thickness measuring device, cause the thickness measuring device to perform the following steps: During the movement of the first electrode along the transmission direction of the first electrode, data is collected in a lateral reciprocating motion orthogonal to the transmission direction to obtain the first thickness data corresponding to the first electrode at different positions. Based on the first thickness data corresponding to different positions of the first electrode, the position information of the first region on the first electrode and the second thickness data corresponding to the first region are determined.

[0140] Computer program code for performing the operations of this application can be written in one or more programming languages ​​or a combination thereof, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, Smalltalk, and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the "C" language or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In cases involving remote computers, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer via any type of network—including a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN)—or can be connected to an external computer (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0141] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of this application. In this regard, each block in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portion of code containing one or more executable instructions for implementing a specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions indicated in the blocks may occur in a different order than those indicated in the drawings. For example, two consecutively indicated blocks may actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each block in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, can be implemented using a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or operation, or using a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0142] The modules described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in software or hardware. The names of the modules do not necessarily limit the functionality of the unit itself.

[0143] The readable storage medium provided in this application is a computer-readable storage medium that stores computer-readable program instructions (i.e., a computer program) for executing the aforementioned thickness measurement method. This solves the problem that related technologies struggle to effectively characterize the thickness of the coating material on the electrode roll, leading to the easy occurrence of substandard electrode rolls flowing into subsequent processes, thus affecting the performance and lifespan of the final produced battery. Compared to related technologies, the beneficial effects of the computer-readable storage medium provided in this application are the same as those of the thickness measurement method provided in the above embodiments, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0144] This application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the thickness measurement method described above.

[0145] The computer program product provided in this application can solve the problem that related technologies have difficulty in effectively characterizing the thickness of the coating material on the electrode roll, which easily leads to unqualified electrode rolls flowing into subsequent processes, thereby affecting the performance and lifespan of the final produced battery. Compared with related technologies, the beneficial effects of the computer program product provided in this application are the same as those of the thickness measurement method provided in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0146] The above description is only a part of the embodiments of this application and does not limit the patent scope of this application. All equivalent structural transformations made under the technical concept of this application and using the contents of the specification and drawings of this application, or direct / indirect applications in other related technical fields, are included in the patent protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A thickness measurement method, characterized in that, include: During the movement of the first electrode along the transmission direction of the first electrode, data is collected in a lateral reciprocating motion orthogonal to the transmission direction to obtain the first thickness data corresponding to the first electrode at different positions. Based on the different positions of the first electrode and the structure of the first electrode, the coordinate range of the first region in the horizontal direction is determined; Based on the coordinate interval, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region is determined from the first thickness data.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first thickness data includes the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points within the first region, wherein the first coordinates of the multiple acquisition points are located within the coordinate range; The step of determining the second thickness data corresponding to the first region from the first thickness data based on the coordinate interval includes: Based on the first coordinates of multiple collection points within the coordinate interval, determine the second coordinates of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction; Based on the second coordinates and the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple collection points within the first region, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region is determined.

3. The method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The step of determining the second thickness data corresponding to the first region based on the second coordinates and the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple collection points within the first region includes: Based on the second coordinate, a coordinate sub-interval is extracted from the coordinate interval, wherein the second coordinate is located within the coordinate sub-interval; Based on the average thickness of multiple collection points within the coordinate sub-interval, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region is determined.

4. The method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The step of determining the second thickness data corresponding to the first region based on the second coordinates and the thickness corresponding to the first coordinates of multiple collection points within the first region includes: The thickness corresponding to the second coordinate is determined from the thickness corresponding to the first coordinate of multiple collection points in the first region; Based on the thickness corresponding to the second coordinate, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region is determined.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that, Determining the second coordinates of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction based on the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points within the coordinate interval includes: Along the horizontal direction, the thickness difference corresponding to the first coordinate of two adjacent acquisition points within the coordinate interval is calculated sequentially to obtain the thickness gradient values ​​of multiple acquisition points. Based on the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of acquisition points, the center point of the first region is determined from the plurality of acquisition points; From the first coordinates of the plurality of acquisition points, determine the second coordinates of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction.

6. The method as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The first region is a ceramic material coating region; Determining the center point of the first region from the multiple acquisition points based on the thickness gradient values ​​of the multiple acquisition points includes: During the process of collecting first thickness data at different positions of the first electrode, the moving direction of the thickness acquisition mechanism when collecting data laterally is determined; wherein, the moving direction includes the direction of moving from the film area on the first electrode to the substrate area on the first electrode, and the direction of moving from the substrate area on the first electrode to the film area on the first electrode. Based on the direction of movement and the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of acquisition points, the center point of the first region is determined from the plurality of acquisition points.

7. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, Determining the center point of the first region from the plurality of acquisition points based on the movement direction and the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of acquisition points includes: When the moving direction is from the film region to the substrate region, the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of sampling points are traversed along the moving direction, and the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value less than 0 is determined as the center point of the first region. When the moving direction is from the substrate region to the film region, the thickness gradient values ​​of the plurality of sampling points are traversed along the moving direction, and the first sampling point with a thickness gradient value greater than 0 is determined as the center point of the first region.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that, Determining the second coordinates of the center point of the first region in the horizontal direction based on the first coordinates of multiple acquisition points within the coordinate interval includes: Based on the two edge coordinates of the coordinate interval, determine the third coordinate corresponding to the center position of the coordinate interval in the horizontal direction; Calculate the distance between the first coordinates of the plurality of collection points and the third coordinates; From the plurality of collection points, the collection point with the smallest distance is taken as the center point of the first region.

9. A coating device, characterized in that, include: A thickness acquisition mechanism is used to acquire data by reciprocating laterally in a direction orthogonal to the transmission direction as the first electrode moves along the transmission direction of the first electrode, so as to obtain the first thickness data of the first electrode at different positions. A controller is configured to determine the coordinate range of the first region in the lateral direction based on the different positions of the first electrode and the structure of the first electrode; Based on the coordinate interval, the second thickness data corresponding to the first region is determined from the first thickness data.

10. The device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that, The device also includes: A transmission mechanism is used to drive the first electrode to move along the transmission direction of the first electrode and guide the first electrode to the working area of ​​the thickness acquisition mechanism, so that the thickness acquisition mechanism can collect data by reciprocating laterally orthogonal to the transmission direction.

11. The device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The thickness acquisition mechanism includes: a first slide rail, a second slide rail, a first ray device, and a second ray device; The first slide rail and the second slide rail are respectively arranged and are both arranged in the horizontal direction. The first ray device is arranged on the first slide rail and moves along the first slide rail. The second ray device is arranged on the second slide rail and moves along the second slide rail. One of the first ray device and the second ray device is arranged above the first electrode and the other is arranged below the first electrode. The first ray device and the second ray device are respectively arranged and move synchronously along the first slide rail and the second slide rail.

12. A thickness measuring device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, the computer program being configured to implement the steps of the thickness measurement method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

13. A storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program is stored on the storage medium. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of the thickness measurement method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

14. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the thickness measurement method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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