Device and method for unwinding band-like body, apparatus and method for manufacturing electrode laminate, and apparatus and method for manufacturing storage element

Abstract

To provide a device and method for unwinding a band-like body, apparatus and method for manufacturing an electrode laminate, and apparatus and method for manufacturing a storage element for making it possible to unwind a band-like body (e.g. a secondary battery separator) at low tensile force and moreover to achieve rate increase.SOLUTION: There is provided an apparatus for unwinding a band-like body, the apparatus being for feeding a band-like body to a to-be-fed unit at which the feed amount of the band-like body varies. Electronic control is performed to feed a band-like body from a band-like body supply source and, in a state that the feed amount fed from the band-like body supply source is maintained at constant, adapt the feed amount of the band-like body to the to-be-fed unit under variation to the variation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a strip-shaped material paying-out device, a strip-shaped material paying-out method, an electrode laminate manufacturing device, an electrode laminate manufacturing method, an energy storage element manufacturing device, and an energy storage element manufacturing method. [Background technology]

[0002] One type of lithium ion secondary battery is an electrode laminate formed by stacking a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate facing each other with a separator, which is an insulator, sandwiched between them (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the electrode laminate is formed by folding a strip-shaped separator 1 in a zigzag manner to sequentially form a positive electrode accommodating section 2 and a negative electrode accommodating section 3 that open in opposite directions, and a positive electrode plate 4 is fitted into the positive electrode accommodating section 2, and a negative electrode plate 5 is fitted into the negative electrode accommodating section 3.

[0004] FIG. 12 shows a conventional electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus, which includes a separator supply source 20 on which a strip-shaped separator 1 is wound, and a guide mechanism 21 that guides the separator 1 sent out from the separator supply source 20 to a zigzag folding mechanism.

[0005] The separator supply source 20 includes a rotating shaft 20a and a pair of disk-shaped flanges 20b, 20b provided on both ends of the rotating shaft 20a, and a strip-shaped separator 1 is wound around the rotating shaft 20a.

[0006] The guide mechanism 21 comprises a dancer roller 22, a first fixed roller 23 arranged between the dancer roller 22 and the separator supply source 20, a second fixed roller 24 arranged downstream of the dancer roller 22, a third fixed roller 25 arranged downstream of the second fixed roller 24, a first roller pair 26 arranged below the third fixed roller 25, and a second roller pair 27 arranged below the first roller pair 26.

[0007] The second roller pair 27 is moved back and forth in the directions of the arrows A1 and A2 along the horizontal direction, so that the separator 1 can be folded in a zigzag manner. When folding in a zigzag manner in this manner, it is necessary to sequentially form a positive electrode folding portion 6 that becomes the bottom of the positive electrode housing portion 2 and a negative electrode folding portion 7 that becomes the bottom of the negative electrode housing portion 3, as shown in Fig. 13. When forming such folding portions 6, 7, a pair of first pressing claws that press both opposing side ends of the positive electrode plate 4 to form a first folding support point 8 of the separator 1 and a pair of second pressing claws that press both opposing side ends of the negative electrode plate 5 to form a second folding support point 9 of the separator 1 are provided.

[0008] However, when the separator is reciprocated in the horizontal direction in the directions of the arrows A1 and A2, the supply amount of the separator is not constant but fluctuates. Therefore, if a constant amount of separator is fed from the separator supply source 20, it is not possible to follow the fluctuations in the supply amount. Therefore, as shown in Figure 12, a dancer roller is used and the separator is fed out by following the fluctuations through dancer roller feedback control of the rotating shaft 20a of the separator supply source 20. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-199281 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2018-18712 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] The separator of a secondary battery has the role of preventing short circuits caused by direct contact between the positive and negative electrodes while allowing electrolyte and Li ions to pass through. For this reason, polyolefin resins such as PP and PE are used as the material for the separator. In some cases, a porous layer is formed on the surface of the separator.

[0011] For this reason, if tension is applied to the separator, there is a risk of it stretching. Therefore, in the case of a separator for a secondary battery, it is preferable to pay out (pull out) the separator from the separator supply source with low tension. However, when adjusting using a dancer roller, low tension may make it difficult for the dancer roller to follow due to the sliding resistance between the dancer roller and the separator and the inertial mass of the dancer roller. Also, in consideration of productivity, it is preferable to pay out (pull out) the separator at high speed, but there is a limit to this speed.

[0012] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a strip-shaped material payout device, a strip-shaped material payout method, an electrode laminate manufacturing device, an electrode laminate manufacturing method, an energy storage element manufacturing device, and an energy storage element manufacturing method, which are capable of paying out a strip-shaped material (e.g., a separator for a secondary battery) with low tension and also at high speeds. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The strip-shaped material dispensing device of the present invention is a strip-shaped material dispensing device for supplying a strip-shaped material to a supplied section where the strip supply amount fluctuates, and comprises a strip-shaped material supply source which supplies the strip-shaped material, a strip-shaped material transport means which transports the strip-shaped material from the strip-shaped material supply source toward the supplied section, and a supply amount control means which is arranged between the strip-shaped material transport means and the supplied section and controls the amount of strip-shaped material supplied to the supplied section, and the supply amount control means performs electronic control to adjust the amount of strip-shaped material supplied to the supplied section to the fluctuations so that the amount of strip-shaped material delivered from the strip-shaped material supply source can be maintained constant.

[0014] According to the strip-shaped material payout device of the present invention, a strip-shaped material can be supplied to a supply portion while maintaining a constant amount of material fed from a strip-shaped material supply source. Moreover, the amount of material fed to the supply portion corresponds to fluctuations in the amount of material to be fed to the supply portion. Therefore, the supply portion can stably supply the strip-shaped material without a shortage or oversupply. Moreover, because the amount of material fed from the strip-shaped material supply source can be maintained constant, there is no need to accelerate or decelerate against the inertial force of the strip-shaped material supply source, so loss can be reduced and high speeds can be achieved. Moreover, it is possible to pull out the material with low tension.

[0015] The strip conveying means can be configured to include a drive shaft that rotates to send the strip toward the supply side, a rotational drive mechanism that rotates the drive shaft, and a management means that controls the rotation of the drive shaft by the rotational drive mechanism to manage the amount of strip sent out.

[0016] By configuring the strip transport means in this manner, it is possible to stably deliver the strip from the strip supply source at a constant delivery rate, and moreover, it is possible to control this with high precision using a simple configuration.

[0017] The supply amount control means preferably includes a movable body that increases the amount of the strip supplied to the supplied portion by moving the strip upstream in the running direction, and decreases the amount of the strip supplied to the supplied portion by moving the strip downstream in the running direction, a movable mechanism that moves the movable body, and a movable mechanism control unit that controls the movable mechanism, and the movable mechanism control unit preferably adjusts the direction and amount of movement of the movable body to control the amount of the strip supplied to the supplied portion to match the fluctuations.

[0018] The amount of the strip supplied to the supplied section can be varied by driving the movable mechanism to move the movable body. In this case, the movable mechanism that moves the movable body is controlled by the movable mechanism control section, and can be adjusted to match the fluctuation in the amount of the strip supplied to the supplied section, and can stably respond to the fluctuating supply amount, without damaging the strip, and a high-quality product can be provided.

[0019] The feeding amount detecting means is provided with a position information acquiring means for acquiring the position information of the supplied part, and a feeding amount detecting means for detecting the feeding amount of the strip, and the feeding amount detecting means detects the feeding amount according to the position information acquired by the position information acquiring means, calculates the position of the movable body for absorbing the fluctuation of the feeding amount, and it is preferable that the electronic cam control for driving the movable body corresponding to the position information of the supplied part is performed until at least one of data on the moving direction and the moving amount of the movable body can be acquired in order to maintain the feeding amount sent from the strip supply source constant. That is, it means a process (data acquisition operation) for creating at least one of data on the desired moving direction and the moving amount of the movable body. In this way, by adopting the electronic cam control, it is possible to perform higher speed processing beyond the limit of the processing speed due to the cam inertia in a mechanical cam. In addition, the ability to respond to setup changes such as type changes is also significantly improved.

[0020] In the supply section, the strip may be folded zigzag or may be rolled flat, so that the system can quickly and flexibly respond to various supply sections whose required amount varies over time.

[0021] The electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is an electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus that manufactures an electrode laminate by stacking a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate facing each other with an insulator separator in between, and is equipped with a strip-shaped material pay-out device in which the separator, which is an insulator, can be used as the strip-shaped material.

[0022] According to the electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the separator can be supplied to the supplied portion while the amount of separator delivered from the strip supply source is maintained constant. Moreover, the amount of separator supplied to the supplied portion corresponds to fluctuations in the amount of separator to be supplied to the supplied portion. Therefore, the supplied portion can stably supply the separator without a shortage or oversupply. Moreover, by maintaining the amount of separator delivered from the strip supply source constant, there is no need to adjust the amount of separator delivered on the supply source side to match fluctuations in the amount of strip supplied to the supplied portion, so controllability is stable and the separator can be drawn out with low tension.

[0023] The energy storage element manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is an energy storage element manufacturing apparatus that manufactures an energy storage element by winding a strip-shaped laminate in which a positive electrode plate, a separator which is an insulator, and a negative electrode plate, and a separator which is an insulator are stacked, and is equipped with a front strip-shaped body pay-out device, with the strip-shaped laminate as the strip.

[0024] According to the manufacturing apparatus for energy storage elements of the present invention, the strip-shaped laminate can be supplied to the supplied portion while the amount of the laminate sent out from the strip-shaped material supply source is kept constant. Moreover, the amount of the laminate sent out to the supplied portion corresponds to the fluctuation in the amount of the laminate to be supplied to the supplied portion. Therefore, the supplied portion can stably supply the laminate to the supplied portion without a shortage or excess of supply. Moreover, the amount of the laminate sent out from the strip-shaped material supply source can be kept constant, and there is no need to adjust the amount of the laminate sent out on the supply source side to the fluctuation in the amount of the laminate sent out to the supplied portion, so that the controllability is stable and the drawing can be performed with low tension.

[0025] In addition, the strip-shaped material paying-out method of the present invention is a strip-shaped material paying-out method for supplying a strip-shaped material to a supplied section where the strip-shaped material supply amount fluctuates, in which a strip-shaped material is paid-out from a strip-shaped material supply source, and electronic control is performed to adjust the strip-shaped material supply amount to the supplied section to match the fluctuations while maintaining the amount paid-out from the strip-shaped material supply source constant.

[0026] The web can be stably supplied to the supplied section without being insufficiently or excessively supplied. Moreover, the amount of material delivered from the web supply source can be kept constant, eliminating the need to adjust the amount of material delivered from the supply source to match fluctuations in the amount of material supplied to the supplied section, resulting in stable controllability and enabling drawing with low tension.

[0027] In addition, in order to maintain a constant amount of material fed from the strip supply source, it is preferable to detect the amount of material fed according to position information of one of the supplied parts until data on at least one of the movement direction and movement amount of the movable body can be obtained, calculate the position of the movable body to absorb fluctuations in the amount of material fed, and perform electronic cam control to drive the movable body in accordance with the position information of the supplied part.

[0028] By configuring in this manner, the amount of strip supplied to the supplied section can be adjusted to match the fluctuations with high precision, and unnecessary tension is not applied to the strip during transport, and the strip does not slacken within the transport path, so that the strip can be stably supplied to the supplied section.

[0029] The electrode laminate manufacturing method of the present invention is a method for manufacturing an electrode laminate in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate are stacked facing each other with an insulator separator therebetween, and the separator is used as the strip and the strip unwinding method is used.

[0030] According to the electrode laminate manufacturing method of the present invention, the separator can be stably supplied to the supply destination without insufficient or excessive supply. Moreover, the amount of separator delivered from the strip supply source can be kept constant, eliminating the need to adjust the amount of separator delivered from the supply source to match fluctuations in the amount of separator supplied to the supply destination, resulting in stable controllability and enabling the separator to be drawn out with low tension. This allows the electrode laminate to be manufactured with high precision.

[0031] The method for manufacturing an energy storage element of the present invention is a method for manufacturing an energy storage element by winding a strip-shaped laminate in which a positive electrode plate, a separator which is an insulator, and a negative electrode plate, and a separator which is an insulator are stacked, and the strip-shaped laminate is used as the strip and the strip-shaped unwinding method is used.

[0032] According to the method for manufacturing an electric storage element of the present invention, the laminate strip can be stably supplied to the supplied portion without insufficient or excessive supply. Moreover, the amount of material delivered from the supply source can be kept constant, and there is no need to adjust the amount of material delivered from the supply source to match fluctuations in the amount of material supplied to the supplied portion, so controllability is stable and the material can be drawn out with low tension. This allows the manufacture of electric storage elements with high precision. Effect of the Invention

[0033] In the present invention, a strip (such as a separator for a secondary battery) can be unwound with low tension, and the strip can be supplied to a supply portion at high speed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0034] [Figure 1] 1 is a simplified diagram of an electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus using a strip-shaped material payout device of the present invention that is provided with a supply portion where the strip-shaped material is zigzag-folded. [Diagram 2] 1 is a simplified block diagram of a strip-shaped material payout device of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a strip transport means. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a supply amount control means. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a tension adjustment mechanism. [Figure 6] 4 is a cross-sectional view of an electrode laminate manufactured by the electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus. FIG. [Figure 7] 4A to 4C are simplified perspective views showing a method for manufacturing an electrode stack. [Figure 8] 5A to 5C are simplified front views showing a method for manufacturing an electrode stack. [Figure 9] 1 is a simplified diagram of an electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus using a strip-shaped material pay-out device of the present invention, which is provided with a supply portion around which a strip-shaped material is wound flat. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a simplified perspective view showing a flat wound electrode group. [Figure 11] A graph showing the relationship between the rotation speed of a conventional unwinding shaft when the supply amount changes, the ideal strip payout amount, and the strip payout amount when attempting to approach the ideal strip payout amount using mechanical cam control. [Figure 12] 1A and 1B are perspective views of a conventional electrode stack device, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a main portion showing when a folded portion for a positive electrode is formed, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a main portion showing when a folded portion for a negative electrode is formed. [Figure 13] 4A to 4C are simplified perspective views showing a method for manufacturing an electrode stack. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0035] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 11. Fig. 1 shows a simplified diagram of an electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention using a strip-shaped material unwinding device according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of the strip-shaped material unwinding device.

[0036] The electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus equipped with a strip-shaped material pay-out device manufactures an electrode laminate 35 in which a first electrode plate, which is a positive electrode plate 32, and a first electrode plate, which is a negative electrode plate 33, are alternately stacked with a zigzag, strip-shaped separator 36 (strip-shaped material 31) interposed therebetween, as shown in FIG. 6.

[0037] The strip-shaped material dispensing device is a strip-shaped material dispensing device for supplying the strip-shaped material to a supplied section 30 where the amount of strip-shaped material supplied varies, and includes a strip-shaped material supply source 37 which supplies the strip-shaped material 31 which is a separator 36, a strip-shaped material conveying means 38 which conveys the strip-shaped material 31 from the strip-shaped material supply source 37 to the supplied section side, and a supply amount control means 39 which is positioned between the strip-shaped material conveying means 38 and the supplied section 30 and which controls the amount of strip-shaped material supplied to the supplied section 30.

[0038] The strip-shaped material supply source 37 includes a rotating shaft 37a and a pair of disk-shaped flanges 37b, 37b provided on both ends of the rotating shaft 37a. The strip-shaped separator 36 is wound around the rotating shaft 37a, and the wound material is sandwiched between the pair of flanges 37b, 37b. A feed amount detection means 40 such as an encoder is provided on the second roller 52 to detect the feed amount of the separator 36. A displacement sensor 41 (e.g., a laser displacement sensor, etc.) is provided near the strip-shaped material supply source 37 to detect the winding amount of the separator 36. The rotating shaft 37a is rotated by a driving motor (not shown). In this case, a motor such as a stepping motor or a servo motor that is driven and controlled by any one of a pulse signal, an analog signal, or a network communication signal is used as the driving motor. The driving motor is controlled by a control means. The control means can be a controller such as a microcomputer, PLC, or motion controller of the management means 44 described later.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3, the strip-shaped material conveying means 38 includes a drive shaft 42, a rotary drive mechanism 43 for rotating the drive shaft, and a management means 44 for controlling the rotation of the drive shaft 42 by the rotary drive mechanism 43. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, the drive shaft 42 is supported by a pair of rollers 45, 45. That is, the strip-shaped material conveying means 38 forms a so-called nip structure. The rotary drive mechanism 43 uses a motor that is driven and controlled by any one of a pulse signal, an analog signal, or a network communication signal, such as a stepping motor or a servo motor. Therefore, when the motor of the rotary drive mechanism 43 is driven, the drive shaft 42 rotates around its axis, and the separator 36 sandwiched between the drive shaft 42 and the rollers 45, 45 is sent to the supply portion 30 side.

[0040] The management means 44 for controlling the rotation of the drive shaft 42 is composed of a control means, which is, for example, a microcomputer with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) at the center and ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. connected to each other via a bus. The control means is also connected to a storage means (not shown). The storage means are each composed of an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) drive, a CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable) drive, an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), etc. The ROM stores programs and data executed by the CPU.

[0041] A dancer means 46 is provided between the strip supply source 37 and the strip transport means 38. The dancer means 46 in this case uses a dancer roller 48 that oscillates around the detection axis of a potentiometer 47 as indicated by arrows X1 and X2 in FIG. 1 by a rotation mechanism (not shown). The oscillation of the dancer roller 48 makes it possible to absorb fluctuations in the feed amount. In other words, this is intended to absorb fluctuations in the feed amount that are difficult to follow with a supply roll that has a large inertial mass, even during data acquisition operation.

[0042] A first roller 51, a second roller 52, and a third roller 53 are disposed between the strip supply source 37 and the strip transport means 38, and the separator 36 from the strip supply source 37 is passed around the dancer roller 48 via the first roller 51 and is supplied from the dancer roller 48 via the second roller and the third roller to the strip transport means 38. The second roller 52 has a measuring function due to the detection means 40 such as an encoder.

[0043] As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the supply amount control means 39 includes a pair of movable bodies 55, 55 that can move upstream and downstream in the running direction of the strip 31, which is the separator 36, a movable mechanism 56 that moves the movable bodies 55, 55, and a movable mechanism control unit 57 that controls the movable mechanism 56.

[0044] The pair of movable bodies 55 are rollers that reciprocate in the directions of arrows B1 and B2 along guide portion 58, and are connected via connector 59 to move together. In this case, a fourth roller 60 is disposed at an intermediate height between the upper and lower movable bodies 55, and a fifth roller 61 is disposed below the fourth roller 60 and at a lower position than the lower movable body 55. The fourth roller 60 and fifth roller 61 are fixed rollers. Also, a sixth roller 62, which is a fixed roller, is disposed below the fifth roller 61.

[0045] The movable mechanism 56 uses a motor such as a stepping motor or a servo motor that is driven and controlled by any one of a pulse signal, an analog signal, or a network communication signal, and a movable mechanism control unit 57 performs electronic cam control to move the movable bodies 55, 55 by controlling the drive of the motor with electronic cam control that moves the movable bodies 55, 55 based on position information of the guide roller pair 63. For this reason, the supply amount control means 39 is provided with position information acquisition means 50 for acquiring position information of the guide roller pair 63. This movable mechanism control unit 57 can be configured by the control means that constitutes the management means 44. The position information acquisition means 50 can be configured by an encoder or the like.

[0046] In this case, the output of the position information acquiring means 50 which acquires the position information of the guide roller pair 63 in the initial stage and the output (feed amount) of the encoder of the detecting means 40 are associated and recorded, and the drive amount of the movable mechanism 56 which allows the feed amount from the strip supply source 37 to be constant is calculated and stored. During actual production, electronic cam control is performed in which the movable mechanism 56 is driven (via the movable mechanism control unit 57) based on the output of the position information acquiring means 50 which acquires the position information of the guide roller pair 63.

[0047] In this case, each of the movable bodies 55, 55 reciprocates in the directions of the arrows B1, B2 by driving the movable mechanism 56 controlled by the movable mechanism control unit 57. If the movable bodies 55, 55 move in the direction of the arrow B1 (upstream in the traveling direction), the amount of the separator 36 supplied to the supplied portion 30 can be increased, and conversely, if the movable bodies 55, 55 move in the direction of the arrow B2 (downstream in the traveling direction), the amount of the separator 36 supplied to the supplied portion 30 can be decreased.

[0048] As described above, since the electrode stack 35 is folded in a zigzag manner, a pair of guide rollers 63 that reciprocate (oscillate) as indicated by arrows A1 and A2 is provided on the supplied portion side, and a fulcrum portion 64 about which the pair of guide rollers 63 reciprocates as indicated by arrows A1 and A2 is provided above the pair of guide rollers 63.

[0049] Between this fulcrum portion 64 and the supply amount control means 39, a tension pick-up mechanism 65 and a tension adjustment mechanism 66 that adjusts the tension based on the tension detected by this tension pick-up mechanism 65 are provided.

[0050] The tension pickup mechanism 65 includes a pair of pressure rollers 67a and 67b, an intermediate roller 68 disposed between the pressure rollers 67a and 67b, and a load converter 69. That is, the tension is supplied to the upper part of roller 68 via the lower part of pressure roller 67a, and further to the fulcrum part 64 via the lower part of pressure roller 67b.

[0051] As a result, the separator 36 passing over the roller 68 presses the roller 68 downward. This applies a load to a load converter 69 (e.g., a load cell), which converts the load into an electrical signal.

[0052] 1 and 5, similar to the supply amount control means 39, the tension adjustment mechanism 66 includes a movable body 72 having a roller that reciprocates along a guide portion 71, a drive mechanism 73 that moves the movable body 72, and a control unit 74 that controls the motor. The control unit 74 can also use the microcomputer of the management means 44.

[0053] In this case, the driving mechanism 73 uses a motor such as a stepping motor or a servo motor that is driven and controlled by a pulse signal, and controls the motor based on an electric signal from the load converter 69. That is, the tension applied to the separator 36 is reduced by the movable body 72 moving in the direction of the arrow C1, and the tension applied to the separator 36 is adjusted and kept constant by the movable body 72 moving in the direction of the arrow C2.

[0054] The fulcrum portion 64 includes a roller 64a and a cylinder mechanism 64b that cooperates with the roller 64a to clamp the separator 36. In this case, the separator 36 can be delivered to the supply portion 30 while being clamped. A roller may be used instead of the cylinder mechanism 64b.

[0055] Next, a method for manufacturing an electrode laminate using the electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus configured as described above will be described. First, the separator 36, which is a strip, is supplied from the strip supply source 37 to the strip transport means 38 via the first roller 51, the dancer roller 48, the second roller 52, and the third roller 53, and is further supplied to the fulcrum portion 64 via the supply amount control means 39, the tension adjustment mechanism 66, and the tension pickup mechanism 65, and is further supplied from the fulcrum portion 64 to the guide portion 63.

[0056] Then, by reciprocating the guide portion 63 in the horizontal direction in the directions of the arrows A1 and A2 via a drive mechanism (not shown), the strip-shaped separator 36 is folded zigzag, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. As a result, a positive electrode accommodating portion 90 and a negative electrode accommodating portion 91 that open in opposite directions are formed in sequence, and the positive electrode plate 32 is fitted into the positive electrode accommodating portion 90, and the negative electrode plate 33 is fitted into the negative electrode accommodating portion 91. When folding zigzag in this manner, a positive electrode folded portion 92 that becomes the bottom of the positive electrode accommodating portion 90 and a negative electrode folded portion 93 that becomes the bottom of the negative electrode accommodating portion 91 are formed in sequence.

[0057] When the separator 36 (web 31) is zigzag folded, a large amount of the separator 36 (web 31) is instantaneously consumed at the time of folding back, so the amount of the separator 36 (web 31) supplied to the supplied section 30 fluctuates as shown by the dotted line. For this reason, if there is no supply amount control means 39 or the like, the speed (rotation angle) of the drive shaft (unwinding shaft) 37a of this supply source 37 will be, as shown by the solid line (bold line) (horizontal axis) in Figure 11, a constant speed operation in forward rotation, decelerated operation in forward rotation, stop, reverse operation, accelerated operation in reverse, constant speed operation in reverse, decelerated operation in reverse, stop, operation in forward rotation, accelerated operation in forward rotation, constant speed operation in forward rotation, and the same operation will be repeated in sequence.

[0058] However, ideally, as shown by the solid line (thin line) (linear function graph) in Figure 11, the amount of separator 36 discharged from the strip supply source 37 should be a straight line, like a linear function graph, so that it is constant per unit time.

[0059] Therefore, in the present invention, the supply amount control means 39 is provided so that the amount of separator 36 sent from the strip supply source 37 is constant per unit time. That is, the send amount detection means 40 detects the send amount according to the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means 50, calculates the position of the movable body 55 for absorbing the fluctuation of the send amount, and performs electronic cam control to drive the movable body 55 according to the position information of the supplied portion 30 until a certain fluctuation data can be detected. Here, "until a certain fluctuation data can be detected" means until at least one of data on the moving direction and the moving amount of the movable body 55 of the supply amount control means 39 can be created in order to keep the send amount of the strip 31 (the amount sent from the strip supply source 37) constant. That is, this is the "data acquisition operation" process of creating electronic cam data in electronic cam control at low speed.

[0060] In this case, first, the drive shaft 37a of the strip-shaped material supply source 37 is driven, and the pair of guide rollers 63 is reciprocated as indicated by the arrows A1 and A2 to perform a zigzag folding operation of the separator 36. At this time, the amount of separator 36 fed from the second roller 52 is detected by a detection means 40 such as an encoder linked to the second roller 52, and the relationship between this measurement data and the output of the position information acquisition means 50 of the pair of guide rollers 63 as a guide unit is stored. In order to keep the amount of feed from the strip-shaped material supply source 37 constant, data on the desired amount and direction of movement of the movable body 55 of the supply amount control means 39 is created in association with the position information acquisition means 5 of the pair of guide rollers 63. That is, a data acquisition operation is performed. This data acquisition operation is performed for at least one period when the amount of separator 36 fed periodically changes.

[0061] Next, based on the data acquired and stored in the data acquisition operation, the movable body 55 of the supply amount control means 39 is driven and controlled in response to the output of the position information acquisition means 50 for the guide roller pair 63, so that an electronically controlled cam is formed between them, and even if the drive speed becomes high, the separator 36 can be supplied from the strip supply source 37 to the supplied portion 30 with a constant feed amount. Therefore, the supplied portion 30 can stably supply the strip 31 without a shortage or oversupply. Moreover, the feed amount from the strip supply source 37 can be kept constant, and there is no need for the supply source to match the feed amount to the fluctuation of the strip supply amount to the supplied portion 30, so that the controllability is stable, i.e., there is no need for the supply source to match the feed amount to the fluctuation of the strip supply amount to the supplied portion 30, so there is no need to worry about a control phase delay, and damage to the separator 36 due to a sudden speed change can be reduced.

[0062] In addition, in this device, the belt-shaped material transport means 38 uses the transport drive shaft 42, and furthermore, by adopting a nip structure (a structure that grips the separator 36), it is possible to cut tension. Furthermore, by using a servo motor to drive the transport drive shaft 42, it is possible to accurately manage the amount of separator 36 that is fed. Furthermore, by driving the transport drive shaft 42 when returning to the origin (when returning to the initial state), slack in the separator 36 can be removed.

[0063] By providing the tension adjustment mechanism 66 and the tension pickup mechanism 65, the tension applied (acting) on ​​the separator 36 downstream of the supply amount control means 39 can be set to a constant value. Therefore, unnecessary tension is not applied to the separator 36, and the separator 36 is prevented from being stretched or cut, making it possible to manufacture a high-quality product (electrode laminate).

[0064] In this way, in the present invention, the strip 31 (such as the separator 36 of a secondary battery) can be unwound with low tension, and the strip 31 can be supplied to the supply portion 30 at high speed.

[0065] Incidentally, it is also possible to use a mechanical cam mechanism as the supply amount control means 39 without using electronic cam control. That is, even with a mechanical cam mechanism, it is possible to achieve the same results as electronic cam control at low speeds. However, at high speeds, tracking problems are likely to occur due to the inertia of the cam and follower, making it difficult to accommodate faster processing speeds. In addition, the problem of low flexibility in placement and low responsiveness to type changes (changeovers (product type switching)) cannot be solved.

[0066] Furthermore, by providing the dancer means 46, it becomes possible to pull out (receive) the web from the web supply source 37 with a constant tension, and stable pulling out can be performed with low tension.

[0067] The strip conveying means 38 can be configured to include a drive shaft 42 that rotates to send out the strip 31 from the strip supply source 37, a rotational drive mechanism 43 that rotates the drive shaft 42, and a management means 44 that controls the rotation of the drive shaft 42 by the rotational drive mechanism 43 to manage the amount of strip 31 sent out.This makes it possible to stably send out the strip 31 from the strip supply source 37 at a constant feed rate, and further allows for highly precise control with a simple configuration.

[0068] The supply amount control means 39, which is equipped with a movable body 55, a movable mechanism 56 for moving the movable body 55, and a movable mechanism control unit 57 for controlling the movable mechanism 56, can vary the amount of strip-shaped material supplied to the supplied section 30 with high precision, thereby providing high-quality products.

[0069] It is preferable to configure the movable mechanism 56 as a motor that is driven and controlled by a pulse signal, and the movable mechanism control section 57 as an electronic cam control that moves the movable body by controlling the drive of the motor based on fluctuations in the amount of the strip material supplied to the supplied section 30. By adopting electronic cam control in this manner, it is possible to respond with high precision to even high-speed fluctuations that a mechanical cam mechanism (mechanical cam) cannot handle, and the amount of the strip material supplied to the supplied section can be accurately adjusted to the fluctuations.

[0070] Incidentally, in the above-described embodiment, the supplied portion 30 folds the belt-like body 31 in a zigzag manner. However, as shown in FIG. 10, the belt-like body 31 may be flat-wound. That is, it may be for manufacturing the power storage element 79 as shown in FIG. 10. In this case, the belt-like body 80 is formed by laminating a positive electrode sheet 81, a first separator 82, a negative electrode sheet 83, and a second separator 84, and the power storage element 79 is formed by flat-winding this belt-like body 80. Note that the four belt-like bodies of the positive electrode sheet 81, the separator 82, the negative electrode sheet 83, and the separator 84 are fed out from four independent belt-like body coils (not shown) and then formed (laminated) into one belt-like body 80.

[0071] That is, in FIG. 9, the supplied portion 30 includes a core member 85 having a flat elliptical or flat oblong cross-sectional shape, and rotates around the axial center axis 86 of the core member 85 to flat-wind the belt-like body 80. In this case, the core member 85 is rotated by a driving motor, and as the driving motor, a motor driven and controlled by a pulse signal such as a stepping motor or a servo motor can be used. Further, the rotation of this motor can be controlled by control means constituted by a controller such as the above-described microcomputer, PLC, or motion controller. Note that the other configurations of the apparatus shown in FIG. 9 are the same as those of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and thus the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 and their descriptions are omitted.

[0072] Next, a method for manufacturing a power storage element using the power storage element manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 9 will be described. In this case, since the belt-like body 80 is wound around the core member 85 having a flat elliptical or flat oblong cross-sectional shape, the supply amount of the belt-like body 80 to the supplied portion 30 varies. For this reason, similar to the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, first, a data acquisition operation is performed. Note that when winding, thickening may occur, and for this reason, the supply amount of the belt-like body 80 changes for each round (one winding), and the data acquisition operation is performed until the supply of one (one sheet) belt-like body 80 to the supplied portion 30 is completed.

[0073] That is, the supply amount control means 39 is provided so that the amount of the strip 80 fed from the strip supply source 37 is constant per unit time. In this case, first, the drive shaft 37a of the strip supply source 37 is driven and the core member 85 is rotated to wind the strip 80 around the core member. This device also has an angle detection means 87 for detecting the rotation angle of the core member 85, and the feed amount of the strip 80 is detected by a detection means 40 such as an encoder installed on the roller 52, and this detection data (measurement data) is recorded in association with the rotation angle of the core member detected by the angle detection means 87. Then, in order to keep the feed amount of the strip 80 constant, data on the desired movement amount and movement direction of the movable body 55 of the supply amount control means 39 is created. That is, a data acquisition operation is performed.

[0074] Based on the data acquired and stored in the data acquisition operation, the movable body 55 of the supply amount control means 39 is driven and controlled in response to the output of the position information acquisition means 50 of the guide roller pair 63, so that an electronically controlled cam is formed between them, and even if the drive speed becomes high, the separator 36 can be supplied from the strip supply source 37 to the supplied portion 30 with a constant feed amount. Therefore, the supplied portion 30 can stably supply the strip 31 without a shortage or excess of supply. Moreover, the feed amount from the strip supply source 37 can be kept constant, and there is no need for the supply source to match the feed amount to the fluctuation of the strip supply amount to the supplied portion 30, so that the controllability is stable, i.e., there is no need for the supply source to match the feed amount to the fluctuation of the strip supply amount to the supplied portion 30, so there is no need to worry about a control phase delay, and damage to the separator 36 due to a sudden speed change can be reduced.

[0075] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and various modifications are possible. For example, in the supply amount control means, in the above embodiment, two movable bodies 55 are used, but at least one such movable body 55 is sufficient. Having a plurality of movable bodies has the advantage that the movable range of each movable body 55 can be reduced. Also, in the above embodiment, the two movable bodies 55 are structured to move synchronously, but they may be structured to move independently without synchronization. Note that, in the above embodiment, rollers are used as the movable bodies 55, but something other than rollers, for example, a sliding member that slides on the strips 31, 80, may be used.

[0076] Furthermore, the data in the process of creating electronic cam data at low speed (data acquisition operation) described above may include only the movement direction of movable body 55, only the movement amount of movable body 55, or both the movement direction and movement amount of movable body 55.

[0077] In FIG. 10, the strip 31 is wound flat, but this is not limited to being wound flat, and it may have any shape that causes fluctuations in the supply amount during winding (for example, a square cross-sectional shape).

[0078] The device according to the present invention can be applied to the manufacture of all elements in which a separator is sandwiched between positive and negative electrodes (not only secondary batteries but also primary batteries, electric double layer capacitors, etc.). [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 30 Supplied part 35 Electrode laminate 31, 80 Band 36 Separator 37 Band Source 38 Strip conveying means 39 Supply volume control means 40 Transmission amount detection means 42 Drive shaft 43 Rotational drive mechanism 44 Control measures 50 Location information acquisition means 55 Movable body 56 Movable mechanism 57 Movable mechanism control section 79 Energy storage element

Claims

1. A strip-shaped material payout device for supplying a strip-shaped material to a supply receiving section in which a strip-shaped material supply amount varies, comprising: A strip-shaped material dispensing device comprising a strip-shaped material supply source that supplies a strip-shaped material, a strip-shaped material transport means that transports the strip-shaped material from the strip-shaped material supply source toward a supplied portion, and a supply amount control means that is arranged between the strip-shaped material transport means and the supplied portion and controls the amount of strip-shaped material supplied to the supplied portion, wherein the supply amount control means performs electronic control to match the amount of strip-shaped material supplied to the supplied portion to the fluctuations so that the amount of strip-shaped material delivered from the strip-shaped material supply source can be maintained constant.

2. The strip-shaped material feeding device described in claim 1, characterized in that the strip-shaped material conveying means includes a drive shaft that rotates to feed the strip-shaped material from a strip-shaped material supply source, a rotational drive mechanism that rotates the drive shaft, and a management means that controls the rotation of the drive shaft by the rotational drive mechanism to manage the amount of the strip-shaped material fed.

3. The supply amount control means includes a movable body that increases the amount of the strip supplied to the supplied portion by moving the strip upstream in the running direction, and decreases the amount of the strip supplied to the supplied portion by moving the strip downstream in the running direction, a movable mechanism that moves the movable body, and a movable mechanism control unit that controls the movable mechanism, and the movable mechanism control unit adjusts at least one of the movement direction and movement amount of the movable body to match the amount of the strip supplied to the supplied portion to the fluctuation.

4. A strip-shaped material dispensing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is equipped with a position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the supplied portion, and a feed amount detection means for detecting the feed amount of the strip-shaped material, wherein the feed amount detection means detects the feed amount in accordance with the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means and calculates the position of the movable body to absorb fluctuations in the feed amount, and thereby performs electronic cam control to drive the movable body in accordance with the position information of the supplied portion until data on at least one of the movement direction and movement amount of the movable body can be acquired in order to maintain a constant feed amount dispensed from the strip-shaped material supply source.

5. 5. The strip-shaped material paying-out device according to claim 1, wherein the strip-shaped material is zigzag-folded in the supply portion.

6. 5. The strip-shaped material paying-out device according to claim 1, wherein the strip-shaped material is wound in the supplied portion.

7. An electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing an electrode laminate in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate are stacked facing each other with a separator, which is an insulator, interposed therebetween, the apparatus comprising:

6. An electrode laminate manufacturing apparatus comprising: the separator, which is an insulator, being a strip; and the strip-shaped material unwinding device according to claim 1.

8. An apparatus for manufacturing an electric storage element, the apparatus comprising: a strip-shaped laminate including a positive electrode plate, a separator serving as an insulator, a negative electrode plate, and a separator serving as an insulator; and a winding belt-shaped laminate including the strip-shaped laminate and the winding belt-shaped laminate; 10. An apparatus for manufacturing an electric storage element, comprising: the strip-shaped laminate as the strip; and the strip-shaped material unwinding device as defined in claim 1.

9. A strip-shaped material delivery method for supplying a strip-shaped material to a supply receiving section in which a strip-shaped material supply amount varies, comprising the steps of: A strip-shaped material dispensing method comprising the steps of: feeding a strip from a strip-shaped material supply source; and performing electronic control to adjust the fluctuating amount of strip material supplied to a supplied section to match the fluctuating amount of strip material so that the amount of strip material fed from the strip-shaped material supply source can be maintained constant.

10. A strip-shaped material feeding method as described in claim 9, characterized in that in order to maintain the amount of material fed from the strip-shaped material supply source constant, the amount of material fed is detected according to position information of the supplied part until data on at least one of the movement direction and movement amount of the movable body can be obtained, and the position of the movable body to absorb fluctuations in the amount of material fed is calculated, thereby performing electronic cam control to drive the movable body in accordance with the position information of the supplied part.

11. A method for producing an electrode laminate in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate are stacked facing each other with a separator, which is an insulator, interposed therebetween, the method comprising the steps of: A method for manufacturing an electrode laminate, comprising the steps of: feeding the separator as the strip; and feeding the strip according to claim 9 or 10.

12. A method for producing an electric storage element, comprising winding a strip-shaped laminate in which a positive electrode plate, a separator which is an insulator, a negative electrode plate, and a separator which is an insulator are laminated, the method comprising the steps of: A method for manufacturing an electric storage element, comprising the steps of: preparing the strip-shaped laminate as the strip; and using the strip-shaped material unwinding method according to claim 9 or 10.

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