Drying system

Abstract

To provide a drying system determining whether a drying object is appropriately dried according to information on the falling temperature of the drying object, acquired from one or a plurality of thermal images, and the determination reference information being held, to output the result of the determination.SOLUTION: There is provided a drying system comprising a thermal image acquiring unit acquiring a thermal image from a drying object, a falling temperature situation information acquiring unit for acquiring falling temperature situation information showing the situation of the falling temperature of the drying object from the acquired thermal image, a determination reference information holding unit for holding the determination reference information to determine whether the drying of the drying object is appropriate according to the acquired falling temperature situation information, a drying appropriateness determination unit for determining whether the drying of the drying object is appropriately performed according to the acquired falling temperature situation information and the determination reference information being held, and a determination result output unit for outputting the determination result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drying system used in the electrode manufacturing process for lithium ion batteries and the like, for transporting and drying objects to be dried using a continuous transport device. [Background technology]

[0002] Recently, various drying devices have been investigated for use in the electrode manufacturing process for lithium ion batteries and the like, in which electrode slurry coated on electrodes used in lithium ion batteries and the like is heated and dried in a drying furnace.

[0003] One example of such a drying device is the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1. This invention provides a drying device that includes heating sections (coated surface side heating section and back surface side heating section) that heat-treat the coating liquid slurry coated on one and / or the other main surface of a continuously conveyed substrate, a spot radiation thermometer that measures the surface temperature of an emissivity-invariant portion of the substrate whose emissivity does not change due to the heat treatment, located downstream of the heating section in the conveyance direction, and a control section that controls the intensity of the heat treatment based on the surface temperature measured by the spot radiation thermometer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2016-186371 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the above-mentioned invention merely discloses a drying device that uses a spot radiation thermometer to measure the surface temperature at only one point on the substrate where the emissivity is constant, i.e., at an edge of the substrate where the slurry coating liquid is not applied, and controls the intensity of the heat treatment based on the measured surface temperature.As a result, there is a significant problem in that even if the surface of the slurry coating liquid is dry, it is not possible to properly detect whether the interior is still wet. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a drying system that determines whether the drying of an object to be dried is being performed appropriately based on temperature drop status information of the object to be dried obtained from one or more thermal images and stored judgment criteria information, and outputs the judgment result.

[0007] Specifically, the present invention provides a drying system having a thermal image acquisition unit that acquires one or more thermal images from an object to be dried after heating for drying has been completed; a temperature drop status information acquisition unit that acquires temperature drop status information, which is information indicating the temperature drop status of the object to be dried, from the one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit; a judgment criterion information storage unit that stores judgment criterion information, which is information for judging whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate based on the temperature drop status information acquired by the temperature drop status information acquisition unit and the judgment criterion information stored in the judgment criterion information storage unit; a drying appropriateness judgment unit that judges whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate based on the temperature drop status information acquired by the temperature drop status information acquisition unit and the judgment criterion information stored in the judgment criterion information storage unit; and a judgment result output unit that outputs the judgment result of the drying appropriateness judgment unit.

[0008] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides a drying system having a criterion information correction unit for correcting the criterion information held in the criterion information holding unit.

[0009] In addition to the above features, the present invention further includes a heating unit for heating, and a conveyor drying furnace that conveys and dries an object to be dried by a continuous conveyor device. The thermal image acquisition unit is installed in a region on the outlet side of the conveyor drying furnace where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases, and provides a drying system.

[0010] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides a drying system having a drying result information holding unit that holds drying result information, which is information associating the determination result output by the determination result output unit with drying object identification information for identifying the object to be dried for which the determination was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the object to be dried.

[0011] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides a drying system having a heating control unit for controlling the heating unit based on the determination result output by the determination result output unit.

[0012] In addition to the above features, the present invention further includes a verification result acquisition unit that acquires a verification result, which is information indicating whether the determination result output by the determination result output unit is appropriate. The determination criterion information correction unit has a verification-dependent determination criterion information correction means for correcting the determination criterion information so that the determination result becomes a more appropriate determination result based on the verification result acquired by the verification result acquisition unit, and provides a drying system.

[0013] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides a drying system having an alarm notification unit for notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the determination result output by the determination result output unit.

[0014] In addition to the above features, the drying result information holding unit of the present invention includes an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means for acquiring abnormal occurrence position information, which is information for specifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, based on the drying result information, and an abnormal occurrence position information holding means for holding the abnormal occurrence position information acquired by the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means, and provides a drying system.

[0015] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides a drying system having an area extraction unit that extracts specific areas from one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit, and the one or more specific area thermal images extracted by the area extraction unit are input to the temperature drop status information acquisition unit.

[0016] The present invention also provides a drying system having a thermal image acquisition unit that acquires one or more thermal images from an object to be dried after heating for drying has been completed, an area extraction unit that extracts a specific area from the one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit, and an artificial intelligence unit that pre-learns the one or more specific area thermal images extracted by the area extraction unit as input data and outputs a drying suitability judgment result that indicates whether the object to be dried is being dried properly.

[0017] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides a drying system that further includes a conveying drying furnace that is equipped with a heating unit for heating and that conveys and dries the object to be dried using a continuous conveying device, and the thermal image acquisition unit is installed on the outlet side of the conveying drying furnace in an area where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases.

[0018] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides a drying system that further has a drying result information storage unit for storing the drying suitability judgment result in association with drying object identification information for identifying the object to be dried for which the judgment was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the object to be dried.

[0019] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides a drying system further comprising a heating control unit for controlling the heating unit based on the output result of the drying suitability determination.

[0020] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides a drying system in which the drying result information storage unit has an abnormality occurrence position information acquisition means for acquiring abnormality occurrence position information, which is information for identifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, based on the drying result information, and an abnormality occurrence position information storage means for storing the abnormality occurrence position information acquired by the abnormality occurrence position information acquisition means.

[0021] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides a drying system further having an alarm notification unit for issuing an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the output result of the drying suitability determination.

[0022] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides a drying system in which the artificial intelligence unit is a convolutional neural network (CNN).

[0023] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a drying system in which the object to be dried is an electrode slurry applied to the front and / or rear surfaces of a battery electrode.

[0024] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a drying system in which the battery includes at least one of a lithium-ion battery, a lead-acid battery, and a nickel-cadmium battery.

[0025] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides a drying system in which the slurry is a suspension obtained by mixing powder and liquid.

[0026] Furthermore, in addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention provides a drying system in which the thermal image acquisition unit comprises a thermal imaging device and / or a thermal imaging camera.

[0027] Furthermore, to realize the above-mentioned drying system, a method executed by a CPU in the drying system, which is a computer, and an operating program for the drying system, which is written in a readable and executable manner for the drying system, which is a computer, are provided.

[0028] Specifically, the present invention is a method executed by a CPU in a drying system which is a computer, the method comprising: a thermal image acquisition step of acquiring one or more thermal images from an object to be dried after heating for drying; a temperature decrease situation information acquisition step of acquiring temperature decrease situation information which is information indicating the temperature decrease situation of the object to be dried from the one or more thermal images acquired in the thermal image acquisition step; a determination criterion information holding step of holding determination criterion information which is information for determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate according to the temperature decrease situation information acquired in the temperature decrease situation information acquisition step; a drying appropriateness determination step of determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is being appropriately performed based on the temperature decrease situation information acquired in the temperature decrease situation information acquisition step and the determination criterion information held in the determination criterion information holding step; and a determination result output step of outputting the determination result in the drying appropriateness determination step.

[0029] Further, in addition to the above features, the present invention provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system which is a computer, the method comprising a determination criterion information correction step of correcting the determination criterion information held in the determination criterion information holding step.

[0030] Further, in addition to the above features, the present invention provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system which is a computer, the method further comprising a conveying and drying furnace which includes a heating unit for heating and conveys and dries an object to be dried by a continuous conveying device, wherein the thermal image acquisition unit is installed in a region on the outlet side of the conveying and drying furnace where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases, and the thermal image acquisition step acquires one or more thermal images from the object to be dried after heating for drying.

[0031] Further, in addition to the above features, the present invention provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system which is a computer, the method comprising a drying result information holding step of holding drying result information which is information associating the determination result output in the determination result output step with drying object identification information for identifying the object to be dried for which the determination was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the object to be dried.

[0032] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system which is a computer, the method having a heating control step for controlling a heating unit based on a determination result output in a determination result output step.

[0033] In addition to the above features, the present invention further has a verification result acquisition step of acquiring a verification result which is information indicating whether the determination result output in the determination result output step is appropriate, and the determination criterion information correction step has a verification-dependent determination criterion information correction sub-step of correcting the determination criterion information so that the determination result becomes a more appropriate determination result based on the verification result acquired in the verification result acquisition step.

[0034] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system which is a computer, the method having an alarm notification step for notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in an object to be dried based on the determination result output in the determination result output step.

[0035] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system which is a computer, wherein the drying result information holding step includes an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition sub-step of acquiring abnormal occurrence position information which is information for specifying a position where an abnormality has occurred in an object to be dried based on drying result information, and an abnormal occurrence position information holding sub-step of holding the abnormal occurrence position information acquired in the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition sub-step.

[0036] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system which is a computer, the method having an area extraction step of extracting a specific area from one or more thermal images acquired in a thermal image acquisition step, and using the one or more specific area thermal images extracted in the area extraction step as an input to a temperature decrease situation information acquisition step.

[0037] The present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system, which is a computer, comprising: a thermal image acquisition step of acquiring one or more thermal images from an object to be dried after heating for drying has been completed; an area extraction step of extracting a specific area from the one or more thermal images acquired in the thermal image acquisition step; and an artificial intelligence step of previously training the one or more specific area thermal images extracted in the area extraction step as input data, and outputting a drying adequacy judgment result indicating whether the object to be dried is being dried appropriately.

[0038] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, the method further comprising a conveying drying furnace that is equipped with a heating unit for heating and that conveys and dries the object to be dried using a continuous conveying device, the thermal image acquisition unit being installed on the outlet side of the conveying drying furnace in an area where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases, and the thermal image acquisition step acquiring one or more thermal images from the object to be dried after heating for drying has been completed.

[0039] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, which includes a drying result information storage step for storing the drying suitability judgment result in association with drying object identification information for identifying the object to be dried for which the judgment was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the object to be dried.

[0040] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, the method having a heating control step for controlling a heating section based on the output result of the drying suitability judgment.

[0041] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, wherein the drying result information retaining step includes an abnormality occurrence position information acquiring substep of acquiring abnormality occurrence position information, which is information for identifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, based on the drying result information, and an abnormality occurrence position information retaining substep of retaining the abnormality occurrence position information acquired in the abnormality occurrence position information acquiring substep.

[0042] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, the method having an alarm notification step for issuing an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the output result of the drying suitability determination.

[0043] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, wherein the artificial intelligence step comprises a convolutional neural network (CNN).

[0044] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, in which the object to be dried comprises electrode slurry applied to the surface and / or back surface of a battery electrode.

[0045] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, wherein the battery includes at least one of a lithium-ion battery, a lead-acid battery, and a nickel-cadmium battery.

[0046] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, wherein the slurry is a suspension obtained by kneading powder and liquid.

[0047] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, wherein the thermal image acquisition step includes a thermal imaging device and / or a thermal imaging camera.

[0048] Specifically, the present invention provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for a drying system that is a computer having the following steps: a thermal image acquisition step for acquiring one or more thermal images from an object to be dried after heating for drying has been completed; a temperature drop status information acquisition step for acquiring temperature drop status information, which is information indicating the temperature drop status of the object to be dried, from the one or more thermal images acquired in the thermal image acquisition step; a judgment criteria information retention step for retaining judgment criteria information, which is information for judging whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate based on the temperature drop status information acquired in the temperature drop status information acquisition step and the judgment criteria information retained in the judgment criteria information retention step; a drying appropriateness judgment step for judging whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate based on the temperature drop status information acquired in the temperature drop status information acquisition step and the judgment criteria information retained in the judgment criteria information retention step; and a judgment result output step for outputting the judgment result made in the drying appropriateness judgment step.

[0049] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for a drying system that is a computer having a criterion information correction step for correcting the criterion information stored in the criterion information storage step.

[0050] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system, which is written in a readable and executable manner for a drying system that includes a heating unit for heating and a conveying drying furnace that conveys and dries the object to be dried using a continuous conveying device, the thermal image acquisition unit being installed on the outlet side of the conveying drying furnace in an area where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases, and the thermal image acquisition step being a computer that acquires one or more thermal images from the object to be dried after heating for drying has been completed.

[0051] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for a drying system that is a computer having a drying result information storage step for storing drying result information, which is information that associates the judgment result output in the judgment result output step with drying object identification information for identifying the object to be dried for which the judgment was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the object to be dried.

[0052] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for a drying system that is a computer having a heating control step for controlling a heating section based on the judgment result output in the judgment result output step.

[0053] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for a drying system, which further includes a verification result acquisition step for acquiring a verification result, which is information indicating whether the judgment result output in the judgment result output step is appropriate, and a judgment criterion information correction step for correcting the judgment criterion information based on the verification result acquired in the verification result acquisition step, so that the judgment result becomes a more appropriate judgment result.

[0054] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for a drying system that is a computer and that has an alarm notification step for issuing an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the judgment result output in the judgment result output step.

[0055] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner by a computer that includes the drying result information retention step, which includes an abnormality occurrence position information acquisition substep of acquiring abnormality occurrence position information, which is information for identifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, based on the drying result information, and an abnormality occurrence position information retention substep of retaining the abnormality occurrence position information acquired in the abnormality occurrence position information acquisition substep.

[0056] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system, which is written in a readable and executable manner for a computer that includes an area extraction step for extracting specific areas from one or more thermal images acquired in the thermal image acquisition step, and uses the one or more specific area thermal images extracted in the area extraction step as input for the temperature drop status information acquisition step.

[0057] The present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for a drying system that is a computer having the following steps: a thermal image acquisition step for acquiring one or more thermal images from an object to be dried after heating for drying has been completed; an area extraction step for extracting a specific area from one or more thermal images acquired in the thermal image acquisition step; and an artificial intelligence step for previously learning the one or more specific area thermal images extracted in the area extraction step as input data and outputting a drying adequacy determination result indicating whether the object to be dried is being dried appropriately.

[0058] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system, which is written in a readable and executable manner for the drying system, and which further comprises a conveying drying furnace having a heating section for heating and which conveys and dries the object to be dried using a continuous conveying device, the thermal image acquisition section being installed on the outlet side of the conveying drying furnace in an area where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases, and the thermal image acquisition step being a computer that acquires one or more thermal images from the object to be dried after heating for drying has been completed.

[0059] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for a drying system that is a computer having a drying result information storage step for associating and storing the drying suitability judgment result with drying object identification information for identifying the object to be dried for which the judgment was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the object to be dried.

[0060] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for a drying system that is a computer having a heating control step for controlling a heating section based on the output result of the drying suitability judgment.

[0061] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner by a computer that includes the drying result information retention step, which includes an abnormality occurrence position information acquisition substep of acquiring abnormality occurrence position information, which is information for identifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, based on the drying result information, and an abnormality occurrence position information retention substep of retaining the abnormality occurrence position information acquired in the abnormality occurrence position information acquisition substep.

[0062] In addition to the above features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for a computer-based drying system having an alarm notification step for issuing an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the output result of the drying suitability judgment.

[0063] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention also provides an operating program for a drying system, wherein the artificial intelligence step is written in a readable and executable manner for the drying system, which is a computer consisting of a convolutional neural network (CNN).

[0064] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides an operation program of a drying system that is readable and executable by a computer in which the object to be dried is composed of an electrode slurry obtained by applying a slurry to the front surface and / or back surface of an electrode of a battery.

[0065] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides an operation program of a drying system that is readable and executable by a computer in which the battery includes at least one of a lithium-ion battery, a lead-acid battery, and a nickel-cadmium battery.

[0066] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides an operation program of a drying system that is readable and executable by a computer in which the slurry is composed of a suspension obtained by kneading a powder and a liquid.

[0067] In addition to the above features, the present invention provides an operation program of a drying system that is readable and executable by a computer in which the thermal image acquisition step is composed of a thermal imaging device and / or a thermal imaging camera.

Advantages of the Invention

[0068] As described above, in the present invention, based on the temperature decrease situation information of the object to be dried obtained from one or more thermal images and the held determination criterion information, it is possible to determine whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriately performed, and output the determination result, thereby providing a drying system.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0069]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

Figure 24

Figure 25

Figure 26

Figure 27

Figure 28

Figure 29

Figure 30

Figure 31

Figure 32

Figure 33

Figure 34

Figure 35

Figure 36

Figure 37

Figure 38

Figure 39

Figure 40

Figure 41

Figure 42

Figure 43

Figure 44

Figure 45

Figure 46

Figure 47

Figure 48

Figure 49

Figure 50

Figure 51

Figure 52

Figure 53

Figure 54

Figure 55

Figure 56

Figure 57

Figure 58

[0070] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration applied to the present invention. The present invention is, in principle, an invention that utilizes a computer, but it can also be realized by software, hardware, or the combination of software and hardware. The hardware that realizes all or part of the constituent elements of the present invention is composed of the basic components of a computer, such as a CPU, memory, bus, input / output devices, various peripheral devices, and a user interface. The various peripheral devices include storage devices, internet interfaces, internet devices, displays, keyboards, mice, speakers, cameras, videos, televisions, various sensors for monitoring production status in laboratories or factories (e.g., flow rate sensors, temperature sensors, weight sensors, liquid volume sensors, infrared sensors, shipment counters, package counters, foreign body inspection devices, defective product counters, radiation inspection devices, surface condition inspection devices, circuit inspection devices, motion sensors, worker work status monitoring devices (e.g., video, ID, PC work volume)), CD drives, DVD drives, Blu-ray drives, USB memory, USB memory interfaces, removable hard disks, general hard disks, projectors, SSDs, telephones, fax machines, copiers, printers, movie editing devices, and various sensor devices. The system does not necessarily have to be configured in a single enclosure; it can also be configured by connecting multiple enclosures via communication. Communication can be via LAN, WAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared communication, or ultrasonic communication. Furthermore, some of the components may be installed across borders. Furthermore, each of the multiple units may be operated by a different entity, or may be operated by a single entity. The system of the present invention may be operated by a single entity or multiple entities. The invention may also be configured as a system that includes, in addition to the present system, a terminal used by a third party, and a terminal used by yet another third party. These terminals may also be installed across borders. Furthermore, in addition to the present system and the terminals, devices may be provided for storing related information about third parties, registering related persons, and creating a database for recording the contents of registration. These may be provided in the present system, or may be provided outside the present system so that the present system can be configured to utilize this information.

[0071] As shown in this diagram, the computer is configured on a motherboard and comprises a chipset, CPU, non-volatile memory, main memory, various buses, BIOS, various interfaces such as USB, HDMI (registered trademark), and LAN, a real-time clock, etc. These operate in cooperation with an operating system, device drivers (for various interfaces such as USB and HDMI (registered trademark), and various built-in devices such as cameras, microphones, speakers or headphones, and displays), various programs, etc. The various programs and data that make up the present invention are configured to efficiently utilize these hardware resources to execute various processes. Chipset

[0072] A "chipset" is a set of large-scale integrated circuits (LSI) mounted on a computer's motherboard that integrates a communication function, or bridge function, between the CPU's external bus and the standard bus that connects memory and peripheral devices. Two chipset configurations are used, or one chipset configuration. The northbridge is located on the side closest to the CPU and main memory, and the southbridge is located on the side farther away, which interfaces with relatively slow external I / O.

[0073] (Northbridge) The northbridge includes a CPU interface, memory controller, and graphics interface. Most of the functions of a conventional northbridge can be performed by the CPU. The northbridge connects to the main memory slot via a memory bus, and to the graphics card slot via a high-speed graphics bus (AGP, PCI Express).

[0074] (Southbridge) The South Bridge is connected to the PCI interface (PCI slot) via the PCI bus and is responsible for I / O functions such as the ATA (SATA) interface, USB interface, Ethernet interface, and sound functions. Incorporating circuits that support PS / 2 ports, floppy disk drives, serial ports, parallel ports, and ISA buses, which do not require or are unable to achieve high-speed operation, would impede the speed increase of the chipset itself. Therefore, it may be separated from the South Bridge chip and assigned to another LSI called a Super I / O chip. A bus is used to connect the CPU (MPU) to peripheral devices and various control units. The bus is connected by the chipset. The memory bus used for connection to the main memory may adopt a channel structure instead to achieve higher speed. As the bus, a serial bus or a parallel bus can be adopted. The parallel bus transfers the original data itself or multiple bits cut out from the original data as a single unit simultaneously over multiple communication paths, while the serial bus transfers data one bit at a time. A dedicated line for the clock signal is provided in parallel with the data lines to synchronize data demodulation on the receiving side. It is also used as a bus to connect the CPU (chipset) to external devices, such as GPIB, IDE / (parallel) ATA, SCSI, and PCI. Since there are limitations in speed increase, in the improved version of PCI, PCI Express, and the improved version of parallel ATA, serial ATA, the data lines may also use a serial bus.

[0075] ≪CPU≫

[0076] A CPU sequentially reads, interprets, and executes a sequence of instructions called a program stored in main memory, outputting signal-based information to the main memory. The CPU functions as the center of computation within a computer. A CPU consists of a CPU core, which is the center of computation, and its peripheral components, including registers, cache memory, an internal bus connecting the cache memory to the CPU core, a DMA controller, a timer, and an interface with the bus connecting to the north bridge. A single CPU (chip) may have multiple CPU cores. Processing may also be performed by a graphics interface (GPU) or FPU in addition to the CPU. While the embodiments are described as being of a two-core type, this is not limiting. Programs may also be embedded within the CPU.

[0077] <Non-volatile memory>

[0078] (HDD)

[0079] The basic structure of a hard disk drive consists of a magnetic disk, a magnetic head, and an arm on which the magnetic head is mounted. The external interface can be SATA (formerly ATA). A high-performance controller, such as SCSI, is used to support communication between hard disk drives. For example, when copying a file to another hard disk drive, the controller can read the sectors, transfer them to the other hard disk drive, and write them. This does not access the host CPU's memory, so there is no increase in the CPU load.

[0080] <Main memory>

[0081] The CPU directly accesses and executes various programs on the main memory. The main memory is a volatile memory and DRAM is used. Programs on the main memory are expanded from the non-volatile memory to the main memory upon receiving the program startup instruction. Thereafter, the CPU executes the program according to various execution instructions and execution procedures within the program.

[0082] ≪Operating System (OS)≫

[0083] The operating system is used to manage the resources on the computer for the application to utilize, manage various device drivers, and manage the computer itself which is hardware. In a small computer, firmware may be used as the operating system.

[0084] ≪BIOS≫

[0085] BIOS causes the CPU to execute the procedure for starting up the computer hardware and operating the operating system. Most typically, it is the hardware that the CPU first reads when receiving the startup instruction of the computer. The address of the operating system stored in the disk (non-volatile memory) is described here, and the operating system is sequentially expanded into the main memory by the BIOS expanded in the CPU and enters the operating state. Note that BIOS also has a check function for checking the presence or absence of various devices connected to the bus. The result of the check is stored on the main memory and can be made available by the operating system as appropriate. Note that BIOS may be configured to check external devices and the like. The above is the same for all embodiments.

[0086] As shown in the figures, the present invention can basically be composed of a general-purpose computer program and various devices. The operation of the computer basically takes the form of loading the program recorded in the non-volatile memory into the main memory and then executing processing with the main memory, the CPU, and various devices. Communication with the devices is performed via an interface connected to the bus line. Examples of the interface include a display interface, a keyboard, a communication buffer, etc. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described together with illustrated examples.

[0087] <Satisfaction of the availability of the natural law of the present invention>

[0088] The present invention functions through the cooperation of a computer, communication facilities, and software. Specifically, it relates to a drying system for conveying and drying an object to be dried by a continuous conveying device, and various information and data are exchanged using hardware resources among components such as at least a thermal imaging device, a controller, and a conveying drying furnace. Therefore, from this perspective, if the present invention of the application is judged based on the matters described in the claims and the specification regarding resources such as a computer and the common general technical knowledge related to those matters, the present invention of the application as a whole utilizes natural laws and also falls under the category of inventions related to computer software.

[0089] <Significance of the utilization of natural laws required by the Patent Law>

[0090] The Patent Act requires that an invention be industrially applicable and contribute to the development of industry. This requirement ensures that the invention is industrially applicable. In other words, the invention must be industrially useful; that is, the effects of the invention declared in the application must be reproducible with a certain degree of certainty through the practice of the invention. From this perspective, the application of the laws of nature is interpreted as the use of the laws of nature to achieve the functions of each of the invention's defining features (invention elements), which constitute the invention's effects. Furthermore, the effect of an invention is sufficient if it has the potential to provide a specific utility to users who use the invention, and should not be viewed in terms of how users feel or think about that utility. Therefore, even if the effect users gain from the system is a psychological effect, that effect itself does not fall within the scope of the required application of the laws of nature. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0091] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The relationships between the embodiments and the claims are as follows: Principally, the explanation of embodiment 1 relates to claims 1, 18, and 19, the explanation of embodiment 2 relates to claim 2, the explanation of embodiment 3 relates to claim 3, the explanation of embodiment 4 relates to claim 4, the explanation of embodiment 5 relates to claim 5, the explanation of embodiment 6 relates to claim 6, the explanation of embodiment 7 relates to claim 7, the explanation of embodiment 8 relates to claim 8, the explanation of embodiment 9 relates to claim 9, the explanation of embodiment 10 relates to claim 10, the explanation of embodiment 11 relates to claim 11, the explanation of embodiment 12 relates to claim 12, the explanation of embodiment 13 relates to claim 13, the explanation of embodiment 14 relates to claim 14, and the explanation of embodiment 15 relates to claim 15. The present invention should not be limited to these embodiments in any way and may be carried out in various forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0092] <Overall configuration of the drying system of the present invention> FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the drying system in the present invention. The drying system 200 is composed of at least a thermal imaging device 201, a controller 202, a conveyor drying furnace 203, a continuous conveyor device 204, and an object to be dried 205. Hereinafter, a drying system used in the electrode manufacturing process of a lithium-ion battery and for drying an object to be dried by conveying it with a continuous conveyor device will be taken as an example for explanation.

[0093] The "thermal imaging device" 201 refers to, for example, a device having a function for visualizing the surface temperature distribution of an object. For example, the thermal imaging device can realize its function with a minimum configuration composed of at least an infrared camera and a computer. The infrared camera detects infrared rays radiated from an object and converts them into electrical signals. The computer converts the electrical signals into an image (two-dimensional image) and displays the surface temperature distribution of the object. Generally, a thermal imaging device is also called thermography or a thermography camera, and since it can perform non-contact wide-range temperature measurement, it is used in various fields. For example, applications include manufacturing line monitoring and inspection, equipment diagnosis, building diagnosis, temperature management of food and pharmaceuticals, border and maritime security, fire fighting activities, and countermeasures against the novel coronavirus.

[0094] The "controller" 202 refers to a device having a function of performing various calculation processes using the thermal image acquired by the thermal imaging device 201 as an input and controlling various devices constituting the drying system based on the calculation process results. For example, the controller 202 performs various calculation processes using the acquired thermal image as an input, and based on the calculation process results, appropriately controls the heating unit of the conveyor drying furnace 203 described later. Specifically, for example, calculation processes are performed based on the thermal image acquired from the thermal imaging device, and based on the results, the intensity of the heat treatment in the conveyor drying furnace 203 is increased, that is, the temperature inside the furnace is raised, or the intensity of the heat treatment in the conveyor drying furnace 203 is decreased, that is, the temperature inside the furnace is lowered. It is preferably configured to be able to appropriately perform such control in real time.

[0095] A "conveyor drying oven" is generally a type of equipment that uses various heat sources to dry and bake various materials such as water, solvents, and powders. Conveyor drying ovens can efficiently dry materials by heating them while transporting them. Materials are transported by a conveyor and heated when they reach the heating section. The heating section uses electricity, gas, oil, steam, thermal oil, etc. as a heat source. As the materials pass through the heating section, moisture, solvents, powders, etc. are removed, and the drying process is completed. The "transport drying oven" 203 of the present invention refers to an apparatus that includes a heating section for heating, and has the function of transporting an object to be dried 205 (described later) using a continuous transport device 204 (described later) and passing it through the transport drying oven, thereby subjecting the object to be dried 205 to heat treatment using the heating section, thereby drying the object to be dried. For example, the heating section of the transport drying oven 203 may be configured using hot air, a laser beam, an infrared heater, or any combination of these. In addition, the transport drying oven 203 is preferably configured so that the temperature inside the oven can be controlled within a relatively low temperature range, for example, around 50°C to 250°C.

[0096] The "continuous conveying device" 204 refers to a device that has the function of placing and continuously conveying an object to be dried 205 (described later). For example, continuous conveying devices used in the electrode manufacturing process for lithium ion batteries, particularly in the drying process, are mainly roll-to-roll type, which continuously conveys electrode material in a rolled state and performs processes such as coating and drying. This method is effective in improving productivity and quality. Alternatively, a heat-resistant belt conveyor or the like may be used.

[0097] The "object to be dried" 205 refers to an object that is placed on the continuous conveyor 204, continuously conveyed, and heated in the conveyor drying furnace 203 to be dried. For example, in the case of a lithium-ion battery, it refers to the electrode slurry with slurry applied to the front and / or back surface of the electrode. Here, the slurry generally refers to a suspension obtained by kneading powder and liquid. For example, the slurry applied to the electrode of a lithium-ion battery refers to a paste-like liquid obtained by mixing the active material, conductive assistant, binder, and organic solvent of the positive and negative electrodes, which are components of the lithium-ion battery. The slurry is uniformly applied to the surface of the metal foil serving as the base material and dried to form the electrode. Since the slurry greatly affects the quality of the electrode and the performance of the battery, it is required to have an appropriate viscosity and be uniformly mixed.

[0098] For example, on the positive electrode of a lithium-ion battery, a slurry which is a suspension obtained by kneading a positive electrode active material (for example, NCM: lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide, etc.) that is directly involved in the intercalation and deintercalation of lithium ions, a binder (for example, PVdF: polyvinylidene fluoride, etc.) that binds the electrode material to the metal foil, a conductive assistant (for example, acetylene black, etc.) that enhances the conductivity in the electrode, and a dispersion medium (for example, NMP: N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, etc.) that promotes the mixing and stirring of the materials and makes the slurry have an appropriate viscosity for coating, is applied to a metal foil (for example, aluminum foil, etc.) serving as the base material and dried. By heating the object to be dried, which is the electrode slurry composed of these materials, in a conveyor drying furnace, only the dispersion medium (for example, NMP, etc.) volatilizes, and the solute, which is the solid content, that is, the positive electrode active material, binder, and conductive assistant, are mixed and formed as a thin film on the metal foil.

[0099] Here, lithium transition metal composite oxides are generally mainly used as the positive electrode active material. For example, lithium cobalt oxide, lithium manganate, lithium iron phosphate, and the above-mentioned NCM (lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide, so-called ternary system) can be mentioned.

[0100] Binders are generally classified into organic solvent-based and water-based binders. A typical organic solvent-based binder is the aforementioned PVdF (polyvinylidene fluoride), a crystalline thermoplastic resin that is flame-retardant, has high mechanical strength among fluororesins, and is easy to process. On the other hand, a typical water-based binder is styrene / butadiene rubber (SBR). This styrene / butadiene rubber (SBR) is a crystalline thermoplastic resin produced by emulsion polymerization of styrene and butadiene (monomers are emulsified in water with a surfactant, and then polymerized by adding a radical initiator, catalyst, chain transfer agent, etc.). It is characterized by high tensile strength and elastic modulus, high insulation, ease of processing, and relatively low cost.

[0101] A conductive additive is added between active material particles to increase conductivity, and the aforementioned acetylene black, a type of carbon black, is a commonly used example. In addition to acetylene black, other carbon-based materials include ketjen black, carbon nanotubes, and carbon nanofibers.

[0102] For example, the negative electrode of a lithium-ion battery is made by coating and drying a base metal foil (e.g., copper foil) with a mixture of a negative electrode active material (e.g., graphite) that directly interacts with the absorption and desorption of lithium ions, a binder (e.g., SBR: styrene / butadiene rubber) that binds the electrode material to the foil, a conductive additive (e.g., acetylene black) that enhances the electrode's internal conductivity, and a dispersant (e.g., water) that promotes mixing and agitation and adjusts the viscosity of the slurry to an appropriate level for application. By heating the electrode slurry, which is made from these materials, in a conveyor-type drying furnace, only the dispersant (e.g., water) is evaporated, and the solid solutes—i.e., the negative electrode active material, binder, and conductive additive—are formed as a thin film on the metal foil.

[0103] Here, as the negative electrode active material, "graphite (graphite)", "hard carbon (non-graphitizable carbon)", "soft carbon (graphitizable carbon)" which are carbon-based materials with high conductivity, lithium titanate, etc. are generally well used.

[0104] In addition, as appropriate and as necessary, a thickening agent may be added to the electrode slurry of the lithium ion battery. Here, the thickening agent is a substance for uniformly dispersing particles dispersed in a liquid and increasing the viscosity. For example, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) etc. may be mentioned.

[0105] <Embodiment 1 (mainly corresponding to Claim 1, Claim 18, and Claim 19)> <Outline of Embodiment 1> This embodiment provides a drying system having a thermal image acquisition unit that acquires one or more thermal images from an object to be dried for which heating for drying has ended, a temperature decrease situation information acquisition unit that acquires temperature decrease situation information which is information indicating the temperature decrease situation of the object to be dried from the one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit, a determination criterion information holding unit that holds determination criterion information which is information for determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate according to the temperature decrease situation information acquired by the temperature decrease situation information acquisition unit, a drying appropriateness determination unit that determines whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriately performed based on the temperature decrease situation information acquired by the temperature decrease situation information acquisition unit and the determination criterion information held by the determination criterion information holding unit, and a determination result output unit that outputs the determination result of the drying appropriateness determination unit. Further, to realize it, a method executed by the CPU in the drying system which is a computer, and an operation program of the drying system described so as to be readable and executable by the drying system which is a computer are provided.

[0106] <Functional Configuration of Embodiment 1> FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller of the drying system in Embodiment 1. In this embodiment, it includes a thermal image acquisition unit, a temperature decrease situation information acquisition unit, a determination criterion information holding unit, a drying appropriateness determination unit, and a determination result output unit.

[0107] <Description of the configuration in Embodiment 1: Thermal image acquisition unit> The "thermal image acquisition unit" 301 is configured to have a function of acquiring one or more thermal images from an object to be dried after the heating for drying is completed.

[0108] Here, the "object to be dried" refers to an object that is continuously conveyed by a continuous conveying device and heated and dried in a conveying drying furnace. For example, in the case of a lithium-ion battery, it refers to the electrode slurry with slurry applied to the front and / or back surface of the electrode. Here, the slurry generally refers to a suspension obtained by kneading powder and liquid. For example, the slurry applied to the electrode of a lithium-ion battery refers to a paste-like liquid obtained by mixing the active materials, conductive aids, binders, and organic solvents of the positive and negative electrodes, which are components of the lithium-ion battery. The slurry is uniformly applied to the surface of the metal foil serving as the base material and dried to form the electrode. Since the slurry greatly affects the quality of the electrode and the performance of the battery, it is required to have an appropriate viscosity and be uniformly mixed.

[0109] Also, the "thermal image" refers to an image (two-dimensional image) acquired by a thermal imaging device for visualizing the surface temperature distribution of an object. In this embodiment, it refers to an image (two-dimensional image) that detects infrared rays radiated from the object to be dried, converts them into electrical signals, and then converts these electrical signals to represent the surface temperature distribution of the object to be dried. For example, FIG. 45 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement image of the drying system in the present invention. Here, the upper part of the figure represents the state where the object to be dried is close to the outlet of the conveying drying furnace, and the lower part of the figure represents the state where the object to be dried is far from the outlet of the conveying drying furnace. Also, the conveying direction of the continuous conveying device is from the upper side to the lower side of the image shown in FIG. 45. As shown in this figure, it can be seen that when the object to be dried is close to the outlet of the conveying drying furnace, the surface temperature of the object to be dried is high, and as the object to be dried is conveyed by the continuous conveying device and moves away from the outlet of the conveying drying furnace, the surface temperature of the object to be dried becomes low. In the present invention, the actual thermal image data is expressed as a matrix of temperature values on the surface of the object to be dried.

[0110] <Configuration of Embodiment 1: Temperature Decrease Status Information Acquisition Unit> The 'temperature drop status information acquisition unit' 302 is configured to have a function of acquiring temperature drop status information, which is information indicating the drop status of the temperature of the object to be dried, from one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit.

[0111] Here, "temperature drop status information" refers to, for example, information indicating that the temperature distribution on the surface of the object to be dried is decreasing temporally and / or spatially from one or more acquired thermal images. For example, Figure 45 shows an example of a measurement image of the drying system of the present invention. The upper part of the figure indicates that the object to be dried is temporally and / or spatially close to the outlet of the conveying and drying oven, while the lower part indicates that the object to be dried is temporally and / or spatially far from the outlet of the conveying and drying oven. The conveying direction of the continuous conveying device is from top to bottom. As shown in this figure, when the object to be dried is temporally and / or spatially close to the outlet of the conveying and drying oven, the surface temperature of the object to be dried is high. However, as the object to be dried is conveyed by the continuous conveying device, when the object to be dried is temporally and / or spatially far from the outlet of the conveying and drying oven, the surface temperature of the object to be dried decreases. Such information indicating that the temperature distribution on the surface of the object to be dried is decreasing temporally and / or spatially corresponds to "temperature drop status information."

[0112] In general, to determine whether the value of a matrix tends to decrease, it is possible to derive it by calculating the determinant of the matrix. For example, by calculating the determinant of a certain matrix, if the determinant is negative, it indicates that the value of this matrix tends to decrease. Also, if the determinant is positive, it indicates that the value of this matrix tends to increase. Further, if the determinant is zero, the matrix is singular and has no tendency. By adopting such a method of calculating the determinant of a matrix, a thermal image is acquired at regular intervals to create a plurality of matrices representing the thermal image, and the determinant of each matrix is calculated. The state in which these determinants are continuously found to be negative, that is, the information indicating that the surface temperature distribution of the object to be dried is decreasing corresponds to the "temperature decrease situation information".

[0113] <Embodiment 1 Explanation of Configuration: Judgment Criterion Information Holding Unit> The "judgment criterion information holding unit" 303 is configured to have a function of holding judgment criterion information, which is information for determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate according to the temperature decrease situation information acquired by the temperature decrease situation information acquisition unit.

[0114] Here, the "judgment criterion information" refers to information that serves as a criterion for determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate, that is, whether the electrode slurry is in a completely dry state, according to the above-described temperature decrease situation information. For example, a temperature distribution, which is information indicating characteristics, can be extracted from the matrix representing the thermal image, and temperature contour lines can be drawn using them. FIG. 50 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic diagram of temperature contour lines. The temperature contour lines on the left side of this figure are almost equally spaced and in a nice elliptical arc shape, which indicates that the electrode slurry is in a completely dry state. On the other hand, the temperature contour lines on the right side of this figure have uneven intervals and the elliptical arc shape is distorted, which indicates that the electrode slurry is in an undried state. The "matrix representing temperature contour lines that are almost equally spaced and in a nice elliptical arc shape" corresponds to the "judgment criterion information".

[0115] <Embodiment 1 Explanation of Configuration: Drying Appropriateness Judgment Unit> The "drying appropriateness determination unit" 304 is configured to have a function of determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is being appropriately performed based on the temperature drop situation information acquired by the temperature drop situation information acquisition unit and the determination criterion information held by the determination criterion information holding unit.

[0116] For example, it is preferably configured to be able to determine whether the drying of the object to be dried is being appropriately performed, that is, whether the electrode slurry is in a completely dried state, based on the acquired above-mentioned temperature drop situation information and the held above-mentioned determination criterion information.

[0117] For example, by comparing a matrix A representing temperature contour lines that are in a neat elliptical arc shape at substantially equal intervals with a matrix B representing temperature contour lines derived from a newly acquired thermal image, if the difference is within a predetermined error tolerance (e.g., ±5%), it is determined that the electrode slurry corresponding to the newly acquired thermal image is in a completely dried state, that is, the drying of the object to be dried is being appropriately performed. On the other hand, if the difference between the matrix A and the matrix B is outside the predetermined error tolerance (e.g., ±5%), it is determined that the electrode slurry corresponding to the newly acquired thermal image is in an undried state (not in a completely dried state), that is, the drying of the object to be dried is not being appropriately performed.

[0118] Furthermore, for example, if the similarity between matrix A and matrix B is calculated and the calculation result is higher than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 95% or higher), it is determined that the electrode slurry is completely dried, i.e., the object to be dried has been properly dried. On the other hand, if the similarity between matrix A and matrix B is calculated and the calculation result is lower than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 95% or higher), it is determined that the electrode slurry is not yet dried, i.e., the object to be dried has not been properly dried. There are various known methods for calculating matrix similarity, one of which is cosine similarity. Cosine similarity is a method for measuring vector similarity by calculating the cosine of the angle between two vectors. In particular, for images, each pixel can be treated as a vector and the cosine similarity of the vectors of each pixel in two images can be calculated. In addition to cosine similarity, other methods for calculating matrix similarity include Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, Euclidean distance, and Manhattan distance. Pearson correlation coefficient is used to measure the linear relationship between two variables. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient is used to measure the correlation between the ranks of two variables. Euclidean distance and Manhattan distance are used to measure the distance between two vectors. These methods can be selected appropriately depending on the type of matrix and the purpose of use.

[0119] <Configuration of Embodiment 1: Determination Result Output Unit> The 'determination result output unit' 305 is configured to have a function of outputting the determination result made by the drying adequacy determination unit. For example, the determination result of the drying adequacy determination unit is expressed as information indicating whether the object to be dried has been dried appropriately, i.e., whether the electrode slurry is completely dried or not. That is, if the electrode slurry is completely dried, it may be expressed as, for example, "True: 1," and if the electrode slurry is not dried, it may be expressed as, for example, "False: 0." The determination result output unit is preferably configured to be able to output information representing the determination result as described above.

[0120] <Embodiment 1: Drying System Controller: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0121] 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment. As shown in this diagram, the controller of the drying system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 401 that performs various arithmetic processing, and a "main memory" 402. It also includes a "non-volatile memory" 403 that stores predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 406, and a "network I / F (interface)" 404 that transmits and receives information to and from a transport drying oven 407. These components are interconnected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 405, and perform information transmission and reception and processing.

[0122] Here, the "main memory" reads out programs that perform various processes to be executed by the "CPU," and also provides a work area for the programs. Furthermore, multiple addresses are assigned to the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory," and programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data and perform processing by identifying and accessing these addresses. In this embodiment, the programs stored in the "main memory" include a thermal image acquisition program, a temperature drop status information acquisition program, a judgment criteria information retention program, a drying adequacy judgment program, and a judgment result output program. Furthermore, the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory" store thermal image information, temperature drop status information, judgment criteria information, judgment results, and the like.

[0123] The "CPU" executes the thermal image acquisition program stored in the "main memory" to acquire thermal image information and store it in the "main memory" or "non-volatile memory." It also executes the temperature drop status information acquisition program stored in the "main memory" to acquire temperature drop status information and store it in the "main memory" or "non-volatile memory." It also executes the judgment criteria information retention program stored in the "main memory" to store the judgment criteria information in the "main memory" or "non-volatile memory." It also executes the drying adequacy judgment program stored in the "main memory" to judge whether the drying of the object to be dried is being performed appropriately based on the temperature drop status information and the judgment criteria information. It also executes the judgment result output program stored in the "main memory" to output the judgment result and store it in the "main memory" or "non-volatile memory."

[0124] <Embodiment 1: Drying System Controller: Process Flow> 5 is a diagram showing the process flow when using the controller of the drying system in this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the processing method includes a thermal image acquisition step S501, a temperature drop status information acquisition step S502, a judgment criteria information storage step S503, a drying adequacy judgment step S504, and a judgment result output step S505.

[0125] The "thermal image acquisition step" S501 is a stage in which one or more thermal images are acquired from the object to be dried after heating for drying has been completed.

[0126] The "temperature drop status information acquisition step" S502 is a stage of acquiring temperature drop status information, which is information indicating the temperature drop status of the object to be dried, from one or more acquired thermal images.

[0127] The "criterion information storage step" S503 is a stage for storing criterion information, which is information for determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate in accordance with the acquired temperature drop status information.

[0128] The "step of determining whether drying is adequate" S504 is a stage in which it is determined whether the object to be dried is being dried adequately based on the acquired temperature drop status information and the stored determination criterion information.

[0129] The "judgment result output step" S505 is a stage in which the judgment result in the drying adequacy judgment step is output.

[0130] <Summary> As described above, the present invention provides a drying system that can determine whether an object to be dried is being dried appropriately based on information on the temperature drop status of the object to be dried obtained from one or more thermal images and stored judgment criteria information, and output the judgment result.

[0131] <Embodiment 2 (mainly corresponding to claim 2)> <Outline of Embodiment 2> This embodiment is based on the first embodiment and is characterized by the inclusion of a judgment criterion information correction unit for correcting the judgment criterion information stored in the judgment criterion information storage unit. To achieve this, a method executed by a CPU in a drying system, which is a computer, and an operating program for the drying system, which is written in a readable and executable manner for the drying system, which is a computer, are provided. Hereinafter, descriptions of the functional configuration, hardware configuration, and processing flow that are the same as those in the first embodiment will be omitted where appropriate.

[0132] <Functional Configuration of Second Embodiment> 6 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of a controller of the drying system in embodiment 2. In this embodiment, a determination criterion information correction unit is provided.

[0133] <Configuration of Second Embodiment: Criteria Information Correction Unit> The "criterion information modification unit" 606 is configured to have a function of modifying the criterion information stored in the criterion information storage unit. Here, the "criterion information" is the same as that described in the criterion information storage unit of the first embodiment.

[0134] Furthermore, referring to the content described in the drying adequacy determination unit of the first embodiment, for example, by comparing matrix A representing temperature contours that are approximately evenly spaced and form a clean elliptical arc with matrix B representing temperature contours derived from a newly acquired thermal image, if the difference is within a predetermined tolerance of error (e.g., ±5%), it is determined that the electrode slurry corresponding to the newly acquired thermal image is in a completely dried state, i.e., that the drying of the object to be dried is being performed appropriately. In this case, it is preferable to compare the temperature contours represented by matrix A with the temperature contours represented by matrix B to determine which has more evenly spaced and more clean elliptical arcs, and if matrix B has more evenly spaced and more clean temperature contours than matrix A used as the determination reference information, then matrix B is replaced as the new determination reference information, i.e., "the determination reference information is corrected."

[0135] Furthermore, based on the content described in the drying adequacy determination unit of embodiment 1, for example, the similarity between the matrix A and the matrix B is calculated, and if the calculation result is higher than a predetermined threshold (for example, 95% or more), it is determined that the electrode slurry is in a completely dried state, i.e., that the drying of the object to be dried is being performed appropriately. In this case, it is preferable to compare the temperature contour lines represented by matrix A with the temperature contour lines represented by matrix B to determine which has more uniform intervals and a neater elliptical arc shape, and if matrix B has more uniform intervals and depicts neater temperature contour lines than matrix A used as the determination criterion information, then matrix B is replaced as new determination criterion information, i.e., the determination criterion information is corrected.

[0136] <Embodiment 2: Drying System Controller: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0137] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 701 that performs various arithmetic processes, and a "main memory" 702. Further, it includes a "non-volatile memory" 703 that holds predetermined information, and a "network I / F (Interface)" 704 that transmits and receives information to and from a thermal imaging device 706 and a conveyor drying furnace 707. And they are mutually connected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 705 to transmit, receive, and process information.

[0138] Here, the "main memory" reads out a program for causing the "CPU" to execute various processes, and at the same time provides a work area that is also a work area for the program. Also, a plurality of addresses are respectively assigned to this "main memory" and "non-volatile memory", and the programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data with each other and perform processing by specifying and accessing those addresses. In the present embodiment, the program stored in the "main memory" is a judgment criterion information correction program or the like. Further, thermal image information, temperature drop situation information, judgment criterion information, judgment results, judgment criterion information correction information, etc. are stored in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0139] The "CPU" executes the judgment criterion information correction program stored in the "main memory" to correct the held judgment criterion information, and stores it in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0140] <Embodiment 2 Controller of Drying System: Flow of Processing> FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment is used. As shown in the figure, it is a processing method consisting of a judgment criterion information correction step S801.

[0141] The "judgment criterion information correction step" S801 is a stage of correcting the held judgment criterion information.

[0142] <Summary> As described above, the present invention can provide a drying system that is capable of correcting the retained criteria information.

[0143] <Embodiment 3 (mainly corresponding to claim 3)> <Outline of Embodiment 3> This embodiment is based on Embodiments 1 and 2, and is characterized in that it further includes a conveying and drying oven that is equipped with a heating unit for heating and that conveys and dries the objects to be dried using a continuous conveying device, and the thermal image acquisition unit is installed on the outlet side of the conveying and drying oven in an area where the temperature of the objects to be dried decreases. Hereinafter, descriptions of the functional configuration, hardware configuration, and processing flow that are the same as those of Embodiments 1 and 2 will be omitted as appropriate.

[0144] <Functional Configuration of Third Embodiment> 9 is a diagram showing the main configuration of a drying system according to embodiment 3. This embodiment further includes a conveying and drying furnace that includes a heating unit for heating and conveys and dries the objects to be dried using a continuous conveying device, and the thermal image acquisition unit is installed on the outlet side of the conveying and drying furnace in an area where the temperature of the objects to be dried decreases.

[0145] <Embodiment 3: Description of Configuration: Conveying Drying Furnace> The "transport drying furnace" 901 is equipped with a heating section 902 for heating, and is configured to have the function of transporting and drying an object 904 to be dried by a continuous transport device 903. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the heating unit 902 may be configured to arrange a plurality of hot air dryers for heating and drying by hot air along the conveyance direction. Further, for example, the heating unit 902 may be configured to arrange a plurality of laser devices for heating and drying by laser light along the conveyance direction. Further, for example, the heating unit 902 may be configured to arrange a plurality of infrared heaters for heating and drying by infrared rays along the conveyance direction. Furthermore, a plurality of hot air dryers for heating and drying by hot air, a plurality of laser devices for heating and drying by laser light, and an infrared heater for heating and drying by infrared rays may be arbitrarily combined and arranged along the conveyance direction. In FIG. 9, an example is shown in which a plurality of hot air dryers for heating and drying by hot air are provided on the upper surface side of the object to be dried. Similarly, a plurality of hot air dryers for heating and drying by hot air may be provided on the lower surface side of the object to be dried, and the plurality of hot air dryers may be arranged so as to sandwich the object from both sides for heating and drying. Similarly, a plurality of laser devices for heating and drying by laser light may be provided on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the object to be dried, respectively, and the plurality of laser devices may be arranged so as to sandwich the object from both sides for heating and drying. Similarly, a plurality of infrared heaters for heating and drying by infrared rays may be provided on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the object to be dried, respectively, and the plurality of infrared heaters may be arranged so as to sandwich the object from both sides for heating and drying. Furthermore, a combination of a plurality of hot air dryers for heating and drying by hot air, a plurality of laser devices for heating and drying by laser light, and an infrared heater for heating and drying by infrared rays may be provided on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the object to be dried, respectively, and arranged so as to sandwich the object from both sides for heating and drying.

[0146] <Embodiment 3 Description of Configuration: Thermal Image Acquisition Unit> The "thermal image acquisition unit" 905 is configured to be installed on the exit side of the transport drying oven 901 in an area where the temperature of the object to be dried 904 placed on the continuous conveying device 903 drops. In the present invention, for example, the thermal image acquisition unit 905 is preferably installed in the temperature drop area up to 1 m from the exit of the transport drying oven 901. This is because, based on actual experimental results of the drying system, when the thermal image acquisition unit is installed more than 1 m away from the exit of the transport drying oven, the temperature of the object to be dried becomes uniform as it moves farther away from the exit of the transport drying oven. In other words, the acquired thermal image data cannot accurately represent the surface temperature distribution of the object to be dried.

[0147] <Summary> From the above, the present invention can provide a drying system that is equipped with a heating section for heating and further includes a transporting drying furnace that transports and dries the object to be dried using a continuous conveying device, and the thermal image acquisition section is installed on the exit side of the transporting drying furnace in an area where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases.

[0148] <Embodiment 4 (mainly corresponding to claim 4)> <Outline of Embodiment 4> This embodiment is based on Embodiments 1 to 3 and is characterized by including a drying result information storage unit for storing drying result information, which is information that associates the judgment result output by the judgment result output unit with drying target identification information for identifying the drying target on which the judgment was made and / or drying target part identification information for identifying the part of the drying target. To achieve this, the present invention provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, and an operating program for the drying system that is written in a readable and executable manner for the drying system that is a computer. Hereinafter, descriptions of the functional configuration, hardware configuration, and processing flow that are the same as those of Embodiments 1 to 3 will be omitted as appropriate.

[0149] <Functional Configuration of Fourth Embodiment> 10 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of a controller of the drying system in embodiment 4. In this embodiment, a drying result information storage unit is provided.

[0150] <Embodiment 4 Explanation of Configuration: Drying Result Information Retention Unit> The "drying result information retention unit" 1006 is configured to have a function of retaining drying result information, which is information associating the determination result output by the determination result output unit with drying object identification information for identifying the drying object for which the determination was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the drying object. Here, the "determination result output unit" is the same as that described in Embodiment 1. Also, the "drying object identification information" may be, for example, identification information for grasping the entire drying object as one and uniquely identifying it. For example, it may be information consisting of a total of 12 digits and composed of alphanumeric characters or the like. This 12-digit information may be configured to include, for example, manufacturing factory identification information, manufacturing line identification information, manufacturing date and time identification information, and the like. Also, the "drying object part identification information" may be, for example, identification information for grasping one part obtained by dividing the drying object every 1 m as one and uniquely identifying that part. For example, it may be information consisting of a total of 15 digits and composed of alphanumeric characters or the like. In particular, the lower 3 digits of the 15-digit information may be used to represent the parts of the drying object in order from the beginning with numbers from 0 to 999 so that they can be distinguished. Note that the upper 12 digits of the 15-digit information may be configured to be used as the above "drying object identification information". Also, if the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device is set to, for example, 1 m per minute for conveyance, it is possible to obtain information on what meter part the drying object is from the beginning, that is, from zero meters, by calculating from the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device and the clock signal from the clock circuit provided inside the controller. Such information may be used as the "drying object part identification information".

[0151] <Embodiment 4 Controller of Drying System: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0152] 11 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment. As shown in this diagram, the controller of the drying system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 1101 that performs various arithmetic processing, and a "main memory" 1102. It also includes a "non-volatile memory" 1103 that stores predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 1106, and a "network I / F (interface)" 1104 that transmits and receives information to and from a transport drying oven 1107. These components are interconnected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 1105, and perform information transmission and reception and processing.

[0153] The "main memory" here reads out programs that perform various processes to be executed by the "CPU," and also provides a work area for the programs. The "main memory" and "non-volatile memory" are each assigned multiple addresses, and programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data and perform processing by identifying and accessing these addresses. In this embodiment, the program stored in the "main memory" is a drying result information storage program, etc. The "main memory" and "non-volatile memory" also store thermal image information, temperature drop status information, judgment criteria information, judgment results, drying object identification information, drying object part identification information, drying result information, etc.

[0154] The "CPU" executes the drying result information retention program stored in the "main memory" to retain drying result information, which is information that associates the output judgment result with drying object identification information for identifying the drying object for which the judgment was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying the part of the drying object, and stores the drying object identification information, drying object part identification information and drying result information in the "main memory" or the "non-volatile memory."

[0155] <Embodiment 4: Drying System Controller: Process Flow> 12 is a diagram showing a processing flow when the controller of the drying system in this embodiment is used. As shown in the diagram, this is a processing method including a drying result information holding step S1201.

[0156] The "drying result information retention step" S1201 is a step of retaining drying result information, which is information that associates the judgment result output in the judgment result output step with drying object identification information for identifying the drying object for which the judgment was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the drying object.

[0157] <Summary> As described above, the present invention can provide a drying system capable of retaining drying result information, which is information that associates the judgment result output by the judgment result output unit with drying object identification information for identifying the drying object on which the judgment was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the drying object.

[0158] <Fifth Embodiment (mainly corresponding to claim 5)> <Outline of Embodiment 5> This embodiment is based on Embodiments 1 to 4 and is characterized by including a heating control unit for controlling the heating unit based on the judgment result output by the judgment result output unit. To achieve this, a method executed by a CPU in a drying system, which is a computer, and an operating program for the drying system, which is written in a readable and executable manner for the drying system, which is a computer, are provided. Hereinafter, descriptions of the functional configuration, hardware configuration, and processing flow that are the same as those in Embodiments 1 to 4 will be omitted where appropriate.

[0159] <Functional Configuration of Fifth Embodiment> FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a controller of the drying system according to Embodiment 5. In the present embodiment, in addition to the thermal image acquisition unit, the temperature decrease situation information acquisition unit, the determination criterion information holding unit, the drying appropriateness determination unit, and the determination result output unit already described in Embodiment 1, a heating control unit is newly provided in the controller 1300. Note that the controller 1300 in FIG. 13 corresponds to the controller 4402 in FIG. 44, and the heating control unit 1306 in FIG. 13 also exists in the controller 4402 in FIG. 44. The present embodiment will be described on the premise of this.

[0160] <Explanation of Configuration in Embodiment 5: Heating Control Unit> The "heating control unit" 1306 is configured to have a function of controlling the heating unit based on the determination result output by the determination result output unit. For example, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 44, the transport drying furnace 4403 (901) includes a heating unit 902 inside. In this example, it is assumed that a hot air dryer that blows hot air onto the object to be dried for heating and drying is used. Further, the heating control unit 1306 in the controller 4402 can measure the temperature inside the transport drying furnace 4403 using the thermocouple 4406 and is configured to be able to monitor it constantly. In such a case, when the output determination result is affirmative, that is, when the object to be dried 4405 is in a completely dried state, the heating control unit 1306 in the controller 4402 sends a control signal (for example, including heating control information, etc.) to the heating unit of the transport drying furnace 4403 via the control signal line 4407 so as to maintain the operation of the heating unit of the transport drying furnace 4403. In response to this control signal, the heating unit of the transport drying furnace 4403 maintains the heating operation on the object to be dried 4405 as it is.

[0161] On the other hand, for example, when the output judgment result is negative, that is, when the object to be dried 4405 is not yet dried, the heating control unit 1306 in the controller 4402 sends a control signal to the heating unit of the transporting drying oven 4403 via the control signal line 4407 so as to increase the operation of the heating unit of the transporting drying oven 4403. For example, the temperature inside the transporting drying oven 4403 is increased by increasing the temperature of the hot air itself from the heating unit, or by increasing the air speed and / or air volume of the hot air.

[0162] Furthermore, even if the output judgment result is affirmative, i.e., the object 4405 to be dried is completely dry, if a defect such as a crack is found on the surface of the object 4405 to be dried, the heating control unit 1306 in the controller 4402 may suspect overheating. In such a case, the heating control unit 1306 sends a control signal to the heating unit of the transporting drying oven 4403 via the control signal line 4407 to slightly weaken the operation of the heating unit of the transporting drying oven 4403. For example, the temperature of the hot air itself from the heating unit may be slightly lowered, or the speed and / or volume of the hot air may be slightly reduced, thereby lowering the temperature inside the transporting drying oven 4403.

[0163] The heating unit may be configured as a hot air dryer as described above, a laser device that heats and dries using a laser beam, an infrared heater that heats and dries using infrared rays, or any combination of these devices. Basically, as with the hot air dryer described above, any device may be used as long as it is configured to control the operation of the heating unit based on the output judgment result. As described above, it is important that the heating control unit is configured so as to be able to appropriately control the operation of the heating unit of the transport drying furnace in real time based on the output determination result.

[0164] <Embodiment 5: Drying System Controller: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0165] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 1401 that performs various arithmetic processes and a "main memory" 1402. Further, it includes a "non-volatile memory" 1403 that holds predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 1406, and a "network I / F (Interface)" 1404 that transmits and receives information to and from a conveyance drying furnace 1407. And they are mutually connected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 1405 to transmit, receive, and process information.

[0166] Here, the "main memory" reads out a program for causing the "CPU" to execute various processes and at the same time provides a work area that is also a work area for the program. Also, a plurality of addresses are respectively assigned to this "main memory" and "non-volatile memory", and the programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data with each other and perform processes by specifying and accessing those addresses. In the present embodiment, the program stored in the "main memory" is a heating control program or the like. Further, thermal image information, temperature drop situation information, judgment criterion information, judgment results, heating control information, etc. are stored in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0167] The "CPU" executes the heating control program stored in the "main memory", controls the heating unit based on the output judgment result, and stores the heating control information in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0168] <Embodiment 5 Controller of Drying System: Flow of Processing> FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment is used. As shown in the figure, it is a processing method consisting of a heating control step S1501.

[0169] The "heating control step" S1501 is a step of controlling the heating unit based on the determination result information output by the determination result output unit.

[0170] <Summary> As described above, the present invention can provide a drying system capable of controlling the heating unit based on the determination result output by the determination result output unit.

[0171] <Embodiment 6 (mainly corresponding to claim 6)> <Outline of Embodiment 6> This embodiment is based on Embodiments 1 to 5, and further includes a verification result acquisition unit that acquires a verification result, which is information indicating whether the determination result output by the determination result output unit is appropriate. The determination criterion information correction unit is characterized by including verification-dependent determination criterion information correction means for correcting the determination criterion information so that the determination result becomes a more appropriate determination result based on the verification result acquired by the verification result acquisition unit. Also, to realize this, a method executed by the CPU in a drying system that is a computer, and an operation program of the drying system described so as to be readable and executable by a computer are provided. Hereinafter, the same functional configurations, hardware configurations, and processing flows as those in Embodiments 1 to 5 will be omitted as appropriate.

[0172] <Functional Configuration of Embodiment 6> FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller of the drying system in Embodiment 6. In this embodiment, it includes a verification result acquisition unit and verification-dependent determination criterion information correction means.

[0173] <Explanation of the Configuration of Embodiment 6: Verification Result Acquisition Unit> The "verification result acquisition unit" 1606 is configured to have a function of acquiring a verification result, which is information indicating whether the determination result output by the determination result output unit is appropriate. For example, by periodically calibrating a measuring instrument such as a thermal imaging device, accurate measurement values can be obtained. As a result, it becomes possible to acquire verification results, which are information indicating whether the judgment result is appropriate, that is, information regarding calibration. Also, by checking the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, wind speed, etc.) during measurement by a measuring instrument such as a thermal imaging device and keeping the measurement conditions constant, accurate measurement values can be obtained. As a result, it becomes possible to acquire verification results, which are information indicating whether the judgment result is appropriate, that is, information regarding the measurement conditions. Further, by comparing the temperature contour lines measured under different measuring instruments such as different thermal imaging devices and different measurement conditions for the same measurement object (the electrode slurry which is the object to be dried in the present invention), the reliability of the measurement values can be confirmed. As a result, it becomes possible to acquire verification results, which are information indicating whether the judgment result is appropriate, that is, information regarding the comparison results between different measuring instruments and the comparison results under different measurement conditions. Also, by using analysis software to analyze the shape and distribution of the temperature contour lines, the reliability of the measurement values can be confirmed. As a result, it becomes possible to acquire verification results, which are information indicating whether the judgment result is appropriate, that is, the analysis results of the shape and distribution of the temperature contour lines.

[0174] <Embodiment 6 Description of Configuration: Verification-Dependent Judgment Criterion Information Modifying Means> The "verification-dependent judgment criterion information modifying means" 1608 is configured to have a function of modifying the judgment criterion information so that the judgment result becomes a more appropriate judgment result based on the verification result acquired by the verification result acquisition unit.

[0175] For example, by referring to the content described in the second embodiment, matrix A representing temperature contours that are drawn in a neat elliptical arc shape with approximately uniform intervals based on the acquired verification results is compared with matrix B representing temperature contours derived from a newly acquired thermal image. If the difference is within a predetermined tolerance (e.g., ±5%), it is determined that the electrode slurry corresponding to the newly acquired thermal image is in a completely dried state, i.e., that the drying of the object to be dried is being performed appropriately. In this case, the temperature contours represented by matrix A and the temperature contours represented by matrix B are compared to determine which has more uniform intervals and a neater elliptical arc shape. If matrix B draws temperature contours that are more uniformly spaced and a neater elliptical arc shape than matrix A used as the judgment reference information, matrix B is replaced as the new judgment reference information, i.e., the judgment reference information is modified to obtain a more appropriate judgment result.

[0176] Furthermore, for example, by referring to the content described in the second embodiment, the similarity between the matrix A and the matrix B is calculated based on the acquired verification results, and if the calculation result is higher than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 95% or more), it is determined that the electrode slurry is in a completely dried state, i.e., that the drying of the object to be dried is being performed appropriately. In this case, the temperature contour lines represented by matrix A and the temperature contour lines represented by matrix B are compared to determine which has more uniform intervals and a neater elliptical arc shape, and if matrix B draws temperature contour lines that are more uniformly spaced and neater elliptical arcs than matrix A used as the judgment criterion information, matrix B is replaced as new judgment criterion information, that is, it is preferable to be configured to "modify the judgment criterion information so that the judgment result becomes a more appropriate judgment result."

[0177] <Embodiment 6: Drying System Controller: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0178] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the controller of the drying system according to the present embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 1701 that performs various arithmetic processes and a "main memory" 1702. Further, it includes a "non-volatile memory" 1703 that holds predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 1706, and a "network I / F (Interface)" 1704 that transmits and receives information to and from a conveyance drying furnace 1707. And they are mutually connected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 1705 to transmit, receive, and process information.

[0179] Here, the "main memory" reads out a program for causing the "CPU" to execute various processes, and at the same time provides a work area that is also a work area for that program. Further, a plurality of addresses are respectively assigned to this "main memory" and "non-volatile memory", and programs executed by the "CPU" perform data exchange with each other by specifying and accessing those addresses, making it possible to perform processing. In the present embodiment, the programs stored in the "main memory" are a verification result program, a verification-dependent judgment criterion information correction subprogram, and the like. Further, thermal image information, temperature drop situation information, judgment criterion information, judgment results, verification results, verification-dependent judgment criterion information correction information, etc. are stored in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0180] The "CPU" executes the verification result program stored in the "main memory" to obtain a verification result, which is information indicating whether the output judgment result is appropriate, and stores the verification result in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory". Further, the "CPU" executes the verification-dependent judgment criterion information correction subprogram stored in the "main memory", corrects the judgment criterion information so that the judgment result becomes a more appropriate judgment result based on the obtained verification result, and stores the verification-dependent judgment criterion information correction information in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0181] <Embodiment 6 Controller of Drying System: Flow of Processing> Figure 18 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment is used. As shown in the figure, it is a processing method including a verification result acquisition step S1801 and a verification dependency determination criterion information correction sub-step S1802.

[0182] The "verification result acquisition step" S1801 is a stage of acquiring a verification result which is information indicating whether the output determination result is appropriate.

[0183] The "verification dependency determination criterion information correction sub-step" S1802 is a stage of correcting the determination criterion information so that the determination result becomes a more appropriate determination result based on the acquired verification result.

[0184] <Summary> As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to provide a drying system capable of acquiring a verification result which is information indicating whether the output determination result is appropriate, and correcting the determination criterion information so that the determination result becomes a more appropriate determination result based on the acquired verification result.

[0185] <Embodiment 7 (mainly corresponding to claim 7)> <Outline of Embodiment 7> This embodiment is characterized in that, based on the determination result output by the determination result output unit, on the basis of Embodiments 1 to 6, it is provided with an alarm notification unit for notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried. Further, in order to realize this, a method executed by the CPU in the drying system which is a computer, and an operation program of the drying system described so as to be readable and executable by the computer are provided. Hereinafter, the same functional configurations, hardware configurations, and processing flows as those in Embodiments 1 to 6 will be omitted from the description as appropriate.

[0186] <Functional Configuration of Embodiment 7> Figure 19 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller of the drying system in Embodiment 7. In this embodiment, an alarm notification unit is provided.

[0187] <Embodiment 7: Description of Configuration: Alarm Notification Unit> The 'alarm notification unit' 1906 is configured to have a function of issuing an alarm to the effect that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, based on the determination result output by the determination result output unit. For example, as described in the first embodiment, the judgment result is expressed as information indicating whether the object to be dried has been properly dried, i.e., whether the electrode slurry is completely dried or not. That is, if the electrode slurry is completely dried, it may be expressed as, for example, "True: 1," and if the electrode slurry is not dried, it may be expressed as, for example, "False: 0." The alarm notification unit 1906 is preferably configured to issue an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, based on, for example, information such as "False: 0," which indicates that the electrode slurry, which is the object to be dried, is not yet dried. FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the drying system of the present invention. As shown in this figure, a patrol lamp 4408 is used as an example of an "alarm means" and may be configured to alert people near the drying system by rotating a red light and sounding a loud sound such as a siren or buzzer, indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried. Furthermore, a patrol lamp may be similarly installed in a monitoring room or other surveillance room for monitoring the entire lithium-ion battery manufacturing process, including the drying system, and configured to issue an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried to people monitoring the production line by rotating a red light and sounding a loud sound such as a siren or buzzer. As an example of the "alarm means," an LED lamp capable of emitting rainbow colors may be used, and when the object to be dried is completely dry and there is no problem, it may emit blue or green light; when the object to be dried is not yet dry, that is, when an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, it may emit and flash red light repeatedly to indicate an alarm to that effect, and may also emit a loud sound such as a siren / buzzer to alert people near the drying system or people in a monitoring room or surveillance room. Furthermore, as an example of the "alert means," for example, a portable tablet terminal (synonymous with the tablet-type personal computer described below; the same applies below) or smartphone may be used to display an alarm indicating that the object to be dried is not yet dried, i.e., if an abnormality occurs in the object to be dried, an alarm such as "Abnormality has occurred!" is repeatedly displayed on the screen via wireless communication means (for example, wireless communication lines such as WiFi (registered trademark) or 4G / 5G) on a portable tablet terminal or smartphone owned by people near the drying system or in a monitor or surveillance room, and the alarm may be alerted by a loud sound from a speaker on the tablet terminal or smartphone or by strong vibrations from a vibrator.

[0188] <Embodiment 7: Drying System Controller: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0189] Fig. 20 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment. As shown in this diagram, the controller of the drying system in this embodiment is equipped with a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 2001 that performs various arithmetic processing, and a "main memory" 2002. It also has a "non-volatile memory" 2003 that stores predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 2006, and a "network I / F (interface)" 2004 that transmits and receives information to and from a transport drying oven 2007. These components are interconnected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 2005, and perform the transmission and reception of information and processing.

[0190] Here, the "main memory" reads out programs that perform various processes to be executed by the "CPU," and also provides a work area for the programs. The "main memory" and "non-volatile memory" are each assigned multiple addresses, and programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data and perform processing by identifying and accessing these addresses. In this embodiment, the program stored in the "main memory" is an alarm notification program, etc. The "main memory" and "non-volatile memory" also store thermal image information, temperature drop status information, judgment criteria information, judgment results, alarm notification information, etc.

[0191] The "CPU" executes the alarm notification program stored in the "main memory" and, based on the output judgment result, issues an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, and stores the alarm notification information in the "main memory" or the "non-volatile memory."

[0192] <Embodiment 7: Drying System Controller: Process Flow> 21 is a diagram showing a processing flow when the controller of the drying system in this embodiment is used. As shown in the diagram, this is a processing method including an alarm notification step S2101.

[0193] The "alarm issuing step" S2101 is a step of issuing an alarm to the effect that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the outputted determination result.

[0194] <Summary> As described above, the present invention can provide a drying system that can issue an alarm to notify the user that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the output judgment result.

[0195] <Embodiment 8 (corresponding mainly to claim 8)> <Outline of Embodiment 8> This embodiment is based on Embodiments 1 to 7, and in the drying result information holding unit, there is provided an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means for acquiring abnormal occurrence position information which is information for specifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the drying result information, and an abnormal occurrence position information holding means for holding the abnormal occurrence position information acquired by the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means. Further, to realize this, there is provided a method executed by the CPU in a drying system which is a computer, and an operation program of the drying system described in a computer-readable and executable manner for the drying system which is a computer. Hereinafter, the same functional configurations, hardware configurations, and processing flows as those in Embodiments 1 to 7 will be omitted as appropriate.

[0196] <Embodiment 8 Functional Configuration> FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller of the drying system in Embodiment 8. In this embodiment, the drying result information holding unit includes an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means and an abnormal occurrence position information holding means.

[0197] <Explanation of Configuration in Embodiment 8: Abnormal Occurrence Position Information Acquisition Means> The "abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means" 2202 is configured to have a function of acquiring abnormal occurrence position information which is information for specifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the drying result information. For example, as described in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 4, if the output determination result is negative, it indicates that the object to be dried is in an undried state, that is, information indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried. And the "abnormal occurrence position information", which is information for specifying the position where this abnormality has occurred, can use, for example, the above-mentioned "object to be dried identification information" or / and "object to be dried part identification information", and it may be configured to acquire those information. Also, if the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device is set to be conveyed at, for example, 1 m per minute, by calculating from the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device and the clock signal from the clock signal circuit provided inside the controller, it is possible to obtain the position information of the first position of the object to be dried, that is, at what meter position from zero meter. Such position information may be configured to be acquired as the above-mentioned "abnormal occurrence position information".

[0198] <Embodiment 8 Description of Configuration: Abnormal Occurrence Position Information Holding Means> The "abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means" 2203 is configured to have a function of holding the abnormal occurrence position information acquired by the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means. For example, as described above, when using the "object to be dried identification information" or / and "object to be dried part identification information" as the abnormal occurrence position information, it may be configured to hold the object to be dried identification information or / and the object to be dried part identification information. Also, if the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device is set to be conveyed at, for example, 1 m per minute, by calculating from the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device and the clock signal from the clock signal circuit provided inside the controller, it is possible to obtain the position information of the first position of the object to be dried, that is, at what meter position from zero meter. It may be configured to hold such position information as the above-mentioned "abnormal occurrence position information".

[0199] FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the drying system in the present invention. As shown in this figure, it is also possible to configure the controller 4402 to cause the information terminal 4409 (including, but not limited to, a desktop personal computer, a notebook personal computer, a tablet personal computer, a smartphone, etc.) to acquire and hold the abnormal occurrence position information in association with the drying result information. In such an information terminal 4409, the drying result information and the abnormal occurrence position information may be presented in a table format or a graph format on the display screen. In addition to the two pieces of information of the drying result information and the abnormal occurrence position information, other information such as the temperature inside the conveyance drying furnace, the operation status of the heating unit (for example, when a hot air dryer is used, the temperature, wind speed, air volume, etc. of the hot air itself are included, but not limited to this), external environmental conditions (for example, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind speed, etc. are included, but not limited to this), and information such as the viscosity of the slurry and the thickness of the coating film detected using sensors (not shown) may also be configured to be transmitted from the controller 4402 to the information terminal 4409. Further, a "CSV format data output unit" for outputting this information as CSV format data may be provided in the controller 4402. In the information terminal 4409, these CSV format data are received, statistical processing, etc. are performed, and information such as when and in what situation an abnormality occurred, or what are the information indicating the operation status of the heating unit and the external environmental conditions of the conveyance drying furnace where an abnormality is likely to occur can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner. Further, a large amount of such information may be accumulated, and by analyzing / analyzing these information, it may be configured to accumulate information on know-how such as how to control the entire drying system to reduce the occurrence of abnormalities.

[0200] In addition, for example, "marking application means" for applying marking to the edge portion of a base material (metal foil) on which the slurry of the electrode slurry to be dried is not coated based on the held abnormal occurrence position information may be provided in the drying result information holding unit. For example, marking such as notches or holes may be applied to the edge portion of the base material on which the slurry is not coated using a mechanical instrument such as a cutter. Also, for example, marking such as notches or holes may be applied to the edge portion of the base material on which the slurry is not coated using an optical device such as a laser beam. By providing such "marking application means" and applying marking to the edge portion of the base material on which the slurry is not coated, it may be configured such that it can be immediately understood at which position (portion) of the electrode slurry to be dried an abnormality has occurred from the video / image from a monitoring camera monitoring the production line or by visual inspection by a person.

[0201] <Embodiment 8 Controller of Drying System: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0202] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the controller of the drying system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 2301 that performs various arithmetic processes and a "main memory" 2302. It also includes a "non-volatile memory" 2303 that holds predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 2306, and a "network I / F (Interface)" 2304 that performs information transmission and reception with a conveying drying furnace 2307. And they are interconnected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 2305 to perform information transmission, reception, and processing.

[0203] Here, the "main memory" reads out a program for performing various processes to be executed by the "CPU" and at the same time provides a work area that is also the working area of the program. Also, a plurality of addresses are respectively assigned to this "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory", and the programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data with each other and perform processing by specifying and accessing those addresses. In the present embodiment, the programs stored in the "main memory" are an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition subprogram, an abnormal occurrence position information holding subprogram, and the like. Further, thermal image information, temperature decrease situation information, determination criterion information, determination results, drying object identification information, drying object part identification information, drying result information, abnormal occurrence position information, etc. are stored in the "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory".

[0204] The "CPU" executes the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition subprogram stored in the "main memory" to acquire abnormal occurrence position information, which is information for specifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the drying object based on the drying result information. Also, the "CPU" executes the abnormal occurrence position information holding subprogram stored in the "main memory" to hold the abnormal occurrence position information acquired by the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition subprogram and store the abnormal occurrence position information in the "main memory" or the "non-volatile memory".

[0205] <Embodiment 8 Controller of Drying System: Flow of Processing> FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment is used. As shown in the figure, it is a processing method consisting of an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition sub-step S2401 and an abnormal occurrence position information holding sub-step S2402.

[0206] The "abnormal occurrence position information acquisition sub-step" S2401 is a stage of acquiring abnormal occurrence position information, which is information for specifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the drying object based on the drying result information.

[0207] The "abnormality occurrence location information storing sub-step" S2402 is a stage for storing the abnormality occurrence location information acquired in the abnormality occurrence location information acquiring sub-step.

[0208] <Summary> As described above, the present invention can provide a drying system that can acquire abnormality occurrence location information, which is information for identifying the location where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, based on drying result information, and can retain the acquired abnormality occurrence location information.

[0209] <Embodiment 9 (mainly corresponding to claim 9)> <Overview of Embodiment 9> This embodiment is based on the first to eighth embodiments and is characterized in that it includes an area extraction unit that extracts a specific area from one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit, and the one or more specific area thermal images extracted by the area extraction unit are input to the temperature drop status information acquisition unit. To achieve this, the present invention provides a method executed by a CPU in a drying system, which is a computer, and an operating program for the drying system, which is written in a readable and executable manner for the drying system, which is a computer. Hereinafter, descriptions of the functional configuration, hardware configuration, and processing flow that are the same as those of the first to eighth embodiments will be omitted as appropriate.

[0210] <Functional Configuration of Embodiment 9> 25 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of a controller of a drying system in embodiment 9. In this embodiment, an area extraction unit is provided.

[0211] <Embodiment 9: Description of Configuration: Area Extraction Unit> The "area extraction unit" 2506 is configured to have the function of extracting a specific area from one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit, and inputting the extracted one or more specific area thermal images to the temperature drop status information acquisition unit. For example, FIG. 46 is a diagram showing an example of area extraction of a drying system according to the present invention. As shown in this figure, it is preferably configured to extract a specific area, that is, a part of the object to be dried, from one or more thermal images. For example, specifically, it is preferably configured to extract only the slurry coating part which is a part of the electrode slurry. This is because parts other than the slurry coating part are made of metal foil as the base material and have the property of a mirror surface, so the temperature value fluctuates greatly due to external factors and should be excluded from the target. As a drying system, heating and drying the part where the slurry is coated on the metal foil of the base material is an important part in the manufacturing process of lithium-ion batteries. Therefore, it is required to be configured to extract only a specific area (region) corresponding to the slurry coating part.

[0212] For example, in the positive electrode of a lithium-ion battery, a slurry which is a suspension obtained by kneading a positive electrode active material (for example, NCM: lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide, etc.) directly involved in the insertion and extraction of lithium ions, a binder (for example, PVdF: polyvinylidene fluoride, etc.) for binding the electrode material to the metal foil, a conductive assistant (for example, acetylene black, etc.) for enhancing the conductivity in the electrode, and a dispersion medium (for example, NMP: N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, etc.) for promoting the mixing and stirring of the materials and making the slurry have an appropriate viscosity for coating, is coated on a metal foil (for example, aluminum foil, etc.) serving as the base material. It may be configured to extract a specific area (region) corresponding to this slurry coating part. Also, for example, in the negative electrode of a lithium-ion battery, a slurry which is a suspension obtained by kneading a negative electrode active material (for example, graphite, etc.) directly involved in the insertion and extraction of lithium ions, a binder (for example, SBR: styrene / butadiene rubber, etc.) for binding the electrode material to the metal foil, a conductive assistant (for example, acetylene black, etc.) for enhancing the conductivity in the electrode, and a dispersion medium (for example, water, etc.) for promoting the mixing and stirring of the materials and making the slurry have an appropriate viscosity for coating, is coated on a metal foil (for example, copper foil, etc.) serving as the base material. It may be configured to extract a specific area (region) corresponding to this slurry coating part.

[0213] Furthermore, the "area extraction unit" 2506 is configured to input one or more extracted specific area thermal images to the temperature drop status information acquisition unit 2502. In this case, the temperature drop status information acquisition unit 2502 receives one or more specific area thermal images extracted by the area extraction unit 2506 as input and acquires temperature drop status information, which is information indicating the temperature drop status of the object to be dried. Here, the temperature drop status information acquisition unit 2502 is similar to the content described in the first embodiment. In this way, by inputting the specific area thermal image corresponding to the slurry-coated portion to the temperature drop status information acquisition unit, it becomes possible for the temperature drop status information acquisition unit to acquire more accurate temperature drop status information.

[0214] <Embodiment 9: Drying System Controller: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0215] 26 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment. As shown in this diagram, the controller of the drying system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 2601 that performs various arithmetic processing, and a "main memory" 2602. It also includes a "non-volatile memory" 2603 that stores predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 2606, and a "network I / F (interface)" 2604 that transmits and receives information to and from a transport drying oven 2607. These components are interconnected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 2605, and perform information transmission and reception and processing.

[0216] Here, the "main memory" reads out a program for performing various processes to be executed by the "CPU" and at the same time provides a work area that is also a work area for that program. Also, a plurality of addresses are respectively assigned to this "main memory" and "non-volatile memory", and the programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data with each other by specifying and accessing those addresses and perform processing. In the present embodiment, the program stored in the "main memory" is an area extraction program or the like. Further, thermal image information, temperature drop situation information, determination criterion information, determination results, area extraction information, etc. are stored in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0217] The "CPU" executes the area extraction program stored in the "main memory" to extract a specific area from the acquired one or more thermal images, and stores area extraction information (for example, corresponding to the specific area thermal image information on the right side shown in FIG. 46) in the "main memory" or "non-volatile memory".

[0218] <Embodiment 9 Controller of Drying System: Flow of Processing> FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment is used. As shown in the figure, it is a processing method consisting of an area extraction step S2701.

[0219] The "area extraction step" S2701 is a stage of extracting a specific area from the one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit and using the extracted one or more specific area thermal images as the input to the temperature drop situation information acquisition unit.

[0220] <Summary> As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to provide a drying system capable of extracting a specific area from the one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit and using the extracted one or more specific area thermal images as the input to the temperature drop situation information acquisition unit.

[0221] <Embodiment 10 (mainly corresponding to Claim 10)> <Overview of Embodiment 1> This embodiment provides a drying system having a thermal image acquisition unit that acquires one or more thermal images from an object to be dried for which heating for drying has ended, an area extraction unit that extracts a specific area from the one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit, and an artificial intelligence unit that is pre-trained using the one or more specific area thermal images extracted by the area extraction unit as input data and outputs a drying suitability determination result indicating whether the drying of the object to be dried is being appropriately performed. Further, to realize this, a method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, and an operation program of the drying system described in a computer-readable and executable manner are provided.

[0222] <Functional Configuration of Embodiment 10> FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of a controller of the drying system in Embodiment 10. In this embodiment, a thermal image acquisition unit, an area extraction unit, and an artificial intelligence unit are provided.

[0223] <Explanation of Configuration in Embodiment 10: Thermal Image Acquisition Unit> The "thermal image acquisition unit" 2801 is configured to have a function of acquiring one or more thermal images from an object to be dried for which heating for drying has ended. Basically, it is the same as the content described in Embodiment 1.

[0224] <Explanation of Configuration in Embodiment 10: Area Extraction Unit> The "area extraction unit" 2802 is configured to have a function of extracting a specific area from the one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit. Basically, it is the same as the content described in Embodiment 9.

[0225] <Explanation of Configuration in Embodiment 10: Artificial Intelligence Unit> The "artificial intelligence unit" 2803 is configured to have a function of being pre-trained using the one or more specific area thermal images extracted by the area extraction unit as input data and outputting a drying suitability determination result indicating whether the drying of the object to be dried is being appropriately performed.

[0226] Here, artificial intelligence (AI) can mainly be classified into the following four types. (1) Strong AI This refers to AI that has "self-awareness" like humans and can also handle tasks that require all cognitive abilities. (2) Weak AI This refers to AI that can automatically process the given work but cannot handle tasks that have not been pre-programmed. (3) General-purpose AI This refers to artificial intelligence that has the same emotions and thinking as humans. (4) Specialized AI This is AI specialized for specific tasks and can demonstrate abilities beyond those of humans in those tasks. These types are defined by the capabilities and application scopes of AI, such as the degree to which AI can perform self-learning and self-judgment and the degree to which it can imitate human thinking and emotions. Each type of AI is utilized in different applications and fields according to its characteristics. For example, weak AI is generally used for system automation and efficiency improvement, while strong AI and general-purpose AI are utilized in the research and development front-end. Specialized AI is seen to be utilized with a focus on solving specific problems by leveraging its characteristics.

[0227] Among these, examples of specialized AI are as follows. (1) Autonomous driving system Autonomous vehicles are an example of specialized AI. These systems have the ability to recognize other vehicles and pedestrians on the road and drive appropriately according to traffic rules. (2) Speech recognition system Speech recognition systems such as Siri (registered trademark) and Alexa (registered trademark) are also examples of specialized AI. These systems have the ability to convert human speech into text and execute tasks based on it. (3) Image recognition system Image recognition systems have the ability to identify objects and people in images. This is used in various fields such as medical image diagnosis and face recognition. (4) Recommendation system Recommendation systems for services such as Netflix (registered trademark) and Amazon (registered trademark) have the ability to provide personalized recommendations based on a user's past behavior and preferences. These AIs are designed to be specialized for specific tasks and exhibit capabilities beyond those of humans in relation to those tasks. However, they have the limitation that they cannot be applied to other tasks. Each AI is utilized in different applications and fields according to its characteristics.

[0228] The image classification applied in the present invention is most suitable for so-called specialized AIs. An image recognition system, which is a type of specialized AI, has the ability to identify objects and people in images. This is utilized in various fields such as medical image diagnosis and face recognition. Image classification is also included in this category and performs the task of determining to which class a specific image belongs. For example, a system for classifying images of dogs and cats determines whether the input image is an image of a dog or a cat. Such a system is trained using a technique called deep learning and can classify images with high accuracy.

[0229] For example, as an example of image classification, there are the following. (1) Medical image diagnosis In the medical field, image classification AIs are used to analyze medical images such as X-ray images, MRIs, and CT scans to detect abnormal areas and signs of diseases. For example, there are X-ray image classifications for determining the presence of pneumonia and skin lesion image classifications for early detection of skin cancer. (2) Autonomous vehicles In autonomous vehicles, image classification AIs are used to identify objects on the road (other vehicles, pedestrians, traffic lights, etc.) and take appropriate driving actions accordingly. (3) Social media On social media platforms, image classification AIs can understand the content of images posted by users and categorize the images or recommend content relevant to the users based on that. (4) Identification of wild animals The identification of wild animals plays an important role in the protection and research of wild animals. Image classification AI analyzes photos of wild animals and identifies which species of animals are depicted. This helps to track the population of specific species and study the behavior of animals. These examples demonstrate how specialized AI can work with high precision for specific tasks. Each application example makes the most of the capabilities of AI, enabling the efficient execution of tasks that are difficult or time-consuming for humans.

[0230] For example, the following types of data are required for the training of image classification AI. (1) Labeled images The AI will learn through supervised learning. This means that a large amount of image data is required along with labels (or annotations) indicating what each image represents. For example, to train an image classification AI that distinguishes between dogs and cats, images of dogs and cats, as well as labels indicating what each image represents, are needed. (2) Diversity For the AI to understand the diversity of the real world, the training data needs to be diverse. This means collecting images that cover various scenarios, such as different breeds of dogs and cats, images taken in different environments, and images taken from different angles. (3) Quantity Generally, the performance of the AI is proportional to the amount of training data. That is, the more data is used, the more accurate the AI becomes. However, if there is too much data, it may take an extremely long time for training. (4) Quality The quality of the images is also important. In blurred or noisy images, the AI may not be able to learn accurately. Therefore, it is desirable to use high-resolution and clear images. By considering these elements and preparing an appropriate dataset, the performance of the image classification AI can be maximized.

[0231] The labeled image mentioned above refers to an image with some information (label) attached to it. This label is information indicating what the image represents and corresponds to something like the "answer" when AI is learning. For example, when training an image classification AI to distinguish between dogs and cats, each image used as training data is labeled with "dog" or "cat". The AI uses these labeled images for learning and can acquire the ability to determine whether an unknown image is a dog image or a cat image. Thus, labeled images play an important role in AI learning. The label is the "correct answer" for the AI, and based on this, the AI can evaluate whether its prediction is correct or incorrect and improve its own model.

[0232] For example, when an AI learns an incorrect label, it can be corrected by the following procedure. (1) Data confirmation First, check the training data to find the images with incorrect labels. This can be done manually or by using an error detection algorithm by the AI itself. (2) Label correction Once the incorrect label is found, correct it to the correct label. This is usually done manually by humans. (3) Relearning Use the images with the corrected labels to retrain the AI. As a result, the AI will learn the correct labels and its performance will be improved. (4) Evaluation and verification Finally, evaluate the performance of the AI using the test dataset. This is to confirm whether the label correction has contributed to the improvement of the AI's performance. Through these procedures, the AI can overcome the problems caused by incorrect labels and be able to execute tasks with higher accuracy. However, this process requires time and effort, so in the case of a large-scale dataset, especially the label correction work becomes very laborious. Therefore, it can be said that preparing accurate labeled data from the beginning is the best way to maximize the performance of the AI.

[0233] In the present invention, preliminary tests were conducted before applying it to an actual drying system. Figure 47 is a diagram showing an example of a test sample. This is the case where an electrode slurry is coated on two base materials with the same film thickness. Only (A) among them was completely dried, while (B) was heated for 1 minute without being dried. Then, at room temperature, while measuring the thermal image, the temperature change was confirmed. Figure 48 is a diagram showing an example of the change in the degree of dryness and the temperature distribution. In this figure, thermal images are shown approximately every 5 seconds. The upper side is the undried sample (B), and the lower side is the completely dried sample (A), and it can be seen that the change in the temperature distribution over time is significantly different (see Figure 48(a)). Next, for comparison, the same test was conducted on sample (B) in a completely dried state in Figure 48(b). Looking at this, it can be seen that the tendency of the change in the temperature distribution of sample (A) and sample (B) is the same. That is, it can be seen that the change in the temperature distribution (cooling rate) varies depending on the dry state (completely dry state or undried state). Although a white part can be seen in the center of the image after zero seconds in Figure 48(b), this is due to accidental peeling of the electrode and has no significant impact on the preliminary test itself.

[0234] Figure 49 is a diagram showing an example of the actual test results in the drying system of the present invention. Figure 49(a) shows the completely dry state, and Figure 49(b) shows the undried state. This measurement was carried out near the outlet of the conveyor drying furnace, with the upper side being the outlet of the conveyor drying furnace and the conveyance direction being from the upper side to the lower side. The black-framed part in the figure is the specific region thermal image, that is, the slurry-coated part. Comparing these figures, it can be seen that in the completely dry state of Figure 49(a), the temperature distribution is in a nice elliptical arc shape, while in the undried state of Figure 49(b), the temperature distribution is not in an elliptical arc shape and has collapsed. Figure 50 shows an example of a schematic diagram of temperature contours. As shown in this figure, it is clear that the shapes of the temperature contours are significantly different between the completely dried state (a) and the wet state (b). In the completely dried state, the contours are spaced almost evenly and show a beautiful elliptical arc shape, but in the wet state, the contours are spaced unevenly and the elliptical arc shape is significantly distorted.

[0235] In the present invention, in order to classify images into the above-mentioned completely dry state and the not-dried state, we decided to adopt, for example, a "Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)", which is an artificial intelligence (AI) suitable for image recognition, etc. Approximately 5,000 specific area thermal image data (a mixture of specific area thermal images with labels indicating the completely dry state and specific area thermal images with labels indicating the not-dried state) were used as supervised learning data, of which 80% were assigned as training data and 20% as test data for learning. The layer structure of the convolutional neural network (CNN) used in this study is shown in Figure 51. As can be seen from this figure, we decided to adopt a layer structure consisting of six convolutional layers, three pooling layers, and four fully connected layers. Details of each layer of the convolutional neural network (CNN) used in this study are shown in Figure 51. When test data was classified using this convolutional neural network (CNN), an accuracy of over 98% was achieved. In other words, the drying suitability judgment result output from the "artificial intelligence unit" 2803 can now indicate "completely dried (OK): 1" or "not yet dried (NG): 0" with an accuracy of over 98%.

[0236] Here, we will explain about convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Figure 53 shows a diagram of the general layer configuration of a convolutional neural network (CNN). Here, a convolutional neural network (CNN) is obtained by adding a convolutional layer to the fully connected layers of a normal neural network. Since this convolutional layer has information on the magnitude and position of matrix values, it is mainly used for tasks such as image recognition. As shown in this figure, for example, when an image of 32×32 pixels is input to the input layer, an image group of 28×28×20 is generated in the first convolutional layer. Next, an image group of 14×14×20 is generated in the first pooling layer. Next, an image group of 10×10×20 is generated in the second convolutional layer. Next, an image group of 5×5×20 is generated in the second pooling layer. Next, an image group of 3×3×20 is generated in the third convolutional layer. Then, it becomes an image group of 1×1×20 in the fully connected layer, and an image group of 1×1×6 is output in the output layer.

[0237] Figure 54 shows a diagram of an example of a convolutional layer of a convolutional neural network (CNN). Here, separately from the input image data, a matrix (weight matrix) called a kernel such as 2×2 or 3×3 is used. In the convolutional layer, this kernel is moved and applied sequentially from the beginning (generally the upper left) of the input image. Thereby, an image with extracted features is created. The weights of this kernel are updated during the learning process (backpropagation). Here, "backpropagation" is also called the error backpropagation method, which is one of the learning algorithms of neural networks and refers to the currently most mainstream and powerful learning method. This method efficiently calculates the partial derivatives of functions and is used to efficiently perform the learning of neural networks (calculation of the gradient of the loss function).

[0238] Figure 55 shows a diagram of an example of a convolutional layer of a convolutional neural network (CNN). Generally, multiple kernels are used. And the feature image has the number of sheets corresponding to the number of kernels.

[0239] Figure 56 shows an example of a pooling layer in a convolutional neural network (CNN). The pooling layer is responsible for compressing information. Generally, image data is compressed using a method called max pooling. This pooling layer has the effect of making the system less susceptible to small image variations, reducing computational costs, and suppressing overlearning.

[0240] Image data that has passed through the convolutional layer and pooling layer is converted into a one-dimensional vector and passed through a fully connected layer (a so-called neural network). In the present invention, the ReLU function and the Sigmoid function are used as activation functions in the fully connected layer. Fig. 57 is a diagram showing an example of an activation function in a fully connected layer of a convolutional neural network (CNN). The ReLU function shown in Fig. 57 is used in layers other than the final layer. Here, the ReLU function (Rectified Linear Unit) is often used as an activation function for neural networks. This function is very simple; if the value is less than zero, it outputs zero, and if the value is greater than zero, it outputs the calculation result as is (see Figure 57). For this reason, it is also called a ramp function because the graph looks like a slope.

[0241] The ReLU function has the following characteristics: (1) Low computational load The computational load is low because it is a simple function. Deep learning tends to be computationally intensive because it is built with many layers. Therefore, functions with low computational load are preferred. (2) You can make anything below zero zero. If the value is less than zero, it forces the output to zero, making it easy to express neurons that do not fire. This makes it easier to improve accuracy. (3) The gradient vanishing problem is less likely to occur. Using the ReLU function makes it less likely that something called the vanishing gradient problem will occur. When searching for the optimal solution in deep learning, differentiation is performed, the gradient is calculated, and the weights are updated. However, if this gradient approaches zero, the update step becomes too small, and the optimal solution cannot be reached. This is the vanishing gradient problem. The ReLU function prevents the gradient from becoming zero, so it can prevent situations where it becomes impossible to differentiate. This function is an essential element in any deep learning breakthrough and plays a crucial role in significantly improving the accuracy of deep learning.

[0242] Figure 58 is a diagram showing an example of an activation function in the fully connected layer of a convolutional neural network (CNN). The final layer uses the Sigmoid function shown in Figure 58. This function is used for classification because it can effectively express probability. In the present invention, this function is also used to classify completely dry conditions (OK) or not dry conditions (NG). However, due to the high calculation cost, the ReLU function is used in the first stages, and the Sigmoid function is used only in the final stage.

[0243] As described above, it is preferable that the "artificial intelligence unit" 2803 is configured to be able to output drying suitability determination information, i.e., "OK: 1" indicating a completely dried state or "NG: 0" indicating an undried state. In this embodiment, a convolutional neural network (CNN) is used as the artificial intelligence, but it can be replaced with other machine learning or statistical models. Also, in this embodiment, supervised learning is used as the learning method, but unsupervised learning or reinforcement learning can also be applied.

[0244] <Embodiment 10: Drying System Controller: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0245] FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 2901 that performs various arithmetic processes, and a "main memory" 2902. Further, it includes a "non-volatile memory" 2903 that holds predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 2906, and a "network I / F (Interface)" 2904 that transmits and receives information to and from a conveyance drying furnace 2907. And they are mutually connected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 2905 to transmit, receive, and process information.

[0246] Here, the "main memory" reads out a program for causing the "CPU" to execute various processes, and at the same time provides a work area that is also a work area for the program. Further, a plurality of addresses are respectively assigned to this "main memory" and "non-volatile memory", and the programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data with each other and perform processes by specifying and accessing those addresses. In the present embodiment, the programs stored in the "main memory" are a thermal image acquisition program, an area extraction program, an artificial intelligence program, and the like. Further, thermal image information, area extraction information, drying suitability determination information, and the like are stored in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0247] The "CPU" executes the thermal image acquisition program stored in the "main memory" to acquire thermal image information and store it in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory". Further, it executes the area extraction program stored in the "main memory" to extract area extraction information, that is, a specific area thermal image showing the slurry coating portion in the drying object, from the thermal image information, and stores the area extraction information in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory". Further, it executes the artificial intelligence program stored in the "main memory", inputs the area extraction information, that is, the specific area thermal image, and outputs drying suitability determination information, and stores the drying suitability determination information in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0248] <Embodiment 10 Controller of Drying System: Process Flow> FIG. 30 is a diagram showing the process flow when the controller of the drying system in this embodiment is used. As shown in the figure, it is a processing method consisting of a thermal image acquisition step S3001, an area extraction step S3002, and an artificial intelligence step S3003.

[0249] The "thermal image acquisition step" S3001 is a stage of acquiring one or more thermal images from the object to be dried after the heating for drying has ended.

[0250] The "area extraction step" S3002 is a stage of extracting a specific area from the one or more acquired thermal images.

[0251] The "artificial intelligence step" S3003 is a stage of pre-training the one or more extracted specific area thermal images as input data and outputting a drying suitability determination result indicating whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriately performed.

[0252] <Summary> As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to provide a drying system capable of pre-training one or more specific area thermal images extracted from one or more thermal images as input data and outputting a drying suitability determination result indicating whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriately performed.

[0253] <Embodiment 11 (Mainly Corresponding to Claim 11)> <Overview of Embodiment 11> This embodiment is based on Embodiments 1 to 10, further includes a heating unit for heating, and a conveying drying furnace that conveys and dries the object to be dried by a continuous conveying device. The thermal image acquisition unit is installed in an area on the outlet side of the conveying drying furnace where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases. Hereinafter, the same functional configurations, hardware configurations, and process flows as those in Embodiments 1 to 10 will be omitted as appropriate.

[0254] <Functional Configuration of Embodiment 11> FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the main configuration of the drying system in Embodiment 11. In this embodiment, it includes a heating unit for heating, and further has a conveyor drying furnace that conveys and dries an object to be dried by a continuous conveyor device. The thermal image acquisition unit is installed in a region on the outlet side of the conveyor drying furnace where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases.

[0255] <Embodiment 11 Description of Configuration: Conveyor Drying Furnace> The "conveyor drying furnace" 3101 is configured to include a heating unit 3102 for heating and to have a function of conveying and drying an object to be dried 3104 by a continuous conveyor device 3103. The conveyor drying furnace 3101 is basically the same as the content described in Embodiment 3.

[0256] <Embodiment 11 Description of Configuration: Thermal Image Acquisition Unit> The "thermal image acquisition unit" 3105 is configured to be installed in a region on the outlet side of the conveyor drying furnace 3101 where the temperature of the object to be dried 3104 placed on the continuous conveyor device 3103 decreases. In the present invention, for example, the thermal image acquisition unit 3105 is preferably installed in a temperature drop region within 1 m from the outlet of the conveyor drying furnace 3101. This is because, from the actual experimental results of the drying system, when the thermal image acquisition unit is installed more than 1 m away from the outlet of the conveyor drying furnace, as the distance from the outlet of the conveyor drying furnace increases, the temperature of the object to be dried becomes uniform, that is, the surface temperature distribution of the object to be dried cannot be well represented from the acquired thermal image data.

[0257] <Summary> As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to provide a drying system that includes a heating unit for heating, further has a conveyor drying furnace that conveys and dries an object to be dried by a continuous conveyor device, and the thermal image acquisition unit is installed in a region on the outlet side of the conveyor drying furnace where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases.

[0258] <Embodiment 12 (mainly corresponding to claim 12)> <Overview of Embodiment 12> This embodiment is characterized by including a drying result information holding unit that holds drying result information, which is information associating the drying suitability determination result output by the artificial intelligence unit with drying object identification information for identifying the drying object for which the determination was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the drying object. Also, to realize this, a method executed by the CPU in a drying system that is a computer, and an operation program of the drying system described so as to be readable and executable by a computer are provided. Hereinafter, the same functional configurations, hardware configurations, and processing flows as those in Embodiments 1 to 11 will be omitted from the description as appropriate.

[0259] <Embodiment 12 Functional Configuration> FIG. 32 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller of the drying system in Embodiment 12. In this embodiment, a drying result information holding unit is provided.

[0260] <Explanation of Configuration in Embodiment 12: Drying Result Information Holding Unit> The "drying result information holding unit" 3204 is configured to have a function of holding drying result information, which is information associating the drying suitability determination result output by the artificial intelligence unit 3203 with drying object identification information for identifying the drying object for which the determination was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the drying object. Here, the "artificial intelligence unit" is the same as the content described in Embodiment 10. What is output from the artificial intelligence unit is a drying suitability determination result (information represented as "OK" when the drying object is in a completely dried state and "NG" when the drying object is in an undried state). Also, the "drying object identification information" may be, for example, identification information for uniquely identifying the entire drying object as one entity, for example, information consisting of 12 digits in total and composed of alphanumeric characters or the like. This 12-digit information may be configured to include, for example, manufacturing factory identification information, manufacturing line identification information, manufacturing date identification information, and the like. Further, the "drying object part identification information" may be, for example, identification information for uniquely identifying one part obtained by dividing the drying object into parts at every 1 m, and may be information composed of, for example, 15 digits in total and composed of alphanumeric characters or the like. In particular, among the 15-digit information, the lower 3 digits may be used to represent parts of the drying object in order from the beginning with numbers from 0 to 999 so that they can be distinguished. Note that the upper 12 digits among the 15-digit information may be configured to be used as the above "drying object identification information". Also, if the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device is set to, for example, 1 m per minute, it is possible to obtain information on what meter part the drying object is from the beginning, that is, from zero meters, by calculating from the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device and the clock signal from the clock circuit provided inside the controller. Such information may be used as the "drying object part identification information". The "drying result information holding unit" is preferably configured to hold drying result information that is information associating the drying suitability determination result with the drying object identification information for identifying the drying object for which the determination was made and / or the drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the drying object.

[0261] <Embodiment 12 Controller of Drying System: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0262] FIG. 33 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the controller of the drying system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 3301 that performs various arithmetic processes, and a "main memory" 3302. Further, it includes a "non-volatile memory" 3303 that holds predetermined information, a "network I / F (Interface)" 3304 that transmits and receives information to and from a thermal imaging device 3306 and a conveyance drying furnace 3307. And they are mutually connected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 3305 to transmit, receive, and process information.

[0263] Here, the "main memory" reads out a program for performing various processes to be executed by the "CPU", and at the same time provides a work area that is also a work area for the program. In addition, a plurality of addresses are respectively assigned to this "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory", and the programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data with each other by specifying and accessing those addresses, enabling processing to be performed. In the present embodiment, the program stored in the "main memory" is a drying result information holding program or the like. Further, thermal image information, area extraction information, drying suitability determination result, drying object identification information, drying object part identification information, drying result information, etc. are stored in the "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory".

[0264] The "CPU" executes the drying result information holding program stored in the "main memory", holds drying result information which is information associating the output drying suitability determination result with drying object identification information for identifying the drying object for which the determination was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the drying object, and stores the drying suitability determination result, drying object identification information, drying object part identification information, and drying result information in the "main memory" or the "non-volatile memory".

[0265] <Embodiment 12 Controller of Drying System: Flow of Processing> FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment is used. As shown in the figure, it is a processing method consisting of a drying result information holding step S3401.

[0266] The "drying result information holding step" S3401 is a stage of holding drying result information which is information associating the output drying suitability determination result with drying object identification information for identifying the drying object for which the determination was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the drying object.

[0267] <Summary> As described above, the present invention can provide a drying system capable of holding drying result information, which is information associating the output drying suitability determination result with drying object identification information for identifying the drying object for which the determination was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the drying object.

[0268] <Embodiment 13 (mainly corresponding to claim 13)> <Outline of Embodiment 13> This embodiment is characterized in that, based on the embodiments 1 to 12, it is provided with a heating control unit for controlling the heating unit based on the output drying suitability determination result. Further, to realize this, a method executed by the CPU in the drying system which is a computer, and an operation program of the drying system described in a computer-readable and executable manner are provided. Hereinafter, the description of the same functional configurations, hardware configurations, and processing flows as those in Embodiments 1 to 12 will be omitted as appropriate.

[0269] <Functional Configuration of Embodiment 13> FIG. 35 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller of the drying system in Embodiment 13. In this embodiment, in addition to the thermal image acquisition unit, area extraction unit, and artificial intelligence unit already described in Embodiment 10, a new heating control unit is provided in the controller 3500. Note that the controller 3500 in FIG. 35 corresponds to the controller 4402 in FIG. 44, and based on the premise that the heating control unit 3504 in FIG. 35 also exists in the controller 4402 in FIG. 44, this embodiment will be described.

[0270] <Explanation of Configuration in Embodiment 13: Heating Control Unit> As shown in FIG. 35, the "heating control unit" 3504 is configured to have a function of controlling the heating unit based on the drying suitability determination result output by the artificial intelligence unit. The artificial intelligence unit is basically the same as the content described in Embodiment 10. What is output from the artificial intelligence unit is a drying suitability determination result (information represented as "OK: 1" when the object to be dried is in a completely dried state and "NG: 0" when the object to be dried is in an undried state). For example, as shown in FIGS. 31 and 44, the conveyor drying furnace 4403 (3101) is provided with a heating unit 3102 inside. In this example, it is assumed that a hot air dryer that blows hot air onto the object to be dried for heating and drying is used. Also, the heating control unit 3504 in the controller 4402 can measure the temperature inside the conveyor drying furnace 4403 using the thermocouple 4406 and is configured to be able to monitor it constantly. In such a case, when the output drying suitability determination result is "OK: 1", that is, when the object to be dried 4405 is in a completely dried state, the heating control unit 3504 in the controller 4402 sends a control signal (for example, including heating control information, etc.) to the heating unit of the conveyor drying furnace 4403 via the control signal line 4407 so as to maintain the operation of the heating unit of the conveyor drying furnace 4403. Receiving this control signal, the heating unit of the conveyor drying furnace 4403 maintains the heating operation on the object to be dried 4405 as it is.

[0271] On the other hand, for example, when the output drying suitability determination result is "NG: 0", that is, when the object to be dried 4405 is in an undried state, the heating control unit 3504 in the controller 4402 sends a control signal to the heating unit of the conveyor drying furnace 4403 via the control signal line 4407 so as to strengthen the operation of the heating unit of the conveyor drying furnace 4403. For example, by raising the temperature of the hot air itself in the heating unit, or by raising the wind speed and / or the air volume of the hot air, the temperature inside the conveyor drying furnace 4403 is raised.

[0272] Also, for example, even when the output drying suitability determination result is "OK: 1", that is, when the object to be dried 4405 is in a completely dried state, if a defect such as a crack is found on the surface of the object to be dried 4405, there is a risk of overheating. In such a case, a control signal is sent to the heating section of the conveyor drying furnace 4403 via the control signal line 4407 so as to slightly weaken the operation of the heating section of the conveyor drying furnace 4403. For example, the temperature of the hot air itself in the heating section is slightly lowered, or the wind speed and / or the air volume of the hot air are slightly lowered, thereby lowering the temperature inside the conveyor drying furnace 4403.

[0273] In addition to the hot air dryer described above, the configuration of the heating section can also use a laser device that performs heating and drying with a laser beam, an infrared heater that performs heating and drying with infrared rays, or a combination of these devices arbitrarily. Basically, as long as it is configured so that the operation of the heating section can be controlled based on the output drying suitability determination result, it can be any device. As described above, it is important that the heating control section is configured to be able to appropriately and in real time control the operation of the heating section of the conveyor drying furnace based on the output drying suitability determination result.

[0274] <Embodiment 13 Controller of Drying System: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0275] FIG. 36 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the controller of the drying system according to the present embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 3601 that performs various arithmetic processes, and a "main memory" 3602. Further, it includes a "non-volatile memory" 3603 that holds predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 3606, and a "network I / F (Interface)" 3604 that transmits and receives information to and from a conveyance drying furnace 3607. And they are interconnected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 3605 to transmit, receive, and process information.

[0276] Here, the "main memory" reads out a program for causing the "CPU" to execute various processes, and at the same time provides a work area that is also a work area for the program. In addition, a plurality of addresses are respectively assigned to this "main memory" and "non-volatile memory", and the programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data with each other by specifying and accessing the addresses, and perform processes. In the present embodiment, the program stored in the "main memory" is a heating control program or the like. Further, thermal image information, area extraction information, drying suitability determination results, heating control information, etc. are stored in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0277] The "CPU" executes the heating control program stored in the "main memory", controls the heating unit based on the output drying suitability determination result, and stores the heating control information in the "main memory" and "non-volatile memory".

[0278] <Embodiment 13 Controller of Drying System: Flow of Processing> FIG. 37 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when the controller of the drying system according to the present embodiment is used. As shown in the figure, it is a processing method consisting of a heating control step S3701.

[0279] The "heating control step" S3701 is a stage of controlling the heating unit based on the output drying suitability determination result.

[0280] <Summary> As described above, the present invention can provide a drying system capable of controlling a heating unit based on the output drying suitability determination result.

[0281] <Embodiment 14 (mainly corresponding to Claim 14)> <Outline of Embodiment 14> Based on Embodiments 1 to 13, this embodiment is characterized in that the drying result information holding unit is provided with an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means for acquiring abnormal occurrence position information, which is information for specifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the drying result information, and an abnormal occurrence position information holding means for holding the abnormal occurrence position information acquired by the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means. Further, to realize this, a method executed by the CPU in the drying system, which is a computer, and an operation program of the drying system described in a computer-readable and executable manner are provided. Hereinafter, the same functional configurations, hardware configurations, and processing flows as those in Embodiments 1 to 13 will be omitted as appropriate.

[0282] <Functional Configuration of Embodiment 14> FIG. 38 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller of the drying system in Embodiment 14. In this embodiment, the drying result information holding unit is provided with an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means and an abnormal occurrence position information holding means.

[0283] <Explanation of Configuration in Embodiment 14: Abnormal Occurrence Position Information Acquisition Means> The "abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means" 3802 is configured to have a function of acquiring abnormal occurrence position information, which is information for specifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the drying result information. For example, as described in Embodiment 12 and the like, when the object to be dried is in an undried state ("NG:0") based on the drying result information, it becomes information indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried. And the "abnormality occurrence position information", which is information for specifying the position where this abnormality has occurred, for example, as described in Embodiment 8 and the like, when "object to be dried identification information" or / and "object to be dried part identification information" can be used, they may be configured to obtain such information. Also, if the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device is set to be conveyed, for example, at 1 m per minute, by calculating from the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device and the clock signal from the clock signal circuit provided inside the controller, it is possible to obtain position information indicating at what position from the zero meter, that is, the first position of the object to be dried. Such position information may be configured to be obtained as the "abnormality occurrence position information".

[0284] <Embodiment 14 Description of Configuration: Abnormality Occurrence Position Information Holding Means> The "abnormality occurrence position information acquisition means" 3803 is configured to have a function of holding the abnormality occurrence position information acquired by the abnormality occurrence position information acquisition means. For example, as described in Embodiment 8 and the like, when "object to be dried identification information" or / and "object to be dried part identification information" can be used as the abnormality occurrence position information, it may be configured to hold the object to be dried identification information or / and the object to be dried part identification information. Also, if the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device is set to be conveyed, for example, at 1 m per minute, by calculating from the conveyance speed of the continuous conveyance device and the clock signal from the clock signal circuit provided inside the controller, it is possible to obtain position information indicating at what position from the zero meter, that is, the first position of the object to be dried. It may be configured to hold such position information as the "abnormality occurrence position information".

[0285] FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the drying system in the present invention. As shown in this figure, the controller 4402 can be configured to cause the information terminal 4409 (including, for example, but not limited to, a desktop personal computer, a notebook personal computer, a tablet personal computer, a smartphone, etc.) to acquire and hold the abnormal occurrence position information in association with the drying result information. In such an information terminal 4409, the drying result information and the abnormal occurrence position information may be presented in a tabular format or a graph format on the display screen. Also, in addition to the two pieces of information, the drying result information and the abnormal occurrence position information, other information such as the temperature inside the conveyance drying furnace, information indicating the operating status of the heating unit (for example, when a hot air dryer is used, it includes the temperature, wind speed, air volume, etc. of the hot air itself, but is not limited to this), external environmental conditions (for example, including, but not limited to, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind speed, etc.), and information such as the viscosity of the slurry and the thickness of the coating film detected using sensors (not shown) may also be configured to be transmitted from the controller 4402 to the information terminal 4409. Further, a "CSV format data output unit" for outputting these pieces of information as CSV format data may be provided in the controller 4402. In the information terminal 4409, these CSV format data can be received and subjected to statistical processing and the like, and information such as when and under what circumstances an abnormality occurred, or what are the information indicating the temperature inside the conveyance drying furnace where an abnormality is likely to occur, the operating status of the heating unit, and external environmental conditions can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner. Also, a large amount of such information can be accumulated, and by analyzing / analyzing these pieces of information, it may be configured to accumulate know-how information on how to control the entire drying system to reduce the occurrence of abnormalities.

[0286] Incidentally, for example, "marking application means" for applying markings to the end portion of a base material (metal foil) of an electrode slurry, which is an object to be dried, based on the held abnormal occurrence position information, may be provided for the drying result information holding unit. For example, markings such as notches or holes may be applied to the end portion of the base material on which the slurry is not applied using a mechanical instrument such as a cutter. Also, for example, markings such as notches or holes may be applied to the end portion of the base material on which the slurry is not applied using an optical device such as a laser beam. By providing such "marking application means" and applying markings to the end portion of the base material on which the slurry is not applied, it may be configured such that it can be immediately understood at which position (portion) of the electrode slurry, which is the object to be dried, an abnormality has occurred by viewing the video / image from a monitoring camera monitoring the production line or visually by a person.

[0287] <Embodiment 14 Controller of Drying System: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0288] FIG. 39 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the controller of the drying system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 3901 that performs various arithmetic processes and a "main memory" 3902. It also includes a "non-volatile memory" 3903 that holds predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 3906, and a "network I / F (Interface)" 3904 that transmits and receives information with a conveying drying furnace 3907. And they are mutually connected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 3905 to transmit, receive, and process information.

[0289] Here, the "main memory" reads out a program for performing various processes to be executed by the "CPU" and at the same time provides a work area that also serves as a work area for the program. Also, a plurality of addresses are respectively assigned to this "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory", and the programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data with each other and perform processing by specifying and accessing those addresses. In the present embodiment, the programs stored in the "main memory" include an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition sub-program, an abnormal occurrence position information holding sub-program, and the like. Further, the "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory" store thermal image information, area extraction information, drying suitability determination results, drying result information, drying object identification information, drying object part identification information, abnormal occurrence position information, and the like.

[0290] The "CPU" executes the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition sub-program stored in the "main memory" to acquire abnormal occurrence position information, which is information for specifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the drying object based on the drying result information. Further, the "CPU" executes the abnormal occurrence position information holding sub-program stored in the "main memory" to hold the abnormal occurrence position information acquired by the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition sub-program and store the abnormal occurrence position information in the "main memory" or the "non-volatile memory".

[0291] <Embodiment 14 Controller of Drying System: Flow of Processing> FIG. 40 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment is used. As shown in the figure, it is a processing method consisting of an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition sub-step S4001 and an abnormal occurrence position information holding sub-step S4002.

[0292] The "abnormal occurrence position information acquisition sub-step" S4001 is a stage of acquiring abnormal occurrence position information, which is information for specifying the position where an abnormality has occurred in the drying object based on the drying result information.

[0293] The "Abnormal Occurrence Location Information Retention Sub-step" S4002 is a step of retaining the abnormal occurrence location information obtained in the above abnormal occurrence location information acquisition sub-step.

[0294] <Summary> As described above, in the present invention, based on the drying result information, it is possible to provide a drying system capable of acquiring abnormal occurrence location information, which is information for specifying the location where an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, and retaining the acquired abnormal occurrence location information.

[0295] <Embodiment 15 (mainly corresponding to claim 15)> <Outline of Embodiment 15> This embodiment is characterized in that, based on the output drying suitability determination result, on the basis of Embodiments 1 to 14, it is provided with an alarm notification unit for notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried. Further, in order to realize this, a method executed by the CPU in the drying system which is a computer, and an operation program of the drying system described so as to be readable and executable by the computer which is the drying system are provided. Hereinafter, the same functional configurations, hardware configurations, and processing flows as those in Embodiments 1 to 14 will be omitted from the description as appropriate.

[0296] <Functional Configuration of Embodiment 15> FIG. 41 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller of the drying system in Embodiment 15. In this embodiment, an alarm notification unit is provided.

[0297] <Explanation of Configuration in Embodiment 15: Alarm Notification Unit> The "alarm notification unit" 4104 is configured to have a function of notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the drying suitability determination result output by the artificial intelligence unit.

[0298] The "Artificial Intelligence Unit" is basically the same as the content described in Embodiment 10. What is output from the Artificial Intelligence Unit is the drying suitability determination result (information represented as "OK: 1" when the object to be dried is in a completely dried state and "NG: 0" when the object to be dried is in an undried state).

[0299] The alarm notification unit 4104 is preferably configured to notify an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on information such as "NG: 0" indicating that the electrode slurry, which is the object to be dried, is in an undried state. FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the drying system in the present invention. As shown in this figure, the pat lamp 4408 is used as an example of the "notification means", and may be configured to alert people near the drying system by rotating a red lamp by the pat lamp itself and making a loud sound such as a siren / buzzer to notify that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried. Further, a pat lamp may be similarly installed in a monitoring room or a monitoring chamber for monitoring the entire manufacturing process of a lithium-ion battery including the drying system, etc., and configured to notify an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried by rotating a red lamp and making a loud sound such as a siren / buzzer to people monitoring the production line.

[0300] Also, for example, as an example of the "notification means", an LED lamp capable of emitting colors like a rainbow color is used. When the object to be dried is in a completely dried state and there is no problem, it emits light in blue or green. When the object to be dried is in an undried state, that is, when an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, it emits light and blinks repeatedly in red to indicate an alarm to that effect, and is also configured to notify people near the drying system, or people in the monitoring room or the monitoring chamber, by making a loud sound such as a siren / buzzer.

[0301] Further, for example, as an example of the "notification means", when using a portable tablet terminal or smartphone, if the object to be dried is in an undried state, that is, if an abnormality occurs in the object to be dried, an alarm indicating that fact, for example, an alarm display such as "Abnormality occurred!" written in red characters, is repeatedly displayed on the screen. Through a wireless communication line (including, for example, but not limited to WiFi (registered trademark), 4G / 5G, etc.), the above alarm is displayed on the portable tablet terminals or smartphones held by people near the drying system, or people in the monitoring room or surveillance room. At the same time, a loud sound from the speaker or a strong vibration from the vibrator used in the tablet terminal or smartphone is configured to prompt attention.

[0302] <Embodiment 15 Controller of Drying System: Hardware Configuration> The hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0303] Figure 42 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller of the drying system in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the controller of the drying system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" 4201 that performs various arithmetic processes and a "main memory" 4202. It also includes a "non-volatile memory" 4203 that holds predetermined information, a thermal imaging device 4206, and a "network I / F (Interface)" 4204 that transmits and receives information with a transport drying furnace 4207. And they are interconnected by a data communication path such as a "bus" 4205 to transmit, receive, and process information.

[0304] Here, the "main memory" reads out a program for performing various processes to be executed by the "CPU" and at the same time provides a work area that is also a working area for that program. Also, a plurality of addresses are respectively assigned to this "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory", and the programs executed by the "CPU" can exchange data with each other by specifying and accessing those addresses, making it possible to perform processing. In the present embodiment, the program stored in the "main memory" is an alarm notification program or the like. Further, thermal image information, area extraction information, drying suitability determination results, alarm notification information, etc. are stored in the "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory".

[0305] The "CPU" executes the alarm notification program stored in the "main memory" and, based on the output drying suitability determination result, notifies an alarm that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried, and stores the alarm notification information in the "main memory" or the "non-volatile memory".

[0306] <Embodiment 15 Controller of Drying System: Flow of Processing> FIG. 43 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when the controller of the drying system in the present embodiment is used. As shown in the figure, it is a processing method consisting of an alarm notification step S4301.

[0307] The "alarm notification step" S4301 is a stage of notifying an alarm that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the output drying suitability determination result.

[0308] <Summary> As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to provide a drying system capable of notifying an alarm that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the output drying suitability determination result.

[0309] <Supplementary Note> Regarding FIGS. 53 to 58 used in the specification of this application, since the source exists on the Internet, the reference addresses are described as follows. <Appendix 1> Figure 53 https: / / deepage.net / deep_learning / 2016 / 11 / 07 / convolutional_neural_network.html <Appendix 2> Figures 54 and 56 https: / / zero2one.jp / learningblog / cnn-for-beginners / <Appendix 3> Figure 55 https: / / cvml-expertguide.net / terms / dl / layers / convolution-layer / <Appendix 4> Figures 57 and 58 https: / / zero2one.jp / learningblog / deep-learning-activation-function /

Explanation of Signs

[0310] Drying system: 200, 4400 Thermal imaging device: 201, 4401 Controller: 202, 300, 4402 Conveyor drying furnace: 203, 4403 Continuous conveyor device: 204, 4404 Object to be dried: 205, 4405 Thermocouple: 4406 Control signal line: 4407 Patrump: 4408 Information terminal: 4409 Thermal image acquisition unit: 301 Temperature drop situation information acquisition unit: 302 Judgment criterion information holding unit: 303 Drying appropriateness judgment unit: 304 Judgment result output unit: 305

Claims

1. A thermal image acquisition unit that acquires one or more thermal images from an object to be dried for which heating for drying has ended; A temperature decrease situation information acquisition unit that acquires temperature decrease situation information, which is information indicating the temperature decrease situation of the object to be dried, from the one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit; A determination criterion information holding unit that holds determination criterion information, which is information for determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate according to the temperature decrease situation information acquired by the temperature decrease situation information acquisition unit; A drying appropriateness determination unit that determines whether the drying of the object to be dried is being appropriately performed based on the temperature decrease situation information acquired by the temperature decrease situation information acquisition unit and the determination criterion information held by the determination criterion information holding unit; A determination result output unit that outputs the determination result of the drying appropriateness determination unit; A drying system, characterized by comprising the above.

2. The drying system according to claim 1, further comprising a determination criterion information correction unit for correcting the determination criterion information held by the determination criterion information holding unit.

3. Comprising a heating unit for the heating, and further having a conveying drying furnace that conveys and dries the object to be dried by a continuous conveying device, The drying system according to claim 1, wherein the thermal image acquisition unit is installed in a region on the outlet side of the conveying drying furnace where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases.

4. The drying system according to claim 1, further comprising a drying result information holding unit for holding drying result information, which is information associating the determination result output by the determination result output unit with object to be dried identification information for identifying the object to be dried for which the determination was made and / or object to be dried part identification information for identifying a part of the object to be dried.

5. The drying system according to claim 3, further comprising a heating control unit for controlling the heating unit based on the determination result output by the determination result output unit.

6. Further comprising a verification result acquisition unit that acquires a verification result, which is information indicating whether the determination result output by the determination result output unit is appropriate, The drying system according to claim 2, wherein the determination criterion information correction unit has verification-dependent determination criterion information correction means for correcting the determination criterion information so that the determination result becomes a more appropriate determination result based on the verification result acquired by the verification result acquisition unit.

7. The drying system according to claim 1, further comprising an alarm notification unit for notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the determination result output by the determination result output unit.

8. The drying result information holding unit an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means for acquiring abnormal occurrence position information which is information for specifying a position where an abnormality has occurred in an object to be dried based on the drying result information; an abnormal occurrence position information holding means for holding the abnormal occurrence position information acquired by the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means; The drying system according to claim 4, comprising:

9. The drying system according to claim 1, further comprising an area extraction unit that extracts a specific area from one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit, and uses the one or more specific area thermal images extracted by the area extraction unit as an input to the temperature decrease situation information acquisition unit. "

10. a thermal image acquisition unit that acquires one or more thermal images from an object to be dried after heating for drying is completed; an area extraction unit that extracts a specific area from the one or more thermal images acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit; an artificial intelligence unit that is pre-trained using the one or more specific area thermal images extracted by the area extraction unit as input data and outputs a drying suitability determination result indicating whether the drying of the object to be dried is being appropriately performed; A drying system, characterized by comprising:

11. The drying system according to claim 10, further comprising a heating unit for the heating, and further comprising a conveying drying furnace that conveys and dries an object to be dried by a continuous conveying device, wherein the thermal image acquisition unit is installed in a region on the outlet side of the conveying drying furnace where the temperature of the object to be dried decreases.

12. The drying system according to claim 10, further comprising a drying result information holding unit for holding drying result information which is information associating the drying suitability determination result with drying object identification information for identifying the object to be dried for which the determination was made and / or drying object part identification information for identifying a part of the object to be dried.

13. The drying system according to claim 11, further comprising a heating control unit for controlling the heating unit based on the output drying suitability determination result.

14. The drying result information holding unit an abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means for acquiring abnormal occurrence position information which is information for specifying a position where an abnormality has occurred in an object to be dried based on the drying result information; an abnormal occurrence position information holding means for holding the abnormal occurrence position information acquired by the abnormal occurrence position information acquisition means; The drying system according to claim 12, comprising:

15. The drying system according to claim 10, further comprising an alarm notification unit for notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the object to be dried based on the output drying suitability determination result.

16. The drying system according to claim 10, wherein the artificial intelligence unit comprises a convolutional neural network (CNN).

17. The drying system according to claim 1 or claim 10, wherein the thermal image acquisition unit comprises a thermal imaging device and / or a thermal imaging camera.

18. A method executed by a CPU in a drying system that is a computer, comprising: a thermal image acquisition step of acquiring one or more thermal images from an object to be dried after heating for drying; a temperature decrease situation information acquisition step of acquiring temperature decrease situation information, which is information indicating the temperature decrease situation of the object to be dried, from the one or more thermal images acquired in the thermal image acquisition step; a determination criterion information holding step of holding determination criterion information, which is information for determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate according to the temperature decrease situation information acquired in the temperature decrease situation information acquisition step; a drying suitability determination step of determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is being appropriately performed based on the temperature decrease situation information acquired in the temperature decrease situation information acquisition step and the determination criterion information held in the determination criterion information holding step; a determination result output step of outputting the determination result in the drying suitability determination step; A method having the above steps.

19. a thermal image acquisition step of acquiring one or more thermal images from an object to be dried after heating for drying; a temperature decrease situation information acquisition step of acquiring temperature decrease situation information, which is information indicating the temperature decrease situation of the object to be dried, from the one or more thermal images acquired in the thermal image acquisition step; a determination criterion information holding step of holding determination criterion information, which is information for determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is appropriate according to the temperature decrease situation information acquired in the temperature decrease situation information acquisition step; a drying suitability determination step of determining whether the drying of the object to be dried is being appropriately performed based on the temperature decrease situation information acquired in the temperature decrease situation information acquisition step and the determination criterion information held in the determination criterion information holding step; a determination result output step of outputting the determination result in the drying suitability determination step; An operation program of a drying system described in a computer-readable and executable manner for a drying system characterized by having

Images