Battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide a battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method, capable of implementing cycle time reduction and space saving of a manufacturing site.SOLUTION: In a battery manufacturing system for forming a battery by laminating, with a separator 5 interposed, electrode foils 2 obtained by bonding seal members 3,4: an interval is provided between adjacent ones of the electrode foils 2 in a state of being transported by an electrode foil transportation device 11; seal members 3, 4 are bonded to each other across the adjacent electrode foils 2 during transportation to form a belt-like electrode foil web 7 obtained by connecting the electrode foils 2; in just a state of a belt-like separator web 8 being transported by a separator transportation device 14, the separator web 8 is cut to form a rectangular separator 5; the separator 5 and the electrode foils 2 are bonded to each other in just a state of being transported by an electrode foil transportation device 11; and the electrode foil web 7, in which the seal members 3, 4 and the separator 5 are bonded together, is cut off into a rectangular shape to form a battery cell 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing system and method for manufacturing a battery constructed by stacking a large number of battery cells, each of which is formed by joining a seal member and a separator to a rectangular electrode. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a method for manufacturing an energy storage module. The energy storage module described in Patent Document 1 is a so-called bipolar battery, and is composed of an electrode stack formed by stacking multiple bipolar electrodes (electrode plates), each of which has a positive electrode and a negative electrode on both sides, and a sealing member that surrounds the periphery of the electrode stack and seals the electrode stack. The method for manufacturing the energy storage module described in Patent Document 1 includes the steps of forming a frame-shaped sealing member (primary seal) around the outer edge of the bipolar electrodes, attaching a separator onto the primary seal, stacking the bipolar electrodes while placing a through-hole-forming member on the primary seal, welding the primary seals together, and forming a sealing member (secondary seal) around the primary seal. In the step of welding the primary seals together, the primary seals are welded together to form through-holes that communicate with the internal space formed between adjacent bipolar electrodes of the electrode stack, and have a shape corresponding to the shape of the through-hole-forming member.

[0003] Patent Document 2 also describes an electricity storage module and a separator supplying device for supplying separators in the manufacturing process of the electricity storage module. The electricity storage module described in Patent Document 2 is a so-called bipolar battery, similar to the electricity storage module described in Patent Document 1, and is formed by stacking a plurality of bipolar electrodes (electrode plates), each of which has a positive electrode and a negative electrode on both sides, with separators interposed between them. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-145102 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-136250 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the method for manufacturing an energy storage module described in Patent Document 1, a battery cell of a bipolar battery is manufactured by welding a sealant and a separator to the four sides of rectangular sheet-shaped bipolar electrodes to separate the overlapping bipolar electrodes. The separators used in the manufacturing process of such a bipolar battery are cut into rectangular sheets corresponding to a set of battery cells and supplied by, for example, the separator supply device described in Patent Document 2. Alternatively, they are supplied using a transport manipulator such as a robot arm or robot hand.

[0006] In the conventional bipolar battery manufacturing process described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, bipolar electrodes are cut into rectangular shapes corresponding to a set of battery cells, for example, from a roll of web-transported material, and then transported to a process where a sealant and separator are welded. Separators are also cut into rectangular shapes corresponding to a set of battery cells, and each rectangular sheet is transported to a process where the separator is welded. Therefore, in the conventional battery manufacturing process described above, transporting the bipolar electrodes and separators cut into rectangular or sheet shapes one by one to subsequent processes requires time. Furthermore, positioning of the bipolar electrodes and separators is required each time they are transported to subsequent processes. These factors increase the cycle time in battery manufacturing. Furthermore, the process for cutting the bipolar electrodes and separators is performed separately from the continuous process flow of the web transport. Therefore, a separate space must be secured for the process. As described above, conventional battery manufacturing techniques still have room for improvement in order to shorten the cycle time when manufacturing batteries or battery cells and to reduce the space required for manufacturing.

[0007] This invention was devised with an eye on the above-mentioned technical problems, and aims to provide a battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method that can shorten the manufacturing cycle time and save space in the manufacturing location. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a battery manufacturing system that forms a battery by joining sealing members to the four peripheral sides of a rectangular electrode foil and laminating the electrode foil with the sealing members sandwiched between sheet-like separators, the system comprising: an electrode foil reel that winds and holds an electrode foil material web in which the electrode foil material is formed into a strip shape; an electrode foil conveying device that conveys the electrode foil material web supplied from the electrode foil reel; and a cutting device that cuts the electrode foil material web conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device while being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device to form the rectangular electrode foil. and an electrode foil cutting device that provides a gap between adjacent electrode foils in the conveying direction after cutting so that the sealing member can be disposed and joined thereto; a sealing material reel that winds and holds the sealing material formed in a strip shape; and a sealing material that cuts the sealing material supplied from the sealing material reel into a shape corresponding to the electrode foil that has been cut into a rectangular shape by the electrode foil cutting device, and joins the sealing member to the electrode foils that are adjacent to each other in the conveying direction while being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device to form a strip-shaped electrode foil in which the electrode foils are joined together. a separator reel that winds and holds a separator web formed from a separator material in a strip shape; a separator conveying device that conveys the separator web supplied from the separator reel; a separator cutting device that cuts the separator web conveyed by the separator conveying device while being conveyed by the separator conveying device to form the separator into a rectangular shape corresponding to the electrode foil; a separator joining device that overlaps the positions of the electrode foils in the electrode foil web that has been formed into a shape and is being transported by the electrode foil transporting device, and joins the electrode foil and the separator that are being transported by the electrode foil transporting device together while being transported by the electrode foil transporting device; and a battery cell cutting device that cuts out the electrode foil web to which the sealing member and the separator are respectively joined into a rectangle, to form a battery cell composed of the electrode foil, the sealing member, and the separator.

[0009] The electrode foil cutting device of the present invention may also include a clamping mechanism that is movable or self-propelled in the conveying direction in synchronization with the conveying speed of the electrode foil material web in the conveying direction by the electrode foil conveying device, and is movable relatively to the electrode foil conveying device main body, and that, while moving in the conveying direction, grips the electrode foil material web being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device at at least two different positions in the conveying direction, and synchronizes the moving speed when gripping the electrode foil material web and moving in the conveying direction with the conveying speed, thereby restricting movement of the electrode foil material web relative to the electrode foil conveying device in the conveying direction and allowing the relative movement in accordance with the difference between the moving speed and the conveying speed, and a cutting mechanism that moves a cutting blade or a laser beam in the width direction of the electrode foil material web (i.e., a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction) and in the conveying direction (i.e., the length direction of the electrode foil material web) to cut the electrode foil material web, and the clamping mechanism a clamping mechanism for clamping the electrode foil material web on the upstream side in the conveyance direction; a cutting mechanism for clamping the electrode foil material web on the downstream side in the conveyance direction; a cutting mechanism for clamping the electrode foil material web on the upstream side in the conveyance direction; a cutting mechanism for clamping the electrode foil material web on the downstream side in the conveyance direction; a moving speed of the clamping mechanism that has gripped the electrode foil material web on the upstream side, the moving speed of the clamping mechanism that has gripped the electrode foil material web on the upstream side, the moving speed of the clamping mechanism that has gripped the electrode foil material web on the downstream side, the clamping mechanism on the upstream side, the electrode foil material web on the downstream side; a moving speed of the clamping mechanism that has gripped the electrode foil material web on the upstream side, the electrode foil material web on the upstream side;

[0010] The sealing material joining device in the present invention may include a first sealing material joining device that joins the sealing members to two sides in the width direction of the electrode foil material web of the electrode foil that has been formed into a rectangle by the electrode foil cutting device, and a second sealing material joining device that joins the sealing members to two sides in the transport direction of the electrode foil that has been formed into a rectangle by the electrode foil cutting device, and the sealing material reels in the present invention may include a first sealing material reel that supplies the sealing members to the first sealing material joining device, and a second sealing material reel that supplies the sealing members to the second sealing material joining device, and the first sealing material joining device may join the sealing members to two sides in the transport direction of the electrode foil that has been formed into a rectangle by the electrode foil cutting device. The sealing material supplied from the first sealing material reel is joined to the electrode foil on the upstream side in the conveying direction and the electrode foil on the downstream side in the conveying direction, where the gap is provided by a foil cutting device, respectively, to the electrode foil on the upstream side and the electrode foil on the downstream side, and the electrode foil web is formed by joining the electrode foil on the upstream side and the electrode foil on the downstream side, and the second sealing material joining device may be configured to join the sealing material supplied from the second sealing material reel to the electrode foil in the electrode foil web formed by the first sealing material joining device (i.e., where the electrode foils are joined together).

[0011] The separator joining device according to the present invention includes a first drive roller that winds and conveys the separator web supplied from the separator reel, a cutting mechanism that cuts the separator web wound around the first drive roller on the first drive roller to form the rectangular separator, and a cutting mechanism that rewinds and conveys the separator formed into a rectangular shape on the first drive roller and conveys it from the first drive roller, and also winds and conveys the electrode foil web formed into a strip shape by the sealing material joining device in accordance with the position where the separator is wound. and a driven roller that is disposed adjacent to the second drive roller and rotates with the rotation of the second drive roller, sandwiching the electrode foil web between itself and the second drive roller and bringing the electrode foil web wound around the second drive roller into close contact with the separator, and the separator and the electrode foil may be joined on the second drive roller in a state where the electrode foil in the electrode foil web wound around the second drive roller overlaps the separator that has been rewound from the first drive roller to the second drive roller.

[0012] On the other hand, the present invention is a manufacturing method of a battery in which sealing members are bonded to the four peripheral sides of rectangular electrode foil, and the electrode foils to which the sealing members have been bonded are laminated with a sheet-like separator sandwiched therebetween, the method comprising the steps of: conveying, by an electrode foil conveying device, an electrode foil material web supplied from an electrode foil reel that has wound up and held an electrode foil material web in which the electrode foil material has been formed into a strip shape; cutting the electrode foil material web conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device while it is being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device to form the rectangular electrode foil; providing a gap for arranging and joining the sealing member between adjacent electrode foils in the conveying direction after cutting (electrode foil cutting step); cutting the sealing member supplied from a sealing material reel that has wound up and held the strip-shaped sealing member into a shape corresponding to the rectangular electrode foil (cut in the electrode foil cutting step); and joining the sealing member to the electrode foil while being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device, so as to straddle adjacent electrode foils in the conveying direction, thereby joining the electrode foils together. a separator conveying device conveys the separator web, which is supplied from a separator reel that winds and holds a separator web formed from separator material in a strip shape, and cuts the separator web conveyed by the separator conveying device while it is being conveyed by the separator conveying device to form rectangular separators corresponding to the electrode foils. The rectangular separators and the electrode foils in the strip-shaped electrode foil web that is being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device are superimposed on each other, and the electrode foils conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device and the separators are joined together while they are being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device (separator joining step). The electrode foil web to which the sealing members and the separators are respectively joined is then cut into rectangular shapes to form battery cells each composed of the electrode foil, the sealing members, and the separators (battery cell cutting step).

[0013] The present invention also provides a clamping mechanism that is movable or self-propelled in the conveying direction in synchronization with the conveying speed of the electrode foil material web by the electrode foil conveying device in the conveying direction, and is movable relative to the electrode foil conveying device main body, and that, while moving in the conveying direction, grips the electrode foil material web being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device at at least two different positions in the conveying direction, and synchronizes the moving speed when gripping the electrode foil material web and moving in the conveying direction with the conveying speed, thereby restricting movement of the electrode foil material web relative to the electrode foil conveying device in the conveying direction and allowing the relative movement in accordance with the difference between the moving speed and the conveying speed, and a cutting mechanism that moves a cutting blade or a laser beam in the width direction of the electrode foil material web (i.e., a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction) and in the conveying direction (i.e., the length direction of the electrode foil material web) to cut the electrode foil material web, and that controls the relative movement by the clamping mechanism. In a restrained state, the conveying speed of the electrode foil material web and the feed speed of the cutting blade or the laser beam in the conveying direction are synchronized, and the cutting blade or the laser beam is moved in the width direction between a position where the electrode foil material web is gripped by the clamping mechanism on the upstream side in the conveying direction and a position where the electrode foil material web is gripped on the downstream side in the conveying direction to cut the electrode foil material web, and after the electrode foil material web has been cut, the movement speed of the clamping mechanism that gripped the electrode foil material web on the upstream side is reduced to be lower than the movement speed of the clamping mechanism that gripped the electrode foil material web on the downstream side, and the clamping mechanism on the upstream side and the electrode foil material web are moved relative to the electrode foil conveying device main body, thereby creating a gap between the electrode foil in the electrode foil material web on the upstream side that has been cut by the cutting mechanism and the electrode foil in the electrode foil material web on the downstream side (electrode foil cutting process).

[0014] The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing an electrode foil cutting device, the method comprising: a first sealing material joining device that joins the sealing material to two sides in the width direction of the electrode foil material web of the electrode foil formed into a rectangle by the electrode foil cutting device; a second sealing material joining device that joins the sealing material to two sides in the transport direction of the electrode foil formed into a rectangle by the electrode foil cutting device; a first sealing material reel that supplies the sealing material to the first sealing material joining device; and a second sealing material reel that supplies the sealing material to the second sealing material joining device, The sealing material supplied from a first sealing material reel between the electrode foil on the upstream side and the electrode foil on the downstream side in the conveying direction may be joined by the first sealing material joining device to the electrode foil on the upstream side and the electrode foil on the downstream side, respectively, to form the electrode foil web by joining the electrode foil on the upstream side and the electrode foil on the downstream side, and the sealing material supplied from the second sealing material reel may be joined by the second sealing material joining device to the electrode foil in the electrode foil web formed by the first sealing material joining device (sealing material joining process).

[0015] The present invention also provides a cutting mechanism that cuts the separator web wound around the first drive roller onto the first drive roller to form the rectangular separator; a second drive roller that rewinds the rectangular separator formed on the first drive roller and transports the separator, and also rewinds the strip-shaped electrode foil web onto the second drive roller to align it with the position where the separator was wound, and transports the separator; a driven roller that is disposed adjacent to the drive roller, rotates in accordance with the rotation of the second drive roller, sandwiches the electrode foil web between itself and the second drive roller, and brings the electrode foil web wound around the second drive roller into close contact with the separator, and the separator and the electrode foil may be joined on the second drive roller in a state in which the electrode foil in the electrode foil web wound around the second drive roller overlaps the separator that has been rewound from the first drive roller to the second drive roller (separator joining step). [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] The battery of this invention is formed by bonding sealing members to the four edges of rectangular electrode foils that serve as current collectors or electrode plates, and then stacking multiple electrode foils with such sealing members sandwiched between separators. Conventional batteries are manufactured, for example, by transporting sheet-shaped electrode foils one by one and bonding sealing members to them. Separators cut into sheets in a separate process are then transported one by one onto each electrode foil to which a sealing member has been bonded. This requires a lot of time for transporting the electrode foils and separators, as well as for positioning and centering them. In contrast, in the battery manufacturing system and method of this invention, a strip-shaped electrode foil material (electrode foil material web) wound on an electrode foil reel, an electrode foil spliced ​​into a strip by bonding sealing members (electrode foil web), and a strip-shaped separator material (separator web) wound on a separator reel are transported by an electrode foil transport device and a separator transport device, respectively. That is, each of the members (webs) for forming the electrode foil and the separator is transported in a so-called web manner.

[0017] The electrode foil material web is transported by an electrode foil transport device and cut in the width direction while being transported. The strip-shaped electrode foil material web is cut to form rectangular electrode foils. Then, a sealing member is bonded to the cut electrode foils, splicing the electrode foils together and forming the strip-shaped electrode foil web again. Therefore, the electrode foil is processed in a series of web transport steps by the electrode foil transport device, from transporting the electrode foil material web to cutting, joining the sealing member, and splicing the electrode foils together (forming the electrode foil web). Therefore, compared to conventional manufacturing techniques in which sheet-shaped electrode foils are transported and formed one by one, positioning and centering of the material or formed product are unnecessary or made easier. For example, if the widthwise position of the electrode foil material web or electrode foil web is fixed during the web transport flow, the material or formed product can be easily positioned by simply adjusting the position and movement amount in the transport direction.

[0018] The separator web is transported by a separator transport device and cut in the width direction while being transported. The strip-shaped separator web is cut to form a rectangular sheet-shaped separator for bonding to the rectangular electrode foil described above. The sheet-shaped separator is transported to join the electrode foil transport device that is transporting the electrode foil web and is superimposed on the electrode foil web on the electrode foil transport device. The separator is then bonded to the electrode foil of the electrode foil web. Therefore, the separator is processed in a series of web transport steps by the separator transport device and the electrode foil transport device, from transporting the separator web to cutting (forming a rectangular separator), superimposing it on the electrode foil web, and bonding it to the electrode foil (forming the battery cell material). Therefore, compared to conventional manufacturing techniques in which sheet-shaped separators are transported and formed one by one, positioning and centering of materials and molded products is unnecessary or made easier. For example, if the position of the separator web in the width direction is fixed midway through the web transport flow, the positioning of the material or molded product can be easily performed simply by adjusting the position and amount of movement in the transport direction.

[0019] The electrode foil material web (i.e., battery cell material) with the separator bonded thereto is then transported by a series of web transports and cut in the width direction while being transported, thereby forming battery cells in which separators are attached to rectangular electrode foils.

[0020] In this way, in the battery manufacturing system and method of the present invention, the electrode foil material, electrode foil, and separator are each transported by a web, and in a series of processes carried out by this web transport, the electrode foil (to size) is cut from the electrode foil material, a sealing member is attached, the separator is cut, the separator and electrode foil are joined, and the battery cell is cut. This shortens the cycle time for manufacturing batteries (battery cells) compared to conventional manufacturing techniques, such as procuring and transporting electrode foil sheet by sheet or cutting and transporting separators in a separate process. Furthermore, this eliminates the need for separate processes for cutting the electrode foil, attaching the sealing member, and cutting and joining the separator, thereby saving space in the manufacturing site.

[0021] Therefore, according to the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method of the present invention, it is possible to easily shorten the cycle time for battery manufacturing and save space in the manufacturing location. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a process diagram showing an outline of the basic manufacturing process for the battery that is the subject of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an outline (image) of the components (electrode foil, sealing member, and separator) of a battery (battery cell) to be manufactured according to the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an outline (image) of the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method of the present invention, showing an image of the electrode foil cutting process (cutting out the electrode foil and transporting it at intervals) using an electrode foil cutting device. [Figure 5]FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method of the present invention, showing an image of the sealing material joining process (joining of the sealing member on the cutting or joining direction side) using a sealing material joining device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method of the present invention, showing an image of a seal material joining step (joining of the seal member on the conveyance direction side) performed using a seal material joining device. [Figure 7] 10 is a diagram showing an image of a sealing material unwinding device that aligns the edge of an electrode foil web with the center of a sealing material when joining the sealing material on the transport direction side in a sealing material joining step. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method of the present invention, and shows an image of the separator joining process (transporting the separator, cutting out the separator, and joining the separator) being performed using a separator joining device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments are merely examples of specific embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0024] The battery targeted by the embodiment of this invention is constructed by stacking foil-shaped current collectors (electrode foils) coated with materials (active materials) that form positive and negative electrodes, sandwiching a separator between them. In particular, bipolar batteries, in which positive and negative electrodes are formed on both sides of the electrode foil, require highly accurate positioning when stacking the electrode foils and separators. The battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method according to the embodiment of this invention shortens the cycle time for battery manufacturing and saves space in the manufacturing site, even when manufacturing such bipolar batteries. Note that the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method according to the embodiment of this invention are not limited to bipolar batteries as described above, and may also be used to manufacture so-called monopolar batteries, in which a current collector forming a positive electrode and a current collector forming a negative electrode are stacked with a separator sandwiched between them.

[0025] The outline of the manufacturing process of a battery manufactured by applying the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on the process diagram (or flowchart) shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. The process diagram in Fig. 1 shows the basic process or the overall process flow when manufacturing a battery according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] First, in process P1 (electrode foil cutting process), a strip-shaped electrode foil material is supplied in roll form and transported as a web, and is cut into rectangular electrode foil pieces corresponding to a set of battery cells (a pair of electrode foils and a separator). After the electrode foils are cut, they are transported as a web, leaving a gap for joining a sealing member in the subsequent process (process P2).

[0027] In process P2 (sealing material joining process), sealing materials are welded to the four peripheral sides of the rectangular cut electrode foil. The electrode foil was cut in the previous process (process P1) and transported with a gap between them. By joining the sealing materials in process P2, the front and rear electrode foils are joined together and transported as a belt-shaped electrode foil web.

[0028] In step P3 (separator bonding step), the electrode foil transported as an electrode foil web is bonded to a separator. The separator is formed as a strip of separator material (separator web) that is wound and held on a separator reel. In this step P3, the separator web supplied from the separator reel is cut into rectangular sheet-like separators that correspond to a set of battery cells. Furthermore, while the cut separators are being transported, they are positioned relative to the electrode foil of the electrode foil web, and the separators and electrode foils are superimposed. Then, while the separators and electrode foils are transported in a positioned and superimposed state, the separators and electrode foils are bonded to each other.

[0029] In step P4 (battery cell cutting step), the electrode foil web to which the separators are joined is cut. That is, a set of battery cells, each consisting of a pair of electrode foil and separator, is cut out from the electrode foil web to which the separators are joined at the positions of the electrode foils, producing a battery cell 1 as shown in Figure 2, which will be described later.

[0030] Figure 2 shows the components of a battery to be manufactured in an embodiment of the present invention, specifically a battery cell 1. The battery cell 1 shown in Figure 2 forms, as an example, a bipolar battery (not shown) and is mainly composed of an electrode foil 2, sealing members 3 and 4, and a separator 5.

[0031] The electrode foil 2 is a rectangular foil-shaped current collector, one surface of which (upper surface 2a in the example shown in FIG. 2) is coated with a material for forming a positive electrode (positive electrode active material, not shown), and the other surface of which (lower surface 2b in the example shown in FIG. 2) is coated with a material for forming a negative electrode (negative electrode active material, not shown).

[0032] The sealing members 3 and 4 are bonded to the four peripheral sides of the rectangular electrode foil 2, and when the battery cells 1 are stacked, they seal in the electrolyte (not shown) between adjacent battery cells 1. In the example shown in Fig. 2, the sealing member 3 is attached to the long side of the rectangular electrode foil 2, and the sealing member 4 is attached to the short side of the rectangular electrode foil 2.

[0033] The separator 5 is a rectangular, sheet-like or thin-flake insulator that is sandwiched between adjacent battery cells 1 when the battery cells 1 are stacked to prevent short-circuiting between adjacent current collectors, i.e., between the electrode foils 2. Therefore, the separator 5 is attached to one side of one of the electrode foils 2 (the upper side 2a in the example shown in FIG. 2).

[0034] As described above, a set of battery cells 1 is formed by joining the sealing members 3, 4 and the separator 5 to the rectangular electrode foil 2. A predetermined number of such battery cells 1 are stacked in the thickness direction of the electrode foil 2, and electrode terminals (not shown) are provided on both ends in the stacking direction to form a bipolar battery.

[0035] Figure 3 shows an overview (image) of a battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method according to this embodiment of the present invention, the manufacturing system 10 shown in Figure 3 is used to carry out the steps P1, P2, P3, and P4 shown in Figure 1 above. The manufacturing system 10 according to this embodiment of the present invention includes, as its main components, an electrode foil conveying device 11, an electrode foil cutting device 12, a sealant joining device 13, a separator conveying device 14, a separator cutting device 15, a separator joining device 16, and a battery cell cut-out device 17. Note that step P0 shown in Figure 3 is the so-called battery source step, in which a strip of electrode foil 2 material (electrode foil material web 6) coated on both sides with positive and negative electrode active materials is formed and wound up on an electrode foil reel 18.

[0036] The electrode foil transport device 11 transports the electrode foil material web 6 wound around the electrode foil reel 18 as described above, and supplies it to the next process P1. The electrode foil transport device 11 also continuously transports the electrode foil web 7 formed into a strip shape by the sealing material joining device 13 (described later) in a series of web transport operations.

[0037] The electrode foil cutting device 12 cuts the electrode foil material web 6 conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device 11 to form rectangular electrode foil 2 while the web is still being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device 11. After cutting the electrode foil material web 6, the electrode foil cutting device 12 also forms gaps 6a between adjacent electrode foils 2 in the conveying direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 2 ) to allow for placement and bonding of sealing members 3 in the next step P2. That is, step P1 (electrode foil cutting step) is carried out using this electrode foil cutting device 12.

[0038] The sealing material joining device 13 cuts the band-shaped sealing members 3, 4 supplied from sealing material reels 19, 20, which have been wound and held, into shapes or lengths corresponding to the rectangular electrode foils 2 cut by the electrode foil cutting device 12. At the same time, the sealing material joining device 13 joins the sealing members 3, 4 to the electrode foils 2 being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device 11, straddling adjacent electrode foils 2 in the conveying direction. At the same time, the sealing member 3 is joined to the electrode foils 2 with the gap 6a as described above, thereby forming a band-shaped electrode foil web 7 in which the electrode foils 2 are joined together. That is, the process P2 (sealing material joining process) is carried out using this sealing material joining device 13.

[0039] The separator conveying device 14 conveys the separator web 8 supplied from the separator reel 21. The separator web 8 is formed from the material of the separator 5 in a strip shape, and is wound up and held by the separator reel 21.

[0040] The separator cutting device 15 cuts the separator web 8 transported by the separator transport device 14 while it is still being transported by the separator transport device 14, and forms it into a rectangular sheet-like separator 5 corresponding to the electrode foil 2.

[0041] The separator joining device 16 aligns the separator 5 formed into a rectangular shape by the separator cutting device 15 with the electrode foil 2 in the electrode foil web 7 formed into a strip shape by the sealing material joining device 13 and transported by the electrode foil transport device 11. At the same time, the separator joining device 16 joins the electrode foil 2 and the separator 5 transported by the electrode foil transport device 11 together while they are still being transported by the electrode foil transport device 11. That is, the process P3 (separator joining process) is carried out using the separator transport device 14, the separator cutting device 15, and the separator joining device 16.

[0042] The battery cell cutting device 17 then cuts out rectangular pieces of the electrode foil web 7 to which the sealing members 3, 4 and separators 5 have been joined as described above, to form rectangular battery cells 1 each composed of the electrode foil 2, the sealing members 3, 4, and the separators 5. That is, step P4 (battery cell cutting step) is carried out using this battery cell cutting device 17.

[0043] In the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, in step P1 (electrode foil cutting step using electrode foil cutting device 12) shown in Figures 1 and 3 above, as one example, as shown in the following Figure 4, a clamping mechanism 31 and a cutting mechanism 32 are used to cut out electrode foil 2 and transport the cut electrode foil 2 with spaces between them. Specifically, the electrode foil cutting device 12 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a clamping mechanism 31 and a cutting mechanism 32 as shown in Figure 4.

[0044] The clamping mechanism 31 is configured to be movable or self-propelled in the conveying direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4 ) of the electrode foil material web 6 conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device 11 in synchronization with the conveying speed in that direction. That is, the clamping mechanism 31 is movable relative to the main body of the electrode foil conveying device 11. The clamping mechanism 31 also has "clamps" that grip the electrode foil material web 6 conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device 11 at at least two different positions in the conveying direction while moving in the conveying direction at the conveying speed of the electrode foil material web 6 as described above. In the example shown in FIG. 4 , the clamping mechanism 31 has four clamps 31a, 31b: two clamps 31a that grip the electrode foil material web 6 on the upstream side in the conveying direction (left side in FIG. 4 ) and two clamps 31b that grip the electrode foil material web 6 on the downstream side in the conveying direction (right side in FIG. 4 ). The clamps 31a and 31b are configured to be movable relative to each other. The clamping mechanism 31 grips the electrode foil material web 6 and synchronizes the moving speed of the clamping mechanism 31 in the conveying direction with the conveying speed of the electrode foil material web 6, thereby restricting relative movement of the electrode foil material web 6 in the conveying direction with respect to the electrode foil conveying device 11. At the same time, the clamping mechanism 31 allows relative movement of the electrode foil material web 6 in the conveying direction with respect to the electrode foil conveying device 11, depending on the difference between the moving speed of the clamping mechanism 31 and the conveying speed of the electrode foil material web 6. For example, by slowing the moving speed of the upstream clamp 31a compared to the moving speed of the downstream clamp 31b (i.e., the conveying speed of the electrode foil material web 6), the upstream clamp 31a and the downstream clamp 31b are moved relative to each other depending on the speed difference.

[0045] The cutting mechanism 32 has a "cutting blade" or a "laser beam generator" that moves in the width direction of the electrode foil material web 6 (a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the electrode foil material web 6) and in the conveying direction of the electrode foil material web 6 (the length direction of the electrode foil material web 6) to cut the electrode foil material web 6. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the cutting mechanism 32 has a laser beam generator 32a that generates a "laser beam" to cut the electrode foil material web 6. The cutting mechanism 32 synchronizes the conveying speed of the electrode foil material web 6 with the feed speed in the conveying direction of the "cutting blade" or "laser beam" (in the example shown in FIG. 4, the laser beam generated by the laser beam generator 32a) while the relative movement of the electrode foil material web 6 with respect to the electrode foil conveying device 11 is restrained by the clamping mechanism 31. At the same time, the cutting mechanism 32 cuts the electrode foil material web 6 by moving a "cutting blade" or "laser beam" in the width direction of the electrode foil material web 6 at a predetermined feed speed between the position where the electrode foil material web 6 is gripped by the clamping mechanism 31 on the upstream side in the conveying direction and the position where the electrode foil material web 6 is gripped on the downstream side.

[0046] After cutting the electrode foil material web 6 as described above, the electrode foil cutting device 12 in this embodiment of the present invention reduces (slows) the movement speed of the clamp 31a gripping the electrode foil material web 6 on the upstream side in the conveyance direction compared to the movement speed of the clamp 31b gripping the electrode foil material web 6 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction. This provides a gap 6a between the electrode foil 2 in the upstream electrode foil material web 6 cut by the cutting mechanism 32 and the electrode foil 2 in the downstream electrode foil material web 6, allowing for placement and bonding of a seal member 3 in step P2, which will be described later.

[0047] Furthermore, in the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, in step P2 (sealing material joining step using sealing material joining device 13) shown in Figures 1 and 3 above, the electrode foil 2 and the sealing members 3 and 4 are joined by "welding," as shown in Figures 5 and 6 below, for example.

[0048] FIG. 5 shows an image of a first seal joining device 33 that welds a seal member 3 in the cutting direction of the electrode foil material web 6 or the joining direction of the electrode foil web 7. The first seal joining device 33 joins a seal member 3 supplied from a first seal material reel 34 to two sides in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the electrode foil material web 6 and the electrode foil web 7) of the electrode foil 2 formed into a rectangular shape by the electrode foil cutting device 12 described above. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the first seal joining device 33 has a laser heating device 33a that irradiates a laser beam onto the seal member 3 to heat it and weld it to the electrode foil 2. For example, the seal member 3 and the electrode foil 2 can be welded to the electrode foil 2 by irradiating a laser beam onto the joint between the seal member 3 and the electrode foil 2 while clamping and pressurizing them with a transparent glass plate (not shown). Note that the seal member 3 may also be joined (welded) to both the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b of the electrode foil 2. Alternatively, the sealing member 3 may be joined (welded) to either the upper surface 2a or the lower surface 2b of the electrode foil 2. Fig. 5 shows an example in which the sealing member 3 is welded to the upper surface 2a of the electrode foil 2 (an image of the sealing member 3 being welded to the lower surface 2b of the electrode foil 2 is omitted).

[0049] Then, first sealing material joining device 33 joins sealing material 3 supplied from first sealing material reel 34 to each of the upstream and downstream electrode foils 2, between which gap 6a has been provided by electrode foil cutting device 12, thereby joining together the upstream electrode foil 2 and the downstream electrode foil 2. In this way, electrode foil web 7 is formed.

[0050] FIG. 6 shows an image of a second sealant joining device 35 that welds a sealant 4 in the conveyance direction of the electrode foil material web 6 and the electrode foil web 7. The second sealant joining device 35 joins a sealant 4 supplied from a second sealant reel 36 to two sides in the conveyance direction of the electrode foil 2 that has been formed into a rectangular shape by the electrode foil cutting device 12. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the second sealant joining device 35 welds the sealant 4 supplied from the second sealant reel 36 to the electrode foil 2 in the electrode foil web 7 that has been formed by the first sealant joining device 33 (i.e., in which the electrode foils 2 are joined together). In the example shown in FIG. 6, the second sealant joining device 35 also includes a laser heating device 35a that irradiates the sealant 4 with a laser beam to heat the sealant 4 and weld it to the electrode foil 2, and a pressure roller 35b. In this second sealing material joining device 35, the sealing member 4 and the electrode foil 2 are overlapped and tightly attached, and then a laser beam is irradiated onto the joint portion between the sealing member 4 and the electrode foil 2 to heat the joint portion, while a pressure roller 35b is applied to the joint portion, thereby welding the sealing member 4 to the electrode foil 2. The sealing member 4 may be joined (welded) to both the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b of the electrode foil 2. Alternatively, the sealing member 4 may be joined (welded) to either the upper surface 2a or the lower surface 2b of the electrode foil 2. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the sealing member 4 is welded to both the upper and lower surfaces 2a, 2b of the electrode foil 2.

[0051] 7 , the second sealing material joining device 35 has an edge sensor 35c and sealing material unwinding devices 35d and 35e to align the edge (foil edge) of the electrode foil web 7 with the center of the seal member 4 in the width direction when joining the seal member 4 on the conveyance direction side to the electrode foil 2. The positions of the sealing material unwinding devices 35d and 35e in the width direction of the electrode foil web 7 are controlled by so-called center position control (CPC) based on the position of the edge of the electrode foil web 7 detected non-contactly by the edge sensor 35c. The sealing material unwinding device 35d adjusts the position of the seal member 4 to be joined to the upper surface of the electrode foil web 7, and the sealing material unwinding device 35e adjusts the position of the seal member 4 to be joined to the lower surface of the electrode foil web 7.

[0052] Furthermore, the sealing material joining device 13 in the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described laser heating devices 33a and 35a used to "weld" the sealing members 3 and 4 and the electrode foil 2. For example, an adhesive (not shown) may be used to "bond" the sealing members 3 and 4 and the electrode foil 2. Alternatively, other joining methods may be used as appropriate to join the sealing members 3 and 4 and the electrode foil 2.

[0053] In the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, in step P3 (separator joining step using separator joining device 16) shown in Figures 1 and 3 above, the electrode foil 2 and separator 5 are joined together, as shown in Figure 8 below, as an example.

[0054] The separator bonding device 16 shown in Fig. 8 includes a first drive roller 41, a cutting mechanism 42, a second drive roller 43, and a driven roller 44. In the example shown in Fig. 8, the separator bonding device 16 also includes a heating device 45 and a pressure roller 46 to bond the electrode foil 2 and the separator 5 by "welding."

[0055] The first drive roller 41 winds and transports the separator web 8 supplied from the separator reel 21. That is, the first drive roller 41 corresponds to the separator transport device 14 in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0056] The cutting mechanism 42 cuts the separator web 8 wound around the first drive roller 41 on the first drive roller 41 to form a rectangular separator 5. The cutting mechanism 42 is, for example, a "cutter roll" having a movable roller 42a and a cutter 42b attached thereto, as shown in FIG. 8 , and cuts the separator web 8 by bringing the cutter 42b into contact with the roll surface 41a of the first drive roller 41 at a predetermined position on the first drive roller 41 around which the separator web 8 is wound and moving the cutter 42b in the width direction of the first drive roller 41 and the movable roller 42a, thereby cutting the separator web 8 and cutting out and forming a rectangular separator 5.

[0057] The second drive roller 43 rewinds and transports the separator 5 that has been formed into a rectangular shape on the first drive roller 41 and transported from the first drive roller 41. At the same time, the second drive roller 43 winds and transports the electrode foil web 7 that has been formed into a strip shape by the sealing material joining device 13, in a position that matches the position where the separator 5 was wound. The second drive roller 43 also transports the electrode foil material web 6 that is supplied from the electrode foil reel 18 described above. In other words, the second drive roller 43 also serves as the 1 in embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0058] The driven roller 44 is disposed adjacent to the second drive roller 43 and rotates in accordance with the rotation of the second drive roller 43. At the same time, the driven roller 44 pinches the electrode foil web 7 between itself and the second drive roller 43, and the electrode foil web 7 wound around the second drive roller 43 is brought into close contact with the separator 5.

[0059] Then, separator joining device 16 in the embodiment of the present invention joins separator 5 and electrode foil 2 on second drive roller 43 in a state in which electrode foil 2 of electrode foil web 7 wound around second drive roller 43 overlaps separator 5 that has been rewound from first drive roller 41 to second drive roller 43 as described above. In the example shown in Fig. 8, separator joining device 16 fuses separator 5 and electrode foil 2 on second drive roller 43 using heating device 45 and pressure roller 46.

[0060] The heating device 45 heats the joint between the separator 5 and the electrode foil 2 in a state in which the separator 5 and the electrode foil 2 of the electrode foil web 7 overlap each other on the second drive roller 43. The heating device 45 is provided on the driven roller 44 side in the circumferential direction of the roll surface 43a of the second drive roller 43 relative to a contact point between a pressure roller 46 (described later) and the roll surface 43a. In other words, the heating device 45 is disposed so as to heat the joint between the separator 5 and the electrode foil 2 on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the second drive roller 43 relative to a contact point between the pressure roller 46 and the roll surface 43a of the second drive roller 43. For example, the heating device 45 may be a laser welding device (not shown) that irradiates the joint between the separator 5 and the electrode foil 2 with laser light to generate heat at the interface (not shown) of the joint. Alternatively, an ultrasonic welding device (not shown) may be used that applies ultrasonic vibration to the joint between separator 5 and electrode foil 2 to generate frictional heat at the interface (not shown) of the joint.

[0061] After the heating device 45 heats the joint portion between the separator 5 and the electrode foil 2, the pressure roller 46 sandwiches the joint portion between itself and the second drive roller 43 and applies a pressing force to the joint portion. The pressure roller 46 then welds the separator 5 to the electrode foil web 7 at the joint portion. Specifically, the separator 5 is welded to the joint portion of the electrode foil web 7 between the sealing members 3 and 4 of the electrode foil 2. The pressure roller 46 is pressed in the normal direction of the second drive roller 43 at the joint portion between the separator 5 and the electrode foil 2 by an actuator (not shown) using, for example, hydraulics or a servo motor.

[0062] It should be noted that the separator bonding device 16 in the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described device that uses the heating device 45 and pressure roller 46 to "weld" the bonded portion between the separator 5 and the electrode foil 2. For example, the separator 5 and the electrode foil 2 may be "bonded" together using an adhesive (not shown). Alternatively, the separator 5 and the electrode foil 2 may be bonded together using any other appropriate bonding method.

[0063] As described above, the "battery" manufactured by the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention is formed by joining sealing members 3 and 4 to the four sides of rectangular electrode foil 2, which serves as a "current collector" or "electrode plate," and then stacking a large number of electrode foils 2 with these sealing members 3 and 4 joined together, with separators 5 sandwiched between them. To manufacture such a "battery," specifically, a battery cell 1 composed of electrode foil 2 and separator 5, the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention transports separator 5 and electrode foil 2 using a web. During this web transport process, the electrode foil 2 is cut out, the sealing members 3 and 4 are joined (welded) to the electrode foil 2, the separator 5 is cut out, and the separator 5 is joined (welded) to the electrode foil 2. This shortens the cycle time for manufacturing battery cell 1 compared to conventional methods in which the sealing members 3 and 4 are cut and transported in separate processes, or the separator 5 is cut and transported. Furthermore, there is no need for a separate process for cutting and joining the sealing members 3 and 4 and the separator 5, which allows for space saving in the manufacturing area for the battery cells 1.

[0064] Therefore, according to the battery manufacturing system and manufacturing method of the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to easily shorten the cycle time for manufacturing the battery cells 1 and save space in the manufacturing location. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 1 battery cell 2 Electrode foil 2a (Electrode foil) top surface 2b (electrode foil) bottom surface 3 Sealing material 4 Sealing material 5 Separator 6 Electrode foil material web 6a (After cutting the electrode foil material web) 7 Electrode foil web 8 Separator web 10 Manufacturing Systems 11 Electrode foil transport device 12 Electrode foil cutting device 13 Sealing material joining device 14 Separator conveying device 15 Separator cutting device 16 Separator joining device 17 Battery cell extractor 18 Electrode foil reel 19 Sealing material reel 20 Sealing material reel 21 Separator reel 31 Clamping mechanism 31a Clamp (upstream of clamping mechanism) 31b Clamp (downstream of the clamping mechanism) 32 Cutting mechanism 32a Laser light generator (for cutting mechanism) 33 First sealing material joining device (sealing material joining device) 33a Laser heating device (of the first sealing material bonding device) 34 First sealing material reel (sealing material reel) 35 Second sealant bonding device (sealant bonding device) 35a Laser heating device (for the second sealing material bonding device) 35b Pressure roller (of the second sealing material bonding device) 35c Edge sensor (for second sealing material bonding device) 35d Sealing material unwinding device (on the upper side of the second sealing material joining device) 35e Sealing material unwinding device (underside of second sealing material joining device) 36 Second sealing material reel (sealing material reel) 41 First driving roller (separator conveying device) 41a (first driving roller) roll surface 42 Cutting mechanism 42a Movable roller (of cutting mechanism) 42b (Cutting mechanism) cutter 43 Second drive roller (electrode foil transport device) 43a (second driving roller) roll surface 44 driven roller 45 Heating device 46 Pressure roller

Claims

1. A battery manufacturing system that forms a battery by joining sealing members to four peripheral sides of a rectangular electrode foil, and stacking the electrode foil with the sealing members joined thereto with a sheet-like separator sandwiched therebetween, an electrode foil reel that winds and holds an electrode foil material web in which the electrode foil material is formed into a belt shape; an electrode foil transport device that transports the electrode foil material web supplied from the electrode foil reel; an electrode foil cutting device that cuts the electrode foil material web conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device while being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device to form the rectangular electrode foils, and that provides a gap between adjacent electrode foils in the conveying direction after cutting; a sealing material reel that winds and holds the band-shaped sealing material; a sealing material joining device that cuts the sealing material supplied from the sealing material reel into a shape corresponding to the rectangular electrode foil cut by the electrode foil cutting device, and joins the sealing material to the electrode foil being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device, straddling adjacent electrode foils in the conveying direction, thereby forming a belt-shaped electrode foil web in which the electrode foils are joined together; a separator reel that holds a separator web formed by rolling up the separator material into a strip shape; a separator conveying device that conveys the separator web supplied from the separator reel; a separator cutting device that cuts the separator web conveyed by the separator conveying device while being conveyed by the separator conveying device, to form the separator into a rectangular shape corresponding to the electrode foil; a separator joining device that aligns the separator formed into a rectangular shape by the separator cutting device with the electrode foil in the electrode foil web formed into a strip shape by the sealing material joining device and transported by the electrode foil transport device, and joins the electrode foil transported by the electrode foil transport device and the separator together while they are being transported by the electrode foil transport device; a battery cell cutting device that cuts out rectangular pieces of the electrode foil web to which the sealing members and the separators are respectively bonded, to form battery cells each composed of the electrode foil, the sealing members, and the separators; Equipped with A battery manufacturing system comprising:

2. The battery manufacturing system according to claim 1, The electrode foil cutting device is a clamping mechanism that is movable in the conveying direction in synchronization with a conveying speed of the electrode foil material web in the conveying direction by the electrode foil conveying device, and that grips the electrode foil material web being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device at at least two different positions in the conveying direction while the electrode foil material web is moving in the conveying direction, and synchronizes the moving speed when the electrode foil material web is gripped and moved in the conveying direction with the conveying speed, thereby restricting relative movement of the electrode foil material web with respect to the electrode foil conveying device in the conveying direction and allowing the relative movement in accordance with a difference between the moving speed and the conveying speed; a cutting mechanism that cuts the electrode foil material web by moving a cutting blade or a laser beam in the width direction and the transport direction of the electrode foil material web, With the relative movement being restrained by the clamping mechanism, the transport speed of the electrode foil material web and the feed speed of the cutting blade or the laser beam in the transport direction are synchronized, and the electrode foil material web is cut by moving the cutting blade or the laser beam in the width direction between a position where the electrode foil material web is gripped by the clamping mechanism on the upstream side in the transport direction and a position where the electrode foil material web is gripped on the downstream side in the transport direction, After the electrode foil material web is cut, the moving speed of the clamping mechanism that grips the electrode foil material web on the upstream side is reduced to be slower than the moving speed of the clamping mechanism that grips the electrode foil material web on the downstream side, thereby leaving the gap between the electrode foil in the electrode foil material web on the upstream side cut by the cutting mechanism and the electrode foil in the electrode foil material web on the downstream side. A battery manufacturing system comprising:

3. The battery manufacturing system according to claim 1, The sealing material joining device includes: a first sealing material joining device that joins the sealing members to two sides in the width direction of the electrode foil material web of the electrode foil formed into a rectangular shape by the electrode foil cutting device; a second sealing material joining device that joins the sealing material to two sides in the conveyance direction of the electrode foil formed into a rectangular shape by the electrode foil cutting device, The sealing material reel includes: a first sealing material reel that supplies the sealing material to the first sealing material joining device; a second sealing material reel that supplies the sealing material to the second sealing material joining device, the first sealing material joining device joins the sealing material supplied from the first sealing material reel between the electrode foil on the upstream side in the conveying direction and the electrode foil on the downstream side in the conveying direction, the gap being provided by the electrode foil cutting device, to the electrode foil on the upstream side and the electrode foil on the downstream side, respectively, and forms the electrode foil web by joining the electrode foil on the upstream side and the electrode foil on the downstream side together; The second sealing material joining device joins the sealing member supplied from the second sealing material reel to the electrode foil in the electrode foil web formed by the first sealing material joining device. A battery manufacturing system comprising:

4. The battery manufacturing system according to claim 1, The separator joining device is a first drive roller that winds and transports the separator web supplied from the separator reel; a cutting mechanism that cuts the separator web wound around the first drive roller on the first drive roller to form the rectangular separator; a second drive roller that rewinds and transports the separator that has been formed into a rectangular shape on the first drive roller and that has been transported from the first drive roller, and that winds and transports the electrode foil web that has been formed into a strip shape by the sealing material joining device, in alignment with the position where the separator has been wound; a driven roller that is disposed adjacent to the second drive roller, that rotates in accordance with the rotation of the second drive roller, that sandwiches the electrode foil web between the second drive roller and the driven roller, and that brings the electrode foil web wound around the second drive roller into close contact with the separator, The separator and the electrode foil are joined on the second drive roller in a state where the electrode foil of the electrode foil web wound around the second drive roller overlaps the separator that has been rewound from the first drive roller to the second drive roller. A battery manufacturing system comprising:

5. A method for manufacturing a battery, comprising: joining sealing members to four peripheral sides of a rectangular electrode foil; and stacking the electrode foil with the sealing members thereon with a sheet-like separator sandwiched therebetween, an electrode foil material web, which is formed into a strip shape from an electrode foil reel that is wound up and held by the electrode foil material web, is transported by an electrode foil transport device; the electrode foil material web conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device is cut by an electrode foil cutting device while being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device to form the rectangular electrode foils, and after cutting, a gap is provided between the electrode foils adjacent to each other in the conveying direction; the sealing material supplied from a sealing material reel that has wound up and held the band-shaped sealing material is cut into a shape corresponding to the rectangular electrode foil, and the sealing material is joined to the electrode foil being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device, straddling the electrode foils adjacent to each other in the conveying direction, thereby forming a band-shaped electrode foil web in which the electrode foils are joined together; a separator web, which is a strip of separator material, is wound up and held on a separator reel, and the separator web is fed by a separator feed device; The separator web conveyed by the separator conveying device is cut while being conveyed by the separator conveying device to form the rectangular separator corresponding to the electrode foil; the separator formed into a rectangular shape and the electrode foil in the electrode foil web formed into a belt shape and being transported by the electrode foil transporting device are overlapped with each other, and the electrode foil transported by the electrode foil transporting device and the separator are joined together while being transported by the electrode foil transporting device; The electrode foil web to which the sealing member and the separator are respectively bonded is cut into a rectangular shape to form a battery cell composed of the electrode foil, the sealing member, and the separator. A method for manufacturing a battery comprising the steps of:

6. A method for manufacturing a battery according to claim 5, a clamping mechanism that is movable in the conveying direction in synchronization with a conveying speed of the electrode foil material web in the conveying direction by the electrode foil conveying device, and that grips the electrode foil material web being conveyed by the electrode foil conveying device at at least two different positions in the conveying direction while the electrode foil material web is moving in the conveying direction, and synchronizes the moving speed when the electrode foil material web is gripped and moved in the conveying direction with the conveying speed, thereby restricting relative movement of the electrode foil material web with respect to the electrode foil conveying device in the conveying direction and allowing the relative movement in accordance with a difference between the moving speed and the conveying speed; a cutting mechanism that cuts the electrode foil material web by moving a cutting blade or a laser beam in the width direction and the transport direction of the electrode foil material web, With the relative movement being restrained by the clamping mechanism, the transport speed of the electrode foil material web and the feed speed of the cutting blade or the laser beam in the transport direction are synchronized, and the electrode foil material web is cut by moving the cutting blade or the laser beam in the width direction between a position where the electrode foil material web is gripped by the clamping mechanism on the upstream side in the transport direction and a position where the electrode foil material web is gripped on the downstream side in the transport direction, After the electrode foil material web is cut, the moving speed of the clamping mechanism that grips the electrode foil material web on the upstream side is reduced to be slower than the moving speed of the clamping mechanism that grips the electrode foil material web on the downstream side, thereby leaving the gap between the electrode foil in the electrode foil material web on the upstream side cut by the cutting mechanism and the electrode foil in the electrode foil material web on the downstream side. A method for manufacturing a battery comprising the steps of:

7. A method for manufacturing a battery according to claim 5, a first sealing material joining device that joins the sealing members to two sides in the width direction of the electrode foil material web of the electrode foil formed into a rectangular shape by the electrode foil cutting device; a second sealing material joining device that joins the sealing material to two sides in the conveyance direction of the electrode foil formed into a rectangular shape by the electrode foil cutting device; a first sealing material reel that supplies the sealing material to the first sealing material joining device; a second sealing material reel that supplies the sealing material to the second sealing material joining device, the sealing material is supplied from a first sealing material reel between the electrode foil on the upstream side in the conveying direction and the electrode foil on the downstream side in the conveying direction, the gap being provided by the electrode foil cutting device, and the sealing material is joined to the electrode foil on the upstream side and the electrode foil on the downstream side by the first sealing material joining device, respectively, to form the electrode foil web by joining the electrode foil on the upstream side and the electrode foil on the downstream side; The second sealing material joining device joins the sealing member supplied from the second sealing material reel to the electrode foil in the electrode foil web formed by the first sealing material joining device. A method for manufacturing a battery comprising the steps of:

8. A method for manufacturing a battery according to claim 5, a first drive roller that winds and transports the separator web supplied from the separator reel; a cutting mechanism that cuts the separator web wound around the first drive roller on the first drive roller to form the rectangular separator; a second drive roller that rewinds and transports the separator that has been formed into a rectangular shape on the first drive roller and that has been transported from the first drive roller, and that winds and transports the electrode foil web that has been formed into a strip shape, in alignment with the position where the separator has been wound; a driven roller that is disposed adjacent to the second drive roller, that rotates in accordance with the rotation of the second drive roller, that sandwiches the electrode foil web between the second drive roller and the driven roller, and that brings the electrode foil web wound around the second drive roller into close contact with the separator, The separator and the electrode foil are joined on the second drive roller in a state where the electrode foil of the electrode foil web wound around the second drive roller overlaps the separator that has been rewound from the first drive roller to the second drive roller. A method for manufacturing a battery comprising the steps of:

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