Coating die for lithium secondary batteries including removable spacer shim

Abstract

The present invention relates to a coating die for a lithium secondary battery, the coating die including an upper die plate, a lower die plate, and a shim assembly interposed between the upper die plate and the lower die plate, the shim assembly including a body shim and one or more spacer shims, and the spacer shims are individually detachable from the coating die.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0135173 dated October 12, 2021, and all contents disclosed in the documents of that Korean patent application are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a coating die for a lithium secondary battery that includes a removable spacer shim. [Background technology]

[0003] As technological development and demand for mobile devices increases, the demand for secondary batteries as an energy source is rapidly increasing. Among such secondary batteries, lithium secondary batteries, which exhibit high energy density and working potential, long cycle life, and low self-discharge rate, have been commercialized and are widely used.

[0004] In addition, as interest in environmental issues has grown in recent years, much research has been conducted into electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) that can replace vehicles that use fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel vehicles, which are one of the main causes of air pollution. Lithium secondary batteries, which have high energy density, high discharge voltage and stable output, are mainly researched and used as the power source for such electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).

[0005] Such lithium secondary batteries are generally manufactured by stacking or winding positive and negative electrodes with a separator between them, and then housing the stacked or wound electrodes together with an electrolyte in a battery case.

[0006] Among them, electrodes such as the positive electrode and the negative electrode are manufactured by coating an active material slurry on a current collector, drying and rolling the same. At this time, the coating of the active material slurry is generally performed by a coating die that ejects the active material slurry.

[0007] At this time, as an example, a perspective view of the coating die 10 is shown in FIG.

[0008] Referring to FIG. 1 below, the coating die 10 is composed of an upper coating die 11, a lower coating die 12, and a shim assembly 13 interposed between them. At this time, the shim assembly 13 is configured by integrating a body shim 14 coupled to the upper coating die 11 and the lower coating die 12, and spacer shims 15, 16, 17, and 18 for discharging insulating liquid.

[0009] However, recently, as the number of lanes for manufacturing electrodes has increased and the width of metal foils used as current collectors has become longer, integrated shim assemblies have many difficulties in adjusting individual slurry widths, loading, and mismatches, and there are problems with precise design and assembly of spacer shims in simultaneously forming insulating liquid and active material slurries.

[0010] Therefore, the reality is that there is a need to develop technology that can solve this problem. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0011] An object of the present invention is to provide a coating die for lithium secondary batteries having a novel structure that allows adjustment of the coating width, loading, and mismatch of active material slurry or insulating liquid for each lane as required. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The coating die for a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: an upper die plate, a lower die plate, and a shim assembly interposed between the upper die plate and the lower die plate; The shim assembly includes a body shim and one or more spacer shims; The spacer shims are formed so as to be individually detachable from the coating die.

[0013] In one specific example, the upper die plate may include an insulating liquid injection passage through which the insulating liquid is injected.

[0014] In this case, the insulating liquid introduction path may be formed from the top to the bottom.

[0015] In one specific example, the lower die plate may be connected to the upper die plate and may include a slurry input path through which active material slurry is input, and a manifold for storing the active material slurry, and in this case, the lower die plate may be connected to the upper die plate by a fixing pin, a fixing bolt, or both.

[0016] In one specific example, the body shim may be coupled to the upper die plate and the lower die plate, and may have an outlet opening from the manifold toward the outside where coating is performed so as not to cover a manifold formed on the lower die plate for storing active material slurry, and for discharging the active material slurry stored in the manifold.

[0017] At this time, the body shim can be connected to the upper die plate and the lower die plate by a fixing pin, a fixing bolt, or both.

[0018] In one specific example, the spacer shims may be respectively coupled to the upper die plate, the lower die plate, or the upper and lower die plates, and may include an insulating flow path positioned to correspond to the insulating liquid input path of the upper die plate, for storing and discharging the insulating liquid input from the input path of the upper die plate.

[0019] At this time, the spacer shim can be connected to the upper die plate, the lower die plate, or the upper and lower die plates by fixing pins, fixing bolts, or both.

[0020] In addition, the fixing pin and the fixing bolt are formed to have a structure that allows them to be attached and detached, and the spacer shim may be formed to be detachable from the coating die.

[0021] The number of the spacer shims is one or more and equal to or less than the number of the insulating liquid injection paths formed on the upper die plate. Effect of the Invention

[0022] The coating die for lithium secondary batteries according to the present invention has a detachable spacer shim for discharging insulating liquid, which has the effect of making it possible to adjust the coating width, loading, and mismatch of the active material slurry and insulating liquid as necessary. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional coating die for a lithium secondary battery. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a coating die for a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the upper die plate of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the spacer shim of FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] The terms and words used in the present specification and claims are not to be interpreted in their ordinary and dictionary sense, but in their meaning and concept that correspond to the technical idea of ​​the present invention, based on the principle that the inventors can appropriately define the concept of the term to best describe their invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in the present specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not represent the entire technical idea of ​​the present invention, so there may be various equivalents and modifications that can replace them at the time of filing, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0025] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The terms and words used in the present specification and claims are not to be construed as being limited to their ordinary and dictionary meanings, but are to be construed as having meanings and concepts that correspond to the technical ideas of the present invention, based on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concepts of terms in order to best describe his / her invention.

[0026] In addition, it should be understood that the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent the entire technical idea of ​​the present invention, and therefore there may be various equivalents and modifications that can replace them at the time of filing this application.

[0027] According to one embodiment, the present invention provides a coating die for a lithium secondary battery, comprising: the coating die includes an upper die plate, a lower die plate, and a shim assembly interposed between the upper die plate and the lower die plate; The shim assembly includes a body shim and one or more spacer shims; A coating die is provided in which the spacer shims are formed to be individually detachable from the coating die.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a coating die 100 for a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a die upper plate 110 of the coating die 100, and FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of one spacer shim 132 of the coating die 100.

[0029] To explain the present invention, an example will be described with reference to both FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

[0030] Referring to FIG. 1, a coating die 100 for a lithium secondary battery according to the present invention includes an upper die plate 110, a lower die plate 120, and a shim assembly 130 interposed between the upper die plate 110 and the lower die plate 120, and the shim assembly 130 includes a body shim 131 and one or more spacer shims 132, 133, 134, 135.

[0031] More specifically, the upper die plate 110 includes a coupling hole 141 into which a fixing pin, a fixing bolt, or both are inserted for coupling with the lower die plate 120, and an insulating liquid injection path 142 into which an insulating liquid is injected.

[0032] 2 together with FIG. 1, the insulating liquid supply path 142 is formed from the top to the bottom and penetrates the upper die plate 110 to allow the insulating liquid to flow into the spacer shims 132, 133, 134, and 135.

[0033] The joining holes 141 are formed for joining the body shim 131 and the die lower plate 120, which will be described later.

[0034] Meanwhile, the die lower plate 120 includes a slurry input path (not shown) through which the active material slurry is input, and a manifold 121 for storing the active material slurry.

[0035] Here, the slurry supply path is structured to be connected to the manifold 121. Therefore, the active material slurry supplied through the slurry supply path reaches the manifold 121 and is stored.

[0036] The active material slurry stored in the manifold 121 is discharged from an outlet 136 of a body shim 131 of a shim assembly 130 of the coating die in an assembled state, which will be described below, to perform electrode coating.

[0037] For this purpose, the lower die plate 120 is coupled to the upper die plate 110 by means of a fixing pin, a fixing bolt, or both, so that the lower die plate 120 may also include coupling holes 122, 123 through which it can be coupled to the upper die plate 110.

[0038] As a component of the shim assembly 130, the body shim 131 is formed on the die lower plate 120 and opens from the manifold 121 toward the outside where coating is performed so as not to cover the manifold 121 that stores the active material slurry, and has a discharge port 136 for discharging the active material slurry stored in the manifold 121.

[0039] As described above, the active material slurry stored in the manifold 121 is discharged through the outlet 136.

[0040] That is, simply, the body shim 131 has a U-shape.

[0041] The body shim 131 is coupled to the upper die plate 110 and the lower die plate 120. At this time, the coupling of the body shim 131 can also be formed by a fixing pin, a fixing bolt, or both, and therefore the body shim 131 can include coupling holes 137 and 138 into which these can be inserted.

[0042] On the other hand, the spacer shims 132, 133, 134, and 135 included in the coating die 100 of the present application are structured so as to be individually detachable.

[0043] Specifically, the spacer shims 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 are individually bonded to the top die plate 110 , to the bottom die plate 120 , or to the top die plate 110 and the bottom die plate 120 .

[0044] Thus, for individual installation and removal, the spacer shims 132, 133, 134, 135 may be coupled to the top die plate 110, the bottom die plate 120, or the top die plate 110 and the bottom die plate 120 by locking pins, locking bolts, or both.

[0045] Here, the fixing pins and the fixing bolts are formed in a structure that allows them to be attached and detached, and the spacer shims 132 , 133 , 134 , and 135 are formed to be detachable from the coating die 100 .

[0046] At this time, the spacer shims 132, 133, 134, and 135 can be formed at any position corresponding to the insulating liquid injection path 142 of the upper die plate 110, and their width and forming position can be appropriately selected according to need.

[0047] The number of spacer shims 132, 133, 134, 135 used can also be selected, and the number of spacer shims is one or more and less than the number of insulating liquid injection paths formed on the upper plate of the die. Specifically, it is preferable that the number of spacer shims is one or more, more preferably two or more, and even more preferably three or more.

[0048] Therefore, according to the present invention, the spacer shims 132, 133, 134, and 135 can be individually attached to and detached from the coating die 100, and the number and positions of the spacer shims can be changed, so that the coating width, loading, and mismatch of the active material slurry and insulating liquid can be adjusted.

[0049] In order to show the specific structure of such spacer shims 132, 133, 134, and 135, FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of one of such spacer shims 132.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 3, the spacer shim 132 includes bonding holes 132b, 132c for bonding to the top die plate 110 and / or the bottom die plate 120. As shown in FIG.

[0051] Specifically, the spacer shims 132, 133, 134, and 135 serve to coat the insulating liquid. Accordingly, the spacer shims 132, 133, 134, and 135 include an insulating flow path 132a for discharging the insulating liquid flowing in from the insulating liquid supply path 142 of the upper die plate 110 to the outside of the coating die 100.

[0052] Thus, the active material slurry in the manifold 121 of the die lower plate 120 is discharged through the outlet 136 of the body shim 131 for coating, and the insulating liquid is discharged through the insulating channels 132a of the spacer shims 132, 133, 134, and 135 for coating.

[0053] Therefore, simultaneous coating of the active material slurry and the insulating liquid is possible.

[0054] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be applied in a variety of applications and modifications within the scope of the present invention based on the above content.

Claims

1. A coating die for coating an active material slurry and an insulating liquid for a lithium secondary battery, comprising: the coating die includes an upper die plate, a lower die plate, and a shim assembly interposed between the upper die plate and the lower die plate; the shim assembly includes a body shim and one or more spacer shims including an insulating passage for draining insulating fluid to an exterior of the coating die; The spacer shims are formed to be individually removable in the coating die.

2. The coating die of claim 1 , wherein the upper die plate includes an insulating liquid input passage through which the insulating liquid is input.

3. The coating die according to claim 2 , wherein the insulating liquid supply path is formed from the top to the bottom of the upper die plate.

4. The coating die of claim 1 , wherein the lower die plate is coupled to the upper die plate and includes a slurry input path through which the active material slurry is input, and a manifold for storing the active material slurry.

5. The coating die of claim 1 , wherein the lower die plate is coupled to the upper die plate by a fixing pin, a fixing bolt, or both.

6. 2. The coating die according to claim 1, wherein the body shim is coupled to the upper die plate and the lower die plate, and has an outlet opening from the manifold toward an outside where coating is performed so as not to cover the manifold that stores the active material slurry.

7. The coating die of claim 1 , wherein the body shim is coupled to the upper die plate and the lower die plate by a fixing pin, a fixing bolt, or both.

8. 2. The coating die according to claim 1, wherein the spacer shims are respectively coupled to the upper die plate, the lower die plate, or the upper die plate and the lower die plate, and include the insulating flow passage positioned to correspond to the insulating liquid input path of the upper die plate and for storing and discharging the insulating liquid input from the input path of the upper die plate.

9. 9. The coating die of claim 8, wherein the spacer shims are coupled to the upper die plate, the lower die plate, or the upper and lower die plates by fixing pins, fixing bolts, or both.

10. The coating die according to claim 9 , wherein the fixing pin and the fixing bolt are formed in a structure that allows them to be coupled and detached, and the spacer shim is formed so as to be detachable from the coating die.

11. The coating die of claim 1 , wherein the number of the spacer shims is one or more and is equal to or less than the number of the insulating liquid injection paths formed on the upper die plate.

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