Roller for material support

Abstract

A material support roller according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a rotating shaft, a pipe having a space into which the rotating shaft is inserted, a deformer connected to the rotating shaft and the pipe to deform the pipe, and a support part provided on the pipe to support a material. The deformer includes a threaded part provided on the rotating shaft, a nut part threadedly coupled to the threaded part, an inclined part disposed on an inner surface of the pipe and pressed by the nut part as the rotating shaft rotates, and a drive source connected to the rotating shaft to rotate the rotating shaft.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0149599, filed on November 3, 2021, and all the contents disclosed in the document of the Korean patent application are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a roller for supporting a material, and more particularly, to a roller for supporting a thin film material.

Background Art

[0003] With the development of technology and the increasing demand for mobile devices, the demand for secondary batteries as an energy source has been rapidly increasing. In particular, secondary batteries have attracted much attention not only as an energy source for mobile devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, notebook computers, and wearable devices, but also as an energy source for power devices such as electric bicycles, electric vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles.

[0004] A secondary battery is formed by inserting an electrode assembly including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator into a case and then sealing it. Here, the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the separator are manufactured using separate thin film materials, for example, through a roll to roll manufacturing process.

[0005] During the manufacturing process, the thin film material is usually formed in a sheet shape and supported by a roller. The roller needs to support the thin film material so that no deformation such as wrinkles occurs in the thin film material during the manufacturing process.

[0006] Such requirements are also applied to other materials (e.g., films, PET) manufactured into products desired by consumers using the roll to roll method.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a roller for supporting a material that can prevent error phenomena such as wrinkles in the material while supporting the material during the manufacturing process.

[0008] The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the above-described problems, and problems not mentioned will also be clearly understood by those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains from the present specification and the attached drawings.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0009] The roller for supporting a material according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a rotating shaft, a pipe having a space in which the rotating shaft is inserted and arranged, a deformer connected to the rotating shaft and the pipe to deform the pipe, and a support portion provided on the pipe to support the material. The deformer includes a screw portion provided on the rotating shaft, a nut portion screwed to the screw portion, an inclined portion disposed on the inner surface of the pipe and pressurized by the nut portion due to the rotation of the rotating shaft, and a drive source connected to the rotating shaft to rotate the rotating shaft.

[0010] The screw portion is a left-right screw portion, the nut portion is provided in a pair at an arbitrary interval on the left-right screw portion, and the inclined portion is provided in a pair corresponding to the pair of nut portions, respectively.

[0011] The pair of nut portions is connected to a guide shaft arranged parallel to the rotating shaft. The pair of inclined portions can have a shape that is inclined more from the peripheral portion to the central portion of the pipe.

[0012] Also, the pair of inclined portions can have a shape that becomes thicker from the peripheral portion to the central portion of the pipe.

[0013] The pair of nut portions can move from the peripheral portion to the central portion of the pipe by the rotation of the rotating shaft to pressurize the inclined portion.

[0014] By applying pressure to the inclined portion, the pipe can be deformed so as to bulge in the direction in which the inclined portion is located.

[0015] The support portion can include a bobbin coupled to a bearing provided on the pipe, and a plurality of such bobbins are provided on the pipe. The material may be an electrode or a separator of a secondary battery.

Advantages of the Invention

[0016] According to the embodiment, the roller is variable, and the degree of variation can also be adjusted. As a result, the roller according to the embodiment can support the material more flexibly according to the characteristics of the material to be supported, and the material can be manufactured into a high-quality product while preventing abnormalities such as wrinkles during the manufacturing process.

[0017] The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects described above, and effects not mentioned will also be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains from the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5A

Figure 5B

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can easily implement them. The present invention can be realized in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0020] In order to clearly explain the present invention, parts that are unnecessary for explanation are omitted, and the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or similar components throughout the specification.

[0021] Also, the sizes and thicknesses of the respective components shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for convenience of explanation, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to what is shown in the drawings. In the drawings, the thicknesses are enlarged to clearly represent various layers and regions. Also, in the drawings, for convenience of explanation, the thicknesses of some layers and regions are exaggerated.

[0022] Also, throughout the specification, when a certain part "includes" a certain component, this means that other components can be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated to the contrary.

[0023] Note that throughout the specification, when referring to "on a plane", this means when looking at the target part from above, and when referring to "in a cross-section", this means when looking at the cross-section obtained by vertically cutting the target part from the side.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a roller 1 for supporting a material according to an embodiment of the present invention. The roller 1 is disposed on one side of the material 3 that is transported along one direction (e.g., the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1), for example, below the material 3, to support the material 3.

[0025] The roller 1 according to the embodiment is configured to be deformable to support the material 3. If possible, the degree of deformation can be adjusted according to the characteristics of the material 3 of the roller 1. The material 3 may be, for example, an electrode for an electrode assembly of a secondary battery or for a separator, but in the present invention, the material is not limited thereto.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the roller 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view thereof.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the roller 1 includes a rotating shaft 12 rotatably provided on both holders 10 arranged at a certain interval, and a cylindrical pipe 14 arranged outside the rotating shaft 12 while surrounding the rotating shaft 12.

[0028] The pipe 14 has a space for inserting the rotating shaft 12, and both ends are fixed to the holders 10. With the rotating shaft 12 inserted into the inner space of the pipe 14, a certain interval is set between the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 14 and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 12, and cutouts 140 of a certain size are arranged at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction of the pipe 14.

[0029] In addition, the roller 1 according to the embodiment includes a support portion 16 provided on the pipe 14 to support the material 3, and a deformer 18 connected to the rotating shaft 12 and the pipe 14 to deform the pipe 14.

[0030] In this embodiment, the support portion 16 includes a bobbin 162 coupled to a bearing 160 provided on the pipe 14 and rotatable. A plurality of, for example, seven bobbins 162 are provided on the pipe 14.

[0031] The deformer 18 includes a screw portion 180 provided on the rotating shaft 12, and a nut portion 182 screwed to the screw portion 180 and movable along the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 12 by the rotation of the rotating shaft 12.

[0032] In this embodiment, the screw portion 180 is composed of a left - hand screw portion and a right - hand screw portion, and the nut portion 182 is composed of a pair of nut portions respectively screwed to the left - hand screw portion and the right - hand screw portion. When the rotating shaft 12 rotates in one direction, the pair of nut portions 182 move toward the central portion of the rotating shaft 12 respectively, and when the rotating shaft rotates in the opposite direction, they can move toward the peripheral portion of the rotating shaft 12 respectively.

[0033] Such a nut portion 182 is connected to a guide shaft 20 whose both ends are respectively fixed to the holder 10 (see Fig. 4), and can perform the above-mentioned movement while receiving the guidance of the guide shaft 20.

[0034] Further, the transformer 18 includes an inclined portion 184 disposed on the inner surface of the pipe 14 and a drive source 186 (e.g., a drive motor, see Fig. 1) connected to the rotating shaft 12 to drive the rotating shaft 12.

[0035] In this embodiment, a pair of inclined portions 184 are provided corresponding to the nut portions 182 and are fixedly installed on the inner surface of the pipe 14 at an arbitrary interval. One surface (e.g., the surface facing the nut portion) of the inclined portion 184 is flat, while the other surface (e.g., the surface facing the inner surface of the pipe) facing this one surface can form a curvature in accordance with the inner surface curvature of the pipe 14.

[0036] The inclined portion 184 can have a shape in which the thickness and width become smaller from one end to the other end. Based on the state where the inclined portion 184 is disposed on the inner surface of the pipe 14, for example, the inclined portion 184 becomes thicker from the peripheral portion to the central portion of the pipe 14, and thus inclines more from the peripheral portion to the central portion of the pipe 14.

[0037] As a result, in the state shown in Fig. 5A, when the rotating shaft 12 rotates by the drive motor of the drive source 186, the pair of nut portions 182 can move to the central portion of the rotating shaft 12 by the screw connection relationship with the left and right screw portions 180 and contact the inclined portion 184 to press the inclined portion 184.

[0038] When the inclined portion 184 is pressurized, the inclined portion 184 deforms the pipe 14 while being pushed out to the outside of the pipe 14. As a result, the pipe 14 deforms so as to bulge in the direction in which the inclined portion 184 is disposed, and this deformation can further apply tension to the material 3 supported while the bobbin 162, which is the support portion 16, is also displaced from the initial position. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the nut portion 182 moves toward the center (the right side in FIG. 5B), the pipe 14 can be bent and deformed so as to bulge to one side (the upper side in FIG. 5B). As a result, the degree of tension can increase as the nut portion 182 moves closer to the center portion of the pipe 14.

[0039] As described above, the roller 1 according to the present embodiment can adjust the degree of tension applied by the support portion 16 to the material 3 by deforming the pipe 14 using the deformer 18 as necessary during the manufacturing process.

[0040] Therefore, in the process to which the roller 1 according to the present embodiment is applied, the tension can be adjusted to match the characteristics of the material 3 according to the material of the material 3, and the material 3 can be supported. As a result, since defective phenomena such as wrinkles can be prevented in the material 3, the material 3 can be manufactured into a high-quality product.

[0041] As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail. However, the scope of the rights of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present invention defined in the following claims also belong to the scope of the rights of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0042] 1: Roller 12: Rotating shaft 14: Pipe 16: Support portion 18: Deformer 20: Guide shaft 160: Bearing 162: Bobbin 180: Threaded portion 182: Nut portion 184: Inclined part 186: Drive source

Claims

1. A rotating shaft, a pipe having a space in which the rotating shaft is inserted and arranged, a deformer connected to the rotating shaft and the pipe to deform the pipe, and a support portion provided on the pipe to support a material are included, wherein the deformer includes a threaded portion provided on the rotating shaft, a nut portion threadedly coupled to the threaded portion, an inclined portion disposed on the inner surface of the pipe and pressed by the nut portion due to rotation of the rotating shaft, and a drive source connected to the rotating shaft to rotate the rotating shaft are included, wherein the threaded portion is a left - right threaded portion, the nut portion is provided in a pair at an arbitrary interval on the left - right threaded portion, and the inclined portion is provided in a pair corresponding to each of the pair of nut portions, and it is a roller for supporting a material.

2. The roller for supporting a material according to claim 1, wherein the pair of nut portions are connected to a guide shaft arranged parallel to the rotating shaft.

3. The roller for supporting a material according to claim 1, wherein the pair of inclined portions are inclined more from the peripheral portion to the central portion of the pipe.

4. The roller for supporting a material according to claim 3, wherein the pair of inclined portions become thicker from the peripheral portion to the central portion of the pipe.

5. The roller for supporting a material according to claim 4, wherein the pair of nut portions move from the peripheral portion to the central portion of the pipe due to rotation of the rotating shaft to press the inclined portion.

6. The roller for supporting a material according to claim 5, wherein due to the pressing of the inclined portion, the pipe is deformed to bulge in the direction in which the inclined portion is located.

7. A rotating shaft, a pipe having a space in which the rotating shaft is inserted and arranged, a deformer connected to the rotating shaft and the pipe to deform the pipe, and a support portion provided on the pipe to support a material are included, wherein the deformer includes a threaded portion provided on the rotating shaft, a nut portion threadedly coupled to the threaded portion, an inclined portion disposed on the inner surface of the pipe and pressed by the nut portion due to rotation of the rotating shaft, and a drive source connected to the rotating shaft to rotate the rotating shaft are included, wherein the support portion includes a bobbin coupled to a bearing provided on the pipe, and it is a roller for supporting a material.

8. The roller for supporting a material according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of the bobbins are provided on the pipe.

9. The roller for supporting a material according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the material is an electrode or a separator of a secondary battery.

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