Heater device and drying device using same

Abstract

To provide a heater device and a drying device using the same that enhances the heat transfer efficiency to an object to be processed and improves the processing efficiency.SOLUTION: A heater device 4 that comes into contact with a processing surface 3b of an object 3 to be heat-treated includes a heat equalizing unit 10 provided with a heat transfer surface 11a facing the processing surface 3b of the object 3 to be processed, a heating element 20 as a heat source disposed inside the heat equalizing unit 10, a cooling unit 30 having a fluid flow path 31 disposed inside the heat equalizing unit 10 and capable of supplying and discharging a cooling medium, and a heat transfer unit 40 arranged on the heat transfer surface 11a of the heat equalizing unit 10 and connecting the heat transfer surface 11a and the processing surface 3b of the object to be processed 3 with low heat resistance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a heater device and a drying device using the same, and more particularly to a heater device that contacts a treatment surface of an object to be treated to heat the object, and a drying device using the same. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, electric vehicles such as hybrid cars and electric cars have been attracting attention, and secondary batteries such as lithium-ion batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries are being used as power sources for these vehicles. Among these, lithium-ion batteries are currently being developed as batteries with high voltage and high energy density. This type of secondary battery is typically constructed by stacking positive and negative electrode plates as power generating elements with a separator made of a porous material between them, and modularizing battery cells filled with a non-aqueous electrolyte in a housing (case) that houses these battery elements.

[0003] It is known that moisture adsorbed to battery elements such as separators as well as positive and negative electrode plates in secondary batteries (battery cells) deteriorates battery performance. Therefore, in the manufacturing process of secondary batteries, in order to remove moisture or prevent re-adsorption to battery elements and casings, a method is adopted in which positive and negative electrode plates are dried at high temperatures using a large drying device such as a dry room, and then the main processes of stacking the battery elements, storing them in the casing, injecting the electrolyte, and sealing the case are carried out consecutively in a furnace, or a method is adopted in which the treated material is dried for each process using a separate drying device.

[0004] As disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, a conventional drying device has been proposed in which an assembly in which battery elements are housed in a housing as the object to be treated is placed in a furnace of the drying device, and the inside of the furnace is heated by a heater device while drying. In such a drying device, the inside of the exterior material of the object to be treated (assembly) and the battery elements are dried by heat radiation and thermal convection generated by heat generated by a plate heater as a heater device installed in the furnace.

[0005] However, in the case of the above-described conventional drying device configuration, when heating by radiant heat or convection using a heater device, there are problems in that radiant heat is not easily transferred to the inside of the housing or the battery elements when the object to be treated, such as an assembly containing battery elements in a housing, and the air volume inside the furnace is reduced under reduced pressure, making it difficult for convective heat to be transferred to the object to be treated, resulting in poor heat transfer efficiency. Furthermore, in conventional drying devices, the object to be treated is removed from the furnace after the heating process has been completed and the temperature of the object has dropped, which means that it takes time to move on to the next process, resulting in poor processing efficiency, including cooling of the object to be treated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Publication 2018-6261 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Therefore, the present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems with respect to a heater device and a drying device using the same, and to provide a heater device and a drying device using the same that increase the efficiency of heat transfer to the workpiece and improve processing efficiency. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above, and the means for solving this problem will now be described.

[0009] That is, in claim 1, a heater device that heats a surface of a workpiece by contacting the surface to be treated, includes a soaking section provided with a heat transfer surface facing the surface to be treated, a heating element as a heat source disposed inside the soaking section, a cooling section disposed inside the soaking section and having a fluid flow path through which a cooling medium can be supplied and discharged, and a cooling element disposed on the heat transfer surface of the soaking section and having a fluid flow path through which a cooling medium can be supplied and discharged. together with one or more base materials selected from the group consisting of alcohol, glycerin, hydrosol, organosol, alcosol, thermosetting elastomer, and thermoplastic elastomer, Thermal conductivity of the treatment surface of the heat-conducting object than the substrateThe device is formed as a bag-shaped pack body filled with a liquid or gel-like heat-conducting material containing a highly heat-conductive substance, and is equipped with a heat transfer part that connects the processing surface of the workpiece and the heat transfer surface of the soaking part with low thermal resistance.

[0011] Claim 2 In the above, the heat transfer portion includes a first heat conduction surface that contacts the treatment surface of the object to be treated and a second heat conduction surface that is different from the first heat conduction surface. have It is something.

[0012] Claim 3 In the above, the soaking section has heat transfer surfaces on both of the opposing side surfaces, and the heat transfer sections are respectively disposed on each of the heat transfer surfaces.

[0013] Claim 4 In the present invention, the heater device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is used to heat treat an assembly in which a battery element of a secondary battery is housed in a housing as an object to be treated. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The present invention has the effect of increasing the efficiency of heat transfer to the object to be treated, thereby improving the treatment efficiency. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing the overall configuration of a drying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a front view of the heater device of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a side view of the heater device of FIG. 2. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the heater device of FIG. 2. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a heat transfer portion of the heater device. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a heater device comes into contact with a processing surface of a processing object. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a heater device according to another embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a heat transfer portion of a heater device according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Next, an embodiment of the invention will be described.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1, the drying apparatus 1 of this embodiment is configured as a small heating and drying apparatus that houses multiple objects to be treated 3 inside a drying furnace 2 and dries the objects to be treated 3 while raising the temperature inside the drying furnace 2 using multiple heater devices 4·4··· as heat sources. The drying apparatus 1 has heater devices 4·4··· arranged at a predetermined distance from each other on a mounting base 5 installed inside the drying furnace 2, and objects to be treated 3 are placed between adjacent heater devices 4·4 and are pressed in the planar direction by pressing jigs 6·6 installed on both ends to be tightly attached. The drying furnace 2 is configured as a heat-resistant chamber, and the interior is depressurized by a vacuum pump 7 during heating.

[0018] The object to be treated 3 is configured as an assembly in which a battery element of a secondary battery (not shown) is housed in a housing 3a. Typically, secondary batteries such as lithium ion batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries are constructed by stacking positive and negative electrode plates as power generating elements with a separator made of a porous material interposed therebetween, and modularizing battery cells filled with a non-aqueous electrolyte in the housing 3a that houses these battery elements. The object to be treated 3 in this example is in a state before the battery cells are filled with a non-aqueous electrolyte.

[0019] The housing 3a of the workpiece 3 is formed as a hollow rectangular parallelepiped that can accommodate battery elements such as a positive electrode plate, a negative electrode plate, and a separator (not shown), and the treatment surfaces 3b that come into contact with a heater device 4 (described later) are formed on opposing large rectangular side surfaces, and an inlet for a non-aqueous electrolyte, terminals for the electrode plates, and the like (not shown) are arranged on the top surface.

[0020] As shown in Figures 2 to 6, the heater device 4 is configured as a heat source device that contacts the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3 to perform heat treatment, and specifically includes a soaking section 10 having a heat transfer surface 11a facing the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3, a heating element 20 as a heat source arranged inside the soaking section 10, a cooling section 30 arranged inside the soaking section 10 and having a fluid flow path 31 through which a cooling medium can be supplied and discharged, and a heat transfer section 40 arranged on the heat transfer surface 11a of the soaking section 10 and connecting the heat transfer surface 11a and the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3 with low thermal resistance.

[0021] The heat equalizing section 10 is configured by a pair of rectangular parallelepiped heat equalizing plates 11·11 integrally assembled by fixing members 12, with planar heat transfer surfaces 11a·11a provided on the opposing outer side surfaces. Mounting holes 13 are drilled around the outer periphery of the heat transfer surface 11a of the heat equalizing plate 11·11, penetrating the heat equalizing plate 11·11 and opening onto the heat transfer surface 11a·11a. Fixing members 12, such as assembly bolts and nuts, are inserted into the mounting holes 13, thereby integrally assembling the pair of heat equalizing plates 11·11 and the heating element 20 and heat transfer section 40, which will be described later.

[0022] The heating element 20 may be a known heater such as a mica heater, cartridge heater, or ceramic heater, and in this embodiment, a planar mica heater is used as an example. The heating element 20 has a connection terminal 20a connected to a power supply 22 via a connection cable 21 (see FIG. 1), and generates heat when power is applied from the power supply 22. The heating element 20 is disposed inside the soaking section 10 between a pair of heat equalizing plates 11, sandwiched between the pair of heat equalizing plates 11. By disposing the heating element 20 in this manner, heat generated by the heating element 20 is transferred in the planar direction of the soaking section 10 (the heat equalizing plates 11) and supplied to the heat transfer section 40, which will be described later.

[0023] The cooling section 30 is provided with a hollow fluid flow path 31 disposed in the heat equalizing plate 11 inside the heat equalizing section 10, and is configured so that a cooling medium can be supplied to and discharged from the fluid flow path 31 via a medium supply device 32. The fluid flow path 31 is formed by combining curved flow paths as a circuit pattern that reaches almost the entire interior of the heat equalizing plate 11, and the medium supply device 32 is connected via a supply and discharge path 33 to an inlet 31a and an outlet 31b that open on the lower surface of the heat equalizing plate 11 (see FIG. 1).

[0024] Examples of cooling media supplied and discharged by the medium supply device 32 include water (or cold water), air (or cold wind), and other coolants (antifreeze, glycol-based, alcohol-based, fluorine-based, silicone oil-based, hydrocarbon-based, etc.).

[0025] The heat transfer unit 40 is disposed on the heat transfer surface 11a of the soaking unit 10, and is configured as a deformable pack body that is flexible and thermally conductive by filling the inside of a bag-shaped exterior body 41 with a liquid or gel-like heat-conducting material 42 (see FIG. 6). The heat transfer unit 40 joins the heat transfer surface 11a and the treatment surface 3a with low thermal resistance when brought into contact with the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3, and has flexibility that allows it to conform to the outer shape of the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3, which is the joining surface, and thermal conductivity that promotes heating and cooling of the workpiece 3 via the joining surface.

[0026] The exterior body 41 is made of a set of flexible sheet members 43 and 44, and the sheet member 43 has a first heat conduction surface 43a that contacts the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3, and the sheet member 44 has a second heat conduction surface 44a that contacts the heat transfer surface 11a of the soaking unit 10. The edges of the sheet member 43 and the sheet member 44 are overlapped by heat sealing or bonding to form a bag shape (see FIG. 6(a)). Examples of the flexible sheet members 43 and 44 include thin films made of resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, and polyimide.

[0027] The exterior body 41 has through holes 45 bored in its outer periphery at positions corresponding to the mounting holes 13 of the heat equalizer plate 11 described above, and the inner periphery of the through hole 45 is heat sealed and a cylindrical collar 46 made of a non-metallic material is attached (see FIG. 6(b)). The heat transfer part 40 is attached to the heat equalizer plate 11 by inserting fixing members 12 such as bolts and nuts into the through holes 45 of the exterior body 41 and using the fixing members 12 to push the collar 46 into the mounting holes 13 of the heat equalizer plate 11.

[0028] The outer casing 41 is formed to have approximately the same size as the area of the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3, and when attached to the heat equalizing plate 11, the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3 is covered by the outer casing 41, the first heat conduction surface 43a of the sheet member 43 is exposed on the surface, and the second heat conduction surface 44a of the sheet member 44 is in close contact with the heat transfer surface 11a of the heat equalizing section 10 (see Figures 4 and 5).

[0029] The thermally conductive material 42 is a liquid or fluid gel-like material, and is prepared by blending known ingredients in a given ratio. In particular, the thermally conductive material 42 of this embodiment contains a thermally conductive substance together with a base material. By including the thermally conductive substance in this manner, the thermal conductivity of the thermally conductive material 42 is improved, and the thermal coupling between the workpiece 3 and the heater device 4 can be enhanced.

[0030] Examples of base materials used for the thermally conductive material 42 include solutions such as alcohol and glycerin, and sol solutions such as hydrosol, organosol, and alcosol, as well as resin-based base materials such as thermosetting elastomers such as polybutadiene, nitrile, chloroprene, silicone, and urethane, and thermoplastic elastomers such as polystyrene, polyester, polyolefin, polybutadiene, and fluorine, and a mixture of one or more of these may be used. If the thermally conductive material 42 is liquid, heat conduction also occurs by convection, so that heat absorbed from the heat transfer surface 11a of the soaking unit 10, whose temperature is increasing, can be efficiently diffused throughout the entire heat transfer unit 40.

[0031] The thermally conductive substance contained in the thermally conductive material 42 is not particularly limited as long as it is made of a material with higher thermal conductivity than the base material, and examples thereof include metal and various alloy particles such as gold, copper, silver, iron, aluminum, cobalt, tin, nickel, titanium, indium, etc., oxide particles such as aluminum oxide (alumina), zinc oxide, magnesium oxide, beryllium oxide, titanium oxide, indium tin oxide (ITO), etc., nitride particles such as boron nitride, silicon nitride, aluminum nitride, etc., carbide particles such as silicon carbide, diamond, amorphous carbon, carbon black, carbon fiber, etc., and silica powder particles such as quartz, quartz glass, etc., and the form thereof is also not particularly limited, and examples thereof include particles, whiskers, and fibers.

[0032] The heat transfer section 40 is pressed against the workpiece 3 with the first heat conduction surface 43a facing the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3 (see Figure 7 described below), so that the heat conduction material 42 spreads inside the outer casing 41, and even if the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3 has a complex shape, the outer casing 41 (its sheet member 43) easily deforms into a shape that follows the unevenness of the surface of the treatment surface 3b and is tightly attached to the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3.

[0033] Next, the heating and drying process of the object 3 to be treated using the drying apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described below. As shown in Figures 1 and 7, in the drying apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the workpiece 3 and the heater device 4 are in contact with each other with the first heat conduction surface 43a and the treatment surface 3b bonded with low thermal resistance (see Figure 7), and by pressing the workpiece 3 in the surface direction from the side at once using a pressing jig 6·6, the multiple heater devices 4·4··· are integrated with the workpiece 3·3···, and these are arranged on the mounting base 5 in the drying furnace 2a.

[0034] When heating and drying of the workpiece 3 begins, the heating element 20 of the heater device 4 generates heat while the drying furnace 2a is in a vacuum state. The heat from the heating element 20 is then transferred in the planar direction of the heat equalizing plate 11 of the heat equalizing section 10, and the heat is supplied to the heat transfer section 40 via the heat transfer surface 11a. In the heat transfer section 40, the heat supplied from the second heat conduction surface 44a of the sheet member 44 is conducted to the exterior body 41 and the heat conductive material 42, raising the temperature of the entire heat transfer section 40. The heat is then transferred from the first heat conduction surface 43a of the sheet member 43 via the treatment surface 3b to the workpiece 3, and the workpiece 3 is heated by heat conduction from the heat transfer section 40 as well as by heat radiation and heat convection, thereby drying the inside of the housing 3a of the workpiece 3 and the battery element.

[0035] When the heating and drying of the workpiece 3 is completed, the power supply to the heating element 20 of the heater device 4 is stopped, and a cooling medium is supplied to the fluid flow path 31 of the cooling section 30. When the cooling medium is supplied to the fluid flow path 31 in the cooling section 30, the heat equalizing plate 11 of the heat equalizing section 10 is rapidly cooled, and the heat of the workpiece 3 is extracted via the heat transfer section 40, so that the workpiece 3 is cooled together with the heat equalizing plate 11.

[0036] As described above, the heater device 4 of this embodiment is a heater device 4 that contacts and heats the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3, and is equipped with: a soaking section 10 having a heat transfer surface 11a facing the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3; a heating element 20 as a heat source arranged inside the soaking section 10; a cooling section 30 arranged inside the soaking section 10 and having a fluid flow path 31 through which a cooling medium can be supplied and discharged; and a heat transfer section 40 arranged on the heat transfer surface 11a of the soaking section 10 and connecting the heat transfer surface 11a and the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3 with low thermal resistance, thereby increasing the efficiency of heat transfer to the workpiece 3 and improving the treatment efficiency.

[0037] That is, the heater device 4 of this embodiment is provided with a heat transfer section 40 that connects the heat transfer surface 11a of the heat transfer section 10 and the treatment surface 3b of the workpiece 3 with low thermal resistance, so that heat from the heating element 20 can be transferred directly to the workpiece 3 from the surface direction via the heat transfer section 40. For example, when performing a drying process on the workpiece 3, such as an assembly in which a battery element is housed in the housing 3a, the heat from the heating element 20 can be quickly conducted to the inside of the housing 3a and the battery element via the heat transfer section 40, thereby improving the heat transfer efficiency compared to conventional heater devices of this type. Furthermore, the soaking section 10 is provided with a cooling section 30 having a fluid flow path 31 through which a cooling medium can be supplied and discharged. Therefore, after heating and drying, the workpiece 3 can be rapidly heat-extracted via the heat transfer section 40. This promotes cooling of the workpiece 3, shortens the treatment time, and improves the treatment efficiency, including the cooling of the workpiece 3.

[0038] In particular, the heater device 4 of this embodiment is provided with a flexible sheet member 43 in the heat transfer section 40, which has a first heat conduction surface 43a that comes into contact with the processing surface 3b of the workpiece 3. Therefore, even if the processing surface 3b of the workpiece 3 has a complex shape, the first heat conduction surface 43a of the sheet member 43 can be deformed to follow the unevenness of the surface and conform to the shape, and can be brought into close contact with the processing surface 3b of the workpiece 3, thereby further improving the heat transfer efficiency.

[0039] Furthermore, the heater device 4 of this embodiment is formed as a bag-shaped pack body having a first heat conduction surface 43a in contact with the processing surface 3b of the workpiece 3 and a second heat conduction surface 44a different from the first heat conduction surface 43a in the heat transfer section 40, and is filled with a liquid or gel-like heat conduction material 42 inside, so that the first heat conduction surface 43a of the sheet member 43 can be brought into close contact with the processing surface 3b of the workpiece 3, and the heat supplied from the heating element 20 can be conducted to the heat conduction material 42 to raise the temperature of the entire heat transfer section 40, and the heated object 3 can be efficiently heated and dried by heat conduction.

[0040] Furthermore, the heater device 4 of this embodiment has heat transfer surfaces 11a·11a on both opposing side surfaces of the soaking section 10, and the heat transfer sections 40 are respectively arranged on the heat transfer surfaces 11a·11a, so that it is possible to contact and heat the treatment surfaces 3b of two workpieces 3 at once, thereby further improving the processing efficiency of heating and drying.

[0041] The configurations of the drying device 1 and the heater device 4 are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the object of the present invention.

[0042] That is, the heater device 4 in the above-described embodiment is described as being formed as a bag-shaped pack body in the heat transfer section 40 having a first heat conduction surface 43a in contact with the processing surface 3b of the workpiece 3 and a second heat conduction surface 44a different from the first heat conduction surface 43a, and having a liquid or gel-like heat conduction material 42 filled inside, but the configuration of the heat transfer section 40 is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that at least a flexible sheet member 43 having a heat conduction surface 43a in contact with the processing surface 3b of the workpiece 3 is provided.

[0043] 8 and 9, the heat transfer unit 140 may be formed from a flexible sheet member 143 and may have an adhesive layer 147 for adhesively fixing the sheet member 143 to the heat transfer surface 111a of the soaking unit 110. In such an embodiment, the sheet member 143 may be formed from a flexible and appropriately deformable material such as silicone rubber, polyurethane rubber, or rubber or resin sponge. The sheet member 143 may also have a graphite sheet (layer) or the like disposed therein as a thermally conductive material.

[0044] Furthermore, the heater device 4 in the above-described embodiment has been described as being configured such that the heat transfer section 40 is configured as a single bag-shaped outer casing 41 filled with thermally conductive material 42, but the configuration of the heat transfer section 40 is not limited to this. For example, the heat transfer section 40 may be formed from a plurality of outer casings 41, or the interior of the outer casing 41 may be divided into a plurality of block-shaped sections, each of which is filled with thermally conductive material 42.

[0045] Furthermore, in the heater device 4 of the above-described embodiment, the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 45 in the heat transfer section 40 is heat-sealed, a cylindrical collar 46 made of a non-metallic material is attached, and the collar 46 is attached to the heat equalizing plate 11 by being pushed into the mounting hole 13 of the heat equalizing plate 11 using the fixing member 12. However, the mounting structure of the heat transfer section 40 is not limited to this, and the through hole 45 and collar 46 may be dispensed with, and the heat transfer section 40 may be attached by adhesively fixing it to the heat transfer surface 11a or by fixing it to the side of the heat equalizing plate 11 with a separate fixing member such as a bolt.

[0046] Furthermore, the drying apparatus 1 in the above-described embodiment has been described as having a configuration in which the workpiece 3 and the heater device 4 are pressed in a planar direction by the pressing jigs 6·6 arranged at both ends, and heated and dried in a state in which they are in close contact with each other. However, the configuration of the drying apparatus 1 is not limited to this, and the arrangement of the workpiece 3 and the heater device 4 in the drying furnace 2a and other device configurations can be appropriately designed and modified depending on the size and processing capacity of the intended apparatus. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1 Drying device 2 Drying oven 3. Material to be processed 3a Case 3b Treatment surface 4 Heater device 5 Mounting base 6 Pressing jig 7. Vacuum pump 10 Soaking section 11 Heating plate 11a Heat transfer surface 12 Fixing member 20 Heating element 30 Cooling section 31 Fluid flow path 32 Media supply device 40 Heat transfer section 41 Exterior body 42 Thermal Conductive Materials 43 Sheet material 43a First heat transfer surface 44 Sheet material 44a Second heat transfer surface

Claims

1. A heater device that heats a surface of a workpiece by contacting the surface, a soaking unit provided with a heat transfer surface facing the treatment surface of the object to be treated; a heating element as a heat source disposed inside the soaking unit; a cooling section disposed inside the soaking section and having a fluid flow path through which a cooling medium can be supplied and discharged; a heat transfer section disposed on the heat transfer surface of the soaking section, formed as a bag-like pack filled with a liquid or gel-like heat-conducting material containing one or more base materials selected from the group consisting of alcohol, glycerin, hydrosol, organosol, alcosol, thermosetting elastomer, and thermoplastic elastomer, as well as a heat-conducting substance having a higher thermal conductivity with respect to the treatment surface of the heat-conducting object than the base material, and which connects the treatment surface of the object to the heat transfer surface of the soaking section with low thermal resistance; A heater device comprising:

2. The heater device according to claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer portion has a first heat conduction surface in contact with the treatment surface of the workpiece and a second heat conduction surface different from the first heat conduction surface.

3. 3. The heater device according to claim 1, wherein the soaking portion has heat transfer surfaces on both opposing side surfaces, and the heat transfer portions are respectively disposed on each of the heat transfer surfaces.

4. 4. A drying apparatus comprising the heater device according to claim 1, for heat-treating an assembly in which a battery element of a secondary battery is housed in a housing as an object to be treated.

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