Coating solution management device, management method, and management program

Abstract

To provide a coating liquid management device, a management method, and a management program capable of determining a state of gelatinization of coating liquid.SOLUTION: A coating liquid management device comprises a control unit. The control unit obtains analytical data of pulse NMR analysis of coating liquid in which functional fine particles are dispersed in a solution. The control unit separates the analytical data into two components of a hard component having relatively short transverse-relaxation time and a soft component having relatively long transverse-relaxation time. The control unit determines a state of the coating liquid based on at least one of a reduction in the abundance ratio of the hard component, an increase in the abundance ratio of the soft component, and a reduction in the transverse-relaxation time of the soft component. The control unit controls a coating liquid manufacturing apparatus based on the determination result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a coating liquid management device, a management method, and a management program.

Background Art

[0002] An electrode used in a lithium ion secondary battery or the like is formed by applying a coating liquid containing an active material, a conductive auxiliary agent, and a binder to a current collector made of a metal foil such as an aluminum foil.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003] <0000�6>

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] With the recent increase in the capacity of batteries, active materials with high energy density are often used. At this time, the alkali component remaining in the active material of the coating liquid and the temperature may cause the binder in the coating liquid to gel. The gelation of the binder in the coating liquid may lead to coating defects or the like. Therefore, it is desired to be able to determine the gelation state of the coating liquid.

[0005] Embodiments provide a coating liquid management device, a management method, and a management program that can determine the gelation state of a coating liquid

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A coating liquid management device according to one aspect includes a control unit. The control unit Includes electrode active material and binderAnalytical data is obtained by pulsed NMR analysis of the coating solution. The control unit separates the analytical data into a hard component with a relatively short transverse relaxation time and a soft component with a relatively long transverse relaxation time. The control unit then analyzes the coating solution based on at least one of the following: the rate of decrease in the abundance of the hard component, the rate of increase in the abundance of the soft component, and the rate of decrease in the transverse relaxation time of the soft component. Gelation The system determines the state. The control unit controls the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus that produces the coating liquid based on the determination result. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows the configuration of an example of a coating liquid manufacturing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of a control device. [Figure 3A] Figure 3A shows an example of a relaxation time curve of a coating solution as analytical data from a pulsed NMR spectrometer. [Figure 3B] Figure 3B shows an example of the separation of the relaxation time curve into hard and soft components. [Figure 4A] Figure 4A is a graph showing the change in the component ratios over time, starting immediately after dispersion. [Figure 4B] Figure 4B is a graph showing the change in lateral relaxation time over time, starting immediately after dispersion. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the coating solution manufacturing process using a control device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an example of a coating liquid manufacturing system according to the embodiment. The coating liquid manufacturing system 1 includes a coating liquid manufacturing apparatus and a management system. The coating liquid manufacturing apparatus is a device that manufactures coating liquid from coating liquid material and stores the manufactured coating liquid. The management system monitors the gelation state of the coating liquid in the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus and controls the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus based on the gelation state of the coating liquid. Gelation of the coating liquid is a phenomenon in which the coating liquid solidifies due to the influence of the temperature of the coating liquid and residual components in the coating liquid. When gelation occurs, the viscosity of the coating liquid increases, making it difficult to pump the liquid or causing coating defects. The embodiment avoids liquid pumping defects and coating defects by monitoring the gelation state of the coating liquid and controlling the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus based on the gelation state of the coating liquid.

[0009] As shown in Figure 1, the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus includes a kneader 2, a disperser 3, a defoamer 4, and storage tanks 5a and 5b. The coating liquid manufactured by the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus can be used in the coating machine 7.

[0010] Functional fine particles, which are used as coating material for manufacturing the coating solution, are fed into the kneader 2. For example, when the coating solution is used for the electrodes of a secondary battery, the functional fine particles include particles such as active material, binder, and conductive additive. As the positive electrode active material, lithium transition metal composite oxide, high nickel (HiNi), etc., can be used. As the negative electrode active material, lithium titanate, etc., can be used. As the conductive additive, acetylene black, carbon black, graphite, etc., can be used. As the binder that binds the active material and conductive additive, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF), fluororubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, etc., can be used. Under the control of the control device 10, the kneader 2 kneads the fed functional fine particles so that they are uniformly mixed. As the kneader 2, for example, a planetary mixer (planetary twin-shaft kneader) can be used. However, the configuration of the kneader 2 is not limited to a specific configuration.

[0011] The disperser 3 receives the coating material and solution mixed by the kneader 2. For example, when the coating is used for electrodes in a secondary battery, the solution may be a resin solution prepared by dissolving a resin such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) in a solvent. The disperser 3 disperses the coating material in the solution under the control of the control device 10. A bead mill, for example, can be used as the disperser 3. However, the configuration of the disperser 3 is not limited to a specific configuration.

[0012] The defoaming machine 4 receives the coating liquid produced by the disperser 3. Under the control of the control device 10, the defoaming machine 4 removes air bubbles mixed in the coating liquid by stirring it in a vacuum. The configuration of the defoaming machine 4 is not limited to a specific configuration.

[0013] Storage tanks 5a and 5b are tanks to which the defoamed coating liquid from the defoamer 4 is sent. Storage tanks 5a and 5b are configured to store the supplied coating liquid while stirring it. Here, Figure 1 shows two storage tanks 5a and 5b. There may be one storage tank or three or more.

[0014] The storage tank 5a is equipped with two valves 51a and 52a. Valves 51a and 52a are configured to be openable and closable by control of the control device 10. When valve 51a is opened, the coating liquid is supplied from the storage tank 5a to the coating machine 7. When valve 52a is opened, the coating liquid is supplied from the storage tank 5a to the disperser 3. Similarly to the storage tank 5a, the storage tank 5b is equipped with two valves 51b and 52b. Valves 51b and 52b are configured to be openable and closable by control of the control device 10. When valve 51b is opened, the coating liquid is supplied from the storage tank 5b to the coating machine 7. When valve 52b is opened, the coating liquid is supplied from the storage tank 5b to the disperser 3.

[0015] A temperature controller 6a is attached to the storage tank 5a. Also, a temperature controller 6b is attached to the storage tank 5b. The temperature controller 6a cools the storage tank 5a in order to adjust the temperature of the coating liquid in the storage tank 5a under the control of the management device 10. The temperature controller 6b cools the storage tank 5b in order to adjust the temperature of the coating liquid in the storage tank 5b under the control of the management device 10. The temperature controllers 6a and 6b may be configured to cool the storage tanks 5a and 5b using any mechanism such as a water cooling mechanism or an air cooling mechanism. Further, the temperature controllers 6a and 6b may include heaters for heating the storage tanks 5a and 5b. Also, in FIG. 1, two temperature controllers 6a and 6b are shown. The number of temperature controllers provided may be the number corresponding to the storage tanks, and for example, may be more than the number of storage tanks.

[0016] The coater 7 applies the coating liquid sent from the storage tank 5a or 5b to an object. For example, when the coating liquid is used for an electrode of a secondary battery, the object is a current collector such as an aluminum foil. As the coater 7, for example, a die coater is used. However, the configuration of the coater 7 is not limited to a specific configuration.

[0017] The management system includes a pulsed NMR device 8, a viscometer 9, and a management device 10. The states of the coating liquids stored in the storage tanks 5a and 5b of the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus are monitored by the pulsed NMR device 8 and the viscometer 9, and control of the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus by the management device 10 is performed based on the results of these monitorings.

[0018] The pulsed NMR device 8 measures the transverse (spin - spin) relaxation time of the coating liquid stored in each of the storage tank 5a and the storage tank 5b by the pulsed NMR method. For example, the pulsed NMR device 8 measures the time change of the magnetization excited by applying a radio wave pulse to the coating liquid as an NMR signal which is an electrical signal. As the pulsed NMR method, techniques such as the solid echo method and the CPMG (Carr - Purcell - Meiboom - Gill) method can be used.

[0019] The viscometer 9 measures the viscosity of the coating liquid stored in each of the storage tanks 5a and 5b.

[0020] The management device 10 is a computer that controls the coating liquid manufacturing device. For example, the management device 10 controls the operations of the kneader 2, the disperser 3, and the defoamer 4. Also, for example, the management device 10 monitors the gelling state of the coating liquid stored in the storage tanks 5a and 5b using the pulse NMR device 8 and the viscometer 9, and controls the liquid feeding from the storage tanks 5a and 5b and the temperature regulators 6a and 6b according to the monitored gelling state of the coating liquid.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the management device 10. The management device 10 includes a processor 111, a memory 112, an input device 113, a display device 114, an input / output interface 115, a communication device 116, and a storage 117. The processor 111, the memory 112, the input device 113, the display device 114, the input / output interface 115, the communication device 116, and the storage 117 are connected via a bus 118.

[0022] The processor 111 is a control unit that controls the overall operation of the management device 10. The processor 111 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 111 may be an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc. The processor 111 may be a single CPU or the like, or a plurality of CPUs or the like.

[0023] Memory 112 is a storage unit composed of a combination of ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). ROM stores the startup program for the management device 10, etc. RAM is used, for example, as working memory during processing in the processor 111.

[0024] The input device 113 is an input device such as a touch panel, keyboard, or mouse. The input device 113 is used, for example, to input various types of data to the management device 10. When the input device 113 is operated, a signal corresponding to the operation is input to the processor 111. The processor 111 performs various processes according to this signal.

[0025] The display device 114 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display device 114 is used, for example, to visually display the gelation state of the coating liquid stored in storage tanks 5a and 5b. The display device 114 may be provided separately from the control device 10.

[0026] The input / output interface 115 is an interface for exchanging signals with the pulsed NMR spectrometer 8 and the viscometer 9. The input / output interface 115 may be an interface corresponding to a signal line between the pulsed NMR spectrometer 8 and the viscometer 9, respectively.

[0027] The communication device 116 is a communication device for the management device 10 to communicate with an external device. The external device is, for example, a server. In this case, the management device 10 can transmit information about the gelation state of the monitored coating liquid to the server. The communication device 116 may be a communication device for wired communication or a communication device for wireless communication.

[0028] Storage 117 is, for example, a hard disk drive or a solid-state drive. Storage 117 stores various programs executed by the processor 111, such as the management program 1171.

[0029] Furthermore, storage 117 stores threshold values ​​1172. Threshold values ​​1172 are used to determine the gelation state of the coating solution. Threshold values ​​1172 may include multiple threshold values ​​corresponding to the degree of gelation. Threshold values ​​1172 will be explained in more detail later.

[0030] Furthermore, storage 117 stores a solid content concentration database 1173. The solid content concentration database 1173 is a database that defines the relationship between the viscosity of the coating solution and the solid content concentration. The relationship between the viscosity of the coating solution and the solid content concentration stored in the solid content concentration database 1173 is stored as a result of measuring the relationship between the viscosity of the coating solution and the solid content concentration when gelation has not yet progressed.

[0031] The operation of the coating solution manufacturing system will be described below. First, the principle of the method for determining the gelation state of the coating solution in the embodiment will be explained.

[0032] In recent years, to increase the capacity of secondary batteries, active materials with high energy density, such as HiNi active materials, have been increasingly adopted for electrodes. HiNi active materials are used by dispersing them in a solution with high shear force. In this case, particles remaining in the HiNi active material gel over time due to factors such as temperature, as they are incorporated into a binder such as PVdF in the coating solution. In this embodiment, the gelation state of the coating solution that occurs based on this principle is determined by analyzing the NMR signal measured by a pulsed NMR spectrometer.

[0033] Figure 3A shows an example of a relaxation time curve of a coating solution as analytical data from the pulsed NMR spectrometer 8. When a radio wave pulse is applied to the coating solution, the spins of the protons in the coating solution become aligned in a ground state. The time it takes for the protons to return to their original ground state where their spins are randomly oriented is the transverse (spin-spin) relaxation time. The magnetization intensity from the time the protons in the coating solution return to their original ground state after becoming aligned in a ground state is expressed as a function of the transverse relaxation time as shown below. The relaxation time curve C shown in Figure 3A represents this relationship between magnetization intensity and time. Here, in equation (1), M(t) is the magnetization intensity, A is a constant representing the component ratio of the coating solution, T is the transverse relaxation time, and t is the measurement time. The transverse relaxation time T may be the time it takes for the magnetization intensity to decay to a predetermined value, for example, 37%. M(t) = Aexp(-t / T) (1)

[0034] Here, the relaxation time curve C can be divided into a hard component Ch with a relatively short transverse relaxation time and a soft component Cs with a relatively long transverse relaxation time, as shown in Figure 3B. The hard component Ch represents the relaxation state of components with relatively high molecular mobility in the coating liquid, such as binders and solvents. The soft component Cs represents the relaxation state of components with relatively low molecular mobility in the coating liquid, such as particles of active material. When the relaxation time curve C is divided into hard component Ch and soft component Cs, equation (1) can be expressed as equation (2). Here, in equation (2), A1 is a constant representing the component ratio of the hard component, T1 is the transverse relaxation time of the hard component, A2 is a constant representing the component ratio of the soft component, and T2 is the transverse relaxation time of the soft component. M(t)=A1exp(-t / T1)+A2exp(-t / T2) (2)

[0035] Figure 4A is a graph showing the change in component ratio over time from immediately after dispersion, i.e., immediately after being delivered to the storage tank. As shown in Figure 4A, the component ratio of the hard component decreases over time and reaches a certain value at the time of gelation. On the other hand, the component ratio of the soft component increases over time and reaches a certain value at the time of gelation. In other words, the rate of decrease in the component ratio of the hard component or the rate of increase in the component ratio of the soft component can be said to represent the degree of gelation of the coating solution. Therefore, the storage 117 can store threshold values ​​1172 for the component ratio of the hard component and / or the component ratio of the soft component. The processor 111 can determine the gelation state of the coating solution by comparing the component ratio A1 of the hard component and / or the component ratio A2 of the soft component, calculated from the NMR signal measured by the pulsed NMR spectrometer 8, with the threshold values.

[0036] Figure 4B is a graph showing the change in lateral relaxation time over time from immediately after dispersion, i.e., immediately after being delivered to the storage tank. As shown in Figure 4B, the lateral relaxation time of the hard component hardly changes over time, while the lateral relaxation time of the soft component decreases over time and reaches a certain value at the time of gelation. In other words, similar to the component ratio, the lateral relaxation time of the soft component can be said to represent the degree of gelation of the coating solution. Therefore, the storage 117 may store a threshold value 1172 for the lateral relaxation time of the soft component, in place of or in addition to the threshold values ​​for the component ratio of the hard component and / or the component ratio of the soft component. The processor 111 can determine the gelation state of the coating solution by comparing the lateral relaxation time of the soft component calculated from the NMR signal measured by the pulsed NMR device 8 with the threshold value.

[0037] Here, the storage 117 only needs to store one of the following as threshold values ​​1172: a threshold for the component ratio of hard components, a threshold for the component ratio of soft components, or a threshold for the lateral relaxation time of soft components. Alternatively, two or more of the following threshold values ​​1172 may be stored as threshold values ​​1172: a threshold for the component ratio of hard components, a threshold for the component ratio of soft components, or a threshold for the lateral relaxation time of soft components. If two or more threshold values ​​are stored, the two or more threshold values ​​may be used to determine the gelation state with high accuracy, or a threshold value selected according to various conditions such as temperature and the components of the coating liquid may be used to determine the gelation state.

[0038] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the coating solution manufacturing process performed by the control device 10. The process in Figure 5 is controlled by the processor 111 according to the control program 1171. The process in Figure 5 is performed while the control device 10 is powered on.

[0039] In step S1, the processor 111 determines whether or not to start the coating liquid production. For example, if the coating liquid material is put into the kneader 2 and the operator of the control device 10 instructs the start of coating liquid production by operating the input device 113, it is determined that coating liquid production should be started. If it is determined in step S1 that coating liquid production should be started, the process moves to step S2. If it is determined in step S1 that coating liquid production should not be started, the process moves to step S6.

[0040] In step S2, the processor 111 causes the kneader 2 to knead the coating material. After the kneader 2 has kneaded the coating material, the kneaded coating material is fed into the disperser 3. The process then proceeds to step S3.

[0041] In step S3, the processor 111 causes the disperser 3 to disperse the coating material into the solution. After the disperser 3 disperses the coating material, the manufactured coating is fed into the defoamer 4. The process then proceeds to step S4.

[0042] In step S4, the processor 111 instructs the degasser 4 to degas the coating liquid. After the degasser 4 has degassed the coating liquid, the process proceeds to step S5.

[0043] In step S5, the processor 111 causes the degasser 4 to deliver the coating liquid to either the storage tank 5a or 5b. The process then proceeds to step S6. For example, the processor 111 delivers the coating liquid to the storage tank 5a or 5b that has a smaller remaining amount of coating liquid.

[0044] In step S6, the processor 111 acquires NMR signals from the pulsed NMR spectrometer 8 for each of the storage tanks 5a and 5b, and separates the acquired NMR signals into hard and soft components. Furthermore, the processor 111 calculates the component ratio A1 of the hard component, the component ratio A2 of the soft component, and the value T2 of the lateral relaxation time of the soft component for each of the storage tanks 5a and 5b, which are used to determine the gelation state.

[0045] In step S7, the processor 111 obtains the viscosity of the coating solution for each of the storage tanks 5a and 5b from the viscometer 9 and corrects the threshold 1172 based on the obtained viscosity. As mentioned above, the component ratio of hard components, the component ratio of soft components, and the lateral relaxation time of soft components represent the degree of gelation of the coating solution. On the other hand, the component ratio of hard components, the component ratio of soft components, and the lateral relaxation time of soft components can change not only with respect to the degree of gelation of the coating solution but also with respect to the solid content concentration of the coating solution. It is desirable to correct the threshold 1172 in order to eliminate the influence of the solid content concentration of the coating solution. The processor 111 estimates the solid content concentration based on the relationship stored in the solid content concentration database 1173 and the viscosity obtained from the viscometer 9. Then, the processor 111 corrects the threshold 1172 using the estimated solid content concentration. The correction of the threshold 1172 is performed, for example, by increasing or decreasing the threshold 1172 according to the estimated solid content concentration. The threshold 1172 may also be corrected using other methods, such as referring to a database that defines the relationship between the threshold and the correction value.

[0046] In step S8, the processor 111 determines whether or not the coating liquid is gelling by comparing at least one of the hard component ratio A1, the soft component ratio A2, and the soft component lateral relaxation time T2 for each of the storage tanks 5a and 5 with the corresponding threshold. If at least one of the hard component ratio A1, the soft component ratio A2, and the soft component lateral relaxation time T2 for each of the storage tanks 5a and 5 exceeds one of the thresholds corresponding to the degree of gelling, it is determined that the coating liquid is gelling. If it is determined in step S8 that the coating liquid is gelling, the process proceeds to step S9. If it is determined in step S8 that the coating liquid is not gelling or that the coating liquid has completely gelled, the process proceeds to step S10.

[0047] In step S9, the processor 111 controls the temperature of the storage tanks 5a and 5b using the temperature controllers that have determined that gelation is progressing. Generally, gelation of coatings is more likely to occur at high temperatures. Therefore, the processor 111 controls the storage tanks 5a and 5b using the temperature controllers 6a and 6b to slow down the progress of gelation, the higher the degree of gelation. After that, the process proceeds to S10.

[0048] In step S10, the processor 111 determines whether the coating liquid has gelled by comparing at least one of the component ratio A1 of the hard component, the component ratio A2 of the soft component, and the lateral relaxation time T2 of the soft component for each of the storage tanks 5a and 5 with the corresponding threshold. The coating liquid is determined to have gelled if at least one of the component ratio A1 of the hard component, the component ratio A2 of the soft component, and the lateral relaxation time T2 of the soft component for each of the storage tanks 5a and 5 exceeds the respective thresholds that occur when gelling has progressed further than when gelling is determined to have progressed in step S8. It is preferable to pre-determine such thresholds, as complete gelling of the coating liquid would hinder its delivery. In step S10, if it is determined that the coating liquid has gelled, the processor 111 opens the valve 52a and 52b of the storage tank 5a and 5b that is determined to have gelled, thereby sending the coating liquid to the disperser 3. After that, the process returns to step S3. If the coating liquid has gelled, it cannot be returned to its original state, so redispersion is performed by the disperser 3. In step S10, if it is determined that the coating liquid has not gelled, the process proceeds to step S11.

[0049] In step S11, the processor 111 determines whether or not to perform coating. For example, if the operator of the control device 10 instructs the operator to perform coating by operating the input device 113, it is determined that coating should be performed. If it is determined in step S11 that coating should be performed, the process proceeds to step S12. If it is determined in step S11 that coating should not be performed, the process returns to step S1.

[0050] In step S12, the processor 111 opens either valve 51a or 51b of the storage tanks 5a or 5b to send the coating liquid to the coating machine 7. The process then returns to step S1. For example, the processor 111 opens the valve 51a or 51b of the storage tank that has undergone less gelation. After the coating liquid has been sent to the coating machine 7, the coating liquid is applied to the object either by the operator of the coating machine 7 or automatically.

[0051] As described above, according to the embodiment, the gelation state of the stored coating solution can be determined based on at least one of the component ratio of hard components, component ratio of soft components, and lateral relaxation time of soft components obtained by pulsed NMR analysis of the coating solution. Then, the temperature of the storage tank or redispersion of the coating solution is performed according to the gelation state of the coating solution. This suppresses the gelation of the coating solution stored in the storage tank, thereby preventing poor liquid delivery to the coating machine and coating defects by the coating machine. Therefore, the productivity of secondary batteries and the like can be improved. Furthermore, by discharging the coating solution from a storage tank with a low degree of gelation, the likelihood of preventing poor liquid delivery to the coating machine and coating defects by the coating machine increases. Therefore, the productivity of secondary batteries and the like can be further improved.

[0052] Furthermore, according to the embodiment, the threshold for determining the degree of gelation is corrected according to the viscosity of the coating liquid measured by the viscometer. This eliminates the influence of the solid content concentration of the coating liquid, allowing for a more accurate determination of the gelation state.

[0053] In the embodiment described above, the coating solution manufacturing apparatus is used to manufacture a coating solution for forming electrodes in a secondary battery. However, the technology of the embodiment can also be applied to the management of liquid materials that are prone to changes over time, such as semiconductor resists and inkjet inks.

[0054] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1 Coating liquid manufacturing system, 2 Mixer, 3 Disperser, 4 Defoamer, 5a, 5b Storage tanks, 6a, 6b Temperature controller, 7 Coating machine, 8 Pulse NMR spectrometer, 9 Viscometer, 10 Control device, 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b Valves, 111 Processor, 112 Memory, 113 Input device, 114 Display device, 115 Input / Output interface, 116 Communication device, 117 Storage, 118 Bus, 1171 Management program, 1172 Threshold, 1173 Solids concentration database.

Claims

1. Analytical data obtained by pulse NMR analysis of a coating solution containing an electrode active material and a binder, The aforementioned analysis data is separated into a hard component with a relatively short lateral relaxation time and a soft component with a relatively long lateral relaxation time. The gelation state of the coating liquid is determined based on at least one of the following: the rate of decrease in the proportion of the hard component, the rate of increase in the proportion of the soft component, and the rate of decrease in the lateral relaxation time of the soft component. Based on the result of the above determination, the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus that manufactures the coating liquid is controlled. A coating liquid management device equipped with a control unit.

2. The coating liquid management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit further determines the gelation state of the coating liquid based on the measured viscosity of the coating liquid.

3. The control unit determines the gelation state of the coating liquid by comparing at least one of the following with a threshold: the rate of decrease in the ratio of the hard component, the rate of increase in the ratio of the soft component, and the rate of decrease in the lateral relaxation time of the soft component. The control unit corrects the threshold based on the measured viscosity of the coating liquid. The coating liquid management device according to claim 2.

4. The control unit estimates the solid content concentration in the coating liquid from the measured viscosity of the coating liquid based on a predetermined relationship between viscosity and solid content concentration, and corrects the threshold according to the estimated solid content concentration. The coating liquid management device according to claim 3.

5. The aforementioned coating liquid is stored in multiple storage tanks. The coating liquid management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines which coating liquid to send to the next process based on the gelation state of the coating liquid stored in each of the storage tanks, and controls the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus so that the liquid is sent from the determined storage tank.

6. The coating liquid management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the coating liquid manufacturing device to adjust the temperature of the coating liquid based on the gelling state of the coating liquid.

7. The coating liquid management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the coating liquid manufacturing device to redisperse the coating liquid based on the gelling state of the coating liquid.

8. To obtain analytical data obtained by performing pulsed NMR analysis on a coating solution containing an electrode active material and a binder, The aforementioned analysis data is separated into a hard component with a relatively short lateral relaxation time and a soft component with a relatively long lateral relaxation time, The gelation state of the coating liquid is determined based on at least one of the following: the rate of decrease in the proportion of the hard component, the rate of increase in the proportion of the soft component, and the rate of decrease in the lateral relaxation time of the soft component. Controlling the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus that manufactures the coating liquid based on the result of the above determination, A coating liquid management method comprising the following.

9. To obtain analytical data obtained by performing pulsed NMR analysis on a coating solution containing an electrode active material and a binder, The aforementioned analysis data is separated into a hard component with a relatively short lateral relaxation time and a soft component with a relatively long lateral relaxation time, The gelation state of the coating liquid is determined based on at least one of the following: the rate of decrease in the proportion of the hard component, the rate of increase in the proportion of the soft component, and the rate of decrease in the lateral relaxation time of the soft component. Controlling the coating liquid manufacturing apparatus that manufactures the coating liquid based on the result of the above determination, A coating solution management program to cause the processor to execute.

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