Secondary battery manufacturing apparatus and secondary battery manufacturing method using the same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus and a secondary battery manufacturing method using the same, and more specifically, to a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus for slitting electrodes and a secondary battery manufacturing method using the same. The present invention provides a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus comprising: an unwinder unit for winding an electrode sheet coated and dried with an electrode active material; a drying unit provided at the rear of the unwinder unit for receiving and drying the electrode sheet from the unwinder unit; a slitting unit provided at the rear of the drying unit for receiving the electrode sheet from the drying unit and cutting the electrode sheet to form a plurality of unit electrode sheets; and a rewinder unit provided at the rear of the slitting unit for receiving and winding the unit electrode sheet from the slitting unit.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus and a secondary battery manufacturing method using the same, and more specifically, to a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus for slitting electrodes and a secondary battery manufacturing method using the same. Background Technology

[0002] Generally, a secondary battery refers to a battery that can be charged and discharged, unlike a primary battery which cannot be recharged. Such secondary batteries are widely used in the field of high-tech electronic devices, such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and camcorders.

[0003] Such a secondary battery includes an electrode assembly in which electrodes and separators are alternately stacked, and a case that accommodates the electrode assembly, wherein the electrode assembly has a structure in which a plurality of electrodes and a plurality of separators are alternately stacked.

[0004] The secondary battery comprises an electrode manufacturing process for manufacturing an electrode, an electrode assembly assembly process for assembling an electrode assembly by laminating the manufactured electrode and a separator, and a process for manufacturing a secondary battery by housing the manufactured electrode assembly in a case.

[0005] Here, the electrode manufacturing process generally includes a coating process for coating and drying an electrode active material on an electrode sheet, a press process for pressing the electrode after the coating process, and a slitting process for cutting the electrode to a preset width after the press process.

[0006] However, conventionally, a drying process was additionally performed to dry the unit electrodes formed in the slitting process after the above-mentioned slitting process and before the electrode assembly process. However, since the drying process involves gathering the divided unit electrodes and having a worker individually feed them into a vacuum drying facility, the operation is discontinuous and time-consuming, which has the problem of lowering the productivity of the electrode manufacturing process. Accordingly, there is a need to develop technology to solve the above problem. The problem to be solved

[0007] The present invention was devised to solve the above problems, and the objective of the present invention is to provide a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus and a secondary battery manufacturing method using the same, which can significantly increase electrode productivity by introducing a drying apparatus into the electrode slitting apparatus to perform both electrode drying and slitting in a single facility. means of solving the problem

[0008] The present invention provides a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus comprising: an unwinder unit for winding an electrode sheet coated and dried with an electrode active material; a drying unit provided at the rear of the unwinder unit for receiving and drying the electrode sheet from the unwinder unit; a slitting unit provided at the rear of the drying unit for receiving the electrode sheet from the drying unit and cutting the electrode sheet to form a plurality of unit electrode sheets; and a rewinder unit provided at the rear of the slitting unit for receiving and winding the unit electrode sheet from the slitting unit.

[0009] The above unwinder unit includes at least one unwinder roller for unwinding the electrode sheet; the above rewinder unit includes at least one rewinder roller for winding the unit electrode sheet; and the unwinder roller and the rewinder roller can rotate in synchronization with each other.

[0010] The above drying unit may include a heating body having a drying space formed therein through which the electrode sheet passes; and a plurality of heating members provided in the drying space to directly heat the surface of the electrode sheet and dry the moisture remaining on the electrode sheet.

[0011] The above drying unit may further include a plurality of rollers provided at different positions in the drying space to change the conveying direction of the electrode sheet.

[0012] The heating element is provided corresponding to both surfaces of the electrode sheet so as to be able to dry both surfaces of the electrode sheet simultaneously.

[0013] The heating element may include an infrared lamp.

[0014] The above drying unit can dry the moisture content of the electrode sheet to 200 ppm or less.

[0015] The slitting unit may include a main body provided as a pair with the electrode sheet in between; and at least one cutter fixedly installed on the main body and cutting the electrode sheet along the conveying direction of the electrode sheet.

[0016] The width of the above unit electrode sheet may be less than 700 mm.

[0017] In addition, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a secondary battery comprising: an unwinding step of unwinding an electrode sheet coated and dried with an electrode active material; a drying step of drying the electrode sheet after the unwinding step; a slitting step of cutting the dried electrode sheet to form a plurality of unit electrode sheets after the drying step; and a rewinding step of winding the unit electrode sheets after the slitting step; wherein the unwinding step, the drying step, the slitting step, and the rewinding step are performed continuously. Effects of the invention

[0018] The secondary battery manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes a drying section and a slitting section, and performs the slitting and drying of electrodes in a single device, thereby integrating the process to eliminate redundant devices and simplifying the equipment, and has the advantage of reducing the equipment space and lowering investment costs during mass production.

[0019] In addition, the secondary battery manufacturing apparatus of the present invention has the advantage of significantly increasing productivity by reducing the time required for electrode manufacturing and improving the electrode yield, as it continuously performs electrode slitting and drying in a single device.

[0020] In addition, the drying unit of the present invention includes a heating element that directly heats the surface of the electrode sheet, thereby rapidly drying the moisture remaining on the electrode, which can significantly reduce working time and greatly increase productivity. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0021] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a drawing showing the appearance of the drying section in the secondary battery manufacturing apparatus of Figure 1 in more detail. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing in more detail how the slitting unit in the secondary battery manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 cuts the electrode sheet to form a unit electrode sheet. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of a secondary battery manufacturing method according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0022] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present invention. However, the present invention may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited or restricted by the following embodiments.

[0023] In order to clearly explain the present invention, detailed descriptions of related prior art that are irrelevant to the explanation or that may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the invention have been omitted. Furthermore, when assigning reference numerals to the components of each drawing in this specification, identical or similar reference numerals are assigned to identical or similar components throughout the entire specification.

[0024] Furthermore, terms and words used in this specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted in a meaning and concept consistent with the technical spirit of the invention, based on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concept of the terms to best describe his invention.

[0025] secondary battery manufacturing device

[0026] The present invention provides a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus comprising: an unwinder unit (100) for winding an electrode sheet (1) coated and dried with an electrode active material; a drying unit (200) provided at the rear of the unwinder unit (100) for receiving and drying the electrode sheet (1) from the unwinder unit (100); a slitting unit (300) provided at the rear of the drying unit (200) for receiving the electrode sheet (1) from the drying unit (200) and cutting the electrode sheet (1) to form a plurality of unit electrode sheets (1'); and a rewinder unit (400) provided at the rear of the slitting unit (300) for receiving and winding the unit electrode sheet (1') from the slitting unit (300).

[0027] First, the above-mentioned unwinder unit (100) is configured to unwind an electrode sheet (1) coated and dried with an electrode active material, and various configurations are possible. At this time, it is preferable that the electrode sheet (1) coated and dried with the electrode active material be understood in the art as an electrode sheet (1) coated after the coating process is completed.

[0028] Specifically, the unwinder unit (100) may include at least one unwinder roller (120) for unwinding the electrode sheet (1) and a main body (110) that supports the unwinder roller (120) so as to be rotatable.

[0029] Here, the unwinder roller (120) can supply the electrode sheet (1), which is coated and dried and wound in a roll shape, to the drying unit (200) described later by unwinding it by rotation.

[0030] At this time, the unwinder roller (120) can rotate at the same speed by being synchronized with the rewinder roller (420) described later, thereby allowing the electrode sheet (1) and unit electrode sheet (1') to be continuously transported on the secondary battery manufacturing device, which can improve process productivity.

[0031] Meanwhile, the electrode sheet (1) unwound from the unwinder unit (100) can be delivered to a drying unit (200) provided at the rear of the unwinder unit (100).

[0032] Here, the drying unit (200) is provided at the rear of the unwinder unit (100) and is configured to receive and dry the electrode sheet (1) from the unwinder unit (100), and various configurations are possible.

[0033] Specifically, the drying unit (200) is provided between the unwinder unit (100) and the slitting unit (300) described later, as shown in FIG. 1, and can dry the electrode sheet (1) before it is supplied to the slitting unit (300) after the electrode sheet (1) is unwound from the unwinder unit (100).

[0034] That is, the drying unit (200) dries the electrode sheet (1) simultaneously with the transfer during the process in which the electrode sheet (1) is transferred from the unwinder unit (100) to the slitting unit (300) described later, so the time required for drying the electrode sheet (1) can be minimized.

[0035] At this time, the drying unit (200) may preferably dry the electrode sheet (1) supplied from the unwinder unit (100) sufficiently so that an additional drying process can be omitted. For example, the drying unit (200) may dry the moisture content of the electrode sheet (1) to 200 ppm or less before the electrode sheet (1) is supplied to the slitting unit (300).

[0036] The drying unit (200) may include a heating body (210) having a drying space (S) formed therein through which the electrode sheet (1) passes; and a plurality of heating members (220) provided in the drying space (S) to directly heat the surface of the electrode sheet (1) to dry the moisture remaining on the electrode sheet (1).

[0037] Here, the heating body (210) is configured such that a drying space (S) through which the electrode sheet (1) passes is formed inside, and various configurations are possible.

[0038] For example, the heating body (210) has a square box shape with a drying space formed inside, and at least one side may have an entrance through which the electrode sheet (1) can pass. The heating body (210) having such a structure can introduce the electrode sheet (1) into the drying space (S) through the entrance and discharge the electrode sheet (1) introduced into the drying space (S) through the exit.

[0039] And the heating element (220) is configured to be provided in the drying space (S) and to directly heat the surface of the electrode sheet (1) to dry the moisture remaining on the electrode sheet (1), and various configurations are possible.

[0040] Here, the heating element (220) can be any configuration capable of directly heating the surface of the electrode sheet (1). For example, the heating element (220) may include an infrared lamp to directly heat the surface of the electrode sheet (1). In this case, there is an advantage that the electrode sheet (1) can be effectively dried without forming a vacuum around the electrode sheet (1).

[0041] This heating element (220) can heat the surface of the electrode sheet (1) to a preset temperature to dry the electrode sheet (1). Here, the preset temperature can be set by the user in various ways, for example, between 160 and 180 degrees.

[0042] Meanwhile, the drying unit (200) may further include a support unit (240) that fixes and supports the heating member (220) so that the heating member (220) described above can be fixedly installed within the drying space (S). At this time, the support unit (240) can be configured in various ways.

[0043] For example, the support member (240) may include a fixing member (241) that is fixed inside the heating body (210) or to an auxiliary support member (250) described later, and a detachable member (242) that is detachably coupled to the fixing member (241) and has at least one heating member (220) installed thereon.

[0044] In this case, when replacing multiple heating elements (220), the detachable part (242) is removed from the fixed part (241), and the replacement of the heating elements (220) is performed. Once the replacement is complete, the detachable part (242) is reattached to the fixed part (241) to facilitate maintenance of the heating elements (220).

[0045] Meanwhile, the aforementioned heating element (220) may be provided corresponding to both surfaces of the electrode sheet (1) to dry the electrode sheet (1) quickly and effectively, thereby drying both surfaces of the electrode sheet (1) simultaneously.

[0046] In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a heating member (220) that dries one side of the electrode sheet (1) facing the inner wall of the heating body (210) may be installed along the inner wall of the heating body (210), and a heating member (220) that dries the other side of the electrode sheet (1) may be installed on an auxiliary support member (250) provided in the center of the drying space (S). Here, the auxiliary support member (250) is configured to fix the heating member (220) and / or the support member (240) that supports the heating member (220), and it goes without saying that it may have various configurations.

[0047] Meanwhile, the drying unit (200) may further include a plurality of rollers (230) provided at different positions in the drying space (S) to change the conveying direction of the electrode sheet (1) on the drying space (S). In this case, the length and residence time of the electrode sheet (1) introduced into the drying space (S) may be increased, and the drying time through the heating element (220) may also naturally be extended, thereby improving the drying efficiency of the electrode sheet (1).

[0048] For example, the plurality of rollers (230) may include a first roller (231) provided in one area of ​​the drying space (S), a second roller (232) provided on the upper side of the first roller (231), a third roller (233) provided on one side of the second roller (232), and a fourth roller (234) provided on the lower side of the third roller (233).

[0049] More specifically, the plurality of rollers (230) may be provided at the lower right, upper right, upper left, and lower left sides, respectively, in the drying space (S), as shown in FIG. 2. In this case, the electrode sheet (1) introduced into the drying space (S) may be sequentially transported along the right side, upper side, and left side of the inner wall of the heating body, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0050] Meanwhile, the electrode sheet (1) dried by the drying unit (200) can be cut by the slitting unit (300) to form a plurality of unit electrode sheets (1').

[0051] Specifically, the slitting section (300) is provided at the rear of the drying section (200) and is configured to receive the electrode sheet (1) from the drying section (200) and cut the electrode sheet (1) to form a plurality of unit electrode sheets (1'), and various configurations are possible.

[0052] For example, the slitting unit (300) may include a main body (310) provided as a pair with the electrode sheet (1) in between; and at least one cutter (320) fixedly installed on the main body (310) and cutting the electrode sheet (1) along the conveying direction of the electrode sheet (1).

[0053] Here, the main body (310) is configured to be arranged in pairs with the electrode sheet (1) in between, and various configurations are possible. Specifically, the main body (310) may be arranged in pairs on the upper and lower sides of the electrode sheet (1) with the electrode sheet (1) in between, and may fix and support at least one cutter (320) for cutting the electrode sheet (1).

[0054] And the cutter (320) is fixedly installed on the main body (310) and is configured to cut the electrode sheet (1) along the transport direction of the electrode sheet (1), and various configurations are possible.

[0055] Specifically, the cutter (320) can cut the electrode sheet (1) parallel to the transport direction (X direction based on FIG. 3) of the electrode sheet (1), as shown in FIG. 3. At this time, the number of cutters (320) and the spacing between the plurality of cutters (320) may vary depending on the width of the unit electrode sheet (1') desired by the user.

[0056] Here, the width of the unit electrode sheet (1') can be set in various ways. For example, the width of the unit electrode sheet (1') may be less than 700 mm. More specifically, the width of the unit electrode sheet (1') may be formed to be less than 87.5 mm.

[0057] Meanwhile, the unit electrode sheet (1') formed by the slitting unit (300) can be wound by the rewinder unit (400).

[0058] Here, the rewinder unit (400) is provided at the rear of the slitting unit (300) and is configured to receive and wind the unit electrode sheet (1') from the slitting unit (300), and various configurations are possible.

[0059] Specifically, the rewinder unit (400) may include at least one rewinder roller (420) for winding the unit electrode sheet (1') and a main body (410) that supports the rewinder roller (420) so as to be rotatable.

[0060] Here, the rewinder roller (420) is configured to wind the unit electrode sheet (1') by rotation so that the unit electrode sheet (1') is wound in a roll shape, and can rotate at the same speed by being synchronized with the unwinder roller (120) described above.

[0061] Thus, the process of winding the electrode sheet (1) unwound from the aforementioned unwinder roller (120) into a unit electrode sheet (1') after the drying and slitting processes can be continuously performed, thereby improving process productivity.

[0062] At this time, the speed at which the electrode sheet (1) and the unit electrode sheet (1') are transported in the secondary battery manufacturing device may be 105 mm / min to 115 mm / min, and for example, 110 mm / min.

[0063] secondary battery manufacturing method

[0064] Meanwhile, the present invention may provide a method for manufacturing a secondary battery comprising: an unwinding step (S10) of winding an electrode sheet (1) coated and dried with an electrode active material; a drying step (S20) of drying the electrode sheet (1) after the unwinding step (S10); a slitting step (S30) of cutting the dried electrode sheet (1) to form a plurality of unit electrode sheets (1') after the drying step (S20); and a rewinding step (S40) of winding the unit electrode sheets (1') after the slitting step (S30).

[0065] At this time, the secondary battery manufacturing method according to the present invention is performed as a roll-to-roll process, so that the unwinding step (S10), the drying step (S20), the slitting step, and the rewinding step (S40) can be performed continuously. Here, the roll-to-roll process can be understood as a process in which each step of the process is performed while a bendable electrode sheet (1) moves between rollers.

[0066] First, the above unwinding step (S10) is a step of winding an electrode sheet (1) coated and dried with an electrode active material, and can be performed in various ways. At this time, it is preferable that the electrode sheet (1) coated and dried with the electrode active material be understood in the art as an electrode sheet (1) coated after the coating process is completed.

[0067] And the above unwinding step (S10) can be performed by unwinding the electrode sheet (1) by the unwinder unit (100), and the specific description of the unwinder unit (100) can be substituted with the above description.

[0068] After performing the above-mentioned unwinding step (S10), a drying step (S20) for drying the electrode sheet (1) may be performed.

[0069] Here, the drying step (S20) is a step of drying the electrode sheet (1) after the unwinding step (S10), and can be performed in various ways.

[0070] Specifically, the drying step (S20) can dry the electrode sheet (1) sufficiently so that there is no need to perform an additional drying process thereafter. For example, the drying step (S20) can dry the moisture content of the electrode sheet (1) to 200 ppm or less.

[0071] The above drying step (S20) can be performed by drying the electrode sheet (1) by the drying unit (200), and more specific details regarding the drying unit (200) can be substituted with the above description.

[0072] After performing the drying step (S20) described above, a slitting step for cutting the electrode sheet (1) may be performed.

[0073] Here, the slitting step (S30) is a step of cutting the dried electrode sheet (1) after the drying step (S20) to form a plurality of unit electrode sheets (1'), and can be performed in various ways.

[0074] Specifically, the slitting step (S30) can cut the electrode sheet (1) parallel to the transport direction (X direction based on FIG. 3) of the electrode sheet (1). Here, the width of the unit electrode sheet (1') can be set in various ways. For example, the width of the unit electrode sheet (1') may be less than 700 mm. More specifically, the width of the unit electrode sheet (1') may be less than 87.5 mm.

[0075] The above-described slitting step (S30) can cut the electrode sheet (1) by the slitting part (300), and more specific details regarding the slitting part (300) can be substituted with the above-described details.

[0076] Meanwhile, after performing the above slitting step (S30), a rewinding step (S40) for winding the unit electrode sheet (1') may be performed.

[0077] Here, the rewinding step (S40) is a step of winding the unit electrode sheet (1') after the slitting step (S30), and can be performed in various ways.

[0078] Specifically, the above rewinding step (S40) can be performed by winding the unit electrode sheet (1') by the rewinder unit (400), and the specific description of the rewinder unit (400) can be substituted with the above description.

[0079] Although the present invention has been described above by limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various implementations are possible within the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention and the equivalent scope of the claims described below by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. Explanation of the symbols

[0080] 100: Unwinder Boo 110: Main unit 120: Unwinder Roller 200: Drying section 210: Heating body 220: Heating element 230: Roller 231: 1st Roller 232: Second Roller 233: Third Roller 234: 4th Roller 240: Support 241: Fixed part 242: Detachable part 250: Auxiliary support 300: Slitting section 310: Main body 320: Cutter 400: Rewinder 410: Main body 420: Rewinder Roller S10: Unwinding stage S20: Drying stage S30: Slitting stage S40: Rewinding stage S: Drying space

Claims

Claim 1 A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus comprising: an unwinder unit for unwinding an electrode sheet coated with an electrode active material and dried in a first drying step; a drying unit provided at the rear of the unwinder unit and receiving the electrode sheet from the unwinder unit for second drying step; a slitting unit provided at the rear of the drying unit and receiving the electrode sheet from the drying unit and cutting the electrode sheet to form a plurality of unit electrode sheets; and a rewinder unit provided at the rear of the slitting unit and receiving the unit electrode sheet from the slitting unit for winding, wherein the unwinder unit includes an unwinder roller for unwinding the electrode sheet, and the rewinder unit includes a rewinder roller for winding the unit electrode sheet, and the unwinder roller and the rewinder roller are synchronized with each other and rotate at the same speed. Claim 2 delete Claim 3 A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying unit comprises: a heating body having a drying space formed therein through which the electrode sheet passes; and a plurality of heating members provided in the drying space to directly heat the surface of the electrode sheet and dry moisture remaining on the electrode sheet. Claim 4 A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the drying unit further comprises a plurality of rollers arranged at different positions in the drying space to change the conveying direction of the electrode sheet. Claim 5 In claim 3, the heating member is provided corresponding to both surfaces of the electrode sheet and dries both surfaces of the electrode sheet simultaneously. Claim 6 In claim 3, the heating member is a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus comprising an infrared lamp. Claim 7 The secondary battery manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drying unit dries the moisture content of the electrode sheet to 200 ppm or less. Claim 8 A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slitting unit comprises: a main body provided as a pair with the electrode sheet between them; and at least one cutter fixedly installed on the main body and cutting the electrode sheet along the conveying direction of the electrode sheet. Claim 9 A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the width of the unit electrode sheet is less than 700 mm. Claim 10 A method for manufacturing a secondary battery comprising: an unwinding step in which an unwinder unit unwinds an electrode sheet coated with an electrode active material and dried first; a drying step in which the electrode sheet is dried secondarily after the unwinding step; a slitting step in which the dried electrode sheet is cut to form a plurality of unit electrode sheets after the drying step; and a rewinding step in which a rewinder unit winds the unit electrode sheets after the slitting step, wherein the unwinding step, the drying step, the slitting step, and the rewinding step are performed continuously, wherein the unwinder unit includes an unwinder roller for unwinding the electrode sheet, and the rewinder unit includes a rewinder roller for winding the unit electrode sheet, and wherein the unwinder roller and the rewinder roller are synchronized with each other and rotate at the same speed.

Images