Electrode sheet drying device and battery production system

Abstract

An electrode sheet drying device (100) and a battery production system. The electrode sheet drying device comprises: a housing (10), an annular heating belt (20), and heating rollers (30); the housing (10) has a heat-exchange drying cavity (11); the heat-exchange drying cavity (11) is provided with an inlet (111) and an outlet (112) which are arranged opposite to each other; the annular heating belt (20) comprises an inner surface (21) and an outer surface (22) which are arranged opposite to each other; the heating rollers (30) are in contact with the annular heating belt (20); part of the annular heating belt (20) passes through the heat-exchange drying cavity (11), and the other part of the annular heating belt (20) is arranged outside the heat-exchange drying cavity (11); and a released electrode sheet (200) is in contact with the outer surface (22) of the annular heating belt (20) in the heat-exchange drying cavity (11), such that the electrode sheet (200) fits with the annular heating belt (20) and is heated, thereby improving the heating and drying efficiency.

Description

Pole drying device and battery production system

[0001] [Cross-reference to related applications]

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 2023224770101 filed on September 12, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of battery technology, and in particular to a pole piece drying device and a battery production system. [Background Technology]

[0004] During the battery production process, heating and drying the battery pole pieces is an important process step. However, the heating efficiency of the battery pole pieces in the pole piece drying device in the related art is low.

[0005] [Summary of the invention]

[0006] In view of this, the present application provides a pole piece drying device and a battery production system to solve the problem of low heating efficiency of the pole piece drying device in the prior art.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, the first technical solution provided by this application is to provide an electrode drying device, comprising:

[0008] The shell has a heat exchange drying chamber; the heat exchange drying chamber has an inlet and an outlet arranged oppositely;

[0009] An annular heating belt comprises an inner surface and an outer surface arranged opposite to each other;

[0010] a heating roller in contact with the annular heating belt;

[0011] Part of the annular heating belt is arranged in the heat exchange and drying chamber, and the other part is arranged outside the heat exchange and drying chamber; the released electrode contacts the outer surface of the annular heating belt in the heat exchange and drying chamber.

[0012] In the technical solution of the present application, the annular heating belt is first heated by a heating roller, and then the released electrode is brought into contact with the outer surface of the annular heating belt in the heat exchange drying chamber so that the electrode and the annular heating belt are in contact and heated, thereby improving the heating efficiency of the electrode. Part of the annular heating belt of the electrode drying device of the present application is arranged in the heat exchange drying chamber, and the other part is arranged outside the heat exchange drying chamber; the annular heating belt in the heat exchange drying chamber is in contact with the electrode to continuously heat the electrode. Therefore, the electrode drying device of the present application only needs to use circulating air to dry and dehumidify the heat exchange drying chamber as a whole, and there is no need to heat the circulating air, thereby improving the heating and drying effect of the electrode. Compared with directly heating the electrode by the heating roller, the annular heating belt can better conduct the heat of the heating roller to various positions of the electrode in the heat exchange drying chamber, and can maintain the heating temperature of the electrode in the heat exchange drying chamber for a longer time.

[0013] In some embodiments, another portion of the annular heating belt is disposed at the bottom of the housing; there are multiple heating rollers, and multiple heating rollers are disposed at the bottom of the housing. Multiple heating rollers disposed at the bottom of the housing are more convenient for installation. One of two adjacent heating rollers is disposed within the annular heating belt and contacts the inner surface of the annular heating belt, while the other heating roller is disposed outside the annular heating belt and contacts the outer surface of the annular heating belt. By disposing one heating roller within the annular heating belt and the other heating roller outside the annular heating belt, the contact area between the annular heating belt and the heating rollers can be increased, thereby improving the heating efficiency of the annular heating belt by the heating rollers.

[0014] In some embodiments, the plurality of heating rollers are disposed on a side of the bottom of the housing close to the inlet.

[0015] In one or more embodiments of the present application, arranging multiple heating rollers on the bottom side of the shell near the inlet can enable the heated annular heating belt to be bonded to the electrode as soon as possible after heating, thereby reducing the heat loss of the annular heating belt between being heated by the heating rollers and being bonded to the electrode in the heat exchange drying chamber, thereby improving the heating efficiency of the electrode.

[0016] In some embodiments, the electrode drying device further comprises a roller and a support roller; the roller is disposed at the bottom of the housing and is in driving contact with the annular heating belt. The roller can be used to support the annular heating belt, thereby increasing the operational stability of the annular heating belt, thereby enabling it to maintain a stable fit with the electrode. The support roller is disposed within the heat exchange drying chamber and is located between the bottom wall of the heat exchange drying chamber and the annular heating belt within the heat exchange drying chamber, such that the outer surface of the annular heating belt within the heat exchange drying chamber is fully exposed; the support roller is in contact with the inner surface of the annular heating belt, and can be used to support the annular heating belt within the heat exchange drying chamber, thereby making the outer surface of the annular heating belt within the heat exchange drying chamber arc-shaped, thereby increasing the area of ​​fit between the annular heating belt and the electrode, thereby improving the heating effect.

[0017] In some embodiments, there are multiple support rollers; along the direction from the inlet to the outlet, the multiple support rollers are arranged in parallel and spaced apart, and the heights of the multiple support rollers first gradually increase and then gradually decrease.

[0018] In one or more embodiments of the present application, by setting the support roller in the above manner, the annular heating belt in the heat exchange drying chamber forms an arc that bulges toward the top of the heat exchange drying chamber, thereby increasing the contact area between the annular heating belt and the electrode.

[0019] In some embodiments, the electrode drying device further comprises:

[0020] A driving assembly connected to the annular heating belt; the driving assembly is configured to drive the annular heating belt to operate continuously;

[0021] An unwinding mechanism is provided on one side of the inlet; the unwinding mechanism is configured to carry and release the electrode sheet coil, so that the released electrode sheet enters the heat exchange drying chamber from the inlet and passes through the outlet;

[0022] A winding mechanism is provided on one side of the outlet; the winding mechanism is configured to be able to wind up the released electrode coming out of the outlet.

[0023] In one or more embodiments of the present application, the annular heating belt is driven by a drive assembly to perform continuous circulation. The electrode is unwound and wound by an unwinding mechanism and a rewinding mechanism, so that the electrode can pass through the heat exchange drying chamber for drying. The operating speed of the unwinding mechanism and the rewinding mechanism can be adjusted according to the degree of retraction of the electrode coil, so that the electrode always maintains synchronization with the annular heating belt and reduces the risk of the electrode being broken.

[0024] In some embodiments, the drive assembly includes a first drive assembly and a second drive assembly, the first drive assembly is disposed outside the inlet, and the second drive assembly is disposed outside the outlet.

[0025] In one or more embodiments of the present application, by arranging driving components on the outside of the inlet and the outside of the outlet respectively, the operating stability and force uniformity of the annular heating belt can be increased.

[0026] In some embodiments, the electrode drying device further includes a speed measuring component and a controller; the speed measuring component is configured to measure the operating speed of the annular heating belt and the electrode; the controller is electrically connected to the speed measuring component, the drive component, and the unwinding mechanism respectively; the controller is configured to control the drive component and / or the unwinding mechanism according to the operating speed of the annular heating belt and the electrode measured by the speed measuring component, so as to adjust the operating speed of the annular heating belt and the electrode so that the annular heating belt and the electrode operate synchronously. The synchronous operation of the annular heating belt and the electrode can achieve stable heat exchange, reduce friction between the annular heating belt and the electrode, reduce wear of the annular heating belt and the electrode, and improve the heating effect on the electrode.

[0027] In some embodiments, the speed measurement component includes:

[0028] a first speed measuring roller, disposed outside the outlet and in contact with the annular heating belt, to detect the running speed of the annular heating belt;

[0029] A second speed measuring roller is positioned outside the outlet and in contact with the electrode piece to detect its operating speed. The first and second speed measuring rollers are positioned outside the outlet. On the one hand, the electrode piece exiting the outlet has already completed heating and drying, and although it contacts the speed measuring rollers, they do not affect the heat exchange process between the annular heating belt and the electrode piece. On the other hand, the operating speed of the electrode piece and the annular heating belt exiting the outlet better reflects the operating speed of the electrode piece and the annular heating belt within the heat exchange and drying chamber, making speed measurement more accurate.

[0030] In some embodiments, the outer surface of the annular heating belt is a smooth surface, which can increase the contact area between the annular heating belt and the electrode, thereby improving the heating and drying efficiency.

[0031] In some embodiments, the annular heating belt is a metal sheet, which has good toughness and high thermal conductivity, and can improve the heat conduction efficiency of the annular heating belt to the electrode.

[0032] In some embodiments, the metal sheet is a steel sheet, which has the advantages of high strength, resistance to breakage, and low cost.

[0033] In some embodiments, an air inlet assembly and an air return assembly are provided in the heat exchange and drying chamber, one of the air inlet assembly and the return air assembly is arranged between the bottom wall of the heat exchange and drying chamber and the annular heating belt in the heat exchange and drying chamber, and the other is arranged between the top wall of the heat exchange and drying chamber and the annular heating belt in the heat exchange and drying chamber.

[0034] In one or more embodiments of the present application, the air inlet assembly and the return air assembly are set up in the above-mentioned manner, so that the incoming air can directly pass through the dried electrode, and the air inlet assembly and the return air assembly form circulating air, which carries away the solvent diffused from the heated electrode through the circulating air, ensuring that the electrode is in a negative pressure drying state.

[0035] In some embodiments, the return air component is arranged between the top wall of the heat exchange and drying chamber and the annular heating belt in the heat exchange and drying chamber, the return air component has a return air cavity, and the bottom wall of the return air cavity has multiple return air ports spaced apart along the direction from the inlet to the outlet; the air inlet component is arranged between the bottom wall of the heat exchange and drying chamber and the annular heating belt in the heat exchange and drying chamber and has an air inlet, and there are multiple air inlet components, and the multiple air inlet components are spaced apart along the direction from the inlet to the outlet.

[0036] In one or more embodiments of the present application, multiple air inlet assemblies and multiple return air vents are provided to better remove solvent generated by electrode volatilization from the heat exchange drying chamber. By locating the return air vents between the top wall of the heat exchange drying chamber and the annular heating belt, the drying effect of the heat exchange drying chamber can be improved.

[0037] In order to solve the above technical problems, the second technical solution provided in this application is: to provide a battery production system, including a coating device and a pole piece drying device, the coating device is used to coat an active material layer on a current collector to obtain a battery pole piece; the pole piece drying device is the pole piece drying device described in any one of the above embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0038] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0039] FIG1 is a side view schematic diagram of the electrode drying device provided by the present application;

[0040] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a control module of a pole piece drying device provided in the present application;

[0041] FIG3 is a module schematic diagram of the battery production system provided in this application.

[0042] Explanation of the accompanying drawings: 10-shell, 11-heat exchange drying chamber, 111-inlet, 112-outlet, 113-bottom wall, 114-top wall, 12-support roller, 13-air inlet assembly, 131-air inlet, 14-return air assembly, 141-return air chamber, 142-return air outlet, 20-annular heating belt, 21-inner surface, 22-outer surface, 30-heating roller, 40-pass roller, 50-drive assembly, 51-first drive assembly, 52-second drive assembly, 60-unwinding mechanism, 61-unwinding roll, 70-rewinding mechanism, 71-rewinding roll, 80-speed measuring assembly, 81-first speed measuring roller, 82-second speed measuring roller, 90-controller, 100-electrode drying device, 200-electrode, 300-battery production system, 301-coating device. [Specific implementation method]

[0043] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0044] The terms "first", "second" and "first" in this application are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, the features defined as "first" and "second" can explicitly or implicitly include at least one of these features. In the embodiments of the present application, all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back ...) are only used to explain the relative positional relationship, movement, etc. between the various components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication also changes accordingly. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the steps or units listed, but optionally also includes steps or units that are not listed, or optionally also includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0045] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0046] In the battery production process, the active material layer is applied to the current collector to produce the battery electrode. The resulting electrode needs to be heated and dried in a drying device. Related art electrode drying devices have separate heating and drying chambers, as well as separate heating and drying components. Typically, the electrode is first heated in the heating chamber by the heating component, and then dried in the drying chamber by the drying component.

[0047] Since the heating methods commonly used by heating components include infrared and roller contact heating, the adjustment of process parameters is relatively complicated. In addition, the roller contact heating method is a direct contact between the roller surface and the heated electrode, the heat transfer area is small, and the heating efficiency is low.

[0048] In order to solve the above problems, the applicant has found that the annular heating belt can be heated by a heating roller. The heated annular heating belt is in direct contact with the electrode and has a larger contact area, thereby improving the heating efficiency and reducing the difficulty of adjusting the process parameters.

[0049] Because the drying component uses other energy sources to heat the circulating air and convection heating to dry the electrodes, it consumes a lot of energy. Therefore, the electrode drying device of the present application has a portion of the annular heating belt installed inside the heat exchange drying chamber, while the other portion is installed outside the heat exchange drying chamber. The annular heating belt inside the heat exchange drying chamber contacts the electrode, continuously heating it. Therefore, the electrode drying device of the present application only needs to use circulating air to dry and dehumidify the heat exchange drying chamber as a whole, without the need to heat the circulating air, thereby improving the heating and drying effect on the electrode.

[0050] The technical solution described in the embodiments of the present application is applicable to batteries, especially heating and drying pole pieces of lithium batteries, and can also be used for drying pole pieces of other types of batteries, which is not limited in the present application.

[0051] The present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0052] Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a side structural schematic diagram of the electrode drying device provided in the present application; Figure 2 is a control module schematic diagram of the electrode drying device provided in the present application.

[0053] An electrode drying device 100 provided in one embodiment of the present application includes a shell 10, an annular heating belt 20, a heating roller 30, a drive assembly 50, an unwinding mechanism 60, and a rewinding mechanism 70. The shell 10 has a heat exchange drying chamber 11, and the heat exchange drying chamber 11 has an inlet 111 and an outlet 112 arranged opposite to each other. The annular heating belt 20 includes an inner surface 21 and an outer surface 22 arranged opposite to each other; the drive assembly 50 is connected to the annular heating belt 20. The drive assembly 50 is configured to be able to drive the annular heating belt 20 to operate continuously; the heating roller 30 is in contact with the annular heating belt 20 and can heat the annular heating belt 20. At the same time, in one embodiment, the heating roller 30 can also serve as a driving member of the annular heating belt 20 to drive the annular heating belt 20 to operate. The unwinding mechanism 60 is arranged on one side of the inlet 111. The unwinding mechanism 60 may be provided with a material unwinding reel 61, which is configured to carry and release the coil of the electrode 200, so that the released electrode 200 enters the heat exchange drying chamber 11 from the inlet 111 and passes through the outlet 112. The rewinding mechanism 70 is provided on one side of the outlet 112 and may be provided with a material rewinding reel 71, which is configured to rewind the electrode 200 released from the outlet 112. Part of the annular heating belt 20 is provided within the heat exchange drying chamber 11, while the other part is provided outside the heat exchange drying chamber 11, so that the annular heating belt 20 forms a circulating heating belt that enters the heat exchange drying chamber 11 from the inlet 111 of the housing 10, exits from the outlet 112, and then enters the inlet 111 of the housing 10 again. The released electrode 200 contacts the outer surface 22 of the annular heating belt 20 within the heat exchange drying chamber 11, so that the annular heating belt 20 heats the electrode 200.

[0054] Specifically, the housing 10 in this application can be understood as a box with a hollow cavity. The heat exchange and drying chamber 11 is the hollow cavity of the box, which is used to accommodate part of the electrode 200 and part of the annular heating belt 20 to heat and dry the electrode 200. The heat exchange and drying chamber 11 can also be used to accommodate other components, such as multiple support rollers 12, an air inlet assembly 13, and a return air assembly 14. The oppositely arranged inlet 111 and outlet 112 can be understood as two openings arranged at both ends of the running direction of the electrode 200 and the annular heating belt 20. The inlet 111 is used for the annular heating belt 20 and the electrode 200 to enter, and the outlet 112 is used for the annular heating belt 20 and the electrode 200 to be transported out. The inner surface 21 of the annular heating belt 20 is in contact with the support roller 12, and the outer surface 22 is in contact with the electrode 200. The heating roller 30 contacts the endless heating belt 20 to heat the endless heating belt 20 , wherein the heating roller 30 may contact the inner surface 21 or the outer surface 22 of the endless heating belt 20 .

[0055] The annular heating belt 20 in this application can be understood as an annular belt body with a closed structure, and the annular heating belt 20 has good thermal conductivity and can conduct the heat of the heating roller 30 to the pole piece 200 for heating the pole piece 200.

[0056] In this application, the driving component 50 can be understood as a power mechanism that can drive the annular heating belt 20 to circulate, and specifically can be a rotatable column, such as a driving roller, so that the driving component 50 can contact and connect with the annular heating belt 20.

[0057] The heating roller 30 in this application can be understood as a rotating columnar body capable of heating the endless heating belt 20 . For example, a heating film can be provided on the outer surface of the roller or a heating element can be provided inside the roller to form the heating roller 30 .

[0058] In this application, the unwinding mechanism 60 can be understood as a mechanism capable of carrying and releasing the coil of the electrode 200, and the rewinding mechanism 70 can be understood as a mechanism capable of rewinding the electrode 200 released from the outlet 112. The unwinding mechanism 60 and the rewinding mechanism 70 cooperate to achieve the retraction and unwinding of the electrode 200. It is understood that the operating speed of the unwinding mechanism 60 and the rewinding mechanism 70 can be adjusted according to the degree of retraction of the coil of the electrode 200, so that the electrode 200 always maintains synchronous operation with the annular heating belt 20 and reduces the risk of the electrode 200 being pulled apart.

[0059] In this application, "the unwinding mechanism 60 is disposed on one side of the inlet 111" can be understood as the unwinding mechanism 60 being disposed directly opposite, slightly above, or slightly below the side of the inlet 111 away from the outlet 112. Specifically, as shown in FIG1 , the unwinding mechanism 60 is disposed slightly below the side of the inlet 111 away from the outlet 112.

[0060] In this application, "the reeling mechanism 70 is disposed on the side of the outlet 112" can be understood as the reeling mechanism 70 being disposed opposite, slightly above, or slightly below the side away from the inlet 111. Specifically, as shown in FIG1 , the reeling mechanism 70 is disposed below the side of the outlet 112 away from the inlet 111.

[0061] In one or more embodiments of the present application, the annular heating belt 20 is first heated by the heating roller 30, and then the released electrode 200 is brought into contact with the outer surface 22 of the annular heating belt 20 in the heat exchange drying chamber 11 so that the electrode 200 and the annular heating belt 20 are in contact and heated, thereby improving the heating efficiency of the electrode 200.

[0062] It is understood that the other portion of the annular heating belt 20 and the heating roller 30 can be disposed at the bottom or top of the outer side of the shell 10. In some embodiments, the other portion of the annular heating belt 20 can be specifically disposed at the bottom of the outer side of the shell 10. There are multiple heating rollers 30, and multiple heating rollers 30 are disposed at the bottom of the shell 10, making it easier to install the multiple heating rollers 30. In some embodiments, one of the two adjacent heating rollers 30 is disposed within the ring of the annular heating belt 20 and contacts the inner surface 21 of the annular heating belt 20, and the other heating roller 30 is disposed outside the ring of the annular heating belt 20 and contacts the outer surface 22 of the annular heating belt 20. By disposing one heating roller 30 within the ring of the annular heating belt 20 and the other heating roller 30 outside the ring of the annular heating belt 20, the contact area between the annular heating belt 20 and the heating roller 30 can be increased, thereby improving the heating efficiency of the annular heating belt 20 by the heating roller 30.

[0063] In the embodiment provided herein, multiple heating rollers 30 are provided on each of the inner surface 21 and outer surface 22 of the endless heating belt 20. The multiple heating rollers 30 are arranged horizontally and in parallel with each other. The heating rollers 30 contacting the inner surface 21 and the heating rollers 30 contacting the outer surface 22 are alternately arranged, so that the inner surface 21 and the outer surface 22 of the endless heating belt 20 alternately contact the heating rollers 30. By providing multiple heating rollers 30 on each of the inner surface 21 and the outer surface 22 of the endless heating belt 20, the heating efficiency of the heating rollers 30 on the endless heating belt 20 can be further improved.

[0064] In some embodiments, multiple heating rollers 30 are arranged on the bottom side of the shell 10 near the entrance 111, so that the heated annular heating belt 20 can enter the heat exchange drying chamber 11 and fit with the electrode 200 as soon as possible after heating, thereby reducing the heat loss of the annular heating belt 20 between being heated by the heating roller 30 and fitting with the electrode 200 in the heat exchange drying chamber 11, thereby improving the heating efficiency of the electrode 200.

[0065] In an embodiment of the present application, the electrode drying device 100 further includes a roller 40. The roller 40 in the present application can also be understood as a rotatable cylindrical body that can support the portion of the annular heating belt 20 outside the shell 10. Specifically, the roller 40 is arranged at the outer bottom of the shell 10. The outer bottom of the shell 10 here can be understood as the portion of the shell 10 close to the ground when the electrode drying device 100 is in use. In some embodiments, the roller 40 is arranged at the bottom of the shell 10 and is in transmission contact with the annular heating belt 20. The roller 40 can be used to support the annular heating belt 20, increase the operating stability of the annular heating belt 20, and thus enable the annular heating belt 20 to maintain a stable fit with the electrode 200. The transmission contact here can be understood as the annular heating belt 20 being in contact with the roller 40 and the two being transmission-connected, and the annular heating belt 20 is driven by the drive assembly 50 to circulate from the inlet 111 to the outlet 112 of the shell 10. In other embodiments, another part of the annular heating belt 20, the heating roller 30 and the passing roller 40 can also be arranged on the top or side of the shell 10, etc., as long as the connection relationship between the annular heating belt 20 and the shell 10, the heating roller 30 and the passing roller 40, and the contact heating between the annular heating belt 20 and the pole piece 200 can be met, this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0066] In an embodiment of the present application, the electrode drying device 100 further includes a support roller 12. The support roller 12 in the present application can also be understood as a rotatable cylindrical body that supports the portion of the annular heating belt 20 in the heat exchange drying chamber 11. In some embodiments, the support roller 12 is disposed in the heat exchange drying chamber 11 and is located between the bottom wall 113 of the heat exchange drying chamber 11 and the annular heating belt 20 in the heat exchange drying chamber 11, so that the outer surface 22 of the annular heating belt 20 in the heat exchange drying chamber 11 is fully exposed; the support roller 12 contacts the inner surface 21 of the annular heating belt 20, and the support roller 12 can be used to support the annular heating belt 20 in the heat exchange drying chamber 11. Multiple support rollers 12 can be arranged in an arc shape with a high middle and gradually lowered sides, so that the annular heating belt 20 in the heat exchange drying chamber 11 is arc-shaped, thereby increasing the contact area between the annular heating belt 20 and the electrode 200 and improving the heating effect.

[0067] In some embodiments, there are multiple support rollers 12; the multiple support rollers 12 are arranged in parallel and spaced apart from each other along the direction from the inlet 111 to the outlet 112, and the heights of the multiple support rollers 12 gradually increase and then gradually decrease. The multiple support rollers 12 are arranged along the direction from the inlet 111 to the outlet 112, and can be arranged evenly or unevenly. The multiple support rollers 12 can be of the same or different sizes, as long as the contact point height of the central support roller 12 with the endless heating belt 20 is higher than the contact point height of the support rollers 12 on either side with the endless heating belt 20. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0068] In one or more embodiments of the present application, by setting the support roller 12 in the above-mentioned manner, the annular heating belt 20 in the heat exchange and drying chamber 11 forms an arc that bulges toward the top of the heat exchange and drying chamber 11, thereby having a larger contact area with the electrode 200 and improving the heating efficiency of the electrode 200.

[0069] In this embodiment, the height at which the unwinding mechanism 60 and the rewinding mechanism 70 are arranged relative to the housing 10 is no higher than the height of the support roller 12, so that the electrode piece 200 forms an arc in the heat exchange and drying chamber 11, and can have a larger contact area with the arc-shaped annular heating belt 20 in the heat exchange and drying chamber 11. In other embodiments, the unwinding mechanism 60 and the rewinding mechanism 70 can also be arranged at a height higher than the support roller 12. In this case, a roller 40 can be respectively provided between the unwinding mechanism 60 and the support roller 12, and between the rewinding mechanism 70 and the support roller 12 to press the unwinding mechanism 60 and the rewinding mechanism 70 downward, so that the height of the electrode piece 200 entering from the entrance 111 is still no higher than the height of the support roller 12, so that the electrode piece 200 forms an arc in the heat exchange and drying chamber 11.

[0070] In some embodiments, the drive assembly 50 includes a first drive assembly 51 and a second drive assembly 52. ​​The first drive assembly 51 is disposed outside the inlet 111, and the second drive assembly 52 is disposed outside the outlet 112. By disposing the drive assemblies 50 outside the inlet 111 and outside the outlet 112, respectively, the operating stability and force uniformity of the annular heating belt 20 can be increased.

[0071] In one or more embodiments of the present application, the first drive assembly 51 and the second drive assembly 52 each include two drive rollers, one of which contacts the inner surface 21 of the endless heating belt 20, and the other contacts the outer surface 22 of the endless heating belt 20. Since the first drive assembly 51 and the second drive assembly 52 each include two drive rollers, and the two drive rollers are arranged in the above manner, the contact area between the drive rollers and the endless heating belt 20 can be increased, thereby increasing the driving force of the drive rollers on the endless heating belt 20, and improving the operating stability and force uniformity of the endless heating belt 20.

[0072] In an embodiment of the present application, the electrode drying device 100 further includes a speed measuring assembly 80 and a controller 90. The speed measuring assembly 80 is configured to measure the operating speed of the annular heating belt 20 and the electrode 200. The speed measuring assembly 80, as used herein, may be understood as any component capable of measuring the operating speed of the annular heating belt 20 and the electrode 200, such as an image acquisition assembly or a speed measuring roller. The controller 90, as used herein, may be understood as a control circuit, such as a circuit board with a chip. The controller 90 is electrically connected to the speed measuring assembly 80, the drive assembly 50, the unwinding mechanism 60, and the rewinding mechanism 70. The controller 90 is configured to control the drive assembly 50 and / or the unwinding mechanism 60 based on the operating speed of the annular heating belt 20 and the electrode 200 measured by the speed measuring assembly 80, thereby adjusting the operating speed of the annular heating belt 20 and the electrode 200 so that the annular heating belt 20 and the electrode 200 operate synchronously. The annular heating belt 20 and the pole piece 200 operate synchronously, which can achieve stable heat exchange, reduce friction between the annular heating belt 20 and the pole piece 200, and reduce wear of the annular heating belt 20 and the pole piece 200, thereby improving the heating effect on the pole piece 200.

[0073] In one specific embodiment, the speed measuring assembly 80 may include a first speed measuring roller 81 and a second speed measuring roller 82. The first speed measuring roller 81 is disposed outside the outlet 112 and contacts the annular heating belt 20 to detect the operating speed of the annular heating belt 20. The second speed measuring roller 82 is disposed outside the outlet 112 and contacts the electrode piece 200 to detect the operating speed of the electrode piece 200. The first speed measuring roller 81 and the second speed measuring roller 82 are disposed outside the outlet 112. On the one hand, the electrode piece 200 exiting the outlet 112 has already completed heating and drying. Although in contact with the speed measuring rollers, the speed measuring rollers do not affect the heat exchange process between the annular heating belt 20 and the electrode piece 200. On the other hand, the operating speeds of the electrode piece 200 and the annular heating belt 20 exiting the outlet 112 can better reflect the operating speeds of the electrode piece 200 and the annular heating belt 20 within the heat exchange and drying chamber 11, making the speed measurement more accurate.

[0074] In some embodiments, the outer surface 22 of the annular heating belt 20 is a smooth surface. For example, the outer surface 22 is polished to form a smooth surface, so that the roughness RA of the annular heating belt 20 is 0.8-0.1um, thereby increasing the contact area between the annular heating belt 20 and the pole piece 200, making the annular heating belt 20 and the pole piece 200 more fitted, thereby improving the heating and drying efficiency.

[0075] In some embodiments, the annular heating belt 20 is a metal sheet. The metal sheet has good toughness and high thermal conductivity, which can improve the heat conduction efficiency of the annular heating belt 20 to the pole piece 200.

[0076] In some embodiments, the metal sheet is a steel sheet, which has the advantages of being strong, not easily broken, and low cost.

[0077] In some embodiments, the annular heating belt 20 may have a thickness of 0.1 to 3 mm. In a specific embodiment, the annular heating belt 20 has a thickness of 0.5 mm. The annular heating belt 20 is thicker than the electrode 200. Compared to directly heating the electrode 200 with the heating roller 30, the annular heating belt 20 can better conduct heat from the heating roller 30 to various locations on the electrode 200 within the heat exchange drying chamber 11 and maintain the heated temperature of the electrode 200 within the heat exchange drying chamber 11 for a longer period of time.

[0078] In some embodiments, the width of the annular heating belt 20 is greater than or equal to the width of the pole piece 200 , and the entire pole piece 200 is in contact with the surface of the annular heating belt 20 , thereby improving the heating effect.

[0079] Furthermore, the width of the annular heating belt 20 is greater than the width of the electrode piece 200, and the annular heating belt 20 has a plurality of spaced protrusions (not shown) on both sides along the width direction. For example, the plurality of spaced protrusions are arranged along the entire circumference of the annular heating belt 20. The protrusions are arranged between the protrusions on both sides along the width direction of the annular heating belt 20, so that the electrode piece 200 is limited and prevented from deviating from the annular heating belt 20.

[0080] In an embodiment of the present application, the electrode drying device 100 further includes an air intake assembly 13 and a return air assembly 14. The controller 90 can control the driving components of the air intake assembly 13 and the return air assembly 14 and the driving component 50 to operate independently. The driving components of the air intake assembly 13 and the return air assembly 14 can be fans, air pumps or cylinders, etc. Alternatively, the controller 90 can include a first control unit (not shown) and a second control unit (not shown). The first control unit controls the operation of the driving component 50; the second control unit controls the operation of the driving components of the air intake assembly 13 and the return air assembly 14. The controller 90 controls the first control unit and the second control unit to operate independently of each other, so that the heating system (not shown) and the return air system (not shown) of the entire electrode drying device 100 can operate as two independent systems without interfering with each other. It can be understood that the heating system includes a roller 40, a first speed measuring roller 81, a heating roller 30 and an annular heating belt 20, etc. The return air system includes an air inlet assembly 13, a return air assembly 14, and the drive components of the air inlet assembly 13 and the return air assembly 14. Because a portion of the annular heating belt 20 extends through the heat exchange drying chamber 11, the annular heating belt 20 in the heat exchange drying chamber 11 contacts the electrode 200, continuously heating the electrode 200. The electrode drying device 100 of the present application only requires circulating air to dry and dehumidify the heat exchange drying chamber 11 as a whole, eliminating the need to heat the circulating air. This improves the heating and drying effect on the electrode 200. In other words, the air inlet assembly 13 of the present application does not require a heating element.

[0081] In some embodiments, one of the air inlet assembly 13 and the air return assembly 14 is disposed between the bottom wall 113 of the heat exchange and drying chamber 11 and the annular heating belt 20 within the heat exchange and drying chamber 11, and the other is disposed between the top wall 114 of the heat exchange and drying chamber 11 and the annular heating belt 20 within the heat exchange and drying chamber 11. By arranging the air inlet assembly 13 and the air return assembly 14 in the above manner, the air entering from the outside can directly pass through the dried electrode pieces 200. The air inlet assembly 13 and the air return assembly 14 form circulating air within the heat exchange and drying chamber 11, and the circulating air carries away the solvent diffused from the heated electrode pieces 200, thereby drying and dehumidifying the heat exchange and drying chamber 11, thereby ensuring that the electrode pieces 200 are in a negative pressure drying state.

[0082] In a specific embodiment, the return air assembly 14 can be arranged between the top wall 114 of the heat exchange and drying chamber 11 and the annular heating belt 20 in the heat exchange and drying chamber 11. The return air assembly 14 has a return air cavity 141. The bottom wall 113 of the return air cavity 141 has a plurality of return air ports 142 spaced apart along the direction from the inlet 111 to the outlet 112. The air inlet assembly 13 is arranged between the bottom wall 113 of the heat exchange and drying chamber 11 and the annular heating belt 20 and has an air inlet 131. The air inlet 131 can specifically use a nozzle to discharge air. The nozzle can be a dense mesh nozzle or a slit nozzle. The nozzle can be installed in a snap-on quick-release manner, so that it is easy to fix on the inner wall of the box. There are multiple air inlet assemblies 13, and the multiple air inlet assemblies 13 are spaced apart along the direction from the inlet 111 to the outlet 112.

[0083] In one or more embodiments of the present application, multiple air inlet assemblies 13 and multiple return air vents 142 are provided to better remove the solvent generated by the volatilization of the electrode 200 from the heat exchange drying chamber 11. By arranging the return air vents 142 between the top wall 114 of the heat exchange drying chamber 11 and the annular heating belt 20, the drying effect of the heat exchange drying chamber 11 can be improved.

[0084] Please refer to FIG3 , which is a module diagram of the battery production system provided in this application.

[0085] The battery production system 300 provided in this application includes a coating device 301 and a pole piece drying device 100. The coating device 301 is used to coat an active material layer on a current collector to obtain a battery pole piece 200. The pole piece drying device 100 can be the pole piece drying device 100 described in any one of the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0086] It can be understood that the battery production system 300 of the present application can also include a battery assembly device (not shown in the figure), etc. For example, the battery electrode 200 dried by the above-mentioned electrode drying device 100 can be prepared into a battery cell (not shown in the figure), and then the battery cell and the battery casing (not shown in the figure) can be assembled into a battery monomer (not shown in the figure) through the battery assembly device. The present application does not impose any specific restrictions on this.

[0087] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0088] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0089] The above description is only an implementation method of the present application and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the description and drawings of this application, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A pole piece drying device, wherein: include: The shell has a heat exchange drying chamber; the heat exchange drying chamber has an inlet and an outlet arranged oppositely; The annular heating belt comprises an inner surface and an outer surface which are arranged opposite to each other; a heating roller in contact with the annular heating belt; Part of the annular heating belt is inserted into the heat exchange and drying chamber, and the other part is arranged outside the heat exchange and drying chamber; the released pole piece contacts the outer surface of the annular heating belt in the heat exchange and drying chamber.

2. The electrode drying device according to claim 1, wherein: Another part of the annular heating belt is arranged at the bottom of the shell; the number of the heating rollers is multiple, and the multiple heating rollers are arranged at the bottom of the shell; One of the two adjacent heating rollers is disposed inside the loop of the annular heating belt and contacts the inner surface of the annular heating belt, and the other heating roller is disposed outside the loop of the annular heating belt and contacts the outer surface of the annular heating belt.

3. The electrode drying device according to claim 2, wherein: The plurality of heating rollers are arranged on a side of the bottom of the housing close to the inlet.

4. The electrode drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The pole piece drying device also includes: A roller, disposed at the bottom of the shell and in driving contact with the annular heating belt; The support roller is arranged in the heat exchange drying chamber and is located between the bottom wall of the heat exchange drying chamber and the annular heating belt in the heat exchange drying chamber; the support roller contacts the inner surface of the annular heating belt.

5. The electrode drying device according to claim 4, wherein: There are multiple support rollers; along the direction from the inlet to the outlet, the multiple support rollers are arranged in parallel and at intervals, and the heights of the multiple support rollers first gradually increase and then gradually decrease.

6. The electrode drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The pole piece drying device also includes: A driving assembly connected to the annular heating belt; the driving assembly is configured to drive the annular heating belt to operate continuously; An unwinding mechanism is arranged at one side of the inlet; the unwinding mechanism is configured to carry and release the pole piece coil, so that the released pole piece enters the heat exchange drying chamber from the inlet and passes through the outlet; A winding mechanism is arranged at one side of the outlet; the winding mechanism is configured to be able to wind up the released pole piece coming out of the outlet.

7. The electrode drying device according to claim 6, wherein: The driving assembly includes a first driving assembly and a second driving assembly, wherein the first driving assembly is arranged outside the inlet, and the second driving assembly is arranged outside the outlet.

8. The electrode drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The pole piece drying device also includes: A speed measuring component; the speed measuring component is configured to measure the running speed of the annular heating belt and the pole piece; A controller is electrically connected to the speed measuring component, the driving component and the unwinding mechanism respectively; the controller is configured to control the driving component and / or the unwinding mechanism according to the running speeds of the annular heating belt and the pole piece measured by the speed measuring component, so as to adjust the running speeds of the annular heating belt and the pole piece so that the annular heating belt and the pole piece run synchronously.

9. The electrode drying device according to claim 8, wherein: The speed measuring component comprises: A first speed measuring roller, disposed outside the outlet and in contact with the annular heating belt, to detect the running speed of the annular heating belt; The second speed measuring roller is arranged outside the outlet and in contact with the pole piece to detect the running speed of the pole piece.

10. The electrode drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The outer surface of the annular heating belt is a smooth surface.

11. The electrode drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: The annular heating belt is a metal sheet.

12. The electrode drying device according to claim 11, wherein: The metal sheet is a steel sheet.

13. The electrode drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein: An air inlet assembly and an air return assembly are provided in the heat exchange and drying chamber, one of the air inlet assembly and the air return assembly is arranged between the bottom wall of the heat exchange and drying chamber and the annular heating belt in the heat exchange and drying chamber, and the other is arranged between the top wall of the heat exchange and drying chamber and the annular heating belt in the heat exchange and drying chamber.

14. The electrode drying device according to claim 13, wherein: The return air component is arranged between the top wall of the heat exchange and drying chamber and the annular heating belt in the heat exchange and drying chamber, and the return air component has a return air cavity, and the bottom wall of the return air cavity has a plurality of return air ports arranged at intervals along the direction from the inlet to the outlet; the air inlet component is arranged between the bottom wall of the heat exchange and drying chamber and the annular heating belt in the heat exchange and drying chamber and has an air inlet, and there are a plurality of air inlet components, and the plurality of air inlet components are arranged at intervals along the direction from the inlet to the outlet.

15. A battery production system, wherein: include: A coating device, used for coating an active material layer on a current collector to obtain a battery pole piece; as well as An electrode drying device, wherein the electrode drying device is the electrode drying device described in any one of claims 1-14.

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