Wire feeding device and vapor deposition system

Abstract

A wire feeding device (100) and a vapor deposition system (1000). The wire feeding device (100) comprises a wire feeding mechanism (10) and a wire feeding tube (20). The wire feeding tube (20) is connected to the wire feeding mechanism (10), and the wire feeding mechanism (10) is used for supplying a wire to the wire feeding tube (20), such that the wire enters the interior of the wire feeding tube (20) through an inlet of the wire feeding tube (20) and is discharged from an outlet of the wire feeding tube (20). The wire feeding tube (20) comprises a body (21), wherein the inlet is formed at one end of the body (21); the body (21) has a circular-arc shape; and in the direction of gravity, the center of a circle on which the body (21) lies is located below the body (21). The vapor deposition system (1000) can effectively improve the quality of vapor deposition, thereby improving the quality of batteries.

Description

Wire feeding device and evaporation system

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202421482918.X, filed on June 26, 2024, entitled “Wire feeding device and evaporation system”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the technical field of vacuum coating, in particular, to a wire feeding device and evaporation system. BACKGROUND

[0004] The current collector of the battery often uses an aluminum-coated film as a carrier. Currently, an aluminum wire is evaporated into a gaseous state by an evaporation process and coated on a polymer film to form a current collector. Since the evaporation quality affects the quality of the battery, how to improve the evaporation quality is a technical problem to be solved in the development of battery technology.

[0005] SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a wire feeding device and evaporation system. The technical solution provided by the present application can effectively improve the evaporation quality and thus improve the quality of the battery.

[0007] In a first aspect, some embodiments of the present application provide a wire feeding device, which includes a wire feeding mechanism and a wire feeding pipe. The wire feeding pipe is connected to the wire feeding mechanism. The wire feeding mechanism is used to provide a wire to the wire feeding pipe, and the wire enters the inside of the wire feeding pipe through the inlet of the wire feeding pipe and is discharged from the outlet of the wire feeding pipe. The wire feeding pipe includes a body. One end of the body forms an inlet. The body is in the shape of an arc. In the direction of gravity, the center of the circle in which the body is located is below the body.

[0008] In the above-mentioned solution, by setting the body of the wire feeding pipe to be in the shape of an arc, the wire can smoothly deform along the inner wall of the wire feeding pipe, reducing the resistance of the wire feeding pipe to the wire, thereby reducing the impact force of the wire on the wire feeding mechanism, which causes the wire feeding mechanism to jam and makes the wire feeding mechanism unstable, which can effectively evaporate the wire and uniformly coat the polymer film to make the quality of the current collector high and the quality of the battery high.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present application, the radius of the circle in which the center line of the body is located is greater than or equal to 250 mm and less than or equal to 320 mm.

[0010] In the above scheme, the radius of the circle where the center line of the body is located is greater than or equal to 250 mm and less than or equal to 320 mm, which can effectively reduce the resistance of the wire when the wire is fed into the pipe, reduce the impact on the wire feeding mechanism, reduce the risk of jamming of the wire feeding mechanism to stably feed the wire, so that the wire landing position is stable, the evaporation quality is high, and the battery quality is improved.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the application, the radius of the circle where the center line of the body is located is greater than or equal to 280 mm and less than or equal to 290 mm.

[0012] In the above scheme, the radius of the circle where the center line of the body is located is greater than or equal to 280 mm and less than or equal to 290 mm, which can further reduce the resistance of the wire when the wire is fed into the pipe, reduce the impact on the wire feeding mechanism, reduce the risk of jamming of the wire feeding mechanism to stably feed the wire, so that the wire landing position is stable, the evaporation quality is high, and the battery quality is improved.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the application, the wire feeding pipe further comprises a bending section connected to the other end of the body, the outlet is formed at the end of the body away from the bending section, and the bending section is inclined downward relative to the body along the direction of gravity.

[0014] In the above scheme, the bending section is arranged at the end of the wire feeding pipe, which can stabilize the feeding angle of the wire, stabilize the landing angle of the wire in the evaporation device, and make the aluminum wire fall on the evaporation surface of the evaporation device at a suitable angle (for example, 45 degrees) as much as possible, so that the evaporation effect of the wire on both sides is consistent, the evaporation quality is improved, and the battery quality is improved.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the application, the length of the body is L1, the length of the bending section is L2, and 0.10≤L2 / L1≤0.17 is satisfied.

[0016] In the above scheme, by setting the ratio of the length of the bending section to the length of the body to be not less than 0.10 and not more than 0.14, on the one hand, the resistance of the wire in the wire feeding pipe is small, the impact on the wire feeding mechanism is reduced, the wire feeding is stable and not jammed, and the landing position is stable; on the other hand, the feeding angle of the wire is stable, so that the angle with the evaporation surface is stable, and the evaporation effect is improved.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the application, the center line of the bending section is a straight line.

[0018] In the above scheme, by setting the bending section as a straight pipe, the consistency of the feeding angle of the wire is high, so that the angle with the evaporation surface of the evaporation device is stable, the evaporation quality is improved, and the battery quality is improved.

[0019] According to some embodiments of the present application, the tangent line of the end of the center line of the body is connected with the center line of the bending section, and the angle between the tangent line of the end and the center line of the bending section is greater than or equal to 2° and less than or equal to 7°.

[0020] In the above scheme, the angle between the tangent line of the end of the center line of the body and the center line of the bending section is set to be greater than or equal to 2° and less than or equal to 7° through multiple tests. On the one hand, this can reduce the resistance of the wire passing through the intersection of the body and the bending section, so that the landing position is stable. On the other hand, it can stabilize the wire feeding angle, so that the landing angle is stable and appropriate, which is beneficial to improve the evaporation quality and thus improve the battery quality.

[0021] According to some embodiments of the present application, the length of the wire feeding pipe is greater than or equal to 170 mm and less than or equal to 200 mm.

[0022] In the above scheme, the overall length of the wire feeding pipe is set to be greater than or equal to 170 mm and less than or equal to 200 mm. On the one hand, this can effectively guide the feeding direction and angle of the wire, reducing the risk of excessive wire suspension caused by too short guiding distance, which affects the wire feeding quality. On the other hand, it can reduce the risk of affecting the utilization rate of factory space caused by too large length of the wire feeding pipe.

[0023] According to some embodiments of the present application, the wire feeding mechanism includes a bracket, a driven wheel, a driving wheel and a first driving part. The driven wheel and the driving wheel are rotatably arranged on the bracket and are spaced apart from each other to form a wire feeding channel. The first driving part is connected with the driving wheel to drive the driving wheel to rotate, so that the wire moves in the wire feeding channel. The wire feeding pipe is arranged on the bracket, and the inlet of the wire feeding pipe is communicated with the wire feeding channel.

[0024] In the above scheme, the wire feeding mechanism has a simple structure and is easy to maintain. The first driving part drives the driving wheel to rotate, so that the wire moves in the wire feeding channel under the action of the driving wheel and the driven wheel to enter the inside of the wire feeding pipe and be thrown out of the outlet of the wire feeding pipe, so as to enter the evaporation device to realize evaporation.

[0025] According to some embodiments of the present application, the first driving part includes a first motor, a bevel gear and a bevel gear. The bevel gear is connected with the driving wheel, and the center axis of the bevel gear is parallel to the horizontal plane. The first motor is vertically arranged, the bevel gear is arranged on the output end of the first motor, and the bevel gear and the bevel gear are meshed with each other.

[0026] In the above scheme, by arranging the bevel gear and the bevel gear, the first motor can be vertically arranged to save space in the horizontal direction, so that more wire feeding devices can be arranged in the horizontal space, thereby improving the evaporation efficiency and thus improving the battery manufacturing efficiency.

[0027] According to some embodiments of the present application, the wire feeding device further comprises an angle adjusting mechanism connected with the wire feeding mechanism, for adjusting the pitch angle of the wire feeding mechanism.

[0028] In the above solution, the pitch angle of the wire feeding mechanism is adjusted by the angle adjusting mechanism, so that the front and back of the wire feeding point can be adjusted, and the problem of the falling point caused by the deformation of the wire due to its own stress or external impact is improved, thereby improving the evaporation quality and further improving the quality of the battery.

[0029] According to some embodiments of the present application, the angle adjusting mechanism comprises a rack, a second motor, a screw rod, a gear and a connecting piece, the gear is rotatably arranged on the rack, the central axis of the gear is parallel to the horizontal plane, the wire feeding mechanism is connected with the gear through the connecting piece and rotates with the gear, the second motor is arranged on the rack and vertically arranged, the screw rod is arranged on the output end of the second motor, and the screw rod is engaged with the gear.

[0030] In the above solution, the angle adjusting mechanism has a simple structure and is easy to maintain. On the one hand, the second motor drives the screw rod to rotate the gear, so as to efficiently adjust the pitch angle of the wire feeding mechanism; on the other hand, by arranging the screw rod and the gear, the second motor can be arranged vertically, thereby saving space in the horizontal direction, so that the horizontal space can be reasonably utilized to arrange more wire feeding devices, thereby improving the evaporation efficiency and further improving the battery manufacturing efficiency.

[0031] In a second aspect, some embodiments of the present application provide an evaporation system, comprising an evaporation device and the wire feeding device provided in the first aspect. The wire feeding device is used to provide wire to the evaporation device.

[0032] The above description is only a summary of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present application, the following specific embodiments can be implemented according to the content of the description, and in order to make the above and other purposes, characteristics and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the following specific embodiments of the present application are described. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0033] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed in the embodiments. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present application, and therefore should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can also be obtained without creative labor.

[0034] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an evaporation system according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0035] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a wire feeding device according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0036] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the wire feeding tube in some embodiments of this application;

[0037] Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of a partial structure of the wire feeding device in some embodiments of this application;

[0038] Figure 5 is a partial schematic diagram of the first driving part in some embodiments of this application.

[0039] Icons: 1000 - Evaporation system; 100 - Wire feeding device; 200 - Evaporation device; 10 - Wire feeding mechanism; 11 - Support; 12 - Driven wheel; 13 - Driving wheel; 14 - First motor; 15 - Bevel gear; 16 - Bevel gear; 17 - Rotating rod; 20 - Wire feeding tube; 21 - Body; 22 - Bending section; 30 - Angle adjustment mechanism; 31 - Frame; 310 - Support lug; 32 - Second motor; 33 - Screw; 34 - Gear; 35 - Connector; z - Gravity direction. Detailed Implementation

[0040] The embodiments of the technical solution of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of this application and are therefore merely examples, and should not be used to limit the scope of protection of this application.

[0041] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains; the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the application; the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, in the specification, claims, and foregoing description of the drawings are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0042] In the description of the embodiments of this application, technical terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish different objects and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number, specific order, or primary and secondary relationship of the indicated technical features. In the description of the embodiments of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly defined.

[0043] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0044] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "and / or" is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the three cases of existence of A, existence of A and B, and existence of B. In addition, the character " / " in this paper generally represents that the front and rear associated objects are a "or" relationship.

[0045] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "a plurality of" refers to two or more (including two), and similarly, "a plurality of groups" refers to two or more groups (including two groups), and "a plurality of pieces" refers to two or more pieces (including two pieces).

[0046] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the technical terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0047] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the technical terms "mounting", "connecting", "connecting", "fixing" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or it can be detachably connected, or it can be integrated; it can be mechanically connected, or it can be electrically connected; it can be directly connected, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; it can be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0048] The battery mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can include a lithium ion secondary battery, a lithium ion primary battery, a lithium-sulfur battery, a sodium lithium ion battery, a sodium ion battery, or a magnesium ion battery, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. The current collector is a basic component of the battery, and its performance plays a crucial role in the performance of the battery. The current collector of the battery is mainly aluminum foil and copper foil at present. The metal foil has the advantage of good conductivity, but due to the inherent properties of the metal, it is more prone to bending and tearing, causing the performance of the battery to decline. In order to optimize the energy density and reliability and other performances of the battery, a composite current collector composed of a metal foil and a polymer film (or a polymer layer) has gradually developed, and the production of the composite current collector often uses an evaporation system to composite the metal foil on the polymer film through a vacuum evaporation process. Vacuum evaporation is a production process of depositing metal on the surface of an object. Its main principle is: the material to be evaporated is placed on the evaporation device, and then the evaporation device is heated, so that the material to be evaporated placed on the evaporation device is melted and vaporized. The molten and vaporized material in the form of atoms or atomic groups accumulates upward under vacuum conditions to the object above, thereby forming a thin film on the object. For example, an aluminum-coated film needs to be produced by a vacuum aluminum coating process, in which high-purity aluminum wire is evaporated into a gaseous state at high temperature (close to 1000 degrees Celsius), and then the polymer film is passed through the vacuum evaporation chamber, so that the gaseous aluminum molecules are deposited and attached to the surface of the polymer film to form a soft packaging material that is bright and beautiful and has a strong metallic color. The evaporation system suitable for the production of aluminum-coated film generally includes a wire feeding device and an evaporation device. The wire feeding device generally includes a wire feeding mechanism and a wire feeding pipe. The aluminum wire comes out of the wire feeding mechanism and enters the wire feeding pipe, and then reaches the evaporation device from the wire feeding pipe.

[0049] The development of battery technology needs to consider many design factors, such as energy density, cycle life, discharge capacity, charge-discharge rate, and other performance parameters. In addition, the product quality of the battery also needs to be considered. The quality of the current collector affects the quality of the battery. Therefore, in the battery with a composite current collector, the quality of the evaporation affects the quality of the battery.

[0050] However, the wire feeding pipe of some wire feeding devices is a straight pipe or a pipe with a straight pipe and a bent pipe, and the inlet is formed in the straight pipe. When the aluminum wire enters the inside of the wire feeding pipe through the inlet of the wire feeding pipe, the aluminum wire is easily deformed at the straight pipe or the intersection of the straight pipe and the bent pipe, so that the aluminum wire receives a large resistance. Therefore, it will impact the wire feeding mechanism, making the wire feeding mechanism prone to jamming, so that the position of the aluminum wire falling to the evaporation device is unstable, the metal molecules cannot uniformly deposit and attach to the surface of the polymer film, and the evaporation quality is affected.

[0051] In view of this, in order to improve the problem that the wire is blocked by a large resistance when passing through the wire feeding pipe, the wire feeding mechanism is impacted, the stability of the wire feeding mechanism is affected, the evaporation quality is affected, and the battery quality is affected, some embodiments of the present application provide a wire feeding device, which comprises a wire feeding mechanism and a wire feeding pipe. The wire feeding pipe is connected with the wire feeding mechanism, the wire feeding mechanism is used for providing the wire to the wire feeding pipe, and the wire enters the inside of the wire feeding pipe from the inlet of the wire feeding pipe and is discharged from the outlet of the wire feeding pipe. Wherein, the wire feeding pipe comprises a body, one end of the body forms an inlet, the body is in the shape of a circular arc, and the center of the circle where the body is located is below the body along the direction of gravity.

[0052] In the above scheme, by setting the body of the wire feeding pipe to be in the shape of a circular arc, the wire can be smoothly deformed along the inner wall of the wire feeding pipe, the resistance of the wire feeding pipe to the wire is reduced, the impact force of the wire on the wire feeding mechanism is reduced, the wire feeding mechanism is not blocked, the wire feeding mechanism is not stable, and the risk that the wire falls to the position of the evaporation device is reduced, and then the wire can be effectively evaporated and uniformly coated on the polymer film to make the quality of the composite current collector high and the quality of the battery high.

[0053] In some embodiments of the present application, the wire used by the wire feeding device can be but is not limited to aluminum wire, copper wire, steel wire or other materials. In some embodiments of the present application, the wire is evaporated on the workpiece in the evaporation system. The workpiece includes but is not limited to plastic film, metal film or rubber film, etc.

[0054] Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of an evaporation system in some embodiments of the present application. In some embodiments, the evaporation system can be used to evaporate aluminum wire on the surface of a polymer film to obtain a composite current collector.

[0055] The evaporation system 1000 comprises a wire feeding device 100 and an evaporation device 200. The wire feeding device 100 is arranged on one side of the evaporation device 200, and the aluminum wire is transported into the evaporation device 200 through the wire feeding light. The evaporation device 200 is provided with a heating device for improving the high-temperature environment capable of evaporating the aluminum wire, and the aluminum wire can be evaporated into a gaseous state and attached to the surface of the polymer film above the evaporation device 200 when the aluminum wire is transported into the evaporation device 200.

[0056] According to some embodiments of the present application, please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a wire feeding device 100 in some embodiments of the present application, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a wire feeding pipe 20 in some embodiments of the present application.

[0057] The wire feeding device 100 comprises a wire feeding mechanism 10 and a wire feeding tube 20. The wire feeding tube 20 is connected with the wire feeding mechanism 10, and the wire feeding mechanism 10 is used to provide wire to the wire feeding tube 20, so that the wire enters the inside of the wire feeding tube 20 from the inlet of the wire feeding tube 20 and is discharged from the outlet of the wire feeding tube 20. The wire feeding tube 20 comprises a body 21, one end of the body 21 forms the inlet, the body 21 is in the shape of a circular arc, and the center of the circle where the body 21 is located is below the body 21 along the gravity direction z.

[0058] The wire feeding tube 20 is connected with the wire feeding mechanism 10, and the inlet of the wire feeding tube 20 is arranged towards the wire feeding mechanism 10 to be able to receive the wire discharged by the wire feeding mechanism 10. The wire comprises but is not limited to aluminum wire, copper wire or steel wire and other materials. Some embodiments of the present application take the wire as aluminum wire as an example.

[0059] In some embodiments, the wire can be arranged on a wire winding disc, and when the wire feeding device 100 is in standby operation, the free end of the wire can be connected with the wire feeding mechanism 10, and the wire mechanism is actuated to pull the wire, the wire winding disc rotates, and the wire moves towards the inlet of the wire feeding tube.

[0060] In some embodiments, the wire feeding mechanism 10 can be a roller type wire feeding mechanism 10, which drives the pressure roller to roll to drive the wire to move by pressing the pressure roller on the wire, so as to realize wire feeding.

[0061] The wire feeding tube 20 is a structural member connected with the wire feeding mechanism 10, and the wire feeding tube 20 is in the shape of a tube, and the inside of the wire feeding tube 20 forms a channel for the wire to move. Exemplarily, the wire feeding mechanism 10 provides force to the wire, so that the wire enters the inside of the wire feeding tube 20 from the inlet of the wire feeding tube 20, and the wire is discharged from the outlet of the wire feeding tube 20 along the inside of the wire feeding tube 20. The direction of the outlet of the wire feeding tube 20 can correspond to the evaporation device 200, and the wire discharged from the outlet of the wire feeding tube 20 can fall on the evaporation device 200. In some embodiments, the material of the wire feeding tube 20 comprises but is not limited to molybdenum, tungsten molybdenum alloy or other materials.

[0062] The body 21 can be the main part of the wire feeding tube 20. In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 3, the wire feeding tube 20 can comprise the body 21 and a bending segment 22, and the body 21 and the bending segment 22 are connected in sequence along the direction from the inlet to the outlet of the wire feeding tube 20, the opening of the body 21 away from the bending segment 22 is the inlet of the wire feeding tube 20, and the opening of the bending segment 22 away from the body 21 is the outlet of the wire feeding tube 20. In other embodiments, the wire feeding tube 20 can comprise the body 21, and one end of the body 21 is open to form the inlet of the wire feeding tube 20, and the other end of the body 21 is open to form the outlet of the wire feeding tube 20.

[0063] The "body 21 is in the shape of a circular arc" can be understood as the body 21 being an arc-shaped tube, and the center line in the tube of the body 21 being in the shape of a circular arc. The "in the gravity direction z, the center of the circle where the body 21 is located is below the body 21" can be understood as the posture of the wire feeding tube 20 when the wire feeding device 100 is in use. Exemplarily, the wire feeding tube 20 is arched upward or obliquely upward, so that the direction in which the wire is discharged from the outlet of the wire feeding tube 20 is downward or has a downward component.

[0064] In the above scheme, by setting the body 21 of the wire feeding tube 20 to be in the shape of a circular arc, the wire can be smoothly deformed along the inner wall of the wire feeding tube 20, the resistance of the wire feeding tube 20 to the wire is reduced, the impact force of the wire on the wire feeding mechanism 10 is reduced, the wire feeding mechanism 10 is not jammed, the wire feeding mechanism 10 is not unstable, and the risk that the wire falls to the position of the evaporation device 200 is not stable, thereby the wire can be effectively evaporated and uniformly coated on the polymer film to make the quality of the composite current collector high, and the quality of the battery high.

[0065] According to some embodiments of the present application, the radius of the circle where the center line of the body 21 is located is greater than or equal to 250 mm and less than or equal to 320 mm.

[0066] The center line of the body 21 can be understood as the center line of the pipeline of the body 21. In some embodiments, the center line of the body 21 can be measured by methods such as rectangular coordinate method, polar coordinate method, angle intersection method and distance intersection method.

[0067] In some embodiments, the radius of the circle where the center line of the body 21 is located is labeled as R in FIG. 3. The value of R can be 250 mm, 260 mm, 270 mm, 280 mm, 290 mm, 300 mm, 310 mm, 320 mm or any value between any two adjacent values.

[0068] In the above scheme, by multiple tests and induction of the suitable range of the value of the radius of the circle where the center line of the body 21 is located, the radius of the circle where the center line of the body 21 is located is set to be greater than or equal to 250 mm and less than or equal to 320 mm, which can effectively reduce the resistance of the wire when passing through the wire feeding tube 20, reduce the impact on the wire feeding mechanism 10, reduce the risk of jamming of the wire feeding mechanism 10 to stably feed the wire, thereby the landing position of the wire is stable, the evaporation quality is high, and the quality of the battery is improved.

[0069] According to some embodiments of the present application, the radius of the circle where the center line of the body 21 is located is greater than or equal to 280 mm and less than or equal to 290 mm.

[0070] In some embodiments, the radius of the circle in which the center line of the body 21 lies can be 280 mm, 285 mm, 290 mm, or any value between any two adjacent values.

[0071] In the above scheme, by further testing and inducing a further suitable range of the radius of the circle in which the center line of the body 21 lies, the radius of the circle in which the center line of the body 21 lies is set to be greater than or equal to 280 mm and less than or equal to 290 mm, which can further reduce the resistance of the wire when passing through the wire feeding pipe 20, reduce the impact on the wire feeding mechanism 10, reduce the risk of the wire feeding mechanism 10 being stuck to stably feed the wire, so that the wire landing position is stable, the evaporation quality is high, and the battery quality is improved.

[0072] According to some embodiments of the present application, the wire feeding pipe 20 further comprises a bending section 22, the bending section 22 is connected to the other end of the body 21, the bending section 22 forms an outlet away from one end of the body 21, and the bending section 22 is inclined downward relative to the body 21 along the gravity direction z.

[0073] The bending section 22 is a tubular structure arranged at one end of the body 21. In some embodiments, the center line of the bending section 22 does not coincide with the center line of the body 21. The bending section 22 is inclined downward relative to the body 21 along the gravity direction z can be understood as that the center line of the bending section 22 is inclined relative to the center line of the body 21.

[0074] In some embodiments, the connection relationship between the bending section 22 and the body 21 includes but is not limited to welding, bonding, threaded connection, or one-piece forming, etc.

[0075] In some embodiments, the end surface of the bending section 22 away from the body 21 can be an inclined surface, and the upper part of the end of the bending section 22 away from the body 21 is farther away from the body 21 than the lower part.

[0076] In the above scheme, the bending section 22 is arranged at the end of the wire feeding pipe 20, which can stabilize the feeding angle of the wire, stabilize the landing angle of the wire in the evaporation device 200, and make the aluminum wire fall on the evaporation surface of the evaporation device 200 at a suitable angle (for example, 45 degrees) as much as possible, so that the evaporation effect consistency of the front and back sides of the wire is high, which is beneficial to improving the evaporation quality and further improving the battery quality.

[0077] According to some embodiments of the present application, please refer to FIG. 3, the length of the body 21 is L1, the length of the bending section 22 is L2, and 0.10≤L2 / L1≤0.17 is satisfied.

[0078] In some embodiments, the length of the body 21 can be measured by a tape measure method, a photogrammetry method, a manual wheel measurement method, or the like. The length of the bending section 22 can be measured by a tape measure method, a photogrammetry method, a manual wheel measurement method, or the like.

[0079] The length of the body 21 is L1, the length of the bending section 22 is L2, the ratio of L2 to L1 is L2 / L1, and the value of L2 / L1 can be 0.10, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, 0.14, 0.15, 0.16, 0.17, or any value between any two adjacent values.

[0080] In the above scheme, by setting the ratio of the length of the bending section 22 to the length of the body 21 to be not less than 0.10 and not more than 0.14, on the one hand, the resistance of the wire of the wire feeding pipe 20 is small, the influence on the wire feeding mechanism 10 is reduced, the wire feeding is stable, there is no jamming, and the landing position is stable; on the other hand, the wire feeding angle is stable, so the evaporation surface angle is stable, which is beneficial to improving the evaporation effect.

[0081] In other embodiments, the ratio of L2 to L1 is L2 / L1, and the value of L2 / L1 can also be a value greater than 0.17, such as 0.18, 0.19, 2.0, etc.

[0082] According to some embodiments of the present application, the center line of the bending section 22 is a straight line.

[0083] In some embodiments, the bending section 22 can be a straight pipe.

[0084] In the above scheme, by setting the bending section 22 to be a straight pipe, the consistency of the wire feeding angle is high, so the evaporation surface of the evaporation device 200 has a stable angle, which is beneficial to improving the evaporation quality, and further beneficial to improving the battery quality.

[0085] In other embodiments, the bending section 22 can be an elbow pipe.

[0086] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to FIG. 3, the end of the center line of the body 21 is connected with the center line of the bending section 22, and the angle between the tangent line of the end and the center line of the bending section 22 is greater than or equal to 2° and less than or equal to 7°.

[0087] The end of the center line of the body 21 can be the position where the center line of the body 21 is connected with the center line of the bending section 22. The center line of the body 21 is an arc line, the tangent line of the end of the center line of the body 21 is a straight line, and the center line of the bending section 22 is a straight line. In some embodiments, along the gravity direction z, the center line of the bending section 22 intersects with the tangent line of the end of the center line of the body 21 at the end of the center line of the body 21, and the center of the bending section 22 is at a position lower than the tangent line of the end of the center line of the body 21.

[0088] In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 3, the angle between the tangent line of the end of the center line of the body 21 and the center line of the bending section 22 is a, and a can be 2°, 3°, 4°, 5°, 6°, 7°, or any value between adjacent two values.

[0089] In the above scheme, through multiple tests, the angle between the tangent line of the end of the center line of the body 21 and the center line of the bending section 22 is greater than or equal to 2° and less than or equal to 7°. On the one hand, it can reduce the resistance of the wire passing through the intersection of the body 21 and the bending section 22, so that the landing position is stable. On the other hand, it can make the wire feeding angle stable, so that the landing angle is stable and appropriate, which is beneficial to improve the evaporation quality and further improve the battery quality.

[0090] According to some embodiments of the present application, the length of the wire feeding pipe 20 is greater than or equal to 170 mm and less than or equal to 200 mm.

[0091] In some embodiments, the length of the wire feeding pipe 20 can be the sum of the length of the body 21 and the length of the bending section 22.

[0092] In some embodiments, the length of the wire feeding pipe 20 can be 170 mm, 180 mm, 190 mm, 200 mm, or any value between adjacent two values.

[0093] In the above scheme, the overall length of the wire feeding pipe 20 is greater than or equal to 170 mm and less than or equal to 200 mm. On the one hand, it can effectively guide the feeding direction and angle of the wire, and reduce the risk of excessive wire suspension caused by too short guiding distance, which affects the wire feeding quality of the wire feeding mechanism 10. On the other hand, it can reduce the risk of affecting the utilization rate of factory space caused by too long length of the wire feeding pipe 20.

[0094] In other embodiments, the length of the wire feeding pipe 20 can be greater than 200 mm, for example, the length of the wire feeding pipe 20 can be 201 mm, 202 mm, 203 mm or a larger value, or any value between adjacent two values.

[0095] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to FIGS. 2-5, FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of a partial structure of the wire feeding device 100 in some embodiments of the present application, and FIG. 5 is a partial schematic view of the first driving part.

[0096] The wire feeding mechanism 10 comprises a support 11, a driven wheel 12, a driving wheel 13 and a first driving part. The driven wheel 12 and the driving wheel 13 are rotatably arranged on the support 11 and are spaced apart from each other to form a wire feeding channel. The first driving part is connected with the driving wheel 13 and is configured to drive the driving wheel 13 to rotate so as to move the wire along the wire feeding channel. The wire feeding pipe 20 is arranged on the support 11, and an inlet of the wire feeding pipe 20 is communicated with the wire feeding channel.

[0097] The support 11 can be a support structure for supporting the wire feeding pipe 20, the driven wheel 12, the driving wheel 13 and the first driving part. For example, the support 11 can be a structure formed by splicing a plurality of plates. As shown in FIG. 4, the support plate comprises a vertical plate and a horizontal plate. The vertical plate is vertically arranged on the edge of the horizontal plate. The wire feeding pipe 20 is arranged on the vertical plate. The driven wheel 12 and the driving wheel 13 are rotatably arranged on the vertical plate. The first driving part is arranged on the horizontal plate and is in transmission connection with the driving wheel 13.

[0098] The wire feeding pipe 20 and the support 11 can be directly connected or indirectly connected. The connection relationship between the wire feeding pipe 20 and the support 11 can include, but is not limited to, welding, clamping, riveting or threaded connection.

[0099] The driven wheel 12 and the driving wheel 13 are arranged in relative spacing and jointly define the wire feeding channel. The rotation axes of the driven wheel 12 and the driving wheel 13 can be parallel to the horizontal plane. The inlet of the wire feeding pipe 20 can be arranged towards the wire feeding channel. The wire is located in the wire feeding channel. The outer periphery of the driven wheel 12 and the outer periphery of the driving wheel 13 can be in contact with the surface of the wire. The rotation of the driving wheel 13 can enable the wire to move.

[0100] The driven wheel 12 can be rotatably connected with the support 11 through a rotating shaft or a bearing. As shown in FIG. 4, the driving wheel 13 is connected with the support 11 through a rotating rod 17. The rotating rod 17 can rotate relative to the support 11. The driving wheel 13 rotates with the rotating rod 17. The first driving part can drive the rotating rod 17 to rotate, thereby driving the driving wheel 13 to rotate.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first driving part can be a driving structure capable of outputting torque to drive the driving wheel 13 to rotate. For example, the first driving part can comprise a motor.

[0102] In the above scheme, the wire feeding mechanism 10 has a simple structure and is easy to maintain. The first driving part drives the driving wheel 13 to rotate. The wire moves in the wire feeding channel under the action of the driving wheel 13 and the driven wheel 12, enters the inside of the wire feeding pipe 20 and is thrown out from the outlet of the wire feeding pipe 20, thereby being able to enter the evaporation device 200 to realize evaporation.

[0103] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the first driving part comprises a first motor 14, a bevel gear 15 and a bevel gear 16, the bevel gear 16 is connected with the driving wheel 13, the central axis of the bevel gear 16 is parallel to the horizontal plane, the first motor 14 is vertically arranged, the bevel gear 15 is arranged at the output end of the first motor 14, and the bevel gear 15 is engaged with the bevel gear 16.

[0104] In some embodiments, the first driving part can comprise a motor and a gear 34 assembly, the output end of the motor drives the driving wheel 13 to rotate through the gear 34 assembly. For example, referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the first driving part comprises a first motor 14, a bevel gear 15 and a bevel gear 16. The bevel gear 16 is connected with the rotating rod 17, and the bevel gear 16 can drive the rotating rod 17 to rotate so as to drive the driving wheel 13 to rotate. The first motor 14 is vertically arranged on the horizontal plate of the support 11. The vertical arrangement can be understood as that the axis of the output shaft of the first motor 14 is vertically arranged. The first motor 14 makes more use of the vertical space and occupies less horizontal space.

[0105] The output shaft of the first motor 14 is provided with the bevel gear 15, the bevel gear 15 is engaged with the bevel gear 16, and the first motor 14 can drive the driving wheel 13 to rotate through the power transmission of the bevel gear 15 and the bevel gear 16.

[0106] In the above scheme, by arranging the bevel gear 15 and the bevel gear 16, the first motor 14 can be vertically arranged, the horizontal space is saved, and the horizontal space can be reasonably utilized to arrange more wire feeding devices 100, thereby improving the evaporation efficiency and further improving the battery manufacturing efficiency.

[0107] In some embodiments, the evaporation system 1000 can comprise a plurality of wire feeding devices 100, and the plurality of wire feeding devices 100 can be arranged along the horizontal direction.

[0108] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the wire feeding device 100 further comprises an angle adjusting mechanism 30, the angle adjusting mechanism 30 is connected with the wire feeding mechanism 10 and is used for adjusting the pitch angle of the wire feeding mechanism 10.

[0109] In some embodiments, the pitch angle can be understood as the angle of the wire feeding mechanism 10 relative to the horizontal plane. For example, the greater the pitch angle, the more upward the outlet of the wire feeding pipe 20 is directed, and the smaller the pitch angle, the more downward the outlet of the wire feeding pipe 20 is directed.

[0110] The angle adjusting mechanism 30 is used for adjusting the pitch angle of the wire feeding mechanism 10. For example, the angle adjusting mechanism 30 can drive the wire feeding mechanism 10 to rotate, the rotation axis is parallel to the horizontal plane, and the pitch angle of the wire feeding mechanism 10 is adjusted by rotating the wire feeding mechanism 10.

[0111] In the above scheme, the pitch angle of the wire feeding mechanism 10 is adjusted by the angle adjusting mechanism 30, the front and back of the wire feeding point can be adjusted, the problem of the falling point caused by the deformation of the wire due to its own stress or external impact is improved, thereby the evaporation quality can be improved, and the quality of the battery can be improved.

[0112] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the angle adjusting mechanism 30 includes a rack 31, a second motor 32, a screw rod 33, a gear 34, and a connecting piece 35. The gear 34 is rotatably arranged on the rack 31, and the central axis of the gear 34 is parallel to the horizontal plane. The wire feeding mechanism 10 is connected with the gear 34 through the connecting piece 35 and rotates with the gear 34. The second motor 32 is arranged on the rack 31 and is arranged vertically. The screw rod 33 is arranged on the output end of the second motor 32, and the screw rod 33 is engaged with the gear 34.

[0113] The rack 31 can be a support structure, and the rack 31 supports the second motor 32, the gear 34, the connecting piece 35, and other structures. In some embodiments, the rack 31 can have a mounting surface provided with two ears 310. The gear 34 is rotatably arranged between the two ears 310 through a rotating shaft, and the gear 34 can drive the rotating shaft to rotate. The number of connecting pieces 35 is two, and the two connecting pieces 35 are respectively located on the two sides of the gear 34 and between the two ears. The connecting pieces 35 are fixed with the rotating shaft and rotate with the rotating shaft. The two connecting pieces 35 can be connected with the support 11 of the wire feeding mechanism 10.

[0114] The second motor 32 is vertically arranged on the rack 31. The vertical arrangement can be understood as that the axis of the output shaft of the second motor 32 is vertically arranged. The second motor 32 makes more use of the vertical space and occupies less horizontal space.

[0115] In some embodiments, the output shaft of the second motor 32 is provided with the screw rod 33, and the screw rod 33 is vertically arranged and engaged with the gear 34. The second motor 32 works, and the screw rod 33 and the gear 34 can drive the wire feeding mechanism 10 to rotate.

[0116] In the above scheme, the angle adjusting mechanism 30 has a simple structure and is easy to maintain. On the one hand, the second motor 32 drives the screw rod 33 to drive the gear 34 to rotate, so as to efficiently adjust the pitch angle of the wire feeding mechanism 10. On the other hand, by arranging the screw rod 33 and the gear 34, the second motor 32 can be arranged vertically, the horizontal space can be saved, the horizontal space can be reasonably utilized to arrange more wire feeding devices 100, thereby the evaporation efficiency can be improved, and the battery manufacturing efficiency can be improved.

[0117] According to some embodiments of the present application, a vapor deposition system 1000 is provided, comprising an evaporation device 200 and the wire feeding device 100 provided above. The wire feeding device 100 is used to provide the wire to the evaporation device 200. In some embodiments, the evaporation device 200 can comprise an evaporation boat.

[0118] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to FIG. 1-5, a wire feeding device 100 is provided.

[0119] The wire feeding device 100 comprises a wire feeding mechanism 10, a wire feeding pipe 20 and an angle adjusting mechanism 30.

[0120] The wire feeding mechanism 10 comprises a bracket 11, a driven wheel 12, a driving wheel 13, a first motor 14, a bevel gear 15 and a bevel pinion 16. The wire feeding pipe 20 is arranged on the bracket 11. The driven wheel 12 and the driving wheel 13 are rotatably arranged on the bracket 11, and the driven wheel 12 and the driving wheel 13 are arranged at a distance from each other and jointly form a wire feeding channel. The first motor 14 is arranged vertically and connected with the bracket 11. The output end of the first motor 14 is provided with the bevel gear 15, the bevel gear 15 is engaged with the bevel pinion 16, and the bevel pinion 16 is in transmission connection with the driving wheel 13. When the first motor 14 works, the driving wheel 13 can be driven to rotate by the bevel gear 15 and the bevel pinion 16, so as to drive the aluminum wire between the driven wheel 12 and the driving wheel 13 to move into the wire feeding pipe 20.

[0121] The angle adjusting mechanism 30 is used to adjust the pitch angle of the wire feeding mechanism 10. In some embodiments, the angle adjusting mechanism 30 comprises a second motor 32 arranged vertically, a screw rod 33, a gear 34 and a connecting piece 35. The gear 34 is rotatably arranged on the rack 31, the central axis of the gear 34 is parallel to the horizontal plane, the wire feeding mechanism 10 is connected with the gear 34 through the connecting piece 35 and rotates with the gear 34, and the output end of the second motor 32 is provided with the screw rod 33, and the screw rod 33 is engaged with the gear 34.

[0122] The wire feeding pipe 20 comprises a body 21 and a bent segment 22. The body 21 can be a circular arc pipe, and the bent segment 22 can be a straight pipe. Along the direction from the inlet to the outlet of the wire feeding pipe 20, the body 21 and the bent segment 22 are connected in sequence, the opening of the body 21 away from the bent segment 22 is the inlet of the wire feeding pipe 20, the opening of the bent segment 22 away from the body 21 is the outlet of the wire feeding pipe 20, and along the gravity direction z, the bent segment 22 is arranged downwardly inclined relative to the body 21. In some embodiments, the length of the wire feeding pipe 20 is not less than 170 mm.

[0123] In some embodiments, the length of the body 21 is L1, the length of the bent segment 22 is L2, and 0.10≤L2 / L1≤0.17 is satisfied. Exemplarily, the value of L2 / L1 can be 0.15.

[0124] In some embodiments, the radius of the circle in which the center line of the body 21 lies can be between 280 mm and 290 mm.

[0125] In some embodiments, the end of the center line of the body 21 is connected to the center line of the bent section 22, and the angle between the tangent line of the end and the center line of the bent section 22 is greater than or equal to 2° and less than or equal to 7°.

[0126] In the above scheme, by setting the body 21 of the wire feeding pipe 20 to be in the shape of a circular arc and setting the bent section 22 at the end of the body 21, on the one hand, the aluminum wire can smoothly deform along the inner wall of the wire feeding pipe 20, reducing the resistance of the wire feeding pipe 20 to the aluminum wire, thereby reducing the impact force of the aluminum wire on the wire feeding mechanism 10, causing the wire feeding mechanism 10 to jam, causing the wire feeding mechanism 10 to feed the aluminum wire unstably, and causing the aluminum wire to fall to the position of the evaporation device 200 unstably, thereby enabling the aluminum wire to be effectively evaporated and uniformly coated on the polymer film to make the quality of the composite current collector high, making the quality of the battery high; on the other hand, the angle at which the aluminum wire is fed can be stabilized, the landing angle of the aluminum wire in the evaporation device 200 can be stabilized, and the aluminum wire can be made to land on the evaporation surface of the evaporation device 200 at a suitable angle (for example, 45 degrees) as much as possible, thereby making the evaporation and deposition effect of the front and back sides of the aluminum wire consistent, which is beneficial to improving the evaporation and deposition quality and thereby improving the quality of the battery.

[0127] The above only describes the preferred embodiments of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes to the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A wire feeder, comprising: The wire feeding device comprises: a wire feeding mechanism; a wire feeding tube connected with the wire feeding mechanism, the wire feeding mechanism being configured to supply a wire to the wire feeding tube, so that the wire enters the inside of the wire feeding tube through an inlet of the wire feeding tube and is discharged through an outlet of the wire feeding tube; wherein the wire feeding tube comprises a body, one end of the body forming the inlet, the body being in the shape of a circular arc, and the center of the circle on which the body lies being below the body in the direction of gravity.

2. The wire feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the radius of the circle on which the center line of the body lies is greater than or equal to 250 mm and less than or equal to 320 mm.

3. The wire feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the radius of the circle on which the center line of the body lies is greater than or equal to 280 mm and less than or equal to 290 mm.

4. The wire feeding device according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the wire feeding tube further comprises a bent section connected with the other end of the body, the bent section forming the outlet away from the one end of the body, and the bent section being arranged downward relative to the body in the direction of gravity.

5. The wire feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the length of the body is L1, the length of the bent section is L2, and 0.10≤L2 / L1≤0.17 is satisfied.

6. The wire feeding device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the center line of the bent section is a straight line.

7. The wire feeding device according to claim 6, wherein the end of the center line of the body is connected with the center line of the bent section, and the angle between the tangent line of the end and the center line of the bent section is greater than or equal to 2° and less than or equal to 7°.

8. The wire feeding device according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the length of the wire feeding tube is greater than or equal to 170 mm and less than or equal to 200 mm.

9. The wire feeding device according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the wire feeding mechanism comprises a support, a driven wheel, a driving wheel and a first driving part, the driven wheel and the driving wheel are respectively arranged to be rotatable on the support, the driven wheel and the driving wheel are arranged to be spaced apart from each other and jointly form a wire feeding channel, the first driving part is connected with the driving wheel and is configured to drive the driving wheel to rotate so that the wire moves along the wire feeding channel; the wire feeding tube is arranged on the support, and the inlet of the wire feeding tube is in communication with the wire feeding channel.

10. The wire feeding device according to claim 9, wherein the first driving part comprises a first motor, a bevel gear and a bevel gear, the bevel gear is connected with the driving wheel, the center axis of the bevel gear is parallel to the horizontal plane, the first motor is arranged vertically, the bevel gear is arranged on the output end of the first motor, and the bevel gear is in meshing connection with the bevel gear.

11. The wire feeding device according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein the wire feeding device further comprises an angle adjusting mechanism connected with the wire feeding mechanism, the angle adjusting mechanism being configured to adjust the pitch angle of the wire feeding mechanism.

12. The wire feeding device according to claim 11, wherein The angle adjusting mechanism comprises a frame, a second motor, a screw rod, a gear and a connecting piece, the gear is rotatably arranged on the frame, a central axis of the gear is parallel to a horizontal plane, the wire feeding mechanism is connected with the gear through the connecting piece and rotates with the gear, the second motor is arranged on the frame and vertically arranged, the screw rod is arranged on an output end of the second motor, and the screw rod is engaged with the gear.

13. An evaporation system, wherein Comprising: a vaporization device; and a wire feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 12 for providing wire to the vaporization device. ​

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