Method for aligning independently structured roll-to-roll machines

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for aligning independently structured roll-to-roll machines. Provided is an electrode alignment method for aligning electrodes in the width direction by moving, in the width direction, a second machine, which is independent from a first machine by differing in at least one from among function and installation location, on the basis of correction data that has corrected the widthwise position of the electrode traveling from the first machine of a roll-to-roll process.

Description

Alignment method between independent roll-to-roll equipment

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for aligning roll-to-roll machines, and specifically to a relative correction amount feedback control for Y-axis (width direction) position alignment between roll-to-roll machines of independent structure.

[0002] It is widely known that roll-to-roll systems achieve the best processability when the unwinder's travel position aligns with the work locations within the process, such as joining, cutting, lamination, and sealing. However, not only is it difficult to align the travel paths between independent equipment (e.g., the unwinder and lamination equipment), but aligning the travel positions of the anode and cathode in the lamination equipment—where the anode and cathode are joined—is also challenging due to the equipment structure, which makes measurement difficult.

[0003] The first reason is the difficulty in aligning the travel paths between independent equipment. The vertical and horizontal alignment of the bases of each independent piece of equipment must be verified, and the degree of divergence (meandering) in the direction perpendicular to the travel path between them must be considered. However, due to the structure of the lamination equipment, it is very difficult to measure the vertical and horizontal alignment of the bases and the degree of divergence in the direction perpendicular to the travel path.

[0004] The second reason is that it is difficult to align the driving positions between the supply units (anode 1, anode 2, cathode 1, cathode 2) due to the equipment structure, which makes it difficult to measure the position. Additionally, there are four electrode edge sensors (Spool EPC) that determine the driving position in the unwinder equipment, and it is not an easy task to align all four sensors by positioning them on the same line. The base for aligning the absolute positions between the electrode edge sensors does not exist in the horizontal direction, and there are also equipment tolerances in the mechanism itself to which the electrode edge sensors are constrained; therefore, even if measurement is possible from the base, a difference is inevitable in this structure.

[0005] Accordingly, a function is required to organically align the installation parameters (IP: install parameter, vertical / horizontal degree of the base, etc.) between independent equipment and the four electrode supply units.

[0006] Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to provide a method for aligning independent facilities.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned objective, the present invention provides an electrode alignment method in which, based on correction amount data that corrects the width direction position of an electrode traveling in a first facility of a roll-to-roll process, a second facility independent of the first facility in at least one of function and installation position is moved in the width direction to align the electrode in the width direction.

[0008] In the present invention, the first facility is an electrode lamination facility and the second facility is an electrode unwinder facility; or the first facility may be a first electrode unwinder facility and the second facility may be a second electrode unwinder facility having an installation location different from that of the first electrode unwinder facility.

[0009] In the present invention, the electrode lamination facility may include an anode edge position controller (EPC) equipped with an actuator and a cathode edge position controller equipped with an actuator.

[0010] In the present invention, the position of the electrode in the width direction is corrected by an actuator, and the correction amount data may be the correction amount data of the actuator.

[0011] In the present invention, the electrode unwinder facility may include one or more of a driving anode unwinder, an atmospheric anode unwinder, a driving cathode unwinder, and an atmospheric cathode unwinder; and the first electrode unwinder facility and the second electrode unwinder facility may each be one or more of a driving anode unwinder, an atmospheric anode unwinder, a driving cathode unwinder, and an atmospheric cathode unwinder.

[0012] In the present invention, the second facility including the electrode itself can be moved as a whole.

[0013] The method according to the present invention may include the step of monitoring correction amount data; and the step of sampling correction amount data.

[0014] The method according to the present invention may include the step of filtering sampled correction amount data; and the step of calculating an average correction amount value from the filtered correction amount data.

[0015] The method according to the present invention may include a step of determining whether to make corrections based on the average value of the calculated correction amount; and, if corrections are necessary, a step of making corrections by moving the second facility in the width direction.

[0016] In the present invention, correction of the second facility can be performed only when the average value of the correction amount exceeds a preset minimum correction amount.

[0017] In the present invention, if the average value of the correction amount exceeds a preset maximum correction amount, the correction of the second facility can be performed using the maximum correction amount.

[0018] In the present invention, if the average value of the correction amount is between a preset minimum correction amount and a maximum correction amount, the correction of the second facility can be performed using the average value of the correction amount.

[0019] In the present invention, when determining whether to correct, at least one of the electrode replacement time and the acceleration / deceleration section of the electrode drive can be considered.

[0020] A preferred electrode alignment method according to the present invention may include the steps of: monitoring correction amount data that corrects the width direction position of an electrode traveling in a first facility of a roll-to-roll process; sampling the correction amount data; filtering the sampled correction amount data; calculating an average correction amount value from the filtered correction amount data; determining whether to correct based on the calculated average correction amount value; and, if correction is required, moving a second facility that is independent and differs from the first facility in at least one of its function and installation location in the width direction to perform the correction.

[0021] In addition, the present invention provides an electrode alignment system comprising: a first facility for correcting the width direction position of an electrode traveling in a roll-to-roll process; a second facility that is independent of the first facility in at least one of its function and installation position and is movable in the width direction; and a control unit that controls the second facility to move in the width direction to align the electrode in the width direction based on correction amount data of the first facility.

[0022] According to the present invention, installation parameters and four electrode supply units between independent facilities (e.g., unwinder facilities and lamination facilities) can be organically aligned.

[0023] Figure 1 shows the travel path between independent facilities before correction.

[0024] Figure 2 shows the alignment of travel paths between independent facilities after correction according to the present invention.

[0025] Figure 3 shows the driving path between the supply units before correction.

[0026] Figure 4 shows the alignment of the driving path between the supply units after correction according to the present invention.

[0027] Figure 5 shows the exhaustion point of the driving electrode.

[0028] Figure 6 shows the standby electrode moving to the stop position of the driving electrode.

[0029] Figure 7 shows that the standby electrode returns to the origin after the facility is restarted.

[0030] Figure 8 shows the EPC of the lamination facility operating in alignment with the pass line of the atmospheric electrode.

[0031] FIG. 9 shows the sequence of control operations according to the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 10 illustrates a control operation sequence according to the present invention.

[0033] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0034] The present invention relates to an electrode alignment method. The electrode alignment method according to the present invention is characterized by aligning the electrode in the width direction by moving a second facility, which is independent and differs from the first facility in at least one of its function and installation position, in the width direction based on correction amount data that corrects the width direction position of an electrode traveling in a first facility of a roll-to-roll process.

[0035] In the present invention, the statement that a plurality of facilities are independent may mean that the functions of each facility are different, and / or that the installation locations of each facility are spatially separated. Accordingly, not only the lamination facility and the unwinder facility, which have different functions and installation locations (see FIGS. 1 and 2), but also the relationship between the driving electrode unwinder and the standby electrode unwinder, which have the same function but different installation locations (see FIGS. 3 and 4), can be considered as independent facilities.

[0036] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 (plan view), the electrode alignment method according to the first embodiment of the present invention can align the electrode (1) in the width direction by moving an independent second facility (20), which is different from the first facility (10) in terms of function and installation location, based on correction amount data that corrects the width direction position of the electrode (1) traveling in the first facility (10) of the roll-to-roll process.

[0037] In FIGS. 1 and 2, the width direction (Y-axis direction) may be the up-and-down direction, and the travel direction (X-axis direction) may be the left-and-right direction. Here, the width direction may be the width direction of the electrode (1), and the travel direction may be the travel direction of the electrode (1) (left-to-right direction in the drawing). The width direction position of the electrode (1) may refer to the width direction position of the edge (end, upper edge in the drawing) of the electrode (1).

[0038] The first facility (10) may be an electrode lamination facility where the positive and negative electrodes are combined. In the drawing, only a part (EPC) of the lamination facility is shown, and the cutter and laminator, etc. are omitted. The electrode lamination facility (10) may include an edge position controller (EPC) that measures and corrects the travel path of the electrode (1), and the EPC may include a positive EPC and a negative EPC. The positive EPC and the negative EPC may each be equipped with an actuator (11) and a sensor (12).

[0039] The EPC actuator (11) may be a device that corrects the position in the direction of transport (travel direction, X-axis direction) and the vertical direction (width direction, Y-axis direction) to transport the electrode (1) to the electrode travel path in the lamination facility (10). The width direction position of the electrode (1) can be corrected by the actuator (11) at all times. The amount of correction by the EPC actuator (11) may refer to the amount of movement that the actuator (11) actually moves to send the electrode (1) to the travel path.

[0040] The sensor (12) may be a main EPC sensor. The EPC sensor may be a target sensor that determines the driving path of the electrode (1) when the electrode (1) travels in the lamination facility (10). The sensor (12) may be positioned ahead of the actuator (11) in the driving direction. The sensor (12) can detect the widthwise position of the edge of the electrode (1). After the widthwise position of the electrode (1) is detected by the sensor (12), the widthwise position of the electrode (1) can be constantly corrected by the actuator (11).

[0041] The second facility (20) is an electrode supply unit that unwinds an electrode (1) wound in a roll shape and supplies it toward the first facility (10), and may be an electrode unwinder facility. The electrode unwinder facility may be composed of multiple unwinders for each electrode, and specifically may include one or more of a driving anode (anode 1) unwinder, a standby anode (anode 2) unwinder, a driving cathode (cathode 1) unwinder, and a standby cathode (cathode 2) unwinder. Only one unwinder is shown in the drawing. The second facility (20) may be positioned behind the first facility (10) in the driving direction. The electrode unwinder facility (20) may include a spool EPC (21), and the spool EPC (21) may be a sensor that corrects the meandering of the electrode (1) when unwinding the electrode in the supply unit.

[0042] When moving the second facility (20) in the width direction based on the correction amount data of the EPC actuator (11), the second facility (20) itself, including the electrode (1), can be moved as a whole. Specifically, the shuttle constituting the body of the second facility (20) can be moved as a whole in the width direction, and at this time, the electrode (1) can also be moved together with the shuttle. The movement of the second facility (20) in the width direction can be performed by a conventional driving means such as a motor or a cylinder. Through the movement of the second facility (20) in the width direction, the width direction position of the electrode (1) in the first facility (10) and the width direction position of the electrode (1) in the second facility (20) can be aligned identically. Here, identical means substantially identical, but there may be a slight error (e.g., 1 mm or less).

[0043] An electrode alignment system comprising a first facility (10) and a second facility (20) may additionally include a control unit (not shown, control unit). The control unit may control the second facility (20) to move in the width direction based on correction amount data of the actuator (11) to align the electrode (1) in the width direction. The control unit may be composed of a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), etc., and the first facility (10) and the second facility (20) may each be equipped with a PLC and may be connected to enable data communication between each PLC. The PLC may be equipped with software and hardware necessary for control.

[0044] In this way, the present invention can provide installation parameters between independent facilities (unwinder facilities and lamination facilities) and facility logic for organically aligning four electrode supply units.

[0045] In this invention, the following three settings can be defined to automatically align installation parameters. First, the lamination equipment and the unwinder equipment are separated into independent facilities (different independent facilities). Second, in the lamination equipment, the position (Y-axis) perpendicular to the driving direction where the positive EPC is installed, and the Y-axis position where the negative EPC is installed, exist at the same location. Third, the lamination equipment and the supply unit (unwinder) equipment are connected to enable data communication between PLCs.

[0046] Conventionally, correction was performed by moving the unwinder in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, following the changed position of the EPC sensor according to the height of the coating section. In other words, the conventional technology had a configuration of A (position of the EPC sensor) + B (movement of the unwinder with the same amount of movement as the sensor position).

[0047] In the present invention, by recognizing the edge end and tracking the fluctuation amount of the EPC PV (Present Value), the unwinder can be corrected by moving it in a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction (width direction). In addition, by remembering the optimized settings of different unwinders, the installation parameters (IP) of the supply unit that were not matched during the initial equipment installation can be aligned and continuously maintained. That is, the present invention can have a configuration of A (actual EPC correction amount) + B (movement of the unwinder based on the current correction amount) + C (automatic alignment and continuous maintenance of equipment installation parameters).

[0048] First, the effects of operation from the perspective of installation parameters are as follows.

[0049] FIGS. 1 and 2 (plan view) relate to the alignment of travel paths between independent equipment according to a first embodiment, specifically, to the alignment of travel paths between a lamination equipment and an unwinder equipment having different functions and installation locations. That is, according to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the first equipment may be an electrode lamination equipment and the second equipment may be an electrode unwinder equipment.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 1, before correction, the driving electrode (1) has a driving path of a first path line (L1) in the first facility, the lamination facility (10), by constant correction by the actuator (11), while in the second facility, the unwinder facility (20), it can have a driving path of a second path line (L2) that is different in width direction from the first path line (L1). Accordingly, a diagonal (meandering) in the width direction perpendicular to the driving path occurs by the difference (L1-L2) between the first path line (L1) and the second path line (L2).

[0051] Referring to FIG. 2, after correction, the entire supply unit, the unwinder facility (20), is moved in the width direction based on the correction amount data of the EPC actuator (11), thereby aligning the second pass line (L2) with the first pass line (L1) and aligning the driving electrode (1) between the two facilities (10, 20) in the width direction. In this way, alignment of the driving path of the electrode (1) between independent facilities (lamination facility (10) and unwinder facility (20)) is possible.

[0052] FIGS. 3 and 4 (plan view) relate to the alignment of travel paths between independent supply units (unwinders) according to a second embodiment, specifically, to the alignment of travel paths between a travel electrode (positive and / or negative) unwinder and a standby electrode (positive and / or negative) unwinder, which have the same function but different installation locations.

[0053] According to the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4, the first facility is a first electrode unwinder facility (traveling electrode unwinder), and the second facility may be a second electrode unwinder facility (waiting electrode unwinder) with an installation location different from that of the first electrode unwinder facility.

[0054] Meanwhile, the first electrode unwinder facility and the second electrode unwinder facility are not limited to FIGS. 3 and 4, and may be one or more of a driving anode unwinder, a standby anode unwinder, a driving cathode unwinder, and a standby cathode unwinder, each of which may be different.

[0055] In FIGS. 3 and 4, the width direction (Y-axis direction) may be up and down, and the driving direction (X-axis direction) may be left and right. Here, the driving direction of the driving electrode (1) may be left to right, and the driving direction of the standby electrode (2) may be right to left, opposite to the driving electrode (1). The width direction position of the electrodes (1, 2) may refer to the width direction position of the edge (end, upper edge in the drawing) of the electrodes (1, 2).

[0056] Referring to FIG. 3, before correction, the driving electrode (1) has a driving path of the first pass line (L1) in the first unwinder (first electrode unwinder facility) (20), which is the first supply unit, while the standby electrode (2) may have a driving path of the second pass line (L2), which is different in width direction from the first pass line (L1), in the second unwinder (second electrode unwinder facility) (22), which is the second supply unit. Accordingly, a gap in the width direction perpendicular to the driving path occurs by the difference (L1-L2) between the first pass line (L1) and the second pass line (L2).

[0057] Referring to FIG. 4, after correction, at least one of the first unwinder (20) and the second unwinder (22) can be moved in the width direction to align the first pass line (L1) and the second pass line (L2), thereby aligning the two electrodes (1, 2) in the width direction. In this way, alignment of the driving positions between the supply units (anode 1 (driving), anode 2 (waiting), cathode 1 (driving), cathode 2 (waiting)), which was difficult due to the equipment structure that makes it difficult to measure the position, is possible.

[0058] The alignment of driving paths between supply units according to FIGS. 3 and 4 (second embodiment) can be linked with the alignment of driving paths between independent facilities according to FIGS. 1 and 2 (first embodiment). Specifically, the alignment of driving paths between supply units is performed before and / or after the alignment of driving paths between independent facilities, and / or the alignment of driving paths between supply units and the alignment of driving paths between independent facilities can be performed simultaneously.

[0059] For example, after aligning the travel path between the lamination facility and the first unwinder facility (travel electrode unwinder) according to FIGS. 1 and 2 (first embodiment), the travel path of the second unwinder facility (standby electrode unwinder) can be aligned with the travel path of the first unwinder facility according to FIGS. 3 and 4 (second embodiment) based on the aligned travel path in the first unwinder facility. At this time, consequently, the alignment of the travel path of the second unwinder facility can be based on the correction amount data of the EPC actuator of the lamination facility. In this way, installation parameters and four electrode supply units between the independent unwinder facility and the lamination facility can be organically aligned.

[0060] Second, the effects of the operation in terms of process yield during electrode replacement are as follows.

[0061] Referring to FIG. 5, at the point when the driving electrode (1) is exhausted in the first unwinder (20), the lamination facility (10), the first unwinder (20), and the driving electrode (1) may be stopped, at which time the driving electrode (1) may have a driving path of the first pass line (L1) in the lamination facility (10) and the first unwinder (20). In FIG. 5 to 8 (plan view), the width direction (Y-axis direction) may be left-right direction, and the driving direction (X-axis direction) may be up-down direction.

[0062] Referring to FIG. 6, in the second unwinder (22), the standby electrode (2) moves in the width direction to the stop position of the driving electrode (1), and then material replacement from the driving electrode (1) to the standby electrode (2) can be performed. The standby electrode (2) experiences a position change relative to the origin of the spool EPC (23) of the second unwinder (22), and at this time, the standby electrode (2) may have a step difference that is skewed toward the equipment (MC).

[0063] Referring to FIG. 7, after the lamination facility (10) is restarted, the standby electrode (2) can return to the origin of the spool EPC (23).

[0064] Referring to FIG. 8, the main EPC of the lamination facility (10) can operate in accordance with the second pass line (L2) corresponding to the origin pass line of the spool EPC (23) of the standby electrode (2), but the normalization of the pass line may be delayed as the main EPC operates in the opposite direction to the direction for step correction.

[0065] As such, if the 1) direction of seam step difference correction of the EPC of the lamination equipment and the 2) direction of correction due to the return of the spool EPC origin of the standby electrode after replacement are opposite, the normalization of the pass line may be delayed and a large number of defects may occur, but this can be minimized through the present invention (Figs. 1 to 4).

[0066] Third, the effects of operation from the perspective of process utilization rate are as follows.

[0067] If the travel path line of the lamination and supply equipment is misaligned (meandering), jamming may occur near the EPC of the lamination equipment due to electrode swells. Specifically, when connecting electrodes, a positional difference (step) occurs between the front and rear electrodes, and when passing through the electrode connection section, the amount of EPC correction increases rapidly due to the positional difference between the front and rear electrodes. As the amount of EPC correction increases, the electrode sags and wrinkles occur due to the tension difference between the tab and bottom sections of the electrode, and jamming may occur due to interference when the electrode sags and swells are fed into the cutter section. However, this can be minimized through the present invention (Figs. 1 to 4).

[0068] In conventional technology, when a position change occurs in the EPC sensor, the amount of change is checked, and the supply unit is moved by the checked amount of change. In conventional technology, the checked amount of change is the same as the absolute value of the sensor's movement; that is, correction is applied by considering only the absolute amount of movement without considering the positional difference between the supply unit and the EPC sensor, and the positional difference between different independent facilities cannot be overcome.

[0069] In this invention, when a positional change occurs in the EPC sensor, a change in the correction amount of the EPC actuator occurs; after verifying the correction amount, the supply unit is moved by the verified correction amount. In this invention, the verified correction amount is not equal to the absolute value of the sensor's movement, but rather the correction is applied by reflecting the relative positional difference between two different facilities (lamination facility and supply unit facility).

[0070] Referring to FIG. 9, the electrode alignment method according to the present invention may include a monitoring step (S1), a sampling step (S2), a filtering step (S3), a correction amount calculation step (S4), a correction determination step (S5), and a correction step (S6). The above steps may be repeated as needed.

[0071] Referring to FIG. 10, M represents the monitoring interval, C represents the sampling interval, ○ represents the correction, × represents the uncorrected, USL represents the upper limit of filtering, Avg represents the average value of the correction amount, LSL represents the lower limit of filtering, 1C represents one cycle, and T represents the target value. In FIG. 10, the X-axis (up / down direction) represents the driving direction, the Y-axis (left / right direction) represents the width direction, and the unit of the Y-axis is mm.

[0072] In the monitoring step (S1), correction amount data is monitored. The monitoring target may be the correction amount data of an EPC actuator. The correction amount data of the actuator may be the correction amount data obtained by correcting the width direction position of an electrode traveling in the electrode lamination facility of a roll-to-roll process using the actuator of an edge position controller. Monitoring may be performed in the monitoring section (M) of FIG. 10. The monitoring section (M) is a section where data sampling is not performed, and may be a section for checking for abnormalities after the correction value is entered and for determining the correction cycle.

[0073] In the sampling step (S2), correction amount data is sampled. Sampling can be performed in the sampling interval (C) of FIG. 1. The sampling interval (C) may be a section for acquiring data and performing filtering and calculation to determine the correction value. One consecutive monitoring interval (M) and one sampling interval (C) may constitute one cycle (1C).

[0074] In the filtering step (S3), the sampled correction amount data is filtered. During filtering, as shown in FIG. 10, an upper filtering limit (USL) and a lower filtering limit (LSL) can be appropriately set for the current value (PV) measured in the sampling interval (C) of each cycle. When setting the upper and lower limits, as indicated by the dotted circle in FIG. 10, a process is required to remove hunting values ​​where the data differs significantly from other regions.

[0075] In the correction amount calculation step (S4), the average value of the correction amount (Avg) is calculated from the filtered correction amount data. Specifically, the average value of the data within the range between the filtering upper limit (USL) and the filtering lower limit (LSL) can be calculated.

[0076] In the step for determining whether to correct (S5), the decision to correct is made based on the calculated average value of the correction amount. For example, correction of the second facility may be performed only if the average value of the correction amount exceeds a preset minimum correction amount (pass line management value), and correction may be unnecessary if it is less than or equal to the minimum correction amount. If the average value of the correction amount exceeds a preset maximum correction amount, correction of the second facility may be performed using the maximum correction amount. If the average value of the correction amount is between the preset minimum correction amount and the maximum correction amount, correction of the second facility may be performed using the average value of the correction amount. The minimum correction amount and the maximum correction amount may be appropriately set in advance and may be changed as necessary.

[0077] In the correction step (S6), if correction is required, the second equipment (unwinder equipment) is moved in the width direction to perform the correction.

[0078] Referring specifically to Fig. 10, when checking the level of deviation (straying) relative to the control value in the first sampling interval, if the average correction amount is 4.53 mm and the pass line control value (minimum correction amount) is, for example, ±1 mm, then a correction of at least 3.53 mm is required. Next, the final correction amount is determined after comparing with the maximum correction amount for one time. If the maximum correction amount for one time is, for example, 2 mm, the calculated minimum correction amount (3.53 mm) is greater than the maximum correction amount (2 mm), so the first correction is performed with the maximum correction amount (2 mm).

[0079] Since the first correction has been performed, the average value of the correction amount decreases in the second sampling interval. When the average value of the correction amount in the second sampling interval is 2.04 mm, it is still greater than the maximum correction amount (2 mm), so the second correction is performed again with the maximum correction amount (2 mm).

[0080] Since corrections are performed twice, the average correction amount decreases further in the third sampling interval. When checking the level of deviation (snag) relative to the control value in the third sampling interval, if the average correction amount is 0.24 mm, it is smaller than the pass line control value (minimum correction amount) (±1 mm), so no additional correction is necessary.

[0081] Meanwhile, when determining whether to perform correction, the timing of material replacement, acceleration / deceleration sections, and / or maximum correction range may be considered. First, regarding the timing of material replacement, only electrode material replacement may be considered. For example, material replacement timing 1 may be when the diameter of the electrode roll wound in a roll shape is less than or equal to a certain winding diameter specified in the HMI (Human Machine Interface), and material replacement timing 2 may be when the number of taps has not exceeded a certain number after material replacement.

[0082] When considering acceleration and deceleration sections, correction may not be applied if the line speed is below the speed specified in the HMI; examples of such cases include the operating section after equipment shutdown, immediately before equipment shutdown, and immediately after equipment acceleration.

[0083] Considering the maximum correction range, if the range specified in the HMI is exceeded, alarms and popups can be provided without correction.

[0084] When performing calibration, the supply unit shuttle is calibrated along the Y-axis, and the considerations for calibration (HMI specified values) may include the maximum calibration amount, calibration speed, etc.

[0085] Table 1 compares the correction amounts before and after the application of the present invention, and a smaller correction amount indicates that the IP between independent facilities matches well. The values ​​in the table are the EPC actuator PV values.

[0086] Cathode / Anode Pass Line Center Value Correction - 1.2 mm (Before Correction) → 0 mm (After Correction) 4.2 mm (Before Correction) → 0 mm (After Correction) Pass Line Deviation Correction per Unwinder 2.1 mm (Before Correction) → 0 mm (After Correction) 0.9 mm (Before Correction) → 0 mm (After Correction)

[0087] Table 2 shows the average number of location defects and the defect reduction rate of material replacement before and after the application of the present invention, with anode material replacement defects decreasing by approximately 33% and cathode material replacement defects decreasing by approximately 18%. As such, the average location defects decreased during material replacement.

[0088] Average number of defects at cathode / anode location: 15.41 (before correction) → 12.67 (after correction) 55.27 (before correction) → 37.04 (after correction) Defect reduction rate: 17.78% (decrease of 2.74) 32.98% (decrease of 18.23)

[0089] Table 3 shows the number and rate of mass defects before and after the application of the present invention, and the proportion of cases with 150 or more cells of mass defects decreased after the replacement of the anode material. Specifically, before the correction, defects continued to occur because the pass line did not return to a normal trajectory after the replacement of the anode material, but after the correction, the normalization of the pass line was accelerated, resulting in a decrease in cases of mass defects. In this way, the phenomenon of mass defects occurring during anode replacement was improved.

[0090] Number of Mass Defects Before Correction After Correction 6 out of 36 Replacements 0 out of 42 Replacements Mass Defect Rate 17% 0%

[0091] [Explanation of the symbol]

[0092] 1: Traveling electrode, 2: Standby electrode, 10: First facility (Lamination facility) 11: EPC actuator, 12: Sensor, 20, 22: Second facility (Unwinder facility, supply unit), 21, 23: Spool EPC

Claims

1. An electrode alignment method for aligning electrodes in the width direction by moving a second facility, which is independent and different from the first facility in at least one of its function and installation position, in the width direction based on correction amount data for correcting the width direction position of an electrode traveling in a first facility of a roll-to-roll process.

2. In Paragraph 1, The first facility is an electrode lamination facility, and the second facility is an electrode unwinder facility; or An electrode alignment method in which the first facility is a first electrode unwinder facility and the second facility is a second electrode unwinder facility installed at a different location from the first electrode unwinder facility.

3. In Paragraph 2, An electrode lamination facility is an electrode alignment method comprising an anode edge position controller equipped with an actuator and a cathode edge position controller equipped with an actuator.

4. In Paragraph 3, An electrode alignment method in which the position of the electrode in the width direction is corrected by an actuator, and the correction amount data is the correction amount data of the actuator.

5. In Paragraph 2, The electrode unwinder facility comprises one or more of a traveling anode unwinder, a stationary anode unwinder, a traveling cathode unwinder, and a stationary cathode unwinder; An electrode alignment method in which the first electrode unwinder facility and the second electrode unwinder facility are each distinctly one or more of a traveling anode unwinder, a stationary anode unwinder, a traveling cathode unwinder, and a stationary cathode unwinder.

6. In Paragraph 1, An electrode alignment method in which the entire second facility, including the electrode, is moved.

7. In Paragraph 1, Step of monitoring correction amount data; and An electrode alignment method comprising the step of sampling correction amount data.

8. In Paragraph 7, A step of filtering sampled correction amount data; and An electrode alignment method comprising the step of calculating an average value of correction amounts from filtered correction amount data.

9. In Paragraph 8, A step of determining whether to make corrections based on the average value of the calculated correction amount; and An electrode alignment method comprising the step of correcting by moving a second facility in the width direction when correction is required.

10. In Paragraph 9, An electrode alignment method that performs correction of the second equipment only when the average value of the correction amount exceeds a preset minimum correction amount.

11. In Paragraph 9, An electrode alignment method in which, when the average value of the correction amount exceeds a preset maximum correction amount, the correction of the second facility is performed using the maximum correction amount.

12. In Paragraph 9, An electrode alignment method in which, when the average value of the correction amount is between a preset minimum correction amount and a maximum correction amount, the correction of the second equipment is performed using the average value of the correction amount.

13. In Paragraph 9, An electrode alignment method that considers at least one of the electrode replacement time and the acceleration / deceleration section of the electrode drive when determining whether to correct.

14. A step of monitoring correction amount data that corrects the width direction position of an electrode traveling in the first facility of a roll-to-roll process; Step of sampling correction amount data; A step of filtering sampled correction amount data; A step of calculating the average value of the correction amount from the filtered correction amount data; A step of determining whether to make corrections based on the average value of the calculated correction amount; and An electrode alignment method comprising the step of correcting by moving an independent second facility in the width direction, which differs from the first facility in at least one of its function and installation location, when correction is required.

15. A first facility for correcting the widthwise position of an electrode traveling in a roll-to-roll process; A second facility that is independent and movable in the width direction, differing from the first facility in at least one of its function and installation location; and An electrode alignment system comprising a control unit that controls the second equipment to move in the width direction and align the electrodes in the width direction based on correction amount data of the first equipment.

Images