Battery Electrode Separator Transfer for High-Speed Plate Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for applying battery paste and separators to bipolar battery plate electrodes have a low rate of mass production and require significant capital investment for specialized equipment and production lines.
Innovation Solution
A method and production line for making, pasting, and applying separators to substrates, involving a longitudinally elongate web of separator material, applying paste to one side, severing into individual separators, and transferring them onto substrates with protuberances, using a transfer mechanism and vacuum ports for precise placement, allowing for high-speed mass production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If specialized production line equipment is used to apply paste and separators to bipolar battery plates, then manufacturing precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity and capital investment increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The production process is divided into separate functional modules: a conveyor system for substrate transport, a separate paste application station, a separate separator application station with vacuum ports, and a protuberance formation station. Each module performs a specific function independently, allowing for precise control of each step without requiring a highly integrated complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor belt serves multiple functions: it transports substrates through the production line, positions them under the paste application hopper, and continues transporting them to the separator application station. The vacuum ports on the rotating cylinder serve both to hold separators during rotation and to release them onto the substrates at the correct position.
2Reliability
If specialized production line equipment is used for applying paste and separators, then manufacturing reliability is improved, but capital investment and ease of manufacture worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating cylinder with vacuum ports automatically picks up separators from a supply source, holds them in position during rotation, and releases them onto the substrates at the correct location. The system uses its own motion and vacuum pressure changes to perform the separation and placement function without requiring additional complex positioning mechanisms.
3Productivity
If traditional methods are used to apply separators and paste, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity and manufacturing speed decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor belt operates continuously, transporting substrates through the entire production line without interruption. The rotating cylinder continuously picks up separators, holds them during rotation, and releases them onto passing substrates. The paste application hopper continuously applies paste as substrates pass underneath. This continuous operation enables high-speed mass production.
Solution Approach 2:
Protuberances are formed on the substrates before the paste and separator application steps. The separator material has holes pre-formed in it that correspond to the protuberance locations. This preliminary preparation ensures that when the separator is applied, the protuberances automatically align with and pass through the holes, ensuring correct positioning without requiring complex real-time alignment mechanisms.
4Manufacturing precision
If separators are applied using simple methods, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision and alignment accuracy worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating cylinder acts as an intermediary between the separator supply and the substrates. It picks up separators from the supply source, holds them securely during rotation using vacuum ports, and releases them onto the substrates at the correct position. This intermediary mechanism ensures precise delivery without requiring direct complex positioning between the separator supply and substrate conveyance systems.
Solution Approach 2:
Holes are pre-formed in the separator material at locations that correspond to the protuberance positions on substrates. Protuberances are also formed on substrates in advance. This preliminary preparation ensures that when the separator is applied to the substrate, the protuberances automatically align with and pass through the holes, ensuring correct positioning without requiring complex real-time alignment mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables high-speed mass production of bipolar battery plates with improved efficiency and reduced capital investment by efficiently applying separators and paste to substrates, facilitating the assembly of battery plates with precise alignment and uniform thickness.
Implementation Method 1
The transfer cylinder may have vacuum ports retaining the individual separators on the cylinder and the vacuum may be relieved to dispose the separators on the substrates.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery electrode plate assembly and a production line and method of making, pasting, and applying separators to substrates of battery electrode plate assemblies. The production line includes, in an embodiment, a paster, a cutter, and a transfer mechanism. The paster is configured to apply a battery paste to a first side of an elongate web of a separator material. The cutter is downstream of the paster and is configured to sever the pasted web into a series of separate and individual separators with paste on their first side. And the transfer mechanism is configured to dispose an individual separator of the series on one of a series of substrates with the pasted first side of the separator facing the substrate on which it is disposed.