Electrode Current Collector Coating With Guide Members for Uniform Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
During double-sided coating of electrode current collectors for secondary batteries, coating imbalances occur due to surface tension, leading to non-uniform active material layers and potential gaps that increase the risk of ignition during lamination.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that utilize guide members on either side of the electrode current collector, with opposing rollers and a cleaner, to ensure uniform coating by positioning the guide members perpendicular to the collector's surface and rotating them to maintain even material distribution, preventing coating imbalances and allowing continuous operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If double-sided coating is performed on electrode current collector, then productivity is improved, but coating precision deteriorates due to surface tension causing non-uniform active material layers
Solution Approach 1:
A guide member is introduced as an intermediary component between the coating head and the electrode current collector. The guide member has a specific structure with a guide surface that guides the active material slurry, preventing surface tension-induced distortion at coating boundaries. This intermediary structure ensures uniform coating thickness while maintaining high productivity in double-sided coating operations.
2Device complexity
If coating is performed without guide members, then device complexity is reduced, but coating precision deteriorates due to droplet-shaped boundaries and height differences
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member serves as a simple yet effective intermediary component that prevents droplet-shaped boundary formation. By introducing this single structural element with a properly designed guide surface, coating boundary uniformity is significantly improved without substantially increasing device complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional coating method is used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to gaps between active material layers increasing ignition risk
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member acts as a mediator that ensures proper alignment and contact between active material layers during double-sided coating. By preventing gap formation at coating boundaries, the guide member eliminates the ignition risk during subsequent lamination processes, thereby improving reliability while maintaining ease of manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide member structure is designed to preemptively prevent the formation of gaps and misalignments before they can cause safety issues. The guide surface actively counteracts surface tension effects that would otherwise lead to droplet-shaped boundaries and potential gaps between layers, thereby preventing reliability issues before they occur.
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
Prevents coating imbalances and reduces the risk of ignition by ensuring uniform active material layers on both sides of the electrode current collector, enhancing process efficiency and safety.
Implementation Method 1
a cleaner disposed in the guide member sucks a remaining active material of the guide member
Implementation Method 2
a difference in coating loading level is generated by surface tension in the process of coating the active material, which causes a problem that the thickness of the active material layer 20 is not uniform
Data Source
AI summary
A method of coating an active material for a secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a method of coating an active material on an electrode current collector of a secondary battery, the method comprising the steps of: disposing a guide member on each of the left and right sides based on a moving direction of the electrode current collector, and coating the active material onto the electrode current collector between the two guide members.