Laser Tab Cutting for Battery Electrode Sheets

The patent replaces the mechanical Thomson blade cutting system with a laser beam cutting system. The laser beam melts and vaporizes the material at the cut location without mechanical contact, eliminating burr formation that occurs with mechanical stamping. This substitution of cutting mechanism directly resolves the burr damage issue while maintaining precise cutting capability.

The laser cutting process utilizes phase transitions (melting and vaporization) of the electrode sheet material to achieve clean cuts. The laser beam heats the material to its melting point and then vaporizes it, creating a clean cut edge without mechanical burrs. This phase transition-based cutting method eliminates the harmful burrs that damage separators.

The patent replaces the mechanical stamping system that requires intermittent feeding with a laser beam system that can cut continuously moving material. The laser beam tracks along the cutting path while the original sheet moves continuously, eliminating stop-start operations and significantly improving productivity while maintaining cut accuracy.

The laser cutting process enables continuous cutting action as the original sheet moves through the apparatus. Unlike mechanical stamping that requires stopping and positioning, the laser beam continuously follows the cutting trajectory, maintaining uninterrupted useful action and maximizing production speed while preserving cutting precision.

The patent replaces the mechanical stamping molds with a laser beam cutting system controlled by digital data. Different electrode sheet shapes and sizes are achieved by loading different cutting path data rather than changing physical molds, eliminating mold management complexity while maintaining full adaptability to various specifications.

Instead of creating physical molds for each electrode sheet specification, the patent uses digital copies (data) to define cutting paths. The laser beam system reproduces different shapes by following digital instructions, eliminating the need for physical mold preparation and management while maintaining the ability to produce various electrode sheet varieties.

The patent utilizes controlled phase transitions (melting and vaporization) with a high-power laser beam. The laser intensity and scanning speed are optimized to vaporize the material faster than it can solidify, ensuring complete separation. The phase transition process is controlled to prevent rejoining while maintaining continuous cutting capability.

The laser beam operates with periodic pulsing or scanning patterns that control the heating and cooling cycles. By adjusting the pulse frequency and duty cycle, the process ensures that material vaporization outpaces solidification, preventing rejoining of cut portions while enabling continuous cutting operation.