JP2018026274A - Separator built-in type electrode plate manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a separator built-in type electrode plate manufacturing method by which an electrode plate and a separator overlaid on the electrode plate are cut simultaneously and appropriately to manufacture a separator built-in type electrode plate.SOLUTION: In the present invention, a separator built-in type electrode plate is manufactured by comprising: a lamination step in which a separator is overlaid on a coating area of an electrode plate; a fusion step in which the separator is fused to form a fusion trace; and a cutting step in which the electrode plate is cut in a cut part together with the separator formed with the fusion trace. In the lamination step, as a separator, one sized such that both its ends in a width direction project outside beyond both ends of the coating area in the width direction is used. Furthermore, in the fusion step, a portion to serve as the at least cut part of the projecting portion of the separator beyond the coating area is fused, and the fusion trace is caused to adhere to the external surface of the electrode plate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a separator-integrated electrode plate. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a separator-integrated electrode plate in which an electrode plate and a separator that covers an outer surface of the electrode plate are integrated.

  A battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery has an electrode body formed by laminating positive and negative electrode plates with a separator interposed inside the case. When manufacturing such an electrode body, an electrode plate or separator having a size larger than the final size when the electrode body is laminated in advance may be prepared and cut into the final size from there. .

  As a technique related to the cutting of the electrode plate, for example, Patent Document 1 is cited. Patent Document 1 describes that the electrode plate is cut at the cutting position by irradiating the cutting position of the electrode plate with laser light.

JP 2016-100194 A

  Here, it is conceivable to use a separator-integrated electrode plate in which the electrode plate and the separator are already integrated in the manufacture of the electrode body. In addition, it is conceivable to manufacture the separator-integrated electrode plate by stacking an electrode plate and a separator that are both larger than the final size, and then cutting to the final size in the overlapped state. However, it has been difficult to apply the conventional electrode plate cutting technique using laser light as described above to such a separator-integrated electrode plate.

  That is, the laser beam used for cutting the electrode plate passes through the separator. For this reason, the separator is not cut alone by the laser beam used for cutting the electrode plate. However, the separator placed on the electrode plate should be cut by raising the temperature of the laser beam irradiation spot of the electrode plate to a temperature higher than the melting temperature of the separator by the laser beam that cuts the electrode plate. Can do. However, a separator having a larger area than the electrode plate is apt to be used as the separator in order to reliably separate the positive and negative electrode plates in the electrode body. That is, in the separator-integrated electrode plate, it is preferable to use a separator that has a protruding portion protruding from the electrode plate. The protruding portion of the separator from the electrode plate is not in contact with the electrode plate, but is separated from the electrode plate. Therefore, the portion of the separator superimposed on the electrode plate that protrudes from the electrode plate transmits the laser beam that cuts the electrode plate, so that it remains connected without being cut.

  In addition to the method using a laser beam, a method using shear using a blade such as a Thomson blade can be considered for cutting the separator-integrated electrode plate. However, in the cutting method using a blade, a slight gap (clearance) is provided between the blades or between the blade and the die. For this reason, the separator which is an elastic material may be elastically deformed in the gap between the blades or between the blade and the mold, and may not be cut completely. That is, even when cutting with a blade, the protruding portion of the separator superimposed on the electrode plate from the electrode plate may remain connected without being cut.

  The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the problems of the prior art described above. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a separator-integrated electrode plate that simultaneously and appropriately cuts an electrode plate and a separator superimposed on the electrode plate to manufacture a separator-integrated electrode plate.

  The separator-integrated electrode plate manufacturing method of the present invention made for the purpose of solving this problem is a separator-integrated electrode plate manufacturing method in which the coating regions provided on the front and back of the electrode plate are covered with the separator. , Laminating process to superimpose separators on the front and back cover areas of the electrode plate, melting process to melt the separator superimposed on the electrode plate to form melt marks, and cutting the electrode plate to extend in the width direction of the electrode plate And a cutting step for cutting together with the separator on which melt marks are formed. In the laminating step, both ends in the width direction protrude beyond the both ends in the width direction of the covering region as separators. In the melting process, at least the portion to be cut out of the protruding portion from the coating area of the separator is melted, It is a manufacturing method of a separator-integrated electrode plate and forming so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the electrode plate.

  In the manufacturing method of the separator-integrated electrode plate according to the present invention, the protruding portion of the separator at the cutting portion in the cutting step is in close contact with the outer surface of the electrode plate by the melting step. For this reason, in a cutting process, the separator in a cutting location can be cut appropriately together with the electrode plate. As a result, the electrode plate and the separator superimposed on the electrode plate can be appropriately cut at the same time to manufacture a separator-integrated electrode plate.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a separator-integrated electrode plate, in which an electrode plate and a separator superimposed on the electrode plate are simultaneously and appropriately cut to manufacture a separator-integrated electrode plate.

It is a schematic block diagram of the manufacturing apparatus which manufactures the separator integrated electrode plate which concerns on a 1st form. It is sectional drawing of the electrode plate and separator in the opposing position of a lamination | stacking roll pair. It is sectional drawing of the electrode plate and separator in a fusion | melting position. It is a figure which shows an electrode plate and a separator when it sees from the direction of arrow S shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an electrode plate and a separator when it sees from the direction of arrow T shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of an electrode plate and a separator after the melted mark was formed in the separator. It is a schematic block diagram of the manufacturing apparatus which manufactures the separator integrated electrode plate which concerns on a 2nd form. It is sectional drawing of the holding part which hold | maintains a separator.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best mode for embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
In FIG. 1, the manufacturing apparatus 1 which manufactures the separator integrated electrode plate 100 of this form is shown. The manufacturing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that manufactures the separator-integrated electrode plate 100 by integrating the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing apparatus 1 includes unwinding units 10, 11, 12, a laminated roll pair 20, a hot press unit 30, and a laser irradiation unit 40. The unwinding part 10 has a long electrode plate 110 set in a roll shape, and can unwind the electrode plate 110 toward the facing position X of the laminated roll pair 20. The electrode plate 110 is, for example, a negative electrode plate or a positive electrode plate used for a secondary battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery.

  The unwinding part 11 has a long separator 150 set in a roll shape, and can unwind the separator 150 toward the facing position X of the stacking roll pair 20. The unwinding unit 12 has a long separator 160 set in a roll shape, and can unwind the separator 160 toward the facing position X of the laminated roll pair 20. In this embodiment, the separators 150 and 160 are of the same type. The separators 150 and 160 are porous resin sheets made of a resin material such as PE (polyethylene) or PP (polypropylene), for example, for a lithium ion secondary battery.

  At the facing position X of the laminated roll pair 20, the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150, 160 unwound from the unwinding portions 10, 11, 12 are laminated by passing between the laminated roll pair 20. FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160 at the facing position X of the laminated roll pair 20. In FIG. 2, the left-right direction is the width direction of the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150, 160, and the up-down direction is the thickness direction. As shown in FIG. 2, in the stacking of the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160, the separators 150 and 160 are superimposed on the front and back surfaces of the electrode plate 110, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the electrode plate 110 includes a current collector foil 120 and active material layers 130 and 140. The active material layer 130 is formed on the first surface 121 of the current collector foil 120. The active material layer 140 is formed on the second surface 122 of the current collector foil 120. The current collector foil 120 is, for example, a metal foil. For example, when the electrode plate 110 is a negative electrode plate of a lithium ion secondary battery, a copper foil can be used as the current collector foil 120. Further, when the electrode plate 110 is a negative electrode plate of a lithium ion secondary battery, the active material layers 130 and 140 include a carbon material as an active material, a binder for binding the active material, and the like. ing. For this reason, in this embodiment, the separators 150 and 160 have higher elasticity than the electrode plate 110.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the active material layers 130 and 140 are formed on part of the first surface 121 and the second surface 122 of the current collector foil 120, respectively. That is, the current collecting foil 120 has a formation region where the active material layers 130 and 140 are formed, and the active material layers 130 and 140 are not formed, and the first surface 121 and the second surface 122 are exposed. There is a non-forming region. The formation region and the non-formation region are respectively provided along one end side and the other end side in the width direction of the current collector foil 120.

  The separators 150 and 160 are overlaid on the active material layers 130 and 140 of the electrode plate 110, respectively. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the separator 150 is overlaid on the laminated surface 131 of the active material layer 130 in the outer surface of the electrode plate 110. Further, the separator 160 is overlaid on the laminated surface 141 of the active material layer 140 in the outer surface of the electrode plate 110. Thus, the separators 150 and 160 cover the surfaces of the electrode plate 110 while being in close contact with the stacked surface 131 of the active material layer 130 and the stacked surface 141 of the active material layer 140, respectively.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, separators 150 and 160 having a width wider than that of the active material layers 130 and 140 are used. The separators 150 and 160 are provided with protruding portions A and B that protrude from both sides of the active material layers 130 and 140 in the width direction. The protruding portion A protrudes beyond the end surfaces 132 and 142 on the non-formation region side of the current collector foil 120 of the active material layers 130 and 140. Further, the protruding portion B protrudes from the end surface 111 on the formation region side of the current collector foil 120 of the electrode plate 110. The end surface 111 of the electrode plate 110 is also an end surface of the active material layers 130 and 140. The amount of protrusion of the protruding portions A and B from the end faces in the width direction of the active material layers 130 and 140 can be 1 mm to 10 mm.

  In the state shown in FIG. 2, the end faces 132 and 142 of the active material layers 130 and 140 and the end face 111 of the electrode plate 110 are not yet covered with the separators 150 and 160. Further, the length in the width direction of the non-formation region of the current collector foil 120 is longer than the length of the protruding portion A of the separators 150 and 160, as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160 that have passed through the facing position X of the laminated roll pair 20 are transported through the manufacturing apparatus 1 and then the melting position Y where the hot press unit 30 is provided. To reach. The hot press section 30 melts the end portions in the width direction of the separators 150 and 160 at the melting position Y while pressing them. The hot press unit 30 of the present embodiment melts the separators 150 and 160 at regular intervals in the transport direction. The interval is the same as the length of the separator-integrated electrode plate 100 in the transport direction. FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160 at the melting position Y.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the hot press unit 30 includes a first press head pair 35 including a first upper press head 31 and a first lower press head 32, and a second upper press head 33 and a second lower press head 34. And a second press head pair 36. The first press head pair 35 can sandwich the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160 by moving the first upper press head 31 downward and the first lower press head 32 upward. Further, the second press head pair 36 can sandwich the separators 150 and 160 by moving the second upper press head 33 downward and the second lower press head 34 upward. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the first press head pair 35 and the second press head pair 36 are sandwiched.

  Further, the sandwiching position by the first press head pair 35 is the protruding portion A of the separators 150 and 160. The sandwiching position by the second press head pair 36 is the protruding portion B of the separators 150 and 160. In the present embodiment, the first press head pair 35 sandwiches the tip end portion D of the protruding portion A, with the gap C from the end surfaces 132, 142 of the active material layers 130, 140 in the protruding portion A. Further, in the present embodiment, the second press head pair 36 sandwiches the tip portion F of the protruding portion B with the gap E from the end surface 111 of the electrode plate 110 in the protruding portion B. By providing the gaps C and E, it is possible to form a melt mark described later without exposing the ends of the active material layers 130 and 140. That is, the active material layers 130 and 140 can be appropriately covered with the separators 150 and 160.

  FIG. 4 shows a view of the first press head pair 35 and the like shown in FIG. That is, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the first press head pair 35 sandwiched at the melting position Y shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the first press head pair 35 presses the separators 150 and 160 against the current collector foil 120 at the melting point Y at the tips of the first upper press head 31 and the first lower press head 32, respectively. Yes.

  FIG. 5 shows a view of the second press head pair 36 and the like shown in FIG. That is, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view in a state of being sandwiched by the second press head pair 36 when the melting position Y shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the second press head pair 36 presses the separators 150 and 160 at the melting position Y at the tips of the second upper press head 33 and the second lower press head 34.

  Further, the first press head pair 35 and the second press head pair 36 can raise the tip temperatures of the respective press heads to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting temperature of the separators 150 and 160. As a result, the first press head pair 35 and the second press head pair 36 melt the sandwiched separators 150 and 160 at the melting position Y. The heating temperature by the first press head pair 35 and the second press head pair 36 is preferably 120 ° C. or higher. Moreover, in order to make heating time shorter, it is more preferable to set it as 250 to 350 degreeC. Then, after the first press head pair 35 and the second press head pair 36 melt the separators 150 and 160, the press heads are separated from each other and moved away from the separators 150 and 160. The melted portions of the melted separators 150 and 160 are then solidified.

  FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160 after the melted portion has solidified. As shown in FIG. 6, melted marks AM and BM are formed at the melted portions of the separators 150 and 160, respectively. The melt mark AM is formed by solidifying the part which was the protruding part A of the separators 150 and 160 after melting. As shown in FIG. 6, the melting mark AM is formed along the end surface 132 of the active material layer 130 from the first surface 121 of the current collector foil 120 on the first surface 121 side of the current collector foil 120. In addition, the melt mark AM is formed along the end surface 142 of the active material layer 140 from the second surface 122 of the current collector foil 120 on the second surface 122 side of the current collector foil 120. Therefore, the melt mark AM is formed so as to be in close contact with the first surface 121, the second surface 122, the end surface 132 of the active material layer 130, and the end surface 142 of the active material layer 140 of the current collector foil 120.

  Further, the melt mark BM is formed by solidifying the portion which was the protruding portion B of the separators 150 and 160 after melting. As shown in FIG. 6, the melt mark BM is formed along the end surface 111 of the electrode plate 110. Therefore, the melt mark BM is formed so as to be in close contact with the end surface 111 of the electrode plate 110.

  The electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160 that have passed through the melting position Y of the hot press unit 30 are conveyed through the manufacturing apparatus 1 and then reach the cutting position Z where the laser irradiation unit 40 is provided. The laser irradiation unit 40 can irradiate the electrode plate 110 with laser light at the cutting position Z. The laser irradiation unit 40 performs laser beam irradiation when the position where the melt marks AM and BM are formed reaches the cutting position Z.

  The laser irradiation unit 40 can irradiate a laser beam that can cut the electrode plate 110. Specifically, in this embodiment, a fiber laser is used as the laser irradiation unit 40. This fiber laser can irradiate laser light having a wavelength of about 1000 nm.

  The laser irradiation unit 40 moves the irradiation position of the laser light in the width direction of the electrode plate 110 while irradiating the laser light. That is, the cut portion of the electrode plate 110 extends in the width direction. The movement of the irradiation position of the laser beam can be performed, for example, by moving the irradiation port that irradiates the laser beam of the laser irradiation unit 40 toward the object. Alternatively, it is possible to move the irradiation position of the laser beam by using a galvano scanner. Then, the electrode plate 110 can be cut in the width direction by moving the irradiation position of the laser light from one end to the other end of the electrode plate 110 in the width direction.

  Here, since the fiber laser is not absorbed by the separators 150 and 160, the fiber laser has a wavelength that cannot directly cut the separators 150 and 160. However, when the fiber laser is irradiated onto the electrode plate 110, the electrode plate 110 at the irradiated portion generates heat. Due to the heat generated by the electrode plate 110, the separators 150 and 160 can also be melted and cut. For this reason, when the separators 150 and 160 have portions that are not in close contact with the electrode plate 110, the portions of the separators 150 and 160 that are not in close contact remain connected without being cut.

  However, as described above, the separators 150 and 160 of this embodiment are in close contact with the stacked surface 131 of the active material layer 130 and the stacked surface 141 of the active material layer 140 by stacking the stacked roll pair 20 at the facing position X, respectively. Are superimposed. Further, the separators 150 and 160 are in close contact with the outer surface of the electrode plate 110 at the melt marks AM and BM as described with reference to FIG. And the laser irradiation part 40 is irradiating a laser beam, when the position in which the melt marks AM and BM were formed reached the cutting position Z. That is, at the cutting position Z, the laser beam is applied to the portion of the electrode plate 110 where the separators 150 and 160 are in close contact.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, at the cutting position Z, the electrode plate 110 is cut by laser light from one end side to the other end side in the width direction, so that the separators 150 and 160 that are in close contact with the cut portion are also It is possible to cut completely in the width direction. Thereby, at the cutting position Z of this embodiment, the separators 150 and 160 can be appropriately cut simultaneously with the electrode plate 110. The separator-integrated electrode plate 100 can be manufactured by cutting at the cutting position Z.

  That is, in this embodiment, the manufacturing apparatus 1 performs the stacking process at the facing position X of the stacking roll pair 20, the melting process of the separators 150 and 160 at the melting position Y, and the cutting process at the cutting position Z. Thus, the separator-integrated electrode plate 100 is manufactured. The manufactured separator-integrated electrode plate 100 is obtained by covering the active material layers 130 and 140 provided on the front and back of the electrode plate 110 with the separators 150 and 160.

  The separator-integrated electrode plate 100 manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus 1 is then used for manufacturing a battery. Specifically, when the electrode plate 110 is a negative electrode plate, the electrode body is manufactured by alternately laminating the separator-integrated electrode plate 100 and the positive electrode plate. Furthermore, the manufactured electrode body is accommodated in a battery case. Thereby, a battery is manufactured using the separator integrated electrode plate 100.

  In the separator-integrated electrode plate 100, the active material layers 130 and 140 are reliably covered with the separators 150 and 160. This is because the separators 150 and 160 have such a size that both ends in the width direction of the electrode plate 110 protrude outward from both ends of the active material layers 130 and 140, respectively. Furthermore, on the cut surface of the separator-integrated electrode plate 100 formed at the cutting position Z, since the separators 150 and 160 are cut at the same location that overlaps the cut location of the electrode plate 110, This is because the plate 110 does not protrude. Therefore, by using the separator-integrated electrode plate 100, the positive and negative electrode plates can be reliably separated by the separator, and an electrode body in which the positive and negative electrode plates do not come into contact with each other can be manufactured.

[Second form]
Next, the second embodiment will be described. Also in this embodiment, the separator-integrated electrode plate to be manufactured is the same. In this embodiment, the method of forming a melt mark on the separator and the method of simultaneously cutting the electrode plate and the separator are different from the first embodiment.

  FIG. 7 shows a manufacturing apparatus 2 according to this embodiment. The manufacturing apparatus 2 is also an apparatus for manufacturing the separator-integrated electrode plate 100 by integrating the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160.

  The manufacturing apparatus 2 includes unwinding units 10, 11, 12, a laminated roll pair 20, a laser irradiation unit 50, and a Thomson blade 70. Among these, the unwinding portions 10, 11, 12 and the laminated roll pair 20 are the same as those in the first embodiment. Further, the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160 that are unwound from the unwinding portions 10, 11, and 12 are the same as those in the first embodiment. For this reason, it is the same as that of the 1st form to the opposing position X of the laminated roll pair 20. That is, the first embodiment is the same until the separators 150 and 160 are stacked on the front and back surfaces of the electrode plate 110, respectively. And the manufacturing apparatus 2 of this form differs from the 1st form in the structure provided in the melting position Y and the cutting position Z, respectively.

  That is, in this embodiment, the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160 that have passed through the facing position X of the laminated roll pair 20 are transported in the manufacturing apparatus 2 and then the melting position where the laser irradiation units 50 and 51 are provided. Y is reached. The laser irradiation units 50 and 51 melt the end portions in the width direction of the separators 150 and 160 at the melting position Y.

That is, the laser irradiation units 50 and 51 can irradiate laser beams that can melt the separators 150 and 160. Specifically, in this embodiment, a CO ₂ laser is used as the laser irradiation units 50 and 51. The CO ₂ laser is preferably irradiated under conditions of a wavelength of 5 μm to 20 μm and an output of 1 W to 20 W. The CO ₂ laser irradiated under such conditions is absorbed by the separators 150 and 160, and the irradiated portion can be melted. Since this CO ₂ laser is irradiated to the separators 150 and 160 and absorbed by the separators 150 and 160, the electrode plate 110 is not damaged.

  The melted portions by the laser irradiation units 50 and 51 are the same as in the first embodiment. In other words, in this embodiment, the laser irradiation units 50 and 51 protrude at the melting position Y from the separators 150 and 160 with gaps C and E spaced from the end surfaces in the width direction of the active material layers 130 and 140 described with reference to FIG. Laser light is applied to the tip portions D and F of the portions A and B. Then, the irradiated part is melted. When it is necessary to move the irradiation position of the laser beam by the laser irradiation unit 50, for example, the irradiation position can be moved by moving the irradiation port for irradiating the laser beam toward the object or by a galvano scanner. That's fine. The locations where the melt marks AM and BM are formed are the same as in the first embodiment in this embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the laser irradiation by the laser irradiation units 50 and 51 is performed while the gripping units 60 and 61 sandwich the upstream and downstream positions in the transport direction of the irradiation locations. When the separators 150 and 160 are lifted from the electrode plate 110 due to warpage of the separators 150 and 160, the melt marks AM and BM may not be appropriately formed so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the electrode plate 110. Because there is. The gripping units 60 and 61 are provided with a gap in the laser beam irradiation position by the laser irradiation units 50 and 51 in the transport direction. The gap is not limited as long as the laser light irradiated by the laser irradiation units 50 and 51 can pass through, and can be, for example, about 0.1 mm to 1 mm. Further, as the gripping portions 60 and 61, those having a cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 8 can be used. FIG. 8 shows a state where the laser beam has already been irradiated and the melt mark BM has been formed.

  The electrode plate 110 and the separators 150 and 160 that have passed through the melting position Y of the laser irradiation units 50 and 51 are conveyed through the manufacturing apparatus 2 and then reach the cutting position Z where the Thomson blade 70 is provided. As shown in FIG. 7, the Thomson blade 70 is provided above the electrode plate 110 and the like at the cutting position Z. The Thomson blade 70 is a blade longer in the width direction than the electrode plate 110. The Thomson blade 70 is lowered toward the receiving die 71, so that the electrode plate 110 and the separators 150, 160 can be cut simultaneously. The cut location is the position where the melt marks AM and BM are formed as in the first embodiment.

  Here, the Thomson blade 70 does not descend until it contacts the receiving mold 71 during cutting. This is because when the Thomson blade 70 comes into contact with the receiving mold 71 and chipping or the like of the blade edge occurs, appropriate cutting cannot be performed thereafter. That is, at the descending end of the Thomson blade 70, a slight gap is formed between the cutting edge of the Thomson blade 70 and the receiving die 71. Since the separators 150 and 160, which are porous resin sheets, are made of an elastic material, even when the Thomson blade 70 is lowered to the descending end, the separators 150 and 160 alone are in the gap between the tip of the Thomson blade 70 and the receiving die 71. It may not be cut completely. That is, even when cutting with the Thomson blade 70, if there are portions where the separators 150 and 160 are not in close contact with the electrode plate 110, the portions of the non-contacting separators 150 and 160 remain connected without being cut. There is a risk of remaining.

  However, in this embodiment, when the location of the electrode plate 110 where the separators 150 and 160 are in close contact with each other reaches the cutting position Z, the cutting is performed by the Thomson blade 70. Therefore, also in this embodiment, the separators 150 and 160 can be completely cut in the width direction together with the electrode plate 110 at the cutting position Z. Thereby, also in this embodiment, the separators 150 and 160 can be appropriately cut simultaneously with the electrode plate 110 at the cutting position Z. The separator-integrated electrode plate 100 can be manufactured by cutting at the cutting position Z. That is, also in the present embodiment, the separator integrated type in which the active material layers 130 and 140 provided on the front and back of the electrode plate 110 are covered with the separators 150 and 160 by the stacking process, the melting process, and the cutting process by the manufacturing apparatus 2. The electrode plate 100 can be manufactured.

  The separator-integrated electrode plate 100 manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus 2 is also used for manufacturing the battery thereafter. At that time, by using the separator-integrated electrode plate 100, the positive and negative electrode plates can be reliably separated by the separator, and an electrode body in which the positive and negative electrode plates do not come into contact with each other can be manufactured.

In the first embodiment, the melting process is performed by hot pressing, and the cutting process is performed by a fiber laser. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the melting step is performed by a CO ₂ laser, and the cutting step is performed by a Thomson blade. However, the method used for the melting step and the method used for the cutting step may be interchanged between the first embodiment and the second embodiment. That is, the melting step may be performed with a CO ₂ laser, and the cutting step may be performed with a fiber laser. Moreover, it is good also as performing a melting process with a hot press and performing a cutting process with a Thomson blade. In the cutting process, a method using a blade other than a Thomson blade may be employed. For example, the cutting step can be performed by a method using a round blade, scissors, guillotine shear, or the like. In the cutting process, any laser beam capable of cutting the electrode plate 110 can be used without being limited to the fiber laser.

  Next, examples according to the above embodiment will be described together with comparative examples. In the examples and comparative examples, separator-integrated electrode plates were produced by different methods. Table 1 below shows a method for manufacturing each separator-integrated electrode plate according to the example and the comparative example.

  In each of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the lamination process is first performed. This lamination process is as described in the above embodiment. That is, as the separator, a separator having both ends in the width direction protruding beyond both ends in the width direction of the active material layer of the electrode plate was used.

  In Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the same materials were used for the electrode plate and separator. Specifically, as the electrode plate, a copper foil having a thickness of 10 μm was used as a current collector foil, and an active material layer having a thickness of 60 μm was formed on both the front and back surfaces. The active material layer was formed using graphite as the active material. Furthermore, PE having a thickness of 20 μm was used as the separator. In addition, as a separator, in order to make it easy to adhere to an electrode plate, the thing which apply | coated the adhesive binder on both surfaces beforehand was used. In the lamination of the electrode plate and the separator, the length in the width direction of the protruding portion of the separator shown by A and B in FIG. 2 from the electrode plate was 5 mm.

  As shown in Table 1, in Examples 1 and 2, the melting process is performed before the cutting process. That is, in Examples 1 and 2, as described in the above embodiment, in the melting process, among the protruding parts at both ends in the width direction of the separator, the part that becomes the cutting part in the cutting process is melted and melted. The trace was formed so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the electrode plate. In contrast, in Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the cutting process was performed without performing the melting process.

  In both the melting steps of Examples 1 and 2, the protruding portion of the separator was melted with the gap from the end face of the active material layer indicated by C and E in FIG. That is, the length in the width direction of the tip portion of the protruding portion indicated by D and F in FIG. 3 was 4 mm.

Further, in the melting step of Example 1, two pairs of gripping portions provided in the transport direction have a gap of 0.5 mm in the transport direction of the melt target location, and upstream and downstream in the transport direction of the melt target location. The position was gripped, and a CO ₂ laser was irradiated to the gap between the gripping portions. The irradiation conditions of the CO ₂ laser were a wavelength of 9.3 μm, an output of 20 W, and a laser spot diameter of 265 μm.

  In the melting step of Example 2, a pair of press heads having a length of 0.5 mm in the conveyance direction at the tip indicated by G and H in FIGS. 4 and 5 was used. Further, the tip of the press head pair was heated to 300 ° C. to melt the portion to be melted.

  Table 1 shows the defect rates for Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, respectively. The defect rate is 10 sheets for each of the Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, and the separator-integrated electrode plate was manufactured. The separator was completely cut at the cutting location where the cutting process was performed. The ones that were not made were considered bad.

  As shown in Table 1, both Comparative Examples 1 and 2 had a high defect rate. In Comparative Examples 1 and 2, since the melting process is not performed, the cutting process is performed in a state where the protruding portion of the separator is not in close contact with the electrode plate. For this reason, in Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the protruding portion of the separator was not properly cut and remained connected in the cutting process.

  On the other hand, in Examples 1 and 2 in which the melting process was performed before the cutting process, the defect rate was 0%. In other words, it was confirmed that the separator-integrated electrode plate can be produced without causing a separator cut failure by the method according to this embodiment.

  As described above in detail, in this embodiment, the separator-integrated electrode plate 100 is manufactured by covering the active material layers 130 and 140 provided on the front and back surfaces of the electrode plate 110 with the separators 150 and 160. In other words, in the present embodiment, in the electrode plate 110, the active material layer 130, 140 formation region is a covering region covered with the separators 150, 160. As a manufacturing process of the separator-integrated electrode plate 100, a lamination process, a melting process, and a cutting process are performed in this order. In the stacking step, separators 150 and 160 are stacked on the stacking surfaces 131 and 141 of the active material layers 130 and 140 of the electrode plate 110, respectively. In the melting step, the separators 150 and 160 superimposed on the electrode plate 110 are melted to form melt marks AM and BM. In the cutting step, the electrode plate 110 is cut together with the separators 150 and 160 at a cutting portion extending in the width direction. In the laminating process, separators 150 and 160 having a size such that both ends in the width direction protrude outward from both ends in the width direction of the active material layers 130 and 140, respectively. Further, in the melting process, of the protruding parts A and B of the separators 150 and 160, the part that becomes the cutting part in the cutting process is melted, and the melt marks AM and BM are formed so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the electrode plate 110. Yes. Thus, a separator-integrated electrode plate manufacturing method is realized in which the electrode plate and the separator superimposed on the electrode plate are simultaneously and appropriately cut to manufacture the separator-integrated electrode plate.

  Note that this embodiment is merely an example, and does not limit the present invention. Therefore, the present invention can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the above embodiment, in the melting step, only the portion that becomes the cut portion in the cutting step among the protruding portions from both ends of the active material layer in the width direction of the separator is melted to form the melt mark. However, the melt mark only needs to be formed at least in a portion that becomes a cut portion in the cutting process, and may be formed continuously in the conveyance direction. In this way, in the melting step of continuously melting in the transport direction, for example, a roller-shaped heating member provided with the rotation axis direction aligned with the width direction of the electrode plate or the like can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manufacturing apparatus 20 Laminated roll pair 30 Hot press part 40 Laser irradiation part 100 Separator integrated electrode plate 110 Electrode plate 120 Current collecting foil 130,140 Active material layer 150,160 Separator A, B Overhang part AM, BM Melting mark X Opposite Position Y Melting position Z Cutting position

Claims (1)

In the method of manufacturing a separator-integrated electrode plate in which the coating regions provided on the front and back of the electrode plate are covered with a separator,
A laminating step of superimposing the separators on the covering regions on the front and back of the electrode plate,
Melting the separator superimposed on the electrode plate to form a melt mark; and
A cutting step of cutting the electrode plate together with the separator on which the melt marks are formed at a cutting portion extending in the width direction of the electrode plate;
In the lamination process,
As the separator, both ends in the width direction have a size that protrudes outward from both ends in the width direction of the covering region,
In the melting step,
A separator-integrated electrode characterized by melting at least a portion to be the cut portion of the protruding portion of the separator from the coating region so that the melted mark is in close contact with the outer surface of the electrode plate. A manufacturing method of a board.

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