KR102598671B1 - Device of manufacturing a secondary battery - Google Patents

Abstract

A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus includes a first magazine loading a plurality of half cells, a second magazine loading a plurality of second electrodes, a plurality of half cells loaded in the first magazine, and a plurality of electrodes loaded in the second magazine. It includes a stack part that alternately stacks two electrodes, and an aligner part that aligns the second electrodes stacked on the half cell.

Description

Secondary battery manufacturing device {Device of manufacturing a secondary battery}

The embodiment relates to a secondary battery manufacturing device.

Pouch-type lithium secondary batteries (hereinafter referred to as secondary battery cells), which are the unit cells that make up secondary batteries, are flexible, have relatively free shapes, are light in weight, and have excellent safety, so they can be used as a power source for portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, camcorders, and laptop computers. Demand is increasing.

The manufacturing process of secondary battery cells is largely divided into three processes: electrode, assembly, and activation.

The electrode process involves mixing materials in an appropriate ratio to create an anode and a cathode, coating them on aluminum foil as the anode or copper foil as the cathode, and pressing them to a certain thickness using a roll press to flatten them. After making it, it is a slitting process that cuts it to fit the size of the electrode.

The assembly process involves notching to remove unnecessary parts from the electrode, stacking the anode, separator, and cathode in alternate layers, and then folding them several times to match the battery capacity, or a stacking and folding process, or overlapping and wrapping the electrode and separator. This is a process of performing a winding process, packaging with aluminum film packaging, adding electrolyte, and sealing in a vacuum.

The activation process is a process of activating the secondary battery cell by repeating charging/discharging of the assembled secondary battery cell and performing a degassing process to discharge gas generated in the secondary battery cell upon activation.

In a secondary battery manufacturing device, a stacking process is performed in which half cells and positive electrodes are stacked. At this time, an anode is stacked corresponding to the cathode of the half cell.

In the past, there was a problem that the defect rate was very high because the alignment between the cathode and anode of the half cell was not properly achieved.

The embodiments aim to solve the above-described problems and other problems.

Another object of the embodiment is to provide a secondary battery manufacturing device capable of accurate alignment.

Another object of the embodiment is to provide a secondary battery manufacturing device that can improve the match between the negative electrode and the positive electrode.

According to one aspect of the embodiment to achieve the above or other objects, a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus includes: a first magazine for loading a plurality of half cells; a second magazine loading a plurality of second electrodes; a stack unit that alternately stacks a plurality of half cells loaded in the first magazine and a plurality of second electrodes loaded in the second magazine; and an aligner that aligns the second electrode stacked on the half cell.

The effects of the secondary battery manufacturing device according to the embodiment will be described as follows.

According to at least one of the embodiments, by generating a plurality of half cells and a plurality of second electrodes in advance and stacking the half cells and the second electrode alternately, the advantage is that the process time can be shortened and the number of processes can be dramatically reduced. there is.

According to at least one of the embodiments, the half cell or the second electrode can be aligned in real time while stacking the half cell and the second electrode, improving the degree of agreement between the first electrode and the second electrode of the half cell, and improving accuracy. It has the advantage of being able to prevent alignment defects since alignment is possible.

Additional scope of applicability of the embodiments will become apparent from the detailed description that follows. However, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the embodiments may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art, the detailed description and specific embodiments, such as preferred embodiments, should be understood as being given by way of example only.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment.
Figure 2 shows a first magazine of an embodiment.
Figure 3 shows a second magazine of an embodiment.
Figure 4 shows the stack section and the align section of the embodiment.
Figure 5 is a block diagram showing a hip cell laminator of an embodiment.
Figure 6 shows creating a second electrode using a third cutter.
Figure 7 shows a lamination process and a stacking process in a secondary battery manufacturing device according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to some of the described embodiments, but may be implemented in various different forms, and as long as it is within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, one or more of the components may be optionally used between the embodiments. It can be used by combining and replacing. In addition, terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the embodiments of the present invention, unless explicitly specifically defined and described, are generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It can be interpreted as meaning, and the meaning of commonly used terms, such as terms defined in a dictionary, can be interpreted by considering the contextual meaning of the related technology. Additionally, the terms used in the embodiments of the present invention are for describing the embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, the singular can also include the plural unless specifically stated in the phrase, and when described as “at least one (or more than one) of B and C”, it can be combined with A, B, and C. It may contain one or more of all possible combinations. Additionally, when describing the components of an embodiment of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. These terms are only used to distinguish the component from other components, and are not limited to the essence, sequence, or order of the component. And, when a component is described as being 'connected', 'coupled' or 'connected' to another component, the component is not only directly connected, combined or connected to that other component, but also is connected to that component. It may also include cases where other components are 'connected', 'coupled', or 'connected' by another component between them. In addition, when described as being formed or disposed "on top or bottom" of each component, top or bottom refers not only to cases where two components are in direct contact with each other, but also to one or more components. This also includes cases where another component described above is formed or placed between two components. Additionally, when expressed as “top (above) or bottom (bottom),” it can include the meaning of not only the upward direction but also the downward direction based on one component.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the secondary battery manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment may include a first magazine 110, a second magazine 120, a stack unit 130, and an alignment unit 140.

The first magazine 110 is as shown in FIG. 2. It may be a space or location where a plurality of half cells 210 are loaded. A plurality of half cells 210 generated in the previous process, the half cell laminating process (performed by the half cell laminator 150), may be loaded into the first magazine 110.

The half cell 210 includes a first separator 211, a first electrode 212, and a second separator 213, and the manufacturing process of the half cell 210 will be described later.

For example, the plurality of half cells 210 may be loaded in the first magazine 110 along a vertical direction, but this is not limited.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second magazine 120 may be a space or place where a plurality of second electrodes 220 are loaded. A plurality of second electrodes generated in the previous cutting process (performed by the third cutter 160) may be loaded into the second magazine 120.

For example, a plurality of second electrodes may be loaded in the second magazine 120 along a vertical direction, but this is not limited.

For example, the first electrode 212 may be a cathode and the second electrode may be an anode, but this is not limited.

As shown in FIG. 4, the stack unit 130 may alternately stack the half cells 210 and the second electrode on the stage 131. For example, the stack unit 130 may be equipped with a robot arm (not shown). The robot arm extracts the half cell 210 and the second electrode from each of the first magazine 110 and the second magazine 120 and forms the half cell 210 and the second electrode on the stage 131 of the stack unit 130. can be stacked repeatedly.

For example, the stack unit 130 may include a fixing part (not shown) that holds the stacked half cells 210 and the second electrode each time the half cells 210 or the second electrode are stacked.

The aligner 140 can align the half cells 210 and the second electrode each time the half cells 210 or the second electrode are stacked.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the aligner 140 may include a camera 141 disposed around the stack unit 130, for example, on the stage 131. The camera 141 may acquire image information about the half cell 210 or the second electrode each time the half cell 210 or the second electrode is stacked.

For example, whether a mismatch has occurred between the first electrode 212 and the second electrode of the half cell 210 can be obtained based on image information acquired by the camera 141.

When no mismatch occurs between the first electrode 212 and the second electrode of the half cell 210, the first electrode 212 and the second electrode of the half cell 210 may be accurately aligned. When a mismatch occurs between the first electrode 212 and the second electrode of the half cell 210, at least one of the first electrode 212 or the second electrode of the half cell 210 may be aligned.

The aligner 140 may include a driving unit 143 that controls the stack unit 130, that is, the stage 131, to move along the x-axis or y-axis. When a mismatch occurs between the first electrode 212 of the half cell 210 and the second electrode stacked on the half cell 210, the driver 143 operates based on the image information acquired by the camera 141. Thus, the stage 131 can be controlled to align the first electrode 212 and the second electrode of the half cell 210.

The driving unit 143 may be installed on the stage 131.

For example, the align process may be performed before the second electrode is placed on the half cell 210 or before the half cell 210 is placed on the second electrode.

For example, after the half cell 210 is pulled out from the first magazine 110 and placed on the stage 131, image information about the half cell 210, especially the first electrode 212, is displayed by the camera 141. Image information can be obtained. Thereafter, the second electrode is pulled out from the second magazine 120 and placed on the half cell 210, and image information about the second electrode can be acquired by the camera 141.

Thereafter, whether the second electrode is mismatched with respect to the first electrode 212 can be obtained by comparing the image information about the second electrode and the image information about the first electrode 212.

If the second electrode does not mismatch with the first electrode 212, the half cell 210 is pulled out from the first magazine 110 and placed on the second electrode and captured by the camera 141. Image information for two electrodes can be obtained.

If a mismatch occurs between the second electrode and the first electrode 212, the stage 131 may be moved to the x-axis or y-axis to align the first electrode 212 with the second electrode.

Image information about the second electrode may be used as reference image information for aligning the first electrode 212 of the half cell 210 stacked on the second electrode.

Although FIG. 4 illustrates that the alignment is adjusted by moving the stage 131 along the x-axis or y-axis, the alignment can also be adjusted by moving the robot arm along the x-axis or y-axis. That is, when a mismatch occurs between the second electrode and the first electrode 212, the robot arm holding the second electrode is moved to the x-axis or y-axis so that the second electrode aligns with the first electrode 212. It can be recognized. In this case, the driving unit 143 can control the robot arm to move in the x-axis or y-axis.

Meanwhile, the secondary battery manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment may include a half-cell laminator 150. For example, the half cell laminator 150 may generate a plurality of half cells 210.

As shown in FIG. 5, the half-cell laminator 150 may include a first cutter 151, a matching portion 153, and a second cutter 155.

The first cutter 151 can cut the first electrode 212 on a cell basis. For example, when the first electrode sheet passes under the first cutter 151 in one direction, the first cutter 151 may periodically cut the first electrode sheet to generate a plurality of first electrodes 212. there is. Accordingly, the plurality of first electrodes 212 can be created from the first electrode sheet.

The matching portion 153 may be a half-cell laminate in which the first and second separators 213 are aligned below and above the plurality of first electrodes 212 . Accordingly, a plurality of first electrodes 212 spaced apart from each other along one direction may be positioned between the first separator 211 and the second separator 213.

The second cutter 155 can cut the half-cell laminate on a cell basis. For example, when the half-cell laminate passes under the second cutter 155 in one direction, the second cutter 155 periodically cuts the half-cell laminate to create a plurality of half cells 210. Accordingly, each of the plurality of half cells 210 may include a first separator 211, a first electrode 212, and a second separator 213.

In the half-cell laminate, a plurality of first electrodes 212 are arranged to be spaced apart from each other between the first separator 211 and the second separator 213, and a point between the spaced apart first electrodes 212 is cut. Thus, the half cell 210 can be created. Accordingly, the width of the first electrode 212 in the half cell 210 may be smaller than the width of the first separator 211 or the second separator 213. The width of the first separator 211 and the width of the second separator 213 may be the same.

Meanwhile, the secondary battery manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment may include a third cutter 160.

The third cutter 160 can cut the second electrode on a cell basis.

For example, the third cutter 160 may cut the second electrode sheets 220a to create a plurality of second electrodes, as shown in FIG. 6 . For example, when the second electrode sheets 220a (220a) pass under the second cutter 155 in one direction, the third cutter 160 periodically cuts the second electrode sheets 220a (220a). A plurality of second electrodes may be created. Accordingly, a plurality of second electrodes can be created from the second electrode sheet 220a. The second electrode may be an anode.

Meanwhile, as described above, a plurality of half cells 210 generated by the half cell laminator 150 may be loaded into the first magazine 110 and then moved to the stack unit 130.

In contrast, the first magazine 110 is omitted, and the plurality of half cells 210 generated in the half cell laminator 150 can be moved directly to the stack unit 130 without being loaded in the first magazine 110. there is. That is, after a plurality of second electrodes are loaded in the second magazine 120 in advance, the plurality of half cells 210 generated in the half cell laminator 150 are moved to the stack unit 130, and the stack unit 130 ) The half cell 210 moved by the robot arm and the second electrode loaded on the second magazine 120 may be alternately stacked on the stage 131.

Figure 7 shows a lamination process and a stacking process in a secondary battery manufacturing device according to an embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 , a plurality of half cells 210 may be created through a lamination process and loaded into the first magazine 110 .

The lamination process can be divided into a cathode cutting process, a joining process, and a half-cell cutting process.

The cathode cutting process is a process of creating a plurality of first electrodes 212 from the first electrode sheet using the first cutter 151. The first electrode 212 may be a cathode.

The matching process is performed by placing a plurality of first electrodes 212 spaced apart from each other along one direction on the first separator 211 and placing a second separator 213 on the plurality of first electrodes 212 to form a half electrode. This is a process for creating a laminate for cells.

The half-cell cutting process is a process of creating a plurality of unit cells from the half-cell laminate using the second cutter 155.

Although not shown, a plurality of unit cells may be loaded in the first magazine 110.

Meanwhile, a plurality of second electrodes may be created from the second electrode sheet 220a using the third cutter 160. The plurality of second electrodes created in this way can be loaded into the second magazine 120.

The stacking process is a process of stacking the half cell 210 and the second electrode.

When the half cell 210 and the second electrode are stacked in the stacking process, image information about the first electrode 212 or the second electrode of the half cell 210 is transmitted by the camera 141 of the aligner 140. is obtained, and the stage 131 or the robot arm is controlled by the driver 143 based on the image information so that the first electrode 212 of the half cell 210 is aligned with the second electrode or the second electrode is aligned with the half cell 210. It may be aligned to the first electrode 212 of the cell 210.

Although not shown, the secondary battery manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment may include a control unit. The control unit may control components of the secondary battery manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. For example, the control unit may generate a control signal to control the driver 143 based on image information acquired by the camera 141. The control signal may be a control signal for aligning the first electrode 212 of the half cell 210 with the second electrode or aligning the second electrode with the first electrode 212 of the half cell 210. The driving unit 143 may drive the stage 131 or the robot arm according to a control signal provided from the control unit to perform a predetermined alignment.

Therefore, in the embodiment, a plurality of half cells 210 and a plurality of second electrodes are created in advance, and the half cells 210 and the second electrode are alternately stacked, thereby shortening the process time and dramatically reducing the number of processes. .

In the embodiment, the half cell 210 or the second electrode can be aligned in real time while stacking the half cell 210 and the second electrode, so that the half cell 210 and the second electrode are aligned between the first electrode 212 and the second electrode of the half cell 210. It improves the degree of agreement and enables accurate alignment, preventing alignment defects.

The above detailed description should not be construed as restrictive in any respect and should be considered illustrative. The scope of the embodiments should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the embodiments are included in the scope of the embodiments.

100: Secondary battery manufacturing device
110: 1st Magazine
120: Second magazine
130: Stack part
131: Stage
140: Alignment unit
141: Camera
143: driving unit
150: Half cell laminator
151: first cutter
153: Congruent part
155: second cutter
160: third cutter
210: Half cell
211: first separator
212: first electrode
213: second separator
220: second electrode
220a: second electrode sheet

Claims (8)

A first magazine for loading a plurality of half cells;
a second magazine loading a plurality of second electrodes;
a stack unit that alternately stacks a plurality of half cells loaded in the first magazine and a plurality of second electrodes loaded in the second magazine; and
Comprising an aligner that aligns the second electrode stacked on the half cell.
Secondary battery manufacturing equipment. According to paragraph 1,
The alignment unit includes a camera disposed on the stack unit.
Secondary battery manufacturing equipment. According to paragraph 2,
The alignment unit includes a driving unit that drives alignment based on image information acquired by the camera.
Secondary battery manufacturing equipment. According to paragraph 3,
The driving unit is installed in the stack unit.
Secondary battery manufacturing equipment. According to paragraph 1,
Comprising a half-cell laminator that generates the plurality of half cells
Secondary battery manufacturing equipment. According to clause 5,
The half-cell laminator,
A first cutter that cuts the first electrode cell by cell;
A lamination unit for lamination of a plurality of first electrodes spaced apart in the horizontal direction between the first separator and the second separator;
A second cutter that cuts the first and second separators between the first electrodes to create the plurality of half cells.
Secondary battery manufacturing equipment. According to clause 6,
The first electrode is a cathode,
The second electrode is an anode
Secondary battery manufacturing equipment. According to paragraph 1,
Comprising a third cutter that cuts the electrode member to create a plurality of second electrodes.
Secondary battery manufacturing equipment.

Images