KR20170087143A - Method of Initializing Electrolyte Injection Apparatus for Battery Cell Using Tray Having Plugging Part - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a method for initializing an electrolyte injection device for a battery cell,
(a) an upper tray for fixing a plurality of hoppers for injecting an electrolyte, the upper ends of which are open and the electrolyte injection holes are formed at a lower end thereof, and an upper tray for supporting the battery cells so as to be arranged at positions facing the electrolyte injection holes of the hoppers Preparing an electrolyte injection device including a lower tray of a structure;
(b) placing an intermediate tray, on which plugging parts are formed, at a portion facing the electrolyte injection holes of the hoppers, on the lower tray so that the electrolyte injection port of the hopper faces the plugging portion;
(c) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray to seal the electrolyte injection hole of the hopper with the plugging portion; And
(d) injecting an electrolyte into the open upper end of the hoppers.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a method of initializing an electrolyte injection device for a battery cell using a tray including plugging portions,

The present invention relates to a method of initializing an electrolyte injection device for a battery cell using a tray including plugging portions.

Due to the rapid increase in the use of fossil fuels, the demand for the use of alternative energy or clean energy is increasing. As a part of this, the most active field of research is electric power generation and storage.

At present, a typical example of an electrochemical device utilizing such electrochemical energy is a secondary battery, and the use area thereof is gradually increasing.

The secondary battery is classified into a cylindrical battery and a prismatic battery in which the electrode assembly is housed in a cylindrical or rectangular metal can according to the shape of the battery case, and a pouch-shaped battery in which the electrode assembly is housed in a pouch-shaped case of an aluminum laminate sheet .

The electrode assembly incorporated in the battery case is a charge / dischargeable power generating element formed of a laminate structure of a positive electrode / separator / negative electrode. The electrode assembly is composed of a jelly-roll type in which a separator is interposed between a positive electrode and a negative electrode coated with an active material, Sized positive and negative electrodes are stacked in a stacked state in a state in which a separator is interposed therebetween.

A full cell or anode / separator / cathode / separator / separator / separator / cathode assembly having a positive electrode / separator / negative electrode structure with a constant unit size, which is a progressive structure of a jelly- A stack / folding type electrode assembly having a structure in which a bicell having a cathode structure is folded by using a continuous long separator film has been developed.

Further, in order to improve the processability of the conventional stacked electrode assembly and meet the demands of various types of secondary batteries, a lamination / stacked electrode structure in which unit cells alternately laminated and laminated are laminated Assemblies have also been developed.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing process of the secondary battery is essentially a process of placing the electrode assembly in the battery case and injecting the electrolyte solution. The electrolyte solution is injected using an electrolyte injection device equipped with a hopper for injecting an electrolyte solution.

When the electrolyte injection device is installed and the electrolyte solution is injected for the first time or the electrolyte solution is injected for a long period of time, the hoppers are completely dried. Therefore, at the beginning of the operation of the electrolyte injection device, the electrolyte remains in the hoppers, which may lead to a decrease in the amount of the electrolyte injected into the secondary battery.

When the amount of the electrolyte injected decreases, the lithium ion necessary for use of the secondary battery is not sufficiently supplied, and the capacity is decreased, and the rate characteristic and the life may be reduced.

Therefore, there is a high need for a technique capable of injecting a predetermined amount of an electrolytic solution into the battery cell even when the electrolyte is injected for the first time and the electrolyte is injected for the first time, or when the electrolyte is injected after the organ has floated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and the technical problems required from the past.

The inventors of the present application have conducted intensive research and various experiments and have found that an intermediate tray in which plugging parts are formed at a portion facing the electrolyte injection holes of the hoppers is inserted into the electrolyte injection hole And the plugging unit is disposed on the lower tray so that the electrolyte injection device can be initialized at a low cost and the defective rate of the battery cell due to the insufficient electrolyte injection amount can be reduced. .

Accordingly, a method of initializing an electrolyte injection device for a battery cell according to the present invention,

(a) an upper tray for fixing a plurality of hoppers for injecting an electrolyte, the upper ends of which are open and the electrolyte injection holes are formed at a lower end thereof, and an upper tray for supporting the battery cells so as to be arranged at positions facing the electrolyte injection holes of the hoppers Preparing an electrolyte injection device including a lower tray of a structure;

(b) placing an intermediate tray, on which plugging parts are formed, at a portion facing the electrolyte injection holes of the hoppers, on the lower tray so that the electrolyte injection port of the hopper faces the plugging portion;

(c) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray to seal the electrolyte injection hole of the hopper with the plugging portion; And

(d) injecting an electrolyte into the open top of the hoppers;

And a control unit.

That is, even if the electrolyte injection device is installed and the electrolyte injection device is operated for the first time or after long-term floating, the hoppers are wetted by the electrolyte solution, The defective rate of the battery cell due to insufficient electrolyte injection amount can be remarkably reduced.

When the electrolytic solution injecting apparatus is installed and the electrolytic solution injecting apparatus is operated for a long time after the electrolytic solution injecting apparatus is operated for a long time, if the hoppers are completely dried and the initialization method as described above is not performed, the electrolytic solution remains in the hoppers There is a problem that the amount of the electrolyte injected decreases.

Meanwhile, in the above process (b), the defective cells instead of the intermediate tray may be placed on the lower tray, and the electrolyte injector may be operated once to initialize. In this case, It can take too much. Further, it takes a long time to place such defective cells in the lower tray and remove the electrolyte after the injection.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to separately prepare defective cells using the intermediate tray in which the plugging parts are formed, and the intermediate tray can be used repeatedly, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced .

Considering that the number of battery cells mounted in the electrolyte injection device is about 100 or more, it takes a lot of time to position the defective cells on the lower tray and to remove the defective cells after injecting the electrolyte solution. Only one intermediate tray is required per electrolyte injector, so that the time required for initialization can be significantly reduced.

In one specific example, the process (d) may further include the following step (e).

(e) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray in a direction opposite to the process (d), separating the plugging portion from the electrolyte injection port of the hoppers, and discharging the electrolyte in the hoppers.

In one specific example, the process (e) may further include the following step (f).

(f) removing the intermediate tray after the discharge of the electrolyte in the hoppers is completed.

In this way, the initialization process of the electrolyte injection device is completed by removing the electrolyte from the hoppers and removing the intermediate tray. Afterwards, the battery cell is placed in the lower tray, and even when the electrolyte is injected, Can be injected.

The electrolytic solution wets the inside of the hoppers until the process of injecting the electrolytic solution into the hoppers and discharging the electrolytic solution in the step (d) in the step (d), and the hoppers can be sufficiently wetted by only one initialization process.

The hopper includes: a hopper body having an upper end opened; A tapered portion communicating with the hopper main body and having an inner diameter narrow toward the electrolyte injection hole; And an electrolyte injection hole located at a lower end of the tapered portion.

The inner diameter of the tapered portion needs to be narrowed so as not to flow out to the outside when the electrolyte is injected into the battery cell. The inner diameter of the hopper body may be larger than that of the tapered portion so as to store a sufficient amount of injected electrolyte.

It is preferable that the hopper main body temporarily stores the electrolyte solution and maintains a small amount of the electrolyte solution remaining therein when injecting the electrolyte solution. The tapered portion is easy to close or close to the battery cell so that the tapered portion does not flow out to the outside when the electrolyte solution is injected into the battery cell. desirable. Therefore, in one specific example, the hopper body and the tapered portion may be made of materials different from each other.

Specifically, the hopper body may be made of a Teflon material for improving durability and stain resistance, or may be a structure in which an inner surface of the hopper body is coated with a Teflon material.

Further, the tapered portion may be made of a rubber material for improving the adhesion.

In one specific example, the hopper may be structured to be fixed in a structure penetrating the upper tray.

Specifically, the hopper has a structure in which the upper end of the hopper body protrudes upward from the upper surface of the upper tray, a part of the hopper body contacts a portion corresponding to the through-hole of the upper tray, Or the like.

With this structure, the hoppers can be stably fixed to the upper tray, the electrolyte can be easily injected into the open upper end portion of the hopper body protruding upward, and the adhesiveness between the electrolyte injection hole and the battery cell protruded downward can be easily improved .

Meanwhile, the intermediate tray may include a tray main body having a container structure whose upper surface is opened; And a horizontal plate connected to the side surfaces of the tray body and configured to horizontally divide an internal space of the tray body into an upper space and a lower space.

The upper space of the tray main body is a space in which the hoppers are positioned when the hoppers are in close contact with the plugging unit in step (c), and the upper space is a space in which the electrolyte flows out from the intermediate tray when the electrolyte is discharged from the hoppers .

Specifically, the horizontal plate may have a structure in which at least one through-hole communicating with the upper space and the lower space is punched so as to recover the electrolyte discharged from the hoppers to the lower space.

The lower space can stably recover the electrolyte when discharging the electrolyte from the hoppers, thereby facilitating the discharge of the electrolyte from the hoppers.

In one specific example, the horizontal plate may have a structure in which plugging portions are formed at positions facing the electrolyte injection ports of the hoppers.

The plugging portions seal the electrolyte injection port of the hoppers, and the hoppers can be wetted while keeping the electrolyte level at a certain level.

The plugging portions may have a structure coated with a rubber material to improve the hermeticity with the electrolyte injection hole.

At this time, in step (d), the electrolytic solution can be injected to each of the hoppers to maintain a water level of 30% or more of the inner volume of the hopper, and more specifically, the electrolytic solution can be injected so as to maintain a water level of 40% or more. If the water level is maintained below the above range, the amount of the electrolyte injected may decrease when the electrolyte solution is injected into the battery cell thereafter, resulting in failure.

In one specific example, the electrolyte can be injected into the open upper end portion of the hopper through the electrolyte injection nozzle in the step (d). Specifically, the electrolyte injection nozzle is connected to the electrolyte tank containing the electrolyte Lt; / RTI >

The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing a battery cell by injecting an electrolytic solution.

Such a method of manufacturing a battery cell,

(a) an upper tray for fixing a plurality of electrolyte injection hoppers having an upper end opened and an electrolyte injection hole formed at a lower end thereof, and a structure for supporting the battery cells so as to be arranged at positions facing the electrolyte injection ports of the hoppers Preparing an electrolyte injection device including a bottom tray of the electrolyte;

(b) placing the intermediate tray on the lower tray such that the electrolyte inlet of the hopper and the plugging portion are opposed to each other, wherein the plugging portions are formed at portions facing the electrolyte injection ports of the hoppers;

(c) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray to seal the electrolyte injection hole of the hopper with the plugging portion;

(d) injecting an electrolyte into the open top of the hoppers;

(e) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray in a direction opposite to the process (d), separating the plugging portion from the electrolyte injection port of the hoppers, and discharging the electrolyte in the hoppers; And

(f) removing the intermediate tray after the discharge of the electrolytic solution in the hoppers is completed;

. ≪ / RTI >

Through the steps (a) to (f) which are the initialization processes of the electrolyte injection device, the injection amount can be kept constant when the electrolyte solution is injected into the battery cell thereafter.

In one specific example, the steps (a) to (f) are performed once, and the battery cells are manufactured by repeating the following steps (g) to (1).

(g) arranging the battery cells on the lower tray, the upper side of which is open at a position facing the electrolyte injection ports of the hoppers;

(h) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray to closely contact the electrolyte injection port of the hoppers and the open top of the battery cell;

(i) injecting an electrolyte into the open upper end of the hoppers;

(j) forming a vacuum atmosphere so that an electrolyte solution is rapidly injected into the battery cell from an electrolyte injection port of the hopper;

(k) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray in a direction opposite to the process (h), thereby separating the battery cell from the electrolyte injection port of the hoppers; And

(l) recovering the battery cells from the lower tray.

At this time, in step (j), a vacuum atmosphere is formed to remove air and other gases existing in the battery cell, so that the electrolyte can be rapidly impregnated into the battery cell.

The present invention also provides a secondary battery, which is manufactured according to the method for manufacturing the battery cell.

Hereinafter, other components of the secondary battery will be described.

The secondary battery includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a separator. The positive electrode may be manufactured by, for example, applying a positive electrode mixture mixed with a positive electrode active material, a conductive material and a binder to a positive electrode collector, A filler may further be added to the positive electrode mixture.

The positive electrode current collector is not particularly limited as long as it has high conductivity without causing chemical change in the battery. For example, carbon, nickel , Titanium or a surface treated with silver may be used. In detail, aluminum may be used. The current collector may have fine irregularities on the surface thereof to increase the adhesive force of the cathode active material, and various forms such as a film, a sheet, a foil, a net, a porous body, a foam, and a nonwoven fabric are possible.

The cathode active material may be, for example, a layered compound such as lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO ₂ ) or lithium nickel oxide (LiNiO ₂ ) or a compound substituted with one or more transition metals; Lithium manganese oxides such as Li _{1 + x} Mn _{2 -x} O ₄ (where x is 0 to 0.33), LiMnO ₃ , LiMn ₂ O ₃ , LiMnO ₂ and the like; Lithium copper oxide (Li ₂ CuO ₂ ); Vanadium oxides such as LiV ₃ O ₈ , LiV ₃ O ₄ , V ₂ O ₅ and Cu ₂ V ₂ O ₇ ; A Ni-site type lithium nickel oxide expressed by the formula LiNi _1-x M _x O ₂ (where M = Co, Mn, Al, Cu, Fe, Mg, B or Ga and x = 0.01 to 0.3); Formula _{LiMn 2-x M x O 2} ( where, M = Co, Ni, Fe , Cr, and Zn, or Ta, x = 0.01 ~ 0.1 Im) or Li ₂ Mn ₃ MO ₈ (where, M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, or Zn); LiMn ₂ O _{4 in} which a part of Li in the formula is substituted with an alkaline earth metal ion; Disulfide compounds; Fe ₂ (MoO ₄ ) ₃ , and the like. However, the present invention is not limited to these.

The total content of the conductive material may be 0.1 to 3.0 wt% based on the total weight of the positive electrode material mixture.

The binder contained in the positive electrode is added to 0.1 to 3.0% by weight, based on the total weight of the mixture containing the positive electrode active material, as a component that assists in bonding between the active material and the conductive material and bonding to the current collector. Examples of such binders include polyvinylidene fluoride, polyvinyl alcohol, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), starch, hydroxypropylcellulose, regenerated cellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, tetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene , Polypropylene, ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM), sulfonated EPDM, styrene-butadiene rubber, fluorine rubber, various copolymers and the like.

The filler is optionally used as a component for suppressing the expansion of the anode, and is not particularly limited as long as it is a fibrous material without causing a chemical change in the battery. Examples of the filler include olefin polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene; Fibrous materials such as glass fibers and carbon fibers are used.

On the other hand, the negative electrode may be manufactured by applying a negative electrode mixture containing a negative electrode active material, a conductive material, and a binder to a negative electrode collector, and a filler or the like may further be optionally included.

The negative electrode current collector is not particularly limited as long as it has electrical conductivity without causing a chemical change in the battery. For example, the negative electrode current collector may be formed on the surface of copper, stainless steel, aluminum, nickel, titanium, sintered carbon, Carbon, nickel, titanium, silver or the like, an aluminum-cadmium alloy, or the like can be used. In addition, like the positive electrode collector, fine unevenness can be formed on the surface to enhance the bonding force of the negative electrode active material, and it can be used in various forms such as films, sheets, foils, nets, porous bodies, foams and nonwoven fabrics.

In the present invention, the thicknesses of the anode current collectors may be the same, but they may have different values depending on the case.

The negative electrode active material may include, for example, carbon such as non-graphitized carbon or graphite carbon; _{Li x Fe 2 O 3 (0≤x≤1} ), Li x WO 2 (0≤x≤1), Sn x Me 1-x Me 'y O z (Me: Mn, Fe, Pb, Ge; Me' : Metal complex oxides such as Al, B, P, Si, Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 elements of the periodic table, Halogen, 0 < x &lt; Lithium metal; Lithium alloy; Silicon-based alloys; Tin alloy; _{SnO, SnO 2, PbO, PbO} 2, Pb 2 O 3, Pb 3 O 4, Sb 2 O 3, Sb 2 O 4, Sb 2 O 5, GeO, GeO 2, Bi 2 O 3, Bi 2 O 4, and Bi ₂ O ₅ ; Conductive polymers such as polyacetylene; Li-Co-Ni-based materials and the like can be used.

In one specific example, the porous substrate may be a polyolefin-based separation film commonly used in the art and may be, for example, high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate but are not limited to, polyethyleneterephthalate, polybutyleneterephthalate, polyester, polyacetal, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyetheretherketone, , Polyethersulfone, polyphenylene oxide, polyphenylenesulfrode, polyethylene naphthalene, and mixtures thereof. [0034] The term &quot; polyolefin &quot;

The pore size and porosity of the porous substrate are not particularly limited, but the porosity may be in the range of 10 to 95% and the pore size (diameter) may be in the range of 0.1 to 50 탆. When the pore size and porosity are 0.1 μm or less and 10% or less, respectively, it acts as a resistive layer. If the pore size and porosity are more than 50 μm and 95%, it is difficult to maintain the mechanical properties.

The electrolyte solution may be a non-aqueous electrolyte containing a lithium salt, and the non-aqueous electrolyte containing a lithium salt is composed of a non-aqueous electrolyte and a lithium salt. Non-aqueous organic solvents, organic solid electrolytes, inorganic solid electrolytes, The present invention is not limited thereto.

Examples of the non-aqueous organic solvent include N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone, propylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, butylene carbonate, dimethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate, gamma -Butyrolactone, 1,2-dimethoxyethane, tetrahydroxyfuran, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, dimethylsulfoxide, 1,3-dioxolane, formamide, dimethylformamide, dioxolane, acetonitrile , Nitromethane, methyl formate, methyl acetate, triester phosphate, trimethoxymethane, dioxolane derivatives, sulfolane, methylsulfolane, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, propylene carbonate derivatives, Tetrahydrofuran derivatives, ether, methyl pyrophosphate, ethyl propionate and the like can be used.

Examples of the organic solid electrolyte include a polymer electrolyte such as a polyethylene derivative, a polyethylene oxide derivative, a polypropylene oxide derivative, a phosphate ester polymer, an agitation lysine, a polyester sulfide, a polyvinyl alcohol, a polyvinylidene fluoride A polymer containing an acid dissociation group and the like may be used.

Examples of the inorganic solid electrolyte include Li ₃ N, LiI, Li ₅ NI ₂ , Li ₃ N-LiI-LiOH, LiSiO ₄ , LiSiO ₄ -LiI-LiOH, Li ₂ SiS ₃ , Li ₄ SiO ₄ , Nitrides, halides and sulfates of Li such as Li ₄ SiO ₄ -LiI-LiOH and Li ₃ PO ₄ -Li ₂ S-SiS ₂ can be used.

The lithium salt is a substance that is soluble in the nonaqueous electrolyte and includes, for example, LiCl, LiBr, LiI, LiClO ₄ , LiBF ₄ , LiB ₁₀ Cl ₁₀ , LiPF ₆ , LiCF ₃ SO ₃ , LiCF ₃ CO ₂ , LiAsF ₆ , LiSbF ₆ , LiAlCl ₄ , CH ₃ SO ₃ Li, (CF ₃ SO ₂ ) ₂ NLi, chloroborane lithium, lower aliphatic carboxylate lithium, lithium tetraphenylborate, and imide.

The nonaqueous electrolyte may contain, for the purpose of improving charge / discharge characteristics, flame retardancy, etc., for example, pyridine, triethylphosphite, triethanolamine, cyclic ether, ethylenediamine, glyme, N, N-substituted imidazolidine, ethylene glycol dialkyl ether, ammonium salt, pyrrole, 2-methoxyethanol, aluminum trichloride and the like may be added have. In some cases, halogen-containing solvents such as carbon tetrachloride and ethylene trifluoride may be further added to impart nonflammability. In order to improve the high-temperature storage characteristics, carbon dioxide gas may be further added. FEC (Fluoro-Ethylene Carbonate, PRS (Propene sultone), and the like.

In one specific _{example, LiPF 6, LiClO 4, LiBF} 4, LiN (SO 2 CF 3) 2 , such as a lithium salt, a highly dielectric solvent of DEC, DMC or EMC Fig solvent cyclic carbonate and a low viscosity of the EC or PC of And then adding it to a mixed solvent of linear carbonate to prepare a lithium salt-containing nonaqueous electrolyte.

The present invention also provides a battery pack including such a secondary battery as a unit cell, and a device including such a battery pack as a power source.

The device may be, for example, a notebook computer, a netbook, a tablet PC, a mobile phone, MP3, a wearable electronic device, a power tool, an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) , A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), an electric bike (E-bike), an electric scooter (E-scooter), an electric golf cart, However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The structure and manufacturing method of such a device are well known in the art, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

As described above, in the method of initializing the electrolyte injection device for a battery cell according to the present invention, an intermediate tray in which plugging parts are formed at a site facing the electrolyte injection holes of the hopper is inserted into the electrolyte injection hole It is possible to initialize the electrolyte injection device at a low cost, including the step of positioning the battery on the lower tray so that the plugging portion is opposed to the battery, and the defective rate of the battery cell due to insufficient electrolyte injection amount can be reduced.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing an electrolyte injection device and an intermediate tray used in an initialization method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a hopper of the electrolyte injection device of FIG. 1; FIG.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the intermediate tray of Fig. 1. Fig.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrolyte injection device and an intermediate tray used in the initialization method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a hopper of the electrolyte injection device of FIG. And FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the intermediate tray of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG.

1 to 3, the electrolyte injection device includes an upper tray 100 and a lower tray 200.

In the upper tray 100, a total of six through-holes are formed in two rows, three in three, and the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 and 160 are fixed to the through-holes.

The hopper 110 includes a hopper body 111, a tapered portion 112, an open upper end portion 113, and an electrolyte injection opening 114.

Specifically, the upper end of the hopper body 111 is formed with an open upper end portion 113 for receiving an electrolyte solution from an electrolyte injection nozzle (not shown), and the hopper body 111 has a constant inner diameter.

The tapered portion 112 is in communication with the hopper main body 111 and has an inner diameter narrowed toward the electrolyte injection port 114. The lower end of the tapered portion 112 has an electrolyte injection hole (Not shown).

The hopper main body 111 is made of a Teflon material having excellent durability and stain resistance so as to temporarily store the electrolyte solution and to minimize the amount of the electrolyte solution remaining therein.

The tapered portion 112 is made of a rubber material that is easy to close or close to the battery cell so that the tapered portion 112 does not flow out to the outside when the electrolyte solution is injected into the battery cell.

The hoppers 120, 130, 140, 150 and 160 of the upper tray 100 have the same structure as the hopper 110.

An intermediate tray 300 is disposed on the upper surface of the lower tray 200 so as to be spaced downward from the upper tray 100. The intermediate tray 300 includes a tray body 301 and a horizontal plate 310.

Specifically, the tray main body 301 is a container structure having an open top, a rectangular shape in a plan view, and an internal space 302 formed therein.

The horizontal plate 310 is connected to the side surfaces of the tray main body 301 and is configured to horizontally divide the internal space 302 of the tray main body 301 into an upper space 304 and a lower space 303 .

Plugging portions 320 are formed on the horizontal plate 310 at positions facing the electrolyte injection ports 114 of the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, and 160.

The horizontal plate 310 has an upper space 303 and a lower space 304 so as to be able to recover the electrolyte discharged from the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 and 160 into the lower space 303 And through-holes (330) of a communicating structure are formed.

The through-holes 330 are formed on both sides of the respective plugging portions 320 to facilitate recovery of the electrolyte solution.

In order to initialize the electrolyte injection device, an electrolyte injection device including an upper tray 100 and a lower tray 200 to which the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 and 160 are fixed is prepared, The intermediate tray 300 is positioned on the upper surface of the upper tray 200 so as to be spaced downward from the upper tray 100 so that the electrolyte injection holes 114 and the plugging portions 320 face each other.

The electrolyte injection ports 114 of the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, and 160 and the plugging portions 320 of the intermediate tray 300 are connected to each other by vertically moving the upper tray 100 downward. And the electrolyte injection openings 114 are sealed.

Next, an electrolytic solution is injected into the open upper end portion 113 of each of the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 and 160 through an electrolyte injection nozzle (not shown) to maintain a water level of 30% do.

Next, the upper tray 100 is vertically moved upward to separate the plugging portions 320 from the electrolyte injection openings 114 of the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 and 160, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, and 160 are discharged.

The upper space 304 of the intermediate tray 300 can prevent the electrolyte from flowing out of the intermediate tray 300 when the electrolyte is discharged from the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, have.

The electrolyte discharged from the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 and 160 moves from the upper space 304 to the lower space 303 through the through holes 330 of the horizontal plate 310, Is recovered. The electrolyte is removed from the upper space 304 of the intermediate tray 300 so that the electrolyte can be discharged more easily even when the amount of electrolyte discharged from the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, and 160 is large .

The intermediate tray 300 is removed from the lower tray 200 after the discharge of the electrolytic solution in the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, and 160 is completed.

After the initialization process of the electrolyte injecting apparatus is performed once, the battery cell 110 is placed on the lower tray 200 so as to face the electrolyte injection ports 114 of the hoppers 110, 120, 130, 140, And then an electrolytic solution is injected to prepare a battery cell.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.

Claims (20)

A method for initializing an electrolyte injection device for a battery cell,
(a) an upper tray for fixing a plurality of hoppers for injecting an electrolyte, the upper ends of which are open and the electrolyte injection holes are formed at a lower end thereof, and an upper tray for supporting the battery cells so as to be arranged at positions facing the electrolyte injection holes of the hoppers Preparing an electrolyte injection device including a lower tray of a structure;
(b) placing an intermediate tray, on which plugging parts are formed, at a portion facing the electrolyte injection holes of the hoppers, on the lower tray so that the electrolyte injection port of the hopper faces the plugging portion;
(c) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray to seal the electrolyte injection hole of the hopper with the plugging portion; And
(d) injecting an electrolyte into the open top of the hoppers;
&Lt; / RTI &gt; The method of claim 1, further comprising the following step (e) after step (d):
(e) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray in a direction opposite to the process (d), separating the plugging portion from the electrolyte injection port of the hoppers, and discharging the electrolyte in the hoppers. The method of claim 2, further comprising the following step (f) after step (e):
(f) removing the intermediate tray after the discharge of the electrolyte in the hoppers is completed. 2. The hopper according to claim 1,
A hopper main body having an upper end opened;
A tapered portion communicating with the hopper main body and having an inner diameter narrow toward the electrolyte injection hole; And
An electrolyte injection port located at a lower end of the tapered portion;
&Lt; / RTI &gt; 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the hopper body and the tapered portion are made of different materials. The method of claim 5, wherein the hopper body is made of a Teflon material for improving durability and stain resistance, or the inner surface of the hopper body is coated with a Teflon material. The method according to claim 5, wherein the tapered portion is made of a rubber material for improving adhesion. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the hopper is fixed to the upper tray. The hopper according to claim 8, wherein the hopper has an upper end protruding upward from the upper surface of the upper tray, a part of the hopper body contacting a portion corresponding to the through hole of the upper tray, And wherein the protrusion is fixed in a protruded state. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
A tray body of a container structure whose upper surface is opened; And
A horizontal plate connected to the side surfaces of the tray body and configured to horizontally divide an internal space of the tray body into an upper space and a lower space;
&Lt; / RTI &gt; 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the horizontal plate is formed with at least one through-hole communicating with the upper space and the lower space so that the electrolyte discharged from the hoppers can be recovered to the lower space. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein plugging portions are formed on the horizontal plate at positions facing the electrolyte injection ports of the hoppers. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electrolytic solution is injected to each of the hoppers to maintain a water level of 30% or more of the inner volume of the hopper in the step (d). The method according to claim 1, wherein the electrolyte solution is injected into the upper open end of the hopper through the electrolyte injection nozzle in step (d). 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the electrolyte injection nozzle is connected to an electrolyte tank containing an electrolyte. A method of manufacturing a battery cell by injecting an electrolyte solution,
(a) an upper tray for fixing a plurality of electrolyte injection hoppers having an upper end opened and an electrolyte injection hole formed at a lower end thereof, and a structure for supporting the battery cells so as to be arranged at positions facing the electrolyte injection ports of the hoppers Preparing an electrolyte injection device including a bottom tray of the electrolyte;
(b) placing the intermediate tray on the lower tray such that the electrolyte inlet of the hopper and the plugging portion are opposed to each other, wherein the plugging portions are formed at portions facing the electrolyte injection ports of the hoppers;
(c) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray to seal the electrolyte injection hole of the hopper with the plugging portion;
(d) injecting an electrolyte into the open top of the hoppers;
(e) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray in a direction opposite to the process (d), separating the plugging portion from the electrolyte injection port of the hoppers, and discharging the electrolyte in the hoppers; And
(f) removing the intermediate tray after the discharge of the electrolytic solution in the hoppers is completed;
&Lt; / RTI &gt; The method according to claim 16, wherein the steps (a) to (f) are performed once and the following steps (g) to (1)
(g) arranging the battery cells on the lower tray, the upper side of which is open at a position facing the electrolyte injection ports of the hoppers;
(h) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray to closely contact the electrolyte injection port of the hoppers and the open top of the battery cell;
(i) injecting an electrolyte into the open upper end of the hoppers;
(j) forming a vacuum atmosphere so that an electrolyte solution is rapidly injected into the battery cell from an electrolyte injection port of the hopper;
(k) vertically moving the upper tray or the lower tray in a direction opposite to the process (h), thereby separating the battery cell from the electrolyte injection port of the hoppers; And
(l) recovering the battery cells from the lower tray. 17. A secondary battery produced by the method according to claim 16 or claim 17. A battery pack comprising a secondary battery according to claim 18 as a unit cell. A device comprising the battery pack according to claim 19 as a power source.

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