KR20200122062A - Cell Stack of Secondary Battery, And Apparatus And Method for Manufacturing the Cell Stack - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to: a cell stack of a secondary battery, which can be manufactured by simultaneously supplying and stacking a plurality of negative and positive electrode plates from both sides of two separators to stack cell stacks at a high speed; and stacking apparatus and method thereof. The stacking apparatus of a cell stack of a secondary battery according to the present invention comprises: a first separator supply unit and a second separator supply unit which separately supply two separators; a rotating plate in which a separator supplied from the first separator supply unit and a separator supplied from the second separator supply unit are connected, and which is installed so as to rotate 180 degrees in one direction around an axis; a positive electrode plate supply unit and a negative electrode plate supply unit which are installed on both sides of the rotating plate and transfer the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate to each of the two separators each time the rotating plate rotates; and a pair of two grippers which grip ends of each of the separators and fix the same on the rotating plate.

Description

Cell Stack of Secondary Battery, And Apparatus And Method for Manufacturing the Cell Stack}

The present invention relates to a cell stack of a secondary battery and an apparatus and method for stacking the same, and more particularly, two separators are connected to each of both sides of a rotating plate, and a negative plate and a positive plate are attached to the two separators while continuously rotating the rotating plate by 180 degrees. The present invention relates to a cell stack of a secondary battery capable of producing a cell stack in which a negative electrode plate, a separator, and a positive plate are alternately stacked by transferring at the same time, and a stacking apparatus and method thereof.

In general, a chemical cell is a cell composed of a pair of electrodes of a positive plate and a negative plate, and an electrolyte, and the amount of energy that can be stored varies depending on the material constituting the electrode and the electrolyte. These chemical batteries are divided into primary batteries that are used only for one-time discharge because the charging reaction is very slow, and secondary batteries that can be reused through repetitive charging and discharging. Recently, the use of secondary batteries is difficult due to the advantage of charging and discharging. There is a growing trend.

That is, the secondary battery is applied to various technical fields throughout the industry due to its advantages, and is widely used as an energy source for advanced electronic devices such as wireless mobile devices, as well as conventional gasoline using fossil fuels. It is also attracting attention as an energy source such as a hybrid electric vehicle that is proposed as a solution to air pollution of diesel internal combustion engines.

Such a secondary battery is formed in a form in which a positive electrode plate, a separator, and a negative electrode plate are sequentially stacked and immersed in an electrolyte solution. Methods of manufacturing the internal cell stack of such a secondary battery are largely divided into two types.

In the case of small secondary batteries, a method of arranging the negative and positive plates on a separator and winding them to form a jelly-roll is widely used, and in the case of a medium-large-sized secondary battery having a higher electric capacity In the method of stacking a negative electrode plate, a positive electrode plate, and a separator in an appropriate order, a method of manufacturing is widely used.

There are several methods of manufacturing the internal cell stack of the secondary battery in a stacked manner. Among them, in the Z-stacking method, the separator is folded in zigzag, and negative and positive plates are alternately inserted between them. To be stacked in the same shape.

The internal cell stack of a secondary battery having such a Z-stacking type is disclosed in various prior art such as Patent No. 10-0313119 and Patent No. 10-1140447.

In order to actually implement the Z-stacking form, in the prior art such as Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0309604, a method of placing a plurality of positive plates on one side of the separator in an unfolded state and a plurality of negative plates on the other side, and then folding them is employed. It is starting. This method is also widely used when manufacturing an inner cell stack of a jelly-roll type secondary battery. However, if this method is used, it is difficult to align the negative plate and the positive plate.

In recent years, in manufacturing Z-folding stacked secondary battery cell stacks, negative and positive plates are stacked on a loading table separated from the left and right, and the stage in which the negative and positive plates are stacked between the loading tables is horizontally reciprocated horizontally. And the robot (handling unit) alternately picks up and transports the negative electrode plate and the positive electrode plate on the loading table and alternately stacks them on the separator clamped on the stage.

However, in such a conventional Z-stacking method, since the stages are stacked while linearly reciprocating left and right, the moving distance of the stage is long, which takes a lot of work time, resulting in a problem of lowering productivity.

Registered Patent No. 10-1140447 (registered on April 19, 2012) Registered Patent No. 10-1380133 (registered on March 26, 2014) Registered Patent No. 10-1255351 (registered on April 10, 2013)

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the speed of laminating a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate on a separator, and a cell stack of a secondary battery capable of further simplifying the configuration, and a stacking apparatus and method thereof Is to provide.

A cell stack of a secondary battery according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes two separators that are wound and overlapped in opposite directions, and a plurality of negative and positive electrodes alternately stacked between the two separators. do.

The cell stack stacking apparatus of a secondary battery according to the present invention for stacking the cell stack of the secondary battery described above includes: a first separator supply unit and a second separator supply unit for separately supplying two separators; A rotating plate that connects the separation membrane supplied from the first separation membrane supply unit and the separation membrane supplied from the second separation membrane supply unit, rotates 180 degrees in one direction around an axis, and simultaneously winds two separation membranes; A pair of two grippers gripping the ends of each of the separators and fixing them on the rotating plate; And a positive electrode plate supply unit and a negative electrode plate supply unit installed on both sides of the rotary plate and transferring the positive plate and the negative plate to each of the two separators each time the rotary plate rotates.

The rotating plate is installed so as to be movable up and down, and after the process of making a cell stack by stacking a plurality of positive and negative plates on two separators is completed, the gripper can be separated from the cell stack by moving to the lower side of the cell stack together with the gripper.

In addition, the gripper may be installed at both ends of the rotating plate to be movable in the inner and outer directions of the rotating plate.

The cell stack stacking apparatus of the present invention further includes a stack holding/transfer unit for grasping the cell stack and transferring it to another process position after the process of forming a cell stack by stacking a plurality of positive and negative plates on the two separators is completed.

In addition, the cell stack stacking apparatus of the present invention may further include a separator guide installed between the rotating plate and the first separator supply unit and between the rotating plate and the second separator supply unit to guide and support the separator.

The cell stack stacking method according to the present invention includes the following steps.

(S1) a gripper gripping each of the two separators to be positioned on the rotating plate;

(S2) rotating the rotating plate 180 degrees in one direction;

(S3) supplying and stacking a positive plate and a negative plate to each of the two separators each time the rotating plate rotates; And,

(S4) When the rotating plate is rotated at a predetermined number of rotations and a predetermined number of positive and negative plates are alternately stacked on the two separators, stopping the rotation of the rotating plate and transferring the completed cell stack to the outside of the rotating plate.

According to one form of the cell stack lamination method according to the present invention, the (S4) step,

(S4-1) fixing the cell stack with a stack holding/transfer unit;

(S4-2) separating the gripper from the cell stack by lowering the rotating plate and the gripper;

(S4-3) moving the gripper in an outward direction of the rotating plate;

(S4-4) raising the rotating plate and gripping the end of the separator outside the cell stack by a gripper;

(S4-5) cutting the separation membrane between the cell stack and the end of the separation membrane gripped by the gripper;

(S4-6) the stack holding/transfer unit transferring the cell stack to the outside of the rotating plate; And,

(S4-7) moving the gripper in the inner direction of the rotating plate to place the ends of the two separators on both ends of the rotating plate to enter a stacking standby state;

It may include.

According to the present invention, while continuously rotating the rotating plate to which the two separators are connected at regular intervals by 180 degrees, the negative plate and the positive plate are simultaneously transferred to each of the separators to form a cell stack in which the negative plate, the separator, and the positive plate are alternately stacked. Can be manufactured.

Therefore, it is possible to stack the cell stack without defects with a simple configuration, and there is an advantage that the stacking speed can be improved than before.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a configuration of a cell stack of a secondary battery stacked by the cell stack stacking apparatus of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a cell stack stacking apparatus of a secondary battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation of the cell stack stacking apparatus shown in FIG. 1.
4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a process of stacking a cell stack by the cell stack stacking apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1.
5A to 5G are front views sequentially illustrating a process of stacking a cell stack using the cell stack stacking apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

The embodiments described in the present specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are only preferred examples of the disclosed invention, and there may be various modifications that may replace the embodiments and drawings of the present specification at the time of filing of the present application.

Hereinafter, a cell stack of a secondary battery according to the present invention and a stacking apparatus and method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows an example of a configuration of a cell stack of a secondary battery stacked by the cell stack stacking apparatus of the present invention. The cell stack 1 is wound in opposite directions and overlapped with two separators 2 ), and a plurality of negative electrode plates 4 and positive plates 3 alternately stacked between the two separators 2.

The separator 2 isolates the two electrode plates (positive plate and negative electrode plate) in the secondary battery to block electrical short circuits due to physical contact, and provides a passage through which ions can move between the two electrodes through the electrolytic solution supported in the micropores. It is a microporous membrane.

In the present invention, since the positive electrode plate 3 and the negative electrode plate 4 are simultaneously stacked using two separators 2, two separators 2 are stacked to overlap each other in the center of the cell stack 1, and the outer side thereof Each of the separators 2 has a structure in which a positive electrode plate 3 and a negative electrode plate 4 are alternately stacked.

2 to 4 are diagrams illustrating a configuration and operation example of a cell stack stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the cell stack stacking apparatus includes a first separator supply unit 11 for separately supplying two separators 2 And a rotation plate 20 to which the separation membrane 2 supplied from the second separation membrane supply unit 12 and the separation membrane 2 supplied from the second separation membrane supply unit 12 are connected, the rotation plate. (20) A positive electrode plate supply part and a negative electrode plate supply part transferring the positive electrode plate 3 and the negative electrode plate 4 to each of the two separators 2 each half a turn, that is, one rotation of 180 degrees, and the ends of each of the separators 2 Gripper 30, which is a pair of two grippers that grip and fix on the rotating plate 20, between the rotating plate 20 and the first separation membrane supply unit 11, and between the rotating plate 20 and the second separation membrane supply unit 12 Separation membrane guides 40 that are respectively installed in the separator to guide and support the separator 2, and a plurality of positive electrode plates 3 and negative electrode plates 4 are stacked on two separators 2 on the rotating plate 20 to provide a cell stack ( 1) After the process of making is completed, it includes a stack holding/transfer unit 50 that grips the cell stack 1 and transfers it to another process position.

The first separation membrane supply unit 11 and the second separation membrane supply unit 12 are provided with shafts 11a and 12a into which the rolls on which the separation membrane 2 is wound are inserted, and the separation membrane 2 as the rotating plate 20 rotates. It is conveyed while being unwound from the roll, and is wound around the gripper 30 on the rotating plate 20. The separation membrane 2 released from the first separation membrane supply unit 11 and the second separation membrane supply unit 12 is guided by the separation membrane guide 40 in the form of a circular rod or roll and is transported along a certain path.

The rotating plate 20 is configured to rotate 180 degrees in one direction about an axis perpendicular to the ground, and winds the two separators 2. The rotating plate 20 has a substantially disk shape, and grippers 30 are provided at both ends. The rotating means for rotating the rotating plate 20 is a motor directly connected to the shaft of the rotating plate 20, or a power transmission device such as a belt or gear connecting the motor and the shaft of the motor to the shaft of the rotating plate 20, or a hydraulic motor It can be configured by applying a known rotation drive device such as.

The rotating plate 20 is installed to be moved up and down by a known linear motion device so that the gripper 30 can be separated from the inside of the cell stack 1 after the stacking process of the cell stack 1 is completed. The linear motion device may be configured by applying a known linear motion device such as a linear motion device to which a pneumatic cylinder, a linear motor, a servo motor and a ball screw are applied.

Two of the grippers 30 are installed opposite to each other at both ends of the rotating plate 20, and each gripper 30 has two thin bars open and closed with a constant stroke to grip the ends of the separator 2 It is structured to be able to. In addition, the gripper 30 is installed at both ends of the rotating plate 20 to be movable in the inner and outer directions of the rotating plate 20.

The stack holding/transfer unit 50 is configured to hold the cell stack 1 on the rotation plate 20 at one side of the rotation plate 20, and after holding the cell stack 1, another process position, for example, It is configured to transfer the cell stack 1 to the taping process position. The stack holding/transfer unit 50 may be configured by applying a known cell stack fixing and transporting device in which a clamping member capable of holding the cell stack 1 while being opened or closed like tongs is installed.

In addition, although not shown in the drawing, on one side of the rotating plate 20 is a cutting device for separating the cell stack 1 from the separator 2 by cutting the separator 2 after the stacking process of the cell stack 1 is completed. Is composed. The cutting device may also be configured by applying a known separator cutting device configured in a general cell stack stacking system.

An example of a method of stacking a cell stack using such a cell stack stacking apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5G.

As shown in FIG. 5A, two grippers 30 grip each of the two separation membranes 2 supplied from the first separation membrane supply unit 11 and the second separation membrane supply unit 12 to be placed in both ends of the rotating plate 20. When positioned, the rotating plate 20 rotates in one direction by 180 degrees around its axis as shown in FIG. 5B. Accordingly, the two separators 2 are wound around the grippers 30 on the rotating plate 20. Subsequently, on both sides of the rotating plate 20, the positive plate supply unit and the negative electrode plate supply unit transfer the positive plate 3 and the negative plate 4 to the separator 2, respectively, and stack them.

Then, after the rotating plate 20 is rotated 180 degrees in the same direction, the positive plate 3 and the negative plate 4 are transferred from both sides of the rotating plate 20 to the outermost separator 2 to be stacked (Fig. 3). See (B) to (D) of). In this way, each time the rotating plate 20 rotates, the positive plate 3 and the negative plate 4 are simultaneously supplied to each of the two separators 2, and the stacking process is repeated a specified number of times. The positive electrode plate 3 and the negative electrode plate 4 are alternately stacked to form a cell stack 1.

When the cell stack 1 is made on the rotating plate 20 through this process, the stack holding/transfer unit 50 grips and fixes both sides of the cell stack 1 as shown in FIG. 5C, and then the rotating plate ( 20) and the gripper 30 are lowered to separate the gripper 30 from the inside of the cell stack 1.

Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 5D and 5E, the two grippers 30 are moved in the outer direction of the rotating plate 20, and then each gripper 30 is opened and the rotating plate 20 is raised again. (3) The two grippers 30 each hold the ends of the separator 2 on the outer sides of the cell stack 1 by pulling it up.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 5F, the separator 2 between the end of the separator 2 gripped by the gripper 30 and both ends of the cell stack 1 is cut using a cutting device. After freeing the stack 1, the stack holding/transfer unit 50 is moved to the outside of the rotating plate 20 as shown in FIG. 5G to transfer the cell stack 1 to a designated next process position. At the same time, the gripper 30 moves in the inner direction of the rotating plate 20 to place the ends of the two separators 2 on both ends of the rotating plate 20, thereby entering a stacking standby state for performing the next cell stack stacking process. Then, the cell stack 1 is made by continuously repeatedly performing the same process as described above.

In the cell stack lamination apparatus as described above, the two separators 2 are supplied to the rotating plate 20, and the positive plate 3 and the negative plate 4 are attached to each of the separators 2 while rotating the rotating plate 20 in one direction by 180 degrees. ) Can be simultaneously supplied and stacked. Accordingly, the supply and lamination speed of the positive electrode plate 3 and the negative electrode plate 4 can be made faster than that of a conventional cell stack laminating apparatus.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments, but those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to make various substitutions, additions, and modifications within the scope not departing from the technical idea described above. It is natural, and it should be understood that such modified embodiments also belong to the protection scope of the present invention defined by the appended claims below.

1: cell stack 2: separator
3: positive plate 4: negative plate
11: first separation membrane supply unit 12: second separation membrane supply unit
20: rotating plate 30: gripper
40: separation membrane guide 50: stack holding/transfer unit

Claims (8)

A cell stack of a secondary battery comprising two separators wound in opposite directions and overlapping, and a plurality of negative and positive electrodes alternately stacked between the two separators. A first separation membrane supply unit and a second separation membrane supply unit separately supplying the two separation membranes;
A rotating plate that connects the separation membrane supplied from the first separation membrane supply unit and the separation membrane supplied from the second separation membrane supply unit, and is installed to rotate 180 degrees in one direction around an axis to simultaneously wind two separation membranes;
A pair of two grippers gripping the ends of each of the separators and fixing them on the rotating plate; And,
A positive electrode plate supply unit and a negative electrode plate supply unit provided on both sides of the rotary plate and transferring the positive plate and the negative plate to each of the two separators each time the rotary plate rotates;
Cell stack lamination apparatus of a secondary battery comprising a. The cell stack according to claim 2, wherein the rotating plate is installed to be movable up and down, and after the process of making a cell stack by stacking a plurality of positive and negative plates on two separators is completed, the gripper is moved to the lower side of the cell stack together with the gripper to move the gripper to the cell stack. Cell stack lamination device intended to be separated from. The cell stack stacking apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the grippers are installed on both ends of the rotating plate so as to be movable in the inner and outer directions of the rotating plate. The secondary battery of claim 2, further comprising a stack holding/transfer unit for holding the cell stack and transferring it to another process position after the process of making a cell stack by stacking a plurality of positive and negative plates on the two separators is completed. Cell stack lamination device. The cell stack stacking apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a separator guide installed between the rotating plate and the first separator supply unit and between the rotating plate and the second separator supply unit to guide and support the separator. A method of laminating a cell stack using the cell stack laminating apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 6, comprising:
(S1) a gripper gripping each of the two separators to be positioned on the rotating plate;
(S2) rotating the rotating plate 180 degrees in one direction;
(S3) supplying and stacking a positive plate and a negative plate to each of the two separators each time the rotating plate rotates; And,
(S4) stopping rotation of the rotating plate and transferring the completed cell stack to the outside of the rotating plate when the rotating plate rotates at a predetermined number of rotations and a predetermined number of positive and negative plates are alternately stacked on the two separators;
Cell stack lamination method of a secondary battery comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein the (S4) step,
(S4-1) fixing the cell stack with a stack holding/transfer unit;
(S4-2) separating the gripper from the cell stack by lowering the rotating plate and the gripper;
(S4-3) moving the gripper in an outward direction of the rotating plate;
(S4-4) raising the rotating plate and gripping the end of the separator outside the cell stack by a gripper;
(S4-5) cutting the separator between the cell stack and the end of the separator held by the gripper;
(S4-6) the stack holding/transfer unit transferring the cell stack to the outside of the rotating plate; And,
(S4-7) moving the gripper in the inner direction of the rotating plate to place the ends of the two separators on both ends of the rotating plate to enter a stacking standby state;
Cell stack lamination method of a secondary battery comprising a.

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