【TECHNICAL FIELD】
5 Cross Citation with Related Application(s)
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0184478
filed on December 28, 2020 with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which
is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to an electrode manufacturing apparatus, and more
10 particularly, to an electrode manufacturing apparatus that prevents breakage of an electrode.
【BACKGROUND】
Along with the technology development and increased demand for mobile devices, demand
for secondary batteries has also been rapidly increased. Among the secondary batteries, lithium
secondary batteries having high energy density and operating voltage and excellent preservation
15 and lifetime characteristics have been widely used as energy sources of various electronic products
as well as various mobile devices.
The secondary battery can be formed by inserting an electrode assembly composed of a
positive electrode plate, a negative electrode plate, and a separator into a case, and then sealing
the case. A positive electrode plate or a negative electrode plate (hereinafter, referred to as
20 “electrode substrate”) can be configured by coating an active material slurry onto a positive
conductive current collector or a negative conductive current collector to a predetermined
thickness, interposing a separator between the positive electrode conductive current collector and
the negative electrode conductive current collector, and winding the plate in a jelly-roll type many
times or laminating it in a plurality of layers to form an electrode assembly.
25 The electrode substrate may be formed of an active material coating portion coated with
an active material slurry and an uncoated portion not coated with an active material slurry. The
active material coating portion can include a rolling process for increasing the adhesiveness to the
electrode current collector and increasing the volume density of the active material. The rolled
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electrode plate can, after drying, be used by being passed through a cutter having a certain width
and cut into a predetermined size.
The rolling process has a problem that a compression deviation occurs due to a difference
in thickness between the coating portion and the uncoated portion at the time of rolling the
electrode plate. Due to such a deviation, unbalanced plasti 5 c deformation of the electrode current
collector may occur, thereby causing a residual stress. In particular, the tensile residual stress may
cause a reduction of fatigue durability and a reduction of fracture strength of components.
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a rolling process using a conventional rolling
apparatus. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing an electrode plate after rolling.
10 Referring to Fig. 1, a roll process of rolling a coated potion 30 and an uncoated portion 40
formed on an electrode current collector 20 by a rolling roll 10 may be performed. At this time,
the pressure is concentrated on the coated portion 30, and as shown in Fig. 2, a difference occurs
between the degree of stretching of the coated portion 30P and the degree of stretching of the
noncoated portion 40, and wrinkles may be generated in the uncoated portion 40. Due to the
15 wrinkles of the uncoated portion 40 generated during rolling, process defects such as breakage of
an electrode may occur in a subsequent process. In particular, while a high tensile residual stress
remains at a boundary surface between the coated portion 30P and the uncoated portion 40, they
can continuously receive weak stress due to the contraction and expansion of the electrode, and
may become vulnerable to fracture.
20 【DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION】
【Technical Problem】
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an electrode manufacturing apparatus that
prevents breakage of an electrode.
However, the technical problem to be solved by embodiments of the present disclosure is not
25 limited to the above-described problems, and can be variously expanded within the scope of the
technical idea included in the present disclosure.
【Technical Solution】
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According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an electrode
manufacturing apparatus that travels an electrode substrate having a coated portion and an
uncoated portion, the apparatus comprising: a traveling roller that travels the electrode substrate,
wherein the traveling roller comprises a first roller, and a second roller surrounding an outer
surface of the first roller, and wherein a diameter of a central 5 part of the second roller is larger than
a diameter of one end part of the second roller.
The second roller may change its position in the axial direction.
The first roller and the second roller may be types of being separated in the axial direction.
The first roller has a longer axial length than the second roller, and the first roller may be
10 exposed from the axial direction end part of the second roller.
A first groove portion having at least one groove is formed on the outer surface of the first
roller exposed from the axial direction end part of the second roller, and at least one second groove
portion may be formed in an axial direction end part of the second roller.
The first roller and the second roller are connected by a fastening member when the first
15 groove portion and the second groove portion coincide with each other while the second roller
change its position in the axial direction.
The fastening member may be a bolt coupling type.
The electrode substrate may include a coated portion and an uncoated portion in which a
rolling process is performed.
20 The first roller is exposed from the axial direction end part of the second roller, and the end
part of the second roller and the exposed first roller may form a step.
The electrode substrate may travel in a state where the exposed first roller corresponds to the
notched tab formed on the electrode substrate.
The notched tab may be formed by notching a part of the uncoated portion.
25 One end part of the second roller may form a non-contact region with the electrode substrate.
【Advantageous Effects】
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According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the traveling roller is composed of a
first roller and a second roller that are separable from each other, and the second roller, which is
an external roller, can change its position, thereby controlling the electrode meandering.
Also, the first roller and the second roller can be connected by a fastening member, thereby
5 minimizing loss due to replacement of parts.
Further, it is possible to prevent the notched tab folding phenomenon by using the traveling
roller in which a step is formed.
In addition, a region that is not in contact with the electrode substrate can be formed by
processing the end part of the second roller, which is an external roller, thereby preventing an
10 electrode breakage phenomenon.
The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above and
additional other effects not described above will be clearly understood from the description of the
appended claims by those skilled in the art.
【BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS】
15 Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a rolling process using a conventional rolling
apparatus;
Fig. 2 is a plan view showing an electrode plate after rolling;
Fig. 3 is a view schematically showing a guide roll device;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the electrode rolling device of Fig. 3;
20 Fig. 5 is a view schematically showing a state in which the electrode rolling device of Fig. 4
is viewed from the side surface;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing an electrode substrate formed by the notching process
section of Fig. 3;
Fig. 7 is a view showing an electrode manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment
25 of the present disclosure;
Fig. 8 is a plan view of the electrode manufacturing apparatus of Fig. 7 as viewed from
above;
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Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a traveling roller according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure; and
Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of one end part of the traveling roller of Fig. 9.
【DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS】
Hereinafter, various embodiments of 5 the present disclosure will be described in detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out them.
The present disclosure may be modified in various different ways, and is not limited to the
embodiments set forth herein.
A description of parts not related to the description will be omitted herein for clarity, and
10 like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the description.
Further, in the drawings, the size and thickness of each element are arbitrarily illustrated
for convenience of description, and the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to those
illustrated in the drawings. In the drawings, the thickness of layers, regions, etc. are exaggerated
for clarity. In the drawings, for convenience of description, the thicknesses of some layers and
15 regions are exaggerated.
In addition, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer, film, region, or
plate is referred to as being "on" or "above" another element, it can be directly on the other element
or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being
"directly on" another element, it means that other intervening elements are not present. Further,
20 the word "on" or "above" means disposed on or below a reference portion, and does not necessarily
mean being disposed “on” or “above” the reference portion toward the opposite direction of gravity.
Further, throughout the specification, when a portion is referred to as "including" a certain
component, it means that the portion can further include other components, without excluding the
other components, unless otherwise stated.
25 Further, throughout the specification, when referred to as "planar", it means when a target
portion is viewed from the upper side, and when referred to as "cross-sectional", it means when a
target portion is viewed from the side of a cross section cut vertically.
Fig. 3 is a view schematically showing a guide roll device.
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Referring to Fig. 3, the guide roll device 100 includes a feeding roll 201, a rolling roll 109, a
notching process section 140, a guide roll 150, and a winding roll 202. Specifically, the guide roll
device 100 comprises a feeding roll 201 that winds the electrode substrate 250, a rolling roll 109
in which the electrode substrate 250 is unwound from the feeding roll 201 and supplied to the
guide roll device 100, and the supplied electrode substrate 250 5 is rolled, a notching process section
140 that performs a notching process to form a notched tab, a guide roll 150 that travels the
electrode substrate 250, and a winding roll 202 that rewinds the electrode substrate 250 in which
the rolling process and the notching process have been completed.
Before rolling the electrode substrate 250 by the rolling roll 109, the guide roll device 100
10 can unwind the electrode substrate 250 wound on the feeding roll 201 and coat an electrode
mixture containing an active material onto an electrode current collector.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the electrode rolling device of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view
schematically showing a state in which the electrode rolling device of Fig. 4 is viewed from the
side surface.
15 Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, the electrode substrate 250 can be rolled in a state in which the
active material is coated onto the electrode current collector layer 300 to form the coated portion
400 and the uncoated portion 500, as described above.
The electrode rolling device 100 includes an unwinding roller 101 that unwinds the electrode
substrate 250 having a coated portion 400 having a coating material formed on the electrode
20 current collector layer 300 and an uncoated portion 500 corresponding to a plain portion, a
rewinding roller 102 that rewinds the electrode substrate 250, a rolling roll 109 this is positioned
between the unwinding roller 101 and the rewinding roller 102 and rolls the coated portion 400
and the uncoated portion 500 of the electrode substrate 250 according to the moving direction of
the electrode substrate 250. The uncoated portion 500 may refer to a region excluding the coated
25 portion 400 formed on the electrode current collector layer 300.
The unwinding roller 101 provides the electrode substrate 250, which is an object to be rolled,
to the rolling device 100, and allows the electrode substrate 250 to move in the arrow direction D1
of Fig. 5 in accordance with the clockwise rotation. The electrode substrate 250 unwound by the
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unwinding roller 101 passes between the rolling rolls 109 while moving along the direction of the
arrow. The rolling rolls 109 are respectively positioned on both sides with respect to the electrode
substrate 250, and the electrode substrate 250 that has passed between the two rolling rolls 109 is
pressed. After that, the electrode substrate 250 that has passed between the two rolling rolls 109
5 is wound on the rewinding roller 102 again.
In Figs. 4 and 5, the electrode substrate 250 passing through the rolling roll 109 has been
described as being disposed between the unwinding roller 101 and the rewinding roller 102.
However, in order to ensure that the electrode manufacturing process proceeds continuously by
the roll-to-roll method as shown in Fig. 3, the electrode substrate 250 supplied from the feeding
10 roll 201 can travel without the unwinding roller 101 and the rewinding roller 102, and pass through
the rolling roll 109 and be wound on the winding roll 202.
When the coated portion 400 and the uncoated portion 500 are rolled by the rolling roll 10,
biased tension occurs due to the difference in tension between the coated portion 400 and the
uncoated portion 500, particularly, residual stress may remain in the uncoated portion 500 or the
15 boundary portion between the coated portion 400 and the uncoated portion 500.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing an electrode substrate formed by the notching process
section of Fig. 3.
Referring to Figs. 3 and 6, the uncoated portion 500 of the electrode substrate 250 may be cut
by the notching process section 140 to form a notched tab 500p. The notched tab 500p may have
20 a structure protruding from the edge portion 500a of the uncoated portion 500. After the notched
tab 500p is formed by the notching process section 140, the electrode substrate 250 may be moved
by the guide roll 150 for a subsequent process progress as described in Fig. 3.
Fig. 7 is a view showing an electrode manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment
of the present disclosure. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the electrode manufacturing apparatus of Fig. 7
25 as viewed from above.
Referring to Figs. 7 and 8, the electrode substrate 250 on which the rolling process and the
notching process have been performed may be transferred by the traveling roller 600 for a
subsequent process. At this time, the residual stress accumulated due to a biased tension generated
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in the rolling process, etc. may remain in the uncoated portion 500, and thus breakage of the
electrode base material 250 may occur. According to the present embodiment, in order to prevent
the electrode substrate 250 from breaking, the diameter of the central part of the traveling roller
600 may be designed to be larger than the diameter of one end part of the traveling roller 600.
According to the present embodiment, the non-contact region P 5 for preventing the traveling roller
600 and the electrode substrate 250 from contacting each other in the uncoated portion 500 may
be formed. For this purpose, the axial direction end part of the traveling roller 600 may have a
tapered shape.
Next, the traveling roller 600 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail
10 with reference to Figs. 9 and 10.
Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a traveling roller according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure. Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of one end part of the traveling roller of Fig. 9.
Referring to Figs. 9 and 10, the traveling roller 600 included in the electrode manufacturing
apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a first roller 600a and a second roller 600b
15 surrounding the outer surface of the first roller 600a. At this time, the axial length of the second
roller 600b may correspond to the width of the electrode substrate 250 in a direction perpendicular
to the traveling direction D1 of the electrode substrate 250 in Fig. 8. According to the present
embodiment, the second roller 600b may change its position in the axial direction. The axial
direction of the second roller 600b may be the x-axis direction of Fig. 9, and may be perpendicular
20 to the traveling direction D1 of the electrode substrate 250. By allowing the second roller 600b
to change its position in the axial direction, it is possible to control meandering of the electrode
substrate 250. Further, the first roller 600a and the second roller 600b may be types that are
separated in the axial direction.
The first roller 600a according to the present embodiment has a longer axial length than the
25 second roller 600b, and the first roller 600a may be exposed from the axial direction end part of
the second roller 600b. In other words, the first roller 600a is an inner roller, and the second roller
600b is an outer roller and surrounds the circumference of the first roller 600a, and a part of the
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first roller 600a having a longer axial length than the second roller 600b protrudes outside the
second roller 600b.
The first roller 600a and the second roller 600b may be fastening members. The fastening
member may have a bolt fastening structure as an example. In order to be fastened by bolts, a
first groove portion 600h1 having at least one groove 5 is formed on the outer surface of the first
roller 600a exposed from the axial direction end part of the second roller 600b, and a second groove
portion 600h2 may be formed at an axial direction end part of the second roller 600b. At this time,
when the first groove portion 600h1 and the second groove portion 600h2 coincide with the second
roller 600b while changing its position in the axial direction, the first roller 600a and the second
10 roller 600b can be connected by a bolt-type coupling system.
According to the present embodiment, the first roller 600a is exposed from the axial direction
end part of the second roller 600b, and the end part of the second roller 600b and the exposed first
roller 600a may form a step. Since the electrode substrate 250 travels in a state where the exposed
first roller 600a corresponds to the notched tab 500p shown in Fig. 6, it is possible to prevent the
15 notched tab 500p from being folded.
Further, the diameter of the central part of the second roller 600b may be larger than the
diameter of one end part of the second roller 600b. In this regard, as described in Fig. 8, the
diameter of the central part of the traveling roller 600 may be designed to be larger than the
diameter of one end part of the traveling roller 600, and the diameter of the central part of the
20 second roller 600b included in the traveling roller 600 is designed to be larger than the diameter
of one end part of the second roller 600b, whereby a non-contact region not in contact with the
electrode substrate 250 may be formed at one end part of the second roller 600b.
Although preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described
above, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and numerous other variations and
25 modifications made by those skilled in the art using the basic principles of the invention defined
in the appended claims also fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
【Description of Reference Numerals】
109: rolling roll
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250: electrode substrate
500p: notched tab
600: travelling roller
600a: first roller
5 600b: second roller
600h1: first groove portion
600h2: second groove portion

【CLAIMS】
【Claim 1】
An electrode manufacturing apparatus that travels an electrode substrate having a coated
portion and an uncoated portion, the apparatus comprising:
a traveling 5 roller that travels the electrode substrate,
wherein the traveling roller comprises a first roller, and a second roller surrounding an outer
surface of the first roller, and
wherein a diameter of a central part of the second roller is larger than a diameter of one end
part of the second roller.
10 【Claim 2】
The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the second roller changes its position in the axial direction.
【Claim 3】
The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
15 the first roller and the second roller are types of being separated in the axial direction.
【Claim 4】
The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the first roller has a longer axial length than the second roller, and the first roller is exposed
from the axial direction end part of the second roller.
20 【Claim 5】
The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:
a first groove portion having at least one groove is formed on the outer surface of the first
roller exposed from the axial direction end part of the second roller, and
at least one second groove portion is formed in an axial direction end part of the second roller.
25 【Claim 6】
The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:
the first roller and the second roller are connected by a fastening member when the first groove
portion and the second groove portion coincide with each other while the second roller changes its
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position in the axial direction.
【Claim 7】
The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:
the fastening member is a bolt coupling type.
5 【Claim 8】
The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the electrode substrate comprises a coated portion and an uncoated portion in which a rolling
process is performed.
【Claim 9】
10 The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the first roller is exposed from the axial direction end part of the second roller, and the end
part of the second roller and the exposed first roller form a step.
【Claim 10】
The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:
15 the electrode substrate travels in a state where the exposed first roller corresponds to the
notched tab formed on the electrode substrate.
【Claim 11】
The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein:
the notched tab is formed by notching a part of the uncoated portion.
20 【Claim 12】
The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
one end part of the second roller forms a non-contact region with the electrode substrate.