【Technical Field】
5 Cross-reference with related application(s)
This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2020-0045907 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office
on 4/16/2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a secondary battery electrode, and more
10 specifically, to a secondary battery electrode that may improve rigidity of an end
portion of an electrode current collector to which an electrode tab is attached.
【Background Art】
With technology development and a demand for mobile devices, demand
for secondary batteries as an energy source has been rapidly increasing.
15 Particularly, a secondary battery has attracted considerable attention as an
energy source for power-driven devices, such as an electric bicycle, an electric
vehicle, and a hybrid electric vehicle, as well as an energy source for mobile
devices, such as a cellular phone, a digital camera, a laptop computer, and a
wearable device.
20 The secondary battery may be formed by inserting an electrode assembly
consisting of a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator into a
case and sealing it. A positive or negative electrode (hereinafter referred to as
an "electrode plate") is a positive electrode conductive current collector or a
3
negative electrode conductive current collector coated with an active material
slurry by a predetermined thickness, and the electrode assembly may be formed
by interposing a separator between the positive conductive current collector and
the negative conductive current collector and spirally winding it multiple times in
5 a jelly-roll form or stacking it in a plurality of layers.
The electrode plate may be formed of an active material layer on which
an active material slurry is coated and an uncoated region on which the active
material slurry is not coated. A rolling process for increasing adhesion between
the active material layer and the electrode current collector and increasing an
10 active material capacity density may be included. The rolled electrode plate
may be cut and used into a predetermined size by passing through a cutter with
a certain width after drying.
In a conventional secondary battery, in order to solve the problem of
causing a short circuit due to contact between the positive electrode current
15 collector and a negative electrode and/or contact between the negative electrode
current collector and a positive electrode due to shrinkage of the separator at a
high temperature, an insulation member is coated on the uncoated region of each
electrode plate.
FIG. 1 illustrates an enlarged schematic view of a portion of a
20 conventional electrode. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate cross-sectional views taken
along line A-A' of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 illustrates a structure in which a portion of an
electrode of FIG. 2 is folded or bent, and FIG. 3 (a) illustrates a structure in which
the portion of the electrode is folded in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 and FIG.
3 (b) illustrates a structure in which the portion of the electrode is bent in the
4
cross-sectional view of FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an electrode 1 may includes an active
material layer 20 coated with an active material on a current collector 10, and an
insulating layer 30 coated with an insulating material at a boundary corresponding
5 to an end portion of the active material layer 20 on the current collector 10. In
this case, the insulating layer 30 may be positioned to be adjacent to a boundary
surface on which the end portion of the active material layer 20 is positioned, and
may be positioned to have a region in which the insulating layer 30 overlaps the
end portion of the active material layer 20 depending on a kind of an insulating
10 coating solution.
Referring to FIG. 3, in the electrode 1 described in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2,
since an exposed region in which the active material layer 20 and the insulating
layer 30 are not coated on the current collector 10 may be formed adjacent to an
end portion of the current collector, the exposed region may be folded or bent
15 when the electrode 1 passes through a traveling roller as a subsequent process
proceeds. In addition, an electrode tab (not shown) may be attached to the
exposed region in which the active material layer 20 and the insulating layer 30
are not coated on the current collector 10 through a method such as welding,
according to a later process, and in a subsequent process, the electrode tab
20 attached to the exposed region that is folded or bent when passing through the
traveling roller is more likely to be easily folded or disconnected, so that a defect
rate may be increased and productivity may be decreased.
【Disclosure】
【Technical Problem】
5
A technical problem to be solved of the present invention is to provide a
secondary battery electrode that may improve rigidity of an electrode current
collector portion to which an electrode tab is attached.
The technical problem to be solved of the present invention is not limited
5 to the above-described problem, and problems not mentioned will be clearly
understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art from the present specification
and the accompanying drawings.
【Technical Solution】
A secondary battery electrode according to an embodiment of the present
10 invention includes: a first region and a second region partitioned by a first
boundary; an electrode current collector in which at least a portion of the second
region is exposed; a first coating layer positioned in the first region of the
electrode current collector and including an active material; and a second coating
layer positioned in the second region of the electrode current collector and
15 including an insulating material, wherein the second coating layer includes a first
line portion, the first line portion is positioned to correspond to the first boundary,
the second coating layer further includes at least one or more second line portions
having a predetermined pattern, and the second line portion is spaced apart from
the first line portion at a predetermined interval while corresponding to the first
20 boundary.
In addition, the first boundary may correspond to one end portion of the
first coating layer spaced apart from one end portion of the electrode current
collector at a predetermined distance.
In addition, the first line portion and the at least one or more second line
6
portions may be spaced apart from each other at the same interval.
In addition, the at least one or more second line portions may have the
same pattern as the first line portion.
In addition, the at least one or more second line portions and the first line
5 portion may have different patterns, and a line connecting one end and the other
end of the second line portion may be parallel to the second boundary.
In addition, an electrode tab may be attached to at least a portion of the
second region.
In addition, an electrode tab may be attached to an exposed area between
10 the first line portion and the at least two or more second line portions.
In addition, the second coating layer may have the same height or a
smaller height than that of the first coating layer.
In addition, the second coating layer may further include at least one or
more third line portions, and the at least one or more third line portions may be
15 spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals while corresponding to
a second boundary perpendicular to the first boundary.
In addition, the at least one or more third line portions may be spaced
apart from each other at the same intervals.
In addition, the at least one or more third line portions may have the same
20 pattern as the first line portion.
In addition, the at least one or more third line portions and the first line
portion may have different patterns, and a line connecting one end and the other
end of the third line portion may be parallel to the second boundary.
In addition, the at least one or more second line portions and the at least
7
one or more third line portions may have different thicknesses.
【Advantageous Effects】
According to the embodiments, an insulating layer having a
predetermined pattern is coated on an exposed region of an electrode current
5 collector to which an active material is not coated, so that rigidity of the exposed
region of the electrode current collector may be increased by the pattern of the
insulating layer. The exposed region is a portion to which an electrode tab is
attached, and thus, a defect rate may be reduced and productivity may be
increased, by preventing disconnection due to bending or folding of the electrode
10 tab during an electrode manufacturing process.
The effects of the object of the present invention are not limited to the
above-described effects, and effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by
a person of ordinary skill in the art from the present specification and the
accompanying drawings.
15 【Description of the Drawings】
FIG. 1 illustrates an enlarged schematic view of a portion of a
conventional electrode.
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate cross-sectional views taken along line A-A' of
FIG. 1.
20 FIG. 3 illustrates a structure in which a portion of an electrode of FIG. 2 is
folded or bent.
FIG. 4 illustrates a top plan view of a secondary battery electrode
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B’ of FIG. 4.
8
FIG. 6 illustrates a top plan view of a secondary battery electrode
according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C’ of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D’ of FIG. 6.
5 【Mode for Invention】
The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention
are shown. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiment
may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or
10 scope of the present invention.
In order to clearly describe the present invention, parts that are irrelevant
to the description are omitted, and identical or similar constituent elements
throughout the specification are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Further, in the drawings, the size and thickness of each element are
15 arbitrarily illustrated for ease of description, and the present disclosure is not
necessarily limited to those illustrated in the drawings. In the drawings, the
thicknesses of layers, films, panels, regions, areas, etc., are exaggerated for
clarity. In the drawings, for ease of description, the thicknesses of some layers
and regions are exaggerated.
20 In addition, throughout the specification, unless explicitly described to the
contrary, the word "comprise" and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising"
will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion
of any other elements.
Further, throughout the specification, the phrase "in a plan view" or "on a
9
plane" means viewing a target portion from the top, and the phrase "in a crosssectional view" or "on a cross-section" means viewing a cross-section formed by
vertically cutting a target portion from the side.
Hereinafter, a secondary battery electrode according to an embodiment
5 of the present invention will be described. However, herein, an electrode will be
described based on an upper surface among upper and lower surfaces of a
current collector, but is not limited thereto, and the lower surface thereof may be
described with the same or similar contents.
FIG. 4 illustrates a top plan view of a secondary battery electrode
10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 illustrates a crosssectional view taken along line B-B’ of FIG. 4.
Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a secondary battery electrode 100
according to the present embodiment includes an electrode current collector 110,
an active material layer 120, and an insulating layer 130. The electrode current
15 collector 110 includes a first region in which the active material layer 120 is
formed, and a second region that is not covered by the active material layer 120.
The active material layer 120 is formed by coating an electrode slurry on the
electrode current collector 110. The insulating layer 130 may be formed in an
exposed region in which the active material layer 120 is not coated in the
20 electrode current collector 110. In this case, the insulating layer 130 may be
formed by coating an insulating solution on a region in which the active material
layer 120 is not formed.
An end portion of the electrode 100 may be cut into a predetermined size
and shape so as to attach an electrode tab in a subsequent process, and
10
particularly, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, an end portion (position indicated by
"A") in which the insulating layer 130 is positioned on the electrode current
collector 110 may be cut into a predetermined size and shape. However, the
size and shape shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are merely examples, and other sizes
5 and shapes suitable for attaching the electrode tab may be applied.
Hereinafter, respective configurations of the secondary battery electrode
100 according to an embodiment of the present application will be described in
detail. However, herein, the electrode 100 will be described based on a case in
which it is a positive electrode, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and a case
10 in which it is a negative electrode may be described with the same or similar
contents.
The active material layer 120 according to the embodiment of the present
invention may be formed by coating the electrode slurry on the electrode current
collector 110. The active material layer 120 may be formed by coating the
15 electrode slurry on one region of the electrode current collector 110 so as to have
a region in which the electrode current collector 110 is exposed. The active
material layer 120 may be formed as the electrode slurry is coated on one of
regions divided by a first boundary B1 parallel to one end portion in the electrode
current collector 110, and a region in which the electrode slurry is not coated may
20 be a region in which the electrode current collector 110 is exposed. The
electrode current collector 110 has an exposed region in which the electrode
slurry is not coated, but the exposed region may include an uncoated region 115,
which is a portion in which an electrode tab is to be formed.
The insulating layer 130 according to the present embodiment is a region
11
in which the electrode slurry is not coated on the electrode current collector 110,
and may be a region in which an insulating liquid is coated on a portion of the
region in which the electrode current collector 110 is exposed. In addition, the
insulating layer 130 may be a region coated with an insulating liquid at a position
5 adjacent to the active material layer 120 in the region in which the electrode
current collector 110 is exposed.
According to the present embodiment, the insulating layer 130 includes
at least two line portions 131 and 135. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the first
line portion 131 and the second line portion 135 may be portions in which an
10 insulating liquid is coated along a predetermined line on a portion of the region in
which the electrode current collector 110 is exposed. In addition, a region in
which the insulating liquid is not coated on the portion of the exposed region of
the electrode current collector 110 may include the uncoated region 115 that is a
region in which the electrode tab will be formed.
15 The first line portion 131 may be disposed adjacent to one end portion of
the active material layer 120. In this case, the first line portion 131 may be a
portion formed by coating an insulating liquid so as to contact one end portion of
the active material layer 120 or to be spaced apart from it by a predetermined
distance.
20 The second line portion 135 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the
first line portion 131. The second line portion 135 may have a structure
extending parallel to the first line portion 131. In the embodiment described in
FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the first line portion 131 and the second line portion 135 are
illustrated as straight line portions, but are not limited thereto, and the first and
12
second line portions 131 and 135 may have a predetermined pattern. For
example, the predetermined pattern may be a curved line, a hatched line, a
dashed line, a dotted line, and the like.
In a modified embodiment, the first line portion 131 and the second line
5 portion 135 may have different patterns. In this case, a line connecting one end
and the other end of the second line portion 135 may be parallel to the first line
portion 131. In addition, the second line portion 135 may be a coated region to
have the same or different thickness as the first line portion 131.
Further, the first line portion 131 and the second line portion 135 included
10 in the insulating layer 130 may be coated regions to have the same or smaller
height compared with the active material layer 120, respectively. The first line
portion 131 and the second line portion 135 included in the insulating layer 130
may have the same height, but may be coated regions to have the same height
as or a height smaller than the active material layer 120. When the insulating
15 layer 130 has a higher height than the active material layer 120, since the
insulating layer 130 or a portion in which the insulating layer 130 and the active
material layer 120 overlap may protrude, a final cell appearance may be affected,
and the exposed region of the electrode current collector 110 in which the
electrode slurry is not coated may be bent or folded.
20 Therefore, as the electrode 100 according to the embodiment further
includes the second line portion 135 as well as the first line portion 131 in which
the insulating layer 130 is closest to the active material layer 120, rigidity of the
exposed region of the electrode current collector 110 in which the electrode slurry
is not coated may be increased. Accordingly, the exposed region in which the
13
electrode slurry is not coated in the electrode current collector 110 may not be
easily bent or folded. In addition, according to the present embodiment, since
the region of the uncoated region 115 may be reduced compared with the
conventional electrode, even if the electrode tab is formed in the uncoated region
5 115 included in the exposed region in which the electrode slurry is not coated in
the electrode current collector 110, it may not be easily bent or folded. That is,
through this, the electrode 100 according to the embodiment of the present
invention may be expected to have a complex effect of preventing disconnection,
improving a lifespan of the battery, and increasing productivity, as well as an
10 effect of preventing short circuit, which is a basic effect provided by the insulating
layer 130.
The insulating liquid coated on the insulating layer 130 is a nonconductive material, and the insulating layer 130 may be formed by coating and
drying the insulating liquid. However, the insulating liquid is not particularly
15 limited as long as it is a non-conductive material without causing chemical
changes to the secondary battery using the electrode according to the present
embodiment. For example, the first line portion 131 and the second line portion
135 may include a non-conductive material, and in this case, may include the
same material or different non-conductive materials. In addition, viscosity of the
20 insulating liquid may be adjusted in order to reduce a degree at which the
insulating liquid and materials forming the electrode slurry are mixed by diffusion.
For example, the first line portion 131 and the second line portion 135 may be
coated with an insulating liquid having the same viscosity. In addition, the first
line portion 131 may be positioned adjacent to the active material layer 120
14
coated with the electrode slurry to be adjusted to have high viscosity, while the
second line portion 135 may be adjusted to have low viscosity. In addition, the
insulating layer 130 may prevent the electrode current collector 110 and an
electrode having a polarity different from that of the electrode current collector
5 110 from contacting each other to be short-circuited due to the shrinkage of the
separator generated as the secondary battery is used at a high temperature. In
addition, the insulating layer 130 may increase stability of a battery cell by
preventing the short circuit as described above.
Hereinafter, an electrode manufacturing method according to another
10 embodiment of the present invention will be described.
Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the electrode manufacturing method
according to the present embodiment may include forming the active material
layer 120 by coating an electrode slurry on the electrode current collector 110
while rolling the electrode current collector 110. The forming of the active
15 material layer 120 may include drying the electrode slurry. In addition, it may
include forming the insulating layer 130 by coating an insulating solution on the
exposed region in which the electrode slurry is not coated. The forming of the
insulating layer 130 may be performed after the electrode slurry of the active
material layer 120 is completely dried. In addition, the forming of the insulating
20 layer 130 may include drying the insulating liquid.
FIG. 6 illustrates a top plan view of a secondary battery electrode
according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 illustrates a
cross-sectional view taken along line C-C’ of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 illustrates a crosssectional view taken along line D-D’ of FIG. 6. However, since there are some
15
duplicate contents with those described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5,
different features will be mainly described in detail.
A secondary battery electrode 200 according to the present embodiment
includes an electrode current collector 210, an active material layer 220, and an
5 insulating layer 230. The electrode current collector 210 and the active material
layer 220 are the same as those described above, so descriptions thereof will be
omitted below. In addition, a region in which the insulating liquid is not coated
on the portion of the exposed region of the electrode current collector 210 may
include an uncoated region 215 that is a region in which the electrode tab will be
10 formed. The uncoated region 215 may be an exposed region of the electrode
current collector 210 that deviates from an end portion of the insulating layer 230
positioned in a direction away from the active material layer 220.
In addition, the insulating layer 130 may include at least one or more line
portions, and in this case, may be a region coated with an insulating liquid to have
15 a predetermined pattern on a portion of the exposed region of the electrode
current collector 110.
The insulating layer 230 according to the present embodiment includes at
least two line portions, and in this case, the line portions may include a first line
portion 231 and a second line portion 235, and may additionally include a third
20 line portion 239. Descriptions of the first line portion 231 and the second line
portion 235 are the same as those described above, so will be omitted below.
The third line portion 239 may include at least one or more line portions
extending in a direction crossing the first line portion 231 and/or the second line
portion 235. The third line portion 239 may include at least two or more line
16
portions extending in a direction crossing the first line portion 231 and/or the
second line portion 235, and the at least two or more line portions may be spaced
apart from each other at a predetermined interval. The third line portion 239
may have the same pattern as the first line portion 231 or the second line portion
5 235.
In addition, the third line portion 239 may include at least one or more line
portions extending in a direction crossing the first line portion 231 and/or the
second line portion 235, and in this case, at least two or more line portions may
have a predetermined pattern. For example, the predetermined pattern may be
10 a straight line, a curved line, a hatched line, a dashed line, a dotted line, and the
like. In FIG. 6 to FIG. 8, for convenience of description, the predetermined
pattern is indicated by a straight line. For example, the first line portion 231, the
second line portion 235, and the third line portion 239 may form a lattice pattern
according to a predetermined pattern on the exposed region of the electrode
15 current collector 210. In addition, when the third line portion 239 has a different
pattern from the first line portion 231 and/or the second line portion 235, a line
that connects one end and the other end of the third line portion 239 may be
perpendicular to the first line portion 231 and/or the second line portion 235. In
addition, the third line portion 239 may be a region coated to have the same or a
20 different thickness as or from the first line portion 231 and/or the second line
portion 235.
Further, the third line portion 239 included in the insulating layer 230 may
be coated regions to have the same or smaller height compared with the active
material layer 220. The first line portion 231, the second line portion 235, and
17
the third line portion 239 included in the insulating layer 230 may have the same
height, but may be coated regions to have the same height as or a height smaller
than the active material layer 220. When the insulating layer 230 has a higher
height than the active material layer 220, since the insulating layer 230 or a
5 portion in which the insulating layer 230 and the active material layer 220 overlap
may protrude, a final cell appearance may be affected, and the exposed region
of the electrode current collector in which the electrode slurry is not coated may
be bent or folded.
In addition, the insulating liquid coated on the insulating layer 230 is a
10 non-conductive material, and the insulating layer 230 may be formed by coating
and drying the insulating liquid. However, the insulating liquid is not particularly
limited as long as it is a non-conductive material without causing chemical
changes to the battery using the electrode according to the present embodiment.
For example, the first line portion 231, the second line portion 235, and the third
15 line portion 239 may include a non-conductive material, and in this case, may
include the same material or different non-conductive materials. In addition,
viscosity of the insulating liquid may be adjusted in order to reduce a degree at
which the insulating liquid and materials forming the electrode slurry are mixed
by diffusion. For example, the first line portion 231 to the third line portion 239
20 may be coated with an insulating liquid having the same viscosity. In addition,
the first line portion 231 may be positioned adjacent to the active material layer
220 coated with the electrode slurry to be adjusted to have high viscosity, while
the second line portion 235 and the third line portion 239 may be adjusted to have
low viscosity.
18
Therefore, as the electrode 200 according to the embodiment further
includes the second line portion 235 and the third line portion 239 as well as the
first line portion 231 in which the insulating layer 230 is adjacent to the active
material layer 220, rigidity of the exposed region of the electrode current collector
5 210 in which the electrode slurry is not coated may be increased. In addition,
as the electrode 200 according to the embodiment of the present application
further includes the second line portion 235 and the third line portion 239 as well
as the first line portion 231 in which the insulating layer 230 is adjacent to the
active material layer 220, the exposed region of the electrode current collector
10 210 in which the electrode slurry is not coated may not be easily bent or folded.
Further, as the electrode 200 according to the embodiment of the present
application further includes the second line portion 235 and the third line portion
239 as well as the first line portion 231 in which the insulating layer 130 is adjacent
to the active material layer 220, since the region of the uncoated portion 215 may
15 be reduced compared with the conventional electrode, even if the electrode tab
is formed in the exposed region of the electrode current collector 210 in which
the electrode slurry is not coated, it may not be easily bent or folded. That is,
through this, the electrode 200 according to the embodiment of the present
application may be expected to have a complex effect of preventing
20 disconnection and improving a lifespan of the battery as well as an effect of
preventing a short circuit, which is a basic effect provided by the insulating layer
230. In addition, through this, productivity of the electrode 200 according to the
embodiment of the present application may increase by reducing a defect such
as disconnection that may occur in a subsequent process.
19
As a modified embodiment, one of the first line portion 231 and the second
line portion 235 may be omitted. In this case, one of the first line portion 231
and the second line portion 235, as well as the third line portion 239, may form a
lattice pattern.
5 In addition to the differences described above, the contents described
with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are all applicable to the present embodiment.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is
presently considered to be practical embodiments, it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is
10 intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included
within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
[Description of symbols]
100: electrode
110, 210: electrode current collector
15 120, 220: active material layer
130, 230: insulating layer
20
【CLAIMS】
【Claim 1】
A secondary battery electrode, comprising:
an electrode current collector including first and second regions;
5 an active material layer positioned on the first region of the electrode
current collector; and
an insulating layer positioned on the second region of the electrode
current collector,
wherein the insulating layer includes at least two line portions.
10
【Claim 2】
The secondary battery electrode of claim 1, wherein
a first boundary that partitions the first region and the second region
corresponds to one end portion of the active material layer, and the first line
15 portion and the second line portion are spaced apart from each other at the same
interval.
【Claim 3】
The secondary battery electrode of claim 1, wherein
20 the second line portion has the same pattern as the first line portion.
【Claim 4】
The secondary battery electrode of claim 1, wherein
21
the first line portion and the second line portion have different patterns,
and
a line connecting one end and the other end of the second line portion is
parallel to the first line portion.
5
【Claim 5】
The secondary battery electrode of claim 1, wherein
an electrode tab is attached to at least a portion of the second region.
10 【Claim 6】
The secondary battery electrode of claim 1, wherein
the insulating layer has the same height as or a smaller height than that
of the active material layer.
15 【Claim 7】
The secondary battery electrode of claim 1, wherein
the insulating layer further includes a third line portion, and
the third line portion crosses the line portion.
20 【Claim 8】
The secondary battery electrode of claim 7, wherein
at least one or more third line portions are spaced apart from each other
at the same intervals.
22
【Claim 9】
The secondary battery electrode of claim 7, wherein
the third line portion has the same pattern as the first line portion.
5
【Claim 10】
The secondary battery electrode of claim 7, wherein
the third line portion and the first line portion have different patterns, and
a line connecting one end and the other end of the third line portion is
10 parallel to the second boundary.
【Claim 11】
The secondary battery electrode of claim 7, wherein
the second line portion and the third line portion have different
15 thicknesses.