JP6862778B2 - Laminated battery manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a laminated battery manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a laminated battery having a structure in which first electrode and second electrode, which are strip-shaped foils, are alternately laminated.

Conventionally, as a secondary battery or other battery, a battery having a built-in electrode laminate in which a first electrode and a second electrode are alternately laminated has been used. Some of such electrode laminates have a structure in which strip-shaped foils are used as the first electrode and the second electrode, and these are laminated in a flat stack.

Prior arts for producing an electrode laminate having such a laminated structure include a laminate manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1. In the technique of the same document, the strip-shaped electrode plate "sheet-like body 3" is supplied from the "supply mechanism 7". Below the "supply mechanism 7", a "falling moving means 9" and a "guide stacking means 11" are arranged. The "falling movement means 9" uses gravity to move the "sheet-like body 3" from the "supply mechanism 7" to the "guide stacking means 11". In this way, the "sheet-like body 3" is sequentially guided on the "guide laminating means 11" and laminated there ([0015] to [0019], FIGS. 1 and 3 of the same document).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-19372

However, the above-mentioned conventional technique has the following problems. The "sheet-like body 3" supplied from the "supply mechanism 7" may be a defective product. In the technique of Patent Document 1, even such a defective "sheet-like body 3" is laminated on the "guide laminating means 11" as in the case of the non-defective "sheet-like body 3". Therefore, a "laminated body 5" including a defective "sheet-like body 3" may be obtained. If even one of the "laminated body 5" contains a defective "sheet-like body 3", the entire "laminated body 5" is discarded as a defective product. Even if it is a defective "laminated body 5", a considerable number of good "sheet-like bodies 3" are included in it, so that there is a lot of waste.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional techniques. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a laminated battery manufacturing apparatus for preventing a defective second electrode foil strip from being included in the electrode laminate together with a non-defective product.

The laminated battery manufacturing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for producing an electrode laminate having a structure in which a first electrode foil cloth and a second electrode foil strip are laminated, and the first electrode foil cloth is formed in the longitudinal direction thereof. The second electrode foil strips are supplied so as to be arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction on the first electrode foil supply unit and the supplied first electrode foil cloth. A bonding roll that presses the electrode foil supply section, the first electrode foil cloth, and the second electrode foil strip on the electrode foil strip in the thickness direction to bond them together, and the second electrode foil strip supplied from the second electrode foil supply section. It is provided between the defect information output unit that outputs information on the presence or absence of defects, the second electrode foil supply unit, and the bonding roll, and the second electrode foil strip is supplied onto the first electrode foil cloth. A course switching member that takes two postures, a first posture for advancing and a second posture for advancing to a course for eliminating the second electrode foil strip without supplying it on the first electrode foil cloth, and a second posture. A guide plate that prevents the second electrode foil strip that has advanced to the path eliminated by the course switching member from hitting the first electrode foil cloth, and the first electrode foil supply section and the course switching member based on the information of the defect information output section. The control unit has a control unit that controls the second electrode foil strip, and if there is no defect in the second electrode foil strip, the second electrode foil strip is set to the first posture and the second electrode foil strip is used as the first electrode foil cloth. In addition to being supplied upward, the first electrode foil cloth is supplied by the first electrode foil supply unit, and if the second electrode foil strip is defective, the course switching member is set to the second posture and the second electrode foil strip is placed. It is configured to be eliminated and to stop the supply of the first electrode foil cloth by the first electrode foil supply unit.

In the laminated battery manufacturing apparatus according to the above aspect, the control unit switches the posture of the course switching member based on the information from the defect information output unit. As a result, only the second electrode foil strips containing no defects are supplied onto the first electrode foil cloth by the course switching member, and are pressed together with the first electrode foil cloth by the bonding roll. The second electrode foil strip containing the defect is eliminated by the course switching member without being supplied on the first electrode foil cloth. At this time, the supply of the first electrode foil cloth is temporarily stopped. In this way, an electrode laminate that does not include a defective second electrode foil strip is manufactured.

According to this configuration, a laminated battery manufacturing apparatus is provided in which a defective second electrode foil strip is prevented from being included in the electrode laminate together with a non-defective product.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the laminated battery manufacturing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the part of cutting by the negative electrode cloth cutting mechanism and the part of pressing by a bonding roll. It is a front view which shows the action of the course switching claw. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the laminated battery manufacturing apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This embodiment embodies the present invention as the laminated battery manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. Therefore, first, the laminated battery manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described.

The laminated battery manufacturing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 includes a positive electrode cloth supply unit 2, a negative electrode cloth supply unit 3, a positive electrode cloth cutting mechanism 4, a bonding roll 5, a negative electrode cloth cutting mechanism 6, a pedestal 7, and a press roll. Has 8 and. A positive electrode foil cloth coil 9 is attached to the positive electrode cloth supply section 2, and the positive electrode foil cloth 10 is unwound. A negative electrode foil cloth coil 11 is attached to the negative electrode cloth supply unit 3, so that the negative electrode foil cloth 12 is unwound. Both the positive electrode foil cloth 10 and the negative electrode foil cloth 12 have a long foil shape and have a structure in which an electrode active material layer is formed on the surface of the current collector foil. A separator layer is also formed on the surface of the negative electrode foil cloth 12. Both the positive electrode foil cloth 10 and the negative electrode foil cloth 12 proceed in the longitudinal direction thereof toward the bonding roll 5. Further, a defect sensor 23 is provided on the supply path of the positive electrode foil cloth 10 from the positive electrode cloth supply unit 2.

The positive electrode cloth cutting mechanism 4 cuts the positive electrode foil cloth 10 in the width direction to form a card-shaped positive electrode foil strip 13. The bonding roll 5 is for bonding the negative electrode foil cloth 12 and the positive electrode foil strip 13. Therefore, the negative electrode foil cloth 12 is directly supplied to the bonded roll 5, and the positive electrode foil cloth 10 is cut into the positive electrode foil strips 13 before being supplied. The positive electrode foil strips 13 are further supplied to the bonding roll 5 at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the negative electrode foil cloth 12.

The negative electrode cloth cutting mechanism 6 cuts the negative electrode foil cloth 12 in the width direction. By this cutting, an electrode foil pair strip 14 in which the positive electrode foil strip 13 and the negative electrode foil strip 13 are laminated one by one is obtained. The pedestal 7 is for placing the obtained electrode foil pair strips 14. The press roll 8 presses a large number of electrode foil pair strips 14 laminated on the pedestal 7 in the thickness direction. A nip roll 16 for transporting the negative electrode foil cloth 12 and the positive electrode foil strip 13 is provided immediately upstream of the negative electrode cloth cutting mechanism 6.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned laminated battery manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described. When the electrode laminate 15 is manufactured by the laminated battery manufacturing apparatus 1, the negative electrode foil cloth 12 and the positive electrode foil strip 13 are supplied to the bonded roll 5. As described above, the negative electrode foil cloth 12 is supplied from the negative electrode cloth supply unit 3 and advances in the longitudinal direction to reach the bonding roll 5. The positive electrode foil strip 13 is supplied to the bonding roll 5 by the positive electrode cloth supply unit 2 and the positive electrode cloth cutting mechanism 4. The positive electrode foil strips 13 are arranged on the negative electrode foil cloth 12 on the bonding roll 5 at intervals in the longitudinal direction.

Then, the positive electrode foil strip 13 and the negative electrode foil cloth 12 are lightly pressed in the thickness direction by the bonding roll 5. In this state, the positive electrode foil strip 13 is lightly adhered to the negative electrode foil cloth 12. This is because the separator layer of the negative electrode foil cloth 12 has a certain degree of adhesiveness. Therefore, after that, the position of the positive electrode foil strip 13 does not easily shift with respect to the negative electrode foil cloth 12 due to vibration or the like.

The positive electrode foil strip 13 and the negative electrode foil cloth 12 on the downstream side of the bonding roll 5 are in a state in which the positive electrode foil strip 13 is arranged on the negative electrode foil cloth 12 at intervals in the longitudinal direction. The positive electrode foil strip 13 and the negative electrode foil cloth 12 in such a state move from the bonding roll 5 to the negative electrode cloth cutting mechanism 6. The negative electrode foil cloth 12 that has reached the negative electrode cloth cutting mechanism 6 is cut in the width direction. The negative electrode cloth cutting mechanism 6 cuts the negative electrode foil cloth 12 at a portion where the positive electrode foil strip 13 is not provided.

In this way, the electrode foil pair strip 14 is obtained. Since the electrode foil pair strips 14 are obtained one after another as the negative electrode foil cloth 12 progresses, a large number of electrode foil pair strips 14 are laminated on the pedestal 7. The electrode foil pair strips 14 laminated on the pedestal 7 are pressed in the thickness direction by the press roll 8. More specifically, each time a new electrode foil pair strip 14 is placed on the pedestal 7, the press roll 8 is used for pressing. As a result, the newly supplied electrode foil pair strip 14 is integrated with the electrode foil pair strip 14 that has been previously supplied and has already been laminated on the pedestal 7. Due to the adhesiveness of the separator layer described above.

When a predetermined number of electrode foil pair strips 14 are laminated on the pedestal 7 and integrated by the press roll 8 in this way, the electrode laminated body 15 is obtained. The electrode laminate 15 functions as a power generation element in the battery. The electrode laminate 15 is usually housed in a battery container together with an electrolytic solution.

Here, the merging of the positive electrode foil strip 13 and the negative electrode foil cloth 12 at the position of the bonding roll 5 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a bonding roll 17 is provided below the bonding roll 5. The bonding roll 5 and the bonding roll 17 form a roll pair, and the negative electrode foil cloth 12 and the positive electrode foil strip 13 on the negative electrode foil strip 12 are pressed in the thickness direction.

Further, in FIG. 2, an upstream transfer roll 18 on the upstream side of the positive electrode cloth cutting mechanism 4 and a downstream transfer roll 19 on the downstream side are provided. The upstream transfer roll 18 and the downstream transfer roll 19 allow the positive electrode foil cloth 10 and the positive electrode foil strip 13 whose tip is cut to be conveyed toward the bonding rolls 5 and 17.

Further, a course switching claw 20 is provided between the downstream transport roll 19 and the bonding rolls 5 and 17. The course switching claw 20 divides the course according to whether or not the positive electrode foil strip 13 is a non-defective product. Further, a guide plate 21 and a waste material box 22 are provided below the downstream transfer roll 19. As shown in FIG. 3, the course switching claw 20 takes two postures. The posture shown in the upper row is a posture in which the non-defective positive electrode foil strips 13 are bonded and advanced toward the rolls 5 and 17. On the other hand, the lower posture is a posture in which the defective positive electrode foil strip 13X is advanced toward the waste material box 22.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the control system of the laminated battery manufacturing apparatus 1. This control system is mainly composed of a control unit 24. The defect sensor 23, the course switching claw 20, and the nip roll 16 are connected to the control unit 24. The control unit 24 receives the information from the defect sensor 23, and the course switching claw 20 and the nip roll 16 are controlled based on the information received from the control unit 24.

The defect sensor 23 optically detects the presence of defects (pinholes, foreign substances, etc.) on the surface of the positive electrode foil cloth 10. In FIG. 1, the defect sensor 23 is drawn only on one side of the positive electrode foil cloth 10, but it is desirable that the defect sensor 23 can actually detect defects on either side. Alternatively, the defect sensor 23 may detect a marking indicating the presence of the defect instead of detecting the defect itself. However, in that case, the positive electrode foil cloth coil 9 attached to the positive electrode cloth supply unit 2 needs to be marked in advance at the defective portion. In that case, the defect sensor 23 may be provided only on the side of the surface to which the marking is attached.

The control unit 24 determines whether or not the positive electrode foil strip 13 is a non-defective product based on the defect information obtained from the defect sensor 23. Then, the positive electrode foil strips 13 determined to be non-defective products are sent to the bonding rolls 5 and 17 (upper row in FIG. 3), while the positive electrode foil strips 13X determined to be defective products are guided to the waste material box 22 (lower row). , Controls the course switching claw 20. Further, when the good positive electrode foil strip 13 is sent to the bonding rolls 5 and 17, the negative electrode foil strip 12 is conveyed as usual, and when the defective positive electrode foil strip 13X is sent to the waste material box 22, the negative electrode foil strip 12 is stopped. The nip roll 16 is controlled so as to do so.

Specifically, it is as follows. The course switching claw 20 normally takes the upper posture of FIG. The defect sensor 23 constantly monitors the surface of the conveyed positive electrode foil cloth 10. Then, if there is a defect (or its marking), the control unit 24 is notified to that effect. The control unit 24 that has received the notification relates to the notification from the timing of the notification, the transport speed of the positive electrode foil cloth 10, and the transport distance from the detection position of the defect sensor 23 to the cutting position of the positive electrode cloth cutting mechanism 4. Predict when the defect will appear on the positive electrode foil strip 13. Both the transport speed and the transport distance are known values according to the specifications of the laminated battery manufacturing apparatus 1.

Based on this prediction, the control unit 24 determines whether or not the positive electrode foil strip 13 obtained by cutting contains a defect each time the positive electrode cloth cutting mechanism 4 cuts. If no defects are included, the positive electrode foil strip 13 is a non-defective product and is sent to the bonding rolls 5 and 17 (upper part of FIG. 3). Of course, at this time, the transport of the negative electrode foil cloth 12 is not stopped.

If a defect is included, the positive electrode foil strip 13X is a defective product, so that the path switching claw 20 is switched to the lower state of FIG. As a result, the defective positive electrode foil strip 13X is sent to the waste material box 22. At this time, the transfer of the negative electrode foil cloth 12 is stopped. This prevents an abnormally long interval from being opened between the good positive electrode foil strips 13 laminated on the negative electrode foil cloth 12. The positive electrode foil strip 13X whose course is bent downward by the course switching claw 20 in the lower state of FIG. 3 first contacts the guide plate 21 and is guided toward the waste material box 22. As a result, it is prevented that the positive electrode foil strip 13X hits the negative electrode foil cloth 12 on the bonding roll 17 and is damaged. If the positive electrode foil strip 13 next to the defective positive electrode foil strip 13X is a good product, the course switching claw 20 is returned to the upper state of FIG. 3, and the transfer of the negative electrode foil cloth 12 is restarted.

As a result, only the electrode foil pair strips 14 including the non-defective positive electrode foil strips 13 are laminated on the pedestal 7. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the entire electrode laminate 15 is discarded due to the inclusion of one defective positive electrode foil strip 13X.

As described in detail above, according to the present embodiment, the course switching claw 20 for switching the course of the positive electrode foil strip 13 is provided. Then, the posture of the path switching claw 20 is controlled depending on whether or not the positive electrode foil strip 13 is a non-defective product. As a result, a laminated battery manufacturing apparatus 1 is realized in which a defective positive electrode foil strip 13X is prevented from being mixed into the electrode laminate 15 and an electrode laminate 15 in which all the included positive electrode foil strips 13 are good products can be obtained. Has been done.

It should be noted that the present embodiment is merely an example and does not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, as a matter of course, the present invention can be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the present embodiment, the defect sensor 23 is provided so that the defect information can be obtained by actually monitoring the positive electrode foil cloth 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the positions of defects in the positive electrode foil cloth 10 may be stored in advance as data, and it may be determined whether or not the positive electrode foil strip 13 is a non-defective product based on the data. For that purpose, the position of the defect in the positive electrode foil cloth 10 may be investigated in advance on the manufacturer side of the positive electrode foil cloth coil 9, and the data may be used. When the defect sensor 23 is used, the type of sensor is not limited to the above-mentioned optical type, and any type that can detect the defect or its marking may be used.

1 Laminated battery manufacturing equipment 2 Positive electrode cloth supply unit 3 Negative electrode cloth supply unit 4 Positive electrode cloth cutting mechanism 5 Laminating roll 6 Negative electrode cloth cutting mechanism 7 Pedestal 8 Press roll 12 Negative electrode foil cloth 13 Positive electrode foil strip 14 Electrode foil pair strip 15 Electrode lamination Body 16 Nip roll 17 Laminating roll 18 Upstream transfer roll 19 Downstream transfer roll 20 Course switching claw 23 Defect sensor 24 Control unit

Claims (1)

It is a laminated battery manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing an electrode laminate having a structure in which a first electrode foil cloth and a second electrode foil strip are laminated.
A first electrode foil supply unit for supplying the first electrode foil cloth by advancing in the longitudinal direction thereof, and
A second electrode foil supply unit that supplies the second electrode foil strips so as to be arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction on the supplied first electrode foil cloth.
A bonding roll that presses the first electrode foil cloth and the second electrode foil strip on it in the thickness direction to bond them together.
A defect information output unit that outputs information on the presence or absence of defects in the second electrode foil strip supplied from the second electrode foil supply unit, and a defect information output unit.
A first posture provided between the second electrode foil supply unit and the bonding roll to advance the second electrode foil strip to a path for supplying the second electrode foil strip onto the first electrode foil cloth, and the second electrode. A course switching member that takes two postures, a second posture that advances the foil strip to a course that eliminates it without supplying it on the first electrode foil cloth, and a course switching member.
A guide plate for preventing the second electrode foil strip that has advanced to the path excluded by the course switching member in the second posture from hitting the first electrode foil cloth.
It has a first electrode foil supply unit and a control unit that controls the course switching member based on the information of the defect information output unit.
The control unit
When the second electrode foil strip is not defective, the course switching member is set to the first posture, the second electrode foil strip is supplied onto the first electrode foil cloth, and the first electrode foil is supplied. The first electrode foil cloth is supplied by the supply unit, and the first electrode foil cloth is supplied.
When the second electrode foil strip is defective, the course switching member is placed in the second posture to eliminate the second electrode foil strip, and the first electrode foil cloth by the first electrode foil supply unit is used. A laminated battery manufacturing apparatus characterized in that it is configured to stop the supply of the battery.

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