KR101243573B1 - Apparatus and method for coating active material - Google Patents

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention relates to an active material coating apparatus and method.
An embodiment of the present invention is a tank for storing an active material slurry, a pump connected to the tank for supplying a slurry, a slot die formed to coat the slurry supplied from the pump on any surface of the electrode collector, the coated portion is wide Disclosed is an active material coating apparatus and a coating method using the apparatus, comprising a thickness measuring unit measuring a thickness in a direction and a coating direction, and a drying furnace such that the coating surface on which the thickness is measured is dried.

Description

Active material coating apparatus and method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR COATING ACTIVE MATERIAL}

One embodiment of the present invention relates to an active material coating apparatus and method.

The secondary battery is manufactured by inserting an electrode assembly including a positive electrode plate, a negative electrode plate, and a separator into a case, and then sealing the cap assembly. The positive electrode plate is generally coated with a slurry for the positive electrode active material prepared in the mixing process to a predetermined pattern and a predetermined thickness through a predetermined slot die to an electrode current collector made of aluminum and dried. The dried electrode plate controls the coating quality in the density meter.

When the coating speed is increased in the manufacturing process, the dispersion of the loading level per unit area is increased with respect to the width direction of the electrode current collector, resulting in poor coating quality. In this process, since the quality can be confirmed after drying, the electrode plate that is unevenly coated or not coated with the set coating thickness should be discarded. At this time, since the pole plate discarded is longer than the length of the drying plate, the loss of the pole plate is large.

One embodiment of the present invention provides an active material coating apparatus and method capable of automatically adjusting the coating thickness before the active material is dried.

In addition, one embodiment of the present invention provides an active material coating apparatus and method that can manage the coating quality before drying by measuring the coating thickness in the coating direction and the width direction coating thickness.

An active material coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is a tank for storing an active material slurry, a pump connected to the tank to supply a slurry, a slot die formed to coat the slurry supplied from the pump on any one surface of the electrode collector, It characterized in that it comprises a thickness measuring unit for measuring the thickness in the width direction and the coating direction for the coated portion and a drying furnace such that the coating surface is measured the thickness is dried.

In addition, the thickness measuring unit measures the thickness in the width direction of the electrode current collector, and the thickness of the first interlocking control unit and the coating direction of the electrode current collector to control the gap (gap) of the slot die according to the measured thickness of the slurry It may be formed to include a second interlocking control unit for measuring and controlling the pump according to the measured thickness of the slurry.

In addition, the first interlocking control unit is a dispersion setting unit for setting the distribution area of the coating width in the coating direction of the electrode current collector, a dispersion measurement unit for measuring the dispersion of each area in the dispersion setting unit and the set with the measured dispersion It may be formed to include a slot die control unit for comparing the dispersion to determine the amount of slot die gap adjustment. The dispersion setting unit may be formed such that the dispersion region corresponds to the region where the gap controller of the slot die is located.

In addition, the second interlocking control unit is formed by including a coating direction thickness measuring unit for measuring the thickness of the slurry in the coating direction, the pump control unit for comparing the slurry thickness and the set thickness, and controls the pump until the thickness is matched Can be. The pump control unit may be formed by controlling the flow amount of the slurry by the pump speed.

In addition, the active material coating method according to another embodiment of the present invention is a slurry supply step of supplying the slurry of the storage tank to the pump, preparing the coating step of the supplied slurry is injected into the slot die, the slurry discharged from the slot die electrode The coating step is coated on any one surface of the current collector, characterized in that it comprises a thickness measuring step of measuring the thickness in the width direction and the coating direction in the coated portion and a drying step of drying the thickness measured coating surface.

Further, in the coating step, a spread setting step of setting a spread area in the width direction, a scatter measurement step of measuring the spread of the set spread area, and determining whether the data obtained by averaging the spread of each measured area and the spread data are the same. It can be formed to include a slot die control step of adjusting the slot die gap (gap).

In addition, the coating step may be formed by including a coating direction thickness measuring step of measuring the thickness of the coating direction and a pump control step of controlling the pump rotation speed by comparing the average data and the setting data of the measured thickness.

According to the active material coating apparatus and method according to an embodiment of the present invention there is an effect that can automatically adjust the coating thickness before the active material is dried.

In addition, according to the active material coating apparatus and method according to an embodiment of the present invention it is possible to manage the coating quality before drying by measuring the coating thickness in the coating direction and the width direction can minimize the loss of the electrode plate.

1 is a block diagram of an active material coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a configuration diagram illustrating the thickness measurement unit of FIG. 1.
3 is a flowchart of a coating method using FIG. 1.
4 is a flowchart illustrating the thickness measurement step of FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings such that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention.

First, an active material coating apparatus and a coating method using the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

1 is a block diagram of an active material coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating the thickness measurement unit of FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart of a coating method using FIG. 1. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the thickness measurement step of FIG.

In the active material coating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2, the slurry tank 10, the pump 20, the electrode collector 14, the slot die 30, and the thickness measuring unit ( 40) and a drying furnace 50 are formed.

The active material coating apparatus measures the coating thickness before the slurry 12 is coated on the electrode current collector 14 and dried. In this case, the coating thickness may be measured in both the width direction and the coating direction to manage the coating quality.

The slurry tank 10 stores the slurry 12. The slurry 12 is prepared by mixing a positive electrode or a negative electrode active material and a conductive material. The active material is a chalcogenide compound as a cathode active material. As the chalcogenide compound, complex metal oxides such as LiCoO 2, LiMn 2 O 4, LiNiO 2, LiNi 1-x Cox O 2 (0 <x <1), and LiMnO 2 are used. As the negative electrode active material, a carbon (C) based material is used. The carbon-based material may be Si, Sn, tin oxide, composite tin alloys, transition metal oxide, lithium metal nitride or lithium metal oxide.

The pump 20 is connected to a tank to supply slurry to the slot die 30. The pump 20 is controlled to supply the slurry 12 according to the number of revolutions. At this time, the rotation speed of the pump 20 is controlled by the thickness measuring unit 40 described below.

The electrode current collector 14 is supplied with a constant tension by the guide roll 16. The electrode current collector 14 is generally a metallic sheet, for example, known metal foil. The electrode current collector 14 is made of aluminum, nickel, or the like as the anode electrode plate. The electrode current collector 14 is made of copper, nickel, stainless steel, or the like for the negative electrode plate. Preferably, aluminum foil is used for the positive electrode current collector and copper foil is used for the negative electrode current collector.

The slot die 30 is sprayed with a slurry 12 through a jet hole formed in a slit shape. The slot die 30 includes a plurality of gap regulators so that the slurry 12 is evenly ejected. At this time, the gap (gap) is not limited in number. The gap adjuster is controlled by the thickness measurement unit 40 described below.

The thickness measuring unit 40 includes a first interlocking control unit 41 and a second interlocking control unit 45.

The thickness measuring unit 40 measures the thickness in the width direction and the coating direction of the slurry 12 immediately after coating. The thickness measuring unit 40 controls the slot die 30 and the pump 20 by comparing the measured data with the setting data.

The first interlocking controller 41 includes a scatter setting unit 42, a scatter measuring unit 43, and a slot die controller 44.

The first interlocking controller 41 measures the thickness in the width direction of the electrode current collector 14 and controls the gap of the slot die 30 according to the measured thickness of the slurry.

The dispersion setting unit 42 sets a scattering area to measure the thickness in the width direction in the coating direction of the electrode current collector 14. The scattering area is formed at a position corresponding to the gap controller of the slot die 30.

The dispersion measurement unit 43 measures the dispersion of the dispersion region. Calculate scatter data according to the scatter area.

The slot die controller 44 compares the distribution data of each region with the overall average to determine the gap adjustment amount. The gap adjustment changes the gap of the lip portion of the slot die 30 in the thickness in the width direction. In the slot die 30, the thickness of the slurry 12 is increased by discharging more of the slurry 12 than in the region where the gap is large. Therefore, the gap control amount is determined for each scattering area, and the thickness is automatically adjusted. At this time, the gap (gap) control amount may be changed according to the active material properties contained in the slurry (12).

The second interlocking control part 45 includes a coating direction thickness measuring part 46 and a pump control part 47.

The coating direction thickness measuring unit 46 measures the thickness of the electrode current collector 14 in the coating direction. In this case, the area for measuring the thickness may be formed in the same manner as the scattering area.

The pump controller 47 compares the measured thickness with the set thickness. If the measured thickness is smaller than the set data, the rotation speed of the pump 20 is increased. When the rotation speed of the pump 20 is increased, the discharge amount of the slurry 12 is increased. The pump control unit 47 repeatedly compares the measured thickness until the set data match. If the measured thickness is larger than the set data, the rotation speed of the pump 20 is reduced to reduce the amount of slurry 12 discharged.

The drying furnace 50 completes the electrode plate by drying the electrode current collector 14 coated with the slurry 12. The drying furnace 50 is formed to a length such that the electrode current collector 14 is accommodated by the transfer device, the slurry 12 can be completely dried while passing through the drying furnace 50.

In the active material coating method according to an embodiment of the present invention, referring to Figures 3 to 4, slurry supply step (S100), coating preparation step (S200), coating step (S300), thickness measurement step (S400) and drying Step S500 is included.

The active material coating method measures the coating thickness in the coating direction and the width direction immediately after the slurry 12 is coated. At this time, the coating thickness measurement step (S400) is made to match the set thickness, it is made repeatedly to be coated evenly in the width direction.

The slurry supply step (S100) supplies the slurry 12 stored in the tank 10 to the pump 20.

In the coating preparation step (S200), the slurry 12 supplied from the pump 20 is injected into the slot die 30.

In the coating step S300, the slurry 12 discharged from the slot die 30 is applied to any one surface of the electrode current collector 14. In this case, the slurry 12 may be uniformly applied to a predetermined thickness through the slot die (30).

The thickness measuring step S400 includes a scattering setting step S410, a scattering measuring step S430, a slot die control step S440, a coating direction thickness measuring step S420, and a pump control step S460.

The thickness measuring step (S400) measures the thickness in the width direction and the coating direction. The pump 20 and the slot die 30 are controlled through the measured data.

The spreading setting step (S410) sets the spreading region in the width direction with respect to the coating direction. The spreading area is set to correspond to a gap controller.

The spread measurement step (S430) measures the spread for each spread area. Calculate the data of the measured dispersion. The dispersion is data obtained by subtracting the average of the width direction from the thickness of the slurry.

The slot die control step (S440) determines whether the data obtained by averaging the measured distributions of the respective areas and the respective distribution data are the same. When the scatter data is smaller than the average data, the slot die gap is controlled to be large to increase the slurry discharge amount. When the scatter data is larger than the average data, the slot die gap is controlled to be smaller to reduce the amount of slurry discharged. Comparing the scatter data with the mean data is repeated until the two data are identical.

The coating direction thickness measuring step (S420) measures the thickness of the coating direction. The area for measuring the thickness in the coating direction may be set in the same manner as the spread area.

The pump control step (S460) compares the average data and the set data of the measured thickness to adjust the pump rotation speed (S470). If the thickness average data is smaller than the set data, the rotation speed of the pump is increased to increase the amount of slurry discharged. If the thickness average data is larger than the set data, the rotation speed of the pump is reduced to reduce the amount of slurry. The pump control step (S460) is repeatedly compared and judged until the thickness average data and the set data match.

The drying step (S500) to dry the electrode current collector 14, the slurry 12 is coated. At this time, the slurry coating surface is finished coating quality evaluation in the thickness measurement step (S400).

What has been described above is only one embodiment of the method for manufacturing an electrode plate according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the scope of the present invention is departed from the scope of the following claims. Without this, anyone skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will have the technical spirit of the present invention to the extent that various modifications can be made.

10 tank 12 slurry
14: electrode collector 16: roller
20: pump 30: slot die
40: thickness measuring unit 50: drying furnace

Claims (9)

A tank for storing the active material slurry;
A pump connected to the tank to supply slurry;
A slot die formed to coat one surface of an electrode current collector with the slurry supplied from the pump;
A thickness measuring unit measuring a thickness in a width direction and a coating direction of the coated portion; And
And a drying furnace to dry the coated surface having the thickness measured, wherein the thickness measuring unit measures a thickness in a width direction of the electrode current collector, and controls a gap of the slot die according to the measured thickness of the slurry. 1 interlock control unit; And
And a second interlocking control unit for measuring a thickness in the coating direction of the electrode current collector and controlling the pump according to the measured thickness of the slurry, wherein the first interlocking control unit spreads the coating width in the coating direction of the electrode current collector. A distribution setting unit configured to set an area, wherein the distribution area is formed at a position corresponding to an area where a plurality of gap adjusters of the slot die are located; A scatter measurement unit measuring a scatter of each spread area; And a slot die controller for comparing the measured dispersion with a set dispersion and determining a gap control amount of a plurality of gap controllers of the slot die. delete delete delete The method of claim 1,
The second interlock control unit is a coating direction thickness measuring unit for measuring the thickness of the slurry in the coating direction;
Comparing the slurry thickness and the set thickness, and the active material coating apparatus comprising a pump control unit for controlling the pump until the thickness is matched. The method of claim 5, wherein
The pump control unit is an active material coating device, characterized in that for controlling the amount of slurry by the pump speed. A slurry supplying step of supplying a slurry of a storage tank to a pump;
A coating preparation step in which the supplied slurry is injected into a slot die;
A coating step in which the slurry discharged from the slot die is coated on one surface of an electrode current collector;
A thickness measurement step of measuring thickness in the width direction and the coating direction at the coated portion; And
And a drying step of drying the thickness-coated surface, and setting a spreading area in a width direction in the coating step, wherein the spreading areas are respectively corresponding to areas where a plurality of gap regulators of the slot die are located. A scatter setting step of forming;
A scatter measurement step of measuring a scatter of the set scatter area; And
And a slot die control step of controlling gaps by a plurality of gap controllers of the slot dies by determining whether the average data of the measured areas are identical to the scatter data. Way. delete The method of claim 7, wherein
Coating direction thickness measuring step of measuring the thickness of the coating direction in the coating step; And
Comprising a pump control step of controlling the pump rotation speed by comparing the average data and the set data of the measured thickness of the active material coating method.

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