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EP-4492564-B1 - CLEANING SYSTEM

EP4492564B1EP 4492564 B1EP4492564 B1EP 4492564B1EP-4492564-B1

Inventors

  • PARK, KYEONG HOON
  • KIM, HAK KYUN
  • LEE, JE JUN
  • Jung, Jimin

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20231213

Claims (12)

  1. A cleaning system for a crimping device (3), the crimping device (3) used for a process of crimping a cylindrical secondary battery (2) for sealing an opened upper end of a battery can in which an electrode assembly and a cap assembly are accommodated, wherein the cleaning system comprises: two or more dummy cans configured to clean a surface of the crimping device (3), wherein the two or more dummy cans each have a brush (8) provided on an outer surface thereof, wherein the brush (8) is configured to clean the surface of the crimping device (3), wherein the two or more dummy cans are provided with the same shape as the cylindrical secondary battery (2).
  2. The cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the brush (8) is configured so that the surface of the crimping device (3) is cleaned by physical friction with the brush (8).
  3. The cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the cleaning system further comprises a first station (6) configured to clean the brush (8), which is provided on the dummy can, by dipping the brush (8) in a cleaning agent.
  4. The cleaning system of claim 3, wherein the cleaning system is configured to clean the crimping device (3) by loading the two or more dummy cans, wherein the first station (6) is configured to clean the brush (8) of the dummy cans, which has already been used to clean the crimping device (3).
  5. The cleaning system of claim 3, wherein the cleaning system further comprises a second station configured to dry the brush (8) cleaned by the first station (6).
  6. The cleaning system of claim 5, configured such that the dummy can, after completion of drying by the second station, is loaded back into the process of crimping a cylindrical secondary battery (2).
  7. A system comprising the cleaning system of any one of the preceding claims and a crimping device (3) used for a process of crimping a cylindrical secondary battery (2) for sealing an opened upper end of a battery can in which an electrode assembly and a cap assembly are accommodated wherein the crimping device (3) includes a roller and a punch configured to seal the cylindrical secondary battery (2) by pressing the opened upper end of the battery can.
  8. A system comprising the cleaning system of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the system comprises: a cleaning line configured to clean a cylindrical secondary battery (2); a crimping line for performing a crimping process on a cylindrical secondary battery (2); a drying line for performing a drying process on a cylindrical secondary battery (2), wherein the brush (8) provided on the dummy can is cleaned in the cleaning line, and wherein the cleaning line is connected to the crimping line.
  9. The system of claim 8, wherein the cleaning line for cleaning the cylindrical secondary battery (2) comprises a hydraulic cleaning part (4) configured to mix water and a cleaning agent and clean the cylindrical secondary battery (2) by nozzle spraying, and wherein the hydraulic cleaning part (4) is configured to clean at least one of the brush (8) provided on the at least two or more dummy cans, and an outer surface of the cylindrical secondary battery (2) after completion of the crimping process.
  10. The system of claim 9, wherein the cleaning system is configured to clean the crimping device (3) by loading two or more dummy cans, and the brush (8) of the dummy cans, which has already been used to clean the crimping device (3), is cleaned by the hydraulic cleaning part (4).
  11. The system of claim 9, wherein the cleaning system further comprises a drying part configured to dry at least one of the brush (8) and the outer surface of the cylindrical secondary battery (2) cleaned by the hydraulic cleaning part (4).
  12. The system of claim 11, configured such that the dummy can, after completion of drying by the drying part, is loaded back into the process of crimping a cylindrical secondary battery (2).

Description

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to a cleaning system. This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0183448 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on December 23, 2022. [Background Art] A secondary battery refers to a battery that may be reused by being charged even after the battery is discharged. The secondary batteries may be used as energy sources for small-scale devices such as portable phones, tablet PCs, and cleaners and also used as energy sources for middle-scale or large-scale devices such as vehicles and an energy storage system (ESS) for a smart grid. The secondary batteries may be classified into a can-type battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a cylindrical battery can, and a pouch-type battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a pouch-type casing. In general, it is known that a cylindrical battery can type battery has a relatively high capacity and is excellent in structural stability. A cylindrical secondary battery may be manufactured by accommodating an electrode assembly, which has a wound structure, in a cylindrical battery can, injecting an electrolyte into the battery can, and then coupling a cap assembly, which has an electrode terminal, to an opened upper end of the battery can. The cylindrical secondary battery may be formed to have an intended external shape and sealed by a crimping process that sequentially performs a rolling process and a pressing process. In this case, during the crimping process, a crimping device is contaminated by the electrolyte, which causes over-gripping of the crimping device or the crimping device to be stuck by foreign substances. In order to cope with the contamination of the crimping device in the related art, an air knife, a vacuum suction, and the like have been used. However, because these components use air, a cleaning effect is low, and there is a limitation in removing dried salt and the like. KR20220060714A discloses a dummy cell for cleaning a cylindrical battery manufacturing device. A cleaning unit is attached to an outer surface of the dummy cell, which can include a fiber material, in particular a suede material. The cleaning of crimping devices is not addressed. Accordingly, there is an acute need for a technology capable of basically solving the above-mentioned problems. [Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Problem] The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problem in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning system capable of cleaning a crimping device used during a crimping process. [Technical Solution] The present specification provides a cleaning system according to claim 1. [Advantageous Effects] According to the cleaning system of the present invention, it is possible to easily remove even foreign substances attached to the crimping device that are not removed well by a cleaning method using air. [Brief Description of Drawings] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a dummy can of a cleaning system according to an embodiment of the present specification.FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a state in which a crimping device of the cleaning system according to the embodiment of the present specification comes into contact with a brush of the dummy can and is cleaned.FIG. 3 is a view schematically illustrating a process of the cleaning system according to the embodiment of the present specification.FIG. 4 is a view schematically illustrating a process of a cleaning system according to another embodiment of the present specification. [Explanation of Reference Numerals and Symbols] 1:Dummy can1-1:Main body part1-2:Forming part2:Cylindrical secondary battery3:Crimping device4:Hydraulic cleaning part5:Drying part6:First station7:Second station8:Brush [Best Mode] Hereinafter, the present specification will be described in more detail. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The exemplary embodiments disclosed in the present specification and the configurations illustrated in the drawings are just the best preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that various equivalents and modified examples capable of substituting the exemplary embodiments may be made at the time of filing the present application. In addition, to help understand the present invention, the accompanying drawings are not illustrated based on actual scales, but some constituent elements may be exaggerated in dimension. In addition, the constituent elements in different embodiments may be assigned with the same reference numerals. In the present specification, the term "on" not only means that a layer is positioned on one layer while being in physical contact with the layer but also means that a layer is positioned above one layer. That is, still another layer