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EP-4738441-A1 - DRY ELECTRODE MANUFACTURING DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD

EP4738441A1EP 4738441 A1EP4738441 A1EP 4738441A1EP-4738441-A1

Abstract

A dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) includes an input portion (10) configured to supply electrode powder, a guide chute (20) configured to pass the electrode powder supplied from the input portion (10), a dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) disposed inside the guide chute (20) and configured to undergo at least one of a linear motion or a rotational motion to disperse the electrode powder and adjust a particle-size distribution, a drive unit (40) configured to provide power to the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32), and compression rolls (60) configured to compress the electrode powder discharged from the guide chute (20) into an electrode member in a sheet form having a desired thickness.

Inventors

  • KIM, Sangpil
  • LEE, JINHYON
  • Lee, Gaeon
  • KIM, Kangmin

Assignees

  • SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20251001

Claims (15)

  1. A dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) comprising: an input portion (10) configured to supply electrode powder; a guide chute (20) configured to pass the electrode powder supplied from the input portion (10); at least one dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) inside the guide chute (20) and configured to undergo at least one of a linear motion or a rotational motion to disperse the electrode powder supplied form the input portion (10) and configured to adjust a particle-size distribution of the electrode powder supplied form the input portion (10); a drive unit (40) configured to provide power to the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32); and compression rolls (60) configured to compress the electrode powder discharged from the guide chute (20) into an electrode member in a sheet form having a desired thickness.
  2. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide chute (20) comprises at least one slit hole (21) formed in a width direction and wherein the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) has a columnar shape protruding from an inner rear surface of the guide chute (20) in a front direction, and wherein the at least one dispersion rod (30) is configured to undergo a linear motion along the at least one slit hole (21).
  3. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the drive unit (40) is connected to the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) through the slit hole (21) and comprises a linear motor configured to perform a linear motion along a path in which the slit hole (21) is formed.
  4. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) comprises a circular column and/or a polygonal column.
  5. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the apparatus (1) comprises a plurality of dispersion rods (30, 31, 32) being arranged along a width direction of the guide chute (20).
  6. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of dispersion rods (30, 31, 32) undergoes the linear motion either in a same direction or in different directions from each other.
  7. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the apparatus (1) comprises a plurality of dispersion rods (30, 31, 32) and wherein the guide chute (20) comprises a plurality of slit holes (21), wherein the plurality of slit holes (21) are formed in a width direction at different heights, and wherein each of the plurality of dispersion rods (30, 31, 32) is arranged in one of the plurality of slit hole (21).
  8. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) comprises a plate and is configured to have a rotation axis extending in a front direction from an inner rear surface of the guide chute (20) so as to perform a rotational motion.
  9. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the guide chute (20) comprises a through-hole formed corresponding to the rotation axis, and the drive unit (40) passes through the through-hole and is connected to the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32), and comprises a rotary motor configured to perform the rotational motion.
  10. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in any of claims 8 or 9, wherein a long side length of the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) corresponds to a width length of the guide chute (20) and/or wherein a short side length of the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) corresponds to a thickness length of the guide chute (20), the thickness length being determined in a front direction from a rear surface.
  11. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in any of claims 8 to 10, wherein: the guide chute (20) comprises a first region (20a) having a first thickness from an inlet to a first height (23), and a second region (20b) in which the thickness gradually narrows from the first height (23) to an outlet, and when the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) is rotated so as to be perpendicular to a width direction of the guide chute (20), a second height (24) at which a lowest end of the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) is located is higher than the first height (23).
  12. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in any of claims 8 to 11, wherein the apparatus (1) comprises a plurality of dispersion rods (30, 31, 32) being arranged along a height direction of the guide chute (20).
  13. The dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) as claimed in claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of dispersion rods (30, 31, 32) inside the guide chute (20) either has a same initial angle, rotation direction, and rotation speed, or has at least one of an initial angle, a rotation direction, or a rotation speed that are different from each other.
  14. A dry electrode manufacturing method, the method preferably being performed by a dry electrode manufacturing apparatus (1) configured according to any of the previous claims, the method comprising the steps: supplying electrode powder to a guide chute (20) through an input portion (10); dispersing the supplied electrode powder by a dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) disposed inside the guide chute (20) undergoing at least one of a linear motion or a rotational motion, to adjust a particle-size distribution of the electrode powder; and compressing, by compression rolls (60), the electrode powder discharged from the guide chute (20) into an electrode member in a sheet form having a desired thickness.
  15. The dry electrode manufacturing method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the adjusting the particle-size distribution of the electrode powder comprises linearly moving the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) along a path of a slit hole (21) formed in a width direction inside the guide chute (20) to disperse the electrode powder in the width direction of the guide chute (20) and/or rotationally moving the dispersion rod (30, 31, 32) using a rotation axis formed in a front direction from an inner rear surface of the guide chute (20) so as to disperse the electrode powder in the width direction of the guide chute (20).

Description

BACKGROUND 1. FIELD The present disclosure relates to a dry electrode manufacturing device, and a manufacturing method thereof. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART Unlike primary batteries that are not designed to be (re)charged, secondary (or rechargeable) batteries are designed to be discharged and recharged. Low-capacity secondary batteries are used in portable, small electronic devices, such as smart phones, feature phones, notebook computers, digital cameras, and camcorders, while large-capacity secondary batteries are widely used as power sources for driving motors in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles, and for storing power (e.g., home and/or utility scale power storage). A secondary battery generally includes an electrode assembly including a positive electrode and a negative electrode, a case accommodating the electrode assembly, and electrode terminals connected to the electrode assembly. In a conventional method of manufacturing an electrode, a conductive material and a binder, in addition to an active material, may be mixed into a solvent to form a slurry having fluidity, and then the slurry may be sprayed or coated onto an electrode substrate and dried to remove the liquid solvent. In this wet process, during the drying of the solvent, differences in the evaporation rate between the surface and the interior may cause various bonds to occur. Accordingly, operating the drying facility may be difficult, and as a result, economic and time losses may occur. A dry process may help address this issue. In the dry process, a free-standing film may be manufactured by mixing a solid powder active material, binder, and conductive material without using a solvent, thereby forming a dry powder, and then passing the dry powder through a rolling process between a pair of compression rolls. An electrode may be manufactured by laminating the free-standing film onto an electrode substrate. Since the dry process omits the drying step, a thick, high-density electrode plate may be manufactured compared to the wet process. According to the dry process, the energy density of a secondary battery may be increased. However, in the dry process, due to particle-size segregation that is typically generated in the processes of mixing, transferring, and feeding the dry powder, the formability, tensile strength, and mechanical properties of the free-standing film may not be uniform. The above information disclosed in this Background section is for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore, may contain information that does not constitute related (or prior) art. SUMMARY An issue to be addressed in the present disclosure is to provide a dry electrode manufacturing device, and a manufacturing method. However, the technical issues to be addressed by the present disclosure are not limited to the above, and other issues not mentioned herein, and aspects and features of the present disclosure that would address such issues, are clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the present disclosure below. According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a dry electrode manufacturing apparatus includes an input portion configured to supply electrode powder, a guide chute configured to pass the electrode powder supplied from the input portion, a dispersion rod inside the guide chute and configured to perform at least one of a linear motion or a rotational motion to disperse the electrode powder and adjust a particle-size distribution, a drive unit configured to provide power to the dispersion rod, and compression rolls configured to compress the electrode powder discharged from the guide chute into an electrode member in a sheet form having a predetermined or desired thickness. According to one or more example embodiments, the guide chute may include at least one slit hole formed in a width direction, and the dispersion rod may include at least one dispersion rod having a columnar shape protruding from an inner rear surface of the guide chute in a front direction, the at least one dispersion rod being configured to perform a linear motion along the at least one slit hole. According to one or more example embodiments, the drive unit may be connected to the dispersion rod through the slit hole and may include a linear motor configured to perform a linear motion along a path in which the slit hole is formed. According to one or more example embodiments, the dispersion rod may be formed as or include a circular column. According to one or more example embodiments, the dispersion rod may be formed as or include a polygonal column. According to one or more example embodiments, the dispersion rod may include a plurality of dispersion rods along the width direction of the guide chute. According to one or more example embodiments, each of the plurality of dispersion rods may perform the linear motion in the same direction. According to one or more example embodime