EP-4741064-A1 - FINAL-CURING MECHANISM, JET PRINTING APPARATUS FOR INSULATING LAYER OF LITHIUM BATTERY, AND JET PRINTING METHOD

EP4741064A1EP 4741064 A1EP4741064 A1EP 4741064A1EP-4741064-A1

Abstract

Provided are a final curing mechanism, an apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery, and a spray printing method. The final curing mechanism includes a housing (100), a final curing lamp assembly (21), and a cooling and heat-insulation unit. The final curing lamp assembly (21) is mounted in the housing (100) and spaced apart from a to-be-sprayed product. The cooling and heat-insulation unit has a heat-insulation layer. The heat-insulation layer is located between the final curing lamp assembly (21) and the to-be-sprayed product, and configured to block or delay transfer of heat generated by the final curing lamp assembly (21) to the to-be-sprayed product. The cooling and heat-insulation unit can reduce an impact of the heat generated by the final curing lamp assembly on the to-be-sprayed product, improving a yield rate of the to-be-sprayed product. By employing the final curing mechanism, the apparatus for spray printing the insulation layer of the lithium battery can reduce an impact of the heat generated by the final curing lamp assembly on the battery during final curing, improving a yield rate of the battery. The spray printing method enables applying a small amount of coating material on the to-be-sprayed product in a single spray and curing the coating material, and involves repeating the spraying and the curing several times, achieving a desired coating thickness while ensuring a curing effect of the coating material.

Inventors

ZHANG, Xiaoran
LI, Weibo
SU, BIN
CHEN, LIQUAN

Assignees

Eve Power Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20250114

Claims (20)

A final curing mechanism, comprising: a housing; a final curing lamp assembly mounted in the housing and spaced apart from a to-be-sprayed product, the final curing lamp assembly being configured to perform final curing on an insulation coating on the to-be-sprayed product; a cooling and heat-insulation unit having a heat-insulation layer, wherein the heat-insulation layer is located between the final curing lamp assembly and the to-be-sprayed product and is configured to block or delay transfer of heat generated by the final curing lamp assembly to the to-be-sprayed product.
The final curing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the cooling and heat-insulation unit comprises a linear light-transmitting heat-insulation plate mounted at an end of the final curing lamp assembly facing the to-be-sprayed product, the heat-insulation layer being formed by the linear light-transmitting heat-insulation plate.
The final curing mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the to-be-sprayed product is completely covered by a projection of the linear light-transmitting heat-insulation plate on the to-be-sprayed product.
The final curing mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the linear light-transmitting heat-insulation plate is a quartz light-transmitting heat-insulation plate.
The final curing mechanism according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of final curing lamp assemblies are provided, wherein: a first portion of the plurality of final curing lamp assemblies is arranged to be suspended above the to-be-sprayed product; a second portion of the plurality of final curing lamp assemblies is arranged to be located at two sides of the to-be-sprayed product; and each of the plurality of final curing lamp assemblies is provided with the linear light-transmitting heat-insulation plate at the end of the final curing lamp assembly facing the to-be-sprayed product.
The final curing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the cooling and heat-insulation unit comprises an air knife assembly mounted in the housing, wherein: a projection of the air knife assembly on the to-be-sprayed product is spaced apart from a to-be-sprayed region of the to-be-sprayed product; and the air knife assembly is configured to generate an airflow to form the heat-insulation layer, for blocking the transfer of heat from the final curing lamp assembly to the to-be-sprayed product.
An apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery, the apparatus comprising: a spraying and curing mechanism; the final curing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the spraying and curing mechanism is located upstream of the final curing mechanism and configured to perform spraying and initial curing on the to-be-sprayed product; a material carrier configured to carry the to-be-sprayed product; and a spraying station and a curing station that are sequentially arranged and spaced apart from each other in a predetermined direction, wherein the to-be-sprayed product is subjected to the spraying and the initial curing at the spraying station and the curing station, respectively, wherein the material carrier is configured to carry the to-be-sprayed product and move in the predetermined direction between the spraying station and the curing station, enabling the to-be-sprayed product to subject to two or more times of spraying and curing; and wherein the final curing mechanism is configured to perform final curing on the to-be-sprayed product that has been subjected to the two or more times of spraying and curing.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 7, wherein the spraying station and the curing station that are sequentially arranged and spaced apart from each other in the predetermined direction together constitute a spraying-curing station; when one spraying-curing station is provided, the material carrier is configured to carry the to-be-sprayed product and reciprocate in the predetermined direction between the spraying station and the curing station, enabling the to-be-sprayed product to subject to the two or more times of spraying and curing; and when two or more spraying-curing stations are provided, the two or more spraying-curing stations are arranged sequentially in the predetermined direction, wherein the material carrier is configured to carry the to-be-sprayed product, and move unidirectionally in the predetermined direction to sequentially pass through the two or more spraying-curing stations or reciprocate in the predetermined direction between the spraying station and the curing station, enabling the to-be-sprayed product to subject to the two or more times of spraying and curing.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 8, wherein: the quantity of spraying and curing mechanisms equals the quantity of spraying-curing stations, the spraying and curing mechanisms being arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the spraying-curing stations; the spraying and curing mechanism comprises a spray printing head and a curing lamp assembly, the spray printing head being configured to spray a coating material on the to-be-sprayed product located at the spraying station, and the curing lamp assembly being configured to perform curing on the coating material on the to-be-sprayed product located at the curing station.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 8, the apparatus further comprising: a driving mechanism comprising a driver and a guide rail, wherein the guide rail extends in the predetermined direction, and wherein the driver is configured to drive the material carrier to reciprocate or move unidirectionally along the guide rail.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 8, the apparatus further comprising: a loading station; and an unloading station, wherein the loading station is located upstream of all spraying-curing stations in the predetermined direction, and wherein the unloading station is located downstream of all the spraying-curing stations in the predetermined direction.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 8, the apparatus further comprising: a final curing station corresponding to the final curing mechanism and located downstream of all spraying-curing stations in the predetermined direction, wherein the final curing lamp assembly in the final curing mechanism is configured to perform final curing on the coating material on the to-be-sprayed product located at the final curing station.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 8, wherein the curing lamp assembly comprises an initial curing lamp assembly and the final curing lamp assembly, wherein: a luminous intensity of the final curing lamp assembly is greater than a luminous intensity of the initial curing lamp assembly; the initial curing lamp assembly is configured to perform initial curing on the coating material on the to-be-sprayed product; and the final curing lamp assembly is configured to perform final curing on the coating material on the to-be-sprayed product.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 9, wherein the spraying and curing mechanism further comprises a plurality of negative pressure air ducts arranged around the spray printing head in a circumferential direction of the spray printing head, wherein: each of the plurality of negative pressure air ducts has a lower end having a negative pressure suction port and is connected to an exhaust fan.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 9, wherein the spraying and curing mechanism further comprises a light blocking plate located between the spray printing head and the curing lamp assembly, the light blocking plate being configured to block curing light from irradiating on a nozzle of the spray printing head.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 15, wherein a length of the to-be-sprayed region of the to-be-sprayed product in the predetermined direction is L1, and wherein a distance from a downstream side of the nozzle of the spray printing head closest to the light blocking plate to an upstream side of the curing lamp assembly closest to the light blocking plate is L2, where L2=L1.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 8, the apparatus further comprising: an image capturing station; and an image capturer corresponding to the image capturing station, wherein the image capturer is configured to identify and locate the to-be-sprayed region of the to-be-sprayed product located at the image capturing station.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 17, the apparatus satisfying at least one of the following conditions: a difference between a position of the to-be-sprayed product in a height direction when the to-be-sprayed product is located at the image capturing station and a position of the to-be-sprayed product in the height direction when the to-be-sprayed product is located at the spraying station is smaller than or equal to 0.5 mm; or a difference between a position of the to-be-sprayed product in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction when the to-be-sprayed product is located at the image capturing station and a position of the to-be-sprayed product in the direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction when the to-be-sprayed product is located at the spraying station is smaller than or equal to 0.5 mm.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of housings are provided, wherein: the spraying and curing mechanism and the spraying-curing station corresponding to the spraying and curing mechanism are located in one of the plurality of housings; the final curing mechanism is located in another one of the plurality of housings; and each of the plurality of housings has an entrance for entry of the material carrier and an exit for exit of the material carrier.
The apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery according to claim 19, the apparatus further comprising: a door plate assembly, provided at each of the entrance and the exit of each of the plurality of housings and configured to open or close the entrance and the exit of the housing.

Description

This application claims priorities to Chinese patent applications Nos. 202410747354.6 and 202421319016.4, filed with China National Intellectual Property Administration on June 11, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD The present invention relates to the field of battery manufacturing technologies, for example, to a final curing mechanism, an apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery, and a spray printing method applied in the apparatus for spray printing the insulation layer of the lithium battery. BACKGROUND A lithium battery includes a case and a cell sealed inside the case. An insulation layer is wrapped around an outer surface of the case, which provides insulation and voltage-withstand protection for the case. SUMMARY Technical Problems When an apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery sprays a relatively thick coating, a coating material tends to flow and therefore fails to uniformly build up to a required thickness. When the coating material is relatively thick, ultraviolet light cannot reach a bottommost layer of the coating material, affecting a curing effect and making it difficult to obtain a high-quality coating. Further, when a curing lamp of the apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery is a final curing lamp, the final curing lamp generates relatively substantial heat during operation. If the heat is transferred to the battery, components inside the battery are likely to be damaged. In severe cases, normal use of the battery is even affected, resulting in a low yield rate of the battery. Technical Solutions The present invention provides a final curing mechanism. The final curing mechanism includes: a housing; a final curing lamp assembly mounted in the housing and spaced apart from a to-be-sprayed product, the final curing lamp assembly being configured to perform final curing on an insulation coating on the to-be-sprayed product; a cooling and heat-insulation unit having a heat-insulation layer. The heat-insulation layer is located between the final curing lamp assembly and the to-be-sprayed product and is configured to block or delay transfer of heat generated by the final curing lamp assembly to the to-be-sprayed product. The present invention further provides an apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery. The apparatus includes a spraying and curing mechanism and the final curing mechanism. The spraying and curing mechanism is located upstream of the final curing mechanism and configured to perform spraying and initial curing on the to-be-sprayed product. The apparatus further includes: a material carrier configured to carry the to-be-sprayed product; and a spraying station and a curing station that are sequentially arranged and spaced apart from each other in a predetermined direction. The to-be-sprayed product is subjected to the spraying and the curing at the spraying station and the curing station, respectively. The material carrier is configured to carry the to-be-sprayed product and move in the predetermined direction between the spraying station and the curing station, enabling the to-be-sprayed product to subject to two or more times of spraying and curing. The final curing mechanism is configured to perform final curing on the to-be-sprayed product that has been subjected to the two or more times of spraying and curing. The present invention further provides a method for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery. The method is applied in the apparatus for spray printing an insulation layer of a lithium battery. The method includes: a parameter presetting step: presetting a total thickness of a required coating as H0, and presetting a thickness of a coating material sprayed in a single application as Hx, in which H0=m*Hx, where m is a positive integer, and m≥2; and a spray printing step: performing m times of spraying and curing on the to-be-sprayed product. During each of the m times of spraying and curing, one spraying operation and one curing operation are sequentially performed on the to-be-sprayed product. Advantageous Effects The present invention provides the following advantageous effects. The final curing mechanism provided by the present invention includes the housing, the final curing lamp assembly, and the cooling and heat-insulation unit. The final curing lamp assembly is mounted in the housing and spaced apart from the to-be-sprayed product. The cooling and heat-insulation unit has the heat-insulation layer. The heat-insulation layer is located between the final curing lamp assembly and the to-be-sprayed product, and is configured to block or delay the transfer of the heat generated by the final curing lamp assembly to the to-be-sprayed product, to reduce an impact of the heat generated by the final curing lamp assembly on the to-be-sprayed product, improving a yield rate of the to-be-sprayed product.