JP-2026514217-A - Cell pouch manufacturing method and apparatus therefor, cell pouch manufactured thereby

Abstract

This invention discloses a cell pouch manufacturing method and apparatus suitable for improving the productivity of cell pouches, improving their physical properties by minimizing thermal deformation, maintaining consistent initial material properties, and reducing the manufacturing cost of the outer packaging, all by optimizing the maturation process which affects productivity during cell pouch manufacturing and the thermal deformation and physical properties of the cell pouches. The cell pouches manufactured therein are also disclosed. [Selection Diagram] Figure 1

Inventors

• ソン，ノクジョン
• ハン，ヒシック
• イ，ジミン
• パク，ハンチョル
• キム，ゴンリョン
• ヨン，ジンヒ
• シン，ソンチョル

Assignees

• ユルチョン・ケミカル・カンパニー・リミテッド

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20240405

Priority Date

20230406

Claims (20)

1. In a method for manufacturing cell pouch film, Either wind the final structure of the cell pouch film once in a single in-line process, and then perform the maturation process only once, or A method for manufacturing a cell pouch film, characterized in that, in a first inline process, a cell pouch film intermediate structure—the intermediate structure consisting of an outer layer, an outer adhesive layer, an outer surface treatment layer, a barrier layer, and an inner surface treatment layer—is wound once, followed by one maturation process, and in a second inline process, the final structure of the cell pouch film formed from the intermediate structure that has undergone the first maturation is wound once, followed by one maturation process, thereby performing a total of two maturation processes.
2. The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 1, characterized in that the manufacturing method for performing the aforementioned single maturation includes the following process step. (a) Step of preparing the barrier layer, (b) A step of surface coating the barrier layer to form a surface treatment layer, (c) A step of drying the surface treatment layer, (d) A step of forming an adhesive layer on the surface treatment layer - if the adhesive layer is an internal adhesive layer, it may be an adhesive coating layer, an extruded coating layer, or both. (e) A step of drying the adhesive layer, (f) Step of laminating the outer layer onto the adhesive layer, (g) a step of laminating a sealant layer to the innermost side of the barrier layer, and (h) the final structure of the manufactured cell pouch film undergoes the aging process, wherein steps (a) to (g) are performed in a single inline process, and the final structure of the cell pouch film is wound once.
3. The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 1, characterized in that the manufacturing method for performing the aforementioned two maturation cycles includes the following process step. (a) Step of preparing the barrier layer, (b) A step of surface coating the barrier layer to form a surface treatment layer, (c) A step of drying the surface treatment layer, (d-1) Step of forming an adhesive layer on the outer surface treatment layer, (e) A step of drying the adhesive layer, (f) Step of laminating the outer layer onto the adhesive layer, (i) The step of subjecting the prepared cell pouch film intermediate structure to the first maturation process, (d-2) A step of performing one maturation, and then forming an adhesive layer on the inner surface treatment layer - which may be an adhesive coating layer, an extruded coating layer, or both. (g) a step of laminating a sealant layer to the innermost side of the barrier layer on which the adhesive layer has been formed, and (h') a step of subjecting the final structure of the manufactured cell pouch film to a second maturation process.
4. The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 1, characterized in that step (b) is performed in the following step. (b-1) A step of coating the outer surface with a barrier layer to form an outer surface treatment layer, and/or (b-2) A step of coating the inner surface with a barrier layer to form an inner surface treatment layer.
5. The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 1, characterized in that step (d) is performed in the following step. (d-1) A step of forming an adhesive layer on an outer surface treatment layer, and/or (d-2) A step of forming an adhesive layer on an inner surface treatment layer.
6. The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that step (g) involves joining pre-prepared sealant films by extrusion coating to form a sealant layer.
7. The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that step (g) is performed by co-extrusion using a T-die to form an extruded coating layer and a sealant layer.
8. Step (b) consists of (b-1) a step of coating the outer surface of the barrier layer to form an outer surface treatment layer, and (b-2) a step of coating the inner surface of the barrier layer to form an inner surface treatment layer. Step (d) consists of a step (d-1) of forming an adhesive layer on the outer surface treatment layer and a step (d-2) of forming an adhesive layer on the inner surface treatment layer. The method for manufacturing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that step (g) involves laminating a pre-prepared sealant film to an adhesive layer formed on the inner surface treatment layer.
9. Step (b) consists of (b-1) a step of coating the outer surface of the barrier layer to form an outer surface treatment layer, and (b-2) a step of coating the inner surface of the barrier layer to form an inner surface treatment layer. Step (d) consists of step (d-1) forming an adhesive layer on the outer surface treatment layer, (g) The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that step (g) is to join a pre-prepared sealant film by extrusion coating to form a sealant layer.
10. Step (b) consists of (b-1) a step of coating the outer surface of the barrier layer to form an outer surface treatment layer, and (b-2) a step of coating the inner surface of the barrier layer to form an inner surface treatment layer. Step (d) consists of step (d-1) forming an adhesive layer on the outer surface treatment layer, (g) The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that step (g) is to form an extruded coating layer and a sealant layer by co-extrusion using a T-die.
11. Step (b) consists of (b-1) a step of coating the outer surface of the barrier layer to form an outer surface treatment layer, and (b-2) a step of coating the inner surface of the barrier layer to form an inner surface treatment layer. Step (d) consists of step (d-1) forming an adhesive layer on the outer surface treatment layer, (g) The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that step (g) sequentially forms an extruded coating layer and a sealant layer by an extrusion method.
12. Step (b) consists of (b-1) a step of coating the outer surface of the barrier layer to form an outer surface treatment layer, and (b-2) a step of coating the inner surface of the barrier layer to form an inner surface treatment layer. Step (d) consists of step (d-1) of forming an adhesive layer on the outer surface treatment layer and step (d-2) of forming an adhesive layer on the inner surface treatment layer. (g) The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that step (g) is to join a pre-prepared sealant film by extrusion coating to form a sealant layer.
13. Step (b) consists of (b-1) a step of coating the outer surface of the barrier layer to form an outer surface treatment layer, and (b-2) a step of coating the inner surface of the barrier layer to form an inner surface treatment layer. Step (d) consists of step (d-1) of forming an adhesive layer on the outer surface treatment layer and step (d-2) of forming an adhesive layer on the inner surface treatment layer. (g) The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that step (g) is to form an extruded coating layer and a sealant layer by co-extrusion using a T-die.
14. Step (b) consists of (b-1) a step of coating the outer surface of the barrier layer to form an outer surface treatment layer, and (b-2) a step of coating the inner surface of the barrier layer to form an inner surface treatment layer. Step (d) consists of step (d-1) of forming an adhesive layer on the outer surface treatment layer and step (d-2) of forming an adhesive layer on the inner surface treatment layer. (g) The method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that step (g) sequentially forms an extruded coating layer and a sealant layer by an extrusion method.
15. The above manufacturing method includes (a) the step of preparing a barrier layer and (b) the step of surface coating the barrier layer to form a surface treatment layer. The raw material supply process involves unwinding and supplying the wound-up barrier layer raw material, A foreign matter removal process to remove foreign matter present on the surface of the supplied barrier layer material, A tension adjustment process to adjust the tension of the barrier layer material from which surface foreign matter has been removed, A method for manufacturing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized by comprising a double-sided coating process in which an outer surface and an inner surface treatment layer are formed on a barrier layer base roll in which a constant tension is maintained.
16. The method for manufacturing a cell pouch film according to claim 15, characterized in that the aforementioned foreign matter removal process further includes a first foreign matter removal process in which oil is removed by performing an electrical discharge treatment on both surfaces of the barrier layer base material.
17. The method for manufacturing a cell pouch film according to claim 15, characterized in that the foreign matter removal process further includes a pinhole inspection process to confirm the presence or absence of pinholes on both surfaces of the barrier layer raw material from which oil has been removed.
18. The method for manufacturing a cell pouch film according to claim 15, characterized in that the aforementioned foreign matter removal process further includes a second foreign matter removal process in which foreign matter generated on both surfaces of the metal raw material after the pinhole inspection is removed by a roll method.
19. The step of (b) surface coating the barrier layer to form a surface treatment layer is, A first coating is performed by applying a water-based and solvent-based coating solution to one side surface of the barrier layer base material using a method that combines direct coating and RKC (Reverse Kiss Coating). A method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, characterized by performing a second coating by applying a coating liquid to the other surface of the barrier layer base material using the RKC and film up/down coating methods.
20. The step of (c) drying the surface treatment layer is A property stabilization drying step in which a barrier layer with a surface treatment layer formed on both surfaces is dried using a floating method to stabilize its physical properties, A cooling step to cool the dried barrier layer, A method for producing a cell pouch film according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a surface inspection step of inspecting the surface of a cooled barrier layer.

Description

[Cross-reference to related applications] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0045375, filed on April 6, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. This specification relates to a cell pouch manufacturing method and apparatus, and to cell pouches manufactured thereby, which simplify the process, thereby significantly improving productivity and space efficiency, and improving the physical properties of the final cell pouch product. [National research and development project that supported this invention] [Project-specific number] 1415185612 [Project Number] 20022450 [Department Name] Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea [Project Management (Specialized) Agency Name] Korea Institute of Industrial Technology Assessment and Management [Research Project Name] Material and Parts Package Type (Top Enterprise) [Research Project Title] Development of next-generation secondary battery pouches achieving more than twice the adhesive strength (60°C) [Contribution Rate] 1/1 [Project Implementation Organization Name] Kurimura Chemical Co., Ltd. [Research period] January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023 Rechargeable batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries (LiBs), are being applied to a wide range of applications due to their various advantages, including high energy density and excellent power output. A secondary battery pouch film or cell pouch film is a multilayer packaging film that covers the electrode group and electrolyte of a cell. It forms the external structure of the cell and is a core component material that determines the battery's stability, lifespan, and operating endurance. Therefore, it requires mechanical flexibility and strength, high oxygen/water vapor barrier properties, high heat seal strength, chemical resistance to the electrolyte, electrical insulation, and high-temperature stability. Typically, cell pouch films consist of an outer layer, a barrier layer, and an inner sealant layer. The outer or outermost layer is composed of nylon, a mixture of nylon and PET (polyethylene terephthalate), OPP (oriented polypropylene), polyethylene, etc. Required properties for such an outer or outermost layer include heat resistance, pinhole resistance, chemical resistance, moldability, and insulation. Barrier layers require both barrier properties against water vapor and other gases, as well as formability. From this perspective, formable metals such as aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and nickel (Ni) are used for barrier layers, with aluminum currently being the most widely used. The inner sealant layer, in addition to its thermal adhesion and formation properties, requires resistance to the electrolyte and insulation resistance, as it is the layer that comes into contact with the electrolyte. Korean Published Patent No. 10-2019-0112531Korean Published Patent No. 10-2019-0112520Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10-0995884 This is a schematic diagram showing a Type A cell pouch manufacturing process in which the final structure of the cell pouch film undergoes one maturation step in an SDL (Solvent Dry Lamination) based 1P4C process according to one embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing a Type A cell pouch manufacturing process in which the final structure of the cell pouch film undergoes one maturation step in an SDL (Solvent Dry Lamination) based 1P4C process according to another embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing a Type A cell pouch manufacturing process in an SDL (Solvent Dry Lamination) based 1P3C process according to yet another embodiment of the present invention, in which a total of two maturations are performed: one maturation for the second intermediate structure after the first inline process, and one maturation for the final structure after the second inline process.This is a schematic diagram showing a Type B cell pouch manufacturing process in which the final structure of the cell pouch film undergoes one maturation step in an EC (Extraction Coating) based 1P4C process according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing a Type B cell pouch manufacturing process in an EC (Extraction Coating) based 1P3C process according to yet another embodiment of the present invention, in which two aging processes are performed: one aging for the second intermediate structure after the first inline process, and one aging for the final structure after the second inline process.This is a schematic diagram showing a C-type cell pouch manufacturing process in which the final structure of the cell pouch film undergoes one maturation step in an EC (Extraction Coating) based 1P4C process according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing a C-type cell pouch manufacturing process in which the final structure of the cell pouch film undergoes one maturation step in an EC (Extraction