KR-20260064158-A - GAS DISCHARGE DEVICE FOR SECONDARY BATTERY AND GAS DISCHARGE METHOD FOR SECONDARY BATTERY

KR20260064158AKR 20260064158 AKR20260064158 AKR 20260064158AKR-20260064158-A

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a gas discharge device for a secondary battery and a gas discharge method for a secondary battery. The gas discharge device for a secondary battery and the gas discharge method for a secondary battery include a receiving mechanism having a receiving space formed therein, a cell portion receiving an electrode assembly, a gas portion receiving gas discharged from the cell portion, and a connecting portion communicating the cell portion and the gas portion, and a holding mechanism receiving the receiving space, a perforating mechanism installed in the receiving mechanism and forming at least one hole in the gas portion, a sealing mechanism installed in the receiving mechanism and heating a predetermined portion of the connecting portion to seal the cell portion, a compression mechanism installed in the receiving mechanism and pressurizing at least a portion of the connecting portion including the predetermined portion, and a moving mechanism for moving the holding mechanism, wherein the moving mechanism is configured such that when the sealing mechanism seals the cell portion, the compression mechanism can pressurize the connecting portion including the predetermined portion.

Inventors

김주영
김병찬
김주형
최길용
최명준
박경태

Assignees

에스케이온 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241031

Claims (14)

A receiving mechanism in which a receiving space is formed inside; A gripping mechanism that holds a pouch cell comprising a cell portion for accommodating an electrode assembly, a gas portion for accommodating gas discharged from the cell portion, and a connecting portion for communicating the cell portion and the gas portion, and is accommodated in the accommodating space; A perforating mechanism installed in the above receiving mechanism and forming at least one hole in the gas portion; A sealing mechanism installed in the above receiving mechanism, which heats a predetermined part of the connecting part to seal the cell part; A compression mechanism installed in the above receiving mechanism and pressurizing at least a portion of the connecting part including the above predetermined part; and It includes a moving mechanism that moves the above-mentioned gripping mechanism, and A gas discharge device for a secondary battery, wherein the above moving mechanism moves the gripping mechanism to adjust the position of the connection part so that when the above sealing mechanism seals the cell part, the above compression mechanism can pressurize the connection part including the above predetermined part.
In paragraph 1, The above sealing mechanism and the above compression mechanism are positioned at a predetermined distance apart along the first direction, and The above moving mechanism is a gas discharge device for a secondary battery that moves the above gripping mechanism in a first direction or in the opposite direction of the first direction.
In paragraph 2, A gas discharge device for a secondary battery, wherein the above-mentioned compression mechanism is formed to pressurize the entire connection portion.
In paragraph 2, An intake mechanism installed in the above-mentioned receiving mechanism, which discharges a fluid contained in the receiving space to the outside of the receiving space to lower the pressure inside the receiving space; and It further includes a pressurizing mechanism installed in the above receiving mechanism and pressurizing the cell portion so that the gas contained inside the cell portion moves to the gas portion, The above pressurizing mechanism is a gas discharge device for a secondary battery that, when the pressure inside the receiving space reaches a preset first pressure, periodically applies a pressure having a preset size to the cell part a preset number of times for a preset first time.
In paragraph 4, The above sealing mechanism heats the above-described portion for a predetermined third time after a predetermined second time has elapsed since the pressure inside the above-described receiving space has reached a predetermined second pressure, and A gas discharge device for a secondary battery, wherein the second pressure is smaller in size than the first pressure.
In paragraph 5, It further includes a vent mechanism installed in the above-mentioned receiving mechanism, which introduces fluid into the receiving space to increase the pressure inside the receiving space, and The above vent mechanism introduces fluid into the receiving space after the above sealing mechanism seals the above predetermined part, and A gas discharge device for a secondary battery, wherein the above compression mechanism pressurizes at least a portion of the connection part including the above predetermined portion while the above vent mechanism introduces fluid into the receiving space.
In paragraph 6, It further includes an opening/closing mechanism installed in the above-mentioned receiving mechanism and formed to be openable/closable to communicate between the receiving space and the outside of the receiving space or to seal the receiving space. A gas discharge device for a secondary battery, wherein when the above-mentioned opening/closing mechanism is opened and the receiving space and the outside of the receiving space are in communication, the moving mechanism moves the gripping mechanism so that the gripping mechanism is received in the receiving space, and when the gripping mechanism is received in the receiving space, the above-mentioned opening/closing mechanism is closed to seal the receiving space.
In Paragraph 7, A gas discharge device for a secondary battery, wherein the above-mentioned perforating mechanism, the above-mentioned sealing mechanism, the above-mentioned compression mechanism, the above-mentioned moving mechanism, and the above-mentioned pressurizing mechanism are formed to be capable of reciprocating movement.
In Paragraph 7, Multiple gripping mechanisms can be accommodated in the receiving space, A gas discharge device for a secondary battery, wherein a plurality of the above-mentioned perforating mechanism, the above-mentioned sealing mechanism, the above-mentioned compression mechanism, the above-mentioned moving mechanism, and the above-mentioned pressurizing mechanism are installed in the above-mentioned receiving mechanism.
A receiving step of receiving a receiving mechanism having a receiving space formed therein, wherein the receiving space comprises a cell portion receiving an electrode assembly, a gas portion receiving gas discharged from the cell portion, and a connecting portion communicating the cell portion and the gas portion; A perforation step of forming at least one hole in the gas portion; An intake step of discharging a fluid contained in the above-mentioned receiving space to the outside of the receiving space to lower the pressure inside the receiving space; A sealing step of heating a predetermined portion of the above-mentioned connection part to seal the cell part; A movement step for moving the above-mentioned gripping mechanism; A compression step of applying pressure to at least a portion of the connection part including the above-mentioned predetermined portion using a compression mechanism; and It includes a vent step of introducing fluid into the receiving space to increase the pressure inside the receiving space, and A gas discharge method for a secondary battery, wherein the above moving step adjusts the position of the connection part by moving the gripping mechanism so that when the cell part is sealed, the compression mechanism can press at least a part of the connection part including the predetermined part.
In Paragraph 10, Between the intake step and the sealing step, A gas discharge method for a secondary battery, further comprising a pressurization step of pressurizing the cell portion so that the gas contained inside the cell portion moves to the gas portion.
In Paragraph 11, A gas discharge method for a secondary battery, wherein the above pressurization step periodically applies a pressure having a preset size to the cell portion a preset number of times during a preset first time when the pressure inside the receiving space reaches a preset first pressure by the above intake step.
In Paragraph 12, The above sealing step involves heating the above-determined portion for a predetermined third time after a predetermined second time has elapsed following the intake step, when the pressure inside the receiving space reaches a predetermined second pressure. A gas discharge method for a secondary battery, wherein the second pressure is smaller in magnitude than the first pressure.
In Paragraph 13, The above acceptance step is, A method for discharging gas for a secondary battery, wherein an opening/closing mechanism installed in the receiving mechanism and capable of opening/closing the receiving mechanism is opened to receive the gripping mechanism in the receiving space, and the opening/closing mechanism is closed when the gripping mechanism is received in the receiving space.

Description

Gas Discharge Device for Secondary Battery and Gas Discharge Method for Secondary Battery The present disclosure relates to a gas discharge device for a secondary battery and a gas discharge method for a secondary battery, and more specifically, to a device and method for discharging gas inside a pouch cell connected to a gas chamber. Batteries are also called secondary batteries, and among them are pouch-type secondary batteries. Pouch-type secondary batteries are widely used because they have high energy density per unit weight and volume, and facilitate the thinning and lightweighting of battery cells. Such secondary batteries can be manufactured by housing an electrode assembly inside a pouch, and gas is generated inside the pouch when performing a charge-discharge process to activate the manufactured secondary battery. Therefore, a gas exhaust device is used to remove gas generated inside the pouch. Conventional gas exhaust devices are configured to create a vacuum around the pouch while holding the pouch containing the cell, and to discharge the gas inside the pouch through a gas chamber connected to the pouch. In addition, conventional gas discharge devices heat-seal the connection point connecting the gas chamber and the pouch to seal the pouch, and then perform a venting process that increases the pressure around the pouch by introducing fluid around it. At this time, when performing the venting process, the gas chamber that is not held by the gas discharge device is bent due to movements such as contracting as the surrounding pressure changes, and the connecting part connecting the gas chamber and the pouch is crumpled due to the bending of the gas chamber. As such, if the connection area is crumpled, cracks may occur in the organic material inside the fused pouch, and the electrolyte may penetrate into the pouch through the cracks, resulting in a problem where electrical insulation between the inside and outside of the pouch is not secured, which can lead to a decrease in yield. Meanwhile, there is a problem in that it is difficult to improve the production efficiency per unit time of secondary batteries due to the limiting factor of performing the venting process slowly to prevent bending of the gas chamber. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a gas exhaust device and a gas exhaust method that can improve the production efficiency per unit time of secondary batteries, prevent insulation between the inside and outside of the pouch due to physical external forces, and improve process yield. FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a gas discharge device for a secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 is a drawing showing how the position of the connecting part is adjusted by moving the gripping mechanism by means of a moving mechanism. Figure 3 is a drawing showing a position-adjusted connecting part being pressed and gripped by a compression mechanism. Figure 4 is a graph showing the process acting on the pouch cell in each partitioned section according to the change in pressure inside the receiving space. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a gas discharge method for a secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the attached drawings to enable those skilled in the art to easily implement the invention. However, the present invention may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Furthermore, in order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, parts unrelated to the explanation have been omitted, and similar parts throughout the specification are denoted by similar reference numerals. Throughout this specification, when a part is described as being "connected" to another part, this includes not only cases where they are "directly connected," but also cases where they are "electrically connected" with other elements interposed between them. Throughout this specification, when a component is described as being located “on” another component, this includes not only cases where a component is in contact with another component, but also cases where another component exists between the two components. Throughout this specification, when a part is described as "comprising" a certain component, this means that, unless specifically stated otherwise, it does not exclude other components but may include additional components. Throughout this specification, terms of degree such as "about," "substantially," etc., are used to mean at or near the stated value when inherent manufacturing and material tolerances are presented in the said meaning, and are used to prevent unscrupulous infringers from unfairly exploiting the disclosure in which precise or absolute values are mentioned to aid in understanding this specification. Throughout this specification, terms of degree such as "step of" or "step of" do not mean