KR-20260066826-A - Secondary battery manufacturing apparatus and secondary battery manufacturing method

Abstract

The secondary battery manufacturing apparatus of the present invention comprises: a conveying unit for conveying a laminate having a first separator, a negative electrode, a second separator, and a positive electrode stacked thereon; a film supplying unit for supplying an upper protective film and a lower protective film, respectively provided to protect the laminate being conveyed, to the upper and lower parts of the laminate; a lamination roller provided to support the lower part of the laminate and the lower protective film; and an air supply nozzle provided to supply heated air to pressurize the upper side of the laminate.

Inventors

• 김정원
• 백주환
• 금동연
• 윤성재
• 우민기
• 정도환
• 배승우

Assignees

• 주식회사 엘지에너지솔루션

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20241105

Claims (20)

1. In a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus for laminating an electrode and a separator, A transfer unit for transferring a laminate having a first separator, a cathode, a second separator, and an anode stacked thereon; A film supply unit that supplies an upper protective film and a lower protective film, respectively, to the upper and lower parts of a laminate being transported, provided to protect the laminate being transported; A lamination roller provided to support the lower part of the laminate and the lower protective film; and A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus comprising: an air supply nozzle provided to supply heated air to pressurize the upper side of the laminate.
2. In paragraph 1, A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus characterized by the air supply nozzle spraying air toward the upper protective film in close contact with the laminate to pressurize the upper side of the laminate.
3. In paragraph 1, A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus characterized by further including a position fixing roller provided on the opposite side of the lamination roller based on the laminate, and configured to press the upper side of the laminate and the upper protective film.
4. In paragraph 3, A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the air supply nozzle is positioned downstream of the conveying direction of the laminated body compared to the position fixing roller.
5. In paragraph 3, A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the above-mentioned position fixing roller and the above-mentioned lamination roller have different diameters.
6. In paragraph 3, A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the air supply nozzle is configured to spray air toward the area that has passed through the position fixing roller and the lamination roller.
7. In paragraph 1, A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus in which the air supply nozzle is configured to spray the heated air into an area extending along the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the laminate of the upper protective film.
8. In Paragraph 7, A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the air supply nozzle is configured to uniformly spray air onto an area of the upper protective film along the width direction.
9. In paragraph 1, A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus characterized by the above film supply unit including a plurality of transfer rollers arranged to continuously circulate the upper protective film and the lower protective film, respectively.
10. In Paragraph 7, A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the air supply nozzles are arranged in plurality along the width direction of the laminate.
11. In Paragraph 10, A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the pressure applied to the laminate is set differently depending on the position of the plurality of air supply nozzles in the width direction of the laminate.
12. In paragraph 1, Each of the upper protective film and the lower protective film has a circular loop in which one end and the other end of the film are connected in a ring shape. A secondary battery manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the air supply nozzle is positioned inside the circulation loop of the upper protective film.
13. In a method for manufacturing a secondary battery by laminating an electrode and a separator, A transfer step for transferring a laminate having a first separator, a cathode, a second separator, and an anode stacked thereon; A film supply step of supplying an upper protective film and a lower protective film, respectively arranged to protect the laminate being transported, to the upper and lower parts of the laminate; and A method for manufacturing a secondary battery comprising: a lamination step of supporting the lower part of the laminate and the lower protective film by means of a lamination roller, and supplying heated air by means of an air supply nozzle to pressurize the upper side of the laminate.
14. In Paragraph 13, A method for manufacturing a secondary battery, characterized in that, in the lamination step, the air supply nozzle pressurizes the upper side of the laminate by spraying air toward the upper protective film in close contact with the laminate.
15. In Paragraph 13, A method for manufacturing a secondary battery, further comprising the step of fixing the arrangement state of the laminate by pressing the upper side of the laminate and the upper protective film by means of a position fixing roller provided on the opposite side of the lamination roller based on the laminate.
16. In paragraph 15, A method for manufacturing a secondary battery, characterized in that the air supply nozzle sprays air downstream of the conveying direction of the laminated body compared to the position fixing roller.
17. In paragraph 15, A method for manufacturing a secondary battery, characterized in that the air supply nozzle sprays air toward the area that has passed through the position fixing roller and the lamination roller.
18. In Paragraph 13, A method for manufacturing a secondary battery, characterized in that the air supply nozzle sprays the heated air into an area extended along the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the laminate of the upper protective film.
19. In Paragraph 13, A method for manufacturing a secondary battery, characterized in that, in the above film supply step, each of the upper protective film and the lower protective film is continuously circulated and moved by a plurality of transfer rollers and supplied between the laminate and the transfer rollers.
20. In Paragraph 13, A method for manufacturing a secondary battery, characterized in that the pressure of the heated air supplied in the above lamination step is 10 MPa to 50 MPa.

Description

Secondary battery manufacturing apparatus and secondary battery manufacturing method The present invention relates to a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus, a secondary battery manufacturing method, and a secondary battery manufactured using the same. More specifically, it relates to a secondary battery manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method capable of manufacturing a secondary battery by efficiently laminating an electrode and a separator without damage. Rechargeable batteries are energy storage devices capable of repeated charging and discharging, playing a pivotal role in modern industry. Their importance is growing day by day, particularly in the fields of electric vehicles, energy storage systems (ESS), and various portable electronic devices. The performance, safety, and lifespan of rechargeable batteries depend heavily on the quality of the manufacturing process, and among these, the lamination process, which combines the electrodes and separators, is a critical step. The basic structure of a secondary battery electrode assembly consists of a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator located between the two. The positive and negative electrodes are each composed of metal foils coated with active material, while the separator serves to allow ions to pass through but block the movement of electrons. The process of stacking and bonding these components is called the lamination process. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configurations of a general laminating device (20) for a secondary battery. Referring to FIG. 1, when manufacturing a lamination and stack type (L&S) electrode assembly, a unit cell (10) must first be manufactured. Generally, to manufacture a unit cell, a cathode (2) is provided from a cathode supply unit (24), and after the provided cathode (2) is cut into a unit by a first cutter (41), while the cathode unit moves in one direction (F) by a transport unit, a first separator (3) and a second separator (4) are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the cathode (2) respectively from a first separator supply unit (23) and a second separator supply unit (25), and the cathode (2) is interposed between the first separator (3) and the second separator (4) which are long and continuous in one direction. Then, an anode (1) is provided from the anode supply unit (22), and after the provided cathode (2) is cut into a unit by the second cutter (42), an anode (1) is further stacked on top. Then, the laminated body in which the anode (1), the first separator (3), the cathode (2), and the second separator (4) are stacked passes through the lamination device (20). At this time, the lamination device (20) performs a lamination process using a heating unit (26) that applies heat to the laminated body and a laminating pressure roller (27) that presses the heated laminated body. By performing the lamination process in this way, the electrode and the separator are bonded together, so that the unit cell (10) can be firmly formed. In addition, the separator is in close contact with the electrode surface, so that the internal resistance of the battery can be minimized. In addition, in the sealing process of the separator after the lamination process, a sealing process is further performed to bond the first separator (3) and the second separator (4), which are stacked vertically with the cathode (2) in between, using a sealing pressure roller (28) to prevent contact with the outside and electrical insulation between the positive electrode (1) and the negative electrode (2). This sealing process of the separator can block the negative electrode (2) (or positive electrode (1)) from the outside, thereby ensuring the reliability and safety of the secondary battery. Finally, the laminated structure is cut by a third cutter (43) in a cutting process and separated into unit cells (10). Meanwhile, since high heat and high pressure are applied during the laminating process and the sealing process of the separator, care must be taken to ensure that the electrodes (1, 2) and separators (3, 4) are not damaged. Due to the heat and pressure applied during the laminating process, the coating layer of the electrode may partially detach or be damaged, thereby impairing the performance of the battery, or porous separators (3, 4), such as polyethylene or polypropylene, may shrink and deform due to the heat. In addition, since the lamination roll and the electrode or separator come into direct contact, a part of the electrode or separator is prone to detachment and contamination, and other electrodes or separators are prone to secondary contamination by the contaminated lamination roll. In order to prevent this, conventionally, a protective film made of polyethylene terephthalate was used to protect the surface of the separator (3, 4) and the electrode (1, 2). A protective film supply unit (21) provided the protective film (30) between the laminate of the separator (3, 4) and the electr