US-12620614-B2 - Roll for supporting electrode and electrode manufacturing apparatus including the same

Abstract

An electrode supporting roll according to an embodiment of the present invention supports an electrode sheet, and includes: a main roll that includes a plurality of sub-rolls rotatably coupled to a single first shaft, while being in contact with the electrode sheet; and a press portion that is positioned at the opposite side of the electrode, while disposing the main roll therebetween, and reciprocally moves to push at least one of the plurality of sub-rolls toward the electrode sheet.

Inventors

• Won Seob Song
• Hwan Han Kim
• Jaehyuk Choi
• Soohyung Hong

Assignees

• LG ENERGY SOLUTION, LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20211116

Priority Date

20201117

Claims (10)

1. 1 . An electrode supporting roll that is configured to support an electrode sheet, the electrode supporting roll comprising: a main roll that includes a plurality of sub-rolls rotatably coupled to a single first shaft, the plurality of sub-rolls configured to be placed in contact with the electrode sheet at a first side of the main roll; and a press portion that is positioned at a second side of the main roll opposite the first side, the press portion being configured to reciprocally move to push at least one of the plurality of sub-rolls toward the electrode sheet, wherein the single first shaft extends through a central hole of each of the plurality of sub-rolls that is larger than a diameter of the single first shaft, such that each of the plurality of sub-rolls is configured to have an individual degree of freedom to move toward the electrode sheet when pressed by the press portion.
2. 2 . The electrode supporting roll of claim 1 , wherein the press portion comprises a height adjusting portion connected to a press roll, the height adjusting portion configured to be adjusted in length in a direction toward the main roll to reciprocally move the press roll toward the at least one of the plurality of sub-rolls.
3. 3 . The electrode supporting roll of claim 2 , wherein the press portion comprises a support portion that is disposed on a first side of the height adjusting portion opposite a second side of the height adjusting portion that is connected to the press roll, the support portion being configured to support the height adjusting portion.
4. 4 . An electrode supporting roll that is configured to support an electrode sheet, the electrode supporting roll comprising: a main roll that includes a plurality of sub-rolls rotatably coupled to a single first shaft, the plurality of sub-rolls configured to be placed in contact with the electrode sheet at a first side of the main roll; and a press portion that is positioned at a second side of the main roll opposite the first side, the press portion being configured to reciprocally move to push at least one of the plurality of sub-rolls toward the electrode sheet, wherein the press portion comprises a height adjusting portion connected to a press roll, the height adjusting portion configured to be adjusted in length in a direction toward the main roll to reciprocally move the press roll toward the at least one of the plurality of sub-rolls, wherein the press portion comprises a support portion that is disposed on a first side of the height adjusting portion opposite a second side of the height adjusting portion that is connected to the press roll, the support portion being configured to support the height adjusting portion, and wherein the support portion is movably coupled to a second shaft disposed parallel to the single first shaft, the support portion configured to move along the second shaft in a longitudinal direction of the second shaft.
5. 5 . The electrode supporting roll of claim 2 , wherein the height adjusting portion is a cylinder or a screw.
6. 6 . The electrode supporting roll of claim 4 , wherein the support portion is slidably coupled along the second shaft.
7. 7 . An electrode supporting roll that is configured to support an electrode sheet, the electrode supporting roll comprising: a main roll that includes a plurality of sub-rolls rotatably coupled to a single first shaft, the plurality of sub-rolls configured to be placed in contact with the electrode sheet at a first side of the main roll; and a press portion that is positioned at a second side of the main roll opposite the first side, the press portion being configured to reciprocally move to push at least one of the plurality of sub-rolls toward the electrode sheet, wherein the electrode sheet comprises a coated portion and an uncoated portion, and the plurality of sub-rolls is configured such that one of the plurality of sub-rolls configured to be positioned adjacent to the uncoated portion of the electrode sheet is configured to be raised toward the electrode sheet side by the press portion to generate a step difference in a first gap between the at least one of the plurality of sub-rolls and the electrode sheet and a second gap between a remainder of the plurality of the sub-rolls and the electrode sheet.
8. 8 . The electrode supporting roll of claim 7 , wherein the press portion is configured to reciprocally move in a direction perpendicular to the single first shaft, and the press portion is configured to reciprocally move to place the press roll against the one of the plurality of sub-rolls that is positioned adjacent to the uncoated portion.
9. 9 . The electrode supporting roll of claim 2 , wherein the electrode supporting roll is configured to adjust a tension applied to the electrode sheet by adjusting the amount of movement of the plurality of sub-rolls using the height adjusting portion.
10. 10 . An electrode manufacturing apparatus comprising the electrode supporting roll of claim 1 .

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application is a national stage entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2021/016808, filed on Nov. 16, 2021, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0153748, filed on Nov. 17, 2020, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electrode supporting roll and an electrode manufacturing apparatus including the same, and particularly it relates to an electrode supporting roll that can variably provide a step depending on a position and an electrode manufacturing apparatus including the same. BACKGROUND ART As technology development and demand for mobile devices increase, the demand for rechargeable batteries as an energy source is rapidly increasing. In particular, rechargeable batteries are of great interest not only for mobile devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops, and wearable devices, but also as energy sources for power devices such as electric bicycles, electric vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles. A rechargeable battery may be formed by inserting an electrode assembly formed of a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator into a case and then sealing the same. Here, the electrode for a rechargeable battery such as a positive electrode or a negative electrode includes a coated portion and an uncoated portion on a current collector, the coated portion has an active material layer coated with an active material slurry, and the uncoated portion corresponds to a portion where the active material slurry is not coated. Here, the uncoated portion includes an insulating coated portion coated with an insulating material and a non-insulating coated portion not coated with an insulating material. In particular, in the case of the uncoated portion, there is a problem that folds or wrinkles may occur during the electrode manufacturing process, and a device capable of controlling this is required. FIG. 1 shows a conventional electrode supporting roll and an electrode sheet passing the same. Referring to FIG. 1, an electrode sheet 1 is formed in a structure including a coated portion 7 coated with an electrode mixture 5 on a metal foil 3 and an uncoated portion 9 on which the electrode mixture 5 is not applied. The electrode sheet 1 is transferred to one side via at least one roller 10, or is rolled between two rollers 10 and sequentially undergoes a corresponding process. In this case, the electrode sheet 1 may be bent in a width direction due to thermal deformation due to temperature during a drying process. In particular, the electrode sheet 1 is supported on the roll 10 and during the movement and process, wrinkles and folds occur in the uncoated portion 9 due to a thickness difference between the coating portion 7 and the uncoated portion 9, and this causes disconnection, thereby causing a problem in that equipment efficiency and productivity deteriorate due to an increase in loss. The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. DISCLOSURE Technical Problem An object to be solved of the present invention is to provide an electrode supporting roll that can prevent occurrence of wrinkles of an uncoated portion due to a thickness difference between a coated portion and the uncoated portion of an electrode and an electrode manufacturing apparatus including the same. The task to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned tasks, and the tasks not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person of an ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from this specification and the attached drawing. Technical Solution An electrode supporting roll according to an embodiment of the present invention supports an electrode sheet, and includes: a main roll that includes a plurality of sub-rolls rotatably coupled to a single first shaft, while being in contact with the electrode sheet; and a press portion that is positioned at the opposite side of the electrode, while disposing the main roll therebetween, and reciprocally moves to push at least one of the plurality of sub-rolls toward the electrode sheet. The press portion may include a height adjusting portion connected to the press roll and adjusted in length in the vertical direction to reciprocally move the press roll toward the sub-roll. The press portion may include a support portion that is disposed on the opposite side of the height adjusting portion connected to the press roll to support the height adjusting portion. The support may be horizontally movably coupled to the second shaft disposed parallel to the first shaft. The height adjusting portion may be a c