US-20260128348-A1 - APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING SECONDARY BATTERY AND ELECTRODE PLATE CUTTING UNIT FOR MANUFACTURING SECONDARY BATTERY

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an apparatus for manufacturing a secondary battery and an electrode plate cutting unit, which can extend an operating lifetime by a factor of two or more, reduce process costs, improve productivity, and maintain constant cutting performance, and are very useful in a process requiring a high-quality cutting operation. The apparatus includes a transfer part configured to move an electrode plate, a winding part configured to wind the electrode plate transferred by the transfer part, an ascending/descending upper cutter which is installed above the transport path to allow a mounting direction to be changed and on which is formed an upper cutter blade, a stripper positioned below the electrode plate and configured to support the electrode plate when the electrode plate is cut, a fixed body configured to elastically support the stripper, and a lower cutter which is supported on a side portion of the fixed body and on which a lower cutter blade is formed, wherein at least one of the upper cutter blade and the lower cutter blade includes two or more blades.

Inventors

• Junhwan KWON
• Jinhwan Kim
• Jongmin Im
• Bonggeun KANG

Assignees

• SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20250627

Priority Date

20241106

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An apparatus for manufacturing a secondary battery, comprising: a transfer part configured to move an electrode plate, which will be cut, along a transfer path; a winding part configured to wind the electrode plate transferred by the transfer part; an ascending/descending upper cutter which is installed above the transport path to allow a mounting direction to be changed and on which is formed an upper cutter blade; a stripper positioned below the transfer path of the electrode plate and configured to support the electrode plate when the electrode plate is cut; a fixed body configured to elastically support the stripper; and a lower cutter which is supported on a side portion of the fixed body below the transfer path of and on which is formed a lower cutter blade, wherein at least one of the upper cutter blade and the lower cutter blade includes two or more blades.
2. 2 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the lower cutter is mounted on the fixed body to allow a mounting direction to be changed in order to use one of a plurality of blades selectively.
3. 3 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the lower cutter blade comprises: a first blade configured to cut the electrode plate through cross motion with the upper cutter; and a second blade spaced apart from the first blade and configured to remain in a standby state when the first blade is in use.
4. 4 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein: the lower cutter has a plate shape; and the first blade and the second blade are positioned parallel to one another at an upper end portion of the lower cutter while the lower cutter is mounted on the fixed body.
5. 5 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein a third blade and a fourth blade, which are respectively parallel to the first blade and the second blade and maintain a standby state when the first blade is in use, are formed on the lower cutter.
6. 6 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the lower cutter has a plate shape, the first blade and the second blade are positioned at an upper end portion of the lower cutter, and the third blade and the fourth blade are positioned at a lower end portion of the lower cutter while the lower cutter is mounted on the fixed body.
7. 7 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the upper cutter blade includes: a first blade configured to apply a shear force to the electrode plate through cross motion with the lower cutter while descending; and a second blade parallel to the first blade and spaced apart therefrom and configured to remain in a standby state when the first blade is in use.
8. 8 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 7 , wherein: the first blade is formed at a front end portion in a transfer direction of the electrode plate; and the second blade is formed at a side opposite to the first blade and is in contact with the electrode plate at the same time as the first blade.
9. 9 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the second blade is formed at a point spaced apart from the electrode plate while the first blade is in contact with the electrode plate.
10. 10 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 7 , wherein a third blade and a fourth blade, which are respectively parallel to the first blade and the second blade and maintain a standby state when the first blade is in use, are further formed on the upper cutter.
11. 11 . An electrode plate cutting unit comprising: an ascending/descending upper cutter which is installed above a transfer path of an electrode plate transferred along the transfer path to allow a mounting direction to be changed and on which is formed an upper cutter blade; a stripper positioned below the transfer path of the electrode plate and configured to support the electrode plate when the electrode plate is cut; a fixed body configured to elastically support the stripper; and a lower cutter which is supported on a side portion of the fixed body below the transfer path and on which is formed a lower cutter blade, wherein at least one of the upper cutter blade and the lower cutter blade includes two or more blades.
12. 12 . The electrode plate cutting unit as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the lower cutter is mounted on the fixed body to allow a mounting direction to be changed in order to use one of a plurality of blades selectively.
13. 13 . The electrode plate cutting unit as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the lower cutter blade comprises: a first blade configured to cut the electrode plate through cross motion with the upper cutter; and a second blade spaced apart from the first blade and configured to remain in a standby state when the first blade is in use.
14. 14 . The electrode plate cutting unit as claimed in claim 13 , wherein: the lower cutter has a plate shape; and the first blade and the second blade are positioned parallel to one another at an upper end portion of the lower cutter while the lower cutter is mounted on the fixed body.
15. 15 . The electrode plate cutting unit as claimed in claim 13 , wherein a third blade and a fourth blade, which are respectively parallel to the first blade and the second blade and maintain a standby state when the first blade is in use, are formed on the lower cutter.
16. 16 . The electrode plate cutting unit as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the lower cutter has a plate shape, the first blade and the second blade are positioned at an upper end portion of the lower cutter, and the third blade and the fourth blade are positioned at a lower end portion of the lower cutter while the lower cutter is mounted on the fixed body.
17. 17 . The electrode plate cutting unit as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the upper cutter blade includes: a first blade configured to apply a shear force to the electrode plate through cross motion with the lower cutter while descending; and a second blade parallel to the first blade and spaced apart therefrom and configured to remain in a standby state when the first blade is in use.
18. 18 . The electrode plate cutting unit as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the first blade is formed at a front end portion in a transfer direction of the electrode plate; and the second blade is formed at a side opposite to the first blade and is in contact with the electrode plate at the same time as the first blade.
19. 19 . The electrode plate cutting unit as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the second blade is formed at a point spaced apart from the electrode plate while the first blade is in contact with the electrode plate.
20. 20 . The electrode plate cutting unit as claimed in claim 17 , wherein a third blade and a fourth blade, which are respectively parallel to the first blade and the second blade and maintain a standby state when the first blade is in use, are further formed on the upper cutter.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This present application claims priority to and the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a)-(d) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0156600, filed on Nov. 6, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD The present disclosure relates to the manufacture of a secondary battery, and more specifically, to an apparatus for manufacturing a secondary battery and an electrode plate cutting unit for manufacturing a secondary battery. BACKGROUND Different from primary batteries that are not designed to be charged, secondary batteries are designed to be discharged and recharged. A secondary battery may broadly include an electrode assembly consisting of a positive electrode plate, a separator, and a negative electrode plate, a case (or can) for accommodating the electrode assembly, a substrate tab formed by extending from an uncoated portion of each electrode plate of the electrode assembly, and an external terminal connected to the substrate tab. Types of the electrode assembly accommodated in the case include a stacked type electrode assembly and a jelly-roll type electrode assembly. The jelly-roll type electrode assembly is manufactured by winding an electrode plate, which is continuously supplied, using a winding device. The winding device includes an electrode plate cutter. The electrode plate cutter is a device for cutting the electrode plate at a designed length interval and includes an upper cutter and a lower cutter. The upper cutter is installed above a transfer path of the electrode plate, the lower cutter is installed below the transfer path, and the upper cutter and the lower cutter cut the electrode plate through cross motion with respect to each other. However, since a blade of the conventional upper cutter or lower cutter is formed in only one place, when the blade wears out, the entire upper cutter or lower cutter should be discarded and replaced with a new cutter. This causes a problem of increasing costs of replacing the upper and lower knives of the electrode plate cutter. The herein information disclosed in this Background section is for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore, it may contain information that does not constitute a related (or prior) art. SUMMARY The present disclosure is directed to providing an improved electrode plate cutting unit and an apparatus for manufacturing a secondary battery using the same. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus for manufacturing a secondary battery, which includes a transfer part configured to move an electrode plate, which will be cut, along a transfer path, a winding part configured to wind the electrode plate transferred by the transfer part, an ascending/descending upper cutter which is installed above the transport path to allow a mounting direction to be changed and on which is formed an upper cutter blade, a stripper positioned below the transfer path of the electrode plate and configured to support the electrode plate when the electrode plate is cut, a fixed body configured to elastically support the stripper, and a lower cutter which is supported on a side portion of the fixed body below the transfer path of and on which is formed a lower cutter blade, wherein at least one of the upper cutter blade and the lower cutter blade includes two or more blades. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electrode plate cutting unit for manufacturing a secondary battery, which includes an ascending/descending upper cutter which is installed above a transfer path of an electrode plate transferred along the transfer path to allow a mounting direction to be changed and which is formed an upper cutter blade, a stripper positioned below the transfer path of the electrode plate and configured to support the electrode plate when the electrode plate is cut, a fixed body configured to elastically support the stripper, and a lower cutter which is supported on a side portion of the fixed body below the transfer path and on which is formed a lower cutter blade, wherein at least one of the upper cutter blade and the lower cutter blade includes two or more blades. Aspects and features of the present disclosure are not limited to those described herein, and other aspects and features not specifically mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the present disclosure herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following drawings attached to the present specification illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and further describe aspects and features of the present disclosure together with the detailed description of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustr