阅读说明：本技术 具有通气孔的缝模涂布设备 (Slot-die coating apparatus with vent holes ) 是由 金奇泰 李泽秀 李度弦 金哲佑 崔相勳 于 2020-08-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开内容涉及一种用于将电极活性材料浆料涂布在电极集流体上的狭缝模具涂布设备,所述狭缝模具涂布设备包括：涂布辊；至少两个或更多个模具；排放口,所述电极活性材料浆料沿重力作用的相反方向通过所述排放口排出；和安装在所述模具中的通气孔。(The present disclosure relates to a slot die coating apparatus for coating an electrode active material slurry on an electrode current collector, the slot die coating apparatus comprising: a coating roll; at least two or more molds; a discharge port through which the electrode active material slurry is discharged in a direction opposite to the action of gravity; and a vent mounted in the mold.)

1. A slot die coating apparatus for coating an electrode active material slurry onto an electrode current collector, the slot die coating apparatus comprising:

a coating roll;

at least two or more molds;

a discharge port through which the electrode active material slurry is discharged in a direction opposite to the action of gravity; and

a vent mounted in the mold.

2. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the mold comprises a left mold and a right mold.

3. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 2,

wherein the left mold comprises a first left mold and a second left mold.

4. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 3,

wherein a left vent is formed by a combination of the first left mold and the second left mold.

5. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 4,

wherein a left slurry receiving portion is formed in the first left mold.

6. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 5,

wherein the left slurry receiving portion is in communication with the left discharge port.

7. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 6,

wherein the vent hole communicates with the left slurry receiving portion through the first left mold.

8. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 7,

wherein the vent hole is formed at a portion S1 where the left slurry receiving portion and the left discharge port are connected to each other.

9. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 2,

wherein the right mold comprises a first right mold and a second right mold.

10. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 9,

wherein a right discharge port is formed by a combination of the first right mold and the second right mold.

11. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 10,

wherein a right slurry receiving portion is formed in the second right mold.

12. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 11,

wherein the right slurry receiving portion is in communication with the right discharge port.

13. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 12,

wherein the vent hole communicates with the right slurry receiving portion through the second right mold.

14. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 13,

wherein the vent hole is formed at a portion S2 where the right slurry receiving portion and the right discharge port are connected to each other.

15. The slot die coating apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the vent comprises a valve.

Technical Field

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims the benefit of priority of korean patent application No. 10-2019-0110996, filed on 6.9.9.2019 with the korean intellectual property office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to a slot die coating apparatus including a vent.

Background

Recently, as the energy price rises due to exhaustion of fossil fuels and concern about environmental pollution is increasing, the demand for environment-friendly alternative energy becomes an important factor for future life. Accordingly, research into technologies for generating various kinds of electric energy such as nuclear energy, solar energy, wind energy, and tidal energy is ongoing, and energy storage devices that more effectively utilize the generated energy have attracted much attention.

In addition, as technology develops and the demand for mobile devices and electric vehicles increases, the demand for batteries as an energy source is also rapidly increasing. Accordingly, much research has been conducted on batteries capable of satisfying various demands. In particular, in terms of battery materials, demand for lithium secondary batteries, such as lithium ion batteries and lithium ion polymer batteries, having advantages such as high energy density, discharge voltage, and output stability, is very high.

The secondary battery includes an electrode assembly having a structure in which a cathode, an anode, and a separator interposed between the cathode and the anode are stacked, and these electrode assemblies are mounted in a pouch-shaped case, a cylindrical can, a prismatic case, and the like, depending on the purpose of use, thereby manufacturing a battery.

The positive and negative electrodes were prepared by coating the positive and negative electrode pastes on an electrode current collector formed of aluminum foil and copper foil and drying. In order to make the charge and discharge characteristics of the secondary battery uniform, it is necessary to uniformly coat the positive electrode slurry and the negative electrode slurry on the current collector, and for this reason, a slit die coating process is generally performed.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a conventional slot die coating apparatus.

Referring to fig. 1, a slot die coating apparatus 10 includes: a slit die 11 for discharging the electrode active material slurry; and an applicator roll 12. The slit die 11 includes two die blocks 11a and 11b, and a discharge port 13 is formed between the first die block 11a and the second die block 11b, and electrode active material slurry (not shown) is discharged from the discharge port 13 in a direction opposite to the action of gravity. The electrode active material slurry discharged from the discharge port 13 is coated on one surface of the current collector 30 while the coating roller 12 rotates.

When coating is performed using the slot die coating apparatus 10, if bubbles are present in the electrode active material slurry, the bubbles are broken from the discharge port 13 to a portion where an uncoated region (not shown) is formed. At this time, a contamination phenomenon occurs in which the electrode active material slurry surrounding the air bubbles is partially coated on the uncoated area like spots. In addition, the electrode active material paste that is broken at the time of discharge contaminates the die blocks 11a and 11b, so it is necessary to form the electrode active material paste receiving grooves 14a and 14b on the die blocks 11a and 11 b.

In the process of coating the electrode active material, since the distance between the discharge port 13 and the current collector 30 is generally formed as the distance d of 100 to 200 micrometers, the above-mentioned contamination phenomenon may also occur due to the fine bubbles.

Therefore, it is urgently required to develop a slot die coating apparatus having an improved structure capable of solving the above-mentioned problems.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a slot die coating apparatus that can prevent an uncoated region and a slot die from being contaminated by electrode active material slurry in a process of coating an electrode active material.

However, the problems to be solved by the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described problems, and various extensions may be made within the scope of the technical ideas included in the present disclosure.

Technical scheme

A slot die coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a slot die coating apparatus for coating an electrode active material slurry onto an electrode current collector, the slot die coating apparatus including: a coating roll; at least two or more molds; a discharge port through which the electrode active material slurry is discharged in a direction opposite to the action of gravity; and a vent mounted in the mold.

The mold may include a left mold and a right mold.

The left mold may include a first left mold and a second left mold.

A left vent is formed by a combination of the first left die and the second left die.

A left slurry receiving portion may be formed in the first left mold.

The left slurry receiving portion may communicate with the left discharge port.

The vent may communicate with the left slurry receiving portion through the first left mold.

The vent hole may be formed at a portion S1 where the left slurry receiving portion and the left discharge port are connected to each other.

The right mold may include a first right mold and a second right mold.

A right discharge port may be formed by a combination of the first right mold and the second right mold.

A right slurry receiving portion may be formed in the second right mold.

The right slurry receiving portion may be in communication with the right discharge port.

The vent may communicate with the right slurry receiving portion through the second right mold.

The vent hole may be formed at a portion S2 where the right slurry receiving portion and the right discharge port are connected to each other.

The vent may comprise a valve.

Advantageous effects

As described above, since the slot die coating apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure includes the vent hole, there is a technical effect that not only bubbles contained in the electrode active material slurry can be effectively removed, but also the slot die can be prevented from being contaminated.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a conventional slot die coating apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a slot die coating apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating a slot die coating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the embodiments. The present disclosure may be modified in various different ways and is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Further, throughout the specification, when a component is referred to as "comprising" a certain component, it means that it may further comprise other components, without excluding other components, unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a slot die coating apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 2, the slot die coating apparatus 400 may include a slot die 401, a coating roller 402, and vent holes 403A and 403B. The slot die coating apparatus 400 may be used in a process of simultaneously coating two electrode active material layers.

The slit die 401 may include a left die 401A and a right die 401B. The left mold 401A may include a first left mold 401A-1 and a second left mold 401A-2, and the right mold 401B may include a first right mold 401B-1 and a second right mold 401B-2.

The second left mold 401A-2 may have a structure in which a surface facing the first right mold 401B-1 is perpendicular to the ground.

The second left mold 401A-2 may include a left slurry receiving portion 421 having a groove shape, the left slurry receiving portion 421 having a predetermined depth on a surface facing the first left mold 401A-1. The left slurry receiving portion 421 may be connected to an externally installed left slurry supply chamber (not shown) to continuously receive a supply of the first electrode active material slurry. The left slurry receiving portion 421 may include a left slurry supply port (not shown) communicating with a left slurry supply chamber (not shown).

When the first electrode active material slurry supplied through the left slurry supply port is completely filled into the left slurry receiving part 421, the first electrode active material slurry moves toward the direction in which the applying roller 402 is installed, and is discharged to the outside through the left discharge port 405, the left discharge port 405 being formed by the sequential combination of the second left mold 401A-2 and the first left mold 401A-1. Specifically, the first electrode active material slurry is discharged through the left discharge port 405 in the opposite direction to the action of gravity.

The first left mold 401A-1 may be positioned at the left side of the second left mold 401A-2 and combined with the second left mold 401A-2 while interposing a left spacer (not shown) therebetween. The surface of the first left mold 401A-1 facing the second left mold 401A-2 may have a slanted structure at an angle of about 30 to 90 degrees with respect to the ground surface.

The first left mold 401A-1 and the second left mold 401A-2 may be formed of a metal material, and may be fastened to each other by bolt coupling or the like.

The right mold 401B includes a first right mold 401B-1 and a second right mold 401B-2. The second right mold 401B-2 is located at the rightmost side of the mold forming the slit mold 401, and a surface facing the first right mold 401B-1 may have an inclined structure at an angle of about 30 to 90 degrees with respect to the ground surface.

The second right mold 401B-2 may include a right slurry receiving part 411 having a groove shape with a predetermined depth on a surface facing the first right mold 401B-1. The right slurry receiving portion 411 may be connected to an externally installed right slurry supply chamber (not shown) to continuously receive a supply of the second electrode active material slurry. The right slurry receiving portion 411 may include a right slurry supply port (not shown) communicating with the right slurry supply chamber. The first electrode active material slurry and the second electrode active material slurry may be formed of the same component or different components depending on the intended use of the electrode to be produced.

If the second electrode active material slurry supplied through the right slurry supply port is completely filled in the right slurry receiving part 411, the second electrode active material slurry may be discharged to the outside through a right discharge port 406, the right discharge port 406 being formed by the sequential combination of the second right mold 401B-2 and the first right mold 401B-1. Specifically, the second electrode active material slurry is discharged through the right discharge port 406 in the opposite direction to the action of gravity.

The first right mold 401B-1 is located to the left of the second right mold 401B-2. The surface of the second right mold 401B-2 facing the first right mold 401B-1 may have a slanted structure at an angle of about 30 to 90 degrees with respect to the ground surface.

The first right mold 401B-1 may have a shape in which a surface facing the left mold 401A is perpendicular to the ground. The first right mold 401B-1 and the second right mold 401B-2 may be formed of a metal material, and may be fastened to each other by bolt coupling or the like.

The vent holes may include a left vent hole 403A and a right vent hole 403B.

The left vent 403A may communicate with the left slurry receiving portion 421 through the first left mold 401A-1. The position of the left vent hole 403A is not particularly limited, but since many bubbles are generated in the portion S1 connected from the left slurry receiving portion 421 to the left discharge port 405, it is preferable that the left vent hole 403A is installed in the portion S1. Further, in consideration of the inclined structure of the left discharge port 405 and the position of the applying roller 402, it is preferable that the angle formed by the left vent hole 403A and the left discharge port 405 be maintained at 30 to 90 degrees. The left vent 403A may include a valve (not shown) that can be opened and closed.

The right vent hole 403B may communicate with the right slurry receiving portion 411 through the second right mold 401B-2. The position of the right vent hole 403B is not particularly limited. However, since many bubbles are generated in the portion S2 connected from the right slurry receiving portion 411 to the right discharge port 406, it is preferable to install the right vent hole 403B in the portion S2. Further, in consideration of the inclined structure of the right discharge port 406 and the position of the applying roller 402, it is preferable that the angle formed by the right vent hole 403B and the right discharge port 406 is maintained at 30 degrees to 90 degrees. The right vent 403B may include a valve 407 that can be opened and closed.

In a state where the valve 407 of the right vent hole 403B is closed, the second electrode active material slurry may be continuously supplied to the right slurry receiving portion 411 via the right slurry supply port. When the second electrode active material slurry is filled into the right slurry receiving portion 411, air bubbles in the right slurry receiving portion 411 and the right discharge port 406 are collected in the right vent hole 403B. Bubbles generated in the portion S are also collected in the right vent hole 403B. Then, the air bubbles can be immediately removed by opening the valve 407 of the right vent hole 403B.

Accordingly, the operator can effectively remove air bubbles within the right paste receiving portion 411 and the right discharge port 406 before starting the coating operation without losing the second electrode active material paste. Further, since the air bubbles are removed through the right vent hole 403B, there is no need to provide a separate slurry receiving groove.

The left vent hole 403A may also remove air bubbles in the same manner as the right vent hole 403B.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a slot die coating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 3, the slot die coating apparatus 500 may include left and right vent holes 503A and 503B respectively located at both sides of the slot die 501 in the longitudinal direction L of the slot die 501. Further, the right vent hole 503B may have a structure curved toward the center of the slit mold 501. With this structure, the operator can not only effectively utilize the operation space, but also appropriately receive the electrode active material slurry containing the air bubbles.

The mounting structure of the vent holes 403A and 403B according to the present disclosure is equally applied to a three-stage slit die coating apparatus in which the second left die 401A-2 and the first right die 401B-1 are formed by one die. In this case, the second left mold 401A-2 and the first right mold 401B-1 may be the same as the structure of fig. 2 except for the structure formed by one mold, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Based on the foregoing, the present disclosure may be variously applied and modified by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.