CN102694147A - Electrode manufacturing device and electrode manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an electrode manufacturing device and an electrode manufacturing method capable of appropriately and efficiently forming an active material layer on the surface of a strip-shaped substrate when manufacturing an electrode. The electrode manufacturing device includes: a discharge roll, which is used to discharge a strip-shaped metal foil; a coating part, which is used to coat the active material mixture on both sides of the metal foil; a drying part, which is used to make the active material on the metal foil The substance mixture dries to form the active substance layer; take-up roll, which is used to take up the metal foil. The drying section includes an atmospheric pressure drying section arranged in series along the conveying direction of the metal foil and a vacuum drying section located in front of the atmospheric pressure drying section. The non-contact seal of the internal vacuum. A dry air chamber is arranged across the non-contact seal on the outlet side of the vacuum drying unit, and the coil is installed in the dry air chamber.

Description

Electrode manufacturing device and electrode manufacturing method

technical field

The present invention relates to an electrode manufacturing device for forming an active material layer on both surfaces of a belt-shaped substrate to manufacture an electrode, and an electrode manufacturing method using the electrode manufacturing device.

Background technique

In recent years, lithium ion capacitors (LIC: Lithium Ion Capacitor), electric double layer capacitors (EDLC: Electric Double Layer Capacitor) and lithium ion batteries ( The demand for electrochemical components such as LIB: Lithium Ion Battery) is rapidly expanding.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in fields such as mobile phones and notebook personal computers because of their relatively high energy density. In addition, electric double layer capacitors are used as small power supplies for power failure protection of memories such as personal computers because they can be charged and discharged quickly. In addition, electric double layer capacitors are expected to be used as large power sources for electric vehicles. In addition, lithium-ion capacitors that combine the advantages of lithium-ion batteries and electric double-layer capacitors have attracted attention due to their high energy density and high output density.

For example, after coating an active material mixture containing an active material and a solvent on the surface of a current collector as a base material, that is, a metal foil, the active material mixture is dried to form an active material layer, thereby manufacturing the above-mentioned electrode. Electrodes of chemical components. This electrode is manufactured using, for example, an electrode manufacturing apparatus in which a coating device and a dryer are arranged between a feeding reel and a winding reel. The application device has an application head which forms an application opening for applying the active substance mixture. In addition, the dryer has a plurality of heaters arranged at predetermined intervals. And, between the unwinding reel and the winding reel, while conveying the strip-shaped metal foil substantially vertically upward, the surface of the metal foil is coated and dried with the active material mixture using a coating device and a dryer (patent Literature 1).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-186782

The drying time when drying the active material mixture applied on the surface of the metal foil is determined by the application speed of the substrate and the length of the drying oven. When the application speed is increased to increase productivity, a large drying device is required. For example, when the application speed is set to 20 m/min, if the drying time is 60 sec, a drying device with a length of 20 m is required. On the other hand, when the drying apparatus is downsized, the drying time becomes short, and sufficient drying cannot be performed. In particular, in the case of an active material mixture using water as a solvent, drying takes time. Moreover, when even a small amount of water remains without sufficient drying, for example, when the above-mentioned coated and dried metal foil is used as an electrode of a secondary battery, since water is electrolyzed at a voltage of 3V or less Gas is generated and expansion occurs, so it becomes a substandard product.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention considered that after drying by hot air drying or the like in the conventional electrode manufacturing apparatus, the base material was once wound up on a take-up roll, and then vacuum-dried as necessary. However, at this time, since the drying is carried out in a rolled state, it takes tens of hours in a drying oven with a reduced pressure of about several torr.

Contents of the invention

The present invention was made in view of this problem, and an object of the present invention is to efficiently and reliably dry the active material mixture coated on the surface of the metal foil when manufacturing an electrode.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the electrode manufacturing device of the present invention is used to form active material layers on both sides of a strip-shaped substrate to manufacture electrodes, and it is characterized in that the electrode manufacturing device includes: an ejection part, which is used to eject the substrate Coiling part, which is used to coil the base material discharged from the above-mentioned discharge part; Coating part, which is arranged between the above-mentioned discharge part and the above-mentioned coiling part, for coating the active material on both sides of the substrate Mixing agent; a drying section, which is arranged between the above-mentioned coating section and the above-mentioned coiling section, and is used to dry the above-mentioned active material mixture applied by the above-mentioned coating section to form an active material layer, and the above-mentioned drying section includes The normal pressure drying section arranged in series in the transport direction of the substrate and the vacuum drying section located in front of the normal pressure drying section, and the inlet and outlet of the above-mentioned vacuum drying section for the above-mentioned substrate to pass. The sealing member for the degree of vacuum of the vacuum drying unit is provided with a space in a dry air environment across the sealing member on the outlet side of the vacuum drying unit, and the winding unit is provided in the space in the dry air environment.

According to the present invention, by arranging the normal-pressure drying unit and the vacuum drying unit consecutively, the active material mixture coated on the surface of the substrate can be sufficiently dried before the substrate unwound from the unwinding reel. Thereby, compaction of the apparatus can be achieved, the total processing time can be shortened, and productivity improvement and labor saving can be achieved.

In addition, the electrode manufacturing method of the present invention forms an active material layer on both surfaces of the substrate while conveying a strip-shaped substrate between the feeding part and the winding part to manufacture an electrode, and is characterized in that it includes: coating Coating process, in the coating part, the active material mixture formed by mixing the active material and the solvent is applied to both sides of the substrate; drying process, which is carried out after the above-mentioned coating process, in the drying part, make the above-mentioned The above-mentioned active material mixture applied in the coating step is dried to form an active material layer, and the above-mentioned drying section includes a normal-pressure drying section arranged continuously along the conveying direction of the above-mentioned substrate and a vacuum drying section located in front of the normal-pressure drying section. In the above-mentioned vacuum drying section, the inlet and outlet for the above-mentioned substrate to pass are provided with seals for maintaining the vacuum degree of the above-mentioned vacuum drying section, and a dry air environment is arranged through the above-mentioned seal on the outlet side of the above-mentioned vacuum drying section. The above-mentioned coiling part is provided in the space of the above-mentioned dry air environment.

According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently and reliably dry the active material mixture coated on the surface of the metal foil when manufacturing an electrode.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a schematic configuration of an electrode manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the electrode manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 .

Fig. 3 is a side view of an electrode manufactured by an electrode manufacturing device.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of an electrode manufactured by an electrode manufacturing device.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an applicator head.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of a non-contact seal.

7 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an electrode manufacturing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an electrode manufacturing apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an electrode manufacturing apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of another embodiment of an application unit.

Fig. 11 is a side view of another embodiment of an electrode manufactured using an electrode manufacturing apparatus.

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of a contact seal.

Fig. 13 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of one embodiment of the dry air chamber.

Fig. 14 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of another embodiment of the dry air chamber.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a schematic configuration of an electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 . In the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, an electrode of a lithium ion capacitor is manufactured. In addition, in this specification and drawings, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected to the member which has substantially the same functional structure, and repeated description is abbreviate|omitted.

An electrode E having an active material layer F formed on both surfaces of a strip-shaped base material metal foil M as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is manufactured using the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 . The active material layers F on both sides of the metal foil M are oppositely formed. In addition, the active material layer F is formed, for example, at the central portion of the metal foil M in the width direction (Z direction in FIG. 3 ), and a plurality of active material layers are formed along the length direction of the metal foil M (Y direction in FIGS. .

In the case of a lithium ion capacitor, the metal foil M is, for example, a porous current collector. In addition, in the case of an electric double layer capacitor, a lithium ion battery, or the like, the metal foil M is, for example, a current collector without pores. When manufacturing the electrode E as a positive electrode, for example, an aluminum foil is used as the metal foil M. On the other hand, when manufacturing using electrode E as a negative electrode, copper foil is used as metal foil M, for example.

In addition, in order to form the active material layer F, a paste-like active material mixture is applied to the surface of the metal foil M as described later. For example, conductive carbon powder such as activated carbon as an active material, propylene-based binder as a binder, hydroxymethylcellulose as a dispersant, and acetylene black as a conductive auxiliary material are mixed, and the mixture is added as The water as the solvent is mixed uniformly to generate a positive electrode active material mixture for producing a positive electrode. On the other hand, for example, a conductive carbon material such as amorphous carbon as an active material capable of storing and releasing lithium ions, polyvinylidene fluoride as a binder, and acetylene black as a conductive auxiliary material are mixed, and the mixture Add water as a solvent to the mixture, and mix to form a negative electrode active material mixture for producing a negative electrode.

The materials of the positive electrode and the negative electrode are different as described above, but the width and thickness of the metal foil M and the active material layer F are not much different. After drying, the thickness of the positive electrode is about twice that of the negative electrode. Therefore, the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 can manufacture both the positive electrode of the lithium ion capacitor and the negative electrode of the lithium ion capacitor. Hereinafter, the above-mentioned positive electrode and negative electrode will be referred to as electrodes E and described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 includes three types of spaces: an atmospheric pressure chamber 2 , a vacuum chamber 3 , and a dry air chamber 4 . Atmospheric chamber 2 is equipped with unwinding reel 10 as unwinding part for unwinding metal foil M, coating part 11 for coating active material mixture on both sides of metal foil M, and active material on metal foil M. The material mixture is dried to form the normal pressure drying part 12a of the active material layer F. The vacuum chamber 3 has a vacuum drying part 12b for further drying the active material mixture until no moisture remains. The dry air chamber 4 has a take-up roll 13 as a take-up unit for winding the metal foil M. In the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present invention, the drying unit 12 is composed of a normal pressure drying unit 12a and a vacuum drying unit 12b. The discharge roll 10, the coating section 11, the atmospheric pressure drying section 12a, the vacuum drying section 12b, and the take-up roll 13 are arranged sequentially from the upstream side along the conveying direction of the metal foil M (Y direction in FIGS. 1 and 2). In addition, a drive mechanism (not shown) and a tension adjustment unit (not shown) are provided at appropriate positions between the payout roll 10 and the take-up roll 13, for example, between the payout roll 10 and the coating unit 11, whereby The metal foil M unwound from the unwinding roll 10 is fed, and the metal foil M is wound up on the take-up roll 13 while maintaining an appropriate tension.

The feeding roll 10 is arranged such that the axial direction of the feeding roll 10 is in the vertical direction (Z direction in FIG. 1 ). The unprocessed metal foil M is wound around the unprocessed reel 10, and the unprocessed reel 10 is rotatable around a vertical axis. And, the metal foil M is fed out from the feeding roll 10 under the influence of pulling in the longitudinal direction thereof.

The winding roll 13 is also arranged such that the axial direction of the winding roll 13 is along the vertical direction. The take-up roll 13 can rotate around the vertical axis. Then, the metal foil M on which the active material layer F is formed is wound up on a take-up roll 13 .

The feeding roll 10 and the take-up roll 13 are arranged at the same height. In addition, as the coating process progresses, the diameter of the pay-out roll 10 becomes smaller, and the diameter of the take-up roll 13 becomes larger. Therefore, in order to keep the metal foil M at the same height, the pay-out roll 10 is placed next to the pay-out roll 10. 10 is provided with a guide roller 15 , and a guide roller 16 is provided in front of the take-up roll 13 so as to be adjacent to the take-up roll 13 . In addition, the feeding reel 10 and the take-up reel 13 are arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the metal foil M is the horizontal direction (Y direction in FIGS. 1 and 2 ) and the width direction of the metal foil M is the vertical direction (Z direction in FIG. 1 ). direction) to convey the metal foil M.

The coating part 11 has the coating head 20 for coating the active material mixture on the surface of the metal foil M. The coating heads 20 are disposed on both sides of the metal foil M being transported, facing each other between the discharge roll 10 and the take-up roll 13 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , the applicator head 20 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the vertical direction (Z direction in FIG. 5 ). The coating head 20 is formed longer than the width direction of the metal foil M, for example. On the surface of the coating head 20 facing the metal foil M, a slit-shaped coating port 21 for discharging the active material mixture is formed. The application port 21 is formed to extend in the vertical direction (Z direction in FIG. 5 ). In addition, the application port 21 is formed at a position where the active material mixture can be supplied to the central portion of the metal foil M in the width direction. In addition, a supply pipe 23 communicating with an active material mixture supply source 22 is connected to the coating head 20 . The active material mixture supply source 22 stores the active material mixture, and the active material mixture can be supplied from the active material mixture supply source 22 to the coating head 20 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the normal-pressure drying unit 12 a has a heating mechanism 30 for drying the active material mixture on the metal foil M by, for example, radiation heating by infrared rays. The heating mechanism 30 is disposed on both sides of the metal foil M being transported, facing each other between the feeding roll 10 and the winding roll 13 . In the heating mechanism 30, a plurality of rod heaters 31 for irradiating infrared rays are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the metal foil M (Y direction in FIGS. 1 and 2). The rod heater 31 extends in the vertical direction (Z direction in FIG. 1 ) longer than the length of the metal foil M in the width direction. That is, the rod heater 31 can irradiate the entire width direction of the metal foil M with infrared rays. In addition, in the heating mechanism 30, a reflection plate (not shown) for reflecting infrared rays from the rod heater 31 to the metal foil M side may be provided at a position facing the metal foil M via the rod heater 31. Show).

The structure of the normal-pressure drying part 12a is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, As long as it can dry the active material mixture on the metal foil M, various structures can be employ|adopted. For example, the heating means is not limited to the rod-shaped heater 31 described above, and a plurality of LEDs for emitting infrared rays may be arranged, and a hot-air drying structure may also be adopted. The atmospheric pressure chamber 2 provided with the unwinding roll 10, the coating section 11, and the atmospheric pressure drying section 12a may be a space controlled to a simple clean room level.

The atmospheric pressure chamber 2 and the vacuum chamber 3 are arranged continuously through a non-contact seal 32 using a differential exhaust method. In order to continuously convey the metal foil M from the feeding reel 10 to the take-up reel 13 , it is necessary to provide a gap through which the metal foil M can pass between the atmospheric pressure chamber 2 and the vacuum chamber 3 . By providing a non-contact seal 32 between the atmospheric pressure chamber 2 and the vacuum chamber 3, as shown in FIG. The inflow of air into the vacuum chamber 3 is suppressed, and the vacuum degree of the vacuum chamber 3 is maintained. In addition, although the inflow of air into the vacuum chamber 3 cannot be completely prevented by the non-contact seal 32, the vacuum chamber 3 of the present invention may have an air pressure of about several torr. By adopting such a structure, the gap 41 can be provided between the atmospheric pressure chamber 2 and the vacuum chamber 3, and the inflow of air into the vacuum chamber 3 can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to continue from the atmospheric pressure drying part 12a to the vacuum drying part 12b through the gap 41. Convey the metal foil M.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the vacuum drying section 12 b of the vacuum chamber 3 has a heating mechanism 33 for drying the active material mixture on the metal foil M by, for example, radiant heating by infrared rays. Like the normal-pressure drying unit 12a, the heating mechanism 33 is configured by arranging a plurality of rod heaters 34 for irradiating infrared rays on both sides of the metal foil M in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the structure of the vacuum drying unit 12b is not limited to the structure of radiation heating by infrared rays, and various structures can be adopted as long as the active material mixture on the metal foil M can be dried without air. For example, thermal conduction heating in which the metal foil M is brought into contact with a heater may be used.

The vacuum chamber 3 and the dry air chamber 4 are arranged continuously through the same non-contact seal 35 as the non-contact seal between the normal pressure chamber 2 and the vacuum chamber 3 . The dry air chamber 4 is controlled to be, for example, a dry air environment in which the dew point temperature is -50° C. or lower. In this dry air chamber 4, the vacuum-dried metal foil M is wound up on the take-up roll 13 without reabsorbing moisture.

The electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 described above is provided with a control unit 50 as shown in FIG. 1 . The control unit 50 is, for example, a computer, and has a program storage unit (not shown). A program for controlling the process for manufacturing the electrode E in the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 is stored in the program storage unit. In addition, the above-mentioned program may be recorded in a computer-readable storage medium H such as a computer-readable hard disk (HD), floppy disk (FD), optical disk (CD), magnetic disk (MO), memory card, etc. The storage medium H is installed in the control unit 50 .

The electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the process for manufacturing the electrode E performed in the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described.

In the normal pressure chamber 2 , the metal foil M is fed out from the feeding roll 10 and conveyed to the coating unit 11 . In the application unit 11 , the paste-like active material mixture S is applied from the application head 20 to the surface of the metal foil M being transported. At this time, the active material mixture S is supplied from the coating heads 20 and 20 arranged on both sides of the metal foil M, and the active material mixture S is coated on both surfaces of the metal foil M with a uniform film thickness at the same time. In addition, the active material mixture S supplied from the coating head 20 is coated on the center portion of the metal foil M in the width direction. In addition, the active material mixture S is intermittently supplied from the application head 20 so that the active material mixture S is applied to a plurality of regions along the longitudinal direction of the metal foil M.

Then, the metal foil M coated with the active material mixture S is conveyed to the normal-pressure drying section 12a. In the normal-pressure drying unit 12a, the active material mixture S on both sides of the metal foil M is dried by infrared radiation heating from the heating means 30 disposed on both sides of the metal foil M. At this time, the temperature of the rod heater 31 of the heating mechanism 30 is set to about 100°C to 200°C. In addition, an air intake mechanism (not shown) may be provided to form an air flow to promote drying.

The metal foil M having passed through the normal-pressure drying unit 12 a is conveyed from the normal-pressure chamber 2 to the vacuum drying unit 12 b in the vacuum chamber 3 through the gap 41 of the non-contact seal 32 . In the vacuum drying section 12b, the metal foil M is conveyed at the same conveying speed as that in the normal pressure chamber 2, and is further dried by infrared radiation heating from the heating mechanism 33 arranged on both sides of the metal foil M, until No moisture remains in the active substance mixture S on both sides of the metal foil M. In this way, the active material mixture S on both sides of the metal foil M is dried, and the active material layer F having a predetermined film thickness is formed on both sides of the metal foil M.

The metal foil M on which the active material layer F is formed is conveyed into the dry air chamber 4 through the gap of the non-contact seal 35 on the outlet side of the vacuum chamber 3 , and wound up on the take-up roll 13 . This completes a series of processes in the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1, and the electrode E is produced.

In this embodiment, since the normal-pressure drying unit 12a and the vacuum drying unit 12b are continuously arranged in series, the active material mixture S on the metal foil M can be dried to an appropriate degree by the normal-pressure drying unit 12a. , introduce the metal foil M to the vacuum drying unit 12b at the same speed, and further dry it. By passing the metal foil M through the drying section 12 constituted by such two stages, the active material mixture S can be properly dried without leaving moisture in the active material mixture S as conventionally. Furthermore, since the sheet is dried in the vacuum drying unit 12b without being wound on the take-up roll 13, the drying time can be significantly shortened compared to the conventional method of vacuum drying in the roll state. And, by arranging the atmospheric pressure drying section 12a and the vacuum drying section 12b continuously, a series of treatments can be continuously and efficiently performed, and by making the conveying speed of the metal foil M in the atmospheric pressure drying section 12a and the vacuum drying section 12b the same, further Improve processing efficiency. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the active material layer F can be formed on the surface of the metal foil M appropriately and efficiently.

In addition, since the metal foil M unloaded from the vacuum drying unit 12b is wound up on the take-up roll 13 in the dry air chamber 4, the vacuum-dried metal foil M can be wound up on the take-up roll 13 without absorbing moisture. In addition, it is preferable that in the dry air chamber 4, the metal foil M wound on the take-up roll 13 can be automatically unloaded from the system while maintaining the state of the take-up roll 13, and the take-up roll 13 can be automatically dried, for example, made of plastic. Sealed like vacuum bag packaging.

7 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the electrode manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, in which a tension detection unit 61 for detecting the tension of the metal foil M is provided between the normal pressure drying unit 12a and the vacuum drying unit 12b. Other configurations of this embodiment are the same as those of the above-mentioned embodiment shown in FIG. 2 . By monitoring the tension of the metal foil M by the tension detector 61, the metal foil M can be conveyed more appropriately. Vibration of the metal foil M in the atmospheric pressure drying section 12a and the vacuum drying section 12b can be suppressed by providing the tension detection section 61 and the driving roller 62 in close proximity to the atmospheric pressure drying section 12a behind the atmospheric pressure drying section 12a. ,swing.

In addition, FIG. 8 is a plan view showing still another embodiment of the electrode manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, and a buffer unit 63 is provided between the normal pressure drying unit 12a and the vacuum drying unit 12b. Other configurations of this embodiment are the same as those of the above-mentioned embodiment shown in FIG. 2 . In this embodiment, the metal foil M is passed through the tension roller 64 movable in the X direction shown in FIG. An appropriate amount of metal foil M is stored. In addition, the structure of the buffer portion 63 is not limited to the illustrated structure. By providing the buffer unit 63 , it is possible to adjust when the conveying speed is different between the atmospheric pressure drying unit 12 a side and the vacuum drying unit 12 b side, such as when the vacuum drying unit 12 b is temporarily stopped.

9 is still another embodiment of the electrode manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. In the vacuum drying section 12b, guide rollers 64 are arranged alternately on the left and right with respect to the advancing direction of the metal foil M so that the metal foil M moves forward in a wave. Other configurations of this embodiment are the same as those of the above-mentioned embodiment shown in FIG. 2 . By zigzagging the metal foil M, even if the length of the conveyance direction of the vacuum chamber 3 is suppressed, the time for the metal foil M to pass through the vacuum drying unit 12b can be ensured to be long and sufficient drying can be performed. In this case, a plurality of infrared heaters may be arranged at positions extending along the zigzagging metal foil M. In addition, the guide roller 64 may also be used also as a heater for heat conduction heating.

In addition, the electrode manufacturing apparatus of the present invention may be any combination of the tension detection unit 61, the buffer unit 63, and the guide roller 64 that moves the metal foil M in a wave-like zigzag manner in the above-mentioned embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 , or An electrode manufacturing device with all structures.

As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said example. It is obvious that those skilled in the art can conceive various alterations or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and it should be understood that these alterations or modifications naturally also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 of the above-mentioned embodiment, the unwinding roll 10 is provided as the unwinding portion, but the structure of the unwinding portion is not limited to this embodiment, and various structures can be adopted as long as the metal foil M can be unwound. . Similarly, although the winding roll 13 is provided as a winding part, the structure of a winding part is not limited to this embodiment, As long as it is a structure which can wind the metal foil M, various structures can be employ|adopted.

In addition, although the coating head 20 is provided on the coating part 11 of the above-mentioned embodiment, the structure of the coating part 11 is not limited to this embodiment, as long as the active material mixture S can be coated on the surface of the metal foil M structure, various structures can be adopted. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the coating heads 20 and 20 are provided on opposite sides of the metal foil M, but any coating head 20 may be arranged downstream of the other coating head 20 . In addition, the number of coating heads 20 is not limited to this embodiment, You may arrange several coating heads 20 on both sides of the metal foil M, respectively.

In addition, in the coating section 11, the active material mixture S may be coated on the surface of the metal foil M by, for example, an ink jet method. In addition, as shown in FIG. 10 , the application unit 11 may include: a roller 100 that contacts the surface of the metal foil M to apply the paste-like active material mixture S on the metal foil M; a nozzle 101 that It is used to supply the active material mixture S to the surface of the roller 100 .

In the above-mentioned embodiment, a plurality of active material layers F are formed along the longitudinal direction of the metal foil M, but when forming an electrode E having, for example, one continuous active material layer F, as shown in FIG. The electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present invention is also useful for the electrode E of the active material layer F.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the active material layer F is formed on both sides of the metal foil M in the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1, but in order to form the electrode E, other processes such as punching and cutting of the metal foil M may be performed. . The electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 may continuously perform the above-mentioned other processes between the unwinding roll 10 and the winding roll 13 .

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the non-contact seals 32 and 35 are used, but instead of the non-contact seals 32 and 35, a contact seal 43 may be used as shown in FIG. 43 has a contact portion 44 having elasticity in contact with the metal foil M and the active material layer F, and the contact type seal 43 is sealed by the contact portion 44 .

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the tension detection unit 61 is provided between the atmospheric pressure drying unit 12a and the vacuum drying unit 12b, but it is also possible to provide a non-contact seal 35 between the unwinding roll 10 and the coating unit 11. The tension detection unit 61 is also disposed between the winding coil 13 . Alternatively, the tension detection unit may be disposed at only one of the above three positions, or the tension detection unit may be disposed at a plurality of positions.

Next, how to take out the vacuum-bag-packed take-up roll 13 from the dry air chamber 4 without introducing air into the dry air chamber 4 will be described.

Here, the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 has: a box-shaped member, which is provided in contact with the dry air chamber 4, for storing the coiled roll 13 that has been wound; into the box-shaped part and accommodated in the box-shaped part.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13 , gloves 200 are provided on the side walls of the dry air chamber 4 . The glove 200 is made of a flexible material, and the operator can put his hand into the glove 200 from the outside of the dry air chamber 4 to perform work in the dry air chamber 4 . The glove 200 does not have air permeability, and the glove 200 is sealed from the side wall of the drying air chamber 4 , so external air will not enter the drying air chamber 4 from this part. Furthermore, the glove 200 corresponds to the storage member of the present invention.

In addition, a box 201 in contact with the side wall of the drying air chamber 4 is provided below the glove 200 . A first door 202 is provided at a portion of the box 201 in contact with the space of the dry air chamber 4 , and the first door 202 can be opened and closed and can seal the inside of the box 201 when closed. And, be provided with the 2nd door 203 in the part (the part that is in contact with the outside of the space of the dry air chamber 4) close to the side wall of the dry air chamber 4 of the box-like member 201, the 2nd door 203 can be opened and closed freely and When closed, the inside of the box 201 can be airtight. In addition, an exhaust member 204 for exhausting atmospheric gas in the box 201 and a gas supply member 205 for supplying dry air into the box 201 are connected to the box 201 .

Then, when trying to take out the wound roll 13 from the dry air chamber 4, the operator puts his hand into the glove 200 and performs the following work. First, the operator opens the first door 202 from the state where the first door and the second door are sealed, and stores the winding roll 13 packed in a vacuum bag in the box 201 . Then, the first door 202 is closed and the hand is removed from the glove 200 . Then, the second door 203 is opened from the outside of the dry air chamber 4, and the take-up roll 13 is taken out from the box 201 . Then, the second door 203 is sealed, exhaust is exhausted by the exhaust member 204 , and dry air is supplied into the box 201 by the gas supply member 205 . Then, the interior of the box 201 was replaced with a dry air atmosphere.

In this way, the wound roll 13 packaged in a vacuum bag can be taken out from the dry air chamber 4 without introducing outside air into the dry air chamber 4 .

As another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14 , instead of the glove 200 , a conveyance member 206 capable of conveying the take-up roll 13 may be provided. In this embodiment, the transport member 206 corresponds to the storage member of the present invention. The transport means 206 uses a robot such as a manipulator, for example. In addition, the transport member 206 can also open and close the first door 202 .

When taking out the winding roll 13 from the dry air chamber 4, first, the conveyance member 206 is scanned with the 1st door 202 and the 2nd door 203 sealed. Then, the first door 202 is opened, the take-up roll 13 is conveyed by the conveyance member 206 , and the take-up roll 13 is stored in the box 201 . Then, the first door 202 may be sealed with the transport member 206 . Subsequently, the same procedure as that of taking out the coiled roll 13 in the above-mentioned embodiment is performed.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 14 , the box 201 may be provided so as to be in contact with the outside of the dry air chamber 4 .

In addition, instead of opening and closing the first door 202 with the conveyance member 206 , another member for opening and closing the first door 202 may be provided.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the glove 200 or the delivery member 206 is used as the storage member of the present invention, but it is not limited to this, as long as the winding roll 13 can be transported into the box-shaped member 201 and stored in the box-shaped member 201 , other structures can also be used.

As another embodiment, an unillustrated automatic changer (autochanger) for exchanging the feeding roll 10 and the winding roll 13 may be provided around the feeding roll 10 and the winding roll 13, respectively. This automatic changer is used to replace the empty pay-out roll 10 with a new pay-out roll 10 , and to replace the wound-up roll 13 with a new empty take-up roll 13 . In addition, a plurality of new unwinding rolls 10 and a plurality of new empty winding rolls 13 are preloaded in an unillustrated automatic changer.

According to the above structure, the metal foil M can be processed continuously, and the productivity of the electrode manufacturing apparatus 1 can be further improved. In addition, it is not necessary for the operator to enter into the dry air chamber 4 every time the take-up roll 13 is replaced to perform replacement work. Therefore, it is not necessary to open the door of the drying air chamber 4 (not shown) in order to enter or exit the drying air chamber 4 , so there is no possibility of external air entering the drying air chamber 4 .

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case of manufacturing the electrode E of a lithium ion capacitor was described, but the electrode manufacturing apparatus of the present invention can also be used in the case of manufacturing an electrode used in an electric double layer capacitor or an electrode used in a lithium ion battery. 1. In this case, the material of the metal foil M, the material of the active material mixture S, and the like may be changed according to the type of electrode to be manufactured.

Explanation of reference signs

1. Electrode manufacturing device; 2. Atmospheric pressure chamber; 3. Vacuum chamber; 4. Drying air chamber; 10. Release roll; 11. Coating department; 12. Drying department; 12a. Normal pressure drying department; 12b. Vacuum drying 13, coiling roll; 20, coating head; 30, 33, heating mechanism; 31, 34, rod heater; 32, 35, non-contact seal; 50, control part; E, electrode; F , active material layer; M, metal foil; S, active material mixture.

Claims (25)

1. An electrode manufacturing device for forming an active material layer on both sides of a strip-shaped substrate to manufacture an electrode, wherein the electrode manufacturing device is characterized in that The electrode manufacturing device includes: an ejection part, which is used to eject the substrate; a coiling unit, which is used to coil the base material discharged from the above-mentioned discharge unit; A coating part, which is arranged between the above-mentioned discharge part and the above-mentioned winding part, is used for coating the active material mixture on both sides of the substrate; a drying section, which is provided between the application section and the take-up section, and is used to dry the active material mixture applied by the application section to form an active material layer, The above-mentioned drying section includes a normal-pressure drying section arranged in series along the conveying direction of the above-mentioned substrate and a vacuum drying section positioned in front of the normal-pressure drying section, The inlet and the outlet for the passage of the above-mentioned base material in the above-mentioned vacuum drying part are provided with a sealing member for maintaining the vacuum degree of the above-mentioned vacuum drying part, A space in a dry air atmosphere is disposed on an exit side of the vacuum drying unit via the sealing member, and the winding unit is provided in the space in a dry air atmosphere. 2. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The conveying speed of the above-mentioned base material in the above-mentioned atmospheric pressure drying section is the same as the conveying speed in the above-mentioned vacuum drying section. 3. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The aforementioned seal is a non-contact type seal. 4. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A tension detection unit for detecting the tension of the base material is provided between the normal pressure drying unit and the vacuum drying unit. 5. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A buffer section capable of temporarily storing the base material is provided between the normal pressure drying section and the vacuum drying section. 6. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: Guide rolls are arranged in the vacuum drying section so that the base material can be zigzag-advanced. 7. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The base material is sealed in the space of the dry air environment after being wound up on the winding portion. 8. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: Radiation drying or hot air drying is carried out in the above-mentioned normal pressure drying section, and radiation drying or heat conduction drying is carried out in the above-mentioned vacuum drying section. 9. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The solvent of the above active substance mixture is water. 10. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The electrode described above is an electrode used for a lithium ion capacitor, an electrode used for an electric double layer capacitor, or an electrode used for a lithium ion battery. 11. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The electrode manufacturing device includes: a box-shaped member, which is arranged to be in contact with the space of the above-mentioned dry air environment, and is used to accommodate the above-mentioned coiling part that has been coiled; The first door is provided at a portion of the box-like member that is in contact with the space in the dry air environment, and can be opened and closed freely and sealed freely; The second door is provided at a part of the box-shaped member that is in contact with the outside of the space in the dry air environment, and can be freely opened and closed and sealed freely; a housing member for housing the coiled portion in the box, The coiled portion that has been wound is taken out from the space in the dry air environment via the box-like member to outside the space in the dry air environment. 12. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein: The above-mentioned receiving part is a glove, and the glove is arranged on the outer wall of the space of the above-mentioned dry air environment, and the operator can put his hands into the glove from outside the space of the above-mentioned dry air environment to perform operations . 13. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein: The storage part is a robot, which is arranged in the space in the dry air environment and is used to transport the coiled part into the box. 14. The electrode manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: This electrode manufacturing device is provided with an automatic changer, which replaces a new pay-out roll for feeding out the base material when the pay-out operation of the above-mentioned pay-off part is completed, or when the coil operation of the above-mentioned take-up part is completed. The changer replaces a new take-up roll for winding the substrate. 15. A method for manufacturing an electrode, wherein an active material layer is formed on both sides of the substrate while conveying a strip-shaped substrate between the discharge part and the take-up part to manufacture an electrode, the electrode manufacturing method is characterized in that , The electrode manufacturing method includes: Coating process, in the coating part, the active material mixture formed by mixing the active material and the solvent is applied to both sides of the substrate; subsequently, a drying step, which is carried out after the above-mentioned coating step, and in the drying part, the above-mentioned active material mixture applied in the above-mentioned coating step is dried to form an active material layer, The above-mentioned drying section includes a normal-pressure drying section arranged in series along the conveying direction of the above-mentioned substrate and a vacuum drying section positioned in front of the normal-pressure drying section, The inlet and the outlet for the passage of the above-mentioned base material in the above-mentioned vacuum drying part are provided with a sealing member for maintaining the vacuum degree of the above-mentioned vacuum drying part, A space in a dry air atmosphere is disposed on an exit side of the vacuum drying unit via the sealing member, and the winding unit is provided in the space in a dry air atmosphere. 16. The electrode manufacturing method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The conveying speed of the above-mentioned base material in the above-mentioned atmospheric pressure drying section is the same as the conveying speed in the above-mentioned vacuum drying section. 17. The electrode manufacturing method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The aforementioned seal is a non-contact type seal. 18. The electrode manufacturing method according to claim 15, characterized in that, A tension detection unit for detecting the tension of the base material is provided between the normal pressure drying unit and the vacuum drying unit. 19. The electrode manufacturing method according to claim 15, characterized in that, A buffer section capable of temporarily storing the base material is provided between the normal pressure drying section and the vacuum drying section. 20. The electrode manufacturing method according to claim 15, characterized in that, Guide rolls are arranged in the vacuum drying section so that the base material can be zigzag-advanced. 21. The electrode manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein: The base material is sealed in the space of the dry air environment after being wound up on the winding portion. 22. The electrode manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein: Radiation drying or hot air drying is carried out in the above-mentioned normal pressure drying section, and radiation drying or heat conduction drying is carried out in the above-mentioned vacuum drying section. 23. The electrode manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein: The solvent of the above active substance mixture is water. 24. The electrode manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein: The electrode described above is an electrode used for a lithium ion capacitor, an electrode used for an electric double layer capacitor, or an electrode used for a lithium ion battery. 25. The electrode manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein: The take-up unit, which has completed the take-up of the substrate in the space of the dry air environment, is housed in a box-shaped member by a storage member, and then taken out to the outside, and the box is provided adjacent to the space of the dry air environment.

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