JP2001160379A - Exterior molding equipment for film exterior type batteries - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide an exterior molding apparatus capable of reducing the size of a light-weight, high-capacity film exterior type battery with good yield. SOLUTION: A film-covered battery holder 9 having a protruding end surface 9a for positioning and placing a sealing edge portion 10a of a package film, and a protruding end surface 11a facing the protruding end surface 9a of the film-covered battery holder 9 are provided. Holding plate 11
A first drive mechanism 12 for driving the holding plate 11 and the film-covered battery holder 9 so that the protruding end surfaces 11a, 9a thereof come into contact with and separate from each other; and a protrusion of the holding plate 11 and the film-covered battery holder 9. A bending plate 13 which advances and retreats along side walls of the projections 11b and 9b forming the end faces 11a and 9a, and a second drive which advances and retreats the bending plate 13
A driving mechanism 14, a molding plate 15 that moves in synchronization with the driving of the sandwiching plate 11, and forms the sealing edge 10a bent by the bending plate 13, and a molding plate 15 that moves the molding plate 15 forward and backward. Characterized in that it comprises the third drive mechanism 16

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exterior molding apparatus for a film exterior type battery which is compatible with high capacity and miniaturization.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For a cordless electronic device such as a cellular phone or a portable personal computer, for example, a secondary battery used as a driving power source is required to have a high capacity, a small size, a light weight, and the like. ing.
As a secondary battery of this type, attention is paid to a non-aqueous solvent battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery which can be reduced in weight.

That is, a positive electrode layer, a polymer electrolyte layer and a negative electrode layer are superposed, a battery element is integrally formed into a sheet shape by heat and pressure bonding, and each electrode terminal is led out and sealed in a liquid-tight manner with an exterior film. A sheet-like film-covered battery (polymer electrolyte secondary battery) is being developed (for example, US Pat. No. 5,296,318).

Here, the positive electrode layer stores lithium ions,
A positive electrode sheet containing a carbonaceous material to be released (for example, polyaniline or polyacene) or a metal oxide, and a negative electrode layer is a lithium metal, carbonaceous, or lithium alloy-based sheet containing an active material capable of absorbing and releasing lithium ions. In addition, the positive electrode layer and the negative electrode layer appropriately contain an electrolyte-retaining polymer to provide flexibility and the like, and have a current collector.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a main part of a conventional film-covered battery 1. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, 2
Is a polymer electrolyte such as a polymer such as hexafluoropropylene-vinylidene fluoride copolymer and an ethylene carbonate solution such as a lithium salt; a non-aqueous electrolyte; a polymer electrolyte having an electrolyte-holding function having a separator function; A positive electrode obtained by laminating a positive electrode layer containing an active material such as a metal oxide to be released, a non-aqueous electrolyte, and an electrolyte-retaining polymer on a current collector, 4 is an active material that absorbs and releases lithium ions, and a non-aqueous electrolyte. And a negative electrode formed by laminating a negative electrode layer containing an electrolyte-retaining polymer on a current collector.

Here, a laminate of the polymer-electrolyte system 2, the positive electrode 3 and the negative electrode 4 forms a flat electrode element. The flat battery element may be wound by inserting the polymer-electrolyte system 2 between the tape-shaped positive electrode 3 and the negative electrode 4 and pressing the wound body to form a flat plate.

Further, reference numerals 5 and 6 denote the positive electrode 3 and the negative electrode 4.
A resin film (sheet) for exterior / sealing that covers and protects the back side of the substrate, for example, a thermoplastic resin film such as a polyimide resin, or a laminated film in which a thin metal layer is formed as an inner layer. Or liquid tightly sealed. In order to ensure highly reliable airtightness or liquid tightness of the edge sealing portion, the width of the edge sealing portion may be set wide. Although not shown, the positive electrode 3
A lead terminal electrically connected to each current collector of the negative electrode 4 is drawn out.

[0008]

By the way, the above-mentioned film-covered battery 1 has not only high capacity, high performance and light weight, but also
From the viewpoint of space saving, it is desired to be as small as possible. Therefore, in the above-described battery configuration, the hermetic sealing (sealing) region 7 of the exterior films 5 and 6 is folded (molded) along the side surface of the electrode element contained therein, and hermetically sealed to extend in the outer peripheral direction. The area 7 is reduced in size.

FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c) schematically show an embodiment of a step of bending the hermetically sealed area 7. First, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the resin layers 5 and 6 to be packaged and sealed are provided.
The hermetic sealing area 7 formed by the thermal welding is heated by the heater blocks 8a and 8b so as to be easily deformed. Then
As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the heated hermetic sealing area 7 is pressed against the pressing plate 8, and is bent and preformed by the side of the polymer battery 1 (electrode element). Thereafter, the preformed hermetic sealing region 7 is pressed against the side surface of the polymer battery 1 so as to be along the side surface of the polymer battery 1 as shown in FIG.

However, in the case of bending and molding the hermetic sealing region 7, the following inconveniences are recognized. That is, in the above-mentioned molding step, first, since molding is performed visually, variation in molding and shape is likely to occur, and there is a problem in terms of mass productivity. Further, in the molding step, since the hermetic sealing region 7 is bent so as to be in contact with the side surface of the electrode element, an external force is easily applied to the side surface of the electrode element, and the electrode element is deformed or damaged. There are also problems. And
Since the deformation or breakage of the electrode element causes an internal short circuit in the film-covered battery, the reliability and manufacturing (processing) yield of the film-covered battery may be significantly impaired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a molding apparatus capable of reducing the size of a lightweight, high-capacity film-covered battery with good yield.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a film-covered battery holder having a projecting end surface on which a sealing edge portion of an exterior film is aligned and placed, and a projecting end surface of the film-covered battery holder. A holding plate having a protruding end face opposed to a first driving mechanism for driving the holding plate and the film-covered battery holder so that the protruding end faces thereof come into contact with and separate from each other; A bending plate that advances and retreats along the side wall of the projection that forms the protruding end surface, a second drive mechanism that drives the bending plate to advance and retreat, and moves in synchronization with the drive of the clamping plate, and is bent by the bending plate. A molding plate for molding the sealed edge portion, and a third drive mechanism for driving the molding plate forward and backward. It is exterior molding apparatus a film-covered battery according to claim.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the case of the first aspect, the molding plate is provided with a heating mechanism.

In the first and second aspects of the present invention, the film-covered battery to be molded is generally called a lithium battery or a lithium ion battery, and has a thickness of, for example, about 10 to 150 μm. The power-generating element is sealed in a liquid-tight (or air-tight) manner with an exterior film such as a polyimide-based resin film, a polyester resin film, and an aramid resin film, and is covered and protected.

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, in the film-covered battery holder having the protruding end surface on which the sealing edge portion of the package film is positioned and placed, the region where the film-covered battery is placed has, for example, a cross section. It is a support having an L-shaped structure. The material is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that at least the surface is made of a soft material so as not to damage the outer film of the mounted film battery.

Here, in the case of the L-shaped cross section, since the end face of the protruding side (convex portion) acts as a surface on which the sealing edge of the film-covered battery is positioned and placed, the protruding height is It is set according to the thickness of the film-covered battery and the position of the sealing edge. The protruding side also contributes to the positioning of the film-covered battery when molding the sealing edge.

In the first and second aspects of the present invention, the holding plate has a structure generally processed into an L-shaped cross section which constitutes the film-covered battery holder. That is, since the end face of the protruding side (convex portion) contributing to the holding of the holding plate needs to face the protruding end face of the film-covered battery holder, the end face of the film-covered battery holder is inverted L.
A structure processed into a letter shape is desirable.

Here, the opposed protruding end faces need to be relatively close to and separated from each other in order to sandwich the sealing edge of the film-covered battery. The protruding end face is moved toward and away from the protruding end face in a direction opposite to the protruding end face by, for example, an air cylinder (a first driving mechanism). .

In the first and second aspects of the present invention, the bent plate is formed of, for example, stainless steel or the like, and its tip has a shape for molding a sealing edge of a film-covered battery. It is set according to. Then, the bent plate abuts against the extended portion of the sealing edge sandwiched by the opposed protruding end surfaces of the film-enclosed battery holder and the sandwiching plate, and performs the necessary molding by holding the sandwiching plate and the film. It is arranged and configured so as to advance and retreat along the side wall of the protruding end surface of the exterior type battery holder, for example, by an air cylinder (second driving mechanism).

In the first and second aspects of the present invention, the molded plate is made of, for example, stainless steel. The distal end surface is configured to advance and retreat in synchronization with the drive of the holding plate or the like while maintaining a fixed interval with respect to the side walls of the holding end plate and the protruding end surface of the film-covered battery holder. That is,
The leading end surface of the molding plate presses the leading end side of the sealing edge of the film-covered battery, and the primary deformation due to the abutment of the folding plate is secondarily advanced and retracted to perform predetermined bending molding. Is restricted to a certain range.

Here, the movement of the molding plate in synchronization with the driving of the film-covered battery holder or the holding plate corresponds to the holding of the sealing edge, and the movement of the sealing edge. This is because primary deformation is efficiently performed by pressing the distal end side. The advance and retreat of the molding plate for performing the secondary molding is performed by, for example, an air cylinder (third drive mechanism).

According to the first aspect of the present invention, one end of the sealing edge is held, supported and fixed, and the sealing edge at the other end is molded by applying selective pressing in the vertical and horizontal directions. It has a configuration. In other words, it is possible to perform constant molding with good reproducibility without causing any damage to the battery elements inside as well as the exterior of the film-covered battery, making it easy to reduce the size of the film-covered battery and increasing the yield. Can do well.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in particular, the molding plate heats the sealing edge, which is the molded portion, so that a constant and smooth molding can be performed with good reproducibility.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 (a) to 2 (e).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an apparatus for molding a film-covered battery according to an embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 9 denotes a film-enclosed battery holder having a projecting end surface 9a on which an exterior film sealing edge 10a of a film-enclosed battery 10 is positioned and placed, and 11 denotes a projecting end surface 9a of the film-enclosed battery holder 9. Protruding end face 11a
The holding plate 12 has a projecting end face 11a,
Reference numeral 9a denotes a first drive mechanism that drives the first drive mechanism so as to relatively approach and separate.

Here, the film-covered battery holder 9
Is a plate-like body made of, for example, stainless steel and having a substantially L-shaped cross section. The film-covered battery 10 is mounted on the bottom wall surface of the substantially L-shaped plate-like body, and the sealing edge 10a of the package film is led out on the protruding end surface 9a, and the protruding end surface 9a The protrusions 9b that form the ribs act on engagement and positioning with the film-covered battery 10.

On the other hand, the holding plate 11 is a plate-like body made of, for example, stainless steel and having a substantially L-shaped cross section. The holding plate 11 has a protruding end face.
11a is a protruding end surface 9a of the film-covered battery holder 9.
, And are supported and arranged so as to be able to advance and retreat.
Drive mechanism (for example, air cylinder) 12
The protruding end faces 11a and 9a are configured to come and go.
In other words, the battery holder 9 with the film exterior and the holding plate
It is configured such that the sealing edge 10a of the exterior film can be sandwiched and fixed by the relative opposition and contact / separation with the substrate 11.

Further, reference numeral 13 denotes a bending plate which advances and retreats along side walls of the holding plates 11 and the protruding portions 11b and 9b which form the protruding end surfaces 11a and 9a of the film-covered battery holder 9. Second to drive
The drive mechanism 15 moves forward and backward in synchronization with the drive of the holding plate 11, and the forming plate for forming the sealing edge portion 10a which is temporarily bent by the bending plate 13 is formed. This is a third drive mechanism for driving the plate forward and backward.

Here, the bending plate 13 is a plate-like body made of, for example, stainless steel and having a tip end surface processed into a curved surface and having a thickness of about 0.5 mm, and a second drive mechanism (for example, an air cylinder). By 14, it is mounted and supported so that it can advance and retreat in a predetermined direction. The tip surface of the bending plate 13 is appropriately set according to the primary molding shape of the sealing edge 10a. Also molding plate
Reference numeral 15 denotes a plate-like body made of, for example, stainless steel and having a flat end surface processed to a thickness of about 10 mm, and which is moved in a predetermined direction by a third drive mechanism (for example, an air cylinder) 16. It is mounted and supported so that it can be used.

In this embodiment, the molding plate 15 system including the air cylinder 16 is mechanically connected to the clamping plate 11 so that the molding plate 15 can move in synchronization with the driving of the clamping plate 11. It is integrated with. In other words, the molding plate 15 operates in accordance with the advance and retreat of the sandwiching plate 11, while adopting a configuration in which the mold plate 15 also independently advances and retreats with the air cylinder 16. Therefore, the advance / retreat synchronized with the holding plate 11 is performed so as to face the position of the sealing edge 10a.

Next, FIG. 2A to FIG.
With reference to (e), an example of exterior molding by the exterior molding apparatus will be described.

First, the sealing edge 10 a is positioned on the projecting end surface 9 a of the film-covered battery holder 9, and the packaged battery 10 is placed on the film-covered battery holder 9.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the first drive mechanism 12 is operated and the holding plate 11 is lowered,
A sealing edge portion 1 is formed between the protruding end surface 11a of the sandwiching plate 11 and the protruding end surface 9a of the film-covered battery holder 9 facing the same.
0a is pinched and held. In synchronization with the operation of the holding plate 11, the molding plate 15 also moves down to a position facing the sealing edge 10a, but keeps a certain distance from the projection 11b forming the projection end surface 11a. are doing.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the second driving mechanism 14 is operated to hold and hold the film-sheathed battery holder 9 and the protruding end surfaces 9a, 11a of the holding plate 11. After the bending plate 13 is pressed against the extending sealing edge 10a from the thickness direction and bent,
As shown in FIG. 2C, the bending plate 13 is retracted.

In this bending process, the sealing edge portion
Since the free end side of 10a is regulated by the molding plate 15, the projection 11b that forms the protruding end surface 11a with the molding plate 15
A primary bending process having a constant shape is performed in accordance with the distance from the side surface.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2D, the third drive mechanism 16 is operated to advance the molding plate 15,
The primary bent sealing edge portion 10a is pressed against the side surface of the convex portion 11b forming the protruding end surface 11a to perform a final bending process. After the final bending process, as shown in FIG. 2 (e), the holding plate 11 and the forming plate 15 are retracted by the driving mechanisms 12 and 16, and the film-covered battery 10 is taken out from the film-covered battery holder 9. Repeat the operation.

In the above exterior molding apparatus, the molding plate
When a configuration in which a heating source is incorporated in 15 is adopted, the secondary molding of the sealing edge portion 10a can be performed more easily.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, instead of moving the holding plate forward and backward, a configuration may be adopted in which the film-covered battery holder is moved forward and backward, and the molded plate is moved in synchronization with the movement of the film-covered battery holder.
Further, each drive mechanism may be changed to an oil cylinder or the like instead of the air cylinder.

[0039]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sealing edge can be molded into a uniform shape with good reproducibility without causing any damage to the battery element inside as well as the film-covered battery. . That is, it is possible to easily make the film-covered battery compact and to improve the yield.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the sealing edge portion, which is the molding target, is heated, the molding can be performed more smoothly and with constant reproducibility.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an apparatus for forming a film-covered battery according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 2 (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) are block diagrams schematically showing an embodiment of exterior molding by an exterior molding apparatus according to an embodiment in the order of steps.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration example of a polymer battery.

FIGS. 4 (a), (b) and (c) are side views schematically showing an embodiment of a conventional method for forming and processing a polymer battery in the order of steps.

[Explanation of symbols]

9: Film-covered battery holder 9a: Protruding end surface of film-covered battery holder 9b: Projecting portion forming protruding end surface of film-covered battery holder 10: Film-covered battery 10a: Sealing edge 11 ... Clamping frates 11a ... Protruding end faces of clamping fringes 11b ... Protrusions forming the protruding end faces of clamping fringes 12, 14, 16 ... Driving mechanism (air cylinder) 13 ... Bending plate 15 ... Molding plate

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Keiichi Shimomura 3-4-10 Minamishinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Toshiba Battery Corporation F-term (reference) 5H011 AA09 CC02 CC06 CC10 DD01 DD06 DD09 DD13 DD26

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A film-covered battery holder having a protruding end surface on which a sealing edge portion of an exterior film is positioned and placed; a holding plate having a protruding end surface facing the protruding end surface of the film-covered battery holder; A first driving mechanism for driving the holding plate and the film-covered battery holder so that the protruding end faces thereof come into contact with and separate from each other; and a side wall of a convex portion forming the protruding end faces of the holding plate and the film-covered battery holder. A folding plate that moves forward and backward, a second drive mechanism that drives the folding plate forward and backward, and a molding plate that moves in synchronization with the driving of the sandwiching plate and molds a sealing edge bent by the folding plate. And a third drive mechanism for driving the molding plate forward and backward. Exterior molding device for rechargeable batteries. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the molding plate has a heating mechanism.