Patent Description:
With the increase in technology development and demand for mobile devices, the demand for secondary batteries is also rapidly increasing. Among them, lithium secondary batteries are widely used as an energy source for various electronic products as well as various mobile devices because of their high energy density and high operating voltage and excellent storage and lifetime characteristics.

The electrodes used in these secondary batteries are divided into positive electrodes and negative electrodes and are used to electrically connect a battery to the outside of the battery. The electrode needs to be cut in order to use the electrode material of the positive electrode and the negative electrode in an appropriate size. Patent publication <CIT> discloses an apparatus for cutting an electrode. Patent document <CIT> discloses an electrode cutting apparatus for a secondary battery, and <CIT> discloses a pouch fabric film cutting unit.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing a conventional electrode cutting apparatus.

As shown, several times of assembly work is required to manufacture the electrode cutting apparatus.

Specifically, at least <NUM> times of the assembly jobs are required, which include a job of coupling a lower knife ① to a lower knife block ②, a job of coupling the lower knife block ② to a lower knife frame ③, a job of coupling the lower knife frame ③ to a main frame ④, a job of coupling a guide instrument ⑤ to the main frame ④, a job of coupling an upper knife block ⑥ to the main frame ④, a job of coupling a linear bush ⑦ to the upper knife block ⑥, a job of coupling an upper knife holder ⑧ to the upper knife block ⑥, and a job of coupling an upper knife ⑨ to the upper knife holder ⑧.

Likewise, in the conventional cutting apparatus, the upper knife and the lower knife are individually or independently assembled in the cutting apparatus, and accordingly, as shown in the arrow of <FIG>, force according to the assembling order or direction was separately applied to the upper knife and the lower knife in different directions. Managing the clearance and squareness (straightness) between the upper knife and the lower knife to be within the tolerance range in the electrode cutting apparatus most significantly influences the cutting quality. However, in a structure where force is applied to the upper knife and the lower knife, respectively, as in the assembly structure of <FIG>, it is almost impossible to adjust the clearance and squareness to be within the tolerance range.

As such, conventionally, in order to adjust the squareness between the upper knife and the lower knife, a scheme of adjusting the slope of the upper knife was sometimes adopted. <FIG> shows a slope regulator of the upper knife of another conventional cutting apparatus.

In <FIG>, when the squareness between the upper knife <NUM> and the lower knife <NUM> goes beyond the tolerance range, the slope of the upper knife <NUM> can be adjusted by applying force toward the left side of the upper knife <NUM> by adjusting the non-head bolt installed at the back surface of the upper knife block.

However, adjusting the slope of the upper knife during the operation of the cutting apparatus decreases the productive capacity by the non-operating loss. Further, even if the side pressure is applied with a non-head bolt, it is very difficult to minutely adjust the slope of the upper knife in a preset production site, and as a cantilever type moment is generated based on the axis of the point to which the side pressure is applied, the upper knife <NUM> may be bent as shown in the enlarged view of <FIG>.

This may be understood as the limitation due to the situation that upper knife <NUM> and the lower knife <NUM> are independently coupled to each separate frame and force is separately applied as shown in <FIG>, and it is difficult to prevent and windingness of the blade of the upper knife <NUM>, and torsion by the qualitative adjustment of the slope as in <FIG>.

Hence, there is a need for a technology capable of quantitatively securing clearance and straightness of the upper knife and the lower knife while simply performing assembly.

The present invention is believed to solve at least some of the above problems. For example, an aspect of the present invention provides an electrode cutting apparatus capable of securing clearance and straightness of the upper knife and the lower knife while allowing a simple and easy assembly.

An apparatus for cutting an electrode for solving the above problems includes: an all-in-one cutting cartridge module including an upper knife and a lower knife; and
a cradle where the all-in-one cutting cartridge module is mounted.

Herein, the all-in-one cutting cartridge module includes a module frame and an upper knife holding unit which fixes and supports the upper knife and is supported in a manner that is vertically slidable on the module frame, and.

The lower knife is coupled to a lower portion of the module frame to face the upper knife.

In one example, the cradle includes an insertion passage, and the all-in-one cutting cartridge module is inserted into the cradle through the insertion passage.

Preferably, the cradle may include an insertion guide which guides insertion of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module.

Further, a rear surface of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module may be coupled to a surface of the cradle facing the rear surface by a coupling member.

Further, in a specific example, the cradle includes a driving unit, and the upper knife holding unit is connected to an upper portion of the cradle and is vertically moved on the module frame by the driving unit.

More specifically, a shank unit is coupled to an upper portion of the upper knife holding unit, a vertically movable shank block by the driving unit is installed on an upper portion of the cradle, and the shank unit is coupled to the shank block and the upper knife holding unit is vertically moved by movement of the shank block.

Further, in one example, the shank unit includes a shank and a shank shaft, and a passage hole, through which the shank and the shank shaft of the shank unit pass, is formed on an upper portion of the module frame.

A passage hole, through which the shank and the shank shaft of the shank unit pass, is formed on an upper portion of the module frame.

In another example, the upper knife holding unit is slidably supported on a side portion of the module frame by a cross roller guide.

Specifically, the cross roller guide includes a first guide rail installed at the module frame, and a second guide rail installed at the upper knife holding unit.

More specifically, two pairs of cross roller guides are installed between the upper knife holding unit and the module frame, the first guide rail of each pair is arranged at an external side of the module frame in a width direction, and the second guide rail of each pair is arranged at an inner side of the module frame in a width direction.

In further another example, the upper knife holding unit is slidably supported on the module frame by a guide master.

In further another example of the present invention, the upper knife is formed as a taper portion in which a blade of a lower end of the upper knife slants upward toward a center of the upper knife in a longitudinal direction.

Further, the taper portion is formed of multi-stage taper parts having a different tilt angle, and the tilt angle of the multi-stage taper parts gradually decreases toward the center of the upper knife in the longitudinal direction.

In further another example, a stripper, which separates the electrode from the upper knife, is installed on an electrode inflow route between the upper knife and the lower knife.

The assembly work is very simple in the electrode cutting apparatus of the present invention. Further, since the upper knife and the lower knife are installed at the all-in-one cutting cartridge module, it is possible to quantitatively adjust the clearance and straightness of the upper knife and the lower knife in advance.

Hence, it is possible to prevent generation of the non-operating loss during the operation of the apparatus and prevent detachment of the electrode.

Hereinafter, the detailed configuration of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and various embodiments. Embodiments described below are exemplary to assist in understanding of the present invention, and in order to help understand the invention, the accompanying drawings are not shown as actual scale and the dimensions of some components may be exaggerated.

As the inventive concept allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific form disclosed, and it should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

An apparatus for cutting an electrode of the present invention is characterized in including an all-in-one cutting cartridge module including an upper knife and a lower knife. In the conventional technology, it was difficult to adjust the squareness because an upper knife and the lower knife are connected to separate frames or parts and receive force in different directions. However, according to the present invention, it is possible to unify force applied to the upper knife and the lower knife and adjust the squareness in advance by installing one unified module frame by modularizing the upper knife and the lower knife. The all-in-one cutting cartridge module means that an upper knife (or a moving part including an upper knife), which cuts an electrode by vertical movements on a lower knife, is integrally mounted on one module, and means that this module has a cartridge form and can be installed on a cradle by replacement. Likewise, by configuring the upper knife and the lower knife to be included in the all-in-one cutting cartridge module, the cutting quality of the electrode may be maintained constant by adjusting the clearance and squareness between the upper knife and the lower knife to be within a tolerance range, thereby making the assembly of the apparatus very simple.

The first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a perspective view of an all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> which is the main part of an electrode cutting apparatus of the present invention.

The all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> includes a single module frame <NUM> including an upper frame <NUM>, a side frame <NUM>, and a lower frame <NUM>. The lower knife <NUM> is positioned at the lower portion of the module frame <NUM>, that is, the lower frame <NUM> in advance to be fixed there. Further, the upper knife <NUM> is fixed at the upper knife holding unit <NUM>, and the upper knife holding unit <NUM> is also supported at the module frame <NUM>. Since the upper knife <NUM> should vertically move and cooperate with the lower knife <NUM> to cut the electrode, the upper knife holding unit <NUM> is supported at the module frame <NUM> in a manner that is vertically slidable. In <FIG>, the upper knife holding unit <NUM> is supported at the side frame <NUM> of the module frame <NUM> by a predetermined sliding unit (to be described later). The upper knife <NUM> of the upper knife holding unit <NUM> is fine-adjusted to allow the clearance and squareness between the upper knife <NUM> and the lower knife <NUM> installed at the lower frame of the module frame <NUM> to be within the tolerance, and is installed at the module frame <NUM>. At this time, since the upper knife <NUM> (or the upper knife holding unit <NUM>) and the lower knife <NUM> are installed to face one single frame (module frame <NUM>), the direction, in which the upper knife <NUM> and the lower knife <NUM> receive force, is simplified, and accordingly, the adjustment of the clearance and squareness becomes easy.

Further, the assembly of the electrode cutting apparatus is completed by only mounting such an all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> on a predetermined cradle <NUM>.

<FIG> are perspective views showing an example of the assembly process of the electrode cutting apparatus of the present invention. In this example, a structure where the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> may be simply inserted into the cradle <NUM> is shown.

<FIG> shows the state before an all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> is inserted into a cradle <NUM>. The cradle <NUM> includes an insertion passage <NUM> into which the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> may be inserted. Further, the cradle <NUM> includes an insertion guide <NUM> for guiding the insertion of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM>. The insertion guide <NUM> has a form including a protrusion and a concave portion, or a slot in order to correspond to the form of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, if the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> is inserted into the insertion passage <NUM>, the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> is inserted along the insertion guide <NUM> of the cradle <NUM>.

Further, the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> may also include a guide <NUM> in a form corresponding to the insertion guide <NUM> of the cradle <NUM> (see <FIG>). Herein, the form of the insertion guide <NUM> and the guide <NUM> may be variously modified according to the apparatus design or specification of the manufactured all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing the state after completion of the assembly of an electrode cutting apparatus of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, if the insertion of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> is completed, the movement of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> may be prevented by combining the rear surface of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> with the surface of the cradle <NUM> facing the rear surface.

<FIG> shows rear views of a cradle <NUM> and an all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> which are elements of the present invention. <NUM> (a) is a rear view of the cradle <NUM> and <FIG> is a rear view of the cartridge module <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, if a bolt B is fastened to the insertion position b of the corresponding cartridge module <NUM> by inserting the bolt B at the insertion position a of the rear surface of the cradle <NUM>, the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> is fixed at the cradle <NUM>.

After the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> is fixed at the cradle <NUM>, the electrode can be cut by vertically sliding the upper knife holding unit <NUM> on the module frame <NUM> of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM>. In this case, the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> can perform cutting work by including an independent driving unit which drives the upper knife holding unit <NUM>. However, when considering the output, size and installation space, etc. of the driving unit, an example in which the cradle <NUM> includes a driving unit (or the cradle <NUM> is connected to a driving unit) is preferred as shown in <FIG> to be described later.

<FIG> shows a side view (<FIG>) of an electrode cutting apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and a perspective view (<FIG>) where the central portion of the electrode cutting apparatus has been cut.

The electrode cutting apparatus of the second embodiment has a structure where the upper knife holding unit <NUM> of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> is connected to the upper portion of the cradle <NUM>, and the upper knife holding unit <NUM> may be vertically moved on the module frame <NUM> by the driving unit (not shown) provided in the cradle <NUM>. Specifically, a shank unit <NUM> and a shank block <NUM> are provided for connection of the upper knife holding unit <NUM> and the cradle <NUM>.

The shank block <NUM>, which may be vertically moved by the driving unit, is installed on the upper portion of the cradle <NUM>. For example, the vertical movement of the shank block <NUM> becomes possible as the rotary motion of the motor, which is the driving unit, is converted into straight line motion of the shank block <NUM> by a predetermined mechanical link instrument. What is generally known such as ball screw equipment and cam equipment may be used as such a motion conversion mechanism, so specific explanations are omitted.

The shank block <NUM> has a protrusion <NUM>, which protrudes to the inner side of the shank block <NUM> at the lower portion of the shank block <NUM> according to the shape of the shank <NUM> of the shank unit <NUM> to be described later, and an insertion groove <NUM> at the upper end of the protrusion <NUM>.

A shank unit <NUM> is fixed on the upper portion of the upper knife holding unit <NUM>. The shank unit <NUM> includes a shank <NUM> coupled to a shank block <NUM>, and a shank shaft <NUM> having one end coupled to the shank <NUM> and the other end coupled to the upper knife holding unit <NUM>. The shank <NUM> and the shank shaft <NUM> may be formed as separate parts or integrally. The shank <NUM> of the example illustrated in the present drawing has a concave portion at the side portion of the cylindrical body, and the protrusion <NUM> of the shank block <NUM> is inserted into the concave portion. The upper portion of the cylindrical shank block <NUM> is inserted into the insertion groove <NUM> of the lower portion of the shank block <NUM>. As such, when the shank <NUM> is inserted into the shank block <NUM>, the shank <NUM> is vertically moved by the vertical movement of the shank block <NUM>, and the upper knife holding unit <NUM>, which is fixed at the shank unit <NUM>, is vertically moved (see the arrow of <FIG>).

A passage hole H, through which the shank <NUM> and the shank shaft <NUM> of the shank unit <NUM> pass, is formed on an upper frame <NUM> of the module frame <NUM> of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM>. Hence, the shank unit <NUM> may be vertically moved through the passage hole H freely without interference by the module frame <NUM>.

The coupling of the shank unit <NUM> and the shank block <NUM> may be simultaneously performed with the insertion of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> into the cradle <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, when the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> is inserted into the cradle <NUM>, the shank <NUM> may be inserted into the shank block <NUM>.

The shank block <NUM> may be configured to allow protrusions <NUM> at the lower end to be approachable to each other. Namely, for example, if the shank block <NUM> includes two right and left separate parts, and the protrusions <NUM> at the lower end are made to become close to each other by fastening bolts, etc., the shank <NUM> may be fastened and supported.

If the shank block <NUM> is connected to the shank unit <NUM> to transmit the force of the driving unit to the shank unit <NUM>, a substantial assembly of the electrode cutting apparatus of the present embodiment is completed. Namely, as in the second embodiment, in the structure where the upper knife holding unit <NUM> is driven by the driving unit of the cradle <NUM>, the assembly of the electrode cutting apparatus of the present invention can be completed by the insertion of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> into the cradle <NUM>, the coupling between the rear surface of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM> and the cradle <NUM>, and the coupling between the shank block <NUM> and the shank unit <NUM>.

The operation of the electrode cutting apparatus of the second embodiment will be described with reference to <FIG>. First, if the shank block <NUM> is raised by the driving unit, the shank unit <NUM> and the holding unit <NUM> connected to the shank block <NUM> are moved upwards. Thereafter, the electrode is moved to a space (slit) between the upper knife <NUM> and the lower knife <NUM>, and the driving unit lowers the shank block <NUM> by the command of the controller at the point of time when the cutting of the electrode is necessary. As such, the shank <NUM> and the upper knife holding unit <NUM> of the all-in-one cartridge module <NUM> descend, and the upper knife <NUM> is supported at the lower knife <NUM> and cuts the electrode. If the cutting of the electrode is completed, the shank block <NUM> is moved upwards by the driving unit, and accordingly, the shank unit <NUM> and the upper knife holding unit <NUM> are moved upwards to thereby finish the cutting job. As described above, both the upper knife holding unit <NUM> and the lower knife <NUM> are supported by the module frame <NUM> of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM>, and accordingly, the clearance and straightness between the upper knife <NUM> and the lower knife <NUM> are appropriately maintained.

The third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to <FIG>.

The vertical movement of the upper knife holding unit <NUM> is slidably supported by the module frame <NUM>. A known LM guide may also be considered for the sliding support. However, in the present embodiment, a cross roller guide <NUM> is provided to smoothly guide the slide of the upper knife holding unit <NUM>, etc. The cross roller guide <NUM> is a guide which includes two guide rails having a V-shaped roller receiving groove, and a plurality of cylindrical rollers. A plurality of rollers, which are close to each other, may have rotation shafts which cross at right angles. Two guide rails may surface-contact the rolling surface of a plurality of rollers. The detailed configuration of the cross roller guide is known, so further explanation is omitted.

In the present invention, as illustrated in <FIG>, the first guide rail <NUM> of the crossroller guide <NUM> was installed on the module frame (side frame) of the all-in-one cutting cartridge module <NUM>, and the second guide rail <NUM> was installed on the upper knife holding unit <NUM>. As the upper knife holding unit <NUM> is vertically moved, the second guide rail <NUM> may perform slide-guiding while smoothly contacting the first guide rail <NUM>. In order to more stably perform slide-guiding, two pairs of cross roller guides <NUM> are provided between the upper knife holding unit <NUM> and the module frame <NUM> in the present invention. <FIG> illustrates a perspective view where two pairs of guides partly cut the apparatus. Referring to <FIG>, a first guide rail <NUM> is installed at the external side in the width direction of the module frame (side frame <NUM>) among each pair of cross roller guides <NUM>, and the second guide rail <NUM> is installed at the inner side in the width direction of the module frame among each pair of cross roller guides <NUM>. A stable guiding of the upper knife holding unit <NUM> becomes possible by dispersing the load in the width direction of the module frame <NUM> by two pairs of cross roller guides <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

<FIG> shows a case where a guide master <NUM>, which is not a cross roller guide, is employed as a sliding support structure of the upper knife holding unit <NUM>. Namely, in the fourth embodiment, a guide master <NUM>, which can prevent rotation in the circumference direction of the guide axis at the time of performing guiding, is employed.

The guide master <NUM> includes a needle roller, a retainer which maintains the needle roller, a sleeve having the retainer therein, a post which slides into the sleeve. Since the guide master includes a needle roller and a polygon retainer, the rotation in the circumference direction of the post can be prevented even when the post is moved in the sleeve.

<FIG> shows that the sleeve <NUM> is connected to the module frame <NUM>, and the upper knife holding unit <NUM> is coupled to a post (not shown) installed at a unit <NUM> having the post therein, to thereby be sliding-guided vertically.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram showing a different form of an upper knife according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In <FIG>, an upper knife <NUM> in a form shown in <FIG> is used. In this form, the width of the central side surface of the blade of the lower end of the upper knife is large, and the width of the blade gradually decreases toward the center in the longitudinal direction. Namely, the upper knife is formed as a taper portion 1a in which a blade of a lower end of the upper knife slants upward toward a center of the upper knife in a longitudinal direction.

Such a form is used to increase the shear angle of the portion which contacts the electrode for the first time at the time of cutting the electrode. If the shear angle is set to be large, the pressure may be easily dispersed to two sides, thereby preventing the electrode from being torn or damaged. However, in the form of <FIG>, the depth of the central portion of the upper knife is great, and accordingly, the upper knife <NUM> should be deeply pressed to completely cut the electrode. Namely, it is a problem that the stroke of the upper knife holding unit <NUM> increases.

In order to prevent this, the present inventor proposed a multi-stage angle type upper knife <NUM> of <FIG>. In the example of <FIG>, the taper portion is formed of multi-stage taper parts having a different tilt angle. The tilt angle of the multi-stage taper parts is configured to gradually decrease toward the center of the upper knife in the longitudinal direction. For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the upper knife <NUM> is formed as a taper unit where the blade of the lower end slants upwards toward the center of the upper knife in the longitudinal direction, and the taper unit includes a first taper part 1b of the side portion of the upper knife, and a second taper part 1c at the inner side of the first taper part 1b. Herein, the tilt angle of the first taper part 1b is greater than the tilt angle of the second taper part 1c. Through this configuration, it is possible to efficiently cut the electrode without pressing the upper knife deeply by reducing the depth of the blade portion of the lower end of the upper knife while making the shear angle of the first taper part 1b large. Namely, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the increase in the stroke of the upper knife holding unit <NUM> and prevent a damage to the electrode at the time of cutting the electrode. In <FIG>, multi-stage taper unit includes two stage taper parts toward the center of the upper knife in the longitudinal direction, but it may also includes three or more stage taper parts as necessary.

Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described, there may be various modified examples in order to make the electrode cutting more effective within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, a stripper <NUM>, which separates the electrode from the upper knife, may be installed on an electrode inflow route between the upper knife and the lower knife. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, if a stripper <NUM> is installed between the upper knife and the lower knife on the electrode inflow path, the upper knife <NUM> descends and cuts the electrode, and the ascending of the electrode in a state that the electrode has been stabbed by the upper knife is prevented by the stripper <NUM>. The stripper <NUM> is coupled to the module frame <NUM>.

Claim 1:
An apparatus for cutting an electrode, the apparatus characterized in that it comprises:
an all-in-one cutting cartridge module (<NUM>) including an upper knife (<NUM>) and a lower knife (<NUM>); and
a cradle (<NUM>) where the all-in-one cutting cartridge module (<NUM>) is mounted,
wherein, the all-in-one cutting cartridge module (<NUM>) includes a module frame (<NUM>) and an upper knife holding unit (<NUM>) which fixes and supports the upper knife (<NUM>) and is supported in a manner that is vertically slidable on the module frame (<NUM>), and
wherein the lower knife (<NUM>) is coupled to a lower portion of the module frame (<NUM>) to face the upper knife (<NUM>).