Method and apparatus for manufacturing wound electrode assembly for battery

Abstract

The present invention aims to provide a method for bonding protective tapes to the cut edges of an electrode plate within a short period to prevent short circuit in an electrode assembly. An electrode plate cutting & tape bonding process includes (1) cutting an electrode plate into pieces 100 a and 100 b , (2) forming a gap W between edges 106 and 107 of the pieces 100 a and 100 b , (3) bonding protective tapes 51 and 52 to both sides of the pieces 100 a and 100 b , covering the edges and the gap, and (4) conveying the pieces 100 a and 100 b connected together. Next, the tapes 51 and 52 are cut into pieces 51 a & 52 a and 51 b & 52 b . Then, the electrode plate piece 100 a with the tape pieces 51 a & 52 a and 51 b & 52 b is wound together with a negative electrode plate, with a separator sandwiched therebetween.

1 . A wound electrode assembly manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a wound electrode assembly by pulling out a strip of electrode plate bit by bit, cutting off an electrode plate piece having a length of one cell from the electrode plate, and winding the electrode plate piece, the apparatus comprising:
 an electrode plate cutter operable to cut off the electrode plate piece;   a gap forming unit operable to form a gap between cut edges of the electrode plate piece and the electrode plate;   a tape bonding unit operable to bond protective tapes to both sides of the electrode plate piece and the electrode plate to cover the gap and the cut edges;   a tape cutter operable to cut the protective tapes at a position within the gap; and   a winding unit operable to wind the electrode plate piece having the cut protective tapes bonded thereto.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein
 the electrode plate cutter, the gap forming unit and the tape bonding unit are provided in a first stage, and   the tape cutter is provided in a second stage following the first stage.   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein
 the gap forming unit forms the gap by pulling the electrode plate piece and the electrode plate away from each other.   
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein
 the electrode plate cutter, the gap forming unit and the tape bonding unit are provided in a first stage, and   the tape cutter is provided in a second stage following the first stage.