US 12,442,746 B2
Foreign metallic particle detector systems and methods of detecting foreign metallic particles
Matthew P. Gordon, Berkeley, CA (US)
Assigned to Toyota Research Institute, Inc., Los Altos, CA (US); and Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota (JP)
Filed by Toyota Research Institute, Inc., Los Altos, CA (US)
Filed on Feb. 28, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/115,395.
Prior Publication US 2024/0288352 A1, Aug. 29, 2024
Int. Cl. G01N 15/0205 (2024.01); G01N 21/88 (2006.01); G01N 21/89 (2006.01); G01N 21/94 (2006.01); H01M 4/1395 (2010.01); G01N 15/00 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 15/0205 (2013.01) [G01N 21/88 (2013.01); G01N 21/89 (2013.01); G01N 21/94 (2013.01); H01M 4/1395 (2013.01); G01N 2015/0061 (2013.01); G01N 2021/8909 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A metallic particle detector system comprising:
a roll-to-roll coated electrode manufacturing line;
a particle detection unit comprising:
a visible light source configured to propagate visible light onto an active material layer;
a detector, with a plurality of pixels, configured to detect, and provide signals as function of, the visible light propagated from the visible light source and reflected from a surface of the active material layer of an electrode strip moving between a section and a subsequent section on the roll-to-roll coated electrode manufacturing line, with magnification of the detector configured to image one foreign metallic particle in one pixel of the plurality of pixels and thereby enhance contribution of visible light reflected from the one foreign metallic particle to an image of the one foreign metallic particle; and
a controller configured to receive the signals from the detector and determine:
in-situ, and as a function of the signals from the detector, a foreign metallic particle in or on the active material layer; and
a position of the foreign metallic particle on the electrode strip moving on the roll-to-roll coated electrode manufacturing line.