Double-station type battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool

Abstract

The invention discloses a double-station type battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool in the technical field of air tightness detection. The double-station type battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool comprises a detection platform, a bottom plate, a profiling block and a pressing device which are sequentially arranged from bottom to top. A hollowed-out hole is formed in the position, below the bottom plate, of the detection platform, and the edge of the hollowed-out hole is located on the inner side of the edge of the bottom plate; a sealing ring is arranged on the edge of the bottom plate, and the sealing ring can be attached to the flange edge of the upper shell to be detected so as to seal the upper shell to be detected; a through air hole is formed in the bottom plate and is used for inputting gas into the upper shell or exhausting the gas in the upper shell; the pressing device is used for pressing the to-be-tested upper shell downwards so as to fix and seal the to-be-tested upper shell; an inflation gap with uniform width exists between the outer contour of the profiling block and the inner wall of the upper shell to be detected, and the profiling block is used for filling a cavity of the upper shell to be detected so as to reduce the internal volume of the upper shell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of air tightness detection, and in particular to a double-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool. Background Art

[0002] The battery pack upper shell of new energy vehicles must undergo airtightness testing. If the battery pack upper shell is not sealed enough, internal oil and water will penetrate into the battery pack, which is very dangerous. Therefore, a mature and stable airtightness testing process is a must for a mature composite material vehicle battery pack upper shell project.

[0003] When conducting an airtightness test, the upper shell needs to be sealed and then air is inflated into the cavity. The airtightness of the upper shell is evaluated by measuring the change in the air pressure value in the cavity over a period of time.

[0004] The above method has a drawback, that is, each time an upper shell is inspected, the cavity must be inflated to a predetermined pressure. The cavity has a large space and the inflation time is long, which reduces the inspection efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a dual-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool to solve the technical problems in the prior art that the cavity space is large, the inflation time is long, and the detection efficiency is reduced.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, the present invention specifically provides a dual-station battery pack upper shell air tightness testing tool, including a testing platform, a bottom plate, a profiling block and a pressing device arranged in sequence from bottom to top;

[0007] The detection platform is provided with a hollow hole below the bottom plate, and the edge of the hollow hole is located inside the edge of the bottom plate;

[0008] A sealing ring is provided on the edge of the bottom plate, and the sealing ring can fit with the flange edge of the upper shell to be tested to seal the upper shell to be tested;

[0009] The bottom plate is provided with through-holes for inputting gas into the upper shell or for discharging gas from the upper shell;

[0010] The pressing device is used to press the upper shell to be tested downward to fix and seal the upper shell to be tested;

[0011] There is an air-filled gap of uniform width between the outer contour of the profiling block and the inner wall of the upper shell to be tested. The profiling block is used to fill the cavity of the upper shell to be tested to reduce the internal volume of the upper shell.

[0012] As a preferred solution of the present invention, the volume of the profiling block is at least 92% of the cavity volume of the upper shell.

[0013] As a preferred solution of the present invention, a ventilation groove is provided on the upper end surface or the lower end surface of the profiling block, which is centered on the air hole and extends toward the edge of the profiling block, so that air can quickly fill the cavity of the upper shell.

[0014] As a preferred solution of the present invention, the bottom end of the air hole is connected to a steel pipe, and the connection between the air hole and the upper end of the steel pipe is sealed;

[0015] A small cylinder is provided under the base plate, and the piston rod of the small cylinder can be extended to connect with the lower end of the steel pipe to inject gas into the cavity of the upper shell; the piston rod of the cylinder can be retracted to disconnect from the lower end of the steel pipe to discharge the air generated by the downward pressure device squeezing the upper shell.

[0016] As a preferred solution of the present invention, a groove is provided around the edge of the bottom plate, a smooth silicone foam board is provided in the groove, and the thickness of the smooth silicone foam board is greater than the depth of the groove.

[0017] As a preferred solution of the present invention, a plurality of small rotary cylinders are installed around the base plate on the detection platform, and a cylindrical polyurethane pressure block is installed on the rotary arm of the rotary cylinder by bolts, which is used to fix the upper shell and seal the flange hole to prevent the test airflow from flowing out of the hole.

[0018] As a preferred solution of the present invention, a mounting steel frame is fixedly installed on the detection platform, and the pressing device includes a large cylinder fixedly installed on the mounting steel frame, and the piston rod of the large cylinder is fixedly connected to the pressing steel frame through an I-shaped slot;

[0019] The installation steel frame is slidably connected to a slide rod, and the lower end of the slide rod is fixedly connected to the downward pressing steel frame.

[0020] As a preferred solution of the present invention, the lower end of the downward pressing steel frame is fixedly connected to a polyurethane pressing plate by bolts.

[0021] As a preferred solution of the present invention, clamping cylinders are fixedly installed on any two opposite sides of the downward pressing steel frame, the piston rod ends of the clamping cylinders are fixedly connected to the clamping frames, and the clamping frames are provided with multiple suction cups.

[0022] As a preferred solution of the present invention, two groups of the bottom plates, the profiling blocks and the pressing devices are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the detection platform.

[0023] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0024] When using the above-mentioned testing tool to test the air tightness of the upper shell of the battery pack, place the upper shell to be tested on the base plate so that the flange edge of the upper shell is pressed against the sealing ring of the base plate. Then, use the downward pressure device to squeeze the upper shell to be tested downward from the top so that the flange edge of the upper shell is tightly fitted with the sealing ring to achieve sealing of the upper shell and prepare for air tightness testing.

[0025] Due to the presence of the profiling block, most of the space in the upper shell cavity will be filled. Therefore, only a small amount of gas needs to be injected into the cavity to make the air pressure in the upper shell reach the predetermined value, thereby reducing the inflation time and improving the detection efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art can derive other implementation drawings based on the provided drawings without inventive effort.

[0027] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the detection tooling in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure after hiding the bottom plate, imitation block and upper shell;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of the upper housing in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of the profiling block in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the bottom structure;

[0032] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of the bottom plate in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the inspection tooling;

[0034] Figure 8 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the bottom plate, the profiled block and the upper shell;

[0035] Figure 9 for Figure 8 A magnified schematic diagram of part A;

[0036] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the structure of the rotary cylinder in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the structure of the clamping cylinder, clamping frame and suction cup in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] The numbers in the figure represent the following:

[0039] 1-Detection platform, 2-Base plate, 3-Profiling block, 4-Downward pressure device, 5-Hollow hole, 6-Upper shell, 7-Flange edge, 8-Air hole, 9-Inflation gap, 11-Vent groove, 12-Small cylinder, 13-Groove, 14-Smooth silicone foam board, 15-Rotary cylinder, 16-Cylindrical polyurethane pressure block, 17-Mounting steel frame, 18-Large cylinder, 19-I-shaped card slot, 20-Downward pressure steel frame, 21-Slide rod, 22-Polyurethane pressure plate, 23-Clamping cylinder, 24-Clamping frame, 25-Suction cup, 26-Steel pipe. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0041] The present invention specifically provides a dual-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool, including a detection platform 1, a bottom plate 2, a profiling block 3 and a pressing device 4 arranged in sequence from bottom to top;

[0042] The detection platform 1 is provided with a hollow hole 5 below the bottom plate 2, which is convenient for installing equipment such as an air pipe and an air pump connected to the air hole 8 below the bottom plate 2, and the edge of the hollow hole 5 is located on the inner side of the edge of the bottom plate 2, that is, the hollow area needs to be smaller than the bottom plate 2, and stainless steel square tubes are arranged at the hollow area to connect with each other to prevent the bottom plate 2 from collapsing due to excessive weight. If the upper shell 6 to be tested is large, it is made into a two-section hollow style;

[0043] Specifically, the bottom plate 2 can be set to an aluminum plate, which is relatively light.

[0044] The edge of the bottom plate 2 is provided with a sealing ring, which can fit with the edge of the upper shell 6 to be tested to seal the upper shell 6 to be tested;

[0045] The bottom plate 2 is provided with a through-hole 8 for inputting gas into the upper shell 6 or for exhausting gas from the upper shell 6;

[0046] The pressing device 4 is used to press the upper shell 6 to be tested downward to fix and seal the upper shell 6 to be tested;

[0047] A uniformly wide air-filled gap 9 exists between the outer contour of the profiling block 3 and the inner wall of the upper housing 6 to be tested, allowing the inner wall of the upper housing 6 to be exposed to air, facilitating detection of possible leaks on the upper housing 6. The profiling block 3 is used to fill the cavity of the upper housing 6 to be tested, thereby reducing the internal volume of the upper housing 6.

[0048] When using the above-mentioned testing tool to test the air tightness of the upper shell 6 of the battery pack, place the upper shell 6 to be tested on the base plate 2, so that the flange edge 7 of the upper shell 6 is pressed on the sealing ring of the base plate 2, and then use the downward pressing device 4 to squeeze the upper shell 6 to be tested downward from the top, so that the flange edge 7 of the upper shell 6 is tightly fitted with the sealing ring to achieve sealing of the upper shell 6 and prepare for air tightness testing.

[0049] Due to the presence of the profiling block 3, most of the space in the cavity of the upper shell 6 is filled. Therefore, only a small amount of gas needs to be injected into the cavity through the air hole 8 to make the air pressure in the upper shell 6 reach the predetermined value, thereby reducing the inflation time and improving the detection efficiency.

[0050] It can be understood that the air hole 8 is connected to an air source (air compressor) to input air into the mold cavity.

[0051] Furthermore, the shape of the profiling block 3 is determined according to the shape of the cavity of the upper shell 6 . The profiling block 3 is made of nylon, and the volume of the profiling block 3 is at least 92% of the cavity volume of the upper shell 6 .

[0052] Furthermore, in order to ensure that the air holes 8 provided on the bottom plate 2 are fully connected to the air-filled gap 9 between the outer contour of the profiling block 3 and the inner wall of the upper shell 6 to be tested, so that the gas entering the air holes 8 can quickly fill the air-filled gap 9, the present invention optimizes the profiling block 3 as follows:

[0053] A ventilation groove 11 is provided on the upper end surface or the lower end surface of the profiling block 3 and extends toward the edge of the profiling block 3 with the air hole 8 as the center, so that air can quickly fill the cavity of the upper shell 6.

[0054] Specifically, the air hole 8 is located in the middle of the bottom plate 2 , and the vent groove 11 can be configured as a cross groove or a Pozigzag groove centered on the air hole 8 .

[0055] The ventilation groove 11 can be set at the top of the profiling block 3. In this case, a through hole penetrating the profiling block 3 needs to be set on the profiling block 3, and the through hole extends to the top of the profiling block 3, connecting the air hole 8 and the ventilation groove 11 through the through hole; the ventilation groove 11 can also be set at the bottom of the profiling block 3, in which case no through hole is required.

[0056] Furthermore, the bottom end of the air hole 8 is connected to a steel pipe 26, and the connection between the air hole 8 and the upper end of the steel pipe is sealed;

[0057] A piece of cylindrical smooth silicone foam board 14 with a thickness of 20-30 mm is pasted at the place where the steel pipe 26 and the air hole 8 are connected to each other, and the pasting place is sealed with sealant to avoid air leakage between the steel pipe 26 and the air hole 8.

[0058] A small cylinder 12 is provided under the base plate 2. The small cylinder 12 is connected to the air valve switch through an air pipe. The small cylinder 12 is controlled by the air valve switch so that the piston rod of the small cylinder 12 can be extended and connected to the lower end of the steel pipe 26 to inject gas into the cavity of the upper shell 6; the piston rod of the cylinder can be retracted and disconnected from the lower end of the steel pipe 26 to discharge the air generated by the downward pressure device 4 squeezing the upper shell 6, which is a state of simulating punching.

[0059] It is understandable that the end of the piston rod of the small cylinder 12 is installed with a plug-in sealing joint, or the end is surrounded by a sealing ring, which can ensure air tightness when the piston rod contacts the steel pipe 26.

[0060] The piston rod of the small air cylinder 12 is a hollow rod, and the rod body is connected to the air source (air compressor). When the piston rod hits the steel pipe 26, air can be supplied to the cavity of the upper shell 6.

[0061] Alternatively, the air hole 8 may be directly connected to the air source (air compressor) without providing the small air cylinder 12 .

[0062] Furthermore, a groove 13 is provided around the edge of the bottom plate 2 , and a smooth silicone foam plate 14 is provided in the groove 13 , and the thickness of the smooth silicone foam plate 14 is greater than the depth of the groove 13 .

[0063] Specifically, a groove 13 with a width of 40 mm and a depth of 5 mm is dug 3 mm away from the edge of the bottom plate 2 to place a customized smooth silicone foam board 14 . The smooth silicone foam board 14 is 10 mm high and is embedded in the groove 13 of the bottom plate 2 .

[0064] Furthermore, since flange holes are provided on the flange edge 7 of the upper shell 6 and the flange holes are close to the cavity of the upper shell 6, when there are defects in the smooth silicone foam board 14, the probability of air leakage in the flange holes will increase sharply. Therefore, in order to improve the accuracy of air tightness detection, the present invention has made the following enhancements to the sealing method of the upper shell 6.

[0065] A plurality of small rotary cylinders 15 are installed around the base plate 2 on the detection platform 1. A cylindrical polyurethane pressure block 16 is installed on the rotary arm of the rotary cylinder 15 by bolts. After the downward pressure device 4 presses the upper shell 6, the rotary cylinder 15 can drive the cylindrical polyurethane pressure block 16 to fix the upper shell 6 and seal the flange hole to prevent the test airflow from flowing out of the hole.

[0066] Furthermore, a mounting steel frame 17 is fixedly mounted on the detection platform 1, and the pressing device 4 includes a large cylinder 18 fixedly mounted (bolted) on the mounting steel frame 17, and a piston rod of the large cylinder 18 is fixedly connected to the pressing steel frame 20 through an I-shaped slot 19. The pressing steel frame 20 is controlled to move downward to press the upper shell 6, or to move upward away from the upper shell 6, by extending or contracting the piston rod of the large cylinder 18;

[0067] The sliding rod 21 is slidably connected to the installation steel frame 17, and the lower end of the sliding rod 21 is fixedly connected to the pressing steel frame 20. The main function of the sliding rod 21 is to keep the pressing steel frame 20 always in a horizontal state to avoid tilting.

[0068] An air valve switch is provided at a corner of the detection platform 1 to control the large cylinder 18, and an air pipe with a diameter of 12 mm or 16 mm is used to connect the air valve switch and the large cylinder 18 with a thrust of 800 kg.

[0069] The mounting steel frame 17 is welded from square steel pipes, and the air pipe of the large cylinder 18 can pass through the steel pipe to protect the air pipe.

[0070] Furthermore, the lower end of the downward pressure steel frame 20 is fixedly connected to a polyurethane pressure plate 22 by bolts, so that the downward pressure of the large cylinder 18 is concentrated on the polyurethane pressure plate 22, so that the upper shell 6 remains stable during the test, and also protects the upper shell 6 from being damaged by local downward force.

[0071] Furthermore, after the air tightness test is completed, due to the presence of the profiling block 3, the upper shell 6 needs to be lifted up before it can be removed. In order to facilitate the removal of the tested upper shell 6, the present invention has a clamping cylinder 23 fixedly installed on any opposite sides of the lower pressure steel frame 20, and the piston rod end of the clamping cylinder 23 is fixedly connected to the clamping frame 24. The clamping frame 24 is provided with a plurality of suction cups 25. The presence of the suction cups 25 can increase the friction with the upper shell 6. On the one hand, it ensures that the combined force of lifting the upper shell 6 can overcome the gravity of the upper shell 6 and lift the upper shell 6 upward. On the other hand, the upper shell 6 correspondingly reduces the positive pressure requirement applied by the cylinder 12 to avoid crushing the upper shell 6.

[0072] Furthermore, current airtight tooling is essentially one platform per workstation. Increasing production capacity requires additional tooling, which occupies a significant area, increases tooling equipment purchase and maintenance costs, and requires an increased number of workers, i.e., labor costs. The present invention increases the platform area and adds a dual-station testing tool that can perform both independent and simultaneous testing. Specifically, two sets of base plates 2, profiling blocks 3, and a press-down device 4 are symmetrically arranged on either side of the testing platform 1.

[0073] Furthermore, the present invention adopts a detection platform 1 structure, and the detection platform 1 is set as a stainless steel platform. The outer surface of the stainless steel is painted to improve the overall aesthetics of the tooling. A nylon universal wheel is set on each of the four bases of the platform to facilitate the movement of the tooling.

[0074] The detailed design of some components in the present invention is as follows:

[0075] The whole aluminum plate as the bottom plate 2: serves as the gas flow channel and the main structure of the upper shell 6 to be tested. Its surface treatment method, such as anodizing, polishing, brushing, descaling, etc., is considered comprehensively based on its mechanical properties and cost;

[0076] Smooth silicone foam board 14: As the main material responsible for sealing, choose good sealing, high and low temperature resistance, aging resistance, hardness of about 15°, uniform foaming and smooth surface.

[0077] Air pipe: As the main structure for carrying gas, choose 8-12mm PU air pipe according to the requirements of the cylinder and valve. Choose a material with thick wall, uniform center, smooth halo and wear resistance.

[0078] Profiling block: As the main material for filling the cavity, a material with high temperature resistance, high hardness, strong toughness, corrosion resistance and aging resistance is selected, and it is customized according to the shape of the upper shell 6 to be tested, so that the filling volume of the inner cavity reaches more than 92%.

[0079] Process parameters: The air pressure of the air compressor for inflating the cavity is stable at 0.9MPa, and the air pressure inside the cavity is stable at 0.8MPa.

[0080] The above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. The scope of protection of the present application is defined by the claims. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications or equivalent substitutions to the present application within the essence and scope of protection of the present application, and such modifications or equivalent substitutions shall also be deemed to fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A double-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool, characterized in that: It comprises a detection platform (1), a bottom plate (2), a profiling block (3) and a pressing device (4) which are arranged in sequence from bottom to top; The detection platform (1) is provided with a hollow hole (5) below the bottom plate (2), and the edge of the hollow hole (5) is located on the inner side of the edge of the bottom plate (2); The edge of the bottom plate (2) is provided with a sealing ring, and the sealing ring can be fitted with the flange edge (7) of the upper shell (6) to be detected to seal the upper shell (6) to be detected; The bottom plate (2) is provided with a through-hole (8) for inputting gas into the upper shell (6) or discharging gas from the upper shell (6); The pressing device (4) is used to press the upper shell (6) to be tested downwards to fix and seal the upper shell (6) to be tested; There is an air-filled gap (9) of uniform width between the outer contour of the profiling block (3) and the inner wall of the upper shell (6) to be tested. The profiling block (3) is used to fill the cavity of the upper shell (6) to be tested to reduce the internal volume of the upper shell (6).

2. A dual-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool according to claim 1, characterized in that: The volume of the profiling block (3) is at least 92% of the cavity volume of the upper shell (6).

3. The double-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool according to claim 1, characterized in that: A ventilation groove (11) is provided on the upper end surface or the lower end surface of the profiling block (3), which is centered on the air hole (8) and extends toward the edge of the profiling block (3), so that air can quickly fill the cavity of the upper shell (6).

4. The double-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom end of the air hole (8) is connected to a steel pipe (26), and the connection between the air hole (8) and the upper end of the steel pipe (26) is sealed; A small cylinder (12) is arranged below the base plate (2), and the piston rod of the small cylinder (12) can be extended to be connected to the lower end of the steel pipe (26) so as to inject gas into the cavity of the upper shell (6); the piston rod of the small cylinder can be retracted to be disconnected from the lower end of the steel pipe (26) so as to discharge the air generated by the pressing device (4) squeezing the upper shell (6).

5. The double-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool according to claim 1, characterized in that: A groove (13) is arranged around the edge of the bottom plate (2), a smooth silicone foam plate (14) is arranged in the groove (13), and the thickness of the smooth silicone foam plate (14) is greater than the depth of the groove (13).

6. A dual-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool according to claim 5, characterized in that: A plurality of small rotary cylinders (15) are installed around the base plate (2) on the detection platform (1), and a cylindrical polyurethane pressing block (16) is installed on the rotary arm of the rotary cylinder (15) by bolts, which is used to fix the upper shell (6) and seal the flange hole to prevent the test air flow from flowing out of the hole.

7. The double-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool according to claim 1, characterized in that: A mounting steel frame (17) is fixedly mounted on the detection platform (1), and the pressing device (4) comprises a large cylinder (18) fixedly mounted on the mounting steel frame (17), and a piston rod of the large cylinder (18) is fixedly connected to the pressing steel frame (20) via an I-shaped slot (19); The installation steel frame (17) is slidably connected to a slide rod (21), and the lower end of the slide rod (21) is fixedly connected to the downward pressing steel frame (20).

8. The double-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool according to claim 7, characterized in that: The lower end of the downward pressing steel frame (20) is fixedly connected to a polyurethane pressing plate (22) via bolts.

9. The double-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool according to claim 7, characterized in that: A clamping cylinder (23) is fixedly installed on any two opposite sides of the downward pressing steel frame (20), and the piston rod end of the clamping cylinder (23) is fixedly connected to a clamping frame (24), and a plurality of suction cups (25) are arranged on the clamping frame (24).

10. A dual-station battery pack upper shell air tightness detection tool according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: Two groups of the bottom plates (2), the profiling blocks (3) and the pressing devices (4) are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the detection platform (1).

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