Tab Detection Device, Tab Processing System and Tab Detection Method

Abstract

The present invention discloses an ear tab detection device, an ear tab processing system and an ear tab detection method. The ear tab detection device includes an ear tab clamping device, and the ear tab clamping device includes a comb plate assembly and a clamping assembly; wherein, the comb plate assembly includes a comb plate having slots and a comb plate driving mechanism, and the comb plate driving mechanism is used to drive the comb plate to move so that a group of ear tabs of the battery cell assembly enter the slots of the comb plate; the clamping assembly includes two jaws and a jaw driving mechanism for driving the two jaws to open or clamp; the ear tab detection device further includes a detection component, and the detection component is used to detect the distance between the two jaws when the two jaws clamp the ear tab. The technical solution provided by the present invention can automatically detect the situation where the ear tab penetrates out of the bus bar, which is beneficial to improving the detection efficiency of the ear tab and shortening the production cycle of the battery assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of photovoltaic cell production, and particularly relates to an ear detection device, an ear processing system and an ear detection method. Background Art

[0002] In the process of photovoltaic cell production, the ears of the cell assembly are connected through a bus bar. Specifically, two ears of the cell assembly are inserted into the slot holes of the bus bar in a group to achieve the current collection connection of the ears of each cell in the cell assembly.

[0003] In the prior art, a bus bar installation device has emerged. Through the bus bar installation device, the bus bar can be installed on the ears of the cell assembly. Through equipment installation, it is necessary to detect whether the ears of the cell pass through the bus bar. At present, the method of detecting whether the ears of the cell pass through the bus bar is generally manual detection. However, the manual detection method has low efficiency, resulting in a long production cycle of the battery assembly. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention aims to provide a bus bar detection device, an ear processing system and a bus bar installation method to solve the problem of low efficiency in the method of detecting whether the ears of the cell pass through the bus bar in the prior art.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is realized as follows:

[0006] The present invention provides an ear detection device, and the ear detection device includes an ear clamping device, and the ear clamping device includes a comb plate assembly and a clamping assembly;

[0007] Wherein, the comb plate assembly includes a comb plate with a slot and a comb plate driving mechanism, and the comb plate driving mechanism is used to drive the comb plate to move so that a group of ears of the cell assembly enter the slot of the comb plate;

[0008] The clamping assembly includes two jaws and a jaw driving mechanism for driving the two jaws to open or clamp;

[0009] The ear detection device further includes a detection component, and the detection component is used to detect the distance between the two jaws when the two jaws clamp the ear.

[0010] Preferably, the clamping assembly further includes a telescopic driving mechanism, and the telescopic driving mechanism is used to drive the jaws and the jaw driving mechanism to move towards or away from the ear in the slot of the comb plate;

[0011] Preferably, the ear clamping device further includes a first mounting frame, and the comb plate assembly and the jaw assembly are mounted on the first mounting frame;

[0012] The ear tab detection device further includes a second mounting bracket and a transverse movement driving mechanism, and the transverse movement driving mechanism is used to drive the first mounting bracket to move back and forth relative to the second mounting bracket along the direction of the clamping force of the clamping jaws.

[0013] Preferably, the ear tab detection device includes a fixing member and a traveling driving mechanism, and the traveling driving mechanism is used to drive the second mounting bracket to move relative to the fixing member in a transverse direction perpendicular to the clamping force of the clamping jaws.

[0014] Preferably, a fine adjustment mechanism is provided between the driving end of the telescopic driving mechanism and the clamping jaw driving mechanism, and the fine adjustment mechanism adjusts the clamping jaw driving mechanism to move relative to the comb plate along the direction of the clamping force of the clamping jaws, so that the middle position of the two clamping jaws is aligned with the slot of the comb plate.

[0015] Preferably, a first bracket is fixed to the fixed end of the clamping jaw driving mechanism, a second bracket is fixed to the driving end of the telescopic driving mechanism, and the fine adjustment mechanism includes a screw rod that passes through the first bracket and the second bracket and can rotate, and the rotation of the screw rod can drive the second bracket to move relative to the first bracket in the direction of the clamping force of the clamping jaws.

[0016] Preferably, the ear tab detection device includes two ear tab clamping devices, and the two ear tab clamping devices are arranged oppositely.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, an ear tab processing system is further provided, and the ear tab processing system includes an ear tab position acquisition device, a bus bar installation device, and the ear tab detection device as described above;

[0018] The ear tab position acquisition device is used to acquire the ear tab position information of the battery cell assembly;

[0019] The bus bar installation device positions according to the ear tab position information acquired by the ear tab position acquisition device and installs the bus bar on the ear tab;

[0020] After the bus bar is installed on the ear tab, the ear tab detection device detects whether the ear tab passes through the bus bar.

[0021] According to still another aspect of the present invention, an ear tab detection method is further provided, and the ear tab detection method includes:

[0022] S1. Driving the comb plate to move so that a group of ear tabs to be detected are inserted into the slots of the comb plate;

[0023] S2. Clamping the ear tabs in the slots of the comb plate by using two clamping jaws;

[0024] S3. Measuring the distance between the two clamping jaws;

[0025] Repeat steps S1, S2, and S3 to detect multiple sets of tabs in sequence.

[0026] Preferably, after measuring the distance between the two jaws, the tab detection method further includes:

[0027] The jaws loosen and retract.

[0028] Drive the comb plate to move along the surface of the tab in the slot to flatten the tab.

[0029] The technical solution provided by the present invention can automatically detect whether the tab penetrates the bus bar through the device, improving the efficiency of tab detection and thus shortening the production cycle of the battery assembly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The drawings constituting a part of the present invention are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention. The schematic embodiments and descriptions thereof of the present invention are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation to the present invention. In the drawings:

[0031] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the tab detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a schematic structural diagram of one side of the tab detection device shown;

[0033] Figure 3 is Figure 2 a side view of;

[0034] Figure 4 is Figure 2 a partial structural diagram of;

[0035] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the tab clamping device;

[0036] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of the jaw assembly;

[0037] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the state of detecting the tab using the tab detection device provided by the present invention.

[0038] Description of the reference numerals:

[0039] 100 - Battery cell assembly; 101 - Tab; 200 - Bus bar; 1 - Tab clamping device; 11 - Comb plate assembly; 111 - Comb plate; 112 - Comb plate drive mechanism; 113 - Slot; 12 - Jaw assembly; 121 - Jaw; 122 - Jaw drive mechanism; 123 - Telescopic drive mechanism; 124 - First bracket; 1241 - First fixing part; 125 - Second bracket; 1251 - Second fixing part; 126 - Screw; 127 - Fine adjustment track; 13 - First mounting bracket; 2 - Second mounting bracket; 21 - Transverse movement track; 3 - Transverse movement drive mechanism; 31 - Motor; 32 - Lead screw; 4 - Fixing component; 5 - Travel drive mechanism; 6 - Travel track. Detailed implementation manners

[0040] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the example embodiments can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and thus their repeated description will be omitted.

[0041] In addition, the described features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will realize that one or more of the specific details can be omitted in practicing the technical solutions of the present disclosure, or other methods, components, devices, steps, etc. can be adopted. In other cases, well-known structures, methods, devices, implementations, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring the various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0042] For ease of explanation, spatial relative terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", etc. can be used herein to describe the relationship of one element or feature shown in the drawings to another element or feature. It should be understood that in addition to the orientations shown in the drawings, the spatial terms are intended to include different orientations during the use or operation of the device. For example, if the device in the drawing is inverted, the element described as being "below" other elements or features will be positioned "above" the other elements or features. Therefore, the exemplary term "lower" can include both upper and lower orientations. The device can also be positioned in other ways, such as rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations, and the spatial relative descriptions used herein can be interpreted accordingly.

[0043] The present invention provides a tab detection device, as Figures 1 - 3As shown, the tab detection device includes a tab clamping device 1, and the tab clamping device 1 includes a comb plate assembly 11 and a clamping assembly 12.

[0044] Among them, referring to Figure 4 and Figure 5 , the comb plate assembly 11 includes a comb plate 111 having a slot 113 and a comb plate driving mechanism 112. The comb plate driving mechanism 112 is used to drive the comb plate 111 to move so that a group of tabs of the battery cell assembly enter the slot 113 of the comb plate 111.

[0045] The clamping assembly 12 includes two jaws 121 and a jaw driving mechanism 122 for driving the two jaws 121 to open or clamp.

[0046] The tab detection device further includes a detection component, and the detection component is used to detect the distance between the two jaws 121 when the two jaws 121 clamp the tab. Among them, the detection component is preferably a distance sensor provided on the jaw 121. Of course, it can also be other components that can detect distance and are provided independently of the jaw 121.

[0047] The tab detection device provided by the present invention can detect whether the tabs of the battery cell assembly pass through the bus bar. As Figure 1 shown, the bus bar 200 is installed on the tabs 101 at both ends of the battery cell assembly 100, that is, multiple pairs of tabs 101 at each end of the battery cell assembly 100 are respectively inserted into the slot holes of the bus bar 200. Since the thickness of each tab is known, by measuring the distance between the jaws 121 when the jaws 121 clamp, it can be calculated how many tabs are clamped by the jaws 121 when the jaws 121 clamp, so as to detect the protruding situation of the tabs after the bus bar 200 is inserted.

[0048] As Figure 7 shown, in case A: both tabs protrude from the bus bar 200. The detection component can detect the distance between the two jaws 121, and it can be known from the distance that both tabs 101 in this group of tabs protrude from the bus bar.

[0049] In case B: by detecting the distance between the jaws 121 by the detection component, it can be known from the distance that neither of the two tabs 101 in this group of tabs protrudes from the bus bar.

[0050] In case C: by detecting the distance between the jaws 121 by the detection component, it can be known from the distance that only one tab in this group of tabs 101 protrudes from the bus bar.

[0051] Therefore, through the bus bar detection device provided by the present application, the situation of the tabs protruding from the bus bar can be detected, realizing the automatic detection of the tabs, which is beneficial to improving the efficiency of tab detection and shortening the production cycle of the battery assembly.

[0052] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 4 and Figure 5 shown, the tab clamping device 1 further includes a first mounting bracket 13, and the comb plate assembly 11 and the jaw assembly 12 are mounted on the first mounting bracket 13.

[0053] Specifically, the fixed end of the comb plate driving mechanism 112 of the comb plate assembly 11 is fixed on the first mounting bracket 13, and the comb plate 111 is mounted on the driving end of the comb plate driving mechanism 112. Among them, the comb plate driving mechanism 112 is specifically a cylinder.

[0054] The specific structure of the jaw assembly 12 is as Figure 6 shown. In addition to including jaws 121 and a jaw driving mechanism 122, it further includes a telescopic driving mechanism 123. The telescopic driving mechanism 123 is used to drive the jaws 121 and the jaw driving mechanism 122 to move towards or away from the tabs in the slots 113 of the comb plate 111. Among them, both the jaw driving mechanism 122 and the telescopic driving mechanism 123 are cylinders. Of course, it can be understood that the jaw driving mechanism 122 and the telescopic driving mechanism 123 can also be other mechanisms capable of driving components to move linearly.

[0055] Furthermore, since the telescopic driving mechanism 123 is used to drive the jaws 121 to move towards the slots 113 of the comb plate 111 to clamp the tabs in the slots 113 of the comb plate 111, therefore, it is necessary to align the middle position of the slots 113 of the comb plate 111 with the middle position of the two jaws 121. To achieve the alignment of the middle position of the slots 113 of the comb plate 111 with the middle position of the two jaws 121, a fine adjustment mechanism is provided between the driving end of the telescopic driving mechanism 123 and the jaw driving mechanism 122. The fine adjustment mechanism adjusts the jaw driving mechanism 122 to move relative to the comb plate 111 along the direction of the clamping force of the jaws 121, so that the middle position of the two jaws 121 is aligned with the slots 113 of the comb plate 111.

[0056] Specifically, as Figure 6As shown in the figure, a first bracket 124 is fixed to the fixed end of the jaw driving mechanism 122, and a second bracket 125 is fixed to the driving end of the telescopic driving mechanism 123. The fine adjustment mechanism includes a screw 126 that passes through the first bracket 124 and the second bracket 125 and can rotate. The rotation of the screw 126 can drive the second bracket 125 to move relative to the first bracket 124 in the direction of the clamping force of the jaws 121, so that the middle position of the two jaws 121 is aligned with the slot 113 of the comb plate 111. Among them, first fixing parts 1241 are respectively fixed to both ends of the first bracket 124, and a second fixing part 1251 located between the two first fixing parts 1241 is fixed to the second bracket 125. The screw 126 passes through the first fixing part 1241 and the second fixing part 1251, and the second fixing part 1251 is threadedly connected to the screw 126. By rotating the screw 126, the second fixing part 1251 can move relative to the first fixing part 1241 along the axial direction of the screw 126. In addition, a fine adjustment track 127 is further provided between the first bracket 124 and the second bracket 125, and the second bracket 125 moves relative to the first bracket 124 along the fine adjustment track 127.

[0057] In the technical solution provided by the present invention, the tab detection device further includes a second mounting bracket 2 and a transverse movement driving mechanism 3. The transverse movement driving mechanism 3 is used to drive the first mounting bracket 13 to move back and forth relative to the second mounting bracket 2 in the direction of the clamping force of the jaws 121. In this way, the tab clamping device 1 can be transversely moved to the position where the tab to be clamped is located. Among them, a transverse movement track 21 is provided on the second mounting bracket 2, and the first mounting bracket 13 moves relative to the second mounting bracket 2 along the transverse movement track 21. The transverse movement driving mechanism 3 includes a motor 31 and a lead screw 32 driven by the motor 31 to rotate. The first mounting bracket 13 is mounted on a nut that cooperates with the lead screw 32. In this way, when the motor 31 drives the lead screw 32 to rotate, the first mounting bracket 13 can be driven to move relative to the second mounting bracket 2.

[0058] In this embodiment, in order to enable the tab clamping device 1 to move to the position where the tab is located in the transverse direction perpendicular to the clamping force, the tab detection device further includes a fixing member 4 and a traveling driving mechanism 5. The traveling driving mechanism 5 is used to drive the second mounting bracket 2 to move relative to the fixing member 4 in the transverse direction perpendicular to the clamping force of the jaws 121.

[0059] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown in the figure, a traveling track 6 is provided on the fixing member 4, and the traveling driving mechanism 5 can drive the second mounting bracket 2 and the tab clamping device 1 mounted thereon to move in the direction towards the tab to be clamped or away from the tab to be clamped.

[0060] The tab detection device provided by this embodiment can detect the tabs at both ends of the battery cell assembly 100 simultaneously. Therefore, as Figure 1 shown, the tab detection device includes two of the tab clamping devices 1, which are arranged opposite to each other, and both of the tab clamping devices can move towards or away from the battery cell assembly 100 relative to the fixed component 4. In this way, the tabs 101 at both ends of the battery cell assembly 100 can be detected simultaneously, improving the detection efficiency.

[0061] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a tab processing system, which includes a tab position acquisition device, a bus bar installation device, and the tab detection device as described above;

[0062] The tab position acquisition device is used to acquire the tab position information of the battery cell assembly;

[0063] The bus bar installation device positions according to the tab position information acquired by the tab position acquisition device and installs the bus bar on the tab;

[0064] After the bus bar is installed on the tab, the tab detection device detects whether the tab penetrates the bus bar.

[0065] On yet another aspect, the present invention also provides a tab detection method, which includes:

[0066] S1. Drive the comb plate to move so that a group of tabs to be detected are inserted into the slots of the comb plate;

[0067] S2. Clamp the tabs in the slots of the comb plate with two jaws;

[0068] S3. Measure the distance between the two jaws;

[0069] Repeat steps S1, S2, and S3 to detect multiple groups of tabs in sequence.

[0070] After the distance between the two jaws is measured, the tab detection method further includes:

[0071] The jaws are loosened and withdrawn;

[0072] Drive the comb plate to move along the surface of the tab in the slot to flatten the tab.

[0073] This tab detection method can be performed using the bus bar detection device as described above. The specific process of detecting the tabs of the battery cell assembly 100 using the bus bar detection device as described above is as follows:

[0074] First, according to the position information of the tabs at both ends of the battery cell assembly 100, the traveling drive mechanism 5 moves the second mounting bracket 2 provided at the end of the battery cell assembly 100 and the tab clamping device 1 provided thereon in the direction towards the battery cell assembly 100;

[0075] The transverse drive mechanism 3 drives the first mounting bracket 13 of the tab clamping device 1 to move relative to the second mounting bracket 2 in the direction of the clamping force of the clamping jaw 121, and in the direction of the clamping force of the clamping jaw, the fine adjustment mechanism finely adjusts the position of the clamping jaw drive mechanism 122 relative to the telescopic drive mechanism 123 in the clamping jaw assembly 12, so that the middle position of the clamping jaw 121 is aligned with the slot 113 of the comb plate 111;

[0076] The comb plate drive mechanism 112 drives the comb plate 111 to descend, a group of tabs of the battery cell assembly 100 enter into the slot 113 of the comb plate 111, and then the telescopic drive mechanism 123 drives the clamping jaw drive mechanism 122 and the clamping jaw 121 to move forward, and the clamping jaw 121 clamps the tabs in the slot of the comb plate 111;

[0077] The measuring component measures the distance between the two clamping jaws clamping the tabs;

[0078] Then the clamping jaw loosens and withdraws;

[0079] The comb plate 111 clamping the tabs moves along the surface of the tabs in the slot 113 to flatten the tabs;

[0080] The comb plate rises;

[0081] The tab clamping device 1 is transversely moved in the direction of the clamping force of the clamping jaw 121 to make it correspond to another group of tabs, so as to measure the next group of tabs. By repeating this way, multiple groups of tabs at the end of the battery cell assembly 100 can be measured.

[0082] After the measurement is completed, all components of the tab detection device are reset.

[0083] Those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs should understand that the specific structures and process procedures shown in the above specific implementation part are only exemplary, not restrictive. Moreover, those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs can combine the various technical features shown above in various possible ways to form new technical solutions, or make other modifications, and all belong to the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ear tab detection device, characterized in that, the ear tab detection device includes an ear tab clamping device, and the ear tab clamping device includes a comb plate assembly and a clamping assembly; wherein, the comb plate assembly includes a comb plate with slots and a comb plate driving mechanism, and the comb plate driving mechanism is used to drive the comb plate to move so that a group of ear tabs of the battery cell assembly enter the slots of the comb plate; the clamping assembly includes two jaws and a jaw driving mechanism for driving the two jaws to open or clamp; the ear tab detection device further includes a detection component, and the detection component is used to detect the distance between the two jaws when clamping the ear tabs; the clamping assembly further includes a telescopic driving mechanism, and the telescopic driving mechanism is used to drive the jaws and the jaw driving mechanism to move towards or away from the ear tabs in the slots of the comb plate; the ear tab clamping device further includes a first mounting bracket, and the comb plate assembly and the jaw assembly are mounted on the first mounting bracket; the ear tab detection device further includes a second mounting bracket and a transverse movement driving mechanism, and the transverse movement driving mechanism is used to drive the first mounting bracket to move back and forth relative to the second mounting bracket along the direction of the clamping force of the jaws; the ear tab detection device includes a fixing component and a traveling driving mechanism, and the traveling driving mechanism is used to drive the second mounting bracket to move relative to the fixing component along the transverse direction perpendicular to the clamping force of the jaws.

2. The ear tab detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, a fine adjustment mechanism is provided between the driving end of the telescopic driving mechanism and the jaw driving mechanism, and the fine adjustment mechanism adjusts the jaw driving mechanism to move relative to the comb plate along the direction of the clamping force of the jaws so that the middle position of the two jaws is aligned with the slots of the comb plate.

3. The ear tab detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, a first bracket is fixed to the fixed end of the jaw driving mechanism, a second bracket is fixed to the driving end of the telescopic driving mechanism, and the fine adjustment mechanism includes a screw rod that passes through the first bracket and the second bracket and can rotate, and the rotation of the screw rod can drive the second bracket to move relative to the first bracket in the direction of the clamping force of the jaws.

4. The ear tab detection device according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, the ear tab detection device includes two of the ear tab clamping devices, and the two ear tab clamping devices are arranged oppositely.

5. An ear tab processing system, characterized in that, the ear tab processing system includes an ear tab position acquisition device, a bus bar installation device, and the ear tab detection device according to any one of claims 1-4; the ear tab position acquisition device is used to acquire the ear tab position information of the battery cell assembly; the bus bar installation device positions according to the ear tab position information acquired by the ear tab position acquisition device and installs the bus bar on the ear tabs; after the bus bar is installed on the ear tabs, the ear tab detection device detects whether the ear tabs pass through the bus bar.

6. An ear tab detection method, characterized in that, the ear tab detection method includes: S1. Drive the comb plate to move so that a set of tabs to be detected are inserted into the slots of the comb plate; S2. Clamp the tabs in the slots of the comb plate with two jaws; S3. Measure the distance between the two jaws; Repeat steps S1, S2, and S3 to detect multiple sets of tabs in sequence.

7. The tab detection method according to claim 6, wherein, after the distance between the two jaws is measured, the tab detection method further includes: the jaws are released and withdrawn; drive the comb plate to move along the surface of the tabs in the slots to flatten the tabs.

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