A lithium battery cleaning and discharging apparatus and method

By integrating feeding, pre-discharge, direction change, and secondary discharge into a lithium battery cleaning and discharging equipment, combined with conductive agent application and settling methods, the problem of incomplete discharge in lithium battery recycling has been solved, achieving efficient, safe, and low-cost lithium battery discharge, suitable for continuous production of multiple lithium battery models.

CN112216893BActive Publication Date: 2026-02-17INSTITUTE OF PROCESS ENGINEERING CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN201910623948.5
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2019-07-11
Publication Date
2026-02-17
Estimated Expiration
2039-07-11

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing lithium battery discharge methods suffer from incomplete discharge, significant safety hazards, low efficiency, and high costs, especially in the lithium battery recycling process where it is difficult to achieve safe and efficient power release.

Method used

A lithium battery cleaning and discharging device integrating feeding, pre-discharge, direction change, secondary discharge, and discharge was designed. It adopts a conductive agent coating and static placement method, combined with pre-discharge and secondary discharge, and uses the conductive agent to short-circuit the lithium battery plates for discharge.

Benefits of technology

It achieves efficient, safe, and low-cost clean discharge of lithium batteries, reduces the risk of voltage rebound, avoids secondary pollution, is suitable for continuous production of multiple types of lithium batteries, and has the potential for industrial application.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of new energy automobile lithium battery large-scale batch discharge recycling equipment, and particularly relates to a lithium battery clean discharge equipment, which comprises a feeding mechanism (2), a pre-discharge mechanism (3), a direction conversion mechanism (4), a conveying mechanism (5), a vertical adjustment mechanism (6), a discharge clamping and discharging mechanism (7), a clamping mechanical hand (9), a conductive agent smearing mechanism (8) and a lithium battery collecting box (10); the feeding mechanism (2), the pre-discharge mechanism (3), the direction conversion mechanism (4), the conveying mechanism (5), the vertical adjustment mechanism (6), the discharge clamping and discharging mechanism (7) and the lithium battery collecting box (10) are sequentially arranged in a head-to-tail mode, and the conductive agent smearing mechanism (8) and the clamping mechanical hand (9) are respectively arranged above the discharge clamping and discharging mechanism (7); the equipment of the present application integrates feeding, pre-discharge, direction conversion, secondary discharge and discharging, and realizes clean and safe discharge treatment of lithium batteries.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the technical field of large-scale batch discharge and recycling equipment for lithium batteries in new energy vehicles, and specifically relates to a lithium battery clean discharge equipment and method. Background Technology

[0002] Since lithium batteries entered the commercial development stage in the 1990s, there has been continuous research on their performance upgrades and industrial development. Lithium batteries are also widely used in my country's energy storage and new energy vehicle industries. However, when battery capacity drops below 80%, it can no longer meet the requirements of electric vehicles. In 2017, approximately 60,000 tons of lithium batteries were scrapped globally. Statistics for my country's scrapped power lithium batteries in 2018 show approximately 30,000 tons, and this figure is projected to reach 60,000 to 70,000 tons in 2019. The cathode materials of ternary lithium batteries contain reserves of several major metals, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese. Nickel and cobalt are scarce resources in my country, with an import dependency exceeding 90%. Lithium batteries not only contain a large number of valuable elements, but the toxic and hazardous substances they contain can also cause serious environmental damage if not properly disposed of. Therefore, the recycling of waste lithium batteries has become a pressing issue that needs to be addressed.

[0003] The first step in lithium battery recycling is to ensure the safe and efficient release of the remaining charge. If the remaining charge is not released, short circuits will inevitably occur during the recycling process, causing a large amount of heat to be released, which may lead to explosions and other safety accidents.

[0004] Currently, there are two main methods for the safe discharge of lithium batteries: one is physical discharge, which mainly involves using an external resistor or rotating conductive particles to convert the battery's electrical charge into heat energy. However, this method results in incomplete discharge, with a significant voltage rebound after discharge, posing a substantial safety hazard. The other method is chemical discharge, which utilizes the battery's positive and negative electrode metals as the cathode and anode, relying on electrolysis to consume the residual electrical charge in the battery. Currently, this mainly uses a saline solution as the electrolyte for slow discharge. However, this method has a slow discharge rate, low efficiency, and the electrolysis of water easily produces hydrogen and oxygen, posing safety hazards and generating large amounts of high-salt, fluoride-containing organic waste liquid, resulting in high treatment costs. No clean and safe lithium battery discharge equipment or method has yet been proposed in the current technology. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to address the aforementioned deficiencies in existing methods for cleaning lithium battery discharge. This invention proposes a lithium battery cleaning discharge device that integrates feeding, pre-discharge, direction change, secondary discharge, and discharge, thereby achieving clean and safe discharge treatment of lithium batteries.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention proposes a lithium battery cleaning and discharging device, which includes: a feeding mechanism, a pre-discharging mechanism, a direction conversion mechanism, a conveying mechanism, a vertical adjustment mechanism, a discharge clamping and unloading mechanism, a clamping manipulator, a conductive agent coating mechanism, and a lithium battery collection box.

[0007] The feeding mechanism, pre-discharge mechanism, direction conversion mechanism, conveying mechanism, vertical adjustment mechanism, discharge clamping and unloading mechanism, and lithium battery collection box are arranged sequentially end to end. The conductive agent application mechanism and the clamping robot are respectively located above the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism, with the conductive agent application mechanism located above one end of the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism and the clamping robot located above the other end of the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism.

[0008] The feeding mechanism has an inverted trapezoidal shape, with an opening at the top for the feed inlet and multiple openings at the bottom for the discharge outlet; the feed inlet is larger than the discharge outlet.

[0009] A pre-discharge mechanism is set below the discharge port of the feeding mechanism, and one end of the pre-discharge mechanism is directly opposite the other end of the pre-discharge mechanism. The other end of the pre-discharge mechanism is connected to the direction conversion mechanism for pre-discharging waste lithium batteries.

[0010] The feeding mechanism is further provided with a feeding roller and a side baffle between the discharge port and the pre-discharge mechanism; the feeding roller is placed upside down on one end of the pre-discharge mechanism and is located directly below the discharge port of the feeding mechanism; the side baffle is located on one side of the feeding roller and fixed on one end of the pre-discharge mechanism to prevent the feeding roller from shifting and to ensure that multiple waste lithium batteries are transferred to the pre-discharge mechanism one by one, intermittently and orderly through the feeding roller.

[0011] The feeding roller has a cylindrical structure, and its outer circumference has equally spaced semi-circular grooves along the axial direction. The feeding roller is placed upside down on one end of the pre-discharge mechanism. The feeding roller is driven to rotate by a motor connected to the outside world, and multiple waste lithium batteries are temporarily stored in the semi-circular grooves one by one. As the feeding roller rotates, they are transported to the pre-discharge mechanism one by one. The side baffle has a quarter arc shape.

[0012] The pre-discharge mechanism includes: a first power source, a strip conveyor belt, and a plurality of positive and negative discharge columns arranged at equal intervals on both sides of the strip conveyor belt; the pre-discharge mechanism adopts constant resistance pre-discharge; the first power source is set on the strip conveyor belt, and the positive and negative electrodes of the waste lithium battery are respectively installed on the positive and negative discharge columns.

[0013] The direction conversion mechanism has a hollow structure and is equipped with a cylinder with a cylindrical push rod. It pushes the pre-discharged waste lithium batteries rolling along the conveying direction of the strip conveyor belt out one by one from the pre-discharge mechanism and conveys them one by one to the conveying mechanism along the horizontal direction perpendicular to the strip conveyor belt.

[0014] The conveying mechanism is equipped with a conveying slot, which is used to horizontally convey the waste lithium batteries, whose direction has been changed by the direction conversion mechanism, one by one to the vertical adjustment mechanism.

[0015] The vertical adjustment mechanism is placed vertically on the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism, and has a discharge port below it. The vertical adjustment mechanism has an arc-shaped dropping slope inside, which converts the waste lithium batteries that are horizontally conveyed to the vertical adjustment mechanism into vertical waste lithium batteries one by one through the arc-shaped dropping slope, and then conveys the vertical waste lithium batteries one by one to the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism.

[0016] The discharge clamping and unloading mechanism includes: a second power source, a conveyor belt, and several magnetic cylinders evenly spaced on the conveyor belt; the second power source is installed on the conveyor belt, and the magnetic cylinders can fix the waste lithium batteries conveyed by the vertical adjustment mechanism and convey them one by one through the conveyor belt.

[0017] The conductive agent coating mechanism is located above one end of the discharge clamping and feeding mechanism. It includes: a third power source, a conductive agent storage cylinder, and a two-axis robotic arm mounted on the conductive agent storage cylinder. The third power source is mounted on the two-axis robotic arm, and the conductive agent storage cylinder is connected to an external air pressure controller. Under the drive of the two-axis robotic arm and the action of air pressure, the conductive agent stored in the conductive agent storage cylinder is released and dripped into the short-circuit grooves on the positive and negative electrodes of the waste lithium battery.

[0018] The gripping manipulator is located above the other end of the discharge gripping and unloading mechanism. It includes a fourth power source, a robotic arm, and a gripping hand. The fourth power source is mounted on the robotic arm, and the gripping hand is mounted on the robotic arm. It is used to grip the waste lithium batteries coated with conductive agent and place them in the lithium battery collection box.

[0019] The lithium battery collection box is placed at the end of the discharge clamping and feeding mechanism to store the waste lithium batteries after secondary discharge, and to let the waste lithium batteries stand for 1-3 hours to complete the secondary discharge.

[0020] Based on the lithium battery cleaning discharge equipment, the present invention also provides a lithium battery cleaning discharge method, the method comprising:

[0021] The waste lithium batteries are manually placed at the feeding port of the feeding mechanism, and the feeding rollers are rotated to pass the waste lithium batteries one by one through the feeding rollers and convey them to the pre-discharge mechanism.

[0022] The first power source drives the strip conveyor belt, and the positive and negative electrodes of the waste lithium batteries are respectively installed on the positive discharge post and the negative discharge post. By flexibly connecting each waste lithium battery in series with an external discharge device, the voltage of each waste lithium battery is reduced to 0.5-1.5V to achieve pre-discharge.

[0023] The pre-discharged waste lithium batteries are disconnected from the positive and negative discharge posts and transported one by one to the direction conversion mechanism.

[0024] The direction conversion mechanism pushes the pre-discharged waste lithium batteries that are rolling along the conveying direction of the strip conveyor belt out one by one from the pre-discharge mechanism and conveys them one by one to the conveying mechanism along the horizontal direction perpendicular to the strip conveyor belt.

[0025] The waste lithium batteries, whose orientation is changed by the orientation conversion mechanism, are conveyed horizontally to the vertical adjustment mechanism through the conveyor trough one by one.

[0026] The waste lithium batteries that are horizontally conveyed to the vertical adjustment mechanism are converted into vertical waste lithium batteries one by one through the arc-shaped feeding slope. The negative terminal of the vertical waste lithium batteries is facing down and the positive terminal is facing up. The vertical waste lithium batteries are then conveyed one by one to the discharge clamping feeding mechanism.

[0027] The second power source in the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism drives the conveyor belt to move and fixes the waste lithium battery conveyed by the vertical adjustment mechanism through the magnetic cylinder; the third power source in the conductive agent coating mechanism drives the two-axis robotic arm; the conductive agent storage cylinder is connected to an external air pressure controller to release the conductive agent stored in the conductive agent storage cylinder and drip it into the short-circuit grooves on the positive and negative terminals of the waste lithium battery.

[0028] The fourth power source of the gripping manipulator drives the robotic arm; the gripping manipulator is mounted on the robotic arm and is used to grip the waste lithium batteries coated with conductive agent and place them in the lithium battery collection box.

[0029] The lithium battery collection box stores used lithium batteries coated with conductive agent and allows them to stand for 1-3 hours to complete the secondary discharge.

[0030] The advantages of this invention compared to the prior art are as follows:

[0031] 1. The lithium battery cleaning discharge equipment of the present invention has a simple structure, low cost, and can realize continuous production. It has all the functions of feeding, pre-discharging, direction changing, secondary discharge and discharge, and is suitable for cleaning discharge processing of multiple types of lithium batteries.

[0032] 2. The conductive agent used for secondary discharge of waste lithium batteries is low in cost and does not produce secondary pollution.

[0033] 3. The combination of pre-discharge and secondary conductive agent discharge methods results in high discharge efficiency, safety and convenience, and the voltage does not rise after discharge, eliminating safety hazards in subsequent operations.

[0034] 4. The cleaning method of the present invention generates no waste liquid, reduces costs, is environmentally friendly, and has broad prospects for industrial application.

[0035] 5. The conductive agent of the present invention can be negative electrode graphite powder recycled from waste lithium batteries, which can realize the recycling of waste battery materials and save resources. Attached Figure Description

[0036] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a lithium battery cleaning and discharging device according to the present invention;

[0037] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Another structural schematic diagram of a lithium battery cleaning and discharging device according to the present invention;

[0038] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A partially enlarged view of the pre-discharge mechanism of a lithium battery cleaning discharge device according to the present invention.

[0039] Figure label:

[0040] 1. Used lithium batteries 2. Feeding mechanism

[0041] 3. Pre-discharge mechanism; 4. Direction conversion mechanism

[0042] 5. Conveying mechanism 6. Vertical adjustment mechanism

[0043] 7. Discharge clamping and unloading mechanism; 8. Conductive agent coating mechanism

[0044] 9. Clamping robot arm; 10. Lithium battery collection box

[0045] 21. Feeding rollers 22. Side baffles

[0046] 31. Strip conveyor belt; 32. Positive discharge column

[0047] 33. Negative electrode discharge column Detailed Implementation

[0048] The present invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0049] like Figure 1 and 2As shown, this invention proposes a lithium battery clean discharge device. The device can process lithium batteries of various specifications and models, has high discharge efficiency, and the voltage does not rise after discharge, reducing the safety risks of subsequent lithium battery processing. It does not generate secondary pollution and can be used for continuous production, making it suitable for industrial applications. The device has a simple structure and high integration.

[0050] The lithium battery cleaning and discharging equipment includes: a feeding mechanism 2, a pre-discharging mechanism 3, a direction conversion mechanism 4, a conveying mechanism 5, a vertical adjustment mechanism 6, a discharge clamping and unloading mechanism 7, a clamping robot arm 9, a conductive agent application mechanism 8, and a lithium battery collection box 10.

[0051] The feeding mechanism 2, pre-discharge mechanism 3, direction conversion mechanism 4, conveying mechanism 5, vertical adjustment mechanism 6, discharge clamping and unloading mechanism 7, and lithium battery collection box 10 are arranged sequentially end to end; as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the conductive agent application mechanism 8 and the clamping robot 9 are respectively located above the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism 7, with the conductive agent application mechanism 8 located above the right end of the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism 7 and the clamping robot 7 located above the left end of the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism 7.

[0052] The feeding mechanism 2 has an inverted trapezoidal shape, with an opening at the top for the feed inlet and multiple openings at the bottom for the discharge outlet; the feed inlet is larger than the discharge outlet.

[0053] A pre-discharge mechanism 3 is provided below the discharge port of the feeding mechanism 2, and one end of the pre-discharge mechanism 3 is directly opposite to the other end of the pre-discharge mechanism 3. The other end of the pre-discharge mechanism 3 is connected to the direction conversion mechanism 4 for pre-discharging the waste lithium battery 1.

[0054] The feeding mechanism 2 is further provided with a feeding roller 21 and a side baffle 22 between its discharge port and the pre-discharge mechanism 3; the feeding roller 21 is placed upside down on one end of the pre-discharge mechanism 3 and is located directly below the discharge port of the feeding mechanism 2; Figure 1 As shown, the side baffle 22 is located on the left side of the feeding roller 21 and is fixed on the left end of the pre-discharge mechanism 3. It is used to prevent the feeding roller from shifting and to ensure that multiple waste lithium batteries 1 are transferred to the pre-discharge mechanism 3 one by one and intermittently in an orderly manner through the feeding roller 21.

[0055] The feeding roller 21 has a cylindrical structure and semi-circular grooves with equal spacing along the axial direction on its outer circumference. The feeding roller 21 is placed upside down on one end of the pre-discharge mechanism 3. The feeding roller 21 is driven to rotate by a motor connected to the outside world, so that multiple waste lithium batteries 1 are temporarily stored in the semi-circular grooves one by one, and are transported to the pre-discharge mechanism 3 one by one as the feeding roller 21 rotates.

[0056] The side baffle 22 has a quarter-arc shape.

[0057] like Figure 2 and 3 As shown, the pre-discharge mechanism 3 includes: a first power source, a strip conveyor belt 31, and a plurality of positive discharge columns 32 and negative discharge columns 33 arranged at equal intervals on both sides of the strip conveyor belt 31; the pre-discharge mechanism adopts constant resistance pre-discharge; the constant resistance discharge time is 2 to 4 hours; wherein, the first power source is preferably a speed-regulating motor.

[0058] The first power source is set on the strip conveyor belt to drive it. The positive and negative terminals of the waste lithium batteries are respectively installed on the positive discharge post and the negative discharge post. By flexibly connecting each waste lithium battery in series with an external discharge device, the voltage of each waste lithium battery is reduced to 0.5-1.5V to achieve pre-discharge. The pre-discharged waste lithium batteries are then disconnected from the positive and negative discharge posts and transported one by one to the direction conversion mechanism.

[0059] Specifically, the strip conveyor belt has several positive and negative discharge posts spaced equally on both sides, forming a groove structure. This ensures that the waste lithium batteries are installed one by one, regularly, and intermittently on the positive and negative posts. That is, the positive electrode of the waste lithium battery is installed on the positive discharge post, and the negative electrode is installed on the negative discharge post. By flexibly connecting each waste lithium battery in series with an external discharge device, the voltage of each waste lithium battery is reduced to 0.5-1.5V to achieve pre-discharge. The pre-discharged waste lithium batteries are then disconnected from the positive and negative discharge posts, and the conveyor belt pushes the pre-discharged waste lithium batteries one by one towards the direction conversion mechanism. The positive and negative discharge posts are both 10-30mm in diameter.

[0060] The direction conversion mechanism 4 has a hollow structure and is equipped with a cylinder with a cylindrical push rod. It is used to push the pre-discharged waste lithium batteries rolling along the conveying direction of the strip conveyor belt out one by one from the pre-discharge mechanism and convey them one by one to the conveying mechanism along the horizontal direction perpendicular to the strip conveyor belt. The hollow diameter of the direction conversion mechanism is larger than the diameter of the waste lithium batteries to ensure that the waste lithium batteries pass smoothly through the conveying mechanism.

[0061] The conveying mechanism 5 is equipped with a conveying groove, which, under the action of friction, horizontally conveys the waste lithium batteries, whose orientation has been changed by the direction-changing mechanism, one by one to the vertical adjustment mechanism. The width of the conveying groove is greater than the diameter of the waste lithium batteries, and the width of the conveying groove is adjustable to accommodate waste lithium batteries of different diameters.

[0062] The vertical adjustment mechanism 6 is placed vertically on the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism, and has a discharge port below it. The vertical adjustment mechanism has an arc-shaped discharge slope, which is used to convert the waste lithium batteries that are horizontally conveyed to the vertical adjustment mechanism into vertical waste lithium batteries one by one through the arc-shaped discharge slope. The negative terminal of the vertical waste lithium battery is facing down and its positive terminal is facing up. The vertical waste lithium batteries are then conveyed one by one to the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism.

[0063] The discharge clamping and unloading mechanism 7 includes: a second power source, a conveyor belt, and several magnetic cylinders evenly spaced on the conveyor belt; the second power source is mounted on the conveyor belt and is used to drive the conveyor belt to move; the magnetic cylinders can fix the waste lithium batteries conveyed by the vertical adjustment mechanism and convey them one by one through the conveyor belt. Specifically, the second power source is preferably a motor, which drives the conveyor belt to move under the rotation of the motor, conveying the waste lithium batteries one by one and continuously to the lithium battery collection box. The second power source is preferably a stepper motor.

[0064] The conductive agent application mechanism 8 is located above one end of the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism. It includes a third power source, a conductive agent storage cylinder, and a two-axis robotic arm mounted on the storage cylinder. The third power source is mounted on the two-axis robotic arm to drive it. An external pneumatic controller is connected to the conductive agent storage cylinder to release the conductive agent stored therein and drip it onto the short-circuit grooves on the positive and negative terminals of the waste lithium battery under the drive of the two-axis robotic arm and pneumatic pressure. Preferably, the third power source is a servo motor. The pneumatic controller is a SEC-200S, an existing controller capable of high-precision digital time control, using vacuum suction to control the storage and release of various conductive agents. It features adjustable pressure, high repeatability, and a power-off retention function.

[0065] The conductive agent comprises discharge materials of epoxy resin, acrylate resin and polyurethane, powders of gold, silver, copper, aluminum, zinc, iron, nickel and graphite, and a mixture of some conductive compounds as conductive fillers, with a volume resistivity of 10. -2 -10 -4 Ω·cm. The conductive agent is applied to the break-circuit grooves of the positive and negative electrodes of the lithium battery for static short-circuit discharge or heated short-circuit discharge.

[0066] The gripping robot 9 is located above the other end of the discharge gripping and unloading mechanism, and includes: a fourth power source, a robotic arm, and a gripping hand; the fourth power source is mounted on the robotic arm and is used to drive the robotic arm; the gripping hand is mounted on the robotic arm and is used to grip the waste lithium batteries coated with conductive agent and place them into the lithium battery collection box. The gripping hand is composed of several arc-shaped grooves for gripping the waste lithium batteries coated with conductive agent. The fourth power source is preferably a servo motor.

[0067] The lithium battery collection box 10 is placed at the end of the discharge clamping and feeding mechanism to store the waste lithium batteries after secondary discharge, and to let the waste lithium batteries stand for 1-3 hours to complete the secondary discharge.

[0068] Based on the lithium battery cleaning discharge equipment, the present invention also provides a lithium battery cleaning discharge method, the method comprising:

[0069] Multiple waste lithium batteries 1 are manually placed at the feeding port of the feeding mechanism 2, and the feeding roller 21 is rotated to pass the waste lithium batteries 1 one by one through the feeding roller 21 and convey them to the pre-discharge mechanism 3.

[0070] The first power source drives the strip conveyor belt. The positive and negative electrodes of the waste lithium battery 1 are respectively installed on the positive discharge post and the negative discharge post. By flexibly connecting each waste lithium battery in series with an external discharge device, the voltage of each waste lithium battery is reduced to 0.5-1.5V to achieve pre-discharge.

[0071] The pre-discharged waste lithium battery 1 is disconnected from the positive and negative discharge columns and then transported one by one to the direction conversion mechanism 4.

[0072] The direction conversion mechanism 4 pushes out the pre-discharged waste lithium batteries rolling along the conveying direction of the strip conveyor belt one by one from the pre-discharge mechanism 3, and then conveys them one by one to the conveying mechanism 5 along the horizontal direction perpendicular to the strip conveyor belt.

[0073] The waste lithium batteries 1, whose orientation is changed by the direction conversion mechanism 4, are horizontally conveyed to the vertical adjustment mechanism 6 through the conveying channel one by one.

[0074] The waste lithium batteries that are horizontally conveyed to the vertical adjustment mechanism 6 are converted into vertical waste lithium batteries one by one through the arc-shaped discharge slope. The negative terminal of the vertical waste lithium batteries is facing down and the positive terminal is facing up. The vertical waste lithium batteries are then conveyed one by one to the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism.

[0075] The second power source in the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism 7 drives the conveyor belt to move and fixes the waste lithium battery conveyed by the vertical adjustment mechanism through the magnetic cylinder; the third power source in the conductive agent coating mechanism 8 drives the two-axis robotic arm; the conductive agent storage cylinder is connected to an external air pressure controller to release the conductive agent stored in the conductive agent storage cylinder and drip it into the short-circuit groove on the positive and negative terminals of the waste lithium battery.

[0076] The fourth power source of the gripping manipulator 9 drives the robotic arm; the gripper is mounted on the robotic arm and is used to grip the waste lithium battery coated with conductive agent and place it in the lithium battery collection box.

[0077] The lithium battery collection box 10 stores used lithium batteries coated with conductive agent and allows them to stand for 1-3 hours to complete the secondary discharge. At this point, the lithium battery cleaning and discharge process is complete.

[0078] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions to the technical solutions of the present invention do not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention, and all such modifications or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lithium battery cleaning and discharging apparatus, characterized by, It includes: a feeding mechanism (2), a pre-discharge mechanism (3), a direction conversion mechanism (4), a conveying mechanism (5), a vertical adjustment mechanism (6), a discharge clamping and unloading mechanism (7), a clamping robot (9), a conductive agent coating mechanism (8), and a lithium battery collection box (10); The feeding mechanism (2), pre-discharge mechanism (3), direction conversion mechanism (4), conveying mechanism (5), vertical adjustment mechanism (6), discharge clamping and unloading mechanism (7), and lithium battery collection box (10) are arranged sequentially end to end. The conductive agent application mechanism (8) and the clamping robot (9) are respectively located above the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism (7), and the conductive agent application mechanism (8) is located above one end of the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism (7), while the clamping robot (9) is located above the other end of the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism (7). The feeding mechanism (2) has an inverted trapezoidal structure, with the opening at the top being the inlet and multiple openings at the bottom being the outlets. A pre-discharge mechanism (3) is set below the discharge port of the feeding mechanism (2), and one end of the pre-discharge mechanism (3) is directly opposite to the other end of the pre-discharge mechanism (3). The other end of the pre-discharge mechanism (3) is connected to the direction conversion mechanism (4) to pre-discharge the waste lithium battery (1). Between the discharge port of the feeding mechanism (2) and the pre-discharge mechanism (3), there is also a feeding roller (21) and a side baffle (22); the feeding roller (21) is placed upside down on one end of the pre-discharge mechanism (3) and is located directly below the discharge port of the feeding mechanism (2); the side baffle (22) is located on one side of the feeding roller (21) and is fixed on one end of the pre-discharge mechanism, so that multiple waste lithium batteries (1) are transferred to the pre-discharge mechanism (3) one by one and intermittently in an orderly manner through the feeding roller (21); The feeding roller (21) has a cylindrical structure and has semi-circular grooves with equal spacing along the axial direction on its outer circumference. The feeding roller (21) is placed upside down on one end of the pre-discharge mechanism (3); the side baffle (22) has a quarter arc shape structure. The conveying mechanism (5) is provided with a conveying groove, which is used to convey the waste lithium batteries that have undergone direction conversion through the direction conversion mechanism one by one to the vertical adjustment mechanism under the action of friction of the conveying mechanism. The vertical adjustment mechanism (6) is placed vertically on the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism (7), and a discharge port is provided below it. The vertical adjustment mechanism (6) is provided with an arc-shaped material dropping slope. The waste lithium batteries that are horizontally conveyed to the vertical adjustment mechanism (6) are converted into vertical waste lithium batteries one by one through the arc-shaped material dropping slope, and the vertical waste lithium batteries are conveyed one by one to the discharge clamping and unloading mechanism (7).

2. The lithium battery cleaning and discharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The pre-discharge mechanism (3) includes: a first power source, a strip conveyor belt (31), and a plurality of positive discharge columns (32) and negative discharge columns (33) arranged at equal intervals on both sides of the strip conveyor belt (31); The pre-discharge mechanism adopts constant resistance pre-discharge; the first power source is set on the strip conveyor belt (31), and the positive and negative electrodes of the waste lithium battery are respectively installed on the positive electrode discharge column (32) and the negative electrode discharge column (33).

3. The lithium battery cleaning and discharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The direction conversion mechanism (4) is in a hollow structure, and a cylinder with a cylindrical push rod is arranged thereon, which is used to push out the pre-discharged waste lithium batteries rolling along the conveying direction of the strip-shaped conveying belt from the pre-discharge mechanism one by one, and make them be conveyed to the conveying mechanism one by one along the horizontal direction perpendicular to the strip-shaped conveying belt.

4. The lithium battery cleaning and discharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The discharge clamping and discharging mechanism (7) comprises a second power source, a conveying belt and a plurality of magnetic cylinders arranged at equal intervals on the conveying belt; the second power source is installed on the conveying belt, the magnetic cylinders fix the waste lithium batteries conveyed by the vertical adjusting mechanism, and convey them one by one through the conveying belt.

5. The lithium battery cleaning and discharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The conductive agent smearing mechanism (8) is located above one end of the discharge clamping and discharging mechanism (7), which comprises a third power source, a conductive agent storage cylinder and a two-axis mechanical arm arranged on the conductive agent storage cylinder; the third power source is installed on the two-axis mechanical arm to drive the two-axis mechanical arm; the conductive agent storage cylinder is circumscribed with a gas pressure controller to release and drop the conductive agent stored in the conductive agent storage cylinder into the short-circuit grooves on the positive and negative poles of the waste lithium batteries.

6. The lithium battery cleaning and discharging apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The clamping mechanical hand (9) is located above the other end of the discharge clamping and discharging mechanism, which comprises a fourth power source, a mechanical arm and a clamping hand; the fourth power source is arranged on the mechanical arm, and the clamping hand is installed on the mechanical arm to pick up the waste lithium batteries smeared with the conductive agent and place them in the lithium battery collection box.

7. A lithium battery cleaning and discharging method, which is realized by using the lithium battery cleaning and discharging device of any one of claims 1-6, and the method comprises: A plurality of waste lithium batteries (1) are manually placed at the feeding port of the feeding mechanism (2), the waste lithium batteries (1) are conveyed to the pre-discharge mechanism (3) one by one through the rotation of the discharging roller (21); The first power source drives the strip-shaped conveying belt (31), the positive and negative poles of the waste lithium batteries are respectively installed on the positive and negative discharge columns (32) and (33), the voltage of each waste lithium battery is reduced to 0.5-1.5V by flexibly connecting each waste lithium battery to the external discharge device, and pre-discharge is realized; The pre-discharged waste lithium batteries are disconnected from the positive and negative discharge columns (32) and (33), and are conveyed to the direction conversion mechanism (4) one by one; The direction conversion mechanism (4) pushes out the pre-discharged waste lithium batteries rolling along the conveying direction of the strip-shaped conveying belt from the pre-discharge mechanism (3) one by one, and makes them be conveyed to the conveying mechanism (5) one by one along the horizontal direction perpendicular to the strip-shaped conveying belt; The waste lithium batteries whose direction is converted by the direction conversion mechanism (4) are horizontally conveyed to the vertical adjusting mechanism (6) one by one through the conveying groove; The waste lithium batteries horizontally conveyed to the vertical adjusting mechanism (6) are converted into vertical waste lithium batteries one by one through the circular arc-shaped discharging slope, and the vertical waste lithium batteries are conveyed to the discharge clamping and discharging mechanism (7) one by one; The second power source in the discharging clamping blanking mechanism (7) drives the movement of the conveyor belt, and the waste lithium battery conveyed by the vertical adjusting mechanism (6) is fixed by the magnetic cylinder; the third power source in the conductive agent smearing mechanism (8) drives the two-axis mechanical arm; the conductive agent storage cylinder is externally connected with the air pressure controller, the conductive agent stored in the conductive agent storage cylinder is released and dropped into the short-circuit groove on the positive and negative poles of the waste lithium battery; The fourth power source drives the mechanical arm of the clamping mechanical hand (9); the clamping hand is installed on the mechanical arm, clamps the waste lithium battery smeared with the conductive agent, and places it in the lithium battery collecting box; The lithium battery collecting box (10) stores the waste lithium battery smeared with the conductive agent, and stands the waste lithium battery for 1-3 hours to complete the secondary discharge.

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