A solar cell thermal infrared attenuation device and its testing method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a thermal infrared attenuation device for battery cells, which relates to battery testing tooling. The device comprises a conveying mechanism and a thermal infrared attenuation mechanism. The conveying mechanism transports the battery cells to a preset simulated welding position. The thermal infrared attenuation mechanism is positioned at the simulated welding position to simulate the attenuation environment of the battery cells during thermal infrared welding. The thermal infrared attenuation mechanism comprises an infrared lamp located on one side of the battery cell and a heating rod located on the other side. The present invention also discloses a method for testing the thermal infrared attenuation device for battery cells. The device simulates the environment of the battery cells during thermal infrared welding, thereby testing the attenuation of the battery cells before and after thermal infrared welding.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery testing tool, and in particular to a battery cell thermal infrared attenuation device and a testing method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The solar photovoltaic manufacturing industry has entered the era of automation. Compared to traditional manual welding, automated welding not only reduces labor costs but also improves module yield and production efficiency. Automated welding methods primarily include electromagnetic welding, infrared welding, and hot air welding, with electromagnetic welding and thermal infrared welding being the most common. However, electromagnetic welding is time-consuming and has limited production capacity, so thermal infrared welding has gradually become the mainstream automated welding method both domestically and internationally.

[0003] Thermal infrared welding utilizes a non-contact heating method to heat the two parts to be welded. This allows the surfaces of the two parts to rapidly condense under the infrared radiation. After cooling through pressing, they bond together, achieving extremely high weld strength. Furthermore, the joint strength between the two parts after thermal infrared welding is far greater than that achieved using other welding processes. The weld seam between the parts can be 100% airtight, preventing air or liquid leaks. Furthermore, infrared welded parts do not produce slag or flash at the weld seam. Due to these advantages, thermal infrared welding technology is widely used in the field of solar cell string welding. However, thermal infrared welding technology uses a short-wave infrared generator, which emits radiation waves. Therefore, during the string welding process on the front side of the solar cell, the solar cell may experience light decay. For example, the patent with publication number CN105436730B discloses an infrared heating welding device, method and string welding machine. Through the process, the infrared lamp is set on the backlight side of the battery cell to weld the battery cell, which can overcome the defect that infrared rays will cause light decay in the light-receiving object to a certain extent.

[0004] However, welding is an irreversible process, and currently no device can fully understand the attenuation effect of thermal infrared welding on different types of solar cells in the thermal infrared state. Therefore, developing a device that can simulate the attenuation of solar cells before and after thermal infrared welding is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a battery cell thermal infrared attenuation device and a testing method thereof, which are used to simulate the environment of the battery cell during thermal infrared welding, so as to test the attenuation of the battery cell before and after thermal infrared welding.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] A thermal infrared attenuation device for battery cells, comprising a conveying mechanism and a thermal infrared attenuation mechanism; the conveying mechanism conveys the battery cells to a preset simulated welding position; the thermal infrared attenuation mechanism is arranged at the simulated welding position to simulate the attenuation environment of the battery cells in the thermal infrared welding state; the thermal infrared attenuation mechanism includes an infrared lamp located on one side of the battery cell and a heating rod on the other side of the battery cell.

[0008] Furthermore, the thermal infrared attenuation mechanism also includes a first lifting mechanism, and the infrared lamp is arranged on the first lifting mechanism to adjust the distance between the infrared lamp and the battery cell.

[0009] Furthermore, a wire pressing mechanism is provided between the infrared lamp and the battery cell for fixing the battery cell during the simulated welding process, and the wire pressing mechanism is provided on the first lifting mechanism.

[0010] Furthermore, it also includes a loading mechanism and a unloading mechanism; the loading mechanism is arranged at the head end of the conveying mechanism, including a loading platform and a loading robot, the loading robot grabs the battery cells on the loading platform and moves them to the head end of the conveying mechanism; the unloading mechanism is arranged at the end of the conveying mechanism, including a unloading platform and a unloading robot, the unloading robot grabs the battery cells at the end of the conveying mechanism and moves them to the unloading platform.

[0011] Furthermore, a positioning mechanism is provided in the middle position between the loading platform and the head end of the conveying mechanism to align the battery cells, including a positioning platform and at least two positioning cylinders in different directions located around the positioning platform. The positioning cylinders push the battery cells on the positioning platform to the specified position.

[0012] Furthermore, the loading robot is provided with two vacuum clamps, and the horizontal distance between the two vacuum clamps is relatively fixed, and the horizontal distance is equal to the horizontal distance between the alignment platform and the head end of the conveying mechanism.

[0013] Furthermore, the loading platform is arranged on the second lifting mechanism and rises or falls with the second lifting mechanism; an in-place sensor is provided at a fixed horizontal position above the loading platform, and when the in-place sensor detects that the battery cell reaches a specified height, the second lifting mechanism is controlled to stop the upward movement.

[0014] A method for testing a cell thermal infrared attenuation device, comprising the following steps:

[0015] S1, pre-test, initial test of cell performance;

[0016] S2, feeding, transporting the battery cell to a preset simulated welding position;

[0017] S3, simulated welding, simulating the attenuation environment of the battery cell in the thermal infrared welding state;

[0018] S4, final inspection, re-test the performance of the battery cell.

[0019] Furthermore, the simulation of the thermal infrared welding mode adopts the following method: an infrared lamp is set on one side of the battery cell for heating, and a heating rod is set on the other side of the battery cell for heating; the heating time of the infrared lamp is 0 to 3000ms, and the heating temperature is 100 to 300°C; the heating temperature of the heating rod is 50 to 200°C.

[0020] Furthermore, before the feeding is performed in S2, the battery cells need to be aligned, and the battery cells are pushed to a specified position by at least two positioning cylinders located in different directions around the battery cells.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: the present invention simulates the thermal infrared welding environment of the battery cell to test the attenuation of battery cells of different specifications before and after thermal infrared welding; the equipment of the present invention can perform the empty welding attenuation test of the battery cell separately without occupying the welding performance of the string welding machine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of a loading platform according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a second lifting mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of an alignment mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 5 2 is a cross-sectional view of an alignment mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 6 This is a schematic structural diagram of a loading robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of a conveying mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of a thermal infrared attenuation mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of a blanking mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] In the picture: DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The following is a clear and complete description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. 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 any creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] Example 1:

[0034] Please refer to Figure 1 This embodiment provides a solar cell thermal infrared attenuation device for simulating a thermal infrared welding environment and testing the attenuation of solar cells of different specifications before and after thermal infrared welding. The device comprises a frame 1, a loading mechanism, a conveying mechanism 5, a thermal infrared attenuation mechanism 6, an unloading mechanism, and a control panel mounted on the frame 1.

[0035] The frame 1 is a mounting platform for supporting other components of the equipment.

[0036] The loading mechanism is arranged at the head end of the conveying mechanism 5, and includes a loading platform 2 and a loading robot 3. The loading robot 3 grabs the battery cells on the loading platform 2 and moves them to the head end of the conveying mechanism 5.

[0037] like Figure 2 As shown, the loading platform 2 includes a loading plate 21 and a plurality of first limiting rods 22 located around and perpendicular to the loading plate 21. The first limiting rods 22 and the loading plate 21 form a receiving groove with only the upper side open, which prevents the battery cells located therein from falling off the four sides of the loading plate 21. It is worth mentioning that in order to accommodate battery cells of different sizes, the first limiting rods 22 can be adjusted along the plane where the loading plate 22 is located; preferably, the four side walls of the loading plate 21 are provided with slots for the first limiting rods 22 to extend into, so as to accommodate battery cells with sizes smaller than the loading plate.

[0038] In this embodiment, to facilitate the loading robot 3 in gripping the battery cells, the loading plate 21 is mounted on a second lifting mechanism 24, allowing the loading plate 21 and the battery cells positioned thereon to rise and fall with the second lifting mechanism 24. Furthermore, to ensure that the loading plate 21 and the battery cells positioned thereon are raised to a specified height, a position sensor 23 is positioned at a fixed horizontal position above the loading platform 21. When the position sensor 23 detects that the battery cells have reached the specified height, the control panel controls the second lifting mechanism 24 to stop its upward movement. The position sensor 23 is preferably a Panasonic FT-42 through-beam sensor.

[0039] The specific structure of the second lifting mechanism 24 is as follows Figure 3As shown, it includes a vertical guide rail 241, a slider 242 that slides with the guide rail 241, a connecting rod 243 fixed to the slider 242, and a rectangular block 244 at the top of the connecting rod 243 for transitional connection with the loading plate 21. The movement of the slider 242 along the guide rail 241 is achieved by a motor-driven screw mechanism.

[0040] In order to ensure the consistency of position and direction of the battery cells when they reach the conveying mechanism, a positioning mechanism 4 is provided between the loading platform 2 and the head end of the conveying mechanism 5 to align the battery cells. Figure 4 As shown, the alignment mechanism 4 includes a positioning platform 41 and at least two positioning cylinders 44 located in different directions around the positioning platform 41. The positioning cylinders 44 push the battery cell 9 on the positioning platform 41 to a specified position. In this embodiment, a fixed terminal 45 is provided on one side of the positioning platform 41, which is higher than the upper end surface of the positioning platform. Positioning cylinders 44 are provided on the other three sides, facing the center of the positioning platform 41. The positioning cylinders 44 are provided with movable terminals 43 that are higher than the upper end surface of the positioning platform. Through the movement of the positioning cylinders 44, the movable terminals 43 on the three sides can be moved toward the center of the positioning platform 41, pushing the battery cell on the positioning platform 41 to a specified position. It is worth noting that the number of positioning cylinders 44 and fixed terminals 45 can be adjusted accordingly, such as using two positioning cylinders 44 and two fixed terminals 45, with the two positioning cylinders 44 located on adjacent sides. Alternatively, a solution can be adopted in which positioning cylinders 44 are provided on all four sides to achieve the alignment of the battery cell 9 on the positioning platform 41. Similar to the loading platform 21 , in order to accommodate battery cells with smaller dimensions than the positioning platform 41 , slots for the movable terminals 43 to extend into are formed on the four side walls of the positioning platform 41 .

[0041] After the battery cells are aligned, before the loading robot 3 clamps the battery cells, it is necessary to control the positioning cylinder 44 to be pushed outward to the original position. In order to avoid the movement of the battery cells during the clamping process, a through hole 46 is provided in the middle of the positioning platform corresponding to the position of the battery cells, and an axial flow fan 47 is provided below the through hole 46 to pump air from top to bottom so that the battery cells are tightly attached to the upper end surface of the positioning platform 41, ensuring that the position of the battery cells remains unchanged during the clamping process of the loading robot.

[0042] The loading robot 3 is responsible for transporting the battery cells. Figure 6As shown, in order to improve efficiency, the loading robot 3 is provided with two vacuum clamps 31, and the horizontal distance between the two vacuum clamps 31 is relatively fixed, and the horizontal distance is equal to the horizontal distance between the alignment platform 4 and the head end of the conveying mechanism 5. When one of the vacuum clamps 31 moves the battery cell from the alignment platform 4 to the conveying mechanism 5, the other vacuum clamp 31 can also move another battery cell from the loading platform 2 to the alignment platform 4 at the same time. The loading robot 3 can realize two clamping actions simultaneously, which greatly improves work efficiency. It is worth mentioning that silicone suction nozzles are provided around the vacuum clamp 31 for adsorbing the upper surface of the battery cell to realize vacuum clamping of the battery cell without causing damage to the battery cell.

[0043] The conveying mechanism 5 conveys the battery cell to the preset simulated welding position. Figure 7 As shown, the conveying mechanism 5 includes a driving motor 52 and a belt 51 driven by the driving motor 52 .

[0044] The thermal infrared attenuation mechanism 6 is set at the simulated welding position to simulate the attenuation environment of the battery cell in the thermal infrared welding state. Figure 8 , the thermal infrared attenuation mechanism 6 includes an infrared lamp 63 located on one side of the battery cell and a heating rod on the other side of the battery cell. The heating rod is installed under the belt 51, which is not shown in the drawing; it is worth mentioning that the heating rod is used to simulate the high temperature environment of the lower surface of the battery cell during thermal infrared welding. From the direction of the belt, the battery cell placement area, preheating area, welding area, and slow cooling area are set in sequence. The battery cell placement area is the placement area after the loading robot 3 clamps the battery cell from the micro-platform 4. There is no heating rod in this area. Independently temperature-controlled heating rods are placed under the preheating area, welding area, and slow cooling area respectively, and the temperature of the welding area is significantly higher than that of the preheating area and the slow cooling area. The temperature of the heating rod is adjustable within 50 to 200°C, which truly simulates the temperature change of the battery cell during thermal infrared welding.

[0045] The thermal infrared attenuation mechanism 6 also includes a first lifting mechanism 61, on which a first frame 62 and a second frame 66 are independently controlled to be lifted and lowered. The number of infrared lamp tubes 63 is not less than 6, which are arranged on the first frame 62. They rise and fall with the first frame 62 to adjust the distance between the infrared lamp tubes 63 and the battery cell to simulate the infrared environment and high temperature environment on the upper surface of the battery cell during thermal infrared welding. The heating time of the infrared lamp tube 63 is adjustable within a range of 0 to 3000ms, and the heating temperature is adjustable within a range of 100 to 300°C. An axial flow fan 64 is arranged above the infrared lamp tube 63 to achieve a heat dissipation effect. An infrared thermometer 65 is arranged on the side of the axial flow fan 64 to detect the real-time temperature and feed it back to the control panel.

[0046] In order to simulate the actual thermal infrared welding process, the battery cell is fixed to ensure the welding accuracy. A wire pressing mechanism 68 is provided between the infrared lamp tube 63 and the battery cell for fixing the battery cell during the simulated welding process. The wire pressing mechanism 68 is provided on the second frame 66. As the second frame 66 rises and falls along the first lifting mechanism 61, the wire pressing mechanism 68 uses a high-temperature material that does not stick to tin, preferably titanium wire. It is worth mentioning that in order to facilitate the passage of infrared light emitted by the infrared lamp tube 63, the second frame 66 is provided with a through slot 67 directly below the infrared lamp tube 63. The second frame 66 is also provided with a light blocking plate 69 that can move along the plane where the through slot 67 is located, partially or completely blocking the through slot 67 to achieve control of the infrared light flux. It can not only adapt to the simulated welding of battery cells of different sizes, but also control the simulated welding of whole or half battery cells.

[0047] Please refer to Figure 9 , the unloading mechanism is arranged at the end of the conveying mechanism, including an unloading platform 8 and an unloading manipulator 7. The unloading manipulator 7 grabs the battery cell at the end of the conveying mechanism 5 and moves it to the unloading platform 8. The unloading manipulator 7 is provided with a vacuum clamp 71. The structure of the vacuum clamp 71 is the same as that of the vacuum clamp 31 and will not be repeated here. The unloading platform 8 includes an unloading plate 81, and a plurality of second limiting rods 82 located on the side of the unloading plate 81 and perpendicular to the unloading plate 81. The second limiting rods 82 and the unloading plate 81 form a receiving groove with only the upper side open, which can prevent the battery cells located inside from falling from the four sides of the unloading plate 81. It is worth mentioning that in order to adapt to battery cells of different sizes, the second limiting rods 82 can adjust their position along the plane where the unloading plate 82 is located; preferably, the four side walls of the unloading plate 81 are provided with slots for the second limiting rods 82 to extend into, which can adapt to battery cells with sizes smaller than the loading plate. In order to facilitate the collection of battery cells, the unloading plate 82 is designed to be sloped.

[0048] The control panel is used to display the detected real-time data and realize the setting of control commands through human-computer interaction.

[0049] Example 2:

[0050] This embodiment provides a method for testing a solar cell thermal infrared attenuation device, comprising the following steps:

[0051] S1, pre-test, initial test of cell performance, specifically cell efficiency;

[0052] S2, alignment, uses at least two positioning cylinders located in different directions around the battery cell to push the battery cell to the specified position to ensure the consistency of the battery cell position;

[0053] Feeding, transporting the battery cell to a preset simulated welding position;

[0054] S3, simulated welding, simulating the attenuation environment of the battery cell in the thermal infrared welding state, setting an infrared lamp tube on one side of the battery cell for heating, and setting a heating rod on the other side of the battery cell for heating; the heating time of the infrared lamp tube is adjustable from 0 to 3000ms, and the heating temperature is adjustable from 100 to 300°C; the heating temperature of the heating rod is adjustable from 50 to 200°C;

[0055] S4, final test, test the efficiency of the battery cell again.

[0056] S5, comparing the efficiency of the battery cells detected twice before and after, and calculating the attenuation of the battery efficiency.

[0057] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above and that the invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative and non-restrictive, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and it is intended that all variations that come within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims be embraced therein.

Claims

1. A solar cell thermal infrared attenuation device, characterized in that: It includes a conveying mechanism and a thermal infrared attenuation mechanism; the conveying mechanism conveys the battery cell to a preset simulated welding position; the thermal infrared attenuation mechanism is set at the simulated welding position to simulate the attenuation environment of the battery cell in the thermal infrared welding state; the thermal infrared attenuation mechanism includes an infrared lamp located on one side of the battery cell and a heating rod on the other side of the battery cell; It also includes a loading mechanism and a unloading mechanism; the loading mechanism is arranged at the head end of the conveying mechanism, including a loading platform and a loading robot, the loading robot grabs the battery cell on the loading platform and moves it to the head end of the conveying mechanism; the unloading mechanism is arranged at the end of the conveying mechanism, including a unloading platform and a unloading robot, the unloading robot grabs the battery cell at the end of the conveying mechanism and moves it to the unloading platform; A positioning mechanism is provided in the middle position between the loading platform and the head end of the conveying mechanism, and the positioning mechanism includes a positioning platform; a fixed terminal higher than the upper end surface of the positioning platform is provided on one side of the positioning platform, and positioning cylinders facing the center of the positioning platform are provided on the other three sides, and movable terminals higher than the upper end surface of the positioning platform are provided on the positioning cylinders. The movable terminals on the three sides move toward the center of the positioning platform to push the battery cell on the positioning platform to the specified position; The testing method of the cell thermal infrared attenuation device comprises the following steps: S1, pre-test, initial test of cell performance; S2, feeding, transporting the battery cell to a preset simulated welding position; S3, simulated welding, simulating the attenuation environment of the battery cell in the thermal infrared welding state; S4, final inspection, re-test the performance of the battery cell.

2. The solar cell thermal infrared attenuation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thermal infrared attenuation mechanism further includes a first lifting mechanism, and the infrared lamp is arranged on the first lifting mechanism to adjust the distance between the infrared lamp and the battery cell.

3. The solar cell thermal infrared attenuation device according to claim 2, characterized in that: A wire pressing mechanism is provided between the infrared lamp and the battery cell for fixing the battery cell during the simulated welding process. The wire pressing mechanism is provided on the first lifting mechanism.

4. The solar cell thermal infrared attenuation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The loading robot is provided with two vacuum clamps, and the horizontal distance between the two vacuum clamps is relatively fixed, and the horizontal distance is equal to the horizontal distance between the alignment platform and the head end of the conveying mechanism.

5. The solar cell thermal infrared attenuation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The loading platform is arranged on the second lifting mechanism and rises or falls with the second lifting mechanism; an in-position sensor is provided at a fixed horizontal position above the loading platform. When the in-position sensor detects that the battery cell reaches a specified height, the second lifting mechanism is controlled to stop the upward movement.

6. The solar cell thermal infrared attenuation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The simulation of the thermal infrared welding mode adopts the following method: an infrared lamp is set on one side of the battery cell for heating, and a heating rod is set on the other side of the battery cell for heating; the heating time of the infrared lamp is 0 to 3000ms, and the heating temperature is 100 to 300°C; the heating temperature of the heating rod is 50 to 200°C.

7. The solar cell thermal infrared attenuation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Before the feeding is performed in S2, the battery cells need to be aligned, and the battery cells are pushed to the specified position by at least two positioning cylinders located in different directions around the battery cells.

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