Battery string repair device

Abstract

The present invention provides a battery string repair device, comprising a feed detection mechanism, a cold soldering and wafer replacement mechanism, and a transport mechanism, wherein: the feed detection mechanism is used to detect the battery string to be repaired to determine the defects in the battery string to be repaired; the transport mechanism is used to at least transport the battery string to be repaired from the feed detection mechanism to the cold soldering and wafer replacement mechanism; the cold soldering and wafer replacement mechanism is used to replace the battery cells to be replaced in the battery string to be repaired, and to repair the cold soldering positions on the upper surface of the battery string to be repaired where the upper surface cold soldering is to be repaired on the upper side of the battery string to be repaired, and to repair the cold soldering positions on the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired where the lower surface cold soldering is to be repaired on the lower side of the battery string to be repaired. The battery string repair device of the present invention can automatically detect the defects in the battery string to be repaired, and replace the cells and perform cold soldering of the battery string to be repaired based on the detection results, thereby improving the efficiency of battery string repair.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of battery production, in particular to a battery string repair device. Background Art

[0002] A battery string is made up of several cells welded together using a soldering ribbon. During the welding or transfer process, defects such as cold solder joints and hidden cracks may appear within the string. This is particularly true for SMBB (Super Multi-Busbar) battery strings, where the grid lines on the cells are typically less than 10mm apart. The grid lines are extremely thin, so the soldering ribbons must also be very thin, making welding difficult. After welding, the probability of cold solder joints on the front and back of the battery string accounts for the highest proportion of all defects, reaching up to 38%, necessitating repair of the battery string.

[0003] Traditional repair methods primarily rely on manual work. First, the battery strings are inspected manually and with specialized testing equipment to identify defects. For defective cells that can be repaired with a solder joint, the solder joints are manually repaired. For cells with severe solder joints or hidden cracks that require replacement, the solder ribbons on both sides of the defective cell are manually cut, and a new cell is then inserted and soldered. These traditional repair methods are inefficient and impact production capacity. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the problems existing in the traditional battery string repair method, the present invention provides a battery string repair device, and its specific technical solution is as follows:

[0005] A battery string repair device includes a feed detection mechanism, a defect repair and replacement mechanism, and a transfer mechanism, wherein:

[0006] The feed detection mechanism is used to detect the battery string to be repaired to determine the defects of the battery string to be repaired;

[0007] The transfer mechanism is at least used to transfer the battery string to be repaired from the feeding and testing mechanism to the integrated repair welding and cell replacement mechanism;

[0008] The integrated mechanism for repairing cold solder joints and replacing cells is used to replace the cells in the battery string to be replaced, and to repair the cold solder joints at the upper surface of the battery string to be repaired where the upper surface cold solder joints are to be repaired on the upper side of the battery string to be repaired, and to repair the cold solder joints at the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired where the lower surface cold solder joints are to be repaired on the lower side of the battery string to be repaired.

[0009] Through the cooperation of the feed detection mechanism, the integrated mechanism for repairing and replacing cold soldering plates, and the transfer mechanism, the battery string repair device of the present invention can automatically detect the defects of the battery string to be repaired, and automatically replace the plates and perform repairing and welding on the battery string to be repaired according to the detection results. Since the integrated mechanism for repairing and replacing cold soldering plates can perform repairing and welding on the battery string to be repaired from both the upper and lower sides, there is no need to flip the battery string to be repaired, and the repairing and welding of any surface of the battery string to be repaired can be completed. It is particularly suitable for the repair of battery strings such as SMBB battery strings, which have a high frequency of cold soldering on the front and back sides. The battery string repair efficiency is high, and the production capacity can be effectively improved.

[0010] In some embodiments, the integrated mechanism for repairing the defective solder joint and replacing the cells includes a soldering station, a visual device, a cell picking and placing mechanism, a solder ribbon cutting mechanism, a solder ribbon clamping mechanism and a welding mechanism, wherein: the soldering station is used to carry the cell string to be repaired; the visual device is used to determine the position of the cell to be repaired or the defective solder joint position in the cell string to be repaired; the welding mechanism is used to repair the defective solder joint position on the upper surface and / or the defective solder joint position on the lower surface of the cell string to be repaired; the solder ribbon cutting mechanism is used to cut off the solder ribbon between the defective cell to be replaced and the adjacent cell in the cell string to be repaired; the cell picking and placing mechanism is used to remove the cut defective cell and load the replacement cell to the position vacated after the defective cell is removed, with the solder ribbon welded on the front and back of the replacement cell; the solder ribbon clamping mechanism clamps the solder ribbon on the replacement cell and the solder ribbon on the adjacent cell together in a one-to-one correspondence; and the welding mechanism welds the clamped pairs of solder ribbons together.

[0011] The invention provides an integrated mechanism for repairing soldering and changing cells with a simple structure and convenient operation. The mechanism realizes repairing soldering and changing cells of a battery string to be repaired through the cooperation of a soldering station, a visual device, a cell picking and placing mechanism, a solder ribbon cutting mechanism, a solder ribbon clamping mechanism and a welding mechanism.

[0012] In some embodiments, the battery string repair device also includes a replacement battery cell supply mechanism, which is used to supply the regularly positioned replacement battery cells. The battery cell picking and placing mechanism picks up the regularly positioned replacement battery cells from the replacement battery cell supply mechanism and loads the replacement battery cells to the position vacated after the defective battery cells are removed.

[0013] By setting up a replacement battery cell supply mechanism, automatic feeding of replacement battery cells is achieved. The replacement battery cells supplied by the replacement battery cell supply mechanism are already regularly positioned, so after being loaded to the position vacated after the defective battery cell is removed, there is no need for further regular positioning, and welding operations can be carried out directly.

[0014] In some embodiments, the welding mechanism includes a first welding mechanism arranged on the upper side of the welding platform and a second welding mechanism arranged on the lower side of the welding platform, and the visual device includes a first visual device arranged on the upper side of the welding platform and a second visual device arranged on the lower side of the welding platform, wherein: the first visual device is used to determine the position of the defective battery cell in the battery string to be repaired on the welding platform or the cold solder joint position on the upper surface of the defective battery cell, the first welding mechanism is used to repair the cold solder joint position on the upper surface of the battery string to be repaired with the cold solder joint on the upper surface to be repaired from the upper side of the welding platform, and to perform soldering of the solder strips at both ends of the replacement battery cell in the battery string to be repaired with the cell to be replaced; the second visual device is used to determine the cold solder joint position on the lower surface of the defective battery cell in the battery string to be repaired on the welding platform, and the second welding mechanism is used to repair the cold solder joint position on the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired with the cold solder joint on the lower surface to be repaired from the lower side of the welding platform.

[0015] By configuring the welding mechanism to include a first welding mechanism located on the upper side of the welding platform and a second welding mechanism located on the lower side of the welding platform, and configuring the visual device to include a first visual device located on the upper side of the welding platform and a second visual device located on the lower side of the welding platform, the integrated repair welding and wafer replacement mechanism can perform repair welding on the repaired battery string from both the upper and lower sides, thereby eliminating the need to flip the repaired battery string and enabling repair welding to be completed on any surface of the repaired battery string.

[0016] In some embodiments, the welding mechanism also includes a first flux applying mechanism and a second flux applying mechanism, wherein: the first flux applying mechanism is used to apply flux to the upper surface cold solder joint position before the solder ribbon clamping mechanism clamps the solder ribbon, or to the overlapping position of the solder ribbon between the replacement battery cell and the adjacent battery cell; the second flux applying mechanism is used to apply flux to the lower surface cold solder joint position before the solder ribbon clamping mechanism clamps the solder ribbon.

[0017] By providing the first soldering flux applying mechanism and the second soldering flux applying mechanism, automatic soldering flux application is achieved.

[0018] In some embodiments, the ribbon cutting mechanism is a laser cutting mechanism, a mechanical cutting mechanism, or an ultrasonic cutting mechanism.

[0019] Several specific welding ribbon cutting mechanisms are provided, which can achieve rapid cutting of welding ribbons and ensure cutting quality.

[0020] In some embodiments, the welding mechanism is a laser welding mechanism.

[0021] Laser welding mechanism is used to implement cell replacement welding and cold welding. Compared with traditional electromagnetic welding mechanism and infrared light box welding mechanism, laser welding has a smaller heating area and controllable temperature rise. Cold welding can be performed directly on the cold soldering pads. When changing cells, welding can be performed directly on the overlapping positions of the welding strips. The hot soldering pads and other positions of the battery cell will not be affected by heat, avoiding secondary welding, over-welding or desoldering of the soldering pads. It can also prevent the battery cell from being deformed due to excessive heat. At the same time, it can also reduce the thermal impact on the welding tooling and improve the welding quality.

[0022] In some embodiments, the soldering station includes a mounting seat, an intermediate soldering station, a first side soldering station and a second side soldering station, wherein: the intermediate soldering station is fixedly mounted on the mounting seat, the intermediate soldering station is used to carry and absorb defective battery cells in the battery string to be repaired, and the intermediate soldering station is a hollow structure; the first side soldering station is movably mounted on the mounting seat, the first side soldering station can at least absorb adjacent battery cells on the first side of the defective battery cell, the first side soldering station is configured to be able to translate toward or away from the intermediate soldering station to achieve docking and separation with the intermediate soldering station, and is configured to be able to rise and fall in the vertical direction to achieve alignment and misalignment with the intermediate soldering station; the second side soldering station is movably mounted on the mounting seat, the second side soldering station can at least absorb adjacent battery cells on the second side of the defective battery cell, the second side soldering station is configured to be able to translate toward or away from the intermediate soldering station to achieve docking and separation with the intermediate soldering station, and is configured to be able to rise and fall in the vertical direction to achieve alignment and misalignment with the intermediate soldering station.

[0023] In the initial state, the middle soldering station, the first side soldering station and the second side soldering station are connected in the horizontal direction and aligned in the vertical direction. The surfaces of the middle soldering station, the first side soldering station and the second side soldering station are connected to form a continuous horizontal soldering table. For the battery string that needs to be repaired, the battery string is placed on the horizontal soldering table, and it is ensured that the defective battery cell is adsorbed on the middle soldering station. The adjacent battery cells on both sides of the defective battery cell are respectively adsorbed on the first side soldering station and the second side soldering station, so that the repair welding operation of the defective battery cell can be performed. For the battery string that needs to be replaced, the battery string is first placed on the horizontal soldering table, and it is ensured that the defective battery cell is adsorbed on the middle soldering station. The adjacent battery cells on both sides of the defective battery cell are respectively adsorbed on the first side soldering station and the second side soldering station. Then, the first side soldering station and the second side soldering station are controlled to rise or fall, so that the first side soldering station, the second side soldering station and the middle soldering station are staggered in the vertical direction. At this time, the solder ribbon cutting mechanism can easily cut the solder ribbon between the defective battery cell and the adjacent battery cell. After the solder strip is cut, the first side soldering station and the second side soldering station are controlled to move away, and then the first side soldering station and the second side soldering station are controlled to descend or ascend to return to their original positions. The defective battery cell can be completely separated from the battery string, thereby completing the disassembly of the defective battery cell.

[0024] In some embodiments, regularization strips are provided on both sides of the soldering station, and the regularization strips are configured to be able to move toward or away from the soldering station to achieve regularization of the battery string to be repaired on the soldering station.

[0025] By setting regular strips on both sides of the soldering station, the battery string to be repaired on the soldering station can be regularized before the soldering station absorbs the battery string, thereby ensuring the welding effect of the welding mechanism.

[0026] In some embodiments, the feeding detection mechanism includes a loading EL detection mechanism, a first string inspection mechanism and a second string inspection mechanism, wherein: the loading EL detection mechanism is used to detect the cold solder joints and internal defects of the battery string to be repaired; the first string inspection mechanism and the second string inspection mechanism are respectively used to detect the appearance defects on the upper surface and the appearance defects on the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired.

[0027] By configuring the feed inspection mechanism to include a loading EL inspection mechanism, a first string inspection mechanism, and a second string inspection mechanism, it is possible to detect cold solder joints, internal defects, and visual defects on both the front and back surfaces of the battery strings undergoing repair. For SMBB battery strings, due to their very thin grid lines and solder ribbons, the probability of white spots on both the front and back surfaces after welding (where the solder ribbon deviates from the grid lines) is also very high, reaching up to 23%. Therefore, the installation of two string inspection mechanisms is particularly suitable for white spot defect detection on SMBB battery strings, ensuring complete defect detection and providing an effective basis for subsequent repairs.

[0028] In some embodiments, the feeding detection mechanism further includes a regularization mechanism disposed in front of the feeding EL detection mechanism, and the regularization mechanism is used to regularize the battery strings to be repaired.

[0029] By setting up a regularization mechanism, the regularization of the battery strings to be repaired is achieved, ensuring that the transfer mechanism can smoothly transfer the battery strings to be repaired to the loading EL detection mechanism.

[0030] In some embodiments, a manual inspection station is also provided on the feed detection mechanism, and the transfer mechanism is also used to transfer the battery string to be repaired after inspection by the feeding EL detection mechanism to the manual inspection station, so as to manually determine the orientation attributes of the cold solder joints in the battery string to be repaired, and the orientation attributes include upper surface cold solder joints and lower surface cold solder joints.

[0031] By setting up a manual inspection station, the cold soldering surface of the battery string to be repaired can be confirmed.

[0032] In some embodiments, the first string inspection mechanism or the second string inspection mechanism is also used to detect the length of the head weld ribbon of the battery string to be repaired to determine the battery string type of the repaired battery string; or, the battery string type of the repaired battery string determined manually is obtained at a manual inspection station; the battery string type includes at least a Class A battery string with a head weld ribbon length of a first length and a Class B battery string with a head weld ribbon length of a second length.

[0033] The automatic confirmation of the battery string type of the returned battery strings is realized. During the downstream discharging process, the returned battery strings can be classified and collected according to the battery string type.

[0034] In some embodiments, the transfer mechanism includes a first conveying mechanism and a second conveying mechanism, wherein: the first conveying mechanism is used to convey the battery string to be repaired to the loading EL detection mechanism, the first string inspection mechanism, the second string inspection mechanism and the manual inspection station; the second conveying mechanism is used to convey the battery string to be repaired that has completed the inspection and is waiting for repair welding and / or replacement of the wafer to the integrated repair welding and wafer replacement mechanism.

[0035] Through the cooperation of the first transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism, the transfer mechanism realizes the automatic transfer of the battery strings to be repaired between the various inspection stations and the repair stations.

[0036] In some embodiments, the battery string repair device also includes an EL discharge detection mechanism, wherein: the transfer mechanism is also used to transfer the repaired battery string self-repair and replacement integrated mechanism to the EL discharge detection mechanism; the EL discharge detection mechanism is used to detect the repaired battery string to determine the type of the repaired battery string, and the type of the repaired battery string includes at least a qualified repaired battery string and an unqualified repaired battery string; the transfer mechanism is also used to classify and discharge the repaired battery strings according to the type of the repaired battery string determined by the EL discharge detection mechanism.

[0037] By setting up an EL detection mechanism for the discharge, the repaired battery string can be inspected to determine whether the repaired battery string is qualified. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of the battery string repair device provided by the present invention at a first viewing angle;

[0039] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of the battery string repair device provided by the present invention from a second viewing angle;

[0040] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of the battery string repair device provided by the present invention from a third viewing angle;

[0041] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a soldering station provided by an embodiment of the present invention at one viewing angle;

[0042] Figures 1 to 4 Included are:

[0043] Feeding inspection mechanism 10: regularization mechanism 11, first string inspection mechanism 12, feeding EL inspection mechanism 13, second string inspection mechanism 14, manual inspection station 15;

[0044] Integrated mechanism for refilling soldering and replacing cells 20: soldering station 21, cell placement mechanism 22, soldering mechanism 23, visual device 24, regularizing strip 25, ribbon cutting mechanism 26, ribbon clamping mechanism 27, middle soldering station 211, first side soldering station 212, second side soldering station 213, first soldering mechanism 231, second soldering mechanism 232, first visual device 241, second visual device 242;

[0045] Transfer mechanism 30: first transport mechanism 31, second transport mechanism 32;

[0046] Discharge EL detection mechanism 40;

[0047] Replace the battery cell supply mechanism 50. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0049] A battery string is made up of several cells welded together using a soldering ribbon. During the welding or transfer process, defective cells may develop within the string, such as cold solder joints and hidden cracks. This is particularly true for SMBB battery strings, where the grid lines on the cells are typically less than 10mm apart. The grid lines are extremely thin, requiring the soldering ribbon to be very thin as well, making welding difficult. The probability of cold solder joints on the front and back of the battery string after welding is the highest among all defects, reaching up to 38%, necessitating repair of the battery string.

[0050] Traditional repair methods primarily rely on manual work. First, the battery strings are inspected manually and with specialized testing equipment to identify defects. For defective cells that can be repaired with a solder joint, the solder joints are manually repaired. For cells with severe solder joints or hidden cracks that require replacement, the solder ribbons on both sides of the defective cell are manually cut, and a new cell is then inserted and soldered. These traditional repair methods are inefficient and impact production capacity.

[0051] In view of this, the present invention provides a battery string repair device, which can automatically detect defects in the battery string to be repaired, and automatically replace the battery cells and perform defective soldering on the battery string to be repaired based on the detection results, thereby improving the efficiency of battery string repair.

[0052] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the battery string repair device provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes a feed detection mechanism 10, a defect soldering and wafer replacement integrated mechanism 20, and a transfer mechanism 30, wherein:

[0053] The feed detection mechanism 10 is used to detect the battery string to be repaired to determine the defects of the battery string to be repaired.

[0054] The transfer mechanism 20 is at least used to transfer the battery string to be repaired from the feeding and detecting mechanism 10 to the integrated mechanism 20 for soldering and replacing batteries.

[0055] The integrated mechanism 20 for repairing and replacing cells is used to replace the cells in the cell string to be replaced, and to repair the cold welds at the upper surface of the cell string to be repaired where the upper surface cold welds are to be repaired on the upper side of the cell string to be repaired, and to repair the cold welds at the lower surface of the cell string to be repaired where the lower surface cold welds are to be repaired on the lower side of the cell string to be repaired.

[0056] As is well known to those skilled in the art, common defects in battery strings include cold solder joints requiring repair, and damaged cells requiring replacement. Damaged cells include those with severe cold solder joints, internal defects such as hidden cracks, and chipped edges and corners, which can only be repaired by replacing new cells. Cold solder joints requiring repair can occur on either the top or bottom surface of the battery string. SMBB battery strings are particularly prone to these defects on both the top and bottom surfaces.

[0057] It should be noted that the upper surface refers to the surface of the battery string to be repaired that faces upward after it is loaded onto the feeding detection mechanism 10. This surface may be the front or the back of the battery string to be repaired. Similarly, the lower surface refers to the surface of the battery string to be repaired that faces downward after it is loaded onto the feeding detection mechanism 10. This surface may be the front or the back of the battery string to be repaired.

[0058] The battery string repair device in the embodiment of the present invention can automatically repair the above defects. Specifically:

[0059] First, the battery string to be repaired is inspected by the feed inspection mechanism 10 to determine whether the defect in the battery string to be repaired is a defect requiring replacement of the cell or a defect requiring repair of a defective weld, and to determine whether the defect requiring repair of a defective weld occurs on the upper surface or the lower back surface of the battery string.

[0060] When the defect of the battery string to be repaired is a defect requiring replacement of the wafer, the battery string to be repaired is transported to the integrated welding and wafer replacement mechanism 20 through the transport mechanism 30, and the integrated welding and wafer replacement mechanism 20 replaces the wafers of the battery string to be repaired from the upper side of the battery string to be repaired.

[0061] When the defect of the battery string to be repaired is a defect in the upper surface cold solder joint to be repaired, the battery string to be repaired is transported to the integrated cold solder joint repair and wafer replacement mechanism 20 through the transport mechanism 30, and the integrated cold solder joint repair and wafer replacement mechanism 20 repairs the upper surface cold solder joint of the battery string to be repaired from the upper side of the battery string to be repaired.

[0062] When the defect of the battery string to be repaired is a defect in the lower surface cold solder joint to be repaired, the battery string to be repaired is transported to the integrated cold solder joint repair and wafer replacement mechanism 20 through the transport mechanism 30, and the integrated cold solder joint repair and wafer replacement mechanism 20 repairs the cold solder joint on the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired from the lower side of the battery string to be repaired.

[0063] Of course, the battery string to be repaired may also have more than two defects. For example, the battery string to be repaired has both a defect of cold solder joints on the upper surface to be repaired and a defect of cold solder joints on the lower surface to be repaired. At this time, after the transfer mechanism 30 transfers the battery string to be repaired to the integrated mechanism for repairing cold solder joints and replacing wafers 20, the integrated mechanism for repairing cold solder joints and replacing wafers 20 repairs the cold solder joints on the upper and lower surfaces of the battery string to be repaired separately or simultaneously from the upper and lower sides of the battery string to be repaired.

[0064] It can be seen that through the cooperation of the feed detection mechanism 10, the integrated mechanism for repairing and replacing defects 20, and the transfer mechanism 30, the battery string repair device in the embodiment of the present invention realizes the automatic detection of defects in the battery string to be repaired, and automatically implements the replacement of defects and / or repairing defects in the battery string to be repaired according to the detection results, thereby improving the efficiency of battery string repair.

[0065] In addition, since the integrated mechanism 20 for repairing cold solder joints and replacing sheets can repair cold solder joints on the battery string to be repaired from both the upper and lower sides, the present invention does not need to flip the battery string to be repaired, and can complete the repair of cold solder joints on any surface of the battery string to be repaired. It is particularly suitable for the repair of battery strings such as SMBB battery strings, which have a high frequency of cold solder joints on the front and back sides, thereby further improving the efficiency of battery string repair.

[0066] Continue to refer Figure 1 As shown, optionally, the integrated mechanism for filling the gap and replacing the cell 20 includes a soldering station 21, a visual device 24, a cell taking and placing mechanism 22, a solder ribbon cutting mechanism 26, a solder ribbon clamping mechanism 27 and a soldering mechanism 23, wherein:

[0067] The soldering station 21 is used to carry the battery string to be repaired.

[0068] The visual device 24 is used to determine the position of the battery cell to be repaired or the cold solder joint position in the battery string to be repaired.

[0069] For the battery string to be repaired that needs to have its cold solder joints repaired, the visual device 24 first determines the cold solder joint positions in the battery string to be repaired, and the welding mechanism 23 then performs cold solder joint repairs on the upper surface cold solder joint positions and / or lower surface cold solder joint positions of the battery string to be repaired from the upper side and / or lower side of the battery string to be repaired.

[0070] For the battery string to be repaired that needs to have its cells replaced, the visual device 24 first determines the position of the defective battery cell that needs to be replaced. The solder strip cutting mechanism 26 then cuts the solder strip between the defective battery cell that needs to be replaced and the adjacent battery cell in the battery string to be repaired. The battery cell placement mechanism 22 then takes away the defective battery cell that has been cut, and loads the replacement battery cell to the position vacated after the defective battery cell is taken away, wherein the front and back of the replacement battery cell have been welded with solder strips. The solder strip clamping mechanism 27 clamps the solder strips on the replacement battery cell and the solder strips on the adjacent battery cell together in a one-to-one correspondence. When clamping, it should be ensured that the solder strips on the replacement battery cell and the solder strips on the adjacent battery cell overlap in the horizontal direction and the overlapping position is on the inner side of the battery cell. The welding mechanism 23 welds each pair of overlapping solder strips clamped together. Since the welding positions of each pair of overlapping welding strips after the cell is replaced are on the inner side of the cell, the preferred embodiment is to load the cell string to be repaired with the back side facing up, so that the welding positions of the overlapping welding strips after the cell is replaced are on the back side of the cell string, which does not affect the front appearance of the cell string.

[0071] Optionally, the welding mechanism 23 is a laser welding mechanism, and the welding strip cutting mechanism 26 is a laser cutting mechanism, a mechanical cutting mechanism or an ultrasonic cutting mechanism.

[0072] Optionally, aligning strips 25 are provided on both sides of the soldering station 21 , and the aligning strips 25 are configured to be able to move toward or away from the soldering station 21 to achieve aligning of the battery string to be repaired.

[0073] like Figure 2 As shown, optionally, the welding mechanism 23 includes a first welding mechanism 231 provided on the upper side of the welding platform 21 and a second welding mechanism 232 provided on the lower side of the welding platform 21, and the visual device 24 includes a first visual device 241 provided on the upper side of the welding platform 21 and a second visual device 242 provided on the lower side of the welding platform 21, wherein:

[0074] The first visual device 231 is used to determine the position of the defective battery cell in the battery string to be repaired on the soldering station 21 or the position of the cold solder joint on the upper surface of the defective battery cell. The first welding mechanism 241 is used to repair the cold solder joint position on the upper surface of the battery string to be repaired from the upper side of the soldering station 21, and to perform soldering of the solder strips at both ends of the replacement battery cell in the battery string to be repaired from the upper side of the soldering station 21.

[0075] The second visual device 232 is used to determine the cold solder joint position of the defective battery cell on the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired on the soldering station 21, and the second welding mechanism 242 is used to repair the cold solder joint position on the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired from the lower side of the soldering station 21.

[0076] Optionally, the welding mechanism 23 also includes a first flux applying mechanism and a second flux applying mechanism, wherein: the first flux applying mechanism is used to apply flux to the upper surface cold soldering position before the soldering ribbon clamping mechanism 27 clamps the soldering ribbon, or to the overlapping position of the soldering ribbon between the replacement battery cell and the adjacent battery cell.

[0077] The second soldering flux coating mechanism is used to coat the soldering flux to the cold solder joint position on the lower surface before the soldering ribbon clamping mechanism 27 clamps the soldering ribbon.

[0078] like Figure 4 As shown, optionally, the soldering platform 21 includes a mounting base, an intermediate soldering platform 211, a first side soldering platform 212 and a second side soldering platform 213, wherein:

[0079] The intermediate soldering station 211 is fixedly mounted on the mounting base. It is used to carry and absorb defective cells in the battery string to be repaired. The intermediate soldering station 211 has a hollow structure. The hollow structure of the intermediate soldering station 211 exposes the solder pads on the defective cells, ensuring that the second soldering mechanism 242 located below the intermediate soldering station 211 can perform repair soldering on the solder pads of the defective cells carried on the intermediate soldering station 211.

[0080] The first side soldering station 212 is movably mounted on the mounting base. The first side soldering station 212 can at least absorb the adjacent battery cell on the first side of the defective battery cell. The first side soldering station 212 is configured to be able to translate toward or away from the middle soldering station 211 to achieve docking and separation with the middle soldering station 211, and is configured to be able to rise and fall in the vertical direction to achieve alignment and misalignment with the middle soldering station 211. Figure 4 In the embodiment, the adsorption structure is provided only on the end of the first side soldering platform 212 close to the middle soldering platform 211 . Therefore, the first side soldering platform 212 can only adsorb the adjacent battery cells on the first side of the defective battery cell.

[0081] The second side soldering station 213 is movably mounted on the mounting base. The second side soldering station 213 can at least absorb the adjacent battery cell on the second side of the defective battery cell. The second side soldering station 213 is configured to be able to translate toward or away from the middle soldering station 211 to achieve docking and separation with the middle soldering station 211, and is configured to be able to rise and fall in the vertical direction to achieve alignment and misalignment with the middle soldering station 211. Figure 4In the embodiment, the adsorption structure is provided only on the end of the second side soldering platform 213 close to the middle soldering platform 211 . Therefore, the second side soldering platform 213 can only adsorb the adjacent battery cell on the second side of the defective battery cell.

[0082] In the initial state, the middle welding platform 211, the first side welding platform 212 and the second side welding platform 213 are connected in the horizontal direction and aligned in the vertical direction, that is, the surfaces of the middle welding platform 211, the first side welding platform 212 and the second side welding platform 213 are connected to form a continuous horizontal welding platform surface.

[0083] For a cell string to be repaired that requires a cold solder joint, the cell string is placed on the horizontal soldering table, ensuring that the defective cell is attached to the middle soldering table 211, and the adjacent cells on both sides of the defective cell are attached to the first side soldering table 212 and the second side soldering table 213. Next, the soldering mechanism 23 is controlled to perform a cold solder joint repair on the upper and / or lower surface of the defective cell from the upper and / or lower sides.

[0084] For the battery string to be repaired that needs to have its cells replaced, first place the battery string to be repaired on the horizontal welding table, and ensure that the defective battery cell is adsorbed on the middle welding table 211, and the adjacent battery cells on both sides of the defective battery cell are adsorbed on the first side welding table 212 and the second side welding table 213 respectively.

[0085] Next, the first side soldering station 212 and the second side soldering station 213 are controlled to rise or fall, for example, the first side soldering station 212 is controlled to rise and the second side soldering station 213 is controlled to fall, so that the first side soldering station 212, the second side soldering station 213 and the middle soldering station 211 are staggered in the vertical direction. At this time, the solder strips between the defective battery cell and the adjacent battery cells on both sides are exposed, and the solder strip cutting mechanism 26 can easily cut off the solder strips between the defective battery cell and the adjacent battery cells on both sides.

[0086] After the solder strip is cut, the first side soldering station 212 and the second side soldering station 213 are controlled to move horizontally away from the middle soldering station 211, and the first side soldering station 212 is controlled to descend and the second side soldering station 213 is controlled to rise and return to its position. The visual device confirms the position of the battery string again to ensure the subsequent translation and reset accuracy of the first side soldering station 212 and the second side soldering station 213. Then the first side soldering station 212 rises and the second side soldering station 213 descends and is staggered again.

[0087] Next, the cell placement mechanism 22 removes the defective cell from the middle soldering station 211 and places the replacement cell on the middle soldering station 211. Subsequently, the first side soldering station 212 and the second side soldering station 213 are controlled to translate and reset toward the middle soldering station 211. Then, the first side soldering station 212 is controlled to descend and the second side soldering station 213 is controlled to ascend and return to their original positions, so that the solder strips on the replacement cell are close together with the solder strips on the adjacent cell strips on both sides. Because there is a height difference between the first side soldering station 212 and the second side soldering station 213 during their translation and reset toward the middle soldering station 211, interference and collision between the solder strips of the replacement cell and the adjacent cell strips can be avoided.

[0088] Finally, the soldering ribbon clamping mechanism 27 clamps the soldering ribbon on the replacement cell and the soldering ribbon on the adjacent cell together in a one-to-one correspondence, and the welding mechanism 23 welds the clamped pairs of soldering ribbons together. At this point, the cell replacement operation for the cell string to be repaired is completed.

[0089] Optionally, the battery string repair device in the embodiment of the present invention further includes a replacement battery cell supply mechanism 50, which is used to supply replacement battery cells that are welded with solder strips and have been regularly positioned. The battery cell picking and placing mechanism 22 picks up the regularly positioned replacement battery cells from the replacement battery cell supply mechanism 50 and loads the replacement battery cells to the position vacated after the defective battery cells are removed.

[0090] Continue to refer Figures 1 to 3 As shown, optionally, the feeding detection mechanism 10 includes a first string inspection mechanism 12, a loading EL detection mechanism 13 and a second string inspection mechanism 14, wherein: the loading EL detection mechanism is used to detect the cold solder joints and internal defects of the battery string to be repaired, and the first string inspection mechanism 12 and the second string inspection mechanism 14 are used to detect the appearance defects on the upper surface and the appearance defects on the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired, respectively, so as to determine whether the battery string to be repaired is a battery string to be repaired that needs to be replaced or the cold solder joints are repaired.

[0091] If the battery string to be repaired is a battery string to be repaired that requires replacement of the chips or repair of the weld, the transfer mechanism 30 will transfer it to the integrated mechanism for repairing the weld and replacing the chips 20 to carry out the replacement of the chips or repair of the weld; if the battery string to be repaired is not a battery string to be repaired that requires replacement of the chips and repair of the weld, it does not need to be transferred to the integrated mechanism for repairing the weld and replacing the chips 20, but it is directly unloaded from the feed detection mechanism 10 and repaired by manual repair or other methods.

[0092] Optionally, the feeding detection mechanism 10 further includes a regularization mechanism 11 provided in front of the feeding EL detection mechanism 13, and the regularization mechanism 11 is used to regularize the battery strings to be repaired, thereby ensuring that the transfer mechanism 30 can smoothly transfer the battery strings to be repaired to the feeding EL detection mechanism 13. In order to make the structural arrangement more compact, as shown in FIG. Figure 1and Figure 2 As shown, the first string inspection mechanism 12 is arranged above the regularization mechanism 11, so that the upper surface of the regularized battery string to be repaired can be string inspected; the imaging device of the loading EL detection mechanism 13 and the second string inspection mechanism 14 are adjacent and arranged below the supporting platform of the loading EL detection mechanism 13, so that the EL detection and lower surface string inspection of the battery string to be repaired can be completed at one workstation.

[0093] As those skilled in the art know, EL testing can only detect cold-soldered cells in a battery string to be repaired, but cannot determine the specific surface of the battery string where the cold-soldered cells are located. Therefore, the feed inspection mechanism 10 is optionally further provided with a manual inspection station 15.

[0094] When the loading EL detection mechanism determines that the battery string to be repaired is a battery string to be repaired that needs to have its cold solder joints repaired, the transfer mechanism 30 first transfers the battery string to be repaired after being inspected by the loading EL detection mechanism 13 to the manual inspection station 15, so that the location attributes of the cold solder joints in the battery string to be repaired can be manually determined. The location attributes include upper surface cold solder joints and lower surface cold solder joints. The transfer mechanism 30 then transfers the battery string to be repaired to the integrated cold solder joint repair and wafer replacement mechanism 20. The integrated cold solder joint repair and wafer replacement mechanism 20 completes the cold solder joint repair of the upper surface cold solder joint positions and / or lower surface cold solder joint positions of the battery string to be repaired based on the manually determined location attributes of the cold solder joints.

[0095] Optionally, the first string inspection mechanism 12 or the second string inspection mechanism 13 is further used to inspect the length of the head welding ribbon of the battery string to be repaired to determine the battery string type of the repaired battery string. For example, the battery string type includes at least a Class A battery string with a head welding ribbon length of a first length and a Class B battery string with a head welding ribbon length of a second length. In this way, when the repaired battery strings are subsequently collected, more detailed classification and collection can be implemented according to the battery string type. Of course, the battery string type of the battery string to be repaired can also be determined manually at a manual inspection station.

[0096] Optionally, the transfer mechanism 30 includes a first transport mechanism 31 and a second transport mechanism 32, wherein the first transport mechanism 31 is used to transport the battery strings to be repaired to the first string inspection mechanism 12, the loading EL inspection mechanism 13, the second string inspection mechanism 14, and the manual inspection station 15. The second transport mechanism 32 is used to transport the battery strings to be repaired that have completed inspection and need to be repaired and / or need to be replaced to the integrated repair and replacement mechanism 20.

[0097] It can be seen that, through the cooperation of the first transport mechanism 31 and the second transport mechanism 32 , the transfer mechanism 30 realizes the automatic position switching of the battery string to be repaired between the various inspection stations and the repair station.

[0098] Optionally, the first transport mechanism 31 and the second transport mechanism 33 both include a mounting truss and a plurality of transport arms slidably connected to the mounting truss.

[0099] Optionally, the battery string repair device in the embodiment of the present invention further includes a discharge EL detection mechanism 40 , wherein: the transfer mechanism 30 is also used to transfer the repaired battery string self-repairing and chip replacement integrated mechanism 20 to the discharge EL detection mechanism 40 .

[0100] The discharge EL detection mechanism 40 is used to detect the repaired battery strings to determine the types of the repaired battery strings. The types of the repaired battery strings include at least qualified battery strings and unqualified battery strings.

[0101] Correspondingly, the transfer mechanism 30 is further configured to classify and discharge the returned battery strings according to the type of returned battery strings determined by the discharge EL detection mechanism 40. For example, qualified Class A battery strings are stored in Class A battery boxes, qualified Class B battery strings are stored in Class B battery boxes, and unqualified battery cells are stored in NG battery boxes.

[0102] The present invention has been described above in sufficient detail with certain particularities. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the descriptions in the embodiments are merely illustrative, and that all modifications that do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be within the scope of protection of the present invention. The scope of protection claimed in the present invention is defined by the appended claims, not by the foregoing description of the embodiments.

Claims

1. A battery string repair device, characterized in that: The battery string repair device includes a feed detection mechanism, a defect repair and replacement integrated mechanism, and a transfer mechanism, wherein: The feed detection mechanism is used to detect the battery string to be repaired to determine the defects of the battery string to be repaired; The transfer mechanism is at least used to transfer the battery string to be repaired from the feeding detection mechanism to the integrated repair welding and chip replacement mechanism; The integrated mechanism for repairing and replacing cells is used to replace the cells in the cell string to be replaced, and to repair the welds at the upper surface of the cell string to be repaired where the upper surface welds are to be repaired on the upper side of the cell string to be repaired, and to repair the welds at the lower surface of the cell string to be repaired where the lower surface welds are to be repaired on the lower side of the cell string to be repaired; The integrated mechanism for patching and replacing cells includes a soldering station, a visual device, a cell placement mechanism, a ribbon cutting mechanism, a ribbon clamping mechanism, and a soldering mechanism, wherein: The soldering station is used to carry the battery string to be repaired; The visual device is used to determine the position of the battery cell to be repaired or the cold solder joint position in the battery string to be repaired; The welding mechanism is used to repair the cold weld positions on the upper surface and / or the cold weld positions on the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired; The solder ribbon cutting mechanism is used to cut the solder ribbon between the defective cell to be replaced and the adjacent cell in the cell string to be repaired; the cell loading and unloading mechanism is used to remove the defective cell that has been cut and load the replacement cell to the position vacated after the defective cell has been removed, with the front and back sides of the replacement cell already having solder ribbons welded thereto; the solder ribbon clamping mechanism clamps the solder ribbons on the replacement cell and the solder ribbons on the adjacent cell together in a one-to-one correspondence; the welding mechanism welds the clamped pairs of solder ribbons together; The welding mechanism includes a first welding mechanism provided on the upper side of the welding platform and a second welding mechanism provided on the lower side of the welding platform, and the visual device includes a first visual device provided on the upper side of the welding platform and a second visual device provided on the lower side of the welding platform, wherein: The first visual device is used to determine the position of a defective cell in the battery string to be repaired or the position of a cold solder joint on the upper surface of a defective cell on the soldering station. The first welding mechanism is used to perform cold soldering on the upper surface of the battery string to be repaired from the upper side of the soldering station, and to perform soldering of solder strips at both ends of a replacement cell in the battery string to be repaired. The second visual device is used to determine the cold solder joint position on the lower surface of the defective battery cell in the battery string to be repaired on the soldering station, and the second welding mechanism is used to repair the cold solder joint position on the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired from the lower side of the soldering station.

2. The battery string repair device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The battery string repair device also includes a replacement battery cell supply mechanism, which is used to supply the regularly positioned replacement battery cells. The battery cell picking and placing mechanism picks up the regularly positioned replacement battery cells from the replacement battery cell supply mechanism and loads the replacement battery cells to the position vacated after the defective battery cells are removed.

3. The battery string repair device according to claim 1, wherein: The welding mechanism further comprises a first flux applying mechanism and a second flux applying mechanism, wherein: The first soldering flux applying mechanism is used to apply soldering flux to the cold solder joint position on the upper surface or to the overlapping position of the soldering ribbon between the replacement cell and the adjacent cell before the soldering ribbon clamping mechanism clamps the soldering ribbon; The second soldering flux applying mechanism is used to apply soldering flux to the cold soldering position on the lower surface before the soldering ribbon clamping mechanism clamps the soldering ribbon.

4. The battery string repair device according to claim 1, wherein: The welding strip cutting mechanism is a laser cutting mechanism, a mechanical cutting mechanism or an ultrasonic cutting mechanism.

5. The battery string repair device according to claim 1, wherein: The welding mechanism is a laser welding mechanism.

6. The battery string repair device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The soldering station includes a mounting base, a middle soldering station, a first side soldering station and a second side soldering station, wherein: The intermediate soldering station is fixedly mounted on the mounting base, and is used to carry and absorb the defective battery cell in the battery string to be repaired, and the intermediate soldering station is a hollow structure; The first side soldering platform is movably mounted on the mounting base, and the first side soldering platform is capable of at least adsorbing an adjacent battery cell on a first side of the defective battery cell. The first side soldering platform is configured to be able to translate toward or away from the middle soldering platform to achieve docking and separation with the middle soldering platform, and is configured to be able to rise and fall in a vertical direction to achieve alignment and misalignment with the middle soldering platform; The second side soldering station is movably mounted on the mounting base, and the second side soldering station can at least absorb the adjacent battery cell on the second side of the defective battery cell. The second side soldering station is configured to be able to translate toward or away from the middle soldering station to achieve docking and separation with the middle soldering station, and is configured to be able to rise and fall in the vertical direction to achieve alignment and misalignment with the middle soldering station.

7. The battery string repair device according to claim 1, wherein: There are also regularization strips on both sides of the soldering station, and the regularization strips are configured to be able to move toward or away from the soldering station to regularize the battery strings to be repaired on the soldering station.

8. The battery string repair device according to claim 1, wherein: The feeding detection mechanism includes a feeding EL detection mechanism, a first string detection mechanism and a second string detection mechanism, wherein: The loading EL detection mechanism is used to detect the cold solder joints and internal defects of the battery string to be repaired; The first string inspection mechanism and the second string inspection mechanism are used to inspect appearance defects on the upper surface and the lower surface of the battery string to be repaired, respectively.

9. The battery string repair device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The feeding detection mechanism further includes a regularization mechanism provided in front of the feeding EL detection mechanism, and the regularization mechanism is used to regularize the battery strings to be repaired.

10. The battery string repair device according to claim 8, wherein: The feeding detection mechanism is also provided with a manual inspection station, and the transfer mechanism is also used to transfer the battery string to be repaired after inspection by the feeding EL detection mechanism to the manual inspection station, so as to manually determine the orientation attributes of the cold solder joints in the battery string to be repaired, and the orientation attributes include upper surface cold solder joints and lower surface cold solder joints.

11. The battery string repair device according to claim 10, wherein: The first string inspection mechanism or the second string inspection mechanism is further used to detect the length of the head welding ribbon of the battery string to be repaired to determine the battery string type of the battery string to be repaired; or, to obtain the battery string type of the battery string to be repaired manually determined at the manual inspection station; The cell string types include at least a type A cell string having a first length of head welding ribbon and a type B cell string having a second length of head welding ribbon.

12. The battery string repair device according to claim 10, wherein: The transfer mechanism includes a first transport mechanism and a second transport mechanism, wherein: The first transport mechanism is used to transport the battery string to be repaired to the loading EL detection mechanism, the first string inspection mechanism, the second string inspection mechanism and the manual inspection station; The second transport mechanism is used to transport the battery strings that have completed inspection and are to be repaired and / or whose cells are to be replaced to the integrated repair and replacement mechanism.

13. The battery string repair device according to claim 1, wherein: The battery string repair device also includes a discharge EL detection mechanism, wherein: The transfer mechanism is also used to transfer the repaired battery string from the integrated soldering and chip replacement mechanism to the discharge EL detection mechanism; The discharge EL detection mechanism is used to detect the repaired battery string to determine the type of the repaired battery string, and the types of the repaired battery string at least include a repair-qualified battery string and a repair-unqualified battery string; The transfer mechanism is further used to classify and discharge the repaired battery strings according to the types of the repaired battery strings determined by the discharge EL detection mechanism.

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