A string welding machine and a method of string welding
By setting up a film tape traction section and a film tape attachment section in the stringing machine, the front and back films are automatically attached to the welding tape assembly, solving the problem of weak adhesion between the welding tape and the battery cells, realizing automatic stringing of battery cells, improving connection strength and reducing costs.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- WUXI AUTOWELL TECH
- Filing Date
- 2022-09-15
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-22
AI Technical Summary
In existing methods of stringing solar cells, the bonding between the solder ribbon and the solar cell is not strong, which affects the quality of the solar cell string and the photoelectric conversion efficiency, and the cost of silver paste is relatively high.
A string welding machine is used to automatically attach the front and back films to the welding strip assembly through the film strip traction section and the film strip attachment section, and form a battery string under the action of the heating section, thereby improving the connection strength between the welding strip assembly and the battery cells.
It enables automatic stringing of battery cells, improves the connection strength between the welding ribbon and the battery cells, reduces production costs, reduces the shading area, and improves photoelectric conversion efficiency.
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Figure CN115502506B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of battery manufacturing, specifically to a string welding machine and a battery string welding method. Background Technology
[0002] Traditional solar cells use grid lines to conduct the photocurrent generated inside the cell to the outside. Considering the final conductivity, the grid lines are mostly printed with silver paste. According to different printing processes, solar cells are divided into three-busbar, four-busbar, and multi-busbar types.
[0003] For the aforementioned three-busbar, four-busbar, and multi-busbar solar cells, the current method mainly involves soldering multiple solder ribbons to each busbar line of the solar cell using flux, resulting in a cell string composed of several cells connected in series, ultimately achieving the conversion of light energy into electrical energy. However, this method of obtaining cell strings by soldering ribbons to the busbar lines not only results in a large shading area, affecting photoelectric conversion efficiency, but also in high silver paste costs. To overcome these problems, crystalline silicon solar cells have emerged.
[0004] The existing method for stringing solar cells involves applying adhesive to the solar cells while stacking the solar cells and solder ribbons. Then, the stacked solar cells and solder ribbons are heated and pressed, causing the solder ribbons to adhere to the corresponding solar cells using melted adhesive, thus forming a solar cell string.
[0005] In existing methods of stringing solar cells, adhesive bonding cannot achieve a firm bond between the cells and the solder ribbon during the stacking process, thus reducing the quality of the solar cell string. Summary of the Invention
[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems, the present invention first provides a string welding machine, which adopts the following technical solution:
[0007] A string welding machine includes a welding strip feeding section, a film strip feeding section, a film strip traction section, a film strip attaching section, a welding strip cutting section, a welding strip traction section, a battery cell loading section, a conveying section, and a heating section, wherein:
[0008] The welding strip traction unit is configured to traction multiple parallel welding strips supplied by the welding strip feeding unit, so that the welding strips pass sequentially through the film tape attachment unit and the welding strip cutting unit;
[0009] The film tape traction unit is configured to traction the front film and back film supplied by the film tape feeding unit, so that the front film to be attached and the back film to be attached of a predetermined length enter the film tape attachment unit; the film tape attachment unit is used to attach the front film to be attached to the front of the welding strip and to attach the back film to be attached to the back of the welding strip, and the front film and back film attached on the welding strip are spaced apart.
[0010] The welding strip cutting section is used to cut the welding strip with the front film and the back film attached to it into welding strip assemblies. The welding strip traction section is also used to place the welding strip assemblies on the conveying section. Each welding strip assembly includes a welding strip, a front film attached to the front part of the welding strip and a back film attached to the rear part of the welding strip.
[0011] The cell loading section is used to place cells onto the conveyor section; wherein, the i-th cell is stacked on the rear part of the i-th group of welding ribbon assemblies, and the front part of the (i+1)-th group of welding ribbon assemblies is stacked on the i-th cell, where i is any natural number greater than 0.
[0012] The heating section is used to heat the stacked battery cells and solder ribbons to form a battery string.
[0013] The stringing machine provided by this invention enables the automatic stringing of battery cells that require welding strips on both sides. In particular, by setting up a film-tape traction part and a film-tape attachment part, this invention automatically attaches the front and back films to the welding strip assembly. The welding strip assembly is then used to connect the battery cells in series via the front and back films attached to it, thereby improving the connection strength between the welding strip assembly and the battery cells.
[0014] The present invention also provides another string welding machine, which adopts the following technical solution:
[0015] A string welding machine includes a welding strip feeding section, a film strip feeding section, a film strip traction section, a film strip attaching section, a welding strip cutting section, a welding strip traction section, a welding strip processing section, a battery cell loading section, a conveying section, and a heating section, wherein:
[0016] The welding strip traction unit is configured to traction multiple parallel welding strips supplied by the welding strip feeding unit, so that the welding strips pass sequentially through the film tape attaching unit and the welding strip cutting unit, and then transfer the welding strips to the welding strip processing unit.
[0017] The film tape traction unit is configured to traction the front film supplied by the film tape feeding unit, so that the front film to be attached of a predetermined length is inserted into the film tape attachment unit; the film tape attachment unit is used to attach the front film to be attached to the front side of the welding strip.
[0018] The welding strip cutting section is used to cut the welding strip with the front film attached into welding strip segments. The welding strip processing section is used to cut the welding strip segments into welding strip assemblies and perform misalignment and spacing processing on the welding strip assemblies, and place the misaligned and spacing processed welding strip assemblies on the conveying section. Each welding strip assembly includes a welding strip and a front film attached to the welding strip.
[0019] The cell loading section is used to place cell sheets onto the conveying section; wherein, the latter half of the i-th group of welding strips is stacked on the i-th cell sheet, and the former half of the i-th group of welding strips is stacked on the (i-1)-th cell sheet, where i is any natural number greater than 1 and less than N+1.
[0020] The heating section is used to heat the stacked battery cells and solder ribbons to form a battery string.
[0021] The stringing machine provided by this invention enables the automatic stringing of battery strings (IBC battery strings) that require welding strips on only one side. In particular, by setting up a film-tape traction part and a film-tape attachment part, this invention automatically attaches the front film and the back film to the welding strip assembly. The welding strip assembly is then used to string the battery cells together via the front and back films attached to it, thereby improving the connection strength between the welding strip assembly and the battery cells.
[0022] In some embodiments, the film tape attaching section includes a front film attaching mechanism and / or a back film attaching mechanism, through which the welding ribbon passes; the film tape traction section includes a front film traction mechanism and a back film traction mechanism, wherein: the front film traction mechanism is configured to traction the front film supplied by the film tape feeding section, such that the front film to be attached enters the front film attaching mechanism, and the front film attaching mechanism is configured to pick up and cut off the front film to be attached, and attach the cut front film to be attached to the front side of the welding ribbon; the back film traction mechanism is configured to traction the back film supplied by the film tape feeding section, such that the back film to be attached enters the back film attaching mechanism, and the back film attaching mechanism is configured to pick up and cut off the back film to be attached, and attach the cut back film to be attached to the back side of the welding ribbon.
[0023] By configuring the film tape attachment section and the film tape traction section, the film tape attachment section and the film tape traction section cooperate to automatically attach the front film and / or the back film to the welding strip.
[0024] In some embodiments, the front film application mechanism includes a front film adsorption component, a front film heating component, and a front film cutting component. The front film adsorption component is located above the front film heating component, and the front film cutting component is located in front of the front film adsorption component. The front film to be applied passes through the front film cutting component and enters between the front film adsorption component and the front film heating component. The front film adsorption component is configured to pick up the front film to be applied, and the front film cutting component is configured to cut off the front film to be applied picked up by the front film adsorption component. The front film adsorption component is also configured to press the front film to be applied against the front side of the solder ribbon. The front film heating component is used to heat the front film to be applied, so that the front film to be applied is attached to the front side of the solder ribbon. The back film application mechanism includes a back film adsorption component, a back film heating component, and a back film cutting component. The back film adsorption component is located below the back film heating component, and the back film cutting component is located in front of the back film adsorption component. The back film to be applied passes through the back film cutting component and enters between the back film adsorption component and the back film heating component. The back film adsorption component is configured to pick up the back film to be applied, and the back film cutting component is configured to cut off the back film to be applied picked up by the back film adsorption component. The back film adsorption component is also configured to press the back film to be applied against the back side of the solder ribbon. The back film heating component is used to heat the back film to be applied, so that the back film to be applied is attached to the back side of the solder ribbon.
[0025] By configuring the front film application mechanism to include a front film adsorption component, a front film heating component, and a front film cutting component, the front film application mechanism automatically cuts the front film to be applied and applies the cut front film to the front side of the welding ribbon. By configuring the back film application mechanism to include a back film adsorption component, a back film heating component, and a back film cutting component, the back film application mechanism automatically cuts the back film to be applied and applies the cut back film to the back side of the welding ribbon.
[0026] In some embodiments, the string welding machine further includes a front film feeding mechanism and a back film feeding mechanism; the front film feeding mechanism is located in front of the front film cutting assembly, and is used to clamp the front film after the front film to be applied is cut by the front film cutting assembly, and to push the clamped front film toward the front film traction mechanism after the front film cutting assembly cuts the front film to be applied; the back film feeding mechanism is located in front of the back film cutting assembly, and is used to clamp the back film after the back film to be applied is cut by the back film cutting assembly, and to push the clamped back film toward the back film traction mechanism after the back film cutting assembly cuts the back film to be applied.
[0027] When the front film cutting assembly cuts the current front film to be applied, the front film feeding mechanism clamps and positions the front film behind it. After the current front film is cut, it pushes the clamped front film towards the front film traction mechanism, facilitating the traction mechanism to pull the next segment of the front film to be applied between the front film adsorption assembly and the front film heating assembly. Similarly, when the back film cutting assembly cuts the current back film to be applied, the back film feeding mechanism clamps and positions the back film behind it. After the current back film is cut, it pushes the clamped back film towards the back film traction mechanism, facilitating the traction mechanism to pull the next segment of the back film to be applied between the back film adsorption assembly and the back film heating assembly.
[0028] In some embodiments, the solder strip processing unit includes a plurality of first solder strip clamping assemblies, a plurality of second solder strip clamping assemblies, a plurality of first solder strip cutters, a plurality of second solder strip cutters, and a solder strip conveying mechanism arranged along a first horizontal direction. The plurality of first solder strip clamping assemblies cooperate to clamp all odd-numbered solder strip segments from a plurality of solder strip segments. A first solder strip cutter is disposed between each adjacent first solder strip clamping assembly, and each first solder strip cutter is used to cut all odd-numbered solder strip segments at a corresponding position to obtain a plurality of sets of first solder strip assemblies. The plurality of second solder strip clamping assemblies cooperate to clamp all even-numbered solder strip segments from a plurality of solder strip segments. A second solder strip cutter is disposed between each adjacent second solder strip clamping assembly, and each second solder strip cutter is used to cut all even-numbered solder strip segments at a corresponding position to obtain a plurality of sets of second solder strip assemblies. Before all odd-numbered solder strip segments are cut, several first solder strip clamping assemblies and several second solder strip clamping assemblies are translated relative to each other in a first horizontal direction, so that all odd-numbered solder strip segments are staggered from all even-numbered solder strip segments by a predetermined distance in the first horizontal direction. After all odd-numbered solder strip segments are cut, each first solder strip clamping assembly clamps a corresponding set of first solder strip assemblies, and each first solder strip clamping assembly is also configured to separate in the first horizontal direction to separate each set of first solder strip assemblies. After all even-numbered solder strip segments are cut, each second solder strip clamping assembly clamps a corresponding set of second solder strip assemblies, and each second solder strip clamping assembly is also configured to separate in the first horizontal direction to separate each set of second solder strip assemblies. The solder strip transport mechanism is used to place the first and second solder strip assemblies, after being staggered and separated, on the conveyor section.
[0029] Through the cooperation of several first solder strip clamping assemblies, several second solder strip clamping assemblies, several first solder strip cutters, and several second solder strip cutters, the solder strip processing unit achieves the cutting of solder strip segments to obtain several solder strip assemblies, and also achieves the staggering and spacing of the solder strip assemblies. By setting up a solder strip conveying mechanism, the staggered and spaced solder strip assemblies are transported to the conveying unit.
[0030] In some embodiments, the ribbon feeding unit includes multiple ribbon rolls wound with ribbon, each ribbon roll discharging one ribbon; the film feeding unit includes a front film feeding mechanism and a back film feeding mechanism, wherein the front film feeding mechanism is configured to supply multiple front films, each front film corresponding to at least one ribbon; the back film feeding mechanism is configured to supply multiple front films, each back film corresponding to at least one ribbon.
[0031] By setting up multiple solder strip rolls, simultaneous release of multiple solder strips is achieved. Furthermore, by setting up front film feeding mechanisms and back film feeding mechanisms, feeding of both the front and back films is realized. In particular, using film strips as both the front and back films saves on the amount of front and back films used, reducing the production cost of the battery strings.
[0032] In some embodiments, the conveying unit includes a support roller group, a drive device, and a flexible conveyor belt, wherein: the drive end of the drive device is connected to the support roller group for transmission, and the drive device is used to drive the support roller group to rotate; the flexible conveyor belt includes a belt body and a flexible bearing layer, wherein the belt body is fitted on the support roller group, and the flexible bearing layer is laid on the conveying surface of the belt body.
[0033] To ensure the bonding of the solder ribbon assembly to the solar cells after heating by the heating unit, the stacked solder ribbon assembly and solar cell string need to be clamped onto the solar cells using a clamping mechanism or clamping fixture while heating. However, due to the rigidity of the film, only the front film located above the solar cell is clamped onto the solar cell during clamping, while the back film located below the solar cell is difficult to adhere firmly. By setting a flexible support layer on the conveyor belt, flexible support is achieved for the solder ribbon assembly and solar cells. Thus, when the solar cells are clamped, the flexible support layer undergoes elastic deformation under pressure, thereby pressing the back film below the solar cell onto the back of the solar cell, ultimately improving the welding quality.
[0034] In some embodiments, the flexible support layer includes a plurality of flexible strips spaced apart on the conveyor surface of the belt; or, the flexible support layer is a whole flexible strip laid on the conveyor surface of the belt.
[0035] By laying flexible strips or flexible strips on the conveyor surface of the belt, the structure of the flexible bearing layer is formed.
[0036] In some embodiments, the width of the flexible support layer is greater than or equal to the width of the battery cell and less than or equal to the width of the strip, and the flexible support layer is silicone or high-temperature resistant sponge.
[0037] By adjusting the width of the flexible support layer, the amount of flexible material used is reduced while ensuring effective support for the solar cells. Silicone or high-temperature resistant sponge have good flexibility and can generate a suitable amount of rebound force after being compressed. In addition, both materials have good high-temperature resistance.
[0038] In some embodiments, the heating element includes a mounting frame, a heating component, and a blowing mechanism. The heating component is mounted on the mounting frame and includes spaced-apart heating elements and heating rods for heating the heating elements. The blowing mechanism is mounted on the mounting frame and located above the heating component. The blowing mechanism is used to blow the heat emitted by the heating elements onto the stacked battery cells and solder ribbon assemblies.
[0039] With the help of the air blowing mechanism of the heating element, the heating unit can blow heat in a directional manner onto the stacked battery cells and solder ribbons, thereby ensuring the heating effect of the heating unit on the battery cells and solder ribbons.
[0040] In some embodiments, the heating element further includes a drive mechanism, and the mounting frame is connected to the drive end of the drive mechanism. The drive mechanism is used to drive the mounting frame to translate and / or lift.
[0041] By setting up a drive mechanism, the translation and / or lifting control of the heating element and the air blowing mechanism is realized, so that the heating element and the air blowing mechanism can reach the predetermined heating position.
[0042] In some embodiments, the mounting frame is rotatably connected to the drive end of the drive mechanism via a rotatable connector.
[0043] The mounting frame can be flipped and connected to the drive end of the drive mechanism via a rotating connector, thereby enabling the mounting frame to switch between a working position and a clearance position. When the mounting frame is flipped down to the working position, the heating element and the blowing mechanism work together to heat the battery cells and welding strip assembly; while when the mounting frame is flipped down to the clearance position, it clears other operating parts.
[0044] The present invention also provides a battery string welding method, which includes:
[0045] Front and back films are attached alternately to the front and back sides of multiple parallel solder strips.
[0046] The solder ribbon with a front film and a back film attached is cut into solder ribbon assemblies. Each solder ribbon assembly includes a solder ribbon, a front film attached to the front portion of the solder ribbon, and a back film attached to the rear portion of the solder ribbon.
[0047] The ribbon assembly and the battery cell are stacked, wherein the i-th battery cell is stacked on the upper side of the rear section of the i-th ribbon assembly, and the front section of the (i+1)-th ribbon assembly is stacked on the i-th battery cell, where i is any natural number greater than 0.
[0048] The stacked battery cells and solder ribbons are pressed together to form a battery string.
[0049] In some embodiments, front and back films are applied alternately to the front and back sides of multiple parallel solder ribbons, comprising: pulling out multiple parallel solder ribbons; adsorbing and cutting off the j-th segment of the front film to be applied at the front film adsorption station; applying the adsorbed j-th segment of the front film to the front side of the pulled solder ribbon at the front film adsorption station; adsorbing and cutting off the j-th segment of the back film to be applied at the back film adsorption station; applying the adsorbed j-th segment of the back film to the back side of the pulled solder ribbon at the back film adsorption station, wherein the front and back films applied on the solder ribbons are distributed alternately, and j is a natural number greater than 0.
[0050] The battery string welding method provided by this invention enables the automatic stringing of battery strings that require welding strips on both sides. In particular, this invention automatically attaches the front and back films to the welding strip assembly, and the welding strip assembly is ultimately used to connect the battery cells in series via the front and back films attached to it, thereby improving the connection strength between the welding strip assembly and the battery cells.
[0051] The present invention also provides another battery string welding method, which includes: attaching a front film to the front side of multiple parallel welding ribbons; cutting the welding ribbons with the attached front film into welding ribbon assemblies, each welding ribbon assembly including a welding ribbon and a front film attached to the welding ribbon; stacking the welding ribbon assemblies and battery cells, wherein the latter half of the i-th group of welding ribbon assemblies is stacked on the i-th battery cell, and the former half of the i-th group of welding ribbon assemblies is stacked on the (i-1)-th battery cell, where i is any natural number greater than 1 and less than N+1.
[0052] The battery string welding method provided by this invention enables the automatic stringing of battery strings (IBC battery strings) that require welding strips on only one side. In particular, this invention automatically attaches the front and back films to the welding strip assembly, and the welding strip assembly is ultimately used to connect the battery cells through the front and back films attached to it, thereby improving the connection strength between the welding strip assembly and the battery cells. Attached Figure Description
[0053] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the string welding machine according to an embodiment of the present invention from one perspective;
[0054] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the string welding machine according to another perspective of an embodiment of the present invention;
[0055] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the membrane tape feeding unit, membrane tape attaching unit, and membrane tape traction unit from one perspective in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0056] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the membrane tape feeding unit, membrane tape attaching unit, and membrane tape traction unit from another perspective in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0057] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A magnified view of a portion of the image;
[0058] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the front film feeding mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0059] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the conveying unit and the heating unit in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0060] Figure 8 This is a partial structural diagram of the heating section in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0061] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the welding strip processing mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0062] Figure 10 for Figure 9 A magnified view of region A in the image;
[0063] Figure 11 for Figure 9 A magnified view of region B in the image;
[0064] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of an IBC battery string structure;
[0065] Figures 1 to 12 Includes:
[0066] Membrane tape feeding section 1: front membrane feeding mechanism 11, back membrane feeding mechanism 12;
[0067] Film tape attachment part 2:
[0068] Front membrane application mechanism 21: front membrane adsorption assembly 211, front membrane heating assembly 212, front membrane cutting assembly 213, front membrane guide plate 2131, front membrane cutter 2132;
[0069] Back film application mechanism 22: back film adsorption assembly 221, back film heating assembly 222, back film cutting assembly 223, back film guide plate 2231, back film cutter 2232;
[0070] Membrane traction section 3:
[0071] Front membrane traction mechanism 31;
[0072] Back membrane traction mechanism 32;
[0073] Conveying section 4:
[0074] Support roller assembly 41;
[0075] Drive unit 42;
[0076] Flexible conveyor belt 43;
[0077] Heating section 5:
[0078] Drive mechanism 51;
[0079] Mounting frame 52;
[0080] Heating component 53;
[0081] Air blowing mechanism 54;
[0082] Front film feeding mechanism 6:
[0083] Base plate 61, sliding bracket 62, bearing plate 63, pressing drive assembly 64, pressing plate 65, feeding drive assembly 66.
[0084] Welding strip processing mechanism 7:
[0085] First strip clamping assembly 71, second strip clamping assembly 72, first strip cutter 73, second strip cutter 74, misaligned slide rail 75, first strip group spacing slide rail 76, second strip group spacing slide rail 77. Detailed Implementation
[0086] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.
[0087] In existing methods of stringing solar cells, adhesive is applied to the cells and solder ribbons during the stacking process to bond them together. However, the adhesion between the cells and solder ribbons is poor, which reduces the production quality of the solar cell strings.
[0088] To address this problem, the present invention provides a string welding machine that can automatically attach film tape to welding strips and use the welding strips with attached film tapes to weld the battery cells into strings, thereby improving the connection strength between the welding strips and the battery cells.
[0089] The string welding machine of the present invention will be described exemplarily below through two embodiments.
[0090] First Embodiment
[0091] The stringer provided in this embodiment is used to automatically string together battery cells that have grid lines on both sides.
[0092] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the string welding machine of this embodiment includes a welding strip feeding section, a film strip feeding section 1, a film strip traction section 3, a film strip attaching section 2, a welding strip cutting section, a welding strip traction section, a cell loading section, a conveying section 4, and a heating section 5, wherein:
[0093] The welding strip traction unit is configured to traction multiple parallel welding strips supplied by the welding strip feeding unit, so that the welding strips pass sequentially through the film tape attachment unit 2 and the welding strip cutting unit.
[0094] The film belt traction unit is configured to traction the front film and back film supplied by the film belt feeding unit 1, so that the front film to be attached and the back film to be attached of a predetermined length enter the film belt attachment unit 2.
[0095] The film tape attaching part 2 is used to attach the front film to be attached to the front side of the solder strip and to attach the back film to be attached to the back side of the solder strip, and to ensure that the front film and the back film attached to the solder strip are spaced apart.
[0096] The ribbon cutting section is used to cut the ribbon with the front film and the back film attached to it into ribbon assemblies, wherein each ribbon assembly includes a ribbon, a front film attached to the front portion of the ribbon and a back film attached to the rear portion of the ribbon.
[0097] The strip traction unit is also used to place the strip assembly on the conveyor unit 4.
[0098] The cell loading section is used to place cells onto the conveying section 4, wherein the i-th cell is stacked on the rear portion of the i-th group of welding ribbon assemblies, and the front portion of the (i+1)-th group of welding ribbon assemblies is stacked on the i-th cell, where i is any natural number greater than 0.
[0099] The heating section is used to heat the stacked battery cells and solder ribbons to form a battery string.
[0100] like Figures 3 to 4 As shown, the film tape attaching part 2 in this embodiment includes a front film attaching mechanism 21 and a back film attaching mechanism 22, through which the welding tape passes. The film tape traction part 3 includes a front film traction mechanism 31 and a back film traction mechanism 32. Wherein:
[0101] The front film traction mechanism 31 is configured to traction the front film supplied by the film belt feeding unit 1, so that the front film to be attached enters the front film attaching mechanism 21. The front film attaching mechanism 21 is configured to pick up and cut the front film to be attached, and attach the cut front film to the front of the welding strip.
[0102] The back film traction mechanism 32 is configured to traction the back film supplied by the film belt feeding unit 1, so that the back film to be attached enters the back film attaching mechanism 22. The back film attaching mechanism 22 is configured to pick up and cut the back film to be attached, and attach the cut back film to the back of the welding strip.
[0103] It should be noted that the front and back sides of the solder strip described in this application are only used to indicate the orientation of the front and back films relative to the solder strip, and do not refer to the actual surface of the solder strip. In practical applications, the solder strip can be a circular solder strip, a triangular solder strip, or an irregularly shaped solder strip composed of alternating circular and triangular solder strip segments.
[0104] like Figure 5 As shown, optionally, the front film application mechanism 21 includes a front film adsorption component 211, a front film heating component 212, and a front film cutting component 213. The front film adsorption component 211 is located above the front film heating component 212, and the front film cutting component 213 is located in front of the front film adsorption component 211. After the front film A is applied, it passes through the front film cutting component 213 and enters between the front film adsorption component 211 and the front film heating component 212.
[0105] The front film adsorption assembly 211 is configured to pick up the front film A to be applied, and the front film cutting assembly 213 is configured to cut the front film A to be applied picked up by the front film adsorption assembly 211. The front film adsorption assembly 211 is also configured to press the front film A to be applied against the front side of the solder ribbon C, and the front film heating assembly 212 is used to heat the front film A to be applied, so that the front film A to be applied is attached to the front side of the solder ribbon.
[0106] Similarly, the back film application mechanism 22 includes a back film adsorption component 221, a back film heating component 222, and a back film cutting component 223. The back film adsorption component 221 is located below the back film heating component 222, and the back film cutting component 223 is located in front of the back film adsorption component 221. After the back film B is applied, it passes through the back film cutting component 223 and enters between the back film adsorption component 221 and the back film heating component 222.
[0107] The back film adsorption assembly 221 is configured to pick up the back film B to be attached, the back film cutting assembly 223 is configured to cut the back film B to be attached picked up by the back film adsorption assembly 221, the back film adsorption assembly 221 is also configured to press the back film to be attached against the back side of the solder ribbon C, and the back film heating assembly 222 is used to heat the back film B to be attached, so that the back film B to be attached is attached to the back side of the solder ribbon C.
[0108] like Figure 5As shown, optionally, the front film traction mechanism 31 pulls the front film A of a predetermined length to be attached between the front film adsorption assembly 211 and the front film heating assembly 212 in the same direction as the traction direction of the welding ribbon C (as indicated by the arrow in the figure). Meanwhile, the back film traction mechanism 32 pulls the back film of a predetermined length to be attached between the back film adsorption assembly 221 and the back film heating assembly 222 in the opposite direction to the traction direction of the welding ribbon C.
[0109] Of course, the front film traction mechanism 31 can also pull the predetermined length of the front film A to be attached between the front film adsorption assembly 211 and the front film heating assembly 212 in a direction opposite to the traction direction of the solder ribbon C. Meanwhile, the back film traction mechanism 32 pulls the predetermined length of the back film to be attached between the back film adsorption assembly 221 and the back film heating assembly 222 in the same direction as the traction direction of the solder ribbon C. Alternatively, both the front film traction mechanism 31 and the back film traction mechanism 32 can pull the predetermined lengths of the front film A and the back film A to be attached, respectively, in the same or opposite directions as the traction direction of the solder ribbon C.
[0110] Optionally, the front film adsorption assembly 211 includes a first driving mechanism and a front film adsorption plate, wherein the front film adsorption plate is connected to the driving end of the first driving mechanism, the front film adsorption plate is used to adsorb the front film to be attached, and the first driving mechanism is used to drive the front film adsorption plate to move toward or away from the solder ribbon C. When the first driving mechanism drives the front film adsorption plate to move toward the solder ribbon C, the front film A to be attached, adsorbed thereon, can be stacked on the front side of the solder ribbon C.
[0111] Similarly, the back film adsorption assembly 221 includes a second driving mechanism and a back film adsorption plate. The back film adsorption plate is connected to the driving end of the second driving mechanism and is used to adsorb the back film to be attached. The second driving mechanism is used to drive the back film adsorption plate to move toward or away from the solder ribbon C. When the second driving mechanism drives the back film adsorption plate to move toward the solder ribbon C, the back film B to be attached, adsorbed thereon, can be stacked on the back side of the solder ribbon C.
[0112] Optionally, the front film heating assembly 212 includes a front film heating plate. After the front film adsorption assembly 211 places the adsorbed front film A to be attached onto the front side of the solder ribbon C, the front film heating plate heats the front film A, causing it to soften and release its adhesive force, ultimately attaching it to the front side of the solder ribbon C. Furthermore, the front film heating plate has multiple first solder ribbon guide grooves extending along the traction direction of the solder ribbon on its side surface facing the solder ribbon C, each first solder ribbon guide groove serving to guide one solder ribbon.
[0113] Similarly, the back film heating assembly 222 includes a back film heating plate. After the back film adsorption assembly 222 places the adsorbed back film B to be attached onto the back side of the solder ribbon C, the back film heating plate heats the back film B to be attached, causing the back film B to soften and release its adhesive force, ultimately attaching it to the back side of the solder ribbon C. Furthermore, the back film heating plate has multiple second solder ribbon guide grooves extending along the traction direction of the solder ribbon on its side surface facing the solder ribbon C, each second solder ribbon guide groove being used to guide one solder ribbon.
[0114] like Figure 5 As shown, optionally, the front film cutting assembly 213 includes a front film guide plate 2131 and a front film cutter 2132 located above the front film guide plate 2131. The front film guide plate 2131 is provided with a front film guide groove extending along the traction direction of the front film. The front film to be applied enters between the front film adsorption assembly 211 and the front film heating assembly 212 under the guidance of the front film guide groove. When the front film cutter 2132 descends, it aligns with the end of the front film guide plate 2131 to cut off the front film to be applied.
[0115] Similarly, the back film cutting assembly 223 includes a back film guide plate 2231 and a back film cutter 2232 located above the back film guide plate 2231. The back film guide plate 2231 is provided with a back film guide groove extending along the traction direction of the back film. The back film to be attached enters between the back film adsorption assembly 221 and the back film heating assembly 222 under the guidance of the back film guide groove. When the back film cutter 2232 descends, it aligns with the end of the back film guide plate 2231 to cut off the back film to be attached.
[0116] Optionally, the string welding machine in this embodiment further includes a front film feeding mechanism located before the front film cutting assembly 213, and a back film feeding mechanism located before the back film cutting assembly 223. Wherein:
[0117] The front film feeding mechanism is used to clamp the front film after the front film A is cut by the front film cutting assembly 213, and to push the clamped front film toward the front film traction mechanism 31 after the front film cutting assembly 213 cuts the front film A.
[0118] As can be seen, by setting up a front film feeding mechanism, when the front film cutting component 213 cuts the current front film to be applied, the front film feeding mechanism can clamp and position the rear front film, preventing the rear front film from retracting or falling when the current front film to be applied is cut. After the current front film to be applied is cut, the front film feeding mechanism can push the clamped front film towards the front film traction mechanism 31, making it convenient for the front film traction mechanism 31 to clamp the next section of the front film to be applied from the front film feeding mechanism and pull the next section of the front film to be applied between the front film adsorption component 211 and the front film heating component 212.
[0119] The back film feeding mechanism is used to cut the back film B to be attached from the back film cutting assembly 223, clamp the back film after the back film B is attached, and push the clamped back film toward the back film traction mechanism 32 after the back film cutting assembly 223 cuts the back film to be attached.
[0120] As can be seen, through the back film feeding mechanism, when the back film cutting component 223 cuts off the current back film to be applied, the back film feeding mechanism can clamp and position the back film on the rear side, preventing the back film on the rear side from retracting or falling off when the current back film to be applied is cut off. After the current back film to be applied is cut, the back film feeding mechanism can push the clamped back film towards the back film traction mechanism 32, so that the back film traction mechanism 32 can clamp the next section of the back film to be applied from the back film feeding mechanism and pull the next section of the back film to be applied between the back film adsorption component 221 and the back film heating component 222.
[0121] Optionally, the front film feeding mechanism and the back film feeding mechanism in this embodiment have the same structure. Taking the front film feeding mechanism as an example, for instance... Figure 6 As shown, the front film feeding mechanism 6 includes a base plate 61, a sliding bracket 62, a bearing plate 63, a pressing drive assembly 64, a pressing plate 65, and a feeding drive assembly 66.
[0122] The base plate 61 is provided with a slide rail extending along the traction direction of the front membrane.
[0123] The sliding bracket 62 is slidably connected to the slide rail.
[0124] The bearing plate 63 is fixedly connected to the upper end of the sliding bracket 62.
[0125] The clamping drive assembly 64 is mounted on the sliding bracket 62. The clamping plate 65 is connected to the drive end of the clamping drive assembly 64 and is located below the support plate 63. The clamping drive assembly 64 is used to drive the clamping plate 65 to rise and fall.
[0126] The feed drive assembly 66 is mounted on the base plate 61. The drive end of the feed drive assembly 66 is connected to the sliding bracket 62. The feed drive assembly 66 is used to drive the sliding bracket 62 to slide along the slide rail.
[0127] To ensure that the solder ribbon assembly can adhere to the battery cell after being heated by the heating unit 5, the heating unit 5 needs to clamp the stacked solder ribbon assembly and battery string onto the battery cell using a clamping mechanism or clamping fixture when heating them. However, due to the certain rigidity of the film, when clamping the battery cell, only the front film located above the battery cell can be clamped onto the battery cell, while the back film located below the battery cell is difficult to adhere to the battery cell.
[0128] To solve this problem, this embodiment improves the conveying unit 4, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the conveying unit 4 includes a support roller assembly 41, a drive device 42, and a flexible conveyor belt 43. The drive end of the drive device 42 is connected to the support roller assembly 41, and the drive device 43 drives the support roller assembly 41 to rotate, thereby driving the flexible conveyor belt 43 to convey materials. The flexible conveyor belt 43 includes a belt body 431 and a flexible bearing layer 432. The belt body 431 is fitted onto the support roller assembly 41, and the flexible bearing layer 432 is laid on the conveying surface of the belt body 431.
[0129] By incorporating a flexible support layer on the conveyor belt, flexible support for the welding strip assembly and the battery cells is achieved. Thus, when the battery cells are pressed down from above, the flexible support layer 432 undergoes elastic deformation under pressure, and the resulting rebound force presses the back film beneath the battery cell against the back of the battery cell, thereby ensuring welding quality. Optionally, the flexible support layer 432 comprises several flexible strips spaced apart on the conveyor surface of the belt; or, the flexible support layer 432 is a single flexible strip laid across the entire conveyor surface of the belt 431.
[0130] Optionally, the width of the flexible support layer 432 is greater than or equal to the width of the battery cell and less than or equal to the width of the strip 431. The flexible support layer 432 is made of silicone or high-temperature resistant sponge.
[0131] like Figure 7 As shown, optionally, the heating unit 5 includes a mounting frame 51, a heating element 52, and an air blowing mechanism 53. The heating element 52 is mounted on the mounting frame 51 and includes spaced-apart heating elements and heating rods for heating the heating elements. The air blowing mechanism 53 is mounted on the mounting frame 51 and located above the heating element 52. The air blowing mechanism 53 is used to blow the heat emitted by the heating elements onto the stacked battery cells and solder ribbon assemblies.
[0132] Optionally, the heating unit 5 may also include a drive mechanism 54, with the mounting frame 51 connected to the drive end of the drive mechanism 54. The drive mechanism 54 is used to drive the mounting frame 51 to translate and / or lift, thereby enabling the heating component 52 and the blowing mechanism 53 to move to a predetermined heating position.
[0133] Optionally, the mounting frame 51 is rotatably connected to the drive end of the drive mechanism 51 via hinges, pivots, or other rotating connectors, thereby enabling the mounting frame 51 to switch between a working position and a clearance position. When the mounting frame 51 is flipped down to the working position, the heating element 52 and the air blowing mechanism 53 work together to heat the battery cells and solder ribbon assembly. When the mounting frame 51 is flipped down to the clearance position, it clears way for other operating components.
[0134] As mentioned above, the welding strip traction mechanism pulls out multiple parallel welding strips. To achieve feeding multiple parallel welding strips, the string welding machine in this embodiment may optionally include a welding strip feeding mechanism, which includes multiple welding strip rolls wound with welding strips, each roll releasing one welding strip. The welding strip traction mechanism simultaneously pulls out multiple parallel welding strips from multiple welding strip rolls. For example, the clamps of the welding strip traction mechanism are equipped with multiple gripper pieces corresponding one-to-one with the multiple welding strip rolls, each gripper piece being used to clamp and pull the welding strip released from the corresponding welding strip roll.
[0135] To save membrane resources and reduce the production cost of battery strings, this embodiment optionally uses strip-shaped membrane strips to bond the solder strips to the battery cells.
[0136] To achieve this goal, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, optionally, in this embodiment, the film feeding mechanism 1 includes a front film feeding mechanism 11 and a back film feeding mechanism 12, wherein: the front film feeding mechanism 11 is configured to supply multiple front films, each front film being correspondingly attached to a welding strip. Of course, if the spacing between the welding strips is small, each front film can also be correspondingly attached to two or more welding strips. Similarly, the back film feeding mechanism 12 is configured to supply multiple back films, each back film being correspondingly attached to a welding strip. Of course, if the spacing between the welding strips is small, each back film can also be correspondingly attached to two or more welding strips.
[0137] Second Embodiment
[0138] The stringer provided in this embodiment is used to automatically string together battery cells that have grid lines on only one side, i.e., to produce IBC battery strings.
[0139] The string welding machine in this embodiment has a structure and working process that are basically the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, the following text will focus on describing the differences between this embodiment and the first embodiment. For the other identical parts, please refer to the corresponding content in the first embodiment.
[0140] For ease of description, when introducing the structure and working process of the string welding machine in this embodiment, the relevant figures and reference numerals in the first embodiment will be used as long as there is no contradiction.
[0141] like Figure 1 As shown, the string welding machine of this embodiment includes a welding strip feeding unit, a film strip feeding unit 1, a film strip traction unit 3, a film strip attaching unit 2, a welding strip cutting unit, a welding strip traction unit, a welding strip processing unit, a cell loading unit, a conveying unit 4, and a heating unit 5, wherein:
[0142] The welding strip traction unit is configured to traction multiple parallel welding strips supplied by the welding strip feeding unit, so that the welding strips pass sequentially through the film tape attaching unit 2 and the welding strip cutting unit, and are then transferred to the welding strip processing unit.
[0143] The film belt traction unit is configured to traction the front film supplied by the film belt feeding unit 1, so that the front film to be attached of a predetermined length is inserted into the film belt attachment unit 2.
[0144] The film tape attaching part 2 is used to attach the front film to be attached to the front side of the welding strip;
[0145] The solder strip cutting section is used to cut the solder strip with the front film attached into solder strip segments, and the solder strip processing section is used to cut the solder strip segments into solder strip assemblies and perform misalignment and spacing processing on the solder strip assemblies. Each solder strip assembly includes a solder strip and a front film attached to the solder strip.
[0146] The ribbon handling section is also used to place the spaced ribbon assemblies onto the conveyor section 4.
[0147] The cell loading section is used to place cell sheets onto the conveying section 4, wherein the latter half of the i-th group of welding ribbon assemblies is stacked on the i-th cell sheet, and the former half of the i-th group of welding ribbon assemblies is stacked on the (i-1)-th cell sheet, where i is any natural number greater than 1 and less than N+1.
[0148] The heating section 5 is used to heat the stacked battery cells and solder ribbon assemblies to form a battery string.
[0149] As can be seen, in this embodiment, the solder strip cutting unit performs a first cut on the solder strip with the front film attached, thereby obtaining a longer solder strip segment with multiple front films attached at intervals. Then, the solder strip processing mechanism cuts the solder strip segment into solder strip assemblies. In the first embodiment, the solder strip cutting unit directly cuts the solder strip with the front and back films attached into solder strip assemblies.
[0150] In addition, the ribbon processing mechanism also completes the misalignment and spacing of the ribbon components. In this way, the ribbon processing mechanism can lay all the ribbon components onto the already laid-out solar cells in one go, thereby significantly improving the production efficiency of IBC solar cell strings.
[0151] In this embodiment, the film tape only needs to be attached to one surface of the solder ribbon. Therefore, the film tape attachment part in this embodiment only includes the front film tape attachment mechanism 21 or the back film tape attachment mechanism 22. The solder ribbon passes through the front film tape attachment mechanism 21 or the back film tape attachment mechanism 22 under the traction of the solder ribbon traction mechanism.
[0152] For the specific structure of the front film traction film application group 21 or the back film application mechanism 22 in this embodiment, as well as the specific film application process, please refer to the relevant description in the first embodiment above. This specification will not repeat it here.
[0153] Correspondingly, in this embodiment, the film belt feeding unit 1 only includes a front film feeding mechanism 11 or a back film feeding mechanism 12, and the film belt traction unit 3 only includes a front film traction mechanism 31 or a back film traction mechanism 32. Furthermore, this embodiment only requires one of the front film pushing mechanism and the back film feeding mechanism. Similarly, the specific structure and working process of these components are described in the first embodiment above, and will not be repeated here.
[0154] like Figure 12 As shown, the IBC battery string is assembled as follows: N (four in the figure) battery cells 200 are laid out sequentially with their backs facing up, and the electrode arrays of adjacent battery cells on the same straight line have opposite polarities. N+1 (five in the figure) solder ribbon groups are used to weld the N battery cells 200 into a string, wherein the first solder ribbon group (the 1st, 3rd, and 5th solder ribbon groups in the figure) and the second solder ribbon group (the 2nd and 4th solder ribbon groups in the figure) are laid out alternately.
[0155] In the traditional IBC battery string welding process, in order to achieve staggered placement of the first and second solder strip groups, it is necessary to alternately pull and acquire the first and second solder strip groups, and then lay them alternately onto the battery cells. This process results in low solder strip handling efficiency, ultimately affecting the production efficiency of the battery strings.
[0156] The string welding machine in this embodiment is equipped with a ribbon processing unit, which can perform misalignment and spacing processing on the ribbon assemblies. Specifically, as shown... Figures 9 to 11 As shown, the solder strip processing unit 7 in this embodiment includes a plurality of first solder strip clamping assemblies 71, a plurality of second solder strip clamping assemblies 72, a plurality of first solder strip cutters 73, a plurality of second solder strip cutters 74, and a solder strip conveying mechanism arranged along a first horizontal direction (X-axis direction in the figure).
[0157] The welding strip traction unit pulls multiple welding strip segments obtained by the welding strip cutting unit along the first horizontal direction to the welding strip processing unit.
[0158] Several first solder strip clamping assemblies 71 cooperate to clamp all the odd-numbered solder strip segments of multiple solder strip segments. A first solder strip cutter 73 is provided between each adjacent first solder strip clamping assembly 71. Each first solder strip cutter 73 is used to cut all the odd-numbered solder strip segments at the corresponding position to obtain several sets of first solder strip assemblies.
[0159] Several second strip clamping assemblies 72 cooperate to clamp all even-numbered strip segments of multiple strip segments. A second strip cutter 74 is provided between each adjacent second strip clamping assembly 72. Each second strip cutter 74 is used to cut all even-numbered strip segments at the corresponding position to obtain several sets of second strip assemblies.
[0160] Before all the odd-numbered solder strip segments are cut, a number of first solder strip clamping assemblies 71 and a number of second solder strip clamping assemblies 72 are translated relative to each other in the first horizontal direction so that all the odd-numbered solder strip segments are staggered from all the even-numbered solder strip segments in the first horizontal direction by a predetermined distance.
[0161] After all the odd-numbered solder strip segments are cut, each first solder strip clamping assembly 71 clamps a corresponding set of first solder strip assemblies. Each first solder strip clamping assembly 71 is also configured to separate in a first horizontal direction to implement the spacing of each set of first solder strip assemblies.
[0162] After all even-numbered solder strip segments are cut, each second solder strip clamping assembly 72 clamps a corresponding set of second solder strip assemblies. Each second solder strip clamping assembly 72 is also configured to separate in a first horizontal direction to implement the spacing of each set of second solder strip assemblies.
[0163] Finally, the welding strip handling mechanism will transport and stack all the first welding strip assemblies and second welding strip assemblies, after misalignment and spacing, onto the battery cells that have been laid on the conveyor section 4 in one go.
[0164] Optionally, both the first solder strip clamping assembly 71 and the second solder strip clamping assembly 72 include multiple clamping claws arranged side by side along a second horizontal direction, each clamping claw being used to clamp one solder strip. The second horizontal direction is perpendicular to the first horizontal direction.
[0165] like Figures 9 to 11 As shown, optionally, the solder strip processing mechanism further includes a base and a staggered slide rail 75 extending along a first horizontal direction, a first solder strip group spacing slide rail 76, and a second solder strip group spacing slide rail 77, wherein:
[0166] The misaligned slide rail 75 is mounted on the base, and the first strip group spacing slide rail 76 is slidably connected to the misaligned slide rail 75. The first strip clamping assembly 71 and the first strip cutter 73 are both connected to the first strip group spacing slide rail 76.
[0167] The second strip group spacing slide rail 77 is mounted on the base, and the second strip clamping assembly 72 and the second strip cutter 74 are both connected to the second strip group spacing slide rail 77.
[0168] Before all odd-numbered weld strip segments are cut, the first weld strip group is controlled to slide along the offset slide rail 75 from the offset slide rail 76, so that all odd-numbered weld strip segments are offset from all even-numbered weld strip segments in the first horizontal direction by a predetermined distance.
[0169] After all the odd-numbered solder strips are cut, the first solder strip clamping assembly 71 and the first solder strip cutter 73 are controlled to slide apart along the first solder strip group spacing slide rail 76, thereby adjusting the spacing between the first solder strip assemblies to a predetermined spacing.
[0170] After all even-numbered solder strips are cut, the second solder strip clamping assembly 72 and the second solder strip cutter 74 are controlled to slide apart along the second solder strip group spacing slide rail 77, thereby adjusting the spacing between the second solder strip assemblies to a predetermined spacing.
[0171] The present invention also provides a battery string welding method, which can automatically attach film tape to welding strips and use welding strips with attached film tapes to weld battery cells into strings, thereby improving the connection strength between welding strips and battery cells.
[0172] The battery string welding method of the present invention will be described exemplarily below through two embodiments.
[0173] Third Embodiment
[0174] The battery string welding method provided in this embodiment is used to automatically string together battery cells that have grid lines on both sides.
[0175] The battery string welding method provided in this embodiment can be implemented by the string welding machine and the corresponding control program of the first embodiment described above.
[0176] The battery string welding method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps:
[0177] S100, Front and back films are attached alternately to the front and back of multiple parallel solder strips.
[0178] S200, Cut the solder ribbon with the front film and the back film attached to it into solder ribbon assemblies, each solder ribbon assembly including the solder ribbon, the front film attached to the front part of the solder ribbon and the back film attached to the rear part of the solder ribbon.
[0179] S300. Stack the ribbon assembly and the battery cell, wherein the i-th battery cell is stacked on the upper side of the rear section of the i-th group of ribbon assemblies, and the front section of the (i+1)-th group of ribbon assemblies is stacked on the i-th battery cell, where i is any natural number greater than 0.
[0180] S400: Press the stacked battery cells and ribbon assemblies together to form a battery string.
[0181] Optionally, step S100 includes the following sub-steps:
[0182] S101, pull out multiple parallel welding strips.
[0183] S102. At the front film adsorption station, the j-th segment of the front film to be attached is adsorbed and cut off. At the front film adsorption station, the adsorbed j-th segment of the front film is attached to the front of the pulled-out welding strip.
[0184] S103. At the back film adsorption station, the j-th segment of the back film to be attached is adsorbed and cut off. At the back film adsorption station, the adsorbed j-th segment of the back film is attached to the back of the pulled-out welding strip. The front film and back film attached to the welding strip are distributed alternately, and j is a natural number greater than 0.
[0185] Steps S102 and S103 can be executed sequentially or simultaneously.
[0186] Fourth embodiment
[0187] The battery string welding method provided in this embodiment is used to automatically string together battery cells that have grid lines on only one side, i.e., for the production of IBC battery strings.
[0188] The battery string welding method provided in this embodiment can be implemented by the string welding machine and the corresponding control program of the second embodiment described above.
[0189] The battery string welding method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps:
[0190] S100', A front film is attached to the front side of multiple parallel solder strips.
[0191] S200' Cut the solder ribbon with the front film attached into solder ribbon assemblies, each solder ribbon assembly including the solder ribbon and the front film attached to the solder ribbon.
[0192] S300': Stack the ribbon assembly and the battery cell, wherein the latter half of the i-th ribbon group is stacked on the i-th battery cell, and the first half of the i-th ribbon group is stacked on the (i-1)-th battery cell, where i is any natural number greater than 1 and less than N+1.
[0193] The present invention has been described above in sufficient detail and with certain specificities. Those skilled in the art should understand that the descriptions in the embodiments are merely exemplary, and all changes made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention should fall within the protection scope of the invention. The scope of protection claimed by the present invention is defined by the claims, and not by the above descriptions in the embodiments.
Claims
1. A string welding machine, characterized in that, The string welding machine includes a welding strip feeding section, a film strip feeding section, a film strip traction section, a film strip attaching section, a welding strip cutting section, a welding strip traction section, a cell loading section, a conveying section, and a heating section, wherein: The welding strip traction unit is configured to traction multiple parallel welding strips supplied by the welding strip feeding unit, so that the welding strips pass sequentially through the film tape attachment unit and the welding strip cutting unit; The film tape traction unit is configured to traction the front film and back film supplied by the film tape feeding unit, so that the front film to be attached and the back film to be attached of a predetermined length enter the film tape attachment unit; the film tape attachment unit is used to attach the front film to be attached to the front of the welding strip and to attach the back film to be attached to the back of the welding strip, wherein the front film and back film attached on the welding strip are spaced apart; The welding strip cutting section is used to cut the welding strip with the front film and the back film attached to it into welding strip assemblies. The welding strip traction section is also used to place the welding strip assembly on the conveying section. Each welding strip assembly includes a welding strip, a front film attached to the front portion of the welding strip, and a back film attached to the rear portion of the welding strip. The battery cell loading section is used to place battery cells onto the conveying section; wherein, the i-th battery cell is stacked on the rear section of the i-th group of welding ribbon assemblies, and the front section of the (i+1)-th group of welding ribbon assemblies is stacked on the i-th battery cell, where i is any natural number greater than 0. The heating section is used to heat the stacked battery cells and solder ribbon assembly to form a battery string; The film tape attachment part includes a front film attaching mechanism and a back film attaching mechanism, and the welding tape passes through the front film attaching mechanism and the back film attaching mechanism; The membrane belt traction unit includes a front membrane traction mechanism and a back membrane traction mechanism, wherein: The front film traction mechanism is configured to traction the front film supplied by the film tape feeding unit, so that the front film to be attached enters the front film attaching mechanism. The front film attaching mechanism is configured to pick up and cut the front film to be attached, and attach the cut front film to the front of the welding strip. The back film traction mechanism is configured to traction the back film supplied by the film tape feeding unit, so that the back film to be attached enters the back film attaching mechanism. The back film attaching mechanism is configured to pick up and cut the back film to be attached, and attach the cut back film to the back of the welding strip. The front film application mechanism includes a front film adsorption component, a front film heating component, and a front film cutting component. The front film adsorption component is located above the front film heating component, and the front film cutting component is located in front of the front film adsorption component. The front film to be applied passes through the front film cutting component and enters between the front film adsorption component and the front film heating component. The front film adsorption assembly is configured to pick up the front film to be attached, the front film cutting assembly is configured to cut the front film to be attached picked up by the front film adsorption assembly, the front film adsorption assembly is further configured to press the front film to be attached against the front side of the solder ribbon, and the front film heating assembly is used to heat the front film to be attached, so that the front film to be attached is attached to the front side of the solder ribbon. The back film application mechanism includes a back film adsorption component, a back film heating component, and a back film cutting component. The back film adsorption component is located below the back film heating component, and the back film cutting component is located in front of the back film adsorption component. The back film to be applied passes through the back film cutting component and enters between the back film adsorption component and the back film heating component. The back film adsorption assembly is configured to pick up the back film to be attached, the back film cutting assembly is configured to cut the back film to be attached picked up by the back film adsorption assembly, the back film adsorption assembly is further configured to press the back film to be attached against the back side of the solder ribbon, and the back film heating assembly is used to heat the back film to be attached, so that the back film to be attached is attached to the back side of the solder ribbon. The conveying section includes a support roller assembly, a drive unit, and a flexible conveyor belt, wherein: The drive end of the drive device is connected to the support roller group for transmission, and the drive device is used to drive the support roller group to rotate; The flexible conveyor belt includes a belt body and a flexible bearing layer, wherein the belt body is fitted onto the support roller assembly, and the flexible bearing layer is laid on the conveying surface of the belt body.
2. A string welding machine, characterized in that, The string welding machine includes a welding strip feeding section, a film strip feeding section, a film strip traction section, a film strip attaching section, a welding strip cutting section, a welding strip traction section, a welding strip processing section, a battery cell loading section, a conveying section, and a heating section, wherein: The welding strip traction unit is configured to traction multiple parallel welding strips supplied by the welding strip feeding unit, so that the welding strips pass sequentially through the film tape attaching unit and the welding strip cutting unit, and are then transferred to the welding strip processing unit. The film tape traction unit is configured to traction the front film supplied by the film tape feeding unit, so that the front film to be attached of a predetermined length is inserted into the film tape attachment unit; the film tape attachment unit is used to attach the front film to be attached to the front side of the welding strip. The welding strip cutting section is used to cut the welding strip with the front film attached into welding strip segments. The welding strip processing section is used to cut the welding strip segments into welding strip assemblies, and to perform misalignment and spacing processing on the welding strip assemblies, and to place the misaligned and spacing processed welding strip assemblies on the conveying section. Each welding strip assembly includes a welding strip and a front film attached to the welding strip. The battery cell loading section is used to place battery cells onto the conveying section; wherein, the latter half of the i-th group of welding ribbon assemblies is stacked on the i-th battery cell, and the former half of the i-th group of welding ribbon assemblies is stacked on the (i-1)-th battery cell, where i is any natural number greater than 1 and less than N+1. The heating section is used to heat the stacked battery cells and solder ribbon assembly to form a battery string; The film tape attachment part includes a front film attaching mechanism or a back film attaching mechanism, and the welding tape passes through the front film attaching mechanism or the back film attaching mechanism; The membrane belt traction unit includes a front membrane traction mechanism or a back membrane traction mechanism, wherein: The front film traction mechanism is configured to traction the front film supplied by the film tape feeding unit, so that the front film to be attached enters the front film attaching mechanism. The front film attaching mechanism is configured to pick up and cut the front film to be attached, and attach the cut front film to the front of the welding strip. The back film traction mechanism is configured to traction the back film supplied by the film tape feeding unit, so that the back film to be attached enters the back film attaching mechanism. The back film attaching mechanism is configured to pick up and cut the back film to be attached, and attach the cut back film to the back of the welding tape. The front film application mechanism includes a front film adsorption component, a front film heating component, and a front film cutting component. The front film adsorption component is located above the front film heating component, and the front film cutting component is located in front of the front film adsorption component. The front film to be applied passes through the front film cutting component and enters between the front film adsorption component and the front film heating component. The front film adsorption assembly is configured to pick up the front film to be attached, the front film cutting assembly is configured to cut the front film to be attached picked up by the front film adsorption assembly, the front film adsorption assembly is further configured to press the front film to be attached against the front side of the solder ribbon, and the front film heating assembly is used to heat the front film to be attached, so that the front film to be attached is attached to the front side of the solder ribbon. The back film application mechanism includes a back film adsorption component, a back film heating component, and a back film cutting component. The back film adsorption component is located below the back film heating component, and the back film cutting component is located in front of the back film adsorption component. The back film to be applied passes through the back film cutting component and enters between the back film adsorption component and the back film heating component. The back film adsorption assembly is configured to pick up the back film to be attached, the back film cutting assembly is configured to cut the back film to be attached picked up by the back film adsorption assembly, the back film adsorption assembly is further configured to press the back film to be attached against the back side of the solder ribbon, and the back film heating assembly is used to heat the back film to be attached, so that the back film to be attached is attached to the back side of the solder ribbon. The conveying section includes a support roller assembly, a drive unit, and a flexible conveyor belt, wherein: The drive end of the drive device is connected to the support roller group for transmission, and the drive device is used to drive the support roller group to rotate; The flexible conveyor belt includes a belt body and a flexible bearing layer, wherein the belt body is fitted onto the support roller assembly, and the flexible bearing layer is laid on the conveying surface of the belt body.
3. The string welding machine as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The string welding machine also includes a front film feeding mechanism and / or a back film feeding mechanism; The front film feeding mechanism is located in front of the front film cutting assembly. The front film feeding mechanism is used to clamp the front film after the front film to be attached is cut off by the front film cutting assembly, and to push the clamped front film toward the front film traction mechanism after the front film cutting assembly cuts off the front film to be attached. The back film feeding mechanism is located in front of the back film cutting assembly. The back film feeding mechanism is used to clamp the back film after the back film to be attached is cut off by the back film cutting assembly, and to push the clamped back film toward the back film traction mechanism after the back film cutting assembly cuts off the back film to be attached.
4. The string welding machine as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The solder strip processing unit includes a plurality of first solder strip clamping assemblies, a plurality of second solder strip clamping assemblies, a plurality of first solder strip cutters, a plurality of second solder strip cutters, and a solder strip conveying mechanism arranged along a first horizontal direction, wherein: Several first solder strip clamping assemblies cooperate to clamp all the odd-numbered solder strip segments of multiple solder strip segments. A first solder strip cutter is provided between each adjacent first solder strip clamping assembly. Each first solder strip cutter is used to cut all the odd-numbered solder strip segments at the corresponding position to obtain several sets of first solder strip assemblies. Several second strip clamping assemblies cooperate to clamp all even-numbered strip segments of multiple strip segments. A second strip cutter is provided between each adjacent second strip clamping assembly. Each second strip cutter is used to cut all even-numbered strip segments at the corresponding position to obtain several sets of second strip assemblies. Before all odd-numbered solder strip segments are cut, a number of first solder strip clamping assemblies and a number of second solder strip clamping assemblies are translated relative to each other in the first horizontal direction so that all odd-numbered solder strip segments are staggered from all even-numbered solder strip segments in the first horizontal direction by a predetermined distance. After all the odd-numbered solder strip segments are cut, each first solder strip clamping assembly clamps a corresponding set of first solder strip assemblies. Each first solder strip clamping assembly is also configured to separate in a first horizontal direction to implement the spacing of each set of first solder strip assemblies. After all even-numbered solder strip segments are cut, each second solder strip clamping assembly clamps a corresponding set of second solder strip assemblies. Each second solder strip clamping assembly is also configured to separate in a first horizontal direction to implement the spacing of each set of second solder strip assemblies. The welding strip handling mechanism is used to place the first welding strip assembly and the second welding strip assembly, after misalignment and spacing, on the conveying section.
5. The string welding machine as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The welding strip feeding section includes multiple welding strip rolls wound with welding strip, and each welding strip roll releases one welding strip; The film feeding unit includes a front film feeding mechanism and / or a back film feeding mechanism, wherein the front film feeding mechanism is configured to supply multiple front films, each front film corresponding to at least one welding strip; and the back film feeding mechanism is configured to supply multiple back films, each back film corresponding to at least one welding strip.
6. The string welding machine as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The flexible support layer includes a plurality of flexible strips spaced apart on the conveyor surface of the belt; or... The flexible bearing layer is a full-surface flexible belt laid on the conveyor surface of the belt body.
7. The string welding machine as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The width of the flexible support layer is greater than or equal to the width of the battery cell and less than or equal to the width of the strip. The flexible support layer is made of silicone or high-temperature resistant sponge.
8. The string welding machine as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The heating element includes a mounting frame, a heating component, and an air blowing mechanism, wherein... The heating element is mounted on the mounting frame, and the heating element includes spaced heating elements and heating rods for heating the heating elements; The air blowing mechanism is mounted on the mounting frame and located above the heating element. The air blowing mechanism is used to blow the heat emitted by the heating element onto the stacked battery cells and solder ribbon assembly.
9. The string welding machine as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The heating element further includes a drive mechanism, and the mounting frame is connected to the drive end of the drive mechanism. The drive mechanism is used to drive the mounting frame to translate and / or lift.
10. The string welding machine as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The mounting frame is rotatably connected to the drive end of the drive mechanism via a rotating connector.
11. A method for welding battery strings, characterized in that, The battery string welding method, implemented by the string welding machine of claim 1, comprises: Front and back films are attached alternately to the front and back sides of multiple parallel solder strips. The solder ribbon with a front film and a back film attached is cut into solder ribbon assemblies. Each solder ribbon assembly includes a solder ribbon, a front film attached to the front portion of the solder ribbon, and a back film attached to the rear portion of the solder ribbon. The ribbon assembly and the battery cell are stacked, wherein the i-th battery cell is stacked on the upper side of the rear section of the i-th group of ribbon assemblies, and the front section of the (i+1)-th group of ribbon assemblies is stacked on the i-th battery cell, where i is any natural number greater than 0. The stacked battery cells and solder ribbons are pressed together to form a battery string.
12. The battery string welding method as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The method of attaching a front film and a back film alternately to the front and back sides of multiple parallel solder strips includes: Multiple parallel welding strips are pulled out; At the front film adsorption station, the j-th segment of the front film to be attached is adsorbed and cut off. At the front film adsorption station, the adsorbed j-th segment of the front film is attached to the front of the pulled-out welding strip. At the back film adsorption station, the j-th segment of back film to be attached is adsorbed and cut off. At the back film adsorption station, the adsorbed j-th segment of back film is attached to the back of the pulled-out welding strip. The front and back films attached to the welding strip are distributed alternately, and j is a natural number greater than 0.
13. A method for welding battery strings, characterized in that, The battery string welding method, implemented by the string welding machine according to claim 2, includes: A front-side film is attached to the front side of multiple parallel solder strips; The solder ribbon with the front film attached is cut into solder ribbon assemblies, each of the solder ribbon assemblies including the solder ribbon and the front film attached to the solder ribbon; The ribbon assembly and the battery cell are stacked, wherein the latter half of the i-th ribbon assembly is stacked on the i-th battery cell, and the former half of the i-th ribbon assembly is stacked on the (i-1)-th battery cell, where i is any natural number greater than 1 and less than N+1.