A conveying device and a sintering furnace

Abstract

The application discloses a conveying device and a sintering furnace, and relates to the technical field of solar cell sintering equipment. The conveying device comprises a conveying assembly, at least two parallel conveying chains, and carriers. The conveying chains are parallel. The inner sides of the conveying chains are provided with the carriers. One end of each carrier is fixedly connected with the conveying chain. The other end of each carrier is cantilevered towards the inner side of the conveying chain. At least two opposite carriers are used for supporting workpieces. The conveying chains are provided with opposite carriers which can support the workpieces. The carriers are cantilevered towards the inner sides of the conveying chains, so that workpieces with different widths can be placed on the carriers, and the transmission of workpieces with various widths is realized. The contact area between the carriers and the workpieces is small, the workpieces are not blocked, and the carriers have good heating effects. In addition, the carriers are driven to move by the conveying chains to realize the transmission of the workpieces. The driving of the conveying chains is simple, and energy consumption can be effectively saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of solar cell sintering equipment technology, and in particular to a conveying device and a sintering furnace. Background Technology

[0002] In heat treatment equipment such as solar cell sintering furnaces, roller conveyor structures or metal chain conveyor structures are generally used to transport solar cells. Roller conveyor structures have a relatively stationary load, resulting in stable transport, but require driving multiple rollers simultaneously, leading to high energy consumption. While roller conveyor structures can also transport solar cells of various widths, their heating effect is poor. Metal chain conveyor structures use a motor-driven chain for transport, offering energy savings. However, when the load is light, the friction between the load and the chain is low, making relative slippage easy and resulting in unstable transport. They provide good heating, but cannot transport solar cells of various widths. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, this application proposes a conveying device that can effectively ensure the heating effect.

[0004] According to one embodiment of this application, a conveying device includes: a conveying assembly including at least two conveying chains arranged in parallel; a bracket, wherein the bracket is installed on the inner side of each of the parallel conveying chains, wherein one end of the bracket is fixedly connected to the conveying chain, and the other end of the bracket is cantilevered toward the inner side of the conveying chain, and at least two oppositely arranged brackets are used to support both sides of the workpiece.

[0005] The aforementioned conveying device has at least the following advantages: A bracket is mounted on the conveyor chain, and the brackets of the parallel conveyor chains are positioned opposite each other, allowing the brackets to lift the workpiece. The brackets are cantilevered towards the inner side of the conveyor chain, enabling the placement of workpieces of different widths, thus facilitating the transport of workpieces of various widths. Simultaneously, the brackets contact the edges of the workpieces on both sides, resulting in a small contact area and a larger heating area for the workpieces, thereby improving the heating effect of the conveying device. Furthermore, by mounting the brackets on the parallel conveyor chains and using the conveyor chains to drive the brackets for workpiece transport, the drive of the conveyor chains is simple, effectively saving energy.

[0006] Furthermore, the bracket includes a support section and a first connecting section. One end of the support section is connected to one end of the first connecting section, and the other end of the support section is cantilevered away from the conveyor chain. By replacing the support sections of different lengths, the spacing between the relatively arranged brackets can be changed, allowing the relatively arranged brackets to lift workpieces of different widths, thereby enabling the conveying device to be compatible with workpieces of different widths.

[0007] Furthermore, the first connecting section is inclined, and the supporting section forms an angle θ with the first connecting section, satisfying that θ≤120°. By setting the supporting section and the first connecting section at a certain angle, it is beneficial for the workpiece to fall on the supporting section, thereby improving the stability of workpiece transmission.

[0008] Furthermore, θ equals 90° to improve the clamping stability of the bracket on the workpiece.

[0009] Furthermore, the bracket also includes a second connecting section, one end of which is fixedly connected to the conveyor chain, and the other end of which is connected to the other end of the first connecting section. The second connecting section ensures a safe distance between the workpiece on the bracket and the conveyor chain, reducing the probability of collision between the workpiece and the conveyor chain.

[0010] Furthermore, the bracket is made of one or more of ceramics, zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide, or silicon carbide. The bracket is made of high-temperature resistant materials such as ceramics, zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide, or silicon carbide to give it excellent high-temperature resistance, thereby effectively ensuring its safety performance and service life.

[0011] Furthermore, the conveying assembly includes a drive shaft, a sprocket, a sleeve, and an adjusting mechanism. The sprocket is mounted on the drive shaft via the sleeve, and the conveying chain is connected to the sprocket. The drive shaft drives the sprocket to rotate, thereby moving the conveying chain. The adjusting mechanism changes the relative position of the sprocket on the drive shaft to alter the spacing of the parallel conveying chains. By changing the spacing of the parallel conveying chains using the adjusting mechanism, the spacing of the opposing brackets can be changed, thus further accommodating workpieces of different widths.

[0012] Furthermore, each of the conveyor chains is provided with a drive shaft and a sprocket at both ends, so that the two conveyor chains can be conveyed synchronously, thereby improving the transmission stability.

[0013] Furthermore, the adjustment mechanism is a pneumatic gripper, the output end of which is connected to the sprocket. The pneumatic gripper changes the sprocket spacing corresponding to the parallel conveyor chains, thereby changing the spacing of the parallel conveyor chains and thus adjusting the spacing of the oppositely arranged brackets.

[0014] Another embodiment of the sintering furnace of this application includes the conveying device as described above. This sintering furnace has good sintering capabilities, is compatible with workpieces of different sizes (such as silicon wafers), and also meets energy-saving requirements.

[0015] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0016] The present application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments, wherein:

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the conveying components and brackets in the conveying device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the conveying device for conveying workpieces according to an embodiment of this application;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the cooperation between the bracket and the workpiece in an embodiment of this application;

[0020] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A magnified view of part A in the middle;

[0021] Figure 5 This is another structural schematic diagram of the bracket in the embodiments of this application;

[0022] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the bracket structure according to an embodiment of this application.

[0023] Figure label:

[0024] 1. Workpiece;

[0025] 110. Conveyor chain; 120. Drive shaft; 130. Sprocket;

[0026] 200, bracket; 210, support section; 220, first connecting section; 230, second connecting section. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain this application, and should not be construed as limiting this application.

[0028] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the orientation descriptions, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0029] In the description of this application, "several" means one or more, "multiple" means two or more, "greater than," "less than," and "exceeding" are understood to exclude the stated number, while "above," "below," and "within" are understood to include the stated number. The use of "first" and "second" in the description is merely for distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features, or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.

[0030] In the description of this application, unless otherwise expressly defined, terms such as "setup," "installation," and "connection" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above terms in this application in conjunction with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0031] In the description of this application, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0032] See also Figure 1 As shown, one embodiment of this application discloses a conveying device, which includes a conveying component and a bracket 200.

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, the conveying assembly includes at least two conveying chains 110 arranged in parallel. Specifically, each conveying chain 110 is provided with a corresponding drive mechanism, which is used to drive the conveying chain 110 to rotate, so as to realize the transport of workpiece 1.

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, each of the parallel conveyor chains 110 has a bracket 200 installed on its inner side. One end of the bracket 200 is fixedly connected to the conveyor chain 110, and the other end of the bracket 200 is cantilevered towards the inner side of the conveyor chain 110. At least two opposing brackets 200 are used to support the two sides of the workpiece 1. Specifically, the bracket 200 is fixedly connected to the links of the conveyor chain 110 and can rotate cyclically with the conveyor chain 110. It should be understood that the inner side of the conveyor chain 110 refers to the side of one of the two parallel conveyor chains 110 closest to the other conveyor chain 110. Figure 1 It can be seen that the inner side of the conveyor chain 110 can refer to the position between two conveyor chains 110 arranged in parallel.

[0035] At work, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, workpiece 1 is located between multiple oppositely arranged brackets 200. The conveyor chain 110 rotates cyclically to drive the brackets 200 to move, thereby realizing the transfer of workpiece 1. Multiple workpieces 1 are evenly spaced on the parallel conveyor chains 110, thereby realizing the uninterrupted transfer of workpiece 1.

[0036] It should be noted that, along the transmission direction of the conveyor chain 110, multiple brackets 200 are spaced apart on the inner side of each conveyor chain 110. The distance between two adjacent brackets 200 is less than or equal to half the length of the workpiece, so as to reduce the risk of the workpiece falling during transmission. The distance between the brackets 200 arranged opposite each other on two parallel conveyor chains 110 is equal to the width of the workpiece, so as to reduce the risk of the workpiece falling.

[0037] It should be understood that the “workpiece length” referred to above refers to the geometric length of the workpiece in the transmission direction of the conveyor chain 110; and the “workpiece width” refers to the geometric length of the workpiece in the direction perpendicular to the transmission direction of the conveyor chain 110.

[0038] In this specific embodiment, workpiece 1 is a battery cell. Figure 2 It can be seen that both sides of the solar cell are in contact with multiple brackets 200, which can effectively ensure the transmission stability of the solar cell. The solar cell is a rigid material, and when the solar cell is lifted by the bracket 200, the solar cell will not deform and detach from the support of the bracket 200.

[0039] In the conveying device of the aforementioned embodiment, the bracket 200 has a centrally suspended structure. The bracket 200 abuts against both sides of the workpiece 1, resulting in a small contact area that does not obstruct the workpiece 1, thus providing the workpiece 1 with a larger heating area. This allows the conveying device of this application to achieve a good heating effect. Furthermore, the bracket 200 is mounted on the parallel conveyor chains 110, and the conveyor chains 110 drive the bracket 200 to move, thereby transporting the workpiece 1. The drive of the conveyor chains 110 is simple and can effectively save energy.

[0040] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the bracket 200 includes a supporting section 210 and a first connecting section 220. One end of the supporting section 210 is connected to one end of the first connecting section 220, and the other end of the supporting section 210 is cantilevered away from the conveyor chain 110. The first connecting section 220 is inclined relative to the horizontal plane, and the first connecting section 220 of the two opposing brackets 200 forms a V-shape, as shown... Figure 3As shown. Therefore, a placement plane of different widths is formed between the two oppositely arranged brackets 200, so that workpieces 1 of different widths can be placed between the two oppositely arranged brackets 200. It should be understood that the aforementioned width refers to the distance between the contact surfaces of the workpiece 1 and the two oppositely arranged brackets 200.

[0041] In some embodiments, the support section 210 is detachably connected to the first connecting section 220, and the support section 210 has various length specifications. By replacing the support section 210 with different length specifications, the minimum spacing of the brackets 200 on the parallel conveyor chains 110 can be changed, thereby enabling the conveying device of this embodiment to be compatible with workpieces 1 of different widths.

[0042] In some embodiments, such as Figure 5 As shown, the same bracket 200 includes multiple support sections 210. The length of each support section 210 can be the same or different. The multiple support sections 210 are connected at different positions of the first connecting section 220, so that the conveying device of this embodiment can simultaneously lift multiple workpieces 1 of different widths or the same width.

[0043] When multiple supporting sections 210 are connected to the first connecting section 220, the tilt angle and length of the first connecting section 220 can be changed according to actual needs.

[0044] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the supporting section 210 and the first connecting section 220 are set at a certain angle, and the distance between the supporting sections 210 of the two oppositely set brackets 200 is significantly reduced, which can restrict the workpiece 1 on the oppositely set brackets 200. At the same time, as shown in the figure, the tilt angle of the supporting section 210 is smaller than that of the first connecting section 220, which is beneficial for supporting the workpiece 1.

[0045] In this embodiment, as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the support section 210 is horizontally positioned, and it forms a certain angle with the first connecting section 220. Both the support section 210 and the first connecting section 220 can support the workpiece 1. At the same time, the support section 210 can act as a safety device, effectively preventing the workpiece 1 from detaching from the bracket 200. When the workpiece 1 slips in contact with the first connecting section 220, it can contact the support section 210, thereby fixing it to the support section 210.

[0046] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 6 As shown, the first connecting section 220 is inclined, and the supporting section 210 forms an angle with the first connecting section 220, which is θ, satisfying that θ≤120°.

[0047] In some embodiments of this application, the value of θ is equal to 90°. It should be understood that the value of θ can also be set to angles such as 45°, 60°, 75°, and 105° as needed.

[0048] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figures 3 to 6 As shown, the bracket 200 also includes a second connecting section 230. One end of the second connecting section 230 is fixedly connected to the conveyor chain 110, and the other end of the second connecting section 230 is connected to the other end of the first connecting section 220. The second connecting section 230 is horizontally positioned and serves as a safety section, keeping the supporting section 210 and the first connecting section 220 away from the conveyor chain 110. This ensures that the workpiece 1 maintains a safe distance from the conveyor chain 110 during transport, effectively preventing collisions between the workpiece 1 and the conveyor chain 110.

[0049] In this specific embodiment, the second connecting segment 230 is horizontally positioned, and its length is set to 10mm. Specifically, as follows... Figure 4 As shown in Figure 4, one end of the second connecting section 230 is fixedly connected to the conveyor chain 110, and the other end extends horizontally towards the inside of the conveyor chain 110; the upper end of the first connecting section 220 is connected to the inside of the second connecting section 230, and the lower end of the first connecting section 220 is inclined downward; one end of the supporting section 210 is connected to the lower end of the first connecting section 220, and the other end of the supporting section 210 extends towards another parallel conveyor chain 110. As can be seen from Figure 4, the arrangement of the second connecting section 230 allows the supporting section 210 and the first connecting section 220 to extend a certain distance into the inside of the conveyor chain 110, effectively avoiding contact between the supporting section 210 and the first connecting section 220 and the conveyor chain 110, and also ensuring that the workpiece 1 maintains a safe distance from the conveyor chain 110 during transportation.

[0050] Both the bracket 200 and the workpiece 1 are in the heating environment of the sintering furnace during the transfer process; therefore, the bracket 200 should possess good high-temperature resistance. In some embodiments of this application, the material of the bracket 200 includes one or more of ceramics, zirconium oxide, alumina, or silicon carbide. The bracket 200 is made of high-temperature resistant materials such as ceramics, zirconium oxide, alumina, and silicon carbide, which enables the bracket 200 to have a longer service life.

[0051] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 1 As shown, each conveyor chain 110 has a drive shaft 120 and a sprocket 130 at both ends. The sprocket 130 is connected to the conveyor chain 110, and the drive shaft 120 coaxially drives the sprocket 130 to rotate, thereby driving the conveyor chain 110 to move. The presence of a drive shaft 120 at each end of the conveyor chain 110 ensures synchronous movement of the two conveyor chains 110, resulting in more stable material conveying.

[0052] Furthermore, the same end of the two conveyor chains 110 is driven by the same drive shaft 120, which helps to make the two parallel conveyor chains 110 move synchronously.

[0053] In some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 1 As shown, the conveying assembly includes a drive shaft 120, a sprocket 130, a sleeve, and an adjusting mechanism. The sprocket 130 is mounted on the drive shaft 120 via the sleeve. The conveying chain 110 is connected to the sprocket 130. The drive shaft 120 drives the sprocket 130 to rotate, thereby moving the conveying chain 110. The adjusting mechanism changes the relative position of the sprocket 130 on the drive shaft 120 to change the spacing between the two parallel conveying chains 110. The sleeve is movably connected to the drive shaft 120 via a key, allowing the sleeve to move axially along the drive shaft 120, while the drive shaft drives the sleeve and sprocket 130 to rotate circumferentially. By changing the spacing between the two sprockets 130 through the adjusting mechanism, the spacing between the parallel conveying chains 110 is changed. Therefore, by changing the spacing of the conveying chains 110, the spacing of the oppositely arranged brackets 200 is changed, making the conveying device of this embodiment suitable for conveying workpieces 1 of different widths.

[0054] In some embodiments of this application, the adjusting mechanism is a pneumatic gripper, specifically a thin pneumatic gripper, the output end of which is connected to the sprocket 130. It should be understood that the output end of the thin pneumatic gripper is not fixedly connected to the sprocket 130 to ensure that the sprocket can rotate. The output end of the thin pneumatic gripper is only used to actuate the sleeve and sprocket 130 to move axially along the drive shaft 120, thereby changing the spacing of the parallel conveyor chains 110.

[0055] In other embodiments of this application, both ends of each conveyor chain 110 are connected to a sprocket 130, and a driving member is provided on one side of each sprocket 130 to drive the sprocket 130 to rotate. The driving member can be a motor. Further, the driving members corresponding to the two parallel conveyor chains 110 are respectively fixedly connected to the two output ends of the thin-walled pneumatic gripper. The thin-walled pneumatic gripper changes the spacing between the driving members corresponding to the two conveyor chains 110 to achieve the purpose of changing the spacing between the conveyor chains 110.

[0056] Another embodiment of this application discloses a sintering furnace, including the conveying device as described above, which is suitable for sintering sheets of different widths. Meanwhile, the parallel conveying chains 110 in the conveying device have a centrally suspended structure, with the brackets 200 contacting the edges of the workpiece 1 on both sides. Compared to roller conveyors and metal chain conveyors, this provides a larger heating surface, resulting in better sintering of the workpiece 1 and effectively reducing energy consumption.

[0057] In some embodiments of this application, the two ends of the conveying device are a feeding end and a discharging end, respectively. The sintering furnace also includes lifting devices disposed at the feeding end and the discharging end to facilitate the conveying of workpieces 1 of various widths. The workpiece may specifically be a battery cell.

[0058] The embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the above embodiments. Within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of this application. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in the embodiments of this application can be combined with each other.

Claims

1. A conveying device, characterized in that, include: A conveying assembly, comprising at least two conveyor chains arranged in parallel; The brackets are installed on the inner side of the conveyor chains arranged in parallel. One end of each bracket is fixedly connected to the conveyor chain, and the other end of each bracket is cantilevered toward the inner side of the conveyor chain. At least two oppositely arranged brackets are used to support the two sides of the workpiece. The bracket includes a support section and a first connecting section. One end of the support section is connected to one end of the first connecting section, and the other end of the support section is cantilevered away from the conveyor chain. The support section is horizontally positioned. The first connecting section is inclined so that a placement plane of different widths is formed between the two oppositely arranged brackets, thereby allowing workpieces of different widths to be placed between the two oppositely arranged brackets. The width is the distance between the contact surfaces of the workpiece and the two oppositely arranged brackets. The bracket also includes a second connecting section, one end of which is fixedly connected to the conveyor chain, and the other end of which is connected to the other end of the first connecting section. The second connecting section is horizontally positioned.

2. The delivery device of claim 1, wherein, The supporting section and the first connecting section form an angle θ, which satisfies that θ≤120°.

3. The delivery device of claim 2, wherein, θ equals 90°.

4. The delivery device of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The bracket is made of one or more of the following materials: ceramic, zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide, or silicon carbide.

5. The delivery device of claim 1, wherein, The conveying assembly includes a drive shaft, a sprocket, a sleeve, and an adjustment mechanism. The sprocket is mounted on the drive shaft via the sleeve. The conveying chain is connected to the sprocket. The drive shaft drives the sprocket to rotate, thereby moving the conveying chain. The adjustment mechanism changes the spacing of the parallel conveying chains by changing the relative position of the sprocket on the drive shaft.

6. The delivery device of claim 5, wherein, The adjustment mechanism is a pneumatic gripper, and the output end of the pneumatic gripper is connected to the sprocket.

7. The delivery device of claim 5, wherein, Each of the conveyor chains is equipped with a drive shaft and a sprocket at both ends.

8. A sintering furnace characterized by comprising: Includes the conveying device as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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