Cell mounting jig for preventing damage to appearance of battery cell, cell alignment device, and cell mounting method

Abstract

A unit mounting jig according to the present disclosure includes a base, a first support extending vertically from one side of the base, and a second support extending vertically from an opposite side of the base at a predetermined distance apart from the first support, the first support and the second support facing each other, wherein the second support extends higher than the first support.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus used in a battery module manufacturing process, and more particularly to a cell mounting jig for mounting and aligning a battery cell, a cell alignment apparatus including the same, and a cell mounting method.

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0034218, filed on March 16, 2021, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. BACKGROUND

[0003] In general, unlike a primary battery which is used once, a secondary battery can be recharged, and recently, a high-output secondary battery using a non-aqueous electrolyte of high energy density is being developed. Small electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a notebook computer, or a camcorder, which are designed to be held in a hand and used in the hand, use at least one secondary battery as an energy source, and medium and large devices such as an electric vehicle, which require high output and high capacity power, use a battery pack as an energy source, which is manufactured by making a battery module including several tens to several hundreds of secondary battery cells connected in series and / or in parallel and connecting the battery modules in series and / or in parallel.

[0004] According to the shape of the case, the secondary battery can be classified into a prismatic battery, a cylindrical battery, and a pouch-type battery. Here, prismatic or pouch-type secondary batteries are accommodated and stacked in a module case at high density to make a battery module, thereby increasing the energy density of the battery module. The battery module including the prismatic or pouch-type secondary battery undergoes a process of forming a cell stack and accommodating the cell stack in a module case.

[0005] Meanwhile, in a preparation step for forming a cell stack, there is a process of vertically inserting an upright secondary battery cell into a cell mounting jig, as shown in (a) in Figure 1 However, in this process, due to a thickness difference of the secondary battery cell, a position change of the battery mounting jig, or a position error of a cell transporter, a collision often occurs between the secondary battery cell and the cell mounting jig 1, as shown in (b) in Figure 1 (a), causing damage to the appearance of the secondary battery cell. In this case, when the appearance of the secondary battery cell is severely damaged, electrolyte leakage or insulation failure can occur, and accordingly, a solution is required. SUMMARY

[0006] TECHNICAL PROBLEM

[0007] The present application has been designed to solve the above problems, and thus the present application is directed to providing an improved cell mounting jig and a cell mounting method to prevent damage to the appearance of a battery cell in a cell insertion process.

[0008] These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be understood from the following description, and will be apparent from the embodiments of the present disclosure. Also, it will be easily understood that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be achieved by the means set forth in the appended claims and combinations thereof.

[0009] Technical Solution

[0010] According to the present disclosure, there is provided a cell mounting jig including a base, a first support extending vertically from one side of the base, and a second support extending vertically from an opposite side of the base at a predetermined distance apart from the first support, the first support and the second support facing each other, wherein the second support extends higher than the first support.

[0011] A distance between the first support and the second support can correspond to a thickness of a battery cell to be inserted between the first support and the second support.

[0012] Each of the first support and the second support can be thinner at an upper portion than at a lower portion, and a guide portion of gradually decreasing thickness can be formed between the upper portion and the lower portion.

[0013] The second support can include a first portion integrally formed with the base, and at least one second portion configured to be detachably attached to an upper portion of the first portion.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a cell alignment apparatus including the above-described cell mounting jig, the cell alignment apparatus including a cell support unit including a pair of cell mounting jigs arranged at a predetermined distance apart from each other in a first direction, and a jig connection member connecting the pair of cell mounting jigs together, and a jig transfer unit connected to each cell mounting jig and extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein at least one cell support unit is provided on the jig transfer unit.

[0015] The base can include an engagement portion configured to be coupled to an end portion of the jig connection member, and a sliding portion configured to be slidably moved along the jig transfer unit.

[0016] The engagement portion can have a coupling hole formed in the first direction into which the end portion of the jig connection member is inserted, and the end portion of the jig connection member can be inserted into the coupling hole and fixed to the engagement portion by a fastening member.

[0017] The jig connecting member can be bar-shaped and can have both ends fixed and coupled to a pair of unit mounting jigs, and can provide at least one jig connecting member.

[0018] According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for mounting a battery cell in a battery cell alignment device, the method including: a cell input preparation step of transporting a battery cell to an area above a cell support unit; a cell first downward movement step of moving the battery cell downward to a position where a lower end of the battery cell is higher than a first support and lower than a second support; a cell horizontal movement step of horizontally moving the battery cell to an inner surface of the second support; and a cell second downward movement step of moving the battery cell downward to insert the battery cell between the first support and the second support.

[0019] The method for mounting a battery cell can further include a cell close arrangement step of bringing each of the cell support units in close contact with each other after the battery cell is mounted in each of the cell support units of the cell alignment device.

[0020] Advantageous Effects

[0021] According to the present disclosure, damage to the appearance of the battery cell that can occur when the battery cell is inserted into the unit mounting jig can be fundamentally prevented.

[0022] In addition, the present disclosure is configured to horizontally move the battery cell until the battery cell reaches the inner surface of the second support of the unit mounting jig, and then vertically move the battery cell to the space between the first support and the second support, to mount the battery cell in the unit mounting jig, whereby an easy and stable insertion process of the battery cell can be achieved even in the presence of an error in the initial loading position of the cell transporter, or in the presence of a change in the position of the unit mounting jig.

[0023] The present disclosure can have various other effects, which can be understood from the following description, and will be more clearly understood from the embodiments of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 (a) and (b) are schematic views illustrating a unit mounting jig according to a conventional technique and a problem in a cell insertion process according to the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of a unit alignment device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of a unit mounting jig according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 4 is a front view of a battery cell installed in a cell alignment device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figures 5 to 7 is a diagram showing a cell insertion process by a cell mounting method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 8 is a perspective view of a battery cell installed in a cell alignment device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 9 is a diagram showing battery cells arranged close to each other by moving a cell support unit in Figure 8 .

[0031] Figure 10 (a) and (b) are diagrams showing a cell mounting jig according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Before the description, it should be understood that the terms or words used in the specification and the appended claims should not be construed as being limited to general and dictionary meanings and should be interpreted based on the meanings and concepts corresponding to technical aspects of the present disclosure on the basis of the principle that the inventor is allowed to define terms to best explain the idea of the disclosure.

[0033] Accordingly, the embodiments described herein and illustrated in the drawings are merely exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and as such are not intended to limit the technical aspects of the present disclosure, and it should be understood that various other equivalents and modifications to the embodiments described herein and illustrated in the drawings can be made at the time of filing the application. In addition, in describing the present disclosure, when it is determined that certain detailed descriptions of related known elements or functions can make the subject matter of the present disclosure unclear, the detailed descriptions are omitted.

[0034] The embodiments of the present disclosure are provided to fully and completely describe the present disclosure to one of ordinary skill in the art, and the shapes and sizes of the elements in the drawings can be exaggerated, omitted, or schematically illustrated for the sake of clarity. Accordingly, the size or ratio of each element is not necessarily reflected in the actual size or ratio.

[0035] Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of a cell alignment device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of a cell mounting jig according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Figure 4is a front view of a battery cell installed in a cell alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0036] Referring to Figures 2 to 4 , a cell alignment apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes at least one cell support unit 100 and a jig transfer unit 200 for moving the cell support unit 100.

[0037] The cell support unit 100 can include a pair of cell mounting jigs 110 and a jig connection member 120.

[0038] The pair of cell mounting jigs 110 can be configured to support a battery cell 20 so that a wide surface stands perpendicular to the ground, and the jig connection member 120 can be configured to hold the pair of cell mounting jigs 110 so that the pair of cell mounting jigs 110 move together without a relative positional change between the cell mounting jigs.

[0039] Here, the battery cell 20 can refer to a battery cell 20 having a hexagonal outer housing or a pouch-type battery cell 20.

[0040] First, the cell mounting jig 110 as shown in FIG. Figure 3 , the cell mounting jig 110 can include a base 111, a first vertical plate portion, and a second vertical plate portion.

[0041] The base 111 can include an upper joint portion 111a and a lower sliding portion 111b. The joint portion 111a is a position to which the jig connection member 120 is coupled, and has a coupling hole H in a first direction (Y-axis direction) to fix the jig connection member 120 by inserting an end portion of the jig connection member 120 into the coupling hole H.

[0042] A fastening member B such as a bolt can be added to firmly fix the jig connection member 120. In other words, in order to more firmly fix the jig connection member 120, a threaded groove can be formed at an end portion of the jig connection member 120 for bolt threaded coupling, and the threaded groove can be aligned with the coupling hole H of the joint portion 111a, and a bolt can be inserted into the threaded groove from the outside of the coupling hole H to bolt-connect the jig connection member 120 to the joint portion 111a as shown in FIG. Figure 3 .

[0043] The sliding part 111b is connected to the jig transfer unit 200 to move the unit mounting jig 110 along the second direction (X-axis direction). In this embodiment, the sliding part 111b can be formed in a block shape that partially covers the jig transfer unit 200 to be slidably moved without the jig transfer unit 200 departing from the track structure. Although not illustrated, a bearing can be added to the inner side of the sliding part 111b to allow the sliding part 111b to smoothly move.

[0044] In addition, although this embodiment shows that the upper joint part 111a is integrally formed with the sliding part 111b, the upper joint part 111a can be separated from the sliding part 111b.

[0045] The first support 112 and the second support 113 are configured to vertically insert the battery unit 20 into and place in the unit mounting space O between the first support 112 and the second support 113.

[0046] To this end, the first support 112 vertically extends at one side on the top of the base 111, the second support 113 vertically extends at the other side on the top of the base 111 and is spaced apart from the first support 112 by a predetermined distance, and the first support 112 and the second support 113 face each other.

[0047] Preferably, the distance between the first support 112 and the second support 113 can correspond to the thickness of the battery unit 20 to be mounted to prevent the battery unit 20 from being tilted when the battery unit 20 is mounted.

[0048] The second support 113 has a greater height than the first support 112. That is, the second support 113 can be asymmetrically higher than the first support 112.

[0049] Since the second support 113 has a greater height than the first support 112, it is possible to prevent damage to the appearance of the battery unit 20 during unit insertion. Detailed descriptions thereof will be provided below.

[0050] The first support 112 and the second support 113 can be thinner at the upper part 113a than at the lower part 113b. When the thickness of the upper part 113a is less than that of the lower part 113b, a greater upper space can be secured for the battery unit 20 to enter into the unit mounting space O. Accordingly, even if there is a small error in the position between the unit transporter (not shown) and the unit mounting jig 110 when the battery unit 20 moves downward, the battery unit 20 is easily moved downward.

[0051] The second support member 113 may further include a guide portion 113c whose thickness gradually decreases between the upper portion 113a and the lower portion 113b. The first support member 112 may include a guide portion in the same manner as the second support member 113.

[0052] In the absence of a guide portion 113c and a step between the upper part 113a and the lower part 113b, the lower end of the battery unit 20 may collide with the step when moving downwards. In this embodiment, to avoid this problem, a guide portion 113c is added between the upper part 113a and the lower part 113b. Accordingly, when the battery unit 20 moves downwards, it can move downwards along the slope of the guide portion 113c and be safely inserted into the unit mounting space O.

[0053] To stably support the battery unit 20, in this embodiment, two unit mounting clamps 110 can be used, such as... Figure 4 As shown in the diagram, the two unit mounting clamps 110 can be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in the first direction (Y-axis direction) and are integrally connected by clamp connecting member 120.

[0054] The clamp connecting member 120 can be a rod made of metal or non-metal with high mechanical strength. As described above, the rod-shaped clamp connecting member 120 can have two ends, which are fixed and coupled to a pair of unit mounting clamps 110.

[0055] In other words, such as Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, the left unit mounting fixture 110 and the right unit mounting fixture 110 are connected by two rod-shaped clamping connecting members 120. Accordingly, in the second direction (X-axis direction), the left unit mounting fixture 110 and the right unit mounting fixture 110 are always placed on the same axis and move together.

[0056] For example, without the clamp connecting member 120, there is an inconvenience that the positions of the left and right unit mounting clamps 110 must be adjusted before each insertion of the battery unit 20. However, this inconvenience can be eliminated when the clamp connecting member 120 is applied as in this embodiment. Furthermore, if the left and right unit mounting clamps 110 do not move together when the unit mounting clamp 110 in which the battery unit 20 is mounted is moved, a torsional load may be applied to the battery unit 20. However, in this embodiment, the left and right unit mounting clamps 110 are configured to move together to avoid the aforementioned problem.

[0057] The clamp transfer unit 200 can be configured to move each unit support unit 100 along a second direction, and can be provided in the shape of a pair of tracks extending in the second direction.

[0058] As Figure 2 shown in FIG. 1, when the sliding part 111b of each unit mounting jig 110 is connected to the jig transfer unit 200, each unit support unit 100 can be slidably moved along the second direction (X-axis direction). Although not shown, for example, a mechanical connection combination can be added between a servo motor and the unit support unit 100 to transfer the power of the servo motor, and the movement of each unit support unit 100 can be controlled.

[0059] Figures 5 to 7 is a diagram showing a unit insertion process of a unit mounting method according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0060] Subsequently, a unit mounting method according to an embodiment of the disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 5 to 7 FIG. 2.

[0061] The unit mounting method according to the embodiment of the disclosure can include a unit input preparation step, a unit primary downward movement step, a unit horizontal movement step, and a unit secondary downward movement step.

[0062] The unit input preparation step is a step of transporting the battery unit 20 to an area above the unit support unit 100 using a unit transporter. Here, the unit transporter can refer to a mechanical arm or a gripper device capable of gripping both surfaces of the battery unit 20 and moving in the X-Y-Z axes. In addition, the area above the unit support unit 100 refers to a position higher than the unit mounting jig 110.

[0063] Subsequently, the unit primary downward movement step is a step of moving the battery unit 20 downward (in the -Z-axis direction) to a position where the lower end of the battery unit 20 is higher than the first support 112 of the unit mounting jig 110 and lower than the second support 113, as shown in Figure 5 FIG. 2.

[0064] Preferably, in the unit primary downward movement step, the battery unit 20 is moved downward from the front side of the unit mounting jig 110, that is, from the upper side of the first support 112 to a height where the lower end of the battery unit 20 does not contact the upper end of the first support 112 and is lower than the upper end of the second support 113.

[0065] Subsequently, the unit horizontal movement step is a step of moving the battery unit 20 horizontally (in the +X-axis direction) to the inner surface 113S of the second support 113, as shown in Figure 6 FIG. 2.

[0066] After the unit horizontal movement step is performed, the battery unit 20 is placed at a position where the lower end of the battery unit 20 is unlikely to collide with the upper end of the first support 112 and the upper end of the second support 113 in the secondary downward movement.

[0067] Subsequently, the cell secondary downward moving step is a step of moving the battery cell 20 downward (in the -Z axis direction) and installing between the first support 112 and the second support 113, as shown in Figure 7 .

[0068] After performing the cell secondary downward moving step, the battery cell 20 can be vertically placed in the cell installation space O surrounded by the base 111, the first support 112, and the second support 113 by a partial interference fit.

[0069] As described above, according to the configuration of the cell installation jig 110 and the cell installation method according to this embodiment, the position of the battery cell 20 can be adjusted before the secondary downward movement of the battery cell 20 to avoid collision between the battery cell 20 and the cell installation jig 110. Accordingly, even if there is an error between the initial loading position of the cell transporter and the position of the cell installation jig 110, the battery cell 20 can be installed in the cell installation jig 110 without damaging the battery cell 20.

[0070] In addition, the method for installing the battery cell 20 according to this embodiment can further include a cell dense arrangement step.

[0071] The cell dense arrangement step is a step of bringing each cell support unit 100 into close contact with each other after the battery cell 20 is installed in each cell support unit 100 of the cell alignment device 10 to densely arrange the battery cells 20.

[0072] Figure 8 is a perspective view of the battery cell 20 installed in the cell alignment device 10 according to the embodiment of the disclosure, and Figure 9 is a view showing the battery cells 20 densely arranged by moving the cell support units 100 in Figure 8 .

[0073] For example, as shown in Figure 8 , five cell support units 100 can be arranged at a predetermined distance apart from each other on the jig transfer unit 200, and each of the battery cells 20 can be installed for each cell support unit 100 in the reverse order from the last cell support unit 100 along the second direction (X axis direction). In this case, the battery cells 20 can be installed in the cell installation jig 110 of each cell support unit 100 by repeatedly performing the above-described process.

[0074] The cell support units 100 spaced apart from each other for cell insertion can be moved by the jig transfer unit 200 to bring the cell support units 100 into close contact with each other in the second direction, as shown inFigure 9 The battery cells 20 spaced apart from each other are densely arranged to form a stack.

[0075] Figure 10 (a) and (b) are views showing a cell mounting jig according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

[0076] Subsequently, a cell mounting jig according to another embodiment of the disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 10 (a) and (b).

[0077] The same reference numerals as the previous drawings denote the same elements, the repeated description of the same elements is omitted, and a brief description will be made based on the differences between this embodiment and the above-described embodiment.

[0078] The second support 113 of the cell mounting jig 110 according to another embodiment of the disclosure can include a first portion 114 integrally formed with the base 111, and at least one second portion 115 configured to be detachably attached to an upper portion of the first portion 114.

[0079] As shown in (a) and (b), when the first portion 114 is mounted in the second portion 115, the cell mounting jig 110 can include the second support 113 having a greater height than the first support 112. Figure 10 (a) and (b), when the first portion 114 is mounted in the second portion 115, the cell mounting jig 110 can include the second support 113 having a greater height than the first support 112.

[0080] Although not shown, the second portion 115 can be provided to have different heights. For example, the height of the second support 113 can be increased or decreased by preparing a plurality of second portions 115 having different heights from the second portion 115 of (a) and (b) and mounting the first portion 114 in one of the plurality of second portions 115. The height of the first support 112 can also be increased or decreased in the same manner as the second support 113. Figure 10 (a) and (b), when the first portion 114 is mounted in the second portion 115, the cell mounting jig 110 can include the second support 113 having a greater height than the first support 112.

[0081] That is, another embodiment of the disclosure can be characterized in that the height of the second support 113 is adjusted by selecting a second portion 115 having a suitable height for each size of the battery cell 20 and mounting the same in the first portion 114. Accordingly, in the case where the battery cells 20 have different widths (or heights when standing up) but the same thickness, the cell mounting jig of this embodiment can be compatibly used to support each battery cell by inserting the first portion 114 into the second portion 115 having a suitable height for each battery cell and adjusting the height of the second support 113.

[0082] Although the present disclosure has been described above with respect to a finite number of embodiments and drawings, it is not limited thereto and various modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in the art within the technical aspects of the present disclosure and the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0083] The terms indicating directions such as up, down, left, and right used herein are only for convenience of description, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the terms can change depending on the position of the element or the observer.

Claims

1. A cell alignment apparatus, comprising: a cell support unit including a pair of cell mounting jigs arranged to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in a first direction, and a jig connection member connecting the pair of cell mounting jigs together; and a jig transfer unit connected to each of the cell mounting jigs and extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein at least one of the cell support units is provided on the jig transfer unit, wherein the cell mounting jig comprises: a base; a first support vertically extended from one side of the base; and a second support vertically extended from an opposite side of the base and spaced apart from the first support by a predetermined distance, the first and second supports facing each other, wherein the second support is extended higher than the first support. 2.The cell alignment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the base comprises: an engaging portion configured to be coupled to an end portion of the jig connection member; and a sliding portion configured to be slidably moved along the jig transfer unit. 3.The cell alignment apparatus of claim 2, wherein the engaging portion has a coupling hole formed in the first direction, the end portion of the jig connection member is inserted into the coupling hole, and the end portion of the jig connection member is inserted into the coupling hole and fixed to the engaging portion by a fastening member. 4.The cell alignment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the jig connection member is a bar-shaped and has both end portions fixed and coupled to the pair of cell mounting jigs, and at least one jig connection member is provided. 5.The cell alignment apparatus of claim 1, wherein a distance between the first support and the second support corresponds to a thickness of a battery cell to be inserted between the first support and the second support. 6.The cell alignment apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second supports is thinner at an upper portion than at a lower portion, and a guide portion having a gradually decreasing thickness is formed between the upper portion and the lower portion. 7.The cell alignment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second support includes a first portion integrally formed with the base and at least one second portion configured to be detachably attached to an upper portion of the first portion. 8.A method of mounting a battery cell in the cell alignment apparatus of claim 1, the method comprising: a cell input preparation step of transporting a battery cell to an area above the cell support unit; a cell initial downward movement step of moving the battery cell downward to a position in which a lower end of the battery cell is higher than the first support and lower than the second support; a cell horizontal movement step of horizontally moving the battery cell to an inner surface of the second support; and a cell final downward movement step of moving the battery cell downward to a position in which the lower end of the battery cell is higher than the second support. a cell secondary moving-down step of moving down the battery cell to mount the battery cell between the first support and the second support.

9. The method for mounting a battery cell according to claim 8, further comprising: a cell dense arrangement step of bringing each of the cell support units into close contact with each other after mounting the battery cell in each of the cell support units of the cell alignment device.

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