Converging discharge stacking device

Abstract

This invention provides a busbar feeding and stacking device, including a slide rail and a collection box. The slide rail is set at a certain angle to a vertical plane and has an inlet at the upper end and an outlet at the lower end. Copper sheets enter the slide rail through the inlet and slide out through the outlet. The collection box is located below the outlet and has a first support portion. When the copper sheets lean against the first support portion, they tilt away from the slide rail in the collection box, thereby allowing multiple copper sheets falling successively to be stacked orderly in the collection box. This busbar feeding and stacking device achieves the collection and stacking of copper sheets through the sequentially arranged collection box and slide rail, avoiding the problem of not being able to collect neatly and orderly due to the light weight, thinness, and easy warping of copper sheets, and achieving accurate and neat stacking of copper sheets.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of sheet material conveying and stacking devices, and more specifically to a busbar unloading and stacking device. Background Technology

[0002] In the manufacturing of new energy vehicles, the three-electric system (battery, motor, and electronic control system) is a key technology. Within the power supply system, in addition to standard transmission cables, exposed conductors such as copper busbars are also used for connections within subsystems, especially at joints. In this context, the use of busbars as local transmission lines in existing new energy vehicle power systems is quite common. To ensure good manufacturability and maintain a certain degree of flexibility after installation, allowing for moderate bending within a certain range without structural damage, the busbars are preferably made of multiple stacked conductive metal sheets (copper alloy sheets) and can be pre-bent into the desired shape to adapt to installation requirements.

[0003] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of such a copper busbar. It is made of multiple copper sheets stacked together and then welded together using polymer diffusion welding. However, the actual copper busbar needs to be pre-folded into a specific shape to fit its installation space (e.g., Figure 1 (A simplified illustration of the bending state at the bottom). To ensure that the two ends of the copper sheet can still be accurately aligned vertically after pre-folding so that the two ends have good mechanical fixation and conductivity in the circuit connection, the lengths of the multiple copper sheets forming the copper busbar are slightly different in sequence when they are cut. With one end of the copper busbar aligned, the other end forms a cross-section at an angle α to the vertical.

[0004] In this application, the copper sheet thickness is only 0.1mm. To achieve the required current-carrying capacity of the copper busbar, 21 copper sheets need to be stacked and soldered together to ensure the corresponding current-carrying cross-sectional area. Even in Figure 1 In a simplified illustration, α = 45°, and the length difference between adjacent copper sheets is only 0.1mm. This difference is not easily detected during production, therefore, it is required that the copper sheets be received in sequence after cutting. Due to the thinness of the copper sheets, another problem arises: the load-bearing capacity of the copper sheets decreases. Excessive impact during transportation or blockage caused by material jamming can cause local deformation of the copper sheets, especially at the edges and corners.

[0005] To achieve fixed-length cutting of copper sheets, a programmable shearing machine was used instead of a stamping blanking device. For example... Figure 2 As shown, the strip is fed to the cutting edge of the stamping machine in the form of a coil. The copper sheet is cut to a fixed length by controlling the coordination between the cutting edge and the servo feed mechanism. However, even though the strip has been leveled in the servo feed mechanism of the shearing machine, the cut copper sheet still exhibits... Figure 3 The warping shown indicates that the copper sheets cannot be stacked stably as expected.

[0006] Utility model patents CN215625348U ("A Multi-stage Conveying and Receiving Device for Thin Metal Sheets") and CN218478223U ("A Stacking Structure for Sheet Products") both disclose devices for stacking sheet materials. However, neither of these devices can be used in the conveying and stacking of the copper sheets described in this application. The former relies on an inclined plane placed between two conveyor belts to transfer the copper sheets between them, and uses a receiving box of the same size as the copper sheets for collection. However, due to the thinness and warping of the copper sheets in this application, the front end of the sheets deforms upon rapid impact with the inclined plane or the side wall of the receiving box, and the fixed-shape receiving box cannot match the elongated copper sheets. Furthermore, the varying degrees of warping of the copper sheets result in unpredictable drop directions on the plane after passing the inclined plane, leading to a chaotic distribution of the copper sheets on the second conveyor belt, hindering effective guidance and disrupting the stacking sequence, thus failing to achieve the desired purpose. For the latter, in addition to the deformation that may be caused by the force on the copper sheet, the warping of the copper sheet also means that even when the material pile is lifted, the copper sheet may not be able to accurately enter the bottom of the material pile. If the copper sheet is forcibly pushed at this time, it will cause the copper sheet to deform and collapse and be scrapped. Due to the matching of production, the entire group of copper sheets or the corresponding copper busbars also need to be scrapped or additional sorting and matching is required. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To address the problem that existing feeding and stacking equipment cannot adapt to the feeding and stacking of thin, soft, easily deformed, and warped sheet materials such as copper sheets, this invention provides a busbar feeding and stacking device.

[0008] The technical solution of the present invention provides a busbar unloading and stacking device, comprising:

[0009] The slide is set at a certain angle to the vertical plane. The slide has an inlet at the upper end and an outlet at the lower end. The copper sheet enters the slide from the inlet and slides out through the outlet.

[0010] The material collection box is located below the discharge port; the material collection box is provided with a first support part; when the copper sheet leans against the first support part, it tilts in the material collection box in a direction away from the slide, so that multiple copper sheets falling successively can be stacked in an orderly manner in the material collection box.

[0011] Preferably, the first support has a lower support point and an upper support point; when the copper sheet is stationary in the collection box, the lower support point and the upper support point respectively contact and support the surface of the copper sheet; the line connecting the lower support point and the upper support point forms an angle with the vertical plane that extends upward away from the slide.

[0012] Preferably, a second support portion is formed at the bottom of the collection box. The second support portion has a surface that extends vertically upwards toward the same side of the slide, so that the lower ends of multiple copper sheets are arranged from bottom to top on the second support portion.

[0013] Preferably, the first support part is a plane connecting the lower support point and the upper support point, and the second support part is a plane extending obliquely upward facing the same side of the slide.

[0014] Preferably, the collection box has a width direction space at the first support part that is basically the same width as the copper sheet, so that multiple copper sheets are arranged neatly after tilting towards the first support part and leaning against it due to the limited width.

[0015] Preferably, the opening of the collection box has a first area near the upper support point and a second area near the discharge port; the width of the second area is greater than the width of the first area.

[0016] Preferably, the collection box is defined in the width direction by side walls located on both sides of the first support portion, and the distance between the two side walls is an expansion shape from the first support portion to the second area; so that after the copper sheet enters the collection box through the second area, it is guided by the side walls to be neatly stacked on the first support portion.

[0017] Preferably, it also includes an air jet pipe, which is disposed in the gap between the collection box and the slide. The air jet pipe blows air towards the side facing the first support part, and the airflow causes the copper sheet to always tilt towards the first support part in the collection box to ensure the sequential stacking of materials.

[0018] Preferably, guide members are provided on both sides of the outlet of the discharge port. The guide members have free ends that extend elastically on both sides of the discharge port in a general direction of copper sheet falling, so that the copper sheet adjusts its falling direction when it falls and contacts the free ends of the guide members.

[0019] The busbar feeding and stacking device of the present invention realizes the collection and stacking of copper sheets through the sequential arrangement of the collection box and the slide, avoiding the problem of not being able to collect the copper sheets neatly and orderly due to their light weight, thin thickness and easy warping. It ensures that the copper sheets enter the collection box in a stable and orderly manner after feeding. Furthermore, the collection box of the busbar feeding and stacking device has an inclined first support part, which allows the copper sheets to lean against the first support part at an angle, thereby solving the problem of not being able to stack accurately and neatly due to the consideration of the warping deformation and inconsistent size of the copper sheets. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of copper busbar W1 in the prior art

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a device for shearing copper sheet W in the prior art;

[0022] Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of the copper sheet W after warping in the busbar unloading and stacking device of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a simplified structural diagram of the busbar unloading and stacking device of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 This is a side view of the busbar unloading and stacking device;

[0025] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the material collection box of the busbar discharge stacking device;

[0026] Figure 7 This is an overall schematic diagram of the busbar unloading and stacking device of the present invention.

[0027] In the picture,

[0028] W: Copper sheet W1: Copper busbar W2: Material belt 1: Collection box 2: Slide rail 3: Jet nozzle 4: Circular conveyor line 5: Conveyor belt 11: First support part 12: Second support part 13: Side wall 21: Discharge port 22: Inlet port 24: Guide component 111: Lower support point 112: Upper support point 131: First zone 132: Second zone Detailed Implementation

[0029] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In this specification, the dimensions of the drawings do not represent the actual dimensions. They are only used to illustrate the relative positional and connection relationships between the components. Components with the same name or the same reference numeral represent similar or identical structures and are limited to illustrative purposes.

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the busbar feeding and stacking device of the present invention. The busbar feeding and stacking device includes a slide 2 arranged at a certain angle to the vertical plane and a collection box 1 disposed at the discharge port 21 below the slide 2. Copper sheets W fall into the collection box 1 by their own weight from the slide 2 and tilt in the collection box 1 in a direction away from the slide 2. The existence of the tilt angle of the copper sheets W in the collection box 1 to the other side causes the subsequent copper sheets W to naturally cover the top of the copper sheets W when falling into the collection box 1, thereby forming an orderly stack.

[0031] Figure 5This is a side view of the manifold unloading and stacking device. The collection box 1 includes a first support part 11 and a second support part 12. The first support part 11 has a lower support point 111 and an upper support point 112 that are generally in contact with the copper sheet W near both ends. The line connecting the lower support point 111 and the upper support point 112 forms an angle β with the vertical plane, extending upward away from the slide 2. After the copper sheet W falls to the first support part 11, it tilts forward due to the inertia of falling and rests against the lower support point 111 and the upper support point 112 in an inclined posture away from the slide 2, thereby avoiding the problem of disorder in the order of the copper sheets W being conveyed. The first support portion 11 is preferably a surface connecting the lower support point 111 and the upper support point 112. This surface can be a multi-segment plane, inclined plane, or curved surface. After the lower end of the copper sheet W contacts the lower support point 111, it can still fall to the second support portion 12 under the guidance of the lower support point 111, and lean against the lower support point 111 and the upper support point 112 when it stops. The second support portion 12 is located at the bottom of the collection box 1 and forms a surface that extends vertically upward on the same side as the slide 2. This surface is preferably inclined upward, or it can have an appropriate curvature. The key is to ensure that after the copper sheet W falls into the collection box 1, the end that contacts the first support portion 11 naturally slides into the lowest point of the first support portion 11. To address the potential issue of insufficient kinetic energy during the fall of copper sheet W, which could cause it to tilt towards the side of slide 2 and lead to subsequent copper sheets W mistakenly falling into the stacking sequence within the collection box 1, an air jet pipe 3 can be installed in the gap between the collection box 1 and slide 2. The air jet pipe 3 blows air away from slide 2, ensuring that the copper sheets W are always tilted away from slide 2 within the collection box 1, thus maintaining the stacking sequence. This process does not require external force to move the copper sheets W; instead, it relies on the weight of the copper sheets W to slide and flip, thus avoiding material deformation and damage caused by excessive external force or jamming as in existing technologies during the falling and flipping stacking process. The orderly stacking of copper sheets W in the collection box 1 is based on the copper sheets W tilting and deflecting towards the vertical side, so that the subsequent copper sheets W slide into the fixed side of the copper sheet W stack in the collection box 1. This process can be achieved by the copper sheets W themselves without the interference of external mechanisms, and it is independent of the specific shape deformation of the copper sheets W. Whether the copper sheets W are flat or naturally formed with a certain curvature due to the coiling, sequential stacking can be achieved.

[0032] Figure 6This is a top view of the material collection box 1. The material collection box 1 has a space at the first support portion 11 that is approximately the same width as the copper sheet W, allowing the copper sheet W to automatically and neatly arrange itself after tilting and leaning against the first support portion 11 without shifting left or right. To ensure that the first support portion 11 accurately falls into the material collection box 1, the opening of the material collection box 1 has a larger cross-sectional area than its bottom. Specifically, the opening of the material collection box 1 has a first area 131 near the upper support point 112 of the first support portion 11 and a second area 132 near the slide 2. The width of the second area 132 is greater than the width of the first area 131, facilitating the copper sheet W to fall from the slide 2 into the material collection box 1. Preferably, the material collection box 1 has side walls 13 located on both sides of the first support portion 11, with the distance between the two side walls 13 expanding linearly from the first support portion 11 towards the second area 132. After the copper sheet W falls into the collection box 1 from the second zone 132, it leans against the first support 11 and enters the first zone 131. Simultaneously, as the width of the first zone 131 decreases to be equal to the width of the copper sheet W, the multiple copper sheets W naturally stack neatly on the first support 11. Under the action of the air jet pipe 3 or the copper sheet W itself flipping, regardless of its initial posture upon entry, the copper sheet W will always lean firmly against the first support 11. Since the width of the collection box 1 at the first support 11 is approximately equal to the width of the copper sheet W, all the copper sheets W forming the pile, guided by the second zone 132, are stacked with their left and right edges aligned after leaning against the first support 11, achieving automatic alignment of the copper sheets W.

[0033] review Figure 4 The slide 2 includes a lower discharge port 21 and an upper inlet port 22, which define the slide 2. The opening width of the inlet port 22 is greater than the opening width of the discharge port 21. Therefore, the slide 2 is not only inclined but also funnel-shaped, narrowing from the inlet port 22 to the discharge port 21. Generally, the opening width of the discharge port 21 is slightly larger than the width of the copper sheet W, but does not exceed the width of the second zone 132, to ensure that the copper sheet W falls smoothly into the collection box 1. The inlet port 22 is set with a larger width to accommodate the uncertainty of the incoming material, ensuring that the incoming material can enter the inlet port 22 regardless of how it deviates in the width direction.

[0034] To ensure the orientation of the copper sheet W as it falls from the slide 2, guide members 24 can optionally be provided on both sides of the outlet 21. The guide member 24 is elastic and can be a flexible metal sheet with one end fixed to the slide 2 and the other end freely protruding from both sides of the outlet 21. Because the incoming material positions at the inlet 22 vary, it may fall at a lateral angle when exiting the outlet 21, causing the copper sheet W to deviate to one side. The guide member 24 can further correct the falling direction of the copper sheet W. Specifically, when the copper sheet W contacts the guide member 24 due to lateral deviation, the rebound of the guide member 24 can return the copper sheet W to the center position. Appropriate elasticity of the guide member 24 is necessary to provide a slight restoring effect upon contact with the copper sheet W. The elasticity of the guide member 24 needs to be properly set; being too soft or too stiff will make it difficult to achieve the desired correction effect. In practice, the guide component 24 can be made from locally available materials, using the same material and thickness as the copper sheet W.

[0035] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the overall stacking device for the busbar. Multiple collection boxes 1 are preferably arranged on a circular conveyor line 4. As the circular conveyor line 4 rotates, specific collection boxes 1 are sequentially positioned below the discharge port 21 to initiate the sequential stacking operation of a group of copper sheets W for the copper busbar W1. The circular conveyor line 4 is typically a multi-section chain plate arranged in a ring, driven by a drive shaft. The collection box 1 remains empty below the discharge port 21 for a certain period until it receives the expected number of copper sheets W. Then, the circular conveyor line 4 advances, causing the next collection box 1 to be placed below the discharge port 21 for receiving. At a certain position along the movement path of the circular conveyor line 4, the copper sheets W in the collection box 1 are removed. When the first support part 11 is a flat inclined surface, the picking robot arm can press the copper sheets W against the first support part 11 to flatten them before clamping them, thereby avoiding the problem of inconsistent relative positions of the copper sheets W on the robot arm due to bending. A conveyor belt 5 for transporting copper sheets W is provided at the inlet 22 of the slide 2. This conveyor belt 5 has a large width to accommodate the offset distribution of the copper sheets W on the track. Because the conveyor belt 5 is relatively thin and light, installing a guide device on it could lead to problems such as insufficient friction causing it to stop moving forward, or the copper sheets W getting stuck between the conveyor belt 5 and the guide device, resulting in material scrapping. However, in this manifold unloading and stacking device, the large width of the conveyor belt 5 allows the copper sheets W to remain stationary without additional guidance, thus eliminating the problems of stopping or jamming. The guidance of the copper sheets W is accomplished by the slide 2.

[0036] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention should fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A manifold discharge and stacking device, characterized in that, include: The slide (2) is set at a certain angle to the vertical plane. The slide (2) has an inlet (22) at the upper end and an outlet (21) at the lower end. The copper sheet (W) enters the slide (2) from the inlet (22) and slides out through the outlet (21). The material collection box (1) is located below the discharge port (21); the material collection box (1) is provided with a first support part (11); when the copper sheet (W) leans against the first support part (11), it tilts in the material collection box (1) in a direction away from the slide (2), so that multiple copper sheets (W) falling successively can be stacked in the material collection box (1) in an orderly manner; The bottom of the collection box (1) is formed with a second support part (12), the second support part (12) has a surface that extends vertically upward on the same side as the slide (2) so that the lower ends of multiple copper sheets (W) are arranged from bottom to top on the second support part (12); It also includes a jet pipe (3), which is located in the gap between the collection box (1) and the slide (2). The jet pipe (3) blows air towards the side facing the first support (11). The airflow causes the copper sheet (W) to always tilt towards the first support (11) in the collection box (1) to ensure the order of stacking.

2. The busbar unloading and stacking device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first support part (11) has a lower support point (111) and an upper support point (112); when the copper sheet (W) is stationary in the collection box (1), the lower support point (111) and the upper support point (112) respectively contact and support the surface of the copper sheet (W); the line connecting the lower support point (111) and the upper support point (112) forms an angle with the vertical plane that extends upward away from the slide (2).

3. The busbar unloading and stacking device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first support part (11) is a plane connecting the lower support point (111) and the upper support point (112), and the second support part (12) is a plane that extends obliquely upward on the same side as the slide (2).

4. The busbar unloading and stacking device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The collection box (1) has a width direction space at the first support part (11) that is basically the same width as the copper sheet (W), so that multiple copper sheets (W) are arranged neatly after tilting and leaning against the first support part (11) due to the limited width.

5. The busbar unloading and stacking device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The opening of the collection box (1) has a first zone (131) near the upper support point (112) and a second zone (132) near the discharge port (21); the width of the second zone (132) is greater than the width of the first zone (131).

6. The busbar unloading and stacking device as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The collection box (1) is defined in the width direction by the side walls (13) located on both sides of the first support (11), and the distance between the two side walls (13) is an expansion shape from the first support (11) to the second area (132); thus, after the copper sheet (W) enters the collection box (1) through the second area (132), it is guided by the side walls (13) and neatly stacked on the first support (11).

7. The busbar unloading and stacking device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The outlet (21) is provided with guide members (24) on both sides of the outlet. The guide members (24) have free ends that extend elastically on both sides of the outlet (21) in a general direction of the copper sheet (W) falling, so that the copper sheet (W) adjusts its falling direction when it falls and contacts the free end of the guide member (24).

8. The busbar unloading and stacking device according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, Includes a circular conveyor line (4), which passes under the slide (2), and multiple collection boxes (1) are arranged on the circular conveyor line (4); The adjacent collection boxes (1) are spaced a certain distance apart on the circular conveyor line (4) so ​​that the copper sheets (W) in the adjacent collection boxes (1) do not interfere with each other.

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