An online testing device for lithium batteries

Abstract

This invention discloses an online testing device for lithium batteries, comprising two material flow lines with a height difference, on which battery cells flow. Each material flow line is equipped with a detection mechanism for detecting the corner points of the battery cells. A lifting mechanism is provided at the end connection of the two material flow lines, with the lifting end of the lifting mechanism positioned below the two material flow lines. The detection mechanism in this online testing device is rotatably configured, reducing the risk of the battery cells being difficult to fix and easily damaged during rotation. One material flow line can detect two opposite corner points of the battery cell, improving upon the traditional method of only being able to detect one corner point of the battery cell at a time, thus greatly improving testing efficiency. Furthermore, traditional testing requires manual loading and unloading operations, which cannot achieve online real-time testing. This online testing device, by cooperating with a robotic arm for loading and unloading, can achieve fully automatic real-time testing, improving the convenience of testing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of lithium battery manufacturing technology, and in particular to an online testing device for lithium batteries. Background Technology

[0002] In actual production, lithium battery stacking cells mostly use X-ray inspection, but it has the drawback of high detection error rate. Currently, the industry has begun to explore the use of CT to replace X-ray inspection.

[0003] Traditional CT inspection methods involve rotating the stack of cells to be inspected while keeping the radiation source and detector fixed. This method requires manual loading, unloading, and clamping of the stack of cells, and can only inspect one corner at a time. This not only results in low inspection efficiency, making it difficult to meet the needs of online real-time inspection of large batches of batteries, but also makes it difficult to ensure positioning accuracy by manual operation, thus affecting the inspection results and posing a significant risk of damage to the stack of cells to be inspected. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Based on the technical problems existing in the background technology, the present invention proposes an online lithium battery testing device that can realize real-time online testing, thereby improving the convenience and accuracy of testing.

[0005] The present invention proposes an online testing device for lithium batteries, comprising two material flow lines with a height difference, wherein battery cells flow on the material flow lines, and each material flow line is provided with a testing mechanism for detecting the corners of the battery cells. A lifting mechanism is provided at the end connection of the two material flow lines, and the lifting end of the lifting mechanism is located below the two material flow lines.

[0006] Furthermore, the detection mechanism includes a mounting plate, a radiation source, a detector, a rack, and a drive assembly for driving the rack to rotate. The rack is rotatably mounted on the mounting plate, and the radiation source and detector are respectively located at both ends of the rack.

[0007] The rack is a semi-circular rack, and the center of rotation of the rack is located at the corner of the battery cell.

[0008] Furthermore, the drive assembly includes a first motor, a driving wheel, a driven wheel, a rotating gear, and a timing belt. The output end of the first motor is connected to the driving wheel, the driving wheel and the driven wheel are connected by the timing belt, the driven wheel and the rotating gear are coaxially arranged, the rotating gear meshes with the rack for transmission, and the first motor is fixed on the mounting plate.

[0009] Furthermore, the drive assembly also includes a first rotating shaft and a second rotating shaft. One end of the first rotating shaft is connected to the output end of the first motor via a coupling, and the other end is mounted on the mounting plate via a bearing seat. The drive wheel is sleeved on the first rotating shaft. One end of the second rotating shaft is mounted on the mounting plate via a bearing seat, and the other end passes through the driven wheel and the rotating gear in sequence.

[0010] Furthermore, the drive assembly also includes an X slide rail, a Y slide rail, a first slider, and a second slider. The Y slide rail is mounted on the mounting plate, the X slide rail is slidably mounted on the Y slide rail via the second slider, and the rack is slidably mounted on the X slide rail via the first slider.

[0011] Furthermore, the drive assembly also includes a pulley and a third rotating shaft. The lower part of the rack has a groove, the pulley is embedded in the groove, one end of the third rotating shaft passes through the pulley, and the other end is mounted on the mounting plate through a bearing seat.

[0012] Furthermore, the lifting mechanism includes a first lifting cylinder, a support plate, a lifting rotation assembly, and a belt assembly. The lifting end of the first lifting cylinder is fixedly connected to the bottom of the support plate. The lifting rotation assembly is fixed on the support plate. The belt assembly is disposed on the support plate. When the lifting rotation assembly is reset, its top end is disposed below the belt assembly.

[0013] Furthermore, the lifting and rotating assembly includes a rotating cylinder and a second lifting cylinder fixed to the support plate, wherein the lifting end of the second lifting cylinder is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the rotating cylinder.

[0014] Furthermore, the belt assembly includes a belt and a second motor for driving the belt to move, and the conveying direction of the belt is consistent with the conveying direction of the high-position logistics line.

[0015] Furthermore, the testing device also includes a tray, which includes a base plate and limiting blocks. The limiting space formed by multiple limiting blocks is used to load the battery cells, and the four corners of the battery cells protrude from the base plate and the limiting blocks.

[0016] The advantages of the online lithium battery testing device provided by this invention are as follows: The online lithium battery testing device provided by this invention features a rotating testing mechanism, reducing the risk of the battery cell being difficult to fix and easily damaged during rotation; a single material flow line can test two opposite corners of the battery cell, improving upon the traditional method where only one corner of the battery cell can be tested at a time, greatly enhancing testing efficiency; furthermore, traditional testing requires manual loading and unloading operations, which cannot achieve online real-time testing, while this online testing device, by cooperating with a robotic arm for loading and unloading, can achieve fully automatic real-time testing, improving testing convenience. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the specific structure of the Y-axis logistics line;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the testing organization's structure;

[0020] Figure 4 for Figure 3 The main view;

[0021] Figure 5 for Figure 3 Side view;

[0022] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the lifting mechanism;

[0023] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the tray structure;

[0024] Among them, 1-logistics line, 2-detection mechanism, 3-lifting mechanism, 4-tray, 11-X-direction logistics line, 12-Y-direction logistics line, 21-mounting plate, 22-radioactive source, 23-detector, 24-rack, 25-drive assembly, 31-first lifting cylinder, 32-pallet, 33-lifting rotation assembly, 34-belt assembly, 41-base plate, 42-limiting block, 241-groove, 251-first motor, 252-drive wheel, 253-driven wheel, 254-rotating gear, 255-synchronous belt, 256-first rotating shaft, 257-second rotating shaft, 258-X slide rail, 259-Y slide rail, 260-first slider, 261-second slider, 262-pulley, 263-third rotating shaft, 331-rotating cylinder, 332-second lifting cylinder, 341-belt, 342-second motor. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical solution of the present invention will now be described in detail through specific embodiments. Many specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, the present invention can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0026] like Figure 1 and 7 As shown, the present invention proposes an online testing device for lithium batteries, which includes two material flow lines 1 with a height difference. The battery cells flow on the material flow lines 1. Each material flow line 1 is provided with a testing mechanism 2 for detecting the corners of the battery cells. A lifting mechanism 3 is provided at the end connection of the two material flow lines 1. The lifting end of the lifting mechanism 3 is located below the two material flow lines 1.

[0027] The two logistics lines 1 have a height difference and are arranged with overlapping ends. The end of the lower logistics line extends all the way to the overlapping point, while the end of the higher logistics line only extends to the edge of the overlapping point. The conveying direction of the lifting mechanism 3 is consistent with the conveying direction of the higher logistics line. This allows the battery cell to be lifted by the lifting mechanism 3 and then rotated, so that different corners of the battery cell can be detected on the two logistics lines, thus achieving effective monitoring of the four corners of the battery cell.

[0028] The traditional method of rotating the battery cell under test is replaced by the rotation of the testing mechanism 2 disclosed in this embodiment, which reduces the risk of the battery cell being difficult to fix and easily damaged during rotation. Another logistics line can detect two opposite corners of the battery cell, which improves the traditional method of only being able to detect one corner of the battery cell at a time, greatly improving the detection efficiency. Furthermore, traditional detection requires manual loading and unloading operations, which cannot achieve online real-time detection. This embodiment can achieve fully automatic real-time detection by using a robotic arm for loading and unloading, improving the convenience of detection.

[0029] The battery cell is placed on a tray 4, which includes a base plate 41 and a limiting block 42. The limiting space formed by multiple limiting blocks 42 is used to load the battery cell. The four corners of the battery cell protrude from the base plate 41 and the limiting block 42. The setting of the limiting block 42 allows the battery cell to be stably fixed on the tray, avoiding the defect of insufficient detection accuracy caused by positional deviation of the battery cell during the detection process.

[0030] In this embodiment, the detection mechanism 2 includes a mounting plate 21, a radiation source 22, a detector 23, a rack 24, and a drive assembly 25 for driving the rack 24 to rotate. The rack 24 is rotatably mounted on the mounting plate 21, and the radiation source 22 and the detector 23 are respectively disposed at both ends of the rack 24.

[0031] During the rotation of the rack 24, the radiation source 22 and the detector 23 also rotate above and below the material flow line. Moreover, the rack 24 is a semi-circular rack 24, and the rotation center of the rack 24 is located at the corner of the battery cell. At the same time, this rotation center is also the intersection point of the radiation rays when the radiation source 22 and the detector 23 are in different positions. Therefore, the corner of the battery cell can be detected by rotating the rack 24 through the radiation source 22 and the detector 23.

[0032] The drive assembly 25 includes a first motor 251, a drive wheel 252, a driven wheel 253, a rotating gear 254, and a timing belt 255. The output end of the first motor 251 is connected to the drive wheel 252. The drive wheel 252 and the driven wheel 253 are connected by the timing belt 255. The driven wheel 253 and the rotating gear 254 are coaxially arranged. The rotating gear 254 meshes with the rack 24 for transmission. The first motor 251 is fixed on the mounting plate 21.

[0033] The first motor 251 drives the wheel assembly (driving wheel 252, driven wheel 253) to rotate, thereby realizing the rotation of the rotating gear 254. Based on the meshing action between the rotating gear 254 and the rack 24, the rack rotates around its rotation center. This rotation can be achieved using the following structure: the drive assembly 25 also includes an X-slide rail 258, a Y-slide rail 259, a first slider 260, and a second slider 261. The Y-slide rail 259 is mounted on the mounting plate 21. The X-slide rail 258 is slidably mounted on the Y-slide rail 259 via the second slider 261. The rack 24 is slidably mounted on the X-slide rail 258 via the first slider 260. It can be understood that, for the stability of the rack 24's movement, the X-slide rail 258, Y-slide rail 259, first slider 260, and second slider 261 form a rotating unit, with two rotating units respectively located on both sides of the rack 24.

[0034] Understandably, in order to realize the driving connection relationship between the driving wheel 252, the driven wheel 253, and the rotating gear 254, the drive assembly 25 also includes a first rotating shaft 256 and a second rotating shaft 257. One end of the first rotating shaft 256 is connected to the output end of the first motor 251 through a coupling, and the other end is set on the mounting plate 21 through a bearing seat. The driving wheel 252 is sleeved on the first rotating shaft 256. One end of the second rotating shaft 257 is set on the mounting plate 21 through a bearing seat, and the other end passes through the driven wheel 253 and the rotating gear 254 in sequence.

[0035] It should be understood that in order to achieve stable rotation of the rack 24, a support rotation is required. Therefore, the drive assembly 25 also includes a pulley 262 and a third rotating shaft 263. The rack 24 has a groove 241 at its lower part, and the pulley 262 is embedded in the groove 241. One end of the third rotating shaft 263 passes through the pulley 262, and the other end is mounted on the mounting plate 21 through a bearing seat. The rack 24 achieves stable rotation through the rotational relationship between itself and the two pulleys 262.

[0036] In this embodiment, the lifting mechanism 3 includes a first lifting cylinder 31, a support plate 32, a lifting rotation assembly 33, and a belt assembly 34. The lifting end of the first lifting cylinder 31 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the support plate 32. The lifting rotation assembly 33 is fixed on the support plate 32, and the belt assembly 34 is disposed on the support plate 32. When the lifting rotation assembly 33 is reset, its top end is positioned below the belt assembly 34. The lifting rotation assembly 33 includes a rotating cylinder 331 and a second lifting cylinder 332 fixed on the support plate 32. The lifting end of the second lifting cylinder 332 is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the rotating cylinder 331. The belt assembly 34 includes a belt 341 and a second motor 242 for driving the belt 341. The conveying direction of the belt 341 is consistent with the conveying direction of the high-position logistics line 1.

[0037] The lifting mechanism 3 enables the mutual conversion of battery cells on the two logistics lines, allowing the four corners of the battery cell to be detected through the two logistics lines. The rotary cylinder 331 is used to rotate the tray 4, so that the two undetected corners of the battery cell are located at the rotation center of the rack on the next logistics line 1, which facilitates the detection of the undetected corners of the battery cell by the radiation source 22 and detector 23 on the next logistics line 1. In addition, the second lifting cylinder 332 lifts the rotary cylinder 331, so that the battery cell is disengaged from the belt 341, thereby realizing the rotation of the battery cell by the rotary cylinder 331.

[0038] Working process: The two logistics lines are regarded as X-direction logistics line 11 and Y-direction logistics line 12. On the X-direction logistics line 11, the two corner points A and C are detected, and on the Y-direction logistics line, the two corner points B and D are detected. The battery cell flows from the Y-direction logistics line 12 to the X-direction logistics line 11, and the four corner points of the battery cell are detected.

[0039] When the battery cell is on the Y-direction logistics line 12, in the initial state, the angle between the ray between the radiation source 22 and the detector 23 and the horizontal plane is -X°. The protruding corner point B of the battery cell on the tray 4 moves to the top of the detection mechanism 2. The first motor 251 drives the rotating gear 254 to rotate counterclockwise, and the semi-circular rack 24 rotates counterclockwise simultaneously. The radiation source 22 and the detector 23 rotate counterclockwise around the center O. The angle between the ray between the radiation source 22 and the detector 23 and the horizontal plane moves from -X° to X°, completing the scanning detection of corner point B.

[0040] The tray 4 continues to move on the Y-direction logistics line 121, and the next protruding corner point D of the battery cell on the tray 4 moves to above the detection mechanism 2;

[0041] The first motor 251 drives the rotating gear 254 to rotate clockwise, and the semi-circular rack 24 rotates clockwise synchronously. The radiation source 22 and the detector 23 rotate clockwise around the center O. The angle between the radiation source 22 and the detector 23 and the horizontal plane moves from X° to -X°, completing the scanning and detection of corner point D.

[0042] When the pallet 4 on the Y-axis logistics line 121 moves above the lifting and rotating mechanism 3, the pallet 4 is directly above the belt 341. The first lifting cylinder 31 drives the pallet 32 ​​to move upward, and the pallet 4 contacts the belt 341 and disengages from the Y-axis logistics line 121. At this time, the belt 341 and the X-axis logistics line 111 are at the same height.

[0043] The second lifting cylinder 332 drives the rotary cylinder 331 to rise. At this time, the tray 4 contacts the rotary cylinder 331 and disengages from the belt 341. After the rotary cylinder 331 rotates the tray 4 by a certain angle (so that the A and C corners of the battery cell are at the center of the rack 24 set on the X-direction logistics line 11), the second lifting cylinder 332 drives the tray 4 to fall back onto the belt 341. At this time, the tray 4 disengages from the rotary cylinder 331, and the second motor 342 drives the belt 341 to move the tray 4 onto the X-direction logistics line 111.

[0044] The tray 4 moves along the X-direction logistics line 111 until it is directly above the detection mechanism 2. As described above, the detection mechanism 2 on the X-direction logistics line 11 moves to complete the scanning detection of corner points A and C. Thus, the scanning detection of the four corner points A, B, C, and D of each stacked core is completed. Therefore, the detection of the four corner points of the battery cell can be achieved through two intersecting logistics lines.

[0045] It should be noted that in the above steps, in the initial state, the angle between the ray between the radiation source 22 and the detector 23 and the horizontal plane is set to -X°, and the rack 24 rotates counterclockwise (from -X° to X°) and then clockwise (from X° to -X°). However, the initial angle between the ray between the radiation source 22 and the detector 23 and the horizontal plane can also be set to X°, and the semi-circular rack 24 rotates clockwise (from X° to -X°) and then counterclockwise (from -X° to X°). In this embodiment, 0≤X<90°, and preferably, 0≤X≤15°. This angle setting can achieve effective detection of the corner point and avoid large-scale rotation of the rack 24, which would require the battery cell to move forward at a low speed, affecting the detection efficiency of the entire detection process.

[0046] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An online testing device for lithium batteries, characterized in that, The system includes two logistics lines (1) with a height difference. The battery cells flow on the logistics lines (1). Each logistics line (1) is equipped with a detection mechanism (2) for detecting the corners of the battery cells. A lifting mechanism (3) is provided at the end connection of the two logistics lines (1). The lifting end of the lifting mechanism (3) is located below the two logistics lines (1). The ends of the two logistics lines (1) overlap. The end of the lower logistics line extends all the way to the overlap, while the end of the higher logistics line only extends to the edge of the overlap. The detection mechanism (2) includes a mounting plate (21), a radiation source (22), a detector (23), a rack (24), and a drive assembly (25) for driving the rack (24) to rotate. The rack (24) is rotatably mounted on the mounting plate (21), and the radiation source (22) and the detector (23) are respectively mounted at both ends of the rack (24). The rack (24) is a semi-circular rack (24), and the rotation center of the rack (24) is located at the corner of the battery cell; The lifting mechanism (3) includes a first lifting cylinder (31), a support plate (32), a lifting rotation assembly (33), and a belt assembly (34). The lifting end of the first lifting cylinder (31) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the support plate (32). The lifting rotation assembly (33) is fixed on the support plate (32). The belt assembly (34) is set on the support plate (32). When the lifting rotation assembly (33) is reset, the top end is set below the belt assembly (34). The lifting and rotating assembly (33) includes a rotating cylinder (331) and a second lifting cylinder (332) fixed on the support plate (32), wherein the lifting end of the second lifting cylinder (332) is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the rotating cylinder (331); The belt assembly (34) includes a belt (341) and a second motor (242) for driving the belt (341) to move. The conveying direction of the belt (341) is consistent with the conveying direction of the high-position logistics line (1).

2. The lithium battery online testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive assembly (25) includes a first motor (251), a drive wheel (252), a driven wheel (253), a rotating gear (254), and a timing belt (255). The output end of the first motor (251) is connected to the drive wheel (252). The drive wheel (252) and the driven wheel (253) are connected by the timing belt (255). The driven wheel (253) and the rotating gear (254) are coaxially arranged. The rotating gear (254) meshes with the rack (24) for transmission. The first motor (251) is fixed on the mounting plate (21).

3. The lithium battery online testing device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The drive assembly (25) further includes a first rotating shaft (256) and a second rotating shaft (257). One end of the first rotating shaft (256) is connected to the output end of the first motor (251) via a coupling, and the other end is mounted on the mounting plate (21) via a bearing seat. The drive wheel (252) is sleeved on the first rotating shaft (256). One end of the second rotating shaft (257) is mounted on the mounting plate (21) via a bearing seat, and the other end passes through the driven wheel (253) and the rotating gear (254) in sequence.

4. The lithium battery online testing device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The drive assembly (25) further includes an X slide rail (258), a Y slide rail (259), a first slider (260), and a second slider (261). The Y slide rail (259) is mounted on the mounting plate (21). The X slide rail (258) is slidably mounted on the Y slide rail (259) via the second slider (261). The rack (24) is slidably mounted on the X slide rail (258) via the first slider (260).

5. The lithium battery online testing device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The drive assembly (25) also includes a pulley (262) and a third rotating shaft (263). The rack (24) has a groove (241) at its lower part. The pulley (262) is embedded in the groove (241). One end of the third rotating shaft (263) passes through the pulley (262) and the other end is mounted on the mounting plate (21) through a bearing seat.

6. The online lithium battery testing device according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The testing device also includes a tray (4), which includes a base plate (41) and a limiting block (42). The limiting space formed by multiple limiting blocks (42) is used to load the battery cell. The four corners of the battery cell are set to protrude from the base plate (41) and the limiting block (42).

Images