Buffer mechanism applied to battery pack production line

Abstract

The application provides a buffering mechanism applied to a battery pack production line, comprising a driving device, multiple sets of buffering devices and a tray; the buffering device comprises a lifting assembly and a buffering assembly; the lifting assembly drives the tray to rise to the maximum height, and the position of the tray is set as an exchange station; the buffering assembly comprises a transmission mechanism, two sets of chain lifting mechanisms and two tensioning mechanisms; the transmission mechanisms of any two adjacent sets of buffering assemblies are detachably connected through a joint mechanism; the two sets of chain lifting mechanisms are separately arranged on the opposite sides of the battery pack conveying line along a first direction; a plurality of lifting plates are arranged on the chain lifting mechanism along the lifting path thereof; and the two lifting plates moving to the exchange station along the lifting path hold the tray at the exchange station from the two sides. The application buffers the battery pack after lifting the battery pack from the production line, and places the battery pack on the production line again for continuous transportation when needed through reverse action of the device; and multiple buffering devices can be driven by one driving device to move synchronously.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of battery pack buffering, in particular to a buffering mechanism applied to a battery pack production line. BACKGROUND

[0002] With more and more cities starting to adopt regional power rationing in summer to alleviate power consumption pressure, container-type power storage systems have been successively launched on the market. Such container-type power storage systems can store power during power consumption valleys and flat valleys and use the stored power during power consumption peaks, thereby greatly alleviating power consumption pressure during power consumption peaks. At the same time, such container-type power storage systems can also be applied to large industrial sites to prevent production lines from being paralyzed due to unexpected power outages.

[0003] However, as energy storage units, energy storage battery packs are massively integrated by container-type power storage systems. During production, the energy storage battery packs need to continuously pass through multiple processes, and the energy storage battery packs are transferred between processes through a conveying line. The time required by the energy storage battery packs at each process is quite different, and a large number of energy storage battery packs may be stranded on the conveying line, resulting in that the entire production line cannot operate normally. At present, most energy storage battery pack manufacturers remove the energy storage battery packs from the conveying line by manual cleaning, and need to place the energy storage battery packs on the conveying line again when the stranded situation improves. This method not only brings great burden to the workers, but also leads to low production efficiency of the entire production line.

[0004] How to solve the above problems, provide a kind of application in battery pack production line's buffering mechanism, it can realize the action of automatic buffering and automatic unloading of energy storage battery pack by a set of devices, overall structure is simple, the buffering capacity of energy storage battery pack is large. SUMMARY

[0005] The embodiment of the present application provides a buffering mechanism applied to a battery pack production line, which comprises a driving device, a plurality of buffering devices arranged along the conveying direction of a battery pack conveying line and a plurality of trays arranged on the battery pack conveying line, and the trays are used for placing battery packs.

[0006] The buffering device comprises:

[0007] A lifting assembly is arranged for driving the tray to lift, and when the tray is lifted to the maximum height, the position of the tray is set as an exchange station.

[0008] The cache assembly comprises a transmission mechanism, two sets of chain lifting mechanisms, and two tensioning mechanisms. The transmission mechanism is drivingly connected with the two sets of chain lifting mechanisms, for driving the two sets of chain lifting mechanisms to act synchronously. The transmission mechanisms of any two adjacent sets of cache assemblies are detachably connected through an engagement mechanism, for enabling the transmission mechanisms of multiple sets of cache assemblies to act synchronously. The two tensioning mechanisms are correspondingly arranged with the two sets of chain lifting mechanisms. The tensioning mechanism is arranged on the side of the chain lifting mechanism away from the driving device, for adjusting the tightness of the chain lifting mechanism.

[0009] The driving device comprises a motor, a driving gear, a first transmission wheel, and a second transmission wheel. The driving gear is connected with the motor and is in mesh with the first transmission wheel. The first transmission wheel is in mesh with the second transmission wheel. The first transmission wheel and the second transmission wheel are of the same structure. The first transmission wheel and the second transmission wheel are drivingly connected with the transmission mechanism of a set of cache assemblies, for driving the transmission mechanism to act.

[0010] The two sets of chain lifting mechanisms are arranged on the opposite sides of the battery pack conveying line along a first direction. A plurality of lifting plates are arranged on the chain lifting mechanism along the lifting path thereof. Two lifting plates moving along the lifting path to the exchange station lift the tray located at the exchange station from both sides.

[0011] Further, the transmission mechanism comprises a chain transmission mechanism and a transmission shaft. One end of the chain transmission mechanism is drivingly connected with the driving device. The other end of the chain transmission mechanism is drivingly connected with the transmission shaft, for enabling the driving device to drive the transmission shaft to act.

[0012] Further, the engagement mechanism comprises a first connecting piece and a second connecting piece. The first connecting piece and the second connecting piece are detachably connected with the transmission shafts of two sets of cache assemblies, respectively. The first connecting piece and the second connecting piece are connected through a cross connecting shaft.

[0013] Further, the first transmission wheel comprises a first gear part and a first sprocket part arranged coaxially. The second transmission wheel comprises a second gear part and a second sprocket part arranged coaxially. The first gear part is in mesh with the second gear part. The first sprocket part and the second sprocket part are drivingly connected with the transmission shaft through the chain transmission mechanism, respectively.

[0014] Further, the chain lifting mechanism comprises two groups of lifting chains arranged along the ring direction, the lifting plate is connected with the two groups of lifting chains and is located at the side of the two groups of lifting chains close to the tray for moving along the ring direction with the movement path of the lifting chains;

[0015] The two groups of lifting chains are arranged side by side along the conveying direction of the battery pack conveying line, and the two ends of the transmission shaft are respectively provided with lifting sprockets, and the two lifting sprockets are respectively connected with one end of the two groups of lifting chains, and the driving device drives the transmission shaft closest to it to rotate.

[0016] Further, the tensioning mechanism comprises a tensioning seat, a shaft sleeve, a tensioning rope, an elastic member, a pre-tightening member and a pre-tightening seat, the shaft sleeve is sleeved on one end of the transmission shaft, the tensioning seat is provided with a sliding groove, the shaft sleeve is slidably installed in the sliding groove along the second direction, the tensioning rope is partially wrapped around the outer periphery of the shaft sleeve, both ends of the tensioning rope are slidably accommodated in the tensioning seat, the outer periphery of one end of the tensioning rope is sleeved with the elastic member, the pre-tightening seat is provided in the tensioning seat, the pre-tightening member is threadedly connected to the pre-tightening seat along the second direction, and the elastic member is elastically compressed in the pre-tightening member to provide driving force to the tensioning rope along the extension direction thereof.

[0017] Further, the lifting plate is arranged along the conveying direction of the battery pack conveying line, and the two ends of the lifting plate are respectively connected with the two groups of lifting chains, and two supporting blocks are arranged on the side of the lifting plate close to the battery pack conveying line, and the supporting blocks are arranged perpendicular to the lifting chains.

[0018] Further, the battery pack conveying line comprises two groups of transportation mechanisms arranged side by side, the driving end of the lifting assembly is provided with a lifting platform, and the lifting assembly drives the lifting platform to ascend and descend along the second direction between the two groups of transportation mechanisms.

[0019] Further, one end of the tray close to the battery pack conveying line is arranged in a horizontal structure, a positioning groove is arranged on the tray, and a positioning block accommodated in the positioning groove is arranged on the lifting platform.

[0020] Further, the side of the lifting chain away from the lifting plate is provided with a side plate, the side plate is arranged along the second direction, the two ends of the side plate are bent towards the side of the lifting chain to form a bending part, the side of the side plate towards the lifting chain is provided with two groups of limiting plates along the second direction, and the limiting plates and the bending part closest to them form a limiting groove accommodating the lifting chain.

[0021] Compared to existing technologies, the buffer mechanism applied to a battery pack production line in this application utilizes multiple buffer devices on the battery pack conveyor line. Each buffer device includes a lifting assembly and a buffer assembly. The overall structure of the buffer device is simple; the lifting assembly and the buffer assembly automatically complete the lifting and buffering of the battery pack and the return transfer of the battery pack simply through the forward and reverse drives of the motors. This not only reduces the complexity of the drive control of the entire device and lowers production costs, but also ensures that the lifting, buffering, and return transfer of the battery pack are completed quickly and accurately. Furthermore, the buffer devices are standardized and customizable, allowing multiple buffer devices to be installed on the battery pack conveyor line. This solves the problem of limited buffering capacity caused by directly buffering the battery packs within the buffer assembly, thus expanding the total number of battery packs that can be buffered on the entire conveyor line. Simultaneously, multiple buffer devices can be driven by a single drive unit, significantly reducing costs and saving installation and commissioning time. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the buffer mechanism applied to the battery pack production line according to this application in one embodiment.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the lifting component in one embodiment of the buffer mechanism applied to a battery pack production line according to this application.

[0024] Figure 3 This is a front view schematic diagram of a buffer mechanism applied to a battery pack production line according to this application in one embodiment.

[0025] Figure 4 This is an exploded view of the buffer device in one embodiment of the buffer mechanism applied to a battery pack production line according to this application.

[0026] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A magnified view of a portion of region A in the middle.

[0027] Figure 6 for Figure 1 A magnified view of a portion of region C.

[0028] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first connector in one embodiment of the buffer mechanism applied to the battery pack production line according to this application.

[0029] Figure 8 for Figure 1 A magnified view of a portion of region D.

[0030] Figure 9 This is an exploded view of the tensioning mechanism in one embodiment of the buffer mechanism applied to a battery pack production line according to this application.

[0031] Figure 10 for Figure 4 A magnified view of a portion of region B in the middle.

[0032] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the lifting plate in one embodiment of the buffer mechanism applied to the battery pack production line according to this application.

[0033] Explanation of key component symbols:

[0034] Buffer mechanism 100 applied to battery pack production line

[0035] First Direction 1

[0036] Second direction 2

[0037] Battery pack conveyor line conveying direction 3

[0038] Transmission mechanism 4

[0039] Cache component 5

[0040] Cache device 6

[0041] Drive unit 10

[0042] Top cover 11

[0043] Motor 12

[0044] Drive gear 13

[0045] First transmission wheel 14

[0046] First sprocket section 141

[0047] First gear section 142

[0048] Second drive wheel 15

[0049] Second sprocket section 151

[0050] Second gear section 152

[0051] Chain drive mechanism 20

[0052] Drive chain 21

[0053] Drive sprocket 22

[0054] Chain lifting mechanism 30

[0055] Lifting plate 31

[0056] Support block 310

[0057] Casing 32

[0058] Side panel 33

[0059] bending portion 331

[0060] limiting plate 332

[0061] top plate 34

[0062] transmission shaft 35

[0063] flat piece 351

[0064] lifting sprocket 36

[0065] lifting chain 37

[0066] bending chain 38

[0067] transport mechanism 40

[0068] lifting assembly 50

[0069] lifting platform 51

[0070] positioning block 510

[0071] tray 52

[0072] baffle 520

[0073] positioning groove 521

[0074] protective plate 522

[0075] tensioning mechanism 60

[0076] tensioning seat 601

[0077] sliding groove 6011

[0078] tensioning groove 6012

[0079] shaft sleeve 602

[0080] tensioning rope 603

[0081] limiting column 6031

[0082] elastic member 604

[0083] pretightening member 605

[0084] pretightening seat 606

[0085] pointer 607

[0086] tensioning indication scale 608

[0087] engaging mechanism 70

[0088] first connecting piece 71

[0089] Flat hole 711

[0090] Extension protrusion 712

[0091] Movable cavity 713

[0092] Perforation 714

[0093] Locking gap 715

[0094] Locking hole 716

[0095] Second connecting member 72

[0096] Cross connecting shaft 73

[0097] The following detailed description of the application will further explain the above-mentioned drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0098] The following description will refer to the accompanying drawings to more fully explain the present application. The drawings shown herein are exemplary embodiments of the application. However, the application can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. These exemplary embodiments are provided so that this application will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the application to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like or similar components throughout the specification.

[0099] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present application. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "including", "includes", "having", "has", "a", "an", "one" or "said one" are used in this specification and / or claims, they are intended to be inclusive (meaning that there can be additional items) and / or are intended to be quantitatively "comprising" (meaning that there can be additional items).

[0100] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0101] The specific embodiments of the present application will be further described below with reference to the drawings.

[0102] As Figure 1As shown, the buffer mechanism 100 applied to the battery pack production line comprises a driving device 10, a plurality of buffer devices 6 arranged along a conveying direction 3 of a battery pack conveying line, and a plurality of trays 52 arranged on the battery pack conveying line, the trays 52 being used for placing battery packs. The buffer device 6 comprises a lifting assembly 50 and a buffer assembly 5, the lifting assembly 50 being used for driving the tray 52 to lift, and when the tray 52 is lifted to the maximum height by the lifting assembly 50, the position of the tray 52 is set as an exchange station. The buffer assembly 5 comprises a transmission mechanism 4, two sets of chain lifting mechanisms 30, and two tensioning mechanisms 60. The transmission mechanism 4 is drivingly connected with the two sets of chain lifting mechanisms 30, and is used for driving the two sets of chain lifting mechanisms 30 to act synchronously, any two adjacent buffer assemblies 5 are detachably connected through an engaging mechanism 70, so as to drive the transmission mechanisms 4 of the plurality of buffer assemblies 5 to act synchronously, and the two tensioning mechanisms 60 are correspondingly arranged with the two sets of chain lifting mechanisms 30, the tensioning mechanism 60 is arranged on the side of the chain lifting mechanism 30 away from the driving device 10, and is used for adjusting the tightness of the chain lifting mechanism 30.

[0103] The two sets of chain lifting mechanisms 30 are arranged on the opposite sides of the battery pack conveying line along a first direction 1, and a plurality of lifting plates 31 are arranged on the chain lifting mechanism 30 along the lifting path thereof, and the two lifting plates 31 moving along the lifting path to the exchange station lift the tray 52 at the exchange station from the two sides. Among them, the lifting assembly 50 and the buffer assembly 5 are arranged on the opposite sides of the battery pack conveying line along a second direction 2. Further, the first direction 1 is the direction of the width of the battery pack conveying line when it is horizontally placed on the ground, the second direction 2 is the direction of the height from the end close to the ground to the end away from the ground of the battery pack conveying line when it is horizontally placed on the ground, and the first direction 1 and the second direction 2 are arranged perpendicular to each other. At the same time, the conveying direction 3 of the battery pack conveying line is the direction of the length of the battery pack conveying line when it is horizontally placed on the ground, and the conveying direction 3 of the battery pack conveying line is arranged perpendicular to the first direction 1. When the battery pack conveying line is horizontally placed on the ground, the buffer assembly 5 is located above the battery pack conveying line, the lifting assembly 50 is located below the battery pack conveying line, and the lifting assembly 50 is located directly below the buffer assembly 5, and the position of the lifting assembly 50 corresponds to the position of the buffer assembly 5, so as to facilitate the lifting assembly 50 to lift the tray 52 along the vertical direction to the buffer assembly 5. The two sets of chain lifting mechanisms 30 are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the battery pack conveying line along the conveying direction 3 of the battery pack conveying line, and are used for lifting the tray 52 from the two sides of the tray 52 synchronously.

[0104] The plurality of buffer devices 6 are structurally identical and are distributed along the battery pack conveying line, which can expand the buffer capacity of the battery pack conveying line and ensure the buffer demand of the battery pack conveying line. The lifting assembly 50 lifts the tray 52 placed on the battery pack conveying line to the exchange station, and the exchange station also serves as a material taking station of the buffer assembly 5. When the lifting plate 31 moves upward to the exchange station, the lifting plate 31 contacts the tray 52 and lifts the tray 52 upward, and after lifting the tray 52 to above the material taking station, the tray 52 is buffered on the lifting plate 31. The lifting height of the lifting plate 31 lifting the tray 52 only needs to ensure that it does not affect the lifting of the tray 52 by the next lifting plate 31, so that the lifting plate 31 lifts the tray 52 in a step-by-step manner. Not only does it expand the number of battery packs that can be buffered by the buffer assembly 5, but it also facilitates the subsequent rapid falling of the tray 52 onto the battery pack conveying line. Buffering the tray 52 on the lifting plate 31 will limit the number of battery packs that can be buffered to the maximum lifting stroke of the buffer assembly 5 and the number of lifting plates 31 of the buffer assembly 5, so in actual production, the number of buffer devices 6 is increased to increase the maximum buffer capacity of the entire device.

[0105] Further, the lifting plate 31 is movably connected with the tray 52 at the exchange station, for lifting the tray 52 lifted to the exchange station in the second direction 2, or moving the tray 52 in the opposite direction of the second direction 2 to the exchange station and then movably connecting the tray 52 with the driving end of the lifting assembly 50. By lifting the tray 52 from the horizontally placed battery pack conveying line on the ground in the second direction 2 and connecting it to the driving end of the lifting assembly 50, it can ensure that the subsequent buffer assembly 5 can accurately align and stably lift when lifting the battery pack, and ensure that the position of the battery pack buffered on each lifting plate 31 is consistent. When the battery pack needs to be lowered onto the battery pack conveying line, the lifting plate 31 moves in the opposite direction of the second direction 2, i.e. in the vertically downward direction to the exchange station.

[0106] In this way, by providing a plurality of buffer devices 6 on the battery pack conveying line, the buffer device 6 has a simple overall structure, and the lifting assembly 50 and the buffer assembly 5 can automatically complete the lifting and buffering of the battery pack and the lowering and transfer of the battery pack by forward driving and reverse driving of the motor. Not only does it reduce the complexity of the driving control of the entire device and reduce production costs, but it also ensures that the lifting and buffering of the battery pack and the lowering and transfer of the battery pack can be quickly and accurately completed. In addition, the buffer device 6 can be standardized and customized, and a plurality of buffer devices 6 can be provided on the battery pack conveying line to solve the problem of the limited number of battery packs that can be buffered directly in the buffer assembly 5, thereby expanding the number of battery packs that can be buffered on the entire conveying line. At the same time, the plurality of buffer devices 6 can be driven by one driving device 10, which greatly reduces the cost and saves the time for installation and debugging of the device.

[0107] Referring back to Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the battery pack conveying line comprises two sets of conveying mechanisms 40 arranged side by side. The driving end of the lifting assembly 50 is provided with a lifting platform 51, and the lifting assembly 50 drives the lifting platform 51 to lift between the two sets of conveying mechanisms 40 along the second direction 2. In an embodiment, the conveying mechanism 40 can be a synchronous belt conveying mechanism or a roller conveying mechanism, and the tray 52 is placed on the two sets of conveying mechanisms 40, and the two sets of conveying mechanisms 40 synchronously drive the tray 52 to move. A certain space needs to be left between the two sets of conveying mechanisms 40 to ensure that the driving end of the lifting assembly 50 can smoothly contact the bottom end of the tray 52 and then lift the tray 52 upward away from the conveying mechanism 40. The lower part of the conveying mechanism 40 is provided with a support frame, and the bottom end of the lifting assembly 50 is fixed with the two support frames. The lifting assembly 50 can be a pneumatic cylinder lifting machine or a lead screw lifting machine or a scissor lifting machine, and the lifting assembly 50 is fixed at the center position of the two sets of conveying mechanisms 40, so that when the lifting assembly 50 lifts the tray 52, the tray 52 will not tilt.

[0108] Referring back to Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the end of the tray 52 close to the battery pack conveying line is arranged in a horizontal structure, the tray 52 is provided with a positioning groove 521, and the lifting platform 51 is provided with a positioning block 510 accommodated in the positioning groove 521. In an embodiment, the lifting platform 51 is arranged in a square structure and is horizontally connected to the driving end of the lifting assembly 50. The positioning block 510 is arranged in four groups and is arranged in a mouth-shaped shape at the top end of the lifting platform 51, which ensures the stability of the lifting platform 51 when lifting the tray 52. The positioning block 510 is arranged in a trapezoidal structure, the top end is small, and the bottom end is large, so that the four sides of the positioning block 510 form an inclined surface, which guides the positioning block 510 to be embedded in the positioning groove 521, so that the tray 52 and the lifting platform 51 can be quickly connected and quickly separated, improving the buffering efficiency of the device. In addition, the tray 52 is first lifted by the lifting platform 51 along the second direction 2 and then leaves the production line, so that the tray 52 is positioned and stably placed on the lifting platform 51, which facilitates the subsequent buffering assembly 5 to stably and accurately grasp the tray 52 and then lift the buffer.

[0109] Further, the end of the tray 52 close to the battery pack is also arranged in a horizontal structure, which ensures the stability of the tray 52 when conveying the battery pack. A plurality of baffles 520 are arranged on the top end of the tray 52 in a ring shape, and the baffles 520 are arranged in a vertical direction to limit the four sides of the battery pack, so that the battery pack will not shake on the tray 52. In particular, two protection plates 522 are arranged on one side of the tray 52 in a horizontal direction, the two protection plates 522 extend outward from the side wall of the tray 52 in a horizontal direction, and correspond to the positive and negative electrodes of the battery pack respectively, so as to prevent the positive and negative electrodes of the battery pack from being damaged during movement.

[0110] Referring back to Figure 4 , the buffer assembly 5 further comprises two cover plates 32 and a top plate 34, the bottom of the two cover plates 32 is fixed to the outside of the two sets of conveying mechanisms 40 respectively. The cover plates 32 semi-enclose the chain lifting mechanisms 30 to protect the chain lifting mechanisms 30. The cover plates 32 are preferably made of acrylic plates, which can facilitate the staff to directly observe the buffer status of the battery pack. The top plate 34 is fixed to the top of the two cover plates 32, and the driving device 10 is installed at the middle position of the top plate 34 of one buffer assembly 5. In particular, the outer side of the driving device 10 is provided with a top cover 11, the top cover 11 is arranged in an L-shaped structure and is connected to the top plate 34, so as to enclose the entire driving device 10 in the top cover 11.

[0111] Referring back to Figure 4 and Figure 5 , the driving device 10 comprises a motor 12, a driving gear 13, a first transmission wheel 14 and a second transmission wheel 15. The driving gear 13 is connected with the motor 12 and is engaged with the first transmission wheel 14, the first transmission wheel 14 is engaged with the second transmission wheel 15, the first transmission wheel 14 and the second transmission wheel 15 are the same in structure, and the first transmission wheel 14 and the second transmission wheel 15 are drivingly connected with the transmission mechanism of one set of buffer assemblies 5 for driving the transmission mechanism to act. The motor 12 is a servo motor and is installed on the top plate 34, and the axis of the driving end thereof is parallel to the conveying direction of the battery pack conveying line. The motor 12 drives the driving gear 13 to rotate, the driving gear 13 drives the first transmission wheel 14 engaged therewith to rotate, and the first transmission wheel 14 simultaneously drives the second transmission wheel 15 engaged therewith to rotate. Thus, the first transmission wheel 14 and the second transmission wheel 15 synchronously provide a forward driving force or a reverse driving force to the corresponding chain lifting mechanisms 30. The chain lifting mechanisms 30 drive the lifting plates 31 to move upward under the driving of the forward driving force, and the chain lifting mechanisms 30 drive the lifting plates 31 to move downward under the driving of the reverse driving force, and the movement states of the two sets of chain lifting mechanisms 30 should always be consistent.

[0112] In an embodiment, the transmission mechanism 4 comprises a chain transmission mechanism 20 and a transmission shaft 35, one end of the chain transmission mechanism 20 is drivingly connected with the driving device 10, and the other end of the chain transmission mechanism 20 is drivingly connected with the transmission shaft 35 for enabling the driving device 10 to drive the transmission shaft 35 to act.

[0113] Specifically, the first transmission wheel 14 includes a coaxially arranged first gear portion 142 and a first sprocket portion 141, and the second transmission wheel 15 includes a coaxially arranged second gear portion 152 and a second sprocket portion 151. The first gear portion 142 is engaged with the second gear portion 152, and the first sprocket portion 141 and the second sprocket portion 151 are respectively connected with the two groups of chain lifting mechanisms 30 through the chain transmission mechanism 20. It is worth noting that the chain transmission mechanism 20 can also be a synchronous belt mechanism, and only the parts of the first transmission wheel 14 and the second transmission wheel 15 need to be arranged to be connectable with the synchronous belt. In the following, the chain transmission mechanism 20 is taken as an example, and the structures of the first transmission wheel 14 and the second transmission wheel 15 are the same, ensuring that the two transmission wheels rotate synchronously and at the same speed. The first transmission wheel 14 and the second transmission wheel 15 both include two kinds of transmission structures, so as to realize the transmission connection of the first transmission wheel 14 and the second transmission wheel 15, and the transmission connection of the first transmission wheel 14 and the second transmission wheel 15 with the chain lifting mechanisms 30. The chain transmission mechanism 20 is provided with a tensioning bolt to tension the chain.

[0114] The chain transmission mechanism 20 includes transmission chains 21 and transmission sprockets 22. The two ends of one transmission chain 21 are respectively connected with the first sprocket portion 141 and one transmission sprocket 22. The two ends of another transmission chain 21 are respectively connected with the second sprocket portion 151 and another transmission sprocket 22. The two transmission sprockets 22 are respectively connected with the two groups of chain lifting mechanisms 30, so as to realize the driving effect of the first transmission wheel 14 and the second transmission wheel 15 on the two groups of chain lifting mechanisms 30.

[0115] Please refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7 The engagement mechanism 70 includes a first connecting piece 71 and a second connecting piece 72, which are respectively detachably connected with the transmission shafts 35 of the two groups of buffer assemblies 5, and the first connecting piece 71 and the second connecting piece 72 are connected through a cross connecting shaft 73. In an embodiment, the engagement mechanism 70 is arranged at the two transmission shafts 35 close to the driving device 10, and the first connecting piece 71 and the second connecting piece 72 are used to realize the driving connection of the two transmission shafts 35 of the two adjacent buffer assemblies 5 arranged coaxially. The first connecting piece 71 is arranged at one end of the transmission shaft 35 penetrating through the side plate 33, and is arranged coaxially with the transmission shaft 35.

[0116] The first connecting member 71 is provided with a flat hole 711 at one end close to the transmission shaft 35, and two extension protrusions 712 at one end away from the transmission shaft 35. The flat hole 711 is flat and penetrates the first connecting member 71, used to accommodate the flat part 351 at the end of the transmission shaft 35, realizing the driving connection between the transmission shaft 35 and the first connecting member 71. The two extension protrusions 712 are oppositely arranged along the first direction 1, and form a movable cavity 713 between them. The two extension protrusions 712 are each provided with a through hole 714, and the two through holes 714 are used to install the opposite ends of the cross connecting shaft 73 along the first direction 1.

[0117] In particular, one end of the first connecting member 71 along the second direction 2 is provided with a locking gap 715, which makes one end of the first connecting member 71 along the second direction 2 form two oppositely movable parts, and each of the two parts is provided with a locking hole 716 along the first direction 1. The two parts are locked by a locking member such as a screw passing through the locking hole 716, so that the transmission shaft 35 and the first connecting member 71 are relatively fixed, and the first connecting member 71 can be removed by removing the screw.

[0118] The second connecting member 72 is the same structure as the first connecting member 71, and the second connecting member 72 is coaxially and oppositely arranged with the first connecting member 71. When the second connecting member 72 is installed, its position is rotated 90° relative to the axis of the first connecting member 71, so that the through hole of the second connecting member 72 can be used to install the opposite ends of the cross connecting shaft 73 along the second direction 2, so that the second connecting member 72 and the first connecting member 71 are assembled through the cross connecting shaft 73, and the driving connection of the two transmission shafts 35 is realized. In addition, the connection mode of the cross connecting shaft 73 can make the two transmission shafts 35 have a certain shaft eccentricity, which is convenient for realizing the driving connection of multiple buffer devices 6, and can drive multiple sets of buffer devices 6 synchronously by a single driving device 10. And because the engagement mechanism 70 is provided as a detachable structure, the number of buffer devices 6 can be increased or decreased according to the actual buffering needs.

[0119] Please also refer to Figure 10The chain lifting mechanism 30 includes two groups of lifting chains 37 arranged along the circumferential direction. The lifting plates 31 are connected to the two groups of lifting chains 37 and located on the side of the two groups of lifting chains 37 close to the tray 52, for moving along the circumferential direction with the movement path of the lifting chains 37. The distance between the two lifting plates 31 at the exchange station is less than the width of the tray 52 and greater than the width of the driving end of the lifting assembly 50. In an embodiment, the lifting plates 31 at the exchange station are arranged horizontally or inclined downward toward one side of the tray 52. The lifting plates 31 are arranged perpendicular to the lifting chains 37, and the height of the exchange station can be the vertical section of the lifting chains 37 or the curved section of the lifting chains 37. When the lifting plates 31 move to the exchange station, the lifting plates 31 on both sides of the exchange station are lifted synchronously from both sides of the tray 52 to be close to the bottom end of the tray 52, so that the two lifting plates 31 lift the bottom end of the tray 52 and then place the tray 52 on the lifting plates 31. It is worth noting that in order to ensure that the lifting plates 31 on both sides can smoothly lift the tray 52 at the exchange station, the distance between the two lifting plates 31 is greater than the width of the driving end of the lifting assembly 50, so that when the battery pack needs to be returned to the production line, the tray 52 on the lifting plate 31 can be placed on the lifting platform 51 of the lifting assembly 50 moved to the exchange station in advance, and the lifting plate 31 can smoothly move downward from both sides of the lifting platform 51 along the lifting chains 37, avoiding the lifting platform 51 hindering the falling of the lifting plate 31.

[0120] Further, the two groups of lifting chains 37 are arranged side by side along the conveying direction 3 of the battery pack conveying line. The two ends of the transmission shaft 35 are respectively provided with lifting sprockets 36. The two lifting sprockets 36 are respectively connected to one end of the two groups of lifting chains 37. The driving device 10 drives the transmission shaft 35 closest to the lifting sprockets 36 to rotate. In an embodiment, one group of chain lifting mechanisms 30 includes four lifting sprockets 36. The two lifting sprockets 36 on the same transmission shaft 35 are located on the sections close to the two ends of the transmission shaft 35. The lifting sprockets 36 in the same vertical direction are respectively connected to the two ends of the lifting chains 37 at the current position, to realize the movement of the lifting chains 37 in the vertical direction. The lifting chains 37 are double-row chains. The lifting sprockets 36 are correspondingly provided with two rows of chain teeth, to enhance the carrying capacity of the lifting chains 37 and ensure the stability of the battery pack cached on the lifting plate 31. The two transmission sprockets 22 are respectively connected to one end of the two uppermost transmission shafts 35 on both sides of the battery pack conveying line, to drive the two uppermost transmission shafts 35 on both sides of the battery pack conveying line to rotate in opposite directions by the first transmission wheel 14 and the second transmission wheel 15 through the two transmission chains 21 and the two transmission sprockets 22.

[0121] FurtherFigure 8 and Figure 9 The tensioning mechanism 60 comprises a tensioning seat 601, a shaft sleeve 602, a tensioning rope 603, an elastic member 604, a pre-tightening member 605 and a pre-tightening seat 606. The shaft sleeve 602 is sleeved on one end of the transmission shaft 35. The tensioning seat 601 is provided with a sliding groove 6011. The shaft sleeve 602 is slidably installed in the sliding groove 6011 along the second direction 2. The tensioning rope 603 is partially wound around the outer periphery of the shaft sleeve 602. Both ends of the tensioning rope 603 are slidably accommodated in the tensioning seat 601. The outer periphery of one end of the tensioning rope 603 is sleeved with the elastic member 604. The pre-tightening seat 606 is arranged on the tensioning seat 601. The pre-tightening member 605 is threadedly connected to the pre-tightening seat 606 along the second direction 2. The elastic member 604 is elastically compressed in the pre-tightening member 605 to provide a driving force along the extension direction of the tensioning rope 603. In an embodiment, the tensioning seat 601 is arranged on the outside of the side plate 33. The end of the transmission shaft 35 is accommodated in the sliding groove 6011 after passing through the side plate 33, so that the transmission shaft 35 can slide relative to the tensioning seat 601 along the second direction 2 through the shaft sleeves 602 at both ends thereof, thereby adjusting the spacing of the two transmission shafts 35 arranged along the second direction 2, and adjusting the tightness of the lifting chain 37.

[0122] Specifically, the middle section of the tensioning rope 603 is wound around the top end of the shaft sleeve 602 to provide a pre-tightening force downward along the second direction 2 to the shaft sleeve 602. Both ends of the tensioning rope 603 are provided with limiting columns 6031 with increased outer diameters. The tensioning seat 601 is provided with two tensioning grooves 6012 arranged along the second direction 2 and used for accommodating the limiting columns 6031 so that the limiting columns 6031 can slide in the tensioning grooves 6012. The top ends of the tensioning grooves 6012 are provided with a necking structure to prevent the limiting columns 6031 from sliding out of the top ends of the tensioning grooves 6012.

[0123] The pre-tightening seat 606 is a threaded seat fixed to the tensioning seat 601. The pre-tightening member 605 is a pre-tightening threaded sleeve threadedly connected to the pre-tightening seat 606. The elastic member 604 is a coil spring elastically compressed in a pre-tightening cavity arranged in the pre-tightening member 605. By tightening the pre-tightening member 605, the elastic member 604 is continuously compressed to pull the tensioning rope 603, thereby pressing the transmission shaft 35 downward to tighten the lifting chain 37, thereby ensuring the stability of the entire buffering mechanism 100 applied to the battery pack production line during long-time buffering of the battery pack.

[0124] In particular, the shaft sleeve 602 is provided with a pointer 607, and the tensioning seat 601 is provided with tensioning indication scales 608, so that when the shaft sleeve 602 moves along the second direction 2, the pointer 607 moves with the shaft sleeve 602 to indicate different tensioning indication scales 608.

[0125] Referring back to Figure 11The lifting plate 31 is arranged along the battery pack conveying line conveying direction 3, two ends of the lifting plate 31 are respectively connected with two groups of lifting chains 37, and the side of the lifting plate 31 close to the battery pack conveying line is provided with two supporting blocks 310, which are arranged perpendicularly to the lifting chains 37. In particular, the middle part of the lifting plate 31 is bent away from the side of the tray 52 to form a groove for accommodating the positive and negative poles of the battery pack. In an embodiment, the lifting plate 31 on the same chain lifting mechanism 30 is provided in multiple, the multiple lifting plates 31 are arranged at equal intervals along the lifting chain 37, and the spacing between the adjacent two lifting plates 31 is greater than the total height of the battery pack and the tray 52, so as to ensure that the battery pack can be buffered on the lifting plate 31. One lifting plate 31 can correspond to one battery pack, and the number of the lifting plate 31 can be set according to actual needs, which depends on the length of the vertical section of the lifting chain 37 and the height of the space above the battery pack production line. When the lifting plate 31 is connected with the lifting chain 37, the side of the lifting chain 37 close to the lifting plate 31 is provided with a bent chain 38 along the lifting chain 37. The bent chain 38 is arranged in an L-shaped structure, one end of which is connected with the lifting chain 37, and the other end is connected with the lifting plate 31. The lifting plate 31 and the bent chain 38 are both provided with connecting holes, and the lifting plate 31 and the bent chain 38 are connected by penetrating the connecting holes with bolts.

[0126] Referring again to Figure 10 and Figure 11The side of the lifting chain 37 away from the lifting plate 31 is provided with a side plate 33 arranged along the second direction 2, and the two ends of the side plate 33 are bent to form a bent portion 331 towards the side of the lifting chain 37. The side of the side plate 33 towards the lifting chain 37 is provided with two groups of limiting plates 332 along the second direction 2, and the limiting plate 332 and the closest bent portion 331 form a limiting groove for accommodating the lifting chain 37. In an embodiment, the cover 32 of one group of chain lifting mechanisms 30 includes a vertical plate and a side plate 33 arranged at the two ends of the vertical plate, and the side plate 33 shields the lifting chain 37 from one side to well protect the lifting chain 37. The side plate 33 and the vertical plate are both arranged along the vertical direction, and the side plate 33 is provided for mounting two transmission shafts 35 located on the same side. The two ends of the side plate 33 form a bent portion 331 perpendicular to the side plate 33, and the vertical length of the bent portion 331 is the same as the vertical length of the side plate 33. The limiting plate 332 is arranged on the side plate 33 along the second direction 2, that is, the limiting plate 332 and the side plate 33 are both arranged along the vertical direction. The limiting plate 332 and the bent portion 331 are arranged in parallel with each other to form a limiting groove between them for mounting the lifting chain 37, so as to relatively clamp the vertical sections of the two sides of the lifting chain 37 in the limiting groove. Moreover, the length of the limiting plate 332 is less than the length of the bent portion 331, and the length of the limiting plate 332 is specifically set according to the length of the lifting chain 37 on the vertical section. The limiting groove is arranged because when the lifting plate 31 is lifted on the tray 52, the battery pack acts on the lifting plate 31 to continuously generate downward pressure on the lifting plate 31, causing the links of the lifting chain 37 to tilt to some extent, thereby affecting the bearing capacity of the entire lifting chain 37 on the battery pack in the vertical direction. The arrangement of the limiting groove can avoid the inclination of the lifting chain 37, so as to ensure that the lifting chain 37 always moves in the vertical direction in the limiting groove, and ensure the stability of the battery pack during lifting.

[0127] The application is applied to the buffering mechanism 100 of the battery pack production line. When the tray 52 with the battery pack moves to the upper side of the lifting platform 51 along the battery pack conveying line, the lifting platform 51 is lifted upward by the lifting assembly 50 to make the tray 52 leave the battery pack conveying line and move to the exchange station along with the lifting platform 51. At this time, the lifting chain 37 drives the lifting plate 31 to move upward, and the two lifting plates 31 below the tray 52 move upward to the two sides of the bottom end of the tray 52, so as to drive the tray 52 to move upward by a certain distance and buffer the tray 52 with the battery pack on the two lifting plates 31, and complete the lifting and buffering of the current battery pack. When the new battery pack needs to be lifted and buffered, the lifting plate 31 below the lifting plate 31 with the battery pack continues to complete the lifting and buffering of the new battery pack in the same way, and the previous group of battery packs moves upward by one position to realize the step-by-step lifting and buffering of the battery packs. The buffering assembly 5 continuously lifts and buffers the battery packs passing below, until the number of the battery packs buffered in the whole buffering assembly 5 reaches the upper limit.

[0128] When the buffered battery pack needs to be lowered to the battery pack conveying line, the driving device 10 reverses to drive the lifting chain 37 to move downward, and the lifting chain 37 drives the lifting plate 31 to move downward. At this time, the lifting plate 31 with the battery pack at the lowermost position moves downward to the exchange station, so that the battery pack at the lowermost position and the tray 52 fall on the lifting platform 51, and the tray 52 and the lifting platform 51 are in position and clamped. Then, the tray 52 is driven by the lifting assembly 50 to move downward to the battery pack conveying line, and the lifting assembly 50 continues to drive the lifting platform 51 to move downward, so that the clamped lifting platform 51 and the tray 52 are separated, and the tray 52 continues to move forward under the driving of the battery pack conveying line to complete the subsequent processing procedure.

[0129] In the foregoing, the specific embodiments of the application are described with reference to the drawings. However, those skilled in the art can understand that various changes and replacements can be made to the specific embodiments of the application without departing from the scope of the application. These changes and replacements are within the scope defined by the application.

Claims

1. A buffering mechanism applied to a battery pack production line, comprising a driving device, a plurality of buffering devices arranged along a conveying direction of a battery pack conveying line, and a plurality of trays arranged on the battery pack conveying line and used for placing battery packs; characterized in that the buffering device comprises: a lifting assembly for driving the tray to lift, when the tray is lifted to the maximum height, the position of the tray is set as an exchange station; a buffering assembly, the buffering assembly comprises a transmission mechanism, two chain lifting mechanisms, and two tensioning mechanisms, the transmission mechanism is drivingly connected with the two chain lifting mechanisms, for driving the two chain lifting mechanisms to act synchronously, the transmission mechanisms of any two adjacent buffering assemblies are detachably connected through an engaging mechanism, for making the transmission mechanisms of the plurality of buffering assemblies act synchronously, the number of buffering devices can be increased or decreased according to actual buffering requirements, and the driving force is provided to the transmission mechanisms of the plurality of buffering assemblies through the driving device, thereby saving the time for installation and debugging of the device; the two tensioning mechanisms are correspondingly arranged with the two chain lifting mechanisms, the tensioning mechanism is arranged on the side of the chain lifting mechanism away from the driving device, for adjusting the tightness of the chain lifting mechanism, the engaging mechanism comprises a first connecting piece and a second connecting piece, the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece are detachably connected with the transmission shafts of the two buffering assemblies respectively, and the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece are connected through a cross connecting shaft, the driving device provides driving force to the buffering assembly through the transmission shaft; the transmission mechanism comprises a chain transmission mechanism and two transmission shafts, the two transmission shafts are arranged at intervals in a second direction, one end of the chain transmission mechanism is drivingly connected with the driving device, the other end of the chain transmission mechanism is drivingly connected with the transmission shaft above, for making the driving device drive the transmission shaft to act, the chain lifting mechanism comprises a lifting chain, the transmission shaft above is drivingly connected with the transmission shaft below through the lifting chain, the tensioning mechanism comprises a tensioning seat, a shaft sleeve, a tensioning rope, an elastic piece, a pre-tightening piece, and a pre-tightening seat, the shaft sleeve is sleeved on one end of the transmission shaft below, the tensioning seat is provided with a sliding groove, the shaft sleeve is slidably installed in the sliding groove in the second direction, the tensioning rope is partially wrapped around the outer periphery of the shaft sleeve, both ends of the tensioning rope are slidably accommodated in the tensioning seat, the outer periphery of one end of the tensioning rope is sleeved with the elastic piece, the pre-tightening seat is arranged in the tensioning seat, the pre-tightening piece is threadedly connected with the pre-tightening seat in the second direction, and the elastic piece is elastically compressed in the pre-tightening piece to provide driving force to the tensioning rope in the extension direction of the tensioning rope; The driving device comprises a motor, a driving gear, a first transmission wheel and a second transmission wheel, the driving gear is connected with the motor and engaged with the first transmission wheel, the first transmission wheel is engaged with the second transmission wheel, the first transmission wheel and the second transmission wheel are the same in structure, the first transmission wheel and the second transmission wheel are drivingly connected with the transmission mechanism of the buffer assembly, and used for driving the transmission mechanism to act; the two groups of chain lifting mechanisms are arranged on the opposite sides of the battery pack conveying line along a first direction, a plurality of lifting plates are arranged on the chain lifting mechanism along the lifting path thereof, and the two lifting plates moving along the lifting path to the exchange station lift the tray located at the exchange station from the two sides; The lifting assembly and the buffer assembly are arranged on the opposite sides of the battery pack conveying line along a second direction; the lifting plate is movably connected with the tray located at the exchange station, and used for lifting the tray lifted to the exchange station along the second direction, or lifting the tray to move to the exchange station along the opposite direction of the second direction and then movably connecting the tray with the driving end of the lifting assembly.

2. The buffer mechanism for a battery pack production line according to claim 1, wherein, The first transmission wheel comprises a first gear part and a first sprocket part arranged coaxially, the second transmission wheel comprises a second gear part and a second sprocket part arranged coaxially, the first gear part is engaged with the second gear part, and the first sprocket part and the second sprocket part are drivingly connected with the transmission shaft through the chain transmission mechanism.

3. The buffer mechanism for a battery pack production line of claim 1, wherein, The chain lifting mechanism comprises two groups of lifting chains arranged in a ring shape, the lifting plate is connected with the two groups of lifting chains and located on the side of the two groups of lifting chains close to the tray, and used for moving along the ring shape along the movement path of the lifting chains; The two groups of lifting chains are arranged side by side along the conveying direction of the battery pack conveying line, the two ends of the transmission shaft are respectively provided with lifting sprockets, the two lifting sprockets are respectively connected with one end of the two groups of lifting chains, and the driving device drives the transmission shaft closest to the driving device to rotate.

4. The buffer mechanism for battery pack production line according to claim 3, wherein, The lifting plate is arranged along the conveying direction of the battery pack conveying line, the two ends of the lifting plate are respectively connected with the two groups of lifting chains, and two supporting blocks are arranged on the side of the lifting plate close to the battery pack conveying line and perpendicular to the lifting chains.

5. The buffer mechanism for battery pack production line according to claim 1, wherein, The battery pack conveying line comprises two groups of conveying mechanisms arranged side by side, the driving end of the lifting assembly is provided with a lifting platform, and the lifting assembly drives the lifting platform to ascend and descend along the second direction between the two groups of conveying mechanisms.

6. The buffer mechanism for a battery pack production line of claim 5, wherein, One end of the tray close to the battery pack conveying line is arranged in a horizontal structure, the tray is provided with a positioning groove, and the lifting platform is provided with a positioning block accommodated in the positioning groove.

7. The buffer mechanism for battery pack production line according to claim 3, wherein, The side of the lifting chain away from the lifting plate is provided with a side plate, the side plate is arranged along the second direction, two ends of the side plate are bent towards the side of the lifting chain to form a bending part, and the side of the side plate towards the lifting chain is provided with two groups of limiting plates along the second direction, and the limiting plates and the closest bending part form a limiting groove for accommodating the lifting chain.

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