Multi-cavity electrolyte leak hunting device and leak hunting method using same

Abstract

The invention discloses a multi-cavity electrolyte leak hunting device and a leak hunting method using the multi-cavity electrolyte leak hunting device. The device comprises a four-stage mass spectrometer, a vacuum pump set, two gas circuit modules and five working cavities, wherein the four-stage mass spectrometer is connected with each working cavity; the five working cavities are divided into three detection cavities, a standby cavity and a cleaning cavity, the vacuum pump set is connected with the detection cavities and the standby cavity at the same time, two of the detection cavities are connected with one of the gas circuit modules, and the other two of the detection cavities are connected with the other gas circuit module. The other detection cavity and the standby cavity are both connected with the other gas circuit module, and the two gas circuit modules are also connected with a rotary valve. According to the multi-cavity electrolyte leak hunting device, the mass spectrometer is used for being connected with the multiple cavities at the same time, all the cavities conduct detection in turn, other cavities can conduct evacuation, feeding and discharging and other work at the same time, and therefore the detection efficiency is effectively improved, and the multi-cavity electrolyte leak hunting device has the automatic cleaning function.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of batteries, and in particular to a multi-cavity electrolyte leakage detection device and a leakage detection method using the same. Background Art

[0002] Quadrupole mass spectrometry is a widely used detection mode in chemistry, biology, environmental science, medicine, food science, and industry, and is particularly suitable for battery cell leakage detection. This detection mode has the advantages of high detection efficiency and online detection. Compared with existing detection technologies, the detection cost of this detection technology is greatly reduced, the reliability of the detection results is improved, and the production process is easier to control. It can play an important role in many fields. Different detection modes are suitable for different application scenarios, providing strong technical support for scientific research and actual production. With the continuous development and innovation of technology, this detection technology will continue to make greater contributions to the development of various industries in the future.

[0003] In the existing quadrupole detection method, a mass spectrometer is generally used to connect to a working chamber where the product is placed for detection. During each detection, the chamber needs to be evacuated and loaded with materials first, and then unloaded after the detection. In addition, the chamber often needs to be cleaned, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and inefficient. Summary of the invention

[0004] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a multi-cavity electrolyte leak detection device and a leak detection method using the same, which uses a mass spectrometer to simultaneously connect multiple cavities, each cavity is detected in turn, and other cavities can be evacuated and loaded and unloaded at the same time, thereby effectively improving the efficiency of detection and having an automatic cleaning function.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a multi-cavity electrolyte leak detection device and a leak detection method using the same are provided, comprising a four-stage mass spectrometer, a vacuum pump group, two gas path modules and five working cavities, wherein the four-stage mass spectrometer is connected to each of the working cavities;

[0006] The five working chambers are divided into three detection chambers, one spare chamber and one cleaning chamber, the vacuum pump group is connected to each detection chamber and the spare chamber at the same time, wherein two detection chambers are connected to one of the gas circuit modules, the other detection chamber and the spare chamber are connected to the other gas circuit module, and the two gas circuit modules are also connected to the rotary valve;

[0007] The gas circuit module includes a plurality of gas circuit valve islands arranged in sequence from the front end to the rear end, and the gas circuit valve island includes an air intake chamber and two two-way solenoid valves. An air intake pipe is provided inside the air intake chamber, and the air intake pipe is connected to the vacuum pump group and one end of the two two-way solenoid valves, and the other ends of the two two-way solenoid valves are respectively connected to the two working chambers;

[0008] The working cavity is formed by combining a lower cavity and an upper cavity, wherein an inner cavity is formed between the lower cavity and the upper cavity, and a plurality of products to be inspected can be mounted on the lower cavity and located in the inner cavity.

[0009] In some embodiments, two high vacuum valves are installed at the front and rear ends of the top of each of the detection chambers and the standby chamber, and the two high vacuum valves are connected to the vacuum pump group through two exhaust pipes. The advantage is that the high vacuum valve can control the on-off of the vacuum pump group and the corresponding working chamber.

[0010] In some embodiments, the upper cavity is connected to the bottom surface of a lifting plate, and the four corners and bottoms of the lifting plate are supported by four lifting support rods that can be lifted and lowered. The benefit is that the lifting and lowering of the lifting plate can drive the upper cavity to rise from the lower cavity or press down to close the mold.

[0011] In some embodiments, the gas circuit valve islands of the gas circuit module are installed together on a bracket extending forward and backward, and the left and right ends of the bracket are respectively installed on the top surfaces of the two lifting plates, wherein the gas circuit module is respectively connected to the vacuum pump group, each detection cavity, the spare cavity and the rotary valve through a plurality of ventilation pipes. The benefit lies in that the installation position and connection method of the gas circuit module and each gas circuit valve island are further described.

[0012] In some embodiments, the two two-way solenoid valves are respectively installed at the upper parts of the left and right ends of the air inlet chamber, the middle part of the air inlet pipe is connected to the vacuum pump group, and the two ends are respectively connected to the two two-way solenoid valves. The benefit is that the specific structure of the gas path valve island is further described.

[0013] In some embodiments, the bottom surface of the upper cavity is provided with a plurality of downwardly extending filling blocks in parallel, and the upper part of each product is sandwiched between the filling blocks in sequence. The benefit is that the provision of the filling blocks can improve the stability of the installation of each product.

[0014] In some embodiments, multiple sensors are installed on the front and rear sides of the lower cavity, and each sensor is higher than the lower cavity and faces the inner cavity. The advantage is that the use of each sensor can detect the installation status of each product before the upper cavity is molded.

[0015] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a leak detection method using the above-mentioned multi-cavity electrolyte leak detection device, comprising the following steps:

[0016] S1: installing the plurality of products to be tested on the lower cavity of the testing cavity, and closing the upper cavity with the lower cavity;

[0017] S2: the vacuum pump group operates to evacuate the detection cavity;

[0018] S3: using the quadruple mass spectrometer to detect whether there is electrolyte leakage in the detection cavity;

[0019] S4: when electrolyte leakage is detected in the detection cavity, the quadrupole mass spectrometer is switched to the cleaning cavity, and the vacuum pump group operates to introduce nitrogen into the detection cavity through the gas path module for purging and cleaning;

[0020] S5: When the detection cavity is cleaned, the quadruple mass spectrometer is switched to the spare cavity, and the detection work is continued using the spare cavity;

[0021] The three detection chambers implement steps S1 to S3 simultaneously.

[0022] In some embodiments, in step S1, each of the products that have been tested is first taken out of the testing cavity. This is beneficial in that it describes the need to first unload the products that have been tested before being put into the testing cavity.

[0023] In some embodiments, in step S4, after purging and cleaning, the detection chamber is detected again using the quadruple mass spectrometer, and if there is still electrolyte leakage, purging and cleaning are performed again until the cleaning is completed. The benefit is that a method is described when one purging and cleaning cannot complete the cleaning. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a multi-chamber electrolyte leak detection device and a leak detection method using the same according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a gas path module and a working chamber is shown;

[0026] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The cross-sectional structure diagram of the gas circuit valve island shown in FIG.

[0027] Figure 4 for Figure 2A schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of the working chamber shown;

[0028] Figure 5 for Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the structure of the working chamber after removing the upper chamber is shown.

[0029] In the figure: quadruple mass spectrometer 1, vacuum pump group 2, gas path module 3, working chamber 4, detection chamber 5, spare chamber 6, cleaning chamber 7, rotary valve 8, exhaust pipe 9, high vacuum valve 10, ventilation pipe 11, lifting plate 12, lifting support rod 13, gas path valve island 31, air inlet chamber 32, two-way solenoid valve 33, air inlet pipe 34, bracket 35, lower chamber 41, upper chamber 42, inner chamber 43, filling block 44, sensor 45, product 100. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0031] like Figure 1-2 As shown, the device includes a four-stage mass spectrometer 1, a vacuum pump group 2, two gas path modules 3 and five working chambers 4. The four-stage mass spectrometer 1 is connected to each working chamber 4 to detect the gas in each working chamber 4.

[0032] The vacuum pump group 2 module is connected to each gas circuit module 3 through multiple ventilation pipes 11, and the five working chambers 4 are divided into three detection chambers 5, a spare chamber 6 and a cleaning chamber 7, and each detection chamber 5 and the spare chamber 6 are connected to the vacuum pump group 2; at the same time, two of the detection chambers 5 are connected to one of the gas circuit modules 3, and the other detection chamber 5 and the spare chamber 6 are connected to the other gas circuit module 3. Then, through the vacuum pump group 2 and each gas circuit module 3, each detection chamber 5 and the spare chamber 6 can be evacuated and gas can be introduced.

[0033] In addition, the two gas path modules 3 are also connected to a rotary valve 8 through two ventilation pipes 11 respectively, and the rotary valve 8 can control the interruption of the gas flow between the two gas path modules 3.

[0034] Two high vacuum valves 10 are respectively installed at the two ends of the top of each detection cavity 5 and spare cavity 6 (called the front and rear ends, and the other two ends are called the left and right ends). Each high vacuum valve 10 is connected to the vacuum pump group 2 module through a plurality of exhaust pipes 9. The operation of the vacuum pump group 2 module can evacuate each detection cavity 5 and spare cavity 6 through each exhaust pipe 9 and each high vacuum valve 10.

[0035] The five working chambers 4 are respectively mounted on the bottom surfaces of five lifting plates 12 that can be raised and lowered, and the four corner bottoms of each lifting plate 12 are respectively supported by four lifting support rods 13 that can be raised and lowered. Among them, each working chamber 4 is respectively mounted on the bottom surface of each lifting plate 12.

[0036] The gas circuit module 3 includes a plurality of gas circuit valve islands 31 arranged in sequence from the front end to the rear end. Each gas circuit valve island 31 is mounted on a bracket 35 extending forward and backward, and the left and right ends of the bracket 35 are respectively mounted on the top surfaces of the lifting plates 12 of the two support frames.

[0037] like Figure 3 As shown, the gas circuit valve island 31 includes an air inlet chamber 32 , and two two-way solenoid valves 33 are respectively installed at the upper parts of the left and right ends of the air inlet chamber 32 .

[0038] An air intake pipe 34 extending leftward and rightward is provided in the air intake cavity 32 . The middle portion of the air intake pipe 34 is connected to a ventilation pipe 11 , and gas can be introduced from the ventilation pipe 11 .

[0039] The left and right ends of the air inlet chamber 32 are respectively connected to one end of the two two-way solenoid valves 33, and the other ends of the two two-way solenoid valves 33 are respectively connected to the two working chambers 4 through two ventilation pipes 11. The operation of the two two-way solenoid valves 33 can control the introduction of nitrogen or other gases from the air inlet pipe 34 and the ventilation pipe 11 into the two working chambers 4 for cleaning.

[0040] like Figure 4-5 As shown, the working cavity 4 is formed by a lower cavity 41 and an upper cavity 42, and an inner cavity 43 is formed between the lower cavity 41 and the upper cavity 42. The upper cavity 42 is fixedly connected to the bottom surface of the lifting plate 12. The lifting and lowering of the lifting plate 12 can drive the upper cavity 42 to rise from the lower cavity 41 or press down to close the mold.

[0041] A plurality of downwardly extending filling blocks 44 are arranged side by side on the bottom surface of the upper cavity 42. The products 100 to be tested (battery cells are used as an example in this embodiment) can be arranged in multiple rows and columns, with their lower parts mounted on the lower cavity 41, and then the upper cavity 42 is molded onto the lower cavity 41, and the upper parts of the products 100 are sandwiched between the filling blocks 44.

[0042] In addition, two high vacuum valves 10 at the top of the working chamber 4 are installed at both ends of the upper chamber 42 and are connected to the inner chamber 43, so that the inner chamber 43 can be evacuated into a vacuum; at the same time, the ventilation pipe 11 connected to the two-way solenoid valve 33 of the gas circuit valve island 31 is also connected to the cavity, so that gas can be introduced into the cavity.

[0043] Preferably, the lower cavity 41 and the upper cavity 42 are both made of stainless steel.

[0044] Preferably, multiple sensors 45 are installed outside the front and rear sides of the lower cavity 41, and each sensor 45 is higher than the lower cavity 41 and faces the inner cavity 43. Before the upper cavity 42 is molded, the sensor 45 can be used to detect the installation status of each product 100.

[0045] When the device is used to detect the leak of the pool product 100, the workflow mainly includes the following steps:

[0046] S1, loading and unloading: taking out the multiple products 100 that have been inspected in one of the inspection cavities 5, and installing the multiple products 100 to be inspected on the lower cavity 41 of one of the inspection cavities 5, and after inspection using the sensor 45, closing the upper cavity 42 on the lower cavity 41;

[0047] S2, vacuuming: the vacuum pump group 2 operates to vacuum the inner cavity 43 of the detection cavity 5 through the vacuum pipe 9 and each vacuum pipe 9 and each high vacuum valve 10;

[0048] S3, detection: using a quadrupole mass spectrometer to detect each product 100 in the detection cavity 5 to detect whether there is electrolyte leakage therein;

[0049] S4, cleaning: when it is detected that the product 100 in the detection cavity 5 has electrolyte leakage, the cavity will be contaminated at this time, and the quadrupole mass spectrometer is switched to the cleaning cavity 7 to avoid misjudgment, and the vacuum pump group 2 is operated to pass nitrogen into the detection cavity 5 through the ventilation pipe 11 and each gas path valve island 31 of the gas path module 3 for 20 seconds for cleaning, and the quadrupole mass spectrometer is used again to detect whether there is still electrolyte leakage in the detection cavity 5. If there is still electrolyte leakage, the next nitrogen purge is continued until the electrolyte leakage is lower than the specified threshold, that is, the cleaning is completed, and the detection cavity 5 can continue to be used for detection;

[0050] S5, enable the spare cavity 6: when the detection cavity 5 is cleaned, the quadrupole mass spectrometer is also switched to the spare cavity 6, and the spare cavity 6 is used to replace the detection cavity 5 to continue the detection work.

[0051] The three detection chambers 5 can simultaneously implement the three different steps in S1 to S3, thereby greatly improving the detection efficiency of the product 100 and realizing the online detection of the product 100 more conveniently and quickly.

[0052] The above are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the creative concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-cavity electrolyte leak detection device, characterized in that: It comprises a four-stage mass spectrometer (1), a vacuum pump group (2), two gas path modules (3) and five working chambers (4), wherein the four-stage mass spectrometer (1) is connected to each of the working chambers (4); The five working chambers (4) are divided into three detection chambers (5), one spare chamber (6) and one cleaning chamber (7); the vacuum pump group (2) is simultaneously connected to each of the detection chambers (5) and the spare chamber (6); two of the detection chambers (5) are connected to one of the gas path modules (3); another detection chamber (5) and the spare chamber (6) are connected to another gas path module (3); and the two gas path modules (3) are also connected to a rotary valve (8); The gas circuit module (3) comprises a plurality of gas circuit valve islands (31) arranged in sequence from the front end to the rear end, the gas circuit valve island (31) comprises an air intake chamber (32) and two two-way solenoid valves (33), an air intake pipe (34) is provided inside the air intake chamber (32), the air intake pipe (34) is connected to the vacuum pump group (2) and one end of the two two-way solenoid valves (33), and the other ends of the two two-way solenoid valves (33) are respectively connected to the two working chambers (4); The working chamber (4) is formed by combining a lower chamber (41) and an upper chamber (42); an inner chamber (43) is formed between the lower chamber (41) and the upper chamber (42); and a plurality of products (100) to be inspected can be mounted on the lower chamber (41) and located in the inner chamber (43).

2. A multi-chamber electrolyte leak detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two high vacuum valves (10) are respectively installed at the front and rear ends of the top of each of the detection chambers (5) and the spare chamber (6), and the two high vacuum valves (10) are connected to the vacuum pump group (2) through two exhaust pipes (9).

3. A multi-chamber electrolyte leak detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper cavity (42) is connected to the bottom surface of a lifting plate (12), and the bottoms of the four corners of the lifting plate (12) are supported by four lifting support rods (13) that can be lifted and lowered.

4. A multi-chamber electrolyte leak detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The gas path valve islands (31) of the gas path module (3) are mounted together on a bracket (35) extending forward and backward, and the left and right ends of the bracket (32) are respectively mounted on the top surfaces of the two lifting plates (12), wherein the gas path module (3) is respectively connected to the vacuum pump group (2), each of the detection chambers (5), the spare chamber (6) and the rotary valve (8) through a plurality of ventilation pipes (11).

5. A multi-chamber electrolyte leak detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two two-way solenoid valves (33) are respectively installed at the upper parts of the left and right ends of the air intake chamber (32); the middle part of the air intake pipe (34) is connected to the vacuum pump group (2), and the two ends are respectively connected to the two two-way solenoid valves.

6. A multi-chamber electrolyte leak detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom surface of the upper cavity (42) is provided with a plurality of filling blocks (44) extending downwardly in parallel, and the upper part of each of the products (100) is sandwiched between the filling blocks (44) in sequence.

7. A multi-chamber electrolyte leak detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of sensors (45) are installed on the outside of both the front and rear sides of the lower cavity (41), and each of the sensors (45) is higher than the lower cavity (41) and faces the inner cavity (43).

8. A leak detection method using the multi-cavity electrolyte leak detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The following steps are included S1: installing a plurality of the products (100) to be inspected on the lower cavity (41) of the inspection cavity (5), and closing the upper cavity (42) with the lower cavity (41); S2: the vacuum pump group (2) operates to evacuate the detection chamber (5); S3: using the quadruple mass spectrometer (1) to detect whether there is electrolyte leakage in the detection cavity (5); S4: When electrolyte leakage is detected in the detection chamber (5), the quadrupole mass spectrometer (1) is switched to the cleaning chamber (7), and the vacuum pump group (2) operates to pass nitrogen gas into the detection chamber (5) through the gas path module (3) for purging and cleaning; S5: while the detection chamber (5) is being cleaned, the quadruple mass spectrometer (1) is switched to the spare chamber (6), and the spare chamber (6) is used to continue the detection work; The three detection chambers (5) implement steps S1 to S3 simultaneously.

9. A leak detection method using a multi-cavity electrolyte leak detection device according to claim 8, characterized in that: In step S1, each product (100) that has been tested is first taken out from the testing chamber (5).

10. The leak detection method using a multi-cavity electrolyte leak detection device according to claim 8, characterized in that: In step S4, after purging and cleaning, the detection chamber (5) is detected again using the quadruple mass spectrometer (1). If electrolyte leakage still exists, purging and cleaning is performed again until the cleaning is completed.

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