Positioning and fixing device before gasket placement and positioning and fixing method for tab before gasket placement

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a positioning and fixing device before gasket placement and a positioning and fixing method for tab before gasket placement. The positioning and fixing device before gasket placement comprises a bottom plate, a rotating disc, a top plate, a first rotating driving element, a plurality of die sleeves, a tab positioning mechanism and a battery cell protection mechanism. The battery cell protection mechanism comprises a first lifting driving element and a top rod. The tab positioning mechanism comprises a rotating rotating assembly and a positioning detection assembly. Specifically, the first lifting driving element drives the top rod to move upward, so that the end of the top rod passes through the avoidance hole and abuts against the bottom of the battery cell, to drive the battery cell to move downward together in the die sleeve, thereby reducing the force when the battery cell contacts the bottom wall of the accommodating groove. The rotating rotating assembly drives the die sleeve to rotate. When the tab on the battery cell rotates to be opposite to the positioning detection element, the positioning detection element releases a signal to stop the rotation of the rotating rotating assembly, thereby completing the positioning of the tab and avoiding the tab bending problem caused by the contact between the gasket and the tab.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of battery assembly, and in particular to a positioning and fixing device before placing a pad and a method for positioning and fixing the tabs before placing a pad. Background Technology

[0002] During battery production, battery spacers need to be inserted into the battery to provide internal electrical isolation and protect the battery from mechanical damage. In current production equipment, a robotic arm first places the battery cell into a mold, and a turntable drives the mold to rotate. When the mold rotates to a predetermined position, an insertion mechanism inserts the spacer into the battery cell from top to bottom, so that the tabs pass through the clearance holes of the spacer.

[0003] However, since the battery cells are gripped by a robotic arm and placed into the mold, and the mold is quite tall, the cells fall freely under gravity after entering the mold. This results in a high speed when the cells come into contact with the bottom wall of the mold, causing a large force when the cell's separator contacts the bottom wall of the mold. This can lead to damage to the cell's separator and affect battery performance. On the other hand, due to deviations in the battery's rotation position, the insertion mechanism may not align the pad's tab hole with the tab when inserting the pad into the battery. This can cause the pad to easily touch the tab during insertion, leading to the tab bending or the pad not being able to be accurately inserted into the battery. In other words, the battery rotation positioning is not precise enough.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a battery assembly device that prevents damage to the cell separator and has high positioning accuracy when inserting the gasket. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this disclosure is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a pre-positioning and fixing device for placing the pad and a method for positioning and fixing the tab before placing the pad, which prevents damage to the battery cell diaphragm and has high positioning accuracy when inserting the pad.

[0006] The purpose of this disclosure is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0007] A pre-positioning and fixing device for placing a gasket, comprising:

[0008] The system comprises a base plate, a rotating disk, a top plate, a first rotating drive component, and multiple mold sleeves. The first rotating drive component is mounted on the base plate, and its power output end is connected to the rotating disk. The top plate is connected to the base plate via a connecting column and is slidably connected to the rotating disk. The rotating disk has multiple spaced-apart insert slots, and the mold sleeves are located in corresponding insert slots. Each mold sleeve has a receiving slot for accommodating battery cells.

[0009] The pre-positioning and fixing device for placing the pad also includes an electrode positioning mechanism and a cell protection mechanism. The cell protection mechanism includes a first lifting drive and a push rod. The first lifting drive is installed on the base plate. The push rod is connected to the power output end of the first lifting drive. The mold sleeve has a clearance hole that communicates with the receiving groove. The push rod is movably inserted into the clearance hole.

[0010] The electrode positioning mechanism includes a rotation component and a positioning detection component. The rotation component is mounted on the base plate and is used to drive the mold sleeve to rotate when it abuts against the mold sleeve. The positioning detection component includes a mounting frame, a second lifting drive component, a bracket, and a positioning detection component. The mounting frame is mounted on the top plate. The second lifting drive component is connected to the mounting frame. The power output end of the second lifting drive component is connected to the bracket. The positioning detection component is connected to the bracket. The positioning detection component is used to detect the rotation position of the electrode of the battery cell so that the rotation component stops rotating when the electrode of the battery cell rotates to a predetermined position.

[0011] In one embodiment, the top rod has a tapered support portion at one end adjacent to the mold sleeve.

[0012] In one embodiment, the surface of the conical top support is provided with an electroplated layer.

[0013] In one embodiment, there are two positioning detection elements, which are spaced apart on the bracket. The rotating assembly stops rotating when the electrode of the battery cell is rotated between the two positioning detection elements.

[0014] In one embodiment, the rotating assembly includes a fixed base, a horizontal drive member, a second rotating drive member, a connecting plate, and a rotating frustum. The fixed base is mounted on the base plate, the horizontal drive member is connected to the fixed base, the power output end of the horizontal drive member is connected to the connecting plate, the second rotating drive member is mounted on the connecting plate, the rotating frustum is connected to the power rotation end of the second rotating drive member, and the rotating frustum slides against the mold sleeve.

[0015] In one embodiment, the outer periphery of the rotating frustum is fitted with a silicone sleeve.

[0016] In one embodiment, the fixed base is provided with a guide rail, and the connecting plate is provided with a sliding groove. The guide rail is embedded in the sliding groove so that the connecting plate slides along the extension direction of the guide rail.

[0017] In one embodiment, the mold includes a sleeve cup and a fixing plate. The fixing plate is connected to the rotating disk and has a sleeve hole. The end of the sleeve cup away from the base plate is fitted into the sleeve hole. The receiving groove and the clearance hole are both formed in the sleeve cup.

[0018] In one embodiment, the mold sleeve further includes a screw connector, the fixing plate has a first screw hole, the rotating disk has a second screw hole, and the screw connector passes through the first screw hole and the second screw hole in sequence to screw the fixing plate and the rotating disk together.

[0019] A method for positioning and fixing the electrode tab before placing the gasket, wherein the positioning and fixing device before placing the gasket as described in any of the above embodiments is used for positioning, and the method for positioning and fixing the electrode tab before placing the gasket includes the following steps:

[0020] The robot arm places the battery cell into the mold sleeve, and the first lifting drive is activated to raise the push rod and hold the bottom of the battery cell.

[0021] Activate the first lifting drive to lower the push rod and bring the battery cell into contact with the bottom wall of the mold sleeve;

[0022] Start the first rotary drive to rotate the rotary disk to the electrode positioning mechanism;

[0023] Start the rotating assembly so that it abuts against the outer wall of the mold sleeve;

[0024] The second lifting drive is activated to lower the positioning detection component, and the rotating assembly is activated to drive the mold sleeve to rotate. When the electrode of the battery cell rotates to the positioning detection component, the positioning detection component releases a signal to stop the rotating assembly from rotating.

[0025] The second lifting drive is activated to reset the positioning detection component, and the first rotation drive is activated to rotate the rotary table into the next work station.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, this disclosure has at least the following advantages:

[0027] 1. In the aforementioned pre-positioning and fixing device for placing the pad, when the robot arm places the battery cell into the receiving groove of the mold sleeve, the first lifting drive component drives the push rod to move upward so that the end of the push rod passes through the clearance hole and abuts against the bottom of the battery cell. At this time, the first lifting drive component drives the push rod to move downward so that the battery cell moves downward together in the mold sleeve until the battery cell abuts against the bottom wall of the receiving groove. This reduces the force when the battery cell contacts the bottom wall of the receiving groove, thereby avoiding the problem of damage to the diaphragm of the battery cell due to excessive force.

[0028] 2. In the aforementioned pre-positioning and fixing device for placing the pad, after the battery cell is fixed inside the mold, the first rotary drive drives the rotary disk to rotate to the tab positioning mechanism. At this time, the second lifting drive drives the positioning detection component to descend to the predetermined position. The rotating assembly starts to abut against the mold and causes the mold to rotate, thereby driving the battery cell inside the mold to rotate together. When the tab on the battery cell rotates to be opposite to the positioning detection component, the positioning detection component releases a signal to stop the rotating assembly from rotating. This completes the positioning of the tab. The rotary disk continues to rotate to rotate the battery cell to the pad placement station, so that the tab hole of the pad can accurately pass through the tab during the insertion process, avoiding the problem of tab bending caused by contact between the pad and the tab. Attached Figure Description

[0029] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of this disclosure and should not be regarded as a limitation of the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0030] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a pre-positioning and fixing device for placing a gasket, according to one embodiment;

[0031] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Another structural schematic diagram of the pre-positioning and fixing device for placing the pad is shown;

[0032] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Another structural schematic diagram of the pre-positioning and fixing device for placing the pad is shown;

[0033] Figure 4 for Figure 1 The diagram shows the structural schematic of the positioning detection component of the pre-positioning and fixing device for placing the pad.

[0034] Figure 5 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the rotating assembly of the pre-positioning and fixing device for placing the pad;

[0035] Figure 6 To adopt Figure 1 The diagram shows the process steps of the electrode tab positioning and fixing method of the pre-positioning and fixing device for placing the gasket;

[0036] Figure 7 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the top rod in one embodiment;

[0037] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an elastic buffer layer according to an embodiment;

[0038] Figure 9 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of a rotating frustum according to one embodiment;

[0039] Figure 10 for Figure 1 The image shows the actual positioning and fixing device before placing the pad. Detailed Implementation

[0040] To facilitate understanding of this disclosure, a more complete description will be given below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present disclosure. However, this disclosure can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the disclosure.

[0041] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly attached to the other element or there may be an intervening element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intervening element. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only possible implementation.

[0042] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of this disclosure. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0043] This disclosure provides a pre-positioning and fixing device for placing a pad, including a base plate, a rotating disk, a top plate, a first rotating drive component, multiple mold sleeves, an electrode positioning mechanism, and a cell protection mechanism. The first rotating drive component is mounted on the base plate, and its power output end is connected to the rotating disk. The top plate is connected to the base plate via a connecting column, and the top plate is slidably connected to the rotating disk. The rotating disk has multiple spaced-apart insertion slots, and the mold sleeves are located in the corresponding insertion slots. Each mold sleeve has a receiving slot for receiving a cell. The pre-positioning and fixing device for placing a pad further includes an electrode positioning mechanism and a cell protection mechanism. The cell protection mechanism includes a first lifting drive component and a top rod. The first lifting drive component is mounted on the base plate, and the top rod is connected to the first lifting drive component. The driving component's power output end is connected, and the mold sleeve has a clearance hole communicating with the receiving groove. The push rod is movably inserted into the clearance hole. The electrode positioning mechanism includes a rotation component and a positioning detection component. The rotation component is installed on the base plate and is used to drive the mold sleeve to rotate when it abuts against the mold sleeve. The positioning detection component includes a mounting frame, a second lifting driving component, a bracket, and a positioning detection component. The mounting frame is installed on the top plate, the second lifting driving component is connected to the mounting frame, the power output end of the second lifting driving component is connected to the bracket, and the positioning detection component is connected to the bracket. The positioning detection component is used to detect the rotation position of the electrode of the battery cell so that the rotation component stops rotating when the electrode of the battery cell rotates to a predetermined position.

[0044] The aforementioned pre-positioning and fixing device for placing the pad, when the robotic arm places the battery cell into the receiving slot of the mold, the first lifting drive component drives the push rod upward so that the end of the push rod passes through the clearance hole and abuts against the bottom of the battery cell. At this time, the first lifting drive component drives the push rod downward so that the battery cell moves downward together within the mold until the battery cell abuts against the bottom wall of the receiving slot. This reduces the force when the battery cell contacts the bottom wall of the receiving slot, thereby avoiding damage to the battery cell's diaphragm due to excessive force. After fixing the battery cell in the mold, the first rotation drive component drives the rotating disk to rotate to... In the electrode positioning mechanism, the second lifting drive unit drives the positioning detection unit to descend to the predetermined position. The rotating component starts to abut against the mold sleeve and make the mold sleeve rotate, thereby driving the battery cell inside the mold sleeve to rotate together. When the electrode on the battery cell rotates to be opposite the positioning detection unit, the positioning detection unit releases a signal to make the rotating component stop rotating, thus completing the positioning of the electrode. The rotating disk continues to rotate to rotate the battery cell to the pad placement station, so that the electrode hole of the pad can accurately pass through the electrode during the insertion process, avoiding the electrode bending problem caused by the contact between the pad and the electrode.

[0045] To better understand the technical solutions and beneficial effects of this disclosure, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with specific embodiments:

[0046] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, an embodiment of the pre-positioning and fixing device 10 for placing the pad includes a base plate 100, a rotating disk 200, a top plate 300, a first rotating drive component 400, multiple mold sleeves 500, an electrode positioning mechanism 600, and a cell protection mechanism 700. The first rotating drive component 400 is mounted on the base plate 100, and the power output end of the first rotating drive component 400 is connected to the rotating disk 200. The top plate 300 is connected to the base plate 100 through a connecting column, and the top plate 300 is slidably connected to the rotating disk 200. The rotating disk 200 has multiple spaced-apart insertion slots, and the mold sleeves 500 are located in the corresponding insertion slots. The mold sleeves 500 have receiving slots 500a for receiving the cell, so that the rotating disk 200 drives the mold sleeves 500 to rotate together.

[0047] Furthermore, the pre-positioning and fixing device 10 for placing the pad also includes a tab positioning mechanism 600 and a cell protection mechanism 700. The cell protection mechanism 700 includes a first lifting drive (not shown) and a push rod 710. The first lifting drive is installed on the base plate 100, and the push rod 710 is connected to the power output end of the first lifting drive. Specifically, the first lifting drive is installed on the bottom side of the base plate, and the output shaft of the first lifting drive passes through the through hole of the base plate and is connected to the push rod 710. The mold sleeve 500 has a clearance hole that communicates with the receiving groove 500a. The push rod 710 is movably inserted into the clearance hole. The first lifting drive is used to drive the push rod 710 to pass through the clearance hole and abut against the cell, so that the push rod 710 drives the cell to descend and abut against the bottom wall of the embedding groove.

[0048] Further, the electrode positioning mechanism 600 includes a rotation component 610 and a positioning detection component 620. The rotation component 610 is mounted on the base plate 100 and is used to drive the mold 500 to rotate when it abuts against the mold 500. The positioning detection component 620 includes a mounting frame 621, a second lifting drive component 622, a bracket 623, and a positioning detection component 624. The mounting frame 621 is mounted on the top plate 300. The second lifting drive component 622 is connected to the mounting frame 621. The power output end of the second lifting drive component 622 is connected to the bracket 623. The positioning detection component 624 is connected to the bracket 623. The positioning detection component 624 is used to detect the rotation position of the electrode 10a of the battery cell so that the rotation component 610 stops rotating when the electrode of the battery cell rotates to a predetermined position.

[0049] In this embodiment, a plurality of mold sleeves 500 are provided on the rotating disk 200, each mold sleeve 500 being located in a corresponding insertion groove, so that the device can continuously fix and position the battery cells in each mold sleeve 500. Specifically, when the battery cell is placed into the receiving groove 500a by the robotic arm, due to the large depth of the mold sleeve 500, the force exerted when the battery cell falls directly into the bottom wall of the receiving groove 500a is large, which can easily damage the diaphragm of the battery cell. At this time, the first lifting drive component drives the push rod 710 to rise, so that the push rod 710 abuts against the bottom of the battery cell. Then, the first lifting drive component drives the push rod 710 to fall, thereby causing the push rod 710 to carry the battery cell down, thus reducing the force exerted when the battery cell abuts against the groove wall of the receiving groove 500a. Further, after the battery cell is fixed, the rotating disk 200 rotates to rotate the battery cell to the tab positioning mechanism 600. At this time, the second lifting drive 622 drives the positioning detection component 624 to descend, so as to position the tab 10a on the battery cell. The rotating assembly 610 starts to abut against the outer wall of the mold 500. The rotating assembly 610 drives the mold 500 to rotate, so as to drive the tab 10a on the battery cell to rotate together. When the tab 10a rotates to the position opposite to the positioning detection component 624, it indicates that the tab 10a is at the predetermined position. The positioning detection component 624 releases a signal to stop the rotating assembly 610 from rotating and to make the rotating assembly 610 no longer abut against the outer wall of the mold 500. The second lifting drive 622 drives the positioning detection component 624 to reset, and the rotating disk 200 rotates to rotate the battery cell to the pad placement position. In this embodiment, the positioning detection component 624 is a sensor.

[0050] In the aforementioned pre-positioning and fixing device 10 for placing the pad, when the robot arm places the battery cell into the receiving groove 500a of the mold 500, the first lifting drive member drives the push rod 710 to move upward so that the end of the push rod 710 passes through the clearance hole and abuts against the bottom of the battery cell. At this time, the first lifting drive member drives the push rod 710 to move downward so that the battery cell moves downward together within the mold 500 until the battery cell abuts against the bottom wall of the receiving groove 500a. This reduces the force when the battery cell contacts the bottom wall of the receiving groove 500a, thereby avoiding damage to the battery cell's diaphragm due to excessive force. After the battery cell is fixed in the mold 500, the first rotation drive member 400 drives the rotating disk 200 to rotate to the tab positioning mechanism 6. At this time, the second lifting drive 622 drives the positioning detection component 624 to descend to the predetermined position. The rotating component 610 starts to abut against the mold sleeve 500 and make the mold sleeve 500 rotate, thereby driving the battery cell inside the mold sleeve 500 to rotate together. When the electrode tab 10a on the battery cell rotates to be opposite the positioning detection component 624, the positioning detection component 624 releases a signal to make the rotating component 610 stop rotating, thus completing the positioning of the electrode tab 10a. The rotating disk 200 continues to rotate to rotate the battery cell to the pad placement station, so that the hole of the electrode tab 10a of the pad can accurately pass through the electrode tab 10a during the insertion process, avoiding the problem of the electrode tab 10a bending caused by the contact between the pad and the electrode tab 10a.

[0051] like Figure 3 As shown, in one embodiment, the push rod 710 has a tapered support portion 711 at one end adjacent to the mold sleeve 500. It is understood that when the push rod 710 abuts against the battery cell, there is a possibility that the end of the push rod 710 may come into contact with the tab 10a. In this case, the push rod 710 may easily bend the tab 10a. By providing the tapered support portion 711 at the end of the push rod 710, when the tab 10a abuts against the tapered support portion 711, the tab 10a can slide along the inclined surface of the tapered support portion 711, thereby preventing the push rod 710 from bending the tab 10a.

[0052] In one embodiment, the surface of the conical top support 711 is provided with an electroplated layer. It is understood that the electroplated layer on the surface of the conical top support 711 makes the surface of the conical top support 711 smoother, thereby allowing the tab 10a to slide better along the inclined surface of the conical top support 711.

[0053] like Figure 2 and Figure 4As shown, in one embodiment, there are two positioning detection elements 624, which are spaced apart on the bracket 623. The rotation assembly 610 stops rotating when the electrode 10a of the battery cell is rotated between the two positioning detection elements 624. In this embodiment, the two positioning detection elements 624 are spaced apart on the bracket 623, and the rotation path of the electrode 10a passes through the gap between the two positioning detection elements 624. When the electrode 10a rotates between the two positioning detection elements 624, it indicates that the electrode 10a is at a predetermined position, and the positioning detection element 624 releases a signal to stop the rotation assembly 610.

[0054] like Figure 5 As shown, in one embodiment, the rotating assembly 610 includes a fixed base 611, a horizontal drive member 612, a second rotating drive member 613, a connecting plate 614, and a rotating frustum 615. The fixed base 611 is mounted on the base plate 100. The horizontal drive member 612 is connected to the fixed base 611. The power output end of the horizontal drive member 612 is connected to the connecting plate 614. The second rotating drive member 613 is mounted on the connecting plate 614. The rotating frustum 615 is connected to the power rotation end of the second rotating drive member 613. The rotating frustum 615 slides against the mold sleeve 500. Understandably, the horizontal drive member 612 drives the connecting plate 614 to move horizontally so that the rotating platform 615 approaches or moves away from the outer wall of the mold 500. When the horizontal drive member 612 drives the rotating platform 615 to abut against the outer wall of the mold 500, the second rotating drive member 613 drives the rotating platform 615 to rotate, thereby causing the battery cell inside the mold 500 to rotate together, so as to rotate the tab 10a to a predetermined position. After the tab 10a is positioned, the second rotating drive member 613 stops working, the horizontal drive member 612 drives the rotating platform 615 away from the outer wall of the mold 500, and the rotating disk 200 rotates to rotate the battery cell to the next station.

[0055] In one embodiment, a silicone sleeve is fitted around the outer periphery of the rotating frustum 615. It is understood that the rotating frustum 615 abuts against the outer wall of the mold sleeve 500, causing the rotating frustum 615 to drive the mold sleeve 500 to rotate. By providing a silicone sleeve on the outer periphery of the rotating frustum 615, the friction between the rotating frustum 615 and the mold sleeve 500 is increased, thereby better driving the mold sleeve 500 to rotate.

[0056] like Figure 5As shown, in one embodiment, the fixed base 611 is provided with a guide rail 611a, and the connecting plate 614 is provided with a sliding groove. The guide rail 611a is embedded in the sliding groove so that the connecting plate 614 slides along the extending direction of the guide rail 611a. It can be understood that the fixed base 611 is provided with a guide rail 611a, and the guide rail 611a is embedded in the sliding groove, so that the connecting plate 614 slides along the extending direction of the guide rail 611a, thereby driving the rotating frustum 615 to move closer to or away from the outer wall of the mold sleeve 500.

[0057] like Figure 2 and Figure 5 As shown, in one embodiment, the mold sleeve 500 includes a sleeve cup 510 and a fixing plate 520. The fixing plate 520 is connected to the rotating disk 200 and has a sleeve hole. The end of the sleeve cup 510 away from the base plate 100 is fitted into the sleeve hole. The receiving groove 500a and the clearance hole are both formed in the sleeve cup 510. It can be understood that the fixing plate 520 is connected to the rotating disk 200, and the top of the sleeve cup 510 is fitted into the sleeve hole so that the sleeve cup 510 can rotate relative to the fixing plate 520. The battery cell is located in the receiving groove 500a of the sleeve cup 510, and the push rod 710 passes through the clearance hole of the sleeve cup 510 and abuts against the battery cell.

[0058] like Figure 2 and Figure 5 As shown, in one embodiment, the mold sleeve 500 further includes a screw connector. The fixing plate 520 has a first screw hole 521, and the rotating disk 200 has a second screw hole. The screw connector passes through the first screw hole 521 and the second screw hole in sequence, so that the fixing plate 520 is screwed to the rotating disk 200. In this embodiment, the screw connector is a screw, which screws the fixing plate 520 to the rotating disk 200 for fixation. In another embodiment, the fixing plate 520 can also be snapped into the rotating disk 200. That is, the fixing plate 520 has a snap-in hole, and the rotating disk 200 has a protruding snap-in post. By snapping the snap-in post into the snap-in hole, the fixing plate 520 is snapped into the rotating disk 200.

[0059] like Figure 6 As shown, this application also provides a method for positioning and fixing the electrode tab before placing the gasket, using the positioning and fixing device before placing the gasket as described in any of the above embodiments. The method for positioning and fixing the electrode tab before placing the gasket includes the following steps:

[0060] S100: The robot arm places the battery cell into the mold sleeve, and the first lifting drive is activated to raise the push rod and hold the bottom of the battery cell.

[0061] In this embodiment, the robotic arm picks up the battery cell from the previous station and places it into the mold. Due to the considerable depth of the mold, if the battery cell falls directly into the bottom of the mold, it can easily damage the separator, leading to a decrease in battery performance. The first lifting drive unit drives the push rod to rise, so that the push rod holds the battery cell, thus preventing the battery cell from falling directly into the bottom of the mold.

[0062] S200: Activate the first lifting drive to lower the push rod and bring the battery cell into contact with the bottom wall of the mold sleeve.

[0063] In this embodiment, after the push rod holds the battery cell, the first lifting drive component drives the push rod to descend, so as to bring the battery cell down together, thereby reducing the force when the battery cell contacts the bottom wall of the mold sleeve, and thus avoiding the problem of the battery cell's diaphragm being damaged due to the large force.

[0064] S300: Activate the first rotary drive to rotate the rotary disk to the tab positioning mechanism.

[0065] In this embodiment, after the battery cell is installed into the mold, the first rotary drive drives the rotating disk to rotate so as to rotate the battery cell into the tab positioning mechanism. The tab positioning mechanism positions the tabs on the battery cell so that when the pad is placed, the tab hole of the pad accurately passes through the tab, so as to avoid the pad abutting against the tab and pressing the tab.

[0066] S400: Start the rotating assembly so that it abuts against the outer wall of the mold.

[0067] In this embodiment, when the battery cell rotates to the tab positioning mechanism, the rotating assembly is activated, causing the rotating end of the rotating assembly to abut against the outer wall of the mold.

[0068] S500: Activate the second lifting drive to lower the positioning detection component and activate the rotating assembly to drive the mold sleeve to rotate. When the electrode of the battery cell rotates to the positioning detection component, the positioning detection component releases a signal to stop the rotating assembly from rotating.

[0069] In this embodiment, after the rotating end of the rotating assembly abuts against the outer wall of the mold, the rotating assembly rotates to drive the mold to rotate together. At this time, the tabs on the battery cell also rotate together. When the tabs rotate to the predetermined position, the positioning detection device detects that the tabs are in place, indicating that the tabs are in the optimal position for assembling the substrate. The positioning detection device releases a signal to stop the rotating assembly from rotating, thus completing the positioning of the tabs.

[0070] S600: Activate the second lifting drive to reset the positioning detection component, and activate the first rotation drive to rotate the rotary table into the next workstation.

[0071] In this embodiment, after the electrode tab is positioned, the second lifting drive drives the positioning detection component to move upward, so that the positioning detection component is reset, so as to avoid the positioning detection component interfering with the arrival of the next set of cells at the work station. Then, the first rotation drive drives the rotary disk to rotate, so as to rotate the positioned electrode tab to the next work station for pad assembly.

[0072] Understandably, when the robotic arm picks up the battery cell and places it into the mold, the push rod 710 rises into the mold to abut against the bottom of the battery cell. However, the push rod 710 cannot rise to be flush with the feed inlet of the mold; otherwise, after the robotic arm releases, the battery cell will be pushed out of the mold by the push rod 710. That is, the battery cell will undergo a period of free fall within the mold before contacting the push rod 710. At this point, there is still a certain force when the battery cell contacts the push rod 710, meaning there is still a risk of damage to the diaphragm. Therefore, to reduce the force when the push rod 710 contacts the battery cell, such as... Figure 7As shown, in one embodiment, the tapered top support 711 has an elastic buffer layer 712 near one end of the mold sleeve. The elastic buffer layer 712 includes a first elastic buffer portion 712a and a second elastic buffer portion 712b connected to each other. The first elastic buffer portion 712a is used to abut against the battery cell, and the second elastic buffer portion 712b is connected to the tapered top support 711. The diameter of the first elastic buffer portion 712a gradually decreases from top to bottom, and the diameter of the second elastic buffer portion 712b gradually increases from top to bottom. The maximum diameter of the first elastic buffer portion 712a is smaller than the maximum diameter of the second elastic buffer portion 712b, and the maximum diameter of the second elastic buffer portion 712b is equal to the minimum diameter of the tapered top support 711. In this embodiment, the elastic buffer layer 712 is made of elastic materials such as silicone or rubber. The first elastic buffer part 712a and the second elastic buffer part 712b are integrally formed. The diameter of the top of the first elastic buffer part 712a needs to be larger than the diameter of the circular hole of the battery cell to prevent the elastic buffer layer 712 from sinking into the circular hole of the battery cell when it comes into contact with the battery cell. In this way, when the first elastic buffer part 712a comes into contact with the battery cell, the contact area between the first elastic buffer part 712a and the battery cell is guaranteed. The first elastic buffer part 712a and the second elastic buffer part 712b together play a buffering role, thereby reducing the force of the push rod 710 when it comes into contact with the battery cell, and further avoiding the problem of damage to the separator of the battery cell. Furthermore, the diameter of the first elastic buffer 712a gradually decreases from top to bottom to ensure the contact area between the top of the first elastic buffer 712a and the battery cell. Since the side of the first elastic buffer 712a slopes inward and its maximum diameter is smaller than the maximum diameter of the second elastic buffer 712b, the tab will not contact the side of the first elastic buffer 712a when falling. The diameter of the second elastic buffer 712b gradually increases from top to bottom, and the maximum diameter at the bottom of the second elastic buffer 712b is equal to the minimum diameter at the top of the conical top support 711. This allows the side of the second elastic buffer 712b and the side of the conical top support 711 to form a complete guiding slope. Thus, when the tab at the bottom of the battery cell moves downward, it can slide down along the guiding slope; specifically, the tab slides along the side of the second elastic buffer 712b, further preventing the tab from being bent.

[0073] Furthermore, such as Figure 8As shown, in one embodiment, the periphery of the first elastic buffer portion 712a is provided with a chamfered structure 7121, which is used to abut against the electrode tab. It is understood that after the battery cell abuts against the bottom wall of the mold, the ejector rod is withdrawn from the mold. When the ejector rod is withdrawn from the mold, there is a risk that the periphery of the first elastic buffer portion 712a will abut against the electrode tab. If the periphery of the first elastic buffer portion 712a is too sharp, it will scratch the electrode tab. In this embodiment, by providing a chamfered structure 7121 on the periphery of the first elastic buffer portion 712a, the chamfered structure 7121 abuts against the electrode tab when the ejector rod is withdrawn from the mold. The contact surface of the chamfered structure 7121 is an arc surface, thus reducing the force exerted when the periphery of the first elastic buffer portion 712a contacts the electrode tab, thereby preventing the electrode tab from being scratched.

[0074] Furthermore, such as Figure 8As shown, in one embodiment, the second elastic buffer portion 712b is sleeved on the conical top support portion. The conical top support portion and the second elastic buffer portion 712b have a smooth elastic connecting surface at their contact point. The second elastic buffer portion 712b has a buffer cavity 7122 inside, which is used to contract when the battery cell is pressed down, thereby reducing the height of the second elastic buffer portion 712b. It is understood that when the tab abuts against the second elastic buffer portion 712b and the conical top support portion, the tab slides down along the guiding slope of the second elastic buffer portion 712b and the conical top support portion, preventing the tab from being bent. That is, the tab will not be bent into a 90° angle. However, if the tab contacts the conical top support portion first when falling, and because the conical top support portion is a rigid structure, the falling tab has a certain impact force, and the conical top support portion can easily scratch the tab. In this embodiment, by providing a buffer cavity 7122 inside the second elastic buffer portion 712b, that is, the interior of the second elastic buffer portion 712b is partially hollowed out, and the second elastic buffer portion 712b is sleeved on the conical top support portion, when the battery cell is pressed down, when the first elastic buffer portion 712a transmits the force to the second elastic buffer portion 712b, the second elastic buffer portion 712b descends along the inclined surface of the conical top support portion, reducing the height of the second elastic buffer portion 712b. At the same time, the buffer cavity 7122 inside the second elastic buffer portion 712b is compressed, further reducing the height of the second elastic buffer portion 712b. In this way, the overall height of the elastic buffer layer is reduced when the battery cell is pressed down, so that the second elastic buffer portion 712b partially overlaps with the conical top support portion 711, which facilitates the tab to contact the second elastic buffer portion 712b first, avoiding rigid collision between the tab and the conical top support portion 711, and further preventing the tab from being scratched. The smooth elastic connecting surface is located at the contact point where the conical top support and the second elastic buffer 712b abut. When the battery cell is pressed down, the smooth elastic connecting surface undergoes a certain deformation under force. When the push rod is pulled out of the mold sleeve, the smooth elastic connecting surface returns to its original state, so that the second elastic buffer 712b sleeved on the smooth elastic connecting surface is reset, that is, the second elastic buffer 712b returns to its initial position, and the electrode tab will further avoid rigid collision with the conical top support 711.

[0075] Understandably, rotating the frustum 615 drives the mold to rotate, thereby rotating the tabs on the battery cell to a predetermined position for positioning. The frustum 615 abuts against the outer wall of the mold, and the frustum 615 drives the mold to rotate through friction. However, since the contact surface between the frustum 615 and the mold is flat, there is a problem of low accuracy in driving the mold to rotate. Therefore, in order to make the frustum 615 drive the mold to rotate more effectively, such as... Figure 8As shown, in one embodiment, the outer periphery of the rotating frustum 615 is provided with a plurality of spaced rotating protrusions 616. Each rotating protrusion 616 includes a first protrusion body 616a and a second protrusion body 616b connected to each other. The first protrusion body 616a has a first angle with the horizontal plane, and the second protrusion body 616b has a second angle with the horizontal plane. The first angle and the second angle are complementary angles. In this embodiment, the first protrusion body 616a and the second protrusion body 616b are integrally formed. The first protrusion body 616a and the second protrusion body 616b can be made of materials with a high coefficient of friction, such as silicone or rubber. The first protrusion body 616a and the second protrusion body 616b make the surface of the rotating frustum 615 uneven, that is, increase the surface roughness of the rotating frustum 615, thereby increasing the friction between the rotating frustum 615 and the outer wall of the mold, and thus enabling the rotating frustum 615 to drive the mold to rotate better. Furthermore, the first protruding strip body 616a and the second protruding strip body 616b are both inclinedly disposed on the surface of the rotating frustum 615, and the first included angle and the second included angle are complementary angles to each other, that is, the angle at the connection between the first protruding strip body 616a and the second protruding strip body 616b is 90°, so that the first protruding strip body 616a and the second protruding strip body 616b form an "arrow" shaped structure along the rotation direction. In this way, the first protruding strip body 616a and the second protruding strip body 616b play a guiding role when they abut against the outer wall of the mold sleeve, so as to better drive the mold sleeve to rotate.

[0076] Compared with the prior art, this disclosure has at least the following advantages:

[0077] 1. In the aforementioned pre-positioning and fixing device 10 for placing the pad, when the battery cell is placed into the receiving groove 500a of the mold 500 by the robotic arm, the first lifting drive member drives the push rod 710 to move upward so that the end of the push rod 710 passes through the clearance hole and abuts against the bottom of the battery cell. At this time, the first lifting drive member drives the push rod 710 to move downward so that the battery cell moves downward together in the mold 500 until the battery cell abuts against the bottom wall of the receiving groove 500a. This reduces the force when the battery cell contacts the bottom wall of the receiving groove 500a, thereby avoiding the problem of damage to the diaphragm of the battery cell due to excessive force.

[0078] 2. In the aforementioned pre-positioning and fixing device 10 for placing the pad, after the battery cell is fixed inside the mold sleeve 500, the first rotary drive 400 drives the rotary disk 200 to rotate to the tab positioning mechanism 600. At this time, the second lifting drive 622 drives the positioning detection component 624 to descend to the predetermined position. The rotating assembly 610 is activated to abut against the mold sleeve 500 and cause the mold sleeve 500 to rotate, thereby driving the battery cell inside the mold sleeve 500 to rotate together. When the tab on the battery cell rotates to be opposite the positioning detection component 624, the positioning detection component 624 releases a signal to stop the rotating assembly 610 from rotating. This completes the positioning of the tab. The rotary disk 200 continues to rotate to rotate the battery cell to the pad placement station, thereby ensuring that the tab hole of the pad can accurately pass through the tab during the insertion process, avoiding the problem of tab bending caused by contact between the pad and the tab.

[0079] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementations of this disclosure, and while the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this disclosure, and these all fall within the protection scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of this patent should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A pre-gasket placement positioning and fixing device, comprising a base plate, a rotating disc, a top plate, a first rotating drive and a plurality of mold sleeves, the first rotating drive is installed on the base plate, the power output end of the first rotating drive is connected with the rotating disc, the top plate is connected with the base plate through a connecting column, the top plate is slidingly connected with the rotating disc, the rotating disc is provided with a plurality of embedded grooves arranged at intervals, the mold sleeve is located in the corresponding embedded groove, and the mold sleeve is provided with a containing groove for containing a battery cell. The pre-gasket placement positioning and fixing device further comprises a tab positioning mechanism and a battery cell protection mechanism, the battery cell protection mechanism comprises a first lifting drive and a top rod, the first lifting drive is installed on the base plate, the top rod is connected with the power output end of the first lifting drive, the mold sleeve is provided with an avoiding hole which is in communication with the containing groove, and the top rod is movably arranged in the avoiding hole. The tab positioning mechanism comprises a rotating rotating assembly and a positioning detection assembly, the rotating rotating assembly is installed on the base plate, the rotating rotating assembly is used to drive the mold sleeve to rotate when the mold sleeve abuts against the rotating rotating assembly, the positioning detection assembly comprises a mounting frame, a second lifting drive, a support and a positioning detection piece, the mounting frame is installed on the top plate, the second lifting drive is connected with the mounting frame, the power output end of the second lifting drive is connected with the support, and the positioning detection piece is connected with the support. The positioning detection piece is used to detect the rotating position of the tab of the battery cell, so that the rotating rotating assembly stops rotating when the tab of the battery cell rotates to a predetermined position.

2. The pre-positioning fixture of claim 1, wherein, An end of the top rod adjacent to the mold sleeve is provided with a tapered top holding part.

3. The pre-positioning fixture of claim 1, wherein, The surface of the tapered top holding part is provided with an electroplated layer.

4. The pre-pad positioning fixture of claim 1, wherein, The number of the positioning detection pieces is two, the two positioning detection pieces are arranged at intervals on the support, and the rotating rotating assembly is used to stop rotating when the tab of the battery cell is rotated to between the two positioning detection pieces.

5. The pre-positioning fixture of claim 4, wherein, The rotating rotating assembly comprises a fixed seat, a horizontal drive, a second rotating drive, a connecting plate and a rotating circular table, the fixed seat is installed on the base plate, the horizontal drive is connected with the fixed seat, the power output end of the horizontal drive is connected with the connecting plate, the second rotating drive is installed on the connecting plate, the rotating circular table is connected with the power rotating end of the second rotating drive, and the rotating circular table is slidingly abutted with the mold sleeve.

6. The pre-pad positioning fixture of claim 4, wherein, The outer periphery of the rotating circular table is provided with a silica gel sleeve.

7. The pre-pad positioning fixture of claim 1, wherein, The fixed seat is provided with a guide rail, the connecting plate is provided with a sliding groove, the guide rail is embedded in the sliding groove, so that the connecting plate slides along the extension direction of the guide rail. The mold sleeve comprises a sleeve cup and a fixed plate, the fixed plate is connected with the rotating disc, the fixed plate is provided with a sleeve hole, one end of the sleeve cup away from the base plate is sleeved in the sleeve hole, and the containing groove and the avoiding hole are both provided in the sleeve cup.

8. The pre-pad positioning fixture of claim 7, wherein, The mold cover further comprises a screwing piece, the fixing plate is provided with a first screwing hole, the rotating disc is provided with a second screwing hole, and the screwing piece passes through the first screwing hole and the second screwing hole in sequence, so that the fixing plate is screwed with the rotating disc.

9. A method of positioning and fixing tab before gasketing, characterized by, The method for positioning the tab before the gasket is positioned by the positioning and fixing device of any one of claims 1 to 8, and the method comprises the following steps: The battery cell is placed into the mold cover by the mechanical hand, the first lifting driving element is started to make the top rod lift and hold the bottom of the battery cell; The first lifting driving element is started to make the top rod descend and make the battery cell abut against the bottom wall of the mold cover; The first rotating driving element is started to make the rotating disc rotate to the tab positioning mechanism; The rotating rotating assembly is started to make the rotating rotating assembly abut against the outer wall of the mold cover; The second lifting driving element is started to make the positioning detection element descend, and the rotating rotating assembly is started to make the rotating rotating assembly drive the mold cover to rotate, when the tab of the battery cell rotates to the positioning detection element, the positioning detection element releases a signal to make the rotating rotating assembly stop rotating; The second lifting driving element is started to make the positioning detection element reset, and the first rotating driving element is started to make the rotating disc rotate into the next station.

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