An aluminum shell battery cell tab positioning mechanism, method and welding system

Abstract

The application relates to a kind of aluminum shell battery cell tab positioning mechanism, method and welding system, including the support beam for being arranged in the support beam of welding system protective sheet placement station, support beam is provided with multiple groups of down press tooling, down press tooling includes the lifting drive member fixed in support beam, lifting drive member is connected with two side-by-side arranged tab down press tooling through lifting plate, and the end for contacting with tab of two tab down press tooling is located above tab root movement track;Lifting drive member can drive tab down press tooling to move downward before protective sheet placement to press tab root, the positioning mechanism of the application guarantees the welding quality of aluminum shell battery tab protective sheet, and reduces the scrap rate of cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of battery technology, specifically to an aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism, method, and welding system. Background Technology

[0002] The statements herein provide only background information in relation to this invention and do not necessarily constitute prior art.

[0003] In the aluminum-cased battery manufacturing process, ultrasonic welding is used. An ultrasonic welding system is employed. A robotic arm removes the battery cells from a tray and places them into the fixtures of the machine's circulating line. A transfer mechanism below the fixture pulls the fixture backward, where a protective cover is placed. The robotic arm places the protective cover onto the fixture, pressing it against the positive and negative electrode tabs to form a cell-tab-cover assembly. The fixture continues to move backward, and the robotic arm places the protective cover inside the cover to mate with the positive and negative electrode tabs. The fixture continues its movement to the welding station, where the protective cover is directly welded. However, after placing the protective cover at the electrode tab, the positive protective cover may be misaligned depending on the condition of the battery tabs. This misalignment results in the protective cover being welded directly at the welding station, failing to meet the standards for normal battery cell use. Furthermore, welded cells cannot be repaired and are therefore scrapped.

[0004] Patent CN108511668B discloses a positioning mechanism and method for the tabs of a soft-pack battery cell. It uses a left and right gripper to position the tabs. However, the above positioning mechanism is used for positioning the tabs of soft-pack battery cells. When the tabs of aluminum-cased battery cells are placed in the protective sheet placement position, there is a top cover on top of the tabs, so the positioning method of the left and right grippers cannot be used. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a positioning mechanism for aluminum-cased battery cells to meet the welding requirements of aluminum-cased batteries. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, the purpose of this invention is to provide an aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism, method and welding device, which meets the welding requirements of aluminum-cased batteries and ensures the welding quality of the protective sheet.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solution:

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide an aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism, including a support beam for setting at the protective sheet placement station of a welding system, a plurality of pressing fixtures are provided on the support beam, the pressing fixtures include a lifting drive fixed to the support beam, the lifting drive is connected to two tab pressing fixtures arranged side by side through a lifting plate, and the ends of the two tab pressing fixtures for contacting the tabs are located above the movement trajectory of the tab root.

[0008] The lifting drive component can drive the tab pressing component to move downwards before the protective plate is placed, so as to press down the base of the tab.

[0009] Optionally, the lifting drive component is a cylinder with its axis vertically arranged. The cylinder body is fixedly connected to the support beam, and the piston rod of the cylinder is connected to the lifting plate.

[0010] Optionally, the cylinder body is fixedly connected to the cylinder seat, and the cylinder seat is fixedly connected to the support beam.

[0011] Optionally, the electrode lowering component is made of deformable metal.

[0012] Optionally, each of the electrode tab pressing components includes a horizontal plate, one end of which is fixed to the top of the pressing plate, the bottom of the pressing plate is used to contact the root of the electrode tab, the other end of which is fixed to the bottom of the fixing plate, and the fixing plate is fixedly connected to the lifting plate.

[0013] Optionally, the horizontal plate adopts a T-shaped structure, including a first plate portion and a second plate portion vertically disposed in the middle of the first plate portion. The first plate portion is connected to the bottom end of the horizontal plate, and the second plate portion is fixedly connected to the top end of the lower pressure plate.

[0014] Optionally, the fixing plate is provided with an elongated hole with its long axis vertically arranged, and the fixing plate is detachably and fixedly connected to the lifting plate through the elongated hole and threaded fasteners.

[0015] Optionally, the two electrode pressing members are symmetrically arranged with respect to the center of the lifting plate, and the lifting drive member is fixedly connected to the center position of the lifting plate.

[0016] Secondly, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for operating the aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism described in the first aspect: after the cell tab moves to the protective sheet placement station, the lifting drive works, driving the two tab pressing parts to descend through the lifting plate, with one tab pressing part pressing the root of the positive tab and the other tab pressing part pressing the root of the negative tab, and then a protective sheet is placed on the tab. After the protective sheet is placed, the lifting drive drives the two tab pressing parts to rise, and the tab with the protective sheet moves to the welding station for welding.

[0017] Thirdly, embodiments of the present invention provide an aluminum-cased battery welding system, wherein the protective sheet placement station is provided with the aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism described in the first aspect.

[0018] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0019] 1. The present invention relates to a battery cell tab positioning mechanism, method, and welding apparatus. The positioning mechanism is located at the protective sheet placement station of the welding apparatus and includes a lifting drive component. The lifting drive component is connected to two pressing components via a lifting plate. The pressing components are located above the movement trajectory of the tab root. When the battery cell, tab, and top cover move to the protective sheet placement station, before placing the protective sheet, the lifting drive component can drive the two pressing components downward, so that the two pressing components press down on the roots of the two tabs respectively, ensuring that the battery cell tab does not lift or wrinkle. This prevents the tab from exceeding the protective sheet placement area of ​​the top cover. The protective sheet can be placed well and effectively inside the top cover without being skewed. After ultrasonic welding, there will be no skewed welding of the protective sheet, effectively reducing or avoiding the number of scrapped battery cell protective sheets due to skew. Moreover, by using the pressing components to fix the tabs, the movement of the pressing components will not interfere with the top cover, meeting the positioning requirements of the aluminum-cased battery cell tabs.

[0020] 2. The battery cell tab positioning mechanism, method and welding device of the present invention, the positioning mechanism includes a support beam and two pressing fixtures located on the support beam, the structure is simple, only the support beam needs to be installed at the protective sheet placement station, the support beam can be fixed with the frame set in the existing welding system, no need to modify the other equipment of the welding system, the improvement cost is low.

[0021] 3. The battery cell tab positioning mechanism, method and welding device of the present invention, wherein the pressing component is made of deformable metal material, and the pressing component includes a horizontal plate and a fixing plate and a pressing plate disposed at both ends of the horizontal plate. The pressing component adopts this arrangement to facilitate the adjustment of the position of the pressing plate, so that the pressing plate can accurately match the root position of the tab. Attached Figure Description

[0022] The accompanying drawings, which form part of this invention, are used to provide a further understanding of the invention. The illustrative embodiments of the invention and their descriptions are used to explain the invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the invention.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the pressing tool structure in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the lifting plate and the lower electrode pressing component in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the position of the protective sheet in the top cover of Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0027] Among them, 1. support beam, 2. cylinder, 3. cylinder seat, 4. lifting plate, 5. horizontal plate, 6. fixed plate, 7. lower pressure plate, 8. elongated hole, 9. top cover, 10. protective plate placement position. Detailed Implementation

[0028] Example 1

[0029] This embodiment provides a battery cell tab positioning mechanism with an aluminum casing, such as... Figures 1-3 As shown, it includes a support beam 1, which is used to be installed at the protective sheet placement station of the welding system, and the support beam is used to be fixedly connected to the frame of the welding system.

[0030] Multiple sets of pressing fixtures are installed on the support beam 1. The number of pressing fixtures matches the number of cell-tab-cover plate assemblies to be placed at the protection plate placement station on the circulation line, and can simultaneously press down and position the tabs of multiple cell-tab-cover plate assemblies.

[0031] In this embodiment, the support beam is equipped with two sets of pressing fixtures, which can simultaneously press down and position the tabs of two cell-tab-cover plate assemblies.

[0032] The pressing fixture includes a vertically arranged lifting drive component, which is a cylinder 2. The cylinder body of the cylinder 2 is fixedly connected to the support beam 1.

[0033] In this embodiment, the cylinder body of cylinder 2 is fixedly connected to the side of cylinder seat 3, and cylinder seat 3 is fixed to the top surface of support beam 1, so that the axis of cylinder 2 is located on one side of support beam 1.

[0034] The piston rod of the cylinder 2 is connected to the lifting plate 4, which can drive the lifting plate 4 to move. In this embodiment, the lifting plate 4 is a rectangular plate. Two electrode pressing members are provided on the lifting plate 4. One electrode pressing member is used to press down the positive electrode, and the other electrode pressing member is used to press down the negative electrode. The end of the electrode pressing member that contacts the electrode is located above the root movement trajectory of the electrode in the cell-electrode-top cover assembly. The electrode pressing member can contact the root of the electrode and apply downward pressure to the root of the electrode.

[0035] Furthermore, in order to ensure uniform downward pressure on the two tabs, the piston rod of the cylinder 2 is fixedly connected to the center of the top surface of the lifting plate 4, and the two tab pressing parts are symmetrically arranged with respect to the center of the lifting plate 4.

[0036] Preferably, the electrode lowering member is fixed on the side of the lifting plate 4 away from the support beam 1.

[0037] To facilitate adjustment of the tab pressing component, ensuring that the end of the tab pressing component that contacts the base of the tab is directly above the movement trajectory of the tab base, the tab pressing component is made of a deformable metal material. This material allows for shape adjustment under external force, ensuring the end of the tab pressing component that contacts the base of the tab is aligned with the movement trajectory of the tab base. For example, the tab pressing component can be made of iron, copper, aluminum, or stainless steel; those skilled in the art can choose according to actual needs.

[0038] The electrode lowering component includes a horizontal plate 5, one end of which is fixedly connected to the bottom end of a fixed plate 6. The fixed plate 6 is detachably fixed to the side of the lifting plate 4 away from the support beam 1.

[0039] Preferably, the horizontal plate 5 is arranged perpendicular to the fixed plate 6.

[0040] The other end of the horizontal plate 5 is fixedly connected to the top of the lower pressure plate 7. Preferably, the horizontal plate 5 is arranged perpendicularly to the lower pressure plate 7.

[0041] It is understandable that by using external force to deform the lower tab, adjusting the angle between the horizontal plate 5 and the fixed plate 6, and adjusting the angle between the horizontal plate 5 and the lower pressure plate 7, the bottom of the lower pressure plate 7 can be accurately aligned with the movement trajectory of the base of the tab.

[0042] Furthermore, in order to adjust the initial height of the electrode lowering component, the fixing plate 6 is provided with a plurality of elongated holes 8 arranged vertically along the long axis. Preferably, the fixing plate 6 is provided with two elongated holes 8. The side of the lifting plate 4 used to fix the electrode lowering component is provided with threaded holes corresponding to the elongated holes 8. The fixing plate 6 is fixedly connected to the lifting plate 4 through the elongated holes 8 and threaded fasteners.

[0043] In this embodiment, the threaded fastener is a bolt. After passing through the elongated hole, the bolt is threadedly connected to the lifting plate 4 through the threaded hole to fix the fixing plate 6 and the lifting plate 4.

[0044] Furthermore, the horizontal plate 5 adopts a T-shaped structure, including a first plate part and a second plate part vertically arranged at the center of the first plate part. The length of the second plate part is the same as the length of the fixed plate 6 and the lower pressure plate 7. The first plate part is integrally connected to the fixed plate 6, and the second plate part is integrally connected to the lower pressure plate 7.

[0045] The battery cell tab positioning mechanism of this embodiment has a simple structure. It only requires the support beam 4 to be installed at the protective sheet placement station. The support beam 4 can be fixed with the frame set in the existing welding system. There is no need to modify the other equipment of the welding system, and the modification cost is low.

[0046] Example 2

[0047] This embodiment provides a working method for the aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism described in Embodiment 1:

[0048] The battery cells are transported to the welding system via pallets on the logistics line. Once the welding system's sensors detect the pallet's arrival, a robotic arm moves to the pallet on the logistics line. The barcode scanner on the robotic arm scans the barcode of the incoming battery cells and uploads it to the control system. If the control system displays a normal barcode, the robotic arm picks up battery cells A and B and places them into the corresponding battery cell circulation fixtures. The battery cell circulation fixtures move with the circulation line to the top cover placement station. The robotic arm places the top cover, which is fixed at the positive and negative terminals of the battery, pressing it above the tabs, forming a battery cell-tab-cover assembly. The battery cell circulation fixtures continue moving with the circulation line to the protective sheet placement station. The robotic arm that retrieves the protective sheet moves laterally to the protective sheet hopper. Then, the robotic arm moves vertically downwards to remove the tab protective sheet from the hopper. The robotic arm then rises vertically and moves laterally to the protective sheet thickness detection station to perform thickness checks. Protective sheets that fail the test are removed by the robotic arm and disposed of in the adjacent non-conforming protective sheet hopper. If the protective film passes inspection, it is removed by a robotic arm. Figure 4 As shown, the robotic arm moves laterally to the protective sheet placement position 10 on the top cover 9 of the protective sheet placement station.

[0049] The above work process can be carried out using existing technology, and will not be described in further detail here.

[0050] Before the robotic arm places the protective plate, cylinder 2 drives the lifting plate 4 to descend, with one of the electrode tab pressing down on the root of the positive electrode tab and the other electrode tab pressing down on the root of the negative electrode tab.

[0051] Then the robotic arm places a protective plate at the electrode tab. The placement method can be achieved using existing technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0052] After the protective plate is placed, cylinder 2 drives the lifting plate to rise, and the two electrode tabs are reset.

[0053] The circulation line drives the cell circulation fixture to the welding station for ultrasonic welding. The ultrasonic welding method can be achieved using existing technology, and will not be described in detail here.

[0054] After welding, the battery cell moves backward to the adhesive application station as the battery cell circulation fixture moves backward. The adhesive application station applies adhesive to the electrode tabs. After the adhesive application is completed, the battery cell is taken away by the robot arm and transferred to the next process.

[0055] The working method of this embodiment only involves pressing the base of the electrode tab before placing the protective sheet and loosening the base of the electrode tab after placing the protective sheet. The rest of the method can be done using existing technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0056] Two pressing components press down on the base of the two tabs respectively, ensuring that the cell tabs do not lift or wrinkle, thus preventing the tabs from extending beyond the protective sheet placement area of ​​the top cover. The protective sheet can then be placed securely and effectively inside the top cover without tilting. After ultrasonic welding, there will be no tilting of the protective sheet, effectively reducing or eliminating the number of scrapped cells due to tilted protective sheets. Furthermore, the method of using pressing components to fix the tabs ensures that the movement of the pressing components does not interfere with the top cover, meeting the positioning requirements of aluminum-cased battery cell tabs.

[0057] In actual production, the positioning mechanism of this embodiment reduces the scrap rate of defective products from 0.7% to 0.03%.

[0058] Example 3

[0059] This embodiment provides an aluminum-cased battery welding system, which is an improvement on the current aluminum-cased battery welding system. The aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism described in Embodiment 1 is added at the protective sheet placement station of the welding system. The support beam 1 is fixedly connected to the existing frame of the welding system. The remaining structure and equipment of the welding system can adopt existing technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0060] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Various modifications and variations can be made to this application by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A battery cell tab positioning mechanism with an aluminum shell, characterized in that, The system includes a support beam for placement at the protective sheet placement station of the welding system. Multiple sets of pressing fixtures are mounted on the support beam. Each pressing fixture includes a lifting drive fixed to the support beam. The lifting drive is connected to two parallel electrode pressing fixtures via a lifting plate. The ends of the two electrode pressing fixtures that contact the electrode are located above the electrode root's movement trajectory. The electrode pressing fixtures are made of deformable metal. Each electrode pressing fixture includes a horizontal plate. One end of the horizontal plate is fixed to the top of the pressing plate, and the bottom end of the pressing plate contacts the electrode root. The other end of the horizontal plate is fixed to the bottom of a fixed plate, which is fixedly connected to the lifting plate. External force causes the electrode pressing fixtures to deform, adjusting the angle between the horizontal plate and the fixed plate, and adjusting the angle between the horizontal plate and the pressing plate, so that the bottom end of the pressing plate can accurately align with the electrode root's movement trajectory. The lifting drive component can drive the tab pressing component to move downwards before the protective plate is placed, so as to press down the base of the tab.

2. The aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting drive component uses a cylinder with its axis set vertically. The cylinder body is fixedly connected to the support beam, and the piston rod of the cylinder is connected to the lifting plate.

3. The aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The cylinder body is fixedly connected to the cylinder seat, and the cylinder seat is fixedly connected to the support beam.

4. The aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The horizontal plate adopts a T-shaped structure, including a first plate part and a second plate part vertically arranged in the middle of the first plate part. The first plate part is connected to the bottom end of the horizontal plate, and the second plate part is fixedly connected to the top end of the lower pressure plate.

5. The aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The fixing plate is provided with a long strip hole with a vertically arranged long axis. The fixing plate is detachably and fixedly connected to the lifting plate through the long strip hole and threaded fasteners.

6. The aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The two electrode pressing members are symmetrically arranged with respect to the center of the lifting plate, and the lifting drive member is fixedly connected to the center position of the lifting plate.

7. A method for operating the aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that: After the battery cell tabs move to the protective sheet placement station, the lifting drive unit operates, driving the two tab pressing parts to descend via the lifting plate. One tab pressing part presses down on the root of the positive tab, and the other tab pressing part presses down on the root of the negative tab. Then, the protective sheet is placed on the tab. After the protective sheet is placed, the lifting drive unit drives the two tab pressing parts to rise. The tab with the protective sheet is then moved to the welding station for welding.

8. An aluminum-cased battery welding system, characterized in that its protective sheet placement station is provided with an aluminum-cased battery cell tab positioning mechanism as described in any one of claims 1-6.

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