Tab detection equipment and tab detection method

Abstract

The invention discloses a tab detection device and a tab detection method, and relates to the technical field of battery manufacturing. The tab detection equipment comprises a support, a bearing structure and a visual detection module, the support is provided with a fixing structure, the fixing structure is used for fixing a battery cell body of a naked battery cell in the gravity direction, and the fixing structure is used for enabling the thickness direction of the battery cell body to be parallel to the gravity direction; at least part of the bearing structure is fixed relative to the bracket, and the bearing structure is used for bearing the bottom surface of the tab; projection is conducted in the gravity direction, and at least part of the edge of the tab is used for being arranged outside the edge of the bearing structure; the visual detection module and the support are relatively fixed, the visual detection module is used for detecting the tabs, and the two tabs of the battery cell are supported respectively, so that when the tab detection equipment is used, the tabs can be supported to a more horizontal direction through the supporting structure so as to be convenient to detect; the problems of inaccurate size detection and image virtual focus caused by inclination of the tab can be avoided, and the detection deviation can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of battery manufacturing technology, and in particular to a tab detection device and a tab detection method. Background Art

[0002] In the power battery system, the pole pieces and diaphragms are formed into bare cells through a lamination process or a winding process. The pole tabs of the bare cells are pre-welded and cut using welding processes such as ultrasonic welding. After that, the cut pole tabs usually need to be inspected for their size, weld marks, and appearance.

[0003] The relevant technology usually uses a camera to take pictures, and uses existing image processing algorithms to process the images to achieve detection, and continuously optimizes the image processing algorithm to improve the detection accuracy of items such as the lug size and lug appearance. However, there are sometimes still large deviations in the detection of lug size and lug appearance. Summary of the invention

[0004] The main purpose of this application is to propose a tab detection device and a tab detection method, aiming to reduce detection deviation.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the tab detection equipment proposed in the present application is used to detect the tabs of bare batteries. The tab detection equipment includes a bracket, a supporting structure and a visual detection module. The bracket is provided with a fixing structure, and the fixing structure is used to fix the battery body of the bare battery in the direction of gravity, and the fixing structure is used to make the thickness direction of the battery body parallel to the direction of gravity; at least part of the supporting structure is relatively fixed to the bracket, and the supporting structure is used to support the bottom surface of the tab; projecting along the direction of gravity, at least part of the edge of the tab is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting structure; the visual detection module is relatively fixed to the bracket, and the visual detection module is used to detect the tab; the supporting structure includes a first moving mechanism and a supporting body, and part of the first moving mechanism The structure is relatively fixed with the bracket; the supporting body is installed on the first moving mechanism, and the first moving mechanism is used to move the supporting body to the bottom surface of the supporting pole ear along the direction of gravity; two pole ears are provided on the end surface of the battery cell body, and the two pole ears are arranged at intervals; the supporting body includes a connecting arm and a supporting block connected to each other, the connecting arm is connected to the first moving mechanism, and the connecting arm is extended along the direction from the first moving mechanism to the fixed structure; two supporting blocks are respectively provided on two side surfaces of the connecting arm that are arranged opposite to each other, and the arrangement direction of the two supporting blocks is perpendicular to the extension direction of the connecting arm, and each supporting block is respectively used to support the bottom surface of the pole ear in the direction of gravity; projected along the direction of gravity, at least part of the edge of the pole ear is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting block.

[0006] When the lug detection device proposed in the present application is in use, the supporting structure can support the bottom surface of the lug and set at least part of the edge of the lug outside the edge of the supporting structure, so that the lug is supported to a more horizontal position by the supporting structure for easy detection, which is conducive to avoiding the problem of inaccurate size detection and image blur due to the tilt of the lug, and is conducive to reducing detection deviation. In addition, the first moving mechanism enables the supporting body to move along the gravity direction to the bottom surface of the supporting lug, which is conducive to avoiding the collision of the supporting body with the lug during the stage of placing the bare battery cell, reducing the risk of collision damage to the lug; on the other hand, two supporting blocks are respectively provided on the two relatively side surfaces of the connecting arm, which is conducive to reducing the shielding of the lug by the connecting arm through the support of the supporting blocks, so as to better detect the lug.

[0007] In one implementation, the visual inspection module includes a first visual inspection component, which includes a first camera and a first light source, and the first camera and the first light source are respectively fixed relative to the bracket; the first camera and the first light source are respectively arranged on the top side of the supporting structure, and the first camera is used to detect the top surface of the pole ear.

[0008] At this time, the first camera and the first light source are respectively arranged on the top side of the supporting structure, so as to avoid the obstruction of the supporting structure and better perform the tab detection.

[0009] In one implementation, the first visual detection component also includes at least two second light sources, which are fixed relative to the bracket and are arranged on the top side of the supporting structure; projection is performed along the direction of gravity, and each second light source is arranged in an arrangement along the direction surrounding the pole ear; there is a connecting fillet between the pole ear and the battery cell body, and the second light source is used to illuminate the connecting fillet, and the shooting range of the first camera includes the connecting fillet.

[0010] At this time, each second light source is arranged in a direction surrounding the pole ear, thereby providing better illumination light for the connecting fillet between the pole ear and the battery cell body, so that the first camera can obtain a clearer surface image of the pole ear, thereby facilitating improving the surface inspection quality.

[0011] In one implementation, the first light source is configured as a coaxial light source, the second light source is configured as a strip light source, and the first camera, the first light source, the second light source and the supporting structure are sequentially arranged along the direction of gravity.

[0012] At this time, the first camera, the first light source, the second light source and the supporting structure are arranged in sequence along the direction of gravity, which is beneficial to reduce the shielding of the first camera, the first light source and the second light source by the supporting structure.

[0013] In one implementation, the first camera is configured as a color camera, and the first camera is at least used to obtain a color body image of the battery cell body; the tab detection device also includes an acquisition device and an output device, the acquisition device is used to acquire the area of ​​a preset color in the body image, the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab, and the preset color is different from the color of the battery cell body, and the output device is used to output the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and a first preset threshold.

[0014] At this time, for the color body image of the battery cell body obtained from the top side by the first camera, the tab detection device can determine whether the tab is folded by obtaining areas of different preset colors.

[0015] In one implementation, the first visual inspection component also includes a third light source, which is fixed relative to the bracket; the third light source is arranged on the bottom side of the supporting structure, and the third light source is used to illuminate the bottom surface of the tab.

[0016] At this time, the third light source is arranged on the bottom side of the supporting structure, so that it can serve as the backlight source of the first camera, so that the first camera can obtain the backlight image of the tab under the illumination of the third light source, thereby facilitating the size detection of the tab.

[0017] In one implementation, the fixing structure includes a support plate, the support plate is used to support the bottom surface of the battery cell body in the direction of gravity, and the support surface of the support plate is used to be perpendicular to the thickness direction of the battery cell body.

[0018] In one implementation, a contact block is provided on the top surface of the support block in the gravity direction, and the contact block is used to contact the bottom surface of the pole lug, and the hardness of the contact block is less than the hardness of the support block.

[0019] At this time, the abutment block is used to abut the bottom surface of the tab, and the hardness of the abutment block is less than the hardness of the supporting block, which is beneficial to reducing the collision damage of the tab.

[0020] In one implementation, the fixed structure includes at least two support plates, and each support plate is arranged in a horizontal direction; the pole ear detection equipment includes a conveying power mechanism, which is connected to each support plate, and the conveying power mechanism is used to move each support plate in a horizontal direction so that each bare battery cell is moved to the pole ear and is arranged opposite to the visual inspection module in the direction of gravity.

[0021] At this time, the conveying power mechanism is used to move each support plate in the horizontal direction, so as to facilitate continuous lug detection of multiple bare battery cells and improve the batch detection efficiency of bare battery cells.

[0022] In one implementation, the visual inspection module includes a second visual inspection component, the second visual inspection component includes a second camera and a fourth light source, the second camera and the fourth light source are respectively fixed relative to the bracket, the second camera and the fourth light source are respectively arranged on the bottom side of the supporting structure, and the second camera is used to detect the bottom surface of the pole ear.

[0023] At this time, the second camera and the fourth light source are respectively arranged on the bottom side of the supporting structure, and the second camera is used to detect the bottom surface of the tab, so that the tab can be detected on the bottom surface of the tab.

[0024] In one implementation, the second visual detection component is composed of a second camera and a fourth light source, the fourth light source is configured as a coaxial light source, and the second camera, the fourth light source and the supporting structure are sequentially arranged along the direction of gravity.

[0025] At this time, the fourth light source is set as a coaxial light source, so that it can provide coaxial light for the bottom surface of the pole ear and facilitate the second camera to perform folding detection and other inspection items on the pole ear; the second visual inspection component is composed of the second camera and the fourth light source, which is conducive to reducing the component cost of the second visual inspection component.

[0026] In one implementation, the second camera is configured as a color camera, and the second camera is at least used to obtain a color body image of the battery cell body; the tab detection equipment also includes an acquisition device and an output device, the acquisition device is used to acquire the area of ​​a preset color in the body image, the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab, and the preset color is different from the color of the battery cell body, and the output device is used to output the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and a first preset threshold.

[0027] At this time, for the color body image of the battery cell body obtained from the top side by the second camera, the tab detection device can determine whether the tab is folded by obtaining areas of different preset colors.

[0028] In one implementation, the supporting structure includes two installation bodies disposed at intervals, and the supporting structure also includes a supporting rope, both ends of the supporting rope are respectively fixedly connected to the two installation bodies, and the supporting rope is used to support at least one pole ear on the same bare battery cell.

[0029] At this time, the supporting rope is used to support at least one pole ear on the same bare battery cell, which is beneficial to reduce the obstruction of each pole ear through the supporting rope, thereby better performing pole ear detection.

[0030] In one implementation, the supporting structure includes two supporting groups, the supporting groups include mounting bodies and supporting ropes, and the supporting ropes of each supporting group are arranged in parallel; the pole lug detection equipment is used to simultaneously detect two bare battery cells, the first bare battery cell is provided with a pole lug on one side facing the pole lug of the second bare battery cell, and the supporting ropes of each supporting group are respectively used to support the pole lugs of each bare battery cell.

[0031] At this time, the tab detection equipment can detect two bare cells at the same time through two sets of support groups, which is beneficial to improving the batch detection efficiency of tab detection of bare cells.

[0032] In one implementation, the fixed structure includes a second moving mechanism and a clamp, and part of the second moving mechanism is fixed relative to the bracket; the clamp is used to grasp the bare battery cell, and the clamp is installed on the second moving mechanism, and the second moving mechanism is used to move the clamp so that the bare battery cell moves until the pole ear abuts against the supporting rope in the direction of gravity.

[0033] At this time, the tab detection equipment can grasp and fix the bare battery cell through the clamp, which is helpful to improve the tab detection efficiency of the bare battery cell.

[0034] The present application also proposes a tab detection method, which is used to detect the tabs of bare cells. The tab detection method includes: Fixing the battery body of the bare battery cell in the direction of gravity, and making the thickness direction of the battery body parallel to the direction of gravity; The supporting body is moved along the gravity direction to the bottom surface of the pole ear in the gravity direction; the end surface of the battery body is provided with two pole ears, and the two pole ears are arranged at intervals; the supporting body includes a connecting arm and a supporting block connected to each other, and two supporting blocks are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the connecting arm, and the arrangement direction of the two supporting blocks is perpendicular to the extension direction of the connecting arm, and each supporting block is used to support the bottom surface of the pole ear in the gravity direction; projected along the gravity direction, at least part of the edge of the pole ear is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting block; Perform visual inspection of the tabs.

[0035] When the pole ear detection method proposed in the present application is used, it can support the bottom surface of the pole ear in the direction of gravity, thereby supporting the pole ear to a more horizontal position for easy detection, which is conducive to avoiding the problem of inaccurate size detection and image blur due to the tilt of the pole ear, and is conducive to reducing detection deviation. In addition, the supporting body is moved along the gravity direction to the bottom surface of the supporting pole ear, which is conducive to avoiding the supporting body from colliding with the pole ear during the stage of placing the bare battery cell, reducing the risk of collision damage to the pole ear; on the other hand, two supporting blocks are respectively provided on the two relatively arranged side surfaces of the connecting arm, which is conducive to reducing the shielding of the pole ear by the connecting arm through the support of the supporting blocks, so as to better detect the pole ear.

[0036] In one implementation, the step of visually inspecting the tab includes: Acquire a color image of the battery cell along the gravity direction; Acquire the area of ​​a preset color in the body image, where the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab and is different from the color of the battery body; The tab folding detection result is output according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold.

[0037] At this time, the tab detection method can determine whether the tab is folded by acquiring the area of ​​different preset colors.

[0038] In one implementation, the step of outputting the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold value includes: When the area of ​​the preset color is greater than or equal to the first preset threshold, output detection information that the tab is folded; When the area of ​​the preset color is smaller than the first preset threshold, detection information indicating that the tab is not folded is output.

[0039] At this time, the tab detection method can quickly determine whether the tab is folded by measuring the size relationship between the area of ​​different preset colors and the first preset threshold.

[0040] In one implementation, the step of visually inspecting the tab includes: Acquire the ear body image of the ear pole along the gravity direction; Obtaining the weld mark area in the ear body image; The detection result is output according to the weld area and the second preset threshold value.

[0041] At this time, the tab detection method can determine whether a tab leak occurs through the weld area and the second preset threshold.

[0042] In one implementation, the step of visually inspecting the tab includes: Acquire the ear body image of the ear pole along the gravity direction; Obtaining ear body size in the ear body image; The detection result is output according to the ear body size and the third preset threshold.

[0043] At this time, the tab detection method can determine whether the tab size is qualified based on the tab body size and the third preset threshold. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0045] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a bare battery cell in a top view corresponding to an embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the main viewing direction of an embodiment of a tab detection device provided by the present application; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the partial structure of an embodiment of a tab detection device provided in the present application; Figure 4 A detection schematic diagram of an embodiment of a tab detection device provided in the present application; Figure 5 Another partial structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a tab detection device provided by the present application; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another partial structure of an embodiment of a tab detection device provided by the present application; Figure 7 for Figure 6 A partial enlarged view of point B in the middle; Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the steps of an embodiment of a tab detection method provided in the present application; Fig. 9 A detection schematic diagram of an embodiment of a tab detection method provided in the present application; Fig.10 Another detection schematic diagram of an embodiment of the tab detection method provided in the present application.

[0046] Description of Figure Numbers: 100. Tab detection equipment; 110. Fixed structure; 111. Support plate; 120. Support structure; 121. First moving mechanism; 122, supporting body; 123, connecting arm; 124, supporting block; 125, abutting block; 126. mounting body; 127. supporting rope; 130. Visual inspection module; 131, a first camera; 132, a first light source; 133, a second light source; 134, a third light source; 135. a second camera; 136. a fourth light source; 200, bare battery cell; 210, tab; 211, connection fillet; 220, battery cell body; The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of this application will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0048] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present application involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back...), the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components in a certain specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indications will also change accordingly.

[0049] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present application, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features limited to "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In addition, if "and / or" or "and / or" appears in the full text, its meaning includes three parallel schemes. Taking "A and / or B" as an example, it includes scheme A, or scheme B, or a scheme that satisfies both A and B. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in the field to implement. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by this application.

[0050] In the power battery system, the pole pieces and diaphragms are formed into bare cells through a lamination process or a winding process. The pole tabs of the bare cells are pre-welded and cut using welding processes such as ultrasonic welding. After that, the cut pole tabs usually need to be inspected for their size, weld marks, and appearance.

[0051] The relevant technology usually uses a camera to take pictures, and uses existing image processing algorithms to process the images to achieve detection, and continuously optimizes the image processing algorithm to improve the detection accuracy of items such as the lug size and lug appearance. However, there are sometimes still large deviations in the detection of lug size and lug appearance.

[0052] Therefore, based on the above considerations, in order to reduce the detection deviation, the present application proposes a tab detection device and a tab detection method. When used, the tab detection device and the tab detection method can avoid the problems of inaccurate size detection and image defocus due to tab tilt, thereby reducing the detection deviation.

[0053] Next, the structure of the tab detection device proposed in this application is explained with a specific implementation method.

[0054] Reference Figure 1 ,in Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a bare battery cell 200 corresponding to an embodiment of the present application is shown in a top view. Figure 1 The X-axis direction in the figure may correspond to the height direction of the bare battery cell 200. Figure 1The Y-axis direction in the figure can correspond to the width direction of the bare cell 200; the bare cell 200 includes a tab 210 and a cell body 220, and the bare cell 200 can be formed by a pole piece and a diaphragm through a lamination process or a winding process. Among them, the tab 210 can be pre-welded and cut by a welding process such as ultrasonic welding, and the subsequent processes corresponding to the bare cell 200 include a shelling process of entering the cell shell, etc., so as to form a battery cell with components such as the cell shell. For the bare cell 200 formed by the lamination process or the winding process, especially after the tab 210 is pre-welded and fixed, the tab 210 at the bare cell stage formed by multiple pole pieces, its structural strength will be greatly improved; however, the tab 210 at the bare cell stage still has a certain tendency to droop and tilt, and the influence of the drooping and tilting of the tab 210 on the detection deviation is often ignored.

[0055] In addition, Figure 1 In the top view of the bare cell 200 shown, there may be a connection fillet 211 between the tab 210 and the cell body 220 in the top view direction, which can be understood as a connection fillet 211 between the tab 210 and the cell body 220 with the axis parallel to the thickness direction of the cell body 220. Figure 2 ,in Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing the main viewing direction of the tab detection device 100 in this embodiment is shown. Figure 2 The X-axis direction in can be parallel to the horizontal plane, Figure 2 The Z-axis direction in the figure may correspond to the thickness direction of the bare battery cell 200 and the height direction of the tab detection device 100; Figure 2 In the schematic diagram of the tab detection device 100 in the main viewing direction, there can be a connecting fillet 211 between the tab 210 and the battery cell body 220 in the main viewing direction, which can be understood as a connecting fillet 211 between the tab 210 and the battery cell body 220 with the axis perpendicular to the thickness direction of the battery cell body 220.

[0056] Reference Figure 2 In one embodiment of the present application, the tab detection device 100 is used to detect the tab 210 of the bare battery cell 200. The tab detection device 100 includes a bracket, a supporting structure 120 and a visual inspection module 130. The bracket is provided with a fixing structure 110. The fixing structure 110 is used to fix the battery body 220 of the bare battery cell 200 in the direction of gravity. The fixing structure 110 is used to make the thickness direction of the battery body 220 parallel to the direction of gravity; at least part of the supporting structure 120 is relatively fixed to the bracket, and the supporting structure 120 is used to support the bottom surface of the tab 210; projecting along the direction of gravity, at least part of the edge of the tab 210 is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting structure 120; the visual inspection module 130 is relatively fixed to the bracket, and the visual inspection module 130 is used to detect the tab 210.

[0057] Among them, the bracket can be understood as the installation base of the fixed structure 110, and the bracket can be composed of plates, or the bracket can be composed of rods and the whole is a frame structure. The fixed structure 110 is used to fix the battery body 220 of the bare battery cell 200 in the direction of gravity. It can be understood that the fixed structure 110 can offset the gravity of the battery body 220. For example, the fixed structure 110 can support the bare battery cell 200 on the bottom of the battery body 220, or the fixed structure 110 can clamp the bare battery cell 200 to achieve fixation; in addition, when performing lug detection, the battery body 220 can remain relatively fixed with the fixed structure 110 in a posture where its thickness direction is parallel to the direction of gravity.

[0058] The supporting structure 120 is used to support the bottom surface of the pole lug 210, which can be understood as the supporting structure 120 supporting the pole lug 210 at the lower side of the pole lug 210, thereby offsetting the gravity of the pole lug 210 at the lower side. At least part of the edge of the pole lug 210 is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting structure 120, which can be understood as at least part of the pole lug 210 extending out of the supporting structure 120 in the horizontal direction, thereby reducing the shielding of the pole lug 210 by the supporting structure 120 when projected along the gravity direction.

[0059] The visual inspection module 130 can be understood as a module for detecting the tabs through machine vision. Specifically, the tabs 210 in the photos obtained by taking photos can be identified and detected by taking photos with a camera first, and then using existing image recognition and other methods. The camera included in the visual inspection module 130 can be set as an area array camera, wherein the sensor of the area array camera arranges the pixels in a matrix, and the sensor directly outputs a frame of image after line exposure or frame exposure, thereby reducing the movement requirements of the camera and improving the imaging stability. Of course, the camera included in the visual inspection module 130 can also be set as a line array camera, wherein the sensor of the line array camera usually has only one row (or two to three rows) of pixels, and the line array camera works in a manner similar to a scanner and cyclically exposes the row pixels; when the camera is set as a line array camera, the tab detection device 100 can be equipped with a motion mechanism that enables the camera to move, so as to facilitate the camera to achieve complete imaging of the tabs 210.

[0060] According to the above introduction, when the pole lug detection device 100 in this embodiment is in use, the supporting structure 120 can support the bottom surface of the pole lug 210 and set at least part of the edge of the pole lug 210 outside the edge of the supporting structure 120, so that the pole lug 210 is supported to a more horizontal position by the supporting structure 120 to facilitate detection, which is beneficial to avoid inaccurate size detection and image out-of-focus problems caused by the tilt of the pole lug 210, and is beneficial to reducing detection deviations.

[0061] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2 as well as Figure 3 ,in Figure 3 The partial structural diagram of the tab detection device 100 in this embodiment is shown; the visual detection module 130 may include a first visual detection component, and the first visual detection component includes a first camera 131 and a first light source 132, wherein the first camera 131 may be set as the area array camera or the line array camera described above, and this embodiment is not described in detail here. In addition, the first camera 131 and the first light source 132 are respectively fixed relative to the above-mentioned bracket, which can be understood as the first camera 131, the first light source 132 and the above-mentioned bracket have a relatively fixed position relationship. Figure 2 or Figure 3 The first camera 131 and the first light source 132 are respectively arranged on the top side of the supporting structure 120, so that the first camera 131 and the first light source 132 can be respectively located on the upper side of the pole lug 210 in the Z-axis direction when performing pole lug detection, so that the first light source 132 can illuminate the top surface of the pole lug 210, and the first camera 131 can be used to detect the top surface of the pole lug 210.

[0062] In this embodiment, the first camera 131 and the first light source 132 are respectively arranged on the top side of the supporting structure 120, so as to avoid the obstruction of the supporting structure 120 (supporting the bottom surface of the pole lug 210) and better perform the pole lug detection; it can be understood that the supporting structure 120 supports the bottom surface of the pole lug 210, and the first camera 131 and the first light source 132 take pictures on the top surface of the pole lug 210 for detection.

[0063] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 The first visual inspection component also includes at least two second light sources 133, which are relatively fixed to the bracket. It can be understood that the second light source 133 and the bracket have a relatively fixed position relationship; wherein the second light source 133 is arranged on the top side of the supporting structure 120, so that the second light source 133 can illuminate the top surface of the pole ear 210. Projection is performed along the direction of gravity, and each second light source 133 is arranged in a direction around the pole ear 210; for example, Figure 2 , Figure 3 The first visual inspection component in the embodiment may include four second light sources 133, which are arranged in a square. In addition, when performing the tab inspection, the tab 210 is placed opposite to the arrangement center of the second light sources 133. Each second light source 133 is used to illuminate the connection fillet 211 between the tab 210 and the cell body 220. The connection fillet 211 may be Figure 1 The connecting fillet 211 in the top view direction may be Figure 2The connecting fillet 211 in the main viewing direction is not limited in this embodiment; correspondingly, the shooting range of the first camera 131 includes the connecting fillet 211, which can be understood as the first camera 131 can capture the connecting fillet 211.

[0064] In this embodiment, each second light source 133 is arranged in a direction surrounding the pole tab 210, so as to provide better illumination light for the connecting fillet 211 between the pole tab 210 and the battery cell body 220, so that the first camera 131 can obtain a clearer surface image of the pole tab 210, thereby facilitating the improvement of the surface inspection quality, for example, facilitating better detection of surface defects of the pole tab 210.

[0065] In some embodiments, the first light source 132 can be configured as a coaxial light source, the second light source 133 can be configured as a strip light source, and the first camera 131, the first light source 132, the second light source 133 and the supporting structure 120 are sequentially arranged along the gravity direction. It can be understood that the light reflected by the tab 210 on the supporting structure 120 can sequentially pass through the internal space surrounded by the second light source 133 and the internal space of the first light source 132 in the form of a coaxial light source to reach the first camera 131, so that the first camera 131 can realize imaging of the tab 210.

[0066] In this embodiment, the first camera 131, the first light source 132, the second light source 133 and the supporting structure 120 are arranged in sequence along the direction of gravity. Since the first camera 131, the first light source 132, and the second light source 133 are respectively arranged on the top side of the pole ear 210, and the supporting structure 120 is arranged on the bottom side of the pole ear 210, it is beneficial to reduce the obstruction of the first camera 131, the first light source 132, and the second light source 133 by the supporting structure 120.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first camera 131 is configured as a color camera, for example, the first camera 131 can be configured as a planar color array camera (2D color array camera). The first camera 131 is at least used to obtain a color body image of the battery cell body 220. For example, the first camera 131 can be configured to obtain an image of the entire bare battery cell 200, and obtain a color body image of the battery cell body 220 through an existing image processing algorithm, for example, including obtaining a range boundary of the battery cell body 220, which can refer to Figure 4 shown by thick lines.

[0068] The tab detection device 100 also includes an acquisition device and an output device, the acquisition device is used to acquire the area of ​​the preset color in the above-mentioned body image, the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab 210, and the preset color is different from the color of the battery body 220, and the output device is used to output the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold. Among them, the tab detection device 100 may include a processor, and the processor may include the above-mentioned acquisition device and output device; wherein, the processor includes but is not limited to a personal computer, an industrial computer or a server, etc. Among them, the processor can be combined with an existing image processing algorithm to perform image recognition on the photos taken by the first camera 131, so as to realize the detection of the tab size, tab folding, welding mark detection and other items of the tab 210. Of course, when necessary, the tab 210 can be fully inspected by manual use of a magnifying glass, a measuring tool and a sample. In addition, the processor can also be connected to the MES system (Manufacturing Execution System) for communication, so as to upload the detection results to the MES system. It is understandable that the lighting or extinguishing of the first light source 132 and the second light source 133 and the photo taking action of the first camera 131 can be triggered by the processor according to the arrival signal of the bare cell 200 or the tab 210 .

[0069] It is understandable that the bare cell 200 usually includes two tabs 210, which are respectively a positive tab and a negative tab; wherein the positive tab is usually made of aluminum material and is silvery white, and the negative tab is usually made of copper material and is orange-yellow, and the cell body 220 of the bare cell 200 is usually bright white and different from the color of the tabs 210. In the case where the tab 210 is folded and folded to the cell body 220, the tab detection device 100 can detect other different colors (i.e., the color of the corresponding tab 210) within the image range of the cell body 220 (which is bright white under normal circumstances), for example, Figure 4 At A1 or A2 with different colors, for example, the silver-white color of the positive electrode tab or the orange-yellow color of the negative electrode tab is detected, so as to determine whether the tab folding occurs by obtaining the area of ​​different preset colors.

[0070] In this embodiment, for the color body image of the battery cell body 220 acquired from the top side by the first camera 131 , the tab detection device 100 can determine whether the tab is folded by acquiring areas of different preset colors.

[0071] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2 or Figure 3The first visual detection assembly may further include a third light source 134, which is relatively fixed to the bracket, and it can be understood that the third light source 134 and the bracket have a relatively fixed position relationship; the third light source 134 is disposed on the bottom side of the supporting structure 120, and the third light source 134 is used to illuminate the bottom surface of the tab 210, so that the third light source 134 becomes the backlight source of the first camera 131. In some embodiments, the third light source 134 may be a backlight panel, so that it can be used as a surface light source to facilitate backlighting for the tabs 210 at different positions.

[0072] In this embodiment, the third light source 134 is arranged on the bottom side of the supporting structure 120, so that it can serve as the backlight source of the first camera 131, so that the first camera 131 can obtain the backlight image of the pole ear 210 under the illumination of the third light source 134. For example, at this time, the image of the pole ear 210 is black, which facilitates the size detection of the pole ear 210.

[0073] In some embodiments, reference Figure 3 The fixing structure 110 includes a support plate 111, which is used to support the bottom surface of the battery cell body 220 in the direction of gravity. The support surface of the support plate 111 is used to be perpendicular to the thickness direction of the battery cell body 220. For example, the thickness direction of the battery cell body 220 is parallel to the Z-axis direction in the figure, and the support surface of the support plate 111 is perpendicular to the Z-axis direction in the figure. In addition, referring to Figure 3 and Figure 5 ,in Figure 5 Another partial structural schematic diagram of the pole ear detection device 100 in this embodiment is shown; the supporting structure 120 includes a first moving mechanism 121 and a supporting body 122, part of the first moving mechanism 121 is relatively fixed to the above-mentioned bracket, and it can be understood that a part of the first moving mechanism 121 has a relatively fixed positional relationship with the above-mentioned bracket; the supporting body 122 is installed on the first moving mechanism 121, and the first moving mechanism 121 is used to move the supporting body 122 along the direction of gravity to the bottom surface of the supporting pole ear 210, for example, the first moving mechanism 121 is used to move the supporting body 122 along the direction of gravity. Figure 3 The first moving mechanism 121 moves in the Z-axis direction to the bottom surface of the supporting pole ear 210. In some embodiments, the first moving mechanism 121 may include a cylinder, the cylinder body of the cylinder is relatively fixed to the bracket so that the two have a relatively fixed position relationship; the rod body of the cylinder is configured to move along the gravity direction and is fixedly connected to the supporting body 122. Of course, the first moving mechanism 121 may also include a linear slide, a linear motor, etc., which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0074] In this embodiment, the first moving mechanism 121 enables the supporting body 122 to move along the direction of gravity to the bottom surface of the supporting pole lug 210, which is helpful to avoid the supporting body 122 from colliding with the pole lug 210 when placing the bare battery cell 200. For example, by keeping the supporting body 122 away from the pole lug 210 when placing the bare battery cell 200, the risk of collision damage to the pole lug 210 is reduced.

[0075] In some embodiments, reference Figure 4 and Figure 5 The end surface of the cell body 220 is provided with two tabs 210, and the two tabs 210 are arranged at intervals, for example, along Figure 4 The Y-axis spacing setting in . Figure 5 The supporting body 122 includes a connecting arm 123 and a supporting block 124 connected to each other. For example, the connecting arm 123 and the supporting block 124 can be integrally formed to achieve connection; of course, the connecting arm 123 and the supporting block 124 can also be connected by welding, clamping, etc. The connecting arm 123 is connected to the first moving mechanism 121, and the connecting arm 123 is extended from the first moving mechanism 121 to the fixed structure 110. For example, the connecting arm 123 is arranged along Figure 5 The two sides of the connecting arm 123 are respectively provided with two supporting blocks 124, and the arrangement direction of the two supporting blocks 124 is perpendicular to the extension direction of the connecting arm 123, for example, the two supporting blocks 124 are arranged along Figure 5 In addition, each supporting block 124 is used to support the bottom surface of the pole ear 210 in the direction of gravity; it can be understood that the two supporting blocks 124 on the connecting arm 123 support the two pole ears 210 on the same bare battery cell 200 in a one-to-one correspondence. When projecting along the direction of gravity, for example, when projecting along the Z-axis direction in the figure, at least part of the edge of the pole ear 210 is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting block 124, and it can be understood that at least part of the pole ear 210 in the projection is not blocked by the supporting block 124. For example, when projecting along the direction of gravity, the pole ear 210 can extend out of the supporting block along the extension direction of the connecting arm 123, for example, the pole ear 210 can extend along Figure 5 The supporting block 124 extends out in the X-axis direction.

[0076] In this embodiment, two supporting blocks 124 are respectively provided on two opposite sides of the connecting arm 123 , which is beneficial to reduce the shielding of the connecting arm 123 on the tab 210 through the support of the supporting blocks 124 , thereby better performing the tab detection.

[0077] In some embodiments, continue to refer to Figure 5, the top surface of the supporting block 124 in the direction of gravity is provided with an abutment block 125, the abutment block 125 is used to abut the bottom surface of the pole ear 210, and the hardness of the abutment block 125 is less than the hardness of the supporting block 124. For example, the abutment block 125 can be made of a resin material such as sintered steel, or the abutment block 125 can be made of plastic, which is not limited in this embodiment. Among them, the abutment block 125 can be fixed to the supporting block 124 by snap-fitting, using fasteners such as screws, etc. It can be understood that when projecting along the direction of gravity, such as projecting along the Z-axis direction in the figure, at least part of the edge of the pole ear 210 is used to be arranged outside the edge of the abutment block 125, which can be understood as at least part of the pole ear 210 in the projection is not blocked by the abutment block 125.

[0078] In this embodiment, the abutment block 125 is used to abut the bottom surface of the pole tab 210 . The hardness of the abutment block 125 is less than that of the supporting block 124 , which is helpful to reduce the collision damage of the pole tab 210 .

[0079] In some embodiments, in combination Figure 2 , Figure 3 , the fixed structure 110 includes at least two support plates 111, each support plate 111 is arranged in a horizontal direction, for example, arranged in a ring or in a straight line in the horizontal direction; the tab detection device 100 includes a conveying power mechanism, which is connected to each support plate 111, and the conveying power mechanism is used to move each support plate 111 in the horizontal direction, so that each bare cell 200 moves to the tab 210 and is arranged opposite to the visual inspection module 130 in the direction of gravity, which can be understood as being able to convey each bare cell 200 to the tab detection station. For example, the tab detection device 100 may include a conveying line, and the conveying line may include the above-mentioned conveying power mechanism and the support plate 111, so as to facilitate the conveying of batches of bare cells 200.

[0080] In this embodiment, the conveying power mechanism is used to move each support plate 111 in the horizontal direction, so as to facilitate continuous lug detection of multiple bare battery cells 200 and improve the batch detection efficiency of the bare battery cells 200.

[0081] In some embodiments, reference Figure 6 ,in Figure 6Another partial structural schematic diagram of the tab detection device 100 in this embodiment is shown; the visual detection module 130 includes a second visual detection component, and the second visual detection component may include a second camera 135 and a fourth light source 136, wherein the second camera 135 may be set as the above-mentioned area array camera or line array camera. The second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136 are respectively fixed relatively to the above-mentioned bracket, which can be understood as the second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136 have a relatively fixed positional relationship with the above-mentioned bracket. Among them, the second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136 are respectively arranged on the bottom side of the supporting structure 120, so that the fourth light source 136 can illuminate the bottom surface of the tab 210 on the supporting structure 120, so that the second camera 135 can be used to detect the bottom surface of the tab 210.

[0082] In this embodiment, the second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136 are respectively disposed on the bottom side of the supporting structure 120 , and the second camera 135 is used to detect the bottom surface of the tab 210 , so that the tab can be detected on the bottom surface of the tab 210 .

[0083] In some embodiments, the second visual detection component is composed of the second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136, which can be understood as the second visual detection component only including the second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136. In addition, the fourth light source 136 can be set as a coaxial light source, and the second camera 135, the fourth light source 136 and the supporting structure 120 are arranged in sequence along the direction of gravity; it can be understood that the light reflected by the bottom surface of the pole ear 210 can reach the second camera 135 through the internal space of the fourth light source 136 in the form of a coaxial light source, so that the second camera 135 can realize imaging of the bottom surface of the pole ear 210.

[0084] In this embodiment, the fourth light source 136 is configured as a coaxial light source, thereby being able to provide coaxial light for the bottom surface of the tab 210 and facilitating the second camera 135 to perform folding detection and other inspection items on the tab 210; the second visual inspection component is composed of the second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136, which is beneficial to reducing the component cost of the second visual inspection component.

[0085] In some embodiments, the second camera 135 is configured as a color camera, for example, the second camera 135 can be configured as a planar color array camera (2D color array camera). The second camera 135 is at least used to obtain a color body image of the battery cell body 220. For example, the second camera 135 can be configured to obtain an image of the entire bare battery cell 200, and obtain a color body image of the battery cell body 220 through an existing image processing algorithm, for example, including obtaining a range boundary of the battery cell body 220, which can refer to Figure 4 shown by thick lines.

[0086] The tab detection device 100 also includes an acquisition device and an output device, the acquisition device is used to acquire the area of ​​the preset color in the above-mentioned body image, the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab 210, and the preset color is different from the color of the battery body 220, and the output device is used to output the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold. Among them, the tab detection device 100 may include a processor, and the processor may include the above-mentioned acquisition device and output device; wherein, the processor includes but is not limited to a personal computer, an industrial computer or a server, etc. Among them, the processor can be combined with an existing image processing algorithm to perform image recognition on the photos taken by the second camera 135, so as to realize the detection of the tab size, tab folding, welding mark detection and other items of the tab 210. Of course, when necessary, the tab 210 can be fully inspected by manual use of a magnifying glass, a measuring tool and a sample. In addition, the processor can also be connected to the MES system (Manufacturing Execution System) for communication, so as to upload the detection results to the MES system. It is understandable that the lighting or extinguishing of the fourth light source 136 and the photo-taking action of the second camera 135 can be triggered by the processor according to the arrival signal of the bare cell 200 or the tab 210 .

[0087] It is understandable that the bare cell 200 usually includes two tabs 210, which are respectively a positive tab and a negative tab; wherein the positive tab is usually made of aluminum material and is silvery white, and the negative tab is usually made of copper material and is orange-yellow, and the cell body 220 of the bare cell 200 is usually bright white and different from the color of the tabs 210. In the case where the tab 210 is folded and folded to the cell body 220, the tab detection device 100 can detect other different colors (i.e., the color of the corresponding tab 210) within the image range of the cell body 220 (which is bright white under normal circumstances), for example, Figure 4 At A1 or A2 with different colors, for example, the silver-white color of the positive electrode tab or the orange-yellow color of the negative electrode tab is detected, so as to determine whether the tab folding occurs by obtaining the area of ​​different preset colors.

[0088] In this embodiment, for the color body image of the battery cell body 220 obtained from the bottom side by the second camera 135 , the tab detection device 100 can determine whether the tab is folded by obtaining areas of different preset colors.

[0089] It is understandable that the tab detection device 100 may include both the first visual detection component and the second visual detection component, and the tab 210 may be detected by the first visual detection component and the second visual detection component. Of course, the tab detection device 100 may include only one of the first visual detection component and the second visual detection component, and this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0090] In some embodiments, reference Figure 7 The supporting structure 120 includes two installation bodies 126 spaced apart from each other. For example, the two installation bodies 126 are arranged along Figure 7 The supporting structure 120 is arranged at intervals in the Y-axis direction; the supporting rope 127 can be made of steel material, resin material, etc.; the two ends of the supporting rope 127 are respectively fixedly connected to the two mounting bodies 126, for example, they are fixed by clamping, binding, etc.; wherein the supporting rope 127 is used to support at least one pole ear 210 on the same bare battery cell 200, for example, the supporting rope 127 is used to support one or two pole ears 210 on the same bare battery cell 200.

[0091] In this embodiment, the supporting rope 127 is used to support at least one pole lug 210 , which is beneficial for reducing the obstruction of each pole lug 210 through the supporting rope 127 , thereby better performing pole lug detection.

[0092] In some embodiments, reference Figure 7 The supporting structure 120 includes two supporting groups, each supporting group includes the above-mentioned mounting body 126 and supporting ropes 127, and the supporting ropes 127 of each supporting group are arranged in parallel, for example Figure 7 The supporting ropes 127 of each supporting group are parallel to the Y-axis direction and parallel to each other. The tab detection device 100 is used to detect two bare cells 200 at the same time. The side of the tab 210 of the first bare cell 200 faces the tab 210 of the second bare cell 200, for example Figure 7 The pole ear 210 of the first bare battery cell 200 is arranged opposite to the pole ear 210 of the second bare battery cell 200; in addition, the supporting ropes 127 of each supporting group are respectively used to support the pole ears 210 of each bare battery cell 200.

[0093] In this embodiment, the tab detection device 100 can detect two bare cells 200 at the same time through two groups of support groups, which is beneficial to improving the batch detection efficiency of the tab detection of the bare cells 200.

[0094] In some embodiments, the fixed structure 110 includes a second moving mechanism and a clamp, part of the second moving mechanism is relatively fixed to the bracket, which can be understood as a part of the second moving mechanism having a relatively fixed positional relationship with the bracket; the clamp is used to grab the bare cell 200, the clamp is installed on the second moving mechanism, and the second moving mechanism is used to move the clamp so that the bare cell 200 moves to the tab 210 and abuts against the supporting rope 127 in the direction of gravity. For example, the second moving mechanism may include a mechanical arm, a guide rail structure, etc.

[0095] In this embodiment, the tab detection device 100 can grasp and fix the bare battery cell 200 through the clamping claws, which is beneficial to improving the tab detection efficiency of the bare battery cell 200.

[0096] Among them, when the tab detection device 100 in the above embodiment is in use, for the first visual detection component, after the bare battery cell 200 is in place, the first moving mechanism can drive the supporting body 122 to move to the bottom surface of the tab 210, thereby supporting the tab 210 of the bare battery cell 200 to be horizontal, thereby avoiding inaccurate size detection and image out-of-focus problems caused by the tilt of the tab 210; after this, the processor can send trigger signals to the first camera 131, the first light source 132 and the second light source 133 respectively, the first light source 132 and the second light source 133 are turned on to illuminate, and the first camera 131 is operated. Take pictures in planar mode (2D mode), and the images obtained by taking pictures can be used for front defect detection of the tab 210 (which can be understood as top surface defect detection); thereafter, the third light source 134 can be triggered by the processor, and the first camera 131 takes pictures, and the images obtained by taking pictures can be used for size detection items; thereafter, when the first bare cell 200 completes imaging, the first camera 131 and the next bare cell 200 move relative to each other (either the first camera 131 moves or the bare cell 200 moves), so as to prepare to obtain the image of the tab 210 of the next bare cell 200 at a predetermined position.

[0097] For the second visual inspection component, after the bare battery cell 200 is in place, the pole ear 210 of the bare battery cell 200 can be placed on the supporting rope 127 through the above-mentioned clamping claw, and the pole ear 210 of the bare battery cell 200 can be supported to a horizontal level by the supporting rope 127, so as to avoid inaccurate size detection and image out-of-focus problems caused by the tilt of the pole ear 210; thereafter, the trigger signal can be given to the second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136 respectively through the above-mentioned processor, the fourth light source 136 is turned on to illuminate, and the second camera 135 takes a picture; the image obtained by the photo can be used for defect detection of the back side (which can be understood as the bottom surface of the pole ear 210); thereafter, when the first bare battery cell 200 is completed, the second camera 135 and the next bare battery cell 200 move relative to each other (it can be the second camera 135 or the bare battery cell 200), so as to prepare to obtain the image of the pole ear 210 of the next bare battery cell 200 at a predetermined position.

[0098] In addition, for the images obtained by the above-mentioned photography, the existing image processing algorithm can be called in the software system through the above-mentioned processor to perform image preprocessing, which can specifically include positioning the detection area, calculating the lug size, lug misalignment, and weld print area in the detection area, and detecting lug folding, lug cracking, and lug burrs, etc.; in addition, the above-mentioned processor can also upload the detection results according to the TCP protocol, and finally feed back the detection results to the above-mentioned MES system.

[0099] It is understandable that the processor can communicate with the visual inspection module 130 through a network, and the processor can inform the visual inspection module 130 of the identity information (such as the QR code information) of the current bare cell 200, and inform the visual inspection module 130 of the arrival information of the bare cell 200. In addition, during the relative movement of the first camera 131, the second camera 135 and the next bare cell 200 (which can be understood as during the transportation of the bare cell 200), the processor can perform image processing in parallel, and associate and store the image processing results and the tab detection results with the identity information of the bare cell 200; for the conveyor line that transports the bare cell 200 that has been photographed, the driving device of the conveyor line can obtain the detection result according to the identity information of the bare cell 200, and then transport the bare cell 200 to the next process or to an unqualified workstation according to the detection result.

[0100] The present application also proposes a tab detection method, which is used to detect the tab 210 of the bare battery cell 200; Figure 8 , the tab detection method includes: Step S100, fixing the cell body 220 of the bare cell 200 in the direction of gravity, and making the thickness direction of the cell body 220 parallel to the direction of gravity, for example, by the above-mentioned support plate 111 or clamping claws; Step S200, supporting the bottom surface of the pole lug 210 in the gravity direction, for example, by supporting the bottom surface of the pole lug 210 through the supporting body 122 or the supporting rope 127; Step S300 , visual inspection is performed on the tab 210 , for example, by the visual inspection module 130 , and specifically, visual inspection can be performed by at least one of the first visual inspection component and the second visual inspection component.

[0101] When the pole lug detection method in this embodiment is used, it can support the bottom surface of the pole lug 210 in the direction of gravity, thereby supporting the pole lug 210 to a more horizontal position for easy detection, which is beneficial to avoid inaccurate size detection and image out-of-focus problems caused by the tilt of the pole lug 210, and is beneficial to reducing detection deviations.

[0102] In some embodiments, the step of visually inspecting the tab 210 (the above-mentioned step S300 ) includes: Sub-step 1, along the gravity direction, obtain a color body image of the battery cell body 220; for example, by making the first camera 131 or the second camera 135 obtain an image of the entire bare battery cell 200, and obtaining a color body image of the battery cell body 220 through an existing image processing algorithm, for example, it may include obtaining a range boundary of the battery cell body 220, and the range boundary may refer to Figure 4 shown by thick lines.

[0103] Sub-step 2, obtaining the area of ​​a preset color in the body image, the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab 210, and the preset color is different from the color of the battery body 220; for example, the positive tab is usually made of aluminum material and is silvery white, the negative tab is usually made of copper material and is orange-yellow, and the battery body 220 of the bare battery cell 200 is usually bright white and different from the color of the tab 210. In the case where the tab 210 is folded and folded to the battery body 220, the tab detection device 100 can detect other different colors (i.e., the color of the corresponding tab 210) within the image range of the battery body 220 (normally bright white), for example, Figure 4 At A1 or A2 where different colors are detected, for example, the silver-white color of the positive electrode ear or the orange-yellow color of the negative electrode ear is detected.

[0104] Sub-step three: outputting the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold.

[0105] In this embodiment, the tab detection method can determine whether tab folding occurs by acquiring areas of different preset colors.

[0106] In some embodiments, the step of outputting the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold (the above sub-step three) includes: When the area of ​​the preset color is greater than or equal to a first preset threshold, detection information indicating that the tab 210 is folded is output; wherein the first preset threshold may be set to be greater than or equal to zero.

[0107] When the area of ​​the preset color is smaller than the first preset threshold, detection information indicating that the tab 210 is not folded is output.

[0108] In this embodiment, the tab detection method can quickly determine whether the tab is folded by measuring the size relationship between the area of ​​different preset colors and the first preset threshold.

[0109] In some embodiments, the step of visually inspecting the tab 210 (the above-mentioned step S300 ) includes: Acquire the ear body image of the tab 210 along the gravity direction; this step can be implemented with reference to the above-mentioned sub-step 1, and will not be elaborated in this embodiment.

[0110] Sub-step four, obtaining the weld mark area in the ear body image, for example, can be obtained through an existing image algorithm; it is understandable that the weld mark corresponding to the weld mark area can be formed by a welding process such as ultrasonic pre-welding of the tab 210.

[0111] Sub-step five, outputting the detection result according to the weld mark area and the second preset threshold value; wherein the second preset threshold value can be set to a preset qualified area of ​​the weld mark area.

[0112] In this embodiment, the tab detection method can determine whether a tab leak occurs by using the weld area and the second preset threshold. For example, the tab leak can be detected by using the weld area and the second preset threshold. Fig. 9 The leakage soldering area C1 or C2.

[0113] In some embodiments, the step of visually inspecting the tab 210 (the above-mentioned step S300 ) includes: Acquire the ear body image of the tab 210 along the gravity direction; this step can be implemented with reference to the above-mentioned sub-step 1, and will not be elaborated in this embodiment.

[0114] Sub-step 6: obtaining the ear body size in the ear body image, for example, obtaining Fig.10 The width dimensions W1 and W2 of the tab 210 in the embodiment of the present invention are obtained by Fig.10 The height dimensions H1 and H2 of the pole lugs 210, or the distance G between the two pole lugs 210, can be obtained by using an existing image processing algorithm; Sub-step seven: output the detection result according to the ear body size and a third preset threshold value, wherein the third preset threshold value can be set as a preset qualified size of the ear body size.

[0115] In this embodiment, the tab detection method can determine whether the tab size is qualified based on the tab body size and a third preset threshold.

[0116] Reference Figures 2 to 7In one embodiment, the tab detection device 100 is used to detect the tab 210 of the bare battery cell 200. The tab detection device 100 includes a bracket, a supporting structure 120 and a visual inspection module 130. The bracket is provided with a fixing structure 110. The fixing structure 110 is used to fix the battery body 220 of the bare battery cell 200 in the direction of gravity. The fixing structure 110 is used to make the thickness direction of the battery body 220 parallel to the direction of gravity; at least part of the supporting structure 120 is relatively fixed to the bracket, and the supporting structure 120 is used to support the bottom surface of the tab 210; projecting along the direction of gravity, at least part of the edge of the tab 210 is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting structure 120; the visual inspection module 130 is relatively fixed to the bracket, and the visual inspection module 130 is used to detect the tab 210. The visual inspection module 130 includes a first visual inspection component, which includes a first camera 131 and a first light source 132. The first camera 131 and the first light source 132 are fixed relative to the bracket respectively; the first camera 131 and the first light source 132 are respectively arranged on the top side of the supporting structure 120, and the first camera 131 is used to detect the top surface of the pole ear 210. The first visual inspection component also includes at least two second light sources 133, which are fixed relative to the bracket and are arranged on the top side of the supporting structure 120; the projection is performed along the direction of gravity, and each second light source 133 is used to be arranged in a direction surrounding the pole ear 210; there is a connection fillet 211 between the pole ear 210 and the battery body 220, and the second light source 133 is used to illuminate the connection fillet 211, and the shooting range of the first camera 131 includes the connection fillet 211. The first light source 132 is set as a coaxial light source, the second light source 133 is set as a strip light source, and the first camera 131, the first light source 132, the second light source 133 and the supporting structure 120 are arranged in sequence along the gravity direction. The first camera 131 is set as a color camera, and the first camera 131 is at least used to obtain a color body image of the battery cell body 220; the tab detection device 100 also includes an acquisition device and an output device, the acquisition device is used to acquire the area of ​​a preset color in the body image, the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab 210, and the preset color is different from the color of the battery cell body 220, and the output device is used to output the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold. The first visual detection component also includes a third light source 134, and the third light source 134 is relatively fixed to the bracket; the third light source 134 is arranged on the bottom side of the supporting structure 120, and the third light source 134 is used to illuminate the bottom surface of the tab 210.The fixed structure 110 includes a support plate 111, which is used to support the bottom surface of the battery cell body 220 in the direction of gravity, and the supporting surface of the support plate 111 is used to be perpendicular to the thickness direction of the battery cell body 220; the supporting structure 120 includes a first moving mechanism 121 and a supporting body 122, and part of the first moving mechanism 121 is relatively fixed to the bracket; the supporting body 122 is installed on the first moving mechanism 121, and the first moving mechanism 121 is used to move the supporting body 122 along the direction of gravity to the bottom surface of the supporting pole ear 210. The end surface of the battery cell body 220 is provided with two pole ears 210, and the two pole ears 210 are arranged at intervals; the supporting body 122 includes a connecting arm 123 and a supporting block 124 connected to each other, the connecting arm 123 is connected to the first moving mechanism 121, and the connecting arm 123 is extended along the direction from the first moving mechanism 121 to the fixed structure 110; two supporting blocks 124 are respectively provided on the two oppositely arranged side surfaces of the connecting arm 123, and the arrangement direction of the two supporting blocks 124 is perpendicular to the extension direction of the connecting arm 123, and the supporting blocks 124 are respectively used to support the bottom surface of the pole ear 210 in the gravity direction; projected along the gravity direction, at least part of the edge of the pole ear 210 is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting block 124. The top surface of the supporting block 124 in the gravity direction is provided with an abutting block 125, and the abutting block 125 is used to abut the bottom surface of the pole ear 210, and the hardness of the abutting block 125 is less than the hardness of the supporting block 124. The fixed structure 110 includes at least two support plates 111, each of which is arranged in a horizontal direction; the tab detection device 100 includes a conveying power mechanism, which is connected to each of the support plates 111, and the conveying power mechanism is used to move each of the support plates 111 in the horizontal direction, so that each bare cell 200 moves to the tab 210 and is arranged opposite to the visual inspection module 130 in the gravity direction. The visual inspection module 130 includes a second visual inspection component, and the second visual inspection component includes a second camera 135 and a fourth light source 136. The second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136 are respectively fixed to the bracket, and the second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136 are respectively arranged on the bottom side of the supporting structure 120, and the second camera 135 is used to detect the bottom surface of the tab 210. The second visual inspection component is composed of the second camera 135 and the fourth light source 136, and the fourth light source 136 is set as a coaxial light source. The second camera 135, the fourth light source 136 and the supporting structure 120 are arranged in sequence along the gravity direction. The second camera 135 is configured as a color camera, and the second camera 135 is at least used to obtain a color body image of the battery cell body 220; the tab detection device 100 also includes an acquisition device and an output device, the acquisition device is used to acquire the area of ​​a preset color in the body image, the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab 210, and the preset color is different from the color of the battery cell body 220, and the output device is used to output the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold.The end surface of the cell body 220 is provided with two tabs 210, and the two tabs 210 are arranged at intervals; the supporting structure 120 includes two installation bodies 126 arranged at intervals, and the supporting structure 120 also includes a supporting rope 127, and the two ends of the supporting rope 127 are respectively fixedly connected to the two installation bodies 126, and the supporting rope 127 is used to support at least one tab 210 on the same bare cell 200. The supporting structure 120 includes two groups of supporting groups, and the supporting groups include installation bodies 126 and supporting ropes 127, and the supporting ropes 127 of each supporting group are arranged in parallel; the tab detection device 100 is used to detect two bare cells 200 at the same time, and the side of the first bare cell 200 provided with the tab 210 faces the tab 210 of the second bare cell 200, and the supporting ropes 127 of each supporting group are respectively used to support the tabs 210 of each bare cell 200. The fixed structure 110 includes a second moving mechanism and a clamp, and part of the second moving mechanism is fixed relative to the bracket; the clamp is used to grab the bare battery cell 200, and the clamp is installed on the second moving mechanism. The second moving mechanism is used to move the clamp so that the bare battery cell 200 moves to the pole ear 210 and abuts against the supporting rope 127 in the direction of gravity.

[0117] In one embodiment, the tab detection method is used to detect the tab 210 of the bare battery cell 200, and the tab detection method includes: Fixing the cell body 220 of the bare cell 200 in the direction of gravity, and making the thickness direction of the cell body 220 parallel to the direction of gravity; Supporting the bottom surface of the pole ear 210 in the direction of gravity; The tab 210 is visually inspected.

[0118] The steps of visually inspecting the tab 210 include: Acquire a color body image of the battery cell body 220 along the gravity direction; Acquire an area of ​​a preset color in the body image, where the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab 210 and is different from the color of the cell body 220; The tab folding detection result is output according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold.

[0119] The step of outputting the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold comprises: When the area of ​​the preset color is greater than or equal to the first preset threshold, output detection information that the tab 210 is folded; When the area of ​​the preset color is smaller than the first preset threshold, detection information indicating that the tab 210 is not folded is output.

[0120] The steps of visually inspecting the tab 210 include: Acquire an ear body image of the tab 210 along the gravity direction; Obtaining the weld mark area in the ear body image; The detection result is output according to the weld area and the second preset threshold value.

[0121] The steps of visually inspecting the tab 210 include: Acquire an ear body image of the tab 210 along the gravity direction; Obtaining the ear body size in the ear body image; The detection result is output according to the ear body size and the third preset threshold.

[0122] It can be understood that, since the above-mentioned tab detection method adopts all technical solutions of all embodiments of the above-mentioned tab detection device 100, it at least has all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of the above-mentioned embodiments, which will not be described one by one here.

[0123] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application, and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. All equivalent structural changes made by using the contents of the present application specification and drawings under the technical concept of the present application, or directly / indirectly applied in other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A tab detection device, characterized in that: The tab detection device is used to detect the tabs of bare cells, and the tab detection device includes: A bracket, wherein the bracket is provided with a fixing structure, wherein the fixing structure is used to fix the battery body of the bare battery cell in the direction of gravity, and wherein the fixing structure is used to make the thickness direction of the battery body parallel to the direction of gravity; A supporting structure, at least part of which is relatively fixed to the bracket, and the supporting structure is used to support the bottom surface of the pole ear; projected along the direction of gravity, at least part of the edge of the pole ear is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting structure; A visual inspection module, the visual inspection module is relatively fixed to the bracket, and the visual inspection module is used to inspect the tab; The supporting structure comprises a first moving mechanism and a supporting body, a part of the first moving mechanism is relatively fixed to the bracket; the supporting body is installed on the first moving mechanism, and the first moving mechanism is used to move the supporting body along the gravity direction to support the bottom surface of the pole ear; The end face of the battery cell body is provided with two pole ears, and the two pole ears are arranged at intervals; the supporting body includes a connecting arm and a supporting block connected to each other, the connecting arm is connected to the first movable mechanism, and the connecting arm is extended along the direction from the first movable mechanism to the fixed structure; two supporting blocks are respectively provided on the two opposite side surfaces of the connecting arm, and the arrangement direction of the two supporting blocks is perpendicular to the extension direction of the connecting arm, and each supporting block is respectively used to support the bottom surface of the pole ear in the direction of gravity; projected along the direction of gravity, at least part of the edge of the pole ear is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting block.

2. The tab detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The visual inspection module includes a first visual inspection component, which includes a first camera and a first light source, and the first camera and the first light source are respectively fixed relative to the bracket; the first camera and the first light source are respectively arranged on the top side of the supporting structure, and the first camera is used to detect the top surface of the pole ear.

3. The tab detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first visual detection assembly further includes at least two second light sources, the second light sources are fixed relative to the bracket, and the second light sources are arranged on the top side of the supporting structure; Projection is performed along the direction of gravity, and each of the second light sources is arranged in a direction surrounding the pole ear; A connection fillet is provided between the tab and the cell body, the second light source is used to illuminate the connection fillet, and the shooting range of the first camera includes the connection fillet.

4. The tab detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first light source is configured as a coaxial light source, the second light source is configured as a strip light source, and the first camera, the first light source, the second light source and the supporting structure are sequentially arranged along the direction of gravity.

5. The tab detection device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The first camera is configured as a color camera, and the first camera is at least used to obtain a color body image of the battery cell body; The tab detection device also includes an acquisition device and an output device, the acquisition device is used to acquire the area of ​​a preset color in the main body image, the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab, and the preset color is different from the color of the battery body, and the output device is used to output the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and a first preset threshold.

6. The tab detection device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The first visual detection component also includes a third light source, which is fixed relative to the bracket; the third light source is arranged on the bottom side of the supporting structure, and the third light source is used to illuminate the bottom surface of the tab.

7. The tab detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The fixing structure comprises a support plate, wherein the support plate is used to support the bottom surface of the battery cell body in the direction of gravity, and the support surface of the support plate is used to be perpendicular to the thickness direction of the battery cell body.

8. The tab detection device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The top surface of the supporting block in the gravity direction is provided with an abutment block, the abutment block is used to abut the bottom surface of the pole ear, and the hardness of the abutment block is less than the hardness of the supporting block.

9. The tab detection device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The fixed structure includes at least two support plates, and each of the support plates is arranged in a horizontal direction; the tab detection equipment includes a conveying power mechanism, which is connected to each of the support plates, and the conveying power mechanism is used to move each of the support plates in a horizontal direction so as to move each of the bare cells to the tabs so as to be arranged opposite to the visual inspection module in the direction of gravity.

10. The tab detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The visual inspection module includes a second visual inspection component, which includes a second camera and a fourth light source. The second camera and the fourth light source are respectively fixed relative to the bracket, and the second camera and the fourth light source are respectively arranged on the bottom side of the supporting structure. The second camera is used to detect the bottom surface of the tab.

11. The tab detection device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The second visual detection component is composed of the second camera and the fourth light source, the fourth light source is configured as a coaxial light source, and the second camera, the fourth light source and the supporting structure are sequentially arranged along the direction of gravity.

12. The tab detection device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The second camera is configured as a color camera, and the second camera is at least used to obtain a color body image of the battery cell body; The tab detection device also includes an acquisition device and an output device, the acquisition device is used to acquire the area of ​​a preset color in the main body image, the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab, and the preset color is different from the color of the battery body, and the output device is used to output the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and a first preset threshold.

13. The tab detection device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The supporting structure includes two installation bodies arranged at intervals, and the supporting structure also includes a supporting rope, the two ends of the supporting rope are respectively fixedly connected to the two installation bodies, and the supporting rope is used to support at least one pole ear on the same bare battery cell.

14. The tab detection device according to claim 13, characterized in that: The supporting structure comprises two supporting groups, each supporting group comprises the mounting body and the supporting ropes, and the supporting ropes of each supporting group are arranged in parallel; The tab detection device is used to simultaneously detect two bare battery cells, the first bare battery cell is provided with a tab on one side facing the tab of the second bare battery cell, and the supporting ropes of each supporting group are respectively used to support the tabs of each bare battery cell.

15. The tab detection device according to claim 13, characterized in that: The fixed structure includes a second moving mechanism and a clamp, part of the second moving mechanism is fixed relative to the bracket; the clamp is used to grab the bare battery cell, the clamp is installed on the second moving mechanism, and the second moving mechanism is used to move the clamp so that the bare battery cell moves to the pole ear and abuts against the supporting rope in the direction of gravity.

16. A method for detecting a tab, characterized in that: The tab detection method is used to detect the tabs of a bare cell, and the tab detection method includes: Fixing the cell body of the bare cell in the direction of gravity, and making the thickness direction of the cell body parallel to the direction of gravity; The supporting body is moved along the direction of gravity to the bottom surface of the pole ear supported in the direction of gravity; the end surface of the battery body is provided with two pole ears, and the two pole ears are arranged at intervals; the supporting body includes a connecting arm and a supporting block connected to each other, and two supporting blocks are respectively arranged on two side surfaces of the connecting arm that are arranged opposite to each other, and the arrangement direction of the two supporting blocks is perpendicular to the extension direction of the connecting arm, and each supporting block is respectively used to support the bottom surface of the pole ear in the direction of gravity; projected along the direction of gravity, at least part of the edge of the pole ear is used to be arranged outside the edge of the supporting block; The tabs were visually inspected.

17. The tab detection method according to claim 16, characterized in that: The step of visually inspecting the tab comprises: Acquiring a color body image of the battery cell body along the gravity direction; Acquire an area of ​​a preset color in the body image, wherein the preset color is consistent with the color of the tab and is different from the color of the battery body; The tab folding detection result is output according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold.

18. The tab detection method according to claim 17, characterized in that: The step of outputting the tab folding detection result according to the area of ​​the preset color and the first preset threshold comprises: When the area of ​​the preset color is greater than or equal to the first preset threshold, outputting detection information that the tab is folded; When the area of ​​the preset color is smaller than the first preset threshold, detection information indicating that the tab is not folded is output.

19. The tab detection method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that: The step of visually inspecting the tab comprises: Acquiring an ear body image of the tab along the gravity direction; Obtaining a welding mark area in the ear body image; The detection result is output according to the weld area and the second preset threshold.

20. The tab detection method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that: The step of visually inspecting the tab comprises: Acquiring an ear body image of the tab along the gravity direction; Acquire the ear body size in the ear body image; The detection result is output according to the ear body size and a third preset threshold.

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