Tab detection system and method

Abstract

The invention relates to a tab detection system and method. The tab detection system comprises a transmission assembly used for transferring a battery cell to a detection station; the image acquisition mechanism and the rotating mechanism are arranged at the detection station; the control terminal is in communication connection with the transmission assembly, the image acquisition mechanism and the rotating mechanism; wherein the rotating mechanism is used for rotating the battery cell on the detection station under the control of the control terminal, so that the battery cell can be switched between a horizontal position and a suspended position; the image acquisition mechanism is used for acquiring a side image of a tab of the battery cell at a flat position and acquiring a large-area image of the tab of the battery cell at a suspended position under the control of the control terminal; and the control terminal is used for determining a tab detection result according to the side surface image and the large surface image of the tab. According to the invention, the detection efficiency and the detection timeliness can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] With the development of new energy technologies, the application areas of batteries are becoming more and more extensive, and the quality of batteries is receiving more and more attention.

[0003] At present, after the battery cell is assembled and shelled, the tabs are prone to folding and deformation, which affects the quality of the battery. In order to ensure the quality of the battery, CT (Computed Tomography) and X-ray are often used to detect the tabs.

[0004] However, the above detection methods all have the problems of low detection efficiency and poor detection timeliness. Summary of the invention

[0005] Based on the above problems, the present application provides a tab detection system and method.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a tab detection system, which is used to detect the status of the tabs welded on the battery cells, and the tab detection system includes: a transmission component, which is used to transport the battery cells to the detection station; an image acquisition mechanism and a rotation mechanism, both of which are arranged at the detection station; and a control terminal, which is communicatively connected with the transmission component, the image acquisition mechanism and the rotation mechanism; wherein the rotation mechanism is used to rotate the battery cells on the detection station so that the battery cells can switch between a flat position and a suspended position; the image acquisition mechanism is used to capture the side image of the tab of the battery cell in the flat position, and is also used to capture the large-surface image of the tab of the battery cell in the suspended position; the control terminal is used to determine the tab detection result based on the side image and the large-surface image of the tab; wherein the tab detection result is used to characterize whether the tab has defects.

[0007] In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the battery cell can be inspected in real time after the electrode lugs are welded. Not only is the inspection timeliness good and the inspection efficiency high, but the battery cell with defective electrode lugs can be removed before being assembled into the shell, thereby improving the battery quality.

[0008] In some embodiments, the control terminal is used to control the rotation mechanism to rotate the battery cell from the flat position to the suspended position after the image acquisition mechanism acquires the side image of the tab of the battery cell in the flat position, and control the image acquisition mechanism to acquire the large-surface image of the tab of the battery cell in the suspended position. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the side image is acquired first and then the large-surface image is acquired, which conforms to the actual situation of operating the battery cell and acquiring images, and can ensure the efficiency of tab detection.

[0009] In some embodiments, the image acquisition mechanism includes a bracket and an image acquisition component; the bracket is arranged on one side of the transmission component, and the image acquisition component is arranged on the bracket; the image acquisition component is used to acquire the side image and the large surface image of the tab; the control terminal is respectively connected to the bracket and the image acquisition component, and is used to control the bracket to move and rotate in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to adjust the position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, by adjusting the position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component, the influence of the supporting plastic blocking the field of view on the image can be reduced, thereby improving the image quality and further improving the detection accuracy.

[0010] In some embodiments, the bracket includes a first bracket and a second bracket, and the image acquisition component includes a first image acquisition component and a second image acquisition component; the first bracket is arranged on one side of the transmission direction of the transmission component, and the first image acquisition component is arranged on the first bracket; the second bracket is arranged on the other side of the transmission direction of the transmission component, and the second image acquisition component is arranged on the second bracket. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, image acquisition components are arranged on both sides of the transmission component, and the side images of the tabs can be collected from both sides of the battery cell, thereby improving the detection accuracy.

[0011] In some embodiments, the image acquisition mechanism further includes a light source, which is arranged around the image acquisition component, and the light emission direction of the light source is the same as the acquisition direction of the image acquisition component. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, adding a ring light source for illumination can avoid directional shadows caused by unidirectional light, which can improve image quality and thus improve detection accuracy.

[0012] In some embodiments, the rotating mechanism includes a mechanical arm, a rotating part, and a manipulator; the mechanical arm is arranged on one side of the transmission component, and the top of the mechanical arm is connected to the manipulator through a rotating part; the control terminal is used to control the coordinated movement of the mechanical arm and the rotating part, so that the manipulator clamps the battery cell on one side and rotates the battery cell, switching the battery cell from a flat position to a suspended position. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the battery cell can be rotated by cooperating with the mechanical arm, the rotating part, and the manipulator, so as to collect the image of the pole ear from multiple angles, increase the detection surface of the pole ear, and thus improve the detection accuracy.

[0013] In some embodiments, the control terminal is used to control the robot arm to drive the robot hand to move to the battery cell, control the robot hand to clamp the battery cell, control the robot arm to drive the robot hand to move into the air, and control the rotating part to rotate the battery cell. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the detection surface of the tab can be increased by driving the robot arm to clamp the battery cell and the rotating part to rotate the battery cell, thereby improving the detection accuracy.

[0014] In some embodiments, the transmission component includes a conveyor belt and an in-place sensor; the battery cells are placed on the conveyor belt, and the control terminal is connected to the conveyor belt and the in-place sensor respectively; the control terminal is used to control the conveyor belt to transport the battery cells, and after determining that the battery cells have arrived at the detection station based on the sensing signal received from the in-place sensor, the conveyor belt is controlled to pause the transportation and trigger the image acquisition component to perform image acquisition. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, a detection pipeline can be formed by a conveyor belt to improve the detection speed and detection efficiency, and the battery cells can be accurately transported to a specified position by the in-place sensor, which can also improve the detection speed and detection efficiency.

[0015] In a second aspect, the present application further provides a tab detection method, which is applied to a tab detection system as described in any one of the first aspects, and the method comprises:

[0016] When the battery cell to be inspected is transported to the inspection station, image acquisition is performed to obtain a side image of the tab of the battery cell;

[0017] Rotate the battery cell to switch it from a flat position to a suspended position, and collect images to obtain a large-surface image of the tab;

[0018] The lug inspection result is determined based on the side image and the large surface image of the lug; wherein the lug inspection result is used to characterize whether the lug has defects.

[0019] In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, by controlling the transmission component, the image acquisition mechanism and the rotation mechanism through the control terminal, the battery cell after the welding of the pole lug can be automatically detected in real time, which not only has good detection timeliness but also high detection efficiency. Furthermore, the battery cell with defective pole lugs can be removed before being assembled into the shell, thereby improving the battery quality.

[0020] In some embodiments, the lug detection result is determined based on the side image and the large surface image of the lug, including: determining the folding of the lug based on the side image of the lug to obtain the side detection result; determining the morphology of the lug based on the large surface image of the lug to obtain the large surface detection result; determining the lug detection result based on the side detection result and the large surface detection result. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the lug is detected from multiple angles, which can improve the detection accuracy, reduce the probability of abnormal lugs being assembled into the shell, and thus reduce the production cost of the battery.

[0021] In some embodiments, according to the folding condition of the tab in the side image of the tab, the side detection result is determined, including: detecting the side image of the tab to obtain the side curve of the tab; determining the tab bulge height according to the tab side curve; and determining the side detection result according to the tab bulge height and the height specification range. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the side detection result is determined by the tab bulge height, the detection method is simple, the detection calculation amount can be reduced, and the detection efficiency can be improved.

[0022] In some embodiments, the height specification range includes at least one of less than 1 / 5JR height, greater than or equal to 1 / 5JR height and less than 1 / 2JR height, and greater than or equal to 1 / 2JR height; determining the side detection result according to the tab bulge height and the height specification range includes: when the tab bulge height is less than 1 / 5JR height, determining the side detection result is that the tab is normal; when the tab bulge height is greater than or equal to 1 / 5JR height and less than 1 / 2JR height, determining the side detection result is that the tab is defective; when the tab bulge height is greater than or equal to 1 / 2JR height, determining the side detection result is that the tab is defective. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the side detection result can be determined quickly and accurately according to the height specification range, thereby improving the detection efficiency.

[0023] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining the quality grade of the battery cell according to the result of the tab detection; and performing corresponding processing operations according to the quality grade of the battery cell. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the quality of the battery cell is determined by the tab detection, and the corresponding processing is performed, so that the battery cell with defective tabs can be removed before being assembled into the shell, thereby improving the quality of the battery.

[0024] In a third aspect, the present application further provides a tab detection method, which is applied to a control terminal of a tab detection system in the first aspect, wherein the tab detection system further includes a transmission component, an image acquisition mechanism, and a rotation mechanism, and the method includes:

[0025] Control the transmission component to transfer the battery cells to be tested to the testing station;

[0026] Controlling the image acquisition mechanism to acquire images to obtain a side image of the tab of the battery cell;

[0027] Control the rotating mechanism to rotate the battery cell so that the battery cell is switched from a flat position to a suspended position;

[0028] Controlling the image acquisition mechanism to acquire images and obtain a large-surface image of the tab;

[0029] The lug inspection result is determined based on the side image and the large surface image of the lug; wherein the lug inspection result is used to characterize whether the lug has defects.

[0030] In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, by controlling the transmission component, the image acquisition mechanism and the rotation mechanism through the control terminal, the battery cell after the welding of the pole lug can be automatically detected in real time, which not only has good detection timeliness but also high detection efficiency. Furthermore, the battery cell with defective pole lugs can be removed before being assembled into the shell, thereby improving the battery quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the detailed description of the optional embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only used for the purpose of illustrating the optional embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. Moreover, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to represent the same components. In the drawings:

[0032] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a tab detection system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a battery cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 3 This is one of the structural schematic diagrams of the image acquisition mechanism of one embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 4 This is the second structural diagram of the image acquisition mechanism of one embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 5 This is the third structural diagram of the image acquisition mechanism of one embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 6 is a structural schematic diagram of a tab detection system according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 7 It is a schematic flow chart of a tab detection method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 8 It is a flowchart of the steps of determining the tab detection result according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Fig. 9 It is a flowchart of the step of determining the side detection result in one embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Fig.10a It is one of the schematic diagrams of the side curve of the pole ear of one embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Fig.10b This is a second schematic diagram of a side curve of a pole ear according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Fig.10c This is a third schematic diagram of a side curve of a pole ear according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Fig.11 It is a flow chart of a tab detection method according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0045] Description of reference numerals:

[0046] 10. Tab detection system; 11. Transmission assembly; 12. Image acquisition mechanism; 13. Rotation mechanism;

[0047] 20. battery cell; 21. tab; 121. bracket; 122. image acquisition component; 123. light source;

[0048] 1211, a first bracket; 1212, a second bracket; 1221, a first image acquisition component;

[0049] 1222, second image acquisition component; 131, mechanical arm; 132, rotating component; 133, mechanical hand. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] The following embodiments of the technical solution of the present application are described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present application, and are therefore only used as examples, and cannot be used to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

[0051] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by technicians in the technical field to which this application belongs; the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application; the terms "including" and "having" in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned figure descriptions and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0052] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the technical terms "first", "second", etc. are only used to distinguish different objects, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number, specific order or primary and secondary relationship of the indicated technical features. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the meaning of "multiple" is more than two, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0053] Reference to "embodiments" herein means that a particular feature, mechanism, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0054] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "and / or" is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0055] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "multiple" refers to more than two (including two). Similarly, "multiple groups" refers to more than two groups (including two groups), and "multiple pieces" refers to more than two pieces (including two pieces).

[0056] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, technical terms such as "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0057] With the development of new energy technologies, the application fields of batteries are becoming more and more extensive, and the quality of batteries is also receiving more and more attention. At present, after the battery cells are assembled into shells, the tabs are prone to folding, deformation and other problems, which affect the quality of the battery. In order to ensure the quality of the battery, CT or X-rays can be used to scan the battery cells after the shells are assembled. However, the above detection method is not a real-time full inspection, and the single detection time is long, so there are problems such as low detection efficiency and poor detection timeliness.

[0058] Research on the above-mentioned problem found that after the battery cell completes the pole lug welding, if the abnormality of the pole lug can be discovered in time, the probability of quality problems after the battery cell is assembled into the shell can be greatly reduced, thereby improving the battery quality. Based on this, the present application provides a pole lug detection system, which includes a transmission component, an image acquisition mechanism, a rotation mechanism and a control terminal. The transmission component transports the battery cell after the pole lug is welded to the detection station, the rotation mechanism rotates the battery cell, and the image acquisition mechanism collects the side image and large surface image of the pole lug. Finally, the control terminal determines whether the pole lug has defects based on the side image and large surface image of the pole lug. Through the embodiment of the present application, the battery cell can be inspected in real time after the pole lug is welded. Not only is the detection timeliness good, the detection efficiency is high, but also the battery cell with defective pole lugs can be eliminated before being assembled into the shell, thereby improving the battery quality.

[0059] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 1 , a tab detection system 10 is provided. The tab detection system 10 is used to detect the state of the tab 21 welded on the battery cell 20, referring to Figure 2 The ear.

[0060] The tab detection system 10 includes: a transmission component 11, which is used to transport the battery cell 20 to the detection station; an image acquisition mechanism 12 and a rotating mechanism 13, both of which are arranged at the detection station; and a control terminal, which is connected to the transmission component 11, the image acquisition mechanism 12 and the rotating mechanism 13 in communication; wherein the rotating mechanism 13 is used to rotate the battery cell 20 on the detection station so that the battery cell 20 can switch between a flat position and a suspended position; the image acquisition mechanism 12 is used to collect the side image of the tab of the battery cell 20 in the flat position, and also to collect the large-surface image of the tab of the battery cell 20 in the suspended position; the control terminal is used to determine the tab detection result according to the side image and the large-surface image of the tab; wherein the tab detection result is used to characterize whether the tab has defects. It should be noted that the connection relationship of the control terminal is not shown in the figure.

[0061] In the embodiment of the present application, the tab detection system 10 includes a transmission component 11, an image acquisition mechanism 12, a rotation mechanism 13 and a control terminal, and the control terminal is respectively connected to the transmission component 11, the image acquisition mechanism 12 and the rotation mechanism 13. In some embodiments, the control terminal includes one or more of a computer device and a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller).

[0062] The battery cell 20 to be inspected after welding the electrode tab is placed on the transmission component 11, wherein the battery cell 20 can be directly placed on the transmission component 11, or can be placed in a tray first, and then the tray is placed on the transmission component 11. Figure 2 The battery cell 20 to be tested includes a tab 21. It can be understood that, compared with the vertical arrangement, the battery cell is arranged horizontally during transportation, which is convenient for smooth transmission.

[0063] The control terminal controls the transmission component 11 to transfer the battery cell 20 to be tested to the testing station, and then controls the transmission component 11 to stop the transfer.

[0064] In some embodiments, the control terminal is used to control the rotating mechanism 13 to switch the battery cell 20 from the horizontal position to the suspended position after the image acquisition mechanism 12 acquires the side image of the tab of the battery cell 20 in the horizontal position, and then control the image acquisition mechanism 12 to acquire the large-surface image of the tab of the battery cell 20 in the suspended position. The large-surface image includes at least one of the front image and the back image of the tab.

[0065] The image acquisition mechanism 12 and the rotation mechanism 13 are arranged at the inspection station. After the battery cell 20 arrives at the inspection station, the control terminal controls the image acquisition mechanism 12 to acquire an image and obtain a side image of the pole lug. Afterwards, the control terminal controls the rotation mechanism 13 to clamp and rotate the battery cell 20 so that the pole lug 21 faces the image acquisition mechanism 12. Next, the control terminal controls the image acquisition mechanism 12 to acquire an image and obtain a large-surface image of the pole lug. Finally, the control terminal determines whether the pole lug has problems such as folding or deformation based on the side image and the large-surface image of the pole lug.

[0066] In some embodiments, the rotating mechanism 13 switches the battery cell 20 from the flat position to the suspended position, and the front of the battery cell 20 faces the image acquisition mechanism 12, and the image acquisition mechanism 12 captures the front image of the battery cell 20. Afterwards, the rotating mechanism 13 rotates the battery cell 20, and the back of the battery cell 20 faces the image acquisition mechanism 12, and the image acquisition mechanism 12 captures the back image of the battery cell 20.

[0067] It can be understood that by rotating the battery cell through the rotating mechanism, the battery cell can be switched between the flat position and the suspended position, and the side image and large-surface image of the pole ear can be collected by using a set of image collection mechanisms. Compared with setting up image collection mechanisms on the front, back and sides of the battery cell, the embodiment of the present application adopts a rotating mechanism in combination with the image collection mechanism, which can not only save equipment costs, but also reduce the calibration difficulty and control difficulty of the image collection mechanism.

[0068] It should be noted that the order of collecting the side image and the large surface image of the tab is not limited to the above example and can be set according to actual conditions.

[0069] If the tab 21 is determined to be normal, the control terminal controls the transport component 11 to transport the next battery cell to be tested to the testing station. If the tab 21 is determined to be abnormal, the control terminal can output an alarm message. The output method of the alarm message may include: displaying an alarm text or an alarm pattern on the terminal screen, or broadcasting a voice, lighting an alarm light, etc.

[0070] It should be noted that the output method of the alarm information is not limited to the above examples and can be set according to actual conditions.

[0071] In some embodiments, when it is determined that the tab 21 is abnormal, the control terminal can also determine the quality level of the battery cell 20 according to the abnormal situation. For example, if the tab 21 is folded to a small extent, it can be determined that the quality level of the battery cell 20 is high; if the tab 21 is folded to a large extent, it can be determined that the quality level of the battery cell 20 is low.

[0072] For cells with higher quality levels, they can be transferred to subsequent processes and monitored in the subsequent processes. For cells with lower quality levels, scrap prompt information can be output.

[0073] In the above embodiment, the tab detection system includes a transmission component, an image acquisition mechanism, a rotation mechanism and a control terminal. The transmission component transports the battery cell after welding the tab to the detection station. The rotation mechanism rotates the battery cell on the detection station under the control of the control terminal, so that the battery cell can switch between a flat position and a suspended position; the image acquisition mechanism collects the side image and the large surface image of the tab under the control of the control terminal. Finally, the control terminal determines whether the tab has defects based on the side image and the large surface image of the tab. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the battery cell can be detected in real time after welding the tab, which not only has good detection timeliness and high detection efficiency, but also can remove the battery cell with defective tabs before assembling into the shell, thereby improving the battery quality.

[0074] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 3 The image acquisition mechanism 12 includes a bracket 121 and an image acquisition component 122; the bracket 121 is arranged on one side of the transmission component 11, and the image acquisition component 122 is arranged on the bracket 121; the image acquisition component 122 is used to acquire the side image and the large surface image of the pole ear 21; the control terminal is respectively connected to the bracket 121 and the image acquisition component 122, and is used to control the bracket 121 to move and rotate in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to adjust the position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component 122. It should be noted that the connection relationship of the control terminal is not shown in the figure.

[0075] In the embodiment of the present application, the image acquisition mechanism 12 includes a bracket 121 and an image acquisition component 122 . The bracket 121 is disposed at a detection station on the side of the transmission component 11 , and the image acquisition component 122 is disposed on the bracket 121 .

[0076] The control terminal is connected to the image acquisition component 122. After the battery cell 20 arrives at the detection station, the control terminal can control the image acquisition component 122 to acquire an image to obtain a side image of the pole ear; after the rotating mechanism 13 rotates the battery cell, the control terminal can control the image acquisition component 122 to acquire an image to obtain a large-surface image of the pole ear.

[0077] In some embodiments, the image acquisition component 122 may be a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) image sensor, a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) image sensor, or the like.

[0078] The control terminal is connected to the bracket 121. In some embodiments, before batch testing, the reference battery cell is placed at the testing station, the control terminal controls the image acquisition component 122 to acquire an image to obtain a reference image, identifies the outline of the pole lug from the reference image, and detects the outline of the pole lug. If the test result matches the pre-acquired reference result, it is determined that the position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component 122 are appropriate; if the test result does not match the preset reference result, it is determined that there is a deviation in the position and / or acquisition angle of the image acquisition component 122. Afterwards, the control terminal can control the bracket 121 to adjust the position of the image acquisition component 122 according to the position deviation, and / or control the bracket 121 to adjust the acquisition angle of the image acquisition component 122 according to the angle deviation.

[0079] In other embodiments, in addition to calibrating the position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component 122 before batch detection, during real-time detection, the control terminal can also control the bracket 121 to adjust the position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component 122 according to actual conditions.

[0080] Exemplarily, after acquiring the side image of the tab, the control terminal performs tab contour recognition processing on the side image of the tab. During the recognition process, if the control terminal determines that the tab is not within a preset range in the image, the control bracket 121 can adjust the position and / or acquisition angle of the image acquisition component 122 according to the position of the tab in the image.

[0081] It should be noted that the control terminal controls the bracket 121 to adjust according to the position of the tab in the image, which involves mapping processing between the geographic coordinate system and the image coordinate system, which will not be elaborated in the embodiments of the present application.

[0082] In some embodiments, the bracket 121 may include a first support rod, a second support rod, a first drive motor, a second drive motor and a first angle adjustment member; wherein the first support rod is arranged on one side of the transmission component 11 and is perpendicular to the ground, the second support rod is arranged on the first support rod, and the image acquisition member 122 is connected to the second support rod through the first angle adjustment member. The first drive motor is connected to the second support rod, the second drive motor is connected to the image acquisition member 122, and the control terminal is connected to the first drive motor, the second drive motor and the first angle adjustment member respectively.

[0083] The control terminal can control the first drive motor to drive the second support rod to move on the first support rod to adjust the vertical height of the image acquisition component 122; the control terminal can control the second drive motor to drive the image acquisition component 122 to move on the second support rod to adjust the horizontal position of the image acquisition component 122; the control terminal can also control the first angle adjustment component to adjust the acquisition angle of the image acquisition component 122.

[0084] In other embodiments, the bracket 121 may include a gantry, a position adjustment member, and a second angle adjustment member. The gantry is disposed on one side of the transmission component 11, and the crossbeam of the gantry is parallel to the conveying direction of the transmission component 11; the position adjustment member is disposed on the crossbeam of the gantry, and the image acquisition member 122 is connected to the position adjustment member through the second angle adjustment member. The control terminal is connected to the position adjustment member and the second angle adjustment member, respectively.

[0085] The control terminal can control the position adjustment member to adjust the vertical height and horizontal position of the image acquisition member 122 ; the control terminal can also control the second angle adjustment member to adjust the acquisition angle of the image acquisition member 122 .

[0086] The structure of the bracket 121 is not limited to the above example and can be set according to actual conditions.

[0087] It should be noted that, considering that the supporting plastic on the short side of the battery top cover is on the same horizontal line as the side line of the pole ear, the obstruction of the supporting plastic makes it impossible for the image acquisition component 122 to be placed horizontally to directly shoot the outline of the pole ear. To solve this problem, the bracket 121 of the present application can adjust the vertical height, horizontal position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component 122 to adapt to different thickness scenes corresponding to different products. In some implementations, the image acquisition component 122 is at an angle of 30°~60° with the horizontal line where the battery cell is located, and the height size of the supporting plastic on different products is generally 1~4mm. By adjusting the position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component 122, the support plastic of the battery top cover can be avoided from blocking the field of view. For example, when the height of the supporting plastic is 1~2mm, the acquisition angle can be 30°~40°; when the height of the supporting plastic is 2~3mm, the acquisition angle can be 40°~50°; when the height of the supporting plastic is 3~4mm, the acquisition angle can be 50°~60°.

[0088] In the above embodiment, the image acquisition mechanism includes a bracket and an image acquisition component; the image acquisition component acquires the side image and the large surface image of the tab; the control terminal controls the bracket to move and rotate in the horizontal and vertical directions to adjust the position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, by adjusting the position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component, the influence of the supporting plastic blocking the field of view on the image can be reduced, thereby improving the image quality and further improving the detection accuracy.

[0089] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 4The bracket 121 includes a first bracket 1211 and a second bracket 1212, and the image acquisition component 122 includes a first image acquisition component 1221 and a second image acquisition component 1222; the first bracket 1211 is arranged on one side of the transmission direction of the transmission component 11, and the first image acquisition component 1221 is arranged on the first bracket 1211; the second bracket 1212 is arranged on the other side of the transmission direction of the transmission component 11, and the second image acquisition component 1222 is arranged on the second bracket 1212. It should be noted that the connection relationship of the control terminal is not shown in the figure.

[0090] In the embodiment of the present application, considering that the battery cell has two sets of tabs welded, image acquisition is performed on one side of the transmission component 11. For the tabs far away from the image acquisition component 122, the image collected is unclear and inaccurate, which affects the tab detection result. Based on this, a first image acquisition component 1221 and a second image acquisition component 1222 are set on both sides of the transmission component 11. Accordingly, a first bracket 1211 is set on one side of the transmission component 11, and a second bracket 1212 is set on the other side of the transmission component 11. The first image acquisition component 1221 is set on the first bracket 1211; the second image acquisition component 1222 is set on the second bracket 1212.

[0091] The control terminal is respectively connected to the first bracket 1211, the second bracket 1212, the first image acquisition component 1221, and the second image acquisition component 1222. The control terminal can control the first bracket 1211 to adjust the position and acquisition angle of the first image acquisition component 1221 before batch detection or during real-time detection. The control terminal can also control the second bracket 1212 to adjust the position and acquisition angle of the second image acquisition component 1222 before batch detection or during real-time detection.

[0092] After the battery cell 20 arrives at the inspection station, the control terminal controls the first image acquisition component 1221 and the second image acquisition component 1222 to perform image acquisition, respectively, to obtain the side images of the tabs on both sides of the battery cell 20. The control terminal controls the rotating mechanism 13 to rotate the battery cell 20. If the tab faces the first image acquisition component 1221, the control terminal controls the first image acquisition component 1221 to perform image acquisition to obtain a large-surface image of the tab; if the tab faces the second image acquisition component 1222, the control terminal controls the second image acquisition component 1222 to perform image acquisition to obtain a large-surface image of the tab.

[0093] In some embodiments, the control terminal can also control the first image acquisition component 1221 and the second image acquisition component 1222 to respectively acquire images to obtain the front image and the back image of the tab. Accordingly, the control terminal can perform detection based on the side image, the front image and the back image of the tab to obtain the tab detection result.

[0094] In the above embodiment, the bracket includes a first bracket and a second bracket, and the image acquisition component includes a first image acquisition component and a second image acquisition component; the control terminal controls the first bracket to adjust the position and acquisition angle of the first image acquisition component, controls the second bracket to adjust the position and acquisition angle of the second image acquisition component, and controls the first image acquisition component and the second image acquisition component to acquire the side image of the pole lug, and controls the first image acquisition component and / or the second image acquisition component to acquire the large-surface image of the pole lug. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, image acquisition components are provided on both sides of the transmission component, and the side images of the pole lug can be acquired from both sides of the battery cell, respectively, thereby improving the detection accuracy.

[0095] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 5 The image acquisition mechanism 12 also includes a light source 123, which is arranged around the image acquisition component 122, and the light emission direction of the light source is the same as the acquisition direction of the image acquisition component.

[0096] Since there is a certain angle between the multiple layers of tabs, in order to prevent the shadow between the layers from interfering with the outline of the tabs, a light source 123 is arranged around the image acquisition component 122, and the light emission direction of the light source is the same as the acquisition direction of the image acquisition component.

[0097] In some embodiments, the control terminal is connected to the light source 123 and can control the light source 123 to turn on or off, and can also control the brightness of the light source 123.

[0098] In some embodiments, the light source 123 may be a light emitting diode, a laser diode, or the like.

[0099] In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, adding a ring light source for illumination can avoid directional shadows caused by unidirectional light, which can improve image quality and thus improve detection accuracy.

[0100] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 6 The rotating mechanism 13 includes a mechanical arm 131, a rotating member 132 and a manipulator 133; the mechanical arm 131 is arranged on one side of the transmission component, and the top of the mechanical arm 131 is connected to the manipulator 133 through the rotating member 132; the control terminal is used to control the coordinated movement of the mechanical arm 131 and the rotating member 132, so that the manipulator 133 clamps the battery cell and rotates the battery cell, switching the battery cell from a flat position to a suspended position. It should be noted that the connection relationship of the control terminal is not shown in the figure.

[0101] In the embodiment of the present application, the rotating mechanism 13 includes a mechanical arm 131 , a rotating member 132 and a manipulator 133 . The mechanical arm 131 is disposed on one side of the transmission component 11 , and the top of the mechanical arm 131 is connected to the manipulator 133 via the rotating member 132 .

[0102] The control terminal is connected to the mechanical arm 131 and the rotating member 132 respectively. The control terminal is used to control the mechanical arm 131 to drive the mechanical hand 133 to move to the battery cell 20, control the mechanical hand 133 to clamp the battery cell 20, control the mechanical arm 131 to drive the mechanical hand 133 to move into the air, and control the rotating member 132 to rotate the battery cell 20.

[0103] The control terminal controls the rotating member 132 to rotate the manipulator 133 so that the manipulator 133 is parallel to the battery cell 20; then, the control terminal controls the manipulator 131 to drive the manipulator 133 to insert the battery cell 20 into the manipulator 133. A vacuum hole can be set in the manipulator 133, and after the battery cell 20 is inserted into the manipulator 133, the manipulator 133 can clamp the battery cell 20 by vacuum adsorption. Next, the control terminal controls the manipulator 131 to lift the battery cell 20, and controls the rotating member 132 to rotate the manipulator 133 so that the battery cell 20 rotates by a preset angle, so that the pole ear 21 faces the image acquisition member 122 on one side.

[0104] In some embodiments, the manipulator 133 may adopt a single-sided long gripper. The preset angle may be 90°. The present application embodiment does not limit the structure and preset angle of the manipulator 133, and may be set according to actual conditions.

[0105] In some embodiments, the robot 131 may include a base, a first robot arm, and a second robot arm. The base is fixedly mounted on one side of the transmission component 11. The first robot arm is connected to the base and the second robot arm respectively. The second robot arm is connected to the robot hand 133 via a rotating member 132. The robot 131 also includes a servo motor. The control terminal is connected to the servo motor, and the servo motor is controlled to drive the first robot arm and the second robot arm to move respectively.

[0106] It should be noted that the structure of the robot arm 131 is not limited to the above example and can be set according to actual conditions.

[0107] In the above embodiment, the rotating mechanism includes a mechanical arm, a rotating part and a manipulator; the control terminal controls the mechanical arm and the rotating part to move in coordination, so that the manipulator clamps the battery cell to switch the position of the battery cell. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the battery cell can be rotated by cooperating with the mechanical arm, the rotating part and the manipulator, so as to collect the image of the pole lug from multiple angles, increase the detection surface of the pole lug, and thus improve the detection accuracy.

[0108] According to some embodiments of the present application, the transmission component 11 includes a conveyor belt and an in-place sensor; the battery cell 20 is placed on the conveyor belt, and the control terminal is connected to the conveyor belt and the in-place sensor, respectively; the control terminal is used to control the conveyor belt to transport the battery cell, and after determining that the battery cell has arrived at the detection station based on the sensing signal received from the in-place sensor, the conveyor belt is controlled to pause the transportation and trigger the image acquisition component 122 to perform image acquisition.

[0109] In the embodiment of the present application, the transmission component 11 includes a conveyor belt and an in-place sensor, and the in-place sensor is arranged at the detection station.

[0110] The control terminal is connected to the conveyor belt and the in-place sensor respectively. The battery cell 20 is placed on the conveyor belt, and the control terminal controls the conveyor belt to transport the battery cell 20. When the battery cell 20 reaches the detection station, the in-place sensor generates a sensing signal and transmits the sensing signal to the control terminal. The control terminal controls the conveyor belt to stop transporting according to the sensing signal. Afterwards, the control terminal controls the image acquisition component 122 to perform image acquisition.

[0111] The above-mentioned position sensor may be a proximity sensor, including a photoelectric sensor, a Hall sensor, a magnetic induction sensor, a capacitive sensor, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the position sensor, and it can be set according to actual conditions.

[0112] In the above embodiment, the transmission component includes a conveyor belt and an in-place sensor; the control terminal controls the conveyor belt to transport the battery cell, and after determining that the battery cell has arrived at the detection station according to the sensing signal of the in-place sensor, the conveyor belt is controlled to pause the transportation and trigger the image acquisition component to perform image acquisition. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, a detection line can be formed by a conveyor belt to improve the detection speed and detection efficiency, and the battery cell can be accurately transported to a specified position by the in-place sensor, which can also improve the detection speed and detection efficiency.

[0113] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 7 , a tab detection method is provided. Taking the tab detection system applied to the above embodiment as an example, the method may include the following steps:

[0114] Step 301 : When the battery cell to be inspected is transported to the inspection station, image acquisition is performed to obtain a side image of the tab of the battery cell.

[0115] The tab detection system includes a transmission component control terminal, and the transmission component includes a conveyor belt and an in-place sensor. The battery cell to be tested is placed on the conveyor belt, and the control terminal controls the conveyor belt to transport the battery cell. When the battery cell arrives at the inspection station, the in-place sensor generates a sensing signal and transmits the sensing signal to the control terminal. The control terminal controls the conveyor belt to stop transporting according to the sensing signal.

[0116] The tab detection system also includes an image acquisition mechanism, which includes a first image acquisition component and a second image acquisition component. The first image acquisition component and the second image acquisition component are located on both sides of the conveyor belt and are arranged opposite to each other. The rotating mechanism includes a mechanical arm, a rotating component and a mechanical hand.

[0117] After the battery cell arrives at the inspection station, the control terminal controls the first image acquisition component and the second image acquisition component to perform image acquisition to obtain side images of the tabs corresponding to the two sides of the battery cell.

[0118] Step 302 , rotating the battery cell so that the battery cell is switched from a flat position to a suspended position, and performing image acquisition to obtain a large-surface image of the tab.

[0119] The control terminal controls the mechanical arm and the rotating member to move in coordination, clamps the battery cell and rotates the battery cell by a preset angle. Next, the control terminal controls the first image acquisition member and / or the second image acquisition member to acquire images to obtain a large-surface image of the tab.

[0120] Step 303, determining a tab detection result based on the side image and the large surface image of the tab; wherein the tab detection result is used to characterize whether the tab has defects.

[0121] The control terminal performs abnormality detection based on the side image of the pole lug to obtain a side detection result; and performs abnormality detection based on the large-surface image of the pole lug to obtain a large-surface detection result. When the side detection result shows that the pole lug is normal, and the large-surface detection result shows that the pole lug is normal, the pole lug detection result is determined to be normal. When the side detection result shows that the pole lug is defective, and / or the large-surface detection result shows that the pole lug is defective, the pole lug detection result is determined to be defective.

[0122] The above-mentioned anomaly detection can adopt edge extraction algorithm, image recognition model, etc., which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application and can be set according to actual conditions.

[0123] In the above embodiment, when the battery cell to be inspected is transported to the inspection station, image acquisition is performed to obtain a side image of the battery cell's pole lug; the battery cell is rotated to switch the battery cell from a flat position to a suspended position, and image acquisition is performed to obtain a large-surface image of the pole lug; the pole lug inspection result is determined based on the side image and the large-surface image of the pole lug. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the battery cell after welding the pole lug can be automatically inspected in real time by controlling the transmission component, the image acquisition mechanism and the rotation mechanism through the control terminal, which not only has good detection timeliness but also high detection efficiency. Furthermore, the battery cell with defective pole lugs can be removed before being assembled into the shell, thereby improving the battery quality.

[0124] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 8 In the above embodiment, “determining the tab detection result according to the side image and the large surface image of the tab” may include the following steps:

[0125] Step 401, determining the folding condition of the tab according to the side image of the tab, and obtaining a side detection result.

[0126] The edge extraction algorithm is used to extract the outline of the tab from the side image of the tab. According to the outline of the tab, it is determined whether the tab has folding, warping, wrinkles and other problems, and the side detection result is obtained.

[0127] The above edge extraction algorithm may adopt a gradient-based algorithm, such as the Sobel algorithm and the Prewitt algorithm; may also adopt a Laplace operator-based algorithm, such as the Laplace algorithm and the LOG algorithm; and may also adopt a wavelet transform-based algorithm.

[0128] It should be noted that the edge extraction algorithm is not limited to the above examples and can be selected according to actual conditions.

[0129] Step 402 , determining the shape of the tab according to the large-surface image of the tab, and obtaining a large-surface detection result.

[0130] The image recognition model is used to identify and process the large-area image of the tab to determine whether the shape of the tab is abnormal, thereby obtaining the large-area detection result. The image recognition model can be implemented using a deep learning model or a neural network model.

[0131] Step 403, determining the tab detection result according to the side detection result and the large surface detection result.

[0132] If the side inspection result shows that the tab is normal and the large surface inspection result shows that the tab is normal, the tab inspection result is determined to be normal. If the side inspection result shows that the tab is defective and the large surface inspection result shows that the tab is defective, the tab inspection result is determined to be defective.

[0133] In the above embodiment, the folding condition of the tab is determined according to the side image of the tab to obtain the side detection result; the morphology of the tab is determined according to the large-surface image of the tab to obtain the large-surface detection result; the tab detection result is determined according to the side detection result and the large-surface detection result. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the tab is detected from multiple angles, which can improve the detection accuracy, reduce the probability of abnormal tabs being assembled into the shell, and thus reduce the production cost of the battery.

[0134] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to Fig. 9 In the above embodiment, “determining the folding condition of the tab according to the side image of the tab to obtain the side detection result” may include the following steps:

[0135] Step 501 , detecting the side image of the tab to obtain a side curve of the tab.

[0136] The sample images are used to train the neural network model in advance to obtain the tab detection model. After obtaining the side image of the tab, the side image of the tab is input into the tab detection model for detection to obtain the side curve of the tab, that is, the outline of the tab. Fig.10a , Fig.10b and Fig.10c .

[0137] Step 502, determining the height of the tab bulge according to the tab side curve.

[0138] The height of the tab bulge is the distance between the highest point of the tab bulge and the bottom surface. The tab bulge height can be measured based on the side curve of the tab. Fig.10b ΔH1 and Fig.10c ΔH2 in.

[0139] Step 503, determining the side detection result according to the tab bulge height and the height specification range.

[0140] The control terminal sets a normal height specification range of the tab, for example, less than 1 / 5 JR height, greater than or equal to 1 / 5 JR height and less than 1 / 2 JR height, greater than or equal to 1 / 2 JR height. The JR height is determined according to the standard cell height and tolerance. In some embodiments, the tolerance is ±0.3 mm.

[0141] The side detection result is determined according to the height specification range of the tab bulge height. In some embodiments, the quality of the battery cell is determined according to the tab detection result; and corresponding processing operations are performed according to the quality of the battery cell.

[0142] Reference Fig.10a , the tab has no bifurcation or the tab bulge height ΔH is less than 1 / 5 of the JR height, and the side inspection result is determined to be normal. According to the side inspection result, the quality of the battery cell is determined to be normal, and the battery cell is transferred to the next process.

[0143] Reference Fig.10b , there is a fork between the lug root and the middle of the lug, and the 1 / 5JR height ≤ the lug bulge height ΔH1<1 / 2JR height, and the side detection result is determined to be a defect in the lug. In this case, the control terminal determines that the cell quality meets the warning conditions based on the side detection results, and can output a prompt message to prompt the engineer to perform a parameter check.

[0144] Reference Fig.10c , there is a fork between the lug root and the middle of the lug, and the lug bulge height ΔH1 ≥ 1 / 2JR height, and the side inspection result is determined to be a defect in the lug. In this case, the control terminal determines that the battery cell quality is abnormal based on the side inspection results, and can output an alarm message to prompt the engineer to comprehensively check whether the key components of the equipment are abnormal, and the machine can be restored after the inspection.

[0145] In the above embodiment, the side image of the pole lug is detected using the pole lug detection model to obtain the pole lug side curve; the pole lug bulge height is determined according to the pole lug side curve; and the side detection result is determined according to the pole lug bulge height and a preset height range. In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the side detection result is determined by the pole lug bulge height, the detection method is simple, the detection calculation amount can be reduced, and the detection efficiency can be improved.

[0146] According to some embodiments of the present application, referring to Fig.11 , a tab detection method is provided. Taking the control terminal of the tab detection system applied to the above embodiment as an example, the method may include the following steps:

[0147] Step 601, controlling the transmission component to transport the battery cell to be inspected to the inspection station.

[0148] The transport component includes a conveyor belt and an in-place sensor. The battery cell to be tested is placed on the conveyor belt, and the control terminal controls the conveyor belt to transport the battery cell. When the battery cell reaches the inspection station, the in-place sensor generates a sensing signal and transmits the sensing signal to the control terminal. The control terminal controls the conveyor belt to stop transporting according to the sensing signal.

[0149] Step 602: Control the image acquisition mechanism to acquire an image to obtain a side image of the tab of the battery cell.

[0150] The image acquisition mechanism comprises a first image acquisition component and a second image acquisition component. The first image acquisition component and the second image acquisition component are located on both sides of the conveyor belt and are arranged opposite to each other.

[0151] After the battery cell arrives at the inspection station, the control terminal controls the first image acquisition component and the second image acquisition component to perform image acquisition to obtain side images of the tabs corresponding to the two sides of the battery cell.

[0152] Step 603, controlling the rotating mechanism to rotate the battery cell so that the battery cell switches from the flat position to the suspended position.

[0153] The rotating mechanism includes a mechanical arm, a rotating part and a manipulator. The control terminal controls the mechanical arm and the rotating part to move in coordination, clamp the battery cell and rotate the battery cell to a preset angle.

[0154] Step 604, controlling the image acquisition mechanism to acquire an image to obtain a large-surface image of the tab.

[0155] The control terminal controls the first image acquisition component or the second image acquisition component to acquire images to obtain a large-surface image of the tab.

[0156] Step 605 , determining a tab detection result based on the side image and the large surface image of the tab; wherein the tab detection result is used to characterize whether the tab has defects.

[0157] The control terminal performs abnormality detection based on the side image of the pole lug to obtain a side detection result; and performs abnormality detection based on the large-surface image of the pole lug to obtain a large-surface detection result. When the side detection result shows that the pole lug is normal, and the large-surface detection result shows that the pole lug is normal, the pole lug detection result is determined to be normal. When the side detection result shows that the pole lug is defective, and / or the large-surface detection result shows that the pole lug is defective, the pole lug detection result is determined to be defective.

[0158] The above-mentioned anomaly detection can adopt edge extraction algorithm, image recognition model, etc., which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application and can be set according to actual conditions.

[0159] In the above embodiment, the transmission component is controlled to transport the battery cell to be inspected to the inspection station; the battery cell has welded the pole lug; the image acquisition mechanism is controlled to perform image acquisition, and the rotating mechanism is controlled to rotate the battery cell so that the battery cell can switch between a flat position and a suspended position; the pole lug detection result is determined based on the side image and large surface image of the pole lug acquired by the image acquisition mechanism. In the technical scheme of the embodiment of the present application, the battery cell after welding the pole lug can be automatically inspected in real time by controlling the transmission component, the image acquisition mechanism and the rotating mechanism through the control terminal, which not only has good detection timeliness but also high detection efficiency. Furthermore, the battery cell with defective pole lugs can be removed before being assembled into the shell, thereby improving the quality of the battery.

[0160] According to some embodiments of the present application, the control terminal of the tab detection system applied to the above embodiment is used as an example for description. The method may include the following steps:

[0161] Step 1: Control the transmission component to transfer the battery cell to be tested to the testing station.

[0162] Step 2, controlling the image acquisition mechanism to acquire the side image of the tab.

[0163] Step 3, controlling the rotating mechanism to rotate the battery cell, and controlling the image acquisition mechanism to acquire a large-surface image of the tab.

[0164] Step 4: Use the tab detection model to detect the side image of the tab to obtain the tab side curve.

[0165] Step 5, determine the height of the tab bulge based on the side curve of the tab.

[0166] Step 6, determining the side detection result according to the tab bulge height and the preset height range.

[0167] Step 7, determining the large-surface detection result according to the large-surface image of the tab.

[0168] Step 8, determining the tab detection result based on the side detection result and the large surface detection result.

[0169] In the above embodiment, the transmission component is controlled to transport the battery cell to be inspected to the inspection station; the image acquisition mechanism is controlled to collect the side image of the pole ear, the rotating mechanism is controlled to rotate the battery cell, and the image acquisition mechanism is controlled to collect the large-surface image of the pole ear; the pole ear detection result is determined according to the side image of the pole ear and the large-surface image of the pole ear. In the technical scheme of the embodiment of the present application, the battery cell after welding the pole ear can be automatically inspected in real time by controlling the transmission component, the image acquisition mechanism and the rotating mechanism by the control terminal, which not only has good detection timeliness but also high detection efficiency. Furthermore, the battery cell with defective pole ears can be removed before being assembled into the shell, thereby improving the quality of the battery.

[0170] It should be understood that, although the various steps in the above flowchart are displayed in sequence according to the indication of the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence according to the order indicated by the arrows. Unless there is a clear description in this article, the execution of these steps is not strictly limited in order, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in the above flowchart may include multiple steps or multiple stages, and these steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and the execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily to be carried out in sequence, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a part of the steps or stages in other steps.

[0171] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0172] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, which is convenient for understanding the technical solutions of the present application in detail, but cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this field, without departing from the concept of the present application, several modifications and improvements can be made, which all belong to the protection scope of the present application. It should be understood that the technical solutions obtained by those skilled in the art through logical analysis, reasoning or limited experiments on the basis of the technical solutions provided in the present application are all within the protection scope of the attached claims described in the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of this application shall be based on the contents of the attached claims, and the description and drawings can be used to explain the contents of the claims.

Claims

1. A tab detection system, characterized in that: The tab detection system is used to detect the state of the tabs welded on the battery cell, and the tab detection system includes: A transport component, used for transporting the battery cell to a testing station; The image acquisition mechanism and the rotation mechanism are both arranged at the detection station; and A control terminal, communicatively connected with the transmission component, the image acquisition mechanism and the rotation mechanism; The rotating mechanism is used to rotate the battery cell on the inspection station so that the battery cell can be switched between a flat position and a suspended position; the image acquisition mechanism is used to acquire a side image of the tab of the battery cell in the flat position, and is also used to acquire a large-surface image of the tab of the battery cell in the suspended position; The control terminal is used to determine the tab detection result based on the side image and the large surface image of the tab; wherein the tab detection result is used to characterize whether the tab has defects.

2. The tab detection system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control terminal is used to control the rotating mechanism to rotate the battery cell from the flat position to the suspended position after the image acquisition mechanism has acquired the side image of the pole lug of the battery cell in the flat position, and control the image acquisition mechanism to acquire the large-surface image of the pole lug of the battery cell in the suspended position.

3. The tab detection system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The image acquisition mechanism comprises a bracket and an image acquisition component, wherein the bracket is arranged on one side of the transmission component, and the image acquisition component is arranged on the bracket; The image acquisition component is used to acquire the side image and the large surface image of the tab; The control terminal is connected to the bracket and the image acquisition component respectively, and is used to control the bracket to move and rotate in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to adjust the position and acquisition angle of the image acquisition component.

4. The tab detection system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bracket includes a first bracket and a second bracket, and the image acquisition component includes a first image acquisition component and a second image acquisition component; The first bracket is arranged at one side of the transmission direction of the transmission component, and the first image acquisition component is arranged on the first bracket; The second bracket is arranged on the other side of the transmission direction of the transmission component, and the second image acquisition component is arranged on the second bracket.

5. The tab detection system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The image acquisition mechanism also includes a light source, which is arranged around the image acquisition component, and the light emission direction of the light source is the same as the acquisition direction of the image acquisition component.

6. The tab detection system according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that: The rotating mechanism comprises a mechanical arm, a rotating member and a mechanical hand; the mechanical arm is arranged on one side of the transmission component, and the top of the mechanical arm is connected to the mechanical hand through the rotating member; The control terminal is used to control the coordinated movement of the robot arm and the rotating member, so that the robot arm clamps the battery cell and rotates the battery cell, thereby switching the battery cell from the flat position to the suspended position.

7. The tab detection system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The control terminal is used to control the robot arm to drive the robot hand to move to the battery cell, control the robot hand to clamp the battery cell, control the robot arm to drive the robot hand to move into the air, and control the rotating part to rotate the battery cell.

8. The tab detection system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The transmission component includes a conveyor belt and an in-position sensor; the battery cell is placed on the conveyor belt, and the control terminal is connected to the conveyor belt and the in-position sensor respectively; The control terminal is used to control the conveyor belt to transport the battery cell, and after determining that the battery cell has arrived at the detection station based on the received sensing signal of the in-place sensor, control the conveyor belt to stop transporting and trigger the image acquisition component to perform image acquisition.

9. A method for detecting a tab, characterized in that: Applied to the tab detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the method comprising: When the battery cell to be inspected is transported to the inspection station, image acquisition is performed to obtain a side image of the tab of the battery cell; Rotating the battery cell to switch the battery cell from a flat position to a suspended position, and performing image acquisition to obtain a large-surface image of the tab; The tab detection result is determined based on the side image and the large surface image of the tab; wherein the tab detection result is used to characterize whether the tab has defects.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The step of determining the tab detection result according to the side image and the large surface image of the tab comprises: Determine the folding condition of the tab according to the side image of the tab, and obtain a side detection result; Determine the shape of the tab according to the large-surface image of the tab to obtain a large-surface detection result; The tab detection result is determined according to the side detection result and the large surface detection result.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The step of determining the folding condition of the tab according to the side image of the tab to obtain a side detection result includes: Detecting the side image of the pole lug to obtain a side curve of the pole lug; Determine the height of the pole ear bulge according to the side curve of the pole ear; The side detection result is determined according to the tab bulge height and the height specification range.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The height specification range includes at least one of less than 1 / 5 JR height, greater than or equal to 1 / 5 JR height and less than 1 / 2 JR height, and greater than or equal to 1 / 2 JR height; the side detection result is determined according to the tab bulge height and the height specification range, including: In the case where the tab bulge height is less than 1 / 5 of the JR height, determining that the side detection result is that the tab is normal; When the height of the tab bulge is greater than or equal to 1 / 5 of the JR height and less than 1 / 2 of the JR height, it is determined that the side inspection result is that the tab has a defect; When the protrusion height of the tab is greater than or equal to 1 / 2 of the JR height, it is determined that the side inspection result indicates that the tab is defective.

13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determining the quality of the battery cell according to the tab detection result; A corresponding processing operation is performed according to the quality of the battery cell.

14. A method for detecting a tab, characterized in that: A control terminal applied to a tab detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the tab detection system further comprises a transmission component, an image acquisition mechanism and a rotation mechanism, and the method comprises: Controlling the transmission component to transport the battery cell to be tested to the testing station; Controlling the image acquisition mechanism to acquire an image to obtain a side image of the tab of the battery cell; Controlling the rotating mechanism to rotate the battery cell so that the battery cell switches from a flat position to a suspended position; Controlling the image acquisition mechanism to acquire images to obtain a large-surface image of the tab; The tab detection result is determined based on the side image and the large surface image of the tab; wherein the tab detection result is used to characterize whether the tab has defects.

Images