Battery shell breaking equipment and method

Abstract

The invention relates to battery shell breaking equipment and method. The battery shell breaking equipment comprises a base, the conveying unit is arranged on the base in an extending mode in the first direction so as to convey a battery to be subjected to shell breaking; the shell breaking unit comprises a box body, a shell breaking assembly and a fixing assembly, a feeding port and a discharging port are formed in the two ends, in the first direction, of the box body respectively, and the conveying unit is connected with the feeding port and the discharging port; the fixing assembly is accommodated in the box body so as to fix the battery to be subjected to shell breaking; the shell breaking assembly comprises a shell breaking chamber, a shell breaking roller body and a shell breaking driving part, the shell breaking roller body is contained in the shell breaking chamber, the shell breaking roller body is connected with the shell breaking driving part, and the shell breaking roller body is arranged adjacent to the conveying unit so as to cut the battery to be subjected to shell breaking. According to the invention, the shell and the internal pole group of the battery can be effectively separated, and subsequent separation and purification are facilitated; abrasion and loss of equipment can be reduced, and efficient cyclic utilization of resources is achieved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of waste lithium battery recycling, in particular to a battery shell breaking device and method. BACKGROUND

[0002] In recent years, with the rapid development of new energy vehicle industry, lithium ion batteries have been widely used as power sources. However, the service life of lithium ion batteries is limited, and the generation of a large number of waste batteries not only causes resource waste, but also may cause serious environmental pollution. At present, the recycling of waste lithium ion batteries mainly adopts hydrometallurgical process, that is, the waste batteries are directly broken and then treated by wet method. In addition, Chinese patent CN107039699A discloses a formation method for improving the capacity consistency of old hard shell power lithium battery, which eliminates electronic pseudo fatigue and improves electronic surface activity through a special formation process, and restores the true performance of the electronic and battery. However, this method cannot repair or improve the battery activity in essence, and cannot solve the safety hazard and environmental pollution problems existing in the recycling process of waste batteries. A waste lithium battery safe breaking device is disclosed in Chinese patent CN109904549A, which can break the shell of waste lithium battery. However, this device still has a certain risk of toxic gas release, and cannot completely solve the environmental pollution problem.

[0003] In summary, the existing technology has the following disadvantages: there are safety hazards in the hydrometallurgical process, contact between electrolyte and electrode active material may cause fire and environmental pollution; various materials in the battery are mixed together, which is not conducive to subsequent separation and purification, resulting in low purity of recycled materials and low resource utilization rate; shell breaking accelerates the wear of the breaking equipment, shortens the service life of the equipment and increases the operating cost; the existing recycling device still has a certain risk of toxic gas release, which may cause environmental pollution. SUMMARY

[0004] Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present application is to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art, and to provide a battery shell breaking device and method, which can add a shell breaking process before the breaking process of waste lithium ion batteries, separate the shell from the internal pole group, thereby improving the recycling efficiency, reducing environmental pollution and realizing efficient recycling of resources.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a battery shell breaking device, comprising, a base; a conveying unit arranged on the base along a first direction to convey the battery to be broken; The shell breaking unit comprises a box body, a shell breaking assembly and a fixing assembly, the box body is provided with an inlet and an outlet at two ends in a first direction, the conveying unit is connected with the inlet and the outlet; the fixing assembly is accommodated in the box body to fix the battery to be broken; the shell breaking assembly comprises a shell breaking chamber, a shell breaking roller and a shell breaking driving member, the shell breaking roller is accommodated in the shell breaking chamber, the shell breaking roller is connected with the shell breaking driving member, and the shell breaking roller is arranged in abutment with the conveying unit to cut the battery to be broken. The separation unit is connected with the conveying unit, the battery after being broken enters the separation unit, and the shell and the pole group of the battery after being broken are separated through the separation unit. The control unit is connected with the conveying unit, the shell breaking unit and the separation unit in communication to output control signals to the conveying unit, the shell breaking unit and the separation unit.

[0006] In an embodiment of the present application, a dust removal device is further arranged at the inlet to remove dust on the surface of the battery to be broken before entering the box body.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present application, the shell breaking roller comprises a body and a convex blade structure, the axial direction of the body is consistent with the height direction, the convex blade structure comprises a plurality of convex blades arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the body, and the end of the convex blade has a spike part.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present application, the shell breaking assembly is arranged in two groups, and the two groups of shell breaking assemblies are arranged at two sides of the conveying unit.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present application, the shell breaking chamber is a closed environment, and the shell breaking chamber is filled with inert gas.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present application, the separation unit comprises an air flow separation mechanism, the air flow separation mechanism comprises a fan assembly arranged on a base and a first separation chamber, and the fan assembly is arranged in the first separation chamber; the battery after being broken enters the first separation chamber through the conveying unit, the fan assembly blows air towards the first separation chamber, the shell of the battery after being broken is discharged from a first outlet, the pole group of the battery after being broken is discharged from a second outlet, and the shell and the pole group of the battery after being broken are separated.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present application, the separating unit comprises a magnetic separating mechanism, which comprises a magnet and a non-magnetic second separating cavity, the magnet being arranged in the second separating cavity; the post-hulling battery enters the second separating cavity through the conveying unit, and the pole group is adsorbed by the magnet to separate the shell and the pole group of the post-hulling battery.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present application, the separating unit comprises a vibrating separating mechanism, which comprises a third separating cavity, a vibrating motor and a screen assembly, the screen assembly being arranged in the third separating cavity and connected with the vibrating motor, the post-hulling battery enters the screen assembly through the conveying unit to separate the shell and the pole group of the post-hulling battery.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present application, the conveying unit comprises a conveying belt and a conveying drive assembly, the conveying drive assembly being mounted on the base, the conveying belt being connected with the output end of the conveying drive assembly and moving in the first direction, the end of the conveying belt being connected with the separating unit to make the post-hulling battery flow into the separating unit.

[0014] The present application also provides a battery hulling method, which utilizes the battery hulling device as described above to hull the battery, and the battery hulling method comprises, Step S1, conveying the battery to be hulled to a processing area; Step S2, hulling the battery to be hulled to destroy the shell of the battery to be hulled, so that the shell and the pole group of the post-hulling battery form a mixture; Step S3, separating the mixture to distinguish the shell and the pole group of the post-hulling battery, and collecting the shell and the pole group of the post-hulling battery respectively.

[0015] The above technical solution of the present application has the following advantages compared with the prior art: The battery shell breaking equipment has a base, a conveying unit, a shell breaking unit, a separating unit and a control unit, the conveying unit conveys the battery to be broken to the shell breaking unit, the battery to be broken is broken and separated by the shell breaking unit, then enters the separating unit, the shell of the battery is separated from the internal pole group by the separating unit, and the separated shell and pole group are recycled respectively.The application can avoid the fire risk caused by the contact between electrolyte and active material; in addition, the shell and internal pole group of the battery can be effectively separated, which is beneficial to subsequent separation and purification; and the application can reduce the wear and tear of the equipment itself, the shell breaking assembly contacts the end of the battery to realize shell breaking operation, thereby prolonging the service life of the equipment; since the separating unit effectively distinguishes, the purity of the recycled material is improved, the battery shell and pole group after separation are recycled respectively, thereby avoiding waste and realizing the recycling of raw materials, which can also reduce the cost of enterprises to a certain extent. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to make the content of the application more easily understood, the application will be further described in detail below according to specific embodiments of the application and in conjunction with the drawings, in which.

[0017] Figure 1 is a first perspective view of the overall structure of the preferred embodiment of the application.

[0018] Figure 2 is a second perspective view of the overall structure of the preferred embodiment of the application.

[0019] Figure 3 is a structural view of the cooperation of the base, conveying unit and shell breaking unit of the preferred embodiment of the application.

[0020] Figure 4 is a first perspective view of the conveying unit and shell breaking unit of the preferred embodiment of the application.

[0021] Figure 5 is a second perspective view of the conveying unit and shell breaking unit of the preferred embodiment of the application.

[0022] Figure 6 is a structural view of the base, shell breaking chamber and separating mechanism of the preferred embodiment of the application.

[0023] Figure 7 is a structural view of the shell breaking roller body of the preferred embodiment of the application.

[0024] Figure 8 is Figure 7 is an enlarged view of the structure at A in FIG.

[0025] The description of the drawings is as follows: 1, base; 10, battery to be broken; 2, conveying unit; 20, conveying belt; 21, conveying drive assembly; 210, drive motor; 211, drive shaft; 30, box; 301, feeding port; 302, discharging port; 31, breaking assembly; 310, breaking chamber; 311, breaking roller body; 312, breaking drive; 32, fixing assembly; 320, mounting frame; 321, connecting block; 322, pressing rod; 4, separation unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The application will be further described below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments, so that those skilled in the art can better understand the application and implement it, but the embodiments are not limiting to the application. Example 1

[0027] Referring to Figures 1 to 8 The application discloses a battery breaking equipment, which comprises a base 1; The battery breaking equipment further comprises a conveying unit 2, which is arranged on the base 1 along a first direction to convey a battery 10 to be broken, and the battery 10 to be broken is horizontally placed on the conveying unit 2 and is transmitted to a breaking position under the driving of the conveying unit 2.

[0028] The battery breaking equipment further comprises a breaking unit, which comprises a box 30, a breaking assembly 31 and a fixing assembly 32.

[0029] Specifically, the box 30 is provided with a feeding port 301 and a discharging port 302 at two ends along the first direction, and the conveying unit 2 is connected with the feeding port 301 and the discharging port 302, so that the battery 10 to be broken is transmitted from the feeding port 301 to the box 30, and the broken battery is removed from the box 30 through the discharging port 302.

[0030] The fixing assembly 32 is accommodated in the box 30 to fix the battery 10 to be broken at the breaking position, so as to ensure the stability of the battery 10 to be broken during the breaking process.

[0031] The breaking assembly 31 comprises a breaking chamber 310, a breaking roller body 311 and a breaking drive 312, the breaking roller body 311 is accommodated in the breaking chamber 310, the breaking roller body is arranged in abutment with the conveying unit, the breaking roller body 311 is connected with the breaking drive 312, and the breaking roller body 311 can rotate under the driving of the breaking drive 312, so as to cut the battery 10 to be broken and break the shell of the battery 10 to be broken. The battery shell breaking device further comprises a separation unit 4, the separation unit 4 is connected to the conveying unit 2, the battery after shell breaking enters the separation unit 4, and the shell and the pole group of the battery after shell breaking are separated through the separation unit 4, so that the shell and the pole group of the battery after shell breaking are recycled respectively.

[0032] The battery shell breaking device further comprises a sensor unit, the sensor unit comprises a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor arranged on the shell breaking unit, so that the running state of the device can be monitored in real time. Once an abnormal condition occurs, such as the temperature or pressure exceeding the preset range, the sensor unit outputs a sensing signal to the control unit, the control unit controls the device to stop running, and more inert gas nitrogen is released to ensure safety.

[0033] The battery shell breaking device further comprises a control unit, the control unit is in communication connection with the conveying unit, the shell breaking unit, the separation unit and the sensor unit, so as to receive the sensing signal from the sensor unit and output a control signal to the conveying unit, the shell breaking unit and the separation unit.

[0034] Therefore, the battery shell breaking device provided by the application is provided with a base, a conveying unit, a shell breaking unit, a separation unit and a control unit, the conveying unit conveys the battery to be broken to the shell breaking unit, the battery to be broken is broken and separated by the shell breaking unit, and then enters the separation unit, the shell and the pole group inside the battery are separated by the separation unit, and the separated shell and pole group are recycled respectively. The application can avoid the fire risk caused by the contact between the electrolyte and the active material. In addition, the shell and the pole group inside the battery can be effectively separated, which is beneficial to subsequent separation and purification. Furthermore, the application can reduce the wear and tear of the device itself, the shell breaking assembly contacts the end of the battery to achieve shell breaking operation, thereby prolonging the service life of the device. Since the separation unit effectively distinguishes, the purity of the recycled material is improved, the battery shell and the pole group after separation are recycled respectively, thereby avoiding waste and realizing the recycling of raw materials, which can also reduce the cost of enterprises to a certain extent.

[0035] As a preferred embodiment, the fixing assembly 32 comprises a mounting frame 320, a connecting block 321 and a pressing rod 322, the mounting frame 320 is arranged on the base 1, the connecting block is assembled on the mounting frame 320, and the pressing rod 322 is elastically connected to the bottom of the connecting block 321. When the battery to be broken 10 is transported to the shell breaking position, the battery to be broken 10 can abut against the pressing rod 322, so as to be limited to the conveying unit 2 under the action of the pressing rod 322, thereby ensuring the stability during the shell breaking process.

[0036] It should be noted that the number of the lower pressing rods 322 is provided to be multiple, and the multiple lower pressing rods 322 are arranged at the connecting block 321 in the first direction, so as to limit the position of the multiple to-be-cracked batteries 10 in the conveying unit 2.

[0037] As a preferred embodiment, the battery cracking device further comprises a dust removal device arranged at the feeding port 301 to remove dust and impurities on the surface of the to-be-cracked battery 10 entering the box 3.

[0038] Preferably, the dust removal device includes but is not limited to a high-pressure gas flow purging device (such as a cyclone nozzle), a vacuum adsorption device, and a brush rolling device.

[0039] As a preferred embodiment, the cracking roller body 311 comprises a body 3110 and a convex blade structure 3111, the axial direction of the body 3110 is consistent with the height direction, the convex blade structure 3111 comprises multiple convex blades arranged at the circumference of the body 3110, and the end of the convex blade has a spike part; in other embodiments, the convex blade can be arranged in a conical shape.

[0040] In order to improve the cracking efficiency, the cracking assembly 31 is provided in two groups, and the two groups of cracking assemblies 31 are arranged at the two sides of the conveying unit 2 respectively, so as to crack the ends of the to-be-cracked batteries 10 respectively, thereby improving the cracking efficiency and facilitating the subsequent separation operation, and making the pole group more easily separated.

[0041] As a preferred embodiment, the cracking chamber 310 is a closed environment, in order to prevent the contact between the electrolyte and the electrode active material and the air to cause fire, the cracking chamber 310 is filled with inert gas.

[0042] Preferably, the inert gas is nitrogen.

[0043] Further, the conveying unit 2 comprises a conveying belt 20 and a conveying driving assembly 21, the conveying driving assembly is installed on the base, the conveying belt is connected with the output end of the conveying driving assembly and translates along the first direction under the action of the conveying driving assembly 21, and the end of the conveying belt 20 is connected with the separation unit 4 to make the cracked batteries flow into the separation unit 4.

[0044] In detail, the conveying driving assembly 21 comprises a driving motor 210 and driving shafts 211, at least one of the driving shafts 211 is connected with the output end of the driving motor 210, and the conveying belt 20 is wound around and tensioned on the two driving shafts 211, so as to translate along the first direction under the rotation of the driving shafts 211.

[0045] The driving motor 210 can also be provided with two, and the two driving motors 210 are respectively connected with the two driving shafts 211, so as to synchronously act according to the requirement, so as to control the transmission speed and transmission efficiency.

[0046] In the embodiment, the separation unit 4 is arranged below the end of the conveying belt 20 and is assembled on the base 1, the post-hulling battery can continue to be transmitted along the conveying belt 20 and falls into the separation unit 4 from the end of the conveying belt 20.

[0047] As a preferred embodiment, the separation unit 4 comprises an airflow separation mechanism, the airflow separation mechanism comprises a fan assembly arranged on the base 1 and a first separation cavity, and the fan assembly is arranged in the first separation cavity.

[0048] The first separation cavity has a first outlet and a second outlet; the post-hulling battery enters the first separation cavity through the conveying unit 2, the fan assembly blows air towards the first separation cavity, the airflow generated by the fan assembly can blow off the lighter pole group, so that the shell of the post-hulling battery is discharged from the first outlet and the pole group of the post-hulling battery is discharged from the second outlet, so as to separate the shell and the pole group of the post-hulling battery. Embodiment two

[0049] The embodiment two of the application is different from the embodiment one in that the separation unit 4 comprises a magnetic separation mechanism, the magnetic separation mechanism comprises a magnet and a non-magnetic second separation cavity, and the magnet is arranged in the second separation cavity; the second separation cavity has a third outlet and a fourth outlet.

[0050] The post-hulling battery enters the second separation cavity through the conveying unit 2, the pole group with the copper negative electrode sheet is adsorbed by the magnet, so as to separate the shell and the pole group of the post-hulling battery, so that the pole group can be discharged from the third outlet, and the shell without copper is discharged from the fourth outlet.

[0051] As a preferred embodiment, the magnet is a permanent magnet. Embodiment three

[0052] The third embodiment of the present application is different from the first embodiment in that the separating unit 4 comprises a vibrating separating mechanism, which comprises a third separating cavity, a vibrating motor and a screen assembly, the screen assembly being connected with the vibrating motor and vibrating under the action of the vibrating motor; the third separating cavity comprises a fifth outlet and a sixth outlet.

[0053] The post-cracking battery enters the screen assembly through the conveying unit 2, the smaller particles of the pole group are filtered through the pores of the screen assembly and discharged from the fifth outlet, and the larger particles of the shell are discharged from the sixth outlet, thereby obtaining the separated shell and pole group of the post-cracking battery.

[0054] It should be noted that the mesh number of the screen assembly can be adjusted according to actual needs to obtain the required separation accuracy. The fourth embodiment

[0055] The present application also discloses a battery cracking method, which utilizes the battery cracking device as described in the first embodiment to crack the battery, and the battery cracking method comprises the following steps. In step S1, the battery to be cracked 10 is transported to the processing area. In step S2, the battery to be cracked 10 is cracked to damage the shell of the battery to be cracked 10, so that the shell and the pole group of the post-cracking battery form a mixture. In step S3, the mixture is separated to distinguish the shell and the pole group of the post-cracking battery, and the shell and the pole group of the post-cracking battery are collected respectively for subsequent recycling.

[0056] As a preferred embodiment, in step S1, before the battery to be cracked 10 is transported to the processing area, the battery to be cracked 10 is cleaned to remove dust and impurities, thereby improving the purity of the subsequent separated mixture.

[0057] As a preferred embodiment, in step S3, the separation method of the mixture comprises an air flow separation method, in which an air flow is generated by a fan to blow away the lighter pole group, so that the shell and the pole group of the post-cracking battery are separated, and the separated shell and pole group are collected respectively. The separation method also comprises a magnetic separation method, in which a magnet is arranged to adsorb the pole group with magnetism, so that the pole group and the shell are effectively distinguished, and the separated shell and pole group are collected respectively. The separation method also comprises a vibrating separation method, in which a screen assembly and a vibrating motor are arranged to separate the shell and the pole group with different particle sizes, the particles of the pole group are smaller, and the particles of the shell are larger, so that the screen assembly and the vibrating motor cooperate with each other to realize separation, and the separated shell and pole group are collected respectively.

[0058] The battery shell breaking method can separate the shell from the internal pole group, thereby improving recycling efficiency, reducing environmental pollution, and realizing efficient recycling of resources.

[0059] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "first", "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more, unless otherwise specifically limited.

[0060] In the present application, unless otherwise specifically defined and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connection", "fixing" and the like should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or it can be detachably connected, or it can be integrated; it can be mechanically connected, or it can be electrically connected; it can be directly connected, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; it can be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0061] Obviously, the above embodiments are only examples for clear illustration, and are not limited to the embodiments. For those skilled in the art, other different forms of changes or variations can be made on the basis of the above description. Here, it is not necessary and impossible to enumerate all the embodiments. The obvious changes or variations derived therefrom are still within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A battery casing breaking device, characterized in that: include, Base; A conveying unit, which extends along a first direction and is disposed on the base, for conveying the battery to be broken; The battery breaking unit includes a housing, a breaking assembly, and a fixing assembly. The housing has an inlet and an outlet at both ends along a first direction. The conveying unit is connected to the inlet and the outlet. The fixing assembly is housed in the housing to fix the battery to be broken. The breaking assembly includes a breaking chamber, a breaking roller, and a breaking drive. The breaking roller is housed in the breaking chamber and connected to the breaking drive. The breaking roller is adjacent to the conveying unit to cut the battery to be broken. A separation unit is connected to the conveying unit. After the battery is broken open, it enters the separation unit, and the separation unit separates the outer casing and the electrode assembly of the broken battery. The control unit is communicatively connected to the conveying unit, the shell-breaking unit, and the separation unit to output control signals to the conveying unit, the shell-breaking unit, and the separation unit.

2. The battery casing breaking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a dust removal device, which is located at the feed inlet to remove dust from the surface of the battery to be broken into the housing.

3. The battery casing breaking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell-breaking roller body includes a body and a convex blade structure. The axial direction of the body is consistent with the height direction. The convex blade structure includes a plurality of convex blades spaced apart around the body. The ends of the convex blades have spikes.

4. The battery casing breaking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell-breaking assembly is provided in two sets, and the two sets of the shell-breaking assembly are respectively arranged on both sides of the conveying unit.

5. The battery casing breaking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hatching chamber is a closed environment and is filled with inert gas.

6. The battery casing breaking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The separation unit includes an airflow separation mechanism, which includes a fan assembly disposed on the base and a first separation chamber. The fan assembly is disposed in the first separation chamber. The battery after shell breakage enters the first separation chamber through the conveying unit. The fan assembly blows air into the first separation chamber, causing the outer shell of the battery after shell breakage to be discharged from the first outlet and the electrode assembly of the battery after shell breakage to be discharged from the second outlet, thereby separating the outer shell and electrode assembly of the battery after shell breakage.

7. The battery casing breaking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The separation unit includes a magnetic separation mechanism, which includes a magnet and a non-magnetic second separation cavity. The magnet is disposed in the second separation cavity. After the battery is broken, it enters the second separation cavity through the conveying unit. The magnet attracts the electrode assembly to separate the outer shell and the electrode assembly of the broken battery.

8. The battery casing breaking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The separation unit includes a vibration separation mechanism, which includes a third separation chamber, a vibration motor, and a screen assembly. The screen assembly is disposed in the third separation chamber and is connected to the vibration motor. The broken-shell battery enters the screen assembly through the conveying unit to separate the outer shell and electrode assembly of the broken-shell battery.

9. A battery casing breaking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveying unit includes a conveyor belt and a conveying drive assembly. The conveying drive assembly is mounted on the base. The conveyor belt is connected to the output end of the conveying drive assembly and moves along the first direction. The end of the conveyor belt is connected to the separation unit so that the broken battery flows into the separation unit.

10. A method for breaking open a battery casing, characterized in that: Using the battery casing breaking device as described in any one of claims 1-9, the battery casing breaking process is performed, wherein the battery casing breaking method includes, Step S1: Transfer the battery to be cracked to the processing area; Step S2: Perform a casing breaking process on the battery to be broken, thereby destroying the outer casing of the battery to be broken, so that the outer casing and the electrode assembly of the battery form a mixture after the casing is broken. Step S3: Separate the mixture to distinguish the outer casing and electrode assembly of the broken battery, and collect the outer casing and electrode assembly of the broken battery separately.

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