Automatic battery disassembling equipment and method

Abstract

The invention discloses automatic battery disassembling equipment and method, and the equipment comprises a platform which is integrated with a feeding device for providing a to-be-disassembled battery, a discharging device for discharging the to-be-disassembled battery, and a discharging device for discharging the to-be-disassembled battery, the voltage detection device is used for detecting the voltage of the batteries to be disassembled and screening out qualified batteries; the electrolyte discharging device comprises an anti-explosion valve end milling mechanism and an electrolyte collecting box, the anti-explosion valve end milling mechanism is configured to perform milling and hole cutting on an anti-explosion valve of a qualified battery, the battery after hole cutting is inverted above the electrolyte collecting box, and electrolyte discharging is performed; the disassembling device comprises a battery end cutting mechanism and a battery side cutting mechanism which are respectively used for cutting off the end part and cutting the side part of the battery of which the electrolyte is completely discharged; the transfer device is used for automatically transferring the battery among the feeding device, the voltage detection device, the electrolyte discharging device and the disassembling device and executing the operation of separating the battery cell from the battery shell; and the at least one battery cell cutting and sorting device is used for cutting and sorting the positive and negative plates of the separated battery cells.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of battery disassembly, in particular to a battery automatic disassembly device and method. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the explosive growth of the new energy vehicle industry, the power battery retirement tide has arrived, giving birth to a trillion-level recycling market. However, the traditional disassembly method has high safety risks (such as short circuit, explosion), low comprehensive recovery rate of valuable metals (high residue of copper, aluminum, cobalt, lithium, etc.), environmental hazards (electrolyte leakage), and other core pain points, and urgently needs intelligent and high-value disassembly technology breakthrough.

[0003] The key to efficient and high-value recovery of power lithium batteries lies in the fine disassembly technology. Waste power lithium ion batteries contain lithium hexafluorophosphate, carbonate organic matter, and valuable metals and materials such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, copper, and aluminum, which are valuable resources with very high recycling value.

[0004] Lithium ion batteries are generally composed of a shell (or aluminum plastic film), a housing, a positive plate (aluminum foil and active material), a negative plate (copper foil and active material), a cover plate, electrolyte, a separator, etc. The current mainstream disassembly path is divided into two types: one is whole crushing and sorting, which has high processing efficiency, but mixes different components, leading to complex subsequent separation and purification processes, increased costs, and reduced direct recovery value of positive and negative materials; the second is manual assisted mechanical disassembly, which can relatively completely separate the core components such as positive and negative plates, creating conditions for subsequent material repair and regeneration or efficient wet recovery, and is an ideal path for high-value utilization.

[0005] However, the traditional manual or semi-automatic disassembly mode faces three major challenges:

[0006] Low efficiency: It relies heavily on manual labor, and it takes hours to disassemble a single battery pack, with a prominent production capacity bottleneck, making it difficult to cope with large-scale retirement.

[0007] Safety risks: When disassembling live batteries, improper operation can easily cause short circuits, thermal runaway, and even explosions; at the same time, electrolyte may leak, posing a threat to the health of operators and the environment.

[0008] Standardization and automation problems: Different brands, models of battery packs, modules and cell structure designs vary greatly, making it extremely costly to adapt to flexible automation lines, hindering large-scale applications. SUMMARY

[0009] In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, the purpose of the present application is to provide an automatic and modular battery automatic disassembly device and method, which integrates modules such as feeding, voltage detection, electrolyte discharge, disassembly, transfer and cell cutting and sorting, and constructs a continuous and closed automatic disassembly assembly line, aiming to realize efficient, safe and high-value power lithium battery disassembly process.

[0010] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides a battery automatic disassembly device in one aspect, comprising a platform, wherein a feeding device is installed on the platform to provide batteries to be disassembled; a voltage detection device is used to detect the voltage of the batteries to be disassembled and to screen out qualified batteries and unqualified batteries; an electrolyte discharge device comprises an explosion-proof valve end milling mechanism and an electrolyte collection tank, the explosion-proof valve end milling mechanism is configured to mill a hole in the explosion-proof valve of the qualified battery, and the battery after being opened is inverted above the electrolyte collection tank to discharge electrolyte; a disassembly device comprises a battery end cutting mechanism and a battery side cutting mechanism, which are respectively used to cut off the end part and cut open the side part of the battery after discharging electrolyte; a transfer device is used to automatically transfer the battery between the feeding device, the voltage detection device, the electrolyte discharge device and the disassembly device, and to perform the operation of separating the cell from the battery shell; at least one cell cutting and sorting device is used to cut and sort the positive and negative plates of the separated cell.

[0011] The feeding device comprises a guide transportation unit and a battery storage table, and the battery storage table comprises a first support frame and a plurality of trays, wherein the plurality of trays are arranged in an array on the first support frame.

[0012] The voltage detection device comprises a second support frame, a battery positioning seat installed on the second support frame for fixing the battery to be disassembled, a first driving mechanism installed on the second support frame, a detection bracket connected to the first driving mechanism and driven by the first driving mechanism to ascend and descend, a pair of detection heads elastically connected to the detection bracket through a buffer component, and the detection heads are electrically connected to a signal processing unit; wherein the first driving mechanism drives the detection bracket to make the detection heads contact the positive and negative poles of the battery fixed on the battery positioning seat.

[0013] The explosion-proof valve end milling mechanism comprises a milling motor and a three-dimensional moving platform moving along the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis.

[0014] The transfer device comprises a first robot and a second robot, the first robot is used for transferring the battery to be disassembled from the feeding device to the voltage detection device, placing the unqualified battery into a first collecting box, and sequentially transferring the qualified battery to the electrolyte discharging device and the battery end cutting mechanism, and the second robot is used for transferring the battery with the end cut off from the battery end cutting mechanism to the battery side cutting mechanism and performing the separation operation of the battery cell and the shell.

[0015] The battery end cutting mechanism comprises at least one first guide rod, a cutter seat in sliding connection with the first guide rod, a cutter installed on the cutter seat, and a second driving mechanism for driving the cutter seat to move linearly along the first guide rod.

[0016] The battery side cutting mechanism comprises a pair of side cutters arranged oppositely and forming a cutting channel therebetween, a third driving mechanism for driving the pair of side cutters to move towards or away from each other, and a first pushing mechanism with a pushing direction same as the axial direction of the cutting channel.

[0017] The battery side cutting mechanism further comprises a collecting groove arranged at the end of the cutting channel.

[0018] The battery automatic disassembly equipment further comprises a belt conveying line with an input end arranged below the end of the battery side cutting mechanism, a first operation station arranged at the output end of the belt conveying line, and a second operation station for disassembling the plastic film and adhesive tape wrapped around the battery cell and transferring the battery cell to the battery cell cutting and sorting device.

[0019] The battery cell cutting and sorting device comprises a third support frame, a diaphragm flattening mechanism installed on the third support frame, a diaphragm cutting mechanism, a diaphragm picking mechanism, and at least two collecting boxes, wherein the diaphragm flattening mechanism is used for flattening the diaphragm of the battery cell and fixing the end of the battery cell, the diaphragm cutting mechanism is located downstream of the diaphragm flattening mechanism and is used for cutting the diaphragm of the battery cell, the diaphragm picking mechanism is located downstream of the diaphragm cutting mechanism and comprises a horizontal movement module and at least one gripper installed on the movable end of the horizontal movement module, wherein the horizontal movement module is configured to drive the gripper to move between the cutting station of the diaphragm cutting mechanism and above the collecting boxes, and the two collecting boxes are arranged below the diaphragm picking mechanism and are used for classifying and collecting the positive and negative plates after the battery cell is cut.

[0020] The diaphragm cutting mechanism comprises a fixed bottom plate installed on the third support frame, a cutting module installed on the fixed bottom plate, a cutting blade installed on the movable end of the cutting module, a first support seat arranged below the cutting path of the cutting module, and a pressing mechanism arranged above the first support seat.

[0021] The clamping mechanism includes: an upper support plate; at least one second guide rod fixed to the upper support plate; a clamping block slidably connected to the guide rod; and a fourth driving mechanism fixed to the upper support plate and connected to the clamping block for driving the clamping block to move up and down along the second guide rod.

[0022] The cell cutting and sorting device also includes an operation terminal, which is installed on the third support frame and electrically connected to the diaphragm flattening mechanism, the diaphragm cutting mechanism and the diaphragm picking mechanism.

[0023] Another aspect of the present invention provides an automatic battery disassembly method, which employs the aforementioned automatic battery disassembly equipment and includes the following steps: providing a battery to be disassembled; detecting the voltage of the battery to be disassembled and screening out qualified batteries; milling the explosion-proof valve of the qualified battery and then inverting the battery to drain the electrolyte; cutting off the end and cutting the side of the battery after draining the electrolyte; separating the battery cell from the cut casing; and cutting and sorting the positive and negative electrode plates of the separated battery cell.

[0024] The process of cutting and sorting the positive and negative electrode sheets of the separated battery cells also includes the following steps: pre-processing the battery cells; using a fixed-length traction diaphragm, positioning the cutting seams in the pre-processed battery cells sequentially to the cutting station and cutting them; and according to the preset sorting logic, placing the cut positive and negative electrode sheets into different collection boxes respectively. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the automatic battery disassembly device provided by the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Structural diagram of the medium voltage detection device;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of a battery in the prior art;

[0028] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Structural diagram of the end milling mechanism of the explosion-proof valve;

[0029] Figure 5 for Figure 1 Structural diagram of the battery end cutting mechanism;

[0030] Figure 6 for Figure 1 Structural diagram of the battery side-cutting mechanism;

[0031] Figure 7 for Figure 1 Structural diagram of the cell cutting and sorting device;

[0032] Figure 8 Fig. 1 is a structural diagram of a battery according to the present application; Figure 7 Fig. 2 is a structural diagram of a middle part of the battery according to the present application;

[0033] Figure 9 Fig. 3 is a structural diagram of a laminated cell in the prior art;

[0034] Figure 10 Fig. 4 is a structural diagram of the battery according to the present application after being laid flat; Figure 9

[0035] Fig. 5 is a flow chart of the battery automatic disassembling method provided by the present application (I); Figure 11

[0036] Fig. 6 is a flow chart of the battery automatic disassembling method provided by the present application (II); Figure 12

[0037] Fig. 7 is a flow chart of step S34 in the middle part of the present application. Figure 13 Figure 11 Fig. 8 is a structural diagram of the battery according to the present application.

[0038] In the drawings, reference numerals:

[0039] ​1-battery automatic disassembly equipment; 10-platform; 11-feeding device; 110-guiding transport unit; 111-battery storage table; 1110-first support frame; 1111-tray; 12-voltage detection device; 120-second support frame; 121-battery positioning seat; 122-first driving mechanism; 123-detection support; 124-detection head; 125-buffer component; 126-signal processing unit; 13-electrolyte discharge device; 130-explosion-proof valve end milling mechanism; 1300-body; 1301-milling motor; 1302-X-axis moving assembly; 1303-Y-axis moving assembly; 1303a-first support plate; 1304-Z-axis moving assembly; 131-electrolyte collection box; 1310-collection hole; 14-battery end cutting mechanism; 140-fourth support frame; 141-second support plate; 1410-positioning block; 142-first guide rod; 143-cutter seat; 144-first cutter; 145-second driving mechanism; 15-battery side cutting mechanism; 150-fifth support frame; 151-side cutter; 152-third driving mechanism; 153-first pushing mechanism; 154-collection groove; 155-fixing plate; 156-cutting channel; 157-limiting block; 16-transfer device; 160-first robot; 161-second robot; 17-cell cutting and sorting device; 170-third support frame; 171-separator flattening mechanism; 1710-guide roller; 1711-clamping roller; 1711a-upper roller; 1711b-lower roller; 1712-second support seat; 1713-third support seat; 1714-elastic compression assembly; 1714a-slotted; 1714b-sliding block; 1714c-screw; 1714d-spring; 1714e-adjusting wheel; 172-separator cutting mechanism; 1720-fixed bottom plate; 1721-cutting module; 1722-first support seat; 1723-pressing mechanism; 1723a-upper support plate; 1723b-second guide rod; 1723c-pressing block; 1723d-fourth driving mechanism; 173-separator picking mechanism; 1730-module support; 1731-transverse movement module; 1732-fifth driving mechanism; 1733-fixed seat; 1734-clamping jaw; 174-protective cover; 175-second collection box; 1750-third collection box; 1751-fourth collection box; 176-operation terminal; 18-first collection box; 190-belt conveying line; 191-first operation station; 192-second operation station; 193-first waste box; 194-second waste box;

[0040] 2-battery; 20-positive pole; 21-explosion-proof valve; 22-negative pole; 23-outer shell; 24-cell cladding film; 25-cell; 251-separator; 252-cutting seam; 253-positive plate; 254-negative plate;

[0041] 3-Automatic battery disassembly method; S30~S34, S340~S342. Detailed Implementation

[0042] The technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments to further understand the purpose, solution and effect of the present invention, but it is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the appended claims.

[0043] References to "embodiment," "another embodiment," "this embodiment," etc., in the specification refer to embodiments that may include specific features, structures, or characteristics, but not every embodiment must include these specific features, structures, or characteristics. Furthermore, such expressions do not refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when describing specific features, structures, or characteristics in conjunction with embodiments, whether or not explicitly described, it is indicated that incorporating such features, structures, or characteristics into other embodiments is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0044] The specification and subsequent claims use certain terms to refer to specific components or parts. Those skilled in the art will understand that users or manufacturers may use different names or terms to refer to the same component or part. This specification and claims do not distinguish components or parts by differences in name, but rather by differences in function. The terms "comprising" and "including" used throughout the specification and claims are open-ended and should be interpreted as "including but not limited to". Furthermore, the term "connection" here includes any direct and indirect electrical connection means. Indirect electrical connection means include connections via other means.

[0045] like Figure 1 The diagram shows a structural representation of an automatic battery disassembly device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device includes a platform 10, a loading device 11 mounted on the platform 10, a voltage detection device 12, an electrolyte discharge device 13, a disassembly device (including a battery end-cutting mechanism 14 and a battery side-cutting mechanism 15), a transfer device 16, and at least one cell cutting and sorting device 17. All of the above devices are coordinated and controlled by a central controller (not shown in the diagram, such as an industrial PLC or industrial computer), and the transfer device 16 (including a first robot 160 and a second robot 161) serves as the physical link, enabling the automatic transfer and operation of batteries between the various functional modules.

[0046] A protective railing 100 is installed on the platform 10, which surrounds the feeding device 11, voltage detection device 12, electrolyte discharge device 13, disassembly device (including battery end cutting mechanism 14 and battery side cutting mechanism 15) and transfer device 16.

[0047] In the embodiment, the feeding device 11 is used to provide the battery 2 to be disassembled, which comprises a guiding and transporting unit 110 (for example, an AGV or a forklift) and a battery storage table 111. The battery storage table 111 comprises a first support frame 1110 and a plurality of trays 1111 arranged on the first support frame 1110. The first support frame 1110 is installed on the platform 10. Specifically, the guiding and transporting unit 110 transports the tray 1111 full of batteries to a designated station of the battery storage table 111. Then, a transfer robot (for example, the first robot 160) accurately picks up a single battery from the tray 1111 according to the system instruction and transfers it to the next station (for example, the battery positioning seat 121 of the voltage detection device 12). When the batteries in the tray are taken out, the guiding and transporting unit 110 automatically transports the empty tray away and replenishes a new full tray, so as to realize continuous and automatic supply of materials.

[0048] In the embodiment, the voltage detection device 12 is used to detect the voltage of the battery 2 to be disassembled and to screen out qualified batteries and unqualified batteries. As shown in Figure 2 The voltage detection device 12 comprises a second support frame 120, a battery positioning seat 121, a first driving mechanism 122, a detection support 123 and at least one pair of detection heads 124. The second support frame 120 is arranged on the platform 10. The battery positioning seat 121 is installed on the second support frame 120 and is used to fix the battery 2. The first driving mechanism 122 is installed on the second support frame 120. The detection support 123 is connected to the movable end (not shown in the figure) of the first driving mechanism 122 and is driven by the first driving mechanism 122 to ascend and descend. The pair of detection heads 124 are elastically connected to the detection support 123 through a buffer component 125 (for example, a spring). The detection head 124 is electrically connected to a signal processing unit 126. In the embodiment, the number of the battery positioning seat 121, the first driving mechanism 122 and the detection support 123 is two, which can simultaneously detect the voltage of two batteries 2. The first driving mechanism 122 can be in the form of electricity (for example, an electric push rod, a servo electric cylinder), gas (for example, a gas cylinder) or liquid pressure (for example, an oil cylinder, a hydraulic motor).

[0049] Specifically, the first driving mechanism 122 drives the corresponding detection bracket 123 to descend, so that the pair of detection heads 124 connected with the detection bracket 123 realizes reliable and spark-free physical contact with the positive and negative poles of the battery 2 fixed on the battery positioning seat 121 under the protection of the buffer component 125; the voltage signal collected by the detection heads 124 is sent to the signal processing unit 126, which automatically distinguishes whether the battery 2 is qualified by comparing with the preset safety voltage threshold value, and the first robot 160 of the transfer device 16 places the unqualified battery in the first collection box 18 located downstream of the voltage detection device 12, and the first robot 160 places the qualified battery on the next station (for example, the anti-explosion valve end milling mechanism 130).

[0050] As shown in Figure 3 , the existing battery 2 generally includes a positive pole 20, an anti-explosion valve 21, a negative pole 22, an outer shell 23, a cell cladding film 24, and a cell 25. The conventional battery disassembly equipment directly performs multi-face cutting after voltage detection, which has high risk of cutting under voltage, and the electrolyte is processed (such as by pouring the outer shell) only during or after the cutting process. The present application first safely opens a hole and completely empties the electrolyte through a special device (anti-explosion valve end milling mechanism 130), and then performs subsequent cutting, which fundamentally eliminates the risk of explosion caused by cutting short circuit and realizes the centralized and environmentally friendly collection of electrolyte.

[0051] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 4 , an electrolyte discharge device 13 is arranged downstream of the voltage detection device 12, and the electrolyte discharge device 13 includes an anti-explosion valve end milling mechanism 130 and an electrolyte collection box 131. The anti-explosion valve end milling mechanism 130 includes a body 1300 and a three-dimensional moving platform and a milling motor 1301 arranged on the body 1300, and the three-dimensional moving platform includes an X-axis moving assembly 1302, a Y-axis moving assembly 1303, and a Z-axis moving assembly 1304. The qualified battery 2 is placed on the first support plate 1303a of the Y-axis moving assembly 1303, and the Z-axis moving assembly 1304 controls the milling motor 1301 to mill and open the anti-explosion valve 21 of the battery 2. The electrolyte collection box 131 has a plurality of collection holes 1310.

[0052] Specifically, the first robot 160 places the qualified battery on the first support plate 1303a, then the three-dimensional moving platform cooperates with the program instructions of the central controller to drive the milling motor 1301 to move accurately above the explosion-proof valve 21 to complete the milling of the hole; finally, the first robot 160 moves the battery with the hole to above the collection hole 1310 of the electrolyte collection tank 131 and inverts it in the collection hole 1310, and the electrolyte in the battery is discharged through the milled hole under the action of gravity, completing the safe and controllable liquid discharge process. The battery that has completed the electrolyte discharge is transferred to the next station (for example, the battery end cutting mechanism 14) by the first robot 160.

[0053] In this embodiment, the disassembly device includes a battery end cutting mechanism 14 and a battery side cutting mechanism 15, which are respectively used for cutting off the end part and cutting open the side part of the battery that has completed the electrolyte discharge.

[0054] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 5 , the battery end cutting mechanism 14 is located downstream of the electrolyte collection tank 131 and is used for cutting off the end part of the battery that has completed the electrolyte discharge. The battery end cutting mechanism 14 includes a fourth support frame 140, a second support plate 141, two first guide rods 142, a cutter seat 143, a first cutter 144, and a second driving mechanism 145. The fourth support frame 140 is installed on the platform 10; the second support plate 141 is installed on the fourth support frame 140; the two first guide rods 142 are symmetrically arranged on the second support plate 141; the cutter seat 143 is in sliding connection with the first guide rods 142; the first cutter 144 is installed on the cutter seat 143; and the second driving mechanism 145 is connected with the cutter seat 143 and is used for driving the cutter seat 143 to move up and down linearly along the first guide rods 142. The second driving mechanism 145 can be in the form of electricity (such as an electric push rod, a servo electric cylinder), gas (such as a gas cylinder), or liquid pressure (such as an oil cylinder, a hydraulic motor), etc. The second support plate 141 is provided with a positioning block 1410 corresponding to the first cutter 144, and the battery is placed on the positioning block 1410. In this embodiment, the number of the second support plate 141, the cutter seat 143, the first cutter 144, and the second driving mechanism 145 is two, corresponding to four first guide rods 142.

[0055] Specifically, the first robot 160 moves the battery that has completed the liquid discharge to the positioning block 1410 for positioning and fixing; then the second driving mechanism 145 drives the cutter seat 143 to drive the first cutter 144 to move linearly downward along the first guide rods 142, so as to quickly and smoothly cut off the end cover part of the battery with strong shearing force.

[0056] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 6As shown, the battery side cutting mechanism 15 is located downstream of the battery end cutting mechanism 14, for cutting open the side of the battery after end cutting. The battery side cutting mechanism 15 includes a fifth support frame 150, a pair of side cutting knives 151, a third driving mechanism 152, a first pushing mechanism 153, a collection groove 154, and a fixed plate 155. The fifth support frame 150 is fixed on the platform 10, the fixed plate 155 is installed on the fifth support frame 150, the third driving mechanism 152 (for example, a side cutting clamping cylinder) is installed on the fixed plate 155, the output end of the third driving mechanism 152 is connected and drives the pair of side cutting knives 151, so that they can move towards or away from each other accurately, to adjust the width of the cutting channel 156 and perform clamping action. The first pushing mechanism 153 (such as a push rod cylinder) is installed on the fifth support frame 150 and located below the fixed plate 155. The pushing direction of the piston rod of the first pushing mechanism 153 is consistent with the axis direction of the cutting channel 156 formed by the pair of side cutting knives 151. The end of the cutting channel 156 is provided with a limit block 157 to prevent the battery from falling into the collection groove 154 entirely. The collection groove 154 is installed on the side of the fifth support frame 150 and located at the end of the cutting channel 156.

[0057] Specifically, the battery after end cutting is placed on the battery side cutting mechanism 15 by the second robot 161, the battery is clamped by the two side cutting knives 151 driven by the third driving mechanism 152, then the battery is moved horizontally by the first pushing mechanism 153, so that the synchronous cutting of both sides is completed by the fixed side cutting knives 151. After cutting, the second robot 161 sucks the battery shell and lifts it, so that the internal battery cell naturally falls into the collection groove 154 below, and finally is output to the next process (for example, the first operation station 191) through the belt conveying line 190, while the second robot 161 transfers the waste shell to the first waste box 193.

[0058] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1 , the battery automatic disassembly equipment 1 further includes a belt conveying line 190, a first operation station 191, and a second operation station. The input end of the belt conveying line 190 is arranged below the collection groove 154. The first operation station 191 is arranged at the output end of the belt conveying line 190, for manually reducing the battery cell and transferring it to the second operation station 192. The second operation station 192 is used for manually disassembling the outer plastic film (for example, the cell covering film 24 in Figure 3 ) and adhesive tape of the battery cell, and transferring the battery cell to the battery cell cutting and sorting device 17. The manually removed outer plastic film and adhesive tape are placed into the second waste box 194.

[0059] As shown in Figure 1 , Figure 7 , and Figure 8As shown, the battery cell cutting and sorting device 17 is used for cutting and sorting the positive and negative electrode sheets of the separated battery cell, and comprises a third support frame 170, a separator flattening mechanism 171, a separator cutting mechanism 172, a separator picking mechanism 173, a protective cover 174, and at least two second collection boxes 175, wherein: the third support frame 170 is arranged on the platform 10; the separator flattening mechanism 171, the separator cutting mechanism 172, and the separator picking mechanism 173 are installed on the upper part of the third support frame 170; the at least two second collection boxes 175 are placed on the lower part of the third support frame 170 below the separator picking mechanism 173, and are used for collecting the positive and negative electrode sheets after cutting; and the protective cover 174 is arranged outside the third support frame 170.

[0060] The separator flattening mechanism 171 is used for flattening the battery cell separator and fixing the end of the battery cell, and comprises a guide roller 1710, a clamping roller 1711, a second support seat 1712, and a third support seat 1713.

[0061] In this embodiment, the second support seat 1712 and the third support seat 1713 are installed on a fixed bottom plate 1720, the fixed bottom plate 1720 is installed on the third support frame 170, and the guide roller 1710 is installed on the third support seat 1713. The clamping roller 1711 is installed on the second support seat 1712. The clamping roller 1711 comprises an upper roller 1711a and a lower roller 1711b, and the upper roller 1711a is installed on the second support seat 1712 through an elastic pressing assembly 1714.

[0062] In this embodiment, the elastic pressing assembly 1714 comprises a sliding groove 1714a, a sliding block 1714b, a lead screw 1714c, a spring 1714d, and an adjusting wheel 1714e, wherein the sliding groove 1714a is vertically arranged on the second support seat 1712, the sliding block 1714b is embedded in the sliding groove 1714a to form a sliding fit, the upper roller 1711a is installed below the sliding block 1714b, one end of the lead screw 1714c is connected (e.g. screwed into or fixed to) the sliding block 1714b, the other end passes through the second support seat 1712 upwards and is connected with the adjusting wheel 1714e, and the spring 1714d is sleeved on the outer periphery of the lead screw 1714c, and two ends thereof act on the sliding block 1714b and the second support seat 1712 respectively.

[0063] During operation, rotating the adjusting wheel 1714e drives the lead screw 1714c to rotate. The rotational motion of the lead screw 1714c is converted into the linear lifting motion of the slider 1714b through the threaded joint. When the slider 1714b moves upward, it compresses the spring 1714d. The degree of compression of the spring 1714d (i.e., the pre-compression) determines the initial pressure it applies to the slider 1714b. This initial pressure is transmitted to the upper roller 1711a through the slider 1714b, causing it to press against the lower roller 1711b. By adjusting the adjusting wheel 1714e, the initial clamping force between the upper roller 1711a and the lower roller 1711b can be precisely set.

[0064] As an elastic element, spring 1714d can absorb fluctuations caused by minute changes in the workpiece diameter or slight bounces. When the workpiece (diaphragm 251 in this embodiment) passes through, if there is a momentary increase in thickness or bounce, the upper roller 1711a will overcome the spring force and lift slightly upwards (slider 1714b moves upwards along the groove 1714a), thereby avoiding hard jamming or damage to the workpiece. After the fluctuations subside, spring 1714d will push the upper roller 1711a back to its original position, continuing to maintain a constant pressure to clamp the workpiece. This "elastic floating" design ensures the continuity and stability of the clamping force, achieving "constant pressure" clamping of the workpiece, while also possessing good self-adaptive capabilities.

[0065] The diaphragm cutting mechanism 172, located downstream of the diaphragm flattening mechanism 171, is used to cut the battery cell diaphragm. The diaphragm cutting mechanism 172 includes a fixed base plate 1720, a cutting module 1721, a first support base 1722, and a pressing mechanism 1723. The fixed base plate 1720 is mounted on the third support frame 170; the cutting module 1721 is mounted on the fixed base plate 1720, and its driving direction is aligned with the cutting seam of the battery cell (e.g., the cutting module). Figure 10 The cutting slit 252 extends perpendicularly to the cutting direction and is used to perform the cutting action. A cutting blade (not shown) is mounted on the movable end of the cutting module 1721. The first support 1722 is fixed on the fixed base plate 1720 and is located below the movement path of the cutting blade to support the diaphragm 251 during cutting. The first support 1722 is preferably an inverted U-shaped structure to provide space for the drive component of the cutting module 1721. The drive component of the cutting module 1721 can be, for example, electric (such as an electric push rod, servo electric cylinder), pneumatic (such as a cylinder), or hydraulic (such as an oil cylinder, hydraulic motor). The clamping mechanism 1723 is located above the first support 1722 and moves downward before cutting to clamp the diaphragm 251 onto the first support 1722. The cutting blade moves in the gap between the clamping mechanism 1723 and the first support 1722 to complete the cutting.

[0066] The pressing mechanism 1723 comprises an upper support plate 1723a, at least one second guide rod 1723b, a pressing block 1723c, and a fourth driving mechanism 1723d. In this embodiment, the number of second guide rods 1723b is two, and the two second guide rods 1723b are fixed between the upper support plate 1723a and the first support seat 1722; the second guide rod 1723b passes through the pressing block 1723c; the fourth driving mechanism 1723d is fixed on the upper support plate 1723a and connected with the pressing block 1723c, and is used for driving the pressing block 1723c to ascend and descend along the second guide rod 1723b. The fourth driving mechanism 1723d may be, for example, in the form of electricity (such as an electric push rod, a servo electric cylinder), gas (such as a pneumatic cylinder), or liquid pressure (such as an oil cylinder, a hydraulic motor), etc.

[0067] The diaphragm pickup mechanism 173 is located downstream of the diaphragm cutting mechanism 172 and comprises a module support 1730, a transverse module 1731, a fifth driving mechanism 1732, a fixed seat 1733, and at least one clamping jaw 1734. The transverse module 1731 is installed on the third support frame 170 through the module support 1730, the fifth driving mechanism 1732 is connected to the transverse module 1731 through the fixed seat 1733, and the at least one clamping jaw 1734 is installed on the movable end of the fifth driving mechanism 1732. The fifth driving mechanism 1732 may be, for example, in the form of electricity (such as an electric push rod, a servo electric cylinder), gas (such as a pneumatic cylinder), or liquid pressure (such as an oil cylinder, a hydraulic motor), etc. In this embodiment, the number of clamping jaws 1734 is three, but this is not limiting.

[0068] In some embodiments, the battery cell cutting and sorting device 17 further comprises an operation terminal 176 installed on the third support frame 170 or the protective cover 174 and electrically connected to the diaphragm flattening mechanism 171, the diaphragm cutting machine 12, and the diaphragm pickup mechanism 173.

[0069] The working process of the battery cell cutting and sorting device 17 is as follows:

[0070] (1) Manual feeding and initialization: the operator guides the diaphragm at the head of the battery cell to pass through the guide and clamping rollers, places it in the cutting station, manually completes the first tab cutting, and confirms the polarity of the first tab at the operation terminal, thereby setting a reference for subsequent automatic sorting.

[0071] Specifically, the operator separates the diaphragm 251 at the head of the battery cell assembly, places the diaphragm 251 on the guide roller 1710 and passes it between the upper roller 1711a and the lower roller 1711b of the clamping roller 1711, and extends into the cutting path of the cutting module 1721, aligns the cutting seam (for example, the cutting seam 252 of a certain battery cell in the prior art) of the first positive and negative tab with the cutting blade, presses the diaphragm 251, cuts, and confirms the positive and negative of the first tab at the operation terminal 176. Figure 10 ​

[0072] In a stacked cell (such as Figure 9 In a stacked cell (such as

[0073] (2) Automatic cutting and sorting cycle: After initialization, the cell cutting and sorting device 17 automatically executes the following cycle according to the preset program: clamping and pulling, the clamping jaw mechanism clamps the separator, the horizontal moving module pulls it to move a fixed length step (for example, equal to the length of the electrode sheet), and the next group of electrode sheets is accurately positioned to the cutting station; pressing and cutting, the pressing mechanism acts to reliably press the separator, and then the separator cutting mechanism performs accurate cutting; intelligent sorting, the horizontal moving module transports the cut electrode sheet to the corresponding positive or negative electrode collection box according to the program instructions.

[0074] Specifically, the plurality of clamping jaws 1734 are opened under the action of the fifth driving mechanism 1732, the cross-moving module 1731 drives the clamping jaws 1734 to move to the grabbing position, the clamping jaws 1734 are closed to clamp the diaphragm 251, and the pressing block 1723c rises under the action of the fourth driving mechanism 1723d. The cross-moving module 1731 drives the clamping jaws 1734 to move by one step. The pressing block 1723c descends under the action of the fourth driving mechanism 1723d to press the diaphragm 251. At this time, the cutting module 1721 drives the cutting blade on the movable end to move linearly in a direction perpendicular to the pulling direction of the diaphragm 251, and the cutting blade cuts the diaphragm 251 along the cutting seam 252 in the width direction of the diaphragm 251 to completely cut the diaphragm 251, so that a complete pole piece is separated from the battery cell. The cross-moving module 1731 drives the clamping jaws 1734 to move the cut diaphragm 251 above the specified second collection box 175, releases the clamping jaws 1734, and the pole piece falls into the second collection box 175. The positive and negative pole pieces are placed according to the predetermined program of the operation terminal 176. For example, the predetermined program has preset two coordinate positions corresponding to the upper part of the positive pole piece collection box (for example, the third collection box 1750) and the upper part of the negative pole piece collection box (for example, the fourth collection box 1751). When the cutting action is completed, the cross-moving module 1731 is not randomly moved, but moves according to the "polarity" of the current pole piece calculated by the program to execute the corresponding movement command. For example, when the program determines that the current is the 1st, 3rd, 5th... (positive) pole piece, it instructs the cross-moving module 1731 to move to the upper part of the positive pole piece collection box. When the program determines that the current is the 2nd, 4th, 6th... (negative) pole piece, it instructs the cross-moving module 1731 to move to the upper part of the negative pole piece collection box. After reaching the upper part of the specified collection box, the clamping jaws 1734 are released, and the pole piece falls into the corresponding second collection box 175 by gravity, completing the sorting.

[0075] In some other examples, the battery cutting and sorting device 17 can also be provided with a camera (not shown in the figure) to identify the position of the cutting seam 252 of the battery cell, so as to realize flexible production.

[0076] The following is a method embodiment corresponding to the above-mentioned device embodiment. The technical details mentioned in the above-mentioned embodiment are still valid in this embodiment. In order to reduce repetition, they will not be repeated here. Correspondingly, the technical details mentioned in this embodiment can also be applied to the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0077] As shown in Figure 11 or Figure 12 Another embodiment of the present application provides a battery automatic disassembly method 3, which adopts the above-mentioned battery automatic disassembly device 1 and comprises the following steps:

[0078] S30: Provide the battery to be disassembled, detect the voltage of the battery to be disassembled and select the qualified battery.

[0079] Specifically, the feeding device 11 of the battery automatic disassembly equipment 1 provides the battery to be disassembled, the voltage detection device 12 detects the voltage of the battery to be disassembled to select the qualified battery and the unqualified battery, the first robot 160 of the transfer device 16 puts the unqualified battery into the first collection box 18 and puts the qualified battery onto the anti-explosion valve end milling mechanism 130. Figure 12 The unqualified product storage table is, for example, the first collection box 18.

[0080] S31: After milling the anti-explosion valve of the qualified battery, the battery is inverted to discharge the electrolyte.

[0081] After the anti-explosion valve end milling mechanism 130 completes the milling of the opening, the first robot 160 moves the battery with the opening to above the collection hole 1310 of the electrolyte collection box 131 and inverts it in the collection hole 1310, the electrolyte in the battery is discharged through the milled opening under the action of gravity, and a safe and controllable liquid discharge process is completed. The battery that has completed the electrolyte discharge is transferred to the next station (for example, the battery end cutting mechanism 14) by the first robot 160.

[0082] S32: The battery that has completed the electrolyte discharge is cut at the end and cut on the side.

[0083] The battery that has completed the electrolyte discharge is cut at the end by the battery end cutting mechanism 14 of the disassembly device, and the battery that has been cut at the end is cut on the side by the battery side cutting mechanism 15.

[0084] Step 32 includes: driving a pair of side cutting knives to move towards each other to clamp the battery from both sides; and pushing the clamped battery through a cutting channel formed by the pair of side cutting knives to synchronously complete the cutting of the two side shells.

[0085] S33: Separate the cell from the cut shell.

[0086] The shell of the battery that has been cut on the side is sucked or clamped by the second robot 161 of the transfer device 16 and lifted, so that the cell is separated from the shell under the action of gravity and falls into the collection groove 154, and finally output to the first operation station 191 through the belt conveying line 190, while the second robot 161 transfers the waste shell to the first waste box 193. The first operation station 191 is provided at the output end of the belt conveying line 190, and the manual operator located here takes the cell from the belt conveying line 190 and transfers it to the second operation station 192; the second operation station 192 is used for manually disassembling the outer plastic film (for example, the cell covering film 24 in Figure 3 The cell cutting and sorting device 17.

[0087] S34: cutting and sorting the positive and negative electrode sheets of the separated battery cell.

[0088] The cutting and sorting of the positive and negative electrode sheets of the separated battery cell are performed by the battery cell cutting and sorting device 17.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 7, step S34 specifically includes: Figure 13

[0090] S340: pre-treating the battery cell.

[0091] The outer plastic film (e.g., the battery cell coating film 24 in FIG. 1) and the adhesive tape of the battery cell are manually disassembled by the second operation station 192. Figure 3

[0092] S341: positioning the cutting seam in the pre-treated battery cell to the cutting station in sequence by the fixed-length traction diaphragm and cutting.

[0093] The step distance of the fixed-length traction is equal to the length of a single electrode sheet. The cutting station refers to the cutting blade below the movable end of the cutting module 1721.

[0094] S342: according to the preset sorting logic, the cut positive and negative electrode sheets are respectively put into different collection boxes. The sorting according to the preset sorting logic includes: the operation terminal 176 receives the confirmation signal of the polarity of the first cut electrode sheet; based on the confirmation signal and the number of cycles of the fixed-length traction, the polarity of each subsequent cut electrode sheet is determined, and the put-in position is controlled.

[0095] For the detailed automatic workflow of steps S341 and S342, refer to the foregoing specific embodiment part of the battery cell cutting and sorting device 17 in the specification.

[0096] In summary, the battery automatic disassembly equipment and method provided by the present application realizes the automatic disassembly function of waste power lithium batteries, including: automatic logistics transfer, robot transfer, battery detection, cutting, manual cleaning, sheet battery cutting, and sorting, etc., which improves the battery disassembly production efficiency, reduces the operation risk, reduces the number of operators, and reduces the cost.

[0097] The embodiments of the present application are described above in combination with the drawings, but the present application is not limited to the foregoing specific embodiments, which are only illustrative but not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many forms under the inspiration of the present application without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope protected by the claims, which all belong to the protection scope of the present application.​​

Claims

1. An automated battery disassembly device, comprising a platform, characterized in that, The platform integrates and installs: A feeding device is used to provide batteries to be disassembled; A voltage detection device is used to detect the voltage of the battery to be disassembled and to screen out qualified and unqualified batteries. An electrolyte discharge device includes an explosion-proof valve end milling mechanism and an electrolyte collection tank. The explosion-proof valve end milling mechanism is configured to mill holes in the explosion-proof valve of the qualified battery. After the holes are opened, the battery is placed upside down above the electrolyte collection tank for electrolyte discharge. The disassembly device includes a battery end-cutting mechanism and a battery side-cutting mechanism, which are used to cut off the ends and cut open the sides of the battery after the electrolyte has been drained, respectively. A transfer device is used to automatically transfer batteries between the feeding device, the voltage detection device, the electrolyte discharge device and the disassembly device, and to perform the operation of separating the battery cells from the battery casing. At least one cell cutting and sorting device is used to cut and sort the positive and negative electrode plates of the separated cells.

2. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding device includes a guiding and transporting unit and a battery storage platform. The battery storage platform includes a first support frame and multiple trays, and the multiple trays are arranged in an array on the first support frame.

3. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The voltage detection device includes: Second support frame; A battery positioning seat, mounted on the second support frame, is used to fix the battery to be disassembled; The first drive mechanism is mounted on the second support frame; The detection bracket is connected to the first drive mechanism and is driven by the first drive mechanism to move up and down; A pair of detection heads are elastically connected to the detection bracket via a buffer component, and the detection heads are electrically connected to a signal processing unit; The first driving mechanism drives the detection bracket to make the detection head contact the positive and negative terminals of the battery fixed on the battery positioning seat.

4. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The explosion-proof valve end milling mechanism includes a milling motor and a three-dimensional moving platform that moves along the X, Y, and Z axes.

5. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transfer device includes a first robot and a second robot. The first robot is used to transfer the battery to be disassembled from the feeding device to the voltage detection device, and place the unqualified battery into the first collection box, and transfer the qualified battery to the electrolyte discharge device and the battery end cutting mechanism in sequence. The second robot is used to transfer the battery with the end cut off from the battery end cutting mechanism to the battery side cutting mechanism, and perform the separation operation of the cell and the casing.

6. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The battery end-cutting mechanism includes: At least one first guide rod; The cutter holder is slidably connected to the first guide rod; A cutter is mounted on the cutter holder; The second drive mechanism is used to drive the cutter holder to move linearly along the first guide rod.

7. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The battery side-cutting mechanism includes: A pair of side cutters, the pair of side cutters being arranged opposite each other and forming a cutting channel between them; The third drive mechanism is used to drive the pair of side cutters to move towards or away from each other; The first pushing mechanism has a pushing direction that is the same as the axial direction of the cutting channel.

8. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that, The battery side-cutting mechanism also includes a collection groove, which is located at the end of the cutting channel.

9. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: A belt conveyor line, wherein the input end of the belt conveyor line is located below the end of the battery side cutting mechanism; The first operating station is located at the output end of the belt conveyor line; The second operating station is used to remove the outer plastic film and tape of the battery cell and transfer the battery cell to the battery cell cutting and sorting device.

10. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cell cutting and sorting device includes a third support frame, a diaphragm flattening mechanism, a diaphragm cutting mechanism, a diaphragm picking mechanism, and at least two second collection boxes mounted on the third support frame, wherein: The diaphragm flattening mechanism is used to flatten the battery cell diaphragm and fix the battery cell end; The diaphragm cutting mechanism is located downstream of the diaphragm flattening mechanism and is used to cut the cell diaphragm. The diaphragm picking mechanism, located downstream of the diaphragm cutting mechanism, includes a transverse module and at least one gripper mounted on the movable end of the transverse module, wherein the transverse module is configured to drive the gripper to move between the cutting station of the diaphragm cutting mechanism and above the collection box. The two second collection boxes are located below the diaphragm pickup mechanism and are used to classify and collect the positive and negative electrode sheets after the battery cells have been cut.

11. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 10, characterized in that, The diaphragm cutting mechanism includes: A fixed base plate is installed on the third support frame; A cutting module is installed on the fixed base plate, and a cutting blade is installed on the movable end of the cutting module; The first support is disposed below the cutting path of the cutting module; The clamping mechanism is located above the first support base.

12. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 11, characterized in that, The clamping mechanism includes: Upper support plate; At least one second guide rod is fixed to the upper support plate; The clamping block is slidably connected to the guide rod; The fourth drive mechanism is fixed to the upper support plate and connected to the clamping block, and is used to drive the clamping block to move up and down along the second guide rod.

13. The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to claim 10, characterized in that, The cell cutting and sorting device also includes an operation terminal, which is installed on the third support frame and electrically connected to the diaphragm flattening mechanism, the diaphragm cutting mechanism and the diaphragm picking mechanism.

14. A method for automatically disassembling a battery, characterized in that, The automatic battery disassembly equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 13 includes the following steps: Provide batteries to be disassembled, detect the voltage of the batteries to be disassembled, and screen out qualified batteries; After milling the explosion-proof valve of the qualified battery, the battery is inverted to drain the electrolyte; The battery after the electrolyte has been drained is cut off at the end and cut open at the side; Separate the battery cell from the cut-open casing; The separated battery cells are then cut and sorted for positive and negative electrodes.

15. The automatic battery disassembly method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The process of cutting and sorting the positive and negative electrode sheets of the separated battery cells also includes the following steps: Pre-processing of the battery cells; By using a fixed-length traction diaphragm, the cutting seams in the pre-treated battery cells are sequentially positioned to the cutting station and cut. According to the preset sorting logic, the cut positive and negative electrode sheets are placed into different collection boxes respectively.

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