Battery feeding equipment and method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of lithium ion battery manufacturing, in particular to battery feeding equipment and method. A cartridge holder loading unit of the equipment is used for loading multiple layers of stacked batteries, a material taking manipulator is used for extracting the batteries in the cartridge holder loading unit layer by layer, an air blowing device is arranged around the cartridge holder loading unit and used for blowing air to the stacked battery layers, and a control unit is electrically connected with the material taking manipulator and the air blowing device. The control unit is used for judging whether a preset condition is met or not according to the material taking state and controlling the air blowing device to work when the preset condition is met; the blowing device is arranged around the clip loading unit, condition triggering is achieved through the control unit according to the material taking state, airflow can be blown into the battery layers in time at the key stage of negative pressure formation between the battery layers, the approximate vacuum state between the layers is damaged, the battery adhesion phenomenon is eliminated, and it is avoided that multiple layers of batteries are extracted at the same time; potential safety hazards such as short circuit and fire are reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of lithium ion battery manufacturing, in particular to a battery loading device and method. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the production process of lithium ion batteries, the formation process is a key link for the first charge-discharge test of the battery. At present, the formation equipment usually adopts the way of loading by magazine to load, that is, the batteries to be formed are stacked in the magazine loading unit. Taking the ACT (automatic formation test) formation equipment as an example, each group of magazines can load about 30 batteries, and the battery is extracted layer by layer by the taking mechanism according to the preset program and transferred to the formation station.

[0003] However, in actual production, it is found that when the batteries in the magazine are extracted layer by layer, the batteries at the lower position of the magazine will be continuously extruded due to the gravity of the upper batteries. Especially the batteries at the 15th to 30th layers, since part of the batteries above have been extracted, the contact surface between the remaining batteries will form a negative pressure state similar to a vacuum under the action of gravity. The surface of the battery is usually covered with a protective film, and the adjacent battery layers will be adhered under the action of negative pressure.

[0004] When the taking mechanism grabs the battery in the adhered area, it often extracts multiple layers of batteries at the same time. In this case, multiple batteries may collide, extrude, or even cause short circuit during the transfer process, which has a great safety hazard.

[0005] The commonly used solution in the industry is to reduce the number of magazine loading or increase the taking frequency, but this will reduce the production efficiency and increase the equipment wear. There are also special surface treatment methods, but this will increase the production cost.

[0006] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a technical solution that can effectively eliminate the adhesion between battery layers without affecting the production efficiency. SUMMARY

[0007] The purpose of the present application is to provide a battery loading device and method to solve the adhesion problem caused by negative pressure between battery layers during the loading process of the battery formation process.

[0008] To achieve this purpose, the present application adopts the following technical solutions: In a first aspect, the present application provides a battery loading device, comprising: a magazine loading unit for loading multiple layers of stacked batteries; a taking mechanism for extracting the batteries in the magazine loading unit layer by layer; a blowing device arranged around the magazine loading unit for blowing air to the stacked battery layers; A control unit is electrically connected with the material taking robot and the air blowing device, and is configured to determine whether a preset condition is met according to a material taking state, and control the air blowing device to work when the preset condition is met.

[0009] Preferably, the air blowing device comprises a gas source unit, a gas pressure regulating valve and at least one air blowing pipe, the gas source unit is configured to provide compressed gas, the gas source unit is connected with the air blowing pipe through the gas pressure regulating valve, and the gas pressure regulating valve is configured to regulate the pressure of the compressed gas.

[0010] Preferably, the air blowing device is arranged on the side of the magazine loading unit, and the air blowing pipe is provided with at least one air outlet, and the air outlet is directed towards the stacked battery layer.

[0011] Specifically, the battery feeding device comprises two groups of air blowing devices arranged on opposite sides of the magazine loading unit, and the air outlets of the air blowing pipes corresponding to the two groups of air blowing devices are arranged oppositely, so that the air flows blown by the two groups of air blowing devices form intersecting air flows.

[0012] Preferably, the air blowing device further comprises an angle adjusting mechanism connected with the air blowing pipe, and the angle adjusting mechanism is configured to adjust the angle of the air blowing pipe.

[0013] Specifically, the gas pressure regulating valve can regulate the pressure of the compressed gas to 0.1 MPa to 0.8 MPa, and the adjustable angle range of the air blowing pipe is 0° to 90°.

[0014] Preferably, the air blowing pipe is provided with a plurality of air outlets, and the plurality of air outlets are distributed along the length direction of the air blowing pipe.

[0015] Preferably, when the total number of battery layers loaded in the magazine loading unit is N, the preset layer threshold value M is 40% to 60% of the total number of battery layers N loaded in the magazine loading unit, wherein M≤N, and M and N are both natural numbers greater than 0.

[0016] Preferably, the control unit comprises a counting unit, a timing unit and a storage unit, the counting unit is configured to count the number of extracted battery layers, and the preset condition is that the number of extracted battery layers reaches a preset layer threshold value; The timing unit is configured to control the air blowing duration of the air blowing device, and the air blowing duration is 1 second to 10 seconds. The storage unit stores preset control parameters for different battery specifications, and the preset control parameters include the preset condition and the air blowing duration.

[0017] In a second aspect, the present application provides a battery feeding method, which comprises the following steps: S1, stacking N layers of batteries in a cartridge loading unit; S2, starting a material taking process, and using a material taking manipulator to extract the batteries in the cartridge loading unit layer by layer; S3, detecting a material taking state and judging whether a preset condition is met; S4, when the preset condition is met, starting a blowing device to blow air to the remaining unextracted battery layer; S5, stopping blowing air after a preset time of continuous blowing air; S6, continuing to extract the next layer of batteries; S7, repeating steps S3 to S6 until all the batteries are extracted.

[0018] Preferably, the detecting the material taking state comprises counting the number of extracted battery layers in real time, the preset condition is that the number of extracted battery layers reaches a preset layer number threshold M, and the preset layer number threshold M is 40% to 60% of the total number of battery layers N, wherein M≤N, and M and N are both natural numbers greater than 0.

[0019] Preferably, the preset time is 1 second to 10 seconds, the blowing angle is 0° to 90°, and the blowing air pressure is 0.1 MPa to 0.8 MPa.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the following beneficial effects: On the one hand, by setting a blowing device around the cartridge loading unit and triggering the condition by the control unit according to the material taking state, air flow can be blown into the battery layer in time at the key stage of the negative pressure formed between the battery layers, the near-vacuum state between the layers is destroyed, the battery adhesion phenomenon is eliminated, multiple layers of batteries are avoided from being extracted at the same time, and the safety hazards such as short circuit and fire are reduced. On the other hand, an intelligent judgment mechanism based on the material taking state is adopted, and the blowing device is started only when needed. Compared with the continuous blowing method, the energy consumption and gas source consumption are reduced, and the interference on the production environment is reduced. On the other hand, by setting an angle adjusting mechanism and a pressure adjusting valve, the blowing device can flexibly adjust the blowing parameters according to different battery specifications and different stacking numbers, without the need for large-scale modification of the existing feeding equipment, and the implementation cost is low.

[0021] The present application has other characteristics and advantages, which will be apparent or will be described in detail in the accompanying drawings and the subsequent specific embodiments incorporated herein, which together serve to explain the specific principles of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or prior art description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description only constitute some embodiments of the present application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can also be obtained from these drawings without creative labor.

[0023] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of the battery feeding equipment of the first embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Figure 2 is Figure 1 the front view.

[0025] Figure 3 is Figure 1 the top view.

[0026] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the position relationship between the battery feeding equipment and the cartridge loading unit when a plurality of air injection ports are arranged on the section of the air blowing pipe close to the sealing end in the first embodiment of the present application.

[0027] Figure 5 is a circuit connection block diagram of the control unit, the material taking manipulator and the air blowing device in the first embodiment of the present application.

[0028] Figure 6 is a flow chart of the battery feeding method of the second embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or prior art description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description only constitute some embodiments of the present application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can also be obtained from these drawings without creative labor.

[0030] Embodiment one Please refer to Figures 1-5 , the battery feeding equipment of the present embodiment can be applied to the battery feeding process of the ACT (Active Formation, formation) formation equipment, and the battery feeding equipment comprises a cartridge loading unit 1, a material taking manipulator 2, an air blowing device 3 and a control unit 4.

[0031] The clip loading unit 1 is used to load the multi-layer stacked batteries 5, and the batteries 5 are soft package batteries in this embodiment. The clip loading unit 1 is in the shape of a rectangular frame, and a plurality of layered support plates are arranged inside the clip loading unit 1, and each layered support plate is used to support the batteries of each layer. The clip loading unit 1 in this embodiment has thirty layered support plates, and can load thirty layers in total. Generally, one battery 5 can be placed in each layer. The clip loading unit 1 provides lifting force in the Z-axis direction to lift the batteries 5 at the top layer of the clip loading unit 1 to a preset height, so that the taking manipulator 2 can grasp the batteries 5. The preset height corresponds to the position of the taking manipulator 2, and corresponds to the grasping area. When the batteries 5 at the top layer are taken away, the batteries 5 at the next top layer are lifted to the preset height by the clip loading unit 1, so that the taking manipulator 2 can grasp the batteries 5.

[0032] It should be noted that the specific structure and working mode of the clip loading unit 1 are not the focus of the present application, and will not be described here. Any structure that can stably and reliably lift the batteries 5 at the top layer to a preset height can be used as the clip loading unit 1 in this embodiment.

[0033] The taking manipulator 2 is arranged above the clip loading unit 1, and is used to extract the batteries 5 in the clip loading unit 1 layer by layer. Specifically, the taking manipulator 2 includes a driving motor 21, a mechanical arm 22, and a grasping clamp 23. The grasping clamp 23 can adopt a vacuum adsorption mode, which can stably grasp a single layer of batteries and transfer them to the disassembly device. Of course, in other preferred modes, the grasping clamp 23 can also adopt an adhesive, mechanical clamping, or other mode to grasp the batteries 5, which is not limited here.

[0034] The taking manipulator 2 is electrically connected to the control unit 4, and can extract the batteries 5 layer by layer from the top layer (the first layer) downward according to a preset program until the batteries 5 at the bottom layer (the thirtieth layer) are taken out. Further, the taking manipulator 2 can be connected to a moving platform that can move along the XYZ platform, so that the taking manipulator 2 can move flexibly on the XYZ platform, and the flexible transfer of the batteries 5 and the flexible adjustment of the grasping height can be realized.

[0035] The blowing device 3 is arranged around the clip loading unit 1, and is used to blow air to the stacked battery layers. Specifically, the blowing device 3 in this embodiment is arranged on the side of the clip loading unit 1, and the side can be the circumferential side of the clip loading unit 1 at any height.

[0036] The blowing device 3 includes a gas source unit (not shown in the figure), a gas pressure regulating valve 33, a blowing pipe 32, an angle adjusting mechanism 35, and a support assembly 36. The gas source unit is used to provide compressed gas, and the compressed gas is generally air. For example, the gas source unit adopts an air compressor to provide stable compressed air. The gas source unit is connected to the gas pressure regulating valve 33 through a gas pipe.

[0037] The air pressure regulating valve 33 is arranged between the air source unit and the air blowing pipe 32, and is used to regulate the pressure of the compressed air. The air pressure regulating valve 33 can regulate the pressure of the compressed air to a range of 0.1 MPa to 0.8 MPa to meet the requirement of negative pressure air blowing. The air pressure regulating valve 33 of the present embodiment is preferably set to 0.3 MPa, which can effectively destroy the negative pressure state between the battery layers while not causing damage to the appearance of the battery 5.

[0038] The air blowing pipe 32 is in communication with the air source unit and receives the compressed air regulated by the air pressure regulating valve 33. Specifically, the air blowing pipe 32 can be a hard pipe or a soft pipe, and the length direction thereof needs to be arranged along the height direction of the cartridge loading unit 1. Generally, one end of the air blowing pipe 32 is in communication with the air source unit, and the other end is directed towards the battery layers stacked in the cartridge loading unit 1 to prevent the adhesion between the batteries 5 by means of single-point air jet, at this time, the end of the air blowing pipe 32 directed towards the battery layers stacked at a specified height in the cartridge loading unit 1 is the air jet port 34, such as the air jet port 34 directed towards the battery layers stacked in the cartridge loading unit 1 along the X-axis direction.

[0039] Further, in order to better improve the air blowing effect, in other preferred modes, one end of the air blowing pipe 32 is in communication with the air source unit, the other end is sealed, and the section of the air blowing pipe 32 close to the sealed end is transversely directed towards the battery layers stacked at a specified height in the cartridge loading unit 1, such as the section of the air blowing pipe 32 close to the sealed end being transversely directed towards the battery layers stacked in the cartridge loading unit 1 along the Y-axis direction. The section of the air blowing pipe 32 close to the sealed end is provided with a plurality of air jet ports 34, and the air jet ports 34 are spaced apart along the length direction of the air blowing pipe 32 to prevent the adhesion between the batteries 5 by means of multi-point air jet, at this time, each air jet port 34 is directed towards the battery layers stacked in the cartridge loading unit 1 along the X-axis direction. For example, the present embodiment has ten air jet ports 34, and the ten air jet ports 34 are uniformly distributed along the air blowing pipe 32, and these air jet ports 34 are all directed towards the battery layers stacked at a specified height, so that the compressed air can be directly blown to the battery layers stacked at a specified height in a planar manner, and it is ensured that the air flow blown can effectively destroy the negative pressure state between the battery layers.

[0040] The angle adjusting mechanism 35 is connected with the air blowing pipe 32 and is used to adjust the angle of the air blowing pipe 32. The adjustable angle range of the air blowing pipe 32 is 0° to 90°. The angle adjusting mechanism 35 includes a rotary joint (not shown in the figure) and a locking device (not shown in the figure), the rotary joint allows the air blowing pipe 32 to rotate in a vertical plane, specifically, 0° corresponds to the air blowing pipe 32 being placed horizontally, and 90° corresponds to the air blowing pipe 32 being placed vertically downward. The locking device adopts a bolt fastening mode to fix the air blowing pipe 32 after the angle is adjusted. The angle of the air blowing pipe 32 of the present embodiment can be set to 45°, which can make the air flow effectively blow into the battery layers, and it will neither cause the air flow to be unable to penetrate due to too small angle, nor cause the air flow to be dispersed due to too large angle.

[0041] The bracket assembly 36 is used to fix the blowing device 3, which can be made of aluminum alloy profile and is fixed on the side of the magazine loading unit 1 by bolts to ensure that the blowing device 3 will not be displaced during the blowing process. The blowing device 3 can be adjusted in Y-Z direction on the bracket assembly 36 by sliding, disassembling or the like.

[0042] Further, the embodiment includes two groups of blowing devices 3 arranged on opposite sides of the magazine loading unit 1, i.e. left side and right side. Each group of blowing devices 3 includes one air source unit, one air pressure regulating valve 33, one blowing pipe 32 and one angle adjusting mechanism 35. The corresponding blowing pipe 32 of the two groups of blowing devices 3 is arranged oppositely, i.e. the blowing pipe 32 on the left side has the jet port 34 facing the right side, and the blowing pipe 32 on the right side has the jet port 34 facing the left side. The height and direction of the corresponding jet ports 34 on the two sides correspond to each other. When the two groups of blowing devices 3 work simultaneously, the blown air flow will meet inside the magazine loading unit 1 to form cross air flow to achieve better negative pressure separation effect. Of course, in other embodiments, three, four or five groups of blowing devices 3 can be included, and different numbers of blowing device groups can produce different blowing effects. It can be understood that the double-group cross air flow configuration can cover more evenly, which can ensure that all positions between the battery layers in the magazine can be blown by the air flow; the disturbance caused by the cross air flow is stronger, which can more effectively destroy the stubborn negative pressure state; and the simultaneous blowing on both sides can balance the pressure and avoid the battery displacement caused by unilateral blowing. The actual use shows that the design of double-group cross air flow can significantly improve the adhesion elimination effect compared with single-group blowing under the same air pressure and time conditions.

[0043] The control unit 4 is electrically connected with the material taking manipulator 2 and the blowing device 3, and is used to coordinate the work of the material taking manipulator 2 and the blowing device 3. The control unit 4 includes a controller 41, a counting unit 42, a timing unit 43 and a storage unit 44.

[0044] The controller 41 is used to execute the preset control program and coordinate the actions of various components, and can be a programmable logic control chip. The controller 41 is electrically connected with the material taking manipulator 2 to obtain the material taking state information, and is also electrically connected with the blowing device 3 to control the start and stop of the blowing device 3.

[0045] The counting unit 42 is used to count the number of extracted battery layers, and is connected with the material taking manipulator 2. The counting value of the counting unit 42 increases by 1 each time the material taking manipulator 2 completes a material taking action. The controller 41 judges whether the preset condition is met according to the counting value of the counting unit 42. The preset condition of the embodiment is specifically that the number of extracted battery layers reaches a preset layer number threshold M.

[0046] The total number of battery layers N loaded in the cartridge loading unit 1 of the present embodiment is thirty, and the preset layer threshold value M is set to fifteen, i.e. M is 50% of N. After the first fifteen layers of batteries are extracted, a significant negative pressure state begins to appear between the remaining sixteenth to thirtieth layers of batteries.

[0047] At this time, the air blowing device 3 is started to timely destroy the negative pressure and prevent the adhesion of the batteries between adjacent layers. The preset layer threshold value M of the present embodiment can be set within the range of 40% to 60% of N, because starting too early (e.g. after extracting five layers) will cause unnecessary energy consumption, and starting too late (e.g. after extracting twenty-five layers) may miss the best intervention opportunity, and the adhesion phenomenon may have been more serious.

[0048] The timing unit 43 is used to control the blowing duration of the air blowing device 3. When the controller 41 starts the air blowing device 3, the timing unit 43 starts timing. Preferably, the blowing duration can be set to 1-10 seconds. Specifically, the blowing duration of the present embodiment is set to 5 seconds, which can sufficiently destroy the interlayer negative pressure while avoiding energy waste caused by excessive blowing. For a stack of thirty layers of soft package batteries, a blowing time of 5 seconds can achieve the best effect. When the timing of the timing unit 43 reaches the preset time, the controller 41 sends a stop signal to the air blowing device 3, and the air blowing device 3 stops working.

[0049] It is worth noting that for different battery specifications and stack layers, the blowing duration needs to be adjusted accordingly. For example, for cartridges with fewer stack layers, the blowing duration can be appropriately shortened, while for cartridges with more stack layers, the blowing duration needs to be appropriately lengthened.

[0050] The storage unit 44 stores preset control parameters for different battery specifications, specifically, the preset control parameters include preset layer threshold value, blowing duration, blowing air pressure, blowing angle, etc. When the battery specification is changed, the operator selects the corresponding battery model through the control panel, and the controller 41 automatically calls the corresponding parameters stored in the storage unit 44. This design enables the device to flexibly adapt to different production needs without the need to adjust the hardware.

[0051] The working process of the battery loading equipment of the present embodiment is described in detail as follows: 1. After the magazine loading unit 1 loads thirty layers of batteries, the material handling robot 2 begins to extract batteries layer by layer from the top layer (first layer). The counting unit 42 counts the number of battery layers extracted in real time. The first layer is located at the top, and the 30th layer is located at the bottom. The material handling proceeds from top to bottom. When the count value of the counting unit 42 reaches 15 layers, that is, layers 1 to 15 have been extracted, and layers 16 to 30 (located at the bottom of the magazine) remain. The controller 41 determines that the preset conditions are met, and at this time, it sends a start signal to the air blowing device 3.

[0052] 2. After the air blowing device 3 is activated, the air source unit supplies compressed gas to the air blowing pipe 32. The compressed gas is adjusted to 0.3 MPa by the air pressure regulating valve 33 and then enters the air blowing pipe 32. It is blown from the jet nozzle 34 to the remaining fifteen battery layers (layers 16 to 30, located at the bottom of the magazine) in the magazine loading unit 1. Due to the adoption of a dual-set cross airflow configuration, the air blowing pipes 32 on both sides work simultaneously. The resulting cross airflow can effectively break the negative pressure state between layers 16 to 30 (the remaining unextracted lower battery layers).

[0053] 3. The timing unit 43 starts timing after the air blowing device 3 is started. After the air blowing continues for 5 seconds, the timing unit 43 sends a timing completion signal to the controller 41. The controller 41 then sends a stop signal to the air blowing device 3, and the air blowing device 3 stops working.

[0054] 4. The material handling robot 2 continues to extract the sixteenth layer of batteries. Since the negative pressure between the battery layers has been broken by blowing air, the batteries from the sixteenth to the thirtieth layer are no longer stuck together. The material handling robot 2 can successfully extract a single layer of batteries, avoiding the situation where multiple layers are grabbed at the same time.

[0055] 5. The robotic arm 2 continues to extract batteries layer by layer until all batteries have been extracted. During the entire extraction process, the air blowing device 3 is only activated once at a critical moment (after the fifteenth layer is extracted), which achieves the purpose of eliminating adhesion and avoids the energy waste caused by continuous air blowing.

[0056] It should be noted that this embodiment only sets one trigger point, namely, the air blowing is started after 15 layers are extracted. After that, the air blowing is not started again, and the robotic arm 2 continues to work until all 30 layers of batteries are extracted. Of course, in other embodiments, multiple air blowing trigger points can be set according to actual needs, such as setting a trigger point every certain number of battery layers, or setting an air blowing trigger point for each battery layer.

[0057] Example 2 Please see Figures 1-6 The battery loading method of this embodiment is applied to the battery loading process of the ACT formation equipment. This method can be implemented using the battery loading equipment described in Embodiment 1, and includes the following steps: S1, stack N layers of batteries 5 in the clip loading unit 1. In this embodiment, N = 30, i.e. load 30 layers of soft package batteries. Batteries 5 are placed on the layered support plate of the clip loading unit 1 layer by layer, with the first layer at the top and the 30th layer at the bottom, and the loading is carried out from bottom to top.

[0058] When loading, attention should be paid to the consistent direction of the positive and negative electrodes of the batteries to ensure the correct electrical connection in the subsequent formation process. After loading is completed, place the clip loading unit 1 in the feeding station of the formation equipment.

[0059] S2, start the material taking process and use the material taking manipulator 2 to extract the batteries 5 in the clip loading unit 1 layer by layer. The material taking is carried out from top to bottom, and the material taking manipulator 2 starts from the first layer (top layer) and extracts the batteries layer by layer from top to bottom, i.e. the first layer (top layer), the second layer,..., and the 30th layer (bottom layer). The grabbing clamp of the material taking manipulator 2 uses vacuum suction, and when it is lowered above the battery, the vacuum suction is turned on to grab the battery, and then the battery is transferred to the formation station and the material taking manipulator 2 returns to grab the next layer of batteries. S3, during the material taking process, the control unit 4 continuously detects the material taking state. The detection of the material taking state includes real-time counting of the number of layers of batteries that have been extracted. Each time the material taking manipulator 2 completes a material taking action, the count value of the counting unit 42 increases by 1.

[0060] The preset condition is that the number of layers of batteries that have been extracted reaches a preset layer threshold M. In this embodiment, the preset layer threshold M is 15 layers, i.e. 50% of the total number of layers N of batteries. When the count value of the counting unit 42 reaches 15, the controller 41 determines that the preset condition is met.

[0061] The preset layer threshold M can be set in the range of 40% to 60% of the total number of layers N of batteries, where M ≤ N, and both M and N are natural numbers greater than 0. According to different battery specifications and stacking layers, the preset layer threshold M can be adjusted.

[0062] It should be noted that in this embodiment only one trigger point is set, i.e. M = 15, so only one air blowing is started after 15 layers are extracted. In other embodiments, multiple trigger points can be set, for example M1 = 15 and M2 = 25, and each air blowing is started after 15 layers and 25 layers are extracted, respectively.

[0063] S4, when the preset condition is met, i.e. the number of layers of batteries that have been extracted reaches the preset layer threshold M, the controller 41 sends a start signal to the air blowing device 3 to start the air blowing device 3 to blow air to the remaining unextracted layers of batteries.

[0064] In this embodiment, the blowing device 3 is started after the 15th layer of batteries is extracted. At this time, there are 15 layers of batteries (from the 16th layer to the 30th layer) remaining in the cartridge loading unit 1 (Note: the 1st layer is at the bottom, the 30th layer is at the top, and the taking is from top to bottom). The two sets of blowing devices 3 work simultaneously and blow compressed gas into the 15 layers of batteries from opposite sides.

[0065] Preferably, the blowing pressure of this embodiment is 0.1 MPa to 0.8 MPa. In this embodiment, the pressure is set to 0.3 MPa, which can effectively destroy the negative pressure state between the battery layers caused by the upper gravity, and at the same time will not cause damage to the appearance of the battery.

[0066] Preferably, the blowing angle of this embodiment is 0° to 90°. In this embodiment, the angle of the blowing pipe 32 is set to 45°, which enables the airflow to effectively blow into the battery layers and achieve the best negative pressure elimination effect.

[0067] S5, after the blowing device 3 is started, the timing unit 43 starts timing. After a predetermined time of blowing, the blowing is stopped. The predetermined time is 1 second to 10 seconds, and in this embodiment, the predetermined time is 5 seconds.

[0068] It can be understood that the blowing time of 5 seconds can sufficiently destroy the negative pressure state between the battery layers. In actual use, in the first 3 seconds after the blowing starts, the airflow can quickly enter the battery layers and destroy most of the negative pressure areas; the continuous blowing in the last 2 seconds can ensure that all interlayer positions are covered by the airflow, achieving the effect of completely eliminating adhesion.

[0069] When the timing unit 43 times to 5 seconds, the controller 41 sends a stop signal to the blowing device 3, and the blowing device 3 stops working.

[0070] S6, after the blowing device 3 stops working, the taking manipulator 2 continues to extract the next layer of battery, i.e. the 16th layer of battery. Since the negative pressure state between the battery layers has been eliminated by blowing, the batteries from the 16th layer to the 30th layer are no longer adhered. The taking manipulator 2 can smoothly extract a single layer of battery and will not appear the situation that multiple layers are grabbed at the same time.

[0071] S7, repeat steps S3 to S6 until all batteries are extracted. Specifically, the taking manipulator 2 continues to extract the batteries layer by layer, and the counting unit 42 continues to count the number of layers that have been extracted. If multiple trigger points are set, the blowing device 3 will be started again when the preset condition is met again.

[0072] In the embodiment, only one trigger point is set, i.e., the blowing is started after 15 layers are extracted. After that, the blowing is not started again, and the taking manipulator 2 continues to work until all 30 layers of batteries are extracted. It should be noted that in the embodiment, only one trigger point is set, i.e., the blowing is started after 15 layers are extracted. After that, the blowing is not started again, and the taking manipulator 2 continues to work until all 30 layers of batteries are extracted. Of course, in other embodiments, multiple blowing trigger points can be set according to actual needs, such as setting a trigger point every several layers of batteries, or setting a blowing trigger point for each layer of batteries.

[0073] After all the batteries are extracted, the count value of the counting unit 42 is reset to 0, and the next batch of loading work is prepared.

[0074] It can be understood that the battery loading method of the application actively intervenes at the key moment (after about 50% of the batteries are extracted) to blow air to the remaining battery layers to destroy the negative pressure, thereby achieving preventive intervention and fundamentally eliminating the battery adhesion problem. Compared with the traditional method which can only take remedial measures after adhesion occurs, the present method can eliminate the conditions for adhesion before it forms, and the effect is better.

[0075] At the same time, the present method only starts the blowing device when needed, and the working time is short (5 seconds) and the energy consumption is low. Compared with the continuous blowing method, more than 90% of energy is saved. Moreover, since it is condition triggered, it does not continuously interfere with the production environment during the taking process, maintaining the cleanliness and quietness of the formation workshop.

[0076] In combination Figures 1-6 , the application has the following beneficial effects: On the one hand, by setting a blowing device around the clip loading unit and using a control unit to achieve condition triggering according to the taking state, the application can blow air into the battery layer at the key stage of the formation of interlayer negative pressure, destroy the near-vacuum state between the layers, eliminate the battery adhesion phenomenon, avoid the extraction of multiple layers of batteries at the same time, and reduce the safety hazards such as short circuit and fire; on the other hand, the intelligent judgment mechanism based on the taking state is adopted, and the blowing device is started only when needed, which reduces energy consumption and gas consumption compared with the continuous blowing method, and reduces the interference with the production environment; on the other hand, by setting an angle adjusting mechanism and a gas pressure adjusting valve, the blowing device can flexibly adjust the blowing parameters according to different battery specifications and different stacking numbers, without the need for large-scale modification of the existing loading equipment, and the implementation cost is low.

[0077] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and are not intended to limit the present application; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments can still be modified, or some technical features can be replaced by equivalent replacements; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A battery feeding device, characterized in that, include: Magazine loading unit for loading multi-layered stacked batteries; A material handling robot is used to extract the batteries from the magazine loading unit layer by layer; An air blowing device is disposed around the magazine loading unit for blowing air into the stacked battery layers; The control unit is electrically connected to the material handling robot and the air blowing device. The control unit is used to determine whether the preset conditions are met based on the material handling status, and to control the air blowing device to work when the preset conditions are met.

2. The battery feeding device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The air blowing device includes an air source unit, an air pressure regulating valve, and at least one air blowing pipe. The air source unit is used to provide compressed gas. The air source unit is connected to the air blowing pipe through the air pressure regulating valve, and the air pressure regulating valve is used to regulate the pressure of the compressed gas.

3. The battery feeding equipment as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The air blowing device is located on the side of the magazine loading unit, and the air blowing pipe has at least one air jet outlet facing the stacked battery layer.

4. The battery feeding device as described in claim 3, characterized in that, It includes two sets of air blowing devices, which are arranged on opposite sides of the magazine loading unit. The air nozzles of the air blowing pipes corresponding to the two sets of air blowing devices are arranged opposite each other, so that the airflow blown out by the two sets of air blowing devices forms a cross airflow.

5. The battery feeding device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The air blowing device also includes an angle adjustment mechanism, which is connected to the air blowing tube and is used to adjust the angle of the air blowing tube.

6. The battery feeding device as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The pressure regulating valve can adjust the pressure of the compressed gas to 0.1 MPa to 0.8 MPa, and the adjustable angle range of the air blowing pipe is 0° to 90°.

7. The battery feeding device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The air blowing pipe is provided with multiple air jets, which are spaced apart along the length of the air blowing pipe.

8. The battery feeding device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, When the total number of battery layers loaded in the magazine loading unit is N, the preset layer threshold M is 40% to 60% of the total number of battery layers N loaded in the magazine loading unit, where M≤N, and both M and N are natural numbers greater than 0.

9. The battery feeding device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit includes a counting unit, a timing unit, and a storage unit. The counting unit is used to count the number of extracted battery layers. The preset condition is that the number of extracted battery layers reaches a preset layer threshold. The timing unit is used to control the blowing duration of the blowing device, which is 1 to 10 seconds. The storage unit stores preset control parameters for different battery specifications, including the preset conditions and the blowing duration.

10. A battery feeding method, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. Stack N layers of batteries in the magazine loading unit; S2. Start the material handling process and use the material handling robot to extract the battery from the magazine loading unit layer by layer; S3. Detect the material taking status and determine whether the preset conditions are met; S4. When the preset conditions are met, start the air blowing device to blow air onto the remaining unextracted battery layer; S5. Stop blowing after the preset blowing time; S6. Continue extracting the next layer of battery; S7. Repeat steps S3 to S6 until all batteries have been extracted.

11. The battery feeding method as described in claim 10, characterized in that, The detection and material extraction status includes real-time statistics of the number of battery layers extracted. The preset condition is that the number of battery layers extracted reaches a preset layer threshold M. The preset layer threshold M is 40% to 60% of the total number of battery layers N, where M≤N, and M and N are both natural numbers greater than 0.

12. The battery feeding method as described in claim 10, characterized in that, The preset time is 1 to 10 seconds, the blowing angle is 0° to 90°, and the blowing pressure is 0.1 MPa to 0.8 MPa.

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