Automatic directional feeding and welding equipment for inner pole pieces of CR series batteries and operation method of automatic directional feeding and welding equipment

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of battery production equipment, and particularly relates to automatic directional feeding and welding equipment for inner pole pieces of CR series batteries and an operation method of the automatic directional feeding and welding equipment for the inner pole pieces of the CR series batteries. A shell feeding assembly, an electrode plate feeding assembly, an automatic welding machine and a discharging grabbing arm which are electrically connected with the industrial control module as the servo rotating disc are sequentially arranged on the outer side of the servo rotating disc in a surrounding mode and correspond to the shell jigs, and the electrode plate feeding assembly comprises a flexible vibration disc. A vertically-downward recognition camera and a workpiece taking mechanical arm are arranged above the flexible vibration disc. The button cell internal pole piece feeding and welding device can rapidly and accurately feed and weld the button cell internal pole pieces in an oriented mode, is high in automation degree and is beneficial to improving the production benefits of enterprises.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of battery production equipment technology, and more specifically, to an automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment for CR series battery inner electrode sheets and its operating method. Background Technology

[0002] CR series batteries are commonly used button batteries, widely used in electronic products such as computer motherboards, electronic watches, and toys. Unlike the wound structure of rechargeable batteries, CR batteries use a flat, stacked structure, making them more suitable for thinner designs and maximizing space utilization.

[0003] The structure of a typical CR series battery includes: positive electrode shell, positive electrode current collector (inner electrode plate), positive electrode active material layer, separator, negative electrode lithium plate, spring plate, negative electrode cap, sealing ring, and electrolyte.

[0004] The positive current collector of a CR button cell is usually not oriented in either direction. This is determined by its structural characteristics and functional positioning, which is fundamentally different from the directional installation requirements of the negative electrode spring.

[0005] The specific reasons are as follows: The structure is symmetrically designed. Positive electrode current collectors typically use flat metal mesh / porous foil (mostly made of aluminum or stainless steel), with a uniform mesh or porous structure on both sides, without any unilateral protrusions, bends, or other directional features. Regardless of which side faces the positive electrode active material (MnO2 layer) or the positive electrode shell, there is no difference in physical morphology.

[0006] Functional Undirected Dependency The core function of the positive electrode current collector is to conduct electrons. One end is connected to the positive electrode active material layer, and the other end is connected to the positive electrode shell. As long as effective contact with both is ensured, uniform current transmission can be achieved. Its conductivity is isotropic; reversible installation will not change the contact area or internal resistance, nor will it affect the electrochemical reaction.

[0007] No special restrictions on assembly process In the battery manufacturing process, the placement of the positive electrode current collector does not require distinguishing between the positive and negative sides; it simply needs to be laid flat between the positive electrode active material and the outer casing. This is completely different from the requirement that the negative electrode spring must be oriented to provide elastic preload.

[0008] However, in a very small number of specially customized CR batteries (such as current collectors with a special conductive coating on one side or current collectors with raised contacts), there are requirements for the installation orientation of the positive current collector (inner electrode). Since this orientation design is very uncommon in consumer-grade CR button batteries, there is currently a lack of automated equipment for orienting the positive current collector (inner electrode) within the positive electrode casing. Summary of the Invention

[0009] To enable efficient and accurate automated directional assembly between the positive electrode casing and the positive electrode current collector (inner electrode sheet) of CR series batteries, this paper provides an automated directional feeding and welding equipment for the inner electrode sheet of CR series batteries and its operation method.

[0010] The CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment includes a servo turntable. Multiple housing fixtures are arranged around the outer periphery of the servo turntable. On the outer side of the servo turntable, corresponding to the housing fixtures, a housing feeding assembly, an electrode feeding assembly, an automatic welding machine, and a material unloading gripper are arranged in sequence, all electrically connected to the industrial control module of the servo turntable. The electrode feeding assembly includes a flexible vibrating plate. A vertically downward recognition camera and a part picking robotic arm are arranged above the flexible vibrating plate.

[0011] Furthermore, the outer periphery of the servo turntable is surrounded by multiple fixture holders, and a housing fixture is detachably installed in the fixture holders. A magnet is embedded in the middle of the housing fixture.

[0012] Furthermore, a housing sensing module is provided on the outer side of the servo turntable between the unloading gripping arm and the housing loading assembly, and between the housing loading assembly and the electrode sheet loading assembly. The housing sensing module is electrically connected to the industrial control module.

[0013] Furthermore, the housing sensing module includes a photoelectric sensor, and a detection notch is provided on the side of the housing fixture corresponding to the photoelectric sensor.

[0014] Furthermore, a discharge guide groove is provided downstream of the feeding gripper arm, and a telescopic push rod is installed on the side of the discharge guide groove. The telescopic push rod is electrically connected to the industrial control module.

[0015] Furthermore, the housing feeding assembly includes a housing vibratory feeder, the output end of which is provided with a housing holder, a holder push rod is provided on the side of the housing holder, and a housing gripping arm is provided above the housing holder.

[0016] Furthermore, the automatic welding machine includes a laser welding head, which is installed at the front end of the lifting and translating arm. Both the laser welding head and the lifting and translating arm are electrically connected to the industrial control module.

[0017] Furthermore, the front end of the picking robot arm is provided with a vertically downward picking nozzle, and a rotation servo and an angle sensor that are electrically connected to the industrial control module are coaxially connected above the picking nozzle.

[0018] The operation method of the CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment includes the following steps: A. Drill an eccentric hole at a fixed position on the electrode plate with the raised contact facing upwards, and record the image features of the electrode plate with the raised contact facing upwards and having an eccentric hole; B. Place multiple shell materials into the shell feeding assembly, and place multiple electrode plates with eccentric holes into the flexible vibrating plate; C. The housing loading assembly places the housing into the housing fixture, and then the servo turntable rotates to transport the housing fixture with the housing in place to the front end of the electrode sheet loading assembly; D. The flexible vibratory feeder moves once, and then the camera identifies and locates an electrode plate with a pre-drilled eccentric hole in the flexible vibratory feeder that matches the image features. The robotic arm then removes the electrode plate and places it on the housing with the protruding contact facing upwards. E. The servo turntable transports the housing fixture with the electrode sheet placed to the bottom of the automatic welding machine, and the automatic welding machine welds and fixes the electrode sheet onto the housing; F. The servo turntable transports the welded housing and electrode sheet to the unloading gripper arm, which then removes the welded housing and electrode sheet to the discharge position. G. The servo turntable transports the empty housing fixture, which has already had the welded housing and electrode plates removed, back to the front end of the housing loading assembly and puts the housing back in, and so on.

[0019] Furthermore, step F specifically includes: The industrial control module records and determines whether each action component in steps C, D, and E has run according to the preset program. If the industrial control module determines that the housing feeding assembly, the picking robotic arm, the automatic welding machine and the servo turntable have all completed the operation according to the preset program, then the unloading gripping arm will pick up the welded housing and electrode sheet to the discharge position. If the industrial control module determines that any component among the housing loading assembly, the picking robotic arm, the automatic welding machine, or the servo turntable has not completed its operation according to the preset program, the unloading gripper will remove the material from the housing fixture to the discard position.

[0020] The advantages of this invention are: 1. It can replace manual labor to quickly and efficiently complete the orientation installation and welding process of internal components of button batteries.

[0021] 2. The housing fixture is replaceable and has magnets for adsorbing and positioning internal components such as pole pieces before welding, which is highly adaptable and can ensure accurate welding position.

[0022] 3. It has a waste detection and disposal design to prevent unfinished waste parts from being output. Attached Figure Description

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment for the inner electrode sheets of CR series batteries; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the rear structure of the automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment for the inner electrode sheets of CR series batteries; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the housing fixture. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the housing feeding assembly. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the electrode sheet feeding assembly. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the material handling gripper arm. Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the housing and electrode plates; Figure 8 This is a top view of the electrode sheet.

[0025] Attached image labels: 1. Servo turntable; 101. Fixture holder; 2. Housing fixture; 201. Magnet piece; 202. Detection notch; 3. Housing loading assembly; 301. Housing vibratory feeder; 302. Housing holder; 303. Holder push rod; 304. Housing gripping arm; 4. Electrode feeding assembly; 401. Flexible vibratory feeder; 402. Recognition camera; 403. Part-picking robotic arm; 5. Automatic welding machine; 501. Laser welding head; 502. Lifting and translating arm; 6. Unloading gripping arm; 601. Discharge guide chute; 602. Telescopic push rod; 7. Housing sensing module; 701. Photoelectric sensor; 8. Industrial control module; 9. Part-picking nozzle; 10. Rotary servo; 11. Angle sensor; 12. Housing; 13. Electrode piece; 131. Raised contact; 14. Eccentric hole. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To enable efficient and accurate automated directional assembly between the positive electrode casing and the positive electrode current collector (inner electrode sheet) of CR series batteries, this paper provides an automated directional feeding and welding equipment for the inner electrode sheet of CR series batteries and its operation method.

[0027] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] It should be noted that the terms such as “inner,” “middle,” and “one” used in this specification are merely for clarity of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Any changes or adjustments to their relative relationships, without substantially altering the technical content, should also be considered as part of the scope of the invention, and this is hereby stated.

[0029] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," and "horizontal," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first," "second," etc., may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installed," "connected," and "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention through specific circumstances.

[0030] like Figure 1-8 As shown, this embodiment provides an automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment for CR series battery inner electrode sheets, including a servo turntable 1. Multiple housing fixtures 2 are arranged around the outer periphery of the servo turntable 1. On the outer side of the servo turntable 1, corresponding to the housing fixtures 2, a housing feeding assembly 3, an electrode sheet feeding assembly 4, an automatic welding machine 5, and a material unloading gripping arm 6 are arranged in sequence and electrically connected to the industrial control module 8, which are the same as those of the servo turntable 1. The electrode sheet feeding assembly 4 includes a flexible vibrating disk 401. A vertically downward recognition camera 402 and a part picking robotic arm 403 are arranged above the flexible vibrating disk 401.

[0031] In this embodiment, to prevent the electrode sheet 13 from being damaged by collision during the loading process, a flexible vibratory feeder 401 is used to vibrate and orient the electrode sheet 13, ensuring that the protruding contact points 131 on the electrode sheet 13 are correctly facing upwards before loading. The eccentric hole 14 on the electrode sheet 13 does not affect the performance of the battery product. Since the position of the eccentric hole 14 is unique when the electrode sheet 13 is correctly oriented, and will be on the other side when the electrode sheet 13 is facing upwards, the eccentric hole 14 can provide graphic features for the recognition camera 402, enabling it to quickly locate the correctly oriented electrode sheet 13. The flexible vibratory feeder 401, combined with the recognition camera 402 and the robotic arm 403, is already commercially available (such as the Danikor MTS-U10 flexible vibratory feeder), and its structural principles will not be elaborated further here.

[0032] The servo turntable 1 is surrounded by multiple fixture holders 101. A housing fixture 2 is detachably mounted in each fixture holder 101, and a magnet 201 is embedded in the center of the housing fixture 2. The housing fixture 2 on the servo turntable 1 can be replaced according to the product size, offering strong adaptability. Since the housing and positive current collector (inner electrode plate) are both made of metal, the magnet 201 can attract and hold the housing and inner electrode plate, ensuring accurate alignment before welding and preventing shaking or misalignment that could degrade product quality.

[0033] A housing sensing module 7 is installed on the outer side of the servo turntable 1 between the unloading gripping arm 6 and the housing loading assembly 3, and between the housing loading assembly 3 and the electrode sheet loading assembly 4. The housing sensing module 7 is electrically connected to the industrial control module 8. Components are installed to sense whether the housing is in the housing fixture 2 after product unloading and before housing loading, and after housing loading, thereby ensuring normal unloading and loading operation and preventing equipment malfunction or damage caused by multiple housing components being loaded into the housing fixture 2 simultaneously.

[0034] The housing sensing module 7 includes a photoelectric sensor 701, and a detection notch 202 is provided on the side of the housing fixture 2 corresponding to the photoelectric sensor 701. The photoelectric sensor 701 has stable performance and fast sensing speed, and is a commonly used object presence sensing element in this field.

[0035] Downstream of the unloading gripper arm 6 is a discharge guide 601, and a telescopic push rod 602 is installed on the side of the discharge guide 601. The telescopic push rod 602 is electrically connected to the industrial control module 8. When the industrial control module 8 records that the steps before unloading were not performed correctly, the telescopic push rod will push forward, causing the discharge guide 601 to be misaligned with the unloading gripper arm 6. The unloading gripper arm 6 will then discard the incorrectly processed parts to a waste trough or other location for recycling by workers, ensuring that no abnormal parts enter the subsequent production process.

[0036] The housing feeding assembly 3 includes a housing vibratory feeder 301. A housing holder 302 is provided at the output end of the housing vibratory feeder 301. A holder push rod 303 is provided on the side of the housing holder 302, and a housing gripping arm 304 is provided above the housing holder 302. The housing vibratory feeder 301 can output housings 12 one by one. After a housing 12 enters the housing holder 302, the holder push rod 303 extends, separating the housing holder 302 from the front end of the housing vibratory feeder 301, ensuring that the housing gripping arm 304 only grips a single housing 12 in the housing holder 302.

[0037] The automatic welding machine 5 includes a laser welding head 501, which is mounted at the front end of a lifting and translating arm 502. Both the laser welding head 501 and the lifting and translating arm 502 are electrically connected to the industrial control module 8. The automatic welding machine 5 is uniformly controlled by the industrial control module 8, facilitating the setting of welding parameters. Laser welding is used for rapid and accurate welding, suitable for welding small components such as internal electrode sheets. Since automated laser welding heads 501 are already quite common in the market, their linkage control principle with the industrial control module 8 will not be elaborated upon here.

[0038] The front end of the robotic arm 403 is equipped with a vertically downward-facing suction nozzle 9. Above the suction nozzle 9, a rotary servo motor 10 and an angle sensor 11, electrically connected to the industrial control module 8, are coaxially connected in series. After the industrial control module 8 uses the recognition camera 402 to identify the correctly upward-facing electrode plate 13 on the flexible vibratory feeder 401, the suction nozzle 9 of the robotic arm 403 picks up the electrode plate 13, rotates to adjust the horizontal orientation of the electrode plate 13, and finally places the electrode plate 13 onto the housing 12 within the housing fixture 2. Since the technology of using image recognition algorithms for positioning and feeding of the flexible vibratory feeder 401 is already in use and is common knowledge, and this solution does not involve improvements to the image recognition algorithm, the principle of image recognition feeding will not be elaborated further.

[0039] The operation method of the CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment includes the following steps: A. An eccentric hole 14 is machined at a set position on the electrode piece 13 with the protruding contact 131 facing upward, and the image features of the electrode piece 13 with the protruding contact 131 facing upward and having the eccentric hole 14 are recorded. B. Place a large amount of shell 12 raw material into shell feeding assembly 3, and place a large amount of electrode sheet 13 with eccentric holes 14 into flexible vibrating plate 401; C. The housing loading assembly 3 places the housing 12 into the housing fixture 2, and then the servo turntable 1 rotates to transport the housing fixture 2 with the housing placed in it to the front end of the electrode sheet loading assembly 4; D. The flexible vibrating plate 401 moves once, and then the identification camera 402 locates an electrode plate 13 in the flexible vibrating plate 401 with image feature matching and eccentric hole 14 punched. The picking robot arm 403 takes out the electrode plate 13 and places it on the housing 12 with the protruding contact 131 facing upward. E. The servo turntable 1 transports the housing fixture 2 with the electrode sheet placed to the bottom of the automatic welding machine 5, and the automatic welding machine 5 welds and fixes the electrode sheet 13 onto the housing 12; F. The servo turntable 1 transports the welded housing 12 and electrode sheet 13 to the unloading gripper arm 6, and the unloading gripper arm 6 takes out the welded housing 12 and electrode sheet 13 to the discharge position; G. The servo turntable 1 transports the empty housing fixture 2, which has already removed the welded housing 12 and electrode sheet 13, back to the front end of the housing loading assembly 3 and puts the housing 12 back in, and so on.

[0040] Step F specifically includes: The industrial control module 8 records and determines whether each action component in steps C, D, and E has run according to the preset program. Specifically, the running status of the action component can be recorded through the PLC's completion signal, servo ready signal, etc.

[0041] If the industrial control module 8 determines that the housing feeding assembly 3, the picking robot arm 403, the automatic welding machine 5 and the servo turntable 1 have all completed the operation according to the preset program, then the unloading gripping arm 6 will take out the welded housing and electrode sheet to the discharge guide 601, i.e. the discharge position, and output it to the subsequent work station. If the industrial control module 8 determines that any of the following components—the housing loading assembly 3, the part-picking robotic arm 403, the automatic welding machine 5, or the servo turntable 1—has not completed its operation according to the preset program, the telescopic push rod 602 extends, the discharge guide 601 is misaligned with the unloading gripping arm 6, and the unloading gripping arm 6 removes the material from the housing fixture 2 to the waste location. It is worth noting that in the event of an operational malfunction, the housing fixture 2 may contain an empty housing 12, an unwelded combination of a housing 12 and an electrode plate 13, or a single electrode plate 13; all of these are treated as waste. A collection trough, relatively stationary to the servo turntable 1, can be provided at the waste location for recycling.

[0042] The above description is a further detailed explanation of the present invention in conjunction with specific preferred embodiments. It should not be construed that the specific implementation of the present invention is limited to these descriptions. All equivalent changes and modifications made within the scope of this application should still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. The CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment is characterized in that, The device includes a servo turntable, around which multiple housing fixtures are arranged. On the outer side of the servo turntable, corresponding to the housing fixtures, a housing loading assembly, an electrode loading assembly, an automatic welding machine, and a material unloading gripper are arranged in sequence, all electrically connected to the industrial control module as the servo turntable. The electrode loading assembly includes a flexible vibrating plate, above which a vertically downward recognition camera and a part-picking robotic arm are arranged.

2. The CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The servo turntable is surrounded by multiple fixture holders, and a housing fixture is detachably installed in the fixture holder. A magnet is embedded in the middle of the housing fixture.

3. The CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, A housing sensing module is provided on the outer side of the servo turntable between the unloading gripping arm and the housing loading assembly, and between the housing loading assembly and the electrode sheet loading assembly. The housing sensing module is electrically connected to the industrial control module.

4. The CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, The housing sensing module includes a photoelectric sensor, and a detection notch is provided on the side of the housing fixture corresponding to the photoelectric sensor.

5. The CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, A discharge guide groove is provided downstream of the feeding gripper arm, and a telescopic push rod is installed on the side of the discharge guide groove. The telescopic push rod is electrically connected to the industrial control module.

6. The CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The shell feeding assembly includes a shell vibratory feeder, a shell holder is provided at the output end of the shell vibratory feeder, a holder push rod is provided on the side of the shell holder, and a shell gripping arm is provided above the shell holder.

7. The CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The automatic welding machine includes a laser welding head, which is installed at the front end of the lifting and translating arm. Both the laser welding head and the lifting and translating arm are electrically connected to the industrial control module.

8. The CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The front end of the robotic arm is equipped with a vertically downward-facing pick-up nozzle, and a rotary servo and an angle sensor, which are electrically connected to the industrial control module, are coaxially connected above the pick-up nozzle.

9. The operating method of the CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment as described in any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: A. Machining an eccentric hole at a set position on the electrode sheet with the raised contact facing upwards, and recording the image features of the electrode sheet with the raised contact facing upwards and having an eccentric hole; B. Place multiple shell materials into the shell feeding assembly, and place multiple electrode plates with eccentric holes into the flexible vibrating plate; C. The housing loading assembly places the housing into the housing fixture, and then the servo turntable rotates to transport the housing fixture with the housing in place to the front end of the electrode sheet loading assembly; D. The flexible vibratory feeder moves once, and then the camera identifies and locates an electrode plate with a pre-drilled eccentric hole in the flexible vibratory feeder that matches the image features. The robotic arm then removes the electrode plate and places it on the housing with the protruding contact facing upwards. E. The servo turntable transports the housing fixture with the electrode sheet placed to the bottom of the automatic welding machine, and the automatic welding machine welds and fixes the electrode sheet onto the housing; F. The servo turntable transports the welded housing and electrode sheet to the unloading gripper arm, which then removes the welded housing and electrode sheet to the discharge position. G. The servo turntable transports the empty housing fixture, which has already had the welded housing and electrode plates removed, back to the front end of the housing loading assembly and puts the housing back in, and so on.

10. The operating method of the CR series battery internal electrode automatic orientation feeding and welding equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that, Step F specifically includes: The industrial control module records and determines whether each action component in steps C, D, and E has run according to the preset program. If the industrial control module determines that the housing feeding assembly, the picking robotic arm, the automatic welding machine and the servo turntable have all completed the operation according to the preset program, then the unloading gripping arm will pick up the welded housing and electrode sheet to the discharge position. If the industrial control module determines that any component among the housing loading assembly, the picking robotic arm, the automatic welding machine, or the servo turntable has not completed its operation according to the preset program, the unloading gripper will remove the material from the housing fixture to the discard position.

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