An electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for a liquid flow fuel cell stack

Abstract

This invention discloses an electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for a liquid flow fuel cell stack, comprising a base and an upper worktable. The base and the upper worktable are connected by four guide columns, and a pressure plate is slidably connected to the four guide columns. The pressure plate is driven by a motor mounted on the top surface of the upper worktable and can reciprocate along the axial direction of the guide columns. The invention is characterized in that: four positioning and pushing mechanisms are connected to the bottom surface of the pressure plate, the cross-section of the pressure plate is square, and the four positioning and pushing mechanisms are distributed at the four corners of the pressure plate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of production and assembly of liquid flow fuel cells, and in particular to an electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for liquid flow fuel cells. Background Technology

[0002] The flow battery stack (flow battery stack) is the core energy conversion unit of the redox flow battery (RFB), equivalent to the "heart" of the flow energy storage system. It is composed of multiple single cells stacked in a specific way, with a structure similar to that of a fuel cell stack. It is the place where the electrolyte undergoes a reversible redox reaction and realizes the mutual conversion of chemical energy and electrical energy. Each single cell consists of two end plates and multiple plates (such as current collectors, porous electrode plates, bipolar plates, ion exchange membranes, etc.) sandwiched between the two end plates.

[0003] Traditional flow battery stacks are formed by press fitting. During the press fitting process, high positioning accuracy is required between adjacent plates. If the positioning is inaccurate, the contact surfaces will not be able to fit completely, which will lead to permanent and rapid capacity decay. Therefore, all plates need to be positioned before the press fitting operation. In the existing solution, the stacking of plates and the final pressing are completed in the same station. That is, the robot places the plates in a certain order in the press (on the pressing station under the press head or plate), and then the press fits them into a single structure.

[0004] In other words, the traditional solution relies on robots to ensure the positional accuracy of the placed boards. However, in practice, this method has been found to have significant deviations and cannot meet the accuracy requirements. Some companies also install positioning devices on the stacking operation platform where the press is located to perform positioning operations after all the boards have been placed in place. However, such positioning devices occupy a lot of space, which seriously affects the robot's workspace and movement trajectory, resulting in a longer robot walking path and thus affecting production efficiency.

[0005] Therefore, a method or apparatus is needed to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present invention addresses the aforementioned shortcomings of the prior art by proposing an electric press that is simple in structure, ingenious in design, and rational in layout, capable of quickly, conveniently, and accurately pushing and positioning the end plates and the plates between the end plates that make up the liquid flow stack.

[0007] The technical solution of the present invention is: an electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for a liquid flow fuel cell stack, comprising a base 1 and an upper worktable 2, wherein the base 1 and the upper worktable 2 are connected by four guide pillars 3, and the four guide pillars 3 are slidably connected to a pressure plate 4, wherein the pressure plate 4 is driven by a motor 5 disposed on the top surface of the upper worktable 2, and can reciprocate along the axial direction of the guide pillars 3, wherein the pressure plate 4 is characterized in that: four positioning and pushing mechanisms are connected to the bottom surface of the pressure plate 4, and the four positioning and pushing mechanisms are distributed at the four corners of the pressure plate 4;

[0008] The positioning and pushing mechanism includes a connecting frame 6 directly connected to the pressure plate 4. A cylinder support frame 7 is provided on the bottom end surface of the connecting frame 6. A pushing cylinder 8 is provided on the cylinder support frame 7. The working end of the pushing cylinder 8 is connected to the pushing frame 9. The pushing frame 9 is slidably connected to the bottom end surface of the connecting frame 6 through a first slide rail slider assembly 10 provided on its top plate.

[0009] The push-back frame 9 has two pairs of end plate positioning strips 11 on its vertical surface. The positioning surfaces of the two end plate positioning strips 11 are perpendicular to each other in space. At the same time, the end plate positioning strips 11 are at the same height as the push-back frame 9. The push-back frame 9 is equipped with a fixed positioning component and an adjustable positioning component.

[0010] The fixed positioning assembly includes an outer shell 12, with two outer positioning strips 13 on the end face of the outer shell 12. The positioning surfaces of the two outer positioning strips 13 are perpendicular to each other in space. An inner shell 14 is slidably connected inside the outer shell 12. The end face of the inner shell 14 is provided with two inner positioning strips 15. The positioning surfaces of the two inner positioning strips 15 are perpendicular to each other in space. At the same time, the positioning surfaces of the inner positioning strips 15 and the positioning surfaces of the matching outer positioning strips 13 are on the same plane. The outer shell 12 is also provided with a longitudinally distributed first adjusting cylinder 16. The working end of the first adjusting cylinder 16 is connected to the inner shell 14.

[0011] The structure of the adjustable positioning component is the same as that of the fixed positioning component. The difference is that the adjustable positioning component is set on the slide 17, and the slide 17 is slidably connected to the push frame 9 through the second slide rail slider assembly 18. The push frame 9 is provided with a longitudinally distributed second adjusting cylinder 19, and the working end of the second adjusting cylinder 19 is connected to the top edge of the slide 17.

[0012] The adjustable positioning components are multiple.

[0013] There are two push cylinders 8.

[0014] The top of the push-back frame 9 is provided with a movable push-back stop block 20, and the bottom surface of the connecting frame 6 is provided with a fixed push-back stop block 21 that matches the movable push-back stop block 20.

[0015] The top and bottom of the carriage 17 are provided with carriage stop blocks 22, and the push frame 9 is provided with push frame stop blocks 23 that match the carriage stop blocks 22 respectively.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0017] This type of electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism based on a liquid flow charge stack is simple in structure, ingenious in design, and rational in layout. It has four positioning and pushing mechanisms distributed diagonally. Each positioning and pushing mechanism includes a fixed positioning component and at least one adjustable positioning component. All positioning and pushing mechanisms can move towards the center after the workpiece is placed in position. The end plate positioning strips contact the four corners of the end plate, and the inner and outer positioning strips simultaneously contact the four corners of multiple plates located between the two end plates. When the four positioning and pushing mechanisms move synchronously, all the end plates... The plate and center plate achieve positioning operations, and the relative height of the adjustable positioning components, as well as the relative height of the inner and outer positioning strips in the same positioning component, can be adaptively adjusted. Since the overall height of the plates that make up the flow battery stack will shrink during the pressing process, simple extrusion positioning devices are not suitable for positioning during the press-fitting process of the flow battery stack because they cannot achieve adaptive adjustment. However, the positioning and pushing mechanism in this press adapts to the pressing of the battery unit by adjusting the spacing between different positioning components and the height of each positioning component itself, thereby achieving the purpose of positioning throughout the pressing process.

[0018] Furthermore, this type of electric press has a simple manufacturing process and low production cost, so it can be said to have many advantages and is particularly suitable for promotion and application in this field, with a very broad market prospect. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the positioning and pushing mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention (angle one).

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the positioning and pushing mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention (angle two).

[0022] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Enlarged view of part A in the image.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the positioning and pushing mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention (angle three).

[0024] Figure 6This is a schematic diagram of the positioning and pushing mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention (angle four).

[0025] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the positioning and pushing mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention (angle five). Detailed Implementation

[0026] Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Figures 1 to 7 As shown: An electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for a liquid flow fuel cell stack includes a base 1 and an upper worktable 2. The base 1 and the upper worktable 2 are connected by four guide pillars 3. The four guide pillars 3 are slidably connected to a pressure plate 4. The pressure plate 4 is driven by a motor 5 set on the top surface of the upper worktable 2 (this structure is a conventional technical means. The most common structure is that the motor 5 drives the screw to rotate, and the screw drives the pressure plate 4, which is connected to it through a nut seat, to make longitudinal linear motion). It can also reciprocate along the axial direction of the guide pillars 3. Four positioning and pushing mechanisms are connected to the bottom surface of the pressure plate 4. The four positioning and pushing mechanisms are distributed at the four corners of the pressure plate 4.

[0027] The positioning and pushing mechanism includes a connecting frame 6 directly connected to the pressure plate 4. A cylinder support frame 7 is provided on the bottom end surface of the connecting frame 6. A pushing cylinder 8 is provided on the cylinder support frame 7. The working end of the pushing cylinder 8 is connected to the pushing frame 9. The pushing frame 9 is slidably connected to the bottom end surface of the connecting frame 6 through a first slide rail slider assembly 10 provided on its top plate.

[0028] The push-back frame 9 has two pairs of end plate positioning strips 11 on its vertical surface. The positioning surfaces of the two end plate positioning strips 11 are perpendicular to each other in space. At the same time, the end plate positioning strips 11 are at the same height as the push-back frame 9. The push-back frame 9 is equipped with a fixed positioning component and an adjustable positioning component.

[0029] The fixed positioning assembly includes an outer shell 12, with two outer positioning strips 13 on the end face of the outer shell 12. The positioning surfaces of the two outer positioning strips 13 are perpendicular to each other in space. An inner shell 14 is slidably connected inside the outer shell 12. The end face of the inner shell 14 is provided with two inner positioning strips 15. The positioning surfaces of the two inner positioning strips 15 are perpendicular to each other in space. At the same time, the positioning surfaces of the inner positioning strips 15 and the positioning surfaces of the matching outer positioning strips 13 are on the same plane. The outer shell 12 is also provided with a longitudinally distributed first adjusting cylinder 16. The working end of the first adjusting cylinder 16 is connected to the inner shell 14.

[0030] The structure of the adjustable positioning component is the same as that of the fixed positioning component. The difference is that the adjustable positioning component is set on the slide 17, and the slide 17 is slidably connected to the push frame 9 through the second slide rail slider assembly 18. The push frame 9 is provided with a longitudinally distributed second adjusting cylinder 19, and the working end of the second adjusting cylinder 19 is connected to the top edge of the slide 17.

[0031] The adjustable positioning components are multiple.

[0032] There are two push cylinders 8.

[0033] The top of the push-back frame 9 is provided with a movable push-back stop block 20, and the bottom surface of the connecting frame 6 is provided with a fixed push-back stop block 21 that matches the movable push-back stop block 20.

[0034] The top and bottom of the carriage 17 are provided with carriage stop blocks 22, and the push frame 9 is provided with push frame stop blocks 23 that match the carriage stop blocks 22 respectively.

[0035] The working process of the electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for the liquid flow battery stack in this embodiment of the invention is as follows: When the liquid flow battery stack needs to be pressed, the robot first puts the various plates (such as end plates, current collectors, porous electrode plates, bipolar plates, ion exchange membranes, etc.) that make up the liquid flow battery stack into the press in a certain order. It should be noted that this electric press can complete the pressing operation of multiple single cells (each single cell is composed of end plates at both ends and multiple plates located between the end plates, and the outer contour of the end plates is relatively large) at one time.

[0036] After all workpieces are placed in position, the control system sends a signal to the device, and the four positioning and pushing mechanisms in the device move synchronously to position all the plates. After all the positioning and pushing mechanisms are in position, the motor 5 moves and drives the pressure plate 4 downward to press all the workpieces below it. During the pressing operation, the total height of the stacked plates will decrease, and the positioning and pushing mechanisms in the device will make adaptive adjustments to ensure that the four corners of all the plates will contact the positioning strips in the positioning and pushing mechanisms throughout the pressing operation, thereby ensuring the installation accuracy after pressing.

[0037] When the push cylinder 8 is working, it pushes the push frame 9 to move towards the workpiece. The two end plate positioning strips 11 set on the vertical surface of the push frame 9 contact the two adjacent sides of a certain end plate respectively. When all four push frames 9 have moved into place, all end plates will be positioned by the end plate positioning strips 11. During the pressing process, the end plates move downward, but always contact the end plate positioning strips 11 in each positioning and pushing mechanism. It should be noted that since the outline of the end plate is larger than the outline of the middle plates, the end plate positioning strips 11 only position the four corners of the end plate. The middle plates rely on the positioning components to achieve the positioning operation.

[0038] In the initial state, the outer shell 12 and inner shell 14 in the same positioning component are separated from each other (at this time, they do not overlap). The two outer positioning strips 13 on the outer shell 12 contact the two adjacent sides of the plate being positioned, and the two inner positioning strips 15 on the inner shell 14 also contact these two sides. Under the squeezing action of the four positioning components (i.e. the same group of positioning components) at the same height, all the plates are positioned.

[0039] During the pressing process of the pressure plate 4, the distance between the two end plates in the same single cell gradually shortens. At this time, all the first adjusting cylinders 16 in the same group of positioning components will drive the inner shell 14 to retract, that is, the total length of the inner shell 14 and the outer shell 12 is shortened, and the shortening speed is consistent with the shortening speed of the distance between the two end plates. This structure can ensure that before, during and after pressing, that is, throughout the entire pressing process, all the intermediate plates in the same single cell will be corrected in the horizontal direction by a group of four positioning components to ensure the positional accuracy requirements of pressing.

[0040] During the pressing process, the height of each single cell will be shortened. In order to adapt to this change, the control system will also control the second adjusting cylinder 19 to drive the slide 17 to move along the longitudinal direction of the push frame 9. That is, change the distance between the fixed positioning component and the adjusting positioning component to adapt to the height change before and after pressing. In other words, this follow-up adjustment structure can ensure that during the entire pressing process, each plate in each battery cell is always positioned by a set of positioning components in four directions.

[0041] During the above movement, when the push-back frame 9 performs the push-back positioning action, when the moving push-back stop block 20 contacts the fixed push-back stop block 21, the connecting frame 6 cannot continue to move towards the workpiece. This can effectively protect the workpiece from deformation or damage due to excessive force.

[0042] Similarly, when the carriage 17 moves longitudinally relative to the pusher 9, the pusher stop blocks 23 located above and below it can limit the extreme positions of the longitudinal movement of the carriage 17.

Claims

1. An electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for a liquid flow fuel cell stack, comprising a base (1) and an upper worktable (2), wherein the base (1) and the upper worktable (2) are connected by four guide columns (3), and the four guide columns (3) are slidably connected to a pressure plate (4), the pressure plate (4) being driven by a motor (5) disposed on the top surface of the upper worktable (2) and capable of reciprocating along the axial direction of the guide columns (3), characterized in that: Four positioning and pushing mechanisms are connected to the bottom end surface of the pressure plate (4), and the four positioning and pushing mechanisms are distributed at the four corners of the pressure plate (4). The positioning and pushing mechanism includes a connecting frame (6) directly connected to the pressure plate (4). A cylinder support frame (7) is provided on the bottom end face of the connecting frame (6). A pushing cylinder (8) is provided on the cylinder support frame (7). The working end of the pushing cylinder (8) is connected to the pushing frame (9). The pushing frame (9) is slidably connected to the bottom end face of the connecting frame (6) through a first slide rail slider assembly (10) provided on its top plate. Two paired end plate positioning strips (11) are provided on the vertical surface of the pushing frame (9). The positioning surfaces of the two end plate positioning strips (11) are perpendicular to each other in space. At the same time, the end plate positioning strips (11) are at the same height as the pushing frame (9). A fixed positioning component and an adjustable positioning component are provided on the pushing frame (9). The fixed positioning component includes an outer shell (12), and two outer positioning strips (13) are provided on the end face of the outer shell (12). The positioning surfaces of the two outer positioning strips (13) are perpendicular to each other in space. An inner shell (14) is slidably connected inside the outer shell (12). Two inner positioning strips (15) are provided on the end face of the inner shell (14). The positioning surfaces of the two inner positioning strips (15) are perpendicular to each other in space. At the same time, the positioning surfaces of the inner positioning strips (15) and the positioning surfaces of the matching outer positioning strips (13) are on the same plane. A first adjusting cylinder (16) is also provided on the outer shell (12) in a longitudinal direction. The working end of the first adjusting cylinder (16) is connected to the inner shell (14). The structure of the adjustable positioning component is the same as that of the fixed positioning component. The difference is that the adjustable positioning component is set on the slide (17), and the slide (17) is slidably connected to the push frame (9) through the second slide rail slider assembly (18). The push frame (9) is provided with a longitudinally distributed second adjusting cylinder (19), and the working end of the second adjusting cylinder (19) is connected to the top edge of the slide (17).

2. The electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for a liquid flow fuel cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The adjustable positioning components are multiple.

3. The electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for a liquid flow fuel cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that: There are two push cylinders (8).

4. The electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for a liquid flow fuel cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The top of the push-back frame (9) is provided with a movable push-back stop block (20), and the bottom surface of the connecting frame (6) is provided with a fixed push-back stop block (21) that matches the movable push-back stop block (20).

5. The electric press with a flexible positioning and pushing mechanism for a liquid flow fuel cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The top and bottom of the slide (17) are provided with slide stop blocks (22), and the push frame (9) is provided with push frame stop blocks (23) that match the slide stop blocks (22).

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