A cell pairing system, a battery production system, and a cell pairing method.

Abstract

This application provides a cell pairing system, a battery production system, and a cell pairing method. The cell pairing system includes: a conveyor line group, including a first conveyor line and a second conveyor line, wherein the first conveyor line conveys at least one first cell group and the second conveyor line conveys at least one second cell group; the first cell group includes two first cells arranged sequentially along the conveying direction, and the second cell group includes two second cells arranged sequentially along the conveying direction; a flipping device, disposed beside the conveyor line group, for flipping one first cell in the first cell group and one second cell in the second cell group by 180° respectively; and a stacking device, disposed downstream of the flipping device, for stacking unflipped first cells onto the flipped second cells to form a first cell group, and stacking unflipped second cells onto the flipped first cells to form a second cell group.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of battery production equipment technology, and more specifically, to a cell pairing system, a battery production system, and a cell pairing method. Background Technology

[0002] In the battery manufacturing process, multiple cells are typically paired and then installed together in the same casing to form a complete battery module. Four-cell pairing is a common method, where four cells are arranged according to predetermined polarities using a specific process to form a cell group that meets assembly requirements.

[0003] In related technologies, to achieve four-cell pairing, the cells typically require multiple flipping operations. Specifically, the cells need to be flipped once before stacking to adjust their polarity; after stacking, the resulting cell group needs to be flipped again to further adjust the overall polarity layout. In total, the pairing process involves two flipping operations.

[0004] However, the above-mentioned method of multiple flips has the following technical problems: on the one hand, the large number of flips leads to a complicated process and low overall production efficiency; on the other hand, frequent flipping operations increase the positioning error and mechanical damage risk of the battery cells during the transfer process, affecting the matching accuracy and product quality.

[0005] Therefore, how to reduce the number of flips and simplify the process while ensuring the required pairing polarity has become a pressing technical problem to be solved in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this application is to provide a cell pairing system, a battery production system, and a cell pairing method to solve the technical defects in the prior art, such as excessive flipping during cell pairing, cumbersome process flow, low production efficiency, and increased risk of cell positioning error and mechanical damage due to frequent flipping.

[0007] According to a first aspect of this application, a battery cell pairing system is provided. The battery cell pairing system includes: A conveyor line assembly includes a first conveyor line and a second conveyor line arranged side-by-side along a first direction. The first conveyor line is used to convey at least one set of first battery cell groups, and the second conveyor line is used to convey at least one set of second battery cell groups. The first battery cell group comprises two first battery cells arranged sequentially along the conveying direction, and the second battery cell group comprises two second battery cells arranged sequentially along the conveying direction. The first direction intersects with the conveying direction. A flipping device is provided on the side of the conveyor line group, used to flip one of the first cells in the first cell group and one of the second cells in the second cell group by 180° respectively. A stacking device is located downstream of the flipping device along the transmission direction of the conveyor line. The stacking device is used to stack the unflipped first battery cell onto the flipped second battery cell to form a first battery cell group, and to stack the unflipped second battery cell onto the flipped first battery cell to form a second battery cell group.

[0008] Optionally, the flipping device includes a first flipping mechanism and a second flipping mechanism; The first flipping mechanism is located beside the first conveyor line, and the first flipping mechanism is flip-able around an axis parallel to the first direction; The second flipping mechanism is located beside the second conveyor line and is rotatable about an axis parallel to the first direction.

[0009] Optionally, the stacking device includes a rotating mechanism and a rotating arm; the rotating mechanism is connected to the rotating arm and drives the rotating arm to rotate 180° in a horizontal plane; The rotating arm is equipped with grippers, which are used to grab the first battery cell or the second battery cell that has not been flipped over, and stack the grabbed battery cells onto the corresponding target battery cell under the drive of the rotating arm.

[0010] Optionally, the rotating arm is provided with two grippers, which are spaced apart along the rotating arm.

[0011] Optionally, the stacking device further includes a lifting mechanism connected to the rotating mechanism.

[0012] Optionally, the stacking device includes a first connecting arm and a second connecting arm, the first connecting arm and the second connecting arm being arranged crosswise, and there is a gap between them in the vertical direction; The first connecting arm is provided with a first gripper, which is slidably disposed on the first connecting arm; The second connecting arm is provided with a second gripper, which is slidably disposed on the second connecting arm.

[0013] Optionally, the stacking device is disposed between the first conveyor line and the second conveyor line.

[0014] Optionally, the cell pairing system further includes a cell assembly rotating device, a first transfer device, and a feeding device; The cell assembly rotating device is located downstream of the conveyor line assembly and is used to selectively rotate the first cell assembly or the second cell assembly by a preset angle in the horizontal plane. The first transfer device is located between the cell group rotating device and the unloading device, and is used to transport each cell group sequentially to the unloading device to form a four-cell pairing group on the unloading device, which consists of a rotated cell group and a non-rotated cell group. The feeding device is used to feed the four-cell paired assembly.

[0015] Optionally, the cell pairing system further includes an adhesive application device and an adhesive application detection device; The adhesive application detection device is located downstream of the adhesive application device; The adhesive applicator is used to apply adhesive to the battery cell assembly located in the conveyor line assembly; The adhesive bonding detection device is used to detect whether the battery cell group located in the conveyor line group has qualified adhesive bonding.

[0016] Optionally, the cell pairing system further includes a second transfer device, which is located upstream of the conveyor line group and is used to rotate the first cell and the second cell so that the tabs of the first cell and the second cell conveyed to the conveyor line group are both oriented towards the first direction.

[0017] According to a second aspect of this application, a battery manufacturing system is provided. The battery manufacturing system includes a cell pairing system as described in the first aspect.

[0018] According to a third aspect of this application, a method for pairing battery cells is provided. The battery cell pairing method is applied to a battery cell pairing system as described in the first aspect, the battery cell pairing system further including a control device, and the battery cell pairing method includes: In response to the arrival of the first battery cell group and the second battery cell group at the flipping device; The control device controls the flipping device to flip one of the first cells in the first cell group and one of the second cells in the second cell group by 180° respectively; The control device controls the stacking device to stack the unflipped first cell onto the flipped second cell to form the first cell group, and to stack the unflipped second cell onto the flipped first cell to form the second cell group.

[0019] One technical advantage of this application is: In the technical solution provided in this application embodiment, the first and second battery cell groups are transported separately via dual conveyor lines. Only a single cell in each group is flipped 180° and then cross-stacked to complete the pairing of four battery cells. Compared to traditional processes, this solution has the following advantages: 1) There is no need to flip the entire battery cell assembly twice, which reduces the number of flips, simplifies the production process, shortens the production cycle, and thus effectively improves mass production efficiency.

[0020] 2) The single-cell flip design reduces cell displacement and calibration operations, avoids the cumulative positioning error caused by multiple operations, and significantly improves the accuracy and matching consistency of cell stacking and polarity arrangement.

[0021] 3) Streamlined flipping operations reduce wear on the battery cell casing and damage to the tabs during mechanical clamping and flipping, effectively reducing product defect rates and safety hazards.

[0022] Other features and advantages of this specification will become clear from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0023] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of this specification and, together with their description, serve to explain the principles of this specification.

[0024] Figure 1 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of the cell pairing system provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0025] Figure 2 The diagram shown is a block diagram of a cell pairing system provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0026] Figure 3 The diagram illustrates the process of pairing four battery cells according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 .

[0027] Figure 4 The diagram illustrates the process of pairing four battery cells according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 .

[0028] Figure 5 The diagram illustrates the process of pairing four battery cells according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 3 (The flipping process is omitted).

[0029] Figure 6 The diagram shows the structure of the stacking device provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 .

[0030] Figure 7 The diagram shows the structure of the stacking device provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 .

[0031] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 1. Conveyor line assembly; 10. First conveyor line; 11. Second conveyor line; 21. First cell group; 22. Second cell group; A. First cell; B. Second cell; 3. Tilting device; 31. First tilting mechanism; 32. Second tilting mechanism; 4. Stacking device; 41. Rotating mechanism; 42. Rotating arm; 43. Gripper; 431. First gripper; 432. Second gripper; 44. Lifting mechanism; 5. Cell assembly rotation device; 61. First transfer device; 62. Second transfer device.

[0032] 71. Feeding device; 72. Loading device; 81. Adhesive application device; 811. Binding and adhesive application mechanism; 812. Bottom adhesive application mechanism; 82. Adhesive application detection device; 91. The first battery cell assembly; 92. The second battery cell assembly. Detailed Implementation

[0033] Various exemplary embodiments of the present application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions, and values ​​of the components and steps set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present application.

[0034] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit the scope of this application and its application or use.

[0035] Technologies and equipment known to those skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such technologies and equipment should be considered part of the specification.

[0036] In all the examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not as limitations. Therefore, other examples of exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0037] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items; therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be discussed further in subsequent figures.

[0038] The technical solution of this application will be further described below with reference to the embodiments and accompanying drawings.

[0039] This application provides a battery cell pairing system. For example... Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the cell pairing system includes: a conveyor line group 1, a flipping device 3, and a stacking device 4.

[0040] The conveyor line group 1 includes a first conveyor line 10 and a second conveyor line 11 arranged side by side along a first direction. The first conveyor line 10 is used to convey at least one set of first battery cell groups 21, and the second conveyor line 11 is used to convey at least one set of second battery cell groups 22. The first battery cell group 21 includes two first battery cells A arranged sequentially along the conveying direction, and the second battery cell group 22 includes two second battery cells B arranged sequentially along the conveying direction. The first direction intersects with the conveying direction. The flipping device 3 is located beside the conveyor line group 1 and is used to flip one of the first cells A in the first cell group 21 and one of the second cells B in the second cell group 22 by 180° respectively. The stacking device 4 is located downstream of the flipping device 3 along the transmission direction of the conveyor line. The stacking device 4 is used to stack the unflipped first cell A onto the flipped second cell B to form the first cell group 91, and to stack the unflipped second cell B onto the flipped first cell A to form the second cell group 92.

[0041] This application provides a cell pairing system applicable to the cell pairing process in battery production. For example... Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, this cell pairing system mainly includes a conveyor line group 1, a flipping device 3, and a stacking device 4. The conveyor line group 1, the flipping device 3, and the stacking device 4 work together to form an automated cell pairing production line. The specific configuration and coordination of each structure are detailed below.

[0042] Conveyor line group 1 serves as the material conveying carrier for this system, used to transport two sets of battery cell assemblies to be paired in parallel. The two sets of battery cell assemblies to be paired are the first battery cell group 21 and the second battery cell group 22. Conveyor line group 1 specifically includes a first conveyor line 10 and a second conveyor line 11 arranged side by side along a first direction. The two conveyor lines have the same structural specifications, operate at synchronized intervals, and their two conveying paths are independent of each other, with no interference during operation.

[0043] To clarify the directional relationship, this embodiment defines the first direction as: Figure 1 The Y-axis shown is the direction in which the first conveyor line 10 and the second conveyor line 11 are arranged side by side; the conveying direction is... Figure 1 The X-direction shown represents the transmission direction in which each conveyor line carries the material. The first direction intersects and is perpendicular to the conveying direction, forming a parallel dual-path conveying layout between the two conveyor lines, which provides a stable workstation foundation for subsequent flipping, stacking, and pairing.

[0044] The first conveyor line 10 is used to continuously convey at least one set of first battery cell group 21. Each set of first battery cell group 21 consists of two first battery cells A of the same specifications, and the two first battery cells A are arranged sequentially back and forth along the conveying direction.

[0045] The second conveyor line 11 is used to convey at least one set of second battery cell groups 22. Each set of second battery cell groups 22 also includes two second battery cells B arranged sequentially along the conveying direction. The first battery cell A and the second battery cell B are battery cells of the same specification that can be paired with each other, satisfying the module assembly and pairing requirements.

[0046] In this embodiment, two cells within the same cell group are arranged sequentially, one in front of the other, along the conveying direction. This layout maintains a fixed distance and relative position between the two cells, facilitating the subsequent flipping device 3 to selectively and precisely grasp and flip a single cell 180° according to process requirements. Simultaneously, the front-to-back arrangement also provides space for the other unflipped cell, ensuring that the flipping and stacking operations can be seamlessly connected without interference, thereby effectively improving the overall production cycle time and pairing accuracy.

[0047] In actual operation, the first conveyor line 10 and the second conveyor line 11 start and stop synchronously and convey at the same speed to realize the synchronous conveying of the first battery cell group 21 and the second battery cell group 22, ensuring that the operation rhythm of the preceding and following processes is unified, and providing a stable and synchronous material supply for the subsequent flipping, stacking and matching processes.

[0048] In this embodiment, the first battery cell A and the second battery cell B have multiple arrangement orientations on the conveyor line group 1. Before the flipping operation, the first battery cell A on the first conveyor line 10 and the second battery cell B on the second conveyor line 11 have their tabs arranged close to the same side in the thickness direction of the battery cell, preferably on the lower side in the thickness direction in this embodiment. Based on the polarity arrangement requirements of actual production, the battery cell tabs can adopt the following three arrangement methods to adapt to different pairing process scenarios: The first method: The tabs of both the first cell A and the second cell B face the first direction. This method has two specific scenarios: Firstly, such as Figure 3 As shown, the tabs of the first cell A and the second cell B are arranged facing each other. At this time, in the first cell A and the second cell B, the tabs of the same polarity are arranged opposite (directly facing) each other in the first direction; Secondly, the tabs of the first cell A and the second cell B are arranged opposite to each other. In this case, the tabs of the same polarity in the first cell A and the second cell B are also arranged correspondingly in the first direction, that is, the positive and negative tabs of the first cell A and the second cell B are arranged in the same position in the conveying direction.

[0049] The second method (such as) Figure 4 As shown): The tabs of both the first cell A and the second cell B face the first direction, and the tabs of the first cell A and the second cell B face the same side of the first direction. At this time, the tabs of the same polarity in the first cell A and the second cell B are arranged in opposite directions in the transport direction.

[0050] The third method (such as) Figure 5 As shown): The tabs of both the first cell A and the second cell B face the conveying direction, and the tabs of the first cell A and the second cell B face the same side of the conveying direction. At this time, the tabs of the same polarity in the first cell A and the second cell B are arranged in opposite directions in the first direction.

[0051] In the above three electrode arrangement methods, this embodiment preferably has the electrodes of both the first battery cell A and the second battery cell B facing the first direction. This preferred scheme not only facilitates the rotation of the flipping device 3 around a preset S-axis (such as...) Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, it completes a stable 180° flipping action, ensuring that the flipping posture is precise and controllable. At the same time, it can arrange the two sets of flipping mechanisms corresponding to the first conveyor line 10 and the second conveyor line 11 on the side of the conveyor line group 1, effectively shortening the arrangement distance of the two conveyor lines in the first direction, simplifying the overall structure of the equipment, reducing the equipment floor space, and improving the space utilization rate of the production line.

[0052] Please continue to refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The flipping device 3 is installed beside the conveyor line group 1, corresponding to the middle section of the first conveyor line 10 and the second conveyor line 11, and is located upstream of the stacking device 4. The flipping device 3 is specifically used to selectively flip the battery cells on the two conveyor lines. The flipping device 3 is equipped with two independent flipping mechanisms, corresponding to the first battery cell group 21 and the second battery cell group 22 respectively, which can independently complete the flipping action without interfering with each other.

[0053] When the first battery cell group 21 is conveyed to the flipping station along the first conveyor line 10, the flipping device 3 selectively picks up one of the first battery cells A and performs a 180° overall flip. This flipping action only adjusts the top and bottom orientation of the battery cell, changes the position of the battery cell tabs relative to the battery cell thickness direction, and changes the relative arrangement of the positive and negative tabs, while the overall orientation of the battery cell tabs remains unchanged; at the same time, the other first battery cell A in the first battery cell group 21 that was not picked up maintains its original conveying posture.

[0054] At the same time, the second battery cell group 22 on the second conveyor line 11 arrives at the flipping station. Another flipping mechanism in the flipping device 3 picks up one of the second battery cells B and completes a 180° flip. Similarly, only the top and bottom postures of the battery cell and the relative positions of the tabs are adjusted, while the overall orientation of the tabs remains unchanged. The remaining second battery cell B in the second battery cell group 22 maintains its initial posture unchanged.

[0055] In this embodiment, the flipping device 3 can adopt a servo drive combined with a clamping flipping structure. The flipping process is stable and controllable with small angle errors, which can effectively avoid problems such as cell collisions, tab deformation, and cell displacement. After a single cell is flipped, the flipping mechanism accurately resets the cell to its original position on the conveyor line, so that each group of cells forms a combination structure of "one cell in its original posture + one cell flipped 180°", providing an attitude basis for the pairing and stacking of the downstream stacking device 4.

[0056] It should be noted that this application allows for flexible adjustment of the switching positions and strategies of the two cell groups based on the actual product polarity arrangement and pairing process requirements. Specifically, two switching modes can be adopted: The first type is the alignment and flipping mode. In this mode, cells in the first cell group 21 and the second cell group 22 that are arranged in the same position along the conveying direction are simultaneously selected and flipped 180°. For example Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown in the two attached figures, the implementation of the aligned flipping mode is illustrated. Specifically, in each cell group on the first conveyor line 10 and the second conveyor line 11, cells at corresponding positions before and after each other are flipped synchronously. The flipped and unflipped cells within each of the two cell groups are arranged in a directly opposite position. Figure 3 and Figure 4 In the first cell group 21, one of the first cells A is flipped 180° to form cell A1. In the second cell group 22, one of the second cells B is flipped 180° to form cell B1.

[0057] The second type is the staggered flipping mode. In this mode, cells from the first cell group 21 and the second cell group 22, which are arranged in different positions along the conveying direction, are selected and flipped 180°. For example... Figure 1 As shown in the attached figure, the implementation of the staggered flipping mode is illustrated. The flipped cells in the two sets of cells on the first conveyor line 10 and the second conveyor line 11 are staggered in front and behind each other, and the flipped cells and the unflipped cells form a staggered arrangement structure.

[0058] The two flipping methods can be switched freely as needed without modifying the equipment structure, making the equipment more versatile and adaptable to different processes.

[0059] Please continue to refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The stacking device 4 is positioned downstream of the flipping device 3 along the conveying direction. The stacking device 4 completes the cell pairing through picking, alignment, and stacking actions.

[0060] Combining the various tab orientation arrangements of the first cell A and the second cell B mentioned above, as well as the different selective flipping modes of the two types of cell groups, the stacking device 4 of this application is configured with two structures: a rotating stacking device 4 and a translational stacking device 4. This can adapt to different cell posture conditions and ensure the pairing stacking accuracy.

[0061] In the operation of the rotating stacking device 4, after picking up an unflipped battery cell, the device can rotate the battery cell at a preset angle in the horizontal plane to correct the orientation of the battery cell's tabs, so that the unflipped battery cell and the target battery cell after flipping are adapted to each other. After the correction is completed, the stacking and bonding are completed, so that the upper and lower layers of battery cell tabs are close to each other and the tabs of the same polarity overlap and align. Figure 3 As shown, the first cell A, which has not been flipped in the first cell group 21, is stacked on top of the second cell B1, which has already been flipped, to form the first cell group 91 (AB1). Figure 3 As shown, the second cell B in the second cell group 22 that has not been flipped is stacked on top of the first cell A1 that has been flipped to form the second cell group 92 (BA1) by rotating and stacking.

[0062] The translation and stacking device 4 is suitable for operation scenarios that do not require angle correction. During operation, this device does not require horizontal rotation of the unflipped cells or alteration of the original tab orientation. It simply moves the unflipped cells onto the target cells after flipping them, achieving close proximity and complete overlap of tabs of the same polarity between the upper and lower layers. Figure 4 As shown, the first cell A, which has not been flipped in the first cell group 21, is stacked on top of the second cell B1, which has already been flipped, to form the first cell group 91 (AB1). Figure 4 As shown, the second cell B in the second cell group 22 that has not been flipped is stacked on top of the first cell A1 that has been flipped to form the second cell group 92 (BA1) by means of translation stacking.

[0063] In summary, during operation, the cell pairing system of this application first transports the first cell group 21 and the second cell group 22 via the first conveyor line 10 and the second conveyor line 11, respectively. Then, after the two cell groups enter the flipping station, the flipping device 3 selectively flips individual cells in the same or different positions within the two cell groups by 180° according to a preset process mode, ensuring that each cell group forms a structure of "original posture cell + flipped posture cell". After the posture adjustment, the cell groups continue to be transported downstream to the stacking station. The stacking device 4 adaptively completes the alignment and stacking according to the current cell flipping arrangement, forming two sets of finished cell groups with matching polarities, namely the first cell group 91 and the second cell group 92. These two sets of finished cell groups can then be further paired and combined to ultimately form a regular four-cell pairing structure.

[0064] This application employs a process logic of independent feeding via dual conveyor lines and selective flipping and stacking of individual cells. Four-cell pairing can be achieved simply by flipping each cell in a single 180° rotation within each group of cells. Compared to the traditional pairing process involving multiple flips and orientation adjustments, this approach offers significant technical advantages. First, this application eliminates the need for a second flipping of the entire battery cell group, reducing the number of flipping steps, simplifying the overall production process, compressing the cycle time of a single pairing operation, and effectively improving the efficiency of battery cell pairing.

[0065] Second, this application only performs a single cell flipping operation, which reduces the operation process of multiple cell displacements and repeated calibrations, avoids the cumulative positioning error caused by the superposition of multiple processes, improves the cell stacking accuracy and polarity arrangement consistency, and ensures stable and controllable cell pairing quality.

[0066] Third, by streamlining the flipping process, this application reduces the repeated contact and squeezing wear on the battery cells and tabs caused by mechanical clamping and flipping actions, thereby reducing the risk of defects such as battery cell appearance damage and tab deformation, effectively reducing the product defect rate, and improving the product production qualification rate and safety of use.

[0067] In some exemplary embodiments, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the flipping device 3 includes a first flipping mechanism 31 and a second flipping mechanism 32; The first flipping mechanism 31 is located beside the first conveyor line 10, and the first flipping mechanism 31 is flipped around an axis parallel to the first direction; The second flipping mechanism 32 is located beside the second conveyor line 11, and the second flipping mechanism 32 is flipped about an axis parallel to the first direction.

[0068] In this embodiment, the flipping device 3 includes a first flipping mechanism 31 and a second flipping mechanism 32, which are independent of each other. Each mechanism corresponds to one of the two conveyor lines and independently completes the cell flipping operation. The first flipping mechanism 31 is arranged beside the first conveyor line 10 (specifically, outside the first conveyor line 10), and this first flipping mechanism 31 is positioned with an axis parallel to the first direction (…). Figure 3 and Figure 4 The first conveyor line 11 has a rotating center (S-axis) to achieve the flipping action; the second flipping mechanism 32 is arranged on the side of the second conveyor line 11 (specifically, outside the second conveyor line 11), and the second flipping mechanism 32 also has a rotating center (parallel to the first direction) to achieve the flipping action.

[0069] This structure is particularly suitable for the preferred implementation scenario where the tabs of the first battery cell A and the second battery cell B are uniformly oriented towards the first direction. Under this tab arrangement, the first flipping mechanism 31 and the second flipping mechanism 32 are respectively located on the side of the corresponding conveyor line, and both of them complete a 180° flip around an axis parallel to the first direction; flipping along this axis does not change the orientation of the battery cell tabs, but only adjusts the position of the top and bottom surfaces of the battery cell and the position of the tabs relative to the thickness direction of the battery cell. This flipping scheme not only simplifies the arrangement of the flipping mechanisms and reduces the spacing between the two conveyor lines along the first direction, making the overall structure more compact, but also prevents bending, twisting, or other damage to the battery cell tabs during the flipping process, effectively ensuring the integrity of the battery cell's external structure.

[0070] In some exemplary embodiments, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the stacking device 4 includes a rotating mechanism 41 and a rotating arm 42; the rotating mechanism 41 is connected to the rotating arm 42 and drives the rotating arm 42 to rotate 180° in the horizontal plane; The rotating arm 42 is equipped with a gripper 43, which is used to grab the first battery cell A that has not been flipped or the second battery cell B that has not been flipped, and stack the grabbed battery cells onto the corresponding target battery cell under the drive of the rotating arm 42.

[0071] In this embodiment, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the stacking device 4 adopts a rotary stacking structure, specifically including a rotary mechanism 41 and a rotary arm 42. The rotary mechanism 41 is drive-connected to the rotary arm 42, enabling the rotary arm 42 to rotate 180° in a horizontal plane. The rotary arm 42 is equipped with grippers 43, which can pick up either the unflipped first cell A or the unflipped second cell B, and synchronously perform horizontal rotation attitude correction with the rotary arm 42. Finally, the adjusted cells are stacked on top of the corresponding flipped target cells, completing the cell pairing and stacking operation.

[0072] The rotating stacking device 4 used in this embodiment has good versatility and can be adapted to the two cell flipping modes mentioned above. Regardless of the cell assembly used... Figure 3 The shown alignment and flipping pattern, or the use of Figure 1In the staggered flipping mode shown, the rotating stacking device 4 can grasp the unflipped cells using the gripper 43 and rotate in the horizontal plane in conjunction with the rotating mechanism 41 to match the tab posture and position of the flipped cells in the lower layer. This ensures accurate polarity correspondence and aligned tabs between the stacked upper and lower layers of cells, effectively adapting to the cell pairing process requirements under different flipping arrangements, guaranteeing a neat and consistent pairing structure. Furthermore, compared to traditional solutions, this application, by incorporating the stacking device 4 into the cell pairing system, reduces the cumulative errors caused by multiple flipping and repositioning of cells, while also reducing the risk of cell wear and tab bending damage, significantly improving cell pairing accuracy, production stability, and product yield.

[0073] In one specific embodiment, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the rotating arm 42 is provided with two grippers 43, which are spaced apart along the rotating arm 42.

[0074] In this embodiment, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, two grippers 43 are arranged at intervals on the rotating arm 42, each gripper 43 including a first gripper 431 and a second gripper 432. The first gripper 431 and the second gripper 432 are spaced apart from each other along the extension direction of the rotating arm 42. The first gripper 431 and the second gripper 432 can synchronously perform the cell gripping action, and can pick up the first unflipped cell A and the second unflipped cell B at one time. The stacking device 4 drives the rotating arm 42 to synchronously complete the angle adjustment in the horizontal plane through the rotating mechanism 41, and then synchronously completes two stacking processes, stacking the corresponding cells on top of the two sets of flipped target cells, thereby improving the processing efficiency of the equipment in a single operation.

[0075] In a further embodiment, such as Figure 7 As shown, the stacking device 4 also includes a lifting mechanism 44, which is connected to the rotating mechanism 41.

[0076] In this embodiment, the stacking device 4 is also equipped with a lifting mechanism 44. The lifting mechanism 44 is connected to the rotating mechanism 41 and can drive the rotating mechanism 41, the rotating arm 42, and the gripper 43 to achieve vertical lifting displacement. By adding the lifting mechanism 44, the overall working height can be adjusted at each stage of the battery cell gripping, posture rotation, and stacking bonding process, effectively avoiding structural interference during battery cell picking, placement, and rotation, while ensuring the pressing bonding accuracy during battery cell stacking, avoiding battery cell collisions and misalignment, and further improving the stability and matching accuracy of the stacking operation.

[0077] In some other exemplary embodiments, the stacking device 4 adopts a non-rotational translational stacking structure, the stacking device 4 including a first connecting arm and a second connecting arm; the first connecting arm is provided with a first gripper 431, the first gripper 431 being slidably disposed on the first connecting arm; the second connecting arm is provided with a second gripper 432, the second gripper 432 being slidably disposed on the second connecting arm.

[0078] The translational stacking device 4 in this embodiment is adapted to Figure 4 , Figure 5 The illustration shows a battery cell pairing process scenario. In this type of operation, the stacking device 4 does not require horizontal angle rotation correction of the unflipped cells; stacking can be completed simply by translational alignment. In this embodiment, the first connecting arm and the second connecting arm can be flexibly arranged in either a cross-arrangement or a parallel arrangement, depending on the alignment and flipping mode and the staggered flipping mode mentioned above. This adapts to different battery cell arrangement structures and offers strong versatility.

[0079] When the first connecting arm and the second connecting arm are arranged in a cross configuration, the stacking device 4 adapts... Figure 4 The alignment and flipping mode is shown. In this mode, the first connecting arm is stacked on top of the second connecting arm, with a clearance between the two layers of connecting arms to ensure that the first gripper 431 connected to the first connecting arm can slide smoothly between the first and second connecting arms. In this embodiment, the first gripper 431, which cooperates with the first connecting arm, can slide independently along the arm body. Combined with the sliding action of the second gripper 432, it completes the alignment and translation of the two unflipped battery cells, ultimately stacking the battery cells above the corresponding flipped target battery cell, achieving alignment and contact of the same polarity tabs.

[0080] When the first connecting arm and the second connecting arm are arranged in parallel, the first gripper 431 and the second gripper 432 can slide in opposite directions along their respective connecting arms, and independently align and stack the two sets of cells by bidirectional reverse translation. This structure can adapt to the misaligned arrangement of cells in the staggered flipping mode, and compensate for the positional deviation of the cells by sliding stroke, so as to complete cross-pairing and stacking without rotation and orientation adjustment.

[0081] According to the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the stacking device 4 is disposed between the first conveyor line 10 and the second conveyor line 11.

[0082] In this embodiment, regardless of whether the stacking device 4 is a rotary stacking device 4 or a translational stacking device 4, the stacking device 4 is arranged in the area between the first conveyor line 10 and the second conveyor line 11.

[0083] This arrangement utilizes the unused space between the two conveyor lines, allowing the entire cell pairing system to be arranged in a straight line. The overall equipment layout is neat and coherent, effectively reducing the overall space occupied by the equipment and achieving a highly compact overall structure.

[0084] Meanwhile, the stacking device 4 is centrally located between the two conveyor lines, which ensures that the material picking and stacking strokes of the stacking mechanism to the first conveyor line 10 and the second conveyor line 11 are basically consistent. This ensures that the stacking actions of the two battery cells are synchronized, the cycle time is uniform, and the alignment accuracy is high, further improving the stability and consistency of battery cell pairing and stacking.

[0085] According to the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 2 As shown, the battery cell pairing system also includes a battery cell group rotating device 5, a first transfer device 61, and a feeding device 71; The cell assembly rotating device 5 is located downstream of the conveyor line assembly 1 and is used to selectively rotate the first cell assembly 91 or the second cell assembly 92 within a preset angle in the horizontal plane. The first transfer device 61 is located between the cell group rotating device 5 and the unloading device 71, and is used to transport each cell group to the unloading device 71 in sequence, so as to form a four-cell pairing group on the unloading device 71, which is composed of the rotated cell group and the non-rotated cell group. The feeding device 71 is used to feed the four-cell pairing group.

[0086] In this embodiment, the cell pairing system is further configured with a cell group rotating device 5, a first transfer device 61, and a feeding device 71. Each device is arranged sequentially downstream of the stacking device 4 along the conveying direction to complete the attitude correction, transfer integration, and finished product feeding of the first cell group 91 and the second cell group 92 after stacking, so as to realize the complete forming and automated feeding of the four-cell pairing structure.

[0087] Among them, the cell pack rotation device 5 can selectively perform a preset angle rotation in the horizontal plane on the first cell pack 91 and the second cell pack 92 after stacking, so as to match the cell pack pairing posture requirements under different tab arrangement methods.

[0088] The first transfer device 61 is arranged between the cell assembly rotating device 5 and the unloading device 71. It is mainly used to transfer the first cell assembly 91 and the second cell assembly 92 after attitude adjustment to the unloading device 71 station in sequence, so that the unloading device 71 can integrate the rotated cell assembly and the non-rotated cell assembly, and finally assemble them into a complete four-cell pairing group.

[0089] The feeding device 71 serves as the end effector, used to uniformly feed and output the formed four-cell pairing group, thus completing the entire cell pairing process.

[0090] The rotation strategy of the cell assembly rotating device 5 can be flexibly adapted to different cell tab arrangements and pairing conditions. Figure 1 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 In the corresponding implementation scenario, both the first and second cell groups 91 and 92, after being stacked, need to be rotated 90° by the cell group rotating device 5 so that the same polarity tabs of the first and second cell groups 91 and 92 are arranged facing each other, satisfying the polarity assembly requirements for four-cell pairing. Figure 5 In the corresponding implementation conditions, the pairing posture differs from the aforementioned conditions. It is not necessary to rotate the first cell group 91 and the second cell group 92 simultaneously. It is only necessary to selectively rotate either the first cell group 91 or the second cell group 92 by 90° horizontally, while keeping the other group unchanged in its original stacking posture. This allows the tab orientations of the first cell group 91 and the second cell group 92 to match each other, ultimately forming a four-cell pairing group with regular polarity and qualified structure at the feeding device 71.

[0091] According to the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the cell pairing system also includes an adhesive applicator 81 and an adhesive detection device 82; The adhesive applicator 81 is located downstream of the stacking device 4; The adhesive application detection device 82 is located downstream of the adhesive application device 81; The adhesive applicator 81 is used to apply adhesive to the battery cell assembly located in the conveyor line group 1; The adhesive application detection device 82 is used to detect whether the battery cell group located in the conveyor line group 1 has qualified adhesive application.

[0092] In this embodiment, the battery cell pairing system is also equipped with an adhesive applicator 81 and an adhesive applicator detection device 82, which are used to fix and encapsulate the first battery cell group 91 and the second battery cell group 92 after stacking and forming, and to detect the adhesive quality.

[0093] The adhesive applicator 81, located downstream of the stacking device 4, is responsible for automatically applying adhesive to and securing the stacked battery cell groups on the conveyor line group 1. Further, in this embodiment, the adhesive applicator 81 specifically includes a binding adhesive applicator 811 and a bottom adhesive applicator 812. These two mechanisms can apply adhesive to and secure the stacked first battery cell group 91 and second battery cell group 92 from different positions. Specifically, the binding adhesive applicator 811 mainly applies adhesive to the sides of the stacked first battery cell group 91 and second battery cell group 92; the bottom adhesive applicator 812 applies adhesive to and seals the bottom surface of the stacked battery cell group away from the tabs.

[0094] The adhesive application detection device 82 is located downstream of the adhesive application device 81. It is used to perform all-round inspection on the battery cell assembly after the adhesive application operation is completed, accurately determine whether the adhesive application position, adhesive length, adhesive width and bonding status of the battery cell assembly are qualified, and remove defective products such as adhesive misalignment, missing adhesive, incomplete adhesive application, and peeling, so as to ensure the consistency of adhesive application quality of finished battery cell assemblies.

[0095] According to the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 2 As shown, the cell pairing system further includes a second transfer device 62, which is located upstream of the conveyor line group 1 and is used to rotate the first cell A and the second cell B so that the tabs of the first cell A and the second cell B conveyed to the conveyor line group 1 are both oriented towards the first direction.

[0096] In this embodiment, by adding a second transfer device 62 upstream of the conveyor line group 1 to receive the battery cells output by the feeding device 72, the first battery cell A and the second battery cell B can be picked up and horizontally rotated for posture correction. Specifically, the second transfer device 62 can rotate the incoming battery cells according to a preset process posture to uniformly correct all the first battery cells A and the second battery cells B entering the conveyor line group 1, so that the tabs of both types of battery cells are arranged facing the first direction, ensuring that the feeding posture of the two battery cells is regular, uniform, and consistent, effectively ensuring the operational accuracy and stability of the entire process of subsequent flipping, stacking, gluing, posture fine-tuning, and finished product unloading.

[0097] This application also provides a battery production system. The battery production system includes the cell pairing system described above. In this embodiment, the battery production system includes the cell pairing system described in any of the foregoing embodiments, used to automate the stacking and pairing of battery cells.

[0098] This application also provides a method for pairing battery cells. This method is applied to the battery cell pairing system described above, which further includes a control device. The method includes: In response to the arrival of the first battery cell group 21 and the second battery cell group 22 at the flipping device; The control device controls the flipping device 3 to flip one of the first cells A in the first cell group 21 and one of the second cells B in the second cell group 22 by 180° respectively. The control device controls the stacking device 4 to stack the unflipped first cell A onto the flipped second cell B to form the first cell group 91, and to stack the unflipped second cell B onto the flipped first cell A to form the second cell group 92.

[0099] In this embodiment, a method for pairing battery cells is provided. Compared with traditional pairing methods, this method has the following advantages: 1) This method eliminates the need for a second flip of the entire battery cell assembly, reducing the number of flips, simplifying the production process, and shortening the production cycle, thereby effectively improving mass production efficiency.

[0100] 2) The single-cell flipping design of this method reduces cell displacement and calibration operations, avoids the cumulative positioning error caused by multiple operations, and significantly improves the accuracy and matching consistency of cell stacking and polarity arrangement.

[0101] 3) This method reduces wear on the battery cell casing and damage to the electrode tabs during mechanical clamping and flipping by simplifying the flipping operation, effectively reducing product defect rate and safety hazards.

[0102] The above embodiments mainly describe the differences between the various embodiments. As long as the different optimization features between the various embodiments are not contradictory, they can be combined to form a better embodiment. For the sake of brevity, they will not be elaborated here.

[0103] While specific embodiments of this application have been described in detail by way of examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the above examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this application. Those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of this application. The scope of this application is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cell pairing system, characterized by, The battery cell pairing system comprises: a conveying line group (1) comprising a first conveying line (10) and a second conveying line (11) arranged side by side along a first direction, the first conveying line (10) being used for conveying at least one first battery cell group (21), and the second conveying line (11) being used for conveying at least one second battery cell group (22); wherein the first battery cell group (21) comprises two first battery cells (A) arranged in sequence along a conveying direction, and the second battery cell group (22) comprises two second battery cells (B) arranged in sequence along the conveying direction; the first direction intersects the conveying direction; a turnover device (3) arranged beside the conveying line group (1) and used for turning over one of the first battery cells (A) in the first battery cell group (21) and one of the second battery cells (B) in the second battery cell group (22) by 180° respectively; a stacking device (4) arranged downstream of the turnover device (3) along a conveying direction of the conveying line, the stacking device (4) being used for stacking the unturned first battery cell (A) on the turned second battery cell (B) to form a first battery cell group (91), and stacking the unturned second battery cell (B) on the turned first battery cell (A) to form a second battery cell group (92).

2. The cell pairing system of claim 1, wherein, The turnover device (3) comprises a first turnover mechanism (31) and a second turnover mechanism (32); the first turnover mechanism (31) is arranged beside the first conveying line (10), and the first turnover mechanism (31) is rotatably arranged about an axis parallel to the first direction; the second turnover mechanism (32) is arranged beside the second conveying line (11), and the second turnover mechanism (32) is rotatably arranged about an axis parallel to the first direction.

3. The cell pairing system of claim 1, wherein, The stacking device (4) comprises a rotating mechanism (41) and a rotating arm (42); the rotating mechanism (41) is connected with the rotating arm (42) and drives the rotating arm (42) to rotate by 180° in a horizontal plane; the rotating arm (42) is provided with a gripper (43), and the gripper (43) is used for grabbing the unturned first battery cell (A) or the unturned second battery cell (B) and stacking the grabbed battery cell on the corresponding target battery cell under the driving of the rotating arm (42).

4. The cell pairing system of claim 3, wherein, The rotating arm (42) is provided with two grippers (43), and the two grippers (43) are arranged at intervals along the rotating arm (42).

5. The cell pairing system of claim 3, wherein, The stacking device (4) further comprises a lifting mechanism connected with the rotating mechanism (41).

6. The electric cell pairing system of claim 1, wherein, The stacking device (4) comprises a first connecting arm and a second connecting arm; the first connecting arm is provided with a first gripper (431) which is slidably arranged on the first connecting arm; the second connecting arm is provided with a second gripper (432) which is slidably arranged on the second connecting arm.

7. The cell pairing system of claim 3 or 6, wherein, The stacking device (4) is arranged between the first conveying line (10) and the second conveying line (11).

8. The cell pairing system of claim 1, wherein, The battery cell pairing system further comprises a battery cell group rotating device (5), a first transfer device (61) and a discharging device (71). The electric core group rotating device (5) is arranged downstream of the conveying line group (1) and is configured to selectively rotate the first electric core group (91) or the second electric core group (92) by a preset angle in a horizontal plane. The first transferring device (61) is arranged between the electric core group rotating device (5) and the discharging device (71) and is configured to sequentially transfer each electric core group to the discharging device (71) to form a four-electric-core pairing group composed of the rotated electric core group and the unrotated electric core group on the discharging device (71). The discharging device (71) is configured to discharge the four-electric-core pairing group.

9. The cell pairing system of claim 1, wherein, The electric core pairing system further comprises a rubberizing device (81) and a rubberizing detection device (82). The rubberizing device (81) is arranged downstream of the stacking device (4). The rubberizing detection device (82) is arranged downstream of the rubberizing device (81). The rubberizing device (81) is configured to rubberize the electric core group located on the conveying line group (1). The rubberizing detection device (82) is configured to detect whether the electric core group located on the conveying line group (1) is rubberized qualifiedly.

10. The cell pairing system of claim 1, wherein, The electric core pairing system further comprises a second transferring device (62) arranged upstream of the conveying line group (1) and configured to rotate the first electric core (A) and the second electric core (B) so that the tabs of the first electric core (A) and the second electric core (B) conveyed to the conveying line group (1) are arranged in a first direction.

11. A battery production system characterized by comprising: The battery production system comprises the electric core pairing system according to any one of claims 1-9.

12. A method of pairing cells, the method comprising: The electric core pairing system according to any one of claims 1-10 further comprises a control device, and the electric core pairing method comprises: in response to the first electric core group (21) and the second electric core group (22) reaching the turnover device; the control device controls the turnover device (3) to turn over one of the first electric cores (A) of the first electric core group (21) and one of the second electric cores (B) of the second electric core group (22) by 180° respectively; the control device controls the stacking device (4) to stack the unturned first electric cores (A) on the turned second electric cores (B) to form the first electric core group (91) and to stack the unturned second electric cores (B) on the turned first electric cores (A) to form the second electric core group (92).

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