Welding jig and battery cell production equipment

Abstract

The utility model relates to a welding jig and battery cell production equipment, and relates to the technical field of battery cell processing. The welding jig comprises a tray assembly used for bearing a to-be-welded battery cell. The flexible pressing assembly comprises a pressing plate and a pressing driving device, a protective cover is arranged on the pressing driving device, the pressing driving device is connected with the pressing plate, and an elastic buffering piece is arranged between the pressing driving device and the pressing plate. The pressing driving device can drive the pressing plate and the protective cover to move in the direction of the to-be-welded battery cell through movement, and when the pressing plate makes contact with the to-be-welded battery cell in a pressing mode, the elastic buffering piece applies elastic force away from the direction of the to-be-welded battery cell to the pressing driving device. According to the welding jig, the pressing plate integrally arranged with the protective cover is arranged, the elastic buffering piece is arranged between the pressing plate and the pressing driving device, flexible press fitting of the pressing plate and the protective cover is achieved, and the problem that a to-be-welded battery cell is torn after the protective cover is placed on a to-be-welded battery cell tab is effectively solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of battery core processing, and in particular to a welding jig and battery core production equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the existing battery production process, the tabs of the battery cell are generally connected to the adapter plate of the top cover by welding.

[0003] During the welding process, it is necessary to first use the circulating jig to move the battery cell and top cover to be welded to the preset welding position through the circulating robot inside the machine, and place the protective cover on the welding jig before the welding machine. After welding, remove the protective cover and move the protective cover to enter the next welding cycle. However, due to slight differences in the size and shape of the protective covers processed in different batches, and the robot is prone to poor positioning when grabbing and moving the protective cover, when the protective cover is placed on the welding jig, it is easy to cause the battery cell tabs to be fractured, which in turn leads to the scrapping of the product. Summary of the invention

[0004] In the related art, during the welding process of the battery cell, the protective cover or the clamping and positioning device is prone to fracture the pole ear due to positioning or size reasons.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a welding fixture, which comprises: a tray assembly and a flexible pressing assembly; wherein:

[0006] A tray assembly, which is used to carry the battery cells to be welded;

[0007] A flexible clamping assembly includes a clamping plate and a clamping drive device, wherein a protective cover is provided on the clamping drive device, the clamping drive device is connected to the clamping plate, and an elastic buffer is provided between the clamping drive device and the clamping plate, the clamping drive device can drive the clamping plate and the protective cover to move toward the direction of the battery cell to be welded, and when the clamping plate contacts and clamps the battery cell to be welded, the elastic buffer applies an elastic force to the clamping drive device away from the direction of the battery cell to be welded.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in one implementation, the pressing drive device includes:

[0009] A first mounting plate, on which a movable slide rail is provided;

[0010] The second mounting plate is movably mounted on the movable slide rail and can move along the movable slide rail. The second mounting plate is connected to the protective cover. At least one transmission component is arranged on the second mounting plate. The second mounting plate is connected to the elastic buffer through the transmission component.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in one implementation, the transmission assembly includes:

[0012] A linear bearing, which is disposed through the second mounting plate;

[0013] A guide rod is movably arranged in the linear bearing, and one end of the guide rod is connected to the pressure plate.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the transmission assembly further includes a limit device, which is connected to the other end of the guide rod, and the limit device is used to limit the movable stroke of the guide rod in the linear bearing.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in one implementation, the limiting device includes:

[0016] A limiting rod, one end of which is sleeved on an end of the guide rod away from the pressure plate, and the end of the limiting rod can move with the guide rod;

[0017] The limit buffer comprises a retractable movable end and a fixed end, wherein the fixed end of the limit buffer is connected to the limit rod, and the movable end of the limit buffer can be retracted to adjust the linear distance between the limit buffer and the second mounting plate.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in one implementation, the second mounting plate is provided with four groups of the transmission components, and the four groups of the transmission components are symmetrically arranged in pairs on the second mounting plate.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in one embodiment, a dust removal hood is provided on the protective cover, a dust removal pipe is provided on the dust removal hood, and the dust removal hood is connected to the negative pressure suction device through the dust removal pipe.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in one embodiment, a storage cavity for the welding machine welding head to enter is provided in the dust removal hood, at least three exhaust ports are provided in the dust removal hood, and the three exhaust ports can perform negative pressure dust removal on the welding machine welding head in the storage cavity from three directions respectively.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the tray assembly includes:

[0022] At least one cell placement plate, which is used to carry the cell to be welded. At least one positioning device, which is assembled on the cell placement plate, and the positioning device is used to limit the horizontal displacement of the cell to be welded carried on the cell placement plate.

[0023] In a second aspect, the present application provides a battery cell production device, which includes: a welding jig as described in any one of the above items.

[0024] The beneficial effects brought by the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application include at least:

[0025] By integrally arranging the protective cover and the clamping drive device of the welding jig, when the pressure plate is driven downward by the clamping drive device to compress the surface of the battery cell, the protective cover adheres to the surface of the battery cell pole ear, thereby assisting the welding operation of the welding machine welding head; when the clamping drive device moves upward, the protective cover also moves upward, thereby avoiding the problem of pole ear tearing caused by factors such as independent placement and independent clamping of the protective cover in the prior art; in addition, an elastic buffer is provided between the clamping drive device and the pressure plate, and the elastic buffer ensures that the flexible clamping assembly can absorb impact force when compressing the surface of the battery cell, thereby preventing the protective cover from cracking the pole ear of the battery cell. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the welding fixture in the embodiment of the present application when the battery cell is pressed tightly;

[0028] Figure 2 A top view of a welding jig in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the flexible pressing assembly in the embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 4 It is a partial schematic diagram of the flexible pressing assembly in the embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a schematic structural diagram of a tray assembly from a first viewing angle in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a schematic structural diagram of a tray assembly from a second viewing angle in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the protective cover and the dust cover in the embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the protective cover and the second mounting plate in the embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Fig. 9 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the dust cover in the embodiment of the present application.

[0036] In the figure: 1. tray assembly; 11. battery cell placement plate; 12. positioning device; 2. battery cell to be welded; 3. flexible clamping assembly; 31. elastic buffer; 4. pressure plate; 5. clamping drive device; 51. first mounting plate; 511. movable slide rail; 52. second mounting plate; 521. mounting hole; 53. transmission assembly; 531. linear bearing; 532. guide rod; 6. protective cover; 61. dust cover; 611. air inlet; 612. exhaust port; 7. limit device; 71. limit rod; 72. limit buffer; 8. welding head of welding machine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solution of the present application, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0038] In the related art, during the welding process of the battery cell, the protective cover or the clamping and positioning device is prone to fracture the pole ear due to positioning or size reasons.

[0039] First, as Figure 1 As shown, the present application provides a welding fixture, which includes: a tray assembly 1 and a flexible pressing assembly 3; wherein,

[0040] The tray assembly 1 is used to carry the battery core 2 to be welded. The flexible clamping assembly 3 includes a pressing plate 4 and a clamping drive device 5, the pressing plate 4 is connected to the clamping drive device 5, a protective cover 6 is provided on the pressing plate 4, and an elastic buffer 31 is provided between the clamping drive device 5 and the pressing plate 4, the clamping drive device 5 can drive the pressing plate 4 and the protective cover 6 to move toward the battery core 2 to be welded, and when the pressing plate 4 contacts and clamps the battery core 2 to be welded, the elastic buffer 31 applies an elastic force to the clamping drive device 5 away from the battery core 2 to be welded.

[0041] It can be understood that the pressing plate 4 is used to press the large surface of the battery cell 2 to be welded, and the protective cover 6 moves to the area to be welded along with the pressing driving device 5. After the pressing plate 4 presses the large surface of the battery cell, the elastic buffer 31 absorbs the impact force and applies an elastic force to the pressing driving device 5 away from the battery cell 2 to be welded, so as to prevent the protective cover 6 from fracturing the tab.

[0042] Specifically, Figure 2 and Figure 8 As shown, the pressing drive device 5 includes: a first mounting plate 51 and a second mounting plate 52; wherein,

[0043] The first mounting plate 51 is provided with a movable slide rail 511. The second mounting plate 52 is movably mounted on the movable slide rail 511 and can move along the movable slide rail 511. The second mounting plate 52 is provided with at least one set of transmission components 53, and the second mounting plate 52 is connected to the elastic buffer 31 through the transmission components 53.

[0044] Preferably, if Figure 3 As shown, a slide plate is provided on the second mounting plate 52, and the second mounting plate 52 is movably mounted on the movable slide rail 511 through the slide plate. A lifting drive mechanism is provided on the first mounting plate 51, and the lifting drive mechanism is connected to the slide plate. The lifting drive mechanism can drive the slide plate to move up and down along the movable slide rail 511 to drive the second mounting plate 52 to move up and down. The lifting drive mechanism can be driven by a cylinder lift, a screw module, a rodless cylinder, etc.

[0045] It is worth noting that the welding jig is connected to an external machine. During the welding preparatory work, the lifting drive mechanism drives the second mounting plate 52 to move downward so that the pressing plate 4 descends and presses the large surface of the battery cell. At the same time, the protective cover 6 descends to the area where the pole ear is to be welded. During this process, when the pressing plate 4 contacts the large surface of the battery cell, the elastic buffer 31 installed on the transmission assembly 53 will absorb the impact force of the downward pressure, and then deform to apply a force in the opposite direction of its movement to the second mounting plate 52, so as to achieve flexible compression of the battery cell to be welded. At the same time, since the protective cover 6 is directly connected to the second mounting plate 52, the movement of the protective cover 6 is synchronized with the second mounting plate 52, so that the pressing process of the protective cover 6 can also be a flexible up and down movement. During the whole process, the pressing plate 4 first contacts and presses the large surface of the battery cell, and then the second mounting plate 52 continues to descend until the protective cover 6 fits onto the tray assembly 1.

[0046] In one embodiment provided in this application, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the transmission assembly 53 includes: a linear bearing 531 and a guide rod 532; wherein,

[0047] A linear bearing 531 is disposed through the second mounting plate 52 ; a guide rod 532 is movably disposed in the linear bearing 531 , and one end of the guide rod 532 is connected to the pressing plate 4 .

[0048] It is worth noting that, in addition to driving the pressing plate 4 to move, the transmission assembly 53 also needs to ensure that the pressing plate 4 connected thereto moves smoothly up and down while maintaining a level. The above embodiment uses a linear transmission method of a linear bearing 531 and a guide rod 532 to drive the pressing plate 4 up and down. Since the linear bearing 531 has low friction and is relatively stable and does not change with the bearing speed, the pressing plate 4 can obtain a stable linear motion with high sensitivity and high precision to perform a clamping action on the battery core 2 to be welded.

[0049] Furthermore, the transmission assembly 53 also includes a limit device 7, which is connected to the other end of the guide rod 532, and is used to limit the movable stroke of the guide rod 532 in the linear bearing 531.

[0050] It is understandable that the applicant has found in the actual welding process that the tray assembly 1 is prone to interfere with the protective cover 6 or the pressing plate 4 when moving to the rear station. The limit device 7 is used to limit the movement range of the pressing plate 4. The user can adjust the movement range of the guide rod 532 and the pressing plate 4 through the limit device 7 to raise or lower the maximum lifting height of the pressing plate 4 and the protective cover 6, so that the tray assembly 1 after welding is completed will not interfere with other components when moving.

[0051] The present application provides an optional implementation of the limiting device 7 in the above embodiment, such as Figure 4 As shown, the limiting device 7 includes: a limiting rod 71 and a limiting buffer 72; wherein,

[0052] The limiting rod 71 has one end sleeved on the end of the guide rod 532 away from the pressing plate 4, and the end of the limiting rod 71 can move with the guide rod 532. The limiting buffer 72 includes a retractable movable end and a fixed end, the fixed end of the limiting buffer 72 is connected to the limiting rod 71, and the movable end of the limiting buffer 72 can be retracted to adjust the linear distance between the limiting buffer 72 and the second mounting plate 52.

[0053] Preferably, the limit buffer 72 can use a hydraulic limit buffer, and the end thereof that contacts the second mounting plate 52 is a movable end. A rubber pad is connected to the movable end of the limit buffer 72, and the movable end can adjust the extension distance thereof to achieve adjustment of the limit distance.

[0054] When in use, the limit rod 71 can move with the guide rod 532. When welding is completed, the second mounting plate 52 is driven to rise until it contacts the limit buffer 72. The locking effect of the guide rod 532 on the pressure plate 4 is invalid. As a result, when the second mounting plate 52 continues to rise, it will drive the limit rod 71 and the limit buffer 72 to rise together, thereby driving the pressure plate 4 to leave the large surface of the battery cell 2 to be welded.

[0055] Preferably, each transmission assembly 53 includes two sets of linear bearings 531 and guide rods 532, the limit buffer 72 is arranged between the two linear bearings 531, and the two ends of the limit rod 71 are respectively sleeved on the ends of the two guide rods 532, and the height adjustment of the limit rod 71 is achieved by driving the limit buffer 72 to extend and retract.

[0056] In some preferred embodiments, the second mounting plate 52 is provided with four groups of transmission components 53 , and the four groups of transmission components 53 are symmetrically arranged in pairs on the second mounting plate 52 .

[0057] In some optional embodiments, Figure 2 and Figure 8 As shown, a mounting hole 521 is provided in the middle of the second mounting plate 52. The protection cover 6 is partially bent and extends upward to be inserted into the mounting hole 521 and connected to the mounting hole 521.

[0058] Furthermore, if Figure 7 As shown, the protective cover 6 is provided with a dust removal cover 61, the dust removal cover 61 is provided with a dust removal pipe, and the dust removal cover 61 is connected to the negative pressure suction device through the dust removal pipe.

[0059] It is worth noting that the applicant has found that during the welding process of the battery core to be welded, a dust removal pipeline is required to continuously and stably remove dust from the welding area. However, the dust removal pipeline is installed on the welding machine, and the dust removal effect of the dust removal pipeline is poor because the welding machine needs to move. In the above embodiment, the dust removal cover 61 is directly or indirectly installed on the protective cover 6 instead of the welding machine, and the dust removal direction will not be affected by the movement of the welding machine, which effectively curbs the disadvantage of ineffective dust removal of weld marks.

[0060] Furthermore, a storage cavity is provided in the dust hood 61 for the welding head 8 to enter, and at least three exhaust ports 612 are provided in the dust hood 61. The three exhaust ports 612 can perform negative pressure dust removal on the welding head 8 in the storage cavity from three directions respectively.

[0061] Specifically, Fig. 9 As shown, the port of the dust hood 61 can wrap around the welding head 8 of the welding machine, and the port of the dust hood 61 is provided with two symmetrically arranged air inlets 611 and air exhaust ports 612, as well as a third air exhaust port 612 connected to the pipeline, thereby realizing negative pressure dust removal on the welding head 8 of the welding machine in three directions.

[0062] Optionally, the dust cover 61 can be connected to the pressing drive device 5 via a connecting block. Further, any dust removal method that can wrap the welding port can be applied to the above embodiments of the present application.

[0063] In some optional embodiments, Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the tray assembly 1 includes: at least one battery cell placement plate 11 and at least one positioning device 12; wherein,

[0064] At least one cell placement plate 11 is used to carry the cell 2 to be welded. At least one positioning device 12 is arranged on the cell placement plate 11, and the positioning device 12 is used to limit the horizontal displacement of the cell 2 to be welded carried on the cell placement plate 11.

[0065] Specifically, the tray assembly 1 includes two spaced-apart battery cell placement plates 11, and each battery cell placement plate 11 is provided with four positioning devices 12 on its side. The four positioning devices 12 are symmetrically arranged about the center of the battery cell placement plate 11 where they are located, and are used to lock and fix the battery cells 2 to be welded on the battery cell placement plate 11.

[0066] In a second aspect, the present application provides a battery cell production device, which includes: a welding jig as in any one of the above embodiments.

[0067] The use principles of the welding fixture in this application include:

[0068] Welding starts: the battery cell 2 to be welded is placed on the battery cell placement plate 11 on the tray assembly 1 through the front station. After the positioning device 12 is unlocked to fix the battery cell 2 to be welded, the tray assembly 1 is moved to align directly below the flexible clamping assembly 3, that is, the tray assembly 1 is aligned with the protective cover 6, and then the lifting drive mechanism on the first mounting plate 51 is actuated to cause the second mounting plate 52 and the pressing plate 4 to begin to descend. During the descent, the pressing plate 4 first contacts the large surface of the battery cell 2 to be welded and presses the large surface of the battery cell, and then the elastic buffer 31 begins to be compressed and deformed. The second mounting plate 52 continues to descend until the protective cover 6 fits with the tray assembly 1, at which point the descent stops. The welding head 8 of the welding machine is controlled to extend into the protective cover 6 for welding, and at the same time, the dust removal hood 61 installed above the protective cover 6 performs negative pressure suction dust removal in three directions for the dust generated by the welding head 8 during welding.

[0069] End of welding: After welding is completed, the welding head 8 of the welding machine is withdrawn, and the lifting drive mechanism on the first mounting plate 51 is activated to make the second mounting plate 52 rise. First, the protective cover 6 leaves the tray assembly 1 and rises until the second mounting plate 52 contacts the limit rod 71 on the transmission assembly 53, that is, the top locking of the transmission assembly 53 fails, so that the pressure plate 4 is separated from the large surface of the battery cell 2 to be welded, and the various components of the flexible clamping assembly 3 continue to rise as a whole until the height exceeds all the mechanism parts of the tray assembly 1, and then lock and stop the movement of the tray assembly 1 to move to the rear station to complete the welding.

[0070] In summary, the welding fixture of the present application is provided with a pressing plate integrally arranged with the protective cover, and an elastic buffer is provided between the pressing plate and the clamping drive device, so as to realize the flexible pressing of the pressing plate and the protective cover, and effectively solve the problem of tearing of the tabs of the battery cell to be welded caused by placing the protective cover. Furthermore, dust removal devices such as dust removal hood are installed on the protective cover, which effectively overcomes the problem of dust removal failure of the welding head caused by the connection between the protective cover and the welding head.

[0071] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. Unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be a connection between the two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0072] It should be noted that, in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0073] The above description is only a specific implementation of the present application, so that those skilled in the art can understand or implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest range consistent with the principles and novel features applied for herein.

Claims

1. A welding jig, characterized in that: include: A tray assembly (1) for carrying a battery core (2) to be welded; A flexible clamping assembly (3) comprises a clamping plate (4) and a clamping drive device (5), wherein a protective cover (6) is provided on the clamping drive device (5), the clamping drive device (5) is connected to the clamping plate (4), and an elastic buffer (31) is provided between the clamping drive device (5) and the clamping plate (4), wherein the clamping drive device (5) can drive the clamping plate (4) and the protective cover (6) to move toward the battery core (2) to be welded by movement, and when the clamping plate (4) contacts and clamps the battery core (2) to be welded, the elastic buffer (31) applies an elastic force to the clamping drive device (5) in a direction away from the battery core (2) to be welded.

2. The welding jig according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pressing drive device (5) comprises: A first mounting plate (51) on which a movable slide rail (511) is provided; A second mounting plate (52) is movably mounted on the movable slide rail (511) and can move along the movable slide rail (511). The second mounting plate (52) is connected to the protective cover (6). At least one transmission assembly (53) is provided on the second mounting plate (52). The second mounting plate (52) is connected to the elastic buffer (31) via the transmission assembly (53).

3. The welding jig according to claim 2, characterized in that: The transmission assembly (53) comprises: A linear bearing (531) is disposed through the second mounting plate (52); A guide rod (532) is movably inserted into the linear bearing (531), and one end of the guide rod (532) is connected to the pressing plate (4).

4. The welding jig according to claim 3, characterized in that: The transmission assembly (53) further comprises a limit device (7), wherein the limit device (7) is connected to the other end of the guide rod (532), and the limit device (7) is used to limit the movable stroke of the guide rod (532) in the linear bearing (531).

5. The welding jig according to claim 4, characterized in that: The limiting device (7) comprises: A limiting rod (71), one end of which is sleeved on an end of the guide rod (532) away from the pressing plate (4), and the end of the limiting rod (71) can move along with the guide rod (532); The limit buffer (72) comprises a retractable movable end and a fixed end, the fixed end of the limit buffer (72) being connected to the limit rod (71), and the movable end of the limit buffer (72) being retractable to adjust the linear distance between the limit buffer (72) and the second mounting plate (52).

6. The welding jig according to claim 5, characterized in that: The second mounting plate (52) is provided with four groups of transmission components (53), and the four groups of transmission components (53) are symmetrically arranged in pairs on the second mounting plate (52).

7. The welding jig according to claim 1, characterized in that: The protective cover (6) is provided with a dust removal cover (61), the dust removal cover (61) is provided with a dust removal pipe, and the dust removal cover (61) is connected to the negative pressure suction device through the dust removal pipe.

8. The welding jig according to claim 7, characterized in that: The dust removal cover (61) is provided with a storage cavity for the welding head (8) of the welding machine to enter, and the dust removal cover (61) is provided with at least three air exhaust ports (612), and the three air exhaust ports (612) can respectively perform negative pressure dust removal on the welding head (8) in the storage cavity from three directions.

9. The welding jig according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tray assembly (1) comprises: At least one battery core placement plate (11) used for supporting the battery core (2) to be welded; At least one positioning device (12) is arranged on the battery core placement plate (11), and the positioning device (12) is used to limit the displacement of the battery core (2) to be welded supported on the battery core placement plate (11) in the horizontal direction.

10. A battery cell production device, characterized in that: include: A welding jig as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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