Positioning mechanism and production equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the utility model provides a positioning mechanism and production equipment, the positioning mechanism is configured to be used for positioning a battery cell, the positioning mechanism comprises a limiting assembly, the limiting assembly comprises a first limiting piece and a second limiting piece, the first limiting piece is configured at the positive electrode end of the battery cell, and the second limiting piece is configured at the negative electrode end of the battery cell; and the clamping mechanism is configured on one side, close to the second limiting piece, of the battery cell, and the clamping mechanism is configured to be used for clamping a top cover of the battery cell. The first limiting piece and the second limiting piece are arranged on the two opposite sides of the battery cell, the clamping mechanism is used for clamping a top cover of the battery cell, when the battery cell needs to be assembled, the first limiting piece and the second limiting piece firstly limit the battery cell within the technical requirement range, the clamping mechanism drives the top cover to act according to the bending shape, and then the battery cell is assembled. And the control precision can be improved in the whole process, so that the safety of product application is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of battery technology, and in particular to a positioning mechanism and production equipment. Background Art

[0002] Energy conservation and emission reduction are the key to the sustainable development of the automobile industry. Electric vehicles have become an important part of the sustainable development of the automobile industry due to their advantages in energy conservation and environmental protection. For electric vehicles, battery technology advantages are an important factor in their development.

[0003] In the development of battery technology, in addition to improving the energy density of batteries, the safety of batteries is also an issue that cannot be ignored. Therefore, how to improve the energy density of batteries is a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently in battery technology. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a positioning mechanism and production equipment that can improve the bending control accuracy and enhance the safety of product application.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning mechanism, which is configured to be used for positioning a battery cell, wherein the positioning mechanism includes: a limiting assembly, including a first limiting member and a second limiting member, the first limiting member is configured at the positive end of the battery cell, and the second limiting member is configured at the negative end of the battery cell; a clamping mechanism, which is configured on a side of the battery cell close to the second limiting member, and the clamping mechanism is configured to clamp the top cover of the battery cell.

[0006] In the above-mentioned implementation process, the first limit member and the second limit member are arranged on opposite sides of the battery cell, and the clamping mechanism is used to clamp the top cover of the battery cell. When the battery cell needs to be assembled, the first limit member and the second limit member first limit the battery cell within the technical requirements, and the clamping mechanism drives the top cover to move according to the bending shape to bend the pole ear of the negative end to a specified shape. The whole process can improve the control accuracy, thereby improving the safety of product application.

[0007] In some embodiments, the clamping mechanism includes a first clamping member and a second clamping member, and the first clamping member and the second clamping member are spaced apart from each other to form a clamping station for clamping the top cover between the first clamping member and the second clamping member.

[0008] In the above implementation process, the first clamping member and the second clamping member respectively clamp the top cover of the battery cell, so that during the processing of the tab at the negative end, the tab can be bent into a specified shape to avoid the risk of touching the wall and forming an internal short circuit, thereby improving the safety of product application.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first clamping member is configured with a first clamping groove, and the first clamping groove is configured to accommodate a partial structure of the top cover.

[0010] In the above implementation process, the first clamping member is configured with a first clamping groove, which can limit the top cover well, thereby avoiding sliding when the pole ear at the negative end is bent, improving the bending control accuracy, and thus improving the safety of product application.

[0011] In some embodiments, the first clamping member is further provided with a first positioning structure, which can ensure the close fit and precise positioning of the components, ensure the accurate positioning of the battery cell and ensure that the bent tab of the negative terminal does not touch the shell, thereby ensuring the quality and reliability of the battery cell.

[0012] In some embodiments, the second clamping member is configured with a second clamping groove, and the second clamping groove is configured to accommodate a partial structure of the top cover.

[0013] In the above implementation process, the second clamping member is configured with a second clamping groove, and the second clamping groove can limit the top cover well, thereby avoiding sliding when the pole ear at the negative end is bent, improving the bending control accuracy, and thus improving the safety of product application.

[0014] In some embodiments, the second clamping member is further provided with a second positioning structure, which can ensure the close fit and precise positioning of the components, ensure the accurate positioning of the battery cell and ensure that the bent tab of the negative terminal does not touch the shell, thereby ensuring the quality and reliability of the battery cell.

[0015] In some embodiments, the second limiting member is provided with an escape opening, and the escape opening is configured for the insertion of the tab of the battery cell. By inserting the tab of the negative terminal into the escape opening, not only the battery cell can be limited, but the escape opening can also shape the tab of the negative terminal, ensuring that the tab will not touch the shell during the bending process, thereby ensuring the quality and reliability of the battery cell.

[0016] In some embodiments, the second stopper and / or the first stopper is provided with a third positioning structure, which can ensure the close fit and precise positioning of the components, ensure the accurate positioning of the battery cell and ensure that the bent tab of the negative terminal does not touch the shell, thereby ensuring the quality and reliability of the battery cell.

[0017] In some embodiments, the limiting assembly further includes a third limiting member, which is configured to support the battery cell, and a portion of the structure of the third limiting member extends to the outside of the battery cell, wherein the portion of the structure is configured to abut against the battery cell.

[0018] In the above implementation process, the third limiting member is located at the bottom of the battery cell, and part of the structure of the third limiting member abuts against the outside of the battery cell, which can be used to limit the battery cell, further ensuring the stability of the battery cell when bending, thereby improving the accuracy of bending control.

[0019] In a second aspect, the present application also provides a production device, comprising a positioning mechanism as described in any of the above items.

[0020] The production equipment provided in the second embodiment of the present application includes the positioning mechanism described in the technical solution of the first aspect, and thus has all the technical effects of the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0021] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in the following description, or some features and advantages may be inferred or unambiguously determined from the description, or may be learned by implementing the above-mentioned technology of the present disclosure.

[0022] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, preferred embodiments are specifically cited below and described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show certain embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For ordinary technicians in this field, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the positioning mechanism provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 2 A partial structural schematic diagram of the positioning mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] Reference numerals

[0027] 100, limit assembly; 101, first limit member; 102, second limit member; 1021, avoidance; 103, third limit member; 1031, supporting portion; 1032, limit portion; 104, third positioning structure; 200, clamping mechanism; 201, first clamping member; 2011, first positioning structure; 2012, first clamping groove; 202, second clamping member; 2021, second positioning structure; 2022, second clamping groove; 300, battery cell; 301, top cover. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The technical solutions 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 a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application described and shown in the drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the application claimed for protection, but merely represents the selected embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without making creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0029] In the present application, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "back", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "middle", "vertical", "horizontal", "lateral", "longitudinal" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the drawings. These terms are mainly used to better describe the present application and its embodiments, and are not used to limit the indicated devices, elements or components to have a specific orientation, or to be constructed and operated in a specific orientation.

[0030] In addition, some of the above terms may be used to express other meanings in addition to indicating orientation or positional relationship. For example, the term "on" may also be used to express a certain dependency or connection relationship in some cases. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of these terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0031] In addition, the terms "installed", "set", "provided with", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral structure; it can be a mechanical connection, or a point connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be an internal connection between two devices, elements, or components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0032] In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are mainly used to distinguish different devices, elements or components (the specific types and structures may be the same or different), and are not used to indicate or imply the relative importance and quantity of the indicated devices, elements or components. Unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0033] Example

[0034] In order to adapt to the continuous improvement of battery cell energy density, the thickness of the battery cell shell in mainstream applications has been reduced from the original 1.0mm to 0.5mm, and is still developing in the direction of thinner (0.35mm, 0.3mm), collectively referred to as thin-walled batteries. In addition to improving the energy density of the battery cell, thin-walled batteries can also bring a simpler layout and better thermal management effect. This is because the tabs of thin-walled batteries are located on the side, which can be compatible with two layers of water cooling systems on the upper and lower sides. Based on the above three factors, thin-walled batteries are the future development trend of the industry and are gradually being selected by mainstream new energy vehicles at home and abroad.

[0035] The three advantages of thin-walled long aluminum shell batteries are:

[0036] ① High platformization and high space utilization: The cell height is 80mm-110mm, which can effectively accommodate the space height requirements of vehicles on different platforms (A / B / C), and is easy to adapt to the different requirements of battery pack layout and vehicle ground clearance indicators. The space volume utilization rate is as high as 80%, making it easier to achieve a higher energy-to-weight ratio;

[0037] ② High production efficiency and low cost: The traditional way of connecting the tabs is that the tabs of the battery cell are pre-welded together by ultrasonic welding. After pre-welding, the tabs of the battery cell are ultrasonically welded to the connecting pieces, and the connecting pieces are then laser welded to the poles of the top cover of the battery cell. This connection method requires two ultrasonic welding processes and one laser welding process. The second ultrasonic welding has high power and high cost. At the same time, an additional connecting piece is required, which not only complicates the process but also increases the production cost. The thin-walled long aluminum shell battery cell adopts the tab-free connecting piece connection technology to improve production efficiency and reduce production costs.

[0038] ③Vertical layout of battery cells, double-sided contact and high thermal management efficiency: The harmonica tube liquid cooling plate can be arranged on both sides of the large surface of the battery cell, or on the top and bottom of the battery cell, which can realize double-sided cooling of the battery cell, increase the contact area of ​​the liquid cooling plate, and enhance the heat exchange capacity of the battery cell. When encountering superimposed working conditions such as high-speed climbing and high-power fast charging, the temperature difference is 3-5°C, which greatly improves the competitiveness of the product.

[0039] During the design process, the inventor discovered that after the bare battery cell has gone through the front-end production, it will enter the lamination, hot pressing, ultrasonic welding of the positive and negative ears, and laser welding of the negative electrode top cover, and will then enter the negative ear bending and Mylar film packaging process, which involves important links: battery cell positioning and negative ear bending. Regarding the negative ear bending link, the existing industry practices have shortcomings: the battery cell is not accurately positioned, resulting in the inability to control the regularity of the negative ear bending, which is prone to the risk of touching the wall, forming an internal short circuit, causing battery corrosion and leakage, and causing battery safety hazards.

[0040] In view of this, if Figure 1-Figure 2As shown, in the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning mechanism, which is configured to be used for positioning a battery cell 300, wherein the positioning mechanism includes: a limiting assembly 100, including a first limiting member 101 and a second limiting member 102, wherein the first limiting member 101 is configured at the positive terminal of the battery cell 300, and the second limiting member 102 is configured at the negative terminal of the battery cell 300; a clamping mechanism 200, which is configured at a side of the battery cell 300 close to the second limiting member 102, and the clamping mechanism 200 is configured to clamp the top cover 301 of the battery cell 300.

[0041] Exemplarily, the first limit member 101, the second limit member 102 and the clamping mechanism 200 all need to be connected to the driving member, and the first limit member 101 and the second limit member 102 are both located on the outside of the battery cell 300, so that when the driving member is driven, the first limit member 101 and the second limit member 102 can abut against the outside of the battery cell 300, thereby limiting the battery cell 300; it should be noted that the first limit member 101 and the second limit member 102 can be used to limit the longitudinal direction of the battery cell 300, wherein the longitudinal direction of the battery cell 300 includes but is not limited to the left and right direction, and the longitudinal direction of the battery cell 300 is the length direction of the battery cell 300.

[0042] In the above-mentioned implementation process, the first limit member 101 and the second limit member 102 are arranged on opposite sides of the battery cell 300, and the clamping mechanism 200 is used to clamp the top cover 301 of the battery cell 300. When the battery cell 300 needs to be assembled, the first limit member 101 and the second limit member 102 first limit the battery cell 300 within the technical requirements. The clamping mechanism 200 drives the top cover 301 to move according to the bending shape to bend the pole ear of the negative end to a specified shape. The whole process can improve the control accuracy, thereby improving the safety of product application.

[0043] like Figure 2 As shown, the clamping mechanism 200 includes a first clamping member 201 and a second clamping member 202 , and the first clamping member 201 and the second clamping member 202 are spaced apart to form a clamping station for clamping the top cover 301 between the first clamping member 201 and the second clamping member 202 .

[0044] Exemplarily, the first clamping member 201 and the second clamping member 202 can be configured as a symmetrical structure, wherein the first clamping member 201 and the second clamping member 202 can be driven by the same driving member or by different driving members. As long as the first clamping member 201 and the second clamping member 202 can clamp the top cover 301 of the battery cell 300, they can clamp the designated position according to the requirements of different products.

[0045] In the above implementation process, the first clamping member 201 and the second clamping member 202 respectively clamp the top cover 301 of the battery cell 300, so that during the processing of the tab at the negative end, the tab can be bent into a specified shape to avoid the risk of touching the wall and forming an internal short circuit, thereby improving the safety of product application.

[0046] In some embodiments, the first clamping member 201 is configured with a first clamping groove 2012 along a first direction, the first direction includes but is not limited to the up and down direction, the first clamping groove 2012 is configured to accommodate a partial structure of the top cover 301, wherein the first clamping groove 2012 can be configured as an opening shape, and the opening of the first clamping groove 2012 is distributed upward, so that when the first clamping member 201 clamps the top cover 301 of the battery cell 300, the top cover 301 of the battery cell 300 can move from top to bottom into the first clamping groove 2012.

[0047] In the above implementation process, the first clamping member 201 is configured with a first clamping groove 2012, and the first clamping groove 2012 can limit the top cover 301 well, thereby avoiding sliding when the pole ear at the negative end is bent, improving the bending control accuracy, and further improving the safety of product application.

[0048] In some embodiments, the first clamping member 201 is further provided with a first positioning structure 2011 along the first direction, wherein the first positioning structure 2011 includes but is not limited to positioning pin holes, and the number of the positioning pin holes can be set according to actual conditions, for example, six are provided, so as to ensure the close fit and accurate positioning of the components, ensure the accurate positioning of the battery cell 300, and ensure that the bending of the tab at the negative end does not touch the shell, thereby ensuring the quality and reliability of the battery cell 300.

[0049] In some embodiments, the second clamping member 202 is configured with a second clamping groove 2022 along the first direction, and the second clamping groove 2022 is configured to accommodate a partial structure of the top cover 301, wherein the second clamping groove 2022 can be configured as an opening shape, and the opening of the second clamping groove 2022 is distributed upward, so that when the second clamping member 202 clamps the top cover 301 of the battery cell 300, the top cover 301 of the battery cell 300 can move from top to bottom into the second clamping groove 2022.

[0050] In the above implementation process, the second clamping member 202 is configured with a second clamping groove 2022, and the second clamping groove 2022 can limit the top cover 301 well, thereby avoiding sliding when the pole ear at the negative end is bent, improving the bending control accuracy, and thus improving the safety of product application.

[0051] In some embodiments, the second clamping member 202 is further provided with a second positioning structure 2021 along the first direction, wherein the first positioning structure 2011 includes but is not limited to a positioning pin hole, and the number of the positioning pin holes can be set according to actual conditions, for example, six are provided. This can ensure the close fit and accurate positioning of the components, ensure the accurate positioning of the battery cell 300, and ensure that the bending of the tab at the negative end does not touch the shell, thereby ensuring the quality and reliability of the battery cell 300.

[0052] In some embodiments, the second stopper 102 is provided with a avoidance opening 1021 along the second direction, the second direction including but not limited to the left and right direction, and the avoidance opening 1021 is configured for the insertion of the tab of the battery cell 300. By inserting the tab of the negative terminal into the avoidance opening 1021, not only the battery cell 300 can be limited, but the avoidance opening 1021 can also shape the tab of the negative terminal, ensuring that the tab will not touch the shell during the bending process, thereby ensuring the quality and reliability of the battery cell 300.

[0053] In some embodiments, the second stopper 102 and / or the first stopper 101 are provided with a third positioning structure 104, wherein the third positioning structure 104 includes but is not limited to positioning pin holes, and the number of the positioning pin holes can be set according to actual conditions, for example, two or four are provided, etc. It can ensure the close fit and accurate positioning of each component, ensure the accurate positioning of the battery cell 300 and the bending of the tab at the negative end will not touch the shell, thereby ensuring the quality and reliability of the battery cell 300.

[0054] like Figure 2 As shown, the limiting assembly 100 also includes a third limiting member 103, which is configured to support the battery cell 300, and a portion of the structure of the third limiting member 103 extends along the first direction to the outside of the battery cell 300, wherein the portion of the structure is configured to abut against the battery cell 300.

[0055] Exemplarily, the third limiting member 103 includes a supporting portion 1031 and a limiting portion 1032, the supporting portion 1031 and the limiting portion 1032 are integrally formed, the supporting portion 1031 includes but is not limited to a "cross" shape, the limiting portion 1032 is arranged between the first limiting member 101 and the second limiting member 102, the limiting portion 1032 is distributed along the up and down directions, and the height of the limiting portion 1032 can be consistent with the thickness of the battery cell 300, and can also be higher or lower than the thickness of the battery cell 300.

[0056] In the above implementation process, the third limiting member 103 is located at the bottom of the battery cell 300, and part of the structure of the third limiting member 103 abuts against the outer side of the battery cell 300, which can be used to limit the battery cell 300, further ensuring the stability of the battery cell 300 when bending, thereby improving the accuracy of bending control.

[0057] In a second aspect, the present application also provides a production device, comprising the positioning mechanism as described above.

[0058] The positioning mechanism can be modularized, universal and flexible, and is suitable for thin-walled long aluminum shell battery cells 300 of different sizes. After adopting the new positioning mechanism, the DOE verification of the bending process of the negative pole ear of the battery cell 300 can be carried out quickly, shortening the product development verification cycle, so that the battery cell 300 can smoothly pass the battery cell 300 vibration test, the whole package vibration test, and the whole vehicle driving durability test, which truly improves the reliability of the product, reduces the risk of vibration failure to zero, and completely avoids the safety hazard caused by leakage due to internal short circuit caused by the negative pole ear touching the shell after packaging.

[0059] The production equipment provided in the second embodiment of the present application includes the positioning mechanism described in the technical solution of the first aspect, and thus has all the technical effects of the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0060] In all the embodiments of the present application, "big" and "small" are relative, "more" and "less" are relative, and "up" and "down" are relative. The expressions of such relative terms are not elaborated in the embodiments of the present application.

[0061] It should be understood that the "in this embodiment", "in the embodiment of the present application" or "as an optional implementation" mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, "in this embodiment", "in the embodiment of the present application" or "as an optional implementation" appearing throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. Those skilled in the art should also be aware that the embodiments described in the specification are all optional embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily required for the present application.

[0062] In the various embodiments of the present application, it should be understood that the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0063] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A positioning mechanism, characterized in that: The positioning mechanism is configured to be used for positioning the battery cell, wherein the positioning mechanism comprises: A limiting component, comprising a first limiting member and a second limiting member, wherein the first limiting member is arranged at the positive terminal of the battery cell, and the second limiting member is arranged at the negative terminal of the battery cell; The clamping mechanism is arranged on a side of the battery core close to the second limiting member, and the clamping mechanism is configured to clamp the top cover of the battery core.

2. The positioning mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clamping mechanism comprises a first clamping member and a second clamping member, wherein the first clamping member and the second clamping member are spaced apart from each other to form a clamping station for clamping the top cover between the first clamping member and the second clamping member.

3. The positioning mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first clamping member is provided with a first clamping groove, and the first clamping groove is configured to accommodate a partial structure of the top cover.

4. The positioning mechanism according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The first clamping member is also configured with a first positioning structure.

5. The positioning mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The second clamping member is provided with a second clamping groove, and the second clamping groove is configured to accommodate a partial structure of the top cover.

6. The positioning mechanism according to claim 2 or 5, characterized in that: The second clamping member is also configured with a second positioning structure.

7. The positioning mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second limiting member is provided with an escape opening, and the escape opening is configured for the passage of the tab of the battery cell.

8. The positioning mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that: The second limiting member and / or the first limiting member is / are configured with a third positioning structure.

9. The positioning mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The limiting assembly further includes a third limiting member, which is configured to support the battery cell, and a portion of the structure of the third limiting member extends to the outside of the battery cell, wherein the portion of the structure is configured to abut against the battery cell.

10. A production equipment, characterized in that: It comprises a positioning mechanism as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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