Battery boss cutting equipment

Abstract

The utility model belongs to the technical field of battery recycling equipment, and particularly relates to battery boss cutting equipment which comprises a transferring mechanism, a lifting mechanism, a driving mechanism, a visual identification module and a cutting device, and the visual identification module is driven by the driving mechanism to collect position data needed by cutting a top boss or a side boss of a battery. The cutting device is at least provided with a first milling cutter, a second milling cutter and a spindle motor, the first milling cutter is provided with a side blade arranged around the rotating axis of the first milling cutter, the second milling cutter is provided with a bottom blade located at the bottom end of the second milling cutter, and the spindle motor can be controlled to mill a side boss of the battery through the side blade or mill a top boss of the battery through the bottom blade. At least the milling of the side boss is carried out when the battery is lifted to the preset height by the lifting mechanism, and the height relation between the battery at the cutting position and the transferring mechanism can be mechanically adjusted during production changing so as to adapt to the cutting of the side boss and the top boss.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of battery recycling equipment, in particular to a battery boss cutting device. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of new energy technologies, these cutting-edge technologies have been widely adopted in the fields of transportation and handling equipment. As the core driving force of these technologies, power batteries play an indispensable role. However, as the battery is used for a longer time, its performance will gradually weaken. Once the performance drops to a level that cannot meet the design standards, it will no longer be able to provide the required power for the equipment. In view of this trend, we can foresee that the recycling and reuse of power batteries will become a key issue and challenge in the industry in the future.

[0003] In the structure of power batteries, the battery body is composed of multiple battery cells, each of which is equipped with electrodes. These cells are electrically connected through special electrode connectors to form a complete battery body. Therefore, these battery connectors need to be cut and removed during the recycling process. In order to re-weld the electrodes, it is necessary to further use a cutting device to remove the bosses on the electrodes. The existing practice is to place the battery body on a transfer mechanism, and then cut the bosses by a cutting device after being transported to the cutting position. However, since there are currently two main ways to layout the bosses: located at the top or side of the battery body, it is relatively easy to handle the top bosses. However, when handling the side bosses, in order to avoid collision between the cutting device and the transfer mechanism at the bottom of the battery body, it is usually necessary to increase the distance between the battery body and the transfer mechanism. This is usually achieved by using a heightened carrier, but this practice is cumbersome to operate when changing products on the production line, which not only increases the cost of equipment and personnel, but also reduces the overall work efficiency. Therefore, the existing cutting equipment is not suitable for the automated cutting of top bosses and side bosses. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of the utility model is to overcome the difficulty of existing battery boss cutting equipment in being suitable for the automated recycling of the two types of batteries whose bosses are arranged on the top or the side, and to provide a method for raising the battery before cutting the side bosses by arranging a lifting mechanism to prevent interference between the cutting device and the transfer mechanism, thereby achieving the cutting of the side bosses.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the utility model adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A battery boss cutting device comprises a transfer mechanism, a lifting mechanism, a driving mechanism, a visual recognition module and a cutting device, wherein the transfer mechanism is provided with a cutting position, the transfer mechanism is used to transport the battery to the cutting position, the lifting mechanism is used to lift the battery at the cutting position to a preset height, the visual recognition module is driven by the driving mechanism to collect position data required for cutting the top boss or the side boss of the battery, the cutting device is provided with at least a first milling cutter, a second milling cutter, and a spindle motor for driving the first milling cutter or the second milling cutter to rotate, the first milling cutter is provided with a side blade arranged around its rotation axis, the second milling cutter is provided with a bottom blade located at its bottom end, the spindle motor can be controlled by the driving mechanism to mill the side boss of the battery by the side blade, or to mill the top boss of the battery by the bottom blade, at least the side boss is milled when the battery is lifted to the preset height.

[0007] Compared with the prior art, the cutting equipment provided by the utility model is equipped with a lifting mechanism to selectively lift the battery to a preset height at the cutting position according to the position of the required cutting boss, so that the driving mechanism, visual recognition module, laser cutting module, etc. will not interfere with the transfer mechanism when cutting the side boss, so that the height relationship between the battery at the cutting position and the transfer mechanism can be flexibly adjusted during product change to adapt to the cutting of the side boss and the top boss.

[0008] Furthermore, the driving mechanism includes a robotic arm with at least six rotating joints, and a driving rail arranged above the transfer mechanism for driving the robotic arm to move along the transport direction of the transfer mechanism, and the cutting device and the visual recognition module are arranged on the end rotating joint of the robotic arm.

[0009] Furthermore, the rotating joint at the end of the robotic arm is connected to a mounting seat, the spindle motor is arranged on the mounting seat, and the visual recognition module includes a camera arranged on the mounting seat adjacent to the spindle motor.

[0010] Furthermore, the lifting mechanism includes a base, a bracket located above the base, and a driving device arranged on the base for driving the bracket to rise and fall. The bracket can be controlled to rise and push the bottom of the battery.

[0011] Furthermore, the transfer mechanism includes a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt is configured with a plurality of rollers arranged at intervals, the lifting mechanism is arranged below the rollers, and the bracket is configured with a bottom support that can pass upward between two rollers.

[0012] Furthermore, the driving device is equipped with a lift rod that can be raised and lowered, the bracket includes a lift platform connected to the upper end of the lift rod, and a support plate that can rotate around an axis perpendicular to the lift platform, and the bottom support is fixedly arranged on the upper side of the support plate.

[0013] Furthermore, it also includes an offset recognition camera arranged above the cutting position, the offset recognition camera is used to identify the offset angle of the currently lifted battery relative to the reference, the pallet is provided with a rotating shaft rotatably connected to the lifting platform corresponding to the axis, the lifting platform is equipped with a telescopic cylinder, the telescopic cylinder is provided with a push rod which can be extended and retracted in a direction parallel to the pallet, the push rod is connected to a pull rod connected to the pallet, and the telescopic cylinder drives the pull rod to extend or retract according to the offset angle to drive the pallet to rotate around the rotating shaft.

[0014] Furthermore, the upper end of the lifting platform is provided with a plurality of bull's eye bearings which are in rolling contact with the bottom end of the support plate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of the cutting device, in which the boss is located on the side of the battery;

[0016] Figure 2 It is a partial schematic diagram of the cutting equipment, in which the boss is located on the top of the battery;

[0017] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cutting device and the visual recognition module;

[0018] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the tool changing device;

[0019] Figures 5 to 7 It is a structural diagram of the lifting mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] A preferred specific implementation of the present utility model is described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0021] See also Figures 1 to 3 This embodiment provides a battery boss cutting device, wherein the battery 101 (battery body) is composed of a plurality of battery cells, each of which is provided with an electrode on the side or top, and a boss for welding a connecting piece is provided on the electrode. The cutting device of this embodiment is used to cut off the above-mentioned boss, wherein the battery 101 (battery body) is composed of a plurality of battery cells, each of which is provided with an electrode on the side or top, and a boss for welding a connecting piece is provided on the electrode. Figure 1 The boss is located at the side of the battery 101, hereinafter referred to as the side boss 102', Figure 2 The boss is located at the top of the battery 101, hereinafter referred to as the top boss 102, and the cutting device includes a transfer mechanism 1, a lifting mechanism 2, a driving mechanism 3, a visual recognition module 5 and a cutting device, wherein:

[0022] See also Figure 1The transfer mechanism 1 is used to transport the battery 101, which is equipped with a cutting position 10. After the battery 101 is loaded onto the transfer mechanism 1, the transfer mechanism 1 transports the battery 101 to the cutting position 10. Specifically, the transfer mechanism 1 of this embodiment includes a conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt is equipped with a plurality of rollers 11 arranged at intervals. The battery 101 is placed on the roller 11, and the transportation of the battery 101 can be achieved by driving the roller 11 to rotate.

[0023] See also Figures 5 to 7 The lifting mechanism 2 is used to lift the battery 101 located at the cutting position 10 to a preset height. In this embodiment, the lifting mechanism 2 includes a base 21, a bracket 22 located above the base 21, and a driving device 23 arranged on the base 21 for driving the bracket 22 to rise and fall. The bracket 22 is equipped with a bottom support 223, which can be controlled to rise and pass through the two rollers 11, thereby pushing the bottom of the battery 101.

[0024] See also Figure 6 and Figure 7 The driving device 23 is equipped with a lifting rod 231 that can be raised and lowered. The bracket 22 includes a lifting platform 221 connected to the upper end of the lifting rod 231, and a support plate 222 that can rotate around an axis perpendicular to the lifting platform 221. The bottom support 223 is fixedly arranged on the upper side of the support plate 222. The above-mentioned bracket 22 can drive the battery 101 to rise and fall, and can also drive the battery 101 to rotate. The offset angle of the battery 101 can be adjusted by rotating the support plate 222.

[0025] See also Figure 6 and Figure 7 As an improved solution, it also includes an offset recognition camera disposed above the cutting position 10, the offset recognition camera is used to identify the offset angle of the currently lifted battery 101 relative to the reference, the support plate 222 is provided with a rotating shaft 224 rotatably connected to the lifting platform 221 corresponding to the axis, the lifting platform 221 is provided with a telescopic cylinder 24, the telescopic cylinder 24 is provided with a push rod 241 that can be extended and retracted in a direction parallel to the support plate 222, the push rod 241 is connected to a pull rod 242 connected to the support plate 222, the telescopic cylinder 24 drives the pull rod 242 to extend or retract according to the offset angle, so as to drive the support plate 222 to rotate around the rotating shaft 224, and the above-mentioned setting method realizes the automatic adjustment of the offset angle of the battery 101. It should be noted that the transfer mechanism 1 at least adjusts the gap between the two rollers 11 through which the bottom support 223 passes to allow the bottom support 223 to rotate to a certain amplitude.

[0026] In other embodiments, the telescopic cylinder 24 may also be other existing drives, such as a linear motor.

[0027] See also Figure 6 and Figure 7The upper end of the lifting platform 221 is provided with a plurality of bull's eye bearings 25 that are in rolling contact with the bottom end of the support plate 222 , and the bull's eye bearings 25 provide support for the rotation of the support plate 222 .

[0028] The driving device 23 is preferably a driving cylinder or a driving cylinder.

[0029] See also Figure 6 and Figure 7 In order to make the bracket 22 rise and fall smoothly, a guide rod 26 is provided at the bottom of the lifting platform 221, and a guide seat 27 that slidably cooperates with the guide rod 26 is fixedly provided on the base 21.

[0030] See also Figure 1 The driving mechanism 3 of this embodiment includes a robotic arm 301 with at least six rotating joints, and a driving rail 302 arranged above the transfer mechanism 1 for driving the robotic arm 301 to move along the transportation direction of the transfer mechanism 1. It is preferably a six-axis robotic arm 301, and the cutting device 4 and the visual recognition module 5 are arranged on the end rotating joint of the robotic arm 301.

[0031] See also Figures 1 to 3 The rotating joint at the end of the robot arm 301 is connected to a mounting base 31, the cutting device 4 is at least equipped with a first milling cutter 41, a second milling cutter 42, and a spindle motor 43 that drives the first milling cutter 41 or the second milling cutter 42 to rotate, the spindle motor 43 is arranged on the mounting base 31, the visual recognition module 5 includes a camera 51 arranged on the mounting base 31 and adjacent to the spindle motor 43, the visual recognition module 5 is driven by the driving mechanism 3 to collect the position data required for cutting the top or side boss 102' of the battery 101, the first milling cutter 41 is provided with a side blade 411 arranged around its rotation axis, the second milling cutter 42 is provided with a bottom blade 421 located at its bottom end, the spindle motor 43 can be controlled by the driving mechanism 3 by the side blade 411 as Figure 1 The side boss 102' of the milled battery shown, or by the bottom blade 421 as shown Figure 2 The milling of the top boss 102 of the battery shown, at least the milling of the side boss 102' is performed when the battery is lifted to a preset height. In this embodiment, the cutting of the top boss 102 and the side boss 102' needs to be performed when the battery 101 is lifted to a preset height, so that the offset angle of the battery 101 can be adjusted before cutting.

[0032] See also Figure 3As an improved solution, the mounting seat 31 is provided with a vacuum adsorption head 44 on the adjacent side of the milling cutter. The vacuum adsorption head 44 is provided with an adsorption port 441 on the side close to the milling cutter, and bristles 442 are provided around the adsorption port 441. The above arrangement can be used to adsorb pollutants such as chips and dust to prevent environmental pollution.

[0033] See also Figure 3 As an improved solution, a mounting bracket 431 is mounted on the spindle motor 43, and an air blowing pipe 432 is provided on the mounting bracket 431 for blowing air to the first milling cutter 41 or the second milling cutter 42, so as to achieve cooling.

[0034] See also Figure 3 and Figure 4 As an improved solution, it also includes a tool changing device 6, which is used to store cutting tools. The tool refers to the tool used to cut the boss described in the utility model, which at least includes the above-mentioned first milling cutter 41 and the second milling cutter 42. The end of the spindle motor 43 is provided with an assembly groove 433 for axially plugging with one of the tools. The tool changing device 6 also includes a tool holder 61. The tool currently installed in the assembly groove 433 can be controlled by the drive mechanism 3 to press downward against the upper end surface of the tool holder 61 in a direction perpendicular to the upper end surface of the tool holder 61, so as to obtain the distance between the bottom end of the tool and the reference of the drive mechanism 3, so as to achieve a correction effect, so as to control the movement amount when the boss is cut later.

[0035] The working principle of the utility model is as follows: the battery 101 is loaded to the loading end of the transfer mechanism 1, and the transfer mechanism 1 transports the battery 101 to the cutting position 10. When it reaches the cutting position 10, the transfer mechanism 1 pauses, and the bracket 22 of the lifting mechanism 2 rises to make the bottom support 223 pass through the gap between the rollers 11 to lift the battery 101 to a preset height. At this time, the offset recognition camera scans the offset angle of the battery 101 relative to the reference at a top-down angle, and the telescopic cylinder 24 extends and retracts according to the offset angle controller push rod 241, thereby driving the bracket 22 to rotate around the rotating shaft 224 to correct the angle of the battery 101. The above-mentioned algorithm for adjusting the angle according to the offset angle does not belong to the invention point of the utility model and is not explained here. Subsequently, the driving mechanism 3 drives the cutting device 4 and the visual recognition module 5 to move to the side of the battery 101 where the boss is provided, specifically including the top or the side, and rotates until the camera 51 of the visual recognition module 5 faces the boss. The camera 51 first collects the contour features and base point coordinates of the boss to control the driving mechanism 3 to adjust the position of the cutting device 4 according to the contour features and the base point coordinates, and then the first milling cutter 41 or the second milling cutter 42 mills the boss. When the cutting of a boss is completed, the driving mechanism 3 drives the cutting device 4 and the visual recognition module 5 to move to the position of the next boss again, and cuts the next boss according to the above steps. Similarly, when the cutting of each boss is completed, the driving mechanism 3 is reset, the lifting mechanism 2 drives the battery 101 to descend, the bottom support 223 leaves the gap between the rollers 11, and the transfer mechanism 1 starts to continue to transport the battery 101. It should be noted that the visual recognition module 5 and the offset recognition camera involved in the utility model are prior art, and their working principles do not belong to the invention point of the utility model, so they are not described in detail.

[0036] Compared with the prior art, the cutting device provided by the utility model is provided with a lifting mechanism 2, so as to selectively lift the battery 101 to a preset height at the cutting position 10 according to the position of the required cutting boss, so as to achieve that when cutting the side boss 102', the driving mechanism 3, the visual recognition module 5, the cutting device 4, etc. will not interfere with the transfer mechanism 1, so that when changing production, the height relationship between the battery 101 at the cutting position 10 and the transfer mechanism 1 can be flexibly adjusted to adapt to the cutting of the side boss' and the top boss 102.

[0037] According to the disclosure and teaching of the above description, the technical personnel in the field to which the utility model belongs can also change and modify the above implementation. Therefore, the utility model is not limited to the specific implementation methods disclosed and described above, and some modifications and changes to the utility model should also fall within the scope of protection of the claims of the utility model. In addition, although some specific terms are used in this specification, these terms are only for the convenience of description and do not constitute any limitation to the utility model.

Claims

1. A battery boss cutting device, characterized in that: include: A transfer mechanism (1) is provided with a cutting position (10), and the transfer mechanism (1) is used to transport the battery to the cutting position; A lifting mechanism (2), used for lifting the battery at the cutting position to a preset height; Driving mechanism (3); A visual recognition module (5) driven by the driving mechanism (3) to collect position data required for cutting the top boss (102) or the side boss (102') of the battery; The cutting device (4) is at least provided with a first milling cutter (41), a second milling cutter (42), and a spindle motor (43) for driving the first milling cutter (41) or the second milling cutter (42) to rotate, wherein the first milling cutter (41) is provided with a side blade (411) arranged around its rotation axis, and the second milling cutter (42) is provided with a bottom blade (421) located at its bottom end, and the spindle motor (43) can be controlled by the driving mechanism (3) to mill the side boss (102') of the battery by the side blade (411), or to mill the top boss (102) of the battery by the bottom blade (421), and at least the milling of the side boss (102') is performed when the battery is lifted to a preset height.

2. The cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that The driving mechanism (3) comprises a mechanical arm (301) provided with at least six rotating joints, and a driving rail (302) arranged above the transfer mechanism (1) for driving the mechanical arm (301) to move along the transport direction of the transfer mechanism (1); the cutting device (4) and the visual recognition module (5) are arranged on the end rotating joint of the mechanical arm (301).

3. The cutting device according to claim 2, characterized in that The rotating joint at the end of the mechanical arm (301) is connected to a mounting seat (31), the spindle motor (43) is arranged on the mounting seat (31), and the visual recognition module (5) includes a camera (51) arranged on the mounting seat (31) and located adjacent to the spindle motor (43).

4. The cutting device according to claim 3, characterized in that The mounting seat (31) is provided with a vacuum adsorption head (44) on the side adjacent to the milling cutter, the vacuum adsorption head (44) is provided with an adsorption port (441) on the side close to the milling cutter, and bristles (442) are provided around the adsorption port (441); And / or, a mounting frame (431) is sleeved on the spindle motor (43), and a blowing pipe (432) is provided on the mounting frame (431) for blowing air toward the first milling cutter (41) or the second milling cutter (42).

5. The cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that The invention also comprises a tool changing device (6), wherein the tool changing device (6) is used to store cutting tools, wherein the cutting tools at least comprise the first milling cutter (41) and the second milling cutter (42); an end of the spindle motor (43) is provided with an assembly groove (433) for axially plugging with one of the cutting tools; the tool changing device (6) also comprises a tool setting seat (61); the tool currently installed in the assembly groove (433) can be controlled by the drive mechanism (3) to be pressed downward against the upper end surface of the tool setting seat (61) in a direction perpendicular to the upper end surface of the tool setting seat (61).

6. The cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that The lifting mechanism (2) comprises a base (21), a bracket (22) located above the base (21), and a driving device (23) arranged on the base (21) for driving the bracket (22) to rise and fall, and the bracket (22) can be controlled to rise and push up the bottom of the battery (101).

7. The cutting device according to claim 6, characterized in that The transfer mechanism (1) comprises a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt is provided with a plurality of rollers (11) arranged at intervals, the lifting mechanism (2) is arranged below the rollers (11), and the bracket (22) is provided with a bottom support (223) which can pass upwards between two rollers (11).

8. The cutting device according to claim 7, characterized in that The driving device (23) is equipped with a lifting rod (231) that can be raised and lowered. The bracket (22) includes a lifting platform (221) connected to the upper end of the lifting rod (231), and a supporting plate (222) that can rotate around an axis perpendicular to the lifting platform (221). The bottom support (223) is fixedly arranged on the upper side of the supporting plate (222).

9. The cutting device according to claim 8, characterized in that It also includes an offset recognition camera arranged above the cutting position (10), the offset recognition camera is used to identify the offset angle of the battery (101) currently being lifted relative to the reference, the support plate (222) is provided with a rotating shaft (224) corresponding to the axis and rotatably connected to the lifting platform (221), the lifting platform (221) is equipped with a telescopic cylinder (24), the telescopic cylinder (24) is provided with a push rod (241) that can be extended and retracted in a direction parallel to the support plate (222), the push rod (241) is connected to a pull rod (242) connected to the support plate (222), and the telescopic cylinder (24) drives the pull rod (242) to extend or retract according to the offset angle to drive the support plate (222) to rotate around the rotating shaft (224).

10. The cutting device according to claim 8, characterized in that The upper end of the lifting platform (221) is provided with a plurality of bull's eye bearings (25) which are in rolling contact with the bottom end of the supporting plate (222).

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