Battery cell stacking and extruding mechanism

Abstract

The utility model discloses a battery cell stacking and extruding mechanism, which comprises a battery cell bearing device, which is provided with a first accommodating cavity for bearing a horizontal battery cell, a second accommodating cavity for bearing a vertical battery cell, a first limiting part and a second limiting part; the first pushing device is provided with a first pushing part corresponding to the first accommodating cavity and a second pushing part corresponding to the second accommodating cavity; the first pushing device can push at least one flat battery cell located in the first accommodating cavity and / or at least one vertical battery cell located in the second accommodating cavity to be close to the first limiting part in the first direction; the second pushing device is provided with a third pushing part corresponding to the first accommodating cavity and a fourth pushing part corresponding to the second accommodating cavity; and the second pushing device can push the at least one flat battery cell positioned in the first accommodating cavity and / or the at least one vertical battery cell positioned in the second accommodating cavity to be close to the second limiting part along the second direction. And vertical type battery cell stacking and horizontal type battery cell stacking can be compatible.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the field of battery extrusion stacking equipment, and relates to a battery core stacking and extruding mechanism, in particular to an extruding mechanism for compatible with two battery core stacking methods. Background Art

[0002] For the application of batteries, it is usually necessary to assemble battery cores into battery modules. Taking a soft-pack battery module as an example, in the process of producing a battery pack, first, a plurality of battery cores need to be stacked into a battery core group, then a separator (usually a foam) is pasted on the end face of the battery core group and encapsulated to form a battery module, and finally, a plurality of battery modules are arranged and connected in a predetermined manner to form a battery pack.

[0003] Moreover, with the continuous update and upgrade of products, the equipment is required to have good compatibility and be able to be compatible with battery cores of different stacking methods.

[0004] There are two conventional battery core stacking methods. The first is to stack battery cores vertically, and the second is to stack battery cores horizontally. Currently, there is no extruding mechanism that can be compatible with both of these two battery core stacking methods.

[0005] In addition, the sizes of battery cores of different specifications are slightly different, which requires the extruding mechanism equipment to also have good size compatibility. Summary of the Utility Model

[0006] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a battery core stacking and extruding mechanism in view of at least one of the above technical problems for the deficiencies in the prior art, which can be compatible with the extruding mechanisms of two battery core stacking methods, namely vertical stacking of battery cores and horizontal stacking of battery cores.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the utility model provides the following technical solutions:

[0008] In the first aspect, the utility model provides a battery core stacking and extruding mechanism, including a battery core carrying device, a first pushing device, and a second pushing device;

[0009] The battery core carrying device has a first accommodating cavity for carrying horizontally stacked battery cores, a second accommodating cavity for carrying vertically stacked battery cores, a first limiting portion, and a second limiting portion;

[0010] The first pushing device has a first pushing portion corresponding to the first accommodating cavity and a second pushing portion corresponding to the second accommodating cavity; the first pushing device can, under the drive of a first driving device, push at least one horizontally stacked battery core located in the first accommodating cavity and / or at least one vertically stacked battery core located in the second accommodating cavity along a first direction to be close to the first limiting portion;

[0011] The second pushing device has a third pushing part corresponding to the first accommodating cavity and a fourth pushing part corresponding to the second accommodating cavity; the second pushing device can, under the drive of the second driving device, push at least one flat battery cell located in the first accommodating cavity and / or at least one vertical battery cell located in the second accommodating cavity along a second direction towards and against the second limiting part.

[0012] In the present utility model, the battery cell carrying device adopts a layered design, with the upper layer for stacking vertical battery cells and the lower layer for stacking flat battery cells, and is layered to form the first accommodating cavity and the second accommodating cavity, and respectively mechanically squeezes and stacks from two directions through the first pushing device and the second pushing device to the first limiting part and the second limiting part, so that the battery cells in the upper and lower layers can be stacked in alignment, and two battery cell stacking methods, namely vertical stacking of battery cells and flat stacking of battery cells, are compatible.

[0013] In some embodiments, the first accommodating cavity communicates with the second accommodating cavity, and the first accommodating cavity is located below the second accommodating cavity. Further, the width of the first accommodating cavity is smaller than the width of the second accommodating cavity, and a clamping table structure is formed at the connection between the first accommodating cavity and the second accommodating cavity for limiting the bottom of the vertical battery cell located in the second accommodating cavity.

[0014] By setting that the first accommodating cavity communicates with the second accommodating cavity and the width of the first accommodating cavity is smaller than the width of the second accommodating cavity, it is convenient to take the flat battery cells located in the lower layer, and it is beneficial to limit the bottom of the vertical battery cells in the upper layer.

[0015] In some embodiments, the first limiting part and the second limiting part are perpendicular to each other, the first direction is perpendicular to the first limiting part, and the second direction is perpendicular to the second limiting part.

[0016] Since both the flat battery cell and the vertical battery cell are cube structures, in order to align the battery cells, it is necessary for the first limiting part and the second limiting part to be parallel to two adjacent faces of the battery cell respectively, so the first limiting part and the second limiting part are perpendicular to each other.

[0017] Further, in combination with practical applications, the first direction can be the length direction of the battery cell carrying device, and the second direction can be the width direction of the battery cell carrying device.

[0018] In some embodiments, the battery cell carrying device further has a third limiting part parallel to the second limiting part, and both ends of the first limiting part are connected to the second limiting part and the third limiting part respectively.

[0019] Through the mutually parallel second limiting portion and third limiting portion, it is possible to better limit and support both sides in the length direction of the large surface of the vertical battery cell, preventing the vertical battery cell from falling down.

[0020] In some embodiments, at least one of the second limiting portion and the third limiting portion is provided with a first through hole for the third pushing portion to pass through and a second through hole for the fourth pushing portion to pass through. The first through hole is communicated with the first accommodating cavity, and the second through hole is communicated with the second accommodating cavity.

[0021] Through the above-mentioned first through hole and second through hole, it is convenient for the third pushing portion and the fourth pushing portion to push the flat battery cell located in the first accommodating cavity and the vertical battery cell located in the second accommodating cavity against the other second limiting portion after passing through, so as to perform alignment and stacking. In this embodiment, both the second limiting portion and the third limiting portion are provided with a first through hole and a second through hole, so that the center of the battery cell carrying device in the length direction has a symmetrical structure. Therefore, either one of the second limiting portion and the third limiting portion can be arbitrarily selected as the corresponding flat surface, and then the battery cells can be pushed and tightened through the first through hole and the second through hole on the other one of the second limiting portion and the third limiting portion.

[0022] In some embodiments, the battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism further includes a guiding component. The guiding component includes a guide rail arranged along the second direction and a sliding connecting piece. The sliding connecting piece is slidably installed on the guide rail, and the second pushing device is connected to the sliding connecting piece. Through the guiding component, the moving direction of the second pushing device can be defined. In addition, a limiting block can be arranged on the guide rail to limit the moving displacement of the second pushing device.

[0023] In this embodiment, the length of the second pushing device corresponds to the length of the two accommodating cavities. Therefore, the second pushing device is relatively long. The second pushing device is installed on the guide rail through the sliding connecting piece, and at the same time plays a supporting role.

[0024] In some embodiments, the power output end of the first driving device is connected to the first pushing device through a connecting piece, and the first driving device is one of an electric cylinder, a cylinder, and a hydraulic cylinder. In some embodiments, the power output end of the second driving device is connected to the second pushing device through a connecting piece, and the second driving device is one of an electric cylinder, a cylinder, and a hydraulic cylinder. Further, in some embodiments, the first driving device and the second driving device are electric cylinders. The electric cylinder includes a servo motor, a cylinder barrel, a lead screw arranged inside the cylinder barrel, and a transmission mechanism at least partially sleeved inside the cylinder barrel and connected to the lead screw; the power output end of the servo motor is in transmission connection with the lead screw, and is used to convert the rotational motion of the servo motor into the linear motion of the lead screw, driving the transmission mechanism to perform telescopic motion along the cylinder barrel direction.

[0025] Any driving device capable of achieving linear displacement transmission can be used as the driving device for the two pushing devices of this application. In the present utility model, an electric cylinder is selected because the electric cylinder can completely replace hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, and has the advantages of a more environmentally friendly, energy-saving, and cleaner implementation environment, and is easily connected to control systems such as PLCs to achieve high-precision motion control.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present utility model are as follows:

[0027] Through hierarchical design, the present utility model enables different battery cells to be mechanically squeezed and stacked separately in the upper and lower layers, and is compatible with two battery cell stacking methods: vertical stacking of battery cells and horizontal stacking of battery cells. Description of the Drawings

[0028] Figure 1 is a schematic three-dimensional structure diagram of a battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0029] Figure 2 is a schematic top view structure diagram of a battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0030] Figure 3 is a schematic structure diagram of a battery cell carrying device according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0031] Figure 4 is a schematic structure diagram of a guiding component according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0032] Figure 5 is a schematic structure diagram of a driving device according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0033] Figure 6 is a schematic structure diagram of vertically stacked battery cells after stacking according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0034] Figure 7 is a schematic structure diagram of horizontally stacked battery cells after stacking according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0035] Reference numerals: 1. Battery cell carrying device, 11. First accommodating cavity, 12. Second accommodating cavity, 13. First limiting portion, 14. Second limiting portion, 15. Snap structure, 16. Third limiting portion, 17. First through hole, 18. Second through hole, 19. Bottom plate;

[0036] 2. First pushing device, 21. First pushing portion, 22. Second pushing portion;

[0037] 3. Second pushing device, 31. Third pushing portion, 32. Fourth pushing portion;

[0038] 4. First driving device, 5. Second driving device, 6. Horizontal battery cell, 7. Vertical battery cell;

[0039] 8. Guide assembly, 81. Guide rail, 82. Sliding connecting piece, 83. Guide rail fixing plate;

[0040] 9. Electric cylinder, 91. Servo motor, 92. Cylinder barrel, 93. Transmission mechanism. Detailed implementation manners

[0041] The present utility model will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present utility model, and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0042] In view of the current lack of an extrusion mechanism that can simultaneously accommodate both the vertical stacking of battery cells and the horizontal stacking of battery cells, this embodiment provides a battery cell stacking extrusion mechanism.

[0043] As shown in Figure 1 , Figure 2 A battery cell stacking extrusion mechanism provided in this embodiment includes a battery cell carrying device 1, a first pushing device 2, and a second pushing device 3;

[0044] The battery cell carrying device 1 has a first accommodating cavity 11 for carrying horizontal battery cells, a second accommodating cavity 12 for carrying vertical battery cells, a first limiting portion 13, and a second limiting portion 14;

[0045] The first pushing device 2 has a first pushing portion 21 corresponding to the first accommodating cavity and a second pushing portion 22 corresponding to the second accommodating cavity; the first pushing device 2 can be driven by a first driving device 4 to push at least one horizontal battery cell 6 located in the first accommodating cavity and / or at least one vertical battery cell 7 located in the second accommodating cavity along a first direction towards and against the first limiting portion 13;

[0046] The second pushing device 3 has a third pushing portion 31 corresponding to the first accommodating cavity and a fourth pushing portion 32 corresponding to the second accommodating cavity; the second pushing device 3 can be driven by a second driving device 5 to push at least one horizontal battery cell 6 located in the first accommodating cavity and / or at least one vertical battery cell 7 located in the second accommodating cavity along a second direction towards and against the second limiting portion 14.

[0047] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 3 , the first accommodating cavity 11 is communicated with the second accommodating cavity 12, and the first accommodating cavity 11 is located below the second accommodating cavity 12.

[0048] Further, the width of the first accommodating cavity 11 is smaller than the width of the second accommodating cavity 12. A clamping platform structure 15 is formed at the connection between the first accommodating cavity and the second accommodating cavity for limiting the bottom of the vertical battery cell located in the second accommodating cavity.

[0049] In some embodiments, as Figure 1 , Figure 2 shown, the first limiting portion 13 and the second limiting portion 14 are perpendicular to each other. The first direction is perpendicular to the first limiting portion, and the second direction is perpendicular to the second limiting portion.

[0050] In some embodiments, as Figure 3 shown, the battery cell carrying device 1 further has a third limiting portion 16 parallel to the second limiting portion 14. Both ends of the first limiting portion 13 are connected to the second limiting portion 14 and the third limiting portion 16 respectively.

[0051] In some embodiments, as Figure 2 , Figure 3 shown, at least one of the second limiting portion 14 and the third limiting portion 16 is provided with a first through hole 17 for the third pushing portion to pass through and a second through hole 18 for the fourth pushing portion to pass through. The first through hole 17 is communicated with the first accommodating cavity 11, and the second through hole 18 is communicated with the second accommodating cavity 12.

[0052] In this embodiment, the battery cell carrying device 1 further has a bottom plate 19 which is horizontally arranged and serves as the bottom of the first accommodating cavity 11. More specifically, the side lengths of the bottom plate 19 in two length directions are respectively connected to the bottoms of the second limiting portion 14 and the third limiting portion 16, and one side length of the bottom plate in a width direction is connected to the bottom of the first limiting portion 13, forming a square box-like structure with an upper opening and an opening at one end in the width direction.

[0053] In this embodiment, both the first pushing device 2 and the second pushing device 3 are U-shaped plate structures. The U-shaped plate structure includes a first plate and a second plate arranged in parallel with each other and a connecting portion for connecting with the corresponding driving device. Both the first plate and the second plate are connected to the connecting portion.

[0054] In this embodiment, the first through hole 17 and the second through hole 18 are both arranged along the length direction of the third limiting portion 16. More specifically, the first through hole 17 and the second through hole 18 are both elongated through holes. Correspondingly, on the second pushing device 3, the length of the third pushing portion 31 is smaller than the length of the first through hole 17, and the height of the third pushing portion 31 is smaller than the width of the first through hole 17; the length of the fourth pushing portion 32 is smaller than the length of the second through hole 18, and the height of the fourth pushing portion 32 is smaller than the width of the second through hole 18.

[0055] In this embodiment, the width of the first accommodation cavity 11 shall not be less than the width of the flat battery cell 6, and the height of the first accommodation cavity 11 shall not be less than the thickness of the flat battery cell 6. The width of the second accommodation cavity 12 shall not be less than the length of the large surface of the vertical battery cell 7.

[0056] In this embodiment, through the hierarchical design of the above-mentioned first accommodation cavity 11 and second accommodation cavity 12, different battery cells are mechanically squeezed and stacked from two directions by the first pushing device 2 and the second pushing device 3 respectively in the upper and lower layers, which is convenient to meet the functional requirements of squeezing and stacking and for maintenance, and the cost is relatively low.

[0057] For battery cells of different sizes, only the sizes of the first limiting portion 13 and the bottom plate 19 need to be changed. While reducing the cost, the flexibility of this squeezing mechanism is improved.

[0058] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 shown, the battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism further includes a guiding component 8. The guiding component 8 includes a guide rail 81 arranged along the second direction and a sliding connecting member 82. The sliding connecting member 82 is slidably mounted on the guide rail 81, and the second pushing device 3 is connected to the sliding connecting member 82.

[0059] Further, in this embodiment, the sliding connecting member 82 is a slider. The slider is provided with a groove structure that cooperates with the guide rail. The slider is slidably connected to the guide rail 81 through the groove structure and can move along the direction of the guide rail 81. In this embodiment, the guide rail 81 is fixedly connected to a guide rail fixing plate 83. More specifically, the guide rail fixing plate 83 has a strip-shaped structure and is located directly below the guide rail 81. The guide rail 81 can be connected to the guide rail fixing plate 83 by bolts.

[0060] In some embodiments, the power output end of the first driving device 4 is connected to the first pushing device through a connecting member, and the first driving device is one of an electric cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder, and a hydraulic cylinder.

[0061] In some embodiments, the power output end of the second driving device 5 is connected to the second pushing device through a connecting member, and the second driving device is one of an electric cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder, and a hydraulic cylinder.

[0062] Further, the connecting member can be a bolt.

[0063] In some embodiments, the first driving device 4 and the second driving device 5 adopt electric cylinders. Further, as Figure 5As shown, the electric cylinder 9 includes a servo motor 91, a cylinder barrel 92, a lead screw (not shown in the figure) disposed inside the cylinder barrel, and a transmission mechanism 93 at least partially sleeved inside the cylinder barrel and connected to the lead screw; the power output end of the servo motor is in transmission connection with the lead screw, and is used to convert the rotational motion of the servo motor into the linear motion of the lead screw, driving the transmission mechanism to perform telescopic motion along the direction of the cylinder barrel.

[0064] In the present utility model, the battery cell carrying device 1 adopts a layered design, with the upper layer for stacking vertical battery cells and the lower layer for stacking flat battery cells. As Figure 6 shown, it is a schematic structural diagram of the stacked vertical battery cells 7 in this embodiment. As Figure 7 shown, it is a schematic structural diagram of the stacked flat battery cells 6 in this embodiment.

[0065] In summary, the battery cell stacking and pressing mechanism provided by the present utility model can be compatible with the pressing mechanisms for both the vertical stacking of battery cells and the flat stacking of battery cells.

[0066] In the description of the present disclosure / this application, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only used to explain the relative positional relationship and motion conditions between components in a specific posture. If this specific posture changes, then this directional indication will also change accordingly. It is only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure / this 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 to the present disclosure / this application.

[0067] In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first", "second", etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present disclosure / this application, unless otherwise stated, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more.

[0068] In the description of the present disclosure / this application, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "mount", "connect", "couple" 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, an electrical connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure / this application can be understood through specific situations.

[0069] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present utility model. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the technical principle of the present utility model, several improvements and modifications can be made, and these improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A battery cell stacking and extrusion mechanism, characterized in that: It includes a battery cell carrying device, a first pushing device and a second pushing device; The battery cell carrying device comprises a first accommodating cavity for carrying a flat-lying battery cell, a second accommodating cavity for carrying a vertical battery cell, a first limiting portion and a second limiting portion; The first pushing device comprises a first pushing portion corresponding to the first accommodating cavity and a second pushing portion corresponding to the second accommodating cavity; The first pushing device can, under the drive of the first driving device, push at least one flat battery cell located in the first accommodating cavity and / or at least one vertical battery cell located in the second accommodating cavity along a first direction to be close to the first limiting portion; The second pushing device has a third pushing portion corresponding to the first accommodating cavity and a fourth pushing portion corresponding to the second accommodating cavity; the second pushing device can, under the drive of the second driving device, push at least one lying battery cell located in the first accommodating cavity and / or at least one vertical battery cell located in the second accommodating cavity along the second direction to be close to the second limiting portion.

2. The battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first accommodating chamber is communicated with the second accommodating chamber, and the first accommodating chamber is located below the second accommodating chamber.

3. The battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The width of the first accommodating cavity is smaller than that of the second accommodating cavity. A card platform structure is formed at the connection between the first accommodating cavity and the second accommodating cavity, which is used to limit the bottom of the vertical battery cell located in the second accommodating cavity.

4. The battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first limiting portion and the second limiting portion are perpendicular to each other, the first direction is perpendicular to the first limiting portion, and the second direction is perpendicular to the second limiting portion.

5. The battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: The battery cell supporting device further comprises a third limiting portion which is parallel to the second limiting portion, and two ends of the first limiting portion are respectively connected to the second limiting portion and the third limiting portion.

6. The battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: At least one of the second limiting portion and the third limiting portion is provided with a first through hole for the third pushing portion to pass through and a second through hole for the fourth pushing portion to pass through, the first through hole is communicated with the first accommodating cavity, and the second through hole is communicated with the second accommodating cavity.

7. The battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: It also includes a guide assembly, which includes a guide rail and a sliding connection member arranged along the second direction. The sliding connection member is slidably installed on the guide rail, and the second pushing device is connected to the sliding connection member.

8. The battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power output end of the first driving device is connected to the first pushing device through a connecting piece, and the first driving device adopts one of an electric cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder, and a hydraulic cylinder.

9. The battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power output end of the second driving device is connected to the second pushing device through a connecting piece, and the second driving device adopts one of an electric cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder, and a hydraulic cylinder.

10. The battery cell stacking and squeezing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first driving device and the second driving device adopt an electric cylinder, which includes a servo motor, a cylinder, a screw arranged inside the cylinder, and a transmission mechanism that is at least partially sleeved inside the cylinder and connected to the screw; the power output end of the servo motor is transmission-connected to the screw, and is used to convert the rotational motion of the servo motor into the linear motion of the screw, driving the transmission mechanism to telescopically move along the direction of the cylinder.

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