Tab folding mechanism

Abstract

A tab folding mechanism comprises: a mounting substrate; the bending knife assembly is horizontally and movably arranged on the mounting base plate and comprises a bending knife mounting block, a bending knife and an elastic piece, the bending knife mounting block is horizontally and movably arranged on the mounting base plate, the bending knife is rotatably arranged on the bending knife mounting block through a rotating shaft, and the elastic piece enables the bending knife to rotate upwards and reset; the bending roller assembly is arranged on the mounting base plate in a horizontal moving manner and is opposite to the bending cutter assembly, the bending roller assembly comprises a roller bracket and a bending roller, the roller bracket is arranged on the mounting base plate in a horizontal moving manner, the bending roller is arranged on the roller bracket, and the bending roller is higher than the bending cutter; and the bending knife is opposite to the bending roller, and the bending knife and the bending roller can move towards each other or be far away from each other. According to the utility model, the bending knife capable of rotating downwards is arranged, so that the tab can be prevented from being damaged due to excessive stretching during bending, and the product yield is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of lithium battery automatic production equipment, and particularly relates to a pole ear folding mechanism for a battery preparation process. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of the lithium battery industry, the application of lithium batteries is becoming more and more extensive. At present, lithium batteries have become the main power source of modern electronic devices and electric transportation vehicles. When some batteries are assembled into the shell, the pole ears need to be folded to prevent short circuits caused by the contact between the pole ears and the shell due to vibration during transportation and use. At present, the pole ear folding processes mainly include the V-shaped pole ear folding process and the Z-shaped pole ear folding process. When the V-shaped pole ear folding process is used, it is easy to have the problem that the pole ear is too long and contacts the battery cell shell after the battery cap is buckled, resulting in a short circuit. In contrast, the Z-shaped pole ear folding process can avoid this problem. The existing Z-shaped pole ear folding process is that a pair of pole ear folding knives move towards each other, the folding knives contact the pole ears, and the folded pole ears are formed by stamping. This way of folding the pole ears is prone to over-stretching the pole ears during the process of bending the pole ears by the folding knives, causing damage to the pole ears and reducing the yield. Summary of the Utility Model

[0003] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a pole ear folding mechanism that can reduce the damage of the pole ears and improve the yield.

[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the following technical solutions are adopted in the utility model:

[0005] A pole ear folding mechanism includes: a mounting substrate; a folding knife assembly movably arranged horizontally on the mounting substrate, the folding knife assembly including: a folding knife mounting block movably arranged horizontally on the mounting substrate, a folding knife rotatably arranged on the folding knife mounting block through a rotating shaft, and an elastic member for making the folding knife rotate upward and reset; a bending roller assembly movably arranged horizontally on the mounting substrate and opposite to the folding knife assembly, the bending roller assembly including: a roller bracket movably arranged horizontally on the mounting substrate and a bending roller arranged on the roller bracket, the bending roller being higher than the folding knife; the folding knife and the bending roller are opposite to each other, and the folding knife and the bending roller can move towards each other or away from each other.

[0006] In some embodiments, the folding knife mounting block has a cavity for accommodating a part of the folding knife, the head of the folding knife extends out of the cavity and faces the bending roller assembly; one end of the elastic member abuts against the tail of the folding knife, and the other end abuts against the top wall of the cavity; the bottom surface of the cavity has a limiting inclined surface extending outward and downward starting from below the rotating shaft, and when the folding knife rotates around the rotating shaft, it can rotate down to contact the limiting inclined surface at the lowest.

[0007] Further, the elastic member is a compression spring, one end of the compression spring presses on the tail of the folding cutter, and the other end is fixed by a spring positioning pin.

[0008] Further, the range of downward rotation of the folding cutter is 5-10°.

[0009] In some embodiments, a horizontally extending slide rail is provided on the mounting substrate, and a folding cutter slide seat and a roller slide seat that can move along the slide rail are provided on the slide rail; the folding cutter mounting block is arranged on the folding cutter slide seat, and the roller bracket is arranged on the roller slide seat.

[0010] Further, the folding cutter mounting block is connected to the folding cutter slide seat through a first adapter plate, a strip-shaped hole extending in the horizontal direction is provided on the first adapter plate, and the first adapter plate is arranged on the folding cutter slide seat through a threaded fastener passing through the strip-shaped hole.

[0011] Furthermore, a micrometer is provided on the first adapter plate, and the end of the screw rod of the micrometer abuts against a first reference block fixed to the folding cutter slide seat; and / or, the mounting height of the folding cutter mounting block on the first adapter plate is adjustable.

[0012] Further, the roller bracket is connected to the roller slide seat through a second adapter plate, a strip-shaped hole extending in the horizontal direction is provided on the second adapter plate, and the second adapter plate is arranged on the roller slide seat through a threaded fastener passing through the strip-shaped hole.

[0013] Furthermore, a micrometer is provided on the roller slide seat, and the end of the screw rod of the micrometer abuts against a second reference block fixed to the second adapter plate; and / or, the mounting height of the roller bracket on the second adapter plate is adjustable.

[0014] In some embodiments, a Teflon coating is provided on the outside of the head of the folding cutter.

[0015] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the present invention is provided with a folding cutter that can rotate downward. When the folding roller presses down the battery cap, the folding cutter can rotate downward under the action of pressure, so as to avoid damage to the pole ear caused by excessive stretching when the pole ear is bent, and improve the product yield. In a preferred embodiment, the positions of the folding cutter mounting block and the roller bracket can be accurately adjusted by a micrometer, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy and yield of pole ear bending. Description of the Drawings

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0017] Figure 1 Structural schematic diagram of the folding tab mechanism for the embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 Structural schematic diagram of the folding tab mechanism from another angle for the embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 Structural schematic diagram of the folding bending tool assembly for the embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 Structural schematic diagram of the folding bending tool assembly from another angle for the embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 5 For the Figure 4 Cross-sectional view along line A-A in;

[0022] Figure 6 Structural schematic diagram of the folding bending tool for the embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] The following further details the specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the drawings. Specific Embodiments

[0024] The following describes the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings. When detailing the embodiments of the present invention, for ease of explanation, the drawings showing the device structure will be enlarged locally not in accordance with the general scale, and the schematic diagrams are only examples and should not limit the scope of protection of the present invention here. It should be noted that the drawings are in a simplified form and all use non-precise scales, only for facilitating and clearly assisting in explaining the purpose of the embodiments of the present invention. At the same time, in the description of this application, terms such as "first", "second", etc. are only used for differential description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features; terms such as "front", "back", "bottom", "top", "bottom", etc. indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for facilitating the description of the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the indicated device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus cannot be understood as a limitation to the present invention.

[0025] In the description of the present utility model, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "connected" and "coupled" shall be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and may also be the communication inside two components. It may be a wireless connection or a wired connection. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present utility model can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0026] In some battery manufacturing processes, after the tab is welded to the cap, the tab needs to be bent, and this process is generally completed by a tab bending mechanism. As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the tab bending mechanism of this embodiment includes a mounting substrate 1, and a tab bending knife assembly 2 and a tab bending roller assembly 3 that are horizontally movably arranged on the mounting substrate 1. The tab bending knife assembly 2 and the tab bending roller assembly 3 are arranged oppositely, and they can reciprocate along the direction indicated by the double-headed arrow in Figure 1 so as to move towards each other and separate from each other. When bending the tab, the tab bending knife assembly 2 and the tab bending roller assembly 3 approach each other, and after the bending is completed, the tab bending knife assembly 2 and the tab bending roller assembly 3 separate from each other.

[0027] In this embodiment, a horizontally extending slide rail 1-1 is provided on the mounting substrate 1. The tab bending knife assembly 2 and the tab bending roller assembly 3 are arranged on the slide rail 1-1, and the tab bending knife assembly 2 and the tab bending roller assembly 3 move along the slide rail 1-1 under the drive of a drive unit (not shown) to perform the operation of bending the tab located between the tab bending knife assembly 2 and the tab bending roller assembly 3. The drive unit can adopt conventional drive devices such as motors and cylinders. When using a motor, it can be transmitted through transmission structures such as transmission shafts, transmission gears, transmission belts, and cams, so as to drive the tab bending knife assembly and the tab bending roller assembly to move. The drive unit and the transmission structure can both adopt conventional methods as long as they can drive the tab bending knife assembly or the tab bending roller assembly to move, and are not limited here.

[0028] The tab bending knife assembly 2 of this embodiment includes a tab bending knife 2-1, a tab bending knife mounting block 2-2, a tab bending knife slide block 2-3, and an elastic member 2-4. The tab bending knife slide block 2-3 is arranged on the slide rail 1-1 and can horizontally move relative to the mounting substrate 1 under the drive of the drive unit. The tab bending knife mounting block 2-2 is arranged on the tab bending knife slide block 2-3 and can move together with the tab bending knife slide block 2-3. The tab bending knife mounting block 2-2 is used to mount the tab bending knife 2-1.

[0029] The folding bending knife 2-1 is rotatably arranged on the folding bending knife mounting block 2-2 through a rotating shaft 2-5. The head of the folding bending knife 2-1 (the end of the folding bending knife 2-1 opposite to the bending roller is the head, and the other end is the tail. The head of the folding bending knife is the part in contact with the tab) faces the bending roller assembly. The axial direction of the rotating shaft 2-5 is perpendicular to the extending direction of the folding bending knife 2-1 (i.e., the horizontal moving direction of the folding bending knife), and the folding bending knife 2-1 can rotate around the rotating shaft 2-5, so that the head of the folding bending knife 2-1 can swing up and down along the Figure 2 direction indicated by the double-headed arrow in the figure.

[0030] As Figure 5 shown, as an alternative embodiment, the folding bending knife mounting block 2-2 of this embodiment has an inner cavity 2-2a for accommodating the folding bending knife 2-1. The folding bending knife 2-1 is at least partially arranged in the inner cavity 2-2a, and the head of the folding bending knife 2-1 extends out of the inner cavity 2-2a. A through hole for the rotating shaft 2-5 to pass through is arranged on the folding bending knife 2-1. The rotating shaft 2-5 passes through the through hole on the folding bending knife 2-1 and is fixed on the wall of the inner cavity 2-2a at both ends. One end of the elastic member 2-4 abuts against the tail of the folding bending knife 2-1, and the other end abuts against the folding bending knife mounting block 2-2 (the top wall of the inner cavity), providing a force for the folding bending knife 2-1 to rotate upward and reset to the horizontal state.

[0031] Optionally, the elastic member 2-4 of this embodiment is a compression spring. One end of the compression spring presses on the tail of the folding bending knife 2-1, and the other end is fixed by a spring positioning pin 2-6. The lower part of the spring positioning pin 2-6 penetrates into the inner cavity 2-2a, and the compression spring is sleeved on the spring positioning pin 2-6. In addition to fixing the elastic member 2-4, the spring positioning pin 2-6 can also adjust the elastic force of the compression spring by twisting the spring positioning pin 2-6. Further optionally, on the head of the folding bending knife 2-1 ( Figure 5 the area within the dotted rectangular frame in the figure) the outer surface is sprayed with Teflon, that is, the outer surface of the head of the folding bending knife 2-1 is provided with a Teflon coating.

[0032] As a specific implementation manner of the present invention, the bottom surface of the inner cavity 2-2a has a limiting inclined surface s. The limiting inclined surface s extends outward and downward from below the rotating shaft 2-5 to the end face of the folding bending knife mounting block 2-2 that extends out of the folding bending knife. When the folding bending knife 2-1 rotates around the rotating shaft 2-5, it can rotate downward at least until it contacts the limiting inclined surface s. When the folding bending knife 2-1 contacts the limiting inclined surface s, it will be restricted by the limiting inclined surface s and cannot continue to rotate downward. Specifically, the included angle between the limiting inclined surface s and the bottom surface (horizontal plane) of the folding bending knife when the folding bending knife 2-1 is in the horizontal state is 5-10°, that is, the range of the folding bending knife 2-1 rotating downward from the horizontal state is 5-10°. In this embodiment, the included angle between the limiting inclined surface s and the horizontal plane is 7.6°, that is, the folding bending knife 2-1 can rotate downward at most 7.6°.

[0033] The bending roller assembly 3 of this embodiment includes a bending roller 3-1, a roller bracket 3-2, and a roller slide 3-3. The roller slide 3-3 is arranged on the slide rail 1-1 and can move along the slide rail 1-1, so as to move horizontally relative to the mounting substrate 1. The roller bracket 3-2 is arranged on the roller slide 3-3 and can move together with the roller slide 3-3. The bending roller 3-1 is rotatably arranged on the roller bracket 3-2 about its own axis. The axial direction of the bending roller 3-1 is parallel to the axial direction of the rotating shaft 2-5. The bending knife 2-1 and the bending roller 3-1 are arranged oppositely. The bending knife 2-1 and the bending roller 3-1 are at different heights, with the bending roller 3-1 located above for pressing the cap of the battery cell, and the bending knife 2-1 is used to insert forward into the tab of the battery cell located below the cap, so that the tab is bent into a Z shape (S shape) when pressing the cap.

[0034] In order to improve the precision of tab bending and thus improve the yield rate, as a preferred implementation manner, the bending knife mounting block 2-2 of this embodiment is not directly mounted on the bending knife slide 2-3, but is connected to the bending knife slide 2-3 through a first adapter plate 2-7. The first adapter plate 2-7 and the bending knife slide 2-3 are connected by screw and other threaded fasteners. A strip hole extending in the horizontal direction is provided on the first adapter plate 2-7, and the position of the first adapter plate 2-7 in the horizontal direction can be adjusted through the strip hole. Optionally, a micrometer 4 is provided on the first adapter plate 2-7, and the end of the screw of the micrometer 4 abuts against a first reference block 2-8 fixed to the bending knife slide 2-3. The horizontal position of the first adapter plate 2-7 on the bending knife slide 2-3 can be accurately adjusted through the micrometer 4, that is, the horizontal position of the bending knife 2-1 can be accurately adjusted, so as to improve the precision of tab bending and improve the yield rate. Further, the mounting height of the bending knife mounting block 2-2 on the first adapter plate 2-7 can also be adjusted.

[0035] Similarly, the roller bracket 3-2 is indirectly connected to the roller slide 3-3 through a second adapter plate 3-4. The second adapter plate 3-4 and the roller slide 3-3 are connected by screw and other threaded fasteners. A strip hole extending in the horizontal direction is provided on the second adapter plate 3-4, and the position of the second adapter plate 3-4 in the horizontal direction can be adjusted through the strip hole. Similarly, a micrometer 4 is provided on the roller slide 3-3, and the end of the screw of the micrometer 4 abuts against a second reference block 3-5 fixed to the second adapter plate 3-4. The horizontal position of the second adapter plate 3-4 on the roller slide 3-3 can be accurately adjusted through the micrometer 4, and then the horizontal position of the bending roller 3-1 can be accurately adjusted, so as to improve the precision of tab bending and improve the yield rate. Further, the mounting height of the roller bracket 3-2 on the second adapter plate 3-4 can also be adjusted.

[0036] In other embodiments, the folding cutter mounting block 2-2 and the folding cutter slide 2-3 can also be an integral structure, and the roller bracket 3-2 and the roller slide 3-3 are an integral structure. Although this integral structure reduces the number of components, it lacks flexibility and accuracy in adjusting the positions of the folding cutter and the folding roller.

[0037] The working process of the folding tab mechanism in this embodiment is as follows:

[0038] After accurately adjusting the horizontal positions of the folding cutter 2-1 and the folding roller 3-1 with a micrometer 4, the battery cell 100 with the tab 102 welded with the cap 101 is moved between the folding cutter 2-1 and the folding roller 3-1, as Figure 2 shown;

[0039] The folding cutter 2-1 and the folding roller 3-1 move towards each other under the drive of a drive unit (not shown). The folding roller 3-1 presses on the cap 101 of the battery cell 100. While moving forward with the roller bracket 3-2, the folding roller 3-1 rotates along the Figure 2 direction of the one-way arrow in the figure. At the same time, the folding cutter 2-1 moves forward with the folding cutter mounting block 2-2, and the head of the folding cutter 2-1 extends below the tab 102 and the cap 101 (folding roller 3-1). When the folding roller 3-1 presses down the cap 101, the tab 101 forms a Z-shaped bend. During this process, when the folding roller 3-1 presses down the cap 101, the folding cutter 2-1 is subjected to pressure and rotates downward around the rotating shaft 2-5, causing the head of the folding cutter 2-1 to swing downward. The downward rotation of the folding cutter 2-1 can transform the rigid folding action of the folding cutter on the tab into a relatively flexible folding action, thereby avoiding excessive stretching of the tab when folding the tab, reducing the probability of damage to the tab caused by excessive stretching, and thus improving the yield rate. When the tab folding is completed and the folding cutter 2-1 retracts backward, it automatically resets upward under the action of the elastic member 2-4.

[0040] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be obvious 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 invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A folding lug mechanism, characterized in that: include: Install the base plate; A bending knife assembly is horizontally movably arranged on the mounting base plate, and the bending knife assembly comprises: a bending knife mounting block horizontally movably arranged on the mounting base plate, a bending knife rotatably arranged on the bending knife mounting block via a rotating shaft, and an elastic member for rotating the bending knife upward and resetting; A bending roller assembly is horizontally movably arranged on the mounting base plate and opposite to the bending knife assembly, the bending roller assembly comprises: a roller bracket horizontally movably arranged on the mounting base plate and a bending roller arranged on the roller bracket, the bending roller is higher than the bending knife; The bending knife and the bending roller are opposite to each other, and the bending knife and the bending roller can move toward each other or away from each other.

2. The electrode ear folding mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bending knife mounting block has an inner cavity that can accommodate part of the bending knife, the head of the bending knife extends out of the inner cavity and faces the bending roller assembly; one end of the elastic member abuts against the tail of the bending knife, and the other end abuts against the top wall of the inner cavity; The bottom surface of the inner cavity has a limiting inclined surface extending outward and downward from the bottom of the rotating shaft. When the bending knife rotates around the rotating shaft, it can rotate to the minimum contact with the limiting inclined surface.

3. The electrode ear folding mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The elastic member is a compression spring, one end of which is pressed on the tail of the bending knife, and the other end is fixed by a spring positioning pin.

4. The electrode ear folding mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The bending knife can rotate downwards in a range of 5 to 10 degrees.

5. The electrode ear folding mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: A horizontally extending slide rail is arranged on the mounting base plate, and a bending knife slide seat and a roller slide seat which can move along the slide rail are arranged on the slide rail; the bending knife mounting block is arranged on the bending knife slide seat, and the roller bracket is arranged on the roller slide seat.

6. The electrode ear folding mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The bending knife mounting block is connected to the bending knife slide through a first adapter plate, a strip hole extending in a horizontal direction is provided on the first adapter plate, and the first adapter plate is arranged on the bending knife slide through a threaded fastener passing through the strip hole.

7. The electrode ear folding mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that: A micrometer is provided on the first adapter plate, and the end of the screw of the micrometer abuts against a first reference block fixed to the bending knife slide seat; And / or, the installation height of the bending knife mounting block on the first adapter plate is adjustable.

8. The electrode ear folding mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The roller bracket is connected to the roller slide seat via a second adapter plate, a strip hole extending in a horizontal direction is arranged on the second adapter plate, and the second adapter plate is arranged on the roller slide seat via a threaded fastener passing through the strip hole.

9. The electrode ear folding mechanism according to claim 8, characterized in that: A micrometer is arranged on the roller slide, and an end of a screw of the micrometer abuts against a second reference block fixed to the second adapter plate; And / or, the installation height of the roller bracket on the second adapter plate is adjustable.

10. The electrode ear folding mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer surface of the head of the bending knife is provided with a Teflon coating.

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