Mechanical arm for lithium battery production

Abstract

The utility model provides a mechanical arm for lithium battery production, the mechanical arm comprises a mechanical arm main body, a gluing assembly and a welding assembly, the gluing assembly is arranged on the mechanical arm main body, and the gluing assembly is used for gluing a lithium battery. The welding assembly is arranged on the mechanical arm body and used for welding the lithium battery. According to the mechanical arm for lithium battery production, the problem that in the prior art, the lithium battery production efficiency is low can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of robotic arms, and particularly to a robotic arm for lithium battery production. Background Art

[0002] Currently, in the production process of lithium batteries, glue coating and laser welding are two crucial process steps. Glue coating is mainly used to ensure the sealing and stability inside the lithium battery, and laser welding is mainly used to precisely connect single cells or components. However, the glue coating equipment and laser welding equipment in the lithium battery production process exist independently. These two process steps need to be carried out separately or controlled by different robotic arms simultaneously. Using different robotic arms to separately control the glue coating equipment and laser welding equipment not only increases the equipment investment cost and occupied area but also reduces the production efficiency of lithium batteries.

[0003] After patent retrieval, it is found that Chinese patent document CN115799603A discloses a lithium battery production system, including an end plate, a battery cell, an insulating plate, a loading rack, a multi-station rotating table, a cleaning and glue coating assembly, a side mounting assembly, a side welding assembly, a baffle, and a base. The loading rack is installed on the base and is provided with multiple slots. The end slots stack the end plates and insulating plates respectively, and the middle slot stacks the battery cells. The multi-station rotating table is arranged below the loading rack and is provided with multiple placement platforms that can carry the end plates, battery cells, and insulating plates. The cleaning and glue coating assembly is installed on the base. The multi-station rotating table rotates 90° to reach below the cleaning and glue coating assembly. The baffle is installed on the base. The multi-station rotating table rotates 180° to reach the baffle, and the end plates, battery cells, and insulating plates are blocked by the baffle and fall into the side welding assembly. The side mounting assembly is arranged beside the side welding assembly. Although it sets the glue coating assembly and the welding assembly on the same line body to achieve automatic glue coating and welding through the multi-station rotating table, it does not solve the problem that the glue coating process and the welding process cannot be carried out simultaneously in the existing lithium battery production process, resulting in low production efficiency of lithium batteries. Therefore, we propose a robotic arm for lithium battery production. Summary of the Utility Model

[0004] One technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is: In the lithium battery production process, the glue coating and laser welding equipment need to be controlled by separate robotic arms, resulting in low production efficiency.

[0005] To solve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a robotic arm for lithium battery production, including:

[0006] A robotic arm main body;

[0007] A glue coating assembly, which is arranged on the robotic arm main body and is used for glue coating the lithium battery;

[0008] The welding assembly is disposed on the main body of the robotic arm and is used for welding the lithium battery.

[0009] In some embodiments, the glue application assembly includes a glue storage tank, a glue application pump, a glue application head, and a glue application control component. The glue application pump is respectively connected to the glue storage tank and the glue application head and is used to control the glue flow rate and glue pressure flowing from the glue storage tank to the glue application head. The glue application control component is respectively connected to the glue application pump and the glue application head and is used to control the glue flow rate of the glue application pump and the movement trajectory of the glue application head according to the preset glue application trajectory and glue application parameters of the lithium battery.

[0010] In some embodiments, the glue application head includes a glue application nozzle, and there is at least one glue application nozzle.

[0011] In some embodiments, a vision sensor is provided on the glue application head, and the vision sensor is used to collect real-time glue application image data of the lithium battery in real time and feed it back to the glue application control component.

[0012] In some embodiments, the glue application control component is provided with a fault detection unit and an alarm unit. The fault detection unit is used to detect whether the glue application assembly fails, and the alarm unit is used to give an alarm when the fault detection unit detects that the glue application assembly fails.

[0013] In some embodiments, the welding assembly includes a laser generator, a laser welding head, and a welding control component. The laser generator and the welding control component are respectively connected to the laser welding head. The laser generator is used to generate a laser beam and transmit it to the laser welding head for laser welding, and the welding control component is used to send a control signal to the laser welding head to adjust the welding parameters.

[0014] In some embodiments, the welding assembly further includes a protection component, and the protection component is installed on the laser welding head and is used to isolate the harmful factors generated by the laser welding head during the welding process.

[0015] In some embodiments, the main body of the robotic arm includes a first sub-robotic arm and a second sub-robotic arm. The first sub-robotic arm is connected to the glue application assembly and is used to control the movement trajectory of the glue application head. The second sub-robotic arm is connected to the welding assembly and is used to control the movement trajectory of the welding assembly.

[0016] In some embodiments, the robotic arm further includes a control component, and the control component is connected to the main body of the robotic arm and is used to control the movement states of the first sub-robotic arm and the second sub-robotic arm.

[0017] In some embodiments, both the first sub-robotic arm and the second sub-robotic arm are provided with a position sensor and an attitude sensor, and the control component controls the movement states of the first sub-robotic arm and the second sub-robotic arm according to the signals transmitted by the position sensor and the attitude sensor.

[0018] Through the above technical solution, the robotic arm provided by the present disclosure for manufacturing lithium batteries integrates a glue application component and a welding component on the same robotic arm body, enabling parallel processing of glue application and welding operations, reducing the waiting time between processes, and significantly improving the production efficiency of lithium batteries. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the robotic arm for manufacturing lithium batteries disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 2 is a plan view of the robotic arm for manufacturing lithium batteries disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] Description of the reference numerals:

[0023] 1. Robotic arm body; 11. First sub-robotic arm; 12. Second sub-robotic arm; 2. Glue application component; 21. Glue storage tank; 22. Glue application pump; 23. Glue application head; 24. Glue application control component; 25. Vision sensor; 3. Welding component; 31. Laser generator; 32. Laser welding head; 33. Welding control component; 34. Protection component; 4. Control component. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0024] The following further describes in detail the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. The detailed description and drawings of the following embodiments are used to exemplarily illustrate the principles of the present disclosure, but cannot be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented in many different forms, not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but including all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

[0025] These embodiments of the present disclosure are provided to make the present disclosure thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that: unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangements of components and steps, the components of materials, numerical expressions and values described in these embodiments should be construed as merely exemplary, rather than as limitations.

[0026] It should be noted that in the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality" is greater than or equal to two; the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", etc. is only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure 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 construed as a limitation to the present disclosure. When the absolute position of the object being described changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0027] In addition, the "first", "second" and similar terms used in the present disclosure do not denote any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different parts. "Vertical" is not strictly vertical, but within the allowable error range. "Parallel" is not strictly parallel, but within the allowable error range. Terms such as "including" or "comprising" mean that the elements before this word cover the elements listed after this word, and do not exclude the possibility of also covering other elements.

[0028] It should also be noted that in the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "coupled" 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 directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances. When it is described that a specific device is located between a first device and a second device, an intermediate device may or may not exist between the specific device and the first device or the second device.

[0029] All terms used in the present disclosure have the same meaning as understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains, unless otherwise specifically defined. It should also be understood that terms defined in a general dictionary, such as those in a general dictionary, should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless specifically defined as such here.

[0030] Technologies, methods and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the technologies, methods and devices should be regarded as part of the specification.

[0031] See Figures 1 to 2 As shown, according to an embodiment of the present application, a robotic arm for lithium battery production is provided, including a robotic arm main body 1, a glue application assembly 2, and a welding assembly 3. Among them, the glue application assembly 2 is disposed on the robotic arm main body 1, and the glue application assembly 2 is used for applying glue to the lithium battery. The welding assembly 3 is disposed on the robotic arm main body 1, and the welding assembly 3 is used for welding the lithium battery.

[0032] By setting the gluing component 2 for gluing lithium batteries and the welding component 3 for welding lithium batteries on the same robotic arm main body 1, it is possible to perform welding while gluing the lithium batteries, reducing the replacement time of the robotic arm between different processes on the production line and improving the production efficiency of lithium batteries. In a limited production space, compared with setting up gluing equipment and welding equipment separately, the robotic arm integrating gluing and welding functions can make more effective use of space resources, reduce the floor area of the equipment, and make the production line layout more compact and efficient.

[0033] In some embodiments, the gluing component 2 includes a glue storage tank 21, a glue pump 22, a glue head 23, and a gluing control component 24. The glue pump 22 is respectively connected to the glue storage tank 21 and the glue head 23 and is used to control the glue flow rate and glue pressure flowing from the glue storage tank 21 to the glue head 23. The gluing control component 24 is respectively connected to the glue pump 22 and the glue head 23 and is used to control the glue flow rate of the glue pump 22 and the movement trajectory of the glue head 23 according to the preset gluing trajectory and gluing parameters of the lithium battery. Among them, the glue head 23 includes a glue nozzle, and the number of glue nozzles is at least one.

[0034] In this embodiment, the glue pump 22, as a key component connecting the glue storage tank 21 and the glue head 23, can precisely control the glue flow rate and glue pressure flowing from the glue storage tank 21 to the glue head 23, and can avoid the uneven gluing, overflow or penetration caused by too much or too little glue, too high or too low pressure when gluing the lithium battery. By receiving the preset gluing trajectory and gluing parameters of the lithium battery, the gluing control component 24 can intelligently control the glue flow rate of the glue pump 22 and the movement trajectory of the glue head 23, improving the gluing accuracy and efficiency and reducing the dependence on manual operation. The glue head 23 adopts the design of a glue nozzle, allowing adjustment according to actual gluing requirements, such as replacing glue nozzles of different specifications or the number of glue nozzles to adapt to the gluing requirements of lithium batteries of different sizes and shapes, or to adapt to different types and viscosities of glue. Optionally, the glue storage tank 21 of this embodiment is provided with a liquid level detector, which can timely remind the operator to replenish when the glue is insufficient.

[0035] In some embodiments, the glue head 23 is provided with a vision sensor 25, and the vision sensor 25 is used to collect real-time gluing image data of the lithium battery in real time and feedback it to the gluing control component 24. So that the gluing quality during the production process of the lithium battery can be monitored immediately, and any uneven gluing, overflow or missing can be detected by the vision sensor 25 and then feedback to the gluing control component 4. By adjusting the operating parameters of the glue head 23 through the gluing control component 4, it helps to correct the deviation in the gluing process in time and ensure the consistency and stability of the gluing quality.

[0036] In some embodiments, the glue application control component 24 is provided with a fault detection unit and an alarm unit. The fault detection unit is used to detect whether the glue application component 2 has a fault, and the alarm unit is used to give an alarm when the fault detection unit detects that the glue application component 2 has a fault. The function of instant fault detection of the glue application component 2 is realized by combining the fault detection unit and the alarm unit, which helps to quickly identify the faults of the glue application component 2 and prevent the expansion of faults or the occurrence of more serious production accidents. The faults of the glue application component 2 include various fault types such as glue application pump 22 fault, glue application head 23 fault, glue storage tank 21 fault, vision sensor 25 fault, and glue application control component 24 fault. For example, when the fault detection unit detects that the glue application head 23 is blocked, resulting in abnormal or uneven ejection of glue, the detection result is transmitted to the alarm unit and the machine is stopped in time, and the glue application head 23 is repaired according to the alarm information of the alarm unit.

[0037] In some embodiments, the welding component 3 includes a laser generator 31, a laser welding head 32, and a welding control component 33. The laser generator 31 and the welding control component 33 are respectively connected to the laser welding head 32. The laser generator 31 is used to generate a laser beam and transmit it to the laser welding head 32 for laser welding, and the welding control component 33 is used to send a control signal to the laser welding head 32 to adjust the welding parameters.

[0038] In this embodiment, the laser generator 31 can generate a laser beam with high energy density and transmit it to the laser welding head 32. The laser welding head 32 can adjust the focusing position and angle of the laser beam to achieve precise welding. The welding control component 33 controls the movement trajectories and welding operations of the laser generator 31 and the laser welding head 32 according to the preset welding path and welding parameters, improving the flexibility and adaptability of the lithium battery production line. The welding method using laser welding forms welds with the advantages of fine organization, high strength, and good appearance. In addition, laser welding can also achieve deep penetration welding and high-speed welding, which can further improve the strength and reliability of the welds. The welding control component 33 also has the function of weld quality detection, which can monitor the quality of the welds in real time and make feedback adjustments to ensure the stability of the welding quality.

[0039] Optionally, the laser welding head 32 of this embodiment is made of high-temperature resistant and corrosion-resistant materials, which can ensure that the laser welding head 32 still maintains stable performance during long-term operation.

[0040] In some embodiments, the welding assembly 3 further includes a protective component 34, which is installed on the laser welding head 32 and is used to isolate the harmful factors generated by the laser welding head 32 during the welding process. The protective component 34 is mainly used to protect the safety of personnel and equipment. During the laser welding of lithium batteries, harmful factors such as high temperature and strong light may be generated. The protective device can physically isolate these harmful factors to ensure the safety of the operators. At the same time, the protective device also has functions such as dust prevention and waterproofing to ensure the normal operation of the equipment in harsh environments.

[0041] In some embodiments, the robotic arm main body 1 includes a first sub-robotic arm 11 and a second sub-robotic arm 12. The first sub-robotic arm 11 is connected to the gluing assembly 2 and is used to control the movement trajectory of the glue applicator head 23. The second sub-robotic arm 12 is connected to the welding assembly 3 and is used to control the movement trajectory of the welding assembly 3. By setting the robotic arm main body 1 to include two sub-robotic arms, namely the first sub-robotic arm 11 and the second sub-robotic arm 12, the gluing and welding operations of the lithium battery can be carried out simultaneously, realizing multi-task parallel processing, significantly improving the flexibility and efficiency of the lithium battery production line, and making the production process more compact and efficient. In traditional production lines, gluing and welding may need to be carried out sequentially, resulting in a certain waiting time. However, through the parallel operation of the two sub-robotic arms, the waiting time is reduced and the overall production efficiency is improved. The first sub-robotic arm 11 and the second sub-robotic arm 12 of this embodiment adopt a multi-joint structure design. The robotic arm with a multi-joint structure can achieve flexible telescopic functions. When only gluing is required without welding, the second sub-robotic arm 12 drives the welding assembly 3 to retract. When only welding is required without gluing, the first sub-robotic arm 11 drives the glue applicator head 23 to retract, which can easily adapt to different production requirements and improve production efficiency.

[0042] In some embodiments, the robotic arm further includes a control component 4, which is connected to the robotic arm main body 1 and is used to control the motion states of the first sub-robotic arm 11 and the second sub-robotic arm 12. Both the first sub-robotic arm 11 and the second sub-robotic arm 12 are provided with position sensors and attitude sensors, and the control component 4 controls the motion states of the first sub-robotic arm 11 and the second sub-robotic arm 12 according to the signals transmitted by the position sensors and the attitude sensors. The control component 4 can calculate the target positions and attitudes that the first sub-robotic arm 11 or the second sub-robotic arm 12 needs to reach based on the data fed back by the position sensors and the attitude sensors, and generate corresponding control signals. Through the control signals, the motion of the first sub-robotic arm 11 and the second sub-robotic arm 12 can be accurately guided to ensure that the first sub-robotic arm 11 and the second sub-robotic arm 12 can control the glue application component 2 and the welding component 3 to work according to a predetermined trajectory and attitude. By providing the position sensors, the attitude sensors and the control component 4, the closed-loop control of the motion states of the two sub-robotic arms is realized, and the motion of the sub-robotic arms can be monitored and adjusted in real time to cope with possible deviations or disturbances, improving the safety of lithium battery production.

[0043] So far, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail. To avoid obscuring the concept of the present disclosure, some details known in the art are not described. Those skilled in the art can fully understand how to implement the technical solutions disclosed herein based on the above description.

[0044] Although some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail by way of examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the above examples are only for illustration and not for limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments can be modified or some technical features can be equivalently replaced without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In particular, as long as there is no structural conflict, the various technical features mentioned in each embodiment can be combined in any way.

Claims

1. A robotic arm for lithium battery production, characterized in that, Comprising: A robotic arm main body (1); A glue - applying assembly (2), the glue - applying assembly (2) is arranged on the robotic arm main body (1), the glue - applying assembly (2) is used for applying glue to a lithium battery, and the glue - applying assembly (2) includes a glue - applying head (23); A welding assembly (3), the welding assembly (3) is arranged on the robotic arm main body (1), the welding assembly (3) is used for welding the lithium battery; The robotic arm main body (1) includes a first sub - robotic arm (11) and a second sub - robotic arm (12), the first sub - robotic arm (11) is connected to the glue - applying assembly (2) and is used for controlling the movement trajectory of the glue - applying head (23), and the second sub - robotic arm (12) is connected to the welding assembly (3) and is used for controlling the movement trajectory of the welding assembly (3); The robotic arm further includes a control assembly (4), the control assembly (4) is connected to the robotic arm main body (1) and is used for controlling the movement states of the first sub - robotic arm (11) and the second sub - robotic arm (12); Both the first sub - robotic arm (11) and the second sub - robotic arm (12) are provided with position sensors and attitude sensors, and the control assembly (4) controls the movement states of the first sub - robotic arm (11) and the second sub - robotic arm (12) according to the signals transmitted by the position sensors and the attitude sensors.

2. The robotic arm for lithium battery production according to claim 1, characterized in that, The glue - applying assembly (2) includes a glue storage tank (21), a glue - applying pump (22) and a glue - applying control component (24), the glue - applying pump (22) is respectively connected to the glue storage tank (21) and the glue - applying head (23) and is used for controlling the glue flow rate and glue pressure flowing from the glue storage tank (21) to the glue - applying head (23), and the glue - applying control component (24) is respectively connected to the glue - applying pump (22) and the glue - applying head (23) and is used for controlling the glue flow rate of the glue - applying pump (22) and the movement trajectory of the glue - applying head (23) according to the preset glue - applying trajectory and glue - applying parameters of the lithium battery.

3. The robotic arm for lithium battery production according to claim 2, characterized in that, The glue - applying head (23) includes a glue - applying nozzle, and the glue - applying nozzle is at least one.

4. The robotic arm for lithium battery production according to claim 2, wherein The glue - applying head (23) is provided with a vision sensor (25), and the vision sensor (25) is used for real - time collecting real - time glue - applying image data of the lithium battery and feeding it back to the glue - applying control component (24).

5. The robotic arm for lithium battery production according to claim 2, wherein The glue - applying control component (24) is provided with a fault - detection unit and an alarm unit, the fault - detection unit is used for detecting whether the glue - applying assembly (2) has a fault, and the alarm unit is used for giving an alarm when the fault - detection unit detects that the glue - applying assembly (2) has a fault.

6. The robotic arm for lithium battery production according to claim 1, wherein, The welding assembly (3) includes a laser generator (31), a laser welding head (32) and a welding control component (33), the laser generator (31) and the welding control component (33) are respectively connected to the laser welding head (32), the laser generator (31) is used for generating a laser beam and transmitting it to the laser welding head (32) for laser welding, and the welding control component (33) is used for sending a control signal to the laser welding head (32) to adjust welding parameters.

7. The robotic arm for lithium battery production according to claim 6, characterized in that, The welding assembly (3) further includes a protective component (34), and the protective component (34) is installed on the laser welding head (32) and is used for isolating harmful factors generated by the laser welding head (32) during the welding process.

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