Battery cell preheating furnace

Abstract

The utility model provides a battery cell preheating furnace which comprises a furnace body and at least two conveying mechanisms, the conveying mechanisms are sequentially arranged in the furnace body from top to bottom, and each conveying mechanism is used for conveying a battery cell located on the conveying mechanism from a feeding end of the furnace body to a discharging end of the furnace body. The discharging end of the furnace body is provided with discharging mechanisms, the number of the discharging mechanisms is the same as that of the conveying mechanisms, and the discharging mechanisms are arranged at the tail ends of the conveying mechanisms correspondingly and used for carrying the battery cells on the corresponding conveying mechanisms out of the furnace body. According to the discharging mechanism disclosed by the utility model, a robot which is the same as a feeding mode is not used for discharging, namely, the discharging efficiency is improved under the condition that the cost is not increased, and the productivity bottleneck of a battery cell preheating process is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the technical field of lithium batteries, and more specifically relates to a battery cell preheating furnace. Background Art

[0002] Cell preheating is a crucial step in the lithium battery production process. After winding or laminating the bare cells and before hot pressing, lithium battery cells often need to be preheated to improve their processing performance and safety. Hot pressing after preheating prevents deformation during the process, ensuring better and more efficient shaping.

[0003] Existing preheating furnaces often feature two or three layers of conveyor chains, with loading and unloading mechanisms located at the beginning and end of the chains. Robots are typically used for loading the chains, while the unloading mechanism often utilizes a three-axis modular structure to save costs. Because battery cells are placed on both or all three layers of the preheating furnace's chains, this modular structure can only unload cells sequentially. While cells on one chain layer are being unloaded, cells on another chain layer cannot be unloaded. This results in low unloading efficiency and an inability to meet growing production capacity demands.

[0004] In view of this, the battery cell preheating furnace provided in this application can solve the problems involved in the background technology. Utility Model Content

[0005] In order to at least solve one or more technical problems in the above-mentioned background technology, the present invention proposes a battery cell preheating furnace.

[0006] To this end, the present invention provides the following technical solutions.

[0007] The utility model discloses a battery cell preheating furnace, comprising: a furnace body, and at least two conveying mechanisms, wherein the conveying mechanisms are arranged in sequence from top to bottom in the furnace body, and each conveying mechanism is used to convey the battery cells located on the conveying mechanism from the loading end to the unloading end of the furnace body, and the unloading end of the furnace body is provided with the same number of unloading mechanisms as the number of the conveying mechanisms, and each unloading mechanism is respectively arranged at the end of each conveying mechanism to be used for carrying the battery cells on the corresponding conveying mechanism out of the furnace body.

[0008] Preferably, the conveying mechanism includes chain plates, and the vertical projections of the chain plates of each conveying mechanism overlap with each other.

[0009] Preferably, one of the unloading mechanisms includes a group of jaws formed by multiple jaws arranged in a row, each jaw can grasp a battery cell, each jaw can move back and forth within a first preset range along the battery cell conveying direction, and each jaw can also move back and forth within a second preset range along the vertical direction.

[0010] Preferably, each clamping jaw of the group of clamping jaws is fixedly assembled on a mounting plate, and a fixing frame is provided above the mounting plate. The mounting plate can move in the vertical direction relative to the fixing frame, and the two ends of the fixing frame are respectively fixedly connected to the end slides of two symmetrically arranged two-axis modules.

[0011] Preferably, a reinforcement piece is further included, which is arranged above the middle portion of the fixing frame to reduce the deformation of the fixing frame.

[0012] Preferably, the reinforcement is in a R-shape or a T-shape.

[0013] Preferably, it further comprises two symmetrically arranged electric push rods, with both ends of one electric push rod being fixedly connected to the mounting plate and the fixing frame respectively, so that the mounting plate can move relative to the fixing frame when the electric push rod is extended or retracted.

[0014] Preferably, it further comprises a plurality of guide rods, each of which is fixedly connected to the mounting plate, and each of which passes through a guide hole provided on the fixing frame to enhance the stability of the relative movement between the mounting plate and the fixing frame.

[0015] Preferably, a buffer pad is sleeved on the guide rod.

[0016] Preferably, the number of the conveying mechanisms is two, and the number of the unloading mechanisms is two.

[0017] The technical solution provided by this application may have the following beneficial effects:

[0018] By utilizing the apparatus described above and in various embodiments of the present invention, the present invention can provide a number of unloading mechanisms at the end of the conveyor mechanism of the preheating furnace, equal to the number of conveyor mechanisms. This allows different unloading mechanisms to carry battery cells placed on different conveyor mechanisms independently and without interference, thereby improving the unloading efficiency of the preheating furnace. The unloading mechanism of the present invention can unload the battery cells without the use of a robot, which is the same as the loading method. This improves unloading efficiency without increasing costs, thus resolving the production capacity bottleneck of the battery cell preheating process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention will become readily understood by reading the detailed description below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, several embodiments of the present invention are shown in an exemplary and non-limiting manner, and the same or corresponding reference numerals represent the same or corresponding parts, wherein:

[0020] Figure 1 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a bottom perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 1 is a schematic diagram showing a blanking mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Explanation of the accompanying reference numerals: 11, furnace body; 12, conveying mechanism; 13, unloading mechanism; 31, clamping claw; 41, mounting plate; 42, fixing frame; 51, reinforcement; 71, electric push rod; 81, guide rod; 91, buffer pad. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that for simplicity and clarity of explanation, reference numerals may be repeated in the accompanying drawings to indicate corresponding or similar elements, where deemed appropriate. In addition, the present invention sets forth many specific details in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, well-known methods, processes, and components are not described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Moreover, this description should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.

[0025] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a battery cell preheating furnace is provided, comprising: a furnace body 11, and at least two conveying mechanisms 12, each of the conveying mechanisms 12 being arranged in sequence from top to bottom in the furnace body 11, and each conveying mechanism 12 being used to convey the battery cells on the conveying mechanism 12 from the loading end to the unloading end of the furnace body 11, and the unloading end of the furnace body 11 is provided with unloading mechanisms 13 of the same number as the conveying mechanisms 12, and each unloading mechanism 13 is respectively arranged at the end of each of the conveying mechanisms 12 for carrying the battery cells on the corresponding conveying mechanism 12 out of the furnace body 11.

[0026] In one embodiment, the conveying mechanism 12 includes chain plates, that is, chain plates can be used here to convey the battery cells. The orthographic projections of the chain plates of each conveying mechanism 12 coincide with each other in the vertical direction, that is, the arrangement of the chain plates in each layer has the rule that the orthographic projections coincide, which is also convenient for arranging the blanking mechanism 13 at the end of the chain plates.

[0027] In another embodiment, one of the blanking mechanisms 13 includes a set of grippers formed by a plurality of grippers 31 arranged in a row. Each gripper 31 can grasp one battery cell, and each gripper 31 can reciprocate within a first preset range along the battery cell conveying direction, and each gripper 31 can also reciprocate within a second preset range along the vertical direction. That is, by controlling the movement of a set of grippers in the above two directions, the relative position between each gripper 31 and the chain plate of the conveying mechanism 12 can be adjusted, so as to facilitate grasping the battery cells.

[0028] In the above embodiment, each of the grippers 31 of the set of grippers is fixedly assembled on a mounting plate 41. A fixing frame 42 is further provided above the mounting plate 41. The mounting plate 41 can move relative to the fixing frame 42 in the vertical direction. The two ends of the fixing frame 42 are respectively fixedly connected to the end slides of two symmetrically arranged two-axis modules. Among them, the two ends of the fixing frame 42 being respectively fixedly connected to the end slides of two two-axis modules can enable the fixing frame 42 to reciprocate both along the battery cell conveying direction and along the vertical direction; and enabling the mounting plate 41 to move relative to the fixing frame 42 in the vertical direction is to make it easier to grasp the battery cells by adjusting the relative position between the fixing frame 42 and the conveying mechanism 12 and then adjusting the relative position between the mounting plate 41 and the fixing frame 42 again.

[0029] In some other embodiments, a reinforcing member 51 is further included, which is arranged above the middle of the fixing frame 42 to reduce the deformation amount of the fixing frame 42.

[0030] In the above embodiment, the reinforcing member 51 is in the shape of a Chinese character 'Ri' or a Chinese character 'Tian'. The connection mode between the reinforcing member 51 and the fixing frame 42 is welding.

[0031] In one embodiment, the movement of the mounting plate 41 relative to the fixing frame 42 in the vertical direction can be achieved in the following manner. Specifically, two symmetrically arranged electric push rods 71 are further included. The two ends of one electric push rod 71 are respectively fixedly connected to the mounting plate 41 and the fixing frame 42, so that the mounting plate 41 can move relative to the fixing frame 42 when the electric push rod 71 expands and contracts.

[0032] In the above embodiment, a plurality of guide rods 81 may be further included, each guide rod 81 being fixedly connected to the mounting plate 41 , and each guide rod 81 also passing through a guide hole provided on the fixing frame 42 to enhance the stability of the relative movement between the mounting plate 41 and the fixing frame 42 .

[0033] In the above embodiment, a buffer pad 91 may be mounted on the guide rod 81 to reduce the impact of the mounting plate 41 on the fixing frame 42 when the mounting plate 41 and the fixing frame 42 move relative to each other. The buffer pad 91 may be made of silicone.

[0034] In some embodiments, there are two conveying mechanisms 12 and two unloading mechanisms 13. On the premise that the conveying mechanism 12 can meet the preheating quantity requirement, two unloading mechanisms 13 are provided to improve unloading efficiency, thereby solving the capacity bottleneck of the preheating process.

[0035] It should be understood that the terms "first" or "second" and the like in the claims, specifications, and drawings disclosed herein are used to distinguish between different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. The terms "include" and "comprising" used in the specifications and claims disclosed herein indicate the presence of the described features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0036] It should also be understood that the terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit the disclosure. As used in this disclosure and the claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be further understood that the term "and / or" as used in this disclosure and the claims refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, including and including these combinations.

[0037] Although the embodiments of the present invention are as described above, the above contents are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope and application scenarios of the present invention. Any person skilled in the art of the present invention may make any modifications and changes in the form and details of the implementation without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed by the present invention. However, the scope of patent protection of the present invention shall still be based on the scope defined by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A battery cell preheating furnace, characterized in that: Including: A furnace body (11) and at least two conveying mechanisms (12). Each of the conveying mechanisms (12) is arranged in the furnace body (11) from top to bottom in sequence. Each conveying mechanism (12) is used to convey the battery cells located on it from the loading end of the furnace body (11) to the unloading end. The unloading end of the furnace body (11) is provided with the same number of unloading mechanisms (13) as the number of the conveying mechanisms (12). Each of the unloading mechanisms (13) is respectively arranged at the end of each of the conveying mechanisms (12) to carry out the battery cells on the corresponding conveying mechanism (12) out of the furnace body (11).

2. The battery core preheating furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveying mechanism (12) includes a chain plate, and the orthographic projections of the chain plates of each of the conveying mechanisms (12) in the vertical direction coincide with each other.

3. The battery core preheating furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that: One of the unloading mechanisms (13) includes a set of grippers (31) arranged in a row. Each gripper (31) can grasp one battery cell. Each gripper (31) can reciprocate within a first preset range along the battery cell conveying direction, and each gripper (31) can also reciprocate within a second preset range along the vertical direction.

4. The battery core preheating furnace according to claim 3, characterized in that: Each of the grippers (31) of the set of grippers is fixedly assembled on a mounting plate (41). A fixing frame (42) is further provided above the mounting plate (41). The mounting plate (41) can move relative to the fixing frame (42) in the vertical direction. The two ends of the fixing frame (42) are respectively fixedly connected to the end sliders of two symmetrically arranged two-axis modules.

5. The battery core preheating furnace according to claim 4, characterized in that: It further includes a reinforcing member (51), which is arranged above the middle part of the fixing frame (42) to reduce the deformation amount of the fixing frame (42).

6. The battery core preheating furnace according to claim 5, characterized in that: The reinforcing member (51) is in the shape of a Chinese character 'Ri' or a Chinese character 'Tian'.

7. The battery core preheating furnace according to claim 4, characterized in that: It further includes two symmetrically arranged electric push rods (71). Two ends of one electric push rod (71) are respectively fixedly connected to the mounting plate (41) and the fixing frame (42), so that when the electric push rod (71) expands and contracts, the mounting plate (41) can move relative to the fixing frame (42).

8. The battery core preheating furnace according to claim 7, characterized in that: It further includes a plurality of guide rods (81). Each guide rod (81) is fixedly connected to the mounting plate (41). Each guide rod (81) also passes through a guide hole provided on the fixing frame (42) to improve the stability of the relative movement between the mounting plate (41) and the fixing frame (42).

9. The battery core preheating furnace according to claim 8, characterized in that: A buffer pad (91) is sleeved on the guide rod (81).

10. The battery core preheating furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the conveying mechanisms (12) is two, and the number of the unloading mechanisms (13) is two.

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