Soft package lithium battery edge shaping and size detecting device

Abstract

The utility model belongs to the technical field of lithium ion batteries, and particularly relates to a soft package lithium battery edge shaping and size detecting device, which comprises a material taking mechanism, a detection mechanism and a detection mechanism, the left-side shaping mechanism and the right-side shaping mechanism are symmetrically arranged in front of the material taking mechanism left and right and are respectively used for performing hot-pressing shaping on heat-sealing aluminum-plastic folded edges on the left side and the right side of the battery; the visual detection mechanism is arranged above the material taking mechanism and is used for detecting the width size of the battery; and the battery supporting mechanism is arranged right below the camera of the visual detection mechanism and is used for supporting the battery to be detected and cooperating with visual detection. The battery edge shaping and width detecting device is additionally arranged on the sorting machine, so that hot-pressing shaping can be carried out on all production line battery edges, folded edges are prevented from being separated from bodies, offline manual shaping is not needed, and the labor cost is saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of lithium-ion battery technology, specifically relating to a device for edge shaping and size detection of a soft-pack lithium battery. Background Technology

[0002] Pouch lithium batteries are widely used in traditional 3C products and emerging electronic products due to their advantages such as good safety, high specific energy, excellent electrochemical performance, and flexible design. As electronic products become thinner and smaller, the market demands higher dimensional accuracy from pouch lithium batteries. How to achieve rapid online shaping of the edges of pouch lithium batteries and accurate and safe testing of their width dimensions has become a pressing technical challenge for the industry.

[0003] Currently, the width inspection of soft-pack lithium batteries mainly relies on calipers or special tooling for offline sampling inspection. This method has significant drawbacks: on the one hand, the inspection efficiency is low and cannot cover all batches of products, which can easily lead to defective products with unqualified width dimensions entering the hands of customers; on the other hand, the inspection results are greatly affected by the skill level of the operator and the precision of the inspection tools, and the accuracy is difficult to guarantee.

[0004] In the production process, although double-folding equipment can fold the heat-sealed aluminum-plastic parts on both sides of the battery, the folded aluminum-plastic parts are prone to detaching from the battery body during subsequent equipment production and logistics, resulting in increased width and defective products. Existing solutions require manual folding and shaping offline, which not only reduces production efficiency but also significantly increases labor costs.

[0005] In summary, existing technologies for producing soft-pack lithium batteries suffer from problems such as low testing efficiency, high labor costs, and insufficient dimensional accuracy control. There is an urgent need for an automated device that can achieve online edge shaping and precise width measurement to improve production efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure product quality. Utility Model Content

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a device for edge shaping and size detection of soft-pack lithium batteries, thereby solving the problems existing in the prior art.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides the following technical solution: a device for edge shaping and dimensional detection of a soft-pack lithium battery, comprising:

[0008] The material handling mechanism is used to transfer batteries between workstations on the production line;

[0009] The left-side shaping mechanism and the right-side shaping mechanism are symmetrically arranged in front of the material taking mechanism, and are used to perform hot pressing shaping on the left and right heat-sealed aluminum-plastic folds of the battery, respectively.

[0010] A visual inspection mechanism is located above the material handling mechanism and is used to detect the width dimension of the battery;

[0011] A battery support mechanism is located directly below the camera of the visual inspection mechanism to support the battery to be inspected and to cooperate with visual inspection.

[0012] Preferably, the material handling mechanism includes:

[0013] Mounting bracket;

[0014] The module is positioned in front of the mounting bracket and can move left and right via a slide table;

[0015] The first and second lifting cylinders are symmetrically arranged and fixed to the cylinder fixing plate in front of the module.

[0016] The first suction cup fixing plate and the second suction cup fixing plate are respectively connected to the bottom of the first lifting cylinder and the second lifting cylinder;

[0017] The first suction cup and the second suction cup are respectively disposed on the first suction cup fixing plate and the second suction cup fixing plate, and are used to adsorb the battery.

[0018] Preferably, the left-side shaping mechanism includes:

[0019] The first pressure plate is made of thermally conductive brass and has round holes inside.

[0020] The first heating element is installed in the round hole of the first pressure plate and is used to heat the first pressure plate.

[0021] The first heat insulation plate is disposed on the outside of the first pressure plate to isolate heat transfer;

[0022] The first connecting plate is connected at one end to the piston rod of the first cylinder and at the other end to the first pressure plate and the first heat insulation plate;

[0023] The first connecting rod is threadedly connected to the first connecting plate;

[0024] The first bolt is threaded onto the first connecting rod, and a first locking nut is connected to the first bolt.

[0025] The first cylinder, an SMC thin-type cylinder with guide rod (model MGPKFM20-20-M9B), drives the first pressure plate to move.

[0026] The first cylinder fixing plate fixes the first cylinder and connects to the first adjusting plate;

[0027] The first adjustment plate has elongated mounting holes designed to adjust the distance between the lower surface of the first pressure plate and the detection plate.

[0028] The first temperature controller is connected to the first heating element via a cable and fixed to the mounting bracket.

[0029] The right-side shaping mechanism has the same structure as the left-side shaping mechanism.

[0030] Preferably, the visual inspection mechanism includes:

[0031] A connecting plate is connected to the mounting bracket of the material handling mechanism;

[0032] A detection camera, mounted on the connection board, is a Hikvision MV-CS200-10GM camera with a resolution of 5472×3648, used to capture battery images.

[0033] Preferably, the battery support mechanism includes:

[0034] The testing board, made of high-transmittance inorganic glass, is used to support the battery.

[0035] A vacuum suction cup, mounted on the detection plate, is used to adsorb and fix the battery.

[0036] A support plate, located below the detection plate, is used to support the detection plate and reduce light source refraction;

[0037] The left and right upright plates are respectively positioned between the support plate and the equipment platform;

[0038] A shadowless square light source is positioned below the support plate to provide uniform illumination.

[0039] Preferably, the width of the cylinder fixing plate of the material handling mechanism is smaller than the width of the battery to avoid blocking the light source from illuminating the battery body.

[0040] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: This patent adds a battery edge shaping and width detection device to the sorting machine, which can perform hot pressing shaping on the edges of all batteries on the production line (using a thermally conductive brass pressure plate with a heating tube, and the temperature is adjusted by a MISUMI controller), preventing the folded edge from detaching from the body, eliminating the need for offline manual shaping, and saving labor costs; at the same time, it uses a Hikvision high-resolution camera (MV-CS200-10GM) and a Japanese CCS shadowless light source (LFXV-100RD) for visual inspection, realizing non-contact high-precision measurement (accuracy ±0.1mm), and preventing defective products from flowing out; the left and right symmetrical shaping mechanism can be adapted to batteries of different widths and thicknesses through limit bolts and long hole adjustment plates, and is combined with an automatic material handling mechanism (double lifting cylinder + suction cup) to ensure that the detection speed matches the production line efficiency; the detection plate is made of high-transmittance inorganic glass and the support plate is made of acrylic material to prevent high-temperature deformation and light source refraction, ensuring detection accuracy. The whole device has a compact structure and a high degree of automation, significantly improving production efficiency and product quality. Attached Figure Description

[0041] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of this utility model;

[0042] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of the material handling mechanism in this utility model;

[0043] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the left-side shaping mechanism in this utility model;

[0044] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the right-side shaping mechanism in this utility model;

[0045] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the visual inspection mechanism in this utility model;

[0046] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the battery support mechanism in this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0047] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of this utility model can be combined with each other.

[0048] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on this utility model. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first," "second," etc., may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this utility model, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0049] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," "fixed connection," and "fixed connection" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model based on the specific circumstances.

[0050] The specific embodiments of this utility model are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments.

[0051] As shown in Figure 1, a soft-pack lithium battery edge shaping and width detection device includes a left edge shaping mechanism 2 and a right edge shaping mechanism 3 placed in front of the material handling mechanism 1. The left and right edge shaping mechanisms have the same structure. A vision inspection mechanism 4 is set above the material handling mechanism 1, and a battery support mechanism 5 is set directly below the vision inspection camera. The left and right sides of the battery support mechanism are production line equipment platforms 6, and batteries 7 are placed on the production line equipment platforms. By adding a battery edge shaping and width detection device to the sorting machine, the edges of all batteries passing through the production line can be shaped, and the battery width can be accurately measured, avoiding the occurrence of defective products flowing to customers due to random inspection. Since the detection device is used online, offline separate detection is no longer required, avoiding inaccurate detection results caused by manual detection tools and human factors, and saving offline detection personnel. The battery edge shaping and width detection devices are set in the same station, with a compact structure, and the relevant actions can be completed quickly. The addition of an automatic battery handling mechanism ensures that the detection speed matches the production line efficiency and does not affect the production line output.

[0052] As shown in Figure 2, the material handling mechanism 1 is provided with a mounting bracket 1-1, a module 1-2 in front of the mounting bracket, a cylinder fixing plate 1-3 in front of the module, symmetrically arranged lifting cylinders 1-4-1 and 1-4-2 in front of the cylinder fixing plate, suction cup fixing plates 1-5-1 and 1-5-2 respectively installed below the lifting cylinders, and suction cups 1-6-1 and 1-6-2 installed on the suction cup fixing plates.

[0053] As shown in Figure 3, the left side shaping mechanism 2 includes a first pressure plate 2-1 with a circular hole, a first heating tube 2-2 and a first heat insulation plate 2-3 on the left side installed in the circular hole of the pressure plate, a first temperature controller 2-4 connected to the heating tube by a cable and fixed on the bracket 1-1, a first connecting plate 2-5 on the left side of the heat insulation plate, a first connecting rod 2-6 threadedly connected to the right side of the first connecting plate, a first bolt 2-7 and a first locking nut 2-8 threadedly connected to the first connecting rod, a first cylinder 2-9 on the left side of the first connecting plate, a first cylinder fixing plate 2-10 on the left side of the first cylinder, and a first adjusting plate 2-11 below the first cylinder fixing plate.

[0054] See Figure 4 for details. The right side shaping mechanism 3 is symmetrically arranged to the left side shaping mechanism 2. The right side shaping mechanism 3 includes a second pressure plate 3-1, a second heating tube 3-2, and a second heat insulation plate 3-3. A second temperature controller 3-4 is connected to the heating tube via a cable. A second connecting plate 3-5 is located to the right of the heat insulation plate. A threaded second connecting rod 3-6 is located to the left of the second connecting plate. A second bolt 3-7 and a second locking nut 3-8 are threadedly connected to the second connecting rod. A second cylinder 3-9 is located to the right of the second connecting plate. A second cylinder fixing plate 3-10 is located to the right of the second cylinder. A second adjusting plate 3-11 is located below the second cylinder fixing plate. By rotating the first bolt 2-7 and the second bolt 3-7 of the limiting mechanism, the distance between the first pressure plate 2-1 and the second pressure plate 3-1 of the left and right shaping mechanisms can be adjusted. The bolts can be locked with the first locking nut 2-8 and the second locking nut 3-8 to prevent loosening.

[0055] As shown in Figure 5, the visual inspection mechanism 4 includes a connecting plate 4-1 connected to the bracket 1-1 and an inspection camera 4-2 located in front of the connecting plate.

[0056] As shown in Figure 6, the battery support mechanism 5 includes a detection plate 5-1 made of inorganic glass, a left stop block 5-2-1 and a right stop block 5-2-2 on the front and rear sides of the detection plate, a vacuum suction cup 5-4 installed in a round hole on the detection plate, an L-shaped left fixing block 5-3-1 and a right fixing block 5-3-2 on the left and right sides of the detection plate, an acrylic support plate 5-5 below the left fixing block 5-3-1 and the right fixing block 5-3-2, a left upright plate 5-6-1 and a right upright plate 5-6-2 symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides below the support plate, an equipment platform 6 below the left upright plate 5-6-1 and the right upright plate 5-6-2, and a shadowless square light source 5-7 above the equipment platform.

[0057] Production line equipment platform 6 is provided by the production line and has two workstations: the left is the material picking station and the right is the material unloading station. Other details will not be elaborated here. 7 is a schematic diagram of the battery.

[0058] To ensure the effectiveness of the battery edge shaping, the heat-sealed aluminum-plastic shaping on both sides of the battery is carried out by hot pressing. That is, the pressure block is made of brass with excellent thermal conductivity, and the pressure block is provided with mounting holes for installing heating tubes. The temperature of the heating tubes is regulated by a temperature controller. The temperature controller brand is MISUMI, model MTCTRD.

[0059] To ensure the effectiveness of battery edge shaping, the shaping mechanism cylinder needs to have strong rigidity and motion precision. Therefore, a thin-type cylinder with a guide rod from the brand SMC, model MGPKFM20-20-M9B, is used.

[0060] To ensure the effectiveness of battery edge shaping and to be suitable for batteries of different thicknesses, the mounting holes of the adjustment plates 2-11 of the left and right edge shaping mechanisms are designed as elongated holes. This allows for adjustment of the distance between the lower surface of the edge shaping mechanism's pressure block and the upper surface of the detection plate.

[0061] To ensure the effectiveness of battery edge shaping and measurement accuracy, a suction cup is installed at the battery placement position on the detection board to prevent the battery from tilting during the battery transfer process of the material handling mechanism 1.

[0062] To ensure the effectiveness of battery edge shaping and measurement accuracy, and to prevent the high temperature of the pressure plate from baking the battery detection board into deformation or discoloration, which would affect the illumination of the battery body by the light source below, the battery detection board is made of highly transparent inorganic glass.

[0063] To ensure the accuracy of battery measurements and prevent the light source below from being refracted and lost as it passes through the support plate 5-5, thus affecting the accuracy of the image captured by the camera, the support plate is made of highly transparent acrylic material.

[0064] To ensure that the cylinder fixing plate of the material handling mechanism does not block the light source from illuminating the battery body during testing, the width of the cylinder fixing plate of the material handling mechanism is smaller than the width of the battery.

[0065] The camera used for visual inspection in this solution is Hikvision MV-CS200-10GM, with a resolution of 5472*3648.

[0066] To ensure the camera obtains accurate battery images, the light source uses a shadowless square light source from the Japanese brand CCS, model LFXV-100RD.

[0067] Work process:

[0068] 1. After the battery to be shaped is transferred to the left side of the shaping and inspection station, the module of the material handling mechanism moves to the left to the material handling position. Then, the two cylinders on the left and right sides descend simultaneously, picking up the battery to be tested through the suction cup on the left. The two cylinders on the left and right sides rise to their positions simultaneously. After the module of the material handling mechanism moves to the right to the inspection position, the two cylinders on the left and right sides descend simultaneously, placing the battery picked up by the suction cup onto the corresponding station (at this point, the battery to be shaped is picked up from the production line equipment platform and moved to the shaping and inspection station). The two cylinders on the left and right sides rise to their positions simultaneously, and the module of the material handling mechanism moves to the left to the material handling position to wait.

[0069] 2. After the battery to be shaped is placed in the shaping and inspection station, the vacuum suction cup on the inspection plate will hold the battery, and the cylinder rods of the edge shaping mechanism on the left and right sides will extend to press the pressure plates on the left and right sides onto the heat-sealed aluminum-plastic folded edges on both sides of the battery, so that the heat-sealed aluminum-plastic folded edges are tightly attached to the battery body. The pressure will last for about 2 seconds. After the shaping is completed, the cylinder rods on the left and right sides will retract.

[0070] 3. The light source beam passes through the support plate and the detection plate. The camera of the vision inspection system captures the image of the battery, and the image processing software and algorithm are used to obtain the precise width dimension data of the battery.

[0071] 4. After the dimensions are measured, the two cylinders on the left and right sides of the material handling mechanism descend simultaneously. The left suction cup picks up the battery to be tested, and the right suction cup picks up the battery that has been measured. The two cylinders on the left and right sides rise to their positions simultaneously. After the material handling mechanism module moves to the right to the detection position, the two cylinders on the left and right sides descend simultaneously, placing the battery picked up by the suction cups onto the corresponding workstation (at this time, the battery to be tested is moved from the feeding position to the detection position, and the measured battery is moved from the shaping and detection workstation to the feeding position on the production line equipment platform). The two cylinders rise to their positions simultaneously.

[0072] 5. At this point, the entire edge shaping and width detection device has completed one cycle, and the above steps will be repeated thereafter.

[0073] For those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of this utility model, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this utility model.

Claims

1. A device for edge shaping and dimensional detection of a soft-pack lithium battery, characterized in that, include: The material handling mechanism (1) is used to transfer batteries (7) between workstations on the production line. The left shaping mechanism (2) and the right shaping mechanism (3) are symmetrically arranged in front of the material taking mechanism (1) and are used to heat-press and shape the left and right heat-sealed aluminum-plastic folds of the battery, respectively. A visual inspection mechanism (4) is disposed above the material handling mechanism (1) and is used to detect the width dimension of the battery; The battery support mechanism (5) is located directly below the camera of the visual inspection mechanism (4) and is used to support the battery to be inspected and cooperate with visual inspection.

2. The soft-pack lithium battery edge shaping and dimensional detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material handling mechanism (1) includes: Mounting bracket (1-1); The module (1-2) is located in front of the mounting bracket (1-1) and can move left and right via a slide table; The first lifting cylinder (1-4-1) and the second lifting cylinder (1-4-2) are symmetrically arranged and fixed to the cylinder fixing plate (1-3) in front of the module (1-2). The first suction cup fixing plate (1-5-1) and the second suction cup fixing plate (1-5-2) are respectively connected to the bottom of the first lifting cylinder (1-4-1) and the second lifting cylinder (1-4-2); The first suction cup (1-6-1) and the second suction cup (1-6-2) are respectively disposed on the first suction cup fixing plate (1-5-1) and the second suction cup fixing plate (1-5-2) for adsorbing the battery (7).

3. The soft-pack lithium battery edge shaping and size detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The left-side shaping mechanism (2) includes: The first pressure plate (2-1) is made of thermally conductive brass and has round holes inside. The first heating tube (2-2) is installed in the round hole of the first pressure plate (2-1) and is used to heat the first pressure plate; The first heat insulation plate (2-3) is disposed on the outside of the first pressure plate (2-1) to isolate heat transfer; The first connecting plate (2-5) is connected at one end to the piston rod of the first cylinder (2-9), and at the other end to the first pressure plate (2-1) and the first heat insulation plate (2-3). The first connecting rod (2-6) is threaded onto the first connecting plate (2-5); The first bolt (2-7) is threaded onto the first connecting rod (2-6), and the first locking nut (2-8) is connected to the first bolt (2-7). The first cylinder (2-9) is an SMC thin-type cylinder with a guide rod, which drives the first pressure plate (2-1) to move. The first cylinder fixing plate (2-10) fixes the first cylinder (2-9) and connects to the first adjusting plate (2-11); The first adjustment plate (2-11) has elongated mounting holes designed to adjust the distance between the lower surface of the first pressure plate (2-1) and the detection plate; The first temperature controller (2-4) is connected to the first heating element (2-2) via a cable and fixed to the mounting bracket (1-1); The right-side shaping mechanism (3) has the same structure as the left-side shaping mechanism (2).

4. The soft-pack lithium battery edge shaping and dimensional detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The visual inspection mechanism (4) includes: A connecting plate (4-1) is connected to the mounting bracket (1-1) of the material handling mechanism. A detection camera (4-2) is mounted on the connecting plate (4-1) for capturing battery images.

5. The soft-pack lithium battery edge shaping and dimensional detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The battery support mechanism (5) includes: The detection plate (5-1) is made of high-transmittance inorganic glass and is used to support the battery; A vacuum suction cup (5-4) is disposed on the detection plate (5-1) for adsorbing and fixing the battery; A support plate (5-5) is placed below the detection plate (5-1) to support the detection plate and reduce light source refraction; The left vertical plate (5-6-1) and the right vertical plate (5-6-2) are respectively set between the support plate (5-5) and the equipment platform (6); The shadowless square light source 5-7 is positioned below the support plate (5-5) to provide uniform illumination.

6. The device for edge shaping and dimensional detection of a soft-pack lithium battery according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The width of the cylinder fixing plate (1-3) of the material handling mechanism (1) is smaller than the width of the battery (7) to avoid blocking the light source from illuminating the battery body.

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