A tab welding mechanism and welding machine

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of battery manufacturing technology, and discloses a tab welding mechanism and welding machine. The tab welding mechanism has two perpendicular directions: a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction, and includes a welding head and a welding base. The welding head has a bent portion and a first welding tooth at one end facing the welding base, and the bent portion protrudes from the first welding tooth along the third direction. The welding base has a second welding tooth and a through groove at one end facing the welding head, the second welding tooth corresponding to the first welding tooth along the third direction, and the through groove corresponding to the bent portion along the third direction. The through groove is used to accommodate at least a portion of the bent portion. The welding head and the welding base can move towards each other along the third direction. The beneficial effects of this utility model are: pre-bending can be performed during the welding of multi-layer tabs on bare battery cells, simplifying the structure, reducing costs, ensuring the consistency of the bent tabs, improving production efficiency, and avoiding the problem of short circuits during core assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of battery manufacturing technology, and in particular to a tab welding mechanism and welding machine. Background Technology

[0002] In the battery production process, the positive and negative current collectors of bare cells are constrained by soldering. After multiple bare cells are welded together with tabs, they are combined into a battery module or battery pack. During the combination process, the tabs of each bare cell are in a free state. Due to the material properties of the tabs themselves, the tabs are easy to bend freely, and the bending state is not easy to control. That is, the bending angle of the tabs of each bare cell is different, which can easily lead to short circuits caused by inserting bare cell plates into the tabs, which seriously affects production efficiency.

[0003] In the existing technology, after welding the multi-layer tabs of the bare battery cell, the tabs are pre-bent to ensure that the tabs of multiple bare battery cells maintain the same bending angle during the cell assembly process. This requires a separate pre-bending device, and after welding the tabs of the bare battery cell, transferring them to the pre-bending device requires repositioning and other operations. This cannot guarantee the consistency of the tab bending, and the process is relatively complex, with high production costs and reduced production efficiency. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this utility model is to provide a tab welding mechanism and welding machine that can pre-bend the tabs of bare battery cells during multi-layer tab welding, simplify the structure, reduce costs, ensure the consistency of the tabs after bending, improve production efficiency, and avoid the problem of short circuits in the tabs during core assembly.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides a tab welding mechanism for welding tabs. The tab welding mechanism has a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction that are perpendicular to each other, and includes a welding head and a welding base.

[0006] The welding head is located at one end of the welding base along the third direction. The end of the welding head facing the welding base is provided with a bent portion and a first welding tooth. Along the third direction, the bent portion protrudes from the first welding tooth.

[0007] The welding base is provided with a second welding tooth and a through groove at one end facing the welding head. The second welding tooth corresponds to the first welding tooth along the third direction, and the through groove corresponds to the bent portion along the third direction. The through groove is used to accommodate at least a portion of the bent portion.

[0008] The welding head and the welding base can move in opposite directions along the third direction.

[0009] Furthermore, along the third direction, the height difference between the bent portion and the first weld tooth is H1, and 0.1mm≤H1≤2mm.

[0010] Furthermore, the bent portion extends along the first direction and is located on one side of the first weld tooth along the second direction.

[0011] Furthermore, the welding base also includes a supporting boss; the through groove extends along the first direction, the second welding tooth is located on one side of the through groove along the second direction, and the supporting boss is located on the other side of the through groove along the second direction;

[0012] Along the third direction, the support boss protrudes from the second welding tooth.

[0013] Furthermore, along the third direction, the height difference between the supporting boss and the second welding tooth is H2, and 0.1mm≤H2≤3mm.

[0014] Furthermore, a negative pressure air duct is provided in the through groove, and an air inlet is provided in the welding base to communicate with the negative pressure air duct. The air inlet is located at one end of the welding base along the first direction or the second direction, and the air inlet is used to communicate with an external negative pressure air source.

[0015] Furthermore, along the third direction, the height difference between the bottom of the through groove and the top of the second welding tooth is H3, and 0.5mm≤H3≤5mm.

[0016] Furthermore, the air inlet is a threaded hole or a through hole, and the negative pressure air duct extends along the first direction.

[0017] Furthermore, along the third direction, from the welding head toward the welding seat, the bent portion includes a straight segment, a transition segment, and an arc segment arranged in sequence, and the thickness of the straight segment, the transition segment, and the arc segment decreases sequentially.

[0018] Wherein, the thickness is the thickness of the straight segment, the transition segment, and the arc segment in the second direction.

[0019] This utility model also provides a welding machine, including the electrode welding mechanism described in any of the above claims.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the electrode tab welding mechanism and welding machine of this utility model have the following advantages: The welding head has a bent portion and a first welding tooth at one end facing the welding seat along a third direction, with the bent portion protruding beyond the first welding tooth along a third direction; the welding seat has a second welding tooth and a through groove at one end facing the welding head, wherein the second welding tooth corresponds to the first welding tooth along a third direction, the through groove corresponds to the bent portion along a third direction, and the through groove is used to accommodate at least a portion of the bent portion. When welding multi-layer electrodes on bare battery cells, the multi-layer electrodes are moved directly above the second welding tooth, the welding head moves downward, and the bent portion cooperates with the welding seat to pre-press the multi-layer electrodes. Simultaneously, the bent portion presses a portion of the multi-layer electrodes down into the through groove for pre-bending. At this time, the welding head moves further downward, and the first and second welding teeth cooperate to press the multi-layer electrodes together, completing the welding. Pre-bending can be performed during the welding of multi-layer electrodes on bare battery cells, simplifying the structure, reducing costs, ensuring the consistency of the bent electrodes, improving production efficiency, and avoiding the problem of short circuits during electrode insertion when the core is assembled. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the electrode tab welding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A magnified view of a section at point A in the middle;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the welding head of the electrode welding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a side view of the welding head of the electrode welding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 A magnified view of a section at point B in the middle;

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the bent portion of the electrode welding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the welding base of the electrode welding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 8 This is a top view of the welding base of the electrode welding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 9 yes Figure 8 A magnified view of a section at point C;

[0030] Figure 10 This is a side view of the welding base of the electrode welding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 11 yes Figure 10 A magnified view of a section at point D;

[0032] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the welding machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 13 This is a reference diagram showing the state of the bare battery cell after welding, according to an embodiment of this utility model.

[0034] In the diagram, 1 is the welding head; 11 is the bending section; 111 is the straight section; 112 is the transition section; 113 is the arc section; 12 is the first welding tooth; 2 is the welding seat; 21 is the second welding tooth; 22 is the through groove; 23 is the supporting boss; 24 is the negative pressure air duct; 25 is the air inlet; X is the first direction; Y is the second direction; Z is the third direction; a is the welding machine; b is the bare battery cell; b1 is the pre-folded part of the electrode tab; b2 is the electrode tab welding part. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The specific embodiments of this utility model will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are used to illustrate this utility model, but are not intended to limit its scope.

[0036] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "inner", "outer" and other terms used in this utility model to indicate the orientation or positional relationship are based on the positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device and 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 of this utility model.

[0037] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "first," "second," etc., are used to describe various information, but this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of this utility model, "first" information can also be referred to as "second" information, and similarly, "second" information can also be referred to as "first" information.

[0038] like Figures 1 to 13 As shown, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a welding head 1 and a welding base 2. The welding head 1 is used to connect to the working end of the welding machine a, and the welding base 2 is connected to the base of the welding machine a. For ease of explanation, the length direction of the through groove 22 is defined as the first direction X, the width direction as the second direction Y, and the height direction as the third direction Z.

[0039] like Figure 1As shown, the welding head 1 is located on one side of the welding base 2 along the third direction. To facilitate the pre-bending of the multilayer tabs of the bare cell b, the end of the welding head 1 facing the welding base 2 is provided with a bending portion 11 and a first welding tooth 12. Along the third direction, the bending portion 11 protrudes from the first welding tooth 12. The bending portion 11 can cooperate with the welding base 2 to pre-press the multilayer tabs of the bare cell b. The end of the welding base 2 facing the welding head 1 is provided with a second welding tooth 21 and a through groove 22. The second welding tooth 21 corresponds to the first welding tooth 12 along the third direction, and the through groove 22 corresponds to the bending portion 11 along the third direction. The through groove 22 is used to accommodate at least a portion of the bending portion 11. The welding head 1 and the welding base 2 can move towards each other along the third direction. When welding the multilayer tabs of the bare cell b, the multilayer tabs of the bare cell b move to directly above the second welding tooth 21, and the welding head 1 moves downwards, as... Figure 12 , Figure 13 As shown, the bending part 11 presses a portion of the multi-layer electrode tab into the through groove 22 for pre-bending to form the electrode tab pre-bent part b1; the welding head 1 moves further downward, and the first welding tooth 12 and the second welding tooth 21 press the multi-layer electrode tab to complete the welding. During this process, the welding machine is an ultrasonic welding machine, which performs ultrasonic welding on the electrode tab welding part b2.

[0040] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the bent portion 11 protrudes from the first welding tooth 12 along the third direction. To ensure a good pre-bending effect on the electrode tab and to avoid excessive bending of the electrode tab during the bending process, which could cause the electrode tab welding portion b2 to shift, the height difference between the bent portion 11 and the first welding tooth 12 along the third direction is H1, and 0.1mm≤H1≤2mm. When H1<0.1mm, the size of the bent portion 11 protruding from the first welding tooth 12 is small, which cannot meet the pre-bending angle requirement of the electrode tab pre-bending portion b1; when H1>2mm, the size of the bent portion 11 protruding from the first welding tooth 12 is large. When the bent portion 11 presses down on the electrode tab for pre-bending, the electrode tab welding portion b2 is in a free state, and the electrode tab pre-bending portion b1 will cause the end of the electrode tab welding portion b2 away from the through groove 22 to tilt up, affecting the subsequent welding positioning accuracy. Therefore, in this embodiment, preferably, H1=1mm. It can be adaptively adjusted according to the thickness of the multilayer tabs of the bare cell b and the pre-bending requirements.

[0041] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to facilitate the setting of the position of the bent portion 11 and avoid interference with structures such as the first welding tooth 12 and the second welding tooth 21 during the bending process, such as... Figure 3 , Figure 5 As shown, the bent portion 11 extends along the first direction X and is located on one side of the first welding tooth 12 along the second direction Y.

[0042] Furthermore, to facilitate support during the pre-bending of the electrode tabs by the welding socket 2, such as... Figure 7As shown, the welding base 2 also includes a supporting boss 23. Specifically, the through groove 22 extends along the first direction X, the second welding tooth 21 is located on one side of the through groove 22 along the second direction Y, and the supporting boss 23 is located on the other side of the through groove 22 along the second direction Y. In this utility model, the multi-layer tabs of the bare battery cell b need to be pre-bent before welding to ensure the stability of the pre-bending and welding process. Therefore, along the third direction, the supporting boss 23 protrudes from the second welding tooth 21. Furthermore, as... Figure 11 As shown, along the third direction, the height difference between the support boss 23 and the second welding tooth 21 is H2, and 0.1mm≤H2≤3mm. Simultaneously, the support boss 23 can gather the root of the bare cell b's tab. When H2<0.1mm, the support boss 23 and the second welding tooth 21 are almost flush. During the tab bending process, the first welding tooth 12 and the second welding tooth 21 cooperate to press the tab tightly. Welding is performed simultaneously during the tab bending process. At this time, both the tab pre-bent part and the tab welding part b2 are in a pressed state, causing the tab to elongate and risking breakage. When H2>3mm, when the bending part 11 presses down on the tab for pre-bending, the tab welding part b2 is in a free state. The tab pre-bent part b1 will cause the end of the tab welding part b2 away from the through groove 22 to tilt upwards, affecting the subsequent welding positioning accuracy. Therefore, in this embodiment, preferably, H2=2mm. It can be adaptively adjusted according to the pre-bending requirements of the multi-layer tabs of the bare cell b.

[0043] Furthermore, in some embodiments, to facilitate the removal of foreign objects (such as dust or debris) from the through groove 22 and to avoid damage during tab pre-bending or poor consistency in the tab pre-bending angle of the bare cell b, such as... Figures 8 to 11 As shown, a negative pressure air duct 24 is provided within the through groove 22, and an air inlet 25 communicating with the negative pressure air duct 24 is provided on the welding base 2. The air inlet 25 is located at one end of the welding base 2 along the first direction X or the second direction Y, and is used to communicate with an external negative pressure air source. The negative pressure air duct 24 removes foreign objects from the through groove 22 under negative pressure, ensuring the consistency of the electrode tab pre-bending. Furthermore, to facilitate the connection of the air inlet 25 with the external negative pressure air source, the air inlet 25 is a threaded hole or a through hole. At the same time, to simplify the structure of the negative pressure air duct 24, such as... Figure 8 , Figure 9 As shown, the negative pressure air duct 24 extends along the first direction X.

[0044] Furthermore, in order to meet the pre-bending angle requirements of the pre-folded part b1 of the electrode tab, while ensuring the positioning accuracy of the electrode tab welding, such as... Figure 11As shown, along the third direction, the height difference between the bottom of the through groove 22 and the top of the second welding tooth 21 is H3, and 0.5mm≤H3≤5mm. When H3<0.5mm, the height difference between the through groove 22 and the second welding tooth 21 is small, which cannot meet the pre-bending angle requirement of the electrode tab. When H3>5mm, the height difference between the through groove 22 and the second welding tooth 21 is large, and the pre-bending angle of the electrode tab affects the subsequent welding positioning accuracy.

[0045] Furthermore, in some embodiments, to ensure a smooth transition during the bending process of the pre-bent portion of the electrode lug and to avoid large-angle bending during the electrode lug bending process that could lead to electrode lug breakage, therefore, as Figure 6 As shown, in this embodiment, along the third direction from the welding head 1 toward the welding seat 2, the bending portion 11 includes a straight segment 111, a transition segment 112, and an arc segment 113 arranged sequentially, and the thickness of the straight segment 111, the transition segment 112, and the arc segment 113 decreases sequentially. The thickness is the thickness of the straight segment 111, the transition segment 112, and the arc segment 113 in the second direction Y, so that the tab can smoothly transition during the bending process, that is, multiple small-angle bends are performed to meet the pre-bending requirements and ensure the stability of the tab during the pre-bending process.

[0046] This utility model also provides a welding machine, including the electrode welding mechanism of any of the above.

[0047] In summary, the present invention provides a tab welding mechanism and welding machine that, compared with the prior art, has the following advantages: the welding head 1 has a bent portion 11 and a first welding tooth 12 at one end facing the welding seat 2 along a third direction, and the bent portion 11 protrudes from the first welding tooth 12 along a third direction; the welding seat 2 has a second welding tooth 21 and a through groove 22 at one end facing the welding head 1, wherein the second welding tooth 21 corresponds to the first welding tooth 12 along a third direction, the through groove 22 corresponds to the bent portion 11 along a third direction, and the through groove 22 is used to accommodate at least a portion of the bent portion 11. When welding the multilayer tabs of the bare battery cell b, the multilayer tabs are moved to directly above the second welding tooth 21, the welding head 1 moves downward, the bent portion 11 cooperates with the welding seat 2 to pre-press the multilayer tabs, and at the same time, the bent portion 11 presses a portion of the multilayer tabs down into the through groove 22 for pre-bending. At this time, the welding head 1 moves further downward, and the first welding tooth 12 and the second welding tooth 21 cooperate to press the multilayer tabs together to complete the welding. Pre-bending can be performed during the welding of multi-layer tabs on bare cell b, which simplifies the structure, reduces costs, ensures the consistency of the tabs after bending, improves production efficiency, and avoids the problem of short circuits when inserting the tabs during cell assembly.

[0048] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and substitutions can be made without departing from the technical principles of the present utility model, and these improvements and substitutions should also be considered within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A tab welding mechanism for welding a tab, the tab welding mechanism having a first direction (X), a second direction (Y), and a third direction (Z) perpendicular to each other, characterized by: Includes a welding head (1) and a welding base (2); The welding head (1) is located at one end of the welding base (2) along the third direction (Z). The welding head (1) is provided with a bent part (11) and a first welding tooth (12) at the end facing the welding base (2). Along the third direction (Z), the bent part (11) protrudes from the first welding tooth (12). The welding base (2) is provided with a second welding tooth (21) and a through groove (22) at one end facing the welding head (1). The second welding tooth (21) corresponds to the first welding tooth (12) along the third direction (Z), and the through groove (22) corresponds to the bent portion (11) along the third direction (Z). The through groove (22) is used to accommodate at least a portion of the bent portion (11). The welding head (1) and the welding base (2) can move towards each other along the third direction (Z).

2. The tab welding mechanism of claim 1, wherein: Along the third direction (Z), the height difference between the bent portion (11) and the first welding tooth (12) is H1, and 0.1mm≤H1≤2mm.

3. The tab welding mechanism of claim 1, wherein: The bent portion (11) extends along the first direction (X) and is located on the side of the first welding tooth (12) along the second direction (Y).

4. The tab welding mechanism of claim 1, wherein: The welding base (2) further includes a support boss (23); the through groove (22) extends along the first direction (X), the second welding tooth (21) is located on one side of the through groove (22) along the second direction (Y), and the support boss (23) is located on the other side of the through groove (22) along the second direction (Y); Along the third direction (Z), the support boss (23) protrudes from the second welding tooth (21).

5. The electrode welding mechanism as described in claim 4, characterized in that: Along the third direction (Z), the height difference between the support boss (23) and the second welding tooth (21) is H2, and 0.1mm≤H2≤3mm.

6. The electrode welding mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that: A negative pressure air duct (24) is provided in the through groove (22), and an air inlet (25) is provided in the welding seat (2) to communicate with the negative pressure air duct (24). The air inlet (25) is located at one end of the welding seat (2) along the first direction (X) or the second direction (Y), and the air inlet (25) is used to communicate with an external negative pressure air source.

7. The electrode welding mechanism as described in claim 6, characterized in that: Along the third direction (Z), the height difference between the bottom of the through groove (22) and the top of the second welding tooth (21) is H3, and 0.5mm≤H3≤5mm.

8. The electrode welding mechanism as described in claim 6, characterized in that: The air inlet (25) is a threaded hole or a through hole, and the negative pressure air duct (24) extends along the first direction (X).

9. The electrode welding mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that: Along the third direction (Z), from the welding head (1) toward the welding seat (2), the bent portion (11) includes a straight segment (111), a transition segment (112) and an arc segment (113) arranged in sequence, and the thickness of the straight segment (111), the transition segment (112) and the arc segment (113) decreases in sequence; The thickness is the thickness of the straight segment (111), the transition segment (112), and the arc segment (113) in the second direction (Y).

10. A welding machine, characterized in that: Includes the electrode welding mechanism as described in any one of claims 1-9.

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