Single pinch multiple saggar cover device

Abstract

The utility model discloses a single clamping multiple sagger cover device, and the device includes frame, conveying mechanism, take cover mechanism and put cover mechanism. Its core lies in, take cover mechanism adopted a integral type's take cover executive component, and a linear drive assembly drives its synchronous movement between take cover station and put cover station, take cover executive component is integrally provided with at least two sets of take cover unit, and each set of unit includes elevating gear and take cover suction cup to realize the synchronous capture, removal and placement of multiple sagger cover. Put cover mechanism is equipped with jacking device to receive sagger cover. The utility model discloses through the design of integration, synchronization, combines multiple take cover action into one coherent flow, greatly improves the efficiency and reliability of sagger production line's take cover, put cover and cover operation, and the compact structure is easy to control.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of automated production technology, and in particular to a device for clamping multiple crucible lids at a time. Background Technology

[0002] The sagger process is a crucial step in the production of positive and negative electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries. It involves filling powdered positive and negative electrode materials into a sagger and then sintering them at high temperatures in a kiln. The efficiency and reliability of this process directly affect the performance consistency, energy density, and production cost of the final battery product. In the context of large-scale production, extremely high levels of automation and efficiency are required for the cap removal and cap closing operations on the sagger conveyor line.

[0003] Currently, the development of this technology field faces the following distinct levels and bottlenecks:

[0004] Initial Stage (Manual Operation): The earliest production methods relied primarily on manual removal and closing of the caps. This method was labor-intensive, extremely inefficient, and the high-temperature environment of the kiln workshop posed safety hazards. In the field of lithium battery materials, where cleanliness and consistency requirements are extremely high, manual operation is completely unable to meet the standards of modern production.

[0005] Mechanization Stage (Single Cap Removal Device): To address the issue of manual efficiency, mechanized single cap removal devices emerged. These devices can process only one sagger cap per operation. While achieving automation, their single-processing mode has become a significant bottleneck restricting overall production line capacity improvement in the lithium battery material sintering process, which aims to maximize single-furnace capacity. The low-speed cycle of the cap removal station cannot match the efficient feeding, sintering, and unloading processes at the front and rear ends, resulting in reduced equipment utilization.

[0006] Preliminary Parallelization Attempts (Multiple Independent Mechanisms): To overcome efficiency limitations, those skilled in the art might envision using multiple independent cap-removing robotic arms. However, this approach leads to complex equipment structures, high control precision requirements, and a sharp increase in cost. Furthermore, interference between multiple mechanisms is prone to occur, making reliability difficult to guarantee. For lithium battery material production lines that emphasize production stability and minimal failure rates, the maintenance costs and downtime risks of such complex systems are unacceptable.

[0007] Therefore, there is a lack of existing technologies that can truly achieve efficient, compact, and low-cost multi-crate cover synchronous loading and unloading device while ensuring high reliability and high synchronization accuracy. This has become an urgent technical problem to be solved in order to improve the production efficiency of key materials for lithium-ion batteries and reduce manufacturing costs. Utility Model Content

[0008] To address the aforementioned shortcomings of existing technologies, this utility model aims to provide a device for simultaneously picking up multiple crucible lids. The core technical problem it addresses is how to achieve synchronous, efficient, precise, and reliable picking and placing of multiple crucible lids without significantly increasing system complexity and control difficulty, thereby completely breaking through the efficiency bottleneck caused by single-lid picking devices.

[0009] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0010] A device for clamping multiple crucible lids at a time includes a frame, a conveying mechanism, a lid-picking mechanism, and a lid-placing mechanism. The conveying mechanism is mounted on the frame and is used to continuously convey at least two crucibles along a conveying path. The lid-picking mechanism includes an integral lid-picking execution component and a linear drive component for driving the lid-picking execution component to move synchronously between a lid-picking station and a lid-placing station. The lid-picking execution component is integrated with at least two sets of lid-picking units, the number of which corresponds to the number of crucibles processed at a time. Each lid-picking unit includes a lifting device and a lid-picking suction cup located at its lower part. The lid-placing mechanism includes a lifting device for receiving the crucible lids.

[0011] Preferably, the lid-removing execution component further includes a common mounting plate, on which the lifting devices of all lid-removing units are fixedly mounted.

[0012] Preferably, the linear drive assembly includes a guide rail, a movable seat slidably disposed on the guide rail, and a drive device for driving the movable seat, wherein the cap removal execution assembly is integrally mounted on the movable seat.

[0013] Preferably, the conveying mechanism is a conveyor belt, and each of its lower parts is equipped with an independently lifting blocking device corresponding to the lid removal station of each sagger, for precise positioning of the sagger.

[0014] Preferably, each side of the conveyor belt is equipped with a position sensor corresponding to the cap-removing station of each sagger. The position sensor is connected to a controller. The controller is used to control the linear drive assembly and the cap-removing execution assembly to operate after all target saggers are in place, so as to ensure the accuracy of synchronous operation.

[0015] Preferably, each of the lid-removing units further includes multiple grippers disposed around its lid-removing suction cup, which are used to assist in clamping the lid after the suction cup adsorbs it, providing double protection to prevent the lid from falling off during the transfer process.

[0016] Preferably, the cap removal suction cups of all cap removal units are connected to a common vacuum system, or are divided into multiple groups and connected to corresponding vacuum systems; the vacuum system is equipped with a vacuum pressure gauge for detecting whether the adsorption is reliable.

[0017] Preferably, the lifting device includes a lifting cylinder and a lifting plate disposed at the top of its piston rod. The number of lifting plates is adapted to the number of sagger lids placed at one time, and is used to simultaneously receive all sagger lids.

[0018] Preferably, the lid-laying mechanism is further provided with a spacing blocking mechanism to maintain a predetermined gap between adjacent sagger lids when receiving the sagger lid, so as to provide precise positioning conditions for the subsequent lid-closing process.

[0019] Preferably, the lid-removing mechanism can also be used to simultaneously pick up multiple crucible lids from the lid-laying station and transfer them to the lid-removing station for lid-closing operations, thus realizing the reversibility of the device's function and enabling multiple uses of one machine.

[0020] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows:

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following significant advantages:

[0022] 1. High efficiency: Through the integrated multi-head cap picking design, multiple sequential actions are combined into one synchronous action, and multiple crucible caps can be processed in a single operation, which greatly shortens the working cycle and doubles the production efficiency.

[0023] 2. High synchronization and precision: The integrated cap-removing execution component is driven by a single drive source, ensuring a high degree of synchronization in the spatial movement and action sequence of all cap-removing units. This fundamentally avoids problems such as incoordination and interference that may occur with multiple independent mechanisms, resulting in precise cap-removing and placing positions.

[0024] 3. Compact structure and low cost: Compared with solutions with multiple independent mechanisms, this utility model uses a single linear drive assembly and installation structure, which greatly simplifies the mechanical structure, reduces the number of core components such as motors and drivers, and lowers manufacturing costs and equipment footprint.

[0025] 4. High reliability: It adopts a dual protection strategy of "vacuum adsorption + mechanical gripper" and combines it with vacuum detection function to effectively prevent the risk of the sagger cover falling off due to pressure loss during the transfer process, thus ensuring the continuity and stability of the production process.

[0026] 5. Flexible Functionality: This device can be used not only for lifting but also for closing lids, achieving functional reversibility and wider applicability. By adjusting the number and layout of the lid-lifting units, it can be easily adapted to production lines with different production capacities and layout requirements. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the device for clamping multiple crucible lids in a single operation according to the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the lid-laying mechanism of this utility model;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the conveying mechanism of this utility model;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the lid-removing mechanism of this utility model.

[0031] Explanation of main component symbols

[0032] 1-Frame; 2-Conveyor belt; 3-Cover-removing suction cup; 4-Lifting device; 5-Gripper; 6-Guide rail; 7-Lifting device; 8-Transmission wheel; 9-Blocking device; 10-Position sensor; 12-Drive device; 13-Sensor; 14-Vacuum system; 15-Vacuum pressure gauge; 16-Lifting cylinder; 17-Lifting plate.

[0033] The following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, will further illustrate this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0035] like Figure 1-4 As shown, a device for clamping multiple crucible lids at a time includes a frame 1, a conveying mechanism, a lid-picking mechanism, and a lid-laying mechanism. The conveying mechanism is mounted on the frame 1 and is used to continuously convey at least two crucibles along a conveying path. The lid-picking mechanism includes an integral lid-picking execution component and a linear drive component for driving the lid-picking execution component to move synchronously between a lid-picking station and a lid-laying station. The lid-picking execution component is equipped with at least two sets of lid-picking units, the number of which corresponds to the number of crucibles processed at a time. Each lid-picking unit includes a lifting device 4 and a lid-picking suction cup 3 located at its lower part. The lid-laying mechanism includes a lifting device 7 for receiving the crucible lids.

[0036] By setting up an integrated cap-retrieving execution component and synchronously driving it with a single drive component, the simultaneous grasping, transfer, and placement of multiple crucible caps are achieved. This merges multiple sequential actions into a single efficient and continuous synchronous action, greatly improving the efficiency of a single operation and fundamentally breaking through the speed bottleneck of single cap-retrieving devices. At the same time, this integrated design avoids the structural complexity, control difficulties, and high costs associated with multiple independent drives, resulting in a compact device structure and reliable operation.

[0037] In some embodiments, the cap removal execution assembly further includes a common mounting plate on which the lifting devices 4 of all cap removal units are fixedly mounted.

[0038] By setting up a common mounting plate, a rigid and uniform mounting base is provided for all lid-removing units, ensuring that each lid-removing unit has extremely high positional accuracy and synchronization consistency when performing lifting and lowering actions, effectively preventing lid-removing failure or crucible lid collisions caused by positional deviations of individual units.

[0039] In some embodiments, the linear drive assembly includes a guide rail 6, a movable seat slidably disposed on the guide rail 6, and a drive device 12 for driving the movable seat, wherein the cover removal execution assembly is integrally mounted on the movable seat.

[0040] The linear drive assembly, consisting of guide rail 6, moving seat and drive device 12, provides smooth, accurate and fast linear reciprocating motion for the integrated cap-picking execution assembly, ensuring the positioning accuracy and repeatability of the cap-picking mechanism between the two workstations, and providing a reliable guarantee for accurate cap picking and placing.

[0041] In some embodiments, the conveying mechanism is a conveyor belt 2, and its lower part is equipped with an independently lifting blocking device 9 corresponding to each sagger lid removal station for precise positioning of the sagger.

[0042] By setting up an independently lifting blocking device 9 at each workstation, each continuously entering sagger can be precisely stopped and positioned, overcoming the inherent positional error of the conveyor belt 2, providing a precise sagger position reference for the sagger removal mechanism, and ensuring the success rate of the sagger removal action.

[0043] In some embodiments, position sensors 10 are provided on both sides of the conveyor belt 2 corresponding to the cap-removing station of each sagger. The position sensors 10 are connected to a controller. The controller is used to control the linear drive assembly and the cap-removing execution assembly to operate after all target saggers are in place, so as to ensure the accuracy of synchronous operation.

[0044] Intelligent control of the system is achieved through the linkage between position sensor 10 and controller. The controller only instructs the lid-removing mechanism to act after receiving the signal that all target saggers are in place, establishing an interlock logic of "execution only after all are in place". This fundamentally avoids malfunctions or equipment damage caused by individual saggers not being in place, and improves the automation level and reliability of the entire system.

[0045] In some embodiments, each of the lid-removing units further includes a plurality of grippers 5 disposed around its lid-removing suction cup 3, for auxiliary clamping after the suction cup adsorbs the crucible lid, providing double protection to prevent the crucible lid from falling off during transfer.

[0046] Grippers 5 are installed around the suction cup, forming a dual protection mechanism of "vacuum adsorption as the main method and mechanical clamping as the auxiliary method". Even if there is a brief pressure fluctuation in the vacuum system 14, the mechanical grippers 5 can firmly hold the crucible cover, which greatly reduces the risk of the crucible cover falling off due to pressure loss during high-speed transfer, and significantly improves the safety and reliability of the operation.

[0047] In some embodiments, the cap removal suction cups 3 of all cap removal units are connected to a common vacuum system 14, or are divided into multiple groups and connected to corresponding vacuum systems 14; the vacuum system 14 is provided with a vacuum pressure gauge 15 for detecting whether the adsorption is reliable.

[0048] The vacuum system 14 and vacuum pressure gauge 15 not only provide power for adsorption but, more importantly, enable real-time monitoring of the adsorption state. The vacuum pressure gauge 15 provides immediate feedback on the success and reliability of adsorption, offering crucial status signals for the system, facilitating fault alarms and interlocking control, and enhancing the equipment's intelligence level.

[0049] In some embodiments, the lifting device 7 includes a lifting cylinder 16 and a lifting plate 17 disposed at the top of its piston rod. The number of lifting plates 17 is adapted to the number of sagger lids placed at one time, and is used to simultaneously receive all sagger lids.

[0050] The lifting device 7 simultaneously supports all the sacrificial lids through the lifting plate 17, achieving a smooth handover of the sacrificial lids from the lid-taking mechanism to the lid-laying station with "zero drop" or "small drop". This effectively prevents the impact, displacement or damage that may be caused by the sacrificial lids falling directly onto the transmission wheel 8, ensuring the smoothness and accuracy of the lid-laying process.

[0051] In some embodiments, the lid-laying mechanism is further provided with a spacing blocking mechanism to maintain a predetermined gap between adjacent sagger lids when receiving the sagger lid, thereby providing precise positioning conditions for the subsequent lid-closing process.

[0052] By setting up an interval blocking mechanism, a predetermined gap is forced between the sagger lids that enter the lid-laying station one after another. This design lays a precise positioning foundation for the subsequent lid-closing process, ensuring that each sagger lid can be accurately aligned with the corresponding sagger that arrives later, avoiding problems such as sagger lid stacking and misalignment, and guaranteeing the success rate of lid-closing.

[0053] In some embodiments, the cap-retrieving mechanism can also be used to simultaneously pick up multiple crucible caps from the cap-laying station and transfer them to the cap-retrieving station for cap-closing operations, thus realizing the reversibility of the device function and enabling multiple uses of one machine.

[0054] By equipping the cap-removing mechanism with reversible operation, a dual-purpose machine is achieved. The same device can efficiently complete both cap removal and cap closing operations, greatly improving equipment utilization and cost-effectiveness, simplifying production line layout, and making the entire crucible conveyor line's process flow more flexible and efficient.

[0055] More specifically, such as Figures 1 to 4 As shown, a preferred embodiment of this utility model is a double-sagger lid-removing device. The device includes a frame 1, a conveyor belt 2, a lid-removing mechanism, and a lid-placing mechanism.

[0056] Conveyor belt 2 is mounted on frame 1 for transporting saggers. Below conveyor belt 2, corresponding to the two cap-removing stations, each is equipped with a cylinder-driven blocking device 9. On both sides of conveyor belt 2, each station is equipped with a pair of position sensors 10 (such as photoelectric sensors). Position sensors 10 are connected to a PLC controller.

[0057] The cap-retrieving mechanism is the core component. It includes a drive unit 12 consisting of a servo motor and a synchronous belt, a guide rail 6, and a movable seat that can slide on the guide rail 6. An integrated cap-retrieving execution assembly is fixed to the movable seat via a common mounting plate. This cap-retrieving execution assembly integrates two identical cap-retrieving units. Each cap-retrieving unit includes a lifting device 4 (such as a lifting cylinder), a cap-retrieving suction cup 3, and four grippers 5 symmetrically arranged around the suction cup. The two cap-retrieving suction cups 3 are connected to the same vacuum system 14 via pipelines, which is equipped with a vacuum pressure gauge 15 for monitoring. Sensors 13 are installed at both ends of the guide rail 6 (cap-retrieving position and cap-releasing position) to detect whether the movable seat is in position.

[0058] The lid-laying mechanism is located on one side of the conveyor line. It includes two lifting devices 7, each consisting of a lifting cylinder 16 and two spaced-apart lifting plates 17 fixed to the top of its piston rod. A liftable interlocking blocking mechanism is provided between the two lifting devices 7. Next to the lifting devices 7 are transfer wheels 8 for removing the sagger lids.

[0059] Working process (taking cap removal as an example):

[0060] The two saggers are carried into the cap removal station by conveyor belt 2.

[0061] Position sensor 10 detects that the sagger is in position and sends a signal to the controller.

[0062] The controller issues a command, and the two blocking devices 9 rise simultaneously to precisely position the sagger.

[0063] The drive unit 12 is started, moving the entire cap-removing execution assembly above the cap-removing station. The sensor 13 stops after detecting that the position is in place.

[0064] The lifting devices 4 of the two cap-removing units operate simultaneously, driving the two cap-removing suction cups 3 and grippers 5 to descend.

[0065] When the suction cup 3 contacts the crucible lid, the vacuum system 14 works to draw a vacuum and hold the crucible lid in place. After the vacuum pressure gauge 15 detects that the vacuum level meets the standard, the gripper 5 moves simultaneously to clamp the edge of the crucible lid.

[0066] The lifting device 4 rises synchronously, and then the drive device 12 moves the entire lid-removing execution component to the lid-laying station.

[0067] The lifting cylinder 16 of the lifting device 7 drives the lifting plate 17 to rise until it contacts the bottom surface of the clamped crucible cover.

[0068] The vacuum system 14 breaks the vacuum, the grippers 5 release, and the two crucible lids are placed smoothly on the lifting plate 17.

[0069] The lifting cylinder 16 descends, placing the sagger cover onto the transfer wheel 8 for transport. A spacing blocking mechanism ensures that subsequent sagger covers enter sequentially, maintaining proper spacing.

[0070] When the lid needs to be closed, the process is reversed.

[0071] The above description is merely an embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Various modifications and variations can be made to this application by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

[0072] Although this application discloses several aspects and embodiments, other aspects and embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of this application, and all such modifications and improvements fall within the scope of protection of this application. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed in this application are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit this application. The actual scope of protection of this application is determined by the claims.

Claims

1. A device for clamping multiple crucible lids at a time, comprising a frame (1), a conveying mechanism, a lid-picking mechanism, and a lid-placing mechanism, characterized in that: The conveying mechanism is mounted on the frame (1) and is used to continuously convey at least two crucibles along the conveying path; The cap-removing mechanism includes an integral cap-removing execution component and a linear drive component for driving the cap-removing execution component to move synchronously between the cap-removing station and the cap-placing station; The cap-removing execution component is equipped with at least two cap-removing units. The number of cap-removing units corresponds to the number of saggers processed in a single operation. Each cap-removing unit includes a lifting device (4) and a cap-removing suction cup (3) located at its lower part. The lid-laying mechanism includes a lifting device (7) for receiving the sagger lid.

2. The device for single-clamping of multiple crucible lids according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lid-removing execution component also includes a common mounting plate, on which the lifting devices (4) of all lid-removing units are fixedly mounted.

3. The device for single-clamping of multiple crucible lids according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The linear drive assembly includes a guide rail (6), a movable seat slidably disposed on the guide rail (6), and a drive device (12) for driving the movable seat. The cover removal execution assembly is integrally mounted on the movable seat.

4. The device for single-clamping of multiple crucible lids according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveying mechanism is a conveyor belt (2), and each of the lower parts of the conveyor belt is equipped with an independently lifting blocking device (9) for accurately positioning the saggers.

5. The device for single-clamping of multiple crucible lids according to claim 4, characterized in that: Position sensors (10) are provided on both sides of the conveyor belt (2) for each sagger cap removal station. The position sensors (10) are connected to a controller. The controller is used to control the linear drive assembly and the cap removal execution assembly to operate after all target saggers are in place.

6. The device for single-clamping of multiple crucible lids according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the aforementioned cap-removing units also includes multiple grippers (5) disposed around its cap-removing suction cup (3) for auxiliary clamping after the suction cup adsorbs the crucible cap.

7. The device for single-clamping of multiple crucible lids according to claim 1, characterized in that: All cap removal units’ cap removal suction cups (3) are connected to a common vacuum system (14), or are divided into multiple groups and connected to corresponding vacuum systems (14); the vacuum system (14) is equipped with a vacuum pressure gauge (15) for detecting whether the adsorption is reliable.

8. The device for single-clamping of multiple crucible lids according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting device (7) includes a lifting cylinder (16) and a lifting plate (17) disposed at the top of its piston rod. The number of lifting plates (17) is adapted to the number of sagger lids placed at one time, and is used to simultaneously receive all sagger lids.

9. The device for single-clamping of multiple crucible lids according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lid-laying mechanism is also provided with a spacing blocking mechanism to maintain a predetermined gap between adjacent sagger lids when receiving them.

10. The device for single-clamping of multiple crucible lids according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lid-retrieving mechanism can also be used to simultaneously pick up multiple crucible lids from the lid-laying station and transfer them to the lid-retrieving station for lid-closing operations.

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