Transfer device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a transport device which is composed of a plurality of plates connected to each other, and which attaches battery cells to the plates and transports them in one direction, and which includes a mounting portion to which the battery cells are attached, the mounting portion including a center plate to which the battery cells are attached, support plates respectively connected to both sides of the center plate, and a moving bar which moves on the support plates toward the center plate to support sides of the attached battery cells.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a transfer device that attaches battery cells and transfers them in one direction, and is characterized by having a structure that can align and fix the attached battery cells while transferring them.

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0108576 dated August 29, 2022, and all contents disclosed in the documents of that Korean patent application are incorporated herein by reference. [Background technology]

[0003] Lithium secondary batteries are manufactured in cylindrical, square, pouch, and other shapes depending on the shape. In particular, pouch-type battery cells, which can be stacked with a high degree of integration, have a high energy density per weight, are inexpensive, and are easily deformable, are used in a variety of fields.

[0004] The operating voltage of such a pouch-type battery cell is about 2.5 V to 4.2 V. Therefore, when a higher output voltage is required, a battery pack may be configured by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series or in parallel.

[0005] The manufactured pouch-type battery cells can be transported in a variety of ways, but typically a belt or plate-type conveyor is used.

[0006] FIG. 1 shows the process of placing a battery cell C, which is to be sucked and transported by a suction unit U, on a conveyor 10.

[0007] The battery cells C transported in bulk by the suction unit U are mounted on a plate 20 included in a conveyor 10 at regular intervals as shown in Fig. 1. In order to prevent the battery cells C from shifting position, support bars 30 spaced apart at regular intervals may be provided on the plate 20. The battery cells C are transported by the conveyor 10 while being inserted between the support bars 30.

[0008] However, since the conveyor 10 having the above-mentioned structure has the support bar 30 fixed on the plate 20, if the adjustment of the lowered position of the suction unit U and the position of the support bar 30 fails, problems may arise in that the battery cell C is installed in an out-of-place state or the battery cell C is not properly inserted between the support bars 30. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0026316 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transfer device that can align and fix battery cells during transfer.

[0011] Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood from the following description and will become more clearly understood from the embodiments of the present invention. Also, it is easily understood that the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by the means and combinations thereof as claimed in the claims. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] According to the present invention, there is provided a transport device which is composed of a plurality of plates connected to each other, and which attaches battery cells to the plates and transports them in one direction, the transport device including a mounting portion to which the battery cells are attached, the mounting portion including a center plate to which the battery cells are attached, support plates respectively connected to both sides of the center plate, and a moving bar which moves on the support plates toward the center plate to support sides of the attached battery cells.

[0013] The mounting portion may further include a sensor for sensing an object.

[0014] The sensor is provided on the center plate, and the sensor included in the center plate detects that the battery cell is attached to the center plate, and the moving bar can move forward toward the center plate and pressurize the battery cell upon detection by the sensor.

[0015] It may include a plurality of mounting portions spaced apart at predetermined intervals.

[0016] The support plate includes a first support plate connected to one side of the center plate and a second support plate connected to the other side of the center plate, and a pair of moving bars included in the first support plate and the second support plate can move toward the center plate to support and fix both sides of the battery cell attached to the center plate.

[0017] The moving bars included in the first and second support plates may move in opposite directions to each other.

[0018] The mounting portion may be provided on a lower portion of the support plate and may include a cylinder body into which a piston that reciprocates toward the center plate is inserted.

[0019] The support plate includes a guide portion formed to extend in a transport direction, and the piston includes a connecting member at an end portion thereof that penetrates the guide portion and is connected to the moving bar, and the moving bar connected to the piston can move toward the center plate by the connecting member that moves while being guided by the guide portion.

[0020] The mounting part may further include an auxiliary plate connected to one side of the support plate facing the center plate, and the mounting part may include a cylinder body provided on a lower part of the auxiliary plate and having a piston inserted therein that reciprocates toward the center plate.

[0021] The support plate includes a guide portion formed to extend in a transport direction, and the piston includes a connecting member at an end portion thereof that penetrates the guide portion and is connected to the moving bar, and the moving bar connected to the piston can move toward the center plate by the connecting member that moves while being guided by the guide portion.

[0022] The moving bar may be formed to extend in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction.

[0023] The travel bar may include a sloped surface on a top edge toward the center plate.

[0024] The plate may further include a connecting member connecting a pair of adjacently positioned plates. Effect of the Invention

[0025] According to the present invention, the shifting of the battery cells during the process of transporting the battery cells via the plate-type conveyor can be prevented, thereby improving the efficiency of transporting the battery cells. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] 1 shows a conventional conveyor transfer device. [Diagram 2] 1 is a perspective view of a transfer device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 3 shows a mounting portion of the transfer device of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the mounting portion of FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] This shows that a sensor is applied to the mounting part. [Figure 6] This shows the mounting portion before the battery cells are attached. [Figure 7] 1 shows the mounting portion after the battery cells are mounted and before the battery cells are aligned. [Figure 8] This shows the mounting portion after the battery cells have been aligned. [Figure 9] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a transfer device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 10 is a perspective view of a mounting portion included in the transfer device of FIG. 9. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Hereinafter, the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Before that, the terms and words used in the specification and claims should not be interpreted limitedly to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted as meanings and concepts that are consistent with the technical idea of ​​the present invention, based on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concept of the term to best describe his own invention.

[0028] Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiment described in this specification and the configurations illustrated in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not represent the entire technical idea of ​​the present invention, and that there may be various equivalents and modifications that can replace them at the time of this application.

[0029] In addition, in the description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related publicly known configurations or functions may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

[0030] Since the embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art, the shapes and sizes of components in the drawings may be exaggerated, omitted, or illustrated roughly for clearer explanation. Therefore, the sizes and proportions of each component do not completely reflect the actual sizes and proportions.

[0031] The present invention relates to a transfer device 1000 having an align function. More specifically, the present invention relates to a transfer device 1000 that is composed of a plurality of plates 1000a connected to each other, and transfers battery cells C attached to the plates 1000a in one direction.

[0032] The transfer device 1000 of the present invention is characterized in that it applies pressure to both sides of the battery cell C mounted on the plate 1000a to align and fix the position of the battery cell C.

[0033] 2 to 7 relate to a transfer device 1000 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8 to 10 relate to a transfer device 1000 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Hereinafter, a transfer device 1000 according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0035] (First embodiment) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a transfer device 1000 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] The transfer device 1000 of the present invention is composed of a plurality of plates 1000a connected to each other, as shown in FIG.

[0037] The plates 1000a are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval, and as shown in FIG. 2, are connected to each other by separate connecting members 1000b that connect adjacent plates 1000a.

[0038] The transfer device 1000 of the present invention includes a mounting portion to which the battery cell C is attached. More specifically, the transfer device 1000 of the present invention includes a plurality of mounting portions spaced apart at predetermined intervals, and a battery cell C is attached to each mounting portion and transferred.

[0039] The mounting portion is composed of a center plate 110 to which the battery cell C is mounted, support plates 120 connected to both sides of the center plate 110, and a movable bar 150 that moves on the support plate 120 toward the center plate 110 so as to support the side of the mounted battery cell C.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 2, the battery cell C may be transferred onto the mounting portion with its upper portion being sucked onto the suction unit U, and is mounted on the center plate 110 by the movement of the suction unit U.

[0041] The battery cell C attached to the center plate 110 as described above is transported in one direction.

[0042] The battery cell C attached to the mounting portion may be attached only on the center plate 110 or may be attached across the center plate 110 and the support plate 120 .

[0043] The transfer device 1000 of the present invention may include a plurality of center plates 110 spaced apart at a predetermined interval, and the battery cells C attached to each center plate 110 are all transferred in the same direction.

[0044] The support plate 120 serves to guide the battery cell C attracted to the suction unit U to the center of the center plate 110. More specifically, the support plate 120 serves to support the lower part of the moving bar 150 so that the moving bar 150 moving at the upper part can move back and forth horizontally.

[0045] The moving bar 150 reciprocates on the support plate 120 toward the center plate 110 or in a direction opposite to the center plate 110 .

[0046] The moving bar 150 moves to the center plate 110 to align the positions of the battery cells C mounted on the center plate 110 or to press and fix the battery cells C.

[0047] FIG. 3 shows the mounting portion of the transfer device 1000 of FIG.

[0048] The moving bar 150 may be extended in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and presses or supports the side of the battery cell C through the side of the extended moving bar 150.

[0049] The moving bar 150 further includes an inclined surface that guides the battery cell C descending from the upper portion so that the battery cell C is attached to the center plate 110 .

[0050] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the inclined surface is formed on an edge of the upper edge of the moving bar 150 facing the center plate 110, and extends along the longitudinal direction of the moving bar 150.

[0051] When the battery cell C descends while being adsorbed to the suction unit U, if the position shifts, the battery cell C rides on the inclined surface formed on the moving bar 150 and descends to the inside of the moving bar 150, and can be attached to the center plate 110.

[0052] 2 and 3, the moving bar 150 reciprocates toward the center plate 110 to support the sides of the attached battery cells C. More specifically, the moving bars 150 located on both sides of the center plate 110 simultaneously move toward the center plate 110 on the support plate 120, while applying pressure to both sides of the battery cells C attached to the center plate 110.

[0053] Therefore, the battery cell C, which is pressed at the same speed on both sides, is aligned on the center plate 110 such that the longitudinal direction of the battery cell C can be horizontal with both the longitudinal direction of the moving bar 150 and the longitudinal direction of the center plate 110.

[0054] The moving bar 150 can reciprocate by the operation of a piston 141 inserted in a cylinder body 140 .

[0055] FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the mounting portion of FIG.

[0056] Referring to FIG. 4, the mounting portion is provided under the support plate 120 and includes a cylinder body 140 into which a piston 141 that reciprocates toward the center plate 110 is inserted, and the moving bar 150 is coupled to the piston 141 and reciprocates by the operation of the piston 141.

[0057] The mounting portion of the present invention may further include an auxiliary plate 130 connected to one side of the support plate 120 facing the center plate 110 , and in this case, the cylinder body 140 is coupled to the auxiliary plate 130 .

[0058] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the cylinder body 140 is connected to the lower part of the auxiliary plate 130, and the piston 141 inserted into the cylinder body 140 reciprocates under the support plate 120 between the auxiliary plate 130 and the center plate 110.

[0059] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the support plate 120 includes a guide portion 121 extending in a moving direction, and the piston 141 moves while being guided by the guide portion 121.

[0060] The piston 141 includes a connecting member 160 at an end thereof, which penetrates the guide portion 121 and is connected to the moving bar 150, and the moving bar 150 and the piston 141 reciprocate along a path along which the connecting member 160 is guided by the guide portion 121. That is, the moving bar 150 connected to the piston 141 by the connecting member 160 can move toward the center plate 110 by the connecting member 160 which moves while being guided by the guide portion 121.

[0061] As the piston 141 is inserted into the cylinder body 140, the moving bar 150 moves in a direction facing the center plate 110, and as the piston 141 protrudes from the cylinder body 140, the moving bar 150 moves toward the center plate 110. Due to the operation of the piston 141, the moving bar 150 advances and retreats toward the battery cell C.

[0062] The travel bar 150 may be actuated by sensing a sensor 170 .

[0063] That is, the mounting portion included in the transfer device 1000 of the present invention may further include a sensor 170 for detecting an object.

[0064] In order to increase the efficiency of the process, the moving bar 150 moves according to the detection of the sensor 170 only after the battery cell C sucked by the suction unit U is mounted on the center plate 110 .

[0065] FIG. 5 shows a sensor 170 applied to the mounting portion.

[0066] The sensor 170 may be preferably provided on the center plate 110, and the sensor 170 included in the center plate 110 detects that the battery cell C, which is attracted to and moves by the suction unit U, is attached to the mounting portion.

[0067] The sensor 170 may be a pressure sensor 170 that detects the weight of the battery cell C, or may be an optical sensor 170 that detects light to detect whether the battery cell C is completely attached to the center plate 110. However, the sensor 170 of the present invention is not limited to the above types, and any type of sensor 170 that can detect whether the battery cell C is properly attached to the center plate 110 can be applied to the transfer device 1000 of the present invention.

[0068] The support plate 120 includes a first support plate 120a connected to one side of the center plate 110 and a second support plate 120b connected to the other side of the center plate 110.

[0069] The moving bars 150 included in the first and second support plates 120a and 120b move in opposite directions.

[0070] Figures 6 to 8 show the operation of the transfer device 1000 of the present invention in stages. Specifically, Figure 6 shows the mounting part before the battery cells C are mounted, Figure 7 shows the mounting part after the battery cells C have been mounted and before the battery cells C are aligned, and Figure 8 shows the mounting part after the battery cells C have been aligned.

[0071] 6(a), before the battery cell C attracted to the suction unit U descends to the mounting part, the moving bar 150 waits in a state where it has moved to its maximum extent in a direction facing the center plate 110. At this time, referring to FIG 6(b), the piston 141 maintains a state where it is fully inserted inside the cylinder body 140.

[0072] 7(a), the battery cell C attracted to the suction unit U descends to the mounting portion and is mounted on the center plate 110, and at this time, the moving bar 150 waits while maintaining the position of FIG 6 so that the mounting of the battery cell C is not hindered by the moving bar 150. At this time, the piston 141 also maintains the position of FIG 6, as shown in FIG 7(b).

[0073] 8(a), the moving bars 150 on both sides move toward the battery cell C mounted on the center plate 110 to press the side of the battery cell C. As a result, the battery cell C is pressed by the moving bars 150 to be aligned and fixed at the same time. At this time, the piston 141 protrudes from the cylinder body 140 as shown in FIG. 8(b).

[0074] As described above with reference to the drawings, the transfer device 1000 of the present invention is provided with a moving bar 150 that moves back and forth horizontally to align and fix the battery cells C on the plate 1000a. This has the effect that the process of the battery cells C being attached by the moving bar 150 is not hindered and the positions are stably aligned, thereby improving the efficiency of the process.

[0075] Second embodiment The cylinder body of the present invention can also be directly coupled to the support plate 120 instead of the auxiliary plate 130 .

[0076] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a transfer device 1000 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a mounting portion included in the transfer device 1000 of FIG.

[0077] As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the mounting portion includes a center plate 110, a pair of support plates 120 connected to both sides of the center plate 110, and a moving bar 150 that moves horizontally back and forth on the support plate 120.

[0078] The cylinder body 140 is provided under the support plate 120 .

[0079] Specifically, the support plate 120 includes a guide portion 121 extending in a moving direction, and a cylinder body 140 having a piston 141 inserted therein, which reciprocates toward the center plate 110, is provided at its lower portion.

[0080] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, when the battery cell C adsorbed to the suction unit U is attached to the upper part of the center plate 110, the movement of the piston 141 of the cylinder body 140 provided at the lower part of the support plate 120 causes the moving bar 150 connected to the piston 141 by the connecting member 160 to move toward the center plate 110 so as to apply pressure to the side of the battery cell C.

[0081] The transfer device 1000 according to the second embodiment of the present invention has the advantage that a smaller number of plates 1000a are required to align and fix the battery cells C, and therefore more battery cells C can be transferred on the transfer device 1000 of the same length.

[0082] The present invention has been described in more detail above with reference to the drawings and embodiments, etc. However, the configurations described in the drawings or embodiments, etc. in this specification are merely one embodiment of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention, so it should be understood that there may be various equivalents and modifications that can replace them at the time of filing this application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 10: (Conventional technology) Conveyor 20: (Prior Art) Plate 30: (Prior Art) Support bar 1000: Transfer device 1000a: Plate 1000b: Connecting member 110: Center plate 120: Support plate 120a: First support plate 120b: second support plate 121: Guide section 130: Auxiliary plate 140: Cylinder body 141: Piston 150:Movement bar 160: Connecting member 170: Sensor U: Inhalation unit C: Battery cell

Claims

1. A transport device that is composed of a plurality of plates connected to each other, and transports battery cells attached to the plates in one direction, a mounting portion to which the battery cell is attached; The mounting portion is A center plate on which the battery cells are attached; support plates respectively connected to both sides of the center plate; a moving bar that moves on the support plate toward the center plate to support a side of an attached battery cell.

2. The transfer device of claim 1 , wherein the mounting portion further comprises a sensor for sensing an object.

3. The sensor is provided on the center plate; the sensor included in the center plate detects that the battery cell is mounted on the center plate; The transfer device according to claim 2 , wherein the moving bar moves forward toward the center plate to pressurize the battery cells in response to detection by the sensor.

4. 10. The transfer device of claim 1, comprising a plurality of mounting portions spaced apart at predetermined intervals.

5. The support plate is a first support plate connected to one side of the center plate; a second support plate connected to the other side of the center plate; 2. The transfer device of claim 1, wherein a pair of moving bars included in the first support plate and the second support plate move toward the center plate to support and secure both sides of the battery cell attached to the center plate.

6. 6. The transfer device of claim 5, wherein the moving bars included in the first and second support plates move in opposite directions to each other.

7. The transfer device according to claim 1 , wherein the mounting portion is provided on a lower portion of the support plate and includes a cylinder body into which a piston that reciprocates toward the center plate is inserted.

8. The support plate includes a guide portion extending in a transport direction. the piston includes a coupling member at an end thereof, the coupling member being coupled to the moving bar through the guide portion; The transfer device according to claim 7 , wherein the moving bar coupled to the piston is moved toward the center plate by the coupling member which moves while being guided by the guide portion.

9. The mounting portion is The support plate further includes an auxiliary plate connected to one side of the support plate facing the center plate, The transfer device according to claim 1 , wherein the mounting portion is provided on a lower portion of the auxiliary plate and includes a cylinder body into which a piston that reciprocates toward the center plate is inserted.

10. The support plate includes a guide portion extending in a transport direction. the piston includes a coupling member at an end thereof, the coupling member being coupled to the moving bar through the guide portion; The transfer device according to claim 9 , wherein the moving bar coupled to the piston is moved toward the center plate by the coupling member which moves while being guided by the guide portion.

11. The transfer device according to claim 1 , wherein the moving bar extends in a direction perpendicular to a transfer direction.

12. The transfer apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the travel bar includes a sloped surface on a top edge toward the center plate.

13. The transfer device according to claim 1 , further comprising a connecting member connecting a pair of adjacently positioned plates.

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