Supply device for supplying energy cell segments to a cell stacking device and method for supplying energy cell segments to a cell stacking device

Abstract

The invention relates to a supply device (2) for supplying segments (16) of energy cells, in particular battery cells, to a cell stacking device (7), and a method for supplying segments (16) of energy cells to a cell stacking device (7), comprising the supply device (2), which supplies the segments (16) to the cell stacking device (7) in a consecutive arrangement in a material flow, the supply device (2) supplies the segments (16) to the cell stacking device (7), in which the consecutive segments (16) are each arranged in a first row in the supply device (2). The present invention relates to a supply device (2) for supplying segments (16) of energy cells, in particular battery cells, to a cell stacking device (7), the segments (16) having a distance (A) from one another and an expanding device (6) being provided in the supply device (2), in which the distance (A) between successive segments (16) in the material flow is expanded in the expanding device (6), so that successive segments (16) in the material flow have an expanded distance (A) from one another at the supply section to the cell stacking device (7), and a method for supplying segments (16) of energy cells to a cell stacking device (7).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The invention relates to a supply device for supplying segments of energy cells, in particular battery cells, to a cell stacking device with the features of the preamble of claim 1 and to a method for supplying segments of energy cells to a cell stacking device with the features of the preamble of claim 14. [Background technology]

[0002] Energy cells, or also energy accumulators, in the sense of the present invention are used in the form of battery cells or fuel cells, in which very large amounts of energy must be stored for relatively long periods of time, for example in motor vehicles and other land vehicles, ships, aircraft, or also in stationary installations, such as photovoltaic installations. For this purpose, such energy cells have a structure consisting of a number of segments that are stacked together in a stack. The segments are each formed from alternating anode and cathode sheets, which are separated from one another by separator sheets that are also produced as segments. During the manufacturing process, the segments are precut and then stacked in a predetermined sequence in the stack and bonded to one another by lamination. In this case, the anode and cathode sheets are first cut from an endless web and then individually placed at intervals on each of the endless webs of separator material. This subsequently formed "double-layer" endless web of separator material with the anode and cathode sheets placed thereon is then cut into segments in a second step again by a cutting unit, the segments being formed in this case by one separator sheet with one anode or cathode sheet placed thereon in the double layer. Insofar as this is production-technically possible or necessary, the endless web of separator material with the anode and cathode sheets placed thereon may be stacked before cutting, so that one endless web is formed with a first endless layer of separator material with the anode or cathode sheet placed thereon and a second endless layer of separator material also with the anode or cathode sheet placed thereon. This "four-ply" endless web is then cut by a cutting unit into segments, which in this case are formed in four layers with a first separator sheet, an anode sheet, a second separator sheet and a cathode sheet abutting thereon. The advantage of this solution is that one cut can be saved.

[0003] A segment in the sense of the present invention may therefore be a segment of a single layer of separator material, anode material or cathode material, but also a segment of a double layer or a segment of four layers of the above mentioned configurations.

[0004] Apparatuses for manufacturing battery cells are known, for example from US Pat. No. 5,399,623 and US Pat. No. 5,499,633.

[0005] The manufacture of battery cells, for example for electric mobility, is today carried out on production facilities with a capacity of 100-240 monocells per minute. The production facilities work in some areas or throughout with a clocked discontinuous movement, e.g. a reciprocating movement, which limits the production capacity. Most of the known machines work in a single-sheet lamination method (e.g. "pick and place"), which has the disadvantage that the process is relatively slow. Lamination of cell arrangements is not possible here.

[0006] Another known approach is a machine with a continuously advancing material web and clocked tools, such as parting knives and tools for pitch changing.

[0007] In principle, machines with clocked movements are limited in terms of performance. Massive parts, such as receivers and tools, must be constantly accelerated and braked. The process determines the time course and consumes a lot of energy. The mass of the parts being moved cannot be reduced arbitrarily. Parts that are moved at relatively high speeds must often withstand relatively high loads and therefore are even more laborious or costly and heavier.

[0008] In order to reduce the production costs of energy cell production, it is necessary, among other things, to increase the production capacity of the machines. One condition for a high production capacity is a high production rate of the stack of energy cells, which is formed from a number of stacked segments of the type described at the beginning.

[0009] In order to achieve a very high production rate, it is desirable to separate the segments from the endless web during production at the highest possible number rate, for which the endless web must be fed at a correspondingly high feed rate and the segments must be separated from the endless web at the highest possible cutting frequency. The segments must then be stacked into a stack. The problem to be solved here is that the stacking process and the continuous supply of the segments must be coordinated in order to allow uninterrupted feeding and stacking of the segments at the desired high conveying rate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0010] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2016 / 041713 [Patent Document 2] DE 102017216213 Summary of the Invention

[0011] Against this background, the problem underlying the present invention is to provide a supply device and method for supplying segments for energy cells to a cell stacking equipment, which allows the supply of segments at a high conveying rate while at the same time simplifying the coordination and synchronization of the stacking process within the cell stacking equipment.

[0012] To achieve this goal, a supply device is proposed with the features of claim 1 and a method with the features of claim 14. Further preferred embodiments of the invention can be found in the dependent claims, the figures and the corresponding description.

[0013] According to the basic idea of ​​the invention, as proposed by claims 1 and 14, a spreading device is provided in the feed device, in which the spacing between successive segments in the material flow is increased, so that successive segments in the material flow have an increased spacing from one another at the feed to the cell stacking device. The spreading device increases the spacing between the segments, which in turn generally simplifies the coordination or synchronization of the stacking process in the cell stacking device. In this case, the segments can be guided in the feed device with relatively small spacing or even directly against one another in order to achieve a high conveying rate in the feed device, since the spacing increase is only brought about in the feed device itself by the provided spreading device. In addition to the simplified stacking process in the cell stacking device, the segments can also be divided, for example by points or branching points, into two or more parallel transport paths and then stacked in the cell stacking device in several cell stacking units arranged in parallel. Furthermore, the movements of the stacking process in the cell stacking device can be simplified and coordinated and synchronized with the feeding movements of the endless web and the cut segments due to the enlarged spacing.

[0014] In this case, the supply device can preferably be formed by a drum path, which allows a very high transport rate of the segments, both when the segments are directly abutting one another and when they have a very small distance between them.

[0015] In this case, the spreading device may preferably be formed by at least one first and second drum of the drum path, the segments being transferred from the outer surface of the first drum onto the outer surface of the second drum, the first drum transferring the segments at a first circumferential speed of the outer surface of the first drum, and the second drum receiving the segments at a second circumferential speed of the outer surface of the second drum, the second circumferential speed being greater than the first circumferential speed. During transfer from the first drum onto the second drum, the segments are in effect separated from one another by the higher circumferential speed of the second drum and are transported further at enlarged intervals. The higher circumferential speed of the second drum is necessary in this case because, due to the enlarged intervals, the segments are separated from one another into chains of segments having a larger length, which must however be discharged in the same time intervals in which the same number of segments were previously supplied at smaller intervals.

[0016] The transfer from the first drum onto the second drum can then be simplified in that a transfer drum is provided between the first and second drums and driven at an increasing rotational speed with alternating acceleration and deceleration between a first peripheral speed and a second peripheral speed, the transfer drum receiving the segments from the first drum at the first peripheral speed and transferring them to the second drum at the second peripheral speed, by means of which the segments are accelerated to the higher second peripheral speed at the transition from the first drum onto the second drum, so that the segments are received slip-free by the second drum at the comparatively high peripheral speed.

[0017] It is further proposed in this case that the transfer drum has at least two, preferably three, transfer punches, which are used to receive and transport the segments onto the transfer drum. By providing at least two, preferably three, transfer punches, the delivery rate of the segments by the transfer drum can be increased. In particular, the required number of revolutions of the transfer drum for achieving a given delivery rate of the segments can be reduced thereby.

[0018] It is further proposed that the first drum has a first radius and the second drum has a second radius, the second radius being larger than the first radius. By dimensioning the radii of the drums as proposed, different peripheral speeds of the drums can be realized with as little difference in the rotational speeds of the drums as possible, which can even be identical according to a further preferred embodiment of the invention.

[0019] Furthermore, the spreading device can be formed by at least one pitch-changing drum integrated into the drum path, and the pitch-changing drum can have several circumferentially arranged conveying segments, which convey a respective segment of the material stream, and which are movable in the radial and / or circumferential direction of the pitch-changing drum, and which are moved from a smaller radius to a larger radius and / or in the circumferential direction from the receiving point to the transferring point. With the proposed pitch-changing drum, the spacing increase can be performed on the rotating drum itself. The spacing increase between the segments by the conveying segment and its movement is thereby caused by the segments held on the conveying segment being moved by the conveying segment itself relative to one another in a unidirectional orientation, such that the spacing is increased.

[0020] It is further proposed in this case that at least two pitch change drums are provided in series in the drum path. By providing at least one further pitch change drum, the gap expansion that takes place on one pitch change drum can be reduced by a factor corresponding to the number of pitch change drums with respect to the gap expansion to be realized. As a result, on the one hand, the required relative speed of the conveying segment with respect to the pitch change drum and the associated acceleration of the conveying segment and the segments held on the conveying segment can be reduced, which on the other hand leads to lower lateral forces acting on the segments during the gap expansion.

[0021] In so doing, the pitch changing drum can preferably increase the spacing between successive segments in the material stream by at least 10 mm, preferably by at least 13 mm.

[0022] It is further proposed that the spreading device is formed by a belt conveyor integrated into the drum path, and that the belt conveyor has an endless belt which is driven in a conveying movement at a first speed, which is greater than the speed of the segments being fed. The belt conveyor increases the spacing between the segments by conveying the segments out of the feed section at the first speed, which is higher than the speed at the feed section. The belt conveyor thereby pulls the segments in a line in the conveying direction with greater spacing. The direction of discharge of the segments is thereby predetermined by the orientation of the endless belt, which can be formed, for example, by a planar orientation of the endless belt and a linear direction of discharge resulting from this.

[0023] It is further proposed that the spreading device is formed by a combination, assembled in a drum path, of a cutting drum driven in a rotating motion, with a number of cutting blades arranged on its periphery, and a counter drum, which can be driven in a rotating motion or can be stationary, with at least one bearing blade, and the segments are cut in a predetermined length from the endless web, which is fed at a first speed towards the cutting drum, by sliding the bearing blade of the counter drum along the cutting blade of the cutting drum against each other, and the cutting drum is driven in a rotating motion with a peripheral speed of the mantle surface which is greater than the first speed of the fed endless web. The cutting drum together with the counter drum forms a cutting device, in which the segments are cut off from the endless web in a predetermined length or width, and the cutting drum is simultaneously used for transporting the endless web and the discharged segments. Since the peripheral speed of the cutting drum is greater than the speed of the endless web being fed, the segments are actively transported away from the endless web after cutting in a relatively small stroke, so that the cut end of a segment subsequently has a distance to the start of the next segment, and the segments are thus pulled in line with an expanded distance after cutting.

[0024] The present invention will now be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a manufacturing machine having a cell stacking facility including a feeding device, a cell stacking device, and a discharging device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows a drum path with two pitch change drums arranged in succession and two fan wheels with feed via two delivery drums. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 shows a drum path with two pitch-changing drums arranged in succession and two fan wheels with a supply of segments via two endless belts. [Figure 4]FIG. 1 shows a drum path with two fan wheels, a supply of segments via two endless belts, and a belt-type transport device that increases the spacing of the segments. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the spreading device formed by a pitch-changing drum with radially movable conveying segments. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the spreading device formed by a pitch-changing drum with circumferentially movable conveying segments. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 illustrates segment spacing expansion on a pitch changing drum having radially moved conveying segments. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of a spreading device having two conveying drums with different peripheral speeds and two transfer drums arranged between the conveying drums. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of a spreading device formed by a cutting device having one cutting drum and one counter drum. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a manufacturing machine having a cell stacking facility 1, a supply device 2, a discharge device 3, and a cell stacking device 7 arranged between the supply device 2 and the discharge device 3. The supply device 2 further includes a cutting device 4 on the inlet side of the supply device 2. The manufacturing machine further includes a supply section for four endless webs E1 to E4, two of which E1 and E3 are made of separator material, one endless web E2 is made of anode material, and one endless web E4 is made of cathode material. The endless webs E2 and E4 of cathode material and anode material are cut by a cutting device to a predetermined length or width to form anodes and cathodes, respectively, which are then placed on one of the endless webs E1 and E3 of separator material after cutting. The joining is carried out in that first the anodes or cathodes detached from the lowermost endless web E4 are separated and laid on a transport belt T, followed by the endless web E3 of separator material located thereon, and then again the anodes or cathodes detached from the endless web E2 are separated and laid on the endless web E3 of separator material, which are then covered on top by the laying on of the uppermost endless web E1 of separator material. This four-layer endless web with the anodes or cathodes on its top side is then fed to a lamination unit L, in which the four endless webs are bonded to one another by the action of thermal and / or mechanical energy to form a solid bond.

[0027] The laminated four-ply endless web 5 is then fed to the cell stacking installation 1 in the production machine and cut in a cutting device 4 of the feeder 2 into segments 16 of a predetermined length or width, also called monocells. However, it is also possible to feed the cell stacking installation 1 in the production machine with double-layered segments 16 consisting of only one layer of separator material and an anode or cathode, or even with single layers, if it is desired that these are stacked accordingly and further processed. The segments 16 are further fed in the feeder 2 via a number of transfer drums 8 and reversing drums 9 to the different cell stacking units 15 of the cell stacking installation 7, where they are stacked into a stack and discharged in the form of a laminate via a discharge device.

[0028] The cutting device 4 is formed here by a drum pair consisting of a cutting drum with a cutting knife 10 visible in FIGS. 5 and 6 and a counter drum 12 with a counter knife 11, which cuts the four-layer endless web E guided towards the cutting drum or the counter drum 12 by a shearing action of the cutting knife 10 on the counter drum 11 into segments 16 of a predetermined length, which is determined by the distance between the cutting knife 10 or the counter knife 11, depending on whether the endless web E is guided towards the cutting drum or the counter drum 12. Starting from the cutting device 4, the cut segments 16 are fed to the spreading device 6 in a feed device 2. The feed device 2 comprises a drum path with several transport drums, on which the segments 16 are held, for example, by negative pressure. If the fed endless web E is a four-layer web, the segments 16 cut from the four-layer web correspond to the monocells described at the beginning. The segments 16 are used for the production of energy cells or energy accumulators, which are used for example in land, sea or air vehicles or also in stationary operating devices, such as photovoltaic installations, for the storage and / or conversion of electrical energy. The energy stored in the energy cells or energy accumulators can be used for example for the operation of an electric drive unit. The electric drive unit can be for example a motor vehicle with an electric drive.

[0029] In Fig. 2 it is possible to see a cell stacking installation 1 with a feed device 2, two transfer drums 8, a reversing drum 6 and a cell stacking device 7 with two cell stacking units 15 in the form of a fan drum each. Between the transfer drum 8 and the cell stacking units 15 there is a loading drum 24 in each case, which receives the segments 16 from the transfer drum 8 and transfers them to the fan drum. Furthermore, the feed device 2 incorporates an opening device 6, which can be formed, for example, by one or more pitch-changing drums 13 as shown in Fig. 5 or 6, by two conveying drums 22 as shown in Fig. 8 or by an opposing drum 12 of the cutting device 4 in Fig. 9, which is driven at a greater speed V2 with respect to the speed V1 of the endless web 5 fed.

[0030] The fan drum is formed by a number of side walls extending in a spiral from the center outwards, the side walls forming an outwardly opening fan. Due to the spiral shaping of the side walls, the fan opens tangentially in the circumferential direction, so that the segments 16 are loaded tangentially into the fan of the fan wheel by the loading drum 24 during a circumferentially directed ejection movement. During this loading movement, the fan wheel performs a continuous rotational movement by which the segments 16 are discharged and the vacant fan is moved to a receiving position for receiving the following segments 16. The ejection of the segments 16 is performed by the segments 16 being again moved tangentially out of the fan of the fan wheel, this ejection movement being intentionally assisted by the direction of the fan and the inertial forces acting on the segments 16.

[0031] The laying up of the segments 16 by the fan wheels can then be carried out in parallel, in that the segments 16 supplied by the first, in the illustration on the left in FIG. 2, transfer drum 8 are divided into two material streams, for example by every other segment 16 being delivered to the reversing drum 9 and guided towards another transfer drum 8 from which they are then discharged in the same principle via the loading drum 24 into the second fan wheel. The segments 16 which are not delivered to the reversing drum 9 are then discharged in parallel to the above into the first fan wheel as explained above. Alternatively, however, the segments 16 are alternately discharged all at once into one of the fan wheels and built up via said fan wheel, so that while the segments 16 are being laid up via one fan wheel, it is possible to remove the previously built up stack via the other fan wheel, which can again be brought into a state in which new stacks can be laid up.

[0032] In FIG. 3 an alternative embodiment to FIG. 2 can be seen, in which the feed device 2 is identical to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 up to the transfer drum 8. This embodiment differs, however, in the further transport of the segments 16 after the transfer drum 8. Here, two overlapping, driven endless belts 26 and 27 are provided, between which the segments 16 are introduced from the transfer drum 8 with an enlarged spacing A between the segments 16. The endless belts 26 and 27 form here a first belt-type transport device 28, which removes the segments 16 from the transfer drum 8 and supplies them to the cell stacking device 7. The segments 16 are in this case either led away via a point 29 to a second belt-type transport device 25 or, without being led away, are further transported to a third belt-type transport device 30. The segments 16 are in this case fed by the second belt conveyor 25 and the third belt conveyor 30 to each one of the cell stacking units 15 in the form of a fan wheel of the above-mentioned form. The point 29 can then feed the segments 16 alternately to the second and third belt conveyors 25 and 30, so that the segments 16 are stacked up parallel to one another via the fan wheels. Alternatively, the segments 16 can be fed as a group to only one of the fan wheels in each case via one of the two belt conveyors 25 or 30, and the point 29 feeds the segments 16 to the other belt conveyor and thus to the other fan wheel once a predetermined number of segments 16 have been fed to one fan wheel and stacked up via said fan wheel. Meanwhile, the previously formed stack can be discharged.

[0033] In FIG. 4, a further embodiment of the invention can be seen, in which a spreading device 6 in the form of a fourth belt conveyor 31 and a first belt conveyor 28 is provided in the feed device 2. The fourth belt conveyor 31 has two driven endless belts 32 and 33 arranged opposite each other and defining between them a transport path for transporting the segments 16. The feed device 2 comprises a drum path with a transfer drum 8, in which various checking and ejection devices can be provided for checking the segments 16 and ejecting defective segments 16. The embodiment of FIG. 4 differs from the embodiment of FIG. 3 in that the segments 16 are transferred from the transfer drum 8 with still a small distance between them, and the widening of the distance A only takes place during the further transport of the segments 16. For this purpose, a fourth belt conveyor 31 is provided, which conveys the segments 16 from the transfer drum 8 at a first speed V1. The following first belt conveyor 28 receives the segments 16 from the fourth belt conveyor 31 and conveys them further at a higher speed V2, so that the spacing A between the segments 16 is increased. The spacing between the fourth belt conveyor 31 and the first belt conveyor 28 is selected in this case in relation to the first speed V1 such that the segments 16, when transferred from the fourth belt conveyor 31 onto the first belt conveyor 28, abuts for a short time against both belt conveyors 31 and 28 and is thus conveyed from the fourth belt conveyor 31 practically actively due to the higher speed V2 of the first belt conveyor 28. The segments 16 are practically taken away by the first belt conveyor 28. Alternatively, the spacing between the two belt-type transport devices 31 and 28 may be selected so that the first speed V1 is sufficient to transport the segment 16 completely from the fourth belt-type transport device 31 onto the first belt-type transport device 28, so that only when the segment 16 is no longer transported by the fourth belt-type transport device 31 does the first belt-type transport device 28 transport the segment 16 at a higher speed V2.

[0034] In FIG. 5 one can see another possible embodiment of the supply device 2 with a cutting device 4 and an opening device 6, in which the opening device 6 is formed by a pitch changing drum 13, which can be provided, for example, in the supply device 2 of the embodiment of FIG. 2 or 3.

[0035] The endless web 5 is fed to a cutting device 4, which here is formed as a counter drum 12 with a number of counter knives 11 and a cutting knife 10 directed to the circumference of the counter drum 12. The endless web 5 is caught in a rotary conveying movement by the counter drum 12 of the cutting device 4 and fed further towards a pitch change drum 13. In the process, the endless web 5 is cut by the cutting knife 10 on the cutting device 4 by a shearing action on the counter knives 11 of the counter drum 12 into segments 16 having a predetermined length. After the cutting of the endless web 5, the segments 16 rest against the outer surface of the counter drum 12 and are held there, for example, by negative pressure. Furthermore, the segments 16 rest against one another directly, i.e. without a gap or with only a very small gap, for example of 1 mm, and are separated from one another only by a separation. The segments 16 are then transported by a rotational movement on the opposing drum 12 to a receiving point I where they are received by the pitch changing drum 13 .

[0036] Alternatively, instead of the counter drum 12, a cutting device 4 can be used, in which the endless web 5 and / or the segments 16 are cut and fed with a straight, i.e. flat, feed motion to the pitch-changing drum 13. Furthermore, the cutting device 4 can also comprise an optionally curved or deflected feed motion in order to achieve different guiding trajectories of the endless web 5 or the segments 16, what is important is only that the already cut segments 16 are fed into the receiving point I directly or as closely as possible against one another.

[0037] The pitch change drum 13 has a drum base body 17 and several conveying segments 18 arranged radially outside the drum base body 17, which can also be seen in the enlarged bottom view of FIG. 5. The pitch change drum 13 is driven for a clockwise rotational movement in the direction of the arrow by a drive device (not shown) which is in a rotational connection with the drum base body 17. For this purpose, an electric motor can be provided as a drive device, which drives the drum base body 17 directly or via a transmission. The conveying segments 18 are held radially movably on the drum base body 17 and on the outside of the conveying segments 18 each have a curved surface with the same radius relative to the rotation axis D of the drum base body 17, so that in the position drawn up against the drum base body 17 they form a cylindrical outer surface of the pitch change drum 13 with a radius R1 and a circular cross section. The conveying segments 18 have, radially outwardly of them, receiving surfaces 19 with a length oriented in the circumferential direction of the pitch change drum 13, the length of the receiving surface 19 corresponding to the length of the segments 16 separated from the endless web 5. The conveying segments 18 may be provided in the region of the receiving surface 19 of the conveying segments 18 with pressurized air openings to which a negative pressure can be applied for receiving and holding the segments 6.

[0038] Furthermore, a control device (not shown) is provided, which controls the movement of the transport segments 18 during the revolution from the receiving point I to the transfer point II, as will be described in more detail below. The control device can be a control cam which is stationary with respect to the rotating drum base body 17, against which the transport segments 18 rest with a respective control attachment (not shown). Alternatively or additionally, the movement of the transport segments 18 can be controlled by an electric actuation control by an actuator.

[0039] The movement of the conveying segments 18 relative to the drum base body 17 is controlled in such a way that the conveying segments 18, when passing through the receiving point I, are drawn towards the drum base body 17 and abut against one another with very small circumferential spacing, preferably directly. The radius of the outer surface of the conveying segments 18 corresponds to the radius R1 at the receiving point I. The cut segments 16 are fed from the cutting device 4 in a direct, abutting arrangement or with very small spacing at the receiving point I and are received by the conveying segments 18 of the pitch-changing drum 13. The rotational movement of the pitch-changing drum 13 and the movement of the conveying segments 18 are synchronized with the feeding movement of the cutting device 4, in this case with the rotational movement of the counter drum 12, in such a way that the separation between the segments 16 and the separation of the conveying segments 18 ideally coincide at the receiving point I, so that each one segment 16 is received by one conveying segment 18. Starting from the receiving point I, the conveying segments 18 are advanced radially outward during the further rotational movement of the pitch-changing drum 13. In the process, the distance A between the conveying segments 18 and between the segments 16 held therein is enlarged. The segments 16 are thus in effect pulled apart and separated from one another. The separated segments 16 are then received and removed by the subsequent receiving device 14 at the transfer point II on a larger radius R2 and with the enlarged distance A. The receiving device 14 is here configured as a conveying drum, which is driven on the other hand to perform a rotational movement directed in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation of the pitch-changing drum 13. However, it is also possible to provide as receiving device 14 a device in which the separated and separated segments 16 are discharged in a flat or differently curved path of movement. In principle, any path of movement can be provided in the design of the cutting device 4 and the receiving device 14, which can be individually adapted to the geometric presettings of the superordinate system.

[0040] 6 shows an alternative embodiment of the pitch-changing drum 13, in which the conveying segments 18 of the pitch-changing drum 13 are not moved in the radial direction of the drum basic body 17, but instead in the circumferential direction. The conveying segments 18 are accelerated starting from the receiving point I in the direction of rotation of the drum basic body 17, so that the spacing A between the conveying segments 18 and between the segments 16 held therein is increased. The segments 16 are thus transferred from the cutting device 4 to the pitch-changing drum 13 at the receiving point I with very small spacing or in a direct abutting arrangement, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, and are transferred at the receiving point II to the receiving device 14 with an increased spacing A, preferably at an increased or the same speed with respect to the speed at the receiving point I. After the transfer of the segments 16 to the receiving device 14, the transport segments 18 are again decelerated relative to the rotational movement of the drum base body 17 so that, after passing through the transfer point II, the transport segments 18 then abut one another again at the receiving point I with a smaller spacing or directly, so that the spacing A is reduced again by the time the receiving point I is reached.

[0041] 5 and 6 of the transport segment 18 lead, as described above, to an increase in the spacing A between the transport segments 18 themselves and between the segments 16 transported on the transport segment 18. It is self-evident that these motion paths can also be combined if it is desired, for example, for the spacing to be increased even further or if more favorable conditions for the transfer of the segments 6 at the transfer point II can be achieved thereby.

[0042] In Fig. 7, the endless web 5 and the segments 16 separated from it can be seen separately. The endless web 5 is fed to the cutting device 4 and cut off therein. The segments 16 are then still directly abutting one another in the cutting device 4. Therefore, no spacing can yet be seen here. Only after the reception of the segments 16 by the pitch changing drum 13 is the spacing A between the segments 16 enlarged, which continues until the segments 16 with the enlarged spacing A of the segments 16 are transferred further onto another pitch changing drum 13, in which the spacing A is once again enlarged, which continues until the segments 16 are finally received by the receiving device 14. The spacing A is thereby gradually increased within the pitch change drums 13, each of which increases the spacing A of the segments 16 by at least 10 mm, preferably by 13 mm, so that the segments 16 are delivered to the receiving device 14 with a final spacing of 27 mm, taking into account an initial spacing A of 1 mm.

[0043] In FIG. 7, another spreading device 6 can be seen, which has a first drum 20, a second drum 21 and two transfer drums 22 arranged between the first drum 20 and the second drum 21. This spreading device 6 is thus preferably suitable for integration into a feed device 2 with a drum path as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The first drum 20 and the two drums 21 are driven to rotate with different peripheral speeds of their outer surfaces, on which the segments 16 are held. The outer surface of the second drum 21 has a higher peripheral speed than the outer surface of the first drum 20. These different peripheral speeds can be achieved by different radii of the two drums 20 and 21 and / or by different rotational speeds of the drums 20 and 21. The different peripheral speeds can be achieved in this case in that the drums 20 and 21 have the same rotational speed and the second drum 21 has a larger radius than the first drum 20. Furthermore, both drums 20 and 21 can also have the same radius and thus can even be configured identically to begin with, with the second drum 21 then being driven at a higher rotational speed than the first drum 20.

[0044] Between the two drums 20 and 21 there are provided two transfer drums 22 each having three transfer punches 23, which are driven with an increasing rotational movement and which receive the segments 16 by their transfer punches 23 from the first drum 20 at a comparatively low peripheral speed and transfer them to the second drum 21 at a comparatively high peripheral speed. The transfer drums 22 are in this case driven with an increasing rotational movement between a comparatively low peripheral speed of the first drum 20 and a comparatively high peripheral speed of the second drum 21, respectively, the direction of rotation of the transfer drum 22 being directed in the opposite direction to the directions of rotation of the first and second drums 20 and 21.

[0045] The transfer drum 22 thereby effectively forms an interface between the first drum 20, which rotates at a relatively low circumferential speed, and the second drum 21, which rotates at a relatively high circumferential speed, and, due to the increasing rotational drive movement of the transfer drum 22, enables a slip-free reception and transfer of the segments 16 from the first drum 20 onto the second drum 21, despite the respective different circumferential speeds of the two drums 20 and 21. After reception from the first drum 20 by the transfer punch 23, the segments 16 are accelerated by the increasing rotational drive movement of the transfer drum 22 up to the transfer to the second drum and are then decelerated again for reception of the segments 16. The transfer drum 22 is thereby accelerated and decelerated in a number of acceleration and deceleration steps corresponding to the number of transfer punches 23 during one rotation. One further advantage of the transfer drum 22 can be found in that the segments 16 are rotated once during transfer from the first drum 20 onto the second drum 21 and are thus held in the same orientation on the drum 20 and on the drum 21. Furthermore, the transfer drum 22 allows for the same direction of rotation of both drums 20 and 21 with the receipt and transfer of the segments 16 therebetween. Overall, this allows for the further transport and / or stacking of the segments 16 to be simplified.

[0046] 9 shows another embodiment of a spreading device 6 which can be integrated into the drum path, in which the endless web 5 is guided towards the counter drum 12 of the cutting device 4, where it is cut into segments 16 of a predetermined length by sliding a cutting knife 10 along the counter knife 11 of the counter drum 12, as explained at the beginning. The spreading device 6 is realized in this case in that the counter drum 12 is driven at a rotation speed which results in a peripheral speed V2 of the outer surface which is greater than the feed speed V1 of the endless web 5. As a result, the segments 16 are separated from one another on the counter drum 12 after cutting, with an increase in the spacing A between the segments 16, and are transferred onto the transfer drum 8 with the increased spacing A. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1 Cell stacking equipment 2 Feeding device 3 Discharge device 4 Cutting device 5. Endless Web 6 Expansion device 7 Cell stacking device 8 Delivery drum 9 Deflection drum 10 Cutting Edge 11 Receiving blade 12 opposing drums 13 Pitch-changing drums 14 Receiving device 15 Cell stacking unit 16 Segments 17 Drum base 18 Transportation Segments 19 Receiving surface 20 First Drum 21 Second Drum 22 Transfer drum 23 Transfer Punch 24 Loading drum 25 Second belt-type transport device 26 Endless Belt 27 Endless Belt 28 First belt-type transport device 29 Points 30 Third belt-type transport device 31 Fourth belt-type transport device 32 Endless Belt 33 Endless Belt E1~E4 Endless Web T conveyor belt L Lamination unit A Interval I Pick-up location II Delivery point D Rotation axis R1 radius R2 radius V1 speed V2 speed

Claims

1. A supply device (2) for supplying energy cells, particularly battery cell segments (16), to a cell stacking device (7), The supply device (2) supplies the segments (16) to the cell stacking device (7) in a continuous arrangement within the material flow. The consecutive segments (16) each have a first interval (A) between them within the supply device (2). In the supply device (2), An expansion device (6) is provided within the supply device (2), and within the expansion device (6), the spacing (A) between the continuous segments (16) in the material flow is expanded, and as a result, the continuous segments (16) in the material flow have the expanded spacing (A) between them in the supply section to the cell stacking device (7). A supply device (2) for supplying energy cells, particularly battery cell segments (16), to a cell stacking device (7), characterized by the above.

2. The supply device (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the supply device (2) is formed by a drum path.

3. The expanding device (6) is formed by at least one first drum (20) and at least one second drum (21) of the drum path. The segment (16) is passed from the outer surface of the first drum (20) onto the outer surface of the second drum (21), The first drum (20) delivers the segment (16) at the receiving point (I) at a first peripheral speed of the outer surface of the first drum (20). The second drum (21) receives the segment (16) at a second peripheral velocity of the outer surface of the second drum (21), The second peripheral speed is greater than the first peripheral speed. The supply device (2) according to claim 2, characterized in that

4. A transfer drum (22) is provided between the first and second drums (20, 21), The transfer drum (22) is driven at an increasing rotational speed, with alternating acceleration and deceleration between the first peripheral speed and the second peripheral speed. The transfer drum (22) receives the segment (16) from the first drum (20) at the first peripheral speed and transfers the segment (16) to the second drum (21) at the second peripheral speed. The supply device (2) according to claim 3, characterized in that

5. The supply device (2) according to claim 4, characterized in that the transfer drum (22) has at least two, preferably three, transfer punches (23).

6. The feeding device (2) according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the first drum (20) has a first radius, and the second drum (21) has a second radius, the second radius being larger than the first radius.

7. The feeding device (2) according to claim 6, characterized in that the first drum (20) and the second drum (21) have the same rotational speed.

8. The expansion device (6) is formed by at least one pitch-changing drum (13) incorporated into the drum path, The pitch changing drum (13) has a plurality of transport segments (18) arranged around its periphery, each transporting one segment (16) of the material flow. The transport segment (18) is movable in the radial and / or circumferential direction of the pitch changing drum (13), The segment (16) is moved from a receiving point to a handover point, from a relatively small radius to a relatively large radius, and / or in the circumferential direction. The supply device (2) according to claim 2, characterized in that

9. The supply device (2) according to claim 8, characterized in that at least two pitch-changing drums (13) arranged in series are provided within the drum path.

10. The feeding device (2) according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the pitch changing drum (13) widens the spacing between continuous segments (16) in the material flow by at least 10 mm, preferably 13 mm.

11. The expanding device (6) is formed by a belt-type conveying device (25, 28, 31) incorporated into the drum track. The belt-type conveying device (25, 28, 31) has an endless belt (26, 27) that is driven to convey at a first speed, The first speed is greater than the speed of the supplied segment (16). The supply device (2) according to claim 2, characterized in that

12. The expanding device (6) is formed by a combination incorporated into the drum path, comprising a cutting drum that is driven to rotate and has a number of cutting blades arranged on its circumferential surface, and an opposing drum (12) that is driven to rotate or may be stationary and has at least one receiving blade. The segment (16) is cut to a predetermined length by sliding the receiving blade of the opposing drum (12) along the cutting blade of the cutting drum, from an endless web (5) supplied at a first speed toward the cutting drum and / or the opposing drum (12). The cutting drum is driven to rotate at a peripheral velocity of the outer surface that is greater than the first velocity of the supplied endless web (5). The supply device (2) according to claim 2, characterized in that

13. A cell stacking apparatus (1) comprising a supply device (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, 8, 9, 11, or 12, characterized in that it comprises a cell stacking device (7) having at least one fan wheel.

14. A method for supplying energy cell segments (16) to a cell stacking device (7), The system includes a supply device (2), which supplies the segments (16) to the cell stacking device (7) in a continuous arrangement within the material flow. The consecutive segments (16) each have a first interval between them when they enter the supply device (2). In the method, The supply device (2) has an expansion device (6), and within the expansion device (6), the spacing (A) between the continuous segments (16) in the material flow is expanded, and as a result, the continuous segments (16) in the material flow have a second spacing greater than the first spacing at the inflow portion to the cell stacking device (7). A method for supplying energy cell segments (16) to a cell stacking device (7), characterized by the above.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the segment (16) is transported within a drum path in the supply device (2).

16. The expanding device (6) is formed by at least one first drum (20) and at least one second drum (21) of the drum path. The segment (16) is passed from the outer surface of the first drum (20) onto the outer surface of the second drum (21), The first drum (20) delivers the segment (16) at a receiving point at a first peripheral speed of the outer surface of the first drum (20). The second drum (21) receives the segment (16) at a second peripheral velocity of the outer surface of the second drum (21), The second peripheral speed is greater than the first peripheral speed. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that

17. A transfer drum (22) is provided between the first and second drums (20, 21), The transfer drum (22) is driven at an increasing rotational speed, with alternating acceleration and deceleration between the first peripheral speed and the second peripheral speed. The transfer drum (22) receives the segment (16) from the first drum (20) at the first peripheral speed and transfers the segment (16) to the second drum (21) at the second peripheral speed. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that the transfer drum (22) has at least two, preferably three, transfer punches (23).

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that the first drum (20) has a first radius, and the second drum (21) has a second radius, the second radius being greater than the first radius.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that the first drum (20) and the second drum (21) are each driven by a drive device at the same rotational speed.

21. The expansion device (6) is formed by at least one pitch-changing drum (13) incorporated into the drum path, The pitch changing drum (13) has a plurality of transport segments (18) arranged around its periphery for each of the segments (16) of the material flow, The transport segment (18) is movable in the radial and / or circumferential direction of the pitch changing drum (13), The segment (16) is moved from the receiving point (I) to the handover point (II) from a relatively small radius (R1) to a relatively large radius (R2) and / or in the circumferential direction. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that at least two pitch-changing drums (13) arranged in series are provided within the drum path.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that the pitch changing drum (13) expands the spacing between consecutive segments (16) in the material flow by at least 10 mm, preferably 13 mm, from the receiving point (I) to the delivery point (II).

24. The expanding device (6) is formed by belt-type transport devices (25, 28) incorporated into the drum track. The belt-type conveying device (25, 28) has an endless belt (26, 27) that is driven to convey at a first speed, The first speed of the belt-type conveying device (25, 28) is greater than the speed of the supplied segment (16). The method according to claim 15, characterized in that

25. The expanding device (6) is formed by a combination incorporated into the drum path, comprising a cutting drum that is driven to rotate and has a number of cutting blades arranged on its circumferential surface, and an opposing drum (12) that is driven to rotate or stationary and has at least one receiving blade. The segment (16) is cut to a predetermined length by sliding the receiving blade of the opposing drum (12) along the cutting blade of the cutting drum, from an endless web (5) supplied at a first speed toward the cutting drum and / or the opposing drum (12). The cutting drum and / or the opposing drum (12) are driven to rotate at a circumferential velocity of the sheath surface greater than the first velocity of the supplied endless web (5). The method according to claim 15, characterized in that

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