Fluid application device

Abstract

To provide a fluid coating apparatus capable of applying a fluid to a surface to be coated which is not a uniform plane at a uniform height.SOLUTION: The fluid application device 10 includes a nozzle 11 having a slit-shaped discharge port 11A for discharging the thermally conductive material T, a guide portion 12 for guiding the thermally conductive material T discharged from the discharge port 11A to the surfaces S of the battery cases, a plurality of swing valves 13 provided along a widthwise direction of the discharge port 11A in a flow path formed in the guide portion 12 and configured to swing in the widthwise direction of the discharge port 11A, an unevenness detection sensor 14 configured to detect unevenness of the surfaces S of the battery cases, and a controller 15 configured to swing the swing valves 13 based on the unevenness of the surfaces S of the battery cases detected by the unevenness detection sensor 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a fluid application device that applies a fluid to a surface to be applied. [Background technology]

[0002] Fluid application devices that apply a fluid to a surface are known. Here, the fluid includes paint, adhesive, thermally conductive material, etc. Conventionally, fluid application devices ensure the quality of the applied surface by applying a fluid to the surface to a uniform thickness. However, the surface to be applied may not be a uniform flat surface, but may have irregularities. In such cases, it is difficult to apply a fluid to a uniform thickness.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a fluid application device that moves a nozzle up and down depending on the height (unevenness) of a surface to be coated. The fluid application device of Patent Document 1 can apply a coating to a uniform thickness on the surface to be coated.

[0004] For example, a thermally conductive material may be applied to the surface of a battery case to promote heat exchange in an automotive battery. In this case, the thermally conductive material is crushed after application, so it must be applied to a uniform height. However, if the surface of the battery case is flat and uneven, it is necessary to apply an excessively thick layer of thermally conductive material from the beginning, or to apply even more thermally conductive material after crushing it. As a result, the material cost of the thermally conductive material increases.

[0005] Here, the fluid application device of Patent Document 1 can apply a uniform thickness of fluid in accordance with the unevenness of the surface to be coated, but cannot make the coated surface have a uniform height. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 09-253551 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fluid application device that can apply a fluid at a uniform height to a surface that is not uniformly flat. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The fluid application device of the present invention is a fluid application device that applies a fluid to a surface to be applied that is not at least uniformly flat, and is characterized by comprising: a nozzle having a slit-shaped outlet for ejecting the fluid; a guide section that guides the fluid ejected from the outlet to the surface to be applied; a plurality of oscillating valves that are provided along the width direction of the outlet in a flow path formed in the guide section and that oscillate in the width direction of the outlet; a detection section that detects unevenness of the surface to be applied; and a control section that oscillates the oscillating valve based on the unevenness of the surface to be applied detected by the detection section. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the fluid application device of the present invention, it is possible to apply fluid at a uniform height to a surface to be applied that is not uniformly flat. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a fluid application device according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic plan view showing a fluid application device as an example of an embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. In the following description, specific shapes, materials, directions, numerical values, etc. are examples for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and can be appropriately changed according to the application, purpose, specifications, etc.

[0012] [Fluid application device] A fluid application device 10 as an example of an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, a fluid application device 10 is a device that applies a fluid to a surface to be applied. The fluid in this embodiment is, for example, a thermally conductive material T. The thermally conductive material T may be, for example, thermal grease, thermal adhesive, thermal gap filler, liquid metal, etc. Note that the fluid of the present invention is not limited to a thermally conductive material. The fluid of the present invention includes paint, adhesive, etc.

[0014] The surface to be coated in this embodiment is the surface S of a battery case of an electric vehicle. However, the surface to be coated in the present invention is not limited to the surface S of a battery case of an electric vehicle. It may also be a case that houses other devices of the electric vehicle.

[0015] The surface S of the battery case may not be a uniform plane, but may have irregularities. In this case, the thermal conductive material T will be crushed after application, so it is necessary to apply the thermal conductive material T to a uniform height. However, if the surface S of the battery case is a flat surface with irregularities, it is necessary to apply an excessively thick layer of thermal conductive material T from the beginning, or to apply even more thermal conductive material T after crushing the thermal conductive material T. As a result, the material cost of the thermal conductive material T increases.

[0016] As will be described in detail later, the fluid application device 10 allows the thermally conductive material T to be applied at a uniform height to the surface S of the battery case, which is not a uniform flat surface. This eliminates the need to apply an excessively thick layer of thermally conductive material T from the beginning, or to apply an additional layer of thermally conductive material T after crushing the thermally conductive material T. As a result, the material cost of the thermally conductive material T can be reduced.

[0017] The fluid application device 10 is configured to be movable by a moving device (not shown). The moving device preferably moves the fluid application device 10 in at least three-dimensional translation directions. When the fluid application device 10 applies the thermally conductive material T to the surface S of the battery case, the fluid application device 10 is moved relative to the battery case by the moving device. Note that the battery case may also move relative to the fluid application device 10.

[0018] In the following description of the fluid application device 10, the direction in which the surface S moves relative to the fluid application device 10 may be referred to as the movement direction, and the direction perpendicular to the movement direction and the vertical direction (up and down direction) may be referred to as the width direction. Also, in the movement direction, the side from which the thermally conductive material T is discharged may be referred to as the tip side, and the side opposite the tip side may be referred to as the base side.

[0019] The fluid application device 10 includes a nozzle 11 having a slit-shaped outlet 11A for discharging thermally conductive material T, a guide section 12 for guiding the thermally conductive material T discharged from the outlet 11A to the surface S of the battery case, a plurality of oscillating valves 13 provided along the width direction of the outlet 11A in a flow path 12C formed in the guide section 12 and oscillating in the width direction of the outlet 11A, an unevenness detection sensor 14 as a detection section for detecting unevenness on the surface S of the battery case, and a controller 15 as a control section for oscillating the oscillating valve 13 based on the unevenness on the surface S of the battery case detected by the unevenness detection sensor 14.

[0020] [nozzle] The nozzle 11 discharges the thermally conductive material T from the discharge port 11A. The nozzle 11 is filled with the thermally conductive material T that is pressure-fed by a pressure-fed device (not shown). The discharge port 11A is formed in the shape of a slit along the width direction.

[0021] [Information Department]

[0022] The guide portion 12 guides the thermally conductive material T discharged from the outlet 11A of the nozzle 11 to the surface S of the battery case. The guide portion 12 allows the thermally conductive material T discharged from the outlet 11A of the nozzle 11 to be smoothly guided to the surface S of the battery case. The guide portion 12 includes an upper guide plate 12A extending from the upper end of the outlet 11A, a lower guide plate 12B extending from the lower end of the outlet 21A, and a flow path 12C formed between the upper guide plate 12A and the lower guide plate 12B. Note that in FIG. 2, the upper guide plate 12A is shown as a see-through view for ease of understanding.

[0023] [Unevenness detection unit] The unevenness detection sensor 14 serving as a detection unit detects unevenness on the surface S of the battery case. The unevenness detection sensor 14 may be provided on the bottom surface of the nozzle 11 so as to face the surface S of the battery case. The unevenness detection sensor 14 may be, for example, a sensor that measures flatness. The sensor that detects flatness may measure flatness by irradiating the surface S of the battery case with a strip-shaped laser light and forming an image of the reflected light on a two-dimensional CMOS.

[0024] [Swing valve] A plurality of swing valves 13 are provided along the width direction of the discharge port 11A in the flow path 12C formed in the guide part 12. The number of swing valves 13 is not particularly limited. The swing valve 13 of this embodiment is formed, for example, in a teardrop shape when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the up-down direction. The swing valve 13 is arranged so that the tapered shape of the swing valve 13 faces the tip side in the movement direction. The swing valve 13 also has a swing shaft on the base end side. The swing shaft is swung by, for example, a swing mechanism and a motor. Note that the swing valve of the present invention is not limited to the shape of this embodiment. The swing valve of the present invention may be, for example, rectangular or triangular pyramid-shaped when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the up-down direction.

[0025] The swing valve 13, the details of which will be described later, swings to adjust the flow rate of the thermally conductive material T in the width direction. A flow path is formed between adjacent swing valves 13. For example, by orienting adjacent swing valves 13 to one side in the width direction at a predetermined position in the width direction, the flow rate of the thermally conductive material T on one side from the predetermined position can be increased. At this time, the flow rate of the thermally conductive material T on the other side from the predetermined position can be decreased.

[0026] [Control Unit] The controller 15 as a control section swings the swing valve 13 based on the unevenness of the surface S of the battery case detected by the unevenness detection sensor 14 (hereinafter referred to as swing control). The controller 15 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as an arithmetic processing section, and storage sections such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory), and performs signal processing according to a program pre-stored in the ROM while utilizing the temporary storage function of the RAM. The controller 15 is connected to the unevenness detection sensor 14 and each swing valve 13.

[0027] As an example of swing control by the controller 15, when the unevenness detection sensor 14 detects a recess on the surface S of the battery case, the swing valves 13 are swung to increase the flow rate of the thermally conductive material T toward the recess. Specifically, the swing valves 13 positioned outside the recess in the width direction are turned inward to increase the flow rate of the thermally conductive material T toward the recess.

[0028] Furthermore, as an example of swing control by the controller 15, when the unevenness detection sensor 14 detects a convex portion on the surface S of the battery case, the swing valves 13 are swung so as to reduce the flow rate of the thermally conductive material T toward the convex portion. Specifically, by directing the swing valves 13 located within the range of the convex portion in the width direction outward, the flow rate of the thermally conductive material T toward the convex portion is reduced.

[0029] This allows the amount of thermally conductive material T to be adjusted according to the unevenness of the surface S of the battery case. As a result, the thermally conductive material T can be applied at a uniform height to the surface S of the battery case, which is not a uniform flat surface.

[0030] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and its modifications, and various changes and modifications are possible within the scope of the claims of this application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 10 fluid application device, 11 nozzle, 11A discharge port, 12 guide portion, 12A upper guide plate, 12B lower guide plate, 12C flow path, 13 swing valve, 14 unevenness detection sensor (detection portion), 15 controller (control portion), S surface (coated surface), T thermal conductive material (fluid)

Claims

[Claim 1] A fluid application device that applies a fluid to a surface to be applied that is not at least a uniform flat surface, a nozzle having a slit-shaped outlet for discharging the fluid; a guide portion that guides the fluid discharged from the discharge port to the surface to be coated; a plurality of swing valves provided along a width direction of the discharge port in a flow path formed in the guide portion, the swing valves swinging in the width direction of the discharge port; A detection unit that detects unevenness on the surface to be coated; a control unit that swings the swing valve based on the unevenness of the surface to be coated detected by the detection unit; Equipped with Fluid application device.

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