Tab guide and tab guide device including the tab guide

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tab guide, a tab guide device including the tab guide, and a battery cell pressure short circuit inspection device using the tab guide device. More specifically, the present invention is characterized by providing a tab guide that uses an extension member made of a flexible material to increase the opening width through which the battery cell leads are inserted.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tab guide and a tab guide device including the tab guide.

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0169787 dated December 1, 2021, and all contents disclosed in the documents of that Korean patent application are incorporated herein by reference. [Background technology]

[0003] A secondary battery is manufactured by injecting an electrolyte solution, which is a liquid electrolyte, into a battery container in which the electrode assembly is housed, and then sealing the battery container.

[0004] A manufactured secondary battery may have various defects due to various reasons during the assembly process, manufacturing process, or use. Among these, a phenomenon in which a manufactured battery exhibits a voltage drop behavior exceeding the self-discharge rate is called low voltage.

[0005] This low voltage defect is typically caused by metallic foreign matter located inside the battery, and typically when metallic foreign matter is present in the positive electrode, the metallic foreign matter grows into dendrites at the negative electrode, and these dendrites cause an internal short circuit in the secondary battery. As a result, the internal short circuit in the secondary battery can cause failure, damage, fire, etc. of the secondary battery.

[0006] In particular, low voltage defects can occur during the assembly of secondary batteries. Assembly defects that cause low voltage include separator damage, such as separator breakage, separator folding, and separator perforation. Such separator damage mainly occurs at the four corners of the cell body during the battery manufacturing process.

[0007] The above defects can cause an internal short circuit, i.e., a short circuit where the positive and negative electrodes come into contact. Although they are currently inaccessible due to the thickness of the separator, a short circuit can occur at any time. Therefore, it is necessary to apply pressure to the affected area to cause an internal short circuit and screen out the defects.

[0008] Conventionally, in order to quickly and accurately screen for low-voltage defects in a large number of battery cells, a method that enables testing in a short time has been used, such as applying pressure to a large number of uncharged battery cells using a fixture pressure short circuit test.

[0009] Meanwhile, in order to detect short circuits inside the battery cells, the leads of the battery cells must be electrically connected to the tester pins to detect the electrical characteristics of the battery cells in real time. Therefore, a tab guide (chuck) is used to stably guide and connect the leads of the battery cells to the tester pins.

[0010] FIG. 1 shows the structure of a conventional tab guide 10'. Referring to FIG. 1, a pair of guide members 11a', 11b' fixed by a support block 13' has a structure that widens toward the front, thereby guiding the lead 210 of the battery cell 200 to an inspector pin 20' interposed between the guide members 11a', 11b' so that the lead 210 of the battery cell 200 is connected to the inspector pin 20'. However, due to the characteristics of the structure of the guide members 11a', 11b', there is a limit to the widening angle, so there is a problem that the width 11W' of the insertion part I' into which the lead 210 of the battery cell 200 is inserted is relatively narrow. FIG. 2 shows a case of a problem that occurs when the lead 210 of the battery cell 200 is inserted into a tab guide 10' having the same structure as FIG. 1. 2(a), if the lead 210 of the battery cell 200 is bent in one direction, it may get caught during the process of inserting the lead 210 into the insertion part I', and the lead 210 may not reach the inspector pin 20' (FIG. 2(b)). Also, the lead 210 of the battery cell 200 may break at the entrance of the insertion part I' from the start, and a problem may occur in which it is not possible to insert the lead 210 into the insertion part I' at all (FIG. 2(c)).

[0011] In order to solve the problems caused by the tab guide 10' of the structure of FIG. 1 as described above, a method has been used in which the width 11W' of the insertion portion I' is increased by further increasing the extent to which the guide members 11a' and 11b' are spread.

[0012] Figure 3 shows the structure of a conventional tab guide 10' in which the insertion width 11W' of the tab guide 10' is wider. The tab guide 10' of Figure 3 is characterized in that the width of the insertion width 11W' is comparatively larger than that of the tab guide 10' of Figure 1 by further increasing the degree of expansion of the guide members 11a' and 11b'. It can be seen that by using the tab guide 10' having the structure of Figure 3, the guide members 11a' and 11b' guide the lead 210, which is bent so as to be difficult to insert as shown in Figure 4(a), to the inspector pin 20' (Figure 4(b)).

[0013] However, when performing a pressurized short circuit test on a large number of battery cells 200, the tab guide 10' having the structure shown in FIG. 3 has a unique structure in which the guide members 11a', 11b' extend out to the sides of the tab guide 10', and as a result, the guide members 11a', 11b' collide with the guide members 11a', 11b' or pressure plate 300' of adjacent tab guides 10', resulting in a frequent problem of damage as shown in FIG. 5. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0014] [Patent Document 1] Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2020-0059563 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent No. 6800419 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0015] The present invention provides a tab guide that can stably perform electrical characteristic testing on a large number of battery cells.

[0016] Another object of the present invention is to provide a tab guide that can guide the leads of a battery cell to tester pins without damaging the leads of the battery cell. [Means for solving the problem]

[0017] According to the present invention, there is provided a tab guide for guiding electrode leads of a battery cell to an inspector pin for inspecting the battery cell, the tab guide comprising a pair of guide pieces arranged opposite each other at a predetermined interval, with the inspector pin installed at the interval, the opposing inner surfaces of the pair of guide pieces including a guide member including a guide surface inclined from a tip of the guide piece toward the inspector pin, and a pair of extension guide members protruding from the guide member and inclined away from each other toward a front of the guide member.

[0018] Specifically, rear ends of the pair of extension guide members may be coupled to the guide surfaces of the guide pieces, and the pair of extension guide members may protrude from the guide members at the same angle as the inclination angle of the guide surfaces.

[0019] In addition, the pair of guide pieces may each have vertical inner surfaces extending from the guide surface and arranged parallel to each other, the tester pin may be fixedly installed between rear ends of the opposing vertical inner surfaces, and a front end of the opposing vertical inner surfaces may form a fixing portion for fixing the electrode lead.

[0020] In addition, an outer surface opposite to the opposing inner surfaces of the pair of guide pieces may be formed as a vertical surface extending parallel to the vertical inner surface.

[0021] Meanwhile, the tab guide of the present invention may further include a support block coupled to a rear surface of the guide member.

[0022] The support block may further include a support base that is connected to a lower portion of the support block and extends downward.

[0023] Specifically, rear ends of the pair of extension guide members can be coupled to the front ends of the guide pieces.

[0024] More specifically, the pair of extension guide members may protrude from the guide member at an angle that is the same as or different from the inclination angle of the guide surface.

[0025] On the other hand, the guide member and the extension guide member may be formed of different materials.

[0026] For example, the guide member may be made of a metal material.

[0027] The extension guide member may be made of an elastic material.

[0028] According to the present invention, there is provided a tab guide device in which a plurality of tab guides are arranged in a row along an arrangement direction of a plurality of battery cells, the plurality of tab guides are slidably installed, and the tab guide device includes a connecting member extending along the arrangement direction of the battery cells. Effect of the Invention

[0029] According to the present invention, it is possible to solve the problem that, when performing a voltage short circuit test on a battery cell, the leads of the battery cell do not come into contact with the tester pins, resulting in a failure.

[0030] In addition, the present invention has an effect of enabling stable short-circuit testing to be performed without damaging each tab guide when a large number of battery cells are pressurized and a short-circuit test is performed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0031] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are schematic perspective and plan views of a conventional tab guide; [Diagram 2] 2 shows examples of problems that occur due to the tab guide structure of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2A and 2B are schematic perspective and plan views of a tab guide which is an improved version of the tab guide shown in FIG. 1 . [Figure 4] 4 illustrates a process for connecting battery cell leads to the tab guide of FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] 4 shows examples of problems that occur due to the tab guide structure of FIG. 3. [Figure 6] 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a plan view of a guide member and an extension guide member of a tab guide according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a plan view of a tab guide according to a first embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 8] 1 is an embodiment showing the effect of a tab guide of the present invention. [Figure 9]13A and 13B are a perspective view and a plan view of a tab guide according to a second embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0032] Hereinafter, detailed configurations of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings and various embodiments. The embodiments described below are illustratively shown to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and the attached drawings are not drawn to scale to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and the dimensions of some components may be exaggerated.

[0033] Since the present invention can be modified in various ways and can have various forms, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text, but it is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific disclosed forms, and it should be understood that the present invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

[0034] The present invention relates to a tab guide that guides the leads of a battery cell to a tester pin in order to test the electrical characteristics of the battery cell, and a tab guide device including the tab guide. In particular, a main feature of the present invention is to provide a tab guide that increases the width of an insertion portion of the battery cell leads by using an extension member made of a flexible material.

[0035] Hereinafter, with reference to Figs. 6 to 8, configurations of tab guides according to various embodiments of the present invention will be described, and then the configuration of the tab guide device of the present invention will be described.

[0036] <Tab Guide> The tab guide of the present invention, for guiding electrode leads of a battery cell to an inspector pin for inspecting the battery cell, comprises a pair of guide pieces arranged opposite each other at a predetermined interval, with the inspector pin installed at the interval, and is characterized in that opposing inner surfaces of the pair of guide pieces include a guide member including a guide surface inclined from a tip of the guide piece toward the inspector pin, and a pair of extension guide members protruding from the guide member and inclined away from each other toward the front of the guide member.

[0037] In particular, various embodiments can be derived depending on the installation position and shape of the extension guide member, and therefore, two embodiments of the tab guide will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0038] (First embodiment) FIG. 6 shows a perspective view and a plan view of a guide member 11 and an extension guide member 12 included in a tab guide 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] The tab guide 10 of the present invention includes a guide member 11 including a pair of guide pieces 11a, 11b that guide the electrode lead 210 of the battery cell 200 to the inspector pin 20, and a pair of extension guide members 12 that protrude from the guide member 11 and are inclined away from each other toward the front of the guide member 11.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 6, it can be seen that the guide member 11 is composed of a pair of guide pieces 11a, 11b arranged side by side facing each other at a predetermined interval, and the opposing inner surfaces of the pair of guide pieces 11a, 11b include guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 inclined from the tips of the guide pieces 11a, 11b toward the inspector pin 20.

[0041] The tester pin 20 of the present invention is a device for connecting to the leads 210 of the battery cell 200 to measure the electrical characteristics of the battery cell 200, and may be disposed between the pair of guide pieces 11a, 11b spaced apart by a predetermined distance. In this case, the tester pin 20 is preferably disposed at the rear end of the guide member 11.

[0042] The tester pin 20 may be connected to a measuring device (not shown) for measuring electrical characteristics of the battery cell 200 via a conductor (not shown), and the present invention does not particularly limit the electrical connection between the tester pin 20 and the measuring device.

[0043] The pair of guide pieces 11a, 11b are shaped to widen toward the front where the leads 210 of the battery cell 200 are inserted. Specifically, the inner sides of the guide pieces 11a, 11b include guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 that are inclined from the tips of the guide pieces 11a, 11b toward the tester pin 20, and also include vertical inner sides 11a10, 11b10 that extend from the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 and are arranged parallel to and opposite to each other.

[0044] The distance between the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 of the pair of spaced apart guide pieces 11a, 11b becomes shorter as they face rearward, and conversely, the distance between the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 becomes longer as they face forward. The vertical inner side surfaces 11a10, 11b10 are formed by extending the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 at a portion where the distance between the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 is shortest, so that the distance between the vertical inner side surfaces 11a10, 11b10 of the pair of guide members 11 is very narrow.

[0045] The tester pin 20 is fixed between rear ends of the opposing vertical inner sides 11a10, 11b10, and the front ends of the opposing vertical inner sides 11a10, 11b10 form a fixing portion F for fixing the electrode lead 210.

[0046] If the lead 210 of the battery cell 200, which is inserted in front of the tab guide 10 to be connected to the inspector pin 20 included in the tab guide 10, is not in a predetermined position (a position facing the inspector pin 20), it moves to a predetermined position along the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30. At this time, the lead 210 that has moved to the predetermined position along the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 enters and is fixed in the fixing portion F and may come into contact with the inspector pin 20.

[0047] The opposing inner surfaces of the pair of guide pieces 11a, 11b and the outer surface opposite thereto are formed as vertical surfaces extending parallel to the vertical inner surfaces 11a10, 11b10. Specifically, it is preferable that the outer surfaces of the pair of guide pieces 11a, 11b are kept horizontal to each other in order to prevent the guide pieces 11a, 11b from being damaged by collision with the adjacent tab guide 10 or a pressure plate that presses the battery cells 200 during a pressurized short circuit experiment on a large number of battery cells 200.

[0048] The tab guide 10 of the present invention is characterized in that it further includes an extension guide member 12 made of a soft material and having elasticity.

[0049] The extension guide member 12 is installed on the guide piece so as to protrude forward of the guide member 11 .

[0050] Specifically, the rear end portions of the pair of extended guide members 12 are coupled to the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 of the guide pieces 11a, 11b, and the pair of extended guide members 12 may be formed by protruding from the guide member 11 at an angle equal to the inclination angle of the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30.

[0051] The pair of extension guide members 12 can have rear ends connected to the tip ends of the guide pieces 11a, 11b.

[0052] The pair of extended guide members 12 may be formed to protrude from the guide member 11 at an angle equal to or different from the inclination angle of the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30. The inclination angle of the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 is fixed by the design of the guide pieces 11a, 11b, but the inclination angle of the extended guide members 12 can be freely changed by adjusting the installation position and shape of the extended guide members 12.

[0053] In general, the section between the front ends of the guide member 11 may be a limit section in which the leads 210 of the battery cell 200 can be guided to the fixing portion F. That is, the greater the guide member width 11W, the greater the probability that the leads 210 of the battery cell 200 can be guided to the fixing portion F.

[0054] The present invention is characterized in that the limit section can be widened by using the extended guide member 12. Specifically, the width between the extended guide members 12 that are extended to the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 and protrude forward of the guide member 11 can be greater than the width between the guide members 11. As a result, since the limit section in which the leads 210 of the battery cell 200 can be guided to the fixing portion F is increased, the tab guide 10 of the present invention is more likely to guide the leads 210 of the battery cell 200 to the fixing portion F and connect them to the tester pins 20.

[0055] In the present invention, the guide member 11 and the extension guide member 12 may be made of different materials.

[0056] It is preferable that the guide member 11 is made of a metal material, while the extension guide member 12 is made of an elastic material.

[0057] The extended guide member 12 is extended to the guide surfaces 11a30 and 11b30 of the guide member 11 and is formed to protrude from the guide member 11, and therefore may be directly exposed to external impact. Therefore, if the extended guide member 12 uses a material that does not have elasticity, damage such as cracking or falling may occur in the above situation. As an example, the extended guide member 12 of the present invention may include a material such as polycarbonate that can recover from external impact.

[0058] The tab guide 10 of the present invention may further include a support block 13 coupled to a rear surface of the guide member 11, and a support base 14 coupled to a lower portion of the support block 13 and extending downward.

[0059] FIG. 7 is a perspective view and a plan view of the tab guide 10 of the present invention to which the support block 13 and support base 14 are applied.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 7, the tab guide 10 of the present invention includes a guide member 11 extending forward where a lead 210 of a battery cell 200 is located, a support block 13 coupled to the rear end of the guide member 11 to fix the guide member 11, and a support base 14 coupled to the lower part of the support block 13 and extending downward.

[0061] The shape of the support block 13 is not limited to that shown in the drawings of the present invention, and any shape that can fix the guide member 11 and does not prevent the insertion of the leads 210 of the battery cells 200 will suffice. Similarly, the support stand 14 does not need to be limited to that shown in the drawings of the present invention, and any shape that can support the support block 13 and allow the support block 13 to move laterally will suffice.

[0062] FIG. 8 shows an embodiment illustrating the effect of the tab guide 10 of the present invention.

[0063] The extension guide member 12 of the present invention is made of a material having elasticity, so that it can bend without breaking or cracking due to external impact.

[0064] 8, it can be seen that the side of the tab guide 10 is pressed by the pressure plate. If the extension guide member 12 did not have elasticity, it would have been broken or cracked. However, the extension guide member 12 of the present invention is only bent by the pressure plate through its elasticity and can be restored to its original state.

[0065] Second embodiment FIG. 9 shows a perspective view and a plan view of a tab guide 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0066] 9, it can be seen that the extended guide member 12 is coupled to the front ends of the guide pieces 11a and 11b and installed to protrude forward. That is, the rear end of the extended guide member 12 can be inserted into and coupled to grooves (not shown) formed in the upper and lower portions along the front ends of the guide pieces 11a and 11b.

[0067] The extension guide member 12 may have different angles depending on the angles of the grooves formed at the tips of the guide pieces 11a and 11b. By varying the angles of the extension guide member 12 as described above, the extension guide member width 11W formed by the extension guide member 12 can be adjusted.

[0068] When the tab guide 10 has the structure shown in FIG. 9, the inclination angle of the extension guide member 12 does not need to be limited solely to the angle of the guide surfaces 11a30, 11b30 of the guide member 11, and can be adjusted relatively freely.

[0069] <Tab guide device> The tab guide apparatus of the present invention includes the tab guide of the present invention.

[0070] Specifically, the tab guide device may include a plurality of tab guides arranged in a direction in which the plurality of battery cells are arranged.

[0071] The tab guide device is a means for simultaneously connecting the leads of a large number of battery cells arranged in a row to the pins of an inspector at one time.

[0072] The tab guide device may further include a connection member on which a plurality of tab guides are slidably installed and extended along an arrangement direction (lateral direction) of the battery cells.

[0073] The connecting member is a member that penetrates one end of the support base included in the tab guide and allows the tab guide to move laterally along the connecting member. The connecting member is sufficient as long as it has a structure that allows the tab guide to move laterally, and the present invention is not particularly limited thereto.

[0074] The present invention has been described in more detail above through 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 fully represent 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]

[0075] 10: Tab guide 10': (Prior Art) Tab Guide 11: Guide member 11W: Guide member width 11W': (conventional technology) insertion width 11a, 11b: guide pieces 11a', 11b': (Prior Art) Guide Member 11a10, 11b10: Vertical inner surface 11a30, 11b30: Guide surface 12: Extension guide member 12W: Extension guide member width 13: Support block 13': (Prior Art) Support Block 14: Support stand 20: Inspection pin 20': (conventional technology) Inspection pin 200: Battery cells 210: Lead 300: Pressure plate 300': (Prior Art) Pressure Plate F:Fixed part I': (Prior Art) Insertion Part

Claims

1. A tab guide for guiding an electrode lead of a battery cell to an inspector pin for inspecting the battery cell, a guide member including a pair of guide pieces arranged opposite to each other with a predetermined interval therebetween, with the inspector pin being placed at the interval, the pair of guide pieces having opposing inner surfaces including guide surfaces inclined from the tip ends of the guide pieces toward the inspector pin; a pair of extension guide members protruding from the guide member and inclined away from each other toward a front of the guide member.

2. The tab guide of claim 1 , wherein rear ends of the pair of extended guide members are coupled to a guide surface of the guide piece, and the pair of extended guide members protrude from the guide member at an angle equal to an inclination angle of the guide surface.

3. The pair of guide pieces each have a vertical inner side surface extending from the guide surface and arranged parallel to each other and facing each other, 2. The tab guide according to claim 1, wherein the tester pin is fixedly installed between rear ends of the opposing vertical inner surfaces, and a front end of the opposing vertical inner surfaces forms a fixing portion for fixing the electrode lead.

4. The tab guide of claim 1 , further comprising a support block coupled to a rear surface of said guide member.

5. The tab guide according to claim 3 , wherein an outer surface opposite to the opposing inner surfaces of the pair of guide pieces is formed into a vertical surface extending parallel to the vertical inner surface.

6. The tab guide of claim 1 , wherein rear ends of said pair of extension guide members are connected to leading ends of said guide pieces.

7. The tab guide of claim 6 , wherein the pair of extension guide members protrude from the guide member at an angle that is the same as or different from an inclination angle of the guide surface.

8. The tab guide of claim 1 , wherein said guide member and said extension guide member are formed from different materials.

9. The tab guide of claim 1 , wherein the guide member is made of a metal material.

10. The tab guide of claim 1 , wherein the extension guide member is formed from a resilient material.

11. The tab guide of claim 4 , further comprising a support base coupled to a lower portion of the support block and extending downward.

12. A plurality of the tab guides according to any one of claims 1 to 11 are arranged in a line along an arrangement direction of the plurality of battery cells, The tab guide device further comprises a connecting member on which the plurality of tab guides are slidably installed and which extends along an arrangement direction of the battery cells.

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