Secondary battery carrier cleaning equipment

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier is an apparatus for cleaning a carrier for a secondary battery transferred by a transfer unit, the apparatus comprising: a main body having an inlet and an outlet for the transfer unit to enter and exit, and a plurality of nozzles installed in the main body for spraying a cleaning material for cleaning the carrier onto the carrier, the plurality of nozzles including a plurality of first nozzles arranged with their respective centers offset from each other with respect to an imaginary line extending from the inlet to the outlet; and at least one second nozzle for spraying a cleaning material different from the cleaning material sprayed from the plurality of first nozzles.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Cross-references to related applications This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0133814 dated October 8, 2021, and all contents disclosed in the documents of that Korean patent application are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a cleaning device, and more particularly to a device for cleaning carriers used in an assembly line for secondary batteries. [Background technology]

[0003] In general, a secondary battery has a structure in which an electrode assembly including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode is housed in a case such as a can or a pouch.

[0004] When assembling a secondary battery, the electrode assembly or a case containing the electrode assembly is transported to a required process line while still in a carrier.

[0005] In order to produce a high-quality secondary battery, impurities must not enter the components of the electrode assembly or the case, and therefore it is essential that the carrier used in assembling the secondary battery be kept clean. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] An object of the present invention is to improve the cleaning of foreign matter that accumulates on a carrier used for assembling a secondary battery.

[0007] However, the problems to be solved by the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above problems, and can be variously expanded within the scope of the technical ideas included in the present invention. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier is an apparatus for cleaning a carrier for a secondary battery transferred by a transfer unit, the apparatus comprising: a main body having an inlet and an outlet for the transfer unit to enter and exit, and a plurality of nozzles installed in the main body for spraying a cleaning material for cleaning the carrier onto the carrier, the plurality of nozzles including a plurality of first nozzles arranged with their respective centers offset from each other with respect to an imaginary line extending from the inlet to the outlet, and at least one second nozzle for spraying a cleaning material different from the cleaning material sprayed from the plurality of first nozzles.

[0009] The plurality of first nozzles can spray air and the at least one second nozzle can spray dry ice.

[0010] The plurality of first nozzles and the at least one second nozzle may be spaced apart on an upper portion of the body.

[0011] The at least one second nozzle may be centrally located in the body.

[0012] A suction portion may be disposed adjacent to each of the plurality of first nozzles.

[0013] The suction portion may be frusto-conical.

[0014] The at least one second nozzle may be removably mounted on the body.

[0015] A third nozzle may be disposed on the body for injecting air around at least one of the inlet and the outlet.

[0016] The third nozzle may be installed at an angle to the main body so as to inject air toward the inside of the main body.

[0017] The secondary battery may be a cylindrical secondary battery. Effect of the Invention

[0018] The cleaning apparatus for a secondary battery according to the embodiment can effectively remove foreign matter adhered to the carrier, and can also prevent foreign matter from accumulating on the carrier.

[0019] Therefore, when a secondary battery is manufactured using the carrier according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering the components of the secondary battery in advance, thereby making it possible to manufacture a high-quality secondary battery.

[0020] The effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. [Diagram 3] 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the positional relationship of a first nozzle and a suction portion with respect to a virtual straight line according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention may, however, be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

[0023] In order to clearly explain the present invention, parts that are not necessary for the explanation will be omitted, and the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same or similar components throughout the specification.

[0024] In addition, the size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for convenience of explanation, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those shown in the drawings. In the drawings, thicknesses are enlarged to clearly express various layers and regions. In the drawings, thicknesses of some layers and regions are exaggerated for convenience of explanation.

[0025] In addition, when a part such as a layer, film, region, or plate is said to be "on" or "above" another part, this includes not only the case where it is "directly on" another part, but also the case where there is another part in between. Conversely, when a part is said to be "directly on" another part, it means that there is no other part in between. In addition, being "on" or "above" a reference part means being located above or below the reference part, and does not necessarily mean being located "on" or "above" the direction against gravity.

[0026] Additionally, throughout the specification, when a part is said to "comprise" a certain element, this means that it may further include other elements, but not excluding other elements, unless specifically stated to the contrary.

[0027] Also, throughout the specification, the term "in a plane" means when the subject part is viewed from above, and the term "in cross section" means when the subject part is cut vertically and viewed from the side.

[0028] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier (hereinafter, for convenience, simply referred to as a cleaning device) according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

[0029] 1 and 2, a cleaning device 1 according to an embodiment includes a main body 10 having an internal space. The main body 10 is formed in a roughly rectangular box shape (or a rectangular parallelepiped shape), and an inlet 100 and an outlet 102 are provided on both opposing sides (left and right sides as viewed in the drawing). This allows the main body 10 to have a tunnel-type outer shape.

[0030] The cleaning device 1 according to the embodiment is configured to clean the carrier 30 transferred by the transfer unit 20 that enters the inside of the body 10 through the inlet 100 and exits the outside of the body 10 through the outlet 102.

[0031] In this embodiment, the transfer unit 20 may be comprised of a conveyor belt 200, and the carrier 30 may be provided for cylindrical secondary batteries. The conveyor belt 200 is driven by a driving source (not shown) and can transfer the battery from the outside of the body 10 (left side in the drawing) through the inside of the body 10 and back to the outside of the body 10 (right side in the drawing), and the carrier 30 may be formed in a cylindrical shape with an internal space that is open on one or both sides according to the outer shape of the electrode assembly or case of the cylindrical secondary battery. However, the transfer unit 20 and the carrier 30 in the present invention are not necessarily limited to this.

[0032] Foreign matter generated by self-wear or friction between the carriers or with other components may accumulate on the carrier 30. If such foreign matter continues to accumulate on the carrier 30, there is a high probability that the foreign matter will flow into the electrode assembly or case housed inside the carrier 30 and adversely affect the secondary battery to be manufactured, so the carrier 30 needs to be kept as clean as possible.

[0033] For this purpose, the main body 10 is provided with a plurality of nozzles for cleaning the foreign matter accumulated on the carrier 30. In this embodiment, the plurality of nozzles are provided at intervals on the upper surface of the main body 10 and configured to spray cleaning materials toward the carrier 30 from above the carrier 30.

[0034] The nozzles include a plurality of first nozzles 40 for spraying air and at least one second nozzle 42 for spraying dry ice. For example, in this embodiment, four first nozzles 40 and one second nozzle 42 are provided.

[0035] The first first nozzle 401 and the fourth first nozzle 404 of the four first nozzles 40 are installed at a certain distance d1 from the inlet 100 and the outlet 102, respectively. This distance d1 can be set so that an internal space of the body 10 corresponding to the distance from the inlet 100 to the first first nozzle 401 and an internal space of the body 10 corresponding to the distance from the outlet 102 to the fourth first nozzle 404 are sufficiently formed, for example, so that foreign matter generated inside the body 10 is not accumulated in the carrier 30.

[0036] In addition, the distance d2 between the first first nozzle 401 and the second first nozzle 402 among the four first nozzles 40, and the distance d2 between the third first nozzle 403 and the fourth first nozzle 404 can be set to be the same as the outer diameter D of the carrier 30.

[0037] The four first nozzles 40 are connected to the bracket 44 and fixed to the upper surface of the main body 10. The four first nozzles 40 are divided and connected to a plurality of suction parts 50 fixed to the upper surface of the main body 10. In this embodiment, the first first nozzle 401 and the second first nozzle 402 are inserted into the through holes 502 of the bracket 500 in which a pair of first suction parts 501 are formed, and are arranged so that their nozzles are located as close as possible to the periphery of the carrier 30. At this time, the distance between the nozzles and the carrier 30 may be several mm. On the other hand, the third first nozzle 403 and the fourth first nozzle 404 are inserted into the through holes 502 of the bracket 500 in which a pair of second suction parts 502 are formed, and are arranged so that their nozzles are located as close as possible to the periphery of the carrier 30. The four first nozzles 401, 402, 403, and 404 can be connected to a blowing manifold 60 arranged on one side of the main body 10 by hoses not shown.

[0038] The first suction part 501 and the second suction part 502 each include an intake port 504 facing the carrier 30 and an exhaust port 506 disposed opposite the intake port 504. Here, the center of the intake port 504 and the center of the exhaust port 506 may be aligned. The first suction part 501 and the second suction part 502 may be formed in a truncated cone shape with a diameter that decreases from the intake port 504 toward the exhaust port 506 in order to improve suction efficiency. The first suction part 501 and the second suction part 502 each correspond to the adjacent first nozzle 40. The brackets 500 of the first suction part 501 and the second suction part 502 may be fixedly coupled to the upper surface of the main body 10 by screw coupling, and at this time, the connection port 508 extended from the exhaust port 506 and exposed to the outside of the upper surface of the main body 10 may be connected to the suction manifold 70 disposed on one side of the main body 10 by a hose (not shown).

[0039] When the four first nozzles 40 are arranged on the upper surface of the main body 10, the centers of the four first nozzles 40 are offset from each other with respect to an imaginary straight line DL (see FIG. 1) in the direction from the inlet 100 to the outlet 102 of the main body 10 (or the opposite direction), for example, an imaginary straight line DL passing through the center of the inlet 100 and the center of the outlet 102.

[0040] 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the positional relationship of the first nozzle 40 and the suction part 50 with respect to the imaginary straight line DL. Here, the suction part 50 is shown with the discharge port 506 as the reference.

[0041] 3, an imaginary straight line DL can be set to pass through the centers of the inlet 100 and the outlet 102 of the main body 10, and further pass through the center of the carrier 30. The four first nozzles 401, 402, 403, 404 are disposed with their centers offset from each other with respect to the straight line DL. For example, the four first nozzles 401, 402, 403, 404 can be disposed with an offset from the straight line DL so that the shape of a line connecting the four first nozzles 401, 402, 403, 404 is roughly meandering. The four first nozzles can be disposed on the upper side of the carrier 30 so that they can inject air toward the periphery of the carrier 30 or toward the inside of the carrier 30.

[0042] On the other hand, the suction units 50 are disposed in close proximity to the four first nozzles 401, 402, 403, and 404 in a one-to-one correspondence, respectively, to suck in foreign matter separated from the carrier 30 by air sprayed from the four first nozzles 401, 402, 403, and 404. In this case, the suction units 50 may be disposed on the upper side of the carrier 30 such that the discharge openings 506 are located inside the carrier 30.

[0043] Meanwhile, a second nozzle 42 for spraying a cleaning object different from the first nozzle 40, i.e., dry ice, is disposed in the center of the main body 10 between the first suction part 501 and the second suction part 502. In this embodiment, the second nozzle 42 is connected to a dry ice providing part (not shown) and can be detachably coupled to an extension part 112 extending from the upper surface of the main body 10. For example, the second nozzle 42 can be coupled to the upper surface of the extension part 112 through a screw coupling. In another embodiment, the second nozzle 42 can be fixed to the extension part 112, and the extension part 112 can be detachably coupled to the upper surface of the main body 10.

[0044] Meanwhile, a third nozzle 80 for injecting air from the outside of the body 10 may be installed on the body 10 around at least one of the inlet 100 and the outlet 102. In this embodiment, the third nozzle 80 is installed all around the inlet 100 and the outlet 102. Also, the third nozzle 80 may be provided as a so-called air knife, which is installed at an angle (about 5 degrees) with respect to the body 10 so that the air can be injected toward the inside of the body 10. The third nozzle 80 is also connected to the blowing manifold 60 by a hose (not shown) to inject air into the body 10, thereby preventing foreign matter from scattering from the outside to the inside of the body 10.

[0045] In the cleaning device 1 configured as above, when the carrier 30 required for manufacturing secondary batteries is transported into the main body 10 along the conveyor belt 200, the foreign matter accumulated on the carrier 30 can be separated and cleaned by the air sprayed from the first nozzle 40 and the dry ice sprayed from the second nozzle 42.

[0046] In the cleaning device 1 according to this embodiment, a plurality of first nozzles 40 can spray air onto various parts of the carrier 30 that are not part of the carrier 30, and the second nozzles 42 can spray dry ice to clean the carrier 30, thereby effectively cleaning foreign matter adhered to the carrier 30 and preventing foreign matter from accumulating on the carrier 30.

[0047] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present invention defined in the following claims also fall within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1: Cleaning equipment 10: Main unit 20:Transfer section 30: Career 40: 1st nozzle 42: 2nd nozzle 50: Suction section 80: 3rd nozzle 100:Entrance 102: Exit

Claims

1. An apparatus for cleaning a carrier for a secondary battery transported by a transport unit, comprising: A body including an inlet and an outlet for the ingress and egress of said transport portion; and A plurality of nozzles are installed on the body and spray cleaning materials onto the carrier to clean the carrier. Including, The plurality of nozzles a plurality of first nozzles arranged with their respective centers offset from one another with respect to an imaginary straight line extending from the inlet toward the outlet; and at least one second nozzle for spraying a cleaning material different from the cleaning material sprayed from the plurality of first nozzles; A cleaning device for a carrier for a secondary battery, comprising:

2. 2. The apparatus for cleaning a secondary battery carrier according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of first nozzles spray air, and the at least one second nozzle sprays dry ice.

3. The apparatus for cleaning a secondary battery carrier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of first nozzles and the at least one second nozzle are spaced apart from each other on an upper portion of the body.

4. The cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier according to claim 3 , wherein the at least one second nozzle is disposed in the center of the body.

5. The cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a suction portion is disposed adjacent to each of the plurality of first nozzles.

6. 6. The cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier according to claim 5, wherein the suction portion is in the shape of a truncated cone.

7. The cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one second nozzle is detachably installed on the main body.

8. 3. The cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier according to claim 1, further comprising a third nozzle disposed on the main body for injecting air around at least one of the inlet and the outlet.

9. The cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier according to claim 8 , wherein the third nozzle is installed at an angle to the main body so as to inject air toward an inside of the main body.

10. 3. The cleaning device for a secondary battery carrier according to claim 1, wherein the secondary battery is a cylindrical secondary battery.

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