Battery cell inspection system

Abstract

The battery cell inspection system according to the present invention includes a transport unit including a plurality of conveyors arranged in multiple layers vertically, which transports trays carrying assembled battery cells, a cell inspection unit arranged in a stack to correspond to the multiple layers of the transport unit, which pre-charges the battery cells and inspects the cells for defects, and an input / output shuttle configured to move between the cell inspection unit and the transport unit, which inserts the trays into the cell inspection unit and removes the trays from the cell inspection unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0070545 filed on June 10, 2022, and all the contents disclosed in the specification and drawings of the application are incorporated herein.

[0002] The present invention relates to a battery cell inspection system, and more specifically, to a battery cell inspection system that can improve space utilization and battery production efficiency by improving the logistics movement route and inspection route in the formation process for activation and operation inspection of assembled battery cells.

Background Art

[0003] In recent years, with the rapid growth in demand for portable electronic products such as notebook computers, video cameras, and mobile phones, and the full-scale development of electric vehicles, energy storage batteries, robots, satellites, etc., research on high-performance secondary batteries that can be repeatedly charged and discharged has been actively conducted.

[0004] Currently commercially available secondary batteries include nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, lithium-ion secondary batteries, etc. Among them, lithium-ion secondary batteries have attracted attention for their advantages of being able to charge and discharge freely because they hardly exhibit a memory effect compared to nickel-based secondary batteries, having a very low self-discharge rate, and a high energy density.

[0005] This type of lithium-ion secondary battery mainly uses a lithium-based oxide and a carbon material as the positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material, respectively. The lithium-ion secondary battery is assembled by a method in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate coated with such positive electrode active material and negative electrode active material, respectively, and an electrode assembly in which a separator is sandwiched between the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate are housed in a case together with an electrolyte substance.

[0006] Meanwhile, the assembled battery cells undergo a formation process for cell activation and operational testing.

[0007] However, in existing processes, a single tray containing assembled battery cells is primarily transported by conveyor belt while the cells are activated and tested. This process is space-inefficient, takes a long time to complete, and the slow inspection speed extends the tack time in the chemical conversion process, which leads to a decrease in the production efficiency of battery cells. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] This invention was created in view of the circumstances described above, and the problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a battery cell inspection system that can improve the spatial efficiency and production efficiency of the overall battery inspection system by improving the structure so that assembled battery cells are transported to multiple trays and the multiple trays are loaded and unloaded into a cell inspection unit all at once.

[0009] The technical problems that this invention aims to solve are not limited to those described above, and other problems not mentioned should be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the invention below. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The battery cell inspection system according to the present invention may include a transport unit comprising a plurality of conveyors arranged in multiple layers vertically for transporting trays on which assembled battery cells are mounted; a cell inspection unit stacked to correspond to the multiple layers of the transport unit for pre-charging the battery cells and inspecting the battery cells for defects; and an inlet / outlet shuttle configured to move between the cell inspection unit and the transport unit for loading the trays into the cell inspection unit and unloading the trays from the cell inspection unit.

[0011] The loading / unloading shuttle can transport multiple trays during a single loading operation into the cell inspection unit or a single unloading operation from the cell inspection unit.

[0012] The loading / unloading shuttle is configured with multiple layers corresponding to the transport section and the cell inspection unit, and can transport at least one tray to each of the multiple layers of the loading / unloading shuttle.

[0013] The transport unit may be located on the input path side and the output path side of the cell inspection unit.

[0014] The conveying unit may include a first conveying conveyor and a second conveying conveyor positioned vertically above the first conveying conveyor.

[0015] The cell inspection unit may include a first inspection device positioned at a height corresponding to the first conveyor belt, and a second inspection device provided above the first inspection device and positioned at a height corresponding to the second conveyor belt.

[0016] Each of the first and second inspection devices may include a pin plate positioned on the top of the tray, on which a plurality of electrodes are exposed; a bottom plate configured to support the tray, spaced apart from the pin plate by a predetermined distance; and an up / down drive unit connecting the bottom plate and the pin plate, configured to increase or decrease the distance between the bottom plate and the pin plate.

[0017] Each of the first and second inspection devices may further include a jig provided on the bottom plate for supporting and aligning the trays.

[0018] The up / down drive unit may include a drive cylinder, a drive rod with one end connected to the drive cylinder and the other end connected to the bottom plate, and a fixed block connected to the bottom plate that fixes the other end of the drive rod.

[0019] The jig portion may include a jig plate on which the tray is placed, and a ratchet fastener that rotates when the tray is placed on the jig plate to secure both sides of the tray.

[0020] The jig portion may further include a stopper that restricts movement in the loading direction when the tray is loaded onto the jig plate.

[0021] Multiple of the aforementioned cell inspection units may be arranged in a row.

[0022] The entry / exit shuttle can move in a manner that aligns with the longitudinal arrangement of the plurality of cell inspection units.

[0023] The input / output shuttle may include a body portion provided with movable wheels, a first input / output portion provided at a height corresponding to the first conveyor and the first inspection device, and a second input / output portion provided at a height corresponding to the second conveyor and the second inspection device.

[0024] Each of the first input / output portion and the second input / output portion may include a pair of guide rails spaced apart by a distance corresponding to the width of the tray, a gripping fork provided to slide along the guide rails and gripping both side surfaces of the tray, and a fork drive unit for driving the gripping fork.

[0025] The gripping fork may move in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the input / output shuttle from the body portion.

[0026] In the defective inspection of the battery cell, after flowing a predetermined current through the battery cell, the change amount of the voltage of the battery cell may be confirmed to determine whether it is good or bad.

[0027] The battery cell includes an electrode assembly in which a negative electrode plate is provided. In the pre-charge, by charging the battery cell by a predetermined amount to form a charge layer on the negative electrode plate, it is possible to prevent metal foreign matter from oxidizing and forming an electron transfer path.

[0028] The battery cell may be a cylindrical battery.

Advantages of the Invention

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present invention, by improving the structure in which the assembled battery cells are conveyed to a plurality of trays and the plurality of trays are input and output to the cell inspection unit collectively, the space saving and production efficiency of the entire battery inspection system can be improved.

[0030] Furthermore, the cell inspection unit, which performs cell defect inspection and pre-charging, can inspect multiple trays simultaneously, reducing the space occupied by the inspection equipment and improving the space efficiency of the battery inspection system.

[0031] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, multiple trays equipped with battery cells can be simultaneously loaded and unloaded from the cell inspection unit, thereby shortening the inspection time and improving the inspection speed. This shortens the tack time in the chemical conversion process of battery cells and increases the production efficiency of battery cells.

[0032] The drawings accompanying this specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and are intended to further illustrate the technical idea of ​​the invention along with the content of the invention; therefore, the present invention shall not be construed as being limited only to what is shown in the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0033] [Figure 1] This is a plan view showing the layout of a battery cell inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This diagram schematically illustrates a battery testing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view of a tray on which battery cells are mounted and supplied to a battery cell inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view of a cell inspection unit in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a front view of a cell inspection unit in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This is a top view of the bottom plate and jig portion of the cell inspection unit in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] This is a top view of the bottom plate and jig portion of the cell inspection unit in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] This is a perspective view of the inbound / outbound shuttle in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] This diagram schematically shows the state in which the gripping forks and protrusions of the loading / unloading shuttle in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention levitate the tray. [Figure 10] This diagram schematically shows the state in which the gripping forks and protrusions of the loading / unloading shuttle in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention levitate the tray. [Figure 11] This figure shows an example in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a cell inspection unit receives a tray from a transport unit, loads it into the cell inspection unit, and performs cell defect inspection and pre-charging. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a cell inspection unit receives a tray from a transport unit, loads it into the cell inspection unit, and performs cell defect inspection and pre-charging. [Figure 13] This figure shows an example in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a cell inspection unit receives a tray from a transport unit, loads it into the cell inspection unit, and performs cell defect inspection and pre-charging. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0034] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Prior to this, terms and words used in this specification and in the claims are not to be interpreted in their ordinary or dictionary sense, but rather in the sense and concept corresponding to the technical idea of ​​the present invention, in accordance with the principle that the inventor may appropriately define the concept of terms in order to best describe the invention.

[0035] Therefore, the embodiments described herein and the configurations shown in the drawings represent only preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent the entire technical concept of the invention. It should be understood that there are various equivalent and modified embodiments that can be substituted for these at the time of filing this application.

[0036] In the figures, the size of each component or specific part of a component is sometimes exaggerated, omitted, or shown schematically for ease of explanation and clarity. Therefore, the size of each component does not fully reflect its actual size. Furthermore, detailed explanations of known functions or configurations related to the present invention are omitted if it is deemed that such explanations may obscure the gist of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 1 is a plan view showing the layout of a battery cell inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a tray on which battery cells supplied to the battery cell inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention are mounted; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a cell inspection unit in the battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Referring to Figures 1 to 3, a battery cell inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a tray 30 on which battery cells 20 to be inspected are mounted, a transport unit 100 for transporting the tray 30, a cell inspection unit 200 into which the battery cells 20 are loaded and pre-charged and cell defect inspection is performed, and an in / out shuttle 300 for transporting the tray 30 to the transport unit 100 and the cell inspection unit 200.

[0039] The object to be inspected in the battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described. The battery cell 20 is a secondary battery and may be provided as a pouch-type secondary battery, a prismatic secondary battery, or a cylindrical secondary battery. In this embodiment, the description will be limited to the case in which the plurality of battery cells 20 are provided as cylindrical secondary batteries, as shown in Figure 3.

[0040] The tray 30 can be fitted with assembled battery cells 20. The tray 30 is provided in a generally rectangular or square shape when viewed from above, and can accommodate a plurality of battery cells 20 inside. The tray 30 may be provided with mounting grooves 32 (see Figure 13) on which the battery cells 20 are placed. Each battery cell 20 can be supported and fixed in the mounting grooves 32.

[0041] The number of battery cells 20 mounted on the tray 30 can vary; referring to the drawing, 8 x 8 = 64 battery cells 20 can be mounted on one tray. The height of the battery cells 20 mounted on the tray 30 is set to be even lower than the upper edge of the tray 30, and can be set at a level of 80-90% of the height of the tray 30 in the thickness direction.

[0042] Referring primarily to Figures 1 and 2, the transport unit 100 can transport the tray 30 on which the assembled battery cells 20 are mounted. The transport unit 100 may be located on the input path side and the output path side of the cell inspection unit 200. That is, a transport unit 100 may be provided to transport the tray 30 from the assembly end 5 to a position for input into the cell inspection unit 200, and a transport unit 100 may be provided to transport the tray 30 from the output position of the cell inspection unit 200 to a subsequent process (for example, an aging facility 9 or a charging / discharging process). On the other hand, as shown in Figure 1, a station 11 (or a lift device, etc.) may be provided between the assembly end 5 and the transport unit 100.

[0043] The transport unit 100 may have multiple conveyors forming a multi-layered structure in the vertical direction. The transport unit 100 transports each tray 30 in a single layer, but it can be configured as a multi-layered structure that transports them simultaneously at various heights. For this purpose, the transport unit 100 may include multiple conveyors arranged in a vertical line.

[0044] In the following description of this embodiment, we will assume that there are two conveyors, and accordingly, we will describe the case where the cell inspection unit 200 and the input / output shuttle 300 are arranged in two layers.

[0045] Referring primarily to Figure 2, the conveying unit 100 may include a first conveying belt 110 and a second conveying belt 120 positioned vertically above the first conveying belt 110. One tray 30 can be loaded onto each of the first conveying belt 110 and the second conveying belt 120.

[0046] On the other hand, the first conveyor belt 110 and the second conveyor belt 120 may each be equipped with at least one single-tier tray 30 (one tray 30 in Figure 2), which can be varied by adjusting the conveying lengths of the first conveyor belt 110 and the second conveyor belt 120. That is, by extending the length of the conveyors, the lengths of the first conveyor belt 110 and the second conveyor belt 120 can be changed to be even longer than in Figure 2, in which case the number of trays 30 placed on each conveyor belt 110 and 120 may increase.

[0047] The two-tiered structure of the transport unit 100 in this embodiment improves the method of loading trays 30 into and out of the cell inspection unit 200. Specifically, two trays 30, one tier each loaded on the first transport conveyor 110 and the second transport conveyor 120, can be loaded into the cell inspection unit 200 together and then discharged from the cell inspection unit 200 to the transport unit 100. This minimizes the use of existing conveyors in a long, narrow shape, which can lead to congestion of trays 30 on the conveyor and reduce the efficiency of space utilization.

[0048] In addition, compared to an existing single conveyor, two trays 30 (one from the first conveyor 110 and one from the second conveyor 120) can be simultaneously fed into and discharged from the cell inspection unit 200. This shortens the inspection time, improves the inspection speed, and thus improves the overall battery production efficiency.

[0049] The following is a brief explanation of the formation process for activating and testing the assembled battery cells 20. In the formation process, broadly speaking, the battery cells 20 undergo pre-charge / low-current testing. After this, the battery cells 20 go through a series of stages, including a multi-layered stacking process 7, an aging stage using aging equipment 9, and a charge / discharge process. Here, the pre-charge and low-current testing can be performed in the early stages of the formation process.

[0050] In the pre-charging process, the battery cell 20 is charged by a predetermined amount to form a charge layer on the negative electrode plate, thereby preventing metal foreign matter from oxidizing and forming electron transport pathways. Furthermore, in the inspection of defective cells, a predetermined current is passed through the battery cell 20, and then the change in the voltage of the battery cell 20 is checked to determine whether it is good or bad. The pre-charging and low-current inspection processes can be performed via the cell inspection unit 200.

[0051] The cell inspection unit 200 may be a device for performing defect inspection and pre-charging of the battery cells 20. Referring mainly to Figure 1, multiple such cell inspection units 200 may be arranged in a row. In the figure, six units are arranged vertically, and two inspection lines are arranged symmetrically. Buffer sections 130 and 140 may be provided on one side of the cell inspection unit 200.

[0052] Referring primarily to Figure 4, the cell inspection unit 200 may include a first inspection device 210 positioned at a height corresponding to the first transport conveyor 110, and a second inspection device 220 provided above the first inspection device 210 and positioned at a height corresponding to the second transport conveyor 120.

[0053] The cell inspection unit 200 may be arranged in two layers corresponding to the first conveyor belt 110 and the second conveyor belt 120. Thus, the first inspection device 210 and the second inspection device 220 may be arranged in the lower and upper sections of the frame 201, but stacked perpendicularly to each other. In the first inspection device 210 and the second inspection device 220, the height for accommodating the tray 30 may be configured to correspond to the height at which the tray 30 is placed on the first conveyor belt 110 and the second conveyor belt 120, respectively.

[0054] The first inspection device 210 and the second inspection device 220 may be configured to have the same configuration. That is, each of the first inspection device 210 and the second inspection device 220 may include a pin plate 230 on which electrodes 231 are exposed, a bottom plate 240 configured to support the tray 30, and an up / down drive unit 260 connecting the bottom plate 240 and the pin plate 230.

[0055] A power supply unit 202 may be provided at the upper end of the lower and upper sections of the frame 201. The power supply unit 202 can supply power to the electrodes 231 of the pin plate 230. The power supply may be current, voltage, etc., supplied for cell defect inspection and pre-charging.

[0056] The pin plate 230 may be provided so as to be in contact with the bottom surface of the power supply unit 202. The pin plate 230 may be provided so as to protrude downward from the bottom surface of the power supply unit 202. A plurality of electrodes 231 may be exposed at the bottom of the pin plate 230.

[0057] The bottom plate 240 may be spaced apart from the pin plate 230 by a predetermined distance. The jig portion 250 may be provided on the upper surface of the bottom plate 240. The jig portion 250 can place, support, and align the tray 30.

[0058] The up / down drive unit 260 is a device that connects the bottom plate 240 and the pin plate 230. The up / down drive unit 260 can be configured to increase or decrease the distance between the bottom plate 240 and the pin plate 230. For example, with the bottom plate 240 fixed, the pin plate 230 may move downward by the up / down drive unit 260, reducing the distance between the bottom plate 240 and the pin plate 230. Conversely, with the pin plate 230 fixed, the bottom plate 240 may move upward by the up / down drive unit 260, reducing the distance between the bottom plate 240 and the pin plate 230.

[0059] This improves the overall space-intensive and production efficiency of the battery cell inspection system by improving the structure so that assembled battery cells 20 are transported to two trays 30 and multiple trays 30 are loaded and unloaded into the cell inspection unit 200 all at once.

[0060] Furthermore, the cell inspection unit 200, which performs cell defect inspection and pre-charging, can simultaneously inspect battery cells 20 loaded on two trays 30, thereby reducing the space occupied by the inspection equipment and improving the space efficiency of the battery inspection system. In other words, the first inspection device 210 and the second inspection device 220 are arranged vertically in two stages and stacked on top of each other, requiring only the space of one first inspection device 210 horizontally, thus reducing the equipment space of the cell inspection unit 200 and the entire battery inspection system.

[0061] The input / output shuttle 300 may be a device that moves between the cell inspection unit 200 and the transport unit 100. The input / output shuttle 300 can load the tray 30 into the cell inspection unit 200 or unload the tray 30 from the cell inspection unit 200. The input / output shuttle 300 can transport multiple trays 30 in a single loading operation into the cell inspection unit 200 or a single unloading operation from the cell inspection unit 200.

[0062] Furthermore, the inbound / outbound shuttle 300 is configured with multiple layers corresponding to the transport unit 100 and the cell inspection unit 200, and can transport at least one tray 30 to each of the multiple layers of the inbound / outbound shuttle 300. As shown in Figure 2, corresponding to the two layers of the transport unit 100, the inbound / outbound shuttle 300 is configured with two layers and can transport at least one tray 30 to each of the two layers.

[0063] With this implementation configuration, the assembled battery cells 20 are transported to two trays, and the structure is improved so that the two trays 30 are loaded and unloaded from the cell inspection unit 200 all at once. This improves the spatial efficiency and production efficiency of the entire battery inspection system.

[0064] Figure 5 is a front view of the cell inspection unit in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figures 6 and 7 are top views of the bottom plate and jig portion of the cell inspection unit in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0065] The cell inspection unit 200 of the battery cell inspection system according to this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 5 to 7, and again to Figure 4.

[0066] Referring to Figures 5 and 6, the cell inspection unit 200 may include a first inspection device 210 positioned at a height corresponding to the first transport conveyor 110, and a second inspection device 220 provided above the first inspection device 210 and positioned at a height corresponding to the second transport conveyor 120.

[0067] Each of the first inspection device 210 and the second inspection device 220 may include a pin plate 230 positioned on the upper part of the main body and having a plurality of electrodes 231 exposed thereon, a bottom plate 240 spaced a predetermined distance from the pin plate 230, and an up / down drive unit 260 that drives the bottom plate 240 up / down toward the pin plate 230.

[0068] Since the configurations of the first inspection device 210 and the second inspection device 220 are the same, the following explanation will focus specifically on the first inspection device 210.

[0069] The pin plate 230 may be provided in the lower area of ​​the frame 201. The pin plate 230 may be connected to the upper power supply unit 202 and provided to protrude downward from the power supply unit 202. Multiple electrodes 231 may be provided at the bottom of the pin plate 230 so as to be exposed. The multiple electrodes 231 may be provided corresponding to each of the battery cells 20. The electrodes 231 corresponding to each battery cell 20 may be provided as a collection of one or more electrodes 231. For example, the collection of electrodes 231 may consist of a positive electrode, a negative electrode 231, a temperature sensor, etc., although in the figure it is shown as a single electrode 231 for ease of drawing.

[0070] The bottom plate 240 may be spaced apart from the pin plate 230 by a predetermined distance. The bottom plate 240 may be configured to move upward toward the pin plate 230 or downward toward the pin plate 230. A jig portion 250 may be provided on the upper part of the bottom plate 240. Fixing blocks 263 may be provided on both sides of the bottom plate 240.

[0071] The up / down drive unit 260 may include a drive cylinder 261, a drive rod 262 with one end connected to the drive cylinder 261 and the other end connected to the bottom plate 240, and a fixing block 263 connected to the bottom plate 240 and fixing the other end of the drive rod 262.

[0072] The drive rod 262 may have one end connected to a drive cylinder 261 and the other end connected to the bottom plate 240. The fixing block 263 may be positioned on the bottom plate 240 to fix the other end of the drive rod 262. The distance between the bottom plate 240 and the pin plate 230 may be increased or decreased via such an up / down drive unit 260. In this embodiment, the drive rod 262 extends and retracts when the drive cylinder 261 is driven, and the fixing block 263 fixed to the other end moves up / down. This causes the bottom plate 240 to move up / down relative to the pin plate 230.

[0073] Furthermore, the first inspection device 210 may further include a jig portion 250 provided on the bottom plate 240. The jig portion 250 can support and align the tray 30. Referring to Figures 5 and 6, the jig portion 250 may include a jig plate 251 on which the tray 30 is placed, a ratchet fixing device 252 that rotates when the tray 30 is placed on the jig plate 251 to fix both sides of the tray 30, and a stopper 253 that restricts movement in the insertion direction when the tray 30 is inserted into the jig plate 251.

[0074] The jig plate 251 is positioned on top of the bottom plate 240, but may be provided at a predetermined distance from the bottom plate 240. The tray 30 may be placed on top of the jig plate 251.

[0075] The ratchet fixing device 252 may be provided on both sides of the jig plate 251. The ratchet fixing device 252 can align the tray 30, which has been drawn into the first inspection device 210, to a fixed position. When the tray 30 is placed on the jig plate 251, the ratchet fixing device 252 rotates on one side with respect to its pivot axis, as shown in Figure 7, so that the alignment rollers 252a can press against both sides of the tray 30. This enables the tray 30 to be aligned in the left-right direction.

[0076] The stopper 253 may be provided in the upper area of ​​the jig plate 251, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. The stopper 253 can restrict movement in the loading direction when the tray 30 is loaded into the first inspection device 210. In the figures, the loading direction of the tray 30 is upward, and since the stopper 253 is provided in the upper area of ​​the jig plate 251, it is possible to grip the upper end of the loaded tray 30 and align the tray 30 in the vertical direction.

[0077] The ratchet fixing device 252 and stopper 253 configured in this way make it easy to align the tray 30 to a fixed position on the jig plate 251, thereby making it easy to pre-charge the battery cells 20 and inspect the cells for defects using the first inspection device 210.

[0078] Figure 8 is a perspective view of the inlet / outlet shuttle in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figures 9 and 10 schematically show the state in which the gripping fork 360 and projection 361 of the inlet / outlet shuttle in a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention have lifted the tray.

[0079] Referring primarily to Figure 8, the in / out shuttle 300 may be configured in two layers to correspond to the two layers of the transport section 100 and the cell inspection unit 200. For this purpose, the in / out shuttle 300 may include a body section 310 on which movable wheels 320 are provided, a first in / out section 330 provided at a height corresponding to the first transport conveyor 110 and the first inspection device 210, and a second in / out section 340 provided at a height corresponding to the second transport conveyor 120 and the second inspection device 220.

[0080] The body portion 310 may be provided with movable wheels 320 that assist in the movement of the entry / exit shuttle 300 in at least one direction.

[0081] Since the configurations of the first entry / exit section 330 and the second entry / exit section 340 are similar, the configuration of the second entry / exit section 340 will be described below. Referring mainly to Figure 8, the second entry / exit section 340 may include a pair of guide rails 350 spaced apart by an amount corresponding to the width of the tray 30, a gripping fork 360 provided to slide along the guide rails 350 and gripping both sides of the tray 30, and a fork drive unit 362 that drives the gripping fork 360.

[0082] A support plate is provided at the second entrance / exit section 340, and a guide rail 350 can be connected to the support plate so as to be able to move up and down. A rail lifting section 351 may be provided on the support plate.

[0083] The guide rail 350 may be spaced apart by an amount corresponding to the width of the tray 30. One end of the guide rail 350 may be provided to protrude further to one side than the width of the loading / unloading shuttle 300 (width in the Y-axis direction). The guide rail 350 may be provided to guide the movement of the gripping fork 360 when the gripping fork 360 slides and to support external forces applied to the gripping fork 360 (such as the weight of the tray 30).

[0084] The gripping fork 360 is the part that grips and transports the tray 30. The gripping fork 360 can be slidably mounted on the guide rail 350 and coupled to the guide rail 350. The gripping fork 360 can move from the body portion 310 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the loading / unloading shuttle 300.

[0085] A projection 361 may be provided on one surface of the gripping fork 360, and the projection 361 may be provided so as to be able to engage with the locking claw 31 of the tray 30. Referring to Figures 9 and 10, the projection 361 may move upward from the locking claw 31 of the tray 30, causing the tray 30 to float slightly.

[0086] Such a second inlet / outlet section 340 can transport one tray 30 during a single loading operation into the cell inspection unit 200 or a single unloading operation from the cell inspection unit 200. Similarly, as shown in Figure 8, the first inlet / outlet section 330, located vertically below the second inlet / outlet section 340, can also transport one tray 30. That is, as shown in Figure 1, the inlet / outlet shuttle 300 can simultaneously load two trays 30—one each loaded into the first inlet / outlet section 330 and the other into the second inlet / outlet section 340—into the cell inspection unit 200 during a single loading operation, and unload them in the opposite operation. Such an inlet / outlet shuttle 300 can move in line with the longitudinal arrangement of the two cell inspection units 200.

[0087] This configuration allows assembled battery cells 20 to be transported to two trays 30 via an inbound / outbound shuttle 300, enabling a structure where multiple trays 30 can be simultaneously inbound and outbound to the cell inspection unit 200. This improves the spatial efficiency and production efficiency of the overall battery inspection system.

[0088] Furthermore, since the trays 30 are transported on the first conveyor belt 110 and the second conveyor belt 120, and a total of two trays 30 are simultaneously fed into the first inspection device 210 and the second inspection device 220 and discharged together, the time required to load and unload the battery cells 20 can be shortened, thereby speeding up and improving the efficiency of the pre-charging and operational inspection processes of the battery cells 20.

[0089] Figures 11 to 13 show an example of a battery inspection system according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a cell inspection unit receives a tray from the transport unit, loads it into the cell inspection unit, and performs cell defect inspection and pre-charging.

[0090] The inspection process for a battery cell 20 using the battery cell inspection system according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 13.

[0091] First, as shown in Figure 2, one tray 30 is transported from the assembly end 5 to the first conveyor belt 110 and the second conveyor belt 120 of the transport section 100. The trays discharged from the assembly end 5 can be temporarily loaded onto a station 11 (see Figure 1) or the like.

[0092] Next, the loading / unloading shuttle 300 approaches the transport section 100, and the gripping forks 360 on the first loading / unloading section 330 and the second loading / unloading section 340 grip the trays 30 on the first transport conveyor 110 and the second transport conveyor 120, respectively. Specifically, in Figure 8, the gripping forks 360 move from the body section 310 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the loading / unloading shuttle 300 as the fork drive unit 362 operates. The gripping forks 360 slide in the Y-axis direction and approach the trays 30 on the second layer of the transport section 100, although this is not shown in the figure.

[0093] Then, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, the rail lifting section 351 operates to push up the guide rail 350, causing the protruding portion 361 of the gripping fork 360 to catch on the locking claw 31 of the tray 30, thereby levitating the tray 30. Then, as shown in Figure 11, the gripping fork 360 moves again towards the body section 310 and is placed on the loading / unloading shuttle 300. The first loading / unloading section 330 in the figure shows this placed state. This operation process can be performed simultaneously and collectively by the first loading / unloading section 330 and the second loading / unloading section 340, but for ease of explanation, only the operation configuration of the second loading / unloading section 340 is shown in the figure.

[0094] Next, the entry / exit shuttle 300 moves to the empty cell inspection unit 200 in Figure 2.

[0095] Next, the loading / unloading shuttle 300 loads the tray 30 into the cell inspection unit 200. Specifically, as shown in Figure 12, the gripping fork 360 of the second loading / unloading section 340 slides against the second inspection device 220, and the gripped tray 30 moves to the upper surface of the jig section 250 of the second inspection device 220. During the movement of the tray 30, the stopper 253 in Figure 7 catches on a certain area on the upper part of the tray 30, restricting its upward movement. Then, as shown in Figure 8, the rail lifting section 351 moves downward to place the tray 30 on the upper surface of the jig section 250.

[0096] At this time, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the ratchet fixing device 252 rotates slightly, and the alignment rollers 252a press against both sides of the tray 30, thereby completing the substantially left-right alignment of the tray 30. This process of loading the tray 30 into the cell inspection unit 200 can be performed not only in the second inspection device 220 but also in the first inspection device 210.

[0097] Next, the cell inspection unit 200 pre-charges the battery cell 20 and performs a defect inspection of the cell. Referring to Figure 13, the drive cylinder 261 drives the drive rod 262, causing the fixed block 263 fixed to the other end to move upward, which in turn causes the bottom plate 240 to move upward relative to the pin plate 230. The battery cell 20 makes electrical contact with the electrodes 231 on the pin plate 230. After this, the battery cell 20 is pre-charged and a defect inspection of the cell is performed.

[0098] On the other hand, once the inspection in the cell inspection unit 200 is completed, the tray 30 is discharged from the cell inspection unit 200. This discharge process of the tray 30 is carried out in the reverse order of the input process described above, and finally the tray 30 is discharged to the first conveyor belt 110 and the second conveyor belt 120 of the transport section 100 on the discharge route side, forming a stacked product 7 with multiple layers during the discharge process, after which subsequent processes such as an aging stage using the aging equipment 9 and a charge / discharge process can be carried out sequentially.

[0099] This implementation configuration allows assembled battery cells 20 to be transported to two trays 30, and multiple trays 30 to be simultaneously entered into and exited by the cell inspection unit 200. This improves the spatial efficiency and production efficiency of the overall battery inspection system.

[0100] Furthermore, the cell inspection unit 200, which performs cell defect inspection and pre-charging, can simultaneously inspect battery cells 20 loaded on two trays 30 at once, thereby reducing the space occupied by the inspection equipment and improving the space efficiency of the battery inspection system.

[0101] With this implementation configuration, two trays 30, each loaded with battery cells 20, can be simultaneously fed into the cell inspection unit 200 and discharged in a batch. This shortens the inspection time and improves the inspection speed, thereby reducing the tack time in the chemical conversion process of the battery cells 20 and increasing the production efficiency of the battery cells 20.

[0102] As described above, although the present invention has been explained with limited embodiments and drawings, the technical idea of ​​the present invention is not limited in any way to these, and it goes without saying that it can be implemented by persons with ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs with various modifications and variations within the equivalent scope of the technical idea and claims of the present invention.

[0103] On the other hand, while directional terms such as up, down, left, right, front, and back have been used in this specification, these terms are used merely for ease of explanation, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that they may vary depending on the position of the object in question, the observer's position, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 11 stations 20 battery cells 30-tier tray 30 trays 31 Locking claw 32 Mounting groove 100 Conveying section 110 First conveyor 120 Second conveyor 130 Buffer section 140 Buffer section 200 Cell Inspection Unit 201 frames 202 Power supply section 210 First inspection device 220 Second inspection device 230 Pin Plate 231 Electrode, negative electrode 240 Bottom Plate 250 Jig section 251 Jig Plate 252 Ratchet fasteners 253 Stopper 260 Down drive unit 261 Drive Cylinder 262 Drive Rod 263 Fixed Block 300 Shuttle Buses 310 Fuselage 320 movable wheels 330 First inlet / outlet section 340 Second Inlet / Outlet Section 350 Guide Rail 351 Rail lifting section 360 Gripping Fork 361 Protrusion 362 Fork drive unit

Claims

1. A transport unit including multiple conveyors arranged in multiple layers vertically, the transport unit transports trays on which assembled battery cells are mounted, A cell inspection unit including a plurality of inspection devices arranged in a multi-tiered arrangement at a height corresponding to the plurality of conveyors forming the multi-tiered arrangement of the transport section, the cell inspection unit performing pre-charging of the battery cells and defect inspection of the battery cells, An inbound / outbound shuttle configured to move between the cell inspection unit and the transport unit, the inbound / outbound shuttle for loading the tray into the cell inspection unit and for unloading the tray from the cell inspection unit, A battery cell inspection system, including the battery cell inspection system.

2. The battery cell inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the loading / unloading shuttle transports a plurality of trays during a single loading operation into the cell inspection unit or a single unloading operation from the cell inspection unit.

3. The aforementioned inbound / outbound shuttle has a multi-layered structure corresponding to the transport section and the cell inspection unit, The battery cell inspection system according to claim 2, wherein at least one tray is transported to each of the multi-stage layers of the inbound / outbound shuttle.

4. The battery cell inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit is located on the input path side and the output path side of the cell inspection unit.

5. The aforementioned transport unit is The first conveyor belt, A second conveyor is positioned vertically above the first conveyor, The battery cell inspection system according to claim 3, including the above.

6. The aforementioned multiple inspection devices, A first inspection device positioned at a height corresponding to the first conveyor belt, A second inspection device provided above the first inspection device, the second inspection device being positioned at a height corresponding to the second conveyor belt, The battery cell inspection system according to claim 5, including the above.

7. Each of the first inspection device and the second inspection device is: A pin plate positioned on top of the tray, comprising a pin plate on which multiple electrodes are exposed, A bottom plate configured to support the tray, comprising a bottom plate separated from the pin plate by a predetermined distance, An up / down drive unit connecting the bottom plate and the pin plate, configured to increase or decrease the distance between the bottom plate and the pin plate, The battery cell inspection system according to claim 6, including the following:

8. Each of the first inspection device and the second inspection device is: The battery cell inspection system according to claim 7, further comprising a jig portion provided on the bottom plate for supporting and aligning the tray.

9. The aforementioned up / down drive unit is Drive cylinder and A drive rod, with one end connected to the drive cylinder and the other end connected to the bottom plate, A fixing block coupled to the bottom plate, the fixing block for fixing the other end of the drive rod, A battery cell inspection system according to claim 7 or 8, including the following:

10. The jig portion is, A jig plate on which the aforementioned tray is placed, A ratchet fastener that rotates to secure both sides of the tray when the tray is placed on the jig plate, The battery cell inspection system according to claim 8, including the following:

11. The battery cell inspection system according to claim 10, wherein the jig portion further includes a stopper that restricts movement in the insertion direction when the tray is inserted into the jig plate.

12. The battery cell inspection system according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of the cell inspection units are arranged in a row.

13. The battery cell inspection system according to claim 12, wherein the inbound / outbound shuttle moves in alignment with the longitudinal arrangement of the plurality of cell inspection units.

14. The aforementioned entry / exit shuttle is The torso is equipped with movable wheels, A first entrance / exit section provided at a height corresponding to the first transport conveyor and the first inspection device, A second entrance / exit section is provided at a height corresponding to the second transport conveyor and the second inspection device, The battery cell inspection system according to claim 13, including the following:

15. The first inlet / outlet and the second inlet / outlet are, A pair of guide rails spaced apart by an amount corresponding to the width of the tray, A gripping fork provided to slide along the guide rail, comprising a gripping fork that grips both sides of the tray, A fork drive unit that drives the gripping fork, The battery cell inspection system according to claim 14, including the following:

16. The battery cell inspection system according to claim 15, wherein the gripping fork moves from the body portion in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the inlet / outlet shuttle.

17. The battery cell inspection system according to claim 1, wherein, in the inspection of defects in the battery cell, a predetermined current is passed through the battery cell, and then the amount of change in the voltage of the battery cell is checked to determine whether it is good or bad.

18. The battery cell includes an electrode assembly on which a negative electrode plate is provided. The battery cell inspection system according to claim 1, wherein in the pre-charging, the battery cell is charged by a predetermined amount to form a charge layer on the negative electrode plate, thereby preventing metal foreign matter from oxidizing and forming an electron transport path.

19. The battery cell inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell is a cylindrical battery.

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