Rotatable Cell Magazines for Flexible Battery Module Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for filling battery modules with cylindrical battery cells lack flexibility and require significant modifications when the arrangement or pole position of the cells changes, limiting throughput and adaptability.
Innovation Solution
A device with a magazine system featuring two rotatable magazines, a first drive unit for moving magazines between filling and transfer positions, and additional drive units for precise alignment and support of components, allowing for high-throughput and flexible handling of components without extensive modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple battery cells are inserted into the receiving housing at the same time, then throughput is improved, but flexibility to change cell arrangement and pole position deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into multiple independent magazine units (first magazine and second magazine), each capable of holding and supplying cells independently. This segmentation allows parallel operation where one magazine fills while another empties, maintaining high throughput while enabling flexible reconfiguration for different cell arrangements and pole positions by simply changing which magazine is used or how cells are oriented within magazines.
Solution Approach 2:
The magazine units are designed to be rotatable on the carrier element, allowing dynamic repositioning between filling position and transfer position. This dynamic capability enables the system to adapt to different cell arrangements and pole positions without extensive modifications, as magazines can be rotated to present cells in different orientations and positions during the filling process.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the arrangement of cells within the receiving housing changes, then adaptability is improved, but modification effort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The magazine units serve multiple functions: they can hold cells in different orientations, supply cells to different positions in the receiving housing, and accommodate different pole positions. This multi-functionality is achieved through the rotatable design and standardized interface with the filling unit, allowing the same magazine structure to adapt to various cell arrangements without requiring custom modifications for each configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
Cells are pre-positioned and oriented within the magazines during the filling process, with the correct alignment and pole position already established before transfer to the receiving housing. This preliminary action eliminates the need for extensive modifications when changing cell arrangements, as the system can simply reconfigure which pre-positioned cells are transferred and in what sequence, rather than modifying the entire handling system.
3Manufacturing precision
If individual components are delivered to the end product, then alignment precision is improved, but throughput may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous throughput by operating with multiple magazines in parallel: while one magazine is being emptied and cells are being individually aligned and transferred to the receiving housing, another magazine is simultaneously being filled. This continuous operation ensures that individual component delivery and precise alignment do not bottleneck the overall throughput, as the filling process continues uninterrupted.
Solution Approach 2:
Cells are pre-aligned and positioned correctly within the magazines before transfer, with the first element for lateral support and second element for vertical support already in place. This preliminary positioning ensures that when cells are individually delivered to the receiving housing, they are already in the correct alignment and orientation, eliminating the need for time-consuming realignment operations during transfer and maintaining high throughput.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for handling components includes a carrier element and at least two magazines arranged thereon. Each magazine is displaceably held on the carrier element, and each magazine has a receiving unit with a plurality of receiving locations for one component each. A first drive unit is coupled to the carrier element to move a magazine into a filling position and into a transfer position. A filling unit is designed to bring a component into a receiving location of the magazine positioned in the filling position. Each receiving location is assigned a first element for lateral support of a component and a second element for vertical support of the component. The first element and the second element are displaceable relative to one another to bring the component held in the receiving location into a transfer position in which the component can be received by a downstream handling device.