CN218448044U

CN218448044U - Formation clamp and formation equipment

Info

Publication number: CN218448044U
Application number: CN202222210586.7U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 聂民昆; 刘长清; 黄祥虎; 高云峰
Original assignee: Shenzhen Hans Dingsheng Intelligent Equipment Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Hans Dingsheng Intelligent Equipment Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-22
Filing date: 2022-08-22
Publication date: 2023-02-03
Anticipated expiration: 2032-08-22

Abstract

The application provides a change into anchor clamps and change into equipment includes: a support assembly; the laminated assemblies are arranged on the support assemblies at intervals along a first direction and can move relative to the support assemblies, and accommodating spaces are formed among the laminated assemblies and used for wiring the laminated assemblies and/or mounting other functional structures on the laminated assemblies; and the driving assembly is arranged on the supporting assembly, is respectively in driving connection with each group of the layer plate assemblies and drives the layer plate assemblies to move along a second direction, and the second direction is vertical to the first direction. It can be seen that the formation clamp of the application can facilitate wiring and mounting other functional structures, and has safety and stability.

Description

Formation clamp and formation equipment

Technical Field

The application belongs to the technical field of new energy batteries, and more specifically relates to a formation clamp and formation equipment.

Background

With the rapid development of new energy automobiles, the market demand of lithium batteries is gradually increased, so that the processing requirement on the lithium batteries is higher and higher. For example, in the production process of a lithium battery, the lithium battery needs to be formed, and the formation of the battery is a process of activating positive and negative electrode substances in the battery in a certain charging and discharging manner, and improving the charging and discharging performance of the battery and the comprehensive performance of self-discharging, storage and the like, and is called as formation.

The structure that becomes is carried out the battery when becoming anchor clamps, and it generally is provided with the plywood of a plurality of layers to become anchor clamps, and every layer of layer is the clamping battery between the plywood, heats the battery and applys pressure to the battery, consequently all need connect some power cords on each plywood, and current becomes anchor clamps wiring space little, causes the wiring confusion and influences production safety.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present application provides a formation clamp and a formation device, so as to solve the technical problems mentioned in the background art.

The technical scheme adopted by the application is as follows: a formation jig, comprising:

a support assembly;

the laminated assemblies are arranged on the support assemblies at intervals along a first direction and can move relative to the support assemblies, and accommodating spaces are formed among the laminated assemblies and used for wiring the laminated assemblies and/or mounting other functional structures on the laminated assemblies; and

and the driving assembly is arranged on the supporting assembly and is respectively in driving connection with each group of the layer plate assemblies to drive the layer plate assemblies to move along a second direction, and the second direction is vertical to the first direction.

It can be seen that among the formation anchor clamps of this application, set up on supporting component through dividing into the plywood subassembly multiunit for can leave an accommodation space between the plywood subassembly, this accommodation space can make things convenient for the plywood subassembly wiring and install other functional structure, and hide some power cords in accommodation space and can reduce the power cord and receive external interference, improve the security and the stability that become anchor clamps. In addition, the multiple groups of laminate assemblies are respectively in driving connection with the same driving assembly, synchronous movement of the multiple groups of laminate assemblies can be achieved, formation efficiency is improved, and cost of the formation fixture is reduced.

Further, the support assembly includes:

the supporting pieces are oppositely arranged in the second direction;

the laminated board assemblies are movably arranged on the corresponding guide pieces respectively; and

the driving assembly is arranged on the supporting piece and is in driving connection with each group of the layer plate assemblies respectively.

Further, the driving assembly includes:

the transmission piece is movably arranged on the guide piece, is positioned at one end of the laminate assembly and is respectively in transmission connection with each group of laminate assemblies; and

and the driving piece is in driving connection with the driving piece.

Further, the driving assembly further comprises a pressure sensor, and the pressure sensor is arranged between the driving end of the driving piece and the transmission piece.

Further, each of the laminate assemblies includes:

the laminated plates are respectively movably arranged on the supporting component along a second direction, the laminated plates are connected through flexible connecting pieces, and workpieces are placed between the adjacent laminated plates; and

the driving assembly is in driving connection with the layer plate on the uppermost layer.

Furthermore, two ends of the laminate in the third direction are respectively provided with a guide hole, and the laminate is movably arranged on the support component through the guide holes; and

the two ends of the laminated plate in the third direction are connected through the flexible connecting piece, and the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction respectively.

Further, a gap is reserved between the guide hole and the support assembly.

Furthermore, one end or two ends of the laminate in the third direction are respectively provided with a PCB, the PCBs are respectively contacted with contact ends of the workpieces, a power line connector of each PCB is arranged at one end, close to the flexible connecting piece, of the PCB, and a power line connected with the power line connector of the PCB extends in the third direction and is connected with an external power supply.

Furthermore, a pressing piece is arranged on the bottom surface of one end, far away from the bearing surface for bearing the workpiece, of the layer plate, corresponding to the position of the PCB, and the pressing piece is used for pressing the contact end of the workpiece on the PCB.

Furthermore, the laminate is also provided with a heating element, and a power line of the heating element is connected with an external power supply through the accommodating space; and/or

The laminate is also provided with a heat detecting needle, and a power line of the heat detecting needle is connected with an external power supply through the accommodating space; and/or

And the bottom surface of the bearing surface for bearing the workpiece in each laminate and/or the bottom surface of one end far away from the bearing surface can be respectively provided with a scratch-resistant material.

Furthermore, a flexible insulating part is arranged between the adjacent laminates, a limiting groove is formed between the adjacent laminates by the flexible insulating part, and the limiting groove positions the workpiece on the laminates.

The formation equipment comprises a base, wherein the base is provided with a plurality of formation clamps according to any one of the above items.

Further, a power supply is arranged in the base, and a power line on the formation fixture is connected with the power supply.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art descriptions will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without inventive exercise.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a formation jig according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1 at A;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a flexible insulating member in a formation jig according to the embodiment in fig. 1.

Reference numerals:

100. a support assembly; 110. a support member; 120. a guide member;

200. a laminate assembly; 210. laminating the board; 220. a flexible connector; 230. scratch-resistant materials; 240. a guide hole; 250. mounting a plate; 260. a PCB board; 270. a power line connector; 280. a compression member; 290a, a heating element; 290b, a heat detecting needle;

300. a drive assembly; 310. a transmission member; 320. a drive member; 330. a pressure sensor;

400. an accommodating space;

500. a flexible insulating member; 510. a limiting groove;

1000. a base.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and advantageous effects to be solved by the present application clearer, the present application is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or be indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or be indirectly connected to the other element.

It will be understood that the terms "length," "width," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and the like are used in an orientation or positional relationship indicated in the drawings to facilitate the description of the application and to simplify the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element so referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed in a particular orientation, and be constructed in operation as a limitation of the application.

Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or to implicitly indicate the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the present application, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically limited otherwise.

The application provides a formation clamp which is generally applied to formation equipment, and the formation clamp can activate positive and negative substances in a battery in a charging and discharging mode of the battery, so that the charging and discharging performance and the comprehensive performances of self-discharging, storage and the like of the battery are improved. For example, in lithium battery production, can be with a lithium cell respectively in the material loading becomes anchor clamps, become anchor clamps and become respectively to each lithium cell and become, become the back and carry out the unloading to each lithium cell again.

Referring to fig. 1, the formation jig includes a support assembly 100, a plurality of sets of laminate 210 assemblies 200, and a drive assembly 300. The plurality of sets of layer plate 210 assemblies 200 are respectively movably arranged on the support assemblies 100, and the layer plate 210 assemblies 200 are respectively used for loading workpieces and carrying out formation on the workpieces. The driving assembly 300 is respectively connected with each group of the laminate 210 assemblies 200 in a driving way and is used for driving the laminate 210 assemblies 200 to move relative to the supporting assembly 100, so that the laminate 210 assemblies 200 apply pressing force to the loaded workpiece, and the effect of the formation is improved.

Specifically, a plurality of sets of the laminate 210 assemblies 200 may be disposed on the support assembly 100 at intervals in the first direction, respectively, and the laminate 210 assemblies 200 may be movable relative to the support assembly 100, and an accommodating space 400 is formed between each set of the laminate 210 assemblies 200, the accommodating space 400 being used for wiring of the laminate 210 assemblies 200 and/or for mounting other functional components on the laminate 210 assemblies 200.

Wherein, two sets of the laminate 210 assemblies 200 can be arranged, the two sets of the laminate 210 assemblies 200 are respectively arranged on the support assembly 100 at intervals along a first direction, one sides of the two sets of the laminate 210 assemblies 200 departing from each other can be used for loading and unloading of workpieces, an accommodating space 400 is formed between the sides of the two sets of the laminate 210 assemblies 200 which are close to each other, and the first direction can be an X-axis direction in the drawing.

It can be understood that the laminate 210 assembly 200 is used for forming a workpiece, that is, the laminate 210 assembly 200 is used for charging and discharging the workpiece, so that a plurality of power lines are connected to the laminate 210 assembly 200 and used for supplying power to the laminate 210 assembly 200, in addition, some laminate 210 assemblies 200 may further include a heating structure, a temperature detecting structure and the like, and the heating structure and the temperature detecting structure are also connected with some power lines, so that the power lines can be connected with an external power supply through the accommodating space 400, wiring is facilitated, feeding and discharging of the workpiece cannot be influenced, interference of the power lines in the process of feeding and discharging of the workpiece is prevented, and the whole forming fixture is safer and more stable.

The driving assembly 300 is disposed on the supporting assembly 100, and the driving assembly 300 is respectively connected with each set of the layer 210 assemblies 200 in a driving manner, and drives the layer 210 assemblies 200 to move along the second direction, so that the layer 210 assemblies 200 can apply pressure to the workpiece loaded on the layer 210 assemblies 200 and press the workpiece. The second direction is perpendicular to the first direction, and the second direction may be a Z-axis direction in the drawing.

It can be seen that, in the formation jig of the present application, the layer board 210 assemblies 200 are divided into a plurality of groups and disposed on the support assembly 100, so that an accommodation space 400 can be left between the layer board 210 assemblies 200, the accommodation space 400 can facilitate the wiring of the layer board 210 assemblies 200 and the installation of other functional structures, and hiding some power lines in the accommodation space 400 can reduce the interference of the power lines from the outside, thereby improving the safety and stability of the formation jig. In addition, the multiple groups of laminate 210 assemblies 200 are respectively in driving connection with the same driving assembly 300, synchronous movement of the multiple groups of laminate 210 assemblies 200 can be achieved, formation efficiency is improved, and cost of a formation clamp is reduced.

Referring to fig. 1, the support assembly 100 may include a support member 110 and a guide member 120. The supporting members 110 are oppositely arranged in the second direction, the guiding members 120 are respectively arranged between the two supporting members 110 at intervals in the first direction, each group of the laminate 210 assemblies 200 is respectively movably arranged on the corresponding guiding member 120, the driving assembly 300 is arranged on the supporting members 110, the driving assembly 300 is respectively in driving connection with each group of the laminate 210 assemblies 200, and the driving assembly 300 respectively drives each group of the laminate 210 assemblies 200 to move on the guiding members 120 in the second direction. The guiding elements 120 can be guiding rods, which on the one hand serve to guide the laminate 210 assembly 200 and on the other hand serve to support the two supports 110.

Of course, in order to improve the supporting and guiding effects, a plurality of, for example, two, guides 120 may be respectively disposed at intervals along the first direction in the third direction, and both ends of the layer board 210 assembly 200 in the third direction are respectively movably disposed on the guides 120. The third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and the third direction may be a Y-axis direction in the drawing.

Referring to fig. 1, the driving assembly 300 includes a driving member 310 and a driving member 320. The driving member 310 is movably disposed on the guiding member 120, the driving member 310 is disposed at one end of the layer 210 assembly 200 and is respectively connected to each group of layer 210 assemblies 200 in a driving manner, the driving member 320 is disposed on the supporting member 110, the driving member 320 is connected to the driving member 310 in a driving manner, and the driving member 320 respectively drives each group of layer 210 assemblies 200 to move through the driving member 310. Wherein the driving member 320 may be a cylinder.

In use, the driving member 320 moves on the guiding member 120 via the driving transmission member 310 in the second direction, so that the guiding member 120 drives the layer board 210 assembly 200 to move in the second direction.

Further, the driving assembly 300 further includes a pressure sensor 330, and the pressure sensor 330 is disposed between the driving end of the driving member 320 and the transmission member 310. During the driving of the driving member 310 by the driving member 320, the pressure sensor 330 detects the amount of pressure exerted by the driving member 320 on the driving member 310, and further detects the amount of pressure exerted by the driving member 320 on the laminate 210 assembly 200, so as to prevent the workpieces in the laminate 210 assembly 200 from being crushed.

Referring to fig. 2, each of the laminate 210 assemblies 200 includes a plurality of laminates 210, the plurality of laminates 210 are movably disposed on the support assembly 100 along the second direction, the laminates 210 are connected by a flexible connection member 220, and a workpiece is disposed between adjacent laminates 210. Wherein the laminate 210 may be an aluminum sheet.

The driving assembly 300 is drivingly connected to the uppermost layer 210, and the driving assembly 300 drives the uppermost layer 210 to move, and further drives the other layers 210 to move through the flexible connecting member 220. Wherein the flexible connector 220 may be a conveyor belt.

Specifically, the plurality of laminates 210 are movably disposed on the guide 120 along the second direction, and the transmission members 310 are respectively in driving connection with the uppermost laminate 210.

When pressure is required to be applied to the work piece, the driving member 320 drives the driving member 310 to move in a direction approaching the ply 210, and each ply 210 can move in a desired approaching direction, i.e., downward in the drawing, under the action of gravity and the driving member 320, and at this time, the flexible connecting member 220 is folded, and the work piece is pressed onto the next ply 210 by the previous ply 210.

When it is desired to release the work piece, the driving member 320 drives the driving member 310 to move away from the laminates 210, and each laminate 210 moves in a direction away from the other, i.e., upward in the drawing, under the action of the driving member 320 and the flexible connecting member 220, so that the work piece is released.

Optionally, a scratch-resistant material 230 may be disposed on the carrying surface of each laminate 210 and/or on the bottom surface of the laminate at an end remote from the carrying surface. The scratch-resistant material 230 may be silica gel or rubber, which can prevent the surface of the workpiece from being scratched during the pressing process, and plays an insulating role.

In the above structure, the flexible connecting element 220 connects the layers 210, so that the driving element 320 can drive each layer 210 to move.

Further, guide holes 240 may be respectively formed at both ends of the laminate 210 in the third direction, and the laminate 210 is movably disposed on the support assembly 100 through the guide holes 240.

Specifically, in order to facilitate the processing of the guide holes 240, mounting plates 250 may be disposed at both ends of the laminate 210 in the third direction, the guide holes 240 are disposed on the mounting plates 250, and the laminate 210 is movably disposed on the guide 120 of the support assembly 100 through the guide holes 240.

Further, the laminate 210 is connected between both ends in the third direction by a flexible connection 220. That is, the flexible connecting members 220 are disposed at both ends of the laminate 210 in the third direction, that is, at positions close to the guide members 120, and the positions can prevent the flexible connecting members 220 from affecting the loading and unloading of the workpiece, and can also reduce the influence on the wiring.

In particular, the flexible connector 220 may be disposed on the mounting plate 250 in a manner that does not occupy other spatial locations of the laminate 210 and does not interfere with wiring.

Further, a gap (not shown) is left between the guide hole 240 and the support member 100. Specifically, a gap is left between the guide hole 240 and the guide 120, and the gap prevents the laminate 210 from being jammed with the guide 120.

It can be understood that the layer 210 is provided in plurality and the layers 210 are connected to each other by the flexible connection member 220, so that the work placed on the layer 210 easily causes the layer 210 to be inclined, and when the layer 210 is inclined, if there is no gap between the guide hole 240 and the guide 120 for the layer 210 to be inclined, the layer 210 is easily locked with the guide 120.

Further, PCB boards 260 may be further provided at one or both ends of the laminate 210 in the third direction, respectively. When a workpiece is placed on the laminate 210, a contact portion (e.g., an electrode) on the workpiece contacts the PCB 260, and the PCB 260 charges and discharges the workpiece.

Specifically, when the PCB 260 is disposed at one end of the layer 210, that is, one work piece can be placed on one layer 210, one work piece can be formed.

When the PCB 260 is disposed at both ends of the laminate 210, that is, two workpieces can be placed on one laminate 210, respectively, and the two workpieces are formed.

Further, the power line connector 270 of each PCB 260 is disposed at one end of the PCB 260 near the flexible connector 220, and the power line connected to the power line connector 270 of the PCB 260 extends in the third direction and is connected to an external power source.

It can be appreciated that, in some embodiments, in order to prevent the layer board 210 from being stuck to the guide 120, a certain amount of clearance (which may be determined according to actual conditions) is generally left between the guide hole 240 provided on the layer board 210 and the guide 120, and after the certain amount of clearance is left, the layer board 210 may be inclined more easily by the action of the workpiece, so that the power line connector 270 of the PCB 260 is disposed at an end of the PCB 260 close to the flexible connector 220, and the power line connected to the power line connector 270 of the PCB 260 extends in the third direction and is connected to an external power source, so that the power line can play a role of tensioning the layer board 210, and the power line connected to the PCB 260 is generally thicker due to the need of an excessively large current, so as to better balance the layer board 210.

Referring to fig. 2, a pressing member 280 is disposed on a bottom surface of the layer board 210, which is away from an end of the carrying surface carrying the workpiece, and corresponds to the PCB 260, and the pressing member 280 is used for pressing the contact end of the workpiece on the PCB 260, so as to ensure that the contact end of the workpiece can be fully contacted with the PCB 260.

Alternatively, the thickness of the pressing member 280 may be adapted to the thickness of the workpiece. The pressing piece 280 adaptive to the thickness of the workpiece can play a role in limiting between two adjacent layer plates 210, so that the workpiece between the two layer plates 210 is prevented from being crushed.

Referring to fig. 2, in some work piece formation processes, the work pieces need to be in a hot press state, so the formation jig may further include heating members 290a, the heating members 290a being disposed on the laminate 210. Specifically, the heating members 290a may be disposed in a plurality and respectively disposed inside the laminate 210 to ensure uniform heating of the laminate 210. Wherein the heating member 290a may be a heating rod.

Further, the power line of the heating member 290a is connected to an external power source through the receiving space 400. It can be understood that the power lines of the heating members 290a are connected to an external power source through the accommodating space 400, so that the accommodating space 400 can accommodate a sufficient number of power lines, and thus the heating members 290a on the laminate 210 can be provided in plurality, and the power lines of the plurality of heating members 290a are connected to the external power source through the accommodating space 400, so that the power lines of the heating members 290a can be separated from the power lines of the PCB 260, thereby being better wired, and at the same time, the power lines of the heating members 290a can be prevented from affecting the feeding and discharging of the workpiece.

The formation jig may further include a heat detection pin 290b, the heat detection pin 290b is disposed on the laminate 210, and the heat detection pin 290b is used for detecting the temperature of the laminate 210, so as to better control the heating condition of the laminate 210 by the heating element 290 a.

Further, the power line of the heat sensing needle 290b is connected to an external power source through the receiving space 400.

It can be understood that since the accommodation space 400 has a space of a sufficient size to route the power lines of the heat sensing pins 290b, the heat sensing pins 290b may be disposed at the center inside the laminate 210, or a plurality of heat sensing pins 290b may be disposed to improve the accuracy of temperature detection of the laminate 210.

With reference to fig. 2 and 3, the formation jig may further include a flexible insulating member 500, the flexible insulating member 500 is disposed between adjacent laminates 210, and the flexible insulating member 500 forms a limiting groove 510 between the adjacent laminates 210, the limiting groove 510 positions a workpiece on the laminate 210, and the flexible insulating member 500 may further serve to isolate the workpiece from the laminates 210. The flexible insulating member 500 may be made of highland barley paper or Mylar paper, and the limiting groove 510 may be substantially U-shaped.

Specifically, the flexible insulation member 500 may be folded like a "U" between the adjacent laminates 210, and both ends of the flexible insulation member 500 may be detachably disposed on the sidewalls of two adjacent laminates 210 by fasteners such as screws, respectively.

It can be understood that the overhead structure formed between two adjacent laminates 210 is used for accommodating a workpiece, and in the process of feeding the workpiece, the workpiece is easy to drop from the other side, and the workpiece is not easy to be positioned in the process of feeding the workpiece, and the contact precision of the workpiece contact part and the PCB 260 may be affected, so that the formation effect is affected, therefore, in the application, the flexible insulating member 500 arranged between the adjacent laminates 210 forms the limiting groove 510 to well solve the problem, and the flexible insulating member 500 can isolate the workpiece from the laminates 210 when the workpiece is in short circuit, fire, and the like, and prevent the laminates 210 and other functional structures arranged on the laminates 210 from being damaged.

In addition, this application still provides one kind and becomes equipment, and it includes base 1000 to be provided with a plurality of above-mentioned formation anchor clamps on base 1000.

Further, a power supply is arranged in the base 1000, and various power lines on the formation clamp are connected with the power supply.

It should be noted that, since the formation equipment adopts the formation fixture in the above application, the formation equipment at least has the beneficial effects brought by the formation fixture, and details are not repeated herein.

The present invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments shown and described, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features herein disclosed.

Claims

1. A forming jig, comprising:

a support assembly;

2. The forming jig of claim 1, wherein the support assembly comprises:

the supporting pieces are oppositely arranged in the second direction;

3. The forming jig of claim 2, wherein the drive assembly comprises:

and the driving piece is in driving connection with the driving piece.

4. The formation jig of claim 3, wherein the drive assembly further comprises a pressure sensor disposed between the drive end of the drive member and the drive member.

5. A forming jig according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each of the laminate assemblies respectively comprises:

6. The formation jig according to claim 5, wherein guide holes are respectively provided at both ends of the laminate in the third direction, and the laminate is movably disposed on the support member through the guide holes; and

7. The forming jig of claim 6, wherein a gap is left between the guide hole and the support member.

8. The forming jig of claim 6, further comprising a PCB board disposed at one or both ends of the laminate board in the third direction, the PCB board contacting the contact end of the workpiece, the power line connector of each PCB board being disposed at an end of the PCB board adjacent to the flexible connector, and the power line connector of the PCB board connecting to the power line extending in the third direction and connecting to an external power source.

9. The forming jig of claim 8, wherein a pressing member is provided on a bottom surface of the layer board at an end thereof remote from the carrying surface for carrying the workpiece, the pressing member being for pressing the contact end of the workpiece against the PCB board.

10. The formation jig of claim 5, wherein the laminate is further provided with a heating member, and a power supply line of the heating member is connected to an external power supply through the accommodation space; and/or

The laminated plate is also provided with a heat probe, and a power line of the heat probe is connected with an external power supply through the accommodating space; and/or

11. The forming jig of claim 5, further comprising flexible insulation between adjacent plies, wherein the flexible insulation forms a retaining groove between adjacent plies, the retaining groove retaining a work piece on the plies.

12. A formation equipment, characterized by comprising a base, wherein a plurality of formation clamps as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 are arranged on the base.

13. The chemical conversion equipment of claim 12, wherein a power supply is arranged in the base, and a power line on the chemical conversion clamp is connected with the power supply.