CN220679818U - Compression device, welding equipment and battery production system - Google Patents

Abstract

The application relates to a closing device, welding equipment and battery production system, including two sets of pressing the group, two sets of pressing the group along first direction interval arrangement, and each set of pressing the group all includes two at least pressing the piece, and the second direction interval arrangement in first direction is followed crossing to these two at least pressing the piece of each set of pressing the group. Wherein, in each group compress tightly the group, at least one compresses tightly the piece and can follow the independent removal of first direction. This application is when being applied to the battery monomer of waiting to weld, can act on casing/top cap at closing device's compression set, and two sets of common centre gripping casing/top cap of compression set simultaneously to make casing and top cap both close to as far as possible, reduce the gap size between the two, and gap distribution homogeneity is better. Therefore, when the battery monomer is welded, the problem that the internal structure of the battery monomer is damaged due to the fact that sparks enter the battery monomer through a gap between the shell and the top cover can be reduced, and the reliability of the battery monomer is improved.

Description

Compression device, welding equipment and battery production system

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of batteries, in particular to a pressing device, welding equipment and a battery production system.

Background

Energy conservation and emission reduction are key to sustainable development of the automobile industry, and electric vehicles become an important component of sustainable development of the automobile industry due to the energy conservation and environmental protection advantages of the electric vehicles. For electric vehicles, battery technology is an important factor in the development of the electric vehicles.

The battery cell is the smallest unit of a battery, and generally includes a case and a top cover, which enclose an internal environment of the battery cell, which may be used to house an electrode assembly, an electrolyte, and the like. In the battery monomer generating process, a shell and a top cover of the battery monomer are often required to be welded through welding equipment, and the low welding quality between the shell and the top cover can directly influence the product quality of the battery monomer.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the application provides a closing device, welding equipment and battery production system, can improve the welding quality of casing and top cap in the battery monomer, and then promotes the free product quality of battery.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a compression device, including two sets of compression sets, two sets of compression sets are arranged along a first direction interval, and each set of compression sets all includes at least two compression members, and the at least two compression members of each set of compression sets are arranged along a second direction interval that intersects in the first direction. Wherein, in each group compress tightly the group, at least one compresses tightly the piece and can follow the independent removal of first direction.

In the technical scheme of this embodiment, when being applied to the battery monomer that waits to weld, pressing set at closing device can act on casing/top cap, and two sets of pressing sets centre gripping casing/top cap jointly simultaneously to make casing and top cap as close to as possible between them, reduce the gap size between the two, and gap distribution uniformity is better. Therefore, when the battery monomer is welded, the problem that the internal structure of the battery monomer is damaged due to the fact that sparks enter the battery monomer through a gap between the shell and the top cover can be reduced, and the reliability of the battery monomer is improved.

In some embodiments, the two compression sets include a first compression set, a portion of the compression members of the first compression set being reference compression members, the reference compression members being configured in a fixed arrangement. Therefore, the datum pressing piece can be used as a positioning datum to position and clamp the to-be-pressed piece, and the movement stroke of the pressing group is facilitated to be simplified.

In some embodiments, the remaining compression members of the first compression set, except the reference compression member, are each configured to be independently movable in the first direction. Therefore, the first pressing group can flexibly adjust the stroke of each movable pressing piece according to the shape of the side wall of the to-be-pressed piece, each pressing piece in the first pressing group can be in good contact with the to-be-pressed piece, and the to-be-pressed consistency of the to-be-pressed piece is good.

In some embodiments, the two compression sets include a second compression set, all compression members of the second compression set being configured to be independently movable in the first direction. At this time, the second compresses tightly the lateral wall deformation condition that the group can be better adaptation wait to the casting die, and each compresses tightly the lateral wall that the piece all can wait to the casting die and carry out effectual contact, helps improving the lateral wall atress homogeneity of waiting the casting die. When applied to the compaction of battery monomer, help improving the gap homogeneity between casing and the top cap.

In some embodiments, at least one of the compression members is a metallic article. When the pressing piece is made of metal, the high-temperature resistance of the pressing piece in a welding environment is good, the probability of being ablated is low, the service life is long, and the reliability is high.

In some embodiments, the two pressing groups are used for being clamped on the side wall of the to-be-pressed piece in a matching mode, the side wall of the to-be-pressed piece comprises two large faces oppositely arranged in the first direction and two small faces oppositely arranged in the second direction, and a transition face is connected between each large face and any small face. The orthographic projection of all the pressing pieces along the first direction falls within the orthographic projection range of the large surface.

At this time, the projection of all the compacting pieces is limited to be located in a large area, so that the compacting pieces located at the edge do not exceed the large area and act on the large area, and the risk that the compacting pieces act on the transition surface to cause poor contact with the large area and further have poor compacting effect on the large area can be reduced. So, help improving the compaction effect of the compression piece that is located the edge to the large face, when being applied to the pressure equipment of battery monomer, can improve the compaction effect of casing and top cap, reduce the gap size between the two.

In some embodiments, the compression members at both ends in the second direction in each of the compression groups are edge compression members. In the second direction, the shortest distance L from the edge hold-down to the interface between the large face and the transition face satisfies: l is more than or equal to 2mm and less than or equal to 5mm. When L takes a value in the range, the edge pressing piece can not be pressed in the corner area of the to-be-pressed piece, so that the edge pressing piece can effectively press the large surface of the to-be-pressed piece, and the edge pressing piece is relatively close to the transition surface, so that the pressing effect of the corner area of the to-be-pressed piece is good.

In some embodiments, the number of compression members N in each compression set is related to the number of pre-welds N per large face: n=n+ (1-2). When the number N of the pressing pieces and the number N of the pre-welding points of each large surface meet the above relation, gaps between the spot welding positions can be greatly reduced under the pressing of two adjacent pressing pieces, and further damage to the inside of the battery monomer in the spot welding process is reduced. Moreover, the number of the pressing pieces is reasonable, and the configuration cost is low.

In some embodiments, the compressing device further comprises a plurality of driving mechanisms, each driving mechanism is respectively connected with a compressing member in a transmission manner, and the driving mechanisms are used for driving the connected compressing members to independently move along the first direction. At this time, the compressing device drives a plurality of compressing members to move independently through a plurality of driving mechanisms respectively, and the control is reliable and easy to realize.

In some embodiments, one end of the driving mechanism in the first direction is a mounting end, and the mounting end is fastened to the pressing member via at least two fasteners. At this time, the installation end of actuating mechanism locks the compact heap through a plurality of fasteners, even a fastener takes place not hard up, other fasteners also can realize the locking of installation end and compact heap, and the installation of compact heap is more reliable and stable.

In some embodiments, the compression device further comprises a calibration standard comprising a calibration surface for synchronously comparing the degree of deflection of the compression surface of each compression member in the same set of compression sets relative to the calibration surface. At this time, whether the compressing members in each group of compressing groups generate position deflection can be calibrated by utilizing the calibrating surface of the calibrating standard member, so that the problem that the compressing members cannot be effectively attached to the to-be-compressed member due to installation deflection and use deflection of the compressing members is reduced, and the reliability of the press-fitting device is improved.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a welding apparatus comprising a compacting device as described above.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a battery production system comprising the welding apparatus described above.

The foregoing description is only an overview of the technical solutions of the present application, and may be implemented according to the content of the specification in order to make the technical means of the present application more clearly understood, and in order to make the above-mentioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the following detailed description of the present application will be given.

Drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the application. Also, like reference numerals are used to designate like parts throughout the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is an exploded schematic view of a battery cell of one or more embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of the application of one or more embodiments of a compression device.

Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of the application of one or more embodiments of a compression device.

Fig. 4 illustrates an assembly of a side wall of a housing with a top cover in a battery cell according to one or more embodiments.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an arrangement of an edge pressing member and a battery cell according to one or more embodiments.

Fig. 6 is a schematic illustration of the application of one or more embodiments of a compression device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan alignment of a calibration standard and a compression member of one or more embodiments.

Reference numerals in the specific embodiments are as follows:

10. a compacting device; x, a first direction; y, second direction; 10A, compacting the group; 11. a first compression set; 12. a second compression set; 10a, a compressing piece; m, a compression surface; a1, a reference pressing piece; a2, an edge pressing piece; 13. a driving mechanism; 13b, a cylinder; D. a mounting end; 14. a fastener; 15. calibrating a standard component; 15c, checking the surface; K. a gap; 20. a battery cell; 21. a top cover; 21a, electrode terminals; 22. a housing; 22a, large surface; 22b, facets; 22c, a transition surface; w, boundary position; 23. a cell group; C. a sidewall.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the technical solutions of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following examples are only for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the present application, and thus are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs; the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application; the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof in the description and claims of the present application and in the description of the figures above are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the technical terms "first," "second," and the like, if any, are used merely to distinguish between different objects and should not be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated, a particular order or a primary or secondary relationship. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more unless explicitly defined otherwise.

Reference herein to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Those of skill in the art will explicitly and implicitly appreciate that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

In the description of the embodiments of the present application, if the term "and/or" appears as only one association relationship describing the association object, it means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may be represented: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the associated object is an "or" relationship, if any.

In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "plurality" refers to two or more (including two), and similarly, "multiple" refers to two or more (including two), and "multiple" refers to two or more (including two).

In the description of the embodiments of the present application, if any, the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. are directional or positional relationships indicated based on the drawings, and are merely for convenience of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a specific orientation, be configured and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of the present application.

In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured" and the like should be construed broadly and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; or may be mechanically or electrically connected; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communicated with the inside of two elements or the interaction relationship of the two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to the specific circumstances.

For a hard-case battery cell, it generally includes a case forming an internal environment in the battery cell for accommodating an electrode assembly, an electrolyte, etc., and a top cover covering an opening of the case to seal the internal environment of the battery cell. After the top cover is covered at the opening of the housing, the housing and the top cover are welded, typically by means of a welding device. If a gap exists between the shell and the top cover, welding laser is easy to be injected into the battery cell through the gap, and the internal structure of the battery cell is damaged.

For this purpose, the housing and the cover can be compacted by means of a compression structure, reducing the gap between the two. Further, when considering that the appearance of the shell is uneven, single-point contact is easy to occur to the integral press-fitting structure, and other positions cannot effectively contact the shell, so that the shell and the top cover cannot be effectively compacted, the press-fitting structure can be configured into a plurality of split settings, and each press-fitting structure can independently control the stroke without being influenced by other press-fitting structures.

Based on this, in order to improve the welding quality of casing and top cap, this application embodiment has designed a closing device, through setting up two sets of group that compress tightly, two sets of group that compress tightly are used for arranging respectively in two big face departments of casing for compress tightly the big face of casing on the top cap. Each group of compaction group comprises compaction parts which can move independently, the compaction parts can compact the shell and the top cover in the moving process, and the compaction parts can move independently without being influenced by other compaction parts, so that the compaction parts can adapt to the shape deformation of the shell and can be in good contact with the shell, and the shell and the top cover are compacted effectively, thereby being beneficial to improving the welding quality of the battery monomers.

The compressing device disclosed by the embodiment of the application can be used for press fitting of battery monomers. Specifically, the pressing device is used for a welding process between the battery cell shell and the top cover. Of course, the pressing device can also be used in the positioning and pressing procedures of other products.

Fig. 1 is an exploded schematic view of a battery cell according to one or more embodiments. Referring to fig. 1, the battery cell 20 includes a top cover 21, a housing 22, a cell assembly 23, and the like.

The top cover 21 refers to a member that is covered at the opening of the case 22 to isolate the internal environment of the battery cell 20 from the external environment. Without limitation, the shape of the top cover 21 may match the shape of the housing 22 to fit the housing 22. Alternatively, the top cover 21 may be made of a material (such as an aluminum alloy) having a certain hardness and strength, so that the top cover 21 is not easy to deform when being extruded and collided, so that the battery cell 20 can have a higher structural strength, and the safety performance can be improved. The top cover 21 may be provided with functional parts such as electrode terminals 21 a. The electrode terminals 21a may be used to electrically connect with the cell assembly 23 for outputting or inputting electric power of the battery cell 20. In some embodiments, a pressure relief mechanism may also be provided on the top cover 21 for relieving the internal pressure when the internal pressure or temperature of the battery cell 20 reaches a threshold. The material of the top cover 21 is not limited to a metal material, but may be any of various materials, such as copper, iron, aluminum, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, etc., which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application. The top cover 21 may be provided with a filling hole for filling the electrolyte.

The housing 22 is an assembly for mating with the top cover 21 to form an internal environment of the battery cell 20, wherein the formed internal environment may be used to house the cell assembly 23, electrolyte, and other components. The case 22 and the top cover 21 may be separate members, and an opening may be provided in the case 22, and the opening may be covered by the top cover 21 at the opening to form the internal environment of the battery cell 20. It is also possible to integrate the top cover 21 and the housing 22, but specifically, the top cover 21 and the housing 22 may form a common connection surface before other components are put into the housing, and when the interior of the housing 22 needs to be sealed, the top cover 21 is then covered with the housing 22. The housing 22 may be of various shapes and sizes, such as rectangular parallelepiped, cylindrical, hexagonal prism, etc. Specifically, the shape of the housing 22 may be determined according to the specific shape and size of the cell assembly 23. The material of the housing 22 is generally but not limited to a metal material, and may specifically be various, such as copper, iron, aluminum, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, etc., which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The cell assembly 23 is a component in which electrochemical reactions occur in the battery cells 20. One or more battery cell assemblies 23 may be contained within the housing 22. The cell assembly 23 is mainly formed by winding or stacking a positive electrode sheet and a negative electrode sheet, and a separator is generally provided between the positive electrode sheet and the negative electrode sheet. In some embodiments, the portions of the positive and negative electrode sheets having active material constitute the body portion of the cell assembly, and the portions of the positive and negative electrode sheets having no active material each constitute a tab. The positive electrode tab and the negative electrode tab may be located at one end of the main body portion together or located at two ends of the main body portion respectively. During charge and discharge of the battery, the positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material react with the electrolyte, and the tab is connected with the electrode terminal to form a current loop.

The welding equipment disclosed by the embodiment of the application can further comprise a welding device besides the pressing device. The welding device can be laser welding, gas welding, argon arc welding and the like. The welding apparatus may further comprise a conveying device for conveying the workpieces (e.g. the battery cells to be welded) to the pressing device. The welding device is used for performing welding operation on the workpiece positioned at the pressing device.

The battery production system disclosed in the embodiment of the application may further include an assembling device for assembling the electrode assembly, the case and the top cover, in addition to the welding device. Of course, other devices can be included, and specifically, conventional settings can be performed according to actual needs.

The following describes the compressing device provided in the embodiment of the present application in detail.

Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of an application of the compaction apparatus 10 according to one or more embodiments. Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of an application of the compaction apparatus 10 according to one or more embodiments. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the pressing device 10 is in a state to be pressed, and in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the pressing device 10 is in a state to be pressed to press a pressing member.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, referring to a pressing device 10 provided in one or more embodiments of the present application, the pressing device 10 provided in the embodiments of the present application includes two pressing groups 10A, the two pressing groups 10A are arranged at intervals along a first direction X, each pressing group 10A includes at least two pressing members 10A, and the at least two pressing members 10A of each pressing group 10A are arranged at intervals along a second direction Y intersecting the first direction X. Wherein, in each pressing group 10A, at least one pressing member 10A can move independently along the first direction X.

The pressing group 10A is an assembly of at least two pressing members 10A, which generally act on the same one surface to be pressed. The pressing groups 10A include two groups, the two pressing groups 10A are arranged opposite to each other in the first direction X, and all the pressing pieces 10A in each group of pressing groups 10A are arranged at intervals along the second direction Y perpendicular to the first direction X.

The arrangement of the pressing group 10A and the pressing member 10A may be set according to the specific external configuration of the to-be-pressed member.

In an example, the to-be-pressed member is a battery cell 20 with an outer contour being approximately square (the battery cell 20 is in a state that the housing 22 and the top cover 21 are to be welded at this time), the first direction X may be a width direction of the battery cell 20, the second direction Y may be a length direction of the battery cell 20, then the two pressing groups 10A are oppositely arranged along the width direction of the battery cell 20, and each pressing member 10A in each pressing group 10A is linearly arranged along the length direction of the battery cell 20.

In another example, the to-be-pressed member is a battery cell 20 with a substantially cylindrical outer contour (the battery cell 20 is in a state that the housing 22 and the top cover 21 are to be welded at this time), the first direction X may be a radial direction of the battery cell 20, the second direction Y may be a circumferential direction of the battery cell 20, and then the two pressing groups 10A are oppositely disposed along the radial direction of the battery cell 20, and each pressing member 10A in each pressing group 10A is arranged in an arc shape along the circumferential direction of the battery cell 20.

The pressing member 10a may be a pressing block, a pressing pad, or the like. The pressing member 10a has a pressing surface M, which may be planar or curved, and is specifically set according to the outline of the to-be-pressed member. In a normal state, the pressing surface M of the pressing member 10a can be bonded with the pressing surface M to be pressed of the pressing member. The pressing member 10a may be a plastic member, a metal member, a ceramic member, or the like, and may be flexibly set by those skilled in the art. In some examples, the compression member 10a is bakelite, polyetheretherketone (PEEK), or the like. In another example, the pressing member 10a is made of an aluminum alloy material, which has a better temperature resistance, and the service life of the pressing member 10a can be improved in a welding environment.

In each of the pressing groups 10A, at least one pressing member 10A is independently movable in the first direction X. The pressing member 10a that is independently movable along the first direction X means that the pressing member 10a can move in the first direction X without being affected by other pressing members 10a, that is, the pressing member 10a is not linked with the rest of the pressing members 10a in the same group. As for the manner of achieving the movement of the pressing member 10a in the first direction X, as shown in fig. 3, a driving mechanism 13 (such as a linear motor, a hydraulic cylinder, etc.) may be used to drivingly connect the pressing member 10a and thereby drive the movement of the pressing member 10a in the first direction X. It will be appreciated that, in order to facilitate the placement of the waiting compression elements, at most, there are stationary compression elements 10A in a group of compression packs 10A. In one example, each compression member 10A in all compression sets 10A may be independently movable in the first direction X.

The use of the compression device 10 is generally as follows: placing the to-be-pressed piece between two pressing groups 10A; in the two pressing groups 10A, the pressing members 10A movable in the first direction X are moved toward each other in the first direction X from the position where they are retracted from the pressing member to be pressed until all the pressing members 10A are clamped together on the pressing member to be pressed.

The pressing device 10 may be applied to the battery cells 20 to be welded. In the battery cell 20, the housing 22 and the top cover 21 are to be welded, and the housing 22 and the top cover 21 can be pressed by the pressing device 10. In a conventional arrangement, at least part of the top cover 21 is disposed inside the opening of the housing 22, in which case the pressing group 10A of the pressing device 10 may act on one end side wall C of the housing 22 disposed close to the top cover 21 (if the top cover 21 is disposed at both ends of the housing 22, both end side walls C may be provided with the pressing device 10). In other embodiments, when the top cover 21 covers the opening of the housing 22, the top cover 21 may cover the outside of the housing 22, and at this time, the pressing group 10A of the pressing device 10 may act on the side wall C of the top cover 21.

When the pressing device 10 acts on the housing 22/top cover 21, the two pressing groups 10A are used to clamp the housing 22/top cover 21, so that the housing 22 and the top cover 21 are close to each other as much as possible, and the gap between the two can be reduced.

In the above-mentioned pressing device 10, at least one pressing member 10A in each pressing group 10A can move independently along the first direction X, and in the case that the sidewall C to be pressed is deformed, the independently movable pressing member 10A can adjust its own stroke according to the degree of deformation, so that the pressing member 10A can be in effective contact with the deformed sidewall C. Therefore, the risk that only one or part of the pressing pieces 10A in each pressing group 10A are contacted with the pressing piece to be pressed due to uneven side wall C of the pressing piece to be pressed and the other part of the pressing pieces 10A cannot be contacted with the pressing piece to be pressed well can be reduced, the risk that each pressing group 10A is contacted with the pressing piece to be pressed at a single point can be reduced, good contact between each pressing group 10A and the pressing piece to be pressed can be achieved, and the pressing consistency of the pressing device 10 is good.

When the clamping device is applied to the battery cells 20 to be welded, the clamping groups 10A of the clamping device 10 can act on the shell 22/the top cover 21, and simultaneously the two clamping groups 10A jointly clamp the shell 22/the top cover 21, so that the shell 22 and the top cover 21 are close to each other as much as possible, the gap size between the two is reduced, and the gap distribution uniformity is good. In this way, when the battery cell 20 is welded, the problem that the spark enters the battery cell 20 through the gap between the shell 22 and the top cover 21 to damage the internal structure of the battery cell 20 can be reduced, which is beneficial to improving the reliability of the battery cell 20.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 2, two pressing sets 10A include a first pressing set 11, and a portion of the pressing members 10A of the first pressing set 11 is a reference pressing member a1, where the reference pressing member a1 is configured to be fixedly disposed.

The reference pressing piece a1 serves as a positioning reference of the pressing device 10, and the reference pressing piece a1 is fixed opposite to the other pressing pieces 10a. That is, when the other pressing member 10a is movable in the first direction X, the reference pressing member a1 is held stationary in the first direction X. In general, the compression device 10 includes a mounting base on which the compression set 10A is mounted, and the reference compression member a1 is held stationary relative to the mounting base while some of the compression members 10A are movable relative to the mounting base in the first direction X. And as to whether the installation base body is movable or not, flexible setting can be performed according to actual requirements.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the reference pressing pieces a1 may be disposed on both sides of the first pressing group 11 in the second direction Y, that is, the reference pressing pieces a1 are pressing pieces 10a located at the edges of the first pressing group 11. The number of reference pressing pieces a1 may be plural. Further, both of the pressing pieces 10a of the edge of the first pressing group 11 may be regarded as the reference pressing piece a1.

At this time, one of the pressing groups 10A is used as the first pressing group 11, the first pressing group 11 includes a reference pressing member a1, and the reference pressing member a1 can be used as a positioning reference for positioning and clamping the pressing member to be pressed, which is helpful for simplifying the movement stroke of the pressing group 10A.

In some embodiments, in combination with fig. 2, the remaining compression members 10a of the first compression group 11, except the reference compression member a1, are each configured to be independently movable in the first direction X.

That is, in the first pressing group 11, the remaining pressing members 10a are provided movably in the first direction X with respect to the reference pressing member a1 except for the reference pressing member a1 which is kept stationary, and the movement between the respective pressing members 10a is not affected by the movement of the other pressing members 10 a.

In this way, the first pressing group 11 can flexibly adjust the stroke of each movable pressing piece 10a according to the shape of the side wall C of the to-be-pressed piece, and each pressing piece 10a in the first pressing group 11 can be in good contact with the to-be-pressed piece, so that the to-be-pressed piece has good pressing consistency.

In some embodiments, in conjunction with fig. 2, the two compression sets 10A include a second compression set 12, all compression members 10A of the second compression set 12 being configured to be independently movable in the first direction X.

That is, each pressing member 10a in the second pressing group 12 is movable in the first direction X and is not associated with each other in movement. Because each pressing piece 10a in the second pressing group 12 moves movably, the second pressing group 12 can better adapt to the deformation condition of the side wall C of the to-be-pressed piece, and each pressing piece 10a can effectively contact with the side wall C of the to-be-pressed piece, so that the uniformity of stress of the side wall C of the to-be-pressed piece is improved. When applied to the compression of the battery cells 20, helps to improve the uniformity of the gap between the case 22 and the top cover 21.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the two pressing groups 10A include a first pressing group 11 and a second pressing group 12, and the pressing device 10 can position a side wall C to be pressed by the reference pressing piece a1 of the first pressing group 11 and clamp the to be pressed by the pressing pieces 10A capable of moving independently in the first pressing group 11 and the second pressing group 12.

In some embodiments, at least one compression member 10a is a metallic member. Specifically, but not limited to, the compression member 10a may be an aluminum alloy material, such as an aluminum alloy of the type AL-7075. When the pressing member 10a is made of metal, the high temperature resistance of the pressing member is good in the welding environment, the probability of being ablated is low, the service life is long, and the reliability is high.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 2 and 3, two pressing sets 10A are configured to be clamped to a sidewall C of a to-be-pressed member, where the sidewall C of the to-be-pressed member includes two large faces 22a disposed opposite to each other in a first direction X, and two small faces 22b disposed opposite to each other in a second direction Y, and a transition face 22C is connected between each large face 22a and any small face 22b. The orthographic projection of all the pressing members 10a in the first direction X falls within the orthographic projection range of the large face 22 a.

The side wall C of the to-be-pressed piece is a circumferential outer wall which is arranged around the height direction of the to-be-pressed piece, and the height direction of the to-be-pressed piece is approximately perpendicular to the first direction X and the second direction Y in pairs.

In particular, in the embodiment, two pressing groups 10A may be used to cooperatively clamp one end side wall C of the battery cell 20, which is covered with the top cover 21 by the housing 22. In the battery cell 20, the side wall C of the case 22 is a circumferential outer wall provided around the height direction of the battery cell 20, and one or both ends of the case 22 in the height direction have openings, and the openings are covered with the top cover 21.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2 and 3, the to-be-pressed member is a battery cell 20, and the side wall C of the to-be-pressed member is the side wall C of the housing 22 in the battery cell 20. The side wall C to be pressed, that is, the side wall C of the battery cell 20 includes two large faces 22a disposed opposite to each other in the width direction of the battery cell 20, and two small faces 22b disposed opposite to each other in the length direction of the battery cell 20, the surface area of the large faces 22a being larger than the surface area of the small faces 22b. At the corner regions of the housing 22 of the battery cell 20, transition surfaces 22c are present, the transition surfaces 22c connecting the large surfaces 22a and the small surfaces 22b. The transition surface 22c is generally an arcuate surface. The presence of the transition surface 22c can reduce stress concentration in the corner region of the housing 22, improve the molding yield of the housing 22, and also improve the deformation resistance of the housing 22. At this time, the to-be-pressed member may be a square battery cell 20, and the pressing device 10 is suitable for pressing the square battery cell 20 which is widely used at present. Of course, in practical application, the to-be-pressed member is not limited to the battery cell 20, but may be other square workpieces having the housing 22 and the top cover 21.

In practical use, one set of pressing members 10A of the pressing group 10A is used to press against one of the large faces 22a of the side wall C to be pressed, and the other set of pressing members 10A is used to press against the other large face 22a of the side wall C to be pressed. The projection of all the pressing members 10a in the first direction X falls entirely within the orthographic projection range of the large surface 22a, i.e., each pressing member 10a acts entirely on the large surface 22a without exceeding the range defined by the large surface 22 a.

Fig. 4 illustrates the assembly of the side wall C of the housing 22 with the top cover 21 in the battery cell 20 of one or more embodiments. The inventors of the present application have unexpectedly found that, in the process of machining the housing 22, the transition surface 22C of the corner region of the sidewall C of the housing 22 is easily raised above the large surface 22a of the sidewall C, and if the pressing member 10a is placed at a position beyond the large surface 22a, the pressing member 10a is easily lifted by the portion of the transition surface 22C raised above the large surface 22a, and cannot be effectively contacted with the large surface 22a, so that the pressing effect on the large surface 22a is poor.

At this time, by limiting the projection of all the pressing members 10a to be located within the large surface 22a, the pressing members 10a located at the edges can be made to act on the large surface 22a without exceeding the large surface 22a, and the risk of poor contact with the large surface 22a and poor pressing effect on the large surface 22a due to the pressing members 10a acting on the transition surface 22c can be reduced. In this way, the pressing effect of the pressing member 10a positioned at the edge on the large surface 22a can be improved, and the pressing effect of the housing 22 and the top cover 21 can be improved and the gap between the housing and the top cover can be reduced when the pressing member is applied to the press fitting of the battery cell 20.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view illustrating an arrangement of the edge pressing member a2 and the battery cell 20 according to one or more embodiments.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 5, in each pressing group 10A, the pressing members 10A at two ends in the second direction Y are edge pressing members a2. In the second direction Y, the shortest distance L from the edge pressing piece a2 to the boundary position W between the large face 22a and the transition face 22c satisfies: l is more than or equal to 2mm and less than or equal to 5mm.

The edge pressing pieces a2 are pressing pieces 10A located at both ends in the second direction Y in each of the pressing groups 10A. In fig. 2, the second group of pressing members 10A includes four pressing members 10A, the first pressing member 10A and the fourth pressing member 10A being edge pressing members a2, counted from left to right. In fig. 2, the first group of pressing members 10A includes four pressing members 10A, the first pressing member 10A and the fourth pressing member 10A being edge pressing members a2, counted from left to right, while in the first group of pressing members 10A, two edge pressing members a2 are also reference pressing members a1, that is, the reference pressing member a1 may be used as the edge pressing members a2.

The boundary W between the large surface 22a and the transition surface 22c of the to-be-pressed member refers to the boundary line shared by the large surface 22a and the transition surface 22 c. The large surface 22a is a plane, the transition surface 22c is a rounded surface, and the boundary position W between the two surfaces is a quadrant position of the rounded surface. In addition, the boundary position W of the large surface 22a and the transition surface 22c may be determined by measurement, and in particular, a alignment surface 15c (the alignment surface 15c may be the alignment surface 15c of the alignment standard 15 mentioned in the embodiment described below) may be used to align with the large surface 22a, and the boundary position W where the large surface 22a intersects the transition surface 22c may be found by the alignment surface 15c, and in particular, the boundary position W is a boundary line with the alignment surface 15c in the large surface 22a (the transition surface 22c is not aligned with the alignment surface 15 c).

The shortest distance L from the edge pressing member a2 to the boundary position W refers to the shortest distance in the second direction Y between the boundary position W on the same side as the edge pressing member a2 in the second direction Y and the edge pressing member a 2.

In particular, L may be selected to be 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, 3.5mm, 4mm, 4.5mm, 5mm and values between any two adjacent selected values.

When L is valued in the range, the edge pressing piece a2 is not pressed in the corner area of the to-be-pressed piece, so that the edge pressing piece a2 can effectively press the large surface 22a of the to-be-pressed piece, and the edge pressing piece a2 is relatively close to the transition surface 22c, so that the pressing effect of the corner area of the to-be-pressed piece is good.

Further, L is selected to be between 2mm and 3mm, and the edge pressing piece a2 is closer to the transition surface 22c, so that the pressing effect on the corner area of the shell 22 is better.

In some embodiments, in each set of compression sets 10A, the number N of compression members 10A versus the number N of pre-welds per large face 22a satisfies: n=n+ (1-2).

The number of pre-weld points is the number of positions where spot welding is to be performed on the large face 22 a. The spot-welding position is usually located in the region of the blank to be pressed between the two pressing elements 10a, the spot-welding position being 3 and the number of pressing elements 10a being 4, for example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 2 and 3. Of course, no spot welding position may be provided between the adjacent two pressing members 10 a.

When the number N of the pressing members 10a and the number N of the pre-welding points of each large surface 22a satisfy the above relationship, the gap between each spot welding position can be greatly reduced under the pressing of two adjacent pressing members 10a, so as to reduce the damage to the inside of the battery cell 20 in the spot welding process. Moreover, the number of the pressing members 10a is reasonable, and the configuration cost is low.

Fig. 6 is a schematic illustration of the application of one or more embodiments of the compaction apparatus 10.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 6, the pressing device 10 further includes a plurality of driving mechanisms 13, where each driving mechanism 13 is respectively in transmission connection with a pressing member 10a, and is used for driving the connected pressing members 10a to move independently along the first direction X.

It is understood that each pressing member 10a movable in the first direction X is moved by a driving mechanism 13. Each drive mechanism 13 independently drives the movement of the drivingly connected hold-down element 10a without affecting each other.

The driving mechanism 13 can be a motor, a cylinder 13b and the like, and has simple structure and easy realization.

At this time, the pressing device 10 drives the plurality of pressing members 10a to move independently by the plurality of driving mechanisms 13, so that the control is reliable and easy to realize.

In some embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 6, the drive mechanism 13 has a mounting end D at one end in the first direction X, the mounting end D being in fastened connection with the compression member 10a via at least two fasteners 14.

The mounting end D is the end of the driving mechanism 13 facing the to-be-pressed member. The mounting end D is used for mounting the pressing member 10a. Specifically, when the driving mechanism 13 is the air cylinder 13b, the mounting end D may be a telescopic end of the air cylinder 13 b.

The mounting end D is connected to the hold-down member 10a by a fastener 14. The fastener 14 is a member that mechanically fastens the mounting end D to the compression member 10a, and the fastener 14 may be, but is not limited to, a screw, bolt, latch, pin, rivet, or the like.

Specifically, the mounting end D locks the hold-down member 10a to itself by 3-5 fasteners 14, the number of fasteners 14 being 4 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

At this time, the mounting end D of the driving mechanism 13 locks the pressing member 10a by the plurality of fasteners 14, and even if one fastener 14 is loosened, the other fasteners 14 can lock the mounting end D with the pressing member 10a, so that the mounting of the pressing member 10a is more stable and reliable.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan alignment of the calibration standard 15 and the compression member 10a of one or more embodiments.

In some embodiments, the compaction apparatus 10 further includes a calibration standard 15, the calibration standard 15 including a calibration surface 15c, the calibration standard 15 being configured to synchronously compare the degree of deflection of the compaction surface M of each compaction member 10A in the same set of compaction groups 10A relative to the calibration surface 15 c.

As can be seen from the above description, the pressing surface M of the pressing member 10a is a surface for contacting with a to-be-pressed member, and the pressing surface M may be a plane, a curved surface, etc., which is specifically determined according to practical requirements.

The calibration standard 15 is used for calibrating whether the position of each pressing member 10A in each pressing group 10A deflects, so as to ensure that the pressing member 10A can be in effective contact with the surface to be pressed of the workpiece. When the surface to be pressed of the pressing piece is a plane, the correction surface 15c of the correction standard piece 15 is a plane, and the pressing surface M of the pressing piece 10a is a plane; when the surface to be pressed of the pressing member is a curved surface (e.g., an arc surface), the calibration surface 15c of the calibration standard member 15 is a curved surface, and the pressing surface M of the pressing member 10a is a curved surface. It will be appreciated that the profile of the calibration surface 15c of the calibration standard 15 matches the profile of the surface to be pressed of the part to be pressed.

The calibration process of the compaction apparatus 10 may be: in the calibration state, all the pressing members 10A in the respective pressing groups 10A are brought close in the first direction X by the calibration surface 15c of the calibration standard 15 until the pressing group 10A acts on the calibration surface 15 c.

Under normal conditions, each pressing member 10A of the pressing group 10A may be attached to the calibration surface 15c, and the gap KK between the pressing surface M of the pressing member 10A and the calibration surface 15c is approximately 0. In the event of an anomaly, if there is a deflection of the position of the hold-down element 10a, the gap KK between the partial hold-down element 10a and the calibration surface 15c is of a magnitude exceeding the gap threshold, as in the embodiment shown in fig. 7, the edge hold-down element a2 is deflected relative to the calibration surface 15c, and the gap KK between the edge hold-down element a2 and the calibration surface 15c is of a magnitude exceeding the threshold.

Specifically, it is determined whether the gap KK between the pressing surface M and the calibration surface 15c of the pressing member 10a exceeds the threshold range, and the result can be more accurate by auxiliary observation with a feeler gauge or an optical microscope. Specifically, whether the pressing member 10a is deflected may be determined by determining whether the maximum gap KK between the pressing member 10a and the calibration surface 15c exceeds a gap threshold (the gap threshold may be selected to be 0.01 to 0.05mm, specifically, such as 0.03mm, 0.04mm, 0.05mm, etc.), and if the maximum gap KK exceeds the gap threshold, it may be determined that the pressing member 10a is deflected relative to the calibration surface 15 c.

When the pressing member 10a is deflected relative to the aligning surface 15c, it is explained that the position of the pressing member 10a is deflected, and it is necessary to adjust the position thereof.

At this time, the calibration standard 15 is used to calibrate whether the pressing members 10A in each group of pressing groups 10A are deflected in position, so that the problem that the pressing members 10A cannot be effectively attached to the pressing members due to installation deflection and use deflection is reduced, and the reliability of the press-fitting device is improved.

In an embodiment of the present application, the pressing device 10 is used for press-fitting the battery cells 20, and the pressing device includes two pressing groups 10A that are opposite and spaced apart in the first direction X, and each of the two pressing groups 10A includes a plurality of pressing members 10A spaced apart along the second direction Y. The pressing members 10a located at two ends of the first pressing group 11 in the second direction Y are reference pressing members a1, the reference pressing members a1 are configured to be fixed, and the remaining pressing members 10a in the first pressing group 11 and the second pressing group 12 are configured to be independently movable relative to the reference pressing members a1 along the first direction X. Along the first direction X, the projection of all of the pressing members 10a is located within the projection range of the large face 22a of the battery cell 20.

In addition, the embodiment of the application also provides welding equipment, which comprises the pressing device 10. The welding device comprises all the advantages described above.

In addition, the embodiment of the application also provides a battery production system which comprises the welding equipment. The battery production system includes all of the benefits described above.

The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined, and all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are not described for brevity of description, however, as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features, they should be considered as the scope of the description.

The above examples only represent a few embodiments of the present application, which are described in more detail and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claims. It should be noted that it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements could be made without departing from the spirit of the present application, which would be within the scope of the present application. Accordingly, the scope of protection of the present application is to be determined by the claims appended hereto.

Claims (13)

1. A compression device (10), characterized by comprising:

Two groups of compression sets (10A), the two groups of compression sets (10A) being arranged at intervals along a first direction (X), and each group of compression sets (10A) comprising at least two compression members (10A), the at least two compression members (10A) of each group of compression sets (10A) being arranged at intervals along a second direction (Y) intersecting the first direction (X);

wherein at least one of said pressing members (10A) of each of said pressing groups (10A) is independently movable in said first direction (X).

2. The compression device (10) according to claim 1, wherein two of said compression groups (10A) comprise a first compression group (11), a portion of said compression members (10A) of said first compression group (11) being a reference compression member (a 1), said reference compression member (a 1) being configured to be fixedly arranged.

3. The compacting device (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the rest of the compacting elements (10 a) of the first compacting group (11) except the reference compacting element (a 1) are configured to be independently movable in the first direction (X).

4. The compacting device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that both sets of said compacting groups (10A) comprise a second compacting group (12), all of said compacting elements (10A) of said second compacting group (12) being configured to be independently movable along said first direction (X).

5. The compression device (10) according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein at least one of the compression members (10 a) is a metallic piece.

6. The pressing device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein two of said pressing groups (10A) are adapted to be clamped in engagement to a side wall (C) to be pressed, said side wall (C) to be pressed comprising two large faces (22 a) arranged opposite each other in said first direction (X) and two small faces (22 b) arranged opposite each other in said second direction (Y); a transition surface (22 c) is connected between each large surface (22 a) and any small surface (22 b);

the orthographic projection of all the pressing pieces (10 a) along the first direction (X) falls within the orthographic projection range of the large surface (22 a).

7. The pressing device (10) according to claim 6, wherein, in each of the pressing groups (10A), the pressing members (10A) located at both ends in the second direction (Y) are edge pressing members (a 2);

in the second direction (Y), the shortest distance L from the edge pressing piece (a 2) to the boundary position (W) of the large surface (22 a) and the transition surface (22 c) satisfies: l is more than or equal to 2mm and less than or equal to 5mm.

8. The pressing device (10) according to claim 6, wherein, in each group of pressing groups (10A), the number N of pressing members (10A) in relation to the number N of pre-welds per large face (22 a) satisfies: n=n+ (1-2).

9. The compression device (10) according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the compression device (10) further comprises a plurality of drive mechanisms (13), each of the drive mechanisms (13) being in driving connection with a respective one of the compression members (10 a) for driving the connected compression member (10 a) independently movable in the first direction (X).

10. The compression device (10) according to claim 9, characterized in that one end of the drive mechanism (13) in the first direction (X) is a mounting end (D), which is fastened to the compression element (10 a) via at least two fastening elements (14).

11. The compacting apparatus (10) of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the compacting apparatus (10) further comprises a calibration standard (15), the calibration standard (15) comprising a calibration surface (15 c);

the calibration standard (15) is used for synchronously comparing the deflection degree of the pressing surface (M) of each pressing piece (10A) in the same pressing group (10A) relative to the calibration surface (15 c).

12. Welding apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a compacting device (10) according to any one of claims 1-11.

13. A battery production system comprising the welding apparatus of claim 12.