JP2004273363A - Battery case sealant coating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery case sealant coating device with excellent workability such as highly accurate coating and maintenance or inspection monitoring, which can accurately coat the internal perimeter of an opening part of the battery case with a sealant, and can easily perform operations for adjusting and confirming a coated part. <P>SOLUTION: The battery case sealant coating device is provided with a battery case carrying mechanism 13 which has a circulatedly driven endless track 14 and, a plurality of holders 13a arranged on the endless track at a predetermined pitch interval, sequentially receiving and holding a battery case from a battery manufacturing line, and sequentially sending out the battery case to the battery manufacturing line after sealant coating. The device is further provided with a plurality of coating nozzles 30 provided along the endless track of a battery case carrying mechanism, arranged at substantially the same pitch interval as the pitch interval of the holders, facing to the holders one by one, and injecting the sealant toward the internal perimeter of the opening part of the battery case held by the holders, a sealant supplying mechanism 50 which supplies the sealant to each of the plurality of coating nozzles, and a nozzle moving mechanism 40 which moves the plurality of coating nozzles in block along the endless track of the battery case carrying mechanism. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a battery case sealant application device that applies a sealant to an inner peripheral surface of an opening of a battery case with high accuracy.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a battery production line, several hundred battery cases are fed to a sealant application device every minute, and a sealant for sealing is applied to the inner peripheral surface of the battery case opening one after another. . As described above, since the line speed of the battery manufacturing line is high, it is required to quickly apply the sealing agent to the inner peripheral surface of the battery case opening.
[0003]
As shown in FIG. 7, the battery case 2 is introduced into the entrance dial from the introduction conveyor 101 of the battery production line, is then delivered to the application dial 103, and after the sealing agent is applied on the application dial 103, the outlet dial is used. The paper is sent out to a discharge conveyor 105 via the pipe 104. A battery case receiving jig 130 and a holder 133 are attached at equal intervals to the periphery of the application dial 103, each of which holds one battery case 2 and feeds the battery case 2 to the sealant application device 120 in the application work area 106. It is supposed to.
[0004]
The conventional battery case sealant application device 120 is disposed in the application work area 106 on the back side of the battery manufacturing line due to layout restrictions between the entrance dial 102 and the exit dial 104. When the application dial 103 is rotated clockwise in the drawing and stopped in the application work area 106, the battery case 2 is positioned directly below the sealant application device 120.
[0005]
In the conventional battery case sealant application device 120, as shown in FIG. 8, first, the sealant application tip 121 is brought into rotational contact with the sealant impregnation member 122 to impregnate the outer periphery of the sealant application tip 121 with the sealant. Next, the sealing agent application chip 121 is lowered, and as shown in FIG. 9, the sealing agent application chip 121 is brought into rotational contact with the inner peripheral surface of the battery case opening 2a. At this time, the battery case 2 rotates along with the guide roller 131 (which is rotatably supported on the shaft 132) by rotating contact of the coating chip 121 in the case receiving jig 130, and makes one rotation. The sealant is transferred over the entire inner peripheral surface of the opening 2a.
[0006]
An apparatus substantially the same as the above-described conventional coating apparatus is described in, for example, Patent Document 1. However, in the conventional transfer type coating apparatus described in Patent Literature 1, although the members are aligned with high accuracy, a problem may occur in the contact state between the members, and the impregnation may occur. Poor transfer of the sealant from the member 122 to the coating tip 121 and transfer failure of the sealant from the coating tip 121 to the inner peripheral surface of the battery case opening 2a are likely to occur, which causes a reduction in yield. By the way, in the battery production line, even if a sealant application failure occurs to maintain high productivity, the line speed can not be reduced or the line can not be stopped, so the application part is photographed online with a camera However, if the determination result by the image processing is NO, it is uniformly removed from the production line as a defective product, and repainting (overpainting) is not performed.
[0007]
In addition, the conventional sealant applying device 120 is located on the back side of the battery manufacturing line, so that it is far from the position of the worker, and the sealant impregnating member 122, the sealant application tip 121, and the inner peripheral surface of the battery case opening 2a However, there is a problem that the operator cannot directly check the state with the naked eye, and it is difficult to perform operations for adjusting and confirming the degree of contact between the members.
[0008]
For example, Patent Literature 2 discloses a method of spraying a sealant from a needle nozzle to apply the sealant to an opening of a battery case. In this conventional method, the pressure of the sealant injected from the nozzle is controlled in order to reduce the influence of the change in the viscosity of the sealant in order to reliably apply the sealant to the opening of the battery case. . However, although the method of Patent Document 2 shows a case in which a single nozzle is used to individually apply a sealant to the opening of the battery case, when this is actually applied to a mass production line, a specific nozzle is used. In the method of Patent Document 2, a specific method for collectively applying a sealant to a plurality of battery case openings using a plurality of nozzles is described. No solution is shown.
[0009]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-10-106518 (pages 2 to 4, FIG. 1)
[0010]
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2-152160 (pages 1-2, FIG. 1)
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and can apply a sealing agent to the inner peripheral surface of a battery case opening with high accuracy, and can perform work for adjusting and confirming an applied portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a battery case sealant application device which can be easily performed and has excellent workability such as high-precision application and maintenance / inspection monitoring.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The battery case sealing agent applying device according to the present invention is a battery case sealing agent applying device that applies a sealing agent for the purpose of sealing to an inner peripheral surface of an opening of a battery case fed along a battery manufacturing line. It has a driven endless track, and is arranged on the endless track at a predetermined pitch interval, has a plurality of holders for sequentially receiving and holding battery cases from the battery manufacturing line, and holds the battery case after applying a sealant. A battery case transport mechanism for sequentially sending out to the battery manufacturing line; and a battery case transport mechanism provided along an endless track of the battery case transport mechanism, arranged at substantially the same pitch interval as the pitch interval of the holder, and facing the holder one-to-one. A plurality of application nozzles for injecting a sealant toward the inner peripheral surface of the opening of the battery case held by the holder, and applying the sealant to the plurality of application nozzles. And respectively supplies sealing agent supply mechanism, characterized by comprising a nozzle moving mechanism for moving collectively the plurality of coating nozzles along the endless track of the battery case carrying mechanism.
[0013]
In this case, the nozzle moving mechanism includes a base supporting the plurality of application nozzles at a predetermined pitch interval, and a guide member provided substantially in parallel with a linear portion of the endless track of the battery case transport mechanism. It is preferable to include a link mechanism connected to the base, and driving means for transmitting a driving force to the link mechanism to reciprocate the base along the guide member. By moving the multiple application nozzles in parallel along the endless track, there is an advantage that the application nozzles can be quickly and accurately aligned with respect to the battery case.
[0014]
As the link mechanism, it is desirable to use an oscillating slider mechanism that transmits a pseudo linear motion force to a slider (base), but the present invention is not limited to this, and other linear motion mechanisms and pseudo linear motion A mechanism may be used.
[0015]
It is desirable to use an eccentric cam that is rotationally driven by a motor as the driving means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other types of cams and reciprocating piston cylinders can be used.
[0016]
Further, the sealant supply mechanism includes a supply source in which a sealant is stored, a sealant supply path provided between the supply source and the application nozzle, and a sealant supply path between the application nozzle and the supply source. A pump for circulating a sealant between the supply source and the application nozzle via the sealant return path provided, the sealant supply path and the sealant return path, and flowing through the sealant supply path. It is preferable to include a heater for controlling the temperature of the sealant to be heated and a filter for removing foreign matter from the sealant flowing through the sealant supply passage.
[0017]
Further, it is preferable that the application nozzle has a built-in solenoid valve that controls ON / OFF of opening and closing of a discharge port.
[0018]
As described above, while circulating the sealant between the supply path and the return path, the temperature of the sealant can be adjusted with high precision, and the sealant can be always kept in a clean state. Thus, there is an advantage that the solenoid valve can be opened at a predetermined timing when required, and a predetermined amount of clean sealing material whose temperature has been adjusted can be discharged from the application nozzle.
[0019]
Further, the battery case transport mechanism includes an entrance dial for receiving the battery case from the introduction conveyor of the battery production line, an exit dial for sending the battery case to the discharge conveyor of the battery production line, and engaging with the entrance dial and the endless track, respectively. Receiving the battery case from the inlet dial, engaging the inlet dial with the outlet dial and feeding the battery case to the endless track, and receiving the battery case from the endless track, respectively; And an outlet intermediate dial that sends out to the outlet dial. By inserting the middle inlet dial and the middle outlet outlet, the direction of movement of the battery case on the endless track coincides with the path direction of the line on the front side of the production line, and the application work area by the application nozzle is changed to the production line. There is an advantage that it can be arranged on the front side.
[0020]
In addition, the battery case transport mechanism includes a chain as the endless track on which the plurality of holders are attached at predetermined pitch intervals, a pair of sprockets around which the chain is wound, and a battery provided on the front side of a battery manufacturing line. And a drive belt that slides in contact with the outer periphery of the battery case held by the holder on the chain and rotates the battery case around an axis. By pressing the drive belt against the outer periphery of the battery case on the endless track, there is an advantage that the multiple battery cases can be uniformly rotated in the same direction by the same amount.
[0021]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 1, the battery case sealant application device 10 includes an entrance dial 11, an entrance intermediate dial 12, a battery case transport mechanism 13, a drive belt 15, a plurality of application nozzles 30, an exit intermediate dial 16, and a sealant application. A failure detection sensor 17, an exit dial 18, and a failure take-out dial 19 are provided. The battery case 2 is introduced into the entrance dial 11 from the introduction conveyor 101 of the battery production line, passed through the entrance intermediate dial 12 to the battery case transport mechanism 13, and is applied on the battery case transport mechanism 13 by the application nozzle 30. After the sealant 3 is applied, the sealant 3 is sent to the discharge conveyor 105 via the outlet intermediate dial 16 via the outlet dial 18 or is discharged to the defective takeout dial 19. The battery case 2 is fed from the battery manufacturing line to the battery case sealing agent applying device 10 at a rate of several hundred pieces per minute.
[0023]
The battery case transport mechanism 13 includes a battery case receiving jig 13a, sprockets 14a and 14b, a chain 14c, and a drive belt 15. The chain 14c forms an endless track with a so-called attachment provided with a number of battery case receiving jigs 13a, and is stretched between a pair of sprockets 14a and 14b. In the battery case transport mechanism 13, the chain 14c is intermittently or continuously rotated to receive the battery case 2 from the entrance intermediate dial 12 and send the battery case 2 to the exit intermediate dial 16.
[0024]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the battery case receiving jigs 13a are attached to the chain 14c at equal pitch intervals, and each holds the battery case 2 one by one. A transport carrier 13d is provided.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 5, the battery case 2 is held upright so as to fit between the holder 13b and the transport carrier 13d. The transport carrier 13d is attached to the holder 13b by a hinge or the like so as to be freely opened and closed. When the carrier 13d is closed, the battery case 2 is restrained, and when the carrier 13d is opened, the restraint of the battery case 2 is released. A chain 14c is connected to the back of the holder 13b. A guide roller 13e is attached to a lower portion of the holder 3b.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 4, the peripheral surface of the guide roller 13e abuts on the upper surface of the table 26 horizontally supported by the support column 22, and rolls on the table 26 by driving the chain 14c. You will be guided in between. Immediately above this, four application nozzles 30 are arranged, and as shown in FIG. 5, an appropriate amount of the sealant 3 is injected while aiming at the opening 2a of the battery case.
[0027]
As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, the drive belt 15 is stretched between a pair of pulleys 15a and 15b, and the drive belt 15 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the battery case 2 held by the battery case receiving jig 13a. It is imposed. A pair of left and right guide rollers 13 c is provided on the opposite side of the drive belt 15, and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface on the back side of the battery case 2. When the drive belt 15 is rotated between the pair of pulleys 15a and 15b, the battery case 2 is rotated around the axis while being supported and guided by the pair of guide rollers 13c. When the battery case 2 is rotated by the drive belt 15, the sealant 3 injected from the application nozzle 30 is applied evenly over the entire inner peripheral surface of the battery case opening 2a.
[0028]
Next, the nozzle moving mechanism 40 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0029]
The base 41 of the nozzle moving mechanism 40 extends so as to be parallel to the linear portion of the chain 14c with attachments, and four application nozzles 30 are mounted in a line in the longitudinal direction. These four application nozzles 30 are supported on the base 41 at predetermined regular pitch intervals. Although four application nozzles 30 are mounted in the illustrated example, the number of nozzles can be further increased to five, six, seven, or eight, or can be reduced to two or three.
[0030]
A slider 42 is attached to a lower portion of the base 41, and the slider 42 is slidably engaged with a guide rail 43. The guide rail 43 also extends substantially parallel to the linear portion of the endless track 14c of the battery case transport mechanism.
[0031]
One end of the horizontal arm 47 of the link mechanism is connected to one end of the base 41 via a free shaft 48c. The other end of the horizontal arm 47 is connected to the upper end of the swing arm 45 via a shaft 48b. The lower end of the swing arm is supported by the base 44 via a shaft 48a.
[0032]
The eccentric cam 46 comes into contact with an appropriate portion of the intermediate portion of the swing arm 45 from the side, so that the swing arm 45 is swung around the axis 48. The rotational driving force of the motor is transmitted to the eccentric cam 46 via a speed reducer (not shown). When the swing arm 45 is swung, a horizontal force is transmitted to the base 41 via the horizontal arm, and the four application nozzles 30 are reciprocated in the horizontal direction along with the base 41 along the guide rail 43. You. The reciprocating operation of the application nozzle 30 by the nozzle moving mechanism 40 is controlled in synchronization with the transport operation of the battery case 2 by the battery case transport mechanism 13. In this embodiment, a link mechanism combining an eccentric cam, a swing arm, and a slider is used for the nozzle moving mechanism 40. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a linear servomotor and a ball screw may be used. Other reciprocating drive mechanisms, such as a combined mechanism, may be employed.
[0033]
The application nozzle 30 (“Select Coat” manufactured by Nordson) has a built-in solenoid valve. The internal flow path of the application nozzle 30 branches into a discharge flow path and a drain flow path, and a solenoid valve is provided at the branch portion. The opening and closing operation of each solenoid valve is ON / OFF controlled by a controller (not shown). When the solenoid valve is opened to the discharge channel side and the pump 53 shown in FIG. 3 is driven, the sealant 3 is ejected from the discharge port of the application nozzle 30. It is desirable that the injection angle of the sealant from the nozzle 30 be as close to horizontal as possible. However, from the relationship with the holder 13a, the injection angle is in the range of about 20 ° to 45 ° as shown in FIG. Incidentally, since the outer diameter of the battery case 2 is 34 mm (single type), 26 mm (single size), 14.5 mm (single size), 10.5 mm (single size), it is applied according to the size of the battery case. It is important to optimally select the target angle from the nozzle 30. The liquid feeding operation of the pump 53 and the opening / closing operation of the solenoid valve are controlled by a controller (not shown) so that the sealant is evenly distributed to each of the multiple nozzles 30, and the viscosity of the sealant is controlled. Is controlled so that the sealant is ejected from the nozzle 30 at a sufficient pressure so as not to cause application unevenness even if the value fluctuates.
[0034]
Next, the sealant supply mechanism 50 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0035]
The tank 51 of the sealant supply mechanism 50 is supplied with the sealant 3 from a liquid supply device (not shown), and a predetermined amount or more of the sealant 3 is stored in the tank 51. The amount of liquid in the tank 51 is detected by a liquid level sensor (not shown), and is adjusted by a controller (not shown) so that the liquid level does not drop below a certain level.
[0036]
One end of the first supply pipe 52 of the sealant supply mechanism 50 is immersed in the sealant 3 in the tank 51, and the other end communicates with the suction port of the pump 53. One end of the second supply pipe 54 communicates with the discharge port of the pump 53, and the other end communicates with the liquid supply port of the application nozzle 30. The second supply pipe 54 is provided with a heater 55 and a filter 56. The heater 55 heats the sealant in the flow path to adjust the temperature to a desired temperature, and the filter 56 removes foreign substances such as particles from the sealant in the flow path.
[0037]
The internal flow path of the application nozzle 30 branches into a discharge flow path and a drain flow path, and a solenoid valve (not shown) is provided at the branch portion. The opening / closing operation of the solenoid valve is ON / OFF controlled by a controller (not shown).
[0038]
The drain flow path of the application nozzle 30 communicates with the return pipe 57 so that the sealant returns to the first supply pipe 52 or the tank 51 via the return pipe 57. When the solenoid valve is opened to the drain flow path side (at this time, the discharge flow path side is closed) and the pump 53 is driven, the sealant 3 passes through the heater 55, the filter 56, the application nozzle 30, and the pump 53 via the flow paths 54 and 57. It circulates between. The return pipe 57 is provided with a valve 58, and the valve 58 can be closed to clean the liquid supply circuit from the pump 53 to the application nozzle 30 during maintenance and inspection.
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 1, a sealant application failure detection sensor 17 is attached to an appropriate position on the outlet intermediate dial 16. The sensor 17 includes an optical detection unit having a CCD camera focused on the inner peripheral surface of the battery case opening 2a in order to detect an application failure of the sealant. It is designed to send data. The applied part is imaged by a CCD camera, and when the result of the determination analysis by the image processing apparatus is YES, the battery case 2 is sent to the discharge conveyor 105 through the outlet dial 18 via the outlet intermediate dial 16 as a passable product. On the other hand, when the result of the determination analysis by the image processing apparatus is NO, the battery case 2 is discharged to the defective take-out dial 19 as a defective product. A vacuum pad is attached to the outer peripheral pocket of the defective take-out dial 19, whereby the defective product is vacuum-sucked and discharged from the outlet intermediate dial 18.
[0040]
When the above-mentioned coating apparatus 10 was installed in a battery manufacturing line and was actually used for applying a sealant, defective application of the sealant did not occur at all, and the production yield was greatly improved.
[0041]
In addition, since the coating device of the above embodiment is arranged on the front side of the production line and shortens the distance between the application site and the worker, the worker can peek into the battery case opening, and the coating state Can be monitored in detail. For this reason, no trouble occurred due to insufficient monitoring as in the conventional coating apparatus shown in FIG.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, since a sealant can be apply | coated with high precision to the inner peripheral surface of a battery case opening part, without lowering a line speed, the product yield can be improved significantly.
[0043]
Further, according to the present invention, since the coating device is arranged on the front side of the production line, the battery case during the coating process can be directly monitored in front of the eyes, and when a trouble occurs, it can be quickly and quickly monitored. We can deal with it accurately.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall plan view showing a battery case sealant application device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a nozzle moving mechanism.
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a sealant supply mechanism.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing an application nozzle and a battery case transport mechanism.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a part of FIG. 4 in an enlarged manner;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a battery case transport mechanism.
FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of a conventional device.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part of a conventional device.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a main part of a conventional device.
[Explanation of symbols]
2. Battery case,
2a: Battery case opening,
3. Sealant,
10. Battery case sealant application device
11 ... entrance dial,
12 ... middle dial at the entrance,
13. Battery case transport mechanism
13a: battery case receiving jig, 13b: holder, 13c: roller,
13d: transport carrier, 13e: roller,
14a, 14b ... sprocket, 14c ... chain,
15: drive belt, 15a, 15b: pulley,
16 ... Intermediate exit dial,
17 ... Seal agent application failure detection sensor,
18 ... Exit dial,
19: defective take-out dial,
22 ... prop,
24 ... guide,
26 ... Table,
30 ... Application nozzle (sealant application gun)
40 ... nozzle moving mechanism
41 ... Base,
42 ... Slider,
43… guide rail,
44 ... Base,
45 ... swing arm,
46 ... Cam,
47 ... horizontal arm,
48a, 48b, 48c ... axes,
50 ... Sealant supply mechanism,
51 ... tank,
52, 54 ... sealant supply path (supply pipe),
57: sealant return path (return pipe)
53 ... pump,
55 ... heater,
56 ... Filter,
58 ... Valve,
101 ... introduction conveyor,
105 ... discharge conveyor.

Claims (6)

In a battery case sealant application device for applying a sealant for the purpose of sealing on the inner peripheral surface of the opening of the battery case fed along the battery production line,
It has an endless track that is driven to rotate, and is arranged on the endless track at a predetermined pitch, has a plurality of holders that sequentially receive and hold battery cases from the battery manufacturing line, and holds the battery case after applying a sealant. A battery case transport mechanism for sequentially sending out to the battery manufacturing line,
It is provided along the endless track of the battery case transport mechanism, is arranged at substantially the same pitch interval as the pitch interval of the holder, faces the holder in a one-to-one relationship, and is provided in the opening of the battery case held by the holder. A plurality of application nozzles for injecting a sealant toward the peripheral surface,
A sealant supply mechanism for supplying a sealant to the plurality of application nozzles,
And a nozzle moving mechanism for moving the plurality of application nozzles collectively along an endless track of the battery case transport mechanism. The nozzle moving mechanism includes:
A base supporting the plurality of application nozzles at a predetermined pitch interval,
A guide member provided substantially parallel to a linear portion of the endless track of the battery case transport mechanism;
2. A link mechanism connected to the base, and drive means for transmitting a driving force to the link mechanism to reciprocate the base along the guide member. Equipment. The sealant supply mechanism includes:
A source where the sealant is stored,
A sealant supply path provided between the supply source and the application nozzle,
A sealant return path provided between the application nozzle and the supply source,
A pump that circulates a sealant between the supply source and the application nozzle via the sealant supply path and the sealant return path,
A heater for controlling and heating the temperature of the sealant flowing through the sealant supply path;
The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a filter configured to remove foreign matter from the sealant flowing through the sealant supply path. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the application nozzle includes a solenoid valve that controls ON / OFF of opening and closing of a discharge port. Further, the battery case transport mechanism includes:
An inlet dial to receive the battery case from the introduction conveyor of the battery production line,
An outlet dial that sends out the battery case to the discharge conveyor of the battery production line;
An entrance intermediate dial that engages with the entrance dial and the endless track respectively, receives a battery case from the entrance dial, and sends the battery case to the endless track;
An exit intermediate dial engaged with the exit dial and the endless track, respectively, receiving a battery case from the endless track, and sending the battery case to the exit dial. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims. The battery case transport mechanism,
A chain as the endless track to which the plurality of holders are attached at predetermined pitch intervals,
A pair of sprockets over which the chain is bridged,
A drive belt provided on the front side of the battery manufacturing line, in contact with and sliding on the outer periphery of the battery case held by the holder on the chain, and rotating the battery case around an axis. Item 6. The apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 5.

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