JP2013206689A - Secondary battery restraining device and secondary battery restraining method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a secondary battery restraining device capable of removing a secondary battery without requiring the positioning of the secondary battery.SOLUTION: The restraining device comprises a jig 50 on which a projection section 51 projecting upward is formed and that can move upward and downward. A pressing face 21 in contact with a secondary battery W is formed on a spacer 20, and a slit 22 penetrating through the spacer 20 in a forward and a backward direction is formed on the spacer 20 except for the pressing face 21. The restraining device moves the jig 50 upward after restraint of the secondary battery W is cancelled, and presses the secondary battery W positioned at one end in a lamination direction as well as the secondary battery W positioned at the other end in the lamination direction with the projection section 51. The projection section 51 is made to enter into the slit 22 of the spacer 20, so as to move the secondary battery W relatively to the spacer 20.

Description

  The present invention relates to a secondary battery restraining device and a secondary battery restraining method for restraining a secondary battery by separating secondary batteries stacked in a horizontal direction with a spacer.

  Conventionally, in order to form a uniform film on the positive electrode and the negative electrode, the initial charging process of the secondary battery is performed by alternately stacking the secondary battery and the spacer in the horizontal direction and fixing the secondary battery in the stacking direction. It is performed in a state of being restrained by applying a load.

As a technique for restraining such a secondary battery, there is a charge / discharge device described in Patent Document 1.
The charging / discharging device described in Patent Document 1 restrains a secondary battery by placing the secondary battery on a pallet on which a spacer is arranged and pressing the secondary battery with a restraining jig.

After the initial charging step and the like are completed, the secondary battery is released after the restraint is released. Patent Document 1 does not disclose specific means for taking out such a secondary battery, but it is assumed that a jig having a shape as shown in FIG. 9 is used.
As shown in FIG. 9, the jig is formed with a plurality of protrusions protruding upward at equal intervals along the stacking direction. The jig pushes up only the secondary battery by pressing the secondary battery upward from below the secondary battery.

Here, the secondary battery has a thickness dimension (length dimension from the secondary battery on one end side in the stacking direction to the secondary battery on the other end side in the stacking direction) for the sake of convenience that the electrode body is compressed at the time of restraint. It will vary.
Therefore, in the prior art, if the secondary battery is not positioned with respect to the jig before the secondary battery is taken out, the secondary battery cannot be taken out by the jig.

JP 2010-140844 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and provides a secondary battery restraining device and a secondary battery restraining method capable of taking out the secondary battery without positioning the secondary battery. It is.

  A restraint device for a secondary battery according to the present invention is a restraint device for a secondary battery that restrains a secondary battery stacked in a horizontal direction with a spacer and restrains the secondary battery, and is orthogonal to the stacking direction. A protrusion that protrudes in the direction is formed, and includes a jig that is movable in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction, and the spacer has a pressing surface that contacts the secondary battery, and A slit that penetrates the spacer in the stacking direction is formed in a portion excluding the pressing surface, and the secondary battery restraining device releases the restraint of the secondary battery, and then the jig is orthogonal to the stacking direction. The protrusion is pressed from the secondary battery located at one end in the stacking direction to the secondary battery located at the other end in the stacking direction, and the protrusion is used as a slit of the spacer. To enter More, relatively moving said secondary battery with respect to the spacer, those.

  In the secondary battery restraint device according to the present invention, the plate that applies a load to the secondary battery during restraint has a slit in a shape that allows the protrusion of the jig to enter the portion corresponding to the pressing surface of the spacer. It is formed in the part except for.

  A secondary battery restraining method according to the present invention is a secondary battery restraining method in which a secondary battery stacked in a horizontal direction is separated by a spacer and the secondary battery is restrained, and the secondary battery is used as the spacer. A pressing surface that is in contact with the battery is formed, and a slit that penetrates the spacer in the stacking direction is formed in a portion excluding the pressing surface, and after releasing the restraint of the secondary battery, the stacking direction The jig is moved in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction, and the protruding portion of the jig protruding in the direction orthogonal to the stacking direction is moved from the secondary battery located at one end in the stacking direction to the other end in the stacking direction. The secondary battery is moved relative to the spacer by pressing up to the positioned secondary battery and causing the protrusion to enter the slit of the spacer.

  The secondary battery restraining method according to the present invention is such that a slit that has a shape into which the protruding portion of the jig can enter corresponds to the pressing surface of the spacer on the plate that applies a load to the secondary battery during restraint. It is formed in the part except for.

  The present invention has an effect that the secondary battery can be taken out without positioning the secondary battery.

The side view of the restraint apparatus of a secondary battery. The front view of a frame. (A) The figure which shows the part which has mounted the secondary battery. (B) The figure which shows the part which has mounted the spacer. The figure which shows the shape of a spacer. (A) Front view. (B) Side view. (C) Top view. The side view which shows the state in which a secondary battery is restrained. (A) The figure before restraint. (B) The figure at the time of restraint. The side view which shows the state which cancelled | released restraint of the secondary battery. The front view of a flame | frame when taking out a secondary battery. (A) The figure which shows the part which has mounted the secondary battery. (B) The figure which shows the part which has mounted the spacer. The side view which shows a state when taking out a secondary battery. The figure which shows the state which takes out the secondary battery with a small thickness dimension after restraint. (A) The figure which shows the state before taking out. (B) The figure which shows the state when taking out. Explanatory drawing which shows the jig | tool for taking out the conventional secondary battery.

  Hereinafter, the restraining device 1 for the secondary battery W (hereinafter referred to as “restraining device 1”) and the restraining method for the secondary battery W (hereinafter referred to as “restraining method”) according to the present embodiment will be described.

First, the secondary battery W will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 (a), the secondary battery W accommodates an electrode body formed by stacking and winding a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator in a battery container, This is a square sealed battery in which a battery container is sealed after injection.

After the battery container is sealed, an initial charging step is performed on the secondary battery W.
The initial charging step is performed in a state where the secondary battery W is restrained by applying a certain load in the stacking direction in order to form a uniform film on the positive electrode and the negative electrode (see FIG. 4).

The secondary battery W of this embodiment is used as a secondary battery (cell) that constitutes an assembled battery.
In the assembled battery, a plurality of secondary batteries W are stacked in the thickness direction, adjacent secondary batteries W are separated by a spacer, and a constant load is applied to the secondary battery W and the spacer in the stacking direction. It is configured by restraining with restraint fittings.

  That is, the secondary battery W of the present embodiment is used in a restrained state. For this reason, the inspection process (inspection of the secondary battery W alone, for example, voltage measurement, etc.) performed before manufacturing the assembled battery is performed in a state where the secondary battery W is constrained.

That is, the secondary battery W of the present embodiment is restrained while the initial charging process and the inspection process are performed, and thereafter the restraint is released.
In such a case, the restraining device 1 restrains the secondary battery W using the restraining method.

  In addition, although the secondary battery W of this embodiment shall be a lithium ion secondary battery, it is not limited to this, For example, a nickel hydride secondary battery etc. may be sufficient.

  Next, the configuration of the restraining device 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

  In the following, for convenience of explanation, the “up and down direction of the restraining device 1” is defined based on the up and down direction of the paper surface in FIG. Further, the “front-rear direction of the restraint device 1” is defined with the right direction of the paper surface in FIG. Then, the “left-right direction of the restraint device 1” is defined with the direction toward the back side of the paper surface in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the restraint device 1 includes a frame 10, a spacer 20, a plate 30, a screw 40, a jig 50, and the like.

  The frame 10 includes a bottom plate 11, a rear plate 12, a front plate 13, and a side plate 14.

The bottom plate 11 is a member that extends along the front-rear direction from the front end portion to the rear end portion of the restraining device 1. The bottom plate 11 is disposed at both left and right ends of the restraint device 1 with a predetermined gap left and right.
The bottom plate 11 on the right side (the bottom plate 11 on the left side in FIG. 2) is formed in a substantially L shape when viewed from the front. The left bottom plate 11 is arranged symmetrically with respect to the right bottom plate 11 with respect to the left-right center of the restraining device 1.

  The rear plate 12 is a substantially plate-like member attached to the rear end portion of the bottom plate 11. The spacer 20 located at the rear end is in contact with the front side surface of the rear plate 12.

  The front plate 13 is a substantially plate-like member attached to the front end portion of the bottom plate 11. A through-hole penetrating in the front-rear direction is formed in the front plate 13. A female screw that is screwed into the screw 40 is formed in the through hole.

  The side plate 14 is attached to the front and rear end portions of the left and right front and rear plates 12 and 13 at both ends.

  In the side view of the restraint device 1 (FIGS. 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8), in order to make the secondary battery W and the spacer 20 easier to see, a part of the bottom plate 11 (the bottom plate). 11 and the side plate 14 are not shown.

The secondary battery W is placed on the frame 10 with the thickness direction being the front-rear direction.
That is, in this embodiment, the front-back direction is the stacking direction.

The spacer 20 is supported by the side plate 14 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction relative to the frame 10.
As the spacer of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a spacer 20 in which a pressing surface 21 and a slit 22 are formed on a substantially plate-like member is used.

The pressing surface 21 is a surface formed at a portion that protrudes by a predetermined dimension in the front-rear direction from the left and right central portion of the spacer 20. Therefore, when the secondary battery W is restrained, the pressing surface 21 comes into contact with the secondary battery W (see the pressing surface 21 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2A). That is, the secondary battery W is pressed at a portion that contacts the pressing surface 21.
The range of the pressing surface 21 is determined according to the shape of the secondary battery W and the like.

The slit 22 is formed in a shape that is cut upward by a predetermined length from the lower end of the spacer 20. The slit 22 penetrates the spacer 20 in the front-rear direction.
The slits 22 are respectively formed on the left side and the right side of the pressing surface 21. That is, the slit 22 is formed in a portion excluding the pressing surface 21.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of such spacers 20 are arranged in the frame 10 with a predetermined pitch in the front-rear direction. A secondary battery W is disposed between the front and rear spacers 20. That is, the spacer 20 separates the secondary batteries W stacked in the horizontal direction.

  The plate 30 applies a load to the secondary battery W during restraint (see FIG. 4). The plate 30 is a substantially plate-like member disposed behind the front plate 13. The plate 30 moves forward by the screw 40 and presses the spacer 20 located at the front end.

In such a plate 30, left and right slits having substantially the same shape as the left and right slits 22 of the spacer 20 are formed (see FIG. 3). The slit of the plate 30 has the same height as the height of the upper end of the slit 22 of the spacer 20 at the upper end. The slit of the plate 30 is formed at a position overlapping the slit of the spacer 20 in front view.
That is, the slit of the plate 30 is formed in a portion excluding a portion corresponding to the pressing surface 21 of the spacer 20 (a portion in contact with the pressing surface 21 of the spacer 20 located at the front end portion).
The slit of the plate 30 of this embodiment penetrates the plate 30 in the front-rear direction.

  The screw 40 supports the plate 30 and fixes the pressing position of the plate 30. The front end of the screw 40 is connected to the nut runner. When the screw 40 is rotated by the nut runner, the screw 40 approaches and separates from the plate 30 according to the rotation direction.

The jig 50 is for taking out the secondary battery W. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the jig 50 is disposed below the frame 10. The jig 50 is disposed between the left and right bottom plates 11 in a front view.
The jig 50 is configured by forming a protruding portion 51 on a substantially plate-like member having a length dimension in the left-right direction that is substantially the same as the distance in the left-right direction of the slit 22 of the spacer 20.

The protrusion 51 protrudes upward (in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction) from the left and right ends of the jig 50. The protrusion 51 extends long in the front-rear direction from the front end portion to the rear end portion of the jig 50. The left and right protrusions 51 are located below the left and right slits 22 of the spacer 20.
The projecting dimension of the projecting part 51 is set to be slightly longer than the depth dimension of the slit 22 in the vertical direction.

  Such a jig 50 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction relative to the frame 10 by a cylinder. Accordingly, the jig 50 enters the frame 10 by moving upward.

  Next, operation | movement of the restraint apparatus 1 performed using the restraint method is demonstrated.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the restraining device 1 sets the secondary battery W (secondary battery W before performing the initial charging process) on the frame 10. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4A, the secondary battery W and the spacer 20 are alternately stacked on the frame 10 in the front-rear direction.

  After the secondary battery W is set, as shown in FIG. 4B, the restraint device 1 rotates the screw 40 to move the plate 30 in the backward direction, and moves the secondary battery W and the spacer 20 to the plate 30. Press. That is, the restraining device 1 applies a certain load to the secondary battery W in the stacking direction. The restraint device 1 restrains the secondary battery W by maintaining the state in which the load is applied.

  An initial charging step is performed on the constrained secondary battery W. At this time, the restraint device 1 continues to restrain the secondary battery W. Thereby, a uniform film is formed on the electrode of the secondary battery W.

  And an inspection process is performed with respect to the secondary battery W in which the initial charge process was performed. At this time, the restraint device 1 continues to restrain the secondary battery W.

After the inspection process is completed, as shown in FIG. 5, the restraint device 1 rotates the screw 40 and moves it forward to release the restraint. Then, the restraining device 1 moves the jig 50 upward relative to the frame 10 and sets the jig 50 on the frame 10.
At this time, the protrusion 51 of the jig 50 enters the frame 10 through the gap between the left and right bottom plates 11 as shown in FIG.

  As a result, the secondary battery W is pressed by the protruding portions 51 of the jig 50 on both the left and right sides of the lower surface. Therefore, the secondary battery W is pushed upward from the frame 10 by setting the jig 50 (see FIG. 2A).

As described above, the protruding portion 51 of the jig 50 is located below the left and right slits 22 of the spacer 20 (see FIG. 2B).
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B, the protrusion 51 of the jig 50 enters the left and right slits 22 of the spacer 20 when entering the frame 10. When the restraint device 1 sets the jig 50 on the frame 10, the restraint device 1 moves the jig 50 upward until the protruding portion 51 contacts the upper end portion of the slit 22.
For this reason, the spacer 20 is not pushed upward by the jig 50, and its height position does not fluctuate.

  Here, the length dimension of the jig 50 in the front-rear direction is such that when the secondary battery W is taken out by releasing the restraint, the secondary battery W positioned at one end in the stacking direction is positioned at the other end in the stacking direction. Long dimensions are set so that the secondary battery W can be reliably pushed out.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, when the jig 50 is set, only the secondary battery W is lifted from the frame 10.
In such a secondary battery W, the left and right side surfaces are located above the left and right side surfaces of the spacer 20.

  Therefore, the restraint device 1 can take out only the secondary battery W from the frame 10 by clamping the portion protruding from the spacer 20 with a clamp portion such as rubber.

  The secondary battery W taken out from the frame 10 is transported to the assembled battery production line, except for the secondary battery W whose test result is unacceptable.

As described above, in the restraining device 1 and the restraining method, after the restraint of the secondary battery W is released, the jig 50 is moved upward, and the secondary battery W positioned at one end in the stacking direction by the protrusion 51. To the secondary battery W located at the other end in the stacking direction, and the protruding portion 51 enters the slit 22 of the spacer 20.
Thereby, the restraining device 1 and the restraining method move the secondary battery W relative to the spacer 20.

According to this, the restraining device 1 and the restraining method can take out the secondary battery W without positioning the secondary battery W. Further, it is not necessary to use a jig having a complicated shape as shown in FIG.
Therefore, the cost required for the jig 50 for taking out the secondary battery W can be reduced.

In addition, the slit of a spacer should just be formed in the part except a press surface (it does not need to penetrate a press surface), and the shape is not limited to this embodiment.
Further, the protruding portion of the jig has a shape that can enter the slit of the spacer, and may be formed in a portion other than the portion corresponding to the pressing surface of the spacer, and the shape is limited to this embodiment. Not.

Here, in the secondary battery W, the electrode body is compressed when restrained. Further, the restraining device 1 presses the secondary battery W so that a certain load is applied to the secondary battery W. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 8A, the thickness dimension of the secondary battery W after restraint (the length from the secondary battery W on one end side in the stacking direction to the secondary battery W on the other end side in the stacking direction). The dimension) varies every time the different secondary batteries W are constrained.
That is, the position of the plate 30 after the restraint varies depending on the secondary battery W.

As shown in FIG. 8A, when the thickness dimension after restraint is small and the plate 30 moves relatively to the rear side, the front end portion of the protruding portion 51 of the jig 50 is positioned below the plate 30. Will be.
That is, the jig 50 tries to press the plate 30 upward when the protruding portion 51 enters the frame 10.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a slit having substantially the same shape as the slit 22 of the spacer 20 is formed in the plate 30, and the protruding portion 51 of the jig 50 is made to enter the slit as in the case of the spacer 20.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8B, the plate 30 is not pushed upward by the jig 50, and its height position does not fluctuate.

  According to this, the restraint device 1 and the restraint method can prevent the plate 30 from interfering with the operation of taking out the secondary battery W by the jig 50 even when the thickness dimension after restraint of the secondary battery W is small.

  As described above, the plate 30 is formed with a slit having a shape into which the protruding portion 51 of the jig 50 can enter, except for a portion corresponding to the pressing surface 21 of the spacer 20.

  In addition, the slit of the plate does not necessarily need to penetrate the plate in the front-rear direction. That is, when the secondary battery is taken out, if the front end of the jig is always positioned behind the front end of the plate, the slit of the plate extends from the front end of the plate to the middle part of the plate. It suffices if it is formed between.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Restraint device 20 Spacer 21 Press surface 22 Slit 50 Jig 51 Protrusion part W Secondary battery

Claims (4)

A secondary battery restraining device for separating secondary batteries stacked in a horizontal direction with a spacer and restraining the secondary battery,
A protrusion formed in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction and movable in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction;
Comprising
The spacer includes
A pressing surface in contact with the secondary battery is formed, and a slit penetrating the spacer in the stacking direction is formed in a portion excluding the pressing surface,
The secondary battery restraining device is:
After releasing the restraint of the secondary battery, the jig is moved in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction, and the protruding portion causes the other end in the stacking direction from the secondary battery positioned at one end in the stacking direction. The secondary battery is moved relative to the spacer by pressing up to the secondary battery located at the same time and causing the protrusion to enter the slit of the spacer.
Secondary battery restraint device. In the plate that applies a load to the secondary battery at the time of restraint,
A slit having a shape into which the protruding portion of the jig can enter is formed in a portion excluding a portion corresponding to the pressing surface of the spacer.
The secondary battery restraint device according to claim 1. A secondary battery restraining method in which a secondary battery stacked in a horizontal direction is separated by a spacer, and the secondary battery is restrained.
As the spacer, a pressing surface that is in contact with the secondary battery is formed, and a spacer is formed in which a slit that penetrates the spacer in the stacking direction is formed in a portion excluding the pressing surface,
After releasing the restraint of the secondary battery, the jig is moved in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction, and one end of the stacking direction is projected by the protruding portion of the jig protruding in the direction orthogonal to the stacking direction. The secondary battery is pressed against the spacer by pressing from the secondary battery located at the other end to the secondary battery located at the other end in the stacking direction, and by causing the protrusion to enter the slit of the spacer. Move relative,
Secondary battery restraint method. In the plate that applies a load to the secondary battery at the time of restraint,
A slit having a shape into which the protruding portion of the jig can enter is formed in a portion excluding a portion corresponding to the pressing surface of the spacer.
The method for restraining a secondary battery according to claim 3.

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