JPH1050322A - Electrode coil forming method and forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrode coil forming device, capable of precisely positioning and forming a positive electrode tab without manual handling, maintaining high position precision, and improving productivity. SOLUTION: A coil main body 12 is rotated in a circumferential direction by means of a rotary positioning mechanism 15 in contact with an outer circumference face of the coil main body 12. A positive electrode tab 13, protruded along an axial direction from one end portion of the coil main body 12, is moved by means of the rotation and abuts with a chuck 29a disposed at a specified position, and the coil main body 12 is held by means of chucks 29a and 29b and positioned at a specified position relationship. Rotation of the coil main body 12 is stopped, and the rotary positioning mechanism 15 is retracted from a contact position with the coil main body 12 to a non-contacting position. The positive electrode tab 13 is positioned and pressurized from the exterior side by means of a press mechanism 37 in a diametrical direction to the coil main body 12 whose rotation has been stopped, and a flat-shaped electrode coil 11 is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a flat electrode coil used in a battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a process of assembling a prismatic battery includes a process of forming a cylindrically wound electrode coil into a flat shape as shown in FIG. That is, the electrode coil 11 has a coil main body 12 formed in a flat cylindrical shape, and a positive electrode tab 13 protruding from one end of the coil main body 12 along the axial direction. Is wound into a cylindrical shape and later formed into a flat shape.

In such an electrode coil 11, a coil body
Since the position of the positive electrode tab 13 with respect to 12 serves as a reference in the assembling process and greatly affects the yield, it is desirable to perform positioning and molding with high accuracy. For this reason, conventionally, the electrode coils 11 are manually placed one by one on a predetermined position by a single device, and are pressed and formed by a press. Therefore, much labor is required and productivity cannot be improved.

[0004]

As described above, in the above-described prior art, in order to increase the positional accuracy of the positive electrode tab 13, the electrode coils 11 are manually positioned one by one and are pressed and formed by a press. However, there is a problem that productivity cannot be improved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and enables the positioning and molding of the positive electrode tab with high accuracy without manual operation, thereby maintaining high positional accuracy and improving productivity. An object is to provide an electrode coil forming method and a forming apparatus.

[0006]

According to the present invention, an electrode coil having a positive electrode tab protruding from one end of a cylindrical coil body along an axial direction is rotated in a circumferential direction, and the positive electrode tab of the electrode coil is rotated. Is brought into contact with a chuck provided at a predetermined position, and the positive electrode tab is held and fixed at the contact position by the chuck. The coil body is formed flat by applying pressure, and the positive electrode tab is held and fixed at a predetermined position by the chuck, and the coil body is formed flat in this state. An electrode coil positioned with high accuracy can be obtained.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an electrode coil forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Parts corresponding to those of the conventional example shown in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals and described.

In FIG. 1, an electrode coil 11 is a pre-molded one. A coil main body 12 wound in a cylindrical shape and a positive electrode tab 13 on a strip protruding from one end of the coil main body 12 in the axial direction. And

Reference numeral 15 denotes a rotary positioning mechanism. The rotary positioning mechanism 15 has a pair of rotary shafts 16, 16 arranged in parallel with each other.
Has one end rotatably supported by the housings 17, 17, and is connected to a drive motor (not shown) via rollers 18 located on the opposite side of the housings 17, 17.
The drive motor rotates and drives in the same direction. Further, free flow rollers 19, 19 are freely rotatably fitted on the outer peripheral surfaces near both ends of the rotating shafts 16, 16, respectively.

The rotary positioning mechanism 15 supports the coil body 12 of the electrode coil 11 between a pair of rotary shafts 16 and 16 as shown in the figure, and positions the electrode coil 11 in the axial direction. The electrode coil 11 is driven to rotate. That is, the rotating shafts 16, 16 of the rotation positioning mechanism 15 are respectively connected to the coil main body 12 via the free flow rollers 19, 19.
And rotates the coil body 12 via free flow rollers 19, 19 as the rotating shafts 16, 16 rotate.

The rotary shaft of the rotary positioning mechanism 15
It has a retreat mechanism 20 for retreating 16, 16 from a contact position with the coil body 12 to a non-contact position. For this purpose, the housings 17, 17 supporting the rotating shafts 16, 16 are supported by rails 22 provided on the first table 21 so as to be slidable along a spacing direction orthogonal to the rotating shafts 16, 16. I have. The first table 21 is configured to be able to advance and retreat along an arrow A by an actuator (not shown).

On these housings 17, bearings 24 are provided rotatably along horizontal directions by support shafts 23, 23, respectively. A plate cam 25 is provided between the bearings 24 and 24 so as to be able to advance and retreat along an arrow B by an actuator (not shown). Further, a tension spring 26 for connecting the bearings 24, 24 to the first cam side 25a and the second cam side 25c of the plate cam 25 is stretched between the housings 17, 17.

Further, the plate cam 25 regulates the interval between the rotary shafts 16, 16 by contact with the bearings 24, 24, and a first cam that regulates the rotary shafts 16, 16 at a contact position with the coil body 12. The cam side 25a, the oblique side 25b for changing the interval between the rotating shafts 16, 16 by the reciprocating operation between the bearings 24, 24 and the rotating shafts 16, 16 are connected to the coil body 12
The second cam side 25c is continuously formed to be restricted to a non-contact position separated from the outer peripheral surface of the second cam.

The second positioning member 15 is positioned so as to face one end of the coil body 12 positioned by the rotation positioning mechanism 15.
Has a chuck mechanism 27 on the table. The second table 28 is configured to be able to advance and retreat along an arrow C by an actuator (not shown). The chuck mechanism 27 includes a pair of chucks 29a and 29 that open and close in a vertical direction.
9b and an open / close drive mechanism 30 by air.

Here, the pair of chucks 29a and 29b are positioned at predetermined positions where the positive electrode tab 13 should be positioned when the electrode coil 11 is formed by the forward movement of the second table 28 in the direction of arrow C. A locking piece 31 is provided on the side surface of the upper chuck 29a. The locking piece 31 abuts the side of the positive electrode tab 13 and locks the movement by the circumferential movement of the positive electrode tab 13 accompanying the rotation of the coil body 12.

Reference numeral 33 denotes a detection mechanism.
Has a sensor 35 attached to the upper end of a holder 34 erected near the chucks 29a and 29b, and detects that the positive electrode tab 13 is held by the chucks 29a and 29b.

Further, reference numeral 37 denotes a press mechanism. The press mechanism 37 has an upper die 38 and a lower die 39 for forming the coil body 12 into a flat shape, and the lower die 39 is provided between the pair of rotary shafts 16, 16. After the rotary shafts 16 and 16 are retracted to a position where they do not come into contact with the coil main body 12, the coil main body 12 is mounted and supported. The upper die 38 is disposed above the lower die 39 and is driven downward by an actuator (not shown) to clamp the coil body 12 together with the lower die 39 and apply pressure in the diametrical direction to apply this coil body 12 to the lower die 39. Form flat.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the electrode coil 11 produced in the previous step has a coil body 12 wound in a cylindrical shape, and a positive electrode tab 13 protruding from one end of the coil body 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the electrode coil 11 is transferred by a transfer mechanism (not shown) onto a pair of rotating shafts 16, 16 constituting a rotation positioning mechanism 15 via free flow rollers 19, 19. At this time, the retracting mechanism 20 shown in FIG.
Is located at the retracted position, and the pair of bearings 24, 24 are in contact with the first cam sides 25a, 25a. Therefore, the interval between the pair of rotary shafts 16 and 16 is restricted to an interval where the coil body 12 can be supported.

Next, the first table 21 is advanced in the direction of arrow A by an actuator (not shown),
The coil body 12 supported between 16 and 16 is positioned between the upper die 38 and the lower die 39 of the press mechanism 37. The second table 28 is also moved by an arrow C by an actuator (not shown).
, And the pair of chucks 29a and 29b are positioned in a predetermined positional relationship.

In this state, a pair of rotary shafts 16 and 16 are driven to rotate in the same direction via a roller 18 by a drive motor (not shown). At this time, the free flow rollers 19, 19 loosely fitted to the rotating shafts 16, 16 are pressed against the outer peripheral surfaces of the rotating shafts 16, 16 due to the weight of the coil body 12. For this reason, the free flow rollers 19, 19
, And rotates the coil body 12 in contact with the outer surface in the circumferential direction.

The rotation of the coil body 12 causes the positive electrode tab 13
Moves in the circumferential direction, and comes into contact with the locking piece 31 of the upper chuck 29a at a predetermined position as shown in FIG. Therefore, the rotation of the coil body 12 is locked. At this time, the coil body 12 was receiving the rotational force from the free flow rollers 19, 19, but the free flow rollers 19, 19
The free rotation of the free shafts 1 and 16 is achieved by the engagement of the rotating shafts 16 and 16 with the free flow rollers
Absorbed between 9,19. Accordingly, no excessive force is applied to the positive electrode tab 13 due to the locking, and the coil body 12
Rotation can be stopped without difficulty.

As described above, when the rotation of the coil body 12 is stopped, the pair of chucks 29a, 29a,
29b is closed, and the positive electrode tab 13 located therebetween is clamped and held. Further, the sensor 35 of the detection mechanism 33 detects the positive electrode tab 13
Is detected at a predetermined position.

Next, the plate cam 25 shown in FIG. 1 is advanced in the direction of arrow B, and the oblique side 25b of the plate cam 25 causes the tension spring 26 to move.
The outside of the bearings 24, 24 is pushed out against the tension of. For this reason, the housings 17, 17 slide left and right on the rail 22, and move a pair of rotating shafts 16, 16 attached to the housing 17 outwardly in parallel. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, when the second cam side 25c of the plate cam 25 advances to a position where it contacts the bearings 24, 24, the pair of rotary shafts 16, 16
Retreat to a non-contact position separated from the outer peripheral surface.

The retracting operation causes the coil body
The 12 is separated from the pair of rotating shafts 16 and 16 and is transferred onto a lower die 39 of a press mechanism 37 located below the pair of rotating shafts 16 and 16. Therefore, the first table 21 is moved backward in the direction of arrow A by an actuator (not shown), and the pair of rotary shafts 16
Evacuate from above the lower mold 39. Thereafter, the upper die 37 of the press mechanism 37 is lowered by an actuator (not shown), and the cylindrical coil body 12 is pressed together with the lower die 39 from above and below. That is, pressure is applied to the coil main body 12 from the outside in the diameter direction of the coil main body 12, and the coil main body 12 is formed into a flat shape as shown in FIG.

After molding in this manner, the upper die 38 rises. Next, after opening the chucks 29a and 29b to release the positive electrode tab 13, the second table 28 is moved backward in the direction of arrow C. . For this reason, the electrode coil 11 after the completion of the molding shown in FIG. 6 is placed on the lower die 39 of the press mechanism 37, and the electrode coil 11 is transferred to a subsequent process by a transfer mechanism (not shown), and the operation is completed. I do.

Here, when the cylindrical coil body 12 is formed into a flat shape, the positive electrode tab 13 is pressed and formed while being held and fixed at a predetermined position by the chucks 29a and 29b.
The position of the positive electrode tab 13 with respect to the flat coil body 12 after molding can be accurately kept constant, and the yield in the post-process is improved. Further, since the positioning and holding and fixing of the positive electrode tab 13 can be automatically processed by the rotation positioning mechanism 15 and the chuck mechanism 27, productivity can be greatly improved as compared with the conventional manual positioning.

[0028]

According to the present invention, since the positive electrode tab is positioned and molded with high precision, high positional precision can be maintained, and the positioning can be automatically performed without manual operation, so that productivity can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an electrode coil forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing one manufacturing process of the electrode coil.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a manufacturing step subsequent to FIG. 2 for manufacturing the electrode coil;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a manufacturing step following that of FIG. 3 for the electrode coil;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a step subsequent to that of FIG. 4 for manufacturing the electrode coil.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a general formed electrode coil.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Electrode coil 12 Coil body 13 Positive electrode tab 15 Rotational positioning mechanism 20 Evacuation mechanism 27 Chuck mechanism 29a, 29b Chuck 37 Press mechanism

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electrode coil having a positive electrode tab protruding from one end of a cylindrical coil body along an axial direction is rotated along a circumferential direction, and the positive electrode tab of the electrode coil is mounted on a chuck provided at a predetermined position. The positive electrode tab is held and fixed by the chuck at the contact position, and in this held and fixed state, pressure is applied to the cylindrical coil body from the outside in the diametrical direction to thereby fix the coil body. An electrode coil forming method, wherein the electrode coil is formed flat. 2. An electrode coil forming apparatus for a battery, comprising: a cylindrical coil main body, wherein an electrode coil having a positive electrode tab protruding from one end of the coil main body in an axial direction is formed in a predetermined shape. A rotation positioning mechanism that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the coil body to position the coil body at a predetermined position, and rotates the coil body along a circumferential direction; and the one end of the coil body positioned by the rotation positioning mechanism. A chuck mechanism that is provided to face and abuts the positive electrode tab by the rotation of the coil body to stop the rotation of the coil body, and that holds and fixes the positive electrode tab at this abutting position; A retracting mechanism for retracting from a contact position with the outer peripheral surface of the coil body to a non-contact position, and a rotational positioning mechanism by the retracting mechanism. Electrode coil forming apparatus characterized by comprising a pressing mechanism for flat formed by applying pressure from the outside in the diameter direction relative to the coil body at avoidance state.