KR101198872B1 - Dismantler of Cylindrical Secondary Battery - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a device for cutting and disassembling the battery case of the cylindrical secondary battery, the cylindrical body is mounted on the cylindrical secondary battery, the upper end of the cylindrical body of the upper end of the cylindrical body is a knife is mounted on the position corresponding to the gasket of the cylindrical secondary battery And a second cutting portion having a knife mounted at a position corresponding to the bottom portion of the cylindrical secondary battery among the lower inner surfaces of the cylindrical body, wherein the cylindrical secondary battery is mounted on the cylindrical body. It provides a disassembly device of a cylindrical secondary battery for cutting the battery case of the cylindrical secondary battery by rotating the first cutting unit and the second cutting unit.

Description

Disassembling device of cylindrical secondary battery {Dismantler of Cylindrical Secondary Battery}

The present invention relates to a device for cutting and disassembling the battery case of the cylindrical secondary battery, and more particularly, in a position corresponding to the gasket of the cylindrical secondary battery of the cylindrical body, the inner surface of the upper end of the cylindrical body in which the cylindrical secondary battery is mounted; And a second cutting part in which a knife is mounted at a position corresponding to the bottom of the cylindrical secondary battery among the lower inner surfaces of the cylindrical body, wherein the knife is mounted on the cylindrical body. The present invention relates to a decomposition apparatus of a cylindrical secondary battery having a structure for cutting a battery case of a cylindrical secondary battery by mounting the secondary battery and rotating the first and second cutting parts.

As the development and demand for mobile devices increases, the demand for secondary batteries as a source of energy is increasing rapidly. Among them, many researches have been conducted on lithium secondary batteries with high energy density and discharge voltage. It is used.

The secondary battery is a cylindrical battery and a rectangular battery in which the electrode assembly is embedded in a cylindrical or rectangular metal can according to the shape of the battery case, and a pouch type battery in which the electrode assembly is embedded in a pouch type case of an aluminum laminate sheet. Are classified.

In addition, the electrode assembly embedded in the battery case is a power generator capable of charging and discharging composed of a laminated structure of the anode / separator / cathode, a jelly-roll type wound through a separator between the long sheet-type anode and cathode coated with the active material And a plurality of positive and negative electrodes of a predetermined size are classified into a stack type in which a plurality of positive and negative electrodes are sequentially stacked in a state where a separator is interposed therebetween. Among them, the jelly-roll type electrode assembly has an advantage of being easy to manufacture and having a high energy density per weight.

The jelly-roll type electrode assembly is mainly used for cylindrical cells and rectangular cells, and FIG. 1 schematically shows a vertical cross-sectional perspective view of a cylindrical cell including a jelly-roll type electrode assembly.

In general, the cylindrical battery 10 includes a cylindrical can 20, a jelly-roll electrode assembly 30 accommodated in the can 20, and a cap assembly 40 coupled to an upper portion of the can 20. It is.

The electrode assembly 30 has a structure that is wound in a jelly-roll shape with a separator 33 interposed between the positive electrode 31 and the negative electrode 32, and the positive electrode tab 34 is attached to the positive electrode 31. A negative electrode tab (not shown) is attached to the negative electrode 32, and is connected to the lower end of the can 20.

The cap assembly 40 includes a top cap 41 forming a positive electrode terminal, a positive temperature coefficient element 42 for blocking current due to a large increase in battery resistance when the temperature inside the battery increases, and a pressure increase inside the battery. Safety vent 43 to cut off the current and / or exhaust the gas, Gasket 44 to electrically separate the safety vent 43 from the cap plate 45 and seal the inside of the cell, except for a specific portion, The cap plate 45 to which the positive electrode tab 34 connected to 31 is connected is laminated in this order.

Such cylindrical batteries vary in required properties depending on the field of use. For example, when used as a power source for mobile phones, laptops, etc., a secondary battery for stably providing a constant output is required, while when used as a power source for a power tool such as an electric drill, the instantaneous high output is provided. There is a need for a secondary battery that can be stable against external physical shocks such as vibration and dropping.

Therefore, various cylindrical batteries are being designed, and it is necessary to confirm whether the actually manufactured cylindrical batteries exhibit the desired characteristics in design. Such confirmation is also necessary to evaluate other companies' products or to identify the cause of an accident when an accident such as fire or explosion occurs.

In order to identify such a product, an internal electrode assembly or the like must be recovered, and thus a process of disassembling a can, which is a battery case, is first performed. To this end, the inspector generally cuts and releases the battery case using a sharp tool.

However, the above disassembly work is performed depending on the operator's experience and senses, for example, the depth of the sharp tool insertion into the battery case is not constant, thereby damaging the electrode assembly embedded in the battery case, It may be deformed and often cause short circuits, short circuits, and the like. Therefore, it is difficult to carry out an accurate analysis of the product.

In this regard, Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-0056300 includes a grinding machine that cuts and cuts a lower edge of a can of a secondary battery, and a lipper that cuts and extends a torn tip at a cut portion of the bottom of the can to form a tubular chip. A technique for dismantling the can of a secondary battery is proposed.

However, since the above technique disassembles by cutting only the lower edge, the technique causes a deformation of the battery case in the process of grasping and extending the torn tip. The deformation of the battery case may directly or indirectly affect the electrode assembly connected to the battery case, and as a result, may deform the electrode assembly. In addition, the technology has a problem that must be provided with an expensive device for automation, such as a grinding machine, a transfer table.

Therefore, there is a high need for a technology that can fundamentally solve these problems.

The present invention aims to solve the problems of the prior art as described above and the technical problems that have been requested from the past.

Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for disassembling a cylindrical secondary battery that can safely and precisely cut the battery case of the cylindrical secondary battery.

Disassembling apparatus of a cylindrical secondary battery according to the present invention for achieving this object, as a device for cutting and disassembling the battery case of the cylindrical secondary battery,

A cylindrical body in which the cylindrical secondary battery is mounted;

A first cutting part having a knife mounted at a position corresponding to a gasket of a cylindrical secondary battery among upper surfaces of the cylindrical body; And

A second cutting part in which a knife is mounted at a position corresponding to the bottom of the cylindrical secondary battery among the lower inner surfaces of the cylindrical body;

It is configured to include, characterized in that for cutting the battery case of the cylindrical secondary battery by mounting the cylindrical secondary battery in the cylindrical body and then rotating the first cutting unit and the second cutting unit.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the battery case can be precisely cut by the rotation of the cutting unit without causing a problem such as local deformation of the battery case in the prior art as described above. In addition, since the first cutting part and the second cutting part are mounted at positions corresponding to the gasket and the bottom part where the short circuit of the secondary battery is not caused in the main body, the battery case is not caused as a result of the deformation and short circuit of the electrode assembly. Can be safely cut.

The cylindrical secondary battery is not particularly limited as long as it is mounted on the decomposition apparatus and can easily cut the battery case. Preferably, the electrode assembly of the anode / separation membrane / cathode structure and the electrode assembly are together with an electrolyte. It may be configured to include a cylindrical battery case sealed in, and a cap assembly mounted in an insulated state via a gasket at the upper end of the cylindrical battery case.

In one preferred example, the first cutting portion and the second cutting portion may be a structure each including two to four knives radially mounted along the inner surface of the cylindrical body.

That is, the knives are mounted in a horizontal direction at predetermined intervals, so that the knives can be easily cut while rotating along the circumferential surface of the battery case.

In this structure, the angles of rotation of the first and second cut portions are inversely proportional to the number of knives, for example, in a structure including two knives, the knives are rotated about 180 degrees each and include three knives. In the structure to rotate the knives each about 120 degrees, it is possible to cut the battery case.

In the above structure, a mounting groove in which an inner surface and an outer surface of the cylindrical body communicate with each other so that the knives can be mounted in a circumferential direction in a corresponding portion of the cylindrical body in which the first cutting portion and the second cutting portion are located. It may be formed. That is, the separation of the knives is prevented by the mounting groove formed in the circumferential direction so that the knives can be rotated in a stable mounting state.

In one specific example, the side wall of the cylindrical body has a structure including a hollow portion, the cutting portion is a handle located on the outer surface of the cylindrical body; A knife located on an inner surface of the cylindrical body; A horizontal bar connecting the handle and the knife via the mounting groove; And a vertical bar positioned on the hollow portion of the cylindrical sidewall and formed on a horizontal bar with a thickness smaller than the width of the hollow portion.

That is, by pressing the handle to rotate in the circumferential direction, it is possible to easily adjust the knife located on the inner surface of the cylindrical body to cut the battery case, by the structure of the specific horizontal bar and vertical bar, the cutting portion is separated from the mounting groove It can be mounted in a variable position without being.

In some cases, an elastic member such as a compression spring may be additionally installed between the handle and the outer surface of the cylindrical body. Therefore, when the handle is not adjusted, the knife is prevented from accessing the secondary battery mounted inside the cylindrical body by the elastic force of the compression spring.

As described above, the first cutting part cuts the position of the gasket to prevent a short circuit when disassembling the battery case. That is, since the gasket has a predetermined thickness, even if an error occurs in cutting the battery case portion at the gasket position with a knife, the thickness of the gasket does not damage the electrode assembly inside the battery case and prevents a short circuit. have.

Since the second cutting part also cuts the battery case at a position corresponding to the bottom of the cylindrical secondary battery, the battery case can be cut while preventing the short circuit without damaging the electrode assembly like the first cutting part. In one preferred example, the second cutting unit may cut the battery case at the position of the insulator ('lower insulator') embedded in the bottom of the inner surface of the battery case.

The cutting width of the battery case by the first and second cutting parts may be determined by various factors such as the thickness of the battery case, and in general, may be 0.1 t to 0.3 t. When the cutting width of the battery case is less than 0.1 t, it may not be easy to cut the battery case, on the contrary, when the cutting width is larger than 0.3 t, the knife is deeply inserted and may cause a short circuit.

In one preferred example, a third cutting portion for vertically cutting the battery case may be included between the first cutting portion and the second cutting portion. This third cutting part helps complete disassembly of the secondary battery.

In order to increase the ease of disassembly, the third cutting part may have a structure including knives at positions facing each other with respect to the center of the cylindrical body. Preferably, the third cutting part may be configured in a structure in which two knives face each other, and of course, the number of knives may be increased as necessary.

In the above structure, the third cutting unit may cut the battery case by the shangdong method. That is, since the knives are mounted in the vertical direction, the knives may move up and down on the side of the cylindrical body to cut the side of the battery case.

In a portion corresponding to the cylindrical body in which the third cutting portion is located, as in the first and second cutting portions, mounting grooves are formed, and the structure may be the same as the structure of the first and second cutting portions mentioned above. have.

The cutting width of the battery case by the third cutting part may also be 0.1 to 0.3 t as in the first and second cutting parts. This cutting width may be in a manner that is preferably adjusted by precise position control in order to prevent a short circuit when disassembling the battery case.

On the other hand, the knife can be operated in an automatic or manual manner as needed, and can safely cut the battery case by the accurate position and cutting width compared to the prior art.

The present invention also provides a method of cutting and disassembling the battery case of the cylindrical secondary battery. Specifically, (a) cutting the battery case in the circumferential direction at a position corresponding to the gasket of the cylindrical secondary battery, and (b) cutting the battery case in the circumferential direction at a position corresponding to the lower insulator of the cylindrical secondary battery. It provides a decomposition method of a cylindrical secondary battery comprising a.

In some cases, (c) further comprising the step of cutting the battery case in the vertical direction between the gasket and the lower insulator of the cylindrical secondary battery, it may be easier to disassemble the secondary battery.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the scope of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a disassembler of a secondary battery according to an embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown, Figure 3 is a cylindrical secondary battery inside the disassembler of a secondary battery according to an embodiment of the present invention The mounted vertical cross section is schematically illustrated.

Referring to these drawings, the decomposing device 100 of the cylindrical secondary battery has a position corresponding to the gasket 44 of the cylindrical secondary battery among the cylindrical body 110 on which the cylindrical secondary battery 10 is mounted, and the upper inner surface of the cylindrical body. Knives 131 and 132 are mounted at positions corresponding to the insulator 50 of the cylindrical secondary battery among the first cutting part 120 and the lower inner surface of the cylindrical body 110 in which the knives 121 and 122 are mounted. It comprises a second cutting unit 130, the third cutting unit 140 for vertically cutting the battery case 20 between the first cutting unit 120 and the second cutting unit 130 is It is.

The cylindrical body 110 is mounted on the corresponding portion of the cylindrical body 110 in which the first cutting unit 120 and the second cutting unit 130 are located so that the knives 121 can be mounted in a circumferential direction. Mounting grooves 129 and 139 are formed in communication with the inner surface and the outer surface thereof.

In addition, the third cutting part 130 is formed with a vertical mounting groove 149 in which the inner and outer surfaces of the cylindrical body 110 communicate with each other so that the knives 141 and 142 may move in the vertical direction.

With this structure, the first cutting part 120 is positioned at the gasket 44 and the second cutting part 130 is formed at the position of the insulator 50 while preventing the electrode assembly (not shown) from being damaged or short-circuited. The battery case 20 may be cut at each position, and the third and second cutting parts 140 may vertically cut the battery case 20 in which the upper and lower portions are cut, respectively, from the secondary battery 10. 20) can be completely removed.

4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a cylindrical secondary battery mounted inside a decomposition device of a secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the first cutting part 120 includes four knives 121, 122, 123, and 124 radially mounted along the inner surface of the cylindrical body 110. The cutting unit 120, and precisely, rotates the knives 121, 122, 123, and 124 by about 90 degrees to cut the battery case 20.

5A to 5C schematically show execution flowcharts of the first cutting unit according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to these drawings, the side wall of the cylindrical body 110 has a structure including a hollow portion, the first cutting portion 120 is a handle 113, the cylindrical body 110 located on the outer surface of the cylindrical body 110 ), A horizontal bar 114 connecting the handle 113 and the knife 121 via the mounting groove 129, and a hollow portion of the cylindrical sidewall, It has a structure including a vertical bar 115 formed in the horizontal bar 114 to a thickness (w) less than W).

In addition, the compression spring 200 is mounted between the handle 113 and the outer surface of the cylindrical body 110, so that when the handle 113 is not adjusted (see FIG. 5A), the knife 121 may have a spring 200. Spaced apart by the secondary battery 10 mounted inside the cylindrical body 110 by the elastic force of the.

On the other hand, the horizontal bar 114 and the vertical bar 115 is cross-shaped in cross-section, so that the knife 121 is stably positioned in the hollow portion without being separated into the inner space of the mounting groove 129. (See FIG. 5B).

In this state, when the handle 113 is pressed and rotated along the mounting groove 129 (see FIG. 5C), the knife 121 moves the battery case 20 in a state of being advanced by the cutting width L. Can be cut. On the other hand, when the vertical bar 115 reaches the inner sidewall 110a of the sidewalls of the cylindrical body 110, the knife 121 stops moving forward, which may result when advancing beyond the cutting width L. Damage or short circuit of the electrode assembly can be prevented.

As described above, the disassembling device of the secondary battery according to the present invention can cut the battery case while preventing the electrode assembly from being damaged, short-circuited, or disconnected by the cylindrical body and the cutting parts having a specific structure. Very easy to disassemble

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a representative upper structure of a conventional cylindrical secondary battery;

2 is a perspective view of a decomposition apparatus of a secondary battery;

3 is a vertical cross-sectional view in which a cylindrical secondary battery is mounted inside a decomposition device of a secondary battery;

4 is a plan view of a cylindrical secondary battery mounted inside the decomposition apparatus of the secondary battery;

5A to 5C are side views illustrating an execution flowchart of the first cutting unit.

Claims (16)

A device for cutting and disassembling the battery case of a cylindrical secondary battery, A cylindrical body in which the cylindrical secondary battery is mounted; A first cutting part having a knife mounted at a position corresponding to a gasket of a cylindrical secondary battery among upper surfaces of the cylindrical body; And A second cutting part in which a knife is mounted at a position corresponding to the bottom of the cylindrical secondary battery among the lower inner surfaces of the cylindrical body; Consists of including Mounting a cylindrical secondary battery on the cylindrical body, and then cutting the battery case of the cylindrical secondary battery by rotating the first and second cutting units; In the corresponding portions of the cylindrical body in which the first and second cutting parts are located, mounting grooves are formed in which the inner and outer surfaces of the cylindrical body communicate with each other so that the knives can be mounted in a circumferentially rotatable state. Disassembling device of a cylindrical secondary battery, characterized in that. The cylindrical secondary battery of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical secondary battery includes an electrode assembly having a cathode / separation membrane / cathode structure, a cylindrical battery case in which the electrode assembly is sealed together with an electrolyte, and a gasket at an upper end of the cylindrical battery case. Disassembling device of a cylindrical secondary battery, characterized in that it comprises a cap assembly mounted in an insulated state. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second cutting parts comprise two to four knives radially mounted along an inner surface of the cylindrical body. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first and second cutting parts are rotated 90 degrees to 180 degrees to cut the battery case. delete The method of claim 1, The side wall of the cylindrical body has a structure including a hollow portion, A handle disposed on an outer surface of the cylindrical body; A knife located on an inner surface of the cylindrical body; A horizontal bar connecting the handle and the knife via the mounting groove; And a vertical bar disposed on the hollow portion of the cylindrical sidewall and formed in a horizontal bar with a thickness smaller than the width of the hollow portion. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first cutting unit cuts the position of the gasket to prevent a short circuit when disassembling the battery case. According to claim 1, wherein an inner insulator ('lower insulator') is built in the lower end of the inner surface of the battery case, the second cutting unit is to cut the position of the lower insulator to prevent short circuit when disassembling the battery case. Disassembling device of the cylindrical secondary battery. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cutting widths of the first and second cutting parts are 0.2 t or less. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a third cutting part for vertically cutting the battery case is further included between the first cutting part and the second cutting part. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the third cutting unit comprises knives at positions facing each other with respect to the center of the cylindrical body. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the third cutting unit cuts the battery case by using a shanghai copper method. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cutting width of the third cutting unit is 0.1 to 0.3 t. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the knife is operated in an automatic or manual manner. A method of cutting and disassembling a battery case of a cylindrical secondary battery by using the decomposition apparatus of the cylindrical secondary battery according to claim 1, (A) cutting the battery case in the circumferential direction at a position corresponding to the gasket of the cylindrical secondary battery; And (b) cutting the battery case in a circumferential direction at a position corresponding to the lower insulator of the cylindrical secondary battery; Disassembling method of a cylindrical secondary battery comprising a. 16. The method of claim 15, (c) cutting the battery case in a vertical direction between the gasket and the lower insulator of the cylindrical secondary battery; Disassembling method of a cylindrical secondary battery, characterized in that it further comprises.

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