KR20160087152A - Apparatus Available for Vertical Moving of Battery Pack - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a battery pack transfer device capable of saving efforts and time necessary for processing, reducing the total manufacturing costs, and utilizing the work space more efficiently. The device includes: a first horizontal transfer unit and a second horizontal transfer unit which transfer a battery pack horizontally at different heights; a vertical transfer unit which moves the battery pack in an accommodated and stacked state vertically from the end point of the first horizontal transfer unit to the same height as the start point of the second horizontal transfer unit; and a push bar which is placed at the back of the transfer direction of the battery pack by the second horizontal transfer unit at the same height as the second horizontal transfer unit and pushes the battery pack transfer by the vertical transfer unit to the start point of the second horizontal transfer unit for horizontal transfer. The vertical transfer unit moves battery packs step by step downward until the number of the accommodated and stacked battery packs, which are transferred by the first horizontal transfer unit, reaches a predefined number and, when the number of the accommodated and stacked battery packs reaches the predefined number, the battery packs are vertically transferred from the transfer end point of the first horizontal transfer unit to the transfer start point of the second horizontal transfer unit.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a vertical-

The present invention relates to a battery pack transfer device capable of vertical transfer.

In recent years, the demand for environmentally friendly alternative energy sources has become an indispensable factor for the future, as the increase in the price of energy sources due to depletion of fossil fuels and the interest in environmental pollution are amplified. Various researches on power generation technologies such as nuclear power, solar power, wind power, and tidal power have been continuing, and electric power storage devices for more efficient use of such generated energy have also been attracting much attention.

Particularly, as technology development and demand for mobile devices increase, the demand for batteries as energy sources is rapidly increasing. Recently, the use of secondary batteries as a power source for electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) In addition, the use area has been expanded for use as a power auxiliary power source through a grid, and accordingly, a lot of researches on a battery that can meet various demands have been conducted.

Typically, in terms of the shape of a battery, there is a high demand for a prismatic secondary battery and a pouch-type secondary battery which can be applied to products such as mobile phones with a small thickness, and has advantages such as high energy density, discharge voltage, There is a high demand for lithium secondary batteries such as lithium ion batteries and lithium ion polymer batteries.

These secondary cells are individually packaged in the manufacturing process, and then transferred to the next step for a process such as barcode scanning.

However, in the transferring process, an operator individually handles the individually packaged secondary batteries by a predetermined number of units, and accordingly, the manufacturing process of the secondary batteries requires too much manpower and time, This increases the cost.

In addition, since the worker must directly transport the secondary battery, the work space requires a predetermined space for the worker to operate. Therefore, the work space may be constrained and the work space can not be used efficiently .

Therefore, there is a high need for a technique capable of fundamentally solving such problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and the technical problems required from the past.

The inventors of the present application have conducted intensive research and various experiments and, as will be described later, by configuring the battery pack transfer device to include a vertical transfer part for stacking and transferring a predetermined number of battery packs, In the manufacturing process, the individual packed battery pack is automatically transferred to the next step by a predetermined amount, so that manpower and time required for the process can be saved, thereby saving the manufacturing cost as a whole, And that the work space can be more efficiently utilized through the transfer part, and the present invention has been accomplished.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery pack transferring apparatus,

A first horizontal conveyance part and a second horizontal conveyance part for horizontally conveying the battery pack at different heights;

A vertical conveyance unit vertically conveying the battery pack at the same height as the start position of the second horizontal conveyance unit while the battery pack is seated and stacked from the end of the first horizontal conveyance unit; And

The battery pack is positioned at the same height as that of the second horizontal transfer unit and is located rearward with respect to the transfer direction of the battery pack in the second horizontal transfer unit and pushes the battery pack transferred by the vertical transfer unit to the start position of the second horizontal transfer unit, A push bar;

And,

The vertical transfer part is conveyed downward in a stepwise manner until the number of the stacked and stacked battery packs transferred through the first horizontal transfer part reaches a predetermined number, and the number of stacked and stacked battery packs is set in advance When the quantity reaches the amount, the structure may be such that it is vertically transported from the transport end portion of the first horizontal transport portion to the transport start portion of the second horizontal transport portion.

Therefore, in the process of manufacturing the battery pack, the individually packed battery pack is automatically transferred to the next step by a predetermined amount, so that manpower and time required for the process can be saved, thereby saving the overall manufacturing cost .

In one specific example, at the time when the battery pack is initially placed in the vertical transfer portion from the end portion of the first horizontal transfer portion, the vertical transfer portion may be structured to be located at a relatively low height as compared with the first horizontal transfer portion.

More specifically, at the time when the battery pack is initially seated in the vertical conveyance portion from the end portion of the first horizontal conveyance portion, the battery pack is seated in the vertical conveyance portion by the conveyance of the first horizontal conveyance portion.

If the vertical conveyance unit is located at the same or relatively high position as compared with the first horizontal conveyance unit, the battery pack may be prevented from being detached from the vertical conveyance unit due to restriction of a space between the end portion of the first horizontal conveyance unit and the vertical conveyance unit, The vertical transfer unit can not easily be mounted on the vertical transfer unit. Thus, in the course of performing the process, a separate attraction, apparatus, or process may be required to correct the positions of the battery packs to be placed and stacked on the vertical transfer unit .

Therefore, at the time when the battery pack is initially mounted on the vertical transfer unit from the end of the first horizontal transfer unit, the vertical transfer unit may be positioned at a relatively low height as compared with the first horizontal transfer unit.

At this time, the height difference between the vertical transfer part and the first horizontal transfer part may be the same or relatively small as compared with the thickness of the battery pack.

If the height difference between the vertical transfer unit and the first horizontal transfer unit is relatively larger than the thickness of the battery pack, in the process of transferring the battery pack from the end of the first horizontal transfer unit onto the vertical transfer unit, It is difficult for the battery pack to be stably placed and stacked on the vertical transfer part and the position and arrangement of the battery pack may be displaced. Therefore, the second horizontal The automatic transfer to the next process using a transfer unit or the like may not be easy.

In addition, the height of the vertically-conveyed portion may be equal to or greater than the thickness of one battery pack.

As described above, at the time when the battery pack is seated in the vertical transferring portion from the end portion of the first horizontal transferring portion, the vertical transferring portion is located at a relatively lower height than the first horizontal transferring portion, And can be deposited and laminated.

Accordingly, when the battery pack is mounted on the vertical transfer part, the vertical transfer part is transported downward in steps equal to or greater than the thickness of the battery pack, The conveying unit can maintain a relatively low height position relative to the first vertical conveyance unit, so that the vertical conveyance unit can stably and stably stack the battery pack until a predetermined number of units are reached.

In one specific example, the vertical transfer unit senses the weight of the battery pack stacked and stacked by the weight detection sensor, recognizes the quantity of the battery pack, and is conveyed downward step by step, As shown in FIG.

In other words, the vertical conveyance unit can be automatically conveyed by sensing the weight of the battery pack on the vertical conveyance unit by recognizing a predetermined quantity by the weight detection sensor.

In another specific example, the vertical transfer unit senses the height of the battery pack, which is seated and stacked by the optical sensor, and recognizes the quantity of the battery pack, so that the vertical transfer unit can be transferred stepwise downward or to the beginning of the second horizontal transfer unit It may be a vertically transported structure.

At this time, the optical sensor recognizes the number of stacked and stacked battery packs on the vertical transfer unit by sensing the height of the stacked battery pack and detecting the height of the vertical transfer unit, which is transported downward in a stepwise manner, can do.

Therefore, unlike the prior art in which the battery packs are manually transported by a predetermined number of times, the battery packs are automatically stacked and transported by a predetermined amount, so that manpower required for the operation is saved, The work space required for the transfer of the battery pack can be more efficiently utilized because the worker does not need an active space.

In addition, the first horizontal transfer unit and the second horizontal transfer unit may include a conveyor belt capable of continuously transferring the battery pack.

Therefore, the transfer of the battery pack can be continuously performed at a uniform speed and interval, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a load in the transfer process through combination with the vertical transfer unit.

The first horizontal transfer part and the second horizontal transfer part may include a pair of guide walls protruding upward from both sides along the transfer direction of the battery pack.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the battery pack, which is continuously conveyed through the first horizontal conveyance unit and the second horizontal conveyance unit, from being separated from the first horizontal conveyance unit and the second horizontal conveyance unit.

In one specific example, the vertical transfer portion comprises:

And a plate portion on which the battery pack is seated and laminated from an end portion of the first horizontal transfer portion,

At least one release preventing wall may protrude upward from one side edge of the plate portion facing the end portion of the first horizontal transfer portion.

At this time, the height at which the separation preventing wall protrudes may be a relatively large structure as compared with the total thickness of the battery packs stacked and stacked in the vertical transfer portion.

More specifically, when the battery pack is seated and stacked from the end portion of the first horizontal transfer portion to the vertical transfer portion, the transfer speed of the battery pack in the first horizontal transfer portion or the vertical transfer portion in which the battery pack is seated and stacked Due to factors such as a difference in friction coefficient between the plate portion and the battery pack, the battery pack may be detached in the conveying direction of the first horizontal conveying portion in the process of being placed on the vertical conveying portion.

In order to prevent the battery pack from being separated from the battery pack, the vertical transfer unit may include at least one release prevention wall on one side edge of the plate portion facing the end portion of the first horizontal transfer portion, The battery packs that are seated and stacked on the vertical transfer portion according to the structure may be structured such that the end portions of the first horizontal transfer portion And can be uniformly aligned with respect to a portion opposed to the region.

In addition, at least one linear groove may be formed along the stacking direction of the battery packs so that the number of the battery packs stacked and stacked on the vertical transfer part can be visually confirmed.

Therefore, the operation status of the vertical transfer part can be easily confirmed by visually confirming the quantity of the battery packs that are seated and stacked in the vertical transfer part through the linear groove, at the position where the departure prevention wall is located.

In this case, at the one edge of the plate portion facing the end portion of the first horizontal conveyance portion, at least two escape prevention walls are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, The number of the battery packs that are seated and stacked on the vertical transfer part can be visually confirmed through the interval.

{*** The above structure is arbitrarily added to the structure in which the quantity of the battery packs to be seated and stacked on the vertical transfer part can be easily confirmed with the naked eye in the direction in which the departure prevention wall of the vertical transfer part is located, Please provide us with accurate information on whether or not the structure is applicable. ***}

The push bar may have a plate-like structure facing a side surface of the battery pack, which is seated and stacked on the vertical transfer part.

Accordingly, the push bar having the plate-like structure faces the side surfaces of all the battery packs stacked and stacked on the vertical transfer unit, thereby uniformly aligning the battery packs, and simultaneously pushing the battery packs to the second horizontal transfer unit It can be more easily horizontally conveyed to the starting portion.

At this time, the height of the push bar may be higher than the height of the battery packs stacked and stacked on the vertical transfer part.

If the height of the push bar is lower than the height of the battery packs stacked and stacked on the vertical transfer part, the battery pack located at a higher position than the height of the push bar may be detached, The alignment of the battery packs may be dislocated.

In one specific example, the first horizontal transfer part and the second horizontal transfer part may have a structure in which the horizontal transfer direction of the battery pack is positioned at a predetermined angle.

In other words, the first horizontal transfer unit and the second horizontal transfer unit are discontinuously connected with respect to the vertical transfer unit located therebetween, so that the first horizontal transfer unit and the second horizontal transfer unit are connected to the vertical transfer unit By making a predetermined angle in a plane on the basis of the reference, it is possible to improve the utilization of the space in the place where the transfer device is disposed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of transporting a battery pack by the battery pack transfer device,

Horizontally transporting the first battery pack from a starting portion of the first horizontal transfer portion to an end portion thereof;

Placing the first battery pack of step (a) in a vertical transfer part from the end of the first horizontal transfer part;

Transferring the vertical transfer portion of the step (b) downward by a height corresponding to the thickness of the first battery pack;

Horizontally transporting the second battery pack from an initial portion of the first horizontal transfer portion to an end portion thereof;

Placing and stacking the second battery pack of step (d) on the upper surface of the first battery pack that is seated in the vertical transfer part from the end of the first horizontal transfer part;

Wherein the vertical conveying portion of the step (e) is vertically conveyed to a starting portion of the second horizontal conveying portion;

Transferring the first battery pack and the second battery pack, which are seated and stacked in the vertical transfer portion, to the starting portion of the second horizontal transfer portion using the push bar;

Horizontally transferring the first battery pack and the second battery pack of the step (g) from the starting position of the second horizontal transfer part to the end part;

. ≪ / RTI >

At this time, the steps (c) to (e) may be repeated until the number of the battery packs that are seated and stacked in the vertical transfer part reaches a predetermined quantity.

That is, the step of transferring the vertical conveyance unit in accordance with the stacking and stacking of the battery pack from the end portion of the first horizontal conveyance unit is repeated until the quantity of the battery pack reaches a preset quantity, When the number of stacked and stacked battery packs reaches a predetermined amount, the vertical transfer portion is vertically transferred to the start portion of the second horizontal transfer portion, and the stacked battery pack is conveyed by the push bar to the beginning of the second horizontal transfer portion Lt; / RTI >

Meanwhile, in the step (b), the vertical transfer part may be positioned at a relatively low height as compared with the first horizontal transfer part for stably depositing and stacking the battery pack. More specifically, the vertical transfer part may include the vertical transfer part, May be the same or smaller than the thickness of the first battery pack.

As described above, the battery pack transferring apparatus according to the present invention is configured to include a vertical transferring unit for stacking and transferring a predetermined number of battery packs, whereby in the manufacturing process of the battery pack, It is possible to save manpower and time required for the process, thereby saving the manufacturing cost as a whole, and to utilize the work space more efficiently through the vertical transfer unit There is an effect.

1 is a schematic view schematically showing the structure of a battery pack transferring device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the structure of the first horizontal transfer part and the second horizontal transfer part of FIG. 1; FIG.
3 is a schematic view schematically showing the structure of the vertical transfer part and the push bar of Fig. 1; Fig.
4 is a schematic view schematically showing the structure of a push bar constituting a battery pack transfer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings according to the embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view schematically showing the structure of a battery pack transferring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the battery pack transfer apparatus 100 includes a first horizontal transfer unit 110, a second horizontal transfer unit 140, a vertical transfer unit, and a push bar.

The first horizontal transfer unit 110 horizontally moves the battery pack 101 in the direction in which the vertical transfer unit 120 is positioned.

The battery pack 102 transferred to the end portion of the first horizontal transfer unit 110 is transferred to the start position of the second horizontal transfer unit 140 by the vertical transfer unit 120 in a state of being placed on and stacked on the vertical transfer unit 120, Lt; / RTI >

The vertical transfer unit 120 includes a plate portion 121 for receiving and stacking the battery pack 102 from the end portion of the first horizontal transfer unit 110 and a release preventing wall 120 protruding upward from one side edge of the plate portion 121. [ (122).

This prevents the battery pack 102 from being separated from the battery pack 102 during the transfer of the battery pack 102 from the end of the first horizontal transfer unit 110 to the plate portion 121 of the vertical transfer unit 120, The pack 102 can be uniformly aligned.

The vertical transfer unit 120 is transferred downward in stages until the quantity of the stacked and stacked battery packs 102 transferred through the first horizontal transfer unit 110 reaches a predetermined quantity, When the quantity of the battery pack 102 reaches a predetermined quantity, the vertical transfer (B) is performed from the transfer end portion of the first horizontal transfer portion 110 to the transfer start portion of the second horizontal transfer portion 140.

The push bar 130 is positioned at the same height as the second horizontal transfer unit 140 and at the rear with respect to the conveying direction of the battery packs 103 in the second horizontal transfer unit 140 and the vertical transfer unit 120, After the battery packs 103 stacked in the predetermined number in the feeding unit 120 are vertically conveyed to the conveyance start position of the second horizontal conveyance unit 140 and then the battery packs 103 are moved to the second horizontal And is pushed to the start position of the transfer unit 140 to be horizontally moved.

The second horizontal transfer unit 140 horizontally conveys the battery packs 103 in a direction different from the first horizontal transfer unit 110 and transfers the battery packs 103 transferred from the vertical transfer unit 120, (C) to the next process.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view schematically showing the structure of the first horizontal transfer part and the second horizontal transfer part shown in FIG.

2, the first horizontal transfer unit 110 and the second horizontal transfer unit 140 are located at different heights from each other in a vertical cross-sectional view (a). Specifically, the second horizontal transfer unit 140 includes a first horizontal transfer unit (110). ≪ / RTI >

The first horizontal transfer unit 110 and the second horizontal transfer unit 140 are each formed of a conveyor belt capable of continuously transferring the battery packs 101 and 103, , C, and a pair of guide walls 111, 112, 141, 142 projecting upward from both sides.

The first horizontal transfer unit 110 and the second horizontal transfer unit 140 are positioned in a plane b so that the horizontal transfer directions A and C of the battery packs 101 and 103 form a predetermined angle Thus, the space in the place where the battery pack transfer device is disposed can be used more efficiently.

However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the second horizontal transfer unit may be located at a relatively high position relative to the first horizontal transfer unit. In this case, the vertical transfer unit may include a number of stacked and stacked battery packs And when the quantity of the battery pack reaches a predetermined quantity, it can be vertically upwardly transported to the same height as the starting portion of the second horizontal transporting portion.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view schematically showing the structure of the vertical transfer part and the push bar in Fig.

3, when the number of the stacked and stacked battery packs 102 reaches a predetermined amount, the vertical transfer unit 120 is moved to a position at the same height as the transfer start position of the second horizontal transfer unit 140 (B).

The push bar 130 has a plate 131 having a portion 131 facing the battery packs 102 on the vertical transfer unit 120 and pushing the battery packs 102 on the vertical transfer unit 120, (D) to the start position of the transfer unit 140.

The battery packs 102 on the vertical transfer unit 120 can be uniformly aligned by the push bar 130 in the process of being transferred to the start position of the second horizontal transfer unit 140.

The separation preventing walls of the vertical transferring part 120 are formed in the center of the vertical transferring part 120 along the stacking direction of the battery packs 102 so that the quantity of the battery packs 102 seated and stacked on the vertical transferring part 120 can be visually confirmed. One linear groove 123 is formed.

4 is a schematic view schematically showing the structure of a vertical transfer part constituting a battery pack transfer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the vertical transfer unit 420 includes a plate portion 421 and two release preventing walls 421a and 421b protruding upward from one side edge of the plate portion 421.

The two release prevention walls 421a and 421b are spaced apart by a predetermined gap 422 so that they are seated and secured to the plate portion 421 of the vertical transfer portion 420 through the gap 422, The number of stacked battery packs can be visually confirmed easily.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (19)

A first horizontal conveyance part and a second horizontal conveyance part for horizontally conveying the battery pack at different heights;
A vertical conveyance unit vertically conveying the battery pack at the same height as the start position of the second horizontal conveyance unit while the battery pack is seated and stacked from the end of the first horizontal conveyance unit; And
The battery pack is positioned at the same height as that of the second horizontal transfer unit and is located rearward with respect to the transfer direction of the battery pack in the second horizontal transfer unit, pushing the battery pack transferred by the vertical transfer unit to the start position of the second horizontal transfer unit, A push bar;
And,
The vertical transfer part is conveyed downward in a stepwise manner until the number of the stacked and stacked battery packs transferred through the first horizontal transfer part reaches a predetermined number, and the number of stacked and stacked battery packs is set in advance When the number of the conveying units reaches a predetermined number, the conveying unit is vertically conveyed from the conveying end portion of the first horizontal conveyance unit to the conveyance start position of the second horizontal conveyance unit. 2. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the vertical transfer part is positioned at a relatively low height as compared with the first horizontal transfer part when the battery pack is initially seated in the vertical transfer part from the end of the first horizontal transfer part. Pack transport device. The battery pack transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a difference in height between the vertical transfer unit and the first horizontal transfer unit is equal to or smaller than a thickness of the battery pack. The battery pack transferring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a height of the vertically-conveyed part is gradually lowered to be equal to or greater than a thickness of one battery pack. The vertical transfer unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vertical transfer unit senses the weight of the battery pack stacked and stacked by the weight sensor, recognizes the quantity of the battery pack, And the vertical conveying unit is vertically conveyed to the second conveying unit. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vertical transfer unit senses the height of the battery pack stacked and stacked by the optical sensor, recognizes the quantity of the battery pack, and is conveyed downward step by step, And the vertical transferring is performed vertically. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first horizontal transfer unit and the second horizontal transfer unit comprise a conveyor belt capable of continuously transferring the battery pack. The battery pack transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the first horizontal transfer part and the second horizontal transfer part include a pair of guide walls protruding upward from both sides along the transfer direction of the battery pack. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
And a plate portion on which the battery pack is seated and laminated from an end portion of the first horizontal transfer portion,
Wherein at least one release preventing wall protrudes upward from one side edge of the plate portion facing the end portion of the first horizontal transfer portion. 10. The battery pack transfer apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a height at which the separation preventing wall protrudes is relatively larger than a total thickness of the battery packs that are seated and stacked in the vertical transfer section. The battery pack according to claim 9, wherein at least one linear groove is formed along the stacking direction of the battery packs so that the number of the battery packs stacked and stacked on the vertical transfer part can be visually confirmed. Battery Pack Feeding Device. The battery pack transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the push bar is of a plate-like structure facing the side surface of the battery pack which is seated and stacked on the vertical transfer part. 13. The battery pack transfer apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the height of the push bar is higher than the height of the battery packs stacked and stacked on the vertical transfer part. 2. The battery pack transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second horizontal transfer unit is located at a lower height than the first horizontal transfer unit. The battery pack transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the first horizontal transfer unit and the second horizontal transfer unit are positioned such that the horizontal transfer direction of the battery pack is a predetermined angle. A method for transferring a battery pack by the battery pack transfer device according to claim 1,
Horizontally transporting the first battery pack from a starting portion of the first horizontal transfer portion to an end portion thereof;
Placing the first battery pack of step (a) in a vertical transfer part from the end of the first horizontal transfer part;
Transferring the vertical transfer portion of the step (b) downward by a height corresponding to the thickness of the first battery pack;
Horizontally transporting the second battery pack from an initial portion of the first horizontal transfer portion to an end portion thereof;
Placing and stacking the second battery pack of step (d) on the upper surface of the first battery pack that is seated in the vertical transfer part from the end of the first horizontal transfer part;
Wherein the vertical conveying portion of the step (e) is vertically conveyed to a starting portion of the second horizontal conveying portion;
Transferring the first battery pack and the second battery pack, which are seated and stacked in the vertical transfer portion, to the starting portion of the second horizontal transfer portion using the push bar;
Horizontally transferring the first battery pack and the second battery pack of the step (g) from the starting position of the second horizontal transfer part to the end part;
The method comprising the steps of: 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the steps (c) to (e) are repeated until the number of the battery packs that are seated and stacked in the vertical transfer unit reaches a preset number. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the vertical transfer unit is located at a relatively lower height than the first horizontal transfer unit in the step (b). 19. The method of claim 18, wherein a difference in height between the vertical transfer part and the first horizontal transfer part is equal to or smaller than a thickness of the first battery pack.

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